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 2019-0003, for the review of the site plan and architecture of two medical office buildings totaling 58,900 square feet on 3.48 acres located on the south side of West 6th Street between Sheridan Street and Belle Avenue in the Downtown District zone of the Downtown Corona Revitalization Specific Plan (SP98-01). (Applicant: Richard Boureston of Boureston Development) (NOT AN ADVERTISED PUBLIC HEARING)
End
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Recommended action
That the City Council:
1. Affirm the Planning and Housing Commission's action granting PP2019-0003, based on the findings contained in the staff report and conditions of approval.
Body
ANALYSIS:
PP2019-0003 is an application to review the development plan for two medical office buildings on 3.48 acres located on the south side of Sixth Street between Sheridan Street and Belle Avenue. The project site is comprised of two blocks physically separated by 7th Street and contains 13 separate parcels. Two alleys are also located within the project boundary and in addition to Seventh Street these public rights-of-way will be vacated to enable development across the entire site.
The majority of the parcels are owned by the Corona Housing Authority with two parcels owned by the City of Corona. One parcel contains a parking lot that is used as surplus parking for the Corona Public Library which is located east across Belle Avenue. On November 7, 2018, the City Council entered into a Development and Disposition Agreement with the applicant, Boureston Companies, to allow the applicant to acquire the properties owned by the Corona Housing Authority and City. All 13 properties are currently under escrow and, per the terms of the Agreement, the sale of the properties will be finalized once the applicant has obtained project approval.
The proposal involves the construction of a two-story 32,500 square foot medical office building for the City of Hope and a second two-story 26,400 square foot medical office building that will house various medical services. Each building will be developed on separate parcels being created by companion PM 37565. The Specific Plan prescribes minimum yard setbacks for the front, street side, interior side, and rear yards which are 8 feet, 8 feet, zero feet, and 10 feet. As proposed, the project is capable of complying with the required perimeter setbacks, except for the rear yard setback along Sheridan Street. The applicant’s site plan shows Building A and the parking lot encroaching into the rear yard setback by two feet. To address the two-foot encroachment, the applicant applied for and obtained approval of a minor variance to allow for the two-foot reduction.
Access and Parking
Access for both parcels will be shared as driveways are planned on Sixth Street, Sheridan Street and Belle Avenue. Parking for both buildings will also be shared. Per the city’s parking ordinance, medical offices are required to provide parking at a ratio of one parking space per 200 square feet of building area. Based on the square footages of the buildings, the project is required to have 255 parking spaces total. The site plan shows 231 on-site parking spaces and 54 on-street parking spaces on Belle Avenue. In total, 285 parking spaces are provided. Table A summarizes the project’s parking requirement.
Table A
Parking Summary
|
Use |
Building Area (Net Sq. Ft.) |
Parking Ratio |
Parking Required |
Parking Provided |
|
Building A - Medical Office Building |
27,325 sq. ft. |
1/200 |
137 |
--- |
|
Building B - Medical Office Building |
23,600 sq. ft. |
1/200 |
118 |
--- |
|
TOTAL |
|
|
255 |
285 |
The surplus parking lot for the library contains 46 parking spaces that will be removed with this project. However, the applicant is required to enter into a shared parking agreement with the city that will allow the library to use the on-street parking spaces during the medical offices non-peak business hours, which is normally the evening and weekends. The City of Hope’s primary operating hours are Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The morning hours are mostly for radiology and oncology patients and the afternoon hours include infusion care, but patients are reduced towards the end of the day.
The second medical office building will include various medical services such as a surgery center and other office visits. The primary hours of operation are also intended to be similar to the City of Hope.
Architecture
The medical office buildings are subject to the architectural design guidelines of the Downtown Corona Revitalization Specific Plan, which recognizes that the Downtown area has been shaped by different eras and maintains various architectural styles. To ensure that new developments are well designed and that new buildings are architecturally compatible with other existing buildings in the project area, the Specific Plan prescribes four architectural themes for new development within the Downtown District which are Spanish Colonial, Mediterranean, Commercial Block, and Classic. The Specific Plan also requires new buildings in the Downtown District to incorporate historical architectural elements to retain/restore historic or memorable features that are significant to the downtown fabric. However, new buildings are not required to replicate the architecture of the existing historic building.
Each building is two stories and designed within the Commercial Block style. The front entrance is recessed and flanked by large windows in a traditional transitional order with transom window panels. The second floor has individual window panels and sash mullions. The window panels are separated with pillars in the commercial two-story style. The entry has a raised element with an extended cornice. In keeping with the Commercial Block massing and design, the buildings’ two-story wall panel has a cornice with an accent relief panel below. Brick is used at the entry and along the corners only on the first floor, as this design is common on historic buildings to give the buildings a visual base. The colors of the brick have tan, brown, and yellow hues which are historically common colors. The buildings have a combination of vertical and horizontal elements with a flat roof that give the elevations a grid-like look that is common with the Commercial Block style. Each building is approximately 40 feet in height which is within the maximum allowable building height limit of 60 feet.
Landscaping
The plan proposes a mixture of deciduous, evergreen, and palm trees which will be installed around the perimeters of the development, buildings, and throughout the parking lot. The tree palette includes several brightly colored flowering trees to enhance the development. The grounds will be further enhanced with a variety of shrubs and groundcover. Street trees are required to be installed within the parkways along Sheridan Street and Belle Avenue. All plant materials are drought tolerant and the irrigation system shall be water efficient as required by the city’s landscape ordinance. Landscape plans will be reviewed by the applicable city departments for compliance with the landscape ordinance during the plan check process.
PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS
The companion parcel map covers the public improvements required for this project which requires the dedication of Sixth Street, Sheridan Street and Belle Avenue adjacent to the project site. The south half-width of Sixth Street from the centerline to the right-of-way line is required to be 50 feet. Currently, the south half-width is 40 feet; therefore, the applicant is required to dedicate an additional 10 feet of public right-of-way along the project’s street frontage where insufficient right-of-way exists. The applicant is also required to construct the necessary public improvements including curb and gutter, a 7-foot wide sidewalk and 10-foot landscape parkway along this frontage.
Sheridan Street is required to be widened to have an overall right-of-way width of 60 feet which shall include a paved roadway width of 40 feet curb to curb and a 10-foot wide parkway for landscaping and sidewalk on both sides of the street. The improvements on the west half of Sheridan Street between 6th Street and 7th Street shall include space for a new bus stop for the Corona Cruiser. Beyond 7th Street to the south, the improvements will transition to match the existing conditions on the west half-width of Sheridan Street. The east half-width of Sheridan Street is required to be improved with curb and gutter plus a 5-foot wide landscape parkway and a 5-foot wide sidewalk adjacent to the project site.
Belle Avenue is required to have an overall right-of-way width of 80 feet with 28 feet of paved roadway that will have unobstructed access. The street will be modified to include angled parking spaces on both sides of the street. Beyond the 28-foot wide roadway a paved width of 19.7 feet will be provided on both sides of the street to accommodate the on-street angled parking design. The parkway width on Belle Avenue adjacent to the project site will include a 5-foot wide landscape parkway and a 4-foot wide sidewalk. The parkway width on the east side of the street will include a 6-foot wide sidewalk and no landscape parkway.
COMMITTEE ACTION:
The Infrastructure Committee at its meeting on July 31, 2017, was given an update on the project.
STRATEGIC PLAN:
Not applicable.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The applicant paid $6,854.00 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 Mitigated Monitoring Plan and adopt Resolution No. 2539 granting PP2019-0003, 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
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 PP2019-0003.
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
Richard Boureston, 650 Town Center Drive, Suite 890, CA 92626