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2017/06/22 Planning Commission MinutesA9&AS%4'4 ROHNERT PARK PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES June 22, 2017 The Planning Commission of the City of Rohnert Park met this date in a regular session commencing at 6:00 p.m. in the City Hall Council Chambers, 130 Avram Avenue, with Chairperson Haydon presiding. Call To Order Chairperson Haydon called the meeting of the regular session to order at approximately 6:00 p.m. with Chairperson Haydon leading the pledge. Roll Call Present: (4) Commissioners: Commissioner Adams, Commissioner Blanquie, Commissioner Giudice and Commissioner Haydon were present. Commissioner Borba was excused. Development Services Director, Mary Grace Pawson, Planning Manager, Jeff Beiswenger, Planner I, Zachary Tusinger and Recording Secretary, Suzie Azevedo were present. Declaration of None. Abstention Acknowledgement of Chairperson Haydon acknowledged the posting of the Agenda of this meeting in Public Noticing three (3) public places, per the requirements of the Brown Act. Approval of Minutes A motion was made by Commissioner Giudice, seconded by Commissioner Blanquie to approve the minutes of the May 11, 2017 regular Planning Commission meeting as presented. The motion passed with a 4-0 vote and with a minor amendment as stated by Chairperson Haydon. (AYES: Adams, Blanquie, Giudice, Haydon; NOES: None; ABSENT: Borba) Unscheduled Public None. Appearances Conditional Use A motion was made by Commissioner Adams, seconded by Commissioner Permit/Site Plan and Giudice to alter the order of the agenda to accommodate public testimony with Architectural Review regard to Agenda Item 8.2. The applicant has requested the City to continue the item to a future Planning Commission meeting given unexpected circumstances File No. PLSU17-0002 and unavailability to attend the meeting. The staff report will be deferred until that time; however public testimony will be accepted. Steven Scarpa Chairperson Haydon opened the public hearing. The following testimony was heard: • Bill Butler, 1188 Cielo Circle — Opposed to the project due to traffic and parking issues that currently exist. The intensity of the proposed use will only add to those issues. The trash enclosure locations as proposed back Planning Commission Minutes June 22, 2017 Informational Presentation — Real Estate Market Trends Berk Jones up to residential properties; not desireable and the project not a desireable use for this location. • Joe Drescher, 1220 Cala Way — Opposed to project; safety is a concern as it relates to traffic and sight obstructions due to current street parking; More cars and people will result in potential for added safety issues and additional accidents. • Wes Clasper, 1182 Cielo Circle — Opposed to project; Concern with density and population; potential for multiple people occupying studio and 1 bedroom. Also commented on the current situation related to parking and traffic. • Tawnya Murphy, 1235 Caridad Ct. — Opposed to project: residence backs up to proposed project; spoke to traffic, safety, parking. Has an elderly family member that resides with them and the current situation/congestion creates a dangerous reality for her to maneuver crossing the street. Also spoke to location of the garbage enclosures and the potential for rodent infestation, offensive smells etc. • Karen Weinsten, Caridad Ct. — Property backs up to proposed project; Given the current heat wave would not like to have a garbage enclosure directly backing up to her residence. A motion was made by Giudice, seconded by Commissioner Blanquie to continue the public hearing on this matter to a date certain of July 13, 2017. The motion passed with a 4-0 vote. (AYES: Adams, Blanquie, Giudice, Haydon; NOES: None; ABSENT: Borba) Mr. Jones, Newmark Cornish & Carely, and his team made a presentation on observations of the current Rohnert Park Commercial real estate landscape. Talking points included: • Overview - Several factors impacting commercial real estate; Graton Casino, Sonoma State University, SMART train, widening of Hwy 101; new housing, SOMO Village, State Farm campus • Industry Sector/Retail — Rohnert Park oversaturated with retail; SF of retail per capita is larger than national average; however addition of proposed residents should bring this back in balance • Traditional retail landscape is changing —Abundance of "big box" centers, some likely to be repurposed over time • Potential service need to the east (University Dist) and south (SOMO) — smaller retail formats are required to service these needs • Industry Sector/Office — Supply: Vacancy remains above 30% (Petaluma and Santa Rosa markets relatively tight. Demand: Regional service headquareter (ATT, Comcast); high value agricultural producers (Morton Bassett, Traditional Medicinals); regional government. Challenges: Some properties have large undivisible floor plates requiring larger tenancies; office properties lack freeway identity and have challenging access; available inventory is generally low quality • Industry Sector/Indlustrial-Flex — Supply: Vacancy reduced by half from 10% to 5% in the past 5 years; rents now justify new development where land is available; strong pressure on pricing and rents from cannabis production in Santa Rosa. Demand: Small regional distribution requiring good Hwy 101 access; add agricultural manufacturing (organic foods, Planning Commission Minutes June 22, 2017_ beverages, cannabis). Challenges: Development constraints (salamanders etc.); sewer capacity for agricultural production. Municipal Code Amendments File No. PLMC17-0002 City of Rohnert Park Mr. Jones et al also provides housing market/occupancy rate scenarios as well as foreseeable growth trends. Planner I, Zachary Tusinger, presented the staff report. Mr. Tusinger noted that this item is being continued from the May 25, 2017 meeting. The Commission at that time was interested in additional information on several topics: 1. Craigslist. Staff was asked to research there were any STRs in Rohnert Park listed on Craigslist specifically. While staff found many STR listings on Craigslist for Sonoma County, no Rohnert Park listings were readily apparent. 2. Insurance. Generally, homeowners insurance does not cover STRs, but liability policies are available -- some directly through the platforms (like AirBnB, which calls their policies `host protection insurance') themselves. 3. Transient Occupancy Tax. After acquiring a city business license, any STIR would be required to submit a monthly return to the City with a payment for total applicable taxes and fees for the foregoing time period (see attached Exhibit B). The City conducts occasional audits to ensure that returns are accurate. Such audits could require the submission of records from the owner/operator to verify their reporting. 4. Enforcement. There are several avenues of enforcement that would be available to the City should this ordinance come into effect. Enforcement would be primarily complaint driven. If a complaint or issue is brought to the City, then the code enforcement officer would confirm with the Finance Department whether or not this is an STR that has been permitted and has a valid business license. If they do not, or if they are in violation of any other aspect of the RPMC then informal contact with the owner would be established, and accompanied by a letter. If the issue is not resolved then an administrative citation could be issued. On a separate track, if the STR does has a valid administrative use permit for an STR, then the Planning Commission, on recommendation from City Staff or of its own initiative, could begin proceedings to revoke administrative use permit. This process is currently available in the RPMC and may be used in situations where any use permit has been violated (usually on multiple occasions or in an ongoing manner), and it may become necessary to terminate or otherwise scale back the use. Mr. Tusinger outlined the proposed amendments and recommended that based on the analysis and findings of the report, staff recommends that the Planning Commission, by motion, adopt Resolution No. 2017-15 to recommend to the City Council text amendments to Title 17 of the Rohnert Park Municipal Code related to short term rentals as proposed. Further discussion was held between staff and the Commission. A key discussion topic included whether or not the City should limit the number of these rentals to eliminate the passible oversaturation. A request was made to revisit the topic in 3 Planning Commission Minutes June 22, 2017 Matters from Planning Commissioners Matters from Planning Staff one year and perhaps create a monthly reporting mechanism to monitor the short term rental activity within Rohnert Park. Commissioner Haydon would like to see the provisions of the code placed on the website and any other outreach means that might be available. Also discussed was the possibility of limiting the number of cars per rental. A motion was made by Commissioner Adams, seconded by Commissioner Giudice to adopt Resolution No. 2017-15 to recommend to the City Council text amendments to Title 17 of the Rohnert Park Municipal Code related to short term rentals as proposed with the addition that the operator of the short term rental carry the appropriate insurance policy to cover this special use. The motion passed with a 4-0 vote. (AYES: Adams, Blanquie, Giudice, Haydon; NOES: None; ABSENT: Borba) Commissioner Giudice commented on the following: Making indigenous trees and solar a top priority in future topics of discussion; Follow-up on the Community Center Sign; Trash collection on Cala to Casa and the availability of the garbage company to collect at an alternate location so as not to reduce street parking on trash collection day. Commissioner Haydon spoke about attendance at the groundbreaking of the Crane Creek trail. Commissioner Haydon also noted that she worked with staff on the elevation drawings for the University District Phase 2 product that was discussed at a previous Planning Commission meeting. Additionally, Commissioner Haydon also commented on "homework" in identifying speakers on solar discussion; reached out to regional climate protection agency who provided good contacts. There is also an upcoming forum on local mandatory solar ordinances. Planning Manager Beiswenger noted that the Bear Republic project will be installing solar. AdjournmentI There being no further business, Chairperson Haydon adjourned the meeting at 8:35 pm. Chairperson 4 Secreta