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HomeMy WebLinkAboutApproved Minutes_09-28-2022CITY OF NEWPORT BEACH GENERAL PLAN UPDATE STEERING COMMITTEE AGENDA CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS – 100 CIVIC CENTER DRIVE SEPTEMBER 28, 2022 REGULAR MEETING – 6 P.M. I. CALL MEETING TO ORDER – 6:00 p.m. II. WELCOME AND ROLL CALL Present: Chair Nancy Gardner and Committee Members Kimberly Carter and Phillip Brown Absent: None Staff: Deputy Community Development Director Jim Campbell and Principal Planner Ben Zdeba III. PUBLIC COMMENTS ON NON-AGENDA ITEMS None IV. CURRENT BUSINESS a. Minutes of August 24, 2022 Motion made by Committee Member Carter and seconded by Committee Member Brown to approve the minutes of August 24, 2022. The motion carried unanimously 3-0. b. Selection Process for the General Plan Advisory Committee (GPAC) Principal Planner Zdeba provided an update on vacancy notifications and the application process for the General Plan Advisory Committee (GPAC). He indicated that a Notice of Vacancies was published by the City Clerk’s office on September 14, 2022, on the digital board in the vestibule and on the City website, e-notifications were sent to subscribers and 110 unique email addresses that are listed as contacts for the residents and business associations in the City, and it was published in the Daily Pilot and Nextdoor. He reported 38 applications received. Chair Gardner stated the GPUSC’s intention to have representation from specific groups identified in the last meeting, acknowledged the timeline, and expressed concern the intended notices were not sent out directly to the specific groups, but was willing to move forward if the Committee was comfortable doing so. General Plan Update Steering Committee Agenda September 28, 2022 Page 2 of 5 Committee Member Brown read an excerpt from Attachment “A” to the Resolution creating the GPAC and wondered if the direction to staff was not clear regarding sending notice. In response to Committee Member Carter’s question, Principal Planner Zdeba relayed that the applicant list is in the Clerk’s office to verify residencies, he noted that representation from some of the categories were received, and all the applicants completed the supplemental questionnaire and areas of expertise question. Principal Planner Zdeba indicated that Attachment “A” is a guideline/suggested composition and noted the challenge of reaching a resident of Newport Beach for each group, and the concern of leaving someone out or specially targeting without reaching everyone. Deputy Community Development Director Campbell indicated that applications will be available to the Committee in the next day or two. Chair Gardner proposed reviewing the applications received and proceed with a second outreach if needed to address any gap areas. Committee Member Carter suggested reserving the right to conduct a further outreach after reviewing the initial applicant pool. Committee Member Brown suggested reaching out to unrepresented groups. Principal Planner Zdeba reported the application deadline was September 28, 2022 at noon. Chair Gardner suggested establishing five or six criteria to evaluate applications and then discussing how they will be ranked. Deputy Community Development Director Campbell recommended the Committee review the applications and invite the applicants to the next meeting, so the process follows the Brown Act. He noted that additional outreach can take place if the Committee would like to seek representation from additional groups to recommend a wide and diverse group to the City Council, agreed to check with the City Clerk regarding the application deadline, noted outstanding supplemental questionnaires, and reminded the Committee of applicants opting out and replacements. David Tanner, resident, noted that now that the Housing Element is approved there is time to form the GPAC and suggested giving direction to staff to instruct the City Clerk to extend the deadline and exclude holidays in the 10-day notice to the public. General Plan Update Steering Committee Agenda September 28, 2022 Page 3 of 5 Nancy Scarbrough, resident, noticed that groups that have a diverse group are very stimulating and supported extending the deadline to expand participation past the usual attendees. Charles Klobe, resident, relayed that Council Member O’Neill posted on Instagram about the GPAC which may attract a younger crowd and new people and Mariner’s Mile did not receive any information but one of the folks applied after he reached out to them. The Committee was comfortable with the direction to staff and Deputy Community Development Director Campbell was comfortable conducting additional targeted outreach with a timeline if the first set of applications does not produce a diverse group. He added that the Mayor made announcements at two prior Council meetings about GPAC. Committee Member Carter believed the average citizen does not know about the General Plan, and it requires some explanation. Chair Gardner indicated that outreach would begin as the GPAC is formed and would include a broader approach. In response to Chair Gardner’s inquiry, Deputy Community Development Director Campbell indicated that an email received from Mr. Balch that was asking a scope question for the future General Plan Update was shared with the Committee to keep the group abreast of public comment. c. Status Updates on the Housing, Circulation, and Land Use Elements Deputy Community Development Director Campbell reported that the City Council adopted the Housing Element, the final document is in review by California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD), and a return letter from HCD is expected within the next week or so. He noted that as a result of having an adopted and certified Housing Element before October 15, the City has three years to rezone the community for the housing opportunity sites in the Housing Element, a vote of the electorate is needed, staff is breaking out the Land Use Element policy changes to support the Housing Element policy and breaking out the housing opportunity overlay zones required by HCD that allow the housing. Furthermore, he noted that all housing implementation is being worked on now with staff and the consultants, an interest in GPAC reviewing the work staff is doing, none of this changes the Housing Element, no big outreach is needed regarding policy, a need to move quickly to prepare the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) and get to the City Council by December 12, 2023, and a need to stabilize project descriptions with the help of the GPAC. Lastly, Deputy Community Development Director Campbell urged getting the GPAC established expeditiously to have the first GPAC meeting in January 2023. Chair Gardner indicated that she believes the GPUSC can accommodate this timeline. Deputy Community Development Director Campbell reported that the Circulation Element Update will be going to the City Council for a study session on October 11, 2022, and adoption is expected on October 25, 2022. He noted a host of well-attended meetings throughout COVID-19 to update the policies of the Circulation Element to be consistent with State law and introduce the concept of Complete Streets while leaving the Master Plan of Streets and Highways unchanged as of now. General Plan Update Steering Committee Agenda September 28, 2022 Page 4 of 5 David Tanner, resident, questioned why staff is working on policy revisions only when more time is available for the Circulation Element Update, noted the policy revisions are not subject to CEQA because it is a planning document, CEQA does not allow piecemealing, the City is not subject to a penalty or fine, and a risk of litigation. He further questioned why the whole Circulation Element is not being evaluated and if the Circulation Element will be revised following the Land Use Element and Municipal Code should roadway or intersection deficiencies be identified and, if yes, if the revision will include a review of the Circulation Element goals and policies. Mr. Tanner commented that if the goals and policies need to be reviewed then this process will restart and be subject to CEQA and impact the roadway network and levels of service. He relayed that the goals and policies all tied together, and the City is relying on a 2014 General Plan implementation program, EIR, and mitigation measures and a 2006 Circulation Element Update. Additionally, Mr. Tanner questioned if the draft Circulation Element Update ensures adequate mobility for the community at this time and if noise issues will be affecting the entire City or be limited to overlay areas from housing development. Chair Gardner noted that the questions asked by Mr. Tanner are beyond the scope of the GPUSC. In response to Mr. Tanner’s comments on piecemealing, Deputy Community Development Director Campbell disagreed with his perspective, noted that the traffic analysis is not complete yet to identify the impact to the Master Plan of Streets and Highways and a traffic analysis is underway with the EIR to understand the effect from housing development. He agreed with Mr. Tanner about the policies in the Circulation Element that deal with the level of service and indicated that it is not an environmental factor that the State of California allows the City to review, City policies exist that specify appropriate levels of service, the EIR will reveal policy changes needed to meet the standards, policies are being added to make the Circulation Element consistent with State law, policies are outdated, not wanting to speculate on changes to the Circulation Element, staff is bringing forward the components of the Circulation Element believed to be critically necessary to update, impacts from housing development will be examined through the EIR, the policies provide the framework for projects that will be developed when necessary to provide mobility, and the Circulation Element is a high level policy document that provides guidance for the provision of projects and not a project level review. Lastly, Deputy Community Development Director Campbell noted that because the City decided to allow housing development in the Housing Element where it is currently prohibited, changes to the Land Use Element, Noise Element, and Zoning Code are being processed to address noise related issues in the airport area only and indicated this is separate from the Land Use Element. In response to Nancy Scarbrough’s question, Deputy Community Development Director Campbell indicated that no changes are being contemplated for the Traffic Phasing Ordinance, but it is possible that changes to the Traffic Phasing Ordinance could occur with a change to the Circulation Element policies related to the level of service. Mr. Tanner noted that Assembly Bill (AB) 2011 provides for the ability to move forward with residential projects that meet certain criteria during a Housing Element extension of time General Plan Update Steering Committee Agenda September 28, 2022 Page 5 of 5 and developers can demand a building permit with no discretionary review. He also shared a bill that was passed by the Governor on September 22, 2022, that allows for required onsite parking with certain conditions for projects which Mr. Tanner took to mean that the climate change analysis will have no merit. Chair Gardner introduced five general criteria for evaluating applications: category, geography, age, skill sets, and City involvement history. The Committee and staff agreed that each Committee Member will use the five general criteria to prepare a categorized applicant list and provide it to staff in time for inclusion in next meeting’s agenda packet and invite candidates to the next GPUSC meeting for a general discussion. V. COMMITTEE ANNOUNCEMENTS OR MATTERS WHICH MEMBERS WOULD LIKE PLACED ON A FUTURE AGENDA FOR DISCUSSION, ACTION OR REPORT (NON-DISCUSSION ITEM) None VI. ADJOURNMENT The next meeting is scheduled for October 13, 2022, at 6:00 p.m. in the City Council Chambers.