RESOLUTION NO. 2023-16
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF GONZALES
APPROVING AMENDMENTS TO THE CITY OF GONZALES GENERAL PLAN TO
CHANGE SPECIFIC LAND USE DESIGNATIONS AND TEXT AND WAIVE THE
REQUIREMENT FOR A SPECIFIC PLAN
WHEREAS, the adopted City of Gonzales 2010 General Plan defines and designates certain lands for urban growth and development within areas designated by the General Plan; and WHEREAS, the City of Gonzales and the County of Monterey developed, adopted, and signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) in 2014, incorporated herein by reference, to cooperate on common planning, growth, and development issues; and WHEREAS, the MOA established planning principles for both parties to promote logical and orderly development, direct development away from the best agricultural lands, stay within the urban growth boundary established by the City’s General Plan and the MOA, and provide compact urban form development through the use of specific plans; and WHEREAS, the Rianda Family Partnership desires to initiate proceedings to annex
48.97 acres into the City and build a 313,800 square foot agricultural cooler and amend the general plan to a land use designation consistent with the intended use; and WHEREAS, the subject property is located in unincorporated Monterey County at 31958 Gloria Road, east of the current City limits, and consists of Assessor’s Parcel Number 223-032- 019; and
WHEREAS, the City Council has independently reviewed the Initial Study / Mitigated Negative Declaration prepared for the project to adequately address the environmental effects of the proposed General Plan Amendments pursuant to CEQA and determined that it adequately addresses the environmental effects of the proposed General Plan Amendments, and has adopted the IS/MND and the accompanying MMRP; and
WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Gonzales identifies and determines the principal reasons for amending the City’s General Plan Land Use Designations and waiving the requirement for a Specific Plan for this application are as follows:
1. The proposed amendment to the City’s General Plan and change of land use designation from Neighborhood Residential to Industrial/Manufacturing is consistent with and facilitates the fulfillment of the goals, policies, and objectives set forth in the City of Gonzales General Plan, as the plan area and subject properties are proposed for future development in the 2010 Gonzales General Plan.
2. The Project Site is contiguous to the existing City limits and is for a site-specific well-defined use. The Project is not creating a new residential neighborhood that would be developed under a Specific Plan, which Specific Plan would set forth orderly development of an
ATTACHMENT B
entire neighborhood with associated public and community uses consistent with the approved Neighborhood Design Guidelines and Standards and Community Character policies. In this case, the Project Application sets forth the site-specific development standards and parameters with regard to the development of the Project Site. A specific plan would not be appropriate for this type of project nor is necessary given the single-use nature of the project with the majority of improvements built in a single phase. All conditions of approval, mitigation measures, on- and off-site infrastructure requirements, and exactions can be identified and considered through the typical Use Permit process, as has been done for other similar facilities present within the City Limits located in the Gonzales Industrial Park.
3. The amendment to the City’s General Plan is consistent with and will implement the General Plan to promote the general health, safety, and welfare of the community.
WHEREAS, the Planning Commission at its scheduled meeting of April 24, 2023, considered the amendment to the City’s General Plan, the Staff Report and presentation, public testimony, documentary evidence introduced and received during the public hearing along with the entire public record, weighed the evidence before it and made CEQA and Project Findings, and recommended by passage of Resolution PC 2023-03 that the City Council approve the General Plan Amendment amending the land use designations and waive the requirement for a Specific Plan.
WHEREAS, the City Council at its scheduled regular meeting of May 15, 2023, considered the amendment to the City’s General Plan, the Staff Report and presentation, public testimony, documentary evidence introduced and received during the public hearing along with the entire public record, weighed the evidence before it.
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the City Council of the City of Gonzales approves a General Plan Amendment amending land use designations and text and waiving the requirement for a Specific Plan as follows:
1. All of the recitals set forth above are true and correct to the best of the City Council’s knowledge and are incorporated herein by reference and made part of this resolution by this reference.
2. That the City Council declares that it has been provided with and reviewed all evidence available in the administrative record to support the findings of project consideration, as well as the Staff Report, presentation by staff, written and oral testimony (collectively, the “Record of Proceedings”), and hereby provides notification that the Record of Proceedings is on file with the clerk of the City of Gonzales.
3. The City Council declares it has reviewed and considered the 2023 Gloria Road Agricultural Cooler Project IS/MND document, and the Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program, all of which is incorporated herein by reference.
4. The City Council finds that, after reviewing the public record, findings supported by evidence in the record provide cause for approving the General Plan Amendment.
5. The City Council adopts Exhibit A, which amends the City of Gonzales General Plan Land Use Map, text and figures to designate the subject property APN: 223-032-019 to Industrial/Manufacturing, adopt language waiving the requirement of the development of a Specific Plan for single-uses, incorporated herein by reference, and change tables and text to reflect accurate acreages and job and residential projections, and ensure internal consistency as a result of the change.
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PASSED AND ADOPTED by the City Council of the City of Gonzales at a regular meeting duly noticed and held on the 15th day of May 2023, by the following vote:
AYES: COUNCIL MEMBERS:
NOES: COUNCIL MEMBERS:
ABSTAIN: COUNCIL MEMBERS:
ABSENT: COUNCIL MEMBERS:
_______________________
Jose L. Rios, The Honorable Mayor
ATTEST:
__________________________
Mary Villegas, Deputy City Clerk
A-1
CITY OF GONZALES
RESOLUTION NO. 2023-16
EXHIBIT A
AMENDMENT TO THE 2010 CITY OF GONZALES GENERAL PLAN FOR THE
GONZALES COOLER DEVELOPMENT PROJECT INVOLVING
APPROXIMATELY 44.8 ACRES
Changes to the selected general plan text are hereby made as follows:
Page II-34: In Table II-3: FUTURE LAND USE, POPULATION, AND EMPLOYMENT BUILDOUT: Reduce the number of Neighborhood
Residential Units in Added Land Use and Total Land Use by 204 Units; Reduce the number of added and total population by 759 persons; Increase the amount of Industrial/Manufacturing total square feet of Added Land Use and Total Land Use by 314,000; and Increase the number of Added Employment and Total Employment by 436.
Page II-36: “D” – LAND USE DESIGNATIONS:
For commercial and industrial uses, intensity is expressed in terms of Floor Area Ratio (FAR). FAR is the gross floor area of structures on a site divided by the site area. For instance, an FAR of 0.5 would allow a 5,000 square foot building on a 10,000-square-foot parcel. The intensity standards define the maximum levels of development permitted. However, these maximums do not establish entitlement to a specific level of development without first conforming to all other City policies and development standards and are subject to discretionary approval. A Specific Plan is not required for annexation of new site-specific, single-phase non-residential uses contiguous to the City limits meeting the City’s development standards, subject to discretionary approval.
Page II-45: 11. Industrial/Manufacturing
“The primary purpose of this designation is to define those areas that are appropriate for heavy industrial and manufacturing uses, the location of which may create land use conflicts with residential uses and schools. The emphasis is on agricultural services, but other types of industry compatible with the policies in the General Plan are encouraged. The designation permits industrial parks, agricultural processing plants, light manufacturing, warehousing, wineries, auto and farm equipment sales or repair establishments, feed stores, lumberyards, construction supply companies, and similar and compatible uses. Compatible highway-serving Exhibit A: General Plan Amendment Text Changes & Figure A-2
uses like gas stations, restaurants, motels, and truck stops are permitted in this area. The maximum permitted Floor Area Ratio is 0.5.
The designation has been applied to 469 423 468 acres of land in Gonzales, including 325 383 acres of land west of Highway 101 and 144 40 85 acres of land east of Highway 101. This designation is also used in the urban reserve area.”
Page II-51: Policy LU- 2.1 Specific Plans Required in General Plan Growth Area New development outside of the City’s incorporated area as of 2008 shall be organized through the use of Specific Plans that contain self-contained neighborhoods with the uses prescribed by the applicable land use designations shown in the Land Use Diagram. A Specific Plan is not required for annexation of new site-specific, single-phase non-residential uses contiguous to the City limits meeting the City’s development standards, subject to discretionary approval.
Page II-52: Implementing Action LU-2.1.2 – Commercial/Industrial Specific Plans “Highway Commercial,” Light Industrial/Business Park,” or “Industrial/Manufacturing” for multi-phase projects or parcels that are not contiguous to the existing City limits, prior to City approval of development entitlements. Such Specific Plans shall be organized into one of three Specific Plans areas—the “North Interchange Area,” the “South Interchange Area,” and the 5th Street Community Commercial Area. In the South Interchange Area, non-residential land north and south of Gloria Road, may be combined with the Specific Plan prepared for neighborhood residential development immediately north of Gloria Road. Likewise, in the North Interchange Area, land designated for residential use located west of Gonzales Slough may be combined with the Specific Plan prepared for non-residential uses in the vicinity.
Page II-52: Implementing Action LU-2.1.3 – Development Policies and Standards.
Unless otherwise exempted as a site-specific, single-phase non-residential project adjacent to the existing City Limits, use development policies and standards contained in Specific Plans to identify permitted uses, accessory uses, conditionally permitted uses, and prohibited uses within each Specific Plan area. These uses should be consistent with the Land Use category designation definitions in this element as well as the goals and policies of this Plan
Exhibit A: General Plan Amendment Text Changes & Figure A-3
Page VIII-19: Implementing Action CC-1.1.9 – Specific Plans.
Require Specific Plans prior to the approval of development of large properties planned for multiple uses and phases to ensure that such developments are comprehensively planned and implemented.
Changes would be made to the general plan figures as follows:
All Figures as appropriate: revise City Limit upon LAFCO approval of Annexation
Page II-31: Figure II-7: Land Use Diagram Inset #3
Revise to show Industrial/Manufacturing on Project Site north of Gloria Road
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Exhibit A: General Plan Amendment Text Changes & Figure