The Board of Supervisors directed staff to initiate this General Plan Amendment and rezoning following the decision to not proceed with the proposed Dunnigan Specific Plan (see further discussion below under "Background"). The Planning Commission held a public workshop on September 8, 2016 to discuss this issue and heard from members of the public. A public hearing was held at the Planning Commission on January 19, 2017 to formally consider the application issue and to hear from members of the public. Following the public hearing, the Planning Commission voted unanimously (7-0-0) to recommend that the Board of Supervisors approve the General Plan Amendment and rezoning.
BACKGROUND
The “project” is the adoption of amendments to the 2030 Yolo Countywide General Plan and to the Yolo County Zoning Code to remove all references to the Dunnigan Specific Plan. Dunnigan is a small unincorporated town of approximately 1,000 residents, located along Interstate 5 in northern Yolo County, 19 miles north of Woodland.
The Dunnigan Specific Plan is one of five areas in unincorporated Yolo County that is designated as a “Specific Plan” in the 2030 Yolo Countywide General Plan. (The other four Specific Plan areas are in the Madison, Knights Landing, Elkhorn, and Covell areas.) The purpose of the General Plan designation is to require that a Specific Plan be adopted prior to any urban development being approved in any of the five locations.
The General Plan identifies the Dunnigan Specific Plan area consisting of approximately 2,250 acres of mostly vacant agricultural land located generally west of County Road 99 and Interstate 5, south of County Road 5, and north of Bird Creek. The General Plan currently designates the entire Specific Plan area for urban development of up to 9,230 housing units and 11,300 jobs (Attachment A). The existing developed land uses in Dunnigan (Old Town, the rural homes in the Hardwoods, Country Fair Estates, and the highway commercial uses along I-5) are not included in the Specific Plan (SP) General Plan designation but are designated with a separate Specific Plan Overlay (SPO).
The zoning for Dunnigan is similar to the General Plan (Attachment A). The mostly vacant agricultural land located generally west of County Road 99 and Interstate 5 is zoned Specific Plan (abbreviated S-P), and the existing developed areas are zoned with a Specific Plan Zoning Overlay District (SP-O).
Note that the two maps in Attachment A do not reflect a recently approved General Plan Amendment and rezone adopted in December, 2015 for 183 acres of agricultural land west of the County Road 8/I-5 interchange.
Specific Plan Submittal and Board Actions
An application for a Specific Plan was originally submitted to the County in 2009 by a Folsom residential developer, Elliott Homes, and a revised plan was resubmitted in 2012. During this period, the applicant worked with staff to refine the proposed development plan and meet all of the General Plan policies and criteria. However, the applicant could not design a Specific Plan that would meet the General Plan goals related to a jobs/housing balance in all phases of growth plus trip generation not to exceed 44 vehicle miles traveled (VMT) per household.
In 2015, the applicant requested that the County initiate an environmental impact report for the project, during which the jobs/housing and VMT goals, and all other issues would be resolved. On April 26, 2016, the Yolo County Board of Supervisors directed staff not to proceed with environmental review of the proposed Dunnigan Specific Plan.
Following the April, 2016 decision to not proceed with the environmental review of the Specific Plan, on May 31, 2016 the Board directed staff to proceed with a General Plan Amendment Study that will remove all references to the Dunnigan Specific Plan from General Plan and zoning documents.
Project Description
The proposed General Plan Amendment and accompanying Zoning Code Amendment is a package of changes that includes the following components:
- changing the General Plan designation of approximately 450 individual properties to delete the “Specific Plan” and “Specific Plan Overlay” designations;
- revisions to six figures, five tables, seven existing policies, and some accompanying text in the Land Use, Circulation, and Health and Safety Elements of the 2030 Yolo Countywide General Plan;
- addition of one General Plan policy identifying two potential future growth areas in Dunnigan;
- rezoning of approximately 450 individual properties to delete the “Specific Plan” and “Specific Plan Overlay” zones;
- revisions to four sections of the Yolo County Zoning Code; and
- redesignation and rezoning of 2.8 acres of agricultural land to allow the expansion of an existing gas station at the corner of County Road 6 and County Road 89 (APN 052-030-001).
A summary of the text and map amendments to the General Plan is presented in Table 1, and a summary of the text and map amendments to the Zoning Code is summarized in Table 2 (both included in Attachment A).
Attachment D contains the complete language of all text and map amendments, which is also included as Appendix A to the Initial Study/Negative Declaration (Attachment E).
A list of all the approximately 450 parcels that will be redesignated and rezoned is included in Appendix B to the Initial Study/Negative Declaration (Attachment E).
The proposed GPA will replace the "Specific Plan" General Plan land use designations and zoning for the approximately three dozen parcels planned for urban development in the Dunnigan Specific Plan area with an "Agriculture" (AG) designation and Intensive Agriculture (A-N) zoning. This would affect only the undeveloped agricultural properties in Dunnigan that are currently zoned "Specific Plan."
The proposed action will also remove the “Specific Plan Overlay” designation and zoning that applies to several hundred individual parcels, already developed within the Old Town area, the Dunnigan Hardwoods rural subdivision, and the existing highway commercial uses around the I-5 interchanges. These properties will retain their existing underlying designation and base zoning which includes Highway Commercial, Low Density Residential, etc. The only change will be to remove the overlaying “Specific Plan Overlay” designation and zoning.
A new General Plan policy would be added (Policy CC-3.10), which identifies two potential future growth areas in Dunnigan south of the existing Hardwoods subdivision, and between County Road 6 and CR 7, bounded by I-5 and CR 99W. However, the lands would remain in agricultural use, and would be redesignated and rezoned from Specific Plan to Agriculture, along with all the other agricultural lands. Development of these lands, if it ever occurs, would require a separate General Plan Amendment, rezoning, and other entitlements such as a subdivision map, and would be subject to a separate CEQA environmental review.
One other parcel is proposed for a General Plan change. The owner of an existing small one-acre gas station on a two-acre lot at the corner of County Road 6 and County Road 89 (APN: 052-030-001, Fazian Corp.) wishes to expand the uses to include an additional 2.8 acres from the adjacent 50-acre parcel that surrounds the gas station to the east and south (APN: 052-030-003, Dunnigan East LLC). The proposed expansion is illustrated in Figure 3 included in Attachment A.
The existing gas station is designated Commercial in the General Plan and zoned Highway Commercial (C-H). The adjacent parcel is designated Specific Plan and zoned S-P. To effectuate the transfer of the 2.8 acres of land would require a GPA, rezoning, and a Lot Line Adjustment. The 2.8 acre portion of the 50-acre parcel would be resdesignated and rezoned from Specific Plan to Commercial and Highway Service Commercial, respectively. The remainder of the 50-acre parcel would be resdesignated and rezoned from Specific Plan to Agriculture and to the Intensive Agriculture (A-N) zoning.
This package of General Plan Amendments will not revise any of the policies in the existing 2001 Dunnigan Plan. That plan would remain in effect.
ANALYSIS
The following analysis is excerpted from the Initial Study/Negative Declaration for the project (Attachment E).
Removing the Specific Plan General Plan land use designations and zoning will result in a significant reduction in the projected amount of future growth in the Dunnigan area. However, it should be noted that removing references to the Dunnigan Specific Plan does not preclude an applicant from applying for approval of a Specific Plan in the Dunnigan area (or any area in the unincorporated county). Policies and guidelines for processing and approving Specific Plans will remain in the General Plan and Zoning Code. Removing all references to the Dunnigan Specific Plan means that there will be no detailed development standards for a future plan, and a Specific Plan may be more speculative and unlikely in the future.
The addition of a new Policy CC-3.10, which identifies two potential future growth areas in Dunnigan to be studied and considered “as funds become available,” would not be expected to have any environmental impacts since the land identified will continue to be designated and zoned for agricultural uses.
The 2030 General Plan estimated that build-out of an approved Dunnigan Specific Plan could have resulted in the construction of a minimum of 5,000 housing units and a maximum of 7,500 units (not counting 600 second ancillary units). This amount of projected residential growth with the Specific Plan would have resulted in a future population in Dunnigan of over 25,000 residents. Job creation associated with an approved Specific Plan could have resulted in approximately 8,000 new commercial and industrial jobs.
In broad terms, some of the anticipated environmental impacts due to avoided future growth that could have occurred under an adopted Dunnigan Specific Plan include the following:
- The town of Dunnigan would remain a small unincorporated community of approximately 1,500 residents with a continued limited amount of growth of auto- and truck-oriented business at the interchanges along the I-5 corridor;
- Approximately 2,250 acres of prime agricultural land would not be converted to urban uses; agriculture would remain the predominant industry in the area;
- Biological resources associated with the undeveloped agricultural land (habitat for Swainson’s hawk and other sensitive species, etc.) would not be lost to urban development;
- Increased traffic, air quality, noise, and climate change impacts caused by construction of 5,000 to 7,500 homes and associated commercial growth would be avoided; and
- Improved public services (water, wastewater, drainage, schools, fire and police) for new and existing residents would not occur.
These potential impacts are described and analyzed in the Initial Study.
Agricultural Impacts
The adoption of the 2016 Dunnigan General Plan Amendment would remove the Specific Plan General Plan land use designations and zoning and will result in a significant reduction in the projected amount of future growth in the Dunnigan area. Approximately 2,250 acres of prime agricultural land would not be converted to urban uses. This would have a significant beneficial impact on agricultural resources in the area.
However, the 2016 Dunnigan General Plan Amendment also includes the request by the owner of an existing small one-acre gas station at the corner of County Road 6 and County Road 89 to expand the uses to include an additional 2.8 acres from the adjacent 50-acre parcel that surrounds the gas station to the east and south. To effectuate the transfer of the 2.8 acres of land would require a GPA, rezoning, and a Lot Line Adjustment. The 2.8 acre portion of the 50-acre parcel would be redesignated and rezoned from Specific Plan to Commercial and Highway Service Commercial, respectively. The remainder of the 50-acre parcel would be resdesignated and rezoned from Specific Plan to Agriculture and to the Intensive Agriculture (A-N) zoning.
The 50-acre parcel is currently designated and zoned for agriculture and consists of prime soils The 50-acre parcel is not under a Williamson Act contract. Redesignation and rezoning of the 2.8-acre portion would require mitigation for the loss of agricultural land as set forth by the County’s Agricultural Yolo County Agricultural Mitigation and Conservation Program (Section 8-4.404 of the Yolo County Code). The applicant would be required to either purchase and dedicate a permanent conservation easement or pay an in lieu fee.
In addition to the requirement to mitigate for the loss of prime farmland, the applicant for the expansion of the gas station would be required, as a future condition of approval, to provide a buffer between the new gas station uses and the adjacent agricultural operations. Policy LU-2.1 in the 2030 Yolo Countywide General Plan describes the buffer: “New urban (non-agricultural) development should be setback a minimum of 300 feet from adjoining agricultural land where possible, but special circumstances can be considered by the decision-making body. Except as noted below where no buffer is required, in no case shall the buffer be reduced to less than 100 feet.”
As part of the proposed 2016 Dunnigan GPA, a new General Plan policy would be added (Policy CC-3.10), which identifies two potential future growth areas for housing or jobs in Dunnigan south of the existing Hardwoods subdivision, and between County Road 6 and CR 7, bounded by I-5 and CR 99W. However, the lands would remain in agricultural use, and would be redesignated and rezoned from Specific Plan to Agriculture, along with all the other agricultural lands. Thus, the addition of this new policy should not have any impact on agricultural resources.
Biological Resources
Adoption of the 2016 Dunnigan General Plan Amendment means that biological resources associated with the undeveloped agricultural land (habitat for Swainson’s hawk and other sensitive species, etc.) would not be lost to planned urban development. Approximately 2,250 acres of prime agricultural land would not be converted to urban uses, and agriculture would remain the predominant industry in the area. This would have a significant beneficial impact on biological resources in the area.
The only potential impact to biological resources due to the proposed GPA would be related to the expansion of the existing small one-acre gas station at the corner of County Road 6 and County Road 89. The expansion would affect 2.8 acres from the adjacent 50-acre parcel that surrounds the gas station to the east and south. The land is under cultivation and is considered foraging habitat for the Swainson’s hawk. Development of the 2.8 acres would be subject to the the standard mitigation program, consistent with the pending Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP), that the County applies for all discretionary projects that affect foraging habitat. Yolo County requires mitigation at a 1:1 ratio for lost foraging land or payment of an in-lieu fee, that would be applied to reduce any potential impacts for this expansion.
Air Quality and Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Adoption of the 2016 Dunnigan GPA would modify policies, land use designations, and zoning for the Dunnigan area, and would reduce development projections of the General Plan by approximately 8,108 housing units, 24,324 residents, and 7,938 jobs. Potential air quality and climate change impacts would be significantly reduced because the 2,250-acre Specific Plan area would not be developed with urban uses. The only potential impact to projected air quality and greenhouse gas emissions would be related to the 2.8-acre expansion of the existing gas station at the corner of County Road 6 and County Road 89. This small expansion would not have a significant impact on future air quality or GHG emissions.
Transportation Impacts
The adoption of the proposed GPA and rezoning means that this amount of new urban growth associated with the previously proposed Dunnigan Specific Plan, and all potential transportation impacts on the existing circulation system due to traffic generated by that amount of growth, would not occur. This means that the town of Dunnigan would remain a small unincorporated community of approximately 1,500 residents with a continued limited amount of growth of auto- and truck-oriented business at the interchanges along the I-5 corridor. The only new growth that could occur under the GPA, beyond the infill development allowed under the existing underlying zoning, is the expansion of the existing gas station at County Road 6 and County Road 89.
While removal of all designations and zoning for the Dunnigan Specific Plan will result in significantly reduced projected auto and truck related trips in the future, improvements to existing transportation facilities that were anticipated under the Specific Plan also would not occur.
Future transportation improvements that would not occur include the reconstruction of one of the two main interchanges Interstate 5 and widening of arterials such as County Road 99W.
In addition to interchange improvements if the Specific Plan had proceeded, some planned widening of arterials and local roads in Dunnigan will not occur since the additional roadway capacity is not needed to serve major growth in the town.
The Final Environmental Impact Report for the 2030 Yolo Countywide General Plan (November, 2009), analyzed the transportation impacts of the additional cumulative growth allowed under the new General Plan, including construction (full buildout) of all five Specific Plans in the unincorporated area, plus build-out of the four General Plans for the Cities of Woodland, Davis, West Sacramento, and Winters. Based on the results of the computer modeling, a comprehensive list of transportation improvements needed throughout the unincorporated area to accommodate the level of County, cities, and regional growth was developed and included in the General Plan. The improvement list includes three roads in the Dunnigan area:
- County Road 6 – Widen to a four-lane arterial between County Road 99W and the Tehama Colusa Canal.
- County Road 99W – Widen to a four-lane arterial between County Road 2 and County Road 8.
- Interstate 5 – Widen to provide freeway auxiliary lanes in both directions between County Road 6 and Interstate 505.
These identified improvements for County Roads 99W and 6 would not be required if the Dunnigan Specific Plan was never developed with 7,500 new housing units and 8,000 new commercial and industrial jobs. However the Final EIR analysis was not able to segregate potential impacts to Dunnigan area roadways due to the build-out of the Specific Plan from cumulative growth in the County and in the Sacramento region. It is unknown whether the removal of the Dunnigan Specific Plan from the Yolo Countywide General Plan and the accompanying significant reduction in the number of future anticipated trips would mean the improvements to the I-5 freeway would not be needed during the planning period.
Impacts to Public Facilities and Services
The removal of all designations and zoning for the Dunnigan Specific Plan means that new and upgraded utilities and service systems will not be constructed to serve a future population in Dunnigan of over 25,000 residents. On-site wastewater (leachfields) and water systems (individual wells) would continue to serve the majority of residents and businesses. Currently, only a small number of existing uses (e.g., Country Fair Estates manufactured home park) are served by a public sewer or water system.
The draft Dunnigan Specific Plan proposed to form a County Service Area (CSA) for basic municipal utilities such as water, sewer, recycled water, and storm drain for new and existing residents. Water service was proposed to be provided via the Tehama-Colusa Canal, which now delivers primarily agricultural water supplies to the Dunnigan Water District. The raw water was to be pumped from an existing turnout on the Canal to a new treatment, storage, and distribution pump station site near the turnout for treatment and distribution to the Specific Plan Area.
An extensive recycled water system was proposed to irrigate landscape areas, including public landscaped medians, parks, greenways and landscaped front yards of the lower density residential areas. The source of water for the recycled water system was to be tertiary treated effluent from the Specific Plan’s new wastewater treatment plant.
The draft Dunnigan Specific Plan proposed to construct a municipal wastewater collection system and central wastewater treatment plant which produces effluent that exceeds California Title 22 treated effluent standards can be achieved with ultraviolet (UV) treatment.
A proposed onsite drainage plan was also proposed.
With the removal of the Specific Plan, none of these proposed utility systems and improvements would be constructed. The impacts of the proposed 2016 Dunnigan GPA would be to reduce the need for the construction of any new modern utility systems.
Pending Projects and Future Planning for Dunnigan
While this General Plan Amendment and rezoning would remove the potential for major development in Dunnigan, there are a number of pending development projects that are moving forward that will job opportunities and commercial services in the town.
There are three significant development applications, plus one building permit, that are pending approval on commercial-zoned lands near the I-5/County Road 8 interchange at this time.
Valley Travel Center. The project is a 20-acre highway service truck and auto stop, located west of the I-5/County Road 8 interchange. It is part of a larger 183-acre parcel that was originally included within the Dunnigan Specific Plan area but was removed and rezoned in December, 2015 to accommodate a proposed almond hulling facility (see below). The truck stop would consist of 16 auto gas fueling pumps; 8 truck fueling pumps; truck wash; tire barn; a food market and two fast food restaurants; 102 auto parking stalls; and truck parking for 94 trucks. A possible hotel and additional commercial use is proposed in a second phase. The project requires a Tentative Parcel Map, a General Plan Amendment, and a rezoning from Agriculture to General Commercial and Highway Service Commercial (C-H) zoning. The project is subject to environmental review under a separate Mitigated Negative Declaration that is now being prepared.
Yolo Hulling and Shelling (Vann Brothers). A non-discretionary (ministerial) Site Plan Review application has recently been approved to construct an almond hulling facility on an approximately 110-acre portion of a 183 acre parcel (same parcel as Valley Travel Center, 052-060-001). Total employment of 20 to 30 year round. Applicant: /Steve Tofft.
Denny’s restaurant. A building permit for the former Oasis restaurant parcel, south of CR 8, east of I-5, proposed to rebuild as a new Denny’s restaurant.
Grant Park Development. Approximately 10 acres located north of County Road 8 east of I-5. A Site Plan Review as approved in 2007 to allow approximately 24,000 square feet of retail/highway commercial development, including a gas station. A new Site Plan Review application has been submitted that is consistent with the previous approval and may move forward
United Travel Center. A building permit was issued in 2015 to allow an existing truck stop at County Road 8/CR 89B east of I-5/CR 8 to rebuild and expand with a new commercial store. This project is under construction.
In terms of future planning for Dunnigan, this GPA includes a new General Plan policy which would be added to the Countywide General Plan. The new Policy CC-3.10 identifies two potential future growth areas in Dunnigan south of the existing Hardwoods subdivision, and between County Road 6 and CR 7, bounded by I-5 and CR 99W. The policy states that the community has identified these two potential future growth areas which are "to be studied and considered as funds become available." The lands will remain in agricultural use, and will be redesignated and rezoned from Specific Plan to Agriculture, along with all the other agricultural lands. Development of these lands, if it ever occurs, would require a separate General Plan Amendment, rezoning, and other entitlements such as a subdivision map, and would be subject to a separate CEQA environmental review. |