Report to Mayor and City Council
Tuesday, March 21, 2023
Special Orders of the Day
SUBJECT:
Title
PUBLIC HEARING TO CONSIDER RESOLUTION NO. 23-062, A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CARSON APPROVING AND CERTIFYING THE FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT, ADOPTING THE MITIGATION MONITORING AND REPORTING PROGRAM, ADOPTING THE CEQA FINDINGS AND STATEMENT OF OVERRIDING CONSIDERATIONS, AND ADOPTING GENERAL PLAN AMENDMENT NO. 115-23, THE CITY OF CARSON 2040 GENERAL PLAN UPDATE (CITY COUNCIL)
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I. SUMMARY
On February 21, 2023, the City Council considered the General Plan and its associated EIR, continued it to March 21, 2023, and provided direction to staff on the following topics:
• Legal Non-Conforming Uses
• Business Residential Mixed-Use
• Shell Property
• Economic Development Strategic Plan
• Community Outreach
• Prohibited Uses
• Flex District
This City Council’s direction is reflected in Section 4 of the attached resolution, Exhibit 1. After the approval of the General Plan, the provisions of Section 4 and further direction provided by the City Council during the hearing will be incorporated into the General Plan document.
The City Council directed staff to conduct a survey and hold a stakeholder’s meeting with the industry (landowners and businesses). This meeting is scheduled for March 17, 2023. Since the stakeholder meeting will be held after posting the agenda, staff will provide the results of this meeting during staff’s presentation.
II. RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
1. OPEN the Public Hearing, TAKE public testimony, and CLOSE the Public Hearing.
2. WAIVE further reading and ADOPT Resolution No. 23-062, “A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CARSON, CALIFORNIA, APPROVING AND CERTIFYING THE FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT, ADOPTING THE MITIGATION MONITORING AND REPORTING PROGRAM, ADOPTING THE CEQA FINDINGS AND STATEMENT OF OVERRIDING CONSIDERATIONS, AND ADOPTING GENERAL PLAN AMENDMENT NO. 115-23, THE CITY OF CARSON 2040 GENERAL PLAN UPDATE”
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III. ALTERNATIVES
TAKE another action the City Council deems appropriate, consistent with the requirements of the law.
IV. BACKGROUND
As a result of City Council’s direction to staff, the following changes are proposed to the Carson 2040 General Plan:
A. The following are the proposed changes to the Chapter 2, Land Use and Revitalization, of the GPU:
1. Modifications have been made to the descriptions of the land use classifications of Business Residential Mixed Use, Flex District, Light Industrial, and Heavy Industrial set forth on pages 2-14 to 2-16 in Section 2.2 (Land Use Framework) in the GPU, to effectuate the following:
a. Remove listed prohibited uses in the Light Industrial and Heavy Industrial land use classifications as necessary to stay consistent with the City’s current Zoning Ordinance in regards to regulation of the following uses: truck yards, truck terminals, container yards, container parking, storage yards. For clarification, under the current Zoning Ordinance, truck yards are prohibited in Light Industrial and conditionally permitted in Heavy Industrial, truck terminals are conditionally permitted in both Light Industrial and Heavy Industrial, and storage of cargo containers is prohibited in Light Industrial and only permitted in Heavy Industrial if over 1,000’ from residential or institutional uses. Other storage yard uses are regulated as set forth in Carson Municipal Code Section 9141.1 and other applicable provisions of the Zoning Ordinance.
b. Residential uses shall not be permitted in the Flex District (“FLX”) except on the FLX sites identified (as housing opportunity sites) in the Housing Sites Inventory in the City’s adopted Housing Element (see Section 5.1 and Appendix C of the adopted Housing Element, available at <https://www.dropbox.com/s/mccfze4wbk9yp2a/Revised%20Adopted%20Carson%20Housing%20Element_clean_110722.pdf?dl=0>) and as shown on the Land Use Diagram, Exhibit 3.
c. Clarification of the circumstances under which warehousing/distribution/logistics/truck terminal facilities are permitted in the FLX.
d. Residential uses shall not be permitted in the Business Residential Mixed Use land use classification, which is therefore renamed to “Business Mixed Use” and revised accordingly.
2. Modifications to Table 2-2 for consistency with the foregoing changes to the land use classification names/descriptions.
3. Modifications to Figure 2-2 (Carson Land Use Approach) on page 2-8 of the GPU and Figure 2-3 (General Plan Land Use Diagram) on page 2-10 of the GPU to effectuate the following changes, without limitation:
a. Modifications for consistency with the foregoing changes to the land use classification names/descriptions.
b. All the sites shown in the GPU as being subject to the Business Residential Mixed Use (now “Business Mixed Use”) land use classification shall be classified under the GPU land use classification that is the closest equivalent (excluding BRMU and FLX) to the sites’ existing General Plan land use designations, with the exception of the following:
i. The Shell site, where depicted as BRMU in the GPU, shall remain “Business Mixed Use.”
ii. The properties north of Francisco Street between Main Street and Figueroa Street shall be classified as FLX.
c. The following sites, shown in the GPU as being FLX, shall instead be classified as General Commercial:
i. The 28-acre site between the I-405 freeway and the Dominguez Channel, bounded by Main Street on the northwest and Del Amo Boulevard on the southeast.
ii. The Porsche Experience site.
d. The 8-acre triangular-shaped site which is adjacent to the Goodyear Blimp site to its southwest, and adjacent to the Victoria Golf course site to its southeast, and which has a current General Plan land use designation of light industrial, shall be classified as Light Industrial.
e. The FLX sites on which residential uses shall be prohibited due to the site not being identified in the Housing Element Sites Inventory are distinguished from the FLX sites that are identified in the Housing Element Sites Inventory (on which residential uses shall be permitted as part of a specific plan, master plan, or other cohesive plan that considers the long-term development potential of adjacent properties and presents a strategy for transition of industrial uses to residential uses, as is provided in the revised land use classification descriptions. (Exhibit 1 B)
f. The property located at 20223 S. Avalon Blvd (APNs 7339-017-004 and -005) shall be classified as General Commercial. The current General Plan land use designation and zoning of the property is General Commercial, but due to a mapping error, the GPU showed the property as Light Industrial. This change is to correct the mapping error.
4. Modifications to Section 2.4 (Guiding and Implementing Policies) on pages 2-24 to 2-31 of the GPU, as follows (additions shown in bold italics, deletions in strikethrough):
a. Guiding Policy LUR-G-14 is revised as follows: “Ensure that future industrial development is in harmony to the extent possible with adjacent residential areas. To this end, new logistics buildings must should ideally have easy access to freeways and the Alameda corridor. When feasible, truck routes should be designed to prevent trucks passing on truck routes next to residential areas.”
b. Guiding Policy LUR-G-15 is revised as follows: “Prioritize uses that provide services to the community, generate sales tax, generate good paying jobs, or provide other benefits to the community. Discourage uses that do not support these objectives, including limiting industrial uses with heavy truck traffic.”
c. Implementing policy LUR-P-16 is revised to read as follows:
“Promote redevelopment of Broadway/Figueroa Street as Business Mixed Use areas, focusing. Focus on non-hazardous light industrial, maker, and research and development uses for this area. Live/work units or residential uses are permitted conditionally as part of a cohesive plan that acknowledges their location within that create a flexible/employment district, and considers the long-term development potential of adjacent properties, and presents a strategy for transition of industrial uses to residential uses.
This is an industrial area now evolving with a variety of uses including breweries, restaurants, and residential uses. The area is well situated, proximate to CSUDH and two interstates. Any residential uses in the area should be accepting of noise, glare, parking, and other constraints that come with part of being in a diverse mixed-use rather than residential only setting.”
d. Implementing policy LUR-P-21 is revised to read as follows: “Provide lands to accommodate a wide range of light industrial uses including research and development, manufacturing, and agricultural processing near transportation corridors in areas where low- to moderate intensity operations would be sufficiently buffered. Logistics and other heavy trucking uses are preferred be located in close proximity to truck routes as established/reflected by Figure 3-9 of the 2040 General Plan or truck routes as identified by a future truck route study to be conducted by the City shall be limited to industrial areas that provide direct access to freeways and the Alameda corridor.”
e. Implementing policy LUR-P-22 is revised to read as follows: “Within the Flex District, permit warehouse and distribution facilities, including logistics uses, larger than 30,000 s.f. only where the criteria for one or more of the exceptions set forth in the Flex District land use classification description in Section 2.2, above, are met following findings by the City Council, that good faith efforts were made and milestones to secure tax-generating uses or other City Council-desired uses are in place, and any adverse noise, odor, and air quality impacts on surrounding development have been mitigated to the maximum extent feasible.”
f. A new implementing policy LUR-P-26 is added under the category of Industrial Uses to read as follows: “To protect residential areas on the east side of Main Street, prohibit heavy truck access to Main Street for properties between MLK Jr. Street and Victoria Street that also have access to Broadway.”
g. A new implementing policy LUR-P-27 is added under the category of Industrial Uses to read as follows: “Use site design techniques on the west side of Main Street between MLK Jr. Street and Victoria Street, including placement of buildings along Main Street, large setbacks, or similar techniques or measures, to reduce noise impacts on residential areas east of Main Street.”
h. A new Implementing Policy LUR-P-28 is added under the category of Industrial Uses to read as follows: “Support the establishment and expansion of the infrastructure necessary to support the transition from fossil fuels to clean energy.”
B. The following are proposed changes to the GPU Circulation Element:
1. The second paragraph in Section 3.6 (Freight and Goods Movement) on page 3-24 of the GPU is revised as follows (additions shown in bold italics): “To manage the impact of freight truck traffic on the street network, the City of Carson regulates truck routes and truck parking. Chapter 2 of Article 3 of the Municipal Code contains Truck Regulations and designates specific roadways as truck routes and specific roadway segments as permitting truck parking, displayed in Figure 3-9.”
2. Figure 3-9 on page 3-25 of the GPU is replaced with the revised Figure 3-9 attached hereto as Exhibit 1C, to add the City’s current approved overweight vehicle routes, which are pursuant to the City’s Overweight Vehicle Special Permit Program, to Figure 3-9 in order for the figure to comprehensively reflect the City’s current approved truck and overweight vehicle routes.
C. Any further, corresponding modifications to the GPU which may be identified by the Community Director or designee as necessary to avoid or eliminate internal inconsistencies which would otherwise be created in the General Plan Update as a result of the foregoing changes, provided any such modifications shall be (i) documented in Exhibit 1 D, to be completed by the Director or designee prior to execution of this Resolution, and (ii) incorporated into the final General Plan Update to be kept on file with the City’s Planning Division.
V. FISCAL IMPACT
None.
VI. EXHIBITS
1. Resolution No. 23-062 (pgs.7-91)
2. Revised Land Use Diagram (pg. 92)
3. Carson 2040 General Plan and Environmental Impact Report (with related CEQA findings and materials, including proposed Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program and Statement of Overriding Considerations): www.carson2040.com <http://www.carson2040.com> (pg. 93)
Prepared by: Saied Naaseh, Community Development Director