Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout01/24/1990-- -- - - - I— ---- --I �� , - - A 1, 111. .,� U" , j,"LL, -- CITY OF DIAMOND BAR MINUTES OF CITY PLANNING COMMISSION JANUARY 24, 1990 The Planning Commission of the City of Diamond Bar convened in a regular session at 7:00 p.m. in City Hall, 21660 East Copley Drive, Diamond Bar, California. PRESENT: 6 COMMISSIONERS: Grothe, Harmony, Schey, Lin, and Kane ABSENT: 0 COMMISSIONERS: ALSO PRESENT: Robert Van Nort, City Manager Bill Curley, City Attorney Matthew Fouratt, City Director Dennis Tarango, Acting City Director Robert Searcy, Assistant City Director Karen Castro, Supervising Planning Technician Dawn Anderson, Planning Technician MINUTES Mr. Van Nort asked the Commission to consider the Minutes of January 2, 1990. Motion was made and seconded to approve minutes. MOTION CARRIED unanimously. MATTERS FROM THE PUBLIC Mr. Schad stated he has been made aware of a program that he felt will be helpful and beneficial to the City. On March 31st there will 'be a gathering of educators, scientist, botanist and geologists pertaining to the ecology of our surrounding area. It is also an educational program for both adults and children. There is a $10 registration fee. , Mr. Van Nort stated that the reason why he was handling the meeting tonight was because Mr. Fouratt was not there. Mr. Fouratt has rendered his resignation as the City's Planning Director. Commencing Monday, the acting City Planning Director will be Mr. Dennis'Tarango. Dennis Tarango, an employee of PaceSetters, will now belconductinq the Planning Commission meetings. The City also has one other consultant, Planning Network, that will be involved with the Commission as they are doing the General Plan, but for day to day' operations PaceSetter will be doing all functions of the Planning process. 1- "'17,777 1 -]-, T - " 7171f11-711q179�t-7 I r^ Nr. Van Nort also stated meetings thereafter Pace present to the Commission the Chamber of Commerce.matter and holding publiNOMINATIONS FOR CHAIRMANc that he hoped at the next meeting and the Setter and Acting Director Tmrongo will / the sign ordinance that was prepared by The Commission will start reviewing this � hearfnga' Nr. Van Nort opened the forum to nominations for Chairman of the Planning Commission. Motion was made by Commissioner Qrothe and seconded by Commissioner Lin to nominated Commissioner 8obmy as Chairman. #r' Van Nort asked if there were any other nominations. Motion was made by Commissioner Harmony and seconded by Commissioner 8ohey to nominated all the members of the Commission ep that each member would receive the opportunity to talk to each other and find out each others individual opinions. Commissioner Kane stated that he would not like to be Chairman at this time. He felt the person with the most product knowledge, who can articulate the best as far as the ordinances and measures that come before the Commission is the person who should take the position of Chairman for the first term. Motion was made by commissioner Kane to nominated Commissioner Harmony.' Commissioner 8rothe asked what was the length of the term. He felt that each Commissioner ^ should have the opportunity to be Chairman, and, ifthe term was for 8 months, they would be able to rotate turns. Mr. Van Nort proposed that the position of Chairman be for a period of one (1) year and that the Commission would decide how they would rotate. It was stated that the appointment of Planning Commissioner w'm for a term of 2 1/2 years. Commissioner Harmony asked which members would like to serve as Chairmen during the 2 1/2 years. Commissioner 8ohey stated that he was interested and the length of the term did not matter' He felt that with the experience he has had, he could help the others become comfortable with the process. Commissioners Lin, Kane, and Grothe were not interested at this time. Commissioner Harmony expresoed� his desire to serve as Chairman due to his involvement with the incorporation of the City � of Diamond Bar. Commissioner Sohey withdrew his second of Commissioner Harmony's motion to nominate the entire Commission. � Motion was made by Commissioner Kane and seconded by Oomm1a'ioner Gchey to nominate Commissioner Harmony. Motion was made by Mr. Van � Nort and seconded by Commissioner Gohey to close the nominations. MOTION CARRIED unanimously. Three (3) were in favor of Commissioner Bohey, two (2) were in favor of Commissioner Harmony. CummiesionerSohey took the seat of Chairman and opened nominations for Vice Chairman. � Motion was made by Commissioner Kane and seconded by Commissioner Qrotha to nominate Commissioner Harmony for Vice Chairman. Motion ` made and seconded to close nominations. MOTION CARRIED unanimously. 2 Mr. Van Nort recommended that Dennis Tarango be appointed as Secretary of the Planning Commission. Motion was made and seconded,. MOTION CARRIED unanimously. SELECTION OF FUTURE MEETING DATES AND PLACE Mr. Tarango asked to amend Mr. Fouratt's memo to the Planning Commission by submitting additional meeting dates. Motion made by Kane and seconded by Harmony to meet on the second and fourth Monday of each month. A vote was taken to meet at the Walnut Valley Unified School District Board room at 7:00 p.m. on these days. MOTION CARRIED unanimously. DISCUSSION OF PLANNING COMMISSION PERMITS Mr. Fouratt presented examples of the City of Santa Rosa's Planning Commission packet which included the basic types of permits that the City of Diamond Bar Planning Commission will be taking action on in the future. This format was recommended to the Commission to be used because it would present a thorough analysis of the project. The role that traffic safety would play was discussed but not known. PREVIEW OF FUTURE ACTIVE APPLICATIONS Dennis Tarango presented a list of active cases and a map indicating the location of each project. Chairman Schey asked for a brief description of the types of action they will be expecting in the upcoming meetings. Mr. Tarango explained that the Action to Date on the case list memo was to give a background regarding initial studies, meetings, project impacts, etc., that the County has prepared at the present time. Mr. Van Nort assisted the Commission by asking on their behalf how the Planning Department plans to proceed with these current cases. Secretary Tarango explained, depending on the size of the project, it is staff's objective to keep the Planning Commission agenda to a maximum of ten (10) items. The current procedure is to review each individual case and notify the applicant by letter whether the project is complete or incomplete,. If the project is complete, the letter states the date that the project will be scheduled to be heard before the Planning Commission. All backup materials pertaining to the project will be included in Planning Commission packet. 3 ]--� 777-7- 177'[1777"77-77 - Chairman Schey asked for the active case list to be revised by prioritizing projects according to those projects which are ready or close to being ready to go before the Commission. He also asked for a breakdown of what staff would anticipate as being a reasonable work load during a meeting. Mr. Fouratt explained that with Conditional Use permits, it would be up to the Planning Commission and City Council to determine what conditions are appropriate. Commissioner Harmony asked to see, especially for commercial projects, how they're laid out and how they will configure. The ordinance that is being drafted regarding Conditional Use Permits identifies the necessity for public health safety and welfare. It doesn't specify any particular theme or type design, but gives the Commission the ability to review all site plans. The Commission expressed the desire to see all information that is available from staff to give them a clear understanding of each project. It was also stated that they have the right to ask for additional information to help them make a decision on the projects. DISCUSSION OF CITY POLICIES/STANDARDS Rob Searcy, Assistant Planning Director, explained to the Commission how the City currently determines the height of residential construction. Staff uses the average finished grade to determine the height. The site plans that are submitted along with the application, will show the elevations of the property. The elevation at each corner of the building is what is used. Each of these elevations are added and then divided by the number of sides that have been used and this indicates the average finished grade. That is the point which will determine the height. The County has adopted a new process which uses the natural grade as the baseline to measure the mid -point of buildings. Staff recommended that the City should also adopt the process of using the measurement of the natural grade as opposed to the average finished grade. Discussion followed. Mr. David Escridge asked to speak to the Commission. He stated that the County ordinances have been adopted from the Uniform Building Code which he felt was a good basis for setting standards. He was in opposition to changing these standards because he felt that a height limit of thirty-five (35') feet for residential projects was to restrictive and would not allow for interesting development. 4 T7 7-7 ,. . � Bill McDonald also asked to speak. He asked for a clarification -' of what establishes the natural grade. He stated that he had submitted s project located in The County which was supposed to adhere to the new policy, but was still being discussed. It was stated by Secretary TaranQo that he would have to adhere to the average finished grade, which is the old standard, because any ordinances adopted by the County after the City of Diamond Bar's incorporation on April 18, 1989, does not apply. It was decided that this gentleman should work this matter out with staff at a later date. Secretary Tarango stated that the City had adopted the County's policy of allowing staff to approve certain variances as an administrative decision. It was also his suggestion to the commission to remove that provision from the City Coda. Rob Searcy explained the current Yard Modification application procedure. This application is used for minor modifications of yards dealing with setbacks, etc. Staff's recommendation is to maintain the Yard Modification as a staff review tool, any major modifications wduld probably require e variance. It was pointed out that any staff decision could be appealed to the Planning Commission. The Commission asked staff to present a proposed ordinance amendment at the next meeting. ' Commissioner Harmony commended Mr. Fourott for his diligence in helping the Commission get acquainted in their new positions wished \- ^ him the beat of luck. The entire Commission expressed their �agreement with this statement. Mr. Van Nort pointed out, for the record, that Chairman Sohey arrived at 7:10 p.m. and asked that he be present at the time of roll call for the following meetings. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to come before the Commission, Motion was made and seconded, and carried unanimously to adjourn the meeting at 8:45 p.m. to the next regularly scheduled meeting of January 12, 1990 to be held at the Walnut Valley Unified School District Board Room at 7:00 p.m. � � ATTEST: Z/ / ` Dennis A. Tarango � Secretary, Planing Commission 5 David Schey Cha'