PAJARO COMMUNITY PLAN PRINCIPAL FINDINGS Draft

Transcription

1 PAJARO COMMUNITY PLAN PRINCIPAL FINDINGS Draft Community Vision Pajaro s future vision is a healthy balanced community in context with agricultural uses and the culturally diverse character of the Pajaro Valley. The community of Pajaro envisions a future in which it is largely residential, with friendly, compact neighborhoods; with safe, walkable streets; convenient access to neighborhood shopping; and a heavy industrial base that provides jobs and supports the surrounding agricultural use. The residents and businesses want to accommodate new development when it can provide expanded, affordable housing for the existing residents; when there is adequate infrastructure, including schools and community facilities; when it is balanced with the agricultural uses that provide local jobs; and when new development provides the impetus for redevelopment of the existing developed properties. Housing Findings:? Most of the households (over 80%) are living in overcrowded conditions. o The majority of existing residents are families with an average size of 5.25 person per unit, which is very high as compared to the County as a whole which has an average family size of 3.6 persons. o Most of the existing units in Pajaro are small (75% are three rooms or smaller) o Many units are occupied by more than one household with the average 2- bedroom unit being rented to a 6.7 person household.? Demand for housing in Pajaro exceeds the supply. o Only two residential properties were sold in o The majority of the existing housing is renter-occupied o There is currently a very low vacancy rate o Businesses in the area report a high incidence of commuting for their workforce from Salinas, Gilroy and other communities where housing is more affordable and available.? Large households are crowding into small units in order to afford housing costs. o The cost of housing (average rent: $750/month) significantly exceeds the incomes of individual households ($15,000/year). o The average farmworker household can afford approximately $375 per month housing cost (including utilities).

2 o The average Pajaro housing unit is a 2-bedroom unit renting for $750 per month to a 6.7 person household.? The majority of the existing housing stock needs repair, rehabilitation, or replacement. o Over 2/3 of the existing housing is in poor condition. o Approximately units will need to be replaced.? The effective density of the residential areas is nearly twice. o Compared to Monterey County overall, Pajaro has 1.43 households per unit. o The density of the existing housing developed is 10 units per acre, but the effective density is over 18 units per acre.? There is very little infill potential available to accommodate new housing development. o There are approximately 10 infill sites that could support a total of about 65 units. o The size and configuration of existing infill sites makes redevelopment difficult due to inadequate access for circulation and parking. Housing Conclusions:? Approximately 700 new units are needed to address the current overcrowded conditions. o It is assumed that one new housing unit is needed for every overcrowded unit in Pajaro. o In order to relieve overcrowding, between 343 and 668 new units are needed. o To provide adequate replacement units for deteriorated housing between 68 and 90 units are needed.? New housing should be designed for families. o New units should generally contain at least 3 bedrooms. o Housing development should include community facilities including play space.? While a significant number of units affordable to low income households are needed, new housing should target a range of income levels, particularly workforce housing, to create a balanced, healthy community.? The density of new housing development should be in the unit per acre range to ensure affordability and to efficiently utilize land.? Approximately 50 acres of new development area will be required to accommodate the needed housing.

3 Commercial Findings:? Existing businesses in Pajaro have the potential to accommodate a limited share of the existing market area. o Watsonville provides large-scale commercial services that affect the viability of such businesses locating in Pajaro. o Porter/Salinas Road and San Juan Road serve as major transportation corridors for the area and as such offer high visibility to fronting properties from commute traffic.? The Porter/San Juan/Salinas Road triangle is a mixed-use commercial area. o The existing area of acres contains approximately square feet of Service Commercial uses, and approximately 40 residential units, mostly on second floors.? Historic haphazard site development limits commercial businesses in Pajaro. o There are incompatible adjacent uses, such as hazardous materials and noise generation near residential, retail and restaurant uses. o Outdoor storage of non-functioning vehicles, tires, pipe and other materials limits on-site parking availability. o Uncoordinated site planning has led to lack of convenient parking and access.? There is an opportunity for some limited amount of new commercial expansion targeted to the immediate neighborhoods. o Potential uses could include a variety/drug store, small food take-out establishments, hair and nail salon, family apparel, small appliances/electronics and toys. o There is a potential demand for 5,000 square feet of additional retail commercial space. Commercial Conclusions:? The Porter/San Juan/Salinas Road triangle has the potential to be the downtown commercial area for Pajaro. o A limited amount of new retail commercial development should be consolidated towards the Porter/ San Juan Road intersection area. o Residential uses could be developed over the retail commercial uses. o Cooperative and coordinated infill site design and conjunctive uses would increase convenience of access and parking.? Additional commercial development could be accommodated. o There is an opportunity for expanded and improved Service Commercial business development, including cabinet shops, machine shops, plastic

4 fabricating, and printing. These uses could be in the area of the retail commercial uses or in the existing industrial area depending on the specific requirements for parking, outdoor storage, and visibility. Approximately 30,000 square feet could be supported. o There is some limited demand for Medical and Professional Office development, including medical and dental clinics and financial services. These uses could be in the retail commercial area. Approximately 5,000 square feet could be supported. Industrial Findings:? Pajaro currently provides a range of industrial and heavy commercial uses including agricultural processing, automotive repair, metal and wood fabrication, trucking and wholesale distribution and agricultural supplies. o Most of the existing industrial uses are concentrated along Salinas Road and on Railroad Avenue. o Incompatibility between the existing industrial uses and residential and commercial uses is a problem in some areas. o Many industrial uses have a high amount of outdoor storage as part of their operations.? Although many of the businesses in Pajaro have been in operation for many years, they face a constant challenge to evolve and develop new production and marketing techniques to respond to competition through the world.? Pajaro is located within a very vibrant and rapidly expanding economic region in Northern California. Despite recent downturns in technology sectors, overall employment in the San Francisco Bay Region has continued to grow.? While predominantly employed in agricultural businesses, the labor force in Pajaro is relatively stable, with somewhat diversified skill levels. Industrial Conclusions:? With its location in the regional economy and its proximity to local job centers in Watsonville, Salinas, and the Santa Clara Valley, Pajaro has the opportunity to diversify its economic base and add new kinds of agricultural businesses as well as non-agricultural businesses. o The effort to attract new industrial businesses should focus on those that provide move-up job opportunities in which their existing skills can be transferred to new occupations. o If the Monterey County economy continues to grow as projected, Pajaro could see demand for as much as 25 to 30 acres of new industrial development over the next twenty years. Some of this demand may be

5 satisfied by more intense use of existing industrial properties, but the community plan should make available at least 30 acres for additional industrial development in order to provide some flexibility in the market place. o Most of this land should be configured in relatively small parcels of 1 to 2 acres. However, there is a shortage of supply of larger sites in Monterey County, so one to two parcels of ten acres or more would be valuable as well.? Reducing conflicts between existing uses will entail design, environmental and circulation planning. Civic Findings:? There is a very limited amount of park area and community facilities existing in Pajaro o Three tot lots totaling less than one acre. o The Porter-Vallejo Community Facility houses the Sheriff Substation, Together in Pajaro, Monterey County Branch Library, Senior Nutrition Center, Child Care, Monterey County Office of Housing and Redevelopment, and a Department of Social Services office. o Pajaro Middle School has a cafeteria and ball fields.? The Catholic Church is an important community focal point. o The church is actively seeking a new location for expanded facilities, possibly including educational activities.? Residents currently rely on City of Watsonville parks. o Watsonville city parks include eleven tot lots, four neighborhood parks and two community parks. Recreation programs are extensive and are open to Pajaro residents at no additional cost.? There is a high percentage of families with children in Pajaro (90% are families, with 3.2 adults and 2.35 children under 18 per household).? The future economic success of Pajaro depends on training the existing population for new opportunities in the emerging industrial development to provide access to better income. Civic Conclusions:

6 ? New residential development should include parks for the existing as well as future residents of Pajaro. o Based on a standard of 5 acres of park per 1000 people, there is a need of 15 acres of new park area to serve the current population. o An additional 5-15 acres will likely be needed to support new housing development.? Community park facilities are needed along with neighborhood parks that provide play equipment and casual lawn areas. o Baseball/softball fields 2-3 acres o Basketball 1-2 acres o Tennis 1 acre o Soccer 2-3 acres o Volleyball 2 acres? A vocational training facility could be an asset to the community.? A potential relocation site for the Catholic Church should include approximately 7-10 acres and be located to continue to serve as an important civic use for the community. Rail Findings:? The Union Pacific Railroad yard is a major land use feature in Pajaro. o UPRR is the largest single land owner in Pajaro and operates outside of local or state jurisdiction. o The yard consists of over 30 acres, including two main tracks, spurs, maintenance and switching facilities. o UPRR is likely to consolidate its freight operation in Pajaro over the next 10 years. o UPRR is working cooperatively with the Redevelopment Agency to relocate a public team track from its current location near Salinas Road to a new location on Railroad Avenue.? The existing freight rail activity is incompatible with certain uses, such as residential or office park.? Passenger rail (Caltrain and Amtrak) service is scheduled to begin service in Pajaro in o The location of UPRR tracks governs the location of future passenger stations. Pajaro has historically served as the regional rail center due to previous rail investments. o Caltrain service will include two round trips initially.

7 o Initially ridership is projected to be approximately persons per day.? Union Pacific requirements will control some decisions regarding passenger station location and design. o UPRR requires that the passengers be loaded on the coast side of the tracks. o Freight and passenger activities should be separated.? Initially riders are projected to come from outside of the community. o It is expected that 70% of the initial ridership will be from Santa Cruz County. Rail Conclusions:? Consolidation of UPRR freight activities will result in available land for alternate development. o Approximately acres fronting on Salinas Road between Lewis Road and Railroad Avenue could be available for new development at some time in the future. o Freight rail activities could be consolidated toward the eastern leg of the UPRR property. o Approximately 10 acres are needed for the freight operations, including team track/transload facilities, car maintenance and storage, and car switching. These functions could be located east of the Santa Cruz Branch Line Wye.? The passenger rail station improvements will be limited initially. o Caltrain service will primarily include a platform, canopy, ticket kiosk and parking for vehicles. o Approximately 4 acres are needed for future passenger station development.? Limited support uses such as food concessions and retail services may be feasible in connection with the passenger service. o Approximately 300 daily riders could generate sufficient revenue to support one business.? Passenger rail service may serve as an amenity and incentive for future development on the UPRR property. o Passenger rail may leverage other funding for community benefit. o A buffer zone between new development and freight rail activities should be designed into a rail yard master plan.

8 o New industrial uses should be profiled to be compatible with proximity to freight activity. o Focusing new uses adjacent to the passenger station on employment development Circulation Findings:? Access to Pajaro is from three directions. o Route 129 from the east and west via Watsonville and the Pajaro River Bridge. o San Juan Road from the east. o Salinas Road from the south, leading to Highway 1 and 101 via Prunedale.? The poor regional access to Pajaro and the internal traffic conflicts between trucking, auto and pedestrian traffic are a major disincentive to business investment in the community. o The Pajaro River Bridge carries an exceptionally high volume of traffic (over 30,000 average daily vehicle trips). o Salinas Road serves through commute traffic from Santa Cruz as well as local and regional heavy truck traffic. o San Juan Road serves through commute traffic from north Monterey County, including Las Lomas.? Due to the development pattern of the community, all internal local streets dead end, either at the railroad tracks or at agricultural fields resulting in traffic circulation conflicts. Circulation Conclusions:? An internal circulation plan could provide alternate ingress and egress for existing developed areas. o Improved circulation would reduce conflicts between types of uses. o Linking existing dead end residential streets could improve opportunities for sidewalks and increased on street parking.? New development contiguous to existing developed areas should be designed to improve existing circulation deficiencies.? Improvement of regional circulation access to and from Pajaro will improve its attractiveness to industrial enterprises. o Improvements to the Salinas Road/Highway 1 interchange would improve access to potential industrial expansion areas and passenger rail functions.

9 Flooding Findings:? The entire community is subject to flooding from the Pajaro River. o The community is in FEMA Zone AO which requires new development (habitable areas) to be constructed a minimum of 1 foot above the 100 year flood elevation.? Full resolution of Pajaro River flood issues will not be reached in the near term. o Design analysis in currently underway and major issues have not been resolved. Flooding Conclusions:? New development should be designed to meet the existing flood protection requirements. o Consideration for ADA requirements should also function well for pedestrian circulation. o Residential prototypes should be created that locate non-habitable space on ground level.? Long term improvements to the Pajaro River could be compatible with future residential and civic features. o Improvements to the Pajaro River could incorporate trails and play space. o Pajaro River flood improvement design should address potential adjacent residential aesthetics. Infrastructure Findings:? The Pajaro Valley Water Basin is currently in a water overdraft condition. o The Basin Management Plan recently approved by the voters of the Pajaro Valley provides for improvements that will correct the overdraft. o Although Monterey County currently has a moratorium on development in North Monterey County, development within the Pajaro Redevelopment Project area that is consistent with the Redevelopment Plan is exempt from the moratorium.? Water service is provided by the Pajaro-Sunnymesa Community Services District. o The local water system is adequate to support approximately of new development. o The water system forms a loop through the existing community via Railroad Avenue, Salinas Road, San Juan Road and Allison Road.? Wastewater is handled by the Pajaro-Sunnymesa Community Services District through an agreement with the City of Watsonville Wastewater Treatment Plant.

10 o The Wastewater Treatment Plant currently has excess capcity. o The Redevelopment Agency has purchased sufficient additional reserved capacity for new development in Pajaro for several hundred additional residential units or some major industrial development.? The Pajaro Drainage Master Plan is in the final stages of implementation for existing development area and is designed to accommodate future development to the east of the existing community. Infrastructure Conclusions:? The existing infrastructure is adequate for the existing development in Pajaro.? Future development directed east of the existing developed area could be more easily served by the existing infrastructure systems.? There is currently capacity for some limited future expansion, but a full analysis of capacity, costs and requirements should be undertaken as a key component of the Community Plan.