DATE: 02/05/2025
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
FROM: Planning and Development Department
2025-04
REQUEST FOR CITY COUNCIL ACTION
SUBJECT:
PRECISE PLAN 2020-0004 FOR THE REVIEW OF THE SITE PLAN, ARCHITECTURE,
LANDSCAPING AND OTHER FEATURES ASSOCIATED WITH A LIGHT INDUSTRIAL
BUSINESS PARK DEVELOPMENT CONSISTING OF FIVE BUILDINGS TOTALING 746,167 SQUARE FEET ON 49.31 ACRES, LOCATED ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF
GREEN RIVER ROAD, BETWEEN FRESNO ROAD AND DOMINGUEZ RANCH ROAD (APPLICANT: PSIP WR GREEN RIVER LLC) (NOT AN ADVERTISED PUBLIC
HEARING)
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
This staff report asks the City Council to affirm the decision of the Planning and Housing Commission and approve Precise Plan 2020-0004 (PP2020-0004) for a light industrial business park development plan on 49.31 acres. The project consists of five buildings totaling 746,167 square feet located in the Business Park Industrial (BPI) designation of the Green River Ranch Specific Plan.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
That the City Council affirm the Planning and Housing Commission’s action in granting PP2020-0004, based on the finding contained in the staff report and conditions of approval.
BACKGROUND & HISTORY:
The project site is part of the Green River Ranch Specific Plan. The specific plan was adopted by the City Council in February 2001 and established light industrial, commercial, and residential land use designations on approximately 163 acres. In conjunction with PP2020-0004, the applicant processed an amendment to the General Plan, GPA2020- 0002, and the specific plan, SPA2020-0006, to redistribute the land uses of the project site, and remove the previously approved residential designation and replace it with an open space designation.
Assembly Bill 98 (California Government Code § 65098)
Assembly Bill 98 (AB 98) was signed into law on September 29, 2024, which imposes new statewide design and build standards for a new or expanded warehouse/logistics use development. The bill includes standards for building design and location, parking, truck loading bays, landscape buffers, entry gates and signage. The new law goes into effect January 1, 2026. However, projects subject to local entitlement that were submitted to the local agency before September 30, 2024, are exempt from the law.
The applicant initially submitted preliminary applications to the city on December 17, 2019, which initiated the entitlement process, and subsequently submitted official applications on August 13, 2020. As such, the project is exempt from AB 98.
ANALYSIS:
The five buildings are capable of housing multiple uses associated with office, warehousing, light industrial or light manufacturing uses. The design and intended use of the buildings are consistent with the BPI designation. Table 1 summarizes the sizes of the buildings for the project.
Table 1
Building Summary
Building No. Building Size Parcel Size
1 296,737 sq. ft. 17.16 ac. (747,489 sq. ft.)
2 131,695 sq. ft. 8.69 ac. (378,536 sq. ft.)
3 130,980 sq. ft. 9.04 ac. (393,782 sq. ft.)
4 100,155 sq. ft. 6.13 ac. (276,022 sq. ft.)
5 86,600 sq. ft. 8.29 ac. (361,112 sq. ft.)
Total 746,167 sq. ft. 49.31 ac. (2,147,943 sq. ft.)
The buildings are set back from Green River Road by approximately 128 feet to 200 feet, and from Dominguez Ranch Road by 163 feet. Access into the project site is from Green River Road via Private Street A, which will be constructed with the project to provide vehicular access to the individual parcels. The project has a secondary access point on Dominguez Ranch Road that is required to be provided by the Fire Department. The second access will be gated and used only in the event of an emergency. The on-site circulation is comprised of private drive aisles that range in width from 28 feet to 30 feet wide which meet the Fire Department’s minimum 28-foot-wide fire access lane requirement.
Conceptual Grading Plan
Due to the site’s natural sloping topography, significant grading is necessary to balance the site and create level buildable pads for the proposed buildings and associated parking lots. The building pads and parking lots will be surrounded by graded, 2:1 manufactured slopes and are elevated from Green River Road by approximately 28 feet to 55 feet, and by approximately 12 feet to 50 feet from Dominguez Ranch Road. The buildings are oriented to have the front entrances facing outward toward the streets and the loading bays facing inward or toward the hillside to the south. Nine-foot-high screen gates will be constructed at the entrances of the loading areas.
Grading of the site will extend into the northern portion of the open space adjacent to the building pads for the construction of three debris/detention basins, manufactured slopes, and to accommodate roadway entry access.
Minimal grading will occur in a small area within the open space located between Fresno Road and the building pad for Building 1. The applicant will plant coast live oak trees and associated species within this approximate 2.57 acres as part of the project’s required on-site mitigation to mitigate permanent impacts to 3.47 acres of MSHCP riparian/riverine resulting from the proposed development. The applicant is also required to complete offsite mitigation through the purchase of 4.69 acres of mitigation credits at a mitigation bank.
Site-line Analysis from Montenero Residences
The nearest sensitive land use is an existing residential neighborhood located to the southeast of the project site. The neighborhood is part of the Montenero Community, which is located at a higher elevation than the project site. The applicant conducted a site-line analysis of the project site from three residential properties located at the perimeters of the tract. The site-line analysis showed the following:
1220 Dominguez Ranch Road – the homes at this location would be approximately 100 feet higher in elevation than the pad for the nearest building within the project, which is Building 3. The rooftops would be visible from the homes; however, truck courts would not be visible.
703 San Viscaya Circle – the homes at this location would be approximately 131 feet higher in elevation than the pad elevation for the nearest building within the project, which is Building 5. The rooftops and truck courts would not be visible from the homes due to obstructions from existing hillsides.
780 San Sebastian Circle – the homes at this location would be approximately 206 feet higher in elevation than the pad elevation for the nearest building within the project, which is Building 5. The rooftops would be visible from the homes; however, truck courts would not be visible.
Parking
The project is required to meet the parking requirements of Chapter 17.76 of the Corona Municipal Code. The parking ratio for the project consists of:
Office – 1 space per 250 square feet of floor area
Manufacturing – 1 space per 500 square feet of floor area Warehouse – 1 space per 1,000 square feet of floor area The 1:1000 warehouse ratio requires the approval of the city’s Zoning Administrator (ZA).
The applicant has filed the required applications with the Planning and Development Department to use the 1:1000 warehouse ratio for all five buildings.
Based on the parking data provided on the site plan, the five buildings are required to have a combined total of 1,201 parking spaces, which are provided for the project.
Architecture
The buildings will be constructed of concrete tilt-up panels and have variable rooflines with screening elements extending to a structural height of no more than 46 feet and 6 inches. The buildings’ exteriors have stone veneer, recessed elements, and wall projections to provide breaks in the massing of the facades. Areas proposed for office use at the corners and along the street-facing elevations of the buildings will be articulated with entry doors, glazed windows, stone veneer, and aluminum awnings. Although the roofline above the entrances will have a metal screen wall for screening of mechanical rooftop equipment, the applicant has agreed to have all mechanical equipment such as air conditioning units placed on the ground instead of having them placed on the rooftops.
The color palette includes a mix of dark and light shades of browns, off-white colors and grays.
Landscape Plan
The landscape plan conceptually depicts the landscaping for the project. The plant palette consists of climate adaptive plant materials that require low to medium water usage. The plant materials were chosen for multiple purposes, including their ability to provide wide site coverage, slope stabilization, fire protection, parking lot shade, and enhancements to the project entries. The project will be landscaped with 17 varieties of trees which will be planted throughout the perimeters of the site, slopes and parking lots.
Additionally, the 2:1 slopes along the streets will be landscaped with an assortment of ornamental plant materials including succulents, flowering shrubs and groundcover for erosion control.
The street corners at Green River Road and Fresno Road, Project Street A, and Dominguez Ranch Road will have enhanced landscaping featuring accent trees and ornamental planting. The slopes located on the south sides of the buildings will be landscaped with trees and a mixture of hand-planted container plants and hydroseed mix for erosion control.
Signage
Freestanding project signage is summarized in Table 2. On-site directional signage is also proposed and will advertise the name of the center and addresses for the buildings.
Building wall signage is permitted and will be allowed per the requirements in the Corona Municipal Code, Chapter 17.74, for the industrial zones.
Table 2
Proposed Project Sign Program
Quantity Type of
Sign
Location Maximum
Height
Maximum
Sign Area
Allowable
Advertisement
2 Major
Project Entry
Sign
At the entrance
of Private A St
and Green River
Rd
6 ft. 80 sq. ft. Name of center
only
1 Minor
Project Entry
Corner of Green
River Rd and
Dominguez
Ranch Rd
6 ft. 50 sq. ft. Name of center
only
3 Tenant
Monument
Sign
Along Green
River Rd
6 ft. 50 sq. ft. Name of center
and up to 3
tenants
Total =
6 Project Entrance
The primary access into the project site is provided from Green River Road via Private Street A. The street will form a three-way intersection at Green River Road which will be signalized to allow for full turn movements. Private Street A is designed as a modified collector and will have an overall right-of-way width of 89 feet at the entrance with the street narrowing to 64 feet beyond the entrance. The street will include two lanes, one in each direction, and a parkway width of 10 feet to accommodate a five-foot wide sidewalk on both sides of the street. Vehicles will be able to make a left turn and right turn out of the project onto Green River Road. Maintenance of Private Street A is the responsibility of the project’s Property Owners’ Association (POA).
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
The applicant paid the application processing fees of $6,854 to cover the cost of the Precise Plan.
ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS:
In accordance with Section 15162 of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines, the city prepared a draft Subsequent EIR (SEIR) to the certified Green River Ranch Specific Plan Final EIR (February 7, 2001) to address the potential environmental impacts associated with the proposed project, which includes a General Plan Amendment, GPA2020-0002, in conjunction with the amendment to the Green River Ranch Specific Plan (SPA2020-0006), TTM 37963, and the proposed 49.31-acre light industrial business park development of the specific plan. The SEIR also includes the relocation of Proposed Constrained Linkage 1 (PCL-1) of the Western Riverside County Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan (MSHCP), which is located south, and generally east of the project site.
The City Council’s previous action on GPA2020-0002, considered a resolution adopting the findings and certifying the Final SEIR for the Green River Ranch Specific Plan Amendment & Business Park Industrial Development and Relocation of Proposed Constrained Linkage 1 of the Western Riverside County Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan (SCH # 2022080640). The Final SEIR concluded that implementation of the proposed project could result in significant and unavoidable negative environmental effects despite the imposition of all feasible mitigation measures identified in the Final SEIR. The City Council determined that the benefits of the proposed project outweigh the unavoidable adverse impacts as documented in the Statement of Overriding Considerations included in the resolution certifying the Final SEIR.
PLANNING AND HOUSING COMMISSION ACTION:
At its meeting of November 25, 2024, the Planning and Housing Commission considered the subject matter and took the following action:
Motion was made, seconded (Alexander/Siqueland) and carried unanimously, that the Planning and Housing Commission adopt Resolution No. 2651 granting PP2020-0004, 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 Precise Plan 2020-0004
3. Exhibit 3 – Planning and Housing Commission staff report
4. Exhibit 4 – Minutes of the Planning and Housing Commission meeting of November 25, 2024