REQUEST FOR CITY COUNCIL ACTION
DATE: 04/05/2023
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
FROM: Planning & Development Department
SUBJECT:
Title
SPECIFIC PLAN AMENDMENT 2022-0007 TO AMEND THE NORTHEAST CORONA SPECIFIC PLAN (SP81-2), SECTION 4.5.20, TO ALLOW PET BOARDING AND DAYCARE USES IN THE SUPPORT COMMERCIAL FREEWAY (SCF) DISTRICT WITH APPROVAL OF A MAJOR CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT, AND REVISE SECTION 4.5.11, TO ALLOW THE USE OF ALTERNATIVE FENCING MATERIALS FOR COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENTS WITHIN THE SUPPORT COMMERCIAL (SC) AND SUPPORT COMMERCIAL FREEWAY (SCF) DISTRICTS (APPLICANT: MLJ RESOURCES, LLC ON BEHALF OF SMART PARKE LUXURY SUITES AND PET DAYCARE)
End
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
This staff report asks the City Council to approve Specific Plan Amendment 2022-0007 to amend the Northeast Corona Specific Plan 81-2. The amendment introduces new text into the specific plan that will add pet boarding and daycare uses as a conditionally permitted use in the Support Commercial Freeway District and allow the use of alternative fencing materials for commercial developments within the Support Commercial and Support Commercial Freeway Districts.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Recommended action
That the City Council:
a. Approve Specific Plan Amendment 2022-0007, as recommended by the Planning and Housing Commission.
b. Introduce, by title only, and waive full reading of Ordinance No. 3367, first reading of an ordinance approving an amendment to the Northeast Corona Specific Plan 81-2 to permit pet boarding and daycare as a conditional use in the Support Commercial Freeway District and to permit alternative fencing materials for commercial developments in the Support Commercial and Support Commercial Freeway Districts (SPA2022-0007).
Body
BACKGROUND & HISTORY:
The applicant, Smart Parke Luxury Suites and Pet Daycare, proposes a pet boarding and daycare facility at 284 Dupont Street. The proposed use will occupy an existing suite inside the commercial building, and include an adjacent outdoor dog play area that would be enclosed with a 9-foot-high vinyl fence. Pet boarding and daycare facilities are not listed as an allowed use in the Support Commercial Freeway (SCF) District of Specific Plan 81-2 (SP81-2), and vinyl fences are not identified as an allowable fence material in the specific plan.
Specific Plan Amendment 2022-0007 (SPA2022-0007) proposes to amend the specific plan in order to permit the use by a conditional use permit and make allowance of alternative fencing materials. The Planning and Housing Commission at its meeting on March 6, 2023, recommended to the City Council the approval of SPA2022-0007.
ANALYSIS:
SPA2022-0007 will amend Section 4.5.20, Conditional Uses, and Section 4.5.11 of SP81-2. The following shows the proposed amendment to each section in an underline.
SEC. 4.5.20 CONDITIONAL USES:
The following use shall be permitted in the SCF District subject to the issuance of a Major Conditional Use Permit (CUP) pursuant to Chapter 17.92 of the Corona Municipal Code:
Pet boarding and daycare with outdoor play area
Sec. 4.5.11
The provisions of Chapter 17.70 of the Corona Municipal Code shall apply, except that alternatives to wrought iron and decorative block may be considered during the Precise Plan or Conditional Use Permit review processes.
The SC and SCF Districts of the specific plan simply defer fencing regulations to Corona Municipal Code (CMC) Chapter 17.70, which contains the citywide development standards for walls, fences and landscaping. CMC § 17.70.060(G) requires the use of wrought iron and decorative block, as follows:
(G) Commercial zone. All fencing in the commercial zone shall be constructed of wrought iron or decorative block. Wood, precision block or chain link fencing shall be prohibited within such zone. For purposes of this section “commercial zone” means the C-P, C-2 and C-3 zones as defined by this code or a commercial district of a Specific Plan.
The amendment to Section 4.5.11 would allow alternatives to wrought iron and decorative block materials, such as vinyl when considered as part of a precise plan application or conditional use permit application. The consideration of alternative fencing concurrent with a precise plan or conditional use permit allows for the consideration of the design and function of the development to ensure fencing materials are consistent with the needs of a business, maintain a quality aesthetic, are durable, and compatible with adjacent uses.
The amendment is intended to compliment a range of retail commercial uses with a customer base that benefits from easy freeway access and high freeway visibility. The amendment allows for a case-by-case consideration of proposed businesses and fencing material.
The amendment meets the objective of General Plan Land Use Policy LU-11.1 and LU-11.3, which encourage a comprehensive range of retail, service commercial uses to meet the needs of Corona’s residents, and to help promote infill of underutilized commercial sites. Additionally, the amendment to allow use of alternative fencing materials is consistent with Land Use Policy LU-5.15 which encourages rehabilitated structures to be maintained in a manner that promotes physical longevity and provides architectural details consistent with established design guidelines.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
The applicant paid the application processing fees of $3,893.28 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 exempted 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 amendment is solely a text revision to allow pet boarding and daycare uses by conditional use permit and allow the use of alternative fencing materials. There is no possibility that approving this amendment 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 exempted from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15061(b)(3), and recommend approval of SPA2022-0007 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 3.
PREPARED BY: JOANNE COLETTA, PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR
Attachments:
1. Exhibit 1 - City Ordinance No. 3367
2. Exhibit 2 - Planning and Housing Commission staff report
3. Exhibit 3 - Minutes of the Planning and Housing Commission meeting of March 6, 2023