5A Public Hearings 2018 0220 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Open Space The proposed Specific Plan would facilitate development of focal public open space areas within the Specific Plan Area. Though the existing Specific Plan Area does not currently contain open public or park spaces, the City’s 2035 General Plan has an existing typology for such uses. As described in Section 5 of the Specific Plan under Public Open Space, the Specific Plan Area would provide up to two “large urban gathering spaces” (ranging from two to 10 acres) and seven to 12 medium-sized public spaces such as parks or plazas (two acres or less). New public open space areas would incorporate appropriate seating and shading and would consist of park types such as playgrounds, dog parks, gardens, event spaces and plazas. Usable private open space, such as plazas and courtyards, would be encouraged adjacent to building and street entrances and would incorporate landscaping and vegetation. Development of these green and open space areas would help improve the visual quality of the Specific Plan Area compared to the existing auto-oriented layout and character. In summary, although there will be visual changes to the Specific Plan Area due to an increase in height and overall massing, buildout under the Specific Plan would replace development of low to moderate visual character and quality with a more vibrant, landscaped and higher-quality visual environment. New development would be required to comply with the Specific Plan’s policies and development standards as well as those of the 2035 General Plan as listed under Regulatory Setting, above, avoiding degradation of the visual character of the Specific Plan Area. Therefore, impacts to the visual character of the Specific Plan Area would be less than significant. Mitigation Measures Mitigation measures are not required. Threshold: Would the Specific Plan create a new source of substantial light or glare that would adversely affect day or nighttime views in the area? IMPACT AES-3 IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PROPOSED SPECIFIC PLAN WOULD RESULT IN NEW SOURCES OF LIGHT AND GLARE IN AND AROUND THE SPECIFIC PLAN AREA. HOWEVER, THESE NEW SOURCES WOULD NOT SUBSTANTIALLY INCREASE THE AMOUNT OF LIGHT AND GLARE IN THE ALREADY URBANIZED SPECIFIC PLAN AREA, AND WOULD BE REGULATED BY THE CITY’S ADOPTED 2035 GENERAL PLAN, MUNICIPAL CODE REQUIREMENTS, AND SPECIFIC PLAN PROVISIONS. THIS WOULD BE A LESS THAN SIGNIFICANT IMPACT. Future development in the Specific Plan Area would increase the overall intensity of development and thus would introduce new sources of light and glare. Potential sources of new nighttime light include light spillover from the windows of residences and businesses, outdoor security lighting, lighted signs, streetlights, and building-mounted lighting. New development could also produce glare from sunlight reflecting off the windows of buildings and motor vehicles or from vehicle headlights shining at night. However, new sources would not substantially increase the amount of nighttime lighting or glare in the already urbanized Specific Plan Area, where a relatively high level of lighting is generally present currently. Section 4-1732 of the City’s Municipal code stipulates restrictions regarding the height of lighting sources and the level of illumination incurred by adjacent uses for all outdoor lighting in a landscaped parking area in residential districts. Future projects would be reviewed for site-specific consistency with these standards. Further, Goal CD-7 in the 2035 General Plan supports City consideration of light impacts from new development as a means to help avoid conflicts with nearby residential uses where possible. Lastly, Ground-Floor 138