AGENDA REPORT
REQUEST FOR CITY COUNCIL ACTION
DATE: 3/20/2019
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
FROM: Community Development Department
SUBJECT:
Title
City Council consideration of PM 37357, a parcel map application to subdivide 6.8 acres into two parcels (located on the south side of Ontario Avenue and west of Buena Vista Avenue at 988 W. Ontario Avenue) in the A (Agricultural) Zone and proposed R1-9.6 (Single Family Residential, minimum lot size 9,600 square feet) Zone. (PM2017-0103) (Applicant: Tim East with the Evangelical Free Church of Corona) - (NOT AN ADVERTISED PUBLIC HEARING)
End
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Recommended action
That the City Council approve PM 37357 subject to the findings and conditions of approval as recommended by the Planning and Housing Commission.
Body
ANALYSIS:
Parcel Map 37357 is an application by the Evangelical Free Church of Corona to subdivide 6.8 acres into two lots. The project site is located at 988 W. Ontario Avenue which is south of Ontario Avenue and west of Buena Vista Avenue. The property contains the church’s main sanctuary building, ancillary buildings associated with the congregation’s operations, parking lot and landscaping. Initial construction of the church was in 1987 and the site was eventually built-out over time. However, approximately 0.61 acres (26,480 square feet) located on the southwest corner of the church property was not developed and remains unimproved. The church is proposing to separate this 0.61 acres from the rest of the site so that it is independent from the church and on its own separate parcel. The purpose is to sell the 0.61-acre parcel and have it developed with a single family residential dwelling. The zoning of the church property Agriculture, but to accommodate a single family dwelling on the 0.61 acres separate from the church, a change of zone is being processed on the parcel to the R-1-9.6 zone. The R-1-9.6 zone allows single family residential on a minimum lot size of 9,600 square feet. The remaining 6.2 acres will be for the church and the zoning will remain Agricultural.
Parcel 1 is approximately 0.61 acres and designed to meet the subdivision standards prescribed by the R1-9.6 zone, which requires a minimum lot area of 9,600 square feet and a minimum lot width and depth of 80 feet and 100 feet, respectively. Parcel 2 is 6.2 acres and continues to comply with the Agricultural zone, which requires a minimum lot size of five acres and a minimum lot width and depth of 250 feet 300 feet, respectively. Table A demonstrates the parcels’ compliance with the subdivision standards for the R1-9.6 and Agricultural zones.
Table A
Parcel Summary
|
Parcel No. |
Zone |
Lot Area |
Lot Width |
Lot Depth |
|
1 |
R1-9.6 (9,600 sq. ft. minimum lot area) |
0.608 acres (26,480 sq. ft.) |
82.50 |
319 |
|
2 |
Agricultural (5 acres minimum lot area) |
6.185 acres |
411.89 |
528 |
|
Total |
- |
6.826 acres |
- |
- |
The project site is designated as Low Density Residential (LDR) on the city’s General Plan land use map, which allows the site to be developed at a density of no more than six dwelling units per acre. The two-lot subdivision proposed on the 6.8 acres would result in a density of 0.29 du/ac and would not exceed the maximum allowable density permitted by the LDR designation of the General Plan.
The project site is also located within the South Corona Community Facilities Plan (South Corona CFP), which is an overlay plan that establishes additional development standards and target densities for residential developments. The South Corona CFP land use plan designates the project site as Low Density Residential, which has a maximum allowable target density of 2.96 du/ac. The project’s proposed density of 0.29 du/ac does not exceed this target density.
Access
Parcel 1 will take vehicular access from Othello Lane, and Parcel 2 will take vehicular access from existing driveways located on Ontario Avenue and Buena Vista Avenue. Per the General Plan, Othello Lane is classified as a local residential street with an overall right-of-way width of 64 feet. Ontario Avenue is a major arterial with an overall right-of-way width of 127 feet. Buena Vista Avenue is a collector street with an overall right-of-way width of 68 feet. No additional street widening is required for the portions of Othello Lane, Ontario Avenue, and Buena Vista Avenue adjacent to the project site. Since only Parcel 1 will be developed for a single-family dwelling, the proposed residential use on this parcel is not expected to generate traffic in the area.
The church will continue to take access from Ontario Avenue and Buena Vista Avenue. No access to the church is provided from Othello Lane because of it being a local street.
Public Improvement
The applicant is required to construct the missing public improvements adjacent to Parcel 1 which includes constructing a 12-foot wide sidewalk and landscaped parkway adjacent to curb to match the existing 12-foot wide sidewalk and landscaped parkway that fronts the existing residential properties on the north side of Othello Lane going westward. Going eastward next to the church property, the parkway will transition only to a sidewalk to join the existing sidewalk on the backside of the church.
PM 37357 proposes to vacate six feet of right-of-way on the northside of Othello Lane within the parkway. The proposed vacation would revert the parkway to its original width of six feet established by Tract Map 24272 in 1995. Tract Map 24272 created Othello Lane and came after the church property was constructed. The block wall that exists along the right-of-way was constructed legally behind the sidewalk and outside of the right-of-way in or around 1995. Subsequent Parcel Map 30425 in 2002, which covered a portion of the church property required the additional six feet of right-of-way on the northside of Othello Lane creating the situation with the existing block wall being within the city’s parkway. Therefore, PM 37357 proposes to correct the situation that was created by PM 30425 in 2002 and bring the parkway design back to its original condition in 1995.
The 6-foot right-of-way vacation on Othello Lane will result in a modified parkway design and an overall right-of-way width of 58 feet. The southside of Othello Lane from the centerline of the street would have a right-of-way width of 32 feet and the northside of the street from the centerline would have a right-of-way width of 26 feet. The paved roadway width of the street is 40 feet with the parkway (sidewalk and landscaping) width on the southside being 12 feet wide and the width on the northside being 6 feet. Therefore, the capacity of the street does not change by having a 6-foot wide parkway on the north side for sidewalk only. No additional street widening is required for the portions of Othello Lane adjacent to the project site as the addition of the one residential dwelling on this street in not expected to generate traffic different from the other single family dwellings on this street.
Fencing
A portion of the church site contains existing chain link fencing along the south property line facing Othello Lane while the remainder of the perimeter has a block wall. The Commission asked if the applicant would be willing to remove the chain link fence and replace it with a 3-foot high block wall to match the adjacent wall. The applicant’s representative indicated that he would be willing to replace the chain link fence with a 3-foot high block wall. Although a condition of approval was not added by the Commission, a condition of approval has since been added by staff.
COMMITTEE ACTION:
Not applicable.
STRATEGIC PLAN:
Not applicable.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The applicant paid $11,006.75 in application processing fees for the parcel map application.
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 measures 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 February 25, 2019, the Planning and Housing Commission considered the subject matter and took the following action:
Motion was made, seconded (Norton/Shah) and carried unanimously, that the Planning and Housing Commission recommends adoption of the Mitigated Negative Declaration and Mitigation Monitoring Plan and approval of PM 37357 to the City Council, based on the findings contained in the staff report and conditions of approval. The minutes of the Planning and Housing Commission meeting are included as Exhibit 4.
PREPARED BY: JOANNE COLETTA, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR
REVIEWED BY: KERRY D. EDEN, ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER/ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES DIRECTOR
SUBMITTED BY: MichELE NISSEN, ACTING CITY MANAGER
Attachments:
1. Exhibit 1 - Locational and Zoning Map.
2. Exhibit 2 - Site Plan for PM 37357.
3. Exhibit 3 - Planning and Housing Commission Staff Report.
4. Exhibit 4 - Draft Minutes of the Planning and Housing Commission meeting of February 25, 2019.
APPLICANT INFORMATION:
Tim East with the Evangelical Free Church of Corona, 988 W. Ontario Avenue Corona CA 92882