Special Notice / Hearing: None__
Vote Required: Majority
To: Honorable Board of Supervisors
From: Steve Monowitz, Community Development Director
Subject: Public hearing regarding: Introduction of an Ordinance approving a Second Amendment of the Development Agreement regarding construction of the Big Wave North Parcel Alternative Project (Big Wave NPA Project).
County File Number: PLN 2013-00451 (Big Wave Group, LLC)
RECOMMENDATION:
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Conduct a public hearing for an introduction of an ordinance approving a Second Amendment of the Development Agreement between the County of San Mateo and Big Wave LLC and Big Wave Group:
A) Open public hearing
B) Close public hearing
C) Introduction of an ordinance that authorizes the following changes to the Big Wave North Parcel Alternative Project (Big Wave NPA Project), with all of the proposed modifications applicable only to development approved on the project’s north parcel with no changes are proposed to the south parcel uses, and waive the reading of the ordinance in its entirety:
1. Allow a two-building Wellness Center site plan as an alternate to the approved three-building site plan; and
2. Modify requirements related to bike trail construction; and
3. Clarify requirements related to the on-site pedestrian trail and crossing over the drainage separating the north and south project parcels; and
4. Extend deadline for completion of wetland restoration by 18 months to January 2021 and extend the deadline for the construction of a minimum of 25 bedrooms at the Wellness Center to 3 years from an issued building permit; and
5. Replace the requirement that Big Wave construct project buildings to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards to require compliance with the building code including CALGreen requirements.
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BACKGROUND:
On May 19, 2015, the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors approved the Big Wave North Parcel Alternative Project (Big Wave NPA Project) and the associated Development Agreement with the property owners of the subject parcels, Big Wave LCC (north parcel) and Big Wave Group (south parcel), referred to collectively as “Big Wave.”
2017 Modifications
At its meeting on June 6, 2017, the Board of Supervisors approved a first amendment of the Development Agreement, which made the following modifications to the Big Wave NPA Project:
1. Allowed construction on Lot 4 of the Office Park prior to construction of the Wellness Center, and other changes in Office Park building phasing. The original Development Agreement only allowed development on Lot 2 of the Office Park prior to construction of the Wellness Center. The approval of this change requires the property owner to begin Wellness Center construction on or before the date that the first Office Park building on Lot 4 is determined to be fifty percent (50%) complete.
2. Allowed construction types other than Type 1 (steel and concrete) for the Wellness Center buildings, provided that the selected construction type meets Coastside Fire Protection District requirements; and
3. Allowed the property owner to obtain building permits for a limited amount of Office Park building construction prior to obtaining Caltrans approval (e.g., encroachment permit) to install a signal or roundabout at the intersection of Cypress and Highway One. The original Development Agreement and conditions of approval required the applicant to obtain Caltrans approval to install a traffic signal or roundabout prior to obtaining building permits for any Office Park building. The conditions of approval were also revised to clarify that Big Wave’s responsibility for funding the construction of intersection improvements are equivalent to the cost of installing a traffic signal.
Details of the 2015 Approved Big Wave NPA Project
The approved Big Wave NPA Project includes the following components, which will not change with the proposed modifications:
1. A Use Permit for the modern sanitarium component of the Wellness Center, outdoor parking uses in the Airport Overlay (AO) Zoning District, and an Outdoor Boat Storage Use;
2. A Major Subdivision of the north parcel into seven lots and the creation of up to 108, approximately 1,500 sq. ft., business condominium units;
3. A Minor Subdivision of the south parcel into two lots;
4. A Coastal Development Permit, appealable to the California Coastal Commission, for the proposed subdivisions, uses, and improvements;
5. A Design Review Permit for proposed structures and associated grading;
6. A Grading Permit to perform 735 cubic yards (cy) of cut for utility trenching and to place 16,400 cy of imported gravel;
In conjunction with these approvals, the County certified an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) and EIR addendum, and approved a Development Agreement establishing terms for project implementation. The County’s conditions of approval also require Big Wave to enter into a Housing Agreement to maintain the affordability of Wellness Center bedrooms for the life of the project, which must be approved prior to occupancy of the Wellness Center.
The Big Wave NPA Project will occur on two undeveloped parcels along Airport Street in the unincorporated Princeton-by-the-Sea area of San Mateo County. The Project is designed to be an economically sustainable development, whereby a per-square-feet assessment on space at the Office Park will contribute to funding housing and employment opportunities for low-income developmentally disabled adults residing at the Wellness Center.
Office Park:
The Big Wave NPA Project includes development of the north parcel with an Office Park, including up to five (5) buildings on Lots 2 - 6 containing a total of approximately 155,500 sq. ft. of industrial/office/storage uses. The Office Park buildings will be occupied by private firms with their own workers.
Wellness Center:
The Wellness Center, located on Lot 7 of the north parcel, will consist of 70,500 sq. ft. of affordable housing and associated uses with up to 57 bedrooms for a maximum of 50 developmentally disabled adults and their aides. In addition to housing, the Wellness Center will provide recreational facilities, commercial kitchen, and laundry facilities, and administrative offices. The Wellness Center will offer its residents a variety of services (e.g., meal services and care assistance) and job opportunities with business operations that employ residents, and, in some cases, generate revenue to help to maintain the economic sustainability of the Wellness Center. The Wellness Center will also include twelve (12) business tenant spaces, consisting of approximately 20,500 sq. ft. of General Office, Research and Development, Light Manufacturing, and/or Storage uses.
An outdoor boat storage area, operated by the Wellness Center as a Big Wave business, will be located on Lot 1 of the south parcel. The boat storage area is 1.12 acres in size and will provide 21 boat storage spaces, 14 vehicle parking spaces associated with boat use and storage, and a 190 sq. ft. precast concrete restroom building. There are no specific hours of operation, as the site would be accessible as needed by owners, and will not be staffed full-time.
Report Prepared By: Camille Leung, Senior Planner, Telephone 650/363-1826
Applicant/Owner: Jeff Peck/Big Wave Group, LLC; Big Wave Group, Inc.
Location: The north parcel is relatively flat and gently sloped to the west and south. The parcel presently contains agricultural fields irrigated by water from an on-site well. A vegetated drainage running east to west separates the two Big Wave parcels and drains into the Pillar Point Marsh, a salt marsh habitat. A total of 0.74 acres (32,180 sq. ft.) of the project site consists of wetlands, as defined by the California Coastal Act. A portion of the land constituting wetlands under the Coastal Act, 0.45 acres, is also considered Federal jurisdictional waters/wetlands, under the permit authority of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACOE).
APNs: 047-311-060
Size: Approximately 14.25 acres
Existing Zoning:
1. Light Industrial/Design Review/Coastal Development District (M-1/DR/CD)
2. Light Industrial/Airport Overlay/Design Review/Coastal Development District (M-1/AO/DR/CD)
3. Resource Management-Coastal Zone/Design Review/Coastal Development District (RM-CZ/DR/CD)
General Plan Designation: General Industrial and General Open Space
Sphere-of-Influence: City of Half Moon Bay
Williamson Act: There is no Williamson Act contract for the subject property.
Existing Land Use: Agriculture
Water Supply: No changes to water supply are proposed.
Sewage Disposal: No changes to sewage disposal are proposed.
Environmental Evaluation: On May 19, 2015, the Board of Supervisors certified the Addendum to the Certified 2010 Big Wave Wellness Center and Office Park Project EIR and 2010 EIR for the Big Wave NPA Project (EIR Addendum).
Setting: The project site is surrounded by the Half Moon Bay Airport to the east, the Pillar Ridge Manufactured Home Community (PRMHC) and a propane facility to the north, the Pillar Point Headlands and Pillar Point Marsh to the west, and industrial/
commercial/recreational development within the Princeton and Pillar Point Harbor to the south. Pillar Point Ridge, west of the project site, lies between the marsh and the coastline and offers recreational hiking trails. Beach access to Pillar Point is provided south of the project site from the Mavericks parking area at the west terminus of West Point Avenue and at the eastern terminus of West Point Avenue at Princeton Avenue.
Site Constraints: The north parcel contains a 125-foot wide Airport Overlay (AO) setback area along the eastern (front) property line, a minimum 100-foot wetland buffer zone along the south and west (rear and left) property lines, and an Alquist-Priolo Earthquake Fault Zone over a part of the western portion of the property. Fault trench studies found no evidence of fault traces.
Chronology:
Date Action
October 18, 2005 - Application for original Big Wave Project is submitted.
March 29, 2011 - The Board of Supervisors certifies the Draft EIR, Final EIR, and conditionally approved the original Big Wave Project.
August 8, 2012 - The California Coastal Commission (CCC) denies the project on appeal.
October 9, 2013 - Application for Big Wave North Parcel Alternative (NPA) Project (PLN 2013-00451) submitted.
May 19, 2015 - Board of Supervisors approve the Big Wave NPA Project. The Coastal Development Permit (CDP) was subsequently appealed to the California Coastal Commission. The CCC determined that the appellant did not have standing and therefore dismissed the appeal.
May 3, 2017 - The applicant requests a Minor Modification to the approved Coastal Development Permit, including changes to project phasing, traffic mitigation measures, and associated amendment to the Development Agreement.
June 6, 2017 - The Board of Supervisors conditionally approved the amendment to the Development Agreement.
January - - Big Wave performs wetland planting under the supervision of
February 2018 a biologist and, subsequently, submits planting and monitoring documentation from the biologist.
June 12, 2018 - - Big Wave submits building permit applications for building
Present permits for the proposed design of the Wellness Center to the County.
June 5, 2019 - Applicant requests additional changes to the approved CDP and Development Agreement (Attachment D), as described in this report.
July 23, 2019 - Board of Supervisors hearing date.
August 6, 2019 - Anticipated 2nd reading of Ordinance.
DISCUSSION
DESCRIPTION AND ANALYSIS OF PROPOSED AMENDMENTS
The following is a description of the proposed revisions to the project conditions of approval and the Development Agreement, the reasons why they are requested, and the Planning and Building Department’s analysis. Condition of Approval No. 1 authorizes the Community Development Director to approve minor changes in the project plans and states that “substantial changes to the approved plan (e.g., increase in the number of stories or substantial change in height or size) . . . require a major amendment to the Design Review Permit and are subject to separate permitting.” For reasons stated in this report, the Community Development Director has determined that the instant changes proposed by Big Wave are minor in nature.
1. Changes to Wellness Center Site Plan
In May 2015, the Board of Supervisors approved a three-building site plan for the
Wellness Center totaling 91,000 sq. ft., including 70,500 sq. ft. of affordable housing
and associated common-living uses and 20,500 sq. ft. of business uses. The Wellness Center consisted of up to 57 bedrooms for a maximum of 50 developmentally disabled adults, as well as their aides/attendants. The approved site plan for the Wellness Center (see Attachment C) included Building 3 (49,200 sq. ft.) at the rear of Lot 7 and two smaller buildings (41,800 sq. ft. combined total) at the front of the parcel.
Condition of Approval No. 5.o.(1) required the applicant to increase the building setback
from the shared property line with the Pillar Ridge Manufactured Home Community
(PRMHC) from 30 feet to 65 feet, requiring the placement of Wellness Center buildings
to shift significantly to the south. This requirement spurred a re-design of the Wellness
Center which resulted in a consolidation of the buildings, an increase in the number of
bedrooms constructed in Phase 1 of the Wellness Center construction from 25 to
33 bedrooms, and the incorporation of a new fire lane. Mitigation Measure LU-4
requires specific design changes but prohibits other changes to the shape,
configuration, and location of the buildings, unless approved by the
Community Development Director if the changes are determined to be minor in nature,
or the Board of Supervisors if the changes are determined to be major in nature.
The current proposal, as shown by Attachment B3 to this staff report, consolidates the
approved three-building Wellness Center buildings into two buildings. It includes a
larger U-shaped building (49,870 sq. ft.) at the front of the parcel to be built in Phase 1
of Wellness Center construction, as well as a smaller building at the rear of the parcel
(22,760 sq. ft.) to be built in Phase 2 of Wellness Center construction (prior to May 2027
as required by Condition of Approval No. 73). Overall, the size of the Wellness Center
will be reduced by 18,370 sq. ft., which is 20% smaller than the originally approved
project. The consolidated design will reduce construction costs for the project and allow
for installation of a fire lane which directly connects the two turnaround bulbs at the front
and rear of the Wellness Center.
Staff has analyzed the potential impacts of the proposed changes as viewed from
PRMHC and from Airport Street, and analyzed impacts to the amount of affordable housing provided by the project approved in 2015.
Regarding potential impacts of the proposed modifications to the PRMHC, as shown in
Table 1, below, the proposed Wellness Center buildings exceed the minimum required
setback of 65 feet by providing a setback of 71 feet - 2 inches from PRMHC. While the
length of building frontage along this setback will increase from a total of 328 feet to
337 feet and 4.5 inches (an increase of 3%), the gap between the two Wellness
Center buildings along the shared property line will increase from 30 feet to 43 feet - 2
inches (an increase of 43.8%). The increased setback from PRMHC and increased gap
between the buildings will provide a break in the overall massing of the buildings as
viewed from PRMHC. Additionally, the U-shaped configuration of the building directs
courtyard noise to the south and would provide sound buffering between PRMHC and
outdoor uses at the Wellness Center. Condition 5.o.(1) requires a 13-foot wide
landscaping strip within the intervening setback that will screen and soften the view of
the buildings.