HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014-09-09 CITY OF PALM DESERT
ARCHITECTURAL REVIEW COMMISSION
• MINUTES
September 9, 2014
I. CALL TO ORDER
The meeting was called to order at 12:30 p.m.
II. ROLL CALL
Commissioners Current Meeting Year to Date
Present Absent Present Absent
Chris Van Vliet, Chair X 17
Karel Lambell, Vice Chair X 16 1
Paul Clark X 15 2
Gene Colombini X 16 1
Allan Levin X 15 2
Michael McAuliffe X 16 1
Jim McIntosh X 16 1
John Vuksic X 16 1
Also Present
Lauri Aylaian, Director, Community Development
Tony Bagato, Principal Planner
Eric Ceja, Associate Planner
Pedro Rodriguez, Code Compliance Supervisor
Janine Judy, Recording Secretary
Cancelled meetings: 09/23/14
III. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS
None
IV. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: August 26, 2014
Action:
Commissioner Levin moved to approve the August 26, 2014 meeting
minutes. Motion was seconded by Chair Van Vliet and carried by an 8-0
vote, with Clark, Colombini, Lambell, Levin, McAuliffe, McIntosh, Van Vliet
and Vuksic voting YES.
ARCHITECTURAL REV ;V COMMISSION
MINUTES September 9, 2014
V CASES:
A. Final Drawings:
1. CASE NO: 14-278
APPLICANT AND ADDRESS: PETER AND CATHY
TERRACCIANO, 49-200 Town Center Way, Palm Desert, CA
92260.
NATURE OF PROJECT/APPROVAL SOUGHT: Final approval of
a new single-family home at a proposed building height of 18'.
LOCATION: 73-789 Agave Lane
ZONE: P.R. 7
Mr. Kevin Swartz, Assistant Planner, presented a new single-family
home at a proposed building height of 18'. He pulled up an aerial
map of the area and pointed out the location of the proposed home.
He explained that back in 1978 the City Council approved Tentative
Tract Map 5553 for 71 single-family lots. The resolution attached to
the map had special conditions for setbacks. The height limit in this
area is 16' but the resolution states that it can go to 18' subject to
design review board. This also has to go through the Ironwood
Home Owner's Association and the applicant has submitted the
plans to them. He presented photos of the neighborhood and said
there are homes at 18' in the surrounding area. The house is 6,000
square-feet with four bedrooms, a great room, a three car garage,
casita and pool. The portion of the house that goes to 18' is the
main entry way on the south elevation with a portion of it over the
great room. He said the applicant is still undecided on the window
details with some being recessed and some not. He stated only a
portion of this home can been seen from Portola Avenue. Staff is
recommending approval.
Commissioner Clark asked if the grading on the pad would be
elevated. Mr. Swartz said the pads have already been established
and the applicant has already submitted the grading plans.
Commissioner Clark asked if it would add significantly to the height.
Mr. Tony Bagato, Principal Planner, said they can't go up more
than 6" unless it goes to Planning Commission.
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Commissioner Clark asked if there was a color and materials board
for review. Mr. Swartz said colors have not been chosen yet and
the applicant is still going through the HOA approval process. He
said the applicants have stated they will keep it to a Mediterranean
style.
Commissioner Vuksic said the long side on the east elevation is
facing Portola Avenue and asked how much of that would you
actually see. Chair Van Vliet thought it would be a lot because there
is only an existing 5' wall in front of it. Mr. Swartz presented photos
of the existing homes around this lot and the Commission reviewed.
Commissioner Lambell felt there should be some caveats on this
approval because the windows aren't shown and there is no
materials board. Mr. Swartz said the Commissioners could
preliminary approve the height so the applicant can start on the
construction drawings. Then this can come back to the Commission
for review of the final plans.
The Commission and the applicant discussed the reason why there
were no window details on the plans. MR. CHRIS BEATTY, So-Cal
Design, said the main concern for submitting these plans to ARC
was to get the height approval so they can move to structural
drawings and then submit the remainder of what is required. Chair
Van Vliet pointed out that the Commission most often will require
enhanced architecture on a home when there is a height exception.
MR. PETE TERRACCIANO, applicant, said this will be very similar
to what you see in Toscana and will have very subtle colors with a
Tuscan flavor throughout the house. They haven't decided on
whether or not to have a loose tile roof or not.
Commissioner Vuksic said the massing of the roof is okay and it
makes sense. He pointed out on the east elevation a really long
eave that goes from one end of the house to the other without any
sort of break. It appears they are a few feet back from the setback
so that would give them a great opportunity to introduce some
architectural elements that carry onto the roof and break up that
line. The way the line of sight works you're going to be looking at
the eave of the house and not so much of the wall.
The Commission and the applicant discussed the line of sight for
the whole roof and the eave from Portola Avenue. Commissioner
Vuksic suggested adding detail to the east side of the house.
Commissioner McIntosh said the massing is good but the roof plan
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needs to match the elevation. He said when the applicant works
that out to make sure they don't increase the mass.
Chair Van Wet asked staff if the Commission can just approve the
height and the applicant can bring the details back. Mr. Swartz said
if the Commission is comfortable with the height, they can
preliminary approve subject to plans coming back with more details
for the roof materials, colors, and window detailing.
ACTION:
Commissioner Vuksic moved to grant preliminary approval of the roof
massing subject to: 1) continuance of the design to provide more
articulation on the roof, in particular the east side elevation; and 2) provide
a materials board and colors. Motion was seconded by Commissioner
Lambell and carried by an 8-0 vote, with Clark, Colombini, Lambell, Levin,
McAuliffe, McIntosh, Van Vliet and Vuksic voting YES.
B. Preliminary Plans:
1. CASE NO: MISC 14-46
APPLICANT AND ADDRESS: ALLIED DISTRICT PROPERTIES,
Attn: Paul Goodman, 180 North Stetson Avenue #3240, Chicago, IL
60601
NATURE OF PROJECT/APPROVAL SOUGHT: Preliminary
approval of fagade enhancements to Buildings C & D, construction
of two new buildings, and a landscape plan for entire site; El Paseo
Square.
LOCATION: 73-411 El Paseo
ZONE: C-1, S.P.
C(:,mmissioner Vuksic abstained from this project and remained in the conference room.
Mr. Kevin Swartz, Assistant Planner, said this project was first
presented in early 2014 and at that time the Commission
preliminary approved fagade enhancements to buildings C & D for
El Paseo Square. The applicant now has a new architect and is
proposing new architectural modifications to buildings C & D and
proposing two new buildings E & F along Highway 111. Staff
recommends that the Architectural Review Commission approve
the fagade enhancements to buildings C and D, and the building
design and locations for buildings E and F. The applicant is
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requesting approval for exterior fagade enhancements to buildings
C and D to accommodate a grocery store and other retail tenants.
Building C maintains a tower element height of 42', which is
allowed within the zone. The applicant is also proposing new
landscaping throughout the entire center including the perimeters
along Lupine Lane (Lupine), Highway 111, and San Pablo Avenue
(San Pablo). Other site improvements include new and re-located
trash enclosures, new flat work connecting a path through the
center from Highway 111 to El Paseo, closing off the secondary
access along San Pablo, and parking lot design modifications.
Buildings A, B, and C will remain as they currently exist. Preliminary
approval from the City's Landscape Specialist has been granted
and a final landscaping plan must be reviewed and approved by
Coachella Valley Water District before building permits are issued.
Signage is not a part of this approval and will come back to this
Commission at a later date. He pointed out that buildings E & F will
either be retail or restaurant. He passed around a materials board
for the Commission's review and presented a prospective of the
project and discussed the tower element that has increased from
39' to 42'. Overall, staff supports the proposed architectural design
for the project. The enhancements to the site along with the
addition of two new buildings will provide a nice visual transition to
the El Paseo corridor.
MR. JOHN GREENWOOD, architect, said Fresh Market is the
proposed tenant going into building C and buildings D, E, and F are
proposed shells at this point until they get retailers in place. One of
the site improvements is the new enhanced paving connecting the
north south drive aisle through the center of the site to help pull in
the El Paseo circulation. Fresh Market will have both indoor and
outdoor dining along the east elevation and hope these
improvements will bring additional pedestrian traffic into the site. He
described the materials, paint colors, and landscape that will be
used in the center. They have connecting Lupine to Highway 111 to
provide better circulation, as well as some definite aesthetics from
the El Paseo view going down Lupine. All mechanical systems will
be screened and the lighting for the project will give the center a
dynamic and soft appearance in the evening.
The Commission discussed the outdoor dining area for Building E
and had concerns that it would be facing Highway 111. MR.
GREENWOOD understood their concerns and said one of the
constraints they have are the utility easements that is pushing the
building farther away from the northern setback. If a restaurant
were to come in, that could be a potential location.
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The Commission discussed the "right in" only entrance off El Paseo
and thought making it a pedestrian "entry only" would introduce
more pedestrian traffic into the center. Mr. Swartz said they
mentioned this idea to the owner but they want to leave it as is.
MR. GREENWOOD said this was an important item to Fresh
Market because they want to maintain the circulation on site and it
maintains a north south flow to give pedestrians options. Parking
along El Paseo directly south of Building A is all red-curbed
providing ample view to make a safe right turn in. The pedestrian
flow is improved and inviting and they did not see the benefits of
shutting off the entrance. Commissioner Levin felt that getting rid of
the vehicular traffic would improve the pedestrian traffic. There is
an exit off of San Pablo to get to El Paseo and it's not a significant
inconvenience to come out there.
Commissioner McIntosh and MR. GREENWOOD discussed the
building materials on the west side in the truck delivery area off of
Lupine. MR. GREENWOOD said they have done quite a bit to the
west elevation. The existing wall, which is the loading dock, is all
new and will be screened. Structurally there are two separate
elements and they have incorporated the same design elements
which are on the east elevation that will break up both the new
structure versus the existing and carry into an overlap as one
element. The existing CMU slump stone wall will be raised to
screen the loading docks from Lupine. The applicant is dealing with
an additional electrical easement directly adjacent to the west
elevation so it hampers them from adding too much depth within
the architecture. They have created ample daylight into the rear of
the building, a nice area for signage, and have broken up that area
with some vertical elements.
Commissioner McAuliffe and MR. GREENWOOD discussed the
roof plan, tower elements and the ADA ramp and stairs.
Commissioner McAuliffe mentioned the turning radius of the island
that reaches out into the main drive aisle. He was concerned that it
sticks too far out in the main flow of traffic and feels it could be a
potential hazardous situation. He suggested they strongly consider
losing those first two spaces just to make that area breathe a little
more. He was also concerned with the pedestrian navigation from
the southwest corner of building F down across the drive aisle
heading west and asked that they take a look at that because there
was a lot of stuff going on right there. Commissioner McIntosh was
concerned with someone pushing a cart out of the tower entrance
into the area where the cars are parked. Mr. Bagato said they could
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lose parking under the zoning ordinance. Commissioner Clark
suggested opening up the whole area and doing something
interesting with the tower at the pedestrian level. MR.
GREENWOOD said they will sit down as a team and investigate
any additional opportunities. The Commission and MR.
GREENWOOD discussed the height of the tower.
MR. KEITH WHITE, Fresh Market, said they are excited to come to
Palm Desert. Fresh Market was created in 1982 and has grown to
approximately 170 stores based in the southeast. Five years ago
they decided to expand out to the west with stores in Palo Alto,
Santa Barbara, and Laguna Hills. They are a specialty grocer,
specializing in gourmet and their own private label. He stated that
the tower is a very important element for this store. Their main
entrance will be centered on the sales floor, but within the tower
area they will have an indoor cafe seating area that is private space
and set apart from the main service area.
Chair Van Vliet called for a vote.
ACTION:
Commissioner Lambell moved to grant preliminary approval with
comments addressing the landscape, the parking areas and pedestrian
traffic; staff to review. Motion was seconded by Commissioner Colombini
and carried by a 7-0-1-0 vote, with Clark, Colombini, Lambell, Levin,
McAuliffe, McIntosh, and Van Vliet voting YES and Vuksic abstaining.
C. Miscellaneous Items:
None
VI. COMMENTS
Staff discussed the Walls and Fences Committee meeting held on September 18
and the awnings at Kaiser Grille Restaurant.
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V II. ADJOURNMENT
Upon a motion by Commissioner Lambell, second by Commissioner Vuksic, and
an 8-0 vote, with Clark, Colombini, Lambell, Levin, McAuliffe, McIntosh, Van Vliet
and Vuksic voting YES, the Architectural Review Commission meeting was
adjourned at 1:55 p.m.
1
TONY BAGATO, PRINCIPAL PLANNER
=CRETARY
i
RaI E JUDY
RbING S RETARY
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