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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2007/12/12 - Minutes - PC-HPC CITY OF RANCHO CUCAMONGA PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES Regular Meeting December 12, 2007 Chairman Stewart called the Regular Meeting of the City of Rancho Cucamonga Planning Commission to order at 7:00 p.m. The meeting was held in the Council Chambers at Rancho Cucamonga Civic Center, 10500 Civic Center Drive, Rancho Cucamonga, California. Chairman Stewart then led in the pledge of allegiance. ROLL CALL COMMISSIONERS: PRESENT: Richard Fletcher, Frances Howdyshell, Lou Munoz, Pam Stewart; Ray Wimberly ABSENT: None (Fletcher left at 7:40 p.m.) STAFF PRESENT: Candyce Burnett, Senior Planner; Pei-Ming Chou,Associate Planner; Kevin Ennis, Assistant City Attorney; Dan James, Senior Civil Engineer; Corkran Nicholson,Assistant Planning Director; Lois Schrader, Planning Commission Secretary; Denise Sink, Office Specialist II; Mike Smith,Associate Planner; James Troyer, Planning Director; Steve Fowler, Assistant Planner 111 ANNOUNCEMENTS None APPROVAL OF MINUTES Motion: Moved by Munoz, seconded by Wimberly, carried 5-0, to approve the regular meeting minutes of November 28, 2007. Motion: Moved by Munoz, seconded by Howdyshell, carried 5-0, to approve the adjourned workshop minutes of November 28, 2007. PUBLIC HEARINGS A, VARIANCE DRC2007-00491 - RYAN CHANCE -A request to reduce the lot depth from 200 feet to 174 feet and to reduce the rear yard setback from 60 feet to 30 feet in the Very Low Residential District (1 to 2 dwelling units per acre), located at 5836 Buckthorne Avenue. Related file: Conditional Certificate of Compliance DRC2004-00075-APN: 1062-121-26. This project is categorically exempt under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) under Section 15305 -Minor Alterations in Land Use Limitations. CONTINUED FROM NOVEMBER 28, 2007. Steve Fowler, Assistant Planner, presented the staff report. He reported that the applicant held a neighborhood meeting. He noted that some concern was expressed regarding the visual impact of the proposed RV garage but that there are some large trees in place that would minimize the visual concern. Vice Chairman Fletcher asked if this item is being brought to the Commission because a map was not legally recorded in the past. Mr. Fowler responded affirmatively. Chairman Stewart confirmed that this was an illegal lot split that occurred in the 70's and now a correction is being made. She then opened the public hearing. Ryan Chance, 5830 Buckthorne Avenue, stated he is the applicant. He said this is a unique parcel and they had no idea an illegal lot split had occurred. He reported that they have gone through all the steps to make the correction and he thanked staff for helping them find a solution to the problem. He said they have tried to be sensitive to the neighbors with their design and have considered their views. Jennifer Chance, 5830 Buckthorne said that those. attending the neighborhood meeting were concerned that this is a 'spec' home. She confirmed it is for their family and that they want to work with their neighbors. She thanked Mr. Fowler and Serge Bonaldo for their help. Mark McNicholl, 9010 Manzanita Drive said he lives to the south of the lot in question and expressed opposition. He said he just finished improving his property. He said the size of the proposed home is overwhelming. He said he thought he would have to provide the easement to this property and he refused to grant it when it was requested of him. He said there are some two story homes on Wilson Avenue but that they are 300-400 feet away and the proposed home would be too close to his. He suggested it would have a negative effect on his property value. He said he brought pictures to show the proximity of the project to his home. He complained that his objection was sent to staff in the form of a letter and that no mention of it is made in the staff report. Vice Chairman Fletcher suggested they see the pictures he brought. The Commission recessed from 7:30-7:35 to give technical assistance to Mr. McNichol)with the set • up of his digital camera equipment and laptop computer. The Commission reconvened and viewed a photograph provided by Mr. McNicholl. Vice Chairman left the meeting at 7:40 because of an emergency. James Troyer, Planning Director, commented that many homes in the immediate area enjoy a setback similar to this applicant's request and that it meets all the criteria for these similar homes. Commissioner Howdyshell asked for clarification regarding the easement. She asked for the location of the easement on Exhibit A of the staff report. Mr. McNicholl said the previous owners requested he provide and easement to their property and he refused to grant it. He said they then sold the property (two lots) and then split the property and easement was somehow gained through the first property. Commissioner Munoz commented that no easement was taken from Lot 25 (Mr. McNicholl's property), that he is not being deprived of that and all else has been done legally. He commented that this is a minor variance request and that this City does not guarantee rights to a view, although according to the photo provided by Mr. McNicholl, the view will still be pretty good. He added that Planning Commission Minutes -2- December 12, 2007 the proposed home fits well on the parcel relative to the other homes in the area and that he could see no reason to deny the applicant's request. He recommended approval. Commissioner Howdyshell commented that generally new construction in existing neighborhoods does not harm the property value and that in most cases it enhances the value. She said she did not have any opposition. Commissioner Wimberly concurred with his colleagues and reiterated that the City does not have a view ordinance and he too supported the variance request. Mr. McNichol)blurted out his disagreement with Commissioner Wimberly's comments. He said his issue is not the view. Chairman Stewart commented that it is a minor variance request and that the proposed project does not detract from the other lots in the area. She added that the large mature trees in place will help to mitigate visual impacts of the project. Mr. McNicholl again vehemently expressed his disagreement and stated that Chairman Stewart does not know the area very well. Motion: Moved by Munoz, seconded by Howdyshell, to adopt the Resolution of Approval with conditions for Variance DRC2007-00491. Motion carried (4-0-1)by the following vote: AYES: HOWDYSHELL, MUNOZ, STEWART, WIMBERLY NOES: NONE ABSENT: FLETCHER - carried . . . . I NOTE FOR THE RECORD: The staff report for Items B and C was presented before action was taken on Item A. Therefore, Vice Chairman Fletcher was still present during the presentation, discussion and vote for items B and C, but was not present for the vote on Item A or items D, E, F, and G. B. ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT AND GENERAL PLAN AMENDMENT DRC 2007-00560- MARTHA BOARDMAN -A request to change the land use designation on 0.40 acres of land located at 7388 Carnelian Street from Medium Residential (8-14 DU/AC) to Neighborhood Commercial-APN: 0207-022-07. Related Files: Development District Amendment DRC2007- 00561. Staff has prepared a Mitigated Negative Declaration of environmental impacts for consideration. C. ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT AND DEVELOPMENT DISTRICT AMENDMENT DRC2007-00561 -MARTHA BOARDMAN-A request to change the zone on 0.40 acres of land located at 7388 Carnelian Street from Medium Residential (8-14 DU/AC) to Neighborhood Commercial-APN: 0207-022-07. Related Files: General Plan Amendment DRC2007-00560. Staff has prepared a Mitigated Negative Declaration of environmental impacts for consideration. Pei-Ming Chou, Associate Planner, presented the staff report. Chairman Stewart opened the public hearing. She noted that the applicant was present but preferred not to comment. Hearing and seeing no further public comment, she closed the public hearing. Planning Commission Minutes -3- December 12, 2007 Vice Chairman Fletcher remarked that this appears to be a housekeeping item for consistency between the Development District Map and the General Plan. He moved to recommend approval for the request. Motion: Moved by Fletcher, seconded by Munoz, to adopt the Resolutions recommending approval of General Plan Amendment DRC2007-00560 and Development District Amendment DRC2007-00561 with the adoption of a Mitigated Negative Declaration of Environmental impacts to be forwarded to the City Council for final action. Motion carried by the following vote: AYES: FLETCHER, HOWDYSHELL, MUNOZ, STEWART, WIMBERLY NOES: NONE ABSENT: NONE - carried k f ! ♦ t D. ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT AND VARIANCE DRC2007-00097-PENINSULA RETAIL PARTNERS, LLC - A request to allow up to 10.5 foot perimeter wall heights for sound attenuation purposes for Lots 1-6 and to allow up to 7.5 foot combination retaining/freestanding sideyard wall heights for grade differential purposes for Lots 1-6 of Tentative Tract Map SUBTT18032, where a maximum 6-foot wall height is permitted,for a residential subdivision of 23 single-family lots on 7.74 acres of land in the Low Residential District(2-4 dwelling units per acre) of the Etiwanda North Specific Plan, located on the west side of Day Creek Boulevard, south of Vintage Drive - APN: 0225-161-65 and 71. Related Files: Tentative Tract Map SUBTT18032 and Tree Removal Permit DRC2006-00871. Staff has prepared a Mitigated Negative Declaration of environmental impacts for consideration. CONTINUANCE REQUESTED TO AN UNSPECIFIED DATE. E. ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT AND TENTATIVE TRACT MAP SUBTT18032 - PENINSULA RETAIL PARTNERS, LLC -A residential subdivision of 23 single-family lots on 7.74 acres of land in the Low Residential District (2-4 dwelling units per acre) of the Etiwanda North Specific Plan, located on the west side of Day Creek Boulevard, south of Vintage Drive- APN: 0225-161-65 and 71. Related Files: Tree Removal Permit DRC2006-00871 and Variance DRC2007-00097. Staff has prepared a Mitigated Negative Declaration of environmental impacts for consideration, CONTINUANCE REQUESTED TO AN UNSPECIFIED DATE. James Troyer, Planning Director, gave a brief overview of the project and continuance request. Chairman Stewart opened the public hearing and seeing and hearing no comment, asked the Commission for a motion to continue the public hearing to an unspecified date. Motion: Moved by Munoz, seconded by Wimberly,to continue Tentative Tract Map SUBTT18032 and Variance DRC2007-00097 to an unspecified date. Motion carried (4-0-1) by the following vote: AYES: HOWDYSHELL, MUNOZ, STEWART, WIMBERLY NOES: NONE ABSENT: FLETCHER - carried F. ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT AND CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT DRC2006-00580 - MARK SATER-A request to construct a commercial center consisting of an auto service court (2,900 square foot gas station with convenience store and carwash) and a fast food restaurant of 1,800 square feet on 2.07 acres of land in the General Industrial (GI) District, Subarea 8 at the southeast corner of Arrow Route and Etiwanda Avenue-APN: 0229-141-10 and-11. Staff has prepared a Mitigated Negative Declaration of environmental impacts for consideration. Planning Commission Minutes -4- December 12, 2007 Mike Smith, Associate Planner, gave the staff report. Chairman Stewart opened the public hearing. Alex Cuevas, 55 East Huntington Drive, Suite 250,Arcadia, stated he is the project manager for the project and that he has read and understands and agrees to the conditions of approval. He remarked that his application request included the off sale of beer and wine but no mention was made of it in the staff report and that he wanted to be sure that part of the approval was added. He also asked for the hours of operation of the fast food portion of the project to be extended to be 6:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. or midnight daily. Mr. Smith stated that with a convenience store application, the sale of beer and wine is generally assumed a part of the use. He suggested that if the sale of beer and wine is acceptable to the Commission that it could be added as a condition of approval but that the sale of hard liquor would not be permitted out of a convenience store because the review by the ABC has separate, more stringent guidelines for that. He noted that they also have a limited number of licenses available and that a Public Convenience and Necessity(PCN) may be needed. He said the ABC would contact us if that is the case. He noted that this location probably has not reached the saturation of license requests in the area. James Troyer, Planning Director commented that he and the attorney would review the Development Code to see if that is in fact permissible. Chairman Stewart asked for clarification regarding the requested hours of operation. Mr. Smith commented that He remarked there were no calls or comments on the project and that the increase of the hours of operation for the drive-thru would probably be acceptable because it is located on the south side of the project site, several hundred feet from any residences, and is adjacent to an industrial site. Chairman Stewart closed the public hearing. Mr. Cuevas commented that the sale of beer and wine is critical to their application. He remarked that if they did not get an approval on this today, it would delay the project because they would have to come back at a later time to get the approval for the off sale of beer and wine. Chairman Stewart then announced that because the application would have to be researched, the Commission would continue with the remaining items of the meeting and come back to this item. Following the report on Item G, the Commission recessed from 8:10 p.m. to 8:15 p.m. and then resumed the hearing on Item F. Kevin Ennis, Assistant City Attorney, reported that the original application submitted by the application does indicate the request for the sale of beer and wine. He said that because neither the report analysis nor the legal advertising indicated the request, he would recommend the Commission continue the item so that it could be re-noticed. Alex Cuevas reiterated that it was in the application but not in the report. He said this project has now been through 4 planners and it has been in the process since 2005. Mr. Troyer offered that the Commission could approve the gas station portion of the application but the application for the sale of beer and wine would have to come back because it has to be analyzed. He said this would be an option or the entire project could be brought back for consideration all at one time. Planning Commission Minutes -5- December 12, 2007 Mr. Cuevas consulted with his team and indicated that they would choose to come back in January for the entire project to be considered. Motion: Moved by Munoz, seconded by Wimberly, to continue the entire application for consideration on January 9, 2008. Motion carried by the following vote: AYES: FLETCHER, HOWDYSHELL, MUNOZ, STEWART, WIMBERLY NOES: NONE ABSENT: NONE - carried . . . . . G. ORDINANCE REGARDING TEMPORARY SIGNS - DRC2007-00495 - CITY OF RANCHO CUCAMONGA-A review of a draft ordinance amending Sections 14.08.350, 14.16.010(P)and 14.16.020 and adding Chapter 14.25 to the Rancho Cucamonga Municipal Code concerning temporary signs. This item will be forwarded to the City Council for final action.-CONTINUED FROM SEPTEMBER 26, AND NOVEMBER 14, 2007. CONTINUANCE REQUESTED. James Troyer, Planning Director, gave an oral update on the progress of the sign ordinance. He noted that the City Council Ad Hoc Committee would be meeting again on December 19 to consider the input received at the workshop held on November 13. He said we would get direction from the Committee following the meeting on the December 19, 2007. Chairman Stewart opened the public hearing and seeing and hearing no comment, called for a motion to continue the item as requested. Motion: Moved by Howdyshell, seconded by Wimberly, to continue the item to an unspecified date. Motion carried (4-0-1) by the following vote: AYES: HOWDYSHELL, MUNOZ, STEWART, WIMBERLY NOES: NONE ABSENT: FLETCHER - carried . . . . . PUBLIC COMMENTS None * * * * * COMMISSION BUSINESS AND COMMENT None . . . . . ADJOURNMENT Motion: Moved by Munoz, seconded by Howdyshell, carried 4-0-1 (Fletcher absent), to adjourn. The Planning Commission adjourned at 8:25 p.m. Planning Commission Minutes -6- December 12, 2007 Respectfully�ssubmittte , /1 Ad " � �f 0 I James R. Troyer, AICP Secretary Approved: January 9, 2008 I . I Planning Commission Minutes -7- December 12, 2007