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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020-07-08 - Minutes - PC-HPCPRESERVATION COMMISSION AND PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES JULY 8, 2020 A. Call to Order The meeting of the Historic Preservation Commission and Planning Commission was held on July 8, 2020. The meeting was called to order my Chairman Guglielmo at 7:01 pm. Planning Commission present: Chairman Guglielmo, Vice Chair Oaxaca, Commissioner Dopp, Commissioner Morales, and Commissioner Williams. Staff Present: Nick Ghirelli, Assistant City Attorney; Anne McIntosh, Planning Director; Mike Smith, Principal Planner; Elizabeth Thornhill, Executive Assistant; Dat Tran, Assistant Planner; David Eoff, Sr. Planner. B. Public Communications Chairman Guglielmo opened the public communications and hearing no comment, closed public communications. C. Consent Calendar C1. Consideration to adopt Regular Meeting Minutes of June 24, 2020 Motion by Commissioner Williams, second by Commissioner Morales to approve Item C1. Motion carried unanimously 5-0 vote, to adopt the minutes as presented. D. Public Hearings - None E. General Business El. FINDINGS OF GENERAL PLAN CONFORMITY FOR REAL PROPERTY ACQUISITION OF APPROXIMATELY 1.85 ACRES WITHIN THE EMPIRE LAKES SPECIFIC PLAN, PLANNING AREA 10, LOCATED AT 9070 MILLIKEN AVENUE; APN: 0209-272-27. Mike Smith, Principal Planner, presented Commissioners with a Staff Report. Vice Chair Oaxaca asked what is the status of any conversations with the property owner about the acquisition of the property. Mike Smith answer the property owner is in the process of selling it for some time. There was a proposed office building development that was approved last year, and they never proceeded with preparation of construction documents. They are at that point now ready to sell and the City is ready to acquire it. HPC/PC Meeting Minutes — July 8, 2020 Page 1 of 5 PRESERVATION COMMISSION AND PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES JULY 8, 2020 Vice Chair Oaxaca stated we have not seen many acquisitions of property by the City of this type. Since the intent is to acquire the property for economic development purposes. Is there any sense of what that might look like, what role the City would play when it comes to economic development in something like this. Mike Smith answered we are working on developing a specific plan. We have a consultant on board assisting with that. We also have a development partner who is proposing to develop a piece of this project. The acquisition of the parcel where the parking lot is located could be repurposed to be developed with another building that would be a part of that Empire Yards project. We have not fully developed the specific plan. It is still in draft stage. Anne McIntosh, Planning Director added the parcel in question is south of the area we previously controlled. The specific plan update we received SCAG grant money to help us prepare is for the entire site. Even though the previous development focus was on the 10 acres in northern part of the site closest to the station, the specific plan will cover the entire site, including this parcel. Explained by getting this parcel, we have more control over the zoning for it and with the development of it. Whether it's the entity we are currently working with or future developer. The land would be our contribution to a bigger project. Probably rail oriented of some kind. SBCTA is a partner in this effort as co-owner of property and operator of the Metrolink station. Commissioner Dopp asked if high speed rail is being considered. Anne McIntosh answered that high- speed rail could be a component in the future. Chairman Guglielmo announced this is not a public hearing, but do we have anyone on the line wishing to speak. Public comment by Max Cherubin expressed concern about reducing any parking at the Metrolink Station. If the fuel prices increase, more and more people might be taking the Metrolink and there could be a parking problem. Mike Smith clarified that this parking is not part of the Metrolink Station parking. The property owner of this parcel also owned the office buildings located to the west of this property. He had a tenant that needed extra parking for its employees. If there were those parking on the property and going to Metrolink station, they were not supposed to do that. Anne McIntosh mentioned in our conversations with SBCTA they are very focused on the parking issue and wanting to make sure that any development project we do provides enough parking for the Metrolink riders. HPC/PC Meeting Minutes — July 8, 2020 Page 2 of 5 PRESERVATION COMMISSION AND PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES JULY 8, 2020 Vice Chair Oaxaca stated he worked for Metrolink and is familiar with the system and parking situations. As a regular Metrolink commuter at the most demanding times, Rancho Cucamonga accommodated all the riders in the main parking lot and there is additional street parking. The lot in question has always been chained off, although there have been some occasions when the lot was open and used by First American Title when they had a particular need to use it. He is comfortable repurposing that lot for better use and will not impact the train riders. Commissioner Dopp stated he knows they will have a discussion again down the line when they see the specific plan. He is in support of the project enough to purchase and is trusting the City will have a good plan in terms of all that are happening in that part of town. Motion by Commissioner Dopp, second by Vice Chair Oaxaca to adopt Resolution No. 20-35. Motion carried unanimously, 5-0 vote. E2. FORUM FOR OUR FUTURE RECAP Anne McIntosh, Planning Director, presented Commissioners with a brief verbal recap of the community forum. She expressed appreciation to the commissioners that were able to participate in the discussion groups. Next effort is to continue to reach out to various community organizations and groups who have requested us to present a virtual presentation and get more feedback. We will continue to reach out on virtual platform until we are able to come together with the community again. On August 12t^, we will bring goal statements for the Commissions to review, initial ideas to set the table for the General Plan. We will also discuss, at an upcoming PC meeting, a resent effort made to engage community members and have a discussion about inclusionary housing, and she will present to the commissioners some of the finding and feedback received from community members. Commissioner Dopp stated he appreciated the hard work consultants and staff put in. With such a small amount of people that participated and came forward, he has concerns that maybe we are only getting one point of view. Looking at the survey results, housing seminars specifically, all of the people agreed on the housing and what it should look like moving forward. If you look at the survey results, you are not really getting that from the public. There is some concern and don't know if there will be opportunities on the weekends or evenings for people to tune in. With such small groups, we are not getting a whole comprehensive picture of what the residents want. Speaking from the Public Art Committee specifically, he was the only member that attended. No one from the committee showed up due to not being aware of the meeting or receiving an invitation to attend. In some of the areas were we only had 4 or 5 participants, there is going to be a large segment of people who maybe wanted to participate but didn't have a chance to do so. Commissioner Morales mentioned he found it to be very information and inclusive. Enjoyed the "Dollar and Cents" the second time around. Commented it was done very well. HPC/PC Meeting Minutes — July 8, 2020 Page 3 of 5 PRESERVATION COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES JULY 8, 2020 PLANNING COMMISSION Commissioner Williams expressed her concern in the small number of citizens that participated, and it probably has a lot to do with it being virtual. People like to sit around a table and throw out ideas but unfortunately, not able to do at this time. We might have to extend our timeframe. Anne McIntosh thanked commissioners for their comments and mentioned we are hoping we can get some visuals prepared and a policy framework in place by Fall and then still have an opportunity to get a lot of input from the community next year. Vice Chair Oaxaca adding on to Commissioner Williams comments, it seems like we do have time on our side that the process will still allow us to incorporate in -person group interactions with residents. We can give folks an opportunity to participate and would like to see us be flexible in our process, as time goes on, hopefully we will be able to get closer and closer to having small or large gatherings, as long as we do it safely, in the months to come. Chairman Guglielmo mentioned he was able to participate in one of the discussion groups with good conversations. Asked if there were any valuable topics that stood out from these discussion groups. Anne McIntosh replied they plan on having a meeting tomorrow and compile all the notes and feedback from those who attended. Commissioner Dopp stated one of the threads he is sure will pop up is Southwest Cucamonga as that seemed to get a lot of attention. Anne McIntosh stated there will be a social equity element done this time around and will be looking at the census tracks that are considered to be disadvantaged under SB 535. Possibly one of the reasons why we will see some focus on that in a way we have not in the past. F. Director Announcements Mike Smith, Principal Planner shared a brief overview on how they are assisting businesses during this time. A Staff Level Committee was formed and meet weekly to discuss strategies how to get businesses back into business. One thing they did was create a template for outdoor dining areas that's standardized with three basis rules and placed on website and pushed out on social media. Received interest from a couple of restaurants. Continuously thinking of ways to help businesses out. No fee is charged. The lead on reviewing these requests is Rob Ball in the Fire department. Hopefully, get more people to respond and see how it goes. City of Barstow recently requested template to be shared with them. Want to be pro -active as possible. G. Commission Announcements - None H. Workshops — None I. Adjournment HPC/PC Meeting Minutes — July 8, 2020 Page 4 of 5 PRESERVATION COMMISSION AND PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES DULY 8, 2020 Motion by Commissioner Williams, second by Commissioner Morals, to adjourn the meeting; motion carried unanimously, 5-0 vote. Meeting was adjourned at 7:44pm. Respectfully submitted, Assistant, Planning Department Approved: July 22, 2020 HPC/PC Regular Meeting. HPC/PC Meeting Minutes — July 8, 2020 Page 5 of 5