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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOCTOBER 2, 1997 . ~ MINUTES Arcadia City Planning Commission Thursday, October 2,1991 1:15 p.m. in the Conference Room nfthe Council Chambers Planning Commission proceedings are tape-recorded and on file in the office of the Community Development Division, PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE The Plamting Commission of the City of Arcadia met in regular session on Thursday, October 2, 1997 at 7:15 p,m, in the Conference Room of the Council Chambers of the City of Arcadia, at 240 W. Hlintington Drive with Chainnan John Murphy preSiding, . ROLL CALL: PRESENT: ABSENT: Commissioners Bell, Bruckner, Kalemkiarian, Murphy CommissionerS Huang and Sleeter. MOTION It was moved by Commissioner Kalemkiarian,seconded by Commissioner Bell to excuse Commissioners Huang and Sleeter froin tonight's meeting, The motion passed by voice' vote with none dissenting, SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION FROM STAFF REGARDING AGENDA ITEMS None 1. MINUTES of 9/9/97 It was noted that Commissioner Bruckner's name was omitted from the last paragraph on page 2 of the Minutes. MOTION ,It was moved by Commissioner Kalemkiarian, seconded by Commissioner Bruckner to approve the Minutes of September 9, 1997 as amended, The motion passed by voice vote with none dissenting. TIME RESERVED FOR THOSE IN THE AUDIENCE WHO WISH TO ADDRESS THE PLANNING COMMISSION ON NON-PUBLIC HEARING MATI'ERS (5 MINUTE LIMIT PER PERSON) None P<minutell02~ - - OTHERS AlTENDING: City Attorney Michael Miller Community Development Administrator Donna Bl,!tler Economic Development Administrator Pete Kihnahan Associate PlanneOames Kasama Garland Roberson, President of ABA Jerry Mascott TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION AND DIRECTION: 1. "Retail" vs. "Commercial" use. In the CDD zone the front one-third of the ground Door must be retail, unless "grandfa~ered" or constructed as an office building. This applies to all buildings along Huntington Drive and First Avenue. Commissioner Bell said that following the last study session; she visited other downtowns and saw the mix of service with retail and how one needed the other. She thought there should be a percentage of each, type of a use to provide for a,mix, The areas that.are exciting and interesting have a lot of things happening, Mr, Roberson said there are five new proposed businesses ()J1FirstAve, one of which is a restaurant On Saturday mornings, service businesses generally do not operate such as a tax office, He said that in talking with some of the businesses on First Ave" they do not know how much longer they can survive. He noted 'that his business declined during the construction but now it is up to almost what it was in 1995, The construction cost him 200/0 but.there were a lot of businesses that just could not make it and went out of business, Ms. Butler said that office uses could go into areas that are designed for office space. Staff can not stop a proposed use goingiilto a location ,that was previously the same type oca use, If the previous use is an office" and even if the. location is modified to accommodate a current tenant, it is stilI an office use. The use can continue to operate even if the tenant changes. This regulation is for any zone, This would be considered a legal non-conforming use, The code could be changed, Staff is trying to concentrate on retail. She called the AmeriClUl PlatIIling Association who informed her that a typical downtown is not alI retail but a mixture in the blend of uses because it brings in all sorts of people to the downtown, , Mr, Kinnahan said a restaurant is being proposed for the old Better Homes and Gardens and a retail use, i.e. a bookstore and a coffee shop, have plans fu go into the old. Landsberger building, There bas not been a study done with regard to the percentage of office vs, retail. Commissioner Bruckner said the distinction to him is retail,services as opposed to business services. For example, a photography studio is a walk,in service; it is a neighborhood service as opposed to a computer design software service, He noted that just because they regulate it a certain way, it.does not mean that the market will be the same, There are two ways to approach this, one would be to prohibit certain uses aild,the other would be creating a good ,environment for retail businesses to exist ,in and as leases becOme available retail uses would wantto go in there. Areadill ~ Planning Commission 2 1012197 .. - Commissioner Kalemkiarian agreed and was in favor of having .local business services. Downtown Myrtle Ave. in Monrovia is not the downtown metropolis that everyone thinks it is, Many of the businesses cannot wait until the theater opens, They took a proactive approach toward certain types of businesses and prohibited uses such as liquor stores, He agreed with Mayor Harbicht's belief that the City's downtown would never be completely retail'and would need office uses, They need to get people into downtown, They cannot risk waiting to see if retail uses colI\e in. Commissioner Bruckner was pleased to see some of the proposed businesses and to hear of the ones that are planning.to come into downtown. Chairman Murphy felt they should include Santa Anita to Santa Clara that is the same zoning. Whatever isrecommended on Huntington Dr. should also be made on Santa Anita to Santa Clara, Ms, Butler replied that an office use'is a permitted use on Santa Anita, On Huntington Dr. and.First Ave, they are only allowed retail oriented uses, Business. and professional office uses arenol permitted as appropriate uses on'the ground floor along Huntington Dr. and First Ave, She commented that there'is a distinguishing difference between the two streets, She asked the Planning Commission that as a result of some of the concerns and issues that were,raised, do they want to keep the zoning' as.it currently exists along Huntington Dr, and First Ave,? Do they want to allow service uses along Huntington Dr, but still ,maintain First Ave. as retail core or do they want to keep the existing zoning? . In response to comments by Commissioner Bruckner, Ms, Butler said, that if they did away with ARA Reso, 172, the only permitted uses would be antique stores, nail and tanning salons and fast food restaurants with an approved CUP. Chairman Murphy thought that they should liberalize the zoning on Huntington Dr" and Santa Anita Ave, to include service in the commercial zone but leave First.Ave. as it is currently zoned, He thought they should amend 9264,2,9 regarding the use of gJ:ound.floor for,retaillcommercial businesses and to allow office uses, Mr. Mascott'saidthe reason the speed limit was changed on First Ave, and atop signs were placed was to make the cars go slower so they would have the opportunity to .look into the shops and windows. The lower speed made pedestrians feel safe and comfortable, thus making it a pedestrian friendly atmosphere, They did not make any changes on Santa Anita or Huntington Dr. and pedestrians do not feel safe and comfortable due to the speed of the vehicles traveling on those streets, He thought that serious consideration should be given to lowering the speed limit. 011 Huntington Dr, In the original plan, there was going to be several stoplights on Huntington Dr, to reduce the traffic, The City changed the zoning to retail yet did nothing to create an environment-to encourage retail. Mr, Kinnahan said that as part of the Congestion Management Program fortbe L,A, County, there are certain speed limits that . need to maintained on Foothill Blvd" Huntington Dr., Duarte Rd, and Las Tunas Ave, because these are all main thoroughfares, There were serious concerns with traffic.safety issues. The traffic, engineer recommended that-unless and until there isa significant pedestrian traffic in this area, they should not reduce the speed, Arcadia city PJllining Commission 3 10/2197 ., - Mr, Miller stated that the Planning Commission could not reduce the speed limit because it is not part of their jurisdiction, Ms. Butler said that Huntington Dr. has been identified in the General Plan as a main thoroughfare along with the other streets. mentioned, It is a different atmosphere because there is a lot of traffic, it is a 4- lane street, the north and the south side of the street are divided'by alandscape median which separates the street. One does not get the same pedestrian friendly feeling on Huntington Dr, as they would on First Ave, which has only two-lanes, and has stop signs that slow doWli traffic to allow for visibility, Commissioners Bruckner and Kalemkiaiian did not want to wait and see what would happen and felt they should make some changes now, ChainnanMurphy'said that all of these changes could be amended if it is necessary. There are a lot of things that are being planned now that could change the present situation in a couple of years, He thought they need to ease up on the regulations and try to get some activity, albeit it may not necessarily be what they would prefer, He also suggested that they recommend to the City Council to repeal the 75% gross receipt rule as it applies to retail on Huntington Dr. and Santa Anita but leave it on First Ave, He went on~ say that there are several businesses that are currently on First Ave, but are not listed in the ARA Reso. 172 or the retail vs, services uses such as the saddlery, trophy and the framing shops, He thought all are appropriate uses, Commissioner Bruckner agreed with Chainnan Murphy in that they should define retail service businesses along First Ave. ihat are walk-in, have retail store fronts and provide neighborhood services as distinguished from business to business services. Chainnan Murphy suggested removing the restriction from Section 9264,2,3 prohibiting business and professional offices on the ground floor on Huntington Dr, and Santa Anita to the extent that it applies on Santa Anita but not First Ave, Ms, Butler summarized the Planning Commission's action, which is deleting Huntington Dc from Section 9264,2,9, She asked if they wanted to delete business services on the ground floor on First Ave, The Code does not prohibit uses such as P,I.P. or Kinko's in the downtown area on the ground floor because they are considered to be a service use, These businesses cater to businesses as well as the general public, She asked if they would. want to pennit employment services and management consultants on the ground floor on Huntington Dr.? Commissioner Bruckner thought it would be acceptable to allow any office use,on the ground floor of Huntington Dr. Commissioner Kalemkiarian felt they should give the area an opportunity to get some activity. Ms, Butler said that the mentioned businesses are not an issue on Santa Anita. The only two streets that uses were limited on are Huntington Dr, and First Ave, There are other streets in the CBD zone but these two streets are the only ones that they are focusing on retail type uses. Arcadia C~y Planning Commission 4 10/2/97 . - 2. Discussion of allowable uses in the C-2, CPD-I, CDD in Redevelopment Area (AHA Resolution 172). Ms, Butler said that beauty and suntan salons are permitted in the CBD zone, The intent is to eliminate ARA Reso. 172 and if they do that they need to think about how they to amend the ,Code to preclude some of the uses that are currently listed as inappropriate that are shown in the various zone. as being permitted, She asked if they wanted to amend the code to either delete them per A.M. Reso, 172 or allow them to remain? For example, a fast ,food restaurant; such as McDonald's, Taco Bell, Boston Market, is allowed in the CBD zone with an approved CUP but ARA Reso. 172 prohibits this use. Commissioner Bruckner, said he would distinguish it if it had a drive through or nol He felt that antique stores should be permitted anywhere in the CBD zone ifitis over 100+ years, If they were looking at.a pedestrian zone, the drive through would be inappropriate for First Ave, The Commission felt that the market would dictate nail salons. 3. Determination if a Martial Arts Studio is an appropriate use in the CDD Zone. Ms, Butler stated that if the Planning COmmission determines that this is an appropriate 'uSe, then they should recommend approval to the City Council that it be a permitted use in the CBD zone with an approved' CUP, Commissioner Bruckner remarked that he would not want this type of a use on First Ave, Commissioner ,Kalemkiarian thought this would be a good use with an approved CUP. He remarked that this is a traffic generating use, The Planning Commission recommended that.the City Council determine that this is an appropriate use in the CBDzone with an approved CUP, 4. Definition ofCDD "Retail". The CDD regulations seHorth such uses as barber, beauty and nail shops, shoe repair, tailor and dressmaking shops as "retail" uses (9264;2.5). However, Section 9264.2.9.3 of the CDD zone dermes "retail" as at least 75% of the gross receipts must be from the sale ohetail merchandise to the general public. Chairman Murphy thought that sattlery; trophy and frame shops should be included, Commissioner Brucknerremarked that in his opinion, the above useS are retail, even though they are not selling any goods. A retail use is a service to the neighborhood, Commissioner Kalemkiarian thought it would be difficult to enforce the 75% rule, Ms, Butler said staff could come back with a list of service uses that staff feels are inappropriate retail- uses, She agreed that saddlery;' trophy and frame shops should be included, She askeo about printing services and if this use is considered to be retail or service uses? She thought they could create a commercial, service oriented use and put some of the uses in there so they do not fall into the retail category . Arcadia City Planning Commission 5 1012197 . - Commissioner Kalemkiarian remarked that if they cannot regulate them then they should consider those services unless otherwise proved, Mr. Kinnahan..said they should define clearly what retail uses are, so there'will be a comfort level, and the ABA would also be in favor of. According to what they have heard from Mr, Roberson, it appears that the ABA only wants retail but the Planning Commission is leaning on having both retail and service uses. The consensus of the J}lanning Commission was to put neighborhood-printing services as arelail use, Discussion ensued wit\! regard to print shops, 5. Beauty/nail salons in the downtown area. Chairman Murphy said they do not qualify as a retail use so it would be prohibited, The Planning Commission continued the study session to Thursday, October 23; 1997. ADJOURNMENT AWufia city Planning Commissi<lD 6 I012J97