For the Planning Commission Meeting of April 15, 2026
TO: Honorable Chairman and Planning Commissioners
APPROVAL: Christina Taylor, Community Development Director
REVIEWED BY: Daniel Casey, Community Development Manager
FROM: Daniel Rosas, Senior Planner
Title
General Plan Amendment No. 2022-0001: A request to change the general plan land use designation of approximately 6.02 gross acres of land (APN’s: 0132-182-08, -09, & 0132-202-04) located at the northeast corner of Valley Boulevard and Willow Avenue from General Commercial (GC) with a Specific Plan Overlay to Business Park (BP) with a Specific Plan Overlay.
Specific Plan Amendment No. 2022-0002: A request to change the specific plan zoning designation of approximately 6.02 gross acres of land (APN’s: 0132-182-08, -09, & 0132-202-04) located at the northeast corner of Valley Boulevard and Willow Avenue from Freeway Commercial (F-C) within the Gateway Specific Plan to Industrial Park (I-P) within the Gateway Specific Plan.
Conditional Development Permit No. 2022-0019: A request to allow the development and operation of one (1) 46,758 square foot industrial warehouse building and one (1) 73,210 square foot industrial warehouse building on approximately 6.02 gross acres of land (APN’s: 0132-182-08, -09, & 0132-202-04) located at the northeast corner of Valley Boulevard and Willow Avenue.
Precise Plan of Design No. 2022-0031: A request to allow the development of one (1) 46,758 square foot industrial warehouse building, one (1) 73,210 square foot industrial warehouse building, and associated paving, landscaping, fencing, lighting, and drainage improvements on 6.02 gross acres of land (APN’s: 0132-182-08, -09, & 0132-202-04) located at the northeast corner of Valley Boulevard and Willow Avenue.
Environmental Assessment Review No. 2022-0033: A Mitigated Negative Declaration has been prepared for consideration in conjunction with General Plan Amendment No. 2022-0001, Specific Plan Amendment No. 2022-0002, Conditional Development Permit No. 2022-0019, and Precise Plan of Design No. 2022-0031, in accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
Body
APPLICANT:
Investment Building Group, 5100 Campus Drive, Suite 300, Newport Beach, CA 92660.
LOCATION:
The project site consists of three (3) parcels of land (APNs: 0132-182-08, -09, & 0132-202-04) located at the northeast corner of Valley Boulevard and Willow Avenue (Refer to the attached Location Map (Exhibit A)).
BACKGROUND:
Surrounding General Plan Land Use Designations
Surrounding Zoning Designations
Site Characteristics
The project site is comprised of three (3) parcels of land totaling approximately 6.02 acres in size with approximate dimensions of 930 feet (north-south) by 300 feet (east-west). The project site is bound on the south by Valley Boulevard (Truck Route), on the west by Willow Avenue, and on the northeast by the San Bernardino County Flood Control channel. The project site is partially developed with an existing building with support offices.
Surrounding Area
To the north of the project site, is vacant land with a wireless telecommunications facility, to the east is an existing self-storage facility and Flood Control channel, to the west across Willow Avenue, is a 492,410 square foot industrial building, and to the south across Valley Boulevard, is a vacant site.
ANALYSIS/DISCUSSION:
Project Proposal
The applicant, Investment Building Group, proposes to change the general plan land use designation of the project site from General Commercial (GC) with a Specific Plan Overlay to Business Park (BP) with a Specific Plan Overlay, change the specific plan zoning designation of the project site from Freeway Commercial (F-C) within the Gateway Specific Plan to Industrial Park (I-P) within the Gateway Specific Plan, demolish the existing building, reconfigure the project site’s three (3) parcels of land into two (2) parcels, and construct one (1) 46,758 square foot industrial warehouse building and one (1) 73,210 square foot industrial warehouse building on the new parcels. The buildings will accommodate various storage and distribution uses.
Entitlement Requirements
The following entitlements are required for the applicant’s proposal:
• General Plan Amendment: Changing the general plan land use designation of the project site from General Commercial (GC) with a Specific Plan Overlay to Business Park (BP) with a Specific Plan Overlay requires the approval of a General Plan Amendment.
• Specific Plan Amendment: Changing the specific plan zoning designation of the project site from Freeway Commercial (F-C) to Industrial Park (I-P) requires the approval of an amendment to the Gateway Specific Plan.
• Conditional Development Permit: The development and operation of industrial warehouse buildings within the I-P zone requires the approval of a Conditional Development Permit.
• Precise Plan of Design: The design of the development and the related site improvements (e.g. building exterior, landscaping, etc.) requires the approval of a Precise Plan of Design.
General Plan Amendment No. 2022-0001 & Specific Plan Amendment No. 2022-0002
Per Exhibit 2-2 (Land Use Policy Plan) of the General Plan, the project site is designated General Commercial with a Specific Plan Overlay. Per Chapter 2 (Managing Our Land Supply) of the General Plan, the proposed industrial warehouse buildings are not consistent with the General Commercial designation. Thus, the current general plan land use designation of the project site will not accommodate the proposed development. Consequently, the applicant filed a General Plan Amendment application to change the general plan land use designation of the project site to Business Park to accommodate the proposed development.
As shown on Figure 4.12 (Proposed Zoning) of the Gateway Specific Plan, the project site has a specific plan zoning designation of Freeway Commercial (F-C). According to Section 4.9 (Proposed Zoning) of the Gateway Specific Plan, industrial warehouse buildings are not permitted within the F-C zone. Therefore, the current zoning designation of the project site will not accommodate the proposed development. Accordingly, the applicant filed a Specific Plan Amendment application to change the specific plan zoning designation of the project site to Industrial Park to accommodate the proposed development.
The Business Park general plan land use designation and the I-P specific plan zoning designation are consistent with the surrounding land use designations, zoning designations, and developments. For example, as shown in the attached general plan land use exhibit (Exhibit B) and the attached specific plan zoning exhibit (Exhibit C), the areas of land immediately to the south and west of the project site are similarly designated Business Park and I-P. Furthermore, the property to the west of the project site is developed with an industrial warehouse building.
Site Design
As shown on the site plan (Exhibit D), the applicant proposes to construct a 73,210 square foot industrial warehouse building (Building 1) on the northern portion of the project site and a 46,758 square foot industrial warehouse building (Building 2) on the southern portion of the project site. The applicant proposes to reconfigure the site’s existing three (3) parcels of land into two (2) parcels to facilitate the development, so a condition of approval has been included to require a Lot Line Adjustment for the project. The proposed buildings are positioned near the east side of the project site with passenger-vehicle parking areas predominately located along the north, south, and west sides of the buildings. There are a few dock doors located toward the north portion of the site with most of the dock doors centrally located on the site.
The site will maintain an existing thirty-two (32) foot wide driveway connected directly to Valley Boulevard near the southeast corner of the project site to provide right-in/right-out access for passenger vehicles only. Three (3) new driveways are proposed along the Willow Avenue frontage all measuring thirty-two (32) feet wide. The southern Willow Avenue driveway will provide full-access for passenger vehicles only while the northern and central Willow Avenue driveways will provide full-access for both trucks and passenger vehicles.
Additional on-site improvements include paving, lighting, landscape planters throughout the site, screen walls, and an underground infiltration basin for runoff water quality treatment and retention.
Floor Plan
The floor plans for the proposed buildings (Exhibit E) indicate that Building 1 will be composed of approximately 66,810 square feet of warehouse space, with a potential for 2 speculative tenants with a combined 2,400 square feet of mezzanine space and 4,000 square feet of office space. Building 1 will include 10 dock doors and two (2) grade level roll-up doors. Building 2 will be composed of approximately 43,558 square feet of warehouse space, 1,200 square feet of mezzanine space, and 2,000 square feet of office space. Building 2 will include 5 dock doors and one (1) grade level roll-up door.
Architectural Design
The proposed buildings will feature significant vertical and horizontal wall plane articulation in the form of recessed wall panels and panel height variations on all four (4) sides of each building. As shown on the elevations (Exhibit F), the height of the buildings will range from 32.5 feet to 35 feet from the finished floor level. The exterior of each building will be of concrete tilt-up wall construction painted with a palette of three (3) different colors - white, light gray, and dark gray. Additional architectural features of the building include metal brow accents, reveals, and glazing.
Parking
The development will have 111 auto-parking spaces, including five (5) ADA accessible parking spaces. This quantity exceeds the minimum parking requirement as shown in the parking calculation chart below and as required by Chapter 18.58 (Off-Street Parking) of the Rialto Municipal Code:
Landscaping
The landscape coverage for the project is 19.6 percent, which exceeds the minimum required amount of 10.0 percent. This includes a twenty-five (25) foot landscape setback along Valley Boulevard, a thirty-eight to twenty-five (38 to 25) foot landscape setback along Willow Avenue, as well as planters around the perimeter of the building and the project site. All the landscape planters will feature a variety of trees spaced every thirty (30) linear feet and an abundant number of shrubs and groundcover (Exhibit G).
Traffic
Dudek, Inc. prepared a Traffic Scoping/Transportation Technical Memorandum, dated March 24, 2022, Revised July 21, 2025, pursuant to the City of Rialto’s Traffic Impact Analysis Guidelines to determine the trip generation estimates and VMT screening analysis of the proposed project (Exhibit H). The traffic scoping estimates that the project will generate approximately 152 net new daily vehicle trips (255 PCE daily vehicle trips) with 15 trips in the AM peak hour and 16 trips in the PM peak hour. Trucks will constitute up to 61 of the 152 actual daily vehicle trips.
The Traffic Scoping/Transportation Technical Memorandum concluded that the project would generate an insignificant amount of traffic, and all nearby intersections and roadway segments will continue operate at their current Level of Service (LOS) with the project.
The applicant will construct half-width street improvements along the entire project frontages of Valley Boulevard, and Willow Avenue. Additionally, the applicant will pay development impact fees related to traffic. All development impact fee payments will be paid prior to issuance of a building permit, and all new street improvements along the project frontage will be completed prior to issuance of a Certificate of Occupancy.
Land Use Compatibility
The project is consistent with the proposed Business Park general plan land use designation, the proposed I-P zoning designation, the regulations contained within Chapter 18.112 (Indoor Storage Uses) of the Rialto Municipal Code, and the industrial uses to the south and west of the project site. The surrounding area is predominantly designated for and developed with industrial uses, and as a result, there are no sensitive land uses adjacent to or across the street from the project site. The project will serve to improve a site with two (2) new industrial buildings, landscaping, screen walls, and drainage improvements.
GENERAL PLAN CONSISTENCY:
The applicant requests the approval of a General Plan Amendment to change the land use designation of the project site to Business Park with a Specific Plan Overlay for the project to achieve consistency with the General Plan. As mentioned previously, the proposed Business Park general plan land use designation for the project site is consistent with the existing Business Park general plan land use designation of the properties to the south and west of the project site. Furthermore, the project is consistent with the following goals of the Land Use Element and Economic Development Element of the Rialto General Plan:
Goal 2-16: Improve the architectural and design quality of development in Rialto.
Goal 2-22: Promote commercial and/or industrial development that is well designed, people-oriented, environmentally sustainable, sensitive to the needs of the visitor or resident, and functionally efficient for its purpose.
Goal 3-1: Strengthen and diversify the economic base and employment opportunities and maintain a positive business climate.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT:
California Environmental Quality Act
The applicant engaged Dudek, Inc. to prepare an Initial Study (Environmental Assessment Review No. 2022-0033) for the project in accordance with the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The Initial Study is attached to the agenda report (Exhibit I). Based on the findings and recommended mitigation within the Initial Study, staff determined that the project will not have an adverse impact on the environment and prepared a Mitigated Negative Declaration. Although the Mitigated Negative Declaration identified potential impacts related to biological resources, cultural resources, noise, and tribal cultural resources, any of these impacts will be reduced to a level of insignificance subject to the imposition of the recommended mitigation contained within the project’s Final Mitigated Negative Declaration & Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program (Exhibit J).
The Planning Division published a Notice of Intent to adopt the Mitigated Negative Declaration for the project in the San Bernardino Sun newspaper, mailed copies to all property owners within 1,000 feet of the project site. Staff also completed a Notice of Completion and distributed copies of the Initial Study to the State Clearinghouse. A thirty (30) day public comment period for the Mitigated Negative Declaration began on February 11, 2026 and ended on March 12, 2026. Two (2) comment letters were received during the public comment period, one from the Department of Toxic Substances Control and one from San Bernardino County Department of Public Works. Comments and response to comments have been included in the Final Mitigated Negative Declaration.
PUBLIC NOTICE:
The City published a public hearing notice for proposed project in the San Bernardino Sun newspaper, posted copies of the public hearing notice outside the Council Chambers and the City Clerk’s Office, and mailed public hearing notices to all property owners within 1,000 feet of the project site, as required by State law.
RECOMMENDATION:
The Planning Division recommends that the Planning Commission:
- Adopt the attached Resolution (Exhibit K) forwarding to the City Council a recommendation to adopt the Mitigated Negative Declaration (Environmental Assessment Review No. 2022-0033) prepared for the project; and
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- Adopt the attached Resolution (Exhibit L) forwarding to the City Council a recommendation to approve General Plan Amendment No. 2022-0001, based upon the findings and subject to the conditions therein; and
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- Adopt the attached Resolution (Exhibit M) forwarding to the City Council a recommendation to approve Specific Plan Amendment No. 2022-0002, based upon the findings and subject to the conditions therein; and
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- Adopt the attached Resolution (Exhibit N) forwarding to the City Council a recommendation to approve Conditional Development Permit No. 2022-0019, based upon the findings and subject to the conditions therein; and
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- Adopt the attached Resolution (Exhibit O) forwarding to the City Council a recommendation to approve Precise Plan of Design No. 2022-0031, based upon the findings and subject to the conditions therein.