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2011 03 08 PC MinutesMINUTES PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING A regular meeting held at the La Quinta City Hall 78 -495 Calle Tampico, La Quinta, CA March 8, 2011 7:04 P.M. CALL TO ORDER A. A regular meeting of the La Quinta Planning Commission was called to order at 7:04 p.m. by Chairman Alderson. PRESENT: Commissioners Barrows, Quill, Weber, Wilkinson, and Chairman Alderson. ABSENT: None STAFF PRESENT: Planning Director Les Johnson, Planning Manager David Sawyer, Assistant Planner Yvonne Franco, and Executive Secretary Carolyn Walker. II. PUBLIC COMMENT: None III. CONFIRMATION OF THE AGENDA: Confirmed IV. CONSENT CALENDAR: There being no comments, or suggestions, it was moved by Commissioners Barrows /Wilkinson to approve the minutes . of February 8, 2011 as submitted. Unanimously approved. V. PUBLIC HEARINGS: A. Conditional Use Permit 2003 -075, Amendment No. 2 a request by Gary Yasuda for Milan Institute of Cosmetology for consideration of a Conditional Use Permit Amendment to increase the square footage and number of students per session for a beauty school within the Regional Commercial (RC) District at Dune Palms Plaza located at 47- 120 Dune Palms Road, Suites C & D; located on the east side of Dune Palms Road, approximately 300 feet south of Highway 1 1 1. Planning Commission Minutes March 8, 2011 Assistant Planner Yvonne Franco presented 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 Wilkinson asked if the applicant was agreeable to the reduction in parking spaces. Staff responded they preferred to have 65. Commissioner Wilkinson asked if any alternative parking solutions had been suggested. Staff responded nothing was in writing from the applicant or property owner, then explained the center's layout and parking. General discussion followed on the available parking in the center and surrounding areas. Commissioner Weber referenced page 5 of the staff report, where it states "...It is probable that not every student has their own vehicle and estimating that up to ten of them will either rideshare or get dropped off..." and asked whose estimate that was. Associate Planner Franco responded it was staff's estimate. General discussion followed on how staff had arrived at that figure. Commissioner Weber asked if there was sufficient restroom space. Staff responded that would be the decision of the Building & Safety Department who received copies of the plans and had not made any comments. Staff then explained the procedures followed in routing the plans to Building and Safety and the Tenant Improvement Permitting process. Chairman Alderson asked for a definition of "paying customers" since the application was for a school for cosmetology. Assistant Planner Franco explained that the students had to spend a certain portion of their training time with the public and it was necessary to set aside parking for those customers. -2- Planning Commission Minutes March 8, 2011 There being no further questions of staff, Chairman Alderson opened the public hearing portion of the meeting and asked if the applicant would like to speak. Ms. Betty Weber, Dean of Education, Milan Institute of Cosmetology, 41 -760 Jamaica Sands Drive, Bermuda Dunes CA (applicant's representative) - introduced herself and said the estimate of 10 ride - sharing students was actually very low. She added that about two - thirds of their students either shared a ride, or were dropped off by parents or family members and about one -third of them rode the bus. She explained who their students were and that most of them were young and could not afford cars. She did not think that the request to allow 65 students was a problem as the parking lot was empty most of the day; even on their busiest days. She commented on the nearby businesses and the generally available parking in the center. Chairman Alderson asked if there were any questions of the applicant. Commissioner Wilkinson asked if Ms. Weber could more clearly define the number of students needing parking spaces. Ms. Weber replied she thought about two - thirds of the students were dropped off by parents or family members on their way to work. Commissioner Wilkinson asked staff to explain how they arrived at the parking figures. Planning Director Johnson responded staff had been very generous in defining the parking for this applicant since they would be occupying over half the building. He also commented on the lowered use of the parking lot by other patrons. He said this was a Conditional Use Permit, issued in perpetuity, and no one could predict whether the student demographics or other tenant changes could increase the demand for parking spaces. He concluded that what occurred today could change in the future and if there were any reservations on the part of the Commission, staff would be more than willing to work with them and /or the applicant to re -visit this use permit at a later date. However, at this point in time, staff did not feel comfortable recommending more students than what was currently recommended. scm Planning Commission Minutes March 8, 2011 Commissioner Wilkinson asked if staff had any information on the landlord's position. Planning Director Johnson responded he had not recently spoken with the landlord, but in the past she had been very supportive of Milan being there. He than asked his staff if they had spoken with the landlord. Staff responded the landlord had received a copy of the report and had not made any comments. Commissioner Barrows commented that because two- thirds of the students were dropped off they would not need parking spaces. Ms. Weber said she did not see the need for the restriction since most students did not drive and the clients would be parking out front. General discussion followed on: • The photographs presented, who took them and when. • Sensitivity of parking available for paying customers. • The parking north of the site. • The parking calculations for this building. Commissioner Weber asked if Ms. Weber was okay with the restriction on overlapping the sessions. Ms. Weber responded that would pose a problem and explained how the training sessions were determined, the number of hours needed to obtain an adequate amount of training and why and how hard it would be to expand the program and fill classroom vacancies if the hours were extended. Chairman Alderson asked if she had heard of the condition prior to the meeting. Ms. Weber said she had not, but the applicant might have been aware of it. Commissioner Quill commented on the possibility of having enough parking spaces if the two classes did not overlap. Planning Commission Minutes March 8, 2011 Ms. Weber clarified the salon was not open to clients between 5:00 and 6:30. The salon floor was closed. The students worked on theory (book work) during that time. Commissioner Weber asked if Ms. Weber would be agreeable to having a time limitation placed on the conditional use permit; in order to assess the situation at a later date. Ms. Weber said she would be agreeable if it was for the 65 stations. Commissioner Quill asked how many students were currently attending. Ms. Weber said 20. Chairman Alderson asked about the staff's determination of Code -legal parking spaces. Staff explained their determination and how they applied the "drop off" credit. General discussion followed regarding security lighting and the applicant's cooperation in the past. There being no further questions of staff, or comments from the applicant, Chairman Alderson asked if there was any public comment. There being no public comment, Chairman Alderson closed the public hearing and opened the matter for Commission discussion. Commissioner Quill said this was an appropriate location for clientele who would be utilizing mass transit or ride - sharing. He said the parking would be under - utilized and the conditional use permit should be allowed with the 65 as requested by the applicant. Commissioner Wilkinson agreed with Commissioner Quill's comments and then asked for clarification of building percentage the applicant would be occupying. Staff did not have an exact number since the proposed expansion had not be utilized yet and commented on the current lessees, and vacancies, in the building. -5- Planning Commission Minutes March 8, 2011 General discussion followed regarding amount of vacant space currently available, as well as the possibility of shared parking agreements with the owner of the parcel to the north of the applicant. General discussion followed on the Municipal Code standards for determining the parking ratio for a specific use, and the fact that this parcel had a 1:400 parking ratio versus 1:200, which had been established with their specific plan. Staff then presented the Commission with several options to allow them to the opportunity to revisit this item at a future date of their choice. Commissioner Wilkinson expressed concern about the cost to the applicant if the improvements were done in two phases. Staff explained it would be a similar environment to what was there currently with over 40 stations but only 20 students per class. Commissioner Barrows went over some of the previously mentioned concerns such as 1) why the parking standards were 1:400 versus 1:200, 2) the fact that the building that had been almost empty for quite some time, and 3) there was a business that wanted to occupy a significant piece of that space and they should be accommodated. She added that there didn't appear to be a problem with parking and the Commission should allow them to have more students, possibly for a specific time period. She was okay with the parking because it appeared to be adequate. Chairman Alderson re- opened the public hearing and asked Ms. Weber to come back to answer additional questions. Chairman Alderson asked Ms. Weber for her thoughts about doing the tenant improvements in two phases. Ms. Weber responded she did not make those decisions as she was the Dean of Education. She did say, as a former salon owner, that it cost more money to come in little and then try to make it big, rather than to have extra stations that are not used. M Planning Commission Minutes March 8, 2011 Chairman Alderson asked her if the improvements had to be done in two phases, would that cause her to scale down her proposed tenant improvements. Ms. Weber responded she would probably not, but would probably look for another spot. She emphasized that was her comment and not that of the corporation and she was not suggesting that would happen here. Chairman Alderson asked if the Commissioners had additional questions. The Commissioners had no further questions and he closed the public hearing portion of the meeting and returned to Commissioner comments. Commissioner Weber commented that it would make more sense for the applicant to build out to their maximum capability. He suggested if the application were approved for 65 it would be better to come back sooner rather than later to re -visit the parking. He added it would also make sense for the applicant to explore a shared parking agreement with their neighbors to the north to help mitigate the problem. Chairman Alderson asked if he would support 48 with a reassessment in one -year. Commissioner Weber said he might even support 65 with a short time frame to review what the impact is. General discussion followed on the occupied and vacant square footage of the building and the layout of the parcel; including Bob's Soccer Shop, Milan, other occupants and vacant space. Commissioner Quill asked Ms. Weber for the next session starting date. Ms. Weber responded she did not have it but could get back to staff with that information. Discussion followed on the when the sessions would start and stop. Also, since this was a school, why the parking requirements differed -7- Planning Commission Minutes March 8, 2011 from any other school, i.e., high schools; which are actually exempt from Municipal provisions. Commissioner Wilkinson echoed Commissioner Weber's comment on possibly seeking a shared parking agreement. He added that he was surprised that the landlord didn't have any response to the parking comments. Staff said the landlord approved the application when it was submitted and three weeks prior to the meeting the property owner responded, in writing, that they were okay with the proposal. Chairman Alderson expressed his concerns about the parking, and said he would support the 48, to come back in 6 months, or 65 right now and to deny the request to add Condition 10. General discussion followed clarifying the Commission's position before making a motion. There being no further questions or discussion, it was moved and seconded by Commissioners Barrows /Quill to adopt Resolution 2011- 003 recommending approval of Conditional Use Permit 2003 -075, Amendment No. 2 as conditioned in the staff report, with the following amendments: 1. Condition No. 6 to be revised to read — Each session shall have no more than 65 students, at any time, in order to mitigate parking impacts on the property. 2. Condition No. 10 shall be deleted. 3. The Conditional Use Permit is to be re- visited to make sure the designated parking is adequate and has not impinged upon any of the neighboring retail businesses. This review shall occur in 18 months from the date of April 18, 2011, which is the beginning of the next class cycle. Unanimously approved VI. BUSINESS ITEMS: None. Iff:M Planning Commission Minutes March 8, 2011 VII. CORRESPONDENCE AND WRITTEN MATERIAL: None. VIII. COMMISSIONER ITEMS: A. Report of the City Council Meeting of February 15, 2011 by Chairman Alderson. (Commissioner Barrows thanked Chairman Alderson for covering the February 15, 2011, Council meeting on her behalf.) B. Report of the City Council meeting of March 1, 2011 by Commissioner Quill. Report included a brief recap of the discussion of budget, Public Works, and redevelopment items C. Chairman Alderson requested the addition of discussion on the following March 1, 2011, Public Hearing Item: Consideration of an Ordinance Amending Municipal Code Section 9.60.030 to Permit Review of Alternative Fence Materials Not Currently Identified in the Code, and Section 9.120.010 "Table of Permitted Uses" to Add the Sale of Golf Carts as a Conditionally Permitted Use in the Golf Course Zoning District. Chairman Alderson stated the Council did not accept the Planning Commission's recommendation on these items and asked staff to outline the reasons for the Council's action. Staff summarized the Council's comments. D. Chairman Alderson noted Commissioner Weber was scheduled to report back on the March 15, 2011 Council meeting. E. General discussion followed on: • The bridge at Adams and Whitewater. • The Whitewater Trail • The Avenue 52 /Jefferson Roundabout • Utilization of the Planning Commissioners' expertise. IX: DIRECTOR ITEMS: A. General discussion on the California Planners' Institute. Planning Commission Minutes March 8, 2011 X. ADJOURNMENT: There being no further business, it was moved by Commissioners Quill /Weber to adjourn this regular meeting of the Planning Commission to the next meeting to be held on March 22, 2011. This meeting was adjourned at 8:31 p.m. on March 8, 2011. Respectfully submitted, Carolyn W ker, Executive Secretary City of La Quinta, California -10-