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RECOMMENDATION TO THE CITY COUNCIL TO ADOPT AN ORDINANCE AMENDING TITLE 16 OF THE STOCKTON MUNICIPAL CODE AND A RESOLUTION APPROVING A COMMISSION USE PERMIT FOR A MINI-STORAGE FACILITY FOR PROPERTY LOCATED AT 530 E. MARKET STREET (APN 149-130-18) (P21-1084)
recommended action
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends the Planning Commission Adopt a Resolution recommending the City Council:
1. Find that no further environmental review is required per the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Section 15183 (Projects Consistent with a Community Plan, General Plan, or Zoning) and Section 15332 (In-fill Development Projects) of Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations (State CEQA Guidelines); and
2. Adopt an Ordinance amending Title 16 (Development Code) of the Stockton Municipal Code (SMC) Section 16.20.020, Table 2-2 (Allowable land uses and permit requirements) and Section 16.80.200 (Mini-storage facilities); and
3. Adopt a Resolution approving a Commission Use Permit to establish a mini-storage facility at 530 E. Market Street, subject to conditions.
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Summary
The former Record newspaper facility consists of two buildings on four parcels totaling 4.7-acres. The 38,900-square foot former printing press building is located at 612 E. Market Street and is partially leased, and the 112,899 square foot building is located at 530. E. Market and has remained vacant for many years (Attachment A). To assist in the leasing of a vacant building, 530 East Market Investors, LLC (hereafter Applicant), would like to use a percentage of the 530 E. Market Street building for a new personal storage facility. The Applicant feels the use of the personal storage facility would result in needed improvements to the building and likely additional leasing of the remaining vacant space in the building for retail and office use. Since the proposed project site is zoned Commercial-Downtown (CD) and is in the Downtown area, personal storage use is currently not permitted in the Stockton Municipal Code Title 16.
To allow personal storage use in the CD zone, the Applicant proposes two amendments to Title 16 (Development Code) of the Stockton Municipal Code (SMC). First, is to amend SMC Section 16.20.020, Table 2-2 (Allowable land uses and permit requirements) to allow personal storage facilities in the CD zoning district with the approval of a Commission Use Permit (CUP) and the second is to amend SMC Section 16.80.200 (Mini-storage facilities) to add new development standards for personal storage facilities in the CD zone to ensure it is complimentary use in the downtown. In conjunction with the two code amendments, the Applicant requests approval of a CUP to establish a personal storage facility within a portion of the existing vacant building located at 530 E. Market Street (former Record news building).
Staff has worked with the Applicant to propose code amendments that reflect current market conditions, while adhering to the goals and policies for the Downtown area as defined by the General Plan and Design Guidelines. The CUP has been reviewed for compliance with the proposed code amendments, and its approval is contingent upon City Council approving the code amendments. To develop the proposed Project, the Planning Commission is asked to consider forwarding to City Council a recommendation of approval of the proposed Development Code amendments and the CUP based on the new personal storage standards.
PRESENT SITUATION
Background
The Envision Stockton 2040 General Plan encourages urban development consisting of high-density residential and supportive land uses that include more intense retail, office, and service businesses in the Downtown Core area. The Downtown Core area, located at the center of Stockton and bounded by Park Street, the railroad tracks, Highway 4/Crosstown Freeway, and Interstate 5, totals about 1 square mile and is characterized by compact urban development within a traditional street grid network and historic buildings. The Commercial, Downtown (CD) zoning district mostly aligns with the Downtown Core area, in addition to roughly ten blocks south of the Crosstown Freeway and five blocks north of Park Street on N. El Dorado Street (Attachment A - Location, General Plan, and Zoning Map). Crafted through a community-based participatory effort, the General Plan was founded on a vision to promote investment in the Downtown and historically underserved areas, preserve and enhance neighborhood character, and improve community health and safety.
The project site is contained within a gated complex adjacent to the Crosstown Freeway, with the parking lot along E. Washington Street to the south. To the west, across N. California Street, the project is adjacent to a public parking garage and Dignity’s Alcove Veteran’s Transitional Housing Program. To the north, across E. Market Street, is a vacant building (former jewelry store), a surface parking lot, the back side of Team Charter Academy School, and another vacant building (former bar and restaurant). The east side of the building faces the internal parking lot and the second former Record newspaper building.
The Applicant would like to use a percentage of the building for a new personal storage facility which will bring about needed improvements to the building and generate interest in the leasing of the remaining vacant space for retail and office uses. Since the proposed project site is zoned Commercial-Downtown (CD) and is in the Downtown area, personal storage uses are not permitted as they are generally considered lower intensity uses, meaning likely to generate a lot of interest or activity like a retail shopping store or an ice cream shop.
Current Situation
The Applicant requests to amend the SMC to allow personal storage facilities in the CD zone with new design standards to complement the desired intensity of the Downtown Core area. Additionally, the applicant requests approval of a CUP, that is dependent on the requested code amendment being approved, to reuse the former Record news building located at 530 E. Market Street for personal mini-storage, office, and retail space, with an event space in the small warehouse fronting Washington Street.
Proposed Code Amendments
Currently, Personal Storage facilities are not allowed within the project site’s CD zone. To permit the use on the project site, the Applicant is requesting two code amendments (Attachment B - Proposed Redline Ordinance) that would:
• Amend SMC section 16.20.020, Table 2-2 (Allowable land uses and permit requirements) to allow personal storage facilities in the CD zoning district with the approval of a Commission Use Permit (CUP).
• Amend SMC section 16.80.200 (Mini-storage facilities) to add new Personal Storage zoning standards for facilities in the CD zone. The new standards include the following and will be used in conjunction with the citywide Design Guidelines to regulate façade and site improvements.
o Proximity restriction - no mini-storage facility may be permitted within one-quarter (1/4) mile radius of another mini-storage facility within the CD zone, measured from the edge of the parcel.
o Size and location restrictions require entire operation to be enclosed within the interior of an existing building and not occupy more than sixty (60) percent of the leasable space of the entire building, with ground floor storage uses not to exceed seventy (70) percent of the leasable ground floor space.
o Requires the personal storage facility be hidden to mitigate the visual presence of the personal storage facility within an existing building. The pedestrian entry for the personal storage facility will be limited to interior access when facing the main street-facing frontage.
o Potential elements include pedestrian-scale retail storefront components integrated into the façade of the building including reliefs, murals, landscaping, transparent display windows, or windows affording views into retail, office, or lobby space.
o All building upgrades and façade improvements must comply with the City’s Design Guidelines for the downtown. This includes preservation of street-facing ground floors for active pedestrian-oriented activities using façade and site improvements.
o Site Plan Standards requiring landscaping, parking, loading, and signage consistent with the SMC for the CD zone.
Proposed Commission Use Permit
The proposed building is approximately 112,899 square feet and was previously used as one of two former Record newspaper buildings that occupy the 4.77-acre project site (Attachment C - Project Plans). The applicant proposes to use approximately 60-percent (67,740 s.f.) of the total building for personal storage use and intends to use the remaining 40-percent (45,159 s.f.) vacant space for office, retail, residential, or event space use. While retail, office, residential, or event space is not included within this proposal, the uses are permitted by-right in the downtown area and would most likely require only building permit review for interior use of the building.
The project proposes approximately 485 self-storage units, with eighty-five percent (85%) anticipated occupancy within the first year of operation. The Applicant believes the personal storage use would provide consistent use of the building space and improve the likelihood of the remaining space to be leased by other businesses and uses that would support the surrounding downtown area.
STAFF ANALYSIS
Environmental Clearance
No further environmental review is required for the proposed Development Code amendments and the CUP per the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Section 15183 (Projects Consistent with a General Plan) and Section 15332 (In-fill Development Projects) of Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations (State CEQA Guidelines). CEQA Section 15183 provides that projects which are consistent with the development density established by a Community Plan, General Plan, or Zoning for which an environmental impact report (EIR) has been certified while Section 15332 is a Class 32 categorical exemption for projects characterized as in-fill development.
The proposed code amendments allow the proposed personal storage to revitalize an existing building and are intended to compliment and attract other uses to support the Downtown Core area. Building revitalization and mixed uses are consistent with the General Plan policies to provide urban and intense uses in the downtown area and will not result in intensification beyond what was previously analyzed in the General Plan EIR. The revitalized building is located on a parcel of less than 5-acres and is completely surrounded by urban development. Since the proposed code amendments help implement General Plan policies and are intended to reuse an existing building surrounded by urban uses, no further environmental review is necessary pursuant to CEQA section 15183 and section 15332.
Municipal Code Amendments
The existing building proposed for the personal storage facility was last used by the Record newspaper company in 2020 and the Applicant has unsuccessfully been able to locate a tenant for the building. At present, there are numerous vacant buildings in the downtown area as the General Plan includes policies to encourage a vibrant and intense urban use in the downtown area through reuse vacant buildings. To explore reuse options for the existing building, the Applicant has commissioned a personal self-storage market analysis.
According to the market analysis commissioned by the Applicant, there are seventeen (17) self-storage facilities in Stockton operating at ninety-six percent (96%) capacity. The majority of intended self-storage renters would arrive at the subject site in a ten-minute drive time, from an area serving 47,050 households. Due to the large size and unique layout of the property, viable reuse options for vacant building space are limited. With an uptick in multifamily development in the downtown area, self-storage would serve tenants of those housing developments. Based on the findings of the report and the unique layout of the property, the Applicant feels the most viable option is to use a portion of the building for a personal storage facility. By having a consistent tenant with the personal storage, the Applicant feels this will result in building improvements and interest in the leasing the remaining vacant building space for future retail, office, and services uses more in line with the downtown area.
The Downtown area and the CD zone are intended to encourage higher-intensity mixed uses and high-density residential uses. Personal storage facilities are not presently allowed in the CD zone because they typically do not provide a high level of activity intended for the downtown area. Personal storage uses are not a highly active use; however, many active uses require some storage. Personal storage facilities are presently permitted with the approval of an Administrative Use Permit in the Commercial, General (CG) zoning district, approval of a Land Development Permit (LDP) in the Commercial, Large (CL) and Commercial, Auto (CA) zones, and by-right in all industrial zoning districts. Other than Pacific Storage Company (primarily office document storage), there have been no personal mini-storage facilities developed in the surrounding Downtown, as most tend to be in suburban areas.
To address the concerns raised by placing a less intense personal storage use in a downtown area intended for intense use, the Applicant worked with City staff to create a series of standards that adhere to General Plan policies while allowing the Applicant the option to find a stable tenant that could reuse the building and potentially attract other uses to the project site. The Applicant also provided examples of ordinances in other jurisdictions where self-storage is an allowed use in urban downtown areas (Attachment D - Similar Jurisdictions with Downtown Storage Facilities).
As described above, the new personal storage facilities would apply to the CD zone, require discretionary review via a CUP, limit the number of facilities in the CD area, limit the size of the facility in the building, and minimize the visibility of the personal storage facility to allow other commercial and retail tenants to continue to operate in the downtown area. The proposed standards comply with the following General Plan policies for the downtown area:
• Action LU-2.1B- Amend the Development Code to provide flexibility for redevelopment of historic structures in the Downtown to meet the needs of modern users while maintaining the overall historic value.
• Policy LU-6.2- Prioritize development and redevelopment of vacant, underutilized, and blighted infill areas.
• Action CH-2.1C- Develop incentives to promote reuse of distressed areas, such as through rezoning, permit streamlining, density bonuses, and other appropriate tools.
• Action CH-2.1E- Investigate and implement programs that will incentivize landlords to maintain properties free of Municipal Code violations and criminal activity.
• Policy CH-2.2- Stimulate investment through partnerships with private property owners, neighborhood groups, health and housing advocates, nongovernmental organizations, and other community supporters.
By amending the Development Code text to allow a limited number of self-storage units within existing buildings in the downtown area, appropriate buildings will be reused instead of sitting vacant and becoming an attractive nuisance. Through the discretionary CUP process, high quality urban design standards and preservation of structures will be required with complimentary Design Review. By limiting the ground floor percentage of space to be used for mini-storage, and requiring preservation of activity at the street front, personal self-storage uses may facilitate the successful support of other active uses. By limiting the number of facilities within the CD zone to no more than one within one-quarter mile (1/4) radius of another facility, depending on location of future facilities, there could be one or two potential future facilities developed (Attachment E - Radius Limitation Comparison).
Commission Use Permit
If the proposed code amendment is approved, a CUP will be required for development of mini-storage facilities in the CD zoning district. The Applicant is requesting a CUP to operate a mini-storage facility at 530 E. Market Street. Staff analysis confirms that all required findings of fact can be made in the affirmative has illustrated in the proposed Resolution for recommendation. The proposed mini-storage facility complies with the size, location, and hour or operation (7am to 10pm) requirements of the proposed code and will be required to complete Design Review prior to Building Permits approval of any façade improvements or signage. Additional landscaping and lighting will be added as the facility will be completely indoor and utilize the existing outdoor parking area located at the rear of the building. As part of the Design Review, the facility will be required to minimize the entrance of the personal storage facility to preserve street-facing ground floor leasable space intended for active pedestrian-oriented activities.
The Planning Commission is typically the approving authority for CUPs; however, as the proposed CUP is contingent on the code amendment being adopted, the CUP is being elevated to the City Council for action. In this particular situation, the Planning Commission is asked to make a recommendation of approval to the City Council for approval of the requested CUP subject to conditions of approval.
Public Comments
A neighborhood meeting was held by the Applicant on July 27, 2022, with invitations to the meeting sent to all property owners within a 300-foot radius of the subject property (Attachment F - Neighborhood Meeting Notice). In addition, the Applicant invited the Downtown Stockton Alliance and Reinvent South Stockton. One member of the public attended the meeting from the Downtown Stockton Alliance and was generally supportive of the Project.
A notice for this item was published in The Record on October 3, 2022, with meeting notices sent to all property owners within a 300-foot radius of 530 E. Market Street. At the time of writing this staff report, there have been no communications from the public about this project.
Attachment A - Location, General Plan, and Zoning Map
Attachment B - Proposed Redline Ordinance
Attachment C - Project Plans
Attachment D - Similar Jurisdictions with Downtown Storage Facilities
Attachment E - Radius Limitation Comparison
Attachment F - Neighborhood Meeting Notice
This staff report was prepared by Cynthia Marsh, Senior Planner (209) 937-8316; cynthia.marsh@stocktonca.gov.