Planning and Housing Commission - Regular Meeting

not just, hey, we're we're the the government officials, the city officials making the decisions, you know, with this budget, it's saying, hey, we want to incorporate your ideas, your thoughts. So, to have something [music] like this, it's nice that they're letting the community choose their park and take a look at all the models and be part of it. I'm seeing more and more now the city council, parks, and wrecks are more concerned what the residents want. It's all about the residents now in Corona and how do we make Corona uh [music] you know more beautiful and more attractive and more fun to come to. I love it. I think it's great. It really allows you to see what they're really planning on doing. The presentation is good. Absolutely. I think this city does need something like this. The main thing is you're listening to the people.

I'm excited [music] to hear what they had to say. I was I've been very concerned for a long time. We try to add constructive criticism, but it looks like they're doing a great job and we're really excited for that groundbreaking to start. I think everybody put a lot of thought into this. I am grateful to have a community that cares. I think it'll still feel like City Park with the trees. I love that they're trying to preserve the trees, but think of activities for all kids of all ages. So, it's awesome. Glad to see the city uh, you know, try to leave an effort here. I think we'll all benefit from. It'll be great. Good for community. Looking forward to it. I hear it's going to be done by 2027. That gives us time too to continue to figure out how we can bring the programming over to the parks.

It's gonna be a great addition to our city, not only for our businesses, our children, and our families. Good job, Corona. And I'm looking forward to the the progress and the location of the park. I just want to thank the city and the park's rich for all their doing. They're doing a great job. Come out, people. You guys show up. That's the only way this changes. Thank you guys.

Give your opinions. You can also do so online. You can do on our Facebook, our actually website, anywhere you like. You can take a better look at them and ask questions. and give us your feedback. Thanks a lot. [music] [music]

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I was born and about a year later moved to Corona and I've lived here ever since. [music] So there's a sense of pride that kind of comes with working and serving the city that I grew up in. I wanted to be a cop when I was really young actually, but I still explored like other [music] educational avenues. So I ended up going to college and playing sports. So I think the team atmosphere and like the structure and like having brothers and sisters like outside [music] of your family is just like a really good feeling to have. And being able to all like work hard for like the same goal has always been something that I feel like I've needed throughout my life. People become police officers to kind of give back to their community. Even if it's not the community you [music] necessarily live in, there's always a good sense of pride that comes with doing the right thing for people and helping people who can't help [music] themselves. The city of Corona is pretty unique in the fact that our community actually really likes us and they support us. Pretty much anywhere you go, you're going to have somebody thanking you for your service. Just that [music] reassurance on a day-to-day basis is good motivation for especially the negative times or the negative calls that you might come from. It just kind of lifts your spirits and keeps you motivated. Well, without us out here, I think it'd be dark. It'd be a dark place, literally. Um, my name is Francisco. Um, a lot of people know me as Poncho. I work in the street maintenance department, and I am the street light technician for the city of Corona. Um, I handle the maintenance and the repair of street lights in Corona. We have approximately around 12,000 street lights. And yeah, this is where I do my

work. Um, the favorite part about my job, um, being able to see my work afterwards and knowing that I'm lighting up this city. I'm the one that maintaining them or repairing them and with the help of my my teams and my co-workers, of course. Yeah. No, I enjoy I love working for the city of Corona because one, I've been here for so long already that it's kind of my second home. Love the res the residents are great. I can see how the city and the employees take pride in in what they do for the residents. Hold on, guys. [music] Um, our seniors deal with a lot of problems physically, mentally. [music] To me, it's very rewarding to be able to provide those services to them. Hold on, guys. Um, I really don't know where our seniors would be. Like, I think they would be so so depressed. I All right. Good evening and welcome to tonight's planning and housing commission meeting and commissioner vice chair Squilin will lead us in the pledge of allegiance. Please stand.

I aliance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Thank you. I'd like to call this meeting to order. Individuals wishing to address the planning and housing commission are requested to complete a speaker card and deliver it to the secretary prior to the item being heard by the commission. Please observe three minute limit for communication. When called upon to speak, state your name and city of residence for the record. Before continuing, we do have a special recognition tonight. uh Sarah Longwell for her service as chair last year for 2025. And as the new chair, Sarah, I would like to um hand you this proclamation. If I could read it, please. Uh in recognition of Sarah Longwell and who was appointed chair of the planning and housing commission of the city of Corona on December 9th, 2024 and has served the commission as chair through December 8th. Whereas Miss Longwell's chairmanship has expired and a new chair has been duly elected. Whereas Miss Longwell served the city, its planning and housing commission and its citizens diligently, regularly, and with excellent sense of fairness to all persons in the community in her role as chair. So, thank you very much.

Thanks so much. And that said, uh, Miss Capia, you'll have to keep me in order. Keep me, it's been a while since I've chaired a meeting. All right, so let's move on to number three, meeting minutes. This is uh looking for approval of the minutes for the planning and housing commission meeting which took place December 8th, 2025. Miss Capia, are there any speaker cards for the public on the minutes? No. Chair Alexander. Thank you. Do we have a motion? I will motion to approve the minutes from the December 8th, 2025 meeting.

Thank you, Commissioner Longwell. Do we have a second? A second.

And second [clears throat] by Miss Vernon. Motion made and seconded. Please vote. All right. And that passes 5. Communications from the public. This portion of the agenda is intended for general comment, public comment on items within the commission's jurisdiction that are not listed elsewhere on the agenda. Please make note, state law prohibits the planning and housing commission from discussing or taking action on these items. Please observe a threeminut limit for comments. And Miss Capia, I do have the speaker card you gave me. And did Kevin want to come down and speak? Did you take care of it and you or did you want to address us right down here?

Come on down.

Wait till you get to the podium and uh so it's being recorded and thanks for coming to the meeting. Hello. Sorry. Give me a second. Um so um good afternoon um or good evening. My my apologies. Um [snorts] uh my name is Kevin. I'm a resident of uh Corona. Um, I'm speaking tonight because I know the city is currently moving forward with uh plans for the North Mall that includes uh hotel and 300 rental units. Uh, while I understand the process has started, I'm concerned that we are locking ourselves into a plan that solves the housing numbers problem but creates a traffic problem. Uh because this project comes back for before this project comes back for a final vote. Uh I want to propose a pivot that actually serves the community. Uh we should look for mixed use uh community land trusts. Uh the concept is simple. We combine retail and public spaces and affordable ownership into one self-sustaining project. Um here's why this model works better for Corona. Um, first, it pays for itself. Um, in this model, the ground floor is filled with local businesses that we actually want. Um, and here's the key, the rent from those shops goes directly to pay for the building's maintenance. Uh, because the commercial side covers the bills, the residents upstairs don't get hit with high fees. This allows us to offer mortgages around $1,500 a month. So teachers and nurses could build

equity here instead of just paying rent. Second, it prioritizes local workers. A hotel brings tourists, renters, uh rent rentals bring commut commuters, but a land trust allows us to legally prioritize people who already work in Corona. Um, this means we are housing the workforce that is already driving in our streets rather than importing new cars. Third, it creates a public pro the public plaza we were promised. By swapping the hotel, which creates traffic but no housing credits for for a smarter layout, we can reclaim that land uh for a true public park with gathering space for the neighborhood. [snorts] Uh finally, uh we have a choice. I know the slurpless land act is tricky, but the staff reports mention that we are applying for an exemption that proves that we're not forced to accept a bad design just to check a box. Uh my request is simple. I know negotiations are ongoing, but uh please ask the city council to study this land trust model as an alternative uh before before the final development is uh is signed. I mean, you know, uh once that once that we sell that land, that's that land is gone uh for good, you know, for we don't own it anymore. Whereas with the land trust, we could appoint a board of directors that's one-third city council, one-third residents, and one-third local stakeholders. And the wealth stays here. our residents build well here and they could spend them.

Thank you very much, Mr. Gomez. I appreciate you coming down and uh your comments. Thank you, Miss Capia. Did we have any other speaker cards? No, chair, we did not. Okay, moving on to number five, the consent count calendar. There was one item on the consent calendar. Consent items are not heard as public hearings and can be approved without discussion. Do any of the commissioners have questions or otherwise wish to pull the item? All right, with that there's a no. Did we receive any requests, Miss Kabia, from the public to discuss the consent item? No, Chair Alexander.

Okay, great. Uh we will go ahead and move on then. Uh 5.1 is a general plan. We can vote on the consent calendar, please. That would be great. I told you you'd have to reign me in. I'll motion that the consent calendar be approved. Thank you for that, Mr. Sicklan. And a second, please. I'll second.

Thank you very much, Mr. Witty. Please vote. Well, I I saw that it was Oh, there it is. Mr. Sicklin and Mr. Woody. Thank you. All right. And that passes 5. Thank you. Okay. 5.1 GPCD 2025-000011, a general plan consistency determination.

Chair Alexander,

I'm moving on. Sorry about that. All right. Public hearing 6.1. There we go. CU 2022-00007 conditional use permit to allow for the establishment of the new foundry use on property developed with an existing industrial operation located at 204 North Smith Avenue118-310-030 in the M2 general manufacturing zone. Applicant is Akos Doshi. I hope I spelled uh pronounced that correctly for Almex USA incororated. Brendan Daldy uh associate planner will now present the item. Thank you.

Thank you, Chair. Good evening, Chair Alexander, members of the planning and housing commission. Brendan Dolly, associate planner, and I'm pleased to present the item before you tonight for conditional use permit CUP 2022-00007 located at 204 North Smith Avenue. Our request for tonight is a conditional use permit to allow for the establishment of a new foundry use on property developed with an existing industrial operation. As always, I like to provide the planning commission with a brief background. So, subject properties 2.46 acres. It's currently developed with an existing industrial warehousing facility. Uh, in addition to that, it's owned and operated by Omex USA. and the related there's two related construction records here. U I want those noted just for later down the road when you take a look at the overall site plan. But DPR 2022-0027 and building permit number B25-0000214. And then in addition to that, the proposed foundry use will be located within building C. So you may be wondering what a foundry use is. I provided a verbatim definition from our municipal code. Um I'll save some time and just summarize it. In its simplest form, foundry use is the process of treating, melting, and casting metals uh through an industrial process. In this case, um ALMEX will be utilizing aluminum. And in addition to that, foundaries are allowed within the M2 zone with the approval of a major cup. [snorts] Here we have the site plan. Uh site plan currently comprises of 39 parking spaces. I'll move from left to right for the rest, but on the left, you'll see a 12,000 foot uh solar canopy that's currently under construction with a separate building permit. And then moving over to the right, you'll see our building C. This will not only house the foundry use uh which is why we're here tonight. Um but in addition to that,

there was an expansion uh done through that previous DPR 2022-0027. Further to the east of the site, you'll see in the red box is their primary access. That's our one and only access located off of Smith Avenue. We have the floor plan. This is the floor plan in which we'll house that um foundry use. So it's right now it's currently a 9,000 ft building and proposed to be expanded 4,500 ft² approximately 13,000 square ft underneath the DPR. So once the foundry use um is completed, then they'll move forward with that separate building permit that's associated with that DPR. Uh this is kind of just an overall outlook of what that floor plan will look like. It's going to be a two-story building. Second story will include just offices and then the first floor will include all of their uh foundry accommodating equipment. [snorts] A little bit more into the foundry operation. So building C's operation will be comprised of just receiving and storing aluminum ingots. So they'll get those ingots in its raw form and then from there they'll utilize those uh aluminum ingots and melt and mold them through that same industrial process that includes um like a charging process they utilize with various uh elements. They'll do a cooling and molding as well. And then from there once that product's somewhat finished they'll transfer it from their building C over to building B. Within building B they'll then cut and machine it specific to what their clientele needs and then they'll export it from there. Um, as part of this use, we looked at it from a secret perspective as well. It qualified as a categorical exemption. We reviewed a traffic noise, air quality, and water quality study. Staff determined that there was no significant impacts related to those studies as well. Provided below in table C is the staffing profile for the overall foundry use as well. We comprised of three separate shifts working 24 hours a day uh in different time blocks, but the peak time will be 12 hours from 8 to 2. That'll include

their office staff. [snorts]

that we have staff's analysis. Uh again, it's categorically exempt pursuant to SQA and infield development and then um CUP is also consistent with all the goals and policies with the general plan as indicated in the staff report found to comply with all applicable development standards and not detrimental to those other existing and permitted uses. Everything around this area is uh zoned M1 and M2 to the south. So we have our recommendation. So the plan staff's recommendation is that the planning and housing commission find the project exempt from the cateor the California environmental quality act pursuant to sequel guidelines section 15332 and adopt resolution number 2679 granting cup 2022-007 based on the findings contained in the staff report conditions of approval. That concludes staff's presentation. I'll be more than happy to answer any questions you may have. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Daldy. Do any of the commissioners have questions for staff? I had one question, Mr. Daldy. I'm sorry I didn't notify you in advance. Um, I'm just curious why a foundry what is the reason that a cup specifically is required for a foundry? Is it the environmental impact? I couldn't find it in our code specifically. Why?

Yeah, nothing in specific to like this facility itself. The foundry uses, they can be a lot larger scale. Um, for example, this one's a relatively small scale, so it's only going to be comprised of two melting furnaces or whatnot, but it isn't uncommon to have a lot larger scale one, which would include a lot more truck traffic, vibration, noise. In this case, it's a smaller scale. They're only anticipating about one truck in and out per day. So, um, but the other foundry uses, that's most likely why it's it's triggering a CUP. Okay. Yeah, that makes sense. All right. Thank you. Thank you. Any other

Yeah, I I've got a question curious. Um, so on the on the site, the existing uh manufacturing building B that um is is not affected by this, but um what what sort of um operations take place there now? Are are there foundry operations currently in that building?

Yes, Commissioner Woody. So, right now they're currently not doing anything related to the foundry um use. That foundry use is really getting the the raw product and processing it through their charging and casting and and uh chilling process. Right now, they're getting more of a finalized product um which is after that and then they're storing it and and cutting it and then exporting it from there. So, it's more of like a warehouse use with with some small manufacturing. Uh, not the actual process of getting the raw material and finalizing it through a more intense foundry use. Okay. Thank you, Miss Vernon. Any questions?

I'm reading now and um, Commissioner Woody asked my question. I was in my mind I was thinking about the the going the uh, ingress and egress, but it's at the back of the lot. The only ingress is Smith for um I know that it's going to go through the fire hazard and all that with the fire department because there will be there will be flames, right? There will be heat processing. Yeah, they they do have a a cooling fan and and tower located in the back. Is your question more related to truck circulation or just the overall operation in the rear of the

What was the operation in the rear? I read about the mature trees that were also a shield. I was just thinking about uh for any real fire hazard, any any mishap. Yeah, that uh I think it was the second submitt our fire division had taken a look at that and requested all the equipment and they've they've reviewed it and conditioned accordingly as well. Okay, I have another question. Thank you.

Nothing. Okay. Uh you answered uh asked my question also regarding the circulation. And I was just curious uh how many trucks currently go in with the current operation and this will just be one additional vehicle uh uh truck on top of that. Um I wanted to uh comment on Mr. Cervantes's uh letter uh going through the workflow and it was very helpful to understand the um production process along with your explanation u for your staff presentation. I didn't have uh any questions other than the ones that are already asked. So if there's nothing else. All right. Uh Miss Kapia, did we receive any speaker cards?

No, Chair, we did not.

All right. Well, with that, um we're opening and closing the public hearing unless someone in the audience wanted to come forward and speak. All right. Seeing none, uh public hearing is now closed. Are there any additional comments or questions from my colleagues? I did have a question. Um, did the report indicate any jobs creation from addition of this? No, I don't have a specific number for you regarding the the jobs creation. What was provided in the staffing profile was just the anticipated uh number currently. I don't know if they're fully staffed right now or if that's in anticipation of additional foundry use. Um, we do have a member of the team here, one of the managers as well, so perhaps he could provide a little bit more detail on what the employment outlook will look like.

I'd just be interested to know. Sure. We'll go ahead and open up the meeting if the manager wanted to step forward and talk about the staffing levels, please.

Good evening. My name is George Cardos. I'm the manager for the Corona facility. Uh right now we're staffed with four employees plus myself as a manager. So those numbers that he mentioned would be including the foundry use and then you have the separate office employees or there is that include the office? That includes the office. So we would be going from five essentially to 24. Yes, that's a the uh preliminary numbers we're getting right now. And then um maybe you can speak a little more about you know what operations are happening currently there. You know I can't you only have a few people but you obviously have it set up for what you need.

Yeah. So for right now we're not really dealing with the foundry part or process right now. So we're doing more of a kind of a warehousing like they had mentioned. So we're we'll receive product. We'll kind of assemble it um package it do some some welding things of that nature and really export everything from there. Okay. Thank you. All right. Well, it's uh exciting that you're going to be able to expand your business if we vote positively here. And uh thank you for the explanation. Thank you. Thank you. All right. Well, with that uh I'll go ahead and ask for a motion for cup 20-22- 07. And if you make the motion, could you read it, please? I'll make the motion. Um

thank you, Miss Vernon. I motion that the planning and housing commission find the project exempt from California Environmental Quality Act pursuant to SQL guidelines section 15332 and adopt resolution number 2679 granting CUP 2022- 007 based on the findings contained in the staff report and conditions of approval. Thank you Commissioner Vernon and for a second please. I'll second.

Commissioner Sulan, thank you so much. Please vote. All right. Thank you. That passes 5-0. Moving on to written communications. Has a Planning and Housing Commission Secretary received any written communications? No, Chair Alexander, we have not. Thank you. And uh now, Miss Fanny, do you have any reports? No reports. Any comments from my colleagues? Nothing at all. This is moving along nicely.

Welcome back, chair. [laughter] Congratulations on your first night. Thanks for making it easy. And I still screwed it up. All right, future agenda items. Um, well, we will see on January 26 at 6 p.m. this meeting is adjourned. The voters said yes. So, the Corona Education Center, which is its official name, [music] will be coming online. It'll take a few years, and I believe the final completion is 2030. But what we're ultimately going to [music] have is an institution of higher education within our city boundaries.

They've got a vision for that campus to be a tech campus. [music] And how exciting for our community to have in Corona. It's very