REQUEST FOR CITY COUNCIL ACTION
DATE: 04/05/2023
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
FROM: Planning and Development Department
SUBJECT:
Title
CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT 2022-0006 TO ESTABLISH A PET BOARDING AND PET DAYCARE FACILITY AT 284 DUPONT STREET, SUITES 180-190, IN THE SUPPORT COMMERCIAL FREEWAY DISTRICT OF THE NORTHEAST CORONA SPECIFIC PLAN (APPLICANT: MLJ RESOURCES, LLC ON BEHALF OF SMART PARKE LUXURY SUITES AND PET DAYCARE) (NOT AN ADVERTISED PUBLIC HEARING)
End
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
This staff report asks the City Council to affirm the Planning and Housing Commission’s decision to grant Conditional Use Permit 2022-0006, which establishes a pet boarding and pet daycare facility located at 284 Dupont Street, Suites 180-190. The proposed use will occupy 19,538 square feet inside the existing building and include indoor pet kennels for boarding and an outdoor, fenced play area for dogs that is 2,648 square feet.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Recommended action
That the City Council:
a. Take no action, thereby affirming the Planning and Housing Commission’s action granting CUP2022-0006, based on the findings contained in the staff report and conditions of approval.
OR
b. Set the item for review at a subsequent meeting.
Body
BACKGROUND & HISTORY:
The project site for Conditional Use Permit 2022-0006 (CUP2022-0006) is located within the McKinley Crossroads commercial center, which is located to the immediate south of State Route 91, between Teller Street and Dupont Street. The center consists of three contiguous parcels under the same ownership, with one freestanding structure on each parcel. Together these parcels total approximately 13.54 acres and have reciprocal access and parking. The zoning of the property is Support Commercial Freeway (SCF) of the Northeast Corona Specific Plan (SP81-2). The Planning and Housing Commission at its meeting on March 6, 2023, approved CUP2022-0006.
ANALYSIS:
The tenant space of the pet boarding and day care is 19,538 square feet and located at the end of a multi-unit single-story commercial building near Dupont Street. The outdoor play area is 2,648 square feet and located on the east side of the building.
The floor plan includes a reception area with two “waiting pods”, and a spacious lobby/retail area. The facility provides boarding and daycare for cats and dogs. Cats are boarded in a dedicated “Cat Condo” room adjacent to the lobby/retail area. Each cat condominium measures 18 square feet. For dog boarding, there are 120 standard units and 7 luxury units. A standard unit measures 33 square feet, and a luxury unit is 90 square feet.
Two separate rooms are reserved for daycare activities: one for large dogs, and one for small dogs. These rooms have direct access to the outdoor pet play area, which includes a separate fenced “ball play” area.
The proposed outdoor pet play area is to be enclosed by a vinyl fence, which will be 8 to 9 feet tall. The exterior of the vinyl fence will be obscured by a ficus hedge, which will be 5 feet tall at time of planting. The applicant intends to grow the ficus hedge to a 12-foot height, which will serve as a green screen to obscure the fence. The outdoor play area will be improved with artificial turf, and equipped with a water feature, platform play structures, misting stations and fabric shade canopies.
Additionally, a component of the business model is animal behavior training, which will occur within a 948-square-foot “Training Room”. Professional trainers will conduct behavior classes in groups. The groups will not exceed 20 pets at a time, and will be held between the hours of 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The applicant considers the training classes a minor part of the business, and therefore anticipate just 2 to 3 classes a week, with an average 7 pets and their owners. The training room will also be used to host events, such as pet birthdays.
For daycare and overnight boarding of pets, grooming services are available in the “Bathing Room” at the south end of the tenant space. Grooming services include clean-up baths and nail trimming. The facility also has a kitchen to assemble meals of pre-cooked pet food.
Hours of Operation
The facility is open to customers from 6:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., daily. The overnight boarding is an around-the-clock service. Based on the applicant’s experience, a daily average of 90 to 110 pets are estimated for the daycare service. A typical daycare schedule includes pet drop-off between 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m., with pick-up between 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. The applicant anticipates the boarding of 50 to 70 pets each night.
The outdoor play area will be opened between the hours of 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., daily. Staff will take groups of animals to the outdoor play area, with 40 to 60 pets per group.
Access and Circulation
The project site is accessible from driveways located at the end of Dupont Street and Teller Street. Both driveways lead to a shared parking lot that serves all visitors of the commercial center. The proposed project will not alter vehicle circulation or alter access points to the property.
Parking
Surface parking spaces are located to the north (front) and south (rear) of the buildings. Visitors will utilize the parking spaces to the north of the buildings, in front of the storefront entrances.
The Corona Municipal Code (CMC) currently does not have a specific parking requirement for pet boarding and pet daycare uses. When there is no listed parking requirement, the CMC stipulates that the parking requirement of a similar use may be applied.
Staff has calculated the parking requirement for the proposed use as follows:
• The lobby/retail portion is to be parked at the city’s retail requirement, which is one (1) space per 250 square feet of area (1:250).
• The remaining portion of the facility, which is only accessible to employees and pets, is parked at a manufacturing parking requirement of one (1) space per 500 square feet (1:500 ratio).
Based on the existing uses in the center and the proposed pet boarding and daycare, the commercial center is required to have 688 parking spaces. The center currently provides 719 parking spaces.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
The applicant paid the application processing fees of $7,813.14 to cover the cost of the Conditional Use Permit.
ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS:
This action is exempt pursuant to Section 15061(b)(3) of the Guidelines for the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), which states that a project is exempt from CEQA if the activity is covered by the common sense exemption that CEQA applies only to projects that have the potential for causing a significant effect on the environment. Where it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment, the activity is not subject to CEQA. This action is a pet boarding and daycare facility with an outdoor animal activity play area, which is proposed within a vacant tenant space at an existing and fully developed commercial center. There is no possibility that approving this project will have a significant effect on the environment. Therefore, no environmental analysis is required.
PLANNING AND HOUSING COMMISSION ACTION:
At its meeting of March 6, 2023, the Planning and Housing Commission considered the subject matter and took the following action:
Motion was made, seconded (Meza/Sherman) and carried unanimously, with Chair Siqueland and Commissioner Woody absent, that the Planning and Housing Commission find the project exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15061(b)(3), adopt Resolution No. 2607 granting CUP2022-0006, based on the findings contained in the staff report and conditions of approval. The minutes of the Planning and Housing Commission meeting are included as Exhibit 5.
PREPARED BY: JOANNE COLETTA, PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR
Attachments:
1. Exhibit 1 - Locational and zoning map
2. Exhibit 2 - Site plan for CUP2022-0006
3. Exhibit 3 - Floorplan for CUP2022-0006
4. Exhibit 4 - Planning and Housing Commission staff report
5. Exhibit 5 - Minutes of the Planning and Housing Commission meeting of March 6, 2023