Covina Residents for Responsible Dev. v. City of Covina

21 Cal.App.5th 712

230 Cal.Rptr.3d 550

COVINA RESIDENTS FOR RESPONSIBLE DEVELOPMENT, Plaintiff and Appellant,

v.CITY OF COVINA, Defendant and Respondent;

City Ventures, Inc. et al., Real Parties in Interest.

B279590

Court of Appeal, Second District, Division 7, California.

Filed February 28, 2018

Briggs Law Corporation, Cory J. Briggs and Anthony N. Kim, San Diego, for Plaintiff and Appellant Covina Residents for Responsible Development.

Richards, Watson & Gershon and Ginetta L. Giovinco, Los Angeles, for Defendant and Respondent City of Covina.

Holland & Knight, Amanda J. Monchamp and Joanna L. Meldrum, San Francisco, for Real Parties in Interest City Ventures, Inc. and City Ventures LLC.

PERLUSS, P. J. SEGAL, J. BENSINGER, J.^*

PERLUSS, P. J.

In this CEQA¹ action Covina Residents for Responsible Development (CRRD) appeals from the trial court's denial of its petition for writ of mandate seeking to overturn the City of Covina's approval of a 68–unit, mixed-use, infill project² located a quarter-mile from the Covina Metrolink commuter rail station. CRRD contends the project's significant parking impacts required the City to prepare an environmental impact report (EIR) rather than the mitigated negative declaration it adopted in March 2016. We conclude section 21099, subdivision (d)(1), which took effect three months before the City approved the project, exempts the project's parking impacts, as alleged by CRRD, from CEQA review. We also reject CRRD's contentions the City's approval of the project violated the Subdivision Map Act and affirm the judgment.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

1. The Proposed Project

In 2000 the City adopted a general plan and certified a program-level EIR governing future development within the City. In October 2004 the City adopted the Town Center Specific Plan (TCSP), which governs the site where the project is to be located and certified a second EIR tiered from the General Plan EIR. The TCSP EIR identified the following objectives for development within the town center: facilitate infill development and redevelopment of deteriorated properties "particularly for housing creation and rehabilitation and economic development purposes"; revitalize and attract more people and retail businesses; "[c]apture [of] all potential benefits resulting from the Metrolink Commuter Train station"; and "[p]ermit mixed uses in appropriate areas in the downtown ... to provide needed housing" "via ‘urban village’ or livable cities concepts, as a means for ... maximizing the efficiency and attractiveness of transit usage, reducing vehicle trips, and encouraging and facilitating pedestrian circulation."

By 2012 Real Parties in Interest City Ventures, Inc. and City Ventures LLC (City Ventures) had assembled a 3.4–acre site within the TCSP area bordered by Orange Street, Citrus Avenue, San Bernardino Road and 3rd Avenue. The site is comprised of an entire block with 27 parcels (24 of which will be used by the project) located a quarter-mile from the Covina Metrolink station and served by a major bus line. The site is paved in its entirety, contains 25,000 square feet of existing but vacant single-story buildings previously used by a car dealership, and is surrounded by developed residential and commercial parcels with improved streets, sidewalks, curbs and gutters. City staff described the condition of the site as "deteriorating and underutilized" and acknowledged the City and former Redevelopment Agency had worked for several years to remove blighted conditions and revitalize the area.

City Ventures submitted the proposed project application to the City in December 2012. Over the next year City Ventures adapted the project to accommodate the recommendations of City staff. On November 20, 2013 the City circulated an initial study and proposed mitigated negative declaration (MND), which described measures incorporated into the project to mitigate potentially significant environmental impacts.

As proposed to the City planning commission in December 2013, the project consisted of 52 townhomes (32 three-bedroom plans and 20 four-bedroom plans), 16 urban lofts (12 one-bedroom plans and 4 two-bedroom plans), four live-work units (three four-bedroom plans and one three-bedroom plan), 8,000 square feet of retail space and a 4,800 square-foot gallery. Each unit was designed with rooftop solar energy to power the home and a 220–volt outlet intended for use as an electric vehicle charging station. Common areas were to be planted with drought-tolerant plants and trees.

City staff calculated the project, as designed, would require 238 parking spaces (174 residential spaces and 64 nonresidential spaces). Anticipating the project, as a transit-oriented, mixed-use development, would be eligible for parking credits under the TCSP, City Ventures proposed a design with 177 spaces that assumed the availability of 23 off-site, street parking spaces. The staff report prepared for the planning commission concluded the project was short 61 spaces, a number increased to 84 if street parking was excluded from the count. The report recommended allowance of the 23 street parking spaces but recommended against allowing credits for shared residential-commercial spaces and transit proximity for three reasons: existing parking pressures in the area and City Ventures's inability to provide adequate detail about future tenants and failure to address ride-sharing or public transportation subsidies necessary to earn transit-related credits.³ The staff report concluded the project "[left] too much of its parking requirements unmitigated" and recommended City Ventures be asked to work with the City to redesign the project to satisfy TCSP parking requirements.

Based on these unresolved parking concerns, the planning commission denied approval of the project at its December 10, 2013 meeting.

2. The Redesigned Project

City Ventures appealed the planning commission's denial to the city council and submitted a modestly revised project reducing the retail and gallery space by 3,600 square feet, a revision that cut the parking deficit (and need for parking reduction credits) to 46 spaces. The city council considered the revised project at its meeting on January 21, 2014, told City Ventures to come back "with something that is viable and practical," and continued the hearing to February 4, 2014.

City Ventures again revised the project by redesigning all four-bedroom units to three bedrooms, reducing the total number of three-bedroom units, increasing the number of two-bedroom units and adding six on-site parking spaces. This redesign eliminated the residential parking deficit and reduced the commercial parking deficit to 19 spaces. Because a pending traffic analysis had not been received, the staff report recommended any action on the item be continued to February 18, 2014. At the February 4, 2014 hearing the developer spoke about the modifications to the project and fielded questions from council members. Two residents opposed the project: One urged the council to ensure adequate parking and support for the commercial uses, noting the failure of the commercial section of a previous mixed-use project; and another spoke against the design of the buildings on Orange Street.

The staff report for the February 18, 2014 council meeting advised the council, "With the exception of parking concerns, the Planning Commission and Staff have been overall in support of the Project. With these latest revisions ..., Staff believes its prior analysis presented to the Planning Commission (supporting all other Project aspects except parking) remains in effect and continues to support overall approval of the Project." The staff report also advised that new architectural features had been added to the townhome design in response to public input. Further, the project as proposed was now in compliance with all zoning ordinances if the council decided to approve City Ventures's request for 19 transit-related parking credits. The staff recommended the adoption of a MND if the council approved the project. Only one letter had been submitted during the comment period for the MND. In response staff had made minor revisions to the MND, clarifying the findings; consequently, recirculation was not warranted.⁴

The council again considered the project at the February 18, 2014 meeting. Council members questioned City Ventures at length about the parking shortage and inquired whether one of the buildings containing four units could be omitted to allow additional on-site parking. Three downtown business owners spoke against allowing the project to receive parking credits, voicing particular concern about the assumption employees would use public transit and the failure of another recently developed project to secure retail tenants because of a similar parking shortage. Asking City Ventures to consider further alterations to the project, the council continued the public hearing on the project to March 4, 2014.

Pending the March 4, 2014 meeting, City Ventures again revised the project by replacing a four-unit residential loft building with a 14–space parking lot. The revision reduced the number of units from 72 to 68. In addition, 614 square feet of gallery space was eliminated, and 600 square feet of the commercial building was changed to administrative office space. With these final revisions the planning staff concluded the project met all City parking requirements and no longer required an award of public transit credits. The staff report recommended the council approve the project.

Cory Briggs, counsel for CRRD, spoke at the meeting on behalf of his then-client Bentley Real Estate LLC. Having submitted a letter opposing the project earlier that afternoon, Briggs objected that the council had failed to provide the public with an opportunity to review the revisions to the project. Briggs also accused the council of violating the Brown Act by discussing his client's opposition to the project in closed...