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2010 04 07 ALRC MinutesMINUTES ARCHITECTURE & LANDSCAPING REVIEW COMMITTEE MEETING A regular meeting held at the La Ouinta City Hall 78-495 Calle Tampico, La Ouinta, CA April 7, 2010 10:01 a.m. CALL TO ORDER II. III. IV A. This regular meeting of the Architecture and Landscaping Review Committee was called to order at 10:01 a.m. by Planning Manager David Sawyer who led the Committee in the flag salute. B. Committee Members Present: David Thoms Jason Arnold, Ray Rooker, and C Committee Member Absent None Staff present: Planning Manager David Sawyer, Principal Planner Stan Sawa, and Secretary Monika Radeva PUBLIC COMMENT: None CONFIRMATION OF THE AGENDA: Confirmed CONSENT CALENDAR: Staff asked if there were any changes to the Minutes of December 2, 2009. There being no comments or corrections it was moved and seconded by Committee Members Thoms/Booker to approve the minutes as submitted. Unanimously approved. V. BUSINESS ITEMS: A. Site Development Permit 2010-913 a request submitted by Shea Homes for consideration of Architectural and Landscaping Plans for three prototypical residential plans for use in Tract 35996 (Trilogy Annexation) located east of the CVWD Dike #4, between Avenues 60 and 62, and west of Trilogy projecl:. 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 April 7, 2010 Committee Member Arnold asked staff if the applicant was proposing to remove the grass along the sidewalks by continuing. the planter and placing a smaller grassy area further in the center. Committee Member Thoms said the grass was to be placed two feet from the curb face, or if there was a sidewalk, it would be two feet from the face of the sidewalk. Staff confirmed. Committee Member Rooker suggested the applicant reverse the design by placing the planter inward and the grass on the outside of it. Committee Member Arnold said the applicant's proposed design would prevent over spraying water on the sidewalk. Perry Devlin, General Manager for Shea La Quinta, LLC., 60-800 Trilogy Parkway, La Quinta, CA 92253, introduced himself and said adrip-type watering system could be used to prevent over spray on the sidewalk if the landscape design was reversed. Committee Member Rooker suggested the sidewalk from the entry way of the house be continued. all the way to the street for a more formal and convenient pathway for visitors. He said stepping stones could also be used instead of concrete in order to keep as much landscaping as possible. Committee Member Thoms asked the applicant if the Landscape Architect for the project was present. Mr. Devlin replied he was not. Committee Member Thoms said he agreed with Committee Member Booker's comment regarding the pathway to the front of the house. He said the sharp turn from the driveway onto the sidewalk leading up to the house was awkward. He discussed a few of the proposed designs and how they could be softened or completely re- designed. Mr. Devlin said Shea Homes community consisted of a total of 1,203 units and the proposed project would add only 36 more homes to it. He noted the proposed units were exactly like the existing ones, except with less grass in order to comply with the current water efficiency requirements. Mr. Devlin explained the existing homes had been very well received by the public and the HOA had 98 percent customer satisfaction from its members. He said he reviewed all comments and feedback from the HOA and the P:\Reports -ALRC\2010\ALRC_5-13-10\ALRC MIN_4-7-10_Approved.doc 2 Architecture and Landscaping Review Committee Minutes April 7, 2010 sidewalk to the front of the house had never been brought up as an issue. Mr. Devlin explained the HOA was in support of the further development of the community because there was a keen interest in maintaining a continuity of the existing architecture in the execution of the project. He said he felt confident the HOA would understand reasonable changes to the community's theme and landscape design; however, they would like see as much cohesiveness as possible to what was already built. Committee Member Arnold asked if the HOA allowed homeowners to upgrade their front yards. Mr. Devlin replied the HOA maintained all front yards and no alterations were allowed. Committee Member Rooker referenced the photographs of the model homes submitted as Attachment #3 to the staff report showing some of them with a separate pathway extending from the front entrance of the house to the street. He asked why the proposed plans did not indicate the same pathway which he found to be much more formal and elegant. Mr. Devlin replied the photographs were of the model homes which were designed slightly, different for circulation purposes, to accommodate the anticipated foot traffic of potential home buyers. Committee Member Thoms asked for clarification on the exact location of the project in relation to the existing Shea Homes community and if it would be fenced off from the street. Staff explained the location and replied the wall would be extended to enclose the proposed homes. Committee Member Thoms said he was not pleased with the architectural design of the homes as there was no variation of the setbacks from the street giving it a boring and track-home-like look. He suggested front- and rear-loading the homes to avoid the continuing track-home image of the cornmunity and to provide some streetscape variation. He said an upscale community could. present a better architectural design. Committee Member Arnold said Trilogy was a very high-end and pristine development and the photographs provided did not accurately depict the character of the community. Mr. Devlin explained the photographs submitted represented an area of the P:\Reports -ALRC\2010\ALRC_5-13-10\ALRC MIN_4-7-10_Approved.doc 3 Architecture and Landscaping Review Committee Minutes April 7, 2010 community that was very recehtly completed. He said the developer had worked very closely with the HOA and the members to ensure satisfaction and continuous improvement of the architectural design. The homeowners' feedback showed that the homes were very well received. He invited the Committee Members to visit the site and offered to give them a tour around the community to get. a better feel for its character. General discussion followed regarding architectural and driveway design, variation in streetscape, and street curvature. Committee Member Thorns asked if the applicant was simply duplicating the units that had been previously built in the community. Mr. Devlin confirmed. Planning Manager Sawyer said the applicant had stated that the proposed project was designed to blend in with the existing homes. He noted the Committee had made comments recommending variations to the architectural design. He suggested, if desired, the Committee could form the recommended architectural variations into a motion for the Planning Commission. Committee Member Thorns moved to adopt Minute Motion 2010- 001, recommending approval of Site Development Permit 2010-913 as submitted, with the following recommendations: • Soften the pathway to the front door so that it is not so awkward. • Re-design the front .yard; landscaping as well as hardscape. • Adjust the location of the home on the site to allow for streetscape variations. The motion died due to the lack of a second. Committee Member Rooker said he did not agree with Committee Member Thorns' recommendation to re-locate the homes on the site to allow for streetscape variations. He said the tract map showed a gentle curvature of the streets which accomplished the same effect. Committee Member Rooker said he had concerns about the pathway to the front entrance of the homes. He said he did not want to widen the driveway as suggested by Committee Member Thorns, he wanted to keep as much area as possible landscaped. P:\Reports - ALRC\2010\ALRC_5-13-10\ALRC MIN_4-7-10_Approved.doc 4 Architecture and Landscaping Review Committee Minutes April 7, 2010 He recommended the pathway be either extended to the street, connected to the driveway, or simply have stepping stones placed in the landscaping. He noted he would like to see the maximum amount of grass allowed in the front and recommended the use of drip-type watering system to address staff's concern of sidewalk overspray. Committee Member Thoms said he agreed with staff's recommendation to add palms to the retention basin. He said he considered Oleanders to be freeway plants and inappropriate to be placed at front entrances. He said there were five or six lots that were corner lots with a side wall and the plans did not indicate adequate landscaping on that side: wall. He recommended landscaping, such as bougainvillea, be placed along these side walls as well as additional trees to soften the impact of the walls. Committee Member Thoms said he shared Committee Member Booker's concern about the front pathway to the proposed homes and found his comments regarding the side walls landscaping to be very appropriate. Committee Member Thoms asked why there was grass in the retention basin. Mr. Devlin explained that turf absorbed the moisture best and it was easiest to maintain. Committee Member Arnold commended the applicant on their choice of grass in the retention basins. Discussion followed regarding different types of possible cover materials for retention basins anti the maintenance issues associated with each of them. Committee Member Arnold said he was pleased with the proposed project. There being no further discussion, it was moved and seconded by Committee Members Rooker/Thoms to adopt Minute Motion 2010- 001, recommending approval of Site Development Permit 2010-913 as submitted, with the following recommended suggestions: • Provide a better access to the front entrance of the home by addressing the front pathway. P:\Reports -ALRC\2010\ALRC_5-13-10\ALRC MIN_4-7-10_Approved.doc 5 Architecture and Landscaping Review Committee Minutes April 7, 2070 • Add palm clusters to the basin area per staff's recommendation. • Use a watering system for the front turf area next to the sidewalk that would not overspray the sidewalk. • Replace the Oleanders by the front entrance with a different type of plant that would be more appropriate for an entrance plant. • Add landscaping and trees to the side-yards and walls of the corner lots. Unanimously approved. Committee Member Thoms asked staff to ensure that the Landscape Architect be present for future projects presented to the Committee for review and consideration as his/her expertise would be quite helpful. VI. CORRESPONDENCE AND WRITTEN MATERIAL: None VII. COMMITTEE MEMBER ITEMS:. A. Quarterly Attendance Report Committee Member Thoms asked staff why the Quarterly Attendance Report was included. Staff replied the report was included quarterly to keep the Committee informed of their attendance status. VIII. PLANNING STAFF ITEMS: None IX. ADJOURNMENT: There being no further business, it was moved and seconded by Committee Members Rooker/Thoms to adjourn this meeting of the Architecture and Landscaping Review Committee to a Regular Meeting to be held on May 5, 2010. This meeting was adjourned at 10:46 a.m. on April 7, 2010. Respectfully subm' ted, MONIKA RADEVA Secretary P:\Reports - ALRC\2010\ALRC_5-13-10\.4LRC MIN_4-7-10_Approved.doc 6