HomeMy WebLinkAboutPC Min 1974-05-15
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MINUTES OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING OF MAY 15. 1974
The Plannlng Commlsslon of the City of Seal Beach met in regular session on
Wednesday. May 15. 1974. in the Councl1 Chamber of the City Admlnlstratlon
Building. The meetlng was called to order by Chairman Knapp at 7:30 pomo and
Vlce Chalrman Lanning led the Pledge to the Flago
Present: Cook, Lannlng. Ripperdan, Schmltt, Knapp
Absent: None
The minutes of the meeting of M~ 1, 1974 were approved as corrected at the
suggestion of Mr. Cook.
10 PubllC Hearlngs
Ao Walter Babcock, V-7-74 (continued)
Request for alteratlons to existlng restaurant wlth variance for less than
requlred parking at 201 Main Sto Secretary revlewed the appllcatlon contlnued
from the last meeting to provide for survey of parklng aval1able. Letter from
Old Town Buslness Assoclatlon recelved ln favor of the applicatlon. Hearlng
openo Dr. Babcocl reported that avallablllty of parking at peak tlmes of use
appeared to be sufflcient, and that after lnvestlgatlon had not been able to
provlde any addltlonal parklng. Mr. Cook asked about negotlatlon wlth the Clty.
Dr. Babcock stated the City Manager would not be favorable to leasing portlons
of Clty lot as lt could set precedence. When Mr. Cook pointed there were some
portlons of the Clty lot under lease, the Secretary explalned about the
expanslon of the flre statlon llmltlng parklng spaceo No other comments, the
hearlng was closed.
In the dlScusslon that followed, Mr. Cook was unconvlnced that the appllcant
had pursued all avenues to provlde parklng for hlS facl1lty. He felt lt would
be dlfflcult to requlre others to meet standards. Mro Cook moved to deny the
applicatlon. Seconded by Schmltt. Mr. Knapp felt the business area favored
the proposal and that no serlOUS parklng problem eXlsted. Mrso Lannlng concured.
Mro Rlpperdan had some concern about ratlo of proposed parklng to the requlred
number. ~1r. Cook felt the request varled too far from Code. Mr. Schmltt
felt a precedent could be establlshed causlng problems later.
Ayes:
Noes:
Cook, Rlpperdan
Knapp, Lannlng, Schmitt
Motlon fal1edo
Mr. Knapp moved to approve the varlance. Seconded by Mrs. Lannlng.
Ayes:
Noes;
Knapp, Lannlng, Rlpperdan
Cook, Schmltt
Motlon carrled. Resolutlon Uo. 830.
B. TentatlVe Tract Hap 8534
Mr. Cook asked to make a statement prlor to openlng of hearlngo He questloned
the lnabll1ty to resclnd a prevlous actlon and referred to an actlon resclnded
on February 6. Asst. Clty Attorney Dorsey explalned the basls for this oplnlon
on a flnal actlon. Mr. Cook felt the reasonlng not clear and requested no
actlon untll a wrltten oplnlon could be prepared. Secretary and Clty Attorney
gave further explanatlon that PubllC Utll1ty Commlsslon recognlzes the flrst
actlon as valld, thlS lS not a rehearlng, but to recelve new testlmony only.
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Secretary exp1alned that thlS hearlng called due to regu1atlon by Pub11C Utl11ty
Code. He reviewed the past actlons and denla1 by Airport land Use Commlsslon.
Written communicatlons recelved from B1Xby Ranch Co., Dr. Garbe11 of N.A.G.
Consultants, and Naval Alr Statlon. Hearlng open. Mr. Schmltt advlsed that he
had prevlous1y addressed the Commlsslon on thls actlon representlng the College
Park Homeowners and abstalned from actlon.
Jay Covlngton asked what was requlred for notlce of pub11C hearlng. Attorney
stated that adequate notlce lS the legal requlrement; In thlS case, 300 feet.
Mr. Covington stated it had been Clty P011CY to post In 11brarles, this had
not been done and cltlzens outslde of 300 feet not properly notifled. Attorney
Dorsey stated that legal requlrements had been met.
DaVld Ml11er, representlng Blxby Ranch Co., brought attentlon to \/rltten
documents from Dr. Garbe11 who was unable to be present and pOlnted out the
study made and conc1uslons that the proposal would be well lnSlde requlred
State law. Jack Cortelyou, 4201 Dogwood, spoke In favor of the proposal and
felt lt would be a worthy add1tlon to the nelghborhood. John Glranda felt
Dr. Garbe11 mlsquoted hlm and exp1alned how reports were developed on baslc
data, est1mate of operatlons, desk study and variables. Mr. Blackman,
Cand1eberry & Aster, stated one he11copter had passed over hlS house thls
evenlng wlth plenty of nOlse. Jlm Duncan, 3681 Bluebell, presldent of the
Homeowners Assoclatlon, concurred wlth evenlng1s he11copter nOlse and vlbratlon.
He further stated that resldents favor a greenbelt of a passive nature and
would be wl111ng to poll the residents. He suggested that the clty purchase
the property lf the Navy does not.
Jay Covlngton, 4557 Cand1eberry, suggested the P1annlng Commission should
recognlze they are not approvlng, but overrlding, the Airport land Use Commisslon.
He dlscussed the legal and technlca1 aspects. He repeated hlS protest ln the
method of legal notlce. He p01nted out the owner only had speculative rlght
because they had had opportunlty to develop in the past; in thlS case human
rlghts transcend property rlghts. He also discussed possibl11ty of Navy
acqulsltlon through purchase or trade.
Gerald Mullen, 9101 Wl1shlre, attorney for Bixby, pointed out two Vlews and
wi111ng to dlSCUSS if so deslred. Howard Rowan, 1531 Shir1m Cypress, read
a letter from Cralg Hosmer to Mayor Blackman lnto the record (see attached)
wrltten ln Opposltlon to the development. He also pointed out that Los Alamitos
Air Station was not 11mfted to helicopter operation, but all studies were based
upon that premfseo Mro Rowan desc~ibed the Blr station facf)ftles and types of
operations-that could be performed from the runway lengthso He cited portlons
of a state report and a news release dated 11/10/72 by the Orange County Grand
Juryo These referred to placement of resldences in close proximity to eXlstlng
alrportso Susan Haggard of Rossmoor rev1ewed the air crash 1n her res1dential
area and feels this proposal being so much closer would be in a worse locationo
Hopes to prevent undes1rable homeso John Perrin, Naval Air Stat10n, read a
prepared statement dated May 15, 1974 of a status report on aircraft noise and
safety factorso (See attached) Mro Perrin also cited a report by SCAG 1n 1973.
Mro Knapp asked why the Navy hadnOt taken action many years ago to acquire
property to protect thelr stations from encroachmento Mro Perrin explained they
had leased areas at each end of the runway and hoped for a plan of compatible
land useso Mro Rowan pointed out that developers keep extend1ng their plans of
subdfv1sionso He cited new laws now effectlve, but many do not apply to the
mflftaryo He also pointed out that ml1ftary bases exist for the benefit of the
cftfzenso
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A gentlemen from Rossmoor Homeowners Assoclation expressed concern for any
new development that could cause a change 1n fllght patternso Dale Stonero
3560 Bluebell~ was also concerned about possible changes in flight patternso
Mro Covlngton asked about the conflict of interest and why previously members
of the commission had stepped downo Attorney advised of previous actions and
the rule of necesslty being invokedo Mro Covington suggested if the conflict
of interest 1S suspended, Commiss10ner Schmitt should be reseatedo Mro Knapp
advised that Mro Schmitt had voluntarily stepped downo Mr. Schm1tt spoke to
the issueo
Mr. Miller spoke in rebuttal to oppositlon advising that the proposal was not
in violat10n of the adopted Land Use Element and felt the Airport Land Use
action was advlsory onlyo In attempting to resolve the noise and safety 1ssue~
Dro Garbell~ a expert in the noise fieldD was retained to perform a study and
his conclusion stated the proposal 1S suitableo He also they had no bona fide
offer from the Navyo Mro Miller also pointed out that Mro HosmerDs letter
referred to high rise and clarified that it is only two story~ w1th no greater
denslty than the adJacent residential area which would not further restrict
airport operationo He stated the N.AoSo was in conflict with Long Beachg
Fullerton and Los Angeles airports and must operate in limited manner which
would preclude increased use at the air statlon. Dro GarbellDs report suggested
methods to reduce noiseo
Mro Mll1er read a statement from the Bixby Ranch Coo letter dated May 14, 1974D
as follows: 1DThis property has been under a cloud of real or threatened act10n
by or on behalf of the City of Seal Beach, the United States Navy, or the Orange
County Airport Land Use Commission under the urgings of the United States Navy
for a considerable period of timeo The City determined that it did not wish to
purchase the parcel outright for a park; the citizens of College Park East
determlned that they did not wish to form a park improvement district for the
purpose of acquiring and developing the land as a park; and the United States
Navy has made no reasonable offer to acquire the property or any interest therein
for its purposeso Under all of the circumstances, we believe that fairness and
Justice require that the CompanyDs application be acted upon at this time, and
be approvedo A copy of this letter is being transmitted to the Mayor and members
of the City Council and to the members of the Orange County Airport Land Use
Commission to provide such information as may be of assistance to the Counc11
and the Commission when the matters dlscuSSed in the letter come before themoU
Mro Rowan spoke on the conflict of air space and that there was none at Los
Alamitoso Mro Duncan stated that changing the flight pattern would not eliminate
noise. but would Just change the affected area. Mro Miller advised the proposal
will be heard py the Airport Land Use Commission on May 230 Hearing closed.
Discussion followed Mro Cook moved to rescind the previous action approving
Tentatlve Tract Noo 85340 Motion died for lack of a second. Further discussion
of use of the property and Land Use Element.
Mrso Lanning moved to recommend to the City Council that the Planning Commission
would support a position recommending conditional approval of Tentative Tract
Map 8534. Seconded by Mro Knapp.
Ayes:
Noes:
Absent:
Abstain:
Knapp~ Lanningg Ripperdan
Cook
None
Schmitt Motion carrled. Resolut10n Noo 8310
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Secretary advlsed the matter would come before the City Council on May 280
4It 2. Oral Communications
Mr Covlngton pointed out that after the park bond issue falled and R-3 zoning
re~onf1rmed~ the air station was inact1veo Now that it is op~rative, the
zoning should be restudiedo He further stated that the decls10n reached by
the Comm1ssion was entirely il10g1calo
30 Written Communicat10ns
All written communications received were in conJunction wlth other ltemso
4. New Business
There was no new businesso
50 SecretaryDs Report
Secretary reported that specific plan for PoEo rlght-of~way ready for revlew
this week, and discussed time for public hearingo To be scheduled for meeting
of June 50
Mro Cook commented that he felt the City Councl1 should have all informatlon
before taklng action since Plannlng Commisslon lS an advisory bodyo He wanted
to avold tentatlve mlnutes being furnlshed that did not include all pertinent
remarks 0
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Mrso Lanning and Mro Neprud commented on their meeting at the Navy brleflng
on May 4 and that lnformation presented at this meeting came as a surprise
since the Navy had stated they would have no new relevent lnformatlono
Discusslon of proposed shopplng center at Seal Beach and Westminstero
No further businesss the meeting was adJourned at 10:00 p.mo
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Record1ng Secretary
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