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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. 3 PLANNING COMMISSION REPORT City of Anaheim PLANNING AND BUILDING DEPARTMENT DATE: DECEMBER 4, 2023 SUBJECT: DEVELOPMENT APPLICATION NO. 2019-00161 LOCATION: 125 East Ball Road APPLICANT/PROPERTY OWNER: The property owners are Marcus and Tracey Chu and 101 Ball Road, LLC; the applicant is Pacific Resort Group, Inc represented by David Chu; and the agent is Nate Davis of Red Inc. Architects. REQUEST: The applicant requests approval to permit the demolition of an existing vacant two-story commercial building and to construct a five-story, 65-foot high 120- room hotel with valet parking, a walk-up/drive-through restaurant, and an increase in the allowable Floor Area Ratio (FAR). The request requires approval of the following entitlements: 1) A zoning reclassification of a portion of the project site from the Industrial (I) Zone to the General Commercial (C-G) Zone 2) A Conditional Use Permit (CUP) to permit a hotel 3) A CUP to permit a drive-through restaurant 4) A CUP to allow for a Floor Area Ratio (FAR) of 1.08 (Advertised as 0.97) 5) A Minor CUP to permit valet parking AUTHORITY: Section 18.76.030 (Initiation) of Chapter 18.76 (Zoning Amendments); and Sections 18.08.030 (Uses) and 18.08.045 (Floor Area Ratio) of Chapter 18.08 (Commercial Zones); of the Anaheim Municipal Code (the “Code”). DEVELOPMENT APPLICATION NO. 2019-00161 December 4, 2023 Page 2 of 9 RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends that the Planning Commission: 1) Approve the attached resolution recommending City Council approval and adoption of the Initial Study / Mitigated Negative Declaration (IS/MND) and Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Plan No. 388 (MMP No. 388) determining that the IS/MND and MMP No. 388 prepared for the proposed project is the appropriate environmental documentation for this request under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) (Attachment 1); 2) By motion, recommend that the City Council introduce and adopt the attached draft ordinance for Reclassification, contingent upon and subject to the adoption by the City Council of a resolution approving the Conditional Use Permit (Attachment 2); 3) By motion, recommend that the City Council approve the attached draft resolution for Conditional Use Permits (Attachment 3). BACKGROUND: The subject site consists of two parcels and encompasses approximately 1.5 acres and has street frontage along Ball Road to the south and Technology Circle to the east. The subject site is occupied by a vacant 10,530 sf two-story commercial building, auxiliary storage sheds, and surface parking/vehicle storage space. The property is designated for General Commercial land uses by the General Plan. The parcels are in the “C-G” General Commercial, “I” Industrial, and “SABC” South Anaheim Boulevard Corridor Overlay zones. Surrounding land use include the following:  Commercial uses and associated parking lot to the north and west;  Ball Road and commercial and industrial use to the south;  Technology Circle and commercial, industrial, and vocational and technical school uses to the east; and PROPOSAL: The applicant proposes to construct an approximately 67,715 square-foot hotel with valet parking and a detached 1,200 sf walk-up/drive-through restaurant with an overall FAR of 1.08 (the “Project”). The hotel component of the Project would consist of a 120-room hotel that would be five stories and 65 feet in height. The hotel would be a standard stay type with limited food service (continental breakfast). The first floor of the hotel would contain the designated lobby area with a meeting room, sales and manager’s office, shop, pantry, breakfast area, and restroom facility. The second through fifth floor of the hotel would consist of guest rooms. An observation deck is proposed on the second level for guest-viewing of fireworks at Disneyland. Also, a fitness center and a conference room are proposed to be located on the second floor, and an outdoor pool would be located on the ground level adjacent to the hotel building. A walk-up/drive-through restaurant, identified as a Starbucks, is proposed for the single-story 1,200 square-foot restaurant and would be 16-feet in height, free-standing from the hotel, and located adjacent to Ball Road. The drive-through lane would accommodate a 15-car queue and would include a pre-menu board, order point, pick-up window, and various directional signage. The proposed Starbucks would only provide service via the drive-through and walk-up window. No indoor or outdoor dining/seating is proposed as part of this request. DEVELOPMENT APPLICATION NO. 2019-00161 December 4, 2023 Page 3 of 9 Site Plan The hotel and the restaurant buildings would include similar design elements and building materials including iron corten colored masonry panels; grey, white, and tan stucco elements; clear aluminum storefronts and windows; and matte black metal canopies. DEVELOPMENT APPLICATION NO. 2019-00161 December 4, 2023 Page 4 of 9 Rendering of Proposed Project Looking East Access to the Project site would be via two driveways from Technology Circle. There would be a designated hotel passenger drop-off and pick-up area in front of the hotel lobby entrance on the south side of the hotel building. Parking for hotel guests and visitors would be provided via valet parking. A valet parking drop-off and pick-up area would be located along the north side of the hotel lobby area. The Project would include two four-story puzzle-lift enclosed parking structures (three stories above ground and one story below ground) totaling 3,310 square feet in area. The Project would provide a total of 100 parking spaces as required by the Code. For the hotel, parking would consist of eight standard spaces, eight EV spaces, four ADA accessible spaces, and 72 puzzle lift spaces for a total of 92 parking spaces. The restaurant would include seven standard spaces and one ADA accessible space for a total of eight parking spaces. Circulation and Valet Parking Plan DEVELOPMENT APPLICATION NO. 2019-00161 December 4, 2023 Page 5 of 9 The applicant proposes to use the mechanical puzzle parking system to meet the majority of their parking needs. Valet attendants would be responsible for parking and retrieving vehicles using the mechanical system. Many hotels within the City use valet parking, including some with mechanical lift parking systems, both as an amenity to hotel guests and a way to maximize parking. Proposed landscaping would include various species of trees, shrubs and groundcover along the perimeter and interior of the property. Tree species would include Arbutus “Marina”, Red Rocket Crape Myrtle, Queen Palm, and Mediterranean Fan Palm; shrubs would consist of Foxtail Agave, Variegated Flax Lily, and Little Rec Flax Lily; and ground cover would consist of Blue Chalksticks and Trailing Rosemary. FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS: When an applicant submits multiple discretionary land use applications for concurrent Planning Commission review and approval, and one or more of such applications requires City Council review and approval (in this instance the City Council is the approval authority for the zoning reclassification) in conjunction with a noticed public hearing, all such applications are subject to full review and approval by the City Council as the granting authority. Therefore, all the requested entitlements require City Council approval. The Planning Commission’s role is to provide a recommendation to the City Council on each request. The following is staff’s analysis and recommendation for each requested action. Reclassification: As outlined in the Site Plan above, the subject property consists of two parcels: one zoned “C-G” General Commercial and the other zoned “I” Industrial. The subject site is designated for General Commercial land uses by the General Plan and the implementing zone for this General Plan designation would be the “C-G” General Commercial Zone. Staff supports this request to reclassify the Industrial zoned parcel to the “C-G” General Commercial Zone because reclassification would provide a coherent C-G zoning designation on the entire Project site consistent with the General Commercial General Plan land use designation. Conditional Use Permits: Hotel and Drive Through: The Code requires a conditional use permit to allow hotel and drive through land uses in the C-G Zone. Valet Parking: The Code requires a minor conditional use permit to allow valet parking in the C-G Zone. Maximum Floor Area Ratio (FAR): The Code permits a maximum FAR of 0.5 in the C-G Zone and the proposed FAR is 1.08. The Code permits a higher FAR than allowed by the Code subject to the approval of a conditional use permit. The purpose of FAR limits is to regulate development intensity to ensure that build-out of individual sites do not cause a burden to the local public infrastructure. Building intensities for non-residential land uses are measured by FAR, the ratio of total net floor area of a building to the total lot area. FAR describes the intensity of the use on a site and not necessarily the building height or site coverage. It does not include the area within parking structures used for parking and circulation. The images below are examples of the different ways in which a building may be configured to achieve a 0.50 FAR: DEVELOPMENT APPLICATION NO. 2019-00161 December 4, 2023 Page 6 of 9 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 conditional use permit is authorized by this code; The Code permits both a hotel and drive-through restaurants in the C-G Zone subject to approval of a conditional use permit, and valet parking subject to the approval of a minor conditional use permit to ensure compatibility with the surrounding area and uses, and to ensure that the uses would not be detrimental to the general health and safety of the community. The Code permits an increase in FAR subject to approval of a conditional use permit provided that all potential environmental impacts associated with the proposed use of the structure have been duly analyzed and mitigated. The project was advertised with an FAR of 0.97 however, the project plans as evaluated in the Mitigated Negative Declaration (IS/MND) identify an FAR of 1.08. An Initial Study in support of a IS/MND has been prepared to evaluate the environmental impacts of the proposed project and to identify necessary mitigation. With implementation of proposed mitigation measures, project impacts will be reduced to levels considered less than significant and the MND concluded that there are no remaining potentially significant adverse impacts related to the project. 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. 2019-00161 December 4, 2023 Page 7 of 9 The proposed hotel, drive through restaurant, and valet parking would not adversely impact the existing commercial uses to the west, residential uses to the north, or industrial uses to the east as all operations of the project are contained on-site. Adequate site access and Code compliant parking would be provided. The site would adequately accommodate on-site vehicular circulation with a large guest drop-off area, valet drop off and pick-up areas and entry drives and drive aisles leading to the valet parking drop-off. The 15- vehicle drive-through lane would accommodate the projected maximum queue for the drive through restaurant without interfering with internal circulation or causing congestion in the drive aisles. In addition, fire truck and emergency service access were deemed adequate by the Fire and Rescue Department, and sanitation service was deemed adequate by the Public Works Streets Operations Division. The noise study prepared for the Project determined that the noise levels associated with the hotel operations, parking lot, parking lift facility, and drive- thru window and menu board would not exceed the permitted sound pressure level limits at adjacent property lines. The project would not adversely affect the growth and development of the area as it would be compatible with the adjacent commercial retail center, the land use patterns in the vicinity, and it meets all applicable Code requirements. The Project is consistent with various goals and policies of the General Plan, including the goal of establishing the South Anaheim Boulevard Corridor, including the project location, as a revitalized commercial and residential area that serves to link the downtown (Center City), the Platinum Triangle, and The Anaheim Resort. 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; The Project is designed to allow for the full development of the proposed uses on-site without conflicting with adjacent uses and without any Code deviations or variances. The proposed uses would not be detrimental to the area or the general health and safety of the community because the Project has been designed to provide adequate site access, on-site circulation, and Code compliant parking. The Project meets all landscape and structural setback requirements, including extensive landscape improvements provided along the Ball Road and Technology Drive street frontages. Noise levels from the Project are not expected to exceed Code noise limits and therefore not be disruptive to adjacent properties. 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; The Public Works Department Traffic and Transportation Division reviewed the Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) Screening Assessment, Trip Generation Analysis, and Queueing Evaluation for the Project and determined that the DEVELOPMENT APPLICATION NO. 2019-00161 December 4, 2023 Page 8 of 9 traffic generated by the proposed uses would not impose an undue burden on streets and highways in the area and would not have a significant impact on traffic. Further, it was determined that there would be adequate on-site circulation, and that adequate queueing would be provided for the drive- through lanes. 5) That the granting of the 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. The proposed project will not be detrimental to the overall health and safety of the citizens of the City of Anaheim because the Project has been designed to be compatible with adjacent land uses. The Project provides adequate site access, on-site circulation, parking, and there will be no significant traffic impacts. Noise levels from the Project are not expected to exceed Code noise limits and therefore not be detrimental to the overall health and safety of citizens of the City of Anaheim. Environmental Impact Analysis: An Initial Study in support of a Mitigated Negative Declaration (IS/MND) has been prepared to evaluate the environmental impacts of the proposed project and to identify necessary mitigation pursuant to the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). On October 19, 2023, staff circulated the IS/MND for a 20-day public review period. Staff posted the IS/MND on the City’s web page, made hard copies available at City Hall and the Anaheim Public Library, and uploaded it digitally with the Office of Planning and Research’s CEQAnet database. Staff prepared a Notice of Intent (NOI) to adopt the IS/MND which was mailed to potentially affected public agencies and interested parties, as well as property owners and tenants within a 500-foot radius of the proposed project. Staff also posted the notice at City Hall and with the Orange County Clerk-Recorder in addition to publication in The Anaheim Bulletin. The City received two letters during the comment period. Attachment 5 includes the received comment letters and the City’s responses to these letters. Pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15073.5, none of the comments received resulted in the need to recirculate the Draft IS/MND or to prepare an Environmental Impact Report (EIR). Mitigation measures have been identified in the IS/MND to mitigate project impacts to cultural resources, geology and soils, and tribal cultural resources. Pursuant to the requirements of CEQA, staff recommends the adoption of these mitigation measures (MMP No. 388) as conditions of approval in the attached draft resolution for the approval of the proposed project. With implementation of these measures, the IS/MND concluded that project impacts will be reduced to levels considered less than significant, and there would be no remaining potentially significant adverse impacts related to the project. CONCLUSION: The proposed Project is consistent with the goals and policies of the General Plan and would provide additional accommodation options for visitors to the City. The proposed Project would replace a vacant industrial building with an attractive new hotel development and would represent a significant positive investment in the area. The proposed Project would redevelop an underutilized property at a key gateway to the Center City Corridor and would serve DEVELOPMENT APPLICATION NO. 2019-00161 December 4, 2023 Page 9 of 9 as a link between the Platinum Triangle and The Anaheim Resort. Based on the analysis contained herein, staff recommends approval of the proposed Project. Prepared by, Submitted by, Thomas Gorham Scott Koehm, AICP Contract Planner Principal Planner Attachments: 1. Draft Planning Commission CEQA Resolution including MMP No. 388 2. Draft City Council Reclassification Ordinance 3. Draft City Council Conditional Use Permit Resolution 4. Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration (IS/MND) A. IS/MND Appendices 5. Response to MND Comments, and Errata 6. Mitigation Monitoring Plan No. 388 7. Project Narrative 8. Project Plans 9. Aerial and Vicinity Maps