PLANNING AND HOUSING COMMISSION STAFF REPORT
DATE: 2/12/2024
TO: Honorable Chair and Commissioners
FROM: Planning & Development Department
APPLICATION REQUEST:
Title
SPA2023-0004: Specific Plan Amendment to the Mountain Gate Specific Plan (SP-89-01) to change the land use of 5.15 acres located at 430 W. Foothill Parkway from Commercial (C) to Senior Citizen Residential (SCR) and establish commensurate development standards for the SCR designation (APNs 114-070-020, 114-070-021 and 114-070-022). (Applicant: O & I Development, 3 Park Plaza, Suite 1920, Irvine, CA 92614).
End
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Recommended action
That the Planning and Housing Commission recommend adoption of the Mitigated Negative Declaration with Mitigation Monitoring Plan and APPROVAL of SPA2023-0004 to the City Council, based on the findings contained in the staff report and conditions of approval.
Body
PROJECT SITE SUMMARY
Area of Property: 5.15 acres
Existing Zoning: C (Commercial) within both the Mountain Gate Specific Plan (SP-89-01) and the South Corona Community Facilities Plan (SCCFP)
Existing General Plan: General Commercial
Existing Land Use: Vacant Land
Proposed Land Use: Senior Assisted Living Facility
Surrounding Zoning/Land Uses:
N: R-1-9.6 (Single Family Residential) / Single Family Residential
E: C (Commercial) / Commercial Shopping Center
S: P (Park) / Mountain Gate Community Park
W: P (Park) / Corona Heritage Park and Museum
BACKGROUND
Applicant’s Request
O & I Development (Applicant) has submitted a Specific Plan Amendment (SPA2023-0004) application to the Mountain Gate Specific Plan to change the land use designation of 5.15 acres located at 430 W. Foothill Parkway from Commercial (C) to Senior Citizen Residential (SCR). The applicant is also proposing commensurate development standards to support the SCR designation.
The applicant manages a portfolio of communities under the Oakmont Senior Living and Ivy Living brands. Oakmont is an owner, operator and developer in senior housing. Oakmont currently serves over 8,000 seniors across approximately 90 communities in California, Hawaii, and Nevada.
The applicant has submitted the following applications in connection with SPA2023-0004:
1. GPA2023-0002: General Plan Amendment to change the land use designation of the project site from General Commercial (GC) to High Density Residential (HDR: 15-36 du/ac, and up to 75 du/ac for senior units).
2. CFPA2023-0001: Community Facilities Plan Amendment to the South Corona Community Facilities Plan to change the land use designation of the project site from Commercial (C) to Senior Citizen Residential (SCR, maximum target density of 40.5 du/ac).
3. PP2023-0006: Precise Plan to review the site plan, architecture, landscaping and design features of an assisted senior living facility consisting of 107 units.
Details associated with the abovementioned applications are provided under separate staff reports for the Planning and Housing Commission’s consideration.
Project Site
The subject property is comprised of three vacant parcels located to the immediate west of the existing Albertsons commercial shopping center. On July 15, 1998, the City Council approved Precise Plan 97-6 (PP97-06) for the development of a 153,000-square-foot commercial shopping center consisting of 9 buildings on a total of 15 acres, which included the three parcels associated with the project site. The three subject parcels were intended to be developed as the second phase of the shopping center; however, the market has not supported additional commercial uses on the remaining five acres. Over the years, the property has been considered for other uses such as a tire shop and townhouses. However, those uses were not considered the best use for the property. The applicant will be processing a lot line adjustment to not only merge the three parcels required for the development of the entire property but also to remove a portion of the shopping center’s parking lot from the project site.
The project site is an infill property surrounded by existing single family residential development to the north of Foothill Parkway and to the southwest of the site; commercial development to the immediate east; Mountain Gate Park to the south and the Corona Heritage Park and Museum to the immediate west (Exhibit 1). The applicant proposes to develop a two-story senior assisted living facility consisting of 107 units within a 109,551 square-foot building. The project proposes a density of 20.7 dwelling units per acre (du/ac), which is within the density range of 15 to 36 du/ac, and below the maximum density of 75 du/ac for senior housing allowed by the General Plan HDR land use designation.
The project was initially reviewed by the Development Plan Review (DPR) Committee on June 15, 2023. The applicant formally submitted the Specific Plan Amendment (SPA) application and the abovementioned applications to the city on August 16, 2023. The applications were reviewed by the Project and Environmental Review Committee (PRC) on September 7, 2023. Missing and revised items were subsequently submitted, and the applications were deemed complete on January 16, 2024, and scheduled for the Planning and Housing Commission meeting of February 12, 2024.
CODE REQUIREMENTS
The authority for amending a specific plan is embodied in Section 65453 of the California Government Code, Corona Municipal Code Chapter 17.53, and the Mountain Gate Specific Plan Section 11.3.
An amendment to the Mountain Gate Specific Plan may be accomplished by ordinance of the City Council, based upon the criteria outlined in Chapter 17.53 of the Corona Municipal Code. The Planning & Housing Commission is required by California law to review the specific plan amendment, and to make a recommendation to the City Council. To recommend approval, the Commission must have an affirmative vote by no less than three (3) of its members.
PROPOSED SPECIFIC PLAN AMENDMENT
SPA2023-0004 will change the land use designation of 5.15 acres located at 430 W. Foothill Parkway from C to SCR. The amendment also includes the establishment of commensurate development standards supporting the SCR land use designation. The change to the land use map of the Mountain Gate Specific Plan is provided in Exhibit 2. The commensurate development standards for the SCR designation as well as other miscellaneous amendments to the table and graphics in the specific plan are provided in Exhibit 5. Deleted text is shown in red with a strikethrough; and added text is shown in blue and underlined.
The SCR development standards will be added as a new section to Chapter 9.0. The development standards refer to the development standards of the R-3 (Multiple Family Residential) zone within the Corona Municipal Code, except as follows: parking lot setback along Mountain Gate Drive; reduced side yard landscaping; uncovered parking; minimum dwelling unit area; and signage deviations.
The SCR designation would allow only one permitted land use, which is multiple family dwellings for senior citizen assisted living (including memory care) and independent living, restricted to persons 55 years of age or older.
Additionally, the amendment would allow a maximum density of 40.5 du/ac, which is consistent with the maximum density allowed by the SCR designation of the South Corona Community Facilities Plan (SCCFP), which is also proposed on the project site per CFPA2023-0001.
DEPARTMENTAL, AGENCY AND PUBLIC COMMENTS
Staff circulated this application to internal Departments and Departmental Divisions, as well as external agencies, allowing each entity the opportunity to review the application and determine any impacts of the proposed application relative to their services. Comments from these agencies have been considered and incorporated into the SPA2023-0004 Conditions of Approval, provided in Exhibit 6.
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 (MND), 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 8).
FISCAL IMPACT
The applicant has paid the applicable application processing fees for SPA2023-0004.
PUBLIC NOTICE AND COMMENTS
A 20-day public notice was mailed to all property owners 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#2024010527). As of the preparation of this report, staff has not received any comments on the project in response to the public notice.
STAFF ANALYSIS:
SPA2023-0004 meets the criteria for amendments specified in the Mountain Gate Specific Plan and is consistent with the Plan’s various goals to 1) encourage the development of housing to satisfy the shelter and home environment needs of existing and future Corona residents; 2) develop neighborhoods properly related to essential community services; and 3) maintain high quality development standards for residential land development to ensure the establishment of neighborhoods with lasting value.
SPA2023-0004 also preserves and maintains an adequate level of public services, utilities, and infrastructure and maintains an appropriate relationship between land uses within and adjacent to the Mountain Gate Specific Plan area by providing a transition between the single-family subdivisions to the north and southwest, the park sites to the west and south, and the commercial land uses to the immediate east of the subject site. Additionally, SPA2023-0004 will establish a new SCR land use designation which will help promote specialized housing for senior citizen housing within the Mountain Gate Specific Plan and in the city.
The Planning and Development Department, therefore, recommends approval of SPA2023-0004 based on the findings of approval listed below and the recommended conditions of approval in Exhibit 6.
FINDINGS OF APPROVAL FOR SPA2023-0004
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 8.
b. There is no substantial evidence before the City that the revised project may have a significant effect.
2. The criteria necessary in recommending approval of a specific plan amendment as set forth in Section 17.53.090 of the Corona Municipal Code do exist in reference to SPA2023-0004 for the following reasons:
a. The plan systematically implements and is consistent with the General Plan because the amendment implements Land Use Policy LU-7.1 as it accommodates the development of a diversity of residential housing types that meet the needs of Corona’s population in accordance with the Land Use Plan’s designations, applicable density standards and design and development policies.
b. The Plan provides for the development of a comprehensively planned project that would require future development to adhere to the development standards proposed for the SCR designation to ensure orderly development of the site so that impacts to other properties in the area are minimized.
c. The Plan provides for the construction, improvement, or extension of transportation facilities, public utilities and public services required by the long-term needs of the project and complements the orderly development of the City beyond the project's boundaries because the amendment establishes development standards, including on-site parking requirements for multiple-family residential, that would minimize or prevent the impacts of development from encroaching into other areas or properties.
d. The Plan provides for the appropriate orientation and relationship between land use within and adjacent to the project because the SCR designation proposed by the amendment specifically supports senior housing in an area that includes other residential uses, parks and commercial services, and development according to the SCR designation will be solely contained on the project site.
3. The criteria necessary in recommending approval of a specific plan amendment as set forth in Section 11.3 of the Mountain Gate Specific Plan (SP89-1) do exist in reference to SPA2023-0004 for the following reasons:
a. The amendment is consistent with the City of Corona General Plan because the SCR land use designation is consistent with the High Density Residential (HDR) land use designation of the General Plan as amended by GPA2023-0002 because this land use is intended for a high density residential within a residential density range of 15 to 36 du/ac, and up to 75 du/ac for senior citizen housing and the SCR designation allows a maximum density of 40.5 du/ac.
b. The amendment is consistent with the South Corona Community Facilities Plan as amended by CFPA2023-0001 as the SCR land use designation maintains the maximum density of 40.5 du/ac allowed by SCR land use designation of the South Corona CFP.
c. The amendment is consistent with the intent of the Mountain Gate Specific Plan because it specifically provides a residential land use for senior housing which complements the other residential land uses allowed by the specific plan and the nonresidential land uses, such as parks and commercial services that are normally in residential communities.
d. The amendment is consistent with the village concept because the architectural design guidelines for residential development are being carried forward to ensure the diversity and quality of architecture in the residential neighborhoods, and the development standards for the SCR designation provide for adequate building setbacks and on-site landscaping to enhance the onsite design of future development.
e. Adequate circulation to and from and within the area is maintained because access to the project site will continue to come from West Foothill Parkway, a four-lane secondary arterial street.
f. The amendment does not change the public services and infrastructure already provided to the area because urban land uses already exist adjacent to and around the project site and the specific plan’s land use plan shows that the development of the project site is imminent.
g. The public and private open space system is neither disrupted nor depleted because the project site is not designated for open space and will not remove parkland already developed within the specific plan.
PREPARED BY: ROCIO LOPEZ, CONSULTING PLANNER
REVIEWED BY: EVA CHOI, SENIOR PLANNER
REVIEWED BY: SANDRA VANIAN, PLANNING MANAGER
SUBMITTED BY: JOANNE COLETTA, PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR
EXHIBITS
1. Locational and Zoning Map
2. Existing & Proposed Mountain Gate Land Use Map
3. Project Boundary, Vicinity Map & Parcel Exhibit
4. Legal description of the Specific Plan Amendment site
5. Proposed MGSP Amendment
6. Conditions of Approval
7. Applicant’s letter dated January 4, 2024, explaining Specific Plan amendment request.
8. Environmental Documentation
9. Photographs of the site
Case Planner: Rocio Lopez (951) 736-2293