HomeMy WebLinkAboutGeneral Plan Amendment 76-1 Part A - GPA 76-1A - Downtown A GENERAL PLAN AMENDMENT 761
PART A : DOWNTOWN AREA
december ,, 1975
huntington beach planning department
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GENERAL PLAN AMENDMENT 761
PART A : DOWNTOWN AREA
• december , 1975
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huntington beach planning department
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• TABLE OF CONTENTS
Section Title Page
1 . 0 Introduction 1
1. 1 Intent and Purpose 1
1. 2 Authority and Scope 3
1. 3 Background 5
2. 0 Summary of Planning Issues*
2.1 General Issues
2. 2 Specific Issues
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3. 0 Market Forecast Summary*
3. 1 Population
3. 2 Market Analysis of Land Use Potential
4. 0 Alternative Development Concepts *
• 4. 1 The Destination Resort Concept
4. 2 The Regional Point of Interest Concept
4. 3 The Seasonal Beach Community Concept
4. 4 The Modified Destination Resort Concept
5. 0 Analysis of Alternative Concepts *
• 5. 1 City Goals and Policies
5. 2 Market Potential
5. 3 Economic Commitments
5. 4 Significant Environmental Impacts
5. 5 Traffic Impacts
5. 6 Cost-Revenue Impacts
• 5. 7 Coastal Plan
5. 8 Park Needs
6. 0 Amendment Summary 7
6. 1 Goals and Policies 7
6. 2 The Plan 11
6. 3 Summary of Land Use and Population 16
* See corresponding section of Downtown Planning Study:
Draft Report.
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1. 0 INTRODUCTION
1. 1 Intent and Purpose
As the fourth document in the transition from the Master Plan
of Land Use to the Land Use Element of the General Plan, General
Plan Amendment 76-1A is a significant step toward the new
direction for Huntington Beach established in the Phase I Land
Use Element and subsequent amendments.
The amendment presented in this document is a transitional step
which is intended to provide a land use policy guide for Down-
town Huntington Beach. It is intended that this amendment
replace the planning unit designation presently in effect in
the majority of this area. While the Destination Resort
designation attempts to affect development similar to that
proposed in Amendment 76-1A, the amendment more closely defines
appropriate land uses. This amendment addresses the location,
relationships and extent of the residential, hotel and motel,
retail and specialty commercial, office, and public uses allowed
r under the Destination Resort category. Amendment 76-1A also
addresses the changes to the Master Plan of Streets and Arterial
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Highways that are necessary to support the proposed land uses.
This amendment, in addition to a proposal continued in General
Plan Amendment 76-1B,will allow the deletion of Destination
Resort from the Phase I Land Use Element. It is anticipated that
one more document will be necessary to complete the transition
of the Land Use Element to the "new direction" . A draft of the
Phase II Land Use Element has been presented to the Planning
Commission but is currently being revised. The timeliness of
the Downtown Planning effort plus requests from property owners
for additional amendments necessitated the development of
General Plan Amendment 76-1A and General Plan Amendment 76-1B.
It should be noted, however, that even with the adoption of the
Phase II Land Use Element, the Land Use Element will still be
subject to continuous scrutiny and where justified, amended.
1. 2 Authority and Scope
1. 2 . 1 Authority per C. I .R. Guidelines
Although the General Plan is a long-range, comprehensive
policy document, it must be periodically updated to meet
new conditions and from time to time revised or ampli-
fied to respond to unforeseen changes or needs. The
plan is, therefore, subject to amendment to reflect
changes in goals , policies and physical, social or
economic conditions. Some changes may be minor and
not require changes in other parts of the plan. All
proposed changes, however, should be evaluated in regard
to environmental impact and consistency with the balance
of the document. An environmental impact analysis has
been prepared and is contained in a separate document
entitled General Plan Amendment 76-1A: Environmental
Assessment.
Section 65361 restricts the number of times per year
that the mandatory elements of the General Plan can be
amended. "No mandatory element of a General Plan shall
be amended more frequently than three times during any
calendar year. . . " This provision does not apply to
adding new elements to the General Plan. Local agencies
can amend the General Plan by adding new plan elements
as often as desired. For example, noise, seismic safety
and safety elements may be adopted during the calendar
year and this will riot corst tute an action under
Section 65361. Plan elements which are not required in
the planning law (e.g. , urban design, specific area
plans, public buildings, etc. ) but may be of community
interest can be amended to the General Plan as often as
desired. This procedure only affects proposals to
change existing mandatory General Plan Elements. This
requirement became effective on January 1, 1974 .
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Section 65862 requires that a two-week period of time be
provided between the adoption or amendment of the
• General Plan and proposal for a rezoning for
the purpose of bringing zoning into consist-
ency with the General Plan. This prohibits concurrent
action to amend the General Plan and the zoning ordinance
at the same meeting. The two processes have been sepa-
rated in order to strengthen the General Plan as a
policy document and the zoning ordinance as an imple-
menting device. This requirement also became effective
on January 1 , 1974 .
1. 2. 2 Scope of Amendment
The Amendment presented in this document consists of the
following major points:
A. Identification of planning issues.
B. A summary of market forecasts for the various land
S uses proposed.
C. A description of four alternative land use concepts
proposed for Downtown Huntington Beach.
D. An analysis of the alternative concepts including
their impacts on City goals and policies, market
potentials, economic commitments, significant
environmental features, circulation, City costs
and revenues, the Coastal Plan, and park facilities.
E. A description of the land use pattern, including
text and a diagram or other graphic representation
such as a map.
In order to avoid repitition of analysis that has been
presented in the Downtown Planning Study: Draft Report,
several sections of the Amendment document are merely
referenced. Specifically these sections as noted in
the Table of Contents are: 2 .0 Summary of Planning
Issues, 3. 0 Market Forecast Summary, 4. 0 Alternative
Development Concepts and 5 .0 Analysis of Alternative
Developments. It is, therefore, necessary to consult
the Downtown .Planning Study: Draft Report for the
background information leading up to the recommen-
dations contained in the remainder of this report.
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Figure 1-1
STUDY AREA LOCATION
huntington beach planning department
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1. 2. 3 Amendment Area Boundaries
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The area under consideration in Amendment 76-1A contains
approximately 487 acres and includes the business
district in the vicinity of the municipal pier, the
surrounding residential area, the portion of the Town-
lot fronting on Pacific Coast Highway and the largely
• undeveloped area east of Lake Street and west of Beach
Boulevard. The precise boundaries of the amendment
area are: The Pacific Ocean, Goldenwest Street,
Walnut Avenue, Fourteenth Street, Orange Avenue,
Eight Street, Palm Avenue, Alabama Street, Chicago
Avenue and Beach Boulevard. Figure 1-1 delineates
S the amendment area.
1. 3 Background
Over the past several years a variety of development plans and
proposals have been prepared for Downtown Huntington Beach. The
first significant effort to upgrade the Downtown began in 1965
when the City called in a task force from the Urban Land
Institute to assess the City and make recommendations on the
future direction to be followed. The ULI study concluded that
the City' s economic future lay in developing the ocean front
and revitalizing Downtown. Soon after completion of the ULI
study, the City began developing plans and making improvements
in the beach front area. The result was the adoption of the
Top-of-Pier plan in late 1969. One of the top priority projects
in this plan was to add 32 acres of existing parking facilities.
As detailed plans were formulated, support for the parking
expansion died and so did the Top-of-Pier plan. The next
proposal for the Downtown was prepared by VTN Consolidated.
The result of VTN' s study efforts were incorporated in a draft
report that was informally submitted in April, 1975. The
following month, the City and VTN agreed that the City Planning
Department would prepare a General Plan for a modified Top-of-Pier
plan area, and VTN would prepare a development plan for specific
portions of the planning area. In July, 1975 the Planning Depart-
ment with consultant assistance embarked on this latest effort.
The Planning Department' s Downtown Planning Study Draft Report
was completed in November, 1975 and included four alternative
land use proposals: (1) The Destination Resort concept, (2)
The Modified Destination Resort concept, (3) The Regional Point
of Interest concept and (4) the Seasonal Beach Community concept.
The City Council at its meeting of November 24 , 1975 directed
the Planning Department to prepare a General Plan Amendment
that reflected the Modified Destination Resort concept.
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• 6. 0 AMENDMENT SUMMARY
As explained in Section 1. 0, the purpose of General Plan Amendment
76-1A is to provide a land use policy guide for Downtown Huntington
Beach. It is also the purpose of this amendment to address changes
in the circulation system that are required to support the land uses
proposed. This section of the document compiles the recommendations
developed in earlier sections into a concise form for adoption.
Adoption of General Plan Amendment 76-1A constitutes approval of
the land uses presented in the modified Destination Resort Concept,
the creation of two additional General Plan land use designations
` (Specialty Commercial and Tourist Commercial) , modifications to
residential standards, modifications to the Master Plan of Streets
and Arterial Highways , and deletion of the Ocean Front Commercial/
Residential planning unit.
6 . 1 Goals and Policies
The development concepts proposed by General Plan Amendment 76-1A
represent the land use alternative that is most compatible with
existing City goals and policies. The major feature of this amend-
ment is that it balances City goals and desires for improvement of
the municipal economic base with other community goals.
Specifically, General Plan Amendment 76-1A proposes the adoption of
the following development goals and policies.
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6 . 1. 1 To revitalize the commercial area along Main Street by:
(1) Giving first priority in revitalizing the Downtown
to the development of an integrated specialty
shopping area in the six blocks adjacent to Main
Street in the vicinity of the municipal pier;
(2) Pursuing the concept of converting Main Street and
the alleys within the specialty shopping area to
pedestrian ways through a development plan;
(3) Working out the details of financing responsibilities
for the necessary private and public improvements
through a development plan.
6 . 1. 2 Five Block Area (Fronting on Pacific Coast Highway between
Lake Street and Sixth Street)
To promote commercial development of this area by:
(1) Giving first priority to development of the two blocks
within the specialty shopping area;
(2) Including the remaining three blocks in the Main
Street development if feasible.
6 . 1. 3 Pier
To preserve the traditional role of the pier by:
(1) Not adding any commercial structures on the pier; '
(2) Limiting specialty commercial development on and ad-
jacent to the pier to existing square footage in
order not to detract from Main Street;
(3) Upgrading the quality of existing structures and
uses;
(4) Considering expansion of specialty uses adjacent to
the pier after the Main Street project is established.
6. 1. 4 High Rise Development
To permit high rise development in the Downtown area by:
(1) Allowing high rise residential development in all
high density residential areas with highest priority
given to the ocean front area between Sixth Street
and Goldenwest Street;
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(2) Developing a residential high rise ordinance to insure
i integration in the Downtown development and to
minimize adverse environmental impacts;
(3) Revising the existing high rise commercial ordinance
(MS Suffix) and allowing high rise structures in all
tourist commercial and general commercial areas.
6. 1. 5 Old Civic Center Site
To retain the Old Civic Center Site for public use by
developing a combination library, community service
center, and park complex.
6. 1. 6 Park Needs
To satisfy the demand for park facilities generated by
the development of the Downtown by:
(1) Providing a minimum of two neighborhood parks in
the amendment area;
(2) Increasing the community park facilities provided by
developing neighborhood parks with community park
facilities.
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6. 1. 7 Development of Small Lots
To insure the consolidation of lots within the Downtown
commercial areas and the proposed high density residential
area along the ocean front.
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6. 1. 8 City-Owned Property
To utilize City-owned property to assist in the revitaliza-
tion of the Amendment area by:
(1) Utilizing City-owned parcels west of Lake Street to
assist in lot consolidation;
(2) Utilizing the 45 acres between Huntington Street and
Beach Boulevard to provide the entrepreneurial option
of tourist commercial development.
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6. 1.9 Development of Major Parcels
To promote the development of major parcels of land in
order to accrue potential tax increment benefits and stimu-
late further improvement by:
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(1) Designating the parcels at the intersection of Beach
Boulevard and Atlanta Avenue for residential use;
(2) Designating the property between Huntington Street
and Lake Street for tourist commercial use with re-
evaluation after five years.
6. 1. 10 Mass Rapid Transit
To continue to support the Orange County Transit District
mass rapid transit line into Huntington Beach by:
(1) Requesting the Orange County Transit District to
financially assist in the preservation of the corridor
by either acquiring the railroad right-of-way and
sufficient adjacent land for an MRT line, or by com-
bining the railroad right-of-way with Lake Street to
form a multi-purpose arterial highway/transit
corridor;
(2) Pursuing, through the Orange County Transit District
and the Urban Mass Transit Administration, the
development of a phased mass transit terminal in the
Amendment Area.
6 . 1. 11 Low and Moderate Cost Housing
To provide housing opportunities for all economic segments
of Huntington Beach by:
(1) Providing up to 20 percent of all new residential
units in the Amendment Area for low and moderate
income families;
(2) Utilizing all available techniques for the provision
of low and moderate cost housing.
6 . 1. 12 Convention Center
To promote the development of convention facilities by
encouraging hotels located within the Amendment Area to
provide convention facilities for at least 1,000 persons
with one facility for at least 600 persons.
6. 1. 13 Parking
To provide adequate parking facilities in the Downtown
commercial. facilities by:
(1) Providing parking facilities as an integral part of
development;
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(2) Insuring the provision of parking facilities through
the formation of a parking district, on-site park-
ing facilities in consolidated areas, or development
fees earmarked for parking.
6. 1. 14 Townlot Area No. 5
To maximize the development potential of this area by:
(1) Developing a residential standard that would require
larger minimum lot sizes than presently required for
low and multi-story structures (up to four or five
stories) and a sliding scale of minimum lot sizes for
structures over five stories;
(2) Providing economic incentives for lot consolidation;
(3) City or Redevelopment Agency acquisition where lot
size minimums cannot be met.
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6. 1 . 15 Relocation of Downtown Post Office
To utilize the proposed Post Office reconstruction to
assist in the revitalization of Downtown by requesting the
Postal Service to relocate the Main Street branch from the
Main Street and Hartford Avenue site to the heart of the
Downtown commercial area.
6. 2 The Plan
The land uses proposed in General Plan Amendment 76-1A range in
intensity from Low Density Residential to the very intensive use,
Tourist Commercial. As previously mentioned, the majority of the
Amendment Area is currently designated Destination Resort. The re-
mainder was recently designated Ocean Front Commercial/Residential
and Low Density Residential . The uses proposed in the Amendment do
not constitute a major change in City land use policy. The do
constitute a more precise but still general definition of City policy
in Downtown Huntington Beach.
The location and designation of the land uses proposed in General
Plan Amendment 76-1A are depicted in Figure 6-1.
6 . 2. 1 Residential Standards
The residential density standards utilized in this Amend-
ment are those incorporated in the March, 1975 amendment
to the Phase I Land Use Element. These standards, which
generally reduce residential densities, are outlined in
• the previously mentioned report. Because they were
adopted in that document, they need not be readopted at
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N RESIDENTIAL
Low Density 0-7 D.U./Gross Acre
J. Medium Density 7-15 D.U./Gross Acre
to 0 Nigh Density Over 15 D.U./Gross Acre
COMMERCIAL
WGeneral
Specialty o
® Tourist Commercial
INSTITUTIONAL \ �♦ ?� :♦'♦
Schools & Community Facilities ' '�♦� ?P�
OPEN SPACE ' 'y ,' ! P?�P ♦'gF9
Recreational Facilities <4�. :♦, '• P~� ��♦.�
Parks & R 1 _ �:
TIES PUBLIC FACILI ....... : ' ♦`n
.............
Proposed Neighborhood Park ••••••••••••••••••••• ' • • • • '
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••. •. • • • • • '
Beach
tinANGE Avg _ „ 0 0 0 0 0
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Transportation a.... 1 ' ' • ' • • ,'♦. . .
_ q`� • • . .
c Center _
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�. . • . . . • . • . . • • • • . • • • PAGt�IG COAST N H Y ��-•---�-
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Adbk
GENERAL PLAN AMENDMENT 76-IA
HUNTINGTON BEACH CALIFORNIA
PIANNING DEPARTMENT
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this time. However, with adoption of General Plan Amend-
ment 76-1A, the new density ranges will be applied to
the areas identified. Thus, the new standards will apply
in the areas amended in General Plan Amendment 76-1A and
76-1B, the July, 1975, Amendment to the Phase I Land Use
Element, and the March, 1975, Amendment to the Phase I
Land Use Element.
• 6. 2. 2 Additional Land Use Categories
Adoption of this Amendment includes adoption of two addi-
tional land use categories: Specialty Commercial and
Tourist Commercial. These new classifications are dis-
cussed in Sections 3. 2.2 and 3.2. 3 and will permit the
following types of development:
(1) Specialty Commercial: This category will permit the
development of shopping facilities that appeal to
shoppers seeking a novel, leisure-oriented shopping
• experience. Typically, these facilities would be
located in centers and have a unifying theme or
architecture. Acceptable uses under this category
would be
• restaurants
. small retail shops
• other related uses.
(2) Tourist Commercial: This category will permit those
uses that will appeal to the Orange County Tourist
market. Acceptable uses under this category would be
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. hotel and motel facilities
. convention facilities
. theme park/tourist attraction
. other related uses.
6. 2 . 3 Circulation
Adoption of this Amendment will require the following
changes in the Master Plan of Arterial Streets and High-
ways. These changes constitute modifications within the
Amendment Area and modifications that are outside the
Amendment Area but which are necessary to provide the
access needed for successful revitalization of Downtown.
(A) Internal Circulation Svstem
(1) Huntington Street should be realigned to Atlanta
Avenue at a point opposite Delaware Street.
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LEGEND:
-- FREEWAY
- MAJOR 120'R/W
�`•� PRIMARY 100'R/W
\ SECONDARY J __..80'R/W
NOTE
SOLID LINES INDICATE EXISTING RIGHT OF NAY d
NOT NECESSARILY ULTIMATE RIGHT OF WAY
DASHED LINES INDICATE AREAS WHERE NO
\ fygj I RIGHT OF WAY EXISTS
SYMBOL DENOTES PRIMARY COUPLET
Ff
I
Q ----
MASTER PLAN OF ARTERIAL r
STREETS AND HIGHWAYS
Figure 6-2
Proposed
General Plan Amendment 76 -1A
huntington beach planning department
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Delaware would continue northward as a second-
ary arterial.
(2) The Orange Avenue-Atlanta Avenue corridor should
be revised to eliminate the offset configuration
at Lake Street. Orange Avenue should be re-
designated a secondary.
(3) Indianapolis Avenue should maintain its existing
alignment at the intersection of Lake Street.
(4) Pacific Coast Highway and Fifth Street, while
maintaining their current right-of-way width
and designations , should be expanded in capacity
by removing parking lanes or by other techniques.
(5) Palm Avenue between Seventeenth Street and Main
Street will be redesignated a local street.
(B) External Circulation System
(1) Lake Street should be extended to and terminated
at Garfield Avenue and Main Street.
• (2) Main Street should be deemphasized as a major
carrier in the Downtown by realigning Main
Street northerly of Mansion Avenue to intersect
the north-south alignment of Gothard Street.
(3) Traffic now using Main Street for Downtown access
should be rerouted via Seventeenth Street by
designating Seventeenth Street as a primary and
redesignating Main Street south of Seventeenth
Street a local street.
(4) Seventeenth Street between Main Street and Lake
• Street will be redesignated a local street.
(5) Fourteenth Street will be deleted from the
Master Plan of Arterial Streets and Highways.
(6) The multi-legged intersection of Main Street,
Garfield Avenue, and Gothard Street will be
eliminated in favor of a four-legged intersec-
tion.
(7) Since the State of California has deleted the
Route 1 and Route 39 Freeways from its State
Highway Master Plan, they will not be constructed
�= in Huntington Beach. Therefore, these Freeways
are being deleted from our Master Plan Streets
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and Arterial Highways and existing alignments
are reinstated for Beach Boulevard, Pacific
Coast Highway and Hamilton Avenue. The
designated freeway frontage road between
Atlanta Avenue and Pacific Coast Highway is no
longer necessary without the freeway and is
also deleted.
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6. 2 . 4 Deleted Land Use Categories
Ocean Front Commercial/Residential : Adoption of General
Plan Amendment 76-1A will redesignate the area fronting
on Pacific Coast Highway between Goldenwest Street and
Seventeenth Street from Ocean Front Commercial/Residential
to High Density Residential. This will eliminate all
land with an Ocean Front Commercial/Residential designa-
tion from the Phase I Land Use Element; therefore, this
planning unit should be eliminated.
6. 3 Summary of Land Use and Population A
The following tables present a statistical summary of the land use
proposals set forth in this Amendment:
Proposed Land Use Acreage
Category Gross Acres
Residential
Low Density 0-7 un/gac 44 . 1
Medium Density 7-15 un/gac 123 . 6
High Density over 15 un/gac 95. 0
262. 7
Commercial
General 38. 1
Specialty Commercial 19 . 2
Tourist Commercial 70. 6
127. 9
Institutional
Schools and Community Facilities 5. 4
Open Space
Parks and Recreational Facilities 91. 0
Total: 487 . 0
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Projected Population
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Residential Gross Maximum Total Population Estimated
Type Acres Units/gac Units .per Unit Population
Low Density 44. 1 x 9 397 x 3. 09 = 1227
Medium Density 123. 6 x 15 1855 x 2. 64 = 4897
High Density 95 . 0 x 35 3325 x . 189 = 6883
262 . 7 5577 13007
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