|
|
|
|
Project Title: |
Build-Tek Inc. Contractor’s Yard Land Use Permit / Development Plan |
|
|
|
|
County File(s): |
CDLP20-02048 |
|
Applicant/Owner: |
Stacy Hagerstrand/Build-Tek Inc. (Applicant) / 55 Howe Road Investors LLC (Owner) |
|
|
|
|
Zoning/General Plan: |
R-B Retail Business District / CO Commercial |
|
|
|
|
Site Address/Location: |
0 Catalpa Street at the southwest corner of Pacheco Boulevard and Howe Road in the Martinez area of unincorporated Contra Costa County (APNs: 375-243-005, -006, -007, and -008) |
|
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Status: |
Categorical Exemption - Class 1: CEQA Guidelines Section 15301, Existing Facilities |
|
|
|
|
Project Planner: |
Grant Farrington, Planner III (925) 655-2868 |
|
|
grant.farrington@dcd.cccounty.us |
|
|
|
|
Staff Recommendation: |
Approve (See Section II for Full Recommendation) |
|
|
|
I. PROJECT SUMMARY
The applicant requests approval of a Land Use Permit / Development Plan to legalize an existing contractor’s yard for the storage of construction equipment. The applicant proposes minor project improvements, including modifications to the existing security fence and frontage improvements located in the right-of-way at the southwest corner of Pacheco Boulevard and Howe Road.
II. RECOMMENDATION
Department of Conservation and Development, Community Development Division (CDD) staff recommends that the Zoning Administrator:
A. FIND that the project is categorically exempt from CEQA under Section 15301 of the CEQA Guidelines.
B. APPROVE the Build-Tek Inc. Land Use Permit / Development Plan to legalize the existing contractor’s yard, based on the attached findings and subject to the attached conditions of approval.
C. APPROVE a certificate of compliance for four parcels that comprise that project site.
D. DIRECT staff to file a Notice of Exemption with the County Clerk.
III. GENERAL INFORMATION
A. General Plan: CO Commercial.
B. Zoning District: R-B Retail Business District.
C. California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) - Categorical Exemption - CEQA Guidelines Section 15301, Existing Facilities, Class 1 exemption for existing facilities involving negligible or no expansion.
D. Previous Applications:
CDZC25-00947: This Certificate of Compliance to establish Assessor’s Parcels 375-243-005, -006, -007, and -008 as one legal lot was approved by the Zoning Administrator on May 23, 2025.
IV. SITE/ AREA DESCRIPTION
The project site is a 14,072-square-foot legal lot comprised of four parcels with frontages on Pacheco Boulevard to the north, Howe Road to the east and Catalpa Street to the south. The project site is predominantly flat with a slight elevation change that slopes downward to the east towards Howe Road. The site has been established as a contractor’s storage yard since at least 2002 with an exterior security fence and no other structures on site. Entrances to the site include a primary driveway on Catalpa Street and a secondary entrance on Howe Road. The site serves Build-Tek Inc., which is a retail business located in an existing commercial building on the adjacent side of Howe Road within the city limits of Martinez.
The project site is located in an area with a variety of land uses including retail businesses to the immediate west, south, and east, single and multi-family residential dwellings further to the west and south, as well as some industrial uses to the north across Pacheco Boulevard. Pacheco Boulevard is a major thoroughfare that serves the area and is the primary frontage for several commercial businesses including storefront retail, automotive repair and other contractor’s yards. The Martinez Water Treatment Plan is located on the north side of Pacheco Boulevard and the Martinez Reservoir is located west side of Howe Road. Interstate 680 is approximately 0.77 miles to the northeast of the site.
V. PROJECT DESCRIPTION
The applicant requests approval of a Land Use Permit / Development Plan to legalize an existing contractor’s yard for the storage of construction equipment for Build-Tek Inc. The applicant proposes minor project improvements, including modifications to the existing security fence and frontage improvements located in the right-of-way at the southwest corner of Pacheco Boulevard and Howe Road. The fence along Howe Road would be straightened, the gate at the secondary driveway on Howe Road would be removed and replaced with a pedestrian gate, and Code-compliant right-of-way improvements would be installed. These minor fencing and access improvements are included in Attachment B. No additional business activities will be conducted on the project site beyond the storage of construction equipment and vehicles.
VI. AGENCY COMMENTS
An Agency Comment Request packet was sent on October 16, 2020 to a number of public agencies, including the Building Inspection Division, the Environmental Health Division of the Health Services Department, the Engineering Services Division of the Public Works Department, the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District, the Mt. View Sanitary District, the Contra Costa Water District, and the City of Martinez. A subsequent Agency Comment Request packet was sent on August 22, 2024 with the applicant’s frontage improvements plans to the Engineering Services Division. Agency comments received by staff are included in Attachment C. Following are summaries of the comments received.
A. Mt. View Sanitary District: The Sanitary District returned the Agency Comment Request form on October 21, 2020, with no comments.
An Advisory Note is included in the Conditions of Approval and Advisory Notes whereby the building plans must receive prior approval and be stamped by the Sanitary District.
B. Contra Costa County Fire Protection District: The Fire Protection District returned the Agency Comment Request form on October 22, 2020, with no comments.
An Advisory Note is included in the Conditions of Approval and Advisory Notes whereby the building plans must receive prior approval and be stamped by the Fire Protection District.
C. Building Inspection Division: On December 3, 2020, the Building Inspection Division returned the Agency Comment Request form stating that compliance with applicable building codes is required.
An Advisory Note is included in the Conditions of Approval and Advisory Notes whereby the applicant must comply with Building Inspection Division requirements.
D. Public Works Department, Engineering Services Division: On November 25, 2024, the Engineering Services Division submitted a memo describing the regulatory programs that applied to the subject parcel and included a number of conditions of approval and advisory notes to be applied to Land Use Permit / Development Plan CDLP20-02048. Subsequently, the Engineering Services submitted an email on March 11, 2025 with a revised condition of approval for the vehicular entrance gates.
The Public Works conditions of approval and advisory notes are incorporated in the Conditions of Approval and Advisory Notes.
VII. STAFF ANALYSIS
A. General Plan Consistency: The Build-Tek Inc. Land Use Permit / Development Plan is consistent with the General Plan, as discussed below.
1. Land Use Element: The project site is in the CO Commercial General Plan land use designation, which allows for a range of commercial and office uses, including retail, personal, and business services. The use of the contractor’s yard for outdoor equipment storage by Build-Tek Inc. will support the business operations of the building materials company and thus is considered a commercial use on the site. The proposed minor project improvements, including modifications to the existing security fence and right-of-way frontage improvements would enhance Build-Tek’s use of the site as a contractor’s yard and the use of the site will remain consistent with the CO General Plan land use designation.
2. Transportation Element: The Transportation Element of the General Plan shows designated arterials and expressways that are part of the County roadway network. Pacheco Boulevard is designated as a County arterial road, as shown on Figure TR-4, and is located adjacent to the project site to the north. Howe Road is shown on Figure TR-4 as a collector road. Policy TR-P4.4 states that the County is to manage access points along arterial and collector roadways to minimize the number of new driveway or street-type intersections. The project has a vehicular entrance located on Catalpa Street that would continue to be used. A secondary vehicular entrance on Howe Road is to be replaced with a pedestrian gate. There is no vehicular access point to Pacheco Boulevard. Thus, the project would be consistent with Policy TR-P4.4 by eliminating the vehicular entrance on Howe. The project also proposes to improve the right-of-way frontage at the southwest corner of Pacheco Boulevard and Howe Road. Based on its review of the project, the Engineering Services Division of the Public Works Department has included site access and improvements conditions of approval that will facilitate traffic to and from the project site. Thus, the project would be consistent with General Plan transportation policies for arterials.
3. Health and Safety Element: Pacheco Boulevard is also designated as a major evacuation route as shown on Figure HS-19 of the Health and Safety Element. Howe Road is shown on Figure HS-19 as a minor evacuation route. Evacuations can be effective in reducing injury and loss of life during a catastrophic event. Goal HS-13 calls for effective evacuation capacity and capabilities throughout the county in response to emergencies and major hazards of concerns. No portion of the project will impact the existing infrastructure of Pacheco Boulevard that would serve the purpose of evacuations in an emergency. Moreover, the elimination of the secondary vehicular entrance on Howe Road would improve its function as a minor evacuation route. Thus, the project does not conflict with this goal.
The project is partially located within a 60dB noise contour and is subject to the Noise and Vibration goals of the Health and Safety element. As shown in Table HS-3, office, commercial, and professional buildings have a normally acceptable maximum allowable noise exposure of 65 dB. The use of the project site as a contractor’s yard for outdoor equipment storage for Build-Tek Inc. would generate noise from vehicular ingress and egress. The project site is also adjacent to residential land uses to the south, which have a lower maximum allowable noise exposure level of 60 dB as shown in Table HS-3. Policy HS-P14.5 protects noise-sensitive land uses listed in Table HS-3 from adverse noise impacts by requiring mitigation to the degree feasible for projects that would increase long-term noise. As conditioned, the project will be required to limit the hours of operation at the project site, and thereby, the project will comply with the policies and goals for the Noise and Vibration section of the Health and Safety element.
B. Zoning Compliance: The project site is located in the R-B Retail Business District. The R-B District allows for a variety of land uses including building contractor’s yards with the approval of a land use permit. In addition to the requirement for a land use permit, no development is lawful in the R-B district until a development plan has been submitted and approved pursuant to the procedures in Article 84-50.16 of the County Ordinance Code. The project plans include modifications to the ingress and egress of the site, modifications to the exterior security fencing, and frontage improvements within the County right-of-way. With respect to applicable development standards, no portion of the project conflicts with the building height and yard setback requirements of the R-B District. Thus, with approval of the Land Use Permit / Development Plan, the project will comply with the provisions of the R-B District.
IX. CONCLUSION
Legalizing the existing Build-Tek Inc. contractor’s yard for the storage of construction equipment and vehicles will provide a resource for an existing retail business in the immediate vicinity of the project site. The project would be consistent with the land use and transportation element policies of the General Plan. As conditioned to limit the hours of operation at the project site, the project would be consistent with applicable noise level policies of the Health and Safety Element. The project would also be in compliance with the R-B Retail Business District development standards. Staff recommends approval of the Build-Tek Inc. Land Use Permit / Development Plan, based on the attached findings and subject to the attached conditions of approval.