TO: HONORABLE CHAIR AND MEMBERS OF THE PLANNING
COMMISSION
FROM: Carl Stiehl, City Planner
PREPARED BY: Dennis Watts, Senior Planner
SUBJECT:
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Workshop - The Shops at the Triangle
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RECOMMENDATION
recommendation
Receive and file a staff report regarding a proposed Specific Plan Amendment, Development Plan, Tentative Map, and environmental consistency analysis for the Triangle Project, including a presentation from Staff and the Applicant.
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ENVIRONMENTAL
None required.
PRIOR ACTION/VOTE
None for the current project.
On May 8, 2013, the Planning Commission recommended the City Council certify the Subsequent Environmental Impact Report (“SEIR”), adopt the Statement of Overriding Considerations, and the Mitigation, Monitoring and Reporting Program, and approve the Specific Plan Amendment and General Plan Amendment (Vote: 5-0).
On October 1, 2013, the City Council adopted:
1. Resolution 13-3151 certifying the Subsequent Environmental Impact Report (“SEIR”),
adopted the Statement of Overriding Considerations, and the Mitigation and Monitoring Reporting Program (“MMRP”).
2. Resolution 13-3153 approving General Plan Amendment to the Land Use Chapter of the General Plan.
3. Resolution 13-3152 approving Design Guidelines for The Triangle Specific Plan.
On October 15, 2013, the City Council adopted Ordinance 481-13 amending and restating Specific Plan 276 (The Triangle, formerly named Murrieta Springs Mall).
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The project is a request to construct a 279,500 square foot retail shopping center in a first phase on +/- 36.5 acres of a +/- 64-acre property located between Interstate 15 and 215 south of Murrieta Hot Springs Road. The application types for the proposed project consist of a Specific Plan Amendment, Development Plan, and Tentative Tract Map. The project site is within The Triangle Specific Plan (SP 276) area.
The purpose of the workshop is to familiarize and introduce the Commission with the various components associated with the proposed project and provide an opportunity for the Commission to ask any questions to better understand the project. Staff will be bringing forward the project to a future public hearing with a full staff report, including preliminary site, grading, landscaping plans, elevations, and environmental analysis for the Commission’s recommendation to the City Council.
BACKGROUND
The Triangle Specific Plan (SP 276) covers an approximate 64-acre property located between Interstate 15 and 215, south of Murrieta Hot Springs Road. The specific plan was originally approved by the County of Riverside in 1990, named Murrieta Springs Mall, for a 1.76 million square foot retail shopping center. In 2013, the City approved the first amendment to the Specific Plan changing the name to “The Triangle”. The amendment revised the number of planning areas from six to four, changed the development standards to reflect an outdoor mall instead of an indoor mall, increased height limits to range from 90-220 feet depending on the Planning Area, changed the amount of allowed retail, office, restaurant, and entertainment square footage as shown below:
Anticipated Development
Retail 640,914
Office 779,082
Hotel (220 Rooms) 148,000
Entertainment 74,660
Restaurant 125,258
Total 1,767,914 square feet
Further, an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) was certified in 1990 along with mitigation measures, with the original approval of the SP. In 2013, a Subsequent EIR (SEIR) was prepared and adopted by the City Council, again with mitigation measures and adopting a Statement of Overriding Considerations for significant impacts that could not be mitigated or avoided but were found to be acceptable due to economic and health benefits of the Project which outweigh the unavoidable adverse environmental effects.
The square footages provided below indicate the anticipated development within each future phase of the Specific Plan:
Phase 1a
High Turnover (Sit-Down) Restaurant 49,392
Phase 1b
Commercial Retail 184,486
General Office 48,000
Theater 74,660
High Turnover (Sit-Down) Restaurant 75,122
Phase 1c
Commercial Retail 339,714
General Office 48,000
Theater 74,660
High Turnover (Sit-Down) Restaurant 75,122
Phase 2
Commercial Retail 438,774
General Office 530,000
Theater 74,660
High Turnover (Sit-Down) Restaurant 75,122
Hotel (220 Room)
Phase 3 (Project Build Out)
Commercial Retail 640,914
General Office 779,082
Theater 74,660
High Turnover (Sit-Down) Restaurant 125,258
Hotel (220 Room) 148,000
SPECIFIC PLAN AMENDMENT PROPOSAL
The Applicant is requesting to amend the Specific Plan. The requests are necessary to better reflect the current site plan proposal, current market trends, and to provide more flexibility in implementing the specific plan without necessitating the need to process an overhaul of the specific plan. Some of the key amendment requests are as follows:
Changes to the allowed uses in “Use Table 2-1”
§ Allow drive through restaurant/fast food uses.
§ Allow Food Truck as an allowed use.
§ Allow “Vehicle Rental” as an allowed use, as an office only.
§ Change “Outdoor Recreation, Commercial” from a Conditional Use Permit to a Minor Conditional Use Permit.
Staff notes as of this writing, it continues to modify the use table in the proposed Specific Plan Amendment.
Changes to Development Standards
§ Change the 60-foot landscape setback along Murrieta Hot Springs Road to 15 feet for parking areas and 25 feet for buildings, with allowances for certain exceptions.
§ Reduce various building and landscape setback requirements within the interior of the specific plan area.
§ Modify various setback standards as a result of changing the setbacks from the landscape setback to a more conventional method of setbacks from property lines.
§ Elimination of setback distances, and reliance on requirements for conformance to specific plan cross-sections instead.
§ Include provisions for the replacement of the two existing static billboards for two electronic billboards (Section 4).
§ Authorize the Development Services Director to consider reductions to various setbacks within the specific plan, either through a set 25% reduction, or through specified changes identified as Minor Exceptions (Section 4).
DEVELOPMENT PLAN AND TENTATIVE MAP
The project proposes approximately 279,500 square feet of retail development on 36.46 acres, accounting for approximately 25 buildings with twelve (12) of the buildings being pad buildings and the remaining considered to be in-line buildings. Eight of the twelve (12) buildings are located along Murrieta Hot Springs Road and the most easterly building proposed as a fast-food drive through. The development is focused on the northerly portion of the site as future phases would occur on the southerly portion. Specifically, there is 202,538 square feet of retail uses and 76,760 square feet of food/restaurant uses with 11,100 square feet of outdoor dining area. There are two primary access points into the center, one across from future Monroe Avenue (current Sparkman Court) and the other is across from existing Hancock Avenue, both of which will be signalized. Additional access will be provided in between the two primary access drives and will be limited to right-in and right-out vehicle turning movements. A total of 1,438 parking spaces are required for the proposed project and 1,675 spaces are provided as proposed.
Infrastructure improvements consist of widening of Murrieta Hot Springs Road primarily to accommodate deceleration lanes into the project site and the installation of traffic signals at Hancock and Monroe Avenue. A sewer line will be extended from the north side of Monroe through the project site, under I-15 and connect to an existing line on the west side of I-15. Monroe Avenue on the north side of Murrieta Hot Springs Road will also be realigned and widened to be more perpendicular to Murrieta Hot Springs Road and to accommodate proper lane configuration from the south side.
The proposed Development Plan anticipates being constructed in four phases as shown below. All infrastructure (roads, signals, water/sewer, utilities) would be constructed prior to occupancy of any buildings within the first phase.
There is a range of 15 to 40 feet of landscaping along the Murrieta Hot Springs Road frontage and a minimum ten (10) foot landscaped area along the freeways. The two access drives have 10 to 15 feet of landscaping flanking both sides of the drive aisle and a landscaped median ranging in width from six to ten feet combined with enhanced paving to create an enhanced entry statement. Additionally, internal landscaping will be provided throughout the parking areas and along building facades throughout the project.
Staff recommends that the Planning Commission conduct a public workshop to receive a presentation from staff and the applicant in order for the Commission to review the proposed project and ask questions. Staff plans to return to the Commission with a full staff report and the project plans at a future public hearing for a recommendation to the City Council on the project.
ATTACHMENTS
Att.1 - Site Plan