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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2002/06/12 - Minutes - PC-HPC CITY OF RANCHO CUCAMONGA • PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES Regular Meeting June 12, 2002 Chairman McNiel called the Regular Meeting of the City of Rancho Cucamonga Planning Commission to order at 7:00 p.m. The meeting was held in the Council Chamber at Rancho Cucamonga Civic Center, 10500 Civic Center Drive, Rancho Cucamonga, California. Chairman McNiel then led in the pledge of allegiance. ROLL CALL COMMISSIONERS: PRESENT: John Mannerino, Larry McNiel, Pam Stewart, Peter Tolstoy ABSENT: Rich Macias STAFF PRESENT: Brad Buller, City Planner, Dan Coleman, Principal Planner, Craig Fox, Assistant City Attorney; Brent Le Count, Associate Planner, Debra Meier, Contract Planner, Gail Sanchez, Planning Commission Secretary;Joe Stofa, Associate Engineer ANNOUNCEMENTS There were no announcements. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Motion: Moved by Tolstoy, seconded by Stewart, carried 3-0-1-1 (Macias absent, Mannerino abstain), to approve the minutes of May 22, 2002. PUBLIC HEARINGS A. CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT DRC2002-00260 - ISLANDS RESTAURANT - A request to construct a 5,431 square foot restaurant with bar on 1.3 acre of land in the Industrial Park District(Subarea 7), located at the southeast corner of Milliken Avenue and Foothill Boulevard- APN: 229-011-25. Related Files: Development Review 99-11 (Catellus Master Plan) and Conditional Use Permit 99-04 (Lowe's). Brent Le Count, Associate Planner, presented the staff report and indicated that the Standard Conditions had inadvertently been left out of the agenda packets and were in front of the Commissioners. Chairman McNiel opened the public hearing. Scott Wilkeson, Hogle-Ireland,4200 Latham Street, Suite B, Riverside,thanked staff for assistance through the Design Review process. He said the restaurant is a continuation of the development of the Lowes center. He stated the restaurant is enhanced with some of the same architectural features seen throughout the center. He agreed to the Standard Conditions and indicated he was available to answer questions. Hearing no further testimony, Chairman McNiel closed the public hearing. Chairman McNiel stated the project spent a lot of time in the Design Review process and the applicant was very cooperative. He felt the restaurant will be highly successful. Commissioner Tolstoy felt the applicant should have been allowed to use their signature tower because he believed it fits in with the decor of the restaurant. He felt the palapas at Rubio's are distinctive and give the building character. Chairman McNiel stated they considered allowing the tower as proposed and felt approval may lead to future similar requests. Commissioner Tolstoy felt that was not a good enough reason and did not think it would be precedent setting. He observed that no one else has asked to have palapa style umbrellas after they were approved for Rubio's. Commissioner Stewart stated the Design Review Committee looked at several different sample boards and she thought what was selected will be very attractive. Motion: Moved by Mannerino, seconded by Tolstoy, to adopt the resolution approving Conditional Use Permit DRC2002-00260 including the Special Conditions. Motion carried by the following vote: AYES: MANNERINO, MCNIEL, STEWART, TOLSTOY NOES: NONE ABSENT: MACIAS - carried B. ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT AND TENTATIVE TRACT MAP SUBTT16279-COLORADO PACIFIC COMMUNITIES-A residential subdivision of 79 single-family lots on 57 acres in the Very Low Residential District (1 to 2 dwelling units per acre) of the Etiwanda Specific Plan, located on the north and south sides of realigned Highland Avenue, between Etiwanda and East Avenues - APN: 227-051-01, 04, 05, 06, 09, and 28 and 227-061-05. Related File: Tree Removal Permit DRC2001-00323. Debra Meier, Contract Planner, presented the staff report and suggested modifications to the Resolution of Approval. She suggested adding a condition to highlight the Memorandum of Agreement with San Bernardino Associated Governments for replacement of tees along the north property boundary as mitigation for the freeway construction. She also indicated that City Engineering staff suggested adding a condition to provide catch basins on the northwest and southwest corners of Highland Avenue Southwest Frontage Road and Street"G." She reported that staff was suggesting that Engineering Condition 19 be revised to eliminate the connection at Pecan Avenue north of Vista Street. Ms. Meier observed that the City has a policy that calls for independent review by an outside consultant of all acoustical analyses submitted by developers. She reported she had been on the telephone with the outside consultant minutes before the meeting and he indicated that an 8-foot wall along the north property boundary would adequately mitigate noise to the rear yards. She stated she did not have his written report as yet but she did have his verbal assurance and she felt the Planning Commission could take action on the project. She explained that the applicant will have to conduct another noise study when a Development Review is submitted for the design and layout of houses. She noted that the focus of the current noise study was to address rear yard noise, not interior noise. She indicated that if the walls are extended 200 feet along the north property boundary to the east and west,then the corner side yard walls for those lots on the east and west corners of this project could be 6 feet instead of 8 to 11 feet high. Commissioner Mannerino asked if the developer would have the ability to build the wall offsite. Planning Commission Minutes -2- June 12, 2002 Ms. Meier replied that the extended wall on the east will be within City right of way. Jose Stofa,Associate Engineer, indicated that the property on the west is part of the Caltrans excess property that will likely go to the City. Commissioner Tolstoy asked if that property will be developed or if it will go fallow. Ms. Meier responded that is unknown at this time and if the lot is developed as residential, access will have to be taken off Highland Avenue, which will be very busy. Commissioner Stewart felt the project should be continued to the next meeting to allow staff time to see and digest the noise report from the outside consultant. Chairman McNiel opened the public hearing. Danny Brose, Colorado Pacific Communities, 31012 Mia Mirador, San Juan Capistrano, concurred with staff on the additions and revisions to conditions. He hoped the Planning Commission could act on the application this evening because he had property escrows ready to close that could not close until the project receives City approval. He stated that the noise consultant was hired by the City. He indicated a willingness to condition the project subject to final approval of the noise study by the City. Brad Buller, City Planner, requested that Mr. Brose discuss the results of the neighborhood meetings. Mr. Brose responded that he would give the City a letter on June 13 for the file. He said they had numerous meetings with resident groups to the south and east over the last 11 year. He said he had 4 or 5 group meetings and 30-40 independent meetings with individual residents. He explained they had distributed 11-inch by 17-inch maps to both tracts. He felt the project had been fairly well received by both groups but concerns had been raised regarding a connection to Pecan Avenue. He said they tried to develop the project with the surrounding residents' needs in mind. Ms. Meier pointed out that staff was now recommending the Engineering condition be revised to delete the Pecan Avenue connection. Mr. Buller stated that the last time the project was before the Commission, there had been strong public comment objecting to the Pecan Avenue extension. He said the City Engineer indicated this afternoon that Pecan Avenue does not have to go through even though a connection at Pecan Avenue makes better sense from a public safety standpoint because it would offer another way of ingress and egress for the tract to the south. He suggested the City may wish to check with the residents to see if they would favor having the street go through. Commissioner Mannerino asked the applicant's position with respect to Pecan Avenue. Mr. Brose felt it would be good for the existing residents and the new development to have Pecan Avenue go through but he supported the existing residents'desires to not have it enter the new tract. Commissioner Mannerino asked Mr. Brose's position on the 200-foot extension of the wall to the east and west ends of the tract. Mr. Brose supported extending the wall. Laurie Allen 13057 Larrera Street, Rancho Cucamonga, stated that Mr. Brose worked very well with the existing residents. She said she spoke with Mr. Brose regarding her concern about Pecan Avenue being continued into the new tract and he told her the City wanted the street punched Planning Commission Minutes -3- June 12, 2002 through. She stated they have existed with only one means of ingress and egress for 40 years and it works fine. She feared the City wants to utilize Pecan Avenue to alleviate the traffic on Etiwanda Avenue and Victoria Street. She indicated that she had been to every meeting regarding this project for the last VA year and said she had questioned the horse population in Etiwanda. She stated there are many people who walk and they had been told they could walk on those trails. She said she asked Ms. Meier today if they could use the trails for walking and Ms. Meier responded that the trails are for the use of the homeowners. She asked how there could be a private community within their community and felt everyone should be able to use the trails. She said she explained that the trails at Belmont were determined not to be private and they get to walk on those trails. She questioned if the equestrian trails will be open for public use or if they will only be for the private use of the homeowners. She said Mr. Brose had spent a lot of time and money on the project and worked very well with the homeowners. She supported the project so long as Pecan Avenue does not go through. Karen Long, 13021 Vista Street, Rancho Cucamonga, read a letter into the record. She indicated her husband commented that the City would continue to hold meetings until the residents were worn down and then the City would do what it wanted. She stated the present plan calls for Pecan Avenue to be extended with sewer lines down the middle of it. She objected to having water from the new development flowing south on Pecan Avenue. She requested that Pecan Avenue not be extended because of increased traffic created by Etiwanda High and Etiwanda Intermediate schools. Further she felt it is a conflict of interest to have Commissioners serve on the Trails Advisory Committee and felt the City unfairly advises the equestrian people about meetings so they can appear whenever new housing developments are being built to tell existing residents about the needs for horse trails. She said the existing residents do not want trails and she felt the City uses underhanded methods to force horse trails on the developer and on the residents. She asked why the previous plan proposed by the developer had not been accepted and asked that they be able to keep their identity as an historical part of Etiwanda. Commission Mannerino thought the suggestion that the Planning Commission should not help plan trails by being on the Trails Advisory Committee was interesting. Chairman McNiel thought the letter was after the fact, as most of the issues brought up in Ms. Long's letter had already been resolved. Ms. Meier said there were no plans to extend a sewer or storm drain line down Pecan Avenue. She confirmed that Pecan Avenue is no longer planned to be extended. Chairman McNiel stated the Commissioners spend a lot of time and effort and get little thanks. He stated that other from venting, he did not feel she had accomplished a great deal because the issues she raised concern about had already been resolved. Vone Dempsey, 13067 Larrera Street, Rancho Cucamonga, wanted to be sure the issue of Pecan Street going through was resolved. She said she had appeared before the Commission in the past discussing traffic issues. She noted that at the end of the school day, she sometimes cannot get into or out of her driveway because of people parking while waiting for students. She felt that problem will grow when the elementary school is completed. She said parents park up and down Pecan and on Larrera Street. She also opposed opening Larrera Street out the other way. She said they have a lot of young children in the neighborhood and felt it is now a safe place for the children who live there. She knew the school traffic would be diverted if Pecan Avenue would be connected. Chairman McNiel asked if she had been to School Board meetings regarding the traffic problem. Ms. Dempsey stated she had not been to the Etiwanda School Board but she works for the Chaffey School District and they are concerned about the tremendous growth in that district. She said the population growth is unbelievable. She observed that a new school will be open in the fall but she Planning Commission Minutes -4 June 12, 2002 felt another new school will be needed the following year because of the rapid growth. She said they will not have another school the following year because they don't even have land for it yet. She questioned how the City Planning Commission plan for schools but stated it is difficult to find parcels for high schools. She commented she sometimes has to visit Etiwanda High School for her work and it is a nightmare to get in and out of there. She said it is not the only school with traffic problems but it is the only school sitting in a residential area with very narrow streets and lots and lots of kids. Chairman McNiel stated she probably knew that schools are the purview of the state. He said the schools generally allow the City a cursory review of plans and the City makes recommendations with respect to parking, etc., but the schools do not have to listen to those recommendations. He also commented new schools are not built until existing schools are so impacted they cannot absorb more children and new schools are pushed by absolute need, not projected needs. Donna Benson, 13040 Vista St., Rancho Cucamonga, stated she lives in one of the homes between Vista Street and "A" Street. She expressed concern about the traffic on "A" Street. She asked if there are any plans to govern the rate of speed and noted the street is a nice straight stretch. She stated there are scratch marks on the road on Pecan Avenue because it is a tempting area for kids to speed. She questioned the wall height will behind her property and observed she lives between two streets, while most people have a home behind them as a buffer before the next street. She noted her house is across from the entrance to the cul-de-sac as well as backing up to A" Street. She was concerned about the traffic coming from 11 homes on the cul-de-sac. She said she lives in a two-story home and her bedroom faces the north and she felt all the noise from the traffic on the cul-de-sac will come right into her bedroom. She questioned the proposed speed limit on"A"Street. Mr. Buller stated there will be a 6-foot high perimeter masonry wall around the new development and the speed limit in any neighborhood is 25 mph. He said the policing of the speed limit will have to be ongoing as it is on any streets. Ms. Benson said they don't have good police coverage or otherwise we wouldn't have kids racing up and down the street at 1 am and 2 am. She was concemed with the straight road and that it will also be the main road going into the tract. Chairman McNiel observed the street does not go directly through. Ms. Benson responded it will be used to access a lot of the houses. Ms. Meier reported there will be no sidewalk on Ms. Benson's side of the street on Street"A"behind her house. She said there is an existing windrow along the north side of the church and that windrow will be extended along the property boundary behind Ms. Benson's house, as there will be a widened parkway. She observed the trees will be small when planted and will be planted 8 feet on center but will eventually form a screen from traffic and activities to the north. Kelly Chase, 13215 Catalpa Street, Rancho Cucamonga, stated she lives to the east of the tract. She said it was her understanding that the developer will be putting up a sound wall at the north end of the tract and she questioned why there is no sound wall north of her property to mitigate the noise from the freeway. Chairman McNiel indicated the wall will be extended 200 feet east of the project's property boundary. Ms. Chase asked if the wall would go all the way to East Avenue. Mr. Buller stated the wall issue was discussed at the Route 30 Task Force meetings. He reported Caltrans did a sound study with the freeway and it was determined that Caltrans was not obligated to provide a sound wall in that location because there were too few homes along that stretch of freeway. He noted it is a State project and the State determined there was not a sufficient number of Planning Commission Minutes -5- June 12, 2002 homes to require mitigation. He said this development will help, but there will still be no wall for the remaining area up to East Avenue. He reported that the Rancho Cucamonga City Council has always asked Caltrans to construct a wall, but Caltrans has not. Ms. Chase asked if they need to contact Caltrans. Mr. Buller stated it is not a new issue and has been with Caltrans. Chairman McNiel stated the request is in process with Caltrans. Ms. Chase asked for confirmation that Catalpa Street will not be a through street and that it will be blocked off without walkways or fire access. Ms. Meier confirmed that was correct. Ms. Chase asked if they should contact Code Enforcement if there are excessive smells or flies coming from the bridle trails. She asked if they would be able to use the trails. She also was concerned about rodents being displaced by the construction. She asked if they will build the perimeter wall prior to developing to try to help alleviate the problem of the rodents scattering to the surrounding homes. Mr. Buller stated that problem arises every time there is an in-fill project because the rodents scatter when land is disturbed. He said there are things to take care of rodents. Ms. Chase said they get an increase whenever weed abatement takes place. She felt if the walls are built first it will help deter some of the impact. John Fowler, 13205 Catalpa Street, stated there is an old-growth Eucalyptus tree at the corner of his property. He reported that many of the trees were destroyed by fire in 1994 or 1995. He said they have nurtured the tree and brought it back to health and he asked if that tree could be saved. He hoped they would be able to save as many as possible of the old-growth trees. Regarding the horse trails, he asked if it would be possible to have access from their neighborhood to the trails so that children could use the trails to go back and forth to school or neighboring houses to avoid having to use streets. He said a lot more people ride bikes than horses and he felt it would be good to have a trail to share. He felt people could even ride bikes to work. Mr. Brose stated they plan to remove and replace the block walls surrounding the existing homes to the south and east prior to starting grading of the tract. With respect to access to the trails from the existing homes, he said they would be willing to implement a gate system into the trails if the City will approve. Hearing no further testimony, Chairman McNiel closed the public hearing. Mr. Buller stated there are three levels of designated trails in the City: Regional, Community, and local. He said the Regional trails are open to residents of Rancho Cucamonga as well as anyone within the region. He stated that Community trails are publicly owned and publicly maintained. He indicated there is a Community trail in the project that runs down the center of the project along Highland Avenue. Ms. Meier also stated this project's Community trail ties into the Community trail that runs along Etiwanda Avenue north of the freeway and south behind the homes on the west side of Etiwanda Avenue. Mr. Buller said the Community trail that bisects the project will be a community trail open to the general public. He indicated that there will be local trails within the project to allow anyone who Planning Commission Minutes -6- June 12, 2002 keeps horses on the property to gain access to the Community trail. He said there are requirements to keep the trails open and there is a standard for fencing or gating the trails. He noted they are private trails that can be used by people in the neighborhood and they can be used for pedestrian ' purposes. Regarding connection to Pecan Avenue or Catalpa Street, he stated the City Engineer has indicated the streets do not have to go through even though they were originally designed to go through. He explained that from the standpoint of Police, Fire, and public safety issues, it is always better to have more points of ingress and egress than less. Mr. Buller said it has been the policy of the Planning Commission and City Council to require every neighborhood to have at least two points of ingress and egress and he noted this project will block off three points of potential ingress and egress for the Pecan Street neighborhood. He said it is a process by which the City has considered the issues raised by the neighborhood regarding traffic and security. He pointed out the condition currently reads that the portion of Pecan Avenue north of Vista will be vacated and a curb will be placed along the north curb face of Vista with the property to be offered to the two adjacent property owners. He said the asphalt would be removed at that time. He stated the Eucalyptus trees north of Catalpa are not a part of this project. Ms. Meier stated there are some trees along the property line. She felt there may be some instances where the developer may want to work with individual property owners for individual tree preservation. She felt the tree Mr. Fowler referred to would be a good candidate for preservation. Mr. Buller suggested that Noise Environmental Mitigation Condition 1 be modified to require noise barriers a minimum 8 feet in height. With respect to Commissioner Stewart's comment that staff should review the written report regarding the noise study prior to Planning Commission action, Mr. Buller indicated that both consultants had indicated the walls be up to 8 feet and he thought changing the requirement to an 8-foot wall should be sufficient. He suggested the Commission could also add a caveat that the Noise barriers are subject to City Planner review and approval. He reported the consultant hired to do the peer review is the same one the City hired to do all the freeway peer review sound studies. Commissioner Mannerino asked if a condition should also be added to require the 200-foot extension of the wall to the east and west. Ms. Meier suggested a sentence be added to that effect. Mr. Buller said that staff supported moving forward with the recommended changes. Motion: Moved by Tolstoy, seconded by Mannerino to issue a Negative Declaration and adopt the resolution to approve Tentative Tract Map SUBTT16279 with the modifications recommended by staff. Ms. Meier suggested that Planning Condition 4 be expanded to indicate the applicant should coordinate with property owners along the project boundary with respect to trees. Mr. Buller suggested that the Commission may wish to condition the developer to disclose the purpose of trails to homebuyers. He said there had been problems in the Belmont Estates, where the homebuyers forgot they bought into an equestrian neighborhood. Commissioner Mannerino felt that was an excellent idea. Commissioner Tolstoy concurred Commissioner Mannerino thought the City Council should consider passing an ordinance to require it on all designated equestrian properties. Planning Commission Minutes -7- June 12, 2002 Mr. Buller said the purpose would be to disclose what the trails are and the regulations governing them. Chairman McNiel felt it would be a great legal position clarifier. He noted that when buying a house, there so many papers that people may not recall what is said, but he said it would at least clarify it from a legal standpoint. He supported the idea. Commissioner Stewart agreed. She felt it may go a long way to help resolve some of the issues. She said that inasmuch as staff was fairly comfortable with the status of the noise study, Mr. Brose seemed willing to accept the conditions even though he seemed unaware of some of the conditions when he came to the microphone, and the community seemed comfortable with the Pecan closure, she was willing to support the motion so long as staff can act accordingly if anything negative comes back with the noise study. • Chairman McNiel stated he did not want the closing of Pecan to become a precedent setting situation. He believed it is important to have more means of ingress and egress from a public safety standpoint; and unfortunately the closure is being driven by a community that is not community minded. Commissioner Tolstoy amended his motion to include the latest modifications suggested by Ms. Meier and Mr. Buller. Commissioner Mannerino amended his second as well. Motion carried by the following vote: AYES: MANNERINO, MCNIEL, STEWART, TOLSTOY NOES: NONE ABSENT: MACIAS - carried PUBLIC COMMENTS Vone Dempsey, 13067 Larrera Street, Rancho Cucamonga, asked when Pecan Avenue will be fixed since no sewer or water lines will run down it. Joe Stofa stated that water coming down Pecan Avenue will be picked up at Victoria Street and carried over to the storm drain system. COMMISSION BUSINESS There was no additional Commission business ADJOURNMENT Motion: Moved by Mannerino, seconded by Stewart, carried 4-0-1 (Macias absent),to adjourn. The Planning Commission adjourned at 8:21 p.m. Respectfully submitted, B uller ' Secretary Planning Commission Minutes -8- June 12, 2002