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HomeMy WebLinkAbout4/10/2012MINUTES OF THE CITY OF DIAMOND BAR REGULAR MEETING OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION APRIL 10, 2012 CALL TO ORDER: Chairman Lin called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. in the City Hall Windmill Room, 21810 Copley Drive, Diamond Bar, CA 91765. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: C/Torng led the Pledge of Allegiance. 1. ROLL CALL: Present- Commissioners Frank Farago, Tony Torng, Vice Chairman Steve Nelson, and Chairman Jimmy Lin. Absent: Commissioner Jack Shah was excused. Also present: Greg Gubman, Community Development Director; Katherine Laufenburger, Senior Planner; and Stella Marquez, Administrative Coordinator. 2. MATTERS FROM THE AUDIENCE/PUBLIC COMMENTS: None offered. 3. APPROVAL OF AGENDA: As presented 4. CONSENT CALENDAR: 4.1 Minutes of the Regular Meeting of March 13, 2012. C/Torng moved, C/Farrago seconded, to approve the Minutes of the Regular Meeting of March 13, 2012, as presented. Motion carried by the following Roll Call vote: AYES: COMMISSIONERS: Farago, Torng, VC/Nelson, Chair/Lin NOES: COMMISSIONERS: None ABSENT: COMMISSIONERS: Shah 5. OLD BUSINESS: None 6. NEW BUSINESS: None 7. PUBLIC HEARINGS: 7.1 Development Review No. PL2012-43 — Under the authority of Diamond Bar Development Code Section 22.48, the, applicant and property owner, Chen Tang, requested Development Review approval to construct a new 434 square foot addition to the front of an existing single family residence on a 15,760 square foot lot. The lot is zoned Low Density Residential (RL) with a consistent underlying General Plan land use designation of Low Density Residential. PROJECT ADDRESS: 21927 Paint Brush Lane Diamond Bar, CA 91765 APRIL 10, 2012 PAGE 2 PLANNING COMMISSION PROPERTY OWNER/ Chen Tang APPLICANT: 21927 Paint Brush Lane Diamond Bar, CA 91765 SP/Laufenburger presented staff's report and recommended Planning. Commission approval of Development Review No. PL2012-43, based on the Findings of Fact, and subject to the conditions of approval as listed within the Resolution as revised. Chen Tang, owner/applicant, explained the request and asked for Planning Commission approval for his project. Chair/Lin opened the public hearing. Richard Abad, 21917 Paint Brush Lane, said he was glad the owner was improving his home. He asked how long the construction would take and how much equipment would be parked in the street. CDD/Gubman responded to Mr. Abad that the City's Municipal Code has ,limitations on construction hours so construction may not occur prior to 7:00 a.m. and construction must conclude by 8:00 p.m., although typically, it concludes much earlier. Equipment must be limited to the property (be placed on the premises) and any proposal to stage equipment in the street would require an encroachment permit from the City's Public Works Department. Mr. Tang said his contractor told him the addition would take about two and one-half months so he is planning on three months or more for the construction period. He further stated that he would make certain the contractors would not block anyone's driveway. He understands that parking spaces are Very limited on the street. Chair/Lin closed the public hearing. VC/Nelson commented that Diamond Bar has a long history of making sure that families that.come to Diamond Bar have the ability to stay in Diamond Bar, as they grow. The Planning Commission has granted approval to many projects similar to this project where variances were continued. because they were approved under, the County of Los Angeles, and he sees no reason not to approve this request. VC/Nelson moved, C/Farago seconded, to.. approve Development Review No. PL2011-43, based on the Findings of Fact and subject to the conditions of approval as listed within the resolution. Motion carried by the following Roll Call. vote: PAGE 3 PLANNING COMMISSION AYES: COMMISSIONERS: Farago, Torng, VC/Nelson, Chair/Lin NOES: COMMISSIONERS: None ABSENT: COMMISSIONERS: Shah 7.2- Conditional Use Permit No. PL2011-412 — Under the authority of Diamond Bar Municipal Code Section 22.58, the applicant Suh Ling Wang, and property owner Robert Ko, requested Conditional Use Permit approval for an education center named "The Buddhist Education Center for True Enlightenment." The Center will, offer classes on Saturday and Sunday from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. . and office hours only Monday through Friday from 5:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. The subject property is zoned Industrial (1) with an underlying General Plan land use designation of Industrial. PROPERTY ADDRESS: 825 Lemon Avenue Diamond Bar, CA 91765 PROPERTY OWNER: Walnut Business Park Robert Ko 20107 Covina Hills Road Covina, CA 91724 APPLICANT: Suh Ling Wang 1405 Bodega Way #5 j Diamond Bar, CA 91765 CDD/Gubman explained that under the U.S. Constitution when places of assembly.are considered, religious institutions must be treated the way that any other place of assembly would be treated. Therefore, this project is reviewed strictly on the basis of the land use compatibility, appropriateness of the use, and capacity to accommodate the use at the intensity proposed. SP/Laufenburger presented staff's report and recommended . Planning Commission approval of Conditional Use Permit No. PL2011-412, based on the Findings of Fact, and subject to the conditions of approval as. listed within the Resolution, Suh Ling Wang, applicant, thanked the Commission for considering this enter will bring positive impacts to the society. application. She believes the c C/Torng asked how many individuals were anticipated to be present during weekday office hours. Ms. Wang said that.current plans were to have some staff present to accommodate the; public and members with book sales. She does not anticipate there would be more than 20 individuals present during the weekday office hours. i APRIL 10, 2012 PAGE 4 PLANNING COMMISSION Chair/Lin asked what temple or church the center was affiliated with and Ms. Wang responded "none." Chair/Lin opened the public hearing. With no one present who wished to speak on this matter, Chair/Lin closed the public hearing. C/Torng asked staff if the building had a ,capacity limit and SP/Laufenburger said there was a capacity limit which had been reviewed by the City's Building Department and that the occupancy numbers are posted inside the building and controlled` by the Building Department. C/Farago moved, C/Torng seconded, to approve Conditional Use Permit No. PL2011-412, Findings of Fact, and subject to the conditions of approval as listed within the Resolution. Motion carried by the following Roll Call vote: AYES: COMMISSIONERS: Farago, Torng, VC/Nelson, Chair/Lin NOES: COMMISSIONERS: None ABSENT: COMMISSIONERS: Shah 8. PLANNING COMMISSIONER COMMENTS/INFORMATIONAL ITEMS: Chair/Lin said he understood the City Council had filed an application without taking any action on the matter of Foothill Transit's proposal to build a parking structure at the Park and Ride Facility. CDD/Gubman explained that Foothill Transit is looking at the existing surface Park and Ride Facility on Diamond Bar Boulevard just south of Sunset Crossing.There is a very narrow strip on the west side and a larger area on the east side that abuts the SR60, which is one of the 'potential lots being considered for a multi-level Park and Ride Parking structure. There are a number of questions and issues, one of which is that as part of the SR57/60 "Big Fix project there would be a connector that would pass diagonally through that site which would present an interesting design challenge for placement. Staff is looking at potential opportunities to create a multi -use parking structure elsewhere in the City, particularly at the Kmart site if there is any opportunity to do a more ambitious redevelopment project because the City would like to see something at that location which would provide a certain number. of Park and Ride dedicated spaces but also be a multi-purpose parking structure to accommodate redevelopment of that site. VC/Nelson asked if there is any additional information staff.. can release on the Ralph's site and C DD/Gubman responded that the last he heard. things were. moving;forward buf staff has been asked to continue to honor the request of the potential tenant to keep the details confidential. There may be a larger scale 'rollout of several stores opening in the region and ' the potential tenant' asks for the City's assistance with. logistics, permitting requirements; etc. and has provided limited information accordingly. Other than that, the City is und`er.a gag order.. APRIL 10, 2012 PAGE 5 PLANNING COMMISSION 9. STAFF COMMENTS/INFORMATIONAL ITEMS: CDD/Gubman reported that due to lack of quorum/agenda items, the April 24, 2012, meeting will be canceled. Therefore, tonight's meeting will be adjourned to May 8, 2012, and Commissioners will be advised as the agenda for that meeting takes shape. CDD/Gubman reminded Commissioners that the Ethics Training is next Thursday, April 19 at the Diamond Bar Center. The City Clerk will provide information on the training as well as the opportunity to take the ethics training through an alternative venue including online training. CDD/Gubman updated the Commission on the Shell Station project. The City is moving forward with filing civil action against the property owners for failing to perform the work and will be seeking an injunction in civil court and as a follow up to that request, is asking the Court to order the project to be completed. Staff will also be requesting that the judge turn the property over to a receiver to ensure completion of the project. Once the project has gone through the legal channels and if the City prevails, construction should be taken over by the Court ordered receiver and the project should be completed within about three months. Once completed, the property will likely be sold to an individual or company that has the ability to provide the cash down payment and have the necessary license work in place to begin resuming business. 9.1 Public Hearing dates for future projects. 10. SCHEDULE OF FUTURE EVENTS: As listed in tonight's agenda. ADJOURNMENT: With no further business before the Planning Commission, Chairman Lin adjourned the regular meeting at 7:25 p.m. to May 8, 2012. The foregoing minutes are hereby approved this 10th day of April, 2012. Attest: I Respectfully Submitted, Greg Gubman Community Development Director Steve -Nelson, Viceairman