2018 02 27 CC & PC Joint Special Meeting
/s/ Linda Evans
.
City of La Quinta
CITY COUNCIL AND PLANNING COMMISSION JOINT MEETING
STAFF REPORT
TO: Madam Mayor and Members of the City Council and Planning
Commission
FROM: Gabriel Perez, Planning Manager
DATE: February 27, 2018
SUBJECT: DISCUSS HIGHWAY 111 CORRIDOR VISIONING
The La Quinta Highway 111 Corridor (Corridor) is a two-mile, 396-acre regional
commercial hub that serves as the City’s primary source of sales tax with $5,785,466
generated in 2016. The Corridor carries 35,000-40,000 vehicles per day and the
intersection of Highway 111 and Washington Street is one of the highest volume
intersections in the Coachella Valley, carrying over 70,000 vehicles per day. There are 75
retail, service, and restaurant establishments within 21 commercial/office developments
along the Corridor. Staff prepared a Corridor Opportunities and Constraint Map to guide
discussion by the Council and Commission (Attachment 1). A general description of this
map follows this paragraph.
OPPORTUNITIES
• CV Link is planned along the Corridor’s northern boundary with potential economic
benefits from 13,500-16,000 pedestrians, bicyclists, and other users.
• Mixed use development is emerging as one of the highest and best uses for
development and redevelopment in urban centers. Mixed use development
standards were adopted in 2016 as a Corridor development option.
• Complete streets accommodate the needs of vehicles, bicyclists, pedestrians, and
transits. Previous Corridor analysis has not employed a complete-streets approach
despite the existing street section width of 125 feet and landscape parkway width
of 65 feet that may accommodate such improvements.
• Autonomous vehicles may become the primary travel method for residents and
visitors resulting in a decline in individual car ownership and significant reduction
in parking demand. This provides opportunities for new development on land
previously used to satisfy minimum parking requirements.
CONSTRAINTS
• Corridor development is shaped by a myriad of development standards including
11 specific plans, regional commercial, commercial-park zoning district design
standards and permitted uses, and Highway 111 design guidelines.
STUDY SESSION ITEM NO.
• The loss of redevelopment limits economic development tools available to the City
for future development. Most Corridor properties were developed prior to the
redevelopment agency dissolution in 2012.
• Market trends such as declining brick-and-mortar sales due to the growth of e-
commerce and Amazon’s impact on the conventional grocery store model will
influence the viability of the Corridor as a regional commercial destination.
• Corridor Landscape maintenance and aesthetics have been raised by City Council
and Planning Commission as a key concern.
• Corridor businesses must weather the desert’s seasonal economy unlike the year-
round customer base of many inland and coastal communities.
VISIONING OPTIONS
Staff outlined the following Corridor visioning options for discussion by Council and
Commission:
• Option 1: Update Existing Highway 111 Design Guidelines (landscape, lighting, and
entryways).
• Option 2: Create a Corridor Area Plan that would provide a set of design guidelines,
traffic analysis, and code revisions to guide development along the Corridor.
• Option 3: Create a Highway 111 Specific Plan that consolidates all the existing
Specific Plans into one plan.
Council may elect to pursue technical assistance available from the Urban Land Institute
(ULI) for Corridor planning prior to selecting an option presented. ULI is a network of real
estate and land use experts that assists communities by bringing together real estate,
planning, infrastructure, public sector, finance, and development experts to provide
unbiased, pragmatic advice for addressing complex land use opportunities and
challenges. ULI would organize a technical assistance panel (TAP) over a 3-month period
at a cost of $15,500 to include the following:
• Panel consists of 4-8 specialists, who are ULI members volunteering their time to
provide community outreach service to help make communities better places.
• Panel assistance will be guided by 8 questions from the Council and Commission
about the Corridor and engage local stakeholders.
• Development of an implementation strategy based on sound information,
community realities, and best practices.
• ULI will provide a final presentation and provide a comprehensive written report.
Staff is seeking direction from the Council and Commission on the corridor visioning
options presented in the report.
Attachments: 1. Highway 111 Corridor Opportunities and Constraints Map
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City of La Quinta
Design and Development Department
Highway 111
Corridor Map
January 2018
®
Planning Division
Legend
Highway111 Area Boundary
Highway 111
!(Highway 111 Intersections
65' Landscape Setback
CV LINK ROUTE (FUTURE)
CV Link Frontage Opportunity
Vacant Properties
Drive-throughs
Specific Plans
1. Washington Park
2. One Eleven Shopping Center
3. Jefferson Plaza
4. Dune Palms Plaza
5. Centre at La Quinta
6. La Quinta Corporate Centre
7. Point Happy Shopping Center
8. La Quinta Court
9. The Pavilion at La Quinta
10. Komar Desert Center
11. Dune Palms and Highway 111Washington StreetAdams StreetDune Palms RdJefferson StreetHighway 111
CV Link
Westward Ho Dr
City Property
ATTACHMENT 1
City of La Quinta
CITY COUNCIL AND PLANNING COMMISSION JOINT MEETING
STAFF REPORT
TO: Madam Mayor and Members of the City Council and Planning
Commission
FROM: Gabriel Perez, Planning Manager
DATE: February 27, 2018
SUBJECT: DISCUSS NON-BEDROOM CONVERSION LIMITATIONS
In North La Quinta, owners of single-family residences, permitted as short-term vacation
rentals (STVRs), have requested building permits to add additional bedrooms beyond the
number of bedrooms originally intended for the home. The La Quinta Municipal Code
(Code) standards do not directly limit conversion of existing kitchens, living rooms, dining
room spaces, and other “non-bedroom” spaces into additional bedrooms. Staff is
concerned that a proliferation of non-bedroom conversions within STVRs may increase
residential occupancies and land use densities beyond those intended for single-family
zoned neighborhoods, resulting in excessive noise and excessive use of on-street parking,
among other impacts to health, safety and welfare identified in the ordinance.
Council adopted a an extension of the moratorium for 120 days on February 20, 2018 that
prohibits approval of any entitlements, such as building permits that propose conversion
of residential common living area to bedroom space and directed staff to draft code
amendments to limit non-bedroom conversions for Council consideration on April 17,
2018. Staff has found that occurrences of non-bedroom conversions in single-family
residential units in North La Quinta are led by investors with residences registered as
STVRs. At a recent meeting of local homeowner associations, staff also found an increase
in these types of conversions in neighborhoods near the Empire Polo Club in the City of
Indio.
Since adoption of the moratorium, staff reviewed residential development standards of
nearby cities and found:
• No Coachella Valley cities directly limit non-bedroom conversions in single-family
residences.
• City of Rancho Mirage limits residences of 1,900 square feet of living area or less to
a maximum of 4 bedrooms.
• City of Indio requires an additional garage space for residences with more than 4
bedrooms.
• City of Riverside limits bedrooms space to less than 50% of residential living area
and requires additional on-site parking when homeowners exceed 5 bedrooms.
STUDY SESSION ITEM NO.
This response was due to the proliferation of non-bedroom conversions of
residences near the University of California, Riverside.
Staff also reviewed STVR ordinances of resort communities that limit non-bedroom
conversions and/or mitigate STVR impacts to neighbors. Staff identified the following
standards that may limit non-bedroom conversions:
• Parking. Limit STVR parking to off-street only, thereby reducing impact on the
neighborhood on-street parking supply (Palm Desert, Palm Springs, Indian Wells,
Big Bear Lake, and Las Vegas). The cities of Indian Wells and Big Bear Lake limit
STVRs to one vehicle per bedroom.
• Bedroom limitations. Limit number of bedrooms that can be advertised for any
STVR or by property size thresholds. City of Las Vegas requires approval of a
conditional use permit for STVRs with 4 or more bedrooms.
• Distance/area limitations. Limit STVR to designated areas or establish a distance
requirement between STVRs (Palm Desert and Las Vegas).
• Owner-occupied vs. Investor-owned STVRs. Limit STVRs to owner-occupied
residences or establish limitations for investor-owned STVRs (Las Vegas).
• Limit number of STVRs per applicant within the City.
• Casitas/accessory dwelling units (ADUs). Prohibit casitas and ADUs as STVRs, as
long as state mandates regarding ADUs are met (Las Vegas).
Staff requests the Council and Commission discuss non-bedroom conversion limitations
and amendments to the short term vacation rental ordinance.
POWER POINTS
SPECIAL JOINT
MEETING
CITY COUNCIL
& PLANNING
COMMISSION
FEBRUARY 27, 2018
3/2/2018
1
City Council and Planning
Commission Meeting
February 27, 2018
City Council and Planning Commission
Joint Study Session
February 27, 2018
S1 – Highway 111 Corridor Development Visioning
3/2/2018
2
Background
•Corridor is a two-mile, 396-acre regional
commercial hub
•$5,785,466 or 70 percent of total 2016 sales tax
•Up to 40,000 vehicles per day. 70,000 vehicles at
Highway 111/Washington Street
Background
•75 retail, service, and restaurant establishments
•21 commercial and office developments
•Employs 4,000 people
3/2/2018
3
Highway 111 Standards
•11 Specific Plans
•Regional Commercial and Commercial Park District
Development Standards
•Highway 111 Design Guidelines
3/2/2018
4
CV Link
•13,500-16,000 CV Link users projected annually to
Corridor
•CV Link compatibility could generate added
economic benefits
Autonomous Vehicles
Illustration: R. Kikuo Johnson for The Wall Street Journal
3/2/2018
5
Mixed Use Development
General Plan Mixed Use Concept
3/2/2018
6
Complete Streets
Corridor Aesthetics
3/2/2018
7
E-Commerce
•Circuit City, Office Depot, Radio Shack closures
•Amazon influence
•9 Food service drive thru businesses
•8 Grocery–related businesses
3/2/2018
8
Vision Options
•Option 1: Update Existing Highway 111 Design
Guidelines (landscape, lighting, and entryways)
•Option 2: Create a Corridor Area Plan with
design guidelines, traffic analysis, and code
revisions
•Option 3: Create a Highway 111 Specific Plan to
consolidate all existing Specific Plans
Urban Land Institute Panel
•4-8 specialists to answer Council and
Commission Corridor questions
•Engage local stakeholders
•Implementation strategy
•Final presentation and report
3/2/2018
9
City Council and Planning Commission
Joint Study Session
February 27, 2018
S2 – Discuss Non-Bedroom Conversions
3/2/2018
10
Background
•Recent building permit applications to convert non-
bedroom areas into bedrooms
•Non-bedroom conversions may increase residential
occupancies beyond intent
•120-day moratorium on non-bedroom conversions in
residential districts
Defining the Issue
•Existing development standards allow for non-
bedroom conversions
•Recent building permits to increase bedrooms and
occupancy for short-term vacation rentals (STVRs)
3/2/2018
11
Via Sevilla Bedroom Conversions
•2 Homes of 3,400 sq. ft., 2 stories, modified from 5
bedrooms to 8 bedrooms
•1 Home of 3,400 sq. ft., 2 stories, modified from 5
to 7 bedrooms
Recommended Amendments
•Non-bedroom conversion limitations
•Short Term Vacation Rental Ordinance limits
3/2/2018
12
Existing Standards
•No limit on converting non-bedroom space into
bedrooms
•Dining and/or living rooms can be converted
•No additional parking is required
Suggested Title 9 Amendments
•40‐50% bedroom space maximum coverage
within existing dwelling unit
•Limit residences of up to 2,000 sq. ft. to 4
bedrooms; up to 3,000 sq. ft. to 6 bedrooms
•Require additional on‐site covered parking for
proposals adding more than 4 bedrooms
3/2/2018
13
Existing STVR Standards
•No limit on non-bedroom conversions or number of
bedrooms in a residence
•Allows use of maximum 9 bedrooms and 18
overnight occupants regardless of property/
dwelling size
•No on-street parking restrictions
Suggested Title 3 Amendments
•Limit on‐street parking for STVR
•Limit advertised rooms by lot size:
STVR Bedroom Limits by Lot Size
<10,000 sq. ft. lot 10,000-20,000 sq.
ft. lot
>20,000 sq. ft. lot
Bedrooms (max) 4 6 9
No. Overnight
Guests
10 14 18
3/2/2018
14
Suggested Title 3 Amendments
•Occupancy consideration (fire alarms,
emergency exit plans posted, fire
extinguishers, inspection)
Suggested Title 3 Amendments
•Minimum Distance between other STVRs (250, 500,
1,000 ft.)
•Identify master planned communities where STVRs
are prohibited
•Geographic area STVR prohibitions/limitations
3/2/2018
15
Suggested Title 3 Amendments
•Establish restrictions for investor-owned STVRs only
•Define owner-occupancy
•Limit STVRs owned by a single applicant
Suggested Title 3 Amendments
•Prohibit exclusive rental of casitas
•Prohibit STVR of primary home and accessory unit
simultaneously
•Define STVR violations
3/2/2018
16
STVR Bedroom Occupancy
3/2/2018
17
Bedroom
Bedroom