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PC Minutes 2008-03-041 1 1 MINUTES PLANNING COMMISSION MARCH 4, 2008 6:00 P.M. CALL TO ORDER - The Arroyo Grande Planning Commission met in regular session with Chair Ray presiding; also present were Commissioners Barneich, Keen and Tait; Commissioner Marshall being absent. Staff members in attendance were Community Development Director, Rob Strong, Associate Planner, Ryan Foster, Assistant Planner, Jim Bergman, and Victor Devens, Public Works Engineer. ANNOUNCEMENTS: None. AGENDA REVIEW: No changes. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: None. A. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS: None: B. WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS AFTER AGENDA PREPARATION: 1. Letter dated March 3, 2008 received from Mark Vasquez, regarding Public Hearing Item II.A, DCA 08 -001. II. PUBLIC HEARING ITEMS: A. DEVELOPMENT CODE AMENDMENT CASE NO. 08 -001; APPLICANT — CITY OF ARROYO GRANDE; LOCATION — CITYWIDE (Continued from February 5, 2008 meeting) Associate Planner, Teresa McClish presented the staff report for continued review of a Development Code Amendment related to amending Municipal Code Chapter 16.04 to modify definitions related to massage studios. The Commission had requested that this item be brought back for further discussion. In addition, staff is presenting a clarification to the amendment to the parking requirements for beauty shops, related to businesses in the Village district area. The former proposed change required an additional space for each three stations, but staff proposes that this should be clarified to read for every three stations exceeding the first three stations. She further explained that existing businesses with inadequate parking would be considered legally non - conforming and could not be increased or expanded without compliance to the new requirement In conclusion, Ms. McClish explained why modifications to the definitions related to massage studios was being considered by the City, why the Commission wanted further discussion on this item and stated that this meeting was solely for Commission discussion, public testimony, and Police Department input. Some alternatives are being presented for Commission consideration on how best to address the issues. Ms. McClish stated that after a survey of other community's regulations, it was found that some regulate the type of facility, the number of hours, the type of certificate, through zoning requirements and require a conditional use permit (CUP) which costs a lot more PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES MARCH 4, 2008 PAGE 2 and requires Planning Commission involvement. If there is some consensus from the Commission staff can incorporate any recommended changes and return on March 18, 2008 with a Resolution for recommendation to City Council. Commission Questions: Tait: • Couldn't the Police Department be responsible for verifying the concern that massage studios were being used to facilitate work visas for illegal immigrants? Ms. McClish introduced Kevin McBride, Police Department who stated they do their best to complete background checks, but it is not a simple process; one application had been denied in 2007 due to an investigation that led to information that a massage school was really a restaurant and two workers did not have current work permits. • Does the Police Department do inspection on massage studios to check on illegal activity also? Mr. McBride: The Police Department does check for this reason and one studio was closed recently after an undercover operation resulted in findings of illegal activity. • Are there other cities in the general area, besides Santa Maria, that have had similar concerns? Mr. McBride: Paso Robles was recently found to have an illegal operation. Barneich: • Do any other cities limit the number of massage establishments? Ms. McClish: During her search she did not find any, but one limits concentration through separation requirements. • How would elevating the permit requirement to a CUP (with Planning Commission involvement) help solve anything? Ms. McClish: It would not be a perfect solution, but it would allow the City some discretion in considering allowing the use and require the applicant to appear and make a case before the Commission. Keen: • Would this mean that each business, not the employee, would have to come forward and that the Commission's decision would be based upon the information forwarded from the Police Department? Ms. McClish replied that was correct, and there could be a requirement to limit the number of employees. Commissioner Keen then stated that it would not save the Police Department any time if a CUP was required. • The list of cities included in the staff report as having a concentration of massage studios /or enforcement issues does not have the same demographics as Arroyo Grande; they are from larger areas and have a lot of different kinds of activities than Arroyo Grande; he would like to see a list of cities similar in size to Arroyo Grande; he does not understand how the City of Newport Beach regulations for massage studios could have been approved as these are more like regulations for "adult businesses ". 1 1 1 PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES MARCH 4, 2008 PAGE 3 Chair Ray opened the public hearing for public comment: Mark Vasquez, a concerned citizen and representing his wife and daughter who are both massage practitioners, restated his concerns documented in his letter to the Commission regarding the proposed amendments related to massage studios. Some of these concerns were: • The Development Code should address all business license applications equally, based on the type of business; a CUP would regulate such items as parking and allowed uses in a specific zones, but not get into the background checks which is clearly a Police Department issue; once the Police Department has done the research why would it come back to the Commission? • He has a concern with the elevation of the permit to a CUP; the minor use permit (MUP) already gets routed to the different departments in the City, checked and shows a site plan; a CUP would not benefit the process, but would cost the difference of $3,000 not just for a new business, but also a relocated business. • These proposed regulations would be discriminatory toward the independent operator; an operator in a Health facility or doctor's office can move their business without the same review. • The limitation of restricting to specific zoning areas does not make sense if there is concern regarding concentration of use. In addition, the majority of the establishments are not in the proposed zoning areas. All of this is based on changing the definition of what a massage studio is from "personal service" to "restricted personal service" (which supposedly "causes a blight in the City ") which he has not seen from his survey of these type businesses in the City; if this zoning change took place the majority of these businesses would become non - conforming uses. • He did his own research online and found numerous places for massage in Arroyo Grande not listed in the current establishments submitted by staff. Title 5 states that anyone operating a massage establishment has to have a permit and the operator additionally has to have a permit. The staff report suggests that a massage operator in a health facility or doctor's office would not have the same requirements, but it seems they are not complying with the law as no permit is required in these instances. • The problem seems to be driven by this "work permit issue" and the Planning Commission cannot do background checks. It is a Police Department issue and should remain so, as they have the resources and personnel to deal with this issue. • The process could be improved; Title 5 actually allows applicants to acquire a permit if they have done it before even without the required training; additional requirements or upgrades to the existing requirements to limit the perceived problems could be included; in the past there has been a problem with follow - up and to resolve the issues this should be improved. • If massage establishments are going to be regulated it should be done unilaterally and everyone should be subject to the same rules. PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES MARCH 4, 2008 • The problems are not about the location, but more about the operator; background checks, follow -up and reinforcement of the requirements. Brenda Keeney, Healing Works, stated she agrees with Mr. Vasquez that this is not a zoning issue. If everyone were required to get background checks, both establishments and employees, this would not be a problem. Illegal activity takes place in many life situations such as schools, therapists and doctors, but because massage therapists were given a stigma years ago it has been carried over; overall in Arroyo Grande and surrounding areas massage therapists have come a long way and their reason, education and the work they are doing is completely different now than at any other time. The Police Department is doing a good job of background check ups, but not everyone is required to be checked. A legitimate therapist has credentials, are members of ABMP and are double checked. The real issue here is: Is everyone being checked? We are providing a health care service and everyone should be able enjoy a better way of life. A studio doing illegal activity is going to have more visibility; the issue is - are people really being checked? Mark Peletier, his wife owns a hair salon in the Village, stated his concern with the parking issue and that small business is being singled out against big business — restaurants. Some salons have part time workers so some of the booths are not being worked all the time, so how is the parking being determined for this situation for each establishment? Mr. Strong explained the parking requirement for Village Mixed Use and Village Core downtown and that due to these requirements it made it difficult for restaurants to become established in the Village downtown core. Due to the cost for each additional parking space ($24,000) it was suggested by staff to make parking requirements for restaurants the same as retail /office. The Downtown Parking Advisory Board stated that the specific problem in the Village, in respect to parking, is beauty salons /barber shops. What we are attempting to do is to try to distinguish the larger scale parking problems within the Village and not in other areas of the City. In conclusion, Mr. Strong verified that any existing businesses with inadequate parking would become legally non- conforming. Gary Thiese, owner of Salon 132, located in the Village asked how much additional parking spaces would cost — they have 12 stations. Mr. Strong stated 12 currently existing stations would not have to pay additional parking spaces, but if it was increased to 15 (adding 3 stations) it would be $24,000, which is the current in -lieu parking space fee (at the discretion of the City Council). Chair Ray closed the hearing for public comment. PAGE 4 Commissioner Barneich asked if the amendment to the Code, regarding the massage establishments, could be tabled for 6 -12 months to see what transpires, due to the fact that Mr. McBride is new on the job and he has been endeavoring to improve on the follow -up of background checks; she did not think the Planning Commission could help 1 1 1 1 PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES MARCH 4, 2008 PAGE 5 with the problems being discussed. Mr. McBride stated the situation was getting better, but sometimes follow -up is a long hard process, especially if we have to get information from border patrol. We are still in a catch up mode and we have just had a flood of new applications. Chair Ray stated she had done a lot of research and had been asking questions to a variety of people from differing backgrounds and almost all asked "why are we talking about massage establishments and not nail salons ?" Mr. McBride explained that he could not answer this as they do not issue permits to nail salons; the reason the Police Department issues permits to massage studios and taxis is because the State does not; Doctors and Physical Therapists are licensed by the State, but if they have someone working at their business as a masseuse they have to be licensed as a technician. Commission Comments: Barneich: • To try to resolve the problems and restrict them to certain zones or elevate them to a CUP from a MUP does not seem to solve the problems; we still do not have enough information to make any kind of decision. Mr. McBride: Most of the problems we have seen have been applicants with no residency in this area. • She does not mind bringing this item back as a public hearing, but she does not think the Commission has any good ideas to help the situation; she would rather have a look back period for 6 -8 months and have Mr. McBride report on what has happened during that time. Keen: • He would like to see some figures on complementary cities. • Using the Newport Beach Ordinance as an example is not exactly what describes a massage establishment to be and is more for an adult bookstore. • He asked if the massage technicians in a doctor's office or chiropractor's office go through the same checkups? Mr. McBride said they do and they are trying to locate as many of them as they can. • He had a concern with how massage studios were being put into an unsuitable category such as palm & card readers, pawn shops, psychics, hot tubs hourly rental, tattoo parlors etc — and these are not the same function or caliber as massage therapists; he would like to see them treated as a higher caliber; they do not fit in with these type business description. He asked Mr. McBride if there were any Title 5 conditions that could be added to make the licensing better? Mr. McBride: They would have to do some research and consult with the City Attorney as far as restrictions that could be put in place. • He believed it better to not restrict them too much as far as zoning and it would then self - regulate. Tait: • He agreed with Commissioner Keen on his objection to putting massage studios in the same categories as tattoo parlors etc; the City should not be doing this. PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES MARCH 4, 2008 PAGE 6 • He also agreed with Commissioner Marshall's comment during the previous public hearing that restricting to one zoning could backfire and may concentrate the businesses into one area — we do not want to do this. • We should not target any specific businesses without solid evidence; this is not fair; he does not want to villanize massage therapists because of one or two bad apples. • Higher rents create greater incentive not to conduct illegal activity — restricting these businesses to specific zoning could cause this, but could also cause a hardship on small start-up businesses. • He suggested adding provisions to Title 5 as recommended by Commissioner Keen such as, 1) adding a minimum number of approved hours of massage school completed; 2) certification from a nationally recognized school; 3) More checks by the Police Department on a specific suspected establishment. • He thanked Mark Vasquez for all the work he had done and agreed that fairness was the word. Ray: • This is a health care industry, not an adult industry; yes, there are bad apples, but we should not be punishing a whole industry; there is a long time stigma because this is involved with touch, but it is important to realize that the industry has changed. • It's not the location — it's the operator. Location is a market driven industry and so is proliferation and there is no need for anyone to get involved in this. • It is unfair to delineate an operator in a doctor's office or health facility as the same work is being done as an independent operator and the same opportunity for something illegal to take place. • This is a non - zoning Municipal Code issue or a licensing review issue and she does not see that any of the suggested changes presented to them really address the issue being discussed. • She agrees with Commissioner Barneich that this could be brought back after further review by the Police Department. • To target one specific industry is not proactive — it's reactive. Ms McClish clarified that findings for CUP's address the use of the property, but the Commission feels the level of the CUP does not seem to address the problem. Regarding independent massage as an allowed use in certain zones staff were looking at getting the establishments off the primary retail areas. MUP's have similar findings as CUP's, but are approved by the Community Development Director and not the Planning Commission; maybe there are alternatives that can be looked at such as more noticing for such uses through a MUP. The City Manager has commented that this is a proactive issue and the City wants to address it before it becomes a problem; we have recently had a lot of applications coming in. Regarding comparisons to smaller cities, Grover Beach and Solvang are similar in comparison and they do have a number of such businesses; in a small community it makes a bigger impact. 1 1 1 1 PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES MARCH 4, 2008 PAGE 7 Chair Ray asked why this is such a bad thing and why are we worrying about this if there is a market demand? Ms. McClish replied that it is not necessarily a bad thing unless there are issues with the operators. Do we wait or do we try to address now? We require MUP's now without noticing, should we require noticing? The other alternatives suggested tonight were changes to Title 5, and this would go to Council and not come back to you; she suggested that the Commission decide to try one of these options instead of sitting back for a couple of years. Commissioner Tait asked how long would changes to Title 5 take? Ms. McClish explained that it could take a couple of months. Commissioner Tait referred to the fear that a lot of massage studios would be coming to town in the near future, but thought this would not happen because they are checked. Ms. McClish said it is a difficult process to deny a permit. Commissioner Keen said it was his preference to go with the MUP and change Title 5 to add conditions that would make it easier for the Police Department. He is in favor of changing the parking language recommended by staff. Chair Ray stated that she thought the Commission had approved this at their last meeting? Ms. McClish agreed that they had, but the wording had been clarified and the language change would need a motion: Chair Ray made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Keen, to clarify that the previously proposed amendment to the parking requirements for beauty shops, related to businesses in the Village district area read "...for every three stations exceeding the first three stations ". The motion was approved on 4/0 voice vote Commissioner Marshall being absent. Commissioner Barneich stated she did not want to wait a year or two to come back to the issue on massage, but would like to research changes to Title 5 and compare with other cities requirements, check back in six months and review what we can do to beef up Title 5, especially with the economy being slow maybe we won't have so many applicants as anticipated. Mr. Strong stated that the City is improving on background checks and it seems that we need to improve on enforcement. He will be more careful about making the findings for the MUP (PPR's) and make sure background checks have been made and report approvals to the Commission. The only improvement he could suggest to the Development Code would be to require notification of property owners with the MUP where it seems appropriate. The Commission had no further concerns. 7:30 P.M. PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES MARCH 4, 2008 PRESENTATION BY SLOCOG /CAL POLY regarding San Luis Obispo Region Community 2050; Program models of East Grand Avenue 2010, 2030 and 2050, by CPR Professor, Umut Toker & Associate Planner, Ryan Foster. Mr. Strong explained that Arroyo Grande was selected by SLOCOG to do a 3D digital model for a central portion of Arroyo Grande's Grand Avenue Corridor. Umet Toker explained that the video was mostly visionary, showing the anticipated changes over the future years for the Grand Avenue corridor. The Commission thanked Mr. Toker and stated that this could be a good planning tool and it could be added to or changed if desired. In conclusion, Mr. Strong stated that staff will be able to manipulate the sketch -up model for future use and add some architectural details. III. NON - PUBLIC HEARING ITEMS: A. INITIATE A DEVELOPMENT CODE AMENDMENT TO REZONE TWO AREAS ON WHITELEY STREET FROM SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENTIAL (SFR) TO VILLAGE RESIDENTIAL (VR); APPLICANT — CITY OF ARROYO GRANDE Associate Planner, Ryan Foster, presented the staff report for consideration of a Development Code Amendment to rezone two areas on Whiteley Street from Single Family Residential (SFR) to Village Residential (VR). Mr. Foster explained that this had come about during review of the proposed new house on the corner of Whitely & Ide Streets. During Development Code Update the Single Family street sideyard setback was increased from 10 to 15 feet; the Village Residential wraps around parts of the north and the south of Whiteley Street; in addition the majority of the parcels in question are 50'x125' which is more in line with Village Residential standards for lot size and width. Staff is asking the Commission to consider initiating rezoning for these specific parcels. After discussion the Commission concurred that they approved of initiating a Public Hearing (including noticing of property owners) on March 18, 2008, to discuss this item. IV. REFERRAL ITEMS FOR COMMISSION ACTION/ NOTICES OF ADMINISTRATIVE DECISIONS: SINCE FEBRUARY 19, 2008: ase VSR 08 -001 Aleji Davar Address 592 Le Point Street :Descripti'bn Addition of a second story, Secondary dwelling unit. A tc ion A. Planner J. Bergman Administrative Item No. 1: Staff requested this item be postponed to the next meeting pending Planning Commission discussion related to setbacks; this may be reported as an interpretation. V. DISCUSSION ITEMS: None. PAGE 8 1 1 1 PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES MARCH 4, 2008 VI. PLANNING COMMISSION ITEMS AND COMMENTS: In reply to Commissioner Barneich question on how Chili's restaurant was progressing, Mr. Strong stated that it was going ahead as planned. There was recently a parapet added to cover the additional roof equipment and the building would be ready in the near future. VII. COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR COMMENTS AND FOLLOW -UP: None. VIII. ADJOURNMENT: The meeting was adjourned at 8:00 p.m. on a motion by Commissioner seconded by Commissioner ATTEST: CruS6 LYN REARDON- SMITH, SECRETARY TO THE COMMISSION AS TO CONTENT: ROB TRO G, COMMUNITY DEVELO MENT DIRECTOR (Minutes approved at the PC meeting of , 2008) PAGE 9 DJ 1 1