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In order to approve the project, it must be found to be consistent with the General Plan, <br /> including the site's land use designation, and with applicable General Plan goals and <br /> policies. At the March 14 Planning Commission public hearing, staff had identified <br /> several general plan policies with which the project may be inconsistent, including <br /> Smart Growth policies; Community Character Element Policy 1.5, requiring new <br /> commercial buildings to incorporate attractive architecture and site design; Program <br /> 15.3, requiring pedestrian amenities and orientation of buildings to transit; and Policy 22 <br /> and Program 22.1, encouraging public art. The agenda report also referenced general <br /> provisions of the Zoning Ordinance, which implements the General Plan, related to <br /> fostering harmonious land use patterns, and enhancing the appearance of the city. <br /> As proposed, the existing CTC building would be demolished and replaced with a new <br /> building located in the southern (rear) portion of the site, set back approximately 225 <br /> feet from the front or western property line along Santa Rita Road, behind a building <br /> located on the adjacent property, and with the north part of the property along Santa <br /> Rita occupied by parking. This design would reflect a largely auto-oriented development <br /> that, in staff's view would not promote smart growth because it would not create a well- <br /> defined building edge that contributes to a fine-grained, pedestrian-oriented scale and <br /> environment. Staff is also concerned that the building placement would not be <br /> consistent with the setback of other buildings in this portion of Santa Rita Road, as <br /> shown in Figure 4. The existing CTC building is setback approximately 30 feet from <br /> Santa Rita Road, consistent with other adjacent developments in the area. Except for <br /> Bicentennial Park, a City park that maintains a historic home (Century House) that is set <br /> back approximately 165-foot from Santa Rita Road; other properties in the vicinity <br /> maintain relatively small setbacks with limited parking between the buildings and the <br /> street. <br /> Page 10 of 13 <br />