To: Board of Supervisors
From: Planning and Building Department
Agenda Section: Public Hearing
SUBJECT:
title
Redwoods Rural Health Center General Plan Amendment & Zone Reclassification
end
RECOMMENDATION(S):
Recommendation
That the Board of Supervisors:
1. Introduce Ordinance No.____(Attachment C) by title and waiver further reading;
2. Open the public hearing, receive and consider the staff report, the Planning Commission’s recommendations and accept public comment;
3. Close the public hearing;
4. Adopt the attached Resolution No. _____ certifying the Mitigated Negative Declaration (MND) (Attachment A);
5. Adopt the attached Resolution No. ____ (Attachment B) approving the General Plan Amendment to change the General Plan Land Use Designation for the 0.33 acre site from Residential Low Density (RL) to Commercial Services (CS);
6. Adopt Ordinance No. ____ (Attachment C) amending Section 311-7 of the Humboldt County Code by reclassifying property in the Garberville area in APN 077-312-009 from Residential Single Family with a Manufactured Home Combining Zone (R-1-T) to Community Commercial (C-2);
7. Direct the Planning and Building Department to file a Notice of Determination with the Humboldt County Recorder’s Office, pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act; and
8. Direct the Clerk of the Board to publish summaries of the Ordinance amendments within 15 days after adoption by the Board, along with the names of those Supervisors voting for and against each ordinance (Attachment D) and to post in the Office of the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors a certified copy of the full text of the adopted ordinance correction along with the names of those Supervisors voting for and against the ordinance.
Body
SOURCE OF FUNDING:
The application fees cover the costs associated with this item.
DISCUSSION:
The ultimate goal of this application is to accommodate increasing demand for health services in the Southern Humboldt community by expanding Redwood Rural Health Center (RRHC) operations to project site at 59 Shady Grove Lane. The applicant has two objectives for the 59 Shady Grove Lane property:
1. Accommodate demand for additional parking for patients and staff at existing RRHC facilities on a neighboring 1+ acre property at 101 West Coast Road (APN 077-312-015), and
2. Convert the existing vacant single-family residence into medical offices for a Wellness Center, housing perinatal, nutrition and acupuncture services.
Before the proposed 35-space parking lot or 1,100 square foot medical office building can be constructed, the land use designation for the property needs to be changed from Residential Low Density (RL) to Commercial Services (CS), and the zoning needs to be changed from Residential Single-Family with a Manufactured Home Combining Zone (R-1-T) to Community Commercial with a Qualified Combining Zone (C-2-Q). The special restrictions imposed on the property by the application of a “Q” Zone are designed to limit potential environmental impacts resulting from the conversion from a residential to commercial use, and to identify and restrict principally permitted uses to those that are compatible with adjacent residential uses.
At a public hearing on May 7, 2020, The Planning Commission unanimously approved the project as part of the consent agenda. They made findings that the proposed General Plan and Zoning Map Amendment are in the public interest because they support expansion of an existing health care facility in an area designated by the federal Health Resources and Services Administration as a Health Professional Shortage Area. They also found the project will enhance the quality of life of members of the southern Humboldt community through the improvement of health outcomes. The proposed Wellness Center will offer healthcare services like dedicated perinatal care and acupuncture that are not currently available in the area.
The project will also divert parking from West Coast Road to the project site, allowing for greater ease and safety of access along West Coast Road for motorists, buses, bicyclists and pedestrians. Sufficient on-site parking at the RRHC facilities will allow for greater accessibility for all users. This will reduce high-mileage vehicle trips to healthcare providers in other population centers like Eureka, thus reducing overall greenhouse gas emissions in the county.
Potential environmental impacts of the project are mitigated to less than significant levels by applying a Q - Qualified Zone which limit the uses of the site to:
(1) Professional and business offices, and commercial instruction;
(2) Caretaker’s residence which is incidental to and under the same ownership as an existing commercial use; and/or
(3) Multiple dwellings on the upper floors of multi-story structures where below are establishments engaged in commercial uses.
The Q-Zone also has performance standards for development of the site that describe requirements for landscaping, outdoor lighting, inadvertent discovery of archaeological resources, soil erosion prevention measures, and low-impact development.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
There will be no impact on the General Fund. The applicant is responsible for paying all costs involved in the processing of the General Plan Amendment application.
STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK:
This action supports your Board’s Strategic Framework by creating opportunities for improved safety and health.
OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT:
The project was circulated to various state and local agencies for comments and recommendations, which have been made conditions of approval. The comments from the Redway Community Services District (RCSD) request a “detention and infiltration pond (or similar) built into the final plan for the property”. The performance standards in the Q-Zone requiring prevention of soil erosion and low impact development features respond to RCSD’s request.
ALTERNATIVES TO STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS:
The Board may choose to modify the Q-Qualified Zone to further ensure potential future uses are compatible with the surrounding land uses. Staff is unaware of any community concerns not already addressed by the proposed performance standards, so staff does not recommend further consideration of this alternative.
ATTACHMENTS:
A. Resolution Certifying the Mitigated Negative Declaration for the Proposed Redwoods Rural Health Center Development
B. Resolution Adopting Findings in Support of the General Plan Amendment and Rezone and Approving the General Plan Amendment
C. Draft Ordinance No. ______ Approving the Zone Reclassification of the Subject Property.
D. Summary of the Ordinance for Publication
E. Planning Commission Resolution and Staff Report
PREVIOUS ACTION/REFERRAL:
Board Order No.: C-13
Meeting of: September 25, 2018
File No.: GPP-18-003
ATTACHMENT E
Planning Commission Resolution and Staff Report.