1626 Cole Blvd, Suite 125
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1626 Cole Blvd, Ste 125 | Lakewood, Colorado 80401 | 303.670.4111 | CENTERPOINT-IS.com
December 16, 2024
City of Murrieta
1 Town Square
Murrieta, CA 92562
Subject: CarMax Lot Expansion – Murrieta, CA
Overview:
The purpose of this letter is to outline the development and operation of a proposed CarMax lot expansion on the three parcels totaling approximately 4.62 acres to the southwest of the existing CarMax facility, bordering Madison Avenue. The subject parcels were graded and developed with stormwater infrastructure to support the Previously Approved Project. Improvements included underground storm drain infrastructure and above ground infiltration basins. The site is bounded by the Previously Approved Project on the north and east, Madison Avenue and vacant and undeveloped land to the south, and commercial and hospitality uses to the west. The Project site fronts Mad ison Avenue. The Project site is designated as Commercial (C) in the City’s 2035 General Plan (GP) Land Use Map and is zoned as Community Commercial (CC).
The Project consists of the construction and operation of 3. 82 acres of parking areas and 1.04 acre of landscaping to support the existing CarMax Auto Supercenter #6002 development located at 25560 Madison Avenue. The Project would expand existing facilities related to car carrier parking stalls and expand the vehicle staging capacity. The Project would construct seven new trailer stalls, and additional staging space. There would be two paved areas in total, a smaller northern lot and a larger southern lot , both for staging. A prefabricated guard house at the delta gate for the separated staging area is proposed.
Proposed Development:
The proposed development involves the construction of a CarMax lot expansion, consisting of additional staging area, car carrier loading spaces , and associated landscaped areas. The additional parcels are currently vacant. The following information outlines the proposed operations.
Site Layout
An expansion to the existing staging area and an additional staging area are proposed with this expansion.
This staging area is where vehicles are staged while awaiting inspection, auction, and dealer pickup. This area is non-public and is surrounded by a six-foot CMU wall for screening and security purposes.
Parcel 1 will connect to the existing staging area to the northeast. The existing embassy style gates will move to align with the existing access drive bordering Parcel 1. Parcels 2 and 3 will make up an additional staging area, access but an embassy-style security gate on the northwest corner.
The existing access drives off Madison Avenue are to remain in place . Car carriers will enter and exit the site off Madison Avenue and will unload vehicles in the designated loading spaces to the south of the existing Auction building and staging area.
Seven additional car carrier loading spaces are proposed to the west of the existing spaces. An additional gate house for access to the staging area is proposed to the north of the additional car carrier spaces.
CarMax – Murrieta, CA
December 16, 2024
2 Landscape
Landscaping will be incorporated around the perimeter of the site . Landscaping will include deciduous trees and shrubs, evergreen shrubs, sod, and rock mulch.
Landscaping on the Project site would primarily consist of ornamental landscaping and would include trees, shrubs, and various types of ground cover. The trees to be planted would consist of 24-inch and 36- inch mature box trees along the Project frontage t o Madison Avenue and property lines. The Landscape Plan proposes 101 new trees of various species would be planted throughout the Project expansion site, however, the final number is subject to change. Underneath these trees, shrubs would be planted. Shrubs would be planted along the Project frontage to Madison Avenue and in interior spaces where paving is not occurring. In total, approximately 1.04 acres of the Project site would be landscaped, or approximately 21 percent of the Project site. Refer to Figure 6: Preliminary Landscape Plan.
Site Lighting & Security
CarMax will use LED lighting fixtures mounted on 27-foot-tall light poles for visibility and security. Fixtures will be full cut off and downcast to reduce light spill onto adjacent properties. CarMax typically does not use on-site security guards, but instead uses interior and exterior security cameras that are tied to its Home Office security system for safety and inventory protection.
Parking and Access
Access to the Project site would be provided via internal private drive aisles that currently exist on the Previously Approved Project site. Access to the Project site would be restricted to employees of the Previously Approved Project only. A 20-foot driveway with a security drop beam gate would be installed on the northern portion of the southern lot. The northern lot would be accessed via the existing staging area of the Previously Approved Project. The existing driveways that serve the Previously Approv ed Project would not be altered as part of the Project. However, the internal circulation to the Previously Approved Project would be altered slightly. The existing security gate on the western portion of the Previously Approved Project would be relocated to be in-line with the existing northern private driveway along Madison Avenue.
The Project would relocate an existing screen wall adjacent to the existing vehicle carrier truck stalls to allow for the addition of seven new trailer parking stalls. These stalls would be constructed within the private driveway areas of the Previously Ap proved Project and allow for pull -through parking of truck trailers. The Project would provide a total of 596 proposed staging spaces.
Grading and Stormwater
The Project site is relatively flat and gently slopes towards the southeast. Elevations on site range from ±1,103 feet above mean sea level (amsl) to ±1,090 feet amsl. There are two existing above ground stormwater infiltration basins on-site fronting Madison Avenue. These basins would be filled, and the site graded to accommodate the new paved areas.
The proposed paved areas would be sloped to allow stormwater runoff to be collected into storm drain infrastructure consisting of stormwater inlets, underground storm drain, and sub -surface stormwater chambers and would be designed to accommodate the 100 -year storm event. These sub -surface chambers would replace the existing on -site stormwater basins. There is an existing storm line on the western boundary of the Project site that currently provides inter -flow between the stormwater basins and would be protected in place. New storm drain infrastructure would tie into this existing storm line to maintain the existing operations. Storm drain bypass lines would be constructed, connecting the proposed CarMax – Murrieta, CA
December 16, 2024
3 sub-surface basins to the City’s stormwater network in the event that overflow occurs. The Project does not propose the construction, extension, or expansion of other wet utilities on the Project site.
Deliveries
Deliveries of vehicles, parts and supplies will be made on-site in the designated loading zone and will typically require the presence of associates to receive the delivery. Vehicle carriers will enter the site to load and unload vehicles in the designated area as shown in the site layout . Unloaded vehicles will be driven by employees from the parking lot into the staging area.
Operations
The proposed expansion will not alter the operations of the existing CarMax store. The expansion will not alter the number of associates or the hours of operation. The additional car carrier spaces are intended to accommodate car carriers that are currently waiting elsewhere on site to unload when the existing car carriers spaces are in use.
In summary, CarMax lo oks forward to partnering with the City of Murrieta and its residents in this expansion.
If you have any questions, or need additional information, please feel free to give me a call at (719)-464- 2272.
Thank you,
Abi Bartalo
Development Manager
CC: Steve Hudak, CarMax Auto Superstores, Inc.