Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutPlanning Comm min 1989/08/09 Tape: 302 Side: 2 MINUTES OF A REGULAR BUSINESS MEETING OF THE CITY PLANNING COMMISSION OF CHULA VISTA, CALIFORNIA 7:05 p.m. Council Chambers Wednesday, August 9, 1989 Public Services Buildin~ ROLL CALL COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chairwoman Carson, Commissioners Cannon, Casillas, Fuller, Grasser, Shipe and Tugenberg COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: None STAFF PRESENT: Planning Director Krempl, Principal Planner Lee, Environmental Review Coordinator Reid, Assistant City Attorney Rudolf, Sr. Civil Engineer Daoust PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE - SILENT PRAYER The pledge of allegiance to the flag was led by Chairwoman Carson and was followed by a moment of silent prayer. INTRODUCTORY REMARKS Chairman Carson reviewed the composition of the Planning Commission, its responsibilities and the format of the meeting. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS Bob Giangreco, 1391 La Mancho Place, CV - At daughter's request, he asked why more open space couldn't be available; why the ranch and canyon have to be lost; why houses can't be kept for the birds and animals that live there. 1. CONSIDERATION OF FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT EIR-88-1, SUNBOW II 2. PUBLIC HEARING: PCM-89-7 AND PCZ-87-E: CONSIDERATION OF A GENERAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN AND PLANNED COMMUNITY PRE-ZONE FOR SUNBOW II LOCATED SOUTH OF TELEGRAPH CANYON ROAD, ADJACENT TO THE CHULA VISTA MEDICAL CENTER - RANCHO DEL SUR PARTNERSHIP 3. CONSIDERATION OF CEQA FINDINGS AND STATEMENT OF OVERRIDING CONSIDERATIONS EIR-88-1 - SUNBOW II 4. CONSIDERATION OF MITIGATION MONITORING PROGRAM FOR EIR-88-1, SUNBOW II Principal Planner Lee requested that all of these items be continued to the meeting of September 13. Corrected notices were sent out to the residents. MSUC (Cannon/Shipe) 7-0 to continue to September 13, 1989. Planning Commission Minutes -2- August 9, 1989 5. PUBLIC HEARING: PCM-89-20 AND PCS-89-8: CONSIDERATION OF A SECTIONAL PLANNING AREA PLAN AND TENTATIVE SUBDIVISION MAP KNOWN AS WOODCREST SOUTHWESTERN, CHULA VISTA TRACT 89-8, LOCATED ON THE NORTH SIDE OF TELEGRAPH CANYON ROAD, BETWEEN APACHE DRIVE AND BUENA VISTA WAY - WOODCREST DEVELOPMENT (CONTINUED) Commissioner Cannon stated that he had a conflict of interest on this item and left the dais at 7:10 p.m. Chairwoman Carson asked if anyone in the audience wanted to make a comment before going to the staff report. Bob Giangreco, 1391 La Mancha Place, CV, thought there would be questions of staff after their report and would appreciate an opportunity to ask those before the hearing is closed. Chairwoman Carson asked if they were going to ask for a continuance. Mr. Giangreco stated that they were asking that it be held over for the next meeting because his neighbors, Messrs. Davis Young, Michael M~erson and Steve Gonzales, were out of town and would like it to be held over for one meeting. Lynn Heldel, 530 B Street, S.D. 92101, representing Mary Centrullo, stated they would be very supportive of a continuance because they are trying to enter into an agreement with the developer. Karl Zobell, 1200 Prospect St., La Jolla, 92037, representing the applicant, requested that the Commission go ahead on the merits; would prefer to go ahead with the hearing. John Fleming, 1386 La Mancha Place, CV, stated they had met with the developer and have just received additional information but have not had time to digest it. He requested another one to two weeks continuance. MSC (Tugenberg/Shipe) 5-1 Cannon out - to continue PCM-89-20 and PC-89-8 to the meeting of August 23, 1989. Casillas voted no. Member Cannon returned to the dais at 7:15 p.m. Chairwoman Carson stated that items 6, 8 and 9 would be considered together. 6. CONSIDERATION OF FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT, EIR-89-6, SALT CREEK ! Member Grasser left the dais at 7:15 because of a conflict of interest on items 6 through 9. Environmental Review Coordinator Reid stated that the draft of the EIR had been before the Planning Commission on July 26 at which time no testimony was received. Two letters were received prior to that hearing and were in the Commissioners' packet, one from the Chula Vista Elementary School District and Planning Commission Minutes -3- August 9, 1989 the second from the Police Department. Those have been included in the final EIR along with revisions to the text of the document. Additionally, a letter was received from the Baldwin Company which was not included in the packet. That letter and responses were given to the Commissioners before this meeting. He then introduced Jeanne Munoz from ERC Environmental to describe the changes that resulted from that letter. Jeanne ~unoz commented that the text has been changed to reflect information provided regarding dates at which certain other documents were certified. The next two statements have been lumped together in one comment, comment 4, pointing out typos that the Spellcheck doesn't catch. Those have been changed and the corrected pages were included in the packet. Comment 5 has to do with the amount of open space that the redesign of the project will allow for. The City of Chula Vista has agreed that the amount of open space is adequate. She added the statement that this does not mean that the City necessarily agrees with the argument presented. It is her understanding that yards do not count as open space. Mr. Reid then recommended that the final EIR be certified subject to the inclusion of the two page reference changes and the comments and responses to the Baldwin letter. MSC (Cannon/Fuller) 6-0 Grasser out - to certify EIR-89-6 and that it has been prepared in compliance with the State of California Environmental Quality Act Guidelines and the environmental review procedures of the City of Chula Vista, and, further, that the Planning Commission has reviewed and considered the information in the Final EIR as it reaches a decision on this project. Chairwoman Carson stated the Commission would discuss items 8 and 9 at this time but not act upon them until after item 7. 8. CONSIDERATION OF CEQA FINDINGS AND STATEMENT OF OVERRIDING CONSIDERATIONS EIR-89-6, SALT CREEK I 9. CONSIDERATION OF MITIGATION MONITORING PROGRAM FOR EIR-89-6, SALT CREEK I Environmental Review Coordinator Reid stated that because the Final EIR identifies potentially significant environmental effects, it is necessary for the Commission to adopt CEQA Findings and Statements of Overriding Considerations regarding its action on the project. Candidate CEQA Findings were prepared, and he recommended several changes in those documents. At several points in the CEQA Findings, reference is made to the General Plan Amendment or General Plan. That is an incorrect reference; it should be to the General Development Plan Amendment. Mr. Reid then referenced the letter from the Baldwin Company regarding the mitigation monitoring program. The memo attached to that notes the required height of acoustical barriers on certain lots within the area north of East "H" Street. Because of a redesign, the Noise Barrier Section on page 11, under Mitigation Measures, should be changed to reflect the correct lot numbers and the correct height of the barrier for the new design. Planning Commission Minutes -4- August 9, 1989 Regarding the Mitigation Monitoring Program and referencing the letter from the Baldwin Company, on page 13, a reference is made to both an archaelogist and a paleontological monitor being present at pre-grading conferences and during the excavation of the property. That will only be necessary for the paleontologist because the archaelogical work will have been completed prior to grading of the site. On page 15, SR 125 is denoted as a 6-lane expressway with a right-of-way for 8 lanes, l) No one is really sure of the configuration of that right-of-way at this point, and he recommended deletion of any reference to the exact configuration and note that mitigation does require 125 on a cumulative level. Also on page 15, he referred again to the references to the noise barriers he spoke of during review of the CEQA Findings. Commissioner Cannon asked which were significant and unmitigable impacts (CEQA Findings). Mr. Reid referred him to the appropriate sections. Commissioner Tugenberg stated that visual impact is one of the unmitigable impacts. Chairwoman Carson stated that nothing would be done on items 8 and 9 at this point. Item 7 was then considered. 7. PUBLIC HEARING: a) PCM-89-9: CONSIDERATION OF AN AMENDMENT TO THE EASTLAKE I GENERAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN FOR 130 ACRES AT THE NORTHEASTERLY AND SOUTHEASTERLY QUADRANTS OF EAST 'H' STREET EXTENDED AND PROPOSED STATE ROUTE 125 EASTLAKE DEVELOPMENT COMPANY b) PCM-89-10: CONSIDERATION OF AN AMENDMENT TO THE EASTLAKE I SPA PLAN FOR 130 ACRES EASTLAKE DEVELOPMENT COMPANY C) PCS-89-9: CONSIDERATION OF A TENTATIVE SUBDIVISION MAP FOR 130 ACRES KNOWN AS SALT CREEK I, CHULA VISTA TRACT 89-9 - THE BALDWIN COMPANY Associate Planner Griffin, using an overhead projection, described the location of the project site and the project area's relationship to existing and proposed developments using the categories of the new General Plan Update. The property is presently part of the EastLake I SPA Plan and General Development Plan which shows the site as "Employment Park and Open Space" uses. The proposal is to redesignate the site for residential uses, approximately 550 single- and multiple-family units, which would be consistent with the General Plan categories for areas to the north and east, and with the General Plan Update which shows the site as "Medium Density Residential" (6-11 du/ac). The proposal calls for three residential components: single family area on the north side of East "H" Street (169 lots on 55 acres); townhouse area directly on the south side of East "H" Street (approx. 237 units on 26 acres); and a condominium area (approx. 144 units on 9.6 acres) at the far southerly extension of the site adjacent to the United Parcel Service facility. Planning Commission Minutes -5- August 9, 1989 The project would require the improvement of East "H" Street as well as San Miguel Road and Proctor Valley Road and would also require the dedication of SR 125 and the corridor associated therewith. He went on the explain the access points to the property, the minimum lot sizes, recreation and open space areas. Two of these open space areas are being reserved as environmentally sensitive areas and would, according to the conditions in the staff report, be protected from free access. Mr. Griffin also pointed out that a triangular area on the east side of San Miguel is shown as a future development parcel. The planning for that area would be done in conjunction with the planning of the general area to the east of San Miguel Road. He pointed out that the proposal is well within the parameters set down in the General Plan Update for overall density as well as clustering. Since all of the developments back up to the major and collector streets, landscape buffers are being provided adjacent to all those streets. This would be under the jurisdiction of an open space maintenance district. Mr. Griffin recommended approval of the proposal based on the findings listed in the report as well as the conditions as modified by the subsequent memo. The public hearing was then declared open. Jim Harter, Vice President and Project Manager for the Baldwin Company, 11995 E1 Camino Real, San Diego. Mr. Harter pointed out that the project is unique because of its location and infrastructure. They concur with City staff's recommendation for approval of the design alternative. He went on the explain the benefits of the project and that it brings the GDP and the SPA into conformance with the newly adopted General Plan of the City. He pointed out that they are currently working with UPS on a proper transition and a proper buffering to prevent noise from impacting the residents; however that has not been finalized. They have a letter from the Otay Water District indicating that this project is exempt from the allocation program, and that water had been allocated to the project. Schools are being provided by participation in the Mello-Roos District of the EastLake I. Mr. Harter clarified that on Condition 14, the final approval of plans refers to the Design Review Committee plans of the townhome product. Steve Estrada, also of the Baldwin Company, showed slides of the sensitive areas, the alignment of "H" Street and Route 125, open space, and the views from their project area. He then summarized some of the key aspects of the plan. Chairwoman Carson questioned the location and elevation of the off-ramps for the freeway going over on to the condominium site. Planning Commission Minutes -6- August 9, 1989 Mr. Estrada clarified that the potential off-ramp would be on the south side of "H" Street rather than on the north side. The potential cloverleaf would be on the north side 40 or 50 feet below the townhomes and would gradually go up and around and eventually tie into the freeway. The recreation area would then occur under the SDG&E right-of-way easement. There should be room to accommodate all three uses--the townhomes, the recreation area, and the cloverleaf. Since there were no other comments, the public hearing was closed. Motion by Commissioner Casillas to adopt a motion recommending that the City Council approve the amendments to the EastLake I General Development and SPA Plans and also the tentative map for Salt Creek I, Chula Vista Tract 89-9, subject to the conditions 1 through 53. Associate Planner Griffin asked if that motion included Condition 54 also. AMENDED MOTION: MSC (Casillas/Cannon) 6-0 Grasser out to adopt a motion recommending that the City Council approve the amendments to the EastLake I General Development and SPA Plans and also the tentative map for Salt Creek I, Chula Vista Tract 89-9, as amended. Chairwoman Cannon then requested that they refer back to Item 8 for action, having already heard the report. MSC (Casillas/Fuller) 6-0 Grasser out - to adopt the attached Candidate CEQA Findings and Statement of Overriding Considerations. Chairwoman Cannon then referred the Commissioners back to Item 9 for action, having already heard the report. MSC (Casillas/Cannon) 6-0 Grasser out to adopt the attached Mitigation Monitoring Program. OTHER BUSINESS WRITTEN COMMUNICATION - LETTER REGARDING I-L ZONE. Principal Planner Lee requested a motion that the subject letter be referred to staff. MSC (Cannon/Fuller) 6-0 Grasser out - that the letter regarding I-L zone be referred to staff. DIRECTOR'S REPORT Planning Director Krempl requested that selection of Chair and Vice Chair for the Commission for the coming fiscal year be included on the next agenda. Planning Commission Minutes -7- August 9, 1989 He al so suggested that the Commission Workshop scheduled for August 16 be deferred until September because of additional research needed on items the Commission has requested, and the fact that two members of the Commission will be meeting with the task force set up to review the General Plan policies. Mr. Krempl acknowledged officially that the Commission Secretary, Ruth Smith, will be retiring on August 16 with a farewell event on the l?th and that this was her last official meeting. He thanked Mrs. Smith for all the fine work she has done. Chairwoman Carson concurred. COMMISSION COMMENTS - None. ADJOURNMENT AT 8:07 p.m. to the regular meeting of August 23, 1989, at 7:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers. Ruth Smith, Secretary Planning Commission WPC 6601 P