Commissioner Amaya stated just to clarify with the parking, you mentioned, is good about the garages for the apartments. I know on the staff report on page 6 it has the 21, it has 42 parking spaces that are proposed, but it's going to be more than 42, correct? Or it's still going to be 42? The reason I bring that up is because two bedrooms usually has let' s just say three or four people, everybody has a vehicle nowadays and if you have 21 apartments, two vehicles per 42, 1 think they' ll be a lot more than 42 basically. That if there' s a lot more parking needed that people would start parking, whether it's on Foster right there to the South, I think. Is it going to be sufficient parking for the apartments because if not people would probably start parking on Foster, I assume, that's the closest right there.
Steve Powell stated yeah, we analyzed the parking matrix and again our architects is here but so we complied with the parking matrix, including the guest parking requirements. So, we have that, and I don' t remember the exact totals of what it was for the apartments.
Assistant Community Development Director Stater stated if you go back to the to the chart. At the bottom there 11 guest parking spaces.
Commissioner Amaya stated yeah, because my point was that everybody has a vehicle. If you get two or three or four people living in the town home or the apartment, then it's going to be a lot more than 42 vehicles.
Steve Powell stated yeah, and so in order to accommodate more, we go, I' m sorry, go ahead.
Leonardo Dale, Architect, stated so let me just clarify here. Overall, on the residential side we have 53 parking spaces. So, we have the additional 11 parking space for guests.
Steve Powell stated within the center or the apartment.
Commissioner Amaya stated yeah, because even if I lived on Villa, or Foster or round there, that one thing that..
Steve Powell stated I honestly, honest to God, and I know that you hear this from all kinds of different developers we do, I' ve served on the county San Diego for 14 years. The form -based code committee and if anybody is familiar with form - based code, there' s things about it that are really, really great but there is a lot of things about it that are fantasy. We' ve got provisions in the form -based code that says, hey, look at you know what we can get rid of parking altogether. They' re doing that in in the City of San Diego right now because -99-
everybody is going to walk to everything, so we know that that' s a fallacy. In order to create more parking, we have to reduce our footprint on our building and that was one of the compromises which again, because we were going to address this next month but the garage space itself, that footprint takes up valuable square footage, but we also feel that that' s an important part of that. Again, we' re trying to focus to the young professional, or you know, the couple. So, it' s a hard balance, but yes, thank you, Leonardo. So, we do have that additional guest parking.
Chair Hamerly stated I do have one kind of macro question and it focuses or has to do with the overall concept of the Town Center and it' s not isolated just to your site, but it created a district in the General Plan where the ideal vision was that all these disparate parcels would kind of work together, have cross lot circulation, create a pedestrian district to kind of give Highland what it sorely lacks right now and that' s a downtown. My biggest concern, if we can go back to the the site plan. The site plan looks kind of carved up where it' s just four separate blocks that, while there is a blue line that connects them, there isn' t a flow and that flow that I' m referring to is the flow that extends to Smart and Final, Dollar Store, and Bakers.
All of those properties to where it looks like the entire thing was master planned and I know that' s not a fair comment because you' re dealing with what' s leftover and it' s an infill project. Which does put a heavy burden on you to how do we stitch all this together and make it look seamless so we' re carrying through the vision of of what the City of Highland was dreaming of 16 years ago now. And I' m not seeing that, so I guess to get to the question. How did you arrive at the overall site plan and the internal circulation and the network effect to cross lot circulation? Steve Powell stated that's a fair question. We actually had that that that same discussion up in Forest Grove, Oregon, on another project that we work up there where it was, they had what was called NMU zoning neighborhood mixed use and it was not a very large piece of property. It was sort of the last remaining piece and that element up there ultimately, we put in two years into that project. That project ended up getting cancelled because it just could never, it could never be stitched together like you said. So, I' ll try to answer that the best I can because early on staff had mentioned that and they actually one of the first exercises that we did was drive around the City of Highland which they said hey go from this block to this block. Take a look at the architecture, take a look at the and we did go down to the CVS and we looked at the kiosk and at first and I got to be totally and I' m totally honest so this is not to offend or but I looked at the kiosk and when I looked at the little signs at the top there I thought that they were like it was a restaurant menu at first glance. In fact, one of them looked like an advertisement for something, so I didn't know what it was and then I also saw that there was some damage to the end because I serve on committees myself personally and we have to address this and and they always start out as the good idea but the good idea then who takes care of it and it ends up just going on deaf ears, so when it came to the circulation we didn' t know much about the whole historic nature of that and that trail and we played with different scenarios. That' s where we came up with, at first, we were going to actually mirror exactly the plaza at Smart and Final, which -100-
think everybody is familiar. It' s got something in the middle and it' s got benches and it's got some canopies but the functionality of that, honest to God, we've come out here 15 times. Half the times I' ve seen people sleeping on the benches out there, I' ve seen shopping carts out there and I' m just going okay because we are impacted by this in our own community. So, we try to, this plan doesn' t reflect it, but on the landscape plan, it' s a little bit. We've got more of a landscape component here, and we' ve got some benches in here. We got some benches in here that suggests that the pedestrian can go I want to sit down and I' m going to rest for a minute and then I could go into the plaza. So, the sense of entry, which is very important to me is this element right here. What does it exactly say? You folks can tell us what it should say, but that I think symbolizes there's the trail instead of putting a kiosk randomly within the development so the development itself...
Chair Hamerly stated so just to interject, before you leave the the corner statement, plaza and and move on to the the juicier elements of the plan and this is just my own opinion. The plaza on that location at that corner is really not a desirable element because when we talk about the communal spaces, the gathering space is the opportunity for congregating. On a macro sense, that would be the last place that anybody would want to congregate because you' re right there at the corner of the intersection, it' s a fairly busy intersection, so if you want to relax in the shade and have a conversation, you' d probably want to be more than 20 feet away from traffic that' s going pretty fast, so yes, it' s an opportunity, but it' s not an ideal location for that proposed use. It' s more of a gateway statement saying here is the development, let' s make it look beautiful, but the real space for congregating and relaxing is going to be in a more controlled, sheltered environment within the core of the site.
Steve Powell stated right, so when we looked at what is our opportunity in order to make this site work? One of the givens was this, right here, we have to have a circulation element coming off of Church. In the ideal world, we wanted to push that up, but we couldn't push it up because we have to make it in alignment with the Smart and Final driveway right across the street. So that was a fixed element, so it' s already defined that we have this pad right here to work with. That is, that that is more of the high dollar per square foot exposure on the corner and and in our Performa to make this development work, we have to assign different values to different areas. This back here could be, I can' t disclose what it could be, but it's a grocery type store. If that doesn' t go, it could be an apartment project, I suppose, but the Tractor Supply takes up this kind of footprint and quite frankly it could even take up a larger footprint if we brought in a larger model. This area back here is disconnected, quite frankly, it' s the leftover piece from this here, so we have got to extend this road. We have to put this because we have to have a way to get into Tractor Supply plus we have to provide internal circulation for the largest delivery truck that pretty much is on the road which is a WB 67. So, we have to have a way that they can safely get in, they can safely turn around. We don't have a concrete loading dock, we have a mobile loading dock but just the same, that helps drive -101-
this site plan. Then when it comes to the internal circulation, admittedly our first iteration was similar to this layout here, except we had this front piece divided into two. We had a QSR or drive thru here and a drive thru there and the way this element worked because this intersection really does balance itself the way the stamped concrete is, the way the curb returns are it is pretty balanced. So, it lends itself to having something that sort of mirrors what' s going on over here to begin. So, when we redid this iteration here, this becomes the sitdown component. This area right here, it' s sort of hard to focus in on is the sitdown area. This is the sense of entry, that' s why ours has more landscaping and it' s the sign once you go under the sign that is the opportunity, right there, that sidewalk connects up to a sidewalk, and there is a sidewalk that circulates all the way through here in front of Tractor Supply, comes down here and connects onto you can see where this is. That's the the the sidewalk that comes off the Dollar Store right there. It connects onto here, so everything here does circulate within and that's the way we were able to solve it for the tenants that are considering this. Is this a site that' s large enough to have an amphitheater? If it was 50 acres or 40 acres or something like that, possibly, but as it is, it' s difficult to get these things to pencil in. State said well look at giving up an acre for a public use because we faced that in Forest Grove, and we went all the way to Planning Commission.
Planning Commission approved it up there and then a local group appealed it because they wanted something more and more and more, and then it ended up killing the entire project. So, at the end of the day, that's how we addressed it. We have the sense of entry here. We have a potential undefined sit-down component right here because that's a patio area out there that you know walks over to here, walks over to here, ultimately walks throughout the development. Then then we have, you know, a larger tenant back here. So, it may not be exactly what you know the forefathers had envisioned. It' s what we could make work on a 10- acre site.
Chair Hamerly stated so which would you regard as your primary point of access in terms of when you enter, you know you've arrived. Most people are going to arrive by vehicle obviously. So, which is your primary point of access? Steve Powell stated well, for if it's for Tractor Supply. It' s right here. If it' s for the undefined grocery store. I' m going to go down Church signalized intersection, I' m going to hang a left here, go into the parking lot. I' m going to shop and then I' m going to go. That would be it. If it' s for a restaurant here. I could make the argument it's a half dozen one or the other, but if it was me and I was coming off the freeway, I' m going to hang out right here on Church and I' m going to come into here and then I' m going to go into this center. If I' m walking and I' m strolling, it' s probably this intersection here. There is a sidewalk, there is connectivity here but that just feels like it has more of a sense of entry. I' m not sure how many people walk down the street and walk up into the Smart and Final that area. I' m not sure but, I think it really depends on the tenant and what you' re going to that center for. I mean, that' s the way I see it.
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Chair Hamerly stated if I were speculating, I would say that if you look at the population of Highland, you're probably going to have a bit of foot traffic coming from the north, but there' s not a lot of population center up there. Your population center is going to be probably 3 to 4 miles to the east, and then you do have some that would be crossing Base Line because there are quite a number of homes you know between that Third and 5th Street Corridor and Base Line, but the vast majority Base Line is a key arterial within Highland, and so that' s where the majority of the people are coming through. So that left in, left out on Base Line, I agree that's probably your main axis coming into the project, and so that's where you're making your strongest statement. So that being said, Tractor Supply does have a frontage on that kind of says welcome, but if you look at the other side, the east side of this project, you' re fronting a loading dock and you' re fronting the backside of the house. That is the backside of a drive thru, so there' s really no presence. So, if you look at your large commercial retail tenant, you' ve got the loading dock there that fronts your major arterial, and then you' ve got the drive thru and you' re basically looking at back of house. You might get some signage on there, but that' s a drive thru so you have a queue of cars and there' s kind of a deficit of landscaping along your main arterial there. So, the part that concerns me is the presentation of the project as a whole. I think Tractor Supply respects that axis, but the rest of the site plan kind of breaks down on that major axis.
Steve Powell stated I understand what you' re saying, and I can' t say that I disagree with it. The challenge that we' re faced with right now is that we have an undefined tenant. So, what we have to do in order to establish the highest and best use is, say, okay, well, we've got a store. There is a store that this is a prototypical you know plan now, can we shift it? Yeah, we can shift it but then this parking field becomes almost on because this is a given right here. This is a given, so in order to get the trucks to circulate and that sort of thing, all of that element goes to the north, so I' m not even sure that this will even go through, and again, that's why I tried to make the statement that each, call it phase three and four, this section right here will be more in depth scrutinized when an actual application comes to the table, because if that ends up being an apartment project or it ends up being a Michaels or it ends up being something everybody got a different criteria that I hope can be more scrutinized at that point. But because this is a CUP that covers the whole thing, we had to have a conceptual jumping off point and that' s why those aren't really being scrutinized at this point.
Chair Hamerly that's why I' m dealing with kind of the 30,000-foot view. So, if we carve it up into the major circulation elements and your major pad elements without getting into the minutiae for each of the pads, that day will come. I' m just saying that if if we know that those are your major arterials and we're trying to present the best face of the project as a whole then why not carve out at least some slivers where we say we want to do some special landscaping because this is a gateway element, we don' t want paving right up to the here. You know you' re going to have an east/ west axis through there, a little bit broader parkway because you know you' re going to want a 6- to- 8-foot walkway because that's your major circulation -103-
point. Put another four to five feet in there and say we need some trees because we got to dress it up.
Steve Powell stated absolutely I understood and actually totally agree with you. I know that Leonardo, we had this conversation, so to speak, because we talked about this whole loading dock, but I don't want to say that we didn't give it a lot of credence because we don' t have a commitment yet, but] agree with you, and can go on the record.
Chair Hamerly stated it' s a set aside at this point.
Steve Powell stated it is a set aside.
Chair Hamerly stated we know that that's a goal, so let's address that.
Steve Powell stated and one of the things that we we started talking about, but then we were talking in fantasy language, was well, yes, theoretically in this particular configuration, this is the front of the store here, and we've gone down this path. You can take a look at the Ramona Tractor Supply under form -based code, same kind of thing. The side of the store faces State Route 67. That's the entire side of the store was designed as a western town with fake facade. It looks sort of like Disneyland, in order to address that. So, we thought, well, we can elevate this side to make it look like the front in order to respect this particular tenant, which we don't even have yet. So, we may have put the cart before the horse as far as trying to define things so definitively, but we also were under the impression that if we were proposing X number of square feet here, we need to demonstrate to the Planning Commission and to Staff that we could accommodate the parking that we could accommodate the landscaping, the shading requirements and that sort of thing. But as far as screening, landscape, or parkways or however you want to describe it. I agree, and I hope, and I would respectfully request that we could scrutinize that level of detail at the time we present those outparcels.
Chair Hamerly stated the only reason I bring it up at this point is because it is a CUP and we' re kind of blessing the entire concept without getting into design review for the fine details.
Steve Powell stated understood.
Chair Hamerly stated but we do have to address the overall macro issues and the CUP is the venue for doing that.
Steve Powell stated and for the record, if, like Associate Planner Syed said, you know the design component right here really refers to Tractor Supply and so that's fair game for however we need to address that, but certainly we will respect that and we will ultimately have to work with Staff again when it comes -104-
back to whether we do all of those at once or one at a time. Obviously, there's an economy of scale there, and we really need to be able to master plan it but we also, not only for potential tenants, but for lending institutions and backing and even for Tractor Supply themselves, we have to prove and for Staff that this is a believable concept. I mean, even, and it' s interesting, the City of Highland, which when I heard this requirement, I heard it from our civil engineer to begin with is like, oh, you' re going to have to prove stormwater, and I think, Oh yeah, conceptual. No, no, no, no, you have to get stormwater approved prior to and at first, I' m thinking are you kidding me? But the more you think about it, it makes total sense. It makes total sense to be able to address an infrastructure that really wasn' t respected 20 years ago and as such that also comes back to well, what are you going to build there? Well, we' ve got to fantasize something, and so we have got this to where theoretically that could be built, but it can't be built because we don' t have a tenant, so we address it as much as we can to make it as believable as we can to make sure we' re crossing is and dotting I' s knowing that call it parcel 1, 2, 3, and 4 are not being approved as a project. There are being approved as a buildable commercial site, and that's what we're looking for the overall CUP. We would have done the same thing on the apartments, but we' ve put a lot of effort into the apartments because we understand that tenant, that tenant is us. That tenant is we' re going to build it, we' re going to own it, and this is going to be our project, so we can put a lot more energy, effort, and money into that. But we're not going to speculate any commercial project, especially in this day and age. It' s suicide, so we have to do something that's going to be highest and best use. That will respect what the market is demanding, and we' ll also respect what the lending institutions will say. Yes, I' m willing to put millions and millions of dollars into this location because you' ve got a solidified plan and we also have got a reputation.
We build quite a few projects every year. We've got 70 that will be completed this year and with that there' s a lot of chiefs that we have to answer to. So, we take this very, very seriously and we also do not want to paint a picture for you folks saying that, oh yeah, this is great, we' ll do whatever you say, but at the same time we have to be able to present something that we believe is going to work. So, we know that those projects will be conditioned upon other scrutiny, other discussions, other modulation, but we also know that the driveway off of Church, that' s a given and the driveway off Base Line is a given. So, however, we can make it work and we hope that Cracker Barrel will come come to town. We hope, but we can' t promise. We can promise Tractor Supply though.
Chair Hamerly stated any final questions for the applicant this time? Thank you.
This is a public hearing, so at this time we' ll open up the public hearing for discussion. I recognize a lot of faces in the audience, and they look like consultants, but I don' t have any speaker slips, so if anyone wants to participate, now is your opportunity. Okay, we' ll get started with our discussion and leave the public hearing open. So, this is a multi -part application. One of the macro elements of course is the General Plan Amendment, GPA 21- 002. This is an advisory role the Planning Commission is making a recommendation to the City Council, and -105-
this is to make an allowance for Drive- thru uses in the General Plan Town Center.
So, open up the discussion at this time for the GPA.
Commissioner Amaya stated I support it at this time.
Vice Chair Thomas stated I know that all residents in Highland really want to sit down type restaurants, but I also recognize the changes this year with the pandemic and the need for drive-thru, so that's where I' m kind of conflicted about it. Knowing everybody really wants restaurants in Highland, that' s what the public here in Highland want and that' s who we represent. Perhaps the public has changed with this pandemic, and they' re no longer wanting those restaurants or it's no longer feasible. The business has changed like you so eloquently described. So, I appreciate that and I' m really sure quite how I feel about that yet. There' s something between those two that I can' t yet rectify in my brain. How to move forward with that?
Commissioner Sutorus stated I could understand where you're coming from, and I think the pandemic changed the business model. I don' t feel like we can' t have both. There' s a lot of great restaurants, like they mentioned, Panera has a drivethru now because there is that economy of demand and deliver, and everyone I know in Highland does demand and deliver from time to time, so I don't see taking away a sit- down restaurant and having a drive thru, I mean they don' t have to cancel each other out. I think you could still have a very nice restaurant with a drive- thru that we would go to and sit down. This location specifically, I mean, it' s a good project for Highland. This land has laid vacant for how many years, and we have never had an opportunity to have something like a Tractor Supply store come here. So, I' m excited about that focus. The details of the rest of the project will have to work out when final. I think there' s stuff we could do to make it a really nice design, when the next phase comes in, but I mean when I was on our once we called, what was I, a vice president of the Chamber for a brief moment in my life, I had this vision of what we could do with these businesses on Base Line and I remember the Executive Director told me really, Jessica, where we going to go to the Dollar Store because I had worked in Santa Clarita and they had a model of economic development where they would do events. The City would host events to get people to come to businesses in their downtown areas that weren' t, you know, the fanciest places or whatever. She kind of squashed my bubble, but I could actually see this now, with this project which didn' t exist before, so I know it takes some envisioning and it' s scary to approve new things, but honestly the project itself for Highland is a good project and it' s going to bring better stores because the anchor is a good store. So, I do support the project and I believe we could have both. I know you guys worked very hard to try to get good businesses to Highland and I hope that this development will help attract a sit-down drive thru restaurant.
Vice Chair Thomas stated I agree that the Tractor Supply has the potential. Unlike other businesses to actually attract some decent other businesses to come in. So, -106-
I do agree with you wholeheartedly on that. I also really like the apartment design, how you said it' s kind of just separated out. I think you guys did a great use of space there in that location, for phase two. I think it that works along with that residential area, I like that. I like the garages underneath.
Commissioner Amaya stated yeah, I think one thing that businesses are they have to be flexible. We have another variant you just don' t know where the pandemic is going, they can shut everything down. They need to have that flexibility drive thru and if that happens, yeah, because they would be, they have to make money. That is the main thing. Tractor Supply has to attract other residents, tenants, and if you shut that off, that' s not going to happen.
Commissioner Miller stated I think the General Plan was developed with a certain intent and I think that' s just strike a balance in the city. I think we' re a little bit out of balance right now, especially as it relates to drive-thrus. I like the project. I' ll just have a hard time supporting any further fast- food development in the City of Highland.
Chair Hamerly stated yeah, that' s the tough balance I' ll state right up front that I enthusiastically support the Tractor Supply application. I think it's a terrific tenant. It' s a wonderfully run company, immensely profitable, and it definitely has carved out its niche. The biggest challenge I have is there are not a lot of locations in the city where we have the opportunity to create town centers or projects on a main axis within the city. I know all of us have spent a fair amount of time driving up and down Base Line over the years, and there really isn' t a core. It' s just a bunch of separate little infill parcels that have just organically developed whenever a plan comes along, but there's nothing that gets it together, and I think that is probably the chink in the armor of what is keeping Highland from being, you know, just a really outstanding community. I think it has a lot of good pieces, but it lacks a downtown or a heart or a core. That was the primary focus of that Town Center concept and so you know, it' s really tough. I completely appreciate, I mean, every sit-down restaurant that I' ve been in for the last year and a half has a takeout component, You know half of the lobby space, or the waiting area is for Door Dash and Uber eats and all the rest of them for the pickup, and they' re adapting. Whether we need to go the whole nine yards and say it needs to be a drive thru or just a drive up or dedicated parking for short term. I think there are a lot of different models out there that that seem to be functioning. I think Highland doesn't have a deficit of drive-thrus. I think we have a deficit of drive ups, take outs, dining in. So that's kind of the balance. I know that we're not doing a design review or a hard review of that southeast corner of the project, but we are tasked with making a recommend to the City Council on whether drive-thru dining would be appropriate in the Town Center and for me, that' s a tough one, because I think there are some hybrid models out there that are equally effective, and maybe the compromise is if we' re going to create three tenants in that space. Let' s say one of them may be the one on the the westernmost that has the best access coming off of both of those key axis going through the project. You know, maybe that' s the one that we say it' s -107-
okay to do a drive thru and the rest of them are the hybrid model. We say we want a dine in component. We need to have enough parking for the temporary parking in the takeout component, but to say two of the three are a drive- thru, that' s giving up a lot of landscape, a lot of outdoor dining, a lot of amenities for paved queuing for vehicles and if we look at the goal of the Town Center, it was to get everybody out of their vehicles, get them to a destination, say park your car, spend some time, have an outing with the family and and have an enjoyable afternoon or evening. So that is a a tough one there. Unfortunately, it's an all or nothing because we can't say okay, we' re going to do stages of how much drive thru. You either saying they can do it, or they can't. That is an all or nothing proposition and I think to make it work realistically we have to say it' s a workable model. Is the directive to say minimize it because we still want to have that goal. So, I think all of us have had a chance to weigh in, and hopefully, you know we can give it some careful consideration before we take the final vote. But moving on, do we have any comments or observations about the mixed - use concept? I' ve heard nothing but positive about the mix of land use that' s proposed with this project and that would be the purview of the conditional use permit. Okay, then we' ll move onto the let's see. So, we' ve got related entitlements. We have the tentative parcel map that creates seven new lots. Did anybody have any comments on the tentative parcel map that was created? One question for the applicant. Three of the parcels make really good sense. The three parcels that are created at the southeast corner, the lot lines, I' m sure there' s a reason for it, but the lot lines look really broken up. Is that tenant specific, is it design specific, or is there another reason that we' re breaking those up the way they are and there' s all kinds of jogs? Are all those property lines going to be self-limiting if one or more of those tenants' bails.
Steve Powell stated the way the property lines are, are not designed specific. It was driven by parking requirements and so the parking requirements, for like the one in the like, you said on the far west there, the purple one based on the size of that store and the way it circulates. In order to accommodate, you know a dumpster and the turn around and that sort of thing. That' s what drove it to be that odd shape. Same thing, same thing in the middle. Again, based on this square footage here it required this much parking. Again, we have a very popular coffeehouse that actually has got an extremely small footprint, but so that would really drive to minimize the parking, but they've got a large queuing requirement. Now whether or not they come to fruition, they' re out of the Pacific Northwest. It would be a great addition. They haven't committed. So that would again drive the footprint. Once we get us a tenant commitment and again whether that is two drive-thrus and one sit down or one sit down that takes up the entire, a Claim Jumper, so to speak, that takes up the entire block, then we would end up either merging the lot lines, because obviously we couldn't build over the lot lines.
Chair Hamerly stated that was my next question. Depending on the tenant mix, would you have to then come in and say oh, we' re amending our tenant tract map. -108-
Steve Powell stated yes, we would. In order to make this pencil, so to speak, because I know people don't like to talk about the financial component, but we have to talk about the financial component because if it doesn' t pencil then the entire project is cancelled. I mean it's not one or the other. We won't speculate, so we have to do something that we can prove is feasible. Now, whether or not we get this tenant here. But if we did get and I' m just throwing a Cracker Barrel out there, if we got a Cracker Barrel, chances are they're going to take up the blue and the purple, lot lines are merged and then you know all discussions are over with.
We' ll never be able to have a drive- thru component on the corner because it's just the way it' s configured, so this is our opportunity to say hey, bank, this makes financial sense. We don' t have committed tenants, and that' s an honest to God truth. We religiously attend ICSC, and a lot of other commercial trade shows and we work with a number of tenants and half of which you probably have never heard of because they are in the the deep South and they' re in the Midwest and there is a resurgence of interest in California. Going through the entitlement process. Down here has been difficult, not in the City of Highland, to be honest with you, but in areas like San Diego or parts of Riverside County but the tenants don't care about that. They care more about what' s the population base and can we make our model work. A lot of the tenants that we work with nowadays and Starbucks is one of them, their footprint has totally changed, and it has completely changed. Not just based on the pandemic, the pandemic has changed a lot of things, but Uber Eats, Door Dash, dine -in and that has changed a lot of things to the the model of the sit down does work in a lot of areas, but it has been tragically impacted. In our own town, we' ve lost 17% of the sit- down restaurants that will never ever come back and so we have to, as businessmen, as developers, we have to respect that. These lot lines are fluid, but the lot lines demonstrate something that could be.
Chair Hamerly stated so, in breaking up the lots the way that they' ve been drawn up on the tentative tract map, would there be a possibility of any one of these tenants coming in and wanting to purchase that parcel, or you're retaining ownership and it' s going to be a lease only?
Steve Powell stated there's always the possibility of certain tenants want to own. Most tenants don' t want to own, they want to lease, but they' re not real estate companies. Tractor Supply is one of them and Dollar General is another one of them, but there are some corporate tenants that are very, very popular that want to own their own real estate. But that's really the minority.
Chair Hamerly stated so just to kind of free your hands up on this if we' re not creating, you' re looking at a master development here. That' s a conditional use permit that' s dictating all seven parcels. So, if we say that the primary timeframe of usage for Tractor Supply is not going to be the timeframe for usage for the southwest corner. Sorry, southeast corner, you' d have a joint parking agreement and saying everybody uses everybody parking except for these handicapped spots and this staff parking here. But overall, the site is one site, and you park wherever -109-
you need to park during the various hours that these various businesses are in operation. And then you don't have to have, you know, lot lines to carve out another two spaces for this so that this parcel right here that is purple has enough parking for their particular building. Does that free up your hands to clean up the site plan? Steve Powell stated yes and no, and the reason why is because of the way lending institutions look at ownership and because if it is sort of like buying a condominium versus a single family. You' ve got common area exclusive use, but you also have fee simple ownership and we're going through that right now in La Jolla, where California Pizza Kitchen wants to segregate itself off from a very, very affluent shopping center and it has everything to do with blending and mixed use in the redevelopment of the La Jolla market. So, while it would be great to say that this is one large apartment site, it doesn' t really work that way in the real world, Tractor Supply is a very good example of that because like realty income, which is a REIT that which will buy up a lot of these. Institutional buyers will buy these things up for investment trusts and that is part of the financial portfolio and the feasibility analysis of a project like this. So, for example, if Tractor Supply had its hands tied, I can tell you right now the entire project would be off to where it could not be segregated out as a fee simple purchase. It' s the way these projects are funded too.
Chair Hamerly stated so you' re saying a joint parking agreement that would be to the benefit of all all tenants and kind of free up the hands of the three parcels that are on the South would not be practical?
Steve Powell stated no, no, a joint parking agreement, is and I don't know how to say this nicely, because Tractor Supply is a great tenant, but they also don' t like to share in a lot of things and we we have to work with their lawyer' s day in and day out because there' s liability issues and they have a battery of lawyers there that scrutinize every square inch of the project. So, when the more we share in common, and the more rights that the general public has, the less desirable the project site becomes. So, fee simple ownership and this kind of thing is fine. You know that that' s what they would ideally like. In Jurupa valley, their parking matrix out there is, I have never seen one so high. It' s in incredibly high. We have a shared parking matrix with three parcels. The QSR' s and Tractor Supply in order to make the parking counts work. The way that project is being developed also is a phased approach. Tractor Supply is constructed first, but the parking lots for the out parcels are not constructed until those tenants are going to build. In other words, there' s some communities that we' ve been in where they say, well, if this was the real plan where we would have to construct all the infrastructure and all the parking lots and the only thing that we would be left with is this little pad here, this little pad here and this little pad there, but it doesn' t do anybody any good because that eliminates all the other tenants. I could also make the the argument that we don't need to construct that right now because there' s no impact, there' s no demand for that additional parking, because those those stores or restaurants or whatever they may be, aren't aren't constructed at this point. So, there's always -110-
going to be cross parking. Nobody says that you can't park over here as opposed to there. From a legal doctrine standpoint, it does get a little bit more complicated. It' s the same thing with easements. Easements become a difficult thing for a company like Tractor Supply to swallow because it' s a publicly traded company, and so they're scrutinized at a 30,000, 100,000-foot elevation where they look at all of us as in one box. So, I' m not sure if I' m answering your question there, but a shared parking agreement which I' m not sure if we need a shared parking agreement, but there are no restrictions on a Tractor Supply customer and parking on, you know, a Cracker Barrel parking lot and vice versa. Yeah, it's the same thing the way the whole site circulates. I don' t think the pedestrian understands that, but from an ownership standpoint. It is important for our tenant to be able to be on their own parcel, hence that' s why we're going through the the subdivision portion of it and that' s also why that the institutional lenders that look at these things look at them from a fee simple. They'd much rather own a tract of single- family homes that they' re going to rent out, as opposed to a condominium complex.
Chair Hamerly stated yeah, that comment was just directed solely at lot lines and how clean the math looks when you're trying to describe it and saying, do we really need to show every single parking space tied to a certain pad when we really don't know how big the pad is. You could conceivably now come back and say we' re going to have to do a lot line adjustment 3 separate times.
Steve Powell stated absolutely, and there' s probably a greater chance of that happening than not. In all honesty, I mean, but I have to start somewhere. I have to be able to say I can put a 3,000 square foot QSR here or I can put an 800 square foot QSR here and I can have a 3, 200 square foot sit down restaurant and then I have to prove all the ancillary issues that go with that, the circulation, the parking, the handicap. Where's the dumpster? How does it connect? So, we' ve sort of designed a fantasy plan that sometimes is very frustrating for us because we start to get in the weeds on a project that really isn' t is right now, but we have to plan it that way to show that we can make it work. Not only from a planning perspective standpoint, but from a land acquisition standpoint and infrastructure standpoint and an impact, you know, fees standpoint, so we've struggled with the apartments, believe me. We' ve struggled, but the impact fees that are associated with the apartments are greater than that of the Tractor Supply. It makes you question, so as a result of that, we put in, even though we're sort of architectural freaks to begin with, we put in a lot of effort to make sure that those apartment units can command the rent that they need to command in order to justify the the development itself. So, I know that that' s again off topic. Yes, lot lines can be adjusted. Chances are they will be adjusted. Do they need to be shown that as individual fee, simple ownership lots?
Chair Hamerly stated okay, thank you. Any other comments on the tentative tract map?
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Commissioner Miller stated quick question, per parcel, R1 does include the resident' s, correct? Right up north of the apartments right there. I see parcel R1 that also includes the home?
Chair Hamerly stated no, R2 is the single-family home.
Commissioner Miller stated okay, R2, because I didn't see it on there.
Commissioner Miller stated yeah, the single- family home is technically not a part of the CUP or anything, but it' s part of our land acquisition.
Associate Planner Syed stated just to clarify, the CUP is with regard to everything except the single-family home.
Chair Hamerly stated everything color up there. Okay, so moving on from the tentative tract map. On the site plan and we' ll focus on the design review portion of the application, so we' ll focus solely on the Tractor Supply parcel for these discussions, and we' ll begin with the site and combining that with the parcel map exhibit 10 and then the site plan exhibit 1. Another question for the applicant, during the presentation you' d mentioned that there was a potential future phase that dealt with the enhanced garden center, and I' m assuming that is not changing the size, but it would articulate it a little bit more refinement. So, I' m thinking we' re adding some additional landscaping around the perimeter.
Steve Powell stated again, another unorthodox thing about the City of Highland is I talked to Community Development Director Mainez because normally we come with our own PowerPoint and come without lots of Color boards and this kind of thing. OK so Tractor Supply like a lot of the tenants, every year they seem to dream up the new items that go in their store and a couple of years ago they came up with a pet wash and at first, I thought that this is crazy. You know people are going to bring their dogs in here and it's like a beauty salon for two dogs at a time and and it's a beautiful set up within the store and it ends up being a pretty popular feature. As such, Tractor Supply has a garden center, the garden center in the standard criteria plans was 15, 000 square feet for the longest time, and it would include a forge shed in the event that they would sell hay. It doesn' t happen every time, but it' s an enclosed structure and again the items that would be in we call it the FOD, fenced in outdoor display, however it' s fenced whether it' s wrought iron or chain link. Our items, like I said that are typically too large to be inside the store or it requires a pickup truck. Each one of the FOD areas has got a drive thru and that' s what you see in the middle of the yellow area there, and that allows customers to, if you take a look at this, on the parking field here you' ll see a typical tractor supply has three 40 foot long parking stalls and that is typically for a pickup truck with a horse trailer, a pickup truck with a little flatbed trailer or something like that. Then those customers typically will go into the FOD area here and they may buy fencing material or pipe corrals or that sort of thing that's rather large. They pay for it in the store, they come through here, they drive through and then they -112-
exit out the back. Again, that's all reflected in the circulation plan. Last year, I think it was last year, Tractor Supply decided to because they also have a seasonal fruit tree and seasonal garden center. And I guess, another outfall of the pandemic is people started planting more gardens, and as such, and this is reflected nationwide. That garden supplies sort of like what you would see at Home Depot or Lowe' s became a lot more popular and so as such they came up with a garden center plan and again for full transparency. They would hate it if I said this, but they came up with a greenhouse type garden center that affixes to the side of the building so it almost and you may have seen them in different parts of the country. I' ve seen them at Lowe' s where you may have this beautiful building then all of a sudden you literally have a greenhouse type structure that is a series of gable roofs. I think what they did was, they worked with a manufacturer that says hey we can build these, and you can just pop them onto the side of your store and believe it or not in a lot of part of the country they just don't care about that. It' s like yeah, sure, slap it on there. Well, Tractor supply has discovered that this is a very expensive element, especially in areas seismically challenged like Highland and in addition to that for those communities that do have more of a concern about the architectural style. Again, standard criteria for the Midwest, you go into Mississippi, you' ll find this store is a pre-engineered metal building corrugated siding and you call it a day. So, a garden center there may be appropriate. Well, here we knew that this was going to be a challenge and in order to make that garden center fit in with the architectural style of the store, we had created that section and right here, and I' m not sure if you can all see it. It' s on page 6, I' m sorry, of the packet there.
What we added was in the area where you see the wrought iron fencing and the columns here, we added a facade that respected the architecture of the store that encapsulates what would be a greenhouse structure that you don't see because it' s all behind this this element here. So, the challenge that we have is that when we find a location, we go through an exercise. It' s a real estate committee exercise where we have to show how the site is going to lay out. Show how the truck is going to circulate and then show how we're amongst a bunch of other things. How the garden center would work. The garden center is constructed based on whether or not the market projections are going to justify the additional cost release and if the lease is not justified, then the garden center wouldn't be built, and it would be your traditional FOD like you see at every other tractor supply. You won' t see a lot of these garden centers, because they haven' t been constructed but they have to be planned for because that is the demand of a publicly traded tenant. Now they may never come to fruition. As such, we can' t be held in jeopardy because the lease is based on very, very tight budget constraints of building this building, building the parking lot, taking down the entire center. You know how the whole thing is going to be master planned, and that's how it's devised now, whether or not one year from now or 10 years from now they end up building this component.
It is a requirement of our lease that we at least get the conceptual plan through the entitlement phase. Just much like the same way we do with forge sheds. If a forward shed component was going to go in there, there's a whole different forge can shed that is totally different than the traditional one in this. But if this was going to be built, the entitlement portion of it has to be done, because if tractor supply -113-
justifies building this, they have to pay for it and they don' t want to have to come back here and go before you folks and this sort of thing, with all due respect, they want to be able to say, oh, let' s go ahead and get the project structurally engineered and let' s go in for our building permit, so to speak. But they don' t want to have to go through the entitlement process, and it is very important for them to be able to have that option. The way it would be constructed is the way we are proposing phase one, because there isn' t enough justification based on their sales projections to add. This is another one and a half million -dollar component, and they just can't justify it at this point, but they need to have it in time.
Chair Hamerly stated point the drive through on that. Yeah, I can see it.
Steve Powell stated yeah, so the drive through is right here.
Chair Hamerly stated okay, so it's the large central element, so that' s an open gate.
Steve Powell stated yes that would be an open gate that would look just like the rest of this. It' s right in the middle.
Chair Hamerly stated and the three Gables that I' m seeing on the rear elevation connect the element just to the west of that center area.
Steve Powell stated that' s correct, yes. So, these are hidden in this, but they don' t go all the way. It' s a little deceptive here because this is set way back. It doesn' t go to the back of the building.
Chair Hamerly stated so, the two Gables that are to the left of that rear image, right there? Those are not the two elements that are in between the Tractor Supply, which I' m assuming is the rectangular portion there and then there's three Gables and the last gable, on that lower picture, is the drive thru element, correct? Steve Powell stated yes, it is. Yes, you're right.
Chair Hamerly stated okay, so there are three Gables running north/ south parallel to the western facade of the proper Tractor Supply building.
Steve Powell stated what you see, so the brick, the actual retail stores right here from from here to here, these facades are designed not only to mimic this but it' s to mask the gables that are up front, and they start small, and they get a little bit bigger in the middle and they only go about halfway through the FOD.
Chair Hamerly stated okay because it looks like they go all the way back. So, I' m looking at a facade right there, that does not connect to the roof, it is the gable on the rear elevation.
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Steve Powell stated yes, they it does. It connects up to the side of the store.
Chair Hamerly stated but the gables are running north/ south the length of the building.
Steve Powell stated north/ south, but not all the way to the back. Not all the way to the far north. I forgot what the dimension, Leonardo do you remember what the dimension is on that and and again we haven' t constructed a whole lot of these. This is a new element. The first two that we' re doing is Jurupa Valley and here. This has been an absolute challenge with our tenant because this element to build this freestanding element can' t rely on this structure, so it' s an extremely expensive element, but we have to have it in the entitlements. If I was betting on this, I don' t believe this phase will ever be constructed. That' s my own opinion.
Chair Hamerly stated be that as it may, it's a design review application and we're entitling, so I' ll cut to the chase and and let you know what really bothers me about the north elevation. The front ties together beautifully. No problem. It' s presenting itself well to Base Line. You could make just as much of an argument that you are also presenting the rear of that building to all of your apartments, all the residents that are to the north and it wouldn't take too much to clean up that rear facade and start covering up some of those gables, even if it' s just another fake facade that you' re presenting an image, even though it' s the back of the building. Just to square it up, because right now you' ve got a very boxy contemporary modern structure and then all of a sudden, you've got three barns tacked onto the side of it, and it really doesn't tie in. That's where I' m going with it, and so I' m saying if you're going to propose something like that, clean up that back there so that at least it reads like the rest of the building just the way you did on the South facade.
Steve Powell stated no, I understand. I understand that, and again, I agree with that. The challenge that we would be faced with back here is that we don' t have the opportunity for these large structural columns. I think that some of these columns go 12 feet, 15 feet deep. I mean because they have to be freestanding in order for the wind loads, the seismic loads, and everything else. We don' t have that opportunity in the back. So, what from along those lines, what I would propose in that is to take this, for lack of better words like a corrugated metal or a preengineered metal facade back there is to create a parapet that resembles this. Again, it' s more halfway in the FOD, so it's going to be disturbed by not only landscaping, but by all the product line that is within the FOD itself. But it would get rid of the gable elements, and honestly that is one of the things that bothers us a lot about this whole garden element because we don't design that. That is something that we have to follow their criteria and then we have to make the argument back to them saying well, you know there' s no way it' s going to be accepted, and it looks so different and that' s why this energy was put up here. The logistics of this area is just like changing the floor plan of a store. If we add one column, we have been struggling with the the structural on this because of seismic -115-
issues. We add a column that takes up away shelving space inside the store. They say sorry won' t work and so we have to be very creative along those lines. So, in order to create more of this kind of stepped up, stepped down, there are different types of panels that can go into a pre- engineered metal building structure.
Chair Hamerly stated so, if you think of everything, let' s just arbitrarily say that red line that' s running across there is, I' ll pick a number and say it' s 12 feet off the ground. Just for the sake of discussion, so everything above that is basically non usable retail space if you want to call it that. So, if you did a horizontal element there that masked the gables, you could even think of it like a mechanical screen where it' s basically just freestanding horizontal boards that are up there. They' re acting as a screening element because where I' m going is it just falls apart when you have three triangles, just stuck arbitrarily to the end of a building.
Steve Powell stated I can' t argue with it.
Chair Hamerly stated if you hide them somewhere and say call it a mechanical enclosure, if you will. Just mask it so that you' re not looking at a nicely constructed clean box, then all of a sudden you have the Grand Tetons on the west side of your building.
Steve Powell stated well, we had the Grand Tetons on the other side too, so no, I agree with you and that's where again so this is, like we could create what would look like this in a stuccoed panel facade, but I' ve got to be able to make it to where it doesn't require the same kind of loading that this monster element does.
Chair Hamerly stated the instant it' s solid, you' ve got your wind loads, plus your gravity loads, so I' m saying I' m throwing you a bone and say if you do a horizontal screen. The wind is going to pass right through, so you' re taking away your flagpole loads, but now you' ve got something that at least visually masks it that continues the facade of the building.
Steve Powell stated I understand, and I appreciate that and it' s one of the arguments that we've made to Tractor Supply multiple times, but they don't listen to us as much on that. The way they listen to us, honestly, is by coming back and say this is what you got to build, and they go OK mercy. It' s a revolving door. Next year it's going to be something different, but I appreciate that. I appreciate the fact that you give us an option on that. I cannot argue. I don't like it either.
Chair Hamerly stated in terms of the screening that's going around the perimeter on how tall is the steel fencing that's going around the garden centers? Is it like 10- 12 feet?
Steve Powell stated it's 8 feet. Again, that was, you know, Tractor Supply started in 1938 and thievery became very popular. They started out as catalog store but -116-
when they they came in with this FOD component, 6 feet, man things were walking over the fence so 8 feet really became the absolute minimum.
Chair Hamerly stated is that screened in any way, shape or form other than the vegetation? Am I reading a mesh in between there? Both sides, all views.
Steve Powell stated it is wrought iron fencing. Again, if you go to a standard criteria, it starts out with galvanized chain link. Some areas allow a black vinyl chain link and then others are black vinyl chain link with privacy slats. Then then the version here, which I think we talked about this with Staff, is wrought iron with CMU columns.
Chair Hamerly stated because one of the conditions that we typically put on any type of outdoor storage is that it needs to be screened from adjacent properties and from the thoroughfare. So, where I' m going with this is if it' s just a tube steel fence, or vinyl fence, whatever you' re proposing that there should be a mesh screen so people can' t see it. It' s also a deterrent, it' s not an attractive nuisance that they want to go over the fence, or you put a hedge in there and it looks like you've got some vegetation proposed on your northeast corner.
Steve Powell stated again, another challenge, and I' m glad you bring it up, but and I' ll give you the honest answer, is on the front here, well, this is the future phase.
Chair Hamerly stated that' s the one I' m targeting, particularly because if you don' t have that other structure, it's going to look like you know just a naked wall back there.
Steve Powell stated well, I believe that we have privacy fencing all the way down to the Dollar and then we have screening in the rear. But what is very important to them is the product line, so it's not being hidden, you know, so you know they they want them to be able to see it and it's it comes right out of the mouth of babes when it comes to Tractor Supply. It' s like well that's fencing material and you know it' s an important component, and all of that always gets factored in. Like I said, we just finished a store in Jamul, California, and it' s actually a beautiful store and it ended up being a galvanized chain link and they were completely happy with that, because it seems to be, I guess that silvery color with a chain link you can almost see right through it. We have tried everything we could. We built a store in Santa Clarita, actually, outside of Santa Clarita in Canyon Country and they had a condition to block it off completely. So, it went back and forth, and they ended up having us build an eight -foot -tall block wall on two sides that really becomes a graffiti magnet and then we ended up opening up the front. The conclusion at the end of the day was why didn't you just keep it open all the way around so and I' m not saying that the screening couldn' t be there and Tractor Supply, you know again, they make it very important for us to realize that this is an important part of that outdoor lifestyle of the product line, that they're selling, and that's why they -117-
have the permanent sidewalk display area for seasonal fruit trees and tractor implements, and that sort of thing that's just part of their product mix.
Chair Hamerly stated the portion of that yard that I was particularly keying in on, though, was the portion of that yard that is on the property line between Dollar Store and Tractor Supply.
Steve Powell stated I believe that that was the privacy fence.
Chair Hamerly stated okay, so that is solid, not see through.
Steve Powell stated Yes, well, it' s the privacy slats.
Chair Hamerly stated because there' s something else that is kind of seasonally unique to our end of the world here, we get ferocious winds from time to time. Chain Link does a wonderful job of trapping every bit of garbage is flowing down off the mountain. The vertical slats the steel fencing is just big enough that that stuff will pass through and blow into somewhere else and become their problem, but chain link traps everything and it really starts to look bad, so that's something to think about on how you choose to screen that. I' ve heard tube steel and I' ve heard chain link in this discussion, so you know, think about some of those factors.
Steve Powell stated I believe because we got a lot of stories going, what we ended up with, what we proposed originally was not this, but what we ended up with was the columns to to sort of resemble the architecture. Wrought iron along here. I think it' s black vinyl chain link with privacy slats along that side for screening.
Chair Hamerly stated west side only.
Steve Powell stated yes, and then we have landscaping and iron in the rear Chair Hamerly stated at the northeast.
Steve Powell stated and there' s a block wall for the loading area, and then there' s landscape in front of that because that was another point that came up.
Chair Hamerly state were there any trees proposed on the extension of the Foster Street as you come into the the property from that direction? Speaker is inaudible.
Chair Hamerly stated you' re going to have to either speak at the microphone or he's going to have to translate for you.
Jeff Maxwell stated it's showing up right now on the parcel that is the multifamily residential so it' s not coming up on the Tractor Supply component, but in the -118-
future when we submit plans next month, the landscape plan for the Apartment parcel will show kind of a street treatment along that..
Chair Hamerly stated the northern side of the Foster extension.
Jeff Maxwell stated yeah, the northern side of Foster. On the southern side of Foster, we have some screening there for the loading dock.
Chair Hamerly stated so I' m just reading hedge as opposed to the Cypress that are shielding the loading dock.
Steve Powell stated and that's in addition to a block wall also.
Chair Hamerly stated right.
Steve Powell stated and again we were under the impression that the the apartment will be more heavily scrutinized next month, but we do have a full landscape plan for that also.
Chair Hamerly stated the question was specifically and only regarding the Tractor Supply parcel. I was saying are there any trees on the south side of the Foster extension specifically to screen that loading area. I see hedges and I see a wall there, but I don't see anything that has any kind of mass that's hiding a very tall, blank side of the building back there and that's the side we're presenting to the apartments. Then everybody that' s driving down the street coming through Foster that's going to Dollar store, that's going to the pharmacy, all of those.
Jeff Maxwell stated we have site, it's just the limitation that we have. We have Cypress trees here and here. Yeah, here in here.
Chair Hamerly stated so there are two stands of Cypress that are, one is on the diagonal portion of the the yard and the other is at the entrance to the the loading zone.
Jeff Maxwell stated correct.
Commissioner Miller stated it looks like from the illustrations that the landscaping is flush with the adjacent parking lot is, is that correct? Doesn' t look like there' s a curb or anything surrounding those. Is there any issue with vehicles coming in and driving into the landscape areas without that curb production? Steve Powell stated where are we speaking?
Commissioner Miller stated from the illustrations here it is shown there is proposed curb. Okay. So, you know one of the things a cost saving measure you could implement is something some of that landscape you mentioned the -119-
stormwater requirements earlier. If you' re able to sump of that landscaping and hold on to that storm water at the surface, then you essentially reduce the size of that underground system, which is a little bit more expensive to do it underground as opposed to doing it on the surface, that could be a cost saving measure if that works with the type of landscaping that you have. Assuming that you can get stormwater from those impervious areas to then drain into that landscaping.
Steve Powell stated yeah, that' s been part of the challenge and the other part of the challenge is being able to meet all the parking requirements and the circulation requirements without having to go underground. Because I agree, these storm tax systems are very expensive, very expensive.
Commissioner Miller stated so there' s
savings if you could potentially do
landscaping. Just a general comment.
some opportunity there for some cost
some of that treatment within your
Chair Hamerly stated so on each individual parcel, and specifically to Tractor Supply, is there a calculation on the percentage of landscaped area that we' re looking at because right now it looks like there' s a very narrow parkway that may or may not be about ten feet on the Base Line frontage. Then we' re looking at just slivers around the perimeter. So, is there a percentage of the lot area for parcel 1?
Leonardo, Project Landscape Architect, stated correct, so each is calculated out individually, but the percent total landscape area is 16. 9%.
Chair Hamerly stated is that just Tractor Supply or is that the whole site? Leonardo, Project Landscape Architect, stated it is.
Chair Hamerly stated because it looks like the biggest landscape area is on the north side of parcel 3.
Leonardo, Project Landscape Architect, stated it does look like the whole site. I don't know if Jeff can speak to that.
Steve Powell stated and again, we didn' t do formal landscape plans on the four commercial outparcels. We did do one on the apartment because that is a project that moving forward
Jeff Maxwell stated I honestly, let' s see.
Leonardo, Project Landscape Architect, stated it' s 16. 9% for the landscape area calculation.
Jeff Maxwell stated we calculated that as a part of the whole site. -120-
Associate Planner Syed stated so in the mixed -use zone for landscaping like this, the minimum is 10% and which they met.
Chair Hamerly stated on each individual parcel, or on the entire conditional use permit area.
Associate Planner Syed stated for specifically this design. It' s actually this whole site.
Chair Hamerly stated and that's my understanding. When I look at the pockets of proposed landscaping, Tractor Supply is, you know it' s in the middle of everything and it' s carved up by paving. So that' s why I was asking that question specifically because it' s design review just for parcel one and was wondering if each individual parcel was being graded to meet that 10% threshold, or if it' s still the macro view and we' re factoring in the apartments. We' re factoring in parcel three, the big commercial tenant and averaging the entire thing over the entire site.
Associate Planner Syed stated I was looking at it as the entire conditional use permit, so the whole site.
Chair Hamerly stated okay, so it' s conditional use permit. So, then the design review, which is each individual parcel, we could not then have the standard apply to each individual parcel. So, the challenge for the Commission and for Staff at this point is going to be mentally tracking that percentage because if the redesign does occur on parcels three through six, we' re going to have to say we do need to set aside enough area, so we' ve met the landscape threshold, which could be a little bit limiting on the southeast corner depending on what tenant comes into that space. Because back to your point, if there were an opportunity to create bio swells or any on site capture of water. The most attractive option right now is on the north side of the big commercial tenant. That's the only place we have enough real estate in landscape to do that and that's unfortunately on the uphill side of the site. Anything else on site or landscape? Did everybody have a chance to see the color board that was here?
Commissioner Sutorus stated I just had one quick comment about your selection of palms. I don't know if our landscape architect is here tonight. Oh, he is, Scott this question is for you. Are the Washingtonian California fan palms as invasive as the Washingtonian Mexican fan palms?
Scott Rice stated they are, but here's the challenge. We have an established streetscape theme going through the Town Center where the anchor tree is the California fan palm, and that's something that' s occurring on both sides of Base Line at a uniform interval. So, if we don't continue that pattern, it's going to be very apparent.
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Commissioner Sutorus stated there was mention about migratory bird earlier.
I mean they don't support any migratory birds mixing, I mean it's invasive. It grows up in the cracks of everything and it would blow into the neighbor's yards. Is there any other selection of palm that could be suitable to match the theme that's not invasive?
Scott Rice stated not really, it's a very dominant tree, the California fan palm. It' s the real stout, real thick trunked one. It would just be that stretch of frontage where there' s a different palm, so we' ve got a very, very dominant theme for about a mile there along Base Line.
Community Development Director Mainez stated if I can chime in, sorry about that.
So, where these are located, they' re in the Town Center, and they' re usually part of the LIVID, which is landscape maintenance district, and you may notice driving in and driving away from City Hall that the standard of maintenance is a little bit different than you would see on a private property, so we do require them trimming or regular maintenance of those things to address some of the issues you just pointed out. You' re right, it is something that we inherit because we selected those trees to be the dominant colonnade along Base Line. So, now you could take them out I guess elsewhere in the site, but I think you' re referring to the ones along Base Line, correct?
Commissioner Sutorus stated yes, specifically.
Community Development Director Mainez stated so the standard of maintenance is a little bit higher, in this case, so you won' t get that problem and if we do, there' s a phone call and a letter and a citation, and they usually get out there within 24 hours and start trimming.
Commissioner Sutorus stated it's not the trimming it' s the seeds, the pods, and they spread everywhere.
Community Development Director Mainez stated I mean if you want to maybe put that on a topic that we can analyze, you know, under separate cover, come back to it and we can look at it. I know that's something our landscape architect has wanted to do for a while, is to go back and look at our palette. I' m not sure we' re going to be able to do that. Why don' t you give us direction to maybe look at considering some other trees that are similar? I don't know if that's something you can even do.
Scott Rice stated we can and so citywide we' re definitely steering as many applicants as we can away from the fan palms. This is one of the last remaining pieces of an established theme, and so for this particular piece of town, for the Town Center corridor, this should be it. We wouldn't want to change at this point.
Everything has been established there, but we could definitely as a whole, we could definitely look at other options other than the the fan palms. So, this is a tricky situation just because of the established theme, trying to find the balance. -122-
Chair Hamerly stated fan palms are going and establishing the dominant structure as you go down the Base Line corridor. In different segments there are secondary trees that kind of add the shading element to the pedestrian walkway. I' m not observing that on on this particular application. Are there trees that are providing that secondary shade element for the sidewalk?
Scott Rice stated for this stretch we' ve got a narrow planter along the edge of the South side of the property along Base Line.
Chair Hamerly stated because one of the biggest deterrents to pedestrian activity is 100- degree temperatures and lots of paving. Any opportunity that we have to create some shade along that stretch if we're trying to create a Town Center and have pedestrian activity, that' s an opportunity to do it. Even if we artificially did it with diamonds at the heads of the parking spaces, at least it would hang over the sidewalk and provide some intermittent shade through there.
Scott Rice stated is that something that we want to add as a condition of approval? Chair Hamerly stated it' s a suggestion because right now you know palm trees are not going to add any shade that's meaningful at the sidewalk level, and if we're trying to create a pedestrian thoroughfare or encouraged pedestrian activity through the Town Center. We better start thinking about shade and rest stops and shading bus areas and those types of things. There' s a real detriment of that. You know, not that that's part of this, but especially on the south side of Base Line, there' s very little shade there. I would encourage this as a directive to Staff to think along those lines about seizing opportunities to create shade along the sidewalk.
Community Development Director Mainez stated shade is going to be off the sidewalk if you plant them on the north side.
Chair Hamerly stated depends on the canopy, but yeah, at noon in the summertime when it' s the worst. At least it' s going to provide, you know whatever it is 20 to 25 feet on center you' re going to get a canopy that' s going to provide some relief. If we can keep the sun off the paving too, that also makes the sidewalk a little more pleasant.
Scott Rice stated we can definitely look at this further through the plan check process and see if there' s opportunities for additional trees, I know that when the applicant was looking at the site and meeting their parking parking requirements, especially for Tractor Supply, just ran out of landscape room, just to get the queuing with the rows. But if there are opportunities for maybe additional diamond planters along that southern edge of parking.
Chair Hamerly stated it looks like about every six or seven parking spaces along the southern edge there you do have, looks like maybe a 6- to 8- foot- wide landscape strip between the parking spaces so if those trees either slid farther to the south or a second tree was positioned at the bottom, the southern edge of -123-
those strips you know that might provide some additional shading. Going up Church Street they' ve got a really nice pattern through there and I think that one was well done. It's just a shame that you know Base Line is the major thoroughfare, and we've missed the trees on that one.
Scott Rice stated the application, as proposed, would be consistent with what' s happening at CVS and Bakers, and so that the parking lot tree and the finger with the canopy it would provide intermittent shade. It' s not ideal, but definitely there would be the opportunity to shove that tree a little bit closer to the sidewalk.
Chair Hamerly stated any thoughts on the landscape site plans? We kind of touched on the elevations. Any final thoughts on the color scheme and the elevations? And again, this would be a directive to staff to work with the applicant on, even though it may never get built, having a strategy for addressing the gable ends that are exposed on the north end of the building. It' s a directive because they may never do that, and since it' s just design review, it' s not part of the CUP.
That' s why it would have to be a directive when and if this ever does happen. At least they've got a note to say, oh yeah, let's make an attempt at fixing that. Okay, that completes the design review portion of it. So, we've got the site plan, building elevations, conceptual landscape plan, the grading plan for the Tractor Supply parcel. Public hearing is still open with any final chance for comments.
Community Development Director Mainez stated we would like to just go back to the entitlement. There was a couple of discussions about the apartments. I just wanted to go back, and I should have brought this up earlier but under the CUP conditions on page 118. Condition number two, in that condition lists that one of the entitlements is one multi -family residential building. We' ve heard tonight that those are approximately 21 units. So, for ambiguity concerns, I don't want to make sure that when they come back, they don' t bring in like a 10- unit apartment or a 50- unit apartment. We have to really narrow this down to a range, whether it's 15 or 20 or approximately 21 units. So that staff has good direction that this is what you' re seeing tonight is going to fit there and we' re not going to have to deal with any other size issues, so I don't know if you want to ask the applicant to clarify that.
Chair Hamerly stated well, it does look like there' s three buildings proposed, so we would have to rewrite condition two since there are three of those multi -family attached structures.
Associate Planner Syed stated what Community Development Director Mainez is saying is to specify a specific number of units, or a range of units. It doesn' t matter how many buildings.
Chair Hamerly stated right now the condition is it' s a building. So, it should be a multi -family component would be a generic grab all term if they decide oh, we can fit 30 units on here by making them six feet wide, or we' ve only wanted to build four big units. At least we' re having a multi -family component without tying anybody hands to saying, oh, you have more than one building. So, we don' t -124-
want to rewrite the conditions so that that' s a good suggestion that you bring up. That does need to be wordsmith to address. Something generically that does capture the essence of what they're trying to achieve with parcel 2.
Community Development Director Mainez stated the other option is just to make sure that the attachment, this exhibit, is part of the conditions and so we can always refer to it.
Chair Hamerly stated even that' s not safe, because that' s not part of design review, and you' re entitling it that' s right of zone with a conditional use permit.
Community Development Director Mainez stated so many variables, I get that.
Chair Hamerly stated I would stick to the use because it' s a multi use. So, if we target that use as a multi -family residential and scrub the term building then it gives them the freedom to design whatever units that they' re going to end up proposing.
It sounds like they' re pretty well along, and they' re going to be submitting that. I think we said January.
Assistant Community Development Director Stater stated and the removal of the single-family residential use because it' s not actually required with the CUP.
Chair Hamerly stated so if we take out of the single- family residence portion of that, does that alter that 9. 06 acres or did that include that one little parcel there on Villa?
Assistant Community Development Director Stater stated yes, that would have to be modified. So, staff can modify it following this meeting.
Chair Hamerly stated so the 9. 06 is not accurate because it did include the singlefamily component.
Assistant Community Development Director Stater stated correct, as I assume that' s what the map is, so we can modify that. We can adjust that to show the appropriate acreage.
Chair Hamerly stated so we have the one multifamily residential building that's going to be modified. Striking one single family residence on approximately blank acres northwest corner of Base Line and Church.
Associate Planner Syed stated do I have to read that into the record? Chair Hamerly stated I was just trying to verbally go through the checklist of what we had just discussed. Just so staff has a directive when they' re modifying that. So that would also change the proposal. Does that change the wording of what we' re going to be reading?
Assistant Community Development Director Stater stated maybe as modified. -125-
Chair Hamerly stated doesn' t look like it. It looks like the items one, two and three in the recommendation are clean. So, then it does modify the statement of proposal on the cover of planning conditions and then item 2.
Assistant Community Development Director Stater stated we have a question on another directive when you're done.
Chair Hamerly stated it looks like it was the only occurrence.
Assistant Community Development Director Stater stated would you like a directive? I had some language written concurrent with the design review application on commercial phases 3 and 4. A revised conceptual landscape plan with embellished gateway entries from Base Line and Church shall be approved by the Planning Commission, which is a directive.
Chair Hamerly stated yes, I' m fine with the directive. I think the fact that none of the additional parcels that are not for consideration for design review landscape would be a component of that, because even their preliminary landscape that was submitted this evening just has green shaded areas, but it's not articulated, so they would have to bring those areas back.
Assistant Community Development Director Stater stated this would be a reminder that we' re looking for those embellishments on the next set.
Chair Hamerly stated I will formally close the public hearing. Any final items for discussion. Seeing none, we' ll entertain a motion at this time, and as a placeholder since item 2 is being modified and the proposal is being modified, it would be the conditions of approval as modified.
A Motion was made by Commissioner Amaya, seconded by Commissioner Sutorus, to:
1. Adopt Resolution 21- 022, to approve Conditional Use Permit ( CUP 21- 006), Tentative Parcel Map ( TPM 21- 001), Design Review Application ( DRA 21- 004), subject to the Conditions of Approval, as modified, and Findings of Fact, certify the Mitigated Negative Declaration and recommend the City Council approve General Plan Amendment ( GPA 21- 002); and
2. Direct staff to file a CEQA Notice of Determination with the County Clerk of the Board of Supervisors. Motion carried, 4- 1, with Commissioner Miller dissenting.
Chair Hamerly stated since the portion of this is a recommendation to the City Council, do you want him to elaborate on the negative?
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Community Development Director Mainez stated just for the record, I know there were issues with the general plan amendment is that the only thing you had issues with?
Commissioner Miller stated that is it, that is all.
RESOLUTION NO. 2021 — 022
A RESOLUTION OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF
HIGHLAND, CALIFORNIA, APPROVING TENTATIVE PARECEL MAP
TPM 21- 001), CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT ( CUP 21- 006), AND DESIGN REVIEW APPLICATION ( DRA 21- 004) FOR MIXED -USE DEVELOPMENT CONSISTING OF FIVE ( 5) COMMERCIAL TENANT BUILDINGS, ONE ( 1) MULTI -FAMILY RESIDENTIAL BUILDING, AND ONE ( 1) SINGLE- FAMILY RESIDENCE ON APPROXIMATELY 9.06 ACRES AT THE NORTHWEST
CORNER OF BASE LINE AND CHURCH AVENUE, CERTIFYING A
MITIGATED NEGATIVE DECLARATION ( ENV 21- 003), AND
RECOMMENDING THE CITY COUNCIL APPROVE GENERAL PLAN
AMENDMENT ( GPA 21- 002) ALLOWING DRIVE- THRU FACILITIES WITHIN
THE TOWN CENTER POLICY AREA
4. Public Hearing to declare the existence of a Public Nui! 7_21Za: 4
92346.
a
Chair Hamerly stated item number f r is a public hearing to declare the existence of the public nuisance in accord ce with Title 8, chapter 8. 32, of the Highland Municipal Code, and authorize a abatement thereof at the property generally located at 7914 Calle Del Rio At this time will proceed with staff report.
Community Developmen Director Mainez stated I want to point out some corrections Staff has de to the administrative record before you this evening. The correcti s are reflected in the revised declaration of public nuisance which has been pl ed in front of you this evening. I' ll hold it up, it's got the littl/
Ietters
en tabs it as well. First, I want to direct your attention to a oneandout. I' m holding up here and this is intended to correct the order of ents li ed on page six of the staff report for the record. In the staff reporting f vi tion dated June 1, 2011, was mentioned but was not listed as an e on page Six of the staff report, and it was not included in the declaration i uisance resolution. That document should now be referenced correctly hment A in the record and in the resolution. Second, there were two city y letters inadvertently excluded from the staff report and resolution. Those ers dated September 14 and October 26, respectively, by including the resolution and should now be referenced correctly as attachment J. In the record and in the revised resolution before you. Finally, the second page of the building official' s special inspection report dated November 29, 2021, was inadvertently excluded from the staff report and resolution. The missing pages -127-
Attachment 4:
Planning Commission Resolution No. 2021- 022
Approved December 7, 2021)
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RESOLUTION NO. 2021 -
A RESOLUTION OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF HIGHLAND, CALIFORNIA, APPROVING TENTATIVE PARCEL MAP ( TPM 21- 001), CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT ( CUP 21- 006), AND DESIGN REVIEW APPLICATION DRA 21- 004) FOR A MIXED -USE DEVELOPMENT CONSISTING OF FIVE ( 5) COMMERCIAL TENANT BUILDINGS, ONE ( 1) MULTI -FAMILY RESIDENTIAL BUILDING, AND ONE ( 1) SINGLE- FAMILY RESIDENCE ON APPROXIMATELY 9. 06
ACRES AT THE NORTHWEST CORNER OF BASE LINE AND CHURCH AVENUE, CERTIFYING A MITIGATED NEGATIVE DECLARATION ( ENV 21- 003), AND
RECOMMENDING THE CITY COUNCIL APPROVE GENERAL PLAN AMENDMENT GPA 21- 002) ALLOWING DRIVE- THRU FACILITIES WITHIN THE TOWN CENTER POLICY AREA.
ASSESSOR' S PARCEL NUMBERS: 1200- 381- 05 & - 43
APPLICANT: WOODCREST REAL ESTATE VENTURES
A. RECITALS
1. On May 17, 2021, the Applicant submitted applications for Conditional Use Permit ( CUP 21- 006), Design Review Application ( DRA 21- 004), Tentative Parcel Map ( TPM 21- 001) for a Mixed - Use development consisting of five ( 5) commercial tenant buildings, one ( 1) multi -family residential building, and one ( 1) single-family residence on approximately 9. 06 acres at the northwest corner of Base Line and Church Avenue. Assessor' s Parcel Numbers: 1200- 381- 05 & - 43
2. On May 17, 2021, the Applicant submitted an application for General Plan Amendment ( GPA 21- 002) to remove General Plan Town Center Policy No. 10, the prohibition of drive-thru facilities part of commercial uses within the Town Center Policy Area along Base Line. This affects Assessor's Parcel Numbers:
1192- 421- 23, - 01, - 02, - 03, - 04, - 05, - 06, - 07, 1201- 011- 24, - 01, - 08, - 23, 1201- 051- 14, - 16, - 17, 1191- 501- 57, - 83, - 84, 1191- 501- 06, - 78, 1200- 381- 40, - 41, - 42, - 43, - 05, 1200- 421- 33, - 02, - 03
3. On June 18, 2021, Staff provided the Applicant with a Letter of Incompleteness and listed the various items that were missing from the initial submittal and provided direction on modifications to the exterior elevations of the site.
4. On October 18, 2021, the Application resubmitted revised plans addressing Staff' s directives and the items listed in the Letter of Incompleteness.
5. Pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act, the project was subject to an Initial Study / Mitigated Negative Declaration ( IS/ MND) as part of the CEQA review process. The City, as the Lead Agency, oversaw preparation of the preparation of the Initial Study / Mitigated Negative Declaration ( IS/ MND) and has determined that the proposed project could result in potentially significant environmental impacts related to Biological Resources, for the habitat disturbance to state and federally protected nesting birds, and to Transportation, -129-
for the increase of traffic along Base Line. However, a thorough analysis of the impacts was completed during the preparation of the Mitigated Negative Declaration and appropriate Mitigation Measures were provided for this project.
6. All legal prerequisites to the adoption of this Resolution have occurred.
B. RESOLUTION
NOW THEREFORE, it is hereby found, determined, and resolved by the Planning Commission of the City of Highland as follows:
1. The Planning Commission finds that all of the facts set forth in the Recitals, Part " A" of this Resolution, are true and correct.
2. The City of Highland Planning Commission after due consideration, inspection, investigation and study made by itself and on its behalf, and after due consideration of all evidence and reports offered at said hearing, including the staff report to the Planning Commission dated December 7, 2021, which is incorporated herein by this reference, does find and determine the following facts:
a. All necessary public hearings and opportunities for public testimony and comment have been conducted in compliance with State law and the Municipal Code of the City of Highland.
3. Findings of Fact for General Plan Amendment ( GPA- 21- 002) Based on the Findings below, the Planning Commission recommends the City Council does herby find:
a. The proposed amendment is consistent with the goals, objectives, policies, and programs of the general plan, or the general plan as revised by the proposed amendment, and will not result in any inconsistencies within the plan:
Response: Currently, General Plan ( Land Use Element, Goal 2. 10, Town Center Policy No. 10) prohibits the establishment of any sort of business involving drive- thru service within the Town Center Policy Area. The General Plan' s vision for this area of the City is for a non -drive thru environment with sit down restaurants, and walk- in commercial businesses. However, considering that establishments with drive-thru service have become more popular and favorable in recent years, the Applicant has submitted a General Plan Amendment that will address this trend. As such, the revised General Plan, specifically for the Town Center Policy Area, will not pose a detriment to the surrounding vicinity.
b. The proposed amendment will not adversely affect the public health, safety or general welfare.
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Response: The proposed project has been reviewed by Planning, Engineering, Building and Safety, the Fire Department and the Police Department and certain conditions of approval that are necessary and proper to safeguard and protect the public health, safety, and welfare have been implemented. That being the case, the approval of a General Plan Amendment for the proposed project is will not adversely affect the public health, safety, or general welfare. c. The proposed amendment is consistent with the purposes and intent of this title, unless such amendment proposes to change, supplement, or alter any part of this title, whereas, said amendment must be consistent with all of the applicable sections including these findings.
Response: Title 16 of the Municipal Code includes the development standards and requirements pertaining to Mixed Use projects. As previously discussed, this proposal includes commercial developments with appropriate street frontage, onsite parking, and setbacks compliant with the Mixed Use zone.
Additionally, the residential development portion is compliant with the floor area ratio, housing density, and setback requirements from adjacent commercial uses.
d. The potential environmental impacts of the proposed amendment are insignificant or there are overriding considerations which outweigh the potential impacts.
Response: The Initial Study prepared for the proposed development analyzed the potential for environmental impacts on Biological Resources related to the potential habitat disturbance to state and federally protected nesting birds and to Transportation related to the potential the increase of traffic along Base Line. All topics were found to have either " no impact" or " less than significant impact" with mitigation incorporated. The Initial Study incorporated mitigation measures to reduce any potential impacts to a less than significant level and, thus, the approved project is not likely to cause any detrimental environmental effects with or without the General Plan Amendment.
4. Findings of Fact for Tentative Parcel Map No. ( TPM 21- 001) Based on the Findings below and contingent on the City Council' s approval of General Plan Amendment ( GPA 21- 002), the Planning Commission herby finds:
a. The proposed map is consistent with applicable General and specific plans.
Response: The subdivision of this 9. 06 acre area comprised of two ( 2) parcels will create seven (7) new parcels of various sizes to accommodate five ( 5) total commercial buildings, a 21- unit apartment complex, and a single- family home.
With five ( 5) separate commercial uses of various sizes, along with the residential section proposed at the northwest corner of the site, the parcel map is in compliance with the vision for development of the City, as described in the Highland Municipal Code, Chapter 16. 22, Mixed Use District. -131-
b. The design or improvement of the proposed subdivision is consistent with applicable general plan.
Response: The proposed development is located on a 9. 06 acre site designated by the General Plan as Mixed Use. With five ( 5) separate commercial uses of various sizes, along with a residential section proposed at the northwest corner of the site, this project is in compliance with the vision for the General Plan' s Town Center Policy Area.
c. The site is physically suitable for the type of development.
Response: The site is generally flat without any unusual features and is located within an urbanized area with existing services and infrastructure available to the Site. The proposed Parcel Map subdivides two ( 2) existing parcels, approximately 9. 06 acres in total, into seven ( 7) separate parcels for commercial uses along Base Line and Church Ave and residential uses along Foster Avenue and Villa Avenue.
d. The site is physically suitable for the proposed density of development.
Response: The proposed project is in compliance with the development standards in the Highland Municipal Code, Chapter 16. 22, Mixed Use.
Currently, the site is vacant and has remained so since prior to the City' s incorporation in 1987. While any sort of development on any site that was previously vacant will have an effect on the surrounding vicinity with regard to foot and vehicular traffic, the trip generation information was analyzed and appropriate mitigation measures for the increased traffic along Base Line and Foster Avenue have been proposed. Further, the proposed site features adequate interior roadways, building setbacks, and onsite parking for the five 5) separate commercial uses to create a cohesive development that complements the surrounding vicinity.
At the northwest corner of the site is the residential portion of the proposed development. With a lot size of 1. 72 acres, the 21 units proposes a density of
12. 2 du/ ac, well below the maximum limit of 18 du/ ac. Additionally, with a total building area of 31, 769 square feet and a lot size of 75, 132 square feet, the lot coverage for the residential development falls under the maximum permitted floor area ratio of 50%. Lastly, the apartment complex is in compliance with the fifteen ( 15) foot building setbacks in all directions as required for multi -family residential complexes adjacent to commercial developments in the Mixed Use zone.
e. The design of the subdivision and the proposed improvements are not likely to cause substantial environmental damage or substantially and avoidably injure fish or wildlife or their habitat.
Response: The project site is adjacent to the existing Family Dollar Discount Store to the west, the Smart & Final grocery store to the east, and an -132-
established Church across Base Line. Also, there are existing residential developments to the northwest and north of the site along Villa Avenue. This project was also subject to an Initial Study / Mitigated Negative Declaration IS/ MND) as part of the CEQA review process. A thorough analysis of the project was done and potential impacts to Biological Resources related to the potential habitat disturbance of state and federally protected nesting birds were mitigated.
f. The design of the subdivision or type of improvements is not likely to cause serious public health problems.
Response: The proposed Parcel Map provides the new parcels and site layout required for the Mixed Use development to be constructed as planned. No public health problems are expected as a result of this subdivision. g. The design of the subdivision or the type of improvements will not conflict with easements, acquired by the public at large, for access through or use of, property within the proposed subdivision.
Response: The design of the subdivision will not conflict with easements for access through, or use of, property within the proposed subdivision. There is an existing six ( 6) foot wide utility easement that is located along the northern boundary of the property that will remain as -is, since the boundary wall for this project will be constructed six ( 6) feet inside the property line.
Exhibit 1 attached includes the Tentative Parcel Map No. 20403 ( TPM 21- 001) Conditions of Approval.
5. Findings of Fact for Conditional Use Permit (CUP 21- 006) Based on the Findings below and contingent on the City Council' s approval of General Plan Amendment ( GPA 21- 002), the Planning Commission herby finds:
a. The proposed use is permitted within the subject district pursuant to the provisions of this section, and complies with all of the applicable provisions of this title; and is consistent with the goals, policies, and objectives of the Highland general plan, and with the applicable development policies and standards of the city:
Response: The proposed development is located on a 9. 06 acre site designated by the General Plan and Zoning Map as Mixed Use. Per the Highland Municipal Code, Chapter 16. 22. 030, any development that involves multiple uses on a shared site is subject to a Conditional Use Permit. With five 5) separate commercial uses of various sizes, along with a residential section proposed at the northwest corner of the site, this project is in compliance with the vision for development of the Town Center Policy Area and Highland Municipal Code. Consolidation of commercial uses along major corridors to -133-
enhance aesthetics and economic vitality of the City, as described in the General Plan.
However, times have evolved and curbside pick-up services and to -go style eateries have become the norm. Thus, the Applicant is proposing a General Plan Amendment to remove Town Center Policy No. 10, which states that the Town Center Area shall " prohibit freestanding drive -through commercial structures and convenience commercial uses, except at the major intersection of Palm Avenue and Base Line". As noted above in section B( 3), the Planning Commission supports the General Plan Amendment.
b. The proposed use would not impair the integrity and character of the district in which it is to be established or located:
Response: The proposed development would be in compliance with City' s vision for commercial development along the Base Line frontage and a buildout of residential units along Foster Avenue and Villa Avenue. The objective of the project is to create a visually appealing commercial center where the primary tenant ( Tractor Supply Company) is complemented by various on -site drive- thru eateries to create a communal experience and family outing' feel for shoppers. With additional portions of vacant property along Villa Avenue to the north and Foster Avenue to the west, the project also includes the build -out of the area with an apartment complex and single- family home that complement the adjacent residences to provide a safe and convenient environment for residents.
c. The site is suitable for the type and intensity of use or development which is proposed;
Response: The proposed project is in compliance with the development standards set in the Highland Municipal Code, Chapter 16. 22, Mixed Use.
Currently, the site is vacant and has remained so since prior to the City's incorporation in 1987. While any sort of development on any site that was previously vacant will have an effect on the surrounding vicinity with regard to foot and vehicular traffic, the trip generation information was analyzed and appropriate mitigation measures for the increased traffic along Base Line and Foster Avenue have been proposed. Further, the proposed site features adequate interior roadways, building setbacks, and onsite parking for the five 5) separate commercial uses to create a cohesive development that complements the surrounding vicinity.
d. There are adequate provisions for water, sanitation, and public utilities and services to ensure public health and safety;
Response: The project site will require provisions for water, sewer, public utilities, and public health and safety. As required by the Highland Municipal Code, a " will -serve" letter from the water and sanitation provider must be submitted to the City's Building Official prior to the issuance of building permits. Additionally, the project site will be served by the City of Highland Fire -134-
and Police Departments. As conditioned, the Applicant/ Developer is required to pay Development Impact Fees which contribute to the additional infrastructure costs associated with these services. Furthermore, as conditioned, the Applicant/ Developer will be required to coordinate with the gas and electricity purveyors to ensure that the project site is adequately serviced. As such, there will be adequate provisions for water, sanitation, and public utilities and services to ensure public health and safety. e. The proposed use will not be detrimental to the public health, safety, or welfare, or materially injurious to properties and improvements in the vicinity; Response: The proposed project has been reviewed by Planning, Engineering, Building and Safety, Fire, and the Police Department and certain conditions of approval necessary to safeguard and protect the public health, safety, and welfare have been implemented. That being the case, the approval of this conditional use permit for the proposed project will not adversely affect the public health, safety, and welfare.
f. The proposed use would not result in a significant effect on the environment.
Response: This proposed project was subject to an Initial Study / Mitigated Negative Declaration ( IS/ MND) as part of the CEQA review process. The City, as the Lead Agency, oversaw preparation of the preparation of the Initial Study Mitigated Negative Declaration ( IS/ MND) and has determined that the proposed project could result in potentially significant environmental impacts related to Biological Resources related to the potential habitat disturbance to state and federally protected nesting birds and to Transportation related to the potential increase of traffic along Base Line.
Nesting Birds, regardless of their listing status, are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act ( MBTA). Potential impacts to the breeding birds are considered significant under the CEQA guidelines. In compliance with the MBTA and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife ( CDFW) regulations for protecting nesting birds, all clearing, grubbing, tree trimming, and tree removals will be conducted outside of the February 1st to August 31 st bird nesting season. Should grading, grubbing, or tree removal need to occur during the nesting bird season, a pre -construction nesting bird survey will be conducted by a qualified avian biologist prior to any site disturbance. If for any reason an active nest is identified outside of the February 1st to August 31 st bird nesting season, avoidance of the nest will be required.
With regard to the increased vehicular traffic in the surrounding vicinity as a result of the proposed development, the Palm Ave and Foster Ave intersection will be restriped to include one ( 1) left -turn lane and one ( 1) right -turn lane at the Foster Avenue westbound approach. The existing width of Foster Avenue will be able to accommodate this proposed improvement. Additionally, the Church Ave and Base Line intersection will be restriped to include two ( 2) left - turn lanes and one ( 1) thru traffic/ right lane at the Church Avenue southbound approach. Likewise, the existing width of Church Avenue will be able to -135-
accommodate this proposed modification. Lastly, a signalized intersection or restriction on left turn/ through movements out of Bonita Drive during the PM peak hour will be considered at the Base Line entrance
Exhibit 2 attached includes the Conditional Use Permit ( CUP 21- 006) Conditions of Approval.
6. Findings of Fact for Design Review Application ( DRA 21- 004) Based on the Findings below and contingent on the City Council' s approval of General Plan Amendment ( GPA 21- 002), the Planning Commission herby finds:
a. That the proposed project is consistent with the related Conditional Use Permit.
Response: The proposed Tractor Supply Company building is located on a
9. 06 acre site designated by the General Plan as Mixed Use. Per Highland Municipal Code Section 16. 08. 090 ( B)( 1), " new construction on vacant property", any development that involves multiple uses on a shared site is subject to a Conditional Use Permit, which the Applicant has submitted an application for. The Tractor Supply Company building meets the height limits, setback requirements, and onsite parking spaces necessary to comply with the City' s general development standards for commercial developments. Further, while Tractor Supply Company has a corporate color and design scheme with regard to the elevations for their buildings, the aesthetics for this location have been altered to complement the surrounding vicinity and comply with the vision for the Town Center Policy Area.
b. That the proposed use is in accordance with the objectives of this title (Title 16), and the purposes of the land use district in which the site is located.
Response: As aforementioned, the proposed project is located on a vacant property located within the Town Center Policy Area and zoned for Mixed Use developments. The proposed project involves mixed uses and features commercial businesses along the Base Line frontage and residential uses toward Foster Avenue and along Villa Avenue at the northern section of the property. The Design Review Application includes a building for Tractor Supply Company, which includes proposed plans to depict appropriate height limits, setback requirements, and onsite parking spaces necessary to comply with the City's general development standards for commercial developments. Further, while Tractor Supply Company has a corporate color and design scheme with regard to the elevations for their buildings, the aesthetics for this location have been altered to complement the surrounding vicinity and comply with the vision for the General Plan Town Center Policy Area.
c. That the proposed use is in compliance with city design and landscape standards and criteria.
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Response: The proposed buildings are visible to the general public from all directions and primarily features a variety of neutral, earth tone colors that embrace the warm tones found on other buildings located in the Town Center Policy Area. While the proposed Tractor Supply Company has a corporate color and design scheme with regard to the elevations for their buildings, the aesthetics for this location have been modified with additional cutouts and rooflines to complement the surrounding structures and comply with the vision for the General Plan Town Center Policy Area.
The proposed Conceptual Landscape Plan presents a variety of drought - tolerant trees, shrubs and vines, as well as groundcovers planted throughout the perimeter of the buildings as well as the parking lot area. The interior of the parking lot, landscape islands, and curbside planters feature various shrubs and groundcover. The proposed Conceptual Landscape Plan, as conditioned, will comply with the City' s drought tolerant landscaping regulations and complement the Base Line street improvements.
d. That the proposed use, together with the conditions applicable thereto, will not be detrimental to the public health, safety, or welfare or will not be materially injurious to properties or improvements in the vicinity of the site.
Response: This proposed project was subject to an Initial Study / Mitigated Negative Declaration ( IS/ MND) as part of the CEQA review process. A thorough analysis of the project was done and potential impacts to Biological Resources related to the potential habitat disturbance of state and federally protected nesting birds and to Transportation related to the potential increase of traffic along Base Line. Appropriate mitigation measure to reduce the impacts to an acceptable, less than significant level were adopted. The project has also been reviewed by Planning, Engineering, Building and Safety, Fire, and the Police Department. With implementation of certain conditions of approval that are necessary to safeguard and protect the public health, safety, and welfare, the approval of this Design Review Application for the proposed project will not adversely affect the public health, safety, and welfare.
Exhibit 3 attached includes the Design Review Application ( DRA 21- 004) Conditions of Approval.
7. Based on the Findings of Fact and Conclusions set forth above, the Planning Commission approves Tentative Parcel Map ( TPM 21- 001), Conditional Use Permit ( CUP 21- 006), and Design Review Application ( DRA 21- 004), contingent upon the recommended City Council approval of General Plan Amendment (GPA 21- 002).
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C. ADOPTION OF RESOLUTION
The City Clerk shall certify to the adoption of this Resolution and shall cause the same to be published or posted in the manner prescribed by law.
PASSED, APPROVED and ADOPTED this 7th day of December 2021.
ATTEST:
Randall Hamerly, Chairman
Planning Commission
Lawrence A. Mainez
Community Development Director
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Exhibit
Conditions of Approval ( TPM 21- 001)
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CITY OF HIGHLAND
PLANNING DIVISION CONDITIONS OF APPROVAL
Date: December 7, 2021
Applicant: Woodcrest Real Estate Ventures
File/ Index: Tentative Parcel Map No. 20403 (TPM 21- 001) — [Related Projects: General Plan Amendment (GPA 21- 002), Design Review Application ( DRA 21- 004), and Conditional Use Permit ( CUP 21- 006)]
Proposal: Subdivision of a vacant 9. 06 acre site consisting of two (2) existing parcels in seven ( 7) new parcels for the future construction of five ( 5) commercial buildings, ( 1) multi -family residential complex, and one ( 1) single-family home.
Location: Northwest corner of Base Line and Church Avenue Assessor' s Parcel Number: 1200- 381- 05 and - 43
PLANNING CONDITIONS OF APPROVAL
Note: These Conditions represent Planning Division Conditions only and are meant to be only one part of the Project' s overall Conditions that include Engineering, Fire Department and Building and Safety Conditions of Approval. All required on -site and off - site improvements shall be completed and approved prior to final inspection for occupancy, except where noted.
This Tentative Parcel Map ( TPM 21- 001) is conditionally approved, subject to compliance with the requirements as specified below. The Conditions listed below are continuing Conditions; failure of the Applicant and/ or operator to comply with any/ all Conditions at any time shall result in initiating revocation of the subject permit. 1) This Tentative Parcel Map ( TPM 21- 001) shall become null and void:
a. Unless all Conditions have been complied with and the occupancy or use of the land or existing structures authorized by such Conditional Use Permit has taken place within thirty- six ( 36) months after the approval of said Conditional Use Permit.
b. Where circumstances beyond the control of the Applicant cause delays which do not permit compliance within the time limitation established in this Section, the Planning Commission may grant an extension of time every subsequent twelve ( 12) months, not to exceed thirty-six (36) months in total.
Applications for such extensions of time must be set forth, in writing, by reasons for this extension and shall be filed together with a fee as -140-
established by the City Council, with the Planning Department sixty ( 60) calendar days before the expiration of the Conditional Use Permit. 2) The subject property shall be developed in accordance with plans and materials approved by the Planning Commission on December 7, 2021, on file with the City of Highland Planning Division, and shall be in compliance with all conditions of approval contained herein and as defined on the Tentative Parcel Map No. 20142 included as Exhibit 3B.
3) Revisions, modifications, and/ or deletions to the approved plans shall be submitted to the Planning Division for review and approval. Revisions, modifications and/ or deletions may require additional review by the Planning Commission.
4) In compliance with the Highland Municipal Code, the Applicant/ Owner shall, at his/ her sole cost and expense and through counsel of the City' s choosing, protect, defend, indemnify, and hold harmless, the City, its officers, employees, agents, and consultants ( collectively, " City indemnitees"), from all liability and monetary damages, and all claims, actions, or proceedings brought against the City indemnitees, arising from the issuance of the permit or approval, or the denial thereof, or arising from any action by any person seeking to have a permit or approval held void by a court of law. Owner/Applicant shall make a deposit of City's reasonably anticipated costs and attorneys' fees in advance, and shall promptly reimburse the City for any fees, costs, or damages City actually incurs in excess of the deposit.
5) No expansion of the project beyond the scope and nature described in the application ( TPM 21- 001), which would tend to increase the projected scale of the project, shall be permitted except upon application for, and approval of, modification of this application in compliance with all procedures and requirements therefore.
6) The applicant and recorded owner of the property shall submit to the Planning Division written evidence of agreement with all conditions of this approval before the approval becomes effective. Plan check cannot begin prior to receipt of this signed documentation.
7) The Applicant/ Owner is responsible for implementing all conditions of approval to the satisfaction of the Community Development Director, City Engineer, Fire Department, and Police Department. No final inspection or clearances shall be given until all conditions are met. Each condition of approval is separately enforced, and if one of the conditions of approval is found to be invalid by a court of law, all the other conditions shall remain valid and enforceable. 8) Prior to issuance of permits, all proposed construction work shall be subject to plan check and approval with the Planning Division, Engineering Division, Building -141-
Division and Fire Department. The plans shall demonstrate compliance with the currently adopted California Building, Plumbing, Mechanical, Electrical, Fire, Energy, and Green Codes, Highland Municipal Code, Engineering Directives and Standards, and all conditions contained herein.
9) Prior to the start of operations ( i. e. construction), the developer shall obtain any necessary permits. The developer shall arrange for a final inspection by representatives of the Planning Division, Building Division, Engineering Division, and Fire Department prior to the start of operations ( i. e., occupancy). Any discrepancy between the approved plans and the field conditions shall be remedied prior to the start of operations ( i. e., occupancy) such that the field condition is consistent with the approved plans. If the field condition cannot be reconfigured to match the approved plans, the Community Development Director shall consider any requested deviation and may refer the matter to the Planning Commission for review and consideration.
10) All Ordinances, Policy Resolutions, and Standards of the City in effect at the time this project is approved shall be complied with as a condition of this approval. 11) No further subdivision of any lot shall be permitted. 12) The Applicant/ Developer shall obtain approval of a Design Review Application from the Planning Commission prior to the issuance of permits or home construction. The review shall include, but is not limited to, grading plans, interior and perimeter walls and fences plan, architectural elevations, colors/ materials, plotting, and landscaping.
13) The Developer shall comply with all applicable mitigation measures specified within the Mitigated Negative Declaration for the project which are outlined within the Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program.
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Exhibit 2:
Conditions of Approval ( CUP 21- 006)
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CITY OF HIGHLAND
PLANNING DIVISION CONDITIONS OF APPROVAL
Date: December 7, 2021
Applicant: Woodcrest Real Estate Ventures
File/ Index: Conditional Use Permit ( CUP 21- 006) — [ Related Projects: General Plan Amendment ( GPA21- 002), Tentative Parcel Map No. 20403 (TPM 21- 001), and Design Review Application ( DRA 21- 004)]
Proposal: Entitlement of a Mixed -Use development consisting of three ( 3) commercial tenant buildings, two ( 2) drive- thru restaurants, one ( 1) multi -family residential building, and one ( 1) single-family residence on a vacant 9. 06 acre property.
Location: Northwest corner of Base Line and Church Avenue Assessor' s Parcel Number: 1200- 381- 05 and - 43
PLANNING CONDITIONS OF APPROVAL
Note: These Conditions represent Planning Division Conditions only and are meant to be only one part of the Project' s overall Conditions that include Engineering, Fire Department and Building and Safety Conditions of Approval. All required on -site and off - site improvements shall be completed and approved prior to final inspection for occupancy, except where noted.
This Conditional Use Permit is conditionally approved, subject to compliance with the requirements as specified below. The Conditions listed below are continuing Conditions; failure of the Applicant and/ or operator to comply with any/all Conditions at any time shall result in initiating revocation of the subject permit.
1) This Conditional Use Permit shall become null and void:
a. Unless all Conditions have been complied with and the occupancy or use of the land or existing structures authorized by such Conditional Use Permit has taken place within thirty- six ( 36) months after the approval of said Conditional Use Permit.
b. Where circumstances beyond the control of the Applicant cause delays which do not permit compliance within the time limitation established in this Section, the Planning Commission may grant an extension of time every subsequent twelve ( 12) months, not to exceed thirty- six ( 36) months in total.
Applications for such extensions of time must be set forth, in writing, by reasons for this extension and shall be filed together with a fee as -144-
established by the City Council, with the Planning Department sixty ( 60) calendar days before the expiration of the Conditional Use Permit. 2) The subject Conditional Use Permit pertains to the entitlement of a Mixed -Use development consisting of five ( 5) commercial tenant buildings, one ( 1) multi -family residential building, and one ( 1) single- family residence on approximately 9. 06 acres at the northwest corner of Base Line and Church Avenue. 3) The development of this site will occur in four ( 4) separate phases: 1) Tractor Supply Company, 2) Parcel R1, 3) Parcel C2, 4) Parcels C3, C4 and C5. Each phase shall require the approval of a separate Design Review Application. Each Design Review Application will be reviewed by Staff for compliance with the Conditional Use Permit as well as the general development standards for Mixed Use projects and presented to the Planning Commission for approval prior to the submittal of a Precise Grading Plan.
4) The project shall implement the development standards and uses approved for the Mixed Use land use and zoning designation.
5) No storage of materials outside an enclosed building may be permitted unless expressly designed for such purpose and approved as a part of the site approvals. 6) The trash enclosures shall be screened on at least three sides from public view by a solid decorative wall not less than five feet in height as well as a solid roof.
Permanent opaque panel gates shall be installed on all openings to the trash area. a. All trash shall be deposited in the trash area and the gates leading thereto shall be maintained in working order and shall remain closed except when in use.
b. Trash areas shall not be used for storage. The premises shall be kept in neat and orderly condition at all times and all improvements shall be maintained in a condition of reasonable repair and appearance. 7) Permanent automobile parking spaces shall be paved with asphalt, or concrete and painted with clearly painted lines.
a. Each permanent parking space shall be no less than nine ( 9) feet wide and nineteen ( 19) feet deep, with adequate provisions for ingress and egress by a standard American passenger vehicle, except where compact car spaces have been authorized as follows:
b. Compact car parking spaces shall be not less than seven and a half (7. 5) feet wide and less than fifteen ( 15) feet deep and shall be clearly marked and/ or posted with signs stating " Compact Cars Only". Compact spaces shall not exceed 25% of the required parking.
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c. All parking areas shall be provided with nighttime security lighting. Lighting shall be shielded and directed to reflect away from neighboring properties.
Lighting should not exceed 0. 5 foot candles of illumination beyond the property boundary.
d. The handicapped parking spaces shall be properly signed and striped per the Americans with Disabilities Act.
e. Loading Zones shall be properly striped and signed.
8) All ground mounted, as well as wall mounted mechanical, electrical, or gas equipment shall be screened from public view by the use of landscaping and/ or architectural treatments compatible with the adjoining Building' s architectural design.
9) All rooftop mounted mechanical equipment shall be screened from public view.
This can be accomplished by Architectural Treatments of parapets equal in height to the tallest piece of roof -mounted equipment.
10) The Applicant / Developer shall submit three ( 3) copies of a Final Landscape / Irrigation Plan along with appropriate fees, to the City Planning Division for plan check.
a. All landscaping shall be provided with a permanently maintained irrigation system.
b. The plants selected and planting methods used shall be suitable for the soil and climatic conditions of the Site.
C. Landscape Plans shall exhibit any proposed walls or fences. All walls shall be designed and constructed to incorporate design features such as tree planter wells, variable setback, split -face block, columns, or other special features to provide visual and physical relief along the wall face. 11) Construction activities shall be restricted to weekdays and Saturdays between 7: 00 a. m. and 7: 00 p. m. only. No construction, other than interior finish work shall be conducted any time on Sundays. Construction equipment shall be muffled in accordance with manufacturer' s specifications.
12) All ground mounted, as well as wall mounted mechanical, electrical, or gas equipment shall be screened from public view by the use of landscaping and/ or architectural treatments compatible with the adjoining building' s architectural design.
13) All rooftop mounted mechanical equipment, with the exception of solar panels, shall be screened from public view. This can be accomplished by architectural -146-
treatments of parapets equal in height to the tallest piece of roof -mounted equipment.
14) Open parking areas shall be screened from view from adjacent properties and public rights -of -way using berms ( maximum 3: 1 slope) and/ or evergreen landscaping with an ultimate maximum height of three feet. 15) Off- street parking areas in commercial districts situated to be visible from any street, screening in the form of a three-foot high landscaped earthen berm or decorative wall three feet in height shall be erected between the required landscape area and the parking area.
16) Prior to the issuance of Building Permits, a copy of the Utility Plan shall be submitted for review and approval. The Utility Plan shall show the location of all proposed above ground electrical transformers, utility cabinets, back flow devices, fire department detector check valves, etc.
17) Revisions, modification, or deletions of associated Plans must be submitted to the Planning Division for review and approval. Revisions may require additional review by the Planning Commission.
18) No permanent building construction shall commence until the tract map is recorded and the final grading and improvement plans have been approved, rough grading certified, and a building permit issued by the Building Division. 19) Design and construction of all subdivision improvements shall be completed in accordance with the approved plan.
20) If the property will remain undeveloped for longer than 18 months after initial grading has been completed, the applicant shall submit an interim landscape plan, consisting of temporary measures for screening, hydro -seeding, and dust control.
Such plan shall include the timing of installation of necessary measures, and shall be approved by the Community Development Director.
21) The applicant shall be responsible for making arrangements with the City' s franchised waste collection and hauling services provider for any/ all construction debris or solid waste generated as a result of this project. 22) Prior to issuance of Building Permits, the Applicant/Contractor/Occupant shall submit and obtain approval from the Public Services Division, a Construction Waste Diversion Plan, in accordance with Section 8. 12. 285 of the Highland Municipal Code.
23) Prior to the start of operations ( i. e. construction), the owner/ developer shall obtain any necessary permits. The owner/developer shall arrange for a final inspection -147-
by representatives of the Planning Division, Building Division, Engineering Division, and Fire Department prior to occupancy of each dwelling. 24) In compliance with City Ordinance, the Applicant shall agree to defend, at the Applicant' s sole expense, any action brought against the City, its agents, officers, or employees, because if the issuance of such approval. The Applicant shall reimburse the City, its agents, officers, or employees for any court costs and attorney' s fees, which the City, its agents, officers, or employees may be required by a court to pay as a result of such action. The City may, at its sole discretion, participate at his own expense in the defense of any such action, but such participation shall not relieve Applicant of his obligations under this Condition. 25) The Owner/Applicant is responsible for implementing all conditions of approval to the satisfaction of the Community Development Director, City Engineer, Fire Department, and Police Department. No final inspection or clearances shall be given until all conditions are met. Each condition of approval is separately enforced, and if one of the conditions of approval is found to be invalid by a court of law, all the other conditions shall remain valid and enforceable. -148-
Exhibit 3:
Conditions of Approval ( DRA 21- 004)
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CITY OF HIGHLAND
PLANNING DIVISION CONDITIONS OF APPROVAL
Date: December 7, 2021
Applicant: Woodcrest Real Estate Ventures
File/ Index: Design Review Application ( DRA 21- 004) — [Related Projects: General Plan Amendment ( GPA 21- 002), Tentative Parcel Map No. 20403 (TPM 21- 001), and Conditional Use Permit ( CUP 21- 006)]
Proposal: Construction of a 18, 800 square foot Tractor Supply Company building with attached 19, 800 square foot outdoor garden center and dedicated parking area on a 9. 06 acre Mixed - Use site.
Location: Northwest corner of Base Line and Church Avenue Assessor' s Parcel Number: 1200- 381- 05 and - 43
PLANNING CONDITIONS OF APPROVAL
Note: These Conditions represent Planning Division Conditions only and are meant to be only one part of the Project' s overall Conditions that include Engineering, Fire Department and Building and Safety Conditions of Approval. All required on -site and off - site improvements shall be completed and approved prior to final inspection for occupancy, except where noted.
This Design Review Application is conditionally approved, subject to compliance with the requirements as specified below. The Conditions listed below are continuing Conditions; failure of the Applicant and/ or operator to comply with any/all Conditions at any time shall result in initiating revocation of the subject permit.
1) This Design Review Application shall become null and void:
a. Unless all Conditions have been complied with and the occupancy or use of the land or existing structures authorized by such Conditional Use Permit has taken place within thirty- six ( 36) months after the approval of said Design Review Application.
b. Where circumstances beyond the control of the Applicant cause delays which do not permit compliance within the time limitation established in this Section, the Planning Commission may grant an extension of time every subsequent twelve ( 12) months, not to exceed thirty- six ( 36) months in total.
Applications for such extensions of time must be set forth, in writing, by reasons for this extension and shall be filed together with a fee as established by the City Council, with the Planning Department sixty ( 60) calendar days before the expiration of the Conditional Use Permit. -150-
2) The subject Design Review Application pertain to the construction of a 18, 800 square foot Tractor Supply Company building with attached 19, 800 square foot outdoor garden center and dedicated parking area on a 9. 06 acre Mixed -Use site. 3) The project shall implement the development standards and uses approved for the Mixed Use land use and zoning designation.
4) No storage of materials outside an enclosed building may be permitted unless expressly designed for such purpose and approved as a part of the site approvals. 5) The operation of the business interest on this project site must include a shopping cart locking/ security system to prevent carts from being removed from the site. 6) The Mixed Use site shall feature a minimum of 5 feet of landscaping along all streetside setbacks and remain in compliance with a. Landscape planters shall be surrounded by masonry or concrete curbs and so arranged as to prevent motor vehicles from driving onto or over them.
a) Trees planted adjacent to existing overhead utility wires shall be subject to the height and clearance restrictions set in place by the applicable utility providers. b) Tree species requiring hard pruning to maintain utility clearance once trees are mature shall be avoided.
c) Ensure that right-of-way trees are spaced in a manner where they do not obstruct clear sight lines.
d) On -site trash enclosures should incorporate overhead trellises (if permitted by the City' s Public Services Division).
e) Planters between parking lot and storefronts shall be protected from foot traffic by a perimeter curb, or potentially, raised planters at seat wall height. 7) All ground mounted, as well as wall mounted mechanical, electrical, or gas equipment shall be screened from public view by the use of landscaping and/ or architectural treatments compatible with the adjoining Building' s architectural design.
8) All rooftop mounted mechanical equipment shall be screened from public view.
This can be accomplished by Architectural Treatments of parapets equal in height to the tallest piece of roof -mounted equipment.
9) Lighting shall meet the following HMC standards from Table 16. 40. 160.A for medium activity commercial uses or other similar Standards, as approved by the Planning Commission:
a. In no case should illumination exceed 0. 5 footcandles measured at the property line.
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b. All lighting fixtures shall be adjusted or designed to shine downwards to avoid spillover and glare on the surrounding community.
C. No floodlights or other up -lighting shall be permitted to be attached to parking lot standards for the purpose of illuminating the building. d. Security lighting shall be installed to adequately illuminate the Facility. All security lighting shall be shielded and directed away from surrounding residential uses, businesses, and public right- of-way, and not be of unusually high intensity.
e. No lighting shall blink, flash, or be of unusually high intensity or brightness.
Parking lot light standards and building mounted fixtures shall not extend above building eaves.
10) All trees in planter islands, or within six feet (6) of hardscape, shall be planted with root barriers.
11) Shrubs located in front of parking stalls shall be planted approximately two feet ( 2) from the curb face to prevent possible damage from vehicle overhang. 12) Provide a landscape planter for tree planting on each side of the walkway to the plaza. Each trellis -adjacent planter shall include a flowering deciduous tree for additional aesthetic variety. Additionally, the remaining understory parking planter area at the top of the plaza stairs should be planted with Feather Grass in a similar hierarchy to the mid -parking lot pedestrian walk entry from Base Line. 13) The Development Impact Fees shall be calculated and paid in accordance with City policy.
14) Prior to the issuance of Building Permits, a copy of the Utility Plan shall be submitted for review and approval. The Utility Plan shall show the location of all proposed above ground electrical transformers, utility cabinets, back flow devices, fire department detector check valves, etc.
15) Revisions, modification, or deletions of associated Plans must be submitted to the Planning Division for review and approval. Revisions may require additional review by the Planning Commission.
16) In compliance with City Ordinance, the Applicant shall agree to defend, at the Applicant' s sole expense, any action brought against the City, its agents, officers, or employees, because if the issuance of such approval. The Applicant shall reimburse the City, its agents, officers, or employees for any court costs and attorney's fees, which the City, its agents, officers, or employees may be required by a court to pay as a result of such action. The City may, at its sole discretion, -152-
participate at his own expense in the defense of any such action, but such participation shall not relieve Applicant of his obligations under this Condition. -153-
Attachment 5:
City Council Resolution No. 2022 - for
General Plan Amendment ( GPA 21- 002)
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RESOLUTION NO. 2022 -
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL TO APPROVE GENERAL PLAN AMENDMENT (GPA 21- 002) TO DELETE GENERAL PLAN TOWN CENTER POLICY NO. 2. 10. 10, THEREBY REMOVING A PROHIBITION OF FREESTANDING DRIVETHRU COMMERCIAL STRUCTURES AND CONVENIENCE USES IN THE POLICY
AREA, AND CERTIFY THE ASSOCIATED MITIGATED NEGATIVE DECLARATION ENV 21- 003).
ASSESSOR' S PARCEL NUMBERS:
1191- 501- 06, 57, 78, 83, & 84, 1192- 421- 23, 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, & 07, 1200- 381- 05, 40, 41, 42, & 43, 1200- 421- 33, 02, & 03, 1201- 011- 24, 01, 08, & 23, 1201- 051- 14, 16, 17 APPLICANT: WOODCREST REAL ESTATE VENTURES
A. RECITALS
1. On May 17, 2021, the Applicant, Woodcrest Real Estate Ventures, submitted entitlement applications, which included a Conditional Use Permit ( CUP 21- 006), Design Review Application ( DRA 21- 004), and Tentative Parcel Map ( TPM 21- 001) for a Mixed -Use development consisting of three ( 3) commercial tenant buildings, two ( 2) restaurant buildings, and a multi -family residential use on approximately 9. 06 acres at the northwest corner of Base Line and Church Avenue. The Applicant also applied for a General Plan Amendment, proposing the removal of the restriction on drive- thru uses within the General Plan Land Use Element, Town Center Community Policy Area.
2. On June 18, 2021, Staff provided the Applicant with a Letter of Incompleteness and listed the various items that were missing from the initial submittal and provided direction on a resubmittal.
3. On October 18, 2021, the Applicant resubmitted plans addressing Staff' s directives in the Letter of Incompleteness.
4. On December 7, 2021, the Planning Commission reviewed the proposed project and adopted Resolution No. 2021- 022, approving: A) Tentative Parcel Map ( TPM 21- 001), to subdivide the two ( 2) existing parcels into seven ( 7) new parcels, B) Conditional Use Permit ( CUP 21- 006), to entitle the development for three ( 3) commercial tenant buildings, two ( 2) restaurant buildings, and a multi -family residential use, and C) Design Review Application ( DRA 21- 004) for the construction and design elements pertaining to a Tractor Supply Company store, the primary tenant on the site, all contingent upon the City Council' s approval of General Plan Amendment ( GPA 21- 002) to allow drive- thru facilities within the Towne Center Policy Area.
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5. The General Plan Town Center Area' s restriction on Drive- Thru Restaurants is not for the purpose of mitigating an environmental effect, but to support the vision for this portion of the City to be aimed toward walk- in style stores and sit down restaurants. Thus, the General Plan Amendment will not trigger any detrimental environmental effect. Aside from this amendment, the other proposed uses are consistent with the General Plan Town Center Area. No additional mitigation is required beyond the applicable processing, entitlement, and possible conditions associated with the General Plan Amendment.
6. All legal prerequisites to the adoption of this Resolution have occurred.
B. RESOLUTION
NOW THEREFORE, the City Council of the City of Highland does resolve, determine, find, and order as follows:
1. The City Council finds that all of the facts set forth in the Recitals, Part " A" of this Resolution, are true and correct.
2. The City of Highland City Council after due consideration, inspection, investigation and study made by itself and on its behalf, and after due consideration of all evidence and reports offered at said hearing, including the staff report to the City Council dated January 11, 2022, and which is incorporated herein by this reference, does find and determine the following facts:
a. All necessary public meetings and opportunities for public testimony and comment have been conducted in compliance with State Law and the Municipal Code of the City of Highland.
3. Environmental Findings: The General Plan Town Center Area' s restriction on Drive- Thru Restaurants is not for the purpose of mitigating an environmental effect, but to support the vision for this portion of the City to be aimed toward walk- in style stores and sit down restaurants. Thus, the General Plan Amendment will not trigger any detrimental environmental effect. Aside from this amendment, the other proposed uses are consistent with the General Plan Town Center Area. No additional mitigation is required beyond the applicable processing, entitlement, and possible conditions associated with the General Plan Amendment.
4. Findings of Fact for General Plan Amendment (GPA-21- 002):
Based on the Findings below, the City Council does herby find:
a. The proposed amendment is consistent with the goals, objectives, policies, and programs of the general plan, or the general plan as revised by the -156-
proposed amendment, and will not result in any inconsistencies within the plan:
Response: Currently, General Plan Town Center Policy No. 10 for the prohibits the establishment of any sort of business involving drive- thru service within the Town Center Policy Area. The vision for this region of the City was always for a slower pace environment with sit down restaurants, and walk- in commercial businesses. However, considering that establishments with drive-thru service have become more popular and favorable in recent years, the Applicant has submitted a General Plan Amendment that will address this predicament. As such, the revised General Plan, specifically for the Town Center Policy Area, will not pose a detriment to the surrounding vicinity.
Removal of the policy will affect all properties in the Policy Area, including those fronting Base Line between Cole Avenue and the 210 freeway.
Approving this Amendment will also create a General Plan Consistency for the existing Popeye' s Starbucks, and 76 Gas Station also located within the Policy Area.
b. The proposed amendment will not adversely affect the public health, safety or general welfare.
Response: The proposed project has been reviewed by Planning, Engineering, Building and Safety, the Fire Department and the Police Department and with implementation of certain conditions of approval that are necessary and proper to safeguard and protect the public health, safety, and welfare, the approval of a general plan amendment for the proposed project is warranted. c. The proposed amendment is consistent with the purposes and intent of this title, unless such amendment proposes to change, supplement, or alter any part of this title, whereas, said amendment must be consistent with all of the applicable sections including these findings.
Response: The General Plan ( Land Use Element, Goal 2. 10, Town Center Policy No. 10) prohibits the approval of commercial uses with drive-thru facilities and drive- thru style restaurants as the vision for this portion of the City is aimed toward walk-in style stores and sit down restaurants. However, as times evolve and faster pace curbside pick- up services and to -go style eateries have become the norm, the Applicant has proposed a General Plan Amendment to remove this Policy. Currently, Policy No. 10 states that within the Town Center Area, the City shall " prohibit freestanding drive -through commercial structures and convenience commercial uses, except at the major intersection of Palm Avenue and Base Line". By removing the policy entirely, the number of potential eateries and restaurants chains willing to expand and open locations along Base Line will greatly increase, in addition to allowing the two drive- thru restaurants proposed as part of this Mixed - Use project.
Approving this Amendment will also create a General Plan Consistency for the -157-
existing Popeye' s Starbucks, and 76 Gas Station also located within the Policy Area.
d. The potential environmental impacts of the proposed amendment are insignificant or there are overriding considerations which outweigh the potential impacts.
Response: The Initial Study prepared for the project analyzed the potential for environmental impacts on Biological Resources, for the habitat disturbance to state and federally protected nesting birds, and to Transportation, for the increase of traffic along Base Line. All topics were found to have either no impact or less than significant impact with mitigation incorporated. The Initial Study incorporated mitigation measures to reduce any potential impacts to a less than significant level and, thus, the proposed amendment to the approved project is not likely to cause any detrimental environmental effects.
5. Based on the Findings of Fact and Conclusions set forth above, the Based on the Findings of Fact and Conclusions set forth above, the City Council approves General Plan Amendment ( GPA 21- 002) to remove the prohibition of drive- thru facilities part of commercial uses within the Town Center Policy along of Base Line.
Exhibit 1 attached illustrates the proposed General Plan Amendment.
C. ADOPTION OF RESOLUTION.
The City Clerk shall certify to the adoption of this Resolution and shall cause the same to be published or posted in the manner prescribed by law.
PASSED, APPROVED and ADOPTED this 11th day of January 2022 Larry McCallon, Mayor
ATTEST:
Betty Hughes, MMC
City Clerk
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
Maricela E. Marroquin
City Attorney
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Exhibit
Proposed General Plan Amendment
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HIGHLAND ... A Great Place to Live
There exists a significant social and economic
interdependence and interaction between the City of
Highland and the area proposed for annexation.
3) Work with the City of San Bernardino to provide buffers in areas where existing or planned land uses in one city are incompatible with adjacent areas in the other.
Community Policy Areas
This section provides goals and policies focused towards individual areas of the City. As part of the Land Use Element, these policies focus on land use issues. Together with the other Elements of the General Plan, the Development Code and ongoing neighborhood and capital improvement programs, these goals and policies will help create, preserve and enhance these community policy areas.
Town Center
There is one place, more than any other, where residents and visitors gain an impression of Highland. It is the land along Base Line on either side of SR- 30. The reason is very simple: this is the primary entry to the center of the community. It isn' t that other entry points are unimportant; it is just that this one is so prominent.
To the east, the contemporary suburban nature of the East Highlands Ranch area is well established and speaks for itself. To the west, a clear image is yet to emerge. Roughly between the freeway and the City Hall along Base Line is an area designated as the Town Center. It is not envisioned as a traditional downtown, largely because Base Line is so
2.32 March 2006 1 City of Highland General Plan
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2. LAND USE ELEMENT
wide and busy that it creates a barrier between opposite sides of the street. It is not a particularly pedestrian -friendly street. Moreover, there was no evolution of this area as a downtown. The early downtown was a quarter mile to the north. Yet, there is an emerging mixture of activities in this part of Highland, many of which are typically found in downtowns. They include retail businesses and offices, traveler -serving uses, places to eat, civic uses and institutional uses such as churches and schools ( immediately adjacent).
Further north and south these uses merge with existing or potential residential neighborhoods. Each of the four quadrants formed by the intersection of Base Line and Palm Avenue contributes a unique set of opportunities for the future Town Center. The southeast quadrant is a mix of institutional, residential and commercial uses. The southwest quadrant emphasizes public uses. The northwest quadrant emphasizes retail uses. The northeast quadrant is a cluster of mostly vacant land, one of the City' s most significant. The first three quadrants will achieve their potential through infill, intensification, rehabilitation and even redevelopment. The largely vacant quadrant will be the focus of totally new development.
The following policies specifically relate to the land use aspects of the Town Center. A host of design -related policies are provided in the Community Design Element.
Create a new Town Center where Highland residents, employees and visitors can live, shop, work, recreate and socialize in a vibrant, safe and pedestrian - friendly environment.
Policies
1) Ensure quality design through adherence to the Town Center design guidelines and policies in the Community Design Element. 2) Ensure that the Town Center maintains a mix of uses attractive to broad segments of Highland' s population and that stimulate activity during day and evening hours, every day of the week. 3) Provide access to multiple modes of travel, including pedestrian, bicycle, transit and automobile.
4) Work with property owners to implement the Town Center Vision.
5) Protect surrounding single-family neighborhoods from incompatible uses.
City of Highland General Plan 2. 33
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HIGHLAND ... A Great Place to Live
6) Provide transition areas/ buffers between land uses within the Town Center and with surrounding neighborhoods.
7) Connect the Town Center physically and visually with the Historic Village District with pedestrian connections, historically compatible architecture, signage, landscaping and other streetscape elements.
8) Explore opportunities to relocate historic structures onto the Town Center site in prominent locations.
9) Require new development to provide for public plazas and other gathering places.
Base Line Corridor
Base Line is the principal east/ west corridor through the City, and its primary commercial area. It is bounded by residential, commercial, public and industrial uses. The corridor suffers from poor visual quality.
Commercial lots are shallow, often extending not more than 100 feet from the street frontage, and are generally narrow. Most parcels along Base Line are too small to effectively support a vibrant commercial operation. These factors have led to the development of small- scale freestanding business establishments that lack landscaping and adequate off-street parking. There are some multiple and single- family residential developments among the commercial uses.
To revitalize the corridor, the Land Use Plan redesignates many of the mid - block commercial uses to Medium Density residential uses. This change provides new housing opportunities in the western half of Highland and simultaneously provides additional retail support with new residents and added income to the area.
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2- 34 March 2006 / City of Highland General Plan
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STAFF REPORT
TO THE CITY COUNCIL
DATE: January 11, 2022
FROM: Joseph A. Hughes, City Manager
PREPARED BY: Betty Hughes, MMC, City Clerk
SUBJECT: City Manager Report and Comments
Work Program, Regional/ Legislative/ Development Issues, Subcommittees, etc.)
RECOMMENDATION: Discussion and possible action.
Approved Motion
Denied Ayes
Continued Noes
Tabled Abstain
Absent
I at zn
Second Agenda Item No.
File No.
City Clerk City M
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STAFF REPORT
TO THE CITY COUNCIL
DATE: January 11, 2022
FROM: Joseph A. Hughes, City Manager
PREPARED BY: Betty Hughes, MMC, City Clerk
SUBJECT: Council Member Comments
Agency/Committee/AB1234 Reports, District Updates, etc.) RECOMMENDATION: Discussion and possible action.
Approved
Denied
Motion
Ayes
Continued Noes
Tabled Abstain
Absent
4 C,,-/ L— —
Second Agenda Item No. / 5
File No.
City Clerk City
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