PC Minutes 2001-09-18MINUTES
CITY OF ARROYO GRANDE
PLANNING COMMISSION
SEPTEMBER 18, 2001
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CALL TO ORDER
Chair Costello called the regular meeting of the Planning Commission of the City of Arroyo
Grande to order at 7:00 p.m.
ROLL CALL
X Commissioner Brown
X Commissioner Fowler
X Commissioner Guthrie
X Vice -Chair Keen
X Chair Costello
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
The Planning Commission observed a moment of silence in recognition of the American
tragedy of September 1 1, 2001.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
The minutes of July 3, 18, 19 and August 21, 2001 were unanimously approved as
written.
ORAL COMMUNICATIONS
None
WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS
Items handed out after the agenda preparation:
1. Rights of a Vesting Tentative Map.
2. Notice of Preparation for an EIR for Conditional Use Permit Case No. 01 -001 and
Vesting Tentative Tract Map 2426, located at 415 East Branch Street.
II. PUBLIC HEARING ITEMS
A. CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT CASE NO. 01 -008; APPLICANT - MULLAHEY FORD;
LOCATION - 330 TRAFFIC WAY
Assistant Planner, Ryan Foster, presented the staff report and stated the applicant
proposes to expand two (2) existing structures located at 330 Traffic Way. The site
contains three (3) service shops and a sales office. The proposed expansion would provide
an additional 450 square -feet of office /storage space and 480 square -feet of shop space.
All new construction will match existing buildings. The scope of the Conditional Use
Permit will include this expansion and also approve the existing use of the site, as a
Conditional Use Permit has never been approved for this project.
Commissioner Guthrie asked if the sidewalk on the Creekside Promenade would connect to
the sidewalk at Fairoaks Avenue?
Rodger Olds, Public Works, said when the project is finished there will be a sidewalk from
Fair Oaks, along Station Way to where the existing driveway is now, that will meander
through the site and work its way back up to Traffic Way.
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Public comment opened:
Mike Mullahey, representative, spoke giving the reasons why they need the expansion and
why they would like a waiver on the sidewalk requirement. He said they would like to
move to a location with more space, but there is nowhere else for them to relocate their
business within the City.
Commissioner Brown stated that he had noticed that the two -hour parking on Station Way
was not being enforced and asked if the parked vehicles were from Mullahey Ford?
Mr. Mullahey said the City had issued them 40 parking passes for Station Way, but he had
not noticed a sign.
Commissioner Guthrie then asked if there had been any previous Conditional Use Permits
issued on this property?
Kerry McCants, Community Development Director, said there had been two previous
improvements made and approved by the Architectural Review Committee, but no
Conditional Use Permit had been issued.
Mr. Mullahey Sr., applicant, said their main concern is parking and every space they can
get is very valuable. They consider their business to be a great financial asset to the City
because of the sales tax revenue they bring in. Requiring them to put in a sidewalk would
effect the parking and be a burden on their business.
Public comment closed.
Commissioner Brown said he thought the parking issue was a safety hazard, but he also
understood how valuable this business is to the City.
Commissioner Fowler said she agreed with Commissioner Brown. In addition, she believed
that there were quite a few businesses in the City that were not up to date on Conditional
Use Permits.
Commissioner Keen said he also understood the burden that could be put on this business,
but wondered if there was not any way a compromise could be made on the sidewalk
issue. He suggested that a pathway be put in between the first row of cars so pedestrians
would not have to walk in the street. However, he did not want to make this a condition
of approval.
Commissioner Guthrie stated that the applicant is asking for a small increase in the
footprint. He also agreed that it would put a burden on this business to require them to
put in a sidewalk. Additionally, he said that in the future there will be a sidewalk that goes
the length of Station Way via the Creekside Promenade so pedestrians would have a way
to walk to the Village using a sidewalk.
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Chair Costello agreed that it would be an undue burden to reduce the size of the lot in
terms of display. To require the sidewalks to be put in would cause them to lose at a
minimum 8 parking spaces.
Commissioner Brown moved that the Planning Commission adopt:
RESOLUTION NO. 01 -1803
A RESOLUTION OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION OF THE CITY
OF ARROYO GRANDE APPROVING CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT
CASE NO. 01 -008, APPLIED FOR BY MULLAHEY FORD
including Exhibit 'A' and eliminating the Conditions 13 and 14 from Exhibit 'A'.
Commissioner Guthrie seconded the motion. The motion was approved by the following
roll call vote:
ROLL CALL VOTE
Yes Commissioner Brown
Yes Commissioner Fowler
Yes Commissioner Guthrie
Yes Commissioner Keen
Yes Chair Costello
B. AMENDED CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT CASE NO. 01 -001; APPLICANT - AGRA
LLC; LOCATION - FIVE CITIES CENTER, PHASE II
Associate Planner, Kelly Heffernon, presented the staff report, stating that the applicant
has submitted an Amendment to the 5- Cities Center Conditional Use Permit to change the
allowable uses and footprints of certain buildings located in Phase II. Specifically, the
proposed changes are to:
1. Modify the land use designation of Building L from restaurant to commercial retail,
and move it approximately 40 feet closer to West Branch Street;
2. Allow 4,095 square feet of restaurant space in Building J with patio seating located
between Buildings J and K; and
3. Decrease the size of Building M from 6,500 to 5,000 square feet.
The net result of these changes is to increase the amount of commercial retail space by
about 1,900 square feet and remove about 1,400 square feet of restaurant space within
the Phase II area. Since restaurant uses have a higher parking ratio than retail commercial
the parking is not impacted by the proposed modifications.
For clarification purposes, she advised that the Planning Commission consider limiting the
number of tables allowed in the outdoor patio area, or limit the square footage. The plans
currently show 7 tables, which equals roughly 700 square feet. As proposed, 7 parking
spaces are required for the outdoor seating area, which are not included in the parking
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analysis shown on the Site Plan. However, since there is more than adequate parking, this
added clarification would have little impact on the parking situation.
Ms. Heffernon stated that staff recommends the Planning Commission adopt Resolution No.
01 -1804, as amended regarding the patio seating area, thereby recommending approval of
the proposed Amended Conditional Use Permit to the City Council.
The Planning Commission asked for clarification as to where the buildings were to be
located and how the parking spaces were calculated.
Open Public Comment
Grant Harris, Representative for AGRA, Five Cities Center. Mr. Harris said the patio area
between Trader Joe's and Building 'J' is a non - exclusive common use area. The
Management Company for the center will be in charge of this area. He then explained the
relocation of Pad 'L', what was proposed for Pad 'M', and that they would have to
redesign Pad 'I' in the future. He said the patio on Building 'M' is enclosed and has
approximately 300 -sq. ft. of outdoor seating.
Other concerns of the Planning Commission were:
■ Would building 'M' be suitable for other tenants if the proposed use did not
work out?
• Would any proposed permanent fixtures be added to the buildings in relation to
the outdoor patio area?
• Would there be a second entrance on the end of the building 'J' facing the patio
area?
■ Would there be waitress service on the patio area?
Mr. Harris said he did not perceive any problem with leasing to other tenants if the
proposed use did not work out. They had other parties interested in leasing this building,
but they wanted to make sure they had a "high end" tenant. They had not yet addressed
how they would finish the patio, but there would not be an entrance or exit in this area.
No additional permanent fixtures on the buildings would be allowed. There would be no
waitress service in the patio area.
Mike Leberman - Nadel Architects, Inc. Mr. Leberman stated that originally the buildings
were envisioned to have a lot of restaurant use.
Public comment closed.
Commissioner Fowler commented that she thought this location would be a wonderful
place to have a restaurant.
Commissioner Keen stated that in the original Conditions of Approval, encompassing Phase
II, the landscaping /irrigation for the hillside was to be installed before the issuance of a
Certificate of Occupancy. Planning Commission spent a lot of time on the landscaping
plan and he asked if this condition had been deleted. He questioned how Trader Joe's was
allowed occupancy without the conditions being met.
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Kerry McCants, Community Development Director, said the condition had not been deleted
and he had spoken to the Management Company on more than one occasion. He
suggested an additional condition be imposed related specifically to this.
Commissioner Keen stated that the alternative would be to either not hear this until the
condition has been met, go ahead with the project and condition it that the condition is
met before moving ahead with anything, or say they can go ahead with the building, but
not have occupancy until the condition is met.
Rodger Olds, Public Works, said it was his understanding that the occupancy for Trader
Joe's was given without final completion of certain items on the Conditions of Approval.
The uncompleted items were bonded for, but he was not sure if the landscaping condition
was bonded for and he would check on this. Mr. Olds stated that in the near future they
would be issuing the owners a list of items that have to be completed, requesting them do
the work or the bond may be released and Public Works would then do the work.
Commissioner Keen suggested that the applicant not be given occupancy until the
landscaping condition had been met.
Commissioner Guthrie stated that he would like a condition added that would limit the
patio size on the patio on Building 'M', and also specify the ultimate seating capacity
between Buildings 'K' and 'L'.
Mr. Harris said he would like a specific list of items that would need to be completed
before occupancy would be allowed. They would like to have assurance that upon
completion of these items they would be given occupancy, otherwise they could lose
tenants.
Rodger Olds said that a list of items would be ready in about two weeks.
After further discussion, the Planning Commission concluded that the landscaping should
be completed before occupancy was allowed.
Commissioner Keen made a motion to recommend to the City Council that they approve
Amended Conditional Use Permit 01 -001, and adopt:
RESOLUTION NO. 01 -1804
A RESOLUTION OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION OF THE
CITY OF ARROYO GRANDE RECOMMENDING THAT THE CITY
COUNCIL APPROVE AMENDED CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT
CASE NO. 01 -001, APPLIED FOR BY AGRA, LLC, LOCATED
AT FIVE CITIES CENTER, PHASE II (RANCHO PARKWAY
WEST BRANCH STREET)
including Exhibit 'A' with following additional conditions:
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1. The seating capacity between Buildings 'K' and 'L' shall be limited to 28 persons
and the patio area for Building 'M' shall be limited to 400 square feet.
2. The landscaping on the bank adjoining St. Patrick's School and West Branch
Street shall be completed per the approved landscape plan prior to issuing a
Certificate of Occupancy.
Commissioner Brown seconded the motion. The motion was approved by the following roll
call vote:
ROLL CALL VOTE
Yes Commissioner Brown
Yes Commissioner Fowler
Yes Commissioner Guthrie
Yes Commissioner Keen
Yes Chair Costello
II. NON - PUBLIC HEARING ITEMS
A. TIME EXTENSION CASE NO. 01 -002 FOR VESTING TENTATIVE PARCEL MAP CASE
99 -002; APPLICANT - BRUCE & MARGARET SUMMERS; LOCATION - 1470
NEWPORT AVENUE
Ryan Hostetter, Planning Intern, said that this is a single- family residence with circular
driveway, detached garage with breezeway, and three (3) accessory structures currently
occupy the property. Tentative Parcel Map 99 -002 was approved on September 7, 1991
to create two parcels consisting of 30,541 .5 and 13,292.4 square feet, respectively. The
majority of the lots on Newport Avenue are between 5,000 and 20,000 square feet and
are developed with single - family residences.
Commissioner Guthrie asked for further clarification on how the property was to be split.
Bruce Summers, applicant said it was a linear split approximately a 1/3 split.
Commissioner Guthrie moved that the Planning Commission adopt:
RESOLUTION NO. 01 -1801
A RESOLUTION OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF
ARROYO GRANDE APPROVING A ONE -YEAR TIME EXTENSION FOR
VESTING TENTATIVE PARCEL MAP CASE NO. 99 -002, LOCATED AT
1470 NEWPORT AVENUE, APPLIED FOR BY BRUCE AND MARGARET
SUMMERS
and approve the Time Extension as submitted. Commissioner Keen seconded the motion.
The motion was approved by the following roll call vote:
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ROLL CALL
X Commissioner Brown
X Commissioner Fowler
X Commissioner Guthrie
X Vice -Chair Keen
X Chair Costello
B. TIME EXTENSION CASE NO. 01 -003 FOR VESTING TENTATIVE TRACT MAP 2260;
APPLICANT - BERRY GARDENS, LLC; LOCATION - EAST OF OAK PARK BLVD,
SOUTH OF EAST GRAND AVENUE, NORTH OF ASH STREET
Ryan Hostetter, Planning Intern, said the applicant has requested a one -year time extension
to complete the Conditions of Approval for Phases 2 and 3.
The Subdivision Map Act, and Development Code Section 9- 02.140, provides that a tentative
tract map shall expire 24 months after its approval. The original approval on September 22,
1998 was extended once until September 22, 2001. The final map for phases 2 and 3 have
not yet been recorded as some Conditions of Approval for Public Works have yet to be
satisfied.
Commissioner Brown asked what the Conditions were that have not been completed.
Rodger Olds, Public Works, said the Conditions of Approval are really close to completion and
they should be ready well within the year.
Commissioner Guthrie moved to adopt:
RESOLUTION NO. 01 -1802
DISCUSSION ITEMS
None
A RESOLUTION OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF
ARROYO GRANDE APPROVING A ONE -YEAR TIME EXTENSION FOR
VESTING TENTATIVE TRACT MAP 2260 PHASES TWO AND
THREE, GENERALLY LOCATED SOUTH OF EAST GRANDE
The motion was seconded by Commissioner Keen to approve the Time Extension as
submitted. The motion was approved by they following roll call vote:
ROLL CALL
X Commissioner Brown
X Commissioner Fowler
X Commissioner Guthrie
X Vice -Chair Keen
X Chair Costello
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PLANNING COMMISSION ITEMS AND COMMENTS
Commissioner Guthrie asked Public Works, with respect to the camouflaging of the cell
phone project, how many trees would be cut down for the City water tank replacement
project? He also asked if it would come before the Planning Commission or go straight to
the City Council?
Rodger Olds, Public Works, said the revised plans show that quite a few trees will be cut
down.
Kerry McCants said the Mitigated Negative Declaration would be going to City Council on
October 3, 2001, and then a grading permit would then be issued.
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR COMMENTS AND FOLLOW -UP REPORTS
Kerry McCants confirmed that a public workshop is scheduled for October 4, 2001 to
discuss the East Grand Avenue Master Plan, one from 7:30 a.m. - 9:00 a.m. and a repeat
one from 6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. In addition, a special joint Planning Commission /ARC
meeting is scheduled to discuss the Village Design Guidelines at 6:00 p.m. on October 16,
2001. The General Plan Update has been rescheduled to October 3, 2001, City Council
meeting.
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the Commission, the meeting was adjourned at
8:30 p.m. on a motion by Commissioner Keen, seconded by Commissioner Fowler and
unanimously carried.
ATTEST:
Lyn eard
Ly on- Smith, Commission Clerk Jo eph Costello, Chair
AS TO C • TE T:
/111. _
Kerry L. Mc ants,
Comm y Development Director
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