PLANNING AND HOUSING COMMISSION
STAFF REPORT
DATE: 3/25/2019
TO: Honorable Chair and Commissioners
FROM: Community Development Department
APPLICATION REQUEST:
Title
SPA2018-0002: Application to amend the North Main Street Specific Plan (SP99-01) to change the designation of 3.8 acres located on the west side of North Main Street and north Parkridge Avenue from SFC (Single-Family Condominium) to its previous designation of CR (Commercial Retail) (Applicant: Keith Osborn of K&A Engineering, Inc., 357 North Sheridan Street, Suite 117, Corona, CA 92880).
End
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Recommended action
That the Planning and Housing Commission recommend APPROVAL of SPA2018-0002 to the City Council, based on the findings contained in the staff report and conditions of approval.
Body
PROJECT SITE SUMMARY
Area of Property: 3.8 acres
Existing General Plan: MDR (Medium Density Residential, 6-15 du/ac)
Proposed General Plan: GC (General Commercial)
Existing Zoning: SFC (Single-Family Condominium) district of the North Main Street Specific Plan (SP99-01)
Proposed Zoning: CR (Commercial Retail) district of the North Main Street Specific Plan (SP99-01)
Existing Land Use: Vacant and unimproved
Surrounding Zoning/Land Uses:
N: Office (City of Norco jurisdiction)/Commercial district of the Gateway Specific Plan (City of Norco Zoning map)
E: Commercial Center/MU (Mixed Use) district of the North Main Street Specific Plan (SP99-01), and Mobile Home Park/TR (Transitional Retail) district of the North Main Street Specific Plan (SP99-01)
S: Commercial center/CR (Commercial Retail) district of the North Main Street Specific Plan (SP99-01)
W: Self-storage facility (City of Norco jurisdiction)/Industrial district of the Gateway Specific Plan (City of Norco Zoning map)
BACKGROUND
The project site is a vacant 3.8-acre property located on the west side of North Main Street and north of Parkridge Avenue. The subject site is bordered by the City of Norco to the north and northwest. On February 5, 2014, the City Council approved an amendment to the North Main Street Specific Plan (SP99-01) to change the land use designation on the subject site from CR (Commercial Retail) to SFC (Single-Family Condominium) and to amend specific plan text to introduce development standards and design guidelines for single family attached condominiums/townhome product types. The purpose of the specific plan amendment, SPA13-002, was to enable the development of a 45-unit attached townhome project on the site. To facilitate the development of the 45-unit townhomes, a general plan amendment (GPA13-005) along with a precise plan (PP13-007) and a condominium map (TTM 36642) were approved with SPA13-002.
Since the approval of the aforementioned amendments and entitlements, the property owners have faced difficulties in securing a quality residential builder to construct the townhomes on the subject property. As stated in the applicant’s letter, Exhibit C, there has been an increased interest in commercial development by commercial developers on the project site. As such, the applicant is seeking to revert the site’s zoning designation from its current SFC designation to CR which would allow the site to be developed for commercial. For consistency purposes, the applicant is also seeking an amendment to the site’s General Plan designation from its current MDR (Medium Density Residential) designation to GC (General Commercial). The amendment is being reviewed separately as GPA2018-0002. No development is currently proposed at this time. Any future development on the project site will come in as a separate proposal for review by the Planning and Housing Commission.
The applicant’s proposal was initially discussed at the Infrastructure Committee meeting on December 6, 2017. The conceptual plan that was presented to the Committee had included a hotel, multi-tenant commercial buildings with food users, and a drive-through restaurant. Overall, the Committee did not object to having the site be reverted to commercial use.
The applicant originally submitted the SPA and GPA applications to the city on August 22, 2018 which were reviewed by the Project and Environmental Review Committee on September 13, 2018. The applications were finally considered complete on March 18, 2019 and cleared for public hearing before the Planning and Housing Commission on March 25, 2019. The reason city staff was not able to clear the project sooner for public hearing was because the project was required to complete the tribal consultation process with local Native American tribes pursuant to SB 18 and AB 52 legislative requirements. During this process, staff initially received interest from two tribes requesting consultation; however, the interested tribes did not engage further with staff on the consultation process after the 90-day period which allowed the project to move forward to a public hearing.
PROPOSED SPECIFIC PLAN AMENDMENT
The primary purpose of amending the North Main Street Specific Plan is to change the zoning of the project site from SFC to CR, as shown in Exhibit A1. The amendment includes various text and graphical changes throughout the specific plan document, as shown in Exhibits A2 through A7. New text is shown in red, and text to be deleted is shown in a strikethrough format. These changes are being made to coincide with the zone change proposed to the subject property. The following identifies the pages and describes the changes that are being amended.
• Page 2-4, Exhibit 4-1, Land Use Map (General Plan)
• Page 3-2, Table 2, Land Use Plan
• Pages 3-3 Exhibit 7, Land Use Plan (Districts)
• Page 3-4, Section 3.1.1, Commercial Retail (CR) District
• Page 3-6, Section 3.1.6, Single Family Condominium (SFC)
• Page 4-2, Exhibit 12, Land Use Plan (Districts)
Page 2-4, Exhibit 4-1, Land Use Map (General Plan)
As shown in Exhibit A2, Exhibit 4-1 shows the current General Plan Land Use designation of all the properties within the boundaries of the specific plan. Exhibit 4-1 is being amended to show the project site with a General Plan designation of GC. This change is consistent with the applicant’s General Plan amendment proposed under GPA2018-0002.
Page 3-2, Table 2, Land Use Plan
As shown in Exhibit A3, Table 2 identifies the various districts within the specific plan with their corresponding acreages. Table 2 currently shows 3.8 acres (project site) being allocated to the SFC district. The amendment will remove 3.8 acres from the SFC district to add it to the CR district. The overall acreage for the entire specific plan remains the same at 258 acres.
Pages 3-3, Exhibit 7, Land Use Plan (Districts)
As shown in Exhibit A4, Exhibit 7 shows how the properties within the specific plan are currently zoned. This page is being amended to show the project site with a zoning designation of CR instead of SFC.
Page 3-4, Section 3.1.1, Commercial Retail (CR) District
As shown in Exhibit A5, Section 3.1.1 describes the general goal and intent of the CR district. The total acreage allocated for the CR district is currently shown as 53.7 acres. This section is being amended to show the acreage as 54.1 acres which includes the 3.8-acre project site.
Page 3-6, Section 3.1.6, Single Family Condominium (SFC)
As shown in Exhibit A6, Section 3.1.6 describes the general goal and intent of the SFC district. All references regarding attached condominium products are being removed form this section. Additionally, the total acreage allocated for the SFC district is being updated from 12.1 to 8.3 acres.
Page 4-2, Exhibit 12, Land Use Plan (Districts)
As shown in Exhibit A7, Exhibit 12 shows how the properties within the specific plan are currently zoned. This page is being amended to show the project site with a zoning designation of CR instead of SFC.
ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS
Pursuant to § 15183 of the State CEQA Guidelines, a project which is consistent with the development density established by existing zoning, community plan or general plan policies for which an EIR was certified shall not require additional environmental review, except as might be necessary to examine whether there are project specific significant effects which are peculiar to the project or its site. The project site is part of the North Main Street Specific Plan in which an EIR was certified by the City Council on January 5, 2000 for the North Main Street District Specific Plan and Corona Entertainment Center. The North Main Street Specific Plan designated the site Commercial Retail (CR) and the General Plan designation was General Commercial at the time of its approval. Subsequently, an amendment to the North Main Street Specific Plan was approved to change certain land uses within the plan to accommodate Urban Density Residential Development and Mixed Use (residential/commercial) land uses on certain properties. An EIR for the North Main Street Specific Plan Amendment was prepared and certified by the City on November 5, 2008. The project site at that time was designated CR by the specific plan and GC by the General Plan. Therefore, the build out condition considered for the specific plan took into consideration the project site’s commercial designation.
SPA2018-0002 does not change the analysis that was considered under the previously certified North Main Street District Specific Plan and Corona Entertainment Center EIR and North Main Street Specific Plan Amendment EIR, as the commercial land use being proposed is the same commercial land use that previously existed on the property. Therefore, SPA 2018-0002 is exempt from further environmental review and a Notice of Exemption has been prepared (Exhibit E).
FISCAL IMPACT
The applicant paid $5,672.00 in application processing fees for the specific plan amendment.
PUBLIC NOTICE AND COMMENTS
A 10-day public notice was mailed to all property owners within a 500-foot radius of the project site, as well as advertised in the Sentinel Weekly News and posted at the project site. As of the preparation of this report, the Community Development Department has not received any responses from the public regarding the project.
STAFF ANALYSIS
The project applicant has proposed this specific plan amendment in order to pursue a viable commercial project for the subject site. In 2014, the same project proponent initiated and received approval to amend the North Main Street Specific Plan to change the project site from CR (Commercial Retail) to SFC (Single-Family Residential) to facilitate a project that would have yielded a multi-family residential development on the subject site. However, the applicant has not been able to secure a viable residential project due to current market conditions. With there being increased interest for commercial development, the subject site would more viably be developed with a commercial product. It would also be consistent with the original vision of the North Main Street Specific Plan which was to have commercial uses along the North Main Street corridor. Furthermore, having the site designated for commercial use would be compatible with the surrounding existing commercial, office, and light industrial land uses. Therefore, SPA2018-0002 is recommended for approval, based on the following findings and conditions of approval.
FINDINGS OF APPROVAL FOR SPA2018-0002
1. Pursuant to § 15183 of the State CEQA Guidelines, a project which is consistent with the development density established by existing zoning, community plan or general plan policies for which an EIR was certified shall not require additional environmental review, except as might be necessary to examine whether there are project specific significant effects which are peculiar to the project or its site. The project site is part of the North Main Street Specific Plan in which an EIR was certified by the City Council on January 5, 2000 for the North Main Street District Specific Plan and Corona Entertainment Center. The North Main Street Specific Plan designated the site Commercial Retail (CR) and the General Plan designation was General Commercial at the time of its approval. Subsequently, an amendment to the North Main Street Specific Plan was approved to change certain land uses within the plan to accommodate Urban Density Residential Development and Mixed Use (residential/commercial) land uses on certain properties. An EIR for the North Main Street Specific Plan Amendment was prepared and certified by the City on November 5, 2008. The project site at that time was designated CR by the specific plan and GC by the General Plan. Therefore, the build out condition considered for the specific plan took into consideration the project site’s commercial designation.
SPA2018-0002 does not change the analysis that was considered under the previously certified North Main Street District Specific Plan and Corona Entertainment Center EIR and North Main Street Specific Plan Amendment EIR, as the commercial land use being proposed is the same commercial land use that previously existed on the property.
2. Per Section 6.1.7 of SP99-01, the amendment systematically implements and is consistent with the General Plan for the following reasons:
a. SPA2018-0002 is consistent with General Plan Goal 1.18 which promotes the enhancement of the North Main Street corridor as a vital center of professional offices, entertainment, and retail activity.
b. SPA2018-0002 is consistent with General Plan Policy 1.18.1 which accommodates the development of entertainment/specialty retail, commercial retail, service commercial, business park, industrial, and mixed uses in accordance with the North Main Street’s land use plan’s designations and applicable density standards and design and development policies.
3. Per Section 6.1.7 of SP99-01, the amendment provides for the development of a comprehensively planned project that is superior to development otherwise allowed under the conventional zoning classifications for the following reason:
a. The North Main Specific Plan imposes development standards applicable to the North Main Street area resulting in projects designed appropriately for the area.
4. Per Section 6.1.7 of SP99-01, the amendment provides for the construction, improvement, or extension of transportation facilities, public utilities and public services required by the long-term needs of the project and/or other area residents, and complements the orderly development of the City beyond the project's boundaries for the following reason:
a. The amendment will facilitate development on a vacant parcel that will be subject to the development standards required by the specific plan, including the appropriate infrastructure that will be required at the time of development of the project site.
PREPARED BY: HARALD LUNA, ASSOCIATE PLANNER
REVIEWED BY: SANDRA YANG, SENIOR PLANNER
REVIEWED BY: TERRI MANUEL, PLANNING MANAGER
SUBMITTED BY: JOANNE COLETTA, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR
EXHIBITS
1. Locational and Zoning Map
2. Exhibit A1 - Proposed Specific Plan Amendment.
3. Exhibit A2 - Land Use Map (General Plan).
4. Exhibit A3 - Table 2, Land Use Plan.
5. Exhibit A4 - Land Use Plan (Districts).
6. Exhibit A5 - Section 3.1.1, Commercial Retail (CR) District.
7. Exhibit A6 - Section 3.1.6, Single Family Condominium (SFC).
8. Exhibit A7 - Land Use Plan (Districts).
9. Exhibit B - Conditions of Approval
10. Exhibit C - Applicant’s letter dated August 15, 2018, explaining Specific Plan amendment request.
11. Exhibit D - Legal description of the specific plan amendment site
12. Exhibit E - Environmental Documentation
Case Planner: Harald Luna (951) 736-2268