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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015/05/27 - Workshop Minutes - PC-HPC THE CITY OF RANCHO CUCAMONGA WORKSHOP OF RANO I IO CUCAMONCA THE PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES MAY 27, 2015 - 7:00 PM* Rancho Cucamonga Civic Center ***RAINS ROOM*** 10500 Civic Center Drive Rancho Cucamonga, California I. CALL TO ORDER Roll Call 7:53 PM Chairman Wimberly X Vice Chairman Oaxaca X Munoz X Howdyshell X Fletcher X H. PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS This is the time and place for the general public to address the Historic Preservation Commission or the Planning Commission on any item listed or not listed on the agenda. State law prohibits the Historic Preservation Commission or the Planning Commission from addressing any issue not previously included on the Agenda. The Historic Preservation Commission or the Planning Commission may receive testimony and set the matter for a subsequent meeting. Comments are to be limited to five minutes per individual or less, as deemed necessary by the Chair, depending upon the number of individuals desiring to speak. All communications are to be addressed directly to the Historic Preservation Commission or Planning Commission, not to the members of the audience. This is a professional business meeting and courtesy and decorum are expected. Please refrain from any debate between audience and speaker, making loud noises, or engaging in any activity which might be disruptive to the decorum of the meeting. None III. ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION A. PRE-APPLICATION REVIEW DRC2015-00155—MARC HOMES, LLC-A request fora Planning Commission Workshop review of a conceptual site plan for a high density, single-family residential development comprised of 39 units on a vacant parcel of about 4.7 acres within the Etiwanda Avenue Overlay District in the Office Park (OPK) District, PLANNING COMMISSION WORKSHOP MINUTES RANC110io MAY 27, 2015 }jlruri CUCAMONGA Page 2 Etiwanda Specific Plan. located at the southeast corner of the intersection of Etiwanda Avenue and Candlewood Street; APN. 1100-031-01 and -07. Alike Smith, Associate Planner gave a brief overview of the project. Fie said this was the prior proposed site for a funeral home followed by an office complex application that later expired. He said the zoning is the Office Professional District. He said the proposal would require a General Plan Amendment and an Etiwanda Specific Plan Amendment. He said the required development standards also may need amendments. Stefanos Polyzoides reported he met with some of the neighbors and they were generally happy with the ideas being presented. He noted the site is complex for several reasons: smaller lots requiring relief in standards, proximity to the freeway, and the shape of the property with two corners missing. He said the concept includes bringing the buildings closer together, providing parking in back, and plot all buildings to face open space with public room in front with no driveways. He said the traffic would ' be minimal and slow moving. He said some have attached garages or they are detached-all loaded from the rear. He said there are 3 floor plans with 10 feet between homes and 5 feet to the property line with square footages of 1,779, 1,944, and 2.319 square feet. He said the staff report reflects an error in the square footage. He said they would have an HOA. He said they are individually owned lots/single-family homes. He said the developer plans to take maintain all the green space areas. Dan James, Senior Civil Engineer stated the street width is 36 feet curb to curb per City standards. Commissioner Howdyshell expressed a concern that when extended family visits or is staying there, there would be multiple cars and a lack of parking. She expressed concern about the placement of trash cans. Mr. Smith stated that this is not a conventional development and the typical standards would not apply. Michael Lutz, (property owner) of Marc Homes. LLC, said the trash cans will be moved to the alleyways. He said parking on certain holidays will be a challenge but overflow will not affect Etiwanda A venue because no parking is allowed there. He said it will go to Candlewood and everywhere else. He said there are 24 guest parking spots. He said the main street will most likely have cobble curbs and the drive lanes will have no curbs. ' Commissioner Fletcher asked about room for garbage trucks to get in as well as fire trucks. PLANNING COMMISSION WORKSHOP MINUTES RANCHO MAY 27, 2015 CUCAMONGA Page 3 Lir. Lutz said there are outlets on Candlewood and Etiwanda Avenue. He said they want the homes as far from freeway as possible. fvlr. Smith said he anticipates the height of the wall between the development and the freeway will be 16 feet in height. Commissioner Howd yshell said she is pleased the homes are not all backed up against the freeway. Mr. Smith said each house will have 2 car garages as this is consistent with the Etiwanda Specific Plan and they will not dominate the front elevations of the homes as they are to the rear. Mr. Lutz said this is an expensive site to develop. He said they looked at standards and they know they will have to look at different standards. ' Mr. Polyzoides said the design has significant transitions in relief between buildings achieved by using cutouts. Fie said they looked at massing, and provided frontages that create volumetric complexity, and then they looked at siding or stones to enrich the character. In response to Vice Chairman Oaxaca, he said the homes must be livable for the demographic, there is public shared space that is safe with slower traffic speeds and each home will have minimal private open space. He said it is similar to a bungalow court concept. Vice Chairman Oaxaca said this is a practical application of new standards;this requires the desire to live a slightly different lifestyle. Commissioner Howdyshell said it is reminiscent of a European village environment. She said there is a similar concept in the development south of Arrow. Mr. Smith said with respect to standards, we also created standards for another project near the Pacific Electric Trail that could totally work. Commissioner Munoz said this looks like it is headed in the right direction - good articulation, neighborhood, and access. Vice Chairman Oaxaca commented that this is the type of challenging infill project ,ve are left with. He said we need to look at the other parcels in the City as we should not decide in a vacuum. He said we should see what will make these projects work and not ' miss opportunities. ldr. Polyzoides said international people want to invest here in southern California. He said we have land but not the regulations in place to allow this. PLANNING COMMISSION WORKSHOP MINUTES RANCHO AMCO MAY 27, 2015 CUCAMONGA Page 4 Mr. Smith said staff is working on a Development Code amendment. He said they are working on new standards and this may be the right time to start looking at this with respect to parking, setback, and property sizes. He said it is a reality we have to face. Commissioner Howdyshell said it is forward thinking and she likes the idea. Commissioner Fletcher said he toured Ladera Ranch and did not like the alley road for services but liked the live-work units. He does not favor dense residential development. He expressed skepticism with making land use changes to accommodate the development. He said 11 years ago there was an office park development approved for this property and he liked that. He said he believes there is a greater need for office space and he is hesitant to give up office development. He said he does not want to be governed by pressures of the moment from an economic standpoint. He said conceptually he might not be opposed but he does not like giving up office space for residential. He said access in and out is problematic. He said the concept is unique but ' this is the wrong part of the City to do this. He said he could see it over by Victoria Gardens. He said he owns a small business and he is hesitant to give up office space:if this stays zoned as is, he would like to see an office park. Nfr. Lutz said there are no offices near this and that was a problem when it was approved for office even at the top of the economic bubble, the previous owner could not make it work as it not an office area: it is completely surrounded by residential. He said he met with some neighbors after the funeral home debacle and they wanted more of a residential/neighborhood feel. He said they have looked for an appeasement to the neighbors. They loved this. He added that with respect to an office use, there world be employees with no place for services or lunch. Chairman Wimberly agreed with Commissioner Fletcher with his concern about density. He said he does not see this fitting into this particular spot as the area surrounding it does not mix with this. He said he likes the concept and staff will work with the applicant on their ideas. He said it looks good but he has some concerns. IV. ADJOURNMENT 9:08 PPA ' 1, Lois J. Schrader, Planning Commission Secretary of the City of Rancho Cucamonga, or my designee, hereby certify that a true, accurate copy of the foregoing agenda was posted on May 21, 2015, at least 72 hours prior to the meeting per Government Code Section 54964.2 at 10500 Civic Center Drive, Rancho Cucamonga. PLANNING COMMISSION WORKSHOP MINUTES 1 ( RAc:no MAY 27, 2015 G.C.ANONGA Page 5 If you need special assistance or accommodations to participate in this meeting, please contact the Planning Department at (909) 477-2750. Notification of 48 hours prior to the meeting will enable the City to make reasonable arrangements to ensure accessibility. Listening devices are available for the hearing impaired. INFORMATION FOR THE PUBLIC TO ADDRESS THE PLANNING COMMISSION The Planning Commission encourages free expression of all points of view. To allow all persons to speak,given the length of the agenda, please keep your remarks brief. If others have already expressed your position, you may simply indicate that you agree with a previous speaker. If appropriate, a spokesperson may present the views of your entire group. To encourage all views and promote courtesy to others, the audience should refrain from clapping, booing or shouts of approval or disagreement from the audience. The public may address the Planning Commission on any agenda item. To address the Planning Commission, ' please come forward to the podium located at the center of the staff table. State your name for the record and speak into the microphone. After speaking, please sign in on the clipboard located next to the speaker's podium. It is important to list your name, address and the agenda item letter your comments refer to. Comments are generally limited to 5 minutes per individual. If you wish to speak concerning an item not on the agenda, you may do so under"Public Comments." . Any handouts for the Planning Commission should be given to the Planning Commission Secretary for distribution to the Commissioners. A copy of any such materials should also be provided to the Secretary to be used for the official public record. All requests for items to be placed on a Planning Commission agenda must be in writing. Requests for scheduling agenda items will be at the discretion of the Commission and the Planning Director. AVAILABILITY OF STAFF REPORTS Copies of the staff reports or other documentation to each agenda item are on file in the offices of the Planning Department, City Hall, located at 10500 Civic Center Drive, Rancho Cucamonga, California 91730. These documents are available for public inspections during regular business hours, Monday through Thursday, 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., except for legal City holidays. APPEALS Any interested party who disagrees with the City Planning Commission decision may appeal the Commission's decision to the City Council within 10 calendar days. Any appeal filed must be directed to the City Clerk's Office and must be accompanied by a fee of $2,486 for all decisions of the Commission. (Fees are established and governed by the City Council). ' Please turn off all cellular phones and pagers while the meeting is in session. Copies of the Planning Commission agendas, staff reports and minutes can be found at www.CityofRC.us