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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02/25/2020MINUTES OF THE CITY OF DIAMOND BAR MEETING OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION FEBRUARY 25, 2020 CALL TO ORDER: Chair/Barlas called the meeting to order at 6:32 P.M. in the City Hall Windmill Room, 21810 Copley Drive, Diamond Bar, CA 91765. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Commissioner Mok led the Pledge of Allegiance. 1. ROLL CALL: Commissioners: Kenneth Mok, Vice -Chairperson Frank Farago, and Chairperson'Naila Batlas. Commissioner William Rawlings arrived at 6:34 p.m. Also present: Greg Gubman, Community Development Director; James Eggart, Assistant City Attorney; Grace Lee, Senior Planner; May Nakajima, Associate Planner; Natalie T. Espinoza, Associate 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 —Regular Meeting —January 28, 2020. C/Mok moved, VC/Farago seconded, to approve the January 28, 2020, Meeting Minutes as corrected. Motion carried by the following Roll Call vote: AYES: COMMISSIONERS: Mok, VC/Farago, Chair/Barlas NOES: COMMISSIONERS: None ABSENT: COMMISSIONERS: Rawlings 5. OLD BUSINESS: None 6. NEW BUSINESS: 6.1 GENERAL PLAN CONFORMITY —General Plan conformity analysis of a proposed transfer of property from the County of Los Angeles Department of Parks and Recreation for roadway improvement purposes related to the SR57/60 Confluence Project. AP/Nakajima presented staffs report and recommended Adoption of a resolution finding the proposed transfer of property from the conformity analysis of a proposed transfer of property from the County of Los Angeles FEBRUARY 25, 2020 PAGE 2 PLANNING COMMISSION Department of Parks and Recreation for roadway improvement purposes related to the SR57/60 Confluence Project. VC/Farago moved, C/Rawlings seconded, to Adopt Resolution No. 2020-06, finding the proposed transfer of property from the County of Los Angeles Department of Parks and Recreation for roadway improvement purposes related to the SR57/60 Confluence Project to be in conformance with the Diamond Bar General Plan. Motion carried by the following Roll Call vote: AYES: COMMISSIONERS: NOES: COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: COMMISSIONERS: PUBLIC HEARING(S): Mok, Rawlings, VC/Farago Chair/Barlas None None 7.1 DEVELOPMENT REVIEW NO. PL2019-179 —Under the authority of Diamond Bar Municipal Code Section 22.48, the applicant requested Development Review approval to construct a 1,029 square foot addition to an existing 1,554 square foot, single -story residence on a 10,000 square foot lot. The subject property is zoned Low Medium Density Residential (RLM) with an underlying General Plan land use designation of Low Density Residential. PROJECT ADDRESS PROPERTY OWNERS APPLICANT: 1959 Viento Verano Drive Diamond Bar, CA 91165 Yongli Luan 1959 Viento Verano Drive Diamond Bar, CA 91765 Xin Wang 19834 Camino de Rosa Walnut, CA 91789 AP/Nakajima presented staffs report and recommended Planning Commission approval of Development Review No. PL2019-179, based on the Findings of Fact, and subject to the conditions of approval as listed within the Resolution. C/Mok said he appreciated the design and thought the proposal was a great way of increasing the square footage without having to go up to a second level. Chair/Barlas agreed with C/Mok. Chair/Barlas opened the public hearing. FEBRUARY 259 2020 PAGE 3 PLANNING COMMISSION Xin Wang, applicant, explained that the property owner has submitted this proposal because she had another baby in 2019 and there is no more space. The property owner wants all of her immediate family to come and live with her. Chair/Barlas closed the public hearing. C/Rawlings moved, C/Mok seconded, to approve Development Review No. PL2019-179, based on the Findings of Fact, and subject to the conditions of approval'os listed within the Resolution. Motion carried by the following Roll Call vote: AYES: COMMISSIONERS: Mok, Rawlings, VC/Farago, Chair/Barlas NOES: COMMISSIONERS: None ABSENT: COMMISSIONERS: None 7.2 CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT NO. PL2019-103 — Under the authority of Diamond Bar Municipal Code Section 22.58, the applicant requested Conditional Use Permit approval for a fitness center (Planet Fitness) in a 21,440 square foot leased space previously occupied by Rite Aid, located at Diamond Hills Plaza. The subject property is zoned Community Commercial (C-2) with an underlying General Plan land use designation of Commercial (C). PROJECT ADDRESS: PROPERTY OWNER: APPLICANT: 2825 S. Diamond Bar Boulevard Diamond Bar, CA 91765 ROIC Diamond. Hills Plaza LLC PO Box 130339 Carlsbad, CA 92013 Chase Villafana PF Supreme, LLC 3200 Park Center Drive Costa Mesa, CA 92626 AP/Espinoza presented staffs report and recommended Planning Commission approval of Conditional Use Permit No. PI2019-103, based on the findings of Fact, and subject to the conditions of approval as listed within the Resolution. C/Mok said it was his understanding that gym parking lots are very desirable for theft such as that experienced by LA Fitness on Golden Springs Drive. As such, he was very happy to see that the applicant and owner are going through three different measures to make sure security is pretty tight at this location by trimming back the foliage and installing additional security cameras and lighting. He commends the applicant and owner for their foresight. FEBRUARY 25, 2020 PAGE 4 PLANNING COMMISSION C/Rawlings said that with respect to parking, he believes the Diamond Hills Plaza is a much better choice for this type of facility. He is concerned that folks will be parking as close to the facility as possible and wondered how effective it would be to have vehicles parked in zones H and J as preferred parking spots which he assumes will depend on the amount and type of information that it being sent out to the members of Planet Fitness and how they are encouraged to comply. He looks forward to that contingency being part of the conditions. Chair/Barlas opened the public hearing. Karen Merriman, ROTC, said she is excited to bring Planet Fitness to their property and to Diamond Bar. She has had great interaction with staff working on making things right at the site. One item that was not clearly identified was the addition of a security camera at the main drive where there is an existing light that will be monitoring on a 24-hour basis. Signage will be added to let people know the area is under surveillance. ROIC has about 100 properties and where there is very active communication with tenants and their employees encouraging them to use employee parking and as suggested, there will be areas designated for employee parking where signage will be posted. With respect to Condition D- 42 ROIC would like for this condition to be removed because it is very broad and vague. As landlords, ROIC will do what needs to be done to make sure parking is available and that people are parking in the right spaces by working with security to keep the area clean and safe. Chase Villafana, Planet Fitness owner, thanked Planning staff for the time they have spent to make sure Planet Fitness gets this right. Planet Fitness is a publicly traded company with 2000 stores nationwide including stores in Alaska and Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. The Planet Fitness business model is a very friendly judgement -free zone where everyone can experience a safe and clean environment at a value price. And in so doing, members are provided with over 100 pieces of cardio equipment, strength training and tanning/hydro massage and massage chairs. Planet Fitness has seen positive life changing experiences for their members. Many people thank Planet Fitness for being part of their community. Thank you to the City and the Commission and Planet Fitness looks forward to being part of the. Diamond Bar community. Miguel Pulido, ROIC, asked that the Planning Commission please work with ROTC on Condition D-4 because it is his understanding that Planet Fitness will not consummate this lease or come into the area because that uncertainty goes against the large investment Planet Fitness will make. He pledged that ROIC is not leaving the area. They own the two centers in the beautiful City of Diamond Bar and if there is anything that comes up he is sure it can be resolved. He recalls meeting with staff at the end of last summer and through the fall. ROIC believes they have done a good job, answered all of the questions and worked closely FEBRUARY 25, 2020 PAGE 5 PLANNING COMMISSION with staff to resolve all issues. CDD/Gubman came to City Hall during the holidays when it was closed to assist ROIC. He would very much appreciate the Planning Commission working to amend the approval to remove Condition D-4. Allen Wilson said he was concerned about the traffic and congestion on Diamond Bar Boulevard and Evergreen Springs, as well as the economic impacts to the City in losing Rite Aid and getting Planet Fitness in its place. Bruce Fuller, 2668 Castle Rock Road (directly behind the project), said that over the years the center has grown which is great for Diamond Bar and the noise levels have improved every year. Several of his concerns were covered this evening and he believes the project is beautiful. He would appreciate it if the property owner would pay attention to the noise affect to the community adjacent to the center. If the trees are trimmed back the barriers that muffle some of the noise will be gone. Chair/Barlas closed the public hearing. C/Rawlings said he can see how Condition D-4 would create a level of uncertainty for any property owner or business and asked if there was a way the condition could be amended to make it easier or provide assurances to the property owner regarding the review of the Conditional Use Permit. CDD/Gubman responded to C/Rawlings that the Condition is something that that has customarily been added to Conditional Use Permit applications based on concerns years ago on projects where the Planning Commission was interested in having the City staff perform an audit after six months to see that the conditions imposed and/or concerns about certain impacts actually surfaced and to check on whether there were any additional conditions or modifications that needed to be done to better address those concerns. In this case, after being taken to task to look at that particular Condition which is close to boilerplate, staff would have no objections if the Commission wished to strike the Condition because the applicant has been very responsive to staff's initial concerns regarding parking sufficiency and security and has analyzed and addressed those issues far beyond the approach taken by other applicants. As a result, staff is confident that the measures proposed by the applicant will ensure that the proposed use will not negatively impact the successful operations of the surrounding businesses. VC/Farago said that in his opinion, Mr. Fuller's concerns address the reason this Condition should remain so that the City can do a six month assessment on whether their proposed measures are adequate. And, if the applicant is confident in their mitigation efforts, it should not be a problem. Speaking to the employee's parking at the rear of the building, if it ends up becoming a problem late at night depending on shift change and how that works, it would give the City and local community an opportunity to address it and allow employees to park in front FEBRUARY 25, 2020 PAGE 6 PLANNING COMMISSION during evening hours versus parking at the rear of the building. He does not believe the City would impose anything that would be too costly or too unmanageable, but he believes that the review would protect the community in case something comes up that is unforeseen. C/Mok said that Planet Fitness is a 24/7 business and after the other businesses are closed for the evening there would be fewer employees onsite from 10:00 p.m. to 6:00, 7:00 or 8:00 a.m. And assuming there would be a small number of cars he does not believe it would be an issue for them not to park at the back of the building. C/Rawlings said he agreed with C/Mok. He is not overly concerned about noise during those hours and he agrees that the City needs to be very thoughtful about the changes in vegetation (soft surfaces) that would mitigate the noise. During the General Plan Update process this was a subject that was brought up numerous times and he believes it is worth the City's time and effort to pay more attention to that issue and he wants to be sensitive to that. If Condition D-4 is removed, what kind of leverage would the City have if there was a problem that it wanted to mitigate, whether it be noise, lighting or parking? CDD/Gubman responded to C/Rawlings that he could probably use the example of the Diamond Bar Towne Center where there have been issues with available parking and what staff and ROTC did in hearing those complaints led him to spend a morning with one of the property management personnel. Together they walked the entire property to find opportunities where there might be additional parking spaces in the front and on the sides, as well as additional opportunities to relocate a trash enclosure and/or consolidate them. They found opportunities to add several parking spaces and ROTC is looking into moving forward with that implementation. So, staff routinely hears concerns and sometimes specific issues and staff does everything possible to resolve those concerns and issues. It often works well because the City strives to maintain collaborative relationships with partners in the business community. Regardless of what the issue is and whether it is Planet Fitness or HMart or the recycling center, staff will try to work with them. If there is a Condition that is perhaps not working well, whether it is parking management or some other issue that cannot be dealt with administratively, the City may have to look at coming back to the Planning Commission to amend those Conditions. In the vast majority of cases, staff is able to capitalize on the good working relationships to resolve issues. C/Rawlings said that CDD/Gubman's explanation was very reassuring. Chair/Barlas said she was excited to learn about the 24/7 facility. Noise and traffic are issues for her as well. If ROTC has no problem and has a very good relationship with staff, this Condition which has been applied to many projects should not be of concern. FEBRUARY 25, 2020 PAGE 7 PLANNING COMMISSION Chair/Barlas reopened the public hearing. Mr. Pulido said that in terms of what the City has over ROIL, ROIC always needs a good relationship with and will continue to operate in the City. However, there might be an issue none of the parties can conceive of at this time and working with staff is essential. In terms of doing things on the front end, ROIC would be willing to add a Condition relative to the noise and cars that are parking behind the building which is, that after 10:00 p.m., there would be no parking behind the building because there will be plenty of parking in the front and he would be willing to direct the employees to come in the front of the store and thus be further away from Mr. Fuller's property. And ROIC wants to be good neighbors to everyone. Also relative to the noise, the tree trimming is being done because of safety issues. He would be willing to commit to work with staff and if there is something they deem will soften the center and improve the sound barrier, they will do it. ROTC has been in Diamond Bar for a long time and intends to remain in Diamond Bar for a long time and the more these concerns are solved ahead of time, the better for all involved. Relative to ROIC's tenant Planet Fitness, they want assurance that ROIC does everything right and will live up to what they agree to. Mr. Villafano said that the tree trimming that is taking place is to increase the visibility in the front of the center. In addition, he believes a great option and compromise is to have parking in the front after 10:00 p.m. His overnight staff usually consists of three to four staff members and the key to the business is that it caters to everybody and that includes people who work at night (firemen, policemen, etc.) and want to utilize the facility during the overnight hours. Condition D-4 is concerning for Planet Fitness because it is so open ended and a deal -killer for them. It's a tough pill to swallow when it is such an open-ended item both as a tenant and a landlord putting so much time, effort and money into a proposition to make sure that this has been thoroughly vetted. Carol Merriman confirmed that ROTC is making the changes at the Walmart Center. If the City were to come to ROTC a year or two years from now and say that traffic patterns have now changed and we now need to take another look at the parking lot (parking and landscaping), ROIC would look at it again. It is not a timeframe for them, rather, it is how the property is operating, how customers are coming and going, how things have changed with respect to types of transportation and whether ROIC has to adapt to that. The Conditional Use is six months and to her the question is, what would happen in the seventh month because she knows that ROIC will always be working to improve their properties. VC/Farago asked if Ms. Merriman was recommending the Condition be changed to two years and she responded, no, because it will move and change and it will keep moving and changing. The director of design at ROIC has a major in landscape and he would be thrilled to be able to add some softening landscape at any of the properties ROIC has. Again, they are trimming/thinning the trees FEBRUARY 25, 2020 PAGE 8 PLANNING COMMISSION for visibility, but the trees will not be leveled and if ROIL has the opportunity to provide additional soft scape, they would definitely do that. Allen Wilson said that being a good neighbor is one thing, but forcing other neighbors to pay for everything is financially irresponsible. Chair/Barlas closed the public hearing. C/Rawlings said in response to Allen Wilson's concern, one thing he has seen with a lot of fitness centers is the amount of traffic they drive to a center boosts the other businesses in that center. He has seen some very struggling centers in Walnut, for example, where a fitness center went in which led to several tax revenue generating and thriving businesses from the traffic created by the fitness center. While there is no sales tax revenue on services in fitness memberships, he is more comfortable with the investment because of the increased traffic supporting those other struggling businesses which would ultimately generate increased tax revenue indirectly from Planet Fitness which is one reason he likes Planet Fitness for this particular center. With this said, he believes the City needs to be mindful of the traffic and infrastructure issues on some of the adjoining streets which he believes the City has been working on. Chair/Barlas reopened the public hearing. Mr. Pulido responded to VC/Farago that ROTC was recommending that at 10:00 p.m. the conditional use be changed to disallow parking at the rear of the building. With respect to landscaping, he wants the Commission to tell ROIC what it wants and ROIC will work with staff to make it happen. Having a beautiful center will make a big difference and if it does not get this tenant, an empty building generates zero tax and it has a negative impact on the center because other tenants will begin to look at moving out of the center. This building has been empty long enough and ROIC needs the Commission's support. Chair/Barlas closed the public hearing. CDD/Gubman said that at the rear of the building there are refrigeration trucks idling in the loading area and there have been complaints about the noise. Staff will address that issue to determine whether there or not there is a noise level issue. One of the problems with the back of the shopping center is the concrete lined channel between the center and the rear yard of the homes and he suspects there is some noise bouncing back and forth and amplifying that issue. This will be an issue that will have to be resolved whether or not Planet Fitness goes in. Staff does not anticipate the 24-hour operation within an enclosed building with public entrances on the front of the building to be an issue and he believes it is a good idea and absolutely appropriate to restrict parking after 10:00 p.m. in Zone 4 because the parking demand will be generated only by the gym during those FEBRUARY 25, 2020 PAGE 9 PLANNING COMMISSION hours. Staff will also look into putting in more vines along the rear fencing property line to provide visual screening and noise absorption. C/Mok asked if D-4 could be edited by keeping the first sentence. He believes there may be some discomfort with terms like "parking deficiencies" and "other land uses impacted" in sentence #2 which are to him, vague phrases. CDD/Gubman suggested the following to replace the Condition D-4 language: "After the first six months of business activity the Director shall review the gym operations with respect to parking usage, CPTED criteria and noise. If issues are identified, staff shall work with the applicant to identify and implement appropriate corrective measures which may, but not necessarily, include referring the matter back to the Planning Commission to consider amending Conditions of Approval set forth in the Resolution." Chair/Barlas reopened the public hearing to allow the applicant to respond to the proposed new Condition. Mr. Villafano explained that the issue with Condition D-4 as read back by CDD/Gubman remains an issue for ROTC. The applicant feels that in coming to the center with all the background and consultants that have taken part in this process there would be no issues relating to their use in the center in general. Also, as CDD/Gubman stated, there is an ability for Code Enforcement to call out any issues. What every city does not have is this condition and Planet Fitness is in a lot of cities in LA County. Mr. Pulido said Diamond Bar is a beautiful City and he believes that the Commission was on the right track when proposing to delete Condition D-4 and add a Condition for no parking in Zone N after 10:00 p.m. and propose that ROIC work with staff on landscaping. Other than that, there is no other uncertainty. If ROIC does not get a tenant there, none of these improvements will be made and it will be a bad center. Diamond Bar wants a busy center and that operator there. ROIC cannot control an operator who says he will not sign the lease and if this cannot be done, nothing will happen. There will be an empty building and that does not help anyone — not Diamond Bar, not Planet Fitness and not the constituents. Earlier CDD/Gubman said the Commission can make a motion to delete D-4 and replace it with a parking condition and call this a victory. This is a very, very important project. The building has been empty for far too long. All parties want to leave here with a victory for Diamond Bar. A good tenant will come in to the center and ROIC will work with the City. If any of the conditions in the CUP are violated the City can come back and say this is in violation of the CUP. ROTC will not risk that because there is too much at stake. Chair/Barlas closed the public hearing FEBRUARY 25, 2020 PAGE 10 PLANNING COMMISSION VC/Farago moved, C/Mok seconded, to approve Conditional Use Permit No. PL2019-103, based on the Findings of Fact, and subject to the conditions of approval as listed within the Resolution as amended to strike Condition D-4 and add a Condition to prohibit parking in Zone N after 10:00 p.m. and revisit the matter of soft scape at the back of the building. Motion carried by the following Roll Call vote: AYES: COMMISSIONERS: Mok, Rawlings, VC/Farago, Chair/Barlas NOES: COMMISSIONERS: None ABSENT: COMMISSIONERS: None PLANNING COMMISSION COMMENTS/INFORMATIONAL ITEMS: C/Mok said he understood this was VC/Farago's last meeting and thanked him for his years of service and leadership on the Commission. C/Mok said he has visited the Hmart Center and noticed activity at the former Unocal site on the corner of Cold Spring and Diamond Bar Boulevard. CDD/Gubman responded to C/Mok that he observed the conclusion of the soil contamination mitigation that has been a long process. Staff has been told from time to time that there was a tenant that was very close to signing a Letter of Intent. After America's Tire, supposedly an 85°C Bakery Cafe was on the cusp of signing a Letter of Intent which apparently did not happen. Unfortunately, he has nothing more interesting to report than the soil contamination cleanup at this time. C/Rawlings echoed C/Mok's thoughts. He has appreciated VC/Farago's help during this first year of C/Rawlings service on the Commission. Chair/Barlas said she was sorry to lose VC/Farago. VC/Farago said CDD/Gubman told him earlier it seems like yesterday that VC/Farago was on a Commission trip to San Francisco which was about seven years ago. He remembers that when he was appointed by Council Member Jack Tanaka and he had his first meeting to go over the rules with CDD/Gubman, he arrived with a wheelbarrow with numerous binders which he placed on the table and told VC/Farago to take them home and memorize the contents. It has been a pleasure serving especially with the fantastic staff. Having gone places and talked with people offsite with commissioners and hearing their horror stories of ill -prepared staff and out -of -control meetings and unruly patrons, Diamond Bar has the best staff. Staff makes Commission jobs easy and it has been a pleasure serving Diamond Bar, 9. STAFF COMMENTS/INFORMATIONAL ITEMS: 9.1 Project Status Report. FEBRUARY 25, 2020 PAGE 11 PLANNING COMMISSION CDD/Gubman expressed his gratitude for the opportunity to work with VC/Farago during the past eight years. It is amazing that those years flew by but a lot was accomplished including adoption of a 20-year General Plan Update, the Site D Willow Heights Development, two Housing Elements, and a controversial rezoning in Tres Hermanos to meet the City's Affordable Housing requirements. VC/Farago has earned his retirement. CDD/Gubman stated that at the March 17th City Council meeting, Commissioner Farago and other outgoing members of other City Commissions will be formally recognized. There will be no meeting on March 10th. The next Planning Commission meeting will take place on March 241h during which the Commission will be seating two new Commissioners, Mahendra Garg who was one of the GPAC members and was appointed by Council Member Mahlke to succeed her and, Ray Wolfe will be coming back to the Planning Commission as C/Farago's successor. At this time there are two items on the agenda, a custom home on Steeplechase in The Country and a project that has been shelved for a few years, a custom home project at the north end of Diamond Bar Boulevard about a quarter mile south of Temple Avenue, which includes a rezone that would ultimately go to the City Council for approval. The first order of business on March 24th will be a reorganization of the Commission. 10. SCHEDULE OF FUTURE EVENTS: As listed in the agenda. ADJOURNMENT: With no further .business before the Planning Commission, Chair/Barlas adjourned the regular meeting at 7:53 p.m. The foregoing minutes are hereby approved this 28th day of April, 2020. Attest: Respectfully Submitted, Greg Gubman Community Development Director ;1 Kenneth Mok, Chairperson