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2009 01 13 PC MinutesMINUTES PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING A regular meeting held at the La Quinta City Hall 78-495 Calle Tampico, La Quinta, CA January 13, 2009 7:05 P.M. CALL TO ORDER A. This meeting of the Planning Commission was called to order at 7:05 p.m. by Chairman Ed Alderson who asked Commissioner Weber to lead the flag salute. B. Present: Commissioners Katie Barrows, Paul Quill, Mark Weber, and Chairman Ed Alderson. Absent: Commissioner Robert Wilkinson. C. Staff present: Planning Director Les Johnson, Planning Manager David Sawyer, Assistant City Attorney Michael Houston, Assistant City Manager Doug Evans, Associate Planner Jay Wuu, and Secretary Monika Radeva. II. PUBLIC COMMENT: None III. CONFIRMATION OF THE AGENDA: Confirmed IV. CONSENT CALENDAR: Chairman Alderson asked if there were any changes to the Minutes of December 9, 2008. There being no changes, or corrections, it was moved and seconded by Commissioners Weber/Barrows to approve the minutes as submitted. AYES: Commissioners Barrows, Quill, Weber, and Chairman Alderson. NOES: None. Abstain: None. Absent: Commissioner Wilkinson V. PUBLIC HEARINGS: A. Conditional Use Permit 2005-094, Extension #1; a request by the La Quinta Country Club for consideration of a one-year time extension for use of temporary modular clubhouse facilities while the permanent La Quinta Country Club Clubhouse is being construction at the northeast corner of Avenue 50 and Eisenhower Drive. P:\Reports-PC\2009\1-27-09\PC MIN 1-13-09_Approved.doc Planning Commission Minutes January 13, 2009 Chairman Alderson opened the public hearing and asked for the staff report. Associate Planner Jay Wuu presented the staff report, a copy of which is on file in the Planning Department. 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 commented on the nice renovation work being done at the La Quinta Country Club. He mentioned the maintenance building looked completed and the clubhouse was still in progress. He acknowledged the applicant's effort to work with IID on incorporating some energy efficiency measures. He said he was very pleased with the progress made and the direction it was moving towards. There was no further discussion and it was moved and seconded by Commissioner Quill/Barrows to approve Resolution 2009-001 accepting Conditional Use Permit 2005-094, Extension #1 as submitted. AYES: Commissioners Barrow, Quill, Weber, and Chairman Alderson. NOES: None. ABSTAIN: None. ABSENT: Commissioner Wilkinson. VI. BUSINESS ITEMS: A. Silverrock Clubhouse and Site Plan; a request by the City of La Quinta Redevelopment Agency for review of landscape and site plan for the Silverrock Clubhouse located north of Avenue 54, South of Avenue 52, and west of Jefferson Street. Chairman Alderson opened the public hearing and asked for the staff report. Assistant City Manager Doug Evans presented the staff report, a copy of which is on file in the Planning Department. Commissioner Weber asked about the height of the low wall of the event lawn. Assistant City Manager Evans replied the wall would be six to eight feet high depending on the grade level. The idea was to provide screening from the noise and headlights of the cars coming down Silverrock Way. P'~,Reports- PC\2009`1-27-00\PC MIN 1-Y3-09 Approved doc 2 Planning Commission Minutes January 13, 2009 Chairman Alderson asked about the dimensions of the event lawn. Staff responded with the information. Commissioner Quill said he had worked with the landscape architects before and recognized their design style. He noted their design philosophy was the project should look finished on the day the plants were put in. However, he explained that aone-gallon lantana or gold lantana has afive-foot diameter in one season. Thus, his experience had been that the number of plants could be reduced by fifty percent with no significant impact to the overall look of the property. He commented on applicants having to go back to do an enormous amount of thinning because of too many plants. He then gave an example of what happens when a lantana gets too dense. Commissioner Quill strongly suggested that staff ask the landscape architects to cut back on the plant material. Assistant City Manager Evans replied staff had already had that discussion with them in refining the number of plants, shrubs, and trees. He mentioned there had been pretty strong criticism of the existing Silverrock plant pallet in a number of locations. However, he noted Commissioner Quill's comment and said staff would have further discussion about the number and size of the suggested plants as well as the associated cost. Commissioner Quill said the above was his only comment and other than that, he thought the entire project was absolutely fabulous. Chairman Alderson said there were two predominant types of trees in the parking lot; Mesquite and the Palo Verde. His concern was that these types of trees were not wind resistant when first planted. They have the tendency to tip over during high winds. The parking lot would be an area of high wind exposure. Assistant City Manager Evans replied there were two main problems; one was if the trees were in a larger container and the trees did not break out and get their tap roots down, when irrigated at the surface, they never really take root. He said the irrigation system would have to be executed right and good plant material would have to be obtained. He agreed with Commissioner Quill's comment that, in the desert environment, it would be better to use younger plants and let them grow by irrigating them well. The second problem was thinning the trees properly. He said in the past when a few trees were lost at Silverrock it was because they had not been thinned properly and were too top-heavy and tipped over during a high wind. P.\Reports-PC\20091-27-09\PC MIN i-13-09 Approved.doc 3 Planning Commission Minutes January 73, 2009 Chairman Alderson asked what were the types of trees that fell down. Assistant City Manager Evans replied both Mesquites and Palo Verdes were lost. He stated staff was very cognizant of these problems and would try to avoid having that happen. A missing tree in this project would be very noticeable. Chairman Alderson commented if correct caliper specifications were followed, it would minimize the chances of that happening. Staff responded that the key was to ensure the canopy was not too thick for the root structure which required aggressive maintenance. Commissioner Weber asked if the CVWD requirement, noted on Attachment 3, of a minimum of eight feet wide was their standard. Staff replied it was their standard. Staff added they would be discussing certain areas with CVWD and asking that the standard be reduced for those areas because of the subsurface irrigation and the concern of overspray. He stated staff was conducting regular meetings with CVWD to discuss water conservation and this matter would be closely examined by CVWD staff. He added that further water calculations were needed on the overall resort before staff could submit for approval with CVWD, to ensure the plan was drawn right and to avoid having to re-draw the plans again. Assistant City Manager Evans commented on the Commission's prior concern regarding the building being environmentally designed and currently it was evaluated as a LEED certified building. Staff was hoping to raise that evaluation to Silver. The main credits were for installing solar panels and interior/exterior lighting. Staff worked very closely with IID on interior lighting. Staff's goal was to invest in energy conservation methods that would add long term value to the project. Staff said the City had spent over a million dollars in energy upgrades in the building, meeting and exceeding the requirements of Title 24. Commissioner Barrows thanked staff for conscientiously limiting the lawn area and reducing the water feature by twenty percent. Commissioner Barrows asked about the purpose of the small turf areas located east of the fountain, and east of the drive way entrance along the hardscape. Assistant City Manager Evans replied that part of the turf area was planned at the shuttle drop off area. People could cut across the grass to get to the sidewalk and the designers found it was better to use turf than to use decomposed granite or shrubs. The rest of the area was along a thirty foot wide driveway for buses and golf carts. P AReporrs - PCA20090-27-09APC MIN 1-13-09 Approved.doc 4 Planning Commission Minutes January 13, 2009 Commissioner Barrows said she was pleased to see that the types of trees being used for the parking lot were the Mesquite and the Palo Verde. She agreed with Chairman Alderson's concerns and Commissioner Quill's suggestion to use smaller plant material and avoid the possibility of any problems by ensuring correct irrigation. Chairman Alderson asked about the ALRC suggestion to add more palm trees in the entryway of the Clubhouse. Assistant City Manager Evans explained the layout of the palm trees on the landscaping plans and also addressed the ALRC's comments on the types of bougainvillea identified in the plans. He explained the design team's intent in using those types of bougainvillea was in response to current complaints about the landscaping being too much of a desertscape and lacking color. Chairman Alderson thanked Assistant City Manager Evans for incorporating the ALRC comments into his report. Commissioner Weber asked if the thirty feet radius of the parking lot was sufficient for the buses to turn. Assistant City Manager Evans replied the design team felt comfortable that a thirty feet radius was enough. Planning Director Johnson noted that the item being discussed was a business item and not a public hearing item and the Commission could hear any public comments. Assistant City Manager Evans thanked the planning staff for assisting the RDA with preparing the staff report, particularly Assistant Planner Yvonne Franco. Chairman Alderson said the presentation and the report were very well executed. There being no further discussion, it was moved and seconded by Commissioners Barrows/Quill to approve Minute Motion 2009-001 recommending approval of the Silverrock Clubhouse and Site Plan as submitted. AYES: Commissioners Barrow, Quill, Weber, and Chairman Alderson. NOES: None. ABSTAIN: None. ABSENT: Commissioner Wilkinson. P:\Reports - PC\20090-27-09\PC MIN 1-13-09 Approved doc 5 Planning Commission Minutes January 13, 2009 VII. CORRESPONDENCE AND WRITTEN MATERIAL: Planning Director Johnson commented on the materials for the 2009 Planners Institute which was distributed to the Commissioners. He strongly encouraged them to attend. The event would be held in Anaheim, California, on March 25, 2009, through March 27, 2009. Planning Director Johnson asked the Commissioners to notify the planning staff, as soon as possible, whether or not they would be attending. Chairman Alderson asked staff if the agendas from previous sessions had been cross-referenced with this year's agenda and if so were there any new items or have the topics remained the same. Planning Director Johnson replied that the vast majority of the sessions were new, concurrent sessions for this year. VIII. COMMISSIONER ITEMS: A. Commissioner Weber reported on the City Council Meeting of December 16, 2008, including the details on the amendment of the project scope for the Village Design and the Strategic Plan. Planning Director Johnson explained staff was trying to ensure that the development regulation standards and Village Design guidelines were emphasizing the right characteristics for the Village. Staff was trying to hone in and further define some of the strong points in regards to pedestrian orientation, appropriate mass and scale for structures, and the types of land uses, to better define the Village in the future. Chairman Alderson asked if the new Council Member was introduced during the last Council meeting. Planning Director Johnson replied there was an acknowledgment of outgoing Council Member Osborne and the recognition of his service and an introduction of the new Council member Kristy Franklin. B. Chairman Alderson noted he was scheduled to report back on the January 20, 2009, Council meeting. C. Planning Director Johnson said that staff had consulted with the City Clerk's office and a tentative date of October 27, 2009, had been identified for the Joint Council Meeting, with an anticipated start time of 5:00 p.m. P:\Reports- PC\2009\1-27-09`,PC MIN 1-13-09 Approved.doc 6 Planning Commission Minutes January 13, 2009 D. Chairman Alderson noted he was very pleased with the Commission's attendance update. E. Planning Director Johnson said staff was looking into the best possible date for the Joint ALRC/PC Meeting and looked like it would be scheduled for either February 24, 2009, or March 10, 2009. He mentioned staff had been discussing the Joint ALRC/PC meeting date with the ALRC Members and identifying the agenda items. Staff was hoping to present the agenda items to the Planning Commission for approval at the February 10, 2009, meeting. IX: DIRECTOR ITEMS: Chairman Alderson opened the discussion of the Development Application Requirements. Planning Director Johnson said the proposed Site Development Permit Application had a lot of detail identified within it, but most of those items were already required. He explained there were not many new items that were added, other than identifying some of the key Public Works studies upfront. Staff's intent was to get to a more definitive level of detail so that an applicant would better understand what information would be needed. Staff's hope was that this would result in more detailed and complete applications being submitted. Staff's ability to gather as much information as possible up front that is pertinent and relevant to the project would help expedite the review process and staff's ability to get the applications in front of the Commission and Council for review. Commissioner Quill said the application was pretty extensive and asked staff when an applicant was submitting an application, how easy would it be for staff to determine and convey to the applicant what would be needed and what would not. He asked if the planner on duty would be able to make that determination or if the Planning Director and/or the Planning Manager would have to be consulted first, and if so, how quickly would the applicant be notified. Planning Director Johnson replied the vast majority of submitted applications were usually preceded with pre-application meetings with staff. These were not required, but were strongly encouraged by staff. He mentioned there is a Project Review Team that meets every other Monday which was when such proposals would be reviewed and at that time staff would determine what requirements would be applicable based on the preliminary proposal. P~\Reports - PC\2009\i-27-09\PC MIN 1-13-09 Approved dac 7 Planning Commission Minutes January 73, 2009 Planning Director Johnson said he did not expect the planning staff to be able to determine what would be required on all applications at the time of submission because that would depend highly on what the application was for. A lot of times it would require a more through review than a quick glance at the counter. Planning Manager David Sawyer explained staff was using the Site Development Permit application as a prototype and there would be a number of other applications that would use it as a base and the requirements would be adjusted accordingly. He said staff's goal was to refine the applications. Planning Manager Sawyer noted that one of the most common complaints encountered by staff was when asking for additional information. He said staff's intent was to inform the applicant upfront what would be needed in order to be able to review the application and make comments. He explained the application process and how the decision would be made to waive certain requirements if they were not applicable. Commissioner Quill said staff should notify the applicant as soon as possible if a resource study or a biological study was not needed to avoid incurring extra expense. Planning Manager Sawyer replied staff encouraged applicants to consult with them from the beginning to determine what items would be needed. Commissioner Weber noted that change was always accompanied with difficulties and complications and a learning curve for all parties involved. He said he liked the layout of the application as it appeared more standardized and professional. He found the application to be more customer friendly in the long term. He agreed with staff that the level of detail incorporated in the application would avoid possible delays of the process and that the applicant was aware of that fact. Commissioner Weber asked about the semantic choice to use certain words in the application. Staff explained the reasoning for those choices. Chairman Alderson echoed Commissioner Quill's comment on the urgency and importance of letting the applicant know as soon as possible what requirements would be applicable and what would not. He said it was critical to have a staff member who would be able to assess that. Planning Director Johnson replied there were very few Site Development Permit applications submitted without any prior dialogue with staff. He reiterated that staff encouraged applicants to consult with them before actually submitting an application and to go through the informal project review process even though it was not required. P:\Reports - PC\2009\i-27-09'',PC MIN 1-13-09 Approved doc 8 Planning Commission Minutes January 13, 2009 Commissioner Weber asked if there was any need or a legal obligation to reference the Zoning or the Municipal Codes on the application. Commissioner Quill replied the front page of the application referenced that. Commissioner Weber asked if the reference to the Coachella Valley Water District's Landscaping and Irrigation System Design Ordinance on page 8 of 12, was in fact ordinance of CVWD. Commissioner Quill replied it was. Commissioner Weber asked if this application update would be the place for the Commission and staff to include some type of language encouraging and counseling the applicants that they be sensitive to both water and energy efficiency. Planning Director Johnson replied the requirements stated in the application were determined by the City and the Water District standards. Staff's intent was to make applicants aware of these provisions so the applicant does not plan lush landscaping. Planning Director Johnson explained that at this point in time, without having any definitive policy, it would be difficult to include a provision requiring the applicants to ensure overall sustainability of the projects. He said staff informs applicants of the efficiency programs available through IID and of the issue of water efficiency not only pertaining to irrigation, but to water features, as well as the fact that the City was interested in sustainability practices. There was a discussion on plausible legislation on future sustainability requirements in regards to water efficiency, energy efficiency, pedestrian connectivity, gas use, etc. and the different types of LEED buildings. Commissioner Barrows said she was pleased that staff was encouraging applicants to incorporate energy efficiency measures in designing the buildings. Commissioner Barrows said her understanding was that the City had adopted a resolution in support of the BIA's Green Builder Program. She asked if there was a way to notify all applicants of those guidelines and the fact that the City does encourage them. Planning Director Johnson replied his understanding was that the action taken by Council was to express support for the program, but it was not officially adopted as a defined minimum requirement. City Council has previously stated it was very interested in continuing to encourage and promote sustainable programs, but did not want to increase the standard baseline outlined by Title 24 at this time. He explained that this particular program was more oriented P.`,RCports - PC\20090-27-09\PC MIN 1-13-09 Approved doc 9 Planning Commission Minutes January 13, 2009 towards the building plans and the building permit process which was handled by the Building and Safety Department and they were acknowledging it and had information available to hand out. Planning Director Johnson said the planning staff was trying to ask applicants very global questions regarding energy consumption relevant to their project in order to get people thinking about and trying to make projects more sustainable. Chairman Alderson said, having spent most of his life on the other side of the counter, as a developer, if a staff member handed him an application twelve pages long that was only five pages long yesterday, he would want to know what was cause for the change. He said staff had touched upon this subject earlier in the discussion by saying that staff's intent was to obtain applications that are complete to avoid delays later on in the process. Chairman Alderson noted that when the two applications were compared line by line, there were very few changes and that the updated application outlined the requirements specifically, almost to a point where it became overwhelming. Chairman Alderson applauded the detail to which staff had addressed the items needed from the applicant to complete the application. He referenced a few items in the Site Development Permit application and asked staff for clarification which staff provided. Chairman Alderson asked about the items addressed by the ALRC with regards to the application. Planning Manager Sawyer said staff had distributed the updated draft application to the different departments within the City, had presented it to the ALRC. Staff's intent was to pull all of the comments received and to make one final revision to it for presentation to the Council for comments. Chairman Alderson said it was important for staff to inform the applicants of what would be required to process the application from the very beginning. Planning Manager Sawyer said his experience with improving and refining applications like this, was that not everyone would be pleased, but the majority of the developers would be very happy that staff was letting them know what would be needed from the beginning. Commissioner Quill agreed with staff and Chairman Alderson that the updated application was a good and thorough template. P.\Reports - PC\2009\i-27-09\PC MIN 1-13-09 Approved.UOC ~ 1~ Planning Commission Minutes January 13, 2009 Chairman Alderson added, due to the size of the application, it may seem overwhelming to an applicant and recommended staff try to make the application as compact as possible. Planning Director Johnson asked the Commissioners to share with staff any feedback they might receive as the application was being implemented. He said staff always welcomes constructive criticism. He said staff wanted to be prepared and responsive to peoples' concerns and be a resource to them. X. ADJOURNMENT: There being no further business, it was moved and seconded by Commissioners Barrows/Weber to adjourn this regular meeting of the Planning Commission to the next regular meeting to be held on January 27, 2009. This regular meeting was adjourned at 8:44 p.m. on January 13, 2009. Respectfully bmit c~, Monika Radeva, Secretar City of La Quinta, California P.\Reports - PC\20090-27-09\PC MIN 1-13-09 Approved.doc ). 1