2013-11-20 DRC Final MinutesCITY OF ORANGE
DESIGN REVIEW COMMITTEE
MINUTES - FINAL
Committee Members Present: Carol Fox
Robert Imboden
Tim McCormack
Craig Wheeler
Joe Woollett
Committee Members Absent: None
November 20, 2013
Staff in Attendance: Leslie Roseberry, Planning Manager
Jennifer Le, Senior Planner
Robert Garcia, Associate Planner
Marissa Moshier, Historic Contract Planner
Sharon Penttila, Recording Secretary
Administrative Session — 5:00 P.M.
Chair Fox opened the Administrative Session at 5:02 p.m.
Leslie Roseberry, Planning Manager, stated there was no Policy or Procedural information.
Committee Members made corrections to the October 2, 2013 and October 16, 2013 minutes
Committee Member Wheeler made a motion to adjourn the Administrative Session of the Design
Review Committee meeting.
SECOND: Robert Imboden
AYES: Carol Fox, Robert Imboden, Tim McCormack, Craig Wheeler, Joe Woollett
NOES: None
ABSTAIN: None
ABSENT: None
Administrative Session adjourned at 5:35 p.m.
Regular Session - 5:36 P.M.
ROLL CALL:
All Committee Members were present.
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION:
MOTION CARRIED.
Opportunity for members of the public to address the Design Review Committee on matters not
listed on the Agenda.
There were no speakers.
City of Orange — Design Review Committee
Final Meeting Minutes for November 20, 2013
Page 2 of 10
CONSENT ITEMS:
(1) APPROVAL OF MINUTES:
(a) October 2, 2013 Committee Member Woollett made a motion to approve the minutes from
the Design Review Committee meeting of October 2, 2013, with the changes and
corrections noted during the Administrative Session.
SECOND: Craig Wheeler
AYES: Carol Fox, Robert Imboden, Tim McCormack, Craig Wheeler, Joe Woollett
NOES: None
ABSTAIN: None
ABSENT: None
MOTION CARRIED.
(b) October 16, 2013 Committee Member Woollett made a motion to approve the minutes from
the Design Review Committee meeting of October 16, 2013, with the changes and
corrections noted during the Administrative Session.
SECOND: Craig Wheeler
AYES: Carol Fox, Tim McCormack, Craig Wheeler, Joe Woollett
NOES: None
ABSTAIN: Robert Imboden
ABSENT: None
MOTION CARRIED.
City of Orange — Design Review Committee
Final Meeting Minutes for November 20, 2013
Page 3 of 10
AGENDA ITEMS:
Continued Items: None
New Agenda Items:
(2) DRC No. 4690 -13 — CITY WATER WELL NO. 27
• A proposal to demolish existing Water Well No. 14 (currently inactive), drill and
construct a new Water Well No. 27, install a well enclosure, construct a chemical
storage /electrical building, and install a diesel - powered emergency generator and
enclosure.
• 145 and 189 S. Water Street/140 S. Jameson
• Staff Contact: Jennifer Le, 714 - 744 -7238, jlegcityoforange.org
• DRC Action: Recommendation to th City Council
Jennifer Le, Senior Planner, presented a project overview consistent with the Staff Report. She
indicated that staff was seeking direction on the appropriateness of the proposed sight screening,
building finishes and color palettes.
Public Comments:
None
Chair Fox opened the item to the Committee for discussion.
Committee Member McCormack had questions regarding the parking, curb cuts and gates. Son
Tran, from the Water Division, explained that currently they have an existing fence along the
property line and the traffic goes in one direction and exits through the automatic gates from
Water Street. Jennifer Le shared with the Committee a site photo which showed the driveway
from Water Street and the location of the planters and the curb cut.
Committee Member McCormack questioned why the parking stalls went from 90 degree striping
in one location but 45 degrees in another. Mike Choi, designer for the project, stated they were
trying to maintain the number of parking stalls.
The Committee discussed the materials to be used and they were shown a sample of the wall
material.
The subject of noise was discussed and Ms. Le explained that condition #9 in the staff report
contains a requirement that at the time of the building plan check requiring submittal of
documentation from a noise consultant that the project meets City standards at the closest
residential property line.
Committee Member Imboden requested a full explanation of the colors. Mr. Choi indicated it
would be a neutral color. Chair Fox asked and had it confirmed it would be sandstone on the
sound enclosure.
City of Orange — Design Review Committee
Final Meeting Minutes for November 20, 2013
Page 4 of 10
Committee Member Imboden asked what the finish on the doors would be. Mr. Choi said they
would be a neutral color.
Chair Fox asked the Committee if they had any issues with the design of the building besides the
color and there were none.
Committee Member Imboden asked what the height of the block building was. Ms. Le said it
was 12 feet. Committee Member Imboden stated since there was no west elevation included, it
looked like it was a continuous block wall. Mr. Choi indicated there was a west elevation on
sheet S 1.
Committee Member Imboden wanted clarification on any lighting being added particularly
adjacent to Jameson that might have an impact on the properties across the street. Ms. Le said it
involved just building security lighting over the doors and the lights are about 9 feet above the
doors. Committee Member Imboden requested a condition that the point source is not visible
from outside the property. The Committee requested shields on the lights that face east so the
light is not visible on neighboring properties along Jameson.
Ms. Le indicated in the staff report if the DRC felt additional screening was needed because of
the nature of the project, then something could be added such as perforated metal backing or
some kind of screening. Committee Members were fine with it being open.
Committee Member Imboden said that within the past few months, this was the second City
application that he's disappointed in because they are given construction drawings which require
additional work per the part of DRC and they have asked some simple questions that should be
part of the packet given to them.
Committee Member Imboden made a motion to recommend approval of DRC No. 4690 -13, City
Water Well No. 27, to the City Council subject to the Conditions contained in the Staff Report,
with the following additional Condition shown below; and subject to the Findings contained in
the Staff Report:
• Lighting fixtures added to the sight shall conceal their point sources and not be visible to
the neighboring adjacent properties.
SECOND: Craig Wheeler
AYES: Carol Fox, Robert Imboden, Tim McCormack, Craig Wheeler, Joe Woollett
NOES: None
ABSTAIN: None
ABSENT: None
MOTION CARRIED.
City of Orange — Design Review Committee
Final Meeting Minutes for November 20, 2013
Page 5 of 10
(3) DRC No. 4707 -13 — HERMAN RESIDENCE
• A proposal to construct a rear addition to a contributing building and to relocate a one -car
garage on the property.
• 815 E. Palmyra Avenue, Old Towne Historic District
• Staff Contact: Marissa Moshier, 714 - 744 -7243, mmoshier a,cityoforange.org
• DRC Action: Recommendation to the Planning Commission
Marissa Moshier, Contract Planner, presented a project overview consistent with the Staff Report.
Public Comments:
None
Chair Fox opened the item to the Committee for discussion.
Committee Member Wheeler had a list of questions and comments which the Committee
discussed:
• Sheet A10 had an existing window that did not show up on the elevation. Michael
Williams, contractor, said they will keep the windows infilled. Also a question came up
about the trim and Ms. Moshier said that was staff recommended the existing trim be the
same and the trim that extends below the louver windows remain as well.
• Will the windows in the enlarged bedroom meet egress requirements? Mr. Williams said
they chose to go with a casement window on the north facing elevation. He asked if the
two windows on the west side should be casement windows since they are larger and leave
the north window double hung. Committee Member Wheeler felt it would be better to
have the two on the west side double hung.
• What is a "casement hopper "? Mr. Williams explained that a casement window can be
cranked on a hinge on the right or a casement hopper, meaning it folds back on a chain.
• It appears the plate height for the existing house is 8'4" but it doesn't say what the plate
height is for the addition. Mr. Williams said it was 8'1 ". The Committee had a concern
with just a 3" difference. Mr. Williams suggested bringing the roof higher and Committee
Member Wheeler said they would need to see that. Committee Member Imboden tended to
support staff in that the outlookers are a feature of the house and they need to be preserved
and if you tuck the roof right under that then you have a venting issue. Committee Member
Wheeler recommended they do a 7' plate but in the bedroom do a clip ceiling so it gets up
to an 8' ceiling and put a similar clip in the rest of the rooms.
• East and west elevations show triangularly braced outlookers but the proposed north
elevation calls for matching corbels. Mr. Williams said that was an error in the notes.
• The proposed east elevation on sheet A21 calls for a new 1x3 demarcation board at the
north -east corner of the existing laundry. Mr. Williams said it should be on the west
elevation.
• The plans should show all the corners are mitered in the new construction.
• The rafter tails and barge boards need to be called out in the drawing.
• Need to call out that the new window trim needs to match the existing.
City of Orange — Design Review Committee
Final Meeting Minutes for November 20, 2013
Page 6 of 10
• A note needs to be added that the extended barges are to be framed in the traditional
manner without the use of flat 2x outlookers.
• Relocating the garage and in doing so putting up a curb but that would mean there would
be a gap below the doors. Committee Member Wheeler said the applicant needs to figure
out what to do with the gap under the door.
• Do you want to add a jerkin head clip at the back of the new addition to match the main
roof? Chair Fox said she didn't think it was necessary.
• Suggested changing to a slightly different siding exposure to clarify what is old and what is
new. Committee Member Imboden felt there currently is not enough differentiation
between old and new. If a different size siding is proposed, then the Committee would
need to know that. He also stated there are many ways to distinguish demarcation. Chair
Fox felt there are already a lot of different windows on the house that are remaining so she
thought the differentiation should be in the door style in the back, the brackets, and the
different architectural features. Committee Member Imboden said typically the back door
is different from the front door and treatments are a little different on the back of the house.
Christine Herman, owner, was confused about things looking the same and not looking the same.
Chair Fox explained about the guidelines are very clear that you don't want a false sense of
history. Committee Member Imboden said it could be as simple as having board corners while the
rest of the house had mitered corners.
Mr. Williams stated he was going to keep the mitered corners, match the trims, change the
windows to match what is going on in the back and will make it look right but not original.
Committee Member Imboden made a motion to continue DRC No. 4707 -13, Herman Residence,
to a date uncertain to work out some of the issues discussed at this meeting.
SECOND: Craig Wheeler
AYES: Carol Fox, Robert Imboden, Tim McCormack, Craig Wheeler, Joe Woollett
NOES: None
ABSTAIN: None
ABSENT: None
MOTION CARRIED.
City of Orange — Design Review Committee
Final Meeting Minutes for November 20, 2013
Page 7 of 10
(4) DRC No. 4711 -13 — BOLAND RESIDENCE
• A proposal for an addition to an existing residence and a new attached accessory second
dwelling unit. The addition to the main house includes a first floor and second floor
component with an attached garage and an attached accessory second dwelling unit.
• 554 N. Grand Street
• Staff Contact: Robert Garcia, 714 - 744 -7231, r ag rcia(?cityoforange.org
• DRC Action: Final Determination
Chair Fox recused herself from the item due to a conflict.
Robert Garcia, Associate Planner, presented a project overview consistent with the Staff Report.
Rick Fox, architect, explained that additional notes could have been added. He explained that on
the photographs of the existing house, the windows have a wood header above the windows and
plaster sills below the windows match the plaster of the wall. It was their intention to do that but
got carried away on how they colored the elevations and neglected to maintain the plaster sill
concept in the coloration of the elevations. What they are trying to do is follow the character of
the stucco sill below the windows on the existing house. He also brought some physical
examples of the stucco and the trim and the roofing matching the existing roofing.
Public Comments:
None
Vice Chair Imboden opened the item to the Committee for discussion.
Committee Member Woollett didn't see anything in the notes about the parking except the two -
car garage being added. The existing house does not have a garage, just two open spaces, so the
parking requirement for that unit is grandfathered as is. Robert Garcia, Associate Planner,
explained they are required to provide a two -car garage. In addition, the accessory second
dwelling unit requires one additional parking space that does not have to be enclosed.
Committee Member Woollett asked if the parking requirement was one covered space per unit
and Mr. Garcia said no. The zoning is single family residential zone so for a home of up to 4
bedrooms, a two -car garage is required. In addition, the accessory second dwelling is required to
have one additional unenclosed parking space for a total of three. Committee Member Woollett
clarified that the accessory unit has two bedrooms. The addition on the second floor to the main
house totals four bedrooms for the original house.
Mr. Fox explained that the general idea was to place the proposed second floor over the new slab
construction which would keep the plate height of the second floor down as far as possible. It
was the only place to get a door to the exterior from the kitchen to the back garage.
Committee Member Woollett felt the addition had been done well.
City of Orange — Design Review Committee
Final Meeting Minutes for November 20, 2013
Page 8 of 10
Committee Member Imboden felt there has been so much community opposition to two -story
second units at the rear of the property by the neighbors. He'd like to have a better sense of the
potential impacts on the neighboring properties or a sense of FAR. This project is taking the
existing 15% FAR all the way up to almost 50 %. He asked Mr. Garcia if there was a sense of
the FAR's on the block and Mr. Garcia said no.
Committee Member McCormack had a general comment that he never likes the box on top of the
house. John Boland, owner, said they made an attempt with the roof line and put a lot of time
into curb appeal to make it aesthetically pleasing all the way around the property.
Committee Member McCormack said if he was in the office on the first floor and needed to get
outside it seemed like a tough way to get out.
Committee Member Imboden asked if access to the new family room and the new bedroom
upstairs was through a laundry room. He was told it was and he felt this access was a bit
peculiar.
Committee Member Imboden was not convinced with the information before them that this
project is completely compatible with the neighboring structures.
Committee Member Woollett felt the project was extremely well done.
Committee Member Wheeler said he understood that Public Works wasn't going to allow the
apron and curb cut on the east side. Mr. Boland said the parking space is needed but he'd do
what Public Works requires. Mr. Garcia said according to the current code, for parking and
storage of passenger vehicles, it must be leading into a required parking area and it's no longer
the required parking area so it can't serve as parking. If not used for required parking, according
to Public Works, it must be abandoned.
Committee Member Wheeler had a design issue and asked why they removed the fascia. He was
told they thought it would add a little more charm to the building. Committee Member Wheeler
felt it was adding an earlier design theme that wasn't part of that time period. Mr. Boland said
25 years ago he put the fascias on the house and the house looks like 1960's instead of 1920's.
Committee Member Imboden said he would not be able to support the proposal and he'd prefer it
go to a continuance. He felt this was a sufficient enough addition that they needed to understand
what this might mean for the adjacent properties. Also to improve the layout to the Committee's
satisfaction.
Committee Member Woollett made a motion to approve DRC No. 4711 -13, Boland Residence,
subject to the Conditions contained in the Staff Report, with the following additional Conditions
shown below; and subject to the Findings contained in the Staff Report:
SECOND: Craig Wheeler
AYES: Craig Wheeler and Joe Woollett
NOES: Robert Imboden and Tim McCormack
ABSTAIN: None
ABSENT: None
City of Orange — Design Review Committee
Final Meeting Minutes for November 20, 2013
Page 9 of 10
RECUSED: Carol Fox
MOTION FAILED.
Committee Member Woollett wasn't quite clear what the owner and architect need to do to make
any changes. Vice Chair Imboden said to both the applicant and City staff that he does not have
enough information to understand the relationship within the context of the neighborhood and he's
not asking for design changes.
Mr. Boland asked what the next step would be for the City staff. Mr. Garcia responded that staff
would go out there based on the data they have to try and figure out what the existing FAR is for
each of the properties around the applicant and get an average. Committee Member Imboden said
also to see how this design relates to the open space of adjacent properties and take a look at the
floor plan based on the comments the Committee has made.
Mr. Boland asked if Committee Member McCormack would be pleased with adding a deck off the
upstairs.
Issues to be addressed at the next meeting are:
1. Boxiness (second story)
2. FAR
3. Laundry room (bottle neck)
4. Drive apron in the front yard setback (even though it's not the purview of the Committee)
Committee Member Wheeler made a motion to continue DRC No. 4711 -13, Boland Residence, to
a date uncertain to allow the applicant to pursue the items discussed during this meeting.
SECOND: Tim McCormack
AYES:
Robert Imboden, Tim McCormack Craig Wheeler, Joe Woollett
NOES:
None
ABSTAIN:
None
ABSENT:
None
RECUSED: Carol Fox
MOTION CARRIED.
City of Orange — Design Review Committee
Final Meeting Minutes for November 20, 2013
Page 10 of 10
ADJOURNMENT:
Committee Member Wheeler made a motion to adjourn to the next regular scheduled Design
Review Committee meeting on December 4, 2013.
SECOND: Tim McCormack
AYES: Robert Imboden, Tim McCormack, Craig Wheeler, Joe Woollett
NOES: None
ABSTAIN: None
ABSENT: Carol Fox
MOTION CARRIED.
Meeting adjourned at 7:38 p.m.