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2007 10 09 PC Minutes MINUTES PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING A regular meeting held at the La Quinta City Hall 78-495 Calle Tampico, La Quinta, CA October 9, 2007 7:00 P.M. I. CALL TO ORDER A. This meeting of the Planning Commission was called to order at 7:02 p.m. by Chairman Alderson who asked Planning Director Les Johnson to lead the flag salute. B. Present: Commissioners Jim Engle, Paul Quill, and Chairman Ed Alderson. It was moved and seconded by Commissioners Engle/Quill to excuse Commissioner Barrows. C. Staff present: Planning Director Les Johnson, Planning Manager David Sawyer, Assistant City Attorney Michael Houston, Principal Planner Andrew Mogensen, and Secretary Carolyn Walker. II. PUBLIC COMMENT: None III. CONFIRMATION OF THE AGENDA: Chairman Alderson requested two items be added to the Agenda under "Commissioner Items." The addition of Item B - Status of New Planning Commissioner Appointment, and Item C - Discussion of Future Meetings and the Planning Commissioners Attendance Schedule. It was then moved and seconded by Commissioners Quill/Engle to confirm the Agenda as revised. Unanimously approved. IV. CONSENT ITEMS: Chairman Alderson asked if there were any changes to the Minutes of September 25, 2007. There being no changes, it was moved and seconded by Commissioners Engle /Quill to approve the minutes as submitted. Unanimously approved. V. PUBLIC HEARINGS: A. Continued - Village Use Permit 2006-03: a request of Dan Cline, Forward Architecture and Design, Inc. for consideration of architecture and landscaping plans for three retail commercial buildings located on 1 Planning Commission Minutes October 9, 2007 3.39 acres located at the northeast corner of Calle Tampico and Desert Club Drive. 1 . Chairman Alderson opened the public hearing and asked for the staff report. Principal Planner Andrew Mogensen presented the information contained in the staff report, a copy of which is on file in the Planning Department. 2. Chairman Alderson asked if there were any questions of the Commissioners. Commissioner Engle asked if the landscaping was consistent with the buildings in the surrounding area. Staff replied it will have a water efficient design. Commissioner Engle asked staff if they had asked if the applicant had considered using a contrasting color to break up the large expanse of white. Staff went back over the exhibits and explained the colors in the landscaping, as well as the use of tiles to relieve the monotony of all the white used. 3. Commissioner Engle asked if the parking was consistent with City regulations. Staff said it was and explained the parking layout and usages. 4. Commissioner Engle was concerned about having enough trellises to help curtail the amount of heat going through the windows. Staff went over the exhibit and explained the usage of the trellises. 5. Chairman Alderson asked about the proximity of this project to Old Town and its affinity to pedestrian tra.ffic. He was concerned about the entrance into the buildings from Calle Tampico. He said it did not appear to be pedestrian-friendly and asked if staff had given any thought to having an entrance on the street side. Staff said they did discuss the pedestrian entrances into the buildings. The applicant wanted the parking close to the store entrances and the Village Guidelines state the parking should be far from the street. Therefore, a compromise had to be reached on the parking and entrances. 6. Chairman Alderson gave an example of a pedestrian shopping experience. Staff pointed out the large expanse of glass on 2 Planning Commission Minutes October 9. 2007 Shop 1 and said there was a possibility of additional tenants changing their entries on the south elevations. 7. Chairman Alderson asked about the two blank walls that showed 27 foot dimensions. He asked if they were just blank walls. Staff explained there would be trellises placed on those walls. 8. Commissioner Quill asked if this application had been presented to the Planning Commission on a prior date. Staff replied it had not. There had been a previous project planned for this site, but it was not presented to the Planning Commission. 9. Chairman Alderson explained the history of the elevation process on this project. He wanted to know if the columns on the north elevation were going to stick out so the vines could wrap around and climb up them. Staff explained the vines would be attached to "green screen" material to allow the vines to climb up the columns. 10. Commissioner Quill disclosed that when this came in as a proposed Rite Aid he did have a conference with the applicant and that was why he thought he had seen this before, but it was a different plan. His concern is the box on Calle Tampico which carries the capacity to the street. He asked if there was an opportunity to connect to this box for storm water on the site. He said that was the whole point of putting it in to begin with. Principal Engineer Ed Wimmer replied the applicant has many different options on how to handle the storm water off the site and this is one option. Staff has crafted several options for the applicant to choose from and several were outlined for the Commissioners. He explained typically the drainage plan is complete when the application comes before the Planning Commission. However, the applicant wanted to bring his application before the Commission prior to finalizing the hydrology issues for this development. To be receptive to that staff crafted conditions that are fairly flexible to allow them multiple options, one of which was just described. 11 . Commissioner Quill said staff alluded to the fact this was partially contingent upon a study, but was not available at this 3 Planning Commission Minutes October 9. 2007 time. Staff said it was not. The study, previously referred to, was the potential outcome of one currently being conducted, regarding the capacity of that particular pipeline. Anecdotal information shows the pipeline is of sufficient size. Commissioner Quill asked who was doing the study. Staff replied Psomas of Orange County was preparing the study but under worse case scenario, if the pipe was full and couldn't accept this water, there would still be other options. 12. Commissioner Quill referred back to the date the pipe was installed and said it was designed to handle the flow of the low line area down to Calle Tampico even with build-out. He asked if there had been a hydrology study done when this was installed and did we have that study for reference. Mr. Wimmer said they had searched the archives and no study was found. 13. Commissioner Quill asked if there was anything that reflected the redevelopment phasing they did for the improvements to La Quinta from the late 1980's. Mr. Wimmer replied his staff searched for information on capacity at that facility on Calle Tampico and they didn't have any information reflecting that information. 14. Commissioner Quill said there was an interim City Engineer at the time, who was also the engineer who may have worked on that design. His name was John Curtis and staff should contact him for his input. Principal Engineer Ed Wimmer said he would be happy to contact Mr. Curtis as the City would like to have a copy of it. 15. Commissioner Quill said his fear was storm water engineering is not an exact science and if there is a system designed with a certain capacity and another firm comes up with different numbers it's going to create a conflict. It would be helpful if the original work could be found. Staff said they would try to contact Mr. Curtis order to obtain that report. Commissioner Quill said he would be happy to give the contact information to staff . 16. Commissioner Quill asked if this would be a hold up for the applicant. Staff said it would not and the conditions were 4 Planning Commission Minutes October 9.2007 crafted with flexibility so the applicant could move forward while awaiting the additional information. Staff said contacting Mr. Curtis would help move things along. 17. Chairman Alderson said he read through the conditions which were enormous for a three building project. Several references are made to the site, and two scenarios on the storm drain. One of the scenarios alludes to a retention basin. His question was if there is a retention basin introduced to the project will it affect the site layout and have any bearing on relocating buildings or the parking count. Staff said the applicant has the ability to do a retention basin. Staff is not recommending it, but there is enough flexibility in the conditions that they can achieve their drainage requirements without on-site retention. Chairman Alderson said there is no preliminary grading plan, preliminary traffic study, or preliminary hydrology report. However, he did not anticipate any problems with taking care of the storm water. There is a pipe on Calle Tampico, and one on Desert Club Drive. Staff met with the developer's engineer who studied their options and was very comfortable they could handle the storm water. Chairman Alderson asked if that included without the use of the retention basin. Principal Engineer Ed Wimmer replied it was without the use of the retention basin. 18. Chairman Alderson said the traffic study and hydrology study were still forthcoming. Another issue is with the trucks and their turning radiuses. He asked if they had been analyzed in a practical sense or were they the result of some mathematical calculations. Staff said the turning movements had not been analyzed with scale drawings, but the applicant was working on that. Since the applicant was in a hurry to get this application before the Commission the conditions had been crafted so that if they were unable to get either an appropriate length of truck to make the maneuver, have their hours of operation accommodate the deliveries, or move the traffic signal poles they could still accommodate the turning radius of a truck. They were given enough flexibility to solve the problem. Staff does not know what is going to happen because they still have not seen any scale drawings. They are waiting on their traffic engineer to finalize their report. 5 Planning Commission Minutes October 9, 2007 . I 19. Chairman Alderson asked if the applicant would like to come forward. Mike Singelyn, Highland Development Company, 80 South Lake Avenue, Suite 660, Pasadena, California 91101, introduced himself. He stated they had been addressing the conditions with the Public Works Department and had been working with the City to solve the storm water conditions. The upcoming traffic study has highlighted several concerns on Calle Tampico and Washington Street. He said the traffic study is being done by Psomas and should be completed in two weeks and they will submit it to the City. They have already done the traffic count. This report will be given to the Public Works Department for their study, comment and recommendations. They do not have scale studies, but their information shows this area will accommodate a 40 foot truck. They are waiting to determine if the tenant's trucks are able to do that. They are open to conversations with the Public Works staff. They are excited about working with Fresh and Easy and tying into the downtown Village concept. They are excited about the green screen treatment and hope pedestrians will want to sit and stay there for awhile. 20. Commissioner Quill asked if they thought they were providing adequate pedestrian access from Old Town. Mr. Singelyn said the layout works for the tenant and the pedestrians. They have worked with this layout for a year-and-a-half to come up with the best compromise for both pedestrian access and parking available. 21. Commissioner Quill asked if the applicant had any problem with changing the color of the green screen pylons to match the color in the awnings. Mr. Singelyn said it was no problem. 22. Commissioner Quill liked the concept, but was concerned about vandalism and maintenance and asked if the pylons were sturdy enough to resist vandalism. Mr. Singelyn said they were made from sturdy materials, placed firmly in the ground, and not easily removed. Mr. Singelyn said the pots were intended to withstand vandals. 6 Planning Commission Minutes October 9, 2007 23. Commissioner Quill asked if they previously had designed a trellis attached to a column with a sidewalk underneath it. Mr. Singelyn said that was a different applicant. Commissioner Quill asked about the trellis hanging over Tampico. Mr. Singelyn said they were unable to position the trellis in that manner due to City regulations. Staff made a comment about a free-standing trellis being used instead of an attached trellis. Staff concluded the free-standing trellis could be incorporated, but the attached trellis went into the setback on Calle Tampico. Staff described the items in the exhibit which were colonnades set within the setback. 24. Commissioner Quill asked about the right-of-way and location of the sidewalk. He asked if the sidewalk was going to be within the colonnade. Staff showed the exhibit and Commissioner Quill asked if the applicant was going to be completely removing all the landscaping and sidewalk currently on site and referenced the exhibit with replacement options for those areas. Staff confirmed he had interpreted the exhibit correctly. 25. Mr. Singelyn replied to Commissioner Quill's inquiry about tearing out the current sidewalk. He said they are currently considering leaving in the meandering sidewalk and replacing all the landscaping. They may have to work with staff to design the sidewalk and green trellis treatments as shown on the exhibits. 26. Commissioner Quill asked the applicant about the comment made by staff regarding the two foot drop and asked if the applicant preferred not to do that. He asked if there was an architectural reason for it. Mr. Pedro Garcia, 7864 Home Court, La Quinta, representing the architect for the site, said originally the building was designed at a height of 28 feet, but the tenant required a mezzanine to accommodate their mechanical units which are not roof-mounted. They are within this mezzanine which requires that area be raised. That is the only part of the building that will be raised to 30 feet. It is the northeast corner of the building and the furthest part of the building from the street. 7 Planning Commission Minutes October 9, 2007 27. Commissioner Engle said if they added a contrasting color on top of that or along that way it might break up the monotony of the white walls. Mr. Garcia said they were trying to match the Old Town La Quinta design style and that is why they used the large amount of white. 28. Commissioner Quill said there is a two-story building right across the parking lot as well as two-story buildings right across the street and they are at least 35 feet high. He did not have an issue with the applicant's elevations. Staff said the two- story buildings were approximately 35 feet. 29. Commissioner Quill commented on the outdoor seating area. He asked if any outdoor seating was proposed along Calle Tampico. The applicant said they were trying to put everything in the center courtyard. 30. Commissioner Engle said he was very happy someone is developing on that parcel. Most of his concerns were addressed. Had no problem with the height. He was not concerned with the north elevation, but on the east, west, and south elevations, the top piece (or pilaster) projects out a couple of inches and if it were painted brown it would help break up all the white. The applicant said they had no concerns with doing that. 31. Chairman Alderson asked if the applicant was going to use the existing driveways on Desert Club. The applicant said the northern driveway has to stay, but they are requesting some modifications to the southern driveway. They are working with the Public Works Department on the ingress/egress issues. 32. Chairman Alderson commented on the fountain design and the Commission's sensitivity towards water usage. Mr. Pedro Garcia said this water treatment is not really a fountain but a very shallow reflecting pool. Mr. Singelyn said if they wished to eliminate the water feature the applicant would be happy to bring back an alternative. Chairman Alderson said the Commission would appreciate their efforts as long as this does ' not sacrifice the applicant's aesthetics. i , ! 8 Planning Commission Minutes October 9, 2007 33. Chairman Alderson said he was still concerned about the pedestrian-friendly traffic pattern into this project. He asked to be shown where a pedestrian could enter the store if they were on Calle Tampico. He asked if there was any way to include an entrance on that side. The applicant said that was not possible due to the accommodation of the delivery of goods. 34. Commissioner Quill commented on the Shops 1 doors and their locations in relationship to Calle Tampico and the parking lot. What he's seen is a new shop comes in and the doors on Calle Tampico become inoperable because the tenant blocks the entrance. He said there were no columns and no ambiance on the shops facing Calle Tampico. There is no replication of those green screen c'olumns on Calle Tampico. Commissioner Quill said there was an opportunity for a coffee shop with a south facing entrance but this has not been made user friendly. Mr. Singelyn said tenants want the doors facing the parking lot. There may be an opportunity for tenants to use doors on that elevation. He explained how the buildings were laid out. 35. Chairman Alderson asked for clarification that they were discussing the south elevation. Applicant replied yes. 36. Commissioner Quill asked if the applicant could add green screen columns and pots along Shops 1, on the Tampico side to keep the theme moving in that direction. The applicant said they would not have a problem with it, but they have been trying to break up the monotony of the buildings and when the greenery grows out there will be one large green wall on Calle Tampico. He gave a description of what would happen when the plants mature and why the landscaping was designed as shown. 37. Commissioner Quill asked if there was a landscaping architect involved. Mr. Pedro Garcia replied there was. Commissioner Quill asked if the green screen column would be a spiraled column or a pruned square. Mr. Garcia said they would be consistently pruned into four foot high squares. 38. Chairman Alderson asked about the pre-made landscape product. Mr. Garcia said he had used this product in a project 9 Planning Commission Minutes October 9, 2007 in Phoenix, Arizona in 1998. He visited it last year and it still looked great. 39. Commissioner Quill asked if they were four foot diameter pruned squares would there be at least five feet of planted area in that square. Mr. Garcia said yes. 40. Chairman Alderson opened the discussion to the public. Hearing none he opened the discussion to the Commissioners. 41. Commissioner Engle was happy there was something going in on the barren lot, but he did suggest the addition of color on the roof treatment. He said their landscape ideas and the addition of the columns was wonderful. 42. Commissioner Quill said Fresh and Easy was an incredibly good use of the location. He much preferred it to the Rite Aid previously proposed. He said he would prefer a little bit better orientation for pedestrian use, but this plan was acceptable. He had concerns about the appearance of the plant material when mature and asked if the staff had to approve the landscaping prior to the issuance of the Certificate of Occupancy. He asked if they could add a condition about the final landscaping, especially when it is Uright off the truck". He wanted to make sure the plants were of good quality. Staff said due to the high visibility of this project the staff will do several inspections of this site to assure the plant materials will be appropriate. Commissioner Quill described the type of plant materials that would ideally work better for this site. 43. Commissioner Quill said the applicant did a good job. It is different than Old Town but has an old town feel and did not have any problems with the 30 foot height. He liked the elevations. 44. Chairman Alderson still had concerns about the large white expanse on the north face of Building One. Chairman Alderson asked if it would be advantageous to continue the green walls across. Staff suggested the architect comment. Mr. Garcia said they tried to follow the Old Town palette but in addition to the large amount of green they would add some interest to the 10 Planning Commission Minutes October 9,2007 building by adding another shade of white. They did not wish to add another color as it would introduce too much of a contrast. Chairman Alderson said it just needed to be broken down so it was not such a large expanse of one color. 45. Chairman Alderson said since he was formerly in the development business he understood the importance of getting tenants in on time. He had five concerns and felt most of them had been answered, but he was still concerned about storm drains, retention basins, and storm basin scenarios that had yet to be determined. The traffic and hydrology studies have yet to be determined. The truck turning radius has not been properly researched but he was sure it can be. There is the potential of having to relocate and rework the intersection and signals at the corner of Desert Club and Calle Tampico and the potential of a left turn lane at Calle Tampico and Washington. All of these things are yet to be determined and he didn't think they would be a problem, but they may. The Commission is being asked to approve a project with a whole bunch of contingencies and the conditions of approval are extensive. One option is to recommend continuing this until some of these are taken care of unless staff could assure him these problems could be addressed he would be hesitant to go forward. There are too many ifs. He liked the project but he was still concerned about the pedestrian access from Calle Tampico. 46. Chairman Alderson reopened the public hearing and Mr. Singelyn addressed the Commissioners on the traffic issue. There are two left turn lanes already on Calle Tampico. They expect the traffic study will recommend the northern-most left turn lane queuing area would have to be extended further to the west, however in the current condition they could not extend it that much because it would encroach into the westbound lane. They are very comfortable they have the scope of the work that will have to be done on that lane. Regarding the turning radius of the truck westbound on Calle Tampico and north on Desert Club. the applicant worked on drawings showing a 68 foot truck with a clip of eight feet on that corner. The resolution of that problem would be the relocation of the signal box and the current signal and bring it in eight feet closer. They will get the scaled drawings to the Public Works Department and are 11 Planning Commission Minutes October 9. 2007 prepared to work with them to resolve these problems. They have spent a lot of time with staff on this project and are confident these items and time frames can be met. Their civil engineer has been working on this, but they are still awaiting the Psomas study. They feel comfortable with the conditions and confident they can work with the Public Works Department to resolve these issues. 47. Commissioner Quill said with respect to the storm drain issue it sounded like these are options versus finalized conditions. What has been done is they have provided "all of the above" so that solution can get rectified and frankly it's an engineering/Public Works solution that's going to get rectified pretty much irrespective of what we say or do in this forum. The same thing goes for the issue of the turning radius. They will do what they need to do to make it work. 48. Commissioner Quill asked the applicant about the additional columns in the front of Shops 1. He said it made sense to him they would carry the theme of what you would see on Calle Tampico and he would like to see four additional four foot by four foot columns in that location. The bottom line is you are going to see hazy glass there. He'd rather see columns rather than the glass. The columns would filter the "back of the house" look. The applicant said they would be happy to accommodate that request. 49. Chairman Alderson closed the public comment portion and returned to the Commissioner portion of the meeting. 50. Chairman Alderson said he had previously stated his many concerns and was confident staff could work them out with the applicant. Ed Wimmer said they were going to work with the applicant to get a good project. 51 . There being no discussion, it was moved and seconded by Commissioners Quill/Engle to adopt Planning Commission Resolution 2006-042 approving Village Use Permit 2006-035 with the addition of the following recommendations: I I , , l 12 Planning Commission Minutes October 9. 2007 1 . Modification of the landscaping plan adding four more columns in front of Shops 1 2. The addition of a color treatment to the parapet. 3. Modifications of the conditions pursuant to the memorandum that is dated October 9, 2007 from Les Johnson and Tim Jonasson. 4. Allow the 30-foot height limit A YES: Commissioners Engle, Quill, and Chairman Alderson. NOES: None. ABSTAIN: None. ABSENT: Commissioner Barrows. B. Street Vacation 2007-045; consideration of a Report of Finding under California Government Code Section 65402 that the proposed Vacation of an Easement in favor of the public for access, ingress and egress of fire, police and other emergency vehicles and personnel within Tentative Parcel Map 33367 and Public Utilities Easements established over the vacated portions of Avenue 52 and Adams Street lying within Tentative Parcel Map 33367 is consistent with the General Plan. 1 . Chairman Alderson opened the public hearing and asked for the staff report. Engineer Manager Ed Wimmer presented the information contained in the staff report. a copy of which is on file in the Planning Department. 2. Chairman Alderson asked for questions from Commissioners. 3. Commissioners Engle asked if this type of request was just standard operating procedure. Staff replied it was. 4. Commissioner Quill said the utility easements were not taken out because there was an office in the near proximity and the power was needed. So, the utilities were left in place to accommodate that need. 5. Chairman Alderson asked if there was any public comment. Since there was none he did not open the public comment portion of the meeting. , , 13 Planning Commission Minutes October 9, 2007 6. There being no discussion, it was moved and seconded by Commissioners Quill/Engle to adopt Resolution 2007-043 recommending approval of Street Vacation 2007-045 as recommended. , -1 , ROLL CALL: AYES: Commissioners Engle, Quill, and Chairman Alderson. NOES: None. ABSTAIN: None. ABSENT: Commissioner Barrows. VI. BUSINESS ITEMS: None VII. CORRESPONDENCE AND WRITTEN MATERIAL: None VIII. COMMISSIONER ITEMS: A. Commissioners Schedule: 1. Commissioners Schedule did not include the new Commissioner and asked if they could put it on the back burner until the additional Commissioner was appointed. Staff pointed out the additional Commissioner was included in 2008. I ! B. Status of New Planning Commissioner Appointment: 1. Chairman Alderson said he spoke to the City Clerk regarding appointment of the fifth Commissioner. There were five applicants from the previous group but are the City is re- advertising. They will hold interviews on November 6, 2007, and select a fifth Planning Commissioner. He said he would be covering that Council Meeting. C. Discussion of Future Meetings and Planning Commissioners Attendance Schedule: 1. Staff reminded the Commissioners of the Joint Meeting on the 23'd of October at 5:00 p.m. Commissioner Engle asked if they will get an e-mail reminder of that date. Staff encouraged the Commissioners to add items. The agenda currently includes green building, the general plan and housing element updates, as well as what the Commission hopes to accomplish by June of next year. If there are additional comments please get them f I I , l 14 r- Planning Commission Minutes October 9. 2007 to Planning Director Les Johnson. Chairman Alderson had a comment on the eligibility issue and would like to have an explanation of how that was resolved. He also wanted to make sure the Council was aware of the Commissions' efforts on to promote water efficiency. Staff said that would be listed under the green building topics. 2. Chairman Alderson said he would cover next week's Council meeting. 3. Chairman Alderson asked about a Chamber meeting that was faxed to him. Commissioner Quill said one of the Chairman's tasks is to attend a joint city and chamber meeting every quarter. Chairman Alderson said he would attend. D. Pedestrian-Friendly Planning Considerations: 1 . Commissioner Quill was also concerned about access and pedestrian accessibility between various City amenities via bikes or walkers. 2. Staff made comment on attendance at a recent APA meeting. One of the topics they addressed was pedestrian walkability of communities. One of the key issues is the ability of people not having to drive and focus on more pedestrian-friendly areas. Transit and non-motorized functions are very important. La Quinta has few transit opportunities but we can certainly encourage people to get out and walk. Gas emissions are a priority item for the State of California and will continue to be an important issue. 3. Commissioner Quill said the previous project on this site had a cover on the south side of the building to encourage walkers to use the sidewalk. In the interest of walkability and health some exceptions should be allowed on setbacks to encourage more pedestrian usage. He used the example of walkability of Carmel and why it is so pedestrian-friendly. We need to adjust our laws, rules and regulations to accommodate that type of atmosphere. 15 Planning Commission Minutes October 9, 2007 4. Chairman Alderson asked if there could be encroachment if the possibility of shade and walkability is in question'. Staff said they were looking at the walkability of the Village to enhance and improve upon what is there today; such as a central parking lot. They want to encourage folks to walk around downtown. The second opportunity would be the update of the General Plan. There are two great opportunities within the next twelve months to encourage walkability in the City. IX. ADJOURNMENT: There being no further business, it was moved and seconded by Commissioners Quill/Engle to adjourn this regular meeting of the Planning Commission to a regular meeting of the Planning Commission to be held on November 13, 2007. This meeting of the Planning Commission was adjourned at 8:45 p.m. on October 9, 2007. Respectfully submitted, ;i'd /~. i - '. ,~ v' 1 '1'--/ U .e{... Carolyn alker, Secretary City of La Quinta. California 16 , 1 , i : I