CC - Item 1A - Workshop Presentation and Discussion of Potential Development of 8001 Garvey AvenueManheim Auto Auction Site
GARVEY AVENUE
SPECIFIC PLAN
City of Rosemead
City Council Workshop
June 23, 2020
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1.Introduction
2.Background
3.Site & Specific Plan Constraints
4.Vision and Project Scope
5.Specific Plan Amendment
6.CEQA
7.Next Steps
Table of Contents
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•Lewis Group of Companies
•Established in 1955 in the San Gabriel Valley
•Built over 57,000 homes
•Developed and sold over 21,000 residential lots
•Own and manage over 11,000 apartments
•Developed over 19,500,000 square feet of retail, office,
and industrial
•Continue to be led by the second and third generations
of the Lewis family
•Company emphasizes community engagement and
developing long-term value
Introduction
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Background
•Manheim Auto Auction was a long term fixture in the
community and emblematic of California’s early car culture
•Closed in 2009 at the peak of the recession
•City kicked off the preparation of the Garvey Avenue Corridor
Specific Plan and EIR in 2014
•Intent was to provide guidance and a vision for the
redevelopment of underutilized parcels in the corridor
•The Auto Auction site is designated as Garvey Ave Specific
Plan, Incentivized Mixed Use, and an “Opportunity Project
and Site”
•The Auto Auction was also analyzed as a Project Level
component of the overall Garvey Avenue SP Final EIR
•Since the SP was done in 2018, much has changed. Far
greater emphasis on housing in our region, and retail has
continued its downward slide.
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Site & Specific Plan Constraints
•Site lacks freeway access and visibility
•Midblock location
•Retail Uses:
•Appx 150,000 SF of grocers already exist within ½ of the mile
the site
•Shift to e-commerce (further accelerated due to COVID-19)
continues to erode demand for brick-and-mortar retail
•COVID-19 is causing a major fundamental shift in the
entertainment/theater market already challenged by movie
streaming subscriptions such as Netflix, etc.
•Office Uses:
•Site cannot compete with other local office nodes along the
freeway corridors, with already high vacancy rates
•Office nodes in El Segundo/LAX, Downtown LA, and Wilshire
that are rail accessible are more suitable in today’s
environment
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Site & Specific Plan Constraints
•Hospital/Medical
•There are four medical office/hospital nodes within the community
•Medical office market is further centralizing around existing medical
center hubs
•Hospitality:
•Site lacks freeway visibility/access, which deters quality hospitality
users
•No major corporate or employment hubs in close proximity to create
demand for a hotel
•Traffic Counts:
•High AM/PM peak hour traffic on Garvey deters local business traffic
•Off-Peak hour traffic is not high enough to support a destination or
regional entertainment/shopping like the existing Rosemead Place
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Site & Specific Plan Constraints
•Specific Plan
•GSP-Mixed Use Zone requires a 65% residential and 35%
non-residential floor-area land use mix
•Based on today’s market conditions/economics, this
would significantly reduce the development capacity of
the site
•A portion of the site is surrounded by single family
detached homes and out parcels
•Utilities
•Potentially significant sewer upsizing required
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•Become the catalyst project for the revitalization of the
Garvey Ave corridor
•Bring new residents who will bring money to spend and
invest in the community, and serve existing residents in
the community
•Create a unique place and develop a community identity
•Allow for development of 360+/-for-sale attached, or
detached, residential units. Up to 3 stories
•Project amenities will be maintained by an HOA
•Internal grid street layout, with units built close to the
sidewalk for street-side interest
•Corner of site anchored by a 1.2 Acre neighborhood
serving retail and/or restaurant space
Vision and Project Scope
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Specific Plan Amendment
•In order to proceed with the vision and proposed
project, a Specific Plan Amendment will be required.
•The adopted Specific Plan includes overly
prescriptive development standards and concepts
for the site that discourage creative design flexibility
often required to respond to market demand.
•A summary of the changes proposed are in the
following slides:
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Specific Plan Amendment
Chapter 3: Land Use, Zoning and Development Standards
Table 3.2 Concept shows extensive public
park and greenway space
Adjust requirement for public
open spaces to better fit the
proposed project site plan
Table 3.4 –Required
Mixed-Use Land Use
Split
65% Residential/35% Non-
Residential “Required Mixed-Use
Land Use Split” is too prescriptive
and doesn’t allow for market
flexibility
Specify appropriate
residential/non-residential
acreage based upon proposed
site plan which is market
supported
Table 3.4 –Ground
Floor Wall Glazing
Residential requirement of 40%
ground floor glazing.
Minimum is not practical under
T-24 and Seismic framing
requirements. Reduce to 20%.
Table 3.4 –Elevation
Above Street Level
Requirement for elevating
ground floor living space above
street level.
Remove as it is too prescriptive
and not-functional for ADA
residential units.
Table 3.4 –Setbacks
for Light, Air, and
Privacy
Setback and variable height
requirement from R-1 or R-2
zoning district:
Adjust minimum setback to 15’
including an 8’ minimum
landscape buffer. No 3rd floor
balconies within a 40’ setback.
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Specific Plan Amendment
Chapter 3: Land Use, Zoning and Development Standards
Table 3.4 –Private
Open Space Ground
Floor Dimension
Required 8’ balcony in any
direction minimum.
Modify to 6’ minimum to be
consistent with most cities
Table 3.4 –Private
Open Space Ground
Floor Dimension
Required 8’ balcony in any
direction minimum.
Modify to 6’ minimum to be
consistent with most cities
Page 3-36 Required 40% glazing for
residential ground floor, and 30%
glazing for upper floors.
Minimum is not practical under
T-24 and Seismic framing
requirements. Reduce to 20%.
Page 3-38 Requires commercial to
comprise 50% of the length of
building frontage for mixed use
sites.
This is not practical for horizontal
mixed use and requirement must
be removed to provide design
flexibility.
Page 3-38 Requirement for elevating
ground floor living space above
street level.
Remove as it is too prescriptive
and not-functional for ADA
residential units.
Page 3-41 Requirement for a 3’ decorative
wall to screen parking.
Too prescriptive and landscape
would provide a softer visual
buffer.19
Specific Plan Amendment
Chapter 3: Land Use, Zoning and Development Standards
Page 3-42 Requirements for usable
common open space
Defining minimum dimensions
and ratios for courtyards, etc,
does not allow for any creative
design flexibility.
Page 3-43 Requirements for usable private
open space
Too prescriptive and excessive.
Not allowing ground floor private
open space to be enclosed does
not allow for any creative design
flexibility, such as California
Rooms.
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Specific Plan Amendment
Chapter 4: Opportunity Project and Sites
General As identified in prior slides, the visions as outlined in this section
are infeasible and impractical in today’s market. The proposed
guidelines are highly prescriptive and deter development at the
desired intensity allowed in the Development Standards. Suggest
this section be removed or significantly revised.
Figure 4.7 –LA
Auto Auction
Conceptual Design
Concept
The concept relies heavily on a marketable vertical mixed use
project, with an extensive retail component comprised of regional
commercial and entertainment uses that are not viable in the
market. Also, the lack of residential units in this concept is
insufficient to support the amount of proposed retail.
Figure 4.5 –
Restore the Grid
Extending existing streets north into the site will add additional
traffic signals further exacerbating traffic delays in the corridor
Figure 4.5 –Design
with Tallest
Buildings Internal
to Site
Requires tallest building located in the middle of the site. Due to
small size of property, focus should be on buffering standards and
guidelines as the site does not impact views of the mountains to
the north.
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Specific Plan Amendment
Chapter 4: Opportunity Project and Sites
Page 4-16 The concept discusses regional commercial uses which are not
practical at the site. The greenway buffer is not feasible as
adjacent development does not take access to the site, and the
property owner would be liable for activities that occur in the
greenway.
Figure 4.5 –
Activate Garvey
Requires ground floor retail the entire length of Garvey Avenue.
Not practical in the current commercial market as indicated.
Figure 4.5 –Design
Sensitive
Transitions
Proposed greenway trail around the rear of the property is unsafe
from a policing standpoint and does not extend until future
development to the east. Recommend focus on Garvey Ave
pedestrian environment and use landscape screening for buffering.
Figure 4.5 –Serve
and Support
Surrounding
Neighborhoods
Site is surrounded by existing development to the north, east, and
west. Planning for integration is infeasible, and should focus on
emphasizing the street-side pedestrian environment, yet, design
the project to feel “open” and inviting along its edges.
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•The LA Auto Auction site was analyzed at the
Project Level in the Final EIR based on the concept
in the Specific Plan.
•While the proposed project is different than the
concept analyzed in the Specific Plan and Final
EIR, overall development intensity is less than
what was analyzed in the maximum building
scenario in the Traffic Study for the project area.
•Additional technical studies or memorandums will
be required to validate, but the proposed project
should be able to tier from the certified Final EIR.
CEQA
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•Receive comments from Council on the proposal
•Conduct site investigations:
•Fault Assessment
•Sewer Capacity Analysis
•Continue to refine the retail component and uses
•Coordinate with staff on revisions and prepare
entitlement package
•Lewis will engage with a Guest Builder to continue
through the approval and development process
Next Steps
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Contact Info:
Glen T. Crosby Adam Collier
VP Regional Planned Communities Project Manager
Lewis Management Corp Lewis Management Corp
1156. N Mountain Avenue 1156. N Mountain Avenue
Upland, CA 91786 Upland, CA 91786
(909) 579-5193 (909) 946-7593
Glen.Crosby@lewismc.com Adam.Collier@lewismc.com
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