REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY
AND RECORD OF ACTION
November 15, 2022
FROM
DAVID DOUBLET, Director, Land Use Services Department
SUBJECT
Title
Bloomington Business Park Specific Plan and Associated Actions and Entitlements
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
1. Conduct a public hearing to consider the Bloomington Business Park Specific Plan to establish an industrial business park for approximately 213 acres, associated actions and land use entitlements for the Specific Plan Site and associated actions for a 24-acre Upzone site in the community of Bloomington.
2. Certify the Environmental Impact Report (SCH No. 2020120545).
3. Adopt the California Environmental Quality Act Findings of Fact, Statement of Overriding Considerations, and Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program.
4. Approve Memorandum of Understanding with Howard Industrial Partners, LLC, regarding public benefit contributions to the community of Bloomington for the life of the Bloomington Business Park Specific Plan project entitlements.
5. Adopt the findings recommended by the Planning Commission in support of the Bloomington Business Park Specific Plan and associated actions and entitlements.
6. Adopt the Resolution amending Policy Plan Map LU-1 for:
a. The Upzone Site from Low Density Residential to Medium Density Residential.
b. The Specific Plan Site from Very Low Density Residential and Low Density Residential to Special Development.
7. Consider proposed ordinance related to adoption of:
a. The Bloomington Business Park Specific Plan.
b. An amendment to the San Bernardino County Code, adding the Bloomington Business Park Specific Plan to the list of adopted specific plans.
8. Consider proposed ordinance amending the Land Use Zoning District Map FH29A for:
a. The Upzone Site from Single Residential with 20,000-square foot Minimum Lot Size to Multiple Residential.
b. The Specific Plan Site from Single Residential with 1-acre Minimum Lot Size with Additional Agriculture and Single Residential 20,000-square foot Minimum Lot Size to Bloomington Business Park Specific Plan - Industrial/Business Park.
9. Make alterations, if necessary, to proposed ordinances.
10. Approve introduction of proposed ordinances.
• An ordinance of San Bernardino County, State of California, to adopt the Bloomington Business Park Specific Plan, relating to land use regulations for approximately 213 acres, and to amend Subsections 82.23.030(b) and 86.14.090(b) of the San Bernardino County Code, relating to adopted specific plans.
• An ordinance of San Bernardino County, State of California, to amend San Bernardino County Land Use Zoning District Map FH29A.
11. ADOPT ORDINANCES.
12. Approve the following project entitlements within the Specific Plan Site:
a. Vesting Tentative Parcel Map No. 20300 to consolidate 31 parcels into one parcel of approximately 17.67 acres and Conditional Use Permit to construct a 383,000-square foot high cube warehouse, subject to the Conditions of Approval.
b. Vesting Tentative Parcel Map No. 19973 to consolidate 32 parcels into one parcel of approximately 57.60 acres and Conditional Use Permit to construct a 1.25 million square foot high cube warehouse, subject to the Conditions of Approval.
c. Vesting Tentative Parcel Map No. 20340 to consolidate 23 parcels into one parcel of approximately 30.52 acres and Conditional Use Permit to construct a 479,000-square foot high cube warehouse, subject to the Conditions of Approval.
d. Conditional Use Permit to construct a truck/trailer parking lot on 9.55 acres, subject to the Conditions of Approval.
13. Direct the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors to file a Notice of Determination.
• Applicant: Tim Howard/Howard Industrial Partners
• Community: Bloomington/Fifth Supervisorial District
• Locations:
a. Upzone Site: Northeast corner of San Bernardino Avenue and Locust Avenue
b. Specific Plan Site: Generally bounded by Santa Ana Avenue to the north, Maple Avenue and Linden Avenue to the east, Jurupa Avenue to the south and Alder Avenue to the west
(Presenter: David Doublet, Director, 387-4431)
Body
COUNTY AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER GOALS & OBJECTIVES
Promote the Countywide Vision.
Create, Maintain and Grow Jobs and Economic Value in the County.
Ensure Development of a Well-Planned, Balanced, and Sustainable County.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Approval of this item will not result in the use of additional Discretionary General Funding (Net County Cost). Sufficient appropriation and revenue to complete this action have been included in the Land Use Services Department, Planning Division 2022-23 budget. All costs of processing this application are paid by the applicant.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Tim Howard/Howard Industrial Partners (Applicant) requests approval of a specific plan, which will be referred to hereafter as the Bloomington Business Park Specific Plan (Specific Plan), setting forth a land use development plan, circulation/access plan, and supporting infrastructure plans for approximately 213 acres generally bounded by Santa Ana Avenue to the north, Maple Avenue and Linden Avenue to the east, Jurupa Avenue to the south and Alder Avenue to the west (Specific Plan Area). The purpose of the Specific Plan is to guide future development and land use change within the Specific Plan Area in a coordinated manner that will initiate a responsible and sustainable pattern of land use transition in this portion of the Bloomington community. The Specific Plan provides long and short-term goals, a land use plan, regulatory standards, and administration and implementation programs to carry out the vision of the Specific Plan consistent with Policy Plan land use goals and policies and the Bloomington Community Action Guide policies for the area.
Due to the existing Policy Plan Land Use Category designation and the Land Use Zoning District designation for the Specific Plan Area, approval of the Specific Plan requires a Policy Plan Amendment from Very Low Density Residential and Low Density Residential to Special Development; and a Zoning Amendment from Single Residential with 1-Acre Minimum Lot Size Additional Agriculture and Single Residential 20,000-square foot Minimum Lot Size to Bloomington Business Park Specific Plan - Industrial/Business Park for the Specific Plan Site. This change would reduce up to 213 allowable residential units within the Specific Plan Area.
On January 1, 2020, Senate Bill (SB) 330, entitled the Housing Crisis Act of 2019, became effective, which declared a housing crisis in California and imposed requirements designed to streamline the construction of new housing and prevent the loss of existing housing and land available for future residential use. Among other things, SB 330 added Government Code Section 66300, which prevents an affected county from changing the general plan land use designation or zoning of a parcel to a less intensive use or reducing the intensity of land use for residential development capacity below what was allowed by the affected county’s general plan or zoning in effect as of January 1, 2018. As an exception, SB 330 does not prohibit an affected county from changing a land use designation or zoning ordinance or a less intensive use if the county concurrently changes the development standards, policies, and conditions applicable to other parcels within the jurisdiction to ensure that there is no net loss in residential capacity.
Because adoption of the Specific Plan would reduce up to 213 allowable residential units within the Specific Plan Area, SB 330 requires the County to make concurrent land use amendments to another parcel (or parcels) within the County to offset the loss of potential housing capacity. In order to comply with SB 330, this proposal includes a Policy Plan Amendment from Low Density Residential to Medium Density Residential, and a Zoning Amendment from Single Residential with 20,000-square foot Minimum Lot Size to Multiple Residential for 23 parcels of approximately 24 acres located at the northeast corner of San Bernardino Avenue and Locust Avenue, 1.8 miles north of the Specific Plan Site (Upzone Site). The existing zoning would allow the development of up to 53 residential units on the 24-acre Upzone Site. The proposed Multiple Residential zoning designation would allow the development of up to 480 dwelling units, thereby offsetting the housing capacity that would be lost from rezoning of the 213-acre Specific Plan Site to a non-residential zone and an increase of 198 additional units.
The adoption of the Specific Plan would necessitate amendments to Subsections 82.23.030(b) and 86.14.090(b) of the Development Code to add the “Bloomington Business Park Specific Plan” to the list of adopted plans and to identify the prefix of “BP” that will appear on the land use zoning district map for the Specific Plan Area.
The Applicant is also requesting the following entitlements to implement the future buildout of a portion of the land uses contemplated by the Specific Plan:
1. Vesting Tentative Parcel Map (VTPM) No. 20300 to consolidate 31 parcels and Conditional Use Permit (CUP) No. PROJ-2020-00238 to construct a 383,000 square foot high cube warehouse on 17.67 acres within the Specific Plan, located at the northeast corner of Jurupa Avenue and Maple Avenue (CUP Site 1).
2. VTPM No. 19973 to consolidate 32 parcels and CUP No. PROJ-2020-00034 to construct a 1.25 million square foot high cube warehouse on 57.60 acres within the Specific Plan Site, located at the northeast corner of Jurupa Avenue and Locust Avenue (CUP Site 2).
3. VTPM No. 20340 to consolidate 23 parcels and CUP No. PROJ-2020-00241 to construct a 479,000-square foot high cube warehouse on 30.52 acres within the Specific Plan Site, located at the southeast corner of Laurel Avenue and Santa Ana Avenue (CUP Site 3).
4. CUP No. PROJ-2020-00242 to construct a trailer/truck parking lot on 9.55 acres within the Specific Plan Site, located on the west side of Laurel Avenue, approximately 637 feet south of Santa Ana Avenue (CUP Site 4).
The Specific Plan, Policy Plan Amendments, Zoning Amendments, Specific Plan Entitlements and Development Code Amendment is collectively referred to herein as the Project.
The Project would be developed in three phases. Phase 1 would include CUP Sites 1 and 2 and Phase 2 would include CUP Sites 3 and 4. The balance of the Specific Plan would be developed in a future phase(s); however, the Specific Plan Site does not require the Project to be developed in three phases. CUP Sites 1 - 4 may be developed as a single phase, encompassing approximately 115 acres.
CUP Site 1: CUP Site 1 proposes the construction of a 383,000-square foot high cube warehouse with 10,000 square feet of office space on 17.67 acre vesting parcel map, generally located at the northeast corner of Jurupa Avenue and Maple Avenue, with associated facilities and is proposed on a speculative basis, with no tenant identified at this time. The building is designed as a concrete tilt-up cross-dock facility with vertical lift, dock-high roll up doors. There would be a total of 62 dock doors on the south side. The truck loading and staging areas on the south side of the warehouse would be screened from public view from Jurupa Avenue with the combination of the warehouse building and 12-foot block walls along the north, south, west, and east property boundaries. All existing structures on the CUP Site 1 would be removed prior to construction.
CUP Site 2: CUP Site 2 proposes the construction of a 1.25 million square foot high cube warehouse on 57.60-acre vesting parcel map, generally located at the northeast corner of Jurupa Avenue and Locust Avenue, with associated facilities and is proposed on a speculative basis, with no tenant identified at this time. The building is designed as a concrete tilt-up cross-dock facility with vertical lift, dock-high roll up doors. There would be a total of 180 dock doors on the east and west sides. The truck loading and staging areas on the east and west sides of the warehouse would be screened from public view from Maple Avenue and Locust Avenue with a combination of 80-foot and 30-foot landscape buffer setbacks and 14-foot screen walls along the easterly and westerly property boundaries. All existing structures on the CUP Site 2 would be removed prior to construction.
CUP Site 3: CUP Site 3 proposes the construction of a 479,000-square foot high cube warehouse on 30.52-acre vesting parcel map, generally located at the southeast corner of Laurel Avenue and Santa Ana Avenue, with associated facilities and is proposed on a speculative basis, with no tenant identified at this time. The building is designed as a concrete tilt-up cross-dock facility with vertical lift, dock-high roll up doors. There would be a total of 61 dock doors on the east side. The truck loading and staging areas on the east side of the warehouse would be screened from public view from Laurel Avenue with the combination of the warehouse building and 14-foot block walls along the north, south, west, and south property boundaries. All existing structures on the CUP Site 3 would be removed prior to construction.
CUP Site 4: CUP Site 4 proposes a truck/trailer parking lot to accommodate 287 stalls and is generally located at the west side of Laurel Avenue, approximately 627 feet south of Santa Ana Avenue. The truck loading and staging areas on the site would be screened from public view from Laurel Avenue with the 14-foot block walls along the east, south, north, and west property boundaries. The proposed site plan will accommodate all parking access and circulation requirements needed to comply with Specific Plan requirements. This site is currently vacant with no existing structures.
A detailed project description and planning analysis of the Project is enclosed within the Planning Commission staff report attached to this item.
In compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) has been prepared for the Project. A Notice of Availability (NOA) announcing that the Draft EIR is available for comment was distributed to all agencies and published in the San Bernardino Sun beginning on September 29, 2021. The comment period ended on November 15, 2021; however, an extension of the review period was extended to February 15, 2022, to allow addition time for comments.
The Draft EIR identifies potentially significant impacts of the Project and discussed numerous mitigation measures proposed to address impacts identified as significant. Mitigation measures presented in the Draft EIR have been included in the Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program. With adoption of the proposed mitigation measures, the Draft EIR concludes that the following resource areas can be mitigated to a level below significance: Air Quality, Biological Resources, Cultural Resources, Greenhouse Gases, and Tribal Cultural Resources. However, the Draft EIR concludes that even with the incorporation of all feasible mitigation measures, the Project could result in significant unavoidable impacts to Air Quality.
Pursuant to the conclusions in the EIR regarding the significant and unavoidable impacts, the Board of Supervisors (Board) is required to balance the benefits of the Project against its unavoidable environmental impacts in determining whether to approve a Project. In the event the benefits of the Project outweigh the unavoidable adverse impact, the adverse impacts may be considered acceptable. Because not all the Project’s impacts can be reduced to a level that is less than significant, a Statement of Overriding Considerations must be adopted to approve the Project as proposed. The CEQA Findings discuss the mitigation measures for the significant impacts and the rationale for making the Statement of Overriding Considerations for those impacts that are significant and unavoidable.
The following factors and public benefits were considered as overriding considerations to the identified unavoidable significant adverse impacts of the proposed Project:
• Enhances the local economy and facilitates economic development by providing for diversification, creating an expanded employment base with new employment opportunities, as well as attracting new businesses and development opportunities commensurate with forecasted growth.
• Follows the design standards set forth in the Bloomington Business Park Specific Plan to provide for orderly development of the Specific Plan Area with industrial and manufacturing uses.
• Implements roadway, pedestrian, and infrastructure improvements that would provide social and other benefits to the County’s residents.
• Proposes a high quality, master planned light industrial business park that will attract an array of businesses and provide a variety of employment opportunities in the community of Bloomington thereby reducing the need for members of the local workforce to commute outside the area for employment.
• Includes a Memorandum of Understanding regarding public benefit contributions (Community Benefits Agreement), which would provide needed funding for multiple community facilities, services, and infrastructure. The Community Benefits Agreement would ensure that proper funding stays within the community of Bloomington. The Community Benefits Agreement will include a Community Enhancement Fee that includes, but is not limited to, a lump sum payment of $2.00 per net usable square foot of each of the buildings and an annual payment of $0.34 per net usable square foot of each of the buildings, which will include funding for service enhancement activities such as law and code enforcement, recreational programming, park operations and maintenance and enhanced public safety specifically for Bloomington.
The San Bernardino County Development Code requires a recommendation from the Planning Commission for final action by the Board for this Project. At the Planning Commission hearing on September 22, 2022, 62 speakers provided comments during the public hearing. The Planning Commission recommended approval of the Project by a vote of 3-0-1 (Commissioner Gongora abstain, and Commissioner Haughey absent).
PROCUREMENT
Not applicable.
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by County Counsel (Jason M. Searles, Supervising Deputy County Counsel, 387-5455) on October 17, 2022; Finance (Erika Rodarte, Administrative Analyst III, 387-4919) on October 25, 2022; and Finance and Administration (Robert Saldana, Deputy Executive Officer, 387-5423) on October 26, 2022.