HomeMy WebLinkAbout926 - Ordinances - DRC2016-00931 APPROVING ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT AND SPECIFIC PLAN AMENEDMENT ORDINANCE NO. 926
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF RANCHO
CUCAMONGA, CALIFORNIA, APPROVING ENVIRONMENTAL
ASSESSMENT AND SPECIFIC PLAN AMENDMENT DRC2016-
00931, A REQUEST TO AMEND THE EMPIRE LAKES
SPECIFIC PLAN TO INCREASE THE ALLOWABLE FAR FROM
0.35 TO 0.50 WITHIN PLANNING AREA 5 OF THE SPECIFIC
PLAN TO ALLOW FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF A 232,058
SQUARE FOOT WAREHOUSE LOGISTICS AND OFFICE
BUILDING ON A PROPERTY COMPRISED OF FIVE (5)
PARCELS WITH A COMBINED AREA OF 515,690 SQUARE
FEET (11.84 ACRES) WHICH CURRENTLY CONTAINS
REMNANTS OF AN ABANDONED PARKING LOT AND A
VACANT PAD LOCATED AT THE NORTHEAST CORNER OF
4TH STREET AND UTICA AVENUE, AND MAKING FINDINGS
IN SUPPORT THEREOF - APN: 0210-082-78, -79, -84, -89
AND -90.
A. Recitals.
1. Charles Joseph Associates, on behalf of IDS Real Estate Group, filed an
application for the approval of Environmental Assessment and Specific Plan Amendment
DRC2017-00931 as described in the title of this Resolution. Hereinafter in this Resolution, the
subject Specific Plan Amendment request is referred to as " the application."
2. On November 8, 2017, the Planning Commission of the City of Rancho Cucamonga
conducted a duly noticed public hearing with respect to the above referenced Environmental
Assessment and Specific Plan Amendment DRC2017-00931 and, following the conclusion
thereof, adopted Resolution No. 17-92, recommending that the City Council of the City of
Rancho Cucamonga adopt said Environmental Assessment and Specific Plan Amendment.
3. On December 6, 2017, the City Council of the City of Rancho Cucamonga conducted
a duly noticed public hearing on the Environmental Assessment and Specific Plan Amendment
DRC2017-00931.
4. All legal prerequisites prior to the adoption of this Ordinance have occurred.
B. Ordinance.
The City Council of the City of Rancho Cucamonga does ordain as follows:
SECTION 1: This City Council hereby specifically finds that all of the facts set forth in the
Recitals, Part A, of this Ordinance are true and correct.
SECTION 2: Based upon substantial evidence presented to the City Council during the
above-referenced public hearing on December 6, 2017, including written and oral staff reports,
together with public testimony, the City Council hereby specifically finds as follows:
a. The application applies to a 515,690-square foot site located within the City at
the northeast corner of 4th Street and Utica Avenue; and
b. The site is bound on the east, north and northwest by office development. To
the west of the site, across Utica Avenue, is an undeveloped vineyard. To the south and
southwest of the site, across 4th Street within the City of Ontario, are two apartment complexes
(Vintage Apartments and Camden Landmark Apartments). The Empire Lakes Specific Plan
(ELSP) consists of eleven (11) "Planning Areas". The project site is in Planning Area 5. The
abutting properties to the north and east are in Planning Areas 4 and 5, respectively. The zoning
of the properties to the west is Industrial Park (IP) District. The zoning of the property to the
south is Urban Residential District (Ontario Center Specific Plan), which is within the jurisdiction
of the City of Ontario; and
C. This subject vacant property once contained an office building and parking lot
that was part of a large industrial complex occupied by General Dynamics. The building has
since been removed and the parking lot and on-site landscape have not been maintained; and
d. The project involves a proposal to construct a 232,058-square foot warehouse
logistics and office building (Design Review DRC2016-00670) and a proposal to remove four (4)
existing heritage trees on the subject property (Tree Removal Permit DRC2016-00671); and
e. The project site is located within Planning Area 5. The maximum Floor Area
Ratio (FAR) permitted in this Planning Area is 35 percent (0.35). Based on the subject parcel
area of 515,690 square feet, the maximum floor area of the proposed industrial building would
be 180,491 square feet. The proposed building has a floor area of 232,058 square feet that will
result in a FAR of 44.9 percent (0.45); and
f. The Specific Plan as implemented has been developed over time with office
developments where a FAR of 35 percent (0.35) was appropriate because the footprint allowed
for required parking to support the office land uses. Reducing the floor area of the building to
comply with the current maximum FAR is uneconomical for the applicant's client. Furthermore, it
is impractical as this results in leaving the subject property relatively unusable for any other
purpose besides parking and landscaping, which is not necessary to support an industrial use;
and
g. The applicant is proposing to amend the ELSP to increase the FAR to 50
percent (0.50). Although this increase is greater than the amount the applicant currently needs
to construct the proposed industrial building, it will ensure that the building, once constructed,
will continue to conform with the ELSP if future tenant(s) of the building need the flexibility to
expand and/or create additional interior office area should their operation(s) require it; and
h. The increase in the FAR would establish consistency with the maximum FAR
permitted in the General Industrial (GI) and Industrial Park (IP) Districts which both have
maximum FARs of 60 percent (0.60). It would also allow the subject property to be developed
similarly to the adjacent property located to the west across Utica Avenue. The proposed
amendment would apply only to Planning Area 5 of the ELSP. The FAR of all other Planning
Areas within ELSP would be unchanged.
SECTION 3: Based upon the substantial evidence presented to this Council during the
above-referenced public hearing and upon the specific findings of facts set forth in paragraphs 1
and 2 above, this Council hereby finds and concludes as follows:
a. The proposed Specific Plan Amendment is consistent with the General Plan
goals, policies, and implementation programs. General Plan Policy LU-3.7 encourages new
development projects to build on vacant infill sites within a built-out area, and/or redevelop
previously developed properties that are underutilized. The proposed industrial development is
consistent with the intent of the General Plan and proposed Empire Lakes Specific Plan
Amendment; and
b. The land use and development regulations within the Specific Plan are
comparable in breadth and depth to similar zoning regulations contained in this Title. The
current zoning regulations for the adjacent property to the west, which is located within the
Industrial Park (IP) District, allows for a maximum FAR of 0.60. Therefore, the proposed Floor
Area Ratio of 0.50 for the project is compatible with the land use regulations of the adjacent
zoning district; and
c. The administration and permit processes within the Specific Plan are consistent
with the administration and permit processes of the Development Code. The amendment to the
Empire Lakes Specific Plan will not change the process in which development is processed and
will therefore be consistent with the administration and permit processes prescribed within the
Development Code.
SECTION 4: Based upon the facts and information contained in the proposed Mitigated
Negative Declaration, together with all written and oral reports included for the environmental
assessment for the application, the City Council finds that there is no substantial evidence that
the project will have a significant effect upon the environment and adopts a Mitigated Negative
Declaration and Monitoring Program attached hereto, and incorporated herein by this reference,
based upon the findings as follows:
a. Pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act ("CEQA") and the City's
local CEQA Guidelines, the City staff prepared an Initial Study of the potential environmental
effects of the project. Based on the findings contained in that Initial Study, City staff determined
that, with the imposition of mitigation measures, there would be no substantial evidence that the
project would have a significant effect on the environment. Based on that determination, a
Mitigated Negative Declaration was prepared. Thereafter, the City staff provided public notice of
the public comment period and of the intent to adopt the Mitigated Negative Declaration.
b. The City Council has reviewed the Mitigated Negative Declaration and all
comments received regarding the Mitigated Negative Declaration and, based on the whole
record before it, finds: (i) that the Mitigated Negative Declaration was prepared in compliance
with CEQA; and (ii) that, based on the imposition of mitigation measures, there is no substantial
evidence that the project will have a significant effect on the environment. The City Council
further finds that the Mitigated Negative Declaration reflects the independent judgment and
analysis of the City Council. Based on these findings, the City Council hereby recommends the
City Council adopt the Mitigated Negative Declaration.
C. The City Council has also reviewed and considered the Mitigation Monitoring
Program for the project that has been prepared pursuant to the requirements of Public
Resources Code Section 21081.6 and finds that such Program is designed to ensure
compliance with the mitigation measures during project implementation. The City Council
therefore adopts the Mitigation Monitoring Program for the project.
d. The custodian of records for the Initial Study, Mitigated Negative Declaration,
Mitigation Monitoring Program and all other materials which constitute the record of proceedings
Ordinance No. 926 — upon which the City Council' s decision is based is the Planning Director
of the City of Rancho Cucamonga. Those documents are available for public review in the
Planning Department of the City of Rancho Cucamonga located at 10500 Civic Center Drive,
Rancho Cucamonga, California 91730, telephone (909) 477- 2750.
SECTION 5: The Empire Lakes Specific Plan is hereby amended to change the maximum
Floor Area Ratio within Planning Area 5 from 0.35 to 0.50 in words, as shown in the attached
Exhibit "A."
SECTION 7: If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, or word of this
Ordinance is, for any reason, deemed or held to be invalid or unconstitutional by the decision of
any court of competent jurisdiction, or preempted by legislative enactment, such decision or
legislation shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this Ordinance. The City
Council of the City of Rancho Cucamonga hereby declares that it would have adopted this
Ordinance and each section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, or words thereof, regardless
of the fact that any one or more sections, subsections, clauses, phrases, or words might
subsequently be declared invalid or unconstitutional or preempted by subsequent legislation.
SECTION 6: The City Clerk shall certify to the adoption of this Ordinance and shall cause
the same to be published within 15 days after its passage at least once in the Inland Valley
Daily Bulletin, a newspaper of general circulation published in the City of Ontario, California, and
circulated in the City of Rancho Cucamonga, California.
PASSED, APPROVED, AND ADOPTED this 20th day of December, 2017.
ennis Micha , Mayor
ATTEST:
rr Lindh yan, City Clerk Seryces Director
STATE OF CALIFORNIA )
COUNTY OF SAN BERNARDINO ) ss
CITY OF RANCHO CUCAMONGA )
I, LINDA A. TROYAN, City Clerk Services Director of the City of Rancho
Cucamonga, California, do hereby certify that the foregoing Ordinance was introduced at a
Regular Meeting of the City Council of the City of Rancho Cucamonga held on the 61h day of
December 2017, and was passed at a Regular Meeting of the City Council of the City of Rancho
Cucamonga held on the 20th day of December 2017.
AYES: Alexander, Kennedy, Michael, Spagnolo, Williams
NOES: None
ABSENT: None
ABSTAINED: None
Executed this 21 st day of December 2017, at Rancho Cucamonga, California.
��` a Troyan, City Clerk Se ices Director
Rancho Cucamonga IASP Sub-Area 18 Specific Plan Amendment
5.4 DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS
The Development Standards of the Sub-Area 18 Specific Plan address eight factors
which include:
• General Provisions
• Master Plan Requirements
• Minimum Parcel Size
• Setback Requirements
• Landscape Requirements
• Parking and Loading Requirements
• Interim Uses
• Performance Standards
• Planning Area IX Recreational Amenities
Table 5-6 summarizes the application of basic development standards on a
planning area basis, including minimum parcel size, landscape area requirements,
maximum Floor Area Ratio (FAR), and performance standards. The setback
requirements are determined in accordance with the street classification and
particular side yard and rear yard conditions.
EXHIBIT A (PAGE 1 OF 2) TO ORDINANCE NO. 926
TABLE 5-6
DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS SUMMARY
Planni
Standards II IV V V1 VII Vill IX X
Minim ufn Parcel Size (Acres)
Minimum Percentage of Landscape
Area(% of Net I-cat Area) 15 15 15 15 10 10 31 10
Performance Standard(S(,hPduk)) A A A A B B 6 B
Maximum Floor Area Ratio(FAR)/ 0,35 0.35 0,50 0.35 030 0,35 O56/ 0,36
Residential Density 14-24 24-30 24,30 du/ac
Note- W here a hotel is developed,the ma)dmum allowable FAR for the Planning Area can increase to FAR 0,7. The
FAR for IhG hotel,if the entire planning area is not used for such use,can exceed the 0.7 FAR as long as the
entire planning area does not exceed 0.7 FAR as shown in the conceptual Master Plan,
June 2016 Development Guidelines
and Standards
5-28
EXHIBIT A(PAGE 2 OF 2) TO ORDINANCE NO.926