DATE: June 28, 2016
TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: Development Services Director
SUBJECT
Title
Recommend Approval and Necessary Actions to Allow Establishment of California Crosspoint Middle and High School at 25500 Industrial Boulevard. California Crosspoint Middle and High School (Applicant)/ Lampert 25500 Industrial Blvd, LLC (Owner); Including a Mitigated Negative Declaration and Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program
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RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
The City Council adopts the attached resolution (Attachment I), adopting the Administrative Use Permit, Mitigated Negative Declaration, and Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program; and introduces the attached Ordinance (Attachment II) approving the zone change to Planned Development (PD) District to allow establishment of the California Crosspoint Middle and High School campus in phases.
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SUMMARY
The proposed project consists of a zone change request from Industrial District to PD (Planned Development) District to allow California Crosspoint Middle and High School (CCMHS), a private middle and high school, to occupy the former Heald College campus at 22500 Industrial Boulevard, which has been vacant since April 2015. Future phases of the project would involve construction of a gymnasium/community center, and a residential dormitory to house up to one hundred and fifty students and staff. The site is located on the west side of Industrial Boulevard at the edge of the Industrial District and shares much of its property boundary with multi-family residential uses. The site and setting at the periphery of the industrial area and adjacent to residential uses are appropriate for the proposed use, which would result in establishment of an internationally recognized college preparatory school in Hayward positioning the City as a leader in educational opportunities both regionally and internationally. The proposed project includes an Administrative Use Permit (AUP) with mitigation measures and conditions of approval to minimize and potential for nuisances related to the school. The AUP would take effect upon approval of the PD District rezoning.
BACKGROUND
Council Economic Development Committee Review: The proposed project was presented to the Council Economic Development Committee <https://hayward.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=2530751&GUID=1280F064-6021-478A-8BB7-DE4BD9B400F8> (CEDC) on December 7, 2015. As reflected in the minutes, <https://hayward.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=2559080&GUID=436CCC7D-5412-4F9C-A1BC-B613912CFB4E> the CEDC was supportive of the proposed project. Stated benefits of the project included establishment of an internationally recognized, top performing school in Hayward; the school’s unique partnership with sister schools in Southeast Asia that would bring global students and connections to Hayward; and opportunities for collaboration with nearby Chabot College and the Hayward Promise Community to expand opportunities for low-income Hayward students. The Committee expressed concern about the residential dormitory element and directed staff to include buffers from adjacent properties and elements to make it a safe, livable space, and to include sustainable building elements to the greatest extent possible.
Public Meeting: On Saturday, February 6, 2016, a public meeting was held at the proposed project site to provide information about the proposed school and to take neighbor comments on the project. Notices about the public meeting were sent to all property owners, businesses and residents within a three hundred foot radius of the project site, as well as interested parties. City and school staff and supporters attended the meeting; however, there were no members of the public present.
Planning Commission: On June 9, 2016, the Planning Commission <https://hayward.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=2743930&GUID=15CDF91B-102D-4780-AF4C-B656E5CFB69A&Options=&Search=> held a public hearing and voted 6:0:1, to recommend approval of the project. The Commission asked clarifying questions about school operations, surrounding traffic, and school bus and shuttle plans and suggested that the applicant include generous open and green spaces on the site when designing the master campus plan for future phases (as required per proposed Condition of Approval No. 23 of Attachment I). All five members of the public that spoke were in favor of the project.
DISCUSSION
Existing Conditions: The five and one-half acre project site is located at 25500 Industrial Boulevard (Assessor Parcel Number 441-0055-017-00). The site is currently developed with a 59,012 square foot, two-story structure built in 2001 to house Heald College. The well-maintained structure contains classrooms, laboratories, a student lounge and kitchen facility, administrative offices and restrooms. The structure is surrounded by a surface parking lot with 443 parking spaces and site landscaping.
Surrounding land uses include two small industrially zoned properties to the north (4.3 acres, occupied by a restoration contractor warehouse) and south (one-half acre developed with a multi-tenant building occupied by an auto repair and furniture sales businesses) of the site. Single family and multi-family residential uses are located north, east and south of the project site. Anthony W. Ochoa Middle School, Eden Gardens Elementary School, Life Chiropractic College West and Chabot College are located within one-half mile of the project site. A truck terminal and warehouse is located on industrially zoned land across the approximately seventy-five foot wide Industrial Boulevard to the west of the project site.
Zoning and General Plan: The proposed project site is zoned I (Industrial) District, which is intended to promote a desirable and attractive working environment with a minimum of detriment to surrounding properties. Vocational schools for individuals above 12th grade are conditionally permitted in the I District; however, K-12 Educational Facilities are not permitted.
The site has an Industrial Technology and Innovation Corridor General Plan land use designation. Educational facilities are not specifically listed as a supporting use in the applicable General Plan description; however, the General Plan also notes that the absence of the specific use from the description should not be interpreted to preclude land uses or developments without consideration of the site, the surrounding neighborhood and the guiding principles, goals and policies of the General Plan. Thus, the specific site and surrounding uses are essential in determining compatibility and fulfillment of City goals and policies.
The proposed project, which includes an educational campus with ancillary uses, is consistent with General Plan policies that would support the proposed project including General Plan policies that support complete neighborhoods (Land Use (LU)-3.1); mixes of uses and activities (LU-5.1); flexible land use regulations (LU-5.2); and adaptive reuse of existing buildings (LU-5.6). Other applicable Goals and Policies relate to improving Hayward’s “education-to-job bridge” through community partnerships that prepare students and residents for the future economy (Education and Lifelong Learning Goal 4); and Economic Development Goal 5, to encourage economic investment by enhancing the image and reputation of Hayward, which would be bolstered by the establishment of an internationally recognized, college preparatory campus in the community.
It is important to note that the General Plan also contains Policy LU-6.5, Incompatible Uses, related to protecting the Industrial Technology and Innovation Corridor from the encroachment of uses that would impair industrial operations or create future land use conflicts. However, as described under the Proposed Project - Zone Change Section below, staff believes that the specific site, structure, setting, and surrounding uses are compatible with the project as proposed.
Proposed Project: The proposed project includes rezoning to PD District to allow California Crosspoint Middle and High School, subject to an AUP.
Zone Change: The purpose of the PD District is establish development procedures and standards whereby lands may be developed most appropriately to maintain and enhance the advantages of a site; and, to allow a diversification in the relationship of uses that may not be achievable under other zoning districts.
Staff believes that the proposed zone change to allow the private school campus with ancillary gymnasium and residential dormitory use is appropriate for the specific site and is consistent with the underlying Industrial General Plan land use designation based on the site characteristics and immediate setting. Specifically, the proposed large scale school campus would re-use an existing building that was designed to accommodate an educational use. In addition, other public assembly uses that are very similar to educational facilities, such as cultural centers, recreation centers, churches, are conditionally permitted in Industrial areas depending on land use compatibility. Land use compatibility is defined as a condition in which land uses can coexist in relative proximity to each other such that no use is negatively impacted by another. When reviewing uses for land use compatibility, staff considers the noise, air quality, proximity of and exposure to hazardous materials, and odors among other factors in formulating a determination.
The project site is located at the western edge of the Industrial District and is separated from the core Industrial District by the seventy-five foot wide Industrial Boulevard right-of-way (Attachment V). It is sandwiched between two small industrial sites, which are being used as a contractor, auto repair, and furniture wholesale establishment. The remaining land uses surrounding the site are residential and quasi-public (cemetery and schools). The relative distance of the proposed project site from the Industrial District core would minimize any potentially negative impact from establishment of the school on the Industrial District as a whole.
Staff also believes that there is positive land use compatibility between the proposed use and the immediately adjacent land uses. Specifically, the project site shares eight hundred and eighty lineal feet of property boundary with an adjacent multi-family residential complex and the proposed residential dormitory element would be nestled along that shared property line. The school would provide a good buffer between Industrial Boulevard and industrial uses to the west of the neighborhood and the residential neighborhoods east of the project site.
School Operations: CCMHS is a private, college preparatory school established in 1979. The school currently operates in City of Alameda with an enrollment of approximately two hundred high school students. If approved, CCMHS would move current operations from Alameda to the Hayward campus location.
The proposed school would operate Monday through Friday, mid-August through the end of May with typical breaks for holidays and staff training. A summer program would run from mid-June through the end of July. The typical school day would run from 8:20 a.m. to 3:20 p.m. during the school year and from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. during the summer program. Staff is expected to arrive on the campus as early as 7 a.m. and some staff and students will stay on campus for extracurricular activities on weeknights until about 6 p.m.
Students would arrive at and leave the school either by private vehicle or school shuttle. The school will operate a shuttle service with pick-up at two different stops in San Leandro and Alameda. About 80% of the current school population lives within the catchment area of the planned shuttle locations. If future enrollment changes the catchment area, the school may relocate shuttle locations. The school will operate under a closed campus policy; thus, students will not leave the campus for lunch.
Project Phasing: The proposed project would occur over three phases. Phase One would include initial occupation of the building in August 2016 with a total of 250 students (two hundred high school students and fifty middle school students). Student capacity would increase through growth in enrollment, which is estimated at ten percent per year. Ultimately, the school would grow to about six hundred students at full build-out, which would take about eight to ten years at the projected rate of growth. At full build out, there would be a total of seventy staff members with about fifty-five staff members on the campus at any one given time.
Occupation of the existing structure would not require interior tenant improvements, and it is sized to accommodate the school at full build-out. Minimal Phase One site improvements would include installation of an eight-foot tall wrought iron security fence/gate and installation of moveable basketball standards in the northern parking lot for outdoor Physical Education classes and recreation areas for students (Attachment III, Page 1).
Phase Two (expected completion in 2019) would include construction of an approximately 42,000 square foot, two-story community center with gymnasium, fitness center, assembly hall, commercial kitchen and multi-use classrooms and related site modifications (see Attachment III, Page 2). The community center would be used for school-related athletics and fitness courses; community uses and events; and, if there is a demonstrated community need and demand, a pre-school for up to fifty children.
Phase Three (expected completion in 2021) would include construction of an approximately 56,100 square foot dormitory residence hall for approximately one hundred and forty students and ten staff members, a student plaza, and related site modifications (see Attachment III, Page 3). The residence hall would have eighty to one hundred rooms, a dining hall, recreation room, and lounge.
Staff recommends specific conditions to ensure that subsequent phases of development are consistent with applicable development and performance standards and design guidelines. Subject to proposed Condition of Approval No. 21, each of the future phases described above would undergo project-specific Site Plan Review. The ultimate locations, heights, and size of the proposed structures may shift on the site; however, they will not be larger than described in this staff report and the Initial Study prepared for the project. Proposed Condition No. 23 would require that the applicant submit a Master Site Plan showing pedestrian walkways, plazas and outdoor gathering areas, parking areas, and a circulation and queuing plan with the first Site Plan Review application. To support environmental sustainability on the site, staff also recommends that new structures include photovoltaic panels or other alternative energy systems (Condition No. 24), which is consistent with City priorities to minimize stationary source emissions from the site.
It is essential to note that the site would meet minimum parking requirements at build out, which will be verified through the Site Plan Review process.
Environmental Review: An Initial Study evaluating the potential environmental impacts of the project was prepared in accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) (Attachment IV) and released for a thirty day public review between May 16, 2016 and June 14, 2016. A Notice of Intent to Adopt a Negative Declaration (NOI) was filed with the Alameda County Clerk and the State Clearinghouse on May 16, 2016. On that same date, the NOI and the Initial Study were posted at City Hall and delivered to the Hayward libraries. Copies of the NOI were sent to interested parties and property owners within 300 feet of the project site and published in The Daily Review on May 20, 2016.
The Initial Study found that the proposed project would result in potential impacts in the areas of Air Quality, Geology/Soils, Noise, and Transportation/Traffic as well as Mandatory Findings of Significance; and contains mitigation measures reducing the identified impacts to a level of less than significant and that were included as conditions of the approval of the project. It is important to note that Impacts Trans-1 and Trans-2 involve a Caltrans-owned facility (Industrial Boulevard at State Route 92 West Bound Ramps) that is projected to operate unsatisfactorily under both Background Conditions (Year 2021) and Cumulative Conditions (Year 2035). The proposed mitigation measures for these identified impacts involve minor optimization of signal timing which falls under Caltrans’ jurisdiction.
On June 14, 2016, the City received a comment letter from Caltrans (Attachment VI) acknowledging the project impacts and proposed mitigation measures; requesting that the MMRP include a discussion about the project’s fair share contribution, financing, scheduling and implementation responsibilities; and that the project include vehicle trip reduction measures to the greatest extent possible. The MMRP (Attachment IV) contains the requisite mitigation measure language and the mitigation measures were all included as conditions of approval for the project. In addition, the proposed project does include a robust shuttle and bussing program to minimize single occupancy vehicle trips to the site.
SUSTAINABILITY FEATURES
1. Energy: Electricity/Natural Gas/Other Fossil Fuels.
The proposed project involves a rezoning request to allow re-use of an existing developed site. According to recommended Condition of Approval No. 24, future phases of the project will be required to install solar panels or an alternative energy system to reduce stationary source emissions.
2. Water: Efficiency and Conservation.
The project which involves re-use of an existing developed site. Future phases of development will be required to meet or exceed City code requirements with respect to water efficient landscaping, as well as CalGreen standards for water use.
3. Air: Air Emissions of Pollutants.
The project involves re-use of an existing developed site. In Phase 1, the school will operate a shuttle system in order to reduce single occupancy vehicle travel to the site thus reducing mobile source emissions and related greenhouse gases. In addition, construction-related mitigation measures are included as Conditions of Approval of the school and all future phases of development, which would reduce air emissions of pollutants.
4. Solid Waste: Waste Diversion and Reduction.
The proposed project has a trash enclosure sized to accommodate three waste stream bins (trash, recyclables and organics) and will include separated receptacles within the structure.
5. Transportation: Consistent with the City’s Complete Streets Policy.
The project does not involve creation of any new public right-of-way and would thus not result in modification of any City streets. Future phases of development will be reviewed for on-site pedestrian and bicycle connections for students, staff and residents pursuant to Condition No. 23.
ECONOMIC IMPACT
The site has been vacant since April 2015. The proposed rezoning and establishment of the school in this location would activate the site and surrounding area by bringing students, parents, and employees to site on a daily basis during school and summer program months. In addition, the private school is a well-established and respected college preparatory school with projected increases from two hundred and fifty students in the inaugural year to a full build-out of six hundred students and up to seventy staff over the course of the next ten years. Further, the school has numerous sister schools in Southeast Asia that would offer extension programs to and from those countries thereby establishing deep connections between Hayward and international communities that could result in increased investment and economic benefits to the City.
FISCAL IMPACT
The proposed rezoning to PD District is intended to allow establishment of CCMHS in the building that was formerly used as Heald College. Thus the former institutional use would be replaced with an institutional use with a later phase residential component that would be ancillary to the primary institutional use on the site.
According to the City of Hayward Fiscal Impact Model (2014) prepared by Applied Development Economics, Inc., the project would generate an estimated $46,668 in annual revenue and approximately $33,799 in annual costs related to City services resulting in a net positive impact of $12,869 per year.
Direct economic impacts include the increased revenue experienced by businesses that are patronized by school’s visitors, employees, students and parents. Indirect benefits include additional spending or investment made by those businesses. Please also see Attachment VII, Community Fiscal Impact, for a broad discussion of both quantitative and qualitative impacts related to the proposed project.
PUBLIC CONTACT
On June 16, 2016, six hundred and forty-eight notices of this public hearing and the Notice of Intent to Adopt a Mitigated Negative Declaration were sent to all residents and property owners within a 300-foot radius of the project site and to interested parties who requested to be notified about the project. In addition, notice of this public hearing was published in The Daily Review on June 18, 2016.
NEXT STEPS
Following Council approval, the Ordinance approving the PD rezoning will return to the City Council for a second reading. If approved by the Council, Phase One of the proposed school will be immediately established, subject to the approved Conditions of Approval of the Administrative Use Permit, to accommodate the inaugural class starting in fall 2016.
Prepared by: Leigha Schmidt, AICP, Senior Planner
Staff contact
Recommended by: David Rizk, AICP, Development Services Director
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Approved by:
Fran David, City Manager
Attachments:
Attachment I Resolution with Conditions of Approval
Attachment II Ordinance
Attachment III Project Plans
Attachment IV Initial Study, Mitigated Negative Declaration and Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Plan (please see the ’Citys CEQA Review Webpage <http://www.hayward-ca.gov/content/projects-under-environmental-review-0> for all appendices)
Attachment V Industrial Corridor Project Context Map
Attachment VI Caltrans Comment Letter on Mitigated Negative Declaration
Attachment VII CCMHS Community Fiscal Impact
Attachment VIII Area and Zoning Map