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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05-15-1995 PC MinutesMINUTES Planning Commission City of Orange PRESENT: Commissioners Bosch, Cathcart, Smith ABSENT: Commissioner Pruett May 15, 1995 Monday - 7:00 p.m.STAFF PRESENT: Vern Jones, Manager of Cunent Planning -Commission Secretary;Stan Soo-Hoo, Assistant City Attorney, and Sue Devlin, Recording Secretary PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE IN RE: APPROVAL OF MINUTES FOR THE APRIL 17 1995 PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING Moved by Commissioner Smith, seconded by Commissioner Cathcart, to approve the Minutes of April 17, 1995 as recorded. AYES: Commissioners Bosch, Cathcart, Smith NOES: None ABSENT: Commissioner Pruett MOTION CARRIED IN RE: NEW HEARING 1 -- CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT 2106-95 -VICTORIA VALDEZ A request to allow a veterinary clinic and boarding facility in the OP (Office-Professional) District. The site is located at 600 East Chapman Avenue.NOTE: This project is categorically exempt from California Environmental Quality Act ( CEQA)per State CEQA Guidelines Section 15303.The full reading of the staff report was waived as no one was opposed to this item. Mr. Jones told the Commission a couple of letters were received in the last few days regarding this project. One from Robin Young, faxed over this date, in support of the application; a letter received from the Orange County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, dated May 8, 1995, from the president of that organization, also in support of the application.Chairman Bosch stated the Commission also received two letters, one dated April 26 and one dated May 8, from Fred Herrlein who owns the property at 604 East Moreland Drive, who is not in favor of the project. Their packets also included letters from Dr. Julie Ryan, the clinic veterinarian for the Orange County Animal Shelter, dated May 4; and a May 2 letter from Judy Maitlen, Director of Animal Control for the County of Orange.The public hearing was opened. Applicant Victoria Valdez, D.V.M., 9 City Blvd. West, Suite 67, handed out additional material to the Commission for their review. She reiterated the things she said at the previous meeting she attended. Veterinarians are processionals. The proposed hospital is an "all cat" hospital and it would not be detrimental to a Processional area. There would be no noise or soiling of the sidewalks. She briefly explained each etter in the packet -- all in support of her project. Her hospital is a site for a teaching facility through R.O.P. classes. She works closely with the Orange County Animal Shelter and the Animal Assistance Planning Commission Minutes May 15, 1995 League, and is very active in the area of cat rescue and spay and neutering. She is on the Board of Directors for the S. P.C.A. and they hold their meetings at her hospital. Commissioner Smith asked how medical waste was disposed of at her hospital? Dr. Valdez responded OSHA regulates very closely how they dispose their medical waste. Containers are picked up by an agency that is licensed to do that. Commissioner Smith asked about the garbage that would go into the dumpster -- how would that be packaged? Dr. Valdez said they used heavy duty garbage bags and ties to seal them.Chairman Bosch understood the proposed building has a parking lot on two sides for a general office building located behind it, adjacent to Moreland Drive. Would there be any interaction between the proposed use and the adjacent building? (No.)Those soeakinc in favor Bob Bennyhoff, 10642 Morada Drive, Orange Park Acres, thought this was a dandy idea.James Fletcher, 281 North Park Lane, said his cats have been patients of Dr. Valdez ever since she acquired the business. Her professional demeanor is excellent and there is no doubt in his mind how professional she conducts her business. Two parking spaces are presently assigned to her in The City Shopping Center and there have been no problems with parking. There is very little noise because most of her patients are asleep.Bronwyn Kiser, 1445 North Harwood, has been a personal friend of Dr. Valdez for over 20 years. She attested to her professionalism; she also is a client of hers. The hospital would be an asset to Old Towne and would be convenient to the residents.The public hearing was Gosed.Commissioner Cathcart stated for the record this project was categorically exempt from environmental review. On Page 6 of the staff report, the address for the proposed building shall be positioned on the existing residence and facing Chapman -- not Orange Street. He believed this would be an excellent use for the property and wouldn't find it any way detrimental to the area.Moved by Commissioner Cathcart, seconded by Commissioner Smith, to approve Conditional Use Permit 2106- 95 with the conditions as listed in the staff report, but to correct condition 2: 'The operation of the facility shall be restricted to domesticated cats only."; and to add condition 5: "All medical waste shall be packaged in OSHA approved containers for removal from the site by specialized medical waste handling proTessionals, and general garbage shall be disposed of in sealed containers, placed in City-approved trash receptacles on site."AYES: Commissioners Bosch, Cathcart, Smith NOES: None ABSENT: Commissioner Pruett MOTION CARRIED Commissioner Smith called out the illuminated address, as discussed on Page 5 of the staff report. She asked that the illuminated address enhance the building and not detract from it. She asked if one of the departments could assist with an illuminated address that would enhance the architectural style of the building. Commissioner Cathcart stated for the record regarding Mr. Herrlein's letters -• he believed Mr. Herrlein was mistaken with the address of the building. His building faces Moreland Drive and it was believed he was referring to 660 East Chapman. There is a building between the proposed hospital and Mr.Herrlein's front door on Moreland Dnve. His letter of opposition did not affect Commission Cathcart's decision. Planning Commission Minutes May 15, 1995 Chairman Bosch shared that view. He believed at one time it was one large parcel and Mr. Herrlein may be recollecting that old address. He definitely is not adjacent to this project. IN RE: MISCELLANEOUS 2 •- REVIEW OF LAND USE AND PARKING CONSISTENCY ISSUES IN THE DOWNTOWN PLAZA AREA Report on the parking situation in the Plaza District, including background and the parking study now underway. Mr. Jones reported parking has been a concern in the Downtown Plaza for a number of years. Back in 1986 the City had commissioned an Old Towne Parking Study that looked at land uses, parking requirements and deficiencies, and made recommendations for increasing parking availability. In 1990, a parking structure was proposed for the Soufh Orange Street lot, but it was not built due to potential funding being directed to the seismic retrofitting program. Staff is currently updating the 1986 study to help them get a handle on the current parking needs of the downtown area. The parking issues in downtown have a number of different perspectives. For the existing business people, there is the desire to ensure there is adequate parking within a reasonable proximity to their businesses. For the adjoining residential community, there is the need to avoid spill over from the parking needed for the businesses into the neighborhoods. For staff, there is the dilemma of having to apply traditional planning, zoning and development standards to an area that is unique. From an economic development perspective, there is a need to balance all of these viewpoints with a need to plan for a healthy, vital downtown from a big picture and long-term perspective. There is a need for the businesses to look at downtown from the collective perspective of what's good for all of them -- how do they enhance the downtown area. The business person is an important part of whatever the solutions are that will come out of the study.At the Commission's April 17 meeting a variance application was filed to expand an existing building and business in the downtown area that requested a waiver of parking requirements. The Traffic Commission had also submitted a Minute Order to the Planning Commission expressing their concern about the expansion of uses in buildings in the Plaza without adequate parking provided. As part of the Commission' s deliberation, the Commission asked staff to report back on the parking issues in downtown. Staff was also asked to discuss City policies relative to parking in downtown and to respond to stated concerns that applicants were possibly being given inaccurate information or direction, or that applicants were not being treated fairly and equally. Mr. Jones wanted to briefly summarize that report and then have Mr. Ryan talk about the parking study.Regarding the parking policies for downtown, it was City policy to follow the zoning code. Business expansion must comply with existing code. In the case of many of the buildings in the downtown area that cover 100% of the lot, that entails some kind of variance application in order to expand the use. This brings staff back to the administrative problems in which they'reasked to apply a traditional kind of zoning and development standards to a pretty unique area. There are different City departments that are involved in parking and parking information. Typically, it is the Planning Department, but the Traffic Division may have questions directed at them. It is important to communicate between Departments to avoid inconsistencies. The Traffic Division is involved in a parking permit program on a citywide basis for those neighborhoods that are impacted by other land uses, such as the neighborhood around Chapman University. There is another parking permit program identified in the report that applies to City public Parking lots. Those are primarily in the downtown area. Typically employees who want to park in these ots for more than 2 hours have to purchase the permits. They are issued by the Finance Department.Those are the only two parking permit tee programs staff is aware of. He was not aware of any program for a parking fee to buy spaces and that information should not be given out to applicants.Mr. Ryan continued with his report on the preliminary update on the Old Towne Parking Study and statistics he gathered. The 1986 study formalized existing land uses and parking deficiencies for the 15 block area of downtown. The study also projected future land use changes and options for addressing both short and long term parking solutions. It also proposed the "in lieu" parking fee. The study,however, did not detail any funding mechanisms or set funding for the proposed parking structure or any kind of schedule for implementation. The report sat on the shelf and there was never any follow-up by the City Council. No one could ever decide on what they should charge for "in lieu" parking fees. There Planning Commission Minutes May 15, 1995 were four major recommendations of the parking study, but only one was implemented; that was the parking management program (shared parking). The idea of that was to make a more efficient use of the overall parking supply by promoting the day time use or under utilized private parking lots. The other idea in the report was differential pricing to encourage the use of remote parking lots. There was quite a bit of discussion based on the antique stores that didn't generate a lot of traffic and who had few employees. A lot of the shoppers were chain shoppers . There were some ideas about reduction in the parking standards. Both of these were for office and retail uses. The study determined the zoning code parking requirements could be reduced by 15% for offices and 40% for retail in Old Towne. No action was ever taken on the "in lieu fse" parking program. Changes in the Plaza have been evident over the last nine years. Everyone assumed there was an increase in antique stores, but there really was no accounting, inventory or database to tell staff what was out there. In order to get the data to make accurate protections for parking demands in the future, it was necessary to collect data on every building site. Staff compiled a detailed plan use study for each parcel and business in the Downtown core. The data was collected from primary record search, including field work, to obtain land use Changes since 1987. Collection of the data will enable staff to establish a basis for future parking inventories, future business expansion, parking structures, and it will also determine what the future business mix and parking database should be. The information could be used for many different purposes. In addition to the changes downtown, there were other things that affected the reduced parking demand since 1986: The construction of the remote City parking lot at 100 North Olive, the relocation of the Police Department, and the major decline in general retail, office professional, medical offices and appliance stores, which were replaced with antique related uses. The previous uses had generated a higher parking demand. The antique stores increased 238% since 1986. Retail use has declined 44%, office use - 30%, and most of the other uses such as banks and restaurants have remained the same except for some appliance stores, which have declined. It was determined the only blocks deficient in parking were the four blocks around the Plaza -• everything else had a surplus of parking. The other block that was deficient was the Civic Center lot of 121 spaces. Since the Police Department moved, there is a surplus of 45 spaces.Currently, staff is focusing on the four blocks downtown. In addition, since 1986, 71 parking spaces have been lost downtown due to the conversion of parking spaces to outdoor retail. He shared his statistics with the Commission, using peak times for parking counts. His survey indicated parking is not being enforced downtown. Total number of permits issued this year were 50. The completed report will probably carry forward some of the excellent recommendations from the 1986 study and statistics will be presented on a graphic basis for better understanding. It will also include some recommendations for both short and long-term parking. Some of the options should come from the community, as they are the ones who will be affected.Commissioner Smith looked at the parking lots in downtown. The parking lot behind the Elks Club and the Orange Sporting Goods Store has spaces marked tow away. It's marked for customers only. She didn' t think they enforced that though. She asked if staff could examine parking spaces that are ppnvately owned. Satellite Market is a privately owned lot and no one can park there. Could something be done to enable the lots to be used for public parking?Commissioner Cathcart said Wells Fargo has not bothered to take down those signs, but parking behind the Elks Lodge has been bought and paid for and can be used by anyone. The signs should come down; there is no reason to enforce it.Chairman Bosch said with private ownership lots they're chopped up into small lots; they're not very efficient. It's very clear that permit sales are down because there is no enforcement in the public lots.Street parking will always be at a premium in the 4-block area. The rest of the parking is really under utilized. It brings back the concept of when is it appropriate to implement a parking structure. Frst, you must demonstrate there are viable uses that require parking before one goes to the high economic impact of building a parking structure. The City should investigate what the threshold is where additional parking is required in the structure and with the anticipation that would occur, what kind of start up date and passage of time would be necessary to acquire enough money to finance the parking structure. That may e beyond the scope of what is being done now, but could be looked into m the future. And, also, revisit where the parking structure should go when one occurs. Where would there be major uses that would be the great draw or where convenience would be necessary, and also where it would be important to minimize the impacts that a major draw would have on the surrounding property owners. Right now, it doesn't appear there is a major parking problem, other than special events such as the Street Fair. An investigation should be made by the appropriate parties, including the Street Fair Committee and other special event committees into ways they could well manage their events without taking away the parking inventory which helps support the events. Planning Commission Minutes May 15, 1995 Commissioner Cathcart thought they needed to watch that they do not chase away those people who use the downtown (like those who use South Coast Plaza). People park in one quadrant and decide to spend the day in Old Towne. They shouldn't penalize people for doing that by writing tickets. He remembers when downtown was a ghost town. Enforcement may not be the answer. The City needs to be flexible and creative in how they pay for parking. Many people view parking meters as being ugly --we wouldn't want to see them out on the Plaza or on the main streets, but perhaps behind the quadrants parking meters could be installed. It would be feasible for employees to purchase parking permits. He also believed if they put the burden of parking fees on businesses, it would drive people away. At this time, it is premature to evaluate any type of parking regulation while the study is being undertaken. It is not feasible to impose the 2 or 3-hour parking restriction as suggested by the Traffic Commission. Public Comments Barbara DeNiro, 1118 East Adams, couldn't comprehend the discussion because everyone talked so fast. She has always suggested it they wanted to put in a parking structure, the downtown merchants should pool their money and build it themselves. Where else in town is parking provided? No one talked about the churches wanting to use the parking spaces during the week. It appears the parking requirements in the zoning ordinance apply city wide. She was cunous as to how many downtown employees there were. She understood the consensus of the study suggested there was not a severe parking shortage. She wanted to know how much the seismic retrofit program was and how much would it be now for a parking structure? She asked when adequate information would be available for the public to pick up? Mr. Ryan responded there were 50 permits issued this year. The amount of funds the seismic retrofitting program started with was $2 million. He didn't know the cost of the parking structure as construction documents were never prepared. Additional information is included in the report and will be available to the public. The next step in the process, as far as looking at recommendations and putting together information from the Committee would be discussions with the Chamber of Commerce and Plaza Design Collaborative. He was estimating about 30 days or so before the report is finaled. IN RE: ORAL PRESENTATIONS Barbara DeNiro, 1118 East Adams, was bothered by the fact they don't license cats yet. Dogs must be licensed and kept on a leash. She hoped some day cats will be licensed. IN RE: ADJOURNMENT Moved by Commissioner Smith, seconded by Commissioner Cathcart, to adjourn at 8:05 p.m. AYES: Commissioners Bosch, Cathcart, Smith NOES: None ABSENT: Commissioner Pruett MOTION CARRIED std 5