Agenda Item Wording:
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A Public Hearing to consider an amendment to Conditional Zoning Agreement No. 2021-11: A request by CenterPoint Integrated Solutions to amend Conditional Zoning Agreement No. 2003-01, removing provisions that prohibit the establishment of a “stand-alone” used automobile sales use, and adding development standards for “stand-alone” used automobile sales uses for the Visalia Auto Plaza located within the C-S (Service Commercial) Zone. The Visalia Auto Plaza is located west of North Neeley Street, north of West Camp Drive, and south of the Mill Creek Ditch (APN: 081-020-085).
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Deadline for Action: None
Submitting Department: Community Development
Contact Name and Phone Number:
Cristobal Carrillo, Associate Planner, 713-4443, cristobal.carrillo@visalia.city <mailto:cristobal.carrillo@visalia.city>
Mike Olmos, Interim City Planner, 713-4449, mike.olmos@visalia.city <mailto:mike.olmos@visalia.city>
Paul Bernal, Community Development Director, 713-4025, paul.bernal@visalia.city <mailto:paul.bernal@visalia.city>
Department Recommendation:
Staff recommends that the City Council hold a public hearing, receive a presentation and staff report, and introduce the first reading of Ordinance No. 2022-01, approving the amendment to Conditional Zoning Agreement No. 2021-11 removing provisions that prohibit the establishment of “stand-alone” used automobile sales uses, and adding development standards for “stand-alone” used automobile sales uses for the Visalia Auto Plaza, located west of North Neeley Street, north of West Camp Drive, and south of the Mill Creek Ditch.
Background Discussion:
Project Description
The applicant is seeking to amend the design guidelines of the Visalia Auto Plaza master plan (codified via Conditional Zoning Agreement No. 2003-01) by removing existing prohibitions on the establishment of stand-alone used automobile dealerships within the Visalia Auto Plaza development. Per the applicant’s Operational Statement attached per Exhibit “A”, the amendment would allow for the establishment of stand-alone used automobile dealerships within the Visalia Auto Plaza plan area if developed on a parcel of no less than five acres in size. The change to the Conditional Zoning Agreement (CZA) provisions are proposed to facilitate the establishment of CarMax, a used automobile sales and service center within the Visalia Auto Plaza. No other changes are proposed to the existing CZA and Visalia Auto Plaza architectural design guidelines. If approved by the City Council, the amended CZA will be recorded against the project site, and all existing and revised conditions will be applicable to existing and future operators within the project area.
The CarMax used automobile sales development is proposed on a 5.91-acre site to be parceled off from a larger 47.58-acre site located within the Visalia Auto Plaza planning area. The site is zoned C-S (Service Commercial), which permits the sale of new and used vehicles by right. As a result, if the CZA is ultimately approved by the City Council, no other discretionary reviews by the Planning Commission or City Council will be required for development of the automobile dealership. Only Site Plan Review and a Building Permit will be required for development to proceed.
The applicant has submitted a development proposal for a used automobile sales and service facility to the City of Visalia Site Plan Review Committee concurrently with the CZA amendment request. Plans were approved by the Site Plan Review Committee at its December 8, 2021, meeting and are included in Exhibits “B”, “C”, and “D”. The proposal includes development of a 4,292 square foot sales building, a 2,620 square foot auto service building, a 1.58-acre automobile sales lot for the display of vehicles, and a 1.20-acre sales staging area for employee use only. Additional areas are devoted to customer parking, landscaping, drive aisles and related onsite and off-site improvements for ingress/egress. These plans are not subject to City Council review and are provided only for reference.
Planning Commission Public Hearing:
The Planning Commission conducted a public hearing on December 13, 2021, for amendment to Conditional Zoning Agreement No. 2021-11. The Planning Commission received the information contained in the staff report and a staff presentation. Public testimony in favor of the proposal was received from project consultant Steve Brandt (QK, Inc.) and John Thatcher with CenterPoint Integrated Solutions, the project applicant. Additional testimony in favor of the proposal was submitted by student Aaron Aldridge and Matt Graham, a land broker who noted that he was working with a client who was also interested in conducting used vehicle sales within the Visalia Auto Plaza. No other public comment was received, including from the two existing dealerships within the Visalia Auto Plaza.
Staff recommended approval of the proposal based on the project’s potential to allow the Visalia Auto Plaza to take advantage of additional development opportunities, and consistency with the Land Use Element of the General Plan and the Zoning Ordinance. At the conclusion of the public hearing, the Planning Commission voted to recommend to the Visalia City Council approval of the amendment to Conditional Zoning Agreement No. 2021-11. The decision was made by a 4 to 0 vote (Commissioner Gomez was absent).
Analysis:
Existing Auto Malls/Visalia Auto Plaza
The City of Visalia has three auto malls, grouped into three geographical areas (see Figure 1). The first auto mall, referred to as “The Auto Center”, is located in a former redevelopment area located along the intersections of E. Main Street, E. Mineral King Avenue and S. Ben Maddox Way. The new auto sales dealerships located within the Auto Center include Visalia Buick GMC on 4.69 acres, Visalia Ford on 3.98 acres, and Visalia Hyundai on 3.7 acres. The Auto Center area is completely built-out except for a vacant 2.11-acre parcel east of the Visalia Buick GMC dealership.
The second auto mall, referred to as the “South Ben Maddox Auto Center”, is comprised of several new auto sales dealerships located along the east and west sides of S. Ben Maddox Way between E. Noble and E. Tulare Avenues. The dealerships located in this area include Giant Chevrolet-Cadillac on 6.71 acres, Nissan of Visalia on 6.10 acres, Visalia Honda on 3.99 acres, Visalia Kia on 3.0 acres, and Visalia Toyota on 5.03 acres. This auto mall is entirely built out.
The third auto mall, named the “Visalia Auto Plaza”, is located at the southwest corner of E. Crowley Avenue and N. Neeley Street, northwest of the Plaza Drive/State Highway 198 interchange. This is the auto mall in which the CarMax is proposed. The 70-acre master planned development was entitled in 2003 for new auto sales, with development standards and architectural guidelines adopted through an accompanying CZA, included in Exhibit “E”. The CZA restricts activity within the auto mall to only new auto sales, with used car sales and service components sales allowed only as ancillary uses. As such, stand-alone used car dealerships are not presently allowed within the Visalia Auto Plaza. There are currently two new auto sales dealerships in the Visalia Auto Plaza: Lampe Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep/Ram on 7.18 acres and BMW of Visalia on 3.83 acres. Though an amendment was approved by the City Council in 2017 to allow 15-acres north of Hurley Avenue to be developed with a warehouse distribution building, the majority of the area (approximately 55-acres) is still subject to development standards and architectural guidelines established by the CZA for the Visalia Auto Plaza.
The CarMax would be unable to locate within both the South Ben Maddox Auto Center and The Auto Center due to the auto malls being entirely built out or not containing sufficient vacant acreage to accommodate the needs of a CarMax facility. As such, the Visalia Auto Plaza is the only practical auto mall in which a CarMax can be located. However, since the proposed CarMax dealership would sell only used automobiles, it is currently prohibited from locating within the Visalia Auto Plaza.
Land Use Compatibility
The areas north, east, and west of the proposed CarMax facility are zoned for Service Commercial use and contain either vacant land planned for auto sale and incidental uses, or existing automobile dealerships. Areas to the south contain existing intensive facilities, including State Highway 198 and the Visalia Municipal Airport. Based on the development pattern of the surrounding sites, an automobile dealership will be compatible with what is planned and in the area.
The proposed amendment, to allow establishment of stand-alone used automobile dealerships so long as they are developed on a site of no less than five acres, is similarly expected to have minimal impact on the surrounding areas. As noted by the applicant in Exhibit “A”:
“CarMax expanded into California after the [Visalia Auto Mall] conditional zoning agreement was adopted…The elevations and floor plan we have provided show that the facility will definitely have the look and feel similar to a new vehicle facility. This type of business strategy may not have been envisioned in 2003, which may have been the reason at the time for excluding stand-alone used car dealerships. Distinguishing only by whether the vehicles are new or used does not seem as relevant as distinguishing between type, size, and amenities of the facility.”
The sale of new and/or used vehicles presents no difference in terms of land use impacts. And regardless of the type of vehicles sold, the facility will be governed by the rules of the Visalia Auto Plaza design guidelines, ensuring that any future auto dealerships, new or used, contain designs compatible with the existing auto dealerships. The five-acre minimum lot size requirement is also not considered out of step with the existing developments in the Visalia Auto Plaza, as the existing auto dealerships are located on parcels between 3.83 to 7.18 acres in size.
Conditional Zoning Agreement
A CZA provides a mechanism with which to “lock in” proposed conditions for a site, subject to City Council approval. While conditions can be applied through a Conditional Use Permit (CUP), any such conditions can become nullified if a CUP lapses or becomes void. Conditions applied through a CZA remain with the site permanently and will be applied to any future use established thereon.
The applicant has requested the following amendments to the Visalia Auto Plaza CZA:
1. Removal of the prohibition on the establishment of stand-alone used auto dealerships; and
2. Addition of a development standard allowing for placement of a stand-alone used automobile dealership only if established on a minimum five-acre parcel.
Staff has determined that compatibility with the surrounding areas will not be detrimentally affected by the proposed changes. The sale of used vehicles does not differ in substance from the sale of new vehicles. As it stands, existing dealerships within the Visalia Auto Plaza are already permitted to sell used vehicles, so long as it is incidental to the operation of a new auto sales dealership. The stand-alone dealership and five-acre site provisions will limit the pool of potential applicants to larger more established used car dealerships and will prevent the proliferation of multiple small dealerships occupying one large site, with no consistency in operation or visual characteristics. These provisions will help secure design uniformity within the master plan area. Staff has also determined that the amendments will strengthen the Visalia Auto Plaza’s overall ability to take advantage of development opportunities when the arise.
Fiscal Impact:
At the request of staff, the City’s Finance Department provided sales tax collection information as it relates to vehicle sales. Per the Finance Department, sales tax is broken into two categories as follows:
1. General Sales Tax - Essentially a 1% tax on any item sold in the City Limits; and
2. District Taxes - Additional taxes that have been approved by a City’s registered voters, applicable to a specific “district”. Examples for Visalia District Taxes include Measure R, Measure N, and Measure T funds.
Based on this information, if a resident of Visalia purchases a new or used vehicle outside of Visalia’s city limits, the 1% general sales tax collected for that sale goes to the City in which the vehicle was sold. However, the District taxes would be collected and given to the City the vehicle is registered in. As an example, if a vehicle is purchased in Fresno but registered in Visalia, the 1% general sales tax goes to the City of Fresno and district taxes go to the City of Visalia. Conversely, if a vehicle is purchased and registered in Visalia, both the 1% general sales tax and district taxes would go to the City of Visalia.
The applicant has provided an Economic Study prepared in 2020 for City Council review, detailing the potential economic benefits of a CarMax establishing in Visalia. The study is included in Attachment “F”. The study was prepared previously for the CarMax proposal submitted for a site along the S. Mooney Boulevard corridor. Per the applicant, the findings of the study are still applicable to the proposal before the City Council. The key findings of the study suggest sales tax revenues of approximately $680,000 per year and property tax revenue of approximately $60,400 per year. The City of Visalia would receive its proportionate statutory share of these tax revenue streams. Per the study, the ongoing operation of the CarMax would support a total of 96 permanent jobs in Tulare County, through local purchases of materials, supplies, and services needed to operate the used car dealership. 52 of those new full-time equivalent jobs would be expected to be located within the City of Visalia.
Prior Council Action:
• On August 18, 2003 and September 2, 2003 the Visalia City Council approved General Plan Amendment No. 2002-20, Change of Zone No. 2002-18, and Conditional Zoning Agreement No. 2003-01, a request by Mangano Homes/Westland Development to change the land use designation of a site to Commercial Service / C-S (Service Commercial), create design guidelines, and allow up to ten auto dealerships on approximately 72 acres (collectively known as the Visalia Auto Plaza) located west of Plaza Drive between Mill Creek Ditch and Camp Drive (APNs: 081-020-063, 068).
• On August 17, 2020, the Visalia City Council denied Zoning Text Amendment No. 2019-13 and an appeal of Conditional Use Permit No. 2019-42, collectively a request by CarMax to develop a used car sales and service center on a 5-acre parcel within the C-R (Regional Commercial) Zone, and amend the Visalia Municipal Code to allow automobile sales in the C-R Zone. The project site was located on the southwest corner of South Mooney Boulevard and West Visalia Parkway (APN: 126-960-001).
Committee/Commission Review and Action:
On December 13, 2021, the Visalia Planning Commission approved Amendment to Conditional Zoning Agreement No. 2021-11 by a vote of 4 to 0 with Commissioner Gomez absent. No comment in opposition to the proposal was received.
Alternatives:
The City Council may, in lieu of the recommended motion specified above, consider any of the following alternatives:
1. Deny the Conditional Zoning Agreement in whole or impart; or
2. Refer the matter back to the Planning Commission;
3. Continue the matter to a future City Council hearing for additional information.
Recommended Motion (and Alternative Motions if expected):
recommendation
I move to introduce for the first reading Ordinance No. 2022-01 approving the amendment to Conditional Zoning Agreement No. 2021-11.
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Environmental Assessment Status: Categorically Exempt
CEQA Review:
The requested action is considered Categorically Exempt under Section 15305 (Minor Alterations to Land Use Limitations) of the Guidelines for the Implementation of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) (Categorical Exemption No. 2021-52). The exemption is appropriate as the project will not produce significant changes in land use or density.
Attachments:
1. Ordinance No. 2022-01 for Amendment to Conditional Zoning Agreement No. 2021-11
2. Attachment “A” - Operational Statement
3. Attachment "B" - Site Plan
4. Attachment “C” - Conceptual Elevations
5. Attachment “D” - Floor Plan
6. Attachment “E” - Visalia Auto Plaza Design Guidelines / Conditional Zoning Agreement No. 2003-01
7. Attachment “F” - CarMax Economic Study, August 6, 2020
8. Attachment “G” - December 13, 2021, Planning Commission Staff Report
9. Attachment “H” - Public Comment from Stan Bennett (received via email 1/13/2022)