Staff Report Ordinance No. 1451 and ZC 25-03
November 10, 2025
FISCAL IMPACT — Continued
Annual payment of $170,000, phased in over three years (30% in Year 1, 60% in Year 2, and 100% from Year 3 through Year 20).
City -initiated Iump sum payment of $2,125,000 after 5 years from the date of project Certificate of Occupancy.
• Developer -initiated lump sum payment of $2,125,000 after 10 years from the date of project Certificate of Occupancy.
• One-time upfront payment of $2,500,000 at the City's option, to be made prior to issuing a final Certificate of Occupancy.
This project is expected to generate an annual increase in property tax revenue for the City, estimated at $16,000 after construction.
The Developer is required to pay approximately $1,540,000 in development impact fees and satisfy a Public Art requirement equal to 1% of the project cost, either through a contribution to the Public Art Fund or by installing artwork of equivalent value, Annual business license fees must also be paid, which are currently set at $3 per storage unit plus a flat rate of $230.
PUBLIC NOTICE
Notice of Public Hearing was published in the Los Cerritos Community News newspaper on October 17, 2025. Public hearing notices were sent on October 17, 2025, to 51 owners within a 300' radius of the Project Site and posted at City Hall, Bellflower Substation, Brakensiek Library, Thompson Park, Simms Park, Caruthers Park, and the City's website.
A public hearing notice was also posted at the Project Site on October 20, 2025. As of the writing of this staff report, the City received no correspondence regarding the Project.
CEQA ANALYSIS
The City reviewed the Project's environmental impacts under the California Environmental Quality Act (Pub. Res. Code §§ 21000, et seq., "CEQA") and the regulations promulgated thereunder (14 Cal. Code of Reg. §§ 15000-15387; the "CEQA Guidelines"). The Project is categorically exempt from additional environmental review pursuant to CEQA Guidelines § 15332 as a Class 32 categorical exemption (In -Fill Development Projects). The Project consists of constructing a self -storage facility on a vacant 1.33 -acre lot surrounded by existing development. After activating the DAZL, the project will conform with both the General Plan and applicable zoning. The Project site has no value as habitat for endangered, rare or threatened species. The technical studies prepared for the Project demonstrate there will not be any significant environmental effects relating to traffic, noise, air quality, or water quality. Finally, the Project can be adequately served by all required utilities and public services. -54-
Staff Report -- Ordinance No. 1451 and ZC 25-03
November 10, 2025
TYPE OF ACTION (LEGISLATIVE)
Legislative: The recommended action includes approval of a Development Agreement which activates the DAZL (this constitutes a zone change) and amendment to the zoning map. Approval of the DAZL and any development agreement associated with the DAZL rests solely within the City Council's discretion. In considering such action the Cit Council acts in its discretionary legislative capacity.
For the CEQA determination, the City Council must base its decisions upon substantial evidence within the record. "Substantial evidence" generally means enough relevant information and reasonable inferences from information gathered during a public hearing that a fair argument can be made to support a conclusion, even though other conclusions might also be reached, Argument, speculation, unsubstantiated opinion or narrative, evidence which is clearly erroneous or inaccurate, or evidence of social or economic impacts does not constitute substantial evidence. Substantial evidence includes facts, reasonable assumptions predicated upon facts, and expert opinion supported by facts. If the City Council asks irrelevant questions and bases its decision -making on such questions, a court may overturn the City Council's decision and potentially hold the City liable for violating the applicant's constitutionally protected due process rights.
BACKGROUND
On June 30, 2025, the Developer submitted a development application to construct a four-story, climate -controlled, internally -accessed, self -storage facility at the Project Site, adjacent to the Woodspring Suites Hotel. The application includes a request to enter into a DA with the City of Bellflower, activating the DAZL and amending the zoning map.
Property Owner:
Gold Coast Properties CA 6, LLC
General. Plan Land Use
Designation:
C (Commercial)
Zoning Classification:
Specific Plan (SP) 4 - WASP
Property Size:
57,978 square feet (1.33 acres)
APN
7162-002-087
Current Development:
Vacant lot
Previous
Applications/Entitlements:
A Conditional Use Permit (CUP) was approved for a
hotel use that has since expired
Surrounding Land Uses and Zoning:
North
State Route 91 Highway ("SR -91") - O -S (Open Space)
South
Motels and Motor Vehicle Related Use - WASP
West
Warehouse and Retail - WASP
East
Hotel - WASP
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Staff Report— Ordinance No. 1451 and ZC 25-03
November 10, 2025
• Project Location
The project site is a single parcel located at 8825 Artesia Boulevard and is currently vacant. The approximately 1.33 -acre site has appropriate regional access as it is situated
0.75 miles from the SR -91 and Lakewood Boulevard interchange via existing roadways.
Currently, the vacant lot is bounded by motels and a motor vehicle related use on the south, warehouse and retail on the west, a hotel on the east, and SR -91 on the north. • Project Description
Site Configuration. The proposed facility is designed to provide secure, convenient storage opportunities to serve the regional and local residents, as well as business owners and employees seeking storage space for their inventory goods. In addition to the primary building, the project will include associated site -related improvements including customer and staff parking, and landscaping to enhance the visual aesthetic of the site.
> Access and Off -Street Parking. The building's entrance faces SR -91. There are two points of gated vehicular access; one dose to the center of the building's north elevation, and the second at the northeast corner of the site. A majority of the proposed drive aisle widths are 24 feet and run along the northerly portion of the Project Site and along an existing easement on the adjacent easterly property (Le., WoodSpring Suites); both drive aisles lead to the front of the facility, There are 12 off-street parking spaces, nine of which are located along the northerly property line and three located immediately adjacent to the building. Four of the 12 parking spaces are inside the gated section that serves the loading area. Of the 12 spaces, four are for electric vehicles and one is an accessible space.
Additionally, there are four loading spaces and four bicycle parking spaces proposed.
A parking study was provided for the proposed Project and according to the industry standard parking rates in the Institute of Transportation Engineers' Parking Generation Manual, the parking demand for the proposed use is 16 spaces during weekdays and 14 spaces on weekends. Additionally, seven cities were surveyed, and it was determined that the average parking requirement for the proposed use is eight parking spaces. Therefore, it was concluded that the proposed 12 parking spaces and four loading spaces would be sufficient to accommodate the peak parking demand and loading for the proposed self -storage facility. In addition to the parking and loading spaces provided on the Project Site, there are 11 additional parking spaces available on the WoodSpring Suites property that was granted via a shared parking agreement dated February 28, 2022. The shared parking agreement was intended to be binding upon then grantor, grantee and each successive owner of the properties during their respective periods of ownership.
Operational Characteristics. The applicant anticipates a nationally -recognized self -storage property management company to manage the facility. There is expected to be a minimum of two managers onsite who will maintain all aspects of the operation and site security. The facility will be accessible between 7AM and 7PM daily. For secured access, the applicant proposes a security system that has secured keypads at both entry gates, and a 24 -hour video surveillance monitoring system to cover the entire site.
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Staff Report — Ordinance No. 1451 and ZC 25-03
November 10, 2025
> Landscaping, Walls, & Fences. Approximately 3,041 square feet (5.26%) of the site would be landscaped . This includes seven 24 -inch box trees and three 36 -inch box trees. The remainder of the landscape area will include drought tolerant plants to comply with applicable law. A 6 -foot high CMU wall is proposed on the north property line and a 6 -foot high tubular steel (wrought iron) fence is proposed on the south property line.
Architecture and Lighting. The building is designed in a contemporary style to imply that the facility is a commercial office building. Clean lines and a consistent mix of materials and colors are used to create four-sided architecture. The building would include mostly gray and white tones, with some decorative areas that are painted green. The building's wall planes are varied to create depth and visual relief. Also, there are vertical landscape screens that are proposed on three elevations to help soften the aesthetic. Materials include painted stucco surfaces, split -face block, and corrugated metal panels. Windows and entry areas are proposed to have aluminum -framed glass with clear windows, while black metal canopies would be installed above entrances and along selected walls to provide shade and architectural interest. Lighting will consist of a combination of wall mounted fixtures, and five new pole mounted light fixtures. All lighting will be shielded to prevent light trespass onto existing properties.
DISCUSSION
• General Plan and Zoning
The proposed Project is located within the WASP area. The Project site has a zoning designation of Specific Plan (SP) and a General Plan land use designation of Commercial (C). The WASP also allows other commercial uses not explicitly listed as permitted, but that are substantially similar (if approved by the Director of Planning and Building Services and confirmed by the City Council). A self -storage facility is generally consistent with the Commercial land use designation, which permits a broad range of commercial and personal service uses. Activating the DAZL to allow the self -storage facility expresses the City Council's consent to this land use.
PUBLIC BENEFIT
The specific public benefits of the proposed project include the following:
1. Mitigation Payments as described above.
2. City, or designee (including private commercial partners), may install high-speed wireless facilities on the Project Site to facilitate public access to the Internet.
3. Improvement of vacant real property to increase tax revenue for public welfare with a passive land use unlikely to affect surrounding land uses.
Staff Report -- Ordinance No. 1451 and ZC 25-03
November 10, 2025
PUBLIC BENEFIT -- Continued
4. Developer provides security patrols at a minimum of twice daily for three years after completion of the project at which time Developer will review then current and ongoing security needs of the area with City. The frequency and specific schedule of such monitoring may be adjusted by the developer in cooperation with the City to best meet evolving security needs.
The two buy-out lump -sum options (explained above, at $2,125,000) were determined by the Developer using a Net Present Value (NPV) calculation based on the $170,000 annual TOT mitigation payment, at an 8% discount rate in perpetuity. As explained by the Developer, this discount rate is based upon their determination that a hotel is a "higher risk" development, i.e., the likelihood of a hotel remaining in business for an extended period of time is lower than other types of similar commercial land uses.
ATTACHMENTS
A. Ordinance No. 1451 adopting the Development Agreemen • • - B. Aerial, Zonin• and - - - • 57
s 61