DEPARTMENT OF CITY PLANNING RECOMMENDATION REPORT City Planning Commission Case No.: CPC-2012-1165-GPA-ZC Date: August 9, 2012 Time: After 8:30 AM Place: City Hall, Room 350 Public Hearing: Required CEQA No.: ENV-2012-1166-CE Incidental Cases: N/A Related Cases: N/A Council No.: 14 Plan Area: Northeast Los Angeles Specific Plan: N/A Certified NC: LA-32, Arroyo Seco GPLU: Low Residential, Very Low Residential Zone: [Q]RE20-1D, [Q]RD5-1D Applicant: City of Los Angeles PROJECT LOCATION: PROPOSED PROJECT: REQUESTED ACTION: 57 parcels within the Elephant Hill community of El Sereno and Monterey Hills, Northeast Los Angeles Community Plan Area General Plan Amendment and Zone Change for a total of 57 undeveloped parcels owned by the City of Los Angeles, for the purpose of preservation as open space. Total acreage of all parcels is approximately 29.11 acres. Approve and recommend that the City Council adopt a General Plan Amendment and a Zone Change to revise the zoning of 57 undeveloped residential zoned parcels, for the purpose of preserving and creating open space. RECOMMENDED ACTIONS: 1. Approve and recommend that the City Council adopt a General Plan Amendment to change the land use designations for all parcels from Low and Very Low Residential to Open Space. 2. Approve and recommend that the City Council approve a Zone Change to reassign the zoning for all parcels from [Q]RE20-1D and [Q]RD5-1D to [Q]OS-1D. 3. Adopt Categorical Exemption (ENV-2012-1166-CE) as the environmental clearance for the proposed project. 4. Adopt the staff report and attached findings. MICHAEL LOGRANDE, AICP Director of Planning
CPC-2012-1165-GPA-ZC TABLE OF CONTENTS Project Analysis... A-1 Project Summary Background Discussion Findings... F-1 General Plan/Charter Findings Entitlement Findings CEQA Findings Public Hearing and Communications... P-1 Exhibits: Maps 1 Existing parcels Tables Table 1- List of parcels, by Assessor Parcel Number (APN)
CPC-2012-1165-GPA-ZC A-1 Project Summary PROJECT ANALYSIS A General Plan Amendment and Zone Change is proposed to re-designate 57 parcels that are currently assigned a residential land use designation and corresponding residential zone and amend them by assigning an Open Space land use designation and corresponding open space zone. Background The subject parcels are located in the Elephant Hill neighborhood of the Northeast Los Angeles Community Plan area. In 2009 the City of Los Angeles acquired 56 undeveloped parcels totaling approximately 17 acres, for the purpose of preserving the parcels as open space. Additionally, the City also owns an additional single parcel of approximately 12 acres, under the Community Redevelopment Agency of Los Angeles (CRA/LA), now a designated local Authority. On March 7, 2012 the Los Angeles City Council adopted a Motion by Councilmembers Huizar and Reyes (Council File No. 11-1877-S1) that instructed the City Planning Department to initiate a General Plan Amendment and Zone Change for these 57 vacant parcels totaling approximately 29 acres under the ownership of the City, with the objective of preserving all 57 parcels as open space. The parcels are currently undeveloped and are assigned a General Plan Land Use designation of Low and Very Low Residential in the Northeast Los Angeles Community Plan, which was last updated in 1999. The parcels are currently zoned [Q]RE20-1D and [Q]RD5-1D (refer to Table 1 for a detailed summary of Land Use and Zoning information for all the parcels, which are listed by Assessor Parcel Number (APN)). The parcels are currently vacant and have never seen any development, due to steep topography and lack of infrastructure. Elephant Hill is a unique portion of the City, and is comprised of an undeveloped street grid and vacant subdivided lots that lie directly adjacent to established neighborhoods in Los Angeles and neighboring South Pasadena. Its proximity to development has caused the unauthorized use of Elephant Hill as a recreation area, notably for the occasional use of off-road vehicles in the vacant hillsides. Elephant Hill and other hillside parcels within the Northeast Los Angeles Community Plan were subject to the Northeast Hillside Ordinance (Ord. 180,403) adopted in 2009. The ordinance addresses many design and environmental concerns of hillside development. The parcels subject to this Plan Amendment and Zone change were included in this Hillside Ordinance, which are reflected in the [Q] and [D] conditions in the existing zoning. These [Q] and [D] conditions were applied to all underlying zones within the Hillside Ordinance boundaries, including the Open Space zone. Therefore, the parcels subject to this Zone Change will now be zoned [Q]OS-1D to maintain consistency with the adopted Hillside Ordinance. The location of Elephant Hill provides a special opportunity for the City to preserve and create open space for the community. As mentioned earlier, these parcels are unsuitable for residential development due to the topography and lack of infrastructure. A portion of the parcels faced residential development pressure several years ago. Under private ownership, these parcels could be subject to residential development in the future, since the Land Use designation and zone would allow for single-family residential development on most of the parcels. The City
CPC-2012-1165-GPA-ZC A-2 acquired these parcels in 2009 and is seeking an Open Space designation and zone, to remove the possibility of residential development and preserving these pristine parcels as open space. Existing Conditions The following table lists the current zoning and land use designations of all 57 parcels that are subject to this proposed General Plan Amendment and Zone Change.
CF 11-1877-SI; ELEPHANT HILL APN OWNER LANDUSE ZONE_CMPLT AREA_SQFT ACRES CPC-2012-1165-GPA-ZC; ENV-2012-1166-CE 1 5302010923 CRA Low Residential [Q]RD5-1D 526,542.93 12.09 2 5306006906 L A CITY Low Residential [Q]RE20-1D 3,751.96 0.09 3 5306006906 L A CITY Low Residential [Q]RE20-1D 3,752.97 0.09 4 5306006907 L A CITY Low Residential [Q]RE20-1D 3,753.25 0.09 5 5306006907 L A CITY Low Residential [Q]RE20-1D 3,753.76 0.09 6 5306006908 L A CITY Low Residential [Q]RE20-1D 3,752.02 0.09 7 5306006908 L A CITY Low Residential [Q]RE20-1D 3,752.29 0.09 8 5306006909 L A CITY Low Residential [Q]RE20-1D 3,753.39 0.09 9 5306006909 L A CITY Low Residential [Q]RE20-1D 3,753.74 0.09 10 5306006910 L A CITY Low Residential [Q]RE20-1D 7,506.66 0.17 11 5306006911 L A CITY Low Residential [Q]RE20-1D 7,505.63 0.17 12 5306006912 L A CITY Low Residential [Q]RE20-1D 7,505.45 0.17 13 5306006913 L A CITY Low Residential [Q]RE20-1D 7,505.64 0.17 14 5306007900 L A CITY Very Low Residential [Q]RE20-1D 7,507.52 0.17 15 5306007901 L A CITY Very Low Residential [Q]RE20-1D 7,507.69 0.17 16 5306017902 L A CITY Low Residential [Q]RE20-1D 7,577.58 0.17 17 5306017903 L A CITY Low Residential [Q]RE20-1D 7,577.10 0.17 18 5306017904 L A CITY Low Residential [Q]RE20-1D 7,577.42 0.17 19 5306017905 L A CITY Low Residential [Q]RE20-1D 7,578.21 0.17 20 5306017906 L A CITY Low Residential [Q]RE20-1D 7,577.73 0.17 21 5306017907 L A CITY Low Residential [Q]RE20-1D 7,577.58 0.17 22 5306017908 L A CITY Low Residential [Q]RE20-1D 7,578.37 0.17 23 5306017909 L A CITY Low Residential [Q]RE20-1D 7,577.72 0.17 24 5306017910 L A CITY Low Residential [Q]RE20-1D 7,577.88 0.17 25 5306017911 L A CITY Low Residential [Q]RE20-1D 7,577.58 0.17 26 5306017912 L A CITY Low Residential [Q]RE20-1D 7,577.47 0.17 27 5306017913 L A CITY Low Residential [Q]RE20-1D 7,576.77 0.17 28 5306017914 L A CITY Low Residential [Q]RE20-1D 7,577.40 0.17 29 5306017915 L A CITY Low Residential [Q]RE20-1D 7,577.58 0.17 30 5306017916 L A CITY Low Residential [Q]RE20-1D 7,577.23 0.17 31 5306017917 L A CITY Low Residential [Q]RE20-1D 7,576.48 0.17 32 5306017918 L A CITY Low Residential [Q]RE20-1D 7,577.57 0.17 33 5307023900 L A CITY Low Residential [Q]RE20-1D 26,738.76 0.61 34 5307023901 L A CITY Low Residential [Q]RE20-1D 11,277.42 0.26 35 5307023901 L A CITY Very Low Residential [Q]RE20-1D 8,775.02 0.2 36 5307023902 L A CITY Very Low Residential [Q]RE20-1D 25,726.09 0.59 37 5307023903 L A CITY Very Low Residential [Q]RE20-1D 20,069.64 0.46 38 5307023904 L A CITY Very Low Residential [Q]RE20-1D 20,100.36 0.46 39 5307023905 L A CITY Very Low Residential [Q]RE20-1D 20,133.48 0.46 40 5307023906 L A CITY Very Low Residential [Q]RE20-1D 20,027.64 0.46 41 5307023907 L A CITY Very Low Residential [Q]RE20-1D 20,032.28 0.46 42 5307023908 L A CITY Very Low Residential [Q]RE20-1D 23,520.44 0.54 43 5307023909 L A CITY Very Low Residential [Q]RE20-1D 20,006.05 0.46 44 5307023910 L A CITY Very Low Residential [Q]RE20-1D 20,236.92 0.46 45 5307023911 L A CITY Very Low Residential [Q]RE20-1D 24,850.06 0.57 46 5307023912 L A CITY Very Low Residential [Q]RE20-1D 20,259.67 0.47 47 5307023913 L A CITY Very Low Residential [Q]RE20-1D 20,488.83 0.47 48 5307023914 L A CITY Very Low Residential [Q]RE20-1D 26,138.63 0.6 49 5307023915 L A CITY Very Low Residential [Q]RE20-1D 21,865.41 0.5 50 5307023916 L A CITY Very Low Residential [Q]RE20-1D 20,054.03 0.46 51 5307023917 L A CITY Low Residential [Q]RE20-1D 23,169.33 0.53 52 5307023918 L A CITY Low Residential [Q]RE20-1D 20,038.54 0.46 53 5307023919 L A CITY Low Residential [Q]RE20-1D 20,044.10 0.46 54 5307023920 L A CITY Low Residential [Q]RE20-1D 20,025.53 0.46 55 5307023921 L A CITY Low Residential [Q]RE20-1D 20,072.39 0.46 56 5307023922 L A CITY Low Residential [Q]RE20-1D 41,764.20 0.96 57 5307023923 L A CITY Very Low Residential [Q]RE20-1D 24,667.51 0.57 TOTAL 1,270,504.88 29.11 Page 1 of 1
CPC-2012-1165-GPA-ZC F-1 Findings City Charter Findings City Charter Sections 556 and 558 Los Angeles City Charter Section 558 and LAMC Section 12.32(C)(7) require that prior to adopting a land use ordinance, the City Council make findings that the ordinance conforms with public necessity, convenience, general welfare and good zoning practice. The proposed General Plan Amendment and corresponding Zone Changes do comply with Charter Sections 556 and 558 in that the recommended amendment and zone change do reflect the land use patterns, trends and uses in the immediate area and do further the intent, purposes and objectives of the City s General Plan, specifically the Framework Element, the Northeast Los Angeles Community Plan, the Conservation Element, and the Open Space Element. General Plan Findings Framework Element Land Use Objective 3.1: Accommodate a diversity of land uses that support the needs of the City s existing and future residents, businesses, and visitors Policy 3.1.3: Identify areas for the establishment of new open space opportunities to serve the needs of existing and future residents. These opportunities may include a citywide network of parklands, trails, neighborhood parks, and urban open spaces. Open Space and Conservation Objective 6.1: Protect the City s natural settings from the encroachment of urban development, allowing for the development, use, management, and maintenance of each component of the City s natural resources to contribute to the sustainability of the region. Policy 6.1.4: Conserve and manage the undeveloped portions of the City s watersheds, where feasible, as open spaces which protect, conserve, and enhance natural resources. Objective 6.4: Ensure that the City s open spaces contribute positively to the stability and identity of the communities and neighborhoods in which they are located or through which they pass Policy 6.4.1: Encourage and seek to provide for usable open space and recreational facilities that are distributed throughout the City. Policy 6.4.8: Maximize the use of existing public open space resources at the neighborhood scale and seek new opportunities for private development to enhance the open space resources of the neighborhoods. b. Encourage the improvement of open space, both on public and private property, as opportunities arise. Such places may include the dedication of unbuildable areas or sites that may serve as green space.
CPC-2012-1165-GPA-ZC F-2 The proposed General Plan Amendment and Zone Change are consistent with the objectives and policies of the Framework Element of the General Plan. The entitlements allow for the creation of usable open space within a region that is facing a shortage of parkland. The entitlements preserve undeveloped hillside parcels that could otherwise be subject to residential development with its accompanying environmental impacts. Northeast Los Angeles Community Plan Objective 4-2: To preserve existing open space resources and, where possible, encourage acquisition of new open space. Conservation Element Section 8, Policy 2: Continue to prevent or reduce erosion that will damage the watershed or beaches or will result in harmful sedimentation that might damage beaches or natural areas. Program 2: Community plan land use provisions, especially protection of hillsides, watershed, beaches and the coastline. Open Space Element Standards and Criteria, Criteria for Identifying Open Space: Safety Health and Welfare, Policy 1: Lands subject to natural or man-made hazards, detrimental to life and property, should be left in their natural state, where feasible, and considered as open space. Environmental In accordance with CEQA guidelines, the proposed General Plan Amendment and Zone Change are found to qualify a Categorical Exemption from CEQA, as it meets the criteria under CEQA Guidelines under Section 15308. State of California CEQA Guidelines, Article 19, Section 15308, Class 8 consists of actions taken by regulatory agencies, as authorized by state or local ordinance, to assure the maintenance, restoration, enhancement, or protection of the environment where the regulatory process involves procedures for protection of the environment. The proposed General Plan Amendment and Zone Change intends to protect the environment by re-designating undeveloped parcels as Open Space, for the purpose of preserving the parcels as Open Space. Currently, the undeveloped parcels have a land use designation and zoning that could allow residential development, under alternative ownership. Re-designating these parcels as Open Space removes the possibility of residential development, thereby eliminating any potential environmental impacts that would arrive with residential development. The proposed Amendment and Zone Change does not authorize the construction of any improvements of the parcel; rather, it allows the preservation of these parcels as Open Space. CEQA Guidelines for the Use of Categorical Exemptions Planning staff evaluated all the potential exceptions to the use of Categorical Exemptions for the proposed project per Section 15300.2 of the State CEQA Guidelines and determined that none of these exceptions apply as explained below:
CPC-2012-1165-GPA-ZC F-3 Cumulative Impact - The exception applies when, although a particular project may not have a significant impact, the impact of successive projects, of the same type, in the same place, over time is significant. The proposed General Plan Amendment and Zone Change does not include any new construction or upzoning; rather, it is a mechanism to protect and preserve the undeveloped parcels as Open Space. Significant Effect - This exception applies when, although the project may otherwise be exempt, there is a reasonable possibility that the project will have a significant effect due to unusual circumstances. Examples include projects which may affect scenic or historical resources. To ensure that the project will not have any significant impacts due to unusual circumstances that has not been considered, Planning Staff evaluated all categories on the Initial Study Checklist including: Aesthetics, Agricultural, Air Quality, Biological, Cultural Resources, Geology and Soils, Hazards and Hazardous Materials, Hydrology and Water Quality, Land Use and Planning, Mineral Resources, Noise, Population and Housing, Public Services, Recreation, Transportation/Circulation, Utilities, and Mandatory Findings of Significance. No unusual circumstances were identified that may have an adverse effect on the environment. Scenic Highway - Projects that may result in damage to scenic resources within a duly designated scenic highway The proposed boundaries of the General Plan Amendment and Zone Change do not contain any scenic highways or scenic resources. Hazardous Waste Site - Projects located on a site or facility listed pursuant to California Government Code 65962.5 The Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) has not listed any parcel in the proposed General Plan Amendment and Zone Change boundary. Historical Resources - Projects that may cause a substantial adverse change in the significance of an historical resource. The proposed project would not cause an adverse change in the significance of a historical resource as defined in State CEQA 15064.5.
CPC-2012-1165-GPA-ZC F-4 Senate Bill 18 (SB 18) Tribal Consultation Gov. Code Sections 65351, 65352.3,.4,.5, and 65560 Because the proposed land use entitlements require a General Plan Amendment, they are subject to the statutory requirements of Senate Bill 18 Tribal Consultation Guidelines (Government Code Section 65352.3). Said section requires local governments to consult with local Native American Tribes identified by the Native American Heritage Commission (NAHC) for the purpose of protecting and/or mitigating impacts to cultural places. Provisions under SB 18 require local governments to send written notice to local tribes and invite comment on any subject Plan Amendments, and a consultation to address any issues that may arise from the project. To satisfy the notification requirements, the four following representatives were sent official letters on May 16, 2012. Representative Andrew Salas Linda Candelaria Sam Dunlap Anthony Morales Tribe Gabrieleno Band of Mission Indians Gabrielino-Tongva Tribe Gabrielino Tongva Nation Gabrieleno/Tongva San Gabriel Band of Mission Mr. Andrew Salas from the Gabrieleno Band of Mission Indians responded by email on July 10, 2012. His email requests that experienced & certified Native American monitors be on site during all ground disturbances during any construction of improvements for the proposed open space to ensure adequate protection of the natural resources within the subject area. There has been no correspondence from the remaining tribes as of July 18, 2012.
CPC-2012-1165-GPA-ZC P-1 PUBLIC HEARING AND COMMUNICATIONS The Public Hearing will take place during the official City Planning Commission meeting.