DATE: 06/04/2025
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
FROM: Planning and Development Department
2025-225
REQUEST FOR CITY COUNCIL ACTION
SUBJECT:
RESUBMITTED TENTATIVE TRACT MAP 36864 TO SUBDIVIDE 2.09 ACRES INTO
SEVEN LOTS FOR RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT LOCATED ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF CORONA AVENUE AND WEST OF INTERSTATE 15 IN THE R-1-7.2 SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENTIAL ZONE. (APPLICANT: FATHI MANASRAH)
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
This staff report asks the City Council to approve the resubmitted Tentative Tract Map 36864 on 2.09 acres to create seven parcels for single family residential development.
The zoning of the project site is R-1-7.2, which allows single family residential on a minimum lot size of 7,200 square feet. TTM 36864 was previously approved by the City Council on June 21, 2023. The map was redesigned to accommodate the project’s street connection from Corona Circle instead of Corona Avenue. The number of lots associated with the original approval remains the same.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
That the City Council approve the Resubmitted Tentative Tract Map 36864 based on the findings and conditions of approval as recommended by the Planning and Housing Commission.
BACKGROUND & HISTORY:
Project History
The project site is 2.09 gross acres in area and is vacant. The property is zoned R-1-7.2, which allows for single-family residential development on lots sized a minimum of 7,200 square feet. The General Plan designates the property’s land use as LDR (Low Density Residential) which allows for a maximum density of six dwelling units per adjusted gross acre.
TTM 36864 was originally approved by the Planning and Housing Commission and City Council on May 22, 2023, and June 21, 2023, respectively. The approved subdivision was for seven numbered lots to facilitate the development of seven single family residential homes, resulting in a density of 3.3 dwelling units per acre. The project’s proposed street was designed as a cul-de-sac, intersecting with Corona Avenue.
After the approval of TTM 36864, staff discovered that the city owned 0.34 acres, a small parcel abutting the west side of the project site adjacent to Corona Circle. Caltrans previously owned the parcel and had relinquished ownership of the parcel to the city in 1992. The parcel is situated between Corona Avenue and Corona Circle. The parcel is mostly unimproved open space, surrounded by curb and gutter. Due to the topography of the parcel and the existing improvements on Corona Circle, there have been ponding issues at the terminus of Corona Circle which has negatively affected the existing pavement within the cul-de-sac.
Staff met with the applicant to ask if the project could use the city owned parcel as part of their development. The applicant agreed to modify the project to include a new water quality management basin within the city owned parcel in addition to other changes including changing the project’s street entrance from Corona Avenue to Corona Circle.
The design change to the project would improve the drainage on Corona Circle and would eliminate the need to relocate an existing catch basin and construct retaining walls adjacent to Corona Circle.
The resubmitted map would not extend the map’s original expiration date. According to the original approval, TTM 36864 will expire on June 21, 2025. However, the approval of AB 2729 by the state’s governor on September 20, 2024, automatically extended the time limits of housing entitlements, including tentative subdivision maps, that were in effect on January 1, 2024, and set to expire before December 31, 2025, an additional 18 months.
Therefore, TTM 36864 will expire on December 21, 2026.
Public Outreach
Resubmitted TTM 36864 revises the street design to where the project’s street entrance will extend from Corona Circle, a cul-de-sac street consisting of four residential properties.
To facilitate public understanding of the proposed changes to the map and obtain feedback, staff held a community engagement meeting with the residents of this street on Monday, March 17, 2025. Of the four property owners on Corona Circle, three responded and attended the community meeting. The property owners in attendance included:
Mr. Stanley Odie Proctor of 515 Corona Avenue
Ms. Patricia Fontenot of 493 Corona Avenue
Mr. Michael Gronewold of 477 Corona Avenue
The property owner not in attendance was Mr. Vincent Zion of 509 Corona Circle. Staff explained the public improvements to Corona Circle, which included the extension of the street into the project site, the construction of a new driveway apron for 515 Corona Circle, and the construction of a landscaped, water quality basin on the portion of land adjacent to Corona Avenue. During that meeting, the three property owners in attendance did not object to the extension of Corona Circle into the project site.
ANALYSIS:
Subdivision Layout
Resubmitted TTM 36864 will create seven numbered lots for single family residential purposes. Additionally, three lettered lots will create a new public cul-de-sac street within the project (Lot A), accommodate the half-street width dedication for Corona Avenue (Lot B) adjacent to the project site, and provide space for the construction of a portion of a new water quality basin (Lot C). Lots B and C are new lots not on the original map. No changes are proposed to the number of residential lots, density, pad elevations, or to the general layout of the subdivision design.
The site’s R-1-7.2 zoning allows for single-family residential development on lots with a minimum size of 7,200 square feet. As shown in Table 1 below, all seven lots continue to meet the zoning’s minimum lot size requirement. Table 2 shows the size of the lettered lots for the public infrastructure improvements.
Table 1 – Numbered Lot Summary
Lot Lot Size Proposed under
TTM 36864R
1 8,342 SF
2 7,995 SF
3 8,052 SF
4 7,448 SF
5 7,954 SF
6 9,370 SF
7 14,013 SF
Table 2 – Lettered Lot Summary
Lot Lot Size Per TTM
36864
Proposed Use
A 27,006 SF Street dedication (Lot A)
B 5,395 SF Street dedication (Corona Avenue)
C 674 SF Portion of a water quality basin
Public Improvements
Project Street. The seven residential lots will take access from a proposed public street which is identified as Street A on the revised map. The street is designed to be single loaded with all seven lots fronting the east side of the street. Street A is designed as a modified local residential street having an overall right-of-way width of 42.50 feet. The east side of the street will consist of 18 feet of roadway pavement, curb and gutter, and a five-foot wide sidewalk located behind the curb. The east side will also include a five-foot public utility easement to be dedicated immediately behind the sidewalk within the front yards of the seven lots to accommodate the landscaped parkway that is typically required within the City’s public right-of-way. A parkway easement will be dedicated along the west side of the street, ranging from 1.5 feet to 4.8 feet in width. No homes front this side of the street and no sidewalk is proposed, due to an existing six-foot wide public utility easement that occurs in the backyards of the adjacent residential properties. In order to maintain a minimum of 28 feet of clear width for fire lane access, no on-street parking is allowed along the west side of the street.
Street A was originally designed to connect to Corona Avenue but has been redesigned under this resubmitted map to extend from Corona Circle which is an existing cul-de-sac that connects to Corona Avenue. To discourage vehicles from traveling into the opposing lane and generally slow the speed of travel, the newly designed street will feature eightinch double-yellow striping that will run from the beginning of Corona Circle to approximately the middle of Lot 3.
Corona Avenue. Corona Avenue is classified as a local street per the General Plan and is required to have an overall right-of-way width of 66 feet. The south half of Corona Avenue adjacent to the project site is currently improved with 22 feet of roadway pavement, curb and gutter, and an 11-foot-wide parkway which includes a five-foot wide sidewalk. No widening is required for Corona Avenue adjacent to the project site.
However, the applicant is required to plant landscaping within the parkway.
Corona Circle. The existing curb and gutter along the “bulb” portion of Corona Circle will need to be removed to allow for the extension of the street into the project site.
Additionally, a new cross gutter will be constructed to connect to the cul-de-sac’s existing curb and gutter to allow for water to flow into the new water quality bio-retention quality basin which will be landscaped and designed to receive and infiltrate runoff from the proposed subdivision before entering into the city’s storm drain system. The applicant is required to construct and annex the basin into the city’s Community Facility District (CFD).
The city will remain as owner of the parcel and maintain the basin.
Other improvements on Corona Circle include the installation of new pedestrian ramps on both sides of the existing crosswalk running parallel to Corona Avenue, as well as new concrete steps and an ADA (accessible) ramp with handrails connecting the existing sidewalk along Corona Avenue to the new sidewalk running along the proposed public street.
Change in Trip Generation on Corona Circle
The existing traffic volume on Corona Circle with the existing four properties generates 38 daily trips with three trips in the AM peak hours and four trips in the PM peak hours.
The project would generate 66 additional vehicle trips with five trips occurring in the AM peak hours and seven trips occurring in the PM peak hours. Combined, the total number of trips on Corona Circle would have an insignificant increase during peak hours, which totals eight trips in the AM peak hours and 11 trips in the PM peak hours. The total number of daily trips would increase to 104 trips. No additional traffic analysis is warranted since the project with existing conditions would not exceed 50 trips during the AM and PM peak hours.
Cul-de-Sac Waiver CULW2023-0001
Pursuant to Corona Municipal Code (CMC) Section 16.18.020 (A), a cul-de-sac shall not exceed 500 feet in length unless a waiver is approved by the Board of Zoning Adjustment (BZA). The length of the cul-de-sac in the 2023 approval for TTM 36864 measured 555 linear feet and received a waiver from the BZA on May 11, 2023 (CULW2023-0001).
Since the resubmitted map is reconfiguring the design of the proposed street, the proposed cul-de-sac now measures 556 linear feet. No changes are proposed to the bulb portion of the cul-de-sac from what was originally approved under CULW2023-0001. As the revised cul-de-sac would increase in length only a nominal amount (from the original design), a modification to the original cul-de-sac waiver was reviewed and approved by the BZA on April 22, 2025.
Fences and Walls
TTM 36864R includes a proposed six-foot tall decorative block wall atop a small retaining wall (total height shall not exceed the seven feet allowed under CMC Section 17.70.060) along the northern property line of Lot 1 and the southern and western property line of Lot 7, consistent with the map’s original design. Additionally, an existing and dilapidated chain-link fence presently located along the easterly boundary of the project site would be removed and replaced with a wrought iron fence along the project’s eastern boundary line.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
Since the city approached the applicant with modifying the original map, this resubmitted map is exempted from the city’s adopted fee for processing a resubmitted tentative tract map pursuant to Section 16.12.030 of the Corona Municipal Code.
ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS:
The City Council adopted a Mitigated Negative Declaration (MND) on June 21, 2023 in conjunction with the initial approval of Tentative Tract Map 36864. Pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines, Section 15162 (a), the city as lead agency has determined that no additional environmental review is necessary for the proposed revisions to the project as the proposal remains substantively consistent with the circumstances analyzed under the adopted MND, and there are no substantial changes or new information of substantial importance.
PLANNING AND HOUSING COMMISSION ACTION:
At its meeting of May 12, 2025, the Planning and Housing Commission considered the subject matter and took the following action:
Motion was made, seconded Woody/Alexander and carried with Commissioners’ Siqueland and Vernon absent that the Planning and Housing Commission recommend approval of TTM 36864R 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 36864R
3. Exhibit 3 – Planning and Housing Commission staff report
4. Exhibit 4 – Minutes of the Planning and Housing Commission meeting of May 12, 2025