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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1995/03/08 - Minutes - PC-HPCCITY OF RANCHO CUCAMONGA PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES Regular Meeting March 8, 1995 Chairman Barker 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 Barker then led in the pledge of allegiance. ROT.T. CAT.T. COMMISSIONERS: PRESENT: David Barker, Heinz Lumpp, Larry McNiel, John Melcher, Peter Tolstoy ABSENT: None STAFF PRESENT: Brad Buller, City Planner; Dan Coleman, Principal Planner; Nancy Fong, Senior Planner; Ralph Hanson, Deputy City Attorney; Steve Hayes, Associate Planner; Dan James, Senior Civil Engineer; Gail Sanchez, Planning Commission Secretary , , , , · ANNOUNCEMENTS There were no announcements. , , , , APPROVAL OF MINUTES Motion: Moved by Melcher, seconded by McNiel, carried 5-0, to approve the minutes of January 11, 1995. , , , , , CONSENT CAT.ENDAR Ae ENVIRONMRNTAT. ASSESSMENT AND DEVELOPMENT REVIEW 95-03 - NORTHTOWN HOUSING DEVET.OPMENT CORP. - A request to construct single family residences on 12 in-fill lots in the Low Residential District (2-4 dwelling units per acre) within the Northtown area along 24th Street, 25th Street, and Humboldt Avenue, east of Hermosa Avenue - APN: 209-102-19 and 31; 209-104-41 and 18; 209-111-04, 15, and 16; 209-112-26; and 209-123-25. Staff recommends issuance of a Negative Declaration. Related File: Pre-Application Review 94- 05. Motion: Moved by Melcher, seconded by Tolstoy, carried 5-0, to adopt the Consent Calendar. , , , , , PUBLIC HEARINGS ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT AND CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT 94-40 - TACO BELT. CORPORATION - A request to construct a 1,989 square foot fast-food restaurant with drive-thru on a 0.73 acre parcel within an integrated 82 acre shopping center in the Community Commercial District of the Foothill Boulevard Specific Plan, located at the southwest corner of Foothill Boulevard and Etiwanda Avenue - APN: 229-031-30. Steve Hayes, Associate Planner, presented the staff report. Commissioner Melcher expressed concern that drivers exiting the drive-thru lane going west on the onsite roadway would swing into the eastbound lane of the onsite road. Dan Coleman, Principal Planner, noted the applicant had changed the radius on the exit for the drive-thru lane so that vehicles will swing to the north in order to get back in the proper lane. Commissioner Melcher asked the radius. Mr. Coleman responded it is 15 feet. Commissioner Melcher asked the distance from the pad line to the curb line of the on-site street. Mr. Hayes replied it is approximately 20 feet. Co~nissioner Melcher felt the on-site traffic pattern at the shopping center is a series of accidents waiting to happen. Chairman Barker opened the public hearing. Nina Raey, Fancher Development Services, 1342 Bell Avenue, #K, Tustin, requested deletion of Planning Conditions No. 7 and 8. She thought the Design Review Committee had agreed that Ligustrum could be used to grow up the wall. Commissioner Melcher felt Condition 7 refers to a planter bed between two parallel rows where there is no wall. Brad Buller, City Planner, confirmed that was correct. Ms. Raey agreed that Condition 7 would be acceptable. She requested that Condition No. 8 be deleted because she felt the slope difference from Foothill Boulevard to the site would provide sufficient screening to the parking lot. Mr. Hayes stated that regarding Condition No. 8, the master developer, Wattson Arno, planted the streetscape along the entire Foothill Boulevard frontage with the intent that what they planted would effectively screen the drive-thru facility and parking area. He affirmed there is a berm with a slope down into the parking area. He felt that the existing landscaping would effectively screen the parking and drive-thru areas. Commissioner Tolstoy questioned the elevation difference between Foothill Boulevard and the parking lot. Mr. Hayes replied it is approximately 2 feet with a 1-foot berm on top of that. Commissioner Tolstoy asked what landscaping is currently in place. Planning Commission Minutes -2- March 8, 1995 Mr. Hayes showed photographs to Commissioner Tolstoy. Commissioner Melcher questioned the sign program for the building. He noted there were signs shown on the north and east elevations and he asked if there would also be a monument sign. Mr. Buller replied that the sign program would permit two wall signs and a monument sign incorporated into the center. Mr. Coleman stated there are panels available on the center's existing monument sign. Commissioner Melcher asked if the Taco Bell name would be on the monument sign at the center entrance closest to the pad or if it could be displayed on more than one set of entry monument signs. Mr. Coleman responded that the name could appear on more than one monument sign. Hearing no further testimony, Chairman Barker closed the public hearing. Commissioner Melcher commented that one of the former Mayor's legacies to the City was the current slogan, "A World Class Community." He did not feel the building is a world class building, but acknowledged that could not be expected of a Taco Bell. He felt the building is merely a proto-type building offering nothing more than any other Taco Bell. He thought approving the project was a step away from the slogan. He felt the City is no longer differentiating between those projects which are approved with relaxed standards because the City would otherwise lose the business to a neighboring city--i.e., Price Club, WalMart--and such uses as fast food. He thought fast food restaurants would be willing to build a unique structure in order to be permitted to have their businesses near the population base. He stated he could not support the application. Commissioner McNiel stated he was on the Design Review Committee and the project had gone through several revisions to get to this point. He said the original proposal was significantly less exciting than what is currently proposed. He felt the applicant was cooperative. Commissioner Lumpp stated he was also on the Design Review Committee and he concurred with Commissioner McNiel that the project had been improved. He stated that although the architecture is similar to Taco Bell's prototype restaurants, it is of the same quality as other fast food restaurants in the City. He said he was particularly pleased with the progress of the project with relation to the site plan. He noted it provides open space areas and a patio area. He recalled discussing Planning Condition No. 8 and concurred with the applicant's concern that adding additional screening materials would change the concept of the landscaping and its irrigation system. He thought the existing landscaping is sufficient to screen the drive-thru. He supported the project. Commissioner McNiel agreed it had been decided that additional landscaping to screen the parking lot would fall in the purview of the streetscape and the Design Review Committee therefore backed off its request. He also stated the use is a drive-thru restaurant and noted the Commission had previously been chastised for trying to make uses appear as things they are not. He felt the project was vastly improved from what had been initially submitted. Planning Commission Minutes -3- March 8, 1995 Commissioner Melcher acknowledged that gains had been made from massaging the project. He felt that Commissioners not on the Design Review Committee can only comment on the projects when the project reaches the Planning Commission. He commented that he had previously been informed that such objections should have been made before the application had gone this far. He did not expect the application to be denied but said he intended to vote against it because he felt it is a "humdrum" project not worthy of the City. Chairman Barker requested a comparison between this building and the Del Taco located on Archibald north of Base Line Road. He thought the Commission had determined that drive-thru restaurants should be equal to or better than the Del Taco. Commissioner Melcher stated the current application reflects the corporation's idea of what its units should be. He felt this building is better than the previous Del Taco but thought the improvement was only because Taco Bell has moved in that direction nationwide. Commissioner McNiel stated that the current application has many of the elements of the center and they were not included with the initial proposal. Commissioner Melcher acknowledged that the design had been improved through the process. He said his comments were not meant to be critical of the Design Review process, but rather on the nature of what is now being accepted by the City. Commissioner Tolstoy agreed a project should not be stopped when it has gone so far through the process. Me felt it should have been stopped in Design Review. He said he would vote against it because he felt it is a clumsy building and he hoped that the Design Review process will be able to get more quality in future free-standing drive-thrus. He said he thought Chairman Barker would probably vote for the project, so it would be approved on a 3-2 vote. Chairman Barker noted that both Commissioners Melcher and Tolstoy had stated this would be an inappropriate time to stop the process, but they were both voting no. He observed that Commissioner Tolstoy had stated he was voting no because he thought there would be a 3-2 vote for approval. He said he thought he heard the Commissioners expressing frustration that standards are being lowered in the City. He resented being placed in the position of stating that a project should not be stopped at this point when it had been worked on for an extended period of time. He said there is a Design Review process and he felt the other Commissioners should be communicating their concerns to the Commissioners on that Committee or to the staff at the time the project is going through the Committee. He felt the Committee should not be willing to approve a project merely because it is better than what had been submitted initially. Commissioner McNiel noted that one of the difficulties in designing a drive-thru restaurant is that it is only a 2,000 square foot building with a drive-thru and all of the detractions which go with a drive-thru restaurant. He said the limitations are that it should match the existing center as nearly as possible while maintaining some type of identity of what it is. He felt the project is a comfortable meld with the existing shopping center, using the same kind of materials. He said some of the more glaring obvious corporate identity features were eliminated, some elements consistent with center were incorporated, and the drive-thru was made more functional. He did not feel the Design Review Committee had merely settled, but had been limited by the fact that the building is what it is. He said the building can't be reshaped, the drive-thru cannot be eliminated, and the proximity to Foothill Boulevard cannot be changed. Planning Commission Minutes -4- March 8, 1995 Chairman Barker said he would vote for the project because he supports the Design Review process. He felt that both Commissioners McNiel and Lumpp do a good job. Commissioner Lumpp felt that Commissioners not on the Design Review Committee have an opportunity to call the members of the Design Review Committee or submit written comments at the time projects are in process. He felt this building is as good as anything else in that shopping center. He suggested that if the other Commissioners have better ideas, they should relate them to the Committee members or perhaps the make-up of the Committee should be changed. Chairman Barker repeated his position that if Commissioners have concerns about projects, they have an obligation to communicate those concerns in writing or telephone to the Design Review Committee members before they meet with the applicant. Commissioner Tolstoy stated he had been on the Design Review Committee for some time and he acknowledged that it is frustrating to be on the Committee. He said that he and Commissioner McNiel had gone to the center today, and they happened to meet one of the developers and he was very complimentary to the Design Review Committee for changing the Del Taco from its initial proposal to its present design. He felt the Design Review Committee always improves buildings but he felt sometimes the City gives up too quickly. He observed that the Claim Jumper restaurant has very nice design features which do not reflect the overall architecture of the center and he thought incorporating some of those features would have improved the Del Taco. He hoped that Design Review Committee members would bring projects up to a better-than-acceptable level rather than just an acceptable one. Chairman Barker felt that the frustrations expressed this evening were not based just on this one singular project, but were, rather, a reflection of the concern voiced by staff and each and every Commissioner that there appears to be pressure to lower our standards and to accept things which would not have been accepted in the past. He again complimented the work done by the Design Review Committee members. Motion: Moved by McNiel, seconded by Lumpp, to issue a Negative Declaration and adopt the resolution approving Conditional Use Permit 94-40. Motion carried by the following vote: AYES: COMMISSIONERS: NOES: MELCHER, TOLSTOY ABSENT: NONE BARKER, LUMPP, MCNIEL - carried Commissioner Melcher stated he had not meant to attack Design Review. He said the nature of Design Review is that those Commissioners feed on what is fed to them. He felt the point from which such projects begin is what needs more emphasis. He suggested the Commissioners and staff discuss the matter because staff regulates what gets to Design Review. He believed that streamlining should not lead to lower standards; but he felt that as the process has been streamlined, standards have been allowed to fall. Commissioner Tolstoy concurred with Commissioner Melcher's comments. , , , , NEW BUSINESS Planning Commission Minutes -5- March 8, 1995 C. DEVET.OPMR. NT PRVIEW 95-01 - GENERAL DYNAMICS - A request to construct a 7,847 square foot clubhouse on 5 acres of land in the Empire Lakes Golf Course, which is part of the Rancho Cucamonga Subarea 18 Specific Plan, located on the south side of 6th Street, west of Milliken Avenue - APN: 210-082-37 and 38. Dan Coleman, Principal Planner, presented the staff report. Commissioner McNiel questioned if the entire building, including the patio, would be going in at one time. Mr. Coleman confirmed that is correct. He said there is actually a structure under the patio and the patio has been designed to allow for future expansion of the clubhouse. Commissioner McNiel asked the square footage of the clubhouse. Mr. Coleman replied it is approximately 2,600 square feet on the top floor and 5,300 square feet below. Chairman Barker invited public comment. Jeff Kudlac, Stephen Eimer & Associates, Inc., 10900 East 4th Street, Building 601, Rancho Cucamonga, stated they were happy with the work effort which had taken place with staff and they were pleased with the processing time and the rapidity with which the project reached the Commission. He said they expect to have the course ready to play by the end of this year and they hoped to have the clubhouse under construction by May. He stated that representatives of RTKL, the project architect, were available to answer questions. Commissioner Tolstoy felt the project will be extremely well accepted by the region and he feared the clubhouse as proposed is rather small. He questioned how the clubhouse would be expanded if necessary. Mr. Kudlac responded that the golf course will be a public course and they are not sure what the market will be and what the competition will be for dining facilities. He said they planned the clubhouse to have sufficient facilities for the golfers on the course and they will gauge the activity once they open to see if they should expand the dining area. He reported the building has been set up to accommodate a future 3,000 square foot dining area to the east on top of the existing cart storage. He commented they had exceeded the parking requirements and the pedestrian flow and accesses have been set up to accommodate such future expansion. He said the existing plans will also facilitate outdoor dining. Commissioner Tolstoy asked if the pro shop will be large enough. Mr. Kudlac responded they believe it will be. He remarked there will also be retail sales in the Arnold Palmer Golf Academy to be located in another building. Commissioner McNiel agreed that the clubhouse and restaurant area appear to be inadequate. Chairman Barker asked if it is fair to assume that some of the other parcels will be providing some dining facilities. Mr. Kudlac replied that there is 3 million square feet of mixed use surrounding the golf course and they do not want to create competition for the parcels they Planning Commission Minutes -6- March 8, 1995 will be marketing. He said the public courses seem to be heading in the direction of permitting golfers to get on the course and move as quickly as possible, including ordering their food from one of the holes to be picked up and eaten within a very short time. He observed they hope to get 60,000 rounds of golf per year and they don't want to slow people down. Commissioner Melcher asked how many courses the development team has been involved with. Mr. Kudlac responded approximately 10. Commissioner Melcher felt satisfied that the applicant knows what they are doing, has a plan for expansion, and would be sufficiently capitalized to expand if desired. Commissioner Lumpp asked if the approval process established in the Specific Plan was working well. Mr. Kudlac responded that they have been extremely pleased so far. Co~nissioner Melcher stated it was comforting to see that RTKL had stayed on from the inception of the Specific Plan through this first project. He felt the clubhouse is handsome. He believed the City will need to continuel to be vigilant, however, since some of the parcels will probably be sold and developed by others. Mr. Kudlac felt the proper safeguards are in effect with the master plan having to be approved by the Planning Commission. Commissioner McNiel commented that Upland Hills has indicated they have 40,000 to 45,000 rounds of golf per year and this course is hoping for 60,000 rounds. He observed that when Upland runs tournaments, the course and parking areas are overly congested. He was concerned that the clubhouse and parking will not be sufficient during tournament play. Commissioner Lumpp observed that Upland Hills is designed differently and has room for no more than three foursomes in the starter area. He thought this course is better designed. Commissioner McNiel said that his concern was with the general crowding of tournament play. Mr. Kudlac said the City staff had been very diligent and has required a separate parking agreement for Building 602 adjacent to the driving range to accommodate overflow parking during tournaments. There were no further public comments on this item. Motion: Moved by Tolstoy, seconded by Lumpp, to adopt the resolution approving Development Review 95-01. Motion carried by the following vote: AYES: COMMISSIONERS: NOES: NONE ABSENT: NONE BARKER, LUMPP, MCNIEL, MELCHER, TOLSTOY - carried Planning Commission Minutes -7- March 8, 1995 PUBI.IC COMMENTS There were no public comments at this time. COMMISSION BUSINESS Commissioner Melcher stated that in the process of reviewing the Taco Bell application and his visit to the site, he noticed that although a limited effort appears to have been made to replace some of the dying palm trees, some of the replacement trees have died. He commented that graffiti is evident on some of the curb faces and the unbuilt pads have never been landscaped. He was concerned about the overall level of maintenance at the site. He suggested the matter might be placed on a future agenda so the Commission could consider directing staff to communicate to the developer that the Commission expects compliance prior to considering any other projects at the site. Commissioner Tolstoy commented that in his conversation with the developer, he had been told that the replacement of the dying palm trees has been a problem because the landscaper and the project management had been involved in a dispute, which has now been resolved and the trees should now be replaced. Commissioner McNiel commented that the murals are very nice. He said there seems to be an uncommon amount of vandalism on the site and the developer has now hired a daytime exterior maintenance crew and a new security crew. He noted there has been significant damage to some of the low walls. He reported the developer indicated progress is being made on tenant improvements for some of the vacant buildings, which should improve the cash flow. He thought there is now a reasonable effort to get some of the items corrected but he agreed the Commission should convey its concerns to the developer. Commissioner Tolstoy felt the City should definitely pursue having the undeveloped pads landscaped if that was a condition of approval for the center. Brad Buller, City Planner, suggested that staff prepare a memorandum to the Commission regarding the status of outstanding items staff has been working on with the developer. He noted that following receipt of the memorandum, the Commission could then ask that the matter be placed on the agenda if so desired. Commissioner Tolstoy observed that a vending machine has been placed in front of the Food 4 Less store. Commissioner McNiel also commented that Michaels had a lot of items placed on the sidewalk. Commissioner Melcher indicated that Petsmart has added an illuminated wall "Groomer" sign to the building and Circuit City has painted "Loading Area" with an arrow on the wall near the customer pick-up area. He also hoped the fabric McDonald's sign could be removed from the WalMart store shortly. Me asked that staff indicate if those signs were permitted. Mr. Buller responded that staff would identify those items in the memorandum. Chairman Barker asked that the possible renaming of 24th Street in the northeast area of Etiwanda be brought back to the Commission for discussion. Planning Commission Minutes -8- March 8, 1995 Commissioner Melcher felt there is a tendency to "feed" on whatever is presented when evaluating plans. He said the approach sometimes appears to be "this is what it will be, so what can be pasted on to make it better?" as opposed to questioning if the concept is good. He stated his comments were not meant to be a criticism of staff. He felt that quality sometimes comes from going back and rethinking the use or building in its particular location. Mr. Buller asked if the Commission would like to have a discussion of the Design Review process added to a future agenda. Chairman Barker felt it would be an appropriate topic for a workshop. Mr. Buller suggested scheduling a workshop on March 22 prior to the regular meeting. Commissioner McNiel felt the Commission now has more diverse opinions of what is appropriate and attractive than what had been experienced with previous Commissions. Commissioner Tolstoy felt it would be helpful to tour some of the fast food restaurants so the Commissioners could discuss what features they feel are appropriate and those which could have been improved. Mr. Buller suggested meeting at 4:00 p.m. for an hour's field trip followed by discussion. It was the consensus of the Commission to schedule the workshop and field trip. , , , , , ADJOURNMENT Motion: Moved by McNiel, seconded by Tolstoy, carried 5-0, to adjourn. 8:33 p.m. - The Planning Commission adjourned to a workshop immediately following in the DeAnza Room regarding Development Review 95-05. The workshop adjourned at 10:45 p.m. and the minutes appear separately. That workshop adjourned to 4:00 p.m. on March 22, 1995, for a workshop on the design review process and 1994/95 Planning Issues. Respectfully submitted, Brad Bul Secretary Planning Commission Minutes -9- March 8, 1995