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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11-12-91Planning Commission proceedings are tape recorded and on file in the office of the Planning Dept. MINUTES ARCADIA CITY PLANNING COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING Tuesday, November 12, 1991 The Planning Commission of the City of Arcadia met in regular session on Tuesday, November 12, 1991, at 7:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers of the Arcadia City Hall, 240 West Huntington Drive, with Chairman Tom Clark presiding. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE ROLL CALL: PRESENT: Commissioners Amato, Hedlund, Szany, Clark ABSENT: Commissioner Daggett MOTION It was moved by Commissioner Szany, seconded by Commissioner Amato to excuse Commissioner Daggett from tonight's meeting. The motion passed by voice vote with none dissenting. MOTION It was moved by Commissioner Amato, seconded by Commissioner Szany to read all resolutions by title only and waive reading the full body of the resolution. The motion passed by voice vote with none dissenting. MINUTES MOTION It was moved by Commissioner Amato, seconded by Commissioner Szany to approve the Minutes of October 15, 1991 as published. The motion passed by voice vote with none dissenting. OTHERS ATTENDING: Councilman George Fasching City Attorney Michael Miller Planning Director William Woolard Assistant Planning Director Donna Butler Senior Planner Corkran Nicholson Assistant Planner James Kasama Secretary Silva Vergel The City Attorney announced that the City Charter requires that for any action to be adopted or approved a majority of the entire membership must vote in favor of the particular motion. If the required three votes are not obtained the motion would fail. If the required three votes are not obtained (1) an applicant may request continuance and it is up to the Commission to decide whether or not they want to grant it; (2) the matter could be heard and then deferred for final decision pending participation of the absent members as long as they review the records of these proceedings which would be made available to them or (3) the matter could simply go forward to the City Council. CONTINUED PUBLIC HEARING MP 91 -006 2050 Vista Ave. Robert & Jacqueline Cooley, property owners Norma Iovine & Gina Chodos, appellants, property owners of 2058 Vista Ave. Consideration of an appeal of the Highland Home Owners Association's Architectural Review Board's approval of a 1,689 sq. ft., second floor addition. The staff report was presented. In response to questions from the Commission, staff said that the existing house is 4,200 sq. ft. of living area with a 500 sq. ft. 2-car garage. The proposed addition would increase the size of the house to approximately 6,000 sq. ft. The public hearing was opened. The appellants were not present at the hearing but had submitted a letter to the Planning Dept. in support of their appeal. Robert and Jacqueline Cooley, 2050 Vista Avenue, felt that the proposed addition is far better than the original plan. No one else spoke in favor of or in opposition to this item. MOTION It was moved by Commissioner Szany, seconded by Commissioner Amato to close the public hearing. The motion passed by voice vote with none dissenting. Commissioner Szany said that he went to the area and noticed that out of 26 homes on the street, eight homes were either 2 -story and /or split level. He thought that the proposed design was far better than the original plan. He remarked that with the old proposal it looked like the house would tip over, since most of the weight was towards the back of the house, but with the new proposal it is more evenly distributed. Although the addition is larger than the original plan it is more in proportion. Commissioner Hedlund stated that he also went to this area and felt that the design of the proposed addition would be compatible with other homes in the neighborhood. He remarked that it would be an appropriate improvement. Commissioner Amato agreed and was pleased to see that the applicants had lowered the height of the dwelling. Chairman Clark noted that this was a good design and was compatible with the area. MOTION It was moved by Commissioner Hedlund, seconded by Commissioner Szany to deny the appeal and uphold the Highland HOA ARB approval. ROLL CALL: AYES: NOES: ABSENT: Commissioners Amato, Hedlund, Szany, Clark None Commissioner Daggett Arcadia City Planning Commission 11/12/91 Page 2 Chairman Clark noted that there is a five working day appeal period after the adoption of the resolution. PUBLIC HEARING MP 91-007 736 -738 Arcadia Ave. Mario and Olga Duron Consideration of modifications for a proposed 6 -unit apartment building. The staff report was presented and the public hearing was opened. Mario Duron, 1222 Encinas Ave., La Habra Heights, said that they are in agreement with all of the conditions in the staff report. Ziyad Duron, 326 W. Point Dr., Claremont, remarked that the a/c units will be on the roof and since they will be located in a recessed area it will not be visible from the street. In response to a question from Commissioner Szany, Mr. Duron stated that the water heaters will be placed in the garage. Commissioner Szany was concerned, since one of the requested modifications is to reduce the size of the garage and with locating the water heater in the garage, that will make the garage even smaller. Staff clarified that the length of the garage will be 25' and there will be ample room to put the water heater in the corner of the garage. Roy Link, 750 Arcadia Ave., thought that they should comply with Code and modifications should not be granted, especially for the window seats which will encroach into the setback area. In rebuttal Mr. Duron stated that the modification with regard to the architectural feature would permit a minor encroachment into the front yard setback for the purpose of adding bay windows and a chimney to enhance the appearance of the building. He noted that they do not intend to sell the units at this time and it will be an apartment building . Staff noted that if the bay windows were deleted, then the building would have a flat facade and would not be aesthetically pleasing. No one else spoke in favor or in opposition to this item. MOTION It was moved by Commissioner Hedlund, by Commissioner Szany to close the public hearing. The motion passed by voice vote with none dissenting. Commissioner Amato was not in favor of granting of a modification to reduce the size of the garage. Commissioner Hedlund stated that this is a unique situation. Commissioner Szany was concerned with the density of the project. Staff said that Code will permit 7 -units on the site and the applicants have proposed 6- units. There will be a minor transition from the driveway to garage and it will have a typical driveway slope. Staff felt that the request for the reduction of the width of each garage area and guest parking space by 1' is justified in order to provide an interior stairwell entry from the driveway and parking area to the first floor of each unit. Staff did not feel that the project is intrusive or offensive and remarked that both the single- family and commercial zones require a 25' back out area and remarked that the back out area for this project meets code requirements. Arcadia City Planning Commission 11/12/91 Page 3 MOTION It was moved by Commissioner Szany, seconded by Commissioner Hedlund to approve MP 91 -007 subject to the conditions in the staff report. ROLL CALL: AYES: Commissioners Amato, Daggett, Hedlund, Szany, Clark NOES: None ABSENT: Commissioner Daggett Chairman Clark noted that there is a five working day appeal period. Chairman Clark abstained from this item, since he is employed by the parent company of the proposed project. It was noted that one public hearing will be held for items 4 and 5, since they are related. PUBLIC HEARING CUP 91 -016 10 W. Live Oak Ave. PacTel Cellular Consideration of a conditional use permit and modifications for an unmanned cellular telephone facility consisting of electronic equipment housed within an existing commercial manufacturing building and erection of a 50 foot high monopole antennae structure. PUBLIC HEARING V -91 -001 Consideration of a variance for a height of sixty -two (62) 10 W. Live Oak Ave. feet in lieu of fifty (50) feet for a monopole antennae PacTel Cellular structure in a C -M (Commercial- Manufacturing) zone. The staff report was presented and the public hearing was opened. Larry Levine, PacTel Cellular, 3 Park Plaza, Irvine, said that with the expanded use of cellular phones more and more sites are going to be required to serve their needs. In a heavily used area such as Beverly Hills, one such site is needed per mile to accommodate the user, however, in this area there isn't that type of volume. To illustrate the distance between each different site, Mr. Levine stated that PacTel's closest site to the proposed location is at Live Oak and the 605 Freeway. No one else spoke in favor of or in opposition to this item. MOTION It was moved by Commissioner Szany, seconded by Commissioner Amato to close the public hearing. The motion passed by voice vote with none dissenting. Commissioner Amato felt that this is an ideal location. Commissioner Szany thought this is the best location for this type of a use. MOTION It was moved by Commissioner Szany, seconded by Commissioner Amato to approve CUP 91 -016 and V -91 -001 subject to the conditions in the staff report. Arcadia City Planning Commission 11/12/91 Page 4 ROLL CALL: AYES: NOES: ABSTAIN: ABSENT: Commissioners Amato, Szany, Hedlund None Commissioner Clark Commissioner Daggett Chairman Pro Tem Hedlund noted that there is a five working day appeal period after the adoption of the resolution. PUBLIC HEARING MP 91 -008 284 Arbolada Dr. Mark J. Novell Construction, Inc. for Dr. and Mrs. Dale Consideration of modifications and an appeal of the Santa Anita Oaks Homeowners Association's ARB's denial of 6'-6" high fences, and, lamps on top of 5' -0" high pillars also, a determination that construction of the pergola is consistent with the approved design. The staff report was presented. In response to comments from the Commission, Mike Miller said that the Commission's findings and comments were communicated to the applicant and if the applicant was dissatisfied with them, he had the opportunity to appeal the conditions to the City Council. Staff stated that the Modification Committee's decision was appealed to the Commission and the fence was approved at a height of 4.6'. On September 24th, an inspection was made and determined that the front yard side property line walls /fences exceed the height approved by MC 91 -005; that there were electrical stubs installed at the tops of the pillars at the driveway rather than on the front and back sides; and, that the architectural details of the pergola are significantly different from the plans approved. The contractor was notified of these problems and of the process required to rectify the situation and plans were submitted to the association which were subsequently denied. The construction is on the front property line and the only item that may encroach would be the housing for gate opener and mailbox. Staff circulated pictures of the construction. Mr. Woolard said that the plans for the pergola in the packet are the copies of the original approved plans and the plans should be compared to the pictures submitted by staff. The public hearing was opened. Mark Novell, 55 Auburn, Sierra Madre, the contractor of the project, remarked that the project has a very nice yard and conforms with the area. The yard had a great deal of slope and in order to keep the fence symmetrical, they followed the slope of the lot. Chairman Clark said that the modification was for a 4.6' high wall and asked why the wall was higher. Denise Smith, 39 E. Union St., #210, Pasadena, the designer of the project said that the problem that they were faced with is that the property slopes from the north side to south, on the west there is 5.5% slope and on the east side the property slopes 2.5 %. The property also slopes from west to east and is a problem. The contractor was trying to deal with it in terms of making the fence match the existing site. According the Jim Kasama of the Planning Dept., the fence looked fine and he could not see a problem with it. The west property wall abuts against an existing 7.6' wall. Mr. Kasama was aware that they were trying to address the slope issue and thought that it was acceptable. Arcadia City Planning Commission 11/12/91 Page 5 In response to a comment from Chairman Clark and Mr. Miller, Ms. Smith said that the wall was designed to match the existing wall and Mr. Novell said that the area closest to street is 4.6'. The only area in question would be against the existing fence which is closest to the house. He remarked that the wrought iron fence at the east property line is higher and sits closer to the street than the one at Dr. Dale's house. Ms. Smith said that the wall was designed to match the existing wall. If one stood at the street and looked at the two walls, they would need to be the same height or it would look strange. Ms. Smith stated that since the proposed light fixture was unavailable, the owner was able to find a different light which is a top mount that subsequently changed the height. She submitted several pictures of similar lights on top of walls which exceed their request. They are requesting to change the location of the light from the side to the top and there are many examples within the association. Mr. Novell said that since they knew they were going to line with the existing wall, he did not bother to measure and built the wall to match the existing. In regard to the pergola, Ms. Smith said that the reason it is different from what was submitted, is because it matches columns that are installed on the porch and they were not able to get the columns in the dimensions they needed. Porch columns are larger, since they are supporting something that is much taller and the pergola is a much smaller dimension, otherwise it would be out of proportion and they were able to find a manufacturer that could do both, make the larger size ones for the porch and also reduce down an exact replica for the pergola entrance. The scroll work on the end of the pergola was modified to match the column, since it needs to echo the curb of the column, and that is the only thing that is different on the pergola. The decorative routing was omitted and the decorative scroll work at the end of each beam to match and reflect the column it went in. She remarked that it is architecturally harmonious and matches the house. She thought that it is a very aesthetically pleasing pergolla and is compatible with the house and is not offensive. She stated that these are very fine tuned design details. Commissioner Szany said that although the notches in the pergola are very minor, they began this project with a compromise. R. McMullen, 285 Arbolada, directly across the street from the proposed project. He said that the project is on illuvial fan; that is the property behind him is higher than his property, his property slopes down to the street and the Dale's property slopes down. When the construction was started by the contractor, a new driveway was on the side where the 4.6' fence exists and considerable fill dirt was utilized in the front yard. Large concrete block walls were placed at the house level to hide the dumpster. He remarked that in his opinion, the contractor had control of the grade. The front wall exceeds 5' by approximately 2" to 3 ", depending on how it is measured. He thought that the pergola exceeds 9'. He was in agreement with a letter submitted by Mr. and Mrs. Lewis and objected to the request. He felt that there were some efforts to circumvent the normal procedures. He stated that the construction is different from the plans that he has seen and he was both concerned and troubled. Geri Linnis Woodruff, 301 Arbolada, spoke against the request and stated that it is the contractor's, designer's and owner's opinion that everything is in scale and improves the property and she did not share that opinion. She thought that it is far too large of a scale for that property and said that they are exceeding what is permitted. She said that three property owners on this block have remodeled their garden within the past few years, all of which are in good taste and beautiful and none asked for a modification. Another house in the area which is architecturaly similar to the Dale's home, has not needed any modification to redo the yard. She thought that they should comply and that no modification should be granted. William Lewis, 300 Arbolada, said that the driveway pillars as they exist measure 5.4' from grade and if a 2' -10" fixture on top of it that will increase the height to 8.2'. He did not think that aesthetically the pergola as it has been constructed was the way that it was represented in the original plans, it neither complements the house nor the neighborhood. He was against the modification with raising the wall height and said that they should comply with the 4.6' height which is more than adequate. Arcadia City Planning Commission 11/12/91 Page 6 Jack Lynch, 224 Hacienda Dr., member of the ARB which reviewed the plans, said that as members of the ARB, it is frustrating when approvals are granted and the ultimate project is different than what was approved. The ARB is sensitive to the owner's and neighbor's feelings and the aesthetics of the neighborhood. Warren Dale, 284 Arbolada, said that they tried to improve the appearance of their home which he believed increases property values in the area. He thought the changes that are being discussed are minor and asked for approval. He said that if their wall was restricted to 4.6' then his wall would be 1' over his neighbor's driveway. He said that there has not been any grading and no fill dirt at the property. He said that the wall will have wrought iron fence and they do not intend to block visibility. Mr. McMullen said that he and his neighbor's were disgusted that they keep changing their plans and wondered why they did not ask for what they needed from the beginning instead of going through all these hearings. He was upset that they deviate from their plans. No one else spoke in favor of or in opposition to this item. MOTION It was moved by Commissioner Szany, seconded by Commissioner Amato to close the public hearing. The motion passed by voice vote with none dissenting. Commissioner Amato felt that they should comply with the original conditions and the contractor should know that if the construction deviates from the plan then it is his responsibility to notify the City. Commissioner Szany thought the builder should have been aware of the change and should have brought it up to the City. With regard to the pergola, he said that the notches should be put in and the beams should be set in to give a lower profile. He wondered if the wrought iron fence could be removed and to leave the wall which would bring the wall into meeting almost all of the standards. Commissioner Hedlund stated that he appreciated Commissioner Szany's attempts to a compromise but noted that this was a very sensitive project and he was disappointed that it was built the way they felt it should be constructed with no regard to the conditions set by the City or the neighbors and then blaming it on the slope of the lot. Chairman Clark agreed and said that there was a lot of opposition to this and a lot of compromises were made and he did not consider these changes as minor. He felt that 3' on top of pillars would be significant and resented the way the applicant handled the project. He was in agreement with Mr. Lynch and said that both the ARB and the City should be made aware of any changes. In response to Commissioner Szany's questions, Mr. Miller said that if the Commission denied the appeal then they will have to comply with the original conditions and if they don't, they will face legal action. Staff said that the denial of tonight's request would not rescind a prior approval. The only issue that may arise could be the actual design of the resulting wall. Commissioner Szany suggested removing the wrought iron wall to comply with Code, however, that would not be what the Modification Committee approved. Mr. Miller remarked that the Commission should keep in mind that there is already an approved decision that has been deviated from, thus the reason for tonight's meeting. If they were not pleased with the conditions that were set, they could have appealed the decision but since no appeal was filed, then they should comply. An alternative would need both the ARB's and City's approval. Arcadia City Planning Commission 11/12/91 Page 7 MOTION It was moved by Commissioner Hedlund, seconded by Commissioner Amato to deny MP 91-008 with Findings D.1, D.2, D.3. ROLL CALL: AYES: Commissioners Amato, Hedlund, Szany, Clark NOES: None ABSENT: Commissioner Daggett Chairman Clark noted that there is a five working day appeal period after the adoption of the resolution. PUBLIC HEARING Z -91 -010 All properties identified in the attached Exhibit "A" Consideration of a zone change from R -1 7,500 (single - family residential, with a minimum lot size of 7,500 sq. ft.) to R -1 10,000. This proposal changes the required minimum lot size for any new lot from 7,500 sq. ft. to 10,000 sq. ft. This zone change affects new lots only. If this zone change is approved, any new lot proposed in these areas must comply with the minimum lot area of 10,000 sq. ft. The staff report was presented and the public hearing was opened. No one spoke in favor or in opposition to this item. MOTION It was moved by Commissioner Amato, seconded by Commissioner Szany to close the public hearing. The motion passed by voice vote with none dissenting. MOTION It was moved by Commissioner Szany, seconded by Commissioner Amato to recommend approval of Z -91 -010 to the City Council. ROLL CALL: AYES: Commissioners Amato, Hedlund, Szany, Clark NOES: None ABSENT: Commissioner Daggett AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION John Mclnereney, 2800 Warren Way, said that after attending tonight's meeting, he has come to the conclusion that the City is doing a fine job in preserving the neighborhoods and was pleased to see the zone change. Arcadia City Planning Commission 11/12/91 Page 8 RESOLUTION 1473 Mr. Woolard read the title of the resolutions. A resolution granting CUP 91 -015 to operate a Karaoke studio with on -site consumption of beer at 612 -614 E. Live Oak Avenue. MOTION It was moved by Commissioner Szany, seconded by Commissioner Amato to adopt Resolution 1473 and to formally affirm the decision of October 15, 1991 and the votes thereon. ROLL CALL: AYES: Commissioners Amato, Hedlund, Szany, Clark NOES: None ABSENT: Commissioner Daggett Chairman Clark noted there is a five working day appeal period. MATTERS FROM COUNCIL None MA'1 "1'ERS FROM COMMISSION Commissioner Amato felt that the Commission handled tonight's meeting very well. MA'T'ERS FROM STAFF Mr. Woolard informed the Commission of the Council's action of the proposed ordinance regarding tree preservation. It was noted that the matter has been continued for further review and that only oak trees will be addressed in the new ordinance. ADJOURNMENT 9:20 p.m. r. Secretary, Arcadia Planning Commission Arcadia City Planning Commission 11/12/91 Page 9