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PC MINS 19970225CITY OF RANCHO PALOS VERDES PLANNING COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING FEBRUARY 25, 1997 CALL TO ORDER APPROVED 03/25/97 The meeting was called to order at 7,02 P M by Chairman Vannorsdall at the Hesse Park Community Building, 29310 Hawthorne Boulevard. FLAG SALUTE The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Commissioner Ng ROLL CALL Present Commissioners Alberio, Cartwright, Clark, Ng, and Chairman Vannorsdall Absent Commissioner Slayden and Vice Chairman Whiteneck (both excused) Also present were Director/Secretary Petru and Recording Secretary Atuatasi APPROVAL OF AGENDA Commissioner Alberio moved to approve the agenda as presented. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Ng, and there being no objection, it was so ordered by Chairman Vannorsdall, (5-0). COMMUNICATIONS Staff Director/Secretary Petru distributed 1) a late item of correspondence from Jerome Buckmelter regarding Agenda Item No. 2 (Conditional Use Permit No 194); 2) a draft P.C. Resolution, graphics prepared by the developer, and a late letter that had been received that evening from the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service regarding Agenda Item No 5 (Conditional Use Permit No 158 - Revision 'A'). Director/Secretary Petru indicated that this letter was the same as the draft letter included in the Commissions' packets, except that the new letter was signed. Commission Chairman Vannorsdall reported on his attendance at the Mayor's Breakfast. CONSENT CALENDAR 1 Minutes of February 11, 1997 Chairman Vannorsdall requested that on page 1, last paragraph, line 6 be modified to read as, "...background information on the Staff Members who had joined..." and page 3, paragraph 6, line 3 be modified to read as, " the audience discussion be halted when others are speaking " Commissioner Ng requested that on page 5, paragraph 8, line 2 be modified to read as, "...was seconded by Vice Chairman Whiteneck...". Chairman Vannorsdall requested that on page 6, paragraph 9, line 1 be modified to read as, "Chairman Vannorsdall asked if the Commission..."; page 7, paragraph 1, line 9 be modified to read as, " found that all of the findings necessary to.. " and paragraph 3, line 2 be modified to read as, " for the proposed project and was..." He also requested that on page 10, paragraph 2, last line be modified to read as, "...that he be given a reasonable time frame " and page 11, paragraph 1, line 2 be modified to read as, " the Staff would propose an ordinance " Commissioner Cartwright requested that on page 11, paragraph 7, line 4 be modified to read as, "...continued to a later date and that...". Commissioner Ng requested that on page 12, paragraph 5, line 4 be modified to read as, "...seemed to be resolving their concerns ", page 13, paragraph 3, line 1 be modified to read as, " replied that Commissioner Ng's statement "; page 16, paragraph 1, line 2 be modified to read as, " would not have the proper lighting when..."; page 17, paragraph 11, line 1 be modified to read as, " at what time the side door was locked at night " and requested that an insertion be made after this paragraph to read as, "The Commission discussed the fact that the applicant's main concern was safety " Commissioner Ng also requested that on page 18, paragraph 2, line 2 be modified to read as, "...under the second light on the west " Chairman Vannorsdall requested that on page 18, paragraph 9, line 1 be modified to read as, " he still thought that it would be " Commissioner Clark moved to approve the minutes as amended. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Cartwright and passed, (5-0). PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES February 25, 1997 Page 2 CONTINUED BUSINESS 2. Conditional Use Permit No. 194 and Coastal Permit No. 138; Pacific Bell Mobil Services, 6412 Palos Verdes Drive South (Saint Peter's by the Sea Churcht. Chairman Vannorsdall read aloud from the Staff Report and noted Staffs recommendation to continue this item to a later date Commissioner Cartwright stated that he concurred with Staffs recommendation to continue the Public Hearing to March 25, 1997 Director/Secretary Petru informed the Chairman that there were two speakers for this item Mr. William Tolliffe 6347 Tarragon, stated that he would rather speak at the next hearing Lois Larue. 3136 Barkentine Road, stated that the residents above Saint Peter's by the Sea Church were totally opposed to the proposed project Chairman Vannorsdall asked if there were any other speakers for this item. Recording Secretary Atuatasi replied that there were none. Chairman Vannorsdall asked the Commission if they desired to discuss this item The Commission stated that they had no comments on this item at that time Chairman Vannorsdall asked for a motion from the Commission regarding this item Commissioner Cartwright moved to accept Staffs recommendation to continue the Public Hearing to March 25, 1997. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Alberio, and there being no objection it was so ordered by Chairman Vannorsdall, (5-0). Commissioner Clark requested that the applicant submit a master plan to the Staff indicating all of the PCS antenna facilities Pacific Bell Mobil Services was planning to install on the Palos Verdes Peninsula He wanted the Commission to be able to review this information prior to the meeting of March 25, 1997, when the subject application would be heard again. PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES February 25, 1997 Page 3 PUBLIC HEARINGS 3 Variance No. 350 - Revision 'A'; Earl and Sharon Gantz, 3558 Bendigo Drive. Director/Secretary Petru presented the Staff Report and indicated that the Planning Commission had originally granted Variance No. 350 in 1993 to allow an indirect access garage to the converted into a direct access garage and expanded from a two car to a three car garage She indicated that the applicant was now requesting after - the -fact approval for the direct access garage (which had already been partially constructed) to encroach an additional 9 inches into the required 20 foot front yard setback area Director/Secretary Petru concluded her presentation by stating that the City Council had recently denied the applicant's request for Height Variation No 750 - Revision "B" for a storage area over the garage and an after -the -fact expansion of the second story addition over the residence, which has also been originally approved in 1993 Since the City Council had directed the applicant to re -build the project to conform with the plans approved by the Planning Commission in March 1993, the Council's action has obviated the Planning Commission ability to act on the current Variance revision request Therefore, Staff recommended that the Planning Commission deny the Variance revision request without prejudice. Chairman Vannorsdall asked for a motion from the Commission to open the Public Hearing Commissioner Cartwright moved to open the Public Hearing, seconded by Commissioner Alberio. There being no objection, it was so ordered by Chairman Vannorsdall, (5-0). Chairman Vannorsdall asked if there were any speakers for this item Mr. Jim Gordon. 3538 Bendigo Drive, stated that he was not in favor of the proposed project and noted that the garage foundation was built before a permit had been issued by the Building and Safety Division He stated that the owner had constructed the garage in error and that the City was not responsible Mr Gordon thanked the Commission for recognizing the problems with this project back in November 1993 and stated that his presence that evening was to find out if the applicant had ever complied with the City's building code requirements Mr Bob Easton 3566 Bendigo Drive, stated that he too was opposed of the subject project and expressed his concern regarding the applicant's request for additional width to the garage. Mr Easton felt that the applicant had built more than what was necessary and felt that this was in violation of the City's Building Code. PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES February 25, 1997 Page 4 Ms. Sharon Van Wagner. 3559 Bendigo Drive, stated that she agreed with Staffs recommendation to deny the Variance request and presented a letter to the Commission addressed to the Council regarding Height Variation No 750 - Revision "B" Chairman Vannorsdall asked for a motion from the Commission to close the Public Hearing Commissioner Alberio moved to close the Public Hearing, seconded by Commissioner Ng. There being no objection, Chairman Vannorsdall declared the Public Hearing closed, (5-0). Chairman Vannorsdall asked the Commission if they desired to discuss this item The Commission stated that it had no comments on the proposed project, since the Council's recent action on the related Height Variation Permit Revision had obviated the need for the Variance Revision at this time Chairman Vannorsdall asked for a motion from the Commission regarding this item Commissioner Alberio moved to accept Staffs Recommendation to adopt P.C. Resolution No. 97-11, thereby denying the Variance. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Cartwright and passed unanimously by a roll -call vote, (5-0). Chairman Vannorsdall noted the 15 -day appeal period NEW BUSINESS 4 Grading Permit No. 1917 - Appeals Stephen Mut, 5858 Ocean Terrace Drive. Director/Secretary Petru presented the Staff Report and noted that the applicant was requesting to perform 270 cubic yards of grading beyond the Building Grading, Restriction (BGR) Line to create a level usable yard area adjacent to the home She indicated that the City Council had previously approved a tract amendment, which allowed for minor grading beyond the BGR Line However, "minor grading" constituted less than 50 cubic yards of earth movement. Although the applicant was requesting over five times that amount of grading, Staff felt that the tract amendment did not take into account the possibility of lowering the grade, since most previous requests were to raise the grade or to grade into extreme slope areas She concluded her presentation by stating that since the proposed project would not result in negative impacts to surrounding properties, the adjacent slopes and the public trail easement at the rear of PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES February 25, 1997 Page 5 the property, Staff recommended upholding the appeal, thereby overturning the Director's decision to limit the amount of grading to 51 cubic yards Chairman Vannorsdall asked if there were any speakers for this item Mr George Shaw, project architect, 23727 Hawthorne Boulevard, stated that he agreed with the recommendation given by the Staff and felt that the proposed project was permitted since the applicant was in conformance with the previous tract amendment conditions of approval. Lois Larue.. 3136 Barkentine Road, stated that the property above her house (which was below the subject property) was an ancient landslide and suggested that a geological investigation be conducted to verify that the proposed grading will not adversely affect the slope Chairman Vannorsdall asked the Commission if they desired to discuss this item Commissioner Ng asked how Staff would handle similar projects in the future, since her reading of the resolution approving the tract amendment seemed to clearly indicate that the allowable grading was extremely limited. Director/Secretary Petru agreed that the body of the resolution clearly limited the grading to being minor in scope However, she noted that the conditions of approval associated with that resolution were not clear, when considered on their own. Therefore, she indicated that Staff intended to process a clarification to the tract amendment. She added that the Commission would be asked to make a recommendation to the City Council on this matter Chairman Vannorsdall asked for a motion from the Commission regarding this item Commissioner Cartwright moved to support Staffs Recommendation to uphold the appeal, thereby overturning the Director's decision to limit the amount of grading. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Ng. There being no objection, it was so ordered by Chairman Vannorsdall, (5-0). 5. Conditional Use Permit No. 158 - Revision Wand a Determination of Substantial Conformance with approved Vesting Tentative Tract Map No. 46628; J . Peters Company, a 132 acre vacant properly located west of Palos Verdes Drive West at the terminus of Hawthorne Boulevard (Subregion 1). PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES February 26, 1997 Page 6 Director/Secretary presented the Staff Report and noted that the applicant was requesting two things 1) that modifications be made to the conditions Of approval for the approved Residential Planned Development to accommodate a minor change for the project requested by the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service, and, 2) forward a recommendation that the minor changes are in substantial conformance with the approved Vesting Tentative Tract Map tO the City Council Director/Secretary Petru concluded her presentation by stating that the proposed changes would not result in a material change to the approved project, but would in fact improve the habitat areas and the buildability of the group of lots on the southern end of the project site Therefore, Staff recommended approval of Conditional Use Permit No 158- Revision "A" and forwarding a recommendation to the City Council finding that the revised project was substantially in conformance with the approved Vesting Tentative Tract Map. Chairman Vannorsdall asked if there were any speakers for this item, Mr Bob Trapa. applicant, J. M. Peters Company, 4100 MacArthur Boulevard, Newport Beach, CA, briefly reiterated Director/Secretary Petru's summary of the project and stated that the reason for this particular request was to meet the concerns of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services Lois Larue, 3136 Barkentine Road, stated that her concern with the project was related to the existing wetlands areas on the site. She stated that one wetland would be saved in the northeast corner of the site and that the other in the middle of the site adjacent to Palos Verdes Drive West would be destroyed by the approved development. Chairman Vannorsdall asked the Commission if they desired to discuss this item Commissioner Cartwright stated that the modifications requested by the applicant were minor and that the intent was to comply with the desires of the federal resource agency in order to further protect the wildlife habitat on the site Mr Cartwright stated that he did not see any negative impacts on views, open space, or hiking trails, therefore, he supported Staffs recommendation Commissioner Clark stated that he felt comfortable with the proposed changes to the project based on the presentations made that evening and basically had no objection to Staffs recommendation. Commissioner Ng agreed with her two fellow Commissioners and stated that since the applicant's proposed modifications were at the request of the U.S Fish and Wildlife Services, she too supported Staffs recommendation PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES February 25, 1997 Page 7 Commissioner Alberio stated that he was very familiar with the project, since he was on the Planning Commission when it was originally discussed in 1992 and stated that he had no objection to Staffs recommendation Chairman Vannorsdall stated that he agreed with all previous statements and did not need to add any further remarks He then asked Director/Secretary Petru to briefly review the draft resolution that had been distributed that evening with the Commission. Director/Secretary Petru explained that the draft resolution was for approval of Conditional Use Permit No 158 - Revision 'A' far the minor amendments that had been discussed previously In addition, the resolution included forwarding a recommendation to the City Council that the modified map was in substantial conformance with approved Vesting Tentative Tract Map No. 46628 She indicated that the City Council would take final action with regards to the determination of substantial conformance Ms Petru then briefly read aloud and explained each section of the draft resolution presented to the Commission Commissioner Ng noted that the draft resolution mentioned in a couple of places that the lot sizes and dimensions were consistent with the originally approved project. However, she noted that the chart attached to the staff report indicated that most of the lot sizes had changed. Director/Secretary Petru replied that the lot sizes had changed, as shown on the chart that the Commissioner Ng referred to. However, she stated that the lot sizes and dimensions were still within the 20,000 square foot range, and were therefore consistent with the original approval. Chairman Vannorsdall asked for a motion from the Commission regarding this item Commissioner Alberio moved to accept Stafrs Recommendation to adopt P.C. Resolution No. 97-12, thereby approving Conditional Use Permit No. 158 - Revision "A" and forwarding a recommendation that the City Council find that the revised project was in conformance with approved Vesting Tentative Tract Map No. 46628. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Clark and unanimously passed by a roll -call vote, (5-0). Chairman Vannorsdall noted the 15 -day appeal period. PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES February 25, 1997 Page 8 ITEMS TO BE PLACED ON FUTURE AGENDAS Staff: 6 Discussion of scheduling an Adjourned Planning Commission Meeting for March 18, 1997 Director/Secretary Petru stated that Kajima Development Corporation had requested that its submitted applications for a Conditional Use Permit and Grading Permit Revision be heard by the Commission on March 11, 1997 However, the Planning Commission canceled this meeting since a majority of the Commissioners would be attending a conference that week. Therefore, Kajima had requested that the Commission schedule an adjourned meeting for the following week on March 18, 1997 Ms Petru noted that this date was available since the City Council had canceled its regular meeting scheduled that night. She concluded by stating that Staff had no objections to the request, if the Commission was willing to conduct the meeting Commissioners Cartwright and Clark both stated that they may not be available on March 18, 1997 Commissioners Alberio and Ng both stated that they were available on March 18, 1997 Chairman Vannorsdall stated he was available and also mentioned that Vice Chairman Whiteneck was too Commissioner Alberio moved to accept Staffs Recommendation to hold an adjourned meeting on March 18, 1997 for consideration of the Kajima project (TTM No. 45661). As there were no objections from the other Commissioners, it was so ordered by Chairman Vannorsdall , (5-0). Commission: Chairman Vannorsdall requested that Staff provide information to the Commission regarding the establishments of historic sites in the City at the next regularly scheduled meeting of March 25, 1997 Commissioner Clark requested that an update regarding the Long Point Project be provided to the Commission as well on that same evening COMMENTS FROM THE AUDIENCE Lois Larue, 3136 Barkentine Road, asked the Chairman for permission to allow a speaker for Agenda Item No 4 to approach the podium, since he was not present at the PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES February 25, 1997 Page 9 time when the item was discussed. She then discussed the Minutes of February 11, 1997 and stated that she was disappointed that the Commissioner's background information was not included. Chairman Vannorsdall asked the speaker to approach the podium Mr. Barry Oshida, 4 Saddlehom Lane, Rolling Hills Estates, inquired if Agenda Item No. 4 was approved. Director/Secretary Petru replied that the item was approved by the Commission At 9:10 P.M. Commissioner Cartwright moved to adjourn the meeting to an adjourned meeting on Tuesday, March 18, 1997. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Alberio and was passed unanimously, (5-0). N 1GR0UPkPLANNING\PCM1NXM1NO2 25 PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES February 25, 1997 Page 10