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HomeMy WebLinkAbout16 - Request for a Fee Waiver for the Environmental Nature Center Preschool Located at 745 Dover Drive (PA2015-066)CTY OF F NEWPORT BEACH City Council Staff Report April 14, 2015 Agenda Item No. 16 TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL FROM: Kimberly Brandt, Community Development Director — (949) 644 -3226, kbrandt @newportbeachca.gov PREPARED BY: Fern Nueno, Associate Planner PHONE: (949) 644 -3227 TITLE: Request for a Fee Waiver for the Environmental Nature Center Preschool Located at 745 Dover Drive (PA2015 -066) ABSTRACT: A request to waive zoning entitlement and building plan check and permit fees for a preschool application totaling approximately $24,000. RECOMMENDATION: a) Find this action is not subject to the California Environmental Quality Act ( "CEQA ") pursuant to Sections 15060(c)(2) (the activity will not result in a direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment) and 15260(c)(3) (the activity is not a project as defined in Section 15378) of CEQA; and b) Approve a waiver of zoning entitlement, building plan check fees, building construction permit fees, and encroachment permit fees associated with development of a preschool located at 745 Dover Drive. FUNDING REQUIREMENTS: The estimated reduction of General Fund revenue is $24,000. DISCUSSION: The Environmental Nature Center ( "ENC ") requests a waiver of zoning entitlement processing fees, building plan check fees, and building construction permit fees associated with the construction of the ENC Preschool. The ENC is a non - profit 501(c) -3 public benefit corporation located at 1601 16th Street (Vicinity Map provided as Attachment No. CC 1). Their mission is to provide quality education through hands -on experience with nature. As stated in the project description (Attachment No. CC 2), the preschool would include an approximately 7,000- square -foot building, 40,000 square feet of adjoining play area, and 25 parking spaces. The preschool would be limited to a maximum of 72 students, would have approximately 10 staff members, and would be open from 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. 16 -1 Pursuant to Section 3.36.030(E) of the Municipal Code, Council has the authority to waive fees for services. However, Council does not have the authority to waive fees collected on behalf of any other public agency. Therefore, the applicant would be responsible for a portion of the permit fees related to other agencies, including the seismic safety, green building, sanitation district, and school district fees. The estimated fees for the preschool are shown below; however, the permit costs for accessory structures (retaining walls, shade structures, etc.) or other related construction that cannot be estimated at this time may increase the total plan check and permit fees to be waived. Approximate Preschool Construction - Related City Fees City Fees Amount Proposed to be Waived Remaining Fees to be Paid (Other Agencies Minor Use Permit $2,047 Plan Check/Permit $19,372.14 $15,918.40 Encroachment Permit $2,500 Total: $23,919.14 $15,918.40 Additionally, the applicant will be required to pay approximately $34,900 for preparation of a traffic study pursuant to the City's Traffic Phasing Ordinance. The applicant is also responsible for payment of fair share traffic fees that are estimated at $95,565.60; however, the City Manager has the authority to reduce or waive these fees, and the applicant may pursue such a fee waiver or reduction at a later date. It is also important to note that if the City waives fees in excess of $25,000, the applicant will be required to comply with the California Labor Code requirements for payment of the general prevailing rate of per diem wages for construction. When the ENC was constructed in 2007, the City waived approximately $54,144 in fees because the City was a contributor to the project; the fees included: Use Permit: $2,200 Plan Check/Building Permit: $49,790.05 Encroachment Permit: $2,154.10 In their current request for a fee waiver (Attachment No. CC 4), the ENC states that the preschool would be an extension of the existing facility and integrated within it. For example, similar outdoor learning stations at the ENC will be replicated at the preschool, and visitors to each may cross over from the preschool to the ENC (and back) depending on school hours and safety issues. Additionally, the preschool is expected to score high in LEED points, be exceptionally water - conservation friendly, and will have an advanced stormwater protection system to serve as another educational node and as a water quality - protective measure for the region. The ENC stresses, too, that they have been a significant contributor to the community in terms of training and educating children, young adults, and adults on the importance of understanding nature by providing programs, tours, and hands -on experiences with a wide range of activities. The fee waiver is intended to enable them to more feasibly accomplish the proposed expansion of their mission. ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW: Staff recommends the City Council find this action is not subject to the California Environmental Quality Act ( "CEQA ") pursuant to Sections 15060(c)(2) (the activity will not result in a direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment) and 15260 (c)(3) (the activity is not a project as defined in Section 15378) of the State CEQA Guidelines, California Code of Regulations, Title 14, Chapter 3, because it has no potential for resulting in physical change to the environment, directly or indirectly. Any future development application would be reviewed for compliance with CEQA requirements. 16 -2 NOTICING: The agenda item has been noticed according to the Brown Act (72 hours in advance of the meeting at which the City Council considers the item). ATTACHMENTS: Description Attachment CC 1 - Vicinity Mao Attachment CC 2 - Proiect Description Attachment CC 3 - Request Letter 16 -3 Attachment No. CC 1 Vicinity Map 16 -4 F Vicinity Map Environmental Nature Center: 1601 16`h Street Preschool Site: 745 Dover Drive 16 -5 Attachment No. CC 2 Project Description 16 -6 Design Review Committee (DRC) Project: Environmental Nature Center Preschool Project Address: 745 Dover Drive Newport Beach, CA Owner: Bo Glover, Executive Director (boCa)encenter.org, 949/645 -0618) Owner's Agent: Carol McDermott (carol a()eallc1.com, 949/422 -2303) Draft Project Description: Enrollment at the center will be limited to a maximum of 72 students in a single "all day" session. That session would include an instructional core (for all 72 students) beginning at 9 AM and concluding at 3 PM. Parents would also have the option to enroll their student in before school care (7 AM to 9AM) and /or after school care (3 PM to 6 PM). The core program plus both care ( "before" and "after ") elements would lead to a typical operating day for the ENC Nature Preschool extending from 7 AM though 6 PM. It should be noted that programs would restart annually, meaning that essentially the same 72 students would be enrolled continuously throughout a school year. This recurring student population format would add to an ongoing understanding and familiarity by student families as related to site access and parking operations. The site plan provides a total of 25 parking spaces (an equivalent composite ratio of 0.347 spaces per student), and these spaces would have the greatest utilization during the morning drop off and afternoon pick -up periods. In practice, parents of students in the preschool age group would "drop off' continuously throughout the 7 AM through 9 AM arrival "window', and do so by parking in one of these spaces and walking their child into the Preschool, then retrieving their vehicle and leaving the site. The afternoon pick up would reverse this pattern and occur continuously within the 3 PM to 6 PM departure "window ". Drop off and pick up at the curb, which is more typical of elementary school grade levels and above, is not a recommended practice for the preschool age group. The City of Newport Beach Off - Street Parking Requirements do not specify an explicit parking ratio for school uses, and instead establish the parking requirements by way of a Conditional Use Permit. In their 4th Edition publication of Parking Generation, the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) has established peak parking demand needs (ratios) from empirical studies of a variety of land use types. That research includes Land Use: 565 Day Care Center, the description of which is most consistent with the setting and operating expectations for the ENC Nature Preschool. The ITE baseline reflects an empirical compilation from 40 existing sites, averaging 85 students per location. The parking demand data was compiled for both the morning arrival and afternoon departure periods, when spaces are in use for both on -site staff and parents dropping off or picking up their child. s 16 -7 The ITE compilation indicates an average (among the study sites) peak parking demand of 0.24 vehicles per student. This is a "blended" ratio that accounts for the aggregate parking needs of parents, staff, administration and any other visitors on a per student basis. Additionally, the ITE data reports a 95 percent confidence interval of 0.21 -0.26 vehicles per student, and an 85th percentile value of 0.33 vehicles per student. The proposed 25 -space project supply translates to a provision ratio of 0.347 space per student and thus exceeds the study average, 95 percent confidence interval, and 85th percentile values published by ITE. It also exceeds values coming from local area field studies (Huntington Beach and Irvine) for other sites with comparable preschool schedules and programming. On that basis, the site plan parking supply provisions balance with the design level needs for this school type as suggested by the professional literature. The sizing of the 25 -space on -site parking supply coupled with a two -hour morning arrival "window" and three -hour afternoon /early evening departure "window" will provide a platform to manage the parent drop off and pick up activity within each period. Each "window" will provide the basis to "spread" this activity throughout the period, and avoid the spikes in activity more typical to elementary and other schools where all students arrive in a single 30- minute period before the "first bell ", and depart in a similar period at the end of the class day. The length of the arrival and departure windows at ENC Nature Preschool will cause some parents to naturally stagger their timing within these periods based on their own family schedules, and /or their election to enroll their student in the before and /or after school programs. ENC will not rely on this natural tendency alone, but will prepare a parking and arrival /departure management plan to maximize safety and convenience as well as minimize congestion and queuing in each period. That plan will be communicated to all student families, and will involve an outreach to those families to coordinate their desired drop- off /pick -up timeframes within each window so as to best frame the plan. Additionally, the plan is expected to include a real - time on -site management component to assure that the activity in each period is coordinated with the underlying plan. Surrounding land use is as follows: North: Assisted Living Facility /Retail and Office East: Dover Drive South: Single Family Residential West: Environmental Nature Center Storm drain and sewer easements (25' wide) border the southerly property line and impose certain restrictions which prevent development within the 25' except for access and landscaping. Special Issues: There exists some non - native species of trees along the southerly property line. Future plans call for these trees to be removed and replaced with native species. z `M. - 2. Along the southerly property line, there exists a chain link fence that was intended to be placed along the property line. However, the fence meanders along the property line, sometimes encroaching onto the ENC Preschool site and sometimes upon the properties to the south. (See attached drawing.) A goal of this project is to place a wall /fence correctly on the property line based on an engineered survey. The ENC will be working with the adjoining owners on this matter. 3. With the correct alignment of the wall /fence on the property line, water from the southerly properties will need to be conveyed to the storm drain infrastructure in Dover Drive. K] 16 -9 Attachment 1 Project Philosophy and Facility Approach The pre - school program will be consistent with the mission of the Environmental Nature Center as follows: To provide quality education through hands -on experience with nature. To this end, the project will be designed to include: a. The incorporation of photovoltaic panels on the northern slope adjacent to the property line. b. As utilized at the ENC, use of minimal irrigation to establish landscape material and then reduction of irrigation to an 'as- needed' basis. C. Collection of roof run -off for irrigation and educational purposes. d. Collection, clean -up, and release of all water from the site. Due to the poor percolation rate of the site, the water will be discharged into the storm sewer in the street, consistent with RWQCB requirements e. Incorporation of natural materials. 0 16 -10 Attachment 2 ENC Nature Preschool Daily Schedule: 7 -9AM Before School Care. Children are free to select and concentrate on appropriate activities, alone or with friends. 9:OOAM Circle time: Greeting songs, stories, games, show and tell, weather, calendar, introduction of new activities and discussion. 9:30AM Work time: May be indoors and /or outside. Children are immersed in activities that are interesting and appropriate for their level of development. 10:30AM Snack time 11:OOAM Naturalist time: Group gathering for songs and stories and group large motor activities such as games, music and yoga and activities designed by staff Naturalists (i.e. live animals, science experiments, nature activities) 12:OOPM Lunch time 1:OOPM Outdoor adventures: Time for unstructured play and guided explorations with nature! Activities include climbing, water play, sand play, fort building, digging, gardening, and dramatic play. 2:OOPM Rest time: Crafts and Outdoor time. 3 -6PM: After School Care. F-I 16 -11 Attachment No. CC 3 Request Letter 16 -12 e ne c Environmental Nature Center Mrs. Kimberly Brandt Community Development Director City of Newport Beach 100 Civic Center Drive Newport Beach, CA 92660 Re: Requested fee waiver for Environmental Nature Center Pre - School Dear Mrs. Brandt: This is to request a fee waiver of the entitlement processing fees and building department fees for the proposed Environmental Nature Center (ENC) Pre - School to be located at 745 Dover Drive, Newport Beach. The pre - school is an extension of the existing nature center and will include a 7,000 s.f. building with an adjoining play area of 40,000 s.f. As you know, the ENC, a non - profit organization, has been a significant contributor to the community in terms of training and educating children, young adults and adults on the importance of understanding nature by providing programs, tours and hands -on experiences with the a wide range of activities. ENC now wishes to expand their mission to be able to train even younger children in the importance of understanding nature by attending pre - school in a natural setting. As a result of these community benefits, we are requesting a waiver of fees so as to enable us to accomplish this expansion of our mission more feasibly. I have attached the project description to more fully explain our proposal. I am happy to be available for questions and also feel free to contact our consultant, Carol McDermott at (949) 422 -2303. Sincerely, Bo Glover Executive Director Cc: Carol McDermott 1601 Sixteenth Street, Newport Beach, CA 92663 -5977 60, (949) 645 -8489 • FAX (949) 645 -0618 16 -13