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HomeMy WebLinkAbout3.1 ITEM 3.1 TOWN OF LOS ALTOS HILLS September 1, 2016 Staff Report to the Planning Commission SUBJECT: STUDY SESSION TO CONSIDER A TENTATIVE PARCEL MAP TO SUBDIVIDE AN 18.18 ACRE PARCEL INTO NINE LOTS; LANDS OF TOP ELEGANT INVESTMENT (FORMER LANDS OF STIRLING); 28030 NATOMA ROAD; FILE#193-14-TM-IS-ND. � FROM: Suzanne Avila,AICP,Planning Director ST,�/Q RECOMMENDATION That the Planning Commission: Receive staff and applicant presentations, accept public testimony, and provide direction to staff and the applicant on any additional information or analysis, or any project concerns. A noticed public hearing will be scheduled at a later date. TENTATIVE MAP REVIEW The Planning Commission is a recommending body for this application. The Commission will make a recommendation to the City Council which is the final review authority. In order to approve a subdivision, the Planning Commission and City Council must determine that the project is consistent with the General Plan, Subdivision and Zoning Regulations, and that no findings for denial can be made,as specified in Section 66474 of the State Subdivision Map Act (see Attachment 1 for draft findings for approval). Plan review comments on the Tentative Parcel Map have been received from the following(see Attachment 3): • Cotton, Shires &Associates, Town Geotechnical Consultant • _Santa Clara County Depaituuent of Environmental Health • Engineering Department • Santa Clara County Fire Depaituient • Purissima Hills Water District • Environmental Design and Protection Committee • Open Space Committee • Pathways Committee • BOA, Inc.—Town Stormwater Consultant BACKGROUND The subject property is 18.18 acres and is addressed as 28030 Natoma Road, although it has no frontage on that road. The property is accessed from Charles Avenue, a private road that connects to the east side of Natoma Road. There are two existing homes, a pump house and several accessory buildings on the property. It is anticipated that all of the existing development will be demolished. Tentative Map for Lands of Top Elegant Investment LLC 28030 Natoma Road September 1,2016 Page 2 of 10 The property generally slopes downward to the northeast from its highest point of 510 feet in the northeast corner to an elevation of 310 feet along the westernmost reach of a tributary to Matadero Creek. The creek runs along most of the western and southern borders of the property. The south and western third of the property slopes steeply to the creek, with slopes of 30 percent and greater. The average slope of the property as a whole is 25.9%. The primary plant habitats on the site are grassland and oak woodland. There are two younger, dormant landslide areas and a third old landslide area that will require stabilization prior to development. Additional detail is in the background section of the Mitigated Negative Declaration(see Attachment 4). On July 3, 2014 a Tentative Map application was submitted to the Town by the Stirling family, requesting a subdivision of the 18.18 acre property located at 28030 Natoma Road. On July 17, 2014 staff determined that all of the required information was submitted and in conformance with the provisions of law and the Town's Subdivision Ordinance. On August 7, 2014 the Tentative Map application was accepted by the Planning Commission, and Commissioner Partridge was appointed as the Planning Commission representative for the subdivision. On August 26, 2014 a Subdivision Committee meeting was held and comments from reviewing departments, agencies and Town Committees were presented to the applicant. In September 2015 the Stirling family sold the property to the applicant, Top Elegant Investment LLC. For historic purposes the project continues to be referred to as the Stirling Subdivision. An Initial Study and Mitigated Negative Declaration were prepared for the project. The draft document was completed on September 14, 2015 and was released for public review on September 23, 2014 (see Attachment 4). The 30 day public review period ended on October 23, 2015. The Initial Study and Mitigated Negative Declaration document is available on the Town's web-site: www.losaltoshills.ca.gov. There is a tab title "Stirling Subdivision" on the Planning Department page. Environmental review comment letters and Response to Comments are also available on this web-page. On June 29, 2016 the applicant held an informational meeting for interested residents. PROJECT DESCRIPTION The applicant is requesting approval to subdivide an 18.18 gross acre parcel into nine lots ranging in size from 1.15 to 3.01 acres. Lot sizes in the area surrounding the property range from 1.05 to 3.65 acres. Tentative Map for Lands of Top Elegant Investment LLC 28030 Natoma Road September 1,2016 Page 3 of 10 • Existing Development: Gross Net . Ave. Slope MDA MFA Acreage Acreage (%) . LUF (sq. ft.) (sq.ft.) Existing 18.18 16.92 25.9% 11.14 Site *Existing site data is calculated prior to proposed right-of-way dedications. Proposed Development Parcel Gross Net Ave. Slope = LUF MDA . MFA Acreage Acreage (%) (sq.ft.) (sq.ft.) 1 1.40. 1.08 7.6 1.08 16,200 6,480 2 1.22 1.06 8.6 L06 15,900 6,360 3 1.15 1.03 9.1 1.03 . 15,450 6,180 4 1.17 1.15 8.6 1.15 17,250 6,900 5 3.37 3.34 28.8 1.99 15,821 10,069 6 2.35 2.30 30.9 1.27 9,525 6,350. 7 2.12 1.97 28.3 1.19 9.684 6,051 8 2.38 : 2.23 34 1.08 . 8,100 5,400 9 3.01 2.76 38.4 1.08 8,100 5,400 The proposed lots meet all of the minimum requirements in the Town's Subdivision Ordinance with regard to the following: • Each lot is a minimum of one net acre; • Each lot has a minimum LUF of 1.0; • Each lot contains a 160-foot diameter building circle within the proposed- parcel boundaries thereby indicating that the parcel contains a viable building site; • Each lot contains an area of at least one net acre within a 350-foot diameter circle that encompasses each parcel,; • • Each lot meets the minimum slope density requirement based on the proposed average slope of the lots DISCUSSION General Plan Consistency The Town's General Plan includes policies related to land use development and the preservation of the Town's semi-rural character and natural resources. Tentative Map for Lands of Top Elegant Investment LLC 28030 Natoma Road September 1,2016 Page 4 of 10 Policy 1.1 of the General Plan Land Use Element states the following: "Uses of land shall be consistent with the semi-rural atmosphere of the community, minimize disturbance to natural terrain, minimize removal of natural vegetation, and create the maximum compatibility of development with the natural environment through site design and landscaping". In addition, Land Use Element Policy 2.5 states: "Steep slopes, canyons, and ravines generally in excess of 30% slope, as well as natural swales and drainage channels, and geologic hazard areas within areas designated for residential development shall be left undisturbed and preserved in their natural condition to the maximum extent feasible." Under the Conservation Element, Goal 2 states that the Town should protect native and naturalized trees and plants through policies that include minimizing disturbance of natural terrain and vegetation, preserving and protecting native plants and heritage trees and avoiding development of environmentally sensitive areas. Additionally, the Open Space and Recreation Element contains policies that encourage the preservation of open space on parcels within Open Space Conservation Areas, have slopes of 30% or more, contain heritage trees, or contain sensitive habitat areas. An open space easement is proposed over the western portion of the property that includes steep slopes and the Matadero Creek tributary. The easement would encompass 7.2 acres or 40% of the project site. The widening of Charles Avenue has been designed to save as many trees as possible and to preserve the most significant trees. The applicant worked with the adjacent property owner (Sloss) and Engineering staff in developing the proposed roadway alignment. Geotechnical Review An Engineering Geologic Hazard Investigation was prepared for the project by Romig Engineers. The report and plans were reviewed by the Town's Geotechnical Consultant, Cotton, Shires and Associates (CSA). CSA recommended geotechnical approval with the following conditions: • Stabilization grading within the old landslide area on lot 7 should be completed as a subdivision improvement that is done When the bioretention basin is installed. The bioretention basin is part of the C3 storm water compliance measures. • New habitable structures should not be located across the surface trace or subsurface plane of the Monta Vista fault. The building sites on lots 1, 5, 6, 7 and 8 have been located to avoid placement of structures across the fault trace. Site specific geotechnical Tentative Map for Lands of Top Elegant Investment LLC 28030 Natoma Road September 1,2016 Page 5 of 10 investigations will be required for these lots and the reports and plans will be peer reviewed by CSA at the time of site development application. • A dormant landslide located on lot 5 and 6 requires a minimum 20 foot setback and the installation of a sub-drain system. The installation will be required as a subdivision improvement and the work will be done under the direction of the project geotechnical consultant. • The plans should be formally reviewed by the Project Geotechnical Consultant for conformance with project design recommendations. The geotechnical recommendations will be included as conditions of approval. Tree Preservation An arborist report was prepared and subsequently revised by HortScience. Nine oaks will be removed for the Charles Avenue road alignment, six oaks that are adjacent to the new road will be removed, and nine oaks will be removed for the slide repair. Nineteen of these 24 trees are heritage oaks. An additional five heritage oaks will be removed for construction of the access road. Five of the 24 heritage oaks proposed for removal have low suitability for preservation. Three heritage oaks along the access road that were previously listed for removal will be preserved due to revisions to the roadway alignment. A total of 129 trees will be preserved in the area where development will occur, including 108 heritage oaks. An additional 285 heritage oaks located within the proposed open space easement will be preserved. The Mitigated Negative Declaration (MND) includes mitigation measures for tree preservation including a requirement for replacement trees to be planted at a 3:1 ratio. These and all other mitigation measures identified in the MND will be included as conditions of approval. Wildlife Movement Live Oak Associates prepared a Wildlife Corridor Study for the Town in 2006. Although the report was not formally adopted, it serves as a basis for the evaluation of wildlife movement through the project site. The applicant consulted with Live Oak Associates in 2014 to have the property evaluated with regard to wildlife movement. Live Oak concluded that although the project will have some effect on wildlife movement, the preservation of 7.2 acres of the property in an open space easement along the Matadero Creek tributary will retain the best wildlife corridor. The environmental consultant, EMC Planning Group, also had its biologists evaluate wildlife movement. The EMC biologists concurred with the Live Oak findings. The applicant sought another opinion through ecological consultant, HT Harvey & Associates. HT Harvey concluded that future construction on the land upslope from the proposed Matadero Creek open space easement corridor is not expected to result in a substantial reduction in the use of the creek corridor for wildlife movement. Live Oak and HT Harvey also evaluated the effects of fencing on the movement of wildlife through the project site. Both Live Oak Associates and H.T. Harvey & Associates provided supplemental evaluations of the potential effects of these subdivision improvements (see Tentative Map for Lands of Top Elegant Investment LLC 28030 Natoma Road • September 1,2016 Page 6 of 10 Attachments 1 lb and 11c). The applicant has agreed to install wildlife friendly fencing along the eastern boundary of lots 1 though 4 to facilitate wildlife movement. Fencing restrictions along the Open Space easement boundary and along the northern and eastern borders of the site should also be considered. Stormwater Treatment The project must comply with the NPDES Regional Permit C3 requirements for stormwater treatment. The applicant is required to prepare a Storm Water Control Plan (SWCP) and Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP). The proposed stormwater treatment and hydromodification control provisions were peer reviewed by the Town's consultant, EOA, Inc. BOA has made the following conclusions: • The site design and source control measures are appropriate for the project. • The use of a bioretention area is acceptable with changes to the details. • The proposed hydromodification facility is acceptable, although more details are needed. • The SWCP is conceptually acceptable. The project engineer will continue to work with Engineering staff and BOA to refine the details of the SWCP,bioretention pond and hydromodification facility as recommended by EOA. COMMITTEE REVIEW Environmental Design&Protection The Environmental Design&Protection Committee(EDPC)provided the following comments: • Recommend preservation of the grove of oaks on lot 1 though inclusion of an open space easement. • A previous road alignment shown on the preliminary map is preferred as it would save more trees. • Fencing along the eastern boundary of lots 1 through 4 will divert wildlife and there should be a wildlife corridor in this area. • No irrigation should be located within five feet of the pathway along the road. • Changes should be made to the driveway for lot 7 to preserve heritage oaks #82, #83 and #85 which are all in good condition. • Noted that Simon Lane residents have requested view corridors through the site. The EDPC also commented on the MND (see Attachment 5j). Open Space The Open Space Committee(OSC)provided the following recommendations: • Require fencing setbacks along all property lines to preserve the open space character and prevent suburban type gridding. • Breaks should be provided in the eastern and northern property boundary fence to allow for wildlife movement. Tentative Map for Lands of Top Elegant Investment LLC 28030 Natoma Road September 1,2016 Page 7 of 10 • The oak grove at the entrance(lot 1) should be preserved with an open space easement. • The western and southern portions of the site should be placed in an open space easement. • The eastern and northern borders should have a 25-foot open space easement to provide a buffer with the adjacent properties, to preserve the existing open space character and to facilitate wildlife flow through the project site. • The Matadero Creek feeder swale should be preserved with an open space easement. • The road alignment should be modified to preserve trees. The applicant is proposing an open space easement over the lower 7.2 acres of the site. The easement would encompass wooded areas with steep slopes, down to Matadero creek. As previously mentioned, the road alignment has been revised to reduce tree impacts. The applicant is also proposing wildlife friendly fencing along the eastern property boundary. Pathways The Pathways Committee has requested the following: • Grant a 30 foot wide pathway easement along the eastern boundary of the site, behind lots 1 though 4 and install a meandering pathway. • Grant a 20 foot pathway easement from the end of the cul-de-sac to the northern property line between lots 4 and 5. • Grant a 30 foot pathway easement along the northern boundary of the site(lots 4 and 5). • Construct a pathway within the easement along the northern boundary to include a footbridge over Matadero Creek). • Pathways should be installed with the subdivision improvements. The Master Path Map shows connections through the project site, but does not show a specific route or alignment. The applicant is proposing a pathway starting from Natoma Road, along Charles Avenue, then connecting from the cul-de-sac bulb to the path along the northern boundary of the site. The pathway would be within the road right-of-way to the end of the cul- de-sac, then within a 20 foot wide pathway easement to the northern boundary. A pathway easement starting at 20 feet in width and increasing to 125 feet would be granted along the northern boundary to contain the requested path and footbridge across the creek (see sheet 1 of the plans, Attachment 12). ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW In January 2015 the Town sent a Request for Proposals to four environmental consultants. Two firms provided a proposal for preparation of an Initial Study and Mitigated Negative Declaration (MND) or Environmental Impact Report (EIR). EMC Planning Group was selected as the project consultant, and an Initial Study and Mitigated Negative Declaration were prepared (see Attachment 4). Based on the Initial Study (IS) and the determination that all environmental impacts can be reduced to a less than significant level with appropriate mitigation measures, an EIR was not required. Tentative Map for Lands of Top Elegant Investment LLC 28030 Natoma Road September 1,2016 Page 8 of IO The draft IS and MND were distributed for a 30 day public review period which ended on October 23, 2015. The environmental documents were sent to the State Clearinghouse, posted with the Santa Clara County Clerk Recorder for the 30-day public review period, and an ad was placed in the Town Crier. The IS and MND were also placed on the Town web-site and written notice of availability was sent to appropriate local and state agencies and interested residents. Written comments were received (see Attachments 5a-k). A Response to Comments was prepared by EMC in January 2016 (see Attachment 6). Two additional comment letters and two e-mails were received in January 2016 (see Attachments 7 though 10). A second Response to Comments was prepared (see Attachments 11 a though 11h). _ When the Planning Commission forwards the Tentative Map application to the City Council for consideration, a recommendation should be included on adoption of the MND. PUBLIC COMMENTS Written notice of the Study Session was mailed to property owners within 500 feet of the project site. As of August 26, 2016 no additional written communication, other than the letters and emails included as attachments to this staff report,has been received. ATTACHMENTS 1. State Subdivision Map Act findings 2. Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program(18 pages) 3. Plan review comments: a. Reports from Cotton, Shires & Associates (four pages, three pages), received August 20, 2014 and July 22,2015 b. Letters from Purissima Hills Water District (one page each), received August 25 and September 8, 2014 c. Email from Santa Clara County DEH (one page), received August 12, 2014 d. Environmental Design & Protection Committee comments (one page), dated August 21, 2014 e. Open Space Committee comments (eight pages total ), received August 24 and January 20, 2014 f. Pathways Committee comments (one page), dated August 245, 2014 g. Santa Clara County Fire Department comments (four pages), received September 11, 2014 h. Reports from BOA, Inc., received June 25 and June 27, 2016 4. Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration 5. Environmental review comment letters a. Letter from Nancy Couperus (three pages),received October 19, 2015 b. Letter from Benjamin Sloss (two pages),received October 19, 2015 c. Letter from Pathways Committee (three pages),received October 20, 2015 d. Letter from Alan&Carol Kaganov(two pages),received October 21, 2015 Tentative Map for Lands of Top Elegant Investment LLC 28030 Natoma Road September 1,2016 Page 9 of 10 e. Letter from Kent Webb (three pages),received October 23, 2015 f. Letter from Alice Sakamoto (seven pages),received October 23, 2015 g. Letter from Sue Welch(two pages),received October 23, 2015 h. Letter from Masayuki Murakami (three pages),received October 23, 2015 i. Email from Jeff Peterson(one page),received October 23, 2015 j. Comments from Environmental Design & Protection Committee (two pages), received October 23, 2015 k. Letter from Michael & Sharen Schoendorf(one page),received October 23, 2015 6. EMC Response to Comments dated January 4;2016 7. Letter from Shute Mihaly&Weinberger(24 pages), dated and received January 20, 2016 8. Email from Safra Catz (one page), received January 20, 2016 9. Email from Michael Schoendorf(one page), received February 3, 2016 10. Letter from Sue Welch(six pages plus attachments),received January 22, 2016 11. Response to Shute Mihaly and Welch letters a. Response to Comments,August 2016 b. Live Oaks Associates response letter(four pages), April 21, 2016 c. H. T. Harvey&Associates memorandum(six pages),April 28. 2016 d. WRA creek and riparian assessment(seven pages),April 1, 2016 e. WRA focused rare plant survey letter(one page),April 6, 2016 f. HortScience revised arborist report(25 pages total),April 2016 g. HortScience response letter(three pages),April 20, 2016 h. Applicant letter confirming project compliance,received June 1, 2016 12. Tentative Map plan set (Planning Commission only)