PLANNING AND HOUSING COMMISSION
STAFF REPORT
DATE: 4/8/2019
TO: Honorable Chair and Commissioners
FROM: Community Development Department
APPLICATION REQUEST:
Title
PP2019-0002: A proposal to rebuild a new 9,570 square foot Lazy Dog restaurant building on a building pad previously occupied by the Claim Jumper restaurant located at 380 N. McKinley Street (Corona Hills Plaza) within the Sub-Regional Shopping Center designation of the Northeast Corona Specific Plan (SP81-2). (Applicant: Jared Taylor Golden Property Development for Lazy Dog Restaurants, LLC, 5847 Brace Road Loomis, CA 95650).
End
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Recommended action
That the Planning and Housing Commission adopt Resolution No. 2534 GRANTING PP2019-0002, based on the findings contained in the staff report and conditions of approval.
Body
PROJECT SITE SUMMARY
Area of Property: 2.21 acres
Existing Zoning: SRSC (Sub-Regional Shopping Center) designation of the Northeast Corona Specific Plan (SP81-2)
Existing General Plan: General Commercial
Existing Land Use: Restaurant
Proposed Land Use: Restaurant
Surrounding Zoning/Land Uses:
N: SRSC designation of the Northeast Corona Specific Plan (SP81-2)/Commercial center
E: SRSC designation of the Northeast Corona Specific Plan (SP81-2)/Commercial center
S: State Route 91 and SCF (Support Commercial Freeway) designation of the Northeast Corona Specific Plan (SP81-2)/ Commercial center
W: SRSC designation of the Northeast Corona Specific Plan (SP81-2)/Commercial center
BACKGROUND
The 2.21-acre property is part of a larger regional commercial center developed on 58 acres in 1987. The center contains various retail, financial, restaurants, and commercial service uses. The overall center was reviewed and entitled under Precise Plan 87-12. Under the original entitlement, the precise plan reviewed the commercial center’s parking, landscaping, street improvements, signage, and architecture for all buildings, except for five freestanding pads which were developed under separate entitlements. The subject property was one of the freestanding pads that required a separate entitlement.
The subject pad was previously occupied by a 12,690 square foot Claim Jumper restaurant that was developed in 1990 under PP89-18. The restaurant was demolished in February 2019. Lazy Dog is proposing to rebuild the pad with a smaller 9,570 square foot restaurant building. Site improvements also include new landscaping throughout the pad area.
The application was submitted to the city on February 21, 2019 and reviewed by staff at the Project and Environmental Review Committee meeting on March 14, 2019. The Committee informed the applicant of the items missing from the application package. The applicant submitted the required items to staff and the application was considered complete on March 19, 2019 and cleared for public hearing before the Planning and Housing Commission on April 8, 2019.
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Site Plan
As shown in Exhibit A1, the commercial center is comprised of several parcels and contains several buildings. The parcel to be occupied by Lazy Dog restaurant is 2.21 acres. The restaurant has a floor area of 9,570 square feet with a 1,873 square foot outdoor dining patio (Exhibit A2). The restaurant’s main entrance is located on the northwesterly side of the building. The building has a service yard which houses the trash and recycle bins. No changes are proposed to the commercial center’s overall parking lot.
The building will be set back approximately 38 feet from the south (rear) property line adjacent to State Route 91, 156 feet from the nearest building to the north, 96 feet from the nearest building to the east, and 193 feet from the nearest building to the west. The SRSC designation does not prescribe any building setbacks for commercial buildings, except for a 15-foot wide landscape setback along McKinley Street which already exists for the center. Also, the new building will be constructed on the exact same pad as the previous building; therefore, the proposed project complies with the development standards of the SRSC designation in terms of setbacks.
Floor Plan
The restaurant’s floor plan is shown in Exhibit C. The restaurant features indoor and outdoor dining areas. The indoor dining area has a seating capacity for 270 seats. The outdoor dining area has a seating capacity for 74 seats. The restaurant’s main entrance is located on the northwesterly side of the building. A service yard entrance is located on the southeasterly side of the building for employees, deliveries, and shipments.
Operating Hours
The restaurant’s operating hours will be from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 a.m., Monday through Saturday, and 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 a.m. on Sundays.
Delivery Hours
Per the applicant’s letter (Exhibit G1), the restaurant’s delivery hours will take place between 6:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. prior to the restaurant being opened for service. Loading activities will take place in the drive aisle located on the southeasterly side of the building adjacent to the service yard. Since the delivery hours for the restaurant will take place in the early morning during off-peak hours, the center’s on-site circulation will not be impacted.
Architecture
The restaurant proposed for Lazy Dog is a single-story structure with a rustic architectural style inspired by the Rocky Mountains. The architecture maintains the restaurant’s corporate look which features a combination of stucco and stone veneer walls with steel awnings. The roofline incorporates a tower element and parapet walls. The tower element has a standing seem metal roof which helps delineate and enhances the main entrance. The parapet walls help screen rooftop mechanical equipment from view at ground level. The colors of the building include various shades of browns with dark red accent colors. The height of the building is approximately 38 feet which is below the 40-foot height limit established by the SRSC designation. The SRSC designation does not prescribe a specific architectural theme for commercial buildings which allows the buildings within the commercial center to have architectural variation provided there is compatibility among the colors and materials. The applicant’s elevation plans are shown in Exhibits D1-D3 and E1-E3.
Access, Circulation and Parking
Access to the project site is taken from three existing driveways located on McKinley Street. The most northerly and southerly driveways are signalized which allow for right and left turn movements in and out of the center. The middle driveway is not signalized and is limited to right-in and right-out only turn movements from the southbound lanes.
McKinley Street is a major arterial on the city’s General Plan circulation map. Additionally, the street is fully improved with curb, gutter, parkway, and sidewalk and has an overall right-of-way width of 100 feet. The master developer of the shopping center constructed the street improvements adjacent to the project site. Therefore, no additional improvements or street widening is required with this project.
Internal circulation is facilitated by several drive aisles located throughout the site, with the primary drive aisles associated with the two signalized drives into the shopping center. Additionally, the commercial center has reciprocal ingress, egress, and parking that is shared among the business of the center.
Per the Corona Municipal Code, the number of parking spaces required for retail uses within a commercial center greater than five acres established prior to December 1994 are allowed to continue to use the parking ratios that were established on the property. The allowed parking ratios for the center are one parking space for every 375 square feet of building area (1:375) for retail uses, one parking space for every 200 square feet of building area (1:200) for financial institutions, and one parking space for every 125 square feet of building area (1:125) for restaurant uses. Per the parking ratios that were in effect at the time the center was established, Lazy Dog restaurant requires 91 parking spaces. Based on the combined uses of the center, a total of 1,988 parking spaces are required and the center provides 2,595 parking spaces, including handicap spaces which are shared spaces between all tenants. Therefore, the commercial center is overparked by 606 parking spaces. A detailed parking tabulation for the entire Corona Hills Plaza commercial center is provided as Exhibit A3.
Landscaping
The applicant is proposing a building that has been reduced in size from the original existing building and, therefore, will be increasing the amount of landscaping around the building pad. As shown in Exhibit F, the applicant’s landscape plan illustrates landscaping around the building. The plant pallet features a variety of drought tolerant materials including four types of trees, flowering shrubs, ground cover, and ornamental grass. The restaurant’s main entrance will be enhanced with 24-inch box trees. The existing landscaping within the parking lot will remain in place. The proposed landscaping complies with the City’s Landscape Design Guidelines for commercial properties, the Corona Municipal Code, and the Northeast Corona Specific Plan.
Signage
Exterior wall signs are conceptually shown on the north, east and west elevations of the building (Exhibits E1 - E3). Wall signs are required to comply with the sign standards under the SRSC designation which allows three square feet of sign area for every one lineal foot of building elevation not to exceed 200 square feet. The allowable square footage, height, and location of the proposed signs will be reviewed under a separate permit by the Community Development Department prior to installation.
No pylon sign is proposed for Lazy Dog as the center already has two existing 50-foot high pylon signs. One is located on the east side along McKinley Street and the second is located on the south side adjacent to State Route 91. Each pylon sign has seven tenant panels.
No monument sign is currently proposed for Lazy Dog. However, per the SRSC designation, monument style parcel identification signs are permitted on interior freestanding building lots with frontage on the main interior access way. The sign shall not exceed 24 square feet in area per face.
ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS
Per Article 19 Categorical Exemptions, Section 15302 (Class 2, Replacement or Reconstruction) of the State Guidelines for Implementing the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and Section 3.21 of the Local CEQA Guidelines, a Notice of Exemption has been prepared for the project because it consists of replacing a previous restaurant with a new restaurant of substantially the same size, purpose, and capacity. The previous restaurant on the project site was 12,690 square feet in area which will be replaced by a new 9,570 square foot restaurant with a 1,843 square foot outdoor dining patio. The new structure will be placed on the same location as the previous structure. Therefore, there is no possibility that the project will have any significant adverse effects on the environment. The Notice of Exemption is attached as Exhibit H.
FISCAL IMPACT
The applicant paid $7,305.00 in application processing fees for the precise plan application.
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 has not received any response from the public regarding the proposal.
STAFF ANALYSIS
The proposed project will result in the development of a 9,570 square foot Lazy Dog restaurant with a 1,843 square foot outdoor dining patio on property that was previously occupied by a Claim Jumper restaurant. The proposed use is permitted in the SRSC designation of the Northeast Corona Specific Plan. As demonstrated by the applicant’s plans, the project is capable of complying with the development standards of the SRSC designation in terms of setbacks, parking, landscaping, and building height restriction. The architecture and color scheme proposed for the building will add visual interest to the existing commercial center. Also, the applicant will be re-landscaping the entire pad which will further enhance the center.
Development of the proposed project would fulfill several General Plan policies including Policies 1.1.1, 1.1.2, 1.1.3 and 1.11.1 which all encourage and emphasize having a community that contains a diversity of land uses that support the needs of Corona’s residents and help maintain Corona as a self-sustaining city. The project also fulfills General Plan Policy 2.5.9 which requires that the renovation of existing buildings and new construction exhibit a high level of architectural character by applying architectural treatments and articulation on all building elevations and integrating signage with the architectural character of the building to promote visual interest. Therefore, PP2019-0002 is recommended for approval based on the following findings and conditions of approval attached as Exhibit B.
FINDINGS OF APPROVAL FOR PP2019-0002
1. A preliminary exemption assessment has been conducted by the City of Corona and it has shown that this project does not require further environmental assessment because the project qualifies as a Class 2 Categorical Exemption per Section 15302 (Replacement or Reconstruction) under CEQA. The project consists of replacing an existing restaurant with a smaller sized restaurant. The previous restaurant had a building area of 12,690 square feet and is being replaced with a new restaurant that is 9,570 square feet with a 1,843 square foot outdoor patio. The new structure will also be placed on the same location as the previous structure. Therefore, there is no possibility that the project will have any significant effect on the environment.
2. All the conditions necessary to granting a Precise Plan as set forth in Chapter 17.91 of the Corona Municipal Code do exist in reference to PP2019-0002 for the following reasons:
a. The proposal is consistent with the General Commercial land use designation of the General Plan because this land use is intended for commercial uses and the proposal is a restaurant.
b. The proposal complies with the SRSC designation of the Northeast Corona Specific Plan because the proposal is a restaurant which is permitted in the SRSC designation, and complies with development standards of the Specific Plan.
c. The proposal has been reviewed in compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act and all applicable requirements and procedures of the act have been followed. As justified in Finding #1, the project is exempt from further review.
d. The site is of sufficient size and configuration to accommodate the design and scale of the proposed development, including the building and elevations, landscaping, parking and other physical features of the proposal, as demonstrated in Exhibits A1-A3 of this report.
e. The design, scale and layout of the proposed development will not unreasonably interfere with the use and enjoyment of neighboring existing or future developments, will not create traffic or pedestrian hazards, and will not otherwise have a negative impact on the aesthetics, health, safety or welfare of neighboring uses because the proposal complies with the City’s development standards for the SRSC designation of the Northeast Corona Specific Plan.
f. The architectural design of the proposed restaurant is in keeping with the restaurant’s corporate identity and utilizes quality building materials that are compatible with the surrounding buildings, will enhance the visual character of the center and surrounding properties in conjunction with and as part of the overall dining experience and will provide for harmonious, orderly and attractive development of the site.
g. The design of the proposed development will provide a desirable environment for its occupants and visiting public as well as its neighbors through good aesthetic use of materials, texture, and color that is aesthetically appealing. As shown by the project’s conceptual elevation drawings, the building will have a rustic appeal symbolic to the restaurant’s style and implements stucco and stone veneer walls, with steel awnings and a color scheme that consists of earth tone colors.
3. The proposal is consistent with the General Plan for the following reasons:
a. The project site has a General Plan land use designation of General Commercial which accommodates a wide range of commercial services, including restaurants.
b. The project includes high quality building materials and architectural elements that are consistent with General Plan Policy 2.5.9 which requires that the renovation of existing businesses and new construction exhibit a high level of architectural character by adhering to design principles such as applying architectural treatments and articulation on all building elevations and integrating signage with the architectural character of the building to promote visual interest.
c. The project fulfills General Plan Policies 1.1.1, 1.1.2, 1.1.3 and 1.11.1 which all encourage and emphasize having a community that contains a diversity of land uses that support the needs of Corona’s residents and help maintain Corona as a self-sustaining city because the new restaurant will provide the city’s service population access to additional eating establishments.
4. The proposal is consistent with the SRSC (Sub-Regional Shopping Center) designation of the Northeast Corona Specific Plan (SP81-2) for the following reason:
a. The project is consistent with the SRSC designation because the proposed restaurant is a permitted use in the SRSC designation. The project is also capable of complying with the development standards of the SRSC designation such as building setbacks, building height, parking, and landscaping.
PREPARED BY: LUPITA GARCIA, ASSISTANT PLANNER
REVIEWED BY: SANDRA YANG, SENIOR PLANNER
SUBMITTED BY: JOANNE COLETTA, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR
EXHIBITS
1. Resolution No. 2534
2. Locational and Zoning Map
3. Exhibits A1-A3 - Site Plan, Enlarged Site Plan and Detailed parking tabulation
4. Exhibit B - Conditions of Approval
5. Exhibit C - Floor Plan
6. Exhibits D1-D3 - Elevation Plans
7. Exhibits E1-E3 - Colored Elevation Plans
8. Exhibit F - Landscape Plans
9. Exhibit G1 - Applicant’s letter dated February 15, 2019, addressing the scope of the project
10. Exhibit G2 - Applicant’s letter dated March 5, 2019, addressing the restaurant’s delivery hours
11. Exhibit H - Environmental Documentation
Case Planner: Lupita Garcia (951) 736-2262