Planning commission recommends RV and self‑storage project with preservation covenant; residents express fire and conservation concerns

The Planning Commission voted to recommend City Council approve Master Application No. 20269, which would allow construction of a 136,035‑square‑foot self‑storage building, 77 RV stalls and a total of 993 storage units on a 14‑acre developable parcel southeast of I‑15 and 68th Street, together with preservation of roughly 72.5 acres as open space. The motion included direction to record a restrictive covenant requiring the 3.3‑acre borrow area to remain as a detention/retention basin in perpetuity as a condition of approval.

Renee Aguilar, Senior Planner, described the project entitlements: a General Plan amendment to reclassify a portion of the 86.8‑acre site from conservation (W1) to commercial (C1CP), a change of zone, a tentative parcel map subdividing the parcel into the developable uplands and the preservation parcel, a conditional use permit for the self‑storage use, a site development permit for trailer and boat storage, and a Mitigated Negative Declaration with a mitigation monitoring and reporting program. Aguilar corrected several slides to reflect the conditions of approval, including operational hours and 24‑hour security surveillance.

Applicant Steve Galvez described site history and mitigation work. Galvez said he purchased the original 86.8 acres in 2016–17, commissioned biological surveys and delineations, and negotiated a conservation arrangement with Southwest Resource Management Association to retain and manage the habitat‑quality parcel. “We did extensive biological surveys and jurisdictional delineations to determine what was habitat and what wasn't,” Galvez said, describing the developable portion as previously‑disturbed uplands.

Several residents urged denial or deeper scrutiny. Jennifer Toner and Kristen Garcia (Riverbend residents) accused the project of lacking necessary utility plans and said the proposed RV dump station, if not tied directly to sewer, could create a leaching risk. Garcia told commissioners she estimated the city would receive about $22,000 a year in property tax from a building of this size and asked whether that revenue justified removing conservation land. Jackie Pittington and other commenters expressed safety concerns if RVs and boats full of fuel are stored adjacent to homes and questioned emergency access during fires.

The applicant’s counsel, Kelly Black, replied that the purchase and subsequent PSA reserved the uplands parcel for development, that utility connections exist nearby (water and sewer lines with two access points), that the proposed dump station will connect to sewer rather than a septic pond, and that the developer has coordinated extensively with the fire department, which requested a 35‑foot access road and hydrants. Black emphasized that Southwest Resource Management Association, a conservation non‑profit, will hold and manage the ~72.5‑acre preservation parcel and that the developer is willing to record a restrictive covenant over the borrow area requiring it to remain a detention basin.

Commissioners deliberated over permanence of preservation, emergency access, hours of operation, monitoring, and the borrow area. A motion to recommend approval with the Mitigated Negative Declaration and added covenant passed; the item will proceed to City Council with the recommended conditions.

What’s next: The commission forwarded its recommendation and conditions, including the restrictive covenant for the 3.3‑acre borrow area, to the City Council for final action. The staff record and mitigation monitoring plan accompany the recommendation.