Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout8/10/1999MINUTES OF THE CITY OF DIAMOND BAR REGULAR MEETING OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION �- AUGUST 10, 1999 CALL TO ORDER: Chairman Tye called the meeting to order at 7:03 p.m. in the South Coast Air Quality Management Auditorium, 21865 East Copley Drive, Diamond Bar, California. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Commissioner Ruzicka. ROLL CALL: Present: Chairman Steve Tye, and. Commissioners George Kuo, Joe McManus and Joe Ruzicka. Vice Chairman Steve Nelson was excused. Also Present: James DeStefano, Deputy City Manaier, Linda Smith, Development Services Assistant, Sonya Joe, Development Services Assistant and Stella Marquez, Administrative Secretary. MATTERS FROM THE AUDIENCE/PUBLIC COMMENTS: None - APPROVAL OF AGENDA: As presented. CONSENT CALENDAR: 1. Minutes of July 27, 1999. C/Ruzicka moved, C/Kuo seconded, to approve the minutes of July 27, 1999, as presented. Motion carried 4-0 with VC/Nelson being absent. OLD BUSINESS: None NEW BUSINESS: None CONTINUED PUBLIC HEARING: None PUBLIC HEARING: 1. Conditional use Permit No. 99-4 and Minor Conditional Use Permit No. 99-9 (pursuant to Code Sections 22.58, 22.56, 22.10.030 and Table 2-6) is a request to provide entertainment, outdoor dining and the sale and on-site consumption of alcoholic beverages within an existing restaurant structure. PROPERTY ADDRESS: 245 Gentle Spring Lane Diamond Bar, CA 91765 - --- ---- _ - -_ _,. _- - s__.i «-_ __- _ S AUGUST 10, 1999 PAGE 2 PROPERTY OWNER: SX Diamond Bar 259 Gentle Spring Lane Diamond Bar, CA 91765 APPLICANT: Chris Pierce, Platinum Restaurant 245 Gentle Spring Lane Diamond Bar, CA 91765 I DCM/DeStefano presented staffs report. Staff recommends that the Planning Commissyon approve Conditional Use Permit No. 99-4 and Minor Conditional Use Permit No. 99-9, Findings of Fact, and conditions of approval as listed within the resolution. i Chair/Tye opened the Public Hearing. Chris Pierce, 23827 Prospect Valley Drive, indicated to Chair/Tye that dancing will take place after dinner has been served, 10:00 p.m. The request for early serving of alcoholic beverages was to accommodate Sunday Brunch. 11:00 a.m. would be perfectly acceptable. Jill Pierce, 17451 Brooklyn Avenue, Yorba Linda 92886, stated that the applicant was very surprised to learn that Gentle Spring Lane is a private street. The applicant leases the building from the property owner and during the lease negotiations, they had no idea that they would incur additional expense to fix the street ii;. front of the restaurant. She believes that the primary damage to the street is from semi -trucks pulling intd the Kmart Shopping Center which are pulled into the lot by owners who sleep and then getl back on the` freeway. She believes that it is an unfair burden to the applicant to require, as a condition of approval, that 150 feet of the street in front of the restaurant be slurry sealed. She believes. it will lookout of place and will not solve the ultimate problem. She requested that the condition be eliminated from the approval. DCM/DeStefano stated that the street is in disrepair. Before the Commission is a discretionary permit with a clear nexus between the need to repair the street and the type of operation that is occurring in the location. Staff is recommending that the improvement take place. It is within the Commission's discretion to take an alternative course. C/McManus asked if it is feasible to have the property owner complete the slurry seal from in front of the restaurant to the end of the street. DCM/DeStefano responded that it would make more sense to do it that way. However, the property owner has not, in many years, improved the street. DCM/DeStefano indicated to Chair/Tye that it is in the City's best interest to see that the slurry seal gets done. This application request presents that opportunity and it is not the City's concern who does the slurry seal. Chair/Tye asked the applicants why they believes their proposed restaurant will work at this location when { there have been others before them that have failed. `'"-.� __._ _- __ 1._.__ .. _. ,I I�...�. _ e._.a. e.. _..,.. 1 i rz- .I I.. a. ., 1 2 ,,L, 1. hel 1, tl..... 11 ae Y_...r..,Y...,-1n. I�J.4.. .....bVh,l'.Sad AUGUST 10, 1999 PAGE 3 Jill Pierce stated that she believes businesses fail because they don't watch their numbers - they don't know their costs as related to their prices. This building is a unique facility. There are banquet facilities for weddings and holiday parties. There is a wine cellar which will accommodate parties of 3 0-40 people which is conducive to certain kinds of private parties. The facility has a dining room, a bar, etc. Many residents have expressed excitement about the proposed restaurant. There is nothing quite like it in Diamond Bar and people are anxious to have a fine dining and entertainment facility which is conducive to the demographics of Diamond Bar. As applicants, we spent a lot of time looking at the demographics before deciding to operate in the community. Several of the applicants' family members live in Diamond Bar and we feel very strongly about this community. This is a family-owned business and we intend to be hands-on managers. We have owned other successful businesses that have worked over the years and we believes this project will work in this area. C/Ruzicka said that in view of what the applicant has just stated, would it not be to your advantage, although there is a cost involved, to have your particular section of street repaired to show not only the pride that you have in your facility, but to point out how bad the rest of the street looks in comparison, and perhaps enjoin those other property owners to make their portion of the street look as good as the applicants. Jill Pierce stated that when they leased the facility, they did not believe the parking lot needed to be resurfaced because it looked just like all of the other parking lots at all of the other restaurants and Kmart, MacDonalds, etc. Contractors have told thetas that the parking lot is not that bad and they never expected to be conditioned to resurface the parking lot. When staff recommended the resurfacing it, although we prefer not to have to spend thousands of dollars more than anticipated we'll do it anyhow because the kind of high class restaurant we anticipate should show shiny new white lines and a new blacktop parking lot in spite of the fact that it would be the only one that would look like that in the neighborhood. In response to that, I agree with you, Commissioner Ruzicka. Candidly, I'm trying to picture what 150 feet of resurfacing halfway through to the centerline will look like and I don't believe it will look classy. I personally believe it would look like a patchwork quilt. And I don't know how long it would take for that stretch of the street to look like everything else since the majority of the time there are semi -trucks on the street.- in treet. - In response to C/Ruzicka, DCM/DeStefano stated that the street has been in its present condition for many years and is the result of combined neglect of all of the property owners. No one is maintaining the street. He is not aware of complaints regarding semi -trucks parked on the street. Most commercial areas do not permit on -street parking. This area does permit on -street parking because it is a private street. He said he suspects more people are parking in the lots rather than on the street. Responding to C/McManus, DCM/DeStefano stated that the City has a right to require the property owner to repair the street. It begs the larger question of whether that portion of the street is repaired or whether the entire street is repaired and therefore, bringing all of the other property owners together into one joint effort. He suggested that staff work with the applicants to re-examine the condition regarding slurry seal of the parking lot and focus on the appropriate areas of restriping in the parking lot and thereby transfer the slurry effort to the street in order to get that portion of the street repaired. The condition suggests that slurry sealing and appropriate modifications take place within three months after opening. He recommended that - the Commission grant an additional length of time - 3 months, 6 months, in order to provide an opportunity for staff to coordinate with other property owners, if they are willing to cooperate, and provide the owner of this facility an appropriate opportunity to develop reserves to proceed with the work during that period of time. AUGUST 10, 1999 PAGE 4 i 'i DCM/DeStefano indicated to Chair/Tye that the parking lot is in generally good shape. It needs spot slurry, " and restriping in certain areas. The handicap accessibility aisle needs restriping. The street needs an overlay. It is much more complicated to patchwork the overlay and therefore, all of the other property owners need to be involved. The street is more likely to be crack -sealed and slurried than it is to be truly overlaid in just this small patch. fill Pierce said that the applicant did not budget to slurry the parking lot because it looks good. " She indicated that they had intended to restdpe where applicable, paint the red curb and upgrade the handicap area. If they are required to expend funds, they would rather redo the parking lot because it involves the image of the restaurant whereas, the street does not speak so much to that image. She believes that because the street is a private street, it is the responsibility of the property owners and she would like to see the street area as a separate project. DCM/DeStefano offered that the Commission could direct staff to work with this applicant/property owner and others toward the rehabilitation of the street and provide the Commission with appropriate reports on what progress has been made or the Commission could have the matter brought back to deal with the street issue after an appropriate amount of time such as six months, to determine whether this applicant will be required to ,slurry seal their portion of the street. Responding to C/Ruzicka, DCM/DeStefano stated that there is a reasonable expectation that the property"` -'l owners will cooperate. C Jill Pierce stated that in lieu of her property owner's participation, she will willingly participate in a joint effort to rehabilitate the street. C/Kuo said he does not see how repair of the street is related to the applicant. He believes the applicant is innocent in this matter and that the condition should be stricken. He recommended that DCM/DeStefano ask the City Attorney if the City has any power to compel the owners to fix the street. He does not believe that this matter needs to be brought back before the Commission for purposes of placing this burden back on the applicant. There being no further testimony offered, Chair/Tye closed the Public Hearing. C/McManus moved, Chair/Tye seconded, to approve Conditional use Permit No. 994 and Minor Conditional Use Permit No. 99-9. Findings of Fact, and conditions of approval as listed within the resolution subject to the following amendments by C/Ruzicka and Chair/Tye: Delete Condition 5. (c) (5) on Page 5; add a condition that no alcoholic beverage be served on premises prior to 10:00 a.m. Further, staff is directed to see to the complete restoration of Gentle Spring Lane. Motion carried by the following Roll Call vote: AYES: COMMISSIONERS: Kuo, McManus, Ruzicka, Chair/Tye NOES: COMMISSIONERS: None ABSENT: COMMISSIONERS: VC/Nelson PLANNING COMMISSION COMMENTS: Chair/Tye stated he will not be present at the Tuesday, August 24 Planning Commission meeting. .._! __._ ..—�„n....,, .,,_ ,. _ ., .,. �, ,., 111. _,. ., :R^ -,—,-, �. "5' f•,',. I Uad nA .,41 f1�G: ,r. n"'{��P�"�W'1"!" NR AUGUST 10, 1999 r"- I I PAGE 5 INFORMATIONAL ITEMS: DCM/DeStefano stated that at its next meeting, the Planning Commission will consider a proposed 18,000 square foot office building on a one acre lot for Automobile Club's auto emission testing facility to be located between Kelly -Clarke and SEMA in the Gateway Corporate Center. The Commission may also be considering a height variance for a single family residence. The Commission will be considering amendments to the General Plan's Housing Element as well as, begin the zone change process toward the end of this year. He spoke about the wide variety of public improvement projects that will commence in August, September and October of this year. He asked that Commissioners who are interested in attending the Three Valleys Municipal Water District State Water District facilities tour the weekend of September 23 to advise AS/Marquez. He talked about the ongoing process toward construction of a skateboard park facility. The City Council approved a contract with Economic Research Associates to look at the costs associated with four potential sites under consideration for a civic/community center complex. SCHEDULE OF FUTURE EVENTS: As listed in the agenda. ADJOURNMENT: C/McManus moved, C/Ruzicka seconded, to adjourn the meeting. There being no further business to come before the Planning Commission, Chair/Tye adjourned the meeting at 8:40 p.m. Respectfully Submitted, J s DeStefano Deputy City Manager' Attest: Steve Tye Chairman