HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-05-12 - Minutes - Study Session - PC-HPCHistoric Preservation Commission and
Planning Commission
STUDY SESSION
Agenda
May 12, 2021
MINUTES
Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91730
4:00 p.m.
The Special Study Session meeting of the Historic Presentation Commission and Planning Commission
was held on May 12, 2021. The meeting was called to order by the Chairman at 4:00 p.m.
A. Roll Call
Planning Commission present: Chairman Tony Guglielmo, Vice Chair Oaxaca, Commissioner Bryan
Dopp, Commissioner Tony Morales, Commissioner Diane Williams.
Staff Present: Matt Burris, Deputy City Manager; Nicholas Ghirelli, City Attorney; Anne McIntosh, Planning
Director; Dat Tran, Assistant Planner, David Eoff, Senior Planner; Mike Smith, Principal Planner, Jason
Welday, Engineering Director; Tabe van der Zwaag, Associate Planner; Mena Abdul-Ahad, Assistant
Planner; Vincent Acuna, Associate Planner; Jennifer Nakamura, Management Analyst II; Flavio Nunez,
Management Analyst II; Paige Garcia, Management Aide; Griffin Sproul, Planning Technician.
B. Public Communications
Chairman Guglielmo opened for public communications
Stephanie Clark, Attorney Nossaman LLP, representing SCE regarding the city's General Plan Update.
Objecting to the Southeast Industrial Quadrant Roadway Network Assessment (SEIQ Assessment).
Stating the City's SEIQ Assessment is improper, unsupported, makes no legal or practical sense and will
ultimately expose the City to litigation as it pertains to proposing roads through the SEC Property that
cannot be built. Requesting the City reconsider the locations of those proposed streets.
Chairman Guglielmo hearing no other comments closed communications.
C. General Business
C1. Discussion of Public Draft General Plan Update
Matt Burris, Deputy City Manager, presented the Planning Commissioners a PowerPoint on the Public Draft
General Plan Update. (Copy of file)
Before starting, Mr. Burris clarified to the Attorney with SCE, Ms. Clark, stating this is not pertaining to the
General Plan Amendment the City was considering several months back to add a series of local and collective
streets to our street network. It is a separate process and it's being handled through a different path in terms
of Industrial Moratorium. He said that General Plan Amendment has been abandoned as an effort by the
City.
After Matt Burris's presentation, Chairman Guglielmo asked the Commission if there were any comments
Nick Ghirelli, City Attorney, stated there are roads identified in the General Plan that you just saw, those
roads will be environmentally reviewed pursuant to an EIR under CEQA. There is not going to be an
addendum to an EIR. It will not require SCE to remove electrical infostructure. He said this is the vision for
the city and a high-level planning document that all future land usage decision will be based on going forward.
Commissioner Morales mentioned one of the things he saw is the activity by Staff involving the public. They
were professional and that is how they came up with the all-inclusive General Plan. Good economic sense
behind it. He said you see a lot of cities here in California that did not plan and struggled with their budget.
That puts us in a position of strength going forward. It will help us build on our successes that we already
have in place to become the economics of the central hub of the Inland Empire. He is very proud of it and
looks forward to the implementation of the strategy next.
Commissioner Oaxaca stated it was great to see in detail all the work staff has been doing along with their
consulting partners to really sit back and look at the City of Rancho Cucamonga with a new perspective. He
said it is timely that we are going through the General Plan Update process at this time with the status of the
city. It is an important opportunity for our city, if you look for the silver lining, to see how we can incorporate
into our decision making some of these new realities and expectations that our community has.
Commissioner Oaxaca said he noticed probably maybe two, three key things that he can tell staff has looked
at that has really somehow redefined the vision for the city. This is really the plan to intentionally take the city
in a new direction, planning for the future. He asked if staff could give him some two or three new things the
team has taken into account that has really become part of the foundation for this Draft General Plan Update.
Matt Burris answered he would say that in a lot of ways the General Plan, that we have coming out. is a
reflection over a lot of ideas, a refinement in a lot of ways the city has been working on for a very longtime.
For example, the current General Plan includes mixed -use. The Arte for example, it's not the first mixed -use
building, we have many in the city and have been built over a course in the last couple of decades.
Matt Burris said one of the things we have found in putting that General Plan into practice is our current
General Plan often times lacks specificity, helping to explain the idea, as an example, how we take the idea
of having a mixed -use Wilshire Blvd, type district on Haven. Or we have a mixed -use Colorado Blvd. type of
environment on Foothill. Or how Victoria Gardens becomes a downtown. We have had those ideas in place
for a very long time. One of the things that this General Plan does that is really new is it helps convey and
map out how we get from that big idea to the physical place we are trying to create.
With that said, one of the news things that brings us a lot of clarification and expectation and the how of
getting there. Having a town center above the 210 was something identified in the 1982 General Plan. The
southeast industrial area and evolving that into a modern industrial district is certainly a new idea. That was
going to remain an area of heavy industry far into the future.
He said this General Plan puts a greater emphasis on creating a downtown type place on Victoria Gardens
and the epic center area and connecting down through the area of the Rancho Cucamonga station. That
future transit hub provides tons of opportunity and having Rancho be the gateway that connects Southern
California to Las Vegas is a big deal. One that none of us ever anticipated as an opportunity. Another idea
you will see in the General Plan in terms of new is a greater emphasis on reflecting that our street and roads
do not make sense to have one size fits all. We are reflecting this General Plan how State Law with regard
to complete streets has changed, and evolved but we are also saying there are lots of different ways of
getting around and in order to have a really good robust transportation network, we are going to identify some
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streets prioritize some types of mode and identify other streets prioritizing other types of mode. A very new
concept here.
Anne Mcintosh shared the theme of requiring "connectivity" between projects. Trying to find ways for people
to get from one project to your neighboring community without having to walk around the block to find a path.
Finding new ways to connect people, make things more pedestrian, and keep projects from becoming
disconnected islands unto themselves. That is one of the bigger concepts we injected in here.
Commissioner Williams mentioned Mr. Burris General Plan presentation was very easy to understand. She
spent a lot of years listening to lots of General Plans ideas in the past and to see now taking this by listening
to the community, she knows was difficult, but it paid off. What you have you know now this is what they
want. These things have been casually mentioned before we really should figure out how to turn Victoria
Gardens into downtown. Let's look and see what we designed for this area. We already have done all the
hard work. Now whatever pieces of the puzzle come through, if they fit fine, if not put them somewhere else
where they do fit.
Commissioner Williams expressed her excitement by some of the things she heard. So many pieces, we put
together a whole lot of things, now we are going to start to fill in the puzzle. She said it's wonderful to have
the security of knowing you are taking the citizens views. We all kind of thought people wanted activity
centers but when the people come out and said, "we want activity centers", that justifies we are putting the
extra effort into making sure it happens where it should. The epic center, the transit center, we have so much
opportunity in this city to make things happen. She looks forward to reading a good book, your General Plan.
The presentation was excellent.
Matt Burris expressed that when she does sit down to read it like a good book, she enjoys it. One of the
things we are excited about with this General Plan, which is going to be a big ship, is that we are recognizing
it is not all going to be the same. We are really trying to put an emphasis recognizing for example, we have
very different neighborhoods here in the city. We have some that are really lovely rural areas, suburban track
and some growing up to be new urban areas. We have such a great diversity and we are really trying to put
emphasis in this General Plan.
Matt Burris mentioned recognizing we have different places here in the city and we are not going to try to
make them all the same. There is so much value in having different places. We are trying to be clearer in
saying that there is a place for everything.
Commissioners Williams stated in 20+ years it will come to fruition and be well worth the effort. She feels
good about it. She said now we will have a "Bible" to go to and say the word of Rancho Cucamonga is this...
you are off to a great start.
Commissioner Dopp stated his initial take away on all this is what a visionary document it is. A lot of things
maybe have been discussed city wide but never been implemented. He knows that right away one of the
big takeaways with areas in the city having different characters. He said it's obvious that there is an element
in our city, no matter who doesn't want to see the city change, believe it or not to some extent the General
Plan recognizes that reality.
Commissioner Dopp said you look at the initial land use designations trying the best to reflect as much as
possible the rural nature of the northern part of the city. Or when people look at numbers and at a map and
see a radical change, you realize some of that change is really necessary in some places. It's out of step
with the character of the neighborhood. That is one of the things he really appreciated about the General
Plan, it tries as much as possible to give it all the changes we see legally and economically in the 215' Century
to recognize the Country is obviously going to be in a different place, in the State and City as well. He said
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you hit it with recognition of creating value from an economic sense for the city and he sees it's really
deliberate in this plan across the board. It's a great step forward. Trying to recognize as well through the
plan. We don't know all the details of course yet this is an overview discussion. Recognizing that there is at
least an attempt to make sure when we do build, we build deliberately and with purpose.
Commissioner Dopp mentioned there is a real reason behind it not just economically but as you mentioned
connectivity. There is a real desire to see Rancho develop as a real focal hub as a region. There is really a
tremendous amount of work to be done. To start things off, it does a great job hitting on major things we
have talked about in the last year. He said there is always a fear when we look at change and when people
are looking at different parts of town, sometimes there is a gut reaction to go back and we don't want to see
these things change, but in some of these parts of town they need the change for the better. We look at the
southwest part of town. We look at the industrial part of town where that is a lot of negative environmental
impact that have occurred over time. There is a clear recognition to try and rectify that to create a better city
for everybody and that is what he appreciates
Matt Burris appreciated what was said and went over Focus Area 5: Cucamonga Town Center slide.
Recognizing we can help deliver what the community has asked for.
Chairman Guglielmo expressed the staff report was great and the focus on the value per acre really illustrated
the potential we have here in Rancho Cucamonga. He said having so many resources and so much going
for us to take to the next level over the next 10-20 years is an opportunity we cannot let slip past. This plan
really addresses a lot of that. It's extremely visionary in the sense even the road work connectivity is really
good.
D. Adjournment to Regular Planning Commission Meeting at 7:00 p.m
Meeting was adjourned at 5:38 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
�I,Zj e C�, W
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Eliz th Thornhill
Executive Assistant, Planning Department
Approved: May 26th, 2021 — HPC/PC Meeting.
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