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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020-07-15; Planning Commission; Minutes City Council Chamber 1200 Carlsbad Village Drive Carlsbad, CA 92008 July 15, 2020 CALL TO ORDER: 3:00 p.m. ROLL CALL: Anderson, Geldner, Lafferty, Luna, Meenes, Merz, and Stine APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Motion by Commissioner Meenes, seconded by Commissioner Lafferty, to approve the June 3, 2020 meeting minutes, as amended. Motion carried 6/1 (Commissioner Luna abstained.) Motion by Commissioner Meenes, seconded by Commissioner Stine, to approve the June 17, 2020 meeting minutes, as amended. Motion carried 7/0. PUBLIC COMMENTS ON ITEMS NOT LISTED ON THE AGENDA: None PLANNING COMMISSION PUBLIC HEARING: Chair Anderson 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 Anderson opened the public hearing for Item 1. 1. SDP 2018-0004 (DEV2017-0151) – ROMERIA POINTE APARTMENTS – Request to reconsider upon remand from the City Council, and approve, a Site Development Plan to construct a four-story, 23- unit residential apartment project which includes three inclusionary housing units, on property generally located at the southwest corner of Romeria Street and Gibraltar Street within Local Facilities Management Zone 6. After conducting a new environmental analysis, the city planner is recommending that this project be found to be exempt from the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Section 15332 “In-Fill Development Projects” of the State CEQA Guidelines because it will not have any adverse significant impact on the environment. City Planner Neu introduced Agenda Item 1 and stated Associate Planner Garcia would make the staff presentation (on file in the Planning Division.) DISCLOSURES: Commissioner Merz, Stine, Meenes and Chair Anderson disclosed they drove by and walked the site. Commissioner Geldner disclosed she read through CEQA, researched several technical articles on pile construction, and read on a few government websites about grants on safe routes to school. APPLICANT PRESENTATION & QUESTIONS: Applicant John Allen gave a presentation (on file in the Planning Division.) Planning Commission Minutes July 15, 2020 Page 2 Commissioner Lafferty asked if underground parking was considered. Mr. Allen stated that it was not considered an option due to the amount of grading and shoring that would be needed and it was financially infeasible. He stated the piles are going to require less grading, less dirt to haul away, and less traffic for the neighborhood. Commissioner Lafferty stated she feels that underground parking would have been feasible and is concerned that it is not part of the project. Andy Guatelli, Engineer from Geosoils, stated that some of the shoring for underground parking could have been as high at 30 feet. He stated that it is not only financially very high, that it would be a risky design. Mr. Allen added that at the request of staff and suggestions from the community, they have done grading to lower the pads which will reduce the perspective of the height of the building. He stated they have stepped back the upper floors and reduced the size of the units as a result of input from the neighbors. Commissioner Meenes asked for a brief explanation of the storm water treatment plan for the project. Mr. Allen explained that all of the storm water will be gathered on site, contained, treated, and slowly released into the storm drain system. Commissioner Stine asked about some “cracks” he saw in the soil at the site and if that is a sign of instability. Mr. Guatelli explained that with fallow sites those are called desiccation cracks. He explained that when the property is developed, that those would not occur and they are not a sign of instability. He stated that grading would remove the fine soils on the top and those cracks would no longer be visible. There will be recompacted soils on the surface, landscaping, as well as sidewalks and driveways. Commissioner Stine asked if the piles being used have been used on any other local projects. Mr. Guatelli stated that the same type of piles were used for the Jefferson Street bridge widening project. He stated the piles provide a tremendous amount of support in urban areas with a minimal amount of grading. He stated using piles lower the seismic risk as well. Mr. Allen added that these types of piles are routinely used in residential building when the property is close to the beach or sitting on a slope. He stated the drilling company they will be using recently did local projects on two homes in La Jolla, one is San Clemente, and a multi-family residential project in Vista. Engineering Manager Geldert stated that CIDH piles are common for this type of development and stated the proposed foundation is a superior method. Chair Anderson stated she knows of a church and condominium development in Carlsbad that are both built on piles and that the method is used more then most people know. APPELANT PRESENTATION: Chair Anderson welcomed the appellant to make her presentation. Appellant Sue Ortman gave a presentation. Planning Commission Minutes July 15, 2020 Page 3 Commissioner Merz commented that the only result he can see by the installation of the retaining wall and piles is stabilizing potential slippage of the soil, which would be a benefit to Ms. Ortman’s property. He stated that is based on the presentation from the applicant, the testimony of the engineer and his own experience in working in the industry of pile installation. He asked Ms. Ortman if she had any comment on that matter. Ms. Ortman stated they have no idea what the drilling will do to their building and she stated the applicant does not know either. She stated the proposed building will be close to the property line where they will be installing piles about 20 feet from her building. Commissioner Merz stated the engineer from Geosoils explained that the drill has a low vibration and is used to build buildings next to existing ones to avoid disturbing the existing building. Ms. Ortman stated they don’t know exactly what might happen. She stated it is also the traffic, the height of the building, and other components. PUBLIC TESTIMONY: Chair Anderson asked if there were any members of the public who wished to speak on the project. She opened public testimony at 4:18 pm. Residents Chad Peck, R. Stuart Knecht, Susan Simmonds, Warren Simmonds, Mary Anne Orcutt, Beth Citrano, and Eileen Donovan submitted comments concerning the meeting format being virtual and not in person, limited parking in the neighborhood, increased traffic, fire hazard areas close by, the height and mass of the proposed building, the lack of areas for children to play, water quality issues, instability of the land/soil issues, environmental impacts, and noise pollution that would be created by the now 23 unit development. They are requesting the applicant complete a partial CEQA. Diane Nygaard, of Preserve Calavera, submitted comments concerning traffic and would like to see a VMT and GHG analysis done. She stated the staff report fails to support the conclusion that there are no adverse impacts from traffic on GHG. Steve Linke, resident and City of Carlsbad Traffic and Mobility Commissioner submitted comments requesting that comments received after the staff report be distributed be posted to the website prior to the hearing. He stated it would have been more appropriate for the applicant to conduct a vehicle miles traveled analysis instead of level of service. He stated his concern that Transportation Impact Analysis or TIA guidelines are not being followed and would like to see further traffic analysis be conducted. Chair Anderson asked if there were any additional members of the public who wished to speak on the project Seeing none, she closed public testimony at 4:54 p.m. COMMISSION DISCUSSION: Commissioner Stine asked the applicant’s engineer for feedback on the appellant and public comments. Mr. Guatelli stated they do know what will happen when they start drilling as they have conducted research and analysis on what material they will be drilling into. He re-stated the drilling method causes very low vibrations and is used in constructing new buildings next to existing ones as to avoid disturbing the existing building. He stated there will be quality control procedures during drilling and construction to include city staff inspections and monitoring. Planning Commission Minutes July 15, 2020 Page 4 Engineering Manager Geldert stated that there have not been any professional opinions provided to support the opposition. He stated he is confident in the method the applicant is proposing. City Planner Neu commented on requests from the public for a VMT analysis. He stated the application for this project was complete prior to the VMT requirement taking effect at the state level and that is why a VMT analysis is not required. Commissioner Geldner asked if the applicant plans to follow the recommendations from Geosoils when it comes to drilling and construction. Mr. Allen confirmed that they absolutely plan on following all of the recommendations related to drilling, quality control, and construction. Commissioners Geldner, Lafferty, and Chair Anderson stated support for the project. They stated the traffic analysis and geotechnical study conducted support the findings provided by staff and the project does not require any further CEQA analysis to be conducted. They agreed that the foundation work and the type of construction, using piles, is not unusual and is a regularly used method. Commissioner Luna explained that when an application is deemed complete, any laws in place at the time are applicable. Any laws that take effect after the application is deemed complete, cannot be added on or enforced. She stated that would be unfair and cause a never ending cycle of requirements for a development project. She wanted to help the public understand that is the reason a VMT analysis was not conducted. She stated the project is a great opportunity for the city to gain some much needed affordable housing units. She agreed with Engineering Manager Geldert that there are not any professional reports to support an unusual circumstance that would sway her original decision to support the project. Commissioners Meenes, Merz and Stine all agreed with Commissioner Luna’s comments and support the project. Chair Anderson requested a condition be added that states garages are to be used for parking vehicles and not used solely for storage. Associate Planner Garcia stated there is verbiage that covers that in the municipal code and will draft language to add if the commission desires. He stated it can be added as a code reminder to the resolution. ACTION: Motion by Commissioner Stine, seconded by Commissioner Luna, to adopt Resolution No. 7377 as amended. Motion carried, 7/0. PLANNING COMMISSION REPORTS/COMMENTS: Commissioner Luna and City Planner Neu gave a brief update on the Housing Element Advisory Committee and the plan to go to city council for direction on some possible strategies of the housing plan. CITY PLANNER REPORTS: None CITY ATTORNEY REPORTS: Planning Commission Minutes July 15, 2020 Page 5 None ADJOURNMENT: Chair Anderson adjourned the duly noticed meeting at 5:38 p.m. Melissa Flores - Minutes Clerk