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CITY OF SALINAS
HOUSING AND LAND USE COMMITTEE
DATE: NOVEMBER 30, 2022
DEPARTMENT: COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT
FROM: LISA BRINTON, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR
BY: OSCAR RESENDIZ, ASSOCIATE PLANNER
TITLE: SB2 REZONING GRANT UPDATE
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
No formal action is recommended . Staff is seeking feedback on a possible change to the City’s SB2 Grant scope of work.
BACKGROUND:
In December 2019, the City accepted an SB2 grant award from the state Housing and Community Development Department (HCD) in the amount of $310,000. Grant funds are to be used to facilitate the production of housing by undertaking the necessary planning and environmental studies and analyses to consider changing land use and zoning designations of identified opportunity sites to allow for higher density residential or mixed-use development.
Through the SB2 application process, the City identified several potential opportunity s ites. For each site, selected environmental consultants are responsible for preparing a high- level analysis including verifying staff development projections and initial environmental analysis required under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) to determine if there are any impacts , and whether any identified impacts can be mitigated to a level of less than significant. If so, General Plan and R ezoning amendments (Amendments) would be processed through an Initial Study (IS) and Negative Declaration (ND) or Mitigated Negative Declaration (MND). If a ND or MND is possible, the consultant would prepare the necessary environmental document for that site, as well as the Amendments. The City must complete all work by September 2023.
DISCUSSION:
Downtown Surface Parking Lots:
In December 2021, City Council approved Amendments to change the General Plan designation of six (6) sites to Mixed Use and Rezone the same six (6) sites from Public/Semipublic (PS) or Commercial Retail (CR) to Mixed Use (MX) and expand Downtown Core area (DC) overlay District to include the Intermodal Transportation Center (ITC). The selected sites included four (4) downtown City-owned parking lots, the City’s Permit Center and adjacent parking garage (Permit Page | 2
Center and Parking Garage site), and portions of the City’s Intermodal Transportation Center (ITC). The Amendments cover 10.4 acres and could facilitate the development of up to approximately 500 housing units and 125,000 square feet of commercial space. The Amendments implemented a 2015 Downtown Vibrancy Plan recommendation to allow for the redevelopment of the selected city -owned surface parking lots and facilities with a mix of residential and commercial retail uses and to encourage pedestrian-oriented neighborhoods where local residents and employees have access to services, shops, entertainment, jobs, and transit within walking distance of their homes and workplace.
1 Preston Street:
In late 2020, staff identified an opportunity to facilitate housing production by increasing the allowable residential density of the vacant property at 1 Preston Street. On March 16, 2021, Council approved a contract agreement with Rincon Consultants, Inc . to prepare technical and environmental documents required to consider rezoning 1 Preston Street from Residential Medium Density (R-M-3.6) to Residential High Density (R -H-2.1). With full buildout and anticipating a density bonus, future development on the site may include the construction of up to 83 residential units over roughly 129,202 square feet (sf).
Currently, Rincon Consultants Inc. is in the process es of completing the technical and environmental documents (ISMND) required to consider the General Plan Amendment and Rezone. It is anticipated that a public review ISMND would be released by the end of the year.
Additional Opportunity Sites:
On November 16, 2021, Council approved resolution authorizing Mayor to execute a Professional Service Agreement with Precision Civil Engineering, Inc (Precision) to prepare Amendments and associated environmental documents for the opportunity sites described below. Precision is currently working on preparing the technical and environmental documents for Amendments for the opportunity sites listed below . Proposed A mendments will change designated land use and zoning to the “Mixed Use” from their current base districts.
1. Alisal Marketplace – Currently occupied by mostly light-industrial uses and big-box retail buildings, this area has significant redevelopment potential. A 2010 proposal envisioned a transformation into a new mixed-use neighborhood integrating housing and services with public open space and educational and civic buildings, including a new police station.
Because of the development of its police station, additional adjacent properties were acquired. The City proposes to re-zone a subset of properties adjacent to East Alisal Street.
2. Large Shopping Centers – Recently, several big box retail establishments have either declared bankruptcy or at risk of declaring bankruptcy. In consideration of these conditions, the City thought it an appropriate moment to re -imagine these properties as mixed-use villages with critical housing units. Originally four shopping centers located along key corridors with access to transit and other services seem primed for redevelopment. Parcels originally identified included the parcels containing the following stores: Kmart, Orchard Supply Hardware, Sears (Northridge Mall), and Foods Co. Based Page | 3
on subsequent conversations with the property owners, focus is shifting to the Kmart site and Sears side of the Northridge Mall as feasible housing production sites.
3. Edge of Downtown/Soledad and John Streets – Parcels fronting John Street and adjacent to the proposed zone change area are already zoned for mixed- use. Therefore, it makes sense to extend this zoning to additional parcels in order to provide greater opportunity for lot assemblage in order to make higher density housing projects economically feasible on the edge of Downtown.
Large Shopping Centers – Northridge/Sears Opportunity Site
Outreach to property owners is a component of the SB2 Grant scope of work. When staff reached out to the owner of the Sear s site they indicated support of the proposed rezone to Mixed-Use (MX) as they were exploring construc ting housing on the site as part of a horizontal mixed- used development. T he property owner met with staff multiple times to discuss their proposed development and provided a site plan with dwelling unit calculations. They also expressed interest to construct a new fast -food restaurant with a drive -thru within the parcel. The property owner was informed that restaurants with a drive-thru are not allowed in the MX district because conflicts created between vehicles and pedestrian and bicycle traffic are contrary and do not meet the MX district’s primary objective of walkability and to promote and provide development opportunities for integrated, complementary housing and employment opportunities.
The Sears property has since been sold, and the new owners are only interested in pursuing t he construction of the fast-food restaurant with a drive-thru and re-leasing the Sears building to new retail tenant(s). They are not pursuing any housing developm ent. The new property owners are requesting that the City not pursue the General Plan Amendment and Rezone of the Sears site.
Staff is coming to the Housing and Land Use Committee for feedback as to whether staff should proceed to process the rezone of the Sears site given the new property owners’ request. The City has committed to undertake a certain scope of work and has obligations to fulfill under the SB2 grant to further the production of housing. Staff also has some concerns as to how the placement of the drive-thru restaurant could affect future long-range development of housing at the site. In addition, there are concerns regarding potential traffic impacts to the mall and surrounding streets resulting from adding another drive-thru restaurant at Northridge Mall.
FISCAL AND SUSTAINABILITY IMPACT:
There are no additional fiscal impacts to the City’s General Fund associated with the approval of the Amendments. Staff time for managing the SB2 grant and managing the preparation of CEQA documents is fully funded with SB2 grant. Staff time to prepare the Amendments and any report is incorporated in the Community Development Department APPI division budget.
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ATTACHMENTS:
1. PowerPoint Presentation