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HomeMy WebLinkAboutRDA SO. CENTRAL AMEND 3-4-85REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY TO: HONORABLE CHAIRLAOY AND MEMBERS TUSTIN REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY FROM: COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT SUBJECT: PRELIMINARY REPORT, SOUTH/CENTRAL REDEVELOPMENT PROJECT AMENDMENT J BACKGROUND Recent amendments to the Redevelopment Law require a redevelopment agency to forward a preliminary report of a proposed redevelopment project or amendment upon receipt of the Auditor-Controller's report of tax revenue from the project area. The intent of this requirement is to provide taxing entities a general description of what the agency intends to do early in the plan adoption process. Upon receipt of the preliminary report, taxing entities have 15 days to call for a Fiscal Review Committee. If a Fiscal Review Committee is created, negotiations must take place between the taxing entities and the redevelopment agency within the next 15 days. The Preliminary Report identifies the existing environment of the project area, and the proposed improvements and circulation plan. RECOI~ENOATION It is recommended that the Redevelopment Agency adopt the preliminary report and authorize forwarding of the report to the taxing entities as soon as possible so as to determine if a Fiscal Review Committee will be created. DONALD D. LAMM Director of Community Development DDL:RKF:pef Attachment: Preliminary Report: SC CRA Project PRELIMINARY REPORT SOUTH/CENTRAL REDEVELOPMENT PROJECT AMENDMENT REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY TUSTIN, CALIFORNIA INTRODUCTION Assembly Bill 203 (Chapter 147), as approved by the Governor on May 31, 1984, amended the Community Development Law of the Health and Safety Code by adding Section 33344.5. This section requires a redevelopment agency to send each affected taxing agency a of description and justification of a proposed redevelopment project. This report describes the proposed amendment to the South/Central Redevelopment Project in the City of Tustin. II. REASONS FOR THE SELECTION OF THE PROJECT AREA AMENDMENT The subject area is contiguous to the existing South/Central Project Area. Public improvements proposed for the South/Central Project Area extend into the amended area and become a feature of the amended area. Public improvements required to enable the area to develop or redevelopment are so extensive and costly that it is not reasonably expected that the disuse and abandonment of sites could be reversed or alleviated nor could new development take place by private enterprise acting alone. The project area was thus selected for the purpose of eliminating and preventing blight, the extension of public improvements, and the logical extension of the South/Central Project Area to contiguous properties. III. DESCRIPTION OF PHYSICAL, SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC CONDITIONS A. EXISTING PHYSICAL CONDITIONS Project Location The area under consideration is depicted by the map shown as Exhibit A. It is bounded on three sides by major traffic arterials - Red Hill Avenue, Edinger Street, and the Costa Mesa (Route 55) Freeway. Land Uses and Acreage The total acreage of the area is + 137.746 acres of which + 110 acres are in private owner.s~ip with the remaining acreage iT public right-of-way. The area is urbanized with 63 acres developed or previously occupied for urban uses in accordance with the zoning ordinance. o Structures and Conditions The subject parcels were previously reserved for rail uses by the Sante Fe Railroad and were developed by industries requiring large amounts of outside storage area~and small capital investments in improvements. Typical of the users which have abandoned the sites are TO ?lie ,~OtJTI. t - (,eHTi"4^I., ,~eDeYeL, OPMeHT GITY OF 'I'U,~TIN LOT ?B Pt,6~=Am;~'O Dy: Du~ - Me~y. Preliminary Report Page 2 Boise-Cascade prefabrication facilities and other lumber and building products industries. Upon expiration of leases, a demand no longer existed for the typical uses within the area. Neither does a market demand exist for the vacant parcels reserved for rail users. As a consequence, former building sites are abandoned and serve as trash deposits. Existing development consists of a variety of industrial type users, width some limited commercial orientation, outdoor storage areas, and vacant land. The predominant commercial activities are a building products store and a retail landscape nursery. A beer distributor is the primary warehouse facility. Primary industrial tenants are manufacturers of plastic products and a small chemical distribution facility. The inclusionary character of the industrial zone has authorized a mixture of commercial and industrial land uses characterized by minimum site improvements. There is no continuity nor theme within the area and a blighting condition results from the abandonment of outdoor storage sites. The character of the area is depicted by Exhibit B. The vacant parcels that have not been previously developed are leased for truck farming, which mitigates against the appearance of blight for undeveloped areas. 4. ?roperties Inadequacies of Public ImProvements and Facilities 1. Traffic Circulation Deficiencies Edinger Street is the major east-west arterial extending through the northern part of the site and connecting with the Costa Mesa (Route 55) Freeway on the west and extending to Moulton Parkway in an easterly direction to the City of Irvine. Red Hill Avenue proVides access along the easterly project boundary. This is a major arterial highway with the limited capacity of a four-lane arterial. Valencia Avenue forms the southerly boundary of the site. Del Amo bisects the site between Valencia and Edinger. Existing average daily traffic volumes for the area are shown by Exhibit C. The transportation system comprises a major constraint upon the development of the property and north-south traffic is the prime factor of concern for city Preliminary Report Page 3 residents. Related to the project area are the improvement of Red Hill Avenue and the extension of Newport Avenue southerly to interconnect with the Costa Mesa Freeway southerly of Edinger Street. Preliminary findings indicate that the extension of Newport Avenue from its southerly terminus will require a grade separation and elevated roadway crossing the ATSF RR mainline and the F-lO Flood Control Channel and extending into the amended project area. At the present, Newport Avenue terminates at the F-lO channel. The inadequacy of the circulation system to accomodate existing traffic demands and the inordinate expense to accomodate existing and future demands resulting from new developments is a major justification for inclusion of the area in a redevelopment project. 2. Drainage Deficiencies The terrain is level with no major grading required for development. With truck farming and cultivation of large areas of vacant land, sheet flooding occurs without damage to existing structures within the area. Drainage flows in a southerly direction to the F 09 (Barranca) channel. The F 09 P 15 storm drain extends to the F 09 channel along Red Hill Avenue from a point 350 feet southerly of Edinger. With the exception of 600 feet of storm drain on theLeasterly terminus of Valencia Avenue, there are no storm drain facilities serving the interior 100 acres. To enable development and redevelopment of the vacant land areas, a storm drain system will be required to transmit storm waters to the F 09 channel. B. Configuration of Lots Lots and parcels within the subject area were designed to accomodate rail spurs. The development of the area by non rail users will eliminate the necessity for irregular shaped lots and will permit the realignment of lot lines. B. Existing Social Conditions There are no residential properties within the area proposed for amendment to the South/Central Project Area. Preliminary Report Page 4 Development and redevelopment of the amended area will create employment opportunities and demand for housing acomodations. The adjoining South project area contains 2,279 dwelling units in 557 structures. There are 116 condominium units, 88 mobile homes, 1956 apartmeot units, and 118 single family residences. The Regional Housing Authority Model prepared by the Southern California Association of Governments shows a current need of 2,456 low and very low income households in need of housing assistance. The South/Central Project represents the highest density, lowest income, and greatest need within the city's jurisdiction for housing assistance. (See City of Tustin Housing Element) The Housing Element of the City of Tustin proposes the allocation of tax increment funds (20%) for housing assistance to low income households. With the diminishing of federal and state funds for housing assistance, the housing set-aside of tax increment revenues appears as the only viable alternative to provide housing accomodations for low income facilities. Preliminary Report Page 5 C. Existing Economic Conditions 1. The following industries and commercial establishments are located within the area: ASSESSORS PARCEL # OWNERSHIP USE 430-253-03 Annplyco Properties Champion Plywood Products 430-251-04 430-251-03 430-251-09,10 430-251-07,08 Harry J. O'Donnell Harry J. O'Oonnell Martin Enterprises Coors Distributing Wickes Building Materials Store Nurseryland Garden Center Kerr Glass Warehouse Coors Beer Distributing 430-253-05 Sante Fe Land Vacant R & D Building 430-261-02 430-261-03,05,06 430-261-07 Koll Co. E1 Paso Polyofins Co. Theodore Gurriello Business Center Mixed Industrial, retail and service tenants Plastic Products Manufacturer Plastic Nursery Products Manufacturers 430-261-09 430-262-03 430-262-05 John Underwood Foremost-McKesson Enterprise 7 Food Products Warehouse Chemical Warehouse and Distribution Protection Management Volunteer Health Care 430-212-06 Reed LeVecke Liquor Distribution Preliminary Report Page 6 IV. A portion of the area at Red Hill and Edinger has been approved as the site of a development by Pacific Bell, a public utility. The proposed 453,000 sq. ft. structure will use-up all of the capacity of the road system to accomodate the workers and will require staggered employee work hours as an interim mitigating measure. PRELIMINARY ASSESSMENT OF PROPOSED METHOD OF FINANCING REDEVELOPMENT OF PROJECT AREA A. General Financing Methods Available to the Agency. Tax Incrament Revenues The primary source of funding for the Redevelopment project area is tax increment revenues pursuant to Section 33670 et. seq. of the California Health and Safety Code. e Assessment District The high cost of public improvements will probably require the creation of an assessment district for a proportion of the costs of public improvements directly related to the properties within the project area. e Development Fee Development fees may be assessed upon new developments and redevelopment projects based upon the impacts of the projects on the local and areawide circulation systems. B. Estimated Project Costs Transportation improvements alone will require as expenditure between $10.6 million and $13.2 million, depending upon the alternative design selected for the extension of Newport Avenue. (Source: Table IV-2, South Newport-Edinger Circulation Study, Austin-Foust Associates.) Flood control facilities and public improvements for existing properties are estimated at an additional $1.4 million, for a total project cost ranging from $11 to $14.6 million. C. Proposed Financing Methods The project area has a 1984-85 Base Year Assessment of $32,373,863 plus the public utility roll assessed by the State Board of Equalization. (Source: Audition-Controller report dated Jan. 30,1985) For purposes of revenue estimates, the assumed base year evaluation is estimated at $37,750,000. The projected growth and development of the area will create an ultimate value of $106,150,000 for an average of $3,420,000, annual increase in value during the next twenty years. Preliminary Report Page 7 At a 1% tax rate of the increase in incremental value, the Redevelopment Agency will receive sufficient revenues to finance a $6 million bond issue, which would cover half of the costs of the transportation improvements. (It should be noted that 20% of the incremental tax revenue will be allocated for providing housing assistance to low income families). The remaining costs of the transportation and public improvements will be recouped by Development Fees and Assessment District. D. Assessment of Economic Feasibility of the Project Preliminary studies of economic feasibility indicate that the proposed improvements can realistically be accomplished by the imposition of development fees, assessment district, and redevelopment agency contributions. A refined revenue projection will be prepared and assessed prior to adoption of the South/Central Redevelopment Project Amendment. E. Reasons for Including Tax Increment Allocation Provisions The magnitude of the cost of public improvements require the full contribution of allowable tax increment revenues to enable the project to proceed. The subject properties could not develop or redevelop without improvements in the transportation sytem. The cost and related area-wide benefits preclude private property owners from financing the project without the assistance of tax increment funds. Tax increment funding will also enable housing assistance for the potential increase of 1,000 workers within the area. Limited revenue resources and the costs of the public improvements require the use of all available funds, including the full allocation of tax increment. DESCRIPTION OF SPECIFIC PROJECTS PROPOSED The arterial highway system serving the South/Central Redevelopment Project area is inadequate to serve existing local and regional traffic demands. Projections to the year 2,000 show that the average daily traffic volumes within the area will increase by 564 percent. Even with improvements to Red Hill and Edinger to six travel lanes, the projected traffic demands will exceed their capacity. exist~g off-ramp AU$?IN- FOUST A~$O¢IATE~, ! I I I New I Seeondary · ~I I ! I I I New I off-ramp Railroad overcrossing Figure V-1 PROPOSED CIRCULATION PLAN V-2 Preliminary Report Page 8 In the interest of finding a feasible solution to the existing and projected traffic problems, Austin-Foust Associates, Inc. were commissioned to design feasible strategies to accomodate the demands. proposed circulation plan is shown by Fig. 1. The The transportation improvements included in this section of the preliminary report are feasible alternatives extracted from the draft report of Austin-Foust Associates, and will be further refined in the final South/Central Redevelopment Amendment Plan. A. Newport Avenue Southerly Extension Newport Avenue is proposed for southerly extension by grade seperation over the Santa Aha (F-lO) Flood Control Channel, ATSF Railroad mainline, and Edinger Street to interconnect with Valencia. B. Relocation of Costa Mesa Freeway (SR-55) Ramps The Northbound off-ramp to Edinger Avenue would be deleted and replaced by a northbound on-ramp. C. Internal.Circulation Improvements Circulation improvements southerly of Edinger will vary depending upon the alternative design that is selected. All alternatives will require a connection to the Valencia freeway ramp, among the alternatives are a new roadway parallel to Del Amo and the realignment of a section of Edinger Street. D. Edinger Street Improvement Edinger will be widened to full six-lane arterial from Red Hill to SR-55 with public improvements consisting of street lights, fire hydrants, sidewalks, median and parkway landscaping. E. Red Hill Avenue Improvement Red Hill Avenue will be widened to full six-lane arterial within the project limits. F. Traffic Signals Traffic signals will be replaced at Red Hill intersection with Edinger and Valencia and a new signal will be required at Red Hill and Industrial Drive. Preliminary Report Page 9 G. Storm Drain Improvements Storm drains will be constructed to carry flood waters from the interior of the project area to the Red Hill storm drain (FO 9 to the Barranca Channel (F 09). P15) VI. RESULTING BENEFITS The following benefits will accrue to the City of Tustin, its residents, and the region as a result of the proposed amendment to the South/Central Redevelopment Project: Abandoned industrial sites will be redeveloped and placed back into productive use, thereby creating employment opportunities and increased values. Land areas that can not be developed due to the inadequacy of public improvements related to traffic circulation and storm drainage can be developed as a result of governmental assistance by the redevelopment agency. C. Funds can be acquired for housing assistance to low income families. Regional benefits will accrue by providing increased traffic capacity for Red Hill Avenue and Edinger Street and by providing an alternative north/south arterial. E. The extension of Newport Avenue will relieve congeston at freeway interchanges and reduce the traffic'demand on Red Hill Avenue. Emergency services can be more readily provided to the project area by the construction of a grade separation for Newport Avenue and the ATSF Railroad. The elimination of blight, due to the disuse of the land within the project amendment area caused by inadequate public improvements, and the construction of major traffic circulation improvements that could not be reasonably expected to be made by private enterprise acting alone.