- updated: June 25, 2005

Worst Case Scenario

Tuesday June 21, 2005

When asked why the proposed Town Center PD (Planned Development) Zoning Regulations increased density on Site 13 to 200 units and Site 14C to 380, the City Attorney responded that the Initial Study/Notice of Preparation Study was the "Worst Case Scenario".

Page 5, the map, and page 10 through page 11 of the study show the maximum densities proposed on the various sites in the Town Center Project.

The proposed increased densities seem alarmingly out of step with the announced density reductions by the Developer at the June 20, 2005 Redevelopment Meeting.

The Notice of Public Scoping Meeting states:

"The primary component of the proposed project is the proposed adoption of Planned Development (PD) zoning Regulations, to enact design guidelines and indicate a range of appropriate land uses, designed to implement the intent of the Downtown Master Plan, adopted by the City on September 16, 2003. In adopting the proposed PD Zoning regulations, the current land use and zoning designations would be replaced by the PD Zoning Regulations."

The obvious questions are:

1. If the density proposed by the developer are adequate, why does the City need to increase the density to the "Worst Case Scenario" levels in the proposed zoning for the Town Center?
   
   Answer: The City Planning departments says that it assigns the highest possible density to a property for the EIR study. This number is suppose to be the highest allowed in the General Plan plus an additional 15 - 25%. This maximum proposed usage can be any number up to which will be the maximum density of the study.
   
   Concerns: Unfortunately the proposed "Worst Case Scenario" densities exceed those in the General Plan by 75% for Site 13. Site 13 was singled out in the General Plan to be used for high-density affordable senior housing at 25 dwellings / acre.
   
   
2. If the zoning code is modified to include these extreme densities, what prevents the developer from moving forward with high density development?
   
   Answer: The City Planning departments says that it is possible that the City Council could ultimately change the General Plan/Zoning Regulations to include these maximum densities but normally these densities are much less than the maximum studied.
   
   Concerns: Unfortunately this is the point of the whole discussion. We currently have existing maximum densities in the General Plan that should not be exceeded. By proposing "Worst Case Scenario" densities, the City Council will ultimately work down to the density that they would like to be used for the proposed development which are higher than the current maximum densities.
   
   
3. Why didn't the city send notification to all residents to inform them of the Public Scoping Meeting on June 30, 2005 as they did for the developers Town Center Presentations?
   
   Answer: The City Mayor stated on June 21st that she decided that Town Center Presentation on June 20th warranted extensive notification exceeding state requirements but did not want to set a precedent by doing the same for the June 30th Scoping Meeting.
   
   Concerns: The June 30th Scoping Meeting is actually the more important meeting of the two. The June 20th RDA meeting was primarily for the Developer to present the updated plan and to present answers to the agencies questions from the previous meeting. The June 30th Scoping Meeting is the only chance for the public to provide input into the Environmental Impact Report process by submitting their concerns into the public record.
   
   
4. Why is the City creating a high-density PD (Planned Development) Zone, that will require a Major Amendment to the General Plan and zoning codes, while they are only in the preliminary stages of creating a New Town Center Plan with Mr. Dieden the developer?
   
   Answer: Yorba Linda Residents for Responsible Redevelopment’s Right-to-Vote on Land Use Amendment Initiative where no “major” General Plan amendments shall be effective until they are approved by a majority of the voters at a regular or special election.
   
   The City Council/Redevelopment Agency and the developer are probably very concerned that residents would not approve their high-density PD (Planned Development) Zone change to the existing low-density General Plan.

Upcoming Meetings:

June 30, 2005 Public Scoping Meeting for the Environmental Impact Report
Community Center - 6:30 - 9:30 P.M.

This is upcoming meeting is very important. The City is proposing to change the zoning for Town Center to PD Planned Development.

Click on image for page

Scoping Meeting Public Notice - Adobe PDF

Town Center PD (Planned Development) Zoning Regulations