Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013/05/08 - Minutes - PC-HPCTHE CITY OF RANCHO CUCAMONGA THE MINUTES OF RANCHO CUCAMONGA THE HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION AND THE PLANNING COMMISSION MAY 8, 2013 - 7:00 PM Rancho Cucamonga Civic Center Council Chambers 10500 Civic Center Drive Rancho Cucamonga, California 11 I. CALL TO ORDER Pledge of Allegiance Roll Call 703 PM Chairman Howdyshell A Vice Chairman Fletcher X Munoz X Wimberly X Oaxaca X Additional Staff Present: Jeff Bloom. Deputy City Manager/Economic and Community Development. Steven Flower, Assistant City Attorney: Dan James. Senior Civil Engineer Lois Schrader: Planning Commission Secretary, Jennifer Nakamura, Associate Planner. Mike Smith Associate Planner Donald Granger. Senior Planner 11 IL PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS This is the time and place for the general public to address the Historic Preservation Commission or the Planning Commission on any item listed or not listed on the agenda. State law prohibits the Historic Preservation Commission or the Planning Commission from addressing any issue not previously included on the Agenda. The Historic Preservation Commission or the Planning Commission may receive testimony and set the matter for a subsequent meeting. Comments are to be limited to five minutes per individual or less, as deemed necessary by the Chair, depending upon the number of individuals desiring to speak. All communications are to be addressed directly to the Historic Preservation Commission or Planning Commission, not to the members of the audience. This is a professional business meeting and courtesy and decorum are expected. Please refrain from any debate between audience and speaker, making loud noises, or engaging in any activity which might be disruptive to the decorum of the meeting. HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION AND PLANNING COMMISSION AGENDA RANCHO MAY 8, 2013 CCCA.MONGA Page 2 Gino Felippi commented on the community garden and vineyard located south of Foothill Boulevard and west of Sears Grand. He said there is a master plan for the garden and they are attempting to transplant historic vines on the property. He said the property does have a well with water and they are working through the process to access the water. Mario Di Carlo said his ancestors have been residents of Rancho Cucamonga since the 1800s. He said he is a home winemaker and would love to preserve old vines, only of which about 500 acres remain here. He said much of that acreage where the old vines exist will be graded for future development. He pointed out that our logo has grapes but our City may not have any grapes in the future. He said they are seeking help from the City to get a portion of land to transplant and restore with old vines and new propagation. Dee Matrayek said the community garden has a vineyard to help preserve the grape growing heritage of the region. She said the vines could provide a cash crop to sustain the garden overall. She said they still need more water. She said they are discovering vines are being plowed up because of new developments going in. She asked that the old vines be given a historic designation and she would like help rescuing them so they can be transplanted and even preserve entire plots. Vice Chairman Fletcher asked what the success rate is in transplanting old vines, if they produce the same, and how many there are. Mr. De Carlo said they successfully transplanted 60 vines, need lots of water and 70-75% survived and produced. He noted there are about 250 vines and the characteristic of the grapes may change some from those that were dry farmed. Ms. Matrayek said there are about 400 old vines and 250 new but perhaps 1,000 total possible vines. She said they would like advance warning to coordinate their vine removal with developers so they can be removed at the right time of year for better success. She said it costs about $20-25 per plant to remove. Mr Filippi noted that Mr. Di Carlo lives in the old stone Agazatti home which has about 60 vines. He noted the garden site is 15 acres. I11. ANNOUNCEMENTS AND PRESENTATIONS A. GOVERNMENT REFERRAL DRC2013-00319 - SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA GAS COMPANY - An informational presentation to the Planning Commission of an upgrade to the Southern California Gas Company's system by adding advanced meter communications devices to residential and business natural gas meters which will require the installation of data collectors mounted on poles 24 feet in height at various locations throughout the Company's service area that includes the City of Rancho Cucamonga. Kristine Scott, Public Affairs Pdanager made the presentation. The Secretary received and filed the presentation materials (PowerPoint on file). In response to Commissioner Wimberly. she said the customerbenefit of the new system will be similar to Edison in that the customer can track their gas usage at any time to allow for HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION AND PLANNING COMMISSION AGENDA RANCHO MAY 8, 2013 CUCAMONCA Page 3 conservation and it will eliminate the need for meter readers which will save gas emissions from their vehicles. She said the readers are being trained to install the new systems. In response to Commissioner Munoz she said their outreach on the program will include briefings with local officials and mailings to their customers beginning in 2014. She said the locations of the units will be in the public right of way and some areas may be found to not be appropriate, they are working with City staff. In response to Commissioner Oaxaca she said this equipment does not generally fall underany City ordinances with requirements for review as they are just upgrading their infrastructure. In response to Vice Chairman Fletcher. Robert Shaw of Southern California Gas stated the transmission range is about 1.5 miles and overlap is built in between DCU's. IV. CONSENT CALENDAR/HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION AND PLANNING COMMISSION B. Approval of minutes dated April 24, 2013 Moved by Munoz, seconded by Wimberly. the Consent Calendar was adopted 4-0-1 (Howdyshell absent) 11 V. PUBLIC HEARINGS/PLANNING COMMISSION The following items have been advertised and/or posted as public hearings as required bylaw. The Chairman will open the public hearing to receive testimony. All such opinions shall be limited to 5 minutes per individual for each project. Please sign in after speaking. C. DEVELOPMENT CODE AMENDMENT DRC2013-00101 AND ADDENDUM TO THE GENERAL PLAN FINAL PROGRAM ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT (FPEIR) (SCH #2000061027) - CITY OF RANCHO CUCAMONGA - A supplemental update to the Development Code Update (DRC2010-00571) to amend Article 11 (Land Use and Development Procedures), Article III (Zoning Districts, Allowed Uses and Development Standards), Article IV (Site Development Provisions), Article V (Specific Use Requirements), Article VII (Design Standards and Guidelines) and Article VII (Glossary) of Title 17 (Development Code) as well as a proposed addendum to the General Plan Final Program Environmental Impact Report (FPEIR). This action will be forwarded to the City Council for final action. Jennifer Nakamura, Associate Planner, presented the staff report and gave a PowerPoint presentation (copy on file). In response to Commissioner Munoz, she reported that the medical services category changes mostly affect Doctor and Dentist offices. In response to Vice Chairman Fletcher, she said no specific criteria has been landed on yet foroutdoorsales activity with.respect to cottage food businesses but in general the Code dictates all activity be done indoors, the intent was for customers to pick up their ordered items. She said the Code has always allowed for home grown produce. HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION t AND PLANNING COMMISSION AGENDA RANCHO MAY 8, 2013 CUCAMONGA Page 4 Steven Flower, Assistant City Attorney said there is no language in the bill that addresses this and all the cities are working to make sense of what was written. Vice Chairman Fletcher opened the public hearing. Seeing and hearing none, Vice Chairman Fletcher closed the public hearing. Ms Nakamura reported that another round of bigger changes is expected later in the year, a prioritized list is being maintained. The Commission complimented Ms. Nakamura on the report and presentation. Motion by Munoz seconded by Oaxaca adopted 4-0-1 (Howdyshell absent) VL COMMISSION CONCERNS/HISTORIC PRESERVATION AND PLANNING COMMISSION Commissioner Munoz offered kudos to our Library as they won a National Award. He said our Library is world class and the award is well-deserved. All the Commissioners agreed. Donald Granger. Senior Planner announced the Local History Night (National Historic Preservation Month) celebration being held at the Biane Library 7-9 pm on Friday, May t0. Commissioner Oaxaca reflected on the viticulture of the city and said it would be a shame to have no grapes to reflect our logo and grape producing history. He said we have taken steps to rescue structures but now he is asking staff to research and report on what exists in the form of an ordinance that would address the old grapevines in the City. He said we should take a more active role as our agriculture has either disappeared or is slated to disappear. He supports organized. orderly preservation and asked staff to begin a process or prepare a draft for an ordinance to propose to the City Council for this type of preservation. He noted that Manning Homes is corking with Tom Gratin. Associate Planner towards rescuing the vines from their property for transplantation. Vice Chairman Fletcher said that now that we have interest in transplanting and a property for' transplantation and Ire thought the Commission could probably agree on this. Commissioner Munoz said he has read and heard about contention regarding the Commission decision with respect to the China House. He asked staff for an update. Jeff Bloom, Deputy City Manager said in addition to the Planning Department's standard letter following the Commission's decision, the Building Official sent an amended order to CVWD requiring stabilization of the building and it also proposes the environmental work be done. He said CVWD filed an appeal of the Commission's action and we are in the process of setting the date for the hearing. 11 V11. ADJOURNMENT owl, HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION AND PLANNING COMMISSION AGENDA WNCHG MAY 87 2013 CUCAMONGA Page 5