To: Honorable Mayor and Members of City Council
From: Julie Lucido, Public Works Director
Prepared By: Jeff Freitas, Property Manager
TITLE:
Title
Abandonment and quit claim of a portion of Valle Verde Drive to The Peter A. and Vernice H. Gasser Foundation for the Heritage House/Valle Verde Project
LABEL
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Recommendation
Adopt a resolution authorizing the conditional abandonment and quit claim of a portion of Valle Verde Drive to The Peter A. and Vernice H. Gasser Foundation in support of the Heritage House and the Valle Verde Apartments Projects (PL17-0114) located at 3700, 3710 and 3720 Valle Verde Drive, and determining that the actions authorized by this resolution were adequately analyzed by a previous CEQA action.
Body
DISCUSSION:
The Peter A. and Vernice H. Gasser Foundation (Gasser), owner of APNs 038-170-042, 038-170-043, and 038-170-046 located at 3700, 3710 and 3720 Valle Verde Drive along the east side of the northern terminus of Valle Verde Drive north of Firefly Lane, has partnered with Burbank Housing Development Corporation (Developer) to develop Gasser’s property.
Gasser and Burbank (collectively, “Applicant”) have submitted an application to the City of Napa for approval of a project that proposes two 100% affordable multi-family apartment communities, Heritage House, a residential 66 unit Single Room Occupancy (SRO) project consisting of permanent supportive housing and affordable housing, and Valle Verde, a three-story multi-family apartment building with 24 affordable units (collectively, the “Project”). Heritage House and Valle Verde are proposed to be constructed on separate parcels but would share access and parking.
The Applicant has requested that the City abandon and vacate the portion of Valle Verde Drive that fronts the proposed Project, which is an approximate 0.39-acre (17,330 square foot) portion of City-owned public right-of-way (“Subject Property”) and quit claim the Subject Property to the Applicant at no cost so that the land area can be incorporated into the Project.
The City acquired the Subject Property by way of that certain Grant Deed from Helen F. Zerba recorded November 21, 1986 in Volume 1480, Page 479, Napa County Official Records. At that time, it was believed that Valle Verde Drive would extend north to complete a future street connection. The area north of the Subject Property has since been developed with residential subdivisions and a system of related storm detention basins. Currently, Valle Verde Drive is designated as a local street and is no longer planned to extend north.
The Subject Property provides vehicular access only to the Applicant’s property and is not necessary for public right-of-way purposes. Although the Subject Property is not needed for vehicular circulation, there are other uses within portions of the Subject Property that will be maintained through the reservation of easements.
Specifically, an area of public right of way will be reserved at the southern end of the Subject Property where the Applicant will construct new street frontage improvements to form an “L” Intersection Knuckle. In addition, easements will be reserved for existing public utilities, an existing public storm drain, pedestrian access along the west side of the Subject Property, and public agency maintenance vehicle access through the Subject Property to the City-owned storm detention basin parcel located north of the Subject Property.
The Subject Property has been appraised and the value to the Project was determined to be $312,000. As stated, the Applicant has requested that the City quit claim the Subject Property to the Applicant at no cost in support of the Project. The inclusion of the Subject Property within the Project will enlarge the Project site to approximately 2.88 acres and will accommodate parking and access.
If the abandonment of the Subject Property is approved, the Subject Property would change from a public right of way use to a private development use. The abandonment, therefore, is conditioned upon the Applicant completing certain features of the overall Project to address changes in utilities, the removal of public street improvements, the installation of private development improvements, and a revised street frontage alignment.
Since the Subject Property is currently an open public street, the City Council is required to conduct a public hearing to consider the request for abandonment. If any member of the public wishes to address the Council on this matter, the Council must consider the evidence presented and determine whether or not the proposed conditional abandonment should occur. In the event that the Council approves the proposed conditional abandonment, the Resolution of Abandonment will be recorded once the conditions are satisfied, and it is the recordation of the resolution that finalizes the conditional abandonment.
FINANCIAL IMPACTS:
No direct financial impacts to the General Fund have been identified with this application.
CEQA:
The Recommended Action described in this Agenda Report is a component of the Project, for which the Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Assessment for the Valle Verde and Heritage House Continuum of Housing Project (State Clearinghouse No. 2018082019) was prepared and certified by the City Council on February 4, 2020 (“Certified EIR”).
Therefore, City staff recommends that the City Council determine that the potential environmental effects of the Recommended Action described in this Agenda Report were adequately examined by the Certified EIR, pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section15162.
DOCUMENTS ATTACHED:
ATCH 1 - Resolution
EX A through EX G - Abandonment Description and Plat Maps
NOTIFICATION:
Notice of the public hearing was published in the Napa Valley Register on January 24, 2020, February 7, 2020, and February 14, 2020. In addition, notice of the public hearing was posted along the Subject Property pursuant to Section 8323 of the Streets and Highways Code of the State of California.