2012 2:00:00 PM

Monday, November 26, 2012 2:00 PM
Sparks Legislative Building, 745 E. 4th Street, Sparks, NV 89431

Planning and Zoning Public Hearings and Action Items: 8.3

Title: Public Hearing, 2nd Reading, and possible action of PCN12026 Bill# 2647 an ordinance amending Title 20 of the Sparks Municipal Code by removing the Employment District from the Transit Oriented Development (TOD) zoning district and standards and all matters properly related thereto.

Petitioner/Presenter: City of Sparks/Jim Rundle, Senior Planner

Recommendation: The Planning Commission and Community Services Department recommend approval of PCN12026. This is the second reading and public hearing.

Financial Impact: None

Business Impact (Per NRS 237):
A Business Impact Statement is not required because this is not a rule.

Agenda Item Brief: Agenda Item Brief: This past summer the City Council directed staff to consider removal of the area generally north of I-80, south of Prater Way and east of Sparks Boulevard from the TOD corridor. Doing so requires a Master Plan Amendment, Rezoning and Code Amendment. The Sparks Planning Commission has forwarded a recommendation to remove the area from the TOD corridor. Regional Planning Commission has found the Master Plan Amendment in conformance with the Regional Plan. Regional Planning Commission reviewed the application prior to the Sparks Council reviewing the application so that the Sparks City Council can review the Master Plan Amendment, Rezoning, and Code Amendment at this hearing.

Background: CASE NUMBER: PCN12026 REQUESTED ACTION(S): Code Amendment PROJECT DESCRIPTION: Code Amendment associated with removing the TOD-Employment Designation. APPLICANT: City of Sparks LOCATION: Generally located east of Sparks Boulevard, north of Interstate 80, south of Prater Way and west of Salomon Circle. SITE SIZE: Approximately 352 acres EXISTING ZONING: TOD (Transit Oriented Development - Employment) and Planned Development (PD) PROPOSED ZONING: I (Industrial), PO (Professional Office), PF (Public Facility), TC (Tourist Commercial) and C2 (General Commercial) EXISTING MASTER PLAN DESIGNATION: Transit Oriented Development – Employment PROPOSED MASTER PLAN DESIGNATION: Industrial, Office Professional, Public Facility, Tourist Commercial, and General Commercial WARD INFORMATION: Ward 3 – Ron Smith A PUBLIC HEARING IS REQUIRED BACKGROUND In 2009 the Planning Commission, in conjunction with City Council action, re-master planned and rezoned approximately 2,300 acres of the city of Sparks to TOD (Transit Oriented Development). This staff report serves to provide support for a Master Plan change, zoning change, and removal of the “TOD-Employment” design standards. The combination of these three requests will revert most properties within the TOD-Employment district back to their “previous” zoning designations. The 2009 proposal was developed through stakeholder meetings, site visits, and an inventory analysis over seven years. Prior to the 2009 TOD plan being adopted, interim TOD standards were adopted in 2007 by the Planning Commission and City Council. This TOD plan has now been in place for three years and only a small number of projects have been proposed within the corridor. Staff had identified in the 2009 plan that the TOD corridor was largely built out, and future development activity would occur in the form of infill and redevelopment. The goal was to adopt design standards that would ensure new development is compatible and integrated, with the existing structures/neighborhoods in terms of scale and use. The projects that have been proposed to date have not been “typical” TOD projects and instead have deviated from the TOD intent. Most notable is the NOW Foods project, which required a variance. The Planning Commission voted to approve the variance for the project. Per direction from the Sparks City Council, the Truckee Meadows Regional Planning Governing Board, and the Truckee Meadows Regional Planning Commission, staffs at the respective jurisdictions are reconsidering past plans regarding TOD. This proposal is a first step toward implementing the direction of pulling TOD back to more strategic areas of the Truckee Meadows. All property owners within the existing TOD-Employment area and within 750 feet of the boundary of the Employment district were sent notice of a neighborhood meeting at the Sparks’ Police Station which occurred on July 24, 2012. The process of re-drafting the TOD plan has included other agencies such as RTC, City of Reno and Truckee Meadows Regional Planning. Vision: The Truckee Meadows Regional Plan requires that both cities (Sparks and Reno) plan for transit oriented development. Sparks created a TOD corridor to comply with the regional plan requirement but more so to provide new zoning, development standards and policy guidance to promote infill and redevelopment within Sparks’ urban core. The plan promotes future development within the corridor that is compatible with and complementary to existing neighborhoods and supports enhanced pedestrian networks and utilization of the transit system. The plan has five guiding principles to promote the TOD: 1. Promote Downtown Sparks as the civic/cultural heart of the community; 2. Provide for vibrant mixed use activity centers; 3. Provide for a high quality, context sensitive pattern of development; 4. Provide for an integrated multi-modal transportation system; and 5. Provide for a strong downtown and core area neighborhoods. The Truckee Meadows Regional Plan requires local government master plans to require non-residential development to provide for minimum floor area ratios (FAR) of 1.5 within TOD Corridors. A policy had been included in the Regional Plan to allow for alternative floor area ratios; Policy 1.2.14 in the Regional Plan allows for lower non-residential densities if: 1. Required densities are deemed incompatible; 2. Analysis determines that the minimums are sufficient to support the desired level of public transit; 3. Natural resource constraints limit the desired density or intensity of use; or 4. Facilities or infrastructure are not currently available to support the desired density of development. While Sparks allowed for densities lower than required in the Regional Plan, the minimum densities in Sparks’ codes may still be too high in the Truckee Meadows. The Sparks Planning Commission has forwarded a recommendation of approval to the Sparks City Council to remove the employment district. The Truckee Meadows Regional Planning Commission found the master plan amendment associated with PCN12026 to be in conformance with the Regional Plan. The master plan amendment was forwarded from Sparks Planning Commission to Regional Planning prior to the Sparks City Council’s review so that at the second reading of this item, the master plan amendment, rezoning and code amendment could be reviewed together.

Analysis: This proposal is to rescind application of the TOD in the general area bounded by Vista Boulevard, Sparks Boulevard, Prater Way, and Interstate-80. Staff has worked with a few applicants to establish uses in the “Employment” area of the TOD. With the higher development intensities required to support TOD, this area may not be suitable for inclusion in the corridor. When the TODs were established in 2002, the Reno/Sparks corridor was drawn from Northern Nevada Medical Center to Verdi. Since that time, the TOD concept has evolved and there is growing consensus that TOD should be more “concentrated,” as opposed to long corridors. This proposal could be considered a step in that direction. The lands to which this proposal would apply is largely built out. Most economic development in this area will involve reuse of existing buildings as the buildings. Staff has analyzed each and every parcel and is proposing a land use and zoning designation most appropriate for the current use of the property and potential future use of the property. This includes designating the Wild Island Park as TC (Tourist Commercial). Present and Future: The rezoning, associated with this case, is one of the larger rezoning efforts the City has initiated. Staff’s primary concern is, “Are property owners losing anything they gained when they were rezoned TOD?” Most uses permitted in the current zoning TOD-Employment district will be permitted in the proposed zoning district. As with prior rezonings, there may be uses that are not specifically listed in the permitted use tables. However, utilization of our definition section in the Title 20 allows us to classify many uses as uses which are listed in this table. An example would be a bowling center, which would be classified as an entertainment facility. Table 1 (below) compares the uses allowed by the proposed Industrial zoning to those allowed as the current TOD zoning. The uses in italics are the differing uses. Certain properties (properties within 600 feet of Sparks Boulevard) may meet the parameters to allow for commercial uses. These uses have been depicted in Table 2. Table 1 I (Industrial) *Proposed Zoning* TOD-Employment *Existing Zoning* Use Use Indoor Manufacturing, Fabricating, Processing Indoor Manufacturing, Fabricating, Processing Mini-Storage Mini Storage Outdoor storage Outdoor storage Research and development Research and development Truck Stop Truck Stop Parking Lot, Parking garage Parking Lot, parking garage Public utility structures Public utility structures Auto repair Auto repair Wholesale distribution, warehousing and storage Wholesale distribution, warehousing and storage Accessory retail and personal service shop Accessory retail and personal service shop Building and landscaping supplier Adult Day Care Co-Generation Facility Live/Work dwelling Concrete or Asphalt production Assisted Living Facility Contractor shop Child Care Fleet services Gaming establishment (restricted) Fuel Distribution Hotels Fuel recycling Smog Shop Freight terminal or brokerage Public Transit parking Facility Machinery and heavy equipment sales and service Hospital Recycling Plant, outdoor operations, or storage Library Renewable energy production-utility Museum Renewable energy production-private Rock and concrete crushing and processing Sewage treatment facility Transfer station Vehicle towing and storage Auto Dismantling Table 2 Industrial (parcels within Commercial Corridor) TOD-Employment Financial Institutions –Banks Financial Institutions –Banks Offices Offices Medical office/clinic Medical office/clinic Automotive service station Automotive service station Drive through businesses Drive through businesses Health club, recreational facility Health club, recreational facility Restaurant/Bar Restaurant/Bar Veterinary Clinic Veterinary Clinic Indoor manufacturing, fabricating or processing Indoor manufacturing, fabricating or processing Mini Warehouse, self-storage Mini Warehouse, self-storage Outdoor storage Outdoor storage Research and development Research and development Truck Stop Truck Stop Church Church College/Technical school College/Technical school Public parking Public parking Public Facility Public Facility Public Utility structure Public Utility structure Animal Shelter Animal Shelter Auto repair shop Auto repair shop Wholesale distribution, warehousing, and storage Wholesale distribution, warehousing, and storage Personal Service Personal Service Building and Landscaping supplier Adult day care Concrete or Asphalt production Live/work dwelling Contractor shop Assisted living facilities Fleet Services Child care facility Fuel Distribution Gaming establishment Fuel Recycling Hotels Freight Terminal or Brokerage Smog Shop Machinery and heavy equipment sales Hospital Recycling plant, outdoor operations or storage Library Renewable energy production – utility Museum Renewable energy production – private Rock and concrete crushing and processing Sewage treatment facility Transfer station Vehicle towing and storage facility Auto Dismantling Adult Business Club Large format retail Massage establishment Minor Vehicle testing, service and repair Pawnbroker, autopawn Payday loan establishment Retail sales Tool and equipment rental and sales Vehicle sales and rentals There are also certain parcels that are currently master planned as TOD, but are not zoned with a TOD designation. In 2009, staff identified certain parcels which had an approved handbook, or City of Sparks parcels which were parks, government buildings, etc which were not rezoned. Therefore, at this time there is no need to rezone those parcels; they will remain PF public facility or PD (Planned Development). The master plan amendment (not a part of this first reading) does not simply include a change in master plan land use designations but includes a modification to the TOD area plan. Staff is proposing amending the TOD area plan to no longer include the employment district or any reference to it. Most of the changes are reflected in a underlined/strike-out; others are reflected in amended illustrations and updated maps. The Code amendment reflects these changes similarly to the master plan amendment. Staff has proposed updated maps and an underlined/strike out of the entire “Employment” design standards manual with removal of any references to the “Employment” designation in the other three manuals. Because of the references to the “Employment” designation throughout the master plan and design standards manuals, there are numerous amendments to be made.

Alternatives: The City Council may choose to remand the request back to the Planning Commission or the Council may choose to deny the request.

Recommended Motion: I move to adopt Bill#2647 and approve the Code Amendment request associated with PCN12026 based on the supporting facts as set forth in the staff report.

Attached Files:

8.3 code amendment.pdf

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