HomeMy WebLinkAboutAPRIL 13, 1999
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MINUTES.
An:adia City Planning Commission
Tuesda)', April 13, 1999
7: 15 p.m. in the Council Chambers
Planning Commission proceedings are tape-recorded and on file in the office of the Community
Development Division,
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
The Planning Commission of the City of Arcadia met in regular session on Tuesday, April 13. 1999
at 7:15 p,m, in the Council Chambers of the City of Arcadia, at 240 W. Huntington Drive with
Chairman Paul Kalemkiarian presiding,
ROLL CALL:
PRESENT: Commissioners Bruckner, Huang, Murphy, Sleeter, Kalemkiarian
ABSENT: None
OTHERS ATTENDING
City Attorney Michael Miller
Community Development Administrator Donna Butler
Assistant Planner Kenneth Phung
Secretary Silva Vergel
SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION FROM STAFF REGARDING AGENDA ITEMS
Ms, Butler noted that.a letter was distributed from the Village Home Owner's Association (ROA)
with regard to the T A 99-004,
TIME RESERVED FOR THOSE IN THE AUDIENCE WHO WISH TO ADDRESS THE PLANNING
COMMISSION ON NON-PUBLIC HEARING MAITERS (5 MINUfE LIMIT PER PERSON)
None
I. MINUTES of3/23/99
MOTION
It was moved by Commissioner Sleeter,.seconded by Commissioner Murphy to approve the
Minutes ofMarch23rd as published,
ROLL CALL:
AYES:
NOES,
ABSTAIN:
Commissioner Huang, Murphy, Sleeter, Kalemkiarian
None
Commissioner Bruckner
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PUBLIC HEARING CUP 99-006 & RESO, NO, 1589
188 W, Las Tunas Dr,
LEADS for American Stores Properties, Inc,
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Consideration of II conditional use permit to construct a 15,250 sq, ft, Sav-On Drug store
with a drive -thru pharmllcy along El Monte Ave. In addition, the applicant is requesting'to
operate 24 hours and to,sell alcoholic beverages within 150' of residential property,
RESOLUTION NO. 1589, granting CUP 99-006 and approving ADR 98-053 to construct a
15,250 sq, ft, Say-On Drug Store with a drive-thru pharmacy arid to sell alcbholic beverages
within 150' of residential property at 188 W, Las Tunas,
The staff report was presented,
,Ms, Butler stated that the previous use, the bowling alley, had a bar and restaurant and served
alcohol after midnight. She stated that the westerly portion of the site (EI Monte Ave,) presently has
a higher block wall which helps mitigate the lights for the residents on EI Monte Ave, but code
allows a maximumofa 3' high block wall, The block wall is adjacent to the sidewalk and has dense
landscaping, The Traffic Engineer recommended that one of the driveways on Live Oak be
eliminated because it was too close to the corneL Even though EI Monte is a narrower collector
street it is a little different from Las Tunas, which is lI'major arterial street.
The public hearing was opened,
Daryl Christian, Leads, 1820 E, First St., Santa Ana was representing American Stores, They are
proposing a 15,251 sq, ft, Sav-On and approximately 3,000 sq, ft, pad for retail use: Presently, they
do not have an occupant for the retail store, Sav-On has been located in the middle of the site due to
zoning constraints, Landscaping will occupy 13% of the site, They do not object to plai1ting'more
mature trees, They wanted to design a building that would fit in with the community,
Hewenton to say that the intent of thedrive-thru driveway for the pharmacy is for the convenience
of their patrons, including the elderly an,d a parent with a sick child. They will not be selling other
items at the drive-thru, There will be two lanes one to drop off prescriptions and one to pick them
up, Under no circumstances will alcohol be sold to minors, They will be checking I.D, cards and
birth dates and will have security decoys come in to see if they can purchase alcohol. He explained
the loeations of the signs. Taco Bellis not a part of this application, In order to have that use; they
would need to rezone that portion of the property,
Harry Jakeway, 2715 EI Monte Ave" was in favor of having this use go into the center but he
requested that the existing wall remain or one similar in height be constructed along EI Monte Ave,
He assumed the wall was approximately 6' high because he cannot see over the wall. The wall
serves as a boffer to the three properties that are on El Monte Ave, directly across from the
driveway, They do not want lights shining through their windows, The wall would also reduce
noise level. He was concerned that the continuous left turn lane on EI Monte Ave. would wipe away
their on-street parking and would be dangerous for them to get in and out of their driveway, Where
would their visitors park?
Joe Porras, 2723 ElMonte Ave, was opposed to the driveway facing their homes on EI Monte Ave,
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In rebuttal, Mr, Christian said that they couldn't use the existing wall because they will be re-grading
the site, which will weaken the wall, Their engineer recommended what has been proposed, He said
that there would be three light poles at the property line and these would not be directed toward the
properties on EI Monte Ave,
Commissioner Murphy suggested restricting the driveway on EI Monte Ave, to ingress only, which
would mitigate the head light issue,
Mr, Christian replied that he would need to discuss'that issue with American Stores,
No one else spoke in favor of or in opposition to this item,
ChaillDan Kalemkiarianclosed the public hearing.
Commissioner Bruckner agreed with Commissioner Murphy's recommendation regarding the
driveway. This would help mitigate the noise and light issues,
Ms, Butler thought this couldbea good idea, She said the Planning Commission could take any of
the'following actions:
1. Take action with the reCommended actions
2, Not adopt the resolution tonight and ask that the Traffic Engineer review it again
She noted that if the applicant is not satisfied with the Planning Commission action, they could
appeal the decision to the City Council.
Mr, Miller said the Planning Commission does not have to adopt the resolution tonight, Staff
recently began presenting the resolution at the time of the hearing to expedite matters, But if the
Planning Commission would like to make changes, staff can return with a resolution that
incorporates their changes at their next meeting,
ChaillDan Kalemkiarian re,.opened the public hearing,
Mr, Christian said they need the driveway there to improve traffic flow on the site, He offered to
reduce their hours of operation to 8:00a:m, to 10:00 p,m,
ChaillDan Kalemkiarian closed'the public hearing,
Commissioner Sleeter said that he was going to recommend that the hours of operation be reduced
and if they find that they wanted to increase the hours they could return and request the amendment.
Commissioner Bruckner agreed that they should close at.1 0:00 p.rn,
ChaillDan Kalemkiarian re-opened the public hearing,
Jeff Timbers, representing American Stores, said they currently have two other stores in the city and
both close at 10:00 p,m, He said the EI Monte access is veryimportantto them.
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Mr, Jakeway agreed with Commissioner Murphy's suggestion because that would eliminate the
lights entering their premises and causing distractions,
Chainnan Kalemkiarian closed the public hearing,
Ms. Butler said the continuous left turn lane would not affect the on-street parking,
Commissioner Huang reCommended dense and tall landscaping along EI Monte Ave, to help
mitigate the raised issues, He also suggested that the north elevation along Las Tunas between the
two entrances be dressed up more with. additional architectural treatments, It is just a blank wall.
He also recommended similar changes to the south elevation facing Live Oak Ave, to screen the
loading area,
With regard to the south elevation, Ms, Butler said that there will be landscaping immediately in
front of the wall screening the loading area extending 2/3 to 31. up the wall in front of the wall. In
regard to the EI Monte Ave, she stated that the code allows a 3' high block wall. To have a higher
wall would virtually ,enclose the parking area, For security purposes, the Police Dept. likes to be
able to view a parking lot from the street.
ChainnanKalemkiarianrecommended that possibly the residents could plantlandscaping that would
block the lights, He resides along a busy street and he has taken steps to block lights,
Commissioner Bruckner remarked that EI Monte is quite different than Orange Grove Ave, Cars in
the center would be driving fairly fast, hit a bump and the-lights would go up and shine right into the
residents' homes,
MOTION
It was moved by Commissioner Bruckner, seconded by Commissioner Sleeter to approve
CUP 99-006 subjeCt to the Conditions in the staff report with the additional amended
conditions:
1. That the hours of operation for the drug store shall be limited to 7:00 a,m, to 10:00 p,m,
2, That deliveries and,mechanical parking lotsweeping equipment are limited to 7:00 a,m,
to 9:00p:m,
3, That all-freestanding signs on thesite,shall be restricted to "monument-type signs",
4, That a final landscape plan shall be submitted for review and approval to the Community
Development Division, Said plan shall include mature tree$ (minimum 36" box) subject
to the approval of the Community Development Division,
5, That a 3' high splitface block wall shall be constructed ' between the parking area and the
street along EI Monte Ave, Dense landscaping shall be planted along EI Monte Ave, to
screen the parking area from adjoining street and residential properties fronting on EI
Monte Ave,
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6, The driveway on EI Monte Ave, shall be restricted to ingress only, The driveway shall be
designed to restrict egress from this driveway and submitted to the City's traffic engineer
for design approval,
7, That the northerly building elevation shall be enhanced between the Sav-On Drug store
and the retail store, A revised elevation shall be submitted to the Development Se",ices
Department for its review and approval.
8, The amended resolution will be brought back at the Planning Commission~s next meeting
for adoption,
ROLL CALL:
AYES:
NOES:
Commissioner Bruckner, Huang, Murphy; Sleeter, Kalemkiarian
None
Chairman Kalemkiarian noted that there is a five working-day appeal period, The resolution will be
adopted on April 27th, Appeals are to be filed by May 4, 1999,
3, PUBLIC HEARING CUP 99-007
616E, Live Oak
Sam and Sue Lu
Consideration of a conditional use permit for a 995 sq, ft: martial arts studio in an existingretilil,
shopping center, The hours of operation will be from 9:00 am, to 10:00 p,m" six days a week.
RESOLUTION NO. 1590, granting CUP 99-007 for martial arts studio at616 E, Live Oak Ave,
The staff report was presented,
In response to a question, from the Planning Commission" staffindieated that the parking deficiency
would increasefrom 30 to 33, The proposed school is 100 sq, ft, larger than the previous martial arts
studio at the same exactIocation,
Ms,Butler said that the parking requirement is for schools and the code does not differentiate between
martial arts studios and other types of schools, Whenever there 'are any changes to the. building, they
are required to comply with existing codes, Two handicap spaces are required,and one needs to be van
accessible,
The public hearing was opened,
Maw Quan, 820 Marion St., Montebello, was representing the owner who was in the audience, He
pointed to a gentleman and saId that he is representing him, He is 83 years old but does not look it.
The reason for his youthful appearance is because he has practiced martial arts all his life and
attributes ,his youthfulness to it. He wants to bring the .same benefits to this community, He
anticipates se",ing the senior citizens and the children of the community. They are in agreement
with all of the conditions in the staff report,
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Grace Houng, 706 E, Camino Real, could ,not believe that the gentleman was 83 years old and if
manial arts has kept him looking that young, she probably would sign up for it.
No one else spokecin favor of or in opposition to this item,
Chainnan Kalemkiarian closed the public hearing,
MOTION
It was moved by Commissioner Murphy, seconded by Commissioner Huang to approve CUP
99-007 and adopt Reso, 1590 subject to the conditions in the staff report,
ROLL CALL:
AYES:
NOES:
Commissioner Bruckner, Huang, Murphy, Sleeter, Kalemkiarian
None
Chainnan Kalemkiarian noted that there is a five working-day appeal period, Appeals'lire to be filed
by April 20, 1999,
4. PUBLIC HEARING TA 99-004
Consideration of a text amendment to amend the R-O and R-1zoning regulations,
Ms, Butler said that the proposed amendment has been based upon staff's own experiences within
the City,
The public hearing was opened,
Ralph Bicker, Chainnan of the Highhmd Homeowner's Associatio~, 101 White Oak, spoke in favor
of the changes, Their board met and they 'are in agreement that the. changes are all good, It will help
their HOA and prevent homes witha3-story'affect,
Terry Earll, President of the Association of Arcadia Realtors, 725 Pamela Cir" requested a
continuance to allow them sufficient time to review the changes, He said although the staff report
was sent to him in March, he did not see it until a few days ago,
He stated that the changes would reduce property values because people will not be able to develop
their lots as easily, Taking the cost of land and the construction into consideration, it will not make
sense for developers to develop these lots, Who will that hurt? It will hurt the senior citizens of the
community who are looking to sell and to move out of the community, For most senior citizens their
homes are the most valuable asset that they own and the proposed changes will immensely hurt
thelIl, Developers will not be able to build the types of homes that new owners are looking for.
Times are changing, This community is no longer the "bedroom" community that it once was, New
homeowners want larger homes with at least 4-5 bedrooms, Taking a 7,500 sq, ft. lot and the
proposed FAR. of 50% they'could have a maximum of3,750 sq, ft, of building on the lot. A 2-car
garage is approximately 500 sq, ft, and by the time that all the necessities are taken into
consideration, they could. only build a 2,000 sq, ft, home, This drastically reduces property values,
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The proposed changes wiIl have a definite impact on homeowners who want to sell and retire, This
is a violation of property owner's rights,
Commissioner Murphy asked ifMr, Earll was concerned with the "mansioniZlltion" of the south part
of the City?
Mr, Earll responded that this was not a major concern, This can be achieved by having design
review instead of attacking it with strict guidelines, These changes will. in essence eliminate 2-story
homes on SO' and 60' wide lot. It would totally eliminate it from 60' wide corner lots, With the
proposed regulations, after deducting garage areas, homeowners would only be able to build 2,000
sq, ft. homes.
Patricia Ammon, 2506 Greenfield, said she was doubly concerned. Not only is she a homeowner in
the City, she is also a realtor, Most new homeoWners want larger homes and are not satisfied with
the smaller older homes that are in the City, The proposed changes would restrict square footage
and directly impact property values.
Henry Velasco, 11901 Deana Ct., El Monte, said the City needs to look atthe larger picture, There
will be econolllicalimpact if.the City changes the regulations,
Grace Houng, 706 E, Camino Real, said this would decrease property values because homeowners
would be unable to rebuild, This is a bad idea, It would increase property values for ones that have
already developed their properties,
Milton Bade, 77 W, Las Tunas, was in disagreemerit with the proposed changes, He said that he
discovered the proposed changes by accident. He happened to be in the Community Development
Division and staff informed him of tonight's hearing, If he hadn't found out by accident, he would
also not be at tonight's meeting, He was surprised that he was the only developer in the audience
because the changes will affect all developers in the City, He felt a lot more thought should go into
it. These are major changes, which will have great impacts on property values, and how ne~ homes
are built. The regulations and,FAR. are too restrictive, After taking the F,A.R, into consideration
and deducting the garage,space, there would be very limited square footage available for a home and
Arcadians want more, Even though, some homes are not as nice as others. are, the City cannot stop
progress,
Chairman Kalemkiarian asked how he would recommend balancing homes and makillg sU.re that
homes are more into scale? The city is trying to address issues and concerns that have been raised
by cutting up larger lots into smaller lots and developing with iarge homes that do not fit and are out
of scale, Where there used to be one large lot with a small unobtrusive house, there lire now 2
smaller lots with 2 very large homes,
Mr, Bade said that there are nottoo many homes that are outofbalance, Ifthey'were they would not
be able to sell them, He suggested getting together with other developers and staff to come up with
changes that they can all live with,
John Garton, 32 N, Golden West, said the proposed changes would be detrimental to the elderly who
have invested their whole lifetime in their homes and this is their nest egg, What they once thought
was very valuable, will now not be worth as much, Builders will be driven out of town, In his
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association there are stringent rules and it is very difficult for developers to build and this will drive
them away, It would not be economically feasible for them tobuild smaller homes,
Robert Tong, 141 E, Duarte Rd" said he owns a small home on Naomi, He hoped that one day he
would be able to rebuild but with the proposed regulations he will not be able to build his dream
home, The regulations are too restrictive and prohibitive, The F.AR restricts lot coverage and that
impacts the size of the home, He needed a home larger than 2,000 sq, it The proposed changes will
impact many homeowners in the City,
No one else spoke in favor of or in opposition to this item,
Chainnan Kalemkiarian closed the public hearing,
Ms,Butler was concerned about some, of the misinfonnlltion and lack of understanding, She could
not,see how some of the audience derived to the 2,000 sq, ft, house on a 7,500 sq,ft, lot. She said
the side yard setbacks, lot coverage and building height have not changed, She gave examples ,of
different scenarios and illustrated different ways on how large homes can still be constructed, The
intent of this text amendment is to reduce mass and bring projects more into scale with the lot,
Many people are complaining about very large massive two-story homes or two-story entries on
homes that do not fit on the lot. Certain portions of the City have architectural Design Review
Boards and in these areas plans are submitted to them for their review, The south portion of Arcadia
does not have these types of review boards,
Commissioner Bruckner wanted''to see examples of before and after; i.e" homes that can currently be
constructed on a lot and what homes could look after ,the F,A.R. have been adopted. He wanted
additional time to review this,
Chaihnan Kalemkiarian wanted to spend more time reviewing this text amendment
Commissioner Murphy felt the new homes should blend in with the old, New homes should be
compatible, He understood the developer's poiilt of view but felt in some'cases too much is being
put on a lot. He suggested giving serious thought to prohibiting chain link fences, He inquired
about RV and boat parking,
Ms, Butler explained the history of the R V ordinance and said that this is a very delicate subject,
Some discussion ensued about inclusion of R V regulations and possibly an amendment of it and Mr,
Miller reminded staff and the Planning Commission that the City Council directed them to review
the zoning regulations for R-I and R-O with.regard to mass, scale and bulk and not RVs,
It was detennined to continue the public hearing to the Planning Commission's May 11th meeting. It
was suggested that anyone interested in submitting their comments should do so by writing to the
Community DevelopmentDivision,
Commissioner Huang suggested increasing the noticing distance and Ms, Butler replied thatpublic
hearing notices are not mailed on text amendments, If they were, everyone in the City would need to
be noticed, Public hearings for text amendments are published in the paper, On March 9th, a letter
and packets \:Vere mailed to all of the Homeowner's Associations and the Arcadia Board of Realtors,
She asked that the word be'spread,
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Commissioner Murphy requested the developers, realtors and residents to please come back with
specific suggestions and not that this change wilJdecrease property values, The Planning
Commission is responsible for land use issues,
MOTION
It was moved by Chainnan Kaiemkiarian, seConded by Commissioner Murphy to re-open the
public hearing and continue it to the Planning Commission's May 11th meeting,
ROLL CALL:
AYES:
NOES:
Commissioner Bruckner, Huang, Murphy, Sleeter, Kalemkiarian
None
NON"PUBLIC HEARING I1EMS
5, CERTIFICA1E OF COMPLIANCE
900 W, Duarte Rd,
Eid Ballat
Consideration ora Certificate of Compliance for a lotsplit in. 1963 thai was not,recorded,
The staff report was presented,
MOTION
It was moved by Commissioner Murphy, seconded by Commissioner Sleeter to approve the
Certificate of Compliance,
ROLL CALL:
AYES:
NOES:
Commissioner Bruckner; Huang, Murphy, Sleeter, Kalemkiarian
None
MA TIERS FROM CITY COUNCIL
None
MATTERS FROM PLANNING COMMISSON
None
MODIFICATION COMMITTEE MEETING ACTIONS
Commissioner Murphy recapped the actions taken by the Modification Committee,
MATTERS FROM STAFF
1. CITY COUNCIL ACTIONS
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UPCOMING AGENDA ITEMS
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2,
Ms, Butler recapped the upcoming projects before the Planning Commission and recent actions
taken by the City Council.
She also stated that the grandstand renovations at the racetrack would begin after the racing season is
over.
ADJOURNMENT
9:50 p,m,
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