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PC MINS 19960326APPROVED 4141-96' CITY OF RANCHO PALOS VERDES PLANNING COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING MARCH 26, 1996 The meeting was called to order at 7.00 P.M. by Chair Clark at the Hesse Park Community Building, 29301 Hawthorne Boulevard The Pledge of Allegiance followed, led by Director/Secretary Bernard. PRESENT- Commissioners Alberio, Cartwright, Franklin, Ng, Whiteneck, Vice Chair Vannorsdall, and Chair Clark. ABSENT None Also present were- Director of Planning, Building and Code Enforcement/Planning Commission Secretary Bernard, Planning Administrator Petru, Associate Planner Silverman, Assistant Planner de Freitas, and Recording Secretary Drasco. Planning Administrator Petru noted that Item No 3 was a Public Hearing item, rather than a Continued Business item Commissioner Alberio moved to approve the agenda, as amended, seconded by Commissioner Whiteneck. Approved (7-0). �rZ!��►I�L•g� Staff- None Commission - Commissioners Ng, Cartwright, Alberio, Whiteneck, Vice Chair Vannorsdall, and Chair Clark reported on their experiences at the League of California Cities Planners Institute in Long Beach which was held from March 20-22,1996 The Commission discussed the possibility of providing a written report to the City Council on what they learned at the Institute, either individually or as a Commission. ,APPROVAL OF CONSENT CALENDAR MINUTES OF MARCH 12., 1996 Vice Chair Vannorsdall moved to accept the Minutes, as written, seconded by Commissioner Aiberio. Approved, (6-0-1), with Chair Clark abstaining, as he was not present at the March 12, 1996 meeting. 2 MISCELLANEOUS HEARING; Palos Verdes Villa Condominiums, 5630 Ravenspur Drive (FF) Reading of the Staff was waived by the Commission After a short discussion regarding the request to install two roof -top stairway coverings (which would exceed the maximum height limit for the building) to prevent rain water or moisture from entering the condominium complex, the following motion was made* Commissioner Whiteneck moved to accept Staffs recommendation to approve the request, seconded by Commissioner Cartwright. Approved, (7-0), via Minute Order. Director/Secretary Bernard indicated that there was a 15 -day appeal period for any interested party to appeal the Commission's decision to the City Council CONTINUED BUSINESS (NO ITEMS) 3. VARIANCE NO 405, GRADING PERMIT NO. 1866, AND SIGN PERMIT NO 795, Mira Catalina Homeowners Association on behalf of the landowners, Guy and Kimberly Candido, 30871 Casilina Drive. (TS) Chair Clark left the dais, recusing himself from participating on this item, since his home is near the subject project Vice Chair Vannorsdall presided over the review of this item Commissioner Alberio moved to waive reading of the Staff Report, seconded by Commissioner Whiteneck. Approved (6-0-1), with Chair Clark abstaining. PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES MARCH 26,1996 PAGE 2 Mr. Earl Casler, 3324 Narino Drive, Secretary of the Mira Catalina Homeowners Association, stated that he was present to answer any questions for the Commission. During a discussion between Mr Casler and the Planning Commission, it was determined that the new retaining wall would be partially paid for through a City Recycling Grant Commissioner Cartwright moved to close the public hearing, seconded by Commission Ng. Approved, 6-0-1., with Chair Clark abstaining. Commissioner Franklin moved to accept Staffs recommendation to approve the request, seconded by Commissioner Whiteneck. Approved, 6-0-1., with Chair Clark abstaining. Planning Administrator Petru noted that Variance No 405 was approved via Resolution 96-8, and that Grading Permit No. 1866 and Sign Permit No 795 were be approved by Minute Order. She also noted that there was a 15 -day appeal period to appeal the Planning Commission's decision to the City Council. Chair Clark returned to the dais and resume presiding over the remainder of the meeting. NEW BUSINESS 4. P.C. RULES AND PROCEDURES, P.C. RESOLUTION 92-37 (CP) At Chair Clark's suggestion, the Commission reviewed the Planning Commission Rules and Procedures page by page. Commissioner Cartwright recommended that Paragraph 1 1 (Quorum) be broken into two paragraphs, the first on Appointment, similar to the more recently adopted View Restoration Commission Procedures, and the second regarding Quorum. Planning Administrator Petru asked for the consensus of the Commission After discussion among the Commission regarding Commissioner Cartwright's suggestion, Chair Clark determined that there would be further discussion on this recommendation and a decision made later on in the meeting Commissioner Whiteneck suggested that Paragraph 12 (Regular Meetings) be changed to say that Commission meetings may be rescheduled to the following day when a meeting day falls on a holiday, instead of will be rescheduled. PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES MARCH 26,1996 PAGE 3 After some discussion between the Commissioners, it was decided that the sentence would be modified to read "will generally be rescheduled " The Commission decided to amend Paragraph 1 2 to specify that the meeting will be adjourned "on or before 12 00 a m ", rather than "at 12 00 a m " Commissioner Alberio suggested that the requirements for Paragraph 1 6 (Open and Closed Sessions) were part of the Brown Act, rather than this Resolution, as it was stated The Commission agreed that the first sentence in Paragraph 1 6 should be modified to read "Except as otherwise provided in the Ralph M Brown Act " Upon a suggestion by Planning Administrator Petru, the Commission agreed that Paragraph 2 1 (Minutes and Recordings) should be revised to match the View Restoration Commission's Rules and Procedures regarding making copies and destruction of the tape recording used to prepare the minutes Regarding Paragraph 2 2 (Order of Presentation), Commissioner Ng asked if the public hearing should be opened before the presentation of the Staff Report in reference to the VRC Rules and Procedures. The consensus of the Commission was to maintain the current procedure of opening the public hearing after the Staff Report had been given, but suggested that Staff ask the opinion of the City Attorney The Commission agreed to modify Paragraph 2 2 to read "Public hearing may be re- opened by a motion of a Commissioner and approval by the Commission majority " Commissioner Cartwright suggested that Paragraph 2 5 (Oral Evidence, Time Limits, and Number of Speakers) be changed to be consistent with the View Restoration Commission's Rules and Procedures, thereby providing more discretion for the Chair to allot the appropriate amount of time for speakers to make their points After discussion by the Commission, it was decided that this would be a good change, especially since it was more similar to the City Council's procedure. Therefore, Chair Clark asked Staff to compose language to amend the Planning Commission's Rules and Procedures more consistent with those of the City Council and View Restoration Commission The Commission also asked Staff to check with the City Attorney to determine if the Commission can legally require a speaker to state their name and address before addressing the Commission PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES MARCH 26,1896 PAGE 4 Regarding Paragraph 2 6 (Questioning of Speakers), Commissioner Cartwright asked about potentially slanderous remarks from the public, and the appropriate methods for maintaining decorum Planning Administrator Petru explained that this issue was addressed in Paragraph 5 2 (Chairperson's Rules of Order) She added that the cover sheet for the City Council agendas includes a list of rules of conduct at meetings The Commission agreed that rules similar to those used by the City Council should be incorporated into the Planning Commission Rules and Procedures. Planning Administrator Petru noted that Staff recommended that the following sentence be added to the end of Paragraph 2 8 (City Attorney). "Commission members are able to contact the City Attorney directly with regard to any concerns about potential conflicts of interest " Regarding Paragraph 3 6 (Motions for Reconsideration), the Commission agreed that the paragraph should be clarified to indicate that a motion for reconsideration must be made at the same meeting or a meeting on a succeeding day. The Commission agreed that Paragraph 4 1.2 (Abstentions) should be expanded to include similar language as the View Restoration Commission Rules and Procedures. After discussion of Paragraph 4.1.5 (Absentees), the Commission decided to leave the wording as it currently exists. Chair Clark re -opened the issue that Commissioner Cartwright had raised earlier regarding Paragraph 1 1(Quorum) After additional discussion, the Commission agreed to split this paragraph into two parts, Appointment and Quorum, as Commissioner Cartwright had suggested. Chair Clark made a motion to direct Staff to incorporate the Commission's suggestions into a draft P.C. Resolution for approval at the meeting on April 23, 1996; and, to establish a Subcommittee consisting of Commissioners Alberio (Chair), Cartwright, and Whiteneck, to prepare a point paper to the City Council regarding appointment of Commission Chair and Commission term of office to be reviewed by the Commission at the April 23, 1996 meeting, for possible submission to the City Council, seconded by Commissioner Alberio. Approved (7-0). PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES MARCH 26,1996 PAGE 5 Lois Larue, 3136 Barkentine Road, Rancho Palos Verdes, commented on the fact that the Rules and Procedures require all speakers to state their name and address for the record, and that the City Council did not always enforce this rule She also discussed decorum at City meetings and disagreed with the rule which stated that a member of the public could only speak for a total of 10 minutes during in any one meeting She stated that the Brown Act requires the City to allow anyone to speak on any item on the agenda Chair Clark asked Staff to consult the City Attorney regarding the assertions made by speaker. Director/Secretary Bernard presented a report describing the events which led to Mr Hermann's presenting a letter to the Planning Commission at a recent meeting Mr Hermann had disagreed with actions taken by the Planning Staff and had filed a lawsuit, which was settled out of court in favor of Mr. Hermann by the Joint Powers Authority, even though the City Council was convinced that Staffs actions were correct ITEMS TO BE PLACED ON FUTURE AGENDAS - Staff: 6 Pre -Agenda for the regular Planning Commission meeting of Tuesday, April 9, 1996. Planning Administrator Petru noted that there were no items currently scheduled for this agenda and suggested that the Commission may wish to cancel the meeting Vice Chair Vannorsdall moved to cancel the meeting of April 9, 1996, due to a lack of scheduled items, seconded by Commissioner Whiteneck. Approved, (7-0). Commission: None COMMENTS FROM AUDIENCE (regarding non -agenda items) None (Note. There was a speaker who would not provide their name and address for the record Therefore, the speaker was not recognized by the Chair ) PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES MARCH 26,1996 PAGE ADJOURNMENT- Director/Secretary Bernard announced that he would be leaving the City on April 15, 1996 to accept a position as the Director of Community Development with the City of EI Segundo He further stated that he was pleased that Planning Administrator Petru had been named as the new Director. Mr. Bernard expressed his appreciation to the Commission, the public, and Department Staff members for their support and dedication during his three-year tenure with the City. Commissioner Whiteneck moved to adjourn, seconded by Commissioner Cartwright. The motion carried unanimously and the meeting was duly adjourned at 9.14 P.M. The next regular meeting of the Planning Commission would be on Tuesday, April 23, 1996 N \GR0UPIPLANN1NG\PCM1N\96DTMN3 26 PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES MARCH 26,1996 PAGE 7