Westminster City Council
SUBJECT
Title
Resolution to Reaffirm the Removal of Right-of-Way Designation from Existing City-Owned Land Located at 14301 Edwards Street and to Enable the Site for Future Use and Development.
End
From: Christine Cordon, City Manager
Requested by: Administration
Prepared by: Ryan Salz, Senior Management Analyst
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RECOMMENDED ACTION
Recommendation
Adopt a Resolution entitled, “RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF WESTMINSTER, CALIFORNIA, RESCINDING AND REPLACING RESOLUTION NO. 5290, REMOVING THE RIGHT-OF-WAY DESIGNATION FROM EXISTING CITY-OWNED LAND LOCATED WEST OF EDWARDS STREET AND NORTH OF THE I-405 FREEWAY AND TO ENABLE THE CITY ENGINEER TO PREPARE THE SITE FOR FUTURE USE AND DEVELOPMENT BY THE CITY.”
BACKGROUND
On December 9, 2024 the Mayor and City Council adopted Resolution No. 5290 to facilitate future development and City use of the City-owned land located west of Edwards Street and north of the Interstate 405 Freeway (Attachment 2). The subject property has since been assigned a parcel number (APN 195-371-07) by the Orange County Assessor’s Office and the address 14301 Edwards Street has been designated by the City. The property has been added to the City’s official zoning map and given a zoning designation of M-1 (Light Industrial). It has been added to the General Plan Land Use Map and has been assigned a land use classification of Industrial. The zoning designation and land use classification are consistent with adjacent properties.
As stated in the previous related staff report, the Public Works Department plans to use the site for long-term storage to support City operations and staging for City improvements and maintenance projects. Attachment 3 shows a preliminary site plan of the anticipated improvements which includes new fencing, driveway, sidewalk area, parking lot area, a retaining wall and storage containers. The improvements will support the Public Works Department for the foreseeable future and the improvements should also enable other City and private development compatible with industrial uses in the future.
Following the adoption of Resolution No. 5290, Branded Cities filed a preliminary outdoor advertising permit application with Caltrans for the development of a digital billboard at the property. Caltrans reviewed the preliminary application and sent a letter to Branded Cities (Attachment 4) stating that the formal application would be denied based on the premise that the property was zoned primarily to permit billboards, in violation of Title 23 Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R.) Section 750.708(b). To address this mistaken observation, the proposed Resolution (Attachment 1) was drafted to further clarify the City’s intent of removing the right-of-way designation and the consistency of the proposed uses of the site with adjacent zoning.
Section 750.708(b) raises two issues related to the zoning designation of the property. (1) “Action which is not part of comprehensive zoning” and (2) “created primarily to permit outdoor advertising structures” will not be recognized as acceptable zoning and outdoor advertising uses will be prohibited. However, zoning is prohibited only if both criteria are satisfied. Regarding the property located at 14301 Edwards Street, neither standard is satisfied.
First, the M-1 zoning designation is not only fully consistent with the City’s overall zoning, but it is the best zoning classification for the property. In addition to the clear reasoning that multiple surrounding uses are zoned M-1, the size, shape, and topographical limitations of the property all justify the industrial designation proposed. Although residential zoning is located northwest of the site, it would not be appropriate for the former right-of-way area considering current health concerns and regulations associated with residential development bordering freeways, parking requirements, traffic patterns caused by high-density residential uses, and the general parcel characteristics previously mentioned.
Second, the M-1 zoning designation was not created primarily to permit billboards on the property. Resolution No. 5290 focused on the development of a billboard on the property because it was the first private use of the property proposed to the City. Also, unlike other uses such as warehouses, billboards require a State permit. Finally, spacing concerns give billboards an urgency that uses like storage, maintenance, or other facilities lack. The City is actively developing the site for a Public Works Department facility and the improvements should also support other potential private development in the future. The expectation of future commercial or industrial development is reasonable considering property with the same zoning and similar land characteristics in the vicinity.
Staff recommend that the Mayor and City Council adopt the proposed Resolution to effectively reaffirm the action taken last year adopting Resolution No. 5290. The proposed Resolution will support the total development of the property by directly addressing information that was not included in the original resolution for the purpose of brevity but has since become essential to clarify misconceptions that arose during interpretation of Resolution No. 5290.
FISCAL IMPACT
No fiscal impact is associated with this action. Future development of the subject property could result in an increase of fiscal revenue.
LEGAL REVIEW
The City Attorney’s Office has reviewed as to form.
CONCLUSION
Adopting the proposed Resolution will reaffirm and further clarify the intent of the previous resolution adopted by the Mayor and City Council. Changes to the City-owned property’s zoning and General Plan designations have already been revised to be consistent with nearby areas. Adoption of the proposed Resolution will support future development of the site including, but not limited to, a City maintenance and storage facility, a digital billboard, and other viable private commercial or industrial uses.
ATTACHMENTS
1. Proposed Resolution
2. December 9, 2024 Staff Report and Attachments
3. Edwards Street Maintenance Facility Site Plan
4. Caltrans Letter
REVIEWED BY
Erin Backs, Finance Director
City Attorney’s Office
Christine Cordon, City Manager