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PC MINS 20081009 Approved October 30, 8 CITY OF RANCHO PALOS VERDES PLANNING COMMISSSION MINUTES ADJOURNED REGULAR MEETING OCTOBER 9, 2008 CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order by Chairman Perestam at 7:06 p.m. at the Fred Hesse Community Room, 29301 Hawthorne Boulevard. FLAG SALUTE Vice Chairman Lewis led the assembly in the Pledge of Allegiance. ATTENDANCE Present: Commissioners Gerstner, Knight, Ruttenberg, Tetreault, Tomblin, Vice Chairman Lewis, and Chairman Perestam. Absent: None Also present were Director of Planning, Building, and Code Enforcement Rojas and Assistant Planner Kim. APPROVAL OF AGENDA The Agenda was unanimously approved as modified to hear item No. 2 before item No. 1 COMMUNICATIONS Director Rojas stated that the materials related to Agenda item No. 2 have been distributed. COMMENTS FROM THE AUDIENCE (regarding non-agenda items): Lenee Bilski made comments in support of the proposed St. John Fisher project. NEW BUSINESS 2. CEQA and EIRs: A basic framework for decision making A presentation was made to the Planning Commission by Dr. Tim Dagodag an outside consultant and Dave Snow from the City Attorney's office regarding the CEQA and El process. The presentation covered information on the content and purpose of the Initial Study as well as the Negative Declaration and the Mitigated Negative Declaration. An overview was also given on the EIR process including types of EIR documents, the decision to prepare an EIR, the content of the EIR, the draft EIR process, and certifying an EIR. There was also discussion on mitigation monitoring, statements of overriding considerations, and what the Planning Commission should focus on in reviewing an EIR. CONTINUED BUSINESS 1. Height Variation Permit, Grading Permit & Site Plan Review (Case No. ZON2007000472): 27000 Freeport Road Assistant Planner Kim presented the staff report, explaining the applicant had revised the project and discussed the original and proposed plans. She stated that staff was able to make all of the findings except for the finding on the overall size of the project, and therefore staff was recommending denial of the project without prejudice. Louie Tomaro (architect) explained that this project was originally designed by a different architect, and he has now taken over design of the project. He displayed a 3-D model of the proposed residence. He stated he was aware of staff's issues and has made an attempt to soften the appearance of the house and create larger setbacks to keep the residence as far from the neighboring homes as possible. He stated that this is a neighborhood in transition and that he has worked with the neighbors and owner to scale down the project to match the neighborhood. He felt that this house has a low profile from the street and is compatible with the neighborhood. Commissioner Ruttenberg didn't understand how the proposed project could be described as low profile, as it is very visible when turning the corner. Mr. Tomaro explained that this lot has a small frontage and its location on the street may be deceiving in terms of the actual height and square footage of the house. Commissioner Ruttenberg noted that the proposed residence appears to take up the entire flat portion of the lot, even though the lot may be 1 1/2 times larger than other lots in the neighborhood. Mr. Tomaro stated that what he has designed on the lot is consistent with the other houses in the neighborhood. Commissioner Tomblin asked if the privacy impacts to the neighbors have been addressed. Mr. Tomaro stated that the windows will be opaque. Planning Commission Minutes October 9,2008 Page 2 Alvin Ladd stated that he has no objections to the project and asked the Planning Commission to approve the plans. He stated that the lot has been empty for quite some time and that it will be good to see the lot developed with a nice home. Michael Kendel stated he is in support of the project, as any development on the empty lot will be an enhancement to the street. He felt the proposed home is well designed and doesn't impact any views. Commissioner Ruttenberg asked staff if neighborhood compatibility findings were required when the home at 27026 Freeport was approved. Assistant Planner Kim answered that neighborhood compatibility findings were in place and the Planning Commission made the required findings and approved the project. Commissioner Gerstner asked staff if they recalled any opposition to the proposed house at 27026 Freeport Road. Assistant Planner Kim did not know if there had been opposition to the proposed home. Commissioner Knight asked if staff felt the applicant addressed the Planning Commission's concerns regarding privacy. Assistant Planner Kim felt these concerns were met, as the windows will be conditioned to be opaque. Commissioner Knight felt that although the applicant had made a concerted effort to integrate some articulation, he felt that the house is still too bulky for its location and its appearance from the street. Commissioner Tetreault agreed. He felt that because the proposed residence is at the end of the street it tends to stand out more than the other homes in the neighborhood. He did not think the house was compatible with the neighborhood despite the modifications made. He felt it was too large, that minimum setbacks were used, and almost all of the usable pad space was used. He stated there are no homes within the closest twenty homes that look similar to this proposed residence. Commissioner Tomblin felt that if you look at the plans, the residence looks quite bulky. However, looking at the 3-D model there appears to be nice articulation. He felt it was noteworthy that the next door neighbors were in support of the project, which he looks at as a sign that the project is acceptable or compatible with the neighborhood. Commissioner Ruttenberg noted that if you exclude the one large house in the neighborhood, the proposed project would be almost three times the average size of the other homes in the neighborhood. He felt that the home is very nicely designed, but too large for the neighborhood. He agreed with staff's recommendations. Planning Commission Minutes October 9,2008 Page 3 Vice Chairman Lewis agreed with Commissioners Tetreault and Ruttenberg. He noted that he lives close to this neighborhood, but is not prohibited from voting and will vote on this project. Chairman Perestam acknowledged that the Planning Commission had approved a large home in the neighborhood in 2003, but felt that this proposed home is too large for the neighborhood. He felt that this home in combination with the other very large home, would create a dense community. He was not supportive of the project. Commissioner Tomblin noted this lot is 13,000 square feet, and questioned how much of the property is on the downslope and how much is on the buildable pad. Assistant Planner Kim estimated approximately 1/3 of the lot consisted of an extreme slope. Vice Chairman Lewis moved to adopt staff's recommendation to deny the project without prejudice, seconded by Commissioner Knight. Commissioner Tetreault noted that while there is no opposition to the project, there is a City Ordinance that requires the Planning Commission to make certain findings, and does not allow the Planning Commission to set aside these findings if there is no opposition. He noted that the purpose of neighborhood compatibility is to prevent mansionization in neighborhoods. He stated that, despite the fact there is no opposition, he could not make the neighborhood compatibility finding. Chairman Perestam asked the architect if, rather than having the Planning Commission deny the project, he would rather try to revise the project to address the concerns of staff and the Planning Commission. Louie Tomaro stated that he would not like to see the project denied and requested he have time to revise the project. Commissioner Gerstner stated that this current proposal is a lot of house, though it is a very nice design. He felt that the area east of the stairs on the second level could be eliminated, making the appearance of the house smaller. He stated that the Planning Commission is concerned with the appearance and size of the house and the architect will need to do something to change both. Commissioner Tetreault agreed that something needs to be done to make the house look smaller, but didn't know if that necessarily means reducing the total square footage of the house. Commissioner Ruttenberg stated he has seen many creative ways to reduce the apparent bulk and mass of a house without having to lose too much of the square footage. Planning Commission Minutes October 9,2008 Page 4 Vice Chairman Lewis withdrew his motion to deny the project. Vice Chairman Lewis moved to continue the public hearing to October 30, 2008, to allow the applicant an opportunity to address the Commission's concerns, seconded by Commissioner Tetreault. Approved, (7-0). APPROVAL OF MINUTES 3. Minutes of August 12, 2008 Commissioner Knight noted a clarification to the minutes. Commissioner Knight moved to approve the minutes as amended, seconded by Commissioner Tomblin. Approved, (6-0-1) with Commissioner Tetreault abstaining since he was absent from that meeting. 4. Minutes of August 26, 2008 Commissioner Ruttenberg moved to approve the minutes as presented, seconded by Commissioner Gerstner. Approved, (6-0-1)with Commissioner Tomblin abstaining since he was absent from that meeting. ITEMS TO BE PLACED ON FUTURE AGENDAS 5. Pre-Agenda for the meeting of October 14, 2008 The pre-agenda was reviewed and approved. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 10:12 p.m. Planning Commission Minutes October 9,2008 Page 5