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CUP No. 2016 -13 Variance No. 2016 -03 May 9, 2016 Page 7 The congestion generated by patrons parking in the surrounding community poses safety hazards to motorists, cyclists, and pedestrians using those streets. Congestion creates an unsafe environment for cyclists and pedestrians who are negatively impacted by excessive vehicular traffic and street parking on residential streets that are not designed to accommodate high - impact land uses such as banquet facilities. Moreover, patrons returning to vehicles after banquet events during late hours generate noise that degrades the quality of life for residents in the area. Finally, the Impacted on- street parking negatively impacts the abilities of emergency responders to quickly and safely service the area. Emergency vehicles will not be able to locate sufficient parking areas to respond to incidents in the residential community adjacent to the project site. General Plan Impacts As a result of the project site's location and the insufficient parking provided on the site, the proposed use will adversely affect the General Plan. Land Use Element Policy 2.5 supports balancing economic and fiscal benefits of commercial development with impacts on the quality of life in the City. The proposed use will negatively impact the surrounding community by creating detrimental parking impacts and congestion. Because no additional parking options are available on site, the project does not support Policy 2.10, which supports new development that is harmonious in scale and character with existing development in the area. In addition, the proposed applications do not support numerous policies in Goal 5 of the Land Use Element, to ensure that the impacts of development are mitigated. These include Policy 5.2, to protect the community from incompatible land uses; Policy 5.5, to encourage development that is compatible with surrounding land uses; and Policy 5.7, to anticipate that the intensity of new development does not exceed available infrastructure capacity. Public Notification Staff has been in communication with residents of the surrounding residential community and other tenants at the center since the project was first submitted to the City for review in August 2015. These individuals have expressed concern about the current operations of the banquet facility and the potential for the project to seek the required land use entitlements and permits to operate. These individuals also provided details about the negative impacts generated by the high - impact land use; these details are included in the preceding Project Analysis section. The project is not located within the boundaries of an established Neighborhood Association. However, staff contacted the presidents of the nearby Fairhaven, Park Santiago, and Grand Sunrise neighborhood associations to ensure that they were notified of this project and to identify any areas of concern with the project. The presidents did not identify any areas of concern with staff's negative recommendation. One of the individuals contacted by staff expressed his support for staff's negative recommendation, citing the deleterious impacts of the banquet facility's operations to neighbors in the vicinity. 31A-9