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2010 05 13 ALRC MinutesMINUTES ARCHITECTURE & LANDSCAPING REVIEW COMMITTEE MEETING A regular meeting held at the La Quinta City Hall 78-495 Calle Tampico, La Quinta, CA May 13, 2010 2:06 p.m. CALL TO ORDER II. III. IV A. This regular meeting of the Architecture and Landscaping Review Committee was called to order at 2:06 p.m. by Planning Director Les Johnson who led the Committee in the flag salute. B Committee Members Present: Ray Rooker and David Thoms C. Committee Member Absent Jason Arnold Staff present: Planning Director Les Johnson, Principal Planner Andrew Mogensen, 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 April 7, 2010. There being no comments or corrections it was moved and seconded by Committee Members Rooker/Thoms to approve the minutes as submitted. Unanimously approved. V. BUSINESS ITEMS: A. Site Development Permit 2006-860 a request submitted by Prest- Vuksic Architects for consideration of Architectural and Landscaping Plans for a proposed church parking lot located on the west side of Washington Street, between Avenues 47 and 48 1St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Churchl. Principal Planner Andrew Mogensen 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 May 13, 2010 Committee Member Thoms said that ih the past it had been indicated that eventually the frontage road alongside Washington Street would be eliminated, re-directing traffic flow directly to Washington Street, and converting that area into a retention basin. Staff replied the plans for the church had gone through several revisions and one included a new traffic signal and the re-direction of traffic directly to Washington Street. However, the proposed improvements, at this time, only addressed the additional parking lot. Planning Director Johnson explained that since the church was not adding any additional building space, the traffic improvements mentioned above were not triggered. The current improvements were to convert the dirt lot, used for overflow parking, into a permanent parking lot. Committee Member Thoms asked staff to confirm that some time in the future there was the potential that the frontage road would. disappear. Staff replied that the frontage road, south of the main entrance, was likely to be eliminated, if and when, the church decided to undertake future site improvements. This would require a new signalized intersection and a new access point for the church that would be located further south on Washington Street. Committee Member Thoms asked staff if in the meantime, for extra ` caution and to alleviate the traffic during service hours, the City could place a stop sign at the end of the frontage road going southbound. Staff replied the suggestion would be passed on to the City's Public Works Department. Committee Member Thoms said the parking lot was very well laid out and he particularly liked the design of the planters. He expressed concern about the strip planters as his past experiences had shown that the plant materials .could not withstand the pedestrian traffic. He recommended the applicant keep the proposed trees, but eliminate the strip plants and shrubs in the medians and replace them with some type of ground cover such as decomposed granite. Committee Member Thoms said he was displeased. ,with the proposed high-pressure sodium and metal halide light fixtures for the new and existing parking lots. He said the design of the light fixtures should complement the theme of the building itself.- Staff -2- Architecture and Landscaping Review Committee Minutes May 13, 2010 noted the new temporary parking lot would not be lit unless it was in use. Staff explained that the same types of light fixtures were being used in both the existing and new parking lots. However, the light fixtures at the entry way and along the driving aisle were a modern-type lantern design with a visor which complemented the building's architecture. Committee Member Thoms said he noticed that the end islands in the parking lot were projecting out 18 feet from the center island and he suggested a reduction to 15 feet to alleviate getting in and out of, the end parking spaces. Staff said the suggestion would be discussed with the City's Public Works Department for possible resolutions. Staff also noted that the intent was to try to keep the planters as big as possible to ensure sufficient growth space for the newly planted trees. Mr. Mike Horton, Landscape Architect with HSA Design Group, 42- 635 Melanie Place, Suite 101, Palm Desert, CA 92211, introduced himself. He noted it was unlikely the church's patrons would be walking around the parking lot as they would only be attending, and leaving, church services. He explained the applicant was concerned that if there were no plant materials in the planters people would be encouraged to walk through them creating a potential hazard. He said the design included a pedestrian pathway at the end of the parking lot leading towards the church. Mr. Horton said he believed that most landscaping problems with .plants and shrubs were not because of pedestrian traffic, but lack of proper maintenance. He noted the church's existing parking lot planters had plant materials in them and there had not been any maintenance issues. Principal Planner Mogensen said staff had recommended the applicant use bigger planters in the parking lot to allow the trees to grow larger with equivalent canopies to provide more shade. Committee Member Rooker asked what the width of the planters was. Staff replied it was five feet wide. Mr. John Vuksic, Architect with Prest Vuksic Architects, 44-530 San Pablo Avenue, Suite #200, Palm Desert, CA 92260, introduced himself. He said the end planters also prevented careless drivers from cutting the corner too close while turning and possibly rear-ending the vehicle parked at the end. Staff noted the -3- Architecture and Landscaping Review Committee Minutes May 13, 2010 submitted plans had been reviewed by the City's Traffic Engineer and the plans had been previously revised based on his comments. Committee Member Thoms asked why the landscaping plans did not include any proposed palm trees. Staff replied the reason no palm trees were proposed was partially due to City code. A certain percentage of the parking lot was required to be shaded and since palm trees did not provide shade, other trees, better suited for providing shade, were used instead. Staff also explained that the tree 'planters were strategically placed throughout the parking lot so that the tree canopies would spread over the parked cars. Planning Director Johnson said the proposed landscaping was also meant to soften the look of the parking lot as it was located higher than Washington Street. Committee Member Thoms said the selected Palo Verdes had very thin foliage and in his opinion were not well suited for providing shade. He noted that the same type of tree should be used throughout the parking lot. Staff said the plans indicated a consistency in the types of trees used. Committee Member Rooker asked what the standard vehicle stall size and. the drive aisle minimum size were. Staff replied the standard vehicle size was nine feet by nineteen feet and the minimum drive aisle size was twenty-four feet. Committee Member Rooker said he would like to see landscape improvements in 'the median strip between Washington Street and the frontage road. He asked who was responsible for that area. Staff replied the median was in the public right-of-way and the City's Public Works Department was responsible for overseeing the medians. Staff said his concerns would be passed on; however, since the matter was not directly related to the church's proposed improvement plans, staff suggested leaving this comment out of the Committee's recommendations. Committee Member Rooker said he would like to see some landscaping consistency from Highway 1 1 1, continued south onto both sides of Washington Street. He explained what type of trees and palm trees were predominant and where additional ones could be added. -4- Architecture and Landscaping Review Committee Minutes May 13, 2010 Committee Member Rooker said the transition from the existing grassy landscaping to the new decomposed granite landscaping, right at the entry way, was too drastic. He recommended putting in a strip of turf at the corner to soften the transition and provide aesthetic continuity. Mr. Vuksic thanked the Committee for their review and comments on the project. He said the applicant would be very receptive in looking into reducing the length of the end planter as long as it did not create a hazardous environment. He noted the proposed drive aisle were not twenty-four feet, but twenty-six feet wide. General discussion followed regarding the proposed size of the trees and staff's recommendation. Staff said the gallon sizes proposed by the applicant were acceptable with the understanding that staff would be working with the landscape architect to ensure compliance. There being no further discussion, it was moved and seconded by Committee Members Rooker/Thoms to adopt Minute Motion 2010- 002, recommending approval of Site Development Permit 2006-860 as submitted, with the following recommended suggestions: • Reduce the length of the medians at the end of each parking row. • Shrubs and organic groundcover should be removed from all planters and medians within the parking lot. • All new parking lot lighting shall contain a consistent bulb type. • A row of Fan Palms shall be added along the Washington Street frontage. • The center island of the main church entrance shall be modified to include a small water feature, the addition of colorful shrubs and bushes, or a combination thereof. • Turf in the planter, immediately south of the main church entrance, shall be added, in order to provide aesthetic continuity with the existing landscaping. AYES: Committee Members Rooker and Thoms. NOES: None. ABSTAIN: None. ABSENT: Committee Member Arnold. VI. CORRESPONDENCE AND WRITTEN MATERIAL: None -s- Architecture and Landscaping Review Committee Minutes May 13, 2010 VII. COMMITTEE MEMBER ITEMS: Committee Member Rooker said he thought it would be very convenient for patrons of the Fresh & Easy grocery store, located at Plaza Tampico, if diagonal parking was permitted along Calle Tampico in front of the shopping center. Planning Director Johnson said the suggestion would be discussed with the City's Public Works Department. He also explained that the above suggestion might not be a viable option due to the City's recent implementation of the Golf Cart Program which incorporated Calle Tampico as one of the approved golf cart routes. If the parking spaces were to be allowed, that part of the golf cart route would be eliminated. Planning Director Johnson noted that the speed limit would also have to be reduced to allow for vehicles to safely park and merge back into traffic. Discussion followed regarding the southeast entrance to Plaza Tampico as well as potential future tenants for the shopping center. Committee Member Thoms asked if there were any improvements underway for the Highway 1 1 1 and Washington Street intersection. Staff replied no improvements were scheduled at this time. Discussion followed about traffic concerns on Washington Street and Highway 111, and unsafe right turn locations within the city. VIII. PLANNING STAFF ITEMS: Planning Director Johnson said there was no Planning Commission update. He said he would ask the Planning administrative staff to give the Committee a copy of the summary report prepared after each Planning Commission meeting giving a brief overview of the items that were presented and what decisions were made. Discussion followed regarding the status of several of the undeveloped shopping centers in the City (including Madison Square, as well as the La Paloma senior housing project, the Vista Dunes affordable housing project, and various other residential projects. 6- Architecture and Landscaping Review Committee Minutes May 13, 2010 IX. ADJOURNMENT: There being no further business, it was moved and seconded by Committee Members Rooker/Thorns to adjourn this meeting of the Architecture and Landscaping Review Committee to a Regular Meeting to be held on June 2, 2010. This meeting was adjourned at 3:16 p.m. on May 13, 2010. Respectfully submitted, MONIKA ~ADEVA Secretary ~-