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PC14-191Resolution PC 14-191 A RESOLUTION OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF MENIFEE, CALIFORNIA APPROVING VARIANCE NO. 2014-195 TO ALLOW SIGNAGE FOR SHOPPES AT THE LAKES TO EXCEED THE STANDARDS OF ORDINANCE NO. 348, SECTION 19.4 ("ON -SITE ADVERTISING STRUCTURES AND SIGNS") AND SPECIFIC PLAN NO. 247 (SETBACKS) Whereas, on September 5, 2014, the applicant, Stater Bros, Supermarkets, Inc., filed a formal application with the City of Menifee for Variance No. 2014-195 to allow signage for the commercial development approved under Plot Plan No. 2014-091 to exceed the standards of Ordinance No. 348, Section 19.4 and Specific Plan No. 247; and Whereas, the applicant for Plot Plan No. 2014-091 proposes a sign program that shall include the following signage: A total of six (6) free standing signs, one (1) of which is proposed on the project's Menifee Road frontage, one (1) of which is proposed at the corner frontage at Menifee Road and Newport Road, three (3) of which are proposed on the project's Newport Road frontage, and one (1) of which is proposed on the project's Laguna Vista Drive frontage. Of these, two (2) shall be twenty (20)-foot tall monument signs (with signage for both major and minor tenants), three (3) shall be eight (8)-foot tall secondary monument signs and one shall be a corner monument sign. Whereas, the applicant's proposed sign program for Plot Plan No.2014-091 exceeds the allowed size, number and location of signage within the approved and applicable Specific Plan, by the following; and Three (3) additional freestanding signs; One (1) freestanding sign in excess of the allowed 100 square foot of sign face area for a second freestanding sign; One (1) freestanding sign located less than fifteen (15) feet from the property line. Whereas, deviations from Code or Specific Plan standards may only be granted when specific circumstances apply, to which Ordinance No. 348, Section 18.27 (A) states the basis for granting a variance shall be "Variances from the terms of this ordinance (No. 348) may be granted when, because of special circumstances applicable to a parcel of property, including size, shape, topography, location or surroundings, the strict application of this ordinance deprives such property of privileges enjoyed by other property in the vicinity that is under the same zoning classification"; and Whereas, the following findings of fact can be made with regard to the requested variances which illustrate the unique physical characteristics of the property or the circumstances associated with its use that warrant approval of the requested variances; and Physically, the property associated with the request is larger than was anticipated with the creation and adoption of both the County's sign code (originally adopted in the late 1940s or early 1950s) and the Specific Plan, thus strict conformance to these limitations would deprive the property owner of signage allowed, expected and needed for a modern shopping center at 14.04 net acres and with ten (10) buildings and numerous tenants. Further, due to the property's topography, a noticeable slope to the west and north, portions of the adjoining right-of-way shall be lower than the shopping center's finished grade, thus compromising visibility of certain portions of the site, necessitating alternative methods of visibility for the shops within the center, with enhanced signage being a primary, minimally impacting alternative. Many projects within the City of Menifee have requested and been granted sign variances within the short history of the City. Thus a precedent has been set to allow additional signage for shopping centers within the City and to deny this owner the same opportunity would be to deny this owner a privilege that other property owners with similar zoning designations have been granted. As many projects within the City of Menifee have requested and already been granted sign variances within the short history of the City, approval of this request shall not constitute a new precedent relating to sign standards. The location of the proposed shopping center was selected to serve the needs of the surrounding population which would, without this center, travel significant distances for everyday shopping needs, but without the additional signage requested, shoppers may be unaware of the opportunities available within the center, thus negating the advantages of locating the center in this neighborhood. The Goals and Policies of the General Plan address both the aesthetic value and economic health of the community, identifying ways to preserve and protect the character and quality of the community. Although signage is a notable component of a community's aesthetic quality, lack of adequate signage to clearly and easily identify local shopping opportunities may lead to unnecessary vehicle trips, traffic congestion, excessive greenhouse gas emission and failure of the center due to lack of patronage. Thus, where appropriate for the economic health of a community and where not in conflict with specific aesthetic values, the proposed sign variances are consistent with the Goals and Policies of the City's adopted general plan. Finally, due to the minor nature of the deviations being requested, the need for additional shopping opportunity identification and nature of the surrounding development, the request shall not impair the integrity and character of the zoning district in which it is located, nor create or allow adverse impacts to the health, safety or general welfare of the site, surrounding area or community as a whole. Whereas, on December 10, 2014, the Planning Commission of the City of Menifee held a public hearing on the Project, considered all public testimony as well as all materials in the staff report and accompanying documents for Variance No. 2014-195, which hearing was publicly noticed by a publication in the Press Enterprise, a newspaper of general circulation, an agenda posting, and notice to property owners within 1,000 feet of the Project boundaries, and to persons requesting public notice; and Whereas, a Mitigated Negative Declaration ("MIND") has been completed for the shopping center and adopted by the Planning Commission pursuant to Resolution PC 14-192. The Variance at issue is consistent with the MIND, which the Planning Commission has considered as part of its proceedings. No new environmental issues have been identified with this variance request and no further environmental review is required for this request. NOW, THEREFORE, the Planning Commission of the City of Menifee finds, resolves and orders as follows: Section 1. The Findings set out above are true and correct. Section 2. Variance No. 2014-195 is hereby approved subject to the Conditions of Approval included in Exhibit "1" to this Resolution to allow signage within the Shoppes at the Lakes to exceed the standards of Ordinance No. 348, Section 19.4. Specifically, the variance is approved to allow six (6) freestanding monument signs along the project's Newport Road, Menifee Road, and Laguna Vista Drive frontages, allow two freestanding monument signs a maximum size of 109.40 square feet, and allow a proposed freestanding corner sign to encroach into the Specific Plan established setback, reducing such setback to three (3) feet from the property line. PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED this the 10' day of December, 2014. "-.4 Mark M telko, Chairman Attest: G— enniferAllen, Deputy City Clerk Approved as to form: Aji�nd, Assistant City Attorney Scott A. Mann Mayor John V. Denver Mayor Pro Tem Wallace W. Edgerton Councilmember Greg August Councilmember Matthew Liesemeyer Councilmember 29714 Haun Road Menifee, CA 92586 Phone 951.672.6777 Fax 951.679.3843 www.c1tyofmenlfee.us STATE OF CALIFORNIA ) COUNTY OF RIVERSIDE ) ss CITY OF MENIFEE ) I, Jennifer Allen, Planning Commission Secretary of the City of Menifee, do hereby certify that the foregoing Resolution No. PC14-191 was duly adopted by the Planning Commission of the City of Menifee at a meeting thereof held on the 10`h day of December, 2014 by the following vote: Ayes: Matelko, Phillips, Sobek, Thomas Noes: None Absent: None Abstain: None Je fifer Allen, Planning Commission Secretary EXHIBIT 41" Conditions of Approval for Variance No. 2014-195 "Shoppes at the Lakes — Sign Variance" Section I: Conditions applicable to All Departments Page 1 of 5 Section I: Conditions Applicable to all Departments Page 2of5 General Conditions 1. Description. The variance is a request to vary from the sign standards as follows: a. Allow three (3) additional freestanding signs in addition to the three (3) allowed pursuant to the Zoning Code and Menifee East Specific Plan. Ordinance No. 348 allows two (2) freestanding signs for a shopping center. The Menifee East Specific Plan allows one (1) Specific Plan/Neighborhood Identification signs. The applicant is requesting three (3) additional freestanding signs beyond those allowed by Ordinance No. 348 and the Menifee East Specific Plan. b. Allow for an additional 9.40 square feet of surface area beyond the 100 square feet allowed for a second freestanding sign pursuant to Ordinance No. 348, Section 19.4 A.4. c. Allow signs to encroach into the fifteen (15) foot setback from property line established by the Specific Plan. 2. Indemnification. The developer/applicant shall indemnify, protect, defend, and hold harmless, the City and any agency or instrumentality thereof, and/or any of its officers, employees and agents (collectively the "City") from any and all claims, actions, demands, and liabilities arising or alleged to arise as the result of the applicant's performance or failure to perform under this application or the City's approval thereof, or from any proceedings against or brought against the City or County, or any agency or instrumentality thereof, or any of their officers, employees and agents, to attack, set aside, void, annul, or seek monetary damages resulting from an action by the City, or any agency or instrumentality thereof, advisory agency, appeal board or legislative body including actions approved by the voters of the City, concerning Planning Application No. 2014- 195 Variance (2014-195 VAR). 3. Definitions. The words identified in the following list that appear in all capitals in the attached conditions of Variance No. 2014-195 shall be henceforth defined as follows: APPROVED EXHIBIT A = Site Plan for Plot Plan No. 2014-091, sheets 1-2, dated 11/14/14. APPROVED EXHIBIT S = Sign Program for Plot Plan No. 2014-091, Sheets 1- 31, dated 10/30/14. 4. Ninety (90) Days. The permittee has ninety (90) days from the date of approval of these conditions to protest, in accordance with the procedures set forth in Government Code Section 66020, the imposition of any and all fees, dedications, reservations and/or other exactions imposed on this project as a result of this approval or conditional approval of this project. 5. City of Menifee. The City of Menifee is a new City, incorporated on October 1, 2008; the City is studying and adopting its own ordinances, regulations, procedures, processing and development impact fee structure. In the future the Page 3 of 5 City of Menifee will identify and put in place various processing fees to cover the reasonable cost of the services provided. The City also will identify and fund mitigation measure under CEQA through development impact fees. Such fees may include but are not limited to processing fees for the costs of providing planning services when development entitlement applications are submitted, which fees are designed to cover the full cost of such services, and development impact fees to mitigate the impact of the development proposed on public improvements. To the extent that Menifee may develop future financing districts to cover the costs of maintenance of improvements constructed by development, Permittee agrees to petition for formation of, annexation to or inclusion in any such financing district and to pay the cost of such formation, annexation or inclusion. The permittee acknowledges it is on notice of the current development fees and understands that such fees will apply at the levels in effect at the time the fee condition must be met as specified herein. 6. Comply with All Conditions. The applicant/developer shall comply with all terms and conditions of Plot Plan No. 2014-091. 7. Revocation. In the event the use hereby permitted under this permit, a) is found to be in violation of the terms and conditions of this permit, b) is found to have been obtained by fraud or perjured testimony, or c) is found to be detrimental to the public health, safety or general welfare, or is a public nuisance, this permit shall be subject to the revocation procedures. 8. Business Registration. Every person conducting a business within the City of Menifee shall obtain a business license, as required by the Menifee Municipal Code. For more information regarding business registration, contact the City of Menifee. Page 4of5 The undersigned warrants that he/she is an authorized representative of the project referenced above, that I am specifically authorized to consent to all of the foregoing conditions, and that 1 so consent as of the date set out below. Signed Name (please print) Date Title (please print) Page 5 of 5