TO: Chair and Members of the Planning Commission
FROM: Anna Pehoushek, Assistant Community Development Director
1. Subject
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Public Hearing to consider a Zoning Text Amendment, Development Agreement and Conditional Use Permit to allow expanded business activities at Blue Ribbon Nursery and dedication of a former sand and gravel pit to the City of Orange as permanent open space at 5309 East Santiago Canyon Road and alternate addresses 1425 North Santiago Boulevard and 1921 Old Country Park Road, and finding of CEQA exemption. (Development Agreement No. 0010-24 and Conditional Use Permit No. 3229-24)
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2. Summary
The applicant proposes an Ordinance amending Chapter 17.13 of the Orange Municipal Code to allow the sale of building materials and landscape supplies in a Sand and Gravel Zone in conjunction with a commercial nursery subject to a conditional use permit, and associated Development Agreement to allow expanded business activities at an existing nursery in conjunction with dedicating the naturalized former “Chandler Pit” sand and gravel pit to the city to retain as permanent open space at Blue Ribbon Nursery.
3. Recommended Action
recommendation
1. Conduct and close Public Hearing.
2. Adopt Planning Commission Resolution No. 21-24. A Resolution of the Planning Commission of the City of Orange recommending the City Council approve an Ordinance amending Chapter 17.13 of the Orange Municipal Code to conditionally permit the sale of building materials and landscape supplies in a Sand and Gravel Zone in conjunction with an existing commercial nursery.
3. Adopt Planning Commission Resolution No. 22-24. A Resolution of the Planning Commission recommending the City Council approve an Ordinance adopting Development Agreement No. 0010-24 that provides a public benefit to the City in the form of the dedication of a naturalized former sand and gravel pit to the City of Orange as permanent open space at 5093 E. Santiago Canyon Road.
4. Adopt Planning Commission Resolution No. 23-24. A Resolution of the Planning Commission of the City of Orange approving Conditional Use Permit No. 3229-24 to allow the expanded sale of building materials and landscape supplies in conjunction with the existing Blue Ribbon Nursery at 5309 East Santiago Canyon Road.
5. Find that the Ordinance is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) per State CEQA Guidelines pursuant to, but not limited to Section 15305, 15307, and 15308.
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4. AUTHORIZING GUIDELINES
Orange Municipal Code (OMC) Sections 17.10.020 and 17.44.100 authorize the Planning Commission to review and make a recommendations to the City Council on amendments to the Zoning Ordinance and Development Agreements, respectively. OMC Section 17.10.030 authorizes the Planning Commission to take action on Conditional Use Permits except, in accordance with Table 17.08.020, in instances where the application requirements require City Council approval.
5. project background
The City of Orange approved Conditional Use Permit No. 1744 and Administrative Adjustment 89-4 in 1989 to allow for the operation of the Blue Ribbon Nursery at the subject property. Adjacent to north of the Blue Ribbon Nursery site is the naturalized excavated “Chandler Pit” and the abutting Santiago Creek corridor. Sand and gravel mining ceased at the Chandler Pit in the 1960s, and over the course of the ensuing 50 years the pit has become naturalized with mature vegetation, wetlands, and habitat for a variety of species associated with the Santiago Creek corridor.
Creek corridor planning efforts on the part of community groups, the city, and the County of Orange dating back to the 1970s have contemplated establishing a greenbelt along Santiago Creek, recognizing the sand and gravel pits along the creek corridor as opportunities for protected open space for purposes of habitat or recreation.
The existing overall approximately 14-acre site consists of three Assessor Parcels, one of which encompasses the Chandler Pit (see Attachment 4). The parcel and operational footprint associated with the Blue Ribbon Nursery’s 1989 conditional use permit does not include the parcel immediately adjacent to Santiago Canyon Road that is of a similar depth to the nursery parcel nor the larger Chandler Pit parcel. In 2017 the applicant paved the parcel at the southeastern corner of the site for informal use as parking, truck and equipment storage for the nursery. At the present time, the area is used for truck and equipment storage, as well as for the storage of landscape materials, building supplies, and firewood.
The overall site is zoned Sand and Gravel (SG). Under the current SG provisions of the Zoning Ordinance, use of this paved parcel as part of for parking or other materials storage or sales associated with the nursery is not permitted.
6. PROJECT DESCRIPTION
The applicant proposes to expand the operating area of the existing nursery and landscape supply business and enter into a Development Agreement with the City of Orange to dedicate the Chandler Pit to the City of Orange to retain as open space. A Zoning Text Amendment is proposed to allow the sale of building materials and landscape supplies in the SG zone in conjunction with an existing commercial nursery subject to a Conditional Use Permit (CUP). Therefore, the applicant is also requesting approval of a CUP to accommodate an expanded operational footprint for the nursery. A Lot Line Adjustment will be required as a condition of approval (Condition #10) to establish a lot line following the upper limits of the Chandler Pit, separating it from the portion of the site that will be actively used for the nursery and landscape supply operation.
Operating hours for the Blue Ribbon Nursery are Monday through Sunday from 6:00 am to 8:00 pm. A change in the hours of operation is proposed to Monday though Sunday, 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. (reflecting in the proposed Development Agreement). The expanded nursery operation includes a series of material bays consisting of modular Vee interlocking stacked concrete blocks to contain a range of products including gravel, decomposed granite, soil mix, wood chips, mulch, and similar landscape materials. Material quantities will vary based on the time of year, season, and material demand. The maximum height of the bays is 6 feet, containing materials no greater than 12 feet in height along E. Santiago Canyon Road, holding up to 30 cubic yards of material. As a point of comparison, these bays and stored materials have a lesser capacity than the existing bays along the N. Santiago Boulevard frontage which have a capacity of 40 cubic yards with material stored at a height of 15 feet. While the storage bays along the Santiago Canyon Road site frontage have a close interface with the Santiago Creek bike trail, a series of palm trees are planted along the edge of the bike trail on the applicant’s property along an existing chain link fence, providing a physical separation between the bike trail and storage bays.
Other portions of the site will be used as open storage for building materials including brick, stone veneer and pavers, as well for wood splitting and stacked firewood. The wood is placed within display frames to facilitate customer service. The expanded operational area of the nursery will continue to accommodate parking for nursery-related trucks and equipment.
7. analysis and statement of the issues
Issue 1: Zoning Ordinance Text Amendment and Conditional Use Permit
While the proposed Zoning Ordinance Text Amendment allowing the nursery expansion in the SG zone and proposed CUP are being heard concurrently, Condition of Approval #6 in the Planning Commission Resolution (Attachment 3) specifies that the CUP will not be in place until the effective date of the proposed Ordinance and execution of the Development Agreement.
Issue 2: Community Benefit
Creating a means to formalize the Blue Ribbon Nursery’s operational needs in conjunction with dedication of the Chandler Pit as open space benefits the community in multiple ways. The proposed actions resolve the long-standing questions and concerns about the filling of the pit and its future development potential, support public interest and Santiago Creek plans by incrementally establishing a greenbelt along the creek, and supporting the expansion and viability of a long-time local business. Leaving the pit in its naturalized state also supports habitat for flora and fauna associated with the creek corridor, and city’s ecological diversity.
8. public notice
On July 25, 2024 the City sent a Public Hearing Notice to a total of 79 property owners/tenants within a 400-foot radius of the project site and persons specifically requesting notice. The project site has been posted in three locations with the notification on that same date.
9. environmental review
Categorical Exemption: The proposed action is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to, but not limited to, State CEQA Guidelines Section 15305 (Minor Alterations in Land Use Limitations), Section 15307 (Actions by Regulatory Agencies for the Protection of Natural Resources), and Section 15308 (Actions by Regulatory Agencies for Protection of the Environment) because it accommodates the storage and sale of building materials and landscape supplies on portions of a commercial nursery site that are already paved or are unpaved but in a disturbed, non-native condition and retains a former sand and gravel pit in a naturalized condition that has evolved since excavation ceased, to include wetlands and habitat for flora and fauna associated with the Santiago Creek corridor. For this reason, no further CEQA documentation is required.
10. ADVISORY BOARD ACTION
None.
11. ATTACHMENTS
• Attachment 1 Planning Commission Resolution No. 21-24 (including Ordinance)
• Attachment 2 Planning Commission Resolution No. 22-24 (including Ordinance and Development Agreement)
• Attachment 3 Planning Commission Resolution No. 23-24
• Attachment 4 Project Plans