HomeMy WebLinkAboutPC Min 1998-12-09
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CITY OF SEAL BEACH
PLANNING COMMISSION
MINUTES of DECEMBER 9,1998
Chairman Brown called the regularly scheduled Planning Commission meeting of
December 9,1998 to order at 7:35 p.m. The meeting was held in the City
Council Chambers and began with the Salute to the Flag.
ROLL CALL
Present:
Chairman Brown
Commissioners Larson, Hood, Lyon, Cutuli
Also
Present:
Department of Development Services
Lee Whittenberg, Director
Craig Steele, Assistant City Attorney
Joan Fillmann, Executive Secretary
AGENDA APPROVAL
Commissioner Hood said he would be absent December 17th through January
16th. He requested items #3 and #4 be heard first on tonight's agenda. These
two items are in his Councilmanic district and if the Commission does not finish
its consideration of items tonight, at least the Commission will continue items that
are not in his district.
Reg Clewley complained that he did not get to see the Agenda in advance and
said he didn't see it posted outside the Council Chambers.
Chairman Brown called for a show of hands as to who wanted to speak on what
Agenda items. The public indicated they were present to speak about
Conditional Use Permit 98-18. The Chair indicated he had had a request to
move CUP 98-18 to the front of the Agenda but Commissioner Hood's point is
well taken. He felt therefore it was reasonable to leave the Agenda as it's
presented.
MOTION by Hood; SECOND by Larson to approve the Agenda as presented.
MOTION CARRIED:
AYES:
5-0
Hood, Larson, Brown, Lyon, Cutuli
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City of Seal Beach Planning Department - Minutes of December 9, 1998
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ORAL COMMUNICATIONS
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Paul Hennessev * 143 Main Street
Mr. Hennessey said there are many people to speak on his CUP and asked if
there was any time frame on tonight's Agenda items? He was concerned that
people could not remain to testify.
Chairman Brown indicated that uThe longer we spend debating it, the longer time
it will take....
Rea Clewlev * Catalina. Seal Beach
Mr. Clewley complained about the lack of City action on the decks backing to the
Hellman Ranch. He complained aerial photographs of the properties abutting the
Hellman Ranch have been promised but they are not forthcoming and they
wouldn't do a lot of good because the trees obscure the properties. He presented
the Commission with documents and asked the Commission to go page-by-page
with him while he discussed these properties. Chairman Brown asked Mr.
Clewley to summarize his comments.
Mr. Clewley expressed anger, saying he feels the City has become a police state
on Catalina Avenue. He said on November 19, 1998, the Seal Beach Police
arrested a transient in Gum Grove Park for outstanding warrants. Within 48
hours after the arrest of the transient he was placed under surveillance, shaken
down, interrogated by the Police Department, who, u... can't tell the difference
between property owners and people who are living underneath of the sun
decks. I cannot tolerate living under this kind of a police state. This is entirely
unwarranted. I am absolutely furious that this matter has been left to dangle for
ten years while you illegally shoved through this Bixby Ranch proposal without a
proper Environmental Impact (Report) being done on the changes proposed..."
He wanted this Agenda thrown out tonight and staff directed to agendize this
issue.
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Chairman Brown said this issue could not be discussed tonight and asked staff to
put this on the February 3rd meeting Agenda. He said the Commission had
asked for a count on the number of properties that are encroaching and hopefully
staff will have that by February 3rd.
CONSENT CALENDAR
MOTION by Hood; SECOND by Cutuli to approve the Consent Calendar as
presented:
1. Approve Planning Commission Meeting Minutes of November 18,
1998.
MOTION CARRIED:
AYES:
5-0
Hood, Cutuli, Brown, Lyon, Larson
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City of Seal Beach Planning Department - Minutes of December 9, 1998
SCHEDULED MATTERS
2. Minor Plan Review 98-9
77 Riversea Road
Staff Report
Mr. Whittenberg presented the staff report. [Staff report on file in the Planning
Department for inspection]. The applicant, Paul Wildy of Jacobs & Wildy
Construction for property owner Steve Smith, requested approval to construct a
second-story cabana of 260 square feet and a second-story deck area of 280
square feet at an existing mobile home within the Seal Beach Trailer Park. Staff
recommended approval subject to ten Conditions of Approval.
Commission Questions to Staff
Chairman Brown indicated this is not a Public Hearing and therefore public
testimony cannot be taken. He asked Paul Wildy if he had any objections to the
staff report?
Mr. Wildy said no, he and his client were willing to build as presented in the plans
and staff report conditions.
Mr. Whittenberg said one letter was received late on December 8th from Linda
Finney of 290 Clipper Way. Ms. Finney is opposed to this project because she
felt it might compromise her privacy and view of the San Gabriel River. These
issues are discussed in the staff report.
Commission Deliberation
MOTION by Lyon; SECOND by Larson to approve Resolution No. 98-42, thus
approving Plan Review 98-9, subject to Conditions of Approval as outlined in the
staff report.
MOTION CARRIED:
AYES:
5-0
Lyon, Larson, Cutuli, Brown, Hood
PUBLIC HEARINGS
3. Conditional Use Permit 98-15
Marriott Senior Care Facility
SE Corner of Lampson Avenue and Seal Beach Boulevard
Staff Report
Mr. Whittenberg delivered the staff report. [Staff report on file in the Planning
Department for inspection]. The applicant, Marriott Senior Living Services,
sought approval to build two facilities, a three-story and a one-story, to house a
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City of Seal Beach Planning Department - Minutes of December 9, 1998
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1 91-bed assisted living facility, a 26-bed Alzheimer's care facility and a 45-bed
2 skilled nursing facility. This includes a parking lot, landscaping and other
3 ancillary facilities. This project was considered in the Bixby Ranch Towne Center
4 EIR (EIR).
5
6 Basically this proposal complies with all City standards except the submitted site
7 plan does not line up with the parcel map approved by the City Council. This
8 needs to be refined. Also, the parking area is too far out along Lampson Avenue.
9 Staff recommends a condition that the Planning Department approve the final
10 Site Plan based on the final lot lines as approved by the City Council when they
11 approve the parcel map.
12
13 Another issue is the CO concentrations along Seal Beach Boulevard and
14 Lampson Avenue. Staff recommends this site have a detailed analysis to
15 determine if the CO concentrations measured within 25' of Seal Beach Boulevard
16 exceed the standards 500' away from Seal Beach Boulevard, at this site. If the
17 standards are exceeded, staff recommends an additional mitigation measure that
18 would be evaluated by an independent, third party, peer review.
19
20 Another issue is noise. Marriott submitted a noise study for this site regarding
21 mitigation measures to lower the noise from traffic on the 405 freeway and
22 Lampson Avenue. The report details the specific site mitigation measures
23 necessary to address these issues. Staff is recommending that these be
24 included and approved as part of the Conditions of Approval for this project.
25 And, prior to the issuance of building permits, that the City retain an independent,
26 third party acoustical consultant to verify that those particular mitigation
27 measures do, in fact, reach the desired level of noise reduction required by
28 Code. This would be paid for by the applicant. Again, staff is recommending that
29 these be included in the approval as part of the Conditions of Approval.
30 The issue for the Planning Commission is whether this is an appropriate land
31 use.
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33 Commission Questions to Staff
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35 Commissioner Lyon asked why there were no pollution tests done prior to
36 submission?
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38 Mr. Whittenberg said the EIR had tests done along Seal Beach Boulevard itself
39 but there were no specific tests done at this site. The applicant will hire someone
40 to do the testing and then the City will hire an independent consultant to review
41 their report. Until there was an approval to change the zoning on the property it
42 would have been premature.
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44 Chairman Brown clarified the area(s) where the carbon monoxide levels were
45 tested.
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City of Seal Beach Planning Department - Minutes of December 9, 1998
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'. 1 Mr. Whittenberg said the measured carbon monoxide levels exceeded the
2 Federal eight-hour standard at nine parts per million. At 25' away from Seal
3 Beach Boulevard the measurement was 9.2 parts per million.
4
5 Public Hearina
6
7 Wayne Sant * Marriott Senior Livina Services * 3130 S. Harbor Blvd.. Santa Ana
8 Mr. Sant said Marriott Senior Living Services is a division of the Marriott
9 Corporation. Besides all their motelslhotels, they have over 110 senior living
10 properties nationwide. They serve of 20,000 residents. In California they just
11 opened their first project, Brighton Gardens, in Carlsbad and there are others
12 under construction. Marriott is the developer, builder and operator of these
13 projects. Assisted living is a form of housing that serves frail senior citizens. The
14 average age of their residents is 84 years, 70% are female and 70% are single.
15 Brighton Gardens will provide for the housing and health care needs of its
16 residents. One of the greatest fears their residents have is that some day they'll
17 have to pick up and move somewhere else. Marriott, however, provides for their
18 housing and medical needs and they won't have to move again. There aren't
19 any developers in this area (within ten miles) that provide this skilled
20 nursing/Alzheimer's component. They provide three meals per day, basic
21 housekeeping, transportation, laundry services, and activities. Many residents
-. 22 come in frail and weak but after several months of good nutrition and proper
23 medication they are stronger and healthier. This includes help with bathing and
24 dressing. This will be a clean and quiet residential use. Most of their residents
25 don't drive anymore and therefore don't generate a lot of traffic, noise or smells.
26 They are a residential use that tries to maintain a quiet environment.
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28 Regarding mitigation measures outlined in the staff report, Marriott had the
29 following concerns:
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31 Air Quality. They are confused why this has become such an issue when their
32 site is 500' off Seal Beach Boulevard. They will comply with staff's
33 recommendation and prepare an air quality study. They're confident that there
34 won't be CO problems at this location.
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36 J-4. This is a requirement that Marriott disclose to all of their perspective
37 residents that this building, and the outside areas surrounding the building, could
38 be subject to noise levels above City and State standards due to the impacts of
39 the Los A1amitos AFRC. It would require that the disclosure be acknowledged by
40 the potential resident and notarized with a copy sent to the City Clerk.
41 Additionally, it will require that all of their advertising and sales brochures
42 incorporate a similar disclosure.
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44 First, how does this apply to a senior assisted living facility? This level of
. 45 disclosure may have some relevance to a buyer of a single family home but from
46 their perspective this level of disclosure is onerous. Marriott will agree to a
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City of Seal Beach Planning Department - Minutes of December 9, 1998
1 disclosure, that is executed at the time a rental contract is entered into, with
2 appropriate language acceptable to the Director of Development Services. But
3 notarized signatures and language incorporated into the sales brochures is too
4 much for this type use and they objected to this.
5
6 50' Setback on Lampson Avenue
7 They are tom with the issue of the 50' setback on Lampson Avenue. They
8 acknowledge that 50' of landscaping in front of their building would just enhance
9 the beauty of the building. The unfortunate part of the site is its irregular
10 configuration. They have a hard time making all the pieces of their project work
11 at this site. The solution was to let portions of their parking slide into this 50'
12 setback. If they remove the parking from the front of the building, then the
13 parking would become very inconvenient to the front door. It's important to them
14 that they have their parking convenient to the front door.
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16 Commissioner Larson asked how much does the parking encroach into the
17 setback?
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19 Mr. Sant said the parking encroaches the depth of a parking space or about 25'.
20
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22 Rea Clewley * Catalina Avenue. Seal Beach
23 Mr. Clewley spoke in opposition to this application. Because this is an assisted
24 living facility treating Alzheimer's patients who can't give informed consent if he's
25 in mid or late stages. If approved, this project would put people living in an
26 inappropriate location and subjected to intolerable noise levels. Some of these
27 people perhaps are veterans or are of European descent and lived through World
28 War II. The planes flying overhead would have them living in terror in this facility.
29 Alzheimer's is a serious disease and is fatal. The disclosures won't do these
30 patients any good. Bearing in mind that these people could be Alzheimer's
31 patients, the close proximity to the freeway is an extreme danger. These people
32 could walk out the front door and onto the freeway with no trouble whatsoever.
33 This assisted living facility would be much better placed if it were relocated to the
34 site selected for the 75 houses. The present proposed location would
35 unnecessarily place people in danger that do not have the faculties to know they
36 shouldn't be walking out on the freeway. These people need to be cared for, not
37 placed in harm's way.
38
39 Rebuttal
40
41 Wayne Sant * Marriott Senior Livina Services
42 Mr. Sant said their Alzheimer's unit is locked, it has a monitoring system with key
43 pads and requires somebody who knows the code to enter it both in and out
44 bound. The residents also have bracelets or necklaces for monitoring. This is
45 for 25 of the 160 residents. The chance of them wandering off the premises and
46 onto the freeway is minimal.
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City of Seal Beach Planning Department - Minutes of December 9, 1998
There were no other persons wishing to speak and the Chairman closed the
Public Hearing.
Commission Deliberation
Commissioner Hood said this appears to be a benign use. While watching the
City Council deliberations on the Bixby proposal he heard General Grant say that
C5A planes take off over this site. They cannot turn fast enough because their
cargo would shift. Additionally, Caltran's Aeronautics Division, in 1993,
distributed a guidance handbook to the land use commissions. Page 3-6 reads:
Cerlain critical types of land uses/ parlicularly schools, hospitals
and other uses in which the mobility of occupants is effectively
limited, should be avoided near the ends of runways regardless of
the number of people involved.
Noting these are guidelines, they are nevertheless, there. They talk about traffic
pattern zones, which is what this is. It also says:
In other porlions of the airporl area, routinely overflown by aircraft,
the potential for aircraft accidents is relatively low. The need for
land use restriction is thus [could not hear clearly]
Schools, hospitals and nursing homes should be avoided in traffic
pattern zones unless no other feasible alternatives are available.
He stated that now he had read this into the Record, the Commission has this
which it needs to concern itself with. He would be unwilling to vote for this unless
the attorney can tell him a way to dispel any potential liability to the City, now that
the Commission knows the recommendations of Caltrans.
Mr. Steele explained, indicating the recommendation of the Airport Land Use
Commission (ALUC) is within the information Caltrans handbook and is taken
into account by the ALUC in preparing the ALUC plans. Presumably the ALUC
of Orange County did that in creating the land use compatibility study for this
particular air facility. The City has consistently taken the position that
determinations regarding the compatibility of uses with the Los Alamitos Armed
Forces Reserve Center (AFRC) are in the jurisdiction of the ALUC. That is the
position the City took on the prior Bixby project. And it's the position the City
takes in this EIR, which was certified by the City Council. It was the position the
City took on the submission to the ALUC of which this particular application was
a part. The September 1998 ALUC decision found, subject to some conditions
which area a part of this application, this use was compatible with the AFRC
operations.
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City of Seal Beach Planning Department - Minutes of December 9, 1998
1 In terms of dispelling liability, the City can't do anything to dispel liability. State .'
2 law already provides an immunity for the City and decision-makers for liability
3 that arises out of approval of a permit for land use development. In addition, the
4 City Council added language to the Development Agreement by which Bixby
5 Ranch Co. indemnifies the City for any type of accidenUincident which might
6 occur as a result of this project.
7
8 Commissioner Hood asked again if that meant that all the Planning
9 Commissioners and the City were immune from liability from any aircraft accident
10 that might occur?
11
12 Mr. Steele said yes.
13
14 Commissioner Hood turned his attention to the staff report, making comments on
15 the following sections:
16
17 0 Page 8, Mitigation Measure F-2. He requested approval for bus stops,
18 bus stop turnouts and pedestrian access plans come to the Planning
19 Commission as well as the Director of Public Works.
20
21 0 Page 11, Mitigation Measure J-4. He said there should be total truth in
22 all advertising. He agreed with all staff-suggested disclosures and said he .
23 would support strengthening the verbiage.
24
25 0 Page 13, Mitigation Measure J-3. He felt the 35' height limit should be
26 observed City-wide.
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28 o Page 14, Mitigation Measure M-2. He said the photomontage should
29 be approved by the Planning Commission and City Council. He felt the
30 photomontage is more a qualitative, political judgment than it is a technical
31 judgment.
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33 o Page 16, Proposed Noise Mitigation Measures Not Included in EIR.
34 He believed this is something we should have and supported it. Regarding
35 unavoidable impacts and the CO standard, he supported getting the CO
36 standard for this site measured.
37
38 0 Page 17, Parcel Map. Talking about the 24' and 26' setbacks, he said
39 this is something the Bixby Co. and City Council worked out. District 3 was
40 forced into this by a 4-1 vote. He would like to not have this subject of debate
41 any more. This 50' setback should not be built on. The easement should be
42 permanent. Who is going to pay to take care of that land?
43
44 Mr. Whittenberg said the Development Agreement requires an association of
45 property owners in that area to maintain the landscaping subject to .
46 City approval. It must be determined whether each parcel will maintain its own
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City of Seal Beach Planning Department - Minutes of December 9, 1998
area or whether there will be a master association. The City Council will decide
this.
o Regarding the Planned Sign Program, he asked where the large pylon
sign would go?
Mr. Whittenberg said that is not a part of this project, it belongs to the
shopping center proposal.
o Exhibit 8. Commissioner Hood said he was puzzled by a certain parcel
and asked staff what it was.
Mr. Whittenberg said that's part of the noise study report. It's the very last
map. This is Exhibit 8 to attachment 5. He said that parcel is part of the
greenbelt, an area that would be either owned by the City or have an
easement by the City. It's proposed zoning is Public Land Use/Recreation.
The Development Agreement allows the freeway identification sign, bicycle
paths, off-street pedestrian walkways in that area.
Commissioner Hood asked for things in the conditions and agreements to be
changed.
Mr. Whittenberg said both he and Mr. Steele would like to address changes to
the mitigation measures adopted by the City Council once all the Commissioners
have commented.
Commissioner Larson discussed Mitigation Measure J-4, disclosure to lessees.
People who will occupy the premises should be told, but he didn't think the
disclosure should apply to all their advertising. The advertising should not be
misleading. But, for a business to be successful, if all the advertising has to say
you're under a flight path that would turn people off before the got a chance to
come in and see what it is.
Mr. Steele said the measures that are noted in the staff report and resolutions,
with a letter and a number, are the mitigation measures that are imposed as part
of the certified EIR. The City Council has approved those mitigation measures
and has required that each one of them be imposed as a condition of approval of
all subsequent development on the property. In terms of changing those, no,
those are done. There's not a lot of change. Some of the things Commissioner
Hood brought up could certainly be brought back to the Commission as an
information item that needs to be looked at. Some are Director decisions, which
per Code, are always appealable to the Planning Commission and/or City
Council. In terms of changing the disclosure language, those things are
approved and are part of the certified EIR and are required to be imposed on
any subsequent site development.
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City of Seal Beach Planning Department - Minutes of December 9, 1998
1 Chairman Brown asked if that meant the Planning Commission can't recommend
2 changes to the Conditions?
3
4 Mr. Steele said that does not mean the Commission can't do more. If something
5 specifically is needed. To the extent the Commission is the final decision-making
6 body on this project, those conditions have to be imposed or we have to go back
7 to the City Council and ask them to amend them.
8
9 Chairman Brown let Commissioner Hood know that he too felt a C5A is the
10 largest airplane in the free world, with the Russian's have a larger craft. The
11 Chairman made the following remarks:
12
13 0 Regarding noise, he was not too concerned about the noise issue at
14 this project. As somebody who has been through many of these facilities, he
15 stated that the loudest noise is from the resident's televisions. Most of these
16 residents are hard of hearing. He didn't see where the noise disclosures in
17 the rental contracts was mandatory but if the other Commissioners insist on
18 leaving this in, he would agree to it.
19
20 0 Regarding Carbon Monoxide concentrations, he was concerned with
21 these high levels and the lack of oxygen both on the outside of the facility and
22 more importantly on the inside of the facility. Many of these people have
23 senile dementia, institutional dementia, and Alzheimer's dementia.
24
25 Mr. Whittenberg said that was a recommendation from ALUC also. That's why
26 that conditions was included in the EIR. Regarding notification to lessees, if the
27 Commission feels that should be added to the conditions, it can be imposed.
28 Mitigation Measure J-4 does not require notarized signatures of lessees, only by
29 persons who close escrow (Le. Marriott Corporation).
30
31 Mr. Whittenberg addressed the issue of the site plan not matching exactly with
32 the Parcel Map. The Parcel Map is actually a Tentative Parcel Map (TPM). The
33 Final Parcel Map (FPM) still has to be submitted back to the City Council and
34 approved. The Development Agreement does not allow any development within
35 the greenbelt easement areas. The final configuration might change between the
36 time the TPM and the FPM is review by the Council. He expected to see
37 tweaking of the plans to allow this project to proceed.
38
39 Commissioner Lyon asked how much of a difference between what is on the
40 plans now and what he expects to see?
41
42 Mr. Whittenberg said as indicated in the staff report, the plan now encroaches 24'
43 into the 50' setback along Lampson Avenue. That 50' width is not set in
44 concrete. That is an issue the City Council must deal with when they review the
45 Final Parcel Map. The Development Agreement requires five acres of greenbelt
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City of Seal Beach Planning Department - Minutes of December 9, 1998
area on the entire site to be maintained without any encroachments into it. Staff
is recommending Conditions that state this.
MOTION by Larson; SECOND by Lyon to approve Resolution No. 98-43, thus
approving Conditional Use Permit 98-15 (Marriott Senior Care Facility), subject to
the Conditions of Approval outlined in the staff report.
MOTION CARRIED:
AYES:
NOES:
4-1
Larson, Lyon, Brown, Cutuli
Brown
Mr. Steele advised there is a ten calendar-day appeal period to the City Council.
The Commission's action if final tonight and the appeal period begins tomorrow
morning.
Staff requested a five-minute recess to set up exhibits. The Chair agreed.
RECESS:
RECONVENE:
8:45 p.m.
8:52 p.m.
4. Bixby Old Ranch Towne Center
Site Plan Reviews 98-1 and 98-2
Conditional Use Permits 98-16 and 98-17
Variance 98-6
Height Variation 98-5
Planned Sign Program 98-1
Staff Report
Mr. Whittenberg delivered the staff report. [Staff report on file in the Planning
Department for inspection]. The applicant, Kitchell Development Company, is
requesting approval to build a 25-acre commercial shopping center in an area
proposed for General Commercial (C-2) zoning, in accordance with the concept
plan approved by the City Council as a component of the Bixby Old Ranch
Towne Center EIR.
Commission Questions to Staff
Chairman Brown said most of the questions would come during Commission
Deliberations.
Public Hearina
Don Glatthorn. Kitchell Development Company
Mr. Glatthorn presented the Commission with handouts of adjustments to the site
plan, which occurred during the City Council hearings. The location of the site
has shifted approximately 180' to the north, resulting in the southern boundary
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City of Seal Beach Planning Department - Minutes of December 9, 1998
1 being even with the St. Cloud prolongation. Access to St. Cloud from the center
2 will be restricted and will control cut-through traffic into Rossmoor. Additionally,
3 this shift moves the center further out of the Eucalyptus windrow. The gas
4 station pad has been replaced by a drug store with a drive-thru window. They
5 are requesting a 24-hour operating permit for the drug store. The bounds of the
6 site remain very similar to the previous plan, however careful consideration has
7 been given to truck circulation.
S
9 Review of the site shows:
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11 0 135,000 Lowe's home center
12 0 35,000 square foot housewares and linen center
13 0 12,000 square foot party and card tenant
14 0 58,000 square foot grocery store
15
16 The front pads include a drug store, two L-shaped pads designated for food and
17 service tenants. Some of the tenants they are in discussion with include
18 Starbucks, Pasta Bravo, Pick Up Stix, EI Torito, Kookaroo's, a dry cleaner and a
19 beauty supply. Some of these tenants are in negotiating positions and firm deals
20 are pending. Further to the north are two retail pad buildings which will be
21 marketed within the next 120 days.
22
23 Highlights of the site plan include enhanced plaza areas for the pad buildings to
24 encourage outdoor cafe areas and public avenue places, a 40' landscape
25 setback which will provide a park-like setting along the street in front. Included in
26 this setback is a 12' bicycle and pedestrian path which continues south of
27 Lampson Avenue. Contained in this landscape setback are many of the existing
28 Eucalyptus trees, preserving the integrity of the windrow.
29
30 Regarding architecture, the elevations show a California Coastal theme. Roof
31 lines are varied. Building facades include pop-outs and canopy elements which
32 provide a human scale and break the mass of the buildings. Materials include
33 wood clapboard siding, wood trellises, masonry and stone columns.
34
35 Regarding building heights, they had proposed 44' but revised their elevations to
36 42' and are confident they can make this work without any problem. The had
37 originally thought the buildings would be enhanced with a steeper roof pitch (at
38 44').
39
40 Regarding signage, concerns have been raised over the 50' freeway sign. The
41 revised plans have this now at 42'. They did request that the top tent panel be
42 somewhere in the 38' to 40' range versus the staff's recommended 35'.
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Kitchell Development has read the staff report and agree to the Conditions of
Approval with three exceptions:
o Page 23, #12:
Loading dock areas shall not be utilized between the hours
of 8:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m.
He felt the catalyst for this condition is the 75 residential units to the north of this
center. The proposed tenants said they are concerned that until the 75 homes
are built, that operation restriction will needlessly complicate the operation of
their stores. They requested that until the homes are built, that the loading dock
hours be unrestricted. Once the homes are built, they have requested the
loading dock hour restriction be from 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. This is very
consistent with other centers.
o Page 31, #13:
The term of this permit shall be for twelve (12) months...
He said this is a standard condition that staff seems to place on any CUP. It
mandates the CUP to come back for a review and a re-application in a twelve-
month period. That doesn't make sense and would be unacceptable. It would be
unrealistic to anticipate that Lowe's would invest $8,000,000 in a home
improvement center and have to come back in twelve months with the thought
that perhaps the business could be closed. Lowe's is not asking for extended
hours of operation or to sell liquor. This is a CUP to operate their entire
business.
Commissioner Lyon asked what time period would he like the review period
lengthened to?
Mr. Glatthorn said he would like the review period removed entirely.
o Page 35, #1
Site Plan Review 98-2 is approved for the construction of a
freeway identification sign for the Bixby Old Ranch Towne
Center, with the maximum structure height to be 42' and the
maximum tenant identification sign height to be 35'.
He said the 42' height was acceptable but asked to amend the tenant id sign to
40' versus 35'.
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1 Rea Clewlev * Catalina. Seal Beach ..
2 Mr. Clewley spoke in opposition to the project, particularly the height variation.
3 He said strict adherence to the City's 35' height limit should be observed. He
4 expressed concerns that signs couldn't be read through the trees.
5
6 Mario Voce * 730 Catalina. Seal Beach
7 Mr. Voce questioned the driveways and cut-through to access the shopping
8 center. How will that impact the number of trees in the windrow that line Seal
9 Beach Boulevard? The street widening will consume up to 20% of those trees.
10 A good question would be to determine how much the driveways would impact
11 the trees. Are these included in that 20% or are they in addition to it?
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13 Rebuttal
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15 Mr. Glatthorn said that with respect to the building height at 42' and the concern
16 expressed by Mr. Clewley, he said none of the signs in the center would be
17 higher than 32' and 35'.
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19 Regarding to loss of trees, their preliminary analysis satisfies them that with the
20 development of the shopping center, and the shift of the site to the north, that
21 they will be well within maintaining that approximate 70% maintenance of the
22 existing Eucalyptus trees.
23 .
24 Chairman Brown closed the Public Hearing.
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26 Commission Deliberation
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28 Chairman Brown asked staff if CUP 98-17, for Lowe's Home Center, is separate
29 from the drive-thru drug store.
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31 Mr. Whittenberg said CUP 98-16 pertains to the drug store. They are two
32 separate applications. Staff recommended keeping the twelve-month review for
33 the 24-hour operation of the drug store.
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35 Commissioner Hood made the following comments:
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37 o Page 11, Mitigation Measure F-2. He said he would like the bus stop
38 turnout/pedestrian access plan submitted to the Planning Commission and
39 the Council, not solely to the Director of Public Works.
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41 Mr. Whittenberg said the Commission could be asked to review it but they
42 would not be authorized to approve it.
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44 o Page 15, Mitigation Measure J-4. He had the same comments on J-4
45 as he did before. He definitely believed in warning all people about the noise. .
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o Page 18, Mitigation Measure M-2. He said the Planning Commission
and City Council should review the photomontage.
o Page 25, Operating Hours. Correct the 2:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m.
o Variance 98-6 has been withdrawn completely.
o Site Plan Review 98-2. The freeway identification sign was for 50'.
Staff recommended 42' in height to the top of the sign structure and 35' to the
top of the highest tenant identification sign. The applicant said he could
comply with the 42' height but requested to go to 40' to the top of the highest
tenant identification sign. 35' is the maximum height in commercial zones.
The Code also has a provision that allows for height variations to go to 42'. In
a PLU allows for discretion on this issue.
Chairman Brown asked what is the height of signs in the Rossmoor Shopping
Center?
Mr. Whittenberg said he didn't know but thought it was probably 35'. In a
planned sign program there is a provision that you don't have to meet the height
requirements for pylon signs.
Commissioner Hood asked if the entrances and exists of the driveways been
set?
Mr. Whittenberg said the City Council reviewed the locations as part of the traffic
evaluation. They are slightly askew due to the site plan/parcel map discrepancy.
These were approved by the Council. The Council revised them slightly over
what the Commission looked at in the EIR because the shopping center had
been shifted north 160'. They are generally in the same locations relative to the
buildings. The plan provides for fully synchronized signalized intersections at two
locations.
Commissioner Hood asked what was the small band between Rossmoor way
and the northern part of this project?
Mr. Whittenberg said that would be the main entrance point to the proposed
residential development.
Commissioner Hood asked if the locations of the driveways, the main entrance,
was made consistent with the main driveway into the Rossmoor Shopping
Center?
Mr. Whittenberg said yes. The plan provides for a fully synchronized intersection
that will line up with the entrance to Rossmoor Center, allowing full turning
movements into and out of both shopping centers.
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1
2
3 Commissioner Hood asked if there was a way to get rid of a secondary entrance,
4 as it would cut right through the Eucalyptus trees?
5
6 Mr. Whittenberg said he would have to go back and look at the tree plan to see
7 where the Eucalyptus trees start to die out. Because, after awhile, as you get
8 north of St. Cloud, there are no Eucalyptus trees. He didn't know exactly where
9 that point was. He suggested the applicant could respond to this question. He
10 noted the Commission could make that a recommendation for a Condition of
11 Approval.
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13 Commissioner Hood said that why he's not talking about the one up there in the
14 far north, for instance. Because in the far north there's no trees. Because his
15 memory was that the Eucalyptus were still present.
16
17 Mr. Whittenberg said they very well could be. And to address the one comment,
18 the issue of how many trees are taken out in the area, in the mitigation measures
19 in the EIR, required a retention of somewhere between 70% to 80% of the trees
20 in the area. That accounts for trees being removed by the installation of
21 driveways, by the removal of trees for site line distances into and out of those
22 driveway locations and for some minor widening of Seal Beach Boulevard just
23 north of Lampson Avenue for a very short distance. Those Conditions of
24 Approval were accounted for. The mitigation measure on the trees requires that
25 for each Eucalyptus tree that does need to be removed, it has to be replaced on
26 a 4:1 ratio. You might wind up with more trees in this area than are there now by
27 putting driveways in.
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29 Commissioner Cutuli asked for clarification on the center's traffic signals at the
30 shopping center.
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32 Mr. Whittenberg explained there would be three signals, two existing and one
33 new. There is an existing signal at St. Cloud, a new signal proposed at the entry
34 to both centers and an existing signal at Rossmoor Center Way. Their
35 synchronization is required in both directions.
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37 Commissioner Lyon asked about the review periods on CUPs.
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39 Mr. Whittenberg said that review periods are required for most CUPs and the
40 length depends on the type of use. For example, establishments serving alcohol
41 have shorter review periods.
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43 Mr. Steele said staff is not disagreeing with the removal of the condition for a
44 twelve-month review for the Lowe's center but it strongly recommending one for
45 the drug store's 24-hour operation.
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Commissioner Cutuli said he would not support carte blanche hours on the truck
loading dock. He indicated there could be construction trucks of semi-trailers
coming and going all night and that wouldn't be friendly to the neighbors already
there.
Mr. Whittenberg said the Code automatically prohibits deliveries between the
hours of 2:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. Rossmoor Center is allowed to have deliveries
up until 2:00 a.m. He advised that these hours do not apply to construction
vehicles because you cannot be doing construction work after 7:00 p.m. This is
for deliveries of goods and services once the center is built. Any business in the
C-2 zone can open for business at 6:00 a.m. and stay open until 2:00 a.m.
automatically without a CUP approval. This applies along Pacific Coast Highway
and Seal Beach Boulevard.
MOTION - SITE PLAN REVIEW 98-1 (Overall Shoppina Center)
1. MOTION by Lyon; Second by Larson to approve Resolution No. 98-44,
thus approving Site Plan Review 98-1.
MOTION CARRIED:
AYES:
NOE:
4-1
Lyon, Larson, Brown, Cutuli
Hood
2. MOTION TO RECONSIDER the Motion by Larson; SECOND by Cutuli on
Site Plan Review 98-1.
MOTION CARRIED:
AYES:
NOE:
4-1
Lyon, Larson, Brown, Cutuli
Hood
3. AMENDED MOTION by Larson; SECOND by Brown to approve
Resolution No. 98-44, thus approving Site Plan Review 98-1 amended to
to add Condition #12 to say the loading dock hours wm be aI/owed from
6:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m. before the houses are built and no deliveries
between 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. after the first occupancy.
Before the vote the Commissioners discussed the proximity of the existing
houses, the proximity of the proposed 75 houses, delivery hours and
patterns.
Public Hearina Reopened
The Chair determined to reopen the Public Hearing to ask the applicant a
question.
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Chairman Brown asked how many deliveries are there after 10:00 p.m.
and before 7:00 a.m.?
.'
Mike Jensen of Pacific Retail Partners said the typical delivery operations
at a shopping center can occur beyond 10:00 p.m. As a practical matter,
most don't. Truck deliveries range between 15 - 20 in an operational day.
Most of the trucks are advised that when they pull in that if they pull in
before the loading hours they're supposed to turn off their engines, park in
the main parking area and not pull around the back portion of the building.
Chairman Brown asked what are the typical delivery hours in other
shopping centers he has worked with?
Mr. Jensen said the unrestricted hours issue is typical when you don't
have any residential around it. But when you're dealing with residential
abutting it, it's typically restricted to no deliveries between 10:00 p.m. and
6:00 a.m.
MOTION CARRIED:
AYES:
NOES:
4-1
Lyon, Larson, Brown, Cutuli
Hood
MOTION - CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT 98-16 (24-hour drua store)
.
MOTION by Larson; SECOND by Cutuli to approve Resolution 98-45, thus
approving CUP 98-16.
MOTION CARRIED:
AYES:
NOES:
4-1
Larson, Cutuli, Brown, Lyon
Hood
MOTION - CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT 98-17 (lowe's Home Center)
MOTION by Cutuli; SECOND by Lyon to approve Resolution No. 98-46, thus
approving CUP 98-17, amended to delete condition #13 regarding the twelve
(12) month review.
MOTION CARRIED:
AYES:
NOE:
4-1
Cutuli, Lyon, Brown, and Larson
Hood
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'. 1 MOTION - SITE PLAN REVIEW 98-2 (Freewav 10 Sian)
2
3 MOTION by Larson; SECOND by Lyon to approve Resolution No. 98-47, thus
4 approving SPR 98-2, approving a freeway identification sign to a height limit of
5 42' with the uppermost sign at 38' as requested by the applicant.
6
7 Before the vote the Commission discussed the height limit of 35' with 7' of
8 architectural "doo-dads.. Commissioner Cutuli said if you're going to have a
9 huge shopping center then you want people to find it, to come to it and to be
10 successful. Obviously people driving by on the freeway need to see it. He asked
11 how much of the sign was visible from the freeway?
12
13 Public Hearina Reopened
14 The Chair reopened the Public Hearing to ask Mr. Glatthorn.
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16 Don Glatthorn * Kitchell Development
17 Mr. Glatthorn said they did some site line analyses from the freeway. They
18 determined at somewhere around the 33' height range and lower there is
19 substantial obstruction of tenant signage as you approach the freeway from the
20 north. Therefore, they need to have three signs visible, ratcheted up to the 38' to
21 40' height. Lower than 33' you lose the value of the sign.
. 22
23 Commissioner Cutuli said his concern is would be endangering your driving if
24 you're looking at a sign that is higher or lower? It was hard for him to visualize
25 with the information provided.
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27 Mr. Whittenberg said the issue of site lines is the issue of having the number of
28 trees in that area that are lower than 30'. You would not be able to see through
29 the tree coverage to see the sign. The signs need to be above that to be seen.
30
31 The Chair closed the Public Hearing.
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33 MOTION CARRIED: 4-1
34 AYES: Cutuli, Lyon, Brown, Larson
35 NOE: Hood
36
37 MOTION - HEIGHT VARIATION 98-5 (Architectural features above 35' limit)
38
39 MOTION by Lyon; SECOND by Larson to approve Resolution No. 98-48, thus
40 approving Height Variation 98-5, allowing architectural features above the
41 permitted 35' height limit as outlined in the staff report.
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43 MOTION CARRIED: 4-1
44 AYES: Lyon, Larson, Brown, Cutuli
. 45 NOE: Hood
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47 MOTION - PLANNED SIGN PROGRAM 98-1 (Planned Sian Proaram for Center)
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MOTiON by Larson; SECOND by Lyon to approve Resolution No. 98-49, thus
approving Planned Sign Program 98-1 for the Bixby Old Ranch Towne Center.
.'
MOTION CARRIED:
AYES:
NOE:
4-1
Larson, Lyon, Brown, Cutuli
Hood
Mr. Steele advised that the Planning Commission's determinations are final and
the ten calendar-day appeal to the City Council begins tomorrow.
5. Conditional Use Permit 98-18
143 Main Street
Staff Report
Mr. Whittenberg delivered the staff report. [Staff report on file in the Planning
Department]. The Director indicated that the Planning Commission made a
determination at their November 25th meeting that a new CUP was needed.
The current application includes:
a A 12' outdoor dining area at the front of the building. The patio does
not extend into the sidewalk area, it's within the existing building
behind a low wall.
a A change of the entry from directly off Main Street to the comer of the
building by the parking lot.
a Interior modifications to change the seating to the front of the building
and moving the bar back 7'.
a Extending the size of the bar from 23' long to 30'.
a Relocating and consolidating the kitchen to the rear of the restaurant.
a Providing ADA-compliant restrooms.
.
Commission Questions of Staff
Chairman Brown said the history of this property is complicated, having multiple
City approvals for the site. This CUP builds on a prior CUP and/or a prior
Variance. He asked Mr. Whittenberg if he would care to give the history on this
site?
Mr. Whittenberg gave a brief history of 143 Main Street, saying in the 1980's it
was a wine and cheese shop, in 1984 CUP 84-22 was approved for a beer and
wine take-out license. In 1989 it was approved for a full-service restaurant. That
approval determined certain hours of operations to which the restaurant must
occur.
Chairman Brown asked to see copies of those approvals.
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Mr. Whittenberg said they had been provided to the Commissioners this evening.
They weren't included in the staff report packet is the only thing being considered
under this application is to revise the floor plan.
Chairman Brown asked if the Commission, at this time, can review the
Conditions of Approval on these CUPs?
Mr. Whittenberg said the approval being sought tonight is a change to the floor
plan with a new operator.
Chairman Brown asked, for the sake of argument, if CUP 89-2 was being
completely violated - could the Commission review CUP 98-18 in light of CUP
89-2? One CUP rides on top of the other.
Mr. Steele said if the Planning Commission had evidence that suggesting
violations of CUP 89-2, the Commission could schedule a hearing and provide
Notice to the property owner and the operator of the business. You would have
to let them know you were going to review compliance with the Conditions of
Approval.
Chairman Brown asked wouldn't this be the logical time to do that?
Mr. Whittenberg said the difficulty in doing that is the previous operator of the
restaurant at 143 Main Street is not the new operator of the restaurant at 143
Main Street. What mayor may not have occurred with the previous owner is
something that no longer exists. You can't make a new operator responsible for
the business operation he had no control over.
Chairman Brown agreed, noting the new operator will have to comply with the
previous conditions of CUP 89-2. But he said he has no idea what those
Conditions of Approval are.
Mr. Whittenberg said those are the conditions before the Commission tonight.
The resolution sets forth the Conditions of Approval. That was the material he
had telephoned to request and of which staff made copies for all the
Commissioners. Resolution No. 92-25 is on the top of the Xeroxed materials.
The Conditions of Approval begin on page 2. At the request of the Chair,
Director Whittenberg summarized those Conditions of Approval.
Public Hearina
Paul Hennessey - 143 Main Street
Mr. Hennessey introduced himself as the applicant and owner of Hennessey's
Tavern and said they were taking over a full-service restaurant. They plan to put
in a new restaurant with basically the same floor plan and new kitchen
equipment. It will be operated as a full-scale restaurant. After the concerns
21
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City of Seal Beach Planning Department - Minutes of December 9, 1998
1 people expressed at the last Commission hearing, Hennessey's Tavern, Inc.
2 decided to change the name to Hennessey's Tavern Grill- to differentiate it
3 from what they used to operate here and to show that they are putting in a more
4 upscale restaurant.
5
6 David Rosenman * 8th Street. Seal Beach
7 Mr. Rosenman made a specific recommendation to move the proposed front
8 door location. It would be a problem as suggested because people will
9 congregate by the door and will create noise. The principal entrance should be
10 directly off Main Street. Having it there would make the noise go forward onto
11 Main Street and would eliminate problems for the church.
12
13 Rea Clewley * Catalina. Seal Beach
14 Mr. Clewley said this site is already delinquent on the in-lieu parking fees, as is
15 the restaurant at 140 Main Street. He complained that the City has no code
16 enforcement and the fees won't be collected. "There's no one enforcing anything
17 in this town".
18
19 Dave Winnek * 11 th Street. Seal Beach
20 Mr. Winnek spoke in favor of the project as proposed.
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22 Jim Benson. ESQ. * 711 Electric Avenue. Seal Beach
23 Mr. Benson explained he represented Dorothy Nescher, the owner of this
24 property. He said they support the application as presented.
25
26 Steve Matthews * Chef * Hennessev's Tavern
27 Mr. Matthews said he is the chef for Hennessey's Tavern Inc. He related his
28 professional qualifications. He presented Hennessey's menus from many of
29 Hennessey's restaurants, which have been opened over the last few years.
30 They will be catering. The new menu is more upscale. He mentioned several
31 charitable events that his firm has worked for.
32
33 Gillian Youna * Marina Drive. Seal Beach
34 Ms. Young said she has worked at Hennessey's for two years and it's a fine
35 establishment. She supported this application.
36
37 Robin Holiday * First Street. Huntinaton Beach
38 Ms. Holiday said she has worked at Hennessey's for one year and four months.
39 She supports this application and says they respect the City's laws.
40
41 John Rohana * 8th Street. Seal Beach
42 Mr. Rohana spoke in support of this project. He said he used to live behind
43 Hennessey's and found them to be cooperative neighbors.
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Susan Ariano * Montecito Road. Seal Beach
Mr. Ariano spoke in favor of this project, noting she has been their manager for
twelve years. She said she was upset at the allegations of wet T-shirt contests
because they never happened. They did have one beauty contest twelve years
ago in connection with a Miller Life volleyball tournament.
Jeff Ettson * 8th Street Seal Beach
Mr. Ettson spoke in opposition to this proposal saying he didn't have an issue
with Hennessey's in particular. His problems were with Clancy's and the Irisher
who are not good neighbors. They are noisy and smoky. The building at 143
Main Street can't be conforming because it's built right up to the alley. He
expressed concerns about alley safety for vehicles and pedestrians.
Joan Ward * 8th Street. Seal Beach
Ms. Ward spoke in support of this application, saying she has lived in the City for
27 years and felt Hennessey's is the only place she can go to and feel safe and
get home safe.
Jennv Siebert * No Address Given
Ms. Siebert said she's been Hennessey's bookkeeper for 8% years, it's a clean
place and she would take her grand children there.
Camille Shakkour * No Address Given
Mr. Shakkour said he has been the regional manager at Hennessey's for twenty
years. They averaged 10,000 meals per month at 140 Main Street in Seal
Beach. This year they will serve 800,000 to 900,000 meals at their other
locations company-wide. The food service is a very integral part of their
operation. Liquor doesn't provide longevity in their business but food service
does. That's why they have expanded their menu. They service the Radisson
Hotel in Seal Beach and expect that to continue.
(Name Could Not Beach Heard * No Address Given)
Mr. _ ~aid he has worked for Hennessey's Tavern for 10 years and is the
regional manager for San Diego to Laguna Beach. Their company focus has
been very strong on food. That gives them longevity. He says they do not
operate as a bar and conform to what the cities want them to do. They are
known as a neighborhood meeting place.
Jennifer Hennessev * No Address Given
Mrs. Hennessey said that she and her husband, Paul Hennessey, are the sole
owners of Hennessey's Tavern, Inc. and sacrificed to get their business going.
They are a small chain with a good reputation. She detailed many of the things
Mr. Hennessey does to make his restaurants succeed. She detailed the many
charities they contribute to and the many events they participate in Seal Beach.
David Rosenman * 8th Street
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1 Mr. Rosenman asked that during the rebuttal, Mr. Hennessey comment on the . '
2 enforcement proceedings taking place in Laguna Beach. The Hennessey's at
3 that location was accused of selling alcohol to a minor. Additionally, there was
4 an enforcement action in Seal Beach and two bouncers were at the door for
5 some time. These personnel have left and he wondered what happened.
6
7 Sharon Rich * Laauna Beach
8 Ms. Rich spoke in favor of the proposal, citing community involvement by
9 Hennessey's and many fundraisers. She has worked at Hennessey's for 3%
10 years.
11
12 Mark Ericksen * 116 8th Street. Seal Beach
13 Mr. Ericksen spoke in favor of the proposal, saying he frequented Hennessey's
14 and thought they were a fine establishment with good food.
15
16 Jeff Ettson * 8th Street. Seal Beach
17 Mr. Ettson said he wanted to be more specific on his comments. He was
18 concerned there be an adequate setback on the alley and closure of the back
19 entrance, which leads directly onto the alley. He suggested the alley be cleaned
20 up.
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22 Mr. Whittenberg said the City had received five letters in opposition to this project
23 and noted they were provided to the Commission: .
24
25 0 Grace Community Church
26 0 Norma Chafe at 725 Balboa Drive
27 0 Malcolm Green at 212 8th Street
28 0 Don Sheppard of 8th Street
29 0 Gail Ayres of Central Avenue1
30
31 Rebuttal
32
33 Paul Hennessev said he would be investing a tremendous amount of money into
34 143 Main Street to bring the building up to code, clean up the parking lot and
35 alley, improving the landscaping and redo the entire exterior. They have a
36 vested interest in downtown and want to see it improve. He explained that 14
37 years ago they were sought out by the City to revitalize the downtown area.
38 Their menu will be different, their decor will be different. They want to
39 compliment the existing restaurants. They are professional restaurant operators
40 and want to operate successfully. They have shrunk the barstools from 30 to 18,
41 there will not be a piano bar, the front door will be off Main Street, and it will be at
42 an angle for easier access.
43
44
1 Provided to staff during the meeting and shown to the Commission.
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Commissioner Larson asked if it would be possible to make the door to the
parking lot an "emergency only" door?
Mr. Hennessey said yes. He would be willing to make it that way. It has to have
panic hardware on the inside but it doesn't have to have a handle on the outside.
Mr. Whittenberg said he would want to ensure, with the Fire Authority that that
can be an emergency only exists. Certain types of occupancies need to have
two fully operational doors. He suggested a Condition of Approval could be
added to say the door will be for exit only subject to concurrence with the Orange
County Fire Authority.
Mr. Hennessey suggested he could do other things outside to not draw attention
to that door - such as not lighting it overhead. He could make the focus on the
front door.
The Chair closed the Public Hearing.
Commission Deliberations
Chairman Brown asked why is the Planning Commission going through this
exercise? Because CUPs run with the land the City doesn't have much control
over this establishment. The Planning Commission can review CUPs. For
example, where people fail to maintain a site as a restaurant, as defined by ABC,
and it becomes a bar, the Planning Commission can review that CUP. He said
he received a lot of telephone calls on this application. Most of them asked why
are you guys discussing this if you can't do anything? It's a good question and
apparently it wasn't clear what the Planning Commission was doing with this
applicant.
He said the problem is that everyone comes to this city and has wonderful plans.
They come in as one thing and migrate into something else. That's always a
concern of the residents and that's why there was so much discussion about this.
As presented, the application looks good and what people want. Time will tell
whether it ends up this way. There's a 12-month review on this. He would like to
add to that condition the fact that the Commission will review the fact of whether
it's truly a restaurant as defined by the ABC. The other problem brought to his
attention about ABC compliance is that ABC only has one enforcement officer
who looks at half of Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino counties. He
asked to have the City audit the records of food sales versus alcohol sales.
Regarding the alley setbacks, this building is pre-existing and the Commission
can't do anything about this at this time.
Regarding parking, they are short eleven parking spaces.
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1 Mr. Whittenberg said the site is not able to comply with the City's parking ."
2 standards and that's why the Variance was approved in 1989. The property is
3 under an agreement to pay $100 per parking space per year for the eleven
4 spaces.
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6 Chairman Brown asked how many parking spaces this building requires?
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8 Mr. Whittenberg said it requires one parking space per 100 square feet of
9 building area or 26 parking spaces. They have 6 or 7 spaces available in the
10 shared lot.
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12 Mr. Whittenberg said John's Food King and this restaurant share the parking lot.
13 Part of both parking requirements is met by controlled utilization of that Jot. He
14 didn't recall the number of parking spaces in that lot but this site is 11 spaces
15 short of meeting their requirement.
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17 Chairman Brown said in the past Papillion's was using parking spaces at Grace
18 Community Church.
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20 Mr. Whittenberg said that was a condition imposed by the California Coastal
21 Commission, not a City condition. The Coastal Commission has more stringent
22 parking conditions than the City does. For Papillion's to meet Coastal's
23 requirements they were required to provide additional parking within 500' of the .
24 site.
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26 Chairman Brown said this restaurant is paying in lieu parking fees of $100 per
27 space and he felt that was an enviable rate. The $1,100 goes into the parking
28 fund for improvements to parking areas along Main Street.
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30 Mr. Whittenberg noted some of those funds have recently been used for
31 upgrading the parking lot in the 100 block of Main Street. It has new landscaping
32 and restriped spaces.
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34 Commissioner Cutuli asked if there was a direct access between the outside
35 dining and the parking area in this plan?
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37 Mr. Whittenberg said no, there is not a direct access. Access to the outside
38 dining area is at the comer, at Main Street. It's not a parking lot space. Staff has
39 not seen the final parking lot details but this patio would be exited at the comer of
40 the parking Jot by Main Street.
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42 Commissioner Cutuli explained he was asking because he had observed people
43 coming out of the previous Hennessey's staggeringly drunk. If they were doing
44 that in direct communication with a parking lot, where people are pulling in and
45 out, it would be a dangerous situation. If the patio were separated from the .
46 parking lot this would be more acceptable as it wouldn't be as dangerous.
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Commissioner Cutuli commented on the intensification of the use of this property
upon tenant improvements and expansion into the parking lot area. It's more of a
use of the property than the original CUP was granted for. The previous
Hennessey's had decent food but that was definitely a bar. He said he would like
to see the City review the ratio of food sales to alcohol sales to ensure this will
remain a restaurant. The ABC determines the ratio. The City should continue to
monitor this ratio, independent of the ABC's monitoring.
Mr. Whittenberg said the Planning Commission has discretion on the entry to the
restaurant. If the Commission feels it's more appropriate to have the entry
remain directly off Main Street it has the authority to make that change. If the
Commission feels it's appropriate to leave the entrance at the comer of the
building and require fencing to direct patrons it has that authority also.
Commissioner Hood said it seemed to him that the Commission's course is
preordained. This will make more money for the City and the neighbor's don't
want it.
Commissioner Lyon said there seem to be a lot of recommendations tonight but
he didn't hear any complaints.
Commissioner Larson said he had not listened to a Public Hearing where there
has been as much difference in testimony - one side being the applicant and
the other side describing a completely different restaurant. He noted
Hennessey's couldn't be held responsible for other bars on Main Street. Seal
Beach has too many bars in it, but this is not the time when the Commission can
change the number of bars. If the Commission decides to approve this
application, it will have to be content with monitoring the establishment. The
neighbor who will feel the most pain is the church and he disliked seeing them
suffer. But it's the same building that was there before. With the instruction on
jurisdiction given by Mr. Steele, the Commission has little choice but to approve
this.
Chairman Brown said he did address the issue of what the Planning Commission
is doing tonight. The only real issue is whether the changes in the layout change
the nature of the business. If the Commission chooses to deny this application,
what could happen is the applicant would keep the same facility that exists and
open up his business. Hopefully, allowing this applicant to remodel will make it
into a better establishment. He agreed that there is a real difference of opinion
as to what the old Hennessey's is about. Most people sincerely hope that the
newer Hennessey's will turn into more of a restaurant.
Commissioner Cutuli asked if the Commission could vote on the plans in
segments - for example the inside, the outside etc.?
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1 Mr. Whittenberg said yes.
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3 Commissioner Cutuli said he would like to see the outside dining part eliminated.
4 It increases the square footage of the entire operation and gives it more than
5 what the original CUP was granted for.
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7 Chairman Brown asked if the outside patio took away from the interior square
8 footage?
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10 Mr. Whittenberg said the proposed outside patio is not a part of the inside eating
11 area. It's not an expansion of the building. It's the opening of a front wall as it
12 exists now.
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14 Commissioner Cutuli said he felt the opening into the parking lot was dangerous
15 and he didn't like it. It should be blocked off somehow.
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17 Before the vote the Commission discussed the entrance and parking lot issues.
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19 Commissioner Cutuli said if the restaurant has a comer entrance, there should
20 be an impediment between the parking lot and the business itself. He wasn't
21 quite sure how to achieve this but stressed the safety of patrons.
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23 Mr. Hennessey said their intention was to build a small decorative stone wall to
24 protect people or cars from getting into that area.
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26 MOTION by Larson; SECOND by Cutuli to approve Resolution No. 98-50, thus
27 approving Conditional Use Permit 98-18, as amended:
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29 Cl Condition #17: City staff shall monitor the ratio of food sales to alcohol
30 sales to ensure the new establishment remains a bona fide eating
31 place as defined by ABC.
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33 Cl New Condition #32: The door to the establishment facing Central
34 Avenue shall be an emergency exit only, subject to the approval of the
35 Orange County Fire Authority. If the door is required by the Fire
36 Authority to be operation for ingress/egress, the exterior door shall be
37 designed to discourage use as an entrance to the restaurant.
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39 Cl Renumber Conditions #32 as #33 and #33 as #34.
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41 Cl New Condition #35: The parking lot shall be designed with an entrance
42 wall to prevent direct pedestrian access to the parking Jot at the
43 northeast corner of the building.
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Mr. Steele said Condition #27 does indicate that there shall be no building
permits issued until the presently delinquent parking fees (from Papillion's) are
paid.
MOTION CARRIED:
AYES:
5-0
Gt:tttHi, Larson, Brown, Lyon, Cutuli
t-\-Ood
Mr. Steele advised the Planning Commission's action is final tonight and the ten
calendar-day appeal period begins tomorrow.
Mr. Rosenman said Commissioner Brown had asked the question "Why are we
doing this?" The application for CUP 98-18 demonstrates that Mr. Hennessey
and his corporation heard some of the things that were said at the previous
Commission meeting. There's utility in that.
STAFF CONCERNS
Mr. Whittenberg suggested the Commission cancel the regularly scheduled
December 23 meeting, as there were no business items scheduled.
Chairman Brown got full Commission consent to cancel that meeting.
COMMISSION CONCERNS
Commissioner Hood said he would be absent January 6, 1999.
ADJOURNMENT
Chairman Brown adjourned the meeting at 11 :12 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted:
go~~~
Joan Fillmann
Executive Secretary
Planning Department
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