AGENDA REPORT
REQUEST FOR CITY COUNCIL ACTION
DATE: September 4, 2019
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
FROM: Community Development Department
SUBJECT:
Title
City Council consideration of CUP2019-0001, a Conditional Use Permit application to construct a 2,243-square-foot restaurant with drive-through services on a vacant 0.39-acre pad within an existing commercial center (located on the south side of Green River Road, east of Dominguez Ranch Road at 4300 Green River Road) in the NCD (Neighborhood Commercial District) designation of the Sierra Del Oro Specific Plan (SP85-02). (Applicant: Milton Economy)
End
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Recommended action
That the City Council:
1. Take no action, thereby affirming the Planning and Housing Commission’s action granting CUP2019-0001, 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:
CUP2019-0001 is an application to construct and operate a 2,243-square-foot restaurant with a drive-through within an existing commercial center located at 4300 Green River Road in the NCD (Neighborhood Commercial District) designation of the Sierra Del Oro Specific Plan. The NDC designation allows restaurants with a drive-through service with the approval of a conditional use permit which is the reason for CUP2019-0001.
The project site is a 0.39-acre vacant commercial pad located within an existing 6.5-acre commercial center that was originally developed in the early 1990s. At the time the commercial center was developed, only the main building located on the southerly portion of the site was built. The subject pad for CUP2019-0001 along with another vacant pad are the only two pads within the center that have not yet been developed and remain unimproved.
The restaurant proposed is 2,243 square feet and will accommodate both dine-in and drive-through services. The building is plotted on the site to comply with the development standards of the Sierra Del Oro Specific Plan in terms of building setback. The specific plan prescribes a minimum building setback of 10 feet from the property line adjacent to Green River Road. The parcel for the subject pad is set back approximately 20 feet from the center’s property line along Green River Road and is elevated 9 feet higher that the street. The setback area is a fully landscaped slope. No minimum setback is required from the interior property lines.
The drive-through lane entrance is located at the northeast corner of the building and circulates around the northerly and westerly perimeters of the pad with the drive-through lane exiting to the south of the building. The drive-through pick-up window is located on the west building elevation. The drive-through lane will accommodate six (6) stacking spaces from the menu order board to the entrance of the drive-through, meeting the minimum requirement of the Corona Municipal Code (CMC). Overall, the lane can accommodate eight vehicles from the pick-up window to the drive-through entrance. To accommodate the stacking for the drive-through lane three parking spaces located near the drive-through entrance are being removed and replaced with a landscaped planter.
Access and Parking
Vehicular access to the project site will be taken from shared driveways located on Green River Road and Dominguez Ranch Road. There are two existing driveways located on Green River Road, and one existing driveway located on Dominguez Ranch Road. An additional driveway from Green River Road is located within the office park. All vehicular access points and parking spaces are shared among the tenants within the center through an ingress/egress and parking agreement.
Green River Road is classified as a divided major arterial (six lanes) with an overall right-of-way width of 150 feet along the project site’s frontage. Dominguez Ranch Road is classified as a two-lane undivided collector street with an overall right-of-way width of 68 feet. These streets are fully improved adjacent to the project site; therefore, no additional improvements are required.
The restaurant’s parking requirement is based on the parking ratio in effect at the time the center was entitled and allowed by the Corona Municipal Code. The established parking ratios for the commercial center and office business park are as follows:
• General retail and office: one space per 375 square feet of floor area
• Medical office: one space per 200 square feet of floor area
• Restaurants: one space per 125 square feet of floor area
Based on the parking ratio above for restaurant use, a minimum of 18 parking spaces are required for the applicant’s restaurant. Although the parcel for the subject pad contains 18 parking spaces, the center operates using reciprocal access and parking that is shared among all the tenants in the center. That means patrons are allowed parking anywhere within the parking lot. The existing uses within the commercial center currently require a total of 223 parking spaces, the gas station requires 14 parking spaces, and the adjacent office park requires 203 parking spaces. In total, 458 space are required, and 472 spaces are provided.
On-Site Circulation
The on-site circulation consists of several 25-foot wide minimum drive aisles located within the commercial center’s parking lot areas. Entrance into the restaurants drive-through lane is located at the northeast corner of the building. Per the applicant’s letter, the restaurant’s drive-through is anticipated to have the most business in the early morning peak hours because of the volume of traffic on westbound Green River Road during that time. However, the majority of the businesses in the commercial center and office park are closed during the morning peak commute time. As indicated, the drive-through lane can accommodate a total of eight vehicles and meets the city’s minimum required stacking spaces of six cars from the menu board. Also, due to the restaurant’s orientation and distance to the existing street driveways, vehicles using the drive-through are not expected to interfere with ingress and egress movements in and out of the center.
The applicant also states the restaurant staff will utilize tablets to take orders in the drive-through lane during their AM and PM peak hours to get orders placed in the kitchen quickly.
Architecture
The exterior of the restaurant building is primarily stucco accented with stone veneer siding. The facades have a variety of pop-out walls, tower elements, storefront windows and doors with dark bronze anodized aluminum frames, stucco reveals, decorative metal and canvas awnings, and metal parapet louvers. The building is approximately 24 feet tall measured from the ground to the highest point of the roofline. Light fixtures are mounted on each elevation to illuminate the building’s exterior. The light fixtures are shielded and will direct light downward to prevent spillover and glare. The roof has parapet walls in varying heights to screen rooftop mechanical equipment. A tower element with a hipped style roof is featured on the north elevation of the building. The tower is covered by “s” shaped concrete tiles in an adobe blend to match the commercial center’s roof tiles.
A warm neutral palette is proposed for the building that includes an off-white color for the walls called “Restful White” and two accent cool grey tone colors called “Billowy Gray” and “Propoise.” The stone veneer “Coronado Ledgestone Chablis” will be featured on a portion of the building’s south elevation that wraps around to a portion of the west building elevation. The architecture and colors of the building are consistent and compatible with the buildings located within the commercial center.
Landscaping
A mixture of deciduous and evergreen shrubs, vines, and trees are proposed around the perimeters of the project site. Most of the trees are concentrated to north, south, and east elevations of the restaurant building to enhance the view of the project from the adjacent drive aisles within the commercial center as well as from the street view. The Jacaranda and Holly Oak trees will be 24-inch box in size at the time of installation. The landscape plan also proposes to install a variety of shrubs and vines around the perimeter of the project site to beautify the grounds. The project is required to install shrubs along the outer edge of the drive-through lane to screen vehicle headlights. The shrubs are required to be 36 inches in height at the time of installation. All new landscape plant materials proposed for the project site are required to be California-friendly, and the irrigation is required to be water efficient to meet the city’s landscape guidelines for commercial projects. There are existing mature trees and landscaping located adjacent to the site’s north and west perimeter which will remain in place.
CUP2019-0001 fulfills General Plan Policy 1.11.3, which promotes and pro-actively recruits new businesses that fill gaps in the range of goods and services currently available and are needed by the City’s residents and act as a catalyst for attracting other retailers to the City. The proposed restaurant will fill a gap by giving city residents additional options and access to eating establishments.
COMMITTEE ACTION:
Not applicable.
STRATEGIC PLAN:
Not applicable.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The applicant paid $7,083.00 in application processing fees for the conditional use permit.
ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS:
Per Section Article 19 Categorical Exemptions, Section 15303 (New Construction or Conversion of Small Structures) of the State Guidelines for Implementing the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and Section 3.22 of the City’s Local CEQA Guidelines, a Notice of Exemption has been prepared for the project because the project qualifies as a Class 3 categorical exemption. The project consists of constructing and operating a 2,243-square-foot restaurant with drive-through services within an existing commercial center that is fully developed with adequate parking, access, and utilities. There is no evidence presented to the city that the project would have a significant impact on the environment and is therefore exempt from further environmental review. A Notice of Exemption has been prepared for the project.
PLANNING AND HOUSING COMMISSION ACTION:
At its meeting of August 12, 2019, the Planning and Housing Commission considered the subject matter and took the following action:
Motion was made, seconded Jones/Siqueland and carried unanimously, that the Planning and Housing Commission adopt Resolution No. 2537 granting CUP2019-0001, based on the findings contained in the staff report and conditions of approval including the addition of two conditions added at the public hearing regarding the establishment of pedestrian guard rail along the perimeter of the sidewalk located on the north side of the building and that the three parking located east of the drive-through lane entrance be designated as employee parking. The draft 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
REVIEWED BY: MICHELE NISSEN, ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER
SUBMITTED BY: MITCHELL LANSDELL, ACTING CITY MANAGER
Attachments:
1. Exhibit 1 - Locational and Zoning Map.
2. Exhibit 2 - Site Plan for CUP2019-0001.
3. Exhibit 3 - Planning and Housing Commission Staff Report.
4. Exhibit 4 - Draft Minutes of the Planning and Housing Commission meeting of August 12, 2019.
APPLICANT INFORMATION
Milton Economy, 1052 Flager Ranch Road, Corona, 92881