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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPlanning Comm min 1982/01/13 MINUTES OF A REGULAR BUSINESS MEETING OF THE CITY PLANNING COMMISSION OF CHULA VISTA, CALIFORNIA January 13, 1982 A regular business meeting of the City Planning Commission of Chula Vista, California was held on the above date beginning at 7:00 p.m. in the City Council Chambers, Public Services Building, 276 Fourth Avenue. Commissioners Present: Pressutti, R. Johnson, Williams, Green, G. Johnson, O'Neill and Stevenson Staff Present: Director of Planning Peterson, Principal Planner Lee, Senior Civil Engineer Daoust, Assistant City Attorney Harron, and Secretary Mapes The pledge of allegiance to the flag was led by Chairman Pressutti and was followed by a moment of silent prayer. APPROVAL OF MINUTES MSUC (O'Neill-R. Johnson) The minutes of the meeting of December 16, 1981 be approved as written. Commissioner Pressutti abstained due to his absence from the meeting. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS Chairman Pressutti called for oral communications and none were presented. 1. Consideration of request for extension of tentative subdivision map for E1 Rancho del ReS Unit 6~ Chula Vista Tract 80-5 Principal Planner Lee advised that the developer is currently working with the Engineering Department on improvement plans for this tract, and since there have been no significant changes in the vicinity it is recommended that a one year exten- sion of the tentative map be approved. MSUC (R. Johnson-Green) The tentative subdivision map for E1 Rancho del Rey Unit No. 6, Chula Vista Tract 80-5, is extended to November 27, 1982. 2. PUBLIC HEARING: Conditional use permit PCC-82-10, request for conversion of service station to convenience store with gasoline sales, 407 "E" Street, Thrift~ Oil Compan~ Director of Planning Peterson reported that the applicant proposes to convert the lubrication bay and office area of an existing self-service station at Fourth Avenue and "E" Street into a small convenience store, retaining the self-service gasoline pumps. The canopies over the pump islands and the interior and exterior -2- January 13, 1982 of the building would be remodeled. He noted that the lubrication bays have not been in use for several years; other service stations in the vicinity do offer that service. This site is in a prominent location since "E" Street accommodates about 20,000 cars a day and Fourth Avenue, 15,000; for that reason it is felt the appearance of the site is important and it is recommended that the architectural design be referred to the Design Review Committee. Approval is recommended subject to 7 conditions which are similar to those required in the conversion of other service station sites to mini markets. This being the time and place as advertised, the public hearing was opened. Paul Westberg, architect, Corona Del Mar, representing Thrifty Oil Company, advised that they have acquired a number of service station sites in recent years and are trying to revamp all of the stations and to get the best usage at each site. He raised objection to the condition that requires a restroom accessible to the public from outside the building, as he feels this adds to the security risk of having someone break into the store through the restroom wall. He also questioned the restriction of signs visible from outside the building, as to whether this applies to all products or only to alcoholic beverages. Mr. Peterson affirmed the condition applies only to the advertising of alcoholic beverages and that under the code 10 percent of the window area may be used for the display of signs advertising other products. Van Carver, 10000 Lakewood Boulevard, Downey, representing Thrifty Oil Company, discussed the limitation on the size of the cooler box for display of alcoholic beverages. He expressed their wish to have a 10 foot width of cooler space available for the display of beer and wine. That width would accommodate four cooler box doors. In response to a question raised by Commissioner G. Johnson, he advised that the Alcoholic Beverage Control requires that persons be 18 years of age to handle the sale of alcohol. Mr. Carver discussed with the Commission the possibility of making a restroom available to the public with access from inside the store. As no one else wished to speak, the public hearing was closed. MSUC (Stevenson-R. Johnson) The Commission approves conditional use permit PCC-82-10 for the conversion of a service station building to a convenience store, subject to the conditions recommended in the report, with condition 5 modified to limit the size of the cooler box for display of alcoholic beverages to 5' x 8', and condition 7 modified to simply require that a restroom be accessible to the public and that it be identified as such. -3- January 13, 1982 3. PUBLIC HEARING: Consideration of conditional use permit PCC-82-4 for construction of 48 unit senior citizen project at the northwest corner of Fifth and Park Way - Bordi, Sutherland and Palumbo Director of Planning Peterson advised that when this request was considered by the Planning Commission last October only six Commissioners were present at the meeting and the motion for approval failed to pass by a 3-3 vote. At that time the applicant expressed his preference to have the request sent on to the City Council without an affirmative recommendation from the Planning Commission. At the time the public hearing was scheduled before the City Council, there were only four Council members as a replacement had not been selected to fill the vacancy created when Mr. Cox was elected to the position of Mayor. Approval of the application would therefore have required unanimous vote of the four members and the applicant chose to have the matter referred back to the Planning Commission for consideration at a meeting when 7 members would be present. A new hearing was therefore advertised for this meeting. Mr. Peterson reviewed the ordinance, adopted by the City Council in 1979, that makes senior citizen housing projects subject to a conditional use permit approved by both the Planning Commission and City Council and allows for exceptions to other code regulations, such as density, setbacks, and offstreet parking. The proposal under consideration is for a 48 unit senior citizens housing project at a density of 60 units per acre as compared to 32 allowed in the R-3 zone. Each unit is one bedroom containing 530 sq. ft. The plan includes 40 parking spaces for the 48 units, or one space for 1.2 units. This compares to one space for 4.4 units at the Congregational Tower in Chula Vista and to similar projects in San Diego which provide one space for 3 units. The main portion of the building is set 15 feet back from the front property line with some balconies extending to within 10 feet. There is, however, a 20 ft. wide parkway adjacent to the curb along Fifth Avenue so the main part of the building would be 35 feet from the curb. Mr. Peterson reviewed the factors that make this a good site for senior citizen housing, i.e., close to shopping center, hospital and public transportation. He also discussed the income limitations pertaining to occupancy of the building; and advised that in concurrence with recently published HUD income levels, the qualifying income for a one-person household is changed from $12,000 per year to $13,440 and for a two-person household from $13,700 per year to $15,360, and that the maximum sales price is changed from $49,860 to $55,843. He asked that those changes be made in the list of restrictions for occupancy in the project if approved. A question was raised concerning the existing deed restriction on the subject property which limits development to four single family dwellings. Commissioner Green asserted that if removal of that deed restriction is agreed upon by the City and the property owner, it would be simple to do so. This being the time and place as advertised, the public hearing was opened. -4- January 13, 1982 Don Palumbo, 455 Willowcrest Way, Chula Vista, commented on the need for housing of this type and recounted the factors favoring this site. He affirmed their ability to construct the units within the price ceiling established standards by HUD for qualifying income and maximum sales price. John Kincaid, 358 Fifth Avenue, owner of adjacent property, objected to the proposed density for this site and asserted that parking on the street in this vicinity is terrible, particularly during the night hours, due to inadequate parking facilities on the adjacent apartments. Dean Bowden, co-trustee for the Royal Apartments (129 units adjacent to the west) contended that the density increase over the original restriction placed on the property for four dwelling units is unprecedented. He also asserted the price ceiling stipulated in the report would not result in affordable housing and the project could be constructed at a much lower cost. Faye Bowden, co-trustee of Royal Apartments, recited undesirable traffic conditions as related by long time residents of Fifth Avenue. She contended traffic is extremely heavy at 5:00 p.m. Richard Michelson, 1365 First Street, Imperial Beach, who has assisted the developer in the economic analysis, cited for comparison another housing project in San Diego having 107 units per acre. He advised that the cost of the units will be dependent upon the interest rates in effect during the development stage. He asked for approval of the project with the option of either renting or selling the units as condominiums. As no one else wished to speak, the public hearing was closed. Commissioner Green expressed support for the project which he feels offers something for senior citizens that is not now available and that it would implement a policy adopted by the City Council for providing housing for seniors. Commissioner Stevenson expressed reservations about the high density and about the anticipated cost of the units. MS (G. Johnson-O'Neill) Based on the findings stated in the report, the Planning Commission approves the request, PCC-82-4, for the exclusive use of low or moderate income senior citizen housing project at the northwest corner of Fifth Avenue and Park Way, subject to the occupancy restrictions recommended in the report with the changes requested by Mr. Peterson. The motion carried by the following vote: AYES: Commissioners G. Johnson, O'Neill, Green and Pressutti NOES: Commissioners Williams, R. Johnson and Stevenson ABSENT: None The application will be considered by the City Council with a recommendation for approval from the Planning Commission. -5- January 13, 1982 4. PUBLIC HEARING: a. Consideration of East College Sectional Plannin9 Area plan for 34.3 acres at the northeast corner of Telegraph Canyon Road and Otay Lakes Road - Pacific Scene, Inc. b. Consideration of tentative subdivision map for Telegraph Point, Chula Vista Tract 82-2 c. Consideration of CEQA findings on EIR-80-6 A d. Adoption of Statement of Overriding Considerations on Telegraph Point, Chula Vista Tract 82-2. Principal Planner Lee reported that this project is similar in density to the project proposed by the Gersten Company for the same property in 1980, which was approved by the Planning Commission but the plans were withdrawn prior to City Council consideration. The main difference between the two proposals is in the architecture of the buildings and the parking accommodations. The site contains just over 34 acres, of which 25 acres will be developed with 256 units in 32 buildings, with 9 acres left in open space. Each building will contain 12 garage parking spaces for a total of 384 spaces. The site plan will accommodate approximately 210 curb parking spaces, to bring the total to a ratio of 2.3 spaces per housing unit. Mr. Lee displayed plans of the site plan and grading plans, noting that development will take place on three plateaus with slopes between. There is a substantial setback from Telegraph Canyon Road to maintain open space adjacent to the designated scenic route. The development plan, which will comprise the entire East College Sectional Planning Area, is recommended for approval subject to 5 conditions. Thirty conditions are recommended for approval of the tentative map. Mr. Lee pointed out that if the project plans are approved it will be necessary for the Planning Commission to adopt CEQA findings related to areas of environmental impact addressed in the environmental impact report and a statement of overriding considerations which justify approval of the development. This being the time and place as advertised, the public hearing was opened. Pat McCardle, Pacific Scene Company, 3900 Harney Street, San Diego, responded to questions raised by the Commission with regard to the landscaping and maintenance of slope banks and open space areas. Ne also affirmed there will be three areas provided for tot lot playgrounds. As no one else wished to speak, the public hearing was closed. MSUC (O'Neill-G. Johnson) Based on the findings stated in the report, the Commission recommends that the City Council approve the Sectional Planning Area plan for the East College area of the E1 Rancho del Rey Specific Plan, subject to the five conditions enumerated and to the review and approval of the Design Review Committee. MSUC (O'Neill-G. Johnson) Based on the findings stated in the report, the Commission recommends that the City Council approve the tentative subdivision map for Telegraph Point, Chula Vista Tract 82-2, subject to the 30 conditions listed in the report. -6- January 13, 1982 MSUC (O'Neill-G. Johnson) The Planning Commission, having reviewed and considered the information contained in EIR-80-6 and EIR-80-6 A, finds that the implementation of specific mitigation measures recommended in the final EIR will avoid significant adverse environmental effects in the areas of geology, soils, biology, schools and transportation. MSUC (O'Neill-G. Johnson) The Planning Commission adopts the CEQA findings as stated in Exhibit A attached to the report, related to the impact of the project with regard to aesthetics and land form alteration. MSUC (O'Neill-G. Johnson) The Planning Commission adopts the following statement of "Overriding Considerations" in justification of the development plans for Telegraph Point: a. Any time a vacant 34 acre property is developed with several hundred housing units, the result will be a significant impact on the natural land form and the aesthetics related to that form. This will be partially mitigated by the construction of an attractive residential complex which will help to fulfill the social need for housing which should be relatively moderate in cost as compared with detached single family homes. b. The project has been lowered in elevation from a previous proposal and structures have been sited so as to retain a good portion of the views presently afforded existing residents north of the site. c. A substantial portion of the grading to be accomplished is necessary in order to widen Otay Lakes Road. The on and off site widening of Otay Lakes Road will benefit traffic circulation and improve safety along this heavily traveled street. d. Complete street improvements, including curb, gutter, sidewalk, street lights, and drainage facilities, will provide for efficient water runoff and safety for pedestrians, auto and bicyclists. e. The proposed development complies with density guidelines of the E1 Rancho del Rey Specific Plan. DIRECTOR'S REPORT Director of Planning Peterson called attention to the announcement of the 1982 Planning Commissioners Institute sponsored by the League of California Cities which will be held in San Diego on February 24-26, Wednesday through Friday. He advised there are funds in the Commission budget to cover the registration and luncheon or dinner expenses of any Planning Commissioners interested in attending this conference since it will not entail travel expense. He asked all Commissioners interested in attending to notify the secretary. Mr. Peterson advised that no public hearings have been scheduled for the regular business meeting the last Wednesday in January. He suggested that the Commission may wish to change the study session, normally scheduled for the third Wednesday of the month, to January 27. -7- January 13, 1982 The Commission unanimously concurred that the study session for January be held at 5:00 p.m. on January 27th, unless the Commission is notified that a 7:00 p.m. meeting will be required on that date for unexpected public items. Commissioner G. Johnson requested that a study session include a review of open space and park fees with a comparison of the costs in the various areas. Commissioner Green reported that he recently had an opportunity to visit the ~oodbrid§e development in Orange County, developed by Cadillac Fairview. He was informed the developer would like to incorporate some of the features of that development into EastLake. He suggested that a field trip be scheduled for the Planning Commission to view that development. He reported that he was impressed by the existence of fairly low cost housing side by side with high cost housing. He also reported on the use of park like open space adjacent to school sites. He was advised that the open space is maintained by home owners with no expense to the city. ADJOURNMENT Chairman Pressutti adjourned the meeting at 9:25 p.m. to the study session to be held at 5:00 p.m. on January 27, 1982. Respectfully submitted, Helen Mapes, Secretary