TO: Chair and Members of the Planning Commission
THRU: Anna Pehoushek, Assistant Community Development Director
FROM: Angelo Huang, Assistant Planner
1. Subject
title
Public Hearing to consider a request to increase the maximum capacity of students at an existing day care center on a church campus located at 250 S. Prospect Street and finding of CEQA Exemption (Conditional Use Permit No. 3235).
body
2. Summary
Bumble Bee Preschool is requesting a modification of an existing Conditional Use Permit to allow an increase in enrollment from 26 to 79 students at an existing day care center at Revive Covenant Church.
3. Recommended Action
recommendation
1. Conduct and close Public Hearing; and
2. Adopt Planning Commission Resolution No. 02-25 approving Conditional Use Permit No. 3235, amending Conditional Use Permit No. 255 to allow an increase in maximum allowed day care center enrollment from 26 students to 79 students in conjunction with a church.
3. Find the request categorically exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) in accordance with Section 15301 of the State CEQA Guidelines.
end
4. AUTHORIZING GUIDELINES
Orange Municipal Code (OMC) Table 17.08.020 and Sections 17.10.030.C and 17.30.030 authorize the Planning Commission to review and take action on a request for a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) to allow an increase in maximum student enrollment at a preschool.
5. project background
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Applicant: |
Bumble Bee Preschool Center Inc. |
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Property Owner |
Revive Covenant Church |
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Property Location |
250 S. Prospect Street |
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Existing General Plan Land Use Element Designation |
Low Density Residential 2-6 du/ac (LDR) |
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Existing Zoning Classification |
Single Family Residential 7,000 sq ft (R-1-7) |
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Old Towne |
N/A |
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Specific Plan/PC |
N/A |
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Site Size |
152,460 sq ft (3.5 Acres) |
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Circulation |
The site currently has two vehicular access points on S. Prospect Street. Each access point leads to a parking lot which is connected by a private roadway at the rear of the property. The City of Orange’s Circulation and Mobility Plan designates S. Prospect Street as a “Secondary Arterial” street which is a four-lane undivided roadway without a median. “Secondary Arterials” also allow curbside and on-street parking. |
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Existing Conditions |
The subject site is developed with the Revive Covenant Church. The church consists of four buildings: a sanctuary with assembly area, a classroom/office building, a fellowship hall, and a day nursery. |
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Surrounding Land Uses and Zoning |
North - An office building that shares parking with the church zoned R-1-7 South - Single family residences zoned R-1-7 East - Single family residences zoned R-1-7 West - Single family residences zoned R-1-7 |
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Previous Applications/Entitlements |
CUP No. 255 - Original day care center permit to accommodate 26 students. (1964) CUP No. 1903 - A permit to expand the church use by adding additional classrooms. (1991) |
6. PROJECT DESCRIPTION
The applicant proposes to amend an existing CUP to allow an increase in enrollment at a church daycare center from 26 students to 79 students. The previous daycare center was last operated in May 2024. The proposal does not include any physical additions or changes to the site and plans to use the existing daycare classrooms and playground area. The daycare will operate Monday to Friday between 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and the enrollment would be limited to two-to-six year-old students. The existing CUP does not specify age or hours of operation. The daycare use will continue to only occupy one building out of the four buildings located on the property.
7. Project analysis
Off-Street Parking
The subject site is a church campus with four buildings: the sanctuary, school, fellowship hall, and office/classroom building. The campus has two parking lots, with a total of 117 parking spaces, including 44 spaces on the north side and 73 spaces on the south side.
There is a building on a separate parcel to the north of the church, 202 S. Prospect Street that was developed along with the church, but was later sold off while maintaining access to the church parking lots through a private agreement. It currently operates as an office building related to religious institutions from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on weekdays, with a required parking demand of 34 spaces. Previous entitlements approved and deemed the parking to be adequate to serve both the church and the office building.
Based on the usage and hours of operation for each building presented in Attachment 5 - Applicant Operations Narrative Letter, the day care center's hours of operation rarely overlap with the church hours during peak use. The primary overlap occurs during weekdays when the church pastor uses the office. The church classrooms are primarily used during Sunday School and off-hours. Therefore, staff concludes that the parking demand during weekdays should not exceed the demand on Sundays, and the available parking is suitable to accommodate the enrollment increase.
The parking demand for the day care center is calculated as follows:
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Required/Permitted |
Existing |
Code Section |
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Day Care Center |
19 Parking Spaces |
117 Parking Spaces |
17.34.060 |
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Religious Institution |
123 Parking Spaces |
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17.34.060 |
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Total |
142 Parking Spaces |
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Conditional Use Permit (CUP-1903) acknowledged the non-conforming parking and allowed for expansion of the church under the existing site conditions at that time.
OMC Section 17.34.060 allows the Community Development Director to authorize up to a 20 percent parking space deviation for any non-residential land use to support the use. A determination has been made that the deviation will allow the parking demand to be satisfied as the Applicant Operations Narrative Letter indicates that the day care center and the main church operations will not interfere with each other’s main hours of operation.
Total weekday parking demand for the day care center and office uses at 202 S. Prospect Street is 53 spaces. The existing north and south parking lots will have enough parking spaces to meet this demand during weekday hours of operation and does not exceed the required parking space for the church. The applicant has agreed to re-stripe the north and south parking lots per required City standards to ensure visibility of the spaces (See Condition No. 8).
In conclusion, staff has determined that the additional parking demand generated by the proposed day care center enrollment increase could be accommodated in the existing parking lots serving the site and would not have any adverse impact on surrounding land uses.
Pick-up/Drop-off Procedures
The applicant has submitted a comprehensive pick-up and drop-off plan for the day care center under increased enrollment. The center will exclusively utilize the south parking lot, reserving the north parking lot for the offices located at 202 S. Prospect Street.
Parents and guardians will have designated drop-off times between 7:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. and pick-up times from 1:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. During the enrollment process, families will indicate their preferred pick-up times, allowing staff to be informed and prepared for student arrivals and departures. Upon arrival, parents/guardians will park and accompany their child to the front office for check-in and pick-up. Please refer to Attachment 7 - Project Plans, which includes the Site Plan and Drop-off/Pick-up Plan.
In summary, staff is supportive of the proposed pick-up and drop-off plan and does not anticipate any adverse impacts on parking or the surrounding uses.
8. public notice
On March 27, 2025, the City sent a Public Hearing Notice to a total of 165 property owners and occupants within a 300-foot radius of the project site and persons specifically requesting notice. The project site has been posted in one location with the notification on that same date.
9. environmental review
Categorical Exemption: The proposed project is categorically exempt from the provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) per State CEQA Guidelines 15301 (Class 1 - Existing Facilities) because the project is using an existing facility with no physical expansions and only increasing the maximum allowed number of students.
10. ADVISORY BOARD ACTION
None required.
11. ATTACHMENTS
• Attachment 1 - Planning Commission Resolution No. PC 02-25
• Attachment 2 - Existing Planning Commission Resolution No. PC-79-64(CUP No. 255)
• Attachment 3 - Existing Planning Commission Resolution No. PC-15-91(CUP No. 1903)
• Attachment 4 - Vicinity Map
• Attachment 5 - Applicant Operations Narrative Letter
• Attachment 6 - Site Photos
• Attachment 7 - Project Plans