DATE: November 21, 2023
TO: Paul Buddenhagen, City Manager
FROM: Chadrick Smalley, Community Development Director
SUBJECT: Ordinance Of The City Council Of The City Of Emeryville Approving An Amendment To The Preliminary Development Plan And Conditions Of Approval For The Promenade Center Retail/Mixed Use Project To Include “Commercial Recreation - Indoor Sports And Recreation” As A Permitted Use And To Remove Language Restricting The Hours Of Operation To 6:00 A.M. To 10:00 P.M. (CEQA Determination: Mitigated Negative Declaration For The Promenade Center Retail/Mixed Use Project Adopted By City Council On April 6, 1999)
RECOMMENDATION
The Planning Commission and staff recommend that the City Council hold a public hearing and adopt the above-entitled Ordinance amending the Promenade Center Retail/Mixed Use Project Preliminary Development Plan and Conditions of Approval (PUD99-1A).
BACKGROUND
Project Location
The Promenade Center Retail/Mixed Use Project Preliminary Development Plan (“PUD/PDP”) is located between Park Avenue to the south, San Pablo Avenue to the east, 45th Street to the north, and Joseph Emery Park to the west. The site is five acres and split between two, separately owned parcels.
Surrounding uses include a mix of personal service, commercial, and recreational uses, with Joseph Emery Park bounding the west side of the property. Emeryville Apartments, an affordable senior housing development, is located east of the property across San Pablo Avenue.
Promenade Center is currently developed with three buildings and a surface parking lot. The former CVS Pharmacy building, located on the northern parcel, is currently vacant and has been subject to multiple code enforcement cases and complaints related to graffiti over the past year. The proposed amendment is intended to allow a new tenant for this building, as described below.
Promenade Center PUD/PDP Background
The Promenade PUD/PDP site was part of the 1995 Kaiser Medical Center Development, a planned unit development/preliminary development plan (the “Kaiser PDP”) that spanned the current Pixar Animation Studios campus and the Promenade Center area. After abandonment of the Kaiser project, in 1998 a portion of the site was approved for construction of the Pixar Planned Unit Development. For the remaining five acre parcel, the Castle Group first obtained approval to reuse existing building (“Standards Brands”) and build 18,000 square feet of new retail space and 90 townhouse units in February 1998. This proposal was also not constructed. In January 1999, the Castle Group revised their application to demolish existing buildings and build 31,860 square feet of retail space and 103 residential units (the “Emery Village Project”, now known as the Promenade Center Retail/Mixed Use Project). Between February 1999 and September 2000, the Planning Commission and City Council considered and approved the following entitlements:
• Amendment to the Kaiser PDP to allow residential uses; • Final Development Plans for the retail and residential components; and • An Initial Study and Mitigated Negative Declaration (discussed under “Environmental Review” of this staff report) On April 20, 1999, the City Council adopted Ordinance No. 99-003 to amend the Kaiser PDP and the Promenade Center (then Emery Village) FDP. On September 19, 2000, the City Council passed Resolution No. 00-162 approving amended Final Development Plans (FDPs) for both the residential and retail components of the Promenade Center, including Conditions of Approval and Mitigation Monitoring Program.
DISCUSSION
Project Proposal
The proposed amendment is comprised of two changes to one of the Promenade PUD/PDP Conditions of Approval. The first change would confirm that “Commercial Recreation – Indoor Sports and Recreation” is an allowed use in the retail component of the Promenade PUD/PDP. The second change would remove service hour restrictions from certain commercial use types, including the proposed Commercial Recreation – Indoor use.
This PUD/PDP amendment is prompted by an incoming tenant, Planet Fitness, for the vacant Longs Drugs/CVS Pharmacy building at 4345 San Pablo Avenue. The proposed use is classified as “Commercial Recreation – Indoor Sports and Recreation” and would be open for 24 hours per day, seven days per week. Planet Fitness anticipates approximately 750 visitors per day and approximately 15 employees, which is consistent with other commercial uses of this size.
The former Longs Drugs/CVS Pharmacy is 19,935 square feet and no changes to the existing floor area of the building are anticipated. In addition, Planet Fitness intends to maintain the existing, angled entrance door facing towards San Pablo Avenue as its main and only entrance to the facility.
Condition of Approval (“COA”) VII.A lists a number of commercial use types permitted administratively as part of business license review in the retail portion of the PUD/PDP as noted below. “Commercial Recreation – Indoor Sports and Recreation” is not among the listed uses, although it is a commercial/retail use of similar intensity. In addition, COA VII.A also restricts the operation of those uses from 6:00 AM to 10:00 PM. As the proposed use and its hours of service do not meet the PUD/PDP’s criteria, an amendment to COA VII.A is needed. It should be noted that the restriction on hours of operation on commercial activities was placed in consideration of the residential development that was then part of this PUD/PDP. Because the residential component did not get constructed in favor of the development of Joseph Emery Park, removal of this condition is not expected to have an adverse impact to the surrounding neighborhood and may actually improve conditions with increased activation during non-peak hours.
The proposed changes to COA VII.A are outlined below with added language underlined and deletions shown by strike through type.
The following uses are permitted in the retail portion of the project subject to an administrative approval procedure by the Planning Director as part of the business license review for the City of Emeryville:
- Business and Professional Support
- Financial Services
- Personal Services
- Professional Services
- Retail Sales (excluding food related uses and alcoholic beverage sales) - Commercial Recreation – Indoor Sports and Recreation
- Any listed use with operating hours no earlier than 6:00 AM or later than l0:00 PM.
These changes pertain exclusively to the uses and hours of operation allowed within the PUD/PDP. Any major exterior modifications to the existing CVS building and site plan will be subject to further review under a new FDP.
The proposed modifications to Condition of Approval VII.A are included as Exhibit A to the attached draft Ordinance.
Conformity to Planning Regulations
In order to approve the proposed PUD/PDP amendment, the City Council must make findings pursuant to Section 9-7.1004 of the Planning Regulations. Staff believes that these findings can be made as described below:
The proposed planned unit development conforms to the adopted General Plan of the City.
The proposed amendment would allow for “Commercial Recreation – Indoor Sports and Recreation” uses within retail portions of PUD/PDP. This is consistent with the General Plan Land Use designation of Mixed Use with Residential, which encourages a variety of residential and nonresidential uses. It is also consistent with other uses that are permitted by the PUD such as retail, financial and professional services and personal services, including the intensity and impacts of those uses. In addition, the proposed amendment would not alter the allowed building height, floor area, or density established by the approved PUD/PDP and its Conditions of Approval, in conformance with the General Plan.
The proposed planned unit development at its proposed location will provide for a cohesive, integrated, well-planned development which will contribute to the general well-being of the surrounding neighborhood and community.
The proposed amendment will continue to provide a vibrant urban environment for pedestrians, residents, and the general citizenry. The amendment supports the intended mixed-use character of the PUD/PDP by adding “Indoor Sports and Recreation”, supporting a greater diversity of commercial use types onsite.
In addition, the removal of service hour restrictions will provide community members with greater convenience in accessing services onsite and will increase safety and visibility of the PUD/PDP site during off-peak hours of the day. In addition, patrons of the proposed Indoor Sports and Recreation use are likely to support the other commercial establishments at the Promenade.
The project site is suitable for the uses permitted in the planned unit development in terms of access, size of parcel and relationship to similar or related uses.
The proposed amendment is suitable for the PUD/PDP site in terms of access, size of parcel, and the relationship to the other uses within the project site or project vicinity. The proposed use, “Commercial Recreation – Indoor Sports and Recreation” accommodates sports and health activities conducted within an enclosed building – consistent with the other commercial use types and site design approved by the PUD/PDP.
In addition, Planet Fitness intends to occupy an existing, 19,935-square-foot building onsite. No changes to the approved site plan and building area are contemplated by the proposed amendment.
The location, size, design and operating characteristics of the proposed planned unit development will be substantially compatible with and will not be materially detrimental to neighborhood character, availability of civic facilities, capacity and physical character of surrounding streets, physical safety of the immediate area and the amount of light falling on adjacent buildings and open space.
The proposed amendment to the PUD/PDP will be compatible with neighborhood character, availability of civic facilities, surrounding streets, physical safety, and light falling on adjacent buildings and open space. The proposed “Commercial Recreation – Indoor Sports and Recreation” use is similar to other commercial use types already approved by the PUD/PDP and will occupy an existing building onsite.
While the amendment will remove restrictions on service hours for commercial use types enumerated in COA VII.A, the operating characteristics of the PUD/PDP will not be detrimental to neighborhood character. The PUD/PDP site is surrounded by similar commercial, service, and recreation uses, and any major modifications to the existing buildings or site plan will be subject to further review under a new Final Development Plan for conformance with the PUD/PDP. As noted above, the restriction on operating hours for commercial uses was put in place to mitigate noise impacts to the PUD’s residential component, which was never completed.
The project site will be graded and developed with due regard for aesthetic quality and landscaping so as to reduce, to the extent feasible, significant negative impacts on the environmental quality or value of improved or unimproved property in the area.
The proposed amendment will not have any impact on aesthetic quality or landscaping because it does not propose any changes to site, building, or landscape design and therefore does not involve aesthetic considerations. Furthermore, any major modifications to the existing buildings or site plan will be subject to further review under a new Final Development Plan for conformance with the PUD/PDP.
The proposed planned unit development will be developed to allow originality which does not have significant adverse impacts on the environmental quality or value of improved or unimproved property or prevent appropriate development and use of such areas.
The proposed amendment to the PUD/PDP will continue to allow originality that does not have significant adverse impacts on the environmental quality or value of improved or unimproved property or prevent appropriate development and use of such areas.
The proposed planned unit development has been designed to include open space, parking areas; pedestrian walks, signs, illumination and landscaping (including irrigation) to enhance the environmental quality of the site.
The proposed amendment does not alter the PUD/PDP’s open space, parking, pedestrian walks, signs, illumination or landscaping. Any major modifications to the existing buildings or site plan will be subject to further review under a new Final Development Plan for conformance with the PUD/PDP.
Environmental Review
The proposed amendment confirms that “Commercial Recreation - Indoor Sports and Recreation” is a permitted commercial use type and removes language restricting the operation of permitted uses to 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. This amendment is not subject to subsequent environmental review pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15162. The PUD/PDP already permits commercial uses – the proposed amendment does not represent a change in use and simply specifies and confirms that this particular retail/commercial use type is allowed. The Commercial Recreation – Indoor Sports and Recreation is no more intensive than the commercial use types already permitted and analyzed for potential environmental impacts and would generate similar or fewer vehicle trips than the Longs Drugs/CVS Pharmacy that was originally located in the same tenant space per ITE Trip Generation Manual (Ninth Edition).
A Mitigated Negative Declaration for the ”Emery Village Project”, now known as the Promenade Center Retail/Mixed Use Project (i.e. the PUD/PDP) was adopted by City Council on April 6, 1999 (“MND”; approved by Resolution No. 99-53). Mitigation measures identified in the MND were incorporated into the Conditions of Approval for the PUD/PDP.
Public Resources Code Section 21166 and its corresponding CEQA Guidelines Section 15162 provide that, once an EIR or a negative declaration has been adopted for a project, no subsequent or supplemental EIR shall be required by the lead agency unless: (1) substantial changes are proposed in the project which will require major revisions of the previous EIR due to the involvement of new significant environmental effects or a substantial increase in the severity of previously identified significant effects; (2) substantial changes occur with respect to the circumstances under which the project is undertaken which will require major revisions of the previous EIR due to the involvement of new significant environmental effects or a substantial increase in the severity of previously identified significant effects; or (3) new information of substantial importance, which was not known and could not have been known with the exercise of reasonable diligence at the time the previous EIR was certified as complete, shows any of the following:
The project will have one or more significant effects not discussed in the previous EIR; Significant effects previously examined will be substantially more severe than shown in the previous EIR; Mitigation measures or alternatives previously found not to be feasible would in fact be feasible, and would substantially reduce one or more significant effects of the project, but the project proponents decline to adopt the mitigation measure or alternative; or Mitigation measures or alternatives which are considerably different from those analyzed in the previous EIR would substantially reduce one or more significant effects on the environment, but the project proponents decline to adopt the mitigation measure or alternative.
The proposed amendment to the PUD complies with CEQA Section 21166 and its corresponding CEQA Guidelines Section 15162. The amendment does not represent a substantial change to the PUD/PDP and simply confirms that a certain type of commercial use is permitted where other commercial uses are currently permitted. There are no changes in circumstances or new information that require any changes to the MND or that otherwise demonstrates that there will be new or additional environmental impacts. The MND evaluated potential impacts of commercial uses for the PUD/PDP and the amendment does not result in any new uses.
FISCAL IMPACT
None.
STAFF COMMUNICATION WITH THE PUBLIC
The Planning Commission reviewed and recommended that the City Council approve the amendment to the Conditions of Approval for the PUD/PDP at a public hearing on October 26, 2023.
CONCLUSION
Staff and the Planning Commission recommend that, after hearing a presentation from staff and receiving public testimony, the City Council adopt of the attached ordinance approving the proposed amendment to the Conditions of Approval for the Promenade Center Retail/Mixed Use Project Preliminary Development Plan (PUD/PDP) to include “Commercial Recreation - Indoor Sports and Recreation” as a permitted use and to remove language restricting the hours of operation to 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.
PREPARED BY: Alyssa Chung, Assistant Planner
REVIEWED BY: Miroo Desai, Planning Manager
APPROVED AND FORWARDED TO THE
CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF EMERYVILLE:
Paul Buddenhagen, City Manager
ATTACHMENTS:
Attachment 1 - Applicant Site Plan and Project Narrative – October 18, 2023 Attachment 2 - Approved FDP Retail Perspective Drawings – September 15, 2000 Draft Ordinance for PUD/PDP Amendment that includes Exhibit A: Revised Conditions of Approval Promenade Center Retail/Mixed Use Project (PUD99-1A)
City Council Meeting | November 21, 2023
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City of Emeryville
CALIFORNIA
MEMORANDUM