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HomeMy WebLinkAboutASRPC20200211 4.1 PLANNING COMMISSION STAFF REPORT 4.1 TO: Chair and Planning Commission February 11, 2020 SUBJECT: Resolution No. 2020-01, approving a Development Plan, Land Use Permit, and Variance request to allow a 1,759 square foot first floor addition to an existing 24,559 square foot commercial building at 156 Diablo Road (156 Diablo Road, LLC) DESCRIPTION The proposed development consists of an addition which would fill in a space underneath two stories of commercial space which was previously used for drive thru banking. The architectural design would match the existing building. Figure 1: Proposed Building – view traveling south on Hartz Avenue BACKGROUND The existing building was approved by Contra Costa County prior to the Town’s incorporation, and was constructed in 1982. The three-story, 50-foot tall building complied with Contra Costa County’s development standards in place at that time. The proposed addition was reviewed by the Town’s Design Review Board on October 24, 2019, and was recommended for approval (Attachment B). DEV19-0015 2 February 11, 2020 156 Diablo Road EVALUATION/DISCUSSION Conformance with General Plan and Zoning District The site is located within Downtown Business District (DBD) Area 2; Old Town Transition. A small portion of the site is located within DBD Area 4; Residential Serving Commercial. Parking DBD Area 2 requires that 75% of required parking demand be provided on-site, and up to 25% of required parking may be provided off-site within Town municipal parking facilities. The building currently provides 94% of required parking on-site. The proposed 1,759 square foot addition would add a parking demand of 7.8 parking spaces. The additional parking demand would need to be purchased off-site through the payment of the Town’s off-site parking in-lieu fee. As a result of the addition, the building would provide 87% of required parking on-site. Floor Area Ratio DBD Area 2 requires a maximum floor area ratio (FAR) of 80%. The existing building has a FAR of 91%. The proposed addition would result in a FAR of 97%. The high FAR can be attributed to the fact that, unlike almost all other buildings in Town, it has three stories. If the square footage of one of the two upper floors was taken out of the FAR calculation, the FAR would be only 63%. The Town believes that the unusual character of the building, including three stories, and that the new addition is infilling existing volume under the building, appropriate finding for approval of a FAR variance can be made. Land Use DBD Area 2 requires that a minimum of 25 percent of the ground space be dedicated to retail or restaurant uses. The subject building was constructed as an office building and has been occupied by office uses since its construction. A Land Use Permit is required to allow the continued occupancy of the ground floor with office use. PUBLIC CONTACT Public notice of the February 11, 2020 Planning Commission meeting was mailed to property owners within 750 feet of the site. A total of 40 notices were mailed to surrounding property owners. Posting of the meeting agenda serves as notice to the general public. RECOMMENDATION DEV19-0015 3 February 11, 2020 156 Diablo Road Adopt Resolution 2020-01, a Development Plan, Land Use Permit, and Variance request to allow a 1,759 square foot first floor addition to an existing 24,559 square foot commercial building at 156 Diablo Road (156 Diablo Road LLC) Prepared by: David Crompton Principal Planner Attachments: A - Resolution No. 2020-01 B - Public Notification, Notification Map and Notification List C - Design Review Board Notes D - Project Plans dated October 15, 2019 RESOLUTION NO. 2020-01 APPROVING A DEVELOPMENT PLAN, LAND USE PERMIT, AND VARIANCE REQUEST TO ALLOW A 1,759 SQUARE FOOT FIRST FLOOR ADDITION TO AN EXISTING 24,599 COMMERCIAL BUILDING LOCATED AT 156 DIABLO ROAD (156 DIABLO ROAD, LLC) WHEREAS, 156 DIABLO ROAD, LLC (Owner) and WILLIAM WOOD ARCHITECTS (Applicant) have requested approval of a Development Plan request DEV19-0015, Land Use Permit (LUP20-0003, and Variance request (VAR20-0003) to allow a 1,759 square foot first floor addition to an existing 24,559 square foot commercial building at 156 Diablo; and WHEREAS, the proposed Land Use Permit would allow profession office use to occupy 100 percent of the first floor area, while the subject DBD Area 2 requires that 25 percent of the first floor be occupied by retail or restaurant uses; and WHEREAS, the proposed Variance would allow for the intensification of a legal non- conforming floor area ratio (FAR) from 91 percent to 97 percent while the DBD Area 2 zoning district limits the FAR to 80 percent; and WHEREAS, the site is located at 156 Diablo Road, and further identified as Assessor’s Parcel Number APN: 200-211028; and WHEREAS, the project has been found to be Categorically Exempt from the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), Section 15301, Class 1, Existing Facilities; and WHEREAS, the Planning Commission did review the project at a duly noticed public hearing on February 11, 2020; and WHEREAS, the public notice of this action was given in all respects as required by law; and WHEREAS, a staff report was submitted recommending that the Planning Commission approve the request; and WHEREAS, the Planning Commission did hear and consider all reports, recommendations, and testimony submitted in writing and presented at the hearing; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, that the Planning Commission of the Town of Danville approves ATTACHMENT A PAGE 2 OF RESOLUTION NO. 2020-01 Development Plan request DEV19-0015, Land Use Permit request LUP20-0003, and Variance request VAR20-0003 per the conditions contained herein, and makes the following findings in support of this action: FINDINGS OF APPROVAL Development Plan 1.The applicant intends to obtain permits for construction within eighteen months from the effective date of plan approval. 2.The proposed development plan is consistent with the General Plan in that, the proposed project substantially conforms with the Downtown Master Plan and Danville’s 2030 General Plan Economic Development Policy No. 9.02 which states: “Sustain Downtown Danville as the retail center of the community. Provide opportunities to extend the pedestrian-oriented retail character of Old Town Danville to other parts of Downtown.” 3.The development will be an attractive and efficient center which will fit harmoniously into and will not have adverse effects upon the adjacent or surrounding development. 4.The proposed project will conform to the architectural design criteria and applicable development standards set forth by DBD Area 2 zoning regulations. 5.The project will fit harmoniously into the Downtown and will be consistent with the intent and purpose of development envisioned for DBD Area 2. Land Use Permit 1.The proposed land use will not be detrimental to the health, safety, and general welfare of the Town. 2.The land use will not adversely affect the orderly development of property within the Town, in that the existing building was constructed as an office building and has operated with professional office uses since construction. 3.The land use will not adversely affect the preservation of property values and the protection of the tax base within the Town located as there are numerous other existing ground floor office uses in the area. PAGE 3 OF RESOLUTION NO. 2020-01 4.The land use will not adversely affect the policy and goals as set by the 2030 General Plan, in that the development is a minor expansion of a commercial use that has been in existence since prior to the Town’s incorporation. 5.The land use will not create a nuisance and\or enforcement problem within the neighborhood or community, in that the development is a minor expansion of a commercial use that has been in existence since prior to the Town’s incorporation. 6.The land use will not encourage marginal development within the neighborhood, in that the project architecture has been reviewed by the Town’s Design Review Board and meets the Town’s architectural standards. 7.The subject office building expansion is not conducive to retail or restaurant uses in that the building was built for office uses, and the location does not see significant pedestrian foot traffic. Variance 1.This variance does not constitute a grant of special privilege inconsistent with the limitations on other properties in the area and the DBD Area 2 District in which the subject property is located as the existing building was constructed prior to the Town’s incorporation and under different development standards and is considered a legal non-conforming building. 2.Because of the following special circumstances applicable to this specific property, strict application of the applicable zoning regulations would deprive the subject property of rights enjoyed by others in the general vicinity and/or located in the same zoning district: a.The building has an existing legal non-conforming floor area ratio (FAR) of 91 percent, while the current zoning limits FAR to 80 percent. b.The 91 percent FAR is attributable to the building having three stories, which was allowed at the time of the building’s construction. Under DBD Area 2 zoning, only two stories are allowed. If the building were only two storis, the FAR would be only 63 percent. 3.This variance is in substantial conformance with the intent and purpose of the DBD Area 2 District in which the subject property is located since the variance allows for the reasonable expansion of the building within its existing foot print. PAGE 4 OF RESOLUTION NO. 2020-01 CONDITIONS OF APPROVAL Conditions of approval with an asterisk (*) in the left-hand column are standard project conditions of approval. Unless otherwise specified, the following conditions shall be complied with prior to the issuance building permits. A. GENERAL 1.This approval is for Development Plan request DEV19-0015 Development Plan request DEV19-0015, Land Use Permit (LUP20-0003, and Variance request (VAR20-0003) to allow a 1,759 square foot first floor addition to an existing 24,559 square foot commercial building at 156 Diablo. The proposed Land Use Permit would allow profession office use to occupy 100 percent of the first floor area, while the subject DBD Area 2 requires that 25 percent of the first floor be occupied by retail or restaurant uses, and the proposed Variance would allow for the intensification of a legal non- conforming floor area ratio (FAR) from 91 percent to 97 percent while the DBD Area 2 zoning district limits the FAR to 80 percent. Development shall be substantially as shown on the project drawings titled “156 Diablo Road First Floor Addition,” as prepared by William Wood Architects dated October 15, 2019, except as may be modified by conditions contained herein. * 2. Construction activity shall be restricted to the period between the weekday hours of 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (Mondays through Fridays), unless otherwise approved in writing by the City Engineer for general construction activity and the Chief Building Official for building construction activity. Prior to any construction work on the site, including grading, the applicant shall install a minimum 3’ x 3’ sign at the project entry which specifies the allowable construction work days and hours, and lists the name and contact person for the overall project manager and all contractors and sub- contractors working on the job. * 3. Prior to issuance of a demolition permit, or building permit, the applicant shall reimburse the Town for costs incurred for the provision of public notification for the project, as following: Public notification of property owners within 750-foot radius: $138.00 [(40 notices x $0.83 per notice) + ($105)]. * 4. Prior to the issuance of grading or building permits, the applicant shall PAGE 5 OF RESOLUTION NO. 2020-01 submit written documentation that all requirements of the San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District and the San Ramon Valley Unified School District have been, or will be, met to the satisfaction of these respective agencies. 5. If during the course of project construction, archaeological resources or human remains are discovered, work shall be halted within 20 feet of the find until a qualified professional archaeologist can evaluate it. Work shall not recommence until the project archaeologist has submitted documentation to the Town indicating that discovered resources have been adequately salvaged and no further resources have been identified within the area of disturbance. 6. Pursuant to Section 7050.5 of the Health and Safety Code and Section 5097.94 of the Public Resources Code of the State of California, in the event of the discovery of human remains during construction, no further excavation or disturbance shall be conducted on the site or any nearby area reasonably suspected to overlie adjacent remains. The Contra Costa County Coroner shall be notified and make a determination as to whether the remains are Native American. If the Coroner determines that the remains are not subject to his authority, he shall notify the Native American Heritage Commission who shall attempt to identify descendants of the deceased Native American. If no satisfactory agreement can be reached as to the disposition of the remains pursuant to this State law, then the land owner shall re-inter the human remains and items associated with Native American burials on the property in a location not subject to further subsurface disturbance. * 7. The applicant shall provide security fencing as determined necessary and, to the satisfaction of the City Engineer and/or the Chief Building Official, around the construction site during construction of the project. 8. A watering program, which incorporates the use of a dust suppressant and which complies with Regulation 2 of the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, shall be established and implemented for all on- and off-site construction activities. Equipment and human resources for watering all exposed or disturbed soil surfaces shall be supplied on weekends and holidays as well as workdays. Dust-producing activities shall be discontinued during high wind periods. 9. The applicant shall create a construction staging plan that addresses the ingress and egress location for all construction vehicles, parking and material storage area. This plan shall be subject to review and approval by PAGE 6 OF RESOLUTION NO. 2020-01 the Danville Development Services Department prior to the issuance of a demolition permit, grading permit, or building permit. No staging or storage shall occur in the public right-of-way or on publically owned property unless preauthorization is secured from the Engineering Division through review and issuance of an encroachment permit. B. SITE PLANNING 1. The location of any pad mounted electrical transformers shall be subject to review and approval by the Danville Development Services Department prior to the issuance of a building permit. Unless determined not feasible, such transformers shall not be located between any street and the front of a building and shall be adequately screened and mitigated with appropriate landscaping. 2. Exterior wall-mounted lighting shall be at the minimum lighting intensity necessary to provide adequate lighting for safety and security purposes. Project light fixtures shall be of a design that generally screens the view of the light source and provides down-directed lighting. C. LANDSCAPING * 1. Final landscape and irrigation plans shall be submitted for review and approval by the Planning Division and the Design Review Board. The plan shall include common names of all plant materials and shall indicate the size that various plant materials will achieve within a five-year period of time. * 2. All plant material shall be served by an automatic underground irrigation system and maintained in a healthy growing condition. The irrigation system shall comply with East Bay Municipal Utility District’s Section 31 Water Efficiency requirements, including use of a weather-based controller with soil moisture probe and rain-shutoff switch. * 3. All landscaped areas not covered by shrubs and trees shall be planted with live ground cover or covered with mulch. All proposed ground cover shall be placed so that it fills in within two years. 4. On-site landscaping and decorative hardscape shall be maintained in good shape, with planting material refreshed or replaced as may be necessary to address dead, failing or damaged planting material. 5. The project frontages shall be improved to include street trees, brick PAGE 7 OF RESOLUTION NO. 2020-01 banding, and street lights in compliance with the Town’s Old Town Beautification Plan, as determined by the Town. D. ARCHITECTURE * 1. All ducts, meters, air conditioning and/or any other mechanical equipment, whether on the building or on the ground, shall be effectively screened from view with landscaping or materials architecturally compatible with the main buildings. 2. Trash, refuse and recycling shall be contained within trash/recycling enclosures that are architecturally compatible with the project architecture. The trash/recycling area shall have lockable and self-closing doors. Prior to initiating the application for building permit, the applicant shall document to the Town’s satisfaction that adequate coordination has been made with the project site’s solid waste purveyor to verify that the planned trash/recycling areas are appropriately sized and located to handle projected trash and recycling generation levels for the project. The trash/recycling area shall be designed so as not to allow stormwater run- off to enter the area from adjacent surfaces nor to allow wastewater originating from the area to seep outside the area. The area drains for the trash/recycling areas shall be connected to the sanitary sewer, not the storm drain system. The trash/recycling enclosures shall be equipped with hot and cold water supplies. The project trash/recycling program shall include provision for on-site shared collection bins for compostable waste. E. PARKING * 1. All parking spaces shall be striped and provided with wheel stops unless they are fronted by concrete curbs, in which case sufficient areas shall be provided beyond the ends of all parking spaces to accommodate the overhang of automobiles and to avoid narrowing abutting walkways to an inappropriate clear width dimension. * 2. Where authorized, compact car spaces shall be clearly designated with appropriate pavement marking. Compact spaces shall be no less than 8 feet by 16 feet in size, inclusive of an allowable 2 foot maximum overhang. * 3. Regulatory signage/curb painting for non-parking sections of the interior roadways shall be provided, if deemed necessary, to the satisfaction of the San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District and the Transportation Division. PAGE 8 OF RESOLUTION NO. 2020-01 4. This development will create an additional 7.8 space parking demand, which must be provided off-site through the payment of the Town’s off-site parking in-lieu fee. The fee shall be $97,032.00 ($15,550 x 7.8 x .8). F. STREETS * 1. All mud or dirt carried off the construction site onto adjacent streets shall be swept each day. Water flushing of site debris or sediment or concrete washing is prohibited. 2. Any damage to street improvements now existing or done during construction on or adjacent to the project site shall be repaired to the satisfaction of the Engineering Division by the developer. As determined warranted by the Engineering Division, such repair may include slurry seal; pavement overlay; and/or street reconstruction. Prior to commencement of any site work, the project developer shall establish baseline preconstruction roadway conditions in a manner satisfactory to the City Engineer for that portion of Hartz Avenue, East Linda Mesa, and Rose Street that would potentially be impacted by construction and for the private roadways that would be retained after project construction on the subject property and the two abutting commercial properties between the main development area on the project site and the surrounding streets. * 3. All improvements within the public right-of-way, including curb, gutter, sidewalks, driveways, paving and utilities, shall be constructed in accordance with approved standards and/or plans and shall comply with the standard plans and specifications of the Development Services Department and Chapters XII and XXXI of the Danville Municipal Code. * 4. Appropriately designed and constructed disabled access ramps shall be provided at all pedestrian street and driveway crossing locations, as required by the Engineering Division or the Building Division. 5. The Project shall be required to stripe curbs and install any necessary parking or circulation signage, as determined by the Transportation Division. * 6. No concentrated drainage shall be permitted to surface flow across sidewalks. G. MISCELLANEOUS * 1. The project shall be constructed as approved. Minor modifications in the design, but not the use, may be approved by Staff. Any other change will PAGE 9 OF RESOLUTION NO. 2020-01 require Planning Commission approval through the revised final Development Plan review process. * 2. Pursuant to Government Code section 66474.9, the applicant (including the applicant or any agent thereof) shall defend, indemnify and hold harmless the Town of Danville and its agents, officers and employees from any claim, action or proceeding against the Town or its agents, officers or employees to attack, set aside, void, or annul, the Town's approval concerning this application, which action is brought within the time period provided for in Section 66499.37. The Town will promptly notify the applicant of any such claim, action or proceeding and cooperate fully in the defense. APPROVED by the Danville Planning Commission at a regular meeting on February 11, 2020 by the following vote: AYES: NOES: ABSTAINED: ABSENT: ______________________________ CHAIRMAN APPROVED AS TO FORM: ATTEST: _______________________________ _____________________________ CITY ATTORNEY CHIEF OF PLANNING DESIGN REVIEW BOARD NOTES October 24, 2019 1.CALL TO ORDER The regular meeting of the Danville Design Review Board was called to order at 5:30 p.m., at the Town Offices, 510 La Gonda Way, Danville, CA Board Attendance: Mark Belotz, Robert Combs, Afshan Hamid, Lou Palandrani, Chris Trujillo, Kevin Wong Absent: None Staff Attendance: Betty Avila, Brianne Reyes 2.PUBLIC COMMENTS – None 3.CHANGES TO THE ORDER OF THE AGENDA - None 4.ACTION ITEMS 4.1 Consider approval of the October 10, 2019 Meeting Notes – Approved; Abstained: Robert Combs & Lou Palandrani 5.DESIGN REVIEW ITEMS 5.1 LA JOLLA MANAGEMENT COMPANY (Owner/Applicant) DEV19-0010 & SR19-0018: Design review request for architectural façade improvements, conceptual landscape design, and a new Master Sign Program including modified wall signs and ground signage, located at 660 San Ramon Valley Blvd. (Project Planner: Brianne Reyes). Decision: DRB reviewed and approved the Development Plan and Sign Review requests for architectural façade improvements, conceptual landscape design, and a new Master Sign Program including modified wall signs and ground signage located at 660 San Ramon Valley Blvd. with the following condition to be reviewed by DRB prior to issuance of Building Permits: •The applicant shall submit a photo of the type of plant to be installed within the proposed yellow pots at the frontage of the US Bank Building. ATTACHMENT C 2 5.2 156 DIABLO ROAD LLC (Owner) WILLIAM WOOD ARCHITECTS (Applicant) DEV19-0015: Design review request for a 1,759 square foot first floor addition to an existing 24,599 square foot building located at 156 Diablo Road (Project Planner: David Crompton). Decision: DRB reviewed and recommended approval to Planning Commission for the Development Plan request to allow a 1,759 square foot first floor addition to an existing 24,599 square foot building located at 156 Diablo Road. •Prior to Planning Commission’s review, DRB recommends that staff review the required parking spaces for the first floor addition and modify the existing parking lot to accommodate as many parking spaces as possible to avoid paying in-lieu transportation fees and to reduce parking demand of the adjacent municipal parking lot. 5.3 TIM AND ALEXA SHANNON (Owner/Applicant) DEV19-0018: Design review request for landscape plans related to the development of two new residences located at 46 Smokewood Court (Project Planner: Betty Avila). Decision: DRB reviewed and approved the Development Plan request for landscape plans related to the development of two new residences located at 46 Smokewood Court. 5.4 DESIGN AWARDS. Review of the 2020 Design Awards (Project Planner: Brianne Reyes). •Staff discussed the criteria and timeline of the upcoming 2020 Design Awards. 6.COMMUNICATIONS 6.1 Recommendations for Town Council annual volunteer recognition and community service awards. The Planning Division updated the DRB of the annual volunteer recognition and community service awards. They were advised to submit volunteer and community service recommendations to David Crompton for review. 7.ADJOURNMENT - Meeting Adjourned at 6:17 PM ATTACHMENT D