2020 11 10 CC & PC Special Joint MeetingSPECIAL JOINT MEETING Page 1 of 4 NOVEMBER 10, 2020
CITY COUNCIL AND PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES
SPECIAL JOINT MEETING
OF THE CITY COUNCIL AND
PLANNING COMMISSION
MINUTES
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2020
CALL TO ORDER
A special joint meeting of the La Quinta City Council and La Quinta Planning
Commission was called to order at 5:00 p.m. by Mayor Evans.
PRESENT: Councilmembers Fitzpatrick, Peña, Radi, Sanchez, Mayor Evans
ABSENT: None
PRESENT: Commissioners Bettencourt, Caldwell, Currie, Libolt Varner,
McCune, Nieto, and Chairperson Proctor
ABSENT: None
STAFF PRESENT: City Manager McMillen, City Clerk Radeva, Public Works
Director/City Engineer McKinney, Design and Development Director Castro,
and Planning Manager Flores.
CHAIR PROCTOR ASKED MAYOR EVANS TO ACT AS PRESIDING OFFICER
OVER THE PLANNING COMMISSION FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE
SPECIAL JOINT MEETING
PUBLIC COMMENT ON MATTERS NOT ON THE AGENDA – None
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
Mayor Evans led the audience in the Pledge of Allegiance.
CONFIRMATION OF AGENDA – Confirmed
STUDY SESSION
1.DISCUSS THE HIGHWAY 111 CORRIDOR (CORRIDOR) PLAN AND
FORM-BASED CODE (FBC) ZONING (PROJECT NO. 2019-05)
Planning Manager Flores presented the staff report, which is on file in the
Clerk’s Office, and introduced the City’s consulting team as listed below:
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CITY COUNCIL AND PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES
Todd Tregenza, Senior Transportation Planner, AICP, with GHD, Inc.,
and overall project manager for this effort;
Lisa Wise, President, AICP with Lisa Wise Consulting, Inc. (LWC);
Roger Eastman, Director, AICP with LWC; and
Kathryn Slama, Senior Associate/Project Manager with LWC.
Topics discussed during the Consultant presentation include the causes for the
inception of zoning designations, which resulted in zoning use driving physical
urban form over the years; ability to create a more connected and walkable
environment by use of FBC, which is a place-based zoning specific to the
character and needs of the community, and regulates land development based
on physical form and the public realm rather than the separation of land uses;
FBCs are highly illustrated through pictures and graphics providing a clear
understanding of the form to be achieved; using ‘transect’ zones as an
organizing tool to create different characters of place in the code; FBC zoning
regulates private space and its relationship to the public realm, where
conventional zoning code regulates private spaces only based on established
standards; FBC elements include transect zones, standards for acceptable
styles of buildings, frontages, civic spaces, and allowable land uses; optional
FBC elements include standards for walkable design, architectural design, and
streetscape design to ensure they are not only for the movement of vehicles,
but are also walkable and pedestrian friendly; importance of the connection
between public and private space; communities that have already adopted
FBC; FBC benefits and diverse applications; and opportunities to reshape the
Corridor in La Quinta into a vibrant, walkable mixed-use corridor by providing
predictable standards for revitalization and infill development, and
establishing a consistent, user-friendly framework for transition over the long-
term.
Mayor Evans said WRITTEN PUBLIC COMMENTS were provided by Jack Tarr
related to FBC methodology and the types of communities that have
implemented it successfully.
General discussion followed regarding the new ecommerce shopping trends
and the potential effects it will have long-term on conventional shopping
malls; ability to address the ‘seas of asphalt’ and turn them into usable real
estate; automobile versus walkable environments, and the applicability of FBC
to an automobile designed environment such as the Corridor; taking a
conservative approach to determine applicability in the Corridor; the lack of
transit availability outside of the Corridor to help facilitate and promote a more
walkable environment; opportunities for certain areas along the Corridor to
incorporate FBC; coupling FBC with other incentives in smaller communities,
such as Mesa, AZ; how would the FBC interact with the existing zoning and
individual specific plan regulations; FBC could supersede the zoning
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CITY COUNCIL AND PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES
regulations in the specific plans, it could be applied as an optional overlay or
only to a part of the Corridor, etc.; how would FBC provide for, enhance and
facilitate the development envisioned for the Corridor in light of the existing
limitations of the Corridor being a state highway and a major vehicle arterial;
ability to develop mixed-use projects while protecting the sales tax revenue
generated by the major retailers, big-box stores and automobile dealers along
the Corridor; FBC would provide flexibility and an opportunity for creativity,
and connectivity to the CV Link project; the City’s anticipated phased-in
approach and timeline to introduce and implement FBC along the Corridor,
and the close collaboration necessary between planning and engineering to
ensure the form and the streets are well aligned; appropriate areas for a FBC
demonstration project may not be along Highway 111, but rather on the inland
north or south sides of Highway 111; importance to ensure the demonstration
project becomes a catalyst for FBC; and the applicability of FBC is vast and it
is not limited to urban high-density places.
Additional discussion followed regarding SunLine Transit Agency’s (SunLine)
efforts to increase transit frequency along the Corridor; roll-out of SunLine’s
new ‘SunRide’ in January 2021, using taxi services to solve the impediment of
first and last mile to public transportation; long-term, FBC can be used to
streamline the development review and approval process based on the model
of predictability by following established development standards, thus aligning
FBC with process and policy; importance to engage the Corridor owners in this
process; ability to provide flexibility and opportunity for creativity under FBC;
challenges with incorporating public transit into the Corridor’s FBC efforts due
to lack of ridership; mitigating the extreme heat factor characteristic to the
desert areas; implementing temporary food truck dining options; FBC is
embedded into the City’s established zoning categories; conducting market
financial feasibility and sensibility of development projects within FBC;
importance to retain the Corridor’s economic base and provide opportunities
for growth through the change in trends; the multiple levels of regulations
that govern development uses, inclusive of zoning designations, general plan,
specific plans, covenants, conditions and restrictions, etc.; importance to
ensure the community is well educated on the objectives and development
options of FBC; and importance to adequately plan and prepare for the future
while preserving the economic vitality of the Corridor.
COUNCILMEMBER RADI LEFT THE MEETING AT 6:51 P.M.
General discussion followed regarding exploring the ability to incorporate
housing into the Corridor through mixed-used developments; importance for
the City to continue to adapt to ever-evolving trends, needs and regulations;
Staff continues its persistent efforts to engage the Corridor’s property owners;
FBC as it relates to short-term vacation rental activities; the City’s efforts to
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CITY COUNCIL AND PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES
implement FBC will provide an opportunity for creativity in the development
community; and the next steps in this effort are to identify an area along the
Corridor appropriate for a FBC demonstration project between now and the
Spring of 2021 when a subsequent special joint meeting between the Council
and Planning Commission will be scheduled; this project will be included in the
City’s Annual Community Workshop scheduled for January 16, 2021; and Staff
shall include a summary of the terms provided on the City’s website.
COUNCIL AND COMMISSION MEMBERS’ ITEMS – None
ADJOURNMENT
Commissioner Bettencourt noted today was the 245th anniversary of the
United States Marine Corps, officially established by the Second Continental
Congress on November 10, 1775, to protect the country’s sovereignty in the
air, on land, and at sea; and asked to adjourn this meeting in memory of the
United States veterans.
Mayor Evans noted the City will hold its annual Veteran’s Day celebration
tomorrow, November 11, 2020, in the courtyard of City Hall.
There being no further business, a motion was made and seconded by
Councilmembers Fitzpatrick/Peña to adjourn at 7:15 p.m. Motion passed:
Council – ayes (4) noes (0) absent (1 – Radi), Planning Commission -
unanimously.
Respectfully submitted,
MONIKA RADEVA, City Clerk
City of La Quinta, California