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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019-09-04; Planning Commission; Minutes(i) PLANNING COMMISSION M. 1nutes . City Council Chamber 1200 Carlsbad Village Drive Carlsbad, CA 92008 Wednesday, September 04, 2019 CALL TO ORDER: Chair Luna called the Regular Meeting to order at 6:01 p.m. ROLL CALL: Chair Luna, Commissioners Anderson, Geidner, Lafferty, Meenes, Merz, and Stine STAFF PRESENT: Assistant City Attorney Kemp, Assistant Director of Community and Economic Development Peterson, City Planner Neu, Associate Planner Dan, Engineering Manager Geldert, Principal Planner De Cordova and Administrative Secretary Flores PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Commissioner Merz led the Pledge of Allegiance APPROVAL OF MINUTES: By a 7-0 vote, the minutes of the regular meeting held August 21, 2019 were continued to the next meeting PLANNING COMMISSION PUBLIC HEARING: Chair Luna directed everyone's attention to the slide on the screen to review the procedures the Commission would be following for that evening's public hearing. Chair Luna opened the public hearing for Item 1. 1. CT 2017-0008/SDP 2019-0006 (DEV2017-0064) -HARDING & PALM TOWNHOUSE -Request for approval of a Tentative Tract Map and Site Development Plan to construct a six-unit, residential townhome project on a 0.44-acre site located at 3535 Harding Street in the Barrio Center (BC) District of the Village and Barrio Master Plan and within Local Facilities Management Zone 1. The City Planner has determined that this project belongs to a class of projects that the State Secretary for Resources has found do not have a significant impact on the environment and is therefore categorically exempt from the requirement for the preparation of environmental documents pursuant to section 15332 (In-Fill Development Projects) of the State CEQA guidelines. City Planner Neu introduced Agenda Item 1 and stated Associate Planner Dan would make the staff presentation (on file in the Planning Division). Associate Planner Dan gave the presentation. DISCLOSURES: Commissioner Stine stated he walked by the site. Commissioner Meenes stated he drove by the site. Commissioner Lafferty stated she went by the site. Commissioner Geidner stated she drove by the site and walked around. Planning Commission Minutes September 4, 2019 Commissioner Anderson stated she drove by the site. Commissioner Merz stated he drove by the site. Page2 Commissioner Lafferty asked if there are development standards for projects proposed next to parks or open space. Associate Planner Dan stated there are not any development standards for projects next to existing parks. Commissioner Lafferty asked if a shadow study was done to understand how going from a single-story building to a three-story building will affect the park. Associate Planner Dan stated a formal shadow study was not conducted for this project. He stated staff generated an online model to show. what the shadow cast will look like. He provided a handout to the commissioners. He stated the model shows that the shadow does not exceed farther than the sidewalk on the park side of Palm. Commissioner Meenes asked for additional information on the growth management plan. Associate Planner Dan stated the site has a growth management control point of 11.5 units per acre. He stated the calculation for density for the site uses the 11.5 figure, however if an applicant chooses to exceed the control point, staff would consider whether the proposed density is within the density range. In this case, the proposed density is within the range as it is below 15 units per acre. He stated the maximum number of units would be 6 based on the size of the lot. Commissioner Lafferty stated she is concerned that the guideline that talks about site layout is not being met. She stated she is also concerned that careful design consideration was not given to the project, considering it is a corner lot and a gateway to the barrio area of the city. Commissioner Anderson stated the design guidelines are vague and she would like to see more specific guidelines. Commissioner Geidner stated that the commission should not expect every guideline to be met on every project. She stated this project is a huge improvement to the neighborhood. She stated the creation of small front yards in the design of this project does meet the intent or spirit of enhancing the corner. She stated that having more general guidelines allows the designer to make design decisions as they go along for the project. She stated she supports the project. Commissioner Stine asked if there was any special consideration, or if the project was reviewed more rigorously than normal by staff, based on t he parcel being a corner lot. Associate Planner Dan stated that consideration was given to the development itself. He stated that he felt the applicant did a good job in the design; and the design meets the development standards and setbacks. He stated additional features were added in the design of the buildings and additional landscaping was included. Chair Luna asked if the project will be higher than the neighbor's property because the upper residences will be looking down on the neighbor's property. Planning Commission Minutes September 4, 2019 Page 3 Associate Planner Dan stated that is correct. Chair Luna asked what kind of trees are being proposed to shield the single story residences. Associate Planner Dan stated a strawberry tree will be planted at the south end, as well as a fern pine. Commissioner Lafferty asked if staff has had any conversation with the applicant about providing an entry way from Harding. Associate Planner Dan stated he has not had any discussion with the applicant about an entry way from Harding. Chair Luna asked if there were additional questions of staff. Seeing none, she asked if the applicant would like to make a presentation. Robert Richardson, Karnak Planning & Design, Carlsbad CA, made the presentation and stated he would be available to answer questions. Commissioner Lafferty asked Mr. Richardson if any information about shadow studies for the project were provided. Mr. Richardson stated no. He stated that shadow studies were done on other projects he has worked on where the building height was 45 feet. This project is only 35 feet. He stated that the computer program he used showed that the shadow never crossed completely over the street. City Planner Neu stated the city does not have a standard that would require a certain amount of light on an adjacent property. Commissioner Lafferty asked where the condensers will be located. Mr. Richardson stated the condensers will be in the back, on the decks, inside, or within the landscaping. He stated they haven't plotted it out yet. Commissioner Lafferty stated that she is concerned that the condensers will end up in the 10-foot open space alley and she wants to ensure that area stays as open space. She stated the landscaping is also designated as square footage for open space. Elizabeth Temple, Contractor, Carlsbad CA, stated that if they were near the limit on the square footage for the open space they would put the condensers on the balconies or inside the unit. Commissioner Merz asked how they determined the square footage for each unit. Mr. Richardson stated square footage is really a personal preference. He stated many projects in town range from 1,800 to 2,000 square feet. He stated there are fewer and fewer large projects. Commissioner Anderson asked where the trash cans would go. Mr. Richardson stated they would go in the garage. Planning Commission Minutes September 4, 2019 Page4 Commissioner Meenes asked if any outreach about the proposed project was conducted with the neighbors. Mr. Richardson stated he has talked to a few people. He stated that for a project this small, he usually doesn't follow an outreach process. Commissioner Geidner asked if the walkways go from the front to the back of each duplex. Mr. Richardson stated that they do not go all the way through. One walkway leads to a garage door and the other, in the front, leads to the patio. Commissioner Stine stated his concerns have been addressed and he supports the project. Commissioner Lafferty asked if affordable housing was ever considered for this site. Mr. Richardson stated that projects of 6 units or less don't require an affordable unit on site; he stated that he can only do it if they had an affordable unit to buy. Chair Luna asked if there were additional questions for the applicant. Seeing none, she asked if there were any members of the public who wished to speak on the project. Seeing none, she opened and closed public testimony. PLANNING COMMISSION DISCUSSION: Commissioner Lafferty stated she is concerned this project has not met the requirements of the Village and Barrio Master Plan. Commissioner Merz stated he supports the project. Commissioner Anderson stated she likes the project and thinks it is very attractive. Commissioner Stine stated he supports the project. Commissioner Geidner stated she supports the project. Commissioner Meenes stated it is a well-designed project for the site and, therefore, supports it. MOTION: ACTION: Motion by Commissioner Merz and duly seconded by Commissioner Anderson to Adopt Planning Commission esolution o. 7346 AP OVING a Tentative Tract Map and Site Development Plan, based upon the findings and subject to the conditions contained therein . VOTE: 6-1 AYES: Chair Luna, Commissioners Anderson, Geidner, Meenes, Merz, and Stine NOES: Commissioner Lafferty Chair Luna closed the public hearing on Agenda Item 1. Chair Luna opened the public hearing on Agenda Item 2. Planning Commission Minutes September 4, 2019 Page 5 2. INFORMATIONAL REPORT ON THE 5TH CYCLE HOUSING ELEMENT AND STATUS OF THE REGIONAL HOUSING NEEDS ASSESSMENT (RHNA) METHODOLOGY PROCESS FOR THE SAN DIEGO REGION City Planner Neu introduced Agenda Item 2 and stated Principal Planner de Cordova would make the staff presentation (on file in the Planning Division). Principal Planner de Cordova gave the presentation. PLANNING COMMISSION DISCUSSION: City Planner Neu stated that a steering committee will be formed, with a member of the planning commission being a part of the committee, that will bring information about the housing element to the full commission for information and feedback. Chair Luna stated that getting the housing element approved is time sensitive and asked if there is any retribution if the city i.s not timely. Assistant City Attorney Kemp stated, yes, there could be potential lawsuits and or fines levied. Principal Planner de Cordova stated if the city is late with the housing element, the cycle would be reduced and the city would have to provide an update sooner. He stated the cycle is currently 8 years and the City of Carlsbad is currently on a 4-year timeline due to being late in a previous cycle. Commissioner Anderson asked how staff plans on getting buy-in from the public on affordable housing. Principal Planner de Cordova stated that one idea being proposed is to have the advisory committee include residents as members. The members would, in turn, help get the word out to generate whatever buy-in is necessary. Commissioner Anderson asked if the growth of the population of the State of California will be taken into consideration when the RHNA numbers are assigned. Principal Planner de Cordova stated he does not completely understand how the Department of Finance does its population projections but the way he understands is that they do take into consideration factors of natural increase in migration versus out migration, births over deaths, and so on. Commissioner Anderson asked how accessory dwelling units will be considered in the allocation. Principal Planner de Cordova stated when the city gets its RHNA share, staff will be looking at how accessory dwelling units can play a role in fulfilling our housing needs. Commissioner Merz asked how the housing element might affect policy change, specifically zoning or rezoning. Principal Planner de Cordova stated the city might look at current zoning during this housing cycle to make recommendations and that will be part of the discussion going forward. Planning Commission Minutes September 4, 2019 Page6 Commissioner Geidner asked if Proposition E was approved by quadrant. Principal Planner de Cordova stated that Proposition E was approved by quadrant and that limitations apply by quadrant. Commissioner Geidner asked if there was a schedule for completing the housing element, taking into consideration how Proposition E might affect it and or if a special election would need to take place. Principal Planner de Cordova stated there will be some difficulties in the future with respect to growth management and. Proposition E. He stated that he does not yet know if there will be a problem with the caps. He stated they might not have it resolved by the next election. He stated rezoning might be an option. Commissioner Lafferty asked what the city has that is considered a mobility hub. Principal Planner de Cordova stated that the closest thing to a mobility hub that the city has is the Village Transit Center. He stated a "mobility hub" is a concept that describes a variety of components and services that enable people to get around by multiple transit means. Commissioner Lafferty asked if we would gain an advantage if Palomar Airport became a mobility hub of some sort. She asked if that would help the distribution and possibly the reallocation of sites in terms of housing. Principal Planner de Cordova stated that in terms of housing, one of the biggest constraints is the fact that there is an airport in the city. He stated that land use is restricted in the vicinity of an airport. He also stated that you don't see a lot of residential activity in that area due to compatibility and safety concerns. He stated that the idea of creating a mobility hub at the airport would be to provide better means of getting around versus adding residences. Commissioner Stine stated, based on the proposed allocation in the presentation, the allocation of housing at the very low income level is set to increase to about 34% and the allocation at the low level is increasing to about 20%. Principal Planner de Cordova stated that is correct. Commissioner Stine asked if job type and income level of jobs of the city is taken into consideration when numbers are being allocated. Principal Planner de Cordova stated in the SANDAG methodology document, they do a great job of explaining jobs and housing correlation. He stated the calculation this cycle has been much more traightforward. Commissioner Stine asked for clarification on the presentation, specifically the 200 units and 1,000 units mentioned. He asked in what income category those units fall under. Principal Planner de Cordova stated that based on the preliminary analysis, the city is looking at a potential shortfall of about 1,000 units in the very low and low categories and 200 for moderate. He stated the city will need to identify sites for these units. Planning Commission Minutes September 4, 2019 Page 7 Commissioner Stine asked if a Planning Commissioner would be appointed to work on the housing element as well as growth management advisory committees. City Planner Neu stated that is what has been recommended. The City Council has not yet decided on how it will work. Chair Luna closed the public hearing on Agenda Item 2. Chair Luna opened the public hearing on Agenda Item 3. 3. MOTION: APPOINT A PLANNING COMMISSIONER TO SERVE AS AN EX-OFFICIO MEMBER OF THE HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION ACTION: Motion by Chair Luna and duly seconded by Commissioner Merz to Nominate Commissioner Lafferty to serve as an Ex-Officio Member of the Historic Preservation Commission VOTE: 7-0 AYES: Chair Luna, Commissioners Anderson, Geidner, Meenes, Merz, Lafferty and Stine NOES: None Chair Luna closed the public hearing on Agenda Item 3. PLANNING COMMISSION REPORTS: Commissioner Merz stated the State of the City meeting had a lot of great information on how the city is handling the homeless situation within the city. He stated that the presentation by Walmart Labs was interesting too. CITY PLANNER REPORTS: City Planner Neu stated the Local Coastal Program is tentatively set for release in October. He stated there might be a need to hold a special meeting in October for an informational presentation on the Local Coastal Program. CITY ATTORNEY REPORTS: ADJOURNMENT: The Regular Meeting of the Planning Commission of September 4, 2019 was adjourned at 8:46 p.m. City Planner Melissa Flores -Minutes Clerk