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USE PERMIT TO ALLOW THE CONSTRUCTION OF A FOUR-STORY, 381-BED RESIDENCE HALL AT THE UNIVERSITY OF THE PACIFIC
recommended action
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the Planning Commission approve a Use Permit to allow the construction of a four-story, 381-bed residence hall, for property located on the south side of Brookside Road, 500 feet east of Pershing Avenue (APNs 110-260-03 and 04), in accordance with the Findings for Decision and Conditions of Approval detailed herein (P15-343).
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Summary
The applicant, Capstone Development Partners, LLC, acting on behalf of the University of the Pacific (the University), has submitted a Use Permit application to allow the construction of a proposed four-story, 381-bed residence hall on the northern portion of the University’s campus.
DISCUSSION
Background
This is the third Use Permit application that has been processed by the Planning Division for residential housing on the northern portion of the University’s campus. One was processed and approved in 2000, to construct two three-story residential structures on the north side of Brookside Road, east of the current project site. Those two structures, which have been constructed and are occupied, house a total of approximately 404 students. The second was processed in 2012 and would have authorized the construction of two four-story, 150-bed residence halls that would have provided housing for 300 students. The second application was withdrawn from further consideration by the University in response to processing delays that would have prevented completion of the project in time for occupancy by students in fall of the following year.
Present Situation
The project site for the current Use Permit application is approximately 4.1-acre, and is located between Brookside Road and the Calaveras River approximately 500 feet east of Pershing Avenue. The site, part of the campus known as Brookside Field, contains the University’s field hockey field, a multi-purpose recreation field, and a portion of an existing parking lot. The overall University of the Pacific campus is zoned RL (Residential, Low Density) and RH (Residential, High Density) and is surrounded by primarily residential uses zoned RL and RH, as well as churches, a hospice facility, and multi-family residential uses zoned CO (Commercial, Office), RL and RH. (Attachment A - Location Map, Site Plan, and Floor Plans).
The project site is zoned RL and is bounded to the:
• north by a recreation field and across Brookside Road by single-family residences zoned RL;
• east by the University’s physical plant building zoned RL;
• south by the Calaveras River (unzoned) by the main campus of the University zoned RL; and
• west by a University fraternity house and apartment facility zoned RL and RH, respectively, and across Pershing Avenue by a multi-family residential complex zoned RH.
The proposed project would result in the construction of a new student residential facility, including student apartments, resident staff apartments, study areas, outdoor gathering spaces, offices, and other related improvements. More specifically, the project involves the construction of a four-story building with two wings and encompasses approximately 151,417 square feet of floor area. The west wing would be comprised primarily of student housing units: a total of 208 students in 16 studio, 32 two-bedroom, and 32 four-bedroom units. The east wing would accommodate primarily student housing, but would also include other related uses on the first floor, including a multi-purpose room, study rooms, offices, staff apartments, a laundry area, maintenance facilities, and storage areas. Student housing would occupy the second, third, and fourth floors, housing a total of 173 students in 11 studio, 21 two-bedroom, and 30 four-bedroom units. The east wing of the structure will include an “indoor/outdoor living room,” consisting of a lounge area, a study and classroom space, a community kitchen and casual dining area, and a “technology café” inside the structure and decks, seating areas, tables, and possibly a swimming pool outside of the structure. Residential units in both wings would include kitchen facilities; however student residents would still have to purchase a University meal plan for use at existing on-campus food service facilities.
According to the applicant, the project will not result in an increase in the number of students enrolled at the University. Instead, this project is the first phase of a multi-phase project intended to upgrade existing housing at the University and provide on-campus beds/living units for students who are currently residing off campus. The applicant has discussed the overall project’s future phases with staff and described them in the project’s environmental document. The project’s subsequent phases have not been adequately formulated to be considered projects for the sake of the subject Use Permit application and its environmental review document. Future residential development on the campus will be reviewed when the University makes formal presentation to the City to assess required entitlement applications and to make determinations regarding the level of environmental review that will be required.
Security features for the structure include restricted entrances, key card control, nighttime security lighting, and emergency call boxes. Extensive landscaping will be provided and the applicant has indicated that the structure will be designed to CalGreen and “Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design” (LEED) Silver specifications.
The new structure will have a maximum height of approximately 60 feet. The maximum building height in the RL zoning district is 35 feet; however, public and private institutional uses, including private schools, may be erected to a maximum height of 75 feet if all of the required setbacks are increased one additional foot for each foot that the buildings exceed the 35-foot height limit (Stockton Municipal Code Section 16.36.090.B.4). Staff has reviewed the proposed site plan and confirmed that adequate setbacks have been provided to more than accommodate the additional 25 feet of elevation proposed for the structure. Therefore, the height of the proposed structure complies with applicable Development Code requirements.
Architectural Review
The City’s Architectural Review Committee (ARC) reviewed the project’s proposed elevations, renderings, and materials and found them to be substantially in compliance with applicable provisions of the City’s Design Review Guidelines (Attachment B - Elevations; Attachment C - Renderings). At this time, the several minor revisions are still being made to the project’s architectural plans and have yet to be reviewed by the ARC. Therefore, it is recommended that the Conditions of Approval include a condition requiring final approval of the architectural plans by the ARC prior to issuance of the project’s required building permits.
Parking
On-site automobile parking for a university is currently required by the Development Code to be provided at the rate of one space for each classroom and 0.75 space for each student in the largest shift on site at any one time (in other words, ¾ of a space for each student when the largest number of students are on campus). This rate is actually lower than the rate that had been in effect up until October 27, 2011, which was one space per classroom and one space for each full-time equivalent student. As previously noted, the project will not result in an increase in the number of students enrolled at the University. Likewise it will not result in an increase in the number of classrooms on the campus.
The analysis of the noted parking requirements by the project’s environmental consultant concluded that there is an adequate number of parking spaces on the overall campus to accommodate current enrollment levels. That analysis also included a review of the parking needs for the area of the campus where the new residential structure is proposed to be constructed. The area immediately to the west of the project site is occupied by an existing 183-space parking lot that serves the adjacent 194-bed University Townhouse facility and the nearby 27-bed fraternity. Based upon analysis of the utilization of the parking lot by residents of the University Townhouse and fraternity and a projection of the parking utilization by the residents of the proposed residence hall, the environmental consultant has determined that a minimum of 302 parking spaces will be needed in this portion of the campus. Restriping the existing parking lot and an accompanying expansion will increase the number of parking spaces in the lot to 314; resulting in a surplus of 12 parking spaces.
The project’s environmental document has also analyzed potential parking impacts on the surrounding neighborhood. Its conclusion was that the project would not have a significant impact on the usage and availability of on-street parking in the area. Staff at the University have indicated a willingness to develop a parking permit system in the neighborhood near the project site to reduce the use of street parking by students and staff at the University. A similar parking system has been developed in the residential neighborhood south of the main campus.
Access
Access to the project site is provided by an existing gated entry to the nearby University Townhomes from Brookside Road and the existing parking area that currently serves the University Townhouse facility and the Theta Chi fraternity. Emergency vehicle access will extend from the parking area along the north and south sides of the structure to the existing vehicle access area at the foot of the Calaveras River bridge. In addition to the noted parking lot expansion, the University will also reconfigure the driveway to meet applicable City development standards. Access to the project site is also provided by nearby pedestrian and bicycle paths that connect the project area to the main campus, located on the south side of the Calaveras River. An existing driveway on the east side of the Physical Plant Building will allow limited access to the project on an as-needed basis (i.e. start and end of semesters to accommodate students moving in and out of the structure).
Neighborhood Meetings
Although not required to do so by the Development Code, the applicant held neighborhood meetings on Thursday, August 20, and Wednesday, October 7, 2015, at the University’s Physical Plant Building on Brookside Road. The meetings began at 6:30 p.m. and lasted between one and one-and-one-half hours and were each attended by six or fewer area residents, as well as representatives of the University, the environmental consultant, the project architect, and City staff. Questions and concerns were raised during the meeting regarding the project’s potential parking- and traffic-related impacts, future University plans for development in the project area, the design of the proposed structures, and potential construction-related noise impacts.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
Staff has prepared, circulated, and is recommending approval of an Initial Study/Proposed Final Mitigated Negative Declaration. Pursuant to Sections 15071 and 15074 of the State California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines, the Initial Study/Final Mitigated Negative Declaration must be adopted by the Planning Commission prior to any approval for the proposed project. In addition, the “Findings and Mitigation Monitoring/Reporting Program for the University of the Pacific Student Housing Project” needs to be adopted to ensure that adequate mitigation measures are implemented as part of the project (see Attachments D, “Initial Study/Proposed Mitigated Negative Declaration,” E, “Final Mitigated Negative Declaration,” and F, “Mitigation Monitoring Program”).
VOTES REQUIRED
A majority vote (four) of the total authorized membership of the Planning Commission is required for the Commission to act on this matter.
Attachment A - Location Map and Site Plan and Floor Plans
Attachment B - Elevations
Attachment C - Renderings
Attachment D - Initial Study and Proposed Mitigated Negative Declaration
Attachment E - Final Mitigated Negative Declaration
Attachment F - Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program