The Planning Commission finds and determines that the Project is categorically exempt from the provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Section 15301, Class 1: “Existing Facilities” of the CEQA Guidelines because the Project involves negligible expansion of use. The Project will involve primarily interior tenant improvements and minimal changes to the façade of an existing building within an established shopping center where all necessary public services and facilities are readily available.

The Project is not subject to any of the exceptions for exemption under Section 15300.2 of the CEQA Guidelines. The location of the Project is predominantly urban and is not considered a sensitive environment; therefore, the Project will not result in any significant impacts that may otherwise occur in a sensitive environmental area. The cumulative impact of this Project, and the approval of other projects like it in the vicinity, is not expected to have any significant environmental impact. The Project is not located along any state designated scenic highway nor within any designation hazardous waste site. Staff does not expect any significant impacts or unusual circumstances related to the approval and construction of this Project. Therefore, the Project is categorically exempt from CEQA.

 

That the Planning Commission approve:
 

A RESOLUTION OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF LA HABRA, CALIFORNIA, MAKING THE REQUIRED FINDINGS AND APPROVING DESIGN REVIEW 22-02 TO COMPREHENSIVELY REMODEL AN EXISTING BUILDING AND CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT 22-08 TO ESTABLISH AND OPERATE A NEW HEALTH CLUB (PLANET FITNESS) AT 580 WEST LA HABRA BOULEVARD WITHIN THE LA HABRA PLAZA SHOPPING CENTER, AS PER THE APPROVED PLANS AND SUBJECT TO CONDITIONS, AND MAKING THE DETERMINATION THAT THE PROJECT IS EXEMPT FROM THE CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT PURSUANT TO SECTION 15301, CLASS 1: “EXISTING FACILITIES” OF THE CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT GUIDELINES
 

The Applicant, Parameter Corporation, is requesting approval of Design Review 22-02 and Conditional Use Permit 22-08 to comprehensively remodel an existing 17,632 square feet commercial building, which was formerly occupied by the Northgate Market, located at 580 West La Habra Boulevard (identified in Exhibit 1 below), to establish and operate a health club (Planet Fitness). The subject building and its surrounding parking (the "project site") are part of the La Habra Plaza shopping center, which is located along the south side of West La Habra Boulevard between Hillcrest Street and South Walnut Street. The General Plan designates the project site and the shopping center for Neighborhood Commercial land use. The project site is within the SP-1 (La Habra Boulevard Specific Plan) Zone, which implements the General Plan's Neighborhood Commercial land use designation. The La Habra Plaza shopping center also includes an animal grooming business, a barber shop, a drug store, a coin wash, a discount store, and a travel agency. The shopping center and the project site do not include T & S Burgers, which is located adjacent to the project site, on the southeast corner of Hillcrest Street and West La Habra Boulevard, and designated by the General Plan for Neighborhood Commercial land use.

The shopping center is surrounded by various commercial businesses to the north, across La Habra Boulevard, including the A Plus Construction, La Habra Liquor Store, Lety's Mexican Food, El Beso Cigars and AA Vizcarra Associates. To the east of the shopping center, across South Walnut Street, is a strip retail center and single-family homes; to the south, across West 1st Avenue, are single-family homes; and to the west, across Hillcrest Street, is a church and single-family homes. The General Plan designates the properties to the north of the shopping center for Corridor Mixed-Use 1 and Transitional land use; to the east, for Central District Mixed-Use 1 land use; to the south, for Low and Medium Density Residential land use; and, to the west, for Corridor Mixed-Use 1 and Low Density Residential land use.

BUILDING DESIGN
The Applicant is proposing to comprehensively remodel the existing, 17,632 square-foot building to accommodate the proposed health club. The remodel of the building would implement Early California Spanish architectural style elements pursuant to the requirements of the La Habra Boulevard Specific Plan. The proposed elevations are depicted in Exhibit 2. The subject building has a zero-foot setback at the east property line and directly abuts the neighboring commercial building on the adjacent property, therefore Exhibit 2 does not include a depiction of the east elevation.

The proposed building and site modifications include:

EXHIBIT 2 - Building Elevations

The Applicant is requesting to install a wall sign on the existing tower on the north elevation of the building, with a height at the base of the signage of 22' 9 1/2", as shown above in Exhibit 2. Pursuant to Section 18.44.050(C)(2) of the La Habra Municipal Code (LHMC), wall signs are prohibited from being placed higher than 12 feet above grade. However, the LHMC notes that the Planning Commission may approve exceptions to the height requirement for specialized signs.  The proposed sign will be in the same sign location utilized by the former Northgate market. Since this tower feature is being retained with the proposed remodel of the building, placing the sign in this location will compliment the building. If the sign were located at no higher than 12 feet, it is expected that the tower feature would appear as an awkward design element that detracts from the overall exterior building improvements.  Pursuant to the proposed conditions of approval, the applicant will be required to obtain sign permits for all other signs, in compliance with the sign requirements of the La Habra Boulevard Specific Plan.

Per LHMC Section 18.14.060.B.1, a health club is required to provide a minimum of 10 parking spaces per every 1,000 square feet of gross floor area. Based on this parking standard, a total of 176 spaces would be required for the proposed health club. However, since the proposed health club would be part of a larger shopping center with shared parking, pursuant to LHMC 18.14.060(D)(1)(a), the Applicant may submit a parking study to determine the amount of parking required for the proposed use. The Applicant’s Traffic Engineer, Linscott Law & Greenspan, provided a parking/trip generation study dated February 29, 2024, that assessed the parking needs for three existing Planet Fitness Health Clubs in the cities of Buena Park, Orange and San Dimas to determine the number of parking spaces that would be needed for the proposed health club. These locations were selected because they most closely resemble the proposed project with respect to building size and operations. The parking study recommended a parking ratio of 5.45 spaces per 1,000 square feet of building gross floor area. Using this standard, the study recommends a total of 96 parking spaces for the proposed health club. The study also considered the traffic generation potential using rates published by the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) manual; whereby the Planet Fitness is forecast to generate 567 daily trips with 23 trips during the AM peak hours and 61 trips during the PM peak hour, which would be substantially less when compared to trip generation rates for the former supermarket use.  As a result of this analysis, the Applicant is proposing to provide 104 parking spaces (including five ADA-compliant parking spaces) on the project site. The proposed layout of the parking lot was designed to allow adequate ingress/egress as well as on-site vehicle circulation to accommodate the projected number of trips for the proposed use.  The City's Traffic Engineer reviewed the aforementioned parking/trip generation study and agrees with the study's findings.

The Applicant is proposing to enhance the parking lot by adding new landscaping. As indicated on the project site plan, the new landscape will encompass 7.8% (4,582 square feet) of the parking lot; thereby exceeding the City's minimum requirement of 7% (minimum 4,114 square feet) parking lot landscaping required under LHMC Section 18.14.070(D)(3). The landscaping will include a variety of trees along the street setback areas adjacent to La Habra Boulevard, Hillcrest Street and West 1st Avenue. In this case, the Applicant is providing the LHMC required minimum of one, 24-inch box tree for each 20 linear feet of frontage for a total of 30 screening/hedge trees. In addition, the Applicant is providing the LHMC required minimum of one 24-inch box tree per each 10 parking spaces, for a total of 11 trees within the parking lot. 

ANALYSIS:

DESIGN REVIEW 22-02:

Pursuant to La Habra Municipal Code (LHMC) Section 18.44.050(F)(1)(c), all new development and major remodeling within the SP-1 (La Habra Boulevard Specific Plan) Zone is subject to a Design Review by the Planning Commission in accordance with Chapter 18.68 of the LHMC. Pursuant to LHMC Section 18.68.050, in order to grant approval of the Design Review, the Planning Commission must make the findings listed below. Staff has provided justification in support of each of the following findings:

1. The proposed project is consistent with the City’s General Plan.

The proposed project is consistent with the Neighborhood Commercial General Plan designation of the site. The proposed project also supports General Plan Goal LU 11: “Diverse Districts and Corridors” by comprehensively remodeling an existing building that was formerly occupied by the Northgate Market, but has been vacant since it closed. The proposed building enhancements will reinvigorate the overall shopping center by providing a refreshed building design along with new landscaping areas to beautify the property. Therefore, the proposed project is consistent with the City’s General Plan.

2. The proposed project is consistent with the City’s Zoning Ordinance.

The subject property is zoned La Habra Boulevard Specific Plan (SP-1). The proposed project complies with the majority of the SP-1 standards identified in Chapter 18.44 of the Zoning Ordinance including building height limits, design guidelines, on-site parking, and landscaping requirements. While the proposed project does not meet the minimum side and rear setbacks, these are legal non-conforming conditions, which can remain since the Applicant will not be expanding further into the side (east) or rear (south) setback as they are adaptively re-using an existing building and retaining the existing building footprint. Per La Habra Municipal Code Section 18.44.050.C.2.a, wall signage may be no higher than 12 feet above grade. The proposed wall signage will have a height of 22’ 9.5” above grade at the base of the sign. However, per La Habra Municipal Code Section 18.44.050.C.2.c, exceptions to these location standards may be granted for specialized signs by approval of the Planning Commission. The Planning Commission approved the proposed height for the wall signage in Section 2 of this Resolution. Therefore, the proposed project is consistent with the City's Zoning Ordinance.

3. The proposed project is in the best interests of the public health, safety, and welfare of the community.

The Zoning Ordinance and General Plan are tools that are available to ensure that all projects achieve goals that promote the public health, safety and welfare of the community. The proposed project is in harmony with both the Zoning Ordinance and the policies of the General Plan. The proposed comprehensive remodel to an existing building will be reviewed to conform with all Building Code requirements to ensure the proposed health club will be structurally sound and meet all electrical, plumbing and mechanical requirements to ensure a safe environment to operate a health club. As part of the Building plan review process, the project will be reviewed by Building Safety Inspectors before the issuance of the Certificate of Occupancy. Therefore, by complying with the Zoning Ordinance and various policies of the General Plan, as well as being subject to the Building plan review and inspection processes, the proposed project is in the best interests of the public health, safety, and welfare of the community.

4. The nature of the proposed land use and the design is appropriate for the proposed location and is compatible with the surrounding land uses and improvements.

The proposed health club will be situated among various commercial uses within the La Habra Plaza shopping center. The proposed site and building improvements to accommodate the proposed health club will be a significant upgrade to an existing, vacant building. The proposed building improvements will result in an overall more attractive building that serves as a major anchor tenant that will be complemented by landscape trees and plants that will further beautify the property. The project site was also reviewed to ensure that adequate parking could be provided for the proposed health club. Therefore, the nature of the proposed land use and the design is appropriate for the existing building location and will be compatible with surrounding uses and improvements.

5. The project complies with all requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act, or has been found to be exempt.
 

The project has been found to be categorically exempt from the provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Section 15301, Class 1: “Existing Facilities” of the CEQA Guidelines because the project involves negligible expansion of use. The project will involve primarily interior tenant improvements and minimal changes to the façade of an existing building within an established shopping center where all necessary public services and facilities are readily available.

The project is not subject to any of the exceptions for exemption under Section 15300.2 of the CEQA Guidelines. The location of the project is predominantly urban and is not considered a sensitive environment; therefore, the project will not result in any significant impacts that may otherwise occur in a sensitive environmental area. The cumulative impact of this project, and the approval of other projects like it in the vicinity, is not expected to have any significant environmental impact. The project is not located along any state designated scenic highway nor within any designation hazardous waste site. Staff does not expect any significant impacts or unusual circumstances related to the approval and construction of this project. Therefore, the project is categorically exempt from CEQA.

CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT 22-08:

The proposed project is also before the Planning Commission pursuant to La Habra Municipal Code (LHMC) Section 18.06.040.A, which requires the approval of a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) for all health clubs within the SP-1 Zone. In order to grant the Conditional use Permit for this request, the following findings must be made:

1. The granting of the Conditional Use Permit will not be detrimental to the public welfare and will not unreasonably interfere with the use, possession, and enjoyment of surrounding and adjacent properties and will not impair the character of the zone in which it is to be located.

The conditions of approval ensure that the proposed health club will not be detrimental to the public welfare and will not unreasonably interfere with the use, possession, and enjoyment of surrounding and adjacent properties. Through compliance with the conditions of approval, the addition of a health club to the site will not impair the character of the SP-1 zone. Rather, it is expected that the addition of the health club would add to the vibrancy of the existing shopping center. Therefore, the granting of the CUP will not be detrimental to the public welfare and will not unreasonably interfere with the use, possession, and enjoyment of the surrounding and adjacent properties and will not impair the character of the SP-1 zone.

2. The subject site is physically suitable for the type of land use being proposed.

The 17,632 square foot building is part of an established shopping center that is intended to provide a variety of commercial uses. The proposed plans for the health club show that the existing commercial building is adequate in size, shape, and topography to accommodate the health club. The La Habra Municipal enables the Applicant to provide a parking study to help determine the appropriate number of parking spaces needed for a health club. The Applicant submitted a parking/trip generation study prepared by Linscott, Law & Greenspan dated February 29, 2024, which carefully analyzed three other Planet Fitness locations that resemble the proposed project and found a total of 104 parking spaces as proposed would be sufficient for the proposed health club. The same study also found that the existing parking lot layout also provides adequate on-site circulation for the projected number of vehicular trips to the health club. The City’s Traffic Engineer agreed with the study’s findings. Therefore, the subject site is physically suitable to handle the addition of the proposed Planet Fitness health club.

3. The use is conditionally permitted within the subject zone and complies with the intent of all applicable provisions.

The subject site is located in the SP-1 zone, which conditionally allows for the operation of a health club. The project is in compliance with all applicable provisions of the SP-1 zone and the Zoning Ordinance. With the incorporation and implementation of the conditions of approval, the use will be harmonious with the surrounding land uses. Therefore, the use is conditionally permitted within the SP-1 zone and complies with the intent of all applicable provisions of the Zoning Ordinance.

4. The granting of the Conditional Use Permit is consistent with the General Plan.

The proposed use is consistent with the Neighborhood Commercial General Plan designation of the site. Further, granting CUP 22-08 to allow for the operation of a health club will be consistent with La Habra’s General Plan Policy LU 11.1 which encourages “the development of a broad range of uses in La Habra’s commercial centers and corridors that reduce the need to travel to adjoining communities, and capture a greater share of local spending.” The subject property is located on West La Habra Boulevard where there are currently no other large-scale health clubs. By adding a health club at this site, Planet Fitness adds a unique fitness facility that offers both basic and deluxe fitness amenities inside of a major anchor tenant building that has been vacant for several years. It will be especially convenient for nearby residents that are within walking distance of the project site. Therefore, granting the CUP is consistent with the General Plan.

The Applicant’s proposal has been reviewed pursuant to the requirements of the City’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Municipal Permit, the Local Implementation Plan (LIP), and the Model Water Quality Management Plan (WQMP), Section 7.2.  A Non-Priority WQMP shall be prepared and submitted for review.