2006 05 09 CCea# 4 44tba
City Council Agendas are
Available on the City's Web Page
@ www.la-quinta.org
CITY COUNCIL
AGENDA
STUDY SESSION ROOM
78-495 Calle Tampico
La Quinta, California 92253
SPECIAL JOINT MEETING
WITH THE LA QUINTA PLANNING COMMISSION
Tuesday, May 9, 2006 — 5:00 P.M.
CALL TO ORDER
Roll Call:
Council Members: Henderson, Kirk, Osborne, Sniff, and Mayor Adolph
Commission Members: Alderson, Barrows, Daniels, Ladner, and Chairman Quill
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
1. Led by Commission Chairperson Paul Quill
PUBLIC COMMENT
At this time members of the public may address the City Council on items that appear
within the Consent Calendar or matters that are not listed on the agenda. Please complete
a "request to speak" form and limit your comments to three minutes.
When you are called to speak, please come forward and state your name for the record.
For all matters on the agenda, a completed "request to speak" form should be filed with
the City Clerk prior to the City Council beginning consideration of that item.
City Council/Planning Commission
Special Meeting Agenda 1 May 9, 2006
CONFIRMATION OF AGENDA
APPROVAL OF MINUTES - NONE
STUDY SESSION
1. DISCUSSION REGARDING SILVERROCK RESORT LOCATED SOUTH OF AVENUE
52 AND WEST OF JEFFERSON STREET.
2. DISCUSSION REGARDING THE GENERAL PLAN, ZONING AND OVERALL
DEVELOPMENT POTENTIAL FOR CURRENT CITY AREAS LOCATED SOUTH OF
AVENUE 56.
3. DISCUSSION OF THE CITY'S SPHERE OF INFLUENCE IN PLANNING AREAS I AND
II, BOUNDED BY AVENUE 52, VAN BUREN STREET, HARRISON STREET, AVENUE
62 AND THE CURRENT CITY LIMITS.
4. DISCUSSION OF LA QUINTA VILLAGE DEVELOPMENT GUIDELINES AND
PRELIMINARY PARKING STUDY.
5. DISCUSSION OF CITY ZONING AND MUNICIPAL CODE REQUIREMENTS FOR
TOBACCO PRODUCTS AND RELATED LAND USES.
MAYOR'S AND COUNCIL MEMBERS' ITEMS — NONE
CHAIRMAN AND COMMISSION MEMBERS' ITEMS - NONE
ADJOURNMENT
Adjourn to a regularly scheduled meeting of the City Council to be held on May 16, 2006
commencing with closed session at 2:00 p.m. and open session at 3:00 p.m. in the City
Council Chambers, 78-495 Calle Tampico, La Quinta, CA 92253.
City Council/Planning Commission
Special Meeting Agenda 2 May 9, 2006
DECLARATION OF POSTING
I, June S. Greek, City Clerk of the City of La Quinta, do hereby declare that the foregoing
agenda for the La Quinta City Council meeting of Tuesday, May 9, 2006, was posted on
the outside entry to the Council Chamber, 78-495 Calle Tampico and on the bulletin board
at the La Quinta Chamber of Commerce and at Stater Bros. 78-630 Highway 1 1 1, on
Friday, May 5, 2006.
DATED: May 5, 2006
8:7�� �-<
-
JUNE S. GREEK, CIVIC, City Clerk
City of La Quinta, California
Public Notices
The La Quinta City Council Chamber is handicapped accessible. If special
equipment is needed for the hearing impaired, please call the City Clerk's Office at 777-
7025, twenty-four (24) hours in advance of the meeting and accommodations will be
made.
If special electronic equipment is needed to make presentations to the City Council,
arrangement should be made in advance by contacting the City Clerk's Office at 777-
7025. A one (1) week notice is required.
If background material is to be presented to the City Council during a City Council
meeting, please be advised that eight (8) copies of all documents, exhibits, etc., must be
supplied to the City Clerk for distribution. It is requested that this take place prior to the
beginning of the 3:00 PM session or the 7:00 PM session.
City Council/Planning Commission
Special Meeting Agenda 3 May 9, 2006
STUDY SESSION ITEM:
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TO: The Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
FROM: Douglas R. Evans, Community Development Director
DATE: May 9, 2006
SUBJECT: Discussion Items
Staff has prepared the following subjects for discussion between the City Council
and Planning Commission.
1. Discussion of SilverRock Resort located south of Avenue 52 and west of
Jefferson Street.
Staff will provide an update on the proposed SilverRock (SRR) Specific Plan.
Currently, the RDA is working with DDC Desert Development to negotiate a
Disposition and Development Agreement for development of a boutique hotel,
feature hotel, resort casita units and mixed use resort retail village (Attachment 1).
Preliminary Specific Plan land use breakdown is as follows:
Planning Area 1 — Two 18-hole golf courses and support uses (340 acres).
Planning Area 2 — The existing temporary clubhouse and parking facilities site to
have a broad range of future land uses including civic, cultural, and other uses (4
acres).
Planning Area 3 — Boutique hotel including conference facilities, restaurants, spa
and related facilities (approximately 13 acres).
Planning Area 4 — Resort hotel and resort casita units including conference
facilities, restaurants, spa and related facilities (30 acres).
Planning Area 5 — Mixed -use resort retail village including retail, restaurant, office
and residential (approximately 9 acres).
Planning Area 6 — Hotel and resort casita units including various accessory uses
(31 acres).
Planning Area 7 — Open space, hillside areas.
Planning Area 8 — Community Park/civic uses/parking.
Planning Area 9 — Roadways, All American Canal, well sites.
The Planning Commission and City Council may want to discuss land uses,
planning concepts and other matters. The draft Specific Plan should be available in
late May or June.
2. Discussion of General Plan, Zoning and overall development potential for
current City areas located south of Avenue 56.
Based upon recent City Council direction, staff is reviewing the approved General
Plan density and applicable development regulations in order to find ways to
promote and encourage consolidation of small properties and subdivision densities
appropriate to this segment of the community. Many of the undeveloped parcels in
this region are less than ten acres in size. Consideration will be given to re -
designating the area to a density of two units per acre with an allowance and/or
incentive to achieve up to four units to the acre when properties are consolidated
and combines with other design features such as quality and efficient site design,
on -site amenities, water conservation, as well as vehicular and pedestrian access
that connects existing and planned infrastructure in a safe and efficient manner.
3. Discussion of the City's Sphere of Influence in Planning Areas I and II
bounded by Avenue 52, Van Buren Street, Harrison Street, Avenue 62 and
the current City limits.
On April 27, LAFCO approved a Sphere of Influence (SOI) approximately 8,000
acres in size for the City of La Quinta. This SOI represents a significant portion of
the unincorporated area known as Vista Santa Rosa (VSR) (Attachment 2). Several
key issues need to be addressed in considering annexation of properties within this
area:
• The current land use pattern of the subject area is predominately rural.
Numerous properties in VSR are home to agricultural and equestrian uses.
• The current Riverside County General Plan policies allow for consideration to
convert agricultural land to residential use. This has resulted in several large
subdivisions being recently proposed within VSR and the City's SOL The
infrastructure improvements proposed for. these developments are
inconsistent with La Quinta standards.
• The current General Plan and zoning designations for this area were
established in the 2002 General Plan. Prior to annexation of properties
within the SOI, the future land use scenario and pattern needs to be properly
assessed, analyzed, defined and established.
Riverside County currently has a Vista Santa Rosa Task Force which is
currently evaluating land use, roadways, design standards, public facilities
and other issues.
• Riverside County is currently conducting a study to consider significant
improvements to Avenue 62 in order to increase capacity for east -west
vehicle trips between La Quinta and Mecca. This effort is primarily due to
development interest in the Thermal and Mecca areas rather than the City's
SOL Concern has been raised regarding the need to consider capacity
improvements to other east -west as well as north -south Arterials in the area.
• A significant portion of the VSR SOI is within a Riverside County RDA (all
property south of Avenue 54). The RDA is not expected to change following
the annexation. Therefore, it is expected that property tax revenue from
these properties will be minimal which could create a financial burden for the
City. Consideration is currently being given to the implementation of a
financial mitigation program (community facility district, fees, etc.,) in order
to minimize, if not negate the anticipated fiscal impacts of annexing and
developing in this area.
The City Council has added resources for dealing with evaluating the SOL The
following tasks are currently budgeted or will be proposed in the next years'
budget:
• Strategic Plan to evaluate annexation strategies, land use, public facilities,
roadways, design standards and public input.
• Financial study of existing land use patterns, current County RDA, and a
municipal finance mitigation program.
• Preparation of an expansion of the City's Development Impact Fee Program
to address future annexations.
In order to accomplish these work program items, a combination of staff, RSG and
consultants will be needed.
4. Discussion of La Quinta Village Development Guidelines and Preliminary
Parking Study.
The Village at La Quinta Design Guidelines were established in July 1998, to
replace the more detailed Village at La Quinta Specific Plan. At the time, it was
thought that the Plan was far too detailed, to the extent that the existing
substandard parcels were unable to comply with both the Plan provisions and the
Zoning Code standards. Since that time, the Village has begun to take shape and
several projects have been approved.
In order to achieve more viable projects in the Village and effect a higher and more
efficient use of these small properties, projects will need to utilize more adaptive
approaches to commercial and residential land uses, to achieve an appropriate
intensity of development. Staff is seeing some projects that are attempting to
establish appropriate uses at a more intensive scale, and the development
standards will not accommodate that trend in many cases. In some instances, the
project location and type may dictate that a different set of design regulations be
applied, or that the applicable regulations may not be appropriate.
Several buildings have been approved for the Village with modifications of certain
improvement standards, most notably parking and building height. It is important
to look at the CityyIs policies and standards, and determine any limiting Code
provisions.
Some factors to consider:
■ Assess general Code requirements and their limitations in promoting such
projects.
■ A Village theme of enhanced street design for more intimate settings and
streetscapes, traffic calming methods, street trees and furniture, accessibility,
and sidewalks.
■ Vary building heights by development and/or building type. Potential to allow
three story structures for specific uses, within certain limits.
■ Promotion or incentives for providing sub -grade or underground parking.
■ Developing a comprehensive parking evaluation, and management program.
Earlier this year Carl Walker Associates was selected to assist City staff in
conducting a comprehensive parking analysis and strategy recommendation for the
Village District in an effort to evaluate parking adequacy in regards to current and
future demand. To date, a comprehensive analysis of existing and future parking
conditions has been conducted. This effort included an inventory, of available
parking, assessment of vehicle and pedestrian circulation patterns and assumptions
of future growth anticipated in the Village District. On March 27, public workshops
were conducted with opportunity for stakeholder and general community input
provided.
At this time Carl Walker Associates is in the process of completing a parking
development and management strategy that will be incorporated into the final
report. The final report is expected to be completed later this month and ready for
City Council review and approval in early June. Staff will provide an overview of
the Parking Study and summarize the parking inventory study.
5. Discussion of City zoning and Municipal Code requirements for tobacco
products and related land uses.
The City's zoning ordinance currently addresses the retail sale tobacco products in
the permitted use section. Within the Village Commercial district the sale of
tobacco products is permitted as a retail use. In all other districts, tobacco sales as
a primary use are not listed and therefore the use is prohibited except as listed
below. Sale of tobacco products as an accessory use, such as at a grocery store,
is not specifically regulated.
In January, 2006, Planning Commission determined hookah bars to be an allowable
use in the Regional Commercial zones with approval of a Conditional Use Permit
(CUP). To date, no CUP applications have been received for a hookah bar. In April
2006, the Planning Commission determined that cigar lounges without the on -site
consumption of alcohol were considered a permitted use in all commercial zones in
the City. Cigar lounges with the service of alcoholic beverages would need
approval of a Conditional Use Permit. However, further research is underway with
regards to drinking at a smoking establishment.
Attachments: 1 . SRR Planning Area Diagram
2. SOI Map
ATTACHMENT #1
Avenue 52
Avenue 54
Planning Area 1: Golf Courses and Associated Facilities
Planning Area 2: Civic and Cultural Events Facilities
Planning Area 3: Boutique Hotel
Planning Area 4: Resort Hotel and Resort Casitas
Planning Area 5: Mixed -Use Resort Retail Village
Planning Area 6: Traditional Hotel and Resort Casitas
Planning Area 7: Preserved Natural Open Space 600 300 0 600
Planning Area 8: Public Park
Planning Area 9: Streets, Landscaping and Service Infrastructure APPROXIMATE SCALE IN FEET
Figure 2.1-2 - Planning Area Diagram 835-001.04/06
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