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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09/24/20021 1 MINUTES OF THE CITY OF DIAMOND BAR REGULAR MEETING OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION SEPTEMBER 24, 2002 CALL TO ORDER: Chairman Ruzicka called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. in the South Coast Air Quality Management/Govemm nt Center Auditorium, 21865 East Copley Drive, Diamond Bar, California 91765. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Commissioner Nelson 1 d the pledge of allegiance. 1. ROLL CALL: Present: Chairman Joe Ruzicka, Vice Chairman Steve Tye, and Commissioners Steve Nelson, Dan Nolan and Jack Tanaka. Also Present: James DeStefano, Deputy City Manager, Ann Lungu, Associate Planner, Linda Smith, Development Services Assistant, and Stella Marquez, Administrative Assistant. 2. MATTERS FROM THE AUDIENCE/PUBLIC COMMENTS: None Offered. 3. APPROVAL O AGENDA: As presented. 4. CONSENT CAI F.NDAR. 4.1 Minutes Of Regular Meetings of September 10, 2002. C/Tanaka moved, C/Nolan seconded, to approve the minutes of September 10, 2002, as presented. Without objection, the motion was so ordered. 5. OLD BUSINES 6. NEW BUSINE1 7. PUBLIC HEAR None. . None. Keview No. 2002-15 (pursuant to Code Sections 22.48.020.A.1) is a :ruct a three story (two-story with basement), single-family residence balconies, covered patio, and basement garages totaling to 10,308 gross square feet. The request also includes a series of site with an exposed height varying from three (3) feet to six (6) feet. 7.1 Develop request to with por approxim; retaining i None. . None. Keview No. 2002-15 (pursuant to Code Sections 22.48.020.A.1) is a :ruct a three story (two-story with basement), single-family residence balconies, covered patio, and basement garages totaling to 10,308 gross square feet. The request also includes a series of site with an exposed height varying from three (3) feet to six (6) feet. SEPTEMBER 24, 2002 PAGE 2 PLANNING COMMISSION PROJECT ADDRESS: 22119 Steeplechase Lane (Lot 179, Tract 30578) Diamond Bar, CA 91765 PROPERTY OWNER: Yogesh K. Paliwal 1528 Ruby Court Diamond Bar, CA 91765 APPLICANT: J.C. Dagam 1000 N. Regal Canyon Drive Walnut, CA 91789 DSA/Smith presented staff's report. Staff recommends Planning Commission approval of Development Review No. 2002-15 Findings of Fact, and conditions of approval as listed within the resolution. Charlie Dagam, applicant, explained that this project was designed to be compatible with the lot and surrounding neighborhood. Chair/Ruzicka opened the public hearing. There was no one present who wished to speak on this item. Chair/Ruzicka closed the public hearing. VC/Tye pointed out the discrepancy in staff's report regarding tree preservation. Mr. Dagam stated that although there are no Walnut trees in the construction area, he understood that all Walnut trees located on the property would be protected. C/Nolan moved, C/Tanaka seconded, to approve Development Review No. 2002-15, Findings of Fact, and conditions of approval as listed within the resolution, including a corrected tree preservation statement. Motion carried by the following Roll Call vote: AYES: COMMISSIONERS NOES: COMMISSIONERS: ABSENT: COMMISSIONERS: Nolan, Tanaka, Nelson, VC/Tye, Chair/Ruzicka None None 7.2 Development Review No. 2002-27 (pursuant to Code Section 22.48.020.A.1) is a request to construct a two story, single-family residence with porch, 1 1 SEPTEMBER 24, PAGE 3 PLANNING COMMISSION balconi s/covered patio, and dual two car garages totaling to approximately 11,983 gross sc, uare feet. The request also includes a site retaining wall in areas of varying topogra by that varies in exposed height from 42 inches to a maximum of eight (8) feet. ADDRESS: 24037 Goldrush Drive (Lot 3, Tract No. 31977) Diamond Bar, CA 91765 TY OWNER: Goldrush Investment Group 1595 S. McPherrin Avenue Monterey Park, CA 91754 rtrri.ik- Andrew King 1595 S. McPherrin Avenue Monterey Park, CA 91754 DSA/Smith presented staff's report. Staff recommends that the Planning Commis ion continue Development Review No. 2002-27 to a future public hearing date to allow the applicant time to submit revisions to the project. VC/Tye as very concerned about the untidy project site and felt that the surrounding neighbors should not have to tolerate such blight. Andrew King, applicant, explained the history of the proposed project to the Commis on. He explained that he has invested considerable time and money to clean up the area. In fact, someone recently dumped another load of scrap lumber on one of his lots. Cleaning of the job site is an ongoing process. chair/Ruicka asked Mr. King if he was agreeable to implementing staff's suggestio s to which Mr. King responded "yes." VC/Tye r emphasized that the hillside adjacent to the project site that extends downwarc toward Cromarty Drive is littered and overgrown with brush and should be cleanec up. Mr. King said that the slope referred to by VC/Tye was recently landscaped. He has spent about $10,000 removing litter. He reiterated that he is responsive to complaints about trash and litter. iChair/Ruz'cka opened the public hearing. SEPTEMBER 24, 2002 PAGE 4 PLANNING COMMISSION There was no one present who wished to speak on this matter. VC/Tye moved, C/Tanaka seconded, to continue Development Review No. 2002-27 to a future public hearing date to allow the applicant to submit revisions to the project in accordance with staff's recommendations. Further, the property behind the lots looking down on Cromarty Drive must be cleaned up of any building debris. Motion carried by the following Roll Call vote: AYES: COMMISSIONERS: VC/Tye, Tanaka, Nelson, Nolan, Chair/Ruzicka NOES: COMMISSIONERS: None ABSENT: COMMISSIONERS: None 7.3 Conditional Use Permit No. 2002-03 and Development Review No. 2002-12 (pursuant to Code Sections 22.58, 22.42 and 22.48.020.A.) is a request to install two monopoles with two cellular phone antennas on each pole. The poles with antennas will not exceed a height of 25 feet. Additionally, the request includes equipment cabinets enclosed by a block wall. The project site, approximately seven net acres, currently contains a residential structure and three unmanned wireless telecommunications facilities. PROJECT ADDRESS PROPERTY OWNERS: APPLICANT: 24401 Darrin Drive (Lot 51, Tract No. 42584) Diamond Bar, CA 91765 Eric and Robin Stone 24401 Darrin Drive Diamond Bar, CA 91765 Verizon Wireless 1550 S. Sand Canyon Avenue Irvine, CA 92618 AssocP/Lungu presented staff's report. Staff recommends Planning Commission approval of Conditional Use Permit No. 2002-03 and Development Review No. 2002-12, Findings of Fact, and conditions of approval as listed within the resolution. Kevin Avery, representing Verizon Wireless, said he was present to answer questions regarding this project. SEPTEMBER 24, 20 D2 PAGE S PLANNING COMMISSION C/Nels n asked the applicant to go back to his landscape architect and inquire as to whethei he could suggest an alternate to the Pepper Tree. Mr. Avery responded that he would do so. GTana a asked what the two monopoles would do for Verizon to which Mr. Avery responded that they would provide coverage along the SR 60 as well as some coverage to the north of the City. Chair/R zicka opened the public hearing, There was no one present who wished to speak on this item. VC/Tye asked wanted the City to choose an Arborist to review this project. He believed that during prior deliberations regarding cell sites, the Commission requested staff to provide input as to the maximum number of monopoles acceptable for one si te_ Chair/Ru icka said he was also concerned and felt the Commission should have some guidelines regarding the number of monopoles that one site might accommodate. The last time the Planning Commission was asked to approve a cell site on this particular property, the Commissioners expressed concern about the number t iat could be approved for each property within the entire City. We asked, "When is enough, enough! Is 3 enough? 4? 5? 10? 20? Could some pieces of property here in Diamond Bar start to look like antenna farms? As of tonight, we still do not have any idea. As a consequence I would like to recommend to my colleagues on this Cc mmission that we postpone approval of this project until the Commission has guidance to assist in making decisions in this area. Policy guidelines should include, and not be limited to, lot size, number of sites per lots, (larger lots being able to accommodate more sites than smaller ones), camouflaging requirements and so forth. Th policy should also include all property within the territorial limits of the City whether it is private property, commercial property or church property. He said he was tenibly disappointed by the project submitted to this Commission for one of these sites at St. Denis Catholic Church. He found a complete lack of concern for the effects the project would have on the surrounding neighborhood by Cingular and by the church leaders. This policy should be put together and be based upon the best policies of other cities with characteristics similar to those of Diamond Bar. The policy should include a provision for the appearance of both the telecommunications company a id the property owner at the public hearing before the Commission so that the approp hate questions could be asked about the site's effect on the surrounding neighborhoods and the possible mitigation to minimize that effect. This action ' should bet iken to insure that Diamond Bar has a sensible policy for the future. He added in c osing that the request to draft this policy has nothing to do with the SEPTEMBER 24, 2002 PAGE 6 PLANNING COMMISSION validity of the project before the Commission tonight. He suggested that this policy must be drawn up at some point in time and he believed the time was now. The City needs a telecommunications policy to supports its decisions so that in the future Diamond Bar can have a sensible progression of these sites taking into account all of the concerns previously expressed by the Commission as well as the citizens. C/Nolan believed that one of Diamond Bar's biggest problems was traffic. While he believed the City needed a more cogent or restrictive policy, he felt it was unfair to an applicant to come before the Commission playing within the existing rules and find they are subject to the change. He was confused about zoning issues. This site is proposed for a residential area. VC/Tye felt that a policy and discussion of this particular project could take place simultaneously. He said he visited the site on Saturday and received two telephone calls from Mr. Stone today. V/C Tye believed that with respect to prior approval of cell sites on this property, someone dropped the ball with respect to conditions of approval and preservation of the trees on-site. Chair/Ruzicka said he was concerned about annexation issues. He would also like to see included in the policy a reasonable timeframe for when each site is re -visited. This property owner is extremely conscientious about the facilities located on his land. He reiterated his belief that by the next Commission meeting, a policy should be in place. Chair/Ruzicka responded to C/Nolan that Diamond Bar has a population of about 50,000. What will it be like 10 years from now? Will the geographical boundaries be the same in the future? There should be some sensible policy that the Commission can follow with respect to all of these considerations. DCMIDeStefano explained that there are approximately 30 wireless communications facilities in the City. Part of the reason there are so many cell sites in the City is due to its physical characteristics. There are a number of "dead" areas within the City and when demand exceeds availability, requests are made to incorporate additional sites. Additionally, technology, size and types of devices, available frequencies, etc., are changing on a daily basis. These factors can contribute to the increase in cell sites/antennas for sites within the City. He felt that at some point 10 to 20 years in the future cell sites would vanish and the technology would be available via satellite. Diamond Bar created an ordinance a few years ago that incorporated input from the wireless telecommunications industry and citizens within the community. The ordinance has been refined within the past couple of years. This site is listed within the ordinance as being a potential site for future carriers. He explained the circumstances under which a residential property might be selected for a site. He 1 SEPTEMBER 24, PAGE 7 PLANNING COMMISSION suggest d that the Planning Commission revisit the current Ordinance. In the short term, staff would require at least 30 days to provide adequate support including legal input to the Commission. He requested the matter be scheduled for the meeting of October 22, 2002. C/NeIso asked if the proposed project is consistent with the City's Telecommunications Ordinance to which DCM/DeStefano responded that from staff's prospective, the application is consistent, therefore, recommending approval. C/Nelson felt that this project should move forward on its own merits. Any further consideration of the current Telecommunications Ordinance could be taken under advisement- No. dvisem nt_ No. 200'< conditior motion c to which vote: AYES: NOES: 8. PLANNING C honor of Ken H as a Diamond B summer camp. C/Nelson asked maintaining ]an moved, C/Tanaka seconded, to approve Conditional Use Permit -03 and Development Review No. 2002-12, Findings of Fact, and s of approval as listed within the resolution. VC/Tye requested that the )ntain a provision that the Certified Arborist would be selected by the City �7INelson and C/Tanaka agreed. Motion carried by the following Roll Call COMMISSIONERS: Nelson, Tanaka, Nolan, VC/Tye, Chair/Ruzicka COMMISSIONERS: None COMMISSIONERS: None MMISSION COMMENTS: C/Nolan attended a golf tournament in Litt who is being honored on September 27 at the Los Angeles County Fair hero. The proceeds of the tournament are used to send burned children to staff research vehicles such as endowments and performance bonds for Ding around telecommunications facilities. VC/Tye objected to Big Lots storing merchandise in large unsightly containers on their property and believed the containers should be removed. He asked that the graffiti on the retaining wall in "The Country Estates" be removed. VC/Tye referred to a July 29 sent by DCM/DeStefano lo "The Country Estates" requesting access to projects in the Country. The entry points have no record of such a request or acknowledgement. He thanked staff for sending C. J. Pilk rton to view the trees at the SunCal project site. IChair/Ruzicka as ed that discussion of the Telecommunications Ordinance be agendized. SEPTEMBER 24, 2002 PAGE 8 PLANNING COMMISSION 9. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS: DCM/DeStefano invited the Commissioners to participate in field trip to locate the cell sites within the City and in other cities. Tomorrow, staff will provide each Commissioner with copies of the current Telecommunications Ordinance and a map that identifies the sites where facilities are presently located as well as, potential future sites. C. J. Pilkerton is the City's likely candidate to view what is believed to be a dead black Walnut tree and to assist in determining the cause of its demise. Staff will research the matter of access to "The Country Estates" projects and advise the Commissioners accordingly. With respect to VC/Tye's concern, a Code Enforcement Officer reported that the property owner in "The Country Estates" would remove the graffiti from the wall by September 29. He agreed with VC/Tye that the bins located in the Big Lots parking lot should be removed. In fact, the Code Enforcement Officer has been instructed to get them removed. The City Council will consider the Planning Commission's recommendation for approval of the Best Western property subdivision on October 1. The Planning Commission will likely receive a presentation by the Fair Housing Foundation about the last meeting in October. 10. SCHEDULE OF FUTURE EVENTS: As presented in the agenda. ADJOURNMENT: There being no further business to come before the Planning Commission, Chairman Ruzicka adjourned the meeting at 8:58 p.m. Res ectfully S brnitted, Ja DeStefan Deputy City Manager Attest: Chairman Joe Ru7.i�ka~