PLANNING AND HOUSING COMMISSION
STAFF REPORT
DATE: 11/8/2021
TO: Honorable Chair and Commissioners
FROM: Planning & Development Department
APPLICATION REQUEST:
Title
PM 38183: Parcel Map application to subdivide 10 acres into two parcels located at 2550 S. Main Street in the A (Agricultural) zone. (Applicant: Ken Puentez, Vanlen Consultants, Inc., 5015 Canyon Crest Drive, Riverside, CA 92507)
End
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Recommended action
That the Planning and Housing Commission recommend APPROVAL of PM 38183 to the City Council, based on the findings contained in the staff report and subject to the conditions of approval.
Body
PROJECT SITE SUMMARY
Area of Property: 10 acres
Existing Zoning: A (Agricultural)
Existing General Plan: MDR (Medium Density Residential, 6-15 du/ac)
Existing Land Use: Church and Plant Nursery
Proposed Land Use: Church and Plant Nursery
Surrounding Zoning/Land Uses:
N: R1-8.4 (Single Family, 8,400 square foot minimum lot size) zone / Single-family residences
E: C-P (Professional and Office) zone / S. Main Street and Church
S: R-3 (Multi-Family Residential) / Senior Apartments and an Assisted Living Facility
W: R1-8.4 (Single Family, 8,400 square foot minimum lot size) zone / Single-family residences
BACKGROUND
Parcel Map 38183 is a request to subdivide 10 acres into two parcels. The subject site is located at 2550 S. Main Street (Exhibit 1). The purpose of the subdivision is to allow the property owner, Corona Seventh Day Adventist Church, to sell the undeveloped western portion of the property (Parcel 2 on Exhibit 2.A).
The western portion of the property is undeveloped and occupied by a plant nursery. The applicant has indicated that the nursery tenant will be vacating the property in the near future. The eastern portion of the property is currently developed with a church. The church was established under Conditional Use Permit (CUP) 78-11.
The project was preliminarily reviewed by staff on April 1, 2021 (DPR2021-0003). The applicant formally submitted the parcel map application on July 8, 2021. The application was reviewed by the Project and Environmental Review Committee on August 5, 2021. The application was determined incomplete; and staff provided the applicant a letter outlining missing items. The applicant subsequently submitted the missing information on August 8, 2021, and the application was deemed complete on October 14, 2021.
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
The proposed parcel map is shown in Exhibit 2.A.
• Parcel 1 is proposed at five acres and is located on the eastern portion of the property. It currently contains the Corona Seventh Day Adventist Church, associated parking lot, and a driveway to Main Street.
• Parcel 2 is proposed at five acres and is located on the western portion of the property, behind Parcel 1. It contains a plant nursery and an internal drive aisle along the south property line, which provides a point of access to Main Street for both parcels.
The existing improvements on the property are shown in Exhibit 2.C.
The property is zoned A (Agricultural) and subject to the development standards of Corona Municipal Code (CMC) Chapter 17.06. Chapter 17.06 requires a minimum lot area of 5 acres for newly created lots within the Agricultural zone. In addition, a minimum lot width of 250 feet and lot depth of 300 feet are required. Parcels 1 and 2, as shown on PM 38183, are capable of meeting the minimum lot area, width and depth requirements prescribed by the code.
Furthermore, Parcel 2 is designed as a flag lot, which establishes additional requirements. Flag lots are required to be a minimum of 20,000 square feet in size, and have an access corridor from a street that is at least 80 feet in length and 25 feet in width. Parcel 2 is meetings these requirements. Table 1 below summarizes the proposed lots.
TABLE 1
Proposed Lot Sizes for PM 38183*
|
Parcel Number |
Lot Area |
Acreage |
|
1 |
217,983 |
5 |
|
2 |
217,823 |
5 |
*Measurements from proposed map (Exhibit 2.A)
ACCESS, CIRCULATION AND PARKING
Parcel 1 will have vehicular access from Main Street via an existing driveway located at the northeast corner of the property. Parcel 2 will have vehicular access from Main Street via an existing driveway that is located at the southeast corner of the property. Both driveways will be shared between the parcels. The southeast driveway also provides reciprocal access to the adjacent development to the south.
Main Street is classified by the General Plan as a major arterial. The portion of Main Street adjacent to the project site is fully improved with roadway, curb and gutter, landscaped parkway, and sidewalk. No additional widening is needed for this portion of Main Street as the street is at its maximum arterial width.
ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS:
A Notice of Exemption has been prepared for the project 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 when 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 “common sense” exemption). Parcel Map 38183 subdivides a single parcel into two parcels, which allows the owner to sell the western portion of the property. There is no development proposed with this project (Exhibit 4).
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
The applicant paid the application processing fees to cover the cost of the parcel map review. There is no fiscal impact to the city.
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 Planning and Development Department has not received any response from the public regarding the proposal.
STAFF ANALYSIS
The church was constructed on the project site in 1978 under CUP78-11. The approved plans under the CUP show no plans for a second phase of development over the western portion of the property. The western portion has remained undeveloped and underutilized for 43 years, as the owner has no plans to expand the church. The subdivision proposed by PM 38183 would allow the owner to sell the western portion for future development. Future development of Parcel 2 with anything other than an agricultural use or a single-family dwelling will require the submittal of a development application, which will require review by the Planning and Housing Commission at a future date.
The parcels proposed by PM 38183 will comply with the development standards applicable to new lots within the Agricultural zone. The subdivision results in a density of 0.2 dwelling units per acre, which does not exceed the General Plan’s maximum density of 15 dwelling units per acre (Medium-Density Residential). The parcels are provided with adequate vehicular access by two existing driveways on Main Street.
The project is consistent with General Plan Land Use Policy LU-4.4, which states:
Proactively promote the adaptive re-use and infill of economically underutilized, obsolete, and dilapidated commercial and industrial sites within existing urbanized areas, in consideration of the uses, scale, and character of adjoining uses.
While there is no development proposed for Parcel 2 at this time, the subdivision proposed PM 38183 is consistent with the intent of Land Use Policy LU-4.4 because it provides an opportunity to develop the underutilized portion of the property in a manner that supports the City’s growth.
The Planning Division recommends approval of PM 38183 based on the findings listed below, and staff’s recommended conditions of approval attached as Exhibit 2.B.
FINDINGS OF APPROVAL FOR PM 38183
1. The City of Corona has determined that this project is exempted from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Section 15061(b)(3) of the State Guidelines, which states that a project is exempted from CEQA when 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 “common sense” exemption). Parcel Map 38183 subdivides a single parcel into two parcels, which allows the owner to sell the western portion of the property. No development is associated with the property at this time.
2. Pursuant to California Government Code Section 66411.1 this division of land necessitates the inclusion of Condition of Approval for the following reasons:
a. The guarantee of construction of missing improvements on Main Street adjacent to Parcel 2 is necessary for the public’s safe access to and around the site.
b. Each site must contribute to the improvements so that future development would not be detrimental to the public’s health and safety.
3. None of the conditions provided in Section 66474 of the California Government Code exist for the following reasons:
a. The subdivision proposed by PM 38183 results in a density of 0.2 dwelling units per acre, which does not exceed the General Plan’s maximum allowable density limit of 15 dwelling units per acre for the Medium Density Residential designation.
b. The design or improvement of the proposed subdivision is consistent with the development standards established for the Agricultural zone under CMC Chapter 17.06.
c. Parcel 1 is physically capable of accommodating the existing church and associated parking lot, and has adequate access from Main Street. Parcel 2 is physical suitable for the types of uses that could potentially be developed on the property under the current Agricultural zone. Any future development on Parcel 2 would be reviewed separately for compliance with all applicable codes and requirements, including access requirements.
d. The site is physically suitable for the proposed density of 0.2 dwelling units per acre, as the site is capable of yielding two lots that meet the subdivision standards required by the Corona Municipal Code.
e. The design of the subdivision or the proposed improvements are not likely to cause substantial environmental damage or substantially injure fish or wildlife or their habitat because PM 38183 does not propose any development to the site. Furthermore, the property is completely surrounded by urbanized development and has been disturbed by the activities associated with the existing church and plant nursery located on site.
f. The proposed subdivision will not result in adverse impact to public health, safety or general welfare because the project adheres to the development standards of the zone in which it is located promoting orderly development of the project site, and any missing improvements that are required to be constructed with the project will adhere to the applicable city standards, codes and requirements.
g. The design of the subdivision will not conflict with easements, acquired by the public at large, for access through or use of, property within the proposed subdivision because no such easements exist on the property, or the easements are being protected in place on the project site or relocated elsewhere on the property.
4. Pursuant to California Government Code Section 66464.6, the discharge of waste from the proposed subdivision into existing community sewers would not result in violation of existing requirements presented by the Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board pursuant to Division 7 (commencing with Section 13000) of the Water Code for the following reason:
a. The proposal is a subdivision of property for the purpose of a land transfer, and does not include any development at this time. Therefore the amount of discharge to be produced by the proposal does not alter the existing site conditions, and would not exceed the limit established by the Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board as monitored by the City of Corona’s Utilities Department.
5. The proposal is in conformance with the standards of the Agricultural zone for the following reasons:
a. The applicant’s parcel map meets the Agricultural zone development standards and other applicable code requirements under the Corona Municipal Code.
PREPARED BY: RAFAEL TORRES, ASSISTANT PLANNER
REVIEWED BY: SANDRA YANG, SENIOR PLANNER
REVIEWED BY: JAY EASTMAN, PLANNING MANAGER
SUBMITTED BY: JOANNE COLETTA, PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR
EXHIBITS
1. Locational and Zoning Map
2.A - Parcel Map 38183
2.B - Conditions of Approval
2.C - Plot Plan
2.D - Applicant’s letter dated June 26, 2021
3 - Environmental Documentation
Case Planner: Rafael Torres (951) 736-2262