PLANNING AND HOUSING COMMISSION
STAFF REPORT
DATE: 9/9/2019
TO: Honorable Chair and Commissioners
FROM: Community Development Department
APPLICATION REQUEST:
Title
SPA2019-0002: Amendment to the Main Street South Plaza Specific Plan (SP91-01) to: 1) amend Table 4.2 (Permitted Land Uses) to permit day care facilities by right in the Sub-District Four designation, 2) amend Section 6.1.4 (a) to revise the required sidewalk width along Vesper Circle, and 3) amend Section 6.1.9 (c) to revise the monument signage regulations for the Sub-District Four designation. (Applicant: Hamo Rostamiam of HRI Development, 20 North Raymond, Suite 300, Pasadena, CA 91103).
End
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Recommended action
That the Planning and Housing Commission recommend APPROVAL of SPA2019-0002 to the City Council, based on the findings contained in the staff report and conditions of approval.
Body
BACKGROUND
SPA2019-0002 is a proposal by Hamo Rostamiam to amend Table 4.2 (Permitted Land Uses) of the Main Street South Plaza Specific Plan to permit daycare facilities by right in the Sub-District Four designation. Additionally, the sidewalk width requirement along Vesper Circle and the monument sign regulations under Sections 6.1.4 (a) and 6.1.9 (c), respectively, are being revised. The purpose of the amendment is to facilitate the potential development of a daycare facility on a vacant parcel located at the terminus of Vesper Circle, south of Ontario Street.
The applicant originally submitted the Specific Plan Amendment application to the city on March 26, 2019 which was reviewed by the Project and Environmental Review Committee on April 18, 2019. The application was finally considered complete on August 21, 2019 and cleared for public hearing before the Planning and Housing Commission on September 9, 2019. The reason city staff was not able to clear the project sooner for public hearing was because the project was required to complete the tribal consultation process with local Native American tribes pursuant to SB 18 and AB 52 legislative requirements. During this process, staff initially received interest from one tribe requesting consultation. However, the interested tribe determined that consultation was no longer necessary since the project was only a specific plan amendment and there is no project involved with the proposed amendment at this time. The interested tribe formerly closed consultation on June 20, 2019. No other tribes engaged further with staff on the consultation process after the 90-day period which ended on August 21, 2019 which allowed the project to move forward to a public hearing.
PROPOSED SPECIFIC PLAN AMENDMENT
The primary purpose of amending the Main Street South Plaza Specific Plan is to allow daycare facilities within the Sub-District Four designation which is currently not permitted. Daycare facilities are permitted by right in Sub-Districts One, Two, Three, and Five and by minor conditional use permit in Sub-District Six. SPA2019-0002 will specifically broaden the uses allowed within Sub-District Four by allowing the use to be permitted by right. The amendment further includes various text changes throughout the specific plan document, as shown in Exhibits A1 through A4. New text is shown in red, and text to be deleted is shown in a strikethrough format. These changes are being made to coincide with the land use classification proposed for the Sub-District Four designation. A land use map for the Main Street South Specific Plan is attached as Exhibit C which depicts the areas that are designated as Sub-District Four. The following identifies the pages and describes the changes that are being amended.
• Page 26, Table 4.1, Land Use Program
• Page 30, Table 4.2, Permitted Land Uses
• Pages 51, Section 6.1.4 (a), Building Setbacks Sub Districts One through Five
• Page 55, Section 6.1.9 (c), Signage within Sub Districts Two through Four
Page 26, Table 4.1, Land Use Program
As shown in Exhibit A1, Table 4.1 shows the conceptual land uses for Sub-Districts One through Six. This page is being amended to include service type uses as a conceptual land use within the Sub-District Four designation.
Page 30, Table 4.2, Permitted Land Uses
As shown in Exhibit A2, Table 4.2 lists land use classifications that are permitted, permitted with a Conditional Use Permit or Minor Conditional Use Permit, permitted subject to approval by the Board of Zoning Adjustment (BZA), or not permitted in each of the six Sub Districts of the Specific Plan area. This page is being amended to permit daycare facilities by right within the Sub-District Four designation.
Page 51, Section 6.1.4 (a), Building Setbacks Sub Districts One through Five
As shown in Exhibit A3, Section 6.1.4 (a) incorrectly requires a 12-foot wide sidewalk along Vesper Circle. The sidewalk width is being amended to 5 feet to comply with the Public Works Department’s sidewalk standard.
Page 55, Section 6.1.9 (c), Signage within Sub Districts Two through Four
As shown in Exhibit A4, Section 6.1.9 (c) contains the sign regulations for Sub District Two through Four. This section is being amended to increase the maximum allowable sign face area for monument signs from 32 to 40 square feet and to include the name of the shopping center. In addition, up to five tenants would be allowed on a monument sign. This would enable the applicant to construct a monument sign on the southeast corner of Vesper Circle and Ontario Avenue which is the location of a medical office building. The medical office building and future daycare which the applicant intends to develop on the adjacent parcel south of the medical office building would be able to share a monument sign that provides the daycare some visibility from Ontario Avenue.
ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS
Per Section 15061 (b) (3) of the State Guidelines for the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), a Notice of Exemption has been prepared for the project because Section 15061 (b) (3) states that the project is exempted from CEQA if the activity is covered by the common sense exemption that CEQA applies only to projects that have the potential for causing a significant effect on the environment. Where it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment, the activity is not subject to CEQA. This amendment is solely a text revision and there is no possibility that adopting this Ordinance will have a significant effect on the environment. Therefore, a Notice of Exemption has been prepared and is attached as Exhibit E.
FISCAL IMPACT
The applicant paid $4,885.00 in application processing fees for the specific plan amendment.
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 responses from the public regarding the amendment.
STAFF ANALYSIS
The project applicant has proposed this specific plan amendment in order to pursue a viable commercial project for a property located within the Sub-District Four designation of the Main Street South Plaza Specific Plan. The Community Development Department continually assess development standards to ensure quality growth and development and facilitate appropriate exposure for the city’s various developments and businesses. The amendment provides commercial properties that are governed by the City’s Main Street South Plaza Specific Plan an opportunity to increase visibility by allowing them to have a larger monument sign area with additional tenant panels. The amendment is consistent with General Plan Goal 1.4 which encourages strategic growth that preserves existing viable residential neighborhoods and commercial and industrial districts and targets new development to remaining vacant parcels that are environmentally suitable and can be supported by infrastructure and services and reuses appropriate properties to enhance their economic vitality and community livability. Additionally, the amendment is consistent with General Plan Policy 1.4.3 because it will facilitate the development of vacant land within the city on the periphery of existing development that complements the scale and pattern of existing uses. Therefore, SPA2019-0002 is being recommended for approval based on the following findings.
FINDINGS OF APPROVAL FOR SPA2019-0002
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 pursuant to Section 15061(b)(3) of the State Guidelines for the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), which states that a project is exempted from CEQA if the activity is covered by the common sense exemption that CEQA applies only to projects that have the potential for causing a significant effect on the environment. Where it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment, the activity is not subject to CEQA. This amendment is solely a text revision and there is no possibility that this activity will have a significant effect on the environment.
2. The plan systematically implements and is consistent with the General Plan for the following reasons:
a. The amendment is consistent with Land Use Policies 1.1.1 and 1.1.2 in that it supports the diverse needs of Corona’s residents by accommodating uses that help sustain Corona as cohesive, distinct, and self-sustaining community, and minimize the need for Corona’s residents to travel to surrounding communities for services and employment.
b. The amendment is consistent with Growth and Development Policy 1.4.3 as it would allow for the development of vacant lands within the City on the periphery of existing development that complements the scale and pattern of existing uses, protects development and population from natural hazards, and where it is logical and feasible to extend infrastructure improvements.
c. The amendment is consistent with Community Design Policy 2.3.3 which encourages working with private developers and property owners to develop on-site project signage for identification, traffic direction and wayfinding, and parking that complement the City’s design program, where appropriate.
3. The plan provides for the development of a comprehensively planned project that is superior to development otherwise allowed under the conventional zoning classifications for the following reason:
a. SPA2019-0002 imposes a land use and development standards applicable to the Main Street South Plaza Specific Plan and Corona Municipal Code which will result in a project that is designed appropriately for the area.
4. The plan provides for the construction, improvement, or extension of transportation facilities, public utilities and public services required by the long-term needs of the project and/or other area residents, and complements the orderly development of the City beyond the project’s boundaries for the following reason:
a. SPA2019-0002 is solely a text revision to the permitted land uses table, sign criteria and sidewalk width requirements and does not affect the infrastructure that has been planned, constructed or required as part of the Main Street South Plaza Specific Plan.
5. The plan provides for the appropriate orientation and relationship between land uses within and adjacent to the project for the following reason:
a. SPA2019-0002 will allow for a daycare use within commercial properties that are otherwise permitted in adjacent commercial properties within the Main Street South Plaza Specific Plan. Additionally, the amendment will permit commercial properties to have monument signs with up to 40 square feet of sign area and five tenants. The proposed monument sign criteria is compatible with the surrounding commercial oriented districts within the Main Street South Plaza Specific Plan where monument signs are already permitted at a similar height.
6. The amendment is consistent with the following four findings under Section 8.2 of the Main Street South Plaza Specific Plan:
a. The amendment is consistent with the City of Corona General Plan, South Corona Community Facilities Plan, and objectives of the Main Street South Plaza Specific Plan for the following reasons:
i. SPA2019-0002 supports General Plan Policy 1.4.3 because it facilitates the development of vacant land within the city on the periphery of existing development that complements the scale and pattern of existing uses by allowing day care facilities which is compatible with other commercial services allowed by the specific plan.
ii. SPA2019-0002 is consistent with the Commercial designation of the South Corona Community Facilities Plan under Section 3.1.5, which is intended to provide a wide range of commercial activities to serve the South Corona community as well as areas immediately north of Ontario Avenue because this area includes numerous residential neighborhoods that would benefit from day care services.
iii. SPA2019-0002 is consistent with the specific plan objectives under of the Main Street South Plaza Specific Plan under Section 2.1.2, which is to provide an economically viable shopping district with a mix of land uses that respond to market opportunities in South Corona, the city as a whole, and neighboring communities because it gives city residents access to specialized services.
b. The amendment provides adequate circulation to, from and within the Specific Plan Area.
i. SPA2019-0002 is solely a text revision which proposes to amend the permitted use table to allow daycare facilities by right in the Sub-District Four designation and the development standards pertaining to monument signs and sidewalk width requirements. The amendment does not change the circulation system within the specific plan boundary.
c. The amendment provides public service levels capable of adequately serving the Specific Plan Area.
i. SPA2019-0002 has no impact on the public service levels because the amendment is solely a text revision and there are other commercial service types of facilities that are allowed in the Sub-District Four designation of SP91-01, and the service levels of the land uses were adequately analyzed at the time of the adoption of the specific plan
.
d. The amendment does not disrupt or deplete public and private open space system.
i. SPA2019-0002 does not disrupt or deplete the public and private open space system of the Main Street South Plaza Specific Plan as the amendment does not include any revisions that would impact open space within the specific plan area.
PREPARED BY: HARALD LUNA, ASSOCIATE PLANNER
REVIEWED BY: SANDRA YANG, SENIOR PLANNER
SUBMITTED BY: JOANNE COLETTA, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR
EXHIBITS
1. Exhibit A1 - Table 4.1, Land Use Program.
2. Exhibit A2 - Table 4.2, Permitted Land Uses.
3. Exhibit A3 - Section 6.1.4 (a), Building Setbacks Sub Districts One through Five.
4. Exhibit A4 - Section 6.1.9 (c), Signage within Sub Districts Two through Four.
5. Exhibit B - Conditions of Approval
6. Exhibit C - Land Use Map for Main Street South Plaza Specific Plan
7. Exhibit D - Applicant’s letter dated February 22, 2019, explaining Specific Plan amendment request.
8. Exhibit E - Environmental Documentation.
Case Planner: Harald Luna (951) 736-2268