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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10/09/2018 PC MinutesMINUTES OF THE CITY OF DIAMOND BAR MEETING OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION OCTOBER 9, 2018 CALL TO ORDER: Chair/Mok called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. in the City Hall Windmill Room, 21810 Copley Drive, Diamond Bar, CA 91765. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Commissioner Farago led the Pledge of Allegiance. 1. ROLL CALL: Present: Commissioners Frank Farago, Jennifer "Fred" Mahlke, Raymond Wolfe, Vice Chairperson Naila Barlas, and Chairperson Kenneth Mok Also present: Greg Gubman, Community Development Director; James Eggart, Assistant City Attorney; Grace Lee, Senior Planner, Mayuko (May) Nakajima, Associate Planner; Natalie T. Espinoza, Assistant Planner; and Stella Marquez, Administrative Coordinator. 2. MATTERS FROM THE AUDIENCE/PUBLIC COMMENTS: None 3. APPROVAL OF AGENDA: As Presented 4. CONSENT CALENDAR: 4.1 Minutes of the Regular Meeting: August 28, 2018: C/Wolfe moved, C/Mahlke seconded, to approve Consent Calendar Item 4.1 as presented. Motion carried by the following Roll Call vote: AYES: COMMISSIONERS: NOES: COMMISSIONERS: ABSENT: COMMISSIONERS: 5. OLD BUSINESS: None 6. NEW BUSINESS: None 7. PUBLIC HEARING(S): Farago, Mahlke, Wolfe, VC/Barlas, Chair/Mok None None 7.1 Conditional Use Permit No. PL2018-32 — Under the authority of Diamond Bar Municipal Code Section 22.58, the property owner and applicant OCTOBER 9, 2018 PAGE 2 PLANNING COMMISSION requested a Conditional Use. Permit to relocate an existing tutoring center to a 4,818 square foot space within a 70,757 square foot multi -tenant commercial center. In addition,a Parking Permit was requested for the reduction in the required number of parking spaces. The subject property is zoned Community Commercial (C-2) with an underlying General Plan land use designation of Professional Office (OP). PROJECT. ADDRESS: PROPERTY OWNER: APPLICANT: 2040 Brea Canyon Road #220 & #230 Diamond Bar, CA 91789 Plaza Diamond Bar Partners LLC 11150 W. Olympic Boulevard #1090 Los Angeles, CA 90064 Denny Lo 3211A S. Brea Canyon Road Diamond Bar, CA 91789 AP/Espinoza presented staffs report and recommended Planning Commission approval of Conditional Use Permit No. PL2018-32, based on the Findings of Fact, and subject to the conditions of approval as listed within the Resolution. C/Mahlke asked if there was a place for parents to sit in a waiting room in the building during sessions. AP/Espinoza said it was her understanding from the business owner that students are usually dropped off and picked up and parents do not usually wait for them. However, the business owner may have additional information to address this question. C/Mahlke asked if there was an earlier pickup than 6:00 pm for the 3 to 6 pm classes and AP/Espinoza responded that the after-school program breakdown is as follows: Between 3:00 pm and 4:30 pm. teachers help students with homework and test preparation, and between 4:30 pm and 6:00 pm teachers provide English and math lessons for those same students. While most students remain for the entire 3 -hour session, some students are picked up at 4:30 pm and the remainder are picked up at 6:00 pm. Chair/Mok asked if the 40 spaces on the east side of the property that are underutilized are the 40 spaces between the property line and the SR57 at the rear of the building. AP/Espinoza responded yes and pointed out the location using the overhead map. OCTOBER 9, 2018 PAGE 3 PLANNING COMMISSION Chair/Mok asked if there was a second entrance to the one on the east side and AP/Espinoza responded that the students enter through the east side entrance which is the only entry and walk up the stairs to get to the classrooms. Chair/Mok opened the public hearing. Denny Lo, applicant, said she has been in business in Diamond Bar and Walnut for 11 years. The reason for moving is to expand the business to help more students. C/Mahlke asked the applicant if there was a place for parents to sit and wait for their kids. Ms. Lo said there were four to five chairs if someone wished to wait for a short period of time. Most parents drop off their kids before class and pick them up after the last session at 6:00 p.m. If parents arrive early, they may sit and wait for five or 10 minutes for the last session to end. Chair/Mok asked how extensive the remodeling would be moving from one to two suites. Ms. Lo said there are room partitions in both spaces and she hopes to minimize remodeling as much as possible by using the rooms that currently exist. It may take a couple of months to complete the renovations. Chair/Mok closed the Public Hearing. C/Farago moved, C/Wolfe seconded, to approve Conditional Use Permit No. PL2018-32, 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: Farago, Mahlke, Wolfe, VC/Barlas, Chair/Mok NOES: COMMISSIONERS: None ABSENT: COMMISSIONERS: None 7.2 Development Review No. PL2018-118 — Under the authority of Diamond Bar Municipal Code Section 22.48, the applicant and property owners requested Development Review approval to construct a 1,379 square foot two-story I ddition to an existing 1,822 square foot, single -story residence on a 7,043 gross square foot lot. The subject property is zoned Low Density Residential (RLM) with an underlying General Plan land use designation of Low Density Residential. PROJECT ADDRESS: 1563 Autumn Hill Road Diamond Bar, CA 91765 OCTOBER 9, 2018 PAGE 4 PLANNING COMMISSION PROPERTY OWNER: Yi Min Zhao and Ling Shi 1563 Autumn Hill Road Diamond Bar, CA 91765 APPLICANT: Jeremy Yeh 721 Brea Canyon Road #3 Diamond Bar, CA 91789 AP/Espinoza presented staff's report and recommended Planning Commission approval of Development Review No. PL2018-118, based on the Findings of Fact, and subject to the conditions of approval as listed within the resolution. Chair/Mok opened the public hearing. Jeremy. Yeh, designer and representative for, the owner, spoke about the project and said he consulted with his structural engineer on the design. The owner has many antiques and intends to remain in the home during construction. His structural engineer told him that a two-story structure would minimize the impact to the inside of the house by working on the outside and to do that, they would have to meet the lowest setback requirement possible to support the underpinnings on the perimeter wall (i.e., increase the load- bearing capacity of the first story wall in order to line up the second story wall with the first story wall and preserve the underpinnings). By moving forward in this way, it will save the homeowner a considerable amount of money since it would be very expensive for him to move everything to another location during construction. Chair/Mok closed the public hearing. C/Farago moved, VC/Barlas seconded, to approve Development Review No. PL2018-118, based on the Findings of Fact, and subject to the conditions of approval as listed within the draft resolution. Motion carried by the following Roll Call vote: AYES: COMMISSIONERS: Farago, Mahlke, Wolfe, VC/Barlas, Chair/Mok NOES: COMMISSIONERS: None ABSENT: COMMISSIONERS: None 7.3 Development Review No. PL2018-45 — Under the authority of Diamond Bar Municipal Code Section 22.48, the applicant and property owner requested Development Review approval to construct a 1,555 square foot addition, a 105 square foot front porch, and a 220 square foot rear balcony.to an existing OCTOBER 9, 2018 PAGE 5 PLANNING COMMISSION 1,784 square foot, single family residence on a 10,316 gross square foot lot. A Minor Conditional Use Permit was requested to allow an addition to an existing nonconforming structure with a west side setback of six feet six inches (6-6") where 10 feet is required. The subject property is zoned Low Residential (RL) with an underlying General Plan land use designation of Low Residential. PROJECT ADDRESS: PROPERTY OWNER: APPLICANT: 652 Featherwood Drive Diamond Bar, CA 91765 Harbhajan Mand 652 Featherwood Drive Diamond Bar, CA 91765 Ramy Ibrahim 7039 Village Drive Eastvale, CA 92880 AP/Nakajima presented staffs report and recommended Planning Commission approval of Development Review No. PL2018-45, based on the Findings of Fact, and subject to the conditions of approval as listed within the resolution. C/Wolfe asked for clarification of whether the comparison of the three largest homes being between 3,000 and 3,300 feet was compared to only the livable area and excluded the garage, porch and deck spaces. AP/Nakajima responded that C/Wolfe was correct. Chair/Mok opened the public hearing. Ramy Ibrahim, architect, said that this project was also intended to get the maximum living space by adding a second story and keeping the front and back yards as they currently exist by blending the addition with the existing house and integrating the same materials and veneers. Harbhajan Mand, property owner, said his easiest option would be to buy a property elsewhere, but he has been living in this house since 1998 and prefers to expand his current home. Chair/Mok closed the public hearing. Chair/Mok asked the definition of "landscaped" where staff has required a portion of land to be landscaped where a portion of the driveway is being removed. AP/Nakajima said landscape materials are plant materials that can OCTOBER 9, 2018 PAGE 6 PLANNING COMMISSION be lawn or drought tolerant plants. Chair/Mok asked if it could be decomposed granite with a few succulents and AP/Nakajima said that Chair/Mok's example would be considered decorative hardscape which would have to be mixed in with the landscaping. The architect discussed the possibility of widening the driveway two feet to allow two vehicles to park in the driveway. AP/Nakajima stated that it would not be permissible to widen the driveway toward the center of the front yard. However, the owner could widen the driveway on the right side toward the nearest side property line. The architect thanked AP/Nakajima for her response. C/Wolfe moved, VC/Barlas seconded, to approve Development Review No. PI -201-118, based on the Findings of Fact, and subject to the conditions of approval as listed within the draft resolution. Motion carried by the following Roll Call vote: AYES: COMMISSIONERS: Farago, Mahlke, Wolfe, VC/Barlas, Chair/Mok NOES: COMMISSIONERS: None ABSENT: COMMISSIONERS: None 8. PLANNING COMMISSION COMMENTS/INFORMATIONAL ITEMS: C/Wolfe said that a couple of weeks ago he had the opportunity to go out to Fort Irwin, Which is about an hour outside of Barstow where the army has their national defense training_ institute. They welcome anyoneto visit and observe what young men and women go through to be combat ready before they are deployed overseas. For him, it was a fantastic experience and the General in charge asked all who were present to pass the information along to anyone they interact with to let them know about this opportunity. Visitors are. invited to shoot a 50 caliber gun and for lunch they are served MRE's. 9. STAFF COMMENTS/INFORMATIONAL ITEMS: 9.1 Project Status Report. CDD/Gubman announced that there are no business items for October 23rd and for November 13th at this time, and in light of that, the earliest date the Commission would reconvene would be November 27th for which there is currently no business slated. However, staff will inform the Commission well in advance of that date if a meeting is scheduled. OCTOBER 9, 2018 PAGE 7 PLANNING COMMISSION 12. SCHEDULE OF FUTURE EVENTS: Chair/Mok pointed out that prior to the next Commission meeting there will be a Veterans' Day Celebration. Anyone who knows a veteran or anyone who has served in the armed forces from Diamond Bar that has not yet been acknowledged should invite them to contact the City and go through the application process so that they can be acknowledged for their service on November 7th. ADJOURNMENT: With no further business before the Planning Commission, Chair/Mok adjourned the regular meeting at 7:13 p.m. The foregoing minutes are hereby approved this 11th Day of December, 2018. Attest: Respectfully Submitted, Greg Gubman Community Development Director Kenneth Mok, Chairperson