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2009 02 04 ALRC MinutesMINUTES ARCHITECTURE & LANDSCAPING REVIEW COMMITTEE MEETING A regular meeting held at the La Quinta City Hall 78-495 Calle Tampico, La Quinta, CA February 4, 2009 CALL TO ORDER 10:00 a.m. A. This regular meeting of the Architecture and Landscaping Review Committee was called to order at 10:00 a.m. by Principal Planner Stan Sawa who led the Committee in the flag salute. B. Committee Members present: Jason Arnold, Ronald Fitzpatrick and Ray Rooker. C. Staff present: Principal Planner Stan Sawa, Assistant Planner Yvonne Franco, and Secretary Monika Radeva. II. PUBLIC COMMENT: None III. CONFIRMATION OF THE AGENDA: Confirmed IV. CONSENT CALENDAR: Staff asked if there were any changes to the Minutes of January 7, 2009. It was moved and seconded by Committee Members Fitzpatrick/Arnold to approve the minutes as submitted. Unanimously approved. V. BUSINESS ITEMS: A. Final.. Landscaping Plan 2008-040 (for Site Development Permit 2007-898) a request submitted by K.L. Charles Architects, Inc. (Adrian Mora) for consideration of Final Landscaping Plans for a 13,929 Square Foot Fresh & Easy Market located at the southwest corner of Jefferson Street and Fred Waring Drive. Principal Planner Stan Sawa presented the information contained in the staff report, a copy of which is on file in the Planning Department. Architecture and Landscaping Review Committee Minutes February 4, 2009 Representing the applicant were Adrian Mora, Architect with K.L. Charles Architects, Inc. and David Closson, Landscape Architect with Closson &Closson,lnc. Committee Member Arnold asked where the irrigation plans were located in the report. Staff pointed him to the plans and said the landscape architect had used a drip watering system and noted the plans had been approved by CVWD and the Riverside County Agricultural Commissioner. Committee Member Fitzpatrick asked staff if this was the last of the landscaping plans for the entire project. Staff replied the landscaping plans for the area around CVS Pharmacy had not yet been approved and would be presented for review and approval some time in the future. Committee Member Fitzpatrick wanted to clarify there were two components to the project, one was the Fresh & Easy building and the other was the CVS Pharmacy. Staff confirmed. Committee Member Rooker said he found the Fresh & Easy building to be outstanding from an architectural perspective. He commented that on the north side of the building the initial presentation materials had identified three large trees which now had been changed to one tree on the right corner and other smaller shrubs. His concern was that those would not be sufficient and suggested more trees be added. Mr. Mora replied the reason the trees had been replaced with the shrubs was to prevent signage obstruction. Discussion followed on the locations and types of trees that could be used to soften the north elevation of the Fresh & Easy building without restricting the sign visibility. There being no further questions, it was moved and seconded by Committee Members Rooker/Arnold to adopt Minute Motion 2009-002, recommending approval of Final Landscaping Plan 2008-040 (for Site Development Permit 2007-8981, with the recommendation that a minimum of two more trees be added to the north elevation of the building and the Red Bird of Paradise shrubs be either eliminated or if remaining must be five gallon in size. Unanimously approved. P:\Reports - ALRC\2009\4-01-09WLRC_MIN_2-4-09_Approved.doc 2 Architecture and Landscaping Review Committee Minutes February 4, 2009 B. Site Development Permit 2006-874 a request submitted by Komar Investments, LLC. for review of Graphic Panels to be Mounted on ,the Walls of Buildings within the Komar Desert Center located South of Highway 1 1 1 at Depot Drive. Assistant Planner Yvonne Franco presented the information contained in the staff report, a copy of which is on file in the Planning Department. Representing the applicant was Clint Knox, Project Manager with Komar Investments. Committee Member Rooker asked who had originally suggested the use of the graphic panels. Staff replied it was the applicant and their intent was to try to break up the walls and fill in some of the blank space on them. Committee Member Rooker said he did not find the graphic panels necessary as the architecture of the buildings was interesting and the landscaping was very nice. He noted he would prefer if the graphic panels were installed, instead of desert plants, to have the images be characteristic of the individual tenants. Assistant Planner Franco explained staff wanted to avoid the use of any images that could be perceived as advertising for the tenants. Mr. Knox added the applicant had originally considered the idea of possibly incorporating a characteristic of the tenants, but staff was wary of the fact that it would be viewed as advertising. He explained the applicant then had thought of installing the graphic panels which would allow them to do seasonal themes and change them periodically bringing some variety to the look of the center. Committee Member Fitzpatrick asked who would monitor the condition of the signs and the panels. Mr. Knox replied the on- site property manager would be responsible of ensuring the panels and the images were maintained in good condition at all times. Committee Member Fitzpatrick asked staff why the staff report had stated that the images in the graphic panels were not considered public art and who had the authority to determine that. Assistant Planner Franco replied the determination was made by the City's Community Services Department and the P:\Reports - ALRC\2009\4-01-09\ALRC_MIN_2-4-09_Approved.doc 3 Architecture and Landscaping Review Committee Minutes February 4, 2009 reason the images were deemed not to be public art was due to the short longevity of their lifespan. Mr. Knox noted the applicant had ventured into the possibility of using images that would have been considered public art, but the criteria for that determination was that original artwork had to be used and the cost had become prohibitive. He added staff wanted ALRC to review the graphic panels to have a second approval in place. The determination was that the graphic panels were not considered signage. Committee Member Fitzpatrick expressed his concern in regards to the maintenance of the appearance of the images and panels and the possibility of them becoming a nuisance. Mr. Knox stated the panels had been used at a center in Washington built by Komar Investments and they had proven to last for two years. Committee Member Arnold asked how many panels there would be all together. Mr. Knox replied there would be a total of six panels and, with the eighteen images proposed, they would have two possible changes of the displayed images. Committee Member Arnold said he thought the graphic panels would be beneficial to the overall image of the center, but he also acknowledged Committee Member Fitzpatrick's concern on the maintenance possibly becoming an issue in the future. There being no further questions, it was moved and seconded by Committee Members Rooker/Fitzpatrick to adopt Minute Motion 2009-003, recommending approval of Site Development Permit 2006-874, noting the graphic panels were not deemed necessary from an architectural perspective and granting the applicant the right to omit them at any time in the future. Unanimously approved. VI. CORRESPONDENCE AND WRITTEN MATERIAL: None VII. COMMITTEE MEMBER ITEMS: The Committee suggested the following discussion topics for the Joint Meeting: • Water features P:\Reports -ALRC\2009\4-01-09\ALRC_MIN_2-4-09_Approved.doc 4 Architecture and Landscaping Review Committee Minutes February 4, 2009 • Define the expectations of the Architecture and Landscape Review Committee by the Planning Commission • Green buildings and sustainability Staff said the suggestions had been noted and would be forwarded to the Planning Director. Committee Member Fitzpatrick asked if a date had been set for the Joint Meeting. Staff replied the meeting had been scheduled for Tuesday, March 10, 2009, at 6:00 p.m. in the Study Session room. Discussion followed on the Committee's responsibility to review projects from an architectural as well as landscaping perspective, on the City's efforts to promote water and energy efficient building, and on green building and sustainability. VIII. PLANNING STAFF ITEMS: Planning Commission Update: Principal Planner Stan Sawa said there were no updates. IX. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, it was moved and seconded by Committee Members Fitzpatrick/Booker to adjourn this meeting of the Architecture and Landscaping Review Committee to a Regular Meeting to be held on March 4, 2009. This meeting was adjourned at 10:55 a.m. on February 4, 2009. Respec Ily s~b _t ,, MONIKA RADEVA Secretary P:\Reports - ALRC\2009\4-01-09\ALRC_MIN_2-4-09_Approved.doc 5