REQUEST FOR CITY COUNCIL ACTION
DATE: 05/15/2024
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
FROM: Planning & Development Department
SUBJECT:
Title
SPECIFIC PLAN AMENDMENT 2023-0006 TO THE NORTH MAIN STREET SPECIFIC PLAN TO PERMIT BUILDING MATERIALS SALES WITH INDOOR AND OUTDOOR STORAGE IN THE TRANSIT COMMERCIAL DISTRICT (APPLICANT: DANIEL DELANEY, GANAHL LUMBER COMPANY)
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
This staff report asks the City Council to approve Specific Plan Amendment 2023-0006 (SPA2023-0006) to the North Main Street Specific Plan to allow building materials sales with indoor and outdoor storage as a permitted land use in the Transit Commercial (TC) District. Ganahl Lumber is an existing business in the TC District that sells building materials and lumber in addition to having associated storage. This use is currently considered a nonconforming land use to the TC District. Ganahl Lumber owns several parcels in the TC District that are associated with its business and is proposing to expand on an adjacent parcel. SPA2023-0006 will make building materials sales and associated storage a permitted use in the TC District, which will allow Ganahl Lumber to expand its operation.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Recommended action
That the City Council:
a. Approve SPA2023-0006, as recommended by the Planning and Housing Commission.
b. Introduce, by title only, and waive full reading of consideration of Ordinance No. 3393, first reading of an ordinance approving an amendment to Section 4.3 of the North Main Street Specific Plan (SP99-01) to permit building material sales with indoor and outdoor storage in the Transit Commercial district (SPA2023-0006).
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BACKGROUND & HISTORY:
The applicant, Ganahl Lumber Company, currently operates a building material sales business at 100 W. Blaine Street. The applicant also owns and utilizes the adjacent property to the immediate west at 299 N. Sheridan Street and the property across the BNSF railroad to the south at 201 Depot Drive as yards for the outdoor storage of lumber. All the properties are zoned Transit Commercial (TC) of the North Main Street Specific Plan.
Ganahl Lumber has been operating at its current location since 1991 when the properties were originally zoned M-1 (Light Manufacturing). In 2000, the city adopted the North Main Street Specific Plan which rezoned the Ganahl Lumber properties, the property at 150 Depot Drive, and the nearby properties on the west and east sides of Main Street, between Blaine Street and Grand Boulevard, to TC. The TC District was created to encourage the development of mass transit, carpooling and related uses in this area. The specific plan made building material sales with indoor and outdoor storage prohibited in the TC District. However, Ganahl Lumber was allowed to continue to operate at its current location as a nonconforming land use since the use existed before the adoption of the specific plan. Ganahl Lumber continues to be a thriving business in the city and owns all the properties associated with its business. Ganahl Lumber has no intention of ceasing operations in the city or at its current location.
The applicant intends to purchase an adjoining 1.09-acre property at 150 Depot Drive and expand the building materials operation to provide additional outdoor storage for lumber. The property contains an existing 5,463-square-foot building and associated parking lot. The building was constructed in 1937 and is listed on the Corona Heritage Inventory. Properties listed on the Heritage Inventory are eligible to be listed as a local landmark according to CMC Section 17.63.050. The building’s listing on the Heritage Inventory does not prevent the use of the property but does place certain restrictions on alterations to the building. The applicant currently does not intend to make any alterations to the building. Should the applicant decide to make any exterior alterations to the building in the future, the alterations would be subject to the city’s review process for alterations to historic resources under Section 17.63.120 of the Corona Municipal Code.
ANALYSIS:
Proposed Amendment
SPA2023-0006 proposes to amend Section 4.3 of the North Main Street Specific Plan to allow building material sales with indoor and outdoor storage a permitted use in the TC District. The new text is shown in red with the deleted text shown in a strikethrough format.
Sec. 4.3 PERMITTED USES IN EACH DISTRICT:
TABLE 3 NOTES:
……
11Ganahl Lumber is permitted to continue its current operation as a pre-existing non-conforming use.
The TC District is located where Main Street, Grand Boulevard, the BNSF railroad and State Route 91 converge. It was originally envisioned that the parcels within the TC District would be developed with mass transit, carpooling and transit-oriented uses such as offices, retail, and restaurants to meet the needs of commuters and transit users. Since the adoption of the North Main Street Specific Plan, the TC parcels on the east side of Main Street have been developed with a Metrolink station, an associated parking lot and parking structure, and a bus transit center. The TC parcels on the west side of Main Street are occupied by Ganahl Lumber, an automobile/stereo repair business at 170 Depot Drive, and a vacant commercial building at 150 Depot Drive.
Ganahl Lumber has continued to operate successfully at its current location and has no plans to relocate. There are also no plans to develop any of the parcels on the west side of Main Street for transit-oriented uses. Using the property for building materials sales and storage, as proposed by the applicant, is practical given its location adjacent to the applicant’s existing business, the railroad and freeway. Also, the property sits at a lower elevation than Main Street due to the grade separation over the railroad and has no direct access from Main Street. The site is also tucked behind another building from Grand Boulevard. Its limited visibility from the surrounding streets makes the property ideal for the storage of materials.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
The applicant paid the application processing fees of $5,659.28 to cover the cost of the Specific Plan Amendment.
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 commonsense 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 amendment is solely a text revision to the city’s specific plan to allow for building material sales with indoor and outdoor storage as a permitted use in the TC District. 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 25, 2024, the Planning and Housing Commission considered the subject matter and took the following action:
Motion was made, seconded (Alexander/Vernon) and carried unanimously approval of SPA2023-0006 to the City Council based on the findings contained in the staff report and conditions of approval and find the project exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act pursuant to State CEQA Guidelines Section 15061(b)(3). The minutes of the Planning and Housing Commission meeting are included as Exhibit 3.
PREPARED BY: JOANNE COLETTA, PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR
Attachments:
1. Exhibit 1 - Ordinance No. 3393
2. Exhibit 2 - Planning and Housing Commission staff report
3. Exhibit 3 - Minutes of the Planning and Housing Commission meeting of March 25, 2024