For the Planning Commission Meeting of August 20, 2025
TO: Honorable Chairman and Planning Commissioners
APPROVAL: Christina Taylor, Interim Community Development Director
REVIEWED BY: Paul Gonzales, Community Development Manager
FROM: Jason Costa, Associate Planner
Title
Master Case No. 2025-0002 (Related Files: Precise Plan of Design No. 2025-0002, Conditional Development Permit No. 2025-0002, and Environmental Assessment Review No. 2025-0001): A proposal to combine two lots (APNs 0258-041-28 and 0258-041-29) into one 4.04-acre parcel and develop a truck and trailer outdoor storage yard at 2175 South Willow Avenue in the Heavy Industrial (H-IND) zone in the Agua Mansa Specific Plan.
Body
APPLICANT:
Outour Storage Investments, LLC 800 Brickell Avenue, Suite 904, Miami, FL, 33131.
LOCATION:
The project site consists of two (2) parcels (Assessor's Parcel Numbers 0258-041-28 and 0258-041-29) located at 2175 South Willow Avenue (Location Map (Exhibit A)).
BACKGROUND:
On June 18, 2025, the Planning Commission continued the project to a future meeting on a date uncertain to allow the traffic consultant additional time to review and finalize the traffic impact analysis.
Surrounding General Plan Land Use Designations
Location
General Plan Designation
Site
General Industrial with a Specific Plan Overlay (Agua Mansa SP)
North
General Industrial with a Specific Plan Overlay (Agua Mansa SP)
East
General Industrial with a Specific Plan Overlay (Agua Mansa SP)
South
General Industrial with a Specific Plan Overlay (Agua Mansa SP)
West
General Industrial with a Specific Plan Overlay (Agua Mansa SP)
Surrounding Zoning Designations
Location
Zoning
Site
Heavy Industrial (H-IND) in the Agua Mansa Specific Plan
North
Heavy Industrial (H-IND) in the Agua Mansa Specific Plan
East
Heavy Industrial (H-IND) in the Agua Mansa Specific Plan
South
Heavy Industrial (H-IND) in the Agua Mansa Specific Plan
West
Heavy Industrial (H-IND) in the Agua Mansa Specific Plan
Site Characteristics
The project site consists of two parcels totaling 4.04 acres. Parcel one (APN 0258-041-28) is a 1.55-acre parcel and the second parcel (APN 0258-041-29) is approximately 2.49-acres. The parcels are on the east side of South Willow Avenue approximately 400 feet south of West Slover Avenue. The site has an existing 5,800 square-foot building. The site has been partially paved. The property was previously occupied by a horse carriage manufacturer.
Surrounding Area
The project site is situated in the Heavy Industrial (H-IND) Zone of the Agua Mansa Specific Plan (AMSP) and it is surrounded by industrial uses. The surrounding properties to the north, south, east, and west are all also zoned H-IND in the AMSP.
ANALYSIS/DISCUSSION:
Project Proposal
The applicant has proposed to develop an outdoor storage yard for trucks and trailers. Site improvements will accommodate the proposed use and include improvements to the existing building.
Entitlement Requirements
The following entitlements are required for the applicant's proposal:
* Conditional Development Permit: Per Chapter 18.104 (Outdoor Storage Uses) and Section 18.66.030BB of the Rialto Municipal Code, the development and operation of an outdoor storage use requires the approval of a Conditional Development Permit.
* Precise Plan of Design: Per Section 18.65.010 of the Rialto Municipal Code, the design of the proposed development and the related site improvements (e.g., building exterior, screen walls, landscaping, etc.) requires the approval of a Precise Plan of Design.
Site Design
As illustrated on the site plan (Exhibit B), the development will include, paved parking for semi-trailers, paved employee and guest parking, street improvements, screening, and landscaping.
The applicant will refurbish the existing 5,800 square-foot building near the southwest corner of the project site. A new fourteen (14) foot-high, 251 foot-long, tan-colored split-face CMU block wall is also proposed that will screen the property and the office structure from view from the public right-of-way (South Willow Avenue). The wall will be located along the front of the property for 207 linear feet and 44 linear feet along the north perimeter. To the south, the project's wall will meet the screening wall of the property to the south.
The project will include three ingress and egress points to South Willow Avenue. The screening wall will form the north and south side perimeter walls for a 39-foot-wide 75-foot-long main driveway and truck stacking lane. This driveway will include an 8-foot-high louvered swinging gate. A second driveway and a pedestrian gate, both with louvered gates, will be south of the main driveway.
Building Design
The building is an existing 5,800 square-foot one-story metal building. This will be repainted and refurbished (Exhibit C). The building is located near the southwest area of the property. The front door faces west towards South Willow Avenue. The building is 19 feet and six inches high, and it is 100 feet long east to west and 58 feet wide north to south.
The proposed floor plan (Exhibit D) will be divided into two separate areas. The first will be a 1,300 square-foot office area consisting of six workstations, a break area, an office and two restrooms. The second area will be an approximate 4,500 square foot area for truck yard related uses. The office area is along the south side of the building.
Parking
The development will have fourteen (14) automobile parking spaces, including two (2) ADA accessible parking spaces. This quantity meets the minimum parking requirement as shown in the parking calculation chart below and as required by Table 13 (Off-Street Parking Requirements) of the Agua Mansa Specific Plan, which requires one (1) parking space for every 300 square feet of office space gross floor area and one (1) parking space for every 500 square-feet of manufacturing/processing (ancillary maintenance) space.
Type of Use
Floor Area (square feet)
Parking Ratio
Number of spaces required
Offices
Manufacturing/Processing
1,500
4,300
1 / 300
1 / 500|1010||10 10|
Total Required / Total Provided
14 / 14
Landscaping
The landscape coverage for the project is 10.8 percent. This includes landscaped setbacks between 30 and 75 feet-wide along South Willow Avenue, as well as the planters around the interior perimeter of the project site. All the landscape planters will feature a variety of trees spaced every thirty (30) linear feet and have an abundant amount of shrubs and groundcover (Exhibit E).
Operations
The site is designed to be a semi-truck and trailer parking facility. The tenant has not yet been determined.
Traffic
A Traffic Impact Analysis Scoping Agreement (TIASA) was completed to assess the project's potential impacts to local streets and intersections (Exhibit F). The TIASA estimates that the project will generate up to 85 net new daily vehicle trips. The TIASA concluded that the project would generate less than significant traffic amounts. All nearby intersections and roadway segments will continue to operate under their current Level of Service (LOS).
Land Use Compatibility
The project is consistent with the Heavy Industrial (H-IND) zone of the Agua Mansa Specific Plan, Chapter 18.61 (Design Guidelines) of the Rialto Municipal Code, and Chapter 18.104 (Outdoor Storage Uses) of the Rialto Municipal Code. The site is completely surrounded by other industrial and trucking uses. These properties are not expected to be negatively impacted. The project is anticipated to be an improvement to the surrounding area. Aesthetically, the site will be enhanced with new street improvements, new landscaping, and a screen wall that complies with the City's Design Guidelines.
GENERAL PLAN CONSISTENCY:
The General Plan land use designation of the site is General Industrial with a Specific Plan. According to Chapter 2 (Managing Our Land Supply) of the Rialto General Plan, outdoor storage yards for industrial purposes, such as the project, are consistent with the General Industrial designation. Furthermore, the project is consistent with the following goals and policies of the Land Use Element and Economic Development Element of the Rialto General Plan:
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.
* Policy 2-22.3: Require that landscape plantings be incorporated into commercial and industrial projects to define and emphasize entrances, inclusive of those areas along the front of a building facing a parking lot.
* Policy 2-22.7: Require outdoor storage areas, where permitted, to be screened from public view.
Goal 3-1: Strengthen and diversify the economic base and employment opportunities and maintain a positive business climate.
* Policy 3-1.2: Encourage a variety of businesses to locate in Rialto, including retail, high technology, professional services, clean industries, logistics-based businesses, and restaurants/entertainment uses to promote the development of a diversified local economy.
* Policy 3-1.4: Encourage the consolidation of smaller lots of industrial and commercial areas to attract larger industrial businesses or commercial projects.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT:
California Environmental Quality Act
The project is categorically exempt from the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The project qualifies as a Class 32 exemption under CEQA Guidelines Section 15332 - In-Fill Development Projects - as the project is consistent with the Rialto General Plan, the Agua Mansa Specific Plan, and the Heavy Industrial (H-IND) zoning designation and the project occurs on a site less than 5.0 acres. The site was previously developed and heavily disturbed having been used as a horse carriage manufacturer. The project site is surrounded by H-IND zoned heavy industrial development and uses. To the north is a steel welding and truck and trailer service repair. To the south is a semi-truck fuel station. To the southeast is a hazardous materials company. To the east is a truck and trailer storage use facility. To the west, across South Willow Avenue is a cross-dock warehouse facility. The project site has no value as habitat for threatened or endangered species, the project will not result in any significant effects relating to traffic, noise, air quality, or water quality, and the project site can be adequately served by all required utilities and public services.
The applicant provided three reports to substantiate the CEQA exemption. The first is "Willow Avenue Trailer Parking Project - Air Quality and Greenhouse Gas Emissions Analysis" (Exhibit G). The second is "Hydrology Report: Truck Parking Facility 217 S Willow Ave Bloomington, CA92316" (Exhibit H). The third is a "Preliminary Water Quality Management Plan for 217 S Willow Avenue Rialto, CA" (Exhibit I). The reports provide evidence that the project will not result in a significant impact as it relates to air quality, greenhouse gases, or water pollution. As previously mentioned, the project's TIASA provides evidence that the project will not result in a significant impact as it relates to traffic.
PUBLIC NOTICE:
The City published a public hearing notice for the proposed project in the San Bernardino Sun newspaper, posted copies of the public hearing notice outside the Council Chambers and the project site, and mailed public hearing notices to all property owners within 660 feet of the project site.
RECOMMENDATION:
The Planning Division recommends that the Planning Commission:
1. Find that the project is categorically exempt per CEQA; and,
2. Adopt Resolution No. ______, which approves Conditional Development Permit No. 2025-0002 based upon the findings and subject to the conditions therein; and,
3. Adopt Resolution No. ______, which approves Precise Plan of Design No. 2025-0002 based upon the findings and subject to the conditions therein.