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2008 04 08 PC MinutesMINUTES PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING A regular meeting held at the La Quinta City Half 78-495 Calle Tampico, La Quinta, CA April 8, 2008 CALL TO ORDER 7:00 P.M. A. This meeting of the Planning Commission was called to order at 7:00 p.m. by Chairman Ed Alderson who asked Commissioner Wilkinson to lead the flag salute. B. Present: Commissioners Paul Quill, Robert Wilkinson, and Chairman Ed Alderson. Absent: Commissioners Katie Barrows and Jim Engle. C. Staff present: Planning Director Les Johnson, Planning Manager David Sawyer, Assistant City Attorney Michael Houston, Principal Engineer Ed Wimmer, Principal Planner Stan Sawa, and Executive Secretary Carolyn Walker. II. PUBLIC COMMENT: None. III. PRESENTATION: None. IV. CONFIRMATION OF THE AGENDA: Confirmed. V. CONSENT ITEMS: A. Chairman Ed Alderson asked if there were any changes to the Minutes of March 25, 2008. There being none, it was moved and seconded by Commissioners Quill/Wilkinson to approve the minutes as submitted. Unanimously approved. VI. PUBLIC HEARINGS: A. Specific Plan 2002-062 Amendment No. 2, Site Development Permit 2007-898; a request of Regency Marinita La Quinta, LLC for consideration of 1) Development Guidelines and Principles to allow Development of a Retail Shopping Center on 10.79 acres, 21 Architectural and Landscaping Plans fora 90,441 square foot Shopping Center located on the southwest corner of Jefferson Street and Fred Waring Drive. P:1Reports - Pg20081422-OS1Minutes 408-08.doc Planning Commission Minutes April 8, 2008 Chairman Alderson opened the public hearing and asked for the staff report. Principal Planner Stan Sawa presented the information contained in the staff report, a copy of which is on file in the Planning Department. Chairman Alderson asked if the OSH building height was 41 feet. Staff said yes. Chairman Alderson asked if there were any water features included. Staff replied there were not. Chairman Alderson asked if there were any questions of staff. Commissioner Wilkinson had a question about the elevation of the homes south of the project. Staff stated the residences were four feet lower compared to Shops 1. Commissioner Wilkinson asked about the park. Staff said it was a park and retention basin and quite a bit lower than the project. Commissioner Wilkinson was concerned about line-of-sight and the views of the nearby residences. Staff said from the south or the west people would see some of the buildings. There was proposed landscaping along both of these properties. When the landscaping has matured the trees will screen some of the project. Commissioner Wilkinson said one of the Conditions of Approval discusses delivery times. He asked if the deliveries, for the hardware store, would be made at the rear of the store. He also asked about early morning deliveries. Staff replied that Condition is the same as that imposed in 2002 and suggested the applicant address the Commissioner's concerns. Commissioner Wilkinson asked if the City Code required no work before 7:00 a.m. Chairman Alderson said that Code reference was related to construction, not retail deliveries. Staff pointed out Condition 100 which states "Deliveries to Shops 1, Fresh & Easy food store, and OSH Hardware or subsequent tenants shall not occur between 9 p.m. and 8:00 a.m." Staff said this should be compatible with the nearby residences as far as delivery times are concerned. 2 Planning Commission Minutes April 8, 2008 Commissioner Wilkinson had a concern about the north entrance off of Jefferson where the parking areas come out into the driveway lane. He said motorists will be driving fast and traffic will be coming out of the parking areas at a lower rate of speed. He asked if this could be a potential problem. It was pointed out Commissioner Wilkinson was discussing the northern entrance off Jefferson Street. He suggested moving the building Pad A to the north, with parking on the south side of building, to alleviate the problem. Staff asked if he meant flipping the building and the parking in that area. Commissioner Wilkinson said he was suggesting moving the building over. Chairman Alderson said the alternative would be to stop traffic from using the driveways on either side or re-direct that exiting traffic. Commissioner Wilkinson said it was more the south area where it gets complicated if someone is entering the site and wanting to turn left into the bank parking area. It can create a bottleneck. He gave the example of the problem at Adams Street and Highway 1 1 1 by the carwash. Chairman Alderson suggested the applicant's engineer could address that question when they make their presentation. Commissioner Wilkinson said the photometric study showed the southwest corner of the project had very low numbers and it appeared to be very dark. Commissioner Quill said it was for the protection of the nearby houses. Staff said there would have to be some additional lighting in that area, but they would look at the final photometric study and make sure there was adequate lighting for safety, but still have the appropriate shielding for the neighbors. Chairman Alderson said this project was "parked out". He asked if the applicant was made aware of the fact that if he changes his mix of tenants and an incoming tenant has a higher parking requirement there will be no "leeway" to accommodate the parking. Staff replied the applicant had been informed of the parking requirements. 3 Planning Commission Minutes April 8, 2008 Chairman Alderson asked that a condition be added that the approval is for the two currently proposed drive-through uses, but should a new tenant request adrive-through for food use, it would be denied. Staff clarified they would not administratively approve adrive-through for fast- food. Chairman Alderson asked if there was any protection provided to eliminate the possibility of the public falling into the retention basins. Staff said normally no restrictions were required. Chairman Alderson asked if staff felt there was a hazard. Staff replied Public Works had analyzed the plan and would have commented on it if there was a safety issue involved. Principal Engineer Ed Wimmer agreed. Chairman Alderson asked if there were any major concerns expressed at the recent neighborhood meeting. Staff stated they did not attend the meeting and they had not subsequently been made aware of any major concerns. Chairman Alderson asked if the area designated for the City of La Quinta entry monument was only to have a City sign, or was the applicant including tenant signs. Planning Director Johnson said the area was reserved for the future use of a City entry-only sign such as the one in front of Home Depot. Chairman Alderson commented about the height of the OSH tower being 42 feet. Staff replied it had previously been approved at 41 feet. Chairman Alderson said Code limits that tower to 28 feet and said the City was giving up a 14 foot condition. Staff said that was right. Chairman Alderson was not trying to "nit pick" but it seems that every time an applicant comes in they raise these buildings a foot or two higher. He said he would look down on anything higher than this in the future. Chairman Alderson complimented the Architecture and Landscaping Review Committee on the fine job they did in analyzing the building design. Their comments were extensive and to the point, especially those of Committee Member Fitzpatrick. He also applauded the applicant for incorporating the ALRC-requested changes into the plans. 4 Planning Commission Minutes April 8, 2008 Commissioner Quill asked if the original plan was included in the packet. Staff said it was attachment no. 3. There being no further questions of staff, Chairman Alderson asked if the applicant would like to address the Commission. Mr. Rick Stokes representing Regency-Marinita said the primary concern of the residents was the height of OSH. OSH has failed to execute an agreement with the developer to be part of the project. They are asking the commission to approve the project without the OSH portion of the project. Chairman Alderson wanted to know if they were asking for approval of the OSH pad, but not a building. Mr. Stokes said they wanted the approval of the 42,500 square foot building area as a pad. They have worked with staff on the Conditions of Approval and only have a couple of concerns. The first would be 1516)1-a); that the last sentence be changed from "The applicant shall pay to the City of La Quinta this fair share prior to the issuance of the grading permit" be changed to read "...prior to the issuance of building permits." Mr. Stokes wanted to address Condition No. 93 which referred to the CVS Pharmacy. He said there was a representative from CVS Pharmacy present to discuss this Condition. Commissioner Quill said the idea of approving a structure without knowing what the structure is for is problematic. He said he could not approve the specific square footage. Mr. Stokes said they were requesting approval of the pad based on the whole Site Development Permit. Commissioner Quill said he was concerned about approving the square footage because he did not know what the future usage would be. Planning Director Johnson suggested it be identified as retail not to exceed that amount so the parking ratio will still work. He added, a footprint and the square footage have to be identified for the Specific Plan purposes. Obviously the design character and everything else in the specific plan would hold true for any amendments to the site development permit that would come before you for future adjustments to either the footprint or the architecture of the building not to exceed 42,500 square feet. 5 Planning Commission Minutes April 8, 2008 Commissioner Wilkinson asked if the hours of delivery beginning with 7:00 a.m. were included in the conditions of the previous applicant and asked if that had anything to do with the neighborhood meetings. Mr. Stokes said the neighbors were concerned about that condition and he assured them it was covered in the Conditions of Approval. Commissioner Wilkinson had concerns about congestion at the entrance to the parking lot and asked how the site would be impacted if Building A was flipped with the parking area to the immediate north. Chairman Alderson said it would only solve half the problem. Commissioner Wilkinson gave some scenarios of parking problems. Mr. Stokes gave an explanation of how the circulation would work using the example of a bank tenant which is a very low intensity use. He said the plan would then be do-able if they were to flip the building and the parking area. Commissioner Wilkinson asked if emergency services had approved the turning radii. Staff said they had received no negative comments on this. Mr. Stokes said they submitted the plans to Riverside County and they had several comments, with their main concern being the ability to make a left-hand turn on to Jefferson. Commissioner Wilkinson commented on the direction the traffic would have to take. He asked Staff if they looked at the lighting and how it influenced the neighbors in the southwest corner of the parking area. He said if the use is changed it could affect the lighting. He asked if there was a way to get more lighting below the wall. Staff said there should be a way of adding lighting there with proper shielding. Commissioner Wilkinson said the photometrics study showed zero light in that area. Staff said they would make sure there was adequate lighting. There was a preliminary photometric study, but the final would provide adequate lighting. Planning Director Johnson suggested if the Planning Commission wants to add a Council recommendation staff could work with the applicant to assure there is adequate lighting and less impact on the nearby residences. Commissioner Wilkinson asked if they would be looking at signage later. Staff replied yes. 6 Planning Commission Minutes April 8, 2008 Planning Director Johnson clarified there is an allowance for architectural features up to fifteen feet in excess of the regular height requirements in the non-residential district. Chairman Alderson said when the large building is taken out the tower feature will be removed and no longer a concern. The other heights are within the logical allowable amount the Commission has approved. His point was there just seemed to be so many applicants exceeding the height regulations lately. Chairman Alderson asked if the lighting stands alone or was it attached to the OSH building. Planning Director Johnson replied the photometric plan took into account parking lot lighting only. An updated photometric plan would have to be worked out with the applicant. Commissioner Quill said one of the things discussed the first time this application was approved, was discussion about the fact there was a park and residential community behind it and, yet no walking or bike access had been provided into the shopping center. He asked when the City would begin requiring the addition of pedestrian-friendly uses to shopping centers. He was also concerned about the potential for driving problems just to access the shopping center and said the Commission should be promoting pedestrian-friendly access. Chairman Alderson asked if the project was approved, would the applicant begin construction immediately. Mr. Stokes said they were hoping to. They currently had their plans in for Shops 1, 3, and Pad A had already been through first plan check. Chairman Alderson confirmed they were just waiting for approval to submit plans. Mr. Stokes replied they were. Chairman Alderson asked if the grading plan was ready to go with the elimination of the OSH building. Mr. Stokes said they were waiting to submit their grading plan with changes. Chairman Alderson asked staff, regarding the grading plan, if the client would have any problems if they omitted the OSH pad, from the application, and did not have any changes in grading topography or anything. Principal Engineer Ed Wimmer said it did not appear to be any problem at all. Ms. Holly Gryzywacz, (representing CVS Pharmacy), 5850 Canoga Avenue, Suite 650, Woodland Hills, California said this design concept was based on the 2004 approval. It was the original concept with a 7 Planning Commission Minutes April 8, 2008 slight modification. (Mr. Stokes held up two sets of drawings; one with the original plan and one with the latest drawings.) Ms. Gryzywacz said the architect-drafted architecture would blend well with the center's architecture. They tried to maintain the original concept including arches. Chairman Alderson asked if they were looking at the first submittal or a recently amended one. Mr. Stokes clarified what they were looking at. Ms. Grzywacz said they took the recommendations of the Architecture and Landscaping Review Committee and were working to remove the columns to bring the building into cohesion with the rest of the center. They tried to preserve the windows, but she had no problem with adding back the columns. Chairman Alderson asked her if staff was recommending the original design. Ms. Grzywacz said yes. Chairman Alderson said if there were no more applicant representatives, he would call up Mr. Greg Cairns, whose wife had sent an a-mail to the Commissioners with concerns about the project. Mr. Greg Cairns, 79-966 Memorial Place, La Quinta said they were relieved to hear the concerns brought up by the Planning Commission. His concern was the type of trees that would be planted near his home, because all the tumbleweeds ended up in their yard. They would like to have "clean" trees rather than Tipu trees near their yard to help with the dust and debris. Other than that inclusion, they were happy with the plan. After attending the meeting tonight he was confident the Planning Commission was on top of the situation. Chairman Alderson complimented Mrs. Cairn's well-written a-mail. Chairman Alderson asked if there was any public comment. Mr. Mike Flynn, Project Architect, 17-992 Mitchell South, Irvine, California 92614, had a couple of items regarding changing the trees in the southwest corner, which was no problem. He said they would be going back through the Architecture and Landscape Committee with those changes. Chairman Alderson asked about he preliminary landscape plans. Staff clarified the conceptual plans were taken to the Planning Commission and the final plans were conditioned to be approved by staff, then taken to the Architecture and Landscape Committee for final approval. Mr. Flynn said he thought they could work something out that would give them conceptual grades. ADA access there wouldn't be any problem with including an opening so you could walk through the park and get access to the shopping center. 8 Planning Commission Minutes April 8, 2008 Commissioner Quill said while Mr. Flynn was at the podium he wanted to ask a question of Mr. Cairns. Commissioner Quill said this site plan lays out as Neighborhood Commercial without access and it's hard to make changes when they weren't intended from the beginning, but that being said, he asked Mr. Cairns if he thought the residents of the neighborhood would like to have access to the center. Mr. Cairns said yes they would and gave an example of trying to get to a business across Jefferson. Commissioner Quill said he wanted to have a resident's point of view because sometimes the residents don't want access because they think it would be problematic. He just wanted Mr. Cairns' point of view. Mr. Cairns was in favor of accessibility to the project. Chairman Alderson called on Mr. Sklepko, Project Engineer, D.R.C., 800 S. Rochester Avenue, Suite C, Ontario, CA 91761. He has been the civil engineer on the project and could answer any questions on the site. Commissioner Quill said the building pad elevation for OSH is at 49-feet. The houses near it looked like they're roughly four feet lower. Could conceivably the building pad heights come down some in relation to the adjacent property in order to reduce the overall elevation of the height. Mr. Sklepko said, on the south and west, they are really matching grade. They have some slope differential on the south side. They are actually slightly lower than the face of the wall. He was not sure if it was 4-feet throughout the plan. Commissioner Quill commented on how he arrived at the four-foot difference. Mr. Sklepko looked at the conceptual grading plan and confirmed the four foot difference. He went over the various grades in the project and said drainage was going into the southeast corner of the site therefore he does not have the ability to lower the grade and still provide drainage. Commissioner Quill said, in general, commercial sites on corners are lower. Chairman Alderson asked if it was safe to say they designed the site to balance. Mr. Sklepko said there would be an export of 9200 cubic feet. They would be increasing the export. Chairman Alderson asked about the export in the driveways. Commissioner Quill asked if the grade could be lowered and still maintain the drainage patterns needed to get back towards the retention basins. It would be helpful to lower the grades so the building pads were in better relationship to the adjacent residential development. Mr. Sklepko said possibly they could make some minor adjustments, but no dramatic changes. 9 Planning Commission Minutes April 8, 2008 Chairman Alderson commented on the storm drain, as well as the overflow into the retention basin on the west and south sides. Mr. Sklepko explained where the basins were and their usage. Chairman Alderson asked if there are three retention basins including an underground collection site. Mr. Sklepko aid the underground facility was closer to Jefferson. Chairman Alderson asked Mr. Sklepko to re-address the grading issue and see what could be done about providing some better grading to satisfy Commissioner Quill. There being no further public comment, Chairman Alderson closed the public participation portion of the meeting and opened the matter for Commission discussion. Commissioner Wilkinson asked if the applicant was going to close off one of the driveways to correct the cross-traffic problems. Chairman Alderson said the applicant needed to re-address the driveway and the entry so the two drives could be placed further west. Commissioner Wilkinson said he was not as concerned with the side accesses on the north, but with the one on the south. Chairman Alderson asked if the Commission could rely on that being worked out with staff. Planning Director Johnson suggested they make a recommended condition to eliminate the driveway access on the south side. He did not think it would be a circulation problem. Commissioner Quill commented that not too much attention had been paid to the drug store and enhancing their elevations. He said he personally liked the original elevation and would leave it up to the staff to maintain the current elevation. He would not be open to making any changes on the elevations. Commissioner Quill did say he would like to add a condition to require pedestrian access and highly recommended that a study be done to look at adding access to this site from the residential community. Planning Director Johnson said staff would be happy to work with the applicant to do that. Commissioner Quill added that about two years there was a recommendation made to the Planning Commission and there were some concerns made about safety issues. He would welcome checking with 10 Planning Commission Minutes April 8, 2008 the police chief and involve the Community Services Department in providing linkage from the park. Commissioner Quill suggested a third condition, if anything could be done to the southwest corner elevation area, that it be dropped down somewhat in relationship to the residential development. Commissioner Quill said another condition would be to study the lighting issues. Also the addition or modification on trees in accordance with Mr. Cairns' concerns on the type of trees should be imposed. Commissioner Quill added the Commission requested modifying the application not to approve the OSH building, but just the pad. Chairman Alderson re-stated the conditions as Commissioner Quill presented them and added the OSH site would now be approved just as a commercial/retail pad not to exceed the square footage noted. He also added he had a concern with the color palette. He felt there should be an accent color to "jump out" at you. There being no further discussion, it was moved and seconded by Commissioners Quill/Wilkinson to approve Resolution 2008-011 approving Specific Plan 2002-062, Amendment No. 2, as recommended. ROLL CALL: AYES: Commissioners Quill, Wilkinson, and Chairman Alderson. NOES: None. ABSENT: Commissioners Barrows and Engle. ABSTAIN: None. There being no further discussion, it was moved and seconded by Commissioners Quill/Wilkinson to adopt Resolution 2008-012 approving Site Development Permit 2007-898 as recommended with the following amendments: a. The last line of Condition 15 B.1) a) be changed to read: The applicant shall pay to the City of La Quinta their fair share prior to the issuance of the building permit. b. Condition 61 to read: Trees adjacent to the south property line shall be "clean" trees (free of excessive leaf debris). An additional two trees shall be planted adjacent to the south property line next to the retention basin. 11 Planning Commission Minutes April 8, 2008 c. Condition 73 to read: Approved accessible on-site super fire hydrantls- (6x4 2-1 /2 x 2-1 /2) Minimum number of 3 hydrants with 450 feet spacing between. The maximum distance from any point on street or road frontage to a hydrant shall be 225 feet. Fire hydrants shall provide the required fire flow. d. Condition 105 added to read: This approval does not constitute approval to subdivide the property. e. Condition 106 added to read: Finish grades near the southwest corner of the project site shall be lowered, if deemed feasible by the City. f. Condition 107 added to read: Adequate parking lot and security lighting shall be provided throughout the project site. g. Condition 108 added to read: If deemed feasible by the City, direct pedestrian access shall be provided between the park/retention basin to the west and the project. h. Condition 109 added to read: The drive aisle adjacent to the north side of Pad A leading to the driveway entry on Jefferson Street closest to Fred Waring Drive shall be closed. Resulting parking spaces in that closed access area shall be designed to provide acceptable back-up provisions. i. Condition 110 added to read: The pads with drive-through lanes shall not be used for restaurants. j. Condition 111 added to read: The "OSH" space is hereby not approved for development. It is an unspecified vacant retail pad of a maximum 42,500 square feet. Development of this pad area requires approval of a Site Development Permit application. ROLL CALL: AYES: Commissioners Quill, Wilkinson, and Chairman Alderson. NOES: None. ABSENT: Commissioners Barrows and Engle. ABSTAIN: None. VII. BUSINESS ITEMS: Discussion of the April 1 s` City Council meeting: Chairman Alderson gave an overview of what happened at the meeting. The meeting was about the Eden Rock project and it was continued to the April 15`" meeting. Chairman Alderson talked about the Development Agreement and asked Planning Director Les Johnson to explain what the problem was with the Development Agreement. 12 Planning Commission Minutes April 8, 2008 Staff added the need to establish a traffic signal at Avenue 54 and Jefferson Street and the fact that staff will be presenting detailed information (traffic study) on the signal at the next meeting. There followed discussion on the timing and funding of the signal. VIII. CORRESPONDENCE AND WRITTEN MATERIAL: UCR Desert Lyceum 2008 Summit: Planning Director Les Johnson encouraged the Commissioners to attend the April 25`" Desert Lyceum Summit. The theme of the Summit is "Energy, Environment, and Economic Change." fX. COMMISSIONER ITEMS: 2008 Planners' Institute -Sacramento : Chairman Alderson said he had written two thank you letters; one to Senator Jim Battin, and one to Robert Simon (Chairman, Indian Wells Planning Commission) to thank them for a tour of the State Capitol: 2009 Planners' Institute: Planning Director Les Johnson reminded the Commissioners that next year's Planners' Institute will be held in Anaheim and encouraged everyone to attend. X. ADJOURNMENT: There being no further business, it was moved and seconded by Commissioners Quill/Wilkinson to adjourn this regular meeting of the Planning Commission to a regular meeting to be held on April 22, 2008. This regular meeting was adjourned at 8:48 p.m. on April 8, 2008. Respectfully submitted, ~C~hz'-u-/~,~/ ~~~ ~ "'~/ Carolyn alker, Executive Secretary City of La Quinta, California 13