2031 sixth street - berkeley, california · 2011. 4. 14. · 2031 sixth street zoning adjustments...

$: 2031 Sixth Street - Berkeley, California · 2011. 4. 14. · 2031 SIXTH STREET ZONING ADJUSTMENTS BOARD Page 6 of 10 April 14, 2011 File: G:\LANDUSE\Projects by Address\Sixth\2031\MODUP$
Z O N I N G

A D J U S T M E N T S

B O A R D

S t a f f R e p o r t

2120 Milvia Street, Berkeley, CA 94704 Tel: 510.981.7410 TDD: 510.981.7474 Fax: 510.981.7420

E-mail: [email protected]

FOR BOARD ACTION APRIL 14, 2011

2031 Sixth Street

Use Permit Modification #10-70000013 to modify approved plans for 3-story addition to existing community health center and allow temporary trailers during construction

I. Application Basics

A. Land Use Designations: General Plan: High Density Residential Zoning: R-4, Multi-Family Residential

B. Zoning Permits Required:

Modification of Variance/Use Permit #09-10000056, under BMC Section 23B.56.020

C. CEQA Determination: Categorically exempt pursuant to Section 15301(e)(2) of the

CEQA Guidelines (“Existing Facilities”). D. Parties Involved:

Applicant Barbara Winslow, JSW/D Architects, 3106 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley, 94705

Property Owner LifeLong Medical Care, P.O. Box 11247, Berkeley, 94712

2031 SIXTH STREET ZONING ADJUSTMENTS BOARD Page 2 of 10 April 14, 2011

File: G:\LANDUSE\Projects by Address\Sixth\2031\MODUP 10-70000013\ARCHIVE\2011-04-14_ZAB_2031 Sixth\2011-04-14_ZAB_Staff Report_2031 Sixth.docx

Figure 1: Vicinity Map

NORTH

ZONING ADJUSTMENTS BOARD 2031 SIXTH STREET April 14, 2011 Page 3 of 10


Figure 2: Site Plan

Trailer 2B (Construction)

Trailer 3 (Exam Rooms)

Trailer 2A (Counseling)



Table 1: Land Use Information

Location Existing Use Zoning District General Plan Designation

Subject Property Community health center R-4 (Multi-Family Residential)

High Density Residential

Surrounding Properties

North K-8 school R-4 (C-W beyond)

High Density Residential (Avenue Commercial beyond)

South Single-family residences R-1A (Limited Two-Family Residential)

Low Medium Density Residential

East K-8 school, single-family residences

R-4 High Density Residential

West Single-family residences MU-R (Mixed Use-Residential)

Manufacturing Mixed Use

Table 2: Project Chronology

Date

Action

December 9, 2009 Variance / Use Permit #09-10000056 approved by ZAB

December 13, 2010 Application for modification submitted

March 14, 2011 Application deemed complete

March 31, 2011 Public hearing notices mailed/posted

April 14, 2011 ZAB hearing

May 13, 2011 PSA deadline



Table 3: Development Standards

Standard BMC Sections 23D.40.070-080

Approved Project

Proposed Modifications

Permitted/ Required

Lot Area (sq. ft.) 26,400 No change 5,000

Gross Floor Area (sq. ft.) 19,139 No change N/A

Floor Area Ratio 0.72 No change N/A

Building Height

Average (ft.) 41’-7.5” (plus 3 ft. for stair tower and

mech. screen) *

40’-1.5” 35’ (65’ w/Use

Permit)

Stories 3 No change 3 (6 w/Use Permit)

Building Setbacks (ft.)

Front (Addison St.)

15’-7” No change 15’

Rear (North) 5’ * No change 15’

Left Side (Sixth St.)

1st story: ~15’

2nd

story: 24’ No change 1

st story: 6’

2nd

story: 8’

Right Side (East)

1st-2

nd story: 4’

3rd

story: 6’ No change 1

st-2

nd story: 4’

3rd

story: 6’

Lot Coverage (%) 41 No change 45

Parking Automobile 16 * No change Total: 64 Addition: 25

Bicycle 16 No change N/A

* Use Permit/Variances previously granted for these components.

II. Project Setting A. Neighborhood/Area Description:

The site is located in West Berkeley, at the northeast corner of Sixth and Addison Streets, one block south of University Avenue and five blocks west of San Pablo Avenue. Uses to the east and south, and across Sixth Street to the west, are primarily residential. Black Pine Circle School, a private K-8 school, abuts the site to the north, and the City’s public health clinic is located north of the school at Sixth and University. Commercial and industrial uses are located one block to the west (west of Fifth Street), and commercial uses are located along University Avenue.

B. Site Conditions:

The site has an area of 26,400 square feet and is developed with a two-story community health center called West Berkeley Family Practice. The health center is



owned and operated by LifeLong Medical Care, a non-profit health provider with locations in Berkeley, Oakland and Marin County. The original portion of the existing building was built in 1927 as a children’s nursery, based on a design by Walter H. Ratcliff, Jr. In 1980, the ZAB approved a Use Permit to authorize the existing health center use, and in 1984, the ZAB approved a Use Permit and Variance to expand the center by constructing a single-story addition at the northeast corner of the site. The building is a City Landmark and is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The 1984 addition has not been deemed to contribute to the building’s historic significance. Renovation of the Landmark portion of the building is currently underway under a separate permit. The southeast portion of the site contains a surface parking lot with 14 spaces. There are several large trees adjacent to the parking lot, and there are also large street trees along Sixth Street.

III. Project Description A. Approved Project:

On December 10, 2009, the ZAB approved the removal of the 1984 addition at the northeast corner of the site, a new three-story addition located in the footprint of the 1984 addition, and an adjacent two-story addition along the eastern property line. The approved project expands the building’s floor area by about 63 percent, from 11,737 to 19,139 square feet. The main purpose of the expansion is to modernize existing clinic space and provide additional clinic space to serve the center’s growing number of clients. The addition has cement stucco finish, metal windows, and steel sunshades. The two-story portion of the addition has a gable roof with standing seam metal, and the three-story portion has a flat roof, with stairway and elevator penthouses projecting above the main volume up to six feet (three feet above the main parapet). The approved project also includes a Variance to reduce the parking requirement for the addition from 23 to 15 and allow these 15 spaces to be provided at a leased parking lot adjacent to 824 University Avenue (approximately 230 feet to the north), but without a deed restriction, as required under Sections 23D.12.030.A and 23D.12.060.C for leased off-site parking.

B. Proposed Modifications: The proposed modifications include the following:

Reconfiguration of interior plan to improve patient flow and security, by providing an additional elevator, relocating laboratories and restrooms to more central location in clinic areas, relocating provider stations and medical assistants to exterior wall, and relocating stairway to third floor.



Minor adjustments to window sizes and locations to respond to interior changes and improve light to provider areas.

Relocation of the “green wall trellis” attached to north wall to suit window locations and plantings for north wall.

Reconfiguration of roof structures and building height to accommodate mechanical systems required by the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development (OSHPD), including a new boiler room with a height of 45 feet, 6 inches (9 feet above roof), relocated mechanical screen with a height of 5 feet (2 feet, 6 inches below approved screen), height of 2 feet, 6 inches for entire parapet (approved parapet varied from 0 feet to 3 feet), reduced elevator tower height (below parapet), and increased stair tower height (6 inches above approved height).

Provide two temporary modular buildings (or “trailers”) to maintain clinic operations at a minimum level during construction. According to the applicant, it was not possible to find a suitable offsite location to house clinic functions during construction because of the unusual equipment and infrastructure requirements of clinic spaces. The larger trailer, Trailer 3, would occupy the west portion of the parking lot and would house most of the clinic operations (e.g., exam rooms and provider spaces). A sycamore tree at the northwest corner of the parking lot, and a major limb of the larger sycamore tree at the southwest corner of the lot, would be removed to accommodate this trailer. A smaller trailer, Trailer 2A, would be located between the existing construction trailer along Sixth Street and the landmark building, and would house counseling offices. Both of these trailers would be present for a maximum of 18 months.

IV. Community Discussion A. Neighbor/Community Concerns:

The applicant has met with the adjacent Black Pine Circle School to discuss the proposed modifications. The school director has stated that the school “approves of the proposed changes” to the project (see Attachment 6). Hearing notices were distributed on March 31, 2011. At this writing, staff has not received any other correspondence regarding the project.

B. Committee Review:

The Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) has approved the project approved by the ZAB. The LPC secretary has reviewed the proposed modifications and has determined that are consistent with the plans approved by the LPC and do not require further LPC review.



V. Issues and Analysis A. Key Issues:

1. Aesthetic Impacts from Design Changes: As stated above, the LPC secretary has determined that the proposed modifications are consistent with the plans approved by the LPC and do not require further LPC review. The modifications improve the appearance of the project by lowering the main building height, reducing the height of the mechanical equipment screen and locating it further from the building perimeter, and arranging the windows and trellis on the north wall in a more pleasing manner that provides for larger expanses of green wall. The new boiler room, while taller than the approved mechanical screen (by 1 foot, 6 inches), would be located in the center of the roof and therefore would not be visible except from very far distances. For example, a person would have to be standing at least 109 feet to the south to see the topmost portion of the boiler room from that side; this would put the person at the edge of the parking lot. To see the boiler room from the west, a person would have to be standing more than 125 feet away, well to the west of Sixth Street. Although the stair tower at the northwest corner of the three-story addition would be 6 inches taller than the approved design, this would not substantially change the appearance of the building or increase shadows or view impacts.

2. Tree Impacts from Trailer 3: As noted in the project description, the proposed location of Trailer 3 would require the removal of a sycamore tree at the northwest corner of the parking lot, and a major limb of the larger sycamore tree at the southwest corner of the lot. Removal of the sycamore tree at the northwest corner of the parking lot would not be detrimental because this tree does not provide any important screening of the building from adjacent properties, because the tree will be replaced by a 24-inch box London Plane tree, and because two much larger sycamore trees will remain at the south end of the parking lot. These larger trees are much more important for screening the building from the adjacent Addison Street right-of-way and for contributing to the beauty of the site and the surrounding neighborhood. The applicant has submitted a report by a certified arborist stating that removal of a major limb on the sycamore tree at the southwest corner of the parking lot will not be harmful to the tree. The City Forester has reviewed this letter and concurs.

3. Parking Impacts During Construction: Continued operation of the clinic during construction may increase the overall parking demand during construction since the parking needs of the clinic must be satisfied in addition to the parking needs of construction workers. To avoid these difficulties, the property owner attempted to find another site in the area that could accommodate the clinic’s operations



during construction, but was unable to do so because of the unusual equipment and infrastructure requirements of clinic spaces. However, the applicant states that clinic services (and therefore, parking demand) may be reduced from normal levels because the trailers do not provide the same quality of space as the existing building, which would reduce somewhat the interim parking demand for staff and clients. In any case, Trailer 3 would remove six of the 14 on-site parking spaces that would otherwise be available for construction staging or parking during construction. The eight remaining spaces will be available when they are not being used for staging of construction materials. In addition, the 16-space parking lot adjacent to 824 University (India Chaat & Sweets), which the owner leased to meet parking demand for the approved project, will be available during construction. In addition, the public parking lot at Fourth and University (across from Spenger’s restaurant) generally has a large surplus during the daytime and, at about 0.2 miles distant from the site, is reasonably accessible. Based on the availability of off-street parking next to 824 University and the parking lot at Fourth and University, staff believes that the removal of six on-site parking spaces during construction will not be detrimental to the neighborhood’s parking supply.

B. General and Area Plan Consistency:

General Plan Policy Analysis: The 2002 General Plan contains several policies applicable to the project, including the following: 1. Policy LU-3–Infill Development: Encourage infill development that is

architecturally and environmentally sensitive, embodies principles of sustainable planning and construction, and is compatible with neighboring land uses and architectural design and scale.

2. Policy LU-7–Neighborhood Quality of Life, Action A: Require that new development be consistent with zoning standards and compatible with the scale, historic character, and surrounding uses in the area.

3. Policy UD-16–Context: The design and scale of new or remodeled buildings should respect the built environment in the area, particularly where the character of the built environment is largely defined by an aggregation of historically and architecturally significant buildings.

4. Policy UD-24–Area Character: Regulate new construction and alterations to ensure that they are truly compatible with and, where feasible, reinforce the desirable design characteristics of the particular area they are in.



5. Policy UD-32–Shadows: New buildings should be designed to minimize impacts on solar access and minimize detrimental shadows. Staff Analysis: As discussed above in “Key Issues,” the proposed modifications will be aesthetically appropriate and will not substantially increase shadows over the approved design.

6. Policy LU-10–Parking: Protect residential areas from institutional and commercial parking impacts by encouraging use of alternative modes of transportation and strictly enforcing residential parking permit regulations. Staff Analysis: As discussed above in “Key Issues,” staff believes that the removal of nine on-site parking spaces during construction will not be detrimental to the neighborhood’s parking supply.

West Berkeley Plan Policy Analysis: The West Berkeley Plan, adopted in 1993, also contains several policies applicable to the project, including the following: 1. Land Use Element, Goal 3, Policy B: Protect the residential core neighborhoods

from parking spill-over generated by nearby office and residential uses. Staff Analysis: See above under General Plan Policy Analysis, Item 6.

2. Land Use Element, Goal 4: Assure that new development in any sector is of a scale and design that is appropriate to its surroundings, while respecting the genuine economic and physical needs of the development. Staff Analysis: See above under General Plan Policy Analysis, Items 1-5.

VI. Recommendation

Staff recommends that the Zoning Adjustments Board APPROVE Use Permit Modification #10-70000013 pursuant to Section 23B.32.040 and subject to the attached Findings and Conditions (see Attachment 1).

Attachments:

1. Findings and Conditions 2. Project Plans, received March 28, 2011 3. Approved Plans 4. Applicant Statement 5. Notice of Public Hearing 6. Correspondence Received Staff Planner: Aaron Sage, AICP, [email protected], (510) 981-7410

2031 sixth street - berkeley, california · 2011. 4. 14. · 2031 sixth street zoning adjustments...

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