REQUEST FOR CITY COUNCIL ACTION
DATE: 10/19/2022
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
FROM: Planning & Development Department
SUBJECT:
Title
Conditional Use Permit 2022-0002 to establish a 1,200 square-foot automated carwash tunnel proposed as part of an electric vehicle charging service station in the C-3 (General Commercial) zone, located at 1335 and 1341 West Sixth Street.
End
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
This staff report asks Council to affirm the Planning and Housing Commission’s action granting Conditional Use Permit 2022-0002. CUP2022-0002 is an application to establish a 1,200 square-foot automated carwash tunnel. The carwash is part of a larger proposal to construct an electric vehicle (EV) charging service station with an 8,000 square foot market, which is being reviewed separately by Precise Plan 2022-0001. The C-3 zone allows a carwash with a Conditional Use Permit. The project adheres to the development standards of the C-3 zone.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Recommended action
That the City Council:
a. Take no action, thereby affirming the Planning and Housing Commission’s action granting CUP2022-0002, 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 is comprised of 3 vacant parcels totaling approximately 2.42 acres, located on the north side of Sixth Street, approximately 450 feet west of Sherman Avenue. The applicant intends to consolidate the parcels into a single parcel through a lot line adjustment process. The parcels are zoned C-3 (General Commercial), which allows for various commercial uses including automobile related services. The carwash is allowed by a Conditional Use Permit (CUP).
ANALYSIS:
The concept for the electric vehicle (EV) service station is to provide customers a full-service experience that includes EV charging, washing services and grab-and-go food and/or beverages.
The anticipated hours of operation are the following:
• Charging spaces - Open 24 hours a day
• Market - Open 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.
• Carwash - Open 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Site Plan
The project is designed with the market located on the front portion of the property near Sixth Street, 27 non-EV parking spaces, and 40 EV charging spaces located behind the market. Seven employee parking spaces are located behind the EV charging stalls, to the north. The proposed carwash is located at the rear of the site, to the northwest. Next to the carwash are 3 “finishing” spaces and 12 EV charging spaces for vans.
The carwash tunnel is designed with the openings oriented in a west-east direction so that there is no direct interface between the openings and residences to the north. The C-3 zone requires a minimum 20-foot landscape setback along yards that abut residential zones. The project provides this setback along the north and northwest perimeters, where the site abuts residential zones. The Corona Municipal Code requires carwashes and detailing/finishing areas to be set back a minimum of 25 feet from residential zones. The carwash and finishing spaces provide more than 25 feet of setback from the adjacent residential zones. Additional buffering along both perimeters includes several 24-inch box trees and a new 6-foot-high block wall, which the applicant will install with the development of the EV charging station.
Operations
The EV charging station will provide self-serve and valet services. However, the carwash is not self-service and will be managed by facility staff. Staff will drive the vehicles through the carwash, and once cleaned, park them in an EV charging space while the customer waits in the market. Carwash and finishing services will only be provided through the facility’s valet service. Since the staff onsite will be managing the carwash, queuing issues are not expected to occur at the entrance of the carwash. The anticipated hours of operation for the carwash are 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Architecture
The carwash tunnel is rectangular in shape and covered by matte black metal panels. The design matches the architecture of the market building, which has clear glass walls separated by a simple post and beam frame, covered by the same matte black metal panels. The overall look and design of the development is modern and minimalistic. Developments in the C-3 zone are not subject to any architectural theme.
Parking
The Corona Municipal Code requires full-service carwashes to provide a minimum of 10 parking spaces. The market is required to provide 32 parking spaces, which is based on a code requirement of 1 parking space per 250 square feet of building area. Therefore, the overall combined parking requirement is 42 parking spaces. The entire project provides 89 parking spaces on-site, including the 3 finishing stalls.
Public Improvements & Access
The applicant is required to dedicate five feet of the project’s frontage to the right-of-way along Sixth Street and construct all missing public improvements along the project frontage. This includes constructing the sidewalk to a width of 12 feet to meet current City standard, as the current sidewalk width is deficient. The two driveways will be replaced with a single 30-foot-wide driveway, which will allow for full-turn movements into and out of the project site.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
The applicant paid the application processing fees of $6,547 to cover the cost of the Conditional Use Permit.
ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS:
Pursuant to Section 15332 of the State Guidelines for the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), a Notice of Exemption has been prepared for the project because the project qualifies as a Class 32 (Infill Development Projects) categorical exemption under CEQA. The project is consistent with the General Plan and zoning requirements, and would not result in any significant traffic, noise, air quality, or water quality impacts.
PLANNING AND HOUSING COMMISSION ACTION:
At its meeting of September 26, 2022, the Planning and Housing Commission considered the subject matter and took the following action:
Motion was made, seconded (Sherman/Alexander) and carried unanimously, that the Planning and Housing Commission adopt Resolution No. 2593 granting CUP2022-0002, 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 CUP2022-0002
3. Exhibit 3 - Planning and Housing Commission Staff Report
4. Exhibit 4 - Draft minutes of the Planning and Housing Commission meeting of September 26, 2022