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2008 08 26 PC MinutesMINUTES PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING A regular meeting held at the La Quinta City Hall 78-495 Calle Tampico, La Quinta, CA August 26, 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 led the flag salute. B. Present: Commissioners Katie Barrows, Paul Quill, Mark Weber, Robert Wilkinson, and Chairman Ed Alderson. C. Staff present: Planning Director Les Johnson, Planning Manager David Sawyer, City Attorney Kathy Jenson, Assistant Planner Yvonne Franco, and Executive Secretary Carolyn Walker. II. PUBLIC COMMENT: None III. CONFIRMATION OF THE AGENDA: IV. CONSENT CALENDAR: Chairman Ed Alderson asked if there were any changes to the Minutes of July 22, 2008. There being no changes, it was moved and seconded by Commissioners Barrows/Weber to approve the minutes as submitted. Unanimously approved. V. PUBLIC HEARINGS: A. Conditional Use Permit 2008-113; a request of Gary Steven for consideration of a Conditional Use Permit for an Ice Skating Rink in an Existing Commercial Space in the Regional Commercial (CR) District, located at 79-430 Highway 111; north of Highway 111; approximately 150 feet west of Dune Palms Road. Chairman Alderson opened the public hearing and asked for the staff report. Assistant Planner Yvonne Franco presented the information contained in the staff report, a copy of which is on file in the Planning Department. P:\Reports - PC\2008\9-09-08\Minutes 8-26-08.doc Planning Commission Minutes August 26, 2008 Chairman Alderson asked staff if there was any input from the neighboring community. Staff said there were no negative comments, only positive comments from the surrounding retailers. There being no further questions of staff, Chairman Alderson asked if there were any applicant representatives or comments. Mr. Gary Steven, 79-220 Violet, La Quinta CA 92253, was introduced and provided information on the operation of the skating rink previously located in Cathedral City. He expressed his need for a larger rink and explained the new rink was not an NHL-sized rink. However, he does have plans to build a larger rink in the future. He said currently children are traveling from one rink to another to play hockey and practice figure skating. The proposed rink would be used for figure and public skating. He described the hours the rink would be used and said he plans to be operational in two weeks. He told the Commissioners the other tenants of the center are excited about having him as a tenant. Chairman Alderson asked if Mr. Steven was the applicant/owner. Mr. Steven replied he was. Commissioner Weber said he thought it was a great proposal and great for La Quinta. He asked what was the percentage of La Quinta children skating in the league. Mr. Steven said 80% of his business was from La Quinta. Mr. Steven then produced the numbers of students from elementary, middle-, and high-school who were interested in using the new facility and said they have now formed a La Quinta hockey club. He said the enthusiasm was amazing. Commissioner Weber asked if the move from full size to three-quarter size would pose any limitations. Mr. Steven explained that the old rink was actually smaller than the new one and gave the measurements of each. He explained how teams sometimes have to adjust to the different rink sizes, but noted that they would not be able to host championship games at the rink. Commissioner Weber asked if he was anticipating a higher attendance for league play or figure skating. Mr. Steven said the biggest draw would actually be birthday parties which happen during public skating. He then described some of the events which are being planned and the hours allocated to accommodate those events. P:\Reports - PC\2008\9-09-08\Minutes 8-26-08.doc 2 Planning Commission Minutes August 26, 2008 Commissioner Weber asked if any events were planned which would require a large amount of parking. Mr. Steven explained how the event parking had been handled in Cathedral City and said there had never been a problem. He added, the events are largely drop-off and pick-up with no parking problems. Commissioner Quill thanked Mr. Steven for opening this type of business. He said the City should be promoting recreational venues and applauded Mr. Steven for promoting this use. Commissioner Quill commented that if there was anything the City could do, to help this business owner financially, they should certainly do it. Commissioner Wilkinson asked about the cost of public skating. Mr. Steven gave him the proposed prices of S8 per/child, S 10 per/adults plus 54 for skate rental. Mr. Steven stated it was very inexpensive entertainment. Commissioner Wilkinson said he shared Commissioner Quill's enthusiasm of this new facility. Chairman Alderson asked if there would be provisions for a concession area. Mr. Steven said they would like to add a concession area in the future. Chairman Alderson said he shared Commissioner Quill's enthusiasm. There being no further applicant comments Chairman Alderson asked if there was any public comment. There being no further questions, or public comment, Chairman Alderson closed the public participation portion of the meeting and opened the matter for Commission discussion. There was no further discussion, and it was moved and seconded by Commissioners Quill/Barrows to approve Resolution 2008-023 recommending approval of Conditional Use Permit 2008-113, as recommended. Unanimously approved. B. Sign Program 2003-734 Amendment No. 1; a request of Sign-A-Rama (Chad Addington) for consideration of an Amendment to update the Sign Program for the Corporate Center Professional Plaza to allow illuminated and larger signs, in the Corporate Centre Professional Plaza located at 79- 215 - 79-245 Corporate Center Drive. P:\Reports - PC\2008\9-09-08\Minutes 8-26-08.doc 3 Planning Commission Minutes August 26, 2008 Chairman Alderson opened the public hearing and asked for the staff report. Assistant Planner Yvonne Franco presented the information contained in the staff report, a copy of which is on file in the Planning Department. Chairman Alderson asked if there were any questions of staff. Commissioner Weber asked about the sign area shown on the exhibit. He asked if that was the applicant's representation of the 100 square foot sign. Staff replied that was added by staff for illustrative purposes only and explained what was shown on the Power Point exhibit. Chairman Alderson asked if the approval requested was for larger signs and illumination. He asked staff to reiterate their recommendations. Staff gave a brief overview of their recommendations. There being no further questions of staff, Chairman Alderson asked if there were any applicant representatives or comments. Mr. Chad Addington, 80-890 Via Puerta Azul, La Quinta, the applicant's representative, was introduced, and gave the Commissioners a new exhibit. He explained the banner, in the exhibit shown, was 24 square feet. Chairman Alderson asked what area was he referring to. Mr. Addington pointed out the area. The sign originally requested was 74.8 square feet. He had copies of the sign he proposed versus the one the City would approve at 54 square feet. Chairman Alderson asked if staff could display the exhibit Mr. Addington had brought for the meeting. Staff was unable to display the exhibit and a copy was distributed to the Commissioners. Jeff Grady, Partner of Sign-a-Rama, 43-611 Corte Del Oro, La Quinta was introduced and spoke on behalf of Steve Parvero (Blood Bank-. He explained he was proposing north and west facing, 38 square foot signs for the Blood Bank. He had also brought exhibits which were distributed to the Commissioners. Chairman Alderson asked about the possible expansion of the Blood Bank. P:\Reports - PC\2008\9-09-OB\Minutes 8-26-06.doc 4 Planning Commission Minutes August 26, 2008 Mr. Steve Parvero, Vice President of Blood Services of the Blood Bank, was introduced and said they are currently utilizing the whole building and would not need to expand. Commissioner Wilkinson asked about the size of the sign shown on The Blood Bank exhibit. Mr. Grady replied it was 37.75 square feet. Commissioner Quill asked about the name shown on The Blood Bank sign exhibit. Mr. Parvero explained they used a fictitious name, on the exhibit presented to the Commission, since they are currently going through a name change. They have a campaign planned and would like to have their new name remain a secret for now. Chairman Alderson asked if they were asking for a new sign as well as the one they currently have. Mr. Parvero said yes. Commissioner Quill asked if they were asking for the same square footage for both signs. Mr. Grady said not for the Blood Bank. Commissioner Barrows asked Mr. Grady to clarify if they were requesting two 37.75 square foot signs for the Blood Bank on two different sides of the building for a total of 76 square feet and 75 square feet for the other signs. Mr. Addington said they were actually a total of 74.8 square feet with linear footage a little over 100 feet which was based on one square foot of signage per linear foot. Chairman Alderson asked for clarification of the square footage. Mr. Addington reiterated his previous statement. Planning Director Les Johnson said with reference to the information regarding the Blood Bank, he was not aware of two signs being proposed. This was new information to staff and had only been presented at this meeting. The staff report, presented to the Commission, did not involve any information on The Blood Bank. The information presented involved only one sign per tenant. He added, if the Commission wished to entertain two signs, that would require an amendment. The original report/request clearly stated one sign allowance per tenant and the presentation from the applicant was something staff was previously unaware of. There being no further applicant comments Chairman Alderson asked if there was any public comment. P:\Reports - PC\2008\9-09-08\Minutes 6-26-08.doc 5 Planning Commission Minutes August 26, 2008 There being no further questions, or public comment, Chairman Alderson closed the public participation portion of the meeting and opened the matter for Commission discussion. Commissioner Weber said it looked like staff determined several things were acceptable regarding illumination. He was more inclined to go along with the staff's recommendation in that they made the necessary analysis of the area. He thought the staff recommendation to maintain the 50-foot standard was appropriate. He added the size of the sign would not make much difference to anyone going down Corporate Way as they would be able to see the signs. The current sign seemed a little small but was only temporary and half the recommended standard. He said he would prefer to stay with the standard of one sign per tenant. Commissioner Barrows wanted to clarify the exhibit shown earlier identifying the sign area as 50 square feet. Assistant Planner Franco said the size of the box shown was approximate. It was only an example to show what the applicant was proposing at the location of the 50 square foot sign. Chairman Alderson re-opened the public portion of the meeting to allow a comment from Mr. Addington. Mr. Addington said the exhibit he handed out to the Commission with the 50 square foot sign was shown to scale. Commissioner Weber asked if the representation on the screen was a three foot by eight foot (a 24 square foot) sign which is a half- representation of a 50 square foot sign. Mr. Addington replied it was. Chairman Alderson re-closed the public portion of the meeting. Commissioner Barrows said she was comfortable with staff's recommendation with the 50 square foot sign. Commissioner Wilkinson asked for clarification of whether they were referring to one sign or two. He asked about a representation on the screen and the remark about a sign on the north and the west sides of the building. Assistant Planner Franco said the amendment referred to signs on the north side. As presented at this meeting, The Blood Bank, was now asking for a sign on the west side of the building. The previous recommendation was only for the north side of the building. P:\Reports - PC\2008\9-09-OB\Minutes 8-26-O8.doc 6 Planning Commission Minutes August 26, 2008 Commissioner Quill asked staff to mark (on the exhibits) where the signs would be placed and identify the buildings and number of signs requested for each. Staff said the sign program limited the applicant to one sign per tenant. Commissioner Wilkinson asked where the signs were proposed. Planning Manager Sawyer identified the location of the signs as proposed by staff versus those proposed by the applicant. Commissioner Wilkinson reiterated what staff had said. Planning Director Johnson explained the marking on the exhibits. Staff further explained the applicant showed two signs per building, but there was currently only one tenant per building. There was the potential for more tenants at a future date. Chairman Alderson re-opened the public hearing. Mr. Addington said the original amendment he proposed was just for signage on the north elevation and he was working with Dr. Hockings. The Blood Bank proposal came in after he put in the original proposal. He would like the north elevation signs approved tonight and he understood The Blood Bank could submit their sign request later. Commissioner Quill said what they were looking at tonight was if there were four tenants they could have four signs, but since there are only two tenants only two signs would be approved. Later tenants could be added and signs could be added. Staff said that was correct. Commissioner Quill asked if the Commission could discuss the addition presented by the applicant tonight. Staff said it was new information but the Commission could consider it if they so chose. Chairman Alderson asked if he understood correctly that the Commission was approving as the staff recommended. Staff said yes, as well as the new information they were considering which included the potential of more than one sign and the addition of the west elevation sign in the sign program. Commissioner Wilkinson asked how the Commission would accomplish that. Staff replied they would have to state, within their motion, staff shall work with the applicant to ensure the program was amended accordingly. Chairman Alderson asked if they would see the fifth sign. P:\Reports - PC\2008\9-09-OS\Minutes 8-26-08.doc ~ Planning Commission Minutes August 26, 2008 Commissioner Quill said they could recommend that it be the same size. Staff said the sign program, as it was currently written, would not allow more than one sign per tenant. You would have to allow signage on the west elevation and also specifically identify the additional signs. Commissioner Wilkinson asked since The Blood Bank currently occupied the entire building, if they left would the replacement business have to have their sign approved by staff. Staff said the signs would not come before the Commission if they adhered to the Sign Program. Commissioner Quill asked if the Commission could add the language, by condition, for the west facing sign. Chairman Alderson added that the condition would state staff should review the sign and it would not come back to the Commission. Planning Director Johnson suggested the Commission be definitive in what they would like to see and not leave it to staff's discretion. Commissioner Quill said the west facing sign was visible from the parking lot and it is a fairly visible location. This is a community blood bank and they want people to know where it is. He said personally he would not be adverse to allowing a sign for a single tenant. By virtue of The Blood Bank occupying the whole building there is no opportunity for them to put up two signs. All the applicant is suggesting is the sign facing west could give them additional visibility. He would not be adverse to that. He would personally agree to the proposition they allow the 50 square foot sign on the west face and follow all the other conditions of approval. Chairman Alderson asked if the rest of the conditions would remain the same. Commissioner Quill replied they would. Commissioner Weber asked staff if it would pose any undue hardship to staff if the signs were not approved. Staff said it is not a matter of undue hardship. Staff does not disagree that it does give exposure on Adams. They question the need for an additional large sign, and suggested they could use a door sign, or other signage. The question being; is there a need for two 50 square foot signs on the building if they are getting the exposure. The way Corporate Center is identified now at this site, just beyond the east driveway, it is a cul-de-sac, with all the trips coming from Adams. P:1Reports - PC\2008\9-09-08\Minutes 8-26-08.doc g Planning Commission Minutes August 26, 2008 Commissioner Weber said once Corporate Center Way goes through the Commission should not anticipate any application for additional signage on the east facing side. Currently Corporate Center was configured for a west entrance, but eventually it would be a thoroughfare, going all the way through. Right now the signs are appropriate because of the proximity of the World Gym, but he wanted to confirm that with the completion of Corporate Center Way, the applicant would not anticipate additional requests for signs on the east side. There being no further discussion, it was moved and seconded by Commissioners Quill/Wilkinson to approve Minute Motion 2008-014, recommending approval of Sign Program 2003-734, Amendment No. 1, as submitted in the staff report with the following additional recommendation: 6. The tenant occupying the northwest portion of building one will be allowed an additional 50 square foot sign on the west face of Building One. Unanimously approved. VI. BUSINESS ITEMS: None VII. CORRESPONDENCE AND WRITTEN MATERIAL: None VIII. COMMISSIONER ITEMS: A. Discussion of Whitewater Channel Multi-Use Trails. Planning Director Les Johnson responded to Commissioner Quill's request for an update on the Whitewater Channel Multi-Use Trail and distributed a copy of the proposed Whitewater Channel Multi-Use Trail Map. He noted this trail was identified in the 2002 General Plan. He said the Coachella Valley Parks and Recreation District has embarked on three trails to be established. He has been working with the Planning Department (CVPRD) and the City's Community Services Department and they have all been talking with nearby communities about working on a continuous trail. It would be more of a success to obtain grants if this a joint effort. He said a meeting was held, in mid-July, with the City of Indio to discuss a multi-use trail and found both cities were in about the same place. P:\Reports - PC\2008\9-09-08\Minutes 8-26-08.doc 9 Planning Commission Minutes August 26, 2008 There will be another meeting again in September and the City of Coachella will be included in that meeting. He said La Quinta will be coordinating with the other cities, but it is undetermined, at this time, when they will be dialoguing with the City Manager regarding a feasibility study on the trail. He said it is early in the process but there is quite a bit of interest, from the staff, in La Quinta as well as Indio. He distributed an exhibit to the Commissioners of the proposed site showing access along the Commercial Corridor (Highway 111-. He added, if they can work it out with Indio it would open access to the east. On the second page of the exhibit, there was a larger scale of the Indio portion of the Whitewater Channel and the Indio Boulevard/I-10 Corridor which showed there was nothing currently mapped out, but it illustrated the large amount of people this corridor could reach. The General Plan has a significant amount of language that supports this program being established. He was encouraged by the potential of seeing something move on this. Commissioner Quill said we've had the trails on the General Plan and have conditioned them as an improvement. The reason this discussion came up was because of the last parcel at the corner of Dune Palms and Highway 1 1 1. There was a question as to how we would condition them to build their portion. He had the following questions: • Who's got the condition to build this anywhere else along this corridor, adjacent to their property? • If we haven't conditioned anybody else, is it okay to condition new development to do their piece, fund their piece, or bond their piece? • If were looking at this as a joint city project, and the City of Indio is on board with that, is this more of the kind of thing where we just want cooperation, or do we want grant money sources for non-motorized transportation routes? P:\Reports - PC\2006\9-09-08\Minutes 8-26-08.doc ).~ Planning Commission Minutes August 26, 2008 • How do we actually condition projects with the few parcels left, in terms of development (Highway 1 1 1) along the wash and how do we condition projects, for the future? • And what does this mean for the developer who was approved at the last Planning Commission meeting? Planning Director Johnson pointed out the following: ^ He outlined other projects which had been conditioned for development contributions. • Even though the General Plan supports a trail to be established there is not an actual plan that definitely moves forward with a policy to support it. ^ The feasibility study will give substance to defining what the improvement would be and provide a better opportunity to identify financial contributions. ^ Our position is that even though we have one project that is conditioned, we see it as Indio does, we are going to have to identify other financial resources to make this happen. ^ Palm Desert's successful trail plan, along the I-10 corridor, provided a lot of optimism and hope that other cities can be as successful in joining together to obtain grant funding sources. We see that the majority of the costs of this plan are going to have to be borne by grant funding sources. ^ We are trying to work with Indio to do a feasibility study that all cities contribute to. It may not be possible and we may have to do it on our own. We want to make sure that the trail material, width, etc. will be consistent. But in the final analysis, there should be a different feel on the trails between our city and other communities and that will be a way to let people know they have arrived in La Quinta. There will be components that are different and independent from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. The biggest benefit, from a funding standpoint, and our greatest success is in working jointly. Commissioner Comments were as follows: ^ Commissioner Quill said CVRPD (Coachella Valley Recreation and Parks District) is working on a feasibility study right now. Planning Director Johnson said once they had met with the other two cities, they would then be working with Mr. Ford of CVRPD. P:\Reports - PC\2008\9-09-08\Minutes 8-26-08.doc 1, )_ Planning Commission Minutes August 26, 2008 ^ Commissioner Weber said Community Services is actively working on this trails plan. He mentioned the challenge is to get the level of detail done in a timely manner. He added he is fully supportive of this and it will be a great project for the City of La Quinta. He thanked Commissioner Quill for bringing up the subject for discussion. ^ Commissioner Barrows said, in terms of the issues identified in the feasibility study, the developments have already been approved and what remains are the back sides of stores which presents a challenge. The feasibility study would look at the entrance and exit points on the trails. She was interested in the use of the trails for actual bike usage, as well as a paved trail. She asked if these features were part of the CVRPD Study. ^ Commissioner Quill said they are looking at land ownership in the feasibility study. He said most people think it will be a Class 1 bike trail, as a base level requirement. He would also recommend that they should look at the north side, of the wash, as well. The north side would be more feasibile since it has a gentler slope and would be more buildable. The south side is more erodible. The north side has a gentler slope. ^ Staff said they are open to options on either side, but are currently focusing on the south side. If the south side is chosen they will work with the neighboring property owners to provide safe access to those properties. One component of the multi-use trails is the convenience factor since it is what gets people to use them. That is critical. It needs to be inviting, encouraging, and tastefully done; complementary to the way the City is built out. It should encourage people to utilize the commercial corridor. ^ Commissioner Wilkinson asked about funding. Staff said, at this time, they have not discussed who would be doing the funding. ^ Commissioner Quill said the Community Trails Group has discussed funding. He said the cities need to come together, like La Quinta, and once those plans are on the books, foundations will fund substantial amounts of money to groups like the Community Trails Group. There is a lot of money available. The challenge is to get the trail designed. P:\Reports - PC\2008\9-09-OS\Minutes 8-26-08.doc ).2 Planning Commission Minutes August 26, 2008 ^ Planning Director Johnson mentioned the Council/Commission Joint Meeting on November 25t"and suggested the Commissioners might want to bring up this subject. He said he would talk with the City Manager about scheduling this as an agenda item. ^ Chairman Alderson said this land is not CVWD land. When he was working with the Point Happy development they had to put up a deposit for an eventual sidewalk. The land they were talking about securing for the trail was the landowner's property. ^ Staff said their understanding is there is not aparcel-by-parcel analysis. In preliminary checking, on the south side, some land belongs to CVWD and some is privately owned. It is hoped the ownership will be identified in the study. ^ Commissioner Quill said a lot of this land is simply easement; floodway easement, dedicated to CVWD. There are other uses allowed. He gave the example of the Monterey Country Club. He said the idea of a trail becomes tough when dealing with other cities, who do not favor the plan, because they can just say "no". ^ Commissioner Quill said as you go down the trail there is every conceivable form of ownership. Some are owned by CVWD and some are privately owned. • Chairman Alderson said the City has land that is provisioned, and some that is not. ^ City Attorney Jenson said the City does have the power of eminent domain and this use would qualify as a public purpose. ^ Commissioner Weber said Community Services is identifying the owners, for public record. CVWD has indicated they are in support of this trail. Eminent domain would be an opportunity once the cities band together. The sheer weight of those numbers would help convince unwilling cities this is a valuable use. P:\Reports - PC\2008\9-09-08\Minutes 6-26-08.doc 13 Planning Commission Minutes August 26, 2008 IX: DIRECTOR ITEMS: A. Joint Council Meeting Planning Director Les Johnson advised the Commission of a Joint Council meeting on November 25, 2008. The Planning Commission is scheduled to meet with the Council at 5:00 p.m. in the Study Session Room. Commissioner Barrows asked if all the other commissions would be done the same night. Staff replied they would. She commented she might not be able to attend as she had a previous commitment. Staff said they would confirm the time and place, via email, to the Commissioners. X. ADJOURNMENT: There being no further business, it was moved and seconded by Commissioners Barrows/Wilkinson to adjourn this regular meeting of the Planning Commission to the next regular meeting to be held on September 9, 2008. This regular meeting was adjourned at 8:21 p.m. on August 26, 2008. Respectfully submitted, Carolyn Walker, Executive Secretary City of La Quinta, California P:\Reports - PC\2008\9-09-OS\Minutes 8-26-08.doc 14