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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPC Minutes - 10/04/17MINUTES REGULAR MEETING DOWNEY CITY PLANNING COMMISSION WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 04, 2017 CITY COUNCIL CHAMBER, 11111 BROOKSHIRE AVENUE DOWNEY, CALIFORNIA 6:30 P.M. Chairman Rodriguez called the October 4, 2017, Regular Meeting of the Planning Commission to order at 6:31 p.m., at Downey City Hall, 11111 Brookshire Avenue, Downey, CA. After the flag salute, Secretary Cavanagh called roll. COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Jim Rodriguez, District 5, Chairman Miguel Duarte, District 1 Patrick Owens, District 2, Vice Chairman Steven Dominguez, District 3 Matias Flores, District 4 COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: None OTHERS PRESENT: Aldo E. Schindler, Director of Community Development Yvette Abich Garcia, City Attorney David Blumenthal, City Planner Kevin Nguyen, Assistant Planner Mary Cavanagh, Secretary PLANNING COMMISSIONER ANNOUNCEMENTS; REQUEST FOR FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS; AND CONFERENCE/MEETING REPORTS: None. PRESENTATIONS: None. CHANGES TO THE AGENDA: Director of Community Development Aldo Schindler stated public hearing item PLN -17-00055 for a Conditional Use Permit is continued to a date uncertain. REPORT ON CITY COUNCIL: None. PUBLIC HEARINGS: Due to a conflict of interest with the proximity of his property to the subject site, Commissioner Rodriguez recused himself from this item and left the Chambers. 1. PLN -17-00154 (Special Event Permit): Vice Chairman Owens opened the public hearing for PLN -17- 00154 and Ms. Cavanagh affirmed proof of publication. Assistant Planner Kevin Nguyen presented the request by Our Lady of Perpetual Help (OLPH) School to conduct a their annual carnival for three consecutive days (October 13, 14, and 15, 2017), in the school parking lot, on property located at 10441 Downey Ave, zoned R-3 (Multi -Family Residential). There will be no changes to the carnival from the previous years; the activities will include rides, jumpers, games, food sales, live entertainment (DJ) and a beer garden. He reviewed the subject size and the surrounding residential uses. Ample parking is provided, with parking located to the north and south of the site, the OLPH church parking lot. Additional arrangements have been made to allow the use of St. Mark's parking lot across the street. The hours of operation are as follows: • Friday, October 13, 2017, between the hours of 5:00 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. • Saturday, October 14, 2017, between the hours of 12:00 noon and 11:00 p.m. • Sunday, October 15, 2017, between the hours of 12:00 noon and 8:30 p.m. Assistant Planner Nguyen stated that during the Development Review Committee meeting, Police Department as in previous years, required applicant provide two (2) Downey Police Officers, and four (4) security guards on-site throughout the three-day event. As such, staff generated conditions of approval to address those concerns. Vice Chairman Owens asked if there would be assistance for patrons in the form of a crossing guard for those who will be crossing Downey Avenue from St. Mark's Church. He said that every year they work to make improvements to the carnival operations and the crossing guard. Edward Wormald, representing Our Lady of Perpetual Help School, addressed Vice Chairman's question regarding a crossing guard. He said that there will be a crossing guard to assist those crossing Downey Avenue from St. Marks, as well as a parent at Our Lady of Perpetual Help who handles traffic control. Additional lighting to the crosswalks will be added as well as improved signage. Vice Chairman Owens thanked Mr. Wormald for continuing to improve the carnival each year. Correspondence: None. Public Comments: None. Staff recommended the Planning Commission approve the request for a Special Event (PLN -17-00154) Vice Chairman Owens closed the public hearing. Commissioner Owens directed staff's attention to Condition No. 15 that states that handicap parking stalls in the parking area must remain accessible for all uses. He said that this implies that all non -handicap use will be able to use the parking. He asked that it be modified to read, "Handicap parking stalls in the parking area must remain handicap accessible." In the Public Works section, Condition No. 16 states that there shall be no hosing down of the parking area, and asked for the reason, to which City Planner David Blumenthal explained that is not allowed due to water run-off and low impact development standards. Commissioner Dominguez motioned to approve the application with a modification to Condition No. 15 to read "Handicap parking stalls in the parking area must remain handicap accessible for,, -all ,uses It was moved by Commissioner Dominguez, seconded by Commissioner Flores, and passed by a 4-0-4 vote, with Chairman Rodriguez abstaining, to adopt Resolution No. 17-3035, thereby approving the request for a Special Event Permit (PLN -17-00154) with the modified condition as stated. Commissioner Rodriguez re-entered the Council Chambers. 2. PLN -17-00055 (Conditiona( Use Permit): It was moved by Commissioner Flores, seconded by Commissioner Dominguez and passed a 4-0-1 vote with Chairman Rodriguez abstaining, to continue the public hearing for PLN -17-00055 to a date uncertain. City Attorney Yvette Garcia made note that Chairman Rodriguez' abstention is due to the proximity of his property being within 500' of the subject site. -2- NON AGENDA PUBLIC COMMENTS: None. CONSENT CALENDAR ITEMS: 3. Approval of the Minutes from September 6, 2017 4. Adoption of a Resolution of Denial for Tentative Parcel Map No. 74429 It was moved by Chairman Rodriguez, seconded by Vice Chairman Owens, and passed by a 5-0 vote, to approve the Consent Calendar. OTHER BUSINESS: 5. Discussion of Public Notices Chairman Rodriguez stated that this item is a continuation of a discussion due to the absence of Vice Chairman Owens, and opened the discussion. City Planner David Blumenthal reviewed the discussion that took place at a previous hearing; whereas, the Commission expressed a desire to increase awareness of projects by making the public notices easier to read and provide additional noticing opportunities including posting of sites. He reviewed the legal requirements under Government Code 65091 for public noticing to: post a notice in the local newspaper or in three public places within the City; mail a notice to all property owners within 300'; if property owners exceed 1,000 people within 300' a 1/8th page ad shall be placed in lieu of a mailing notice. To comply with the State public noticing laws, the City of Downey has adopted Municipal Code Section 9804.06(c), which requires a public notice be sent to all property owners within 500' of the project site and the notice be published in a newspaper of general circulation. The Planning Division has implemented recent changes such as, use of common language, social media and adding staff's contact information to the agenda. He reviewed changes that can be done without amending the Downey Municipal Code regarding notifying the public of pending projects and notice of public meetings. City Planner Blumenthal gave a PowerPoint presentation of examples used by other cities by posting signs at the subject site and the potential issues to consider, such as vandalism, graffiti, fading, sign removal, and the need for weather resistant materials. In speaking with the staff of the various cities, the main issue that results from posting notices at the project sites is the notices not being removed after the hearing. Regardless of the material used, the notice will begin to breakdown and become an attractive nuisance at the site. In these cases, code enforcement action is sometimes necessary to have the notice removed to bring the property into compliance. Should the Planning Commission determine to initiate posting of sites, a Zone Text Amendment would be required. The Commissioners discussed options for modifying the public notification process with staff in order to engage citizens to voice their concerns and opinions of upcoming projects. Options included: • Posting signs at the project site • Placing billboard ads • Increasing the size of newspaper ads • Increasing the radius for written notifications • Social Media The Commissioners Comments: Chairman Rodriguez suggested adding press; he is in favor of increasing the radius for mailing notices and posting signs at the project sites and does not find cost, graffiti or sign removal to be an issue. He preferred using Facebook for social media and suggested it be implemented immediately, with the recommendation that a summary of Facebook responses be presented to be considered at the next meeting. -3- Vice Chairman Owens said there are challenges to continue to improve and cautioned that too much information may not be the best approach. He suggested using Facebook and possibly Twitter sites and suggested the posts be included in the public record. He spoke in favor of increasing the radius for mailing notices and posting signs at the subject site. He disclosed it has been his experience that the cost of posting of signs at the subject site is usually passed on to the contractor. He opined, it provides a lot of benefits and creates a positive dynamic city on the move. Commissioner Dominguez spoke in favor of using social media to and suggested adding a button to allow the public to reach out to staff; increasing the radius for mailing notices; and the posting signs at the project sites with the condition that they are not posted for a lengthy period of time. He suggested billboard advertisements and increasing the size of newspaper ads to attract the public's attention. He was opposed to press releases and asked staff to comment on the reliability and the viability of Facebook comments. Commissioner Flores suggested focusing on one area and found social media to be the logical choice. He explained that there is no statistical evidence in sending more letters out will bring more people to the hearings. He made note, the closer you are to the subject site the more likely you are to come to the meeting; notifying more people further out, it does not ensure more people coming in. He disclosed he had a brief sidebar with Commissioner Dominguez and said he could not recall when he attended a meeting in response to a notice that he received in the mail. He concluded there is no evidence to support increasing the radius to 1,000 ft. Commissioner Duarte commented on the options presented and favored social media, although he discovered that the comments posted on social media came from people who no longer lived in the City and often people using it to rant. He made note that attending the meetings is inconvenient for people when they have to wait two to four hours to speak. He stressed the importance of engaging the public and suggested a page for public comments to make it easier for the residents' voices to be heard. City Planner David Blumenthal explained the issue with "Facebook Live" is that this is a live broadcast of the meetings and we do not possess the technology to implement the change. We currently have no way to record comments and the cost is estimated in the hundreds of thousands of dollars to upgrade to this technology within the Chamber. City Attorney Yvette Garcia explained the challenges in using press releases and social media posts. Social media posts have to somehow make it into the record; who they are, where they live, etc. This is to allow the applicant a chance to respond. There is no way of knowing if the social media posts are true, untrue, or if is one person doing multiple entries. Director of Community Development Aldo Schindler reviewed the application submittal and posting process and challenges in determining the cost of posting signs at this time. He discussed the negative affect it will have on the applicant and the project by increasing the cost and adding more delays. He reviewed the analytical results of social media posts and comments and the results reflected the most popular being Starbucks and least popular was the City ordinance. The Commissioners directed staff to continue reviewing options over the next six weeks to: 1) Increase the mailed notifications to a 1,000 sq. ft.; 2) utilize billboard ads; 3) social media such as Facebook or an online component; and 4) increase the newspaper ad size to '/4 sheet. STAFF MEMBER COMMENTS: Director of Community Development Schindler reported that staff has continued meetings with the County of Los Angeles Rancho South Campus and our consultants, in terms of the initial of future plans for the South Campus. The Planning Commission will be invited to an upcoming community meeting occurring in the near future and will include the Commission and the distribution of information. In addition, Metro continues their planning states with the insertion of the Orange Line Station and the construction of the Orange Line in General. Secondly, the Krikorian Theatre was sold and the new owner is the Studio Movie Grill; the best site example is their Simi Valley location. -4- ADJOURNMENT: Chairman Rodriguez adjourned the meeting at 8:41 p.m., to Wednesday, October 18, 2017, at 6:30p.m. at Downey City Hall, 11111 Brookshire Ave. APPROVED AND ADOPTED this 7th day of March, 2018 I HEREBY CERTIFY that the foregoing Minutes were duly approved at a Regular meeting of the Planning Commission held on this 7th day of March, by the following vote: AYES: COMMISSIONERS: Flores, Duarte and Dominguez NOES: COMMISSIONERS: None ABSENT: COMMISSIONERS: Rodriguez and Owens ABSTAIN: COMMISSIONERS: None Mary C vanagh, Secr ary City Planning Commission -5-