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2000 07 05 ALRC Minutes MINUTES ARCHITECTURE & LANDSCAPING REVIEW COMMITTEE MEETING A regular meeting held at the La Quinta City Hall 78-495 Calle Tampico, La Quinta, CA July 5, 2000 10:00 a.m. I. CALL TO ORDER A. This meeting of the Architectural and Landscaping Committee was called to order at 10:07 a.m. by Planning Manager Christine di Iorio who led the flag salute. B. Committee Members present: Bill Bobbitt, Dennis Cunningham, and Frank Reynolds. C. Staff present: Planning Manager Christine di lorio, Principal Planner Stan Sawa, and Executive Secretary Betty Sawyer. II. PUBLIC COMMENT: None. III. CONFIRMATION OF THE AGENDA: Confirmed IV. CONSENT CALENDAR: A. Planning Manager Christine di Iorio asked if there were any changes to the Minutes of June 7, 2000. Committee Member Reynolds noted that Committee Member Cunningham was stated as moving to adjourn the meeting and he was not present. Committee Member Bobbitt made the motion. There being no further changes, it was moved and seconded by Committee Members Reynolds/Bobbitt to approve the Minutes as submitted. Unanimously approved. V. BUSINESS ITEMS: A. SDecific Plan 2000-047 and Site DeveloDment Permit 99-680; a request of JDD, LLC/The 3S Company for approval of architectural and landscaping plans for a 5.65 acre shopping center development. 1. Planning Manager Christine di Iorio presented the information contained in the staff report, a copy of which is on file in the Community Development Department. C:\My Documents\WPDOCSIALRC7-5-00.wpd 1 Architectural & Landscape Review Committee Minutes July 5, 2000 2. Mr. Jim Hack, Conway Architecture, made a presentation on the project. He stated the pedestrian system was integrated for clear on site direction from building to building. Parking for the entire project was in the rear, pushing the buildings to the outside. They currently have two primary tenants identified: a destination dinner restaurant and grocery store. They have also incorporated three plaza areas which occur at building one, building two, and building four. 3. Committee Member Cunningham stated he liked the project. Historically for La Quinta we have the La Quinta Hotel with the historic Spanish look which he had hoped would have been carried out throughout La Quinta, but has not. Now these two corners are left. Wesman on the southwest corner kept the look, but the property owner on the northeast corner did not as can be seen in the La Quinta 111 Center which is a standard strip center. He is glad to see this project will follow the Spanish theme, and yet meld the two looks. This is a fresh approach to the architecture on this corner. He hoped they would carry this look through to the details on the building. 4. Committee Member Reynolds stated this has always been a problem piece of land. It will be a traffic generation problem as it is an awkward piece to get to and from. He likes the architecture aspect. In regard to the landscaping, he strongly urges they not use the Bottletrees as they will be a maintenance problem. 5. Committee Member Bobbitt stated his concern was that this corner would have more of a Spanish Revival theme. He asked if this type of architecture would stand the test of time. In 25 years will we be able to determine what year this was built because of the architectural style. Mr. Hack stated that to the extent you could look at Spanish architecture then probably to some degree yes. There are a few examples that are truly timeless in the sense you cannot place them. Committee Member Bobbitt asked if this would stand the test of time better than the One Eleven La Quinta Center. 6. Committee Member Cunningham stated yes. You can see the One Eleven La Quinta Shopping Center type of strip mall all across the country. Architecture is hard to put in place. There is a movement toward this type of architecture and it will continue to be used and should last a long time. C:\My Documents\WPDOCSIALRC7-5-00.wpd 2 Architectural & Landscape Review Committee Minutes July 5, 2000 7. Committee Member Bobbitt stated he would like to have the 18 (phoenix dactyhfera) Date Palm trees replaced as they are potentially dangerous. If the trees are purchased from nursery stock and not a transplant from an old grove which have been stressed, the trees are safer. Otherwise, they have the potential of their crowns dropping off. The trees should be 15-18 feet in height and have somebody hand pick them. Mr. John Vogley, landscape architect for the project, stated he agreed and he was looking at trees that would be 12-15 feet in height. Committee Member Bobbitt stated he too agrees with the elimination of the Bottletrees as they are very messy. In a confined area, the long term maintenance will be difficult. He recommended a different species. Lastly, Commissioner Bobbitt noted a concern regarding the size of the planting areas for the parking lot trees. He understands the need the parking spaces, and as the parking lot islands are squeezed down to accommodate the number needed, the landscaping suffers as they are too restrictive in the small areas. Someone needs to redesign these parking lots to give the trees room to grow. Mr.Vogley stated they are experimenting with perforated drain tiles and air vents to encourage the roots to grow under the asphalt. Discussion followed regarding alternatives. 8. Committee Member Reynolds asked about the palm trees at the entry drives in regard to site distances. He suggested keeping the trees back from the street to keep from having site distance problems. Second, the view shown in the exhibit (second page from the end) should be corrected to say southeast and not southwest. 9. Committee Member Cunningham asked if they were working with someone for public art. Mr. Hack stated they are working with somebody to put some art piece on the corner. Mr. Dale Frank, developer, stated that until they had some direction from the City, they did not want to pursue it any further. 10. There being no further discussion, it was moved and seconded by Committee Members Cunningham/Bobbitt to adopt Minute Motion 2000-013 recommending approval of Specific Plan 2000-047 and Site Development Permit 2000-680, subject to the Findings and Conditions of Approval of the Conditions, as submitted. Unanimously approved. VI. CORRESPONDENCE AND WRITTEN MATERIAL: None C:\My Documents\ WPDOCSIALRC7-5-00. wpd 3 Architectural & Landscape Review Committee Minutes July 5, 2000 V. COMMITTEE MEMBER ITEMS: None VI. ADJOURNMENT: There being no further business, it was moved and seconded by Committee Members Cunningham/Bobbitt to adjourn this regular meeting of the Architectural and Landscaping Review Committee to the next regular meeting to be held on August 2, 2000. This meeting was adjourned at 10:48 a.m. on July 5, 2000. Respectfully submitted, ~ a~//( /~:r- / BETTY,/'. SAWYER, Executive Secretary City of La Quinta, California C:\My Documents\ WPDOCSIALRC7-5-00. wpd 4