PLANNING AND HOUSING COMMISSION
STAFF REPORT
DATE: 7/6/2020
TO: Honorable Chair and Commissioners
FROM: Community Development Department
APPLICATION REQUEST:
Title
PM 37747 (CONTINUED): Parcel map application to subdivide 4.49 acres into four numbered lots for commercial purposes and two lettered lots for street dedication purposes located on the north side of Parkridge Avenue, west of Main Street in the North Main Street Specific Plan. (Applicant: Chris Costanzo, Costanzo Investments, LLC, 17 Corporate Plaza Drive, Suite 250, Newport Beach, CA 92660)
End
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Recommended action
That the Planning and Housing Commission recommend APPROVAL of PM 37747 to the City Council, based on the findings contained in the staff report and subject to the conditions of approval.
Body
PROJECT SITE SUMMARY
Area of Property: 4.49 acres (gross), 3.38 acres (net)
Existing Zoning: CR (Commercial Retail), North Main Street Specific Plan
Existing General Plan: GC (General Commercial)
Existing Land Use: Vacant
Proposed Land Use: Commercial
Surrounding Zoning/Land Uses:
N: Commercial (Gateway Specific Plan) in City of Norco / Riverside County Department of Social Services building.
E: Transitional Commercial and Mixed Use Districts (North Main Street Specific Plan) / Mobile home park and commercial center.
S: Commercial Retail District (North Main Street Specific Plan) / Taqueria drive-through restaurant.
W: Commercial Retail District (North Main Street Specific Plan) / Commercial center.
BACKGROUND
The project site is a vacant 4.49-acre property located on the west side of Main Street and north of Parkridge Avenue and borders the City of Norco to the northwest. The site is zoned Commercial Retail (CR) under the North Main Street Specific Plan and has a General Plan designation of General Commercial (GC). The surrounding land uses are primarily commercial and office.
Parcel Map 37747 proposes to subdivide the project site into four parcels to accommodate the construction of four buildings for an express carwash, a standalone drive-through restaurant, and a multi-tenant building containing a drive-through restaurant and a separate space for another restaurant. The buildings total 12,539 square feet. The carwash and standalone drive-through restaurant will be occupied by Quick Quack and Raising Cane’s, respectively. The drive-through restaurant within the multi-tenant building will be occupied by The Habit. A tenant has not been identified for the additional tenant space. All four tenants will share 108 parking spaces and have reciprocal access from Main Street and Parkridge Avenue. The applicant’s site plan for the development is attached as Exhibit C.
Drive-through service establishments require a conditional use permit by the North Main Street Specific Plan. The conditional use permits being processed on the project site are CUP2019-0006 (Quick Quack), CUP2019-0007 (Raising Cane’s), and CUP2019-0008 (The Habit). The separate tenant space adjacent to The Habit is also being reviewed under CUP2019-0008. The applicant is requesting concurrent approvals of all three CUP applications in addition to PM 37747.
The project was initially reviewed by city staff through the Development Plan Review process on June 27, 2019. The applicant formally submitted the parcel map, precise plan, and the conditional use permit applications to the city on August 15, 2019. The applicant was issued an application incomplete letter due to missing or incomplete application items. The applicant over time submitted the required application materials to staff with the applications finally considered complete on December 10, 2019, and initially scheduled for public hearing before the Planning and Housing Commission on January 6, 2020. However, the applicant requested that the public hearings for the applications be continued to the January 21 and subsequently February 10, 2020. The applications were eventually continued off calendar before being re-advertised and rescheduled for the July 6, 2020 public hearing.
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Parcel Map 37747 proposes to subdivide 4.49 acres into four numbered lots and two lettered lots. Each numbered lot will accommodate a commercial use as shown in Table 1 below. Although The Habit and the adjacent tenant space are proposed within a multi-tenant building, each suite is proposed on its own parcel. All four lots will also contain portions of the 25-foot wide drive aisles and parking spaces which will be shared among the tenants. Lots A and B will be dedicated to Main Street and Parkridge Avenue, respectively, for right-of-way purposes. The parcels are being created under the development standards of the CR designation. No minimum lot area, width, or depth requirement is prescribed for newly created commercial lots in the CR designation. Table 1 summarizes the lot information for this subdivision.
Table 1
Parcel Summary
|
Parcel No. / Lot Letter |
Acreage |
Use |
|
Parcel 1 |
1.29 |
3,761 sqft drive-through restaurant / Raising Cane’s |
|
Parcel 2 |
0.54 |
2,650 sqft drive-through restaurant / The Habit |
|
Parcel 3 |
0.98 |
3,596 sqft carwash / Quick Quack |
|
Parcel 4 |
0.57 |
2,532 sqft / Restaurant |
|
Lot A |
0.73 |
Main Street Dedication |
|
Lot B |
0.38 |
Parkridge Avenue Dedication |
|
Total |
4.49 |
|
EASEMENTS
The proposed project accommodates a number of easements for utilities, sewer, access, and public landscaping. The main internal circulation is contained within a 30-foot wide easement that is shared for ingress, egress, drainage, and public utilities. Sewer is also included within the easement. Due to downstream elevation and capacity constraints, the City of Norco has agreed to provide sewer service to the development. The development is designed to discharge into the City of Norco’s sewer system via an 8-inch sewer line which will extend from the property to Main Street and connect to an existing sewer line in Hamner Avenue within the City of Norco.
An easement containing a small landscape area is proposed at the northerly corner of the development which will be maintained by the city’s Community Facilities District CFD 2011-1. The easement is being established in case there is any future potential for the installation of a gateway monument in accordance with the streetscape plan for North Main Street. The area will be landscaped and maintained by the city until such time the entry monument would be designed and constructed by the city.
The site contains several existing easements which will be protected in place. These include the following:
• A 20-foot wide storm drain crosses the northern corner of the property which contains a storm drain owned by the Riverside County Flood Control & Water Conservation District.
• An existing 10-foot wide Southern California Edison (SCE) utility easement containing existing power poles is located along the property’s Parkridge frontage. The power poles within this easement contain low voltage powerlines which the Public Works Department is requiring to be placed underground within the existing easement.
• An existing 30-foot wide SCE utility easement is located along the northwest perimeter of the property (bordering City of Norco). This easement is also where Cota Street was previously vacated. The easement contains four existing SCE power poles that have high voltage powerlines. Due to the costs and complexity of undergrounding the powerlines within this easement, the developer will be seeking a waiver from the city to allow the power poles to remain in their existing locations. The waiver will be processed separately from the entitlements and will require City Council approval. The developer will be providing two points of vehicular access through the project site to SCE personnel for maintenance of the power poles. As shown by the applicant’s preliminary utility plan in Exhibit E, one access is located at the north corner of the property and will allow for SCE personnel to access and exit the easement from Main Street. The other access is located at the westerly corner of the property and will allow SCE personnel to enter the easement from Parkridge Avenue and exit into the parking lot within Parcel 4. All access points will be gated.
The most westerly power pole nearest to Parkridge Avenue currently sits within the public right-of-way where a six-foot wide sidewalk was originally planned for construction. To remedy this situation, the developer will be relocating the sidewalk around the power pole. In addition, the existing topography at this corner of the site necessitates the construction of an approximately 5-foot high retaining wall between the power pole and sidewalk. The retaining wall is required to be constructed of decorative masonry, treated with anti-graffiti spray, and include a minimum 3-foot high protective guardrail on top.
ACCESS AND PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS
Main Street and Parkridge Avenue will provide vehicular access to the project site via a 30-foot wide driveway proposed at each street frontage. Both driveways will have full turn-movements from the streets. Main Street has a two-way left-turn center lane that will allow for left turns in and out of the project site. Parkridge Avenue will be restriped to include a left-turn pocket in the center lane in front of the project driveway to allow for left turns into the project site. Left turns out of the project site will also be allowed on Parkridge Avenue.
The internal circulation consists of a 30-foot wide access easement that is proposed over portions of Parcels 1, 2, and 3. Access to Parcel 4 is through Parcel 2 via a 25-foot wide access easement.
The section of Main Street along the project frontage is required to be widened by 20 feet to have an overall right-of-way width of 100 feet which shall include 80 feet of paved roadway from curb to curb. This widening will allow for the construction of a third southbound lane on Main Street as this section of the street currently has only two southbound lanes. Also, the applicant is responsible for constructing the missing public improvements along the west half of Main Street adjacent to the project site. The required improvements include approximately 16 feet of paved roadway, curb and gutter, and a 10-foot wide parkway which includes a 6-foot wide sidewalk and tree wells.
The section of Parkridge Avenue along the project frontage is required to be widened by 14 feet to have an overall right-of-way width of 88 feet which shall include 64 feet of paved roadway from curb to curb. This widening will allow for the construction of an additional westbound lane on Parkridge Avenue as this section of the street currently has only one westbound lane. The applicant is also responsible for constructing the missing public improvements along the north half of Parkridge Avenue adjacent to the project site. The required improvements include 23 feet of paved roadway, curb and gutter, and a 12-foot wide landscape parkway which includes a 6-foot wide sidewalk.
Additionally, the applicant will be required to repave portions of Main Street to the satisfaction of the Public Works Department where trenching will occur for the installation of the 8-inch sewer line and water line within Main Street per Exhibit F.
Also, several left-turn pockets at the intersections of Parkridge Avenue/Cota Street and Parkridge Avenue/Main Street will need to be lengthened to accommodate more vehicle stacking space. These improvements are described in further detail under the Traffic Impact Study section below.
TRAFFIC IMPACT STUDY
A Traffic Impact Study (TIS) was prepared for the project by LSA Associates (June 2020) to analyze the project’s potential traffic impacts in terms of level of service (LOS), on-site circulation, and queuing capacity for the facilities with drive-through lanes. The TIS is attached as Exhibit G for reference.
The project was exempted from performing a Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) analysis because the project is considered a local-serving retail project that has less than 50,000 square feet of total building area.
Per the TIA, the project is anticipated to generate 2,356 total daily vehicle trips, with 40 total trips in the A.M. peak hour and 189 total trips in the P.M. peak hour. Four intersections and five roadway segments were analyzed:
Intersections
1. Parkridge Avenue/Cota Street
2. Project Driveway 1 on Parkridge Avenue
3. Hamner Avenue/Hidden Valley Parkway (City of Norco)
4. Project Driveway 2 on Main Street
5. Main Street/Parkridge Avenue
Roadway Segments
1. Parkridge Avenue between Cota Street and Project Driveway 1
2. Parkridge Avenue between Project Driveway and Main Street
3. Main Street between Hidden Valley Parkway and Project Driveway 2
4. Main Street between Project Driveway 2 and Parkridge Avenue.
All intersections and roadway segments analyzed in the study are expected to operate at a satisfactory Level of Service (LOS) D or above at the time the project is in operation which is anticipated to be year 2021. The City of Corona considers collector, secondary, and major arterials that operate at LOS D or above as acceptable. The analysis took into consideration the roadway improvements that will be completed as part of the project including the widening of Main and Parkridge adjacent to the project site. Therefore, the project will not result in impacts to the level of service in the surrounding roadways.
The left-turn pockets at the Main/Parkridge and Parkridge/Cota intersections were analyzed for vehicle storage capacity. The westbound and eastbound left-turn pockets on Parkridge at Main Street and the southbound left-turn pocket on Main Street at Parkridge Avenue are expected to exceed the available vehicle storage lengths under existing and project opening conditions. This means insufficient queuing capacity at the intersections is expected to occur in the future whether the project site is developed or not. In other words, the impacts are cumulative and not a project-specific impact. Therefore, the left-turn pockets need to be lengthened as shown by the project’s restriping plan in Exhibit H. The striping plan also depicts an additional lane on Main Street and an additional lane on Parkridge Avenue adjacent to the site which are the result of the required widening of both streets adjacent to the site. All of the required street improvements are summarized below.
Cota Street & Parkridge Avenue
• The westbound lanes on Parkridge Avenue at Cota Street will be restriped to allow for one dedicated left-turn lane and two through lanes. (The additional westbound lane on Parkridge Avenue is afforded by the required widening of Parkridge Avenue adjacent to the project site.)
• The center lane on Parkridge Avenue will be restriped to include a left-turn pocket in front of the project driveway to allow for left turns into the project site.
Main Street & Parkridge Avenue
• The section of Main Street adjacent to the project site will be restriped to allow for one additional southbound through lane. (This is afforded by the required widening of Main Street adjacent to the project site.)
• The southbound left-turn pocket on Main Street at Parkridge Avenue is being increased from 105 feet to 220 feet in length to accommodate more stacking of vehicles.
• The eastbound left-turn pocket on Parkridge Avenue at Main Street will be increased from 85 feet to 230 feet in length to accommodate more stacking of vehicles.
• The westbound left-turn pocket on Parkridge Avenue at Main Street will be increased from 90 feet to 115 feet in length to accommodate more stacking of vehicles.
• The northbound right-turn lane located on the south side of the Main and Parkridge intersection will be restriped to become a through lane.
ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS:
Per Section § 15183 of the State California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines, a project which is a consistent with the development density established by existing zoning, community plan or general plan policies for which an EIR was certified shall not require additional environmental review, except as might be necessary to examine whether there are project specific significant effects which are peculiar to the project or its site. The project site is part of the North Main Street Specific Plan in which an EIR was certified by the City Council on January 5, 2000 for the North Main Street District Specific Plan and Corona Entertainment Center. The North Main Street Specific Plan designated the project site Commercial Retail and the General Plan designation was General Commercial at the time the EIR was certified.
Subsequently, an amendment to the North Main Street Specific Plan was approved to change certain land uses within the specific plan to accommodate Urban Density Residential Development and Mixed Use (residential/commercial) land uses on certain properties. An EIR for the North Main Street Specific Plan Amendment was prepared and certified by the City on November 5, 2008. The project site at the time was designated Commercial Retail by the specific plan and General Commercial by the General Plan.
The current proposal does not change the analysis that was considered under the previously certified North Main Street District Specific Plan and Corona Entertainment Center EIR and North Main Street Specific Plan Amendment EIR because the current proposal intends to develop the project site for commercial purposes which is consistent with the Commercial Retail zoning of the project site.
Furthermore, the project is categorically exempted from CEQA because it qualifies as a Class 32 Infill Development project under Section 15332 of the CEQA Guidelines. The project is consistent with the project site’s General Commercial designation and zoning. The project site is less than five acres and has no value as habitat for endangered, threaten, or rare species. Approval of the project would not result in any significant impacts relating to traffic, air, water quality, and noise, and the site can be adequately served by all required utilities and public services. Therefore, a Notice of Exemption was prepared which is attached as Exhibit J.
FISCAL IMPACT
The applicant paid $6,475.00 in application processing fees.
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 Community Development Department staff has not received any response from the public.
STAFF ANALYSIS
The proposed parcel map facilitates the development of commercial uses on the subject property which is consistent with the property’s Commercial Retail zoning and General Plan designation of General Commercial. The parcels are provided with adequate vehicular access to the site from Main Street and Parkridge Avenue. The parcel map generates necessary roadway improvements in the area and guarantees the construction of all missing public improvements including the completion of roadways, curb and gutter, sidewalks, and parkway landscaping adjacent to the project site.
The project contributes to the city’s fiscal viability by providing a diversified local business base which fulfills General Plan Economic Development Policies 4.1, 4.2 and 4.4. The project also contributes to the continued revitalization of the North Main Street corridor to meet the needs of the residents within this area which complies with General Plan Land Use Policies 18.1 through 18.3. Therefore, based on the following findings and conditions of approval, PM 37747 is recommended for approval.
FINDINGS OF APPROVAL FOR PM 37747
1. Per Section § 15183 of the State CEQA Guidelines, a project which is a consistent with the development density established by existing zoning, community plan or general plan policies for which an EIR was certified shall not be required additional environmental review, except as might be necessary to examine whether there are project specific significant effects which are peculiar to the project or its site. The project site is part of the North Main Street Specific Plan in which an EIR was certified by the City Council on January 5, 2000 for the North Main Street District Specific Plan and Corona Entertainment Center. The North Main Street Specific Plan designated the project site Commercial Retail and the General Plan designation was General Commercial at the time the EIR was certified.
Subsequently, an amendment to the North Main Street Specific Plan was approved to change certain land uses within the specific plan to accommodate Urban Density Residential Development and Mixed Use (residential/commercial) land uses on certain properties. An EIR for the North Main Street Specific Plan Amendment was prepared and certified by the City on November 5, 2008. The project site at the time was designated Commercial Retail by the specific plan and General Commercial by the General Plan.
Furthermore, the project is categorically exempted from CEQA because it qualifies as a Class 32 Infill Development project under Section 15332 of the CEQA Guidelines. The project is consistent with the project site’s General Commercial designation and zoning. The project site is less than five acres and has no value as habitat for endangered, threaten, or rare species. Approval of the project would not result in any significant impacts relating to traffic, air, water quality, and noise, and the site can be adequately served by all required utilities and public services.
2. Pursuant to California Government Code Section 66411.1 this division of land necessitates the inclusion of the Conditions of Approval attached as Exhibit B for the following reasons:
a. The guarantee of the construction of improvements for Main Street and Parkridge Avenue is necessary for the public's safe access to and around the site.
b. The improvement of Main Street and Parkridge Avenue is necessary for the orderly development of the surrounding areas and to ensure the general safety and welfare of the public. Each site must contribute to the improvements so that further development would not be detrimental to the public.
3. None of the conditions provided in Section 66474 of the California Government Code exist for the following reasons:
a. The proposed map is consistent with the General Plan designation of General Commercial because it facilitates the development of the subject site for commercial purposes.
b. The design or improvement of the proposed subdivision is consistent with the subdivision standards prescribed by the North Main Street Specific Plan for the Commercial Retail zone.
c. The site is suitable for the type of development proposed and offers adequate access from Parkridge Avenue and North Main Street as demonstrated by the project’s site plan attached as Exhibits A and C of PM 37747.
d. The site is physically suitable for the development of two standalone and one multi-tenant commercial buildings that include drive-through services which are capable of meeting the development standards required by the Commercial Retail District of the North Main Street Specific Plan as demonstrated by the project’s site attached as Exhibit C of PM 37747.
e. The design of the subdivision or the proposed improvements is not likely to cause substantial environmental damage or substantially injure fish or wildlife or their habitat because the proposed commercial land use was already analyzed in the North Main Street District Specific Plan and Corona Entertainment Center EIR.
f. The proposed subdivision will not result in adverse impact to public health, safety or general welfare because, as demonstrated by Exhibit C, the project adheres to the development standards of the zone in which it is located promoting orderly development of the project site and the improvements associated with the project adhere to city standards.
g. The design of the subdivision or the type of improvements will not conflict with easements, acquired by the public at large, for access through or use of, property within the proposed subdivision because no such easements exist on the project site, or the easements are being protected in place or relocated elsewhere on the project site.
4. Pursuant to California Government Code Section 66464.6, the discharge of waste from the proposed subdivision into existing community sewers would not result in violation of existing requirements presented by the Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board pursuant to Division 7 (commencing with Section 13000) of the Water Code for the following reason:
a. The amount of discharge to be produced by the development does not exceed the limit established by the Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board as monitored by the City of Corona’s Department of Water and Power.
5. The proposal is in conformance with the standards of the Commercial Retail designation of the North Main Street Specific Plan for the following reason:
a. Each parcel meets the minimum required lot area, width, depth and access requirements under the Corona Municipal Code.
PREPARED BY: SANDRA YANG, SENIOR PLANNER
SUBMITTED BY: JOANNE COLETTA, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR
EXHIBITS
1. Locational and Zoning Map
2. Exhibit A - Parcel Map 37747
3. Exhibit B - Conditions of Approval
4. Exhibit C - Site Plan
5. Exhibit D - Preliminary Grading Plan
6. Exhibit E - Preliminary Utility Plan
7. Exhibit F - North Main Street Retail - Improvement Plan
8. Exhibit G - Traffic Impact Study
9. Exhibit H - Striping Plan
10. Exhibit I - Applicant’s letter dated September 27, 2019
11. Exhibit J - Environmental Documentation
Case Planner: Sandra Yang (951) 736-2262