Attachment 1.0
ATTACHMENT NO. 1
FINDINGS AND CONDITIONS OF APPROVAL
ZONING TEXT AMENDMENT NO. 20-003
FINDINGS FOR APPROVAL – ZONING TEXT AMENDMENT NO. 20-003:
1. Zoning Text Amendment (ZTA) No. 20-003 to amend the existing zoning designation within the Holly-Seacliff Specific Plan (SP9) from Commercial (C) to Residential Medium Density (RM) to allow for the development of up to 15 dwelling units per acre is consistent with the goals and policies of the General Plan as identified below.
A. Land Use Element
Goal LU-1 - New commercial, industrial, and residential development is coordinated to ensure that the land use pattern is consistent with the overall goals and needs of the community.
Policy LU-1C - Support infill development, consolidation of parcels, and adaptive reuse of existing buildings.
Policy LU-1D - Ensure that new development projects are of compatible proportion, scale and character to complement adjoining uses.
Policy LU-2D - Maintain and protect residential neighborhoods by avoiding encroachment of incompatible land uses.
Policy LU-2E - Intensify the use and strengthen the role of public art, architecture, landscaping, site design, and development patterns to enhance the visual image of Huntington Beach.
Goal LU-4 - A range of housing types is available to meet the diverse economic, physical, and social needs of future and existing residents, while neighborhood character and residences are well maintained and protected.
Goal LU-7 - Neighborhoods, corridors, and community subareas are well designed, and buildings, enhanced streets, and public spaces contribute to a strong sense of place.
The project includes a ZTA to implement the land use designation proposed as part of General Plan Amendment No. 20-003 and enable the redevelopment of a primarily undeveloped site into a residential community consisting of 35 townhomes. The project also includes Tentative Tract Map (TTM) No. 19118 to consolidate 12 existing lots into a one lot condominium map for the development of the attached townhome units. Redevelopment of the primarily undeveloped site with a residential townhome project and approval of the TTM to consolidate the existing onsite lots into one lot would support the City’s goals and policies aimed at promoting infill residential development. The project will develop the property with three-story townhomes that will exhibit a modern coastal architectural style with elements of farmhouse and coastal design that are in keeping with the proportion, scale, and character of the
Attachment 1.1
neighborhood and will add to the range of housing types available in the community. Approval of the ZTA will ensure that the project is consistent with the development standards for RM uses as outlined in the Holly-Seacliff Specific Plan and the Huntington Beach Zoning and Subdivision Ordinance (HBZSO). The project also provides enhanced landscaping areas along each of the three streets that form the site boundaries to enhance existing vehicular and pedestrian connections within the project area.
B. Housing Element
Policy 1.1 - Preserve the character, scale and quality of established residential neighborhoods.
Goal 2 - Provide adequate housing sites through appropriate land use, zoning and specific plan designations to accommodate Huntington Beach’s share of regional housing needs.
Policy 2.1. - Provide site opportunities for development of housing that responds to diverse community needs in terms of housing types, cost and location, emphasizing locations near services and transit that promote walkability.
Goal 3 - Enhance housing affordability so that modest income households can remain an integral part of the Huntington Beach community.
Policy 3.1 - Encourage the production of housing that meets all economic segments of the community, including lower, moderate, and upper income households, to maintain a balanced community.
Policy 3.2 - Utilize the City’s Inclusionary Housing Ordinance as a tool to integrate affordable units within market rate developments. Continue to prioritize the construction of affordable units on-site, with provision of units off-site or payment of an in-lieu housing fee as a less preferred alternative.
Policy 3.3 - Facilitate the development of affordable housing through regulatory incentives and concessions, and/or financial assistance, with funding priority to projects that include extremely low income units. Proactively seek out new models and approaches in the provision of affordable housing.
Policy 3.4 - Explore collaborative partnerships with non-profit organizations, developers, the business community and governmental agencies in the provision of affordable housing.
Policy 4.1 - Regulatory Incentives for Affordable Housing Support the use of density bonuses and other incentives, such as fee deferrals/waivers and parking reductions, to offset or reduce the costs of developing affordable housing while ensuring that potential impacts are addressed.
The proposed project will develop a mostly vacant, underutilized site with 35 three-story townhomes that will be consistent with the scale and nature of residential land uses surrounding the site. The project would respond to community needs for pedestrian infrastructure adjacent to housing by developing the subject property, which has an existing bus stop on Main Street, with a residential project and constructing a new sidewalk along Holly Lane. The project will comply with the Holly-Seacliff Specific Plan’s affordable housing requirement to provide 15 percent of the proposed dwelling units as affordable units because the Applicant is providing 5 affordable units on the site.
Attachment 1.2
Due to the provision of affordable housing, the Applicant is entitled to a 10 percent density bonus, one incentive/concession, and an unlimited number of waivers of development standards as permitted by the California Density Bonus Law. The project includes a 10 percent density bonus to allow 16.59 units per gross acre instead of the maximum density of 15 units per gross acre established in the Holly-Seacliff Specific Plan. The project is not requesting any incentives/concessions, but does include waivers of development standards to allow for a reduced front yard setback along Holly Lane (10 feet instead of 15 feet) and a reduced building separation between several of the onsite buildings (15- and 16-feet instead of 20- feet). Approval of the density bonus and the requested waivers would serve as mechanism to accommodate additional housing and add to the City’s overall housing stock.
2. The ZTA would change the land use designation of the subject property and modify text within the Holly-Seacliff Specific Plan to enable development of the site with a medium- density residential project. Conservatively, the addition of 35 units on the site has been reflected in the overall development capacity for the Specific Plan to ensure consistency with the proposed RM designation on the subject property. However, because residential uses developed under the Specific Plan have largely been developed at lower densities than what was permitted under the Specific Plan, the proposed ZTA will be consistent with the overall residential development capacity that was envisioned for the Specific Plan area. Furthermore, the ZTA will not affect the overall land use uses or the development standards prescribed for the RM zoning district established in the Holly-Seacliff Specific Plan.
3. A community need is demonstrated for the change proposed because it will allow an underdeveloped site to be developed with a residential use that is consistent with the character of the area and will add to the City’s housing stock.
4. Adoption of the ZTA will be in conformity with public convenience, general welfare and good zoning practices because residential uses are a more appropriate land use for the site than commercial uses. The site is surrounded by residential uses on all sides and development of a commercial use on the subject property would result in greater impacts to existing residences than a residential use, such as the proposed project. Furthermore, a residential use is more appropriate than a commercial use on the property because the site has been zoned for commercial uses since adoption of the Specific Plan and has yet to be developed with a commercial use outside of the glass shop on the northwest corner. Therefore, adoption of the ZTA will implement the land use designation proposed with General Plan Amendment No. 20- 003 and the overarching goals and policies in the Specific Plan, and would result in a land use on the property that is more compatible with the surrounding neighborhood.