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Staff Report 200 S. Anaheim Blvd. Suite 162 Anaheim, CA 92805 Tel: (714) 765-5139 Fax: (714) 765-5280 www.anaheim.net ITEM NO. 2 PLANNING COMMISSION REPORT City of Anaheim PLANNING AND BUILDING DEPARTMENT DATE: JULY 17, 2023 SUBJECT: DEVELOPMENT APPLICATION NO. 2023-00002 LOCATION: 710 and 818 East Katella Avenue APPLICANT/PROPERTY OWNER: The agent is Phillip Schwartze representing the applicant Freeman Expositions, LLC. The owner is CREF3 Katella Owner, LLC. REQUEST: The applicant requests approval of a conditional use permit (CUP) to operate an Outdoor Storage Yard for Oversized Vehicles and Trailers. The applicant also requests variances to permit lesser structural and landscape setbacks than required by the Zoning Code (0 feet proposed; 18 and 20 feet required), and to allow partial screening of vehicles where complete screening of vehicles is required. RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends that the Planning Commission determine that the Projects Which Are Disapproved Exemption under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) (Public Resources Code, Sections 21000-21189.57) as set forth in Sections 15270 of the State CEQA Guidelines (California Code of Regulations, Title 14, Chapter 3, Sections 15000-15387) is the appropriate environmental documentation for this request; and adopt the attached resolutions denying Development Application No. 2023-00002. BACKGROUND: The subject property is 2.21 acres and is developed with a two-story building previously used as a sex-oriented business. The property is in the “I” Industrial Zone and is designated for Office-High land uses in the General Plan. The property is also located within the Platinum Triangle Mixed Use (PTMU) Overlay Zone. The surrounding uses include office uses to the north across Katella Avenue, commercial uses to the east across Lewis Street, industrial uses to the south, and a railway spur to the west. PROPOSAL: The applicant proposes to use the property to store trucks and trailers outdoors to support events at convention centers and hotels. The site would be used for dropping off or picking up trailers through a motorized gate on Lewis Street. A pedestrian access gate would also be provided on Lewis Street. The site is designed to accommodate a total of 48 trailer parking stalls and would provide four automobile parking stalls. The applicant proposes an eight-foot, split-face, concrete masonry unit (CMU) wall along Katella Avenue and Lewis Street. The western and southern property lines would have chain link fencing with PVC slats. The vehicle access gates would be eight feet high and constructed with tubular steel with faux vines to assist with screening. The existing two- story building would be demolished. New paving is proposed throughout the property Development Application No. 2023-00002 July 17, 2023 Page 2 of 7 with new striping. Apart from the new trash enclosure and CMU wall, no other structures are proposed as part of the project. The trucks would enter the site by traveling northbound on Lewis Street and exit the site using the Katella Avenue gate. PROPOSED SITE PLAN The applicant also requests variances to 1) allow structural and landscape setbacks less than required by the Zoning Code (Code); and, 2) allow partial screening of vehicles where complete screening is required. FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS: Conditional Use Permit: Before the Planning Commission may approve a conditional use permit, it must make a finding of fact that the evidence presented shows that all of the following conditions exist: 1) That the proposed use is properly one for which a minor conditional use permit or a conditional use permit is authorized by this code; 2) That the proposed use will not adversely affect the adjoining land uses, or the growth and development of the area in which it is proposed to be located; Development Application No. 2023-00002 July 17, 2023 Page 3 of 7 3) That the size and shape of the site proposed for the use is adequate to allow the full development of the proposed use, in a manner not detrimental to either the particular area or health and safety; 4) That the traffic generated by the proposed use will not impose an undue burden upon the streets and highways designed and improved to carry the traffic in the area; and 5) That the granting of the minor conditional use permit or conditional use permit under the conditions imposed, if any, will not be detrimental to the health and safety of the citizens of the City of Anaheim. Outdoor Storage Yards for Oversized Vehicles and Trailers requires the approval of a CUP in the Industrial (I) zone to ensure compatibility with surrounding uses, and to ensure that the use would not be detrimental to the general health and safety of the community. The Circulation Element of the General Plan identifies the roadway system that is planned to accommodate current development and future growth established by the Land Use Element and necessary to maintain appropriate levels of service. Katella Avenue is identified in the Circulation Element as a Stadium Smartstreet. This street is intended to improve roadway traffic capacity through a variety of measures such as traffic signal synchronization, bus turnouts, intersection improvements, removing on-street parking, consolidating driveways, and landscaped median island construction with limited left turn openings. Lewis Street is identified as a Secondary Arterial roadway. Secondary arterial facilities are four-lane roadways, with two parking lanes, that are undivided. The Platinum Triangle Master Land Use Plan (PTMLUP) further identifies roadway improvements in the Platinum Triangle Implementation Plan establishing the ultimate right-of-way of these streets to meet the goals of the General Plan. With this project request a dedication of 12 feet is required on Katella Avenue and a dedication of 27 feet is required on Lewis Street. This would move the property lines back 12 feet and 27 feet respectively from their current locations. The required structural and landscape setbacks of 18 feet on Katella Avenue and 20 feet on Lewis Street are measured from these new property line locations, also known as the “ultimate right-of-way”. Additionally, the PTMLUP includes a Public Realm Landscape and Identity Program that provides specific landscape goals for the Platinum Triangle and provides typical plans and cross sections which establish the basic requirements for landscape development. The figures below are from the PTMLUP identifying the ultimate right- of-way and landscape improvements on Katella Avenue and Lewis Streets. Rather than locate the required CMU wall 18 feet and 20 feet from the ultimate right-of-way on Katella Avenue and Lewis Street, respectively, the applicant requests to construct an eight-foot- high CMU wall with no setback from the ultimate right-of-way. In the interim there would be landscaping adjacent to the wall. The sections below reflect the requirement in the Code and the applicant’s proposal. Development Application No. 2023-00002 July 17, 2023 Page 4 of 7 Platinum Triangle Master Land-Use Plan Proposed Project after Dedication Improvements When the street-widening improvements on Katella Avenue and Lewis Street are completed, the proposed CMU wall will be located adjacent to the sidewalk. The image below provides an illustration of a block wall adjacent to a sidewalk, without a landscaped structural setback between the sidewalk and the wall. The image below is from the Chapman Grand Apartments at the northeast corner of Katella Avenue and Lewis Street and demonstrates the required structural setback and landscaping in the setback area. Development Application No. 2023-00002 July 17, 2023 Page 5 of 7 The Code also requires that any vehicular storage visible from a public right-of-way shall be screened from view by a solid masonry wall, planted with vines so as to prevent graffiti, landscaped earthen berm, or any combination thereof, totaling not less than eight feet in height, except where an access gate is required, and that all stored Oversized and Recreational Vehicles shall be shall not be visible above the wall. The applicant is proposing to store the trailers adjacent to the property line and they would be visible above the eight-foot wall. Staff does not believe that the findings can be made to support the conditional use permit request. While the proposed use is properly one for which a conditional use permit is authorized by the Code, the proposed project includes a variance request to permit lesser structural and landscape setbacks than required by Code and to allow partial screening of vehicles where complete screening of vehicles is required. Therefore, the proposed project does not meet the requirements of the Code and the PTMLUP. The proposed project would adversely affect the adjoining land uses and the growth and development of the area because the proposed project provides a zero-landscape setback at the ultimate right-of-way, where the minimum landscape setback along Katella Avenue and Lewis Street is 18 feet and 20 feet respectively. Although the proposed project includes landscaping within the existing right-of-way and the ultimate right-of-way, once the right-of-way is improved at its ultimate location, the project site will not have the required landscaping to soften the concrete masonry wall. As a result, there would be an eight-foot masonry wall against the sidewalk making this project site inconsistent with the Code and adjacent development in the area. Without the landscaping and ability to plant vines to grow on the wall, the wall would become susceptible to graffiti. Additionally, based on the distance of the trailers to the proposed wall, the trailers would be visible from the public right-of-way. The proposed improvements on the property are inconsistent with the required on-site improvements in the Industrial zone and PTMLUP and do not provide the required screening of vehicles from the public right-of-way. The size and shape of the project site is not adequate to allow the full operation of the proposed project in a manner not detrimental to either the particular area nor to the health and safety of the Development Application No. 2023-00002 July 17, 2023 Page 6 of 7 public and accommodate the required parking, vehicle access, and circulation without creating detrimental effects on adjacent properties. This finding could be made only if the Code-required landscape and structural setbacks, and the landscape setbacks of the PTMLUP are met. The granting of the conditional use permit would be detrimental to the health and safety of the citizens of the City of Anaheim because the proposed project would not be compatible with the requirements of Chapter 18.10 (Industrial Zones) and subsection .150 of Section 18.38.200 (Outdoor Storage) of Chapter 18.38 (Supplemental Use Regulations) of the Zoning Code and the required landscape setbacks of Chapter 4.0 (Public Realm Landscape and Identity Program) of the PTMLUP. The landscape setbacks within the PTMLUP range from 18 to 20 feet depending on the street frontage. These setbacks were intended to enhance this dynamic mix of uses and provide cohesion through innovative design standards and a carefully planned network of pedestrian walkways, streetscape improvements, and recreation spaces. Variance: Before the Planning Commission may approve a variance, it must make a finding of fact that the evidence presented shows that all of the following conditions exist: 1) That there are special circumstances applicable to the property, including size, shape, topography, location or surroundings, which do not apply to other property under identical zoning classification in the vicinity; and 2) That, because of such special circumstances, strict application of the zoning code deprives the property of privileges enjoyed by other property under identical zoning classification in the vicinity. There are no special circumstances applicable to the property, including size, shape, topography, location, or surroundings, which do not apply to other properties under identical zoning classification in the vicinity. Katella Avenue requires a 12-foot street dedication while Lewis Street requires a 27-foot dedication pursuant to the PTMLUP. The Code requires an 18-foot landscape setback measured from the ultimate right-of-way along Katella Avenue and a 20-foot landscape setback along Lewis Street. The proposed screen wall would be located at the ultimate right-of-way (0-foot setback) along both streets. This would be the only project built in the Platinum Triangle to not provide the required structural setback and landscaping. The 0.5-acre property to the east, across Lewis Street, was recently developed with a new 3,000-square-foot commercial building and associated parking and landscaping. The project provided the required dedication, structural setback, and landscaping. The subject 2.21-acre project site is substantially larger than the property to the east. It is feasible for the proposed project to be designed in a way that could meet the structural and landscape setbacks of the Code and the landscape design of the PTMLUP. The applicant is also requesting a variance to allow partial screening of vehicles from the public right-of-way where full screening is required. The height of the concrete masonry wall must be constructed to a height where the on-site storage is screened from view, or the vehicles must be located a distance from the wall to be fully screened. The applicant is proposing a height of eight feet; however, the proposed height of the wall does not fully screen the vehicles from the public right-of-way. There are no special circumstances applicable to the property that limit the height of the wall to screen the vehicles and storage on the site. Strict application of the Zoning Code would not deprive the property of privileges enjoyed by other properties under identical zoning classification in the vicinity. Properties in the general vicinity of the project site under identical Development Application No. 2023-00002 July 17, 2023 Page 7 of 7 zoning classifications have provided the required structural and landscape setbacks. The placement of the proposed wall would be inconsistent with the Code required landscape and structural setbacks as well as the PTMLUP. Public Comments: On July 7, 2023, staff received an email from a business located in the immediate vicinity of the project site. The business objected to the proposed lack of landscape in the setback. This email is included as Attachment 5. Environmental Impact Analysis: Staff recommends that the Planning Commission find that the effects of the proposed project are exempt from the requirements to prepare additional environmental documentation per California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines, Section 15270 – Projects Which Are Disapproved. CONCLUSION: Staff believes that the request to permit an Outdoor Storage Yard for Oversized Vehicles and Trailers with a variance to permit lesser structural and landscape setbacks than required by the Zoning Code, and to allow partial screening of vehicles where complete screening of vehicles is required is inconsistent with the Code and the PTMLUP. Further, staff does not believe that the required findings for the CUP or the variance requests can be made and recommends that the Planning Commission deny this request. Prepared by, Submitted by, Ivan Orozco Scott Koehm, AICP Associate Planner Principal Planner Attachments: 1. Conditional Use Permit Resolution 2. Variance Resolution 3. Conditional Use Permit and Variance Justification Letter 4. Project Plans 5. Public Comments Received 6. Aerial and Vicinity Maps