REQUEST FOR CITY COUNCIL ACTION
DATE: 03/06/2024
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
FROM: Planning & Development Department
SUBJECT:
Title
SPECIFIC PLAN AMENDMENT 2023-0004 TO THE MOUNTAIN GATE SPECIFIC PLAN (SP89-01) TO CHANGE THE LAND USE OF 5.15 ACRES LOCATED AT 430 W. FOOTHILL PARKWAY FROM COMMERCIAL TO SENIOR CITIZEN RESIDENTIAL AND ESTABLISH COMMENSURATE DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS FOR THE SENIOR CITIZEN RESIDENTIAL DESIGNATION (APN: 114-070-020, 114-070-021 AND 114-070-022) (APPLICANT: O & I DEVELOPMENT)
End
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
This staff report asks the City Council to approve Specific Plan Amendment 2023-0004 to the Mountain Gate Specific Plan to add a new land use designation of Senior Citizen Residential and establish commensurate development standards. Specific Plan Amendment 2023-0004 will also change the land use designation of 5.15 acres from Commercial to the Senior Citizen Residential designation located on the south side of Foothill Parkway and west of Main Street. The proposed amendment is intended to facilitate the development of an assisted senior living facility on the subject parcel.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Recommended action
That the City Council:
a. Approve SPA2023-0004, as recommended by the Planning and Housing Commission.
b. Introduce, by title only, and waive full reding of consideration of Ordinance No. 3388, first reading of an ordinance approving an amendment to the Mountain Gate Specific Plan (SP89-01) to change the land use designation for 5.15 acres from Commercial to Senior Citizen Residential and to establish corresponding development standards for the Senior Citizen Residential designation (SPA2023-0004).
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BACKGROUND & HISTORY:
The subject property is comprised of three vacant parcels totaling 5.15 acres. The project site is adjacent to the Mountain Gate shopping center, which contains an Albertsons supermarket, inline commercial tenants, and freestanding commercial buildings. The shopping center plan, which originally included the 5.15-acre project site for a total of 15 acres was approved by the City Council on July 15, 1998, by Precise Plan 97-6 (PP97-06). The 5.15-acre project site was intended to be developed as the second phase of the shopping center; however, the market has not supported additional commercial uses on the property. Over the years, the property has been considered for other uses such as a tire shop and townhouses. However, those uses were not considered the best use for the property. The applicant will be processing a lot line adjustment to merge the three parcels into one and to remove a portion of the shopping center’s parking lot from the project site.
ANALYSIS:
The Senior Citizen Residential (SCR) land use designation proposed by Specific Plan Amendment 2023-0004 (SPA2023-0004) will allow high-density residential for senior housing at a density not exceeding 40.5 dwelling units per acre (du/ac). The SCR designation is a new land use in the Mountain Gate Specific Plan but is an existing land use in the Cherokee Specific Plan, which is also located within South Corona. The SCR designation proposed by SPA2023-0004 is modeled after the SCR designation in the Cherokee Specific Plan.
SPA2023-0004 will do the following:
a) Change the land use designation of 5.15 acres located at 430 W. Foothill Parkway from Commercial to SCR.
b) Establish commensurate development standards supporting the SCR land use designation.
The SCR development standards will be added as a new section to Chapter 9.0 of the Mountain Gate Specific Plan. The development standards refer to the development standards of the R-3 (Multiple Family Residential) zone within the Corona Municipal Code, except for the considerations given to the setback of the parking lot along Mountain Gate Drive, reduced side yard landscaping, uncovered parking, minimum dwelling unit area, and signage.
The permitted land use in the SCR designation is limited to multiple family dwellings for senior citizen housing such as assisted living and independent living, to persons 55 years of age or older.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
The applicant paid the application processing fees of $8,071.03 to cover the cost of the Specific Plan Amendment.
ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS:
Per Section 15070(b) 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 since 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’s mitigation measures and mitigation monitoring and reporting program identified in the Mitigated Negative Declaration (MND), 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 February 12, 2024, the Planning and Housing Commission considered the subject matter and took the following action:
Motion was made, seconded (Woody/Longwell) and carried unanimously, with Vice Chair Vernon and Commissioner Siqueland absent, that the Planning and Housing Commission recommend adoption of the Mitigated Negative Declaration with Mitigation Monitoring Plan and approval of SPA2023-0004 to the City Council 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, PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR
Attachments:
1. Exhibit 1 - Ordinance No. 3388
2. Exhibit 2 - Locational
3. Exhibit 3 - Planning and Housing Commission staff report
4. Exhibit 4 - Minutes of the Planning and Housing Commission meeting of February 12, 2024