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HomeMy WebLinkAbout16. Agenda Report - COP Workshop Meeting - 3-13-23 - New HeritageComprehensive Plan Amendment CPA2022-003 File Number: CPA2022-003 Applicant: Broetje Orchards / New Heritage Description: Future Land Use Map Amendment: Industrial to Mixed Residential and Commercial Current Zoning: I-2 Medium Industrial District Address / Parcel(s) 112470014, 112430012, 112430021, 112462078, 112462096 Total Area (Acres) 197 Environmental Determination Determination of Significance, issued 06/07/2022, EIS Required 7 CPA2022-002 - FINDINGS Approval Criteria (PMC 25.215.020(8) 1. The proposed amendment bears a substantial relationship to the public health, safety, welfare, and protection of the environment. The application is required to prepare a non-project Environmental Impact Statement due to the potential for adverse environmental impacts associated with the proposal. The proposed amendment would introduce a significant number of new residential households in a historically industrial zoned area within close proximity to industrial users. The City has expressed concerns about the loss of industrial lands, the conversion of industrial lands, the impacts to current industrial users, and the incompatibility and potential consequences of the location of residents near and immediately within the proximity of industrial development. 2. The proposed amendment is consistent with the requirements of Chapter 36.70A RCW and with the portion of the City’s adopted Comprehensive Plan not affected by the amendment. RCW 36.70A.110 states that each County shall designate an Urban Growth Area (boundary), of sufficient densities, to permit urban growth that is project to occur in a twenty-year period. As part of this planning process, each city within the county must include areas sufficient to accommodate the broad range of needs and uses that will accompany the projected urban growth including, as appropriate, medical, governmental, institutional, commercial, service, retail, and other nonresidential uses. The site, and surrounding vicinity of the proposed amendment has historically been reserved for and planned for industrial uses. The consideration of this site was not deemed appropriate for the expansion of residential housing during the above noted analysis. The proposal is not consistent with the overall intent of the Goals and Policies of the Comprehensive Plan. 3. The proposed amendment corrects an obvious mapping error; or The proposed amendment does not correct a mapping error. 4. The proposed amendment addresses an identified deficiency in the Comprehensive Plan. The proposed amendment does not correct an identified deficiency in the Comprehensive Plan. Additional factors for consideration include (PMC 25.215.020(9): A. The effect upon the physical environment. The proposed amendment area is undeveloped and generally level. Vegetation is primarily volunteer grasses and irrigated agricultural crop circles. Grading and clearing of vegetation will have to take place at the site for future development. 8 B. The effect on open space and natural features including, but not limited to, topography, streams, rivers, and lakes. The site does not contain any designated open space or natural features Adequate measures within the Pasco Municipal Code, and the consideration of proposed mitigation measures will need to be evaluated and identified to accommodate the introduction of residential households to the site. C. The compatibility with and impact on adjacent land uses and surrounding neighborhoods. The site sites in a historically industrial land use and zoned area. To the north, Mixed Residential and Commercial Land Uses (both developed and vacant) are present. The planned development of the A-Street Soccer Complex, located west of the proposal site, by the Pasco Parks and Recreation was approved by the Pasco Hearing Examiner in September 2020. Within the immediate vicinity of the site are recently completed and planned industrial facilities. In total, approximately 4,510,000 square feet of industrial facilities surround the site. Best practices indicate that locating residential households within proximity to industrial lands and users is detrimental to the public health, safety, and welfare of residents. Particularly, residents are likelier to be exposed to higher concentrations of odor, noise, air pollution, and dust. The Washington Environmental Health Disparities Map indicates the proposal site experiences higher risks of environmental exposures from diesel exhaust, ozone concentration, PM2.5 concentration, proximity to heavy traffic roadways, and toxic releases from facilities. Staff does not consider the proposal to be compatible with adjacent land uses. D. The adequacy of and impact on community facilities, including utilities, roads, public transportation, parks, recreation, and schools; The site currently has access/frontage on W A Street. W A Street carries a classification of Minor-Arterial and provides connections to Heritage Blvd, Oregon Avenue, and Highway 12. Due to the significant size of the proposal site, the development of a transportation network is required to assist with the circulation and movement of residents. The current transportation system standards of the City of Pasco are not consistent with the adopted goals and policies of the Comprehensive Plan, or the recently adopted Transportation System Master Plan. The results of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) indicate that the preferred alternative would result in approximately 1,314 PM peak hour trips, and the need to improvements to 16 intersections to maintain adopted Level of Service Standards. The proposed amendment would increase the amount of demand on utility services compared to existing conditions on the site. The utility analysis in the DEIS indicate that the 9 alternatives of the proposal when compared to a potential future industrial use may be insignificant. Due to the significant increase of households, the DEIS identifies that site would host a future elementary school and a range of parks and recreational spaces. Staff has expressed concern that the DEIS does not identify impacts of increased residential households’ transportation demands, including the movement of local residential trips in conjunction with the increased industrial and freight-based uses and users in the immediate proximity. E. The quantity and location of land planned for the proposed land use type and density and the demand for such land; The proposed site (196 acres) represents approximately 3% of all industrially classified lands in the Pasco Urban Growth Area, and 10% of vacant industrial lands within the Pasco City Limits. There is an increasing demand for housing to accommodate future growth projections. By the year 2038, Pasco will have a population of nearly 122,000 residents, an increase of 42,000 residents from 2022 estimates. The increasing population growth will demand the construction of more affordable and attainable housing types, including a diverse range of units ranging from single-family detached to townhomes, apartments, and multifamily housing. Diverse housing options have been identified in both the preferred and medium density alternatives of the DEIS. Due to the size and configuration of the site, it has the potential to accommodate a significant number of future households and commercial services. The residential growth across the Urban Growth Area (and metropolitan region) will also increase the need for commercial and industrial lands. Policy LU-2A of the Comprehensive Plan requires the City to maintain n sufficient land designated to accommodate residential, commercial, industrial, educational, public facility, and open-space uses proximate to appropriate transportation and utility infrastructure. The introduction of a large number of residential households within close proximity of active industrial development may preclude future industrial development on available sites. Staff notes that it will be difficult to replace the loss of industrial lands within the Urban Growth Area that offers access to rail, highway, and complementary uses. F. The current and projected project density in the area; and The DEIS indicates that the Preferred Alternative would result in a residential density of 8.7 dwelling units per acre, and 5.8 dwelling units per acre under the medium density alternative. The current Industrial Land Use does not provide for a range of residential densities. The DEIS indicates that the site can accommodate (via the proposed alternatives) 1,028 – 1,354 housing units, or approximately 3,258 – 4,292 new residents. 10 G. The effect, if any, upon other aspects of the Comprehensive Plan. The 2018-2038 Comprehensive Plan calls for the adoption of several regulations, standards and strategies that implement transportation, housing, and parks and open space goals and policies. To date, the City has initiated and moved forward on several housing related initiatives. No updates to the transportation planning or park/open space standards or design have been adopted. The City has raised concerns that the DEIS does not provide adequate discussion or analysis of the large-scale change of the City’s existing planning and zoning designations for industrial use to a new residential-intensive use. Public and Agency Comment Staff has received comments on the proposal. Please see CPA2022-003 Staff Conclusion The proposal required a Determination of Significance in July 2022. The proposal applicants have submitted a Draft Environmental Impact Statement on September 23, 2022. The City (Lead Agency) has not yet issued the Final EIS. Typically, the issuance of a Final Environmental Impact Statement is required within 60 days of the comment period end date (November 11, 2022) except when the proposal is unusually large in scope, environmental impacts are unusually complex, or comments on the DEIS require extensive modifications. Staff highlights that the proposed amendment may support the development of much needed housing and commercial services in an area of the City that until recently, has largely remained undeveloped. New developments, along with the associated public and private investments are usually considered a benefit to communities. Staff also emphasizes that the proposed site is within the immediate vicinity, and close proximity of active developing, and upcoming development of large industrial users which will place a large amount of truck and freight trips on surrounding arterials and collector roadways. It is uncommon for the introduction of new housing and public services (schools and/or parks) near active industrial development sites. The implications of allowing, and locating a significant number of households adjacent to large, industrial, freight based users can cause irreprehensible harm to public health, and place an unfair or disproportionate burden on future residents. State Law and Pasco Municipal Code require that amendments to the Pasco Comprehensive Plan be considered concurrently, meaning, rather than adopting changes on a piecemeal basis, proposed amendments must be considered so the cumulative effect of the various proposals can be ascertained. Excluding this proposal and Broadmoor Master Plan, approximately 72 acres are proposed for Mixed Residential and Commercial designations in the 2022 docket. The 2018-2038 Comprehensive Plan and Urban Growth Area analysis has identified, outside of the proposal site for this application, where the City of Pasco can adequately accommodate projected housing growth. Therefore, the need to locate housing within the immediate proximity of industrial uses is not necessary to meet the demands of the growing population. The applicant and DEIS have followed the process of the State Environmental Policy Act and the Pasco Municipal Code. Due to the nature and context of the proposal staff recommends that the 11 Planning Commission provide feedback on the proposal, which may lead to additional mitigation measures. As expressed within the staff report, City staff have raised significant concerns on the proposal. The issuance of a Final Environmental Impact Statement may not be feasible given the timeframe necessary to accommodate the other proposed amendments. Thus, the City does not have sufficient information to date, that has adequately satisfied the requirements of SEPA to ensure that appropriate mitigation measures can be evaluated. Based on the evaluation criteria adopted by the Pasco City Council for Comprehensive Plan Amendments, the proposal does not meet the merits for approval. Staff does not recommend approval of the proposal. Planning Commission Recommendation The Planning Commission recommended in favor of the applications inclusion for approval as part of the 2022 Comprehensive Plan Amendment Docket on January 25, 2023. 12