Project Background

On February 19, 2008, Tricor Southwest, representing CVS Pharmacy, submitted General Plan Amendment and Zone Change requests, a Variance, Conditional Use Permit, Grading Permit and Environmental Assessment applications.  The applications request the approval to change the General Plan Land Use designation and the underlying Zoning designation from Residential to Commercial to allow the demolition of the existing Valero gasoline service station and construction of a new CVS Pharmacy store building.

On June 10, 2008, the Planning Commission considered the proposal; however, after hearing public testimony and discussing the merits of the project, the Planning Commission expressed concerns with the proposed project.  Specifically, the Commission was concerned with a) the location of the building and the associated Variance findings; b) the methodology used for the traffic report; and, c) the financial model used in the economic analysis.  After expressing these concerns, the Planning Commission agreed to continue the item to July 8, 2008 to allow the applicant time to address the concerns. 

In response to the concerns expressed at the June 10, 2008 meeting, the applicant submitted modified plans and updated information, which are available at City Hall and as attachments to the Staff Report.  Please click on the link below to view the July 8, 2008 Staff Report.

On July 8, 2008, the Planning Commission considered a revised project and the additional information requested at the June 10th meeting.  Although four of the seven Commissioners were present, the Planning Commission deliberated for several hours.  However, the Commission ultimately agreed to continue the matter to the August 26, 2008 meeting to allow the absent Commissioners the opportunity to provide input on the project and formulate a recommendation to the City Council.  Please click on the link below to view the August 26, 2008 Staff Report. Please click on the link below to view the August 26, 2008 Staff Report.  Further, please click on the link below to view a powerpoint presentation that was used at the July 8th Planning Commission meeting, which contains plans and photos of the initial project versus the revised project.

However, on August 25, 2008, Tricor Southwest submitted a letter requesting a continuance of the public hearing due to the recent announcement of CVS Pharmacy’s national acquisition of Long’s Drug Stores and the need for the CVS Pharmacy company to conduct due diligence.  Thus, at the August 26, 2008 meeting, the Planning Commission continued the public hearing on the CVS Pharmacy project to the October 14, 2008 meeting.

On October 14, 2008, the Planning Commission considered the requested project.  After hearing from the project applicant, hearing public testimony, and discussing the merits of the proposed project, the Planning Commission denied the requested General Plan Amendment and Zone Change to change the existing zoning from Residential to Commercial, and the associated entitlement applications for a CVS/pharmacy.  On October 15, 2008, the property owner submitted an appeal of the Planning Commission’s decision to the City Council.  The property owner is requesting that the City Council overturn the Planning Commission’s denial of the General Plan Amendment and Zone Change only.  On November 6, 2008, the City Council conducted a public hearing on the matter, and continued the item to the January 20, 2009 City Council meeting.  However, due to the Presidential Inauguration, the City Council decided to move their January 20th meeting to January 21st.  In preparation for the January 21st meeting, a modified Mitigated Negative Declaration was prepared and circulated to the public for comments. 

On January 21, 2009, the City Council conducted the public hearing on the matter, and continued the item to the April 21, 2009 City Council meeting, and directed Staff to initiate a Development Code Amendment to the CL zone regarding the uses permitted and conditionally permitted within such zones.  Although the City Council has made it clear that the pending appeal on the Zone Change for the Valero property and the Council-initiated Code Amendment are not related, there was direction from the Council that a Code Amendment be initiated and brought forth prior to considering the Valero appeal. 

On February 24, 2009, the Planning Commission considered an amendment to Chapter 17.14 of the City's Municipal Code pertaining to permitted and conditionally permitted uses in the Commercial-Limited (CL) Zoning District.

The Planning Commission decided to recommend to the City Council to only change Section 17.14.030 (uses and development permitted by conditional use permit). The recommended change includes deleting the following uses: bed & breakfast inns (subsection D); concurrent sales of alcohol and motor fuel (subsection I); and golf courses, driving ranges and related ancillary uses (subsection K).   The Planning Commission memorialized their recommendation by adopting a Resolution on March 10, 2009.

On March 17, 2009, the City Council considered the Planning Commission’s recommendation; but, after hearing additional public testimony, the Council considered making no deletions to the list of conditionally permitted uses and, instead, contemplated making three existing “by right” uses subject to a conditional use permit (food markets, pharmacies and liquor stores).  However, since three affirmative votes are necessary to adopt an Ordinance, a motion to approve and adopt an Ordinance to codify the contemplated amendment failed on a 2-1 vote (Mayor Pro-tem Wolowicz dissented, and Council members Doug Stern and Peter Gardiner were absent).  Thus, the Council agreed to continue the Code Amendment public hearing to the May 5, 2009 meeting to allow for additional Council members to be present.  Unfortunately, only three Council members were present at the May 5th City Council meeting; thus, the hearing on the appeal was continued to June 16, 2009, which is the next regularly scheduled City Council meeting where more than three Council members are expected to attend.

In the meantime, to view the various Planning Commission and City Council Staff Reports, or other information and slide presentations regarding the Valero site, please click one of the links below.

Project Site Description:

The subject property is a 41,867 square foot (.96 acres) corner lot located on the northwest corner of Hawthorne Boulevard and Granvia Altamira.  The lot has an existing 3,592 square foot one-story building with three automobile service bays, convenience store and a small office and storage area.  There are also four fueling dispensers located under an existing 1,500 square foot, 16-foot high canopy.

The underlying zoning district of the lot is RS-4 (Single Family Residential).  However, since this lot is in the City's automotive service station overlay control district (OC-4), the use is considered a legal conforming use, regardless of the base zoning district.

Additional Information:

For further information about this project, please contact Senior Planner Eduardo Schonborn with the City of Rancho Palos Verdes at 310-544-5228 or via email at eduardos@rpv.com.

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