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PC RES 2001-039P.C. RESOLUTION NO. 2001-39 A RESOLUTION OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF RANCHO PALOS VERDES RECOMMENDING THAT THE CITY COUNCIL ADOPT GENERAL PLAN AMENDMENT NO. 28 TO CHANGE THE LAND USE DESIGNATION CERTAIN CITY -OWNED REAL PROPERTY GENERALLY LOCATED AT 30940 HAWTHORNE BOULEVARD AND COMMONLY KNOWN AS UPPER POINT VICENTE AREA. WHEREAS, a formal application was filed by Destination Development Corporation (the "Developer") requesting approval of conditional use permits, grading permits, a coastal development permit, a tentative parcel map, and a general plan amendment to allow construction of a 550 -room (400 guest rooms and 50-3 keyed casotas) resort hotel and conference center, 32 private villas, and a 9 -hole golf course on 168 4 acres of land located within the City of Rancho Palos Verdes (the "Project"), and, WHEREAS, the Project will be located on two distinct geographical areas 103.5 acres of privately -owned land generally located at 6610 Palos Verdes Drive South and formerly occupied by Marineland (referred to herein as the "Resort Hotel Area" or the "RHA") and 64.9 acres of publicly -owned land generally located at 30940 Hawthorne Boulevard and commonly known as Upper Point Vicente Area ("UPVA"), and, WHEREAS, the use of UPVA for the Project require an amendment to the Rancho Palos Verdes General Plan to change the land use designation on UPVA from Recreational Passive to Recreational Active, and, WHEREAS, the applicant has submitted the instant request to amend the General Plan to change the land use designation on UPVA from Recreational Passive to Recreational Active (GPA No. 28); and, WHEREAS, the applicant has concurrently submitted applications for two discretionary permits on UPVA, Including requests for a conditional use permit to allow development of a portion of the proposed golf course and related ancillary uses on 64.9 acres of publicly -owned land located within the Open Space Recreational District and Institutional District (CUP 216), and a grading permit to allow grading for master grading and infrastructure Improvements on UPVA (GRP No 2230) (collectively referred to as the "UPVA applications") The Planning Commission's findings and recommendations with respect to the UPVA applications are set forth in P C Resolution 2001-40, adopted concurrently with this Resolution; and, P.C. Resolution No 2001-39 General Plan Amendment October 9, 2001 Page 1 of 6 0 0 WHEREAS, the applicant has concurrently submitted applications for four discretionary permits on the RHA, including requests for a conditional use permit to allow construction of a resort hotel and conference center with 400 single -keyed rooms in the main hotel and 50 multi -keyed casitas for a maximum additional 150 rooms, 32 resort villas, a portion of a 9 -hole golf course, and a proposed golf school and practice facility in the Commercial Recreational zoning district (CUP 215), a grading permit to allow grading for subdivision, master grading, and infrastructure improvements (GRP No. 2229), a coastal development permit to allow construction of the proposed resort hotel and conference center, villas, and golf facilities within Subregion 2 of the City's Coastal Specific Plan (CDP No. 166), and a tentative parcel map to allow the redefinition of land parcels in connection with the proposed Project (TPM No 26073) (collectively referred to as the "RHA applications") The Planning Commission's findings and recommendations with respect to the RHA applications are set forth in P C Resolution 2001-38, adopted concurrently with this Resolution, and, WHEREAS, the Planning Commission findings and recommendations set forth in the Resolution are expressly conditioned upon and contingent upon the City Council adopting GPA No 28. If the City Council denies the Project applicant's request to amend the General Plan designation on UPVA, this resolution will be null and void and of no further effect, and, WHEREAS, the federal government originally transferred UPVA to the City in 1978 as part of the Land to Parks Program; and, WHEREAS, as part of the transfer, the federal government imposed several deed restrictions on UPVA that limit the activities for which the land may be used, and, WHEREAS, the use of UPVA proposed by the Project applicant will require an amendment to the approved Program of Utilization (the "POU") currently recorded against UPVA to allow a privately -operated golf course to use UPVA, and, WHEREAS, the Planning Commission does not desire to see the General Plan land use designation for UPVA amended if the federal government will not consent to modify the POU, and, WHEREAS, the Planning Commission findings and recommendations set forth in the Resolution are contingent and expressly conditioned upon the National Park Service approving an amendment to the Program of Utilization ("POU") for UPVA to allow a privately -operated golf course on UPVA If the National Park Service denies the applicant's request to amend the POU, this resolution will be null and void and of no further effect, and, P.C. Resolution No. 2001-39 General Plan Amendment October 9, 2001 Page 2 of 6 WHEREAS, the City analyzed the Project's potential impacts on the environment in accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act ("CEQA") (Cal. Pub Res. Code §21000 et seq.), the State CEQA Guidelines (the "Guidelines") (14 Cal. Code Regs. §15000 et seq.) promulgated with respect thereto, and the City's local CEQA Guidelines, and, WHEREAS, the City prepared an Initial Environmental Study (the "Initial Study") for the Project pursuant to Section 15063 of the Guidelines The Initial Study concluded that the Project might have a significant environmental impact on several specifically identified resources and governmental services, including aesthetics, air quality, biological resources, cultural resources, geology and soils, hydrology and water quality, land -use and planning, noise, public services, recreation, transportation, and utilities and service systems, and, WHEREAS, based upon the information contained in the Initial Study, the City ordered the preparation of an environmental impact report (the "EIR") for the Project in accordance with the provisions of Guidelines Sections 15064 and 15081; and, WHEREAS, the City prepared and circulated a Notice of Preparation of the EIR from July 20, 2000, and September 4, 2000, for an extended 45 -day comment period in order to receive written comments on the appropriate scope of the EIR. The Notice of Preparation, together with the Initial Study, was circulated to the State Clearinghouse in the Office of Planning and Research for the State of California (the "State Clearinghouse") and to other responsible, trustee, and/or interested agencies and members of the public in accordance with Guidelines Section 15082(a), and, WHEREAS, during the 45 -day comment period, the Planning Commission conducted a duly noticed public scoping session concerning the EIR in accordance with Guidelines Section 15083 The scoping session was noticed by publication in the local press, by mailing to all residents within a 500 -foot radius of the Project and by posting at City Hall, Hesse Park, and the Ladera Linda Community Center and was attended by the applicant, representatives of various agencies, and members of the general public. The scoping session was held on August 22, 2000, and provided an introduction to the Project and the CEQA process and afforded an opportunity for the public and interested agencies to comment on the issues to be analyzed in the EIR, and, WHEREAS, the Draft Environmental Impact Report (the "DEIR"), together with those certain technical appendices (the "Appendices"), was completed on February 2, 2001. The City circulated the DEIR and the Appendices to the public, the State Clearinghouse, and other interested persons between February 6, 2001, and April 6, 2001, for an expanded 60 -day comment period pursuant to Guidelines Section 15087(c), and, P.C. Resolution No 2001-39 General Plan Amendment October 9, 2001 Page 3 of 6 WHEREAS, the Planning Commission held a duly noticed public hearing on March 13, 2001, at which time all interested parties were given an opportunity to be heard and present evidence regarding the DEIR, and, WHEREAS, the Planning Commission held duly noticed public hearings on April 10, 2001, April 14, 2001, April 24, 2001, May 17, 2001, June 12, 2001, July 10, 2001, July 24, 2001, and August 14, 2001, August 28, 2001, and September 11, 2001, at which times all interested parties were given an opportunity to be heard and present evidence regarding the Project and the DEIR, and, WHEREAS, during the public review and comment process, the City received more than 30 hours of public testimony and more than 300 written and oral comments regarding the Project and the DEIR. The City prepared written responses to all comments and made revisions and additions to the DEIR in response to the comments The City completed the responses to comments on the DEIR and preliminary revisions to the DEIR in July 2001 and distributed those responses to commenting agencies and members of the public at least ten (10) days prior to considering the Final Environmental Impact Report (the "FEIR"), and, WHEREAS, after reviewing the responses to comments and the revisions to the DEIR, City staff, in consultation with the independent consultant retained to prepare the DEIR, concluded that the revised material in the biological resources analysis (Section 5 3 of the DEIR) constituted new information requiring recirculation of the biological resources analysis of the DEIR pursuant to Public Resources Code Section 21092 1 and Guidelines Section 15088 5, and, WHEREAS, the City recirculated the Biological Resources Analysis of the DEIR to the public, the State Clearinghouse, and other interest persons between August 1, 2001 and August 30, 2001, for a shortened 30 -day comment period pursuant to State CEQA Guidelines Sections 15087(c) and 15105(a), and, WHEREAS, the Planning Commission held duly noticed public hearings on August 28, 2001, September 11, 2001, and September 25, 2001, at which time all interested parties were given an opportunity to be heard and present evidence regarding the Project, the DEIR, and the Revised Biological Resources Analysis, and, WHEREAS, on August 14, 2001, the Planning Commission determined that the Project represented an appropriate use of publicly -owned land on UPVA, and, WHEREAS, the Planning Commission has duly read and considered the proposed General Plan Amendment described herein at Section 1 below; and, PC Resolution No. 2001-39 General Plan Amendment October 9, 2001 Page 4 of 6 0 WHEREAS, on September 25, 2001 and October 9, 2001, the Planning Commission held a duly -noticed public meeting to consider the FEIR and the Project, including the RHA applications, and, WHEREAS, it is found and determined by the Planning Commission that the proposed amendment to the Rancho Palos Verdes General Plan is required to promote the public health, safety, and general welfare, and that such amendments are consistent with the City's Parks Master Plan NOW, THEREFORE, THE PLANNING COMMISSION OR THE CITY OF RANCHO PALOS VERDES DOES HEREBY FIND, DETERMINE, AND RESOLVE AS FOLLOWS - Section 1. The foregoing recitals are true and correct Section 2. Although the Project requires a general plan amendment to change the land use designation on UPVA from Recreational Passive to Recreational Active, the proposed use of UPVA for active recreational purposes is not wholly inconsistent with existing City policy. The City Council previously granted conceptual approval for golf on UPVA in 1989 when it conceptually approved the Parks Master Plan. Moreover, the amendments to the POU proposed by the City in the mid 1980s, although never implemented, evinced a desire to increase the active recreational uses on UPVA Section 3. Based on the foregoing, the Planning Commission does hereby recommend that the City Council adopt General Plan Amendment No. 28 changing the land use designation on that certain city -owned real property generally located at 30940 Hawthorne Boulevard and commonly known as Upper Point Vicente Area from Recreational Passive to Recreational Active However, the Planning Commission recommends that the City Council condition its approval of GPA No. 28 to require that GPA No. 28 not become effective unless and until the National Parks Service approves an amendment to the Program of Utilization for Upper Point Vicente that permits the operation of a privately -managed golf course on City -owned parkland. P.C. Resolution No. 2001-39 General Plan Amendment October 9, 2001 Page 5 of 6 PASSED, APPROVED, AND ADOPTED this 9th day of October, 2001, by the following vote: AYES- Chairman Lyon, Commissioners Cartwright, Paulson, and Vannorsdall NOES: Vice -Chairman Clark, Commissioners Long and Mueller ABSTENTION. None ABSENT: None Attest- jqtL RpJAS Dikcto of Plannin , uilding and Code Enforcement c e S r re ary to the PS ning Commission Chairman P C Resolution No 2001-39 General Plan Amendment October 9, 2001 Page 6 of 6