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.02 Planning Commission Work ProgramCUPERTINO SUMMARY City of Cupertino 10300 Torre Avenue Cupertino, CA 95014 (408) 777-3308 Fax: (408) 777-3333 Community Development Department Agenda Item No. ~ Agenda Date: TuIX 28, 2009 APPLICATION: Planning Commission Work Program for 2009-2010 BACKGROUND: The Planning Commission recommended its work program to the City Council on June 23, 2009. Subsequent to that, the City Council reviewed and approved the work program with adjustments on July 7, 2009. Please see attached July 7, 2009 Council staff report and meeting minutes (Attachments 1 and 2) for Council discussion on the work program. DISCUSSION SUMMARY: High Priority 1. Green Building Policy The City Council agreed that the development of a Green Building Policy is a high priority. The Council authorized the Commission to move forward with the Green Building Policy in parallel with the Environmental Stewardship Task Force within the current budgetary constraints. This would include Planning Commission review of the Phase II Green Building Collaborative policy framework in the September timeframe. 2. Sustainable Land Use Policy The Council also authorized the Planning Commission to begin initial framework discussion on a Sustainable Land Use Policy in parallel with the process to be initiated by the Environmental Stewardship Task Force. The discussion of the City's job/housing balance may also occur as part of the sustainable land use discussion. Funding and Timing of the Green Building Ordinance and Land Use Sustainability Projects The FY 09-10 budget does not including funding for the Green Building Ordinance and Land Use Sustainability Policy. However, staff will be pursuing grants for the projects in combination with the Environmental Stewardship Task Force outreach. (See Attachment 3 for the Draft Process Chart included in the grant application). Grant awards are expected to be announced at the end of September 2009 and funds will be available in January 2010. The Council will consider supplemental funding requests for the projects after September 2009 once grant awards are assigned. The scope of the projects and the projects themselves may have to be revised depending on the available funding. Outreach on the projects will begin in January 2010. However, staff will work with the Planning Commission on background work and refining the process for the projects in the interim. 2-1 Planning Commission Work Program 2009/10 July 28, 2009 Page 2 Medium Priority The City Council concurred that the following projects were of medium priority and that the Planning Commission may initiate work on these projects by forming sub-committees with minimal staff time and no additional funding: 3. Process Improvement Evaluation The City has retained Matrix Consulting Group to conduct an evaluation of Planning, Building and Public Works development application process from initial contact through completion of construction. The final results and recommendations of the evaluation are anticipated to be completed for August/September Planning Commission/City Council review. 4. Create a Strat~c Plan and Incentives {or Start-Ups The Council acknowledges the importance of incentivizing commercial, office and retail growth in the City. This was the main reason that a new Economic Development Manager position was created two years ago. The City Council is currently reviewing the minutes of their July 7, 2009 meeting to clarify their final direction to the Planning Commission regarding this issue. Low Priority The City Council designated the following two projects as low priority and noted that the Planning Commission may initiate work by forming sub-committees with minimal staff involvement and no additional funding: 5. Protoh/pes o~Housing Element Sites The Council agreed to reconsider the item after the completion of the Housing Element and the Heart of the City Specific Plan. 6. A_ftordable Housing Methodology The Planning Commission will consider best practices regarding this project at either a subcommittee or full Commission meeting with minimal staff time. 7. Parking Ordinance Review The City Council was not interested in evaluating the Parking Ordinance at this time. Attachments: Attachment 1: City Council July 7, 2009 Staff Report . Attachment 2: City Council July 7, 2009 Draft Meeting Minutes Attachment 3: Draft Process Chart for Environmental Stewardship Task Force, Land Use Sustainability Policy and Green Building Ordinance Prepared by: ~ ~~~ ~ Gar Chao City Planner Approved by: Aarti Shrivastava Community Development Director 2-2 Attachment 1 City of Cupertino 10300 Torre Avenue Cupertino, CA 95014 (408) 777-3308 Fax: (408) 777-3333 C U P E RT I N O Community Development Department Summary Agenda Item No. _ Agenda Date: Tuly 7, 2009 APPLICATION: Consider approving the FY 2009-10 Planning Commission Work Program RECOMMENDATION: The Council may consider the following options: 1. Approve the FY 2009-10 Planning Commission Work Program. Staff is requesting Council preference on the timing of Item 1. 2. Approve the FY 2009-10 Planning Commission Work Program with revisions BACKGROUND On May 12, 2009 and June 23, 2009, the Planning Commission discussed and recommended additions to the Council FY 2009-10 Work Program (See Attachment A - Planning Commission Minute Order). Staff is looking for Council direction related to the funding and timing of these projects. DISCUSSION A matrix describing the proposed Planning Commission Work Program is enclosed (Attachment B). The list includes projects in the City Council Work Program for FY 2009-10, projects carried over from FY 2008-09, and new projects recommended by the Planning Commission. High Priority 1. Green Building Polio//Sustainable Land Use Polio The Commission assigned the development of a Green Building Policy and a Sustainable Land Use policy, as a high priority. The Commission recommended that 2-3 Planning Commission Work Program FY 2009-10 July 7, 2009 Page 2 the City should be aggressive in implementing a Green Building Ordinance and review General Plan land use policies in the City as they related to sustainability. The Planning Commission also requested that they be included in future public discussions, workshops and hearings on this subject. Staff Comments: The Council Work Program for FY 2009-10 includes reviewing the Phase II policy recommendations of the Santa Clara County Cities Green Building Collaborative and making recommendations regarding a Green Building Ordinance and incentives. Staff will start working with the Planning Commission on the Green Building Ordinance in Summer 2009. The FY 2009-10 budget doesn't include funding for the project. The project is expected to cost about $50,000-$120,000 depending on the extent of community input (businesses, design professionals, developers and residents) desired by the Council. Staff will review grant opportunities offered by the Environmental Protection Agency and Bay Area Air Quality Management District to offset costs associated with the project and return to the Council with a work program and funding request. Grant awards are expected to be assigned by the end of September 2009. However, staff will continue working in parallel with the Planning Commission on background information while the grant application is in process. Regarding the Sustainable Land Use Policy, an Environmental sustainability Task Force is expected to be launched in Fa112009 to make recommendations related to sustainability. The land use issue is of sufficient community-wide significance to be included in the topics discussed by the Task Force. Staff would therefore like Council direction on whether the preference is to: 1. Wait until a broader discussion takes place at the Task Force level and then becomes a work item for the Planning Commission; or 2. Allow the Planning Commission to move forward without Task Force recommendations. If the Council agrees with moving forward without Task Force recommendations, staff recommends that the project begin after completion of the Housing Element, Office Allocation and the Heart of the City (around end of 2009). In both cases, the Planning Commission has requested collaboration with the Environmental sustainability Task Force. Medium Priority The Planning Conunission has recommended the following programs as medium priority: 2-4 Planning Commission Work Program FY 2009-10 July 7, 2009 Page 3 3. Process Improvement Evaluation Staff Comments: The City has retained Matrix Consulting Group to conduct an evaluation on Planning, Building and Public Works development application process from initial contact through completion of construction. The final results and recommendations of the evaluation are anticipated to be completed in Summer 2009 and will be provided to the Planning Commission and City Council. 4. Long-term assessment o the Citi~'s lob/Housing Balance The Planning Commission was interested in looking at long-term opportunities to increase residential units to balance the increase in office allocation in the General Plan. Staff Comments: Staff had recommended monitoring ABAG's (Association of Bay Area Government) Projections forecasts and the draft RHNA (Regional Housing Needs Allocation) allocation for the next Housing Element period prior to moving forward with General Plan amendments related to housing. Upon further discussion, the Commission decided to include this topic in the Sustainable Land Use Policy discussion. 5. Create a Strategic Plan {or Commercial, O{f-ice and Retail Uses The Planning Commission was interested in creating a Strategic Plan for commercial, office and retail uses. The project would include discussions with corporations, business owners, urban planners and commercial developers to understand their needs and could potentially result in a strategic plan that could result in revisions to land use, zoning and other policies. Some Commissioners wereri t clear about the parameters of the project and asked for more clarification. Staff Comments: Cupertino is committed to abusiness-friendly environment for commercial tenants. To this end, a new Economic Development Manager position was created two years ago to better facilitate new tenant relationships, market existing space, create brand identity around Cupertino as a place to do business, grow and retain existing tenants, and to serve as a liaison for tenants within Planning and Building. Staff recommended the following preliminary steps that could be incorporated within the current work program that were generally agreed upon by the Planning Commission: As time and funding permits, invite businesses, planners and building professionals and developers to discuss issues related to business development, attraction and retention with the Planning Commission. Aggressively pursue opportunities to invite businesses that can contribute significantly to City employment and revenues -currently in effect. 2-5 Planning Commission Work Program FY 2009-10 July 7, 2009 Page 4 • Track current vacancies and identify opportunities for leasing -currently in effect. Low Priority The Planning Commission has recommended the following programs as low priority. Due to limited staff resources and other projects currently in process, staff recommends that the Council consider these items after current projects have been completed or for next year's work program: 1. Proto~ peso Housing Elements sites/Crossroads Plan/Other Speci c Plans The Commission was interested in looking at other areas of the City that could benefit from along-term approach and development standards. One example included developing prototypes of Housing Element sites. The goal was to provide community expectations and guidelines for development on some typical sites prior to reviewing project proposals from applicants. Another example was developing the Crossroads Plan. Staff Comments: Staff recommends scheduling both items item after current projects have been completed. The Housing Element sites study, for instance, could be taken up after completion of the Housing Element and the Heart of the City Specific Plan. The cost and timing of the project would depend on the scope. The Crossroads Plan could be reviewed in next year's work program. Due to the community interest expected on the Crossroads plan, staff expects this project to take approximately 300-400 hours of staff time, and about $150,000 in consultant costs and ancillary expenses. Staff expects this process to take about 6-9 months. 2. A{{ordable Housi~ Methodology{ The Commission interest in alternative affordable housing measures to better incentivize affordable housing besides the current below market rate program (BMR). Programs to incentivize affordable housing can range from revising the City's BMR program, reviewing fees to creating higher density and funding incentives for affordable housing. Since this is a low priority, staff recommends that the Council consider this in next year's work program. 3. Review Parking Standards The Commission recommended evaluating the City's parking ordinance to address restaurant versus general retail parking requirements. One of the Commissioners noted 2-6 Planning Commission Work Program FY 2009-10 July 7, 2009 Page 5 that some restaurants have parking problems while some retail centers have many empty parking spaces and recommended a parking study to analyze if the City's parking requirements should be increased for some restaurants and reduced for other commercial uses. Parking requirements are generally derived from extensive studies conducted by the ITE (Institute of Traffic Engineers) and are generally good indicators of average parking requirements for various uses. Some restaurants and retail centers are more successful than others and a parking survey will likely provide an average close to the current zoning ordinance requirements. Additionally, since uses change from time to time it would be difficult to monitor parking on an ongoing basis. The City's process allows for parking studies for projects. Staff recommends using this approach for specific projects if parking impacts are anticipated. Attachments Attachment A: Planning Commission Minute Order Attachxrtent B: Planning Commission Work Program FY 2009-10 Submitted by: Aarti Shrivastava Gary Chao Director, Community Development City Planner Approved by: David W. Knapp City Manager 2-7 Attachment B July 7, 2009 Cupertino City Council Page 7 the community. She believed it would be difficult to achieve this level of co unity service with another company. Sandoval moved staff's recommendation to defer the decision toni but take this item up within 90 days, with the goal of a 75% diversion record, and ' ect staff to come back with a full report. Wong seconded and the motion carried un 'mously. 25. Consider and approve the list of unfunded ro'ect or the FY 2009-2010 Capital Improvement Program. Public Works Director Ralph Qualls explaine that Council had discussed adding several projects to the unfunded category of the c ital improvement program (CIP) budget and staff requested clarification of which jects Council wanted to include in that list for FY 2009-14 CIP. Vice Mayor Kris Wang recomp~ended not including the fiscal year dates with the list of unfunded projects. / Jennifer Griffin referre o the additional funding for the Lawrence Mitty Park and urged Council to keep this ' em on the list with a fiscal year attached to it. She was concerned there might bean empt to put housing on this land at some future date. She believed this was an imp ant area for Cupertino and this piece of land should be secured. Wang mov d to consolidate all of the items in the staff report into a single list of unfunde items, deleting the Bubb/McClellan Storm Sewer Upgrade, lowering the estim d cost of the Stevens Creek Trail Bridge over the Union Pacific Railroad from $7 mill,~'~on to $2 million, and adding back in the Skate Park with an estimated cost of $ 0,000. In addition, no fiscal year dates would be included in this list. Wong seconded and the motion carried unanimously. ~-~ 26. Consider approving the FY 2009-10 Planning Commission Work Program. City Planner Gary Chao reviewed the staff report which included several categories, including High priority: green building policy/sustainable land use policy; Medium Priority: process improvement evaluation, long-term assessment of the city's job/housing balance, and creating a strategic plan for commercial office and retail uses; and Low Priority: prototypes of housing element sites/Crossroads plan/other specific plans, affordable housing methodology and review of parking standards. Planning Commissioner Marty Miller stated that in the past, due to time constraints, there had been no opportunity for forward planning. Recently there has been a reduction in the number of applicants and the commission now had the opportunity to address some of these issues. The commission believed it was important to put guidelines in place that would benefit future applications. Miller said there were some budgetary limitations but he believed certain projects could move forward with minimal expenditure, and would defer to staff on prioritizing the projects as they would have a better understanding of the 2-8 Ju~ly7, 2'J0`09,gJ j ~`[''{ Cupertino City Council ~~ Fl . ~Y ~ Jf i~'L~ S 1~~(.it ~F .L~ ..3Y Page 8 staff time involved. Regarding the green building policy/sustainable land use policy, the commission believed they could work along with the Environmental Sustainability Task Force, noting that although they each had a different focus, they shared a common goal. Concerning the housing issue he noted that the commission was working on a jobs/housing balance. He further stated that the housing element had not considered the major expansion of up to 5,000 square feet of office space that the Council would soon be considering. Jennifer Griffin stated her concerns about the jobs/housing imbalance. She strongly urged ABAG be made more aware of current housing issues and ABAG housing requirement updates should conducted every year, not every five to ten years. Ms. Griffin also stated that she did not want the zoning in Cupertino compromised or the Heart of the City compromised. Santoro moved and Sandoval seconded to approve the Planning Commission work program as follows. Motion carried unanimously. Item l: Green Building Policy/Sustainable Land Use Policy: Planning Commission will move forward in parallel with the Environmental Sustainability Task Force. Commission will work within current budgetary constraints and any budget implications will be brought back to Council. Item 2: Process Improvement Evaluation: this was already included in the commission's work program. Item 3: Long-term assessment of the City's Job/Housing Balance: this has been incorporated into Item 1. Item 4: Create a Strategic Plan for Commercial, Office and Retail Uses: Planning Commission shall form a small subcommittee to meet with businesses, the Economic Development Committee and the Fiscal Strategic Committee to review any current impediments to economic activity related to land use. This project shall require minimal staff time. Item 5: Prototypes of Housing Elements Sites/Crossroads Plan/Other Specific Plans: It was agreed to bring this back to the Council after completion of the Housing Element and the Heart of the City Plan. Item 6: Affordable Housing Methodology: Planning Commission will consider best practices regarding this project at either a subcommittee or full Commission meeting but it shall require minimal staff time. Item 7: Review Parking Standards: The project was dropped from the program. Parking plans shall be reviewed at time of individual applications. 2-9 Attachment 2 July 7, 2009 Cupertino City Council Page 7 the community. She believed it would be difficult to achieve this level of community service with another company. Sandoval moved staff s recommendation to defer the decision tonight but take this item up within 90 days, with the goal of a 75% diversion record, and direct staff to come back with a full report. Wong seconded and the motion carried unanimously. 25. Consider and approve the list of unfunded projects for the FY 2009-2010 Capital Improvement Program. Public Works Director Ralph Qualls explained that Council had discussed adding several projects to the unfunded category of the capital improvement program (CIP) budget and staff requested clarification of which projects Council wanted to include in that list for FY 2009-14 CIP. Vice Mayor Kris Wang recommended not including the fiscal year dates with the list of unfunded projects. Jennifer Griffin referred to the additional funding for the Lawrence Mitty Park and urged Council to keep this item on the list with a fiscal year attached to it. She was concerned there might be an attempt to put housing on this land at some future date. She believed this was an important area for Cupertino and this piece of land should be secured. Wang moved to consolidate all of the items in the staff report into a single list of unfunded items, deleting the Bubb/McClellan Storm Sewer Upgrade, lowering the estimated cost of the Stevens Creek Trail Bridge over the Union Pacific Railroad from $7 million to $2 million, and adding back in the Skate Park with an estimated cost of $250,000. In addition, no fiscal year dates would be included in this list. Wong seconded and the motion carried unanimously. 26. Consider approving the FY 2009-10 Planning Commission Work Program. City Planner Gary Chao reviewed the staff report which included several categories, including High priority: green building policy/sustainable land use policy; Medium Priority: process improvement evaluation, long-term assessment of the city's job/housing balance, and creating a strategic plan for commercial office and retail uses; and Low Priority: prototypes of housing element sites/Crossroads plan other specific plans, affordable housing methodology and review of parking standards. Planning Commissioner Marty Miller stated that in the past, due to time constraints, there had been no opportunity for forward planning. Recently there has been a reduction in the number of applicants and the commission now had the opportunity to address some of these issues. The commission believed it was important to put guidelines in place that would benefit future applications. Miller said there were some budgetary limitations but he believed certain projects could move forward with minimal expenditure, and would defer to staff on prioritizing the projects as they would have a better understanding of the 2-10 July 7, 2009 Cupertino City Council Page 8 staff time involved. Regarding the green building policy/sustainable land use policy, the commission believed they could work along with the Environmental Sustainability Task Force, noting that although they each had a different focus, they shared a common goal. Concerning the housing issue he noted that the commission was working on a jobs/housing balance. He further stated that the housing element had not considered the major expansion of up to 5,000 square feet of office space that the Council would soon be considering. Jennifer Griffin stated her concerns about the jobs/housing imbalance. She strongly urged ABAG be made more aware of current housing issues and ABAG housing requirement updates should conducted every year, not every five to ten years. Ms. Griffin also stated that she did not want the zoning in Cupertino compromised or the Heart of the City compromised. Santoro moved and Sandoval seconded to approve the Planning Commission work program as follows. Motion carried unanimously. Item 1: Green Building Policy/Sustainable Land Use Policy: Planning Commission will move forward in parallel with the Environmental Sustainability Task Force. Commission will work within current budgetary constraints and any budget implications will be brought back to Council. Item 2: Process Improvement Evaluation: this was already included in the commission's work program. Item 3: Long-term assessment of the City's Job/Housing Balance: this has been incorporated into Item 1. Item 4: Create a Strategic Plan for Commercial, Office and Retail Uses: Planning Commission shall form a small subcommittee to meet with businesses, the Economic Development Committee and the Fiscal Strategic Committee to review any current impediments to economic activity related to land use. This project shall require minimal staff time. Item 5: Prototypes of Housing Elements Sites/Crossroads Plan/Other Specific Plans: It was agreed to bring this back to the Council after completion of the Housing Element and the Heart of the City Plan. Item 6: Affordable Housing Methodology: Planning Commission will consider best practices regarding this project at either a subcommittee or full Commission meeting but it shall require minimal staff time. Item 7: Review Parking Standards: The project was dropped from the program. Parking plans shall be reviewed at time of individual applications. 2-11 Attachment 3 ~ / ~ % ~~ ~ ~ ~~ Environmental Envlronmental Environmental Environmental Sustalnat~lllty Task Sustalnability Task Sustalnability Task Sustalnability Task Force Session Farce Session Force Session Force Session ~' Joint Clty Council Pro ect Pro ect Joint Clty Council and Planning Advisory Advisory and Planning Commission Committee Committee Commission Study Session Meeting Meeting Meeting .., •~e ~;e I I Community Workshop #1: Community Workshop #2: Land Use and Confirm Land Use and Sustalnablllty Visioning Sustalnability Direction '_ Synthesis of Photo• Draft Land Use Community simulations and Sustalnablllty InputlEmerglnq (Optional) Vlslon Document Direction Coordination on Green 8uiltlinq Ordinance -~ ,.~,~; ~ ~ ~, '~ r R Draft Green Final Green Building Building Ordinance Ordinance CITY OF GUPERTINO July 2009 ~ ~~~ ~~ ,. 4,. a - ;~ ~. ~ ~ . ,'' ` ~~ '~ ~~ Envlronmental Envlronmental Sustalnablllty Task Sustalnability Task Force Session Force Session Joint City Council Project and Planning Advisory Commission Committee N Meeting Meetlnq ~'~ ~' ! I ~„ ~ ~~ ~,,.._ utreach aterlals Current Conditions, Future Challenges and Best Practices Report ~: ~~ . Envlronmental Sustalnability Task Force Session _,\ ^, ~-- ~~' Project Planning City Advisory Commission Council Committee Meetlnq Meeting Meeting ,,, c ~~ Final Draft Land Use ~ . ~, and Sustalnablllty Vlslon Document Final Land Use and Sustalnability Vision Document ~: ~~