AGENDA REPORT
REQUEST FOR CITY COUNCIL ACTION
DATE: 03/18/2020
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
FROM: Community Development Department
SUBJECT:
Title
City Council consideration of Precise Plan 2019-0007, for the review of the site plan, architecture, parking and landscaping associated with the development of a 101,690 square foot industrial building located on the north side of Third Street and east of Grand Boulevard in the BP (Business Park) designation of the Downtown Corona Revitalization Specific Plan (SP98-01). (Applicant: Michael McKenna with EBS Realty Partners, LLC.)
End
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Recommended action
That the City Council:
a. Take no action, thereby affirming the Planning and Housing Commission's action granting PP2019-0007, based on the findings contained in the staff report and conditions of approval.
OR
b. Set the item for review at a subsequent meeting.
Body
ANALYSIS:
Background
The 4.80-acre project site is located on the north side of Third Street, approximately 300 feet east of Grand Boulevard. The site borders the State Route 91 to the north. The site has a zoning of Business Park (BP) under the Downtown Corona Revitalization Specific Plan and a General Plan designation of Light Industrial (LI). The surrounding land uses are primarily industrial and residential which are located across Third Street to the south.
The project site is currently comprised of one lot and a portion of another lot and contains a total of six buildings which will be demolished to accommodate a new 101,690 square foot industrial building and associated parking.
The applicant was advised to do community outreach with the residences located across the project site to the south. The applicant’s development team walked the neighborhood on four separate occasions, including April 12, 2019, July 1, 2019, September 3, 2019 and September 18, 2019, to present and discuss the proposed project. Additionally, the developer left a bilingual letter describing the project at residences where the owners were not available during the field visits.
Project Description
Site Plan
The industrial building meets the building setbacks for the Business Park (BP) designation of SP98-01. The BP designation requires the setbacks to be landscaped yards which is 20 feet in the front, 10 feet for one side yard and 10 feet in the rear yard. The project meets the required landscape yard setbacks except for the rear yard. A variance from the rear yard setback is being requested by Variance 2019-0002 due to a storm drain easement that runs along the rear of the property. The easement prevents the area from being landscaped. This rear yard is not visible to the general public therefore the lack of landscaping in this area will not have an aesthetic impact on the neighborhood.
The project site gradually slopes down from south to north. The finished floor elevation of the building will be about three feet lower than Third Street. The main entrance to the building is located on southeasterly side of the building. The building will be surrounded by landscaping along the south perimeter facing Third Street.
The loading dock doors are located at the rear of the building on the north side and face an existing 40-foot high perimeter retaining wall that was built as part of the 91 Freeway widening project. The project site is also at a lower elevation than the freeway. The dock high doors are not visible from Third Street and the building serves as a noise buffer between the loading activities and the existing residences to the south on Third Street.
Floor Plan
The building will accommodate office space at the southeast and southwest corners of the building. The total office space planned is 9,998 square feet. The balance of the building consists of 10,000 square feet of manufacturing space and 81,692 square feet of warehouse space. The floor plan layout is conceptual at this time as no specific tenant is identified for the building. However, the floor area within the building shell is capable of being modified through the tenant improvement process to accommodate a future tenant.
Architecture
The Downtown Corona Revitalization Specific Plan does not prescribe a specific architectural theme for new buildings in the BP designation. The Specific Plan, however, has architectural guidelines to ensure that new buildings in the BP designation “project an image of high quality through the use of appropriate materials that not only reflect a well landscaped park-like environment, but also that have minimal impacts on surrounding uses.”
The industrial building will be constructed of concrete tilt-up walls that will be painted in different shades of grays. The southwest and southeast corners where the offices and entrances are located are enhanced with aluminum longboard siding, metal entry canopies, aluminum mullions and window glazing. The building also has horizontal and vertical scoring throughout to break the massing of the structure. The roofline of the building is approximately 38 feet high; however, the height of the building’s parapet varies. The tallest portions of the parapet walls are 47 feet at the southwest and southeast corners of the building. The parapet walls will also screen rooftop mechanical equipment from view at ground level. The height of the building is below the 50-foot height limit established by the BP designation.
Several trees will be installed along the south side of the building to soften the appearance and break up the massing of the building from Third Street. The trees include crape myrtle trees, a flowering accent tree, and London plane trees which are large deciduous trees with broad leaves.
Fence and Walls
An 8-foot high wrought iron fence is proposed along the property’s easterly perimeter. The west perimeter contains an existing block wall and the north perimeter contains a 40-foot high retaining walls abutting the freeway. Side yard return fencing made of tubular steel is proposed on each side of the building to secure the rear yard.
Circulation
Access to the project site is from Third Street by the two driveways proposed on the site. Both driveways will allow for right and left turn movements in and out of the project site. As part of the project, the applicant is required to install a stop sign at both driveways leaving the project site.
Third Street is designed as a collector street per the city’s General Plan circulation map. The north side of Third Street is fully improved with curb, gutter and parkway. The south side of Third Street adjacent to the existing residences is also fully improved with curb, gutter, parkway and sidewalk. The section of Third Street along the project site’s frontage will be constructed to have an overall right-of- way width of 60 feet with an overall paved roadway width of 45 feet from curb to curb.
Trucks trips will enter the site using the easterly driveway and exit at the westerly driveway. The traffic impact analysis prepared for the project recommended the following improvements be constructed. These improvements are included as conditions of approval for the project.
Project West Driveway at Third Street
• Install southbound stop control.
• Construct the southbound approach to provide full access and consist of one shared left/right turn lane.
Project East Driveway at Third Street
• Install southbound stop control.
• Construct the southbound approach to provide full access and consist of one shared left/right turn lane.
Parking
The building is required to provide parking based on the parking ratios that are established by Chapter 17.76 of the Corona Municipal Code. The land uses for the project site include office, manufacturing and warehouse and are required to be parked at the following ratios:
• Office: 1 parking space per 250 square feet of building area (1:250)
• Manufacturing: 1 parking space per 500 square feet of building area (1:500)
• Warehouse: 1 parking space per 1000 square feet of building area (1:1000)
Based on the applicant’s floor plan layout, the building requires 142 parking spaces and 142 parking spaces are provided onsite.
Landscaping
The landscape plan proposes landscaping along the south, east, and west sides of the building. The plant pallet features a variety of trees, flowering shrubs and groundcover. The project frontage and main entrance will be enhanced with a combination of 36-inch box and 24-inch boxed trees. The trees will soften the appearance and break- up the massing of the proposed building and reduce any visual impacts to the surrounding area. The proposed landscaping complies with the City’s Landscape Design Guidelines for industrial properties, the Corona Municipal Code, and the Downtown Corona Revitalization Specific Plan.
Noise Analysis
A noise analysis prepared by Ganddini Group (October 2019) analyzed the project’s potential long- term operational noise impacts to the nearby residences. It is anticipated that the future tenant at the site would only operate during the daytime, and noise associated with the operations of the site could include parking lot noise, loading/unloading activities, and mechanical rooftop equipment. The noise analysis concluded that project operational noise would range from 40.0 to 50.5 dBA at the residential properties to the south during the daytime. This would be below the city’s daytime stationary exterior noise thresholds for residential land use, which is 55 dBA (7:00 AM to 10:00 PM). Therefore, no noise mitigation measures were warranted.
COMMITTEE ACTION:
Not applicable.
STRATEGIC PLAN:
Not applicable.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The applicant paid $16,182.75 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. The Mitigation Negative Declaration is recommended for adoption.
PLANNING AND HOUSING COMMISSION ACTION:
At its meeting of February 24, 2020, the Planning and Housing Commission considered the subject matter and took the following action:
Motion was made, seconded (Jones/Hooks) and carried unanimously, that the Planning and Housing Commission adopt Resolution No. 2550 granting PP2019-0007, based on the findings contained in the staff report, conditions of approval and added conditions of approval. The minutes of the Planning and Housing Commission meeting are included as Exhibit 4.
PREPARED BY: JOANNE COLETTA, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR
SUBMITTED BY: JACOB ELLIS, CITY MANAGER
Attachments:
1. Exhibit 1 - Locational and Zoning Map
2. Exhibit 2 - Site Plan for PP2019-0007
3. Exhibit 3 - Planning and Housing Commission Staff Report
4. Exhibit 4 - Minutes of the Planning and Housing Commission meeting of February 24, 2020
APPLICANT INFORMATION
Michael McKenna, EBS Realty Partners, LLC., 1300 Bristol Street North, Suite 290, Newport Beach, CA 92660