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SR-402-005 (3) PCD:SF:JT:AS:PF:BL:f:\plan\share\council\stoas\02\02APPdr011Lantana Council Mtg: January 14, 2003 Santa Monica, California TO: Mayor and City Council FROM: City Staff SUBJECT: Certification of the Statement of Official Action for Appeal of Planning Commission Denial of Development Review Permit 99-011; Reduced Parking Permit 99-004 Related to a Proposed Entertainment Studio Projects at 3131 Exposition Boulevard. Applicant/Appellant: Lantana South Hines Development. Property Owner: Lantana South Hines Development. INTRODUCTION This staff report transmits for City Council certification the Statement of Official Action for Appeal Appeal 02-017 of the Planning Commission’s denial of Development Review Permit 99-011 and Reduced Parking Permit and 99-004 to allow the construction of an Entertainment Studio Project at 3131 Exposition Boulevard. On November 12, 2002, the City Council adopted a motion on a 4–3 vote denying Development Review Permit 99-011 and associated Reduced Parking Permit 99-004. The permits would have allowed the construction of a 152,721 square foot studio building at 3131 Exposition Boulevard. The City Council’s decision was based upon the findings contained in the attached Statement of Official Action. BUDGET/FINANCIAL IMPACT The recommendation presented in this report does not have any budget or fiscal impact. RECOMMENDATION It is recommended that the City Council approve the attached Statement of Official Action. Prepared by: Suzanne Frick, Director Jay Trevino, AICP, Planning Manager Amanda Schachter, Principal Planner Paul Foley, Senior Planner Bruce Leach, Associate Planner City Planning Division Planning and Community Development Department Attachment: Statement of Official Action CITY OF SANTA MONICA CITY COUNCIL STATEMENT OF OFFICIAL ACTION PROJECT CASE NUMBER: Appeal 02-017 LOCATION: 3131 Exposition Boulevard APPLICANT: Lantana South Hines Development APPELLANT: Lantana South Hines Development CASE PLANNER: Bruce Leach, Associate Planner REQUEST: Appeal of Planning Commission Denial of Development Review Permit 99-011 and Reduced Parking Permit 99- 004 for a 152,721 square foot entertainment studio building at 3131 Exposition Boulevard. CEQA STATUS: An Environmental Impact Report was prepared for the project in compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The Environmental Impact Report was certified by the City Council on November 12, 2002 by Resolution No. 9809 (CCS). CITY COUNCIL ACTION November 12, 2002 Date. Approved based on the following findings and subject to the conditions below. Denied X _____________ Other. Denied Appeal, denying Development Review Permit 99- 011 and Reduced Parking Permit 99-004 without prejudice. 1 EFFECTIVE DATE OF ACTION: November 12, 2002 Following a public hearing held on November 12, 2002, the City Council denied the appeal and upheld the Planning Commission’s denial of Development Review Permit 99-011 and Reduced Parking Permit 99-004 without prejudice based upon the following findings. Each and all of the findings and determinations are based on the competent and substantial evidence, both oral and written, contained in the entire record relating to the project. All summaries of information contained herein or in the findings are based on the substantial evidence in the record. The absence of any particular fact from any summary is not an indication that a particular finding is not based in part on that fact: DEVELOPMENT REVIEW FINDINGS 1. The physical location, size, massing, and placement of the proposed structure on the site and the location of the proposed uses within the project are not compatible with and does not relate harmoniously to surrounding sites and neighborhoods, in that the proposed 3-story, 152,721 square foot entertainment production facility, with 665 parking spaces, is located on Exposition Boulevard, a local street, adjacent to a residential neighborhood. The project is within an area of the City already heavily impacted by traffic. As detailed in the Final EIR for this project, the project itself would generate approximately 1,453 daily vehicle trips. Approximately 214 trips would occur during the AM peak hour, and 171 trips would occur during the PM peak hours. The project’s traffic would result in significant and unavoidable impacts to five intersections and two street segments. Four of the intersections are projected to be at level of service (LOS) F, (failure, where backups in traffic may restrict or prevent movement of vehicles out of the intersection approaches). The proposed project would also have significant and unavoidable adverse impacts on two street segments, increasing Average Daily Trips (ADT) by 20.8% on Exposition Boulevard, 66.7% on Warwick Avenue and 22.2% on Virginia Avenue. As identified in the EIR, the existing local, collector and arterial roadway system cannot accommodate the additional traffic that would be generated by this project. There is inadequate right-of-way width and other constraints that do not allow additional traffic lanes or signal improvements to mitigate anticipated impacts. Traffic impact would be particularly acute on Exposition Boulevard and Centinela Avenue and at the intersections of Exposition Boulevard and Centinela Avenue and Centinela Avenue and the I-10 Freeway onramp and off-ramp. This is the route Lantana South would use to access the Route I-10 freeway and arterial streets. Implementing potential improvements on Centinela Avenue is not feasible because Centinela Avenue is located in the City of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Department of Transportation has determined that potential improvements that could reduce impacts are not acceptable. As a result, traffic on Centinela Avenue and Exposition Boulevard would be adversely impacted, 2 causing many drivers to try to access or leave the Lantana South site by cutting- through the residential neighborhood to avoid the intersection of Centinela Avenue and Exposition Boulevard. 2. The rights-of-way cannot accommodate autos and pedestrians, including parking and access, in that the proposed project is located within an area of the City already heavily impacted by traffic. As detailed in the Final EIR for this project, four of the seven intersections are projected to be at level of service (LOS) F, (failure, where backups in traffic may restrict or prevent movement of vehicles out of the intersection approaches) without the addition of the proposed project. In addition to these existing conditions, the EIR estimates that the proposed project would generate approximately 1,453 daily trips. Approximately 214 trips would occur during the AM peak hour, and 171 trips would occur during the PM peak hour from Lantana South.The proposed project would increase Average Daily Trips (ADT) by 20.8% on Exposition Boulevard, 66.7% on Warwick Avenue and 22.2% on Virginia Avenue. As identified in the EIR, the existing local, collector and arterial roadway system cannot accommodate the additional traffic that would be generated by this project. This impact is particularly acute on Centinela Avenue and at the intersection of Exposition Boulevard and Centinela Avenue, and Centinela Avenue and the I-10 Freeway. This is the route Lantana South would use to access the Route I-10 freeway. There is inadequate right-of-way width or other constraints that do not allow additional traffic lanes or signal improvements to mitigate anticipated impacts. Implementing potential improvements on Centinela Avenue is further complicated because Centinela Avenue is in the City of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles DOT has determined that potential improvements that could mitigate impacts are not acceptable. As a result, many drivers trying to access or leave the Lantana South site would cut- through the residential neighborhood to avoid the intersection of Centinela Avenue and Exposition Boulevard. 3. The Lantana South project is generally consistent with the Municipal Code, but is not consistent with the General Plan, in that Lantana South is located adjacent to a residential neighborhood. The only street access to Lantana South is Exposition Boulevard, a local street which also provides access to residents along its south frontage and four local streets into the residential neighborhood. The project is within an area of the City already heavily impacted by traffic. As detailed in the Final EIR for this project, the project itself would generate approximately 1,453 daily vehicle trips. Approximately 214 trips would occur during the AM peak hour, and 171 trips would occur during the PM peak hours. The proposed project would increase Average Daily Trips (ADT) by 20.8% on Exposition Boulevard, 66.7% on Warwick Avenue and 22.2% on Virginia Avenue. As identified in the EIR, the existing local, collector and arterial roadway system cannot accommodate the additional traffic that would be generated by this project. There is inadequate right-of-way width and other constraints that do not allow additional traffic lanes or signal improvements to mitigate anticipated impacts. Traffic impact would be particularly acute on Exposition Boulevard and Centinela Avenue and at the intersections of Exposition Boulevard and Centinela Avenue and Centinela Avenue and the I-10 Freeway on and off ramps. This is 3 the route Lantana South would use to access the Route I-10 freeway and arterial streets. Implementing potential improvements on Centinela Avenue is not feasible because Centinela Avenue is located in the City of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Department of Transportation has determined that potential improvements that could reduce impacts are not acceptable. As a result, traffic on Centinela Avenue and Exposition Boulevard would be adversely impacted, causing many drivers to try to access or leave the Lantana South site by cutting- through the residential neighborhood to avoid the intersection of Centinela Avenue and Exposition Boulevard. There are no feasible mitigation measures to prevent Lantana South traffic from driving trough the residential neighborhood. During peak traffic periods it will be more convenient to drive through this residential neighborhood to avoid traffic congestion at the intersection of Centinela Avenue and Exposition Boulevard. Since a significant level of traffic volume will intrude into the residential neighborhood from this project, Lantana South is inconsistent with General Plan Objective 3.2, which calls for the protection of the scale and character of residential neighborhoods that are adjacent to commercial areas and Circulation Element Objective 4.2 to protect the environment on local residential streets by minimizing the intrusion of vehicular traffic and parking into residential neighborhoods. 4. As detailed in the Final EIR for this project, the Lantana South project would result in significant effects on the environment which cannot be eliminated or substantially lessened and these significant environmental effects are not acceptable due to overriding considerations. More specifically, this project has significant, unavoidable traffic impacts. Although the public benefits from the project would include a prominent well designed project that implements City urban design policies to create architecturally distinctive gateway and development of a project that exceeds Green Building standards to qualify as a Lead Pilot Project, the significant and unavoidable traffic impacts outweigh these benefits. Consequently, pursuant to CEQA Guidelines 15092(b), the project cannot be approved. Reduced Parking Permit Findings 1. Approval of the Reduced Parking Permit is contingent on the production studio project being approved pursuant to Development Review Permit 99-011. Since Development Review Permit 99-011 is denied, Reduced Parking Permit 99-004 is also denied. VOTE Ayes: Bloom, Genser, McKeown, Feinstein Nays: Holbrook, Katz, O’Conner Abstain: Absent: 4 NOTICE If this is a final decision not subject to further appeal under the City of Santa Monica Comprehensive and Zoning Ordinance, the time within which judicial review of this decision must be sought is governed by Code of Civil Procedures Section 1094.6, which provision has been adopted by the City pursuant to Municipal Code Section 1.16.010. I hereby certify that this Statement of Official Action accurately reflects the final determination of the City Council of the City of Santa Monica. _____________________________ _____________________________ MARIA M. STEWART, City Clerk Date F:\PLAN\SHARE\COUNCIL\STOAS\02\02APPdr011Lantana.doc 5