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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPC Min 1989-03-15 . . . ,.. CITY OF SEAL BEACH PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES OF MARCH 15, 1989 The regular meetlng of the Plannlng CommlSSlon was called to order In Clty Councll Chambers by Chalrman Sharp at 7:30 p.m. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE The Pledge of Alleglance was led by Mr. Jessner. ROLL CALL Present: Chalrman Sharp CommlSSloners Suggs, Flfe, Jessner Absent: Commlssloner Rullo Also Present: Ed Knlght, Dlrector, Development Servlces Dept. Barry Curtls, Asst., Development Servlces Dept. CONSENT CALENDAR 1. MINUTES OF MARCH 1, 1989 MOTION by Jessner to approve the Plann1ng Comm1ssion M1nutes of March 1, 1989; SECOND by Fife. MOTION CARRIED 4 - 0 2. PLAN REVIEW 3-89 507 OCEAN AVENUE MOTION by Suggs to approve Plan Review 3-89; SECOND by F1fe. MOTION CARRIED 4 - 0 PUBLIC HEARINGS 3. CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT 14-88fVARIANCE 1-89 4000 LAMPSON Staff Report Mr. Knlght dellvered the staff report statlng thls lS a request by Jane Kelth for Moblle 011 Corporatlon to remodel an eXlstlng serVlce statlon which would vary from the mlnlmum lot Slze and setbacks for a serVlce statlon. Commlsslon Comments Mr. Flfe spoke to the method of grantlng varlances and the mandatory three flndlngs, saYlng he feels the Plannlng Commlsslon lS lnconslstent In ltS appllcatlon of varlance standards. . . . ... Page 2 - Plannlng Commlsslon Meetlng of March 15, 1989 He sald he could not see any speclal hardshlp for thlS property not shared by other property owners who want to make changes and have pre-Code non-conformlng property. PubllC Hearlng Brlan Rechstelner * 9891 Vlcksburg Dr.. Huntlngton Beach. CA Mr. Rechstelner spoke for Moblle 011. He said thlS lS an older unl t and needs upgradlng. Regardlng the varlance, lf Moblle could get addl tlonal property they would do so and they would rebulld. But they cannot, so they wlll remodel. He had questlons regardlng Resolutlon No. 1532: *. Number 9: There lS a trash enclosure there now WhlCh lS behlnd the bUlldlng and lS coordlnated lnto the buildlng. It's elther metal wlth the same flnlsh as the bUlldlng or a block wall. *. Number 7: Moblle 011 wants to send the Clty a flnal report showlng compllance Wl th agency requlrements. If, when they replace the Ilnes and dispensers, any ground contamlnatlon lS found Moblle wlll clean lt up. The Orange County Health Department (solI problem) or the reglonal Water Quallty Control Board (ground water) are on slte when removal takes place. Re the Moblle statlon on Seal Beach Boulevard: Moblle needs the street and B1Xby won't glve Moblle an easement at thlS tlme. Commlsslon Comments Mr. Jessner asked staff about conditlon #9 In Resolutlon No. 1532. Staff replled the block wall was requested for aesthetlc reasons. It could be worded as "opaque ... to staff's satlsfaction". The llght standards are more energy efflclent and wlll be buffered, maklng them better than the current fluorescent llghts. MOTION by Jessner to approve Condltional Use Permlt 14-88 by the adoptlon of Resolutlon No. 1531; SECOND by Suggs. MOTION CARRIED 4 - 0 MOTION by Jessner to approve Variance 1-89 wlth a change to Resolutlon No. 1532, conditlon #9 reworded as: 9. The constructlon of a trash enclosure shall be requlred and approved by the Plannlng Department. MOTION CARRIED 4 - 0 . . . .. Page 3 - Plann1ng Comm1SS1on Minutes of March 15, 1989 4. CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT 2-89 VARIANCE 2-89 143 MAIN STREET Staff Report Mr. Curt1s del1vered the staff report, stat1ng th1s 1S a request by appl1cant, Nader Tahv1ldari, for a perm1t for on-sale beer, W1ne, and d1stilled sp1r1 ts and for a variance for less than requ1red on-s1te park1ng. He is propos1ng to operate a Cont1nental-style restaurant called "Pap1llion". Th1S establishment 1S 2,938 square feet, requ1r1ng th1rty (30) park1ng spaces. As a result of Var1ance 15-84, the subJect property has twelve (12) park1ng spaces prov1ded with three (3) spaces 1n the 1n-I1eu program. The appl1cant 1S request1ng e1ghteen (18) spaces to be prov1ded thru the C1ty'S 1n-I1eu program. Comm1ss1on Comments Cha1rman Sharp asked Mr. Curt1s where the f1ve (5) parking spaces and four (4) grand-fathered spaces are. The f1ve spaces are 1n the lot shared W1 th John's Food K1ng and Old Town W1ne and Gourmet. Mr. Kn1ght sa1d "grand fathered" park1ng 1S park1ng that does not eX1st. Because the bus1ness has been there "for so many years it automat1cally receives cred1t for a certa1n number of spaces". Mr. Kn1ght sa1d non-conform1ng uses could be allowed to perpetuate. Mr. F1fe asked what the C1ty was d01ng w1th the 1n-I1eu park1ng revenues that have been collected to date? Mr. Knight sa1d they are 1n an 1nterest-bear1ng trust account. The money 1S be1ng set aS1de now to add park1ng 1n the future. Staff noted each of these resolut1ons states th1S 1S an 1nter1m program and 1n the future the amount of money for 1n-I1eu parking spaces could be 1ncreased slgn1f1cantly. Publ1C Hear1ng Nadar Tahv1ldar1 * Seal Beach Mr. Tahv1ldar1 1ntroduced h1mself as a res1dent and owner/operator of the Pr1mrose years. long-t1me Rossmoor Restaurant for seven Mr. Tahv1ldar1 1ntends to cont1nue serv1ng the commun1ty at 143 Ma1n Street by creat1ng a restaurant w1th a European atmosphere and CU1S1ne and upgrad1ng the fac1lity (Wh1Ch 1S currently a take-out del1catessen) to a slt-down, formal restaurant. Regard1ng the park1ng, Mr. Tahv1ldar1 said that the present , . . Page 4 - Plann1ng Comm1ssion M1nutes of March 15, 1989 de11catessen has operated successfully for some t1me W1 th the current amount of parking. W1th a more formal, sit-down d1nner the customer would be staY1ng longer 1n the restaurant and traffic would decrease. Also, 11tter would be decreased because 1t 1S not a take-out de11. Tax revenues would 1ncrease. Mr. Tahv11dar1 sa1d he would remove the eX1st1ng take-out de11; that would cancel the eX1st1ng CUP 22-84. The twenty-two (22) park1ng spaces 1n the adJacent park1ng lot are used on a "f1rst come f1rst served" bas1s. H1S lease spec1fies that no spaces can be des1gnated. John's Market closes at 7:00 p.m. and he has the total usage after that t1me. Staff recommends th1rty (30) parking spaces but he has twenty-two (22) spaces 1n the lot plus three (3) on the s1de. H1S lease says h1S lot 1S 25' x 115' so he actually needs 28 spaces --- short three (3) spaces. One space 1S taken by a lot mon1tor. . J1m Bensen * 711 Electr1C Avenue. Seal Beach Mr. Bensen 1ntroduced h1mself as an attorney represent1ng Dorothy Nescher. He sa1d Ms. Nescher is the trustee of a fam11y trust. She and her late husband, John Nescher, are the owners of both the stores and the lot. 148 Ma1n 1S John's Market, 143 Ma1n 1S the W1ne & Gourmet and 145 Main is the 50 foot w1de park1ng lot. These propert1es compr1se S1X (6) separate lots. John Nescher d1ed 1n the 1970's but he operated John's Market S1nce the 1950's. He first acqu1red the lot but then acqu1red 143 Ma1n to protect his lot. He be11eved the ma1ntenance of the lot was V1 tal and 1ndispens1ble to the success of John's Market. H1S w1fe Dorothy shares th1s V1ew. Two years ago he prepared the lease of John's Market W1 th the DaV1ses. One year ago he prepared the lease for the subJect property and worked very carefully W1 th the language of the lease concern1ng the lot because Mrs. Nescher felt the success of the tenants depended on the lot. The lease said "th1s parking lot is for customers of the bus1nesses only. Your employees are not to park there. Your customers are to park there only wh11e they are d01ng bus1ness." Because a lease must be specific, he des1gnated 2/3 und1v1ded 1nterest g01ng to John's Market (the larger, 75 foot store) and an und1 v1ded 1/3 1nterest g01ng to the subJect property (a 25 foot store). That was done to allocate fa1rly the expenses of ma1nta1n1ng the lot -- paY1ng the taxes, resurfac1ng, str1p1ng and sharing the revenue that used to come from some telephone booths. There 1S a spec1f1c clause 1n the lease that says "ne1 ther tenant may 1dent1fy, str1pe, mark or segregate 1n any way certa1n spaces." The market has the use of the ent1re lot 1n the morn1ng and the subject property has the exclUS1ve use of the lot in the even1ng when the market closes. He foresaw that some types of problems could ar1se and that's why he used ident1cal language 1n both leases. There are twenty-two (22) spaces on th1s lot. The lease does not conta1n a "f1rst come, f1rst . . Page 5 - Plann1ng Commiss10n M1nutes of March 15, 1989 served" baS1S clause. No easements have been cons1deredi perhaps this w111 be done on sale. Mrs. Nescher's 1ntent10n 1S, upon sale, to sell all three parcels at one t1me. Cha1rman Sharp said th1S appl1cant needs th1rty (30) spaces. The spaces that he cannot come up w1th the C1ty w111 have to have an 1n-l1eu fee for. The appl1cant's pos1t10n appears to be that he 1S ent1tled to count all the twenty-one (21) spaces 1n the lot. Brent Matthews * 218 8th Street. Seal Beach Mr. Matthews sa1d he was concerned w1th 1ntens1f1cat10n of use 1n Old Town. That we are creat1ng a 11ab111 ty for the City 1n regard to 1n-I1eu park1ng that w111 be 1mposs1ble for us to fund w1th park1ng spots. And that 1f an attempt 1S made to fund w1th park1ng spots, say 150 to 160 park1ng spots, 1t m1ght requ1re the tak1ng of pr1vate property to prov1de the publ1C park1ng spaces. Th1S use will be 1ntens1ficat10n w1thout the requ1red park1ng per C1ty Code. He sa1d he opposed the 1:00 a.m. usage when adJacent to res1dential homes. The subJect property does not have a sp1r1ts 11cense at th1S t1mei th1S represents a substant1al change to what 1S there now. He urged reJect10n of Var1ance 2-89 due to lack of proper park1ng per the C1ty Codes. . Comm1ssion Comments Mr. Suggs suggested hold1ng this over so staff could reV1ew the matters and come back w1th a pos1t1ve recommendation. Mr. Jessner sa1d th1S 1S a real problem --- the way the or1g1nal bU1ld1ngs were des1gned, the changes 1n Code requ1rements, changes 1n usages 1 t Just doesn't f 1 t W1 th the park1ng requ1rements any more. We e1ther have to grant 1n-I1eu park1ng or not allow bus1nesses to come in there in many cases. Over the years the Comm1SS10n has des1red to get someth1ng resolved but noth1ng seems to happeni the Comm1SS10n needs d1rect10n. On the subJect property they could use the ent1re lot (22 spaces) 1n the eveningi during the day there's a conflict. Staff should check the exact Slze of the appl1cant's bU11d1ng as 1t may result 1n two (2) parking spaces being reduced. The hours of operat10n should be the same or compat1ble w1th Walt's Wharf and Hennessey's. Mr. Kn1ght sa1d staff used the exact numbers used 1n the 1984 var1ance and d1d not dev1ate from those because they were cons1dered approved by the Comm1ssion. He noted a d1rect confl1ct between the hours of 11:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. when John's Market closes. . . . . . , Page 6 - Plann1ng Comm1ss10n M1nutes of March 15, 1989 Comm1ss10ner F1fe sa1d he would be opposed to grant1ng Var1ance 2-89 because there lS already an eX1st1ng usage, so the property lS usable as lS. It already has a var1ance for a take- out restaurant. A take-out restaurant would requ1re park1ng of 5 - 10 minutes whereas a Sl t-down restaurant would requ1re 60- 90 m1nutes. A severe confl1ct could occur between grocery shoppers need1ng 30 m1nutes plus. Th1S lS a substant1al 1ntens1ficat10n of use. Cha1rman Sharp sa1d the present operators of the subJect property are leav1ng and something new must go 1n there. He would llke staff to go over all f1gures and check the lease word1ng for park1ng. Cha1rman Sharp requested Cond1t1onal Use Permit 2-89fVar1ance 2-89 be held over to the Plann1ng Commiss1on meet1ng of April 5th. Mr. Kn1ght sa1d staff w1ll prepare a common l1st of cond1t10ns to cod1fy how many spaces there would be as a way to 1nform the appl1cant this lS an 1nter1m program and 1f a f1nal program lS adopted he would know that h1S $100 per year space could go up slgn1f1cantly; he would have to s1gn an agreement to th1s effect. 5. ZONING TEXT AMENDMENT 1-89 Mr. Kn1ght sa1d th1S lS the third Publ1C Hear1ng. Th1S ZTA was referred to the Comm1ss10n by the C1ty Counc1l. C1t1zens are request1ng ten foot (10') fences along maJor arter1al h1ghways, stat1ng e1ght foot (8') fences don't m1t1gate n01se. Staff will prepare a resolut10n to the C1ty Counc1l for cons1derat10n based upon Comm1SS10n's recommendations. Publ1C Hear1ng - No one w1shed to speak for or aga1nst th1S lssue. Commiss10n Comments Mr. Jessner lS opposed to ten feet fences as be1ng too h1gh. Th1S lS borne out by staff's survey of other c1ties --- no one has anyth1ng as h1gh as ten feet. It would create an eyesore. Mr. Fife sa1d h1S property backs up to a ma1n street; he would llke to see ten feet allowed. Cha1rman Sharp sa1d freeway sound attenuation walls are 10 - 15'. These are regulated thru CalTrans and are based on n01se m1t1gat10n stud1es. Mr. Sharp sa1d e1ght feet lS high enough. Mr. Suggs sa1d e1ght feet (8') lS h1gh enough. . . . , , " Page 7 - Plann1ng Comm1SS10n M1nutes of March 15, 1989 MOTION by Jessner that the Plann1ng Comm1SS1on recommend to the C1ty Council denial of Zone Text Amendment 1-89 and that the City reta1n the eX1st1ng requ1rements W1 th regard to fence he1ghts; SECOND by Sharp. MOTION CARRIED 4 - 0 SCHEDULED MATTERS 6. ZONING TEXT AMENDMENT 2-89 A. Cond1tional Use Permits for offices 1n commercial zones. B. Development of master plan for Rossmoor Center. Mr. Kn1ght stated the Plann1ng Comm1SS10n had requested staff agend1ze and prepare a memo on a potent1al zone text amendment on these two items. Staff's recommendat10n 1S to 1n1 t1ate the proposed ZTA 2-89 and d1rect staff to prepare the text for Comm1SS10n and Counc11 cons1derat10n 1n keep1ng with the zon1ng sect10ns of the QQ9g. Cha1rman Sharp sa1d the C1ty needs to work w1th Rossmoor Center so all the stores can be rented. He spoke with Dott1e Ph111p, Manager, who assured Mr. Sharp they had no 1ntent10ns of trY1ng to convert the Center to off1ces. They were trY1ng to upgrade the Center. Mr. F1fe sa1d he d1dn't th1nk th1s ZTA would 1mpa1r the owner's r1ght to lease these spaces for commerc1al reta11 usage at all. It's a1med at prevent1ng the owner, w1thout any overV1ew from the Plann1ng Comm1ss10n, from convert1ng eX1st1ng reta11 spaces to commerc1al off1ce spaces from wh1ch the C1ty der1ves no tax revenue. The former, R1X Rax store, next to Holiday Hardware was converted to a dental office about 6 - 8 years ago. Long t1me tenants seems to be per10d1cally d1sappear1ng. Mr. Jessner sa1d he agreed w1th Mr. F1fe. The Comm1SS10n 1S not 1ntend1ng to restr1ct the Center. Rossmoor Center should be watched closely or controlled so 1t rema1ns the commerc1al center 1t was 1ntended to be. He said he would like to see assurances that work both ways --- that the city w111 work w1th the Center to make sure they're successful and also that the Center w111 honor an 1mpl1ed comm1tment to ma1ntain that fac111ty as a commerc1al center --- the way 1t was or1g1nally 1ntended. , I . . . . . .. . Page 8 - Plann1ng Comm1SS1on Meet1ng of March 15, 1989 Mr. Suggs said that if Rossmoor Center 1S g01ng to make any maJor alterat10ns or changes they'd have to come before the Plann1ng Comm1SS1on anyway and we would have an opportunity of pass1ng Judgment at that t1me. Chalrman Sharp ordered Zonlng Text Amendment 2-89 held over untll the April 5th meeting (or untll such tlme as all flve Planning Commlssioners are present). ORAL COMMUNICATIONS Bruce Stark * 204 Ocean Avenue. Seal Beach Mr. Stark sa1d the C1ty was 1ncons1stent 1n 1ts pol1c1es c1t1ng that one contractor 1n town was den1ed a curb cut wh1le another contractor was granted the very same curb cut that was den1ed to the f1rst contractor. STAFF CONCERNS Mr. Kn1ght noted the Plann1ng Comm1SS1oners have rece1ved cop1es of the three alternat1ves currently under study in the supplemental EIR for the Hellman Spec1f1c Plan. The Comm1ss1on w111 cons1der these when they off1c1ally come before them COMMISSION CONCERNS Mr. F1fe asked staff about the B1Xby proJect and the $18,000 allotted for safety 1mprovements along Lampsoni th1s was to have been done before the proJect started leas1ng out. Mr. Kn1ght sa1d he would research th1s. ADJOURNMENT Cha1rman Sharp adJourned the meet1ng at 9:30 p.m. Respectfully Subm1tted, ~o-- ~a-~ Joan F11lmann Secretary */ The Secretary was not present at th1S meet1ngi these M1nutes were taken from a tape record1ng made at the March 15, 1989 meet1ng. **/ These M1nutes are tentat1ve and are SUbJect to the approval of the Plann1ng Comm1SS1on. * * * THE PLANNING ~MMISSION MINUTES OF MARCH 15, 1989 WERE APPROVED ON Opn<,L .5 - ,1989. ~