Corona Planning Commission denies re-entitlement for 103‑lot Laurel Canyon subdivision

The City of Corona Planning and Housing Commission on Monday voted unanimously to deny a re‑entitlement request (TTM 37,895) for a tentative tract map that would subdivide about 61.6 acres for 103 single‑family lots in the Laurel Canyon/Bel Air area.

The commission’s denial followed extended public comment and staff and applicant presentations about the project’s history, required public‑improvement conditions and outreach. The applicant sought to revive a subdivision that the commission originally approved in 2014 but which expired after the map was not recorded; the current applicant resubmitted the project in 2022.

Why it matters: The site borders Riverside County and would rely partly on an off‑site road and traffic infrastructure in the county. Residents and several commissioners said the project, as proposed, would increase safety risks because local access is narrow and lacks sidewalks, lighting and a reliable second egress; several speakers also described prior blasting, unfinished cleanup and incomplete fencing on the site.

Staff presentation and applicant response Sandra Venain, the planning manager who presented the item for staff, described the application as a re‑entitlement of the prior subdivision and said staff was recommending approval of the resubmitted tentative tract map and an addendum to the previously adopted mitigated negative declaration. Staff’s recommended conditions would require on‑site and frontage improvements, a traffic signal at Ontario and State streets before map recordation, construction of Laurel Canyon Way frontage to city standards (curb, gutter, sidewalk, landscape parkway) and construction of Shadow Valley Drive to Riverside County standards prior to project opening. Staff also identified required restriping, no‑parking designations on Old Temescal Road, and fair‑share funding by the applicant for certain signals.

Peter Carlson of Carson Strategic Land Solutions,…