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Site Plan Review, SPR P-2014175, for a proposed Mixed Use Project consisting of 48 multi-family residential dwelling units above ground floor retail commercial uses and Administrative Use Permit, AUP P-2014176 for Tandem Parking at 11925 - 11960 Washington Boulevard.
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Contact Person/Dept: Jose Mendivil - Associate Planner
Phone Number: (310) 253-5757
Public Hearing: X
Action Item: X
Attachments: X
Public Notification: Mailed to all the property owners and occupants within a 500 foot radius extended to the end of the block; Emailed to the City's Master Notification List; and Posted on the City's website on November 18, 2015; Signs Posted on the subject property on November 18, 2015
Approval: Planning: Thomas Gorham 12/2/2015 Dept. Approval: Sol Blumenfeld 12/2/2015
RECOMMENDATION:
That the Planning Commission:
1. Adopt a Mitigated Negative Declaration based on the Initial Study (Attachment No. 4) finding that the project will not have a significant adverse impact on the environment provided certain mitigations are implemented;
2. Approve Site Plan Review, SPR P-2014175 and Administrative Use Permit, AUP P-2014176, subject to the Conditions of Approval as stated in Resolution No. 2015-P009 (Attachment No. 1).
PROCEDURES:
1. Chair calls on staff for a brief staff report and Planning Commission poses questions to staff as desired.
2. Chair opens the public hearing, providing the applicant the first opportunity to speak, followed by the general public.
3. Chair seeks a motion to close the public hearing after all testimony has been presented.
4. Commission discusses the matter and arrives at its decision.
BACKGROUND:
Request
On November 10, 2014, an application was submitted by Washington Culver II, LLC (Applicant) for a Site Plan Review and Administrative Use Permit to allow a mixed use project (Project) consisting of 4 multi-family residential dwelling units and 13,604 sq.ft. of ground floor retail commercial uses on 1.35 acre project site (Site) at 11925 through 11960 Washington Boulevard and 11925 Louise Avenue. The Site is located in both the City of Culver City and the City of Los Angeles. The portion in Culver City is 0.97 acres in area and the portion in Los Angeles is 0.38 acres in area. All of the commercial area and 48 dwelling units are proposed to be developed in Culver City and 49 dwelling units are proposed in Los Angeles. The Project application includes a request for approval of a Site Plan Review for the new commercial and residential development, an Administrative Use Permit for 11 pairs of tandem parking spaces (22 spaces) from the City of Culver City and a Density Bonus approval from the City of Los Angeles for the portion of the project located in the City of Los Angeles. The proposed project density in Culver City is subject to approval of a "Community Benefit" pursuant to the provisions of the Mixed Use Ordinance and described below. (See Community Benefits and West Washington AIP Improvements).
Existing Conditions
The Site is located at the southeast corner of Washington and Inglewood Boulevards and is generally flat in topography. It is irregular in shape with approximately 427 feet of frontage along Washington Boulevard and 185 feet of frontage along Inglewood Boulevard. The portion in Los Angeles stretches across the southern end of the site and has approximately 54 feet of the 185 feet of Inglewood Boulevard frontage and approximately 88 feet of frontage along Louise Avenue. The Site is identified on the Vicinity Map (Attachment No. 2). It contains approximately 26,445 square feet of older one and two-story commercial buildings, a vacant lot, surface parking, and some parking lot landscaping. All structures on the Site are proposed to be demolished.
General Plan/Zoning
The Land Use Element of the City's General Plan designates this site as General Corridor with a corresponding zoning designation of Commercial General (CG). The Los Angles the General Plan land use designation is Medium Residential and the zoning is C2-1 and R3-1.
Surrounding zoning and existing land uses are outlined below:
Location
Zoning
Land Use
West:
Culver City CG
One-story restaurant and strip mall, and multi-story residential buildings in L.A.
East:
Culver City CG
One story commercial buildings
North:
Culver City CG
Commercial uses including a multi-story mixed-use development and a two story motel
South:
L.A. R3-1
Single and two-story multi-family housing.
Project Description
The proposed project consists of demolition of approximately 26,445 square feet of one and two story commercial development and construction of a split jurisdiction mixed use project including 97 multi-family residential dwelling units and 13,604 square feet of ground floor retail commercial uses. Project site access for the commercial components of the project is planned via one right-in/right-out access location on Inglewood Boulevard and one full-access location on Washington Boulevard. Project site access for the residential component of the proposed project is planned via one full-access location on Louise Avenue.
The Project includes a five-story, 56 foot high mixed use building in Culver City containing all of the commercial area noted above on the ground floor and 4 levels of residential units - 48 units in total. The ground floor commercial area is tentatively planned to be divided into 3,401 square feet of restaurant space and 10,203 square feet of commercial retail space. In Los Angeles the project will include a six-story, 72 foot high, 49 unit residential building. Both buildings will utilize a common ground level and a subterranean parking area.
The 48 Culver City residential units will consist of four (4) 900 square foot, one bedroom units and forty four (44) 1,279 to 1,820 square foot, two bedroom units. The 49 Los Angeles residential units will consist of eleven (11) 453 square foot, studio units and thirty eight (38) 810 square foot, one bedroom units. Four of the units in Los Angeles will be designated as affordable units.
A total of 203 parking stalls will be provided for the Project, with 158 stalls required for the Culver City component, and 45 stalls required for the Los Angeles component. All commercial parking is provided within an on-grade parking level and all residential parking except for two guest spaces is provided within a subterranean level. The two guest spaces are located within the on-grade parking level.
The project features an enhanced retail edge along Washington Boulevard with setbacks ranging from five (5) feet to nineteen (19) feet which allow for pedestrian amenities including landscaping, areas for outdoor dining, and trellises, building overhangs, and canopies distributed along the facades. Some retail locations will feature roll up doors to better connect the building frontage with the street edge. Pedestrian access from the ground level commercial parking is located at the center of the retail frontage allowing for direct access to customer parking.
The residential components face outward with access along interior open air walkways. The residential units surround a courtyard (on the second level) with water features, planting, fire pit and seating areas. The west end of the project features a private gym, for tenant use. The residential units in Culver City are accessed via a common lobby off of Washington Boulevard except for three units which will be accessed from the residential lobby off of Louise Avenue. This lobby will also provide access for all the units in Los Angeles. All Culver City and Los Angeles units on the second level of each of the buildings will have access from both lobbies and from the courtyard noted above.
ANALYSIS/DISCUSSION:
The Commercial General (CG) Zone allows mixed use developments and a wide variety of commercial uses including general and specialized retail uses. As illustrated in the Project Summary (Attachment No. 3), the proposed development conforms to all development regulations of the CG Zone.
Architectural and Site Design
The project has been designed to conform to all applicable provisions of the Mixed Use Development Standards, Commercial General (CG) Zone, and all other applicable City development standards. The building mass and scale is consistent with maximum allowed standards and with step backs along both the Washington Boulevard frontage and Los Angeles City rear facing Los Angeles City residential uses, the site has been designed to be compatible with surrounding commercial and residential uses. As described further below the street level provides pedestrian oriented frontages both along Washington and Inglewood Boulevards. The proposed building design is well articulated by incorporating varying roof lines, architectural features, and varying materials. The project's mechanical equipment and refuse containers have been designed to be concealed from the street, public places and neighboring properties.
Along Washington Boulevard the project features a modern architectural style with long, slightly angled horizontal lines broken up by vertical architectural elements with varying color. An undulating roof line overhang, a fa?ade of architectural metals, glass, and hard troweled stucco surfaces carefully organized to break down the scale of the fa?ade emphasizes the horizontality of the project as opposed to the vertical. The Washington Boulevard fa?ade includes a sweeping curved parapet to soften the building form. Some of the Washington Boulevard features are carried over along Inglewood Boulevard while the Los Angeles component of the Inglewood elevation features a horizontal ribbed metal surface with elongated alternating rectangular tile graphics creating a subtle background to the interruption of residential unit balconies and openings. Two openings through the fa?ade provide glimpses inside the courtyard and interrupt the fa?ade.
A separate building component along Louise Avenue respects the adjacent streets scale and provides two levels of residential units, a rooftop deck, and building offices. Stepped back from this lower component is the remaining 72 foot tall, 6-story Los Angeles City component. The stepping back with the lower level at Louise Avenue helps to break up the massing along the south elevation. The architecture is similar to the Washington Boulevard architecture and is finished and organized with similar materials, but colored more in light mono chromatics colors and with less angled horizontal architectural components. Future development of the property directly east of the project site could obscure this elevation. This side is the simplest in design with more conventional rectangular lines defining residential windows and balconies.
Height: The mixed use development standards allows up to 56 feet of height for a building that is adjacent to a non-residential zone.
The Los Angeles portion of the project is comprised of lots that are separate from the Culver City lots; further these Los Angeles lots are zoned Commercial C2-1. Therefore the Culver City portion is designed at 56 feet in height. An interior courtyard of approximately 53 feet separates most of the Culver City units from the Los Angeles units except for units that abut at the east and west ends of the Project. The Los Angeles portion of the Project is designed to be 72 feet in height. The Zoning Code allows for architectural features up to a maximum of 13.5 feet above the roof deck and covering no more than 15% of the roof area. Sloping mansards vary to a maximum of 12 feet above the roof line serve as both an architectural feature and screening for roof top mechanical equipment.
Setbacks and Pedestrian Level Frontage: Section 17.400.065 E (4) Table 4-2 of the Zoning Code allows a five (5) foot ground level setback, unless otherwise approved by the Director for street level pedestrian amenities such as landscaped planters, seating niches for tables and benches, and building canopies to provide an enhanced pedestrian friendly street edge. The project ground floor has been designed to accommodate such amenities. The street level facade along Washington Boulevard is predominantly glazing in order to allow visibility into the businesses that will occupy the ground floor. The street level is designed with setbacks ranging from five (5) feet to nineteen (19) feet which allow for enhanced pedestrian related features including landscaping, outdoor dining, trellises and canopies. (See Attachment No. 9 ) The sidewalks will be improved with new street trees, benches, bike racks and trash receptacles. New landscaped medians will help soften the street edge and visually reduced the width of Washington Boulevard and provide a traffic calming measure for enhanced walkability and bikabilty in the area. Some retail spaces will feature roll up doors to better connect the tenant spaces with the sidewalk. An open gallery and interior court with central fountain is located directly behind the retail frontage connecting to the ground level parking and some of the housing units above. The additional pedestrian setbacks, ten (10) foot wide public sidewalk with street furniture and street trees, entry to the central court and varying business frontage depths will help break up the linear character of the building frontage and enhance the pedestrian experience.
The additional ground level setback provided in the Project is a standard feature of new transit oriented mixed use developments in the TOD District of the City to ensure a good pedestrian orientation and staff has recommended that similar design be incorporated for all mixed use developments including the Project in order to promote walkability, encourage use of public transit and facilitate biking.
Fifteen feet above grade, the portion of the building fronting Washington Boulevard is articulated with setbacks at four to five feet from the property lines allowing for some articulation of balconies, building frontage, and architectural features. This stepping of the building creates for a more varied building form. Similar articulation occurs along the Inglewood Boulevard frontage above 15 feet. At the rear of the Culver City portion there is no setback requirement because it abuts the Los Angeles portion of the project which has a commercial zoning designation. As noted above the central courtyard on the second floor provides a 53 foot separation between the Los Angeles and Culver City residential units (although not required).
Setbacks and height for the Los Angeles portion are consistent with Los Angeles City Zoning standards. Color renderings and elevations are included in the Preliminary Development Plans (Attachment No. 6).
Staff worked closely with the applicant for several months to refine the project design to ensure it complements the West Washington Boulevard commercial revitalization. From the proposed new curvilinear, sloping roof line to the ground level improvements, the Project provides for an enhanced pedestrian experience and that will complement the commercial area.
Landscaping & Decorative Hardscape
A majority of the site is covered by structure and landscaping opportunities are minimal. However, there will be new street trees installed along Washington and Inglewood Boulevards. Along the rear of the Los Angeles portion of the Project that faces Los Angeles residential uses there is a 10 foot landscaped setback that will include trees and ground cover. In the interior on the second level there is approximately 11,400 square feet of open courtyard for the residences. This courtyard incorporates decorative hardscape paving, planter areas for trees, seating, water features, barbecue facilities, and raised planter walls for storm water filtration. The enhanced street level commercial setbacks will incorporate planter boxes, decorative paving, and a water feature in the central ground level courtyard.
Mixed Use Requirements
To reinforce the commercial use of the area, the project proposes 13,604 square feet of commercial space on the ground floor that meets the minimum depth and floor area as required by the mixed use development standards. This ground floor commercial area is tentatively planned to be divided into 3,401 square feet of restaurant space and 10,203 square feet of commercial retail space. It fronts mainly Washington Boulevard with a smaller frontage along Inglewood Boulevard. Access to the commercial uses will be from the Washington Boulevard sidewalk and from the surface level parking area directly south of the commercial area. Vehicular access will be from two driveways - one off of Washington Boulevard and the other off of Inglewood Boulevard. The Inglewood Boulevard driveway will be right in and right out only due to its proximity to the intersection of Washington and Inglewood Boulevards while the Washington Boulevard driveway will be a full access point.
Access to the residential units is secured by three (3) residential only elevator lobbies at the ground level that can take residents to both the residential only subterranean parking area and all residential levels above. Vehicular access to the residential only subterranean parking level is via one driveway off of Louise Avenue which is segregated from the commercial driveways. Only two of the residential required parking spaces are located on the ground level commercial parking level and these are guest spaces which are in addition to the commercial required spaces. The separation of vehicular residential and commercial access and secured residential only lobbies at the ground level will reduce conflicts between the commercial and residential uses.
Parking
A total of 203 on-site parking spaces are provided to meet both Culver City and Los Angeles Zoning Code required parking for both the residential and commercial components of the project. A total of 54 commercial parking spaces are required and provided. In the Culver City portion a total of 92 residential parking spaces are required and provided - 1 for each of the 4 one-bedroom units that are 900 square feet in area and 2 each for the remaining 44 two-bedroom units. Twelve residential guest parking spaces are required and provided. In the Los Angeles portion the project requires one space per unit for a total of 49 spaces. Further, the Los Angeles Bicycle Ordinance allows a 10% reduction in parking if bicycle spaces are provided. This results in 45 required spaces which are provided. As noted above the commercial and residential parking areas are separated except for two guest spaces which the Culver City Zoning Code allows to be located in the commercial parking area. Bicycle parking consistent with Culver City and Los Angeles bicycle parking requirements is provided on-site and along the public sidewalk.
Administrative Use Permit: The applicant is requesting an Administrative Use Permit because 22 residential spaces in Culver City will be in eleven (11) tandem pairs. Each tandem pair will be assigned to one unit each and these parking spaces will not be open to the general public because they will be located in the gated, secured residential parking area of the development. The tandem parking in Los Angeles will be subject to that City's requirements.
Traffic and Circulation
A traffic impact analysis prepared for the proposed project, dated August 31, 2015, by RBF Consulting, was reviewed and accepted by Culver City's Traffic Engineer and the Los Angeles Department of Transportation. (Attachment No. 5). The traffic analysis evaluated the existing and forecast (year 2015) conditions at ten (10) intersections in the vicinity of the project site during both the AM and PM peak hours. These intersections were selected for analysis based on discussion with Culver City staff and Los Angeles Department of Transportation Staff.
The study determined that the proposed project is expected to generate approximately 1,481 daily trips, which include approximately 68 a.m. peak hour trips and approximately 112 p.m. peak hour trips. It should be noted this is a very conservative assumption since it does not assume any onsite trip capture reduction and it also does not account for the existing land uses currently or previously on the project site. Based on both Culver City and Los Angeles traffic threshold criteria, traffic is not projected to have a significant impact at the study intersections during the AM and PM peak periods. The increase in traffic counts is below the City adopted thresholds of significance for both the Cities and no mitigation measures are required (with regard to level of service and vehicle to capacity ratios at the study intersections).
However, the project will be required to extend vehicle storage capacity on some left turn lanes and change phasing at Inglewood/Washington Boulevard intersections in order to increase traffic flow efficiency. Other traffic related mitigations such as elimination of street parking spaces will be required to accommodate bicycle lanes and a bus stop.
The study found that at the westbound left-turn queue at the project's Atlantic Avenue/Washington Boulevard access, an expected need of approximately 62 feet during the a.m. peak hour and approximately 125 feet during the p.m. peak hour will be required for adequate vehicle storage (so that cars wanting to turn left into the project do not spill into the westbound through lane). Thus a left-turn pocket lane of approximately 100 to 125 feet is required to accommodate the westbound left-turn forecast a.m. peak hour and p.m. traffic volumes at the Atlantic Avenue/Washington Boulevard intersection. This lane will be extended to 125 feet.
With regard to traffic signal phasing, changing the westbound and eastbound left turn phasing at the Inglewood Boulevard/Washington Boulevard intersection from permitted phasing to protected phasing or protected-permitted phasing (Left Turn Arrow Only) will improve the efficiency of the westbound left turn movement by reducing the queue lengths and adding corresponding storage capacity to the left turn pockets. The detailed traffic mitigations are listed in the Environmental Determination section below.
The proposed project is bound on the south edge by Louise Avenue, a roadway currently serving residential land uses on its south side. To minimize and avoid any potential residential roadway impacts on Louise Avenue, the commercial land use components of the proposed project have been specifically laid out and designed to take access on Washington and Inglewood Boulevards providing direct access routes to the adjacent arterial system. Only the residential component of the proposed project is planned to take access via Louise Avenue, hence, eliminating or significantly reducing any potential conflicts between residential and commercial related project traffic. The proposed access locations are anticipated to operate adequately, with no external vehicular queuing on the fronting streets, and no significant internal queuing within the parking areas. Vehicles entering the site's driveways are provided with adequate visibility and maneuvering room both along the fronting streets and within the site itself. Site distance and driver visibility of oncoming vehicles at the site exits are also acceptable. Any structure or fence at driveway locations will not exceed "eye height" of exiting drivers, and site lines will not be affected.
The loading area for the project is proposed to be on-site within the surface level parking area. Only a small loading space (which is a standard parking stall) is required for this project. Deliveries for this mixed use project are expected to be serviced by small to medium sized freight vehicles such as UPS type 2-axle delivery trucks and a standard stall is adequate.
Offsite/Streetscape Improvements
Several off-site improvements are detailed in the traffic mitigations listed in the Environmental Determination section below. Not listed as a traffic related mitigation, but rather as a project condition, the bus stop for east bound Culver City Bus Line No. 1, which travels along Washington Boulevard, located just west of Inglewood Boulevard will be relocated just east of Inglewood Boulevard fronting the west end of the project site. The bus stop will be built to Culver City Department of Transportation standards.
Community Benefits and West Washington AIP Improvements
On March 10, 2008, the City Council established a Community Benefit Incentive Program in connection with Section 17.400.065 of the Zoning Code - Mixed Use Development Standards. This Section of the Culver City Municipal Code (CCMC) allows mixed use developments on certain commercially zoned property at a base residential density of 35 du/ac, but allows the density to increase to 50 du/ac, and up to 65 du/a in a Transit Oriented Development Zone (TOD Zone), provided the project incorporates community benefits as established by the City Council. A community benefit is defined in the Ordinance and related Community Benefit Resolution as a project amenity that achieves a particular community goal. The list of community benefits outlined in the Resolution includes, but is not limited to, the following:
A. Streetscape Improvements as part of an Area Improvement Plan (AIP)
B. Pocket Parks and Public Open Space (minimum 5,000 sq. ft.) in addition to park space otherwise required by the CCMC
C. Metered On-Site Public Parking-in excess of code required project parking (Minimum 10 public parking spaces and applies only to project sites of 20,000 sq. ft. or greater).
D. Utility Undergrounding as part of an Undergrounding District Plan.
E. Other Community Benefits as approved by City Council.
At 11955 Washington Boulevard on the north side of Washington Boulevard at Marcasel Avenue a mixed use project with a 50 dwelling unit per acre density was approved by the Planning Commission on December 14, 2011. As part of the increase in density from 35 dwelling units per acre to 50 du/a, a community benefit district was created by the City Council on October 24, 2011. This community benefit district requires that mixed use developments construct and maintain new landscaped medians along Washington Boulevard consistent with Phase 6 of the West Washington Area Improvement Plan (AIP). Phase 6 (AIP) runs approximately the length of Washington Boulevard from Inglewood Boulevard to the east terminus of Atlantic Avenue and requires construction of a curbed planted median with drought tolerant and low maintenance landscaping and lighting.
The applicant proposes to increase the Project density from the base 35 du/ac or 33 units to 50 du/ac or 48 units (an increase of 15 units) and proposes a community benefit consistent with the established community benefit district for the area. Listed as a traffic related mitigation in the Environmental Determination section below, the applicant will be required to install a 10-foot wide raised landscaped median along Washington Boulevard between Atlantic Avenue East and Atlantic Avenue West. Further the applicant will provide maintenance costs for up to 35 years for Phase 6 of the West Washington Area Improvement Plan (AIP).
Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA)
This project will address a portion of Culver City's share of the RHNA by constructing 48 market rate units. Furthermore, the project will provide 45 new residential units to Los Angeles' housing stock, and 4 new residential affordable units to Los Angeles' affordable housing stock. This will further the intent of the 5th Cycle Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA), 2014 to 2021, as prepared by the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) and the State of California Housing and Community Development Department (HCD), which call for an addition of 185 housing units in Culver City and 82,002 housing units in Los Angeles in the RHNA planning period ending in 2021. By addressing Culver City's share of new housing units as stipulated in the RHNA and the Housing Element, the new dwelling units are considered to be within the expected development threshold for the City during the current Housing Element cycle (2014 to 2021).
Neighborhood Compatibility
The proposed development is located along a commercial portion of Washington Boulevard that includes a mixed use project and motel on the north side and several one and two story commercial/retail and residential apartment buildings. Along the south side of the project in the City of Los Angeles there are several multifamily dwellings ranging from single story to 3 stories. The Culver City portion will be consistent with Culver City Zoning Code height limits and massing due to the height being oriented towards Washington Boulevard. The Culver City adjacent properties are commercial in nature and the nearest residential uses in Culver City are on the north side of Washington Boulevard.
The Project street frontage along Washington Boulevard designed with wide setbacks, varying building distances to the street curb, planter areas, central commercial courtyard, and areas for outdoor dining and seating, will provide an enhanced pedestrian experience that will complement the adjacent commercial and residential neighborhoods.
The Project is set back 10' from the south property line abutting single story multi-family units. This setback will include landscaping to soften the massing of the building. A portion of the south facing Los Angeles building will be stepped down in height creating a tiered affect. The Los Angeles portion of the project will be consistent that City's height and setback requirements. As a multi-dwelling project the use will be compatible with one to three story multi-family buildings in the surrounding Los Angeles area south of Washington Boulevard.
CITY OF LOS ANGELES APPROVAL
In the City of Los Angeles the applicant applied for a Density Bonus Approval (DBA) to increase the base density from 36 dwelling units to 49 dwelling units. This is a 13 unit increase; under the DBA Process the applicant will be required to covenant for 55 years, 4 of the 49 units for very low income households. The City of Los Angeles application for the project is located at 11925 W. Louise Avenue under case number CPC-2014-303-DB which was filed on January 28, 2014. The resident only parking access, a community room, 2 levels of residential units, and a deck front the Louise Avenue side of the project. Culver City is the lead agency on the Project environmental review and the City of Los Angeles will rely on the Mitigated Negative Declaration (MND) prepared by the City of Culver City. .
The DBA request is being processed pursuant to SB 1818, California's Density Bonus Law. This state law creates incentives for developers to increase density in multi-family housing through provision of affordable housing units. Under this law and the City of Los Angeles' SB 1818 ordinance, a developer may increase a project up to thirty-five percent, and may take advantage of a series of incentives (known as "on-menu" and "off-menu" incentives) in exchange for providing affordable units.
The entitlement request for the City of Los Angeles includes 49 one-bedroom units; 45 units will be market rate, while 4 will be for very-low income tenants. As designed, the project requires two "on-menu" incentive requests: averaging of densities across the two different Los Angeles Zoned areas located within the project area (C2-1 and R3-1) and an increase in allowable Floor-Area Ratio. The project also requires two "off-menu" incentive requests: the first, allowing the required open space for multi-family residences to be located in Culver City (2nd floor open courtyard), and the second, allowing some of the required parking to be located in Culver City.
The DBA Process in the City of Los Angeles treats any request for both on-and off-menu incentives as "off-menu" incentives. Projects with a DBA including only "on-menu" incentives are non- discretionary, but since the project includes both on- and off-menu incentives, the more intensive review process will apply to the requested DBA, as detailed below.
Application: The first step is the application process, where the City accepts a number of required documents, including plans, radius maps and labels, and filing fees. The City requires a pro forma to show that off-menu incentives are necessary to provide affordable housing.
Hearing Officer Hearing: A hearing officer for the City holds the first hearing for the project and makes a recommendation to the City Planning Commission for approval or denial. This hearing is primarily informational, and is held to allow the applicant to make a presentation and to allow for public comment. The hearing officer will use the information gained in this hearing to make his or her recommendation to the City Planning Commission.
City Planning Commission Hearing: The City Planning Commission makes the final approval determination based on findings that the incentive is required to provide affordable housing, as defined; and that the incentive will not have a specific, adverse impact on the public health and safety, the physical environment, or any real property listed in the California Register of Historical Resources.
Appeal: The Municipal Code does not provide for an appeal. The City Planning Commission's determination is therefore final.
The applicant has completed the first step with application submittal. Los Angeles Planning Staff will commence with scheduling the Hearing Officer Hearing after the City of Culver City approves the project.
PUBLIC OUTREACH
As part of the project review process, a minimum of one community meeting is required during which the applicant invites interested persons to learn about the development project, provide comments and feedback, as well as to share any concerns regarding the proposed project. Los Angeles also requires at least one community meeting. Beginning in January 2014, the applicant has presented the Project to the surrounding communities at 11 different meetings, including:
* The Mar Vista Neighborhood Council MVNC (1);
* The Del Rey Neighborhood Council (5);
* The Del Rey Residents Association (3);
* Culver City local neighborhood outreach meetings (2) (contacting all residents and property owner within a 500' radius) in conjunction with Culver City
As a result of these meetings and working with Culver City staff a number of elements had been added to the Project, including:
* Increased traffic improvements to Washington Boulevard, including a signalized left turn lane at Washington and Inglewood;
* A review of the project after it is operational to determine if a pedestrian crossing at Atlantic and Washington is warranted;
* Changes in the architectural design including significantly increased architectural treatment of the Louise Avenue frontage and the southern exposure of the building (facing into Los Angeles);
* Increased building setbacks along Washington Boulevard, including a more pronounced retail plaza in the middle of the Washington Boulevard frontage in order to provide more building relief as well as increased pedestrian circulation;
* Increased retail parking ratios and limitations on retail uses so as to not exacerbate the parking conditions of the surrounding residential neighborhood.
The current design of the Project was the culmination of all the comments the applicant received in these Community Meetings and direction from Culver City staff.
Other issues discussed at these meetings included traffic, parking, pedestrian crossings/safety, density, and massing. A more detailed breakdown of each of the community meetings is included in Attachment No. 7 which is summary provided by the applicant.
CONCLUSION/SUMMARY:
Staff has worked closely with the applicant to design a project that respects the adjacent commercial and residential neighborhoods. The street level design enhancements such as extra setbacks in conjunction with public sidewalks and streetscape improvements, retail frontage design with roll up doors, special paving, landscaping, canopies and outdoor dining space will create a pedestrian friendly environment consistent with the mixed use development regulations and revitalization goals for the area. Further, the residential open space including both the public courtyard and the private balcony space exceed minimum Zoning Code standards. Based on the proposed development plans and recommended conditions of approval, staff believes the Project is compatible with the surrounding neighborhood and is consistent with the Culver City Zoning Code and General Plan.
ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINATION:
Pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) guidelines a Mitigated Negative Declaration has been prepared. This project has been determined to have less than significant impacts on the environment provided certain mitigations addressing Noise and Traffic are incorporated. Specifically the following mitigations will be required for this project:
Noise (The Noise Impacts are mainly due to CEQA significant thresholds established by the City of Los Angeles. Culver City's adopted construction noise Standard Conditions of Approval address several impacts that otherwise require mitigations for Los Angeles.):
N-1. The project shall comply with the City of Los Angeles Noise Ordinances No. 144,331 and 161,574, and any subsequent ordinances, which prohibit the emission or creation of noise beyond certain levels at adjacent uses unless technically infeasible.
N-2. Construction and demolition shall be restricted to 8:00 am to 6:00 pm Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Saturday, and no construction on Sundays or Holidays. Dirt hauling and construction material deliveries or removal are prohibited during the peak traffic periods; morning (7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m.) and afternoon (4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.).
N-3. Demolition and construction activities shall be scheduled so as to avoid operating several pieces of equipment simultaneously, which causes high noise levels.
N-4. The project contractor shall use power construction equipment with state-of-the-art noise shielding and muffling devices.
N-5. Noise and ground borne vibration construction activities whose specific location on the site may be flexible (e.g., operation of compressors and generators, cement mixing, general truck idling) shall be conducted as far as possible from the nearest noise- and vibration-sensitive land uses, and natural and/or manmade barriers (e.g., intervening construction trailers) shall be used to screen propagation of noise from such activities towards these land uses to the maximum extent possible.
N-6. Barriers such as, but not limited to, plywood structures or flexible sound control curtains extending eight feet in height shall be erected around the perimeter of the construction site to minimize the amount of noise during construction on the nearby noise-sensitive uses.
N-7. The Project shall comply with the City of Los Angeles Building Regulations Ordinance No. 178048, which requires a construction site notice to be provided that includes the following information: job site address, permit number, name and phone number of the contractor and owner or owner's agent, hours of construction allowed by code or any discretionary approval for the site, and City telephone numbers where violations can be reported. The notice shall be posted and maintained at the construction site prior to the start of construction and displayed in a location that is readily visible to the public.
N-7. The project shall comply with all Culver City standard noise conditions during construction.
Traffic:
T-1. The applicant shall install a raised median between Inglewood Boulevard and Atlantic Avenue.
T-2. The applicant shall install provide a 154 foot long westbound Washington Boulevard left-turn lane pocket at Inglewood Boulevard and a 50 foot long eastbound Washington Boulevard left-turn lane pocket at Atlantic Avenue.
T-3. The applicant shall install a 125 foot long westbound Washington Boulevard left-turn lane pocket at the Atlantic Avenue/Washington Boulevard intersection.
T-4. The applicant shall install change the westbound and eastbound left turn phasing at the Inglewood Boulevard/Washington Boulevard intersection from permitted phasing to protected phasing or protected-permitted phasing.
T-5. The applicant shall add 5 foot wide bicycle lanes on eastbound and westbound Washington Boulevard.
T-6. The applicant shall remove some existing on-street parking spaces to accommodate the bicycle lanes and remove some existing on-street parking spaces in order to construct driveway accesses for the proposed project.
T-7. The applicant shall remove some existing on-street parking spaces in order to construct driveway accesses for the 11955 Washington Boulevard Mixed-Use cumulative project located across the project site on Washington Boulevard (This has been complete).
T-8. On Washington Boulevard between Inglewood Boulevard and Atlantic Avenue, the applicant shall remove three (3) on-street parking spaces and add one (1) on-street parking space on the eastbound direction, and remove two (2) on-street parking spaces and add six (6) on-street parking spaces on the westbound direction for an overall increase of two (2) on-street parking spaces.
T-9. The applicant shall relocate the existing bus stop currently located along westbound Washington Boulevard just west of Inglewood Boulevard to a location further west to accommodate the proposed bicycle lanes and raised median along Washington Boulevard.
T-10. The applicant shall reconstruct the existing curb return at the northbound Inglewood Boulevard right-turn lane as a 25-foot radius curb return.
T-11. The applicant shall install a 10-foot wide raised landscaped median along Washington Boulevard between Atlantic Avenue East and Atlantic Avenue West.
T-12. The applicant shall remove the existing dedicated westbound right-turn lane at the Inglewood Boulevard/Washington Boulevard intersection to accommodate the westbound on-street bicycle lane.
These mitigation measures will reduce potential impacts with regard to Noise and Traffic to less than significant. The mitigations are outlined in the attached Initial Study; all mitigations are incorporated into the draft conditions of approval.
ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS:
The following alternative actions may be considered by the Planning Commission:
1. Approve the proposed project with the recommended conditions of approval if the application is deemed to meet the required findings.
2. Approve the proposed project with additional and/or different conditions of approval if deemed necessary to meet the required findings and mitigate any new project impacts identified at the meeting.
3. Disapprove the proposed project if the application does not meet the required findings.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Draft Resolution No. 2015-P009 and Exhibit A Conditions of Approval
2. Vicinity Map
3. Project Summary
4. CEQA Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration dated November 18, 2015.
5. Traffic Impact Analysis prepared by RBF Consulting, August 31, 2015
6. Preliminary Development Plans dated November 18, 2015
7. Applicant Summary of Community Meetings
8. Public Comments
9. Streetscape Design
