Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015-03-24,,� , � ' � �" �1T�� CITY OF PALM DESERT � � � ARCHITECTURAL REVIEW COMMISSION ' MINUTES March 24, 2015 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 5 Karel Lambell, Vice Chair X 5 Paul Clark X 5 Gene Colombini X 5 Allan Levin X 5 Michael McAuliffe X 5 Jim Mclntosh X 5 "� John Vuksic X 4 1 Also Present Lauri Aylaian, Director, Community Development Tony Bagato, Principal Planner Kevin Swartz, Assistant Planner Eric Ceja, Associate Planner Pedro Rodriguez, Code Compliance Supervisor Janine Judy, Recording Secretary Cancelled meeting:03/10/15; III. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS None IV. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: February 24, 2015 Action: Chair Van Vliet moved to approve the February 24, 2015, meeting minutes. Motion was seconded by Commissioner Levin and carried by a 7-0 vote, with Clark, Colombini, Lambell, Levin, McAuliffe, Mclntosh, and Van Vliet voting YES and Vuksic abstaining. � ( � � ♦ ARCHITECTURAL REVIEW COMMISSION MINUTES March 24, 2015 V. CASES: �' A. Final Drawings: 1. CASE NO: SA 15-94 APPLICANT AND ADDRESS: FOOTHILL PROJECT MANAGEMENT, Attn: Corrie Kates, 1590 Adams Avenue #4403, Costa Mesa, CA 92628 NATURE OF PROJECT/APPROVAL SOUGHT: Consideration of approval for terra cotta awnings with white letters; Fast Auto Loans. LOCATION: 72-990 Monterey Avenue ZONE: C.1 S.P. Mr. Kevin Swartz, Assistant Planner, presented a proposal for a new awning for Fast Auto Loans. He said the applicant is proposing a Sunbrella terracotta awning and presented a sample and a photo of how the awning will wrap around the building and follow the fascia. He mentioned that the building was recently repainted. `� The Commission reviewed and discussed the illumination of the awning. Mr. Swartz stated that per code lights cannot be attached to the awnings and are prohibited. After a lengthy discussion with MR. GARROT THOMAS, Awning Partners, who was on the phone, and MR. JORGE GARCIA, representative of Fast Auto Loans, it was decided that the applicant would pull the request for illumination. Commissioner Clark asked how the letters would be applied to the awning. MR. THOMAS said they would be applied by a method of heat transfer where they take vinyl graphics and baked them onto the fabric. Commissioner Clark was concerned with iron on letters. MR. THOMAS said it is more durable than iron-on. Commissioner Colombini pointed out the building already has a big overhang and didn't understand the purpose of the awning. Commissioner Mclntosh suggested signage on the existing fascia and was concerned that when it rains the water will drain off the tile onto the sloped surfaces of the awning and it will end up with drain stripes on the entire awning. Commissioner Vuksic said aesthetically it will look odd at the end of the eave because it is a � very boxy form that is attached to a curved eave. G\PlanningUanineJudy�ARC\1Minutes�2015\150324min.docx Page 2 of 9 � � ' � � ARCHITECTURAL REVIEW COMMISSION MINUTES March 24, 2015 rr Commissioner Mclntosh felt it was more important to talk about the overall appropriateness of the awning on this particular building. Commissioner Vuksic said this is over 200' of awning that is being proposed and even if the details could be worked out he doesn't see an appropriate place to put an awning. MR. GARCIA suggested they apply the terracotta color to the existing overhang and apply the signs to the wall and do away with the awnings. Mr. Tony Bagato, Principal Planner, said to the Commission that if this is the direction they wish to go, he would recommend that the awning be denied and work with staff on the color and sign on the fascia. Commissioner Clark made a motion to deny and Commissioner Colombini made the second. Commissioner Vuksic told the applicant that he has to be careful not to paint the eave to basically become a 67' long sign. It needs to be a color that is appropriate as a base color of the building with individual letters that are mounted on the building surface and appropriately sized in proportion to the height of the surface. ACTION: rr Commissioner Clark moved to deny awning as submitted. Applicant was directed to look at painting the fascia and adding individual channel letters. Motion was seconded by Commissioner Colombini and carried by an 8-0 vote, with Clark, Colombini, Lambell, Levin, McAuliffe, Mclntosh, Van Vliet and Vuksic voting YES. B. Preliminary Plans: 1. CASE NO: MISC 15-83 APPLICANT AND ADDRESS: ALDI INC., Attn: Skip James, Director of Real Estate, 1770 lowa Avenue, Suite 240, Riverside, CA 92507 NATURE OF PROJECT/APPROVAL SOUGHT: Consideration to preliminarily approve farade changes to an existing building within Desert Crossing; ALDI. LOCATION: 72-543 Highway 111 ZONE: P.C.-3 r� G:\PlanningUanineJudyWRC\1Minutes�2015\150324min.docx Page 3 of 9 � �r` �' . ARCHITECTURAL REVIEW COMMISSION MINUTES March 24, 2015 Mr. Eric Ceja, Associate Planner, said Aldi is a national discount �' supermarket and looking to locate at Desert Crossings. As part of the proposal they are looking to do some farade enhancements to the building. He presented a PowerPoint of the floor plan and described the changes. Today the Commission will review the preliminary drawings and final drawings will come back to ARC. This design is in line with what is there today and will incorporate the same architectural design features. He pointed out that the paint colors will remain the same as what exists today. Staff is recommending approval of the proposed improvements. The Commission discussed the colors and MR. WAYNE KOCH, Weaver Consultants Group, said the colors will match the existing building colors with the exception of the color around the tower elements, which will be "biscuit;" an Aldi prototype. MR. SKIP JANES, Director of Real Estate, said Aldi is a small format, limited assortment, exclusive brand grocer. The Palm Desert store will be the first store to open in California with a distribution center in Moreno Valley. Their typical sales floor is about 11,000 square feet and this store will only be 10,000 square feet. They are relocating the entry to the side in order to have a consistent floor plan. He discussed the changes to the loading dock `� and screening on the side of the building. The Commission and the applicants reviewed and discussed the roof-mounted equipment. The Commission was concerned with having only one A/C unit for the entire building. MR. KOCH said they have a 35-ton CS unit that is specifically made for every Aldi store and it has been successful. Commissioner Vuksic was concerned with having only one A/C unit that cools the entire store and said if it breaks down they will have a major problem because during the summer months it gets very hot here in the desert. If they had multiple units, the store can handle it for a while. MR. KOCH said the CS unit is tied into the refrigeration system and it has been working successfully for the past 10 years without issue. Commissioner Vuksic said the cooling demand on this store will be higher than any of their other stores. MR. JANES understood the concern and pointed out that they do have a store in Texas and it gets very warm there as well. Commissioner Vuksic was concerned with the line-of-sight of the unit, and said that it has been a standard of this Commission that the mechanical equipment is below the parapet height or properly screened. The Commission and the applicants discussed the types '� of screening they should incorporate into the building. G:\PlanningUanineJudyWRC\1Minutes�2015\150324min.docx Page 4 of 9 ' �' �., ARCHITECTURAL REVIEW COMMISSION MINUTES March 24, 2015 � Commissioner Vuksic suggested that the applicant provide a mock- up of the proposed screening on the roof and the Commission can visit the site to review. The Commission discussed the domes and pyramids in the center. Commissioner Mclntosh pointed out that these are the biggest architectural identifying elements in the center and wanted the Commission's opinion. MR. WALLACE WONG, architect, said he was the original architect of the center. He pointed out that there is still a sprinkling of domes and pyramids in the center, but over in the area where Aldi will be going they removed the pyramid because the entrance was moved over. The Commission and the applicants continued to discuss the screening elements for the roof-top equipment. ACTION: Commissioner Vuksic moved to continue Case No. MISC 15-83 subject to: 1) providing a mock-up of the proposed roof screening on the existing building; and 2) commissioners and staff to visit site and review mock-up. Motion was seconded by Commissioner Mclntosh and carried by an 8-0 vote, with Clark, Colombini, Lambell, Levin, McAuliffe, Mclntosh, Van Vliet r and Vuksic voting YES. 2. CASE NO: MISC 15-49 APPLICANT AND ADDRESS: WESTliving, LLC, Attn: Alyce Conti, 5796 Armada Drive, Suite 300, Carlsbad, CA 92008 NATURE OF PROJECT/APPROVAL SOUGHT: Consideration to preliminarily approve the architectural and landscape design for a two-story, 150 unit assisted living facility with a memory care component on Lot 4 within Villa Portofino; WESTliving. LOCATION: 40-235 Portola Avenue ZONE: P.R.-5 Mr. Kevin Swartz, Assistant Planner, said this proposal is for a two- story, 115 assisted living units along with a 35-unit memory care component located near Villa Portofino. He presented the plans and described the facility, landscape and parking. He pointed out the roof top equipment, roof access, elevations and materials that will be used. Staff was concerned with the exposed wood material rr� for the rafters and trellises. The Commission asked if the exposed wood material would be simulated wood. MR. KIRK SUND, CB Two G:\PlanningUanineJudyV+RC\1Minutes�2015\150324min.docx Page 5 of 9 �V � . ARCHITECTURAL REVIEW COMMISSION MINUTES March 24, 2015 Architects, said they are still trying to figure out the best type of `' materials since they tend to stay away from using wood with climates like the desert. They will continue looking for something with the look of wood, but not wood. Mr. Swartz continued with his report and said the landscape specialist preliminarily approved the landscape plans with comments regarding overplanting of the courtyard. He said staff reviewed the plans and recommends approval since these areas are not visible from the street. He stated that WESTliving's residents like the lush look because it gives a warmer feel and WESTliving will be maintaining those areas. Staff recommends preliminary approval of the project. MR. SUND discussed the areas where the trash enclosure and the generator transformer will be located. The pads are up above Tuscany and down below Country Club Drive (Country Club) and feels in addition to the screen wall they are placing along Portola Avenue (Portola) the grades will also help screen the back of house stuff. They are looking at integrating an interior stair that will have � access to the roof for ease of maintenance. He presented a sample of the concrete tile that will have slight variations of color tones. He and the Commission discussed the drip stops on the tiles. The Commission mentioned widening Portola and MR. JULIAN De '� La TORRE, MSA, said the widening will start at the fire station and go all the way to the northeast corner of Casablanca where it will be fully widened at that point. He said the grading is ongoing now and also new sidewalks will be going in. Mr. Swartz said currently there is only a right in and right out and MSA and Public Works is working to design a left turn lane which will also include a median. Commissioner Vuksic said it helps with undulation that there are different wings going in different directions but he was concerned with thin walls and flat elevations. He pointed to the south facing elevation where the motor court is located and said it was very nice, but the elevations along Portola and Country Club don't really have any walls that are thickened up. He recommended they do more to break up some of these surfaces because they are big. He discussed the header details and how the windows relate to the surface of the walls. MR. SUND said there are three different planes to create shadow lines between the header piece, recessed windows and stucco. Commissioner Vuksic asked how deep the window recess was and MR. SUND said about 1 to 2" and pointed out that it's a standard vinyl window installation into a stucco wall. Commissioner Vuksic questioned the pitch of the roof and MR. `� SUND said iYs about a 6:12 slope. MR. SUND said they attempted G:\PlanningUanineJudyWRC\1Minutes12015\150324min.docx Page 6 of 9 . � � � ARCHITECTURAL REVIEW COMMISSION MINUTES March 24, 2015 � to break up the wide and long surfaces with the pop-outs that range in depth from 2 to 4' where the face pops out from the body wall; there is a mix of gable and shed roofs to get a variation along the roof. Commissioner Colombini asked about a solar system and MR. SUND said they are looking at doing that on the covered carports and not the building. Commissioner Mclntosh agrees that the south elevation has a lot of really nice articulation, but then departs from that on the other sides. He thinks a little more effort can be put into the north and west elevations. The Commission and the applicant discussed the eave detail, off- site parking, and the parking structure. Commissioner McAuliffe referred to the covered parking plans and said they have a really fine looking building and suggested they not make the structure an afterthought. MR. SUND said they are currently working out the exact style and detail of how that comes together. Commissioner McAuliffe said this has to be an extension of the building. MS. CONTI said they are working on the solar structures and are weighing all the different options. They do not intend to do anything that will take away the beauty of the building. r Chair Van Vliet referred to the white vinyl windows and asked if they could get any other color besides white. He felt this did not seem to fit with the building with all the nice rich colors. MR. SUND said it is a challenge because the standard colors in the vinyl are white, tan, and almond. He totally agrees not to have this bright white next to the warmer colors. They will consider making that look more cohesive. Commissioner Vuksic mentioned that the perFormance of vinyl windows haven't done well and melt here in the desert. He has heard about significant lawsuits about vinyl windows that break down after 10 years with the extreme heat. Commissioner Mclntosh suggested going to aluminum instead of the vinyl; perhaps a dark bronze. MR. SUND said they will evaluate that. The Commission and the applicants continued to discuss adding articulation and movement on the north and east elevations. MR. SUND said they will consider adding more articulation to those elevations. � G:\PlanningWanineJudyWRC\1Minutes�2015\150324min.docx Page 7 of 9 � � • ' ARCHITECTURAL REVIEW COMMISSION MINUTES March 24, 2015 ACTION: �' Commissioner Vuksic moved to continue subject to 1) provide more depth which would create shadows to break up the large wall surfaces; 2) create some depth on windows to break up roof line; 3) look at the carport design more carefully and consider designing the carports to look like the building and not an afterthought; 4) consider aluminum windows instead of white vinyl windows; and 5) add more articulation and movement on the north and east elevations. Motion was seconded by Commissioner Lambell and carried by an 8-0 vote, with Clark, Colombini, Lambell, Levin, McAuliffe, Mclntosh, Van Vliet and Vuksic voting YES. C. Miscellaneous Items: 1. CASE NO: MISC 14-414 APPLICANT AND ADDRESS: LENNON PLACE LLC, 74-824 Lennon Place, Palm Desert, CA 92260 NATURE OF PROJECT/APPROVAL SOUGHT: Review screening for rooftop equipment; Lennon Place. LOCATION: 74-824 Lennon Place w ZONE: S.I. Mr. Kevin Swartz, Assistant Planner, said this item was preliminarily approved at the December 23, 2014, meeting subject to the applicant providing a screening design with final drawings. The applicant has returned with the final drawings and presented them fo r revi ew. The Commission reviewed and discussed the screening design. Commissioner Vuksic felt the screening was okay because the building is basically machine-like in its design and iYs in an industrial park. Commissioner Mclntosh also felt it would be substantially screened because it is industrial in nature and it ties together with the surrounding buildings. ACTION: Commissioner Clark moved to approve as submitted. Motion was seconded by Commissioner Lambell and carried by an 8-0 vote, with Clark, Colombini, Lambell, Levin, McAuliffe, Mclntosh, Van Vliet and Vuksic voting YES. � G:\PlanningUanineJudylARC\1Minutes�2015\150324min.docx Page 8 of 9 4 � � � �: ARCHITECTURAL REVIEW COMMISSION MINUTES March 24, 2015 'w" VI. COMMENTS The Commission and staff discussed flashing "open" signs, a vacant lot on the Haystack frontage road, and the Fence and Walls ordinance VII. ADJOURNMENT Upon a motion by Commissioner Levin, second by Commissioner McAuliffe, and an 8-0 vote, with Clark, Colombini, Lambell, Levin, McAuliffe, Mclntosh, Van Vliet and Vuksic voting YES, the Architectural Review Commission meeting was adjourned at 3:00 p.m. TONY BAGATO, PRI CIPAL PLANNER SECRETARY � J N JU R RDING SECRETARY � r�' G:\PlanningUanineJudy�ARC\1Minules12015\150324min.docx Page 9 of 9