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PC Min 10/30/2001CITY OF CAMPBELL PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES 7:30 P.M. TUESDAY OCTOBER 30, 2001 CITY HALL COUNCIL CHAMBERS The Planning Commission meeting of October 30, 2001, was called to order at 7:30 p.m., in the Council Chambers, 70 North First Street, Campbell, California by Chair Francois, and the following proceedings were had, to wit: ROLL CALL Commissioners Present: Chair: Vice Chair: Commissioner: Commissioner: Tom Francois Joseph D. Hernandez Bob Alderete Elizabeth Gibbons Commissioners Absent: Commissioner: Commissioner: Commissioner: George Doorley Brad Jones Felicia Leonard Staff Present: Community Development Director: Senior Planner: Associate Planner: Planner II: Planner I: City Attorney: Housing Coordinator: Reporting Secretary: Sharon Fierro Geoff I. Bradley Tim J. Haley Darcy Smith Kristi Bascom William Seligmann Sharon Teeter Corinne A. Shinn APPROVAL OF MINUTES Motion: On motion of Commissioner Gibbons, seconded by Commissioner Hernandez, the Planning Commission minutes of October 23, 2001, were approved. (4-0-3; Commissioners Doorley, Jones and Leonard were absent) COMMUNICATIONS. 1. Revised Findings and Conditions for Item 3. 2. Letters for Item Item 2. Planning Commission Min'ra[es of October 30, 2001 Page 2 AGENDA MODIFICATIONS OR POSTPONEMENTS There were no agenda modifications or postponements ORAL REQUESTS There were no oral requests. PUBLIC HEARING Chair Francois read Agenda Item No. 1 into the record. 1. PLN2001-35 Dunn, R. Public Hearing to consider the application of Ms. Rhonda Dunn for a Site and Architectural Approval (PLN2001-35) to allow a new manufactured home on property located at 1031 S. San Tomas Aquino Road in a R-l-9 (Single-Family Residential) Zoning District. This project is Categorically Exempt. Planning Commission decision final in 10 days, unless appealed in writing to the City Clerk. Ms. Kristi Bascom, Planner I, presented the staff report as follows: · Advised that this project site is located on the southwest comer of Westmont Avenue and San Tomas Aquino Road. · Explained that the proposal is for a 1,620 square foot manufactured home with a future 400 square foot attached garage. · Added that the project meets all Zoning requirements as well as all requirements under the San Tomas Area Neighborhood Plan. · Recommended approval. Vice Chair Hemandez presented the Site and Architectural Review Committee report as follows: · SARC reviewed this project on October 9, 2001, and was supportive with the recommendation that horizontal siding be used instead of the proposed vertical siding. However, the applicant advised that this option is not available for this particular manufactured home. Chair Francois opened the Public Hearing for Agenda Item No. 1. Commissioner Gibbons: · Said that while she is supportive of this proposal overall, she does have some concems. Specifically, the plans provided are not sufficiently detailed and are in fact incorrect in depicting elevations and actual window placement. No garage is depicted and the proposed roof pitch is inconsistent. · Informed that more detailed plans are needed that provide those details appropriately, including the true elevations and foundation details. · Requested an added Condition of Approval that requires the updated plans subject to review and approval by the Community Development Director, providing the more accurate elevations and site plan. Additionally, the Director should provide a final review on the materials and colors, as it is important to make this structure as compatible with the neighborhood as possible. Planning Commission Minutes of October 30, 2001 Page 3 Director Sharon Fierro agreed with Commissioner Gibbons that the elevations do not match. Added that when the submittal for Building permits occurs, the plans will have to be completely accurate, including the foundation plan. Stated that Commissioner Gibbons' requests are reasonable. Commissioner Alderete inquired if the landscaping condition applies only to trees. Senior Planner Geoff I. Bradley replied yes. Added that within the San Tomas Area Neighborhood Plan, the planting of new trees is required based upon lot size. Director Sharon Fierro assured that the City would work with the applicant as it is participating in the financing of this project under one of its Housing programs. Chair Francois closed the Public Hearing for Agenda Item No. 1. Motion: Upon motion of Commissioner Gibbons, seconded by Commissioner Alderete, the Planning Commission adopted Resolution No. 3391 granting a Site and Architectural Approval (PLN2001-35) to allow a new manufactured home with attached two-car garage on property located at 1031 S. San Tomas Aquino Road with the following added Conditions: 1. Modify Condition No. 1 by adding subsection B, requiring that the submitted plans be made more complete to include the garage and porch details, providing foundation screening as well as the approval of the final color board to the satisfaction of the Community Development Director, by the following roll call vote: AYES: Alderete, Francois, Gibbons and Hernandez NOES: None ABSENT: Doorley, Jones and Leonard ABSTAIN: None Chair Francois advised that this decision is final in 10 days, unless appealed in writing to the City Clerk. Chair Francois read Agenda Item No. 2 into the record. PLN2000-45 (ZC) PLN2000-46 (PD) PLN2001-81 (TS) PLN2001-118 (TRP) Cusella, S. Public Hearing to consider the application of Mr. Stephen J. Cusella for approval of a Zone Change (PLN2000-45) from R-3-S (Multiple Family Residential) to PD (Planned Development); a Planned Development Permit (PLN2000-46) to allow the construction of a four-unit townhouse development; a Tentative Subdivision (PLN2001-81) to create five lots; and a Tree Removal Permit (PLN2001-118) to remove five trees on property located at 861 Apricot Avenue in an R-3-S (Multiple Family Residential) Zoning District. This project is Categorically Exempt. Tentative City Council Meeting Date: November 20, 2001. Planning Commission Minutes of October 30, 2001 Page 4 Ms. Darcy Smith, Planner II, presented the staff report as follows: · Advised that this project site is located on the north side of Apricot, two parcels east of Union Avenue, where currently a single family residence with detached garage are located, which will be demolished. · Informed that the General Plan designation for this property is high density residential and the current Zoning is R-3-S (Multiple Family Residential). The project proposal includes a Zone Change from R-3-S to PD (Planned Development). · Added that the Zone Change is sought in order to create separate ownership of the four proposed townhome units. · Said that a Tentative Map is proposed to create five lots, four residential and one common lot. The common lot will include a 20-foot wide common drive. · Advised that there will be two two-story buildings using Craftsman style architecture, to include large front porches and river rock bases. Each unit will have a five to ten foot long private rear yard and there will be approximately 350 square feet of average open space per unit. · Advised that five trees will be removed from the site and the applicant will be required to replace those trees with five 36-inch box trees. Advised that there are 13 off-street parking spaces, including eight garage spaces and five common uncovered spaces. This equals 3.25 spaces per unit while 3.5 is the parking requirement. Staff finds the proposed parking sufficient. · Informed that SARC reviewed this proposal on October 9th and was supportive although concerned about the deficient of one parking space on the site. · Recommended approval of this proposal. Vice Chair Hernandez provided the Site and Architectural Review Committee report as follows: · Advised that SARC reviewed this project on October 9th and was supportive of the architectural design of the project. · SARC was concerned about the shortage of one on-site parking space. Chair Francois opened the Public Hearing for Agenda Item No. 2. Commissioner Gibbons: · Said that she has concerns. · Said that it is clear that the applicant has taken a lot of effort but this project is simply too much development for this site. This is simply wall-to-wall use of the site and is too much. · Pointed out that the structure is five feet from the property line and with a roof overhang on the building that encroaches into those five feet, that setback becomes two and a half feet. This roof overhang also encroaches into the 20 foot shared driveway. · Suggested that there is no opportunity for landscaping. Commissioner Alderete said that his initial impression of the project was concern over the deficiency in parking. This concern over parking is also expressed in correspondence on this project. Planning Commission Minutes of October 30, 2001 Page 5 Commissioner Hemandez: · Pointed out that this is a townhouse development and while it would be nice to have more open space, the opportunity for landscaping is few and far between. · Added that there is no real parking on the street, which makes it difficult for the people living there. · Said that this is an attractive development but that he is disappointed in the parking deficiency. Chair Francois: · Pointed out that the only street parking is on one side of Apricot. · Said that when he visited the area today there were two large trucks on the street hindering traffic flow. Senior Planner Geoff I. Bradley said that there is a similar project to the east of this site. Added that the applicant and staff worked together to try and find the place for the sixth uncovered common parking space but every option caused problems. Commissioner Gibbons: · Said that the five-foot setback for a two-story structure is inadequate to even install any type of screening landscaping. · Said that the only recourse is the adjacent property is ready for redevelopment although no proposal has been submitted. · Suggested flipping the site layout to share a drive with the adjacent property at such time that it is developed. · Added that this project is hard to support. Chair Francois asked staff whether flipping this site plan and/or the redevelopment of the adjacent site is a possibility. Senior Planner Geoff I. Bradley pointed out that should the adjacent property never be redeveloped, the result of this project would be the same as if constructed as originally proposed. Mr. Stephen Cusella, Applicant: · Announced that he is the owner of the subject property and that he lives next door where he lives in a street front unit. · Pointed out that overall the look of this project is beautiful. · Said that the project provides three parking spaces per unit. · Agreed that a lot of people live on Apricot and though there are occasional parking problems, usually parking is fine. · Said that this project will enhance the street. · Pointed out that he does not want to construct apartments next door to his property but rather wants to construct owner occupied units. · Added that he may live in this new project. · Said that he has spent a great deal of time and money on developing this proposal and it would represent a nice addition to this street. Planning Commission Minutes of October 30, 2001 Page 6 Chair Francois agreed that Mr. Cusella has done a nice job. Mr. Stephen Cusella added that Apricot is a quaint street that is not a noisy place to live. Said that he only wants to improve his area. Commissioner Alderete: · Thanked Mr. Cusella for his comments. · Said that he visited the site and did have a hard time parking in the area. · Questioned where one additional space would be placed if it had to be added. Mr. Stephen Cusella replied that two considerations had been a second space at the front or one against the side property line. Chair Francois closed the Public Hearing for Agenda Item No. 2. Commissioner Hernandez asked what rationale is used with the parking requirement and what merits approving a project with a deficit. Director Sharon Fierro: · Said that there is a higher requirement for a townhome development on a site such as this one on Apricot where there is no real on-street parking available. · Pointed out that deviations to parking requirements have been allowed when reasonable. · Said that staff has worked with this applicant for a year and a half. · Said that if this site were to be developed with apartments, more units would be allowed and fewer parking spaces required. · Added that this project is a means of providing entry-level housing. · Said that staff would ensure the height of the garages is high enough to accommodate larger vehicles, such as the Suburban. · Pointed out that a recent project had a garage height that turned out to be too low in which to park a Suburban. Commissioner Hemandez asked if there is any means of mandating garage parking for this project within the CC&Rs. Director Sharon Fierro replied that while it is common to require that garages be kept available for the parking of vehicles, it is difficult to enforce the actual practice. The City attempts to help enforce this requirement upon complaint. Planner Darcy Smith pointed out that Condition No 2 for the Tentative Parcel Map and Condition No. 4 for the Planned Development Permit both address the requirement to maintain garages for use to park vehicles. Commissioner Hemandez asked if the requirement is that they be available or actually used to park vehicles. Planning Commission Minutes of October 30, 2001 Page 7 Director Sharon Fierro replied that the garages must be available. However, it is not possible to stop these owners from parking on a public street if such space is available. They have as much right to park in the public right-of-way as any other citizen. Commissioner Hemandez suggested prohibiting the use of the on-site uncovered parking spaces by tenants/owners of the development. Director Sharon Fierro said that this condition would be difficult monitor and enforce. Commissioner Gibbons asked about imposing a covenant. Director Sharon Fierro advised that enforcement of CC&Rs is a civil matter. It would be possible to post the parking spaces for visitor parking only. Chair Francois said that enforcement would be hard except by the residents themselves. Commissioner Gibbons said that while this is an excellent project it is overdeveloped for the site and she is not supportive. Commissioner Alderete said that he is concerned about parking. Said that he lives in a similar but larger development. Said that this project is beautiful and he will support it. Commissioner Hernandez: · Said that while this is a great project, he is disappointed in the parking deficit. The site needs six on-site parking spaces. This leaves him "on the fence" about whether to support or deny this proposal. Chair Francois said that he would support the project reluctantly. This support is difficult but the provision of three spaces per unit should be okay. Motion: Upon motion of Commissioner Alderete, seconded by Commissioner Francois, the Planning Commission recommended: 1. Adoption of a Resolution to approve a Zone Change from R-3 to PD; On property AYES: NOES: ABSENT: ABSTAIN: Adoption of a Resolution to approve a Planned Development Permit to allow the construction of four townhome units; Adoption of a Resolution to allow the creation of a Tentative Parcel Map; Adoption of a Resolution to allow the removal of five trees; located at 861 Apricot Avenue, by the following roll call vote: Alderete and Francois, Gibbons and Hernandez Doorley, Jones and Leonard None The motion failed for lack of a majority. Planning Commission Minutes of October 30, 2001 Page 8 City Attomey William Seligmann advised that the Commission has a few options from continuing consideration to a future meeting or passing this proposal on to Council without a recommendation. Commissioner Gibbons said that she would support a continuance. Chair Francois agreed that he too could support a continuance. Chair Francois reopened the Public Hearing for Agenda Item No. 2. Motion: Upon motion of Commissioner Gibbons, seconded by Commissioner Alderete, the Planning Commission continued consideration of the development at 861 Apricot Avenue to the Planning Commission meeting of November 13, 2001, by the following roll call vote: AYES: Alderete, Francois, Gibbons and Hernandez NOES: None ABSENT: Doorley, Jones and Leonard ABSTAIN: None Chair Francois read Agenda Item No. 3 into the record. 3. PLN2001-108 Gragnani/Lopez Public Hearing to consider the application of Mr. Alan Gragnani and Mr. George Lopez, on behalf of the Wine Library, for a Conditional Use Permit (PLN2001-108) to allow an on and off-sale beer and wine license within an existing commercial space on property located at 379 E. Campbell Avenue in the C-3-S (Central Business District) Zoning District. This project is Categorically Exempt. Planning Commission decision final in 10 days, unless appealed in writing to the City Clerk. Mr. Tim J. Haley, Associate Planner, presented the staff report as follows: · Advised that this request is for a Conditional Use Permit for on-sale beer and wine license at a downtown retail establishment on the north side of E. Campbell Avenue, between Central and Harrison Avenues. · Said that the retail space consists of 1,350 square feet. The beer and wince license is in conjunction with approximately 100 square feet of space for wine tasting. The majority of the space will be retail wine sales. · Said that the General Plan designation is Commercial and the Zoning is C-3 (Central Business District). · Informed that businesses in the C-3 do not have specific parking requirements. · Provided the applicant's proposed hours of operation as 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Saturday, and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sunday. Staff proposes to allow the hours from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily to allow future expansion. · Reported that the Police Department reviewed the proposal and had no objection. · Pointed out that revised findings and conditions have been distributed. Planning Commission Minutes of October 30, 2001 Page 9 · Expressed staff's recommendation for approval and advised that SARC did not review this proposal as there are no exterior changes proposed. Commissioner Gibbons asked if a sign request would be handled separately. Associate Planner Tim J. Haley replied that the sign would be handled separately. Added that the property owner is actually participating in the Storefront Improvement Program. Chair Francois opened the Public Hearing for Agenda Item No. 3. Chair Francois closed the Public Heating for Agenda Item No. 3. Motion: Upon motion of Commissioner Hernandez, seconded by Commissioner Gibbons, the Planning Commission adopted Resolution No. 3392 granting a Conditional Use Permit (PLN2001-108) to allow an on and off-sale beer and wine license within an existing commercial space on property located at 379 E. Campbell Avenue, by the following roll call vote: AYES: Alderete, Francois, Gibbons and Hernandez NOES: None ABSENT: Doorley, Jones and Leonard ABSTAIN: None Chair Francois advised that this decision is final in 10 days, unless appealed in writing to the' City Clerk. REPORT OF THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR The written report of Ms. Sharon Fierro, Community Development Director, was accepted as presented with the following additions: · Thanked the Commission for its work on the General Plan, particularly for attending the necessary extra meetings. · Advised that the Council would consider the General Plan at its meeting of November 6th and the Housing Element on November 20th. · Informed that the Commission will have three items on the November 13th agenda. · Reminded the Commission to keep March 20 through 22, 2002, open for the Annual Planners Institute. Registration will be handled by staff. Commissioners Gibbons and Alderete and Chair Francois indicated that they would attend. ADJOURNMENT The Planning Commission meeting adjourned at 8:30 p.m. to the Special Planning Commission Hearing on the Housing Element to be held on Monday, November 5, 2001, in the Council Chambers, City Hall, 70 North First Street, Campbell, Califomia. Planning Commission Minutes of October 30, 2001 Page 10 SUBMITTED BY: APPROVED BY: ATTEST: Corinne A. Shinn,~etary ncois, Chair 81~aron Fierro, Secretary