REQUEST FOR CITY COUNCIL ACTION
DATE: 03/01/2023
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
FROM: Planning and Development Department
SUBJECT:
Title
Resolution approving Cycle 1 of the General Plan Amendments for 2023 to include General Plan Amendments 2022-0001, 2022-0002, and 2022-0003 to amend the land uses on various properties within the City of Corona.
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
This staff report asks the City Council to consider an amendment to the General Plan that would allow the land uses to be amended for certain properties identified in General Plan Amendment 2022-0001 (GPA2022-0001), GPA2022-0002, and GPA2022-0003. The amendments to the General Plan were tentatively considered by the City Council on March 1, 2023 as public hearings. Pursuant to Government Code section 65358(b), a mandatory element of the General Plan may be amended no more than four times per calendar year. Resolution 23-012 would comprehensively adopt amendments to the General Plan Land Use Element for certain properties as part of the first cycle for Year 2023.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Recommended action
That the City Council:
a. Find that GPA2022-0001 and GPA2022-0003 is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Section 15061(b)(3) of the State Guidelines for CEQA.
b. Find that the Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Report prepared for the City of Corona General Plan Housing Element Rezoning Program update project and certified during the public hearing for GPA2022-0002, was completed in compliance with CEQA, the State CEQA Guidelines and the City of Corona Local CEQA Guidelines.
c. Adopt Resolution No. 2023-012 approving GPA2022-0001, GPA2022-0002, and GPA2022-0003 as Cycle 1 of General Plan Amendments for 2023.
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BACKGROUND & HISTORY:
Pursuant to Government Code section 65358(b), a mandatory element of the General Plan may be amended no more than four times per calendar year. The City batches the review of General Plan amendments to the Land Use Element into four quarterly cycles to not exceed four amendments within a calendar year. The General Plan land use amendments associated with Resolution 2023-012 is considered Cycle 1 for Year 2023.
GPA2022-0001, GPA2022-0002, and GPA2022-0003 were reviewed separately by the City Council at a public hearing on March 1, 2023. The City Council at the public hearing makes the recommendation to tentatively approve the General Plan amendments under consideration with the final adoption of all amendments being considered in a single resolution.
ANALYSIS:
The General Plan amendments under consideration in Cycle 1 for Year 2023 include the following:
1) GPA2022-0001 to change the General Plan land use designation of two parcels totaling 4.95 acres, located at 220 and 224 N. Sherman Avenue, from General Industrial (GI) to Light Industrial (LI).
2) GPA2022-0002 to amend the land use on various properties to allow certain residential land uses consistent with the General Plan Housing Element sites inventory and commensurate text changes to certain land use designations in the General Plan.
3) GPA2022-0003 to change the General Plan land use designation of three parcels totaling 4.92 acres located at 212 and 216 N. Smith Avenue from Light Industrial (LI) to General Industrial (GI).
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
No application fees are associated with the preparation of this resolution.
ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS:
A Notice of Exemption was prepared for GPA2022-0001 and GPA2022-0003 pursuant to Section 15061(b)(3) of the State Guidelines for the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), which states that a project is exempted from CEQA when 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 “common sense” exemption). The subject amendments is a common sense exemption because the intensity of uses allowed on-site does not change from what could be constructed today, as the existing zoning remains unchanged, and the proposal simply creates consistency between the General Plan and the zoning of the properties.
A Supplemental Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the Corona Housing Element Rezoning Program associated with GPA2022-0002 was prepared in accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) to evaluate potential environmental impacts associated with the implementation of the City of Corona General Plan Housing Element Rezoning Program Update Project. This document is prepared in conformance with CEQA (California PRC Section 21000, et seq.) and the CEQA Guidelines (California Code of Regulations [CCR], Title 14, Section 15000, et seq.). The Supplemental EIR adequately addresses impacts from minor changes to the Corona General Plan Technical Update 2020 Final EIR certified on June 3, 2020, by the City Council. As required by CEQA, the Supplemental EIR only contains information necessary to analyze the project modifications, changed circumstances, or new information that triggered the need for additional environmental review. The Supplemental EIR only contains the information necessary to make the previous EIR adequate for the project as revised. The Supplemental EIR indicated that the Housing Element Rezoning Program will not result in impacts not already identified in the Corona General Plan Technical Update 2020 Final EIR.
PREPARED BY: JOANNE COLETTA, PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR
Attachments:
1. Exhibit 1 - Resolution No. 2023-012