DATE: 02/05/2025
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
FROM: Planning and Development Department
2025-03
REQUEST FOR CITY COUNCIL ACTION
SUBJECT:
TENTATIVE TRACT MAP 37963 TO SUBDIVIDE 154.50 ACRES INTO SEVEN LOTS
IN THE BUSINESS PARK INDUSTRIAL AND OPEN SPACE DESIGNATIONS OF THE
GREEN RIVER RANCH SPECIFIC PLAN LOCATED AT THE SOUTHWEST CORNER OF GREEN RIVER ROAD AND DOMINGUEZ RANCH ROAD (APPLICANT: PSIP WR
GREEN RIVER LLC) (NOT ADVERTISED AS A PUBLIC HEARING)
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
This staff report asks the City Council to approve Tentative Tract Map 37963 (TTM 37963) as recommended by the Planning and Housing Commission to subdivide 154.50 acres into seven lots to facilitate the development of a light industrial business park complex.
The project site is located in the Business Park Industrial (BPI) and Open Space General (OS) designations of the Green River Ranch Specific Plan. The subdivision will create five lots on 49.31 acres in the BPI designation, two lots on 103.73 acres in the Open Space designation, and two lots totaling 1.46 acres for the creation of a private street and the dedication of public right of way on Green River Road.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
That the City Council approve Tentative Tract Map 37963 based on the findings and conditions of approval as recommended by the Planning and Housing Commission.
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 TTM 37963 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.
TTM 37963 is intended to facilitate the development of a light industrial business park complex consisting of five warehouse/industrial buildings totaling 746,167 square feet in the BPI designation of the Green River Ranch Specific Plan. The subdivision will also create two lots in the OS designation, which are identified as Planning Area 5 (20.39 acres) and Planning Area 6 (83.34 acres) of the specific plan. Both Open Space Planning Areas will remain open space with Planning Area 5 containing water detention basins and manufactured, graded slopes created by the project. Approximately 80.77 acres in Planning Area 6 will be preserved as a natural open space and dedicated to the Riverside Conservation Agency (RCA). The RCA will maintain the natural open space that supports the effort of the Western Riverside County Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan (MSHCP). The remaining 2.57 acres will be maintained by the project’s Property Owners’ Association (POA) to support the planting of oak trees near Fresno Road.
The project site includes approximately 3.4 acres of city-owned land, which the applicant will be acquiring from the City. The 3.4 acres currently lie outside of the specific plan’s east boundary and consist of 1.46 acres of a portion of the city’s Landscape Maintenance District (LMD) property (APN 101-190-034) and 1.94 acres of a portion of excess street right-of-way on Green River Road and a portion of the LMD property.
On August 16, 2023, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 2023-090 which declared the 3.4 acres as surplus land that is no longer necessary for the city’s use. On July 8, 2024, the City received a written determination from the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) confirming that the City’s disposition of the surplus land complies with the requirements of the Surplus Land Act. The applicant is required to execute a Purchase and Sale Agreement with the City before the recordation of TTM 37963.
ANALYSIS:
Table 1 summarizes the lots proposed by TTM 37963 and the corresponding land uses.
Table 1
TTM 37963 Lot Summary
Lot
No./Letter
Proposed
Acreage
Proposed
Use
Zoning/Planning Area (PA) of
Green River Ranch Specific Plan
(SPA2020-0006)
1 17.16 Industrial Business Park Business Park Industrial / PA 1 2 8.69 Industrial Business Park Business Park Industrial / PA 2 3 9.04 Industrial Business Park Business Park Industrial / PA 2 4 6.13 Industrial Business Park Business Park Industrial / PA 4 5 8.29 Industrial Business Park Business Park Industrial / PA 4 6 83.34 Open Space Open Space General / PA 6
7 20.39 Open Space Open Space General / PA 5
A 1.23 Private Streets N/A
B 0.23 Public Street (additional rightof-way for Green River Rd at project entrance)
N/A
Total 154.50
Streets
Lot A is 1.23 acres and is for the development of Private Street A which will provide vehicular access from Green River Road to the light industrial business park development proposed on Lots 1-5. Private Street A also provides access to Lot 7 in the OS designation. Lot B is 0.23 acres and is an additional right-of-way that is required for Green River Road at the entrance of Private Street A.
OTHER CONSIDERATIONS
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 POA.
Public Improvements
The project site is bordered by Green River Road, Fresno Road and Dominguez Ranch Road. The project site and adjacent roadways are located within a Criteria Area of the Western Riverside County Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan (MSHCP). In an effort to minimize and avoid impacts to sensitive species and habitats occurring adjacent to existing roadways within the Criteria Area, the MSHCP has established limitations to roadway activities that may occur within existing roadways identified by the MSHCP as a “covered road”. Only certain maintenance and operational activities conducted for safety purposes (e.g., signage, traffic control devices, guardrails, roadway resurfacing, roadway widening, etc.) are allowed within covered roadways. Both Green River Road and Dominguez Ranch Road are covered roads under the MSHCP. Fresno Road, however, is not a covered road. This means public improvement within Fresno Road will be limited to the roadway’s existing improved width. The following discusses the required public improvements for each roadway.
Green River Road
The segment of Green River Road adjacent to the project site is classified as a major arterial, six-lane street. Green River Road has a right of way width varying from 106 to 200 feet, and accommodates six lanes, allowing three lanes in each direction, and a raised center median. The applicant is required to widen the street by two to 14 feet along the project site’s frontage to accommodate an eight-footwide bike lane (six-foot wide bike lane with two-foot buffer), curb and gutter, and a 10-foot-wide parkway. Additionally, a designated eastbound right-turn lane will be constructed before the project entrance to allow vehicles to turn right into the project site.
The applicant will widen a portion of the north side of Green River Road by approximately 12 feet to accommodate a new dedicated right-turn lane for the SR91 eastbound onramp. The Riverside County Transportation Commission (RCTC) and Caltrans are currently constructing the SR-71/91 Interchange Project and will be completing the remainder portion of the right-turn lane, which will be tied to the portion that will be constructed by the applicant.
Dominguez Ranch Road
The segment of Dominguez Ranch Road adjacent to the project site is classified as a collector street and has an overall right-of-way width of 68 feet. The west half of Dominguez Rach Road adjacent to the project site is currently improved with roadway paving, curb and gutter, and sidewalk. No widening of the street is necessary; however, the applicant is required to construct the missing landscaped parkway behind the sidewalk along the project’s frontage.
A 36-foot-wide driveway is proposed on the project’s Dominguez Ranch Road frontage to meet the Fire Department’s requirement for having a secondary point of access. The driveway is located partially within Lot 3 and partially within Lot 5.
The access will be gated and used for emergency access only. Fresno Road
Fresno Road is classified as a collector street which requires an overall right-ofway width of 68 feet. Fresno Road currently has a paved roadway width of 24 feet, and no curb and gutter, sidewalk, or parkway along either side of the road. As stated, Fresno Road is not a covered road under the MSHCP. For this reason, the RCA informed staff that Fresno Road cannot be widened or improved beyond its current paved roadway width of 24 feet. However, the City is allowed to require the applicant to repave the existing 24 feet of roadway within Fresno Road.
Water, Sewer and Drainage Facilities
The applicant will construct a network of sewer, water and storm drain lines on the project site to support the proposed development. A new 8-inch sewer line and 12-inch water line will connect to the existing sewer and water lines located in Dominguez Ranch Road.
A 24-inch and 48-inch storm drain line will be constructed onsite to connect to an existing storm drain line located in Green River Road.
The City’s Public Works Department is currently in the process of reconstructing the Sierra Del Oro Sewer Lift Station at the corner of Green River Road and Palisades Drive.
It is anticipated that the new lift station will serve the project. The Public Works Department is requiring the applicant to participate in the relocation and upgrade of the new sewer lift station by paying a fair share of the construction cost of the new sewer lift station.
Maintenance Responsibilities
Private Street A and various manufactured slopes and common areas within the development will be maintained by a Property Owners’ Association for the project. The City will be granted easements throughout the project site for access and maintenance of several public water, sewer and storm drain lines and three debris/detention basins.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
The applicant paid the application processing fees of $6,475 to cover the cost of the Tentative Tract Map.
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 (Siqueland/Woody) and carried unanimously that the Planning and Housing Commission recommend approval of TTM 37963 to the City Council, 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 Tentative Tract Map 37963
3. Exhibit 3 – Planning and Housing Commission staff report
4. Exhibit 4 – Minutes of the Planning and Housing Commission meeting of November 25, 2024