PLANNING AND HOUSING COMMISSION
STAFF REPORT
DATE: 8/20/2018
TO: Honorable Chair and Commissioners
FROM: Community Development Department
APPLICATION REQUEST:
Title
PP2018-0003: Application for a Precise Plan review of a proposed 90,865 square foot commercial development including a four-story hotel, 11,000 square feet of restaurant space including a drive-through, 15,800 square feet of retail floor area including a convenience store with a 10-pump fuel station and 2,000 square foot ancillary drive-through car wash on 7.3 acres in the Commercial designation (Planning Area 1) of the Dos Lagos Specific Plan (SP-99-03).
End
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Recommended action
That the Planning and Housing Commission adopt the Mitigated Negative Declaration and Mitigation Monitoring Plan and adopt Resolution No. 2514 GRANTING PP2018-0003 based on the findings contained in the staff report and conditions of approval.
Body
PROJECT SITE SUMMARY
Area of Property: 7.31 acres
Existing Zoning: C (Commercial) designation of SP-99-03
Existing General Plan: MUI (Mixed Use Commercial/Residential)
Existing Land Use: Vacant
Proposed Land Use: Commercial development
Surrounding Land Uses:
N: The Shoppes at Dos Lagos in the Entertainment Commercial designation of SP-99-03
E: Apartment complex in the Rural Residential designation of SP-99-03
S: Commercial businesses in the unincorporated Riverside County area
W: Vacant properties in unincorporated Riverside County area beyond I-15
BACKGROUND
The subject site is located in Planning Area 1 of the Dos Lagos Specific Plan located at the northwest corner of Dos Lagos Drive and Temescal Canyon Road. The specific plan was amended in 2012 to provide for Planning Area 1 to have the potential to flexibly accommodate a mix of residential development with commercial development as a cohesive mixed-use project in either a vertical or horizontal site configuration (SPA12-004). Subsequently, the entitlement for 276 apartment units was approved in 2016 for the westerly 13.7 acres under CUP16-002 along with a subdivision map (PM 37070). At that time the concept for the future commercial component on the easterly 7.3 acres of Planning Area 1 had not yet been solidified. The commercial concept has since further evolved with potential users and will constitute the completion of the mixed-use vision for Planning Area 1. The concept was presented to the Infrastructure Committee at its meeting of May 2, 2018, and the Committee expressed no objection to the project design.
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Site Plan
PP2018-0003 is an application for the review of the site development plan for the commercial component of the mixed use residential/commercial project in Planning Area 1 of the Dos Lagos Specific Plan (Exhibit A-1). The site plan is designed to complement the first phase of the project consisting of 276 apartment units in 38 buildings on the westerly 13.7 acres of Planning Area 1 (Exhibit A-2). The easterly 7.31 acres will accommodate multiple commercial buildings. Shared access as detailed further below is a key design feature that ties the residential development to the commercial development with a central main entry drive from Temescal Canyon Road and a north-south spine road extending from Dos Lagos Drive through the site to connect with the lifestyle center to the north. These accessways serve both the residential and commercial components incorporating also some shared parking.
The commercial site plan is bisected by the main entry from Temescal Canyon Road. The north half of the commercial site accommodates a four-story, 101-key hotel and two freestanding buildings designed to accommodate 5,000 square feet of restaurant and 4,000 square feet of general retail served by a shared parking area. The south half of the commercial site features three buildings with one being multi-tenant accommodating up to 3,500 square feet of restaurant space and 2,600 square feet for retail. Separately, a 2,500 square foot drive-through restaurant pad is shown centrally oriented along the street frontage. A 7,200 square foot convenience type store is located at the southerly portion of the site with ten fueling pumps (20 stations) located to the interior, north of the store. A separate concurrent application (CUP2018-0007) evaluates a 2,000 square foot ancillary drive-through car wash attached to the southerly elevation of the convenience store. The Dos Lagos Specific Plan prescribes a conditional use permit for car wash facilities. Similar to the north half, the south half also features a shared parking field.
Access, Circulation and Parking
Planning Area 1 takes primary access from Temescal Canyon Road via a multiple-lane median-divided interior drive. This drive continues westward to form the entrance into the apartment complex in the first phase. A north-south spine road drive extends from Dos Lagos Drive to a drive access serving the lifestyle center to the north. This drive, which also features parallel parking stalls, separates the apartment complex on the west side of Planning Area 1 from the commercial site on the east side along Temescal Canyon Road. Internal drive aisles provide access to the interior parking fields serving the various commercial buildings.
Exhibits A-1 and A-2 include a parking summary that tabulates the parking required for Planning Area 1 based on the aggregate of all the uses including the apartment complex that was entitled in 2016. The parking required for the apartments is 557 spaces which are provided mostly on the interior of the complex with some open parallel parking spaces along the west side of the spine road attributed to the apartment complex. The combined total for the apartment complex is 591 spaces, yielding an excess of 34 spaces.
Exhibits A-1 and A-2 also outline the parking required for the commercial site plan. Separated into the north half and the south half, the parking tabulations for the north half are based upon the 101-room hotel (one per key plus two manager spaces), 5,000 square feet of restaurant space (1/100) and 4,000 square feet of retail (1/200) generating a requirement of 173 spaces with 188 being provided. Parking tabulations for the south half show total combined restaurant floor areas at 6,000 square feet (1/100), retail floor areas at 9,800 (1/200), and car wash (2 spaces; CUP2018-0007) for a total requirement of 104 spaces with 105 being provided. The total required parking spaces for all the commercial component is 277 spaces with 293 being provided.
Architecture and Floor Plans
The proposed project has been designed with contemporary architecture that is consistent with that established for the residential apartment complex. The Dos Lagos Specific plan recognizes this Eclectic Mediterranean architectural style which is also the foundational design for the commercial portion of Planning Area 1. The design features varied wall planes of smooth plaster colored with light and dark contrasting tones and accent materials that add depth and visual interest. Each building has a unique design but still consistent with an overall design theme.
Exhibit C illustrates the hotel design. The four-story structure has a flat parapet roof with slight off-sets where wall planes are projected around all sides. Fiber cement board is placed selectively between some of the banks of windows for horizontal effect. The main entrance is announced with a tower like projection accented with a vibrant green that is also associated with the hotel branding which is an illustrative concept. All signage will be subject to the sign regulations of the specific plan detailed further below under Signs. Exhibit C also includes the floor plans for Level 1 and Levels 2 through 4. The first level of the hotel features hotel rooms and a centrally located lobby labeled gathering zone, breakfast/server area, fitness room, and typical accommodations for managerial, laundry and maintenance functions. Levels 2 through 4 accommodate primarily hotel rooms with elevator lobby and laundry. Exterior amenities include a swimming pool located at the northwest corner of the hotel and project site.
Located south of the hotel but still the north half of the commercial project site are the two freestanding commercial buildings labeled as Buildings B and C. The elevations for these buildings are illustrated in Exhibit D. The character of these buildings reflects that of the hotel with varied wall planes of contrasting color and textures in a slightly different but coordinated color scheme of olive and grays. Floor plans for these buildings are depicted as shells that will be designed as users are identified for the restaurant (Building B) and retail (Building C).
Located on the south half of the commercial project site is a building designed to accommodate multiple tenants including some restaurant and some retail (Building A) with a shell floor plan also depicted (Exhibits E-1 and E-2). The architectural style is continued with this building but with a different yet coordinated color scheme of grays accented with a brick red color. Horizontal and vertical material accents along with scored plaster applied in varied form on different elevations add visual interest and depth. Exhibit E-3 illustrates the proposed drive-through restaurant continuing with the same contemporary architectural design but a varied color scheme of grays and vanilla-yellow. It should be noted that this drive-through restaurant use, while being required under a conditional use permit in most commercial zones in the city, is permitted by right in Dos Lagos provided minimum standards are met such as adequate stacking in the drive-through lane, which this plan demonstrates. With no user yet identified, the floor plan here is also depicted as a shell.
The building at the southernmost tip of the commercial project site is convenience store/fuel station. Separate and concurrent is the review of the ancillary drive-through car wash attached to the south elevation of the convenience store (CUP2018-0007). Exhibit F illustrates a rendering of the convenience store with the fuel pump stations and canopy followed by elevation exhibits of each. Continuing with the same architectural design, this building has added flare with asymmetrical lines and angles projecting along the parapet with each elevation accented with the horizontal cement siding board. Varied materials reflect those used in the rest of the project. The canopy is designed with a perforated metal material cover and support columns that are shown clad at the base with more perforated metal transitioning into rounded canopy support at the top of the columns for a modern look. These support columns are depicted in the elevations with back lit acrylic panels in a curved frame. However, the rendering illustrates the upper portion of the columns with a curved, vine-planted trellis.
Landscaping
Exhibit G illustrates the landscape design concept for the project which will consist of California-friendly low and medium water use plant material. Plant materials are shown in a uniform theme across the site with a wide and varied palette. Date palms will grace the main entry from Temescal Canyon Road. Various shade trees in sizes that range from 24-inch box to 48-inch box in accent locations along the interior spine road will provide shade throughout the site. A headlight buffer hedge-row will be required for all parking areas adjacent to streets and will be verified along with all applicable code requirements at the time of plan check.
Sign Program
Exhibit H illustrates the proposed sign program for the commercial center naming it Terrano Plaza. The monument sign elevations show an attractive design in a brown color with white accents and lettering. The signs have added flare of flat cut-out metal detailing.
The specific plan prescribes the allowable signage for commercial centers based on the size of the project in acres. The subject site is 7.31 acres. Commercial centers that are less than 20 acres in size are allowed one standard project identification sign per street frontage. This type of sign can be up to 25 feet high and up to 200 square feet and may contain the name of the center and up to three tenant names. In addition to the project identification sign, directional signs up to 20 square feet and five feet high are allowed on-site for way-finding purposes.
The Dos Lagos Specific Plan also states additional signage may be considered in conjunction with a comprehensive sign program and per Chapter 17.74 of the Corona Municipal Code and a Precise Plan review. The applicant’s sign program does show one freeway pylon sign (considered as one street frontage for the mixed-use project) and smaller monument signs along Temescal Canyon Road. The applicant has chosen to use monument signs not exceeding a height of 6 feet in lieu of a 25-foot high pylon sign on Temescal Canyon Road. This is consistent with the other project identification monument signs that have been used on Temescal Canyon Road in the Dos Lagos plan area, as no pylon signs exist along this street. No project signage is proposed on Dos Lagos Drive.
Three project identification monument signs (no tenants) are proposed. Two are shown at the project’s main driveway on Temescal Canyon Road and one at the secondary driveway shared with The Shoppes at Dos Lagos. The project monument signs have a height of 5.5 feet and an area of approximately 100 square feet. Two tenant monument signs with three tenant spaces are located on Temescal Canyon Road with a third tenant monument sign located on the west side of the hotel. The tenant monument signs are five feet high and approximately 60 square feet. The tenant monument signs located adjacent to Temescal Canyon Road are permitted, but the third tenant monument sign located west of the hotel is not allowed because it is not located along a street frontage. However, tenant directional signage shown as Exhibit H-5 would be allowed in this area. Tenant directional signage on the internal drive aisles is consistent with other directional signage used at The Shoppes at Dos Lagos. Tenant directional signage would not exceed a height of five feet and copy face area of 20 square feet.
If the fuel station is on its own parcel with its own access and required parking, it can have separate parcel identification as afforded by the municipal code. The conditions of approval require that the sign program comply with the specific plan regulations. Wall signs are appropriately shown in creative display of channel letters. Can signs are not permitted and have not been proposed. All signage is subject to review and separate permitting.
ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS
Per Section 15070 of the State Guidelines for Implementing the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and Section 6.02 of the City’s Local Guidelines, an initial study was prepared for the project that identifies potential impacts and mitigation measures that will reduce any potential impacts to level below significance, and therefore, there is no substantial evidence in light of the whole record before the City that the project may have a significant effect on the environment. Therefore, a mitigated negative declaration is recommended for adoption (Exhibit K).
FISCAL IMPACT
The applicant has paid all the required application processing fees
PUBLIC NOTICE AND COMMENTS
A 20-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 one letter of support was received from Temescal Canyon, LLC, stated in the letter as the owner of the land immediately adjacent to the Dos Lagos Master Plan and across the street from the proposed development (Exhibit J). The referenced land is located on the east side of Temescal Canyon Road south of the Encanto Apartment complex.
STAFF ANALYSIS
PP2018-0003 encompasses the commercial component of the mixed-use project in Planning Area 1 of the Dos Lagos Specific Plan. This project completes the implementation of the vision for the site that was established in 2012 under SPA12-004 for a mix of residential and commercial uses in PA 1 intended to flexibly accommodate market forces for this as one of the remaining vacant properties in the Dos Lagos area. The site has been appropriately designed with a circulation pattern that ties together the residential and commercial uses for walkability but with essential buffering. Architectural design is fully compatible between the uses and is also consistent with the specific plan guidelines that prescribe Eclectic Mediterranean with simple building forms and asymmetrical shapes. Quality materials and colors are proposed that will result in visual interest and material compatibility with the residential portion of Planning Area 1 and existing development in the area.
The project is consistent with a number of General Plan goals and policies encouraging the integration of mixed land uses with retail, office, and other uses on the same site and the development of vacant land within the city on the periphery of existing development that complements the scale and pattern of existing uses. Therefore, approval of PP2018-0003 is recommended.
FINDINGS OF APPROVAL FOR PP2018-003
1. An initial study (environmental assessment) has been conducted by the City of Corona so as to evaluate the potential for adverse environmental impacts. The environmental assessment identifies potentially significant effects on the environment, but:
a. Per Section 15070 of the State Guidelines for Implementing the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and Section 6.02 of the city’s Local CEQA Guidelines, the Mitigated Negative Declaration prepared for the project identified that the project’s potentially significant effects to the environment are capable of being mitigated to less than a significant level, and therefore, based on the project mitigation measures identified in the Mitigated Negative Declaration, there is not substantial evidence in light of the whole record before the city that the project may have significant effect on the environment.
2. All the conditions necessary to granting a Precise Plan as set forth in Section 17.91.070 of the Corona Municipal Code do exist in reference to PP2018-0003 for the following reasons:
a. The proposal is consistent with the MU1 (Mixed Use 1) land use designation of the General Plan because this land use is intended for a mix of residential and commercial uses which this precise plan facilitates.
b. The proposal complies with the C (Commercial) designation of the Dos Lagos Specific Plan (SP-99-03) zone because the intended uses are permitted in this designation, and the site development plan has been designed in accordance with the standards imposed by the Commercial designation.
c. The proposal has been reviewed in compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act and all applicable requirements and procedures of the act have been followed. As justified in Finding # 1, the project is being mitigated to a level below significance.
d. The site is of a sufficient size and configuration to accommodate the design and scale of proposed development, including buildings and elevations, landscaping, parking and other physical features of the proposal, as demonstrated in Exhibit A of this report.
e. The design, scale and layout of the proposed development will not unreasonably interfere with the use and enjoyment of neighboring existing or future developments, will not create traffic or pedestrian hazards, and will not otherwise have a negative impact on the aesthetics, health, safety or welfare of neighboring uses because the proposal complies with the city’s development standards for the property and is designed for compatibility and reciprocal benefit with the residential property on the first phase of Planning Area 1.
f. The architectural design of the proposed development is compatible with the character of the surrounding neighborhood, will enhance the visual character of the neighborhood because the design complies with the Eclectic Mediterranean theme prescribed by the specific plan and is compatible with existing development in the area resulting in a harmonious, orderly and attractive development of the site.
g. The design of the proposed development will provide a desirable environment for its occupants and visiting public as well as its neighbors through good aesthetic use of materials, texture, and color that is aesthetically appealing and will retain a reasonably adequate level of maintenance.
3. The proposal is consistent with the General Plan for the following reasons:
a. The proposed commercial project will implement the Mixed Use 1 designation of the General Plan that applies to this site.
b. The proposed project is consistent with General Plan Goal 1.13 encouraging vital and active districts that provide for housing and commercial in proximity to one another and with other supportive entertainment and service land uses.
c. The proposed project is consistent with General Plan Policy 1.13.1 promoting the development of properties for mixed use projects that integrate residential and commercial uses into a cohesive, mutually beneficial design.
d. The proposed project implements General Plan Policy 1.4.1 to accommodate growth and development on vacant land on the city’s periphery.
4. The proposal is consistent with the Commercial (C) designation of the Dos Lagos Specific Plan (SP-99-03) for the following reasons:
a. The proposed project has been designed in accordance with the development standards imposed by the Commercial designation of the specific plan.
PREPARED BY: TERRI MANUEL, PLANNING MANAGER
SUBMITTED BY: JOANNE COLETTA, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR
EXHIBITS
1. Resolution No. 2514
2. Locational and Zoning Map
3. Exhibit A-1 and A-2 - Site Plan
4. Exhibit B - Conditions of Approval
5. Exhibit C-1 - C-5 - (North) Hotel Elevations, Floor Plans and Material Palette
6. Exhibit D-1 - D-2 - (North) Buildings B and C Elevations and shell Floor Plans
7. Exhibit E-1 - E-3 - (South) Buildings A and Drive-through Elevations and shell Floor Plans
8. Exhibit F-1 - F-6 - Convenience store and Fuel Station Rendering, Elevations and Material Palette, and Floor Plan
9. Exhibit G - Conceptual Landscape Plan
10. Exhibit H-1 - H-6 - Conceptual Sign Program
11. Exhibit I - Applicant’s letter dated May 1, 2018
12. Exhibit J - Letter dated August 8, 2018 from Temescal Canyon, LLC in support of the project
13. Exhibit K - Environmental Documentation with aerial exhibit
Case Planner: Terri Manuel (951) 736-2434