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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11/8/2005MINUTES OF THE CITY OF DIAMOND BAR STUDY SESSION OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION NOVEMBER 8, 2005 CALL TO ORDER: Vice Chairperson Low called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. Room CC -8 of the South Coast Air Quality Management District/Government Center Building, 21865 Copley Drive, Diamond Bar, California 91765 Information Regarding Zone Changes Information Regarding Country Hills Towne Center 1. ROLL CALL: Present: Vice Chairperson Ruth Low; and Commissioners Kwang Ho Lee, Dan Nolan and Tony Torng. vhairman .doe McManus was excused. Also present: Nancy Fong, Interim Community Development Director; Bradley E. Wohlenberg, Assistant City Attorney; Ann Lungu, Associate Planner; and Stella Marquez, Senior Administrative Assistant. A. Information Regarding Zone Changes AssocP/Lungu presented staff's report on Zone Change No. 2005-01 related to bringing Commercial and Industrial Zoning into compliance with the City's General Plan for the following sites: Site 1 — Sunset Crossing Road/Diamond Bar Boulevard (change from CM to C-2 Community Commercial); Site 2 — Diamond Bar Boulevard/ Palomino (change from C-2 to C-3); Site 3 — Diamond Bar Boulevard between Palomino Drive and Golden Springs Driive (change from C-2 to C-3); Site 4 — Montefino Avenue and Diamond Bar Boulevard (change from C-3 to CO.) Site 5 — Diamond Bar Boulevard/Cold Springs Lane/Fountain Springs Road (Country Hills Towne Center — change from C-1 to C-2) at the request of VC/Low, staff agreed to consider Site 5 for the two corner parcels and Country Hills Towne Center as a separate issue to be considered tonight. Site 6 — Brea Canyon Road/ Diamond Bar Boulevard (change R-1 to C-1.) NOVEMBER 8, 2005 PAGE 2 PLANNING COMMISSION STUDY SESSION Site 7 — Brea Canyon Rd/Diamond_ Bar Blvd: Adiacent Flood Channel and Site "D" (change CPD to C-1.) Site 8 — Grand Avenue between Montefino Avenue and Diamond Bar Boulevard (change from C-3 to OP.) Site 9 — Golden Springs Drive/Grand Avenue (change from C-3 to OP and CO.) Site 10 — Golden Springs Drive/Via Sorella Street (Walnut pool and Caltrans Yard -- change from various to CO.) Site 11 — Brea Canyon Road/Via Sorella (change from various to CO.) Site 12 — Golden S rin s. Drive between Lemon Avenue and Brea Canyon Road (change from various to C-3:) Site 13— Golden Sprincis Drive/Lemon Avenue (change from various to C-2.) Site 14 — Pathfinder Road and Brea Canyon Road west of SR57 (change from C-2 and CPD to OP.) Site 15 — SW Corner of Pathfinder Road/Brea Canyon Road (change from CPD to CO.) ICDD/Fong explained that the Chevron Station had applied for an almost total redesign of the site and wanted to include a car wash. Staff informed the applicant that the site was too small. C/Nolan felt that intensifying uses at the location would create chaos. ICDD/Fong said that due to the tightness of the site the City may not be able to close one of the driveways but change the design to egress only. Staff is looking at ways to improve circulation around the gas station regardless of whether there is a zone change. Site 16 - Gateway Corporate Center (change CM to OB.) Site 17 — North of Sunset Crossing and South of Happy Hollow Road (Little League Field - change from MPD to REC.) Site 18 — Washington Street east of Brea Canyon Road (change from M1.5 -BE to 1) The property owner would like it to be zoned Commercial or Commercial Office rather than "I" because he felt it was too limited. AssocP/Lungu said that the site was already located in an Industrial zone and the City was changing the designation only for consistency and not as a change for other uses. AssocP/Lungu further stated that the property owner's request would mean a General Plan amendment. NOVEMBER 8, 2005 PAGE 3 PLANNING COMMISSION STUDY SESSION CILee felt that Diamond Bar was more lax in granting changes than were other cities. He respects private ownership. However, the City should stay with the zoning and its General Plan. Staff stated that commercial uses are not allowed in industrial zone but certain types of businesses may be allowed ancillary retail if it is part of the same type of business through a CUP process. C/Nolan explained to CILee that Diamond Bar was not given a blank pallet when the City incorporated and he did not view using the CUP process as a sign of weakness or bad judgment nor did he see the timeline being streamlined and felt that the process may be faster because this City does not have a high level of activity. Based on the City's structure it almost has to be more flexible to encourage economic growth and provide good governance. CILee said he has observed that a certain percentage of the residents do not want to improve portions of the City into retail. For instance, San Clemente is a well- maintained City th�.t.does not have a lot of retail and commercial. He believes that- _x the City should abide by its General Plan instead of allowing other uses. C/Nolan said that he respectfully disagreed with CILee in that he believed that the General Plan was a living document. VC/Low said that to her a General Plan was an overarching document that did not cover all situations because it did not have the ability to foresee every small parcel detail. Thus, staff and the Planning Commission are available to offer discretionary permits under the CUP process. CILee reiterated his belief that the City granted CUP's too easily and too often with little objection. ACAIWohlenberg explained that the General Plan gives the overarching perspective and the individual zones contain a list of uses that are permitted by right without further review. Uses that are similar to the designated uses could possibly go in as well and the City wants to make certain it has an opportunity to place conditions on the uses to make sure they do not have an unintended significant impact on the area. The Ordinance contains a list of uses that are permitted under CUP and those uses are not arbitrarily granted, they must be uses that are close to those allowed and as a result, it may appear that well-defined uses are easily granted. Site 19 — North of Lycoming between Lemon Avenue and Brea Canyon Road (Shea Center - change from M 1.5 -BE to 1) (West of Lemon Avenue and north of the SR60 to the City boundary - change M 1.5 -BE to I.) Site 20 -- North of Lycoming between Brea Canyon Road and Lemon Avenue (change from M1.5BE to I.) CILee asked if Laundromats and carwashes could exist in the C-3 zone. Site 21 — West of Lemon Avenue/North of SR60 to City Boundary: (Union Pacific RR and industrial development and Yellow Brick Road Industrial Park - change from M1.5 -BE to I for General Plan consistency,) NOVEMBER 8, 2005 PAGE 4 PLANNING COMMISSION STUDY SESSION Site 22 — North of SR601South of Lycoming between Lemon Avenue and Glenwick Avenue (WVUSD — change R -A-8,000 to I.) The Planning Commission and ACA/Wohlenberg concurred that this was a single agenda item, that all of the changes were detailed in staffs report and have been discussed by the Commission through this public meeting. B. Information Regarding the Country Hills Towne Center project ICDDIFong presented staffs report. In order to maximize the allowable "restaurant' use square footage, the applicant requested clarification that certain food court uses would not be considered as "restaurant." For example, quick service and take out with limited seating up to a maximum of 14 seats. It would include such uses as ice cream shops, bagel shops, donut -shops_ _Aeli's and similar types of uses which should not be considered sit-down restaurants. Staff concurs with the applicant's request. VC/Low asked how much square footage and parking the property owner would gain if the City concurred with the use clarification. ICDDIFong responded that the property owner has already maximized the number of parking spaces required for restaurant use. This proposal theoretically reduces the square footage for retail. VC/Low said she was still concerned about the amount of square footage devoted to restaurant use. C/Lee believed that the developer had a vision for use of the private property and if he complied with the City's requirements the uses would be permitted. At the same time the Commission needed to know what the developer was planning and strives to comply with his proposal. ICDDIFong explained that the developer was proposing to maximize the square footage and the parking ratio by accommodating up to 53,397 square feet of restaurant use and it would be questionable whether the developer could actually achieve that maximization. ClNolan said the request would merely change the nuance of what was considered to be retail and would improve the parking ratio. ICDDIFong stated that the applicant would make his presentation during the regular meeting. NOVEMBER 8, 2005 PAGE 5 PLANNING COMMISSION STUDY SESSION ADJOURNMENT: With no further business before the Planning Commission, Vice Chair/Low adjourned the study session at 6:55 p.m. to the regular meeting. Respectfully Su Nancy Fong Interim Community D Attest: R& M. Low, Vice Chairman opment Director MINUTES OF THE CITY OF DIAMOND BAR REGULAR MEETING OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION NOVEMBER 8, 2005 STUDY SESSION: 5:30 p.m. - Room CC8, South Coast Air Quality Management District/Government Center, 21865 Copley, Diamond Bar, CA 91765 Information Regarding Proposed Zone Changes Information Regarding Country Hills Towne Center Project CALL TO ORDER: Vice Chairperson Low called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. in the South Coast Air Quality Management District/Government Center Auditorium, 21865 Copley Drive, Diamond Bar, California 91765. PLEnGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Commissioner Nolan led the Pledge..of Allegiance. 1. ROLL CALL. Present: Vice Chairperson Ruth Low and Commissioners Kwang Ho Lee, Dan Nolan and Tony Torng. Chairman ,toe McManus was excused. Also present: Nancy Fong, Interim Community Development Director; Bradley E. Wohlenberg, Assistant City Attorney; Ann Lungu, Associate Planner, Linda Smith, Development Services Associate; Kimberly Molina, Assistant Engineer and Stella Marquez, Senior Administrative Assistant. 2. MATTERS FROM THE AUDIENCE/PUBLIC COMMENTS: None Offered. 3. APPROVAL OF AGENDA: As Presented. 4. CONSENT CALENDAR: 4.1 Minutes of the Study Session of October 25, 2005. 4.2 Minutes of the Regular Meeting of October 25, 2005. C/Nolan moved, C/Torng seconded to approve the Consent Calendar as presented. Motion carried by the following Roll Call vote: NOVEMBER 8, 2005 5. PAGE 2 PLANNING COMMISSION AYES: COMMISSIONERS: NOES: COMMISSIONERS: ABSENT: COMMISSIONERS: OLD BUSINESS: Nolan, Torng, Lee, VC/Low None Chair/McManus 5.1 Planning Commission Policy and Procedures Manual Review and Discussion. VC/Low felt that deleted Item 6 on page 5 — Commission Membership and Operations, should be reinstated because Commissioners serve at the pleasure of the Council Member who appointed them and without this provision the new Council Member would not have an opportunity to appoint a- persdjT' of his own choosing. ACAIWohlenberg explained that the - - - requirement that the seat be vacated within 90 days was part of the City's Municipal Code that was the ultimate control over the Policy Manual. He agreed that it would serve to place the Commissioners on notice without requiring that they read the Municipal Code. VC/Low agreed that this manual helped Commissioners to better serve on the Commission. She asked if the Commissioners would concur that the section on pages 6 and 7 that spoke to the effectiveness of a Planning Commissioner and suggestions on how to be a Commissioner should be included in the draft. C/Torng said he found very similar language in the draft manual on pages 11 and 12. VC/Low agreed. C/Nolan moved, C/Torng seconded to recommend adoption of the Planning Commission Policy and Procedures Manual as amended. Motion carried by the following Roll Call vote: AYES: NOES: ABSENT: 6. NEW BUSINESS: COMMISSIONERS: COMMISSIONERS: COMMISSIONERS: IiI7ir 7. CONTINUED PUBLIC HEARING(S): Nolan, Torng, Lee, VC/Low None Chair/McManus 7.1 ZONE CHANGE NO. 2004-1 CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT NO. 2004-01 DEVELOPMENT REVIEW NO. 2004-19 AND VARIANCE NO. 2004-01 - In accordance with chapter 22 of the City of Diamond Bar Development Code, the applicant requested the following approval: A zone change from NOVEMBER 8, 2005 PAGE 3 PLANNING COMMISSION Neighborhood Commercial (C-1) to Community Commercial (C-2) District consistent with the General Plan Commercial designation; a Conditional Use Permit and a Development Review for the renovation of the facade of the existing shopping center totaling 221,083 square feet; and a Variance to increase the building height for the proposed three story officelmedical office building from 35 feet to 40 feet. The proposed renovations include the existing 45,031 square feet of existing in-line shop buildings or retail and restaurant uses with outdoor dining area, a new 49,100 square foot three story office/medical office building and a new 6,800 square foot two story office/retail building. (Continued from October 25, 2005) PROJECT ADDRESS: Diamond Bar Boulevard between the northwest corner of Cold Springs Lane and the southwest - corner of Fountain Springs Rood (Country Hills Towne Center), Diamond Bar, LA 91765 PROPERTY OWNER/ MCC Realty Management APPLICANT: 9595 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 214 Beverly Hills, CA 90212 ICDDIFong presented staff's report and recommended that the Planning Commission reopen the public hearing, receive testimony and forward a recommendation for approval to the City Council through the adoption of the resolutions. The applicant, Michael McCarthy, gave an overview presentation to indicate where certain uses were proposed to be placed within the center and how the current buildings would be upgraded to include a 40,000 square foot market area, new facades to update rooflines and new construction to current standards. In addition, a walkway was added between two parking bays to connect two buildings and a walkway was added off of Diamond Bar Boulevard down into the site from the AAA site down to in front of the food and coffee areas. The walkway was designed to intersect and meander across the parking lot into other retail uses on the opposite site of the center. Additionally, he plans to assign the center for ADA access from Fountain Springs. C1Lee asked Mr. McCarthy how he intended to accommodate the large restaurant spaces into the shopping center. Mr. McCarthy said he believed that food spaces were market-driven and at this juncture he was uncertain what tenants would rent space at the center, where the food uses would locate and what portion would actually come to fruition. The current demand NOVEMBER 8, 2005 PAGE 4 PLANNING COMMISSION was for multiple interests from different food categories including Sushi, Chinese, Italian, and American food/family style restaurants and his proposal was to have the option to sign leases if tenants became available and interested. He felt there was a very strong demand for restaurants in Diamond Bar that would include the ability to serve liquor and provide some type of entertainment. C/Lee asked if Mr. McCarthy had tangible candidates and he responded that he has letters of intent. At this point there are no leases signed. Once the anchor tenant market lease is signed the strategy will unfold for filling up the in-line spaces. C/Lee said he was concerned that without a tangible anchor tenant how Mr. McCarthy could allocate 30 percent of the center (60,000 square feet) to food uses. Mr. McCarthy said that at this point the cycle of interest from prospective tenants prior to signing an anchor are mostly with food related tenants jockeying for position within the center. The ancht;-r-atill define -the-course of the shopping center and he would begin -- to see more interest from soft retailers such as electronic retail, clothing, etc. - Typically the life of a shopping center depends on the food vendors who are the most aggressive and prolific. Once the shopping center becomes anchored other tenants follow the anchor and food uses. f VC/Low asked Mr. McCarthy to talk about the anchors. Mr. McCarthy responded that the current tenant Rite Aid is considered a co-anchor and that he has interest from two separate markets, one of which he prefers and with which he is negotiating a lease. The lease should be signed within the next 30 days. VC/Low asked how long Mr. McCarthy had been in negotiations with the anchor tenant and how certain he was that the anchor would sign within the next 30 days. Mr. McCarthy said there was no absolute in his business. However, he had been in discussion with this tenant since December 2004 and it was not untypical for markets to take a relatively long period of time to make a decision to sign a lease. Actually, a 12 -month period was probably on the quick side of the equation. Generally, market deals take two years to go through committee and obtain necessary approvals. In these instances the developer needs to stand still and let the process unfold. Mr. McCarthy indicated to VC/Low that he felt most of the obstacles had been overcome. The market essentially approved 40,000 square feet shown on the plan. The market required the tower element (part of the variance requested this evening), the addition of two loaders in the rear area and the fountain element in the center of the shopping center. In addition, the center was providing the market the frontage it needed. The market was in the process of completing a fixture plan for the space and because they have had their attorneys working on the agreement it seemed apparent to him that the market was sincere about moving forward. The quality of the proposed NOVEMBER 8, 2005 PAGE 5 PLANNING COMMISSION market is as close to an "A" quality market as he has seen with respect to fixtures, merchandising and products. The theme of the market is more of a world market theme with about 35 percent being U.S. products and the balance being a combination of Korean, Chinese and Japanese. And, the proposed anchor has the same types of prepared foods that one would find at a Bristol Farms or Henry's or Whole Foods and could easily compete with the Henry's of Chino Hills. C/Nolan asked if the anchor tenant currently operated stores in the United States and Mr. McCarthy responded "yes." C/Nolan stated that the Commission previously spoke about the lack of pedestrian walkways to connect the two buildings on Diamond Bar Boulevard as well as walkways to connect the two buildings down through the center to the main area just north of Rite Aid. C/Nolan asked tip,:- McCarthy if there were any opportunities for additional pedestrian access or at the very least a softening of the parking lot mass with additional landscaping. Mr. McCarthy pointed out on the overhead what he felt would be active areas and indicated that he had connected those areas with the AAA building. The AAA building is a non -retail facility and there is a connection with the office building up and over. He asked for an opportunity to study the area furtherto see whether there could be additional connectivity. He also indicated that they had struggled with the landscaping issue and in their opinion it had failed in the past because of the view corridors. He does not want to create a situation where the project is finished and in five or 10 years from now the center has the same problem with landscaped areas blocking view corridors. It is critical to be able to see the storefront to have. a sense of arrival. If the project blocks the storefronts it would create a problem for drivers traveling on Diamond Bar Boulevard to gain a sense of the center. C/Nolan asked what kind of sales tax revenue the center could potentially bring into the City. ICDD/Fong said she had not researched that subject. C/Nolan said he believed it was important forthe Commission and Council to know what the revenue stream would be. C/Torng told Mr. McCarthy he appreciated the commitment to refurbishing the Diamond Bar center. When he visited the Phillips Ranch center and found there were several good points to the center such as a variety of businesses. In his opinion however, there was not enough landscaping and the parking was limited. In the case of the Country Hills Towne Center he was pleased to see the superimposition of the three-story business and number of trees. He was concerned about the small amount of landscaping NOVEMBER 8, 2005 PAGE 6 PLANNING COMMISSION and hoped that Mr. McCarthy would commit to mitigating the mass of the three-story building with sufficient landscape materials. He agreed that the center portion should be free of large trees but felt the side streets and rear areas could be landscaped with trees. C/Torng cautioned Mr. McCarthy that his mall was not just for people who live in "The Country Estates" it was also for the residents at the south end of Brea Canyon Road and other adjacent areas. C/Torng reminded Mr. McCarthy that there were a lot of schools in the area of the center and he felt that the young people would like a good place to shop, eat and take advantage of a safe environment and he hoped that Mr. McCarthy could attract businesses that would serve the youth of Diamond Bar. He asked staff to comment on the percentage of landscaping required by ordinance because he wanted to be certain that the center met the requirement. y Mr. McCarthy said that even though the Phillips ranch center was about 95 percent leased the construction was only about 85 to 90 percent completed. For example, the restaurant building needed to be completed before the parking lot was resurfaced. In spite of the fact that the Phillips Ranch center sits in a very secluded area with a very low traffic count he was successful in attracting major solid retailers such as Blockbusters, Ace Hardware, It's a Grind Coffee, etc. Relative to the Country Hills Towne Center he recalled that a resident was concerned about how the shopping center looked from the rear and as part of the conditions of approval he had agreed to screen all of the HVAC systems on the old part of the center. The new portion was developed in 1987 and he was somewhat concerned about large trees because the lanes on the side area were fire lanes and those must be kept wide open for access. In addition, the existing buildings leave little room for landscaping. However, he has shown the cornices along the sides and along the top at the rear of the buildings. C/Torng's concern about landscaping is his concern as well and he plans to soften the area of the office building with heavy landscaping. The major portion of the landscaping is being concentrated at the entryway of the center to create an exciting sense of arrival. There is a large water element and waterfall going down the center of the entryway that continues on down into the center. However, he is somewhat hampered by the pre-existing conditions on a going forward basis of the already constructed center. The center is currently at about 7.5 percent landscaped and if he was building a new center the code would require 15 percent landscape coverage. Mr. McCarthy said he had a difficult time attracting restaurants to Phillips Ranch because it was a neighborhood area and would not support a lot of food uses. He estimated that he had about 10 percent of the interest in food at Phillips Ranch that he has at the Country Hills Towne Center which says a lot about the trade area and NOVEMBER 8, 2005 PAGE 7 PLANNING COMMISSION demographic profile as well as the ability for a restaurant and food use to succeed in the Diamond Bar center. Regarding youth related areas, coffee shops, juice bars, bookstores, food uses, gift stores that would be attractive and safe for young people, those are included in the projected uses. C/Lee felt that in order to have 60,000 square feet of food uses succeed it would require that about 3,000 people a day visit the center. He asked if Mr. McCarthy had any plans for security at the center. Mr. McCarthy said that he would like to have an armed guard 2417 on his properties. However, it was too expensive so an unarmed guard would be located onsite during nighttime hours as was currently the situation at the center. Security is very important and hq is somewhat concerned because when he operated the theater for a very short period of time it was robbed twice in two weeks. He said he was also very concerned an&would do as much as possiblo to secure the grounds. He is seeking high quality establishments and any type of loitering that would detract from that quality would not be allowed. VC/Low reiterated the importance of landscaping. Page 5 of the landscape report indicates that staff is willing to work with the applicant to address the proposed condition to provide tree wells within the parking lot, etc. VC/Low asked Mr. McCarthy if he was agreeable to working with staff to provide adequate landscaping in accordance with the conditions? Mr. McCarthy said it sounded like a strategic approach to landscaping and not just a shotgun blanket approach and that he, ICDD/Fong and the architect would be discussing how to proceed. He included a budget amount for benches and walkways including replacement of the benches outside of 31 flavors. VC/Low wondered about landscaping the entire front of the center to attract shoppers. Mr. McCarthy said he was concerned about the visibility and view corridors. Typically, people driving toward the market would see the pylon and monument signs first and anticipate the entryway. VC/Low felt that only the rooftops of the inside buildings would be visible and if the Diamond Bar Boulevard exterior was inviting it would draw in the public. Mr. McCarthy agreed that signage was very important. He planned to add low-lying plants along the hillside but he said he did not want plants growing too high and undoing what he was trying to fix. He felt it would be best to sit down with staff and come up with a strategy for placement of types of plants, growth patterns of the plants, placement of the plants and consideration of how they would look in five years. VC/Low said she was concerned about how the existing tenants would be treated during the rehabilitation process. She said that she had randomly called tenants and was surprised to hear that the shop owners had no idea NOVEMBER 8, 2005 PAGE 8 PLANNING COMMISSION about the renovation plans. Mr. McCarthy said that timing was somewhat tricky because he did not want to show the proposed plans to existing tenants until a plan was approved and in place. The emphasis had been on waiting for Planning Commission approval and anchoring the shopping center. Beyond that he would have a plan for where he would want to place existing tenants and would be able to sit down with them to see how they would play a role in the approved plan. He said he wanted to keep as many existing tenants as possible so it would behoove him to help them feel less vulnerable through the process. With respect to retention very often, new tenants are willing to pay much higher rents than existing tenants. Many of his existing tenants have stepped up to market or close to market rates and he has refurbished their spaces and their businesses have flourished as a result and they are very happy with their locations. Sometimes tenants have .0 be incubated for a period of three or four months irr, order for him shave tie time to refinish their space. He cited examples of efforts to retain te, ,ants. C/Torng wanted to know if Mr. McCarthy would advertise the center. He asked if Mr. McCarthy was confident he could rent the entire medical/office building spaces. Mr. McCarthy responded that the office vacancy in Diamond Bar was less than five percent which was unusual for a sub -market of Los Angeles. What the City was lacking was a medical facility. Ideally, he would like to have a full -floor anchor tenant on the ground level and then fill the upper floors with doctors and groups of doctors with varying specialties. VC/Low reopened the public hearing. Dr. Sanjay Doshi, 2839 Diamond Bar Boulevard, said he gathered from the discussion that if approved there would be a drive-through coffee use at his location. He wanted to know what "incubation" meant because dentistry is a heavily developed space and not conducive to temporary relocation. He anticipated major changes and felt that more tenants would produce a safer atmosphere at the center. He suggested that Mr. McCarthy move AAA to the proposed medical office building location and refurbish the AAA building to a medical office building for better visibility. He believed that once his signage was not available to Diamond Bar Boulevard he would lose business. He also suggested that the theater be refurbished to professional use instead of retail. If the center accommodates the amount of food usage proposed there would likely be a parking problem. He understood the reason for revealing the anchor tenant when the time was right but he believed it would help the existing tenants if they had an interim arrangement so that they would not be looking for a new location. He was looking for support from the City and from the shopping center owner to remain at the center. NOVEMBER 8, 2005 . PAGE 9 PLANNING COMMISSION Ann Cheon, Manager, Y.I.C. Taekwando, 2815 S. Diamond Bar Boulevard explained that she and herfatherown the studio and are 100 percent behind Mr. McCarthy. Her primary concern was that a lot of the older tenants were apprehensive about what would happen when new tenants came in and they would like for Mr. McCarthy to give some special consideration to the old tenants who had struggled to stay in business at the center. She said she wanted her concerns on the record and planned to speak with Mr. McCarthy in person. VC/Low closed the public hearing. C/Nolan said he still saw a lot of question marks and small negative nuances "to the project that were not specific to his comments. When--he-goes to conferences and looks at what has been done to build and refurbish centers those plans are certainly more elaborate than the plans proposed by the applicant. He said he was still concerned about the lack of pedestrian walkways and to him it was not that difficult to include features that would break up the mass of the parking area. He was also concerned with the redundant uses of food and food courts. He understood that the landlord wanted to fill vacancies with viable tenants and businesses. He was also concerned about the anchor tenant. Mr. McCarthy stated the anchor was someone who had been in business for some time but citing previous tenants who have occupied the center, they did not succeed so he was still concerned about whether a grocery store was a viable anchor. He was also concerned about traffic mitigation, an overriding concern throughout the City. On a positive note, the increased revenue to the City was essential based on the recent loss of two large tenants. Also very important was the morale of the people in the area. He felt the area was indeed blighted and needed refurbishing. The City talks about redevelopment but it is not the City that is redeveloping the area, it is Mr. McCarthy who is putting his dollars on the line. Some of the comments made by the business owners are part and parcel of negotiations between them and Mr. McCarthy. Because the Planning Commission is recommending a solution to the City Council his inclination would be to recommend approval based on the fact that the City Council would further review the proposed project and perhaps have the ability to secure inducements that would make it more palatable for the business owners and for the residents in the area. He felt this was one of the most important decisions that had come before him in his four years on the Planning Commission and believed that the City Council should have the opportunity to review the project and decide whether to move forward. NOVEMBER 8, 2005 PAGE 10 PLANNING COMMISSION C/Torng felt that this was a very important project for the City and could see there were areas of the project that needed to be improved. As Mr. McCarthy said, in his business he needs to have some private strategy to help guarantee success. Based on the center he visited that was 95 percent occupied, if The Country Hills Towne Center were 95 percent occupied this City would owe Mr. McCarthy a lot because it would be very important to the "life" of Diamond Bar. He felt that if Mr. McCarthy improved the landscape it would help improve the attendance at the center. He reiterated the residents' concerns that if the project moved forward Mr. McCarthy will have good communication with the current tenants so they would be able to chart their future. VC/Low agreed with C/Nolan that the concerns about the landscaping, the redundant uses and the questions -regarding the anchor tenants were -big question marks and rendered this prdject somewhat difficult. However, one does not decide a project based on the question marks but instead on careful balance between give and take. The gain for the City is that there is a project in the works that offers a solution to a desperate condition. She too was very appreciative that Mr. McCarthy was stepping up to move this project forward. Perhaps some of the other matters such as traffic and the aesthetics of the ground level of the center could be mitigated by the time the project reached City Council. She was concerned that the Commission was just now seeing the plans after two years of preparation and felt it may be necessary to place a time limit on permits and entitlements. ClTorng moved, C/Lee seconded to recommend City Council approval of Zone Change No. 2004-1, Conditional Use Permit No. 2004-01, Development Review No. 2004-19 and Variance No. 2004-02. Motion carried by the following Roll Call vote: AYES: COMMISSIONERS: Torng, Lee, Nolan, VC/Low NOES: COMMISSIONERS: None ABSENT: COMMISSIONERS: Chair/McManus 8. PUBLIC HEARING(S): 8.1 Zone Change No. 2005-011. In accordance with Development Code Sections 22.44 and 22.70 this was a request to change the existing zoning of commercial and industrial properties for the purpose of General Plan compliance. NOVEMBER 8, 2005 PAGE 11 PLANNING COMMISSION PROJECT ADDRESS: Citywide APPLICANT: City of Diamond Bar 21825 Copley Diamond Bar, CA 91765 AssocP/Lungu reported that in accordance with the provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Sections 15162 and 15168 (c) (2), the City has determined proposed Zone Change No. 2005-01 was consistent with the previously certified General Plan Program Environmental Impact report and Addendum certified July 25, 1995. Therefore, further environmental review was not required forthe proposed zone changes. Staff recommends that the Planning Commission adopt a resolution recommending City Council approval of Zone Change No. 2005-01. VC/Low opened the public hearing. Lyle Kennedy, 650 Brea Canyon Road and 21015 Washington Street, referred to APN 8719-010-007 as a one -acre parcel that had been in his family since 1955. When his parents purchased the property all of the land between the railroad tracks and 5th Avenue (Golden Springs) was zoned Industrial. At some point, Los Angeles County decided to allow residential uses between Washington Street and what is now the freeway. He said that in his opinion it was poor planning to rezone a flat area residential and it should have remained Manufacturing/industrial. Now Washington cannot be used as an Industrial street because residents have a vested interest in excluding truck traffic. He guessed that the area between the railroad and the freeway should be Industrial in the City's General Plan even though it would be a long-term approach that would enhance public revenue and reduce costs. He asked what the allowed uses would be under the proposed Industrial zone and said he was unhappy with the change. The Alameda Corridor continues to expand and although his property has been inspected for purchase he has received no firm offer for purchase. Eric Everhart, representing the Evangelical Free Church of Diamond Bar, 3255 S. Diamond Bar Boulevard, said his church did not understand the ramifications of the proposed zone change and how it would affect the church. He requested that the Board of Elders have the opportunity to receive a report from staff regarding potential impacts to the church. Claudia Salazar, representing the owner of Plaza Diamond Bar, 1900-2040 Brea Canyon Road, was concerned about how the plaza would be affected. NOVEMBER 8, 2005 PAGE 12 PLANNING COMMISSION One building burned and the owner was in the process of obtaining permits to rebuild. The other four buildings were primarily retail and the zone change would be from C-2 to Office. She wanted to know if the 180 -day rule would affect the completion of the plaza. The owner would prefer that the C-2 zoning remain in place. VC/Low closed the public hearing. ICDD/Fong reported that she provided Mr. Kennedy with a copy of the Industrial zoning land use matrix that indicates the permitted uses and uses requiring CUPs. All churches in Diamond Bar can be located in any zoning district as long as they have applied for a Conditional Use Permit. In fact, Evangelical Free Church has an approved Conditional Use Permit and the zomr -change does not affect the church: , .. ACA/Wohlenberg stated that generally speaking, a change in zoning from residential to commercial would increase the property value. Should the church choose to relocate they would have a commercially zoned parcel of property that should be worth substantially more than the residentially zoned property. C/Lee was concerned that the residents and property owners had not received adequate notice and time to learn how the proposed changes would affect their property. ACA/Wohlenberg said that because of the number of parcels involved the government allows the City to publish notice in the newspaper. Because staff felt that may be inadequate although legally adequate they decided to mail notices to all involved property owners. Therefore, the noticing was more than what was required by law. 1CCD/Fong indicated to Ms. Salazarthat if the use was in the building priorto when the new Code was in effect the use was "grandfathered" in and the use could remain as long as the owner chose to operate in that location. For example, even though the mini -market was not a permitted use it could continue as long as it remained a mini -market. If the mini -market should move away the space may have to be leased out to conform to existing uses under the current code. ACA/Wohlenberg explained that when an existing business was damaged or destroyed as in the case of the fire the general rule was that if it was more than 50 percent destroyed the use was considered terminated and if it was less than 50 percent destroyed it could be rebuilt. However, in this case the restaurant had been issued building permits and would soon commence NOVEMBER 8, 2005 PAGE 13 PLANNING COMMISSION construction. The contemplated zone change has not yet taken affect and would not take affect until 30 days after Council approval. ICDD/Fong explained that the burned building was actually an office building even though there was a restaurant in the building and replacing the office building was not replacing a non -conforming use and was permitted in the office/commercial zone. It was the use inside of the building that may be of concern and a restaurant was allowed in an OP zone. The mini -market could potentially be an issue. However, the mini -market was already open and would therefore be allowed since the business was moved adjacent to the burned out location with very little downtime. C/Nolan asked if it were necessary for all changes to be done simultaneously. He .Understood that there would be 7�.-I.changes to anything church related. However, he noted that others may fee: diffcrently and in Jight of the fact that it had lingered for some time, would it be prohibitive to continue that portion for 30 days. ACA/Wohlenberg said that legally a City could change the zoning code as many times as it liked. However, the City is limited in the number of times it could change the General Plan, the constitution of local land development. This action was being taken merely to bring the zoning code into compliance with the General Plan and the City would like to do that as expeditiously as possible even though several years have passed since attempting to get this project completed. If the Commission would so choose it could act on some of the changes and not on others. ICDDIFong stated that this was the first in a series rezoning requests staff would be bringing to the Commission and to the City Council and staff could remove one parcel and move it to the next series to allow the church board an opportunity to discuss whether the zone change would impact the church, for example. C/Lee wondered if the entire matter could be continued so that residents could have an opportunity to better understand the process and the concept. AssocP/Lungu reiterated that she received about 35 calls from residents. ICDD/Fong stated that because property owners were not present this evening it indicated to staff that they were in favor of or had no comment on the rezoning. There are three property owners concerned about their properties and if the Commission so directs staff could place those items of NOVEMBER 8, 2005 E 10. 11 PAGE 14 PLANNING COMMISSION concern on a future agenda to give staff an opportunity to meet with the church and better help the board members to understand how rezoning would impact their properties. C/Lee said that as a Planning Commissioner he must be comfortable in reaching a decision and if he is not comfortable he cannot decide and does not want to give up his right. He would like to approve the rezoning changes because it makes sense to him. However, the residents seem to have questions and concerns that he felt needed to be addressed. C/Nolan moved, C/Torng seconded that the Planning Commission adopt a resolution recommending City Council approval of Zone Change No. 2005-01 with the exception of Sites 5, 6, 14 and 18. Motion carried by .the fc'',-Iwing Roll. Call ,rote: , AYES: COMMISSIONERS: NOES: COMMISSIONERS: ABSENT: COMMISSIONERS: Nolan, Torng, Lee, VC/Low None Chair/McManus PLANNING COMMSSIONER COMMENTS/INFORMATIONAL ITEMS: C/Lee felt that Mr. McCarthy had spent a lot of time and energy toward the refurbishing of the Country Hills Towne Center and he wished Mr. McCarthy and his company the best of luck. He felt the project would help to rejuvenate downtown retail businesses in general. C/Torng also wished Mr. McCarthy and his company much success in their endeavor and hoped the project would move forward under staffs watchful eyes to make sure that it was a good project for the City. C/Nolan commended VC/Low on her skillful chairing of tonight's meeting. STAFF COMMENTS AND INFORMATIONAL ITEMS: 10.1 Public Hearing dates for future projects. 10.2 Status of approved projects. SCHEDULE OF FUTURE EVENTS: As listed in tonight's agenda. NOVEMBER 8, 2005 PAGE 15 PLANNING COMMISSION ADJOURNMENT: With no further business before the Planning Commission, VC/Low adjourned the meeting at 9:30 p.m. Respectfully Submitted Nancy Fong Interim CommuniVMent Director Attest: Ruth L w, Vice Chairperson