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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPC Min 1998-09-23 . . . CITY OF SEAL BEACH PLANNING COMMISSION AGENDA for SEPTEMBER 23, 1998 7:30 P.M. * City Council Chambers 211 Eighth Street, Seal Beach, CA 90740 Next Resolution: 98-29 I. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE II. ROLL CALL III. AGENDA APPROVAL By Motion of the Planning Commission, this is the time to: (a) Notify the public of any changes to the Agenda; (b) Re-arrange the order of the Agenda; and/or (c) Provide an opportunity for any member of the Planning Commission, staff, or public to request an item is removed from the Consent Calendar for separate action. IV. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS At this time, members of the public may address the Planning Commission regarding any items within the subject matter jurisdiction of the Planning Commission, provided that the Planning Commission may undertake no action or discussion unless otherwise authorized by law. V. CONSENT CALENDAR Items on the Consent Calendar are considered to be routine and are enacted by one motion unless prior to enactment, a member of the Planning Commission, staff or the public requests a specific item be removed from the Consent Calendar for separate action. 1. Approve Planning Commission Meeting Minutes of September 9,1998 VI. SCHEDULED MATTERS VII. PUBLIC HEARINGS 2. Conditional Use Permit 98-13 Address: Business: Applicant: Property Owner: 600 Pacific Coast Highway (Bay City Center) Restaurant Koi Kunio Go Marvin Fields Request: Approval to enlarge an existing restaurant to accommodate increased seating capacity and additional menu items. Recommendation: Approval, through the adoption of Resolution No. 98- _' subject to Conditions of Approval. . . . City of Seal Beach Planning Commission * Agenda of September 23, 1998 * Adjourned Meeting 3. General Plan Amendment 98-1 Zone Change 98-1 Variance 98-5 Address: Applicant: Property Owner: Request: 321 Seal Beach Boulevard Dave Bartlett & Associates Ellen G. Musso, et al To demolish existing commercial structures and construct nine (9) single family, two-story, zero lot line residences. Recommendation: Approval through the adoption of Resolutions Nos.: o 98- _ for General Plan Amendment 98-1 o 98- _ for Zone Change 98-1 a 98-_ for Variance 98-5 VII. STAFF CONCERNS IX. COMMISSION CONCERNS X. ADJOURNMENT 2 The City of Seal Beach complies with the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990. If you need assistance to attend this meeting, please telephone the City Clerk's Office at (562) 431-2527 at least 48 hours in advance of the meeting. Thank you. City of Seal Beach Planning Commission * Agenda of September 23, 1998 * Adjourned Meeting . 1998 AGENDA FORECAST [J OCT 07 [J Public Hearing on Howard Brief matter (CS) [J Plan Review for 53 Rlversea Rd. [J Bixby Ranch Proposal [J OCT 21 [J Bixby Ranch Proposal [J CUP 98-15/Marriott Sr. Assisted Living Facility [J NOV 04 [J Study Session: Noise Standards in C2 Zones (P. Campbell 7127/98) [J Study Session: Permitted Uses & Develop. Stds. in Commercial Zones [From 5/6/98] [J Staff Report: Undergrounding of Utilities [J Staff Report: Update on Decks along Crestview Avenue NOV18 [J [J [J . DEe 09 DEC 23 JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC Calendar: . ZTA on issue of side-yard setbacks along stub streets in the Gold Coast area of Ocean Avenue (from 3-4-98) Study Session: Three-story structures on Main Street Study Session: Height Limits in Commercial Zones (P.Campbell 7/27/98) 1999 Agenda Forecast 12147 Seal Beach Boulevard * Seal Beach Market * Review #47 license. Sales began 2-10-98. CUP 98-8 * 12161 Seal Beach Boulevard * Champs Drive Thru Window Review at 12 months. And Beyond... April 2001: CUP 98-6 @ 12147 Seal Beach Boulevard (Yucatan Grill) Review 3 The City of Seal Beach complies with the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990. If you need assistance to attend this meeting, please telephone the City Clerk's Office at (562) 431-2527 at least 48 hours In advance of the meeting Thank you. :;. \ I ' . !~ I . . . City of Seal Beach Planning Commission Minutes of September 23, 1998 Chairman Brown called the regularly scheduled Planning Commission meeting of September 23, 1998 to order at 7:30 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 expressed concern on Variance 87-2, an item to be heard by the Planning Commission at the October 7th meeting. It was decided to discuss this under Commission Concerns. Chairman Brown asked for the Minutes of September 9th to be extracted for separate consideration. MOTION by Hood; SECOND by Cutuli to approve the Agenda as amended. MOTION CARRIED: AYES: 5-0-0 Hood, Cutuli, Larson, Brown, Lyon ORAL COMMUNICATIONS Matt Stein · Rossmoor Homeowners Association Mr. Stein suggested the Commission delay its Public Hearing on the Bixby project on October 7th because Mr. Whittenberg will be on vacation and no other City staff will be present, except for Mr. Steele from the City Attorney's Office. . , ;. . . . City of Seal Beach Planning Commission · Minutes of September 23, 1998 CONSENT CALENDAR Chairman Brown corrected the Minutes of September 9111 at page 10, fine 20. The text presently read: "Chairman Brown said 'We'll make a decision on that at the end of the staff report". The Minutes will be corrected to read 'We'll make a decision on when to hold the meeting, when to hold the Public Hearing, at the end of the staff report tonight", MOTION by Hood; SECOND by Cutuli to approve the Minutes of September 9, 1998 as amended. MOTION CARRIED: AYES: 5-0-0 Hood, Cutuli, Larson, Lyon, Brown SCHEDULED MATTERS There were no Scheduled Matters. PUBLIC HEARINGS 2. Conditional Use Permit 98-13 600 Pacific Coast Highway (Bay City Center) Restaurant Koi Staff Report Mr. Whittenberg presented the staff report. [Staff report on file in the Planning Department for inspection]. The applicant, Kunio Go, requested approval to expand an existing 1,700 square foot restaurant to approximately 2,600 square feet. The proposed expansion would allow the enlargement of restroom facilities and the provision of a Sushi bar. Commission Questions Chairman Brown said the proposed resolution says the City received one letter but a copy of the letter was not included in the packet. Mr. Whittenberg said he would look for it. Chairman Brown asked what the parking requirement is for Restaurant Koi? Mr. Whittenberg said the parking requirement is one parking space for every 100 square feet of building area. The restaurant would need 26 parking spaces. 2 .. . City ofSeaJ Beach Planning Commission · MInutes ofSq>tember 23, 1998 Chairman Brown asked how shared parking was calculated? Mr. Whittenberg explained the City has no formal shared parking program. In this shopping center, the Bay City Center, approximately half of the businesses are professional and don't operate in the evening hours, when Restaurant Koi would be operating. For example, Restaurant Koi is expanding into a real estate office. That real estate office needed 3 parking spaces for its site versus the restaurant use, which needs 9 parking spaces for the same site. Chairman Brown asked if the Main Street Specific Plan's in lieu parking fee program applies here? Mr. Whittenberg said when the Bay City Center was approved in the 1970's; the center was allowed a number of uses within the center without designating the parking. The parking remained flexible to the owner, as he deemed appropriate, without having to provide additional parking. Chairman Brown said that a few years ago, when the Daily Grind coffee drive- through was approved in the Pavilion's shopping center, the Coastal Commission required that parking lot to be restriped. Would that happen here? Mr. Whittenberg said no because there is no new construction taking place. The existing structure will change only by expanding into another existing use. He didn't think the Coastal Commission would look at this application in the same way. For the Daily Grind, staff had parking issues due to the drive-through nature of the business and cars stacking up and waiting. The Pavilion's Center had more parking spaces than the City required. Chairman Brown said the Pavilion's center has approximately 60 parking spaces in excess of what the City required and yet the Coastal Commission required the Daily Grind to restripe the parking. With this application you've got a shopping center without enough parking and the applicant wants to increase that deficit without any mitigation. Mr. Whittenberg said as staff reviewed the original approvals for that shopping center it appears the Bay City Center has that flexibility to modify their uses within certain limitations without needed to provide additional parking. The Bay City Center was approved in 1971-1972 and conditions were approved to that center, which don't apply to other centers in town because the Bay City Center is in the City's Redevelopment Project Area. Commissioner Hood said page 2 of the staff report says the applicant is proposing to expand by approximately 35% with "larger restroom facilities". He suggested that if approved, this be stated to be ADA-compliant restroom facilities. . . 3 J; . City of Seal Beach Planning Commission · Minutes of September 23, 1998 There was a brief discussion between Mr. Steele and Commissioner Hood on this issue wherein Mr. Steele explained the law requires the new restrooms be ADA compliant. Commissioner Hood said he would be more comfortable if the resolution stated that ADA compliance is a must. Public Hearina Kunio Go. Owner. Restaurant Koi Mr. Go introduced himself as the owner of Restaurant Koi. He said he had read the staff report and agreed with it and the Conditions of Approval. He explained that as the restaurant is built now its restrooms are too small and they are in a bad location. To get to the restrooms, a patron must walk through the waitress station. Now that the Century 21 office space is available they can expand. Their restrooms will comply with ADA law. There were no persons wishing to speak in favor of or against this application and the Chair closed the Public Hearing. . Commission Deliberation . Commissioner Cutuli said he thought this was a creative use of the parking because the day business don't require the parking at night and this restaurant could take advantage of that. He never noticed a lack of parking spaces in the Bay City Center. Commissioner Lyon said he felt the same way, that it's smart to share parking. This is a good business and he's doing a good job. Commissioner Hood said he was in favor of the application as long as the resolution states the restrooms must be ADA-compliant. Commissioner Larson had no comments. Chairman Brown said he thought Restaurant Koi is an excellent restaurant, he had dined there many times himself. He never had a problem parking. He brought up the parking issues because they may need to address that at the Coastal Commission. Mr. VVhittenberg said when it goes through review by the Coastal Commission it will be reviewed as a different situation; it's a re-use of an existing structure. Mr. Steele suggested new wording for Condition #3 and it would be incorporated. . 4 , . . City of Seal Beach Planning Commission · Minutes of September 23, 1998 MOTION by Hood; SECOND by Lyon to approve Resolution No. 98-29, as amended at Condition #3: All construction shall be in substantial compliance with the plans approved through CUP 98-13 and restroom construction shall be inn compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. MOTION CARRIED: AYES: 5-0-0 Hood, Lyon, Brown, Larson, Cutuli Mr. Steele advised the applicant that a ten-calendar-day appeal period is available to the City Council. This period will begin to run tomorrow morning. 3. Negative Declaration 98-3 General Plan Amendment 98-1 Zone Change 98-1 Variance 98-5 321 Seal Beach Boulevard . Staff Report Mr. Whittenberg delivered the staff report. [Staff report on file in the Planning Department for inspection]. The applicant sought approval to review the City's General Plan designation and zoning classification of the property from General Commercial/C-2 to ResidentiallRMD. The proposal would involve the demolition of existing commercial structures and/or improvements to facilitate construction of nine (9) single family, two- story, zero lot line residences. . Commission Questions Commissioner Cutuli referenced the Mitchell Plaza project and asked if staff had received any expressions of resentment or complaints regarding the zero lot line concept? Mr. Whittenberg said he would have to refer back to the Minutes of that application. He didn't recall if there was opposition. Commissioner Cutuli asked if there were any circumstances, which required those to be in place, or were special conditions different from the previous one, as compared to this one, or are the two conceptually the same? Mr. Whittenberg said they were conceptually exactly the same for the first residential lot. After that it was a different situation. There was only one residential lot behind 5 . . ~ . . . City of Seal Beach Planning Commission · Minutes of September 23, 1998 commercial as part of the Mitchell Plaza proposal. Commissioner Hood asked when the Mitchell Plaza Variance was granted? Mr. Whittenberg said it was approximately 1994 - 1995. Chairman Brown asked tf the underlying lot sizes are 25' wide? Mr. Whittenberg said yes. He explained the lots were combined by the property owner to accommodate the Shore Shop but, underneath, they are all 25'. Public Hearina Dave Bartlett * D. Bartlett Associates Mr. Bartlett introduced himself and explained he represented the Musso family on this application. He then gave a power point presentation on this application. He discussed the following concerns: c Proiect Location The project is approximately 0.53 acres located on Pacific Coast Highway and Seal Beach Boulevard. Existina Prooertv Conditions There are several stores on the site (Shore Shop, beauty salon and deli). He showed photos of the site and alleys. c Proiect Description for Anaheim Bav Villas c The existing would be demolished and nine zero-lot line houses would be built. He showed modeled photos of the proposed houses. They were Mediterranean with tile roofs. Three elevations with three floor plans. Four bedrooms, 3% baths and 2,550 square feet. Two-car garage with alley access. Private entry courtyards. Second-story balconies and roof decks. c Plannina Considerations They considered the City's General Plan and zoning, surrounding land uses, Seal Beach Boulevard traffic and the viability of Seal Beach Boulevard as a commercial district. He said Seal Beach Boulevard, as a viable commercial district and mixed-use corridor, was conceptually established in 1986. For several reasons it never materialized. 6 . . . o City of Seal Beach Planning Commission · Minutes of September 23, 1998 Justification for Aoproval The uses permitted in the C-2 zone are not compatible with the surrounding neighborhood. Lack of traffic on Seal Beach Boulevard would not allow for viable commercial opportunities. There are residential uses on three sides. Project implementation would result in an 80% decrease in traffic trips and associated vehicle emissions. It's consistent with the General Plan. There would be a significant contribution to the City's affordable housing program. The surrounding property values would increase. Mario Musso · Propertv Owner Mr. Musso introduced himself as the property owner. He talked about the history of the Shore Shop, which was started by his mother. He said they wish to sell the Shore Shop because there have been big changes in retailing in the 35 years the shop has operated. Their business needs approximately 3,000 square feet to operate, not the existing 10,000 square feet. The economy is more competitive and retailing approaches in 1967 don't work in 1998. Traffic on Seal Beach Boulevard is minimal. Large discount malls lure business away. The following persons spoke in favor of this application: Seretta Fieldina · 233 Seal Beach Boulevard Ms. Fielding introduced herself as living in Seal Beach for 22 years and as operating the Growing Tree Pre-School on Seal Beach Boulevard. She said she feels that Seal Beach Boulevard will never be a viable commercial district as originally planned because of the residential lots. When a business goes into this area to see what can be built they are looking at a 25' x 103' residential lot. The building would be very small. They would not choose this area. This project would be much better for the area; she liked the proposed architectural style and felt it would improve the neighborhood. Cass Belinski · 254 17ltl Street. Seal Beach Mr. Belinski said he has lived in Seal Beach since 1989. He said this is a wonderful project and was very please that the Musso's decided to invest in the community in this way. The mixed-use residential plan has not been as successful as everyone had hoped it would be. This project will inspire other owners to do the same thing. 7 . . City of Seal Beach Planning Commission · Minutes of September 23, 1998 Pete Mason * 256 17th Street. Seal Beach Mr. Mason said he has lived in Seal Beach for 20 years and owns the property on the other side of the motel. He said this project would bring Seal Beach Boulevard up to the same standard as other areas in Seal Beach. There were no persons wishing to speak against the project. Mr. Bartlett addressed Commissioner Cutuli's comment regarding resident opposition to Mitchell Plaza. V\lhat was addressed at the time that project was built was having a buffer between the commercial buildings and the residential home. This was done. There was no objection to the zero lot line construction. The Chairman closed the Public Hearing. Commission Deliberation Chairman Brown said he was opposed to this project for several reasons: Zero Lot Line: He saw no problem with the first lot being a zero lot line but questioned why the other 8 lots had to be also. The first lot is adjacent to commercial uses. That would set a precedent that the Commission does not want to do. The Mitchell Plaza project had a different Commission rationale and it does not apply to this project. Seal Beach Boulevard: This street was designed in the General Plan as a commercial or limited commercial area. There have been efforts to revitalize this but it hasn't been very successful. This project, if approved, would kill it off completely. V\lhat type of reaction would that have on the other businesses further down? The Planning Commission didn't talk about the zoning further south on Seal Beach Boulevard. It's Limited - Commercial from Landing Avenue to almost Electric Avenue. In the City's plan, Seal Beach Boulevard is a commercial district with residential above or behind. It's still commercial and this project would completely change the character. It would reduce the traffic and that would kill off the. other businesses there. It would be better to look at Seal Beach Boulevard as a whole. Then come up with a plan and execute that plan to revitalize Seal Beach Boulevard into a viable commercial district. Lot Size: He did not like the size of the lots, indicating there is a huge difference between 25' lots and 30' lots. In terms of living space it really impacts the livability of a house. "It makes it more like a train and I think it's unattractive... what we'll have is a row of houses, one right after the other ... a house cemetery ... personally I would rather see 30' lots. And I'm not in favor of granting the zero lot line setbacks except ..." for the first house . 8 I . -' . . . City of Seal Beach Planning Commission · Minutes of September 23, 1998 Mr. Whittenberg said the setback at the liquor store was zero, it was built on a property line. Chairman Brown said you've got two buildings right next to each other and the Planning Commission would never approve that. Zone Chance: The Chairman said that while C-2 might not be the appropriate zoning for that area, L-C might. It might be more appropriate to rezone that area in that way. Parking: He wonders what the California Coastal Commission (CCC) would have to say about the elimination of parking spaces and public use near the beach. Turning public spaces into private spaces. We've seen the CCC staff be adverse to that. "I'm going to vote against this project. There are a lot of little things I don't like about it. And there are big things I don't like about it ... ". Commissioner Cutuli said he liked the project proposal, liked the design of the houses and thought it looked good. He lived in Surfside on 25' lots and didn't thinking it detracts from living. The windows were arranged toward the view. He didn't think the zero lot line should be approved unless it's a citywide format. Visually it doesn't bother him that the area would become residential rather than commercial. The only thing he objected to was the continuous courtyard wall, which makes it look like condominiums. This could be overcome. Commissioner Lyon said he had looked at the site and the surrounding area and felt it was run down and not in good shape. This project would be a great improvement. It would make a nice view and would be a great improvement for 'that area. He didn't think business could make it in that area. We just can't let an area deteriorate. Commissioner Hood said with all due respect to the owner, who wants to develop this property, this is a property-specific plan rather than a City or district-specific plan. He said we need to look at what's good for Seal Beach and what the City's General Plan is. He said the General Plan has certain objectives for Seal Beach Boulevard, which must be addressed. He also didn't like the cookie-cutter look of all the houses looking the same, the same color. It would be granting a special privilege to approve the zero lot lines. This should not be done. Lastly, this project is in Chairman Brown's district, he knows the thoughts of the people in the area and he respects that. Commissioner Larson said that with no disrespect to the Chairman, he felt that each of the Planning Commissioners represents the entire City. He likes the plan. He was astonished to see the zoning code allowed commercial and residential zoning to abut and said that is poor zoning. He had no problem with the zero lot line concept because it provides a little more useful property on each lot. He would support the project as 9 ~ . -' . . . City of Seal Beach Planning Commission · Minutes of September 23, 1998 proposed. Commissioner Cutufi said that in concept he really did like the zero lot line concept and felt it would work for that site. But until the City has a formula for zero lot line zoning he couldn't vote in favor of this project. Chairman Brown said the Planning Commission has no justification to approve a Variance. Even if you could make the findings for the first lot, you couldn't make them for the remaining lots. Mr. Whittenberg said he forgot to discuss his Supplemental Staff Report. As part of the process, the City circulated an Initial Study and Negative Declaration. The City received three letters from SCAG, Caltrans and the Orange County Department of Development Services. These letters were included in the Commission's packet. He advised the Commission that they could, if so desired, approved certain aspects of the project and deny certain aspects of it. MOTION by Brown; SECOND by Hood to deny Negative Declaration #3, General Plan Amendment 98-1, Zone Change 98-1 and Variance 98-5 through the adoption of Resolution No. 98-30 through 98-33. MOTION CARRIED: AYES: NOES: 3-2-0 Cutuli, Brown, Hood Larson, Lyon Mr. Whittenberg advised the Commission that staff would come back with revised resolutions. Chairman Brown advised everyone of the appeal process to the City Council. He said he strongly urged another plan. Commissioner Larson asked what that plan should be? A commercial plan? Chairman Brown said he would prefer for staff to sit down and come up with a plan for Seal Beach Boulevard. There needs to be a City consensus on what needs to be done for Seal Beach Boulevard. Instead, what we're doing is starting out small. Dave Bartlett said that after listening to the discussion among the Commissioners he was not sure of each Commissioner's position. Chairman Brown said, "I'm not going to allow you to poll the Commissioners". 10 . . . City of Seal Beach Planning Commission · Minutes of September 23, 1998 STAFF CONCERNS Mr. Whittenberg said that at the September gltt Planning Commission meeting he said he would be on vacation during the October 7ltt Commission meeting. He advised that Kyle Kollar, Associate Planner would take his place and Assistant City Attorney Steele would be present also. However, Kyle Kollar has quit his position. A new employee will start on October 12ltt. He said that from his personal viewpoint, the Planning Commission has heard staff's presentation of the project. He felt that the October 7ltt meeting would be taken by public comments and applicant presentation. He felt staff could go ahead with the October 7ltt meeting. Matt Stein - Rossmoor Homeowner's Association Mr. Stein said he disagreed and said the City shouldn't hold the October 7ltt meeting on the Bixby proposal without Mr. Whittenberg's presence to support everyone. It's important for staff to be present to mediate the process. 'We need all the pieces there. If we don't have all the pieces there how can we proceed. I would highly recommend we postpone this until everyone's appropriate in place". Chairman Brown said he resented Mr. Stein's comment that the meeting would need mediating. He said that based on the number of persons in the audience at the September gltt meeting he thought the public comments would be wrapped up in one meeting. The previous applicant presentation and staff report took thirty minutes. If that were repeated, it would leave a lot of time for public comments. He said he didn't know if it would be legal, but he suggested it would be better to wait until October 21st. Mr. Whittenberg said there are five other Public Hearings scheduled for October 21st. He suggested the Commission hold another meeting on October 14ltt on the Bixby project and then have the 5 Public Hearing matters on October 21 st. Commissioner Hood he and Commissioner Larson are busy the week of October 12th as previously discussed. If there are 5 Public Hearings for October 21 st perhaps they could be moved up. Commissioner Hood said Mr. Whittenberg is a aitical player in the Planning Commission's Public Hearing matters. He was concerned that whoever loses the Bixby project will probably sue the City. He would not like to hold Public Hearings on the Bixby project without Mr. Whittenberg present to guide the Commission. It's possible that the Commission could finish on the Bixby project, make their conclusions and then find they made a procedural mistake. Then the City would have to pay the City Attorney's Office. He urged postponement of the Bixby project Public Hearings. He added he wanted as good a hearing as was possible with as clear guidance as possible. Commissioner Larson suggested October 218f. 11 , . . . . City of Seal Beach Planning Commission. Minutes of September 23,1998 Commissioner Cutuli suggested October 211t also, saying he was new to the Planning Commission and needed staff's guidance. Commissioner Lyon said he was okay with October 7ft! or October 211t. There was a brief discussion on how, if possible to shift things around. Chairman Brown said that due to conflicting schedules a third meeting in October appeared impossible and the Commission would have to do with October 211t for all the hearings. The Commission determined to postpone the Public Hearings on the Bixby project to its regularly scheduled meeting of October 211t. Commissioner Hood said it is imperative the word is gotten out of this schedule change. Mr. Steele said the Planning Commission would need to make a Motion at its October 7ft! meeting to continue the Public Hearing on the Bixby project proposal to October 21st. Additionally, staff will do its best to get the word out of the schedule change. There is no item on tonight's Agenda to continue. Therefore, to avoid liability, the correct procedure is for the Planning Commission to make a Motion at its October 7th meeting to continue the Public Hearing on the Bixby project to October 21 st. COMMISSION CONCERNS There were no Commission concerns. ADJOURNMENT The Chairman adjourned the meeting at 8:55 p.m. Respectfully Submitted, ~~~ Joan Fillmann Executive Secretary Planning Department APPROVAL: The Planning Comm~ion approved the Minutes of September 23, 1998 on October ~ 1998. 4 12