HomeMy WebLinkAbout2023-12-12 ARC Regular Meeting Minutes
City of Palm Desert Page 1
ARCHITECTURAL REVIEW COMMISSION
CITY OF PALM DESERT, CALIFORNIA
MINUTES
(HYBRID MEETING)
Pursuant to Assembly Bill 2449, this meeting may be conducted as a hybrid meeting
allowing public access via teleconference or in person.
1. CALL TO ORDER
A Regular Meeting of the Architectural Review Commission (ARC) was called to order by
Chair Vuksic on Tuesday, December 12, 2023, at 12:31 p.m. in the Development Services
Conference Room, City Hall, located at 73510 Fred Waring Drive, Palm Desert, California.
2. ROLL CALL
Present: Commissioners James Edward Blakeley, Dean Wallace Colvard, Michael
McAuliffe, Francisco Sanchez, Vice Chair Jim McIntosh, and Chair John Vuksic.
Absent: Commissioner Nicholas Latkovic
City Staff
Present: Richard Cannone, Development Services Director, Nick Melloni, Principal Planner;
and Melinda Gonzalez, Recording Secretary, were present at Roll Call.
3. NON-AGENDA PUBLIC COMMENT
Chair Vuksic opened and closed the non-agenda public comment period. No public
comments were provided.
4. CONSENT CALENDAR
Associated documentation on the following item can be viewed on the Architectural Review
Commission Information webpage at, https://www.palmdesert.gov/our-city/committees-and-
commissions/commission-information.
Chair Vuksic opened and closed the public comment period for the Consent Calendar. No
public comments were provided.
MOTION BY COMMISSIONER MCAULIFFE, SECOND BY COMMISSIONER SANCHEZ,
CARRIED 6-0 (COMMISSIONER LATKOVIC ABSENT), to approve the Consent Calendar.
Tuesday
December 12, 2023
12:30 p.m.
Regular Meeting
Architectural Review Commission Minutes December 12, 2023
City of Palm Desert Page 2
A. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
MOTION BY COMMISSIONER MCAULIFFE, SECOND BY COMMISSIONER
SANCHEZ, CARRIED 6-0 (COMMISSIONER LATKOVIC ABSENT), to approve the
Architectural Review Commission Regular Meeting minutes of November 14, 2023.
5. ACTION CALENDAR
A. FINAL DRAWINGS
Associated documentation on the following item can be viewed on the Architectural
Review Commission Information webpage at, https://www.palmdesert.gov/our-
city/committees-and-commissions/commission-information.
1. CASE NOS: PP/EA/DR 22-0008
NATURE OF PROJECT/APPROVAL SOUGHT: Consideration to approve a Design
Review (DR) for a proposed Precise Plan (PP) and Environmental Assessment (EA)
to convert an existing industrial warehouse into a 36,476 square-foot personal storage
facility, and development of a 25,312 square-foot, with outdoor recreational vehicle
storage on a 1.89-acre parcel located at 75220 Merle Drive (Assessor’s Parcel
Number 634-260-008).
APPLICANT AND ADDRESS: Wallace Design Group, Mission Viejo, CA 92691
LOCATION: 75220 Merle Drive
ZONE: Service Industrial (SI)
Principal Planner, Nick Melloni, narrated a PowerPoint presentation on the item and
responded to Commission inquiries. Shiva Kamoo and Rick Wallace, Applicants, were
present.
Chair Vuksic opened the public comment period and invited the applicants to speak.
Shiva Kamoo and Rick Wallace, Applicants, introduced themselves and answered
questions from the Commission. With no other members of the public wishing to
comment, Chair Vuksic closed the public comment period. Discussion on the item
ensued with Commissioners providing comments for the project.
Following discussion, MOTION BY CHAIR VUKSIC, SECOND BY VICE CHAIR
MCINTOSH, CARRIED 6-0 (COMMISSIONER LATKOVIC ABSENT); to approve
Case Nos. PP/EA/DR 22-0008 with the following conditions:
1. Metal panels being added to the existing Building A shall return two (2) feet
onto the existing roof at the ends to create a sense of mass.
2. More design articulation shall be given to the southwest corner of Building A
with the addition of the horizontal tan colored metal siding and the addition of
an eyebrow element over the two doors at the southeast corner of the building.
3. Dasylirion Wheeleri, plant specimen shall not be planted too close to walkways.
4. Signage shall comply with the Palm Desert Municipal Code and not utilize
raceways, backers, or phone numbers.
5. The walls of the trash enclosure shall be finished with stucco to match the
primary building.
Architectural Review Commission Minutes December 12, 2023
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6. The screen fence for the ground-mounted units along the project frontage shall
provide a return along the western end of the fence with the intent of screening
the ground-mounted units.
7. All exterior downspouts shall be painted to match the adjacent section of the
building wall.
8. Require all exterior equipment to be screened from view of the Public Right of
Way.
6. NON-ACTION ITEMS
None
7. INFORMATIONAL REPORTS & COMMENTS
A. ARCHITECTURAL REVIEW COMMISSIONERS
Commissioner Colvard provided an update on the Cultural Arts Committee reporting a
Study Session will be held today at 5 p.m. to view the color LED lighting capabilities for
the Public Art sculpture, Sunburst, in the roundabout located at the intersection of San
Pablo and San Gorgonio.
B. CITY STAFF
Principal Planner Melloni provided the following updates:
The Planning Commission met last week to take action on a tentative map, which was
continued to February 2024.
The Planning Commission will meet on December 19, 2023, to take action on an
amendment to a development agreement for Shadow Ridge to facilitate future
development.
The Objective Design Standards is now scheduled to go before the Planning Commission
on January 16, 2024.
Executive Assistant, Monica O’Reilly will be retiring from the City this week.
A new Associate Planner will be joining the Planning Division in January 2024.
The City Council has approved the purchase of a new land management software, Clariti.
Over the next year staff will work on the implementation of the new software which will be
approximately a 12-to-18-month transition from the current platform, TRAKiT.
C. ATTENDANCE REPORT
The attendance report was provided with the agenda materials. The Commission took no
action on this matter. Upon inquiry, Recording Secretary, Melinda Gonzalez, provided an
explanation as to what the letters represent in the attendance report.
Architectural Review Commission Minutes December 12, 2023
City of Palm Desert Page 4
8. ADJOURNMENT
The Architectural Review Commission adjourned at 1:25 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Melinda Gonzalez
Melinda Gonzalez, Senior Administrative Assistant
Recording Secretary
ATTEST:
Nick Melloni
Nick Melloni, Principal Planner
Secretary
APPROVED BY ARC: 1/9/2023