POWER POINTS
CITY COUNCIL
& PLANNING
COMMISSION
SPECIAL JOINT
MEETING
SEPTEMBER 26, 2023
9/26/2023
1 City Council and Planning Commission
Special Joint Meeting
September 26, 2023
9/27/2023
Pledge of Allegiance
9/27/2023
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9/26/2023
2 9/27/2023
City Council and Planning Commission
Special Joint Meeting
September 26, 2023
S1 – Update on Highway 111 Corridor Specific Plan
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3 LA QUINTA
HIGHWAY 111 SPECIFIC PLAN
City Council & Planning Commission Update | 26 September 2023 TODAY’S PRESENTATION:
CONTEXT & BACKGROUND
ECONOMIC ANALYSIS & DEVELOPMENT SCENARIOS
PLAN ELEMENTS & POLICIES
KEY DEVELOPMENT SITES
DEVELOPING OUR CODE APPROACH
NEXT STEPS
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4 YOUR PLANNING TEAM
Todd Tregenza
Project Manager & Transportation Lead
Jonathan Linkus
Highway 111 Corridor Specific Plan Lead
Charles Smith
CEQA / Environmental Lead
Lisa Wise Consulting
Regulatory / Form Based Code Lead
Linda S. Congleton & Associates
Market Analysis / Economic Lead
PROJECT TASKS OVERVIEW
Phase I:
Form Based
Code Sample
& Assessment
Phase II:
Corridor
Design
Concept
Phase III:
Grant Support
& Corridor
PS&E
Phase IV:
Highway 111
Corridor
Specific Plan
Not Started
Underway
Complete
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5 Commercial & Resilient
Walkable & Iconic
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6 Vibrant & Livable
Co-Created Vision
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7 Corridor Plan Vision
Highway 111 as an Iconic Corridor Cultural Trail along the northern edge of Highway 111 Integrating the Highway and the CV Link as an Open Space Loop Creating a rich frontage of Buildings, Parks and Greens along the CV Link Use of Existing Parking Lots for Community Events Regulating Incremental Urban Infill in the “Island” between Highway 111 and the CV Link
Creating Mixed-Use Districts along Highway 111
“This vision seeks to attract experience-based businesses and residential development to create a true mixed-use area that will connect residents and businesses in a community-based environment.” - Cheri Flores, Planning Manager, City of La Quinta
CONTEXT
& BACKGROUND
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8 Feb 2022
Oct 2016
BUILDING THE VISION IN LAYERS
AHO
Extensio /
Density
Bonus /
ADU Update
/ Parking
Update
AHO
Extensio /
Density
Bonus /
ADU Update
/ Parking
Update
HIGHWAY
111
CODE
Oct - Feb 2024
11 Specific
Plans
1987 - 2014
1987 - 2014 Jul 2018
Housing
Element of
the
La Quinta
General Plan
(2022 – 2029)
Housing
Element of
the
La Quinta
General Plan
(2022 – 2029)
Feb 2011
Corridor
Landscape
Guidelines
Nov 2019
Feb 2013
HIGHWAY 111 SPECIFIC
PLAN
(w/ Corridor Designs)
May 2022 - Dec 2023
MARKET DEMAND
ANALYSIS + DEVELOPMENT
IMPLEMENTATION
STRATEGY
MARKET DEMAND
ANALYSIS + DEVELOPMENT
IMPLEMENTATION
STRATEGY
Mixed Use
Overlay + High
Density
Housing
Mixed Use
Overlay + High
Density
Housing
May 2022
ULI TAP Program - Highway 111 Corridor Study
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9 ULI TAP Program - Highway 111 Corridor Study
2019 Corridor Plan
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10 2019 Corridor Plan
2019 Corridor Plan
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11 Affordable Housing Allotments for the Highway 111 Corridor
ECONOMIC ANALYSIS
& DEVELOPMENT
SCENARIOS
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12 Sizing Up Our Future Community
Sizing Up Our Future Community
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13 Summary of Stakeholder Interviews
1. No retail anchor or mini-anchor (20-50k) voids,
not already build/proposed, could be named
2. Limited undeveloped sites for infill housing or
commercial new development (34.7 ac)
3. Only two sites large enough for future new
residential redevelopment
4. Housing in parking lots unfeasible due to
ground leases or CCRs, in size concern
5. Universal support for affordable housing on
city sites bringing customers and workers
6. Difficult to lease retail frontage esp. small
shops in affordable housing
7. Market rate multi-family rentals not feasible
because rents too low to support construction
8. Small-lot single-family compact moderate price
housing is a void and well received by market
9. Desert style landscapes maintain views to
retail frontages while conserving water
Property Owners, Owner Representatives, and Local Brokers
10. No operators saw cyclist traffic as adding to
sales and advise against CV Link facing fronts
11. No interviewees believed Highway 111 itself
should be a retail-lined pedestrian corridor
12. Recommended pockets of walkability with
protection due to heat and big-box patterns
13. Drive-thrus, owner-occupied medical offices
and independent mid-tier restaurants are voids
14. Medical rents are too low to support new multitenant medical complex construction
15. Cost of fit-out in leased space unsupportable
for small independent restaurant businesses
16. Mixed-support for a single specific plan due to
concern of new requirements on renovation
17. Positive suggestion repeatedly offered: provide
a single up-front presentation of full-draft
Highway 111 Regulations to establish certainty
with their prospective tenants and partners
Economic Demand & Development Scenarios
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14 Highway 111 Corridor Plan
1. Vision plan with policies, public realm, urban
pattern, and implementation guidelines
2. Development type emphasizes small mixeduse “town center” and “urban village” development
3. Building type driven by community driven
visioning and placemaking priorities
4. Time horizon suggests final Phase 3 finished
in 20 years (2020 to 2040)
5. Retail strategy proposes intensive ground
floor retail (200K at Dune Palms site) in mixed
use
6. Urban activation oriented on thru-block northsouth streets, active faces on 111 and CV-Link
7. Road network total pedestrian orientation
throughout a web of fine-grained streets
8. 111 Streetscape is parallel parking along
pedestrian-oriented active tree-lined boulevard
9. 111 Frontage full mixed-use w/ retail ground
floor up to right-of-way promenade
November 2019 Highway 111 Specific Plan
1. Comprehensive plan w/ land use, housing,
circulation, landscape, utilities and code
2. Development type emphasizes large residential
infill and small creative retail development
3. Building type driven by Housing Element and
developer stakeholders, new city objectives
4. Time horizon final Phase 3 finished in 25 years
(~2050), approximately Corridor Plan Phase 2
5. Retail strategy proposes limited ground floor
retail (200K district-wide) equally creative retail
6. Urban activation focused on internal corners
facing entries along north-south streets
7. Road network hierarchical; Highway 111 autooriented, smallest streets pedestrian oriented
8. 111 Streetscape maintain existing retail
visibility, cultural trail connecting landmarks
9. 111 Frontage creative retail with entertainment
value or auto-oriented continuation, first 300’
December 2023
COMMERCIAL TYPOLOGY
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15 RESIDENTIAL TYPOLOGY
DISCUSSION
BREAK
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16 PLAN ELEMENTS
& POLICIES
LAND USE
& URBAN DESIGN
Plan Elements
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17 LAND USE & URBAN DESIGN
Policy 1: Facilitate the transition from a predominantly retail corridor to a more mixed-use corridor – balancing existing retail health with opportunities for new development types and urban activity.
Strategy 1.1: Emphasize pedestrian-oriented retail, commercial, and residential development while supporting the vibrancy of existing retail development throughout the Highway 111 Corridor.
Strategy 1.2: Focus auto-oriented, drive-thru, and small format retail development within 300’ of the Highway 111 Corridor.
Policy 2: Ensure development types and their orientation encourage pedestrian activity with active ground floor uses connected to human-oriented public spaces and streets. Strategy 2.1: Incentivize vertical and horizontal mixed use building types and development phases around key internal gateways to enhance the livability and economic resiliency of the Highway 111 Corridor.
Strategy 2.2: Require active ground floor frontages for new development at key internal gateways and roadways to advance walkable urban environments off-of, but connectedto, the Highway 111.
Strategy 2.3: Require that buildings be sited near the street and organized with the more active functions facing toward and prominently visible from the street.
Policy 3: Shape a built environment suitable for walkable, safe, sustainable living that emphasizes human scaled building interfaces framing physically defines pedestrian areas.
Strategy 3.1: Identify and require urban form that supports human scale commercial and residential projects at the ground floor, especially emphasizing active frontage and public space to anchor and coordinate new development.
Strategy 3.2: Delineate and codify urban massing along corridors with active ground floor use recommendation to achieve an “urban room” around streetscapes and pedestrian spaces. Strategy 3.3: Designate higher minimum residential development intensities for the heart of the Highway 111 Corridor to secure adequate workforce housing supply and affordability.
Policy 4: Support a retail retention approach while collaboratively facilitating more human scaled, pedestrian oriented commercial development types and activity.
Strategy 4.1: Craft development regulations with flexibility to allow a broad range of development concepts that respond to innovations in retail formats and commercial service models. Strategy 4.2: Facilitate collaboration and flexibility in applying development controls when reviewing and permitting innovative activities, uses, and adaptive reuse proposals of commercial and retail sites – especially those which may support the Vision and other Land Use Policies.
LAND USE & URBAN DESIGN | Framework Plan
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18 LAND USE & URBAN DESIGN | Active Frontages Concept
LAND USE & URBAN DESIGN | Block Orientation Concept
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19 HOUSING
& COMMUNITY RESOURCES
Plan Elements
HOUSING & COMMUNITY RESOURCES
Policy 5: Take measures to meet or exceed La Quinta's affordable housing need allotted for lands within the Highway 111 area as determined at the adoption of this Specific Plan.
Strategy 5.1: Reserve properties identified in the most recent General Plan Housing Element for delivery of Moderate and low/very low-income affordable housing allotments.
Strategy 5.2: Collaborate with developers to identify plan alternatives where non-housing uses are desired on lands reserved for affordable housing to deliver mixed use sites that achieve affordable housing goals.
Strategy 5.3: Balance the allotment of future affordable dwelling units among potential development sites within the Highway 111 study area to maintain commitments to housing affordability in the Housing Element
Strategy 5.4: Facilitate and incentivize affordable housing to be developed as demonstration projects for the type of high quality livable and walkable urban settings desired in the vision for Highway 111 .
Policy 6: Equip new residential communities in the Highway 111 Area with adequate access to the social, educational, and government resources needed for its workforce, individuals and families to thrive
Strategy 6.1: Evaluate and implement new facilities or transportation investments to provide district standard access to education and training institutions for all age groups and development needs among new residents.
Strategy 6.2: Encourage the colocation of education, childcare, training, job finding, library and conference, safety and security, medical, and other community services with new residential uses. Strategy 6.3: Work collaboratively with developers through developer partnership, the City Manager's office, and area-specific administration to ensure retail tenancy includes or retains healthy food options.
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20 HOUSING & COMMUNITY RESOURCES | Affordable Housing
CIRCULATION
& ACTIVE MOBILITY
Plan Elements
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21 Policy 7: Coordinate a circulation network and roadway hierarchy that emphasize increasing multi-modal travel, including more transit, active transportation, and pedestrians in a safer setting.
Strategy 7.1: Continue a balanced approach to vehicular and non-vehicular safety, throughput, access, and beautification priorities for Highway 111, Washington and Jefferson Streets. Strategy 7.2: Prioritize pedestrian and alternative transportation comfort, safety, and navigability, for Adams St, Dune Palms Rd, Corporate Center Dr, and Avenue 47 / Auto Center Dr to better serve new residential and mixed-use development.
Policy 8: Ensure development site plans extend from existing roadway and drive aisle alignments to enhance through-project connectivity, consistency with context, and neighborhood navigability.
Strategy 8.1: Require that new Drives and Collector road types extend from existing alignments and intersections to organize new development patterns as extensions of their surrounding context.
Strategy 8.2: Encourage that local streets and the smallest scale roadways (side streets, parking aisles alleys) frame a consistent and grid-like block pattern in conjunction with new Drives and Collector road types at infill and redevelopment projects.
Policy 9: Introduce a finer grained urban grid through infill and redevelopment projects applying road types that emphasize pedestrian comfort and safety - especially among new residential uses.
Strategy 9.1: Encourage plans that consist of a smaller blocks than in the current development context, emphasizing block lengths of 150’ to 400’ with internal rights-ofway less than 80’ wide.
Strategy 9.2: Require east-west and north-south mid-block publicly accessible pedestrian passages, and mid-block pedestrian crossings, spaced no more than 400’ from Collectors and Drives.
CIRCULATION & ACTIVE MOBILITY POLICIES
Policy 10: Institute a network of on-street and off-street routes and gateways for active transportation and transit modes that bridge projects, neighborhoods, and municipal and regional trail systems.
Strategy 10.1: Prioritize Neighborhood and District Corridors as the primary routes for pedestrian and active transportation facilities, over Major Arterials and Highway 111.
Strategy 10.2: Implement the CV-Link and Cultural Trail as important components of the pedestrian and active transportation network, with shared use off-street connections between them every ¼ mile.
Strategy 10.3: Provide a district loop transit service connecting residents to retail and services; co-locate loop transit service stops with tram stops that may connect local workforce to major employers.
Policy 11: Modernize the City’s parking approach to support park-once and sharedparking strategies across each of the corridor sub-areas to advance livability and economic performance.
Strategy 11.1: Apply a low minimum; potentially, a 50% reduction in parking required throughout the Highway 111 corridor, with parking provisions for the Village Build-Out Plan as a model code. Strategy 11.2: Apply a maximum; potentially, a 15% reduction below the Municipal Code standard for on-site parking, potentially in accordance with the Shared Use Parking ordinance.
Strategy 11.3: Include site development standards that require short-term or flex-zone / drop-off zone parking turn outs at each residential development to support rideshare and delivery needs.
CIRCULATION + ACTIVE MOBILITY | Framework Plan
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22 CIRCULATION + ACTIVE MOBILITY | Road Network Concept CIRCULATION + ACTIVE MOBILITY | Road Network Concept
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23 CIRCULATION + ACTIVE MOBILITY | Path Network Concept
GATEWAY LANDMARK
INTERACTIVE INTERPRETIVE
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24 LANDSCAPE
& OPEN SPACE
Plan Elements
Policy 12: Prepare public realm landscapes that enhance urban resiliency, walkability, mitigate heat, and offer distinctive streetscapes attuned to the unique role of each roadway corridor.
Strategy 12.1: Maintain the Highway 111 corridor with its regionally appropriate existing landscapes in a manner which affords visibility to surrounding businesses, communicates a vibrant and consistent district urban brand, and integrates the new Cultural Corridor as a pedestrian resource valued for its storytelling, placemaking, and walkability.
Strategy 12.2: Configure District Corridors, such as Adams St and Dune Palms Rd, as multimodal tree-lined and regionally resilient streetscapes that provide a sense of entry from Highway 111 into a more mixed use and livable district, and which provide significant buffering between travel way and surrounding development.
Strategy 12.3: Configure Neighborhood Corridors such as Corporate Center Dr, Avenue 47, and Auto Center Dr as more human scaled streetscapes that support active ground floor uses, walkability and environmental comfort, and are highly furnished for use by residents and visitors. Strategy 12.4: Prepare differentiated intersection landscape treatments that serve as gateways between Roadway corridors of different hierarchy and at entries into new infill developments.
Policy 13: Designate parks and open space reserves systemically throughout the Highway 111 corridor attached to internal project gateways and Neighborhood- Oriented corridors. Strategy 13.1: Establish minimum standards of new open space facilities on a squarefoot-per-resident or dwelling basis to ensure the Highway 111 Corridor provides livability and urban resilience. Strategy 13.2: Focus parks and open space facility placement at recommended Open Space Nodes and along Open Space Resource Advancement Areas – primarily interior to new infill development and along approach routes branching from and visible to major Highway 111 intersections.
Strategy 13.3: Identify public realm streets and private parking areas to serve as Potential Outdoor Event Spaces for programmed events – facilitated by design and use guidelines and operated or approved through City programs.
Policy 14: Develop a cohesive wayfinding system that makes Highway 111 corridor resources and destinations navigable for residents and visitors while also communicating a single urban brand.
Strategy 14.1: Use a kit-of-parts signage and wayfinding system that includes public realm and private realm information and directional elements, consistently applied across the Highway 111 corridor.
Strategy 14.2: Design and install gateway elements as part of roadway landscapes at entry points into the Highway 111 corridor which reflect the 2019 Highway 111 Corridor vision as an urban brand. Strategy 14.3: Continually maintain, protect, and update wayfinding infrastructure specific to this Highway 111 corridor in a program supplemental to existing landscape maintenance programs. Policy 15: Compose development standards that ensure the private realm is a continuation of a high-quality public realm with shading, buffering, accessibility, and legible human-scaled spaces.
Strategy 15.1: Achieve a minimum standard of pedestrian accessibility between major roadway corridors and trails, and through the middle of project sites for new infill and redevelopment projects.
Strategy 15.2: Avoid walled enclaves, and maintain visual access, while ensuring private realm landscapes provide selective visual screening, shading, and buffering for sensitive uses.
Strategy 15.3: Collaborate with land owners and businesses to prepare and administer a private realm signage standard that suits existing uses while ensuring a consistent high quality in new projects.
Strategy 15.4: Ensure a consistent outdoor furnishing and pedestrian lighting throughout the Highway 111 district at pedestrian areas and residential projects for infill and redevelopment projects.
Strategy 15.5: Ensure that new standards are applied only to new infill projects and redevelopment in a manner that does not require land owners and tenants to renovate existing unchanged properties.
LANDSCAPE & OPEN SPACE POLICIES
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25 LANDSCAPE & OPEN SPACE | Landscape Framework
LANDSCAPE & OPEN SPACE | Green Corridors Concept
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26 URBAN SYSTEMS
& RESILIENCY
Plan Elements
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27 Policy 16: Built a sustainable utility network to meet or exceed the full scale of future development, installing facilities that enable individuals and communities to thrive with less impact.
Strategy 16.1: Attempt to achieve full supply of irrigation water for new development sites from non-potable or “purple pipe” water sources that include recycled wastewater.
Strategy 16.2: Implement solar PV shading over surface parking spaces for projects on City owned or lands or those sold to developers by the City Manager with public funds and partnerships.
Strategy 16.3: Perform utility planning and alignment studies to understand utility supply, facility sizing, and programming, in anticipation of new and infill development – especially for bid packages.
Policy 17: Mitigate urban heat through urban forestry, development standards, shading, passive cooling, throughout Highway 111 while supporting effective means of reducing climate impacts.
Strategy 17.1: Require that new commercial and retail development provide publicly accessible shaded areas with shade structures or trellises with a minimum coverage equivalent to 5% of project new building footprint with greater coverage being highly desired. Strategy 17.2: Consider development code standards for primarily south, and east / west facing facades to achieve different solar gain and thermal mass responses to respective sun angles.
Strategy 17.3: Apply a tree canopy coverage standard to support passive pedestrian cooling and comfort at outdoor gathering areas and walkaways using regionally appropriate drought tolerant species.
URBAN SYSTEMS & RESILIENCY
DISCUSSION
BREAK
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28 KEY
DEVELOPMENT
SITES
DEVELOPMENT
CONCEPTS
La Quinta Drive
280 Units
2 Restaurants
School / Training
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29 DEVELOPMENT CONCEPTS | Mixed-Use at La Quinta Dr
DEVELOPMENT
CONCEPTS
Residence Inn
120 Units
Entertainment Use
Senior Living
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30 DEVELOPMENT CONCEPTS | Housing at Vista Coralina Ln
DEVELOPMENT
CONCEPTS
Dune Palms Rd
126 Units
Fast Food / Wash
Multi-Use Path
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31 DEVELOPMENT CONCEPTS | Mixed-Use at Dune Palms
DEVELOPMENT CONCEPTS | Mixed-Use at Dune Palms
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32 DEVELOPING
OUR CODE
APPROACH
Existing Policy and Regulation
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33 Policy vs. Regulation
• Implements Specific Plan
• Regulatory Document
• Includes use regulations, development
standards, and procedures such as:
o Height
o Massing/scale
o Density/Intensity
o Building Placement (setbacks)
o Parking
o Frontage requirements
• Implement General Plan
• Policy Document
• Establishes Long Term Vision, Goals,
Policies, Programs, on topics that
include:
o Land Use
o Circulation
o Economic Development
o Infrastructure
o Open Space
• Implementation and Financing
Range of Strategies
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34 Range of Strategies
Maintain Transition
Policy Sets the Direction for Code
e.g. Active
Frontage/
walkable places
e.g. Maintain/support
existing autodependent retail
e.g. Building Orientation/new
interior connections
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35 Development Code as
Implementation Tool
HUMAN SCALED. A city planned and designed
for people fostering social and economic
interaction, an active and
vital public realm, and high levels of public safety
and comfort.
Example Goal:
Strategy 2.2: Require active ground floor frontages for new development at key internal gateways and
roadways to advance walkable urban environments offof, but connected-to, the Highway 111.
In targeted ‘walkable’ areas, regulate building
frontage
Example Code
Implementation
Strategy:
Example Policy:
Example - Frontage Types
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36 Development Code as
Implementation Tool
HUMAN SCALED. A city planned and designed
for people fostering social and economic
interaction, an active and
vital public realm, and high levels of public safety
and comfort.
Example Goal:
Strategy 2.3: Require that buildings be sited
near the street and organized with the more
active functions facing toward and prominently
visible from the street.
Regulate location of buildings on a site.
Require ‘active’ ground floor uses.
Example Code
Implementation
Strategy:
Example Policy:
Example - Building Placement
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37 NEXT STEPS
NEXT STEPS
Highway 111 Pavement Rehabilitation – Summer 2024
GHD working with City to incorporate Complete Street elements from Corridor Plan Highway 111 Concept Development Finalize Highway 111 Complete Street Concept Highway 111 Corridor Specific Plan
Develop Draft Specific Plan Develop Regulatory Code (Appendix or Separate Cover) Prepare Draft CEQA Document Council Adoption 73 74
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38 CEQA UPDATE
As progress is made on the Highway 111 Corridor
Specific Plan, environmental analysis is underway on
two fronts.
Highway 111 Corridor Specific Plan
Prepared draft project description suitable for
CEQA documentation
Completed database reviews and field survey for
biological resources
Currently preparing Administrative Draft IS/MND
15-Acre City-Owned Site
Conducted database reviews and field surveys for
biological resources and cultural resources
Prepared standalone Biological Resources Memo
Prepared standalone Cultural Resources Report
Thank You
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39 FINAL
DISCUSSION
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