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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11/19/1984 - Minutes PC.,.. City of Orange Orange, California PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES November 19, 1984 Monday, 7:30 p.m. The regular meeting of the City. of Orange Planning Commission was called to order by Chairman Hart at 7:30 p.m. PRESENT: Commissioners Hart, Greek, Mason, Master ABSENT: None STAFF John Lane., Administrator of Current Planning and Commission Secre- PRESENT: tary; Jim Reichert, Associate Planner; Gene Minshew, Assistant City Attorney; Gary Johnson, City Engineer; and Toba V. Wheeler, Recording Secretary. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE it 1 IN RE: CONTINUED HEARINGS TENTATIVE TRACT 10653, CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT 1376 - SOUTHRIDGE HOMES: Proposed subdivision of 1.56 acres into eight lots to be improved with a planned unit development consisting of one-story, single- family residences on the east side of Shaffer, approximately 446 feet north from Collins (continued from November 5, 1984, Planning Commission meeting). NOTE: Negative Declaration 933 has been prepared for this project. Mr. Lane made the presentation and pointed out that the Planning Commission received a memorandum from Chief Flaherty of the Fire Department today stating the'.Fire Department has no problems with the street but does recommend conditions in the event that the subdivision would be approved: 1) posting the property at the entrance indicatring that there will be no parking allowed on the private street, and 2) one of the allocated six guest parking spaces will be reserved instead for afire truck turnaround area. Mr. Lane said this does raise a question in his mind about the lack of on-street parking and its impace on the development, which he feels might also be a concern of the Public Works Department. He said that when the matter was considered at the last meeting there was no prohibition in terms of there being parking on the street and this sheds a little different light on the subject as it relates to the Fire Department requirements. He said the State fire code has changed within the last year, which is probably the reason why the same conditions were not required at the time of the previous similar development by the same developer at the corner of Walnut and Lincoln. Commissioner Master asked how these conditions could be enforced and Mr. Lane replied that they would have to be enforced by the Planning Commission Minutes November 19, 1984 Page Two homeowners association. Commissioner Greek pointed out that the Fire Department had been requested two weeks ago to make comments on the situation and didn't respond until today, which doesn't give the Planning Commission time to think about it prior to making a decision at this meeting. He said he would like to write a letter to the City Council requesting better action from the staff. Com- missioner Master said he assumed that if there would be no parking on the street and one proposed guest space could not be used, then the only parking spots would be the garages, the aprons in front of them and the remaining five guest spaces:, and therefore overflow parking would have to be done on Shaffer Street. Mr. Lane said this was correct. Commissioner Greek said he was trjving to figure out how the curb could be modified without a sketch showing what is planned. Mr. Johnson said he understood the concept would be for a roll curb similar to what was done on the other development, but that when he received the proposed modification late this afternoon no clarification was given to him. He said it appears that there ® still would not be room for the type of normal turnaround without backing around that is possible on cul-de-sacs with a 35' radius and it appears that what is proposed here is to back around within a rectangular area of 40' x 27'. Chairman Hart opened the public hearing. Duf Sfreddo, 5043 East Bond, Orange, speaking for the developer, related his conversation with the Fire Department battalion chief, which resulted in an agreement that the developer would push one of the guest parking areas back an additional twenty feet, therefore permitting three cars to park in one T-shaped area and still have a 40' turnaround for fire trucks. In addition, Mr. Sfreddo subsequently agreed to do that in both T-shaped parking areas. He said that even though the Planning Department issued a letter to the Fire Department immediately after the November 5 meeting, there was no response from the Fire Department; consequently, on November 16 he contacted the Fire Department and arranged for an 8:30 a.m. meeting today. That is why nothing was done until today and the Planning Commission did not receive notification in time to study it prior to this meeting. Mr. Sfreddo said he also agreed to place signs at the ® entrance to the street which would prohibit parking on the street as well as to place signs at the turnarounds prohibiting parking in those areas and to mark the concrete at the turnarounds with the wording "Fire Lane." Mrs. Devito, 930 North Shaffer; Tom Martin, 994 North Cleveland; Judy Shroeder, 1041 North Elizabeth; and Chuck Elliott (no address given), owners of properties adjoining the proposed development, all spoke against the development, citing lack of adequate parking on Shaffer Street already which would be further encumbered by the parking of cars from homes in the proposed development; their preference for six houses in the proposed development rather than Planning Commission Minutes November 19, 1984 Page Three eight; the small size of the proposed lots compared to others in the area; and their preference for a regular, standard-width public street rather than the proposed private street. Bill Baker, president of the company which currently owns the property which is now in escrow to sell it to the .developer now making application, said that when his company acquired the property it researched what has been done on it and what is available to be done on it according to the existing code and he believes that the proposal before the Planning Commission now not only complies .with the minimum requirements of the zoning in the area but exceeds it, and that the plan presented by Southridge Homes together with their existing product already built at Walnut and Lincoln will result in quality homes for the area. He said he feels the fire hazard issue has been resolved and that there is adequate parking since each home will have room for four cars to be parked. Mr. Sfreddo commented that not everyone in the neighbor- hood is against the proposed development because he has spoken to several of the residents and they all expressed that they have no problems and are in fact in agreement with the proposed development. Chairman Hart declared the public hearing closed. Commissioner Master commented that the original developer of the homes in that area chose to build on larger lots with larger homes even though the property is zoned R-1-6 for minimum 6,000-foot lots; however, the owners of those homes cannot expect that all developers in the area will choose to do that and it is their right to build on 6,000-foot lots according to the zoning requirements if they wish. Moved by Commissioner Master, seconded by Commissioner Mason, that the Planning Commission recommend to the City Council that it accept the findings of the Environmental Review Board to file Negative Declaration 933 in light of the additional comments by the Fire Department. AYES: Commissioners Hart, Greek, Mason, Master NOES: None MOTION CARRIED Moved by Commissioner Master, seconded by Commissioner Greek, that the Planning Commission recommend to the City Council that it approve Tentative Tract 10653 and Conditional Use Permit 1376 in that the proposed project is consistent with the General Plan land use element and complies with the standards of designated zoning, with the special standard conditions as well as the new conditions proposed by the Fire Department.: Commissioner Greek said he still has concerns about the driveway and would like to see the developer's plan because he feels there might be a more serious problem than is apparent. He said he is in favor of the project but would like to see the solution to the problem on paper. Mr. Lane said that since the item will move on to the City Council before final approval, there is no reason why Planning Commission Minutes November 19, 1984 Page Four the engineer on the project could not prepare a revised. map prior to the City Council hearing so that the Planning Commission can look at it and satisfy its concerns, and also that map could be a part of the City Council hearing so that the same problems won't arise at that time. Commissioner Greek suggested that the motion be modified by the addition of the words, "and that the developer prepare a revised map that can be studied by the Planning Commission prior to the City Council hearing." Commissioner Master agreed. that this wording should be added to his motion. AYES: Commissioners Hart, Greek, Mason, Master NOES:. None MOTION CARRIED IN RE: CONTINUED HEARINGS CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT 1377 - STOVALL Proposed construction of six two-story apartment units within 70 feet of single-family residences as part of a 30-unit apartment development on approximately two acres on the north side of Fletcher, approximately 660 feet east from Batavia Street. NOTE: Negative Declaration 934 has been prepared for this project. ® Mr. Lane made the presentation and pointed out that there had been discussion at the meeting of November 5 regarding prior developments in the area, as a result of which the Planning Commission asked Staff to research what had happened on the adjacent property regard- ing the second-story windows. He said Staff prepared a memorandum shortly after the November 5 meeting, which was sent to the Planning Commission, indicating that there is a previous project to the west and that there is one building at the rear of the property which is two stories but there was no discussion at the time it was approved of the .question of windows at the rear. However, after that memo- randum was sent, a third map of an even earlier project was dis- covered, which was approved by the Planning Commission and the City Council in October,. 1983, and that shows one unit along the north property line, and in the discussion before the Planning Commission on that map one of the commissioners asked the question about windows on the second story, with the end result of that discussion that when that map was approved there was an additional condition .applied by the Planning Commission, and subsequently also applied in the action taken by the City Council in approving it, to prohibit windows on the second story of that unit. Mr. Lane said he feels that when a woman resident of the area commented at the November 5 meeting about the second-story windows even though there had been a promise that no windows would be put there, everyone felt that she was .referring to the previous project, which apparently is not the case. Mr. Lane said he visited the property earlier today and found that the previous project is still under development and he could not tell whether or not there are windows being put on the Planning Commission Minutes November 19, 1984 Page Five second story; consequently, the lady at the November 5 meeting must have had the original earlier project in mind when she made her comment. Chairman Hart declared the public hearing open. Ward Dawson, 2808 East Katella, Orange,. speaking for the applicant, said that after the question of the windows and balconies on the second-story of the rear buildings was raised at the November 5 meeting, he met with Mr. Stovall and as a result they are changing the plans to improve the situation by pulling the windows around to the side and setting the building further away from the property line. John Charlebois, 705 West Brentwood, Orange, said the developers have spoken to him and other residents in the area regarding their proposed changes: and if these changes are made and proper landscaping installed, then the development will be agreeable to them. Chairman Hart closed the public hearing. Moved by Commissioner Mason, seconded by Chairman Hart, that the Planning Commission accept the Environmental Review Board's findings to file Negative Declaration 934. AYES: Commissioners Hart, Mason NOES: Commissioner Master ABSTAINED: Commissioner Greek MOTION CARRIED Moved by Commissioner Master that the Planning Commission deny Conditional Use Permit 1377.. He commented that he thinks that what happened'in this area earlier, however it happened, was unfortunate if not inappropriate; nevertheless, there should not be the precedent that if something was done before it was done correctly and therefore can be done again. He said he feels there should be more amenable ways of pulling the development away from that particular property line.. He said he is in favor of the development in general that ® has been done on this property because up until now it has been a blight on the neighborhood; however, there is a point beyond which it can go too far. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Mason. AYES: Commissioners Mason, Master NOES: Commissioner Hart ABSTAINED: Commissioner Greek MQT~ON CARRIED Chairman Hart said the project is denied and asked that the appeal process be interpreted for the developer. Mr. Lane said that the action of the Planning Commission is final unless the decision is appealed to the City Council by the applicant and if the appeal is granted the City Council will hold a public hearing on the same Planning Commission Minutes November 19, 1984 Page Six question in about five to six weeks and notices would be sent to all concerned. Mr Minshew pointed out that the appeal must be made within 15 days of this meeting. IN RE: NEW WEARINGS ZONE CHANGE 1021 - GALBRAITH Proposed rezoning of 2.77 acres from A-1 (Agricultural) to C-1 (Limited Business) on the west side of Newport Boulevard, approx- imately 330 feet south from Chapman Avenue. NOTE: Negative Declaration 937 has been prepared for this project. Chairman Hart said a request. has been made by Staff that this item be continued until the meeting of December 3. Moved by Commissioner Greek, seconded by Commissioner Mason, that this matter be continued to the meeting of December 3. AYES: Commissioners Hart, Greek, Mason, Master NOES: None MOTION CARRIED IN RE: NEW HEARINGS ORDINANCE AMENDMENT 9-84 - CITY OF ORANGE An amendment to the Zoning Ordinance adding Section 17.92.010 (k) to allow mini-warehouses in zones other than C-2, C-3, M-1 and M-2 zones subject to the approval of a Conditional Use Permit. NOTE: Negative Declaration 931 has been prepared for this project. Mr. Lane made the presentation and said that essentially there is a section in the zoning code where certain specified uses are. allowed in any zone by Conditional Use Permit and this proposal is to allow mini-warehouses in the City in any zone subject to ® their approval by conditional use permit. He said if this amendment roved or rejected by can be a l id di h i h pp case ua n v en eac is approved t the Planning Commission on the basis of its merits without having to go through the process of a zone change. He said he doubts that there would be a rash of this type of application if this amendment is approved. Chairman Hart opened the public hearing and asked Robert Michelson to give some background on this proposed ordinance amendment. Robert Michelson, 3823 Glassell Avenue, Orange, a planning consultant retained by Cunningham Development to study the possibility of this kind of use on a particular site, said that following a study session Planning Commission Minutes November 19, 1984 Page Seven with the Planning Commission and several work sessions with Staff, this recommendation was proposed. He said -there are sites in the City where occasionally it is determined that mini-storage facil- ities are appropriate and agreed with Mr. Lane that the implement- ation of an ordinance amendment allowing such requests would facilitate the process. He gave examples of such a process working successfully in other cities. Robert Bennyhoff, 10642 Mirada Drive, Orange, spoke against the amendment, saying it would leave the door wide open for approval of mini-warehouses in all parts of the City. Chairman Hart said he felt this would not be the case and pointed out that there would always be a method of zone change that could eventually accomplish the same end. He said that the particular project that prompted the request for this amendment is_proposed for property ,bordering the freeway that couldn't be used for anything else but ~s in an area where a zone change .would be difficult to accomplish. Com- ® missioner Greek said he feels the City needs a means to control this type of development and this method gives more control than rezoning and would allow the Planning .Commission to be more restrictive. Chairman Hart declared the public hearing closed. Moved by Commissioner Greek, seconded by Commissioner Mason, that the Planning Commission recommend to the City Council that it accept the findings of the Environmental Review Board to file Negative Declaration 931. AYES: Commissioners Hart, Greek, Mason, Master NOES: None MOTION CARRIED Moved by Commissioner Greek, seconded by Commissioner Master, that the Planning Commission recommend to the City Council that it approve Ordinance Amendment 9-84. AYES: Commissioners Hart, Greek, Mason, Master NOES: None MOTION CARRIED IN RE: Chairman Hart said the Planning Commission had received a special request to discuss a special item not on the agenda relating to the impact report on the dislocation of tenants from a mobile home park located at 1440 West Chapman Avenue. He opened the public hearing. Dario Franceschi, a broker with Asheville-Snyder, said the owners of the mobile home park want to sell the property and it is already in escrow to the purchasers who want to develop the property for another use. He said the owners, Mr. and Mrs. Edwards, have offered to give the tenants six-months notice, and did so prior to finding out that this is the law. Also, they have prepared a report of alternative places to which the present tenants could relocate and have sent a Planning Commission Minutes November 19, 1984 Page Eight copy of this to all the tenants. He said all of the alternative locations are outside of Orange County, and in fact a considerable. distance to the East, since the mobile home parks in Orange County .are full and have long waiting lists. Chairman Hart said the City Council has established a policy regarding the treatment of tenants that are dislocated but since the Planning Commission was not aware until 7:00 p.m. today that this hearing would :take place, it is impossible to obtain that policy to read at this meeting. He said he would have ehough copies of the policy statment made available to the applicant tomorrow for the appli- cant to distribute to the tenants., and that a formal hearing would be scheduled by the Planning Commission. However, in the meantime, the Planning Commission would be happy to answer any questions at this meeting. Bill Gulla, 1111 North Louise, Santa Ana, said he is representing a tenant of the mobile home park who is elderly and very ill and would find it impossible to move, and spoke of the problems being caused by the proposed dislocation. He said the tenants received a notice from Asheville-Snyder that the hearing would be held on November 19. It was pointed out by Chairman Hart that apparently there had been a misunderstanding on the part of the applicant as to how to schedule a public hearing and the Planning Commission had not been advised of such an action; consequently it .had not been put on the agenda. Mr. Minshew outlined the steps in obtaining approval for the dis- location of tenants: 1) a hearing before the Planning Commission is necessary, 2) the Planning .Commission action has to be approved by the City Council, 3) the six-month's notice to tenants cannot be given until after approval of~the application by the City Council and permits have been issued. He read the text from the Civil Code which states that the six-month period starts after the permits are issued and pointed out that the giving of six month's notice by the brokerage handling the sale at the time the sale was made is not valid. Chairman Hart said that in view of the time it takes for the Planning Commission to act at its hearing, and then for the City Council to act at its hearing, and then for the permits to be issued, he could safely say that the clock would not start running on the six months until quite some time after the first of the year and it could well not be until late in 1985 before the actual move could become effective. Moved by Commissioner Mason, seconded by Commissioner Greek, that there be a formal hearing on this matter at the meeting of December 17. AYES: Commissioners Hart, Greek, Mason, Master NOES:- None MOTION CARRIED ® Planning Commission Minutes November 19, 1984 Page Nine Mr. Lane asked for the names and addresses of the tenants at the mobile home park and Mr: Edwards said he would see that it is sent to him tomorrow. IN RE: Commissioner Greek brought up the matter of the lack of response from the Fire Department to the Planning Department's request for its approval or disapproval of the access to a proposed development. He suggested that a letter be sent to the City Council requesting that the Fire Department be instructed to respond more promptly to Planning Commission requests for comments. Mr. Lane suggested speaking to the Battalion Chief or sending a letter asking that a representative be sent to discuss this matter with the Planning Commission. Moved by Commissioner Mason, seconded by Commissioner Master, that a letter be sent to the Fire Department. AYES: Commissioners Hart, Greek, Mason, Master NOES: None Chairman Hart asked Mr. Lane to send a letter to the Fire Department. Commissioner Greek suggested that perhaps Chairman Hart should just take the fire chief to lunch. After discussion, it was decided that Chairman Hart and Mr. Lane take the fire chief to lunch. IN RE: Commissioner Master said that in looking at the report regarding the property on F1 etcher (CUP 1377) and the previous actions, he thinks it's appropriate that the Planning Commission have a similar, perhaps staff-influenced effective implemented situation regarding the Condi- tional Use Permit on that property. He said it may have been that those commissioners in office at the time of the previous actions were not astute enough to catch the fact that there was a significant Conditional Use Permit situation regarding clearances. He said he did not have the paperwork that was used as a guide in that discussion. Chairman Hart said the Planning Commission doesn't have the Staff Report on this matter and it is needed by the Commissioners as a guide in making their decisions. He said that the Planning Commission did not get a request for a deviation from the 70' setback. Mr. Lane that on this project that in his memorandum d t t h id h , on e commen e a sa t there was no discussion and there was no Staff reference to the fact that the Conditional Use Permit even related to the 70' question. Chairman Hart said that he thinks that is why he and Mr. Master didn't recall approving that request; i.e., they didn't recall it because the request was never made. Mr. Lane responded that it was not an issue, neither by the Staff nor the property owners nor anybody. Commissioner Master said that is what he was alluding to in his comment after he made the motion to deny Conditional Use Permit 1377, when he said the Planning Commission may have made a mistake in the past but he didn't think such a mistake should be perpetuated. He said that this developer may think he is being siu~gled out but it Planning Commission Minutes November 19 ,1984 Page Ten is simply a case of a deviation that was overlooked in the past being caught in this case. IN RE: ADJOURNMENT The meeting. was adjourned at 9:30 p.m. to reconvene to a regular meeting on Monday, December 3, 1984, at 7:30 p.m., at the Civic Center Council Chambers, 300 East Chapman Avenue, Orange, California. r~ LJ