2003 05 27 PC Minutes MINUTES
PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING
A regular meeting held at the La Quinta City Hall
78-495 Calle Tampico, La Quinta, CA
May 27, 2003 7:00 P.M.
I. CALL TO ORDER
A. This meeting of the Planning Commission was called to order at 7:00
p.m. by Chairman Butler who asked Commissioner Robbins to lead the
flag salute.
B. Present: Commissioners Jacques Abels,. Tom Kirk, Steve Robbins, Robert
Tyler and Chairman Butler.
2. Staff present: Community Development Director Jerry Herman, Assistant
City Attorney Michael Houston, Planning Manager Oscar Orci, Assistant
City Engineer Steve Speer, Associate Planners Wallace Nesbit and Martin
Maga~a, and Executive Secretary Betty Sawyer.
II. PUBL, IC COMMENT: None.
III. CONFIRMATION OF THE AGENDA:
IV. CONSENT ITEMS:
1. Chairman Butler asked if there were any corrections to the Minutes of
May 13, 2003. Commissioner Kirk asked that Page 7, Item 6, be
corrected to read, "In regard to the Village, the g°al is to have pedestrian-
oriented environment and a gas station may not be the best use there,
beyond those that are existing." Page 7, IX.A. be corrected to read,
"Commissioner Kirk gave no report as there was no relevant business at
the City Council meeting of May 6, 2003." There being no further
corrections, it was moved and seconded by Commissioners Tyler/Abels
to approve the minutes as amended. UnanimOusly approved.
2. Department Report: None
V. PRESENTATIONS: None
Planning Commission Minutes
May 27, 2003
VI. 'PUBLIC HEARINGS: None
1. Development Agreement 2003-006; a request of-California Intelligent
Communities and the La Quinta Redevelopment Agency for cOnsideration
of a entering into a Development Agreement for the property located at
the southeast corner of Miles Avenue and Washington Street.
1. Chairman Butler opened the public hearing and asked for the staff
report. Community Development Director Jerry Herman presented
the information contained in the staff report, a copy of which is on
file 'in the Community Development Department. Staff indicated
that the Summary Report was inadvertently included and is not
part of what the Commission is considering.
2. Chairman Butler asked if there were any questions of staff.
Commissioner Tyler asked staff to clarify the "development plan"
that was referred to in the staff report. Staff indicated it was the
Specific Plan that had been approved by the Planning Commission
and would be considered by the Council on June 3, 2003 and
would be attached to the Development Agreement. Commissioner
Tyler asked staff for clarification on the termination fees for the
Boutique hotel in relation to when transient occupancy taxes are
paid. Staff would ask the City Attorney to review the question.
3. There being no further questions of staff, Chairman Butler asked if
the applicant would like to address the Commission. Mr. Richard
Oliphant, developer of the project, gave a review of the Agreement
and introduced Emily Hemphill, attorney for the .applicant. Ms.
Hemphill reviewed the changes that were under consideration.
She stated the original form of the document did provide vesting
rights under California Law Development Agreements, which
generally allows the developer to do whatever the document
states. The City Attorney wanted to be sure the City could adjust
its fees and the developer would pay whatever fees were
applicable at the time. In the redraft of the document, the vested
rights were eliminated and they are .requesting that the vested
rights with respect to the uses that are approved should remain
vested in the developer for the performance terms within the
Development Agreement. The City Attorney did agree with this.
She clarified the "cluster homes" and their location. In Section 3.4
there are certain one-time fees that have to be paid at the sale of
each casitas in each Boutique hotel unit. Then there are annual
mitigation fees. The developer will pay the one-time fees and the
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HOA will be responsible for paying the annual fees. Again the City
Attorney has agreed with this, but time did not permit making the
changes before this meeting. In respect to' default, they had
negotiated a provision that stated the-maximum damages that the
developer would be reSponsible for in the event of a default would
be equivalent to the outstanding balance on the Agency's 'loan
contribution. In addition, the Agency also has the right to
repurchase the property or revert the property back to the Agency
if the developer defaults as well as penalties on top of this. In
Section 7.2.D. the Ehline Development Company was omitted and
should be included as a permitted transferee. Finally, in Section
7.2.F. clarification was made as to what obligations are to be
assumed by the transferee.
4. Commissioner Tyler asked the length of the time before the
homeowners' association (HOA) would be assuming the
responsibility of the fees. Ms. Hemphill explained that once the.
first casitas unit closes escrow, the HOA has to be in place and
would immediately collect the monthly assessments. The
developer will control the HOA in the beginning.
5. Chairman Butler asked if staff agreed with the changes as
proposed by the applicant. Assistant City Attorney Michael
Houston confirmed that the City Attorney's office has reviewed
the proposed changes and he would recommend language to
include in the Commission's recommendation to the Council.
6. There being no questions of the applicant Chairman Butler asked if
there was any other public comment on this project. Mr. Dave
Lippert, 78-745 Rockberry Court, asked for clarification of the
selling price of the homes. Staff clarified this information is
contained in the Summary Report which is not before the
Commission. Mr. Lippert asked what changes were to be made to
the Specific Plan. Chairman Butler stated this is not part of what
was being considered at this meeting.
7. There being no other public participation, Chairman Butler closed
the public participation portion of the hearing and opened the
matter up for Commission discussion.
8. There being no further discussion, it was moved and seconded by
Planning Commission Minutes
May 27, 2003
Commissioners Abels/Tyler to adopt Planning Commission
Resolution 2003-028 recommending approval of Development
Agreement 2003-006, as amended:
a. Replace Paragraph 2 of Resolution with the following:
"Recommend approval of the Development Agreement with
those amendments incorporated therein as approved and
agreed to by the City Attorney."
ROLL CALL: AYES: Commissioners Abels, Kirk, Robbins, Tyler, and
Chairman Butler. NOES: None. ABSENT: None, ABSTAIN:
None.
2. Conditional Use Permit 2002-075; a request of Cham Thi Prince and Lee
W. Jones for consideration of a use permit for a Cosmetology School, in
an existing commercial space located at 47-1 20 Dune Palms Road, the
southeast corner of Highway 111 and Dune Palms.
1. Chairman Butler opened the public hearing and asked for the staff
report. Associate Planner Wallace Nesbit presented the
information contained in the staff report, a copy of which is on file
in the Community Development Department.
2. Chairman Butler asked if there were any questions of staff.
Commissioner Robbins asked staff to explain why parking spaces
were being reserved. Staff stated 20 spaces were reserved by the
applicant based on the number of students that would be present
at any one time at the school. The use of the school requires
three spaces for each student that is present. Based on the
number of students and different shifts the school would be
operating, there should be no more than eight students at any one
time which equates to 24 parking spaces. If it were to be
computed on the retail space, it would require 25 spaces. Since
the use was changed from what was originally approved under the
Specific Plan to a school, staff proposes a restriction on the lease
agreement to reserve the number of spaces for the school.
Commissioner Robbins stated his concern was that if 20 parking
spaces were reserved and only 1 6 students were present, none of
the other uses would be able to use the remaining spaces. Staff
stated the lease agreement could be modified at a later date if
needed.
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May 27, 2O03
3. Commissioner Kirk asked why the City should even care about
this. Wouldn't the management company be able to best figure
out how to arrange the parking needS.·
4. Chairman Butler asked if the retail services being provided Would
create a need for additional parking spaces and he was concerned
that there would not be enough parking spaces. Staff stated these
students not only attend school, but provide services as part of
their training. There is a retail aspect to this request and the
parking need is unknown. Chairman Butler asked if this wasn't a
landlord/tenant issue and not an issue for the City. Staff stated it
was part of the Conditional Use Permit application approval
process.
5. Commissioner Tyler asked fOr clarification on the number of
students per session. Staff stated there were three classrooms
and they were limited to a total of eight students.
6. There being no further questions of Staff, Chairman Butler asked if
the applicant would like to address the Commission. Mr. Lee W.
Jones, applicant, stated he was available for questions. In regard
to the parking he sees no issue. A lot of students will be using
public transportation as well as being dropped off. The number of
students present at any one time will vary. Discussion followed
regarding the parking issue.
7. There being no further questions of the applicant, Chairman Butler
asked if there was any other public comment on this project.
Commissioner Abels asked how many students and customers
could be there at any time. Mr. Jones stated it is an unknown
number becaUse you do not know how many students will be
attending at any one time.
8. There being no other public participation, Chairman Butler closed
the public participation portion of the hearing and opened the
matter up for Commission discussion.
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9. There being no further discussion, it was moved and seconded by
Commissioners Abels/Tyler to adopt Planning Commission
Resolution 2003-029, approving Conditional Use Permit 2003-
075, as amended:
1. Condition #1 deleted.
2. Amend Condition #2: "...to restrict the total number of
students..."
3. Condition #3: remove any reference to Condition #1.
ROLL CALL: AYES: Commissioners Abels, Kirk, Robbins, Tyler, and
Chairman Butler. NOES: None. ABSENT: None. ABSTAIN:
None.
VII. BUSINESS ITEMS:
A. Site Development Permit 2003-764; a request of Paul Ehline Company
for consideration of architectural and landscaping plans for four new
single family prototype residential units with three different architectural
designs for each prototype within the Greg Norman Estates Development
located at the northeast corner of Madison Street and Airport Boulevard.
1. Chairman Butler opened the public hearing and asked for the staff
report. Associate Planner Martin MagaRa presented the
information contained in the staff report, a copy of which is on file
in the Community Development Department.
2. Chairman Butler asked if there were any questions of staff.
Commissioner Kirk asked why this project was not subject to the
10% compatibility rule. Staff explained these units fall within the
range allowed. Discussion followed regarding clarification of the
compatibility rule.
3. Assistant City Attorney Michael Houston stated the specific plan is
the overriding land use document for the Zoning Code. In the
hierachy of land entitlements you have the General Plan, Specific
Plan, and the Zoning Code falls underneath this to the extent the
Specific Plan has a different standard. A finding could be made
that the standard Controls and takes precedent over the Zoning
Code. Commissioner Kirk stated it does not supercede the
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compatibility section of the Zoning Code unless the Specific Plan
states so. Assistant City Attorney Michael Houston stated that is
correct, but to the extent there is a deviation in absolute square
footage sizes, a finding could be made on the supremacy of the
Specific Plan. Commissioner Kirk stated there is no deviation in
the uses. It appears the Zoning Code needed to be changed.
4. Commissioner Tyler asked how you define compatibility when the
entire area is under one Specific Plan and in that area there are
several developments developed by different developers. Staff
clarified that it pertains to areas where it is the same developer.
5. Commissioner Kirk asked if the original Site Development Permit
could be amended to allow this square footage. Discussion
followed regarding alternatives available to the Commission.
Chairman Butler recessed the meeting at 8:10 p.m. and reconvened at 8:20 p.m. to'
allow staff time to review the issues raised.
6. Staff reviewed the approvals the applicant had already received.
7. There being no further questions of staff, Chairman Butler asked if
the applicant would like to address the Commission. Mr. Mike
Stoltz, representing the applicant, asked that they be allowed to
move the location of the model units.
8. Chairman Butler asked if there were any questions of the
applicant.
9. There being no questions of the applicant and no other public
participation, Chairman Butler closed the public participation
portion and opened the matter up for Commission discussion.
10. There being no further discussion, it was moved and seconded by
Commissioners Tyler/Robbins to adopt Planning Commission
Resolution 2003-030, as recommended.
ROLL CALL: AYES: Commissioners Abels, Kirk, Robbins, Tyler, and
Chairman Butler. NOES: None. ABSENT: None. ABSTAIN:
None.
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VIII. CORRESPONDENCE AND WRITTEN MATERIAL: None.
· IX. COMMISSIONER ITEMS:
1. Commissioner Robbins was unable to attend the meeting and gave no
report on the City Council meeting of May 20, 2003.
2. Commissioner Abels asked staff to look into the issue of larger garages to
accommodate SUV vehicles.
X. ADJOURNMENT:
There being no further business, it was moved and seconded by Commissioners
Abels/Tyler to adjourn this regular meeting of the Planning Commission to a regular
meeting of the Planning Commission to be held on June 10, 2003, at 7:00 p.m. This
meeting of the Planning Commission was adjourned at 8:27 p.m. on May 27, 2003.
Resp_ectfUll~y submitted,
~etty~ ~yer, Executive Secretary
City of La Quinta, California
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