HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 3 - Letter from Atty James C. StevensJames C. Stevens
Attorney at Law
402 W. Broadway
Suite 400
San Diego, CA 92101
February 24, 2015
Planning Commission of the City of Chula Vista
276 Fourth Avenue
Chula Vista, CA 91910
Re: DRC- 14- 06/PCC 14 -055
Dear Commissioners:
(619) 934 -9946
Fax (619) 934 -2844
jimstevens @cox.net
I represent Investcal Realty Corporation, the owner of property located at 900 Lane
Avenue in Chula Vista, California. I write on behalf of Investcal to object to the storage facility
Project proposed by the Applicant, Pacifica Companies, LLC, for 2380 Fenton Street ( "Project
Location "), and the Applicant's application for issuance of a Design Review Permit and
Conditional Use Permit.
Investcal's property consists of a 1.6 acre improved lot located immediately east of the
Project Location. Investcal's property is improved with a single -story 18,782 square foot office
building leased to attorneys, investment counselors, psychiatrists and other professionals. There
are currently seven separate demised offices located on the west side of Investcal's office
building, all with windows which will face the storage facility if the Project is approved. The
west side of Investcal's building is located approximately 100 feet from the Project Location.
It is Investcal's principals' understanding that the proposed storage facility is to be
114,760 square feet in size and located within a three -story building. The parcel upon which the
storage facility is proposed to be built is 1.55 acres. An acre consists of 67,518 square feet, thus
to accommodate a 114,760 square foot structure, the setbacks will necessarily be de minimis.
Conversations with the Project Manager have confirmed that structure will be located no more
than ten feet from the eastern line of the Project Location.
The east wall of the proposed storage facility, i.e., the wall of the facility which will face
Investcal's office building, will have no windows. Instead, it will consist of alternating metal
panels and stucco finish. Those portions of the exterior wall to be covered with metal panels will
be 35 feet high. Those portions of the exterior wall to be covered with stucco will be 40 feet
high. A monolithic structure of this size will dwarf Investcal's building and loom over the
offices located on the west side of Investcal's building. It will render the offices located on the
west side of Investcal's building less desirable and much more difficult to lease.
The Project Location is surrounded on all four sides by office buildings. There are,
however, at least three other storage facilities located within 1/4 to 1/2 of a mile of the Project
Location.
The Project Location is zoned Professional & Office ( "C -O "). According to Section
19.30.010 of the Zoning Code, "[t]he purpose of the C -O zone is to provide appropriate locations
where professional and administrative office zones may be established, maintained and
protected. The regulations of this district are designed to promote a quiet and dignified
environment for business administration, professional and government activities, free from the
congestion and traffic of the usual retail business district. To this end, the regulations permit
office buildings and medical and financial facilities; appropriate commercial facilities primarily
for the service of the occupants of the district are permitted subject to special controls."
The applicant's Project proposes a use which is not consistent with a C -O zone. The
Applicant seeks a conditional use permit. Section 19.14.080 of the Zoning Code, "Conditional
use permit – Prerequisites for granting" provides in pertinent part that the Planning Commission
may grant a conditional use permit only if it finds from the evidence presented at said hearing
that all of the following facts exist:
"A. That the proposed use at the particular location is necessary or desirable to
provide a service or facility which will contribute to the general well -being of the
neighborhood or the community;
B. That such use will not, under the circumstances of the particular case, be
detrimental to the health, safety or general welfare of persons residing or working
in the vicinity, or injurious to property or improvements in the vicinity;"
The Applicant's proposed use is not necessary or desirable, nor will it contribute to the
general well -being of the neighborhood or community. To begin with, self storage facilities
bring —comparative to their size and infrastructural requirements —few jobs or sales -tax benefits to
the cities in which they are located. Furthermore, scanning the internet, one can find instances in
which self- storage units were found to contain: corpses ( http : / /www.huffingtonpost.com/2012 /01/27/
grandma- found -in- storage-- n- 1236490.html); meth labs ( http: / /www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/
index. ssf/2013/1 0/two–men–arrested–after–detecti.html); people living inside (http: //blog.
selfstorage.com /self- storage - operations/living -in -a- storage- unit - 3575); and the "office" of a self -
proclaimed gynecologist who in fact had no medical degree (http: / /nbcnews.com/id/6575371/
ns /us– news - crime– and– courts /t/fake- gynecologist -gets- four - years - prison/ #.VOzS9vnF -IA). Both
Timothy McVeigh and Ramsi Yousef stored chemicals in self- storage units, and the Department of
Homeland Security has issued guidance on how storage operators can spot potential terrorists.
In any event, there are three other large storage facilities located within one half a mile of
the Project Location. A fourth such facility is certainly not necessary, nor is it desirable on a lot
surrounded by professional office buildings such as Investcal's. A self storage facility will not
"promote a quiet and dignified environment for business administration, professional and
government activities." Accordingly, the Planning Commission cannot make the finding
required by Section 19.14.080 (A).
Furthermore, the Planning Commission cannot make the finding required by Section
19.14.080 (B). Investcal owns and operates a professional office building. As noted above, its
tenants include attorneys, investment advisors, mental health and other professionals. Several of
the offices located in Investcal's building are located little more than one hundred feet from what
would be the thirty -five to forty foot high eastern wall of the self- storage facility. Investcal's
tenants' office views will be dominated by that blank, windowless wall — hardly conducive to a
"dignified environment." The structure will make it far more difficult to market and lease those
offices in the future, thereby causing financial injury to Investcal's property.
In sum, Investcal objects to the Applicant's Project and requests that the Applicant be
denied a CUP. At a minimum, the Project should be scaled back in size and relocated further
from Investcal's property line. The eastern wall of the Project, if it is to be built, must
incorporate appropriate architectural details (windows) and it must be appropriately screened by
trees and other landscaping elements.
Very truly yours,
s /James C. Stevens
James C. Stevens
JCS: ms