Commission approves modification to Ford of Montebello conditional use permit for service-bay expansion and rooftop parking

The Montebello Planning Commission approved a modification to Conditional Use Permit No. 07-71 that will allow Ford of Montebello to add roughly 30 indoor service bays and construct a rooftop parking/inventory area at 2747 Via Campo.

Staff presented the request (Case No. PC2025-0005-CUP) as a modification that reduces and revises prior, larger approvals for the site. Daniel Ruiz, planning staff, said the project proposes an approximately 21,850-square-foot first-floor addition and an approximately 29,300-square-foot rooftop parking and inventory area. With the proposed work, total building area on the site would increase from about 33,705 square feet to roughly 85,977 square feet on a combined lot area of 117,900 square feet.

Ruiz said the rooftop parking area would include about 57 standard parking spaces, the first floor would contain approximately 30 indoor service bays plus accessory spaces (restrooms, lunchroom, elevator and equipment room), and the maximum height would reach about 34 feet, 10 inches at the elevator tower. The project is proposed in a C-2 (general commercial) zone, adjacent to the Pomona (State Route 60) Freeway and near the Our Lady of the Miraculous Meadow Catholic Church to the south.

On environmental review, staff said an initial study and mitigated negative declaration previously prepared for the site had determined impacts could be mitigated to less-than-significant levels; an addendum to that initial study was prepared for the current proposal and staff recommended adoption of the addendum under CEQA Guidelines section 15162. Public notice was mailed to property owners within 300 feet and published in the Montebello News.

Applicant representative and architect Robert Plant described efforts to reduce on-site congestion by shifting inventory to the rooftop, adding additional off-site service capacity on a separate property the owner is acquiring, and concentrating service operations to improve flow. Plant said the rooftop deck, concrete walls around service areas and operational scheduling should reduce sound and vehicle congestion at the site.

Commissioners asked staff and the applicant questions about driveway configuration, traffic circulation, the proximity to the adjacent church property and whether the project site lies inside the viewshed overlay discussed earlier. Staff said the entrance from Via Campo would remain in the same location and that the current modification is shifted north compared with a prior proposal, which staff said would reduce impacts to the adjacent church. Staff also said the aesthetics and visual impacts had been analyzed in the addendum to the previously approved mitigated negative declaration and determined not to create new significant impacts.

There were no public speakers for this item. The commission voted by roll call to approve the CUP modification and adopted the staff-recommended CEQA addendum. The vote was recorded with Commissioners Lopez and Morales and Vice Chairperson Lomeli and Chairperson Medina voting “aye.” The motion passed.