PLANNING AND HOUSING COMMISSION STAFF REPORT
DATE: 03/11/2024
TO: Honorable Chair and Commissioners
FROM: Planning & Development Department
APPLICATION REQUEST:
Title
CUP2023-0017: Conditional Use Permit application to establish a charter school within an existing 44,800 square foot commercial building located at 2115 Compton Avenue (APN: 278-060-035) in the Commercial (C) District of the El Cerrito Specific Plan. (Applicant: River Springs Charter Schools, 2774 Jefferson Avenue, Temecula, CA 92590)
End
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Recommended action
That the Planning and Housing Commission adopt Resolution No. 2627 GRANTING CUP2023-0017, based on the findings contained in the staff report and conditions of approval, and find the project exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to CEQA Section 15301.
Body
PROJECT SITE SUMMARY
Area of Property: 2.7 acres
Existing Zoning: Commercial (C) within El Cerrito Specific Plan (SP 91-2)
Existing General Plan: GC (General Commercial)
Existing Land Use: Professional Office Building
Proposed Land Use: Charter School
Surrounding Zoning/Land Uses:
N: Commercial within El Cerrito Specific Plan / Professional Offices
E: Interstate 15
S: Commercial within El Cerrito Specific Plan / Retail
W: Commercial within Corona Vista Specific Plan / Retail
BACKGROUND
CUP2023-0017 is a conditional use permit (CUP) application by River Springs Charter Schools to establish a charter school within an existing 44,800 square foot, three-story office building located at 2115 Compton Avenue. The property is zoned Commercial per the El Cerrito Specific Plan. Currently, the Commercial District does not permit schools for general education. For the applicant to establish a school at 2115 Compton Avenue, the applicant is requesting concurrent approval of a specific plan amendment which would amend the El Cerrito Specific Plan to permit an educational school in the Commercial District by a CUP. The details of the specific plan amendment, SPA2023-0001, are provided under a separate staff report for the Planning and Housing Commission’s consideration. SPA023-0001 must be approved in order for CUP2023-0017 to be approved.
River Springs Charter School currently operates a campus at 510 W. Second Street. The school provides Transitional Kindergarten (TK) to 8th Grade education to approximately 250 students at this location. The applicant has stated to staff that the demand for the charter school at the current location exceeds the school’s capacity. Additionally, they would like to expand the school to include grades 9th through 12th. As such, the applicant would like to relocate the school to 2115 Compton Avenue which can better accommodate the school’s demand and proposed expansion.
The applicant originally submitted the CUP application to the city on September 13, 2023. The application was reviewed by city staff at the Project and Environmental Review Committee meeting of October 5, 2023. The Committee deemed the application complete in late February 2024, and the CUP application was subsequently scheduled for the March 11, 2024, Planning and Housing Commission meeting.
The applicant conducted community outreach by visiting and sharing the school’s operations with businesses within the same commercial development, which are Sherwin-Williams paint store and Amerca’s Tire on April 17, 2023. Additionally, the applicant shared the school’s operations with the store managers at Sam’s Club and Home Depot which are major retailers located to the west of the project site. Exhibit 7 is a notice of outreach submitted by the applicant.
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Site Plan
As shown on Exhibit 3, the 2.7-acre project site is located on the east side of Compton Avenue and north of Ontario Avenue. It borders Interstate 15 to the east. The site contains a three-story freestanding office building with parking spaces surrounding the building. The existing building is part of a commercial development that has reciprocal parking and driveway access on Compton Avenue with the adjacent Sherwin-Williams and America’s Tires retail buildings to the south, located at 2163 and 2187 Compton Avenue, respectively.
River Springs Charter School will occupy the entire 44,800-square-foot, three-story building. No changes are proposed to the exterior of the building. Exhibit 4 shows the existing building elevations. Interior improvements needed to accommodate the new classrooms, school’s operations and new building signage will be reviewed through the city’s building permit plan check process.
Operations
The proposed school intends to serve students ranging from Transitional Kindergarten (TK) to 12th grade. The school will operate from Monday through Friday, from 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM, which includes morning arrivals of staff and students until the departure of staff and students at the end of the after-school program. Class hours are from 8:30 AM to 3:30 PM with the after-school program ending at 6:00 PM. On an as needed basis, staff may be on site as early as 6:00 AM and stay until 6:30PM for parent-teacher conferences and after-school activities. The school does not operate on weekends or offer weekend programs.
The school operates a hybrid platform where students attend in-person classes on site three-and-a-half days a week with the remaining one-and one-half days as “Home Study Days” where students are completing personalized assignments at home. River Springs Charter School anticipates enrollment to range from 780 to 936 students for the daytime school program and 200 students for the after-school program. All activities and programs will be conducted inside the building, including lunch breaks. The applicant anticipates 68 employees to operate the school. The applicant submitted an operation plan attached as Exhibit 8.
The school does not provide a transportation program and therefore, parents will have to drop off their student(s) in the mornings and pick up their student(s) after dismissal. Exhibit 10 shows traffic/parking management guidelines which will be provided to parents at the beginning of the school year to prevent parking and queuing impacts to the surrounding properties. This is discussed further in the Access and Circulation section of this report.
Additionally, during the school’s summer break, the school will host a four-day summer camp session that will operate from Tuesday through Friday from 8:30 AM to 12:30 PM. Staff are expected to be on-site from 8:00 AM to 1:00 PM during the summer camp session.
Floor Plans
Exhibit 9 depicts the proposed floor plans, which consist of the following functions within each floor:
|
|
Classrooms/Sizes: |
Common Areas: |
Staff Areas: |
|
First Floor: |
6 Classrooms / 700-800 SF |
Lobby, Conference Room, Multi-Purpose Room (3,550 SF), Kitchen (615 SF), Restrooms |
Teacher Lounge, Offices, Nurse Stations, Storage Rooms |
|
Second Floor: |
10 Classrooms / 760-1,000 SF |
Collaborative Space (740-850 SF), Restrooms |
Offices, Storage Rooms |
|
Third Floor: |
10 Classrooms / 710-865 SF |
Collaboratory Space (1,000-1,150 SF), Conference Room (615 SF), Restrooms |
Offices, Break Room, Storage Rooms. |
The interior of the building will be remodeled to accommodate a total of 26 classrooms with a seating capacity of 30 to 36 students in each room. Additionally, each floor provides common gathering spaces; the first floor contains a multipurpose room for student assemblies, and there are designated “collaborative space” on the second and third floors for teacher-led group discussions. A kitchen equipped with refrigerators and warming ovens is located adjacent to the multipurpose room where students will take breakfast and lunch breaks.
Interior access throughout the building is provided by two elevators and a stairwell located at the center of the building. Additional stairwells are located at the north and south sides of the building.
Parking
The school, Sherwin-Williams, and America’s Tires share the onsite parking. All three uses require a combined total of 222 parking spaces based on the parking requirements in Section 17.76.030 of the Corona Municipal Code. The commercial development provides 253 parking spaces. Therefore, the site is capable of meeting the anticipated parking demands of the uses including the proposed project. The table below summarizes the sites required and provided parking.
|
Use |
Required Parking per CMC 17.76.030 |
Building Square Footage or No. of Employees and Students |
Required Spaces |
Provided Spaces |
|
Office |
1 per 250 SF |
2,260 SF |
10 spaces |
--- |
|
Elementary or Junior High School |
1 space per employee |
10 Classrooms with 2 Employees per Classroom |
20 spaces |
--- |
|
High School |
1 space per employee, plus 1 space per 1 space per 6 students |
16 Classrooms with 2 Employees per Classroom (Maximum of 36 students per class) |
32 spaces plus 96 spaces |
--- |
|
Sherwin-Williams paint store |
1 per 200 SF |
3,600 SF |
18 spaces |
--- |
|
America’s Tires |
5 spaces minimum, plus 1 space per 200 SF |
8,109 SF |
46 spaces |
--- |
|
|
|
Total: |
222 spaces |
253 spaces |
Access And Circulation
Vehicle access to the project site is provided from three existing driveways located along the east side of Compton Avenue. These three driveways are shared with the adjacent businesses through a reciprocal agreement when the commercial development was originally constructed in 2006. It should be noted that the school will utilize the two most northern driveways since these two driveways are located closest to the proposed school building.
Student drop-off will occur between 8-9 AM. The student pick-up will occur over two pick-up times in the afternoon to control onsite queuing that will be separated by 20 or 30 minutes to ensure that the initial queue has cleared. Both pick-up times will be between 3-4 PM. The student population will be split as evenly as possible for each pick-up time.
As shown on the applicant’s queueing lane diagram in Exhibit 5, student drop-off and pick-up access will start with one of the two driveways adjacent to the school building. The applicant’s traffic engineer, LOS Engineer Inc., anticipates that approximately 78 percent of vehicles will enter the driveway north of the school building, while 22 percent will enter the driveway south of the school building. Parents entering from the north driveway will be required to loop around the south parking lot before dropping the student(s) in front of the building’s main entrance which is located on the west side of the building, facing Compton Avenue. Parents entering from the south driveway will be required to loop around the south parking lot before dropping their student(s) off at the building’s main entrance.
School administrators will place temporary cones in the parking lot near the south driveway to control the flow of traffic within the parking lot and will monitor and direct the flow of traffic during drop-off and pick-up times. The project’s on-site circulation was designed by the project’s traffic engineer. The onsite circulation provides approximately 830 feet of onsite queueing to prevent vehicle spillover onto Compton Avenue. The City Traffic Engineer has reviewed and approved the applicant’s onsite circulation and queueing plan.
The school administrator will provide instructional handouts to parents on parking management, and drop-off and pick-up procedures. Parents will be instructed to avoid driving through surrounding commercial properties to get to school. Exhibit 10 shows the diagrams on advised travel routes and prohibited travel routes which are intended to prevent or minimize cut-through traffic from occurring within the Home Depot and Sams Club parking lots located to the west of the project site, on the other side of Compton Avenue. Parents will be required to sign an acknowledgement letter stating that they have received and read the school’s drop-off and pick-up procedural rules. A copy of the letter is provided as part of Exhibit 10.
ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS
Based on the project’s Traffic Impact and Vehicles Miles Traveled Analysis, prepared by LOS Engineering Inc., the school is expected to generate approximately 2,232 daily trips, with approximately 711 trips in the AM peak hour, 477 trips in the afternoon peak hour, and 153 trips in the PM peak hour. The prior office use on the property generated approximately 486 daily trips, with 68 trips in the AM peak hour and 65 trips in the PM peak hour. Compared to the prior use, the project is expected to generate 1,746 more daily trips, with 643 more daily trips in the AM peak hour and 88 more daily trips in the PM peak hour. The surrounding streets are capable of handling the net amount of traffic to be generated by the project.
LOS Engineering also analyzed the segment of California Avenue between Old Temescal Street and Ontario Avenue for level of service impacts. The project is forecast to add 1.1 percent of new traffic at this roadway segment which is insignificant. Additionally, nine street intersections were analyzed in the vicinity of the project. No signalization or other roadway improvements are warranted at any of the nine street intersections analyzed. Finally, as previously discussed, the project will provide approximately 830 feet of onsite queueing to prevent vehicle spillover onto Compton Avenue. Therefore, the project is not expected to have traffic related impacts.
The City Traffic Engineer has reviewed and approved the project’s traffic analysis as well as the project’s onsite circulation and queueing plan.
Per Section 15301 of the State Guidelines for Implementing the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and Section 3.28 of the City’s Local CEQA Guidelines, a Notice of Exemption has been prepared for the project because the project qualifies as a Class 1 (Existing Facilities) categorical exemption. The project consists of establishing an educational school within an existing commercial building, and no expansion to the existing building is proposed with this project. Approval of this project will only establish the right to operate an educational school within the existing building. The Notice of Exemption is attached as Exhibit 11.
FISCAL IMPACT
The applicant has paid the applicable application processing fees for the project.
PUBLIC NOTICE AND COMMENTS
A 10-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. As of the preparation of this report, the Planning Division staff has not received any comments from the public in response to the public notice.
STAFF ANALYSIS
The proposed school will occupy an existing commercial site that is already developed with a commercial building, onsite parking, access, and landscaping. All the necessary public infrastructure has been constructed and available at the project site. The proposed school will implement interior remodel work to achieve the needed floor plan layouts for 26 classrooms. No exterior changes to the building are proposed. The project will construct a new 216-square-foot trash enclosure adjacent to the southeast corner of the building.
Pursuant to Section 17.76.030 of the Corona Municipal Code, the site requires a total of 222 parking spaces for the proposed school and adjoining businesses. The site provides 252 parking spaces with sufficient access from Compton Avenue. School personnel will be stationed in the parking lot to direct traffic during drop-off and pick-up in order to minimize impacts to the adjacent uses.
As stated in the El Cerrito Specific Plan, the Commercial District is intended for retail and office commercial uses. The Specific Plan further provides that permitted uses shall be conducted within completely enclosed buildings in such a manner that no nuisance is created from outside the building. The applicant’s proposed school use aligns with the intent of the Commercial District as the school will operate entirely inside the building and it shares a similar weekday schedule as a typical office use.
Therefore, the Planning Division recommends approval of CUP2023-0017, based on the findings listed below and staff’s recommended conditions of approval attached as Exhibit 6.
FINDINGS OF APPROVAL FOR CUP2023-0017
1. A Notice of Exemption has been prepared pursuant to Section 15301 of the State Guidelines for CEQA because the project qualifies as a Class 1 (Existing Facilities) categorical exemption under CEQA. The project consists of the establishment and operation of an educational school serving kindergarten through 12th grade students within an existing 44,800 square-foot commercial building, and no building expansion is proposed with the project. All activities will be conducted inside the building. Therefore, there is no possibility that the proposal will have any significant effects on the environment.
2. All the conditions necessary for granting a Conditional Use Permit as set forth in Section 17.92.110 of the Corona Municipal Code do exist in reference to CUP2023-0017 for the following reasons:
a. The proposed use will not be detrimental to the public health, safety, convenience and general welfare, and is in harmony with the goals and policies of the City’s General Plan because the project will establish a school within an existing building on an already developed property that was designed to meet the applicable development standards of the El Cerrito Specific Plan. The applicant will be required to demonstrate compliance with all current building and fire codes that are applicable to the proposed education school use through the city’s plan check process. Futhremore, the proposed use is compatible with the surrounding commercial uses, and the property has adequate parking and access to meet the anticipated parking demand of the proposed use.
b. Reasonable conditions as necessary are being imposed to protect the public health, safety, and welfare and to establish full compliance with the applicable development standards of the Commercial District of the El Cerrito Specific Plan and Corona Municipal Code.
3. The proposal is consistent with the General Plan for the following reasons:
a. The proposed project contributes to the achievement of Land Use Policy LU-4.4 to promote the adaptive re-use and infill of economically underutilized, obsolete, and dilapidated commercial and industrial sites within existing urbanized areas, in consideration of the uses, scale, and character of adjoining uses. The proposed education school will occupy an existing three-story commercial office building.
b. CUP2023-0017 fulfills Land Use Policy LU-15.2 to allow for the development of new schools, parks, government, fire and police facilities, utilities, and infrastructure uses in any location of the City, regardless of the land use plan’s designation, provided the use is environmentally suitable and compatible with adjoining land uses, and adequate infrastructure can be provided. The proposed education school site has existing infrastructure, vehicle access, and complies with parking requirement for the use, its operation is contained inside the existing building and will not result in noise impact to adjacent uses.
4. The proposal is consistent with the El Cerrito Specific Plan (SP 91-2) for the following reasons:
a. The project is consistent with the Commercial District of the El Cerrito Specific Plan with respect to building setbacks, parking, landscaping and access. Additionally, the proposed use is in harmony with the other existing commercial uses and the school will operate entirely inside the existing building which is consistent with the Commercial District requirements under Section 12.8.2 of the El Cerrito Specific Plan.
PREPARED BY: EVA CHOI, SENIOR PLANNER
REVIEWED BY: SANDRA VANIAN, PLANNING MANAGER
SUBMITTED BY: JOANNE COLETTA, PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR
EXHIBITS:
1. Resolution No. 2627
2. Locational and Zoning Map
3. Site Plan
4. Existing Building Elevations
5. Queuing Lane Diagram
6. Conditions of Approval
7. Community Outreach Notice
8. Operation Plan
9. Floor Plans
10. Traffic Management Information
11. Environmental documentation