TO: LINDA REICH, CITY MANAGER
FROM: WARREN MORELION, AICP, DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT SERVICES
SUBJECT
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Conduct a public hearing, adopt Resolution No. 2023-056, approve the introduction of Ordinance No. 2023-019, adopt Resolution No. 2023-057, and adopt Resolution No. 2023-058 regarding the Philadelphia Street Industrial Development Project Appeal and East End Annexation.
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RECOMMENDATION
recommendation
1) Conduct a public hearing; 2) adopt Resolution No. 2023-056, adopting a Mitigated Negative Declaration for the Annexation/Prezone (PL20-0003), Site Approval (PL20-0004) and Tentative Parcel Map No. 20174 (PL20-0005) for the Philadelphia Street Industrial Development Project and East End Annexation; 3) approve the introduction of Ordinance No. 2023-019, approving PL20-0003 (Prezone/Annexation), in conjunction with the proposed annexation of the East End Annexation area, to be read by number and title only, and waive further reading of the Ordinance; 4) adopt Resolution No. 2023-057, requesting that the Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) initiate annexation proceedings for PL20-0003 (Prezone/Annexation); and 5) adopt Resolution No. 2023-058 denying the appeal of the Planning Commission’s action approving PL20-0004 (Site Approval) and PL20-0005 (Tentative Parcel Map No. 20174).
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FISCAL IMPACT
The annexation would result in an average annual net deficit to the City’s budget of approximately $2,200 per year as outlined in the East End Annexation Plan for Service and Fiscal Impact Analysis.
CITY OF CHINO MISSION / VISION / VALUES / STRATEGIC ISSUES
The recommendations 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:
• Responsible Long-Range Planning
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BACKGROUND
In January 2020, the applicant, Golden Management Services, Inc. submitted applications to the City to subdivide 3.59 acres of land into three parcels and to construct three industrial buildings at the northwest corner of East End Avenue and Philadelphia Street (Philadelphia Street Industrial Development Project) with the desire to connect to the City’s sewer system. The project site is currently located within the unincorporated San Bernardino County (County) area of the City of Chino Sphere of Influence (SOI). Connection to the City’s sewer system would require annexation of the property into the City of Chino to receive sewer services to serve the industrial project. The Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) of San Bernardino is tasked with processing annexations between the County and the City and has determined the logical boundary for the East End Annexation to include properties generally located south of Francis Avenue, west of East End Avenue, north of Philadelphia Street, and a small portion south of Philadelphia Street.
On April 5, 2023, a neighborhood meeting was held in Council Chambers, where staff and the applicant provided information about the annexation process and the proposed Philadelphia Street Industrial Development Project. Approximately 22 people attended the meeting. In general, the public was concerned about the existing and proposed truck traffic that would be generated from the Philadelphia Street Industrial Development Project, the existing truck storage facilities in the area and the recently proposed CarMax auto auction project application filed with the County. Additional comments and concerns were raised regarding noise, pollution, operation of non-permitted outdoor sales of food and commercial goods, the need for public improvements and the final design of the railroad crossing to the south just north of County Road.
In response to the truck traffic concerns raised at the neighborhood meeting, a supplemental traffic study was completed by Linscott Law & Greenspan Engineers for the Philadelphia Street Industrial Development Project on June 20, 2023. The updated study included traffic impacts of the recently proposed CarMax project at the southwest corner of East End and Francis Avenues and conducted new traffic counts within the East End Annexation area including an updated truck traffic analysis. The study resulted in the same conclusion as the original traffic analysis in that the project will not cause significant traffic impacts.
The Planning Commission held a duly noticed public hearing on July 19, 2023. Prior to the public hearing, staff received three letters in response to the public notice. Two of the letters received were from residents within or near the project area, expressing concerns about the existing road conditions along East End Avenue (Attachment A). The third letter received was from Supporters Alliance for Environmental Responsibility (“SAFER”) represented by Lozeau Drury LLP (Attachment B), stating the Mitigated Negative Declaration (MND) fails to adequately analyze and fully mitigate the project’s environmental impacts under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and requested that an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) be prepared for the project, and further stating that the adoption of the Planning Commission Resolution No. PC2023-023, prior to City Council’s review and adoption of the MND, would violate CEQA. The applicant’s environmental consultant, LSA Associates provided a letter in response to SAFER’s letter, stating the MND is sufficient in satisfying the requirements of CEQA and an EIR is not required (Attachment C).
Seven people spoke at the public hearing. In general, the people who spoke had concerns about the existing truck traffic and the additional traffic that would be generated from the Philadelphia Street Industrial Development Project. Additional comments and concerns were also raised regarding noise and pollution from large trucks, the operation of non-permitted uses, including street vending, and the need for repairs and improvements to neighboring streets. The Planning Commission had questions and concerns regarding the coordination of roadway improvements in the area, if the project was considered an island annexation, the proposed CarMax auto auction project filed with the County, and concerns that were raised at the neighborhood meeting. Following the public hearing, the Planning Commission voted in favor of the project by a 4-3 vote, conditionally approving the Philadelphia Street Industrial Development Project [PL20-0004 (Site Approval) and PL20-0005 (Tentative Parcel Map No. 20174)] and recommending that the City Council adopt a MND and approve PL20-0003 (Prezone/Annexation). The approvals for the Site Approval (SA) and Tentative Parcel Map (TPM) are contingent on the adoption of the MND and approval of the prezone by the City Council, and the annexation process being finalized through LAFCO.
On July 27, 2023, the City received an appeal application (Attachment D) from SAFER appealing the Planning Commission’s action to adopt Planning Commission Resolution No. PC2023-023, conditionally approving PL20-0004 (Site Approval) and PL20-0005 (Tentative Parcel Map No. 20174).
ISSUES/ANALYSIS
The City Council’s primary role associated with the proposed project is to take an action on the legislative items of the project that include the prezone/annexation and associated MND, and to consider the appeal of the Planning Commission’s action approving PL20-0004 (Site Approval) and PL20-0005 (Tentative Parcel Map No. 20174). The staff report, plans/exhibits, and associated information from the Planning Commission meeting are included as Attachment E to give the City Council a better understanding of the details of the industrial development approved by the Planning Commission that is associated with the proposed prezone/annexation and appeal, and the public comments received regarding the project.
Prezone/Annexation
The East End Annexation area is 56.87 acres in size and is comprised of Industrial-zoned parcels. Existing land uses in the annexation area include outdoor storage (vehicles, equipment, materials), a single-family residence, Scott Brothers Dairy, and vacant land. The current County zoning designation for the annexation area is primarily Commercial Industrial (IC), with two parcels zoned as RS-20M (Single Residential - 20,000 square feet minimum), and one parcel zoned Regional Industrial (IR) (Attachment F - San Bernardino County Zoning). The properties to the east of the annexation area are primarily single-family residences. The property for the Philadelphia Street Industrial Development Project is currently vacant with a County zoning designation of RS-20M.
The proposed prezone and annexation is intended to transfer the East End Annexation area from the County to the City of Chino and establish M1 (Light Industrial) and M2 (General Industrial) zoning for these properties (Attachment G - Proposed Prezone Map). This proposed prezoning is consistent with the City of Chino General Plan Map land use designations. The M1 zoning allows for a variety of industrial uses, lighter in nature (manufacturing, warehousing, and storage) that produce relatively limited volumes of traffic, noise, odors, or pollutants. New buildings in the M1 zone are restricted in size to 50,000 square feet or less, unless approved with a Special Conditional Use Permit. The M2 zoning district is the City’s heaviest industrial zone and allows for a broad range of manufacturing, warehousing and storage industrial uses.
The proposed prezoning of the East End Annexation area will only apply if the City Council approves the prezone application, asks LAFCO to initiate annexation proceedings, and if LAFCO approves the annexation request and records the certificate of completion for the annexation. In addition, the Site Approval and Tentative Parcel Map would not be approved until the final recordation of the certificate of completion for the annexation by LAFCO when the area is fully annexed into the City.
Plan for Service and Fiscal Impact Analysis
A plan for service and fiscal impact analysis (PFS/FIA) (Attachment H), as required by LAFCO, has been prepared for the proposed East End Annexation. The PFS/FIA analyzes costs associated with the City taking over servicing this area in relation to the anticipated revenue from property taxes, development impact fees, vehicle license fees, sales tax, and other revenue sources. The analysis considers two property tax share scenarios where the City receives half its property tax share of 5.4% and its full property tax share of 10.8% of the one percent property tax collected from property owners in the County. The two tax share scenarios were analyzed because at this time the City estimates it will only receive half (5.4%) of the property tax share for annexed properties that do not fit the “island” annexation provisions as outlined by LAFCO. The County retains the other half (5.4%) of the full share. In the future, the City will continue to negotiate with the County to obtain the full tax share (10.8%) but at this time, it is uncertain if obtaining the full share will take place. Based upon the presumed revenues and expenditures, the annexation would result in an annual deficit of $2,200 per year under the half property tax share (5.4%) scenario and a surplus of $22,600 per year if the City can negotiate the full tax share (10.8%).
Appeal
On July 27, 2023, the City received an appeal application from SAFER appealing the Planning Commission’s action to adopt Planning Commission Resolution No. PC2023-023, conditionally approving PL20-0004 (Site Approval) and PL20-0005 (Tentative Parcel Map No. 20174). The appeal application included the same letter that was provided to the Planning Commission prior to the hearing, stating the exact issues that were raised at Planning Commission, namely, that the MND fails to adequately analyze and fully mitigate the project’s environmental impacts under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), that an EIR should be prepared, and that the adoption of Planning Commission Resolution No. PC2023-023 prior to City Council’s review and adoption of the MND violated CEQA. Staff and the applicant’s environmental consultant, LSA Associates, believe that an MND is sufficient to address the potential environmental impacts of this project and that an EIR is not needed. LSA Associates’ letter responding to SAFER’s comments is attached to this report (Attachment I). Furthermore, although the appeal states that the “MND fails to adequately analyze and fully mitigate the Project’s environmental impacts,” it fails to provide even a single example of an issue that is not fully analyzed or an impact that is not fully mitigated. In addition, the environmental consultant with LSA will be available at the City Council hearing to address the environmental concerns.
As to the timing of the adoption of the MND, staff and the City Attorney’s office believe it is most appropriate to have the City Council adopt the MND, since the City Council is the final decision maker on the prezone and the decision to request the initiation of an annexation. The Planning Commission resolutions approving the Site Approval and Tentative Parcel Map were intentionally drafted to make it clear that they were conditioned on the Council’s approval of the prezone and MND - in other words, if the Council does not approve the prezone and MND, the Site Approval and Tentative Parcel Map would be denied. Consequently, the Planning Commission’s approval of the Site Approval and Tentative Parcel Map was not final and did not bind the City to the project, since the project still required further action by the Council (and LAFCO) before the approvals would become final.
For these reasons, staff recommends denying the appeal and upholding the Planning Commission’s approval of the Site Approval and Tentative Parcel Map.
PUBLIC NOTICING
A 10-day notice was mailed to all property owners within an expanded radius beyond the 300-foot radius of the project site and to all interested parties that attended the neighborhood meeting or that requested a notice. In addition, a notice was published in the Chino Champion on September 23, 2023, and the City sent information out on the City’s social media platforms. A freestanding sign was also posted on the Philadelphia Street Industrial Development project site at the northwest corner of East End Avenue and Philadelphia Street identifying the project, hearing date and time. In response to the public notice, no comments have been received. The notice exceeds legal noticing requirements.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
An MND has been prepared for this project by LSA Associates, Inc. (dated June 2023) that was circulated for a 20-day review period from June 28, 2023 to July 18, 2023. The MND identified potentially significant environmental impacts to Biological Resources, Cultural Resources, Geology and Soils, Hazards and Hazardous Materials, Noise, and Tribal Cultural Resources, which could occur as a result of the proposed project. However, mitigation measures have been identified that reduce impacts to less than significant levels. In accordance with state environmental law, the Mitigation Monitoring Reporting Program (MMRP) identifies each environmental mitigation measure, the time in which it will be implemented and the responsible party for monitoring its implementation.
Attachments:
Attachment A - Letters from Residents
Attachment B - SAFER Letter
Attachment C - LSA Response to SAFER Letter (PC)
Attachment D - Appeal Application
Attachment E - PC Report and Plans
Attachment F - San Bernardino County Zoning
Attachment G - Proposed Prezone Map
Attachment H - Fiscal Impact Analysis
Attachment I - LSA Response to SAFER Appeal
Resolution 2023-056
Ordinance 2023-019
Resolution 2023-057
Resolution 2023-058
Link to Environmental Documents: <https://www.cityofchino.org/591/Environmental-Documents>