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VRC MINS 20020103 , 4. 0 410 APPROVED 1/9/02 ri VIEW RESTORATION COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING January 3, 2002 Chairman Alberio called the meeting to order at 7:10 pm at City Hall Community Room, 30940 Hawthorne Boulevard. The Pledge of Allegiance followed, led by Nick Papadakis. Present: Chairman Alberio, Vice-Chair Slayden, Commissioners Franklin, Iseda, and Dyda. Absent: Commissioners Drages, De Moraes, Weber, and Ginise. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Chairman Alberio moved to approve the agenda as presented. There being no objection, the agenda was approved. COMMUNICATIONS: Staff: Project Coordinator Jones communicated the nature of two handouts concerning View Restoration Permit application no. 126. He made clarifications to the staff report concerning application no. 126 and presented a letter from Ms. Kathleen Wood, owner of property at 92 Headland Drive. Commission: NONE CONSENT CALENDAR: 1. MINUTES OF NOVEMBER 15, 2001. Commissioner Franklin questioned whether or not a motion he made had been correctly transcribed. Senior Project Coordinator Nelson stated that the motion only further made clear the condition of approval. Commissioner Dyda moved to approve the minutes as presented, seconded by Commissioner Iseda. There being no objection, the motion carried. (5 - 0) CONTINUED BUSINESS: NONE View Restoration Commission Minutes December 6, 2001 Page 1 of 7 • PUBLIC HEARING VIEW RESTORATION PERMIT NO. 78: Mr. Hamish Bell, 3666 Greve. (TN) Senior Project Coordinator Trayci Nelson stated that the private negotiations seemed to be going well and that preliminary agreements had been reached. As such, Ms. Nelson requested that the item be tabled. Commissioner Dyda moved to table the item, seconded by Commissioner lseda. There being no objection, it was so ordered. Motion carried (5 -0) PUBLIC HEARING VIEW RESTORATION PERMIT NO. 114: Mr. and Mrs. James Anderson, 30219 Via Rivera. (SDJ) A roll call was taken to see who had visited the sites. All Commissioners present visited both sites. Project Coordinator Jones presented the staff report and discussed the background of the application. He noted that the foliage owners were not present but that they did indicate they would be there. Commissioner Franklin questioned whether or not staffs recommendations were consistence with the terms discussed during the pre-application meeting held in accordance with the early neighbor consultation process. Project Coordinator Jones stated that the recommendations were based on the negotiations in the pre application meeting. Commissioner Dyda inquired as to whether or not the city arborist agreed with the frequency of the trimming. Project Coordinator Jones stated that the city arborist concurred with staffs recommendation. Chairman Alberio stated that the foliage owners had ample to time to arrive in order to participate in the public hearing and that there should be no more delay. Commissioner Dyda moved to open public hearing seconded by Commissioner Iseda. Motion carried. (5 - 0) Applicant James Anderson, 30219 Via Rivera, stated that he would direct his comments to the staff report. He stated the he was generally in agreement with the recommendations. He continued on saying that the View Restoration Commission Minutes December 6, 2001 Page 2 of 7 • 0 question was how would a window effect be created through two trees he called sugar pines. He said that four of the trees mentioned, line up together to create a wall in the middle of their living room view. He also stated that no one could measure accurately the amount of trimming to be done while in the tree and that the pad level should have been recommended as a better gauge. He also stated that the ridgeline of the homes on Via Victoria would also have been a better way to judge the amount needed to restore the view. Mr. Anderson then showed pictures of the foliage after being cut and also while the foliage was filled in. Vice-Chair Slayden asked how much of a difference there was between staffs recommendation and what Mr. Anderson considered to be sufficient to restore the view. Mr. Anderson answered that he didn't think there was that much difference. Project Coordinator Nelson interjected that the condition could have been worded either way. Jayne Harms of 30235 Via Rivera stated that she was for the project because the trees interfered with her view too. She said the trees affect all the people in that area. Chairman Alberio asked of staff when did the foliage owners say there were coming. Staff indicated the foliage owners said they would be there at 7:00 pm. Commissioner Dyda moved to close the public hearing, seconded by Vice-Chair Slayden. The motion carried. Commissioner Dyda felt that the line of sight from the Anderson property was sufficient to restore the view. He noted that if the trees were going to be trimmed every six months, then the maintenance schedule for those trees should start after six months after the initial trimming and not one year after. Commissioner Iseda concurred with Commissioner Dyda that the line of sight would be accurate enough to restore the view. Vice-Chair Slayden thought that the line of sight was a good compromise. He felt it was a better answer than the ridgeline of the homes, since the horizon line was the key. Chairman Alberio said that he agreed with the staff report but liked the compromise of the line of sight. View Restoration Commission Minutes December 6, 2001 Page 3 of 7 0 0 Commissioner Dyda made a motion to amend the conditions of approval for trees 3, 4, 5, and 6 to be to trim down to the line of sight, which was defined as the ridgelines of the homes on the ocean-side of Via Victoria as seen from the Anderson property at 30219 Via Rivera. Commissioner Franklin seconded this motion. Motion carried (5 - 0). Commissioner Dyda made a motion that in paragraph four the term bi-annually should be changed to semi-annually, which meant six months and the condition should also be amended to start the maintenance schedule six months after the initial trimming of the Eucalyptus trees. Commissioner lseda seconded the motion. With there being no objection, the motion carried. (5 - 0) Commissioner Dyda moved to approve the staff recommendations as amended, seconded by Commissioner lseda. There being no objections, the motion carried. (5 - 0) Chairman Alberio stated that the parties involved would have 15 days to appeal the decision. PUBLIC HEARING VIEW RESTORATION PERMIT NO. 98: Mr. Nick Papadakis, 3228 Parkhurst Drive and Ms. Gayle Goodwin 30638 Lucania Drive. (SDJ) Commissioner Franklin apologized for not visiting the site for View Restoration Permit Application no. 98. He stated that the staff report was misleading in that it stated a private agreement was being reached. Vice-Chair Slayden recused himself, as he was part of the pre-application phase. Project Coordinator Nelson stated that the hearing would have to be continued to the next VRC meeting. Commissioner Dyda made a motion to continue the meeting of February 7, 2002. Chairman Alberio as well as Commissioner Franklin preferred to have the meeting as soon as possible. Commissioner Dyda made a motion to continue the item to the meeting of January 17, 2002, seconded by Commissioner Franklin. There being no objection, the motion carried. View Restoration Commission Minutes December 6, 2001 Page 4 of 7 g 0 0 RECESS AND RECONVENE: At 7:45 P.M. the View Restoration Commission took a short recess until 7:50 P.M. to review a letter written by the foliage owner of View Restoration Permit no. 126. The letter was e mailed to staff one day before the meeting. The meeting reconvened at 7:51 P.M. PUBLIC HEARING VIEW RESTORATION PERMIT NO. 126: Mr. and Mrs. John Zaccaro, 28531 Palos Verdes Drive East. (SDJ) Project Coordinator Jones presented the staff report and discussed the background of the application. He noted that the foliage owners were not present, and that they lived in Munich, Germany. Senior Project Coordinator Nelson added that the staff consulted with the city attorney throughout the process. Commissioner Dyda made a motion to open the public hearing, seconded by Vice-Chair Slayden. There being no objections, the public hearing was opened. Mr. John Zaccaro, 28531 Palos Verdes Drive East, opened by saying the Jacaranda tree was trimmed very recently. He also stated that for years he had corresponded with Ms. Wood, whom he stated was an absentee property owner, and that every time they made arrangements to get trimming done, Ms. Wood cancelled. He further stated that her property was well planted and that he was not requesting any tree removal, only trimming. Commissioner Dyda moved to close the public hearing, seconded by Commissioner Iseda. There being no objections, it was so ordered. • Vice-Chair Slayden that the letter distributed by staff from Ms. Wood seemed to indicate that she had accepted the fact that some trimming would be need to be done. He continued on saying that he had no objections to staffs recommendation. Commissioner Dyda stated that the foliage owner had a misconception concerning "near view" as identified in her letter. Chairman Alberio stated he agreed with the staffs recommendation. Vice-Chair Slayden asked whether or not the dead tree could be removed by order. Project Coordinator Nelson answered that there is a section in the municipal code that covers that and that staff was working with Code Enforcement to handle the matter. View Restoration Commission Minutes December 6, 2001 Page 5 of 7 0 Commissioner Franklin stated that because the foliage owners lived in Germany, they should have had a representative at the meeting. He expressed that the appeal period should be stressed to them. Project Coordinator Jones indicated that staff did advise Ms. Wood, however, she chose not to have representation. Commissioner Dyda explained that there were ways to confirm that an e- mail or fax had been sent and received and that staff should keep those records. Commissioner Franklin questioned whether or not the trimming recommended for the Acacia tree needed to be down to the ridgeline. He added the recommendation should be to completely restore the view while leaving it as high as possible. The applicant, John Zaccaro, stated that he would rather see the Acacia, rather than the ridgeline. Project Coordinator Nelson stated that the maintenance schedule for the Acacia tree could be changed to reflect a six-month trimming schedule, rather than an annual trimming schedule. Ms Nelson added that this would deal with Commissioner Franklin's concern. Commissioner Franklin made a motion to modify the staff recommendation for trees 5, 6, 7, and 8 to read trim down to a height that completely restores the view, and add that the trimming on the Acacia and the Grevillea shall occur every six months, seconded by Commissioner Dyda. With there being no objections, the motion carried. Commissioner Dyda moved to approve Resolution for View Restoration Permit No. 126 as amended. Vice-Chair Slayden seconded the motion. With there being no objections, the motion carried. New Business: Chairman Alberio communicated to the commissioners that the deadline to apply for any committee was February 1, 2002. ITEMS TO BE PLACED ON FUTURE AGENDAS: Staff: NONE View Restoration Commission Minutes December 6, 2001 Page 6 of 7 • 110 Commission: NONE COMMENTS FROM THE AUDIENCE (Regarding non-agenda items): Stephen Dawson of 3321 Deluna Drive suggested that staff should mandate that all parties of view restoration applications attend one public hearing to listen and better understand what to expect during a meeting. Commissioner Dyda moved to adjourn the meeting to January 17, 2002, seconded by Commissioner Franklin. The meeting was adjourned. ADJOURNMENT: 8:45 PM The next regular meeting is tentatively scheduled for January 17, 2002 at 7:00 P.M. at Hesse Park. View Restoration Commission Minutes December 6, 2001 Page 7 of 7