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HomeMy WebLinkAboutApproved Minutes_07-11-2022CITY OF NEWPORT BEACH GENERAL PLAN UPDATE STEERING COMMITTEE AGENDA COMMUNITY ROOM – 100 CIVIC CENTER DRIVE JULY 11, 2022 REGULAR MEETING – 6 P.M. I. CALL MEETING TO ORDER – 6:00 p.m. II. WELCOME AND ROLL CALL Present: Chair Nancy Gardner, Committee Member Phillip Brown, Committee Member Kimberly Carter Staff: Community Development Director Seimone Jurjis, Deputy Community Development Director Jim Campbell, Senior Planner Ben Zdeba a. Committee Member Introductions Each committee member provided a short introductory remark. III. PUBLIC COMMENTS ON NON-AGENDA ITEMS Jim Casey expressed his appreciation for the opportunity to participate and the posted staff reports. IV. CURRENT BUSINESS a. Selection of a Chairperson A vote by nomination and raised hand took place to identify who will serve as chairperson. Motion made by Committee Member Carter and seconded by Committee Member Brown to elect Nancy Gardner to the position of chair. b. Update on Status of Housing Element (Attachment 1) Senior Planner Zdeba provided a presentation to indicate the status of the Housing Element Update, which can be found at newportbeachca.gov/draftheupdate. In summary, the City began focusing more closely on the State’s Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) allocation in late 2019.The first draft Housing Element was submitted to the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) in March 2021. The City made four subsequent drafts. The last one, delivered on June 28, 2022, addressed four main comments: affirmatively furthering fair housing, disrepair of senior housing, mixed use zoned property development, and residential care facility/group home issues. As a participating agency in the Southern California Association of Government (SCAG) jurisdiction, Newport Beach is one of 178 uncertified agencies among 197 agencies. The City is expecting comments from HCD by August 26. General Plan Update Steering Committee Agenda July 11, 2022 Page 2 of 6 Senior Planner Zdeba reviewed the State mandated Housing Element adoption certification deadlines: • Assembly Bill (AB) 1398 required a substantially compliant Housing Element adoption by February 2022 and all related rezonings by October 2022. • Senate Bill (SB) 197 was recently signed and now requires a substantially compliant Housing Element adoption by October 15, 2022 with rezonings by February 2025. Next steps include working with HCD to receive a substantially compliant letter and return to Council for readoption in September 2022. In response to Chair Gardner’s question, staff indicated that the City is seeking to employ overlay zoning. Inclusionary zoning is in the policy. According to Community Development Director Jurjis, minimum Citywide and area specific inclusionary program determinants will require further exploration and City Council review in early 2023. Deputy Community Development Director Campbell stated there is no inclusionary ordinance requirement mandated by the State law, but the burden is on the City to examine policies, identify impediments to housing or affordable housing, and create appropriate inclusionary percentages. Lastly, Senior Planner Zdeba indicated that a covenant is required to hold Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) at a particular income level and HCD issues area-based guidelines for specific income type allocations. In response to Nancy Scarbrough’s question about how overlay allowances, once enacted, can be rescinded, Deputy Community Development Director Campbell indicated that the intent will be that no more housing is required or allowable in the focus areas once the Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) number is satisfied which would be written into the overlay and General Plan policies. He also indicated that such policies would only need to be reviewed by HCD if the City was out of compliance with the Housing Element or if they viewed such policies as an impediment to housing production after examining the City’s annual progress report. In response to Jim Mosher’s question about the Council’s rejection of a proposal to initiate code changes to allow housing closer to the airport, Community Development Director Jurjis explained that the Council was not ready to reduce the inclusionary zoning percentage at the time of review which resulted in a rejected request along with other General Plan elements that were grouped together on the Consent Calendar. Furthermore, he stated that the GPUSC will be tasked with providing recommendations for changes to the General Plan element. No action was taken. c. Update on Status of Circulation Element (Attachment 2) Senior Planner Zdeba used a presentation to provide a status update on the Circulation Element draft update, which was last updated and posted on March 12, 2021. Public comments have been incorporated in a subsequent draft that will be posted tomorrow for review at the Planning Commission public hearing on August 18 and City Council adoption General Plan Update Steering Committee Agenda July 11, 2022 Page 3 of 6 on September 13. The draft has been refreshed to reflect State mandates and reflect two public community workshops and Planning Commission Study Sessions. In response to Committee Member Brown’s question, Deputy Community Development Director Campbell indicated that the Circulation Element is focused on policy changes to support more efficient design and does not include changes to the Master Plan of Highways which will be examined in the Land Use Element and Rezoning review. Additionally, he noted the charge of the committee to help steer and guide the General Plan element update process. In response to Chair Gardner’s comment, Deputy Community Development Director Campbell concurred that the Circulation Element and the Master Plan of Highways can be updated as the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) and other elements of the General Plan are reviewed. In response to Jim Mosher’s question, Deputy Community Development Director Campbell noted that unless there is a massive change to State law, he does not think policy changes to the Circulation Element will be necessary in a few years and roadway changes may result from development. Chuck Fancher recognized a conventional traffic engineering approach in the Circulation Element and suggested improvements to transportation efficiencies and improved personal/private transportation systems like more Ubers, less personal ownership cars, less parking lots and garages, less asphalt, and a share-ride system. He impressed upon the committee to embrace this transition and make it a part of the vision. No action was taken. d. General Plan Update Overview (Attachment 3) Senior Planner Zdeba used a presentation to provide the status of the General Plan Update, the anticipated schedule, and the selection and use of consultants. The last General Plan Update took place in 2006 and is available on the City’s website. It is comprised of 10 elements with six required by state law for land use, safety, noise and natural resources, and housing and circulation, and four optional elements addressing the harbor and bay, historical resources, recreation, and arts and culture. The 2019 General Plan Update focused on housing to address the RHNA expectations. Senior Planner Zdeba introduced the 2006 vision statement that described a 20-year planning horizon and requires updating because of the housing requirements and invited comments to address the basic content and considerations for each element. He further explained that the Land Use Element and Rezoning section describes how the City will implement the Housing Element, and that density penned for mixed use property must be consistent with the density in the General Plan and Rezoning and requires a Charter Section 423 vote on the March 2024 ballot which is consistent with the Housing Element timeline. Staff suggested including retail for the additional housing units. General Plan Update Steering Committee Agenda July 11, 2022 Page 4 of 6 In response to Chair Gardner’s question, Deputy Community Development Director Campbell indicated that policies need to be refreshed to reflect new housing opportunities, remove conflicting statements, and incorporate community input and the General Plan Advisory Committee (GPAC). Furthermore, he relayed an unknown direction if the March 2024 ballot measure fails and predicted a judicial review and potential conflicts between agencies. Jim Mosher questioned if the ballot measure vote could take place during the normal municipal election in November 2024 and the missing 45-day time gap between the Airport Land Use Commission override notice and approval date. Council Member Brenner expressed her gratitude to the committee and asked them to include a policy for water preservation and noted solar energy resources. In response to Chair Gardner’s questions, Community Development Director Jurjis reported that the insta-hots are not allowed as per the energy code and may be considered in the future to accommodate greenhouse gas and climate change efforts. He noted that waterless toilets are not allowed. In response to Nancy Scarbrough’s question, Community Development Director Jurjis noted that there is no residential building code requirement for using recirculating pumps and an adoption of a new policy can be considered. Senior Planner Zdeba went on to review the focus areas for residential development in the Land Use Element and Rezonings, noise element, safety element, arts and cultural element, harbor and bay element, historical resources element, natural resources element, and recreation element. He noted that the golf course is included in the Land Use Element, the noise element update is necessary to accommodate for housing, and safety element partners such as other city departments and regional and county agencies could help update to current practice to have alignment with local housing and mitigation plan requirements, sea level rise and climate change matters. Additionally, Senior Planner Zdeba relayed that an update to the arts and cultural element presents an opportunity to partner with the City’s arts commission to discuss and refresh goals and policies and preserving and promoting arts and cultural activities in the City, the harbor and bay element is meant to elevate the resource and protect it, and the historical resources element update provides for an opportunity to look at historic buildings the City would like to preserve, updating the list created in 1990, and partnering with local historical societies and property owners. Furthermore, Senior Planner Zdeba noted that the natural resources element update, otherwise known as the conservation element, could include policy direction for enhanced sustainable practices, while Chuck Fancher suggested naming it the sustainability element and a policy that speaks to the City’s water liability and ensures water security and Chair Gardner clarified the committee is for not setting policies. Lastly, Senior Planner Zdeba relayed that the recreation element update could include General Plan Update Steering Committee Agenda July 11, 2022 Page 5 of 6 partnering with the City’s Parks, Beaches and Recreation Commission for guidance and may need to be updated to meet the five acres per every 1000-person requirement. Senior Planner Zdeba shared the following anticipated schedules: • Revised Circulation Element posting - July 12, 2022 • Planning Commission and City Council review - September 2022 • HCD Housing Element comments returned to the City by August 26, 2022 • Substantially compliant Housing Element to City Council for readoption - September 2022 • SB 197 Housing Element deadline - October 15, 2022 • Land Use and Rezonings schedule: General Plan Update Steering Committee (GPUSC) meeting on July 11, General Plan Advisory Committee (GPAC) fall 2022, community outreach late 2022/early 2023, Planning Commission Study Session and recommendation late summer/early fall 2023, Airport Land Use Commission (ALUC) hearing fall 2023, City Council hearing fall 2023, Charter Section 423 vote March 2024, Rezoning completed February 2025 • Remaining elements adopted by late 2024 To move forward efficiently, Chair Gardner suggested subgroups work on individual elements to create a draft for review by the larger group and Deputy Community Development Director Campbell concurred and added staff and consultant resources. Jim Mosher, Chair Gardner, and staff agreed on doing a better job keeping the community apprised with current General Plan updates through the City’s website, social media platforms, and homeowner associations. In response to Nancy Scarbrough’s concern for continuity, Chair Gardner suggested having a representative from City commissions attend the GPUSC meetings. Senior Planner Zdeba explained that the GPAC is a group of appointed community members that makes recommendations on changes to the General Plan goals and policies and Deputy Community Development Director Campbell tasked the GPUSC with providing the City Council recommendations and guidance before the adoption of the GPAC. Senior Planner Zdeba noted an expired prior consultant contract and related services, a current consultant contract and services with Kimley-Horn and Associates, and next steps to identify the consultant’s scope, fees, and request for proposal (RFP), formation of a potential Policy Advisory Committee, and a next GPUSC meeting. Council Member Brenner supported more community input and suggested committee meetings be available for viewing on NBTV. Chair Gardner noted past public participation on the General Plan Update and suggested options to increase public awareness, Committee Member Carter believed that social media outlets are the most impactful method of engagement, Committee Member Brown suggested a balanced approach, and Jim Mosher suggested the consultant prepare a booklet of the General Plan Update scope. General Plan Update Steering Committee Agenda July 11, 2022 Page 6 of 6 Community Development Director Jurjis reported that staff will return to the GPUSC with an RFP for all the elements except for the Land Use Element and an amendment to the scope of work for Kimley-Horn for consideration. Chair Gardner suggested the next GPUSC meeting agenda item include discussion on the composition of the GPAC. e. Steering Committee Schedule Discussion The GPUSC and staff agreed to meet monthly. V. COMMITTEE ANNOUNCEMENTS OR MATTERS WHICH MEMBERS WOULD LIKE PLACED ON A FUTURE AGENDA FOR DISCUSSION, ACTION OR REPORT (NON-DISCUSSION ITEM) Charles Klobe asked if the consultant could advise the committee how senate bills may affect the General Plan Update and Community Development Director Jurjis agreed to include it in the scope of work. VI. ADJOURNMENT The next meeting will take place on August 8, 2022.