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HomeMy WebLinkAboutLetter from Gary Miller (Speaker #13)�kz * t3 icy MAr April 24,2017 Gary Miller 4632 Guava Ave. Seal Beach, CA 90740 562 -596 -9057 Mr. Steve Fowler Assistant Planner City of Seal Beach Department of Community Development Dear Mr. Fowler: Subject: Comments Regarding the Shoos at Rossmoor LA Fitness EIR My comments on the LA Fitness Notice of Preparation were not included in the LA Fitness EIR, and I am including them below for inclusion and consideration in the final EIR. In addition to my concerns about parking at the proposed LA Fitness facility, I noted a significant number of comments regarding parking were in Appendix B of the EIR. The EIR is not complete since a parking analysis was not performed as part of the EIR A parking analysis should be completed and included in a reissued EIR The developer is concerned about parking enough to not want to lose parking for an ingress and egress location on Seal Beach Boulevard north of the Verizon Wireless store. Additionally, it is proposed to have curb barriers to separate the north and south sections of the parking lot to encourage patrons visiting the Home Goods and PetSmart not to park near LA Fitness. Lack of pinking in the LA Fitness parking area could be very detrimental to Seal Beach and Rossmoor residents. Parking needs to be studied. As proposed, the current configuration of the Rossmoor Center Way is unacceptable. There needs to be four lanes between Seal Beach Boulevard and Spouts, or at a minimum two westbound laws and one eastbound line, plus a eastbound fight turn lace onto Seal Beach Boulevard. The two westbound lane should continue to the I.P. Fitness area, with one lane becoming a left - turn lane into LA Fitness. There should be three lines between Montecito Road the LA Fitness area. Two 12 foot wide eastbound lanes, with one becoming a right turn lane into LA Fitness and a 12 foot wide westbound lane from the LA Fitness area to Montecito Road. The northbound left -turn lane (pocket) on Seal Beach Boulevard at Rossmoor Center Way can only be extended approximately 90 feet that would only accommodate four to five additional vehicles, which most likely will not be sufficient for an already existing problem This needs finther study. If this left -turn lane is extended, the developer should refund to the City of Seal Beach the cost of the reverently improved median. Sincerely, A �, J\m� Gary Miller Gary Miller Comments Regarding LA FUnesa EIR January 27, 2017 My concerns are traffic, the new facility itself, and parking Traffic: Target Market The residential location of anticipated patrons and their route to the facility must be identified for any. traffic study. It has been noted that any where from fifty to eighty percent of the center's target market is the community of Rossmoor and yet there are only three entrances to the center from Montecito and three from St. Cloud, while the rest are all along Seal Beach Blvd. where traffic is extensive. Originally one of the entrances off Montaito was a nicely landscaped entry way into the old Rossmoor Center, now that same entry way is still there but seldom used because you immediately run into the back of Kohl's when entering the center from there. The other Rossmoor entrances will have typical center traffic to be contended with for those desiring to go to LA Fitness. Thus, Rossmoor residents will be pretty much forced to ua Rossmoor Center Way and/or to come out St. Cloud and Bradbury onto Seal Beach Blvd to enter the frontage portion of the center, thereby increasing traffic on Seal Beach Blvd. It would be ideal if they could just come and go from the back of the center and never have to get out onto Seal Beach Blvd. Rossmoor Center Way should he a four lane roadway from Seal Beach Blvd through to Montaito. Unfortunately, there are five important areas, two of which are choke points: 1. The exit/entrance by Montaito will not support four lanes, even three lanes may be difficult. If three lanes are made possible, I would suggest it be two lanes into the center and one lane exiting the center. 2. From the stop sign at West Road east to Sprouts: should be four lanes to accommodate traffic once it is in the center between Montaito & Seal Beach Blvd. 3a. Stop sign at Sprouts & Rossmoor Center Way: due to poor placement of the Sprouts _a- building (t is too close to the roadway — just an additional 10 feet to the south would be sufficient to solve this choke point and enable the roadway to be a decent four lanes. Currently there is a sidewalk along the north side of the building with landscaping on both sides of the sidewalk. To fix this inadequate lane problem, part of the landscaping on the north side of the Sprouts building should be modified to accommodate the extra lanes of traffic while still retaining a sidewalk to allow people to get to the overflow parking in back of the building. 3b. From Seal Beach Blvd to the stop sign by Sprouts, it definitely should be four lanes: two in and two out. Four lanes are needed to accommodate the traffic, which already is extensive. This section is hemmed in by the Panem Bread building and the side of the parking lot for Sprouts. Do what needs to be done to get four lanes, which may include cutting into the parking lot if removal of landscaping is not enough to obtain four lanes. 4. A new facility (LA Fitness) in back of Sprouts will increase traffic in the northbound left -tum pocket lane of Seal Beach Blvd to Rossmoor Center Way. Today, northbound traffic trying to access the center on Seal Beach Blvd. is often backed up in both of the northbound pocket turn lanes and the traffic often sticks out into the left through lane creating a dangerous situation for both Rossmoor Center Way and Town Center Drive. This needs to be addressed by reconfiguring the signal and/or lengthening the left turn pocket lane of the recently improved median. Lengthening the pocket lanes needs to be accomplished without interfering with the southbound pocket lanes for traffic turning east into the Target Center. Also, an additional entrance/exit could be added just north of Subway sandwich facility, onto the southbound lane of Sea] Beach Blvd, relieving traffic demands on Rommoor Center Way. Seal Beach Blvd. is the city's only north -south through street. In many areas there are no side streets for extra traffic. As such, it handles a tremendous amount of traffic and asking it to accommodate more, is difficult as it already most likely is at a Level of Service (LOS) F at peak travel times, which due to the variety of traffic, is from 7 am to 9 am, from 2:30 pm to 7 pm. There is not only the usual to/from -work travel traffic, but also the school traffic, as all school children in the district use Seal Beach Blvd, with the exception of elementary school children in Old Town and the Hill that attend McGaugh. Consideration of the impact of the 1-405 Improvement Project must also be considered because in 2023 traffic will increase on Seal Beach Blvd. due to the project, i.e., congestion at the county line and congestion caused by tolling. In the constriction of an EIR for this project, a tic circulation section needs to be included The New Facility: LA Fitness proposed building location should be more to the south, at least 20 feet or so, but not on top of Rossmoor Center Way, especially if Rossmoor Center Way is widened, which should happen. Do not construct the building where it is presently planned as that will forever prevent traffic from easily accessing the center from the community of Rossmoor from Montecito. People will go the way of the least amount of traffic. Planning must also be for the future, not just os it is now. -3- One other issue to consider. rotate the LA Fitness building 90 degrees, elongate it, and moving it further west, possibly to West Road, so that the back of the building would be to the condos, and with parking for the LA Fitness to the east of the building (the back of Sprouts). Experience from the earlier center where there was a movie theater, demonstrated problems in the evening with movie -goers talking and slamming car doors upon leaving after the movie was over. This same behavior would exist with patrons from LA Fitness leaving as late as 11 pm., as well as patrons arriving at 5 am. Remember, we are all neighbors, so let's be neighborly. Parldne: Currently, there is a parking problem from vehicles of Seal Beach residents living along Montecim Road in the apartments and condos. Some of those residents have been parking in the back of the center for years. When those aparlments/oondos were first constructed, led, they were built as senior apartments with provisions for only one car per unit (guess they thought seniors don't drive). With the condo conversion, they were open to non - seniors and most are now families and have two vehicles, creating a greater demand for parking than the street (Monteclto) can accommodate. Consequently, many residents use the back of the shopping center parking lot. The owners of the Shops at Rossmoor have put those residents on notice that they will no longer be able to park there, causing many residents to park across the street in the community of Rosemont, thereby inconveniencing many residents over there who often find it difficult to access their own driveways, let alone park in from of their own homes. Thus, this facility (LA Fitness) would be a hardship on Seal Beach and Rossmoor residents. This issue must be addressed before allowing the project to go forward There is more parking at that center than is needed. By initial calculations, based in the data we were given, approximately 223 spaces are excess. There is a strip of parking spaces behind the condos with approximately 160 parking spaces. These spaces should be made available for the apartments /condos to either use or purchase. A parking structure is cost prolubitive. I have heard the shopping center management say it is not their problem. Well, I beg to differ: if you wish m develop in this area, you have to consider all the problems that exist, and not make them worse. These people who live in Rossmoorand in the apartments and condos are the target market and neighbors of the property owners. I realize the property owners did not create this problem but unfortunately it exists, and if there is a way to ameliorate it, and we must do the best we can to solve it. Finding a solution to the parking woes of those residents is within the scope of this building project, and I urge it be considered in the EM _y_ LA FITNESS FINAL EIR Gary Miller 6/27//9 An Environmental Impact Report for such a project should include a parking analysis, the LA Fitness EIR does not. SURPLUS PARKING 2011 -12 Seal Beach staff indicated well over 200 surplus parking spaces available for The Shops at Rossmoor site plan of today. Developer indicates 330 surplus parking spaces after LA Fitness is constructed with 124 required parking spaces. Thus, the developer's analysis would indicate there are 541 surplus parking spaces available for The Shops at Rossmoor site plan of today. Is it well over 200 surplus puking spaces today or 541 surplus parking spaces? The developer concerned enough about parking: - Not lose parking for an ingress and egress on Seal Beach Blvd. north of Subway - Propose curb barriers to separate the north and south sections of the parking lot to encourage patrons visiting Home Goods and Pet Smart not to park near LA Fitness - Propose adding eight parking spaces to the northeast comer of the puking lot by reducing the width of Rossmoor Center Way The parking needs and surplus of The Shops at Rossmoor need to be analyzed in detail. SB Municipal Code would require Cypress 24 Hour Fitness to have 133 parking spaces, over 300 parking spaces available ( -260 parking spaces used morning of June 17). SB Municipal Code would require Garden Grove LA Fitness to have 150 parking spaces, at least 270 parking spaces available ( -190 parking spaces used morning of June 17). SB Municipal Code requires proposed Seal Beach LA Fitness to have 124 parking spaces LA Fitness will require more than 124 parking spaces. The EIR should addressed functional parking needs of LA Fitness TRAFFIC Supervisor Steel and the Orange County Public Works realize the functionality of the proposed LA Fitness potentially has a higher trip generation rate than analyzed, when they recommend the developer conduct traffic studies of at least two (2) similarly located LA fitness clubs. Cypress 24 Hour Fitness should be considered too. A higher LA Fitness parking requirement than analyzed would indicate a higher trip generation rate than analyzed. The traffic burden on Seal Beach Blvd. could be reduce by having two eastbound lanes on Rossmoor Center Way from Mommito Road to LA Fitness. Extending the northbound left -turn lane (pocket) 90 feet on Seal Beach Blvd. at Rossmoor Center Way will mitigate traffic issues today, but do little or nothing to mitigate traffic issues associated with LA Fitness. There needs to be additional traffic studies and analysis. COMMUNITY CONTRIBUTION The LA Fitness club would be a hardship on Seal Beach and Rossmoor residents if the Seal Beach residents are not allowed to continue to use the surplus parking at The Shops at Rossmoor. It is not uncommon for developers to provide community benefits to gain support for their projects, for example, Bixby gave the City of Seal Beach the Tennis Center and $1 million as part of the approval process for the Old Ranch Town Center, Old Ranch Plaza, and modifications to the Old Ranch Country Club. CONCLUSION The LA Fitness Final FIR should not be approved without additional traffic and parking studies and analysis. The parking studies should consider the possibility of making parking available to Seal Beach residents living adjacent to The Shops at Rossmoor as a community contribution. A decision on the Conditional Use Permit 16 -7 needs to be delayed until EIR is certified.