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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1993/10/27 - Minutes - PC-HPCCITY OF RANCHO CUCAMONGA PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES Regular Meeting October 27, 1993 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: Suzanne Chitlea, Larry McNiel, John Melcher, Peter Tolstoy, Wendy Vallette ABSENT: None STAFF PRESENT: Shintu Bose, Deputy City Engineer; Brad Buller, City Planner; Dan Coleman, Principal Planner; Nancy Fong, Senior Planner; Rick Gomez, Community Development Director; Ralph Hanson, Deputy City Attorney; Steve Hayes, Associate Planner; Dan James, Senior Civil Engineer; Beverly Luttrell, Associate Planner; Gall Sanchez, Planning Commission Secretary , , , , , ANNOUNCEMENTS Brad Buller, City Planner, announced that the Commission would need to select dates for a workshop for the North Town Affordable Housing Project and to discuss the grading concept for Tract 13316. He also announced that the City Council had requested that two Planning Commissioners serve on a sign task force along with staff, members of the Chamber of Commerce, and business members as the result of a business owner's request to the Council for changes to permit additional signs. , , , , APPROVAL OF MINUTES Moved by Tolstoy, seconded by Chitiea, carried 5-0, to adopt the minutes of the Adjourned Meeting of September 9, 1993, as amended. Moved by McNiel, seconded by Melcher, carried 5-0, to adopt the minutes of October 13, 1993. Moved by Chitlea, seconded by Vallette, carried 5-0, to adopt the minutes of the Adjourned Meeting of October 13, 1993, as amended. , , , , , CONSENT CALENDAR Ae DEVELOPMENT REVIEW 93-13 - WESTERN PROPERTIES - The design review of elevations for Building X within the Terra Vista Town Center, located at the northeast corner of Foothill Boulevard and Haven Avenue - APN: 1077-421-70. The item was pulled from the consent calendar. Commissioner Tolstoy stated that several years ago the Commission had been shown conceptual drawings envisioning financial and office uses at the corner of Foothill Boulevard and Haven Avenue. He understood that with the downturn in the economy, the intended uses were no longer valid. He felt that the current proposal for Building X as modified during the October 13, 1993, workshop was probably the best the City would get because of the change to retail use and he said he had voted against the denial for that reason. He hoped the applicant would hold off and wait until times are better and the corner could be used for the originally intended uses, but he realized the developer would like to expedite building on the corner. Commissioner Vallette observed that the Commission had expressed concern that the project lacks the level of sophistication that the balance of the center has. She said that in reviewing the proposal, she was not happy as the building was currently proposed and she felt more could be done. She suggested that wording be added to clarify the level of sophistication in the design desired by the Commission. Nancy Fong, Senior Planner, suggested that exhibits could be included of the previously approved buildings. Commissioner Vallette felt there would be a reduction in the mass and scale of the building and she thought the current proposal could be enhanced to the same level of sophistication as Building Y. Chairman McNiel commented that the Con~nission should not be in the business of designing the building, but its role is to approve or deny what is presented. He understood and accepted the change in use but did not support the building as presented. He felt Foothill Boulevard and Haven Avenue is one of the most important intersections in the City and the building should be enhanced. Commissioner Chitiea concurred with Chairman McNiel. She did not feel there should be a rush to build if the timing is not right. She thought the current landscaping is very attractive and felt ~t would be preferable to leave the landscaping instead of constructing the building as presented. Motion: Moved by Melcher, seconded by Chitiea to adopt the resolution of denial for Development Review 93-13 for Building X. Motion carried by the following vote: AYES: NOES: ABSENT: COMMISSIONERS: COMMISSIONERS: COMMISSIONERS: CHITIEA, MCNIEL, MELCRER TOLSTOY, VALLETTE NONE -carried Planning Commission Minutes -2- October 27, 1993 PUBLIC HEARINGS Be ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT AND CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT 93-42 - CHURCH OF CHRIST OF RANCHO CUCAMONGA - A request to establish a church in a leased space of 3,168 square feet within the Burke Trademark Business Center, located within the Industrial Park District (Subarea 6) of the Industrial Area Specific Plan at 10261 Trademark Street, Suite B - APN: 210-441-19. Staff recommends issuance of a Negative Declaration. Steve Hayes, Associate Planner, presented the staff report and remarked that the Commission had received a letter from a neighboring business, Fantastic Sams, in opposition to the project, particularly related to landscape maintenance. He said staff had forwarded a copy of the staff report and had talked with the authors of the letter and they had indicated they felt most of their concerns could be addressed with the management company. Chairman McNiel asked if the surplus of six parking spaces noted in the staff report would be for peak times. Mr. Hayes responded affirmatively. Chairman McNiel noted that part of the concern expressed by Fantastic Sams was that they are a property owner in the center. He thought the church would pay landscape maintenance fees through lease payments to the management company so that the maintenance could be continued. Mr. Hayes replied that was correct. Chairman McNiel opened the public hearing. John Moore, 13315 Bon View, Ontario, stated he is a trustee of the Rancho Cucamonga Church of Christ. He said they have been holding services in Upland but the majority of their parishioners live in Rancho Cucamonga. He said they had had a difficult time finding a location in town and they believed this building would serve their needs well so they had secured a 3-year lease. He remarked the parking would be more than adequate as they currently only have 30 people in the congregation and their largest congregation had been 50. He indicated their main use of the facility would be on Sunday and they had observed that the parking lot is virtually empty at that time. Hearing no further testimony, Chairman McNiel closed the public hearing. Commissioner Melcher observed that in the 3+ years he had served on the Commission he had never known of any opposition to a church application in an industrial park. He noted however that this project is at the southern edge of town away from the residential area. He commented that the industrial park is a condominium project with most users purchasing their units. He stated the units are high tech in appearance and he questioned if perhaps the location was not the best suited for a church. Planning Commission Minutes -3- October 27, 1993 Chairman McNiel asked if there were any other leased unite in the complex. Mr. Hayes responded affirmatively. Dan Coleman, Principal Planner, commented that a church is located a couple hundred yards away on Trademark. He remarked that there are over a dozen churches located in business parks in the City and complaints have never been received from any other tenants in any of the complexes. Commissioner Vallette noted that the letter from Fantastic Sams had expressed concerns that landscaping would be damaged because of the increased use by the families of the congregation. She thought perhaps staff could look at that in the future, but she noted that no problems have been experienced up to this time. Commissioner Tolstoy felt that locating churches in business parks is a good way to help a church get started. He noted that many churches have a hard time accumulating enough capital to purchase land and build. He supported the project. Chairman McNiel agreed that typical churches like 5 acres of land and most make several moves prior to achieving a large enough congregation to support purchasing the land and building. He supported the use. Motion: Moved by Tolstoy, seconded by Vallette, to issue a Negative Declaration and adopt the resolution approving Conditional Use Permit 93-42. Motion carried by the following vote: AYES: NOES: ABSENT: COMMISSIONERS: COMMISSIONERS: COMMISSIONERS: CHITIEA, MCNIEL, MELCHER, TOLSTOY, VALLETTE NONE NONE -carried , · , , , Ce ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT AND CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT 93-40 - LEE - A request to establish a gymnastics school in a leased space of 12,650 square feet within an existing multi-tenant industrial park (Subarea 2) of the Industrial Area Specific Plan at 9017 Arrow Route - APN: 209-012-19. Staff recommends issuance of a Negative Declaration. Beverly Luttrell, Associate Planner, presented the staff report. Chairman McNiel opened the public hearing. Paul Lee, 3547 North Mills, Claremont, stated he has been involved in g~mnastics for over 15 years and he felt there is a need for such a facility in Rancho Cucamonga. He said the school would be owned and operated by he and his wife and he would be the principal instructor. Rose Ann A'Jontue, 8656 Utica Avenue, #200, Rancho Cucamonga, stated she has owned a gymnastics school in Rancho Cucamonga for over 10 years. She felt Rancho Cucamonga is well represented in g~mnastics. She thought that 50 Planning Commission Minutes -4- October 27, 1993 students at one time would be excessive because she noted the United States Gymnastics Federation recommends a student/teacher ratio 9/1 for safety reasons. Chairman McNiel noted the applicant had indicated their largest class would probably be 36 students with 4 instructors. He said the maximum of 50 was added as a condition because of parking restrictions. Hearing no further testimony, Chairman McNiel closed the public hearing. Chairman McNiel supported the use. He felt the number of instructors would be adequate because parents would remove their children from the classes if instruction appears inadequate. Motion: Moved by Vallette, seconded by Chitlea, to issue a Negative Declaration and adopt the resolution approving Conditional Use Permit 93-40. Motion carried by the following vote: AYES: NOES: ABSENT: COMMISSIONERS: COMMISSIONERS: COMMISSIONERS: CHITlEA, MCNIEL, MELCHER, TOLSTOY, VALLETTE NONE NONE -carried · , , , , DIRECTOR'S REPORTS APPROVAL OF THE SITE LAYOUT, CIRCULATION DESIGN, AND SURFACE TREATMENTS FOR THE METROLINK STATION AT MILLIREN AVENUE AND THE SANTA FE RAILWAY TRACKS Rick Gomez, Community Development Director, presented the staff report. Commissioner Tolstoy questioned if SANBAG would be providing funding for anything beyond Phase I. Mr. Gomez replied there is currently only funds for Phase I. He said the City is looking for ways to cut costs on the acquisition and construction with the hope of perhaps enhancing the improvements in Phase I. Commissioner Tolstoy noted that it had been projected that the Rancho Cucamonga station would be the largest on line because of drawing riders from the desert. He asked if parking would be a problem prior to the construction of Phase II. Mr. Gomez acknowledged that the ultimate plan is to accommodate approximately 1,000 riders including riders from the Victor Valley. He said the first phase will accommodate approximately 300 riders~ and if necessary, prior to starting Phase II, temporary solutions would be considered, such as unpaved parking. Commissioner Tolstoy noted that the Upland Metrolink station has a tremendous parking problem. Planning Commission Minutes -5- October 27, 1993 Mr. Gomez responded that the stations which have already opened are in existing urban areas, thus limiting their ability to provide large parking areas adjacent to their stations. He felt Rancho Cucamonga's site is capable of providing the necessary parking initially because of the vacant acreage available. He anticipated that all major infrastructure will be completed prior to opening of the station. He said the extension of Milliken Avenue will be improved with separate funds from SANBAG, hopefully concurrent with the station opening. Chairman McNiel invited comments. Larry Ryan, RJM Design Group, 27285 Las Ramblas, #250, Mission Viejo, stated he was available to answer questions regarding the design. He said they were requesting approval of the site layout and the circulation design. Mr. Gomez said they were trying to incorporate the urban design character of the Metrolink station with the General Dynamics proposal across the street. He said the City is still talking with its architectural constultants to develop an overall architectural vocabulary for the structures, which is anticipated in about a month. He requested that the Commission approve the site plan, circulation pattern, and the overall design concept. He said they were still considering surface treatments because the architectural theme has not been determined. He stated the major components such as banding are represented on the plan. He presented examples of some of the textures. Commissioner Melcher felt that when a limited amount of money is available, any enhancements are best seen on vertical surfaces and structures rather than on paved surfaces. He agreed that various enhanced paving surfaces and techniques add to the quality of development where it is being used. He noted the area would generate a lot of traffic from people arriving and departing and feared the area would not get the same level of maintenance as commercial areas and would be exposed to vandals during the hours when not in use. He thought it would be necessary to rely heavily on the consultant's advice in this regard because of the low level of the Commission's experience with regional transportation facilities. Mr. Gomez agreed that the City's Metrolink team was not ready to determine specific surface treatments because the architectural vocabulary has not been established yet. He said they were looking for phased approval on the overall design so that civil engineering components could proceed ahead as scheduled. Commissioner Melcher asked the relationship between the construction schedule for Milliken Avenue and the station. Mr. Gomez again replied they are intended to open concurrently. Commissioner Vallette asked for input from the Planning subcommittee. Commission Chairman McNiel indicated they had met with the consultant two weeks earlier and he was comfortable with what was presented. Planning Commission Minutes -6- October 27, 1993 Commissioner Melcher felt the consultant had done an outstanding job of separating different types of traffic and providing access to and from Milliken. There was discussion about the two loading platforms and Mr. Gomez reported that it was felt the southern platform would be used 85 percent of the time. Commissioner Chitlea questioned the availability of shelters. Mr. Gomez responded that all departures to Los Angeles would be from the south platform which will have shelter in order to accommodate the large number of riders waiting for departing trains. He indicated the north platform would be used mostly for trains returning from Los Angeles on which departing passengers would not be lingering for any periods of time. He said there is currently no money for placing a shelter on the north platform. Commissioner Chitlea thought there will be some commuters boarding to go east and she felt a shelter should be provided for the north platform as soon as possible. There was a discussion of the commercial property on the General Dynamics site and access points. Mr. Ryan stated that they had looked at ways to mitigate the wind by using dense tree patterns. He noted they separated automobile traffic from van pools and bus loading and unloading areas. Commissioner Vallette questioned the availability of handicapped access to the north platform. Mr. Ryan responded that it is integrated into the design. Mr. Bullet questioned if the Commission felt the pattern of bardscape was acceptable. Commissioner Melcher felt the pattern was acceptable. Chairman McNiel agreed. He asked if there would be room for a turn-around within the parking area for someone dropping off a commuter so that they would not have to circle through the entire parking lot. Mr. Ryan said there might be turning room by the planting area and they would explore that option. Commissioners Chitlea and Vallette agreed turning room would be desirable. Commissioner Tolstoy commented that most other Metrolink stations appear similar to each other. He asked if that was at the direction of Metrolink. Mr. Gomez platforms, stations. replied that Metrolink has provided standardized plans for vending machines, etc., which are being used in all Metrolink He said many Cities have opted to use the standardized plans and Planning Commission Minutes -7- October 27, 1993 allow Metrolink to construct their stations, but Rancho Cucamonga has opted to design and build their own station utilizing Metrolink standards where applicable. He noted that Cities must make up the difference in costs when upgrading beyond the standardized drawings. He co~=nented that Metrolink will pay for maintenance and security for the first two years, after which time that will be the City's responsibility. Chairman McNiel noted that the plans were not yet at the point of addressing lighting and security. He said he had requested that the consultant consider the City and what it represents in terms of vineyards and grape arbors when determining the architectural theme. Con~nissioner Chitiea felt that giving the station a City identity would tend to make it more of a destination than a stop along the way. Motion: Moved by Melcher, seconded by Chitlea, to approve the site layout, circulation design, and horizontal surface design with proviso that the design team explore the possibility of providing a more direct turn-around within the automobile drop-off area. Motion carried by the following vote= AYES: NOES: ABSENT: COMMISSIONERS: COMMISSIONERS: COMMISSIONERS: CHITIEA, MCNIEL, MELCHER, TOLSTOY, VALLETTE NONE NONE -carried , , , , PUBLIC COMMENTS There were no public comments at this time. , , , , , COMMISSION BUSINESS The Commission discussed potential workshop dates for a workshop on the North Town Affordable Housing project and the grading concept for Tract 13316. Commissioner Melcher felt the project architect should be present at the North Town Affordable Housing project workshop. It was the consensus of the Commission that the workshop should be scheduled for 5:00 p.m. on November 10, 1993. It was the consensus of the Co~unission that the grading concept for Tract 13316 be reviewed by the Trails Committee and the Design Review Committee rather than having a full Planning Commission workshop. , , , , , Brad Bullet, City Planner, reported that at the October 20, 1993, City Councl~ meeting, the Council had directed staff to consider the possibility of an urgency ordinance regarding signs to promote businesses during the econoe~c Planning Commission Minutes -8- October 27, 1993 recession and long term permanent solutions to better identify shops in the commercial centers. He observed that La Verne had recently passed an ordinance allowing all shops within any multi-tenant centers to have identification on street-side monument signs. Mr. Bullet said that the Council had requested that two Commissioners serve on a task force with members of the Chamber of Commerce, shopping center managers, small business owners, and staff to address the issue. Commissioner Chitlea felt the City should also look at the physical results of the La Verne ordinance. She suggested boulevards in surrounding cities be viewed. Chairman McNiel thought the City was revisiting what had been considered in the past. He felt the City loses each time the issue is considered. Commissioner Chitiea felt visual pollution should be considered and she thought increasing the number of signs would demand too much attention from drivers. She did ~ot think signs will solve economic problems and the City would lose the beauty that it has. Commissioner Melcher suggested that if more signs are placed along the street, perhaps shopping center managers would lose their excuse to cut back parking lot trees in order to provide better visibility to signs on buildings. Chairman McNiel and Commissioner Tolstoy were appointed to the task force with Wendy Vallette to be the alternate. Commissioner Tolstoy observed that it is often difficult to see into stores because of the neon paint and signs in windows. He thought that should also be addressed. He felt many stores are violating code. Mr. Bullet acknowledged that staff is aware of the many violations and expressed concern with the number of hours weekly it takes to keep on top of it. He said that currently enforcement of window signs has not been a priority. Commissioner Tolstoy feared that if the problem is not addressed soon, it will become too difficult to stop. , · · , Con~nissioner Vallette stated that the housing element was presently being updated and she requested a report regarding the Redevelop~ent Agency's housing program, specifically the use of mortgage buy outs to meet affordable housing goals. She commented there are 70 foreclosures per month in Rancho Cucamonga. , · , , ADJOURNMENT Motion: Moved by Melcher, seconded by Vallette, carried unanimously, to adjourn. Planning Commission Minutes -9- October 27, 1993 9:05 p.m. - The Planning Con~nission adjourned to 5:00 on November 10, 1993, for a workshop on the North Town Affordable Housing project. Respectfully submitted, Secretary Planning Commission Minutes -10- October 27, 1993