CITY OF SAN DIEGO

M E M O R A N D U M

DATE: March 3, 2003

TO: Tierrasanta Community Planning Group

FROM: Lesley Henegar, Senior Planner, Community Planning

SUBJECT: Proposed Amendments to Mission Trails Design District and Map

Staff presented an overview of the Mission Trails Design District update to the Tierrasanta Community Planning Group at their January meeting. Staff was requested to report back to the group with the funding source for this project, which was General Fund allocation; and to describe the proposed map changes. The discussion of the proposed map changes are described in detail below.

In January, staff presented the proposed changes for the Mission Trails Design District (approved by the CAC) to the Task Force at their meeting on January 15, 2003. The Task Force requested staff to include single-family residential parcels within 1000 feet of the park into the Design District if they are rezoned to another use in the future. Staff has worked with the City Attorney on this request and has included the following text for consideration by the CAC. Staff will also return to the March Task Force meeting for final approval of this proposed addition to the Design District and map.

DRAFT MISSION TRAILS DESIGN DISTRICT MAP

Map, Design District and Regional Park Boundary changes:

The Mission Trails Design District map is proposed to be changed to include those areas within the East Elliot, Tierrasanta and Navajo communities that directly relate to the park and may influence the aesthetics adjacent to the park. The revised map includes changes to the park boundaries as well as changes to the Design District. The following description of changes notes the map updates, starting with the East Elliot property, and moves in a clock-wise circle around the park.

The following items 1-10 are a summary of the proposed changes that have been reviewed and approved by the Mission Trails Citizens Advisory Committee. Item 11 is the proposed 1,000 foot addition to the Design District proposed by the Task Force.

1. The CAC recommends all of East Elliot be included in the Design District and that the Subarea 2 - Hillside Area category be applied to the entire area.

2. The boundaries of the Park have been updated to reflect the 24 acre parcel addition to the Design District (Park boundary changed in 1985), the area at the northwest corner of Mission Gorge Road and West Hills Parkway, near Santee. The Subarea 3 – Mission Areas will be applied to this site.

3. The office/commercial/multi-family area in Navajo (at the Lake Murray Boulevard and Navajo Road) is proposed to be deleted from the Design District. The CAC decided this area did not have direct design influence on the park.

4. The commercially zoned and designated properties at the southeast and southwest corners of Mission Gorge and Golfcrest are proposed to be added to the Design District.

5. The commercially zones and designated property at the southwest corner of Mission Gorge Road and Jackson are proposed to be added to the Design District.

6. The Open Space canyon in Navajo, south of Mission Gorge Road is proposed to be deleted from the Design District as it is city owned and designated as open space.

7. The JJBL Co. LLC property is proposed to be added to the Design District. The owner is Jacob Brouwer.

8. Portions in the Subarea 3 – Mission Gorge Area, along Mission Gorge Road, were extended to Princess View and are proposed to be added to the Design District to capture the industrially designated properties on the north and south sides of Mission Gorge Road.

9. Portions of the Subarea 2 - Hillside Area within Tierrasanta are proposed to be deleted from the Design District and are included in the Park boundaries. This map adjustment was made by the Park and Recreational Department (in 1985), and this update will be consistent with the Regional Park boundaries.

10. The Mission Trails CAC also requested the following streets be identified on the map as unimproved streets: Clairemont Mesa Boulevard, Jackson Drive and Tierrasanta Boulevard. The three streets have been changed to a dotted line, which shows they are unimproved. (See Attachment 1 for the updated Mission Trails Design District map).

11. The 1,000 foot perimeter boundary surrounding the Mission Trail Regional Park is proposed to be included in the Design District. This would allow for single-family residential zones to be included in the Design District; however, they would not be reviewed by the Design District as long as they remained zoned single-family. If the single-family residential parcels are proposed to be rezoned in the future, staff would apply the appropriate subarea based on the criteria in the Design District, and the parcel(s) would then be reviewed against the Design District Subarea guidelines. There is proposed new text for the Design District Ordinance to explain this provision and how the rezoning of the single-family parcel would trigger the application and review of the Design District.

ORDINANCE/MISSION TRAILS DESIGN DISTRICT MANUAL

The following item is additional language which is proposed to be included in the Mission Trails Design District text on page 7, B. Boundaries.

The Design District includes a 1,000 foot perimeter around the Mission Trails Regional Park boundaries. Within this area, if any single-family residential parcels are rezoned in the future to any other zone, then the parcel should have the appropriate subarea category applied, based on the subarea criteria in the Design District. These parcels will then be reviewed per the appropriate subarea category for design guidelines within the Design District. However, single-family residentially zoned parcels within the Design District will not be reviewed against the Design District as long as they remain zoned for single-family.

This recommendation should be added to both the Navajo and Tierrasanta Community Plans at their next scheduled update.

If adopted, the Mission Trails Design District map will reflect this addition to the Design District.

All Subarea Section:

The following proposed changes are new additions to the Design District, as follows:

1. Additional language is included to encourage pathways and linkages into the park.

2. New landscaping should complement the parks existing plant palette in terms of color and shape to create a landscaping transition between the park and the built environment.

3. Architectural materials and colors for new development should be designed to blend into the natural backdrop of the park. Architectural materials should be chosen to complement the park environment and natural materials such as flagstone, river rocks, wood and tile should be considered for a portion of the façade. Architectural colors for exterior facades should be chosen from the color palette of the natural soil, rocks, and plant life from the park.

4. Height limitations for all buildings shall be 4 stories or 50 feet, including mechanical equipment.

5. Citywide Wireless Communications Facilities Policy 600-43: Development Services staff is in the process of updating the Wireless Communications Facilities Policy. The proposed changes were brought before Land Use and Housing this last fall and the final language should be adopted sometime this spring. Pursuant to the draft at that time, Planning staff recommended three additional guidelines that were not already in the policy. New design guidelines are proposed to relate to screening of the facilities from public view, landscaping with trees to adequately screen the facilities, construct the new facilities to maximize public views to the park and be located outside of the public view sheds.

SUBAREA 3 – MISSION GORGE AREAS

It was decided additional changes to this subarea would not be necessary because of several factors: the San Diego River project will be developing design guidelines for the river and public as well as private properties in the near future, and the Navajo Community Plan is undergoing a focused update that will include this Mission Gorge area. It was felt by staff and the CAC that it was important not to have duplicity of design guidelines and to focus this language on design features that most relate to park interface.

NEXT STEPS

Environmental review is being finalized and is anticipated to be complete by the end of the month. The environmental review will be a negative declaration and is in the process of being finalized. Pursuant to the discussion at the upcoming Community Planning Group meetings, staff will take the proposed changes to Planning Commission and City Council for a recommendation of adoption.