PLANNING AND HOUSING COMMISSION
STAFF REPORT
DATE: 05/22/2023
TO: Honorable Chair and Commissioners
FROM: Planning & Development Department
APPLICATION REQUEST:
Title
GPCD2023-0001: Request for a General Plan Consistency Determination regarding the City of Corona’s FY 2023/24 Capital Improvement Program (CIP). (Applicant: City of Corona)
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RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Recommended action
That the Planning and Housing Commission adopt Resolution No. 2610 and report to the City Council that the FY 2023/24 Capital Improvement Program (CIP) is consistent with the City of Corona 2020-2040 General Plan Goals and Policies.
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ANALYSIS
California Government Code Section 65401 requires the Planning & Housing Commission to review the City’s Capital Improvement Program (CIP) for the upcoming fiscal year, and report the Program’s conformity with the City’s General Plan to the City Council.
Attached as Exhibit 2 to this report is a table listing 164 CIP projects for FY 2023/24. The table provides a brief description of each project and the corresponding General Plan Goals and Policies relevant to each project. The list of projects was provided by the City’s Finance Department.
Many of the FY 2023/2024 projects have carried over from budgets in previous years, and therefore many of the projects have already been deemed consistent by the Planning Commission. Of the 164 FY 2023/24 projects, sixty-two (62) have not been reviewed by the Planning Commission previously, and therefore require a determination of consistency at this time. A column on the right side of the Consistency Table identifies projects that are “new GPCD items”, versus those that were considered in prior years. For convenience, staff has also highlighted the projects in orange that were previously deemed consistent by the Planning Commission.
It is worth noting that a number of the projects listed as “new GPCD items” may have already been funded or started construction. Reasons for this may include the following:
• The Planning and Housing Commission has only been reviewing capital projects for consistency for the last two (2) years, starting in FY2021/22; therefore, some projects may have been budgeted and initiated prior to the Commission’s consistency reviews.
• A few projects may have initially been funded through a citywide maintenance program. For example, an unanticipated break in a sewer line could have been initiated under the “high maintenance sewer piping rehabilitation at various locations” program, but subsequently listed as a budgeted CIP project for the upcoming year.
• It is possible that a project was expanded or changed after construction was initiated, such that a subsequent phase is identified, or the project is revised. As an example, a sewer lift station might have been budgeted and approved for repairs; but then during the repairs additional work or upgrades were identified.
The City Council held a Financial Workshop on April 13, 2023, at which time they reviewed projects proposed for the FY2023/24 CIP. The City Council is anticipated to approve the fiscal year budget on June 21, 2023.
The purpose of the request currently before the Planning and Housing Commission is to determine that the projects listed in the upcoming fiscal year budget are consistent with the General Plan, based on the Goals and Policies identified by City staff in the attached table (Exhibit 2).
ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS
The review of a Capital Improvement Program (CIP) for a determination of General Plan consistency by the Planning Commission is not subject to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) review under CEQA Guidelines Section 15061(b)(3) because the consistency review is not a “project”, per 15378(b)(4), and because a determination of consistency has no potential to result in a direct or indirect physical change in the environment.
FISCAL IMPACT
The proposed Capital Improvement Program is budgeted in the draft FY2023/24 Budget. The request for General Plan consistency determination does not result in financial impacts not already considered in the draft fiscal year budget.
PUBLIC NOTICE AND COMMENTS
California Government Code Section 65401 does not require public notification for a General Plan Consistency Determination.
FINDING
Staff recommends that the Planning and Housing Commission find the FY 2023/24 Capital Improvement Program consistent with General Plan Goals and Policies as outlined in the table attached as Exhibit 2 to this report.
PREPARED BY: JAY EASTMAN, PLANNING MANAGER
SUBMITTED BY: JOANNE COLETTA, PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR
Exhibits:
1. Resolution No. 2610
2. FY 2023/24 Capital Improvement Program General Plan Consistency Table