REQUEST FOR CITY COUNCIL ACTION
DATE: 09/06/2023
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
FROM: Planning & Development Department
SUBJECT:
Title
PARCEL MAP 37949 TO SUBDIVIDE 4.66 ACRES INTO TWO PARCELS, LOCATED AT 2425 GARRETSON AVENUE IN THE R-1-14.4 ZONE (APPLICANT: MOHAMMED S. BAIG AND ISLAMIC SOCIETY OF CORONA-NORCO) (NOT AN ADVERTISED PUBLIC HEARING)
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
This staff report asks the City Council to approve Parcel Map 37949 (PM 37949), which will subdivide 4.66 acres into two parcels located at 2425 Garretson Avenue. The zoning of the project site is R-14.4, a single family residential zone with a minimum lot size of 14,400 square feet. PM 37949 will create two parcels with parcel sizes of 2.50 acres of 2.16 acres.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Recommended action
That the City Council approve Parcel Map 37949 subject to the findings and conditions as recommended by the Planning and Housing Commission.
Body
BACKGROUND & HISTORY:
The project site is a 4.66-acre residential property located at 2425 Garretson Avenue, south of Santana Way. Mr. Mohammed Baig and the Islamic Society of Corona-Norco, a nonprofit organization, are currently the owners of the property and the applicants of this application. A portion of the property is currently developed with a single-family dwelling with the remainder of the site undeveloped.
The existing single-family dwelling would be located on one parcel and the vacant portion of the parcel would be on a separate parcel. This would allow Mr. Baig to retain the residence under his sole ownership; and provides the Islamic Society with sole ownership of the other parcel. The development of the parcel by the Islamic Society is not under consideration with this parcel map request. Future development of the vacant parcel would be reviewed separately from this request.
Change of Zone 2022-0002
The applicant is concurrently processing a change of zone application (CZ2022-0002) with PM 37949. CZ2022-0002 proposes to remove the R-1-20 zone on the western portion of property (1.59 acres), and replace it with the R-1-14.4 zone. The request would match the zoning on the site’s eastern three acres, thereby creating one zone across the entire property.
ANALYSIS:
Parcel Map 37949 is a proposal to subdivide 4.66 acres into two parcels. Parcel 1 will be comprised of 2.50 acres of the eastern portion of the property, which is considered the rear of the site. Proposed Parcel 1 currently contains agricultural groves. Parcel 2 is 2.16 acres in size, and comprises the western portion of the property. Parcel 2 is considered the front of the project site, as it abuts Garretson Avenue. Parcel 2 contains an existing single-family dwelling. Table 1 below summarizes the proposed lots.
TABLE 1
Proposed Lot Sizes for PM 37949
|
Parcel Number |
Lot Area |
Acreage |
|
1 |
108,918 |
2.50 |
|
2 |
94,305 |
2.16 |
Both Parcels 1 and 2 will comply with the R-1-14.4 zone’s minimum lot area requirement of 14,400 square feet, as well as the minimum lot width and depth requirements of 90 feet and 100 feet, respectively.
Parcel 2 will take access from Garretson Avenue via an existing driveway located at the northeast corner of Parcel 2. Parcel 1 is “landlocked” behind Parcel 2, with no direct access from Garretson Avenue. Section 17.6.010 of the Corona Municipal Code requires newly created lots to have permanent access to the street on which the lots abut, unless a minor variance is granted to allow for the access to be established via properties other than streets or highways. On July 10, 2023, the City’s Zoning Administrator approved minor variance VMIN2023-0001, which authorizes Parcel 1 to take access from Santana Way. The approved access is achieved by an established 36-foot-wide access easement through the parking lot of the adjacent mosque property, to the north.
The project site is designated Estate Residential per the City’s General Plan map. The Estate Residential designation allows 0 to 3 dwelling units per acre (du/ac). The project site is also designated Estate Residential per the South Corona Community Facilities Plan (CFP), which establishes a maximum allowable target density of 1.47 du/ac for the Estate Residential designation. The subdivision proposed by PM 37949 results in a density of 0.42 du/ac, which is consistent with both the City’s General Plan and South Corona CFP.
PM 37949 is consistent with the City’s General Plan, the South Corona CFP, and the subdivision standards under the R-1-14.4 zone. Adequate access is being provided to the parcels proposed by this project. All necessary public improvements within Garretson Avenue adjacent to the project site will be constructed or guaranteed with this project.
Future development of Parcel 1 with anything other than a single-family dwelling will require the submittal of a development application, which will require review by the Planning and Housing Commission at a future date. The property will be required to comply with all codes and requirements including subdivision regulations.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
The applicant paid the application processing fee of $5,402 to cover the cost of the Parcel Map.
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 project involves the subdivision of an already developed residential parcel into two lots for conveyance purposes. 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 August 7, 2023, the Planning and Housing Commission considered the subject matter and took the following action:
Motion was made, seconded (Woody/Siqueland) and carried unanimously, with Commissioner Sherman absent, that the Planning and Housing Commission recommend adoption of the Mitigated Negative Declaration and Mitigation Monitoring Plan and approval of PM 37949 to the City Council, 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 4.
PREPARED BY: JOANNE COLETTA, PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR
Attachments:
1. Exhibit 1 - Locational and zoning map
2. Exhibit 2 - Site plan for PM 37949
3. Exhibit 3 - Planning and Housing Commission staff report
4. Exhibit 4 - Minutes of the Planning and Housing Commission meeting of August 7, 2023