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2008/02/14 Planning Commission MinutesROHNERT PARK PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES THURSDAY, February 14, 2008 The Planning Commission of the City of Rohnert Park met this date in a regular session commencing at 7:00 p.m. in the City Council Conference Room, 6750 Commerce Blvd., with Chairperson Ahanotu presiding. Call To Order Chairperson Ahanotu called the meeting of the regular session to order at approximately 7:00 p.m. with Community Development Director Bendorff leading the pledge. Roll Call Present (5) Commissioners: Chairperson Ahanotu, Commissioner Adams, Commissioner Callinan, Commissioner Kilat and Commissioner Armstrong were present. Community Development Director, Ron Bendorff, and Recording Clerk, Suzie Azevedo were present. Approval of Minutes Upon motion by Commissioner Adams, seconded by Commissioner Armstrong, the Minutes of January 24, 2008 were approved with correction by a 5-0 vote. Acknowledgement of Chairperson Ahanotu acknowledged the posting of the Agenda of this meeting in Public Noticing three (3) public places, per the requirements of the Brown Act. Unscheduled Representatives from Codding Enterprises, Don Codding, Greg Searle, Geof Public Appearances Syphers, and Richard Pope were recognized. They made a brief presentation on the progress of the Sonoma Mountain Village One Planet Community project. Their presentation addressed current and future job market, an overview of the International One Plant Community program and a summary of the many partnerships they have committed to in promoting sustainability and creating an energy efficient Sonoma Mountain Village community. Tentative Map Community Development Director, Ron Bendorff, reported that on December 13, 2007, January 10th and 24th, 2008, the Planning Commission continued review of File No. PL2007-028TM this project due to unresolved issues. The City Attorney continues to work with the applicant and the applicant's attorney and staff feels that the application will GJ Harmina c/o Steven be ready to bring to the Commission at the March 13, 2008 meeting. At this LaFranchi and times staff is requesting that the Commission continue this item to the March 13, Associates 2008 Planning Commission meeting. A motion was made by Commissioner Adams, seconded by Commissioner Kilat, to continue this item to the March 13, 2008 Planning Commission meeting. The motion passed with a 5-0 vote. Municipal Code Ron Bendorff reported that on September 13, 2007, the Planning Commission Amendments opened the public hearing on this item and subsequently continued it to the Planning Commission Minutes February 14, 2008 File No. PL2007-024MC City of Rohnert Park Use Permit File No. PL2008-002UP Joshua and Jack French Design Review PL2007-039SR Stephen Jaeger/NBC Partners November 8, 2007, December 13, 2007 and February 14, 2008 meetings to allow Staff time to review the draft ordinance with interested parties. The City is in the process of hiring a new Housing and Redevelopment Manager and one of the roles of this position is to implement the City's Inclusionary Housing Program. Staff would therefore like the new Manager to join in the discussions regarding the proposed Ordinance revisions. At this time Staff recommends that this item be tabled until such time as the position is filled and the discussions can continue. A motion was made by Commissioner Adams, seconded by Commissioner Armstrong to table this item until such time as the new Housing and Redevelopment position is filled and discussions can continue. The motion passed with a 5-0 vote. Community Development Assistant, Suzie Azevedo, gave the staff report. She stated that the request is for the operation of a small processing facility designed specifically for the collection of a -waste materials (TV's, computers, monitors, printers, cell phones etc). The proposed E -waste operation would occupy an industrial warehouse tenant space located at 50 Executive Avenue. Ms. Azevedo reviewed the specific operational details of the facility and outlined the pick up and drop off schedules proposed. She noted that there is an existing customer parking supply of 16 spaces that serves three of the tenant spaces on the east side of the building. The Municipal Code requirement for a processing facility is 10 spaces per facility plus 1 per vehicle associated with the operation. Given that site contains ample on street parking and the facility is operational only 2 days during the week, parking should be adequate to serve the proposed use. Ms. Azevedo said that to ensure that the operation remains limited in scope and complementary to the other on-site uses, staff recommends that the Planning Commission approve the use Permit and monitor the drop off component of the operation for a one year period and re-evaluate this portion of the use permit at that time. If a parking problem develops during that period, staff would bring the time back to the Commission for review. The applicant Joshua French, was recognized. He is excited and anxious to get started here in Rohnert Park. The Commission felt that this was a desirable and much needed service for the Rohnert Park community. A motion was made by Commissioner Adams, seconded by Commissioner Armstrong to adopt Resolution No. 2008-08, as conditioned. The motion passed with a 5-0 vote. Ron Bendorff reported that the applicant, Stephen Jaeger, is requesting design review for a new commercial pad building and the remodel of an existing commercial center (North Bay Centre) located at 6305-6585 Commerce Boulevard. Mr. Bendorff gave a brief background of existing on-site features (dimensions, square footages etc) and stated that in addition to the construction of a 3500 square foot commercial pad building and remodel of the existing buildings, the applicant is also requesting a parking reduction per Section 17.16.040 to allow the required parking inventory to be reduced to accommodate the proposed pad building's footprint. He also noted that there is an existing 20 foot drainage easement which runs north -south through the frontage of the site Planning Commission Minutes February 14, 2008 and is shown placed under the proposed pad building. The easement and storm drain line would need to be relocated to an alternative location on the site. The dedication and acceptance of the new easement would be required prior to the issuance of a building permit for the pad building's construction. Mr. Bendorff outlined the design elements of the project and noted that the proposed commercial pad building would meet the dimensional requirements of the C-R District, and the remodel of the existing center building would remain in conformance with the standards for this district. To address the parking reduction and analyze the center's true parking need Mr. Bendorff reported that the City commissioned a parking study, which was prepared by W -Trans. There are currently 396 spaces within the center and the applicant's intention is to maintain this inventory by redesigning the parking areas to add compact spaces where possible. The existing parking supply, however, does not meet the current retail parking standard of 5 spaces/1000 square feet, which would technically require a total 450 spaces. The addition of the pad building would bring the total requirement to 468 spaces that would be needed for the overall proposal. Mr. Bendorff discussed the more intricate details of the study and reported that the study estimates the project's realistic parking need to be 375 parking spaces, or roughly 19.9 percent of the overall estimated parking need. This is less than 25 percent reduction in parking allowed by Section 16.16.040.A of the Municipal Code and the findings can be made to allow the requested reduction. Mr. Bendorff commented that staff is generally pleased with the elevations and design submitted with a few exceptions. The "Garden Center" at the south end of the "Rite Aid' tenant space is very visible from the center's south access point on Commerce Boulevard. The applicant proposes to repaint the existing metal fence- that encethat helps enclose the "Garden Center" which would be an improvement. Given this area's high visibility, however, staff is recommending that the "Garden Center" element be given a more distinctive design treatment. A condition has been added requiring the applicant to work with Staff to this end. To achieve a greater visual consistency throughout the design, staff is also recommending the following changes: the corners at the rear of the building should receive the same pilaster/trim cap treatment; and the reveal line arrangement shown on the front and side elevations should be continued in a similar visual rhythm along the rear elevation. Lastly, this project would fall under the City's Public Art Ordinance that requires commercial projects with a construction valuation of over $500,000 to contribute 1 percent of project valuation to public art. The initial estimate of this project's construction would result in roughly an $8,000.00 contribution. This would be relatively small amount of funding for an on-site installation, so the developer has elected to provide the in -lieu fee. Based on the findings presented in his report, Mr. Bendorff recommended approval of this application, as conditioned. Commissioner Kilat questioned the color scheme submitted for the project. There was an overall consensus that the colors would not be complementary to the center or the area in general and were unflattering and harsh. 3 Planning Commission Minutes February 14, 2008 Chairperson � Recordi Clerk George E. Scott, representing North Bay Centre, was recognized. He indicated the color renderings the Commission received in their packet were "color" copies and do not fully represent the actual colors. A sample board was presented showing the actual color scheme which appeared to be lighter in tone. Mr. Scott also spoke to the Garden Center area. He stated that upgrading or improving the treatment at the Garden Center area may be hampered by current language in Rite -Aid's lease. The developer/applicant is willing to work with city staff within their legal rights to do so in this regard. The Commission again expressed concern regarding the color schematic proposed and felt strongly that this element of the project should be reworked and revisited. Discussion between staff, Mr. Scott and Commission continued. A motion was made by Commissioner Adams, seconded by Commissioner Kilat to approve Resolution No. 2008-7 with the following changes: No. 4.h. shall read, The applicant shall work with Staff, as feasible, to give the Garden Center element south of the Rite Aid tenant space a more distinctive design treatment.; Add the following, 4.w. The final color palette for the project should be brought back to the Planning Commission fore review and approval. The motion passed with a 5-0 vote. Cancellation of February Ron Bendorff reported that there are many projects under review at this time and 28, 2008 Meeting staff is not anticipating any will be ready for the next meeting. A motion was made by Commissioner Adams, seconded by Commissioner Armstrong to cancel the February 28, 2008 meeting. The motion passed with a 5-0 vote. Matters From Commissioner Adams asked about the time schedule for Sonoma Mountain Commissioners Village. Mr. Bendorff responded that the Admin Draft EIR will be distributed in the next couple of months. Matters from Planning Mr. Bendorff informed the Commission on upcoming items. He noted the Staff following: • Next Meeting: Wilfred Dowdell Comment Session, Amendment to Vineyards Use Permit; Professional Ctr Drive Condo Conversion • Next meeting of the General Plan Update Steering Committee will be held on February 28, 2008. Adjournment There being no further business, Chairperson Ahanotu adjourned the meeting at 8:25 PM until Thursday, March 13, 2008. Chairperson � Recordi Clerk