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Public hearing to consider the consistency of ALUC-2018-10 (Suisun Waterfront District Plan) with the Travis Air Force Base Land Use Compatibility Plan: (Sponsor - City of Suisun City)
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Public hearing to consider the consistency of ALUC-2018-10 (Suisun Waterfront District Plan) with the Travis Air Force Base Land Use Compatibility Plan: (Sponsor - City of Suisun City)
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RECOMMENDATION:
Determine that application ALUC-2018-10 (Suisun Waterfront District Plan) is consistent with the Travis AFB Land Use Compatibility Plan (Travis Plan)
DISCUSSION:
Introduction
The City of Suisun City is considering amendments to its Waterfront District Plan (Attachment A). The amendments include minor changes to both the 2035 General Plan and the Suisun Waterfront District Specific Plan. The original version of the 2035 General Plan was determined to be consistent with the Travis Plan on January 8, 2015 by the Commission. The Waterfront District Specific Plan was before the Commission on September 8, 2016.
Even though these amendments under consideration are minor in nature, the State law requires that any proposed general plan amendments or specific plan amendments be reviewed for consistency with adopted airport land use compatibility plans. In this case, these items are within the jurisdiction of the Travis AFB Land Use Compatibility Plan (Travis Plan).
The City of Suisun City describes these changes as:
"the proposed amendments are largely cleanup in nature.... Due to the sequence in which the City adopted the long-range planning documents (Waterfront District Specific Plan was adopted prior to the Zoning Code), the current specific plan provides for a number of incorrect references to the zoning code. These references have been revised. Secondly, staff is proposing the removal of the future connection between Civic Center Boulevard and Whispering Bay Lane/Marina Boulevard in both the General Plan and Specific Plan transportation diagrams. Staff is in receipt of a memo from the City Engineer regarding this proposed change. Staff is also proposing the removal of the Buena Vista Avenue Extension in Chapter 4 of the Specific Plan".
The specific edits to each document are listed below:
THE PROPOSED GENERAL PLAN AMENDMENTS (SEE ATTACHMENTS B, C AND D)
? Corrected references to the name of the specific plan area from Downtown Waterfront Specific Plan to Waterfront District Specific Plan.
? Removal of policy CCD 1.14 which reads "The City will not allow drive-thru features within the Downtown Waterfront Specific Plan area or Priority Development Area." Based on past direction this has not been discussed by City Council, and the specific plan has language that talks about drive throughs' possibly being appropriate north of Driftwood Drive.
? Revision to Exhibit 4.4 to remove the connection between Civic Center Boulevard and Whispering Bay/Marina Boulevard.
THE PROPOSED WATERFRONT DISTRICT SPECIFIC PLAN AMENDMENTS (SEE ATTACHMENTS E,F,G,H AND I)
? Corrections to internal and external (Zoning Code) references.
? Correction of mapping error for parcel along the north basin (APN 0032-091-220) from "Public Facility" to "Commercial/Office/Residential."
? Revised language in Section 3.3.3 "Whispering Bay."
? Revision to Figure 4.1 "Vehicular Circulation Network" to remove Civic Center Boulevard and Whispering Bay Lane/Marina Boulevard connection and Buena Vista Avenue eastern extension into northwest Marina/SR 12 property.
? Revisions to Section 4.1.3 "Planned Vehicular Circulation Improvements."
? Removal of Figure 4.4 "Collector Street on 30-Acre Property (Buena Vista Avenue)"
? Removal of language in Section 6.2.4 (c) regarding fencing regulations along certain streets.
? Clarifying the need for Design Review for awnings along Main Street.
REQUIRED TESTS FOR CONSISTENCY
The State Department of Aeronautics has published the 2011 California Airport Land Use Planning Handbook as a guide for Airport Land Use Commissions in the preparation and implementation of Land Use Compatibility Plans and Procedure Documents. The Solano Countywide Airport Land Use Review Procedures also require the review of all amendments to a local agency's general plan, consistent with the State law.
The tests are:
1. Elimination of any direct conflicts between the General Plan and relevant compatibility plan(s).
Direct conflicts primarily involve general plan land use designations which do not meet the density (for residential uses) or intensity (for non-residential uses) criteria specified in the compatibility plan, although conflicts with regard to other policies also may exist.
2. Delineation of a mechanism or process for ensuring that individual land use development proposals comply with the ALUC's adopted compatibility criteria.
Elimination of direct conflicts between a county's or a city's general plan and the ALUC's compatibility plan is not enough to guarantee that future land use development will adhere to the compatibility criteria set forth in the compatibility plan. An implementation process must also be defined either directly in the general plan or specific plan or by reference to a separately adopted ordinance, regulation, or other policy document.
There are three facets to the process of ensuring compliance with airport land use compatibility criteria:
a. Delineation of Compatibility Criteria- Airport land use compatibility criteria must be defined either in a policy document adopted by the county or city or through adoption of or reference to the ALUC's compatibility plan itself.
b. Identification of Mechanisms for Compliance- The mechanisms by which applicable compatibility criteria will be tied to an individual development and continue to be enforced must be identified. A conditional use permit or a development agreement are two possibilities.
c. Indication of Review and Approval Procedures- Lastly, the procedures for review and approval of individual development proposals must be defined. At what level within a county or a city are compatibility approvals made: staff, planning commission or governing body? The types of actions which are submitted to the ALUC for review and the timing of such submittals relative to internal review and approval process also must be indicated.
RELEVANT ISSUES FOR THE ALUC
The ALUC is concerned with those aspects of the Waterfront Plan that have the potential to be incompatible with of the Travis Plan. The Waterfront Plan covers a geographic area which lies entirely within Compatibility Zone D.
Compatibility Zone D
Compatibility Zone D of the Travis Plan requires review for structures in excess of 200' above ground level. Height review is based on the part 77 Surfaces for Travis AFB. The proposed project does not penetrate any of the Part 77 Surfaces for Travis AFB. In addition, Compatibility Zone D provides for review of the following special circumstances:
* All proposed wind turbines must meet line-of-sight criteria in Policy 3.4.4
* All new or expanded commercial-scale solar facilities must conduct an SGHAT glint and glare study for ALUC review
* All new or expanded meteorological towers > 200 feet AGL, whether temporary or permanent, require ALUC review
* For areas within the Bird Strike Hazard Zone, reviewing agencies shall prepare a WHA for discretionary projects that have the potential to attract wildlife that could cause bird strikes. Based on the findings of the WHA, all reasonably feasible mitigation measures must be incorporated into the planned land use.
* For areas outside of the Bird Strike Hazard Zone but within the Outer Perimeter, any new or expanded land use involving discretionary review that has the potential to attract the movement of wildlife that could cause bird strikes are required to prepare a WHA.
DISCUSSION OF COMPATIBILITY CRITERIA
Compatibility Zone D
There are no land use limitations within compatibility zone D.
There is a requirement for airspace review for objects greater than 200 feet in height. There are also policies which regulate renewable energy facilities, meteorological towers greater than 200 feet in height, and certain wildlife hazards.
The Waterfront Plan does not explicitly contain any facilities which are regulated in Compatibility Zone D. The development standards in the Waterfront Plan's development standards do not permit structures taller than 60 feet.
ANALYSIS OF CONSISTENCY FACTORS
Staff has reviewed the City of Suisun City's general plan and specific plan amendments in light of the compatibility criteria discussed above. Our analysis is presented below.
Elimination of Direct Conflicts
The Commission is concerned with eliminating any direct conflicts between the Waterfront District Plan and the Travis Plan. Our analysis is provided below:
General Plan Amendments
The amendments to the General Plan make the following changes:
? Corrected references to the name of the specific plan area from Downtown Waterfront Specific Plan to Waterfront District Specific Plan.
This change is clerical in nature and does not present any land use regulation which needs a consistency review by the ALUC.
? Removal of policy CCD 1.14 which reads "The City will not allow drive-thru features within the Downtown Waterfront Specific Plan area or Priority Development Area." Based on past direction this has not been discussed by City Council, and the specific plan has language that talks about drive throughs' possibly being appropriate north of Driftwood Drive.
The addition of drive through capability to restaurants is an acceptable land use in Compatibility Zone D which is chiefly concerned with objects greater than 100 feet in height or other enumerated hazards to flight.
? Revision to Exhibit 4.4 to remove the connection between Civic Center Boulevard and Whispering Bay/Marina Boulevard.
This is a local traffic circulation issue and change which does not impact any of the compatibility issues for Compatibility Zone D.
Specific Plan Amendments
The amendments to the Waterfront District Specific Plan make the following changes:
* Corrections to internal and external (Zoning Code) references.
This change is clerical in nature and does not present any land use regulation which needs a consistency review by the ALUC.
? Correction of mapping error for parcel along the north basin (APN 0032-091-220) from "Public Facility" to "Commercial/Office/Residential."
This change is clerical in nature and does not present any land use regulation which needs a consistency review by the ALUC.
? Revised language in Section 3.3.3 "Whispering Bay."
This is a local traffic circulation issue and change which does not impact any of the compatibility issues for Compatibility Zone D.
? Revision to Figure 4.1 "Vehicular Circulation Network" to remove Civic Center Boulevard and Whispering Bay Lane/Marina Boulevard connection and Buena Vista Avenue eastern extension into northwest Marina/SR 12 property.
This is a local traffic circulation issue and change which does not impact any of the compatibility issues for Compatibility Zone D.
? Revisions to Section 4.1.3 "Planned Vehicular Circulation Improvements."
This is a local traffic circulation issue and change which does not impact any of the compatibility issues for Compatibility Zone D.
? Removal of Figure 4.4 "Collector Street on 30-Acre Property (Buena Vista Avenue)"
This change is clerical in nature and does not present any land use regulation which needs a consistency review by the ALUC.
? Removal of language in Section 6.2.4 (c) regarding fencing regulations along certain streets.
This is a minor change in fencing setbacks which does not involve any of the compatibility criteria found in Compatibility Zoe D.
? Clarifying the need for Design Review for awnings along Main Street.
This change is clerical in nature and does not present any land use regulation which needs a consistency review by the ALUC.
As can be seen from the analysis above, there are no direct conflicts between the Compatibility Zone D factors and the items being revised in the general plan and specific plan.
As a consequence, staff recommends that the Commission make the determination that there are no direct conflicts between the Waterfront District Plan and the Travis Plan compatibility criteria. Therefore, the proposal meets this test for consistency.
Delineation of Compatibility Factors and Mechanisms to Assure Compatibility
Identification of Compatibility Criteria
The Commission must determine that there are mechanisms in place at the City of Suisun City to assure compliance with the applicable compatibility plan(s). This is generally done by identifying compatibility criteria within the general plan, having mechanisms for compliance and having review and approval procedures in place for new development. The general plan has previously been found consistent with the Travis Plan by the Commission. An important part of that consistency determination was the inclusion of the following policy in the general plan:
"Policy PHS-16.2 Notwithstanding other provisions of the plan, the City will restrict land uses and the height of development according to the requirements of the Travis AFB Airport Land Use Compatibility Plan."
Rather than list all of the specific compatibility factors in the general plan, the City of Suisun City has chosen to provide the global compliance statement above. As a result, consistency between the Waterfront District Plan and the Travis Plan is established by the approved general plan policy statement requiring consistency between the Plans. Therefore, the proposal meets this test for consistency.
Identification of Mechanisms for Compliance and Indication of Review and Approval Procedures-
Subsequent development permits will be reviewed by the City Council, Planning Commission, and the Director of Community Development. In the case of legislative actions, ALUC review must occur. For other permits, the Planning Commission and Director of Community Development must make a consistency finding as required by the General Plan and Zoning Code.
Therefore, the proposal meets these tests for consistency.
RECOMMENDATION
Based on the analysis and discussions above, Staff recommends that the Solano County Airport Land Use Commission find as follows:
Determination: That application ALUC-2018-10 (Suisun City Waterfront Plan) is consistent with the Travis AFB Land Use Compatibility Plan (Travis Plan)