TO: Chair and Members of the Planning Commission
THRU: Anna Pehoushek, Assistant Community Development Director
FROM: Robert Garcia, Senior Planner
1. Subject
title
Major Site Plan Review No. 1062-21, Design Review No. 5050-21, and Environmental Review No. 1879-21 Children's Hospital of Orange County (CHOC) Associate Parking Structure Vertical Expansion and New Medical Office Building located at 525 S. Main Street.
body
2. Summary
The proposal consists of a 3-story vertical expansion of CHOC’s existing associate parking structure providing a maximum of 500 parking stalls and a 9-story, 333,000 SF outpatient Medical Office Building.
3. Recommended Action
recommendation
Adopt Planning Commission Resolution No. 13-22 entitled:
A Resolution of the Planning Commission of the City of Orange approving Major Site Plan Review No. 1062-21, Design Review No. 5050-21, and Environmental Review No. 1879-21 Children's Hospital of Orange County (CHOC) Associate Parking Structure Vertical Expansion and New Medical Office Building within the existing Children's Hospital of Orange County Campus boundary.
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4. AUTHORIZING GUIDELINES
Orange Municipal Code (OMC) Sections 17.08.020 B.2 authorizes the Planning Commission to review and make a final determination on applications for Major Site Plans, Design Review, and Environmental Review. Footnote (b) of Table 17.08.020 - Reviewing bodies of the OMC states that when more than one type of application is filed for a single project, the application requiring the highest level of approval shall dictate the review process for the entire group of applications. The final determination by the Planning Commission on this application may be appealed to the City Council pursuant to the time period and requirements established in the OMC for appeals.
5. project background
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Applicant: |
Children's Hospital of Orange County (CHOC) |
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Property Owner |
Children's Hospital of Orange County (CHOC) |
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Property Location |
525 S. Main Street |
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Existing General Plan Land Use Element Designation |
Urban Office Profession (FAR 1.5 to 3.0) (UOP) |
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Existing Zoning Classification |
General Business (C-2) |
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Old Towne |
No |
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Specific Plan/PC |
No |
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Site Size |
9-acre campus boundary Project site is 153,775 SF (3.5-acre) |
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Circulation |
The project site is accessed from Main Street, which is considered a Principal Arterial with an ultimate right-of-way of 144 feet and has a secondary access from La Veta Avenue, which is considered a Major Arterial with an ultimate right-of-way of 120 feet. |
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Existing Conditions |
9-story parking structure associated with the CHOC campus |
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Surrounding Land Uses and Zoning |
The site is part of a hospital campus straddling the north and south sides of La Veta Avenue between Main Street and Pepper Street developed with various buildings, housing a children’s hospital, medical offices, and professional offices, with parking spaces distributed between four parking structures and surface parking lots. The project site is primarily bordered on the north by a CHOC medical office building zoned on the north C-2, and on the east by St. Joseph’s Hospital facilities zoned Public Institution (P-I), on the west by Main Street, and on the south by State Route (SR-22). |
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Previous Applications/Entitlements |
Zone Change No. 1252-08, Major Site Plan Review No. 0504-07, Conditional Use Permit No. 2726-08, Design Review Committee No. 4209-07, Tentative Map No. 0024-08 (TPM 2008-162), Development Agreement No. 5390 & Environmental Review No. 1805-08 - Children’s Hospital of Orange County (CHOC) Master Plan. |
6. PROJECT DESCRIPTION
The applicant is requesting approvals to implement portions of the CHOC Master Plan project. This project would constitute the execution of the originally entitled parking expansion that allowed for 875 stalls associated with a 170,000 SF future medical office building of up to 25-stories entitled in 2009. At that time the specific design of the building and structure, together with related site improvements, had not been determined. Project specific detail-level plans were to be submitted in the future to the City for further analysis, and a determination of the appropriate discretionary application type and related action would be made at that time.
At this time, the applicant requests approvals consisting of a 3-story vertical expansion of the existing associate parking structure providing a maximum of 500 parking stalls and a 9-story, 333,000 SF outpatient medical office building.
The 3-story vertical expansion will be primarily constructed of concrete. Concrete Masonry Units (CMU) will be used around certain areas of the parking structure to add visual interest. Detailed information about colors and materials is provided in Attachment No. 3. The vertical structure expansion will be internally consistent and have an integrated design theme with the existing 9-story associate parking structure and with the horizontal expansion, which was approved on June 20, 2022, by the Planning Commission. The parking structure as a whole would be uniform and would be seamless between new and old portions of the parking structure.
The medical office building will be 9-stories with building finishes consisting primarily of prefabricated metal panel wall assembly and glazing. The prefabricated metal panels will be painted primarily in Metallic Silver, with shades of red accent colors as detailed in Attachment 3. The glazing will consist of glass in different tints including blue, silver, gray, red, and clear glass. Additional accent materials to add visual interest consist of brushed stainless steel, CMU, fritted glass, and channel glass. The architectural elements and materials will not only add a visual interest but will also tie it to the existing south tower hospital building, which will further advance CHOC’s Master Plan architectural theme.
The landscaping plan indicates a mixture of trees, shrubs, and ground cover. Trees will consist of Palms, Brisbane Box trees, and Olive trees. The plant palette indicates ten different types of shrubs placed throughout the perimeter of the medical office building. Detailed information about colors and materials is provided in Attachment No. 3. The plant palette consists of the same materials used in the simplified landscaping utilized in the horizontal expansion phase.
CHOC will be utilizing full height graphic panels on the southern elevation openings facing State Route 22, to minimize the light spillage from the horizontal, vertical expansion and the existing parking structure. The panels are made of a breathable fabric membrane and cladding system to cover the openings (Attachments 6 and 7). The graphic panels would be mounted to a stretching frame around the openings. The graphic panels would minimize the light spillage along the south elevation, which has the most direct interface with neighboring residential properties. Further, the roof top lighting fixtures will have shielding as to avoid glare into the apartment complex located south of State Route 22.
Development Standards
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Required |
Proposed |
Code Section |
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Building Height |
32 feet or 2 stories. However, building height may exceed 32 feet provided no part of the building exceeds one-quarter of the horizontal distance, measured in feet, between the ground point of the building and the nearest residential district boundary line. |
156 feet to top of roof of the medical office building and 120 feet to top of roof of the parking structure. Horizontal distance between the ground point of the building and the single-family residential district boundary line is 650 feet; allowable height is 163 Feet. |
17.18.120 |
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Floor Area Ratio (FAR) |
1 maximum FAR |
2.15 FAR for project site. However, the project site is part of the larger CHOC campus; the total FAR at Master Plan build out would be 1.0 for the entire campus. |
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Parking (non-residential) |
CHOC Master Plan requires 3,256 parking spaces at buildout |
CHOC Master Plan currently has 2,491 parking spaces. The horizontal expansion adds 630 additional parking spaces and vertical expansion adds 500 parking spaces. (3,621 total) |
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Loading area (non-residential) |
10’X80’ |
10’X80’ |
17.34.160 |
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Setback, Front |
10 FT |
10 FT |
17.18.130 |
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Setback, Rear |
0 FT |
40 FT |
17.18.130 |
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Setback, Side (north) |
0 FT |
0 FT |
17.18.130 |
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Setback, Side (south) |
0 FT |
40 FT |
17.18.130 |
7. analysis and statement of the issues
Issue 1 Phased Approach:
CHOC is taking a phased approached to the development of the parking structure and medical office building. Since the construction of the hospital expansion in 2009 (Bill Holmes Tower), patient and associate volumes at CHOC have increased, putting a greater demand on the existing 9-story associate parking structure. In April 2022 the Design Review Committee (DRC) recommended approval of the first phase, a horizontal parking structure expansion, that was approved by the Planning Commission on June 20, 2022.
The second phase calls for the development of a 3-story vertical expansion on top of the existing parking structure. The vertical expansion will expand the parking footprint and allow for a separation between visitors and medical associate parking. Finally, the third phase will be the construction of the medical office building. The DRC recommended Planning Commission approval of these phases on July 7, 2022.
For purposes of the subject application, CHOC has put a package together that includes elements of the three phases to show the extent of the intended improvements and their appearance for contextual reference.
Issue 2 Medical Office Building Square Footage:
The proposed square footage of the medical office building is 330,000 SF, which is 160,000 SF over the previously anticipated medical office building of 170,000 SF. As indicated above the medical office building was not fully developed at the time and was only analyzed at the program level for California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) purposes. Although the proposed medical office building square’s footage is double the size of the anticipated square footage, during staff’s analysis of the proposal, it was determined that the increase in square footage will not cause any additional environmental impacts. Further, the project meets the development standards including building height, setbacks, loading zones and parking. It should be noted that the building height is proposed at 9-stories as opposed to the previously anticipated height of a 25-story building.
Issue 3 FAR:
The C-2 designation has a maximum FAR range of 1.0. The project site is 153,775 SF (approximately 3.5-acres) and the proposed building is 330,000 square feet, giving it a FAR of 2.24, which exceeds the allowable maximum. However, as indicated previously, the site is part of the CHOC Hospital Master Plan, which at full campus buildout would have a total FAR of 1.0 for the entire campus. Given the CHOC Hospital Master Plan layout, it was expected that some parcels would be under the FAR thresholds, while other parcels would exceed the FAR threshold, provided that the total FAR for the campus did not exceed the maximum or fall below the minimum. Therefore, the project taken in the context of the overall campus Master Plan area remains at 1.0 FAR.
Issue 4 Landscaping:
During the DRC’s April 20, 2022 review of the horizontal parking garage expansion, the Committee discussed landscaping at length, particularly the lack of trees and vegetation around the perimeter of the structure. The Committee recommended installation of four Mexican Fan palms as a compromise, based on the understanding that the medical office building project would have a complete and comprehensive landscape plan.
The applicant has provided a robust landscape plan consisting of a variety of trees, shrubs and ground cover. Based on the City’s Guidelines the project would need 56 trees, however the site layout accommodates 25 trees on a site. Although the City’s Guidelines as it relates to a tree count is not met, the landscape plan provides an abundance of landscaping at the site. The DRC reviewed the landscape plan and recommended approval on July 7, 2022.
8. public notice
On July 20, 2022, the City sent a Public Meeting Notice to a total of 228 property owners/tenants within a 300-foot radius of the project site, and persons specifically requesting notice. The project site was posted with the notification on July 20, 2022.
9. environmental review
An Addendum to CHOC Master Plan Final Environmental Impact Report No. 1805-08 (FEIR), State Clearinghouse No. 2008081118, serves as the environmental review of the vertical expansion and medical office building project, as required pursuant to the provisions of CEQA, Public Resources Code Section 21000 et seq., the State CEQA Guidelines, and the City of Orange Local Guidelines for Implementing CEQA (Local CEQA Guidelines). The analysis in certified EIR No. 1805-08 included mitigation measures to address potential impacts related to aesthetics, air quality, hazards and hazardous materials, noise, transportation and traffic, and utilities and service systems. Staff prepared an addendum to analyze the potential environmental effects of the vertical expansion and medical office building. The proposal does not create or alter any existing mitigation measures. There is no public review required.
10. ADVISORY BOARD ACTION
Staff Review Committee:
The project was presented to the City’s interdepartmental Staff Review Committee (SRC) on August 25, 2021, December 15, 2021, March 16, 2022, and on May 25, 2022, after which it received a recommendation for approval with conditions.
Design Review Committee:
The Design Review Committee reviewed the subject proposal at the July 7, 2022, meeting and recommended approval to the Planning Commission with conditions.
The Committee felt the architectural design of the project was well articulated and complemented the existing development. During its discussion and deliberations, the Committee requested clarification from the applicant regarding the landscaping. The applicant revised the landscape plan with a more robust landscape treatment that included an increase in the tree count from 13 to 25 trees.
In its recommendation of approval, the Committee concluded that the project design is compatible with the surrounding uses and the proposed design would blend in with the existing structure. Overall, development of the proposed project would enhance and strengthen the character of the site and provide new landscaping.
11. ATTACHMENTS
• Attachment 1 Planning Commission Resolution No. PC13-22
• Attachment 2 Vicinity Map
• Attachment 3 Design Review Committee Staff Report dated July 7, 2022
• Attachment 4 Design Review Committee Draft Minutes dated July 7, 2022
• Attachment 5 Submitted Plans including Color and Materials Board
• Attachment 6 Banner Grip Product Data
• Attachment 7 Stamisol Cladding System
• Attachment 8 Addendum to Certified EIR No. 1805-08