PLANNING AND HOUSING COMMISSION
STAFF REPORT
DATE: 7/8/2024
TO: Honorable Chair and Commissioners
FROM: Planning & Development Department
APPLICATION REQUEST:
Title
AHDB2023-0002: Application for a density bonus housing agreement for a 115-unit multi-family residential housing development proposed at the southwest corner of 2nd Street and Buena Vista Avenue (APNs: 118-270-051, 118-270-053 and 118-270-055). (Applicant: Second Street Housing LP, 14211 Yorba Street, Suite 200, Tustin, CA 92780).
End
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Recommended action
That the Planning and Housing Commission recommend adoption of the Mitigated Negative Declaration with Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program and APPROVAL of AHDB2023-0002 to the City Council, based on the findings contained in the staff report and conditions of approval.
Body
PROJECT SUMMARY
The applicant is requesting to build 115 multi-family residential units located at the southwest corner of Buena Vista Avenue and 2nd Street (Exhibits 1 and 2). The housing development consists of 114 affordable units and one market rate unit for the on-site manager. The project is an affordable housing development per Chapter 17.87 of the Corona Municipal Code (CMC) and State Density Bonus Law [Government Code § 65915]. Section 17.87.020 of the CMC defines an affordable unit as “a dwelling unit within a household development, which will be reserved for sale, at an affordable housing cost, or rent, at an affordable rent, to a lower income household, a very low income household, a moderate income household, or a qualifying resident pursuant to the requirements of this chapter (Chapter 17.87 of the CMC) and the State Density Bonus Law.”
The applicant has agreed to rent 114 of the units on the property to qualifying households at an affordable rent. Under the State Density Bonus Law, the development is eligible for a density bonus and/or other benefits including waivers of the City’s residential development standards established by the CMC. The applicant is required to enter into a density bonus housing agreement with the City of Corona, which is the mechanism that ensures the development remains affordable according to the density and benefits that are being granted by the City.
The applicant has filed a separate Precise Plan application, PP2023-0010, associated with this agreement. The purpose of the precise plan is to review the site plan, architecture, and other features associated with the proposed project. Details associated with PP2023-0010 are provided under a separate staff report for the Planning and Housing Commission’s consideration. The agreement must be approved in order for the precise plan to be approved.
DENSITY BONUS HOUSING AGREEMENT
The density bonus housing agreement, AHDB2023-0002, for the project is provided in Exhibit 3. The agreement outlines the requested waivers, identification of the affordable units and their household income limits, construction schedule, annual reporting and other pertinent language such as the term of the agreement, which is 55 years from the date of occupancy. The following summarizes the salient sections within the Agreement.
Affordable Units
The agreement identifies the affordable units and their household income limits, which are summarized in Table A. The units are to be leased at an affordable rent.
Table A - Unit Summary
|
Number of Units and Unit Type |
Eligible Income Group |
|
5 Studios |
Low Income |
|
14 One-Bedrooms |
Low Income |
|
37 Two-Bedrooms |
Low Income |
|
35 Three Bedrooms |
Low Income |
|
1 Studio |
Moderate Income |
|
4 One-Bedrooms |
Moderate Income |
|
9 Two-Bedrooms |
Moderate Income |
|
9 Three-Bedrooms |
Moderate Income |
|
114 Total |
|
Waivers
The project is being developed per the municipal code’s established development standards for the R-3 zone. Under the associated precise plan, the applicant is requesting the city’s approval of several waivers to reduce or modify certain residential development standards in the municipal code in order for the applicant to build the affordable housing project at the density proposed. The project’s density is 33.2 dwelling units per acre. Waivers are allowed under the State Density Bonus Law. Section 2.4 of the Agreement identifies the waivers which are summarized below.
1. Election to use the parking requirement in Government Code Section 65915(p)(3) of 161 spaces rather than CMC Section 17.76.030(A)(5) parking standards of 298 parking spaces.
2. CMC § 17.24.100 (A), regarding the minimum front yard setback requirement of 25 feet (along Buena Vista Avenue frontage), reduced to no more than 4.5 feet.
3. CMC § 17.24.100(B), regarding the minimum street side yard requirement of 15 feet, reduced to no more than 4.5 feet.
4. CMC § 17.24.100(B), regarding the minimum interior side yard setback requirement of 10 feet for a 3-story building (along the south perimeter), reduced to no more than 1 foot and 8 ¼ inches.
5. CMC § 17.24.100(B), regarding the minimum rear yard setback requirement of 10 feet (along the west perimeter), reduced to no more than 3 feet.
6. CMC § 17.76.080, regarding the minimum parking stall depth requirement of 20 feet for 90-degree spaces, reduced to a depth of no less than 17 feet, and from CMC § 17.70.070(C)(1)(c) regarding the maximum car overhang of 2.5 feet increased to 3 feet.
7. CMC § 17.76.30(A)(5) regarding parking requirement for 275 covered parking spaces, reduced to 33 covered parking spaces in private garages.
8. Government Code Section 65915(p)(3) requirement of 161 spaces, reduced to 154 spaces, inclusive of covered and uncovered guest spaces.
9. CMC § 17.24.100(C)(1)(c), regarding the minimum 40-foot courtyard requirement between Buildings 2 and 4, reduced to 15 feet, and the minimum 30-foot courtyard requirement between Buildings 1 and 4, reduced to 20 feet and the minimum 30 foot courtyard requirement between Buildings 2 and 3, reduced to 20 feet.
10. CMC Section 17.70.060(C) standard for an 8-foot-high wrought iron fence to an 8-foot high solid decorative block wall instead.
11. CMC § 17.24.150 regarding the minimum unit area of 600 square feet (exclusive of garage and porches) reduced to 588 square feet for the studio units.
Construction of Affordable Units
The agreement requires the units to be constructed, marketed and occupied in accordance with the performance schedule shown in Table B. The project must be completed within 30 months after commencement of construction.
Table B - Schedule of Performance
|
Date |
Task |
|
Day 1 |
Receipt of California Debt Limit Allocation Committee (“CDLAC”) |
|
Day 180 or 194 |
TCAC Deadline to Commence Construction and, if applicable, CDLAC Deadline to Issue Tax Issue Tax-Exempt Bonds as set forth in CDLAC Resolution Allocating Tax-Exempt Bonds to Project, as may be revised from time to time |
|
30 months after Commencement of Construction |
Completion of Construction |
Other Terms and Conditions
Other terms and conditions of the agreement include the following:
• The term of the agreement is for 55 years from project’s occupancy date.
• The City has the right to inspect the affordable units and documents.
• The agreement runs with the land for the full 55-year term of the agreement.
• The applicant is required to submit a maximum rent schedule to the Planning & Development Director for review prior to occupancy of the project, and shall provide an updated rent schedule on an annual basis on the anniversary date of the occupancy date for the first unit.
• The agreement establishes policies and criteria for tenant selection and income verification.
• The applicant is required to submit a monitoring program to the Planning & Development Director that identifies the person or entity responsible for certifying the income of qualifying households, determining affordable rent, maintaining the required number of affordable units as set forth in Section 3.3 of the Agreement, and marketing and filling vacancies in the affordable units.
ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS
Per Section 15070(b) of the State Guidelines for Implementing the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and Section 6.02 of the City’s Local Guidelines, a Mitigated Negative Declaration was prepared for the project since the Initial Study identified that the project’s potentially significant effects to the environment are capable of being mitigated to less than significant. Therefore, based on the project’s mitigation measures and mitigation monitoring and reporting program identified in the Mitigated Negative Declaration, there is no substantial evidence, in light of the whole record before the City, that the project may have a significant or potentially significant effect on the environment. The Mitigated Negative Declaration is therefore recommended for adoption (Exhibit 6).
FISCAL IMPACT
The applicant has paid the applicable application processing fees for the project.
PUBLIC NOTICE AND COMMENTS
A 20-day bilingual (English and Spanish) public notice was mailed to all property owners and occupants within a 500-foot radius of the project site, as well as advertised in the Sentinel Weekly News and posted at the project site. Additionally, the MND was electronically sent to the State Clearinghouse (SCH#2024060904). As of the preparation of this report, staff received one comment from a local resident requesting to be placed on the Project’s waiting list for future rental opportunities. No other comments on the project have been received in response to the public notice.
STAFF ANALYSIS
The affordable housing development proposed by PP2023-0010 has been reviewed against the applicable codes and requirements of the Corona Municipal Code and State Density Bonus Law. The density bonus housing agreement is necessary in order to ensure that the housing development remains affordable. The agreement addresses all of the necessary elements that are required to be addressed per Chapter 17.87 of the CMC which governs density bonus housing agreements.
The project’s density of 33.2 dua/ac is consistent with the project site’s High Density Residential designation under the General Plan, which allows multi-family residential use up to 36 du/ac. The project and agreement are consistent with several goals and policies of the General Plan pertaining to providing a balance of housing types and affordability levels to all economic segments of the City.
Therefore, the Planning and Development Department recommends approval of AHDB2023-0002 based on the findings of approval listed below and the recommended conditions of approval in Exhibit 5.
FINDINGS FOR THE APPROVAL OF AHDB2023-0002
1. An initial study (environmental assessment) has been conducted by the City of Corona so as to evaluate the potential for adverse environmental impacts. The initial study identifies potentially significant effects on the environment, but:
a. The project applicant has agreed to revise the project to avoid these significant effects or to mitigate the effects to a point where it is clear that no significant effects would occur, as reflected in the Mitigation and Monitoring Program within the Mitigated Negative Declaration and within the Conditions of Approval attached as Exhibits 6 and 5, respectively.
b. There is no substantial evidence before the City that the project may have a significant effect.
2. All the conditions necessary to granting a Density Bonus Housing Agreement as set forth in Chapter 17.87 of the Corona Municipal Code do exist in reference to AHDB2023-0002 for the following reasons:
a. The density bonus agreement is consistent with the objectives, policies, general land uses and programs specified in the General Plan because the agreement is associated with a proposed multi-family residential with a density of 33.2 du/ac, which is consistent with the HDR density range of 15-36 du/ac.
b. The density bonus agreement is for a multi-family residential use which is a permitted use in the R-3 zone, and as allowed by the state density bonus law and the density bonus agreement, certain waivers have been applied to certain development standards to support the development of affordable housing.
c. The density bonus agreement in conjunction with associated Precise Plan 2023-0010 is in conformity with the public convenience, general welfare and good land practice because the project will develop an underutilized vacant parcel, add 115 housing units to the city’s existing housing inventory, and will include public infrastructure improvements, landscaped setbacks, crosswalk enhancements and amenities for future residents.
d. The density bonus agreement will not be detrimental to the health, safety and general welfare of the community because the project site’s zoning permits the proposed multiple family use, and the project will connect to existing water, sewer and utilities located within Buena Vista Avenue and 2nd Street. Additionally, the project has been reviewed for compliance with the applicable requirements in the Corona Municipal Code including building and fire codes, and the waivers requested in the density bonus agreement have been reviewed by the applicable city departments and determined that the reduced or modified development standards will not result in an adverse impact on the public’s health, safety or the environment.
e. The density bonus agreement will not adversely affect the orderly development of the subject properties in which the project is located within or the preservation of property values because, as conditioned by the precise plan, the project is required to meet the applicable building and fire codes and construct all missing public improvements within 2nd Street and Buena Vista Avenue adjacent to the project site ensuring orderly development of the property, and the multi-family residential use is compatible with the existing surrounding multiple family developments, including the Citrus Circle apartments located to the east, Orange Grove High School to the south and the existing commercial center to the west.
f. The density bonus agreement should be approved because it supports a multi-family residential, affordable housing development that is consistent with the General Plan designation of HDR and the Housing Element according to the city’s housing sites inventory for the development of low income housing units.
PREPARED BY: ROCIO LOPEZ, CONSULTING PLANNER
REVIEWED BY: SANDRA VANIAN, PLANNING MANAGER
SUBMITTED BY: JOANNE COLETTA, PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR
EXHIBITS
1. Locational and Zoning Map
2. Site Plan
3. Density Bonus Housing Agreement
4. Applicant’s letter requesting a density bonus housing agreement
5. Conditions of Approval
6. Environmental Documentation
Case Planner: Rocio Lopez (951) 736-2293