Planning commission moves to allow churches in M4 industrial zone with minor CUP after applicant presentation

The Corona Planning and Housing Commission on a 4-1 vote on the motion’s initiation directed staff to pursue a zoning text amendment to allow churches not exceeding 10,000 square feet in the city’s M4 industrial zone, subject to approval of a minor conditional use permit.

Associate Planner Brendan Daldy told commissioners the change would amend Corona Municipal Code section 17.44.030 to make churches a permissible use in M4 with an MCUP, aligning M4 practice with the existing M1 and commercial zones. "This request is to initiate a zoning text amendment by our applicant, Bruce Roman of the Congregation Beth Shalom," Daldy said during the staff presentation.

The measure was prompted by an application from Congregation Beth Shalom, whose representative and president, Bruce Roman, told the commission the congregation has about "45 families" and currently occupies a facility in an M1-zoned area. Roman said the group’s proposed site at 536 Queensland Circle has sufficient parking, that their regular use is limited to Friday evenings, Saturday mornings and occasional Sunday activities, and that they do not plan prominent signage.

Commissioners pressed staff on procedural and policy questions during the hearing: when a minor conditional use permit (MCUP) goes to the Board of Zoning Adjustment rather than the Planning Commission; why 10,000 square feet is the threshold; and whether classifying churches as a "sensitive use" in M4 would bar certain businesses from locating nearby. Daldy said MCUPs are reviewed by the Board of Zoning Adjustment, that the 10,000-square-foot limit traces to earlier code decisions in the 1990s and that staff had limited records on why that number was chosen.

Several commissioners — including Commissioner Longwell — said they wanted more information before broad code changes are finalized. "I'd like it to come to a public hearing to give neighbors a chance to weigh in," Longwell said, citing concerns that churches can grow and generate traffic and activities that could affect adjacent businesses. Other commissioners said the noticing process for BZA hearings (mailers and Sentinel notices) is the same as for Planning Commission hearings but acknowledged BZA meetings typically attract fewer attendees.

To address those concerns, the commission’s motion directing initiation included a request that staff return with a narrower analysis of the consequences of designating churches as sensitive uses in M4, specifically which permitted businesses could be restricted by typical sensitive-use buffers and how notice and public participation would be handled. Staff told the commission it could complete that research and present findings when the applicant files the formal amendment application; for a single-applicant amendment, staff estimated return to the commission in roughly a month if the applicant files promptly.

The motion to initiate the zoning text amendment was made by Commissioner Longwell and seconded; the commission recorded the motion as passing 4-1. The staff recommendation as presented was to initiate the amendment to CMC 17.44.030 to allow churches up to 10,000 square feet in the M4 zone with an MCUP, with staff to report back on sensitive-use impacts and potential process alternatives (such as asking Council to consider requiring a standard CUP instead of an MCUP for future cases).

Bruce Roman and another supporter, Mr. Fogle, addressed commissioners during public comment, stressing the congregation’s small size and long presence in Corona. "We're 45 families and getting smaller," Fogle said, adding that the congregation is the only Jewish synagogue in Corona and arguing a temple would be preferable to the prior tenant, a dispensary.

Next steps: if the commission’s direction stands, the applicant may file the formal zone text amendment; staff will prepare the full analysis and return the item to the Planning and Housing Commission and, subsequently, to City Council for ordinance consideration, as required by the zoning-amendment process. The commission’s next meeting is scheduled for April 6, 2026.