CITY COUNCIL
ATTACHMENT G
Planning Commission Meeting Executive Summary
& Verbatim Minutes
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
PLAN23-00003
PROJECT DESCRIPTION: A Site Plan with a proposed Mitigated Negative Declaration to allow for the development of an approximately 400,000 square foot warehouse distribution building on two vacant M-2 (Heavy Industrial) zoned parcels totaling APPLICANT: Steeno Design Studio, Inc
PLANNING COMMISSION PUBLIC HEARING DATES: January 8, 2025 SUMMARY FOR JANUARY 8, 2025, PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO COMMENTED: 9
NUMBER OF PEOPLE SPEAKING IN FAVOR: 9
NUMBER OF PEOPLE SPEAKING OPPOSED: 0
NUMBER OF WRITTEN COMMENTS IN FAVOR:
NUMBER OF WRITTEN COMMENTS OPPOSED: 0
STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Approval
PLANNING COMMISSION ACTION: Approved w/Conditions
PLANNING COMMISSION VOTE: Marshall Aye
Marsh Aye
Thomas Aye
Mesen Aye
Kurth Aye
sms
Verbatim Minutes of Agenda Item #5 PLAN23-00003
Meeting of: January 8, 2025
Chair Kurth: "That brings us back to a continued public hearing item. Item number 5, staff report, please."
Travis Clark: "Yes. Thank you, Chairman Kurth, fellow commissioners. Item number 5 is plan case PLAN 23-00003. This is a site plan with a proposed mitigated negative declaration to allow for the development of an approximately 400,000 square foot warehouse distribution building on two vacant M2 heavy industrial zone parcels.
Totaling approximately 18 acres located at the southwest corner of the logical extension of Cactus Road and Mesa Linda Avenue. The proposed warehouse distribution facility will be comprised of 381,198 square feet of warehouse space and 14,933 square feet of ancillary office space, provided across two floors, with a facility offering 72 total truck dock positions, located along the south side of the building. Parking will be provided on site for upwards of 91 tractor-trailers within a screened truck court, and 178 stalls for passenger vehicles have been provided to accommodate employees and visitors along the north and west sides of the building. The facility has been designed to house a single tenant which has not been identified at this time. This project was continued from the Planning Commission's November 13th and December 11th meetings to afford the applicant time to address comments received during the CEQA review and public noticing process. A response to the comments received were provided in Attachment F of the staff report included for the Planning Commission's consideration. The project site is located south of and abutting the logical extension of Cactus Road and bordered by the extension of Mesa Linda Avenue on the east and Cantina Drive on the west. The proposal is located within an area the city zoned industrial, generally north of Mojave Drive, west of Diamond Road, and east of Highway 395. While this portion of the city is presently vacant, the overall area is slated for industrial development based upon the current light and heavy industrial zoning, with several industrial projects already reviewed and approved by the Planning Commission in this area. Access to the project site will be provided by four driveways, one primary truck driveway along Mesa Linda Avenue and a second along Cantina Road, both of which are circulation element designated roadways, allowing both inbound and outbound access, as well as two along Cactus Road, also a circulation element roadway. Both driveways along Cactus will provide inbound and outbound access for passenger vehicles. In conjunction with the proposed development, the project is conditioned to pave Cactus Road from Highway 395 to the project site, as well as Mesa Linda Avenue south to Mojave Drive. Should these noted improvements not be completed by previously entitled projects in this area.
Staff finds the facility is well-designed in accordance with the city's industrial design guidelines and incorporates architectural enhancements and features such as wall plane and parapet height variation, panel reveals and tilt-up walls, and an enhanced office entry that includes additional wall plane variation, canopies, and panel inlays.
Regarding the environmental review, an initial study and mitigated negative declaration have been prepared for the project in accordance with Section 15070 of the California Environmental Quality Act, and all of the proposed mitigation measures have been included within the proposed conditions of approval. Mitigation measures for air quality, biological resources, cultural and tribal resources, geology and soils, and traffic were included in the proposed mitigated negative declaration that will ensure that any potential effects on the environment are considered less than significant. Therefore, with that, staff recommends that the Planning Commission conduct a public hearing, receive testimony regarding the proposed project, and take the following actions. Adopt the attached mitigated negative declaration with a Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting program for the project, and adopt resolution number P-24-055, approving the site plan case number PLAN 23-00003, subject to the attached conditions of approval. Staff and the applicant are available should the Planning Commission have any questions." Chair Kurth: "Thank you. Any questions on this one? Okay, then I'll go ahead, and I'll open up the public We're working on agenda item number 5. Speaker cards?" Jennifer Thompson: "Yes. Our applicant, Representative Tom Steeno." Tom Steeno: "Good evening."
Chair Kurth: "Hello."
Tome Steeno: "Happy New Year. My name is Tom Steeno. I'm the architect and the representative for this project. We've been working on this for quite a while, with the staff extensively, and I think we made a lot of progress on this. It's a good project. As you see from the location of it, there's nothing out there yet. But by being able to put a project in that location, I know there's additional projects that are being built, proposed in that area. That area at one point will be filled up and it'll have services out there. So, 400,000 square feet, got that. You got a benefit to the city of bringing in services, jobs, the extension of services out to that area. We've been environmentally sensitive on the project. We've taken care of all the issues from our CEQA, the issues we've had. I'd like to think that from an environmental standpoint, we're doing all the correct things for this project. The tax base will benefit the city as well. Jobs. We're bringing in jobs in the community in this area. We have support from the local unions on this one here. As well, these guys here, I believe, are here for our project tonight. We've got a lot of letters from different agencies that have, I believe, been supporting now from those issues. I like to talk about the conditions. We are in agreement with the conditions, and staff has been great. Thank you, Travis. Do you have any questions for me?" Chair Kurth: "Any questions for the applicants, rep? Thank you." Tom Steeno: "Thank you."
Jennifer Thompson: "Our next speaker will be Julie Luu." Julie Luu: "Good evening, Mayor City Council of Victorville. My name is Julie Luu, and I'm a representative out of Local 909. That's the Western States Regional Council of Carpenter's. On behalf of the Western Regional Council of Carpenter's and my brothers that we have here in this room, we are in support of the project. I would like to mention that the developer has committed to work with contractors that will hire locally and utilize apprentices from a state-certified apprenticeship training program such as what we provide. I would like to express my support for project as I believe that it will benefit the environment and the local economy by practicing protocols that will protect worker health and safety, most importantly, and incorporate adequate environmental mitigation.
I just want to mention again that my brothers here in this room live in the city and work in the city or would like to work in the city. We hope you guys consider that. Again, we are in support of the project. Thank you for your time." Chair Kurth: "Thank you."
Jennifer Thompson: "Our next speaker is Delshawn McClellon." Delshawn McClellon: "Appreciate it. How are you guys doing today? Again, my name I'm Delshawn McClellon. Like my partner said, I'm a member and a resident of Victorville, but I'm also a representative of the West States Regional Council of Carpenters. We represent over 6,000 members that live and recreate in the vicinity of this project. I'm asking for you guys to vote in favor of this project for just many reasons, as she's already stated. The developer has ensured that he's using skilled and trained workforce, local hire, which is good for our members. Like I said, we have over 6,000 members and just a little over 1,100 that live in Victorville and Hesperia as of right now.
This brings community wealth to the City of Victorville and our members, which are your constituents. Just asking that this project will also have over 100 construction jobs that will get the City of Victorville better now and in the future. Thank you." Chair Kurth: "Thank you."
Jennifer Thompson: "Our next speaker is Zack Cohoon."
Zack Cohoon: "Good evening, Honorable Planning Council. My name is Zack Cohoon.
I'm here to speak in favor of item number 5. In 2019, I got delivered from a powerful addiction to meth and other drugs. I met the Lord Jesus Christ, and he became my friend, and he taught me how to live again. I soon became an overseer of hundreds of men and women of a major residential recovery facility. One of the things the men and women need after getting saved from their sins and sober from drugs is a job that can provide for them and their family. This project would bring hundreds of temporary jobs in construction and permanent entry-level position jobs. For this reason, I ask you to approve this project for the families of the men and women that are in the transitional phase of my program. Thank you for your time. God bless you. Thank you." Chair Kurth: "Thank you."
Jennifer Thompson: "Our next speaker is Zack Strasters." Zach Strasters: "I got some of that nice dust in my throat here, so excuse me. First of all, thank you guys for taking the time to come out. It's dangerous out there. So, your sacrifice is not in vain. Your time fulfilling your civic duty is appreciated by the folks in this room and the folks that are going to be impacted by the approval of this project. My name is Zack Strasters. I'm here on behalf of CARE California. We're in support of the project that's before you here tonight. And I want to give you three simple reasons why we're in support. First of all, because we recognize that we're in the sunset of the arc of industrial development. For cities out here in the high desert like Victorville, it's important to be able • to approve these projects because we are looking at an architectural type that is under attack by and large in Southern California, unjustly and unduly. We recognize that private development is not always going to be able to fulfill what the social needs are based on a lot of the scrutiny that takes place with these projects. However, organizations like CARE California, we come in, we don't side with developers or approve or promote projects carte blanche just because. We take a look at the impact. We take a look at the way that they've impacted the local community, what the tenure and the relationship with the developer is with the local community and whether or not the project makes sense. In this sunset of the arc of industrial development with regards to tilt-up style, we believe that cities like Victorville are definitely going to receive heavy benefit from that. Not only because all the guys in orange vests behind me and the many hundreds of temporary construction jobs that are created like Zack Cohoon mentioned, but also because when you look at a map and you look at some of the organizations that have put big tilt-ups in Victorville, these are organizations like Rubbermaid and so many other organizations that are hiring lots of people. They provide a lot of income for families, especially entry-level families in Victorville and throughout the region. Second of all is that regional impact. Approving the project tonight is not just a land use issue in Victorville, it's a land use issue regionally because we got to make sure that we're leaving the door open because the approvals that they're asking for tonight are not outlandish. They're basic approval is to be able to do what a 400,000-square-foot industrial building needs to do. It's a regional land use issue because we're making sure that we are still pushing the line forward so that families can trust that Victorville is making the right decisions with their future.
Thirdly, that, families. What Zack Cohoon mentioned, what the guys in the orange vest are here to do and why this is a land use issue is because we want to make sure that Victorville continues to be hospitable and amenable to families. We want to be able to develop families. This is why we have planning commissions to make sure nobody's asking anything crazy, and if they're not, that we approve projects. Simply put, that's why we're asking you to approve tonight. Thank you and God bless you." Chair Kurth: "Thank you."
Jennifer Thompson: "Our next speaker is Josh Gastelum." Josh Gastelum: "Thank you. Good evening, Planning Commission Chair and fellow commissioners. It is my honor and privilege to stand before you and speak to you guys today. My name is Joshua Gastelum, and I am here to speak in favor of this project.! was a drug addict and homeless for many years. I was a detriment to society. I was lost and broken. I had no way of getting out of my addiction until I found my Lord and savior Jesus Christ, and I entered into a men's Christian recovery home. I am now proud to say that I am three years clean and sober. Not only do I stand here advocating for men who are getting their lives clean, but I'm here as an advocate for the men in my men's Christian recovery home. As we are getting cleaned up, we're looking for stable employment, something that we don't have to rely on welfare or things like that. We're trying to find a decent way of making money. Projects like these would help us continue to provide for our families, but it will also bring us a way to restore our dignity, our self- respect. For that reason, I would like to ask you to vote yes today. It would not only help men and women who are in recovery, but it would also help the greater community of Victorville. For that reason, I strongly urge you to vote yes. Thank you and God bless you."
Chair Kurth: "Thank you."
Jennifer Thompson: "Our next speaker is David Moon."
David Moon: "Good evening, everyone. My name is David Moon with the Plumbers from San Bernardino County. I'm a lifetime resident of the high desert here in every city. This project allows our hard-working men and women to advance their careers while earning a decent wage and insurance. Most importantly, the developer has made a pledge to hire local and skilled construction workforce members to build their vision. Insuring a high-quality project. Ensuring the community's basic economic needs by supporting the people all around. This project is great for our community, and we strongly urge you to approve it with your yes vote tonight. Thank you."
Chair Kurth: "Thank you."
Jennifer Thompson: "Our next speaker is Adrian Barragan." Adrian Barragan: "Good evening and thank you very much for the opportunity to speak to you. My name is Adrian Barragan. I am here with a contingent of your local ironworkers, and we are here to ask for your support in voting yes for this project tonight. This project will bring much needed growth to the City of Victorville, especially given that the developer has made a commitment to hire local. It's a guarantee that the residents of this community will be able to provide for our families, not just because of the very good fair wages that we earn, but because of all of the medical/dental benefits that our jobs provide to us. We know that many of our families do rely on those benefits.
I have spent the majority of my life here in the high desert living in Hesperia. Like all of you know, we are no strangers to the types of commute that we have to make to make a living. I think it's important for us not just to take the economic benefits into account when we're approving a project like this, but also to consider the quality of life that we want to create for our workforce. Ever since I began my apprenticeship with the Ironworkers, my employment has taken me all over Southern California. I have worked in Long Beach, Downtown LA, Disneyland, Edwards Air Force Base. I've had to go work as far as Poway, and the opportunity for us to stay close to home, stay off those roads.
You guys know what the weather conditions are like. You guys know how bad traffic can be. We have drunk drivers on the weekends, early in the morning. The hazards in our employment are not just on the job. I ask that you please support these jobs, help support your local labor. Thank you very much."
Jennifer Thompson: "Our final speaker card is Louie Lopez." Louie Lopez: "Good evening, Chair, commissioners, staff, community. My name is Louie Lopez. I'm a business agent for the Ironworkers Local 433. I want to give some different examples. First off, I was back here earlier, and one of my members back there. Craig, can you step out, please? So, Craig been living out here for over 50 years. He's been part of the union almost 30 years, trying to get hours to retire. And I asked him one question, Craig, how many jobs have you worked out here in the last 30 years? Not one. I lived out here 17 years. I had seven daughters. My last daughter just graduated from Hesperia High School. All seven of them graduated from Hesperia High School, so they knew our family. But in those 17 years that I lived out here, I only worked one job, and that was the juvenile detention center out there off of Dale Evans, and that was probably 22 years ago. It's tough on our trades out here. The difference between our trades, a skilled and trained workforce, is all our apprenticeships are three and a half to five-year programs. When you talk skilled and trained, I want to put it in this perspective.
If you were getting a surgery either for yourself or for your loved one, your spouse or your children, I'm sure you want to make sure that that surgeon is qualified to do that job, went to the proper school, got the proper certifications. That's the difference between a skilled and trained workforce. In the State of California, every one of our trades are certified by the State of California. You're not getting a worker that's standing out there at Home Depot that's not skilled. And I'm not trying to talk bad on somebody, but I'm saying that because we've gone through the proper schooling and got the proper certifications, that's why we're certified. That's why we have the title skilled and trained.
There's a big difference when you ask somebody. It's like if we were to get in an earthquake right now, I think all of us would want to see this building withstand the forces that are going to come against it. How do you do that? By making sure it was built properly from the get-go. The applicant here, there's not very many jobs out here in this high desert that are full union. He's willing to make the example and say, Hey, I want to offer the City of Victorville the best that we can for the money, because honestly, we are up to about $10 an hour more than your regular worker. A lot of those home. The money that's made here is going to be spent here by all these men and that need to work close to home. Our veterans that are coming out, every one of our trades have a partnership with Helmets to Hard Hats. Those men and women have a direct entry into our programs. I ask that this project gets passed." Jennifer Thompson: "Your time is up."
Louie Lopez: "Thank you."
Jennifer Thompson: "We have no additional speaker cards." Chair Kurth: "Thank you. Okay, I'll close the public hearing, and I'll bring it back to the commission for a determination."
Commissioner Thomas: "I, Commissioner Thomas, move for approval of the staff recommendations."
Commissioner Marsh: "I second."
Jennifer Thompson: "I have a first by Commissioner Thomas, a second by Commissioner Marsh. I'll take a roll call vote. Commissioner Marsh?" Commissioner Marsh: "Yes."
Jennifer Thompson: "Commissioner Marshall?"
Commissioner Marshall: "Yes."
Jennifer Thompson: "Commissioner Thomas?"
Commissioner Thomas: "Yes."
Jennifer Thompson: "Vice Chair Mesen?"
Vice Chair Mesen: "Yes."
Jennifer Thompson: "Chair Kurth?"
Chair Kurth: "Yes."
Jennifer Thompson: "Motion passes unanimously."
Chair Kurth: "Thank you."