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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012/04/25 - Minutes - PC-HPC CITY OF RANCHO CUCAMONGA PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES Regular Meeting April 25, 2012 Chairman Munoz called the Regular Meeting of the City of Rancho Cucamonga Planning Commission to order at 7:16 p.m. The meeting was held in the Council Chambers at Rancho Cucamonga Civic Center, 10500 Civic Center Drive, Rancho Cucamonga, California. ROLL CALL COMMISSIONERS: PRESENT: Richard Fletcher, Frances Howdyshell, Lou Munoz, Francisco Oaxaca, Ray Wimberly ABSENT: None STAFF PRESENT: Candyce Burnett, Senior Planner; Jim Markman, City Attorney; Steve Fowler, Assistant Planner; Dan James, Senior Civil Engineer; Mayuko Nakajima, Assistant Planner; Lois Schrader, Planning Commission Secretary; Tabe Van der Zwaag, Associate Planner; Jeffrey Bloom, Interim Planning Director ANNOUNCEMENTS None • APPROVAL OF MINUTES Motion: Moved by Fletcher, seconded by Wimberly, carried 4-0-1 (Oaxaca abstain),to approve the minutes of April 11, 2012. PUBLIC HEARINGS A. DEVELOPMENT REVIEW DRC2010-00868- GONZALO MENDEZ-A request to convert an existing non-conforming residential site into an industrial use within the General Industrial (GI) District(Subarea 8) located at 13249 Arrow Route-APNs: 0229-171-15 &0229-171-16. This project is categorically exempt from the requirement of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Pursuant to State CEQA Guidelines Section 15301 (n) (Class 1 Exemption - Existing Facilities) Conversion of a single-family residence to office use Steve Fowler, Assistant Planner, presented the staff report. Chairman Munoz opened the public hearing. Hearing and seeing no comment, Chairman Munoz closed the public hearing. Vice Chairman Howdyshell said it is a straightforward request. Commissioner Wimberly said he has no issues with the request; it is an adaptive reuse and he is in favor or the project. Commissioner Fletcher said it is an appropriate use, it includes beneficial site improvements, and the request is reasonable. Chairman Munoz concurred with the prior comments and he has no issues about the request. Motion: Moved by Howdyshell, seconded by Wimberly, to adopt the Resolution approving Development Design Review DRC2010-00868. Motion carried by the following vote: AYES: FLETCHER, HOWDYSHELL, MUNOZ, OAXACA, WIMBERLY NOES: NONE ABSENT: NONE - carried B. ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT AND DEVELOPMENT AND DESIGN REVIEW DRC2011- 00641- HOMESCAPE CUCAMONGA, LLC - Architecture and site plan review of a 94-unit, small lot multi-family residential subdivision on 11.7 acres of land in the Medium Residential District (8-14 dwellings per acre) located at the northeast corner of Arrow Route and Baker Avenue - APN: 0207-201-01, 21 and 44. Related files: Tentative Tract Map SUBTT18817, Minor Development Review DRC2011-00892 and Tree Removal Permit DRC2011-00891. Staff has prepared a Mitigated Negative Declaration of environmental impacts for consideration. C. ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT AND VESTING TENTATIVE TRACT MAP SUBTT18817- HOMESCAPE CUCAMONGA, LLC -A request to create a 94-lot tentative tract map on 11.7 acres of land in the Medium Residential District (8-14 dwellings per acre) located at the northeast corner of Arrow Route and Baker Avenue-APN: 0207-201-01, 21 and 44. Related 111 files: Development Review DRC2011-00641, Pre-Application DRC2010-00530, Development Review DRC2004-00705 and Tentative Tract Map SUBTT17013. Staff has prepared a Mitigated Negative Declaration of environmental impacts for consideration. D. ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT AND TREE REMOVAL PERMIT - DRC2011-00891 - HOMESCAPE CUCAMONGA, LLC - A request to remove 11 trees related to Development Review DRC2011-00641, a 94-unit small lot multi-family residential subdivision on 11.7 acres of land in the Medium Residential District(8-14 dwellings per acre)located at the northeast corner of Arrow Route and Baker Avenue - APN: 0207-201-01, 21 and 44. Related files: Development Review DRC2011-00641, Pre-application DRC2010-00530, Development Review DRC2004-00705 and Tentative Tract Map SUBTT18817, Minor Development Review DRC2011-00892. Staff has prepared a Mitigated Negative Declaration of environmental impacts for consideration. Tabe van der Zwaag, Associate Planner, presented the staff report and gave a brief PowerPoint presentation. He noted there is a recreational easement that has been added because the original layout was for zero lot line product. He said this had to be created to satisfy an issue with Building and Safety. In response to Vice Chairman Howdyshell and Commissioner Fletcher, he explained that the walls facing open space easements between the structures often have a wall plane with no windows or very high windows which offer more architectural interest and yet provide more privacy between neighbors. He noted that Engineering standard conditions have been added and are before the Commissioners for their information and are now attached to the final resolutions being considered for adoption. Chairman Munoz asked how the neighbors are informed about the 6-foot easement and if the Commission is being asked to make a decision regarding access. Planning Commission Minutes -2- April 25, 2012 Mr. van der Zwaag said information about the easement will be clearly stated in the CC&Rs. He added that the applicant has discussed the gate issue with the residents of Casa Volante and the other property owner. He was uncertain if staff could add a condition regarding the issuing and managing of remote controls for the gate access. Jim Markman, City Attorney stated the management company for Casa Volante should manage this and not the developer as it is not the developer's issue. He said the City does not have jurisdiction to tell the residents what to do over time. He said the developers should install the system once (whether it be clickers or a key pad) and then leave it to the others to manage. Commissioner Fletcher asked if this is a one way easement. Mr. van der Zwaag confirmed that it is one way easement for the Casa Volante residents. Commissioner Oaxaca confirmed that the Vesting Tract has a 2-year life with 3- 1 year extensions. Steve Sheldon, Homescape LLC said he was present at the study session (DRC). He said they read and agree with the conditions of approval. He said Staff was great to work with. He said his group has complied with the direction give at the DRC. He said they met with the neighbors at a community meeting on the access issue the best they can. He said they would prefer to work with the property owner on the type of access/remote controls for the benefit of the elderly residents of Casa Volante. Chairman Munoz confirmed that is the solution they discussed with the management of Casa Volante. • Mr. Sheldon confirmed that is what they are proposing in light of the comments received from the ' residents of Casa Volante. Commissioner Fletcher said he agrees with the comments of the City's legal counsel, however, Mr. Sheldon says they would rather control the management of the remote controls. He asked why they would want to do that. • Mr. Sheldon said it is because they have concerns about security and access and they want to know who has access. Commissioner Fletcher said he would think this would be problematic and that he would think the manager of Casa Volante could do this easier. Mr. Sheldon said although it may be easier to have Casa Volante do it,they(the applicants)feel the burden is easier for them to take care of it as they want to know who has them, how many, if they are not working; and, ultimately it is better for them to have control because we (the applicant) is obligated to provide the access. He added that it needs to be discussed with the property owner as well. Chairman Munoz opened the public hearing. Tommo Wilkins stated he is a resident of Casa Volante and that he lives at the sourtheast corner of the project area in space 106. He stated the concern is that with the new development, many more people will want to cut through Casa Volante to get to Foothill Boulevard. He said the applicant is sensitive to this issue. He said there is also concern about the method of controlling the access. He said he represents many of the residents and they have discussed several options: remote control,a slide pad, etc. He said anything other than a remote control would require residents to jump out of the car to punch a code into a control station. He asked the Planning Commission to make a Planning Commission Minutes -3- April 25, 2012 condition of approval because it has a lasting effect, it is a lifestyle issue and a real problem for the residents. He said they also want full access during construction and they also want this to be a condition of approval. Chairman Munoz asked for clarification as to who he thought should manage the remote controls. Mr. Wilkins said Casa Volante management should as they do not believe they should burden the new community (developer) with this responsibility, but the applicant should install the gate. Commissioner Fletcher asked what is his capacity in this matter; if Casa Volante is a 'for rent' property and he asked why the onsite management from Casa Volante did not come to the meeting. Mr. Wilkins said he is a resident and believes he represents many of the Casa Volante residents. He said it is 'for rent' property and he did not know why the management did not come to the meeting. Mr. Esfahlani said he lives and owns an adjacent parcel of about 1 acre. He said when there was a prior owner of the developer's property. He said at that time the City proposed that he and the other owner would share one access. He said at the City's behest, he and Mr. Howard worked together and got an 18-unit condo project approved with one access to Arrow Highway. He said he should now be provided an access to Arrow Highway with this development as well. He asked that a condition be added to provide this access by the Home Owners Association in the future should he desire that. Chairman Munoz closed the public hearing. He asked Mr. Sheldon to respond to the last issue heard. Mr. Sheldon stated that Mr. Esfahlani is asking to take an easement on their property to his property for free and that does not seem right. Commissioner Fletcher recalled that at one point this issue was looked at from a master planning standpoint. He said there was a concern about these properties/parcels located in the middle. Vice Chairman Howdyshell made reference to the prior master plan. Mr. van der Zwaag said staff asked the applicant to master plan the site to show the possible options. Chairman Munoz noted that master planning is not binding. Mr. van der Zwaag said that it would be difficult with multiple property owners. He said the goal from the Engineering Department is to limit the number of driveways-shared access is the goal. Chairman Munoz revisited the concern about the remote controls. He stated that legal counsel said legally it is best for Casa Volante to manage this. Mr. Markman said the access is provided by the developer and that how they manage that should be Casa Volante's problem. He said he did not see how the City could impose a condition of approval into perpetuity. He said with respect to the easement, if they have an easement for them to use, it is up to management—he did not believe the developer needs to manage this. Commissioner Fletcher said he was assuming the access gate would be on Casa Volante's property and control panel on their property, so that would be theirs to manage. Planning Commission Minutes -4- April 25, 2012 Mr. van der Zwaag said that the access gates are currently on the project site and it is their electricity and they will maintain the operation of that gate. Chairman Munoz said there is much that has not been resolved. He said the applicant and Casa Volante have opposing views as to who has the legal right to manage the gate access. He felt this should have been resolved prior to coming to Commission. Commissioner Oaxaca said that the details are outside the purview of the Commission. He said he just wants an assurance they will resolve all this as the Commission should not even discuss these details; they need a mutual agreement and we just need to allow the access-both parties need to agree. Mr. van der Zwaag said it has been Staffs goal to reach an agreement, we cannot force them to do it;we had them place the gates but the owner of Casa Volante is not here and never contacted staff. He said they got all the information. He said their renters have talked to them and if the renters are not satisfied they will take legal action. Vice Chairman Howdyshell agreed with Commissioner Oaxaca in that the decision is not within the scope of the Commission, both parties need to agree. Chairman Munoz confirmed with legal counsel that a decision on the project application could be made tonight. Mr. Markman said the Commission could proceed with their decision-the land use entitlement does not solve their issue. Mr. Sheldon said it does make the most sense for the management of Casa Volante to manage the clickers but he is obligated to provide access. He said the management company is not here but he can work out an arrangement with the ownership. He said they just wanted to be sensitive to the neighbors. Chairman Munoz asked if there is any legal requirement for the owner to provide mutual access for the other property owner (Mr. Esfahlani). He then closed the public comment section. Mr. Markman said he can get that access but not by extracting it from this project. • Chairman Munoz suggested Mr. Esfalani should seek information from planning when he decides to build on his property. He then asked for final Commission comments. Vice Chairman Howdyshell said she favors the architecture and the layout of the map. She said this area needs the development. Commissioner Oaxaca said the applicant did a nice job on the aesthetics and layout. He said this is a reminder that although persons would like us to be the referee; they need to work these issues out as private parties amicably. Commissioner Wimberly noted that he worked with them at DRC. He maintained that there were some issues that the Commission has no purview over and were tabled at that time. He said the final product will enhance the neighborhood. Commissioner Fletcher said this has always been a difficult property and that we had hoped that the adjacent properties could be acquired and made into one development. He said he was surprised that the management of Casa Volante was not here to express how they want to handle this gate and their property. He said these homes are new product for our residents, less dense than the Planning Commission Minutes -5- April 25, 2012 original proposal, the parking is adequate and the development adds to a wide range of product available. Chairman Munoz concurred with all the comments and noted that it is a difficult property. He applauded the applicant for the design and layout. He said the density is at the low end for this zone. He said he appreciates that and recommended the project for approval. Motion: Moved by Wimberly, seconded by Fletcher, to adopt the Resolutions approving Development Design Review DRC2011-00641,Vesting Tentative Tract Map SUBTT18817 and Tree Removal Permit DRC2011-00891. Motion carried by the following vote: AYES: FLETCHER, HOWDYSHELL, MUNOZ, OAXACA, WIMBERLY NOES: NONE ABSENT: NONE - carried NEW BUSINESS E. TRACT MAP SUBTT18782 AND DESIGN REVIEW DRC2010-00361 - Lewis Apartment Communities - A request for on-street parking on Town Center Drive west of Spruce Avenue adjacent to the Santa Barbara Multi-family housing development consisting of 192 units-APN 1077-422-21, 22, and 25 Dan James, Sr. Civil Engineer, presented the staff report. In response to Vice Chairman Howdyshell, he said the request is for 24-hour parking. In response to Commissioner Fletcher, he said the only vehicle access points are on Church Street although there are several pedestrian points of access. He confirmed the request is to benefit the residents of the Santa Barbara project. In response to Commissioner Fletcher, he said for vehicles parked on Town Center Drive, the pedestrian access on Spruce and Elm would be used. He said there would be about 24 parking spaces provided. In response to Chairman Munoz, Mr. James said Engineering strongly considered the number of truck trips and safety and this is why we recommended against allowing parking on the south side of the street. He said if it is only on the north side, the trucks are near the center and they have a painted median,they will have room to maneuver, plus room for moving traffic and room to park. In response to Commissioner Fletcher, he said directly south of the proposed parking is the backside of the shops. John Young, Lewis Operating Corp apologized for not asking for this parking prior. He said there is only one pedestrian entrance; the others are required by the Fire Department. Chairman Munoz said when he brought the Santa Barbara development forward, he assured us the parking was adequate. He said that may not be the case based on what Engineering has told us. He said on the next project the DRC/Commission may question the words of assurance. He said this was a key issue and from what is being presented, he is not really seeing compelling reasons to grant the request. Mr. Young said they need parking relief. Chairman Munoz noted that they are not even finished building yet and therefore he is concerned. Vice Chairman Howdyshell said she is concerned people may take short cuts and resort to jaywalking. She said the back lot at the Target center gets full with the theater crowd on weekends. Commissioner Fletcher asked where the pedestrians would cross. Planning Commission Minutes -6- April 25, 2012 Mr. Young said at Elm and Spruce. He said he believed most pedestrians will go out at the east and west ends of the development. Commissioner Oaxaca said a compelling reason would be to promote walkability to the Town Center and access but this parking request does not fit that. Vice Chairman Howdyshell said she would like some more analysis. Chairman Munoz affirmed her quest and asked Engineering staff to request that for an informed decision. Mr. James said Lewis Corp did a study on town center drive but not necessarily on traffic trips. He said they did a history and a current study and Engineering staff reviewed it. He said collector streets are usually 44-feet wide and this is 64-feet wide. Vice Chairman Howdyshell said Church Street is very busy. She said she wants to make sure this would not be a hazardous decision for the residents. Commissioner Fletcher asked if the Commission recommends this proposal, can it be withdrawn at a future date if it became a problem. He asked if the proposal could be considered again after the development is finished. Mr. James responded affirmatively to both. Commissioner Oaxaca said he had no problem deferring the decision until more information is available; however, he saw no compelling reason to support it. He said that once access is opened with an attractive destination, people will jaywalk-they will take risks. He said he still has issues with the request. Commissioner Wimberly concurred with Commissioners Howdyshell and Oaxaca. He said he never saw a traffic study and this was a major point discussed at DRC; particularly parking within the development and ADA access. He said this might create more of a problem in that it assumes this parking will be utilized by the Santa Barbara development and that may not necessarily be true. He • said he would like to see a study specific to trucking and to find out if it is really safe for vehicles to park at the requested location. Commissioner Fletcher said he would normally concur with staffs recommendation but this seems premature to be asking for this. He said he would rather wait and see how the project fills out and see what happens with Town Center and how the pedestrian access is utilized. Chairman Munoz concurred with the expressed concerns. He said we do not know enough at this time and he did not see compelling reasons to take the risks as there is not enough data. Mr James said staff would not go forward with this request; he has taken into account and heard the Commissioners' comments. * * * * * PUBLIC COMMENTS • None Planning Commission Minutes -7- April 25, 2012 COMMISSION BUSINESS AND COMMENTS Commissioner Wimberly said he attended the APA conference in Los Angeles and was hoping to see some of our planners there. He said he met folks from all over the country. He said he hopes to receive the PowerPoint presentations from some of the meetings to share with staff. Vice Chairman Howdyshell noted that the topics addressed were broad including: GIS; 'Silver Tsunami' (what we are doing to accommodate the baby boomers). She said our city is ahead of the curve in that we have already accomplished many things that were addressed. She thanked the City for the opportunity to attend, She said it was hard to choose what sessions to attend. Chairman Munoz offered his thanks to the City in that we want to make sure the Commission is exposed to this type of educational/development opportunity. Commissioner Wimberly commended Staff and City Management. He said we obviously have visionaries at work as other commissions do not get along. He said we work well together but they heard much about confrontations experienced within other Commissions. Chairman Munoz recognized Administrative Professionals Day and offered his thanks and congratulations to staff and the administrative assistants. ADJOURNMENT Motion: Moved by Howdyshell, seconded by Wimberly, carried 5-0, to adjourn. The Planning Commission adjourned at 8:45 p.m. Approved: May 9, 2012 cat/i--9/144,"---7 • I Planning Commission Minutes -8- April 25, 2012