BACKGROUND
Brea Imperial Center is located at the southwest corner of Imperial Highway and State College Boulevard, south of the Brea Mall and west of the SR-57 Imperial Highway Interchange. The subject property is zoned C-G (PD) General Commercial (Precise Development).
The site was originally entitled in 1979 under Precise Development 1-79 approving the development of the center and Conditional Use Permit 1-79, approving the drive-thru food use on the site. The site is currently developed with five buildings: a 27,530 square foot commercial building, a retail pad building, a bank, a dry cleaner, and a fast food restaurant with drive-thru service.
DISCUSSION
The project as proposed meets all the standards in the Code for a commercial shopping center including setbacks, lot coverage, and building height. All land uses proposed are approved by right or through the aforementioned entitlements granted in 1979. The Tentative Parcel Map allows for greater flexibility with the land and addresses specific tenant needs on the property. The Precise Development request is required given the PD overlay for this property. This review is primarily for site design and compatibility of the center with the adjacent sites. The Conditional Use Permit for the sign program updates the existing program for the center and allows a comprehensive approach to tenant identification and center signs. The project is requesting a Conditional Use Permit to consider alternative parking standards and relieve the site from the truck loading requirements. This is a fairly common request to allow commercial centers to address Tentative Parcel Map –Brea Imperial Center is comprised of two parcels. On the west side of the property, the bank sits on its own 0.56-acre parcel with the remainder of the center on a 4.1-acre parcel. The proposed Parcel Map would subdivide the 4.1-acre parcel into two. This subdivision is to allow the fast food restaurant to be on its own 0.8-acre parcel while maintaining the third 3.3-acre parcel.
The map is compliant with Brea’s General Plan, Zoning Ordinance and Subdivision Map Act. The project meets the minimum lot size and development standards for parcels in the C–G (PD) General Commercial (Precise Development) Zone. In order to ensure proper maintenance of landscaping, art piece, utilities, drainage, common areas, and reciprocal access and parking for the site, Staff has included Conditions D, E, and I as part of the draft Resolution which requires certain easements and the applicant to provide CC&R’s for the project to address these features.
Architecture and Landscaping - The applicant is requesting approval of a Precise Development to improve the site with renovations to the façade of the entire in-line tenant building (Shops 1) and Pad 1 building; demolition of the dry cleaners; addition of 1,415 square feet to Shops 1 and the demolition and reconstruction of a pad building (See Attachment 5 – Plans). The overall improvements will result in a slight decrease to the total building area on the site. (See Table 1 below)
| Table 1 |
Existing |
Proposed Demolition |
Remaining |
Proposed Addition |
Net Area |
| Total Building Area (square feet) |
45,453 |
-5,423 |
40,030 |
+5,282 |
45,312 |
The proposed façade improvements are designed to elevate the quality and architectural style of the site today. The new design incorporates tower elements, rectangular anchor columns, slatted awnings and complementary materials and colors providing a contemporary and modern look. The reconstructed drive-thru restaurant architecture ties together elements of the original bank building and the new improvements, with red tile roofing on its towers, an extended canopy at the entrance and fabric awnings along the interior facing elevations. Specific details including color and materials can be found in Attachment 6 (Architectural Elevations).
Currently, the project is the site of an Arts and Public Places Piece on the south-west corner of the site. Staff has included condition V which requires the applicant to submit a plan for the ownership and maintenance of the artpiece, including protective measures during construction. The project proposes to replace all trees and landscaping removed during construction in addition to new plantings proposed within the parking area and along the property. This will result in larger shading California Sycamore and Crape Mrtyle along the parking area along with added shrubbery and perennials including Bird of Paradise and Daylily. Staff has included cover Condition H requiring the applicant to submit a final landscape and irrigation plan in order to demonstrate the planting palette and maintenance of the landscaping will be in accordance with City of Brea Ordinance 1134.
Site Identification - The project requests the review of a Conditional Use Permit to adopt a new comprehensive sign program. Brea Imperial Center was granted their existing sign program in 1992 under CUP 92-17. The proposed sign program establishes guidelines and criteria for the design and implementation of all tenant identification. The sign program does not alter the amount of allowable signage per tenant, however it allows for more creative and interesting sign types as well as clarifies dimensions and placement to ensure compatibility with the new façade improvements. In addition to new wall sign requirements, the program proposes to replace the three existing monument signs on the site with a design complementing the building architecture and providing for higher quality materials. Details of the sign program are available in Attachment 10 – Sign Program.
Parking –The request includes a Conditional Use permit for a parking modification including shared parking, a stacking credit of 15 spaces for the drive-thru restaurant, and a modification of commercial truck loading area requirements. This will result in a total of 268 parking stalls (including stacking credits). The site will continue to share parking amongst all buildings.
A detailed parking analysis was provided by the applicant and reviewed by Staff and the City’s parking consultant (Attachment 8 – Parking Study) to ensure that sufficient parking is provided. The study analyzed the proposed land use mix, consisting of 31% food uses (casual/fine dining, fast food drive-thru, bagel and coffee shops), 59% retail uses, and 10% financial institution uses. The study took a conservative approach by evaluating a more intense land use mix than what is proposed in the project submittal. Specifically, the study analyzed 6% less retail, an additional 6% medical square footage (which has a higher industry standard parking rate), and In-N-Out as a high intense use rather than a typical fast food use. Using methodology from the Urban Land Institute (ULI) and International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC), the study models the peak hours to identify highest demand for parking. The methodology used adjustments to account for internal capture, seasonal and hourly patterns and industry standard parking demand rates. At full occupancy, the parking analysis concluded the site’s provided 268 parking spaces could accommodate the more intense mix of uses during its determined peak demand of 264.
The drive thru, fast food restaurant is anticipated to be In-N-Out. Although this application is not to consider the land use or type of tenant, observation, practice and experience shows that In-N-Out is a high parking intensity user. Typically this fast food tenant has larger queue needs than other uses and also can have a high need for parking at peak lunch and dinner times. No Conditional Use Permit is required for this use as it is already approved on the site with the previous approvals from 1979. To better understand the concerns related to parking, queuing and circulation, staff had the consultants for both parking and circulation and traffic evaluate the proposal with the specification of an In-N-Out tenant rather than a typical fast food use. It is important to note that this In-N-Out will include their latest operational plan including three cooking stations for peak times to allow more production and quicker responses to customers, and a 345 foot long queue lane allowing for 15 vehicles which is 125 feet longer than a typical drive-thru. Staff has worked with the applicant to direct overflow queuing to extend along the Imperial Highway frontage of the property rather than circling back into the center or around to Randolph Avenue or State College Boulevard. Condition P will require a circulation management plan as part of the parking management plan to identify restricted movement and queuing for the drive thru during peak periods to avoid driver conflict and circulation impediments.
Included in the Conditional Use Permit request for a parking modification is a reduction in the commercial truck loading and unloading area. Condition M has been included to address truck loading times. Additionally, staff has required truck loading to be detailed in the Parking Management Plan as outlined in Condition N.
Even with the best parking modeling it is sometimes challenging to predict success of businesses, concentration of intense uses and to plan for uses changing over time. To ensure parking needs are addressed now and in the future, Condition L requires the applicant to submit and implement a Parking Management Plan for the review and approval of City Staff. The plan will detail the use of all on-site parking, designate employee parking, and provide management strategies for parking demand. It is anticipated that the Parking Management Plan will be updated as the site evolves and uses change to best manage how the parking functions. Condition M has been provided to monitor the site and require the applicant to address any parking issues immediately. Condition O states an increase in intensity of parking by user or continual parking or circulation issues would require a reduction in other high intensity uses. Staff finds that the parking analysis along with the conditions aligns with industry standards and addresses the parking needs of the center.
Circulation - A Traffic Impact Analysis (Attachment 9) was conducted and reviewed by City staff to evaluate access to the site (Imperial Highway and Randolph Avenue, and Imperial Highway and State College Boulevard), and traffic demand on the system given the proposed breakdown of uses included in the precise development. The study concluded the traffic to and from the project would not have a significant impact or increase on the intersections. The queuing analysis of the intersection of Randolph and Imperial Highway concluded the added trips to the Brea Imperial Center are not expected to block the driveways or create queuing to extend past the storage capacity of the westbound lane. Should access, backup or queuing issues occur on the public streets, Staff has included Condition O, requiring the applicant to immediately address circulation issues to the satisfaction of the City Planner and the City Engineer. Additionally, Staff has included Condition P requiring the submittal of a Circulation Management Plan. This plan will outline the implementation of circulation management strategies, including on-site directional signage, queuing management for the drive-thru use and temporary traffic control.
The project meets the design, compatibility and improvements for the Precise Development. The overall look, function and quality of the center will be improved. The site will have a modest decrease in square footage but allow greater diversity of uses and mix of tenants to compliment the center and the needs of the community.
ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT
The proposed project as submitted is exempt from the requirement of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Sections 15301, 15302, and 15315 of Title 14, Chapter 3, Article 19 of the California Code of Regulations.
ALTERNATE PLANNING COMMISSION ACTIONS
Approve with alternate conditions
Deny
Deny without prejudice
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