Corona City Council approves Green River Ranch plan amendments, business park and certifies subsequent EIR

The Corona City Council on Feb. 4 approved a suite of land‑use actions for the Green River Ranch property, including a general plan amendment, a specific plan amendment, a tentative tract map and a precise plan, and certified a subsequent environmental impact report for the project.

Planning and Development Director Joanne Coletta told the council the package would reorganize existing land‑use designations across about 158.5 acres, rename a mixed‑use designation to “Business Park Industrial,” reduce certain commercial acreage and increase open space. Coletta recommended the council certify the EIR and approve the applications. “We are recommending approval of all these applications this evening and asking the city council to certify the final EIR,” she said.

The council’s action changes the specific plan and General Plan allocations for the site along Green River Road. Under the revised plan, the mixed‑use 2 designation is reduced by about 9.7 acres, the general commercial designation is reduced by roughly 2.5 acres, and the open space designation increases by about 100 acres. The applicant is proposing a business park on roughly 49 acres that includes five buildings — the largest about 285,000 square feet and four others ranging from about 80,000 to 126,000 square feet — with loading areas oriented away from street view, a new signal at the project entrance and additional turn lanes on Green River Road paid for by the developer.

Coletta told the council the certified subsequent EIR still finds two significant and unavoidable environmental impacts — transportation (measured as vehicle miles traveled, or VMT) and air quality — and that the project’s VMT score (62) exceeds the city threshold (40.6), requiring the council to adopt overriding considerations under CEQA. The staff report notes the 2001 EIR for the area likewise identified transportation and air quality impacts that the council at that time found were outweighed by project benefits.

Project benefits described to the council and in the staff presentation include preserving roughly 103 acres of open space, of which about 80 acres will be dedicated to wildlife habitat preservation and enrolled in the Riverside County Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan (MSHCP), a reduction in projected trip generation compared to the prior approved plan (from roughly 11,000 trips to about 4,300 trips, a 61% reduction), and job and economic activity associated with the business park.

Public testimony at the four consolidated public hearings was overwhelmingly supportive. Joe Morgan, a Corona resident, told the council: “I think the project now is a lot better than what it was,” praising the developer’s outreach and the removal of residential uses from the site. Labor and construction trade representatives emphasized local‑hire and skilled‑and‑trained commitments in the development agreement; Jonathan Daley of the Laborers’ union said the project would “allow us more time to spend with our families, and not have to travel to LA, to San Diego, to work.” David Hanson, business agent for Plumbers and Steamfitters Local 398, told the council that local, skilled construction jobs would feed the Corona economy. Several nearby residents and a written commenter said they believed the developer had substantially altered the proposal in response to community input, including increased setbacks, more landscaping and trail access preservation.

The council voted unanimously, 5‑0, to approve the package of land‑use changes and entitlements and to certify the subsequent EIR. Specifically, the council approved the General Plan amendment (File No. 2020‑00002), the Specific Plan amendment (File No. 2020‑00006, introduced by title as Ordinance No. 3409 for first reading), Tentative Tract Map No. 37963 (subdivide ~155.405 acres into seven lots), and the precise plan (File No. 2020‑0000[specified in staff report]). Mayor Steiner moved to approve the project package and a councilmember seconded; each individual public‑hearing item was voted on and approved, 5‑0.

Developer Jeremy Mape of Western Real Co. and the project team were present for the hearing and answered council questions about grading, building massing, signage and traffic mitigation. Coletta and the applicant said building heights were reduced from an earlier 80 feet (six stories) to 55 feet (three stories), allowable monument signage heights were lowered, hotels and motels were removed from permitted uses, and restaurants with drive‑throughs were changed from by‑right to conditional uses.

Next steps: with the approvals in place the developer may proceed toward final engineering, building permits and the actions required by the MSHCP for habitat dedication and conservation. The project still requires standard entitlement compliance steps (final engineering, grading permits, building permits and any conditions the city placed on approvals).