PLANNING AND HOUSING COMMISSION STAFF REPORT
DATE: 12/06/2021
TO: Honorable Chair and Commissioners
FROM: Planning & Development Department
APPLICATION REQUEST:
Title
TTM 37980 (CONTINUED): Tentative tract map application to subdivide 4.73 acres into 19 lots for single family residential purposes located at the northwest corner of Citron Street and Taylor Street in the R1-8.4 (Single Family Residential, minimum lot size 8,400 square feet) zone. (Applicant: Mark Haupert with Priem Properties, LLC., 12012 Knott Avenue #A2, Garden Grove, CA 92841.
End
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Recommended action
That the Planning and Housing Commission recommend APPROVAL of TTM 37980 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: 4.73 acres
Existing Zoning: R1-8.4 (Single Family Residential, minimum lot size 8,400 square feet)
Existing General Plan: LDR (Low Density Residential, 3-6 du/ac)
Existing Land Use: Undeveloped
Proposed Land Use: Single Family Residential
Surrounding Zoning/Land Uses:
N: R1-8.4/Single family residences
E: R1-8.4/Taylor Street, with single-family residences located beyond
S: R1-8.4/Citron Street, with single-family residences located beyond
W: R1-8.4/Single family residences
BACKGROUND
Tentative Tract Map (TTM) 37980 is a proposal to subdivide 4.73 acres into 19 lots for single-family residential purposes. The project site is a vacant parcel located on the northwest corner of Citron Street and Taylor Street (Exhibit 1). The surrounding land uses are residential. The parcel is zoned R1-8.4, which is a single-family residential zone that requires newly created lots to have a minimum lot size of 8,400 square feet. The site has a General Plan designation of Low Density Residential (LDR), which supports a residential a density of 3 to 6 dwelling units per acre (du/ac). As proposed, the density of TTM 37980 is 4.02 du/ac.
At this time the applicant is only proposing to subdivide the larger parcel into smaller parcels. The applicant is not currently proposing any construction, as they have not decided if they will sell the approved tract map to a home builder or build the homes themselves. Regardless, the future development of the tract will require the submittal of a Development Plan Review application and a Precise Plan application, which will be subject to the approval of the Planning & Housing Commission at a public hearing.
TTM 37980 received a pre-review by city staff at a Development Plan Review meeting on October 15, 2020. The applicant submitted an official tentative tract map application on February 8, 2021, which was reviewed by the Project and Environmental Review Committee on March 4, 2021. The Committee deemed the application incomplete. The applicant subsequently submitted revisions, and the application was deemed complete on October 25, 2021.
The applicant has conducted community outreach with the surrounding neighborhood. The applicant walked the neighborhood on November 24, 2020, November 25, 2020, and December 1, 2020, and hand delivered 158 flyers that included an introduction letter and a copy of the proposed tentative tract map. Per the applicant, the project was well received by residents, although residents expressed concerns with tumbleweeds, loitering, and years of illegal dumping. Copies of the community outreach documents are attached as Exhibit 2.E.
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
The layout of the lots proposed by TTM 37980 is shown in Exhibit 2.A. The R1-8.4 zone provides the following minimum standards for the creation of new single-family lots.
Lot Area: 8,400 square feet
Lot Width: 70 feet, with an average of 75 feet
Lot Depth: 100 feet
Table 1, below, summarizes the proposed single-family lots. All of the proposed lots meet or exceed the requirements of the R1-8.4 zone regarding size, width, and depth.
Table 1: Lot Summary
|
LOT NO. |
LOT AREA (SF) |
WIDTH |
DEPTH |
|
1 |
8,400 |
72.3 |
115.9 |
|
2 |
8,461 |
70.3 |
120.7 |
|
3 |
8,433 |
72.2 |
121.2 |
|
4 |
9,823 |
90.2 |
109.9 |
|
5 |
11,432 |
89.2 |
106.2 |
|
6 |
14,034 |
75.5 |
149.1 |
|
7 |
10,085 |
81.4 |
108.3 |
|
8 |
8,821 |
85.5 |
116.6 |
|
9 |
10,010 |
82.6 |
121.4 |
|
10 |
9,190 |
82.6 |
111.3 |
|
11 |
8,402 |
75.5 |
111.3 |
|
12 |
8,402 |
75.5 |
111.3 |
|
13 |
8,402 |
75.5 |
111.3 |
|
14 |
8,400 |
75.5 |
111.3 |
|
15 |
8,920 |
81.8 |
110.1 |
|
16 |
9,002 |
81.8 |
110.1 |
|
17 |
8,999 |
81.8 |
110.1 |
|
18 |
8,997 |
81.8 |
110 |
|
19 |
8,994 |
81.7 |
110 |
|
AVERAGE |
9,326.8 |
79.6 |
114.5 |
ACCESS AND PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS
Lots 10-19 border Taylor Street and Citron Street and will take vehicular access from these two streets. Site adjacent curbs, gutters, landscape parkways, and sidewalks are currently missing along both of these streets. The developer is required to construct the missing roadway improvements. Taylor Street is required to have an overall right-of way of 68 feet and Citron Street will have an overall right-of-away of 64 feet, as show on Exhibit 2.C.
Several existing palm trees are located adjacent to the project site within the public right-of-way along Taylor Avenue. The developer may need to remove palm trees in order to accommodate the driveways for lots 10-14. The final location of the driveways and the number of trees to be removed will be determined through the review of a future Precise Plan Application.
Lorraine Drive and Susanne Street currently dead-end into the project site from the north and west, respectively. Both streets are required to be extended into the project to provide vehicular access to proposed lots 1-9. Both roadways must have an overall right-of-way width of 60 feet, and must be improved with curbs, gutters, landscape parkways, and sidewalks.
As part of the Tentative Tract Map, the applicant is also required to make the following public improvements:
• Grind and overlay the west half width of Taylor Street plus ten additional feet beyond the centerline.
• Grind and overlay the north half width of Citron Street plus ten additional feet beyond the centerline.
• Upsize the existing water line on both Taylor and Citron Streets from 6-inches to 8-inches to provide adequate fire flow for the new residences.
RETAINING WALLS
A retaining wall varying in height from 2.5 feet to 4 feet will be constructed along the project’s west perimeter, between the existing residences and Lots 1 and 2. Additionally, a retaining wall varying in height from 4 feet to 5 feet will be constructed along the project’s north perimeter, between the existing residences and Lots 1, 9, and 10. The retaining walls are shown as cross-sections A-A and B-B on Exhibit 2.C.
Lot 15 is also shown with a retaining wall varying in height from approximately 2.5 feet to 8 feet along the east perimeter of the lot adjacent to Taylor Avenue. Through the precise plan process, the developer will be required to construct 6-foot high block walls along the perimeters of all 19 lots. For lot 15, this will result in a combination retaining/perimeter wall ranging from approximately 8.5 to 14 feet in height that will be visible from Taylor Avenue. In order to minimize the visual impact of the wall from the street, the project is conditioned to work with staff to reduce the height of the retaining wall on lot 15. As an alternative, the applicant may construct a slope along the east perimeter of lot 15, which would eliminate the need for a retaining wall.
EASEMENT
With the recordation of TTM 37980, a public drainage easement will be established along the property’s north perimeter on Lots 9 and 10. The easement is 20 feet in width and will contain an underground pipe, which will allow stormwater to drain from Lorraine Drive to Taylor Street.
ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS:
Per Section 15332 of the State Guidelines for implementing the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and Section 3.22 of the City’s Local CEQA Guidelines, a Notice of Exemption has been prepared for the project because the project qualifies as a Class 32 (In-Fill Development Projects) categorical exemption. The project is consistent with the site’s general plan designation and applicable plan policies; zoning designation; is less than five acres in size; is surrounded by urban uses; has no habitat for endangered, rare or threatened species; the project would not result in significant traffic, noise, air quality or water quality effects; and the site is adequately served by utilities and public services. The Notice of Exemption is attached as Exhibit 3.
FISCAL IMPACT
The applicant has paid the application processing fees to cover the cost of the tentative tract map, as required by City resolution.
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 & Development Department has not received any inquiries from the public in response to the notice.
STAFF ANALYSIS
TTM 37980 proposes a subdivision that will allow for the seamless completion of a residential neighborhood that shares the same R1-8.4 zone with the project site. The proposed lots are similar in size to the existing neighboring lots, and will be developed in the future with homes that are subject to the same development standards as the existing lots. This results in a residential development that conforms to the scale of the existing neighborhood.
The lots proposed by TTM 37980 complies with the R1-8.4 zone development standards. The project’s density of 4.02 du/ac complies with the General Plan’s density range of 3 to 6 du/ac. All missing and required public improvements associated with the project will be constructed per city standards and are guaranteed with the tentative tract map. This ensures the orderly development of the site and protects the public health and safety of the general public.
The 19 lots are anticipated to generate 179 daily vehicle trips, 14 of which will occur during the morning peak hour, and 19 of which will occur during the evening peak hour. The city’s Traffic Engineer has reviewed the amount of traffic to be generated by the project and determined the traffic to be consistent with City’s General Plan projections, and any impacts to the area would be insignificant.
The Planning Division recommends approval of TTM 37980 based on the findings below and staff’s recommended conditions of approval.
FINDINGS OF APPROVAL FOR TTM 37980
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 because the project qualifies as a Class 32 (In-Fill Development Projects) categorical exemption. The project is consistent with the site’s General Plan designation and applicable plan policies; zoning designation; is less than five acres in size; is surrounded by urban uses; has no habitat for endangered, rare or threatened species; the project would not result in significant traffic, noise, air quality or water quality effects; and the site is adequately served by utilities and public services.
2. None of the conditions provided in Section 66474 of the California Government Code exists for the following reasons:
a. TTM 37980 will subdivide 4.73 acres into 19 single family residential lots, which does not exceed the maximum density of 6 du/ac established by the General Plan designation of Low Density Residential. In addition, the subdivision is consistent with General Plan Policy LU-8.1 by facilitating the development of an infill site for residential development of the same size and zoning designation as the surrounding neighborhood.
b. The proposed subdivision is designed to meet the city’s development standards for newly created lots in accordance with the zoning of the property, the city’s subdivision design standards and General Plan.
c. The site is suitable for the type of development proposed under TTM 37980 and provides adequate access from Taylor Street, Citron Street, Lorraine Drive and Susanne Street, which will be improved in accordance with City standards.
d. The site is physically suitable for the proposed density of 4.02 du/ac. The site is capable of accommodating 19 lots that meet the subdivision standards required by the Corona Municipal Code for the R1-8.4 zone.
e. The design of the subdivision or the proposed improvements is not likely to cause substantial environmental damage or substantially injure fish or wildlife or their habitat because the project qualifies as a Class 32 (In-Fill Development Projects) categorical exemption. The project is consistent with the site’s general plan designation and plan policies; zoning designation; is less than five acres in size; is surrounded by urban uses; has no habitat for endangered, rare or threatened species; the project would not result in significant traffic, noise, air quality or water quality effects; and the site is adequately served by utilities and public services. Furthermore, the project site is completely surrounded by urbanized developments.
f. The proposed subdivision will not result in adverse impacts to public health, safety or general welfare because the project is designed in accordance with design standards that are in place to ensure orderly development of the project site and improvements associated with the project.
g. The design of the subdivision or the type of improvements 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 project site.
3. Pursuant to California Government Code Section 66473.5, consistency with applicable General Plan or Specific Plan does exist for the following reason:
a. The General Plan allows for 3-6 dwelling units per acre for the Low Density Residential designation. The proposed project would result in a density of 4.02 du/ac, which is within the allowable density range.
4. Pursuant to California Government Code Section 66474.6, 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 reasons:
a. The amount of discharge to be produced by the subdivision is not expected to exceed the limit established by the Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board as monitored by the city’s Utilities Department.
5. The proposal is in conformance with the standards of the R1-8.4 zone for the following reason:
a. Single-family residential development is permitted in the R1-8.4 zone, and the subdivision design is consistent with the development standards that apply to the site.
6. The proposal is in conformance with Title 16 (Subdivisions) of the Corona Municipal Code for the following reasons:
a. The proposed map meets the city’s subdivision standards for lot area, width, depth and street access as prescribed by the R1-8.4 zone.
b. All necessary public improvements to support the proposed project are guaranteed with this subdivision as provided by the Conditions of Approval.
PREPARED BY: LUPITA GARCIA, ASSOCIATE 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 Tentative Tract Map 37980
2.B Conditions of Approval
2.C Grading Plan
2.D Applicant’s letter dated November 15, 2021, regarding the subdivision
2.E Neighborhood Community Outreach Documents
3. Environmental Documentation
Case Planner: Lupita Garcia (951) 736-2262