STATEMENT OF OVERRIDING CONSIDERATIONS PAGE 1 OF 3
ATTACHMENT E
RICHARDS RANCH ANNEXATION, GENERAL PLAN LAND USE AMENDMENT
AND PRE-ZONING PROJECT
Statement of Overriding Considerations
The Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the Richards Ranch Annexation, General Plan Land Use Amendment and Pre -zoning project (July 2024) identifies significant, unavoidable biological impacts associated with the proposed project. Mitigation measures to reduce these impacts have been applied to the project to the extent feasible but would not reduce the environmental impact s below the identified criteria used to define significant impacts.
The City Council of the City of Santa Maria finds that the benefits of the proposed project outweigh the significant unavoidable impact s as required by Section 21081(b) of the California Environmental Quality Act. The City Council makes the findings that the specific economic, legal, social, technological, or other considerations set out below, which may include considerations for the provision of housing and employment opportunities for trained workers, make infeasible the mitigation measures and alternatives identified in the environmental impact report. In addition to the findings set forth in Attachment D of the Planning Commission staff report dated October 2, 2024, the City Council makes the following findings of overriding considerations that warrant approval of the proposed project, notwithstanding the identified biological impacts that are not fully mitigated:
1. The proposed project site lies within the City of Santa Maria's Sphere of Influence and is contiguous with the city's western border. The site's vacant status and its potential for imminent urban infill development make it a suitable candidate f or annexation. The decision to annex the site to the city is driven by the aim to achieve more efficient long-term growth by leveraging access to municipal services. This is an overriding economic and social consideration in favor of approving the proposed project.
2. The Richards Ranch project would allow for an economically feasible plan that is compatible with the surrounding community and designed to serve the housing and commercial needs of the city and region. As envisioned by the conceptual development plan analyzed in the EIR, the project will provide potential future development of 106,800 -square-feet of commercial uses and a 39,500 -square- foot mini -storage complex on 16.35 acres of the project site, as well as 400 apartments and 95 townhomes on the remaining 27.40 acres . The project would develop this infill property while respecting the surrounding existing neighborhoods and would provide high-density housing to meet the housing needs in the city and surrounding areas. The project would also provide commercial uses that will serve the daily needs of the new residents and the surrounding community including those traveling on Union Valley Parkway . These are overriding economic and social considerations in favor of approving the proposed project.
STATEMENT OF OVERRIDING CONSIDERATIONS PAGE 2 OF 3
3. The Richards Ranch project would provide for the orderly development of the City of Santa Maria General Plan planning area by providing the effective and efficient development of public facilities, infrastructure, and services appropriate for the planning area while also providing the City with increased sales tax and property tax. The proposed urban infill project in the City of Santa Maria's Sphere of Influence encourages community -centered development by facilitating the establishment of community -serving commercial retail spaces and providing a diverse mix of housing types to meet the City's Regional Housing Needs Allocation targets.
The additional residential development would increase the housing supply within Santa Maria, w hich is consistent with Goal 1 of the General Plan (Housing Element) to “Assure sufficient development potential to accommodate future residential growth and construction”, and Goal LU-9 of the General Plan (Land Use Element), to “Promote Adequ ate Housing Supply – the City will continue to promote an adequate supply of quality residential development within Santa Maria.” The additional residential development on the site would provide needed housing stock in Santa Maria and assist with the curre nt housing shortage in the State of California. This project is also consistent with the General Plan (Land Use Element) Policy L.U.1 to “Establish and maintain a balanced mix of land uses to meet the present and future demands of the community”, and Objective L.U.1a to “Establish residential areas for 1) the provision of a variety of home sites, housing types, and lifestyles; 2) the promotion of neighborhood integrity; and 3) the protection of individual property values by encouraging compatible uses and proper standards for design and development.” This is an overriding economic and social consideration in favor of approving the proposed project.
4. The project would be consistent with Program 1.F of the City’s Housing Element, which acknowledges that annexation can provide an opportunity for the City to add available residential sites. The project site is surrounded by other residential development and would not constitute leapfrog development. Therefore, the project would be consistent with the City of San ta Maria’s Land Use Element Objective L.U. 5d, to locate new development contiguous to existing development.
This is an overriding economic and social consideration in favor of approving the proposed project.
5. A notable factor influencing the annexation request is the region's historical lack of water resources, which has impeded the development of the site for 20 years.
Despite being planned for mixed -use development for an extended period and previous attempts by various owners to develop the site over the past two decades, the lack of water resources within the county has posed a significant challenge. However, the City of Santa Maria possesses the necessary water resources to support the proposed development, making annexation a feasible solution to address the water scarcity challenge and finally bring the long-planned project to fruition. This is an overriding economic and social consideration in favor of approving the proposed project.
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6. The future development of the property would provide for additio nal employment opportunities in the Santa Maria and Orcutt area. Proposed commercial uses include drive-through commercial spaces, a retail center, corner gas station, and mini storage. Approximately 485 new jobs are expected to be created. This is an overriding economic and social consideration in favor of approving the proposed project.
7. The project site supports stands of trees that have historically supported an aggregation of winter roosting monarch butterflies; this site is located to the south of UVP and is 7.63-acres. The recent counts at this grove have ranged between 0 and 34 butterflies. The recorded count for 2021/2022 was 34. The Xerces Society and Ca. Department of Fish and Wildlife have identified and mapped this grove as overwintering site #2 688. A range of alternatives were examined in the EIR to address the significant and unavoidable impacts to the Western monarch butterfly resulting from buildout of the project site as depicted in the conceptual development plan. Any development of the Ric hards Ranch site of a density lik e that is proposed in the conceptual development plan, regardless of land use type, would require removal of the eucalyptus grove that provides overwintering habitat to the monarch butterfly. The 7.63-acre grove, which provides the overwintering habitat for butterflies at the project site, would be incompatible with the proposed residential development at the project site.
An arborist assessment, which supported the EIR analysis, indicates that the eucalyptus grove is an old windrow of trees that has been cut down at some point and allowed to regrow out of the remaining stumps. The trees are growing very close together and the branches of each tree tangle with one another. When eucalyptus grows in very close, like the trees at the project site, the roots fuse between trees, making them one biological entity. It is not possible to remove individual trees selectively. If single tr ees were to be removed, the sandy soil conditions would increase the possibility of the remaining trees falling over. The trees are essentially supporting each other. There has been no regular maintenance of the trees on the project site. Due to the health of the trees, the arborist report recommends against protection for any of the trees.
Development of the site with any comparable project of a similar density as depicted in the conceptual development plan would require the removal of the monarch overwintering site. Due to the central location of the eucalyptus grove , the protection of this resource and creation of an adequate buffer zone between the project development and the grove for resource protection and hazard abatement would be infeasible. This is an overriding economic and social consideration in favor of approving the proposed project.