HomeMy WebLinkAbout23-169BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
COUNTY OF BUTTE, STATE OF CALIFORNIA
Resolution No. 23-169
A RESOLUTION AND FINDINGS OF FACT BY THE BUTTE COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
UPHOLDING AN APPEAL AND OVERRULING AN INCONSISTENCY DETERMINATION
OF THE BUTTE COUNTY AIRPORT LAND USE COMMISSION FOR THE
HAUQIANG WEI TENTATIVE SUBDIVISION MAP (TSM21-0001) (APN 030-200-100)
WHEREAS, the applicant, Mr. Huaqiang Wei, filed an application with Department of
Development Services in early 2021 for a Tentative Subdivision Map (TSM21-0001) to subdivide 20.77+/-
acres into 108-110 single family residential lots; and
WHEREAS, said map was referred by the Department of Development Services to the Butte
County Airport Land Use Commission (ALUC) for review and comment; and
WHEREAS, a duly noticed public hearing of ALUC was held on February 17, 2021; and
WHEREAS, ALUC made a determination that the project was not consistent with the Butte County
Airport Land Use Compatibility Plan (ALUCP) for the Oroville Municipal Airport solely on the ground of
safety concerns because a portion of the project was within the ALUCP B2 Compatibility Zone which only
allows one dwelling unit per five acres. ALUC also determined that the project was otherwise fully
consistent with the ALUCPfor the Oroville Municipal Airport in regards to noise, airspace protection, and
overflight concerns; and
WHEREAS, the Department of Development Services then referred the project to the Planning
Commission; and
WHEREAS, at a duly noticed public hearing on June 22, 2023, the Planning Commission considered
the applicant's appeal relatedto ALUC's finding of inconsistency and voted to recommend denial of the
project by a 4-0-1 vote; and
WHEREAS, on June 28, 2023, the applicant filed a timely appeal of the Planning Commission's
denial of TSM21-0001 with the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors; and
WHEREAS, at a duly noticed public hearing on July 25, 2023, the Board of Supervisors considered
the Planning Division's staff report, the applicant's appeal, all related evidence, and testimony on the
proposed project, at which time the Board of Supervisors passed a motion of intent to grant the appeal
and support the overrule by a vote of 4-1; and
WHEREAS, at a continued public hearing on December 12, 2023, the Board of Supervisors
considered two comment letters on the proposed findings for the overrule from the Butte County Airport
Land Use Commission and the Aeronautics Program of the CalTrans Division of Transportation Planning.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Butte County Board of Supervisors hereby takes the
following actions based upon the following findings:
I. Approves and accepts the appeal of the applicant regarding TSM21-0001 and ALUC's
finding of inconsistency; and
11. Determines that TSM21-0001 is fully consistent and compatible with the ALUCP for the
Oroville Municipal Airport in regards to noise, airspace protection, and overflight
concerns, based upon the February 17, 2021, ALUC's determination on those subjects,
the Planning Division's staff report datedJuly 25, 2023, and evidence and testimonyfrom
the applicant presented on July 25, 2023; and
III. Hereby overrules ALUC's determination that the project does not fulfill the purposes of
the State Aeronautics Act (Public Utilities Code section 21670 et seq.) and is not consistent
with the ALUCP in regards to safety concerns in the proposed location.
IV. The Board of Supervisors also makes the following findings of fact
1. There is an extreme deficit of housing available in Butte County to meet the needs of
the public. The Department of Development Services has calculated that there is a
deficit of over 4,000 dwelling units in unincorporated Butte Countyto meet the needs
of the public.
2. TSM21-0001 will provide approximately 108-110 single family residences to help
meet housing needs.
3. It has been a long time (2004) since a large subdivision of this size has been proposed
in Butte County.
4. The Thermalito Water and Sewer District has analyzed its water and sewer capacity
and has issued "will serve" letterto the applicant to serve all108-110 singlefamily
residences on the project site with water and sewer.
5. Allowing this project to proceed will promote the efficient use of scarce residentially -
zoned land.
6. The project site is the last large vacant parcel in this location and is surrounded
virtually on all sides by similar existing residential land uses, all but one of which were
built prior to adoption of the ALUCP.
7. It is economically infeasible for the applicant to develop a portion of the site at only
one dwelling per five acres to comply with the density requirements of the ALUCP's
B2 Compatibility Zone.
8. Adoption of the overrule findings is the only fair, timely and cost effective way to
allow the applicant to continue processing TSM21-0001 and be able to reasonably
utilizethe siteto build housing to help meet Butte County's severe housing shortage.
9. The ALUCP is intended to promote compatibility between the airports in Butte County
and the land uses that surround them. As indicated in the State Aeronautics Act, the
ALUCP has the following purposes:
i. To "... provide for orderly development of each public airport and the area
surrounding these airports as to promote the overall goals and objectives of
the California airport noise standards
..."and
ii. To " ... protect public health, safety and welfare by ensuring the orderly
expansion of the airports and the adoption of land use measures that
minimize the public's exposure to excessive noise and safety hazards within
areas around public airports to the extent that these areas are not already
devoted to incompatible uses."
10. The following findings of fact promote the goals and objectives of the State
Aeronautics Act and provide substantial evidence supporting the overrule findings for
the project.
i. Safety: Defined as the protection of people on the ground and in the air from
excessive risks to safety from aircraft accidents.
1. The ALUCP evaluates the risk that potential aircraft accidents pose
to lands and persons around the Oroville Municipal Airport in terms
of where aircraft accidents are likely to occur near the airport and
the potential consequences of such accidents in various locations.
2. Approximately 50 percent of the project site is located within the
ALUCP B2 Compatibility Zone on the northeast side of the airport.
(ALUCP, Compatibility Factors Map: Safety, Exhibit 6-5.) Fifty-five
lots of the 108-110 lots in the subdivision would be located in the
B2 Compatibility Zone. The ALUCP density criteria for the B2
Compatibility Zone is 0.2 dwelling units per acre or one home per
five acres of land. This is a dramatic reduction from what the
underlying Medium Density Residential General Plan and zoning
designations which would allow up to 6.0 dwelling units per acre in
this location. (ALUCP, General Plan Land Use, Exhibit 6-9.) Abiding
by that requirement would reduce the number of dwelling units on
this 10 acre portion of the 20-acre site, down from 55 lots to two
lots. The applicant testified that such a loss of approximately 50%
of the project site to development makes the project economically
infeasible to build because of the inability to amortize infrastructure
costs over enough dwelling units to earn a reasonable rate of return
on investment.
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3. The ALUCP, Compatibility Factors Map: Safety, Exhibit 6-5, also
includes six different CalTrans Airport Land Use Planning Handbook
(CALUPH) safety zones on and around the Oroville Municipal
Airport. The applicant's entire 20-acre site is shown as being within
the CalTrans "Safety Zone 6 —Traffic Pattern Zone" (TPZ). This is the
lowest risk zone. In the TPZ, the safety "risk level is low" such that
"no limits" at all are recommended for "maximum residential
densities" or for "average number of dwelling units per gross acre."
(CALUPH, Figure 4-G, Safety Zone 6—Traffic Pattern Zone, p. 4-25.)
Thus, the underlying General Plan and zoning density of 6.0 dwelling
units per acre would be allowed under the CALUPH because they
pose no excessive safety hazards in this location.
4. THE ALUCP and CALUPH both also recognize that "infill
development" should get special, less restrictive treatment in the
B2 Compatibility Zone. The applicant's site is virtually surrounded
entirely by existing residential development and it is largely an
island of vacant "infill" land, surrounded by 10 existing mostly built -
out residential subdivisions, with names including Sherwood
Estates, Calle Vista, Ghianda Heights, Upshaw Subdivision,
Abercrombie Tract, Vista Del Oro Subdivision and four other un-
named residential developments, all but one of which were
approved and constructed prior to adoption of the ALUCP.
5. Under ALUCP Policy3.7.3, "Infill Project development of similar land
uses may be allowed to occur in that area even if the proposed land
use is otherwise incompatible with respect to compatibility criteria
for that location." Similarly, CALUPH Policy 4: Infill agrees, "Where
land uses not in conformance with the criteria set forth in the
ALUCP exist at the time of the plan's adoption, infill of similar land
uses may be allowed to occur in that area [later] even if the
proposed new land use is otherwise incompatible with respect to
the [ALUCP] compatibility criteria for that location." (CALUPH, Table
4F: Safety Compatibility, p. 4-34.)
6. Under the ALUCP, infill projects are "only permitted in Compatibility
Zones B2 and C." Finding: The applicant's site is located exclusively
within Compatibility Zones B2 and C. (ALUCP Policy 3.7.3(a).)
7. Under ALUCP Policy 3.7.3 (b), in order to qualify, infill development
is required to meet the following requirements:
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(a) Already be served with streets, water, sewer and other
infrastructure. Finding: Paved streets access the site from two
sides. Thermalito Water & Sewer District issued the applicant a
"will serve" water and sewer assurance letter in 2020. Electrical
power lines also abut the site;
(b) Have at least 65% of the site's perimeter bounded by existing
uses similarto, or more intensive than, those proposed. Finding:
The site is 100% surrounded by existing residential land uses;
(c) Be no largerthan 20 acres. Finding: "Net" developable acreage
is less than 20 acres —the CALUPH on pages 4-27 says that for
smaller sites like this "net" is the appropriate measurement;
(d) Not extend the perimeter of the In -Fill Project areas defined by
the surrounding uses. Finding: The site is an island parcel in the
middle, not on the periphery, so it cannot extend the perimeter;
(e) Cannot have been previously set aside as open space. Finding:
The site has not been set aside; and
(f) Must be consistent with the Local Agency's zoning regulations
governing the existing, already developed, surrounding area.
Finding: The site proposes 5.5 dwelling units per acre, less than
the allowed 6.0 dwelling units per acre, and is very similarto the
existing subdivisions surrounding the site.
Conclusion: Under both the ALUCP and CALUPH, the project site
qualifies as infill development and may be developed at densities similar
to existing surrounding residential densities which include Medium
Density Residential, and more intense, higher density Medium to High
Density Residential zoning.
ii. Furthermore, the ALUCP also requires retention of a 75 x 300-foot "open
land" emergency aircraft landing area somewhere within the entire B2
Compatibility Zone. Finding: Because there are multiple open land areas of
this size or larger remaining elsewhere in the B2 Compatibility Zone as
shown on various ALUCP maps, no open land needs to be reserved on the
project site. (ALUCP, Chapter 4.3, pp. 3-17 to 3-18.)
V. California Environmental Quality Act review of the proposed overrule of ALUC's
determination is not required because the action does not constitute a project. (Public
Resources Code section 21065.)
VI. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, based upon substantial evidence in the
administrative record, the Board of Supervisors hereby finds that development of
TSM21-0001, as proposed, provides for the orderly development of the Oroville
Municipal Airport and the area surrounding the airport and promotes the overall goals
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and objectives of California airport noise standards, and does adequately protect the
health, safety, and welfare of the public on the ground and in the air while ensuring the
orderly future expansion of the airport by the adoption of land use measures that
minimize the public's exposure to excessive noise and safety hazards within areas
around the airport to the extent that those areas are not already devoted to
incompatible uses, all in compliance with the purposes of the State Aeronautics Act.
PASSED AND ADOPTED bythe Butte County Board of Supervisors on December 12, 2023, bythe following
vote:
AYES: Supervisor Connelly, Durfee, Ritter and Chair Kimmelshue
NOES: Supervisor Teeter
ABSENT: None
ABSTAIN: None
rod Kimrr
Butte Cou
ATTEST:
Andy Pickett, Chief Administrative Officer
and Clerk of the Board of Sup ery sors y:
k i, ( , 1
Deputy
hue, Chairperson
Board of Supervisors