REPORT TO PLANNING COMMISSION - Case No: ED15-082V16-005 Page 1


Community Development Department – Planning Division
P. O. Box 151560, San Rafael, CA 94915-1560
PHONE: (415) 485-3085/FAX: (415) 485-3184 / Meeting Date: / August 23, 2016
Agenda Item:
Case Numbers: / ED15-082V16-005
Project Planner: / Paul Jensen, 415-485-5064
REPORT TO PLANNING COMMISSION
SUBJECT: / San Rafael Fire Station 57- 3530 Civic Center Drive – Request for Environmental and Design Review Permit and Variance to replace the existing Fire Station 57 with the development of a new fire station (9,600 square feet), that will include the Medic 3 (paramedic) currently located at Fire Station 53. The project includes associated site and landscaping improvements and an 800-square foot storage building for this County-owned site. Project proposes a waiver from the minimum 50-foot wetland setback/buffer requirement set forth in SRMC Section 14.13.040B.2. APN: 179-270-12 (ptn.); Public/Quasi-Public (P/QP) District; City of San Rafael, applicant; County of Marin, property owner; Civic Center/Santa Venetia Neighborhoods.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The project proposes the construction of a new,9,600 square-foot Fire Station 57 on 0.72-acres onthe Marin County Civic Center campus. The subject property is currently developed with the existing Fire Station 57, which was developed in the 1970’s. The City of San Rafael leases this land from the County and provides fire and paramedic service to the North San Rafael area including the unincorporated areas (CSA #19). The existing Medic Unit 53 (paramedic) would be relocated from Fire Station 53(Joseph Court) to the new station.This project is part of Phase 1 of the San Rafael Essential Facilities Strategic Plan. This strategic plan was approved by the City Council in 2015, which also includes the rebuilding Fire Station 52 at 210 3rd Street and the new Public Safety Center in Downtown San Rafael.

Per the provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines, the project is subject to environmental review. An Initial Study has been prepared and is supported by a number of technical studies and reports. The Initial Study findsthat all potentially significant environmental impacts can be mitigated to a less-than-significant level. Adoption of a Mitigated Negative Declaration is recommended. Topic areas of study include, among others, cultural (historic and archaeological) resources, geology/soils, air quality, traffic/circulation and biological resources (wetland impacts). A 30-day public review period for the Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration has been observed.

As proposed and conditioned, the project is consistent with the pertinent policies and programs of the San Rafael General Plan 2020 and provisions of the Public/Quasi-Public (P/QP) District. The Design Review Board completed a comprehensive review of the project, including site plan revisions made in May 2016. The Board recommended approval of the site plan and the building architecture recommending minor conditions and changes.

RECOMMENDATION

It is recommended that the Planning Commission:

  1. Adopt a resolution adopting an Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration and approving a Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program (Attachment 1); and
  2. Adopt a resolution approving Environmental & Design Review Permit ED15-082 and Variance V16-005(Attachment2).
PROPERTY FACTS
Address/Location: / 3530 Civic Center Drive / Parcel Number(s): / 179-270-12 (ptn.)
Property Size: / 0.72 acres / Neighborhood: / Civic Center
Site Characteristics
General Plan Designation / Zoning Designation / Existing Land-Use
Project Site: / Public/Quasi-Public / P/QPDistrict / Fire Station57 + vacant land
North: / Public/Quasi-Public / P/QP District / Dog Park + parking lot
South: / Public/Quasi-Public
Low-Density Residential / P/QP District +
RA-B1 District (County) / US Post Office +
Single-family residential
East: / Low Density Residential / RA-B1 District (County) / Single-family residential
West: / Public/Quasi-Public / P/QP District / Civic Center Admin Building

Site Description/Setting:

The subject property is a level, 0.72-acre site (31,360 square feet) that is a part of the greater 66.55-acre Marin County Civic Center campus. The subject 0.72-acre site is leased to the City of San Rafael by the County of Marin. The front portion of the subject property is developed with a one-story fire station (San Rafael Fire Station 57), which is approximately 4,500 square feet in size and contains apparatus bays. Vehicle access to the apparatus bays is provided by a driveway connecting to Civic Center Drive and Golf Avenue (residential street). The existing Fire Station 57 serves the City as well as unincorporated areas of San Rafael (Santa Venetia, Los Ranchitos) via Community Service Area (CSA) 19.

The existing fire station was built in 1977 and contains some of the architectural characteristics of the other buildings on the Civic Center campus (arched window openings, pink/flesh-colored stucco exterior surface). The rear portion of the site is undeveloped and unpaved. This area is used for informal storage by the County and is bisected by an open drainage swale. Further east is an open drainage channel surrounded by a low-lying area of jurisdictional wetland, as defined by the US Army Corps of Engineers criteria. The area containing the drainage channel and wetland were initially a part of the City/County lease for the fire station, but the lease boundaries have since been adjusted to not include this area.

The fire station building is bordered by landscape setbacks. There are a number of mature trees on the site. These trees include a cluster of Coast live oak trees (Northwest), approximately one dozen Coast redwood trees, multiple Monterey pine trees and one spruce.

Surrounding uses include the US Postal Service Office (Civic Center Branch) located to the south, single-family residences to the south and east (unincorporated San Rafael), a public dog park and parking lot to the north, and the Marin County Administration Building to the west.

The Fire Station 57 site lies within the boundaries of the Marin County Civic Center National Register District, which is landmarked as a historic district. However, it has been determined that the fire station structure is not a contributor to the National Register District and does not meet the criteria for inclusion in the National Register or the California Register (Marin Civic Center Fire Station- Architectural Historical Assessment, Tom Origer & Associates (November 11, 2015).

BACKGROUND

In 2013, the San Rafael voters approved Measure E, which established a sales tax to fund long-term improvements to the City’s essential facilities. In 2015, the City Council adopted the San Rafael Essential Facilities Strategic Plan, which presents the City’s road map for the replacement or improvements to aging emergency service facilities. The City Council authorized funding for Phase 1 of this plan which includes the rebuilding of Fire Station 52 and the fire training center (Montecito area), as well as Fire Station 57 (Marin Civic Center) and a new Public Safety Center (Fire Station 52- Downtown and Police Department facilities) on 5th Avenue.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

A detailed description of the Fire Station 57 project is provided in a written text, which is presented in Attachment5 of this staff report. A summary is provided below.

Proposed Use:

The project proposes the construction of a new 9.600-square foot, two-story fire station that is proposed to house five on-duty fire fighters in a 24-hour shift and paramedic services (Medic 53). The plan includes three drive-through apparatus bays, the North Area Medical Supply Cache, public lobby, sleeping quarters, kitchen and restroom facilities and ancillary uses (surface parking and storage facilities).

Site Plan: The station building is proposed to be sited and oriented toward Civic Center Drive, which includes a pedestrian entrance and driveway access for the fire apparatus. A parallel driveway is proposed east of the station building, which would provide access to a rear parking lot (10 surface parking spaces) and a future, 800-square foot storage building. Fire apparatus access would utilize this driveway to return to the station’s apparatus bays. A separate, gate-secured driveway is proposed to provide emergency access to the rear portion of the site via Golf Avenue, a residential street. See Plan Sheet A-1.1.

The initial lease area for the fire station included the jurisdictional wetland located east of the proposed, rear parking lot. The lease area boundary was adjusted when it was decided to avoid filling the wetland (initial site plan proposal). As a result the lease line extends northward toward the County Dog Park to cover land area needed for fire station parking.

Architecture: The station elevations present a contemporary design that has mid-century architectural design features including a large overhang at the pedestrian entrance, an arched roof and simple forms. At this time, no design specifics have been developed for the future storage structure.

Exterior building materials include a combination of cement plaster, stone (budget permitting)/smooth troweled plaster, aluminum windows and a metal standing seam roof.

Plan Sheet A-3 presents the building elevations and Plan Sheets A-4 and A-4.1 present cross-sections through the building. Illustrative prospective drawings of the building architecture are presented on Plan Sheets A-5 and A-5.1.

Landscaping: The proposed design would introduce a small, circular plaza, stairway and accessibility ramp along the Civic Center Drive frontage. Further, landscape buffers are proposed along the edges of the rear portion of the site. Landscaping includes a combination of trees, shrubs and ground cover. See Plan Sheets A-1.2 A-1.3 and A-1.5.

The project proposes the removal of a number of existing trees, including a cluster of Coast redwood trees on the south side of the existing fire station building. The tree removal and replacement plan is discussed below in the Analysis section of this report.

Lighting: A detailed exterior lighting plan has been prepared. Exterior lighting includes a combination of pole-standards, wall-mounted scones and bollards. A photometric assessment is included in the plan. See Plan Sheets A-1.7.

Grading/Drainage: As noted above, although the site is level, site grading is required to address the proposed project design. Grading is estimated to require 1,300 cubic yards of earth movement with 1,300 cubic yards of export. See Plan Sheets A-1.4 through A-1.6.

Signage:

At this time, no detailed signage program has been developed for the project. However, the design plans present conceptual signage to demonstrate how signage has been incorporated into the building architecture. Conceptual signage is limited to a building identification sign above the station entry, which consists of simple, individual letters (“Fire Station 57”). A second wall sign is proposed adjacent to the fire station apparatus bays along the Civic Center Drive frontage. The preliminary signage is presented on Plan Sheets A-3, A-5 and A-6.

Planning Applications:

The Planning applications include an Environmental and Design Review Permit and aVariance to permit a waiver from and a reduction to the 50-foot development free wetland setback/buffer requirement.

ANALYSIS

General Plan 2020 Consistency:

A detailed analysis of the project consistency with the General Plan 2020 has been prepared in table format and is provided as an attachment to this staff report (Attachment 3). A summary of key policies and programs is provided below. Staff has identified a number of key General Plan 2020 policies and programs that should be considered. First, as proposed, the project is consistent with the pertinent policies of the Land Use Element including; Policy LU-23 (Land Use and Map Categories – Public/Quasi-Public); Policy LU-9 (Intensity of Nonresidential Land Use Development – 1.0 floor area ratio cap- 0.30 proposed); Policy LU-12 (Building Heights- maximum height of 36 feet); and Policy LU-14 (Land Use Compatibility). The proposed land use, floor area ratio and building height are consistent with and within the limits set by these policies. Other key policies that are pertinent to this project are as follows:

NH-86. Design Considerations for Development in the Vicinity of the Civic Center.

  1. Require urban design analysis to assure compatibility with materials, color and building masses with Civic Center.
  2. Require functional interconnection with Civic Center.
  3. Design to compliment Civic Center architecture rather than compete.
  4. Site design should retain vistas where visible to Mt. Tamalpais.
  5. Encourage retention of existing historic structures.
  6. Encourage the County to enhance the existing Civic Center Drive are with safe and pleasant walkways.
  7. Encourage the County to have proposals go through Design Review process, and involve North San Rafael community in evaluation of design, etc.

CD-3. Neighborhoods. Recognize, preserve and enhance the positive qualities that give neighborhoods their unique identities, while also allowing flexibility for innovative design. Develop programs to encourage and respect the context and scale of existing neighborhoods.

CD-4. Historic Resources. Protect San Rafael’s positive and distinctive image by recognizing, preserving and enhancing the City’s historic resources.

CA-13. Historic Buildings and Areas. Preserve buildings and areas with special and recognized historic, architectural or aesthetic value including but not limited to those on the San Rafael Historical/Architectural Survey. New development and redevelopment should respect architecturally and historically significant buildings and areas.

CON-3. Wetland Protection and Mitigation. In order to protect and preserved valued wetlands, loss of wetlands due to filling shall be avoided unless it is not possible or practical. When it is demonstrated that it is not possible or practical to avoid filling a wetland because of site constraints and conditions such as the geographical location of the wetlands, site configuration and size, require that the wetland be placed on-site, and in-kind at a minimum ratio of 2:1 (e.g., 2 acres for each acre lost). If it is determined that on-site mitigation is not possible or practical, off-site mitigation shall be required at a minimum ratio of 3:1. As assessed and determined on a case-by-case basis, the City may waive this policy for fill of small wetlands (0.1 acres or less in size, provided that: 1) the wetland is isolated meaning that it is not within, as part of, directly connected with or hydrologically-linked by natural flow to a creek, drainageway, wetland or submerged tidelands; 2) it is demonstrated by a wetland expert that the preservation of the wetland is not practical as it would not result in a functioning biological resource because of its isolation; 3) the City has determined that the filling will result in a more appropriate and desirable site plan for the project; and 4) the City consults with and considers comments received from the appropriate resource agencies with wetland oversight (State of California Department of Fish and Wildlife and/or California Regional Water Quality Control Board).

CON-4. Wetland Setbacks. Maintain a minimum 50-foot development-free setback from wetlands including but not limited to paving or structures. Setbacks greater than 50-feet may be required on lots of two or more acres, as determined through development review. The City may waive this requirement for minor encroachments if it can be demonstrated that the proposed setback adequately protects the functions of the wetland to the maximum extent feasible and resulting values to the satisfaction of the City after review by appropriate regulatory agencies

As proposed, staff finds that the project is generally consistent with the pertinent policies and programs of the San Rafael General Plan 2020. The project has been designed to complement the Marin Civic Center buildings and is in-scale with the residential development located southeast of the station site. Consistent with the recommendations of the Marin Civic Center Fire Station- Architectural Historical Assessment (referenced above), the plans were reviewed by our architectural historian consultant (Tom Origer & Associates) to ensure that they meet the County’s design guidelines for the Civic Center and the Secretary of Interior Standards for new construction.

Regarding Conservation Element Policy CON-3 (Wetland Protection and Mitigation), the initial project site plan proposed to fill the adjacent jurisdictional wetland. Given the size (small), location (isolated except hydrologically connected to waterways downstream) and limited biological value, filling the wetland and pursuing mitigation options was strongly considered. However, reasonable wetland mitigation options were not available, so the site plan was revised to avoid wetland fill. As the project is designed to provide a five- to 10-foot setback/buffer, it would not be consistent with Conservation Element Policy CON-4 (Wetland Setbacks). As part of the environmental review process for this project a qualified wetlands specialist assessed the wetland finding that the reduced setback/buffer is reasonable and adequate provided that protective fencing and buffer landscaping are installed. As required by Policy CON-4, City staff forwarded the project plans (with the reduced setback/buffer) to the regulatory agencies (California Department of Fish & Wildlife and California Regional Water Quality Control Board) for review and comment. To date, the City received no response from these agencies.

Zoning Ordinance Consistency:

Chapter 14-09 – Base District Regulations (P/QP District)

The project is subject to the development standards for the Public/Quasi-Public (P/QP) District, pursuant to Chapter 9 (Section 14.09.040) of the municipal code (Zoning Ordinance). The proposed use and the project design meet the use and site development standards of these Districts.

Chapter 14.13 – Wetland Overlay District (-WO)

The project site area is not within the Wetland Overlay District (-WO) but is immediately contiguous to a jurisdictional wetland. As the project proposes a wetland setback/buffer that is far less than the 50-foot setback required by SRMC Section 14.13.040.B.2, a Variance action is required (see discussion below). As summarized above, the jurisdictional wetland has been reviewed by a qualified wetland specialist who found that the reduced setback/buffer is reasonable and adequate provided that protective fencing and landscaping are installed. These recommended measures would be consistent with the requirements of SRMC Section 14.13.040C (Buffer Measures within Wetland Setback) and 14.13.040D (Landscape Vegetation within Wetland Setback). Conditions of approval are included in the attached resolution (Attachment 2) to address this recommendation.