TO: PLANNING COMMISSION
FROM: BRAD JOHNSON, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR
DATE: JUNE 2, 2026
SUBJECT:
Title
A REQUEST TO ALLOW THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A RELIGIOUS INSTITUTION AT 325 NORTH INDIAN HILL BOULEVARD, FORMERLY OCCUPIED BY TODD MEMORIAL CHAPEL. APPLICANT - SOLID ROCK COMMUNITY CHURCH
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SUMMARY
Ruben Reyes III, pastor at the Solid Rock Community Church, has applied on behalf of the church for a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) to allow for the church to relocate from its present location at 1364 North Towne Avenue to an existing building at 325 North Indian Hill Boulevard (project site). The 0.44-acre project site is located on the west side of Indian Hill Boulevard, between Harrison Avenue to the north and Bonita Avenue to the south, and was formerly occupied by Todd Memorial Chapel. Although the memorial chapel operated as an assembly and gathering place at the project site from 1949 to 2024, the City’s zoning standards back in 1949 did not require a CUP. In subsequent years, although the memorial chapel underwent various improvements, none of the projects triggered the requirement for a CUP. Therefore, to transition the use of the currently vacant structure and site to a church use, a CUP is required at this time.
Solid Rock Community Church was established in Claremont in 2013. It presently consists of approximately 250 members with an average Sunday worship attendance of 180 people. The church proposes to use the project site for religious assembly and small-scale community gatherings only. According to the applicant’s Statement of Operation (Attachment B), large-scale gatherings would occur on Sundays and major religious holidays only.
The project site has a General Plan land use designation of Office/Professional and a Zoning designation of Commercial Professional (CP). In accordance with Section 15.051.A. of the Claremont Municipal Code, establishment of a religious institution requires the approval of a CUP by the Planning Commission. Staff believes that all the required CUP findings can be met by the project.
RECOMMENDATION
Recommended Action
Staff recommends the Planning Commission:
A. Adopt A RESOLUTION OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF CLAREMONT, CALIFORNIA APPROVING CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT #26-C01, TO ALLOW THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A RELIGIOUS INSTITUTION AT 325 NORTH INDIAN HILL BOULEVARD. APPLICANT - SOLID ROCK COMMUNITY CHURCH; and
B. Find this item is exempt from environmental review under the California Quality Act (CEQA)
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ALTERNATIVES TO RECOMMENDATION
In addition to staff’s recommendation, the following alternatives have been identified:
A. Continue the item for additional information.
B. Approve the project with additional or revised Conditions of Approval.
C. Express an intent to deny CUP #26-C01 in its entirety, specifically identifying the findings of Section 16.303.040 of the CMC that cannot be met, and continue the item to June 16, 2026, for adoption of a denial resolution.
FINANCIAL REVIEW
Costs associated with the review of this application have been borne by the applicant.
ANALYSIS
Background
Solid Rock Community Church inherited the property at its present location at 1364 North Towne Avenue from another church in March, 2020. Said property contains one single-story building, a playground, landscaped areas, and a parking lot. Solid Rock Community Church then sold the property to Mercy Housing in the Fall of 2023. After the sale of the property, Solid Rock Community Church vacated from the property, and rented a space at the Double Tree Hotel for its worship functions for one and a half years until Mercy Housing invited the church to rent the space from them instead, as demolition of the single-story building was postponed upon neighbors’ request. Solid Rock Community Church then moved back to 1364 North Towne Avenue in April, 2025. However, as Mercy Housing is now moving forward to build its entitled 74-unit 100% affordable housing project, Solid Rock Community Church has been requested to move out again.
Meanwhile, Todd Memorial Chapel ceased to operate at its Claremont location at 325 North Indian Hill Boulevard and listed the property for sale in 2025. Solid Rock Community Church purchased the property in Fall of 2025 with the intention to use it for religious assembly and small-scale community gatherings only, while maintaining its administrative functions at its existing office at 411 North Harvard Avenue. The church is proposing to start operating at the new location without any tenant improvements or exterior modifications at this time. Pursuant to Section 15.051.A. of the Claremont Municipal Code, establishment of a religious institution within the Commercial Professional (CP) zone requires the approval of a CUP by the Planning Commission.
Project Description
Church Operations
The church’s operations are detailed in Statement of Operation prepared by Pastor Ruben Reyes III (Attachment B). The church has been in existence in Claremont since 2013. It has since grown and attracted many students and young families. The multi-ethnic congregation presently has approximately 250 members, with an average age of 29. Approximately 25% of the congregation are students from the Claremont Colleges, with another 12% from nearby universities and colleges. The church is active in contributing to local justice initiatives, non-profit partnerships, benevolence efforts, and church planting.
The primary use of the site will be for religious assembly and small-scale community gatherings. In terms of large-scale gatherings, Solid Rock Church will hold two worship services each Sunday at 8:00 AM and 10:00 AM. These services will include music, teaching, prayer, and space for connecting. Children’s programing will be provided in designated spaces. Attendance for these large-scale gatherings is expected to be 250 people maximum with an average of 180 people. All activities will be held in the building’s interior space.
Furthermore, Solid Rock Church will hold small-group Bible study on Tuesdays in the evening, and student gatherings on Wednesdays in the evening.
In addition, the building will host two other congregations - Spanish language Salvo Por Gracia congregation who will hold a weekly Sunday service at noon, with an estimated attendance of approximately 60 people, and OneThing Chinese Church, who will hold Sunday services at 3:00 PM with an estimated attendance of approximately 30 people.
These regularly reoccurring events are summarized in the table below.
Solid Rock Community Church will celebrate major religious holidays with large-scale services. The religious holiday services are summarized in the table below.
Furthermore, Solid Rock Community Church may host limited, occasional activities including prayer gatherings, small meetings, educational lectures, weddings, memorial services, and seasonal or special religious observances. These events are anticipated to be small-scale in nature.
Since Solid Rock Community Church will continue to utilize its existing office at 411 North Harvard Avenue for its daily administrative needs, staffing at the project site will be minimal and consists primarily of volunteers, with one to two paid staff members present during Sunday services only.
Existing Project Site
The project site consists of two driveways directly accessible from North Indian Hill Boulevard, as well as a third driveway accessible from West Grinnell Drive to the rear of the building. The exterior of the building consists of a courtyard by its main door facing north, a porte-cochère near the southwest corner of the building, and a second landscaped courtyard facing Indian Hill Boulevard.
The interior of the existing building consists of a large chapel with 23 rows of permanent pew seating, a stage, a family area, an audio and visual room, an office, restrooms, a storage space, hallways, and two ancillary rooms that will be repurposed to support children’s programming.
The building in its current form was constructed in 1954. It exhibits a T-plan shape, steep cross-gabled tile roof, brick and stucco façade, and brick columns. It features stained glass windows, and various decorative spiritual motifs around the building. It is not currently listed on the City’s historic register although it is potentially eligible to be included and is listed as a “Contributing Building” in the Claremont Village Design Plan. Staff notes that no exterior modifications are proposed with this CUP application.
Required Parking and Pew Seating
The Claremont Municipal Code requires that churches provide one space for each three permanent seats. However, while the seats in the main chapel are permanent seats, they are pews instead of individual seats. While the Claremont Municipal Code does not include a standard specific to church pews, it does have a standard for stadium seating provided on benches. That standard, which seems to be a fair analog for church pews, is “18 inches of bench length shall equal one seat”. Given that standard, the proposed maximum occupancy in the sanctuary would be 160 persons. While that maximum capacity is large, it is also worth noting that pews generally appear to be full when they reach 80% of their maximum capacity by code. That means that the realistic capacity would equate to 128 persons, which is consistent with the 130 number indicated on the project plans.
Legal Non-Conforming Parking for Todd Memorial Chapel
As mentioned previously, the project site was occupied by Todd Memorial Chapel from 1949 to 2024 without a CUP because chapels were permitted by right under the City’s 1949 zoning regulations. Therefore, the required parking for Todd Memorial Chapel was never analyzed. Parking requirements for this type of facility were based on the seating capacity of the main chapel. However, it is unclear what the seating capacity of the main chapel was throughout the years. The chapel had an overly large amount of parking for most of its existence; however, in 2004, roughly half of the parking lot was sold, and a new office building was constructed.
In 2004, the two-story building to the north (333 North Indian Hill Boulevard) was constructed over what were previously parking spaces. Prior to the construction of the northerly building, all surface parking belonged to Todd Memorial Chapel. That, however, changed in 2004. The two buildings have since shared a driveway and all of the 41 available striped parking spaces for the past twelve years without the benefit of a recorded joint parking agreement.
Over the past 75 years, Todd Memorial Chapel operated harmoniously with adjacent businesses and residences, holding memorial services on a regular basis throughout the week even after the opening of the northerly building. Staff received a letter from Mr. Brian Pewe representing Todd Memorial Chapel (Attachment D). The letter stated that Todd Memorial Chapel held memorial services frequently, with some weeks hosting multiple services and, at times, multiple services a day. Mr. Pewe stated that some services drew large crowds exceeding 200 people.
Knowing the history of the Chapel, staff contacted the Claremont Police Department and verified that there were no known complaints regarding parking that was associated with memorial services held at Todd Memorial Chapel. It appeared that the existing and surrounding parking worked for the Chapel for the frequency and scale of memorial services that were held at the Project Site without impacting surrounding uses.
Solid Rock Community Church is proposing similar frequency and scale of gatherings as Todd Memorial Chapel. Also, the church intends to remove three pews in the future which will effectively reduce the seating capacity of the main chapel, as indicated on the applicant’s existing floor plan (showing 23 pews) versus the proposed floor plan (showing 20 pews). Furthermore, the applicant is proposing to use the southerly driveway under the porte-cochère to accommodate additional five parking spaces, as shown on the applicant’s site plan (Attachment C).
Alternative Transportation and Ride Share
Since approximately 25% of the members of Solid Rock Community Church are students from the Claremont Colleges, the new location on Indian Hill Boulevard will be significantly closer to them than the present location on Towne Avenue. It is anticipated that those members will walk or bike to the new location instead of driving. Also, the Solid Rock Community Church congregation, with average age of 29 years old, is among the younger demographics compared to other churches in the city. The younger population is generally more familiar with tech-enabled mobility using smart phones and ride sharing than the older generation. In addition, Solid Rock Community Church regularly pays for an average of 16 ride shares each Sunday, with some cars carrying multiple church members to and from church. This practice effectively prevents members from driving their vehicles to church gatherings. Finally, the Project Site is in a highly walkable area adjacent to transit, housing and jobs, which encourages walking and biking to church gatherings instead of driving.
In conclusion, with all aforementioned factors, the applicant believes that holding religious gatherings at the new location at 325 North Indian Hill Boulevard will lead to a lower parking need than the church’s Towne Avenue location.
Options for Overflow Parking
If the parking lot is full, there are other available parking options close by including the portion of the Frontier parking lot at the corner of Grinnell Drive and Bonita Avenue, that is leased by the City for overflow Village parking. Additional on-street parking may also be available along Grinnell Drive and Stanford Drive. Additionally, there are large parking facilities within three to five blocks, including the Village Expansion Parking Structure and the Metrolink Parking Lot.
Joint Parking Agreement
James Ryan, representing the management team at 333 North Indian Hill Boulevard, has submitted a letter (Attachment E) confirming his intent to execute a formal joint parking agreement with Solid Rock Community Church. Since the office tenants at 333 North Indian Hill Boulevard operate during daytime business hours during weekdays while the church’s need for parking is mostly on Sundays, there will be no overlapping of operating hours between the two buildings. Staff supports this approach and has included Condition of Approval C to ensure that the joint parking agreement is executed within a year from the approval of the CUP.
Public Comments Received
Staff received public comments regarding this project and have included them in Attachment G.
Basis for Recommendation
The approval of a CUP requires that the Planning Commission make certain findings as set forth in Section 16.303.040. Staff believes that all the findings can be made in regard to the proposed establishment of a religious institution at 325 North Indian Hill Boulevard, as identified in the draft resolution (Attachment A). Staff believes that the church use proposed by Solid Rock Community Church is similar to the former occupant (Todd Memorial Chapel), and that the younger demographics, particularly students at nearby Claremont Colleges are likely to walk or bike to the new location. Further, there are parking lots and parking structures within short walking distances to accommodate additional parking demand. Finally, the management team from the northerly office building (333 North Indian Hill Boulevard) has expressed an intent to execute a formal joint parking agreement with the applicant, and Condition of Approval C has been included to ensure that the agreement is executed in a timely manner. A similar arrangement has been occurring at the site for over 20 years with no known parking issues resulting.
CEQA REVIEW
The Community Development Director has determined that the proposed relocation of an existing church to an existing building used historically as a public gathering space is categorically exempt from the provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act pursuant to Sections 15301 - (Class 1) for Existing Facilities, 15303(c) - Conversion of Small Structures, and 15323 - Normal Operations of Facilities for Public Gatherings, in that the project involves Solid Rock Community Church relocating to a building with less than 10,000 square feet of floor area that was formerly occupied by Todd Memorial Chapel, which regularly held memorial services that were similar in scale and frequency as the religious gatherings proposed by Solid Rock Community Church. Therefore, no further environmental review is necessary.
PUBLIC NOTICE PROCESS
The agenda and staff report for this item have been posted on the City website and distributed to interested parties. If you desire a paper copy, please contact Nhi Atienza at natienza@claremontca.gov.
On Thursday, May 22, 2026, the property was posted and written notices were mailed to property owners within 300 feet of the boundaries of the site. Copies of this staff report have been sent to the applicant and other interested parties.
Submitted by: Reviewed by:
Brad Johnson Christopher Veirs
Community Development Director City Planner
Prepared by:
Catherine Lin, AICP
Senior Planner
Attachments:
A - Draft Resolution
B - Statement of Operation
C - Plans
D - Letter from Todd Memorial Chapel
E - Intent for Parking Agreement Letter
F - Site Photos
G - Public Comments Received