HomeMy WebLinkAbout7/16/1994-� MINUTES OF THE CITY OF DIAMOND BAR
REGULAR MEETING OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION
JULY 16, 1999
CALL TO ORDER
Chairman Meyer called the meeting to order at 10:05 a.m. at the
Heritage Park Community Center, 2900 Brea Canyon Road, Diamond Bar,
California.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
The audience was led in the Pledge of Allegiance by Chairman Meyer.
ROLL CALL
Present: Chairman Meyer; Vice Chairwoman Plunk;
Commissioners: Schad and Fong
Also Present: Community Development Director James
DeStefano; Associate Planner Rob Searcy;
Assistant Planner Ann Lungu; Interim City
Attorney Michael Montgomery; Engineer
Consultant Mike Myers; and Administrative
Secretary Marilyn Ortiz
Absent: None
Commissioner Flamenbaum arrived at 10:15 a.m.
MATTERS FROM THE AUDIENCE/PUBLIC COMMENTS - None
CONTINUED PUBLIC HEARING:
1. ADOPTION OF THE GENERAL PLAN
Chair/Meyer thanked staff for their commitment to the project
and announced that the order for the public hearing will be by
element as follows:
Introduction
Resource Management Element
Public Services and Facilities Element
Public Health and Safety Element
Housing Element
Circulation Element
Land Use Element
f' Chair/Meyer declared the public hearing open for one-half hour
and invited those wishing to speak to come forward.
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July 16, 1994 Page 2 Planning Commission
Chair/Meyer announced City Council wants to put the General
Plan on the ballot for public review and comment and to do
this they have time constraints.
Chair/Meyer stated that the Planning Commission will use the
basic document, 1993 General Plan, and recommendations made by
GPAC, in their deliberations.
CDD/DeStefano stated, based upon the Planning Commission's
decision of Monday night, July 11, 1994 the discussion and
review will start with the Introduction and then, go to the
Resource Management Element. He recommended that the
Planning Commission continue with the schedule as outlined by
Chair/Meyer.
CDD/DeStefano stated Staff has provided the Planning
Commission, as well as all members of GPAC and other
interested parties, all of the errata as outlined at the
Monday, July 11, 1994 Planning Commission meeting. That
errata was completed in an attempt to insure that all of the
decisions of GPAC are accurately reflected within the document
,.before .the,•, Planning Commission. All of the minutes have been +
reviewed. Staff compared, contrasted, and resolved all of the
various issues and insured that all of those were incorporated
within the document. Staff also went back to Cotton/Beland
and asked for clarification on some items that were added by
the Consultant. These clarifications specifically dealt with
the Land Use Element, and the table at the end of the Land Use
Element. The errata sheets clarified the GPAC additions,
which were in red line, and the GPAC deletions, which were in
strike -out. The errata sheets also contain staff or
consultant changes which are in an underline format. Several
of the staff and consultant changes were as a result of GPAC's
direction, most predominately in the Housing Element. GPAC
directed the staff and consultants to create more of a
"constraint's -oriented" Housing Element.
Staff has also provided the Planning Commission, as well as
GPAC members, copies of correspondence received following the Al
July 11 Planning Commission meeting. One correspondence is r�
from Mr. Callard requesting that Objective 1.7 or 1.6 in the
Land Use Element be reinstated. The second letter is from Mr.
Robert Huff, responding to a comment at July 11, 1994 Planning
Commission meeting by suggesting some language modifications
to the Introduction section dealing with the "Vision
Statement". Additional correspondence was received and
distributed from Martha Bruske.
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July 16, 1994 Page 3 Planning commission
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CDD/DeStefano further stated there is a letter from Dan
Wildish for purposes of review, and invited Mr. Wildish to
elaborate on that for the Commission's benefit.
CDD/DeStefano emphasized the City Council's concern regarding
the schedule for completion of the General Plan. The City
Council has indicated its desire to deliberate and place the
General Plan on the November, 1994, ballot. In order to meet
this deadline, the City Council must come to a conclusion on
ballot language and ballot issues prior to about August 8,
1994. The City Council has a public hearing scheduled for
Tuesday, July 26, 1994. Staff recommends this public hearing
be postponed to the following week in anticipation of the
Planning Commission reaching a conclusion on Monday, July 25,
1994. City Council will be establishing a schedule of
meetings based upon staff's recommendation.
CDD/DeStefano announced with respect to the Introduction, the
most significant change GPAC made is the opening phrase within
the Introduction. The recommendation is for a separate
j paragraph to be inserted which states, "It is the primary goal
of the City of Diamond Bar to maintain a.: ruralr:: and country -
living environment".
Chair/Meyer declared the public hearing open and invited those
wishing to speak to come forward. Chair/Meyer stated he has
requests from three individuals to speak and asked them to
limit their discussion to the Introduction portion.
Martha Bruske, a Diamond Bar resident, stated she has
submitted her comments on the Introduction and Land Use
Element to the Planning Commission. She stated she agrees
with the recommended order of the Elements and recommends
adoption of the Introduction statement.
Barbara Beach-Courchesne, a Diamond Bar resident and GPAC
member stated she is in support of the Introduction.
Wilbur Smith, a Diamond Bar resident and GPAC member, stated
his concerns about the City's responsibility to the gated
Community known as The Country and The Country's
responsibility to Diamond Bar.
Gary Neely, a Diamond Bar resident, recommended dropping thefirst sentence since the Introduction has a statement that
deals with this idea.
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July 16, 1994
Page 4 Planning Commission
Max Maxwell, a resident of Diamond Bar, agreeing with the
Introduction, expressed his desire to get the General Plan on
the ballot.
In response to Mr. Maxwell's comment regarding the minutes,
CDD/DeStefano reiterated that all of the Planning Commission
members, and GPAC members have been provided with the minutes
of the GPAC meetings. The last packet of information which
went out on Thursday, July 15, 1994 incorporated the final two
GPAC Draft meeting minutes, which are June 28, 1994 and June
30, 1994. GPAC has approved their minutes up to June 9, 1994.
Richard Callard, a Diamond Bar resident, asked that the
negative prefix "waste" be deleted wherever the term "waste
water" appears.
Chair/Meyer announced that the Introduction portion of the
Public Hearing is closed.,
RECESS: Chair/Meyer recessed the meeting at 10:58 a.m.
RECONVENED: Chair/Meyer reconvened the meeting at.11:07 a. ml.
Attorney/Montgomery, responding to VC/Plunk, indicated that
two General Plans which were previously adopted were
successfully subjected to the referendum process. In both
cases, the City Council, rather than put the matter on the
ballot, exercised the alternative in the code section, which
is to repeal the .enactment of the General Plan, and begin
again. The code section provides that the City Council may
not submit a same or similar General Plan within one year of
the repeal, and that is difficult to define. Each case stands
on its own merits and is subject to subjective decision. The
Planning Commission could find that this is a significantly
new General Plan. That decision would still be subject to a
challenge of bad faith or abuse of discretion by anyone who
might disagree. However, the fact that the Planning
Commission or Council cannot submit the same General Plan
within a year does not bar the citizenry from introducing'a
General Plan that may be same or similar within the year. If
the Council follows through and puts the matter on the ballot,
the people may, by ballot, wave the one year requirement and
adopt the General Plan.
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Attorney/Montgomery indicated this is a completely new General f
Plan. The other two General Plans do not exist, as a matter
of law.. They may be used as a source material, but the two k
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July 16, 1994 Page 5 Planning Commission
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General Plans that were repealed by the City Council have no
legal significance at this time.
Following discussion by members of the Planning Commission,
motion was made by C/Fong and seconded by C/Schad to leave the
verbiage as is. Motion was defeated 3-2.
AYES: C/Fong, C/Schad
NOES: C/Flamenbaum, VC/Plunk, Chair/Meyer
C/Flamenbaum made a motion that the first sentence of the
Introduction be eliminated. VC/Plunk seconded. Motion was
passed 3-2.
AYES: C/Flamenbaum, VC/Plunk, Chair/Meyer
NOES: C/Schad, C/Fong
In response to VC/Plunk, Attorney/Montgomery stated that he
previously supplied the Planning Commission with a memorandum
citing the various Federal cases from the Ninth District Court
of Appeal which speaks to the bucolic atmosphere which the
City -,m`ay—preserve. The first sentence of the introduction,
although it does not define what it refers to, is an
appropriate statement to make, if the majority wishes the
statement to be there, as a matter of policy.
C/Fong made a motion to add the first sentence of the General
Plan Introduction back in with the word "primary" eliminated.
C/Schad seconded. Motion was defeated 3-2.
AYES: C/Fong, C/Schad
NOES: C/Flamenbaum, VC/Plunk, Chair/Meyer
CDD/DeStefano indicated the Vision Statement was reviewed in
the beginning of the process.
Following discussion of C/Flamenbaum's suggestion to delete
the second bullet of the third paragraph on page 1 of the
Introduction, "Preservation of Open Space Resources..."
Chair/Meyer moved to leave the paragraph as is. C/Fong
seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-2.
AYES: COMMISSIONERS: Ch/Meyer, Schad, Fong
NOES: COMMISSIONERS: VC/Plunk
a ABSTAIN: COMMISSIONERS: Flamenbaum
ABSENT: COMMISSIONERS: None
July 16, 1994 Page 6 Planning Commission.
Chair/Meyer made a motion to leave the third bullet of
paragraph 3, page 1 of the Introduction, "Reduction of
regional traffic impacts on local streets..." as recommended
by GPAC. C/Schad seconded the motion. Motion was adopted
unanimously.
C/Flamenbaum commented that he was troubled by things he has
heard from the audience and the public, such as "GPAC made
this document, do not change it ... leave it intact" and yet
those same people come up with recommended changes. He
further stated, he feels it is his job as a commissioner to
review the document and make appropriate changes. Not one
person has said "don't change it". They are saying "change it
the way I want it".
C/Flamenbaum made a motion to accept the rest of the
Introduction as is.
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C/Fong commented that he had a problem with Figure 1, page 6,, N
of the Introduction, showing the proper meeting dates.
C/Flamenbaum restated the motion to accept the rest of the
Introduction as is, with the understanding that it will be
revisited to insure that technical changes will be made.
C/Schad seconded. Motion carried 4-1. !
AYES: COMMISSIONERS: Chair/Meyer, C/Flamenbaumj,
C/Fong, C/Schad
NOES: COMMISSIONERS: VC/Plunk
ABSTAIN: COMMISSIONERS: None
ABSENT: COMMISSIONERS: None
LUNCH: Chair/Meyer recessed for lunch at 12:00 noonl.
RECONVENED: Chair/Meyer reconvened the meeting at 12:30
p.m.
CDD/DeStefano stated that the Planning Commission has received
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the General Plan and the errata sheets, and understands the
open space and conservation State Code requirements that are
part of the Resource Management Element. GPAC's changes dealt
with preservation of a number of resources within our
community, particularly, the existing undeveloped and open
s
space designated land. GPAC was concerned with adequately
serving the community with passive and active recreation
facilities and clarifying the requirement for. parks for
'existing and future residents. Clarifications were made to
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July 16, 1994
Page 7 Planning Commission
the table which shows the park facilities now existing and
what is at each park. In addition, staff clarified some of
the existing resources, particularly in the area of•scenic
highways. GPAC recommends that the Planning Commission
preserve, to the greatest extent possible, the existing
agricultural land and and expand open space resources within
the City and the Sphere of Influence which are scenic, have
esthetic value, offer cultural value and, in some cases, are
of historical value. GPAC clarified the need for a tree
preservation ordinance to specifically identify five or six
individual species. GPAC also indicated their very strong
desire that no new development be approved until such trees
and natural vegetation ordinance is in place.
Chair/Meyer opened the Public Hearing for the Resource
Management Element.
Martha Bruske, voiced her concern that since the format for
presentation of the elements has been changed, people may not
be prepared to reach conclusions today, since they may have
prepared for discussion of other elements.
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Barbara Beach-Courchesne, questioned the accuracy of the first
and third paragraphs on page III -2 , and the table on page III.
CDD/DeStefano reported he had a correction sheet which more
accurately depicts what is available at each of the recreation
facilities, including parking, etc.
Mrs. Courchesne continued that on page III -6 regarding the
problem of waste, the City's Sphere of Influence should reach
into the City of Industry as to MRF since it will greatly
impact a number of residents Within the City.
Max Maxwell, Diamond Bar resident, stated that a number of
GPAC members felt that parks and open space are two separate
issues and the numbers should reflect mathematically how that
appears. In Resource Management Element Page III -4 it needs
to be stated whether the parkin The Country is considered in
our city calculations.
Richard Callard, a Diamond Bar resident, discussed reclaimed
water and suggested deletion 'of the word waste and suggested
that use of reclaimed water be included on page III -5, under
Item 4. Water Resources. He further recommended that the word
"must" be replaced with "shall" on the top line of page III -8.
July 16, 1994 Page 8 Planning Commissioa.
Wilbur Smith, Diamond Bar resident, suggested that new
development be required to set aside some land for playgrounds
and for recreational facilities.
Terry Birrell, Diamond Bar resident, indicated page 4 of the
GPAC minutes of June 30 suggest that there was an adopted
strategy 1.1.13 that needs to be added to Objective 1.1. She
also stated the last sentence in 1.1.11 was deleted by GPACI.
CDD/DeStefano stated that Ms. Birrell is correct. 1.1.13 as
stated in the minutes should be inserted into the policy
document for Planning Commission consideration.
Ms. Birrell also suggested that with respect to 1.3.2 the
introductory phrase should be deleted.
Gary Neely, Diamond Bar resident, reiterated his written
statement which was included in the Planning Commission and
GPAC members packet materials.
Chair/Meyer closed the public hearing.
CDD/DeStefano stated that a resolution needs to take place
with respect to Larkstone Park, which is a park on paper, but
not in reality. The South Pointe area also needs additional
public park facilities. Responding to one of the speakers „
CDD/DeStefano stated that the change on Page 3-7 in terms of
the errata was a simple change. The former page describes e
change to the Issue Analysis under biological resources. That
addition to the issue analysis was relocated to the Parks and
Recreation discussion. Also, regarding page III -9, strategy
1.1.6, the errata sheet indicates the motion and approval of
GPAC to pursue the preservation of areas within Diamond Bar,
and it's Sphere of Influence, of outstanding scenic, historic"
and cultural value. The change on page III -11, the fourth
bullet from the top of the page, the word "or" was changed.
Page III -10, 1.1.13 as outlined by Ms. Birrell is correct and
should be added to Planning Commission deliberation. With
respect to 1.1.11, staff concurs with Ms. Birrell that the
last sentence beginning with "natural vegetation is...",
should have been stricken according to the actions of GPAC.'
RECESS: Chair/Meyer recessed the meeting at 1:47 p.m.
RECONVENED: Chair/Meyer reconvened the meeting at 1:56 p.m.
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July 16, 1994
Regarding
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Page -9 Planning Commission
Page III -1, a motion was made and second to
"waste" wherever "wastewater" is indicated. Motion
C/Fong recommended on page III -2 third paragraph, the last
sentence read: "Animals that once inhabited the valley floor
have largely been forced into nearby undisturbed areas ...."
There were no objections.
Motion was made by C/Flamenbaum and seconded by VC/Plunk to
strike "active/passive" from the last line of the second para-
graph on page III -7. The sentence will read, "Portions of these
areas should be preserved for parks." Motion carried 3-2.
AYES: Chair/Meyer, C/Flamenbaum, VC/Plunk
NOES: C/Schad, C/Fong
ABSENT: None
ABSTAIN: None
C/Fong suggested the word "probably" be stricken .from the
second sentence of the last paragraph on page III -7.. There
were no objections.
Motioned by VC/Plunk and seconded by C/Schad to amend the
Issue Analysis at the top of page III -8 to read: "The City
must work with local water purveyors and landowners to
establish high water quality standard, encourage conservation,
increase the use of reclaimed water, and develop additional
water resources." Motion carried.
C/Fong suggested that the word "grazing" be stricken from the
Issue Analysis under item 7 page III -8. There were no
objections.
C/Fong suggested that "with the possible exception of oil and
hydrocarbons" be added to the statement, "There are no
significant, concentrated mineral resources in Diamond Bar" on
page III -8, under Mineral Resources. The Commissioners
agreed.
Staff was directed to make the following changes apply to page
III -10:
1.1.11 Change to read: "Expeditiously develop a tree
ordinance.
1.1.12 Change to read: "New development should include
the preservation of significant trees of cultural or
July 16, 1994 Page 10 Planning Commission
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historic value."
1.1.13 add "develop a plan to provide a mechanism for;,
and to pursue the preservation of, designated open
space." per GPAC direction.
Staff was directed to make the following changes on page III-
11.
1.2.5 - strike out plant & animal life and add in its
place, "Flora & Fauna".
1.2.4 - Change to read: "Take an active role- in
pursuing the preservations of environmentally sensitive
canyon areas in their natural state."
Staff was directed to make the following changes on Page -III;
12:
1.3.7 - Replace the first word "develop" with the word
"complete".
1.3.8 - Replace the first word "prepare", with the word"
"complete".
1.3.9 - Strike existing sentence and replace with "Work
with property owners and neighboring jurisdictions to
plan and locate an untreated potable water reservoir in
the upper Tonner Canyon/Tres Hermanos Ranch area.
Planning should encourage recreational or agricultural
uses."
Staff was directed to make the following changes on Page III�-
13:
2.1.1 - a. Reword to read: "In cooperation with adjacent
communities and area water purveyors, expand the use of
reclaimed water; require new development and significant
intensification of existing development to include dual water
systems as feasible."
ADJOURNMENT
On the advice of CA/Montgomery, Chair/Meyer adjourned the meeting
at 3:00 p.m. to July 18, 1994 at 7:30 p.m. at the South Coast Air
Quality Management District Auditorium.
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July 16, 1994
Attest;
Page 11 Planning commission
Respectfully,
mes De5tefa o
Secretary