To: Honorable Mayor and Members of City Council
From: Vincent Smith, Community Development Director
Prepared By: Michael Allen, Senior Planner
TITLE:
Title
Trinitas Mixed-Use 3rd Extension
LABEL
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Recommendation
Adopt a resolution approving a third, two-year extension of the Use Permit and Design Review Permit approving a four-story, 253-room “dual branded” hotel building consisting of a 100-room Marriott Residence Inn and a 153-room AC Hotel, a single-story winery building, and a two-story office building with associated parking on an 11.55-acre site located at 2650 Napa Valley Corporate Drive and determining that the actions authorized by this resolution were adequately analyzed by a previous CEQA action.
Body
DISCUSSION:
Executive Summary
The Applicant, Pacific Hospitality Group, requests a third, two-year extension of the previously approved Use Permit and Design Review Permit for the Trinitas Mixed-Use Project (File No. PL16-0054) (hereafter, the “Project”) which authorizes a four story 253 room “dual branded” hotel building consisting of a 100 room Marriott Residence Inn and a 153 room AC Hotel, a single-story winery building, and a two-story office building, along with associated parking (441 total parking spaces) on a 11.55-acre site located at 2650 Napa Valley Corporate Drive within the Napa Valley Commons Corporate Park. As described in Attachment 2, Extension Request, the Applicant cites economic conditions and longer than anticipated recovery from the global pandemic as the reasons for the delays.
The Project was originally approved by the City Council on July 17, 2018, with an initial expiration date of July 17, 2020 (see Resolutions R2018-100 and R2018-101 included as Attachment 3 and Attachment 4, respectively). A two-year Administrative Extension (PL20-0033) was granted on September 3, 2020, with an expiration date of July 17, 2022 (see Attachment 5). A second extension (R2021-121) was granted by the City Council on December 7, 2021, with an expiration date of July 17, 2024 (Attachment 6).
No changes to the Project are proposed with this extension. This report reiterates the discussion of the Project contained in the original Planning Commission Staff Report (Attachment 7) so that the City Council may determine if the original findings for approval can still be made in support of the extension. The originally approved Project plans are provided as Attachment 8 for reference.
Site Context and History
The 11.55-acre Project site is located within the Napa Valley Commons Corporate Park and is bordered by State Route 221 on the east, Napa Valley Corporate Way to the south, two existing office/light industrial buildings and Napa Valley Corporate Drive to the west, and a vacant parcel currently owned by Kaiser Corporation to the north. The site is visible due to its location along SR 221 with approximately 750 lineal feet of SR 221 frontage. The surrounding area is largely built-out with low-rise office and light industrial development and hospitality uses. The site of the Napa Pipe Project is located immediately to the west of the Napa Valley Commons Corporate Park. The project site is also within the flight path of the Napa County Airport, which is located approximately four miles to the south.
Project Description
The Applicant is requesting a third, two-year extension of the 2018 Project approval and does not propose any changes to the approved Use Permit and Design Review permit.
The Project approved by the Planning Commission and City Council included conditions of approval requiring the design be modified to comply with each parcel’s maximum floor area ratio development standard and the maximum height for the IP-A and IP-B zoning districts. The Applicant had been working with Staff to develop permit submittals that comply with these conditions. The originally submitted plans are included in this Staff Report as Attachment 8. These do not reflect the condition of approval requiring improvement plan submittals to meet the General Plan pod’s FAR requirements and the zoning district’s maximum height as directed and conditioned by the City Council. It is pending resubmittal to respond to Community Development Department, Public Works Department, and Utilities Department Staffs’ design comments. Other than the condition requiring the plans to be modified per Condition No. 1 of Resolution R2018-101, no changes are proposed to the project in conjunction with this requested two-year extension.
At the request of the City Council, the Applicant committed to providing a 100% affordable housing project in lieu of paying the Affordable Housing Impact fee for the approved hotel project. They have already fulfilled all obligations and complied with all requirements regarding the Affordable Housing Impact Fee Alternative Equivalent Proposal. The Applicant has executed an affordable housing agreement and recorded a deed restriction on a property at 2375 Old Sonoma Road that resulted in the construction of 20 affordable housing apartments. The City Council approved the Caritas Affordable Apartments in 2019 and the Caritas Village opened on July 1, 2023.
ANALYSIS:
A. General Plan
The property had been located within the CP-720, Corporate Park General Plan Designation, which allowed for development at a floor area ratio (FAR) of 0.4. The original approval included a request for a Planned Development to allow for an increased FAR which was denied by the City Council. However, under the new General Plan 2040, the property’s General Plan designation is Business Park, which allows an FAR of 0.7 which may be increased to 1.0 with design review approval. As proposed, the mixed-use project had an FAR of 0.42 but the Applicant’s original request for a Planned Development Overlay to allow for an increase in FAR was denied, and the project as approved was required to reduce the building square footage by approximately 10,402 square feet to comply with the then applicable 0.4 FAR. However, now that the new FAR allows up to 0.7 and 1.0 with design review approval, in principle the project could enjoy the originally proposed 0.42 FAR which is well below the new maximum. However, per Condition No. 1 of R2018-101, the building height must still be reduced to meet the 30-foot maximum height permitted in the IP-B zoning district as approved. No new changes are proposed with this two-year extension and Condition No. 1 remains in effect. The provisions of the Business Park designation remain practically identical to the former Corporate Park designation for which the Project was found to be consistent, therefore the project remains consistent with the Business Park designation.
There have been no substantial changes to the General Plan which would conflict with the findings made as a part of the original approvals; and Staff finds that the proposed Project remains consistent with the General Plan. These findings may be found in Attachment 4 of this Report.
B. Zoning
The proposed Project also remains consistent with the objectives of the Zoning Ordinance and the purposes of the district in which the site is located. The Project site is split by two zoning districts, IP-A, Industrial Park - Area A and IP-B, Industrial Park - Area B. The IP-A District allows a wider range of uses and contains less restrictive development standards. The proposed hotel building is located within the IP-A District, while the winery and the office building are located within IP-B District. Napa Municipal Code (NMC) Chapter 17.14 establishes land use regulations and property development standards for the Industrial Districts.
There have been no substantial changes to NMC Chapter 17.14 since the Project’s original approval which would conflict with the proposed extension of the Use Permit and Design Review Permit. Therefore, the Project continues to be consistent with the development standards of the NMC.
C. Airport Compatibility Overlay District
The property is also located within the AC, Airport Compatibility Overlay District, which requires that the City and Airport Land Use Commission review all on-site improvements to determine compatibility and consistency with the Airport Land Use Compatibility Plan. The Project was reviewed by the Airport Land Use Commission on June 6, 2018, where it was unanimously determined to be consistent with the Airport Land Use Compatibility Plan. There have been no substantial changes to these regulations since the Project’s original approval which would conflict with the proposed Project; therefore, the Project continues to be consistent with the AC Overlay District.
D. Planning Commission Meeting
On June 6, 2024, the Planning Commission held a public hearing to consider this application. The Commission recommended approval of the 3rd Design Review Permit and Use Permit Extension on the Consent Hearing calendar and without discussion by a vote of 4-0.
As of this writing, no public comments have been received for the Council meeting.
FINANCIAL IMPACTS:
No direct financial impacts to the General Fund have been identified with this application.
CEQA:
The Community Development Director recommends that the City Council find that the potential environmental effects of the Project were adequately analyzed by the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) (State Clearinghouse Number 2017072005) for the original Trinitas Mixed-Use Project (File No. PL16-0054). There have been no changes in the proposed Project, City requirements, or circumstances which would require subsequent environmental review. Therefore, the potential environmental effects of approving the extension application were adequately analyzed by a previous CEQA action pursuant to Public Resources Code Section 21083.3 and CEQA Guidelines Section 15162 and no further environmental review is required to approve the requested extensions.
DOCUMENTS ATTACHED:
ATCH 1 - Draft Resolution
ATCH 2 - Extension request
ATCH 3 - EIR Certification - R2018-100
ATCH 4 - City Council Resolution - R2018-101
ATCH 5 - 1st Administrative 2 yr. Extension
ATCH 6 - 2nd 2 Yr. Extension - R2021-121
ATCH 7 - Planning Commission Report (May 17, 2018)
ATCH 8 - Approved Plans
NOTIFICATION:
Notice that this application was received was provided by the City on May 8, 2024, and notice of the scheduled public hearing was provided on July 3, 2024, by US Postal Service to all property owners within a 500-foot radius of the subject property. Notice of the public hearing was also published in the Napa Valley Register on July 6, 2024, and provided to people previously requesting notice on the matter at the same time notice was provided to the newspaper for publication.