Preliminary review of a proposed Rezone (ZC 17-277) of portions of Block 54 from Single Family Residential (R-1) to Residential & Limited Commercial (RC) located on the W/S of Lincoln Street and the east side of  Monte Verde Street between 5^th and 6^th Avenues in the Single-Family Residential (R-1) Zoning District.  The Planning Commission will be reviewing this item for the purpose of making recommendations to the City Council.

An application has been submitted to rezone portions of Block 54 from Single-Family Residential (R-1) to Residential and Limited Commercial (RC) in order to construct a new 12-unit apartment building, 2 duplexes, and a new church facility. In order to rezone Block 54, a General Plan amendment would also be necessary.  The Municipal Code allows amendments to planning documents, including the General Plan, Zoning Code and Coastal Plan, to be initiated by the City or by others. All proposed amendments are required to be presented to the Planning Commission for initial review in order to make recommendations to the City Council.

Receive report and provide recommendations on whether the City Council should consider the rezone request and associated General Plan amendments. Staff will present the Planning Commission’s recommendations to the City Council and seek direction on whether to initiate the amendments.

Background and Project Description

Block 54 is located between Monte Verde & Lincoln Streets and 5^th & 6^th Avenues. The block is zoned Single Family Residential (R-1) with the exception of the First Murphy House which is zoned Improved Parklands (P-2). The block is developed with a religious facility owned and operated by the First Church of Christ Scientist. The facility is located on 7 individual lots of record and includes a 7,250-square foot main church building and 2,768-square foot Sunday school building on Monte Verde Street, and a 1,600-square foot reading room, and a parking lot on Lincoln Street (all built circa 1960s).  A church has been in operation at this location since 1922.

Other uses on Block 54 include the First Murphy Park; a private parking lot for the Pine Inn; the Happy Landing Inn; and, single family residences. The Service Commercial (SC) Zoning District is located east of Block 54 and the Single Family Residential (R-1) Zoning District is located to the west.

The applicant is proposing to rezone four lots on west side of Lincoln Street (Lots 7, 9, 11, & 13) from R-1 to Residential and Limited Commercial (RC) to facilitate the construction of a new, smaller First Church of Christ Scientist facility and two duplexes. The church would be located on Lots 11 & 13, while the duplexes would be on Lots 7 & 9.  In the RC district, a religious facility requires a Use Permit and density proposed by a duplex is a permitted use.  Staff notes that a rezone may not be necessary to construct a new church facility on the parking lot, as explained later in this report.

On the Monte Verde Street side of Lot 54, the applicant is proposing a new 12-unit multi-family building with underground parking on Lots 12, 14 & 16. The density of the project would be 43 dwelling units per acre. The applicant has submitted preliminary plan for the project (see Attachment 4).  The design would be very similar to the Trevett Court project, which was designed by Eric Miller Architects, and is located on the east side of Dolores Street between 4^th and 5^th Avenues.  In the RC District, 43 dwelling units per acre is a conditionally permitted use and a density bonus is required by providing at least one affordable housing unit.

In addition to the church’s request, the owner of the Pine Inn parking has submitted a letter of interest to rezone the Pine Inn parking lot from R-1 to RC.  In the proposal, the owner of the Pine Inn, Richard Gunner, intends to transfer rooms from the existing Pine Inn to the parking lot site, expand the parking facility, and potentially provide some rental apartments.  No formal application has been submitted by Mr. Gunner and the Pine Inn Parking Lot is not being considered as part of this application. Nonetheless, it is important that the Planning Commission is aware of the proposal that was submitted in association with this zoning change application (ZC 17-277).

The Municipal Code allows amendments to planning documents, including the General Plan, Zoning Code and Coastal Plan, to be initiated by the City or by others. All proposed amendments are required to be presented to the Planning Commission for initial review in order to make recommendations to the City Council. Staff has scheduled this for preliminary review to promote communication between the applicant, staff and the decision-makers, and to provide feedback to the applicant early in the process.

Zoning District Purpose

The City’s General Plan state the following purpose for the RC Zoning District:

This area is intended to provide for a mix of residential dwellings and a limited range of office and service uses in scale with the character of the community. Less intense commercial uses and visitor accommodations are allowed in this area.

The City’s Municipal Code states the following purpose for the RC Zoning District: 

Residential and Limited Commercial (RC). To provide an appropriate location for permanent and transient residential uses, service and office uses, and limited retail uses that do not adversely impact the residential neighborhood. This district is intended to provide a transition and buffer between the more intense activities in the CC and SC districts and the less intense activities in the R-1 and R-4 districts.

As identified in the above referenced citations, the RC Zoning District is primarily intended to be a buffer between the more intensive commercial core and the R-1 District.  Retail sales, restaurants and drinking establishments are not allowed in the RC District, and only residential uses and services businesses are permitted.  As reflected by the City’s zoning map (see Attachment 3), the blocks on the outer perimeter of the Commercial District are generally zoned RC, with R-1 zoned blocks typically located across the street or in some cases within the same block.  In staff’s opinion, the RC zoning designation would be the most appropriate for this site given its proximity to the R-1 District.

General Plan Housing Policies

The proposed project would include 12 new apartment units on Monte Verde Street and two duplexes on Lincoln Street, for a total of 16 new residential units. The Housing Element of the General Plan contains the following pertinent policies that address the addition of new multi-family housing units in the City:

Goal G3-2. Preserve existing residential units and encourage the development of new multi-family housing in the Commercial and R-4 Districts.

Goal G3-3. Provide adequate sites for the development of a wide range of housing types for all citizens.

Goal G3-5. Preserve and increase the supply of housing for lower- and moderate-income households, senior citizens and other special needs groups. Prohibit discrimination in the sale or rental of housing.

In considering this project, the Commission should also consider the City’s Regional Housing Need Allocation (RHNA), which is a state-mandated process to identify the total number of housing units (by affordability level) that each jurisdiction must accommodate in its Housing Element.  The following table identifies the City’s RHNA requirement for the 2015-2023 period:

The proposal for multi-family housing, and the associated 16 new residential units, is supported by the Housing Element and would help the City achieve its RHNA requirements if the project contains a certain number of affordable housing units. It’s important to note that if the block were to be maintained as an R-1 designation, the applicant could potentially build 5 single-family residences (when subtracting the 2 lots devoted to the new church facility).  Rezoning the property to RC would potentially allow an additional 11 units. 

General Plan Commercial Expansion Policies

In order to permit the construction of new multi-family housing and church facility, the applicant has requested that parcels owned by the First Church of Christ Scientist on Block 54 be rezoned from R-1 to RC.  Even though the request submitted by Mr. Gunner to develop the parking lot is not being consider as part of this agenda, staff would recommend that this property also be rezoned to RC in order to avoid creating an “island” of R-1 property at the northeast corner of Monte Verde Street and 6^th Avenue. 

With regard to expanding the Commercial District, General Plan Policies P1-1 and P1-2 state the following:

Policy P1-1. Preserve the boundaries of the single-family residential area and allow rezoning within this area only to less intensive uses such as open space or parkland.

Policy P1-2. Contain the commercial district within an area no larger than the 1982 boundary shown in Figure 1.3 [should read Figure 1.2] of the Land Use Element. (Refer to Attachment 1)

The proposed rezone would require that these General Plan policies be amended. Policy P1-1 would have to be amended as well as the associated 1982 boundary map referenced in Policy P1-2.  In this particular case, staff could support amending the General Plan to allow the rezone of this property given that it has historically been developed with commercial uses. However, if the Commission supports amending these General Plan policies, then it should consider crafting the amendments in a way that would still curtail commercial expansion throughout the R-1 District.  One option is a policy amendment that allows the City to consider R-1 rezoning only in situations such as this, in which the property has historically been used for commercial purposes, but not as a general rule for properties developed with single-family.

Municipal Code Amendments and Community Plan

The Zoning Map would need to be amended to reflect the extent of the rezone from R-1 to RC. The purpose of the RC District is to provide an appropriate location for permanent and transient residential uses, service and office uses, and limited retail uses that do not adversely impact the residential neighborhood.

The proposed design and use of the new facilities would comply with the RC District zoning standards.  If the City supports the project and associated rezone, then the applicant would submit separate design review and use permit applications that would be reviewed concurrently with the General Plan and Municipal Code amendments.  Staff intends to condition the project with a requirement that the apartment units not be used as short-term rentals.

New Church Facility

The applicant is proposing to construct a new church facility on Lincoln Street, at the current location of the church parking lot.  The proposed facility would be significantly smaller than the existing facility. City Municipal Code Section 17.08.040 states that religious facilities are: “Allowed only on existing quasi-public use sites established prior to December 1, 1980, or added as an accessory use to such existing uses.”  The church parking lot qualifies as part of the “site” and therefore is permitted at this particular location in the R-1 District.

The General Plan addresses public and quasi-public land uses in the R-1 Distract and states that such uses include nonprofit organizations, churches, and other facilities. The General Plan also includes the following policies pertaining to public and quasi-public uses in the R-1 District:

O1-9 Recognize the contribution of existing public and quasi-public land uses in the R-l district that serve local needs. Allow these existing uses to continue, but limit their expansion and minimize impacts on surrounding R-1 neighborhoods.

P1-55 Limit public and quasi-public uses in the R-l district (such as schools, churches, clubs and foundations) to those sites already established. Prohibit the establishment of new sites and the enlargement of existing sites.

P1-56 Require use permits for all public and quasi-public uses in the R-l district and only allow modifications to these uses through use permit amendments. Limit the physical expansion of any existing structures and the construction of new facilities and uses to those that will not materially increase traffic, noise, parking demand, and or create other adverse impacts on surrounding R-l neighborhoods.

P1-57 Require design modifications to existing public and quasi-public uses in the R-1 district to be reviewed by the Planning Commission. Apply design standards to such modifications that are consistent with R-1 design regulations applying to residential property.

The above policies, along with the City’s Municipal Code, indicate that if the zoning were to remain R-1, a new church facility could still be constructed on the parking lot, so long as it is not expanding the existing facility and is compatible with the R-1 design standards.  Additionally, relocating the church facility to the Lincoln side of the block would place the church facility farther away from residential uses, which is supported by the above referenced policies. Staff notes that the existing church facility would have to be abandoned and demolished in order to construct the new facility in order to avoid an expansion.

Recommendation/Questions

Staff is seeking a recommendation from the Planning Commission on whether the City Council should consider the rezone as requested by the First Church of Christ Scientist and associated General Plan amendments, specifically:

1)      Does the Planning Commission support rezoning from R-1 to RC and making the associated General Plan amendments?

2)      If so, should General Plan policies P1-1 and P1-2 be amended with a provision that only allows rezoning of R-1 in locations that are currently developed with commercial uses?

3)      If the Planning Commission does not support the rezone and General Plan amendments, does it agree with staff’s analysis that a new church facility could be constructed on the parking lot if the existing facility is abandoned?

Staff will present the Planning Commission’s recommendations to the City Council and seek direction on whether to initiate the amendments.

Next Steps

Should the Planning Commission and City Council choose to move forward and study the request, the next steps in the process would be:

1)      Receive a formal application for a General Plan Amendment, Rezone, Design Review and Use Permit;

2)      Solicit a consultant to prepare an Initial Study in accordance with CEQA;

3)      Enter into a consulting services agreement;

4)      Prepare the appropriate environmental document;

5)      Present the project to the Planning Commission for review and recommendation to the City Council;

6)      Present the project to the City Council for final adoption.

7)      Submit the amendments to the Coastal Commission for certification.