01-12-2016 - GENERAL PLAN UPDATE (GENERAL PLAN AMENDMENT NO. 14 - Item No. 1 (2).pdfCity of West Covina
Memorandum
AGENDA
TO: Mayor and City Council ITEM NO. 1
Planning Commission DATE January 12.2016
FROM: Chris Freeland
City Manager
BY: Jeff Anderson
Planning Director
SUBJECT: GENERAL PLAN UPDATE (GENERAL PLAN AMENDMENT NO. 14-02)
AND DOWNTOWN PLAN AND CODE JOINT MEETING, DIRECTION
TO BEGIN PREPARATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the Planning Commission and City Council take the following actions:
1. Planning Commission provide recommendation to City Council on direction on the draft
General Plan Update and Downtown Plan and Code, specifically on the vision of
forecasted development for Downtown and other areas of the City, to allow for analysis
in the Environmental Impact Report (EIR).
2. City Council provide direction on the draft General Plan Update and Downtown Plan and
Code, specifically on the vision of forecasted development for Downtown and other areas
of the City, to allow for analysis in the Environmental Impact Report (EIR).
3. City Council adopt Resolution No. 2016-01 initiating a Code Amendment to consider
adopting a Downtown Plan to become the zoning for that district.
BACKGROUND:
Each city in California is required to have an adopted General Plan. Pursuant to California State
law, a General Plan must have seven required elements, including Land Use, Circulation,
Housing, Conservation, Open Space, Noise, and Safety. The Housing Element is the only
element that has a statutory requirement to be updated periodically. While the General Plan
Update is typically managed by the Planning Department, the required Elements also include
policies for other Departments including Engineering (Circulation), Community Services (Open
Space), Community Development Commission (Housing), and Fire and Public Works
Departments (Safety). The law allows considerable flexibility in preparing a General Plan
update; State planning laws do establish basic requirements about the issues that General Plans
must address. The California Government Code establishes both the content of General Plans
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and rules for their adoption and subsequent amendments. The current General Plan for the City
of West Covina was last updated in 1985 and is the blueprint for the long-term development of
the City. The General Plan generally has a 10-20 year horizon. The General Plan Update should
clearly defme City's vision for the future and the issues it will face in achieving that vision. It
should be both a long-range blueprint and a road map that reminds and provides direction on the
big picture of what the City is trying to achieve as it works through the details of specific
projects.
On January 21, 2014, the City Council approved the updating the City's General Plan (Attachment
1) and directed staff to retain a consulting team to facilitate a Focused General Plan Update. The
concept of a Focused General Plan Update allows West Covina to use its resources strategically and
to prepare a Plan to direct growth to areas where development is desired, while protecting other
established areas of the City. On July 15, 2014, the City Council awarded the contract to the
Rangwala and Associates team in the amount of $549,855. The City received a grant from the
Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) to assist the City in updating the General
Plan.
A Joint Meeting of the City Council and Planning Commission was held on September 30, 2014 to
initiate the General Plan Update. Over the following year, a total of 14 Focus Group meetings were
held, as well as three Technical Advisory Committee meetings, eight public meetings during the
Chairrette, and five speaker presentations. The completion of the Focus Groups marks the midpoint
of the General Plan Update and concludes the community input phase that has allowed for the
preparation of working drafts for the various sections of the General Plan.
DISCUSSION:
SCOPE
The scope for the General Plan Update broke down the steps into six categories. Including the
following.
• Project Planning and Coordination (completed)
• Discovery (completed)
• Visioning (completed)
• Drafting General Plan, Downtown Plan and Code (completed)
• Review, Refine, and Assess Documents
• Adoption of General Plan and Downtown Plan
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The first four steps were completed in August of 2015. We are currently in the Review, Refine and
Assess step of the process. One of the primary issues in this step is the preparation of the
Environmental Impact Report (EIR) document in compliance with CEQA (California
Environmental Quality Act). The EIR is estimated to take approximately seven months to
complete. The EIR is also costly to prepare. For timeliness and cost reasons, it is therefore
important to that clear direction be provided to the consultant to allow for the efficient preparation
of the EIR. While changes to the General Plan and Downtown Plan can be made at the adoption
hearings scheduled to take place in the early Fall of 2016, it is important that clear direction be
given on the forecasted development indicated in the General Plan.
GENERAL PLAN UPDATE PROCESS
The draft General Plan is divided into eight chapters. To allow for community involvement and
visioning, a total of six Focus Groups were created. Each of the Focus Groups discussed concepts
and issues on their topic. Below is a list of the chapters in the General Plan and the Focus Group
that discussed that topic.
• Our Natural Community — Our Natural Community Focus Group
• Our Prosperous Community — Our Prosperous Community Focus Group
• Our Well-Planned Community — Core Focus Group
• Our Accessible Community — Core Focus Group
• Our Resilient Community — Core Focus Group
• Our Health and Safe Community — Our Health and Safe Community Focus Group
• Our Creative Community — Our Creative Community Focus Group
• Our Active Community - Our Active Community Focus Group
Each Chapter of the draft General Plan was therefore created based on the discussions at the Focus
Group meetings. Each of the Chapters includes a discussion of subjects pertinent to the Chapter
topic (such as Air and Water in Our Natural Community) and also includes Policies and Actions.
These Policies and Actions establish goals for the City. Future projects can then be evaluated by the
Policies and Actions to determine compliance with the General Plan and the vision for the City.
DOWNTOWN FIRST
As discussed above, this General Plan was processed as a Focused General Plan. One of the
primary reasons is to accommodate growth and create a unique downtown that will become the
heart of the City. Growth in the City will primarily consists of infill development. Therefore, the
City should consider infill strategies that will yield innovative land uses and design opportunities
that can deliver a strong downtown that can withstand future economic, environmental and political
changes. It should be noted that the current General Plan (1985) defines the Central Business
District (the area that the draft General Plan calls "Downtown"). The 1985 General Plan states the
following:
The opportunities for development in the Central Business District are almost
unlimited. A key area within the Central Business District is Glendora Avenue and its
immediate vicinity. (Page 111-8)
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The 1985 General Plan currently provides a focus for commercial development in the Central
Business District. However, it does not provide a vision or a road map. Furthermore, in 2012, as
part of the Housing Element Update, the City adopted a Mixed Use Overlay Zone along with zoning
standards that allowed for high density residential development and mixed use in that area in the
Central Business District.
Therefore, commercial and residential growth is currently allowed in the Central Business District.
In addition, the approval and construction of the commercial/residential development at 301 S.
Glendora Avenue by Lennar has attracted a degree of interest from the community and developers.
As such the primary focus of the General Plan Update was centered on development opportunities
in the Downtown area (formerly the Central Business District).
While the draft General Plan covers the entire City, the idea has been to focus growth potential into
the Downtown and to create Policies and Actions that support that growth and allow for the
transformation of the Downtown area into a more urban development pattern. In addition, it should
allow for a comfortable walking environment, infrastructure support for bicycling and also for mass
transit. An urban development pattern allows residents of the area to make transportation choices
other than driving a vehicle. Therefore, the vision of the Downtown includes expanding housing
opportunities, connecting activity centers, promoting mobility options, establishing a network of
open space, animating the public realm, getting the parking right and creating a strong sense of
place with a unique identity. The overall idea is to transform the Downtown area allowing for
higher density development that also provides those urban development amenities.
OTHER GROWTH AREAS
In addition to the Downtown, the draft General Plan also identifies other areas in the City where
growth can be accommodated. These areas are divided into three categories; districts, corridors, and
neighborhood centers. Downtown is included in the districts category. The following is a list of
those areas.
Districts
• Downtown
• Eastland
• Autoplaza
• BKK
Corridors
• Azusa Avenue(north of the freeway)
• Glendora Avenue (south of Downtown)
• Sunset Avenue (south of Downtown)
Neighborhood Centers
• Puente Avenue (at Sunset Avenue)
• Aroma Drive (at Azusa Avenue)
• Nogales Street (at La Puente Road)
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STABLE NEIGHBORHOODS
The majority of the City is not located in a district, corridor or neighborhood center. The majority
of the City therefore not planned for growth. The idea then is that established neighborhoods should
therefore be protected from higher intensity development.
The draft General Plan states:
"The focus of the General Plan is to deploy the current resources strategically on
planning for areas where the development pressures are the greatest, infrastructure is
in place and change is desired, while protecting the stable residential areas from
runaway growth" (Page 35, 2nd Page of Our Well Planned Community)
As noted in that quotation, the majority of the City consists of stable residential areas that should be
protected from higher intensity development.
FORECAST FOR DEVELOPMENT
The concept of the Focused General Plan is to focus the visioning and planning efforts of the areas
of the City where development should be directed. At the Focus Group meetings for the General
Plan update, there have been discussions on districts, corridors and neighborhood centers in the City
and what the amount of development that should be directed into those areas. Based on the Market
Analysis completed by HR&A that was presented to the Our Prosperous Community Focus Group,
it was determined that the General Plan should plans for 2,100 new housing units (estimated
population of 4,935 at 2.35 people per unit) and 600,000 square foot of commercial development
over the next 20 years. All of this development has been forecast to occur in one of the identified
districts, corridors or neighborhood centers. The following chart indicates the forecast development
for the various areas.
PREDICTED DEVELOPMENT PATTERN AND INTENSITY CHART
(TABLE 4-2 ON PAGE 55 OF THE DRAFT GENERAL PLAN)
A=2111111
Non-residential
Retail Office Hotel
Districts
Downtown 1,700 units 125,000 s.f. 280,000 s.f. 135 rooms
Eastland
25,000 s.f. 5,000 s.f.
Autoplaza
BKK
Residential
Non-residential
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..
Corridors
Azusa 250 units 15,000 s.f. 10,000 s.f.
Glendora 50 units 10,000 s.f. 5,000 s.f.
'Sunset 50 units 10,000 s.f. 100,000 s.f.
'Neighborhood Centers, & Other Areas
....
Puente Avenue 5,000 s.f.
'Aroma Drive 5,000 s.f.
1
. Amar Road 50 units
1
Nogales Street 5,000 s.f.
1 Total 2,100 units 200,000 s.f. 400,000 s.f. 135 rooms
This chart is an important tool in moving forward to the completion of the General Plan Update.
The next step in the process will be the preparation of the Environmental Impact Report (ER) in
compliance with CEQA. The EIR document is a detailed document that will take time to prepare
and distribute and is costly. It is important that careful consideration be given now to the
distribution of development around the City to allow the ER to process efficiently as changes to the
distribution of development after the preparation could cause delays and incur additional expense
not included in the General Plan Scope of Work and budget. While there is discussion on a wide
range of topics in the General Plan Update and there are a variety policies and actions included,
because the analysis in the EIR is most concerned with new development, the predicated
development is the primary aspect that staff and the consultant need direction on to move forward.
It should also be noted, that the certification of the ER with the development distribution will be a
benefit to developers that are developing in the specified areas and are in compliance with the
General Plan. This is one of the benefits the City has not had in the recent past as the City has not
expended the time, effort and finances to complete advanced planning documents that include
CEQA documentation. A developer submitting a plan for development that is within the parameters
of the predicted development on the chart above will not have to prepare a complete environmental
analysis as an applicant currently does. In many cases there may still be a need to complete studies
on specific issues, such as traffic, to address impacts of a development. Developments not included
in the General Plan ER will continue to be processed as they are now, requiring the preparation of a
complete environmental document.
Additionally, the General Plan Update also provides a separate chart that provides information on
the distribution of development based on land use designation. One of the things that will occur
with the General Plan Update is that the land use designations will change. The concept is to reduce
the number of designations because at this point in the history of West Covina, development and
activity has occurred on all of the properties in the City, with some rare exceptions. The following
is a chart showing the current designations and the proposed designations.
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Current Land Use Designation New Land Use Designation
Residential (units per acre) Residential (units per acre)
Very Low (0.1 - 1.0) Neighborhood Low (0 — 8)
Low (1.1 —2.0) Neighborhood Medium (8.1 —20)
Suburban (2.1 — 4.0) Neighborhood High (203 —45)
Low Medium (4.1 —8.0)
Medium (8.1 — 15)
Medium High (15.1 —20)
High (over 20)
Commercial and Industrial Commercial and Industrial
Regional Commercial Commerce
Service & Neighborhood Commercial Industry
Offices Downtown
Planned Development BKK District
Industrial & Manufacturing
Planned Administrative Research
Public Facilities Public Facilities
Parks Public & Institutional
Open Space Parks & Open Space
Schools
Fire Stations
Libraries
The proposed land use designations reduce the number of categories. At the time the previous
General Plan was completed, there was still a significant amount of undeveloped land and the City
needed to be clear about what type of development was appropriate. Now that the City is basically
built out, the land use designation can be simplified for ease of use by the public and staff
The General Plan Update also includes a chart that divides up the development potential by land use
category. That chart is provided below.
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POTENTIAL DEVELOPMENT BASED ON CARRYING CAPACITY OF LAND AREA
(TABLE 4-1 ON PAGE 44 OF THE DRAFT GENERAL PLAN)
Planning
Desigrhitnm
I...N.11[1g Development (2( i 5) General Plan Capacity
Parcels Acres Vacant Additional Potential
Single-
family
Multi-
family
Comm./
Industrial
Total Parcels Acres Units Sq.Ft
Neighborhood
Low (0 to 8
units/acre)
18,518 39 18557 5,385
Neighborhood
Medium (9 to 20
units/acre)
301 301 337 350 5,000
Neighborhood
High (21 to 45
units/acre)
18 18 12
Commerce 479 479 581 50 190,000
Industry 45 45 51 1 3.13
Public &
Institutional
72 72 883
Parks and Open
Space
209 499
Downtown
District
1 173 173 229 1,700 472,500
BKK District 9 9 542 9 542
Total 8,519 2,100 667,500
This chart is useful for staff as it provides an inventory of the land use designation by acreage as
well as providing information on the amount of development forecast for each designation.
DOWNTOWN PLAN
The General Plan provides the vision and goals for the City in a general way. The City is further
divided into zoning districts to allow for the implementation of the General Plan. One of the
reasons the City selected Rangwala and Associates to develop the General Plan Update is because
their proposal also included the development of a Zoning Code for the Downtown district. This
document is called the Downtown Plan. As a code amendment, this document requires that the City
Council or Planning Commission initiate a code amendment. Therefore, one of the actions
recommended is for the City Council to initiate a code amendment allowing staff to begin
processing.
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The General Plan will provide direction on where development is envisioned. Furthermore, as
consideration is being given to where development should be directed, it also important to focus on
what that development should look like. The Downtown Plan then will provide specific
development and design requirements to require a more urban development pattern. New buildings
will be required to provide street level storefronts and parking behind buildings or in structures to
provide a comfortable pedestrian experience so that driving is an option, not a necessity.
The Downtown Plan is not a traditional Zoning Code, it is a form-based code. Form-based Codes
specify building types and building frontage types. They provide more direction to an applicant on
the form and mass of a building rather than just providing setbacks and height limits as a traditional
Zoning Code normally does. As it is envisioned that new development in downtown will primarily
be of a higher intensity, it is important to clearly establish standards that provide a predictable
outcome for the City. To date, the City has allowed a disjointed development pattern, largely driven
by the goals of the applicant and primarily based on access by automobiles. Until the last few years,
this development pattern was appropriate to meet the needs of the community. However, as new
development becomes multi-story and more intense, and as traffic levels continue to rise, it will
become increasingly important to focus development in certain districts for the sake of preservation
of stable neighborhoods. Looking to the future of the Downtown district the proposed form-based
code will require a consistent development pattern that provides multi-modal connectivity and
driven by the goals of community.
CONCLUSION:
The development of the draft General Plan was been driven by the efforts of the Focus Groups. The
concept of a Focused General Plan has allowed for a forecast of growth over the next 20 years as
well as distributing that growth into the areas that the City desires the growth to occur. It is
important at this stage to get clear direction from the City Council and Planning Commission on the
amount and distribution of growth that are indicated in the tables above. Once staff and the
consultant has received that direction, the EIR process will begin. Following the ElR process,
hearings will be scheduled for the certification of the ElR and adoption of the General Plan and
Downtown Plan. Staff and the consultant will continue to edit and ref= the General Plan and
Downtown Plan documents. If there are comments on typos or need for editing sections of the
documents, please inform the Planning Department via email or in person. The purpose of the Joint
Meeting is not to review the editing comments, rather it is to analyze the growth predicted.
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The General Plan Update will then send a message to the development community on where the
City would like to see growth as well as the fonn of that it will take. The certified Program EIR will
address most aspects of the growth specified in the General Plan. Developers with projects that are
included in the General Plan EIR will receive several benefits including reduces cost (in the time
and cost to prepare CEQA documentation), clear direction from the City (from the adopted General
Plan), predictable results if they comply with the standards of the Downtown Plan.
Attachments:
Attachment No. 1 - Resolution No. 2016-1 Initiating Code Amendment No.
Attachment No. 2 — Draft General Plan (Available for review by the public at the Library, Police
Department, Planning Department, General Plan Website (planwc.org ) —
Planning Department)
Attachment No. 3 — Draft Downtown Plan and Code (Available for review by the public at the
Library, Police Department, Planning Department, General Plan Website
(planwc.org) — Planning Department)
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ATTACHMENT NO. 1
CITY COUNCIL
RESOLUTION NO. 2 0 1 6 — 0 1
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF WEST
COVINA, CALIFORNIA, INITIATING CODE AMENDMENT NO. 16-
01 RELATED TO THE DOWNTOWN PLAN FOR ZONING
STANDARDS
WHEREAS, on January 12, 2016, the City Council considered the initiation of a
code amendment related to establishing a Downtown Plan to create zoning standards for
the downtown area to be defined in the General Plan; and
WHEREAS, the studies and investigations made by the City Council and in its behalf
reveal the following facts:
1. In 2012, as part of the Housing Element Update (2006-2014), the City adopted a
Mixed Use Overlay Zone along with zoning standards that allowed for high density
residential development and mixed use in that area in the Central Business District
(as defined in the 1985 General Plan). The zoning standards were adopted without
considering a vision for the future or providing any direction on the type of growth
encouraged.
2. The Downtown Plan will be developed as a form-based code. Form-based Codes
specify building types and building frontage types. They provide more direction to
an applicant on the form and mass of a building rather than just providing setbacks
and height limits as a traditional Zoning Code normally does.
3. To provide for growth for the City it is envisioned that new development in
downtown will primarily be of a higher intensity. The Downtown Plan will
provide specific development and design requirements to require a more urban
development pattern. New buildings will be required to provide street level
storefronts and parking behind buildings or in structures to provide a comfortable
pedestrian experience so that driving is an option, not a necessity.
4. The proposed action is part of a larger project under the California Environmental
Quality Act (CEQA), including the General Plan Update. An Environmental
Impact Report (EIR) will be prepared for the project.
SECTION NO. 1: The above recitals are true and correct and are incorporated herein
as if set forth herein in full.
SECTION NO. 2: The City Council of the City of West Covina, in conformance
with Section 26-153(a)(3) of the West Covina Municipal Code, does hereby initiate a code
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City Council Resolution No. 2016-01
Code Amendment 16-01
January 12,2016 - Page 2
amendment to provide for Development Impact Fees in conformance with the Municipal
Code.
PASSED AND APPROVED on this 12th day of January 2016.
Mayor
ATTEST:
City Clerk
STATE OF CALIFORNIA
COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES
CITY OF WEST COVINA
I, Nickolas S. Lewis, City Clerk of the City of West Covina, California, do hereby certify
that the forgoing resolution was duly adopted by the City Council of the City of West
Covina, California, at a regular meeting held thereof on the 12 th day of January 2016 by the
following vote of the City Council:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSTAIN:
ABSENT:
City Clerk
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
City Attorney
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