KOEGLE Hunt C. Brunsel
LAW GROUP
CITY CLERKS OFF IDE
December 11, 2025 CITY OF SANTA CLARITA
City Clerk City of Santa Clarita 2025 DEC 15 AN 10053
23920 Valencia Boulevard
Santa Clarita, CA 91355-2196
Re: APPEAL LETTER - Master Case 25-039; Request for a Zone Change, Conditional Use Permit, Development Review and Architectural Design Review for Self-Storage project at 24860 Orchard Village Road
Dear City Clerk,
I represent Lyons Center LLC, which is the applicant for a self-storage project in a portion of its shopping center on Orchard Village Road which was part of the former Ralph's supermarket and has been vacant for at least 10 years.
Jason Crawford, Director of Community Development, sent a letter to Lyons Center on September 10, 2025, denying our project based on the fact that Lyons Center could not apply for a text amendment to the Lyons Corridor Plan (LP). This was only determined after Lyons Center had filed its application on March 7, 2025, and after subsequent meetings and discussions to complete the application so the City Planning Department could process it.
Lyons Center now understands that only the Director of Community Development, the Planning Commission or the City Council can initiate a text amendment to the LCP. As a result, Lyons Center filed an appeal of the Director's denial to the City Planning Commission on September 24, 2025, and that letter along with a further letter to the Planning Commission on December 1. 2025 are incorporated by reference in support of this appeal. At the Planning Commission Hearing on December 2, 2025, the Commission voted 4-0 to deny our appeal with Commissioner Burkhart recusing himself due to living too close to our project. While several commissioners expressed an understanding of our request, the Commission felt that any change in policy was up to the City Council to decide.
As a result, this letter is to appeal the Planning Commissions denial of Lyon Center's request that the City initiate a text amendment to the LCP to allow for the consideration of a change in the zoning designation on the Lyons Center property and to allow its proposal for a self-storage use to be fully analyzed and reviewed.
City Clerk City of Santa Clarita
Lyons Center Appeal
December 11, 2025 CITN CLERIS
CITY OF SANTA CLARITA
Our basis for our appeal is further outlined below.
2025 DEL 15 0r 153
Lyons Center has been working with the City and the Planning Department on this project for more than 3 years. A One Stop was filed in February 2022, and a Development Review Committee meeting was held on March 17, 2022. In its DRC Comments Planning staff opposed self-storage in Community Commercial (CC) zones since it would eliminate higher employment generating uses. In addition, the Planning Department based its opposition to self-storage on the provisions of Uniform Development Code (UDC Section 17.66.110 which provides for guidelines limiting the visibility of self- storage along major and scenic highways.
After the DRC, the applicant continued discussions with the Planning Department on how it could proceed with an application, understanding that the Planning Staff would not support self-storage at our site. On October 22, 2022, we received information on the Findings that would be required if we applied for a zone/change/plan amendment. On February 23, 2023, we received additional information on whether we could just change the zone for our property or if any change would need to apply to all other similar zoned properties in the Lyons Corridor Specific Plan.
During the subsequent two years the applicant continued its effort to lease this vacant space and discussed the self-storage option with the community. Unfortunately, this 26,000 square foot space continued not to be able to be leased due to its significant depth compared to parking lot frontage and the existing limited parking. This space was originally built to accommodate a full-service Ralphs Market.
When Ralph's closed in 2014 the entire space stayed vacant for 2 years. The applicant was fortunately table to lease approximately 50% of the space to ALDI market in 2016.
As you are aware, commercial retail centers have been undergoing significant challenges for at least a decade and the COVID impacts have only exasperated these challenges. Our center is approximately 77,000 square feet and is anchored by CVS Pharmacy and now ALDI. While we have had turnover with our smaller retail tenants (we lost Starbucks across the street where it could have a drive through) we are now fully leased except for this significant space.
After exhausting all of our options to lease this space, Lyons Center filed its application for a Zone Change, Conditional Use Permit, Development Review and Design Review on March 7, 2025, and paid $48,932 filing fees.
On March 31, 2025, Lyons Center received an Incomplete Letter. This letter requested that the applicant provide additional information regarding the Zone Amendment including an Exhibit along with a text amendment for changes to the LCP. In addition, we were required to provide the specific findings which would support self-storage at this site.
City Clerk City of Santa Clarita
Lyons Center Appeal
December 11, 2025
Lyons Center provided additional information to the Planning Department on May 20, 2025, which included the Findings required for the City to approve the self-storage facility. Lyons Center had a further virtual meeting with the Planning Staff on June 16, 2025 and was given direction on the environmental consultants the applicant needed to obtain for the City to process the project. Lyons Center immediately began that process. On July 11, 2025, Lyons Center received a phone call and email from Associate Planner Andy Olson stating that after further review by the Planning Department Lyons Center could not make the proposed changes to the Lyons Specific Plan. I responded on behalf of Lyons Center on July 31, 2025, raising questions about the Planning Department's new position on its ability to process this application.
At Lyons Center's request, we had an in-person meeting on August 26, 2025, with Planning Manager Patrick LeClair, Senior Planner Erika Iverson and Associate Planner Andy Olson. During the meeting, the Planning Department made it clear that the only option available to Lyons Center was to have the Planning Department deny the project and for the applicant then appeal that denial to the Planning Commission.
On September 11, 2025, the Planning Department sent a letter denying our application based on SCMC 17.28.110(H) which only allows a text amendment to the Lyons Corridor Specific Plan to be proposed by either the Planning Commission or the City Council. As discussed above, Lyons Center filed its appeal to the Planning Commission and the appeal was heard on December 2, 2025.
Based upon the City Planning Staff's Agenda Report for the December 2, 2025 which stated the concern with making a change to the LU3 designation since it encompasses over 80% of the property in the LCP which was also shared my several members of the Planning Commission, Lyons Center is requesting on this appeal to the City Council that it do the following:
Process for consideration a text amendment creating a new LU4 designation solely for the applicant's property which would allow it to have self-storage subject to a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) only on the current vacant parcel.
This request is simply to allow the applicant to process its self-storage request along with the proposed text amendment, with all of the necessary environmental review and analysis by the Planning Department. Allowing this processing of the application and the consideration of the text amendment would not be an approval of either item. The application and text amendment would have to go before the Planning Commission for its recommendation and the City Council for approval. Accepting Lyons Center's appeal does not indicate that the City Council intends to approve the application and the proposed text amendment. Rather, it gives Lyons Center the ability to make the case for the text amendment and the change of the use of a portion of its commercial retail center, performing all the necessary studies for the evaluation and analysis of these proposed changes.
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CITY OF SANTA CLARI T
2025 DEC 15 AM 10I59
City Clerk City of Santa Clarita
Lyons Center Appeal
December 11, 2025
In closing we request is that the City Council agree to initiate the LU4 text amendment process and allow Lyons Center to process its project which will include all required studies to determine its feasibility and impact. The project would then ultimately come back to the Planning Commission and the City Council for approval.
Very truly yours,
KOEGLE LAW GROUP, APC CITY CLERKS OFFICI
Junt (Braly
Hunt C. Braly, Esq. CITV OF SANTA CLARIT
Enclosures: 2025 DEC 15 AM 10:59
CC: Andy Olson, Associate Planner
Erica Iverson, Sr. Planner
Patrick LeClair, Planning Director
Jason Crawford, Director Community Development
Philip Lee, Lyons Center
City of
SANTA CLARITA
23920 Valencia Boulevard • Santa Clarita, California 91355-2196 Phone: (661) 259-2489 • FAX: (661) 259-8125
www.santa-clarita.com
CITY CLERKS OFFIC
CITY OF SANTA CLARIT
December 3, 2025
Philip Lee 2025 DEC 15 AM 19:59
17777 Center Court Drive, Suite 725
Cerritos, CA 90703
Subject: Appeal of Master Case 25-039; Request for a Zone Change, Conditional Use Permit, Development Review, and Architectural Design Review for a new self- storage project at 24860 Orchard Village Road
Dear Philip Lee,
Your appeal of Master Case 25-039 (Appeal 25-001), an application for a Zone Change, Conditional Use Permit, Development Review, and Architectural Design Review for a new self- storage project at 24860 Orchard Village Road, has been denied. The Planning Commission voted to deny the appeal and affirmed the decision of the Director of Community Development to deny the project on December 2, 2025.
The Planning Commission's decision may be appealed to the City Council within 15 days; it must be filed with the City Clerk not later than 5:30 p.m. on December 17, 2025. An appeal must be in writing and state with specificity the basis of the appeal. Such appeals must be accompanied by the applicable $3,883 appeal fee. Once the appeal period has lapsed, all action on this project is final.
If you have any questions regarding this denial or the appeal process, please contact me at (661) 255-4330.
Sincerely,
One a
Andy Olson, AICP
Associate Planner