HomeMy WebLinkAbout12/17/1992 PRC MinutesCITY OF DIAMOND BAR
MINUTES OF THE PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION
DECEMBER 17, 1992
CALL TO ORDER:
Chairman Ruzicka called the meeting to order at
7:11 p.m. at the AQMD, Hearing Room, 21865 East
Copley Drive, Diamond Bar, California.
PLEDGE OF
The audience was led in the Pledge of Allegiance by
ALLEGIANCE:
Vice Chairman Plunk.
ROLL CALL:,
Commissioners: Schey, Whelan, Vice Chairman Plunk,
and Chairman Ruzicka. Commissioner Medina arrived
at 7:17 p.m.
Also present were Community Services Director Bob
Rose, Administrative Assistant Kellee Fritzal,
Recreation Supervisor Marla Pearlman, Community
Development Director James DeStefano, and Contract
Secretary Liz Myers.
APPROVAL OF
THE MINUTES:
Nov. 19, 1992
Motion was made by VC/Plunk, seconded by C/Whelan
and CARRIED to approve the Minutes of November 19,
1992, as presented. C/Medina was not present.
PRESENTATION:
South Pointe
CDD/DeStefano reported that the purpose of
Master Plan
tonight's presentation is to introduce the project
to the Commission, to provide the Commission with
the Environmental Impact Report (EIR), and to
illustrate the various components of the project.
The project is generally located west of Brea
Canyon Road, north of Pathfinder, and east of
Morning Sun Drive. The proposal is to develop 171
acres incorporating the following variety of land
uses: a permanent middle school located on 30
acres; a 30 acre mix use commercial site off of
Brea Canyon Road; approximately 95 homes located on
Brea Canyon Road just south of the pump station;
and approximately 110 homes in two separate
developments generally east of Morning Sun Drive.
He introduced Hardy Strozier, a principal from the
Planning Associates, who is retained by the City as
the Project Manager to assist in processing this
project. Ultra Systems, the Environmental
Consultant Firm, is the independent environmental
consultants retained by the City to prepare the
EIR.
Hardy Strozier gave a brief overview of the South
Pointe Master Plan. He outlined the following 6
f
important project benefits that will be gained by
L-
the City from the proposed 171 acre project: a 20
acre park site, of which 10- acres will be flat
usable park land; a 31 acre commercial office site
of which the City will gain 1/2 of the 31 acres for
'December 17, 1992 Page 2
their own future financial inventory of revenue;
the completion of the South Pointe Middle School,
as well as the removal of 400,000 cubic yards of
dirt; greatly improved road access to the South
Pointe Middle School; and significant roadway and
signalization improvements off site and approximate
to this project. 'Hardy Strozier explained that the
School District approved, about a year and a half
ago, a Master Plan for the South Pointe Middle
School, along witha certified MEIR which indicated
depositing approximately 400,000 cubic yards of
dirt in the canyon. An alternative for removal of
that dirt, which was rejected by the School
District, was to take it out through Larkstone
Drive, which would have been about 60,000 truck
loads of dirt through that residential
neighborhood. The 171 acre site is comprised of
the following 5 major property owners: the Walnut
Unified School District (WVUSD); the City of
Diamond Bar; RnP Development, owner of 78 acres;
Arciero & Sons Development, owner of 41 acres; and
Mr. Patel, owner of 7 acres.
Hardy Strozier, in response to VC/Plunk,-stated
that the 400,000 cubic yards of dirt is highly
erosive and probably would not be safe left as is.
The cost of removing the dirt by truckloads would
probably cost approximately 1.2 million dollars,
taking 4 to 5 months for it's removal. The current
• water source in the canyon, according to the draft
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EIR, is urban runoff. The former source of water,!
which was natural, has ceased to exist.
Hardy Strozier, in response to C/Whelan, confirmed
i
that the area along Brea Canyon will be cut and
placed in Sandstone Canyon, as indicated in the
Conceptual Grading Plan on page IV -30, in the draft
i,
EIR document. The South -Pointe Middle School area
may require minor cutting, to build the permanent
school, for the finish grading.
Hardy Strozier then gave a brief overview of the
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)
process. All projects that are undergoing
discretionary actions are subject to review in
accordance with CEQA. The EIR document is required)
to be produced, in California, by any public agency
or private developer which has a project that has'
been determined to cause, or potentially cause, a
significant effect on the environment. Ultra
Systems, the independent consultant, was retained,
by the City to review this project and prepare a'
full EIR. The EIR identifies the impacts that deal'
with the direct effects of the project, indirect
December 17, 1992 Page 3
effects of the project which are further in time or
removed from the project site, and accumulative
effects which result from the project in
combination with other actions proposed in the
area. It was determined that the implementation of
the South Pointe Project, as presented, will result
in the creation of two significant adverse impacts:
air quality and traffic. The draft EIR identifies
the impacts associated with the project, and
contains a set of mitigation measures designed to
minimize, or avoid, the impacts identified, as well
as identifying the project alternatives which, if
implemented, might reduce, avoid, or minimize some
of the impacts defined. - The consultants have
looked at 6 or 8 different land use alternatives,
including different types of development on the
site. The following are some of the alternatives
considered: the concept of preserving Sandstone
Canyon; more extensive development of Sandstone
Canyon; and no project. Each of the alternatives
includes an analysis relative to it's impacts,
based on the same type of criteria that this
r proposed project has been analyzed. Page II -28, of
the document, contains a section called Summary of
all the Impacts and Mitigation Measures, which
gives a better evaluation of the impacts of the
project. He then referred the Commission to the
section titled Parks and Recreation, on page Iv -
181, which analyzes a lot of the General Plan level
information. It has been concluded that this
project, as proposed, is not deficient in terms of
park/open space, but providing twice the Quimby Act
requirement under the City's current ordinances. A
number of concept plans have been evaluated on the
8 to 10 acres of usable park land for the purpose
of providing a CEQA analysis of it's intensity of
use, and it's impact on traffic. These concepts
were developed from various comments received from
the Notice of Preparation. The 20 acre open space
site, of which the 8 to 10 acres are flat usable
park area, is adjacent to existing 20 acres of open
space, owned by'the Home Owners Association (HOA),
totaling the total number of open space in that
area to 40 acres.
C/Whelan pointed out that the 20 acres, owned by
the HOA, may not be not available for public use,
and should not be considered as part of this park
area.
CDD/DeStefano stated that the proposal for the park
land to the City would be open public park land,
whether it is a passive design or of an active
design. The rights to traverse the adjacent
December 17, 1992
Page 4
privately held open space area is currently given
by the HOA, however, future rights have not been'
discussed.
C/Whelan expressed his concern that Sandstone
Canyon is being cut up, with areas of it taken
away, leaving the City with only 8 to 10 acres of
usable park land.
CDD/DeStefano explained that the project came
before the City approximately a year ago as
independent interests. The City merged these
separate interests into one master planned area by
eliminating the property lines that separate these
ownership' interests, for the overall community
benefit,, ias kopposed to doing four different
projects. There occurred an opportunity to fill
some of.the gaps within the City, such as the need
for recreational facilities in this part of our
City. The development team has proposed to the,
City that, in exchange for development rights,,
approximately a 20 to 25 acre park site, with an 8
to 10 acre active park area, be transferred to the
City. Another aspect of the project is a 30 acre
commercial site,, of which approximately 15 acres
would be ,given to the City for the City's future
economic development usage. There is a variety of
exchanges of rights, or transfers of land, and a
clustering of development within this project, that
is at maximum density. The General Plan zoning on
the property, would allow for many more dwelling
units than what is being proposed.
Chair/Ruzicka noted that once development occurs,
the uniqueness o'f Sandstone Canyon will be lost.
Hopefully, the City will be getting the maximum
benefit possible from that piece of property.
CDD/DeStefano stated that this will be a policy',
consideration and decision that will ultimately bel
made sometime next year. This is a privately held
piece of ,property, and the property interests have,
the right to request a project approval. There',
will need to be a balance between what this site'
offers, what it has in terms of opportunities,'and
what is in the communities best interest.
Hardy Strozier, in response to VC/Plunk, stated
that the EIR has only analyzed the City's interim.
Hillside Management Ordinance, therefore, another,
analysis will be completed with the recently,
adopted Hillside Ordinance. There will be a large,
number of oak trees that will be removed, and
replaced at a 2:1 ratio.
11"
December 17, 1992 Page 5
VC/Plunk inquired who would be responsible for the
costs of installing the utilities for an active
sports area.
Hardy Strozier explained that such an element is
yet to be decided. He reviewed the types of
documents required in this review: a Development
Agreement; a General Plan amendment; a new zoning
ordinance; the adoption of a specific plan; three
tentative tract map; a certified EIR; and findings
of overriding consideration for the two identified
significant impacts.
Chair/Ruzicka expressed his concern that the
project may worsen an already intolerable traffic
condition in that area.
Hardy Strozier explained that the proposed project
will provide substantial improvements to the
intersections, both on site and off site, and
mitigate the internal circulation problem on
Larkstone.
r CDD/DeStefano pointed out that- the City is a
recipient of traffic from outside sources, and the
r Golden Springs/Brea Canyon Road is already at a
capacity that is intolerable. This project will
not necessarily improve that situation, but it
won't necessarily make that situation worse. This
project, if approved, will begin to improve traffic
deficiencies that exist on Brea Canyon Road,
Pathfinder Road, and some of the other areas
surrounding the site:
Chair/Ruzicka pointed out that, if a park is
developed in this South Pointe Master Plan,
regardless of it's size, it would probably be used
primarily by those occupying the residences in that
new development because of the difficulty of
getting across town due to the traffic situation.
Hardy Strozier noted that the School Board is very
much for orienting the Middle School in conjunction
with the potential City park, to the extent
feasible.
CDD/DeStefano indicated that this is the first
opportunity the City has had to Master Plan a
variety of interests to the benefit of the
community, mitigating the school's need to link the
water system, improve the internal traffic
circulation, provide for signalization, provide
pedestrian and vehicular linkage for the separate
tracts surrounding the site, and meet the City's
December 17, 1992 Page 6
Iil
need for future economic growth. The proposed
project is not necessarily the project that will be
approved or denied, and will probably be modified
subject to more specific analysis of the
alternatives. The Planning Commission's public
hearings are scheduled for January 11 & 25, 1993.
The Commission concurred, upon the recommendation
of CSD/Rose, to meet January 7, 1993 for a study
session to review the draft EIR.
OLD BUSINESS:
Parks Master The Commission and staff are presently gathering
Plan Update information for the development of a Parks Master
Plan. A brief update will be provided by the
Commissioners on the task assigned.
CSD/Rose reported that the Inventory Sheet,
presented to the Commission in the staff report,
was sent to the Cub Scouts, who are currently in
the process of inventorying each of the parks, andl
are expected to be finished prior to the
Commission's next regularly scheduled meeting. The
Inventory Sheet also includes all items listed in
the 1989 inventory at time of incorporation. The
sub -committee has reviewed the facilities map,
showing parks and recreation type facilities in the
general vicinity, and developed a list of those,
facilities felt to be unique recreation'
opportunities, or convenient facilities for!
recreation activities. CSD/Rose reviewed those
facilities, as presented in the, sub -committee
report given to the Commission.
VC/Plunk explained that, upon completion of the
process, there will be colored dots on each of the
prepared pages to correspond with the dots on the
map, and numbered to show it expanding out from
Diamond Bar. She suggested that each facility'
include a matrix to show the amenities that are
available at that location. She also made the
following comments: add the charter of park in
Covina that does the compost demonstration site for
this side of the County, to Regional Parks; note
that Diamond Bar High School will have twos
theaters, to Live Performances Theaters; add the
unique feature matrix, to Colleges and
Universities; and the Diamond Point Swim Club is,
the Diamond Point I, and the Dean Holmes Swim Club'
is for Diamond Point II. She then suggested that',
availability to the general public should be
included in the matrix in regards to the Meeting
Rooms/Banquet Facilities.
December 17, 1992 Page 7
C/Schey distributed copies, to the Commission, of
some base information, taken from documents from
other cities, in regards to Park Standards. The
information provides the following: an outline of
the general criteria used as a basis for following
items, including a basic definition of a community
park, neighborhood park, special use park, and so
on; an idea of the types of areas to serve, and
the type of amenities to expect in the indicated
park types; a review of a couple of specialty type
parks; general base level park development
guidelines, such as parking standards, for the park
types; special uses, such as a regional park;
review of acreage requirements for these different
types of facilities, as well as the recommended
sizes, and space allocations; a Recreation Plan
from the City of Temecula; a Recreation Needs
Analysis, patterned from the City of Temecula,
indicating the number of facilities needed based
upon the population; the following formula used to
analyze surplus or deficit in facilities: the level
of analysis, of the acreage demand for each of the
facilities, multiplied by the demand, gives the
total acreage demand, excluding overlapping of
usage of fields; and a Costa Mesa Parks Recreation
Plan as a guide to analyze the amount of acreage
one has in community park, neighborhood parks,
pocket parks, etc., as compared to the acreage
recommended by the National Parks and Recreation
Association (NRPA), which is 10 acres per 1,000,
and the acreage recommended by the Urban Land
Institute, which is 10.5 acres per 1,000.
CSD/Rose, in'response to VC/Plunk, stated that the
City of Diamond Bar is currently at 57 developed
acres of parkland, or 1.1 developed acres per
1,000. The goal currently established in the
General Plan is 2 acres per 1,000, which is the
minimum standard recommended by the NRPA.
Therefore, future development in Diamond Bar will
require 5 acres per 1,000 in order to raise the
standard to the 2 acres per 1,000 listed in the
General Plan.
C/Schey suggested that, given the topography of our
community and the difficulty of developing park
sites, the City may need to define our parks in
.- such a way that it includes open space, and admit
that 3 to 5 acres per 1,000 in usable active park
space may not be an achievable goal. However, the
open space area in the hills may be utilized by
creating recreational activities or opportunities
such as centers and trails.
December 17, 1992 Page 8
lit
C/Schey, completing his report, stated that
telephone surveys, augmented with other types of
information, is a valuable tool in obtaining base
information for the different types of community
concerns and demands. He reviewed how telephone
surveys are utilized to give a random sampling of
the community. other tools used for a method of
analysis to determine the various demands are
special interest surveys, and demographic data.
C/Whelan reported that he needs further time to
analyze the standards and usage, in various cities,
in regards to Program Inventory.
CSD/Rose indicated that it will be the Commission's
role to accept those standards formally, for the
City of Diamond Bar, and incorporate them into the
Parks Master Plan document as,a recommendation to
the City Council.
VC/Plunk suggested that Mr. Steve Johnson, from
Lanterman, be asked to review a copy of the
document for ADA compliance.
CSD/Rose stated that staff will be bringing back'
those areas of ADA standards, that relate to Parks
and Recreation, to the Commission for information
and acceptance. Those areas will be addressed in
the Parks Master Plan because it does significantly
effect the CIP allocations of funds for the future.
The sub -committees, upon CSD/Rose's suggestion,
scheduled a date to meet with staff to discuss the
Parks Master Plan.
INFORMATIONAL
ITEMS:
Recreation RS/Pearlman presented an update on the Contract
Update Classes, Youth Basketball, and the 1993
Winter/Spring brochure, as presented in the staff
report, as well as a summary of tracking the
participants registering in these activities.
CSD/Rose gave an overview of the Revenue Report)
from 7/1/92 through 11/30/92, as presented in the'
staff report.
C/Schey noted that the $49.96 total cost per
registered participants may be skewed because there 1, 9.1i
are registered participants paying for the 8,OOOi,
non registered participants at the Concert in the'
Parks.
December 17, 1992 Page 9
�,- CSD/Rose pointed out that the $9,000 expense for
the Concert in the Parks could be removed from the
analysis, however, it would not change the total
cost per participants significantly. There are
other ways to subsidize the Concert in the Parks.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Commission C/Medina suggested that the City consider having a
Comments City sponsored Christmas event such as a Winter
Festival/Cultural Fair, showcasing local talent.
AA/Fritzal reported that the Chamber of Commerce is
sponsoring an event called Taste of the Valley,
which will utilize local talent. It is scheduled
in April of 1993 at Cal Poly Pomona.
AA/Fritzal, in response to C/Whelan, reported that
the asbestos study for the Heritage Park building
came back positive, and it is anticipated that the
asbestos will be removed at the end of December,
1992. The cost of the asbestos removal will come
from the contingency fund.
VC/Plunk distributed samples of compost to the
Commission and staff.
Staff Comments CSD/Rose reported that super slides, such as the
one that existed at Sycamore Canyon Park, are no
longer being manufactured. Staff will continue to
investigate other alternatives.
VC/Plunk suggested that staff contact manufacturers
of ski equipment to see if there is a ramp that
could be used as a substitute for a slide.
ADJOURNMENT: Motion was made by Chair/Ruzicka, seconded by
C/Schey and CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY to adjourn the
meeting at 10:16 p.m.
Respectively,
Hob Rose
I Secretary
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