TITLE:
title
GENERAL PLAN CONFORMITY RESOLUTION FOR THE CITY OF COSTA MESA ONE-YEAR FY 2022-2023 AND FIVE-YEAR FY 2022-2027 CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMS
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DEPARTMENT: ECONOMIC AND DEVELOPMENT SERVICES DEPARTMENT/PLANNING DIVISION
PRESENTED BY: JUSTIN ARIOS, ASSOCIATE PLANNER
CONTACT INFORMATION: JUSTIN ARIOS, 714.754.5667; Justin.Arios@costamesaca.gov
RECOMMENDATION:
recommendation
Adopt a Resolution to find that the City’s proposed Capital Improvement Program (CIP) is in conformance with the 2015-2035 General Plan.
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APPLICANT OR AUTHORIZED AGENT:
City of Costa Mesa
BACKGROUND:
State Law Requirements
Government Code Section 65103(c), in part, requires that the Planning Commission review the proposed CIP portion of the City’s annual budget and report to the City Council on its conformity with the 2015-2035 General Plan. In addition, Government Code Section 65401 requires an annual programmatic review of major capital improvement (“public works”) projects that are recommended for planning, design, or construction during the ensuing fiscal year. Projects listed in the one-year (2022-2023) CIP fall into this category. In addition, Government Code Section 65402 requires a General Plan conformity determination for certain public works projects. The General Plan conformity analysis provided herein addresses both Government Code sections.
DESCRIPTION:
Government Code Section 65103(c) requires Planning Commission review of the proposed Capital Improvement Program portion of the City’s annual budget for conformity with the General Plan. The City’s one-year CIP includes 42 public infrastructure projects and the five-year CIP includes 191 projects. These projects relate to energy and sustainability, facilities, parks, parkways and medians, streets, and transportation projects. The CIP projects planned for next fiscal year are listed in an attachment to this report - FY 2022-2023 One-Year Summary of Capital Improvement Projects. CIP projects planned for the next five years are also listed in an attachment to this report - Five-Year Capital Improvement Program.
ANALYSIS:
The City’s CIP is an important fiscal planning tool for public infrastructure projects. The proposed CIP includes a number of projects that implement various policies, objectives, and programs identified in the 2015-2035 General Plan. The proposed projects generally fall into six categories: energy and sustainability, facilities, parks, parkways and medians, streets, and transportation projects. The following paragraphs correlate the proposed project types with applicable General Plan goals, objectives, and policies:
• Energy and Sustainability: Projects in this category include improvements to City facilities or involve City-wide programs that further the City’s overall energy and sustainability goals. Specific projects in this category include electric vehicle charging stations and other energy and water efficiency projects included in the five-year CIP. These projects implement Conservation Element Policy CON-2.A.1 to promote efficient use of energy in public facilities, infrastructure and equipment. These projects also implement CON-2.A.7 to incorporate energy and resource conservation standards and practices in City facilities and services.
• Facilities: Projects in this category include public building or facility maintenance, improvements or reconstruction. Specific projects in this category include improvements to City Hall, the Corp Yard, Costa Mesa Country Club, Costa Mesa Tennis Center, the Senior Center and recreation facilities, and improvements to police facilities and fire stations. Planned improvements to police, fire and other civic administration facilities implement Safety Element Policy S-2.12 to continue to maintain adequate police and fire facilities sufficient to protect the community. Improvements to recreation and community facilities implement Open Space and Recreation Element Policy OSR-2.4 to update existing facilities for senior citizens, youth, adults, and overall community use.
• Parks: Projects in this category include maintenance, improvements, or new construction at various City parks. Projects within this category implement Open Space and Recreation Element Goal OSR-1 relating to providing the community with high-quality open space and recreational opportunities through the development of recreation resources; park facilities projects also implement Open Space and Recreation Element Policy OSR-1.11 relating to performing regular maintenance of facilities to ensure proper working order of all recreation facilities and equipment.
• Parkways and Medians: Projects in this category include parkway and median landscape maintenance, curb/median construction or sidewalk repair/construction. Projects within this category implement Community Design Element Goal CD-1 to strengthen the image of the City as experienced from sidewalks and roadways as well as Objective CD-1A to contribute to City beautification by enhancing the visual environment of Costa Mesa’s vehicular and pedestrian corridors.
• Streets: Projects in this category include any alley/street maintenance or repairs (e.g. slurry seal, rehabilitation, etc.) and storm drain or water quality related improvements. The projects within this category implement Safety Element Goal S-1 and more specifically Policy S-1.11, which calls for the improvement and maintenance of local storm drain infrastructure to reduce flood hazards. Other projects within this category implement Circulation Element Goal C-2 to effectively manage and improve the roadway system, which includes policies to construct street improvements.
• Transportation: Projects in this category include transportation-related improvements or maintenance including active transportation projects, traffic signal maintenance and improvements, intersection improvements, and general traffic related improvements. Projects within this category implement Circulation Element goals such as Goals C-1, C-2, and C-6 which encourage a comprehensive transportation system that accommodates all users while maintaining the efficiency of the system, as well as ongoing funding and evaluation of the City’s transportation network. These projects are also consistent with Growth Management Element Goals GM-1A and GM-2A, which encourage the City to provide and maintain a circulation system with acceptable levels of service and ensure coordination of land use and transportation planning policies. Goals C-7 and C-12 relate to enhancing and funding active transportation projects that include policies related to improving and maintaining bicycle and pedestrian facilities consistent with the City’s Active Transportation Plan (ATP).
The proposed projects in the FY 2022-2023 and FY 2022-2027 CIP are consistent with and implement the goals, policies, and objectives of the General Plan. Based on the above information, staff recommends that the Planning Commission find that the proposed FY 2021-2022 and FY 2022-2027 CIPs is in conformance with the General Plan.
GENERAL PLAN CONFORMANCE:
The Costa Mesa General Plan establishes the long‐range planning and policy direction that guides change and preserves the qualities that define the community. The 2015-2035 General Plan sets forth the vision for Costa Mesa for the next two decades. This vision focuses on protecting and enhancing Costa Mesa’s diverse residential neighborhoods, accommodating an array of businesses that serve both local needs and attract regional and international spending, and providing cultural, educational, social, and recreational amenities that contribute to the quality of life in the community. Over the long term, General Plan implementation will ensure that development decisions and improvements to public and private infrastructure are consistent with the goals, objectives, and policies contained in this Plan.
The proposed projects in the FY 2022-2023 and FY 2022-2027 CIPs are in conformance with the City’s General Plan. The following evaluation does not represent a comprehensive listing of each and every applicable General Plan goal and policy but rather references the most directly applicable.
• The proposed energy and sustainability projects conform to Conservation Element Policy 2.A.1 and Policy 2.1.7. The proposed energy and sustainability improvements to City facilities and programs are consistent with Conservation Element Policy CON-2.A.1 and CON-2.A.7. The energy and sustainability projects such as electric vehicle charging stations at the Corp Yard and other city facilities would promote efficient use of energy and conservation of resources at public facilities.
• The proposed improvements or reconstruction to buildings and facilities conform to Safety Element Policy S-2.12 and Open Space and Recreation Element Policy OSR-2.4. Proposed improvements to police and fire and other civic administration facilities are consistent with Safety Element Policy S-2.12 as the improvements would allow the City to continue to maintain adequate police and fire facilities to serve the community. Proposed improvements to community facilities such as the Senior Center, Norma Herzog Community Center, Balearic Center, City Hall, Corp Yard, Mesa Verde Library, Tennis Center, and Country Club are consistent with Open Space and Recreation Element Policy OSR-2.4 because they would update existing facilities for senior citizens, youth, adults, and overall community use.
• The proposed improvements, maintenance and development of park facilities conform to Open Space and Recreation Element Policies OSR-1 and OSR-1.11. The proposed improvements to park facilities are consistent with Open Space and Recreation Element Policy OSR-1 because the projects would develop and provide the community with high-quality open spaces and recreational opportunities. The maintenance and improvements to park facilities would also ensure proper working order of all recreation facilities and equipment - consistent with Open Space and Recreation Element Policy OSR-1.11.
• The proposed maintenance and construction projects related to the parkways and medians conform to Community Design Element Policies CD-1 and CD-1A. The proposed parkway/median projects would strengthen the image of the City as experienced from sidewalks and roadways as well as contribute to City beautification by enhancing the visual environment of Costa Mesa’s vehicular and pedestrian corridors - both of which are consistent with General Plan Policies CD-1 and CD-1A from the Community Design Element.
• The proposed street and storm drain improvements, repair and maintenance conform to Safety Element Policy S-1 and S-1.11 and Circulation Element Goal C-2. The programs for street and storm drain projects would minimize risks of injury, loss of life, property damage and environmental degradation consistent with Safety Element Policy S-1. The storm drain improvements would also improve and maintain the infrastructure in a manner that reduces flood hazards as stated in Safety Element Policy S-1.11. In addition, the street repair projects would allow the City to maintain a robust and efficient vehicular circulation network as stated in Circulation Element Goal C-2.
• The transportation-related projects conform to Circulation Element Goal C-1, C-2, C-6, C-7 and C-12. The transportation-related projects would implement the “complete streets” policies on the City’s roadways including to plan, develop and implement a comprehensive transportation system that serves all users and modes of travel such as bicycling, walking and driving. As such the proposed transportation-related projects would be consistent with Circulation Element Goals C-1, C-2, and C-7. In addition, pursuant to Circulation Element Goals C-6 and C-12, the City continues to monitor and evaluate opportunities to secure funding to enhance the circulation system and implement the Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan.
ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINATION:
The CIP is a fiscal planning and budgeting activity, which allows the City to plan for future specific capital improvement projects. It does not commit the City to implementing any specific project or project design. Therefore, the determination of General Plan conformity for the CIP is not a “project” and is not subject to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) per CEQA Guidelines Section 15378.
Prior to specific project approval, projects listed in the City’s CIP are evaluated for CEQA compliance prior to implementation. Although, major projects may require preparation of a project-specific environmental analysis, which is undertaken at the project design phase, most CIP projects require maintenance or other minor improvements of existing facilities and thus are determined categorically exempt under CEQA Guidelines Sections 15304 (Minor Land Alterations) and 15301 (Existing Facilities).
ALTERNATIVES:
The Planning Commission may comment on the projects identified in the FY 2022-2023 and 2022-2027 CIPs as to their conformance with the General Plan. Comments will be forwarded to the City Council for consideration. Other than adopting a General Plan Conformity resolution, there are no other viable alternatives that would comply with State law.
CONCLUSION:
For the purposes of Government Code Section 65401 and 65402, the capital improvement projects contained in the FY 2022-2023 and FY 2022-2027 CIPs are in conformance with the General Plan.