AGENDA REPORT
REQUEST FOR CITY COUNCIL ACTION
DATE: 12/10/2018
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
FROM: Community Development Department
SUBJECT:
Title
City Council consideration of CUP17-002, a Conditional Use Permit application to establish a 2.5 million-gallon potable water reservoir on 0.90-acres located at 3985 Nelson Street in the R-1A (Single-Family Residential, 40,000 square-foot minimum lot size) Zone. (Applicant: City of Corona, Department of Water and Power)
End
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Recommended action
That the City Council:
1. Take no action, thereby affirming the Planning and Housing Commission's action granting CUP17-002, based on the findings contained in the staff report and conditions of approval.
-OR-
2. Set the item for review at a subsequent meeting.
Body
ANALYSIS:
Conditional Use Permit 17-002 is an application by the city's Department of Water and Power to construct a 2.5 million-gallon water reservoir on 0.90 acres located at 3985 Nelson Street. The project is necessary to help upgrade the city's basic infrastructure and stay in pace with the city's growth. The reservoir will provide operational, emergency and fire flow storage of 2.5 million-gallons of potable water to the city's Zone 4 1220' Hydraulic Grade Line (HGL) pressure zone. Additionally, the storage tank will help alleviate the additional storage required for the Arantine Hills community approved by the City Council in 2012, and alleviate the predicted future deficiency of five million gallons for the 1220-Zone storage in the year 2020 as shown in the City's 2005 Water Master Plan. The developer of the Arantine Hills community is responsible for paying 43.2 percent of the total cost of the reservoir.
The project site is located in a residential area and is currently undeveloped. To the west of the site is Nelson Street with single-family residences beyond. To the north is Keith Street with undeveloped land located beyond. To the east are undeveloped land and single-family residences, and to the south is an undeveloped hillside with single-family residences.
The proposed water tank is centrally located on the project site. The reservoir tank is proposed to be setback 56 feet from the north property line, 33 feet from the south property line, and 27 feet from both the west and east property lines. The reservoir tank complies with the minimum setback requirements prescribed by the R-1A Zone which are 25 feet from the front (north) property line, 10 feet from the east side property line, 15 feet from the west street side property line, and 10 feet from the rear (south) property line. The large lot configuration of the site and surrounding streets and properties allow for a physical separation between the water reservoir and the residential properties.
The reservoir's associated equipment to control filling of the tank will be placed below ground in an open vault located at the northwest corner of the site. Three bioretention basins will be provided on-site that will collect water run-off from the concrete drainage swales that surrounds the reservoir and paved areas.
In consideration of the rural residential nature of the surrounding properties, the city has designed the water reservoir in a manner that is visually sensitive. The reservoir will have a total depth (height) of 33 feet. The reservoir will be partially placed underground and will have an exposed height of 19 feet on the south and east sides, 23 feet on west side, and 28 feet on the north side. The tank will require a four-foot tall retaining wall that extends approximately 70 feet along the northern perimeter of the tank. The on-site landscaping will consist of trees and shrubs to further buffer the view of the reservoir. The Planning Commission at its meeting on November 13, 2018, added a condition of approval requiring the on-site trees to be a minimum of 36-inch box at the time of planting.
The circular reservoir structure will be constructed of pre-stressed concrete and will have a diameter of 125 feet, and a height of 33 feet with a water depth of 28 feet. The new water tank has a capacity of 2.5 million-gallons, which will feed from other Zone 4, 5 and 6 reservoirs within the city. No on-site pumping station is necessary to maintain water flow as the site will utilize the existing gravity flow. There would be no noise impacts to the surrounding residents except for the initial construction of the water reservoir, which is short-term.
Public Improvements
As part of the project, public right-of-way improvements will be made to Keith Street and Nelson Street immediately adjacent to the site. Nelson Street and Keith Street are classified as a rural street with an overall right-of-way width of 50 feet including curb and gutter, sidewalk, and landscape parkway. The east half-width of Nelson Street adjacent to the site is required to be improved with roadway pavement, curb and gutter, a four-foot wide sidewalk, a three-foot wide landscaped parkway. The south half-width of Keith Street adjacent to the site is also required to have the same improvements.
Fencing
To deter trespassing at the project site, the city is proposing to enclose the perimeter of the site with an eight-foot high black tubular steel fence. There will also be two double-swing vehicular tubular steel gates across the driveways on Nelson Street and Keith Street. Per the Corona Municipal Code (CMC) Chapter 17.70, the maximum height of fencing within the required front yard setback is five feet. For the side and rear yards behind the required front yard setback the maximum fence height is seven feet. The proposed eight-foot high perimeter fence would be installed within the site's 25-foot front yard setback and side and rear yards. Therefore, the Department of Water and Power submitted a variance application in conjunction with the conditional use permit to allow the eight-foot high fence within the front, side and rear yards. The proposed fence height helps deter the possibility of trespassing and vandalism on the project site.
Community Outreach
On June 8, 2016 and October 16, 2018, the City of Corona Department of Water and Power (DWP) held community public meetings at Eagle Glen Park located at 4190 Bennett Avenue to present information about the proposed project. In response to the first meeting on June 8, 2016, DWP received a letter from a property owner in opposition to the proposed potable water storage reservoir. At the October 16, 2018 meeting, DWP presented a revised design to help address the concerns from the residents in attendance related to the design of the proposed potable water reservoir and landscaping within the subject site.
The proposed water reservoir is consistent with General Plan Goal 7.1 to establish and maintain a secure water supply, water treatment, distribution, pumping and storage systems to meet the current and projected future daily and peak water demands of Corona, General Plan Policy 7.1.2 to evaluate the adequacy of water infrastructure in areas where intensification of land use is anticipated to occur and develop strategies to implement the Water Master Plan, and General Plan Policy 7.1.4 by allowing the City to monitor water system demands and, as necessary, manage development of new and existing facilities to ensure there is an adequate water supply.
COMMITTEE ACTION:
Not applicable.
STRATEGIC PLAN:
No applicable.
FISCAL IMPACT:
All application fees associated with this utility project has been captured internally through payment made by the Department of Water and Power to the general fund.
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 by the city's consultant, Environmental Science Associates (ESA), 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 mitigations 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.
PLANNING AND HOUSING COMMISSION ACTION:
At its meeting of November 13, 2018, the Planning and Housing Commission considered the subject matter and took the following action:
Motion was made, seconded (Dunn/Jones) and carried unanimously, that the Planning and Housing Commission adopt the Mitigated Negative Declaration and Mitigation Monitoring Plan and Resolution No. 2523 granting CUP17-002, based on the findings contained in the staff report and conditions of approval with the condition added that the on-site trees shall be a minimum of 36-inch box at the time of planting. The minutes of the Planning and Housing Commission meeting are included as Exhibit 5.
PREPARED BY: JOANNE COLETTA, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR
REVIEWED BY: KERRY D. EDEN, ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER/ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES DIRECTOR
REVIEWED BY: MICHELE NISSEN, ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER
SUBMITTED BY: DARRELL TALBERT, CITY MANAGER
EXHIBITS
1. Locational and Zoning Map.
2. Site Plan for CUP17-002.
3. Elevation view of reservoir tank.
4. Planning and Housing Commission Staff Report.
5. Draft Minutes of the Planning and Housing Commission meeting of November 13, 2018.
APPLICANT INFORMATION
Applicant: Vernon Weisman, District Engineer, City of Corona, Department of Water and Power, 755 Public Safety Way, Corona, CA 92880