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PC Min 06/23/1998CITY OF CAMPBELL PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES 7:30 P.M. TUESDAY JUNE 23, 1998 CITY HALL COUNCIL CHAMBERS The Planning Commission meeting of June 23, 1998, was called to order at 7:33 p.m., in the Council Chambers, 70 North First Street, Campbell, Califomia by Chairman Lowe, and the following proceedings were had, to wit: ROLL CALL Commissioners Present: Chair: Commissioner: Commissioner: Commissioner: Dennis Lowe Elizabeth Gibbons Susan A. Keams Mel Lindstrom Commissioners Absent: Vice Chair: Commissioner: Commissioner: Brad Jones Tom Francois Jane Meyer-Kennedy Staff Present: Community Development Director: Senior Planner: Planner I: City Attorney: Reporting Secretary: Steve Piasecki Sharon Fierro Barbara Schoetz Ryan William Seligmann Corinne A. Shinn APPROVAL OF MINUTES Motion: On motion of Commissioner Gibbons, seconded by Commissioner Lindstrom, the Planning Commission minutes of May 26, 1998, were approved. (4-0-3; Commissioners Francois, Jones and Meyer- Kennedy were absent.) COMMUNICATIONS. There were no communication items. Planning Commission Minutes of June 23, 1998 Page 2 AGENDA MODIFICATIONS OR POSTPONEMENTS There were no agenda modifications or postponements. ORAL REQUESTS There were no oral requests. PUBLIC HEARING Chairman Lowe read Agenda Item No. 1 into the record. M 98-02 Robinson, G. Continued Public Heating to consider the application of Mr. Gary Robinson, on behalf of Carrows Restaurant, for a Modification (M 98-02) to a previous Site and Architectural Approval to allow changes to the exterior appearance of an existing restaurant building on property located at 150 E. Hamilton Avenue in a C-1-S (Neighborhood Commercial) Zoning District. This project is Categorically Exempt. Planning Commission decision final, unless appealed in writing to the City Clerk within 10 days. Ms. Barbara Schoetz Ryan, Planner I, presented the staff report as follows: · This item was continued from the Planning Commission meeting of May 26, 1998. · The applicant is seeking approval of a Modification to allow exterior changes to include building color and exterior lighting. · The General Plan and Zoning designations for this site are Commercial. · The site is located on the southwest comer of Hamilton Avenue at Third Street. · The site shares a property line with two single-family residences along approximately 90 feet of the parking lot. The building on this site was approved in 1978 with and was painted beige, brown and green. Original parking lot lighting at that time was minimal Over the past several months, changes were made to the building without proper approvals which resulted in complaints. Specifically, the bright parking lot lighting which had been installed without shields. Additionally, neighbors complained about late night time noise during cleaning and that the building had been painted with bright, intense colors. As a result of these complaints, the City has been working with Carrows. They have been put on notice that the night time noise must cease. The applicant proposes a subdued paint scheme including beige and gray brown and the elimination of the awning. The shields have now been installed however, the lighting is still a problem according to the adjacent neighbor who states his rear yard looks like Candlestick Park. Staff has determined that the level of the lighting has been raised considerably, going from 175 watts to 1000 watts. Public Works staff advises that 1000 watts is what is used to light up the tennis courts at the Community Center. Staff believes that on-site lighting currently used at the Carrows restaurant is considerably higher than necessary for a parking lot. Planning Commission Minutes of June 23, 1998 Page 3 · Staff recommends a condition of approval whereas the site lighting must be changed so that it does not exceed one-foot candles and roof lighting not exceed two-foot candles and use of a uniformity standard of four to one to eliminate bright or dark spots. · Lighting should be adequate to provide safety on site and eliminate problems for the neighbors. · SARC has recommended the color pallet and requested that staff contact the neighbors to see if the changes to the lighting have solved the problems. · This project is exempt from CEQA and no environmental action is required. Chairman Lowe asked how a foot candle is measured. Ms. Barbara Ryan replied through the use of a light meter. Commissioner Gibbons presented the Site and Architectural Review Committee report as follows: · Stated that SARC is appreciative of the effort that the restaurant and staff has undertaken to improve the colors and architectural features. · SARC asked staff to obtain input from the neighbors to see whether the implementation of lighting adjustments has improved their situation. Chairman Lowe advised that the Public Hearing for Agenda Item No. 1 had been left open at the last meeting. Mr. Rich Peterson, 13745 Seminole Drive, Encino, CA: · Stated that Carrows is apologetic that they had done the improvements to their Campbell location without being aware that City approvals were required. · Advised that they have been updating 75 locations and only five or six required City approvals. Said that they are happy with the compromise color scheme and they are ready to get that corrected. Expressed concern about the issue of the lighting since they came to the City for permits and received them. Said that the only Planning condition was that there be no off-site glare on adjacent properties. The lighting has now been installed. A seven foot high wall separates this site from the adjacent residential sites. Advised that their insurance requirements call for additional parking lot lighting. Chairman Lowe asked if this level of lighting is standard at all of their locations. Commissioner Gibbons stated that the lighting issue is the intensity of the lighting in contrast with the surrounding uses. Commissioner Keams asked whether the light bulbs could be reduced in wattage. Planning Commission Minutes of June 23, 1998 Page 4 Mr. Peterson replied that the fixtures are designed for this specific wattage and all of the fixtures insides would have to be changed out in order to lower the wattage. The next level is 400 watts. Commissioner Lindstrom stated that the lighting has now been corrected since the shields were installed. Commissioner Gibbons advised that the correction is not sufficient. Ms. Barbara Ryan advised that the neighbor advised that even with the shields installed the level of lighting makes his yard look like Candlestick Park. However, the trees have leafed out and the situation is acceptable until the leaves fall later this year. Mr. Peterson advised that 8-inch shields had been installed quickly to address the concern but that 12-inch deep shields have now been permanently installed. Commissioner Gibbons suggested that Carrows shut off some of the roof lights. Mr. Peterson said that it might be possible to shut off some of the roof lights but that it might create some shadowing on the roof. Perhaps by shutting off the center lights and turning the end lights might be a solution. Mr. Steve Piasecki, Community Development Director: · Stated that this restaurant has an extraordinary level of lighting. · Encouraged the Commission to adopt an acceptable foot candle level. · Said that perhaps the applicants can use some of the lights at another of their locations. · Advised that issues such as the lighting intensity are well within the Commission's purview and not out of the ordinary. Chairman Lowe asked about a policy for street lighting. Mr. Steve Piasecki stated that on-site lighting is not the same as street lighting. He added that a condition of the building permit is that no glare be directed onto adjacent properties. This installation has created a bright spot in view of these neighbors. Chairman Lowe stated that the foliage may be diminishing the glare right now but that will change when fall arrives and the leaves fall. Asked if the light study was computer generated. Mr. Peterson advised that the light study was computer generated with the exception of the few numbers which were hand-written. These readings were taken on site. Commissioner Lindstrom advised that the Conditions of Approval are provided which covers the lighting issue. The applicant can comply to a level satisfactory to staff for final approval. Chairman Lowe asked how a four to one ratio is derived. Planning Commission Minutes of June 23, 1998 Page 5 Ms. Barbara Ryan replied that the ratio represents an average of the site to each individual place on the site. Commissioner Gibbons: · Stated that using this four to one ratio, this site complies. · Said that since the applicants obtained building permits prior to installing these lights, it may be late to change the requirements. · Agreed with the applicant that it will cost a great deal to change out the fixtures now that they have been installed. · Suggested allowing the applicant to cut off some lighting to see if this solves the complaints from the neighbors. City Attomey William Seligmann advised that it is inappropriate to leave it to the neighbors to decide an acceptable lighting level. Mr. Steve Piasecki suggested a continuance to the next Commission meeting to allow the applicant to reduce the lighting and see if it solves the problems. Commissioner Lindstrom suggested that this item may not need to come back to the Commission. Suggested that the applicant work with the neighbors and staff. Commissioner Gibbons stated that there is an advantage to continuing this application. If cutting off some of the lighting works to solve the problem, the application can be approved. If it does not solve the problems, additional changes will need to be imposed by the Commission. Mr. Peterson thanked the Commission for its time and efforts and advised that lack of lighting causes the need for Police calls due to car break ins. Advised that nearly half of their clientele is over the age of 55. Chairman Lowe asked what specifically Commissioner Gibbons was proposing. Commissioner Gibbons suggested that the lighting around the building and on the roof be reduced by 50%. This can be accomplished by shutting lights off. Chairman Lowe: · Stated that he was uncomfortable with that suggestion. · Suggested deferring the decision on the lighting and approving the color scheme · Said that he is not interested in experimentation. Commissioner Lindstrom asked how much it would cost to remove half the lighting fixtures. Planning Commission Minutes of June 23, 1998 Page 6 Mr. Peterson advised that it would be expensive to replace and should be unnecessary since they complied with the necessary process for approval. Said that they could remove the light fixture that is facing the neighboring property and reduce some of the fixtures on the roof. Commissioner Gibbons asked if the City has on-site lighting standards. Mr. Steve Piasecki advised that the standard is that no glare be caused off site. Commissioner Gibbons stated that there is too much lighting but that causing a major expense to the applicant is inappropriate. Suggested cooperation with staff and neighbors to find something that works. Chairman Lowe stated that professional lighting experts should be making some of these decisions rather than the Commission. Commissioner Keams stated that the lighting is excessive at this location and should be reduced by 50%. Chairman Lowe stated that he believed the applicant should be required to change out the fixtures as the lighting is a nuisance. Commissioner Gibbons stated that this is arbitrary and hard to do. It is difficult to impose standards after the fact. Mr. Peterson stated that they feel that they have not made a mistake with their lighting. They are willing to pay for the mistake of repainting the site but do not feel they should incur any expense for the lighting. This is an expense that they do not want to take. Chairman Lowe closed the Public Hearing for Agenda Item No. 1. Commissioner Keams stated that the condition of approval requires no glare. Since there is a problem with glare, something needs to be done with the lighting of this site. Chairman Lowe again suggested approving the paint color and defer the decision on the lighting. Commissioner Gibbons stated that this is not fair to the applicant. Commissioner Lindstrom agreed and suggested approving the application and allowing staff to work with the applicant to work out the lighting concerns. Clearly the applicant wants to be a part of the community. Mr. Steve Piasecki: Suggested a continuance so that the applicant can identify the foot candle rating that they can live with. Planning Commission Minutes of June 23, 1998 Page 7 Stated that the lighting currently on site is unacceptable in staff's view. Advised that there has not been a lot of cooperation and the lighting issue should be kept packaged with the building modifications. There has been better cooperation since the issues have been linked. Chairman Lowe supported the suggestion for a two-week continuance and reopened the Public Heating for Agenda Item No. 1. Motion: Upon motion of Commissioner Kearns, seconded by Commissioner Gibbons, the Planning Commission continued consideration of M 98-02 (Modifications to the Carrows Restaurant located at 150 E. Hamilton Avenue) to the Planning Commission meeting of July 14, 1998. (4-0-3; Commissioners Francois, Jones and Meyer-Kennedy were absent.) Chairman Lowe read Agenda Item No. 2 into the record 2. Commission Appointment of a Representative to the General Plan Task Force. Mr. Steve Piasecki, Community Development Director, presented the staff report as follows: The Commission is asked to appoint one if its members to a newly-formed General Plan Task Force for Phase I. · Work on Phase I will begin in the fall and Phase II will being next year. · Lisa Mclntyre from the Civic Improvement Commission and Andrew Kotowski from the Parks & Recreation Commission have been appointed to date. · The commitment will be two meetings per month, with one meeting in July. The meetings will occur in the evenings. Commissioner Lindstrom asked what kind of time commitment is envisioned. Mr. Steve Piasecki replied two meetings per month, approximately two hours each meeting. Commissioner Lindstrom asked if an alternate would also be appointed. Mr. Steve Piasecki stated that this might be possible but that the idea is to have one member who will follow this process through, using a building block approach. He advised that the Task Force will not be writing the General Plan but rather will provide direction to staff. Commissioner Gibbons expressed interest but stated that with her participation on the Site and Architectural Review Committee, she is unable to take this on in addition. Planning Commission Minutes of June 23, 1998 Page 8 Commissioner Lindstrom expressed interest but said that his term will expire in August. Asked when the first meeting will occur. Mr. Steve Piasecki answered July. There will also be two meetings in August. Chairman Lowe suggested continuing this item to the next meeting when more Commissioners will be present. REPORT OF THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR The written report of Mr. Steve Piasecki, Community Development Director, was accepted as presented. ADJOURNMENT The Planning Commission meeting adjourned at 8:45 p.m. to the Planning Commission meeting of July 14, 1998, in the Council Chambers, City Hall, 70 North First Street, Campbell, California. SUBMITTED BY: APPROVED BY: ATTEST: C'onn~e A Shinn, Recording Secr~