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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-03-03; Planning Commission; Minutes City Council Chamber 1200 Carlsbad Village Drive Carlsbad, CA 92008 March 3, 2021 CALL TO ORDER: 3:18 p.m. ROLL CALL: Kamenjarin, Lafferty, Luna, Meenes, Merz, Sabellico, and Stine APPROVAL OF MINUTES: None PUBLIC COMMENTS ON ITEMS NOT LISTED ON THE AGENDA: None PLANNING COMMISSION PUBLIC HEARING: Chair Meenes 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 Meenes opened the public hearing for Item 1. 1. GPA 2019-0003 (PUB 2019-0009) – HOUSING ELEMENT UPDATE 2021-2029 – Request for a recommendation of approval of an addendum to Environmental Impact Report EIR 13-02 and an amendment to the General Plan to revise the city’s General Plan Housing Element. City Planner Neu introduced Agenda Item 1 and stated Senior Planner Donnell would make the staff presentation (on file in the Planning Division). STAFF QUESTIONS: Commissioner Lafferty asked if the proposed affordable housing units would be spread equally throughout the city in each district. She stated she would like to see a comparison of the existing and proposed affordable units within the city. Senior Planner Donnell stated the city is trying to spread the identified sites throughout the city, and ultimately will depend on what sites are approved in the housing element. Commissioner Sabellico asked if any property within the city would need to be rezoned to meet the RHNA allocation. Senior Planner Donnell stated that the city currently has a shortfall of about 1,600 units and would need to rezone some land. PUBLIC COMMENTS: Chair Meenes asked if there were any members of the public who wished to speak on the project. He opened public testimony at 4 p.m. Planning Commission Minutes March 3 , 2021 Page 2 Residents David Waldman, Jenene and Michael McGonigal, Robert and Donna Billmeyer, Michael Thornton, Chris Malek, John Kuznik, and M. Sue Davis, submitted comments regarding parcels designated as Site Number: 13 – Zone 20 cluster. They are concerned the proposed zoning change will cause obstructed views, increased noise, increased street parking and more congestion to the surrounding neighborhood. They state there is a lack of public transportation and the area is not walkable. They are all in strong opposition to any proposed rezoning and would like the parcels removed from the Housing Plan. Howard Krausz, North County Advocates President, submitted comments supporting Measure E citizen’s initiative, Growth Management Plan. He stated the GMP cannot be modified without another vote of the citizen’s and stated standards in the GMP are not being met to include traffic circulation. He requested the references to modifying or eliminating the GMP be removed from the HEU or delaying action on its objectives. Chair Meenes asked of there were any additional members of the public who would like to speak on the project. Seeing none, he closed public testimony at 4:27 p.m. COMMISSION DISCUSSION: City Planner Neu commented that the list of sites in the housing element is tentative and that further analysis needs to be done before removing any. Assistant City Attorney Kemp commented that state law would trump any local law in relation to growth management whether it was adopted by the voters or enacted by council. Commissioner Stine asked if the Housing Element Advisory Committee received correspondence on site 13. Senior Planner Donnell commented that the Housing Element Advisory Committee did receive some comments on site 13 and that they ultimately decided to keep it in the inventory. Goal 1: Housing Opportunities Commissioner Stine suggested additional verbiage be added to explain that the sites are spread throughout the city with the intention that the affordable housing being shared in a way that is fair and equitable. Rick Rust, consultant with Mintier Harnish, stated some general policy statement about the distribution can be added. He stated there are some areas of the city, specifically the south east, where there are slope and environmental constraints. He stated the proposed sites are not a perfect distribution. Community Development Director, Jeff Murphy, stated the language Commissioner Stine is suggesting is already included in previous chapters. Commissioner Lafferty asked if a developer proposed a housing project with 20% affordable housing, would that project be reviewed by the planning commission or council. She stated she is concerned that larger lots could build high density projects without being reviewed by the commission or council. Principal Planner Lardy stated a project that proposed 20% deed restricted units would be by right and would not have discretionary permits. Planning Commission Minutes March 3 , 2021 Page 3 City Planner Neu stated developing Objective Design Standards will assist in proving the quality of the design at a minimal level when a project is by right and that is an item in the housing element. Motion by Commissioner Lafferty, seconded by Commissioner Sabellico, to recommend adding a program in 1.8, Objective d, to add an expansion of live-work zoning allowances citywide. Goal 2: Housing Implementation Commissioner Stine asked for clarification on what changes need to be made to policy 43 as mentioned in the element. City Planner Neu stated that the policy may need to be modified or eliminated as it may not be in line with some of the state requirements related to growth management that have more recently been enacted. Goal 3: Preservation of Existing Housing Chair Meenes asked for additional information on conversions from apartments to condos. Senior Planner Donnell stated the policy is intended to continue discouraging and or restricting condominium conversions to prevent any loss of affordable housing and if a conversion did occur, the project would be subject to the city’s inclusionary housing ordinance. Commissioner Lafferty asked for additional information on the policies that covers rehabilitation assistance, specifically identifying those properties would there be any recognition or component of historical relation. She stated she would like to see a historical identification added to the housing survey. Housing Services Manager De Cordova, stated that a survey to identify substandard and deteriorating housing may range anywhere from what is called a windshield survey, driving by and or exterior observation, to more in depth surveys through code enforcement action or investigation. He stated the policy does not include assessing any historical resource value of a particular unit or property. He stated there are other policies outside the housing element that covers historic preservation. Community Development Director Murphy stated he would recommend not to add a historical designation requirement to this policy as staff has stated that historical elements already exist in the general plan. He stated this policy is intended to specifically address inhabited structures that are substandard for living conditions and they be assessed and get improved. Senior Planner Donnell added that the state may see any historic preservation language related to housing as a potential constraint to providing lower income housing. Commissioner Luna stated that as the Chair of the Housing Element Advisory Committee they did discuss any historic preservation related to housing and felt it was not appropriate to add it into the housing element to avoid concerns from the state as well as historic preservation is addressed in other elements, such as the general plan. Goal 4: Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing Senior Planner Donnell provided a brief overview of the goal, there were no comments from the commission. Goal 5: Community Engagement on Housing Resources Planning Commission Minutes March 3 , 2021 Page 4 Senior Planner Donnell provided a brief overview of the goal, there were no comments from the commission. Goal 6: Environmental Justice Commissioner Lafferty stated increasing the density my impact circulation in the Barrio affecting emergency ingress and egress and asked if this policy was addressed. Senior Planner Donnell stated circulation is not directly addressed in this policy. He stated there are other projects outside of the housing element that will improve circulation in the Village and Barrio area. He stated the widening of the underpass at Chestnut and the potential relocation of the railroad tracks to be below grade are a few projects that would directly impact circulation in the area she mentioned. ACTION: Motion by Commissioner Luna, seconded by Commissioner Sabellico, to adopt Resolution No. 7410 as amended to include the errata. Motion carried, 7/0. PLANNING COMMISSION REPORTS/COMMENTS: Commissioner Lafferty gave a brief update on the Historic Preservation Committee’s meeting where she serves as an ex-officio member. Commissioner Luna stated Senior Planner Donnell did an exceptional job developing the draft housing element document and leading the advisory committee. CITY PLANNER REPORTS: None CITY ATTORNEY REPORTS: None ADJOURNMENT: Chair Meenes adjourned the duly noticed meeting at 6:35 p.m. Melissa Flores - Minutes Clerk