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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2016-08-23 CITY OF PALM DESERT ARCHITECTURAL REVIEW COMMISSION MINUTES August 23, 2016 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 12 Karel Lambell, Vice Chair X 11 1 Paul Clark X 9 3 Gene Colombini X 11 1 Allan Levin X 10 2 Michael McAuliffe X 12 Jim McIntosh X 10 2 John Vuksic X 10 2 Also Present Ryan Stendell, Director Community Development Eric Ceja, Principal Planner Kevin Swartz, Associate Planner Heather Buck, Assistant Planner Janine Judy, Recording Secretary Cancelled meeting:2/9/16,3/8/16,5/24/16, 6/28/16 III. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS None IV. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: August 9, 2015 Action: Commissioner Lambell moved to approve the August 9, 2016 meeting minutes. Motion was seconded by Commissioner McAuliffe and carried by a 7-0-1 vote, with, Colombini, Lambell, Levin, McAuliffe, McIntosh, Van Vliet and Vuksic voting YES and Clark absent. OW ARCHITECTURAL REVIEW COMMISSION MINUTES August 23, 2016 Mr. Eric Ceja, Principal Planner referred to Case No. PP 16-147 under Section B. Preliminary Plans for Jared the Galleria of Jewelry. He stated that the applicant was not able to attend the meeting and asked if this item be moved to C. Miscellaneous and present it to the Commission for discussion only. Commissioner Levin made a motion to move the item to C. Miscellaneous on the agenda. Motion was seconded by Commissioner Lambell and carried by a 7-0-1 vote, with Colombini, Lambell, Levin, McAuliffe, McIntosh, Van Vliet and Vuksic voting YES and Commissioner Clark absent. V. CASES: A. Final Drawings: 1. CASE NO: SA 16-220 APPLICANT AND ADDRESS: INTERNATIONAL PROPERTY SOLUTIONS, 72630 Fred Waring Drive, Palm Desert, CA 92260 NATURE OF PROJECT/APPROVAL SOUGHT: Consideration to approve a new monument sign; Fred Waring Plaza. LOCATION: 72630 Fred Waring Drive ZONE: O.P. Mr. Kevin Swartz, Associate Planner, presented a request for a new monument sign for Fred Waring Plaza which is currently Waring Medical Professional Plaza to help with identification and to help sell suites. They are proposing a larger monument sign since the existing 4'-6" sign is screened by landscaping. The request follows the existing sign program and it will not have any tenant names on it. The new monument sign will be 8' in height. and the stucco color on the sign will match the color on the building along with the tile. He stated the existing sign is 12 to 13' from curb but the actual right-of-way is 14' so the new sign will need to be 14' from curb to meet that requirement. MR. KIM SANSON, sign representative, referred to a photo of the existing monument sign and pointed out how the landscape has grown much higher, which takes about 3' off the bottom of the monument. He referred to the illumination and said they will continue to use the existing up-lights on each side. GAPIanningUanine Judy\NRC\1 Minutes\2016\160823min.docx Page 2 of 8 *400 ARCHITECTURAL REVIEW COMMISSION MINUTES August 23, 2016 The Commission reviewed and discussed the monument sign. They liked how the applicant drew from the building's architecture but were concerned with the height and the thinness of the blade. ACTION: Commissioner Lambell moved to continue subject to: 1) reducing height of sign; 2) review thickness in proportion to the reduced height; and 3) provide a 3-D perspective to show thickness. Motion was seconded by Commissioner Levin and carried by a 7-0-1 vote, with Colombini, Lambell, Levin, McAuliffe, McIntosh, Van Vliet and Vuksic voting YES and Commissioner Clark absent. B. Preliminary Plans: 1. CASE NO: PP/CUP 16-194 APPLICANT AND ADDRESS: MIGUEL RUIZ, 40240 Yucca Lane, Bermuda Dunes, CA 92203 NATURE OF PROJECT/APPROVAL SOUGHT: Consideration to preliminarily approve a new three-story mixed-use building for residential and retail; Ruiz Building. LOCATION: 73690 El Paseo ZONE: C.1, S.P. Mr. Kevin Swartz, Associate Planner, presented a proposal for a new building on El Paseo; formerly Don Vincent's clothing store. The applicant is proposing to demo and build a three-story mixed- use building at 30' tall, which meets the requirement for this zone. He stated this will go forward to the Planning Commission because residential uses above the first floor require a Conditional Use Permit. He said the first floor will have four retail spaces; two fronting El Paseo and two fronting President's Plaza. The total square footage (sq. ft) of the first floor will be 4,416. The second floor will have two retail spaces also fronting out onto El Paseo and two one-bedroom 1,150 sq. ft. studio units facing President's Plaza. The third floor is all residential use that includes four one-bedroom units; 924 sq. ft and 1,150 sq. ft. The building has a lot of movement giving the appearance that it is not a three-story building. President's Plaza is the primary parking and the main entrance for this area so the applicant is sensitive to the architecture on the back of the building. Staff is recommending approval of the architectural design as proposed. GAPlanningUanineJudy\ARC\1Minutes\2016\160823min.docx Page 3 of 8 VOW err+' ARCHITECTURAL REVIEW COMMISSION MINUTES August 23, 2016 The Commission discussed the blank wall on the east elevation, egress from the building, operable windows, the fire rated exit corridor, an additional staircase, direct access from El Paseo to residential uses, and a height exception to allow for more ceiling height. Commissioner McIntosh said as the City moves toward mixed-use along El Paseo there will be growing pains with three-story buildings adjacent to one-story buildings. As other buildings grow to two or three stories eventually the walls will disappear and this Commission needs to be sensitive to that architecturally and come up with something more interesting. Commissioner McAuliffe asked how the retail spaces at the second floor get accessed. It appears that they have street presence on El Paseo, but their only means of access is from the rear. Keeping that in mind, he suggested they look at the circulation because that will be a penalty for those retail spaces if people can't access them from El Paseo. Mr. Eric Ceja, Principal Planner, asked for clarification on the east elevation and said he wouldn't recommend windows that would prohibit the next property owner to go to that height. He asked the Commission for their thoughts on that elevation. The Commission discussed and recommended different colors and textures. Commissioner Vuksic touched on signage and said it's important in retail architecture to always keep in mind where the signs will go and the size of the signs. He was concerned that signage was not included on the elevation and said it may detract from the architecture. Commissioner Vuksic pointed out the style of this building and said some styles require a lot of details, massing and composition to make them work. In modern architecture less is more. He encouraged them to do a very careful code analysis. He also pointed out the lack of roof slope. Commissioner McAuliffe referred to the floor to floor heights and strongly suggested a height exception. G\PlannmgUanineJudy\ARC\1Minutes\2016\160823min.docx Page 4 of 8 ARCHITECTURAL REVIEW COMMISSION MINUTES August 23, 2016 ACTION: Commissioner Lambell moved to continue subject to: 1) review the building code to see if another staircase is needed and fire access points for the residential uses; 2) look at converting the second floor retail space without direct access from El Paseo to residential uses or consider adding another access point; 3) review and add architecture, texture, or colors to the east elevation wall since it is visible from El Paseo; and 4) consider a height exception to allow for more ceiling height. Motion was seconded by Commissioner Colombini and carried by a 7-0-1 vote, with Colombini, Lambell, Levin, McAuliffe, McIntosh, Van Vliet and Vuksic voting YES and Commissioner Clark absent. 2. CASE NO: MISC 16-219 APPLICANT AND ADDRESS: MARK VALENTINO, ARCHITECT, 77333 Country Club Drive, Suite F-3, Palm Desert, CA 92211 NATURE OF PROJECT/APPROVAL SOUGHT: Consideration to preliminarily approve a new 5,700 square foot maintenance building; Palm Desert Resorter. LOCATION: 77333 Country Club Drive ZONE: P.R-4 Commissioner McAuliffe recused himself from this project and left the conference room. Mr. Kevin Swartz, Associate Planner, presented for preliminary approval a new 5,700 square foot maintenance building for Palm Desert Resorter on the corner of Oasis Club Drive (Oasis) and Hovley Lane East (Hovley). The previous maintenance building burned down about two years ago and they have been using temporary storage containers as offices. Staff has been working with the applicant to build a stucco building in the same building footprint since it will be visible from the street. This new building is smaller than the previous building and will be used as a warehouse with a couple of offices along with parking. This building is 18' in total height varying in height from 8' to 13' to 15'. He passed around the materials board for review. He presented the roof plan and said there will be evaporative coolers and A/C units and the screening will exceed the top of the equipment. MR. MARK VALENTINO, Architect, stated he worked with the owner to create something more than just a big box. There will be GAPlanningUanineJudy\ARC\1Minutes\2016\160823min.docx Page 5 of 8 *400 ARCHITECTURAL REVIEW COMMISSION MINUTES August 23, 2016 an outdoor patio, an office separated from the warehouse to bring down the height, and on Oasis he added trees along the wall and on the golf course area as well. The owner wanted some shade on the front so they cantilevered out about 10'. He added some metal to break up the stucco and the flat walls and the color palette matches closely to the existing condos. Chair Van Vliet was concerned with the height of the wall because of the visibility and asked what would be stored behind it. MR. VALENTINO said low profile mowers and vehicles will be stored behind the wall. At the corner of Oasis and Hovley the material storage area will remain. Commissioner Vuksic asked about the parapet line that goes around the perimeter of the high part of the building. MR. VALENTINO said at the cantilevered element, he cut that parapet off so it comes out; the parapet ends and the roof continues. The Commission and the applicant reviewed the roll-up door and the cantilevered element. ACTION: Commissioner Lambell moved to preliminarily approve. Motion was seconded by Commissioner Levin and carried by a 6-0-1-1 vote, with Colombini, Lambell, Levin, McIntosh, Van Vliet and Vuksic voting YES, with Commissioner McAuliffe abstaining and Commissioner Clark absent. 3. CASE NO: PP 16-147 APPLICANT AND ADDRESS: JARED THE GALLERIA OF JEWELRY, C/O Jeffrey De Zort, CESO, Inc. 395 Springside Drive, Suite 202, Akron, OH 44333 NATURE OF PROJECT/APPROVAL SOUGHT: Consideration of preliminarily approving a request to demolish an existing restaurant and construct a 4,430 square foot building; Jared Jewelers. LOCATION: 72-950 HIGHWAY 111 ZONE: C-1, S.P. Ms. Heather Buck, Assistant Planner, presented a proposal for a new 4,430 square foot building on Highway 111 for Jared the Galleria of Jewelry (Jared's) by the Westfield Mall, which is the former Denny's Restaurant site. Access from this site is Monterey G:\PlanningUanineJudy\ARC\1Minutes\2016\160823min.docx Page 6 of 8 �rw ARCHITECTURAL REVIEW COMMISSION MINUTES August 23, 2016 Avenue, Highway 111 and internally from the Westfield Mall parking lot. The landscape will be increased on the site and the parking lot will meet the current building standards. The proposed building is within the development standards for the zoning district. The primary portion of the building is 23' in height with a parapet roof, an entry vestibule, and corresponding projections on three sides of the building. She presented a materials board with stucco finishes, the brick base, and the metal roofing colors. She recommended a couple of conditions that the parking lot landscape meets the current tree shade ordinance standards and screening of the mechanical equipment and satellite dishes. Commissioner Vuksic said this is a prominent location and this building is just a big box with the same gabled roof on all fours sides. It is not an exciting building and he was uninspired. The Commission felt this was a cookie-cutter of Jared's standard building. Mr. Ceja said they have expressed this to the applicant and said this is the second or third revision based on staffs comments. Commissioner Vuksic felt this would be something that the Commission could be reviewing time and time again. He suggested denying this project and said this site deserves something much better. Mr. Ceja said no action will be taken today but staff will relay the Commission's comments to the applicant and will let them know that the Commissioners were uninspired with this plan. Commissioner Vuksic left at 1:40 p.m. The Commission continued to discuss the building and Chair Van Vliet suggested a total redesign. Commissioner McIntosh said this building needs to reflect the character of Palm Desert. ACTION: No action taken/discussion only. The Architectural Review Commission commented they do not want to see a prototypical Jared Jewelers building, but rather something more specific to Palm Desert. They suggested the building should be more exciting and inspiring (since it is located on Highway 111 in the scenic preservation corridor). C. Miscellaneous Items: None GAPIanningWnineJudy\ARC\1Minutes\2016\160823min.docx Page 7 of 8 ARCHITECTURAL REVIEW COMMISSION MINUTES August 23, 2016 VI. COMMENTS The Commission discussed the Springhill by Marriott demolition, the El Paseo Hotel and landscaping issues at the Walgreens on the corner of Highway 111 and Monterey Avenue. VII. ADJOURNMENT Commissioner Lambell moved to adjourn the Architectural Review Commission meeting at 1:50 p.m. c� ERIC CEJA PRINCIPAL PL ER SECRETARY —#61—dt J E JUDY R CORDING SECRETARY GAPIanningUanineJudy\ARC\1 Min utes\2016\160823min.docx Page 8 of 8