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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2000 - February 23 r.Y~ e.. ;2/j tJ~. 6-. Dl.. 3 MINlJTES Planning Commission City of Orange PRESENT: ABSENT: STAFF PRESENT: IN RE: February 23, 2000 Wednesday - 7:00 p.m. Commissioners Bosch, Carlton, Pruett, Smith Commissioner Romero Vern Jones, Planning ManagerlSecretary, John Godlewski, Principal Planner, Mary Binning, Assistant City Attorney, and Roger Hohnbaum, Assistant City Engineer ,!, f'Z oo!:l'il'f L. CONSENT CALENDAR 1. Approval of the Minutes from the Meeting of February 7, 2000. -}lM310 AJ.rO Moved by Commissioner Pruett and seconded by Commissioner Smith to approve the Minutes of February 7, 2000. AYES: NOES: ABSTAINED: ABSENT: IN RE: Commissioners Bosch, Pruett, Smith None Commissioner Carlton Commissioner Romero MOTION CARRIED CONTINUED HEARING 2. ZONE CHANGE 1202-99, CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT 2306-99 AND VARIANCE 2078-99 _ NORTH ORANGE CHRISTIAN CHURCH A request to allow a pre-zone change from a County designation to a residential duplex zone (R-2-6), the expansion of an existing church facility, and the use of tandem parking spaces and structures in excess of the 32 foot hei9htlimit. The site is located at 1001 East Lincoln Avenue. NOTE: Mitigated Negative Declaration 1615-99 was prepared to evaluate the environmental impacts of this project. This item was continued from the February 7, 2000 meeting. There was no opposition to this project; therefore, the full presentation of the staff report was waived. The public hearing was opened. Bob StimDson. Senior Pastor of North Oranae Christian Church. 1001 East Lincoln Avenue, presented a master plan for their faCility. Their congregation is growing and they need to expand. They have been sensitive to the historical needs of the property and they have worked well with their neighbors to create something that both meets the needs of the congregation, as well as the needs of the community. He introduced his team of project consultants and members of the congregation. Terrv Jacobson. 3111 Second Avenue #3. Corona Del Mar, is the architect who has been working with the Church preparing their master plan. They have met with adjacent neighbors to discuss their plans, and have worked with the City's staff to meet all of the City's requirements. He described their site plan, using exhibits and elevations. 1 Planning Commission Minutes February 23, 2000 Tom Merrill. Civic Solutions. 31726 Rancho Vieio Road #223. San Juan Caoistrano, is the urban planning consultant for the Church. Their firm has been working whh the City to meet all requirements, and surrounding neighbors to ensure this proposed project will be an asset in the community, rather than a detriment. They have heard from a few neighbors, and are working to resolve some of the concerns. He reviewed ingress/egress issues, landscaping, and height and placement of the buildings. There is one unresolved issue of parking, and he requested a continuance for two weeks to allow them to resolve the issue. The Church does not expect to start construction of the first phase until the end of this year. The second phase win be three or four years after that. 5 oeoole sooke in favor of the oroiect David Allen, 136 East Brentwood. Jim Libereo, 5842 Walnut Creek Road, Yorba Linda. Vicky Jacobson, 2544 East Pallidan Avenue, Anaheim. Lisa Ackerman, 2295 North Tustin #28. . Jhe Children's Pastor at North Orange Christian Church. The speakers were members of North Orange Christian Church, involved with the development of their Church and spoke favorably about their expansion plans. 1 oerson sooke aaainstthe oroiect Josh Perez, 8651 North Orange Avenue. He is only opposed to the potential parking problem occurring on his street, and the height of the Church building. He does not object to their expansion plans. He also wanted to know who was going to clean up the County street after Church events. Aoolicant's resoonse Mr. Jacobson commented that issues were raised in a community meeting by Mr. Perez, and the Church is working to respond to his concerns 01 drainage, alley improvements, and access on to Buena Vista. They will not be exceeding the height limit lor their new building because it is within the 32 loot height limit. It has a fairly compatible residential flavor and feel to it as it abuts the alley. The issues of visitor parking potentially occurring on Orange and clean up after events is a concern to the Church. The Church has verbally a9reed to assist in clean up 01 the street, immediately adjacent to this property. Commissioner Smith asked if the Church was aware of how much parking was currently used on the site. Mr. Jacobson said in the traffic study there were a number of counts that were made as to how many cars were at the site at diffflrenttimes. Chairman Bosch said the key for him was the variance for the tandem parking. He understands that the spaces that are requested are in excess of the code required parking. Mr. Jacobson talked about the reasons for the variance request. They need to preserve the historical building. which has caused limitations on reconfiguring the parking lots. There are also existing tandem parking spaces that are grandfathered in from when it was County property. These spaces will be used for long-term parking for staff members and others who will be arriving early and staying late. The topography and grade change also limits their extent to develop parking lot areas. Mr. Merrill suggested returning to the next meeting with some kind of a clear relationship between the intensity of use of the site and the number of parking spaces that are made available. If Phase , were implemented today, the Church would have approximately 40 or 50 more parking spaces than they have now. The issue that needs to be addressed is the growth of the congregation to cause an insufficient number of parkin9 spaces. They feel they have reached a general concurrence with staff that at ultimate, there does need to be additional parking spaces, or there needs to be a restriction on the intensity of use 2 .1-...,., Planning Commission Minutes February 23, 2000 of the property. A condition needs to be structured so that ~ would result in matching the intensity of use of the site with the available parking. The prohib~ion against using the two sanctuaries at the same time should be effective immediately. And, that unless add~ional parking is provided, that prohibition should remain in place. They want to meet the spirit of the code, as well as the letter of the code. The Church is working wtth the School District for parking across Buena Vista, at the school s~e. They are also in contact with the adjoining commercial properties to the west where they have available parking that is not used on Sundays. The public hearing was closed. Commissioner Carlton wanted to know the status of the annexation for this property. Jay Eastman, Planning Aide, explained that the annexation is being processed through LAFCO for the single parcel, not the alley. They want to make sure that it is pre-zoned by the City before continuing that process. Staff understands that LAFCO does not have any problems with the annexation. The existing Church is being provided with services by the City. Commissioner Carlton wanted to add a condition to address the clean up of the alley. Commissioner Smith said the traffic analysis discusses trips and she didn't know if this included parkin9. She wanted information on how much of the parking lot is being used at this time. She asked if the parking lots were at capacity now? Chairman Bosch said his key concerns are with the tandem parking, and that there be a method identified wherein the management of those spaces can be assured so that it doesn't become a problem. MOTION Moved by Commissioner Pruett and seconded by Commissioner Carlton to continue Conditional Use Permit 2306-99, Variance 2078-99 and Pre-Zone Change 1202-99 to the meeting of March 6, 2000. AYES: NOES: ABSENT: Commissioners Bosch, Carlton, Pruett, Smith None Commissioner Romero MOTION CARRIED IN RE: NEW HEARINGS 3. CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT 2314-99 AND VARIANCE 2080-99- TEREZIA GIURGIU A request to convert an existing office building to a 2B-bed rest home for the elderly. The proposal includes enlar9ing the existing building. The site is located at 1407 East Collins Avenue. NOTE: This project is categorically exempt from the provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act, per State CEQA Guidelines Section 15332. The full presentation of the staff report was waived as there was no opposition to this item. The public hearing was opened. John Bor. 17391 EI Caion Avenue. Yorba Linda, represented the applicants. They would like to open a rest care facility with 28 beds for the elderly (assisted living facility). All meals will be served in the dining room. The building will enhance the corner property and will be compatible with the surrounding residential neighborhood. They were not aware of the non-conforming setback until they read the staff report. There is no landscaping in front of the parking spaces and they will not be able to provide a 10 foot wide strip of landscaping toward Lincoln Street. 3 ,. .,,-,. "~''''''__~''''-_''4_' _'_"'_'_'" ,.,. ....._"._._.~_.. ~_'--"__-"'__ Plannin9 Commission Minutes February 23, 2000 Terezia Giuraiu. licensee of the facility, owns two other places in Orange. They are required by the licensing agency (Slate of California. Department of Social Services) to have all rooms a minimum of 10x10 or 10x11, and all rooms are 120 square feet. She explained the furnishings that would be provided for each room. There will be a family room/activity room for everyone to share, which will have at. v. and book shelves with books. They are required by the State to have 10 people for each bathroom. This will be a private-pay, residential care facility for the elderly, 62 years of age and older. An approximate monthly fee. depending on the care of the person, will be between $1,800 and $2,500. They are not a medical facility so they are not required to have medical staff at the facility. Six staff members will be working during the day time hours. Commissioner Smith asked why they were requesting a variance to build into the setback area. Mr. Bor explained this is an existing building, which is non-conforming because of the 7 foot setback toward Lincoln Street. Chairman Bosch was concemed that services are provided in the facility that not only meet the minimum necessity of an R-2.2 buildin9 occupancy for the residential care facility, but also for the contextual fit into the neighborhood. He didn't see provisions in the site plan for a loading area for food or linen. It appears that as it is set up, the only way to bring food in and to take trash out is through the front door or down the corridor between the residential rooms, and to utilize the main parking area by the front door for the delivery area. Ms. Giurgiu said they will do laundry on the property. There will be no laundry service. Most of the time they will be preparing breakfast and lunch in the kitchen, but dinner will be brought in. Mr. Bor said there was another exit door to use when taking out the trash. Chairman Bosch is also concerned about exiting. From the activity rooms, there is no separation door. He wondered if they were required to have a fire rated corridor in the facility. A secondary exit door and providing corridor widths necessary to have a dual egress door if the corridor needs to function in two directions are concerns. Parking spaces and administrative offices were reviewed with the applicants. Mr. Bor addressed these concerns with the Building and Fire Departments. New plans address this problem, but there was no time to submit them. Their new plans will not have corridors longer than 20 feet from any exit. Chairman Bosch was concerned about the building addition that is to the line of the non-conforming setback. He asked if they had tried to accommodate the proposed addition without gelling into the setback. He explained the Commission needs to make findin9s for a variance upon a hardship that the property carries with it that occurred after the property was purchased or is so unusual in terms of the shape or size or location of the property that some special privilege needs to be granted. He didn't see provisions for meeting ADA requirements in the bathrooms. Ms. Giurgiu said their floor plan fit into the space they had to work with and they met the parking requirement. Mr. Bor said they were working with the Building Department on providing handicap facilities in one bathroom, without changing the exterior of the building. The building will also have fire sprinklers. Commissioner Smith asked for an outline of how their assisted care facility operates and how many people will be living there, including staff. Ms. Giurgiu responded they have 24-hour care. There will be at least two care 9ivers living at the facility. Their rooms will be close to the handicap bathroom. Charts will be maintained on all residents and kept in the office. The public hearing was closed. 4 "_. -........,,_.._.._. ,.~_~~'__.__,_~....~.,__~._c Planning Commission Minutes February 23, 2000 The Commission fel! they needed to review the corrected set of plans rather than the ones that were submitted. They expressed concern about the encroachment into the setback because half of the building is new construction. It may be just as easy to construct the building with the appropriate setback. The applicant needs to address this issue and eliminate the variance. Design issues and the layout do not appear to flow very well on this project. A reception area is not shown on the plans. nor is there enough detail or information to make a decision. The physical layout of each of the rooms is very much a concern; 16 of the rooms have three (3) doors or at least two (2) doors and a slider. The plan is too big for the site and the parking is extremely inadequate. There is no parking for visitors or medical personnel. The kitchen is way too small for serving 28 people on a regular basis. There is a lack of community room space and the doorways are not wide enough. Dimensions need to be shown on the plans. Although staff and residents can share the same restrooms, the Commission prefers to see a staff restroom included on the plans. There is no reason for the variance other than a very large building. This is done to maximize the use on the site based on the parking ordinance and the existing footprint of the building that is to be extended. Exiting needs to be addressed in detail on the plans. A landscaping plan is not provided and there appears to be no landscaping in front of the building, which is not acceptable. There needs to be a quality environment for this type of use. The applicant was asked if they were willing to re-design their project to provide a quality proposal that meets the needs of the community. Mr. Bor and Ms. Giurgiu responded they will submit a revised plan for review by the Design Review Board and Planning Commission. MOTION Moved by Commissioner Smith and seconded by Commissioner Carlton to continue Conditional Use Permit 2314-99 and Variance 2080-99 to the meeting of April 3, 2000. AYES: NOES: ABSENT: Commissioners Bosch, Carlton. Pruett, Smith None Commissioner Romero MOTION CARRIED The Chair called for a 10 minute recess. 4. CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT 2320-00 - YWCA OF CENTRAL ORANGE COUNTY A request to use three existing d\ellings (on one property) as a group home for adult women. A maximum number of 10 occupants is proposed (plus one resident house manager and attendant staff, as needed). The site is located at 143 North Grand Avenue. NOTE: This project is categorically exempt from the provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act per CEQA Guidelines, Section 15301. John Godlewski. Principal Planner, presented the full staff report. The YWCA is proposing to take over this property. I! currently has three dwelling units on the site in two buildings. The existing historic residence was constructed in 1905 and includes four bedrooms and two baths. Two 1-bedroom, 1-bath apartments were constructed in 1960 over a 4-car garage with laundry and storage areas. The YWCA proposes to use the existing residential units as a transitional housing for women between the ages of approximately 16 to 21. The residents would be young adults, raised as foster children, abandoned or neglected earlier in life, or removed from a household for their own protection and well being. The facility will be managed on a 24-hour basis by a house mother. In addition to keeping the household order, the house mother will teach residents basic skills they need to care for themselves such as laundry. grocery shopping, cooking and balancing a check book. Residents would complete an 18-month long program and would eventually move out of the proposed First Steps house into their own apartments. The existing residential building currently satisfies City's standards concerning building height and yard areas, and no new construction is planned except for interior remodeling. The building currently has four parking spaces. I! was required to have four parking spaces when the additions were built in 1960. Current code 5 ",. ,.."...."~,,.,. ., '.'~ .~."'". ,. ..,." ~-,.,.., -~---_._---~..~._"..~.~-~,-,..,-_._.... ~, .,' Planning Commission Minutes February 23, 2000 would require six spaces, but it is non-conlorming and is allowed to remain with the lour spaces as proposed. The public hearing was opened. Janine Inaram. Executive Director 01 the YWCA, said their current emphasis is on serving lamilies, particularly homeless and very-low income lamilies, and working wnh women and girls and lamilies in crisis. The YWCA offers housing and services to women and lamilies. She briefly described the First Steps program and the transitional housing and supportive services they propose to oller. Funding sources were also disclosed. The proposed project will not present a noise problem, n will have less loot trallic, the residents will be enrolled in school and will have jobs, and there will be less potential lor increased crime; people's salety will not be jeopardized. The primary method 01 transportation will be provided by the existing YWCA vehicles or by public transportation. It is not anticipated that the residents will have cars. The YWCA also has a long-standing arrangement with the PreSbyterian Church which allows the YWCA to use the Church parking lot Monday through Saturday, which is located directly next door to the proposed site. Property values will not depreciate with this type 01 use. They are proposing to house 11 people at the three addresses. It is not uncommon lor 6 or 7 people to reside in a 4-bedroom home and 2 people in each 01 the apartments. All residents will pay rent, which will be deposited into an account which becomes their lirst and last month's rent. This group home does not resemble, nor should it be compared to, a hall- way house. 8 people spoke in lavor of the proiect Beverly Nestande, 1800 East Heim Avenue. Mike McKenzie resides in San Clemente and works at the Orangewood Children's Foundation. Sonya Taylor, 3410 South Main Street, Santa Ana. Philip Tighe, 2674 Deidrick Drive, Tustin. Becky McGraw, 222 East Wilshire Avenue #A, Fullerton. Greg Lewin, 127 North Grand Street. Tom Groko, 163 North Pine. Russ Barrios, 235 East Maple. The speakers lelt this was a very worthwhile program that wilt provide a much needed service lor youth. This will give foster youth an opportunity to transition to indepenpence without having to experience homelessness. There are many group homes in the neighborhood ~nd they haven't hurt property values. 4 people spoke in opposition to the proiect Jeff Miller, 153 North Center Street. Debbie Miller, 153 North Center Street. Thomas Avdeet, an attorney, 158 North Center Street. Arlene Avdeel, 158 North Center Street. The speakers thought this was too high 01 a density lor the property and the area. There is only one person supervising ten residents. Most 01 the group homes have 4 to 6 residents. Concern was voiced about noise in the neighborhood and an example was given 01 a Halloween party held at the YWCA last year. Visitors at the site is a concern as well. There is an added concern 01 trash, gralliti, drinking and people sleeping in the parking lot and in the bushes. The vacant parking lot does not have sullicient lighting. Additional screening mechanisms are needed belore this use is approved. A petition was signed by many residents who opposed this use in their neighborhood. Applicant's response Ms. Ingram responded to the opposition's concerns. The YWCA has a long track record in this endeavor and she personally has run three dillerent group homes in her career. They have been successlully managed and the police have not had to respond to these homes. There are three lull-time staff people; not just one person who will be working with these girls. Additionally, they are in the process 01 recruiting 6 , .""- ... "~""" ~-, "'-""~"""'--"--- , "'~"--""__'_"_'_"~_''"''''"O'''''' . Planning Commission Minutes February 23, 2000 mentors and volunteers to work with the girls. Their goal is to have one adult and one peer mentor per resident. The YWCA does not own or manage the parking lot. The problems that were mentioned have been existing. and she doesn't see how the program is responsible for those problems. By having additional adult supervision at the group home may help to decrease the problems in the parking lot. She invited the neighbors to sit down and problem-solve the issues with the YWCA on how to make that a more secure area. Visitors are allowed to come to the site, but the house has rules that must be followed. They no longer rent the YWCA property to anyone who is going to have alcohol present at their functions. She was not aware of the Halloween incident and she apologized to the residents. She is concerned though that crime and graffiti are being linked to their facility without evidence. She did not know of other group homes having problems where the police had to respond, and she would like to see the police reports. They are working with Barbara Brown in the Crime Prevention Bureau for the Police Department to address security lighting and increased lighting at the property. They have no plans to alter or remodel the historical home other than a fresh coat of paint on the exterior. However, there is drywall damage on the interior that needs to be repaired. Several people are concerned about improving the general appearance of the facility. They want to paint, plant flowers and shrubbery. The wrought iron gate will be removed. It is their goal to have a pleasant, welcoming, beautiful facility that fits in with the Old Towne charm. The reason they can accommodate 10 residents is because of the structure of this property. They have the advantage of having two additional apartments. They are trying to create a realistic living situation for young adults to live in the community. Most group homes are located in a single detached home that does not allow for as many bedrooms as they have available to them. The public hearing was closed. Commissioner Carlton spoke about the density. The State has guidelines about renting and you have to be very careful about turning someone down. This proposed property can house 8 or 10 people in the front house and 4 or 5 in each of the 1-bedroom apartments if they qualified financially. She thought the program is a wonderful concept. She didn't see anything that was negative about the project. The applicant cannot be held responsible for other things that are going on in the neighborhood. Commissioner Pruett thought some of the issues in the neighborhOod need to be addressed. This project is proposed by the YWCA who has an advisory board that is made up of people from the community. He sees this as a community-sponsored activity. He did not believe the density issue is a problem. Commissioner Smith added that she is the oldest of 7 children. She grew up in Orange and lived in a household with 9 people and a dog. She didn1 think 10 people were too many for this property. She is concerned with the parking lot problems and she was not aware of these things happening. There is no reason why people should not call the Police or the City if there are problems in the neighborhood. The land use and placement for this facility is excellent. All of the findings are present for a conditional use permit. Stricter conditions are attached to this CUP to assure compatibility with surrounding neighbors. Chairman Bosch agreed with the comments made by the other Commissioners. He hopes the problems can be resolved; it's everyone's responsibility to help solve them. He looks forward to the continued success of those coming out of the program at this site. He's in favor of this use. The conditions that have been imposed go far and way beyond what has been required in the past. It was noted the project is categorically exempt from CEQA review. 7 Planning Commission Minutes February 23, 2000 MOTION Moved by Commissioner Pruett and seconded by Commissioner Carlton to approve Conditional Use Permit 2320-00 with conditions 1 through 5, modifying condition 2 as stated in the Memorandum dated February 23, 2000, and adding a condition requiring the installation of smoke detectors and outdoor security lighting, as approved by City staff, finding that the project is granted upon sound principles of land use and in response to services required by the community. It will not cause deterioration of bordering land uses or create special problems for the area in which the site is located. It is considered in relationship to its effect on the community or neighborhood plans for the area in which the site is located. And, it is subject to those conditions necessary to preserve the general welfare of the community and not the individual welfare of the applicant. AYES: NOES: ABSENT: IN RE: Commissioners Bosch, Carlton, Pruett, Smith None Commissioner Romero MOTION CARRIED ADJOURNMENT Moved by Commissioner Carlton and seconded by Commissioner Smith to adjourn to a study session on Monday, February 28, 2000 at 6:30 p.m. in the Weimer Room to discuss zoning code updates, a legislative update and General Plan status. The meeting adjourned at 10:25 p.m. AYES: NOES: ABSENT: Commissioners Bosch, Carlton, Pruett, Smith None Commissioner Romero MOTION CARRIED Isld 8