HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018-11-13 CITY OF PALM DESERT
ARCHITECTURAL REVIEW COMMISSION
MINUTES
NOVEMBER 13, 2018
I. CALL TO ORDER
The meeting was called to order at 12:30 p.m.
IL ROLL CALL
Commissioners Current Meeting Year to Date
Present Absent Present Absent
Chris Van Vliet, Chair X 19
Karel Lambell, Vice Chair X 17 2
Allan Levin X 19
Michael McAuliffe X 17 2
Jim McIntosh X 15 4
John Vuksic X 17 2
Open Position
Also Present
Ryan Stendell, Director, Community Development
Eric Ceja, Principal Planner
Nick Melloni, Assistant Planner
Pedro Rodriguez, Supervisor, Code Compliance
Janine Judy, Recording Secretary
Cancelled meeting:2/27/18,4/10/18
III. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS
None
IV. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: October 23, 2018
Action:
Commissioner Levin moved to approve the October 23, 2018 meeting minutes
with minor changes. Motion was seconded by Commissioner McAuliffe and
carried by a 5-0-1 vote, with Levin, McAuliffe, McIntosh, Van Vliet, and Vuksic
voting YES and Lambell absent.
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V. CASES:
A. Final Drawings:
1. CASE NO: MISC 18-0020
APPLICANT AND ADDRESS: JAMES PAIGE, 73365 Highway 111,
La Quinta, CA 92253
NATURE OF PROJECT/APPROVAL SOUGHT: Consideration to
approve construction of a 265 square-foot outdoor dining patio with a
patio awning, landscaping and decorative metal fencing; Little Bar.
LOCATION: 73560 Highway 111
ZONE: D.O.
Mr. Nick Mellon!, Assistant Planner, presented renderings for a proposal
to construct a 265 square-foot outdoor dining patio with changes to the
facade along with a patio awning, landscaping and a decorative metal
fence to enclose the patio. Staff recommended approval.
Commissioner Levin asked about the outdoor lighting and Mr. Melloni
said the plans didn't go into that level of detail but and the applicant will
be conditioned to conform with the City's outdoor lighting ordinance.
Chair Van Wet and MR. SKIP PAIGE, applicant, reviewed and
discussed how the awning will connect to the roof as well as along the
front of the building and how'it will return back to the side of the building.
Commissioner McAuliffe and MR. PAIGE discussed the new neon
signage that will be located at the edge of the awning.
ACTION:
Commissioner Vuksic moved to approve. Motion was seconded by
Commissioner McAuliffe and carried by a 5-0-1 vote, with Levin, McAuliffe,
McIntosh, Van Vliet, and Vuksic voting YES and Lambell absent.
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2. CASE NO: MISC 18-0022
APPLICANT AND ADDRESS: SHAWN SMITH, 8370 Wilshire Blvd.
#330, Beverly Hills CA 90211
NATURE OF PROJECT/APPROVAL SOUGHT: Consideration to
approve exterior storefront changes to an existing tenant space within
The Gardens on El Paseo; Gucci.
LOCATION: 73585 El Paseo
ZONE: D-Downtown
Mr. Eric Ceja, Principal Planner, presented changes to an existing
storefront tenant space within The Gardens on El Paseo for Gucci.
Changes will include a new window system, exterior material changes
with applications of marble and awnings. The materials match the
architecture of The Gardens and provides a nice upscale look. Staff is
recommending approval.
Commissioner Lambell arrived at 12:45 p.m.
The Commission and the applicant discussed the fagade's stone
material, the recess 3above the awning neutral column, the recess of
the marble from the walls of the building shell, and the framework on
the underside of the awning.
ACTION:
Commissioner McIntosh moved to approve. Motion was seconded by
Commissioner Vuksic and carried by a 5-0-1 vote, with Levin, McAuliffe,
McIntosh, Van Vliet, and Vuksic voting YES and Lambell abstaining.
B. Preliminary Plans:
1. CASE NO: PP 18-0008
APPLICANT AND ADDRESS: 111 MONTEREY PALM LLC, 610
Newport Center Drive #1520, Newport Beach, CA 92660
NATURE OF PROJECT/APPROVAL SOUGHT: Consideration to
preliminarily approve a new bank building; Chase Bank.
LOCATION: 72950 Highway 111
ZONE: P.C:(3)
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Mr. Nick Melloni, Assistant Planner, presented for preliminary approval
a new Chase bank building at the southwest corner of Highway 111 and
Monterey Avenue; formerly occupied by the old Denny's Restaurant. He
presented a resubmittal and discussed the changes made by the
applicant as recommended by the Commission at the October 9, 2018
meeting. The applicant has changed the stone cladding to a warmer
color that better compliments the other tones; no changes were made
to the site plan, however the depth on the metal canopy has been
increased; a service room door on the eastern elevation has been
relocated so as not to be visible from the public right-of-way; and
changes occurred with the roof plan which in turn changed some of the
proportions. Instead of having a multi-tier roof it will all be on a single
plane with the biggest impact being the change to the east and west
elevations. He said the center mass of the building no longer connects
and instead creates two towers for through access to the roof and the
backs of the parapets will not be visible. Staff is recommending approval
of the elevations as shown subject to some standard conditions related
to screening of equipment and general requirements for the materials
MR. TOM CARPENTER, applicant/property owner, thanked the
Commission for their time and feedback on this project. They have
worked with Chase Bankto incorporate all the Commission's comments
that have made for a better project.
Commissioner Vuksic referred to the roof plan for the tower element
facing Highway 111 on the south elevation and discussed the
substantial differences in the heights of the parapets making them
visible from the public right-of-way. MR. BICKLE, architect, said this
design has low parapet heights for the most part and they have not
placed tall parapets to keep the horizontality of the building. He said the
only place to hide the A/C units is between the two tower elements.
Commissioner Vuksic and the applicant had a lengthy conversation
regarding the parapets. Commissioner Vuksic suggested they add a
return to the rear of the building's high parapet so the rear of the wall
panel is not visible to the public or the applicant can submit a line-of-
sight survey demonstrating that the rear of the parapets won't be visible.
He said he also has those same concerns looking from the northwest,
the southwest and from the northeast.
Commissioner Vuksic referred to the recesses along the southeast
corner of the building facing Highway 111 and pointed out that the
applicant added some dimension at the sill under the glass. He and the
applicant discussed the offset between the cementitious wood material
and glass and having a larger offset between the metal clad element at
the center of the south elevation. MR. BICKLE spoke about the 18"
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offset between the main wall where the glass and wood is and the
flanking trim element and said there is really three planes happening
there. Commissioner Vuksic and the applicant discussed how far out
the wood was from the glass and this being in the same plane.
Commissioner-Vuksic said they need a little more offset between the
glass and the wood and they shouldn't be in the same plane. MR.
BICKLE said there is a lot of undulation across this elevation with a
certain elegance and reasonable amount of simplicity. If every single
piece of glass and door starts to be in a different plane, he feels they
will lose the design. However, they will certainly look at increasing the
distance between the two planes if they don't think it's strong enough.
Commissioner Vuksic said if the applicant feels strongly about that then
that's alright, but feels that the metal element needs to come out more
than 18" for something that massive. Commissioner McAuliffe
understands their argument about these being in the same plane and
doesn't think having things in the same plane necessarily is wrong or
bad but it's not consistent with what they have going on in the rest of
the building.
Commissioner Vuksic and MR. BICKLE discussed the setbacks on that
same elevation and MR. BICKLE said to accommodate the setbacks
they had to make some site plan changes and feels that anything further
would trigger more changes throughout the site. MR. CARPENTER said
they are right up against the setback and they don't have a lot of give
on that side. Commissioner Vuksic said there is room because the
parking spaces are larger than they are required to be giving them a
couple of feet to play with in the parking lot. He and the applicant
discussed the space width and length giving them the ability to shift the
building to the north by 1'. MR. CARPENTER said his preference is to
keep the 18" and not move the building if that is something that the
Commission can get comfortable with. Commissioner Vuksic said there
is an 18" overhang over a large length of glass that seems minimal and
pointed out that this is the Highway 111 elevation which will be in the
sun. MR. BICKLE said there is spandrel glass in that area and from a
functional standpoint it won't be an issue. There is a certain geometric
elegance of simplified forms here and felt that if you start breaking down
too much in a' contemporary style building you will start losing it.
Commissioner Vuksic said it's not about shading the windows it's about
creating shadow lines. MR. BICKLE said having a building with deep
recesses and big shadow lines and other parts that have less shadow
lines adds interest to the building. Commissioner Vuksic said if this
could be a little deeper it would make a difference and be an
improvement. He said this Commission tries to be cognizant when they
hear design reasons for doing things and the last thing they want to do
is to interfere with the applicant's creativity and design of the building.
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Commissioner McAuliffe asked if there was 6" of space on the inside
where the vault is that can be taken out of the interior of the building on
the south face. If so,they can leave the parking lot as is, push that plane
in and capture the overhang. MR. BICKLE said his suspicion is they
don't have 6", but possibly only a' couple of inches. MR. CRAIG,
representing Chase, said there is some flexibility there but didn't know
how much. The vaults are usually a prefabricated unit and they are
constrained on the size of the vaults. He believes there isn't much
leniency on trying to push that corner of the building back.
Commissioner McAuliffe and MR. CRAIG discussed the 8' high vault
and how there may bean opportunity to cantilever back into the building
and push the spandrel portion back. MR. CRAIG said it may be
structurally difficult but he's not saying it's not possible. Commissioner
McAuliffe said there are ways this could be achieved without it being so
disruptive and thinks as,a Commission they have to be careful that what
is being suggested doesn't ripple across the entire project.
Commissioner Vuksic stated this is a really good project and the
Commission is talking about slight things to nail down the south
elevation. MR. CARPENTER said it sounds like a pretty easy fix by
taking the 18" and pulling it back another foot both on the south and
east elevation and reducing the parking stalls from 18'-6" down to 17"-
6". He said he just conferred with Chase's architect who doesn't see any
problem with this request. He asked if this request could be a condition
of approval today to keep the project going forward and move onto
Planning Commission. Commissioner Vuksic said that would be fine.
ACTION:
Commissioner Vuksic moved to approve subject to staff's review of the
following conditions prior to construction drawings: 1) add a return to the rear
of the building's high parapet so the rear of the wall panel cannot be observed
or easily discerned by the public or prepare a line-of-sight survey
demonstrating that the rear of the parapets are not visible; 2) revision of the
southeast corner of the building to provide an offset between the cementitious
wood material and glass as well as providing a larger offset between the metal
clad element and the glass; and 3) increase the offset of the metal element at
the center of the south elevation to work with and balance the revised element
on the right side of that elevation. Motion was seconded by Commissioner
Levin and carried by a 6-0 vote, with Lambell, Levin, McAuliffe, McIntosh,
Vuksic, and Van Vliet voting YES.
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2. CASE NO: PP 18-0007
APPLICANT AND ADDRESS: JIM KRICK, 4604 Alta Drive, Fort
Worth, TX 76107
NATURE OF PROJECT/APPROVAL SOUGHT: Consideration to
preliminarily approve construction of two (2) industrial buildings totaling
26, 666 square feet; Russell Lane Industrial.
LOCATION: Cook Street/Sego Lane/Green Way
ZONE: S.I.
Mr. Nick Mellon!,•Assistant Planner, presented a Precise Plan proposal
for two industrial buildings totaling 26,666 square feet located at the
southwest corner of Sego Lane (Sego) and Green Way Lane (Green
Way) off Cook Street (Cook.) In addition to the Precise Plan the
applicant will submit a Conditional Use Permit that will allow partial retail
and potentially restaurant uses. He presented an aerial of the location
and stated that this is an infill lot with all the adjoining properties fully
'developed. The buildings will be located partially in an "L" with parking
on all sides in a traditional business park configuration. Building 1 fronts
onto Sego and Building 2 fronts on Green Way, as well as Cook with
loading areas abutting these two streets. He said these two streets are
privately maintained which allows for some flexibility from screening
requirements, as well as driveway spacing. There will be three access
points along the private streets one of which will be shared with an
adjoining portion of the property. The applicant will create through
access from the neighboring retail center to the north under a reciprocal
access agreement. The applicant proposes two sections of parking
areas that will have a carport structure along the north and south ends.
To accommodate overflow drainage on site, the applicant is proposing
a 2 to 3' retaining wall along Cook in order to create a rip rap for
emergency drainage and runoff, which will be landscaped accordingly.
In this proposal, they show a low block wall to sit.atop the retaining wall.
Staff is,recommending the wall be modified with some type of decorative
metal fence to soften up that frontage. He presented renderings of the
building and said they are designed as concrete tilt-up with some
horizontal score lines showing alternating paint tones. There are
covered entryways to add a degree of articulation'in the building mass
and the roof-top units are completely screened by a 4' parapet wall as
shown on the plans. He pointed out that access to the roof is also
screened and he presented photos of what would be visible along Cook.
The windows are all on a single plane and staff is recommending those
be recessed accordingly. The applicant has added a decorative cornice
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that runs across the entire length of the building and the covered
entryways feature an arch. A similar treatment is shown on the rear
entryway which is characterized primarily by roll-up doors that will be
visible. At this time, staff would recommend continuing the case and ask
the Commission to provide some architectural direction such as
potentially changing the proportion of the covered entry and using an
alternative cladding material there to differentiate it from the primary
mass of the building. This will add some visual interest to the massing
since it will be the most visible portion along Cook. He said each of these
buildings will be sub-divided into individual spaces with a roll-up door
along the rear that will be visible from the private streets. However,there
is dense landscaped proposed to help soften that area. Generally, the
code doesn't allow loading areas to be directly visible from public view
but because these are private streets staff is not concerned with that.
The loading areas for Building 1 faces the property line which is already
finished with a U blocked wall facing a personal storage facility and staff
doesn't have any concerns with the layout of the site itself. Staff is
mostly concerned with the architecture of the buildings and thinks there
are strategies to incorporate more articulation and massing to bring it
up to the design standards of the Commission. Staff has reviewed this
and finds that it complies with all developmental standards and is
looking for design comments from the Commission to work with the
applicant on the architecture of the building.
MR. ROBERT RICCIARDI; architect, referred to the block wall on Cook
Street and discussed the materials and the varying heights from 3 to 5'.
At this point, there was too much noise making it hard to transcribe.
MR. RICCIARDI discussed internal drains and water draining onsite. He
said this property does not have on-site retention and eventually all
water will find its way to the wash at the high school. They have an
interesting bank of colors, textures, variety and rhythm, as well as an
aluminum element with a 6' overhang. Chair Van Vliet asked how the
10' panels were seamed and MR. RICCIARDI said there will be a slight
seam, as well as epoxy glue and screws so they will never move.
The Commission and the applicant discussed the project colors, the
retaining wall on Cook, concrete texture, the tilt-up buildings and
columns, location and number of garage roll-up doors facing the street,
roof access, the amount of window recess, the roof fascia behind the
aluminum fascia, and internal drainage.
Commissioner Vuksic and the architect reviewed and discussed the
west elevation facing Cook regarding the heights between the red
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elements and the location and width of the red forms, as well as
increasing the height of the center red element. He and the architect
discussed the bay located in the middle of the building and how the two
at the ends are higher and the three in the middle are lower. He asked
the architect to make the Cook elevation a little more playful and
suggested it be modified to create more play in heights.
The Commission and the architect discussed the tile roof on the back of
Building 2 and ADA grading issues.
ACTION:
Commissioner Vuksic moved to approve subject to: 1)the west elevation facing
Cook Street shall be modified to create more play in the heights between the
red elements and possibly the location and.width of the red forms at the
discretion of the architect and approval of staff; and 2) the center red element
shall be increased in height and reviewed and approved by staff. Motion was
seconded by Commissioner Lambell and carried by a 6-0 vote, with Lambell,
Levin, McAuliffe, McIntosh, Vuksic, and Van Vliet voting YES.
C. Miscellaneous Items:
None
VI. COMMENTS
None
VII. ADJOURNMENT
Commissioner Levin moved to adjourn the Architectural Review Commission meeting
at 2:30 p.m.
ERIC CEJA
PRINCIPAL PLANNER
SECRETARY
0&4
J N JU
R C ING SECRETARY
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