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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2022-01-12 - Minutes - HPC-PCHistoric Preservation Commission and Planning Commission Agenda January 12, 2022 MINUTES Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91729 7:00 o.m. The regular meeting of the Historic Presentation Commission and Planning Commission was held on January 12, 2022. The meeting was called to order by Vice Chair Dopp at 7:00 p.m. A. Roll Call Planning Commission present: Vice Chair Dopp, Commissioner Morales, Commissioner Williams, Commissioner Boling, and Commissioner Daniels. Staff Present: Serita Young, Assistant City Attorney; Mike Smith, Acting Planning Director; Jennifer Nakamura, Management Analyst II; David F. Eoff, Senior Planner, Elizabeth Thornhill, Executive Assistant. Vice Chair Dopp noted that at staff's request, the agenda was reordered and items originally listed under the Consent Calendar (items 2 and 3) were moved to General Business (items C1 and C2) to permit Commission discussion. B. Public Communications Vice Chair Dopp opened the public communications and hearing no one closed public communications. C. General Business C1. Approval of revised regulations; Selection of Chair and Vice -Chair; Selection of Committee Members. Jennifer Nakamura, Management Analyst II, explained staff's recommendation for Planning Commission to adopt a revision to the Administrative Regulations Commission Guidelines. It will move the selection of Officers and Committee members from July of each year to January. The first action we request the Commission to take is adopt those changes in the regulations. From there, the Commission will then select members for the Design Review Committee, as well as the Trails Advisory Committee and then select Chair and Vice Chair positions. The only Committee we are not selecting at this time is the Public Arts Committee, which Bryan Dopp is currently a member of for two-year appointment and will be selected in January 2023 before his appointment ends in February 2023. Commissioners concur that it makes a lot of sense to select positions in the beginning of each year and are in favor. Motion by Commissioner Boling, second by Commissioner Williams, motion carried unanimously, 5-0 vote. Commissioner Williams was appointed unanimously as member of Design Review Committee, 1 year term. Motion by Commissioner Morales, second by Commissioner Williams. Motion carried unanimously, 5-0 vote. Commissioner Morales was appointed unanimously as member of Design Review Committee, 1-year term. Motion by Commissioner Williams, second by Commissioner Boling. Motion carried unanimously, 5-0 vote. Commissioner Daniels was appointed unanimously as Alternate for the Design Review Committee. Motion by Commissioner Williams, second by Commissioner Morales. Motion carried unanimously, 5-0 vote. Commissioner Daniels was appointed unanimously as member of Trails Advisory Committee, 1-year term. Motion by Commissioner Williams, second by Commissioner Morales. Motion carried unanimously, 5-0 vote. Commissioner Boling was appointed unanimously as member of Trails Advisory Committee, 1-year term. Motion by Commissioner Morales, second by Commissioner Daniels. Motion carried unanimously, 5-0 vote. Commissioner Williams was appointed unanimously as Vice -Chair, 1-year term of the Planning Commission. Motion by Commissioner Morales, second by Commissioner Daniels. Motion carried unanimously, 5-0 vote. Commissioner Dopp was appointed unanimously as Chair, 2-year term of the Planning Commission. Motion by Commissioner Williams, second by Commissioner Morales. Motion carried unanimously, 5-0 vote. Chair Dopp thanked each Commissioner for stepping up into various positions and it will be a good year in a variety of ways. He knows it's additional time away from family and thanks each Commissioner for your dedication for the benefit of the City. HPC/PC Minutes —January 12, 2022 Page 2 of 6 FINAL C2. Verbal Report — Drive through restaurants: Designing for people first. Jennifer Nakamura, Management Analyst II, provided Commissioners with a presentation (copy on file). She talked about a variety of different topics and mentioned it will be an ongoing series that will be talked about throughout the calendar year and looking for feedback and thoughts from the Planning Commission on drive through best practices. Commissioner Williams mentioned the entrance door to Burger King. The drive up is in front of entrance door. They should consider closing that door, it could be unnerving trying to get to, especially with a child. Also, the Ralphs gas station upon exiting and if the drive -up line to Burger King is long, there is congestion. Suggests have a conversation and ask if they have considered enhancing their entrance door and make it more attractive and obvious so people know where its located. Ms. Nakamura stated to not only look at the design for those pedestrians walking along the street but for those who are parking and entering building making sure there is a safe path of travel for them. Commissioner Williams also mentioned In-N-Out located on Foothill Blvd. Many times, line will be out onto Foothill. It's not conducive for pedestrians walking on Foothill to have to walk across the traffic to get to the door. She believes these are good opportunities here. She stated that you want to have it so that people will be inclined, if they park one place, and do the rest of their activities by foot. Commissioner Morales asked about the future concept of the multi -story Taco Bell, how is product served to the people in other lanes. Ms. Nakamura answered it's a conceptual design. Are not sure how they're operational planning is. David Eoff, Senior Planner, mentioned from what he's read, if you look at the way the columns are supporting the building, he believes they would drop down and shoots where the food would be dropped down. The idea is to not have people running across all the lanes. Commissioner Boling mentioned the Starbuck in Ontario there are a few design issues that he has seen with that particular layout. He stated as the vehicles are coming through the horseshoe drive through, there are lattice where climbing vines have been planted. It could cause conflict with vehicles coming around the corner and trying to get close to the drive -up window to finish their transaction. He cautions, as developers come in, just be mindful what you put in the drive through windows, avoid claims against the business. All of these designs work, it's just a matter of location and orientation. Commissioner Daniels asked if the City has standards for drive throughs. QSRs (Quick Service Restaurants), the popular ones, are going off the site and wanted to know if City ever receives complaints on a regular basis. He asked what the revenue to the City from the fast- food restaurant industry is compared to other uses. He believes other uses generate more revenue for the City. He said we have become such an automobile -oriented society. People in drive throughs have taken it for granted. He asked if there has been any type of discussion relating to either limiting or banning these types of restaurants. It seems like quick service restaurants really lean more towards drive throughs. They are much cheaper, square foot HPC/PC Minutes — January 12, 2022 Page 3 of 6 FINAL basis, to have a drive through than to have a dining room. He expressed he is making broad discussion points. Jennifer Nakamura answered we do have drive through standards in the code and they are conditionally permitted uses, which allows us to impose conditions on the development and performance of drive throughs. We do look at these as a site -specific solution. Covid has increased demand for drive through uses; People are uncomfortable be in dining rooms with groups of other people right now. There are also labor shortages in service industries where drive throughs right now are more efficient for business operations because they can concentrate on one service point than with a lot of people in a dining room. While some drive through restaurants may not generate significant revenue, some restaurants that heavily rely on a drive through model have a cult -like following and are capable of generating notable revenue for the city, perhaps not "purple spike' revenue. Banning drive through restaurants could have significant unintended consequences, such as creating a large number of non- conforming uses but looking at strategic placement of drive throughs is a potential solution. She believes there will always be a need for drive throughs, and we are trying to figure out how to balance all of these competing needs. Mike Smith, Acting Planning Director, mentioned regarding the standards, they are not specific to food service drive throughs. It's ALL drive throughs example, banks, pharmacy, etc. He stated, one of the things he is working on now is the Development Code update. This is one of the things being looked at now or will be in the future. Vice Chair Williams stated regarding outdoor patios, for future developments, people want to eat outdoors. They love the atmosphere. Especially placed near multiple family housing, they liked to go out for evening walks. Particularly in this area during the summer, a nice outdoor patio with a walkup window. It would be good to be incorporated in a high -density area for people who do not want to lose their parking place and would like to walk. Chair Dopp stated his fellow Commissioners brought up good points. He mentioned in the General Plan there is a Toolkit that will be provided to the developers and he asked if they plan to take some of the ideas tonight for future drive through owners for them to consider moving forward. Ms. Nakamura answered they probably would not be integrated in the Toolkit but are looking to long term develop are design guidelines and standards that would be in the development code that would provide some flexibility depending on location and orientation of the building, as well as give them stringent guard rails to work from in order to focus on the pedestrian scale development but still allow the auto -oriented use as part of it. That is what we are ultimately trying to do is gather feedback and research that will ultimately go into long term standards that will go into the Development Code. Chair Dopp stated there is a lot of critical thinking that goes into drive throughs. We are seeing a strong desire that was expressed on the Commission last year and City Council was on board with creating placemaking communities that discouraged auto dependency and there are several strategies he's seen tonight that are valuable moving forward. Having revenue concerns vs. the fact they are convenient for a lot of people. He does not know how many more corporations from a drive through perspective moving to Rancho. It was mentioned 50,000 sq ft., it is 8% usable building space. That is really low as a percentage. HPC/PC Minutes — January 12, 2022 Page 4 of 6 FINAL Ms. Nakamura stated as an example, that is one use on a stand-alone parcel, which can be a little bit unusual for drive throughs. Typically, a drive through configuration that is the most efficient use of land is one that circles the building. They can vary depending on space availability. Once you start getting into a heavier use of a drive through, they are taking up much more space than originally anticipated. Chair Dopp asked if you have a developer that says this is the type of business we are looking at and they give you some names. Do you have the conversation about drive through lanes we know on a case by case basis that you will have to accommodate extra space that you will have to start thinking outside the box how to approach pedestrian traffic and drive through. Ms. Nakamura replied absolutely. They are now suggesting multiple drive through lanes. Chair Dopp stated he will be very interested to see how it all plays out. His closing comment is the location he frequents most often is Coffee Bean on Haven/Lemon. It's where the traffic, instead of going onto the street, it is interrupting flow in the development proper. Anytime there is more than 5 cars in drive through lane, it really impedes the flow of the development. He encourages developers look at that when moving forward at these establishments. Ms. Nakamura stated the considerations here not only just the impact to the public streets but it's the impact to adjacent businesses. It is definitely something that deserves more careful consideration as we move forward. D. Consent Calendar D1 Consideration to adopt Regular Meeting Minutes of December 8, 2021. (No meeting December 22, 2021.) Motion by Commissioner Williams, second by Commissioner Morales approving Consent Calendar. Motion carried 3-2 vote. Abstain: Boling, Daniels. E. Director Announcements Acting Planning Director Mike Smith welcomed our new Commissioners Daniels and Boling, along with our new Assistant City Attorney Serita Young. F. Commission Announcements Commissioner Morales mentioned regarding the Development Code, one thing that has been concerning to him was the condo building that collapsed in Miami, Florida because of the structural defects that were not caught. He hopes as they work on the Development Code that 3- or 5-year inspections on the buildings they can catch structural defects before it becomes too costly, hopefully they can incorporate that into it. HPC/PC Minutes — January 12, 2022 Page 5 of 6 FINAL G. Adjournment Motion by Commissioner Williams, second by Commissioner Boling to adjourn the meeting, motion carried unanimously, 5-0 vote. Meeting was adjourned at 8:14 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Thornhill Assistant, Planning Department Approved: HPC/PC Meeting January 26, 2022. HPC/PC Minutes —January 12, 2022 Page 6 of 6 FINAL