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<br />General Plan Amendment <br />April 26, 2004 <br />Page 2 <br /> <br />No. 2004-02 <br /> <br />and a gift shop. Surrounding land uses include commercial to the north, <br />south and east, and a mixture of commercial and residential to the west <br />(Exhibits 1 and 2) . <br /> <br />Project Description <br /> <br />The Bowers Museum is in the process of securing a $4 million dollar <br />grant from the State of California to facilitate various improvements to <br />the museum. The request to change the existing land use designation <br />from General Commercial (GC) to District Center (DC) will assist in <br />obtaining the State grant. If secured, the funding is anticipated to be <br />used to construct a future addition to the museum. In conjunction with <br />the funding proposal, a conceptual plan for a 54,000 square foot, two- <br />story addition has been submitted for review. Since Bowers is still in <br />the process of reviewing various expansion alternatives, a final plan <br />has not been submitted for formal City review. Once these final plans <br />have been developed, they will be submitted to the Planning Commission <br />for further review (Exhibits 3, 4 and 5) . <br /> <br />Analysis of the Issues <br /> <br />The Bowers Museum proposes to change the General Plan land use <br />designation from General Commercial (GC) to District Center (DC) for the <br />existing museum site. Approval of this amendment will create general <br />plan consistency within the area and will facilitate the future <br />expansion to the museum. <br /> <br />District Centers were created to serve as the City's major retail, <br />office, residential and cultural activity areas and serve as anchors to <br />commercial corridors to accommodate the most intense development in the <br />City. The proposed District Center (DC) land use designation is <br />consistent with land use designations currently found in the area and is <br />the most appropriate designation for the potential use of the museum. <br /> <br />The Urban Design Element of the General plan recognizes the Bowers <br />Museum as a node, which promotes culture, entertainment, and business <br />activity at this location. Further, the node designation implements the <br />City's vision,of becoming the dynamic urban center of Orange County. <br /> <br />The proposed general plan amendment <br />promote unity of design, purpose and <br />the museum district area. <br /> <br />for the Bowers Museum site will <br />aesthetics, further distinguishing <br /> <br />758-6 <br />