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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10/12/2010MINUTES OF THE CITY OF DIAMOND BAR REGULAR MEETING OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION OCTOBER 12, 2010 CALL TO ORDER: Chairman Torng called the meeting to order at 7:02 p.m. in the South Coast Air Quality Management District/Government Center Auditorium, 21865 Copley Drive, Diamond Bar, CA 91765. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: VC/Nolan led the Pledge of Allegiance. 1. ROLL CALL: Present: Commissioners Kwang Ho Lee, Steve Nelson, Vice Chairman Kathy Nolan and Chairman Tony Torng. Absent: Commissioner Jack Shah was excused. Also present: Greg Gubman, Community Development Director; Grace Lee, Senior Planner; David Alvarez, Assistant Planner; and Stella Marquez, Senior Administrative Assistant. 2. MATTERS FROM THE AUDIENCE/PUBLIC COMMENTS: None 3. APPROVAL OF AGENDA: As Presented. 4. A 6. CONSENT CALENDAR: 4.1 Minutes of the Regular Meeting of September 28, 2010. C/Nelson moved, C/Lee seconded, to approve the Minutes of the Regular Meeting of September 28, 2010, as presented. Motion carried by the following Roll Call vote: AYES: COMMISSIONERS NOES: COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: COMMISSIONERS OLD BUSINESS: None NEW BUSINESS: None 7. PUBLIC HEARINGS: Lee, Nelson, VC/Nolan, Chair/Torng None Shah 7.1 Conditional Use Permit No. PL 2010-202 — Under the authority of Diamond Bar Municipal Code Section 22.58, the applicant requested approval to operate a new 1,895 square foot, foot and body massage establishment located at Diamond Bar Village, a 59,726 square foot shopping center located on a 4.2 acre property zoned Community Commercial (c -z) with a consistent underlying General Plan Land Use Designation of General Commercial (C). OCTOBER 12, 2010 PAGE 2 PLANNING COMMISSION PROJECT ADDRESS PROPERTY OWNER: APPLICANT: 23499 Golden Springs Drive Diamond Bar, CA 91765 H -B Diamond Bar, LLC 10877 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 1105 Los Angeles, CA 90024 Hongwei Zhang 9122 Ardendale Avenue San Gabriel, CA 91775 AP/Alvarez presented staff's report and recommended Planning Commission approval of Conditional Use Permit No. PL 2010-202, based on the Findings of Fact, and subject to the conditions of approval as listed within the resolution. C/Lee asked about the nature of the business and how they perform foot massage. AP/Alvarez explained that the business provides foot massage and full body massage services done by professionally trained technicians. C/Lee asked if technicians and massage parlors are the same thing. AP/Alvarez explained that a technician is a person certified to administer massage therapy, whereas a massage parlor is an establishment where various types of services are provided. C/Lee asked if foot massage and full body massages were two separate things and AP/Alvarez responded yes, that foot massages were done in an open area and there would be five private rooms for full body massages. VC/Nolan asked for clarification about the reason the applicant was requesting a Conditional Use Permit. AP/Alvarez stated that the applicant is certified by the State of California Massage Therapy Council (CAMTC) and does not have to go through the CUP process if all employees are CAMTC certified. The applicant is requesting a CUP because he wants to make certain that if he hires a technician that is certified, but is not CAMTC certified, he is covered in all aspects of the application. VC/Nolan asked why the City would not want all technicians CAMTC certified and CDD/Gubman responded that up until the passage of SB 731, all massage establishments in the City were required to have a CUP before commencing operation. Massage therapists seeking employment at such establishments are required submit to a background check and approval process through the City in order to obtain a business license. Massage therapists seeking to practice their craft must have attended an accredited Message Therapy School and must perform a minimum number of hours. The CAMTC is a state agency that just came into existence within the last year and was created as a result of adoption of SB 731. The intent of that agency is to relieve local agencies of the responsibility and possible arbitrary nature of their regulations by establishing this agency that oversees the licensing and monitoring of massage technicians in a manner similar to the State Contractors Licensing Board that oversees contractors, and other agencies that oversee the practitioners in the industries. VC/Nolan asked if all massage therapists would be required to be certified by the state. OCTOBER 12, 2010 PAGE 3 PLANNING COMMISSION CDD/Gubman said that that is a consideration because cities are looking to do away with the CUP requirement altogether and simply require these establishments to be 100 percent CAMTC certified. VC/Nolan asked if it would be unreasonable for the City to impose a two-year timeframe on requiring the massage therapists be CAMTC certified because this is a new business and this lease space has been vacant for some time and she applauds anyone who would want to come to the City and move into this large location. CDD/Gubman said he believed it was reasonable in concept. Once individuals become CAMTC, the CUP is essentially irrelevant. CDD/Gubman indicated to Chair/Torng that once the establishment becomes exempt from the CUP requirement, the City cannot impose a parking requirement that is different from a retail user. Under the CUP, the City is requiring the use to reserve 19 parking spaces. If the establishment did not go through the CUP process it would be required to reserve only about six or seven parking spaces. There were no ex parte disclosures. Chair/Torng opened the public hearing. Eric Ling, Architect, representing the owner, stated that he concurred with staff's report and conditions of approval and wanted to believe that this establishment would provide a high quality new business and service to the community. C/Lee said he did not have a positive impression about this business and he is concerned about how close it is to the middle school and other schools. There are a lot of kids who do not understand the nature of the business and have negative impressions about massage businesses and what can be happening there. Educationally, this does not give a good impression and he is concerned even though the owner conducts the business legally. If the business does not have a name it should consider a different business name, without the word massage, that would not give kids and adults the wrong impression. Mr. Ling said he discussed this issue with his client and overall, the practice is more like a spa than a massage therapy. There has been no decision made regarding the name and he will definitely take the objection to his client for discussion. Chair/Torng asked Mr. Ling if he read staffs report and agreed with the conditions, especially the condition for the parking permit and Mr. Ling responded affirmatively. A student attending UCSD spoke at the meeting. He is majoring in microbiology and on weekends after studying all week he tries to relax. In addition to watching his diet, he attends massage establishments for a massage. Foot massages are very relaxing and he urged everyone who had not had a foot massage to try it. OCTOBER 12, 2010 PAGE 4 PLANNING COMMISSION This is not something that has a negative connotation. Illegal massage parlors would not make an effort to comply with a Conditional Use Permit requirement nor have their employees certified. Massage establishments he has visited are legal, nicely built and employ professionals. He intends to become certified as well because he wants to be a physical therapist, a profession that is closely related to massage therapy. Chair/Torng closed the public hearing. C/Lee moved, C/Nelson seconded, to approve Conditional Use Permit No. PL 2010-202. VC/Nolan respectfully disagreed with C/Lee on his notion of massage therapy. She believes it is an excellent profession and a profession that is needed by the community. She does agree with C/Lee that a user-friendly name is very important. Even though the licensing process is grueling, she agrees that it is important and she believes that the therapists should be licensed by the state rather than being able to go through the CUP process to get the business started. C/Nelson asked if VC/Nolan wanted a condition added. VC/Nolan said that if others agree she would entertain a condition but it is her opinion only. She again asked if staff agreed with imposing a time to comply with state certification because there were a number of these types of establishments coming before the Commission for CUPs. She wondered if it held the City to a higher standard. CDD/Gubman said it relieves the City of the burden of going through the background check process and the CAMTC has an enforcement arm to ensure that the licensees are not violating any of the regulations and there is a revocation process similar to other professional disciplines that are state licensed. VC/Nolan asked if the City would like to be relieved of these responsibilities and CDD/Gubman said yes, because it is very costly for the City to revoke permits and licenses and go through the prosecution process. The more that is under the jurisdiction of another agency, it lessens the City's obligation for enforcement costs and staff time. CDD/Gubman suggested that the Commission should consider a condition about the business name that appears on the signage. With respect to certification, he suggested that if the Commission wanted to add a condition that the condition would say in essence that within two years after date of approval of this CUP all technicians must be CAMTC certified with a caveat that should there be something in SB 731 that would supersede or render this condition invalid, the condition would become null and void. VC/Nolan asked if the City's Development Code should be changed accordingly to universally apply to all businesses. CDD/Gubman said staff should be looking at putting together a code amendment and make a decision whether or not the City wants to do away with the CUP requirement and simply limit massage establishments to those that employ state certified technicians. OCTOBER 12, 2010 PAGE 5 PLANNING COMMISSION C/Nelson said he was uncertain whether the City could stipulate what could or could not be placed on a sign. In 1984 the Asian Business Association of Pomona sued the city because the city attempted to impose an English only sign ordinance which was overturned as unconstitutional because it violated the right of free speech. CDD/Gubman agreed with C/Nelson's statement. However, if the applicant would concur to such a condition he would not see a problem. C/Lee said he did not believe the Commission could impose a condition regarding the name. However, he understood VC/Nolan's concern and wanted to know if a supervisor could be . licensed and oversee and supervise the workers. CDD/Gubman said that in his view, that would be a reasonable condition to impose because it places the burden of oversight on the management who could then be putting their license on the line if an employee engaged in inappropriate conduct. VC/Nolan said she would agree with that but did not believe that it was unreasonable to require the employees to be state certified. CDD/Gubman agreed and stated that there are certain "hot topics" in the planning profession with regulation of these types of uses being one so he has been following this matter closely. And when staff brings forward a bundle of code amendments, the Commission can be assured that staff will either include this or provide the Commissioners with staff's findings. Chair/Torng summarized that for the time being C/Nelson said that in order to impose sunset requirements, the applicant has to get a CAMTC license which is illegal and asked if that was what VC/Nolan was trying to say. VC/Nolan responded no, and further stated that after the dialogue she believed that if the management was currently certified, she was okay with that. She believed C/Nelson spoke about the name of the business and she agreed with his statement. She felt it was important for the Commissioners to speak up about what they would recommend would be appropriate and favorable for a business name without having any jurisdiction in that area. In the meantime, staff will have an opportunity to look at the development code and make the changes to the code. So for her, requiring the management to be CAMTC certified would be sufficient. CDD/Gubman reminded the Commission that the applicant's representative has gone on record as stating that the applicant is sensitive to the matter of the business name and will take that into account when deciding the business name. This declaration in the public record may be adequate for the Commission that the applicant will give the naming of the business appropriate consideration regardless of what Constitutional rights they may have. C/Lee amended his motion to include a condition requiring that the management of the business be CAMTC certified at the time the business license issuance is approved. C/Nelson seconded the amendment. Motion carried by the following Roll Call vote: OCTOBER 12, 2010 PAGE 6 PLANNING COMMISSION AYES: COMMISSIONERS: Lee, Nelson, VC/Nolan, Chair/Torng NOES: COMMISSIONERS: None ABSENT: COMMISSIONERS: Shah 8. PLANNING COMMISSIONER COMMENTS/INFORMATIONAL ITEMS: C/Lee said he recalls that he read a few years ago that the City of Huntington Beach has 200 foot massage establishments, although he cannot confirm the facts of the article because it was sometime ago. He believes Diamond Bar must have guidelines for the future to determine the number of such uses because he can see that there may be a problem with having a great number of this use such as service quality inadequacies. CDD/Gubman said that overconcentration of businesses is a potential land use problem. For example, there is an overconcentration of Hookah lounges in Anaheim and there have been a lot of police problems associated with that use. He agreed with C/Lee and as part of this analysis, staff provided the distribution of businesses to see whether or not the City is approaching that threshold. So far we are ok. C/Nelson complimented AP/Alvarez on his delicate handling of the differences between a massage parlor and a masseuse. Chair/Torng thanked C/Lee for mentioning the matter of business distribution. On October 16 there will be a Site D workshop. 9. STAFF COMMENTS/INFORMATIONAL ITEMS: 9.1 Public Hearing dates for future projects. CDD/Gubman stated that at this time there is one item on the October 26 Planning Commission agenda for a music school proposed at the new two-story building at Golden Springs between Banning Way and Lemon Avenue. As Chair/Torng mentioned, the Walnut Valley Unified School District is hosting a Site D Neighborhood Workshop this Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. which will include a site visit and walk of the property followed by an interactive workshop with the participants. October 19 is the date to which the July City Council Site D hearing was continued and at the October 19 meeting staff will request an additional continuance so that a report on the outcome of the workshop and public comments can be completed and brought back to the City Council on November 16. Based on the report on the neighborhood feedback, staff will ask the City Council for direction on whether or not there should be any further revision to the Specific Plan and staff will move forward accordingly at a date to be determined. OCTOBER 12, 2010 PAGE 7 PLANNING COMMISSION CDD/Gubman commented that an article in today's newspaper indicated that the Industry Stadium is alive and moving forward. The developer is looking at modifying the project to potentially accommodate a World Cup soccer event in the future. CDD/Gubman reported that staff continues to work with the new city hall architects and preliminary floor plan designs should be available toward the end of this week. The library is moving forward as well although for structural reasons, they will lag behind the City. The design development construction process appears to be very encouraging that this project will be a huge success. CDD/Gubman stated that the City terminated its contract with its Building and Safety consultant that has been with the City for the past 17 years. A new consulting firm is providing building and safety services and staff will ask the City Council on October 19 to extend the interim contract until the end of the current fiscal year. In the meantime, staff will study this staffing opportunity to see whether it makes sense to hire in house staff to provide those services or hire a City Building Official and contract out for inspectors and other support services. Staff has time to study this matter and make the right decision prior to the end of the current fiscal year. CDD/Gubman indicated that November 1 through November 4 are the dates for the California Chapter of the American Planning Association Conference in Carlsbad. He plans to attend the entire conference as part of his obligation to maintain his certification as a Certified Planner. All planning staff will have an opportunity to attend one or two days of the conference as well. He said he would report back to the Commission on any items of interest learned. 10. SCHEDULE OF FUTURE EVENTS: As listed in tonight's agenda. ADJOURNMENT: With no further business before the Planning Commission, Chairman Torng adjourned the regular meeting at 7:56 p.m. The foregoing minutes are hereby approved this 14th day of December, 2010. Attest: Respectfully Submitted, Greg Gubman Community Development Director ony Torng, C man