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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1953-08-03 PC MINS MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING OF HE PLANNING CO!I IISSION OF THE, CITY OF CH`nA VISTA, CALIFORNIA. Held 14onday, August 3,, 1953 The Planning Commission met in the Council Chamber at Civic Center at 7:30 P.M. on the above date with the following Members present: Smith, Stewart, Drew, Longworth, lilohr, Farris. Absent: Member Poulter. Also Present: City Planner Wagner, City Attorney Boyer, Asstt, to City Engineer Johnson. APPOIN'-q,SENT OF TE1t1PORARY CHAIR1.4AN In the absence of Chairman Pointer, it was moved by Member Smith, seconded by Member Stelilrart, and unanimously carried, that Member Drew be appointed temporary Chainnan, hrr. Drew then vrelcomed 1VL(-. Mohr and Mr. Farris as new ldembers of the Planning Commission, APPROVAL OF MINUTES It was moved by 1,2embe_r Smith, seconded by Member Lonovorth, and carried, that the minutes of the meeting held July 6, 1953 be approved, copies having been mailed to each Member. ZONEH VARIANCES E. C. Teer, 103 _Shasta Street, requested approval of a 51. inch high board fence in violation of setback requirements on First Avenue. This item had been held over from the last meeting, pending verification of measurements. It was moved by Member Smith that the request be approved and the fence be alloyed to .' stand until such time that it might interfere vrith any future street or side,valk, and then be removed at the owner's expense. The motion_ failed for lack of a second. Mr. 'J!ragner read a letter received from A1r. and Mrs. Teer, the letter having been read at the meeting of July 6, 1953. After further discussion., it was moved by Member Longworth, seconded by Member Stetirart, that the variance be denied for the reason that the jurisdictional facts required by the Ordinance were not proved. The motion failed to carry by the following vote, to ait: AYES: Members Lonororth, Stewart. NOES: 1dembers Smith, Dreiv. :ABSENT: Member Poulter. At this point, the City Clerk arrived to officially swear in. Plembers Farris and Mohr, who had been unable to vote on the above business, since they had not previously been sworn in. Thomas N. Lococo, 395 I'D" Street, requested approval to (a) Construct a 6 ft. high concrete block patio enclosure in portion of front setback; (b) Construct a carport in portion of front setback; and (c) Construct a 5 ft. high Page wire fence along property lines on Fourth Avenue and I'D" Street in lieu of present very high Cypress hedge. It was moved by 1.lember Stewart, seconded by Member Smith, and unanimously carried, that Item C be approved, Li view of the present traffic hazard, and that Items A and B be denied,,for the-reason that the jurisdictional facts required by the Ordinance were not proved. Teer Variance — The motion on the Teer variance failed to carry by the following6 vote, to--:vit: AYES: Idembers LongJorth, Stevfart, T�10E __ rKilembers Smith,, Drew, Mohr, ABSEI,IT: Alember Poulter NOT VOTLIG: lelember Farris. I` Member Farris stated that he did not wish to vote on the matter because he felt he was not familiar enough with it. It was moved` by. Member Farris, seconded by Member Smith, and unanimously carried, that the matter be postponed until the meeting of September 14, 1953. Gertrude G. Howe, 310 Parkway, requested a variance to allow the Pacific Telephone and Telegraph Co. to construct an office building in an R-3 zone, with a setback of 5 ft. instead of the required 20 ft, (Their plot plan, received after the petition, shows 10 ft., setback). A discussion followed, in which the Commissioners indicated that the 15 ft. strip on the East side of the property would be desirable for an alley. Mrs. Howe was in the audience and stated that, she was surprised that the rest of the alley would be required. Mr. Watson, representing the Telephone Company, stated that the Company is desirous of a 5 ft. setback, but that a 10 ft. setback would be acceptable to the Company and the rest of the. neighbors. Mrs. Howe stated that the alley had been closed off by her husband and she and never considered that it should be reopened. Mr. Keith Atherton, representing Mr. Kemp, spoke in favor of a one- ay 15 ft. alley. It was moved by Member Mohr, seconded by Member Longworth, and unanimously carried, that the variance be granted, for the reasons stated in the application, on condition that a minimum side yard of at least 3 feet be made on the West, and that the alley to the East, from Parkway to "Gn Street, be dedicated to the City with a minimum width of 15 ft.; and that .the front setback be 10 ft. and the side yard on the East be 2 ft. Harry W. Witt, 486 Third Avenue, requested permission to operate a Real Estate office and Insurance Agency in a converted residential structure in an R-3 zone, including usual signs for business and off-street parking. It was moved by Member Smith, seconded by Member Farris, and unanimously carried, that the variance be granted for the reasons stated in the application, with no off-street parking in the front yard setback; parking to be provided to the rear only. After a short discussion, Member Smith amended his motion with a second by Member Farris, to state that no off-street parking for business parking.'be allowed in the front yard setback. James Mazemenos, 683-685 National Avenue, requested approval of the-elimination of rear yard requirement 10 feet from west side of East Park Lane for addition to building adjacent to Davis Market, (This is influenced by approved zero rear yard for Davis Market, approved April 7, 1952) . It was moved by Member Farris, seconded by Member Smith, that the variance be, granted, for the reasons stated in the application. The motion failed to carry by the folloiring vote, to,^rit: AYES: Members Farris, Smith, Mohr, NOES: Members Draw, Longworth, Stewart. ABSENT: Member Poulter0 City Attorney Boyer advised Mr, Mazemenos that, in his opinion, East Park Lane -2- is an alley, and therefore no variance is necessary since the rear yard includes one-half the alley. He further advised the.applicant to apply for a building permit from the Building Inspector. E. Harrison Amos, 207 uqu Street, requested by letter an extension of time on a variance to build an additional 1-bedroom cottage on the rear of an R-1 lot, said variance having been.granted July, 1952. The time limit of 190 days had rua out. It was moved by Idember Longworth, seconded by Member Smith, and unani- mously carried, that the time limit on the variance be extended for 60 days. APPOINnMENT OF CHAIMIN Since nominations for Chairman were in order, Member Smith nominated Member Mohr; Member Stewart nominated Member Poulter;, Member Longworth nominated Member Dreg. There being no more nominations, a vote was taken, The results of the election were as follows: Member Mohr - 2 votes; Member Poulter - 2 votes; Member Drew - 2 votes. Acting Chairman Drew stated that since no one was elected Chairman, a new Chairman would be elected at the next meeting, APPROVAL OF MAP - Three Major Highway Improvements. It was moved by Member Smith, seconded by Member Stetsrart, and unanimously carried, that the Map prepared by City Planner lyagner, shoering the three Major Highway Improvements recommended by the Chambers of Commerce of National City and Chula Vista, be approved; and that the Commission highly supports the program for the three recommended highway improvements. DISCUSSION - San Diego County Planning Congress. ® City Planner Wagner outlined the program of the Planning Congress for the new Members of the Commission and stated that the Congress meeting would be held Thursday, August 6, in Carlsbad, and that he recommended a subcommittee of the Congress to study the problem of "trailers as a mode of living". The Com- missioners generally agreed that this was a subject of vital interest to all Planning Commissions and City Councils and that such a subcommittee in the Congress was a desirable one. It was moved by Member Longworth, seconded by Member Stewart, and unanimously carried, that City Planner Wagner be authorized to speak in behalf of the Chula Vista Planning Commission to the Congress, recom- mending a 'subcommittee on trailers, and that it be further recommended that a member of the City Council of Chula Vista be a member of such a subcommittee if one is formed. DISCUSSION - Location of Proposed New Library. At this point, Member Longworth requested the Commission's indulgence in a discussion of the action by the City Council on the location of the Library building. After some discussion, it eras moved by Member Longworth, seconded by Member Mohr, and unanimously carried, that Frith plans for acquisition of additional off-street parking spaces in the central business district. that a new Library on the Civic Center site is advisable and that the present Library site should be used for off-street parking, retaining as much as possible of the landscaping. Because of its central location, the Planning Commission considers it good planning to locate a neer Library on the Civic Center site, and continue to operate the old Library at its present location for the immediate future, as well as the new one; -3- and further, that the City Planner be requested to convey this message to the City Council., Ttr. Bernard Bernasky, a Realtor' who was in the audience, vdiunteered the information that a client had indicated an interest to buy a portion of the present Library site, 100 x 100 ft. and was willing to pay $100,000.00 for it. He de- clared that he felt this would be to the City's advantage, revenue wise. OHAL COIR U TICATION - Mrs. Thomas N. Lococo Mrs. Lococo stated that when her husband had returned home from this meeting and had informed her that the variance which he had submitted earlier in the evening had been denied by the Planning Commission, she immediately felt that she was entitled to an explanation. She said that Dr. Lococo had stated that he had been informed that the variance "was rejected on the grounds that there was no hardship". She stated that she felt that there was definitely a hardship involved, as she has three small children. Chairman Drew explained that the Commission had approved the request for a 5 ft. Page wire fence on property line on ''D" Street and on Fourth Avenue, but had denied the request for carport and the 6 ft. high cement block wall on the south and east property lines, and that the Commission felt that this would be unfair to the property owner to the east. Mrs. Lococo was informed again that she still had the right of appeal under the provisions outlined in the Zoning Ordinance. DISCUSSION - Proposed New Zoning Ordinance - Proposed Master Street Plan, Chairman Drew stated that he was not sure in his uom, mind as to whether or not it would be best for the Commission to proceed with a new zoning ordinance at this time instead of completion of the Master Street Plain. He cited certain conditions which have arisen recently which indicate prompt action on a. revised Zoning Ordinance. Member Farris asked that any action on the proposed re-zoning of National Avenue be deferred until a meeting is held of the National Avenin Businessmen's Association, because they are studying the problem and would be ready to send a recoimuendation to the Commission within one month. The City Planner distributed copies of the Pasadena Zoning Ordinance for the Commission's study, and read a list of possible allowable home occupations which could be ap- proved with special use permits. The Commission was impressed and requested copies of the list for their study.- COMIIUN'ICA T IONS The City Planner read a letter from the Harborside Civic Association, com- mending the Commission's action -Tvi.th regard to proposed recreational development in the Tidelands Area, and offered its cooperation and assistance in furtherance of the project. The Commission members agreed that the City Planner's answer to the letter was agreeable to them. i,a^. 'Nagner stated he was in receipt of a letter to the City brought to his attention by I-Tajor Floyd, City Administrator, requesting a closing of a purported 12 ft. wide strip on the southerly prolongation of Guava Avenue north of IVI Street. However, due to the lateness of the hour, the Commission requested this matter be taken up at the next meeting. r DATE OF SEPMBER M ETING Since the first Monday of the month falls on Labor Day, it was moved by Member Stewart, seconded by Member Lonorrorth, and unanimously carried, that the next regular meeting of the Planning Commission will be held Monday, September 143 1953 at 7:30 P.IA. ADJOUIMMNT It was moved by Member Longworth, seconded by Member Mohr, and unanimously carried, that the meeting adjourn, sine die. 1r` i Je,6n Co Steele, Sberetaryf v a