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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03/24/2015 MinutesMINUTES OF THE CITY OF DIAMOND BAR MEETING OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION MARCH 24, 2015 Chairperson Ruth Low 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: 1. ROLL CALL: Pres6'nt: Absent: C/Farago led the Pledge of Allegiance. Commissioners Frank Farrago, Jennifer "Fred" Mahlke, Bob Nishimura, and Chairman Ruth Low Vice Chairman Peter Pirritano was excused. Also present: Greg Gubman, Community Development Director; James Eggart, Assistant City Attorney; Grace Lee, Senior Planner; Josue Espino, 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 - March 10, 2015 4.2 Conditional Use Permit No PL2014-518 (Wireless Facility) — Resolution �1 of Denial 1355 S. Maple Hill Road (Maple Hill Park) Diamond Bar, CA 91765 City of Diamond Bar Bryce Novak Cortel, LLC 14621 Arroyo Hondo San Diego, CA 92127 MARCH 24, 2015 PAGE 2 PLANNING COMMISSION C/Nishimura moved, C/Farago seconded, to approve the March 10, 2015, Consent Calendar as presented. Motion carried by the following Roll Call vote: AYES: COMMISSIONERS: Farago, Mahlke, Nishimura, Chair/Low NOES: COMMISSIONERS: None ABSENT: COMMISSIONERS: VC/Pirritano C/Mahlke left the meeting at 7:03 p.m. 5. OLD BUSINESS: None 6. NEW BUSINESS: None 7. PUBLIC HEARING(S): 7.1 Development Review and Minor Conditional Use Permit No. PL2015-010 - Under the authority of Diamond Bar Municipal Code DBMC) Sections 22.48 and 22.56, the applicant and property owner requested Development Review approval to construct a second story addition consisting of 487 square feet of floor area to an existing 2,037 square foot, one-story single family residence with an attached 493 square foot two -car garage on a 0.29 gross acre (12,590 gross square foot) lot. A Minor Conditional Use Permit (MCUP) was requested to allow a second story addition to an existing nonconforming structure with a front setback of 10 feet (where 20 feet is required), a nonconforming (south) side setback of eight feet (where 10 feet is required), and a nonconforming distance to the structure on the adjacent lot to the north of 13' 6" (where 15 feet is required). The subject property is zoned Low Density Residential (RL) with a consistent underlying General Plan land use designation of Low Density Residential. PROJECT ADDRESS: .00 w : 4 :4 VACTIVI 04 1 21491 Cold Spring Lane Diamond Bar, CA 91765 I Robert Labella 21491 Cold Spring Lane Diamond Bar, CA 91765 MARCH 24, 2015 PAGE 3 PLANNING COMMISSION APPLICANT: Jerry Lutjens 19953 Valley Boulevard Walnut, CA 91789 AP/Espino presented staff's report and recommended Planning Commission approval of Devblopment Review and Minor Conditional Use Permit No. PL2015-010, based on the Findings of Fact, and subject to the conditions of approval as listed within the resolution. C/Nishimura asked for clarification that the sidewalk and the 12 foot right-of-way in front of the house do not belong to the property owner to which AP/Espino responded "correct." C/Nishimura said that the property owner is actually into the right-of-way with their driveway and existing lot to which AP/Espino responded "yes." Chair/Low asked if there was a deck on the back of the second story. AP/Espino responded that he was not aware of any deck. Chair/Low said it appeared so from the side view. Chair/Low opened the public hearing. Jerry Lutjens, applicant for the project, said that this project was designed to conform to the surrounding neighborhood and that this project does not impede on the driveway as far as parking. This addition was placed over the garage because it meets the homeowners need for providing a single bedroom. The existing house is comprised of three bedrooms and two bathrooms which the family has outgrown and there is no additional space on the property to expand out from the current footprint. There are several two-story houses in the neighborhood and this same project was built on another home in Diamond Bar (same footprint, same existing floor plan and same new floor plan) which is quite appealing after it is built. He hoped that the Commission would approve the project. Chair/Low said she noticed that the addition was set back two feet from the front fagade of the garage directly below it, which was nice. Mr. Lutjens said this provided architectural features with the lower roof coming up the new front wall that extends up to the second story so that it does not tower straight up. Se Ng said that every time he passes this house there are a lot of cars parked in the street and he worries that if they make the house bigger there will be more cars parked outside and in the street. He asked if there were MARCH 24, 2015 PAGE 4 PLANNING COMMISSION two cars parked inside the building (garage), were other cars allowed to be parked outside of the garage and on the street. Chair/Low asked staff to comment about cars parked in the front of the home and whether the City had received any complaints about excessive cars or violations of parking standards. Mr. Ng's second question concerns the building requirement of a two -car garage per residence. CDD/Gubman responded that he was not aware of any complaints regarding parking on the street. Those complaints would normally go to the Public Works Department or to the LA County Sheriff's Department. If the cars are parked in the public street local regulations require that vehicles not be parked in that location for a period exceeding 72 hours. There are no overnight parking restrictions on the public street. A vehicle parked curbside in the public right-of-way would be legally parked. If there is a motorhome or vehicle that is high profile that may cause a sightline safety issue, staff could look into that matter. However, simply having cars parked legally at curbside would not be a typical violation. With respect to parking requirements, the City's Code requires two enclosed parking spaces within a garage for a single family home. This standard applies to new construction and this house happens to have a two -car garage so that it is in conformance with the City's Development Standards. C/Farago moved, C/Nishimura seconded, to approve Development Review and Minor Conditional Use Permit No. PL 2015-010, 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, Nishimura, Chair/Low NOES: COMMISSIONERS: None ABSENT: COMMISSIONERS: Mahlke, VC/Pirritano 9. PLANNING COMMISSIONER COMMENTS/IN FORMATIONAL ITEMS: C/Nishimura said that two weeks ago he attended the Planning Commissioners Conference in Newport Beach with another Commissioner and CDD/Gubman. The conference was very informative and he appreciated the opportunity to attend and thanked staff. He thanked CDD/Gubman for working on two things in his neighborhood: the marijuana dispensary and the massage parlor off of Golden Springs Drive. A couple of residents spoke with him and he talked with a couple of business owners on the first floor. Low and behold, on one of his walks officers were conducting a warrant service at the marijuana dispensary. It now appears to him that both businesses are gone. There was a lot of foot traffic and a lot of MARCH 24, 2015 PAGE 5 PLANNING COMMISSION people coming in from other cities to visit these establishments. The length to which staff worked with the Sheriff's Department to get an inspection warrant is extraordinary and commendable. It is nice to know that people are working together to take the extra step to help keep Diamond Bar the community that it is intended to be. He thanked CDD/Gubman and his staff for their great work. In addition, he walks a lot in the morning and enjoys the trails. Over the past couple of weeks he has observed staff members working with the California Conservation Corp (CCC) and doing a really great job in maintaining the trails after the rains that produced overgrowth. There are a lot of people including seniors, young people and even Olympians using and enjoying the parks and trails. He encouraged everyone to take advantage of this fine system which includes the Grandview Trail, Steep Canyon Trail and Silver Tip Trail. C/Nishimura thanked CDD/Gubman for working with him on the issue of accessibility of Public hearing notice signs. C/Nishimura said he thought the document projector would be a great addition to the Planning Commission's tool kit. Chair/Low thanked staff for the great presentation and all of their hard work. She asked staff to extend her thanks to whomever did the minutes for the last meeting. They are brilliant and it was a great job on the . "novelette." Chair/Low invited everyone to attend the "Friends of the Library" Wine Soiree which will take place on Sunday, April 26. All proceeds from the Soiree benefit the Diamond Bar Library. 10. STAFF COMMENTS/INFORMATIONAL ITEMS: 10.1 Public Hearing dates for future projects. CDD/Gubman thanked Chair/Low and C/ Nishimura for the kind words. Closure of the businesses and in particular, the marijuana dispensary, was a collaborative effort between City staff, LA County Sheriff's staff and the City's prosecutor. The warrant was executed with great vengeance and with no resistance from the operator. A week later the property manager allowed staff back onto the premises to conduct a follow up inspection to verify that all of the furniture, fixtures and equipment for both facilities had been removed from the premises. The message was delivered loud and clear that those uses are not permitted in this City. No one can hide and this City will not tolerate such conduct. CDD/Gubman stated that there will be a three week break and the next meeting is scheduled for April 14 for which there is one item scheduled. Staff is working on the 2015-16 Fiscal Year budget and a component of that budget is the annual Capital Improvement Program (CIP). State law requires that the Planning Commission must first make a Finding that the MARCH 24,2015 PAGE 6 PLANNING COMMISSIOL CIP is in conformance with the City's General Plan, so staff will be presenting the CIP to the Commission that evening. The Director of Public Works (PWD/Liu) and the Director of Community Services (CSD/Rose) will also attend to provide further details on particular projects included in the program and staff will prepare a Resolution for the Commission's consideration that establishes *how those projects fall in line with the General Plan's Goals, Objectives and Policies. CDD/Gubman provided the following updates: The Walmart Neighborhood Market was previously slated to open about March 15. A new opening date has been set for July 1 and he believes that in accordance with the pace of construction, that date should be firm. The Grand Avenue Beautification project construction will not begin until May. A year ago the City intended to begin construction just after the beginning of this year (2015). More recently, staff was contemplating an April start date; however, while there has been some coordination and dotting of the is and crossing of the is and there is a contractor onboard, there has been some delay and the project will commence in May. Staff will manage the project to minimize impacts to the peak hour traffic at the very critical intersection of Diamond Bar Boulevard and Grand Avenue and attempt to minimize impacts to the businesses within the project area to keep drive approaches for those businesses open at all times. CDD/Gubman stated that the America's Tire Store that was approved by the Planning Commission several months ago located at the corner of Cold Spring and Diamond Bar Boulevard has been stalled because some contaminants have been found below the surface. This find is not creating a safety issue but if the applicant were to commence grading there is a potential issue because the soils remediation did not adequately bring the site up to a serviceable condition. At this time there is ongoing discussion between America's Tire and the seller of the property over the cost considerations, etc. As those discussions progress, the development is at a standstill. A grading permit was issued and work has not commenced. If work does not commence in May, the grading permit will expire. America's Tire has requested an extension and the City will likely grant a six-month extension for their grading permit in light of the unexpected situation with the need for further soil remediation. MARCH 24, 2015 PAGE 7 PLANNING COMMISSION CDD/Gubman reported that as C/Nishimura mentioned, there is a new document camera which will hopefully come in handy at future meetings when any new exhibits are walked -on or if there is a need for additional visual aids. This will be a very handy device for staff and the Commission. C/Nishimura said he heard Vons was closing. CDD/Gubman said Vons is not closing. It will no longer be a Vons it will be a Haggen, which is a Washington state based company. From what he understands; the chain is somewhat similar to a Sprouts Market and they will retain the current staff. 10. SCHEDULE OF FUTURE EVENTS: As listed in tonight's agenda. ADJOURNMENT: With no further business before the Planning Commission, Chair/Low adjourned the regular meeting at 7:29 p.m. The foregoing minutes are hereby approved this 14th day of April, 2015. Attest: Respectfully Submitted, Greg Gubman Community Development Director Ruth Low, Chairperson