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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPC Minutes 11-05-79 TUSTIN PIJtNNING AGENCY ~.i~nutes of Regular and Continued Meetings November 5, 1979 The Planning Agency held a regular meeting Monday, November 5, 1979 in the Council Chambers of the Tustin City Hall, 300 Centennial Way, Tustin, California. The meeting was called to order at 3:15 p.m. by Chairman Schuster. The Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag was led by Mr. Sharp and the invo- cation was given by 5~. Welsh. PRESENT: Chairman Schuster, Agency members: Sharp, Saltarelli, Kennedy, and Welsh ABSENT: None Also Present: Mike Brotemark~e, Community Development Director Alan Warren, Senior Planner James Rourke, City Attorney Dan Blankenship, City Administrator Midge Mehl, Recording Secretary Other staff members: 4 General Public: 40 Chairman Schuster acknowledged the receipt of plaques presented by the Jay-Cees to those members oE the Planning Agency who had participated in the Tustin Tiller Days parade. MINUTES The minutes of the regular meeting held October 15, 1979 were approved as written, with the waiving of reading same. CONTINUED PUBLIC HEARINGS Amendment to Ordinance No. 510 Mr. Brotemarkle suggested that the Agency direct staff to solicit an "Old Town Task Force" of five to seven members in order to make a further in-depth study of problems and alternatives regarding this matter, in accordance with the staff memorandum. MOTION by Kennedy, SECONDED by Saltarelli, to direct staff to solicit a five to seven member "Old Town Task Force," and to report findings to the Agency at a later date. Possible revisions to Ordinance 510 would be advertised as a new public hearing at a future date. AYES: Sharp, Saltarelli, Kennedy, We].sh, and Schuster NOES: None Use Permit 79-28 Applicant: Location: Request: Red Hill Lutheran ~urch 13200 Red Hill Avenue To construct additional classroom facilities at the Red Hill Lutheran Church-School. Mr. Brotemarkle read the additional conditions which had been added to Resolution No. 1847 as requested by the Agency, at the initial public hearing held October 15, 1979. He said the request is basically for the ultimate expansion of the school to a full student population of 400. He said the building of the second floor onto the existing facility would be phased in stages over a number of years. Plguln~ng Agency Minutes November 5, 1979 page 2. Chairman Schuster asked if there was anyone who wished to speak in favor or in opposition to Use Permit 79-28 and hearing no response he closed the public hearing and asked the pleasure of the Agency. MOTION by Welsh, SI-iCONDED by Kennedy, to approve Use Permit 79-28 by the adoption of Resolution No. ]847, as amended. AYES: Sharp, Saltarell~, Kennedy, Welsh, and Sbhuster NOES: None Mr. Brotemarkle said he would like to point out that the church-school did receive, under Use Permit 79-20, a six months utilization of the temporary classrooms and this approval would expire early next year. Actual construction of the new facilities wou]d ~robably not commence until early summer, therefore, he would recommend, in accordance with the previous action, that Use Permit 79-20 be extended to July 1, 1980 so they could continue utilization of the temporary facilities. MOTION by Welsh, SECONDED by Kennedy, to grant an extension of time to July 1, ]980 to Use Permit 79-20, for the use of the temporary class- room facilities at Red Hill ].utheran Church-School. AYES: Sharp, Saltarelli, Kennedy, Welsh, and Schuster NOES: None INITIAL PUBLIC IIEARINGS Use Permit 79-29 Applicant: Location: Request: Wuv's Restaurant 17502 ].7th Street To locate a restaurant with an accessory drive-through facility in Enderle Center, on the southeast corner of I.;nderle Way and 17th Street. .~tr. Brotemarkle said the original approval trader Use Permit 74-9 clearly indicated there would be a drive-through bank at this location and in light of that fact the staff required that a new use permit application be filed for this particular use. He said the staff report pointed out. the initial concern regarding traffic and many of the same negative points as a result of either the restaurant with accessory drive-through or a drive-through bank. The drive-through bank could have up to three lanes with vacutnn tubes where the restaurant by its mere nature would have to have a single lane. Tile conditions recommended for imposition would be conditions regardless of the type of drive-through use lo- cated on this corner. He said the crux of the issue is that of traffic and parking considerations. In this immediate area, a determination must be made that this use would not be detrimental to those two con- siderations. %~e parking problem, as indicated in the staff report, is primarily located in the center of the facility, between Enderle Way and Yorba Street, on the south side of ].7th Street. This particu- lar use would have adequate parking for the seating proposed on its own site. Mr. Saltarelli corm~:nted on the plot plan and the parking at the rear of the property. Mr. Saltarelli made a design suggestion that having a drive-through lane where people walk across it to get into the restaurant is a very poor situation. It wou].d be better to move the drive-through ]axle to the rear of the property ]ine and place all park- ing spaces closer to the building. ~irs. Kennedy asked why the traffic and parking projections at the Center had increased so far beyond original projections. Planning Agency Minutes November 5, 1979 page 3. Mr. Brotemarkle said the businesses, especially restaurants, had been doing extremely well and the Center is far more successful than initially expected in ]974. The traffic engineer at that time based his estimates on particular circumstances which have changed over the past four years. The function of the initial study was to give a general idea of the capacity of the facility. The Public Works Director, in analyzing the %u~e, felt that even though we have exceeded projections, traffic can be hand]ed within the means of the street system. Mr. Welsh asked about the discrepancy in seating capacity. Mr. Brote- markle said it would be covered under the Uniform Building Code as opposed to the permit. It is a technical desig~ issue concerning f~xed and moveable seating and the adequacy of building exits. Chairman Schuster declared the public hearing open and asked if there was anyone who wished to speak in favor or opposition to Use Permit 79-29. Mr. Jim Shimozono, architect for Enderle Center, had prepared exhibits to illustrate the operation in question. Originally, the site had appro%~al for a drive-through bank, however, Wuv's Restaurant was an op- eration that is unlike any so-called drive-through. IIe said the design and operation would be good for the Center. The structure is only about 2,500 feet and the bank building was proposed at 6,000 feet. It is not a typical drive-through operation, but more of a sit-down restaurant. He said the traffic challenges could be resolved with staff and they saw no great problem. Photographs, taken hourly, showed during the lunch hour the two restaurants, Cookbook and E1 Torito, are extremely successful. From approximately 11:30 to 11:45 a.m. the main parking lot becomes very congested and remains that way until approximately 1:15 or 1:30 p.m. The remainder of the day parking is fairly open as shown by the photos. Mr. Hal Solomon, the applicant, stated he has been in the restaurant business for 29 years; with Hofley's Restaurant in Long Beach for 25 years as owner and operator. He had looked into the fast food business for the past several years and Wuv's is really a great restaurant, not only the design, but a family-type orientation would be perfect for this location. Mr. Saltarelli asked about his conce~ regarding the drive-through lane possibly being relocated. Mr. Solomon said he understood his concern and saw no problem with that at all. Mr. A1 Enderle said when they analyzed this location for a restaurant they found it to be very compatible with the type of traffic as would be generated by a drive-through bank. With a drive-through bank the general flow of traffic is pretty much the same. He endorsed the re- quest and felt it would be a good asset to the Center. Mr. Gilbert Morales said he was the president of the Enderle Center Merchant's Association and due to his late arrival he was not sure what had already been discussed, however, he was under the impression and mar- chants had been told, that this site was supposed to contain a bank. He wanted to know what happened. They would prefer it to a drive-through restaurant. Mr. Shimozono stated that attempts to get a bank signed up for the last four years had been ~successful. It's that simple. Mr. Morales said he was opposed to the request and he was speaking for the Merchant's Association. He didn't feel that another restaurant was a good idea due to traffic flow and it would be detrimental to the other businesses in the Center due to the additional traffic and parking needs created. Planning Agency Minutes November 5, 1979 page 4. Ms. Barbara Benson, a merchant in the Center, felt that many of the merchants were not aware of the proposal arid requested a continuance until they had a chance to determine whether this would be something that would help their businesses or if it would be harmful. Mr. Sh~mozono res;~nded that this site was located on a separate corner and he did not see how J t could impact Mr. Morales' business in the ~enter of the project. Representatives of Wuv's International said there would probably never be more than 18 employees at one time in the restaurant. It was hoped there would be quite a bit of walk-up traffic. There followed a discussion concerning employees' parking, customer parking, and the impact the restaurant would have on the other businesses within the Center. b~r. Solomon said their prpperty is across the street from the main portion of the Center and would not affect its parking or traffic. Mr. Bill Nupp, a merchant in Ender]e Center, indicated that the restaurant concept was new to them, had come. as a surprise and was of concern due to parking and trafff~ congestion. ~.~r. Herman Kimmel, traffic engineer, said the traffic study showed the drive-through bank would generate more traffic than the drive-through restaurant. A bank would have about 900 tr~ps a day whereas the restaurant would have about 750 trips a day. Based on traffic generation and peak hour useage, the restaurant would not conflict with the traffic in thc Center; a bank would. b~rs. Kennedy asked Mr..~Drales what the Merchant's Association's major concerns were regarding the restaurant proposal. Mr. ~rales said their mair] concern was parking and intensive competition. MOTION by Sharp, SECONDED by Kennedy, to continue Use Permit 79-29 until the next regular meeting ~n order to allow the applicant, the developers, and the merchants to comm~micate and get things clarified for Agency consideration. Mr. Saltarel]i indicated that he felt a decision could be made since the issue was one of traffic ~.mpact not affecting the merchants' con- cerns for the parking issues in the main portion of the Center. The issue is simply changing from a drive-through bank to a restaurant. AYES: Sharp, Kennedy, Welsh, and Schuster NOES: Saltarelli Mrs. Kennedy asked that further information be provided concerning potential overf].ow parking once the use is established. Zone Change 79-2 Applicant: Signal Development Corporation Location: Red Ilill, Valencia/Bell Avenues Mr. Brotemark]e said Signal Development Corporation had filed this application to change the property from the current Planned Com- munity/Industrial District to an Industrial (M) Zone. Staff requested the proponent to prepare sufficient information to answer the environ- monta] question on traffic problems ~utd also the economic and fiscal impact of the rezoning. ~is ihformation ~esulted in the negative declaration filed by staff. The results of a very lengthy study by Planning Agency Minutes November 5, 1979 page 5. Phillips Brandt Reddick, Alfred Gobar & Associates, and William Kunzman and Associates conce~ing those particular issues were sun~narized in the staff report. The economic point made was the potential offices in this location would not be detracting from the central office area along Irvine Boulevard, but rather an office complex serving the in- dustrial area to the south. The traffic study indicated there were negative circumstances along Red Hill and the proposed project would result in the necessity to instal] an additional signal at Valencia and possibly a third lane on Red ]~ill Avenue. The request concerns 8.62 acres and the applicant believes that the public interest can better be served by having this particular prol~rty developed for a broader spectrum of uses. Staff, after analyzing the request, prefers that since the expansion to the more liberal zoning of "M" might not serve the best interest of the City in ensuring development most appropri- ate for that area that the Agency recommend to retain the property as P-C (Industrial) with the addition of a Business Section to that Planned CoI~nunity Zoning. The company has been very forthright in their attempt to both develop office and commercial, and industrial uses, on the subject site. Other properties in that area have been built as a speculative industrial project and the City has been constantly on the awares for the establishment of various offices and commercial businesses. It would be staff's opinion that it would be better to plan in advance for a mixture of uses rather than to wait until an after-the- fact issue and code enforcement problems at a later date. Mr. Brotemarkle said there is a definite trend towards n~Dre mixed use areas where people are employed for such services that they use in their daily business to provide for integral complexes so we don't have to have people ~sing their cars, especially on Red Hill Avenue, every time they need to make a purchase or seek a service. Mrs. Kennedy asked about the additional parking that would be required. Mr. Brotemarkle said at this point we are not dealing with a specific project; however, the applicant has indicated a parking ratio of one space for each 250 sq. ft. in exce~s office requirements. As part of the use permit process under this zoning category, the applicant would specify those portions of a building available for commercial or office use and there would be provision of parking to cover those uses. He said the City would be better capable of ~orestalling parking problems through implementation of the project as a PC rather than as an M Zone and by requiring the use permit and parking breakdown, therefore, having a better grasp on the parking needs for that complex. Chairman Schuster declared the public hearing open and asked if there was anyone who wished to speak in favor or in opposition to Zone Change 79-2. Mr. Bob McNatt said he represented Signal Development Corporation and they agree with the staff's recommendation for changing the request from "M" to PC/Industrial/Business and hope the Agency approves the request. MOTION by Welsh, SECONDED by Kennedy, to close the public hearing and recommend approval to the City Council of Zone Change 79-2 by the adoption of Resolution No. 1849. AYES: Sharp, Saltare]li, Kennedy, Welsh, ~d Schuster NOES: None Planning Agency Minutes November 5, 1979 page 6. Use Permit 79-30 Applicant: Michael Dimas on behalf of _~.~dix Ambulance Service T~cation: 66]. West First Street Mr. Brotemarkle said this request concerned the establishment of a 24-hour ambulance service at 661 West First Street. There are a number of staff conditions that have been recommended for inclusion if the use were to be approved by the Agency. Chairman Schuster declared the public hearing open and asked if there was anyone who wished to s~ak in favor or opposition to Use Permit 79-30. Ms. Georgia K. Holmstrom said she was a resident at I43 Yorba Street, less than one block from the subject location. She was concerned about deterioration in the neighborhood (e.g. Korean Village Bar) a~d that the City would be condemning 15 feet from front yards to widen Yorba Street. Residences within one block of her home which are single family dwellings now have four to 6 families living in them. She hoped there was an ordinance against this and J ~2 could be enforced. She was speaking about houses south of Yorba, on First Street. The first notification of a public hearing was the one she had received today and this was an opportune time to ask that this area still be con- sidered a resident~&l area. She was especially concerned about the level of noise at night. ~tr. Michael J. Dimas, owner of 5~cix Ambulance Service, indicated that all ambulance companies, regardless of their desire, are required by law, to be in service 24 hours a day, seven days a week. He said he would answer any questions the Agency might kave. Mr. Saltarelli said he was concerned about s~rens late at night. ~. Dimas said the ambulance company, at the time of dispatch by the Orange County Fire Department, goes on a Code 2. The fire paramedics and fire truck go Code 3, but the ambulance that ~s dispatched goes Code 2. If the Paramedics request, they will then go to Code 3; by that time they are probably two miles from the station. The service doesn't receive initial calls for an emergency ~3nd even if we did, Doctors Ambulance is serving this area. He said they might run 25 calls per day and perhaps one of those would be a Code 3. Mrs. Kennedy asked if this request could be granted for a specific time, say six months, to see if a problem is caused. Then at the end of that period of time, either approve an extension of time or deny the request. Mr. Brotemarkle said any use permit could be granted subject to a stipu- lated time period. Mr. Carl Greenwood, a general partner of Rancho Yorba Apartments, which backs up to the subject property was concerned what kind of noise they would make going to and from their ambulances at night time. He had no opposition to the request, but he hoped there would be some way to keep the no, se level down at night t~me. ~,~. Dimas said he intended to conform to ali the regulations. Also, between the hours of 11 p.m. and 8 a.m., an average of two calls per week was the norm, so he didn't think that would cause too much of a problem. For the record, ~,~. Welsh confirmed the applicant's continued adherance to all conditions of operations. Mr. Sa]tarelli recommended staff look into the ma[~ter of ambulance companies, if we have use permits or licenses outstanding for companies that are no longer in business that it would be appropriate to revoke those so we don't then, three or £our years from now, have them come back in and then have ten or twelve in operation. Planning Agency Minutes November 5, 1979 page 7. MOTION by Kennedy, SECONDED by Saltarelli to close the public hearing and approve Use Permit 79-30 for a per~od of sJx months by adoption of Resolution No. 1851. AYES: Sharp, Saltarelli, Kennedy, Welsh, and Schuster NOES: None General Plan Amendment 79-]. Mr. Brotemarkle said this had been filed by the City in anticipation of possible LAFCO approval of the .Main Street/Freeway Annexation No. 97 which is the area on the north side of Main Street between 55 and 5 Freeways. The property owners have filed with LAFCO a petition to annex to the city of Tustin, however, it is outside our Sphere of Influence, therefore, would necessitate action to amend the C~neral Plan and pre-zone the subject property. The Council and Agency had passed a resolution offering its open consideration if LAFCO were to approve such an annexation. Basically, the property consists of the church school facility and the Briarc]iff condominium and a negative declaration had been filed on the General Plan amendment. It's all master planned multiple family in the County; we are recommending it for multi-family and public and institutional under the Tustin C~neral Plan amendment. Chairman Schuster declared the public hearing open and asked if there was anyone who wished to speak in favor or opposition. No one wished to respond. MOTION by Welsh, SECONDED by Kennedy, to close the public hearing and recommend approval of General Plan Amendment 79-]. to the City Council by the adoption of Resolution No. 1848. AYES: Sharp, Saltarel]i, Kennedy, Welsh, and Schuster NOES: None Variance 79-6 Applicant: Schick }~ving & Storage Company Location: 2721 Michel].e Drive Mr. Bortemarkle said the applicant was requesting a deviation from the sign code for utilization of a wall mounted business identification sign of 314 square feet in area on the northerly wall, facing the Santa Ana Freeway, in lieu of 64 square feet. Ite said the Schick building is a large building coming quickly to completion and the applicant is seeking a certificate of occupancy. The sign code ~k~s no provision for such exceptions, there is no hardship, and staff's recommendation would be negative towards the request. If there was a need to allow signs for such a proposal the Agency should request staff to draft changes to the sign code for such considerations. The property is somewhat unique in that it is freeway oriented. Mr. Saltarelli asked if the sign code makes any delineation relative to the overall total size of a building and proportionality of si~s. Mr. Brotemarkl¢: said rio. Mr. Saltarel]i said that a huge building such as this which is unusual simply by its size; if we strictly adhere to the sign code, the sign would look relatively sma].l on a building of that size in proportion to the size of the building. There is a secondary request and, according to Mr. Brotemarkle, it would be a use permit request, for a flag pole. There is no need to find hardship in the granting of a flag pole, however, we were contacted by the Irvine Company and their viewpoint of this request is the op- posite of staff, they are in favor of the sign request and against the granting of the flag pole. Planning Agency Minut(~'s November 5, 1979 page 8. It was the consensus of the Agency that there was nothing wrong with a request for a f]aq pole. Mr. Welsh asked if Mr. Brotemarkle was indicating that if the Agency were to approve the sign request, then we should als() address the changing of our sign code. ~r. Brotemarkle said he would look at ~t as a limited request for modification of the sign code to only look as to how it treats buildings of much more substantial scale than we normally have. Chairman Schuster declared the public hearing open and asked if there was anyone who w~shed to speak in favor or op~x~sition to Variance 79-6. ~ir. Mike Zee, representing the applicant, w~th the aid of a scaled architectural drawing displayed what the requested sign would look like as opposed to the sign permitted under the present sign code. Mr. Schick said as far as there being a hardship, there are a number of other moving companies located next to freeways and he had obtained the square footage on some of those signs; Beverly Hills Transfer, 240 square feet on each side; O'Neikl's !,~oving and Storage off the Newport Freeway in Santa Ana, 240 square feet per side; Lyon Transfer in Tustin, 288 square feet on each side for a total of 576 square feet; and King's Van and Storage has a sign of 300 square feet on their building. Arthur Schick sa'id this facility is probably as good as any facility its kind in the United States and they were contributing to Tustin. A discussion was held concerning freeway identity, hauler and shipper identification, and the large scale of the project. ~,~DTION by Saltarelli, S]'~CONDED by Welsh, that the public hearing be closed and that the requested sign be approved subject to adoption by the City Council of amendments to the sign ordinance which will allow exceptions based to proportionality, subject to the recommendation of the staff and the Planning Agency. A discussion was held regarding parameters of a potential amendment to the sign code. ~tr. Saltarelli indicated the code should consider the size of the sign in relation to the size of the business premise and structure, the recx0gnition of a business logo, the design aspects of proportionality, and the benefit to the City of businesses of such s cope. Mr. Sharp indicated that based on freeway orientation and need for identification by shiptxers and haulers, he wondered if hardship had not been sufficiently shown to justify approval. Mr. Welsh also felt the freeway orientation was a major factor and that with permission of the second, the flag pole height should be included in the motion. Mrs. Kennedy believed that the ordinance should be reviewed prior to acting on the request. 5ir. Schuster pointed out that an ordinance chancre could consume ex- tensive time and he did not feel the applicant should await such action for a sign approval we believed should be permitted under such new provisions. It was the intention of the maker of the motion that no new hearing be held. Mr. Saltarelli withdrew his motion in favor of the following: MOTION by Saltarelli, SECONDED by Schuster that the public hearing be closed and Variance 79-6 be approved in accordance with staff's recom- mendation and further that hardship was established based on freeway location and need for clear business identification. ~tr. Welsh believed the first motion was appropriate and could not go along with the new motion. The ordinance should be reviewed prior to final action. Planning Agency Minutes November 5, 1979 page 9. AYES: Sharp, Saltarel]i, and Schuster NOES: Kennedy and Welsh Mrs. Kennedy wanted it noted she voted no because of the manner in which it's being done; Sd~ick should have a fair si~ and she just w~ted to let them know that. MOTION by Schuster, SECONDED by Kennedy that staff be directed to look into a reasonable change to the sign code based on all foregoing dis- cussion and bring such findings back to the Agency. AYES: Sharp, Saltarelli, Kennedy, Welsh, and Schuster NOES: None PUBLIC CONCERNS Mr. Audrey Heredia stated she had a public concern, however, it was on the Council Agenda and not the Planning Agency Agenda; she had been waiting quite a long time and thought perhaps she could be heard at this time. MOTION by Kennedy, SECONDED by Welsh to adjourn the Planning Agency meeting at this time in order to hear ~s. Heredia. The Chairman declared the Planning Agency meeting adjourned ah 5:35 p.m., to be continued later this evening. TUSTIN PLANNING AG~.NCY Continued Meetinq Chairman Schuster reconvened the Planning Agency meetinq at 7:34 p.m. PUBLIC CONCERNS Non e OLD BUSINESS None NEW BUSINESS Formal Findings - Kennels Mr. Brotemarkle said the staff had recently received an inquiry about the location of an animal kennel within one of the city's multi-tenant industrial facilities. The site is zoned Industrial (M) and the operation would be totally within a tenant structure. There followed a discussion concerning whether kennels should be allowed in both the Industrial and Commercial Districts. MOTION by Saltarelli, SECONDED by Kennedy, to allow indoor kennels and animal boarding facilities in the M zone, subject to a use permit approval. AYES: Sharp, Saltarelli, Kennedy, Welsh, and Schuster NOES: None Planning Agency MinL~tes November 5, 1979 page 10. CY3 }II~:S PONDENC?'. None STAFF CONCERNS None AGENCY CONCEPuNS None ADJOUI~N~-.NT There being no further business to come before the Planning Agency the Chairman declared the meet~.ng adjourned at 7:40 p.m., to meet aqain for a reqular meeting to be held November ]9, 1979 at 3 p.m. Chairman Pro Tem Recording Secretary