The Department of Conservation and Development is in receipt of a letter from Mr. John Tomasello of Sierra Hills Development, LLC, requesting a GPA study involving the vacant parcel located immediately north of Sandy Cove Shopping Center and behind the U.S. Post Office, approximately 850 feet north of the Bixler Road/State Route 4 intersection, in the Discovery Bay area (see Attachment A). The subject parcel is designated OF on the General Plan Land Use Element Map and zoned Planned Unit District (P-1). Mr. Tomasello requests that the General Plan land use designation for the site be changed from OF to CO, with no change to the P-1 zoning. Mr. Tomasello’s letter states there is no viable market for office uses in the Discovery Bay area, but that a market for self-storage does exist and is expected to grow as more homes are constructed. Establishing a self-storage facility necessitates the land use designation change because the OF designation does not allow this use. If the Board authorizes the GPA study, then the applicant will also file an application for a Final Development Plan to allow review of the design and layout of the facility.   
  
Attached for the Board’s consideration under Attachment B are maps and an aerial photo of the site and its surroundings, showing the existing and proposed General Plan land use designations. The subject site is a flag lot, though generally rectangular, with the west side fronting Bixler Road for approximately 170 feet, the north and east sides abutting vacant land, and the south side abutting the Post Office and shopping center. Across Bixler Road are single-family residences. The site is flat and entirely undeveloped.   
  
Staff sees the request for authorization of a GPA study to change the land use designation from OF to CO as justifiable. Discovery Bay is unique in that as a water/recreation-oriented community, the number of residents owning boats, miscellaneous watercraft such as jet skis, and other recreational vehicles is higher than average. However, many of the homes do not have docks or garages that are large enough to accommodate such vehicles. As a result, many of these vehicles are stored within the public right-of-way and in driveways and side yards of residential lots. To facilitate side yard storage, a number of residents have even built secondary driveways that access the street over curbs and via sidewalk ramps. These public improvements are neither designed nor intended for this purpose. Such use presents potential problems in terms of safety (additional and unanticipated vehicle access points), drainage (blocked gutters from placement of ramps to assist in getting over the curbs), and damage to facilities. Storing these vehicles, especially large RVs, on relatively small residential lots also has detrimental impacts to neighborhoods in terms of visual clutter; safety, as they impair drivers' views; and impacts to adjacent neighbors in the form of an imposing presence located directly on the property line. If opportunities for proper storage of watercraft and RVs are increased, then some of the neighborhood issues involving storage these vehicles may be resolved. Therefore, staff recommends that the General Plan Amendment study be authorized.   
  
Staff stresses that authorization for this study does not imply the Board's support or endorsement for the application to amend the General Plan, but only that this matter is appropriate for study.

If the Board declines the request to authorize a GPA study, then an application to amend the General Plan cannot be filed and the site will retain its OF land use designation. The proposed self-storage project could not move forward.