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Home My WebLink About21 Res 2021-50 Increase Public Notification Under CEQA and ZOA STAFF REPORT CITY OF PALM DESERT DEVELOPMENT SERVICES DEPARTMENT DATE: July 8, 2021 PREPARED BY: Eric Ceja, Interim Director of Development Services REQUEST: Consideration of a Resolution increasing public notification for certain development projects, establishing policies related to community engagement for said projects, and directing staff to initiate a Zoning Ordinance Amendment (ZOA) related to changes to Chapter 25.60.060 Public Hearing and Public Notice. Recommendation By Minute Motion, adopt Resolution 2021-50 increasing public notification requiring community engagement plans for certain projects under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and directing staff to initiate a ZOA to Chapter 25.60.060. Strategic Plan • Land Use, Housing & Open Space – Priority 2: “Facilitate development of high- quality housing for people of all income levels.” • Land Use, Housing & Open Space – Priority 5: “Utilize progressive land use policies and standards to support ongoing and future needs.” Background Analysis Community engagement, particularly related to new real estate development proposals, remains a core focus of the City. However, in some cases, long-range planning projects, including the General Plan, the Housing Element, and residential and commercial projects, are subject to criticism that insufficient community input was encouraged during the planning process. As such, staff is proposing modifications for the following: • That the City increases public notification beyond the City’s typical 300-foot radius around a proposed project’s perimeter. • That the developers of projects of certain sizes are required to prepare a community engagement plan and submit said plan at the time of application submittal. • That the Land Development Division (Planning) staff review the engagement plans and include public outreach meetings early in the review process. • That staff is also in attendance in community meetings for note-taking and providing a summary of the meeting to the Architectural Review Commission, Planning July 8, 2021 – Staff Report Public Notification Page 2 of 3 \\srv-everyone\everyone\Staff Reports - Shared 2\Staff Reports 07-08-2021\4 - City Clerk - 7-8-2021\21 Res 2021-50 Increase Public Notification Under CEQA and ZOA\01 CC Staff Report (Noticing).doc Commission, and City Council (if applicable). • That the developer is cooperative in working with City staff and the community in making project modifications to address issues identified in the public outreach meetings. • Sufficient disclosure is put forth in real estate transaction closing documents. Discussion Staff believes that the requested items above are reasonable for certain types of development projects, particularly a community engagement mandate for developers and disclosure statements at the time of real property transactions. However, not all projects are equal and many smaller projects, particularly those in more urbanized areas of the City, and projects that are exempt from the CEQA should continue a public noticing requirement of 300 feet around the project’s perimeter. For development proposals greater than five acres in size and not exempt from CEQA, the community would benefit from greater input early in the review process. Given that the project sizes are larger and likely in areas that are less developed, an increase of the public notification package to 1,000 feet would benefit residents, staff, and the developer alike. Requiring a community engagement plan from the developer will allow staff to work with the developer to identify public outreach meeting dates, identify potentially interested parties, and require the developer to coordinate the notification of the meeting with property owners within 1,000 feet of their project. This would be a cooperative effort between the developer and staff to ensure that public presentations of the project are done early in the review process. With staff’s attendance at the meeting, formal minutes will be taken, and an overview of public concerns and how the developer addressed them will be provided to the appropriate hearing bodies. Staff will also include modifications to the project based on public feedback in the staff report. As a condition of approval for all residential, owner-occupied projects, the developer will agree to publicly disclose the City’s General Plan Land Use, Circulation, and Housing Element adjacent to their site to all prospective buyers. Said disclosures shall be included in the closing documents. Although a Council Resolution supporting these changes will im mediately help, staff suggests that the Municipal Code be amended to codify these requirements. Staff seeks the City Council’s direction to initiate a ZOA to reflect the changes discussed in this report, particularly as they relate to Chapter 25.60.060 Public Hearing and Public Notice. Recommendation Based on the discussion, staff recommends that the City Council adopt Resolution 2021-50 requiring that developers: 1. Developers to prepare and submit a community engagement plan to the Land Development Division (Planning) staff at the time of project submittal. ' July 8, 2021 — Staff Report Public Notification Page 3 of 3 2. 3. 4. 5. The developer coordinate with staff for the notification of community meetings with property owners within 1,000 feet of the proposed project. That staff is present at the meeting(s), provide minutes, and provide a summary of public concerns and how the developer responded to those concerns. This summary will be provided in the staff report submitted to the appropriate hearing bodies. For projects greater than five acres in size and not exempt from CEQA, the City increases the public notification package from 300 feet to 1,000 feet. As a condition of approval on residential and/or owner-occupied projects, the developer will disclose, as part of any closing documents, the City's General Plan Land Use, Circulation, and Housing Elements adjacent to their project. Staff also recommends the City Council direct staff to initiate a ZOA to Chapter 25.60.060 Public Hearing and Public Notice. Staff anticipates this could be ready for City Council's consideration in August 2021. Fiscal Analvsis There is no fiscal impact related to the staff's proposal. LEGAL REVIEW N/A DEPT. REVIEW G�'� �1Q Robert W. Hargreaves Eric Ceja, Interim Director City Attorney of Development Services City Manager L Todd Hileman: L. Todd Fti.levuqvi. FINANCIAL REVIEW N/A Janet Moore Director of Finance C'TY COUVCTLACTiON ,�;"PROVEN X 1w I:CEIVET�� ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER 7nd� firestine Andy Firestine Assistant Citv Manaqer DF.NTF.T� oT►rrR 1'a7';GTINGDATF n�"O�' 2C�L1 t1,�'rS• H/'p�c v.;k ��o�..ek4e�., tJ es�o.�at. C�u;w�c,H;lla , kel� � �+��.�e:�' �1o�c � ttSENT: P1o..e �+13STAIN: �'''�t ��G;RIFICD BY• MCaS / lvvi Cf�iginal on L� iEc tit�i;h City Clcrk's Of6ce w:AStafl Reports - Shared 2\StaH Roports OZOB-2o2iAa - Gry Glerk -]�8�202iA21 Nes 202450 Increese Publlc Noldmation Undor CEOA antl ZONAo 1 CC S�aif Report (Notinngl.tloc [This page has intentionally been left blank.] CITY COUNCIL RESOLUTION NO. 2021-50 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PALM DESERT, CALIFORNIA, INCREASING PUBLIC NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS FOR CERTAIN DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS, ESTABLISHING POLICIES RELATED TO COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT FOR SAID PROJECTS, AND DIRECTING STAFF TO INITIATE A ZONING ORDINANCE AMENDMENT (ZOA) RELATED TO CHANGES TO CHAPTER 25.60.060 PUBLIC HEARING AND PUBLIC NOTICE WHEREAS, the City acknowledges the importance of public participation in the planning and development of the community and that public participation in this process leads to better outcomes in addressing community concerns and requests; and WHEREAS, City staff and developers should engage the surrounding community early in the process to ensure potential community concerns are heard and addressed; and WHEREAS, the City supports increasing the public mailing notification of certain development projects to a broader audience; and WHEREAS, larger development projects, particularly those that are non-exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), benefit from greater public participation and community support; and WHEREAS, public notification for non-exempt CEQA projects should be increased from 300 feet to 1,000 feet to achieve the above-referenced statements; and WHEREAS, as part of the planning application and review process, developers will submit a “community engagement plan” to be reviewed and approved by City staff to ensure adequate community engagement efforts are achieved; and WHEREAS, homebuyers should receive sufficient notification through closing documents of long-term planning efforts and potential future development identified in the City’s General Plan; and WHEREAS, these acknowledgments should be codified by an ordinance, and the City Council is supportive of amending Palm Desert Municipal Code Chapter 25.60.060 Public Hearing and Public Notices, and directs staff to initiate a ZOA in support of the statement above to be brought back at a later date; and WHEREAS, all other legal prerequisites to the adoption of this Resolution have occurred. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PALM DESERT, CALIFORNIA, AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Recitals. The City Council hereby finds that the foregoing recitals are true and correct and are incorporated herein as substantive findings of this Resolution. CITY COUNCIL RESOLUTION NO. 2021-50 2 SECTION 2. Custodian of Records. The documents and materials that constitute the record of proceedings in which these findings are based are located at the City’s office at 73- 510 Fred Waring Drive, Palm Desert, California 92260. Gloria Sanchez, the Acting City Clerk, is the custodian of the record of proceedings. SECTION 3. Execution of Resolution. The Mayor of the City Council signs this Resolution and the City Clerk shall attest, and certify to the passage and adoption thereof. PASSED, APPROVED, AND ADOPTED by the City Council of the City of Palm Desert, California, at its regular meeting held on the 8th day of July 2021, by the following vote, to wit: AYES: NOES: ABSENT: ABSTAIN: KATHLEEN KELLY, MAYOR ATTEST: M. GLORIA SANCHEZ, ACTING CITY CLERK CITY OF PALM DESERT, CALIFORNIA