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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1993/07/14 - Minutes - PC-HPCCITY OF RANCHO CUCAMONGA PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES Regular Meeting July 14, 1993 Chairman McNiel called the Regular Meeting of the City of Rancho Cucamonga Planning Commission to order at 7:58 p.m. The meeting was held in the Council ChaSer at Rancho Cucamonga Civic Center, 10500 Civic Center Drive, Rancho Cucamonga, California. Chairman McNiel then led in the pledge of allegiance. ROLL CALL COMMISSIONERS: PRESENT: Suzanne Chitiea, Larry McNiel, John Melcher, Peter Tolstoy, Wendy Vallette ABSENT: None STAFF PRESENT: Shintu Bose, Deputy City Engineer; Brad Buller, City Planner; Ralph Hanson, Deputy City Attorney; Steve Hayes, Associate Planner; Dan James, Senior Civil Engineer; Scott Murphy, Associate Planner; Gail Sanchez, Planning · Commission Secretary , , , , , ANNOUNCEMENTS Brad Bullet, City Planner, announced that several items were before the Commissioners with respect to Item C: a proposed revised site plan, proposed revised elevations depicting an indoor playland, and a letter from a nearby resident objecting to the project. , , , , APPROVAL OF MINUTES Motion: Moved by Melcher, seconded by McNiel, carried 3-0-0-2 with Tolstoy and Vallette abstaining, to adopt the minutes of the adjourned meeting of June 1, 1993, as amended. Motion: Moved by Chitiea, seconded by Tolstoy, carried 5-0, to adopt the minutes of June 9, 1993, as amended. Motion: Moved by Chitiea, seconded by Melcher, carried 5-0, to adopt the minutes of June 23, 1993. CONSENT CALENDAR Ae TIME EXTENSION FOR TENTATIVE TRACT 15060 - WILLIAM LYON HOMES, INC. - A request for a time extension for a residential tract subdivision of 10 lots on 124.76 acres of land to create planning areas for future development of Victoria Lakes South within the Victoria Planned Community, south of Base Line Road and east of the future Day Creek Boulevard - APN: 207-161-35 and 38 and 227-171-03, 08, 20, 22, and 23. Associated with this project is Tree Removal Permit 90-37. DEVELOPMENT REVIEW 93-07 BAUSMAN - The proposed development of a 5,362 square foot custom hillside residence within the Very Low Residential District (less than 2 dwelling units per acre), located at 8933 Laramie Drive - APN: 1061-801-05. Motion: Moved by Melcher, seconded by Vallette, to adopt the consent calendar. Motion carried by the following vote: AYES: NOES: ABSENT: COMMISSIONERS: COMMISSIONERS: COMMISSIONERS: CHITIEA, MCNIEL, MELCHER, TOLSTOY, VALLETTE NONE NONE -carried PUBLIC HEARINGS ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT AND CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT 93-08 - MC DONALDS CORPORATION - A request to construct a fast food restaurant (with drive- thru) within an existing shopping center in the Neighborhood Commercial designation, located on the east side of Haven Avenue between Highland and Lemon Avenues - APN: 201-271-65. Scott Murphy, Associate Planner, presented the staff report. He indicated the revised site plan was in response to comments from Lucky's Markets. He observed that the orientation of the driveway was similar to the previously approved McDonalds. He noted that the revised elevation depicting an enclosed play area had just been presented to staff and he suggested that the Commissioners may wish to refer the design back to the Design Review Committee for consideration. He also referred to the letter from Bob and Patti Callaway in opposition to the project. Commissioner Vallette asked if the northern drive aisle affording access to the drive-thru entry would be one-way. Mr. Murphy responded that it is a two-way drive aisle. Commissioner Vallette felt the layout may cause confusion at the entrance to the drive-thru. She thought a raised median may be preferable. Mr. Murphy observed that it had been decided at the Design Review Committee meeting that striping would be better than a raised median. Commissioner Vallette asked if one-way traffic was considered. Mr. Murphy replied negatively because of the parking spaces along the drive aisle. Commissioner Tolstoy observed that the Design Review Committee felt the layout was best. Commissioner Melcher asked if the site had been designated throughout the history of the project as a location for a drive-thru fast food restaurant. Planning Commission Minutes -2- July 14, 1993 Mr. Murphy replied that originally two retail buildings had been planned for the area but the conditional use permit was modified in 1989 and at that time McDonalds received approval for building a larger restaurant than what is now being proposed. Chairman McNiel opened the public hearing. Robert Lombardi, McDonalds Corporation, 4370 La Jolla Village Drive, Suite 800, San Diego, stated they agreed to abide by the conditions. He said when they originally designed the building they were not planning to enclose the playland, but recently McDonalds has been enclosing some play areas to encourage year-round use in areas where there are temperature extremes. He requested that the Commission approve the original design and also the concept of enclosing the play area with a condition that the design be returned to the Design Review Committee for approval if McDonalds decided to enclose the play area. He pointed out that they were being conditioned to paint the play equipment to match the building, which is gray. He remarked that children love bright colors and he requested they be able to use them. He stated that the plans for the exterior play area include screening of the area with a wrought iron fence so that visibility of the play equipment will be limited from the street. Chairman McNiel observed that the renderings with the enclosed play area dropped the stone base from the majority of the building. Mr. Lombardi said there were no objections to placing rock veneer along the base of the building. Chairman McNiel felt the building should be more consistent with the balance of the center than depicted. Hearing no further testimony, Chairman McNiel closed the public hearing. Commissioner Melcher stated he understood that the elevation with the enclosed play area was only a preliminary submittal, but he felt it completely changed the character of the building. He felt the enclosure looks like an addition rather than an integrated part of the building. He suggested the Commission approve the project with exterior play equipment and condition the project that any attempt to enclose the playland equipment would require complete architectural integration of the enclosure with approval by the Design Review Committee. Commissioner Chitiea agreed that an enclosed play area would need to be integrated but stated she felt strongly that the playland should be enclosed. She thought a shade structure would be necessary if the play equipment is kept outside. She felt the design for the enclosed playland could be worked out among the applicant, staff, and the Design Review Committee. Commissioner Tolstoy noted that the elevations in the staff report depict what had been reviewed by the Design Review Committee. He thought that any attempt by McDonalds to enclose the play equipment should be looked at closely. He felt the proposed elevation depicted a changed character. He requested that Planning Commission Minutes -3- July 14, 1993 the minutes reflect that the Commission has not held up, and by its action tonight will not hold up, the project. Commissioner Chitiea expressed concern about the open playland. She did not feel there is adequate protection of the play equipment as presented. She did not think the play equipment should be gray but felt it should be enclosed. Commissioner Tolstoy agreed that the color of the play equipment should not be dictated by the building. He disagreed about enclosing the playland and felt it would be nice to leave it outdoors. Commissioner Chitlea felt that if the play equipment is outdoors, it will not be used for much of the year. Commissioner Vallette preferred enclosing the play area to encourage more use. She did not care about the color of the play equipment if it is inside the building. She was comfortable with having the design approved by the Design Review Committee. Brad Buller, City Planner, concurred that an internal playland could be subject to Design Review Committee approval. However, he noted that the external seating in the play area was not included in the parking calculations and any additional internal seating as a result of enclosing the play area would have to be considered. Commissioner Melcher asked if it would be appropriate to continue the project until the applicant presented what they wanted to build. Chairman McNiel reopened the public hearing. Mr. Lombardi stated it is important they get the restaurant open this year. He noted they have already submitted the plans for plan check and he asked that the matter not be continued. He said they would like the option to enclose the play area but it is a financial decision of the actual operator of the restaurant. He noted that the original submittal includes a proposed trellis over the outdoor seating area. Commissioner Chitiea asked if the trellis is over the play equipment. Mr. Lombardi felt they could place the trellis over the play equipment. He said that in some locations they have also used a misting system to keep the equipment cool enough for summer use. Commissioner Melcher asked if there is a reciprocal parking agreement with the balance of the center. Mr. Murphy said parking calculations would have to be figured based on the other users. Commissioner Melcher feared there may be a parking problem if they should decide to enclose the play area. Planning Commission Minutes -4- July 14, 1993 Chairman McNiel noted the objective for continuing the matter would be to allow an opportunity to investigate the options. Rod Lucio, Real Estate Representative, McDonalds, Corporation, 4370 La Jolla Village Drive, Suite 800, San Diego, felt there should not be any parking problems with enclosing the play area. He indicated the code requires 38 spaces and there are 59 total spaces. He thought there should be sufficient parking spaces so long as no additional retail building is added. He indicated the pad for the retail building had been conceptually approved but he did not feel it would be built, at least not in the near future. Mr. Murphy felt it would be a business decision for McDonalds as to whether they would be willing to reduce the size of any future retail building. He noted that such a building would have to be approved by Planning Commission. Mr. Lombardi commented that he did not think the City had held up the process. He was not opposed to continuing the project and suggested that he go back and get a feeling from his company as to their desire for enclosing the play area. He asked if there would be Commission opposition to an open air play area. He questioned how the parking would be calculated if they enclosed the play area. Mr. Murphy noted that the code does not distinguish between play equipment and table area, it merely calls for parking spaces based upon square footage of the building. Mr. Buller suggested the possibility of excluding the play area and only including the additional eating area when determining the parking. Chairman McNiel again closed the public hearing. matter should be continued. He asked if staff felt the Mr. Buller said he did not feel it was necessary to continue the matter. He felt that enclosure of the play equipment could be worked out with staff and approval of the Design Review Committee if the applicant chooses to enclose it. He also indicated that outdoor play areas had been approved before by this Commission. Commissioner Tolstoy hoped the Commission would not exclude outdoor play areas. Commissioner Vallette encouraged enclosing the play area but stated she was not opposed to leaving it open. She felt that if the play equipment is not enclosed, it should be painted to match the building, as was stated in conditions of approval. Commissioner Tolstoy disagreed that the play equipment should match the building. He thought it should be presented as play equipment, not part of the building. Commissioner Melcher thought the Commission may wish to consider changing the policy on drive-thrus to require that play equipment be enclosed. Inasmuch as Planning Commission Minutes -5- July 14, 1993 a precedent had been set permitting outdoor play areas, he did not feel it would be appropriate to require that the play equipment be colored to match the building. He supported approving the project with the outdoor play equipment but expressed support for enclosing the play equipment with the architecture to be resubmitted to the Design Review Committee. Commissioner Tolstoy felt that if the Commission wished to change its posture and require indoor play areas, he did not feel it should affect this project because it was so far along in the process. Commissioner Chitiea thought that outdoor equipment has been shaded at other facilities. Commissioner Tolstoy remarked that the applicant had expressed a willingness to place a trellis over the equipment. He did not object to bright colors on the play equipment so long as it is screened from the street. Mr. Buller stated that the City had not required shading of play equipment in the past, only shading of the adjacent seating areas. Commissioner Chitiea felt the play equipment should be shaded so that it would be more usable in the summer. Commissioner Tolstoy requested that the shrubs designed to screen the drive- thru lane be maintained as a hedge to avoid over trimming and defeating their purpose. Motion: Moved by Chitiea, seconded by Melcher, to issue a Negative Declaration and adopt the resolution approving Conditional Use Permit 93-08 with modifications to approve the site plan presented at the meeting, delete the condition requiring that the play equipment be painted to match the building, require shading of the play equipment, require maintenance as a hedge of the shrubs screening the drive-thru lane, and provide for approval of an architecturally integrated design for an indoor play area if the play area is proposed to be enclosed. Commissioner Melcher observed that any trellis placed over the play equipment would be very high and he requested that its design be approved by the Design Review Committee to be sure it is integrated with the building. Commissioner Chitiea amended her motion. Commissioner Melcher amended his second. Commissioner Chitiea requested that the landscaping of the center be addressed, but not as part of this project. It was the consensus of the Commission (4-1, Tolstoy no) to encourage enclosing the play area. Chairman McNiel called for the question. Planning Commission Minutes -6- July 14, 1993 Motion carried by the following vote: AYES: COMMISSIONERS: CHITIEA, MCNIEL, MELCHER, TOLSTOY, VALLETTE NOES: COMMISSIONERS: NONE ABSENT: COMMISSIONERS: NONE -carried PUBLIC COMMENTS There were no additional public comments. COMMISSION BUSINESS Brad Buller, City Planner, indicated he had met with the engineering staff and representatives from CalTrans. He said they were close to having prepared profiles and cross sections as requested by the Planning Commission Subcommittee. Commissioner Tolstoy felt it is extremely important that everyone be kept apprised of the situation. He thought there could be important impacts on future projects. , , , , Brad Buller, City Planner, observed that staff had received plans for the integrated art at Foothill Marketplace and the Planning Commission Subcommittee would be called upon to review it with staff. , · , , · Commissioner Vallette commented that the staining on the pillars at the Foothill Marketplace seems to have lightened up and is more acceptable. Commissioner Melcher agreed with Commissioner Vallette that the look is weathering properly but he did not feel staff should be less vigilant about requirements for future phasing. Commissioner Tolstoy suggested that the color be integrated into the material rather than applied as a stain. Chairman McNiel stated that would result in inconsistent colors and noted he had never seen an integral color as dark as what is specified. , · , , Commissioner Melcher noted that the Planning Commission Administrative Regulations call for election of Chairman and Vice Chairman in July. He suggested that the matter be placed on the next agenda even if the City Planning Commission Minutes -7- July 14, 1993 Council has not finalized their appointments. He also requested that training begin on historic preservation as soon as possible. Chairman McNiel and Commissioner Tolstoy agreed that would be a good idea. It was the consensus of the Commission to hold a workshop on August 4 for historic preservation training. ADJOURNMENT Motion: Moved by Tolstoy, seconded by Chitiea, carried 5-0 to adjourn. 9:05 p.m. - The Planning Commission adjourned. Respectfully submitted, Secretary Planning Commission Minutes -8- July 14, 1993