2020/09/24 Planning Commission Minutes
Minutes of the Planning Commission Meeting
of the City of Rohnert Park
Thursday, September 24, 2020
6:00 P.M.
130 Avram Avenue, Rohnert Park
1. CALL TO ORDER
Chairperson Blanquie called the regular meeting to order at 6:00 p.m.
2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
Led by Chairperson Blanquie.
3. ROLL CALL
Present: Daniel A. Blanquie, Chairperson
John E. Borba, Commissioner
Gerard Giudice, Commissioner
Susan Haydon, Vice Chair
Marc Orloff, Commissioner
Absent: None.
Staff attending via Zoom Video Communications: Director of Development Services,
Mary Grace Pawson, Planning Manager, Jeff Beiswenger, Housing Specialist, Jenna
Garcia, Planner I, Suzie Azevedo, Recording Secretary, Jennifer Sedna, and General Plan
Consultant, Michael Laughlin.
Staff present: IS Analyst, Mike Son.
4. PUBLIC COMMENT
None.
5. CONSENT CALENDAR - ADOPTION OF MINUTES
5.1 Approval of the Draft Minutes of the Planning Commission Meeting of
September 10, 2020
ACTION: Moved/seconded (Guidice/Orloff) to approve the Draft Minutes of the
Planning Commission Meeting of September 10, 2020.
Motion carried by the following unanimous (5-0-0) roll call vote: AYES:
Blanquie, Borba, Giudice, Haydon, and Orloff; NOES: None; ABSTAIN: None;
ABSENT: None.
6. AGENDA ITEMS
6.1 SITE PLAN & ARCHITECTURAL REVIEW – File No. PLSR20-0002 –
Redwood Lodging, LLC – Consideration of Resolution 2020-021 approving Site
Plan and Architectural Review for Home2Suites Hotel Amendments (APN 143-
391-022)
Suzie Azevedo, Planner I, presented the item, and answered questions from the Commission
including: number of rooms, the condition of the water main required on item 48, clarification
of the solar condition of approval, including the percentage covered; floor plans for the
additional floors not included in the staff report; preliminary landscape plans; recommended
generator installation; and, the location of the pool. Recommended Action(s): adopt
Resolution 2020-021 approving Site Plan and Architectural Review for Home2Suites Hotel
Amendments (APN 143-391-022).
Staffperson Pawson joined the meeting to address the water main condition to meet the height
of the building.
The Commission requested a separate section for energy efficiencies in conditions of approval
moving forward.
Applicant Tejal Patel, Owner, and James Jensen, Architect, joined the meeting to answer
questions from the Commission, including: the number of EV power stations; proposed
location of the solar panels and the percentage coverage; the soundwall details to reduce the
noise between the freeway and the pool; and, the solar offset standard requirements.
ACTION: Moved/seconded (Guidce/Orloff) to adopt 2020-021 approving Site
Plan and Architectural Review for Home2Suites Hotel Amendments (APN 143-
391-022).
Motion carried by the following unanimous (5-0-0) roll call vote: AYES:
Blanquie, Borba, Giudice, Haydon, and Orloff; NOES: None; ABSTAIN: None;
ABSENT: None.
6.2 GENERAL PLAN STUDY SESSION – City of Rohnert Park – Chapters 1, 3 &
4 – Introduction, Community Development Element and Economic Development
Element
Planning Manager, Jeff Beiswenger and Housing Specialist, Jenna Garcia, presented the
item. Recommended Action(s): Participate in the General Plan Study Session - Chapters
1, 3 & 4 – Introduction, Community Development Element and Economic Development
Element.
ACTION: The Commission participated in the General Plan Study Session by
discussing the following: the timeline of when the General Plan has to be
adopted; clarification of the Economic Development Element, especially in light
of the COVID era; that staff should consider a climate element should to capture
revenues and funding regardless of redundancies; creating incentive structures
for the blighted neighborhood areas, such as Southwest Boulevard and
Commerce, North of Rohnert Park Expressway; create incentives to attract
businesses; request a zoning m ap of the specifi c plan areas to be presented at a
later m eeting; cl arification if enviro nm ental justice is a sub-category w ithin the
Land U se E lem ent; consider expanding the title of the subcategory of
enviro nm ental justice to "social and econom ic equity and enviro nm ental justice";
have a m ore ro bust online presence; second para gra ph to dro p the w ord
"pro posed" on second page of the Econom ic D evelopm ent E lem ent; edit the
dem ogra phic fe atur e under C B -15 to explicitly incl ude "sexual orientation"; if
the dates of im plem entation are flexible; the fiscal im pact should be adjusted
fr equently due to it being dynam ic; that M artin A venue B usiness Park is
identified as Light-Industrial ra ther than Business Park designation; to be
m indfu l of m ixed-use designations fo r M artin A venue and in genera l; to pro m ote
the creative reuse of big box retailers in order to integra te flex space, such as
green space; cl arification of very low and low incom e level categories; and, if
Sonom a State's housing are fa ctored into the R HN A housing goals.
7. ITEMS FROM THE PLANNING COMMISSION
None.
8. ITEMS FROM THE DEVELOPMENT SERVICE STAFF
None.
9. ADJOURNMENT
Chairperson Blanquie adjourned the regular meeting at 7:49 p.m.
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