For the Planning Commission Meeting of September 14, 2022
TO: Honorable Chairman and Planning Commissioners
APPROVAL: Paul Gonzales, Community Development Manager
FROM: Daniel Casey, Senior Planner
Title
Conditional Development Permit No. 2021-0040: A request to allow the redevelopment and reuse of an existing industrial site comprised of 5.02 gross acres (4.78 net acres) of land (APN: 0239-192-12) located at the northwest corner of Locust Avenue and Lowell Street within the General Manufacturing (I-GM) land use district of the Rialto Airport Specific Plan for a 100,880 square foot industrial commerce building. An Addendum to the Environmental Impact Report for the Rialto Airport Specific Plan (Environmental Assessment Review No. 2021-0051) has been prepared for consideration in conjunction with the project.
Precise Plan of Design No. 2021-0055: A request to allow the redevelopment of an existing industrial site comprised of 5.02 gross acres (4.78 net acres) of land (APN: 0239-192-12) located at the northwest corner of Locust Avenue and Lowell Street within the General Manufacturing (I-GM) land use district of the Rialto Airport Specific Plan with a 100,880 square foot industrial commerce building and associated paving, landscaping, fencing, lighting, and drainage improvements. An Addendum to the Environmental Impact Report for the Rialto Airport Specific Plan (Environmental Assessment Review No. 2021-0051) has been prepared for consideration in conjunction with the project.
Body
APPLICANT:
Best California Gas, Ltd., 13116 Imperial Highway, Santa Fe Springs, CA 90670
LOCATION:
The project site consists of one (1) parcel of land (APN: 0239-192-12) located at the northwest corner of Locust Avenue and Lowell Street (Refer to the attached Location Map (Exhibit A)).
BACKGROUND:
Surrounding General Plan Land Use Designations
|
Location |
General Plan Designation |
|
Site |
Business Park with a Specific Plan Overlay (Rialto Airport SP) |
|
North |
Business Park with a Specific Plan Overlay (Rialto Airport SP) |
|
East |
Light Industrial with a Specific Plan Overlay (Rialto Airport SP) |
|
South |
General Industrial with Specific Plan Overlay (Rialto Airport SP) |
|
West |
Business Park with a Specific Plan Overlay (Rialto Airport SP) |
Surrounding Zoning Designations
|
Location |
Zoning or Specific Plan Land Use Designation |
|
Site |
General Manufacturing (I-GM) |
|
North |
General Manufacturing (I-GM) |
|
East |
Planned Industrial Development (I-PID) |
|
South |
General Manufacturing (I-GM) |
|
West |
General Manufacturing (I-GM) |
Site Characteristics
The project site is comprised of one (1) parcel of land approximately 5.02 gross acres (4.78 net acres) in size with approximate dimensions of 410 feet (north-south) by 505 feet (east-west). The project site is bound on the south by Lowell Street and on the east by Locust Avenue, the latter of which is an established truck route. The property was previously developed in 2009 into a contractor’s storage yard under Precise Plan of Design No. 2136, and the property was occupied by Aluma Systems Concrete Construction, LLC until early 2022.
Surrounding Area
To the north of the project site is an approximately 75,000 square foot industrial commerce building occupied by B & B Plastics, and to the east, across Locust Avenue, is an approximately 29,000 square foot industrial commerce building and 8.95 acres of storage yard area occupied by Rig Runner Trucking. To the south, across Lowell Street, is approximately 19.03 acres of vacant land, and to the west are two (2) industrial commerce buildings totaling approximately 34,700 square feet in size and occupied by Pipeline Carriers and Thompson Pipe Group.
ANALYSIS/DISCUSSION:
Project Proposal
The applicant, Best California Gas, Ltd., proposes to construct a 100,880 square foot industrial commerce building and install associated paving, landscaping, fencing, lighting, and drainage improvements on the project site. There is no proposed tenant for the new building at this time, but the design of the building will accommodate various storage and distribution uses.
Entitlement Requirements
The following entitlements are required for the applicant’s proposal:
• Conditional Development Permit: The development and operation of an industrial warehouse use within the I-GM land use district 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.
Site Design
As shown on the site plan (Exhibit B), the applicant proposes to construct a 100,880 square foot industrial commerce building in the center of the project site. The proposed layout includes a truck court on the north side of the building and passenger vehicle parking areas along the north, south, and west sides of the building. The truck court will accommodate a maximum of 12 trucks and trailers, while the passenger vehicle parking areas will provide for the parking of up to 87 passenger vehicles.
Two (2) driveways are proposed to be connected to Lowell Street for access - a forty (40) foot wide driveway at the west end of the project site will provide right-in/left-out access for trucks and passenger vehicles and a thirty-two (32) foot wide driveway at the east end of the project site will provide right-in/left-out out access for passenger vehicles only. Additionally, one (1) new fifty (50) foot wide driveway connected to Locust Avenue will provide full access for 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 plan for the proposed building (Exhibit C) indicates that the building will consist of 9,000 square feet of office space and 91,880 square feet of storage space. The office space will potentially occupy either the southeast corner of the building and/or the southwest corner of the building, with 4,500 square feet on the ground floor and another 4,500 square feet up above on a second-floor mezzanine. The north side of the building will have up to 12 dock high loading doors and one (1) grade level roll-up door.
Architectural Design
The proposed building will feature significant vertical and horizontal wall plane articulation in the form of recessed wall panels, projected wall panels, and panel height variations on all four (4) sides of the building. As shown on the elevations (Exhibit D), the height of the building will range from 34 feet to 36 feet from the finished floor level. The exterior of the building will be of concrete tilt-up wall construction painted with a palette of three (3) different colors - white and two (2) gray tones. Additional architectural features of the building include tile accents, wall panel reveals, metal brow accents, and glazing.
Parking
The development will have 87 auto-parking spaces, including six (6) 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:
|
Type of Use |
Floor Area (square feet) |
Parking Ratio |
Number of spaces required |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Office Ground floor Above ground floor Warehouse |
4,500 4,500 |
1 / 250 1 / 500 |
18 9 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Floor area up to 10,000 square feet Floor area 10,001 square feet or more |
10,000 81,880 |
1 / 1,000 1 / 2,000 |
10 41 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total Required/Total Provided |
|
|
78/87 |
Landscaping
The landscape coverage for the project is 14.9 percent, which exceeds the minimum required amount of 10.0 percent. This includes a thirty-six (36) foot landscape setback along Locust Avenue, a fifteen (15) foot landscape setback along Lowell Street, 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 E).
Traffic
Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc. prepared a Traffic Impact Analysis Scoping Agreement (TIASA), dated May 11, 2022, to assess the project’s potential impacts to local streets and intersections, as well as vehicle miles travelled (Exhibit F). The TIASA estimates that the project will generate up to 173 actual daily vehicle trips (125 new trips + 48 existing trips) with approximately 17 trips in the AM peak hour and 18 trips in the PM peak hour. Trucks will constitute approximately 68 of the 173 potential daily vehicle trips. The TIASA concluded that the project would generate an insignificant amount of traffic, and all nearby intersections and roadway segments will continue to operate under their current Level of Service (LOS). The nearby intersections and roadway segments do not require any improvements to maintain an acceptable LOS, and therefore the project will not be responsible for the payment of “fair-share” fees.
Land Use Compatibility
The project is consistent with the I-GM land use district, the Rialto Airport Specific Plan, the regulations contained within Chapter 18.112 (Indoor Storage Uses) of the Rialto Municipal Code, and the industrial uses surrounding the project site. Additionally, the Draft Resolutions of Approval contain conditions of approval requiring that the project not exceed the traffic estimates contained within the TIASA, thereby ensuring that the project will not significantly impact local streets and intersections. The project will be a benefit to the community and an improvement to the surrounding area.
GENERAL PLAN CONSISTENCY:
The General Plan land use designation of the site is Business Park with a Specific Plan Overlay. This designation requires the underlying Specific Plan to establish distinct land use designations within the Specific Plan itself. Exhibit 3 (Land Use Plan) of the Rialto Airport Specific Plan indicates that the land use designation for the project site is General Manufacturing (I-GM). According to Section 3.3.4 of the Rialto Airport Specific Plan, the I-GM designation is intended to facilitate the most intensive industrial uses with the Specific Plan area, including warehousing, manufacturing, and multi-tenant spaces. As a result, the project is consistent with the I-GM designation. 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 Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc. to prepare an Addendum to the previously certified Environmental Impact Report for the Rialto Airport Specific Plan (EIR Addendum), in accordance with the provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the State CEQA Guidelines, and the rules, regulations, and procedures for implementing CEQA as set forth by the City of Rialto. Section 15164(a) of the State CEQA Guidelines states that “the lead agency or a responsible agency shall prepare an addendum to a previously certified EIR if some changes or additions are necessary but none of the conditions described in Section 15162 calling for preparation of a subsequent EIR have occurred.”
The purpose of the EIR Addendum is to analyze any potential differences between the impacts identified in the Environmental Impact Report for the Rialto Airport Specific Plan (EIR RASP) and those that would be associated with the proposed Project. Pursuant to provisions of CEQA and State CEQA Guidelines, the City is the Lead Agency charged with the responsibility of deciding whether to approve development on the Project site. As detailed in the EIR Addendum, the proposed Project will not result in any new significant impacts that were not previously analyzed in the EIR RASP, nor would the proposed Project cause a substantial increase in the severity of any previously identified environmental impacts. The potential impacts associated with proposed Project would either be the same or less than those described in the EIR RASP. In addition, there are no substantial changes to the circumstances under which the proposed Project would be undertaken that would result in new or more severe environmental impacts than previously addressed in the EIR RASP, nor has any new information regarding the potential for new or more severe significant environmental impacts been identified. The EIR Addendum to the EIR RASP is attached to the agenda report (Exhibit G).
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 H) to approve an Addendum to the previously certified Environmental Impact Report for the Rialto Airport Specific Plan (Environmental Assessment Review No. 2021-0051) for the proposed project, and authorize staff to file the attached Notice of Determination with the Clerk of the Board of San Bernardino County; and
-
- Adopt the attached Resolution (Exhibit I) to approve Conditional Development Permit No. 2021-0040 to allow the redevelopment and reuse of an existing industrial site comprised of 5.02 gross acres (4.78 net acres) of land (APN: 0239-192-12) with a 100,880 square foot industrial commerce building, subject to the findings and conditions therein; and
-
- Adopt the attached Resolution (Exhibit J) to approve Precise Plan of Design No. 2021-0055 to allow the redevelopment of an existing industrial site comprised of 5.02 gross acres (4.78 net acres) of land (APN: 0239-192-12) with a 100,880 square foot industrial commerce building and associated paving, landscaping, fencing, lighting, and drainage improvements, subject to the findings and conditions therein.