City of Manteca Planning Commission
AGENDA REPORT
MEETING DATE: December 15, 2022
APPLICATION NUMBER: SPC 22-45
PROJECT NAME: Airport Business Centre North
RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends that the Planning Commission conduct a public hearing and then take the
following actions:
1. Adopt Resolution 1616 adopting the Mitigated Negative Declaration for Airport Business Centre North; and
2. Adopt Resolution 1617 to approving the Site Plan & Design Review for Airport Business Centre North.
PROJECT INFORMATION
Applicant: Greenlaw Development, LLC
Property Owners: Richard and Mikki Riella 2006 Family Trust; Edward and Mary Stumpfhauser Living Trust
Project Address: 3045, 3123, & 3157 N. Airport Way
APNs: 198-200-13, 198-200-06, & 198-200-09
General Plan Designation: Light Industrial (LI)
Zoning: Master Plan (MP)
Existing Use: Agricultural uses
Proposed Use: Speculative distribution warehouse
Parcel Size 21.56 acres
Adjacent Uses: North: Master Plan use – 511 Tactical
warehouse and Tactical Way
South: Approved, but undeveloped, Airport
Business Centre (SPC 20-89)
East: Airport Way, rural residential and
agricultural uses
West: Master Plan basin
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
The proposed project is a Mitigated Negative Declaration and Site Plan & Design Review application for the Airport Business Centre North project. The project is a 360,000 squarefoot distribution warehouse, with 10,000 square-feet of office space. A tenant has not been selected yet, so the use is speculative and the building will be constructed per the elevations but the internal configuration will be determined once an end user is determined. The site ATTACHMENT 7
will have one driveway on Airport Way for regular vehicles, and two driveways on Tactical Way, one for regular vehicles and a separate one for trucks. Per the Conditions of Approval, trucks must use Intermodal Way to access the site. This site already has access to Intermodal Way via Tactical Way. The site will have 46 truck docks and 52 trailer stalls. The site plan and layout for the project is shown below in Figure 1.
Figure 1: Site Plan – Airport Business Centre North
PROJECT LOCATION
The project is located at 3045, 3123, & 3157 North Airport Way (APNs: 198-200-13, -06, & -09) on approximately 21.56 acres. See Figure 2 for the project location. The property is designated as Light Industrial (LI) in the General Plan and is zoned Master Plan (MP), as it is located in the Northwest Airport Way Master Plan. The project site is surrounded by other Master Plan-zoned parcels, all of which have a Light Industrial land use designation. The project is located to the west of Airport Way and rural residential and agricultural uses. It is located to the north of the recently approved, but not yet constructed, Airport Business Centre project (SPC 20-89). It is located south of Tactical Way and the 511 Tactical warehouse. It is directly east of one of the Master Plan basins.
N
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Figure 2: Project Location – Airport Business Centre North
PROJECT BACKGROUND
The Northwest Airport Way Master Plan was adopted in 2010. It consists of a 300-acre industrial master planned-area, located in the northwest corner of the City, adjacent to the Union Pacific Lathrop Intermodal Terminal. The Master Plan’s stated purpose is to implement the goals, objectives, and policies of the Manteca General Plan as they relate to future development projects in the area bordering the Union Pacific Rail facility, including an intermodal facility with warehouse and distribution uses and other industrial uses.
Specifically, the Master Plan includes approximately 248.3 acres of industrial uses, 18.1 acres of commercial uses, and 33.9 acres of open space/drainage. The Master Plan further allows for approximately 4.7 million square feet of light industrial and commercial uses, including approximately 3,177,521 square feet for the CenterPoint Intermodal Facility. This MP area was specifically envisioned to be home to larger industrial users.
ANALYSIS
The proposed Site Plan & Design Review application for Airport Business Centre North has been analyzed with respect to conformance with:
1. Manteca General Plan
2. Manteca Zoning Ordinance
3. Manteca Climate Action Plan
4. California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)
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GENERAL PLAN CONFORMANCE
The project site has a LI Light Industrial land use designation, as shown in Figure 3. The General Plan 2023 states the Light Industrial land use designation allows for warehouse uses, making the proposed shell distribution warehouse facility an allowable use for this site.
The project meets the Floor Area Ratio requirements of the LI land use designation (maximum allowed 0.7) with a FAR of 0.39 and Maximum Site Coverage (maximum allowed 60%) of 39%. As such, the use and size of the proposed project is consistent with the LI land use designation.
Figure 3: General Plan Land Use Designation Map.
In addition to conforming to the Light Industrial Land use designation, the project conforms to the following General Plan goals and policies listed below:
1. There are numerous General Plan goals and policies that support the development of Manteca’s existing industrial area in order to encourage economic growth and to help achieve a jobs-housing balance in Manteca. The goals and policies below all reiterate the need to allow the city’s existing industrial areas to continue to grow and develop in a responsible manner.
Land Use Policy LU-P-32: The City shall continue to support full development of its existing industrial park.
Economic Development Policy ED-P-6: Expand job opportunities available in Manteca so that residents may choose to work locally instead of commuting.
Land Use Policy LU-P-30: The City shall promote, cooperate in, and assist in the maintenance and expansion of Manteca’s industrial sector employment development within the City of Manteca and in the south San Joaquin County ATTACHMENT 7
area that will help reduce the home-to work commute distance for Manteca residents.
Land Use Policy LU-P-31: New employment centers that may include office, business professional, research and development, and light industrial or industrial development and shall be located in areas served by full City services or served by suitable facilities approved by the City. Employment centers should be located along major arterials with easy freeway access and with access from public transit, and accessible to bicyclists and pedestrians.
Analysis: This project is located within the Northwest Airport Way Master Plan, which is an existing industrial park located in the northwest part of the city. This Master Plan area was specifically envisioned to be home to larger industrial users. Its location in the city mirrors the location of Lathrop’s industrial area, signaling the areas prime location to the railyard and freeways. By supporting those uses that are interested in locating near these conveniences, the City is promoting, cooperating, and assisting in the expansion of Manteca’s industrial sector employment. The distribution nature of the project is expected to provide a substantial number of new job opportunities in Manteca so that residents may choose to work locally instead of commuting. Further, because this area was envisioned to be an employment hub for the City, City services are available right now, which encourages growth in this area.
2. Given the demand that these types of businesses place on City infrastructure, the appropriate fees will be collected to ensure fair-share contribution to the City.
Circulation Implementation C-I-7: The City shall require new development to participate in the implementation of transportation improvements identified in the Major Street Master Plan. Participation could include the construction of roadways, improvements to roadways, payment into the PFF program, payment into other fee programs, or fair-share payments. In general, the infrastructure needs and methods of participation will be determined through an environmental impact report or transportation impact analysis.
Analysis: This project will pay a fair share toward improvements required to accommodate heavy vehicles, including increased pavement wear. The project will also be required to contribute PFIP and traffic impact fees prior to building permit issuance.
3. The General Plan encourages quality architecture and design, which at times can be difficult for industrial projects. However, the proposed project is held to very specific design standards due to the Northwest Airport Way Master Plan. The project supports the following General Plan goals and implementations related to design and visual interest:
Community Design Goal CD-2: Maintain a memorable City identity characterized by distinctive, high quality buildings and streetscapes.
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Community Design Implementation CD-I-6: Adopt design guidelines for nonresidential uses.
Noise Implementation N-I-4: Control noise at the source through use of insulation, berms, building design and orientation, buffer space, staggered operating hours and other techniques. Use noise barriers to attenuate noise to acceptable levels.
Community Design Policy CD-P-44: Provide minimal levels of street, parking, building, site and public area lighting to meet safety standards and provide direction.
Analysis: The appearance of the building consists of high quality architecture in that it is a distinctive and visually interesting warehouse, complying with the design standards of the Master Plan, including those of the Airport Frontage Buffer Area.
The long expanse of the building is broken up vertically by the thoughtful placement of a mix of different materials with different colors and textures. The mixture of materials include painted concrete tilt-up panels, concrete reveals, reflective glass, and decorative metal canopies.
The design review process ensures that design features are included to reduce the noise impact of the project on surrounding uses. To ensure noise is controlled by way of various physical features, the applicant was required to locate the truck loading areas to the west of the building, so the building acts as a noise buffer. Ample landscaping will also be installed to screen the use.
This project is conditioned to meet the Zoning Code’s standards for adequate site lighting. A lighting plan will be reviewed prior to building permit issuance to ensure this project meets City standards, and provides minimal levels of street, parking, building, site, and public area lighting to meet safety standards and provide lighting direction.
4. The General Plan encourages a balanced circulation system for all modes of transportation. This project supports the following General Plan Circulation Goals and Policies:
Circulation Goal C-6: Maintain a safe transportation system for all modes.
Circulation Goal C-7: Accommodate truck and freight movements by developing city-wide truck routes and encouraging the development of freight and warehousing centers near existing rail lines and spurs.
Circulation Policy C-P-2: To the extent feasible, the City shall strive for a vehicular LOS of D or better at all streets and intersections… ATTACHMENT 7
Circulation Policy C-P-3: At the discretion of City staff, certain locations may be allowed to fall below the City’s LOS standard under the following circumstances:
a. Where constructing facilities with enough capacity to provide LOS D is found to be unreasonably expensive.
Analysis: A traffic Impact Analysis was conducted for this project. It is described in detail further below on pages 19 and 20, but it found that the project will allow the surrounding road segments and intersections to continue to operate acceptably at an LOS of D or better, except for the intersection of Lathrop Road and Union Road under both cumulative conditions, with or without the project. The project is conditioned to maintain a safe transportation system for all modes. Because the intersection of Lathrop Road and Union Road is already fully built-out and cannot be expanded, this project will pay its fair share for PFIP improvements to improve signal timing at that intersection. This will help bring the LOS from F to E for cumulative conditions, with and without the project. Also, this intersection will be evaluated as part of the 2023 PFIP Update, with the goal of improving this intersection’s LOS to a D.
Additionally, this project is conditioned to establish a STAA route through the CalTrans Terminal Access Program before STAA trucks can access this site.
ZONING CONFORMANCE
Northwest Airport Way Master Plan Zoning Designation
The project site is zoned MP Master Plan for the Northwest Airport Way Master Plan. See Figure 4 for the location of the project site within the larger Master Plan area. The Master Plan’s Light Industrial land use category allows for industrial storage and uses involving heavy trucks, making this new distribution warehouse use an appropriate use for the site.
Figure 4: Zoning Map. Project site outlined in red.
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The project complies with the Mandatory Requirements and Design Guidelines, as well as the Design Standards & Guidelines of the Master Plan. The project complies with land use, setbacks, circulation, drainage, utilities, and site plan & design review requirements of the Master Plan.
This project is located within the Airport Frontage Buffer Area of the Master Plan. This Area is located along Airport Way south of the MP’s largest industrial buildings, and the intent of the Airport Frontage Buffer Area is to shield nearby residences and public views along Airport Way from the more intensive industrial uses in the back of the MP area by constructing smaller scale light industrial uses with enhanced architectural features to provide a pedestrian friendly scale. Trucks are still a common feature of these potential uses and are required to be adequately screened from view. In this instance the trucks are screened through a combination of building placement, landscaping, tubular steel fencing, and a 12’- to 14’-foot concrete screen wall in some locations.
The appearance of the building complies with the Master Plan requirements in that the long expanse of the building is broken up vertically by the thoughtful placement of a mix of different colors, textures, and materials.
The project will follow all illumination and signage standards described in the Master Plan.
Site Plan and Design Review
The purpose of Site Plan and Design Review is to provide a process to promote excellence in site planning and design, to encourage harmonious appearance of buildings and the site, and to ensure that new and modified uses and development are sited in a way to limit impacts to the surrounding area. The approving authority for Site Plan and Design Review is the Planning Commission. When conducting a Site Plan and Design Review, the Commission shall consider the site layout, orientation and location of the buildings, signs, and other structures, open space, landscaping, and other features in relation to the physical characteristics, zoning, and land use of the site and surrounding properties. Further, the Commission shall consider the traffic, safety, and adequacy of off-street parking, circulation, and the availability of City services.
Taking all of these considerations under review, the Planning Commission, shall then make the following findings found in Section 17.10.060 of the Zoning Ordinance to either approve or conditionally approve a Site Plan and Design Review application:
1. The proposed project is consistent with the objectives of the General Plan, complies with applicable zoning regulations, Planned Development, Master Plan or Specific Plan provisions, Improvement Standards, and other applicable standards and regulations adopted by the City.
Analysis: The project is consistent with the General Plan land use designation of Light Industrial as discussed above. The proposed project is also consisted with the ATTACHMENT 7
Master Plan zoning designation and Master Plan document as discussed above.
Finally, the proposed project is also consistent with other noise, traffic, and air quality requirements established by both the City and the California Environmental Quality Act, as discussed below, in that it will comply with all required mitigation measures.
It will also comply with all other applicable standards and regulations adopted by the City.
2. The proposed project will not create conflicts with vehicular, bicycle, or pedestrian transportation modes of circulation.
Analysis: As proposed and conditioned, this project will not create conflicts with vehicular, bicycle, or pedestrian transportation modes of circulation in that it will comply with all required conditions of approval and environmental mitigations.
3. The site layout (orientation and placement of buildings and parking areas), as well as the landscaping, lighting, and other development features, is compatible with and complements the existing surrounding environment and ultimate character of the area under the General Plan.
Analysis: As reviewed and conditioned, this project will be compatible with and complement the existing surrounding buildings and the ultimate character of the area NWAMP area. As required by the Northwest Airport Way Master Plan, all truck loading docks are located on the west façade to better screen the industrial use from nearby residents. Employee and visitor parking is located on along the east, north, and south facades. This placement separates regular automobiles from truck circulation and reduces the potential for circulation conflicts with trucks. The separation is further enhanced with trucks having their own designated driveway.
4. The proposed architecture, including the character, scale, and quality of the design, relationship with the site and other buildings, building materials, colors, screening of exterior appurtenances, exterior lighting and signing, and similar elements, establishes a clear design concept and is compatible with the character of buildings on adjoining and nearby properties.
Analysis: The building’s architecture is a contemporary concrete-tilt up warehouse.
The long expanse of the building is broken up vertically by the placement of colorblocking and alternating the use of smooth concrete, concrete with horizontal-striped reveals, which are grooves in the concrete for visual interest, and reflective glass.
See Figures 5 and 6 for building elevation details, and Figure 7 for material and color details. Overall, the architecture establishes a clear design concept and is compatible with industrial nature of the nearby buildings.
The site includes a robust landscape plan with an ample tree canopy on all sides of the building, including 4 rows of trees fronting Airport Way to buffer the building from the road, not including the trees planted in the median. Tree spacing along all property lines will be planted no farther apart on center than the mature diameter of the proposed species, per City Code. Low- and medium-water use trees, shrubs, ATTACHMENT 7
and groundcover are proposed, and will be compliant with the City of Manteca’s Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance (MWELO). This project has more landscaping than is required of the Master Plan (The Master Plan requires 10% site landscaping, and this project has 16.8% of its site landscaped). See Figure 8 for landscape plan.
Figure 5: Architectural Rendering – Airport Business Centre North Figure 6: Building Elevations – Airport Business Centre North ATTACHMENT 7
Figure 7: Color Legend – Airport Business Centre North
Figure 8: Landscape Plan – Airport Business Centre North
CLIMATE ACTION PLAN COMPLIANCE
On October 15, 2013, the Manteca City Council approved and adopted the Air Quality Element Update and Climate Action Plan in response to the passing of Assembly Bill AB32.
The intent of this plan is to reduce overall greenhouse gas emissions in both private and public sector development.
The project complies with the following Climate Action Plan strategies:
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1. CAP Strategy: Water Conservation (WC) WC-1: The City shall continue to implement water conservation measures to comply with the Model Water Efficient Landscape requirements that implement the Water Conservation in Landscaping Act of 2006 (Assembly Bill 1881, Laird).
Analysis: This project is required to comply with the Model Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance, per Assembly Bill 1881.
2. Municipal Strategies - Urban Forestry (UF) UF-2: The City of Manteca will consider the following goals and actions when revising its urban forestry program:
• Increase public and private tree plantings citywide
• Use canopy trees along new major roadways and in new developments Analysis: This project will increase public and private tree plantings by planting new trees at the project site. Tree spacing within perimeter planters along Airport Way and Tactical Way will be planted no farther apart on center than the mature diameter of the proposed species, in compliance with City code.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
An Initial Study with a Mitigated Negative Declaration (IS-MND) was prepared by De Novo Planning Group for the project and it was found that although the project could have a significant adverse effect on the environment, there will not be a significant adverse effect in this case because the project has incorporated specific provisions to reduce impacts to a less than significant level and/or the mitigation measures described herein have been added to the project. The comments received are included in the environmental document with a response to comments section. The mitigation measures are included in the environmental document and included in the Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program, attached as Attachment 4.
Traffic Impact Analysis:
As part of this project’s IS-MND, Fehr & Peers conducted a transportation impact analysis for the project. The analysis estimates that the project will generate approximately 1,358 total average daily trips, 1,088 of which will be employee vehicles and 270 will be trucks (California Legal and STAA). The 270 truck trips would all use Tactical Way via Intermodal Way to access the site.
The project’s Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) analysis determined that the project will result in a 0.6% decrease in VMT when compared to the city’s baseline, from 75.3 to 74.8 vehicle miles per employee. Therefore, the construction of Airport Business Centre North will improve the jobs to housing balance in the City of Manteca and provide an overall benefit in reducing VMT per employee, which decreases fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. In order to have a less than significant impact relative to this CEQA topic, the project will be required to have all trucks access the facility using Intermodal Way and only employee access will be allowed from Airport Way.
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Traffic level of service was analyzed for the project to confirm compliance with the General Plan. For existing conditions (with the project and without the project), all twenty-six roadway segments and all 14 intersections studied would continue to operate at an acceptable Level of Service D or better. Under Cumulative No Project Conditions, traffic associated with land use growth in the City of the Manteca and City of Lathrop will contribute to the increase in traffic volumes along Lathrop Road. All road segments would continue to operate acceptably at a LOS of D or better under cumulative conditions, but the Union Road/Lathrop Road intersection would operate unacceptably at LOS F during both AM peak hour and PM peak hours even without the project. For Cumulative With Project conditions, the Union Road/Lathrop Road Intersection would continue to operate at a LOS of F.
Because this intersection is already fully built-out and cannot be expanded, improvements will include a new traffic signal controller and improved signal timings as part of PFIP improvements. This will help bring the LOS from F to E for both Cumulative Conditions, with and without the project. Also, this intersection will be evaluated as part of the 2023 PFIP Update, with the goal of improving this intersection’s LOS to a D.
The traffic analysis recommends the following traffic-related conditions of approval for the project and they are included in the project’s conditions of approval:
• Traffic COA #1 – The developer shall pay for the total cost of construction of the Proposed Private Drive on the west site of the project site and require all truck traffic (delivery, California, and Surface Transportation Assistance Act – STAA) to use Intermodal Drive to access the Airport Business Centre North Project.
• Traffic COA #2 – The developer shall pay their fair share for improvements identified in the City of Manteca Public Facilities Implementation Plan (PFIP) by paying current fees as determined by the City of Manteca prior to issuance of building permits to improve intersections in the City of Manteca. • Traffic COA #3 – The developer shall pay their fair share of the SJCOG Regional Transportation Impact Fee (RTIF) by paying current fees as determined by the City of Manteca prior to issuance of building permits to improve the Roth Road Corridor in the City of Manteca, City of Lathrop, and San Joaquin County.
• Traffic COA #4 – The developer shall work with the City of Manteca Engineering Department and Caltrans District 10 to document STAA Terminal Access Route from Interstate 5 to Roth Road / Intermodal Way and Tactical Way / Airport Business Centre truck turnaround area. • Traffic COA #5 – The developer shall pay for the current PFIP fee as determined by the City of Manteca prior to issuance of building permits to mitigate the Union Road / Lathrop Road intersection under Cumulative Conditions. Based on the City of Manteca General Plan Travel Demand Forecasting (TDF) Model, the project contributes 1.3 percent of the volume at this intersection under Cumulative Plus Project Conditions, therefore, the project’s fair share contribution would be 1.3 percent of the total cost of ATTACHMENT 7
installing a new traffic signal controller and completing a traffic signal timing optimization study that was identified as COA#3 for the North Manteca Annexation Project.
Acoustical Analysis
Design efforts have been made to mitigate potential noise impacts as much as possible, including conditioning the project to use Intermodal Way and keep trucks off of Airport Way, ensuring that all industrial activity will occur to the west of the building so the building can buffer noise for the residents to the east, and installing ample landscaping to further mitigate noise impacts.
A Noise Analysis was conducted by Saxelby Acoustics LLC as part of the project’s ISMND. The IS-MND analyzed the potential impacts of noise, and concluded that the project is not anticipated to generate a substantial temporary or permanent increase in ambient noise levels in the vicinity of the project in excess of the applicable standards, and provided the project complies with the mitigation measures.
A full analysis of the environmental impacts of the proposed project can be found in the IS/MND on the City’s website, linked below:
https://www.manteca.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/5266/638053101003492247 Report prepared by: Mallorie Fenrich, Associate Planner Attachments:
2. Resolution 1616- Mitigated Negative Declaration
2a. Exhibit A- Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program
3. Resolution 1617 – Site Plan & Design Review
3a. Exhibit A- Approved Plan Set
3b. Exhibit B- Conditions of Approval
4. MND Comments
5. PowerPoint
Reviewed by:
_____/s/________________________________________ 12/2/22________ Lea Simvoulakis, Deputy Director Planning Date
Approved by:
______________________________________________ ____________ Chris Erias, Development Services Director Date
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