8.4.1 South Third Avenue District
Description
of District
The
South Third Avenue District (Figure 5-21) is a significant north/south
commercial street that links several neighborhoods in the City. The District is
generally located between L Street on the north and Palomar Street on the
south.
Existing
Conditions
Retail
and services along Third Avenue support adjacent residential areas. Civic uses,
including a post office and Lauderbach Park, are located near the intersection
with Oxford Street.
Vision
for District
The
South Third Avenue District is an area with neighborhood-serving commercial
uses and good transit service for residents of the single-family and
multi-family homes. It is an attractive area, with recent streetscape
improvements and renovated building façades, where residents enjoy walking to
do their daily shopping needs or dine in a restaurant. Some redevelopment along
Third Avenue has introduced additional residential units above retail shops and
professional offices. These physical improvements, plus the addition of more
local-serving shops and a community center have helped to create a vibrant
mixed use core in the Southwest Town Focus Area that has become a community
focal point in the Southwest Planning Area.
A
transit station near the intersection of Third Avenue and Palomar Street, and a
Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) route connect the Palomar Street Trolley Station with
the eastern master planned communities and regional commercial centers. The
transit station serves the Southwest Town area and provides additional
transportation options for the area. Due to proximity to transit, residential densities
are higher south of Oxford Street than north of Oxford Street.
Page
LUT-138 City of Chula Vista General Plan
Objective
- LUT 41 Redevelop the
South Third Avenue District and create a vibrant, mixed
use
area along Third Avenue, between Naples Street and Orange Avenue.
Policies
LUT
41.1 Encourage the clustering of community-oriented
services and amenities in
and
near residential neighborhoods, including a post office; schools; branch
libraries;
open space and parks; tot lots; and neighborhood commercial uses
along
Third Avenue, between Naples Street and Orange Avenue, to create a
greater
sense of community for the Southwest Planning Area.
LUT
41.2 Provide for a bus
rapid transit station near the intersection of Third Avenue
and
Palomar Street in concert with the establishment of a transit route
connecting
the Palomar Trolley Station with eastern Chula Vista.
LUT
41.3 Conduct a special
study to determine the precise boundaries for the Southwest
Town
Focus Area, generally between Naples Street and Orange Avenue along
Third
Avenue. Subsequent to the special study, prepare a specific plan to guide
the
future redevelopment of the Southwest Town Focus Area as a mixed use
neighborhood
integrating multi-family housing with office; retail; service; and
community
civic uses at a pedestrian scale where appropriate.
Uses
LUT
41.4 Encourage the owners
of existing commercial shopping centers that contain
chain
grocery and drug stores to include additional uses, such as restaurants;
entertainment;
childcare facilities; public meeting rooms; recreation; cultural
facilities;
and public open spaces, which enhance neighborhood activity.
LUT
41.5 Strive for a
distribution of uses within the areas designated as Mixed Use
Residential
along Third Avenue within the Southwest Town Focus Area to
include
retail, office and residential, as generally shown on the following chart:
Page
LUT-140 City of Chula Vista General Plan
LUT
41.6 Encourage
multi-family with limited retail in the area designated as Mixed
Use Residential south of L Street and west of Third Avenue.
LUT
41.7 Create a mixed use
core with new residential and local serving retail in the
area
designated as Mixed Use Residential between Oxford Street and Palomar
Street
in the Southwest Town Focus Area that will serve as the focal point for
the community in the Southwest Planning Area.
LUT
41.8 Retain and enhance
local serving retail uses in the area designated as retail
between Palomar Street and Orange Avenue.
Intensity/Height
LUT
41.9 In the South Third Avenue District, residential
densities within the Mixed Use
Residential
designation are intended to have a district-wide gross density of 30
dwelling
units per acre.
LUT
41.10 In the Southwest Town
Focus Area, the commercial (retail and office) portion of
the
Mixed Use Residential designation is intended to have a focus area-wide
aggregate
FAR of 1.0. Subsequent specific plans or zoning ordinance
regulations
will establish parcel-specific FARs that may vary from the districtwide
aggregate
(refer to Section 4.8.1, Interpreting the Land Use Diagram, for a
discussion of district-wide versus parcel-specific FAR).
LUT
41.11 In the South Third
Avenue District, excluding the Southwest Town Focus Area,
the
commercial (retail and office) portion of the Mixed Use Residential
designation
is intended to have a focus area-wide aggregate FAR of 0.5.
Subsequent
specific plans or zoning ordinance regulations will establish
parcel-specific
FARs that may vary from the district-wide aggregate (refer to
Section
4.8.1, Interpreting the Land Use Diagram, for a discussion of districtwide
versus parcel-specific FAR).
LUT
41.12 Building heights on
both sides of Third Avenue shall be primarily low-rise
buildings.
Permit low-rise buildings in the Southwest Town Focus Area.
Page
LUT-141
Design
LUT
41.13 Prior to or concurrent with the approval of the
first specific plan or other
zoning
regulations in the South Third Avenue District, establish a design code
that
reinforces the safety and serenity of the area, and seeks to establish a
coherent, aesthetic, international character to the Southwest Planning Area.
LUT
41.14 The specific plan or
other regulations prepared to guide development in this
area
shall address design issues that create a sense of place, a pedestrian friendly
environment,
enhanced pedestrian linkages, and compatibility with
the scale and feel of a cohesive neighborhood community.
LUT
41.15 A specific plan or
other regulations in the South Third Avenue District shall
require
of wide sidewalks, through-block paseos, and other appropriate design
features
that enhance the pedestrian environment to link high-use areas,
such
as the post office; library; park; or a concentration of shops, with transit
stations or transit stops.
Amenities
LUT
41.16 Community amenities to be considered for the
South Third Avenue District as
part
of any incentives program should include, but not be limited to, those
listed
in Policy LUT 27.1.(See Palomar Gateway for a list)