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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02/13/2018 PC MinutesMINUTES OF THE CITY OF DIAMOND BAR MEETING OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION FEBRUARY 13, 2018 CALL TO ORDER: Chairman Wolfe 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: Vice-Chair/Mok led the Pledge of Allegiance. 1. ROLL CALL: Present: Commissioners Naila Barlas, Frank Farago, Jennifer "Fred" Mahlke, Vice -Chairman Kevin Mok, and Chairman Raymond Wolfe Also present: Greg Gubman, Community Development Director; James Eggart, Assistant City Attorney; Mayuko (May) Nakajima, Associate Planner; and Stella Marquez, Administrative Coordinator. 2. MATTERS FROM THE AUDIENCE/PUBLIC COMMENTS: None Offered 3. APPROVAL OF AGENDA: As Presented 4. 5. CONSENT CALENDAR: 4.1 Minutes of the Regular Meeting: January 23, 2018: VC/Mok moved, C/Barlas seconded, to approve the Minutes of the Regular Meeting of January 23, 2018, as presented. Motion carried by the following Roll Call vote: AYES: COMMISSIONERS: NOES: COMMISSIONERS: ABSENT: COMMISSIONERS: OLD BUSINESS: None 6. NEW BUSINESS: None Barlas, Farago, Mahlke, VC/Mok, Chair/Wolfe None None FEBRUARY 13, 2018 PAGE 2 PLANNING COMMISSION 7. PUBLIC HEARING(S): 7.1 Development Review No. PL2017-187 — Under the authority of Diamond Bar Municipal Code Sections 22.48 and 22.38, the applicant and property owner requested Development Review approval to construct a 4,985 square foot single family residence with 480 square feet of garage area and 540 square feet of patio/balcony area, on a 1.09 gross acre (47,480 gross square foot) lot. The subject property is zoned Rural Residential (RR) with an underlying General Plan land use designation of Rural Residential SUBJECT PROPERTY: 2031 Rusty Spur Road Diamond Bar, CA 91765 PROPERTY OWNER: Yin -Chu Chang 2031 Rusty Spur Road Diamond Bar, CA 91789 APPLICANT: Raymond Pan 1142 S. Diamond Bar Boulevard #460 Diamond Bar, CA 91765 AP/Nakajima presented staff's report and recommended Planning Commission approval of Development Review No. 2017-187, based on the Findings of Fact and subject to the conditions of approval as listed within the resolution. Chair/Wolfe opened the public hearing. Raymond Pan, Project Architect, said he was pleased to see this project through, which he felt would be a great addition to the community. Chair/Wolfe closed the public hearing. VC/Mok said that when he looked at the plans it appeared to him it would look like an office building. When he visited the site he found it would fit in with most of the contemporary looking elements on the back side, whereas, the front matched with the homes in the nearby neighborhood, which caused him to go back and review the renderings and attachments with a different perspective. As such, he felt the Architect had done a good job on his design and offered Kudos to Mr. Pan. FEBRUARY 13, 2018 PAGE 3 PLANNING COMMISSION C/Farago moved, C/Mahlke seconded, to approve Development Review No. PL2017-187, Findings of Fact and conditions of approval as listed within the resolution. Motion carried by the following Roll Call vote: AYES: COMMISSIONERS: Barlas, Farago, Mahlke, VC/Mok, Chair/Wolfe NOES: COMMISSIONERS: None ABSENT: COMMISSIONERS: None Chair/Wolfe complimented AP/Nakajima on her report 7.2 Development Review No. PL2017-133 — Under the authority of Diamond Bar Municipal Code Section 22.48, the applicant and property owner requested Development Review approval to construct a 7,093 square foot single family residence with 2,218 square feet of garage area and 1,452 square feet of deck/patio/balcony area, on a 0.92 gross acre (40,269 gross square foot) undeveloped lot. The subject property is zoned Rural Residential (RR) with an underlying General Plan land use designation of Rural Residential. No protected trees are being removed as part of this project. SUBJECT PROPERTY: PROPERTY OWNER: APPLICANT: 2740 Steeplechase Lane Diamond Bar, CA 91765 Jeff Tsui and Wendy Hsu 22121 Saleroso Drive Rowland Heights, CA 91748 Pete Volbeda 180 N. Benson Avenue, Suite D Upland, CA 91786 AP/Nakajima presented staff's report and recommended Planning Commission approval of Development Review No. PL2017-133, based on the Findings of Fact, and subject to the conditions of approval listed within the resolution. ChairM/olfe said that when these reports come to the Commission from The Country, The Country Estates Architectural Committee has already approved the proposed project and in this case they have not yet done so. AP/Nakajima explained that in this case, the applicant is working to get approval from The Country. Chair/Wolfe asked if in the event the committee FEBRUARY 13, 2018 PAGE 4 PLANNING COMMISSION made a substantial change, if this project would come back before the Planning Commission and AP/Nakajima responded "yes." VC/Mok said he remembered that the neighboring project previously came before the Commission about a year ago and the Commission approved that project. He also remembered that at that time, he, VC/Mok, asked the owner if since the road was in disrepair, would he be repairing it so that the asphalt was smooth and brought back to a good condition and the applicant's response was yes, so he is glad that issue was brought up again and if someone is concerned about the road, staff should be able to contact the original owner to get him to respond if it was not done. AP/Nakajima said that VC/Mok was correct and that staff did reach out to the owner who had no specific timeline as to when they would repair the street but again agreed he would do the repair. Chair/Wolfe believed that since the roadway in question is a private roadway, it is not under the Planning Commission's jurisdiction. He believed the question was asked, but that it was not a condition of the project approval at the time. AP/Nakajima said that Chair/Wolfe's recollection of the situation was correct. Chair/Wolfe opened the public hearing. Pete Volbeda, Project Architect, said this project was a little different for him because it is a different style on an uphill lot. The client hopes to have the Commission approve this project. Curt Chen, said he is the owner of the 2690 Steeplechase house. He shared his concern that the middle house (between his property and the project site) was constructed six years ago and it was half done when the new applicant came forward Mast year. When Mr. Chen got the notice of that project, it was too late for him to comment. Six years ago when the middle house was started it took a year and a half or so just to lay the foundation and that experience was, for him, horrific. The roadway was in good order prior to that time. Yes, it is a private road, but the owner was very non-responsive. When the road was torn up it was during the rainy season and it created a hazardous drive and he had difficulty stopping his vehicle when he drove down the slope which for him was extremely concerning when his kids were in the car. When driving up the slope, all the slurry would just go by. He tried for a very long time to get in touch with the property owner by calling, writing and leaving voice mails. However, the property owner was non-responsive and it seems that his thought is that he will fix it when his house is complete. That is a three year job and in the FEBRUARY 13, 2018 PAGE 5 PLANNING COMMISSION meantime, that is what Mr. Chen has to live with. Mr. Chen said he has had to go to The Country and find attorneys to get the young man to own up to his mistake and fix the road. As a result, the property owner spent $80,000 fixing Mr. Chen's side of the road, but he left the other side as -is. And the owner of the last house on the street had to spend his own money to fix that part of the roadway. Mr. Chen has been told it is a private matter and no one will help him but he is nevertheless seeking help to alleviate his nightmare Chair/Wolfe closed the public hearing. Chair/Wolfe said the Commission appreciates the speakers concerns and cannot directly attribute the experience he will have if the Commission approves this project this evening to what he experienced with the middle property. Unfortunately, as Chair/Wolfe mentioned a few moments ago, it is not a matter this Commission can control. The roadway is a private drive which means that it is a civil matter. C/Mahlke moved, C/Farago seconded, to approve Development Review No. PL2017-133, 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: AYES: COMMISSIONERS: Barlas, Farago, Mahlke, VC/Mok, Chair/Wolfe NOES: COMMISSIONERS: None ABSENT: COMMISSIONERS: None Chair/Wolfe said he understood Mr. Chen's concerns, especially with regard to the grading plan and the number of trucks that will be required to construct this project. He hoped that the applicant's representative would relay those concerns to the property owners and that they can be congenial neighbors as they go through the process of constructing the project. VC/Mok echoed Chair/Wolfe's statements. He drove to the site today and the condition of the road was exactly the same as it was last year. It is torn up, it is in disrepair and when one drives up the street the vehicle is swaying side to side and up and down. The roadway is drivable but it is very uncomfortable. He hoped the owner of the house between Mr. Chen's house and the project site would live up to his promise when he works on his house. FEBRUARY 13, 2018 PAGE 6 PLANNING COMMISSION 8. PLANNING COMMISSION COMMENTS/INFORMATIONAL ITEMS: VC/Mok said it was nice to see the Sprouts Center flourishing and active along with Chipotle and Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf. And, everyone is anxiously awaiting the completion of the McDonald's rehab. 9. STAFF COMMENTS/INFORMATIONAL ITEMS: 9.1 Proiect Status Report. CDD/Gubman said that everyone should expect to see McDonald's open within 45 days. The Habit project is still in plan check. They resubmitted plans today and hopefully, building permits will be issued in the near future with business opening early mid -summer. CDD/Gubman said that the next scheduled Commission meeting is February 27th. There are no agenda items for that date at this time and that meeting will be canceled. It is also possible that there will not be a meeting on March 13th since there are no items currently queued up for that agenda. The first meeting in March is typically the reorganization date for the Planning Commission during which a new Chair and Vice -Chair are chosen, and if that meeting is canceled, reorganization will be rescheduled for the second March meeting on March 27th C/Mahlke said that she has been asked if The Habit has pulled out of the deal and she has. been told by several people there will not be a Habit. She will spread the word that the rumor is not true. 10. SCHEDULE OF FUTURE EVENTS: As posted in the Agenda. ADJOURNMENT: With no further business before the Planning Commission, Chair/Wolfe adjourned the regular meeting at 7:28 p.m. FEBRUARY 13, 2018 PAGE 7 PLANNING COMMISSION The foregoing minutes are hereby approved this April 24, 2018. Attest: Respectfully Submitted, Greg Gubman Community Development Director Kenneth Mok, Chairperson