Planning and Housing Commission grants two-year extension for South Main fitness club plan

The Corona City Planning and Housing Commission voted to grant a two-year extension of time for precise plan PP2022-004, a development permit for a two-story fitness club at 2895 South Main Street.

The extension, adopted by Resolution No. 2664, preserves the project's approvals from April 24, 2023, including concurrent variance V2022-0002 that reduced the front-yard setback along Chase Drive from 20 feet to 15 feet and the rear-yard landscape setback from 20 feet to 5 feet. Staff said the applicant filed a timely extension request on Feb. 4; without the extension the original permit would have expired on April 24, 2025, and the new expiration will be two years later on April 24, 2027.

Commissioners and staff framed the extension as a response to changing project economics and a recently available adjacent parcel that the developer is considering. Planning staff explained that the applicant is pursuing “value engineering” to lower construction costs — including reducing the building height by roughly 4–6 feet and trimming the second-floor mezzanine — and is weighing whether to acquire a separate, roughly 2-acre city-owned parcel (referred to in the staff presentation as the Basin) that came into play in November. The staff presentation and subsequent answers clarified that grading and building plans for the approved 4.09-acre site have been reviewed and, according to staff, could be pulled today, but any proposal to entitle the adjacent 2-acre parcel with new building square footage would require a new precise-plan application and return to the commission.

Developer Joe Balvis, who identified himself during the hearing as the applicant and project developer, described cost-reduction measures he is pursuing. “We took the height of the building and dropped it about 6 feet,” Balvis said, and said his team reduced the size of the second-floor deck and the associated structural rebar and glazing to lower costs. Balvis said banks have closely scrutinized the project during financing reviews, and the changes reflect efforts to make the project viable to lenders.

Commissioners asked for clarity about what kinds of changes could be handled administratively versus those that would require commission review. Planning staff said municipal code allows director-level review for “minor modifications” if changes remain within thresholds (generally less than 30 percent change to building layout or footprint). A “major modification” — including entitling a newly acquired adjacent parcel with additional building square footage — would require a new precise-plan application and a public hearing before the commission.

Some commissioners expressed concern about lengthy extensions that leave approved entitlements idle; one commissioner said they were generally reluctant to approve long extensions unless the applicant had been actively advancing permits. Others said they would grant the two-year extension because the applicant has been actively working and the city recently offered the adjacent parcel, which changed the applicant’s options.

The commission’s motion to adopt Resolution No. 2664, granting the two-year extension of time for PP2022-004, was moved by Commissioner Alexander, seconded by Commissioner Sequin, and passed. The agenda record shows no public speakers or written comments on the item.

If the applicant pursues development of the adjacent 2-acre parcel with new building square footage, staff said the project would return to the commission for review and public notice consistent with municipal code requirements.