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REQUEST TO ADOPT AN INITIAL STUDY/MITIGATED NEGATIVE DECLARATION AND APPROVE A USE PERMIT AMENDMENT TO AUTHORIZE CHANGES TO THE LANGSTON HUGHES ACADEMY/PORT CITY ACADMENY PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOLS LOCATED AT 2050 WEST LANE (P17-0625).
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RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the Planning Commission adopt:
a) A resolution adopting an Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration including a Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program; and
b) A resolution approving a Use Permit Amendment authorizing: (i) an increase to the maximum enrollment from 1,017 to 1,217 students; (ii) modified vehicle circulation for drop-off and pick-up time periods, including entrance and exit points; (iii) installation of a modular building including seven classrooms; (iv) installation of a sound barrier; and (iv) additional off-street parking areas.
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SUMMARY
The applicant, Aspire Public Charter Schools, operates a public charter school at 2050 West Lane under Use Permit No. UP65-08, granted by the Planning Commission on March 12, 2009. Presently, the school requests approval to increase maximum enrollment from 1,017 to 1,217 and make physical changes to the campus and implement new access parameters. As described in this report, the campus would be modified to accommodate a new modular building, a modified circulation route for student drop-off/pick-up, increased off-street parking, and a sound barrier adjacent to existing homes. Operationally, the school proposes to implement a new Access Management Plan to improve circulation generally and minimize adverse effects upon adjacent public streets and the adjoining residential neighborhood.
The staff recommendation is preceding by a community engagement process facilitated by the applicant as well as the preparation of an Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration (IS/MND) in compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). These processes, combined with a focused internal review on circulation, has resulted in an application including the above-mentioned changes to the campus (e.g., enrollment, class rooms) but with a new Access Management Plan to improve the compatibility and safety of the school with the surrounding streets and neighborhood. Staff’s analysis shows that all Use Permit findings can be met and that all potentially significant environmental effects can be reduced through mitigation measures to a less than significant level.
DISCUSSION
Background
Site Location/Context
The proposed project is located on a 10.33-acre site at 2050 West Lane (Attachment A - Location Map and Aerial Photograph). The site is zoned Residential, Medium Density (RM) and is bounded to the:
• North by light industrial uses, including granite supply store and steel wire products, in the Industrial, Limited (IL) zone;
• East by single-family homes in the Residential, Low Density (RL) zone;
• South by single-family homes in a RL zone; and
• West by West Lane and mixed commercial and industrial services, including a thrift store, general automotive repair, and appliance store, in the IL zone.
Prior Approvals
Use Permit UP65-08 was approved by the Planning Commission on March 12, 2009 and authorized the development of a 1,017-student public charter school composed of two co-existing schools: Port City Academy (kindergarten through fifth grades) and Langston Hughes Academy (sixth through twelfth grades). Playgrounds, football/soccer playing field, and basketball courts were also approved under Use Permit No. UP65-08.
Public Comments
The subject application was initially filed for Director-level action in accordance with SMC §16.104.040(C)(2). Notice of the application filing was provided in The Record on November 6, 2017 to all property owners within a 300-foot radius of the project site. Two comment letters were received in response to the notice citing concerns with traffic congestion and a request for a public hearing (Attachment B - Comment Letters) Therefore, in accordance with SMC §16.168.040(D)(2)(a), the Review Authority for this project was elevated to the Planning Commission.
Staff also received a third letter regarding this item on April 10, 2018, reiterating concerns with school conduct related to traffic congestion and parking on neighborhood streets. This letter contains 65 signatures of neighborhood residents and business owners.
Notice for the public hearing for this item was published in The Record on January 8, 2019 and a mailed notice was sent to all property owners within a 300-foot radius of the project site. As of the writing of this staff report, no additional written comments have been submitted.
Community Meetings
The applicant has held two community outreach meetings on the project to date. A summary of each is provided below.
The applicant hosted a community meeting at the school on February 6, 2018 after two weeks of a “trial-run” for a change to on-site circulation that involved egress to Sierra Nevada Street. Mailed notice of the meeting was provided in advance to property owners along University Avenue and Sierra Nevada Street. The meeting was facilitated by one of the school’s principals (Shelby Schmidt) and superintendent (Anthony Solina), along with a representative from Turner Impact (Tom Bilinksi). City staff were in attendance. Six members of the public attended the community meeting.
The applicant hosted a second community meeting at the school on January 17, 2019. Mailed notice was provided in advance to all property owners within 300 feet of the project site. The sign-in sheet for that meeting is Attachment C. City staff attended along with representatives from Basecamp Environmental (Charlie Simpson) and KD Anderson (Ken Anderson). Five members of the public attended the community meeting.
Present Situation
The applicant has submitted a Use Permit Amendment application to authorize physical changes to the campus and implement new access parameters. A central aspect of the project is the proposed increase in maximum enrollment from 1,017 to 1,217 students. Currently, the school has exceeded the maximum authorized enrollment by approximately 146 students. The following summarizes salient aspects of the application.
Classrooms
A new modular building composed of two structures connected by a covered walkway (6,630 square feet of classroom area) are proposed on the north eastern side of campus, adjacent to the football/soccer play field (Attachment D - Site Plan and Floor Plan). The modular building contains seven classrooms to support the proposed increased enrollment which is planned for Langston Hughes Academy (i.e., grades 6 to 12).
Access, Circulation, and Parking
Access
Access to the campus currently is provided by two driveways on West Lane leading to two looped and interconnected parking lots providing for both parking and student drop-off and pick-up. The driveways are accessible to north and southbound motorists on West Lane. Two interior parking lots presently provide spaces for staff only at the rear of the campus; each is accessible from a drive aisle along the north property line. An Emergency Vehicular Access is possible through an existing curb-cut and adjacent asphalt area to Sierra Nevada Street.
Under the staff recommendation, driveways on West Lane will be modified to allow entrance-only at the southern driveway and exit-only at the northern driveway at all times (Attachment E - Circulation Plan). This change will be made by installing signage and pavement marking approved by the City of Stockton Public Works Department, Traffic Engineering Division. Additionally, the staff recommendation clarifies that access to Sierra Nevada Street is limited to emergency vehicles. The applicant is agreeable to each staff recommendation.
On-site Circulation
Existing circulation patterns documented by the applicant’s consultant (KD Anderson and Associates) and verified by Public Works Department staff, indicate inefficient operations resulting in congestion both on- and off-site. Drop-off activities in the morning demonstrate the available on-site queue is inadequate to prevent back-up onto West Lane from the northbound direction. Also, the resulting congestion on-site results in an inadequate queue length for southbound turn movements from a protected turn lane on West Lane.
In the afternoon, pick-up activities consist of parents parked in loading and parking areas, and traffic queues extending out onto West Lane before students are released. Even more vehicles are parked along University Avenue and West Lane waiting for students. Based on these observations, it was determined that approximately 45 vehicles were waiting off-site for pick-up at the end of the day. On-site the result is vehicles delayed in leaving the site as they wait to exit onto West Lane.
To alleviate congestion and parking on neighborhood streets, the project directs all drop-off and pick-up traffic to a lengthened loop that extends around the core campus. Access to this loop starts at the southern driveway on West Lane and then proceeds along an existing fire access lane on the southern site boundary. Vehicles are then routed around the rear of campus to unload/load students in designated eastern and northern loading areas. From there, vehicles exit through the northern driveway on West Lane. This modified circulation route accommodates a vehicle queue of about 1,350 feet and which can accommodate between 56 to 67 vehicles. In summary, the project intends to accommodate all anticipated vehicle queueing on-site rather than off-site (i.e., at West Lane or neighboring streets).
Access Management Plan
At staff’s request, the applicant prepared an Access Management Plan (AMP) to address the operational aspects of the modified circulation pattern (Attachment F - Access Management Plan). The AMP includes policies, procedures and actions intended to ensure the effectiveness of proposed circulation. The AMP designates the “Drop-off” and “Pick-up” times when the proposed circulation route will be utilized. The AMP also sets procedures for school staff to monitor drop-off and pick-up times, including setting out temporary barriers to prohibit access to the western parking lot (at West Lane) during drop-off and pick-up times, identifying key locations on-site to supervise traffic flow to prevent bottlenecks, and monitor parent/guardian behavior onsite to ensure compliance with the AMP.
Under staff’s recommendation, the effectiveness of the AMP is to be monitored and evaluated annually for three years starting in 2020. Monitoring would occur through an annual report submitted to the City at the end of the school year (June 30th). As recommended, the Community Development Director would be authorized to modify the AMP, in coordination with the City Engineer, to ensure safe and efficient circulation. Should a modification be warranted, it would be processed as a Minor Change in conformance with SMC §16.104.040 (Procedure), unless, in the opinion of the Director, the change warrants review by the Planning Commission.
The applicant also proposes to manage coordination, education, and enforcement of the AMP through a “Good Neighbor” handbook for students and their guardians. Under staff’s recommendation, the handbook will be distributed to students, student guardians, and staff a minimum of once per academic year. The “Good Neighbor” handbook is intended to establish a set of norms through school policies intended to increase neighborhood compatibility by addressing off-site parking, monitoring guardian behavior, and limiting nuisances such as litter, trespassing, and excessive noise.
Parking
SMC §16.64.040, Table 3-9 requires the project to provide two (2) parking spaces per classroom plus one (1) parking space for every six (6) high school students in the largest shift on site at one time. Currently, the school has 153 parking stalls. With the addition of the seven classrooms, the total parking required as a result of the project is 178 stalls (112 per classroom and 66 for the largest shift of high school students on campus at one time). The project proposes to remove 41 existing parking spaces for the new classroom building but will add 85 stalls on the eastern side of campus. In total, 197 parking stalls will be provided on campus, exceeding the 178 stalls required by the Development Code.
Under the staff recommendation, parking for school staff and student drivers is designated at the rear of the site. The parking lots nearest West Lane, which have 77 parking spaces, will remain available to short-term visitors and student loading/unloading outside of the Drop-off and Pick-Up times. The applicant is agreeable to these parking designations.
Noise
Due to increased on-site traffic as a result of the proposed drop-off/pick-up circulation route, the project would result in an increase to ambient exterior noise levels for adjacent residences located at the south of the site. To reduce noise levels to an acceptable level, an eight-foot sound barrier is proposed along the southern border of the site. Currently, there is an existing six-foot wall that does not extend the full length of the southern property line. The applicant proposes to extend the existing sound wall to the terminus of the southern property line and install a sound barrier panel system to reach the required height of eight feet.
Changes to Conditions of Approval
The Use Permit Amendment would supersede the original Use Permit approval granted by the Planning Commission on March 12, 2009, revising and incorporating applicable conditions. The Use Permit Amendment will incorporate the following conditions of approval, shown below with strike-through/underline to illustrate revisions:
a. All signs pertaining to this use shall be approved by the Community Development Director or Planning Commission.
b. In the event the operation of this use should prove detrimental to the health, safety, peace or general welfare of the surrounding neighborhood, this Use Permit shall be subject to revocation or modification as provided in the Development Code.
c. The manually-operated gates at the northwest corner of the proposed development shall be maintained accessible for fire apparatus. A lock box or other approved means of opening the gate shall be required and approved by the Stockton Fire Department.
d. All public and private streets, alleys and access lanes that are designed within the proposed development with a width of less than 20 feet, shall be dedicated as fire lanes. All fire apparatus turnaround areas within the proposed development shall be properly maintained as fire lanes. No vehicle parking shall be allowed within the turnaround areas. All emergency vehicle access (EVA) roads shall be signed to prohibit parking.
e. Vehicular access to the project site to/from Sierra Nevada Street shall be limited to emergency vehicle access. Said access shall be gated and constructed in conformance with City Standards for fire access and shall remain locked (with City approved locking mechanism) at all times.
Required Findings
Approval of this application may be granted if the Planning Commission makes all findings of fact required by SMC 16.168.050(A). As described in the proposed resolution for the Use Permit Amendment, the proposed school is permitted in the RM zone with a Use Permit and complies with applicable provisions in the Development Code. The proposed project would strengthen the integrity and character of the surrounding neighborhood through improving traffic congestion on West Lane and neighborhood streets during drop-off and pick-up times and minimizing noise with the installation of a sound barrier, which support the quiet, low-traffic character of the residential neighborhood. The project is also consistent with the Medium Density Residential land use designation of the General Plan through supporting the integration of single-family neighborhoods with compatible uses, such as schools, consistent with the 2040 General Plan vision for the West Lane corridor north of Harding Way. The site is physically suitable for the proposed amendment, including the provision of utility services (e.g. sanitation and water), public access, and the absence of physical constraints (e.g. earth, movement, flooding, etc.). The proposed project improves the operating characteristics of the school, which improve the Schools’ compatibility with the existing and future land uses on-site and near the subject property.
Environmental Clearance
An Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration (IS/MND) was prepared for the project and circulated for public review and comment between January 8, 2019, and January 28, 2019 (Attachment G - Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration). The IS/MND identifies potentially significant environmental effects under the topic areas of Cultural Resources, Hazards and Hazardous Materials, Noise, Transportation, and Tribal Cultural Resources. For each potentially significant effect, the IS/MND identifies feasible mitigation measures reducing their severity to a less than significant level. If approved, the project would be subject to the Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program (MMRP) at the proposed CEQA resolution.
Attachment A - Location Map and Aerial Photograph
Attachment B - Comment Letters
Attachment C - Community Meeting Sign-In Sheet 01-17-19
Attachment D - Site Plan and Floor Plan
Attachment E - Circulation Plan
Attachment F - Access Management Plan
Attachment G - Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration
This staff report was prepared by Assistant Planner Allison Holmstedt, (209) 937-8267; Allison.Holmstedt@stocktonca.gov.