Loading...
PC15-235Resolution PC 15-235 A RESOLUTION OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF MENIFEE, CALIFORNIA APPROVING PLOT PLAN NO. 2015-031 FOR THE RITE AID AND FAST-FOOD RESTAURANT AT THE SOUTHWEST CORNER OF NEWPORT ROAD AND MENIFEE ROAD Whereas, on February 11, 2015, the applicant, Amor Architectural Corporation, filed a formal application with the City of Menifee for a Plot Plan for the construction and operation of a new 17,185 sq. ft. Rite Aid drug store and pharmacy with drive-thru and a new 3,634 sq. ft. fast food restaurant with drive-thru on a 2.62 gross acre (2.4 net acre) project site located at the southwest corner of Newport Road and Menifee Road within the City of Menifee; and Whereas, pursuant to the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) an Initial Study ("IS") and Mitigated Negative Declaration ("MND") have been prepared to analyze and mitigate the project's potentially significant environmental impacts; and Whereas, on October 14, 2015, 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 Plot Plan No. 2015-031, which hearing was publicly noticed by a publication in a newspaper of general circulation (The Press Enterprise), an agenda posting, and notice to property owners within 1,000 feet of the Project boundaries, and to persons requesting public notice; and Whereas, the Planning Commission of the City of Menifee makes the following Findings: Consistency with the General Plan. The plot plan is consistent with the General Plan Land Use Map, Specific Plan and applicable General Plan objectives, policies, and programs. The General Plan land use of the site is Specific Plan No. 158 (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 project, a drug store and pharmacy and fast-food restaurant, 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: Project Design 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. The project site has been designed to locate certain buildings closer to the surrounding roadways to minimize the appearance of the parking lot. Perimeter landscaping has been included to visually screen the parking lot from surrounding roadways. CD-3.8 Design retention/detention basins to be visually attractive and well integrated with any associated project and with adjacent land uses. Resolution No PC 15-235 Plot Plan No. 2015-031 October 14, 2015 The bioretention basins will include landscaping along the perimeter to visually screen the onsite parking lots and enhance the appearance of the basins. CD-3.9 Utilize Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED) techniques and defensible space design concepts to enhance community safety. The project is required to include security cameras across the site and the site has been designed to limit concealed areas to allow for greater visibility and security. Building Design CD-3.10 Employ design strategies and building materials that evoke a sense of quality and permanence. The architecture of the project has been designed to include quality architectural features, including, but not limited to, corniced parapet elements, decorative lighting, stone work throughout, canopies, and a varied paint palette. CD-3.14 Provide variations in color, texture, materials, articulation, and architectural treatments. Avoid long expanses of blank, monotonous walls or fences. The architecture of the project incorporates varied colors, recesses, columns, accent materials, and other architectural treatments that break up wall areas. Enhanced Landscape Corridors CD-4.1 Create unifying streetscape elements for enhanced landscape streets, including coordinated streetlights, landscaping, public signage, street furniture, and hardscaping. The project will utilize the existing trees located along Menifee Road and the proposed trees within Shoppes at the Lakes shopping center to the east of the project site. 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. The project will include a Class II (striped) bike lanes along the west side of Menifee Road and will provide the sufficient right-of-way to accommodate a Class 11 bike lane on the south side of Newport Road. The project also includes street trees within the public right-of-way parkways on Menifee and Newport Road. Resolution No PC 15-235 Plot Plan No. 2015-031 October 14, 2015 Lighting CD-6.4 Require that lighting and fixtures be integrated with the design and layout of a project and that they provide a desirable level of security and illumination. The project includes a photometric study that indicates adequate on site lighting will be provided for security and visibility. CD-6.5 Limit light leakage and spillage that may interfere with the operations of the Palomar Observatory. The project has been conditioned for all lighting fixtures to comply with Ordinance No. 2009-24, "Dark Sky Ordinance", which will have the effect of limiting leakage and spillage of light. Signage CD-6.7 Integrate project signage into the architectural design and character of new buildings. The project's proposed sign program integrates architectural features into the signs that are also found on the buildings consistent with the project's architectural theme. CD-6.8 Discourage the use of flashing, moving, or audible signs. No flashing, moving, or audible signs are proposed or would be allowed on the project. Policies 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. The proposed project would provide additional shopping options and greater convenience to residential uses nearby and to those dropping off or pickup up students from the Callie Kirkpatrick Elementary School. 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 15-235 Plot Plan No. 2015-031 October 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. The proposed project will include a fast-food drive-thru restaurant use. The proposed landscaping within the project meets the City's standards for parking lot shading and provides pedestrian connectivity throughout the project site. Policies: Policy and Regulation N-1.1 Assess the compatibility of proposed land uses with the noise environment when preparing, revising, or reviewing development project applications. N-1.2 Require new projects to comply with the noise standards of local, regional, and state building code regulations, including but not limited to the City's Municipal Code, Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations, the California Green Building Code, and subdivision and development codes. The project included an acoustical analysis that analyzed the impacts of the proposed project's construction and operation on surrounding land uses, in particular the residential land uses to the north and the school use to the south and determined that these impacts are less than significant pursuant to CEQA and would comply with all applicable local and state regulations for noise. The project is within the Menifee Village Specific Plan. The project is consistent with the design guidelines, zoning and development standards of the Specific Plan. The Specific Plan designates the area as Commercial and the area is planned for neighborhood commercial uses. 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 stephensl) (SKR) Fee Area. The proposed project is located within the boundaries of the Western Riverside County Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan; however, 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 Riverside County Ordinance No. 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. 2. Consistency with the Zoning Code. Resolution No PC 15-235 Plot Plan No. 2015-031 October 14, 2015 The project is zoned Specific Plan (Menifee Village), Planning Area 2-11 - "Commercial". The Specific Plan refers back to the Scenic Highway Commercial (C-P-S) designation of Ordinance No. 348. The project is consistent with existing zoning and development standards of the Specific Plan, Ordinance No. 348, and Title 9 ("Planning and Zoning") of the Menifee Municipal Code. Surrounding zoning includes Specific Plan (Menifee Village), Planning Area 2-11 — "Commercial") to the south and west, Specific Plan (Menifee Village), Planning Area 1-4 — "Medium Density Residential' to the north across Newport Road, and Specific Plan (Menifee East), Planning Area 1 — "Commercial" to the east across Menifee Road. These classifications are compatible with the Specific Plan (Menifee Village), Planning Area 2-11 - "Commercial" zone of the project site. These classifications are compatible with the Specific Plan (Menifee Village), Planning Area 2-11 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 north beyond Newport Road are single-family residential uses. An Arco AM/PM is located to the northeast (caddie corner) of the project site. To the west and south is vacant land with the Callie Kirkpatrick Elementary School located beyond the vacant land (approximately 340 feet from the front door of the drug store). To the east beyond Menifee Road is vacant land with an approved entitlement for a retail commercial center. The 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 a Mitigated Negative Declaration ("MND") 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 MND has been completed for the shopping center and adopted by the Planning Commission pursuant to Resolution PC 15-233. The Plot Plan at issue is consistent with the MND, which the Planning Commission has considered as part of its proceedings. No new environmental impacts have been identified and no further environmental review is required for this project. NOW, THEREFORE, the Planning Commission of the City of Menifee resolves and orders as follows: The Findings set out above are true and correct. Resolution No PC 15-235 Plot Plan No. 2015-031 October 14, 2015 2. Plot Plan No. 2015-031 is hereby approved subject to the Conditions of Approval Exhibit "1" to this Resolution. PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED this the 14th day of ctober, 2015. Chris Thomas, Chairman Attest: l ennifer Allen, Deputy City Clerk Approved as to form: Ajit T ind, Assistant City Attorney ENIFE Scott A. Mann Mayor John V. Denver Mayor Pro Tem Greg August Councilmember Matthew Liesemeyer Councilmember Vacant Councilmember District 3 29714 Haun Road Menifee, CA 92586 Phone 951.672.6777 Fax 951.679.3843 /m.cityofinenifee.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. PC15-235 was duly adopted by the Planning Commission of the City of Menifee at a meeting thereof held on the 14th day of October, 2015 by the following vote: Ayes: Doty, Phillips, Karwin, Thomas Noes: None Absent: None Recuse: Sobek i er Allen, Deputy City Clerk