north shattuck safeway - 1425 henry street, 1444 shattuck place · 2010-06-21 · rpp yes most of...

Agenda Item #9 June 23, 2010

Planning and Development Department Land Use Planning Division

2120 Milvia Street, Berkeley, CA 94704 Tel: 510.981.7410 TDD: 510.981.7474 Fax: 510.981.7420

E-mail: [email protected]

North Shattuck Safeway - 1425 Henry Street, 1444 Shattuck Place Use Permit #09-10000104 and General Plan/Zoning Map Amendment # 09-99900035 to change the land use designation on Henry Street from Medium Density Residential to Neighborhood Commercial and from R-2A to C-NS to allow a remodel of, addition to, and additional uses for, an existing grocery store.

I. Recommendation Consider the information contained in this report, take public testimony, discuss the merits of the General Plan and Zoning Map Amendment request, provide feedback to staff, and set this matter for a public hearing on July 28. In addition, to allow the Design Review Committee (DRC) to complete their review of the southwest corner of the building, they ask that the Planning Commission provide direction as to the likelihood that the Commission will recommend approval of the proposed Land Use Map Amendments.

II. Application Basics

A. Existing Land Use Designations (See Figure 1 for details): General Plan: Neighborhood Commercial and Medium Density Residential Zoning: C-NS, North Shattuck Commercial and R-2A, Restricted Multiple Family

Residential B. Approvals Subject to Planning Commission Approval (See Figure 1 for details):

General Plan Amendment to re-designate a 20’ x 100’ portion of the property from Medium Density Residential (MDR) to Neighborhood Commercial (NC); and

Zoning Map Amendment to re-designate a 20’ x 100’ portion of the property from R-2A (Restricted Multiple-Family Residential) to C-NS (North Shattuck Commercial).

C. CEQA Determination:

Categorically exempt pursuant to Section 15301 of the CEQA Guidelines (“Class 1, Existing Facilities”).

D. Parties Involved: Applicant: Lowney Architecture, 360 17th Street, Oakland, CA 94612 Property Owner: Safeway, 5918 Stoneridge Mall Road, Pleasanton, CA 94588

NORTH SHATTUCK SAFEWAY -1425 HENRY STREET, 1444 SHATTUCK PLACE PLANNING COMMISSION of 9 June 23, 2010

File: G:\LANDUSE\Boards and Commissions\PC\E-Packets\2010\6-23-10\Item 9 Safeway\2010-06-23 Planning Staff Report - Item 9 Safeway.docx

Figure 1: Vicinity Map

Amendment R-2A to C-NS

20’*100’

PLANNING COMMISSION NORTH SHATTUCK SAFEWAY -1425 HENRY STREET, 1444 SHATTUCK PLACE June 23, 2010 of 9


Figure 2: Proposed Site Plan

1451 2037 1480

2081

Proposed Expansion

1453



Table 1: Land Use Information Location Existing Use Zoning

District General Plan Designation

Subject Property Grocery store, parking lot, parking garage, and vacant land

C-NS and R-2A

Neighborhood Commercial and

Medium Density Residential

Surrounding Properties

North Title company, real estate office; multiple family residential beyond

C-NS(H) Neighborhood Commercial

South Bank, mixed use (ground floor restaurant, residential above), single and multiple family residential; retail and multiple family residential beyond

C-NS and R-2A

Neighborhood Commercial and Medium Density Residential

East Commercial (office, restaurants, salon, copy shop), parking lot and retail commercial beyond

C-NS Neighborhood Commercial

West Single and multi family residential R-2A Medium Density Residential

Table 2: Special Characteristics

Characteristic Applies to Project?

Explanation

Alcohol Sales/Service

Yes Increased floor area for alcohol sales

Oak Trees No No coast live oaks exist onsite; other trees proposed for removal

Commercial District with Use Quotas

Yes Modification of existing food service to allow a Quick Service Restaurant

Bike Planning Yes The City’s Bike Plan designated Milvia Street (1 block to the west) as a Bike Priority Street; Walnut Street (two blocks to the east) has a dedicated bike lane; and Rose Street has an upgraded bike lane.

City Carshare No

Creek Buffer No The City’s Creek Ordinance does not apply to the site.

CGS Hazards No Site is not mapped for Liquefaction, Landslide or Fault Rupture.

Density Bonus N/A No residential use is proposed.

Environmental Management Area

Yes To address potential issues relating to the quality of the soil, the standard conditions of approval for infill development will apply to this project.

Flood Zone No Site is not located in an area of special flood hazard (>100Yr reoccurrence).

Historic Resources No There are no locally designated historic resources abutting or confronting the site.

Redevelopment Area

No Site is not located in the City’s Redevelopment District.

RPP Yes Most of the surrounding neighborhoods participate in the City’s Residential Preferred Parking program.

Transit Yes AC Transit: FS Transbay and the 7 and 18 Locals serve the site.

BART: The North Berkeley and Berkeley Downtown stations are both within 0.7 miles of the site.



Table 3: Project Chronology and Proposed Hearing Schedule Date Action

May 2007 – December 2009 Applicant: Public Outreach (See Attachment 4 for details)

December 7, 2009 Community Open House to show proposed plan

December 9, 2009 Application submitted

May 23, 2010 Application deemed complete

March 18, April 15, and May 20, 2010 Design Review Committee: Preliminary Design Review

June 9, 2010 Public Notice of June 23 PC meeting mailed/posted

June 23, 2010 Planning Commission Preview

July 15, 2010 Scheduled Design Review Committee: Preliminary Design Review

July 22, 2010 Scheduled ZAB Preview

July 28, 2010 Scheduled Planning Commission hearing

August 12, 2010 Scheduled ZAB hearing

September 21, 2010 Scheduled City Council hearing

Table 4: Development Standards – Proposed Project (with Map Amendment) Standard

BMC Sections 23E.48.070-080 Existing

Proposed Total

Permitted/

Required

Lot Area (sq. ft.) 89,576 N/A 5,000

Gross Floor Area (sq. ft.) 28,250 46,147 87,576

Floor Area Ratio 0.32 0.52 1

Coverage 31% 44.6% N/A

Building Height

Maximum 42’-5” 34’-6” 35’-0”

Stories Min

Stories Max

2

2

2

3

Building Setbacks

Front (Shattuck) 32’-11” 0’ None

Front (Henry Street) 19’-10” 0’ 15’

Interior Side (southern property line) 40’ 10’ 5’

Interior Side (adjacent to 2037 Vine) 0’ 0’ 5’

Interior Side (adjacent to 1480 Shattuck) 0’ 0’ None

Parking Automobile 148 123 92

Bicycle 0 10 24

III. Project Setting

A. Neighborhood/Area Description: As shown in Figure 1, a number of public streets converge near the Safeway project site. In addition, the neighborhood contains a mixture of uses, as outlined in Table 1. The surrounding structures range in height from one to three stories. The neighborhood’s zoning generally follows a pattern: the parcels in the immediate vicinity that front Shattuck are zoned C-NS (with a Hillside overlay to the north); to the east of Shattuck, the C-NS district continues along Vine; to the west of Shattuck, most of the properties facing side streets are zoned R-2A. At the location of the project site, adjacent parcels (fronting Henry Street and Vine Street) and confronting parcels (on



the east side of Henry Street) are all zoned R-2A and developed with residential land uses.

B. Site Conditions: Background: Historically, the entire Safeway property was developed with both commercial and residential land uses until the early 1960’s. To allow the existing Safeway building, the site was rezoned to C-1 PS (Commercial, Planned Shopping) in 1963. The site was then cleared to allow the construction of the existing 28,250-square foot, two-story, grocery store. Property Description: The Safeway property is comprised of one parcel with two land use designations (C-NS & R-2A). The developed area of the site measures 85,576 sq. ft., while the remainder (the subject of this request for General Plan and Zoning map Amendment) is currently undeveloped and measures 4,000 sq. ft. The Safeway building and parking lot is located entirely within the C-NS District and the store’s entrance is currently located in the northwest corner of the structure, adjacent to the 96-space surface parking lot. A 52-space parking garage, accessed via Henry Street, is located beneath the store and is connected to the store via an internal stairwell. The Safeway property slopes down from the north, with an approximate 18-foot elevation difference between the highest point of the surface parking lot and the Henry Street sidewalk at the southern property line. The 4,000 sq. ft (40’ x 100’) undeveloped area is located south of the store and fronts Henry Street. This portion of the site is split-zoned, with the northern half within the C-NS District and the southern half within the R-2A District. Originally, this site contained a duplex which would explain the curb cut that exists along Henry Street. Presently, this area is enclosed with a combination of chainlink and barbed wire fences and contains 10 trees, including two Monterey Pines, Australian Brush Cherry, Flowering Plum, Box Elder, and Shamel Ash. A plaque and well marker is located near the northeast corner of the building. The plaque notes that a well was discovered during excavation for the existing grocery store, was thought to provide water to early Berkeley settlers, and still flows. The plaque indicates the well provides water for the landscaped areas on the site; however, the irrigation system is not connected to a well. Project Site: This General Plan/Zoning Map Amendment application applies only to the southernmost 20’ x 100’ portion of the undeveloped site. According to the City’s historic zoning maps, the existing Commercial/Residential zoning boundary was created in 1963 when most of the block was rezoned to allow construction of the Safeway store. Prior to the 1963 rezoning, most of the Henry Street frontage was zoned for residential uses (R-4) and the Shattuck Avenue frontage was zoned commercial uses (C-1).

C. Project Description: The applicant proposes to remodel the existing store and add roughly 7,700 sq. ft. of floor area along Shattuck Avenue and roughly 7,500 sq. ft. of floor area to the southwest corner of the existing structure. The project would also reconfigure the



existing parking layout and garage access, add windows and an entry along Shattuck, create a second entry to serve the surface parking lot, add new uses, and modify existing uses. The project plans are included with this report (Attachment 1). The applicant believes that the split-zoning on the site was a mistake or oversight that precludes the reasonable development of this portion of the site with either residential or commercial uses, and desires to include the entire parcel in its current development plan. They are therefore requesting a General Plan and Zoning Map Amendment (General Plan: from Medium Density Residential to Neighborhood Commercial; Zoning: from R-2A to C-NS) for the 20’ x 100’ southwestern portion of the property. The applicant’s statement is included with this report (Attachment 2). The development project also requires a number of Conditional Use Permits (subject to review and approval by the Zoning Adjustments Board) and is subject to review by the Design Review Committee.

IV. Community Discussion

A. Neighbor/Community Concerns: Starting in 2007, the applicant held a number of community meetings, as outlined in Table 3. Two days prior to submitting its application to the City, the applicant held a final community open house to show its plans to members of the public and to solicit comments. The applicant notified the community through a combination of flyers distributed at the store, notices on websites and in the Berkeley Daily Planet, and via emails to approximately 75 neighbors and other interested parties. In addition, the applicant hand-delivered notices to residences on Henry Street (between Rose and Vine Streets) and on Vine Street (between Henry and Shattuck). The applicant estimates that about 125 to 150 neighbors, merchants and other interested individuals attended the two-hour open house in December 2009. Attendees provided feedback on the proposed project via comment cards. Positive feedback over the course of these meetings included the building’s placement nearer Shattuck, the size (smaller store design), the plan to remodel rather than demolish and construct a new building, the improvements to the surface parking lot, and the elimination of additional retails spaces along Shattuck Avenue. Negative comments focused on the design (suburban, boring, lacked vision, used too much glass and other hard exterior materials) and low-intensity of the proposed use. Suggested design improvements included adding artistic elements, adding a store entrance on Shattuck, eliminating a driveway near Rose Street, lessening the visual impact of the parking lot and the Henry Street garage entrance on the community, enclosing the loading dock, increasing landscaping and outdoor seating, and preserving the trees on the site. Land use-related comments suggested increased site density, mixed use (commercial and housing), added storefronts along Shattuck, avoiding competition with neighborhood shops, and elimination of the entire surface parking lot.



Later, the applicant’s architect attended a meeting sponsored by the North Shattuck Merchants Association (January, 2010) and a meeting with Berkeley Design Advocates (March, 2010). A summary of the applicant’s community outreach efforts is included with this report (Attachment 4).

Prior to submitting the application to the City, a pre-application poster was erected by the applicant in December 2009. On June 9, 2010, the City mailed 642 notices to adjoining property owners and occupants within 500 feet of the site, and to interested neighborhood organizations. Any correspondence submitted in response to this notice is attached to this report (See Attachment 6).

B. Committee Review:

The Design Review Committee (DRC) reviewed preliminary development plans at three of its recent meetings (March, April and May). Related to this General Plan and Zoning Map Amendment, the DRC expressed concerns regarding the building placement and setback, massing, height, and the building’s relationship with surrounding residences along Henry Street. To date, the present design responds to many of the DRC’s comments (such as lowered building height along Henry and increased landscaping along Henry) but not all. At all three meetings, the DRC asked that the southwest corner of the proposed structure be more residential in design to better fit in with the neighborhood. To provide a better transition to the residential district, the DRC recommended that the addition be pushed away from Henry Street to allow more trees and landscaping along the street (and possibly saving one or more of the existing trees), and using a different roof design that is more residential. The DRC meeting summaries are attached to this report (Attachment 5). The applicant is in the process of making design changes to respond to the DRC’s comments and the project is expected to return to the DRC in July.

V. Issues and Analysis

A. Development Potential, Existing Designations: Although development of the vacant site abutting the Safeway store is possible, determining compliance to the Zoning Ordinance is complicated by the current split zoning designation. If the entire 40’ x 100’ split-zoned undeveloped area was treated as one building site, residential or commercial, development could occur subject to approval of a Use Permit. If developed with residential uses, several dwellings could be constructed, subject to providing sufficient parking and open space while adhering to the development limitations that apply to each half of the site. In general, a residential development would be no more than 3 stories, would consist of a footprint of no more than 1,700 sq. ft. and would be setback at least 15’ from Henry Street, 15’ from the eastern property line and 4’-6’ from the southern property line shared with 1451 Henry Street. If developed with commercial uses, development would be limited to only the 20’ x 100’ portion of the site that is within the C-NS District, leaving a 20’ setback from 1451



Henry Street. In general, such a development would be at least 2 stories, but not more than 3 stories, would have a footprint of no more than 1,600 sq. ft. and unless use permits were approved to reduce the setbacks via approval of a use permit, the development would be setback at least 15’ from Henry Street, and 5’ from the eastern property line.

B. Development Potential, Proposed Designation: Moving the zoning line as requested by the applicant, and eliminating the project site’s split-zoning, would simplify the development standards to apply to the site and would increase the development potential of the site. If developed as an addition to the Safeway building, with shared parking, the development would be at least 2 stories, but not more than 3 stories, would have a footprint of no more than 2,800 sq. ft. and unless use permits were approved to reduce the setbacks, the development would be setback at least 15’ from Henry Street and 5’ from the eastern and southern property lines.

C. Housing/Regional Housing Needs:

The State’s Regional Housing Needs Allocation for Berkeley, as administered by ABAG, concluded that Berkeley needs to demonstrate capacity for 2,431 units between 2007 and 2014. The 2010 Housing Element includes a Site Inventory and Residential Capacity Analysis that concluded that Berkeley could accommodate 3,304 new units on underutilized parcels throughout the City, but did not designate this site as an opportunity site. Therefore, re-designating the project site from residential to commercial would not be expected to affect Berkeley’s ability to meet its regional housing needs.

Attachments: 1. Project Plans, received June 15, 2010 2. Applicant’s statement, received December 9, 2010 3. Notice of Public Meeting, mailed June 9, 2010 4. Community Outreach Plan for Berkeley Safeway Remodel Project 5. Summary of DRC Comments 6. Correspondence Staff Planners: Shawna Brekke-Read, [email protected] & Greg Powell, [email protected], (510) 981-7414

north shattuck safeway - 1425 henry street, 1444 shattuck place · 2010-06-21 · rpp yes most of...

Documents