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HomeMy WebLinkAboutJULY 13,1993 I I ('U/lI, 'd 35: 01841'111 , '/'. t CITY COUNCIL PROCEEDINGS ARE TAPE RECORDED AND ON FILE IN THE OFFICE OF THE CITY CLERK ROll CALL M I NUT E S. CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ARCADIA and the ARCADIA PLANNING COMMISSION ADJOURNED REGULAR MEETING (YORK SESSION) July 13, 1993 The City Council and the Arcadia Planning Commission met in an Adjourned Regular Meeting (York Session) on Tuesday. July 13. 1993, at 5:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers Conference Room. PRESENT : Councilmembers Fasching, Harbicht, Lojeski, Margett, and Ciraulo Planning Commissioners Amato, Daggett, Hedlund, and Clark Commissioner Huang (arrived at 5:50 p.m.) ABSENT: It was MOVED by Commissioner Daggett, seconded by Commissioner Hedlund and CARRIED, to EXCUSE the absence of Commissioner Huang. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS None. 1. ARCH. DES. See page no. 2. REVIEW BD. 2. FASHION PARK MALL UPDATE 0....'. 'I' f~" Diane Naftzgar of Santa Anita Fashion Park Mall presented an architect's rendering of what the new Nordstrom store will look like and explained in detail the construction process that is currently underway. She also reported on some of the restaurants which will be coming into the new food court. Jeanie Van Amen, Marketing Director of Fashion Park, provided information as to sales, saying that as of the end of May sales were up It for the year. and for the month of May they were up 2t. In reference to the addi tion of Nordstrom to the mall. the 20 new shops and food court, Ms. Naftzgar stated that the community response she has received thus far has been overwhelmingly positive. An additional 500 jobs will be brought to the area, and approximately $1 million in tax revenue will be received by the City in the first year. In the discussion following the presentation, Ms. Naftzgar reported the Broadway Department Store will spend $5 million for renovations to their store at the mall. The renovations are currently in progress. Mayor Pro tem Lojeski commented that he has received about 30 phone calls objecting to the looks of the construction trailer located on the corner of Huntington Drive and Baldwin Avenue. He called City Hall and was told there was no cooperation from the people at the mall as far as being able to move the trailer to an inconspicuous ~ocation. Ms. Naftzgar responded that she was never advised of that situation. but she will take care of the problem. In answer to a question from Mayor Pro tem Lojeski regarding the feedback from people now that Santa Anita Fashion Park has been established as a non-smoking mall, Ms. Van Amen said the negative response has been about lDt, but overwhelmingly most people are in favor of a non-smoking mall. She thinks that fairly soon most malls will go to the non-smoking program. Ms. Van Amen announced the "Grand Opening" of the food court is scheduled for October 1st. -1- 7/13/93 1. ARCH. DES. REVI EW (), d, ' 'l~ f' 35:0185 Acting Planning Director Donna Butler gave a brief commentary on the Architectural Design Review Study Committee, which was established in October 1992 at the request of the City Council. The Committee's job was to look at architectural design review for the single-family residential properties in the City which are not included in the existing homeowners association areas- -the areas under consideration consisting of approximately 9,000 homes. Eight meetings were held, and guidelines were developed which concluded that design' review should be restricted to all new dwellings; all second-story additions; additions visible from the street; exterior alterations visible from the street; walls, fences, and hardscape located in the front yard and street side yard. The Committee is recommending said guidelines to the Council and Planning Commission. The Committee further recommends that the design review guidelines and board be comprised of the following: . 1) There shall be one Architectural Review Board for all single- family residentially zoned property not included in existing homeowners association areas (HOA). 2) If possible, areas adjacent to existing HOAs should be incorporated into the HOAs if property owners are interested and if the HOA agrees. 3) The Board shall be comprised of five (5) members with a minimum of two (2) design professionals. All members shall be from the neighborhoods subject to design review. 4) Staff shall be an ex-officio member of the Board. 5) The design criteria shall be broad enough and allow adequate flexibility of design to provide some generalized standards to avoid that which is .substantially unrelated and garish.. 6) There should be no fee for design review, consistent with the existing HOA areas. 7) There should be no ARB public hearing process, decisions should be made by the Board appointed by the City Council with input from the applicant only. 8) All decisions may be appealed to the Planning Commission and, if necessary, to the City Council. Ms. Butler then presente~ in detail the Committee's further findings and recommendations as set forth in Planning Department's staff report dated June 17, 1993. I Ms. Butler explained that there are currently approximately 11,742 homes in the City, 2,709 of which are located within homeowner association areas. In taking an average of four years of applications for design review received by the Building Division, it wea calculated that they would receive approximately 36 applications per month, or less if applications were only taken for additions visible from the street. The Committee also suggested some text changes, which included eliminating security bars from the front of dwellings; limiting front walls and fences to openwork, not solid; no more than four lights on pillars in the front yard; the maximum height of four feet for walls; light fixtures on top of pillars to be 18 inches; walls not exceed five feet on reverse corner lots. Tom Clark, Planning Commissioner, stated in part that he is still unsure of the need to go ahead with something like this. In looking I at the figure of 36 or even fewer applications in one month, and considering the appeal process. he feels it will be very time consuming. Mayor Ciraulo had concerns regarding how anyone would be able to devote the time required to be on a design review Committee. Also, he pointed out that the architectural review boards and homeowners associations now in existence try to see if a home fits in with the neighborhood. However, those neighborhoods have always had a consistent style of homes built, whereas in South Arcadia there are many different styles of homes. In answer to a question from Councilmember Harbicht regarding what will be subject to design review, Ms. Butler said the Committee was mainly looking at things which would affect the actual look of the house. the architectural design. but that a lot of things are still vague and do need to be clarified. -2- 7/13/93 I I 3. BUDGET UPDATE ,} \-) d ..-;() 35:0186 Mllyor Ciraulo then questioned how an architectural review board decides what fits in with the neighborhood. Tom Crosby, President of the Santa Anita Village Community Association, answered that bllsically a board is trying to keep a consistent. quality look that is harmonious to the rest of the neighborhood. A lengthy discussion followed regarding who would sit on this new board, how they would determine what architectural styles would be acceptable, and how time-consuming the application process might be. Opinions were expressed as to the need for an architectural review process for homeowners in South Arcadia. Commissioner Daggett noted that it seems perfectly acceptable to have several different style homes in a neighborhood, but, what the design review process is supposed to do is weed out those that consist of an improper application of commercial design elements on a residential structure. Mayor Pro tem Lojeski and Councilmember Fasching both felt that the proposed architectural review board would be of benefit to South Arcadia, and would not try to impose the same style house on everyone but would eliminate those garish designs that were not compatible with the neighborhood. Counci1member Fasching pointed out that this board would be made up of people who live in the neighborhoods subject to design review. Councilmember Harbicht has no problem with putting into the code certain restrictions on const;ruction. However, he believes that the board is an imposition of government controls on the property rights of the individual, and was especially concerned because of the subjective decisions that could be made by those on the board. Councilmember Margett looks upon this as being a neighbor-to- neighbor issue, not one of government control. Mayor Ciraulo reminded everyone present that there would be opportunity for more discussion at public hearings at a future date. At the conclusion of comments from the audience, the City Attorney clarified that there are standards and criteria, including definitions of compatibility and harmony, which were, unfortunately, not included in the materials presented at this evening's meeting. Staff will provide this information to the Council and Commission at a later date. Mayor Ciraulo thanked the members of the Architectural Design Review Study Committee for their time and effort on this project. It was MOVED by Councilmember Fasching, seconded by Mayor Pro tem Lojeski. and CARRIED on roll call vote as follows to DIRECT staff to prepare a text amendment for public hearings before the Planning Commission and the City Council. AYES: NOES: ABSENT: Councilmembers Fasching, Lojeski, Margett, and Ciraulo Councilmember Harbicht None Jim Dale, Finance Director, updated Council on the State budget. He presented information regarding the loss in revenues to counties, cities, Special Districts, and Redevelopment Agencies this year. Last year, the State took almost $500,000 from the City of Arcadia, or 9% of its property tax. This year, the State will take another $823,000 of the City's property tax, or 17%. The State is also extending the half.cent sales tax until December. This will go to the voters in November, and if the sales tax is passed and extended indefinitely, then the City will receive additional funds of $283,000, also a one-time transfer of transportation funds amounting to $257,000, for a net reduction of monies to the City of $283,000. The Finance Director went over his report of some of the goals the Finance Department has for the coming year, most of which have a positive impact on the City's budget. Councilmember Harbicht stated that. with reference to Goal No.1, he is not in favor of waiting until mid-year to review the financial position of the City for Fiscal Year 1993-94. He would prefer to conduct this review now, -3- 7/13/93 4. HARBICHT (Employees' off-duty activities) FASCHING (Karaoke) LOJESKI (Orange Grove Ave. Improve. ) ;? . '~ .. ' ,. ~ N' ,.. CLOSED SESSION , I "\ \ '.fO ADJOURNMENT 35:0187 which would allow eleven months to implement things that will get the budget in balance. Councilmember Harbicht felt that the possibility of Public Employees Retirement System (PERS) increases is an important budget issue. He understands that PERS took a look at their actuarial tables and said that the cities are falling short in terms of funding PERS to the extent necessary to pay retirement benefits that are accruing, and so PERS significantly increased the amount they said cities should be putting into the system. However, when cities complained over another "hit" to their budgets, PERS said they would take another look at their actuarial tables. He wonders if there may be political pressure to keep increases to a minimum, with the result that if their actuarial tables are correct, the minimal increases will not cover their shortfall. The Finance Director said that PERS' explanation is that they are questioning whether the people I who do the actuarial are basing on the right assumptions--for example, an investment return that is too conservative. He explained that PERS will make a decision at the end of this month whether to implement rate increases next month, so Council will have that information in about two weeks. ITEMS FROM COUNClutEKBERS Councilmember Harbicht brought up the matter of safety employees who participate in dangerous off-duty hobbies, such as race car driving, where they could injure themselves, and possibly later claim job-related disability retirement which the City pays for in full. Since the City does not hire safety employees who smoke, maybe there should be certain kinds of other activities that could be limited. The City Attorney suggested getting a legal opinion from Liebert and Cassidy as to the legal extent to which the City can control the off-duty activities of its employees based on the fact that those activities may contribute to injuries which the City is going to pay for. Mayor Ciraulo asked that the City Attorney follow up on this matter. With reference to a staff report from the Acting Planning Director asking for Council direction as to whether or not to allow karaoke uses in the City, Councilmember Fasching stated his choice would be to permit it with an approved Conditional Use Permit. It was pointed out that this matter would be before the Council on the July 20 agenda. Mayor Pro tea Lojeski said he hopes there will not be another deadlocked situation with regard to getting agreement with the City of Sierra Madre for the Orange Grove Avenue improvements. The County Public Works Department has said it would be feasible to reduce the rise on the easterly side of the Lima Street "dip," as suggested by Sierra Madre Mayor Gary Adams. However, Mayor Pro tem Lojeski is disappointed that nothing has been done yet to improve the street, which is in very bad condition. Councilmember Harbicht agreed, saying this dip creates a very dangerous condition, which could create a serious liability problem for the City of Arcadia. The City Attorney acknowledged that even though the dip had been approved by the County, if there were a problem, the City would be named in a lawsuit, and just to get out of it could cost $10,000 to $20,000. I The City Attorney announced that, "We're going to have a Closed Session under Government Code Section 54956. 9a to discuss Matthews versus Arcadia." At 7:50 p.m. the City Council entered a CLOSED SESSION, RECONVENED and ADJOURNED at 8:15 p.m. to Tuesday, July 20, 1993, at 7:00 p.m. in the Conference Room of the City Hall Council Chambers, for an Adjourned Regular Meeting to conduct the business of the Council and the Redevelopment Agency, and any Closed Session necessary to discuss personnel, litigation matters aluatio properties. ATTEST: ~~/~:i~~~ -4- 7/13/93