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2001 12 05 CC Minutes LA QUINTA CITY COUNCIL LA QUINTA PLANNING COMMISSION JOINT MEETING MINUTES DECEMBER 5, 2001 A special joint meeting of the La Quinta City Council and Planning Commission was called to order at the hour of 6:00 p.m. by Mayor Pe~a. CITY COUNCIL ROLL CALL: PRESENT: Council Members Adolph, Henderson, Perkins, Sniff, Mayor Pe~a ABSENT: None PLANNING COMMISSION ROLL CALL: PRESENT: Commissioners Butler, Robbins, Tyler, and Chairman Abels ABSENT: Commissioner Kirk MOTION - It was moved by Commissioners Tyler/Butler to excuse Commissioner Kirk. Motion carried unanimously. Mayor Pe~a led the audience in the Pledge of Allegiance. PUBLIC COMMENT: CONFIRMATION OF AGENDA - Confirmed ANNOUNCEMENTS - None PRESENTATIONS - None PUBLIC MEETING 1. JOINT CITY COUNCIL/PLANNING COMMISSION PUBLIC MEETING ON THE GENERAL PLAN UPDATE. The Mayor declared the PUBLIC MEETING OPEN. Community Development Director Jerry Herman introduced Nicole Criste, Planning Consultant with Terra Nova Planning & Research. Ms. Criste explained the materials that had been handed out and asked if there were any changes they would like to make that are not contained in boxed area. City Council/ Planning Commission Minutes 2 December 5, 2001 Public Comments: Ms. Kay Wolfe, 77-227 Calle Ensenada stated she thought of the General Plan as being a more broad concept that should reflect a vision for the City. In considering a vision, the Council should be looking at the nicest cities in United States and what they have to offer that we could have, or do have. Some of those things are charm, culture, climate, facilities, theme. La Quinta could have all those things and the General Plan could assure those things happen by preserving our culture, history, watching out for traffic, noise, and water. The City does not need to attract new residents as we have plenty. We should be looking out for our residents to ensure their quality of life is high and develop La Quinta to have the amenities the residents can afford. That includes recreational facilities for young and old. In order to minimize the affects on our water supply, to keep the noise and traffic down we need to keep the zoning as Iow density which includes open space, equestrian, agricultural. If she were a visionary, she would want very Iow density to ensure these things. She is hoping the General Plan will include a vision that will make La Quinta a sought after city. She wants tourism, but we have enough fast food restaurants and gas stations. We need high quality commercial and to attract short term people. Mayor Pe~a informed Ms. Wolfe that the Council/Commission had discussed a vision statement and instructed staff to prepare one prior to each element of the General Plan. Mr. Don Rector, 46-450 Cameo Palms, La Quinta, stated he has not had the opportunity to study the draft General Plan. His main concern is the traffic on Washington Street and the density proposed for the Point Happy Ranch. The 1992 General Plan listed this area as Low Density and now the owners want to amend it to allow this project. He obtained a copy of the draft General Plan Update and on Page 47, under Program 2.1 it states "The City shall ensure that a total of 1,040 acres of improved and unimproved park land is provided within the City or is located within the service area of the City at full build-out." He would like to see the Council consider having the Point Happy Ranch maintained as open space, or at least unapproved parkland. A planned project will bring in too much traffic. Leave it zoned as Low Density. Ms. Criste reviewed the proposed changes contained in the boxed area of the staff report. City Council/ Planning Commission Minutes 3 December 5, 2001 General Comments: Circulation Element Page 34, Exhibit 3.8: Correct the location of post office. Page 37-Future Build-out Needs: Staff asked for direction on the use of the words "shall" and "should." Council Member Henderson stated she agrees with the use "shall" in most instances; however, on Page 37 it states, "Given the rate of growth in the community, this "shall". In this instance she is concerned about using a term that is such a binding and legal term. In this instance "should" would be better. Commissioner Tyler agreed. Council Member Henderson stated again on Page 37 it states, "...the City will progressively alleviate current problems..." She felt this should be changed to "City will work toward alleviating...". Page 38, Policy //2: Ms. Criste asked for clarification regarding referencing homeowner associations in the policy for review and comment to help tie private streets to City streets. Council Member Henderson stated she agrees with the issue, but in this policy it refers to other agencies and perhaps in another area of the document, inter-City issues could be addressed. Ms. Criste suggested adding a program that would address local streets. Commissioner Robbins questioned whether discussions with homeowner associations should be done at the same level as agency discussions are made. Mayor Pe~a agreed. Council Member Adolph stated he has no problem as long as it is addressed somewhere. His concern is that City streets do tie in with private streets which are controlled by homeowner associations and there are safety, maintenance, etc., needs to be addressed. Staff will address this under a separate program. Page 38, Program 2.3: Ms. Criste asked for direction regarding intersection spacing on Major Arterials. Commissioner Tyler stated the City spends a lot of time trying to keep Major Arterials high speed thoroughfares, yet when a project is reviewed it struggles with the spacing. He questions whether we want to cut the spacing down. Community Development Director Jerry Herman stated the intent is to leave it at the current spacing for residential but allow the reduced spacing for commercial developments. An example is the spacing at Highway 111 where this would apply. Dune Palms Road, Jefferson City Council/ Planning Commission Minutes 4 December 5, 2001 Street, and Adams Street are half mile spacing and do not comply with the policy. A signal was installed on the quarter mile as an attempt to legitimize the signal spacing on Highway 111. There may be need for a signal at this spacing and this allows that to happen. He suggested it read, "On Major Arterials the minimum Intersection spacing shall be 2,600 feet in residential and maybe 1,064 for commercial and allow flexibility on a case-by-case basis. Commissioner Robbins stated he was concerned that people would interpret this to mean the legal speed could be 60 mph. Council Member Perkins stated his concern that every time there is a figure set in concrete sooner or later there is a problem that it does not fit. If we are going to have this type of spacing, you may or may not be able to make it fit. Perhaps the wording should be more flexible. Page 38, Program 2.5: Council Member Adolph between Eisenhower Drive and Washington Street on Calle Tampico there are three signals and soon a fourth and a fifth is planned within 7/10 of a mile. He has a problem with the number of signals. He asked for clarification as to where Eisenhower Drive runs into Avenida Bermudas. Ms. Criste stated the Program was written by Public Works. There is an intersection of Eisenhower Drive and Avenida Bermudas where Avenida Bermudas curves west and intersects with Eisenhower Drive. The distance of 500 feet requested by Public Works is to reflect current conditions in this area; a need for closer signalization. Also, in Program 2.9 there is a requirement for a plan to be prepared establishing the number of full turn intersections that can be developed in this area. The purpose was to have Public Works regularize the intersection spacing. Council Member Adolph asked if 500 feet was adequate. Ms Criste stated "yes" because they are less traveled roadways. Council Member Adolph stated he was not in favor of five signals within 7/10's of a mile. Consensus of members was to leave the Program as written. Page 39, Program 5.1: Council Member Henderson questioned what kind of a concerted effort the City could make to have shorter commute routes. Ms. Criste stated the concept is a combination of job housing balance and the mandate of the Transportation Demand Management (TDM) to try and control the number of single occupancy vehicles on the road. Council Member Adolph stated he also questioned how it can be done beyond what is being done. Ms. Criste stated it could be City Council/ Planning Commission Minutes 5 December 5, 2001 interpreted that by implementing the TDM the City is making a concerted effort. Mayor Pe~a stated that effort is made as well as we are a part of JPA and SunLine Transit which encourages public transportation. Council Member Henderson stated it is difficult and sometimes we forget that the State is also questioning whether the City is on track for what they will be requiring. For example, there is no way the State will allow the City to have only Low Density. Consensus was to leave the Program as written. Page 39, Speed Limits: Ms. Criste asked if there was a consensus to add a Program that would require amending the Municipal Code to include standards for where speed limits would be painted, length of left turn pockets, etc. Staff directed to draft a Program. Page 40, Program 7.4: Ms. Criste stated the issue is the Program singles out the Cove and not other neighborhoods in the City. Staff can delete any reference to the Cove in regard to golf cart routes. The City may want to make reference to private communities for internal circulation. Commissioner Robbins asked if the City had any jurisdiction over private streets. Ms. Criste stated "no" but does in tracts that may have public streets and restricted access. Commissioner Tyler suggest it be deleted in this section and put in the Municipal Code under Golf Cart Transportation Program. Commissioner Robbins questioned having a golf cart plan; how successful is Palm Desert's golf cart program? Commissioner Robbins stated his concern is that it is not safe; he is not in favor of golf carts on any public streets. They should be restricted to areas around a golf course. Mayor Pe~a suggested the wording be changed to some other type of alternative fuel vehicles instead of golf carts. Ms. Criste stated there is a State program for golf carts on public streets and it was the intent of this Program to establish the locations. Commissioner Robbins agreed with golf carts/alternative fuel vehicles. Council Member Perkins, stated that if they operate on the street they must meet the Vehicle Code. Commissioner Tyler pointed out that City of Palm Desert and Rosewell have experimental programs that have been successful. Council Member Henderson asked if this was to determine the plan and at a later date a decision could be made as to whether or not the City would implement the plan. Ms. Criste stated there is a freestanding golf cart transportation plan that will be brought to the Council as part of this Program. Council directed staff to delete reference to the Cove, use local streets and leave the Program in. City Council/ Planning Commission Minutes 6 December 5, 2001 New Policy 28, Berming in Parkway of Street: Commissioner Tyler asked staff to clarify this Policy. Ms. Criste stated this was at the request of Council Member Adolph. Council Member Adolph stated the purpose was to develop a policy for berming along roadways. There are none at present to restrict the height of a berm or fencing and a policy is needed that states the maximum height. Ms. Criste suggested a Policy that states the Zoning Code will address standards for berming in public parkways. Council/Commission concurred. Open Space Element Page 43, Program 2.3: Council Member Henderson questioned the proposed wording to be added regarding scenic vistas. She said while we do want to protect scenic vistas as much as possible, based on the Supreme Court's decision on view protection, different wording is needed. Mayor Pe~a suggested using "encourage" instead of "shall". Assistant City Attorney John Ramirez stated that to the extent he is not concerned with the issue of view-shed rights, but he would suggest the Council consider look at using the word "shall" and obviously since as a General Plan, the Zoning Code, and specific plans have to be consistent, he would suggest they look at the language. Council Member Henderson suggested staff come back with new language. Page 44, New Policy: Commissioner Henderson supported the idea of "...encouraging CVWD to landscape their various existing, barren future well sites within La Quinta...", but cannot support turning them into mini- neighborhood parks. Staff will delete the last part of the sentence. Parks and Recreation Element Page 47, Policy 2, Program 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4, 2.5 Policy 3, Program 3.1: Council/Commission concurred on changing "shall to "should" in these sections. Natura'l Resources Element Page 51, Policy 5, Program 5.5: Council/Commission questioned how this could be done. Ms. Criste stated the City is mandated by the State for employers who have more than 150 employees. The City is involved City Council/ Planning Commission Minutes 7 December 5, 2001 as far as seeing that a TDM plan is filed and approved by staff. Council Member Henderson asked if the City was required to police the plan once the business is open. Community Development Jerry Herman informed the Council/Commission that SCAQMD enforces it. Council/Commission concurred on the "City shall encourage...". Page 51, Program 6.2: Council Member Adolph had a concern that when the Country Club of the Desert was under construction, the winds were high, and the sand was blowing across the street to PGA West. Homeowners called the City and the City told them to call Air Quality. If the City is responsible, why is the City telling residents to call SCAQMD. Ms. Criste stated the fine is imposed by SCAQMD. Council Member Adolph stated the question is stopping the dust from blowing while it is occurring. The City needs to take the responsibility of going out to the site and telling the contractor to water the dust. Mayor Pe~a stated SCAQMD just made a presentation to CVAG in regard to those issues. The City has to have a plan in place to call SCAQMD. They have a 24-hour hotline that can be called and they will respond to those enforcement actions. Ms. Criste advised the City is in a severe non- attainment area. SCAQMD has the ability, if the Coachella Valley does not reduce the amount of PM 10, they have the statutory ability to stop the issuance of building permits. The trigger for this was the Shadow Ridge project in Palm Desert about a year ago when it blew so badly you could not see anything because they did not water the site properly. La Quinta had several noncompliance days and the Coachella Valley made application through CVAG to be designated as an attainment area so it would not have the standards for Fugitive Dust Control imposed on us any longer. Right before SCAQMD was to rule on this application, we had bad winds and noncompliance projects. SCAQMD has added staff or "air quality police" who visit all construction sites of the participating jurisdictions to help control the problem. Council Member Adolph stated his question was how does the City respond when a homeowner calls and complains about the dust from a development across the street. If the City tells them to call SCAQMD, this policy has holes in it. Ms. Criste stated SCAQMD has a hot line for anyone to call and the City also responds through CVAG who has the extra enforcement to visit the developers. Mayor Pe~a stated SCAQMD is now staffed here and does respond within an hour. The supervisor carries a pager to respond to those calls within a certain time period. Council Member Adolph asked if the City would call SCAQMD or would the City refer the calling City Council/ Planning Commission Minutes 8 December 5, 2001 complainer to SCAQMD. Mayor Pe~a stated that during business hours the City would refer them to SCAQMD. If after hours, weekends, etc., the homeowner would have to call SCAQMD directly. Council Member Adolph questioned how the homeowner would know to call SCAQMD. Commissioner Robbins stated that from a customer service point, it would be better if the City would pass the information on to SCAQMD. Community Development Director Jerry Herman stated the City will respond to verify they are complying with the plan they filed with the City. If they are not watering, the City inspectors will go to the site and make sure they are watering. If there isn't enough water and nothing more that can be done, the City will notify SCAQMD and they will be fined. Mayor Pe~a suggested that SCAQMD's phone number be posted in the City's newsletter to inform everyone where to call after hours. Council Member Adolph stated he did not believe the policy was defined well enough. Mayor Pe~a questioned what happens when there is a publically-owned property that has dust blowing across private property that is stabilized. It is his understanding that SCAQMD will still hold the private property owner responsible for preventing dust from coming across his property. Council/Commission concurred on leaving it as written. Page 62, Program 1.3: Ms. Criste recommended adding the reference to the work that is being done by CVAG in terms of mapping the resources. The City could designate use of those resources instead of creating a need for its own mapping effort and the program should remain in. It does meet the basic requirement for providing information in the General Plan about the issues the City knows about. Council/Commission concurred. Page 62, Program 3.1: Ms. Criste asked if there was a need to have information available to the public on prohibited or desirable plants. Commissioner Robbins stated Coachella Valley Water District has a landscape booklet available, but it does not have a prohibited species list. Ms. Criste stated several cities in the Valley have developed a prohibited plant list. Council/Commissioner Henderson suggested leaving the section as written. Page 66, Future Build-out Needs: Commissioners Butler/Robbins questioned how build-out would not "significantly" change the character City Council/ Planning Commission Minutes 9 December 5, 2001 of the City. Ms. Criste suggested deleting the first sentence of the paragraph. Page 66, Policy 1: Council Member Henderson expressed her concern with the use of the word "ensure". Council/Commission concurred on changing the wording to "The City shall support the Coachella Valley Waster District in its efforts to supply adequate domestic water to residents and businesses." Infrastructure and Public Services Element Page 69, Fire Protection: Ms. Criste stated this is an insurance standard that is used for urban versus suburban levels of service. The numbers will go down, but the number to try to achieve, based on the size of the City, is shown in the ratio of one paid fire fighter for every 1,000 residents. Council Member Henderson asked if staff was recommending that another paid employee shall be provided at the station. Ms. Criste stated the addition of another paid employee was what was being recommended. Council Member Henderson stated she was not sure this should go into the General Plan; it is what the City hopes to do. The City will meet the standards required, but to state the City will add another employee is not needed in the General Plan. Council/Commission concurred on removing the sentence. Page 70, Emergency Services Goal: Council Member Adolph recommended "paramedics" be added and Council Member Henderson suggested adding the words "if funded". Council Member Perkins suggested it read "adequate" services. Mayor Pe~a suggested making it a broader statement that is not so specific; maybe emergency services. Council/Commission concurred on making the wording broader and use "Emergency Services". Page 71, Policy 4 Program 4.1: Ms. Criste stated a request had been received from Council Member Henderson and Commissioner Tyler to change the wording to "the City will work with the District." Mayor Pe~a stated the word "shall" should be changed to "encourage regional higher levels of education". Council/Commission recommended using a broader term. City Council/ Planning Commission Minutes 10 December 5, 2001 Page 72. Program 1.2: Ms. Criste asked Council Member Adolph to explain the intent of his request to add, "special provisions for special pickups along roadway dumping." Council Member Adolph asked if there should not be some provisions in the General Plan that state there will be some concerted effort to pick up large trash items along the City's roadways. Ms. Criste stated the Code Compliance Division does have procedures for removal' of those items. Council Member Adolph stated that is not always possible and perhaps as part of the General Plan we could have some sort of program to require the City to pick up trash on its roadways. Council Member Henderson suggested listing what our programs are in the General Plan. Commissioner Robbins suggested providing a way for people to get rid of the items so they stop dumping. Ms. Criste stated she would not recommend having them listed in the General Plan as it may interfere with the City's negotiations with Waste Management. Mayor Pe~a suggested they encourage programs to discourage illegal dumping. Page 72, Page 2.2: Mayor Pe~a asked that the wording be changed to "..should future annexation to Thermal occur ..... to serve new residents and businesses." Council Member Henderson pointed out that all reference to Thermal would be removed. Page 73, Policy 3-Public Utilities: Commissioner Tyler asked for some consistency in regard to the City's policy on the undergrounding of utility lines. Interim City Engineer Steve Speer explained that prior to a General Plan Amendment, 92kv volt lines were not discussed. At that time Imperial Irrigation District (liD) indicated it would not underground any voltage higher than the 34.5kv volt lines. Staff set the language at that time in the conditions of approval. When the General Plan Amendment was processed staff used 92kv because that is the only voltage above 34.5 kv that liD uses. When there is a pole with 92kv lines, that pole and everything on that pole stays above ground. Council Member Adolph questioned the language stating, "serving 'new' developments." He felt liD does not have the capability, on a new development where new lines are being run to underground those lines. Senior Engineer Steve Speer stated they do not have the ability to maintain them. Ms. Criste stated this is for new development, but not necessarily new electrical lines. On most Arterial streets there are existing lines adjacent to vacant land and the City requires that when that land develops, if the exiting lines are 34.5kv or less they must be undergrounded as part of the development. It is physically possible to underground the 92kv lines. Southern City Council/ Planning Commission Minutes 11 December 5, 2001 California Edison has the same policy due to the exorbitant costs of maintaining the lines. Council Member Adolph questioned why it can be done in other areas of the State and cannot be done here. Staff stated that if they were to service Travertine area they would have to build new substations and to bring the power to the substation they intend to use overhead power with 92kv lines. Council Member Henderson stated it is always possible if we were willing to pay the higher rates. Staff stated there is value in this statement, in that liD does intend to bring in the 92kv overhead lines, but under the City's current policy no other utility would be able to attach additional wires. Elsewhere in the City additional lines were allowed to stay up. Commissioner Tyler asked that the wording be corrected to be consistent. Council/Commission concurred on the policy staying as written with the minor corrections. Page 73, Policy 3, Program 3.2: Commissioner Robbins asked that sanitary sewer be removed from this section. Staff to create a new Program and two separate water and sewer goals. Page 75, Policy 4: Commissioner Tyler stated he was concerned about use of the word "encourage" when actually there was no choice as to who would provide water service. Commissioner Robbins stated there are some issues with sewers as the City can not require everyone to hook up to a sewer system. The City should use wording requiring a homeowner to hook up to sewers when the house sells. Council Member Henderson stated it was her understanding that it is a requirement of most lenders. Ms. Criste asked if a new policy should be added requiring it at the time the house sells. Council/Commission concurred on adding a Policy at this time and reviewing it during the public hearing process. Ms. Criste asked if the word "encourage" should be used in Policy 4. No comment. Page 77, Future Build-out Needs: Council Member Henderson stated she was still concerned that the City was going to be encouraging intense density in an area where the City is not going to encourage intense density. Ms. Criste asked if the proposed language was better. Commissioner Robbins suggested saying it is different than what the County allows. Council Member Henderson stated it is too broad. Staff suggested changing the language to "development pattern". Page 86, Exhibit 8.5: Ms. Criste stated the map is inaccurate, in so far as, the FEMA reference is outdated. Unfortunately FEMA only updates City Council/ Planning Commission Minutes 12 December 5, 2001 these maps on a periodic basis and staff used the latest data available to prepare the map. The areas shown in the Flood Hazard Map are the areas mapped by FEMA as being a flood hazard. There is no other source to use as an alternative. Commissioner Robbins stated the map is too hard to use and suggested simplifying it by removing some of the unneeded information. Ms. Criste stated the purpose of the map is not to provide a parcel-by-parcel description of flood zones, but to provide guidance to determine whether or not they are in the general area of a flood zone. Council/Commission concurred on leaving the exhibit as proposed. Page 91, Program 1.1: Ms. Criste, explained the reason for changing the level was due to the amount of noise for larger residential subdivisions on the larger streets. In order to meet the standards for backyards and mitigate the noise without creating a lot of high berms and high walls, is to raise the standard to 65dBa. Community Development Director Jerry Herman stated the mitigation is dependent upon what the Council/Commission wants to achieve. If the City wants berms on all streets it can then lower the level. Commissioner Robbins suggested having wider setbacks. Community Development Jerry Herman stated it affects not only lots that are adjacent to the roadways, but the lots further into the interior. Council Member Henderson asked what the standard is in other cities in the Valley. Ms. Criste stated Desert Hot Springs, Cathedral City, Rancho Mirage, and soon Palm Desert all have a rate of 65dBa. It is an established standard from a public safety standard and livability. Council Member Henderson asked staff for an example on how you would equate this. Ms. Criste explained that normal conversation at three feet is the most common and that is about 75dBa. Council/Commission concurred with keeping the 65dBa. Page 91, Noise policies: Staff requested direction as to writing an Ordinance to control car radios, similar to what the City of Indio had passed. Commissioner Tyler stated this is an enforcement issue. Commissioner Robbins asked if the City would want to spend law enforcement resources to take care of this. Council/Commission concurred on leaving it out. Cultural Resources Element Page 95, Program 3.1.6: Council Member Henderson asked for City Council/ Planning Commission Minutes 13 December 5, 2001 clarification. Staff stated under Historic Preservation there is an incentive to provide financial assistance. Council/Commission concurred to leave the Program as written. Mayor Pefia left the meeting at 7:20 p.m. Concluding Comments: Ms. Criste asked if the recommended dates for the public hearings could be approved. They are January 30, 2002 for the Planning Commission and February 27, 2002 for the City Council. Staff is intending to have a January 15, 2002 release date. Council Member Henderson asked that a disclaimer be placed at the front of the document indicating this document makes all other documents null and void. Commissioner Robbins asked if is a special hearing rather than a regularly-scheduled meeting date. Ms. Criste stated "yes," both are special meeting dates. Public Comment: Mayor Pro Tem Stan Sniff asked if there was any other public comment. Ms. Gayle Cady, 82-831 Avenue 54, asked that on Page 39, Policy 7, Program 7.1, in regard to multipurpose trails, she would like to request some sort of facility for staging/parking horse trailers be made. Perhaps some sort of shelter and/or tie up for horses and maybe a bench for hikers. Staff was directed to include this under Program 7.1 Ms. Betty Magnum-Smith, 82-470 Avenue 54, asked that on Page 44 consideration be given as to whether or not it was wise to place parks around water storage or work areas. Our water should be guarded to have security in the years to come. Staff noted this had already been deleted. Community Development Director Jerry Herman stated, his understanding based upon the consensus reached by the Council/Commission, the document is accepted as amended, new documents will be prepared, and the public hearings will be as recommended by staff. City Council/ Planning Commission Minutes 14 December 5, 2001 ADJOURNMENT: There being no further discussion, it was moved by Council Members Adolph/Perkins to adjourn the City Council meeting. Motion carried unanimously. It was moved by Planning Commissioners Butler/Robbins to adjourn the Planning Commission meeting. Motion carried unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at 8:12 p.m. Respectfully submitted, ~~~awye~r, Executive Secretary City ~ La Quinta