No preview available
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2002/09/23 - Workshop Minutes - PC-HPC CITY OF RANCHO CUCAMONGA PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES Adjourned Meeting September 23, 2002 Chairman McNiel called the Adjoumed Meeting of the City of Rancho Cucamonga Planning Commission to order at 6:00 pm. The meeting was held in the Upstairs Conference Room at the Rancho Cucamonga Civic Center, 10500 Civic Center Drive, Rancho Cucamonga, California. ROLL CALL • COMMISSIONERS: PRESENT: Rich Macias, John Mannerino, Larry McNiel, Pam Stewart, Peter Tolstoy ABSENT: None STAFF PRESENT: Brad Buller, City Planner; Dan Coleman Principal Planner; Brent Le Count, Associate Planner NEW BUSINESS A. WORKSHOP FOR DEVELOPMENT REVIEW DRC2002-00690 - FOREST CITY DEVELOPMENT—The detailed review of site plan, landscape plan, and elevations fora portion of Phase One of the Victoria Gardens Regional Center consisting of approximately 500,000 square feet of retail and commercial buildings on 147 acres of land, located within the limits of the Victoria Community Plan generally bounded by the future Church Street to the north, the I-15-Freeway to the east, Day Creek Boulevard to the west, and Foothill Boulevard to the south - APN: 227-201-30, 33, 35, and 36; 227-161-35, 36, and 38, 227-171-22 and 23; 227- 211-24, 39, and 40 to 43. This project is based on the Environmental Impact Report (State Clearinghouse No. 20010301028) prepared for Development Agreement 01-02, Victoria Community Plan Amendment 01-01, and Tentative Parcel Map SUBTT15716 approved by the City Council on February 20, 2002. Brad Buller, City Planner, introduced the project and described the indented overall flow of the meeting. He indicated the meeting was to orient the Commissioners to the design of the Regional Center and the review would be focused on the streetscape elevations; that is the elevations of the buildings facing along the internal streets of the center. Mr. Buller oriented Commissioners to the colored 'Post-It" notes that had been placed in front of them in case they wished to apply notes to the elevations Colm Macken, Forest City, introduced the architectural firm, Altoon Porter; the landscape architecture consultant, SWA; and the graphics consultant, Redman Swarz. Mr.Macken gave a brief overview of the project status, commenting that the master plan was approved and they were now dealing with the design review submission. He stated a group of architects had been hired to design different buildings within the project to ensure variety. Mr. Macken introduced Jim Alt, with Altoon Porter to review the architectural design intent. 111 Jim Alt oriented the Commissioners to the building elevations mounted on the walls in the room and to the physical model of the project. He reviewed the basic changes that had occurred to the Site Plan since the Commission last saw the project last February. He said those changes include the fact that Town Square is no longer bisected by a street but forms a large linear green space lined on each side by buildings and there are no longer any free standing buildings in the square. He pointed out that the grade levels of the site have been established to place the Cultural Arts Center(CAC)at the highest point with 8 feet of fall from Merlot Street (along north side of CAC site) to North Main Street and then 4 feet of fall from North Main Street to South Main Street. He reported that South Main Street will contain the major anchor tenants, which require flat sites so the area from South Main Street south to the south side of the majors will be essentially flat(with enough grade to drain) with the remaining grade to be taken up in the parking fields south of the core. He said South Main Street now has a horizontal curve introduced so that the buildings and landscaping along the street are more present relative to people traveling the street and the large building in the northeast corner of the site has been removed and replaced with a future cinema that is not part of the current design review submittal. Mr.Alt reviewed what he referred to as the"layering concept;"whereby the streetscapes are viewed not just as being comprised of building elevations but also signs, trees, cars, people, street furniture, shadows, etc. He said the layering concept relies heavily on the improvements that would be made to storefronts by the individual tenants and the developer-installed building would thus function as a simpler backdrop for these tenants. He commented that the tenants will control the glass areas typically up to 14 feet above the ground level but would not touch the support columns or upper areas of buildings. He said the center is meant to appear as though it was built over time consistent with the Master Plan. He stated North Main Street with a small Town Square would have been built first so this area contains the more classical looking buildings with more"tooth"(that is,wall surface detail) progressing to the South Main Street area, which is meant to appear more recently constructed with buildings from the '60's to present and it is meant to reflect a high fashion district. He noted that newer looking buildings are scattered throughout the development to give the impression of remodels and retrofits that occurred over time as well. Mr.Alt introduced Martin Swarz to review project graphics. Martin Swarz referred to project graphics as an"interesting tapestry woven through the project." He said the intent is to provide enhanced streetscape environment as well as to help users of the site navigate. He noted the intent is to utilize as much naturally occurring materials such as fieldstone as possible in constructing entry monuments, walls, etc. He stated signs would have great variety but are intended to convey Rancho Cucamonga's heritage, which may include special paving to form shapes and letters and historic plaques and markers in key locations honoring key people and events in Rancho Cucamonga's history. David Burkson, SWA Landscape Architects, reviewed the landscape design intent to be based in the areas agricultural heritage. He said this will be conveyed by using Palm trees to line major streets and form a backbone for the site, parking fields that appear similar to orchards or groves of trees, water courses, citrus trees. He stated that in order to convey a garden like atmosphere rather than a typical commercial shopping center appearance, vines, shrubs, and ground cover will occupy the ground plane. He noted paving materials are intended to have a rougher surface with aggregate finishes on sidewalks to provide grittiness under foot,thereby enhancing the overall experience. He indicated water will be treated as a precious element rather than something of abundance so water features will be of a more intimate scale, conveying the appearance of old irrigation channels for instance. Commissioner Mannerino said he liked the glass walled food court building on North Main Street. The developer may wish to utilize the City's Oral History to seek out ideas for heritage features. Commissioner Mannerino expressed concern for the more entertainment-oriented signs that had been mentioned. While he is in favor of imagination and creativity in design there is the potential for these types of signs to be impacted by our high seasonal winds, especially blade type signs. The sidewalk should be as durable as possible for low maintenance. Commissioner Tolstoy said he was glad that the overall project team was in town on such a warm day so that they may experience some of the weather we must contend with. He was concerned about the loading areas for the in line shops as well as the major anchors and did not favor locating PC Adjoumed Minutes -2- September 23, 2002 trash compactors in the middle of parking fields. He asked whether the major tenants(who have not yet submitted for Design Review Committee) have reviewed and are in favor of the mall design. Mr. Macken responded that they had been shown design concepts and are in support. Commissioner Tolstoy said that landscaping should be designed to provide shade. Commissioner Stewart asked about the paseo connections between parking fields and the street shopping areas. She said that these and rear areas will need to be designed consistent with the City's 360-degree architectural quality requirement. Commissioner Stewart asked how the tenant improved storefront areas will be controlled because the buildings themselves lack diversity and she did not favor relying on tenant designs to provide diversity and visual interest. Steve Wesson, Forest City, said that a Tenant Control Handbook is being prepared and that the Design Review Committee will have a chance to review it. Mr. Buller pointed out that criteria for handling vacant shop space needs to be included in the Tenant Control Handbooks; i.e. should the area be enclosed with glass or a solid panel with graphics and a small viewing hole as done in other malls? Commissioner Stewart concluded that she wished to see a wide diversity of materials and building forms to provide a visually interesting streetscape. Commissioner Macias agreed with Commissioner Stewart that the buildings should stand on their own architecturally rather than relying on tenant improvements for variety and visual interest. He also felt there is the potential for tenant designs to detract from the quality of architecture and this should be controlled. He pointed out the importance of texture and relief in wall surfaces;that there should be sculptural wall surface treatment and 360-degree architectural quality. He believed the service areas/trash compactors should be tucked away wherever possible and not visible from parking areas. He favored treating water as the precious commodity that it is in the region and thereby using it in simple, understated ways instead of grandiose fountains. Commissioner Macias mentioned the use of murals and wondered why the topic had not been mentioned. He observed that the Easton Mall, which the Commissioners visited, used several wall graphics/murals in an effective manor. He favored the overall project and found the historic transition to modem architecture appealing. Martin Swarz, graphics consultant, indicated that murals are intended to be applied in the paseo areas and other areas where there are opportunities for such. He said that faded or"ghost image" signs meant to appear like old signs may also be used. He noted "crate art" from grape growing industry may also be used. Chairman McNiel asked why the Town Green design had changed to no longer be bisected by the street and whether this change caused the loss of parking spaces. Steve Wesson confirmed that indeed 15 parking spaces were lost with the redesign. Chairman McNiel said that he had seen large anchor-type stores with split-level foundations and that therefore the flat area around the majors may not be necessary. Mr. Macken explained that split-level anchor stores occur in enclosed malls; in this case all ' entrances to the major tenants must be at grade. Chairman McNiel expressed concern about future installation of second floors in buildings that are tall enough to accommodate another floor. He noted this would increase the need for parking. PC Adjoumed Minutes -3- September 23, 2002 Mr. Macken indicated that no second floor levels would be installed without provision of additional parking. He went on to say that tenants do not tend to use second floor space and therefore it is not likely. Chairman McNiel asked why the project does not include residential living space above retail shops. Mr. Alt indicated that this type of design could be cost prohibitive due to specialized fire separation requirements. Chairman McNiel expressed concern over how the tenant improvements will be controlled. He did not wish to see garish storefronts or those that do not match their surroundings. He mentioned "Rodeo Drive II" as having excellent storefront designs. Mr. Macken responded that this would be addressed by the Tenant Control Handbook to be reviewed at a future Design Review meeting. Chairman McNiel said that all sides of the buildings should have the same level of architectural quality, as the buildings are exposed and visually prominent from almost all directions. He cautioned that large awnings might be subject to wind damage during high seasonal winds. He said that metal roofing is acceptable but only if it is stylish and applicable to the period of building architecture. Brad Buller summarized the Planning Commission's comments: The project has many positive aspects including diversity of mass, movement, and orientation of the buildings; there is support for reliance upon Rancho Cucamonga history and heritage in the design and the use of water. He noted the Commission's concerns appear to be related to 360-degree architectural quality,that all sides of the buildings shall have high quality architecture; the service areas and trash compactors must be located to avoid visual prominence; there is need for diverse use of materials; murals are a necessary ingredient in project design that should be taken advantage of; there is a strong desire to review the Tenant Handbook; protection from the elements including shade, awnings, and wind protection; and finally that metal roofing is acceptable so long as it is carefully applied. COMMISSION BUSINESS There were no public comments. ADJOURNMENT The Planning Commission adjourned at 8:45 p.m. Respectfully submitted, i Ia B ler V Secretary PC Adjourned Minutes 4- September 23, 2002