HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-11-10 - Minutes - PC-HPCuric Preservation Commission
Planning Commission Agenda
November 10, 2021
MINUTES
Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91729
7:00 p.m.
The regular meeting of the Historic Presentation Commission and Planning Commission was held on
November 10, 2021. The meeting was called to order by Chair Oaxaca at 7:00 p.m.
A. Roll Call
Planning Commission present: Chair Oaxaca, Vice Chair Dopp, Commissioner Guglielmo,
Commissioner Morales and Commissioner Williams.
Staff Present: Nicholas Ghirelli, City Attorney; Anne McIntosh, Planning Director; Mike Smith,
Principal Planner; Jason Welday, Engineering Services Director; Matt Burris, Deputy City
Manager; Elisa Cox, Deputy City Manager, Jennifer Nakamura, Management Analyst; Justine
Garcia, Engineering Services Deputy Director; David F. Eoff IV, Senior Planner; Tabe van der
Zwaag, Associate Planner; Jennifer Camacho-Curtis, Community Affairs Officer; Elizabeth
Thornhill, Executive Assistant.
B. Public Communications
Chair Oaxaca opened the public communications.
Kyler Gillam, resident, commented regarding drought conditions and suggested development
of a desalination plant and explained it takes salt water to fresh water and to locate it possibly
at Etiwanda Preserve.
Hearing no other comments, Chair Oaxaca closed public communications.
C. Consent Calendar
C1. Consideration to adopt Regular Meeting Minutes of November 10, 2021.
Motion by Commissioner Guglielmo, second by Commissioner Williams to approve Consent
Calendar. Motion carried unanimously 5-0 vote.
D. Public Hearings
D1. LOCATED AT 9377 HAVEN AVENUE -TRINITY HOLDINGS HAVEN AVENUE, LLC -A
request to convert an existing 8,993-square foot office building on a 0.103-acre parcel
(4,495 square feet) of land into 4 office condominium units in the Industrial Park (IP) District
and Haven Overlay District; APN: 0210-081-33, Tentative Parcel Map (SUBTT20317).
Tabe van der Zwaag, Associate Planner, presented Commissioners with a Staff Report and
presentation (copy on file).
Chair Oaxaca opened public hearing.
Serge Bonaldo, Applicant, thanked Tabe for his work and was available for any questions
Hearing no further comments, Chair Oaxaca closed the public hearing.
Commissioners concur and support this project.
Motion by Commissioner Guglielmo, second by Commissioner Morales to adopt the proposed
Resolutions 21-70 - Tentative Parcel Map SUBTPM20317. Motion carried unanimously, 5-0 vote.
D2. Consideration of the following: PlanRC General Plan Update, 2021-2029 Housing Element,
Climate Action Plan and Environmental Impact Report (SCH 2O21050261). This item will
be forwarded to City Council for Final Action.
Jennifer Nakamura, Management Analyst II; David Eoff IV, Senior Planner; Jennifer Camacho-Curtis,
Community Affairs Officer; and Mark Teague, EIR Consultant (PlaceWorks) presented the
Commissioners with a presentation (copy on file).
Vice Chair Dopp praised staff on their hard work and expressed it was tremendous with all the effort
and detail that went into it. He asked about utilities corridor on permanent structures and wanted to
know what kind of discussion took place at staff level and the public about ways of creativity in terms
of utilizing space for interaction and connectivity with neighborhoods and allowing people to have
recreation opportunities.
Jennifer Nakamura answered utilities corridors are multifaceted areas, but we believe they have
potential to create connections within the city. She said, however, we do need to be sensitive to the
needs of public utility and not interfering with their uses. As we move forward, we want to support those
efforts but also work with SCE and public utilities to ensure it could all be done safely and mutual
agreement with both parties.
Nicholas Ghirelli, City Attorney, mentioned there are instances where a utility easement will not allow
the installation of structures on site. Also, Standard Conditions of Approval in the EIR are being
recommended to make sure future recreational facilities do not interfere with utility infrastructure.
Vice Chair Dopp stated there was clarification made on community benefit beyond what appeared to
be industrial uses and asked for examples where that might pop up in future developments.
Jennifer Nakamura replied when it comes to community benefit that is an area that has a wide range
of possibilities. It could potentially impact any development that chooses to work with the City and
would like any sort of change or negotiation in standards, as long as they can provide this additional
community benefit. It's not necessarily related to any one type of user, but it could happen with any
future development.
Vice Chair Dopp regarding traffic and transportation he asked what kind of comments did we get from
the public about the desire to see different types of mode of transportation in the city.
Jennifer Nakamura answered they received a wide variety of responses. Individuals who were very
interested in continuing current auto centric model. Interest in having additional bike lanes and those
wanting to find an easier way to walk from their neighborhood to their local shopping centers. This plan
tries to accommodate all of those needs.
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Anne McIntosh added they did focus on transportation and transit opportunities in one of the workshops
and when we talked about Victoria Gardens area and Civic Center area and having those be the new
downtowns, there was a lot of interest in transit that would provide circulation opportunities between
those areas, they saw potential for that to connect in the future. In recognition similar to The Resort
where we have higher density development and potentially a station in the future, we have more people
that want to live in those types of communities who will be out to use those local circulators like trollies
in the area. In creating a whole new transit in the city east of Haven south of Foothill area.
Chair Oaxaca opened public hearing
Lawrence Henderson, resident, expressed his objection. He takes exception with the phrase "World
Class Community", it's an undefined term. He said it is a marketing term and no place for planning.
He has concern that a lot of the community did not know about this or have a way to involve themselves.
A personal thing, he would send comments to the City and receive back a basic comment "thank you
for your input". Not, "this is what we did with your input". It became clear when he realized all the
overlays were eliminated in the General Plan. Primarily the equestrian overlay. He views this document
as a marketing document meant to help developers. Not so much the community or people. He said
looking at some of the language in the General Plan is slanted too far to development side of things. It
jumps a lot of the responsibility to staff, and you will find out you will not get the quality if you do this.
As a citizen of the community, he is giving his view on the inconsistencies of the plan.
Rick Fontana, resident, stated he was not contacted about this engagement. He said nobody reached
out to Sports Advisory Group, which he is part of. Making plans with parks and not reaching out to the
proper groups is wrong. He would like to hear from somebody on this.
For the record, it is noted the following correspondence was received after the preparation of the
agenda packet and the following general concern is noted. The actual correspondence should be
referred to for more detail:
Paige H. Gosney, Gresham Savage Nolan & Tilden, representing "Tree Island Wire" located at
12459 Arrow Route expressed their concerns with the street network expansion within the
Southeast Industrial Area.
With no further comments, Chair Oaxaca closed the public hearing.
Jennifer Nakamura responded to some of the comments received during public hearing:
• Equestrian Overlay — It was not included in the General Plan, however, it does still exist in the
Development Code and that is not scheduled for change and does not see that change moving
forward.
• Sports & Recreational Facility — Explained the General Plan is a community -based plan and
when we do a community -based plan we want to engage and bring as many people to the table
with a variety of different voices. She said we do not necessarily reach out to individuals or
specific groups because inevitably one will get left out and it's an area we want to avoid. We
want to make sure everyone across the city knows it through a variety of different channels.
Covid did put some additional constrains on it that we were not prepared for but were able to
adapt and overcome. She mentioned they did talk to people about open space and with people
who represented sports teams did participate in our online engagement.
Jennifer Nakamura further stated: however, we want to make sure it's understood the General Plan
talks about overall recreation. The Community Department Services are about to start a Parks Master
Plan where we will take a deeper dive into the recreation needs of the community and how those move
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forward. As to the goal of converting baseball fields to soccer fields was a comment received through
conversation with the community. As the Community Services Department moves forward with the
Parks Master Plan there will be additional time for more in-depth conversation and the Sports Advisory
Committee will be one of the groups who will be reached out to because they have a specific need and
interest in Parks Development and Parks Master Plan.
Anne McIntosh mentioned when it came to open space and recreation, a lot of input received was not
necessarily targeted to organized sport. It was more passive opportunities for recreation at local
neighborhood parks, along pedestrian ways and pathways and electric pacific trails.
David Eoff stated the General Plan still identifies a need and priority for trails. It is listed as one of the
goals of the open space element to maintain and complete connecting network of diverse trails in
connected open space that improves access to all areas of the city. Encourages non -motorized activity
and one of those being equestrian trails. It is still identified in the plan. It is an important mode of
transportation in addition to walking and vehicles.
Nicholas Ghirelli mentioned the overlay is still part of the Zoning Code. The overlay is not being
eliminated.
Commissioner Morales stated it was a great presentation and great work they did. The fact the city
teams worked so diligently and be able to develop this work within 2 years is amazing. Included the
community in the process, the engagement was a big plus, made it what it was, and it truly was
designed for people first. A lot of us in the community talk about our values and some of those big
ones being equity, community, culture, neighborhood amenities and this update implements all that.
Especially housing that is affordable. Somebody mentioned our city had certain characteristics in the
beginning when we were first incorporated. Now we are dealing with State Housing requirements and
State Laws we have to comply with, so this General Plan Update keeps the character of our city in
place. Transportation, mobility, parts of it are good to the equity. Environmental justice strategy is for
all people to have the opportunity to thrive. This General Plan Update preserves the character and
strength of the already established neighborhoods and it does it well and that is what makes a world
class city. It also establishes our city as economic and cultural hub of the inland empire. He expressed
his support.
Commissioner Williams she also commends the staff. It is a little concerning on the comments made
from the audience, but she is counting on incorporating all that into the development code. The General
Plan is more of a "big picture", the sense of the soul of the city and staff did a great job in capturing
that. We do need to be cautious in the development code to be extremely specific, so it does not get
lost. We need to make sure staff has the opportunity to use this as a "bible" to say no. It gives you
the opportunity to create fun and great things. She expressed her support and is very proud of staff.
Commissioner Guglielmo asked about the Healthy Development Checklist and wanted to know if it
became incorporated into the final draft.
Anne McIntosh explained the Healthy Checklist will be a tool when we review projects in the future.
Commissioner Guglielmo thanked staff for their hard work and dedication over the past two years
working on this integrated document and thanked the community who did engage. He knows it is not
a perfect system on reaching out to everybody, but he does recall a number of efforts made by the City
as mentioned over 1.1 million impressions via online, mail and various workshops outreach and they
did a great job. Regarding members of the public who spoke today, he is concerned about comments
made on the sports field. He does not know this particular document is the place and time to deal with
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some of it. It's more a micro -level. This document of the General Plan is more of a birds -eye global
look overall vision and goals of the city. He believes it is a marketing piece. It is meant to attract
investment into our community and world class developers to come and bring their brain power to our
city. He said this document does the best to really showcase the strengths, opportunities and mobility
of the city and take us into the next decade or two of what our community needs. Touching on some
of the main core principals; Health, Equity and Stewardship are key focal points that guide this
document, and guide future Planning Commissioners and City Council going forward. He does believe
we can become, with proper planning and investment, the place to go in the Inland Empire. This
document will help foster that investment we need in the coming decade or two. He believes the
equestrian overlay is very important, and he is glad to hear it is not getting removed or diminished.
Also, the sports field, he hopes Mr. Fontana will engage in the Parks Masterplan and dive into this some
more to help elevate some of the congestion we have with our parks right now in sports. This General
Plan will help us in the future, and he expressed his support.
Jennifer Camacho-Curtis, Community Affairs Officer, mentioned she just checked her stakeholder list,
and Mr. Fontana was included. She requested if he could meet after the meeting to make sure we
have his most current contact information. They do want to speak with him due to his expertise and
long-standing relationship and volunteering he has with these sports leagues; they definitely want to
include him in these conversations.
Vice Chair Dopp expressed his thanks to the outreach team on the efforts made during corona virus,
he knows it was a challenge. It is on us as citizens to be engaged. If you are connected with social
media and connected to City apps, you would have come across this at some point and it's a good call
for citizens to have as an avenue as we continue with technology for outreach and communication with
each other. He said when looking at the plan, the overall question he has with regards to this document
is, how do we move the City forward, as Commissioner Guglielmo ended on. There are so many people
in the area that consider Rancho Cucamonga to be the gold standard for the region. He said a lot of
us enjoy living in our city. We get various things out of it; recreation, quality of life, shopping, the options
we have to raise our families.
Holistically speaking, he is proud to put his name behind this document in terms of the goals it seeks
to achieve to move our city into an even better direction and to advance our economic and
environmental interests and some of the challenges we are facing as a city and to provide that quality
of life for others. He remembers having this conversation about equity and stewardship when we first
started off. He said just the importance of maintaining the quality of life and resources we have available
at our disposal to create an economic financial situation so we can maintain that standard for the public.
He said from an equity standpoint, something he has talked about in the past year, when looking at
some of these focal areas and potential in some of the policies, whether it be from an environmental
justice standpoint or housing opportunities, we really are putting focus on places that have not had
attention as in the past.
He said he was impressed with the focal areas in general. Obviously, these focal areas are only
recommendations but if these areas look like what the diagrams have and what recommendations are
from City Staff, each of these areas will be very unique and bring so much to our community. He said
Victoria Garden and the HART plan shows how Rancho Cucamonga can be a Hub for our local area,
whether it be from a transportation standpoint or attracting businesses, jobs and great housing
opportunities. He expressed Kudos to staff and all the team who had a process in visualizing some of
those communities, generically speaking, because the goal, not just from an economic development
standpoint, but creating opportunities and placemaking for our city is what some of residents want at
some level.
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He said there is always going to be an aspect to the city that tradition is always going to play a part in
who we are, and we can't lose that, but we do also have to move forward and that was one of the other
really big takeaways. There are pockets of the city that are not going to change, and staff did a good
job listening to concerns from people in those areas. Some of the phrases he wrote down was "Keep
Rancho, Rancho" for certain parts of it, "maintaining the historical character", generically speaking. He
said he is more than pleased to see some of the standards we put in place. When he looks at the Tool
Kit as an avenue, whether it be from a transportation standpoint or giving ideas out there of what we
want to see.
He knows that housing is a big problem in our region and continues to be. People are not always happy
with housing and some of the effects in regards to traffic. One of the things he appreciates is there was
an effort and there is some concern that in a place like Rancho that traffic and ultimate modes of
transportation is seen as a last-ditch effort, it's nice to see some feedback from the community in that
regard. Lastly, regarding Community Benefit Plan, he knows we had this experience with Bridge Point
Project, but he really sees this as a great opportunity for us to continue to form relationships with
developers and proposals and making sure we not only maintain standards of high quality for our
community but also finding ways for our community to thrive. He expressed his appreciation to staff
and team for a job well done.
Chair Oaxaca stated one of the aspects of a document of this type what he looks for is it accessible
especially to those who it will affect most directly. He said it is something that touches every resident,
business owner and operator in the city one way or another at some point. He said this document really
does that job of being something that is accessible and understandable, and it illustrates it very well of
what we are talking about when we say change and what the future of the city should be. He said as
a resident here for over 30 years, he can still say we are able to maintain it somehow and that somehow
has a lot to do on how we approached these types of processes from the outreach to the visioning to
the actual development of the document that results from it. He will acknowledge the timing for the
type of outreach that staff conducted was not the best. Who could have predicted we would have gone
through what we did in the past +20 months at the time this was being looked at. He completely
acknowledges that significant challenge.
Staff is to be commended for thinking out of the box and using technology that is available people use
to keep in touch with others to get the word out. Some of the highlights for him that stood out; a place
making tool kit for this document that provides something for the development community to use in
working in conjunction with staff to make real what it is we are talking about in this General Plan and
doing it in a consistent way, otherwise we lose all this work that has been done and lose touch what
that future is we want to have for the city. The new way of looking at development from an equity
perspective from a fiscal impact perspective.
He said the variety of place types that where developed he thought was fantastic. It opens the door to
much more opportunity, flexibility, and a move in the direction of form -based approach to development.
It really shifts the emphasis on looking at what do we want things to look and feel like accessibility,
walkability, transportation rather than getting locked into specific uses based on more traditional zoning.
He said he was happy to see how the city is managing the regional housing needs requirements and
to see we have an effective path forward for doing that. It's not an easy requirement to meet and the
State is not making it any easier in the future. It was an area of concern to him, but it was nice to see
how it was delt with. Finally, for him, this continued confirmation of work that was done previously the
focus on our main corridors in our areas of focus in the city; Haven corridor, Foothill corridor. The other
focus areas we identified where really reaching in parts of the city that need reaching into. Putting that
in the maps and diagrams and making it real was the first step for him of what those areas can become
through the General Plan. We all know there are more steps to go. It's the development code. That is
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where it comes to life. He looks forward in seeing the final steps happen successfully. He expressed
his thanks to staff for all their great work.
Motion by Commissioner, second by Commissioner to adopt the proposed Resolutions 21-71,
Recommending the City Council Certify an Environmental Impact Report and Adopt a Statement of
overriding considerations and a Mitigation Monitor and Reporting Program for a Proposed General Plan
Update Including the 2021-2029 Housing Element, and a Climate Action Plan. Motion carried
unanimously, 5-0 vote.
E. Director Announcements -None
F. Commission Announcements -None
G. Adjournment
Motion by Commissioner Williams, second by Commissioner Guglielmo to adjourn the meeting, motion
carried unanimously, 5-0 vote. Meeting was adjourned at 9:45 p.m.
Respectfully submitted
J
Eli b h Thornhill
Executive Assistant, Planning Department
Approved: HPC/PC Meeting December 8, 2021.
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