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PC Min 07/25/1995CITY OF CA1VIPBELL PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES 7:30 P.M. TUESDAY JULY 25, 1995 CITY HALL COUNCIL CHAMBERS The Planning Commission meeting of July 25, 1995, was called to order at 7:30 p.m., in the Council Chambers, 70 North First Street, Campbell, California by Acting Chairman Lindstrom, and the following proceedings were had, to wit: ROLL CALL Commissioners Present: Acting Chairman: Commissioner: Commissioner: Commissioner: Commissioner: Commissioner: Mel Lindstrom I. Alne Alana S. Higgins Susan A. Kearns Dennis Lowe Jay Perrine (arrived 7:50 p.m.) Commissioners Absent: Chairwoman: Jane Meyer-Kennedy Staff Present: Community Development Director: Steve Piasecki Senior Planner: Darryl M. Jones City Attorney: William Seligmann Reporting Secretary: Corinne A. Shinn APPROVAL OF MINUTES Motion: On motion of Commissioner Kearns, seconded by Commissioner Higgins, the Planning Commission minutes of July 11, 1995, were approved. (4-0-2-1; Commissioners Meyer-Kennedy and Perrine were absent and Commissioner Lowe abstained.) COMMUNICATIONS There were no communication items. Planning Commission Minutes of July 25, 1995 Page 2 AGENDA MODIFICATIONS OR POSTPONEMENTS There were no modifications or postponements. ORAL REOUESTS: There were no oral requests. PUBLIC HEARING Acting Chairman Lindstrom read Agenda Item No. 1 into the record. 1. UP 95-11 Public Hearing to consider the application of Mr. Chris Meany, on behalf of Barnes &'Noble Bookstore, for approval of a Conditional Use Permit to allow a bookstore use at 1875 S. Bascom Avenue in a C-2-S (General Commercial) Zoning District. This project is Categorically Exempt. Mr. Darryl M. Jones, Senior Planner, presented the staff report as follows: · Applicant is seeking a Use Permit to allow a bookstore at the Pruneyard. A Use Permit is required under the City's Zoning Ordinance. · Barnes & Noble will occupy 32,000 square feet of space in a newly constructed portion of the Pruneyard at the corner visible from Bascom and Campbell Avenues which is now occupied by Bank of America. Major renovations to the Pruneyard were approved by the Planning Commission earlier this year. · Barnes & Noble currently occupies 14,000 square feet of space at Hamilton Plaza. · Staff finds this request to be consistent with the General Plan and Zoning designations for the site. · The parking provided on site is adequate to support this proposed use. · The proposed operational hours will remain the same as the hours of operation at Hamilton Plaza, 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. · A condition of approval that was carried forward from the original Barnes & Noble approval at the Hamilton Plaza location, limits the number of employees to 10 during any shift. Since parking is more plentiful at the Pruneyard, this restriction may not be necessary and the applicant may wish to make a request the Planning Commission to increase the number of staff at the larger store. · The current application for the Barnes & Noble Bookstore does not include any request for signage. If the planned signage is consistent with the square footage allowed under the Sign Ordinance, signs can be approved without review by the Planning Commission. Acting Chairman Lindstrom opened the Public Hearing for Agenda Item No. 1. Mr. Chris Meany, William Wilson & Associates, applicant. · Introduced his associate, Mollie Choate, the property manager for the Pruneyard, and passed along the best regards of Mr. David Word, Managing Planning Commission Minutes of July 25, 1995 Page 3 Partner, who is in Europe. Asked the Commission if comments regarding the sign application were appropriate at this point in time. Acting Chairman Lindstrom responded that at this time the only item under discussion was the Use Permit application. The sign application will be considered and discussed separately. Mr. Chris Meany continued: · They are seeking a Conditional Use Permit, as required under the Zoning Ordinance, to allow Barnes & Noble Bookstore to occupy space at the Pruneyard. · The proposed Barnes & Noble "Superstore' will occupy 32,000 square feet. · The proposed use is consistent with the previous Barnes & Noble approval for the Hamilton Plaza location. Commissioner Lowe inquired whether this large bookstore could operate with just 10 employees per shift. Mr. Chris Meany replied that they could not. Commissioner Alne asked why he was not commenting on that fact. Mr. Chris Meany asked that this condition of approval (condition 3) restricting the number of employees per shift to 10 be stricken from the final approval. Barnes & Noble operates with a higher than normal employee ratio in order to best serve its customers. Commissioner Lowe asked staff what interest the City has in the number of employees Barnes & Noble would utilize. Mr. Darryl M. Jones responded that the condition was carried over from the original approval that the City typically does not place a restriction on the number of employees for a business. At Hamilton Plaza, parking is more of a problem. Commissioner Alne asked staff if they are willing to strike this condition limiting the number of employees per shift. Mr. Darryl M. Jones replied that staff is willing to strike this restriction. Commissioner Kearns inquired whether the hours of operation were acceptable to the applicant. Planning Commission Minutes of July 25, 1995 Page 4 Mr. Chris Meany replied that the proposed hours of operation were fine. MOTION: On motion of Commissioner Lowe, seconded by Commissioner Alne, the Planning Commission moved to close the Public Hearing (5-0-2; Commissioners Meyer-Kennedy and Perrine were absent). MOTION: On motion of Commissioner Alne, seconded by Commissioner Kearns, the Planning Commission adopted Resolution No. 2989 approving a Conditional Use Permit to allow the establishment of a Barnes & Noble Bookstore on property located at 1875 S. Bascom Avenue (the Pruneyard Shopping Center), striking out Condition No. 3 which restricted the number of employees per shift to 10, by the following roll-call vote: AYES: NOES: ABSENT: ABSTAIN: Alne, Higgins, Kearns, Lindstrom, Lowe None Meyer-Kennedy and Perrine None This approval is effective in 10 days unless appealed in writing to the City Clerk. Commissioner Perrine arrived at this time (approximately 7:50 p.m.). Acting Chairman Lindstrom read Agenda Item No. 2 into the record. 2. SA 95-24 Public Hearing to consider the application of Mr. Chris Meany, on behalf of the Pruneyard Shopping Center, for approval of a Sign Application (SA 95-24) to allow a freeway-oriented sign and freestanding signs on property located at 1875 S. Bascom Avenue in a C-2-S (General Commercial) Zoning District. Mr. Darryl M. Jones, Senior Planner, presented the staff report as follows: · The two existing 23-ft high freestanding signs will remain on site. In addition the applicant proposes to add 48 square feet to the two signs to include the Pruneyard logo and to identify Barnes & Noble. In addition, a third sign at the corner of Bascom and Campbell will not be increased in height 44 feet but will be increased by 62 square feet with the addition of the Pruneyard logo. The legs on the corner sign are currently four feet apart and will be moved to 12 feet apart without changing the size or height of the sign. Staff and SARC had expressed concerns to the applicant that despite the major renovations in the works for the Pruneyard, their signage was not keeping up. The applicant has responded with an updated, more modem Hanning Commission Minutes of July 25, 1995 Page 5 sign design. In addition to the three freestanding signs, the applicant is proposing a 72 square foot, 4 1/2 foot wide by 16 foot long freeway-oriented sign. Staff is supportive of the three freestanding signs. Staff is not supportive of the freeway-oriented sign as the applicant has not demonstrated that the request meets the criteria outlined in the Sign Ordinance to warrant such a sign. Commissioner Lowe asked how this request compared to the Breuners freeway- oriented sign request. Mr. Darryl M. Jones responded that this request was substantially less. Commissioner Lowe asked what connection Barnes & Noble had with the Pruneyard Inn that would make including Barnes & Noble appropriate on their sign. Mr. Darryl M. Jones answered that he was unable to determine a connection between the two uses which is why staff was not supportive of the freeway- oriented sign request. Acting Chairman Lindstrom suggested that the discussion regarding the freestanding signs be held first with a discussion regarding the freeway-oriented signs to occur separately after concluding discussion on the freestanding signs. Commissioner Kearns presented the Site and Architectural Review Committee report as follows: · SARC was not supportive of the applicant's proposal at the first meeting regarding this sign application. SARC wanted to see a more modern sign design. · A new design was created which SARC supports, including the freeway- oriented sign. Commissioner Alne added that one of the reasons that the square footage of the sign is being deemed greater is that the added Pruneyard log is counted as sign footage while the previous geometrical design on the sign was not. SARC found that the Pruneyard logo represents an improvement over the previous design on the sign. Acting Chairman Lindstrom added that the sign has been streamlined. In his opinion, technically no added square footage has been added. Acting Chairman Lindstrom opened the Public Hearing for Agenda Item No. 2. Planning Commission Minutes of July 25, 1995 Page 6 Mr. Chris Meany, William Wilson & Associates, applicant: · This request is part of a continuing effort to rework the Pruneyard. · Acknowledged that Darryl Jones had come up with the design at the top of the sign, bettering the efforts of their architects. · Reviewed the earlier site approvals to demolish smaller units at the Pruneyard to bring in new anchor tenants and bisect the center with a through street as well as architecturally improving the appearance of the architecture. · William Wilson & Associates has worked diligently to secure the best anchor tenant available. · Their market research offered them four viable options for the reworking of the Pruneyard: 1. Supermarket (An option they felt would limit the draw to the Pruneyard as well as being less exciting. This use would represent a neighborhood use instead of a community use.) 2. Discount Orientation (Currently a very accepted practice but which would not take advantage of the 30-plus years of good will generated by the Pruneyard). 3. Electronics. 4. Entertainment/Lifestyle Retail Center. (Not just convenience but a pleasant way to spend time.) · They selected the fourth option -- Entertainment/Lifestyle Retail Center -- with restaurants, movie theaters and a bookstore. They plan to recast the Pruneyard as an entertaining place to visit and stay. In his opinion, Barnes & Noble Superstore is the most exciting retail store today. · Barnes & Noble will have a huge magazine selection and more than 125,000 titles of books. Also included will be software, music, a cafe and couches and fireplaces for ambiance. It will be a "community center." · Pylon signage is required for an anchor tenant. · When the center was originally approved, it included pylon signs with the names of anchor tenants included. · Today the Pruneyard Center is faced with the physical constraints of its location and building design. The low hanging roof shadows the front windows. The interior businesses rely on the exterior business to draw to the center. · Their original request was simply to add Barnes & Noble to the existing signs. However, they are thankful that they were forced by staff and SARC to improve the design and appearance of the signs. · The freeway-oriented sign is important if not controversial. · He disagrees with staff's contention that the required criteria for approval of a freeway-oriented sign has not been met. Requirement 1: That the tenant be located on site. Barnes & Noble will be located on site. Requirement 2: That the use depend upon the freeway sign. Barnes & Planning Commission Minutes of ]uly 25, 1995 Pal~e 7 Requirement 3: Requirement 4: Requirement 5: Noble will utilize 32,000 square feet of tenant space. They must generate big dollars to survive. They must draw from the entire region in order to succeed. Highway 280 limits the draw from the north since Valley Fair is such a draw from that area. In addition Highway 17 acts as a "wall" separating the Pruneyard from the freeway. The Pruneyard must draw both from the east and from the south. Traffic to the south currently goes to Old Town in Los Gatos. This area is congested and has limited parking. A sign facing Highway 17 is a way to draw traffic to the Pruneyard from the south. Site must have a demonstrated limited visibility or unique characteristics. The Pruneyard meets this with its limited exposure to the interior businesses. They are dependent on the pylon signs. The Pruneyard is a 30 acre site with 3,000 square feet of linear frontage. They need exposure. Minimum height and size required. While there is no direct connection between the Pruneyard Inn and Barnes & Noble, they felt that the City would be more supportive of adding a second name to the existing Pruneyard Inn sign as opposed to installing a completely separate sign. That the sign not be lit or moving. They are willing to do without lighting if necessary. Commissioner Lowe sought clarification regarding which hotel was at the Pruneyard Shopping Center. Mr. Chris Meany responded that the hotel located within the Pruneyard was the Pruneyard Inn. Commissioner Higgins advised Commissioner Lowe that he may have this hotel confused with the Campbell Inn which is located on Campbell Avenue just beyond the Highway 17 overpass. Commissioner Perrine suggested that the Pruneyard logo be added to the freeway- oriented sign to connect the sign to the center. Mr. Chris Meany supported this suggestion. Commissioner Alne advised that he felt Mr. Meany's points were valid. · The Pruneyard is a major center for Campbell. He wants to see it a success. It has been less and less successful over the last 10 or so years. It could become the most significant center in Campbell. Planning Commission Minutes of July 25, 1995 Page 8 The overhang does shade the business frontages. The center does need suffident signage. The request does not represent a significantly larger sign footage that the original signage. The logo is an improvement over the current sign design. The logo should also be added to the freeway-oriented sign. The number of signs is appropriate for the size of the site. They don't look overwhelming. The new design is more attractive, less spindly or artificial looking. Barnes & Noble will need lots of foot traffic in order to pay for the size of its store. Commissioner Kearns advised that she agreed with Commissioner Alne. Commissioner Perrine added the he too agreed with Commissioner Alne. Commissioner Lowe stated that he is astounded by this opinion in light of the more than two-hour discussion that took place when the proposed freeway- oriented sign for Breuners was discussed. He could not understand how the Commission seemed intent on rubber stamping this Pruneyard request. Wished that he had attended SARC so that he would be more able to buy in on this request as those Commissioners had who have participated in SARC. Commissioner Alne advised Commissioner Lowe that current discussion is regarding the freestanding signs but not the freeway-oriented sign. Commissioner Lowe responded that he had no argument against the three freestanding signs. MOTION: On motion of Commissioner Kearns, seconded by Commissioner Higgins, the Planning Commission moved to close the Public Hearing (6-0-1; Commissioner Meyer-Kennedy was absent). MOTION: On motion of Commissioner Alne, seconded by Commissioner Perrine, the Planning Commission approved SA 95-24 allowing three freestanding signs on property located at 1875 S. Bascom Avenue (the Pruneyard Shopping Center) (6-0-1; Commissioner Meyer-Kennedy was absent). Acting Chairman Lindstrom asked for discussion regarding the freeway-oriented sign at this point. Commissioner Alne stated that he felt the argument was valid that Barnes and Noble would have to go beyond Campbell to support itself. Competition with Los Planning Commission Minutes of July 25, 1995 Page 9 Gatos is not an unpleasant possibility. Would like to see the Pruneyard logo added to the freeway-oriented sign. He is sympathetic to the request. This freeway-oriented sign will serve as a daily reminder of the availability of the Barnes & Noble Bookstore. Commissioner Kearns stated that she concurred with Commissioner Alne's views. Commissioner Higgins advised that she shared Commissioner Lowe's position. Stated that while she and Commissioner Lowe were supportive of the Breuner's freeway-oriented sign, it was unsuccessful. Stated that she could not support this request. Commissioner Lowe apologized for his previous statements and confusion. The City should hold to a standard. Since Breuner's sign was denied this one should also be denied. He added that he could support a Pruneyard logo but not the inclusion of a Barnes & Noble sign on the freeway-oriented sign. Commissioner Perrine stated that his viewpoint was swayed upon learning that Barnes & Noble will rely on freeway to help draw from Highway 17. In the available space, this sign can be handled. Commissioner Lowe asked how this request differs from the Breuner's request. Commissioner Perrine suggested one difference being that Barnes & Noble was not visible from the freeway. Commissioner Kearns added that this is the largest retail center in Campbell. Commissioner Alne stated that the argument for being identified as a regional business has been met by Barnes & Noble but was not achieved in rationalizing SportsMart and Office Depot. This is the best way to capture the purchasing public. Commissioner Higgins added that if the sign is changed in any way, it should be changed to include the Pruneyard logo. She stated that she could not support adding Barnes & Noble to the sign as it would seem hypocritical on the part of the Commission. The Barnes & Noble Bookstore on Stevens Creek and San Tomas is packed all the time without freeway signage. Acting Chairman Lindstrom advised that the Planning Commission does not have the final decision on this freeway-oriented sign but rather forwards a recommendation to the Council. He does not see how adding Barnes & Noble to the freeway-oriented sign can help Barnes & Noble or the Pruneyard. Does not feel that an exception is warranted. There will be three beautiful signs, one of which is visible from the freeway. No unique reason has been brought forward to Planning Commission Minutes of July 25, 1995 Page 10 support this addition to the freeway-oriented sign. Commissioner Perrine suggested that the Commission continue the discussion of the freeway-oriented sign to the August meeting to see if the applicant can't come up with a revised design including the Pruneyard logo. Acting Chairperson Lindstrom suggested sending the item forward to Council with a recommendation. Commissioner Alne advised that the Council does pay attention to the recommendation put forth by the Planning Commission. The applicant should have the opportunity to redesign the sign to include the Pruneyard logo. MO~O~ On motion of Commissioner Perrine seconded by Commissioner Alne, the Planning Commission moved to reopen the Public Hearing (6-0-1; Commissioner Meyer-Kennedy was absent). Mr. Chris Meany, Applicant. · Would like the opportunity to come back with a redesigned freeway-oriented sign. · Will see if the Pruneyard Inn would consider a reduced sign so that the overall signage on this freeway-oriented sign will not be as great. Commissioner Lowe asked if Barnes & Noble was the only regional tenant. Mr. Chris Meany said that they were. Commissioner Lowe asked Mr. Meany to define a regional tenant. Mr. Chris Meany advised that there were three basic types of businesses -- neighborhood, commerdal and regional. MO~O~ On motion of Commissioner Perrine seconded by Commissioner Alne, the Planning Commission moved to continue discussion of the freeway-oriented sign for one month -- to the Planning Commission meeting of August 22, 1995 -- (6-0-1; Commissioner Meyer-Kennedy was absent). This approval of the three freestanding signs is effective in 10 days unless appealed in writing to the City Clerk. The freeway-oriented sign will be agendized for further discussion on August 22, 1995. Planning Commission Minutes of July 25, 1995 Page 11 REPORT OF THE COMMUNITy DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR The written report of Mr. Steve Piasecki, Community Development Director, was accepted as presented. · Advised the Commission that the City's former Architectural Advisor, Ed Janke, is now the President of the AIA. Commissioners Lindstrom and Alne announced that they would be out during the month of August. ADJOURNMENT The Planning Commission meeting adjourned at 8:45 p.m. to the next Planning Commission meeting of August 8, 1995, at 7:30 p.m., in the Council Chambers, City Hall, 70 North First Street, Campbell, California. SUBMITI'ED BY: ~ Corinne A. Shinn, Recording Secretary Steve~Crdiase cki, Secretary