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File #: 26-0017    Version: 1
Type: PC Public Hearing Status: Agenda Ready
File created: 1/7/2026 In control: Planning Commission
On agenda: 1/22/2026 Final action:
Title: Public Hearing to consider a request to convert a historic warehouse building to a church use at 527 W. Almond Avenue and 180 S. Cypress Street and finding of CEQA Exemption (CUP-3236).
Attachments: 1. Staff Report, 2. Attachment 1 DRAFT PC Resolution 03-26, 3. Attachment 2 Vicinity Map, 4. Attachment 3 Project Plans, 5. Attachment 4 Applicant Justification Letter, 6. Attachment 5 AB 2097 Exemption - Friends Church_527_W_AlmondAve, 7. Attachment 6 Design Review Committee Staff Report, December 17, 2025
TO: Chair and Members of the Planning Commission

THRU: Hayden Beckman, Planning Manager

FROM: Arlen Beck, Associate Planner


1. SUBJECT
title
Public Hearing to consider a request to convert a historic warehouse building to a church use at 527 W. Almond Avenue and 180 S. Cypress Street and finding of CEQA Exemption (CUP-3236).
body
2. SUMMARY
The applicant is proposing an adaptive re-use of a historic steel frame warehouse into a church/religious assembly use and the remodel of an existing office building on a single site located at 527 W. Almond Avenue and 180 S. Cypress Street.
3. RECOMMENDED ACTION
recommendation
1. Conduct and close the Public Hearing.
2. Adopt Planning Commission Resolution No. 03-26, approving Conditional Use Permit No. 3236, Design Review No. 5159, and Minor Site Plan Review No. 1191, to permit the adaptive re-use of a historic steel frame warehouse to a church/religious assembly use and the remodel of an existing office building on a single site that includes improvements within the connecting plaza located at 527 W. Almond Avenue and 180 S. Cypress Street.
3. Find the request categorically exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) in accordance with Section 15301 and Section 15331 of the State CEQA Guidelines.
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4. PROJECT BACKGROUND
Property Information
Applicant
Kyle Zimmerman representing Friends Church Orange
Property Owner
Lisa Perrine (Cibola Systems)
Property Location
527 W. Almond Avenue and 180 S. Cypress Street
Existing General Plan
Land Use Element Designation
Old Towne Mixed Use 15 (OTMIX15)
Existing Zoning Classification
Old Towne Mixed Use-15 (OTMU-15)
Old Towne
Yes
Specific Plan/PC
Santa Fe Depot Specific Plan
Site Size
1.1 Acre (48,804-square-feet)
Circulation
The site is accessed through a gated driveway off S. Cypress St and a pedestrian gate off W. Almond Ave.
Existing Conditions
A 1.1 acre site with an 11,452-square-foot warehouse building with an 1,841-square-foot loading dock ...

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