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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020.09.15 - Minutes - Regular MeetingCITY OF DIAMOND BAR MINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING SEPTEMBER 15, 2020 CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Tye called the Regular City Council meeting to order at 6:45 p.m. Mayor Tye stated that consistent with COVID-19 regulations, all Council Members and staff are participating via teleconference and there is no physical location for public attendance. The Public has been invited to join the meeting online or by phone at the numbers printed on the agenda. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Mayor Tye led the Pledge of Allegiance. ROLL CALL: Council Members Ruth Low, Jennifer "Fred" Mahlke, Mayor Pro Tern Nancy Lyons, and Mayor Steve Tye Absent: Council Member Andrew Chou Staff participating telephonically: Dan Fox, City Manager; Dave DeBerry, City Manager; Ryan McLean, Assistant City Manager; Anthony Santos, Assistant to the City Manager; Ryan Wright, Parks and Recreation Manager; David Liu, Public Works Director; Hal Ghafari, Public Works Manager/Assistant City Engineer; Fabian Aoun, Assistant Engineer; Greg Gubman, Community Development Director; Grace Lee, Senior Planner; Dianna Honeywell, Director of Finance, Amy Haug, Human Resources and Risk Manager; Ken Desforges, Director of Information Services; Marsha Roa, Public Information Manager; Cecilia Arellano, Public Information Coordinator; Christy Murphey, Recreation Superintendent; Raymond Tao, Building Official; Robin Crawford, Administrative Assistant; Kristina Santana, City Clerk APPROVAL OF AGENDA: As submitted. 1. SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS, CERTIFICATES, PROCLAMATIONS: 1.1 Regional Chamber of Commerce — San Gabriel Valley Annual Report — Continued to the Council Meeting of October 6, 2020. 2. CITY MANAGER REPORTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS: CM/Fox invited residents to participate in one of two virtual information meetings regarding the November 3, 2020 sales tax Measure DB. 3. PUBLIC COMMENTS: CC/Santana read the following comments submitted via email: Raphael Plunkett thanked those who participated in the anti -hate caravan event. Beth Pelaez commented on and expressed opposition to Proposition 16. SEPTEMBER 15, 2020 PAGE 2 CITY COUNCIL Public Comments provided during the meeting: Jacob Wolak, Field Representative/Staff Assistant for Congressman Cisneros, updated Council on the Congressman's legislative activities. 4. CONSENT CALENDAR: MPT/Lyons moved, C/Low seconded, to approve the Consent Calendar with the exception of Item 4.5 pulled by Mayor Tye. Motion carried by the following Roll Call vote: AYES: COUNCIL MEMBERS: Low, Mahlke, MPT/Lyons, M/Tye NOES: COUNCIL MEMBERS: None ABSENT: COUNCIL MEMBERS: Chou 4.1 APPROVED UPDATED REDLINED CITY COUNCIL MINUTES: 3.1a SEPTEMBER 1, 2020 REGULAR MEETING. 4.2 RATIFIED CHECK REGISTER DATED AUGUST 27, 2020 THROUGH SEPTEMBER 9, 2020 TOTALING $507,197.62. 4.3 APPROVED AGREEMENT WITH THE REGIONAL CHAMBER OF COMMERCE-SAN GABRIEL VALLEY FOR BUSINESS SUPPORT SERVICES THROUGH JUNE, 2021. 4.4 ADOPTED RESOLUTION NO. 2020-39 AMENDING THE CITY'S CONFLICT OF INTEREST CODE FOR DESIGNATED CITY PERSONNEL. ITEMS WITHDRAWN FROM CONSENT CALENDAR: 4.5 AUTHORIZED SUPPORT FOR LEAGUE OF CALIFORNIA CITIES RESOLUTION AT THE 2020 ANNUAL CONFERENCE. M/Tye asked what this resolution means. CM/Fox responded that the resolution is asking Congress to make amendments to regulations related to the Communications Decency Act that would require social media companies to remove materials which promote criminal activities. M/Tye moved, C/Low seconded, to authorize support for League of California Cities Resolution at the 2020 annual conference. AYES: COUNCIL MEMBERS: Low, Mahlke, MPT/Lyons, M/Tye NOES: COUNCIL MEMBERS: None ABSENT: COUNCIL MEMBERS: Chou SEPTEMBER 15, 2020 PAGE 3 CITY COUNCIL 5. PUBLIC HEARING(S): 5.1 ZONE CHANGE AND DEVELOPMENT REVIEW FOR NEW SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENCE LOCATED AT 1111 N. DIAMOND BAR BOULEVARD, DIAMOND BAR (PLANNING CASE NO. PL2015-253.) SP/Lee presented staffs report. M/Tye opened the Public Hearing. Douglas Barcon suggested Council read the public comment he submitted by email and expressed opposition to this project. CC/Santana read email comments from the following: Adrienne Cotterell opposed the project and rezoning of the property. Her concerns included property access, poor air quality, and how the property will be used and maintained. Susan Mullins opposed the project due to adverse impacts to the residents based on a flawed traffic report and disregard for safety, the loss of natural habitat, improper use of the property, and health hazards during construction. Gerardo Ramirez was concerned about delivery and service companies parking on the street or backing out onto Diamond Bar Boulevard if the driveway is blocked. Robin Smith commented on land speculation and expressed opposition to this project. Chieh Hsu opposed the project due to traffic concerns as well as, noise and air pollution, health concerns, and concerns that this property will be developed for uses other than residential purposes such as a party house rental or short term rental property. Ken Lee, property owner's representative, reiterated that this has been a long journey for the owner and applicant who have been responsive to community concerns by twice redesigning the project. The Planning Commission did its due diligence with regard to traffic and safety and held to its 4-1 approval. Mr. Lee urged the City Council to please support and approve the project tonight. M/Tye closed the Public Hearing. MPT/Lyons asked staff to address comments that the traffic study should have been done at 60 mph and not 50 mph. SP/Lee responded that the Planning Commission requested a traffic access study and the study SEPTEMBER 15, 2020 PAGE 4 CITY COUNCIL evaluated the speed at 50 mph for a vehicle traveling southbound on Diamond Bar Boulevard in accordance with industry standards. There were comments that the study should consider speeds as high as 65 and 70 mph. In this case, the applicant's traffic engineer has reviewed the study and stated there will be adequate sight distance for vehicles traveling at 75 mph to react to a vehicle exiting the project driveway. MPT/Lyons commented that according to the Development Review, in every category the application has met the requirements and she agrees that the proposed project is a much better design and idea than a commercial project. C/Low asked staff to comment on the zoning according to the maps. SP/Lee responded that the current adopted General Plan land use designation is RL which is Low Density Residential. The previous designation was multi -family medium density residential and as part of the General Plan update, the intensity was lowered to Low Density Residential (RL), the current General Plan use designation. The current zoning designation is Neighborhood Commercial (C-1) and the proposal proposes to change that to match the current RL designation by changing the zoning to RL for consistency between the General Plan and the Zoning Map. C/Low asked if there was a crosswalk or signal at the Soltaire/Diamond Bar Boulevard intersection and SP/Lee responded that the intersection is not signalized and there is no crosswalk. M/Tye stated that Soltaire is an access only into the neighborhood south of Temple Avenue and east of Diamond Bar Boulevard. C/Low suggested that a "no pedestrian traffic" sign be placed at the Soltaire/Diamond Bar Boulevard intersection. PWD/Liu responded to C/Low that if requested, staff would conduct a field investigation to determine an appropriate recommendation specific to a "no pedestrian crossing" at this un-signalized intersection. C/Low asked for confirmation that this project meets all of the development standards and that proper notices were provided. SP/Lee responded that the project met all development standards and that notices were mailed to all property owners within 1,000 feet of the project site. M/Tye said he expressed his concerns prior to returning this to the Planning Commission for further consideration and still believes the project is too close to Diamond Bar Boulevard and that due to its scale and character, does not fit in the neighborhood of smaller residential dwellings and condos. To C/Low's point, there is parking on both sides of Soltaire and he can see people parking on Soltaire and jaywalking across Diamond Bar Boulevard because there is no parking on Diamond Bar Boulevard. SEPTEMBER 15, 2020 PAGE 5 CITY COUNCIL MPT/Lyons said she believes in the rights of the property owner who has met all of the development standards. C/Mahlke felt the project was consistent with the land use designation and while certain things are afforded the property owner, to M/Tye's point, scale and character can and should be considered. CA/DeBerry agreed with C/Mahlke's comments. Under state law, the City is required to make the General Plan designation and the zoning designation consistent. If there was any thought of not approving the zone change, the Council would need to direct staff to come back with a different General Plan or zoning designation. As SP/Lee mentioned, the General Plan was reviewed on this property in December when the density was lowered to the lower residential density and Council has discretion on the design review based on the findings needed to determine whether or not the project meets those standards. The property meets the objective development standards and while scale and character can be considered, what is not proper for consideration is who will live in the house, whether someone will buy it or whether the property should have been sold or not, or whether the City should buy the property. MPT/Lyons moved, C/Mahlke seconded, to approve for First Reading by title only, waive full reading of Ordinance No. 01 (2020) adopting Zone Change to modify the existing zoning from Neighborhood Commercial (C- 1) to Low Density Residential (RL), and schedule the Second Reading for the October 6, 2020 City Council meeting. Motion carried by the following Roll Call vote: AYES: COUNCIL MEMBERS NOES: COUNCIL MEMBERS ABSENT: COUNCIL MEMBERS Low, Mahlke, MPT/Lyons, M/Tye None Chou M/Tye moved to deny the Development Review application. Motion died for lack of a second. MPT/Lyons moved, C/Low seconded, to adopt Resolution 2020-40 approving the Development Review application based on the Findings of Fact, and subject to the Conditions of Approval contained therein. Motion failed by the following Roll Call vote: AYES: COUNCIL MEMBERS: Low, MPT/Lyons NOES: COUNCIL MEMBERS: Mahlke, M/Tye ABSENT: COUNCIL MEMBERS: Chou C/Mahlke based her no vote on "scale and character", and M/Tye based his no vote on "out of character with the neighborhood". SEPTEMBER 15, 2020 PAGE 6 CITY COUNCIL CA/DeBerry stated that if this item did not have a zone change it could have been approved by the Planning Commission. However, the zoning code says that when there is an application that seeks a change that must be approved by the City Council, both must be approved by the City Council. In this case, the zone change is approved and with a 2-2 vote, the permit development review is not approved. CA/DeBerry responded to M/Tye that if the applicant wished to submit a design that fits with the neighborhood, they would have to go back and redesign the project and resubmit it to the Planning Commission. Under the code, a project that is substantially similar to the previous project has to wait a year for submission and it would be for staff to determine whether the new project was substantially similar to the old project. Certainly, the City Council could give direction to the applicant accordingly. M/Tye said he would not be in favor of requiring the applicant to wait a year. CDD/Gubman stated that the Development Code gives the Community Development Director the authority to make the determination whether or not a resubmitted project is substantially similar. When reviewing what is resubmitted and hearing tonight's findings the City Council indicating it based its denial on the project being out of character with the surrounding neighborhood due to scale, meaning a project that is smaller with reduced mass, bulk and scale, he believes that with Council's deliberations, he has sufficient direction to make that determination. COUNCIL CONSIDERATION: 6.1 FIRST READING OF ORDINANCE NO. 02-(2020) AMENDING TITLE 15 OF THE DIAMOND BAR MUNICIPAL CODE TO ADOPT, BY REFERENCE, TITLE 32 FIRE CODE OF THE LOS ANGELES COUNTY CODE, AS AMENDED, WHICH CONSTITUTES AN AMENDED VERSION OF THE CALIFORNIA FIRE CODE, 2019 EDITION. Contract BO/Tao presented staff's report. C/Mahlke moved, C/Low seconded to adopt for First Reading Ordinance No. 02-(2020) amending Title 15 of the Diamond Bar Municipal Code to adopt, by reference, Title 32 Fire Code of the Los Angeles County Code, as amended, which constitutes an amended version of the California Fire Code, 2019 Edition. Motion carried by the following Roll Call vote: AYES: COUNCIL MEMBERS NOES: COUNCIL MEMBERS ABSENT: COUNCIL MEMBERS Low, Mahlke, MPT/Lyons, M/Tye None Chou 6. COUNCIL SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS AND MEETING ATTENDANCE SEPTEMBER 15, 2020 PAGE 7 CITY COUNCIL REPORTS/COUNCIL MEMBER COMMENTS: C/Mahlke was proud to participate in the Anti -Hate caravan and thanked the community for their participation. She invited everyone to Rainbow Donuts in the Albertson's Center on Saturday morning at 10:00 a.m. to write well -wishes to the deputies who were shot in Compton. C/Low concurred with C/Mahlke's comments and added that the LA County Board of Supervisors introduced a motion to offer a $100,000 reward for apprehension of the perpetrator(s). She thanked staff for their work on Item 5.1 and reminded everyone that the final Council Women's class on proposed propositions would be held on Wednesday, September 30tn MPT/Lyons agreed that all residents were repulsed by the shooting of the LA Deputies and is pleased about the reward being offered. She is also pleased that the recovery grant program is moving forward with staffs' assistance and that the Parks and Rec staff is working hard to provide fun activities for the community. Restaurant Week 2020 is October 2"d through the 18t" and all 100 community restaurants will participate. M/Tye spoke about the LA Deputy shooting, said he was proud of California Contract Cities for reaching out to every City to contribute to the reward for capture of those involved in the assault and hoped Diamond Bar would participate. M/Tye spoke about the life and service of Daniel Holloway. ADJOURNMENT: With no further business to conduct, M/Tye adjourned the Regular City Council Meeting at 8:27 p.m. in memory of La Puente Council Member Daniel Holloway. Respectfully submitted: Kristina Santana, City Clerk The foregoing minutes are hereby approved this 6t" day of October, 2020. t r1j) L Steve Tye, May r