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HomeMy WebLinkAboutDECEMBER 12, 1995 ", ... " , . . -MINUTES . Arcadia City Planning Commission Tuesday, December 12. 1995 7:15 p.m. in tbe Council'Cbambers Planning Commission proceedings, are tap" recorded and on file in theomce ofthe.Community Development Division, The Planning Commission of the City of Arcadia met in regular session on Tuesday, December 12, 1995 at 7:15 p.m. in the Council Chambers of the Arcadia City Hall, 240 W, Huntington Drive, with Chairman Robert Daggett presiding. ROLL CALL: PRESENT: ABSENT: Commissioners,BeU, Huang, Kalemkiarian, Kovacic, Murphy, Sleeter, Daggett None SUPPLEMENT AL INFORMATION .FROM STAFF REGARDING AGENDA ITEMS None TIME RESERVED FOR THOSE IN THE. AUDIENCE WHO WISH TO ADDRESS THE PLANNING COMMISSION ON NON"PUBLIC HEARING MATTERS (5 MINUTE TIME.LIMIT PER PERSON) None OTHERS A TTENDfNG: Council Member Chang City Attorney Michael Miller Community Development Administrator Donna Butler Planning Services Manager Corkran Nicholson AssistantPlanner Bill Stokes Assistant Planner John Halminski Secretary Silva Vergel MOTION It was moved by Commissioner Kalemkiarian, seconded by Commissioner. Sleeter to read. all resolutions by!itle only and waive reading in full, The motion passed by voice vote with none dissenting,. I. MINUTES 11/28/95 MOTION It was moved by Commissioner Kovacic, seconded by Commissioner BeU to approve the Minutes as published. The motion passed by voice vote with none dissenting, pcminulell21295 . , . . 2. PUBLIC HEARING CUP 95-012 1245 W, Huntington Dr. Raymond Cheng Consideration of a conditional use penn it to operate a tutoring school for 8th thru 12th grade students. RESOLUTION 1532 A resolution of the Planning Commission of the City .of Arcadia, granting/denying CUP 95-012 to operate a tutoring school aU245 W, Huntington Dr. The staff report was presented and the public hearing was opened. Raymond Cheng, 1611.S. Garfield, # I 00, Alhambra, said they are in agreerilent with all of the conditions in the staff report. Teddy Wu, 840 Woodward,said he was present to.speakagainst the proposal. He also had a letter of opposition from his neighbor who was unable to attend tonight's'meeting. He explained their experience is that the tenants of this building do not use their parking lot and park on the street, consequently, the homeowners can never utilize their own street to park. They are afraid to allow their children to play in the front yard and their visitors have no place to park, The street sweeper is scheduled to clean the streets on Fridays bilt because these cars are parked there, they cannot sweep the streets arid there is trash all over. They have spoken to the property'owner and have asked him to resolve this problem but hi: has not and his response waHhat this is a public sireet. Their parking J'ot:is always fulLand he wondered how another use could go there when'there is no parking, In rebuttal, Mr, Cheng stated that he has visited the site several times and has never seen it completely full. He,did riot anticipate a parking problem with this us,,; because most of the children will be dropped off and the parents will return later to pick them. up, They will begin classes at 3:00 p,ni. and the offices close. at 5:00 p.m. arid,he did not see how this would compound anything. 'He suggested that he would even call the County to discuss the parking problemwith'them to resolve Mr. Wu's concerns, No one eJsespoke in. favor or in opposition to this item. MOTION It was moved by Commissioner Sleeter, seconded by Commissioner Huang to close the public hearing. The motion passed by voice vote with none dissenting, Commissioner Kovacic. said the City has no jurisdiction over County streets and the problem should be directed to the County, Commissioner Huang empathized with Mr, Wu and agreed with Commission Kovacic, In response to questions by the Commission, staff said there are a few reserved spaces for the doctor's office on site but tlte remainder of the parking spaces are unmarked. Staff said that during several site inspections, he never observed any parking problem. He indicated.that the park does not have its own parking and itispossible the people park on the street to go to the park. It was also ncited that some people might park there to.catch..the bus, Commissioner. Kovacic wondered if the employers could encourage their employees to park on site? \ Ms,Butlerreplied that staff can write to the property Owner and the employers on site and request that they aSk their employees to park on site but did not think.that the burden should be placed on this applicant. MOTION It.was .moved by Commissioner Kovacic, seconded by Commissioner Sleeter to approve CUP 95-0'12 subject to .the conditions in the staff report. with the additional condition that the employees be encouraged to park.,on site and also to adopt Resolution 1532. Arca~ia City Planning Commission Page 2 12112/95 " . . ROLL CALL: AYES: NOES: Commissioners Bell, Huang, Kalemkiarian, Kovacic, Murphy, Sleeter, Daggett None Chainnan Daggett indicated there is a five working day appeal period after the adoption of the resolution, Appeals are to be filed by Tuesday, December 19, 3, PUBLIC HEARING TPM 95-003 303 Genoa Andy Wang Consideration of a tentative parcel map for a 2-unit condominium project. The staff report was presented and the public hearing was opened, Andy Wang, 1261 S, Hacienda Blvd., Hacienda Heights, said 'they are.in agreement with all of the conditions in the staff report, No one'else spoke in favor or in opposition to this item. MOTION It was moved by Commissioner Huang, seconded by Commissioner Sleeter to close the public hearing. The .motion passed bY'voice vote with none dissenting, MOTION It was moved by Commissioner Kalemkiarian, seconded by Commissioner Huangto approve TIM 95-003 subject to the conditions in the staff report, ROLL CALL: AYES: NOES: Commissioners Bell, Huang, Kalemkiarian, Kovacic, Murphy,.5leeter, Daggett None Chainnan Daggett noted that there.is a ten day'appeal period. Appeals are to be filed by Friday, December 22). 4, PUBLIC HEARING TPM 95-003 130 E, Foothill Blvd. Paul Korprapun Consideration of a parking. modification for 9 parking spaces, in lieu of 40 required for an existing 8,000 sq, ft, building to be remodeled into three new retail spaces. (This item was referred by the Modification Committee,lo the Planning COmmission.) The staff report was presented arid a video wasshowil. In response to questions by the Commission, staff said thafthe property!o the south does not utilize the alley and their driveway is private. Arcadia City PI~ning Commission Page 3 12112/95 " . . Ms, Butler said normally staff will not make recommendations for modifications unless there are serious problems and the decision is usually left up to the Planning Commission, If they had not enclosed the.loading area, this request would not be necessary, The closure added useable area to the retail space which triggered this modification. The: interior divi~ion Of the retail spaces does not need a modification, Commissioner Kovacic wondered if an intense retail use such as Blockbuster Video could go into this site with only 9 parking spaces that they must share with other tenants, Ms, Butler replied that any retail use would be permitted at this location without a conditional use pennit (CUP) with the existing available parking spaces. The Engineering Division could not findeanydocumentation for this alley and did not know why it exists because it serves no access to,any property. Although the fence can be kept they can technically neit block the alley with a gate. Mr, Miller indicated that the basic finding to vacate the alley is that it is not necessary for through traffic, either now or in the future, The alley seems to serve no purpose, especially since the wash is behind the trees and there couid have never been a through street. There does not'seem to be a lot of value to this alley. The City will continue to have absolute.righuo maintain sewer lines, etc, He felt the City shouid maintain the alley and reserye access to it. Staff indicated that with regard to the proposed uses" there isn't enough infonnation available about the laser disc store to know how much traffic it would generate. The smalleuhowroom for the furniture store, will probably generate less traffic. Ms. Butler'asked the Commission to keep in mind that the uses can change any time. Whether this is one,large building with one tenant ora subdivided building with severaltenarits, if this is granted, spaces will be gained over what is presently existing. This is all improvement over the existing situation because something is being' gained that was not there before. She suggested to the Commission not to make a decision based on the proposed uses because the uses can change, The.public hearing was opened, Paul Korprapun, 130 E, Foothill Blvd, and John. Faire , the Realtor, were present. Mr. Faire.said the art gallery will not have a lot of foot traffic, the existing furniture;storehas reduced its showroom space' and the laser disc store will also not have a lot of foot traffic. Laser discs are not like videos and are very expensive. He'did not anticipate having a lotof children visiting the store, He indicated thattheyeare also very sensitive. to the parkingissue.and do not w"!'ttocause any problems, !twas noted that the only entrance for the art gallery is. through theJront door and customers would not be able to walk in from the rear. No one else spoke.in favor or in opposition to this item, MOTION It was moved by Commissioner Murphy, seconded by Commissioner Bell to close the public hearing, The motion passed by voice vote with none dissenting. Commissioner Kalemkiarian felt this was an appropriate improvement. Commissioner .KovaCic explained the Modification Committee's action and said that arthe time this came before them, he did not feel he had enough infornlation, He was , surprised to see that a public alley was fenced off and was concerned that additional square footage was. added prior to obtaining approvals. He felt issues were raised, not necessarily solved by this request, but he wanted the Commission to be aware that aretail building of this size with 9 parking spaces can have a high . traffic use, such as a video store, When' this project was present~d, there was no parking plan, He felt by referring this to the Commission, the'plans would be more. formal. He weht on to say that possibly.theparking issue should be looked ihtowhen dealing..with mixed uses, In response to the Commission's comments,.Mr. Miller indicated that the vacation of the alley will be a condition of approval by this modification, The vacationisa separate process and this would:besubjectto that process, They would have,to go through the required process as determined by the City. Arcadia City Planning Commission Page 4 12112/95 " . . Ms, Butler said that if the Commission feels this is an appropriate modification, she suggested that the Commission approve it with the following conditions: I. That they proceed with the vacation of the alley and provide an easement to the City, 2, Building.Permits be secured for the enclosure, 3. The parking lot must be restriped in accordance with City's'Code and an appropriate trash enclosure shall be constructed, MOTION It was moved by Commissioner. Sleeter, seconded by Commissioner Bell to approve MC 95-047 subject to the conditions in the staff report with the additional conditions listed above, ROLL CALL: AYES: NOES: Commissioners Bell, Huang, Kalemkiarian, Kovacic, Murphy, Sleeter, Daggett None Chairman Daggett noted .that there is a five working day appeal period. Appeals are to be filed byTuesday, December 19). 5. PUBLIC HEARING T A 95c004 Consideration of a.text amendment for incidental outdoor dining areas in'commercial and industrial zones, The staff report was presented, Staff expl~ined that incidental dining for outdoor dining;s nollo exceed 12 chairs and Planning would review these requests, Chairman Daggett wondered why the, ilumber 12 was 'selected and how did they derive at that number? Why can it not be a percentage of the total indoor seating? [fit was a big seating restaurant such as the Claim Jumper, 12 would ,appear to, be very small. He wondered if instead of making it an absolute number if it can be a percentage? Ms, Butler said that outdoor dining in excess of 12 seats becomes less incidental, and based on the proposed regulations a conditional use permit (CUP) would be required, The Code was recently amended to allow for sidewalkdiningin.the public:right- of-way and the proposed regulationsare,thesarile format. Technically outdoor diriing on private property is not permitted without a CUP. By adding.these regulations to the code, the City'is making it easier for businesses to provide ouidooneating for their patrons, especially because restaurants no longer have offer smoking sections. If someone wants more seating than 12 they can apply for a CUP, [t was, noted that additional chairs might affect the number of required parking spaces. Stilfffelt this was more incidental and more in keeping with the already approved'sidewalkdiningregulations, Staff said these regulations would limit the outdoor dining specifically on the property and do not relate to the. public right-of-way. The intent of the 10' setback was to avoid any conflicts with the visibility standards, Staff did, not want a situation that fencing or chairs would block visibility. Depending on the setback of the' building, there might be f1ex'ibility to move the'dining area around such as the old Sawmill Restaurant where the building is iil the center of the properly. Staff wanted the regulations to be very flexible to accommodate the businesses. Commissioner Kovacic asked,if theoretically a restaurant that had 12 indoor seats can put 12 more outside of the building; thereby doubling the number of seats, if they comply with Code? What. criteria would the City use to deny a request? Arcadia City Planning Commission Page 5 12112/95 ., . . Staff'said an encroachment into the required parking area, proximity to residential propenies, conflict' with pedestrian or on-site vehicular circulation would be taken into consideration in denying an application, Additional parking is not being required for the incidental outdoor dining area and that is why'there was a limit placed on the number of seats. In the cases that have been approved with a CUP with seating for 12 or less, to date there has not been a situation that has funher impacted an already substandard parking area, Staff did not foresee tharas a problem, Commissioner Kovacic said in a worse case scenario, ana site such as 130'E, Foothill'with limited parking, ifthere was a intense use such as Blockbuster Video, would staff feel comfortable granting an incidental outdoor dining request because it is better to promote business? Staff replied that with the already ailopted ordinance an eating establishment is pennilled to have seats in the public right~of-way. If the proposed regulations were adopted, then.they would be pennitted to also have them on the sidewalk subject to ihe approval of Planning, The site mentioned by Commissioner Kovacic, 'would require a CUP for the restaurant. The intensity of the use would be addressed at that time. A business can have either seating on private sidewalk or the public right-of-way. They cannot combine them and take advantage of both. Any number above the 12 would require a CUP. Sidewalk dining and incidental outiloor dining are two different things, Chainnan Daggett wondered if the new restauranrbeing remodeled onHrst Avenue, could have seating for 16 because ofthe.great setbacks? Staff answered that regardless Of the size of the indoor dining or the size of the property,. anything above 12 seats for incidental outdoor dining would require a CUP, Even if they reduced the,number of seats inside, they could still only have 12 seats outside. Commissioner Murphy asked why parking was not being considered in granting, 12 additional seats? If all seats were occupied, one can ass~me that would be 6.cars and that would have an impact on a small'commercial site. He.felt eventually there would be a compounding affecl. . Staff arrived at that number'based on experience with similar existing proposals in the City thai have small seating areas, inside or outside of the building, Staff continually monitors those businesses and visits them occasionally and has not observed any problems, Staff does, drive by inspections to see impacts f(om small businesses that have,been approved throughout the years, Commissioner Kovacic asked could someone come before the Commission with a requesHor a CUP, that is greatly debated.as'far as parking and nor mention his intentions for requesting' outdoor dining and after barely receiving :approval from the Planning Commission.approaches.ihe Planning Section requesting 12 additional seating on the outside of his building? Staff replied that he would have the right to apply b~t the ordinance discusses the. welfare and safety of the adjacent . property owners which.staffwould take into consideration, knowing that the primary use.was greatly debated and concerns were expressed by the Commission, The neighbors would not be noticed of his request for the 12 outdoor seats, Ms,.Butler stated the elimination of parking to accommodate outdoor seating is prohibited. They wouldhave to be able to find a place on the property without removing parking, Mr. Miller asked.if staff can put in the staffrepon whether aproperty would be eligible for sidewalk. dining or not? Ms,.Buller thought that is a good idea and staffcan indicate that in the repon. Staff said there are provisions that the Planning Section may put additional conditions if it is deemed necessary, Ms. Butler said this ordinance would allow outdoor dining if an applicant complies with all of the requirements. In the eight months that sidewalk dining ordinance has been adopted, there have, only been 2 requests and both were approved, Mosl'Sites' cannot accommodate this and it would be difficult for most restaurants to comply with all the regulations. If one meets .all the criteria; then they should be able to do this, The City is trying to encourage businesses in the City, allow some flexibility with outdoor dining activity and to create more activity in the commercial centers which we'are lacking. Arcadia City Pl~ning,CommiSSion Page 6 12112195 " . . . Commissioner Kovacic,remarked that people will.sit anywhere and cited the Starbucks on Lake Ave, and California and the one on Rosemead and Foothill. He remarked thatpeoplewill sit outside in the weirdest places where there are no trees, basically sitting in the midd'le of cement. He felt it is their job to achieve a balance, and determine if it is O.K. to give on a parking problem and promote business with an expedited permit procedure and have more businesses on sidewalks? Staff.stated.that if a restaurant requires a CUP, during the hearing procedure the Planniilg Commission can indicate as a condition of approval that no outdoor dining be permined based on the appiopriatefindings, Mr, Miller said that a CUP is the strongest tool thaHhe City has and the Commission can prohibit the incidental use, given evidence to,support that valid discretionary decision. Ms. Butler re",arked that aIihough that covers new uses, this ordinance is for new and existing. uses; Parking has never been a critical problem based onstarrs .observations of the existing small eating establishments who have incidental indoor seating. Parking:standards can be very deceiving, On a single use the parking standard might be okay but,when dealing with multiple uses, it might not make as much sense when trying to interpret the Code, Commissioner Kovacic asked if parking was listed as part ofthe consideration, would it discourage people from applying? Ms, Butlet answered Ihat a parking problem is subjective, The intent was to try to give businesses that do not have direct frontage on a.public street"thesame advantage as ones that do have immediate sidewalk frontage, Staff indicated that the consumption of alcoholic beverages was permitted, Commissioner Kovacic asked could a ,bar then put chairs and tables outside and people'would just sit there and drink? Ms. Butler replied if it is a restaurant they can buta bar cannot. Staff explained that if a bar is the primary use,it would not,qualify, In response to comments.by Chairman Daggen,.Staff said Code requires 10 parking spaces for 1,000 sq' ft. of gross floor area. For example if an'eating establishment had 100 sq, ft, area of outdoor incidental dining area that would only'be I parking space, Commissioner Kalemkiarian remarked that based on all the comments, it doesn't seein that a restaurant that has 12 indoor seats would probably not have. the roomto,double their seating capacity, The public hearing was opened. No olle spoke jnfavor or in opposition to this.item, MOTION It was moved by Commissioner Sleeter, seconded by Commissioner Huang to close the public hearing. The motion passed by voice vote with none dissenting, Commissioner Huang conimended staff for initiating this text amendment. He thought it would be of good economic value for the City. MOTION It was moved by Commissioner Murphy, seconded by Commissioner Sleeter to recommend approval ofTA 95-004 to the City Council, ROLL CALL: AYES: NOES: Commissioners Bell, Huang, Kalemkiarian, Kovacic, Murphy, Sleeter, Daggett None Arcadia City Planning Commission Page 7 12/12195 .J " . . MATTERS FROM CITY COUNCIL CITY COUNCIL REPORTS/ANNOUN.CEMENTS/STATEMENTS Councilman Chang summarized recent actions taken by the City Council. MATTERS FROM THE PLANNING COMMISSION REPORTSI ANNOUNCEMENTS/ST A TEMENTS Chainnan Daggett discussed the Modification Committee Chairperson and the duration.ofthe tenn, Silva Vergel, the Secretary indicated that Commissioner Kalemkiarian would be chairing the first quarter and Commissioner Murphy the second quarter, MODI FICA TION COMMlTTEE MEETING ACrIONS CITY REPORTS/ANNOUNCEMENTS/ST A TEMENTS Commissioner Kovacic recapped the Modification Committee's actions, MATTEItS FROM STAFF I, CITY COUNCIL ACTIONS Ms, Butler gave a brief summary of the items that'were before them for consideration. 2. UPCOMING AGENDA ITEMS Ms, Butler announcedthe.applicationsthathave been filed and will be before the Commission as public hearings. ADJOURN TO JANUARY 9, 1996 9:00 p,m, ning Commission Arcadia Gity Planning Commission Page 8 12/12/95