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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03/23/2021MINUTES OF THE CITY OF DIAMOND BAR MEETING OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION MARCH 23, 2021 CONSISTENT WITH THE GOVERNOR'S LATEST EXECUTIVE ORDER TO STAY AT HOME, AVOID GATHERINGS, AND MAINTAIN SOCIAL DISTANCING, THIS MEETING WAS CONDUCTED TELEPHONICALLY AND PLANNING COMMISSIONERS, CITY STAFF, AND MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC PARTICIPATED VIA TELECONFERENCE, CALL TO ORDER: Chair/Mok called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Commissioner Garg led the Pledge of Allegiance. 1. ROLL CALL: Commissioners: Naila Barlas, Mahendra Garg, Raymond Wolfe, Vice Chairman William Rawlings and Chairman Kenneth Mok. Staff participating telephonically: Greg Gubman, Community Development Director; James Eggart, Assistant City Attorney; Grace Lee, Senior Planner; Mayuko (May) Nakajima, Associate Planner; Joy Tsai, Associate Planner; Stella Marquez, Administrative Coordinator 2. REORGANIZATION OF PLANNING COMMISSION —Selection of Chairperson and Vice Chairperson. Chair/Mok nominated Commissioner Rawlings to serve as Chairperson of the Planning Commission. Commissioner Barlas seconded the nomination. With no other nominations offered, Commissioner Rawlings was unanimously elected to serve as Chairperson of the Planning Commission by the following Roll Call vote: Barias Yes Garg Yes Wolfe Yes Rawlings Yes Mok Yes Chair/Rawlings thanked C/Mok for his leadership during the past year. Commissioner Barlas nominated Commissioner Wolfe to serve as Vice Chairperson who respecffully declined the nomination and nominated Commissioner Garg to serve as Vice Chairperson. Commissioner Mok seconded the nomination. With no other nominations offered, Commissioner Garg was unanimously elected to serve as Vice Chairperson of the Planning Commission by the following Roll Call vote: MARCH 23, 2021 1PAGE 2 PLANNING COMMISSION 3. 4. 5. �l Barias Yes Garg Yes Wolfe Yes Rawlings Yes Mok Yes PUBLIC COMMENTS APPROVAL OF AGENDA: CONSENT CALENDAR: None Offered. As presented. 5.1 Minutes of the Regular Planning Commission Meeting of February 23, 2021. C/Wolfe moved, C/Mok seconded, to approve the meeting minutes of February 23, 2021, as presented. Motion carried by the following Roll Call vote: AYES: COMMISSIONERS: NOES: COMMISSIONERS: ABSENT: COMMISSIONERS: OLD BUSINESS: None NEW BUSINESS: Wolfe, Mok, Chair/Rawlings None Barlas, VC/Garg 7.1 General Plan Status Report 2020: SP/Lee presented staffs report and recommend that the Planning Commission approve the General Plan Status Report for 2020 and forward it to the City Council to Receive and File. C/Wolfe complimented staff on a very thorough General Plan Status Report. He asked if the City has been monitoring SB1 regarding duplexes and subdivision maps, which seeks to make them ministerial, meaning that local control will be superseded and disrupt community identity (land use, public facilities, open space and hillsides, community character and Placemaking chapters) as the City will not have the authority to regulate the addition of dwelling units in existing single family residential neighborhoods, which will increase pressure on first responder services, utilities and traffic congestion. Cut -through traffic remains a huge issue for Diamond Bar and as pointed out by the Responsible Land Use group, the southern part of the town adjacent to the Industry Metrolink station is already severely impacted, as well as are the main thoroughfares of Grand Avenue and Golden Springs Drive. C/Wolfe MARCH 23, 2021 PAGE 3 PLANNING COMMISSION corrected Responsible Land use's statement that limitations to train operations on the Riverside Metrolink line serving the Industry station would require an additional track; however, due to the growing freight demand in the region, there are no slots available for more frequent passenger services on that line, which does impact the ongoing TOD conversation in that vicinity. Chair/Rawlings thanked staff for a very informative report that contains helpful information for the community. He was pleasantly surprised to see the branding efforts in conjunction with the SR57/60 Confluence project he believes will prove to be a good Placemaker landmark of activities along with other projects called out in the report. Chair/Rawlings asked for public comments. Paul Deibel echoed C/Wolfe's comment that this is an excellent overview of the efforts the City has undertaken and the report answered a number of questions he had regarding the improvements to the SR57/60 interchange including interesting comments about detours that will take place during construction. He appreciates the reference to NPDES and permits issued to the City that entail monitoring of City businesses that might have an adverse impact on the environment as a result of their discharges into the soil or into gutters, etc., and wondered if the results would be relayed to the public. Finally, Mr. Deibel asked if there would be opportunities available for local participation/comment on options for Placemaking in the primary focus area. Chair/Rawlings closed public comments. C/Mok moved, VC/Garg seconded, to approve the General Plan Status Report 2020 and forward the report to the City Council to Receive and File. Motion carried by the following Roll Call vote: AYES: COMMISSIONERS: NOES: COMMISSIONERS: ABSENT: COMMISSIONERS: 7.2 2021-2029 Housing Element Update: BarlasWolfeMokVC/Garg CDD/Gubman gave opening remarks and John Douglas, Housing Element consultant, JHD Planning, LLC, presented staffs report and recommended that the Planning Commission receive public comments and offer questions, discussion and direction to staff in preparing a revised Housing Development for review by the City Council. MARCH 23, 2021 PAGE 4 PLANNING COMMISSION C/Mok asked if the 2521 RHNA units were new construction or if the number irtrAuded infill and use of buildings and facilities that are currently underused. Mr. Douglas responded that there is very little vacant residential land left in the City and the vast majority of the units listed in the Housing Element to accommodate the RHNA are referred to as underutilized where there is some building or use on properties today and in order to produce housing there would be a redevelopment of the property or housing units built in some portion of the property such as a non -essential parking lot. C/Mok asked how churches could be approached to offer their properties for. this purpose. Mr. Douglas explained that the Housing Element which is part of the City's General Plan, is a fairly high-level policy document and does not include every single action that might be necessary to bring a project to fruition. The focus of the Housing Element is to identify the parcels where housing could be built based on the City's plans and regulations what kinds of actions the City would take in order to try to encourage development to happen such as adopting density bonus regulations that would provide incentives for property owners to build housing to accomplish the goals that are set forth in the Housing Element. CDD/Gubman stated that the City would not be the developer of these housing units but would facilitate development through its zoning regulations. For example, rather than property owners initiating rezoning, the City might propose to rezone the two churches at a residential density level to incentivize the development. Most church properties are currently residentially zoned and some are already at higher density in the site inventory. For example, half of the Diamond Bar United Church of Christ property is vacant land offering an opportunity for housing, the LDS property north of the Big Lots renovated building has a large undeveloped piece of land on its property, and Calvary Chapel has a large opportunity for repurposing some of its acreage for more housing. While those properties are not significant contributors toward reaching the City's RHNA goals, the more significant push will be to establish zoning for the General Plan's Mixed -Use Districts with higher density being described in the General Plan is where Diamond Bar would ask HCD to accept those designations, thus enabling the City to proceed with the zoning to make that land available. Once the zoning is implemented, the City has complied with its part of the RHNA process by creating zoning that would then facilitate developers to come in and develop the properties. VC/Garg asked if the church properties could be mixed use as well. CDD/Gubman said that by virtue of two uses on one property it becomes small "m" mixed use and the named Mixed -Use Districts are a more conventional classification of residential on top of or behind commercial storefronts. MARCH 23, 2021 PAGE 5 PLANNING COMMISSION Chair/Rawlings asked if it is common practice to update the Development Code and does the state respond well to that. Mr. Douglas explained that it is fairly common practice, particularly in this Housing Element cycle because the RHNA numbers are such that many cities will have to look at rezoning in order to accommodate the RHNA, and state law explicitly allows cities up to three years to do the rezoning. Fortunately for Diamond Bar, much of that work has already gone into this through the General Plan Update process that culminated in late 2019. It is important for the Commission and public to realize that the zoning changes being discussed in the Housing Element are simply changes that have already been anticipated as part of the General Plan Update process. When the City finally adopted the General Plan, it was recognized that the new General Plan created changes to land use designations that created inconsistencies between those and the old zoning and the normal course of events is for the City to adopt the new General Plan and then follow that with amendments to the detailed zoning and development regulations in order to bring everything back into consistency. Chair/Rawlings asked that the letter from Responsible Land Use be entered into the record and opened public comments. Lee Paulsen, President, Responsible Land Use, said he takes no issue with the number of units in the TOD area and understands that those houses have to go somewhere and he would like for the City to facilitate or restart a conversation about what it will take to make Mixed -Use areas work. RLU supports the work that staff and the consultants have done and understands the tough task of getting this to pass HCD. At the same time, residents are looking for solutions that will actually make the City better and more livable. The possibility of having a Mixed -Use area in that location brings forth wonderful possibilities of adding units and providing a neighborhood meeting place or destination for the entire neighborhood. Paul Deibel commented that he is very much in favor of the articles of the Housing Element, particularly with respect to increasing the potential for affordable housing in the community to accommodate growing families, pensioners and essential workers with a cradle to grave mindset. He is excited by the potential of a vibrant Mixed -Use pedestrian -oriented commercial center in Diamond Bar, which he thinks would be great for the identity community to the function of the community for affordable housing and for economic development that would bring in customers from surrounding areas. He was curious about the timeline for zoning changes and believed the City should consider additional incentives for affordable housing development beyond state stipulated density bonus requirements such as inclusionary zoning provisions for the provision of affordable housing in most housing projects or fees in -lieu of affordable housing and asked if there was tax increment MARCH 23, 2021 PAGE 6 PLANNING COMMISSION financing available for affordable housing and whether an agency could be formed in the City to establish bonds or other mechanisms as well as, inclusionary zoning with in lieu fees to finance affordable housing. Grace Lim -Hayes also affirmed that it makes sense to consider Mixed -Use in developments as the solution to housing challenges for the future and the present. As a resident in the TOD, it will be a challenges to include the high - density units (795) in the area, but it is feasible with a lot of imagination and a lot of creativity with special consideration of traffic congestion. It will take a lot of creativity and imagination to make sure all issues are properly addressed to create housing units that provide parking, walkable areas with connections services and recreation. RLU is not seeking to challenge or prevent rezoning of the area, but wants to make sure it is understood that those challenges need to be met with a lot of imagination and conversation among all stakeholders in the community inclusive of the homeowner associations and mobile homeowners who live nearby. Chair/Rawlings closed public comments. Chair/Rawlings said he recalls hearing some of these same comments during the General Plan Update hearings and the hearing regarding the development of the Hampton Inn Hotel/Office Suite Project and assured speakers that they were heard then and have been heard this evening. '/Wolfe thanked staff for putting together a very detailed report o;itlining the demographics and statistical comparisons that will be important to guiding the conversation for the next eight years. The state has a severe housing crisis which has been brought about by many factors. Currently, there is no legislation that has been introduced in this session to effectively assist in curtailing the issue even though this has been identified by the administration as its top priority which is unfortunate, because planning is critical. The reality is that the housing supply will continue to be dictated by investors who, without real incentives, remain focused on market demand. The cost to develop housing in California is high and climbing with increasing regulations, which is not an indictment, but simply a statement of fact. Finally, the City has a plan for the state -imposed RHNA numbers and the City will struggle to meet the Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) requirements and the existing traffic congestion, not to mention the additional traffic congestion that will be created. These issues need to be in the forefront of any discussions surrounding new development because the City simply does not have the transit infrastructure to serve the community and it cannot ignore the fact that development will bring more cars. MARCH 23, 2021 PAGE 7 PLANNING COMMISSION C/Mok agreed with C/Wolfe and with Lee Paulson and Grace Lim -Hayes about the TOD area which currently suffers from significant traffic but could, with creative thinking and prudent planning, become a very vibrant, active and attractive area for Mixed -Use as a great place for people to live and for commuters to enjoy. He thanked speakers for their input. VC/Garg said he concurred with CMolfe and C/Mok and to him, this looks like a very good plan that should comply with all of the comments and help make Diamond Bar a better place to live, work and play. Chair/Rawlings said that he also believes there is a lot of potential for these areas and in particular, the TOD area and that the City needs to be able to address some of the underlying issues voiced by Mr. Paulson and Ms. Lim - Hayes. He asked if there were items within the Housing Element that could address some of the concerns stated by RLU because he recalls much of the discussion during the General Plan Update process about adjusting specific language to help address those concerns. During the Public Hearing for the Hampton Inn/Business Center project, traffic engineers that spoke had some pretty clear ideas on how to improve the Level of Service for the traffic in the area. Adding the TOD element and recognizing the RLU concerns, is the Housing Element the place those concerns would be addressed or are these concerns addressed as the City gets into the Development Code or Site Specific plans. CDD/Gubman responded to Chair/Rawlings that the updated General Plan has all of the new land -use districts and residential densities allowed in those districts and the policies that would be guiding the implementation of building out those areas. The Housing Element is part of the General Plan. It is not synched with the rest of the General Plan because there is a statutory timeframe for the lifespan of each Housing Element update. In the context of the overall General Plan, staff is seeking to get HCD's acceptance that the City's housing potential/development potential at buildout in these Mixed -Use Districts would achieve our RHNA goals as far as creating the zoning to facilitate the development, whether or not that development occurs. And the City must implement projects through Zoning and/or Specific Plans and other ordinances to bring up the City's density bonus regulations and other regulations in conformance with updated state laws. The City needs to begin the Specific Plans for those three .Mixed -Use Districts as it is currently preparing the budget for the next Fiscal Year which requires making decisions about appropriating funds to begin those Specific Plan Update processes. As SP/Lee mentioned in the General Plan Status Report, there is grant money that would help defray the costs of doing those Specific Plans which consist of high level content and requires a major effort in itself. Site specific land planning will be challenging and of the three Mixed -Use Districts, the TOD area MARCH 23, 2021 PAGE 8 PLANNING COMMISSION will be the hardest and something that requires cooperation with other agencies to meet the challenges that go beyond what is envisioned for that area. The next step is to commence that process with the first exploratory step being the ULI exercise during the week of April 12'h where experts will be brought in to do a deep dive into the opportunities and constraints for the Town Center area and to tell staff what can be realistically aimed for when the City embarks on the Specific Plin process. If that turns out to be a successful exercise and provides the City with good guidance for implementing the Town Center Goals, Objectives and Policies, ULI may be brought back to help with a similar deep dive for the TOD area. ULI has the knowledge about infrastructure district financing and other tools that can be used to incentivize economically feasible development of structured parking, for example, because there is no more room for surface parking and land is too expensive for that and they can tell the City if and how structured parking is feasible which will be one of the variables to allow for enough density and how other potential funding sources like the San Gabriel Valley Regional Housing Trust can be put in place to help defray some of the costs. Mr. Douglas said that he heard concerns regarding transportation, congestion, etc. The General Plan is intended to work as an integrated whole and the Circulation Element of the General Plan includes policies and programs to address those specific issues. He encouraged everyone to look at the whole, which includes the Land Use Element and the Circulation Element, as well as the Housing Element, 11 The Planning Commission concurred to direct staff to take the updated draft document with public and Commission comments to the City Council. 8. PUBLIC HEARING(S): None 9. PLANNING COMMISSION COMMENTS/INFORMATIONAL ITEMS: C/Mok encouraged residents to frequent local eateries. 10. STAFF COMMENTS/INFORMATIONAL ITEMS: CDD/Gubman congratulated Chair Rawlings and Vice Chair Garg on their appointments. CDD/Gubman said there were no agenda items scheduled for April 13th which is the week ULI will deploy the Technical Advisory Panel. There will be a joint Planning Commission/City Council GoToWebinar meeting on Friday, April 16th to allow ULI to present their findings and recommendations. The public will be invited to attend and individual stakeholders within the area will receive meeting notices as well. MARCH 23, 2021 PAGE 9 PLANNING COMMISSION CDD/Gubman stated that Mr. Deibel would receive a call from the ULI panel asking him if he would participate in a stakeholder interview. The next regular Commission meeting is scheduled for April 27tn 11. SCHEDULE OF FUTURE EVENTS: As listed in the agenda. ADJOURNMENT: With no further business before the Planning Commission, Chair/Rawlings adjourned the regular meeting at 8:27 p.m. to the Joint April 16th meeting with City Council The foregoing minutes are hereby approved this 27th Day of April, 2021. Attest: Respectfully Submitted, Greg Gubman, Community Development Director William Rawlings, Chairtperson