The subject site is improved with an existing multi-tenant center, located on the south side of Katella Avenue, west of Magnolia Street.  The center is comprised of eight (8) tenant spaces of approximately 12,080 square feet of commercial/office space.  The center includes a “barber/beauty shop” use and five (5) general office uses.  Two (2) of the eight (8) suites are vacant. 

The subject property is zoned O-P (Office Professional) with a General Plan Land Use Designation of Light Commercial.  The property is adjacent to C-1 (Neighborhood Commercial) zoned properties to the east developed with commercial retail uses, PUD-109-96 (Residential Planned Unit Development) zoned properties to the south developed with small-lot subdivision single-family dwellings, and an O-P (Office Professional) zoned property to the west developed with a residential care facility.  Across Magnolia Street, to the east, is a C-1 zoned property developed with a multi-tenant commercial retail shopping center.  An additional multi-tenant commercial retail shopping center is located at the northeast corner of Katella Avenue and Magnolia Street, located within unincorporated land of the County of Orange.  Across Katella Avenue, to the north of the subject property, are multiple properties located within the jurisdictional boundaries of the City of Stanton and unincorporated land of the County of Orange developed with commercial retail uses, an apartment complex, and a gas station. 

Pursuant to a request filed by the previous property owner, in 1998, the City of Garden Grove approved Amendment No. A-190-98, which rezoned the subject property from C-1 (Neighborhood Commercial) to O-P (Office Professional), and also approved Amendment No. A-191-98, which amended Title 9 of the Municipal Code to allow “ambulance service” uses in the O-P zone, subject to approval of a Conditional Use Permit.  Concurrently, the City also approved Conditional Use Permit No. CUP-427-98 to allow the operation of an ambulance service business on the subject property.  According to business license records, the ambulance service business closed its operation in 2004.

On August 20, 2020, the Planning Commission held a public hearing to consider Amendment No. A-029-2020.  There were no speakers from the public who came forward to speak in favor of or in opposition to the project.  Staff received one (1) public comment letter citing concerns with the requested zone change that the exact commercial uses are not stated in the proposal; that there are existing commercial businesses in the area that already generate negative impacts such as homeless loitering, and traffic and noise issues; and that while current businesses may be good operators, in the future they may close and be replaced by bad operators.   By a vote of 5-0 (with 1 commissioner absent), the Planning Commission adopted Resolution No. 5998-20, recommending that the City Council approve Amendment No. A-029-2020.

Project Summary:

Based on the applicant’s application filing, the property owner has had difficulty filling vacancies in the center, and is seeking City approval to rezone the property from O-P (Office Professional) back to the original zoning of the property of C-1 (Neighborhood Commercial).  The property owner is seeking greater tenant flexibility through expanded uses allowed through the C-1 zoning designation.

The proposed C-1 zoning designation is consistent with the subject property’s existing General Plan Land Use Designation of Light Commercial, which is intended to allow a range of commercial activities that serve local residential neighborhoods and the larger community.  The Light Commercial designation is intended to accommodate a variety of retail services such as markets, drug stores, retail shops, financial institutions, service establishments, and restaurants.  The City’s General Plan calls for commercial uses in the Light Commercial designation to be compatible with the surrounding area and nearby residential uses.

The C-1 (Neighborhood Commercial) zoning designation is intended to provide for business at the neighborhood level in small scale convenience shopping facilities. The shopping facilities are encouraged to be integrated into the surrounding area to maintain the image of the neighborhood and to ensure operational compatibility.  Commercial zones that are directly adjacent to and/or abutting sensitive uses such as single-family residential homes, are typically zoned C-1, which is the least intensive commercial zoning designation in the City.  The City also includes C-2 (Community Commercial) and C-3 (Heavy Commercial) zoning designations which allow more intensive uses such as, but not limited to, auto repair (with paint and body work), pool halls, bars, smoking lounges, automatic car washes, car sales lots. 

The proposed C-1 zoning designation is consistent with the existing zoning patterns in the surrounding area, which includes other C-1 zoned properties, and various multi-tenant commercial retail shopping centers.

Parking and Trip Generation:

The O-P (Office Professional) zone is intended to provide for business and professional offices, services and associated business and retail activities, in an attractive environment compatible with residential areas.  Office Professional zoned properties in the City typically accommodate and include general and professional office type businesses, with minimal retail/commercial type uses that are supportive of the office uses.  It should be noted, with the exception of “ambulance service” businesses, all uses that are allowed in the O-P zone are also allowed in the C-1 zone.  The C-1 zone allows substantially more types of retail/commercial type uses, which would create more tenant flexibility for the property owner to retain current, and secure future, tenants. 

It should also be noted, when the property was originally approved by the City in 1985, the site was zoned C-1 (Neighborhood Commercial) and the development was designed with sufficient parking to accommodate commercial retail uses.  The parking requirement for standard retail uses is one (1) parking space per 200 square feet of gross floor area.  The existing building has a gross floor area of 12,080 square feet.  Applying the parking ratio for standard retail uses, the site was originally required to provide a minimum of 61 parking spaces.  The site provides a total of 64 parking spaces on-site, for a surplus of three (3) parking spaces.  While the mix of uses has changed over the years, including after the property was rezoned from C-1 (Neighborhood Commercial) to O-P (Office Professional) in 1998, the existing building and number of parking spaces have remained the same.

RK Engineering Group, Inc., a professional consulting firm, who specializes in traffic engineering services, prepared a trip generation memorandum to evaluate potential impacts of changes in trip generation from the site, as a result of rezoning the property from O-P (Office Professional) to C-1 (Neighborhood Commercial).  Trip generation represents the expected number of vehicle trips originating in, or destined for, a particular traffic analysis zone.  The analysis of the memo focused on potential impacts and changes from any increase in the site’s trip generation during AM and PM peak hours.  RK Engineering concluded in their analysis that under the proposed C-1 (Neighborhood Commercial) zoning, the expected trip generation forecasts to result in a minimal increase in trips with no significant traffic impact on the surrounding traffic circulation system.  A copy of the trip generation memo has been attached to this staff report for reference.  Staff, along with the City’s Traffic Engineer, have reviewed the trip generation memo and concur with the findings.

Today, of the eight (8) tenant spaces available in the center, six (6) tenant spaces are currently occupied, comprising of five (5) general offices and one (1) barber/beauty shop.  Two (2) of the eight tenant spaces are vacant.  For purposes of calculating the required parking for the center under full occupancy, the parking discussions in the attached memo assumes the two (2) vacant tenant spaces to be occupied by a fast-food restaurant (with limited seating and no drive-thru) and a typical retail store – both of which are standard retail uses that require one (1) parking space per 200 square feet of gross floor area.  Under full occupancy conditions, in this scenario, the parking calculations result in a total of 57 parking spaces required (minimum) for the site.  The site provides a total of 64 parking spaces on-site, for a surplus of seven (7) parking spaces.

As new uses (business types) are proposed in the future, parking adequacy and potential traffic impacts will continuously be re-evaluated by City Staff, at the time of a respective request, to: (i) ensure there is sufficient parking available to accommodate the mix of the uses in the center; and (ii) ensure any required traffic analysis is conducted that may require a traffic study, traffic mitigation, and/or applicable traffic mitigation fees.

None.

It is recommended that the City Council:

• Conduct a Public Hearing;

• Determine that the Ordinance is categorically exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act pursuant to Title 14, California Code of Regulations, Article 19, Section 15301, Existing Facilities; and,
   

• Introduce and conduct the first reading of an Ordinance approving Amendment No. A-029-2020 to amend the City’s official Zoning Map to change the zoning of the subject property, located at 8932 Katella Avenue (Assessor’s Parcel No. 132-041-21), from O-P (Office Professional) to C-1 (Neighborhood Commercial).