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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPlanning Commission Minutes 2007/05/23 MINUTES OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF CHULA VISTA Council Chambers 6:00 p.m. 276 Fourth Avenue May 23, 2007 Chula Vista, CA ROLL CALL /MOTIONS TO EXCUSE: ~I Members Present: Felber, Vinson, Moctezuma, Bensoussan, Tripp, Clayton, Spethman 1,. PUBLIC HEARING: PCC 07-63; Consideration of a Conditional Use Permit for Championship Off-Road Racing (CORR) June 8-10 and September 28-30, 2007, Rock Mountain Quarry land adjacent to the Otay River Valley. Glenn Laube gave an overview of the environmental component of the proposed project and Harold Phelps gave a presentation of the proposal as presented in the staff report, i Staff Recommendation: That the Planning Commission approve Resolution PCC 07-63 recommending adoption of the Mitigated Negative Declaration and recommend approval of the Conditional Use Permit to the City Council in accordance with the findings and subject to the conditions contained in the draft City Council Resolution. Commission Comments: ~I i Cmr. Tripp asked if the various environmental protection agencies had reviewed the proposal, and if so, how long do they have to make their response and how long do they actually take to put it in writing, Glen Laube responded that staff met numerous times with The California Department of Fish and Game, and Fish and Wildlife Agency, but have not received a formal comment letter from them They have reviewed the Conditions of Approval in the CUP that relate to adjacency issues to sensitive lands and are satisfied with them, Mr Laube stated that they've had 30-days to respond to the Mitigated Negative Declaration, but staff has been meeting with them since December 2006, The Planning Commission Minutes - 2 - May 23, 2007 agency's response is generally received within 30 days, however, in speaking with Dave Mayer with Fish and Game this morning asking him if they had submitted comments, he indicated that he thought they had, but didn't know where their comment letter was, Cmr. Tripp noted that the MND stated that, "a traffic control plan shall be developed in order to mitigate those impacts"; does CEQA required the traffic control plan and other similar plans to be submitted for staff review in advance of certification of the document? Mike Shirey, Deputy City Attorney responded that the mitigation measures would be included in the Mitigation and Monitoring Report. Mr. Shirey stated that perhaps what Cmr, Tripp was referring to is in the larger context of an EIR where there's operational impacts, i e when the Level Of Service of a street may be diminished, This isn't the case here; the mitigation actually is to prepare the traffic control plan, which will mitigate these temporary impact Cmr. Spethman stated as a point of clarification that this Conditional Use Permit is strictly for the two separate weekend events and nothing else. Should any other event be planned, a new CUP would be considered by the Planning Commission and City Council, I Staff concurred with Cmr. Spethman's statements. i Cmr. Moctezuma expressed concern with the disturbance to the owls, the water quality, and hazardous toxic substances Of more concern to her, however, is j the apparent fast-tracking of the entitlement process and the ability for all of the mitigation measures to be ready and in place when the event takes place, which is three days after the City Council will be considering this CUP, Mr. Laube stated that the monitoring of the Burrowing Owls would be conducted i by qualified professional biologists. Furthermore, the applicant will be required to provide a Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan to the satisfaction of the City j Engineer that details how those hazardous material will be contained, provide secondary containment, and have detailed plans for what to do if there is a spill, Cmr. Bensoussan questioned whether adequate time was built into this process to allow staff time to fully respond to all of the queries and comments, i e the comment letter from the County that raises some serious questions. Mr„ Laube responded that staff is comfortable with the responses on the comments that were received because none of the comments that were received raised any new issues that were not already previously addressed in the MND and adequately mitigated, Planning Commission Minutes - 3 - May 23, 2007 Rick Rosaler added that this will be the third time that they've been through this ' process with the two previous year's events and a total of six races behind us Staff believes that there is sufficient precedence and knowledge of how the race will be conducted and have enough experience to feel comfortable processing it Staff recognizes that the processing time appears to have been fast-tracked, however, all of the timeframes and requirements have been met, and staff has worked very hard to prepare all of the documentation that was needed for the Commission's deliberation of the proposal Additionally, staff has been meeting regularly with the CORR team, as well as representatives of our Police, Fire, Traffic and Storm Water City Engineers and feel comfortable with the document and making a recommendation for approval,. Cmr. Bensoussan questioned whether the site that will be used for parking, although temporary, could potentially fend off any wildlife that may not come back. Mr Rosaler responded that the parking site is part of Village 3 and, therefore, slated for development. The sensitive land is the Preserve and a 100-foot setback from it will be maintained Cmr. Vinson asked why the site for this year's event was moved to another j location from the previous two years in the Otay Ranch area, Harold Phelps responded that the development of Village 2 began almost ; immediately after the races last year, so we were certain that the races would not j be held in the same site this year, Within one month after last year's races in October, discussions began with the CORR team and staff with a proposal to utilize a site that was going to be further into the Otay River Valley. In a meeting with the Wildlife Agencies they discouraged the use of that area and encouraged the use of the rock quarry area because it was already a disturbed and degraded ' site. Cmr. Vinson questioned, aside from the entertainment value, what other benefit ~ is there to the citizens of Chula Vista to have this race continue Mr.. Rosaler responded that basically it is for the entertainment value, and perhaps also exposure to the City because the ABC television network will be covering the race and broadcasting it throughout the nation. Although we have I no official data, we have been told that all of the hotels and motels are booked for those weekend, which logically one would assume that restaurant and shopping patronage increases as well. Cmr,. Vinson questioned the financial impact of providing safety and emergency services, Planning Commission Minutes - 4 - May 23, 2007 Mr.. Rosaler responded that CORR is responsible for covering all costs for overtime for all Police, Fire and Paramedics and there is no financial impact to the City's General Fund, ' Cmr„ Tripp stated that the previous years' events were held in the Otay Ranch Villages that are now being developed. This year's event, however, is being held in an area that is more sensitive, Cmr Tripp also noted that the staff report indicated that the proposed temporary racetrack of this year's event is a pilot or test run for a future permanent racetrack facility at the Rock Mt Quarry He further indicated that we need a place where these types of events can be held, however, due to its proximity to sensitive lands, is not convinced that it's a good fit for that area. Mr. Rosaler stated that staff took into consideration the fact that the rock quarry is a disturbed area already and blasts dynamite on a regular basis, therefore, staff felt that it was the appropriate location compared to other active recreation locations.. Based on the information that is available today, staff is comfortable recommending that the race be at the rock quarry.. Cmr. Clayton inquired if there were any different comments or concerns raised by this year's proposed location for the races, compared to the previous years, Mr. Rosaler stated that the comments and concerns are no different from those raised in previous years, Most were concerned with the proximity to the preserve and Wolf Canyon,. We had biological monitors out there on a daily basis, and to the extent that we know, no one got into the preserve from the racetrack. Cmr„ Moctezuma stated that she read much about trash pick up, but did not see any mention of recycling materials, Harold Phelps noted that the staff report should have mentioned that a trash plan has to be approved by our Conservation Coordinator, therefore, there will certainly be a recycling element to the plan, Cmr. Bensoussan reiterated her concern with the tight timeline because it gives the appearance that we are trivializing due process and reducing the public hearing process, It disturbs her because it makes her feel like it's a foregone conclusion that there will be a rubber-stamp approval. Cmr. Tripp asked if staff received any factual information, as required by CEQA, that would cause you to determine that a Mitigated Negative Declaration is not appropriate and is it staffs position that the mitigation measures are enforceable and will be applied to this project. Mr. Laube responded that staff is confident that all of the mitigation measures are ' enforceable,. Speaking from experience, Mr Laube stated that for the first year's Planning Commission Minutes - 5 - May 23, 2007 event in 2005, he was the City's mitigation monitor; he was out there every day, all day and during the time trials. His sole responsibility was to implement the MMRP; monitoring the traffic control plan; did a daily qualitative assessment of the air quality, making sure they were watering between each race, Cmr„ Spethman pointed out that he was surprised that no fire pits will be allowed in the camping area, but there will be a fireworks show; he asked for further clarification on the rationale behind this Harold Phelps stated that it would be a very small fireworks display, not a fireworks show, at the inception of the races when the national anthem is played, Cmr„ Moctezuma concluded by saying that overall she has a lot of concern on ' the timing of this whole process and with the environmental impacts on the wildlife.. Cmr„ Bensoussan stated that there was a lot of material to digest and a lot of responses to comments that needed to be done that, in her opinion, were not responded to in an adequate manner, Furthermore, she served 6 years in the RCC and during that entire time she never remembers the RCC finding any MND inadequate and only one EIR inadequate, therefore, she takes very seriously the RCC's recommendation not to approve the CUP based on their assessment that the MND is inadequate Cmr. Felber stated that he is comfortable that the MND addresses and mitigates the concerns that have been raised, and although he would not support this site as a permanent racetrack for future events without having a complete data and wildlife agency buy-off, as well as an EIR, he is not convinced that there would i be substantial cumulative impacts for these two weekend events,. Cmr. Tripp concurred with Cmr, Felbers statement and is of the opinion that for the two weekend event, the MND adequately addresses the concerns and has ' appropriate mitigation measure that staff believes are enforceable. As far as an economic component playing into the findings for approval, in his opinion, is not an issue he would be concerned with, He believes there is a need for there to be a permanent venue in this region for these types of events, and he will withhold from making any further comment on it until such time that a full environmental analysis, data and documentation is made available on a proposed permanent site.. Cmr. Felber stated that having lost the racetrack in EI Cajon, he too would like to see a permanent venue in the Southbay after adequate analysis and all regulatory documents have been prepared, Planning Commission Minutes - 6 - May 23, 2007 MSC (Spethman/Clayton) that the Planning Commission approve Resolution PCC 07-63 recommending adoption of the Mitigated Negative Declaration and recommending approval of the Conditional Use Permit to the City Council in accordance with the findings and subject to the conditions contained in the City Council Resolution with a recommendation that there be a post-race qualitative analysis of the water and air quality analysis. Amendment offered by Cmr. Tripp that staff provide a thorough qualitative report and analysis of the races' impacts by the end of November 2007, Amendment accepted by the maker and second of the motion. Motion carried (4-3). I~ Ayes: Felber, Tripp, Clayton and Spethman Nays: Bensoussan, Moctezuma and Vinson Abstain: None Absent: None 8:14:08 PM 2. Public Hearing: Consideration of PCZ 07-08 zone change from CTP Zone to R-3 Zone, and a request fora ~ density bonus for a reduction in the required parking and open space, an increase in the number of compact spaces allowed, and a redution in the required front setback for the project "Los Vecinos" located at 1501 Broadway. Background: Mandy Mills and project manager Miguel Tapia gave an I, overview of the project as presented in the staff report. The project consists of construction of 42 affordable rental housing units on a 1.46 ac lot, The project will contain one, two and three bedroom units. California Government Code states that an applicant shall receive three incentives for projects that include at least 30% of total units for lower income households or at least 15% for very low and low income households; the applicant is eligible for three incentives. Staff Recommendation: That the Planning Commission recommend adoption of Mitigated Negative Declaration amending Zoning Maps by i rezoning one parcel consisting of 1.46 ac from CTP to R-3 and approve incentives pursuant to Density Bonus Law for the reduction in certain development standards for the development of an affordable for-rent project by Wakeland Housing Development, Planning Commission Minutes - 7 - May 23, 2007 Public Hearing opened and closed. MSC (Clayton/Vinson) (7-0) that the Planning Commission recommend adoption of Mitigated Negative Declaration amending Zoning Maps by rezoning one parcel consisting of 1,.46 ac from CTP to R-3 and approve incentives pursuant to Density Bonus Law for the reduction in certain development standards for the development of an affordable for-rent project by Wakeland Housing Development. Motion carried, 9:01:00 PM 3. Public Hearing: Consideration of the following applications filed by Lorna Ratonel for a service station located within the commercial center known as Terra Nova Plaze - 350 East H St. a) ZAV 07-06; a Variance application requesting approval of a 4 ft encroachment for the carwash building and a 5 ft encroachment for the vacuum canopy into the required front setback. b) PCC 05-44; Conditional Use Permit for a i carwash facility and expansion/relocation of an existing convenience store„ 9:01:44 PM Background: Caroline Young, project manager, gave an overview of the project as presented in the staff report.. The applicant submitted a Conditional Use Permit application to install and operate a car wash facility and j expand/relocate the existing convenience store. The applicant also submitted a Variance application to allow an encroachment of the car wash building and vacuum canopy into the front setback The service station is located at 350 East H Street, within the Terra Nova Plaza Shopping Center, Staff Recommendation: That the Planning Commission 1) adopt Mitigated Negative Declaration, 2) adopt Resolution ZAV 07-06 allowing the carwash building and the vacuum canopy to encroach into the front setback; and 3) Adopt Resolution PCC 05-044 allowing a carwash facility and I expansion/relocation of an existing service station convenience store, based I on the finding and subject to the conditions contained therein. 928:49 PM Public Hearing Opened and Closed. 10:02:08 PM j Planning Commission Minutes - 8 - May 23, 2007 MSC (Tripp/Moctezuma) (6-1) that the Planning Commission approve the Conditional Use Permit. Motion carried. MSC (TrippNinson) (3-4) to deny the variance. Motion failed with Commissioners Bensoussan, Moctezuma, Felber and Clayton voting against the motion. MSC (Bensoussan/Clayton)(4-3) to approve the Variance„ Motion carried with Commissioners Vinson, Tripp, and Spethman voting against the motion. 1010:13 PM Meeting adjourned to a regular Planning Commission meeting on June 13 2007 Respectfully submitted, Diana Vargas 0 Secretary to the Planning Commission Ali j j~