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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01-18-1999 PC MinutesCaSS;'6 L.:2 S'OO .G-. ;(.3 MINUTES Planning Commission City of Orange January 18, 1999 Monday - 7:00 p.m.PRESENT: ABSENT: STAFF PRESENT: IN RE:Commissioners Bosch, Carlton, Pruett, Romero, Smith None Vern Jones, Planning Manager/Secretary,John Godlewski, Senior Planner,Mary Binning, Assistant City Attorney,Roger Hohnbaum, Assistant City Engineer, and Sue Devlin, Recording Secretary ITEMS TO BE CONTINUED 1, DESIGN REVIEW BOARD APPEAL NO, 05-98 (RE: DRB NO. 3383 - LEMAR LUNDQUIST)i7~? : ~ f:,:) G~l:lU The applicant is appealing the Design Review Board's denial of replacement exterior siding for an existing residence in Old Towne. The site is located at 133 South Shaffer Street.n~~lrojJ UJ -Applicant requests to continue this item to February 1, 1999.MOTION Moved by Commissioner Smith, seconded by Commissioner Pruett, to continue Design Review Board Appeal No. 05- 98 to the meeting of February 1, 1999.AYES:NOES: Commissioners Bosch, Carlton, Pruett, Romero, Smith None MOTION CARRIED 2. CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT 2261-98 - DANBERG DEVELOPMENT (CHAPMAN STORAGE)A proposal allowing the construction of a 123,000 square foot self-storage facility. The site is located on the northeast corner of Chapman Avenue and Wayfield Street.NOTE: Negative Declaration 1584-98 has been prepared to evaluate the environmental impacts of this project. ~ Applicant requests to continue this item to February 17, 1999. MOTION Moved by Commissioner Romero, seconded by Commissioner Smith, to continue Conditional Use Permit 2261-98 to the meeting of February 17, 1999. AYES: NOES:Commissioners Bosch, Carlton, Pruett, Romero, Smith None MOTION Planning Commission Minutes January 18, 1999 IN RE:CONSENT CALENDAR 3. Approval of the Minutes from the Regular Meeting of January 4, 1999. MOTION Moved by Commissioner Romero, seconded by Commissioner Carlton, to approve the Minutes of January 4, 1999. AYES: NOES: Commissioners Bosch, Carlton, Pruett, Romero, Smith None MOTION CARRIED IN RE:NEW HEARINGS 4.. CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT 2262-99 - LUTHERAN HIGH SCHOOL A proposal to expand the school including 23 new classrooms, relocation of athletic facilities, and expansion of the parking facility, Student enrollment would increase from 680 students to 950 students. The site is located at 2222 North Santiago Boulevard. NOTE:Mitigated Negative Declaration 1585-99 has been prepared to evaluate the environmental impacts of this project.It was noted that letters were received from Jere Jobe, John Turner and Ken Ellwein, and they will be entered into the record.Jim Donovan, Senior Planner, presented the full staff report as there was opposition to this project, City records indicate that Lutheran High School was approved in 1969 and 1970 as a facility designed for maximum enrollment of 1,000 students, The plans at that time were for a two story building. The existing campus was designed to be intended for a second story at a future time. The original conditional use permits expired and the school never requested an extension of time, The current proposal amounts to a larger building size than initially approved, This proposal would expand the 26 classrooms at present to 49 classrooms. Construction would proceed in phases over the next several years, and the parking facility would also be expanded from 250 spaces to 392,The first phase of construction would include six (6) classrooms at the north side of the building, and all of the frontage improvements to Santiago Boulevard. The second phase would include some grading activity and relocation of the athletic facilities, and construction of the gym. The third phase would apply to the south portion of the building, with the latter phases applying to additions at the front of the facility and modifications to the interior of the existing building shell. Five additional classrooms would be created within the portion of the existing building, as the existing library and athletic facilities would ultimately be converted to instructional use, He explained the other changes to the facility as well, including the athletic field.School officials have met with local residents between April and June of this past year. The project was revised somewhat as a result of those meetings. The more significant changes shifted the proposed gymnasium away from a location near the residences along the south edge of the site. A parking structure was also eliminated. A traffic study was required to analyze the proposal and the study acknowledges that the school generates overflow parking on streets and surrounding residential neighborhoods. Another current problem is traffic congestion on Santiago Boulevard, The primary entrance to the school building is too close to the street. The City's traffic engineering staff worked closely with the consultant to arrive at significant improvements to the entry driveway, and a new building entrance located deeper within the parking facility. Planning Commission Meeting January 18, 1999 Mr. Donovan explained the building height has been lowered so that no portion of it exceeds 32 feet except for the stairwell and elevator. The City's Design Review Board reviewed the project and recommends approval of the building elevations. The public hearing WCl,s opened. Applicant, Ken Ellwein, 2222 North Santiaqo Boulevard, is the Executive Director of Orange Lutheran High School. He submitted a copy of his remarks to the Commission. Enrollment has increased and they are at their maximum, They need additional space as they project continued growth of students. He talked about the neighborhood meetings and their plans for expansion. There are some concerns/issues about security, drainage and traffic, which their master plan addresses. Darrell Hebenstreit, Architects Oranqe, 1009 West 19th Street, Santa Ana, gave a slide presentation of the existing campus and their proposed expansion. Highlights of the presentation included the homeowners' meetings, improvement goals, the existing site plan, the campus and parking lot, key components, overall master plan, proposed parking facility, traffic, athletic field house, athletic fields and bleachers and tennis courts, building expansion, interior improvements, the revised site plan and elevations, entrance and exit driveways, student plaza and courtyard and landscape plan. Joe Foust, Austin-Foust Associates, is the traffic consultant for Lutheran High School and he prepared the traffic study, They did multiple traffic and parking counts in November. There is a concentrated period of traffic between the hours of 7:15 and 7:45 in the mornings, and Lutheran High School is contributing its share to the traffic congestion. Traffic backing up on Santiago Boulevard is also a problem. They propose to move the storage of vehicles on Santiago onto the site, and this will open up the two lanes. He spoke about the issues of parking, traffic and on-site circulation associated with this project.Commissioners and consultants talked about the 32 foot exit driveways. There may be a possibility of eliminating the left turns and forcing everyone to turn right. Meats will soon be under construction and the bridge will be closed for quite some time, The fire loop drive was pointed out and explained how it would be accessed for emergency response, Student car pooling has been talked about, but a plan has not been implemented. The school does not allow sophomores to drive. The 40 foot height of the building is for practical and aesthetic reasons. They need the height for the elevator hoistway. They also wanted to create a vertical element at the entry to the campus for accent. The lower basement contains the wrestling practice area, weight room, aerobics, woodworking shop, and maintenance area. Public comments:3 people spoke in neutral position; they were neither for or aqainst the proiect Bob Bennyhoff, 10642 Morada Drive, Orange Park Acres,Jim Cline, 2603 Riding Way.Carole Walters, 534 North Shaffer Street.They wanted to know where the 78 classrooms would be located on the campus, The neighbors were told the exit driveways would be right turns only, Concern was expressed about this expansion impacting the neighbors.8 people were opposed to the proiect Patricia "Carol" Ring, 2333 East Villa Vista Way,John Turner, 2348 Villa Vista Way.Cynthia Tress, 2539 East Riding Way.Jim Koch, 2167 North Diamond Street.Jere Jobe, 2641 Riding Way.Stephen Phillips, 2157 North Diamond Street.Maurice Jensen, 2160 Mori Lane,Colleen Choate, 2183 Bailey Planning Commission Minutes January 18, 1999 The speakers were concerned about parking, traffic congestion, noise, security and aesthetics. One neighbor did not have enough time to circulate a petition to find out how other residents felt about this expansion. School improvements will encroach within 20 feet of the neighbors' properties and the residents will lose their privacy. The new gymnasium building will impact the neighborhood. The glass tower has no purpose other than to make the campus look nice. The proposed construction does not fit in with the surrounding neighborhood and overpowers the residences. They wanted to know how the expanded facility will benefit the community. There is loitering in the parking lot after school hours and kids climb over the fence. Gates are not being locked at night. When kids leave at the end of the school day, no one monitors the parking lot. The existing parking lot cannot handle Sunday night NJB games, The elevation of the school and parking lot is at least five feet higher than the southern residential properties. Construc~ion vibration by the heavy equipment will cause structural damage to residential buildings. It was suggested to use the current site for freshman and sophomore students and then purchase and build a new campus for junior and senior students. They would like an attendance count of students within a one to two mile radius of the school. It was felt the school's plans are premature and do not address the problems and concerns voiced by the neighbors. An alternative plan was prepared and presented by Mr. Jobe. Applicant's response: Mr. Hebenstreit addressed each of the residents concerns. Floor plans and classroom locations were provided in the packets that were made available to the public. At this point in time the proposal retains both the left and right exit ways. Condition 16 recognizes that Meats is going to be impacted when the overpass is closed for freeway construction. They took the Meats overpass into consideration when they submitted this project. The condition will allow the school to keep the left turn movement. Once construction has been completed, a restriction of a right turn only movement will be reviewed by the City to determine whether it is necessary to improve traffic flow. The school is trying to be a good neighbor and wants to keep the residents informed of their proposed project. Notices were mailed regarding the meetings that were held, They have met all of the current setback requirements, and are trying to keep the mass of the building down along the edges. At this point in time, they only have one element that is over the allowed 32 foot height, The glass is not reflective, but is a slightly blue tinted glass, They are aware of the type of soil that exists on the project and they are having further soils studies done, The site walls that are leaning will be replaced. This project is anticipated to be approximately ten million dollars. They have looked at other pieces of property, but there is no way they could financially replace the campus and it is not a financial option at this time. They are proposing to create a 6 foot wall per City code, either by rebuilding the existing wall or extending it if the wall is structurally sound. They plan to plant material to help buffer the school from the residences. The parking lot is only being used efficiently about 90% because they currently have assigned parking for students. City staff wants to do away with assigned parking because it will allow the parking lot to be more efficiently used. The current facility does not have security gates; however, they feel the gates would be a benefit to secure the parking lot and they are not opposed to some kind of condition being put into the final approval. The tall tower does have a purpose, but it could possibly be reduced in height to 36 feet, if the elevator could still fit within this height. Teachers are present in the parking lot when students leave at the end of the day. This is an expansion they wish to take to meet the need of students wishing to come to their school. This will help alleviate other forced expansions on public facilities, They are all working with the same problem to adequately school the children. They want to solve the problems they've created to this date, and solve the problems of the additional capacity that they will need. They believe the expansion will improve the quality of traffic on the street. Mr. Ellwein stated they have added one person this year to oversee security at the school from six to ten o'clock. He is agreeable to installing gates in the parking lots that can be locked during the evening hours, They are trying to be sensitive to the concerns of the neighbors, and encourage the neighbors to call the school. About 60% of their students live within a five (5) mile radius of the campus, 4 Planning Commission Minutes January 18, 1999 Commissioner Romero asked a few questions about student hours and if the school was on a year round schedule. Will the football field be used for practice or will it also be used for normal games. He wanted to know if they have considered a phased in time schedule in relation to the widening of the 55 Freeway, What type of time schedule are they anticipating for the different phases of construction. How do they expect to handle the increased school enrollment each year. Is there a plan in place to resolve the overflow parking problem in the evenings when special events are held. Will the two entry drives be marked for two separate lanes and will someone be monitoring the drop offs. He would like further clarification on the car pooling issue. He asked if the glass tower will enable anyone to view from the second story height. Mr. Ellwein responded they are not on a year round schedule. They have staggered starting times at 7:00 a.m, and 7:50 a.m. They do have summer school of about 50 students and summer camp programs that run eight (8) weeks. The football field is used for football practice as they hold their games off site, The competitive sport played on that field is soccer. They didn't have a plan to control parking in the neighborhoods during special events such as Sack to School night. In response to car pooling, they have not done anything like that, but they will take this under advisement and think of some type of incentive to help encourage car pooling. Mr. Hebenstreit said they were still unclear as to what is going to happen on the widening of the 55 Freeway. They have had some input from CalTrans regarding the location and size of the site walls behind the campus. The Meats overpass will be closed beginning their school session next year, and will be closed for approximately six (6) months, according to the article in the newspaper. A study is being done projecting the population growth and there is a chart on the phasing plan that projects a time frame for the seven (7) phases. They feel this is a 5-year expansion plan to reach full build out. Their goal for next year is to have 750 students as part of the first phase, They currently have 682 students. Some of the school growth occurs in a clump during the first couple of phases. Then, because they will be constructing the gymnasium and converting other classrooms, there will be a couple of phases where the campus expands, but there will be minimal growth. Phase three will begin three years from now. The primary phase will be the classrooms along the rear elevation and parking lot, The entry drives are marked as two separate lanes. Faculty monitors the drop offs on a daily basis. This is the first year they have not allowed sophomores to park on campus because 98% of them do not qualify to drive because of their age, The glass tower's second story will be no higher than the other second story heights on the remainder of the campus.Commissioner Pruett wondered if they considered using the track for overflow parking during their special events to relieve the problems in the neighborhood.Mr, Hebenstreit thought that might be a potential with the new expansion, The end of the track needs to be improved to withstand a 50,000 pound fire truck, so the track will be stable. The school is willing to consider this possibility, weather permitting.Commissioner Smith spoke about the parking problems and offered some mitigating factors for consideration such as car pooling, fee for parking permits, parking off campus is prohibited and can be monitored and enforced. and Back to School nights can be divided up by classes to accommodate overflow parking problems. If the gym is rented out to other organizations, perhaps some conditions need to be added to limit those activities.Mr, Ellwein said they rent their facility to NJB because the NJB has run out of space at other schools,People from the Orange Recreation Department have already contacted them about the use of their new gymnasium for their recreation programs, If it is a problem for the neighbors to allow the community to use the school's facilities, then they will be responsive to their concerns.The Commission and applicants discussed the walls that will be repaired or replaced around the perimeter of the school. Grades are being finalized in the parking lot. They also talked about the height of the tower The applicant desired to modify the last sentence of condition 2 regarding the primary phase of Planning Commission Minutes January 18, 1999 construction. The first phase will include the improvements in the public right-of-way, the deceleration point along Santiago, new entry and exit drive approaches off of Santiago, new sidewalks, and landscaping, as well as new parking stalls. The final grade of the parking lot will go down. The parking lot will be lowered to ease some of the wall conditions and lowered at the west end to ease some drainage problems.The public hearing was closed.RECESS - The Chair recessed the meeting at 9:30 p. m.RECONVENE - The meeting reconvened at 9:40 p.m. Mr. Hohnbaum said CalTrans has given the City a schedule of a start date of August or September, 1999. The reconstruction of the Meats overpass in six months is probably not enough time. The Fairhaven bridge took approximately 10 months before traffic could cross. He anticipates maybe in July, 2000 traffic could be introduced back onto the Meats bridge. Also with that phase of construction, they will be impacting the Lincoln underpass. In respect to the phasing of improvements along the frontage of Santiago, he appreciates the school putting in the right turn pocket and multiple driveway entrances need to be put in as part of the first phase, Traffic staff has been working diligently with the applicant to come up with the revised plan that was presented. One of the components that is most critical to the reconfiguration of the drive entrance is the elimination of a front entrance from its present location, He suggested that some type of barricade be put up to ensure that the two lanes do continue down into the drop off lane, and that the drop off occurs deep into the property so that there is no back up. The applicant's proposal is to abandon the existing parking lot. Additional parking spaces will be created where the track is now, Final plans must meet the concerns and requirements of Traffic Engineering and Public Works relative to grades, site lines, setbacks, the new driveways, etc. and staff would like to continue working with the applicant to refine the plans. Chairman Bosch appreciated the involvement of the neighbors during this on-going process. He was concerned about the traffic issues and he is satisfied, after studying the reports, with the configuration that is proposed along Santiago Boulevard. He didn't have an opinion as to what might happen with regard to the left turn lane in. It sounds like a great idea to block it off, but he's not a traffic engineer. The layout of the building in terms of meeting all of the development standards is acceptable. The blue tinted glass is much better than reflective glass, The placement of the tower in the middle of the site will still be visible to the residences, butit's a great distance away from them. It has less impact than a building placed at the legal setback near the property line could have at a lesser height. He is concerned about limiting the 40 foot height because the elevator needs to be installed to ADA requirements. Federal law should be the controlling function. The pulling of the main entrance far back into the site and well removed from the property lines will be a substantial improvement over the existing situation, The maximum has been done to alleviate the traffic concerns that exist on site as well. He appreciated the thoughts on overflow parking into the residential neighborhoods, but was concerned about cars parking on the track and where access might take place relative to potential impacts on the tennis courts and proximity of adjacent property lines.This is something that needs to be watched.Commissioner Smith is impressed with the substantial changes that have been made in the project from the very first drawings. Lutheran High School shows a determination to be good neighbors. The tower is acceptable to her. She likes the architecture of the building, It should look like a school; not like the residential neighborhood. She would like to condition into the project that any fences that needed to be raised to the height of six feet and repaired to be safe should be done. Also, gates should be installed for limiting access onto the campus at night and possibly for weekend use. She strongly encouraged Lutheran High School to look at security people for their parking lots. These people have more authority that might be a little more enforceable than having school staff double as security guards. She felt there should be a strong consequence for students who park in the neighborhoods, especially sophomores,Neighbors should feel free to call the school when they see cars that do not belong in their neighborhood. She also suggested the school limit the number of evenings that the entire neighborhood is impacted by an overflow of traffic. She further suggested when there are special Planning Commission Minutes January 18, 1999 functions, that the neighborhood be noticed and informed when the date will be to alleviate the element of surprise. Commissioner Carlton agreed with the comments made. She felt with all of the changes, the revised plan will work. Traffic is a problem, but can be worked with. She liked the architecture and felt with the added conditions it will be a great project. Commissioner Romero did not have a problem with the manner of construction. His initial concern was the widening of the 55 Freeway and the Meats overpass. But, due to the ingress and egress being resolved in phase one and the enrollment only increasing by 70 students, it doesn't appear to be a tremendous problem. He didn't have a good comfort level with the school dealing with the neighborhood. There are problems with noise, security, parking, car pooling, and Back to School Night issues that have been expressed by the neighbors. Commissioner Pruett thought the concerns raised by the neighbors were legitimate and a lot of the steps that have been taken have mitigated many of those issues. He agreed with Commissioner Romero's comments about addressing the neighbors' concerns. Some of the issues can be addressed through orientation of students and parents. It might also be good to hold periodic meetings with the community to talk about the issues/concerns of the neighbors to establish a good working relationship. MOTION Moved by Commissioner Smith, seconded by Commissioner Carlton, to approve Mitigated Negative Declaration 1585-99, and find that the project will not have a significant adverse impact on the environment or wildlife resources, and approve Conditional Use Permit 2262-99, with the 21 conditions listed in the staff report, adding condition 22 to construct a new six foot masonry wall where there is none now; then, repair or replace structurally damaged walls where they exist subject to the approval of the adjacent property owners, and where they are less than the maximum of six feet in height allowed by code relative to the new grading, is to either enhance the existing wall if it is structurally and aesthetically capable, or replaced to get the new height; adding condition 23 that security gates be provided for the parking lot and locked in the evenings and on weekends, at the discretion of Lutheran High School, to provide for the safety of the campus and neighborhood; adding condition 24 that Lutheran High School provide an on-campus traffic plan addressing drop-off and pick-up points, traffic circulation,consequences for misbehavior in the parking lot, parent/ student orientation materials, and a neighborhood parking (prohibition) policy. Modify the last sentence of condition 2 to read: "The following modifications will occur and will be completed within the primary construction phase: a) construction of all improvements in public right-of-way, including dedicated right turn lane, new entry driveway approaches,new exit driveway approaches, new street striping, landscaping and irrigation improvements in the public right-of-way; b) construction of on-site entry drive lanes and drop-off areas; c) closure of current school's east building entrance doors during morning arrival period of 7:00 a.m. to 8:30 a.m.; d) removal of parking drive aisle which allows left turn capability at bottom of entry lanes; e) temporary expansion of existing parking lot to accommodate student population of 750 at a parking ratio of .377 cars per student, which equals 283 cars; f) construction of up to six (6) classrooms at the north side of the campus." Condition 1 0 should not be changed. Condition 4 caps the school's enrollment at 950 students, which means it can never increase above 950 unless a variance application is requested. The Commission finds the project will not cause deterioration in the neighborhood or create special problems. It is granted upon sound principles of land use and in response to services required by the community. The project has been considered in relationship to its effect on the community and the neighborhood plans in which the site is located. It is made subject to the conditions that are called out and they have been applied to preserve the general welfare, not the individual welfare of any particular applicant. AYES: Planning Commission Minutes January 18, 1999 Commissioner Smith suggested that any noise disturbance during construction be reported to the school administration, including parking lot noise and problems, She is happy to approve this educational institution project as an addition to the community. She did not see this as a commercial venture any more than any other school located in the community. Commissioner Carlton referred to Mr. Turner's letter, Item 6 at the bottom of Page 1. He talked about birds perched on the service wires. She thought this needed to be investigated because the wires are located over his swimming pool. Chairman Bosch stated the utility company will need to investigate this matter, and he asked staff to follow up. IN RE:PUBLIC COMMENTS Carole Walters, 534 North Shaffer, commented on neighborhood protection. IN RE:ADJOURNMENT Moved by Commissioner Romero, seconded by Commissioner Carlton, to adjourn at 10:20 p.m. AYES: NOES: Commissioners Bosch, Carlton, Pruett, Romero, Smith None MOTION CARRIED sld 8