1 CITY OF PATTERSON
Planning Commission Staff Report
General Plan Amendment/Rezone #22-01
Rogers Road Retail and Business Park
August 25, 2022 Meeting
PROJECT SUMMARY
A General Plan Amendment and Rezone to redesignate approximately 59.88 acres of a 101.96-acre lot, located west of Rogers Road between the Delta Mendota Canal and the California Aqueduct, from General Commercial to West Patterson Light Industrial. The site is located within the West Patterson Business Park Expansion Master Development Plan area. No development is proposed as part of this proposal. The Planning Commission is advisory to the City Council in this matter.
APPLICANT AND SITE INFORMATION
Applicant: Baldwin Ranch Development LLC
Property Owners: Various
Environmental Review: Addendum to 2012 West Patterson Business Park Expansion Project EIR, SCH# 2011082016
Location: West of Rogers Road, between the California
Aqueduct and the Delta Mendota Canal
Assessor Parcel Number: 021-025-028
Project Size: 101.96 acres ±
General Plan Designation: GC, General Commercial
Zoning: GC, General Commercial, West Patterson
Business Park Expansion Planned Development
Overlay
Present Use: Vacant lot
Surrounding Land Uses: Commercial development to the east, planned light industrial development to the north,
California Aqueduct and Delta Mendota Canal
Recommendation: Recommend Conditional Approval to the City Council
BACKGROUND
In 2012, the City Council adopted the West Patterson Business Park Expansion project, which provided a development framework for the area bounded, roughly, by Rogers Road, Zacharias Road, and Interstate 5. The plan envisioned a combination of retail development and warehouse/industrial development. The master plan was further divided into two portions, the KDN Business Park/Retail Center, where the subject site is located, and the Arambel Business Park.
2 CURRENT DESIGNATIONS
As approved at the time of the West Patterson Business Park Expansion approval, the subject site is zoned General Commercial. This zoning designation is primarily intended for retail, office, and restaurant types of uses. That plan includes tentative approvals for approximately one million square feet of commercial building space on the subject property.
For context, the total commercial square footage in the vicinity of Sperry Avenue and Ward Avenue (the Walmart, Save Mart, True Value, and Walgreen’s shopping centers is approximately 350,000 square feet. A large format box retailer, such as Walmart or Target, typically totals 120,000 to 150,000 square feet. A typical grocery store would be 30,000- 50,000 square feet, with smaller restaurants and retailers measuring between 3,000-20,000 square feet.
Despite plans for future growth, with the increased use of online shopping and other competing commercial sites within the city, the potential to buildout the entire one million square feet of the site seems unlikely. Further, the number of vehicle trips passing by a site is critical to the success of most shopping centers. For the subject site, only the areas adjacent to Rogers Road are likely to see a large volume of vehicles passing by.
PROPOSED DESIGNATIONS
The proposal under consideration would keep the General Commercial zoning on the southeastern area of the parcel, the area closest to Rogers Road. The 59.88 acres to the north and west of the property would be redesignated to Light Industrial under the City of Patterson General Plan and rezoned to the West Patterson Light Industrial District. This zoning designation is intended for industrial parks, warehousing, and light manufacturing.
The use would be consistent with the zoning designation of areas to the north.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW/CEQA COMPLIANCE
An environmental impact report (EIR) was prepared for the West Patterson Business Park Expansion project in 2012, SCH# 2011082016. The EIR concluded that buildout of the area could result in a number of significant adverse impacts. Mitigation measures recommended by the EIR reduce many of these potentially significant environmental impacts to a less-than-significant level. Impacts for which no feasible mitigation was available were addressed by a Statement of Overriding Consideration adopted by City Council.
First Carbon Solutions prepared an initial study to consider the General Plan Amendment and Rezone. The California Environmental Quality Act provides that a lead agency shall prepare an addendum to a previously adopted EIR if some changes are necessary, but none of the following conditions exist:
3 1) Substantial changes are proposed in the project which will require major revisions of the previous EIR or ND . . . due to the involvement of new significant environmental effects or a substantial increase in the severity of previously identified significant effects; 1
2) Substantial changes occur with respect to the circumstances under which the project is undertaken which will require major revisions of the previous EIR or ND . . . due to the involvement of new significant environmental effects or a substantial increase in the severity of previously identified significant effects; or 3) New information of substantial importance, which was not known and could not have been known with the exercise of reasonable diligence at the time the previous EIR was certified as complete or the ND was adopted. . . shows any of the following:
a. The project will have one or more significant effects not discussed in the previous EIR or ND or negative declaration;
b. Significant effects previously examined will be substantially more severe than shown in the previous EIR or ND;
c. Mitigation measures or alternatives previously found not to be feasible would in fact be feasible, and would substantially reduce one or more significant effects of the project, but the project proponents decline to adopt the mitigation measure or alternative; or
d. Mitigation measures or alternatives which are considerably different from those analyzed in the previous EIR or ND would substantially reduce one or more significant effects on the environment, but the project proponents decline to adopt the mitigation measure or alternative (CEQA Guidelines § 15162, subd. (a); see also PRC § 21166).
An Initial Study/Addendum to the EIR was prepared outlining that none of the above conditions are present.
ALTERNATIVE ACTIONS
The Planning Commission is advisory to the City Council in this matter. The Planning Commission may take one of the following actions:
1. Recommend approval of the proposed project to the City Council.
2. Recommend approval of the proposed project to the City Council, with changes/revisions as may be determined by the Commission. 4 3. Determine that denial of the proposed project is not consistent with the findings and recommend denial to the City Council.
FINDINGS
In order to recommend approval of the General Plan Amendment and Rezone, the Planning Commission must make the following findings:
1. That the project will not result in any new substantial changes to the West Patterson Business Park Expansion EIR and the Addendum adequately addresses proposed changes.
2. That the proposed project is consistent with the goals, policies, and standards of the Patterson General Plan and all other applicable standards and ordinances of the City of Patterson.
3. That the proposed change in land use designation will remain consistent with surrounding land use designations.
RECOMMENDATION
The project is consistent with the City of Patterson General Plan. Staff’s recommendation is that the Commission should:
1. Conduct a public hearing and allow members of the public to testify;
2. Consider the issues discussed in this report; and,
3. Adopt the attached resolution recommending approval of the General Plan Amendment and Rezone, subject to findings.
Respectfully submitted,
Joel Andrews, City Planner
Attachments
Attachment 1 - Resolution 2022-01
Attachment 2 - Location Map
Attachment 3 - Applicant’s Written Description
Attachment 4 - Rezone Map
Attachment 5 - General Plan Map
Attachment 6 - Zoning Map
Attachment 7 - Municipal Code Section 18.42 – Commercial and Medical/Professional Office Districts Attachment 8 - Municipal Code Section 18.46 – Industrial Districts Attachment 9 - KDN Property Rezone Initial Study and Addendum to the West Patterson Business Park Expansion EIR
Attachment 10 Public Notice