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Home My WebLink About19-34 - ResolutionRESOLUTION NO. 19-34 A RESOLUTION OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF RANCHO CUCAMONGA, CALIFORNIA, RECOMMENDING APPROVAL OF DEVELOPMENT CODE AMENDMENT DRC2018-00605 AMENDING REQUIREMENTS AND STANDARDS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF HOTELS WITHIN THE CITY; RECOMMENDING APPROVAL OF (1) EMPIRE LAKES SPECIFIC PLAN AMENDMENT DRC2019-00230, (II) ETIWANDA SPECIFIC PLAN AMENDMENT DRC2019-00230, (III) TOWN SQUARE MASTER PLAN AMENDMENT DRC2019-00231, (IV) VICTORIA ARBORS MASTER PLAN AMENDMENT DRC2019-00231, AND (V) VICTORIA COMMUNITY PLAN AMENDMENT DRC2019-00232 REGARDING HOTELS WITHIN THE PLAN AREAS; MAKING FINDINGS IN SUPPORT THEREOF; AND MAKING A DETERMINATION THAT THE AMENDMENTS ARE EXEMPT FROM THE CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT A. Recitals 1. The City of Rancho Cucamonga has prepared Municipal Code Amendment DRC2018- 00605, Empire Lakes Specific Plan Amendment DRC2019-00230, Etiwanda Specific Plan Amendment DRC2019-00230, Town Square Master Plan Amendment DRC2019-00231, Victoria Arbors Master Plan Amendment DRC2019-00231, and Victoria Community Plan Amendment DRC2019-00232 as described in the title of this Resolution. Hereinafter in this Resolution, the subject Development Code and Plan Amendments are referred to as "the Amendment". 2. On October 4, 2017, the City Council approved Urgency Ordinance No. 919, an interim ordinance requiring a Conditional Use Permit for the establishment of any new hotel or the expansion of any existing hotel within the City to allow staff time to study appropriate development standards and regulations for hotels and draft any necessary changes to the Municipal Code. Per State law, an interim ordinance is effective for a period of 45 days from the date of adoption, unless extended at a public hearing prior to the end of the 45-day period. 3. On November 15, 2017, the City Council approved Urgency Ordinance No. 923, which extended the interim ordinance's requirement for a Conditional Use Permit for the establishment of any new hotel or the expansion of any existing hotel within the City for an additional 10 months, 15 days, to provide staff additional time to study the issue and draft a Municipal Code Amendment to address the impacts created by hotel development within the City. 4. On September 19, 2018, the City Council approved Urgency Ordinance No. 940, which further extended the interim ordinance's requirement for a Conditional Use Permit for the establishment of any new hotel or the expansion of any existing hotel within the City for an additional 10 months, 15 days. 5. On April 10, 2019, the Planning Commission of the City of Rancho Cucamonga conducted a noticed public hearing on the application and continued said hearing to April 24, 2019. 6. On April 24, 2019, the Planning Commission of the City of Rancho Cucamonga conducted a noticed public hearing on the application and concluded said hearing on that date. PLANNING COMMISSION RESOLUTION NO. 19-34 DRC2018-00605, DRC2019-00230, DRC2019-00231, & DRC2019-00232 — CITY OF RANCHO CUCAMONGA April 24, 2019 Page 2 7. All legal prerequisites prior to the adoption of this Resolution have occurred. B. Resolution. NOW, THEREFORE, it is hereby found, determined, and resolved by the Planning Commission of the City of Rancho Cucamonga as follows: 1. This Commission hereby specifically finds that all of the facts set forth in the Recitals, Part A of this Resolution, are true and correct. 2. Based upon the substantial evidence presented to the Planning Commission during the above -referenced public hearing on April 10, 2019, including written and oral staff reports, together with public testimony, this Commission hereby specifically finds as follows: a. General Plan Land Use Policy LU-1.1 encourages the protection of neighborhoods from the encroachment of incompatible activities or land uses that may have a negative impact on the residential living environment. Regulating the operational standards for hotels that may be near residential neighborhoods will reduce potential impacts created by hotels; b. General Plan Use Goal LU-11 ensures that community aesthetics are maintained through appropriate regulations. Establishing design guidelines for hotels will encourage better site design, improved architecture, and the use of higher quality building materials; and C. General Plan Public Safety Goal PS-4: Provide a high level of public safety services throughout Rancho Cucamonga, can continue to be achieved through partnerships between hotel owners and operators and City Police and Fire services designed to report and prevent criminal activity at hotels. 3. The Planning Department staff has determined that this Amendment is exempt from the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and the City's CEQA Guidelines. The project qualifies under the general rule that CEQA applies only to projects, which have the potential for causing significant effects on the environment. Pursuant to State CEQA Guidelines Section 15061(B)(3), where it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have significant effect on the environment, the activity is not subject to CEQA. The Amendment does not propose any physical change to the environment itself. The Amendment's requirement for hotel development applications to prepare a market feasibility study is a purely economic requirement. In addition, the occupancy standards and public safety standards are limited to the operation of hotels and do not affect the environment. The remaining development standards do not have the potential for causing significant effects on the environment because they pertain to improving the quality of the architectural design of hotels and not to the intensity of development. In sum, the Amendment would impose more restrictive regulations on hotel development within the City as hotel projects are currently permitted by right in most zoning districts. Furthermore, the Amendment only revises the land use regulations to apply development and operational standards for hotels and to require discretionary review through the Conditional Use Permit process for the development of hotels. Applications for development subject to these provisions will be reviewed for CEQA compliance under separate entitlements. During the entitlement process, the applicant will be required to comply with CEQA. In reviewing each project for compliance with CEQA, an applicant may be required to submit environmental studies that analyze potential impacts such as air quality, biological resources, PLANNING COMMISSION RESOLUTION NO. 19-34 DRC2018-00605, DRC2019-00230, DRC2019-00231, & DRC2019-00232 — CITY OF RANCHO CUCAMONGA April 24, 2019 Page 3 cultural resources, noise levels, and transportation/traffic caused by the site -speck project. On a case -by -case review of each project, the appropriate environmental document will be prepared to address project -specific impacts. Based on this evidence and all of the evidence in the record, the City Council concurs with the Planning Department staffs determination that the Amendment will not have a significant effect on the environment and is therefore exempt from further environmental review under CEQA. 4. Based upon the findings and conclusions set forth in paragraphs 1, 2, and 3 above, this Commission hereby recommends that the City Council approve Municipal Code Amendment DRC2018-00605, Empire Lakes Specific Plan Amendment DRC2019-00230, Etiwanda Specific Plan Amendment DRC2019-00230, Town Square Master Plan Amendment DRC2019-00231, Victoria Arbors Master Plan Amendment DRC2019-00231, and Victoria Community Plan Amendment DRC2019-00232 as indicated in Attachment A incorporated herein by this reference. The Secretary to this Commission shall certify to the adoption of this Resolution. APPROVED AND ADOPTED THIS 24TM DAY OF APRIL 2019. PLANNING COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF RANCHO CUCAMONGA 0 n I, Candyce Burnett, Secretary of the Planning Commission for the City of Rancho Cucamonga, do hereby certify that the foregoing Resolution was duly and regularly introduced, passed, and adopted by the Planning Commission of the City of Rancho Cucamonga, at a regular meeting of the Planning Commission held on the 241 day of April 2019, by the following vote -to -wit: AYES: COMMISSIONERS: GUGLIELMO, DOPP, MUNOZ, OAXACA, WIMBERLY NOES: COMMISSIONERS: G1 ►1t��Z�]u1u11;K9AI►1:11ZRI ABSTAIN: COMMISSIONERS: