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Home My WebLink AboutDR 04-030 DATE: TO: FROM: SUBJECT: Inter-Com MARCH 21, 2005 rfVo ,,-~ ,..,~ ~ . .. .'. ~~{\~ ZONING ADMINISTRATOR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT DESIGN REVIEW 04-030 APPLICANT: PROPERTY OWNER: LOCATION: ZONING: HUGH ROSE 144 N. ORANGE STREET ORANGE, CA 92866 L&M PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CARE OF BILL MUNCE 1810 C, NEWPORT BOULEVARD COSTA MESA, CA 92627 12932 NEWPORT AVENUE (STRATA TUSTIN CENTER) RETAIL COMMERCIAL (100 C110,000) ENVIRONMENTAL STATUS: THIS PROJECT HAS BEEN DETERMINED TO BE CATEGORICALLY EXEMPT PURSUANT TO SECTION 15301 (CLASS 1) OF THE CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT (CEQA) AUTHORIZATION TO DEMOLISH 4,195 SQUARE FEET OF AN EXISTING RETAIL SHOPPING CENTER, CONDUCT A FAc;ADE REMODEL, AND RECONFIGURE THE PARKING LOT REQUEST: RECOMMENDATION That the Zoning Administrator adopt Zoning Administrator Action No. 05-003 approving Design Review 04-030. BACKGROUND The project is located at 12932 Newport Avenue in the Retail Commercial (100 C1 10,000) Zoning District and has a Community Commercial designation under the land Zoning Administrator Report DR 04-030 Page 2 Use Element of the General Plan (Attachment A - Location Map). Retail uses are permitted by the zoning ordinance and encouraged by the General Plan in these designations. The project requires review by and a decision from the Zoning Administrator because it is within the Town Center Redevelopment Agency Project Area (Tustin City Code (TCC) Section 9299b(4)(c)). A legal description of the property is provided as Exhibit B of Zoning Administrator Action 05-003. On January 14, 1966, the subject property was annexed to the City. City records are inconclusive to determine if the existing shopping center was constructed shortly after or concurrent with annexation. Building permit records indicate that relatively few exterior improvements have been completed to the exterior of the shopping center since the original construction. Approximately 34,638 square feet of floor area exists for the shopping center which is on 100,953 square feet of parcel area. The anchor tenant suite for the building was a gymnasium but the space is currently vacant and consists of approximately 15,000 square feet. A plan check application is currently in review for a supermarket to occupy the space. Several smaller retail tenants in suites no larger than 2,000 square feet occupy each of the two (2) buildings on-site which are between eight (8) and nine (9) thousand square feet each, not including the anchor tenant space. The shopping center exists on a 100,953 square foot parcel and consists of buildings in an "L" configuration which are setback away from the street and close to the north and east property lines. A 15 foot wide alley exists behind the building nearest to the east property line and a 30 foot wide alley exists behind the building nearest to the north property line. An automotive oil change facility is located on a parcel under separate ownership located at the northeast corner of Newport Avenue and Old Irvine Boulevard. The center's parking lot currently consists of 131 parking spaces and has minimal landscaping. As currently striped, some of the shopping center's parking spaces have been rendered unusable because recent construction of the automotive oil change facility occurred across some of the parking striping and drive aisles that formerly served the project. Additionally, eight (8) parking stalls for the shopping center will be lost during Newport Avenue street widening which is a current Public Works project. Pursuant to TCC Section 9273(e), the shopping center shall retain the ability to count the eight (8) lost parking spaces in their sum of parking spaces provided. DISCUSSION Project Description The applicant requests authorization for the following: · Demolition of 4,195 square feet of retail space is requested at the east corner of the shopping center. The retail space would be replaced with a concrete slab and eight (8) standard parking spaces. No additions or modification of remaining building square feet is proposed. The total floor area of the shopping center will be 30,443 Zoning Administrator Repon DR 04-030 Page 3 square feet which results in 30 percent parcel coverage which is under the 40 percent "effective floor area" rate established in the General Plan Land Use Element. · A fac;ade remodel for the entire center is requested. A mix of French and Spanish architectural features will be utilized for the remodel in order to complement the surrounding architecture at Plaza Lafayette across Newport Avenue and with the existing EZ Lube oil change facility at the northeast corner of Newport Avenue and Old Irvine Boulevard. Architectural features of the project include contrasting white and tan plaster walls with recessed rectangles for shadow, a covered arcade walkway with arches to the exterior, light brown cornices, dark brown flat shingle concrete roof tiles, grey metal louvers, dormers, and a light brown perimeter wood trellis. Upon completion of the remodel, the building height will range between 17 feet and 27 feet high. · A parking lot reconfiguration is requested. One existing driveway to Newport Avenue will be eliminated. The on-site alley behind the buildings will be limited to on-way with the entrance occurring from Newport Avenue and the exit occurring at Old Irvine Boulevard. The configuration of the drive aisles will allow vehicular traffic to flow throughout the site in front of the retail buildings and along the perimeter of the site. Condition 4.16 has been added to ensure that stop signs are placed on both sides of the drive aisle running parallel to Newport Avenue at the point where it intersects with the center driveway on Newport Avenue. Use of the stop signs will help prevent traffic from backing up in the right northbound lane of Newport Avenue due to relatively short entry throat for the center. A total of 123 parking spaces will be provided for the center. Five (5) of the spaces will be parallel along the north property line; eight (8) of the spaces will be located where the retail space is being demolished; 20 of the spaces will be compact which is less than the 20 percent maximum allowed on the site; five (5) of the spaces will be for disabled person parking; and, the remainder of the 95 spaces will be evenly dispersed throughout the center. The City's Parking Lot Design Standards allow up to 20 percent of parking spaces to be compact upon approval by the Community Development Director. Pursuant to the standards, Condition 3.8 requires the spaces to be signed for compact car use only. TCC Section 9232c(2)(f) requires retail uses to maintain one (1) parking space for each 200 square feet of floor area and TCC Section 9241c(3) requires warehouse activities to provide one (1) parking space for each 1,000 square feet of floor area. The shopping center is proposed to maintain 24,455 square feet of retail floor area which requires 122.3 parking spaces and 5,988 of warehouse activities for a food market which requires (six) 6 parking spaces. The total required parking spaces for the mix of uses proposed in the retail center is 129. Although only 123 spaces physically exist on-site, the applicant is allowed to include the eight (8) additional spaces formerly existing on-site that are being removed in connection with a Public Works Newport Avenue widening project. Therefore, the total number of on-site spaces is considered to be 131 and the shopping center will maintain a surplus of two parking spaces. Zoning Administrator Repon DR 04-030 Page 4 · The applicant requests to introduce landscaping throughout the parking lot. The total new landscape area of the site will be 8,973 square feet which is 8.8 percent of the site. Thin bands of landscape planters adjacent to the public rights-of-way will help to obscure the parking lot as viewed from Old Irvine Boulevard and Newport Avenue. A thin landscape band also divides the shopping center from the existing oil change facility parcel. The City's Landscape and Irrigation Guidelines combine with the Parking Lot Design Standards would typically require a 20 foot row of landscaping at street fronts and five (5) percent parking lot landscaping. However, the document is only a guideline and is most applicable to new development of vacant parcels or for additions of structures to parcels. The project is a far;:ade remodel and a parking lot reconfiguration. The applicant has provided the maximum amount of landscaping given parcel constraints. No signs are proposed or approved in association with DR 04-030. A free-standing pole sign exists on the property near Newport Avenue and is to be relocated to an alternative location in a landscape area on the property by the Public Works department in association with the Newport Avenue widening capital improvement project. The location that the pole sign will be placed shall be pursuant to whatever agreement the property owner and Public Works department have arranged. Prior to future proposals for signage in the shopping center, a City approved master sign program will be required. A decision to approve the project may be based upon the findings and conditions of approval contained in Zoning Administrator Action No. 05-003. ~ t)' (U k;/: had rtlieb Associate Planner Attachments: A - Location Map B - Submitted Plans C - Zoning Administrator Action No. 05-003 S:\CddIZAREPORT\2005\DR 04-030.doc ATTACHMENT A Location Map DE50/N REV/EIIV 04-~050 /2952 NEllVPORT AVENUE - ".., ""u.. ~... '- ,v/,?!) ~ $/; /'v"'" A H :<~1 'l0 ll][E ~~~ i ~ ~~ld2.V,,~ "<0 -;J I 1 ~ r;.~ .i~~~~% : 'f( n ~ E ~ ~\V ~~~~~ ~~~M1t( ~ , JiJ~ Y' n~ .~.~/~l11t I !- i ~ TIc;!,u!! 'r;;;::j<l$)f,",.I~ft'~"7 v r~ po, . ~!,: ~~t(:>\;;7\ I Vi ." ~'< ~,J.\;:' '~~ /' ,....... Q . ... '.I'''V'/Z<.~; ~ ~ ,JUb!. L. .... 'J}. 1~3.'R'" \~ 5( 1 ~r;:;:_Il.~ ~. ~l:i - ,'+- ~~ . . W'" ~~~. .' ~''', @~~ g;}" ~ c-~,,~ ' ~ (f ./ ...;.~ + "- /~ ,~ ~ ( VI emT ,,++~ Y " A " '/..... +'. X..{"''>L,~' (/, '"s ~ '~I';\' 'Y/~~+'Xl4 1- ~IY~ ~c / ~ -~ ",:: ,~\\ q'-'~ :~/. >- I~ ~ -<~ #b "w ~'V} Il i~P;~~/ '>. 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