Murrieta planning commission approves CarMax expansion on Madison Avenue

Murrieta Planning Commission voted unanimously Jan. 22 to approve a revised development plan and conditional use permit that will expand the existing CarMax auto-sales facility east of Madison Avenue, north of Guava Street.

The approval, carried 3-0, adopted an addendum to the 2015 mitigated negative declaration under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and authorized the construction of a 4.62-acre expansion that includes additional vehicle staging areas, seven additional truck-carrier stalls, a guard structure, lighting, perimeter walls and landscaping. Chair Pro Tem Michael LaPaglia made the motion to approve; Commissioner Beamish seconded. Commissioners LaPaglia, Beamish and DeSenna voted yes.

Staff and the applicant told the commission the expansion is intended to increase operational efficiency without changing the store’s hours of operation or its basic retail function. “This is not intended to alter the operations of the existing store but to make this more efficient and help with the traffic,” said Abby Bartalo, a development consultant for CarMax’s project team.

Assistant planner Rod Salazar presented the staff report, describing the three parcels between the existing CarMax site and Madison Avenue that are included in the proposal. Salazar said the project area includes about 1.04 acres of new landscaping and that the expansion parcels are adjacent to commercial properties including a Walmart-anchored center. He recommended that the commission adopt the CEQA addendum and approve the resolution and findings contained in the staff packet.

The CEQA review for the expansion was processed as an addendum to the 2015 mitigated negative declaration adopted by the city council in July 2015. The addendum concluded the expansion would not create new or substantially more severe environmental impacts and that existing mitigation measures remain applicable. The staff report cites CEQA guidance (an addendum under CEQA section 15164) in support of that determination.

Project specifics discussed at the hearing included: - Expansion size: 4.62 acres composed of three parcels adjacent to the western portion of the existing CarMax facility. - Landscaping: roughly 1.04 acres of new landscaping along the expansion perimeter and replacement of any dying trees in the right-of-way. - Vehicle staging: seven additional car-care spaces/carrier stalls and multiple staging areas labeled A–E on the site plans. - Screening: a CMU (concrete masonry) perimeter wall along Madison Avenue, with proposed articulation and a height increase noted from 6 feet to 7.5 feet in the elevations shown to the commission. - Setback/screen: a roughly 34-foot area between Madison Avenue and the perimeter wall that will include trees and shrubs to screen staging from the street. - Fire access and safety: the project plan includes additional fire-lane striping and three new fire hydrants, which staff said would bring the on-site total to 13 hydrants; the city fire department reviewed and signed off on the access plan.

Commissioners asked staff and the applicant several operational and technical questions. Commissioner Beamish pressed for clarity on construction hours, idling-engine signage and whether electrical service of 33 kV or higher could be required to be placed underground; staff and the applicant said normal on-site conduit and site lighting would be underground, and that decisions about relocating 33 kV-and-above lines typically rest with Southern California Edison rather than the city. "If that's something the city would require then we would require that," Salazar said when discussing undergrounding policy in general, while staff noted SCE has authority over high-voltage transmission decisions.

Questions about compliance and monitoring were addressed: construction waste diversion and recycling requirements referenced in the conditions are handled through the city building department and are required per CalGreen standards, Salazar said. The applicant said the expansion would primarily provide paved areas for storage and staging; reconditioning and auction operations already exist on-site and would remain part of the facility’s permitted uses.

CarMax’s real-estate development manager, Steve Hudak, told the commission site electrical for the expansion would be handled in small conduit on-site and said, "Everything's underground on-site." Hudak also said the applicant had coordinated design elements with the nearby Murrieta Auto and Tire project and could continue to coordinate landscaping and wall treatments during plan check.

On timing, the applicant said construction would proceed after entitlement approvals and permit issuance; CarMax estimated, based on typical internal sequencing, the project could be completed toward the end of the year, assuming permits and drawings proceed without delay.

The commission’s approval is appealable to the City Council; city planner Carl Steele reminded the public that appeals may be filed at the planning counter during business hours. City staff also told the commission that a General Plan cleanup and updates to the safety element — including evacuation-route work required by state law — are planned later this year and will be discussed at future workshops.

With the action taken Jan. 22, the planning commission adopted the CEQA addendum and approved the revised development plan and conditional use permit, clearing the way for the applicant to pursue building permits and the subsequent construction and coordination steps required for implementation.