08-07-17 CUP CHARTER HIGH SCHOOL 1310 E. LINCOLN AVENUE
TO: Chair Glasgow and
Members of the Planning Commission
THRU: Anna Pehoushek
Assistant Community Development Director
FROM: Kelly Christensen Ribuffo, Associate Planner
SUBJECT
PUBLIC HEARING: Conditional Use Permit No. 3035-16, Major Site Plan Review No. 0890-16,
Design Review No. 4894-16, Temporary Use Permit No. 0207-16 - Unity Middle College High
School, 1310 E. Lincoln Avenue
SUMMARY
A request for a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) to establish a new charter high school at an existing
church site in the Office Professional (OP) zoning district. The application also includes a request for
a CUP for shared parking facilities and a Temporary Use Permit (TUP) for the use of short-term
modular classroom buildings.
The Planning Commission heard the application at the July 17, 2017 regular meeting, and voted 5 -0
for Planning Division staff to return with a resolution of denial at the August 7, 2017 regular meeting.
RECOMMENDED ACTION
Adopt Planning Commission Resolution No. PC 19-17 entitled:
A RESOLUTION OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF
ORANGE DENYING CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT NO. 3035-16, MAJOR
SITE PLAN NO. 0890-16, DESIGN REVIEW NO. 4894-16 AND
TEMPORARY USE PERMIT NO. 0207-16 TO ESTABLISH A 200
STUDENT CHARTER HIGH SCHOOL WITH SHARED PARKING
FACILITIES AT 1310 E. LINCOLN AVENUE
Planning Commission
Agenda Item
August 7, 2017
Planning Commission Staff Report
August 7, 2017
Page 2
AUTHORIZATION/GUIDELINES
Orange Municipal Code (OMC) Table 17.08.020, Section 17.08.020.B.2.a, Section 17.10.030.C,
Section 17.10.035.C and Section 17.10.060.E authorizes the Planning Commission to review and take
action on the subject applications.
PUBLIC NOTICE
On July 7, 2017, the City sent a Public Hearing Notice to a total of 201 property owners/tenants within
a 300-foot radius of the project site. The project site has been posted in two locations with the
notification on that same date.
The Planning Division received seven (7) public comment letters in opposition to the proposed project
prior to the Planning Commission hearing on July 17, 2017.
At the July 17, 2017 Planning Commission meeting, ten (10) people spoke in opposition and six (6)
people spoke in favor of the proposed project during the public hearing.
PROJECT BACKGROUND
Applicant: Erin Craig, Ph.D., Unity Middle College High School
Property Owner: Main Place Christian Fellowship
Property Location: 1310 E. Lincoln Avenue
Existing General Plan
Land Use Element Designation:
General Commercial (GC)
Existing Zoning
Classification:
Office Professional (OP)
Old Towne: No
Specific Plan/PC: None
Site Size: 113,256 SF (2.6 acres)
Circulation: The property is located at the corner of E. Lincoln
Avenue and N. Canal Street, and accessible by
driveways to each of these roads.
Existing Conditions: The property is currently developed with a single story
A-frame church assembly hall with attached two-story
hip roof office annex. According the Orange County
Assessor records the church was constructed c1966. The
property shares its parking lot with the adjacent office
professional building at 1122 E. Lincoln Avenue. The
existing parking covenant allow for non-exclusive
parking access between the two properties, with no
Planning Commission Staff Report
August 7, 2017
Page 3
barriers allowed to be constructed to restrict access to
parking spaces by either party.
Surrounding Land Uses
and Zoning:
The subject property is located on the north side of the
City of Orange, near the unincorporated county area
known as Olive. The property is located at the southwest
corner of E. Lincoln Avenue and N. Canal Street. The
surrounding properties represent a mix of low intensity
commercial and residential uses.
North: Single and multi-family residential (R-3
and unincorporated county area), professional
offices (OP);
East: Multi-family residential (R-3) and
Eisenhower Park (R-1-7);
South: Single family residential (R-1-7 and R-1-
10);
West: Professional Offices (OP).
Previous
Applications/Entitlements:
None applicable.
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Unity Middle College High School (UMCHS) is an independent public, tuition-free charter high
school. The school proposes to open in August 2017 with 100 9th grade students and 11 full time
employees, with plans to grow to up to 200 9th and 10th grade students and 22 full time employees by
Fall 2018 on a portion of the Main Place Christian Fellowship property. The school will offer at-risk
and underserved students a blended high school and college curriculum, where students will not only
attend school on site but also at Santiago Canyon College. The school only proposes to operate at the
project site for a period of two years, after which time they intend to relocate to a larger site where
they can expand to serve 11th and 12th grade students.
UMCHS will operate independent of Main Place Christian Fellowship, and not use the existing
church building for any of its operations. To accommodate the required parking for the high school,
the church and the school have proposed to establish shared parking facilities between the two uses
so that their schedules and parking requirements will not conflict and adequate parking spaces will
be available on site at all times.
In order to accommodate the new charter high school, the applicant proposes to remove 40 parking
spaces in the parking lot adjacent to the church play yard and install five new modular buildings. Four
Planning Commission Staff Report
August 7, 2017
Page 4
modulars will be classroom buildings and one will be a restroom building. Design features of the
modular buildings include:
Standing seam metal roof
Vertical wood siding
Metal frame windows and doors
Vertical wood foundation skirting
Metal handrails
The proposed site plan includes a reconfigured parking layout to accommodate a dedicated drop off
area for students. The school site will be fenced in with 6 ft tall tubular steel fencing. Additional
perimeter landscaping will be added along E. Lincoln Avenue to shield the property from view from
the public right-of-way. Because the project proposes to locate on an existing paved parking lot, the
applicant is not required to upgrade the parking lot landscaping for the site. Large 36” square planters
will be placed around the buildings to provide additional landscaping in the school yard area.
The applicant has proposed a two year phasing plan for development on the site. During the first year
(2017) the two modular classrooms closest to E. Lincoln Avenue and the restroom building would be
installed and all site and landscape work would be completed. During the second year (2018) the
remaining two classroom buildings would be installed. The applicant intends to remove the buildings
at the end of second school year when they vacate the property. They would further remove all site
improvements and restore the parking lot to existing conditions.
PLANNING COMMISSION ACTION
At the July 17, 2017 regular meeting, the Planning Commission held a noticed public hearing for
the subject request for a charter school and shared parking facilities at 1210 E. Lincoln Avenue.
After due consideration, the Commission voted 5-0 to deny the project and requested staff return
with an alternative version of the resolution reflecting the determination that the proposed project
cannot meet the required findings of fact for a Conditional Use Permit, Major Site Plan, or Design
Review.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachments to Report:
1. Draft Planning Commission Resolution No. PC 19-17
2. Planning Commission Staff Report from July 17, 2017 Meeting
cc: Erin Craig
Unity Middle College High School
ecraig@unitymchs.org
Planning Commission Staff Report
August 7, 2017
Page 5
Phillip Schwartze
PRS Group
phillip@prsgrp.biz
Lori Trottier
lori.trottier@kw.com