Proposal: CHAPEL WAY SCHOOL GENERAL PLAN AMENDMENT SCREENING REQUEST - PLN2021-00410 - To consider a General Plan Amendment Screening Request to authorize formal processing of a General Plan Amendment application to convert the General Plan Land Use Designation from Public Facility to Urban Residential to facilitate the development of two private schools and to allow future housing for teachers, seniors, and other community groups, and to consider a finding that the request is not subject to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15378 in that it does not meet CEQA’s definition of a project.
Recommendation: Evaluate the proposed General Plan Amendment Screening Request based upon the potential benefit to the community including but not limited to the provision of affordable housing, sustainability, removal of blight, or other community benefits consistent with the goals, objectives and policies of the General Plan.
Location: 40950 Chapel Way
Area: 87,121 square feet (2.0 acres)
People: Akber Kazmi and Salim Mastan, Shia Association of Bay Area, Applicants
Amin Adil Qazi, Arch Versa Inc., Consultant
Alameda County Office of Education, Property Owner
Hang Zhou, Staff Planner, 510-494-4545, [email protected]
Recommendation: Evaluate the proposed General Plan Amendment Screening Request based upon the potential benefit to the community including but not limited to the provision of affordable housing, sustainability, removal of blight, or other community benefits consistent with the goals, objectives and policies of the General Plan.
General Plan: Existing: Public Facility
Proposed: Urban Residential (30 to 70 units per net acre) Zoning: Public Facility
Proposed: R-3-70 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
On March 15, 2016, the City Council adopted a General Plan Amendment Screening Policy, which created an initial pre-application screening process for General Plan Amendment requests that would authorize application submittal and City Council consideration of land use changes to allow additional market rate residential development. The intent of the policy is to provide an opportunity for the Planning Commission and City Council to screen and/or prioritize General Plan Amendment applications for further formal review and also identify applications the City has no interest in pursuing. During the current processing period, which includes all applications received between November 16, 2020 and June 15, 2021, the City received one General Plan Amendment Screening Request. The subject
General Plan Amendment Screening Request is to convert the General Plan Land Use Designation of a two-acre parcel located at 40950 Chapel Way from Public Facility to Urban Residential (30 to 70 units per net acre) to facilitate the establishment of two private schools and to allow future development of teacher housing and affordable housing for seniors and other community groups. The role of the Planning Commission is to evaluate the proposal based on the potential benefits that it would provide to the community and make a recommendation to the City Council regarding whether to authorize formal processing of a General Plan Amendment application. In accordance with the Screening Policy, Staff has performed no detailed analysis and has not provided a recommendation regarding the proposal.
BACKGROUND AND PREVIOUS ACTIONS
Because General Plan Amendments are a legislative action, they are not subject to the State Permit Streamlining Act that requires the City to take action within defined time periods.
Therefore, local jurisdictions can determine how and when to process such applications consistent with state law, which allows each required element of a general plan to be amended four times within a year.
On March 15, 2016, the City Council adopted a General Plan Amendment Screening Policy (Resolution No. 2016-09) (hereinafter referenced in this staff report as the “Screening Policy”), which established a pre-application process to screen General Plan Amendment applications that would authorize land use map changes to allow additional market rate residential development, including mixed-use developments. The Screening Policy was later refined by the City Council on May 16, 2017, to establish evaluation criteria and a minimum threshold for screening. The intent of the Screening Policy is to provide an opportunity for the Planning Commission and City Council to screen proposed General Plan Amendments to identify those applications they wish to consider for further formal review and those applications the City Council has no interest in pursuing. Authorization by the City Council in no way implies project approval; it merely authorizes formal processing of applications deemed worthy of consideration or further exploration.
The Screening Policy states that requests shall be evaluated based upon the benefit the project could provide to the community. The Screening Policy states that evaluation criteria may include the following:
▪ Affordable Housing – Exceeding the City’s Affordable Housing Ordinance requirements through on-site production, payment of affordable housing fees and/or a combination, or through alternative methods provided for in the ordinance, such as a land donation.
▪ Smaller Unit Sizes – Providing smaller unit sizes, including a majority that includes a mix of studios, one- and/or two bedrooms.
▪ Desirability of Land Use Change – Converting and potentially cleaning up an isolated industrial site surrounded by residential uses or removing and/or redeveloping a blighted site that has been identified as a nuisance.
▪ Sustainability Measures – Providing net zero energy development or other sustainability measures and amenities beyond those already required by law.
▪ Location within Priority Development Area – Guiding development to Priority Development Areas, the City Center, Town Centers, and existing and future BART
stations to meet housing need and sustainability goals to retain development capacity in other parts of Fremont beyond 2035 (General Plan horizon year).
▪ Other Interests – Providing additional community benefit such as addressing school or park needs or providing major capital improvements or new public facilities.
The Screening Policy specifies that the City will consider applications twice each year: 1) during August/September; and 2) during January/February. During the current processing period, which includes all applications received between November 16, 2020 and June 15, 2021, one General Plan Amendment Prioritization Request was received. The subject request is being presented to the Planning Commission for consideration. In accordance with the Screening Policy, Staff has performed no analysis of the proposal and provides no recommendations regarding the proposal in this report.
PROCEDURE FOR TONIGHT’S HEARING
The Screening Policy specifies that each applicant be given ten minutes at the Planning Commission meeting to make their case for why their project should be given authorization for formal processing. The public would then be given one to three minutes each (at the discretion of the chairperson, depending on the number of speakers) to speak on the matter. Following the public speakers, the applicant would be given three minutes to respond to any comments.
After considering input from the applicant and the public, the Planning Commission is charged with providing a recommendation to the City Council on the following:
1. A finding that no environmental review is required pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) as the requests do not constitute a project as defined by CEQA Guidelines Section 15378; and
2. Whether to grant authorization of formal processing of a General Plan Amendment application for Chapel Way School (PLN2021-00410).
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
The subject site at 40950 Chapel Way is a two-acre lot located within the Irvington Community Plan Area, near the Irvington Town Center.. Approximately half of the site is located within the half-mile radius of the future Irvington BART Station. Uses adjacent to the subject site and their General Plan Land Use Designations include:
1) Irvington Memorial Cemetery – to the west, across Chapel Way (General Open Space)
2) Commercial and single-family residential uses – to the north, fronting Bay Street (Town Center Commercial)
3) City-owned public parking and the U.S. Postal Service Irvington Station – to the east (both are designated Town Center Commercial)
4) Irvington Presbyterian Church – to the south (Medium Density Residential)
The subject site features a former educational facility that consists of a 14,000 square-foot building, 25 surface parking spaces, and outdoor play courts. The facility was most recently used by the Seneca Centers Pathfinder Academy (Private School). In October 2018, the
Alameda County Office of Education’s Board confirmed the surplus status of the project site and authorized the sale of the property.
The subject site is currently designated as Public Facility in the General Plan, which generally applies to non-open space parcels owned by public agencies or utilities to allow the development of City facilities, public schools, water and sanitary district facilities, transit agency facilities, utilities, and other federal, state, county, and local government facilities..
The Public Facility land use designation was created in the 2011 General Plan for the purpose of highlighting public facilities as “vital parts of the neighborhoods and communities they adjoin” and acknowledging their presence as “part of the city fabric.” Prior to the 2011 General Plan, public facilities were assigned various land use designations (e.g., residential, industrial, or commercial), typically in alignment with the character of surrounding land uses. The 2011 General Plan did not anticipate a Public Facility designated property being privately owned, which is the situation that has been created through the Alameda County Office of Education’s sale of the subject property. Private uses are only allowed in the Public Facility district through a joint public-private development, provided such development is consistent with the policies of the General Plan
As the school district intends to sell the property to private owners, redesignation of the project site would be required for any future private development. As stated in the applicant’s project justification letter, “the Shia Association of Bay Area (SABA) is intending to purchase the property to continue the current use of this property of providing educational services to the community. SABA intends to use part of the property for its own school, the RISE Academy, and lease out the remaining portion to the ‘Averroes High School’ that is currently looking for a permanent home in Fremont” (see Exhibit A).
The applicant proposes to change the land use designation of this site from Public Facility to Urban Residential (30 to 70 units per net acre) to facilitate the use of the existing facility by the two private schools previously mentioned, subject to the approval of a Conditional Use Permit, and to facilitate the future development of a portion of the site with teacher housing and affordable housing for seniors and other community groups, subject to future entitlements. It should be noted that a private school use could be allowed on the site as a joint public-private development under the site’s current General Plan designation, provided the site is owned by a public agency and subject to the approval of a Conditional Use Permit.
As half of the project site is located within the Transit Oriented Development (TOD) Overlay District, the project site would be subject to the requirements of the TOD Overlay District if the land use designation is changed to Urban Residential. The TOD Overlay District only applies to property with an underlying designation of commercial, mixed use, industrial, or the Urban Residential categories that are generally within a ½ mile radius of one of the City’s BART Stations or the Centerville Train Station. The purpose of creating TOD districts is to create more compact and intense development patterns with a mix of residential, office, retail, service and public uses that encourage pedestrian activities.
The screening request submittal did not include a site plan showing teacher or other housing, although the applicant discusses it briefly in Exhibit A. The applicant did not provide a proposed residential density for future development on site; however, should the site’s General Plan designation be amended to Urban Residential, the minimum required density would be 50 units per net acre for Urban Residential within the TOD Overlay District.
Details about an affordable housing component (such as the number of affordable units, level of affordability, design concept, and location of units/buildings) were not provided in the applicant’s project narrative.
The applicant’s project narrative describes potential community benefits as follows:
1) Align with the General Plan to create a high density and pedestrian friendly town center.
2) Provide education from elementary to high school to the community.
3) Provide a community facility, including a senior community center and rooms for various community events.
4) Support future teachers’ housing and low-cost affordable housing for seniors and other community groups.
PROJECT ANALYSIS
The Screening Policy specifies that staff does not conduct any analysis on General Plan Amendment Screening requests and does not provide a recommendation regarding requests. Staff has not reviewed the technical feasibility of the project proposal, performed environmental review, nor determined conformance with applicable design rules, guidelines, and development policies. A thorough analysis of the proposal would be conducted if the City Council authorizes the formal processing of a General Plan Amendment application and related entitlements.
If the City authorizes the formal processing of a General Plan Amendment application, the applicant would need to submit a formal application for a General Plan Amendment as well as an application for a rezoning (to a residential designation that conforms with Urban Residential, such as R-3-50 or higher). An application for entitlements, such as a Conditional Use Permit (for the private schools) and Discretionary Design Review Permit (if new buildings or exterior changes are proposed, whether for the schools or residential buildings) would also be required. Environmental review would be conducted in accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
The Screening Policy states that the City may prioritize the processing of authorized General Plan Amendment screening applications if more than five screening requests are received.
Since only one General Plan Amendment Screening request was received during this review period, it is unnecessary for the Planning Commission to prioritize requests. The Planning Commission is charged with evaluating the requests based upon the potential benefits to the community and making a recommendation to the City Council regarding whether or not to authorize processing of formal applications.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
No environmental review is required pursuant to CEQA as screening of General Plan Amendment requests do not authorize any development, do not have the possibility of a significant adverse effect on the environment, and do not constitute a project as defined by CEQA Guidelines Section 15378 and/or are exempt from review pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15061(b)(3), each as a separate and independent basis for exemption If the City Council authorizes formal processing, environmental review will be conducted in conjunction with the application for a General Plan Amendment and related entitlements.
PUBLIC NOTICE AND COMMENT
In accordance with the adopted Screening Policy, application materials were posted on the Development Activity webpage on the City of Fremont website on July 17th and a courtesy sign was installed at the project site on August 19th, and 371 courtesy notices were mailed
to property owners and tenants located within 300 feet of each project site on August 19, 2021. Notices were also published in the Tri-City Voice on August 10, 2021.
1. Hold public hearing.
Provide a recommendation to the City Council on the following:
2. A finding that no environmental review is required pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) as the request does not have the possibility of causing a significant effect on the environment and do not constitute a project as defined by CEQA Guidelines Section 15378 1(b)(3);
3. Whether to grant authorization of formal processing of a General Plan Amendment application for Chapel Way School (PLN2021-00410).
ENCLOSURES
• Exhibit A - Project Proposal
• Informational Item 1 - General Plan Amendment Screening Policy
• Informational Item 2 - Existing Nearby General Plan Designations
