On November 15, 2018, the Planning Commission recommended adoption of a Mitigated Negative Declaration, Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program, and approval of General Plan Amendment No. GPA-002-2018 and Amendment No. A-024-2018 to City Council by a 4-0 vote.  Other than the applicant, no one spoke in favor of or in opposition to the request. The Planning Commission also approved Site Plan No. SP-056-2018 to construct a 64,673 square foot, 124-room, 5-story, 59’-0” high  hotel and related incidental and accessory hotel amenities, 100 on-site surface parking spaces, landscaping, and related improvements on two (2) currently vacant parcels, Conditional Use Permit No. CUP-134-2018 to allow for the operation of the proposed hotel use, and Lot Line Adjustment No. LLA-018-2018 to eliminate the existing boundary lot line and to consolidate the two (2) existing parcels into a single parcel in order to facilitate development of the proposed hotel project.

The subject property is located on the east side of Harbor Boulevard, between Trask Avenue and Westminster Avenue, at 13624 – 13650 Harbor Boulevard.  The subject site is located in the C-3 zone (Heavy Commercial), an area of the City with a mix of uses that includes heavy commercial, commercial, education, and multi-family residential uses.  Specifically, the subject site is bounded immediately to the west by Harbor Boulevard, and beyond Harbor Boulevard to the west, are properties zoned C-3, with heavy commercial uses including a used car dealership, transportation uses operated by Yellow Cab, and Western Transit Systems, Inc.  Immediately to the north, an Orange County Flood Control storm channel, zoned O-S, Open Space, then further north, is a C-3 zoned property with an auto collision repair and paint business.  To the northeast, are multi-family residential uses in the R-3 (Multiple-Family Residential) zone.  To the west, is Santiago High School’s athletic field, zoned as O-S, Open Space, and to the south, an auto body and repair business in the C-3 zone.  The site consists of two (2) vacant parcels with a combined lot area of 1.48 acres: Parcel 101-080-66 with a lot size of 53,723 square feet and Parcel 101-080-27 with a lot size of 10,953 square feet.  These two (2) parcels have a Heavy Commercial (HC) General Plan Land Use Designation and are zoned C-3 (Heavy Commercial).

A General Plan Amendment is required to increase the maximum allowable Floor Area Ratio (FAR) for hotels on property with a Land Use Designation of Heavy Commercial (HC) from 0.60 to 1.0 to allow the development of the hotel project.  The effect of this amendment will be to increase the maximum allowable FAR for new hotels in the C-3 zone, without increasing the allowable development intensity of any other uses.  This General Plan Amendment is necessary to facilitate development of the proposed hotel project, which consists of a 64,673 square foot hotel on the 64,676 square foot site, which equates to a Floor Area Ratio of 0.99.

Staff does not currently anticipate that the proposed General Plan Amendment will have an impact beyond the intended proposed hotel project.  There are currently twenty-five (25) C-3 zoned properties in the City with a Heavy Commercial General Plan Land Use Designation to which the proposed FAR increase for hotels would apply, none of which are currently developed with hotels.  Of these, only eleven (11) properties, collectively totaling approximately 18.78 acres, could theoretically accommodate a hotel based on the existing 30,000 square foot minimum lot size and other development standards for hotels set forth in the Garden Grove Municipal Code.  Hotel development within the City is primarily limited to those areas located to the north of the Garden Grove (SR-22) Freeway.  For years, the City has been actively promoting the development of new hotels south of the Garden Grove (SR-22) Freeway but without success.  With the single exception of the proposed Project, no formal or informal expressions of interest have been received by the City from property owners or from the development community regarding potential hotel development opportunities on any of the twenty-five (25) C-3 zoned properties in the City with a Heavy Commercial General Plan Land Use Designation.  

A Municipal Code Amendment is required to modify the development standards for hotels (a) to establish a maximum allowable FAR in the C-3 (Heavy Commercial) zone of 1.0 for hotel uses and 0.55 for all other uses, (b) to increase the maximum building height for hotels in the C-3 zone from four (4) stories and/or 55 feet to five (5) stories and/or 60 feet, and (c) to allow the hearing body to permit up to a twenty percent (20%) reduction in the number of off-street parking spaces required for new hotels in the C-3 zone in conjunction with site plan and/or conditional use permit approval.

The need for the proposed increase in height from four (4) to five (5) stories and from 55’-0” to 60’-0” has been noticed by City Staff as developers propose their projects on small available sites.  In the past, there was ample land to develop a project over a large area, however, overtime, as projects have been built, the availability of land has been reduced, making it difficult to develop on small sites, and making land a scarce resource.  Recently, City Staff has been involved in a series of initial discussions and has reviewed conceptual hotel proposals that request hotel products with more floors and at greater heights than what is currently permitted in the City’s Municipal Code.

Additionally, Policy LU-9.6 of the City’s General Plan, states the City’s goal is to locate tourist or entertainment related uses with adequate access to freeways or major arterials in order to encourage both local and regional patronage.  Additionally, Policy LU-5.1 of the General Plan encourages the City to work with property owners of vacant commercially zoned property to develop their sites into appropriate, economically viable projects, and Policy ED-1.1 of the Economic Development Element encourages the development and expansion of hotel facilities on key corridors in the City, such as Harbor Boulevard.

None.

It is recommended that the City Council:

• Conduct a Public Hearing;

• Adopt the attached Resolution adopting Mitigated Negative Declaration and Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program for the Hotel Project located at 13624 through 13650 Harbor Boulevard, Garden Grove; and

• Adopt a Resolution approving General Plan Amendment No. GPA-002-2018; and

• Introduce and conduct the first reading of the attached Ordinance approving Amendment No. A-024-2018 entitled:  AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF GARDEN GROVE APPROVING CODE AMENDMENT NO. A 024 2018, A ZONING TEXT AMENDMENT TO SECTIONS 9.16.020.020.A.4 AND 9.16.020.050.AJ OF THE GARDEN GROVE MUNICIPAL CODE MODIFYING THE DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS FOR HOTELS LOCATED IN THE C-3 (HEAVY COMMERCIAL) ZONE.

By:  Paul Guerrero, Sr. Program Specialist