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HomeMy WebLinkAboutDECEMBER 11, 2007 . . 9 . MINUTES ARCADIA CfIY PLANNING COMMISSION Tuesday, December 11, 2007, 7:00P,M. Arcadia City Council Chambers The Planning Commission of the City of Arcadia met in regular session on Tuesday, December 11,2007 at 7:00 p.m" in,the.CouncilChambers.ofthe,City of Arcadia, at 240 W. Huntington Drive, with Chaitman Baderian presiding: PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE ROLL CALL: PRESENT: ABSENT: Commissioners Baerg, Beranek, Hsu and Baderian Commissioner'Parrille- MOTION: It was moved by Commissioner Beranek, seconded by Commissioner Hsu; to excuse Commissioner Parrille,from tonight's,meeting, The motion.passed.by voice vote. with none, dissenting. OTHERS ATTENDING Councilman' Peter' Amundson. Community Development Administrator Jason Kruckeberg Senior Planner Jim KasaJna' Associate Planner Tom Li Assistant Planner Steven Lee- Business License Officer Silva Vergel SUPPLEMEN!fAL INFORMATION-FROM.S!fAFF REGARDING-AGENDA- ITEMS. Mr. Kruckeljerg gave the Commissioners a letter from David and Jill Muhs regarding Item' 2. TIME RESERVED FOR THOSE IN THE AUDIENCE WHO WISH TO ADDRESS THE PLANNING-COMMISSION. ON. NON-PUBLIC HEARlNG-MAT-TERS,- Five-minute.tlme- limit per person. None- . . h. PUBLIC 1lEARING---MODIFICATION-NO. MP 07-08-and'ARl:UHECfURAL DESIGN REVIEW NO. ADR 07-17 724 WestFairview Avenue. Robert Tong (Designer, on. behalf of property. owner, Dexter Fairview, LLC) The applicant has requested an Architectural Design Review and the following Modifications for a proposed8-unitresidential condominium project on an R-3 multiple- family zoned property: A A 25'-0" driveway width in lieu of the minimum 30'-0" required when adjacent toa garage opening, and B, A 19'-0" garage depth,inlieuoftheminimum 20'-0" required. Associate Planner Lee presented the, staff report, Commissioner Hsu asked if any similar Modifications have been granted and Mr. Lee said,there-had not: ' The public hearing.was.opened. Mr, Robert Tong, the applicant and project designer, accepted all conditions of approval and thanked stafffor their work on the,project. Mr, Tong.a1so said.that the driveway was placed in the middle to afford more space for the units and to save ttJ,e Iacarandaand palm trees, MOTION: It was moved by Commissioner Beranek, seconded by Commissioner Hsu to close the pliblichearing, Without objection the public. hearing-was closed, MOTION: It was moved by Commissioner Hsu, seconded by Commissioner Beranek, to approve Modification No, MP 07-08 and.ArchitecturaI Design Review No. ADR 07-17 subject to the. conditions in the staff report, PC MINUTES 12-1I~ "'2 . . ROLL CALL: AYES: NOES' ABSENT: Commissioners Baerg, Beranek, Hsu, and Baderian None- Commissioner Parrille' There.isa fiveworking.day..appeal period. Appeals are.to.be.filedby December 18, 2. PUBLIC BEARING - MODIFICA nON NO. MP 07-09 1446 San. Carlos Road' Phuong,"Kenny" Tran(OwnerlBuilder) The applicant is appealing the Santa Anita Oaks Association's denial of the proposed archiiectural design, and requesting the following Modifications for a proposed rebuild. that would add 2,164 square feet.ofliving space and a new detached, 713 square-foot, three.ClIr. garage. to the previously existing,2,563 square foot single-story, single-family residence: 1. A 17'-6" front entry height in lieu of the maximum permitted height of 14' .0"; 2, A.IS'-O" northerly street side yard. setback in lieu of the minimum 3S'.o" special setbackrequired for the detached garage; 3. The existing 20'.0" northerly streeuide yard setback in lieuofthe.minimum3S'.o" special setback required for the main dwelling; 4. A 10'.0" southerly...side,yard setback in lieu of,theminimum 1~-0" required; 5. A deletion of the minimum 12'.0" southerly side yard setback. requirement for the replacement. of the existing pool equipment; 6, A 6'-0" high driveway gate and block wall to be located within the vehicular visibility. clearance area. Associate Planner Lee.presentedthe.staff report. Commissioner Hsu asked if there were code violations as described in the letter froin Mr, and.Mrs, Muhs and. how this type. of situation is haiulled, Mr, Lee,explained that although there were no code violations, demolition work was done without permits, Mr, Lee.added thatin such a case, aBuilding Inspector is sent to inspect the. site and secure. permits. The public,hearing.was.opened, Mr, James Allen said he was representing Mr. Tran. He said that Mr. Tran wants to build abetter property and briefly reviewed the building and landscape.plans, Chairman Baderian asked if the applicant had reviewed and consented to the conditions of approval. PC MIN\ITES 12'1I-ll1 Pag.3 . . Mr. Allen said that Mr, Tran does not agree with condition I as there are other properties in the area with entries exceeding 14 feet in height and he questioned why thisregulation. should be applied to his property now, Mr. Allen introduced the designer, Mr, Jose Alphonse Arceo, Mr, Arceo said that items I and. 6 are.preventing.progress,on.theproject. Condition number I relates to enuy height which is being reduced. to meet recommendations and item 6 is not an issue since the driveway 'onto Orange Grove:is.going.to. be.sealed, Commissioner Baerg asked Mr, Arceo why he thought they had not been able to resolve their ditrerenceswith.the-Architectural Review Board. Mr, Arceo said that he believes the neighbors will have no objection once they see the finished project, Chairman Baderian asked if anyone.wantedto speak in opposition to the.project. Mr, Joe Labrie said that he is the neighbor directly to the south of the project site and that heis.alicensed professional civil and.structural engineer, He expressed concern about the development, particularly Modifications 4 and 5. He explained that Modification 4 is a request for a 10 foot side. yard setback in lieu ofthe.l2.footsetbackthat is required, Mr, Labrie said the applicant made misleading and inaccurate claims in stating that the existing.south wall.is 11 feet and 4 inches,fromthe.property line. He,saidthathe personally verified that the south wall is actually 10 feet and II inches from the property line: Also, Mr. Labrie saidtbat.the applicant claimed, that Mr, Labrie's home is8 feet 5 inches from the property line and, in fact, it is 10 feet from the property line, in full compliance. with.city standards.and-approved.by the. Architectural. Review.Board, Further, Mr, Labrie points out that the applicant wants to extend the existing 24 foot southerlywa1l by. more than 50"1o.to 39 feet and that there is no reason. or. justification that doing so would "securean.appropriate improvement", Therefore, Mr, Labrie stated that it . is. appropriate to request that the applicant. comply. with.city code.standards:for this new construction and deny this request for a modification, Regarding Modification 5, deletion of the 12 foot side yard setback for pool equipment, Mr, Labrie said that the. applicant claimed that theequipment.ismerely. being-replaced, when, in fact, the equipment,.itsfoundation and the enclosure have already been demolished without apennit, He,saidthe appiicant is requesting. new equipment and new construction to be installed in a noncompliant manner, Mr. Labrie said that the applicant has stripped the. site of mature. vegetation that insulated the neighboring homes from unsightly construction and pool equipment noise, Currently, Mr, Labrie said, there is no. pool. equipmentand,surrounding.structurebut that future.constiuction will. inhibit access to the property and poses a significant safety hazard and, therefore, it'is not reasonable to, allow a new pool enclosure and equipment to be.built contrary to city standards. For these reasons, Mr. Labrie is asking the Commission to also deny the request for Modification 5. PC MINUTES 12.ll~7 Page 4- . . Commissioner Beranek asked about the photo of the pool equipment site noting that there appeared to be nothing. there. Mr, Labrie.confirmed that the pool is there but everything, else is gone, Mr, Oavid Muhs, who lives across the street from the project site, said that he submitted alettertoth~Commission but wantedto.add more.informatioll; He.had'slides of the- neighborhood showing that the area.is predominately occupied by one story ranch homes builtin.the ]9S0's that arecwell landscaped.with mature.vegetation. Mr. Muhs.showed a. picture of the project site before the cUrrent construction with large mature trees. He said that all of the trees except one. have, been removed including:amatureoak, a liquid amber and a pine. Mr. Muhs is very concerned that these trees be replaced with trees of similar size.and appearance, He also pointedout.thatthe proposed entrancejs out of scale for the neighborhood and showed pictures of neighboring homes for examples, He also includedone,home.that had a massive entrance which he, felt was,inappropriatefor the area, Mr, Muhs asked that the Commission send the project back to the Architectural Review Board for resolution; Mr. Thomas Beck, a member of the ARB since ]990, said that the ARB has not seen final p1ansandthat he is concerned that theapplicant,is.not following.rules, Mr, Beck said.he is not even sure who the owner of the property is and that he suspects that this is a "spec build". Mr, Beck expressed concern for the neighbors.to the south and.about protecting. the setbacks which the ARB strictly enforces. He is also concerned ahout the foliage becausethe.applicanthas replaced trees.inappropriately.on.anothet: sitenearhy. Commissioner Hsu asked if plans had been submitted to the ARB at the October 29 meeting, Mr. Beck said they have. only seen preliminary plans" Mr. Jack Lynch, a 20 year member of the ARB, said he has never seen a project requesting so many variances. He,said the ARB enforces the,city;rules,and.thatthere,is no reason why this project cannot comply with these rules. He is concerned about the setbacks and landscaping. Mr, Allen said he bought the house in July, 2007, and that he and Mr. Phong were joint owners because.they are, business. partners, He said that Mr. Phong,wona.lotofmoney,in. Las Vegas so Mr, Allen sold it back to Mr. Phong for tax purposes although Mr. Allen intends to, live in the house, Mr, Allen,said.that.he,only:wants to extend the,south wall 39 feet maintaining the line of the house, He also said he is not sure where the property line is, He does not want to build a two story property because it would not blend in with the. neighborhood, Mr, Allen said that the p<x>1 equipment was removed because it wasJaulty and that he could.not get insurance,on,the. property, because the dead foliage made it afire hazard so the trees were removed. He understood that pennits were not required for tree removal, Mr, Allen said that he only wants tomaintain.the,beauty of the: neighborhood and will. comply with the conditions, PC MINUfES '12--11-07 PageS . . MOTION: It was moved by Commissioner Beranek, seconded by Commissioner Hsu to close the public.hearing. Without objection the public.hearing.was closed. Commissioner Beranek said it seems like the ARB is doing a good job and we should support them, Commissioner Hsu said he felt that there was a lack of communication and that the project should be, sent back to the'ARB for further consideratioll; Commissioner Beranek asked if the Commission has the option to send the project back to the.ARB.or only to deny or approve.it, Mr, Kruckeberg explained that there is no change to the policy that the city has relating to the ARB, i,e., if the. applicant chooses to appeal the ARB decision, the Commission will. process the appeal. He said the Commission can detennine that some or all of the issues are better addressed at the.ARB level and remand. the project backto the. ARB in full or in part, MOTION: It was moved by Commissioner Beranek, seconded by Commissioner Hsu, to remand this prOject to the ARB for further deliberation, Mr,Kruckeberg noted that this would not necessarily impact the Modification.requests and the, project couldeventua1lyreturn to the.Commission. ROLL CALL: AYES: NOES: ABSENT: Commissioners Baerg, Beranek, Hsu, and Baderian None' Commissioner Parrille- Thereois.afiveworking,dayappeal,period, Appealsareto.be.filed by December 18. 3. PUBUC HEARING - MODIFICATION NO, MP 07-10 and SINGLE-FAMILY ARCHITEeTURAL DESIGN REVIEW NO, SFADR07-6$ 2421 EI Capitan Avenue Joseph.Pham(property. owner) The applicant is requesting the following Modifications and the related Single-Family ArchitecturaIDesign Review for a single-family residential "rebuild": pC MINlITES 12-11..07 Page 6 . . 1. A 5' -6" northerly side yard setback in lieu of9' -4"; and 2, A 5' -9" separation between the. main dwelling-and theexisting-twCH:ar. garage in lieuofIO~-O" required. Assistant,Planner Steven Lee,presented the.staff report. Mr, Joseph Pharo, the applicant, accepted all conditions of approval and offered to answer questions, The public, hearing.wasopened. Mr. Kuo Liang Chien, a neIghbor, expressed concern about the 5'6" setback in lieu of9'- 4" on the. northerly side, Mr, Chien presented. a video demonstrating-the noise level at his home from the swinuning pool pump at the project site. He also expressed concern about the noise. from the. air conditioning-unit during.the.summer; Mr, Chien asked the. Commission to enforce the setback regulations so that his family will not be subjected to these.noisl:' levels; Mr. Pham, the applicant, said that the noise was from the old pool equipment and air conditioning. unit, . He. said the poo\.euquipment would be-replaced with a quieter. mode\. and that the air conditioning unit will be moved farther away from Mr. Chien's property which. should resolve the noise problem, Commissioner Beranek asked Mr, Pharo if he knew what the noise level would be with the. new. equipment and Mr, Pharo said he. did. not, but that the newer. models are all quieter, MOTION: It was moved by Commissioner Hsu, seconded by Commissioner Beranek to close the public hearing, Without objection the. public hearing-was' closed, MOTION: It was moved by Commissioner Beranek, seconded by Commissioner Hsu, to approve ModifitationNo. MP 07-lOandSingle,.Family ArchitecturaI Design Review No, SF ADR 07-68 subject,to the conditions. in the-staff report, ROLL CALL: AYES: NOES: ABSENT: Commissioners Baerg, Beranek, Hsu, and Baderian None- Commissioner Parrille' pc'MIN1.rI'ES 12.11.07 Page 7 . . There is a five working day appeal period. Appeals.areto be. filed by December 18. 4. PUBLIC BEARING - CONDmONAL USE PERMIT NO. CUP 07-12 and ARl:H1TECTURAL DESIGN REVIEW NO. ADR 07-21 630.East Live.Oak: Avenue- The Church in Arcadia (David Dong, Church President) The applicant is requesting a Conditional Use Permit with Parking and Zoning Modifications and Architectural Design Reviewfor anew, two-story, 23,000 square-foot. church/meeting hall with a maximum attendance of 1,000 people, Senior Planner JimKasama presented the staff report, Mr, John Peruzzi, the architect for the project, said that the applicant will comply with all conditions and thanked staff for their efforts. Mr. Michael Keith, a member of the church, said he supports the project because chUrches.. help stabalize. families and communities and that this facility will support the whole. city of Arcadia Mr, Stephen Hurly, a new resident of Arcadia, said that the church welcomed him when he. moved to the city, He. said the church is.filled with wondertiil people. and that the facility would be.agift to the community, . Dr, C, p, Cheng, a member of the church, said that the church has been very helpful to his. family, Dr. Cheng. said. there. is no reason to. reject their application and that he, supports their project. Mr, Tim Sears recently moved to Arcadia and became a member of this church. He,feels that the church welcomes everyone,and that.the proposed facility Will bean asset to the. city, Mr. Chao Ma has been a member of the church for almost 30 years, He believes that the public. hearing. will bring, about mutual. understanding. and. public awareness, Mr, Ma. described the benefIts.of having a church in the, neighborhood and.said that the benefits far outweigh any possible.negative,.factors, Mr, Masaidthat the church is willing to do whatever is necessary to. accommodate the neighbors. Mr, Paul Alikin said he also supports the project and pointed out that having,the church in the, neighborhood is also. good for business, Mr, Louie Hernandez said that the project will be good for the community. He said his family has been closely,associatedwith the. church for a long time and he has.seen the. good.that.the.church has.been.able,to accomplish.. He.explained that the. church PC MINUTES 12-11.07 Page 8 . . sometimes conducts events in conjunction with other churches requiring the use of a large meeting.room. Ms. Claire Chang said she grew up in the Church in Arcadia and that she feels that the church has been a beneficial influence-in her lif~ She said she-feels that the church will haveothe.same,positive.affect on. others. Ms, Elaine y, Chen said she grew up in Arcadia and attended local schools. She was also a member of the church which.provided.spiritual support throughout her. life, She. said she ,supports the. project: Chairman Baderian asked if there was anyone that wished to speak in opposition to this project. There.were,none, MOTION: It was moved by Commissioner Beranek, seconded by Commissioner Hsu to close the public hearing. Without objection the.public.hearing.wasclosed. Commissioner Bearg asked about conditions 4 and 5 related to ceremonies and asked if these are decisions that normally should be left to the church rather than the. Planning- Commission: Mr, Kasama said the conditions were designed to restrict the use of the facility to the applicant and to control,attendance.andfrequency of activities. Chairman Baderian asked about parking for the three or four major events yearly. He noted that the parking. lot could not provide. sufficient parking for these events and off-site, parking,would be required, He asked how staff would regulate. the parking, Mr. Kruckeberg said the number of events was limited by Condition 3 to three or four events.per. year and that the, church will be.responsible.for providing parking. Hesaid.there are several options available.to them, Chairman Baderian said that at the prior hearing for the zone change, etc., the neighbors expressed concern about parking.for these, special events, Commissioner Hsu also expressed concern about the special event parking because he said he ,knows of no parkingJotinthe.area that can accommodate. the overflow. He.askedifthe. regional meetings could be eliminated. Chairman Baderian asked if condition 3 could be revised to incorporate procedures to cover parking at the regional meetings so that ,it does not have a negative impact on the. community. PC MINUTES .12-11-07 Pllge 9 . . Mr, Don Penman, Development Services Director, said that the.city has been working with the applicant on this issue. and-suggests that the applicant notify the city in advance of a regional meeting and provide their plan to handle the parking, He also noted that the CUP could be reviewed and modified as necessary, Chairman Baderian agreed that the requirement for advance notice to the city of a regional meeting along.with a parking plan should be included in the conditions. Commissioner Hsu said he noticed that the plan showed sharing of the 25 foot wide access road with the- Par 3 Golf Course-and he-asked if there-could be-dedicated access'to the- church parking. lot instead. Mr, Kruckeberg said that there are traffic improvement measures included in the project that should alleviate. traflk problems and that additional driveways on Live Oak Avenue- are:not desirableo MOTION: It was moved by Commissioner Beranek, seconded by Commissioner Baerg, to approve Conditional Use,Permit No, CUP 07-12. and Architectural,Design.Review No. ADR 07- 21, subject to the conditions in the staff report and including the additional conditions requested by the.Commissioners, ROLL CALL: AYES: NOES: ABSENT: Commissioners Baerg, Beranek, Hsu, and Baderian None- Commissioner Parrille- There is a five working day appeal period after the adoption. of the Resolution, The Resolution will be, presented at the.next Planning Commission meeting, CONSENT ITEM 5. MINUTES OF NOVEMBER27, 2007 RECOMMENDATION: Approve. PC MINUTES 12.11-07 Page 10 . . MOTION: It was moved by Commissioner Hsu, seconded by Commissioner Beranek to approve the minutes of November 27, 2007 as submitted, ROLL CALL: AYES: NOES: ABSENT: Commissioners Baerg, Beranek, Hsu and Baderian None Commissioner Parrille MATTERS FROM. CITY COUNCIL AND-PLANNING. COMMISSION Councilman Amundson reported that the Council is still working on the restructuring of Recreation fees and that he has conveyed theCommission~s desire for ajointmeeting to. the new City Manager, Mr. Penman. The meeting will probably take place after the elections in April. He also said they are hoping for a good resolution with.the Police. Department negotiations, Councilman Amundson distributed material from UCLA Extension on Planning. classes and he. wished everyoneaMerry Christmas, MODIFICATION, COMMITTEE MEETING-ACTIONS. Mr, Kruckeberg reviewed the actions of the Modification Committee and said there were three.items.onthe.agenda, two were. approved and one was denied. FURTHER MATTERS FROM STAFF Mr. Don Penman, the new City Manager effective January 1, said that he intends to appoint.Mr. Kruckeberg,asthe.new Director of Development Services, in January, Mr, Pat Malloy, Public Works Services Director, will be appointed Assistant City Manager and Mr. Phil Wray, City Engineer, will be. appointed Deputy Director of Development Services, including Trafikand Transportation. Services. ChainnanBaderian congratulated Mr, Kruckeberg and Mr.. Wray, Mr. Kruckeberg told the Commissioners to advise him if they wanted to attend any of the UCLA Extension training courses. He.said therear~two classes especially for. Planning- Commissioners. one on January 31 and one on March 6, Mr. Kruckeberg noted that an artiCle from the LA Times on McMansions was included in the,Planning Commissioners' packets. He said many of the issues discussed in the.article are applicable to Arcadia, PC MINtJI'ES 12-11-07 Pagc11 . . Mr, Kruckeberg mentioned that a letter of appreciation was sent to Professor Delgado at CalPolyat Chairman Baderian's requesuo thank.her and her students for their project and the,November 27 presentation to the Commission, Lastly, Mr. Kruckeberg told the Commissioners that there will be no meeting on December 25 and that the next meeting-will be. on January, 8, .20.0.8. ADJOURN TO JANUARY 8, 2008 9:0.0. p,m_ IslJason Kruckeberg Secretary, Arcadia Planning Commission PC MINUTES 12.Jl~7 PagcU ....>" \ . . \ \ . \ \. " SIGNING THIS DOCUMENT IS VOLffi.;iARY - YOUR A TTE~'DANCE &.P ARTICIP A TION DOES NOT REQUIRE SIGNING THIS DOCUMENT. PRINTING YOUR NAME, ONLY ENABLES THE SECRETARY TO CORRECTL Y SPELL YOUR KAME & ADDRESS. Please PRINT your name and address below: NAME ADDRESS t b ~ l S (M- '(J; 11-9-/7 fJJ;v c~~,t2;;~ '1./ I CrJA/ 10 s fLvl. 23(" H~'<=/-.JD/) I/. f-f <.? k' 0\4 LldNl Jo ~~ fpj2.vP~1 ~ )( l t f?l{ (c 7' .~ It . . SIGNING THIS DOCUMENT IS VOLUNTARY - YOUR A TTEl\'DANCE & PARTICIPATION DOES NOT REQUIRE SIGNING THIS DOCUMENT_ PRINTING YOUR NA.J\tIE, ONLY ENABLES THE SECRETARY TO CORRECTL Y SPELL YOUR l\.~\tIE & ADDRESS_ Please PRINT your name and address below: NAME ADDRESS - Clo,iYi. C~tAV\1\ c::-- 1:0 \;, u\s F\o~ S F\\Ii, Fw(QI,~' lI., CA C.hoQ,b (ItliVl.e. '{ ~ 101 b <)UVI<;...-f e\v&. - v",-,--tlt (,\11 e\l\ f\-r(t\~.i(A, (1\ "'-I""? , -