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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015/08/12 - Workshop Minutes - PC-HPC THE CITY OF RANCHO CUCAMONGA WORKSHOP MINUTES OF RANCHO CUCAMONGA THE PLANNING COMMISSION AUGUST 12, 2015 - 3:30 PM Rancho Cucamonga Civic Center TRI-COMMUNITIES ROOM 10500 Civic Center Drive Rancho Cucamonga, California I: CALL TO ORDER Pledge of Allegiance 3:33 PM Roll Call ' Chairman Wimberly X Vice Chairman Oaxaca X Munoz X Macias X Fletcher. X Additional Staff Present: John Gillison, City Manager;Linda Daniels,Assistant City Manager; Nettie Nielsen, Community Services Director; Candyce Burnett, Planning Director;Jeff Bloom, Deputy City Manager/Economic and Community Development; Karen Peterson, Planning Manager; Christen Mitchell, Mgmt Analyst ll; Erika Lewis-Huntley, Mgmt Analyst It; Francie Palmer, Communication Manager; Rebecca Fuller, Administrative Secretary; Jennifer Palacios, Office Specialist ll; Jason Wellday, Traffic Engineer; Tabe van der Zwaag, Associate Planner; Tom Grahn, Associate Planner;Dominic Perez, Assistant Planner; Trang Hyunh, Building Official; Mayuko Nakajima, Assistant Planner; Rob Ball, Fire Marshall; Van Rojer, Deputy Fire Chief,- Don Cloughesy, Deputy Fire Chief; Eric Noreen, Battalion Fire Chief- Rob Seymour, Battalion Chief, Mike Costello, Fire Chief; Lois Schrader, Planning Commission Secretary, Valerie Victorino, Planning Secretary II -: : 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 PLANNING COMMISSION WORKSHOP MINUTES RANCHO AUGUST 12, 2015 CUCAMONGA Page 2 which might be disruptive to the decorum of the meeting. None III. ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION' A. PRESENTATION AND DISCUSSION REGARDING THE INITIAL PLANNING CONCEPT FOR THE NORTH EASTERN SPHERE ANNEXATION PROJECT OF 4,115 ACRES, GENERALLY LOCATED NORTH OF THE 210 FREEWAY AND EAST OF HAVEN AVENUE TO THE CITY'S EASTERLY BOUNDARY. Candyce Burnett. Planning Director introduced the project and provided a broad overview of the history of the project. She noted that although the project was put on hold in 2006, the City Council reaffirmed their desire to pursue the project in their Council Goals. The goal includes the development of a specific plan to redesign and what to look at for conservation efforts. She said the purpose of the workshop is to ' show where we are, the existing site conditions, the original proposal within the General Plan incorporating new concepts such as the CMP and Healthy RC initiatives. the future planning of the sphere area, conservation. existing and future trails. David Sargent, Principal of Sargent Town Planning, gave a PowerPoint presentation that discussed the initial planning concepts for the project and presented an initial concept plan and imagery for the character of the project. Commissioner Fletcher asked about respecting existing property rights in conservation areas. fvlr. Sargent said that if the Planning Commission is comfortable with the overall concept for the project, the next step will be to evaluate the feasibility of transferring development rights to areas where development is preferred. Nls. Burnett noted that the area north of the 1200 acres is being considered for conservation. She noted that she does not see much more of the development that is already there and explained that homes to the west are in a high fire area. The idea is to look at the highest and best use of developable land to the south and conservation to the north and make sure that the project is a balanced blend of uses that are feasible. buildable and self-sustaining and will be phased appropriately. Commissioner Fletcher said it is an exciting-opportunity to build this as it is nice and ' unique and conceptually agrees with all of it if it can happen as presented. He asked that the team make sure nothing is lost in translation. He asked if there are any objections from the controlling jurisdictions. PLANNING COMMISSION WORKSHOP r MINUTES C�NaNa AUGUST 12, 2015 Page 3 Ms. Burnett said they have been included and involved. They have indicated they feel comfortable with what is proposed. John Gillison, City Manager, said he had made a strong commitment to the County CEO and he is keeping personally in touch to see that they are comfortable with the designs and concepts. Terry Thompson, the Director of Real Estate for the County of San Bernardino, said he is very supportive of the concepts and he reports directly to Mr. Deveraux, CEO. Commissioner Fletcher said the mountain vistas are very important. He asked if the trails are still closed to horses. Ms. Burnett said this is still an issue, but we are working to reroute them and this proposal provides an opportunity to make connections. Commissioner Fletcher said he likes the different mixes and densities of housing types and lot sizes. He asked if there are any estate sized lots and asked the team to evaluate one acre lots. He said he likes the amphitheater idea. He asked about the fire conditions and safety. Mr. Sargent said some blocks will lend themselves for large lots. He said there will be a significant fire break between the open space area to the north and the development to the south:he also noted there will need to be effective ways to deal with the open space "fingers"that extend into the development area. Commissioner Oaxaca noted the report mentioned existing constraints. He asked if they will continue to constrain development. Mr. Sargent noted that the quality and quantity of the environment has been considered in the initial concept plan. He said resources are present, such as plants and wildlife, and strategies will need to be developed to offset them. He said the slopes are not significant at 6 to 8 percent. He noted the edges have the constraints of utility lines and flood control and they hope to enhance them. He noted there is a fault zone on the SCE corridor. ' Commissioner Oaxaca said he liked the edges and how they work with the adjacent existing development. He suggested they be careful with the openness to folks that live beyond these boundaries. Mr. Sargent said the amenities will attract outsiders and they will seek a balance. PLANNING COMMISSION WORKSHOP il_51 MINUTES RANCHO AUGUST 12, 2015 CUCA.MONGA Page 4 Ms. Burnett said staff has visited places like this and we do not want the harsh edges. Commissioner Oaxaca asked about the balance between residential and small retail and a smaller employment balance. Mr. Sargent said this development is not high on the employment scale. He said if it is made alluring, small companies may want to be there. It will be more about creating a place rather than location with respect to trade. Commissioner Macias said it was an excellent presentation and offered congratulations to the team. He said he had no problems with the concepts and concurred with everything presented. however, there are lots of players and as time goes on it will get more complex. He said he would want to see how this will be financially sustainable and how the phasing works. and what the strategies are for phasing. He said he wants it to be multi-modal and hopes to see an emphasis on active transportation, recreation. and ' public health. He noted that his family uses the trails every day and they add value and character to the community. Mr. Baucke of Sargent Town Planning said this is a long-term project and the team still needs to evaluate the infrastructure component in terms of phasing and costs. The team has market data but they need to find the correct balance of uses to make the project feasible. He said there are choices on financing mechanisms that will also need to be evaluated. Commissioner Munoz said this is exciting. tie likes the new concept, and he likes the central village and mixed-use idea and the safety of the defensible space. He asked that the team makes sure there is integration with the community and that sufficient outreach is conducted. Chairman Wimberly said this reflects remarkable vision. He appreciates the connectivity with other neighborhoods and the balance of the center with the rest of Rancho. He noted that we are considering active transportation and multi-modal circulation in the rest of the City and the team needs to make sure this project connects with other transportation corridors in the area. Mr. Sargent said the project site is close to Chaffey College and offers that opportunity. It is an accessible distance and there may also be an opportunity to create transit connections between the college and the project. Commissioner Fletcher noted that entertainment, restaurants, and hangouts are a good ' idea. but there is not much retail up the hill. He stated it would be very important to have retail neighborhood services in the project. He suggested the team look at the ' PLANNING COMMISSION WORKSHOP MINUTES RANCHO AUGUST 12 2015 CUCAMONGA Page 5 Winery Estates center as a good example of a project that turned out nice. 1 ' IV. AWOUMMENT ZPLANNING COMMISSION WORKSHOP r�, MINUTES WN:110 AUGUST 12, 2015 CUCA„ONUA Page 6 5:05PM 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 August 6, 2015, at least 72 hours prior to the meeting per Government Code Section 54964.2 at 10500 Civic Center Drive, Rancho Cucamonga. FEIf 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 ' PLANNING COMMISSION WORKSHOP 'J AUGUST 12, 2015 RANCHO Page 7 -CMANIONGA 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