MEETING DATE October 17, 2024
APPLICATION NUMBER General Plan Amendment (GPA) 24-73 RECOMMENDATION: Adopt a resolution recommending the City Council approve a General Plan Amendment for seven parcels (APNs: 226-160-34, 226-160-36, 226-160-37, 226-160-38, 226-160-39, 226-160-40, 226-160-44) within the Union Crossing Planned Development and find the project not subject to additional CEQA review pursuant to CEQA Guidelines § 15183 (consistency with a certified EIR SCH# 2008092083). (File No. GPA 24-73).
Project InFORMATION
APPLICANT
City Initiated
Property Owners:
Bianchi Ranch Partners LLC, GHPR Builders Inc, City of Manteca Existing General Plan Designations:
High-Density Residential (HDR), Commercial Mixed Use (CMU) Existing Zoning:
Various, PD (Planned Development)
Existing Use:
Vacant / Park
Proposed General Plan Designations:
Commercial (C), High-Density Residential (HDR), Park (P) Proposed Zoning Designation:
No change
Proposed Use:
No new uses proposed
Parcel Sizes:
APN 226-160-36: 8.72 acres
APN 226-160-37: 0.93 acres
APN 226-160-38: 0.67 acres
APN 226-160-39: 1.08 acres
APN 226-160-40: 0.77 acres
APN 226-160-44: 12.78 acres
APN 226-160-34: 3.45 acres
Adjacent Uses:
N: State Route 120
E: Commercial
W: Commercial / Park
S: Single-family residential
PROJECT LOCATION
The project is located to the west of S. Union Road, north and south of Atherton Drive at 1239, 1271, 1295, 1308, 1323, 1337, and 1350 W. Atherton Drive (APNs 226-160-34, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 44) (See Figure 1). 1239, 1271, 1295, 1323, and 1337 W. Atherton Drive (the parcels north of Atherton Drive) are vacant land. 1350 W. Atherton Drive is a portion of Tony Marshall Park. 1308 W. Atherton is vacant land entitled for a 300-unit multi-family development.
Figure 1: Project Site Location
Project Description
The proposed project involves a General Plan Amendment (GPA) to resolve a discrepancy between the recently updated 2043 General Plan and the General Plan land uses under the existing Union Crossing Planned Development, at the time of the project’s approval. The entitled multi-family project on 1308 W Atherton (Union Crossing Apartments) was approved on June 16, 2022. At that time, the final adjustments were being made to the 2043 General Plan Update. Instead of applying an HDR designation to the Union Crossing Apartments, the HDR designation was applied erroneously to 1295 W. Atherton Drive, a large parcel to the north within the Union Crossing Planned Development (PD) that was previously slated to be designated as Commercial. The remainder of the PD was designated CMU at the same time.
The Union Crossing PD Guidelines and the Union Crossing EIR addendum (both discussed later in this report), show the analyzed and intended uses within the Union Crossing PD area (see figure 2). 1308 W. Atherton is shown as high-density residential. The parcels north of W. Atherton have various types of commercial development, whereas 1350 W. Atherton is a portion of a basin-park. This General Plan Amendment has been initiated by the City to allow development in the Union Crossing PD area to conform to the PD and utilize the certified EIR. No development is being proposed as part of this General Plan Amendment. All parcels being considered as part of this GPA will conform to the original land use designation as analyzed by the Project’s EIR.
The proposed General Plan Designation changes are as follows (see figure 3):
APN 226-160-36 (1295 W. Atherton Drive): HDR (High-Density Residential) to C (Commercial) APN 226-160-37 (1239 W. Atherton Drive): CMU (Commercial Mixed Use) to C (Commercial) APN 226-160-38 (1271 W. Atherton Drive): CMU (Commercial Mixed Use) to C (Commercial) APN 226-160-39 (1323 W. Atherton Drive): CMU (Commercial Mixed Use) to C (Commercial) APN 226-160-40 (1337 W. Atherton Drive): CMU (Commercial Mixed Use) to C (Commercial) APN 226-160-44 (1308 W. Atherton Drive): CMU (Commercial Mixed Use) to HDR (High-Density Residential) APN 226-160-34 (1350 W. Atherton Drive): CMU (Commercial Mixed Use) to P (Park) Figure 2: Land Use Plans for the Union Crossing PD and Union Crossing EIR Addendum Figure 3: Proposed General Plan Re-Designation
ANALYSIS
The proposed entitlements are analyzed with respect to conformance with:
Manteca 2043 General Plan
Land Use Element
Economic and Fiscal Vitality Element
Community Facilities and Services Element
2015-2023 Housing Element
Manteca Municipal Code
17.20.020 Zone Districts
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)
General Plan Conformance
As shown on the Proposed General Plan Re-Designation Exhibit (Figure 3), five of the parcels in question currently have a General Plan Land Use designation of Commercial Mixed-Use and two of the parcels have a High-Density Residential and Park land use designation respectively. The proposed new designations are Commercial on 1295, 1239, 1271, 1323, 1337 W Atherton, High Density Residential on 1308 W Atherton, and Park on 1350 W Atherton. These redesignations will allow for development to conform to existing development, approved entitlements, the Union Crossing PD zoning, and the certified Union Crossing EIR addendum.
The General Plan Amendment also serves to bring the project into conformance with the following General Plan goals and policies:
LU-4.1: Establish and maintain inviting and attractive neighborhood, community, and regional-serving commercial centers in prominent, easily accessible locations. • Neighborhood-serving centers should be centrally located within and well-integrated into the adjacent neighborhood(s). • Community-serving centers should be located along arterial streets and similar major roadways. • Regional-serving centers should be located in close proximity to freeway interchanges.
Analysis: The proposed project allows for commercial development along arterial streets (Atherton and Union Road), as well as the Union/120 freeway interchange. Approval of the GPA will continue to facilitate commercial development.
LU-4.4: Ensure that all commercial and other non-residential development is compatible with adjacent land uses, particularly residential uses, based upon the location and scale of buildings, lighting, and in conformance with the noise standards of the Safety Element. When development is incompatible, require commercial uses to provide adequate buffers and/or architectural features to protect residential areas, developed or undeveloped, from intrusion of nonresidential activities that may degrade the quality of life in such residential areas.
Analysis: The change from HDR to C for 1295 W Atherton ensures that incompatible residential development is not adjacent to commercial uses and State Route 120 and its associated noise, smoke, dust, odor, and lighting. The change from the CMU to the P for the portion of Tony Marshall Park resolves the inconsistency of the site’s existing use as a park which currently acts as a buffer between the commercial uses to the east from the residential uses to the west. The change from the CMU to the HDR for 1308 W. Atherton Drive acts as a buffer between the proposed and existing commercial uses to the north and east and the existing residential uses to the south and west.
LU-3.9: Locate residences and sensitive receptors away from areas of excessive noise, smoke, dust, odor, and lighting, and ensure that adequate provisions, including buffers or transitional uses, such as less intensive renewable energy production, light industrial, office, or commercial uses, separate the proposed residential uses from more intensive uses, including industrial, agricultural, or agricultural industrial uses and designated truck routes, to ensure the health and well-being of existing and future residents.
Analysis: The change from HDR to C for 1295 W Atherton removes residential development from a site adjacent to State Route 120 and its associated noise, smoke, dust, odor, and lighting.
EF 2.1: Ensure that adequate sites are available to accommodate a diverse range of businesses, including professional, technical, industrial, retail, and services, in order to provide goods and services to the city and region, and to provide a broad range of employment opportunities, especially skilled, high-paying jobs, for local residents.
Analysis: The proposed General Plan Amendment accommodates 12.17 acres of future commercial development on a prime commercial site.
EF 2.6: Continue to prioritize employment and tax revenue-generating uses on undeveloped and underutilized parcels along State Route 120 and State Route 99.
Analysis: The proposed General Plan Amendment accommodates future employment and tax revenue-generating uses on undeveloped parcels along State Route 120.
CF 4.2 Expand, renovate, and maintain high quality parks, trails, and recreation facilities, programs, and services to accommodate existing and future needs that address traditional and non-traditional recreation, active and passive recreation, wellness, historical, cultural arts, environmental education, conservation, inclusion, diversity, accessibility, safety, and technology.
Analysis: The proposed General Plan Amendment allows for the parcel that is located within Tony Marshall Park to accommodate any future expansions or renovations the City may desire for its parkland as the population of the surrounding area changes and grows over time.
H-P 18 The City shall maintain an adequate supply of land in appropriate land use designations and zoning categories to achieve a mix of single-family and multi-family development that will provide adequate housing opportunities for households of all income levels and will accommodate the housing needs established in the Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA).
Analysis: The proposed General Plan Amendment allows for the City to maintain the supply of the appropriate land use designation for multi-family development, namely the HDR for the entitled Union Crossing Apartments.
Zoning Code Conformance
The parcels in question are currently within a Planned Development (PD) overlay zone with base zones that correspond to the land use designations identified in the Union Crossings PD (e.g. General Commercial, Park, R3 Multi-family Residential. The PD overlay zone is stated in Code to provide a process to allow diversity in the relationship between buildings and open spaces and to create interesting physical environments and to maximize the development potential of underutilized or problematic areas. Planned Development overlay zoning requires a Planned Development Guidelines document, which is included as Attachment 3. PD guidelines supplement the zoning ordinance and outline the development standards for any future development that may occur. The redesignations of the parcels in question will allow development to conform to the existing Union Crossing PD.
The Union Crossing Apartment Project has been entitled and is consistent with the HDR base zone district, therefore the GPA will ultimately facilitate consistency between the base zone and the General Plan. The affected portion of Tony Marshall Park is a developed site with a Park base zone and currently services surrounding single-family homes, therefore the GPA will provide consistency with the base zone and the General Plan. The parcels located north of W. Atherton Drive are currently undeveloped with a base Commercial zone in the PD, causing any proposed development to have to either amend the PD and zoning to develop in conformance with the current General Plan, or amend the General Plan to develop in conformance with the PD and zoning. The proposed GPA will allow development to occur on the parcels north of W. Atherton according to the PD design standards and as analyzed by the Union Crossings EIR and addendum, while being consistent with the General Plan.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
CEQA Guidelines §15183 mandates that projects which are consistent with the development density established by existing zoning, community plan, or general plan policies for which an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) was certified (in this case, the Union Crossing EIR Addendum) shall not require additional environmental review, except as might be necessary to examine whether there are project-specific significant effects that are peculiar to the proposed project or its site. The Union Crossing EIR Addendum was certified in 2022 (SCH# 2008092083) with the approval of the Union Crossing Apartments. As stated earlier in this report, the proposed General Plan Amendment conforms to the land uses analyzed in the EIR addendum. No development project is being proposed at this time; therefore, an examination of project-specific significant effects is not warranted, and no further environmental review is required.
The Union Crossing EIR Addendum can be found on the City website, in the Planning Documents folder here:
https://www.manteca.gov/departments/development-services/planning/planning-division-documents/-folder-325 Report prepared by: Scott Speer, Senior Planner
Attachments:
Attachment 1 - Planning Commission Resolution
Attachment 2 - Exhibit “A” to Resolution – General Plan Amendment Map Attachment 3 - Union Crossing Planned Development Guidelines Attachment 4 - PowerPoint Presentation
Reviewed by:
___________________________________ __________ Jesus Orozco, Deputy Director- Planning Date
City of Manteca Planning Commission
AGENDA REPORT