PC15-197RESOLUTION NO. PC 15-197
A RESOLUTION OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF
MENIFEE RECOMMENDING APPROVIAL OF CHANGE OF ZONE NO.
2014-206 FOR THE MENIFEE LAKES PLAZA SHOPPING CENTER
Whereas, on May 1, 2014, the applicant, MDMG Inc., filed a formal application
with the City of Menifee for Change of Zone No. 2014-206 (the "Project') to modify the
zoning ordinance text for Specific Plan (Menifee Village) Planning Area 1-1; and
Whereas, on October 8, 2014, November 12, 2014, December 10, 2014, and
January 14, 2015, the Planning Commission held a duly noticed public hearing on the
Project, considered all public testimony as well as all materials in the staff report and
accompanying documents for Change of Zone No. 2014-206, which hearing was publicly
noticed on September 28, 2014 by a publication in a newspaper of general circulation
(i.e., The Press Enterprise), an agenda posting, and notice to property owners within 300
feet of the Project boundaries, and to persons requesting public notice; and
Whereas, on January 14, 2015 that the City of Menifee Planning Commission
made the following Findings for Change of Zone No. 2014-206:
Consistency with the General Plan. The Change of Zone is consistent with the
General Plan Land Use Map, Specific Plan (if applicable), and applicable General
Plan objectives, policies, and programs.
The General Plan land use of the site is Specific Plan (Menifee Village). The
intent of this land use designation is to recognize areas where an existing specific
plan is in place and to provide policies, standards and criteria for the development
or redevelopment of these areas. The proposed associated project, a shopping
center with gas station, convenience store and car wash, general retail, gym, and
hotel, meets the requirements of the Specific Plan (Menifee Village) land use
designation.
The project is consistent with the following City of Menifee General Plan policies:
LU-1.1 Concentrate growth in strategic locations to help preserve rural
areas, create place and identity, provide infrastructure efficiently, and foster
the use of transit options.
LU-1.5 Support development and land use patterns, where appropriate,
that reduce reliance on the automobile and capitalize on multimodal
transportation opportunities.
LU-1.7 Ensure neighborhood amenities and public facilities (natural open
space areas, parks, libraries, schools, trails, etc.) are distributed equitably
throughout the City.
C-1.1 Require roadways to:
• Comply with federal, state and local design and safety standards.
• Meet the needs of multiple transportation modes and users.
• Be compatible with the streetscape and surrounding land uses.
• Be maintained in accordance with best practices.
Resolution No. PC 15-197
Change of Zone No. 2014-206
January 14, 2015
C-1.2 Require development to mitigate its traffic impacts and achieve a
peak hour Level of Service (LOS) D or better at intersections, except at
constrained intersections at close proximity to the 1-215 where LOS E may be
permitted.
C-2.1 Require on- and off-street pathways to:
• Comply with federal, state and local design and safety standards.
• Meet the needs of multiple types of users (families, commuters,
recreational beginners, exercise experts) and meet ADA standards and
guidelines.
• Be compatible with the streetscape and surrounding land uses.
• Be maintained in accordance with best practices.
C-2.2 Provide off-street multipurpose trails and on -street bike lanes as our
primary paths of citywide travel, and explore the shared use of low speed
roadways for connectivity wherever it is safe to do so.
C-6.1 Design developments within designated scenic highway corridors to
balance the objectives of maintaining scenic resources with accommodating
compatible land uses.
C-6.4 Incorporate riding, hiking, and bicycle trails and other compatible
public recreational facilities within scenic corridors.
C-6.5 Ensure that the design and appearance of new landscaping,
structures, equipment, signs, or grading within eligible county scenic highway
corridors are compatible with the surrounding scenic setting or environment.
OCS-2.1 Develop recreational trails for hiking, biking, and equestrian use
throughout the City, making them, to the extent feasible, accessible to people
of different neighborhoods, ages, and abilities.
OCS-5.1 Preserve and protect archaeological and historic resources and
cultural sites, places, districts, structures, landforms, objects and native burial
sites, traditional cultural landscapes and other features, consistent with state
law and any laws, regulations or policies which may be adopted by the City to
implement this goal and associated policies.
OCS-8.8 Implement and follow MSHCP goals and policies when making
discretionary actions pursuant to Section 13 of the Implementing Agreement,
OCS-9.1 Meet state and federal clean air standards by minimizing
particulate matter emissions from construction activities.
CD-3.5 Design parking lots and structures to be functionally and visually
integrated and connected; off-street parking lots should not dominate the
street scene.
CD-3.6 Locate site entries and storage bays to minimize conflicts with
adjacent residential neighborhoods.
Resolution No. PC 15-197
Change of Zone No. 2014-206
January 14, 2015
CD-3.7 Consider including public art at key gateways, major projects, and
public gathering places.
CD-3.10 Employ design strategies and building materials that evoke a
sense of quality and permanence.
CD-3.11 Provide special building -form elements, such as towers and
archways, and other building massing elements to help distinguish activity
nodes and establish landmarks within the community.
CD-3.14 Provide variations in color, texture, materials, articulation, and
architectural treatments. Avoid long expanses of blank, monotonous walls or
fences.
CD-3.15 Require property owners to maintain structures and landscaping
to high standards of design, health, and safety.
CD-4.2 Design new and, when necessary, retrofit existing streets to
improve walkability, bicycling, and transit integration; strengthen connectivity;
and enhance community identity through improvements to the public right-of-
way such as sidewalks, street trees, parkways, curbs, street lighting, and
street furniture.
CD-4.7 Design new landscaping, structures, equipment, signs, or grading
within the scenic corridors for compatibility with the surrounding scenic setting
or environment.
CD-6.3 Require property owners to maintain the existing landscape on
developed nonresidential sites and replace unhealthy or dead landscaping.
CD-6.5 Limit light leakage and spillage that may interfere with the
operations of the Palomar Observatory.
CD-6.7 Integrate project signage into the architectural design and character
of new buildings.
ED-2.1 Promote retail development by locating needed goods and services
in proximity to where residents live to improve quality of life, retain taxable
spending by Menifee residents, and attract residents from outside the City to
shop in Menifee.
Locate businesses providing convenience goods and services in retail
centers that are on arterials adjacent to neighborhoods and communities
throughout the City but not in rural residential areas.
Encourage comparison goods businesses to locate in larger retail centers
located on major arterials near freeway interchanges, because
businesses that provide comparison goods tend to draw customers from
larger areas.
ED-2.2 Require regional retail districts to provide entertainment and dining
in addition to retail sales and services to create destinations prepared to
withstand e-commerce's increasing capture of retail spending. These districts
Resolution No. PC 15-197
Change of Zone No. 2014-206
January 14, 2015
should create a pedestrian -friendly human -scale atmosphere with street
furniture, shading, and gathering spaces that enhance the experience of
shopping and socializing.
Local retail centers (primarily intended to serve Menifee residents) need not
necessarily provide dining and entertainment but shall provide street
furniture, shading, pedestrian -circulation, and gathering spaces that enhance
the experience of shopping.
S-2.1 Require all new developments to mitigate the geologic hazards that
have the potential to impact habitable structures and other improvements.
S-4.4 Review development proposals for impacts to fire facilities and
compatibility with fire areas or mitigate.
N-1.1 Assess the compatibility of proposed land uses with the noise
environment when preparing, revising, or reviewing development project
applications.
N-1.3 Require noise abatement measures to enforce compliance with any
applicable regulatory mechanisms, including building codes and subdivision
and zoning regulations, and ensure that the recommended mitigation
measures are implemented.
N-1.8 Locate new development in areas where noise levels are appropriate
for the proposed uses. Consider federal, state, and City noise standards and
guidelines as a part of new development review.
The project is within the Menifee Village Specific Plan. The project would modify
the Specific Plan zoning ordinance text for Planning Area 1-1 to allow for gym
use, extend the life of Conditional Use Permits and Plot Plans, modify parking
requirements, and modify parking design standards. The Specific Plan
designates the area as Commercial and the area is planned for general and
freeway -oriented commercial uses and would feature hotels, restaurants and
commercial offices.
Surrounding General Plan Land Use designations are Specific Plan (SP 158 —
Menifee Village) to the north and east (one -family dwellings and multi -family) as
well as south (Commercial) and Specific Plan (SP 248 — Newport Hub)
(Commercial) to the west. The project is consistent with the surrounding existing
and planned land uses. The project is compatible with the existing residential
land uses to the east and north, which are separated from the project site by
Antelope Road as well as screened with parkway and on -site landscaping and
with structures setback from the property line.
The City of Menifee has two (2) active conservation plans within the City's
boundary, the Western Riverside County MSHCP, and the Stephens' Kangaroo
Rat Habitat Conservation Plan (SKR-HCP). The subject site is within the
jurisdiction of the SKR-HCP and the Western Riverside County MSHCP. The
project site is located inside the Stephen's Kangaroo Rat (Dipodomys stephensi)
(SKR) Fee Area. The proposed project is located within the boundaries of the
Western Riverside County Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan; however,
Resolution No, PC 15-197
Change of Zone No. 2014-206
January 14, 2015
the project is not located with a Criteria Cell or Cell Group. The project will be
subject to the payment of fees for a commercial project consistent with the
Riverside County Ordinance 810.2 as adopted by the City of Menifee. Therefore,
the project will not conflict with the provisions of the adopted HCP, Natural
Conservation Community Plan, or other approved local, regional, or State
conservation plan and the impact is considered less than significant.
The Change of Zone is consistent with the General Plan objectives, policies and
land use designations.
2. Consistency with the Zoning Code
The project is zoned Specific Plan (Menifee Village, Planning Area 1-1 -
Commercial). The Specific Plan refers back to the Scenic Highway Commercial
designation of Ordinance 348. The project is consistent with Specific Plan zoning
and development standards as amended with this Change of Zone.
Surrounding zoning includes the Specific Plan (Menifee Village, Planning Area 1-2
— One -family, two-family, and multi -family) to the north and east, Specific Plan
(Menifee Village, Planning Area 2-7 — Commercial) to the south, and Specific Plan
(Newport Hub, Planning Area 1 - Commercial) to the west. These classifications
are compatible with the Specific Plan (Menifee Village, Planning Area 1-1) zone of
the project site.
3. Surrounding Uses. Approval of the application will not create conditions
materially detrimental to the public health, safety and general welfare or injurious
to or incompatible with other properties or land uses in the project vicinity.
To the east across Antelope Road, single-family residential uses exist. The
western boundary abuts Interstate-215 with commercial and medical offices
further to the west. To the south across Newport Road a commercial shopping
center exists with single-family residential uses to the east on the south side of
Newport Road.
The proposed project is compatible with the surrounding land uses, General Plan
land use designations and zoning classifications. The project incorporates quality
architecture and landscaping which will enhance the area. Environmental impacts
resulting from the project have been analyzed in an addendum to the mitigated
negative declaration which determined impacts including, but not limited to, air
quality, greenhouse gas emissions, water quality, noise, and traffic would all be
less than significant. Therefore, the project is not anticipated to create conditions
materially detrimental to the public health, safety and general welfare or injurious
to or incompatible with other properties or land uses in the project vicinity.
4. Compliance with CEQA. Processing and approval of the permit application are in
compliance with the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act.
An Addendum to the original Mitigated Negative Declaration has been completed
for the proposed project and recommended to be adopted by the City Council
pursuant to Resolution PC 15-198. The Change of Zone at issue is consistent
with the Addendum, which the Planning Commission has considered as part of
its proceedings. The addendum to the mitigated negative declaration did not
Resolution No. PC 15-197
Change of Zone No. 2014-206
January 14, 2015
identify any potentially significant impacts that could not be mitigated to less than
significant levels.
Now, therefore, the Planning Commission of the City of Menifee recommends
that the City Council take the following actions:
1. Determine that this project falls within the scope of the environmental
clearance provided by the Addendum to the Mitigated Negative
Declaration that the Planning Commission recommended for approval in
PC 15-195.
2. That the City Council determine that the "Findings" set out above are true
and correct.
3. That the City Council find that the facts presented within the public record
and within Planning Commission Resolution No. PC 15-197 provides the
basis to approve Change of Zone No. 2014-206.
PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED this the 1 th day of January 2015.
t
Chris Thomas
Chairman
ATTEST:
-Aiult/-
Kgthy Bennett, City Clerk
Approved as to form:
Ajit Thind, Assistant City Attorney
Scott A. Mann
Mayor
John V. Denver
Mayor Pro Tern
Wallace W. Edgerton
Councilmember
Greg August
Councilmember
Matthew Llesemeyer
Councilmember
29714 Haun Road
Menifee, CA 92586
Phone 951.672.6777
Fax 951.679.3843
www.cityofinenifeems
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. PC15-197 was duly adopted by
the Planning Commission of the City of Menifee at a meeting thereof held on the
141h day of January, 2015 by the following vote:
Ayes:
Folsom, Phillips, Sobek, Thomas
Noes:
None
Absent:
None
Abstain:
Karwin
Kathy Bennett, City Clerk