HomeMy WebLinkAbout34 - Analysis of Protection from Traffic and Growth InitiativeCITY OF NEWPORT BEACH
�e�EW�Rr PLANNING DEPARTMENT
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3300 NEWPORT BOULEVARD
= NEWPORT BEACH, CA 92658
°�aTMOaN`� (949) 644 -3200; FAX (949) 644 -3250
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ACTION:
Background
Hearing Date:
Agenda Item No.:
Staff Person:
REPORT TO THE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
Analysis of Protection from Traffic and Growth Initiative
2000
Patricia L. Temple
(949)644 =3228,
Receive and file, and make copies of the report available to the public and
on the City's web site.
On February 28'" the City Council authorized the City Manager to retain consultant assistance to
analyze the Protection from Traffic and Density Initiative, which has qualified and been placed on
the November ballot for a vote. The analysis was authorized for two primary purposes:
To assess which of the City's Statistical Areas had already reached the thresholds to require any
General Plan request to be submitted to the voters under the prior ten -year cumulative
provisions of the initiative.
2. To identify which, if any, General Plan amendments approved by the City in the last ten years
would have required submittal to the voters if the initiative provisions had been in effect at the
time.
Summary
The analysis found that six of the City's Statistical areas currently exceed the development
thresholds contained in the initiative from General Plan amendments approved in the prior ten years
(factored at the 80% level). These are listed in the following chart.
Statistical Areas Where Development Thresholds
Have Been Exceeded
Statistical
Area
Neighborhood
Date Threshold Was
Reached
HI
Old Newport Boulevard
3/97
L
Newport Center.
8/94
L3
North Ford
9/95
L4
Airport Area
1/99
M3
Pacific View
6/95
M6
Bonita Canyon
11/97
Additionally, Statistical Area Kl (Newport Dunes Area), is very close to the threshold.
The previously approved General Plan Amendments which would have required voter approval had
the initiative been in effect at the time are listed below.
Amendments Approved After Development Thresholds Were Exceeded
General Plan
Project Name
Summary
Amendment
92 -1(C)
Old Newport Blvd.
Comprehensive update to the Old Newport Blvd. Specific Plan,
Specific Plan
including an increase to the permitted floor area ratio (FAR) in
the area
91 -2
407 Bolsa
Redesignation from Retail & Service Commercial to Two -
Family Residential (4 units)
94 -1(B)
Edwards Theater
Add entitlement for 897 -seat expansion
94 -1(A)
Granville Apartments
Increase entitlement for Administrative, Professional and
Financial Commercial office use by 5,000 sq. ft.
94 -2(B)
Fashion Island
Increase entitlement for Retail & Service Commercial by
Expansion
266,000 sq.ft.
95 -2(C)
Corona del Mar Plaza
Redesignate the allowable use from Governmental,
Educational, Institutional Facilities to Retail and Service
Commercial and increase the entitlementby 5,000 sq.ft.
97 -3(D)
Four Seasons Hotel
Increase the entitlement by 100 hotel rooms
99 -2(E)
Newport Sports
Increase entitlement for Administrative, Professional and
Foundation
Financial Commercial office use by 1,000 sq. ft.
95 -I(D)
Fletcher Jones Mercedes
Redesignation of the site from Administrative, Professionaland
Financial Commercial to Retail and Service Commercial and
increase the entitlement by 88,000 sq.ft.
96 -1(B)
Temple Bat Yahm
Increase entitlement by 40,000 sq.ft. for expansion of
synagogue complex
96 -3(E)
DahnMini- Storagell
Increase entitlement by 86,000sq.ft. for mini-storage facility
98 -I(C)
HEV /Lennar
Increase entitlement by 149,122 sq.ft. for office building and
304 hotel rooms
98 -3(B)
1300 Dove St
Increase Administrative, Professional and Financial
Commercial entitlement by 2,350 sq.ft. to allow expansion of
existing office building
97 -3(E)
Pacific Club
Increase Administrative, Professional and Financial
Commercial entitlement by 15,000 sq.ft. to allow expansion of
existing health club
99 -2(A)
Extended Stay America
Increase Retail and Service Commercial entitlement by 17,890
sq.ft. to allow construction of a 164 -room hotel
94 -1(F)
Pacific View Memorial
Increase the allowable floor area for buildings and mausoleums
Park
by 113,680sq.ft.
97 -2
Bonita Canyon Planned
Establish pre- annexation entitlements for the Bonita Canyon
Community
property
99 -1(E)
Harbor Day School
Increase the allowable floor area by 42,822 sq.ft. to allow
addition of a gymnasium
The complete analysis prepared by the City's consultant is attached, including the detailed
spreadsheets used in the analysis. Table Three is the one of greatest interest, as is shows the
Analysis of Protection from Traffic and Density Initiative
June 23, 2000
Page 2.
chronological accumulation of the development thresholds of the initiative, and shows when each
of the six Statistical Areas crossed them.
Submitted by:
SHARON Z. WOOD
Assistant City Manager
W
-4T&W I. Attachment:
Consultant's Analysis of Initiative
Prepared by:
PATRICIA L. TEMPLE
Planning Director
Analysis of Protection from Traffic and Density Initiative
June 23, 2000
Page 3.
Analysis and Findings
Newport Beach Protection from Traffic and Density Initiative
June 19, 2000
Executive Summary
The Planning Center has been retained to assist in clarifying the assumptions and
methodology that should be used in analyzing previously approved General Plan
Amendments pursuant to the Protection from Traffic and Density initiative, and
to compile a summary of General Plan amendments approved since November
1990 in each of the City's 46 statistical areas. Under the cumulative provisions of
the initiative, any General Plan amendment in a statistical area where the
threshold has been exceeded would require that the amendment be submitted
for a referendum. This analysis found that the development thresholds specified
in the initiative have been exceeded in 6 of the 46 areas, and one additional area
is just below the threshold. The analysis also found that 18 General Plan
amendments approved in these 6 areas would have required referenda if the
initiative had been in effect.
Background
On February 8th the City Council authorized the City Manager to retain the
services of The Planning Center to analyze the effects of the Protection from
Traffic and Density Initiative on the planning process in Newport Beach. The
initiative deals with technical issues that would require some interpretation prior
to implementation. The consultant was assigned the task of developing
assumptions and methodology to be used in the preparation of implementation
guidelines if the initiative is adopted by the voters in November, and also to
compile a comprehensive list of General Plan amendments that have been
adopted in the last 10 years. This exercise also helped to clarify areas of
ambiguity so that the initiative's implications can be better understood.
At the City Council meeting of March 28, City staff and the consultant presented
a list of proposed assumptions and methodology to be used in the evaluation
previous GPAs.
The scope of this assignment did not include an assessment of legal issues or the
merits of the initiative.
Assumptions and Methodology
A key component of this study is determining when an amendment would be
subject to confirmation by the voters. While the thresholds for what constitutes
The Planning Center Page 1
Protection From Traffic and Density Initiative Analysis June 19, 2000
a "major" amendment are specified in the initiative, the provision requiring
consideration of amendments during the past 10 years requires some
interpretation. In order to determine the effect of the initiative if it is approved,
a comprehensive list of General Plan amendments approved since November
1990 was compiled. The source of this list was the City Planning Department,
with verification from City Council records maintained by the City Clerk.
The next step was to prepare an inventory of the amount of development and
peak hour traffic represented by the amendments for each of the City's statistical
areas. Development was tabulated according to the number of residential
dwelling units and the amount of non - residential floor area. When non-
residential entitlement was stated in a form other than floor area (e.g., hotel
rooms or theater seats), floor area was estimated using building plans or
information presented in staff reports. As required by the initiative, peak hour
trips were determined using the Trip Generation Manual, 6th Edition (1997)
published by the Institute of Traffic Engineers. Although the initiative would
allow the City to fine -tune trip generation rates up to a 5% difference from ITE,
our analysis used ITE rates whenever available. For land uses not included in
the ITE manual, guidance on the appropriate trip generation rate was provided
by the City Traffic Engineer.
Once all amendments were identified and summarized, a cumulative analysis of
development and traffic was prepared for each statistical area. Since the
initiative does not contain explicit guidance on how some of its provisions should
be interpreted, it was necessary to make some assumptions regarding the intent
of the measure's proponents. For example, the initiative does not address
situations where the allowable use is changed from one type to another (e.g.,
residential to commercial) or where the traffic generated by the new use would
be less than that generated by the existing use. For purposes of this analysis,
when the new use would result in a decrease in peak hour traffic as compared to
the current entitlement, the new development entitlement was not added to the
cumulative totals. No credit was given for land uses eliminated or for a decrease
in peak hour trips.
Table 1 contains a detailed discussion of the assumptions used in the analysis.
Findings
Table 2 contains a summary of all General Plan Land Use Element Amendments
approved since November 1990 in chronological order for each of the 46
statistical areas. (Note. Amendments that did not change the development
entitlement For a specific property were not included in this analysis.) The table
shows statistics for land uses added, land uses deleted, peak hour trips
The Planning Center Page 2
Protection From Traffic and Density initiative Analysis June 19, 2000
represented by the uses added or deleted, and the net increase (or decrease) in
dwelling units, non - residential floor area, and peak hour trips.
One noteworthy aspect of the Newport Beach General Plan is its unusual level of
specificity. Unlike many General Plans for other jurisdictions, the Newport Beach
plan identifies the exact development limits for each neighborhood in the city.
As a result, General Plan amendments are sometimes required for even very
small projects if the statistical area is "built out ". For example, GPAs were
required to allow a large single - family lot to be subdivided into two single - family
lots on Bayside Drive [GPA 92 -2(B)] and to allow four homes to be built on the
former Ebell Club site on Balboa Peninsula [GPA 95- 1(E)]. GPAs have also been
required for minor boundary adjustments such as for the Crown Pointe
(Summerhouse) development [GPA 96 -1(C)] and the Shelton residence [GPA 98-
l(D)].
Table 3 shows the cumulative analysis of General Plan amendments by statistical
area. This analysis indicates that since November 1990 the development
thresholds specified in the initiative (i.e., 100 dwelling units, 40,000 square feet
of non - residential floor area, or 100 peak hour trips) have been exceeded in the
following 6 of the City's 46 statistical areas. Therefore any GPA in these areas
would require a referendum if the initiative is approved. In addition, the
threshold has nearly been reached in Statistical Area K1.
Statistica /Areas Where Development Thresholds
Have Been Exceeded
Statistical
Area
Neighborhood
Date Threshold
Was Reached
H1
Old Newport
Boulevard
3/97
Ll
Newport Center
8/94
L3
North Ford
9/95
L4
Airport Area
1/99
M3
Pacific View
6/95
M6
Bonita Canyon
11/97
During the 10 -year study period as required by the initiative, there were a total
of 18 General Plan Amendments that were approved after the threshold specified
in the initiative was reached. These are summarized below. Based on the stated
assumptions and methodology, each of these amendments would have required
a referendum prior to final approval had the proposed Charter amendment
already been in effect.
The Planning Center Page 3
Protection From Traffic and Density Initiative Analysis June 19, 2000
Amendments Approved After Development Thresholds Were Exceeded
General
Plan
Project Name
Summary
Amendment
92 -1(C)
Old Newport Blvd.
Comprehensive update to the Old Newport Blvd. Specific
Specific Plan
Plan, including an increase to the permitted floor area
ratio FAR in the area
91 -2
407 Bolsa
Redesignation from Retail & Service Commercial to Two -
Fami/ Residential (4 units
94-1(B)
Edwards Theater
Add entitlement for 897 -seat ex anion
94 -1(A)
Granville Apartments
Increase entitlement for Administrative, Professional
and Financial Commercia /office use by 5,000 sq. ft.
94 -2(B)
Fashion Island
Increase entitlement for Retail & Service Commercial by
Expansion
266,000 sq.ft.
95 -2(C)
Corona del Mar Plaza
Redesignate the allowable use from Governmental,
Educational, Institutional Facilities to Retail and Service
Commercia /and increase the entitlement bv 5,000 sq.ft.
97-3(D)
Four Seasons Hotel
Increase the entitlement by 100 hotel rooms
99 -2(E)
Newport Sports
Increase entitlement for Administrative, Professional
Foundation
and Financial Commercia /office use by 1,000 s . ft.
95 -1(D)
Fletcher ]ones
Redesignation of the site from Administrative,
Mercedes
Professional and Financial Commercial to Retail and
Service Commercial and increase the entitlement by
88,000 sq.ft '
96 -1(B)
Temple Bat Yahm
Increase entitlement by 40,000 sq.ft. for expansion of
synagogue com lex
96 -3(E)
Dahn Mini - Storage II
Increase entitlement by 86,000 sq.ft. for mini - storage
facility
98 -1(C)
HEV /Lennar
Increase entitlement by 149,122 sq.ft. for office building
and 304 hotel rooms
98 -3(B)
1300 Dove St
Increase Administrative, Professional and Financial
Commercial entitlement by 2,350 sq.ft. to allow
expansion of existing office building
97 -3(E)
Pacific Club
Increase Administrative, Professional and Financial
Commercial entitlement by 15,000 sq.ft. to allow
expansion of existing health club
99 -2(A)
Extended Stay
Increase Retail and Service Commercial entitlement by
America
17,890 sq.ft. to allow construction of a 164 -room hotel
94 -1(F)
Pacific View Memorial
Increase the allowable floor area for buildings and
Park
mausoleums by 113,680 sq.ft.
97 -2
Bonita Canyon
Establish pre- annexation entitlements for the Bonita
Planned Community
Canyon property
99 -1(E)
Harbor Day School
Increase the allowable floor area by 42,822 sq.ft. to
allow addition of a gymnasium
Conclusions
This analysis has examined the Protection from Traffic and Density initiative and
identified assumptions and methodology to determine the anticipated impacts of
The Planning Center Page 4
Protection From Traffic and Density Initiative Analysis June 19, 2000
the initiative if approved by the voters. Based on these assumptions, a list of
General Plan Amendments approved since November 1990 has been compiled
and a determination made of the amendments that were approved after the
development threshold was reached in each of the City's statistical areas. This
analysis found that 6 of the City's 46 statistical areas have reached the
development threshold specified in the initiative, and 18 amendments were
approved after the threshold was reached.
Attachments:
Exhibit 1 — Map of Statistical Areas
Table 1— Assumptions and Methodology
Table 2 — General Plan Amendment Summary
Table 3 — General Plan Amendment Cumulative Analysis
P: \CNB -04 \Products \Reports \Council report 2 revised 6- 19.doc
The Planning Center Page 5
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