For the Planning Commission Meeting of August 8, 2018
TO: Honorable Chairman and Planning Commissioners
APPROVAL: Robb Steel, Assist. City Administrator/Dir. of Development Services
FROM: Gina M. Gibson-William, Planning Manager
Title
Specific Plan Amendment No. 2018-0004 and Environmental Review Assessment No. 2018-0079: Recommend approval of an amendment to the Land Use Map of the Renaissance Specific Plan to the City Council to re-designate the zoning of a 3.07-acre parcel (APN 0264-212-27) located at the southwest corner of Fitzgerald Avenue and Lieske Drive from Low Density Residential (LDR) to Employment and adopt a Negative Declaration In accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
Body
BACKGROUND:
Applicant
The request is City initiated.
Location
The property is located on Fitzgerald Avenue, just south and west of the intersection of Leiske Drive (APN #0264-212-27).
Legal Action
In 2017, the representative for the property, Airport Industrial Land Trust contacted the City to discuss development options for the property. The 2010 Renaissance Specific Plan (RSP) initially designated the 3.07-acre parcel for industrial use (Employment) and the 2016 Amended RSP then designated it for residential purposes (Exhibit A).
The property owner contends that he did not receive notice of the public hearings on the Amended RSP. Staff determined that the City published, posted, and mailed to the property owner of record (via first class mail), all the appropriate and legally required notices. Although the City cannot ascertain that the property owner received the mailed notice, receipt of the notice is not a legal obligation of the City, and thus the City complied with all the legal requirements under the law. Nonetheless, the property owner requests that the City re-designate his property for industrial purposes.
On December 21, 2017, the property owner filed a lawsuit (Exhibit B) with the San Bernardino County Superior Court claiming inverse condemnation, regulatory taking, lack of notice and other constitutional claims. As part of the settlement discussions, on January 31, 2018, the City’s Economic Development Committee (EDC) authorized staff to initiate the Specific Plan Amendment. The EDC agenda report is an associated file (No. 18-096) attached to this report. Subsequently on March 8, 2018, the parties entered into a tolling agreement, and on April 5, 2018 the property owner dismissed the lawsuit against the City in exchange for the proposed zoning amendment.
ANALYSIS/DISCUSSION:
Specific Plan Amendment
The proposed revision to the Renaissance Specific Plan (SPA 2018-0004) will: re-designate the zoning designation of a 3.07-acre parcel (APN 0264-212-27) located at the southwest corner of Fitzgerald Avenue and Lieske Drive from Low-Density Residential (LDR) to Employment. The figures, text, tables, and charts of the Renaissance Specific Plan will be modified to reflect the resulting acreages in the LDR and EMP zones respectively.
Historical Zoning
In 1997, the site was a part of the Airport Specific Plan and zoned for industrial land use under the Industrial Airport Related (I-AR) zone (Exhibit C). The IAR designation remained in effect for 17 years. The 2010 RSP removed the area from the Airport Specific Plan and continued the historical industrial designation by zoning the site or industrial uses with the Employment (EMP) designation. The Employment designation remained in effect for six years. After 23 years of industrial zoning, the 2016 RSP amendment modified the old industrial zoning to a residential designation. Given that the subject site is contiguous to parcels zoned for industrial on the south and residential on the west the property could have been zoned for either residential or industrial.
Justification for Proposed Zoning
Since the site was previously designated as industrial in the Airport Specific Plan and in the 2010 RSP, re-designating the site as Employment will not be contrary to the General Plan Land Use policies. The site is adjacent to properties zoned for Employment uses and as such, is consistent with established land use patterns. The Program EIR for the Renaissance Specific Plan and the EIR for the Airport Specific Plan analyzes any potential increase of the load on public facilities such as schools, sewers, streets. No new impacts will result from re-designating the site back to an industrial designation. LHR, the master developer, supports the re-designation and substantiates that a re-designation would not substantially damage the integrity of the planned residential community surrounding the parcel.
GENERAL PLAN CONSISTENCY:
Appendix B of the Renaissance Specific Plan (Exhibit D) includes an analysis of the consistency between the Renaissance Specific Plan and the goals and policies contained in the City of Rialto General Plan as required by Section 65454 of the California Government Code. Based on the analysis, the Renaissance Specific Plan which includes the Employment zoning designation for the subject site is consistent with the City of Rialto General Plan.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT:
An Initial Study (Environmental Assessment Review No. 2018-0079) has been prepared for the proposed Project in accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The proposed Specific Plan Amendment will not have a significant impact on the environment, and a Negative Declaration has been prepared and is available on the City website at www.rialtoca.gov <http://www.rialtoca.gov>.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
The re-designation of the subject site for industrial purposes would produce positive economic results for the City. Recent fiscal impact reports suggest that the City realizes approximately $500 net revenue to the General Fund for each job created, for potential net revenues of $10,000 to $20,000. Residential uses generally break even at best if a Community Facilities District is established.
The financial impact for the property owner is significant. Industrial land currently sells for considerably more than residential land.
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the Planning Commission approve a Resolution (Exhibit E and E.1) recommending approval of an amendment to the Land Use Map of the Renaissance Specific Plan to the City Council to re-designate the zoning of a 3.07 acre parcel (APN 0264-212-27) located at the southwest corner of Fitzgerald Avenue and Lieske Drive from Low Density Residential (LDR) to Employment and adopt a Negative Declaration In accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).