DATE: 01/15/2025
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
FROM: Planning and Development Department
2025-05
REQUEST FOR CITY COUNCIL ACTION
SUBJECT:
CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT 2023-0001 ESTABLISHING A BATTERY ENERGY STORAGE FACILITY ON A COMBINED 5.5 ACRES LOCATED AT THE NORTHWEST CORNER OF COTA STREET AND RINCON STREET IN THE M-1 (LIGHT MANUFACTURING) ZONE (APNS: 119-190-002, 003 & 011) (APPLICANT: CIRCLE
CITY ENERGY STORAGE, LLC)
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
This staff report asks the City Council to affirm the decision by the Planning and Housing Commission in granting Conditional Use Permit 2023-0001 (CUP2023-0001) establishing a battery energy storage facility that would connect to Southern California Edison’s (SCE) electrical grid supporting renewable energy resource generation and electric reliability.
The combined project site is 5.5 acres located at the northwest corner of Cota Street and Rincon Street in the M-1 (Light Manufacturing) zone.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
That the City Council:
a. Take no action, thereby affirming the Planning and Housing Commission’s action granting CUP2023-0001, based on the finding contained in the staff report and conditions of approval.
OR
b. Set the item for review at a subsequent meeting.
BACKGROUND & HISTORY:
The project site is currently occupied by two tenants, Trench Shoring Company and Sully’s Precision Grading. The site currently contains an office, modular units, and heavy equipment storage, on land unimproved. All existing structures and equipment will be removed to support the development of the project proposed by CUP2023-0001. The project site consists of three parcels totaling 5.5 acres and are the remaining parcels to be developed in this general area.
ANALYSIS:
The battery energy storage facility would connect to the existing Southern California Edison (SCE) electrical grid through an agreement with SCE to provide additional capacity to the existing electrical grid in the area. The project is designed to input or output electricity via several battery storage containers with associated on-site support facilities consisting of a project substation (denoted as Fretboard substation on the site plan), inverters, collector lines, fencing, access roads, operations and maintenance building, supervisory control, a SCADA system, a SCE owned switchyard / substation (denoted as Headstock switchyard on the site plan), and other ancillary facilities or equipment. The facility would assist with serving the load during periods of peak demand by charging when demand is low and discharging when demand is high.
The project site will be graded with 4.22 acres accommodating the battery storage facility, and 1.19 acres consisting of a combination of low maintenance, self-treating ground cover and compacted aggregate base. The project will consist of 120 battery energy storage enclosures and power conversion system (PCS) units. Each battery energy storage enclosure would have insulation, a module cooling system, a battery management system, and fire detection with a separate PCS enclosure containing the electronic controls, inverters, and transformer. The battery energy storage enclosures (BESS) would be designed such that the periodic maintenance and replacement of underperforming battery components can be easily performed on an as-needed basis without replacing the entire module.
The BESS units are approximately 28 feet long, 12 feet wide, and 10.5 feet tall (including a one-foot base). The project’s 1,260 square foot substation (fretboard substation), measuring 35 feet in height, is proposed along the eastern portion of the site. The 2,401 square foot SCE headstock switchyard, measuring 28 feet in height, is also proposed along the eastern portion of the site.
Electric energy would be transferred from the existing power grid to the project batteries during a battery charging cycle, and from the project batteries to the power grid during a battery discharge cycle. The fretboard substation would be the termination point of the collection system of 34.5 kV electricity and would convert it to 66 kV at the step-up transformer. The power would then be sent through the SCE headstock switchyard and transferred to existing SCE facilities located along Cota Street.
Once constructed, the project would operate seven days per week, 365 days per year, and the facility would be operated remotely by the applicant. Maintenance staff would visit the substation periodically for general operational activities. Maintenance trucks would be utilized to perform routine maintenance, including but not limited to equipment testing, monitoring, repair, routine procedures to ensure service continuity, and standard preventative maintenance. Routine operations would require one or two workers in a light utility truck to visit the facility on a weekly basis. Typically, one major maintenance inspection would take place annually.
Power Poles
Two existing wooden SCE utility poles measuring approximately 70 and 75 feet in height would be replaced with 85- and 95-foot-tall utility poles on the west and east sides of Cota Street. The replacement poles would be constructed of steel and will not increase the total number of poles within the city’s right-of-way. The pole will include fiber optic cable, including both overhead and underground facilities within the project site and SCE franchise right-of-way.
While not related to this CUP, for the project to interconnect to SCE facilities, improvements and distribution upgrades will need to be completed within existing SCE substations located elsewhere, including the Corona Substation located at the northeast corner of Railroad St. and Cota St. Improvements along Cota Street between Railroad Street and River Road include the reconductoring of approximately 2,600 feet of existing 66 kV facilities and potential replacement of nine wood poles with wood or light steel poles of a similar height.
Walls and Fencing
Decorative perimeter split face masonry walls ranging from nine to 11.5 feet high as measured from the highest grade along Rincon Street and Cota Streets is proposed behind the required landscaped setback areas. Several portions of the walls will be structural retaining walls, particularly through the middle of the site where the east and west lots are separated. Interior walls will stand a minimum of nine feet in height to screen the BESS units and SCE headstock switchyard and fretboard station.
The wall setback along Rincon Street is 20 feet behind the site’s landscaping, and 40- foot behind a SCE public utility easement along Cota Street. The walls will provide security and screening of the project site and include decorative caps and pilasters spaced 50 feet on- center.
Access and Public Right-of-Way Improvements
Both vehicular and pedestrian access to the project site will be provided by two proposed driveways from Rincon Street, in addition to one proposed driveway along Cota Street, which provides dedicated access to SCE’s headstock switchyard. Per the City’s General Plan Circulation Element, both Rincon and Cota Streets are identified as collector streets with an overall right-of-way width of 68 feet. The project will be required to dedicate four feet along both street frontages of Rincon and Cota Streets to provide the 34-foot half width street requirement, which includes a five-foot sidewalk and 6.6-foot landscaped parkway with curb and gutter.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
The applicant paid the application processing fees of $7,813.14 to cover the cost of the Conditional Use Permit.
ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS:
Per Sections 15332, 15301, 15302, 15303 and 15304 of the State Guidelines for Implementing the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and Section 3.28 of the City’s Local CEQA Guidelines, a Notice of Exemption has been prepared for the project because the project qualifies as a Class 32 (In-Fill Development Projects), Class 1 (Existing Facilities), Class 2 (Replacement or Reconstruction), Class 3 (New Construction or Alteration of Small Structures), and Class 4 (Minor Alterations to Land) categorical exemption. The project will occur within city limits and proposes to grade 4.22 acres of onsite area and 0.12 acres which will be dedicated to the city for right-of-way purposes.
The project also includes 1.19 acres of undeveloped area to be landscaped for water quality treatment purposes. The project site has no value as habitat for endangered, rare or threatened species. The project will not result in any significant effects relating to traffic, noise, air quality, or water quality. Furthermore, the site can be adequately served by all required utilities and public services.
Per Figure 2-6 of the Corona General Plan, the project site has a high potential for containing the presence of paleontological resources (i.e., fossils). To mitigate impacts to paleontological resources, the project is required to comply with the requirements set forth in the Corona General Plan 2019 Draft Environmental Impact Report that pertain to mitigating impacts to paleontological resources.
PLANNING AND HOUSING COMMISSION ACTION:
At its meeting of December 9, 2024, the Planning and Housing Commission considered the subject matter and took the following action:
Motion was made, seconded (Siqueland/Woody) and carried unanimously, that the Planning and Housing Commission find the project exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15332 (In-Fill Development Projects), Section 15301 (Existing Facilities), Section 15302 (Replacement or Reconstruction), Section 15303 (New Construction or Alteration of Small Structures), and Section 15304 (Minor Alterations to Land), and adopt Resolution No. 2653 GRANTING CUP2023-0001, based on the findings contained in the staff report and conditions of approval. The minutes of the Planning and Housing Commission meeting are included as Exhibit 4.
PREPARED BY: JOANNE COLETTA, PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR ATTACHMENTS:
1. Exhibit 1 – Locational and zoning map
2. Exhibit 2 – Site plan for Conditional Use Permit 2023-0001
3. Exhibit 3 – Planning and Housing Commission staff report
4. Exhibit 4 – Draft minutes of the Planning and Housing Commission meeting of December 9, 2024.