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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPlanning Commission Minutes 2003/09/24 MINUTES OF THE CITY PLANNING COMMISSION OF CHULA VISTA, CALIFORNIA Council Chambers 6:00 p.m. Public Services Building Wednesday, September 24, 2003 276 Fourth Avenue, Chula Vista ROLL CAll! MOTIONS TO EXCUSE: Present: Commissioners Hall, Madrid, O'Neill, Hom, Felber Absent: Commissioners Castaneda and Cortes Staff Present: Jim Sandoval, Assistant Director of Planning and Building John Schmitz, Principal Planner Michael Walker, Associate Planner Dave Hanson, Deputy City Attorney I MSC (Madrid/O'Neill) (5-0-2-0) to excuse Commissioners Castaneda and Cortes. Motion carried. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE/SILENT PRAYER INTRODUCTORY REMARKS: Read into the record by Commissioner Hall APPROVAL OF MINUTES: MSC (Felber/Madrid) (5-0-2-0) to approve minutes of September 10, 2003 as submitted. Motion carried. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS: No public input. 1. PUBLIC HEARING: PCC 03-77; Conditional Use Permit to allow a dwelling group in the R1-5P Zone at 1168 Alpine Avenue. Staff recommends that public hearing be opened and continued to the October 8,2003 regular Planning Commission meeting. MSC (Horn/O'Neill) (5-0-2-0) to open public hearing and continue this item to October 8, 2003. Motion carried. ,. ._---- - -- -.....-.... +----,.--- ---.-------.-.-- Planning Commission Minutes - 2 - September 24, 2003 2. PUBLIC HEARING: PCC 03-73; Conditional Use Permit to construct a 1,194 sf accessory second dwelling unit at 447 Oxford in compliance with State Government Code Sections 65852.2(b)(1)(A)-(I) for cities without adopted accessory second unit ordinances. Staff recommends that public hearing be opened and continued to the October 8,2003 regular Planning Commission meeting. MSC (Felber/Horn) (5-0-2-0) to open public hearing and continue this item to October 8, 2003. Motion carried. 3. PUBLIC HEARING: ZAV 03-11; Appeal of the Zoning Administrator's decision to grant a variance allowing a dental practice to use an exissing office site that does not meet the on-site parking and driveway width requirements. The project is located at 235 F Street in the Admininstrative and Professional Office (C-O) Zone. Applicant: D. Susan Tulenko. Background: Michael Walker, Associate Planner reported that the applicant proposes to relocate her existing dental practice of 13 years, from 230 F Street to 235 F Street. The site contains an existing 1,398 sf building, four parking spaces at the rear and a narrow driveway. The building has a deteriorated foundation and will be replaced with an unconditioned basement that will be used for mechanical equipment and record archiving. The basement wi II make-up half the floor area, creating approxi mately 2,900 square feet of gross floor area. The applicant applied for an Administrative Design Review Permit and a Variance; the appeal is for the parking portion of the variance request. The Chula Vista Municipal Code requires a dental office to have a parking ratio of one space for every 200 sf of office space, or a minimum of five parking spaces and a 24-foot wide driveway access. The additional floor area for the basement is what triggered the variance. Substantial demolition and remodel of the existing building and redesign of the site would be required to meet the c-o zone's development standards. The applicant's intent is to maintain the existing building and site layout in order to maintain the integrity and character of the neighborhood. The Zoning Administrator circulated a notice for the project and subsequently received letters and a petition opposing the project, citing concerns with traffic, noise, and general nuisance, but the primary concern is with parking issues. A notice was circulated inviting the public to attend a meeting on July 25th to hear comments from the applicant - _.~----- Planning Commission Minutes - 3 - September 24, 2003 and neighbors. The Zoning Administrator concluded that the change in medical uses would not contribute to the existing parking issues in the neighborhood and approved the project. Staff has since also received letters in support of the project, however, Daniel Moffit filed an appeal to move the project forward for the Commission's consideration. Mr. Walker presented an aerial view of the area and pointed out where there are existing opportunities for available parking. Along F Street, is a metered parking lot within walking distance to many of the professional offices in the area; there are also two bus stops on Second Avenue and Church Avenue. Mr. Walker further stated that many of Dr. Tulenko's patients are elderly and many of them are transported by van and dropped off directly in front of the office. John Schmitz, Principal Planner stated that the Commission received tonight a substantial amount of last-minute information submitted by the appellant, as well as letters opposing the project that were submitted within the last couple of days, therefore, were not included in the Commission's agenda packet distributed last week. Mr. Schmitz further stated that staff has diligently read and considered the issues raised in these materials and letters and takes these concerns seriously, however, the overriding fact is that the land-use designation allows such uses in this area. Additionally, there are multi-family developments in this area that range in age from current development that meets current City standards for parking, as well as older in-fill-type multi-family developments that don't meet the current standards. Although the proposal calls for the construction of a basement, which addresses their foundation problems and storage needs, staff's opinion was that the added area of the basement was not creating a more intensive use for this building than the previous use as a podiatrist office, and essentially was moving an existing business from one side of the street to the other. Mr. Schmitz elaborated on a couple of possible solutions, they are: 1) A two-hour parking limit along Twin Oaks. If this is an option the neighbors wish to pursue then they would need to follow-through with their petition to the Engineering Department to be considered by the Safety Commission. 2) Utilize the City metered parking lot located approximately 370 feet away from the office. The project would be conditioned requiring the applicant to purchase and maintain a minimum of two parking spaces at this location for use by their employees. The applicant indicated that she was willing to go along with this scenario, however, if the Commission feels that two parking spaces are not enough, it is within your discretion to make that change. ------.,. ..--.---.-----.---......-.+..- __n__ ---.--.. ..~---_.._....._-_._-. . .,----.------ -- Planning Commission Minutes - 4 - September 24, 2003 Staff Recommendation: That the Planning Commission approve Resolution DRC 03-72 and ZA V 03-11 based on the findings and conditions contained therein. Commission Discussion: Commissioner Felber stated he made a site visit and noticed the back parking portion is considerably large and thought perhaps another space could be accommodated at the opposite side from where the current parking spaces are located. He further suggested that a way to mitigate the problem with blocked driveways would be to red-paint the narrow curbs that are located between driveways and not large enough to accommodate the length of a standard vehicle. Commissioner Horn expressed concern with receiving so much last-minute information that did not afford the Commission with sufficient time to read through the materials and carefully consider each one of them, therefore, he recommended continuing this item to the next regularly scheduled meeting. Commissioner Madrid suggested looking into having the handicap parking located in the front on the street, thereby freeing another parking space in the back. Cmr. O'Neill stated that although on rare occasions this is a solution, however, the ADA requirement is that the parking be on-site. Furthermore, this would take away one more street parking space by designating it forever as handicap. Public Hearing Opened 6:45. Dr. Susan Tulenko, stated she's had her practice in Chula Vista for 13 years and intends to continue practicing in the City for many more years. She indicated many of her patients are handicapped and are wheeled in from a distance, therefore, part of the reason why this new site appealed to her is because she will have her own on-site handicap parking space. She loves the character of the neighborhood, which is why she is going through great lengths and expense to refurbish the existing structure instead of demolishing it and constructing a new modern-looking stucco building that would not be compatible with the neighborhood. Her hours of operation are 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday and closes on some Friday, otherwise, Friday is a half day. Dr. Tulenko stated that from approximately 1982 two podiatrists had their practice in that building. Don Edson, 5752 Oberlin Dr, San Diego, Architect for the project, stated that his expertise includes historic work and relocation of structures. He further stated that upon ---_.-...._-~._.- ._----. ---- - ,.....-.,...,---. Planning Commission Minutes - 5 - September 24, 2003 his initial site visit he discovered that the foundation was rotting and would need a new foundation. Upon further discussions with Dr. Tulenko and an awareness of the operation and technical needs, he recommended a basement, which many historic buildings and have a half or full basement. Mr. Edson stated that throughout his career, working in many jurisdictions and States; subterranean areas and basements are exempt from FAR and from additional parking requirements. He further indicated that this whole process could have been circumvented if they had simply applied for a mechanical permit and a sign permit, but that was not the vision Dr. Tulenko had forthis project; she wanted a quality project that would reflect her commitment to her practice and the community she serves. Commissioner O'Neill left the meeting due to a prior commitment he had to attend. Peter Watry, 81 Second Ave., Chula Vista, stated he is concerned with the development trend and focus to bring more density uses in Western Chula Vista further impacting the infrastructure and street parking. He urged the Commission to uphold the parking requirements and not grant the variance. Mr. Watry further stated that he believe an option would be to move the building forward to create another parking space. Felicia Carlucci, 314 Twin Oaks Avenue, stated that parking and congestion is a concern, however, other nuisances i.e. blocked driveways, double-parked cars and service trucks, loud music blaring, car alarms and trash left behind by the patients is a concern as well. Ms. Carlucci urged the Commission to uphold the development standards on the businesses that would threaten the quality of life of the single-family residents. eri Vanderpool, 229 F Street, a real estate business next door that's been in operation for 20 years stated that the proposed use is no different from the previous podiatrist office. She supports the project and is excited to hear that Dr. T u lenko proposes to restore a historic building that has been sitting vacant for three years and is simply rotting away. She urged the Commission to support the project. Terri Plummer, 317 Twin Oaks Ave. stated she assisted in preparing one of the packets submitted to the Commission. She further stated that according to the research they did, the addition was built in 1982 with a building permit, but did not get the required variance at that time for the driveway width and the required number of parking spaces, which brings into question a preexisting condition being used for the plans as they are being presented with this variance today. _········__·___··_··········__·_'_··n.....·.._.._...._ -.- _._----...__..~-~-~ _..._-_._'-~------_._-~..,.__.~-~_.,_._.._--._..._~_._.-----_.~------_..., ,,----..--- ,.--... .----.-..--....-..-- -- ---~--- Planning Commission Minutes - 6 - September 24, 2003 Ms. Plummer stated that included in their packet are a couple of proposals that would down-size the project to a more appropriate level. A variance would still have to be granted in order to accommodate the strictest compliance of the rules. Dan Mofitt, 317 Twin Oaks Avenue apologized for the lateness in their submittal and explained that the reason why it was last-minute is because they had to do extensive research, looking up records and definitions. Donald Swanson, 207 Third Avenue, past president of the Downtown Business Association, stated that the parking lot located on Church Avenue was originated because of the Downtown Redevelopment Project Area I Redevelopment. The residences in that area were built around 1927, are single-car driveways. Any doctor's practice that would go in there, you're looking at a 1400 sf house; you don't have 8 parking spaces. The proposed use is appropriate for the site and the accommodations Dr. Tulenko is willing to adhere to Le. off-site employee parking speaks volumes for her willing to do whatever it takes to mitigate concerns. Bottom line, the land use allows it, those businesses and medical practices are not going to go away; we have to work together to accommodate each other. Wilma Southworth, 321 Del Mar Avenue, stated she supports the project and is please to see the buildings looking nicer in the neighborhood. Dr. Tulenko's willingness to use the off-site parking for herself and her employees is commendable. Lastly, she stated that her daughter just bought a beautiful house in Otay Ranch where all of the homes have a 3-car garage; the garages are empty and the streets look like a parking lot. Carol Raty, 873 Fairway Ct., stated as a long-time resident of this area and is also a patient of Dr. Tulenko that has had appointments at all hours and days of the business work-week, and she has yet to have ever had a problem in finding parking. She supports the project and urged the Commission to do as well. Mark Croshier, 961 Buckaroo Lane, Bonita, stated that this neighborhood was built in a time-period when this was a small, quaint community, not the vibrant growing community it is today; parking problems is a reality we have to deal with in our daily lives. Mr. Croshier believes the applicant has made every good-faith effort to mitigate the concerns and will produce a quality project, and urged the Commission to approve the project. Dr. Tulenko readdressed the Commission and stated she's spoken to a couple of doctors in the area, and they stated that they too direct their patients to the metered parking lot and at their initial visit give them a hand-out depicting where this lot is located. To date, they've had no problem with compliance from their patients. Commissioner Felber stated that since the building will need to be lifted in order to ~. .~--- .. _._.____.._.____~__. -0 ._.~_____._._ ----. .-.------.- ..'-'."-'-'.-..-. -- .------ .~---.- .--.-.--..-...-.. _.._.._~_._----". ..._..._--,,--~------_.~.__._~-_._- Planning Commission Minutes . 7 - September 24, 2003 construct a new foundation, he inquired of the architect if it would be possible to move the structure forward in order to accommodate an extra parking space in the back. Mr. Edson responded that it could be done as long as it didn't trigger another variance in order to be able to put the handicap ramp in the front yard. Discussion: Cmr. Hom inquired what would be the next meeting this item could be brought back. Mr. Sandoval responded October 8. Cmr. Felber stated that it would be his preference not to delay the project any further and believes there has been sufficient information presented tonight to render a decision, which include mitigation measures that the applicant has agreed to i.e. utilizing the metered parking for employees and is willing to look into moving the building forward to accommodate an extra space as long as it doesn't trigger other hurdles. Cmr. Felber also recommended that the City look into other measures i.e. permitted parking on the street. Commissioner Madrid stated she concurred with Cmr. Felber's statements. Dr. Tulenko interjected that "time is money" and her project has already been prolonged beyond her expectations, therefore, she was willing to purchase three parking spaces instead of two; whatever it takes to move the project forward. MSC (Madrid/Felber) (2-2-3-0) that the Planning Commission approve Resolution DRC 03-72 and ZA V 03-11 based on the findings and conditions contained therein, including a condition that three parking spaces be purchased and that the structure be moved forward, provided it meets City codes, in order accommodate an extra parking space in the back. Motion failed MSC (Horn/Hal/) (4-0-3-0) that this item be continued to the October 8, 2003 Planning Commission meeting in order to allow time for the Commission to review all of the last-minute materials that were submitted. Motion carried. BUSINESS: Commissioner O'Neill was appointed to be the GMOC representative for FY 03-04. ADJOURNMENT at 8:00 p.m. to the Planning C~~~ 8, 2003. Diana Vargas, Secretary to Planning C~ission ~--_._---_..- -- -- ...._-"~_._-- -.---- --- --..- -- "--~...,...~...,--- -----,-..-_...__... ".--..--.----