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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013-04-17; Planning Commission; MinutesPlanning Commission Minutes April 17, 2013 Page 1 Minutes of: PLANNING COMMISSION Time of Meeting: 6:00 p.m. Date of Meeting: April 17, 2013 Place of Meeting: COUNCIL CHAMBERS CALL TO ORDER Chairperson Siekmann called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Commissioner Schumacher led the Pledge of Allegiance. ROLL CALL Present: Chairperson Siekmann, Commissioners L’Heureux, Montgomery, Schumacher, Scully and Segall Absent: Commissioner Black STAFF PRESENT Don Neu, City Planner Jane Mobaldi, Assistant City Attorney Bridget Desmarais, Administrative Secretary Sabrina Michelson, Senior Office Specialist Chris DeCerbo, Principal Planner Shannon Werneke, Associate Planner Austin Silva, Assistant Planner Chris Garcia, Junior Planner Glen Van Peski, Engineering Manager PUBLIC COMMENTS ON ITEMS NOT LISTED ON THE AGENDA None. PLANNING COMMISSION PUBLIC HEARING Chairperson Siekmann asked Mr. Neu to introduce the first item. 2. SDP 10-01(A)/CDP 12-27 – JAGUAR LAND ROVER CARLSBAD – Request for approval of a Site Development Plan Amendment and Coastal Development Permit to allow for the construction of a 3,091 square foot building consisting of six wash/detail bays, office space, storage space, and the conversion of an existing wash bay to parts storage on a 2.75 acre site at 5550 Paseo Del Norte between Cannon Road and Car Country Drive in Local Facilities Management Zone 3. Mr. Neu stated Agenda Item 2 would normally be heard in a public hearing context; however, the project appears to be minor and routine in nature with no outstanding issues and Staff recommends approval. He recommended that the public hearing be opened and closed, and that the Commission proceed with a vote as a consent item. Staff would be available to respond to questions if the Commission or someone from the public wished to pull Agenda Item 2. Chairperson Siekmann asked if any member of the audience wished to address Agenda Item 2. Seeing none, she opened and closed public testimony. CORRECTED Planning Commission Minutes April 17, 2013 Page 2 MOTION ACTION: Motion by Commissioner Montgomery and duly seconded, that the Planning Commission approve Agenda Item 2 including the errata sheet. VOTE: 6-0 AYES: Chairperson Siekmann, Commissioner L’Heureux, Commissioner Montgomery, Commissioner Schumacher, Commissioner Scully and Commissioner Segall NOES: None ABSENT: Commissioner Black ABSTAIN: None Chairperson Siekmann closed the public hearing on Agenda Item 2 and asked Mr. Neu to introduce the next item. 1. SDP 13-01/CDP 13-03 – ROCK DOVE HOMES - Request for approval of a Site Development Plan and Coastal Development Permit to allow for the construction of 4 single family homes on property generally located on the northeast corner of Hummingbird Road and Rock Dove Street within the Mello I Segment of the Local Coastal Program and within Local Facilities Management Zone 19. Mr. Neu introduced Agenda Item 1 and stated Junior Planner Chris Garcia would make the staff presentation. Chairperson Siekmann opened the public hearing on Agenda Item 1. Mr. Garcia gave a brief presentation and stated he would be available to answer questions. Chairperson Siekmann asked if there were any questions of Staff. Commissioner Montgomery asked about the story poles placed on the site. Mr. Garcia stated that it was his understanding that the story poles did line up with the renderings submitted by the applicant. Chairperson Siekmann asked if there were any further questions of Staff. Seeing none, she asked if there were any questions of the applicant. Commissioner Montgomery asked the applicant about the story poles on the site. Paul Klukas, representing Planning Systems, 1530 Faraday Avenue, Suite 100, Carlsbad, stated the story poles did match up with the renderings. He further stated he has reviewed the errata sheet and is agreeable to the conditions. Commissioner Scully asked what the result was with the meeting with adjacent homeowners. Mr. Klukas stated that he feels that the adjacent homeowners are in agreement with the height of the proposed homes; however there are remaining concerns with regard to the landscaping. Chairperson Siekmann asked if there were any further questions of the applicant. Seeing none, she asked if there were any questions of Mr. Avi Yagil, who is representing the adjacent homeowners. Commissioner Montgomery asked Mr. Yagil if he is in agreement with the story poles. He stated yes but he stated his concern regarding the landscaping. Commissioner Scully asked what the concern is regarding the landscaping. Mr. Yagil asked that the trees not exceed the height limit of the rooftops. Chairperson Siekmann asked for the applicant to respond to Mr. Yagil’s comments. Commissioner Scully asked Tracey Raszewski, representing Jade Homes, about the landscaping. Ms. Raszewski stated they would be opposed. Planning Commission Minutes April 17, 2013 Page 3 Commissioner L’Heureux asked about the street scene exhibit and asked for clarification. Ms. Raszewski stated the landscape plans were approved by the City and those street trees were called for by the city’s Landscaping Consultant. DISCUSSION Commissioner Schumacher stated he is abundantly satisfied with the exhibits as shown by the applicant. He is satisfied with the height of the buildings, and he stated he prefers to defer the landscaping to the Aviara Master Association. Commissioner Schumacher stated he was in favor of the project. Commissioner Segall stated he agrees with the comments made by Commissioner Schumacher. He suggested that the community contact the Aviara Master Plan Association to address the landscaping issues. He stated he can support the project. Commissioner L’Heureux also stated his support of the project. He thanked everyone for their time and effort for making the project work. Commissioner Scully stated she agrees with her fellow Commissioners. She stated she can support the project. Commissioner Montgomery stated he supports the project. Chairperson Siekmann thanked the applicant, staff and the community for their time and effort on this project. She stated she can support the project. MOTION ACTION: Motion by Commissioner Montgomery and duly seconded, that the Planning Commission adopt Planning Commission Resolutions No. 6953 and 6954 approving Site Development Plan SDP 13-01 and Coastal Development Permit CDP 13-03 based upon the findings and subject to the conditions contained therein including the errata sheet and attached exhibits. VOTE: 6-0 AYES: Chairperson Siekmann, Commissioner L’Heureux, Commissioner Montgomery, Commissioner Schumacher, Commissioner Scully and Commissioner Segall NOES: None ABSENT: Commissioner Black ABSTAIN: None Chairperson Siekmann closed the public hearing on Agenda Item 1 and asked Mr. Neu to introduce the next item. 3. ZCA 11-03/LCPA 11-04- SIGN ORDINANCE AMENDMENT – A request for a recommendation to adopt a Negative Declaration, and recommendation of approval of a Zone Code Amendment and Local Coastal Program Amendment to repeal and reenact the City’s Sign Ordinance (Chapter 21.41 of the Carlsbad Municipal Code) to: (1) incorporate revisions to address first amendment issues associated with the permitted regulation of non-commercial signage, (2) provide more flexible sign development standards, (3) allow electronic message board signs or digital displays at regional commercial centers (Plaza Camino Real and Car Country Carlsbad) with a Regional Commercial General Plan land use designation that have frontage on a freeway (I 5 or SR 78) and (4)(3) clarify the ordinance to make it more user friendly. Mr. Neu introduced Agenda Item 3 and stated Principal Planner Chris DeCerbo would make the staff presentation assisted by the City’s outside legal representative Randall Morrison. Chairperson Siekmann opened the public hearing on Agenda Item 3. CORRECTED Planning Commission Minutes April 17, 2013 Page 4 Mr. DeCerbo gave a detailed presentation and stated he would be available to answer any questions. Chairperson Siekmann acknowledged that the Commission received letters from Hofman Planning, the Department of Transportation, and the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce as well as an errata sheet for the project. The Commission held a lengthy discussion regarding the proposed changes to the sign ordinance. RECESS Chairperson Siekmann called for a 5-minute recess at 8:05 p.m. MEETING CALLED TO ORDER Chairperson Siekmann called the meeting to order at 8:15 p.m. with all Commissioners present. Chairperson Siekmann asked if there were any members of the audience who wished to speak on the item. Chairperson Siekmann opened the public testimony. Chris Baker, representing Car Country Carlsbad, asked the Planning Commission to reconsider digital signs for the Car Country area only. JP Paynter, general manager from Hoehn Motors in Car Country Carlsbad, and chairman of the Car Country Task Force, which was formed to help communication between the City and Car Country Carlsbad, asked the Commission to allow for a digital freeway sign for Car Country. Commissioner Segall asked if he met with council individually or as a group. Mr. Paynter stated as a group. Gene Managaniello, general manager of Lexus Carlsbad, also requested a digital sign to be placed on the private property. He stated they are ready to fund the payment of the sign. Rick Blakemore, representing Jaguar Land Rover Carlsbad, asked the Commission to consider a digital sign for the Car Country auto mall. Chairperson Siekmann asked if there were any other members of the audience who wished to speak on the item. Seeing none, she closed public testimony. Ms. Mobaldi asked Mr. Morrison to clarify issues regarding illumination of digital signs and messages on digital signs on private property. Mr. Morrison stated brightness of digital signs is one thing that can be controlled. The one legal issue that has come up recently is when a sign is approved for onsite commercial messages. Some car dealers with very large lots with big digital signs realize there is money to be made and turn the sign into a profit center of its own. It then becomes a hybrid of both onsite and offsite with one image displayed for 8-10 seconds promoting a car dealership and the next image is for a site 20 miles down the road. This causes confusion when a city has a policy for no billboards. The essence of a billboard is that the sign is for rent to a variety of advertisers. Another issue that comes up is how many images are in a sequence. The most common sequence is eight images each displayed for eight seconds. The more frequently a sign changes, the more likely it is to distract drivers. Mr. Morrison stated it is legal for a city to have a policy against digital signs; however he warned against allowing digital signs in only certain areas of a city. He stated that the city would have to make sure a policy is written so that it includes at least two locations for digital signs. Commissioner Schumacher asked if the signage requirements will be updated in the El Camino Real Corridor standards. Mr. DeCerbo stated that is a policy question. Mr. Neu stated that those policies will be reviewed as part of the zoning code update. Planning Commission Minutes April 17, 2013 Page 5 The Commission held discussions regarding the following topics: Setbacks Commissioner Segall stated his issue with this topic is that there should be more flexibility. He stated that the size of sign should be determined by the size of the building along with how far setback the building is from the street and the speed limit on the street. He clarified that it would be for the height of the sign. Mr. Neu stated the sign ordinance varies the size of the sign and size of letters based on the size of the building. The modified sign program provision addresses the issues mentioned by Commissioner Segall. Commissioner Segall stated with that information, he feels his concerns regarding the topic have been addressed. Temporary Real Estate Signs Commissioner L’Heureux stated that his main concern is that the City does not have enough Code Enforcement personnel. Commissioner Schumacher stated that one of the ways to mitigate the visual blight of the signs is for the Commission to reduce the size of the temporary real estate signs. Commissioner Segall commented that the size of the signs could be reduced. As far as enforcement is concerned, the permits should be allowed for 6 months and the applicant would then have to reapply for the permit. Commissioner Montgomery commented that the real solution is to make the signs smaller. The Commission unanimously voted to keep what is proposed in the ordinance for residential real estate signs and voted to change commercial real estate signs based on staff’s recommendation. MOTION TO CONTINUE MEETING The Commission voted 6-0 to continue the meeting past 10:00 p.m. Wayfinding Signs/Special Event Signs Commissioner L’Heureux suggested that there be cross-references to other sections of the code that refer to signs. Mr. Neu stated that the issue with referencing Council Policy 65 in the sign ordinance is that the Coastal Commission will want to review the policy and have the ability to modify it. There is a separate special events ordinance that the Council worked on with Staff and it has its own process that is reviewed by Parks & Recreation, Police and other divisions. Commissioner Segall asked that the issue regarding Wayfinding Signs be brought up to Council and implemented within 30 days since we were promised in 2001. He commented that the Special Event signs should be more professional in appearance as they are placed at the entrances into the city. The Commission voted 6-0 to strongly recommend to the City Council that the issue regarding Wayfinding Signs be addressed as soon as possible and that the quality of the Special Event signs be updated with standards and for the signs to be branded. Clarifying the Right-of-Way Map attached to Council Policy 65 The Commission voted 6-0 that the map attached to Council Policy 65 be printed in color when the project is forwarded to City Council and that Staff verifies that the locations shown on the map are the only areas where signs are permitted in the right-of-way. Flag Sizes Commissioner Segall commented that flags should not be restricted to 24 square feet. CORRECTED Planning Commission Minutes April 17, 2013 Page 6 The Commission voted 6-0 to recommend that in a residential zone a maximum of 2 flags be allowed with each flag no larger than 24 square feet on a maximum of a 35 foot pole. Note 2 on Attachment 8, Page 29 Commissioner Siekmann suggested that Note 2 be expanded to include Highway 78, El Camino Real, and Palomar Airport Road as it is stated in Note 4. The Commission voted 6-0 to approve this modification. Digital Signs Commissioner Segall feels that there are ways and standards that digital signs can be done that make digital signs professional and not distracting. Commissioner Schumacher stated that he agrees with not allowing digital signs and his position has not changed since the previous meeting regarding the sign ordinance. He commented that there is a need for new a sign at Car Country. He suggested that there are other solutions available for signs which are not digital and the result is classy and non-distracting. Ms. Mobaldi focused the Commission on the proposed changes to the sign ordinance rather than consideration of Car Country Carlsbad signage specifically, since that is not the current project.. MOTION The Commission voted 6-0 to continue the meeting until 10:45 p.m. Commissioner Scully stated she is not in favor of digital signs. Commissioner Montgomery stated that he is in favor of digital signs and is embracing the technology. Chairperson Siekmann commented that she is against digital signs and feels it would be a huge mistake to those types of signs in the city. She commented that most people shop for a car on the internet and everybody knows that Car Carlsbad exists. If the dealers do not have the best prices, people will not shop there. Chairperson Siekmann further commented on how distracting digital signs are for drivers. The Commission voted 4-2 (Montgomery and Segall) to prohibit digital signs. MOTION ACTION: Motion by Commissioner L’Heureux and duly seconded, that the Planning Commission adopt Planning Commission Resolution No. 6926 recommending adoption of a Negative Declaration and adopt Planning Commission Resolutions No. 6927 and 6928 recommending approval of ZCA 11-03 and LCPA 11-04 based on the findings contained therein including the modifications as follows: residential real estate signs to be remain graduated as they are in the current ordinance, commercial real estate signs being smaller than 32 square feet with the final recommendation to Council being determined by Staff, to have a maximum of 24 square feet for each of two flags which can be placed in residential zone with a 35 foot pole, and to expand Note 2 of Attachment 8 to mirror Note 4 which includes Palomar Airport Road, El Camino Real and Highway 78 and including the errata sheet. VOTE: 5-1 AYES: Chairperson Siekmann, Commissioner L’Heureux, Commissioner Schumacher, Commissioner Scully and Commissioner Segall NOES: Commissioner Montgomery ABSENT: Commissioner Black ABSTAIN: None Planning Commission Minutes April17, 2013 Page 7 Chairperson Siekmann closed the public hearing on Agenda Item 3 and asked Mr. Neu to introduce the next item. 4. GPA 11-05/ZCA 09-03/LCPA 09-02-CUP CODE AMENDMENTS -A request for a recommendation of approval of a General Plan Amendment, Zone Code Amendment, and Local Coastal Program Amendment to simplify and streamline the development review process for conditional use permits in the nonresidential zones by reassigning the approval authority to the lowest appropriate decision-maker, to amend the text of the General Plan and Zoning Ordinance to provide greater flexibility for a variety of conditional uses in the nonresidential zones, and to amend the Commercial Visitor- Serving Overlay Zone to address minor miscellaneous amendments relating to decision- making authority for conditional uses. Mr. Neu stated that because of the time, this item could be continued to a date certain of May 1, 2013. MOTION ACTION: VOTE: AYES: NOES: ABSENT: Motion by Commissioner Montgomery and duly seconded, that the Planning Commission continue Agenda Item 4 to a date certain of May 1, 2013. 6-0 Chairperson Siekmann, Commissioner L'Heureux, Commissioner Montgomery, Commissioner Schumacher, Commissioner Scully and Commissioner Segall None Commissioner Black ABSTAIN: None Chairperson Siekmann thanked Staff for their presentations. COMMISSION COMMENTS None. CITY PLANNER COMMENTS None. CITY ATTORNEY COMMENTS None. ADJOURNMENT By proper motion, the Regular Meeting of the Planning Commission of April 17, 2013, was adjourned at 10:45 p.m. Q~ DON NEU City Planner Bridget Desmarais Minutes Clerk