Report Prepared by: Valeria Renteria, Associate Planner, Development Services Department
Title
SUBJECT: Public Hearing - General Plan Amendment #24-02, Site Utilization Plan Revision #3 to Planned Development (P-D) #20, and Appeal of the Planning Commission’s Denial of Site Plan Review Permit #551 and Minor Use Permit #24-13, Initiated by Eric Gonsalves, on Behalf of Yosemite 1380 LLC, Property Owner. The Approximate 8.05-Acre Subject Site is Generally Located on the Southwest Corner of East Yosemite Avenue and Parsons Avenue (1380 E. Yosemite Avenue and 3595 Parsons Avenue). The General Plan Amendment Would Change the General Plan Land Use Designation from Commercial Office (CO) to Business Park (BP) for 3.19 Acres and from Commercial Office (CO) to Low Medium Density (LMD) Residential for the Remaining 4.86 Acres. The Site Utilization Plan Revision Would Change the Land Use Designation Within Planned Development (P-D) #20 from “Commercial Office” to “Self-Storage” for 3.19 Acres, and from “Commercial Office” to “Residential” for 4.86 Acres. The Proposal Would Separate the Self-Storage from the Residential Lots and Create the 28 Residential Lots. The Site Plan Review Permit Would Allow the Development of a Self-Storage Facility (Approximately 500 Storage Units). The Minor Use Permit Would be for Interface Review to Allow Commercial Development Adjacent to or Across from a Low Density Residential (R-1-6) Zone
REPORT IN BRIEF
Request for City Council to consider approving or denying General Plan Amendment #24-02, and Site Utilization Plan Revision #3 to Planned Development (P-D) #20, and the appeal of the Planning Commission’s Denial of Site Plan Review Permit #551 and Minor Use Permit #24-13. The subject site is approximately 8.05 acres located at 1380 E. Yosemite Avenue, and 3595 Parsons Avenue. The applicant is requesting to develop a self-storage facility, and a gated residential subdivision with 28 lots. The vesting subdivision map to subdivide the land for this project (VTSM #1332) was approved by the Planning Commission on September 17, 2025.
RECOMMENDATION
For Project Approval:
City Council - Adopt a motion:
A. Adopting Resolution 2025-, A Resolution of the City Council of the City of Merced, California, granting an appeal #25-0004 by Eric Gonsalves on behalf of Yosemite 1380, LLC, of the Planning Commission’s recommendation of denial of General Plan Amendment #24-02 and Site Utilization Plan Revision #3 to Planned Development #20; denial of Site Plan Review Permit #551 and Minor Use Permit #24-13; and approval of legislative action agreement; and,
B. Introducing Ordinance 2585, An Ordinance of the City Council of the City of Merced, California, changing the land use designation for 3.19 acres from “Commercial Office” to “Self Storage” at 1380 E. Yosemite Avenue and for 4.86 acres from “Commercial Office” to “Residential” at 3595 Parson Avenue, generally located at the southwest corner of E. Yosemite Avenue and Parsons Avenue; and,
C. Approving the Legislative Action Agreement and authorizing the City Manager to execute the necessary documents.
For Project Denial:
City Council - Adopt a motion:
A. Adopting Resolution 2025-__, a Resolution of the City Council of the City of Merced, California denying an appeal #25-0004 by Eric Gonsalves on behalf of Yosemite 1380, LLC, of the Planning Commission’s recommendation of denial of General Plan Amendment #24-02, Site Utilization Plan Revision #3 to Planned Development #20, and denial of Site Plan Review Permit #551, and Minor Use Permit #24-13; and,
B. Adopting a motion to deny Ordinance 2585, An Ordinance of the City Council of the City of Merced, California, changing the land use designation for 3.19 acres from “Commercial Office” to “Self Storage” at 1380 E. Yosemite Avenue and for 4.86 acres from “Commercial Office” to “Residential” at 3595 Parson Avenue, generally located at the southwest corner of E. Yosemite Avenue and Parsons Avenue; and,
C. Denying the Legislative Action Agreement authorizing the City Manager to execute the necessary documents.
Body
ALTERNATIVES
1. Approve, as directed by the City Council; or,
2. Approve subject to modifications as conditioned by City Council; or,
3. Deny; or,
4. Refer back to staff for reconsideration of specific items (to be addressed in the motion); or,
5. Continue to a future meeting (date and time to be specified in the motion).
AUTHORITY
Title 19 of the Merced Municipal Code outlines environmental review procedures and California Government Code Section 65358(a) grants authority to amend all or part of an adopted General Plan. The legislative body may amend zoning designations pursuant to California Government Code Section 65583. Merced Zoning Ordinance Section 20.20.020 grants the City Council authority to approve Planned Developments.
City of Merced Zoning Ordinance Section 20.74 - Appeals addresses the procedure for appealing a decision made by the Planning Commission.
CITY COUNCIL PRIORITIES
Not applicable.
DISCUSSION
Project Description
The Project site consists of two parcels that total approximately 8.05 acres located at 1380 Yosemite Avenue (APN: 006-050-068) and 3595 Parsons Avenue (APN: 006-050-072) (Attachment 1). The subject site has a General Plan designation of Commercial Office (CO) and a Zoning classification of Planned Development(P-D) #20. The subject site is surrounded by a variety of uses which include residential to the east, south, and west, a religious institution to the north and University Surgery Center adjacent northeast of the project site.
The applicant is requesting to change the General Plan land use designation from Commercial Office (CO) to Business Park (BP) for 3.19 acres and from Commercial Office (CO) to Low Medium Density (LMD) residential for the remaining 4.86 acres. As well as changing the land use designation within Planned Development (P-D) #20 from Commercial Office to Self-Storage for 3.19 acres, and to Residential for the remaining 4.86 acres The Minor Use Permit would be for interface review to allow commercial development adjacent to or across from a Low Density Residential (R-1-6) Zone. The Site Plan Review Permit would allow the development of a self-storage facility (approximately 500 storage units).
Site Design
This proposal would separate the self-storage facility from the residential lots and create the 28 residential lots. The residential subdivision would be a gated community with vehicle access from Parsons Avenue. Of the 28 residential lots, lots 1-15 would be single story homes and lots 16-28 would be a mix of single- and two-story homes. The proposed residential lots would range in size between 4,365 square feet and 8,930 square feet. These lots would be located within the southern portion of the subject site on approximately 4.86 acres. The remaining 3.19 acres would be used to establish a self-storage facility. The applicant has provided a site plan, floor plan, and elevations (Attachments 3 and 4) for this proposal. The development standards for both the gated residential subdivision and the self-storage facility can be found at Attachment 5.
Elevations
The developer has provided six different elevation styles as shown at Attachment 4. These styles include architectural concepts named Santa Barbara, Modern Farmhouse, European Cottage, and English Cottage. They include a variety of earthtone colors and a mixture a material such as stucco, board and baton, stone veneers, and shingled roofs.
The northern portion of the parcel along E. Yosemite Avenue would be reserved for the self-storage facility with approximately 500 storage units. The applicant has provided a site plan, floor plans, and elevations for this proposal. Attachment 3 illustrates the proposed structures (Site Plan, Floor Plan, and Elevations). The storage facility would be composed of five storage buildings; the office would be attached into one of those storage buildings. The office would be the most visible structure to the public located along E. Yosemite Avenue. The exterior of the office would consist of walls with stucco finish, stone veneer accents, and storefront windows.
The storage spaces would range in dimensions between 5 feet by 5 feet, and 10 feet by 25 feet. The storage buildings would have a metal finish. The back of the storage units along the eastern, southern and western property lines would consist of a 12 to 14-foot-tall block wall. The northern property line would be secured with a wrought iron perimeter fence.
Background Regarding this Proposal with Previous Actions
The applicant is requesting approval for a land use change to allow a self-storage facility and residential subdivision for an 8.05-acre site located at 1380 E Yosemite Avenue and 3595 Parsons Avenue. This request was originally denied by the Planning Commission during their meeting of May 7, 2025. After the denial, the applicant filled an appeal to the City Council. The appeal was then heard by the City Council on July 7, 2025, and sent back for the Planning Commission to reconsider. The City Council also directed staff to help coordinate a neighborhood meeting with the applicant’s team which was held July 22, 2025.
A neighborhood meeting was held at Merced Civic Center in the Sam Pipes Conference Room on July 22, 2025. Meeting invitations were provided to the neighborhood prior to the meeting. Approximately 30 residents attended the neighborhood meeting. Based on the discussion at that meeting with the neighbors, the applicant made changes to the project. Those changes include, but are not limited to:
1. A decrease in residential density: from 41 dwelling units to 28 dwelling units.
2. An increase in lot size.
3. A restriction of “single story housing units” for lots adjacent to southern neighbors. Other units in the interior would be allowed up to 2 stories.
4. Rear setbacks that exceed the rear neighbor R-1-6 requirements (15 feet for the proposed PD vs. down to 5 feet for the southern neighboring properties).
5. A reduction of operating hours for the storage facility from 7 AM to 7 PM (instead of 10 PM).
The Planning Commission heard a revised version of this proposal on September 17, 2025. At the Commission Hearing, the Commission made a motion to recommend denial to the City Council for General Plan Amendment #24-02, and Site Utilization Plan Revision #3 to Planned Development (P-D) #20. The Commission failed to reach the requisite four (4) vote threshold for denial of recommendation of General Plan Amendment #24-02 and Site Utilization Plan Revision #3 to Planned Development (P-D) #20. Therefore, the recommendation is automatically deemed to be a recommendation of denial pursuant to Municipal Code Section 20.82.040 (B). In addition, the Commission denied recommendation of Site Utilization Plan Revision #3 to Planned Development (P-D) #20.
By separate motion, the Commission voted 3-2 in favor of approving Vesting Tentative Subdivision Map #1332, Site Plan Review Permit #551, and Minor Use Permit #24-13 and Environmental Review #24-25 (Negative Declaration). Pursuant to City of Merced Municipal Code Section 20.64.040(e), the Site Review Permit and Minor Use Permit are deemed denied by the Commission, since those two entitlements failed to receive the required four (4) affirmative votes. However, the Vesting Tentative Subdivision Map and Environmental Review are deemed approved, since approval of a Vesting Tentative Subdivision Map and Environmental Review (Negative Declaration) only requires a simple majority approval. Additional details and background information about the project can be found at Attachment 8 (staff report from Planning Commission Meeting of September 17, 2025). After the denial, the applicant filled an appeal to the City Council.
Public hearing notices were mailed to 93 property owners within 300 feet of the project site 3 weeks prior to this meeting and published in the Merced County Times. The Initial Study prepared for this project was also published in the Merced City Website on August 29, 2025. Public Comments received throughout the review process can be found at Attachment 14.
Background Regarding Subject Site and Similar Developments
The subject site (approximately 8.05 acres) was annexed into the City in 1980, as part of the Southwest Yosemite and Parsons Annexation (Annexation No. 137). This annexation incorporated approximately 121.24 acres of land into the City limits. The subject site is designated for Commercial Office (CO); however, the site has remained vacant for several decades.
The storage facility is similar in size to other existing storage facilities in the community such as Simply Space Self Storage, Central Self Storage, Cal Storage, etc. These storage facilities are surrounded by residential zones. In 2023, the City Council approved a similar project for the applicant for a self-storage facility at 470 E. Olive Avenue which is currently under construction.
Environmental Review
Planning staff conducted an environmental review of the project in accordance with the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and concluded that Environmental Review #24-25 results in a Negative Declaration as the proposal would not have significant effects on the environment. A copy of the Initial Study with a Negative Declaration can be found at Attachment 9.
City Council Action
To approve the project the Council may adopt the Resolution at Attachment 10 (approving the General Plan amendment and appeal of Planning Commission Action), the Ordinance at Attachment 11 (approving Site Utilization Plan Revision), and the Legislative Action Agreement at Attachment 12.
To deny the project the Council may adopt the Resolution at Attachment 13 (denying the General Plan Amendment and the appeal of Planning Commission Action).
IMPACT ON CITY RESOURCES
No appropriation of funds is needed. This property will be required to be part of the City’s Community Facilities District (CFD) for Services and would pay all applicable Public Facilities Impact Fees.
ATTACHMENTS
1. Location Map
2. Proposed Land Use Changes
3. Site Plan and Elevations - Self-Storage
4. Site Plan and Elevation - Gated Residential Subdivision
5. Development Standards
6. Vesting Tentative Subdivision Map (approved by Planning Commission on 9-17-2025)
7. Planning Commission Resolutions #4170, #4171, and #4172
8. Administrative Report #25-835 (from Planning Commission Meeting of 9-17-2025)
9. Initial Study (Negative Declaration)
10. Draft City Council Resolution #2025-___ (Approving General Plan Amendment and Appeal of Planning Commission Action)
11. Draft Ordinance 2585 (Zone Change)
12. Legislative Action Agreement
13. Draft City Council Resolution #2025-___ (Denying GPA and Appeal of Planning Commission Action)
14. Public Comments
15. Presentation