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Commission recommends approval for Barker Business Park: heavy‑equipment sales, storage and maintenance project
Summary
After an ad hoc review and design changes, the commission voted 4‑0 to recommend council approve amendments and permits for a three‑lot heavy equipment sales, storage and maintenance complex along Frontage Road.
The Perris Planning Commission on Wednesday recommended that the City Council approve a specific plan amendment, conditional use permit and development plan review to allow a three‑lot heavy‑equipment sales, rental and maintenance development on Frontage Road north of Placentia Avenue.
The Barker Business Park proposal — three parcels totaling about 24.9 acres in the Perris Valley Commerce Center specific plan — would place two small buildings for indoor sales and support and a large lot for outdoor storage and trailer sales. Grant Ross of Orbis Real Estate Partners, the applicant, said the project follows two and a half years of design and outreach work and emphasized the project’s off‑site infrastructure investment and local tax revenue potential.
Why it matters: Staff told commissioners the eastern parcel had been shown as a potential regional basin in the specific plan and that Riverside County Flood Control later determined the regional basin was not required. The applicant therefore proposed reverting that 9.6‑acre parcel back to Business Professional Office zoning and amending the specific plan circulation plan to remove a segment of Walnut Street.
Key approvals and conditions: Staff recommended adoption of Resolution 25‑10 and the Mitigated Negative Declaration (MND 24‑04), along with SPA 23‑05321, CUP 24‑05125 and DPR 23‑00022. The project team presented revised building elevations, materials and landscaping after an ad hoc review; Commissioners and staff flagged several refinements and obtained commitments from the applicant during the hearing: enhanced corner landscaping at Frontage Road and Placentia Avenue, additional planters/trees along Lot 3 where it abuts existing single‑family homes, a requirement to add six employee parking spaces for Building 2 (a staff condition), and revised engineering conditions to require reconstruction of the Frontage Road curb‑to‑curb section including storm infrastructure. The applicant also agreed to provide 36‑inch box trees at tighter spacing along the frontage wall and to work with staff on photometric and screen‑wall details requested by nearby residents.
Traffic, drainage and compatibility: Engineering and the applicant discussed truck circulation and driveway geometry; engineering retained a condition requiring a site‑distance and truck‑turning analysis for the northerly truck driveway and directed applicant to align driveways and demonstrate safe left‑turn movements given existing roadway geometry. The project includes construction of a large storm box culvert on Frontage Road and other off‑site improvements estimated in the presentation at approximately $11 million in public‑infrastructure work to serve the site and adjoining land to the north.
Public comment and outcome: Nearby residents and businesses who attended praised outreach and the proposed 14‑foot screen wall along Lot 3. Grant Ross noted commitments to community engagement and charitable contributions tied to the property sale. The Planning Commission voted 4‑0 to recommend approval of the MND and entitlements to City Council, subject to conditions including the engineering updates and staff‑recommended clarifications (including the added six parking spaces).
