TO: HONORABLE CHAIR AND MEMBERS OF THE PLANNING
COMMISSION
FROM: David Chantarangsu, AICP - Development Services Director
PREPARED BY: Carl Stiehl, City Planner
SUBJECT:
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Murrieta Valley Unified School District New Public School Site
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RECOMMENDATION
recommendation
Receive a presentation by staff regarding the Murrieta Valley Unified School District’s planned acquisition and siting of a new public school campus at Ivy Street and Hayes Avenue. Investigate the proposed property at this hearing and have any necessary discussion regarding this topic, provide comments and/or ask questions of City staff and the School District, and then allow for the public to provide comments or ask questions.
Direct staff to prepare a written notice on behalf of the City and the Planning Commission to the School District with any recommendations concerning the acquisition of the Property.
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ENVIRONMENTAL
The proposed action is not a “project” as defined in the CEQA Guidelines Section 15378 because it does not involve any commitment to a specific project that could potentially significantly impact the environment and constitutes an organizational or administrative activity that will not result in direct or indirect physical changes in the environment. The purchase or acquisition of a property is not an approval of a project for the development of a property.
PRIOR ACTION/VOTE
N/A
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Murrieta Valley Unified School District is planning to acquire a new school site and has asked the City of Murrieta to review the proposal to purchase the site.
BACKGROUND
The City has long had an excellent working relationship with the Murrieta Valley Unified School District (the District). City staff has been meeting with the District in recent years regarding the number of new housing units under construction and in process for development in the City in order to adequately prepare for the future growth of our community. District staff have worked to understand when and where future students may need additional schools in the City in the near future. On August 26, 2024 the City received a letter from the District indicating that they intend to acquire a parcel of land for a future school site. The property is approximately 21.47 acres located at the northwest corner of Ivy Street and Hayes Avenue, consisting of Assessor’s Parcel Number 906-670-010. The property has a long frontage along Ivy with a shorter frontage along Hayes and generally no public access from the western and northern parts of the property. The property has existing trees along the Ivy and Hayes frontages and has been cleared in recent years as required by Murrieta Fire & Rescue for safety. An old home on the property was previously demolished on the site. This is an Aerial of the site: 
Government Code Section 65402 requires that the City’s Planning staff submit an opinion regarding conformity of the Property as it relates to the Development Code and General Plan, of the proposed acquisition of a site for a school. The property is zoned Rural Residential (RR) and designated Large Lot Residential in the General Plan. This is the same zoning and land use designation found throughout the western portion of the City south and west of Downtown Murrieta, generally south and west of Hayes and Washington. The RR zone was one of the old zones carried over from the time before the City was incorporated from the County. Many of the existing school sites in the City were once zoned RR.
The description of the RR zone in the Development Code is as follows:
RR (Rural Residential) District. The RR zoning district identifies areas intended for low-density, large-lot single-family uses within a rural atmosphere and may include the keeping of horses and other livestock, including kennels, as a permitted use in conjunction with the main residential use. Agricultural uses are allowable, especially for buffering smaller lot single-family designations. The allowable density range is from 0.1 to 0.4 dwelling units per acre, with a minimum parcel size of 2.5 acres, unless designated within a master plan overlay. The RR zoning district is consistent with the large lot residential designation of the general plan.
The RR zone does allow for schools as a use type in the use table, as do all the residential zones in the City. Typically, the City would have a recommendation to seek to locate schools near housing with adequate public access to best serve our residents. As significant housing is currently in development in the City, such as the new housing in the Downtown Specific Plan and the Transit Oriented Development Area near this site, it is appropriately located near existing and future housing. The site is located across the street from the southern corner of the Downtown Specific Plan Area. The property is located along two public streets, both Ivy Street and Hayes Avenue with Hayes also being an existing Circulation Element road. The development of the school site would result in public road improvements and infrastructure improvements, at a minimum, along the project frontage of both Ivy and Hayes and likely some off-site, such as adjacent sidewalks leading to the site for residents that may walk to the school site.
As outlined above, staff has found that the property is zoned to allow for a school with adequate public access, and therefore, the site is in conformance with the Development Code and General Plan. Therefore, staff is able to provide written notice to the District that staff’s opinion is that this is an appropriately zoned and designated site for a school for future residents of the City. It’s likely that in the future as part of a General Plan Cleanup, the property would be rezoned and designated to Civic/Institutional, which is the typical zone that the City has applied to school sites after they are developed, such as the existing school sites in the City that were previously RR and have now been zoned and designated Civic/Institutional in subsequent General Plan Updates.
Public Resources Code section 21151.2 requires the Planning Commission to investigate the proposed property and submit a written report with any recommendations concerning the acquisition of the property to the District. The purpose of this hearing and discussion is to allow for the Commission to consider the property and provide this input for staff to convey to the District. Staff’s recommendation is that the site is appropriately zoned and designated for a school and is well located near existing and future development to serve the City’s residents consistent with the goals and policies of the General Plan. Staff is available to assist the Planning Commission in its consideration of the site and to receive any recommendations the Commission would have to the District. Referenced below are attachments with more detail on these topics, which may help with the discussion as background.
Staff notes that schools are normally exempt from city land use and development standards pursuant to state law. The District would undertake environmental review of any development of the property as required by the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) prior to the development of the site.
ATTACHMENTS
1. School District Letter on Ivy and Hayes Property
2. Reference Maps
a. Aerial
b. General Plan Land Use
c. Zoning Map