TO: LINDA REICH, CITY MANAGER
FROM: WARREN MORELION, AICP, DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT SERVICES
SUBJECT
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College Park Update.
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RECOMMENDATION
Receive a report and provide feedback to staff regarding the College Park Development.
recommendation
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FISCAL IMPACT
There is no financial impact associated with this discussion.
CITY OF CHINO MISSION / VISION / VALUES / STRATEGIC ISSUES
The recommendation detailed above further the City’s values and strategic issues that serve as key pillars on which identified priorities, goals, and action plans are built, by fostering:
• Positive City Image
• Responsible Long-Range Planning
BACKGROUND
The College Park Specific Plan was approved by the City Council on September 7, 2004. The Specific Plan is 710 acres in size and consists of a variety of land uses that include residential, institutional/school, mixed use, and open space/recreational uses. The community is completely developed with the exception of the build out of the Chaffey College campus, the mixed-use site at Oaks and Eucalyptus Avenues, a 10-acre public elementary school site near the center of the community at the northeast corner of Mountain Avenue and Satterfield Way, and improvements to Edison Avenue.
The City Council has asked to have a discussion regarding the remaining development within College Park.
ISSUES/ANALYSIS
Chaffey College Campus:
The College is currently constructing a new two story 35,000 square foot instructional building on the Chino campus. The building has a contemporary design and will house a variety of instructional activities, including classrooms, library, resource center, and event space. The building is expected to be completed by the end of summer 2024. A representative from Chaffey College will give a presentation on the status of the project at the City Council meeting.
Mixed Use Site at Eucalyptus and Oaks:
The Campus at College Park development is located on 7.53 acres of land at the southeast corner of Oaks and Notre Dame Avenues. The development was approved by the Planning Commission on June 20, 2022, and consists of three two-story buildings totaling 50,630 square feet of commercial retail, office, and restaurant space, and one single story 27,000 square foot community church building. The project is currently in plan check and construction of the church and main commercial building are expected to begin in March and April 2024, respectively. Completion of the buildings is anticipated to occur by early 2025. The main commercial building will include eight restaurants and two retail spaces on the ground floor. The second floor will be divided equally into office and restaurant space. To date, the developer has not shared any of the future tenant’s names.
Edison Avenue Improvements:
The College Park Development Agreement requires Lennar to construct Edison Avenue fronting Ayala Park between Central and Oaks. The improvements include widening the roadway, relocating overhead utilities, installing storm drain and recycled water lines, and traffic signals modifications as required. Lennar‘s contractor is in the process of installing landscape improvements in the median and parkway. This work is scheduled to be completed by the end of February. The Edison roadway will undergo its final stage of pavement rehabilitation this Spring after the City completes necessary sewer repairs at the Central and Edison intersection. The contractor will then continue installing the remaining segment of Master Planned storm drain along Edison and Oaks after SCE completes the relocation of conflicting dry utilities. Then SCE will complete their relocation work this Spring. After the storm drain installation, the contractor will complete the remaining street improvements at the Edison and Oaks intersection and along Oaks from Edison to Freedom later this year.
Traffic Circle and Crosswalk Improvements:
The College Park roundabout has planned improvements which will include, new pedestrian curb ramps and crosswalks with pedestrian activated flashing beacons, new street lighting, landscape improvements, pavement rehabilitation, and signing and striping improvements. All improvements are aimed at improving the safe use of the roundabout for all users. This project is currently in the planning stages with the design expected to be completed later this year.
Traffic Signal Installation at Eucalyptus and Fern:
The new traffic signal at Fern and Eucalyptus Avenues is currently out to bid. The award of the construction is expected in March. Procurement of materials will require a 6-months lag. Once the materials are procured, the construction duration is approximately 6-8 weeks. The signal is planned to be completed before the end of 2024. Improvements at the intersection will include crosswalks across all three legs of the intersection providing direct access to Constellation Park.
SCE trail crossing Eucalyptus:
Currently, there is no trail crossing Eucalyptus at the Magnolia Channel within the SCE easement. The curvature of Eucalyptus Avenue combined with the roadway merging from two to four lanes in this area does not provide safe crossing conditions for pedestrians. The nearby Chaffey Avenue traffic signal provides a safe crossing for trail users, which is 400 feet away from the trail. Maintenance access for SCE and San Bernardino County Flood Control currently exists.
10-acre Public School Site:
The College Park Specific Plan is within the Chino Valley Unified School District (CVUSD) boundaries. At the time of approval of the Specific Plan, it was believed that an elementary school would be needed because of the number of residential units expected to be built in the community and the closest existing elementary school at the time was Howard Cattle Elementary School on Cypress Avenue, north of the community (and north of Edison Avenue). However, it has been determined by CVUSD that a public elementary school will not be necessary in the community. Based on this determination, the master developer, Lennar Homes (Lennar), has been exploring alternative land uses on the site for the last few years, including charter and private schools, or adding additional residential units on the site.
The builder reached out to the community’s homeowners’ association (HOA) on a few occasions to get feedback on different residential proposals starting in 2020. The proposals staff is aware of include two multi-family proposals consisting of 172 units (approximately 17 dwelling units per acre) and 163 units (approximately 16 dwelling units per acre), a single-family paseo proposal consisting of 89 units (approximately nine dwelling units per acre), and a more recent single-family proposal of 38 units (approximately four dwelling units per acre). Staff was informed by Lennar that the residential proposals were not received well by the residents or the HOA. In addition, staff has been approached separately by individuals interested in establishing both charter and private schools on the site. Ultimately, none of the applicants moved forward with their school proposal.
Currently, the elementary school site has a College Park Specific Plan Institutional (I) land use designation that does not permit residential development. The site is also restricted to elementary, K-6, public school only. To allow for residential development or a private school on the site, approval of an amendment to the College Park Specific Plan and General Plan would be required by the City Council. It is important to note that staff is currently working on a College Park Specific Plan Amendment, to provide more flexibility for development of the 10-acre elementary school site, staff is proposing to amend the allowed uses in the Institutional land use designation for the site to also allow for private school and park uses. If approved by the City Council, it would allow a private school and/or a park in addition to a public school to be developed on the site. There are no changes proposed by staff at this time that will include the allowances for residential uses on the site.