Hearing Officer and Planning Director John Hildebrand approved Revision 1 to Plot Plan No. 20682 for a proposed self-storage facility in the French Valley area at a June 30, 2025 Riverside County directors hearing. The hearing officer also found that no new environmental document was required because the previously adopted mitigated negative declaration (Environmental Assessment No. 40245) adequately analyzed potentially significant effects.

Project planner Jose Luis Aparicio said the revision covers the self-storage portion of a parcel that was previously subdivided and that the overall parcel totals 11.96 gross acres while the developed site for the storage buildings is 5.09 acres. Under the revision, Building A is reduced from a two-story, 24-foot, 39,592-square-foot structure to a one-story, 16-foot, 16,652-square-foot building; Building B remains a one-story, 7,000-square-foot building; Building C remains a one-story, 9,324-square-foot building; and Building D changes from a two-story, 24-foot, 58,222-square-foot building to a three-story, 36-foot, 96,706-square-foot building. The total proposed building area is 130,951 square feet and the office area is 1,135 square feet, Aparicio said.

Aparicio described facade and landscaping materials, saying facades would mix stucco, cement plaster and stone veneer, with blue metal roll-up doors in portions of the project, and listed proposed trees and shrubs along the frontage to reduce visual impacts. He said the project was advertised in the Press-Enterprise and property owners within 600 feet were mailed notice; staff received one phone call opposing the project and one email with an attached petition of 170 signatures opposing it. The petition cited concerns about air pollution, traffic and biological resources; staff’s memo referenced the previously adopted mitigated negative declaration (EA 40245) as the basis for the environmental finding.

Russell Brady, representing staff, told the hearing officer that the overall site development footprint has not changed from the prior approvals, although the scope and configuration of individual buildings were modified. Applicant representative Matthew Motland thanked staff and said, “we're excited to be in French Valley with this project.” The hearing officer asked and staff confirmed the project’s original approval occurred March 15, 2017; staff and the applicant noted that the original approval still allows construction under those prior entitlements.

Given staff’s findings and the changes proposed, John Hildebrand said he was "willing to take staff's recommendation based upon the facts and findings in the staff report, staff's presentation, and move to approve this item as recommended." The hearing officer moved to approve the revision; the record shows the item was approved as recommended. The staff report and environmental record will be the basis for any subsequent permit processing or building permits required to implement the approved revision.

Materials and design details, including final elevation drawings, the landscape palette, and trash enclosure and parking layouts, were presented to the hearing officer and included in the administrative record. The applicant and staff were available for follow-up questions after the hearing.