PLANNING AND HOUSING COMMISSION
STAFF REPORT
DATE: 11/6/2017
TO: Honorable Chair and Commissioners
FROM: Community Development Department
APPLICATION REQUEST:
Title
CUP17-004: Application for a conditional use permit to establish senior housing apartments consisting of 64 units on 2.14 acres in the R-3 (Multiple-Family Residential) Zone being proposed by CZ17-002 located on the east side of Buena Vista Avenue approximately 480 feet north of Bollero Place and north of State Route 91 (Applicant: Rowdy Williamson on behalf of Pete Nyiri).
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Recommended action
That the Planning and Housing Commission recommend adoption of the Mitigated Negative Declaration and Mitigation Monitoring Plan and Resolution No. 2506 GRANTING CUP17-004, based on the findings contained in the staff report and conditions of approval.
.PROJECT SITE SUMMARY
Area of Property: 2.14 acres
Existing Zoning: R-1-7.2 (Single Family Residential, Minimum Lot Size 7,200 square feet) and R-2 (Low Density Multi-Family Residential)
Existing General Plan: MDR (Medium Density Residential)
Existing Land Use: 797 square foot residential structure
Proposed Land Use: Senior Apartments (64 units)
Surrounding Land Uses:
N: R-2 (Low Density Multi-Family Residential) - Multi-family residential.
E: R-2 - Single family and multi-family residential.
S: R-3 (Multiple-Family Residential) - Multi-family residential.
W: R-1-7.2 (Single Family Residential, Minimum Lot Size 7,200 square feet) - Single family residential.
BACKGROUND
The applicant is proposing to develop senior citizen apartment housing that would include 64 apartment units on the project site. The project site as currently designated on the General Plan Land Use Map is Medium Density Residential (MDR) allowing a maximum density of 15 dwelling units to the acre. To accommodate for-rent apartment housing for active senior citizens, the applicant is requesting to amend the General Plan to change the current designation of MDR to High Density Residential (HDR) on the project site. The HDR designation will allow up to 36 du/ac to accommodate the 64 apartments planned for the site. The project as proposed would result in a density of 29.9 du/ac.
The conceptual plan for the proposed senior residential project was discussed at the Infrastructure Committee meeting on May 4, 2016. At that time the project featured 56 apartments in one three-story building for middle income, active senior residents. Staff explained to the Committee senior citizen apartment housing is allowed in the R-3 (Multiple-Family Residential), zone with the approval of a conditional use permit. Given the property’s current zone is R-1-7.2 (Single Family Residential, Minimum Lot Size 7,200 square feet) and the property’s current General Plan designation is MDR (Medium Density Residential), the project would require a change of zone, General Plan amendment and a conditional use permit. The Committee had no objections to the project.
In August 2016, the applicant submitted a Development Plan Review (DPR16-023) application to the city for the pre-development review of the project. In June 2017, the applicant submitted applications for a change of zone (CZ17-002), General Plan Amendment (GPA17-001), and Conditional Use Permit (CUP17-004) to the city to officially proceed with the proposed development.
On March 2, 2017, the applicant had a community meet and greet to introduce the proposed senior living apartment project. The applicant mailed notices to properties within a 500-foot radius of the project site. Approximately ten families from the surrounding area attended the event. The applicant showed the residents the proposed site plan, floor plan and elevations, and answered questions regarding the number of units, the age restriction, and if the project would be an assisted living community, etc. Additionally, letters of support from two of the three adjacent properties to the west abutting the project site located at 153 and 155 N. Buena Vista Avenue and letters of support from two adjacent properties to the east located at 820 and 826 De Anza Circle are provided as Exhibit J.
For historical purposes, the project site currently contains a 797-square foot residence built in 1957. The residence will be demolished with the construction of the senior apartment project. The subject residence is not on any historic lists. Additionally, the applicant acquired a vacant 0.24-acre property adjacent to the northeast corner of the project site located at 205 N. Buena Vista Avenue and submitted a lot line adjustment (LLA17-004) to the Public Works Department to merge the acquired lot into the project site. The lot line adjustment would add an additional 0.24 acres to the project site for an overall lot area of 2.14 acres enabling the senior apartment project to accommodate 64 units instead of the initial 56 units discussed at the Infrastructure Committee.
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
CUP17-004 is an application to establish senior citizen housing consisting of 64 apartments on 2.14 acres. The HDR designation of the General Plan allows up to 36 du/ac, but the R-3 zone allows up to 75 du/ac for senior citizen housing. The project would have a density of 29.9 du/ac which is below the maximum density allowed by both the General Plan and R-3 zone.
Site Plan
The project site is an infill property surrounded by existing residential properties. The properties to the north and east are zoned R-2 and contain single family and multiple family residential structures. The property to the south is zoned R-3 and contains multiple family residential apartments, and four residential properties to the west abutting the project site are zoned R-1-7.2 and R-2 and contain single family residences. Beyond Buena Vista Avenue, the properties are also zoned R-1-7.2 and contain single family residences.
Because of the site’s odd shape, the building is set back substantially from Buena Vista Avenue at approximately 191 feet. All 64 apartments will be housed in one three-story building in the center of the property. In accordance with the development standards of the R-3 zone, the building will have a setback distance of 62 feet and 61 feet from the R-2 zone properties located north and east respectively, which exceeds the minimum 50 foot setback requirement. The setback from the R-3 zone to the south is 60 feet exceeding the 10 foot minimum requirement. The four abutting properties to the west are zoned R-1-7.2 with one zoned R-2 which requires the building to also have a minimum setback of 50 feet from the property line. The majority of the building meets the setback requirement except for a small length of the building at the entrance. The span of the entrance in 24 feet and encroaches in the setback area by six feet. Therefore, the applicant is required to move the building outside the setback area or obtain a minor variance from the Zoning Administrator to encroach within the setback area.
The portions of the project site fronting Buena Vista Avenue are for ingress and egress and have the minimum 25 foot landscape setback from the street. The drive aisle loops to the rear of the project site and around the building with the northerly access being an exit only. The southerly access will provide both ingress and egress to and from the project site.
The project is proposed to be gated. The entrance gate located from the southerly access is set back 72 feet from Buena Vista Avenue allowing 10 parking spaces in front of the gate. The northerly access gate is set back 25 feet from Buena Vista Avenue and is exit only.
Parking
Per the Corona Municipal Code, senior citizen apartments are required to provide parking based on the city’s parking ratio of 1.5 parking spaces per unit. The project is required to provide 97 parking spaces, and 98 parking spaces are provided on-site. The parking is located along the south, east and north perimeters of the property with a landscape setback of 10 feet provided from the property lines. The parking spaces are 9’x 20’ with the main drive aisle width being 28 feet. Table A summarizes the project’s parking.
TABLE A
Parking Summary for Senior Apartment Project
|
No. of Bedrooms/Unit |
Units |
Parking Ratio |
Required Parking |
|
1 bed |
52 |
1.5 space per unit |
78 spaces |
|
2 beds |
12 |
1.5 spaces per unit |
18 spaces |
|
Office |
1 |
1 spaces per unit |
1 spaces |
|
TOTAL REQUIRED |
97 spaces |
|
TOTAL PROVIDED |
98 spaces |
Common and Private Open Space
The project is required to provide private and common open space to serve the residents of the development. Based on the requirements of the Corona Municipal Code and the 64 apartments, the project is required to have at least 9,600 square feet of common open space and at least 50 square feet of private open space in the form of a private patio or balcony for each unit. As shown in Exhibit A, the project is capable of meeting these requirements by providing 13,571 square feet of common open space and amenities which are centrally located on site. The amenities include a spa, horse shoe and bocce ball court, giant chess and checkers board, outdoor fireplace, BBQ’s, trellis cover with tables and chairs and benches. A 1,277 square foot indoor recreation room will accommodate programs and activities for the residents. Additionally, as shown on the floor plan, each unit will have a 75 square foot private balcony or patio. A floor plan for the private balcony/patio, community room and open space areas are shown in Exhibits C and G, respectively.
Landscaping
The project’s conceptual landscape plan shows 24-inch box trees along the south property line and 15 gallon trees along the remainder of the property lines (Exhibit E). Along the back side and rear property lines of 153 Buena Vista Avenue, 155 Buena Vista Avenue and 163 Buena Vista Avenue, 15 gallon Italian Cypress trees will be planted in a continuous row to create a tall green wall for the single family residences having direct view of the three story building from the rear of their property. Cypress trees, Exhibit F, are commonly used for screening along edges because of their height and dense foliage. The Cypress trees are expected to reach a height of 25 feet.
The project will also be landscaped with a variety of shrubs, ground cover and drought tolerant fescue which will be planted throughout the grounds of the development. All new landscape materials proposed for the project are required to be California-friendly, and irrigation is required to be water efficient to meet the city’s landscape design guidelines for residential projects.
Floor Plan
The three-story building will house all 64 apartments (Exhibit C). The unit mix includes 52 one bedroom units and 12 two bedroom units. The one-bedroom units are approximately 550 square feet, and the two bedroom units are approximately 654 square feet. The units meet the minimum municipal code requirement of 550 square feet for a two bedroom unit and 450 square feet for a one bedroom unit for senior citizen housing. Additionally, each unit will contain a 75 square foot private balcony, kitchen, dining room, bathroom and laundry room. The senior apartment building will also feature a 1,277 square foot community room, which will offer programs and activities for the residents, and a mail room. Each end of the building provides stairwells with an elevator located from the lobby entrance of the building and at the north wing.
The ground floor includes an indoor recreation room off the lobby for residents to congregate in addition to the outdoor living space provided for the project.
Architecture
The architecture of the building is Spanish style with stucco walls, mission style roof tiles, vinyl windows, wrought iron guard rails, fabric awnings, decorative Spanish tiles, stucco wall trim, decorative light fixtures, decorative wall trim with corbels, wood trellis and stucco accent walls (Exhibit D).
The building is proposed in an off-white color called “swiss coffee” with accent columns in a darker tan color called “almond latte” and red tile roof called “terra-cotta flashed slurry.” Accent colors include burgundy awnings, brown window trims, and dark brown wood trellis. The warm earth tone color scheme is compatible with the residential development in the surrounding area.
The three-story building is 38 feet high not exceeding the building height of 40 feet in the R-3 zone.
Perimeter Fencing
Existing perimeter block walls are located on the south and east property lines and on the west property line at 153 and 155 Buena Vista Avenue. New six foot high block walls are being proposed on the north property line and west perimeter at 163 and 205 Buena Vista Avenue. The new block wall would also be located on the south property line of 163 Buena Vista Avenue. The block wall will have a stucco finish and the interior side of the existing block walls would also be finished in stucco for consistency. The west perimeter adjacent to Buena Vista Avenue will have five-foot high tube steel fencing with pilasters. The two driveways along Buena Vista Avenue will have vehicular access gates with motion sensor operation and one pedestrian gate. The gates will also be constructed of five-foot high tubular steel. Exhibit H illustrates each of these features.
Trash Enclosures
The project is required to provide trash enclosures to serve the residents of the development. Corona Municipal Code requires a special trash pickup area of no less than six square feet for each dwelling unit. Based on the requirements of the Corona Municipal Code and the 64 units proposed, the project is required to have at least 384 square feet of trash enclosure space. As shown in Exhibit A, the project is capable of meeting these requirements by providing 440 square feet of trash enclosure space. The site plan shows six trash enclosures on the northwesterly corner of the project site. The applicant has indicated that the senior apartment complex will provide door-to-door trash pickup service for the residents, so they do not have to walk their trash to the trash enclosures. The trash enclosures will contain a trellis cover to prevent illegal dumping and will be enclosed with a stucco block wall and rollup doors. Elevation plan for the trash enclosures are shown in Exhibit H.
ACCESS AND ROADWAY IMPROVEMENTS
Driveway access into the project will be provided from the southerly driveway on Buena Vista Avenue. A secondary access is provided by the site’s northerly driveway, but is restricted to an exit only. The southerly driveway will also allow egress from the project site.
Per the city’s General Plan Circulation Element, Buena Vista Avenue is classified as a collector street. The roadway width for a collector street is 34 feet from the center of the street. Currently, Buena Vista Avenue is 30 feet wide from the center of the street; therefore, the Public Works Department is requiring the applicant to dedicate four feet along the project site’s entire frontage for future street widening. The sections of the street adjacent to the project site are currently improved with roadway pavement, curb and gutter, sidewalks and parkways.
TRAFFIC IMPACT ANALYSIS
A traffic impact analysis was prepared for the project by Linscott, Law and Greenspan to analyze potential traffic impacts associated with the project on the area traffic circulation. The 64 apartments are expected to generate 220 daily trips with approximately 13 trips in the AM peak hours and 16 trips in the PM peak hours. Three nearby street intersections, Buena Vista Avenue at Railroad Street, Buena Vista Avenue at Second Street, Buena Vista Avenue at Sixth Street, and one roadway segment, Buena Vista Avenue south of Railroad Street, was analyzed in the traffic impact analysis. The intersection at Buena Vista Avenue and Railroad Street operates at a LOS (level of service) of C during the AM and PM peak hours, which is considered to be acceptable. The intersection at Buena Vista Avenue and Second Street also operates at LOS C during the AM and PM peak hours. The intersection at Buena Vista Avenue and Sixth Street operates at LOS D during the AM peak hours and LOS C during the PM peak hours, both of which are considered to be acceptable levels of service. The one key study roadway segment (Buena Vista, south of Railroad Street along project frontage) is forecast to operate at an acceptable level of service and will not be significantly impacted based on the LOS criteria defined in the report. Therefore, all of the three key study intersections and the roadway segment are forecast to operate at acceptable levels of service during the AM and PM peak hours.
SIGNAGE
Per the Corona Municipal Code Chapter 17.74, monument signs in the R-3 zone are allowed at a ratio of one square feet per lineal foot of lot frontage, up to 24 square feet by right and 60 square feet maximum. The max height for the monument sign is six feet high provided the sign is located outside of any corner cut off areas. The applicant is proposing to construct a monument sign adjacent to Buena Vista Avenue. However, at this time the sign concept is not yet developed; only conceptual plans for the monument sign are provided. The monument sign will be subject to a separate permit from the Community Development Department and the Building Division.
ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS
Per Section 15070 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 because 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 mitigation 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 effect on the environment. The Mitigated Negative Declaration is proposed as Exhibit K.
FISCAL IMPACT
The applicant has paid all the required application processing fees.
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. As of the preparation of this report, staff has received four letters of support from the adjacent properties provided as Exhibit J.
STAFF ANALYSIS
The project has been designed to meet the development standards of the R-3 zone for senior citizen multiple family residential. The three story building is located behind existing residences and does not directly front Buena Vista Avenue. Therefore, the view of the street frontage along Buena Vista Avenue remains the same as the project would not impact the scale of the existing neighborhood. The building was also designed to have attractive architectural features resembling Spanish Mediterranean.
The site plan considers the surrounding developed properties and provides ample buffering along site perimeters that include landscaped areas with 15 gallon and 24-inch box trees. The adjacent single family residences were also given special consideration as the perimeters will be planted with Italian Cypress trees to create a green wall above the height of the block walls.
The senior housing project will have an age restriction of 55 years and older, and the applicant will be required to record an Agreement with the city and Deed Restriction on the property to restrict the apartments for senior citizens. Senior housing is considered to be an appropriate fit for the neighborhood as the level of service associated with traffic is dramatically less than compared to non age-restricted housing and the number of people living in each apartment will not exceed two.
CUP17-004 is consistent with Goal 1 of the Housing Element of the General Plan as it promotes and maintains a balance of housing types and corresponding affordability levels to provide for the community’s needs for housing within all economic segments of the city, and Policy 1.3 as the amendment provides sites for residential development so that scarcity of land does not unduly increase the cost or decrease the availability of housing for all segments of the community. The amendment is also consistent with General Plan Policy 1.8.1 to promote the conservation of existing residential neighborhoods permitting the infill of housing that is compatible in density and scale with existing uses.
FINDINGS OF APPROVAL FOR CUP17-004
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 environmental assessment identified potentially significant effects on the environment, but:
a. The project applicant has agreed to mitigate the effects to a point where it is clear that no significant effect would occur, as detailed in the initial study.
b. There is no substantial evidence before the City that the revised project may have a significant environmental effect.
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 CUP17-004 for the following reasons:
a. The proposed project will not be detrimental to the public health, safety, convenience and general welfare, and will be in harmony with the goals and policies of the City’s General Plan because the project meets the development standards of the Corona Municipal Code in terms of setbacks, parking, landscaping, and overall site design. Furthermore, the project has adequate vehicular access from Buena Vista Avenue.
b. The proposed project is not detrimental to the existing uses in the general area because the project site is capable of accommodating the proposed 64 senior citizen apartments as depicted in Exhibit A. The project also has adequate vehicular access from the adjacent street and existing infrastructure exists within the area to provide the appropriate utilities to the project site.
c. The proposed project complies with the development standards of the R-3 zone as well as other development standards required by the Corona Municipal Code. As such, the project will not be detrimental to other existing uses in the area, which consists of single family and multiple family residential.
3. The proposal is consistent with the General Plan for the following reasons:
a. The amendment is consistent with Goal 1 of the Housing Element of the General Plan as it promotes and maintains a balance of housing types and corresponding affordability levels to provide for the community’s needs for housing within all economic segments of the city.
b. The amendment is consistent with Policy 1.3 of the Housing Element of the General Plan as the amendment provides sites for residential development so that scarcity of land does not unduly increase the cost or decrease the availability of housing for all segments of the community.
c. The project is consistent with General Plan Goal 1.7 to promote residential neighborhoods that contain a diversity of housing and supporting uses to meet the needs of Corona’s residents that are designed to enhance livability and a high quality of life.
d. The project is consistent with General Plan Policy 1.8.1 to promote the conservation of existing residential neighborhoods permitting the infill of housing that is compatible in density and scale with existing uses.
4. The proposal is consistent with the R-3 Zone for the following reason:
a. The proposed project complies with the uses allowed in the R-3 zone as senior citizen apartments are permitted with a conditional use permit. Also, the project demonstrates compliance with the applicable development standards of the Corona Municipal Code to ensure orderly development of the site.
PREPARED BY: LUPITA GARCIA, ASSISTANT PLANNER
REVIEWED BY: TERRI MANUEL, PLANNING MANAGER
SUBMITTED BY: JOANNE COLETTA, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR
EXHIBITS
1. Resolution No. 2506
2. Locational and zoning map
3. Exhibit A - Site Plan
4. Exhibit B - Conditions of Approval
5. Exhibit C - Floor Plan
6. Exhibit D - Elevations
7. Exhibit E - Landscape Plans
8. Exhibit F - Example of Italian Cypress Trees
9. Exhibit G - Open Space Plans
10. Exhibit H - Trash enclosures, Monument sign, fence and wall plans
11. Exhibit I - Applicant’s letter dated June 14, 2017
12. Exhibit J - Correspondence in support of the project
13. Exhibit K - Environmental Documentation
Case Planner: Lupita Garcia (951) 736-2262