3 PROJECT DESCRIPTION

Transcription

1 3 Regency Centers ( the applicant ) has proposed to build East Washington Place, a retail and office project on approximately 33 acres adjacent to the southwest corner of Highway 101 and East Washington Street, as well as the Sonoma-Marin County Fairgrounds in the City of Petaluma. This project would be located on the former Kenilworth Junior High School property. For ease of understanding, the applicant described the East Washington Street direction of the site as the north, the Highway 101 side east, the Fairgrounds west and the portion nearing Lindberg Lane the south in their development application. DC&E has followed that protocol in the narrative of this Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the sake of consistency, although all maps accurately reflect the true directions. The project site is designated mixed-use, including office and retail uses. The project includes approximately 380,000 square feet of new mixed uses (retail/office). The retail and office components of the Project would include approximately 364,000 square feet and 16,000 square feet, respectively. Offices will be located on the second floor of two of the retail buildings. A. Project Site Location and Characteristics Figure 3-1 shows the regional location of the proposed East Washington Place site, which is located in the City of Petaluma in Sonoma County. As shown in Figure 3-2, the project site is located in the west of Petaluma, in the Petaluma Community Development Project Area, adjacent to Highway 101 and East Washington Street. The proposed East Washington Place project site consists of approximately 33 acres of land. The precise boundaries of the site are shown on Figure 3-2. As shown on Figure 3-3, the anchor retail tenants will be positioned on the northeast side of the site closest to the interchange of East Washington Street and Highway 101, facing the improved Kenilworth Drive. East Washington Street, a major arterial with ramps to Highway 101, provides major access to the site. Other points of access to the site would include Kenilworth Drive via Lindberg Lane and Johnson Drive. The project applicant has proposed that a Target store be the major anchor, containing approximately 139,000 square feet. In this space, the proposed Target will have an outdoor garden center, but will not include a full-service grocery. Spaces planned for other retail anchors generally range from 15,000 to 42,000 square feet. Retail shop buildings will be located throughout the site in a dispersed pattern, 3-1

2 5 505 Yolo Davis Sonoma tu 101 Santa Rosa Napa 80 Sacramento Petaluma Napa Solano Fairfield Sacramento Marin Novato San Rafael 80 San Joaquin 580 Contra Costa tu 101 Oakland 680 Pacific Ocean San Francisco San Francisco Bay tu Alameda Tracy [ Sacramento San Francisco Nevada California San Mateo Palo Alto Santa Clara PETALUMA San Jose Los Angeles Santa Cruz tu Miles FIGURE 3-1 REGIONAL MAP

3 Arlington Dr tu 101 Madison St Margo Ln Burlington Dr Stuart Dr McKenzie Ave McDowell Blvd Ellis St PROJECT SITE McGregor Ave Doris Way Alma Ct Kenilworth Dr Redwood Highway East Washington St Lindberg Ln St Francis Dr East D St Payran St Sonoma - Marin Fairgrounds Vallejo St Edith St Jefferson St Judith Ct Lindberg Ln tu 101 Wilson St Napa County Sonoma County Sonoma County Marin County Caulfield Ln Site[ Petaluma East Ct Lakeville St Miles Source: City of Petaluma, DC&E, FIGURE 3-2 PROJECT LOCATION

4 as shown on Figure 3-3, to facilitate customer access and connectivity for automobiles, pedestrians and bicycles. An existing pedestrian over-crossing connects the project site with the residential neighborhoods to the east of Highway 101. Separated from traffic, this over-crossing would be incorporated into the project as a pedestrian gathering node with outdoor seating and public art. B. On-Site Uses The current zoning designation for the project site is Mixed-Use 1B. This designation is intended for pedestrian-oriented mixed-use development. The majority of the site is currently vacant. Existing uses on the property include Carter Little League ball field facilities, which will be relocated by the school district. The topography of the site is relatively flat, with a one to five percent slope across the site. The project site contains some larger trees of varying health and two ephemeral ditches. There are also seasonal wetlands in the low areas adjacent to the athletic fields. These low areas receive excessive irrigation runoff from the athletic fields in the dry season and are seasonally wet in the winter months. C. Surrounding Uses The Sonoma-Marin Fairgrounds, including the Petaluma Speedway, are located adjacent to the site to the west. Live Oak Charter School leases several buildings at the fairgrounds. 1 The City-owned swim center and skate park are located northwest of the site, while the Petaluma School District bus facility and transportation offices are located southwest of the site. Residential neighborhoods extend from the eastern side of the Highway 101 and the western side of the Fairgrounds. To the north, along East Washington Street, there are commercial uses, while to the south, along Lindberg Lane, there is a mixture of industrial uses. D. Project Background The opportunity for the East Washington Place project arose as a result of the replacement of the former Kenilworth Junior High School to another Petaluma location at 800 Riesling Road. The applicant 1 Live Oak Charter School serves 225 K-7 th grade students and has plans to expand its services to 8 th graders for the school year. 3-4

5 Feet Source: SGPA Architecture + Planning, Gates & Associates, AMS Associates. N O RT H E A S T s ite pla n FIGU R E 3-3 C I T Y O F P E TA L U M A W A S H I N G T O N P L A C E E I R

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7 purchased the parcel in May Petaluma City Schools has constructed a replacement junior high school using the financial proceeds of the sale. The environmental impacts of the school relocation were studied by the School District in compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and a Negative Declaration was certified in July The replacement Kenilworth Junior High School opened for classes in September In 2006, the applicant completed the asbestos abatement and demolition of the existing school facilities on the project site. The applicant did not purchase the Petaluma School District transit facility at the southern portion of the former Kenilworth Junior High site. These transit facilities, which also include various school buildings, remain adjacent to the project site. In compliance with CEQA, a Negative Declaration was certified in October 2005 for the relocation of the facilities to 1240 North McDowell Boulevard in Petaluma. The potential demolition of the Little League's Carter Field is analyzed in the air quality, biology, and hazardous materials sections of this analysis. Demolition of this facility is not analyzed in the other sections of the EIR because its demolition would not result in impacts to the other issues analyzed. A Mitigated Negative Declaration was prepared by the Petaluma City Schools District for relocation of a portion of the existing baseball fields to Petaluma Junior High School, at 700 Bantam Way. The School District certified a Mitigated Negative Declaration under CEQA in August The removal of Carter Field and other fields on the project site is further discussed in the Parks and Recreation subsection of the Section 4.12, Public Services, of this EIR. E. Project Overview and Specific Components The basic concept for the proposed East Washington Place project is to construct a mixed-use development project on an infill site that is convenient to freeway, roadway, bicycle and pedestrian access and in the proximity of public transit. The mixed-use project would have retail and office components; each of these components is described below. The site plan for the proposed project is shown in Figure 3-3. Table 3-1 summarizes the project building program. 1. Retail Development Table 3-1 provides a summary of the project concept including approximate square footage and parking provisions for the proposed uses. The proposed site plan depicts the expected square footage for the retail area based on the maximum expected Caltrans right-of-way takings for the Highway 101 southbound on-ramp improvements; however, there is a possibility that Caltrans would not require as large of a right-of-way. In this event, the overall square footage of the major retail stores along 3-7

8 TABLE 3-1 BUILDING SUMMARY Retail Buildings Building Reference (Site Plan) Use Approximate Building Size (SF) Parking Provided (Spaces) Parking Ratio (Spaces/ 1,000 SF) A1 Anchor 130, GC Garden Center 8, M1 Major 15, M2 Major 24, M3 Major 20, M4 Major 20, M5 Major 18, M6 Major 42, S1 Shops 6, S2 Shops 10, S3 Shops 8, S4 Shops 8, S5 Shops 6, S6 Shops 9, S7 Shops 5, S8 Shops S9 Shops 5, S10 Shops 5, S11 Shops 10, O1 Office 6, O2 Office 10, TOTAL 377,951 1,

9 Highway 101 may be increased by up to 12,940 square feet. This square footage would likely be split between two users. This EIR has, in general, taken into consideration this potential variance in the project. a. Retail The primary feature in the retail portion of the site would be a major anchor tenant and would be located at the northeastern edge of the site, oriented towards the future Kenilworth Drive. One freestanding retail pad building would be built where the mixed-use buildings meet Kenilworth Drive. Two additional freestanding retail/restaurant pad buildings would be built at the corner of East Washington and Kenilworth Drive. At this time, the sole committed tenant is Target, slated to be the major anchor in the 139,000 squarefoot space and adjoining garden center. There is no reported committed tenant for two large anchor spaces of approximately 20,000 square feet. b. Mixed-Use Retail and Office Two vertically mixed buildings are proposed for the northwestern corner of the site adjacent to the swim center. For each building, there would be two commercial spaces. These retail sites would be oriented to the retail parking area. Offices would be located on the second floor of two of the buildings adjacent to East Washington Street and would constitute 16,000 square feet. 2. Circulation The project includes a number of circulation improvements to the site, as well as accommodating the proposed Highway 101/East Washington Place interchange improvements, as described below. To support project generated traffic, there will also be the need for off-site circulation improvements. a. Caltrans Road Improvements Although not part of the project proposal, Caltrans has had a long term plan to improve the southbound on-ramp onto Highway 101 off of East Washington Street. This road improvement plan is independent of the applicant s proposed project. The Caltrans plans anticipate a taking of the applicant s land to provide for future improvements to the southbound on-ramp onto Highway 101 in the northeast corner of the site. This proposed ramp change would smooth the transition onto the freeway to meet modern public safety standards. Ramp improvements and the estimated land to be taken by Caltrans have been incorporated into the site plan with future detailed plans pending further analysis by Caltrans. b. Automobile Access Primary access to the project from East Washington Street would circulate around the existing pool and skate park parcel via a new Johnson Drive. The proposed Johnson Drive would go around these 3-9

10 TABLE 3-2 PARKING SUMMARY Total Parking Provided: Standard Spaces Compact Spaces Handicapped Spaces Area Compact Spaces to Total Parking Space Ratio 20% Parking Provided 1,510 (4.0/1000) 1, Total Bicycle Parking Space Provided 126 FAR 0.26 Source: SGPA Architecture and Planning, Conceptual Site Plan, April facilities. Kenilworth Drive also provides automobile access to and from the site. The property on which the pool and the swim center are located is owned by the City; the fairgrounds control its overlaying lease. The area that would be used for project access would need to be removed from the fairground s lease and dedicated for public use as a street. 2 Additional access would be provided via Lindberg Lane on the southern end of the site. Several improvements would be made to streets that would provide access to and from the site. These improvements include: East Washington Street. The project would provide the following improvements along East Washington Street fronting the City swim center and Sonoma-Marin Fairgrounds access entrance (the new Johnson Drive), at the Highway 101 southbound on-ramp and on Kenilworth Drive: 1. Provide an eastbound bicycle lane along the project s East Washington Street frontage, consistent with the City s Bicycle Plan. 2. Provide a second left turn lane on the East Washington Street approach to the westbound Johnson Drive/Ellis Street intersection. 3. Provide the right-of-way for an improved Highway 101 southbound on-ramp at East Washington Street, in order that Caltrans may implement its long-term plans for this on-ramp. According to Caltrans, the change to the on-ramp would better conform to current safety standards. 2 Craig Spaulding, City of Petaluma Public Works Department. communication with Betsi Lewitter (contract Planner), October, 24,

11 4. Create an intersection in the middle of a 90-degree curve which would serve the swim center/skate park (on the inside of the curve) and the Fairgrounds (on the outside of the curve). 5. Provide sidewalks along the south and north side of East Washington Street. Kenilworth Drive. Kenilworth Drive would be realigned to provide right in/right out access to East Washington Street, between the project site and the existing public swim center. Kenilworth Drive would run along the boundary with the Fairgrounds and connect East Washington Street to Lindberg Lane. This road would accommodate traffic passing through the site or making internal trips. Traffic circulation for the retail and mixed use area would be provided by four driveways on Kenilworth Drive, with dedicated left turn pockets accessing the anchor retail project. These access points would connect to the main aisles leading to retail parking and circulation for the retail project. Kenilworth Drive is designed to accommodate potential future development should the Fairgrounds area be redeveloped in the future. 1. Provide an improved Kenilworth Drive with curbs, gutters and bike lanes along the western project frontage. 2. Provide an improved Kenilworth Drive with continuous frontage along the western project frontage. Johnson Drive. Johnson Drive would be constructed at the existing intersection of Ellis Street/Kenilworth Drive and East Washington Street. Johnson Drive would curve along the perimeter of the existing swim center/skate-park property to connect with the realigned Kenilworth Drive. It would connect to East Washington Street at the other end. Lindberg Lane. Lindberg Lane would provide access to the retail area from points south, including Payran Street, Caulfield Lane and Lakeville Highway. Skate Park and Swim Center. 1. Improve the separation between pedestrians and vehicles in the vicinity of the skate park by providing continuous sidewalks on all sides of the City swim center and skate park. 2. Clarify the poorly defined, confusing vehicle circulation and parking layout around the swim center and former Kenilworth School site. c. Truck Access Trucks servicing the retail portion of the project would be routed to the rear of the retail center, along the frontage with Highway 101. The truck circulation system is designed to keep trucks separate from automobile, bicycle and pedestrian areas by providing entry and exit points at the most northerly access point of the retail project. Trees would be planted and vines would grow on a proposed fence and 3-11

12 would act as a buffer to further separate the truck access from pedestrian and bicycle access routes. d. Transit Access There is no transit access proposed on the project site. However, Sonoma County Transit Bus Route 44 passes the site along East Washington Street and stops at Ellis Street. Pedestrian and bicycle access from the bus stop will be facilitated by new sidewalk and bicycle path construction proposed as part of the project. e. Pedestrian Access Pedestrian walkways within the project site would include crosswalks and ADA accessible ramps. Pedestrian connections to adjacent streets would be provided by 5-foot-wide sidewalks, with landscaping along Kenilworth and Johnson Drives. The sidewalk on Johnson Drive would be limited to the north side of the roadway. Along Kenilworth Drive there would be sidewalks on both sides for the portions of the roadway between East Washington Street and Johnson Drive. The portion of East Washington Street between Johnson Drive and Kenilworth Drive would only have sidewalks on the south side of the roadway. The existing pedestrian Highway 101 overpass would remain and would be integrated into the project for maximum pedestrian usage and safety, as shown on Figure 3-3. f. Bicycle Access Bicycle lanes would be added along the widened East Washington Street and along the entire portions of Kenilworth Drive within the project site and on Johnson Drive between Kenilworth Drive and East Washington Street. Bicyclists could access the project site via bike lanes on East Washington Street. The bike lanes along Kenilworth and Johnson Drives would be 5 feet wide. Facilities for bicycle parking would be located throughout the project site. There will be a total of 126 bike parking spaces. Total bike parking provided is based on a minimum of 10 percent of total parking required Parking Retail parking spaces would be 9 feet wide for standard stalls. The landscaping along end stalls would be designed to provide adequate parking and landscape areas. Compact stalls would be 8 feet wide. The overall parking ratio would be approximately four parking spaces per 1,000 square feet of retail space. In total, the project would provide 1,510 parking spaces on-site. The swim center and skate park parking and drive aisles will be reconfigured so as to integrate them with improvements to adjacent public streets. The reconfigured parking and drive isles will increase the Swim Center s parking count from 63 spaces to 84 spaces. As part of this reconfiguration, existing decrepit solar panels will be removed and replaced with new, more efficient solar thermal water panels. Greater detail regarding access reconfiguration can be found in subsection b. of this discussion. 3 SGPA Architecture and Planning, East Washington Place Conceptual Site Plan, April 11,

13 4. Open Space Open spaces, including nine plaza areas, will be designed as pedestrian gathering places with outdoor seating, public art features and will be enhanced with landscaping. These nine plaza areas represent approximately 44,000 square feet of open space. 5. Landscaping Landscaping would be used to break up the parking areas, provide shade and identify primary circulation pathways. All open space and play areas would be landscaped. Trees located along Kenilworth Drive would act as a traffic-calming feature. 6. Grading and Utilities The project site is generally flat, between 0 to 5 degrees of slope, and has been graded in the past for existing development and use. While the site would be re-graded to support drainage for the proposed project, there would not be major changes in topography. There are existing connections to utilities, which would be utilized to support the proposed project; however, no off-site improvements to water, wastewater or flood control facilities are proposed. a. Water Supply Water would be provided from an existing connection to the water main along East Washington Street, as well as a new connection to the water main within Lindberg Lane. The Applicant will extend and stub the connection to Lindberg Lane as part of the development improvement package. The on-site water distribution system would be designed to provide minimum fire flows, as follows: Commercial fire flow of 2,500 gallons per minute (gpm) at 20 pounds per square inch (psi) in the retail portion of the project. Pipe velocity below 10 feet per second (fps) in new pipes. Under the City s water capacity fee program, the project would provide a fair share fee toward the replacement of a 10-inch water main that supplies water to the project site. The main would be replaced by an 18-inch main. The existing main has been identified for replacement in the City s Water Capital Improvement Program due to its age and condition. 4 To help improve the City s overall the water supply, the Applicant has agreed to pay for construction of a well on or near the project site. Because there is no time commitment for construction of the well 4 City of Petaluma, Fiscal Year 2009 Budget: Water Utility Projects, page CIP-101, available at accessed April 1,

14 and no chosen location, the well is not analyzed further in this document. The impact of the well on groundwater supplies has been addressed in the City s overall water supply calculations. 5 The project would also include the provision of an irrigation system that would be connected to the City s recycled water system. To supply recycled water to the site, the City s piping system would be extended to Lindberg Lane, in accordance with the City s 2008 Recycled Water Master Plan. The connection will not be made until such time that recycled water Model Area E is improved. 6 When the recycled water improvements have been extended to Lindberg Lane, the irrigation system can be relatively easily converted to a recycled water system. b. Sanitary Sewer The project would be connected to sewer using the existing on-site sewer line connection to the sewer main in Lindberg Lane. There would be a connection to the existing Ellis Street sewer line that is located at the swim center and skate park property. c. Storm Water Drainage On-site drainage would utilize existing historic drainage patterns; however, the two drainage areas that comprise the southern portion of the existing site and the school bus facility adjacent to the site would be combined into one drainage area. On-site storage of stormwater would be provided by underground, oversized infrastructure. Details on the utilities system are provided in Section 4.14, Utilities, and Section 4.8, Hydrology and Water Quality. 7. Implementing Zoning Ordinance and Signage Requirements The project is in compliance with the property s General Plan and Zoning designation, MU1B. Per Section of the Petaluma Implementing Zoning Ordinance, all uses (including but not limited to general retail, professional/administrative office, plant nursery and building and landscape materials sales) proposed by the project are allowable under the MU1B zoning designation. The Implementing Zoning Ordinance requires that retailers occupying over 130,000 square feet (the anticipated retail use for the major tenant) have at least 8 loading berths. 7 Although the current project does not meet the current City requirements for the number of loading docks, it has been acknowledged by the City that the requirements may be excessive. 8 On past occasions, other applicants 5 City of Petaluma, May 2007, 2005 Urban Water Management Plan. 6 Model Area E refers to the Model Areas identified in Dodson Engineers, Water Demand and Supply Analysis Report. Prepared for City of Petaluma. Technical Appendix C to the General Plan 2025, Vol page 88. Downloaded June 9, The requirement is for 5 loading berths for 50,000-75,000 square feet and an additional berth for every additional 25,000 square feet. 8 from Betsi Lewitter to Alexis Lynch, DC&E, June 4,

15 have been required to provide a plan for the Site Plan and Architectural Review Committee (SPARC) to show how they could meet the requirements of the zoning ordinance if the number of proposed loading berths is shown to be insufficient. 9 F. Project Objectives The following is a list of objectives for the project: To develop a project with 380,000 square feet of retail and office buildings. To realize sufficient economic return on the property to construct the project. To provide local retail opportunities and, thereby, to reduce excess traffic on Highway 101 that currently is required for Petaluma residents to travel to other area communities such as Novato, Rohnert Park, and Santa Rosa to satisfy local retail demands. To address the City-identified goal to alleviate retail leakage from the community at this preferred location as identified in the City s Leakage & Sustainable Retail Strategy Study June, 2004 prepared by Thomas Consultants Inc., and the General Plan s Key Issue for Economic Health as cited on page i-6 of the General Plan. To increase the number of locally available jobs by increasing the number of professional and retail sales venues for businesses. To locate the project on an urban infill site with convenient freeway, roadway, bicycle and pedestrian access and in the proximity of public transit. To incorporate Caltrans ramp improvements without significant adverse impacts on the project size or economics. To construct a high-quality, aesthetically-pleasing and economically-viable mixed-use development with a combination of retail and office uses. To meet major retail tenant signage requirements and parking requirements of a minimum of 4 spaces per 1,000 square feet of retail. To facilitate the stated goal of the City and the Petaluma City School District to replace the outdated Kenilworth Junior High School at its new location by Fall, After relocating the existing school, to create the redevelopment opportunity to provide for the financial benefits of sales tax and property tax increment to the City that will be provided by the proposed redevelopment of these previously public lands. 9 from Betsi Lewitter to Nicola Swinburne, DC&E, June 11, This was an original Project Objective and has been achieved. 3-15

16 G. Project Phasing Kenilworth Junior High School, previously located on the project site, has been vacated and fully demolished. On-site and off-site improvements would be constructed concurrently. The retail and office uses would be under construction at the same time. The retail component would be completed within 12 months of construction commencement. Full absorption of the retail will take about 6 to 9 months following the opening of the major tenants. Construction of the project is estimated to begin in March 2010 with the opening of the project scheduled for July H. Required Project Approvals Permits and approvals required from the City of Petaluma include: Vesting Tentative Map Approval Certification of EIR Site Plan and Architectural Review Committee Development of the Project also may require permits or approvals from the following agencies: California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) California Department of Food & Agriculture San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board United States Army Corps of Engineers Sonoma County Water Quality Board Sonoma County Water Agency 3-16