Consideration of a Call for Review of the Planning Commission’s action on a Tentative Subdivision Map and Development Review and Discovery Builder’s request that the City of Fairfield amend the General Plan with corresponding changes to the Zoning Ordinance and adopt a Mitigated Negative Declaration for the Gold Hill Village 3 project.

At its meeting of September 3, 2019, the City Council exercised its authority to call up the Planning Commission’s action on the Gold Hill Village 3 project, a proposed 79-unit subdivision at the northeast intersection of Lopes Road and Gold Hill Road.  The Commission's action included denial of a Tentative Subdivision Map, Development Review, and Community Design Plan and a recommendation that the City Council deny Discovery Builder’s request that the City of Fairfield amend the General Plan and Zoning for the site from commercial designations to residential.

On October 15, 2019, the City Council subsequently held a public hearing to consider the Call for Review. At the meeting, the City Council opened the public hearing and took testimony.  Following the hearing, the Council directed staff to work with the applicant to prepare conditions for approval for the project. Direction included that the project provide a safe pedestrian crossing to the opposite side of Lopes Road and open space to serve its residents.

Staff has worked with the applicant on modifications and conditions for the project.  These include: i) the creation of a sidewalk along the eastern side of Lopes Road to a safe crossing that exists north of the site, ii) providing a minimum of 5% of the net project area as open space, and iii) enhanced landscaping and design requirements necessary to ensure the Benicia Water line will not be negatively impacted. Additional conditions include Community Development Department standard conditions of approval relating to process, design, and landscaping. The project, as conditioned, is proposed for the City Council to consider.

The following is a discussion of various issues identified for the project. 

Pedestrian safety: Staff has worked with the applicant to create a safe crossing across Lopes Road at the intersection with Silver Creek Drive approximately 1,200 feet north of the project entrance. A 3-way stop exists at this intersection. The applicant will construct a sidewalk along the east side of Lopes Road that will take pedestrians and school children to the Silver Creek Drive crossing. The applicant will provide a buffered bike lane adjacent to the sidewalk and a guardrail between the sidewalk and Interstate 680.

Additionally, the Emergency Vehicle Access road will be designed to allow for pedestrian access to Gold Hill Road from the subdivision subject to the review and approval of the Fire Department and Community Development Department. The access road will be paved and landscaping surrounding the road will be consistent with the entrance and street landscaping. Bollards will be provided to prevent non-emergency vehicular access.

Open Space: As conditioned the project will meet Zoning Ordinance requirements for private and common open space. The Zoning Ordinance requires 5% of the net project area to be provided as common open space. The applicant has removed the water quality basin on the eastern side of the project entrance and will develop that area of the site as common open space. This area will be landscaped and design elements such as benches and picnic tables will be included. This area meets Zoning Ordinance requirements for amount and design of common open space. A homeowner’s association will be established to maintain the open space. The project has also been conditioned to provide the required 450 square feet of private open space for all residential lots.

Easements: The Property is encumbered by two existing easements, including a City of Fairfield sewer line easement and a City of Benicia water line easement. These easements cross through the eastern portion of the site from north to south negatively impacting the subdivision design and configuration, placing the easement in proposed front yards and limiting structures and landscaping typical of residential development.

The sewer district will require the applicant to provide a parking area to access and service the lift station and create an easement over said area. Landscaping as currently proposed in this area will need to be removed to create this parking area and comply with the sewer district’s conditions.

The City and Applicant worked with Benicia to address their concerns resulting in significant changes to the proposed project landscaping. In order to accommodate the City of Benicia Raw Water Transmission line and easement, lots 1-10 have been designed as wide shallow lots. The majority of the easement runs through the proposed “A” street; however, the easement does cross into the front yards of Lots 1-8. No street trees or structures such as light poles will be placed on these lots in order to avoid the easement and potential damage to the water line.

Without the ability to provide street trees as required in the Zoning Ordinance, the project will be conditioned to provide enhanced landscaping on lots with existing easements. Enhanced landscaping may be achieved by a combination of increasing the number and density of proposed shrub plantings, planting larger sized shrubs (5-gallon or larger), incorporating shrubs with more variety in height and color and installation of landscape accent elements subject to the review and approval of the Community Development Department.

Additionally, the project is conditioned to obtain all necessary approvals and permits from the City of Benicia for work within their water line easement and issue disclosure documents at the time of any sale of a residential unit. The disclosure shall outline the City of Benicia’s Raw Water Transmission Line easement requirements including but not limited to: restrictions for the location of permanent structures, City of Benicia’s right to access the easement for maintenance activities and remove structures and landscaping as necessary to maintain the line, and the potential vibrations which may occur during maintenance activities of the line.

General Plan/Zoning Consistency: The proposed subdivision requires the approval of a General Plan Amendment and Zone change from Mixed Use/Community Commercial to Residential Low-Medium Density. As conditioned, the proposed land use is consistent with the following General Plan Objectives and Policies:

Objective HO 1
Provide for varied housing opportunities, in terms of type, price, amenities, neighborhood design, and location, for all income groups and family types;

Objective HO 2
Encourage infill housing in developed areas of the City;

Objective HO 8
Promote energy conservation. Implement state energy conservation standards. Encourage energy-conserving development patterns;

Policy LU 1.1
Only allow development that is consistent with the Land Use Diagram and the Land Use Category definitions;

Objective LU 8
Develop and maintain a pattern of residential land uses which provides for a variety and balance of densities and opportunities for a mixture of different dwelling and tenure types;

Policy LU 18.1
Utilize land within the existing city limits as efficiently as possible, allowing for a wider variety of housing types and densities within the same zone district, and economical use of public services and infrastructure;

Objective LU 18
Encourage infill development and compact growth;

Objective UD 4
Ensure high standards of quality in development;
Objective UD 6
Utilize extensive landscaping to beautify Fairfield's urban areas.

Environmental Review: Based on the findings of the Initial Study, staff identified potential significant impacts relative to air quality, biological resources, cultural resources, geology and soils, tribal cultural resources, and noise. The identified impacts can be reduced to less than significant levels with the implementation of mitigation measures recommended in the Mitigated Negative Declaration (MND) to satisfy the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).

Travis Air Force Base compatibility:  Zoning changes must be reviewed by the Solano County Airport Land Use Commission (ALUC) for compatibility with Travis AFB.    Staff has concluded that the project is located in the zone of least concern for residential development (Zone D), and is compatible with the base. A formal determination by the ALUC must be made prior to the City Council holding a second reading for the proposed ordinance.