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09-20-2006 DRC MinutesCITY OF ORANGE DESIGN REVIEW COMMITTEE MINUTES -FINAL 20 September 2006 Committee Members Present: Jon Califf Bill Cathcart Donnie DeWees Craig Wheeler Joe Woollett Committee Members Absent: None Staff in Attendance: Leslie Aranda Roseberry, Planning Manager Mari Burke, Recording Secretary Administrative Session - 5:00 P.M. The Committee met for an administrative session beginning at 5:00 p.m. The Committee received a presentation by the City Attorney, David De Berry, on conflict of interest laws and policies. Regular Session - 5:30 P.M. The meeting adjourned at approximately 7:09 p.m. City of Orange -Design Review Committee Meeting Minutes for 20 September 2006 Page 2 of 8 DRC No. 4135-06 - OCTA-ORANGE DEPOT PEDESTRIAN CROSSING An Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) project to construct an underground pedestrian crossing in the Santa Fe Depot Station. 184-186 N. Atchison Street (Old Towne Historic District) Staff Contact: Irma Hernandez, Senior Assistant to City Manager (714) 744-2205 Tom Mahood, Traffic Engineer (714) 744-5536 DRC Action: Final Comments to Staff Irma Hernandez, Senior Assistant to City Manager provided a project overview during which she highlighted the progress made to date and how the changes recommended by the Design Review Committee at the August 16, 2006 meeting have been incorporated into the plans which are now at 60% completion. Dinah Minteer, Manager, OCTA Construction Services, walked the Committee through the timeline of the project: They need to be developing the revised capital budget now. It goes before the OCTA Board for budget approval in October. The project will then be presented to the California Transportation Commission for them to consider the authorization for construction. In December the project will be heard and hopefully fully funded. Once the CTC authorizes moving forward with construction, Metrolink will be letting the contract. The contract is to be awarded by June 2007. Larry Johansen provided a pictorial overview of the project and review of the landscape plan. Committee Member Woollett indicated he was concerned with the round pilaster elements. Committee Member Woollett asked why there was a gate in the underpass. Mr. Johansen responded it is a security gate, which will be controlled remotely from a central facility or manually. Ms. Hernandez interjected that this design feature was requested by the Orange Police Department. Public input was provided as follows: Jeff Frankel, OTPA, stated they were pleased the decision was made to go under versus over as it is much more sympathetic and will be a less obtrusive project. Mr. Frankel asked if the project would come before the DRC again since it is only 60% complete at this time. Ms. Hernandez replied that since it is an OCTA project (not a City project) and there is a tight timeline, it will not come before the DRC again. Mr. Frankel commented that other than within Pitcher Park you would probably not find another example of round stone pilasters and he stated he thought the pilasters should be square. City of Orange -Design Review Committee Meeting Minutes for 20 September 2006 Page 3 of 8 Mr. Frankel questioned the design of the lighting and was told it is the same style that appears at the station now. Mr. Frankel expressed appreciation that authentic Arroyo stone was selected. Chair Califf stated the color (it should be browner than river rock) and shape of the stone to be used should be related to Hart Park or some other historic structures in the City. Mel Vernon, address on file, expressed concern about some of the areas being used as skateboard ramps and he suggested the use of rough textured surface materials. Mr. Vernon also asked about the materials to be used for the security gate and expressed concern about the appearance of the gate. Ms. Hernandez replied that they are working with the architect to determine the most appropriate surface treatments to discourage skateboard activity in the area. Regarding the gate, Ms. Hernandez stated it would probably be a roll up gate that is not obtrusive and will be not be visible during the day, similar to the gates used in shopping malls. Chair Califf stated the surface treatment couldn't be so rough that it's not passable and would not be ADA compliant. Mr. Doug Keys, Public Works/Transportation Analyst, indicated 12" strips i.e. rumble strips) that go across the entire width of the ramp is perhaps what will be used. Committee Member Woollett stated the horizontal treatment of the pickets on the handrails is a modern treatment and he thought it would be more appropriate to use a vertical picket similar to the one used next to the Chapman field and parking structure on Walnut Street. Committee Member Wheeler stated he was uncomfortable with the inconsistent flaring out of the railings and he thought they should do a careful analysis of exactly where the railings run. Furthermore, he suggested they all be the same and vertical. Committee Member DeWees questioned the glass block treatment used on the curved wall and suggested they step it or cut it across. Committee Member Wheeler stated that stacks of stone that look like one stone is on top of another gives the appearance that it's wobbly and will fall down; instead he suggested they get enough width for the mass. Another suggestion was to run the stone down to the grade. Committee Members DeWees and Wheeler agreed with Mr. Frankel's suggestion to change the pilaster to square versus round. Committee Member Wheeler suggested the math on the cross section (Sheet #AOIA) be checked, as it appeared to him there might be a need to add more steps. City of Orange -Design Review Committee Meeting Minutes for 20 September 2006 Page 4 of 8 Committee Member Cathcart asked if the design team had seen the DRC Landscape Design Guidelines and he stated the notes should appear on the plans. Ms. Hernandez indicated that Howard Morris had attended the last meeting and they do have the notes. Ms. Roseberry, Planning Manager, was asked to clarify the Committee's action. Ms. Roseberry verified with Ms. Hernandez that the Design Review Committee was just to provide final comments; no motion or vote was necessary. Chair Califf stated when it comes time to select the stone material, samples should be brought to Staff for review. Ms. Roseberry offered to coordinate this review with Ms. Hernandez. Ms. Hernandez reiterated the actions: 1) The color (brown tones) and shape of the stone should be related to Hart Park. 2) The pilasters at the entryway should be square versus round. 3) Surface materials that will prevent skateboarding yet are ADA compliant should be used. 4) All handrails should have vertical pickets. 5) The block should be stepped down. 6) The stone should extend down to the grade. Mr. Frankel stated that the pilaster columns should be square but tapered slightly. Ms. Hernandez thanked the Committee for their input and stated they hoped to see construction start in Fa112007. City of Orange -Design Review Committee Meeting Minutes for 20 September 2006 Page 5 of 8 2. DRC No. 4136-06 - CENTEX HOMES This item was continued from the DRC's September 6, 2006, meeting to allow time for the applicant to make minor revisions to site and building plans. Revised plans will be presented at the DRC meeting. A request to review the building and landscaping plans fora 114 dwelling unit residential development. Planning Area No. 4 -Del Rio Planned Community (west of Glassell Street and north of Lincoln Avenue) Staff Contact: Christopher Carnes, (714) 744-7220, ccarnes(a,cityoforange.org DRC Action: Final Determination Chair Califf asked if there were exhibits from Centex available for Committee to review prior to considering the item. Planning Manager Leslie Aranda Roseberry provided a project overview. Stephanie Carter, Centex Homes, provided a new set of plans to each of the Committee Members and conducted apage-by-page review highlighting the changes requested by the Committee at the September 6th, 2006 meeting: 1) Page 2: This is the conceptual site plan and per Committee Member Wheeler's suggestion, a couple of the buildings on Mtn. Holly Avenue were flipped. This now breaks up the street scene so Ms. Carter thanked Committee Member Wheeler for the good suggestion. Committee Member DeWees asked if they did the same thing on the west side of Juneberry Street. The applicant responded affirmatively; they flipped Buildings 6, 8, 10 and 24. 2) Elevation plotting: Buildings 21 and 22, Plans B and C are reversed to provide a little different articulation on the street scene. 3) The street scenes on Mtn. Holly Avenue: A four-plex (Plan C) and afour-plea (Plan A) elevation are elevated so you can see a forward facing street scene. 4) Juneberry Street scenes: The articulation of the side elevation with the enhancements is shown. 5) Revised architecture is shown in each elevation (on the three-plea and four-plea) along with the enhanced elevations. Committee Member Wheeler asked if they removed any enhancements from the front elevations. The applicant responded nothing changed on the three-plea, only on Elevation B of the four-plex. City of Orange -Design Review Committee Meeting Minutes for 20 September 2006 Page 6 of 8 6) Plan 4B, front elevation: Some of the siding was eliminated in the front and put on the side. 7) Landscaping sheet: The only thing that changed was the recreation center was flipped. The spa was brought forward and the gazebo moved to the back. 8) Recreation center landscaping plan: This plan was not changed since the last meeting. The preliminary architecture plans for the recreation center were provided and will be Spanish style to match the Lennar product. It will be built by the joint venture (Lennar). No public comment was provided on this item. Committee Member Woollett asked if the window issues were resolved. Brian McCluskey responded that shifting the window to one side would distract from what they were trying to achieve in the elevation design. Ms. Carter stated the windows that are most affected are on Plan 4 (the upstairs bedroom) and to accommodate a shift, the side elevation enhancements would be off centered. Committee Member Wheeler pointed out the areas that had concerned him the most. Ms. Carter stated the rooms are so small that it affects the furnishability. Committee Member Cathcart pointed out that the trees planted in the subject area should be Tristania conferta, as they will help with the privacy issue. Ms. Carter stated the issue exists only in the corridor and the corridor has now expanded to 15' (versus 8'). Committee Member Cathcart pointed out that the additional space would give them room to stagger the trees. Committee Member Wheeler asked if they added the notes on the construction plans to combine the plumbing vents. Ms. Carter responded they would put a note on the front sheet. Chair Califf made a motion to approve DRC No. 4136-06 including Recommendations 1-5 contained in the Staff Report dated September 6, 2006 with the added recommendation that Tristanias should be planted in the interior elevation locations (as opposed to the street elevations) between buildings where privacy issues exist. SECOND: Joe Woollett AYES: Jon Califf, Bill Cathcart, Donnie DeWees, Craig Wheeler, Joe Woollett NOES: None ABSTAIN: None ABSENT: None MOTION CARRIED. City of Orange -Design Review Committee Meeting Minutes for 20 September 2006 Page 7 of 8 PUBLIC PARTICIPATION: Chair Califf advised the public that items brought forward at this time would not be discussed by the Committee, nor would the Committee take any action on them at this meeting. Maxwell Lawrence, address on file, stated: The situation is drastic and is an emergency. He made the mistake of not pulling a permit because an Engineer down the street from him did his own drawings and put the roof up on his home fifteen (15) years ago. The roof has withstood torrential rains and an earthquake. Fifteen years ago, with Mr. Joe Woollett, a petition was circulated and he signed up 43 (of 49) people in 3 hours that wanted the roofs re-done. They could not find a single roofer to take the job ($6K-$8K). His best friend (with his crew) took two weeks off his job to do the roofing job. The crew tore off the roof. The plans had previously been approved so he didn't think there would be a problem. He made a mistake, he apologized and he should have pulled a permit. He went to Genstar Materials and purchased 30-year materials; however, the materials leaked after 10-12 years. He has lost two insurance companies and anticipates losing another one. He wants to put a slant on the roof. The Building Department gave him a list of requirements. He did everything the Building Department requested. Mark made revisions to the list of requirements and requested a draft to show the refinements as to how the roof was being attached. He got an Architectural Engineer that checked the plans and did exactly what was requested. Mark is on vacation for 3 weeks. Lights are shorting out and condensation is coming down the walls. He was told he couldn't put the roof on. The house behind him (100' away) burnt down. His entire home is entirely open, with exposed wiring that could short out. He is now being told his home is historical. He is being stopped from putting a roof on. He went to the City of Anaheim. The Fire Captain was called due to the state of emergency and his address is now on an emergency white board in Anaheim. Anaheim representatives told him to turn the electricity off which he has been doing at night. He needs approval to finish the roof. He is being harassed by his neighbor and the City of Orange. Mel Vernon, address on file, thanked the Committee for the opportunity to speak and acknowledged the Committee for the sensitivity of the comments made in the OCTA session. Mr. Vernon stated there is a loophole that relates to Item #3 in the Residential Infill Design Guidelines; specifically, the guidelines don't apply to accessory second units. Mr. Vernon asked that the Committee bring this matter to the bodies they give counsel to. Mr. Vernon thanked Ms. Roseberry for her interest and service to the community. City of Orange -Design Review Committee Meeting Minutes for 20 September 2006 Page 8 of 8 REVIEW OF MINUTES: There were no minutes available for review at this meeting. A motion was made by Chair Califf to adjourn until the next scheduled session. SECOND: Bill Cathcart AYES: Jon Califf, Bill Cathcart, Donnie DeWees, Craig Wheeler, Joe Woollett NOES: None ABSTAIN: None ABSENT: None MOTION CARRIED.