AGENDA REPORT
REQUEST FOR CITY COUNCIL ACTION
DATE: 09/18/2019
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
FROM: Community Development Department
SUBJECT:
Title
City Council consideration of Precise Plan 2018-0005, for the review of the site plan and architecture of a 37,000 square foot LA Fitness health club and a 9,300 square foot commercial pad on five acres (located north of west Sixth Street and east of Smith Avenue at 1415 and 1435 W. Sixth Street) in the C-3 (General Community Commercial) zone. (Applicant: Greg Gill for Fitness International, LLC)
End
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Recommended action
That the City Council:
1. Take no action, thereby affirming the Planning and Housing Commission's action granting PP2018-0005, 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:
PP2018-0005 is an application by Fitness International, LLC for the review of a 37,000 square foot building for LA Fitness. The project site totals five acres and reserves a building pad for the future construction of 9,300 square foot commercial building. The project site located at 1415 and 1435 West Sixth Street is in the C-3 (General Commercial) zone, which allows athletic clubs.
The project site is vacant and has been for approximately 30 years. Existing development however is located to the east, west and north of the project site. Commercial development is to the east and west and residential is to the north. The C-3 zone requires a front yard setback of 10 feet and a landscape setback of 20 feet in areas adjacent to a residential zone. The LA Fitness health club building will be set back approximately 323 feet from the front property line adjacent to west Sixth Street, 98 feet from the rear property line adjacent to the existing residences, 90 feet from the east property line, and 92 feet from the west property line. Landscape setbacks are also provided at 10 feet along the front and side property lines, and 20 feet along the rear property line. Therefore, the building meets all the required setbacks of the zone.
On the northeast corner of the property there is a 35’x107’ retention area infiltration system that abuts Pleasant View Avenue to the north. The area will consist of landscaping and hardscape and will capture additional runoff created by the proposed health club project. This area will be secured on all sides with a six-foot high wrought iron fence with an access gate provided from the project site. This area will be maintained in the same manner as the rest of the project site by the owner’s management company.
The operating hours for LA Fitness will be from 4:00 a.m. to 12:00 a.m., Monday through Thursday, 4:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. on Fridays, and 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. LA Fitness also adjusts their hours accordingly based on the demand from their patrons and in some cases their locations may operate 24 hours. All operations and activities associated with the health club are done indoors.
Architecture
The building proposed for LA Fitness is a single-story, 35’-5” high structure with CMU splitface block throughout the majority of the building with a precision block accent stripe on the upmost portion of the building and on the bottom portion of the building. The building’s main entrance will be on the south elevation facing Sixth Street and will incorporate the national prototype design for LA Fitness, including a large glazed opening at the main entrance, flanked by a vertical tower element finished in longboard aluminum siding in a brown color called Light National Walnut. The longboard siding is textured with powder coating that will provide long lasting high-quality design for many years with no painting or staining required. The upmost portion of the tower will contain a LA Fitness wall sign. An entry column will also be finished with longboard aluminum siding and will contain the LA Fitness logo.
The south elevation of the building will incorporate six openings with suspending eyebrows finished with a clear anodized aluminum with clear glazing. The sides (west and east elevations) of the building will contain CMU splitface columns to break-up the solid wall appearance. The rear of the building, which faces existing single-family residences will incorporate glass blocks to add visual interest and allow natural light into the building, while at the same time eliminating any views into the existing residential properties as the glass is not see-through. The roofline incorporates a raised building element with skylights to provide additional light into the building.
Access, Circulation And Parking
Access to the project site is taken from two proposed driveways on west Sixth Street. The driveways allow full turn movements in and out of the site because of the existing two-way left turn median lane on Sixth Street.
Sixth Street is classified as a four lane mixed-use boulevard on the City’s General Plan circulation map. Additionally, the street is fully improved with curb, gutter, parkway, and sidewalk and has an overall width of 80 feet. As part of the project, the applicant is responsible for repairing any curb, gutter, parkway, and sidewalk that needs repair. This typically includes grind and overlay half street plus ten along the property’s frontage.
Both buildings will share access and parking via a reciprocal ingress, egress, and parking agreement. Per the Corona Municipal Code, the parking required for retail uses within a commercial center of five acres or more are allowed to use a ratio of one parking space for every 250 square feet of building area (1:250). The parking ratio for a health club is one parking space for every 150 square feet of building area (1:150) and parking for eating establishments is one parking space for every 100 square feet of building area (1:100). The proposed LA Fitness health club requires 247 parking spaces.
Although the future uses for Pad B are unknown the applicant is proposing parking to accommodate a mix of eating establishments and retail uses. Pad B includes 4,200 square feet for retail space and 5,100 square feet for eating establishments. The total parking for Pad B requires 68 parking spaces. Based on the combined uses proposed for the center at this time, a total of 315 parking spaces are required and provided. Table A depicts the parking requirements for the center.
Table A
Parking Summary
|
Use |
Square Footage |
Parking Ratio |
Parking Required |
Parking Provided |
|
Pad A |
|
LA Fitness |
37,000 |
1:150 |
247 |
-- |
|
Pad B |
|
Retail |
4,200 |
1:250 |
17 |
-- |
|
Restaurant |
5,100 |
1:100 |
51 |
-- |
|
Total Required and Provided |
315 |
315 |
Landscaping
The landscaping associated with the LA Fitness building and parking lot will be done in this phase, including the parking spaces being established for Pad B. However, the dirt pad for Pad B will be covered in a hydroseed mix until the pad is ready to be developed. The retention infiltration area located on the northeast side of the property adjacent to Pleasant View Avenue, will contain filter fabric with crushed rock. The plant pallet features a variety of drought tolerant materials including six types of trees, flowering shrubs, and groundcover. The main entrance along Sixth Street will be enhanced with 24-inch box trees. The tree landscaping in the parking lot and along the remaining perimeters will include a combination of 24- and 36-inch box trees.
Fence And Walls
The applicant will construct a new six-foot high decorative block wall along the east and west perimeters. Along the north perimeter a combination retaining wall and freestanding block wall will be constructed. The height of the retaining wall ranges from zero to four feet and the freestanding block wall is 6 feet high. Because the existing residential properties are at a slightly lower grade elevation than the project site, the retaining wall is required in order to provide the residences a clean wall line along the property line. Once the wall is constructed along the property line shared with the adjacent residences, the residents will be allowed to remove their existing wood fence and utilize the new block wall.
Signage
A freestanding pylon sign is also proposed at the front of the project site near Sixth Street. The overall height of the pylon sign will be 15 feet with a sign area of approximately 50 square feet per sign face. The post will have a stone veneer base and a decorative pole. The pylon sign is also required to comply with the sign standards under Chapter 17.74 of the Corona Municipal Code in terms of allowable square footage, height, and location.
COMMITTEE ACTION:
Not applicable.
STRATEGIC PLAN:
Not applicable.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The applicant paid $13,351.75 in application processing fees for the precise plan.
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 or potentially significant effect on the environment.
PLANNING AND HOUSING COMMISSION ACTION:
At its meeting of August 26, 2019, the Planning and Housing Commission considered the subject matter and took the following action:
Motion was made, seconded (Shah/Jones) and carried unanimously, that the Planning and Housing Commission adopt the Mitigated Negative Declaration and Mitigation Monitoring Plan and Resolution No. 2540 granting PP2018-0005, based on the findings contained in the staff report, the conditions of approval and the added conditions of approval requiring security cameras to be installed in the parking lot, temporary security fencing around Pad B, and parking lot light standards that prevent spillover glare on to the adjacent residential properties. 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
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 PP2018-0005.
3. Exhibit 3 - Planning and Housing Commission Staff Report.
4. Exhibit 4 - Draft Minutes of the Planning and Housing Commission meeting of August 26, 2019.
APPLICANT INFORMATION
Greg Gill for Fitness International, LLC, 3161 Michelson Drive, Suite 600, Irvine, CA 92612