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HomeMy WebLinkAbout12/02/2008 MINUTES PALM DESERT PLANNING COMMISSION TUESDAY – DECEMBER 2, 2008 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * I. CALL TO ORDER Chairperson Tanner called the meeting to order at 6:03 p.m. II. ROLL CALL Members Present: Van Tanner, Chair Sonia Campbell, Vice Chair Russ Campbell Connor Limont Mari Schmidt Members Absent: None Staff Present: Lauri Aylaian, Director of Community Development Bob Hargreaves, Deputy City Attorney Renee Schrader, Associate Planner Missy Grisa, Assistant Planner Phil Joy, Associate Transportation Planner Tonya Monroe, Administrative Secretary III. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Commissioner Limont led in the pledge of allegiance. IV. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Request for consideration of the November 18, 2008 meeting minutes. Action: It was moved by Commissioner Limont, seconded by Commissioner R. Campbell, approving the November 18, 2008 meeting minutes. Motion carried 5-0. MINUTES PALM DESERT PLANNING COMMISSION DECEMBER 2, 2008 V. SUMMARY OF COUNCIL ACTION Ms. Aylaian summarized pertinent November 20 and November 24, 2008 City Council actions. VI. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS None. VII. CONSENT CALENDAR A. Case No. PP 07-07 – PREST VUKSIC ARCHITECTS, Applicant Request for approval of a first one-year time extension for a 17,600 square foot professional office building at 44-450 Monterey Avenue. Action: It was moved by Commissioner R. Campbell, seconded by Commissioner Limont, approving the Consent Calendar by minute motion. Motion carried 5-0. VIII. PUBLIC HEARINGS Anyone who challenges any hearing matter in court may be limited to raising only those issues he, she or someone else raised at the public hearing described herein, or in written correspondence delivered to the Planning Commission at, or prior to, the public hearing. A. Case No. TPM 36137 – MOLLERS GARDEN CENTER, Applicant (Continued from November 18, 2008) Request for approval of a tentative parcel map to subdivide a 12.17-acre parcel into four parcels for sale purposes. The property is located at 72-235 Painters Path. Ms. Grisa reviewed the staff report and recommended approval of Case No. TPM 36137, subject to the conditions contained in the draft resolution. Commissioner Schmidt asked Ms. Grisa to point out the location of the Hillside Residential property; she did so. Chairperson Tanner asked if the open area behind Parcels 2, 3 and 4 was also zoned Hillside Residential. Ms. Grisa replied that it was 2 MINUTES PALM DESERT PLANNING COMMISSION DECEMBER 2, 2008 zoned Open Space and anything above the toe of the slope, which was one of the conditions of approval, was to remain as Open Space. Commissioner Limont asked for confirmation that if Parcel 1 was ever sold, they wouldn’t be able to develop it; the condition was to leave it as Open Space. Ms. Aylaian clarified that after going through the same process as this one, it could be further subdivided. Commissioner Limont asked if that was one of the issues brought up at the last meeting with regard to the Map Act. Mr. Hargreaves explained that was one of the concerns he had and he talked with the City Engineer and Planning staff and basically they decided under appropriate circumstances, it would be alright to subdivide that remainder parcel as long as there was an Open Space Covenant placed on the hillside. They had to be careful about the way it is done, but if the City Engineer and City staff felt that under these circumstances it could be appropriate, he thought the issue had been addressed. Ms. Grisa stated that at this time there were no plans to build on that parcel, but the property owner did not want to restrict it for future buyers or selling the property later on. Commissioner Schmidt said it looked like Parcel 2 is approximately a third of an acre, Parcel 4 is about the same, and Parcel 3 is about a half or a little less, so Parcel 1 was 10 or 11 acres; Ms. Grisa said that sounded right. Commissioner Schmidt asked what the restriction would be on Hillside. Ms. Aylaian said one dwelling unit per five acres. Commissioner Schmidt said that would mean two houses. Mr. Hargreaves explained that in this case, the map required that a covenant be placed on the hillside to maintain it as Open Space so there would be no homes on the hillside. Commissioner S. Campbell indicated that if Parcel 1 was sold, it would have to come back to the Planning Commission if they wanted to subdivide it. Ms. Grisa informed them that they would have to go through another tentative parcel map application, but the Open Space shown would remain as Open Space. The space above the parcel map was Hillside Planned Residential; below that was Open Space, and that wouldn’t change. Commissioner Schmidt reiterated that the existing Mollers could be developed eventually; that is what happened to the Palapas (garden center in Palm Springs), and now it is all condominiums; that was why she was asking. 3 MINUTES PALM DESERT PLANNING COMMISSION DECEMBER 2, 2008 Chairperson Tanner opened the public hearing and asked the applicant to address the Commission. MR. JOHN SANBORN of Sanborn A and E in Rancho Mirage, concurred with staff and the findings. He said the hillside, as staff had indicated, would remain as Open Space and there was no development plan for that. The area currently occupied by the nursery, sometime in the distant future possibly could be subdivided into something else, but the Mollers have no plans of doing that now or in the foreseeable future. He appreciated the Commission’s time and staff and the work they had been able to do in the past week. Chairperson Tanner asked for testimony in FAVOR of or in OPPOSITION to the proposal. There was none. Chairperson Tanner closed the public hearing and asked for Commission comments or action. Commissioner S. Campbell moved for approval. Commissioner R. Campbell said he had no problem with the request and seconded the motion. Action: It was moved by Commissioner S. Campbell, seconded by Commissioner R. Campbell, approving the findings as presented by staff. Motion carried 5-0. It was moved by Commissioner S. Campbell, seconded by Commissioner Limont, adopting Planning Commission Resolution No. 2490, approving Case No. TPM 36137, subject to conditions. Motion carried 5-0. B. Case No. PP/TPM 08-191 - URBAN HOUSING COMMUNITIES, LLC, Applicant Request for recommendation to the City Council of Palm Desert to approve a request by Urban Housing LLC, for approval of a Change of Zone (CZ), a Tentative Parcel Map (TPM), and a Precise Plan (PP) of design to allow the construction of 144 affordable housing units with amenities. The proposal will change the zone from Planned Community Development (PCD) to Planned Residential 14 dwelling units per acre (PR-14) and subdivide an 11.8 acre parcel into two (2) lots to accommodate future Childcare Facility not a part 4 MINUTES PALM DESERT PLANNING COMMISSION DECEMBER 2, 2008 of the project. The proposed project is located on the south th side of 35 Avenue between Gateway Drive and Cortesia Way (C Street), also known as APN 694-130-005. A Mitigated Negative Declaration resulting from an Environmental Assessment pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) has been prepared for the proposed project and is on file in the City of Pam Desert Planning Department. Ms. Aylaian explained that a continuance was being recommended and advised opening the public hearing and then continuing the matter to the next meeting on December 16, 2008. Chairperson Tanner opened the public hearing and asked if anyone wished to speak in FAVOR of or in OPPOSITION to the public hearing. There was no one. Chairperson Tanner left the public hearing open and asked for a motion. Action: It was moved by Commissioner Limont, seconded by Commissioner S. Campbell, continuing Case No. PP/TPM 08-191 to December 16, 2008. Motion carried 5-0. C. Case No. PP 08-309 – WARE MALCOMB MALCOMB ARCHITECT, Applicant Request for approval of a Precise Plan of design to construct a single story 6, 474 square foot office building for the California Teachers Association located at 75-084 Gerald Ford Drive. Ms. Grisa reviewed the staff report and recommended approval, subject to the conditions contained in the draft resolution. Commissioner Limont asked if the maximum height was 22 feet to the top of the parapet. Ms. Grisa consulted with the applicant who confirmed that it was 22 feet. There were no other questions and Chairperson Tanner opened the public hearing and asked the applicant to address the Commission. MR. ALBERT BARCELLO, Ware Malcomb Architects in Irvine, California, thanked staff for their assistance in the design of their 5 MINUTES PALM DESERT PLANNING COMMISSION DECEMBER 2, 2008 project. They looked forward to moving forward and thought they accommodated staff in terms of the design and adjacent areas, felt they addressed them accordingly and had an exceptional project designed for the community. Chairperson Tanner asked if anyone wished to speak in FAVOR of or in OPPOSITION to the proposed project. There was no one and the public hearing was closed. Commissioner S. Campbell noted that the applicant went through quite a few meetings before Architectural Review and she was happy to see the vote was 7-0. She thought they did a good job and congratulated them. She moved for approval. Commissioner Limont expressed concern about vehicular access into D’Mundo Tile posing a hazard and suggested that it was something for the City to look at maybe later on, but if driving from west to east, if they wanted to turn into D’Mundo Tile, it was dangerous. She didn’t take time to look at pulling in and how this would all work in the final process, but it was something they should be looking at. The only way to get into D’Mundo Tile from Cook Street, you have to do a full U-turn and was a hazard and she wanted to make sure they were paying attention to that. Chairperson Tanner asked if there were any plans to connect the access to the Candlewood site, the Goody’s site, and the D’Mundo site north to Interstate 10. Ms. Aylaian said no, not that she was aware of and deferred the question to the Public Works representative. Mr. Joy indicated that the internal circulation within that one subdivision has a ring road that goes inside there. The subdivision to the east of that, he believed, had some sort of joint access between the two projects. Staff usually requested those so that traffic didn’t have to go out onto the street to go from one center to the other. He believed there was some kind of cut thru there to get from one project to the other. Chairperson Tanner said it might help the process, but it certainly was a problem. Commissioner Limont wanted to make sure they were aware of it, took a look at it, and made sure they didn’t bypass it. She agreed with Co-Chair Campbell that Architectural Review did a good job dressing up the building a lot and thought that area suffered from some mediocre architecture and this was a nice building. Action: It was moved by Commissioner S. Campbell, seconded by Commissioner Schmidt, approving the findings as presented by staff. Motion carried 5-0. 6 MINUTES PALM DESERT PLANNING COMMISSION DECEMBER 2, 2008 It was moved by Commissioner S. Campbell, seconded by Commissioner Limont, adopting Planning Commission Resolution No. 2491, approving Case No. PP 08-309, subject to conditions. Motion carried 5-0. D. Case No. CUP/PP 08-263 – THE LIVING DESERT, Applicant Request for approval of a request by the Living Desert, located at 47900 Portola Avenue, for a Conditional Use Permit per Municipal Code Section 25.38 and for a Precise Plan Amendment. The request would revise the original Living Desert plan to construct, (in four phases), new zoological exhibits and a new entry complex as follows: Phase 1: African lion, meerkat, rock hyrax enclosures, Phase 2: crocodile, tortoise, lovebird, serval enclosures, Phase 3: future entry complex/events building, Phase 4: future hyena and rhinoceros enclosures. Ms. Schrader stated that approval of Conditional Use Permit and Precise Plan 08-263 would allow the applicant to expand 6.55 acres of vacant land within the interior portion of the original Living Desert to construct those four phases. She gave a detailed staff report, and then distributed a packet of pictures and a survey of national zoos, which she explained was where there are African lions and where they are in proximity to residential areas. It was compiled by Terrie Correll, the Director at the Living Desert. She said there were only a few outstanding comments, most of them were positive, and in the staff report, the method for addressing the containment of the lions, including the sound they might make, had been expressed where there is basically excavation, berming and walls. The hope was that the noise itself would not be an issue at all. Also included in the packet was a study of parking. Basically, throughout the nation the number of visitors and parking that is provided, and it turned out that the Living Desert is well within the ranges, so right now it is in great standing in that regard. She stated that the proposed expansion conforms to all zoning regulations and indicated that impacts were very minimal. She thought the Living Desert could be counted on to make a very aesthetic contribution to the region. It could be concluded that the facility would be favorable and staff recommended approval with the conditions attached to the draft resolution. Commissioner Limont asked if they had talked to folks that live close by, like at the Reserve. Ms. Schrader said she did have visitors come to the public counter who commented that they really enjoy the animal noises in 7 MINUTES PALM DESERT PLANNING COMMISSION DECEMBER 2, 2008 the morning. They actually hear wart hogs and the animals clamoring for their humans to come and feed them, and they enjoyed it very much. There were some other concerns; she wasn’t sure if those people were in the audience or not and wasn’t sure she should speak for them or not, but they were concerned about noises that were not animal noises, noises that upset the animals having to do with fireworks and things like that. Other than that, it was very positive living near the Living Desert and hearing any kind of noises, as far as the zoo was concerned. Commissioner S. Campbell asked where the fireworks were coming from. Ms. Schrader said it was her understanding that they come from both the Vintage and the Reserve. They were from individual residential partiers--it wasn’t from the Living Desert. Commissioner Limont asked during the season, and during the holiday season, if the parking was difficult because of so much going on at the Living Desert. She asked if, as of today, we have had parking issues there. Ms. Schrader hadn’t heard of any complaints from residents and noted that this was actually noticed well in advance because of the Negative Declaration, so there was an opportunity to hear if anyone had complaints. She knew there were a couple of events, recent events, that weren’t always there, like the Earth Day event, etc., which caused some parking on Portola, but they didn’t have residents complain to Code Enforcement that she was aware of. Commissioner Limont noted that the Living Desert has expanded their classes and a lot of really good things, and she thought they needed to really look out for that neighborhood. That is a wonderful neighborhood, it’s very sweet and a lot of people walk, and they wanted to make sure there weren’t a lot of cars on the street. Chairperson Tanner asked how many parking spaces were available right now. Ms. Schrader replied 635 total for the guests. Chairperson Tanner pointed out the open area just southwest of the parking area along Portola and asked if it could be used now for additional parking. Ms. Schrader wasn’t sure how the Living Desert attended to their spillover when they have holiday events, etc., and asked that the question be directed to the applicant as to what happened to that area when it gets really full. When speaking with staff, the area near the giraffe exhibit was almost empty all year round and it was only during event times when it becomes really full. Chairperson Tanner asked about that area as they add attractions. Ms. Schrader pointed out the existing parking and the employee parking and noted that there appeared to be a building there and wasn’t sure how the area would accommodate an expansion of the existing parking. Ms. Aylaian noted that one of the conditions of approval in the draft resolution before them required that before they get to Phase 3 of the expansion, 8 MINUTES PALM DESERT PLANNING COMMISSION DECEMBER 2, 2008 which is really where the vehicle intensive use would be for the conference center or things that would actually draw more people, a parking study and a parking management plan would be required. For the first two phases, staff didn’t anticipate that the use would increase the number of people using the parking. Commissioner S. Campbell asked if they would return to Planning Commission when Phase 3 was started. Ms. Schrader thought the Public Works and Planning Departments would make sure that the parking management plan was to staff’s satisfaction; otherwise, they would have to bring it back if for some reason they felt it wasn’t satisfactory. Commissioner Schmidt asked if it was a condition. Ms. Schrader said yes. It was in the staff report and in the resolution. There were no other questions for staff. Chairperson Tanner opened the public hearing and asked the applicant to address the Commission. MS. TERRIE CORRELL of Palm Desert, and SCOTT RAMSER, the architect, from Wichita, Kansas, came forward. Ms. Correll thanked the Commission and the staff for all their hard work and effort on their project. They looked forward to Lion Ridge and it would be one step closer to completing their master plan. Regarding parking, Ms. Correll clarified that right now they allow staff to park in the lot, which she believed was 100+ spaces that Renee quoted. At any time, they could request staff to park in off- exhibit or service areas that they have designated as staff parking. They could also create additional staff parking. She said Thanksgiving weekend is their biggest weekend at the Living Desert, and she had volunteers and staff out counting parking spaces, because she thought this might be a question during the day time. At no time on Friday, Saturday or Sunday was the parking lot full. In fact, Friday, they had 81 available spaces at the peak, and the high end on Sunday, 520 spaces were available. So it was taken over times at 11:00, 12:00, 1:00, 2:00 and 3:00 o’clock, their peak visitation times. So the same could be said for Wild Lights which opened that weekend as well. At no time did they fill the lot. She thought that might be useful. Mr. Ramser thanked the staff and thought this non-traditional project required a few extra things as far as looking at it and trying to figure it out. The one thing he wanted to stress was the exhibit 9 MINUTES PALM DESERT PLANNING COMMISSION DECEMBER 2, 2008 and architecture they did was all in keeping with the existing development and architecture that exists at Village Watutu and the giraffe exhibit. They were doing similar things and trying to enhance what is there. There were no questions for the applicant. Chairperson Tanner asked for testimony in FAVOR of. There was no response. He asked for testimony in OPPOSITION to the proposed project. MR. PATRICK G. BEDROSIAN, P.O. Box 272 in Palm Desert, California, stated that he has a place on Ocotillo Court in Corsican Villas. He stated that he didn’t necessarily agree with everything that had been said. One of the things he found just going out the gate sometimes is people will be leaving the Living Desert, and because they are following each other, they don’t all stop. If you are trying to turn left out of Corsican there, there are continuous cars coming out because the one person is following the one ahead. But he would follow what he had (referring to a letter he submitted before the meeting started). He said these were things that have actually happened. His first objection, and they were talking about how nice it looks inside for the animals, but his first objection is he came to City Hall when they were in the process of putting up the chain-link fence along Portola, which by the way, he didn’t think they would approve a chain-link fence anywhere in Palm Desert in a residential neighborhood. Was he right? He knew he was. He worked for the City. They put up a chain-link fence along Portola with some barbwire. When he brought that to the staff’s attention, he was told that nothing could be done about it because it is in Indian Wells. Now when he sees this, he didn’t want to call anybody anything, but basically it wasn’t the truth. If there is a concern, the concern should be what the appearance is from the road, what the rest of them have to comply with. The barriers, if they are putting up barbwire and those kinds of fences, should be on the other side of the parking lot internal to the complex. What is along the road should have to go through the same kind of thing any other project has to do in the city. To him it was wrong, and if they wanted to do anything, that’s where they needed to start. His second objection was high noise levels. When he lived there in his condo, he had to take a flight, and it had to do with the City, and there was a party going on there and the music was actually vibrating his roof. He could hear all the people getting on the loud 10 MINUTES PALM DESERT PLANNING COMMISSION DECEMBER 2, 2008 speaker. He called law enforcement several times and nothing happened because it was in the Living Desert. When he talked to them and complained, they offered him some passes. He was not interested in some passes. He was interested in maintaining a high level neighborhood. He moved in there in 1987 and the reason why they were there, and it’s changing in the desert and he understood that, was because they could see the stars, they could hear a pin drop, and the animals they hear are coyotes once in a while. He didn’t want to change that. He was sorry, but he didn’t. He didn’t want a convention center there; he didn’t want any more traffic there. Traffic has to do with ambient noise levels. He knew about them and has enforced them. So it has to do with ambient noise levels and when they bring that kind of traffic in there, they change the ambient noise levels. When they change the ambient noise levels that allows people to get louder in other things they do because it is based on ambient noise levels. The ambient noise level in that area before they changed the Living Desert from what it used to be to protect the bighorn sheep, they were heading toward it being a zoo. When he moved there, that wasn’t the idea. He always thought, gee, this is great, he has all these nice neighborhoods around him, and besides that, he has a place that is not going to be a problem. Mr. Bedrosian said basically it affects their right to enjoy their property, it affects their peace and quiet and the value of their property. He didn’t think it should keep changing. If anything, it should go backwards. If they wanted to make a zoological park, they should do it near I-10, or use the Vintage gate as the entrance to this place and see how quickly that would change the way they donate their money. The rest of them have to live with it; it was on the Vintage’s side gate, not at their front gate. So it was traffic, noise, pollution. He thought she said 14 or 18 bus spaces. That is an indication of how much traffic they are really talking about. That was not normal. Would they like 14 or 18 diesel trucks coming down their city street? No, they would not. And Portola is their city street. That was part of what’s wrong. The activities there should be limited. The hours should be limited. They have Sandpiper who made all kinds of noise. They had some really good businesses that were going to bring revenue to the City and the City built a park there. The reason why the City built a park there was because every business that tried to get in there, 11 MINUTES PALM DESERT PLANNING COMMISSION DECEMBER 2, 2008 Sandpiper pitched a complaint about and there was no business there and it is a commercial zone. They have had businesses that get a complaint from outside the city, and he was familiar with all of this. They get a noise complaint from someone that lives in Rancho Mirage, and yet they will come down on the business, and he lives within the neighborhood there and basically it is going to be ignored. He didn’t think so. Mr. Bedrosian said there are 130 units in their complex. Granted, all of them didn’t border this place. But from his own experience, he also has a home in Indian Wells, when these events happen in the hotels, or whatever, he couldn’t open up his windows when it was nice weather. Why? Because of the loud speakers and he lives all the way by Fairway and he could hear someone on their loudspeaker at the Hyatt or at the Esmeralda. None of them want that in their neighborhood, and they shouldn’t have it. They didn’t pick a location where they would be dealing with any of this. To him it has just gotten worse, and they were just trying to make more of the same and it was wrong. The indication to him is someone showing him a hut and how it‘s going to look nice for the lions. He didn’t care about that. They spent money on their entryway and on their fence. His development has some old fence that is grandfathered in, but the Living Desert put in a brand new fence that’s illegal and no one at the City did anything about it. He would actually use the word now because he saw the property, the actual city limits, and they lied to him. And that’s wrong. And that was high levels that lied to him. It’s got to stop. When they make exceptions for things that are non-profit or whatever it is, things happen like what happened in La Quinta. Someone goes in to make the change, the next thing you know they are tearing up the mountainside and now it would be something different. That’s what happened here. It’s going to be something different than what they started out with: saving the bighorn sheep. Convention center? They have Desert Willow and all kinds of places. How much traffic and how many people can go in that convention center? Would they want that by their house? He didn’t think any of them did. He also didn’t think there was one person that wanted 18 buses, buses idling, vehicles running and polluting the air. They like to be able to walk. That’s a walking neighborhood and always has been. Let them put it behind Bighorn and see what 12 MINUTES PALM DESERT PLANNING COMMISSION DECEMBER 2, 2008 kind of scrutiny they get. Just because they don’t have million dollar homes doesn’t mean they don’t have rights as citizens. And the people that are donating money, they are donating money to a good cause, but he knows some of them. Where their other fancy homes are outside the city, if someone was to put a zoo next to their house they would have a fit. Mr. Bedrosian thought they should think twice about allowing any expansion of that place at all. He thought they had already done too much, and he thought they did a lot of it without approval, because that parking lot expanded. Did they get a notice that the parking lot was going to expand? Did they get a notice that the fence was going to go up on Portola? No. He knew they didn’t because he questioned that fence when it went in. So it was okay, they were going to reward people for doing things illegally and then give them more. He didn’t think so. That was his objection and the rest were in his letter. His neighbors, a lot of them voice the same opinion. He originally wasn’t going to come here and was glad he did, because the more he heard, the more he doesn’t like it. He thanked them. MR. VOLKER NIEWISCH, 73856 Ocotillo Court, said he was not a professional at this and got a very professional and polite briefing, a lot of patience, from Ms. Renee Schrader. He thanked her for that and said it was very interesting. He was there as a resident who loves Palm Desert. He has been there since 1985 and lives in the Corsican Villas complex. He had questions and asked if they could be addressed to the applicants, or to assume that all of them know all the details. According to the mailing they received from the City, they were proposing Phases 1 thru 4 and he asked if they had a timeline estimate. Part of Phase 3, and he wanted to confirm it and had been briefed by staff, is called an entry complex. That was very scary to him because their entry from the complex could possibly face the new entry and he didn’t know what entry complex meant, unless the applicants explained it to him. Because that would be a major traffic hazard if it was moved from the existing entrance, which was just a little bit up from their entrance, and that would be a huge inconvenience and safety hazard. The exiting vehicles from the complex were not really traffic safety conscious because he didn’t really recall if there was a stop sign at the exit or not. So it might be perfectly legal to make a right turn to go north on Portola 13 MINUTES PALM DESERT PLANNING COMMISSION DECEMBER 2, 2008 towards Palm Desert. He would like to have an answer to that. Is there any plan to move the entry complex from where there is not an entry gate? Ecology. Mr. Niewisch was most proud of Palm Desert of being such an ecology advocate. It was really refreshing and he was sure the City would serve as an example for the whole nation. He emailed more about the City ecology program all over, not just the United States, but Europe, as an example. Therefore, he was a little bit angry about the nonchalance with which the Living Desert did not reply to their inquiries about the legality or advisability or the ethics of 4, 5 or 6 tour buses idling for hours. If the applicant could give him an explanation of why it was technically necessary that a modern diesel engine run, or if it was for the bus users comfort so that they have a nice cold bus to get back into, he could understand that, but that did not fit into the City’s embracing of the ecology issues, because that’s an air pollution issue and not justifiable. Noise abatement regulations. There were times and decibels for music and fireworks events in the evening. That was an issue. He liked to sit on his patio and not be forced to listen to someone else’s music tastes. He liked most of the Christmas music there now, but it was really not a peaceful place anymore because they have local performers and all kinds of bands. It was very audible where they live. Mr. Niewisch said he had a neighbor that accompanied him here. At 6 o’clock in the morning his bedroom window faces onto Portola toward the Living Desert. It was 56 feet from the Living Desert border. They use leaf blowers at 6:00 in the morning. He is unable to sleep with an open window, which they all like to do when they can. Some of them need to have it explained. Everything about the Living Desert is great: the website is great, the mission statement is beautiful, and they could really be enthusiastic about it, but the reaction from the staff, and he didn’t like to complain, and those are usually employees and volunteers and he didn’t like to do that, but usually they offer a free ticket. He would also like to have an explanation from the applicant or the Commissioners about the specifications and the irregularity of the chain-link fencing. He thanked them and Ms. Schrader. MR. MIKE VULOVIC, 73-864 Ocotillo Court in Corsican Villas, stated that he is in the front side and his window is open 53 feet 14 MINUTES PALM DESERT PLANNING COMMISSION DECEMBER 2, 2008 from the Living Desert. He didn’t want them to get him wrong, he wished them the best and wanted to be a good neighbor, but he would give them two or three examples just to bring it on a human level to see what he has to go through. About a year ago they had three diesel buses running for hours. As they knew, the wind is always toward them. They had to close the windows, not because of the noise, but because they couldn’t breathe. He ran across the street and talked to the bus driver who told him, not very politely, that they have to keep the buses cool for their customers. The visit usually lasts at least two or three hours. He requested to speak to someone in charge. He should have taken her name; the lady was very polite and very nice and she more politely than the driver told him that the customer was their first obligation. On another occasion there were fireworks and it was at 11:40 p.m. and he has to get up at 3 o’clock to go to work. It was for 10 to 15 th minutes and was loud. It wasn’t on the 4 of July. Somehow he was so excited he called the La Quinta police department and their explanation was that someone important must be having a birthday. So those were little examples of what they have to go through. When his family bought there after many, many years of hard work, they could finally afford to buy a little piece of property in this paradise. They were so happy and so glad and never objected to anything. He even sent all of his friends and customers across the street to visit them to support them. He was proud of them. But gradually it has become worse and worse: the air pollution, the noise, and it wasn’t just that it was unbearable, but it’s also insulting the way they are treated. And it was to the point where he was talking to his family that it was going to get worse and worse and they would probably have to sell and move away and give away all their dreams and what they had worked for. He thanked them for letting him speak. Chairperson Tanner asked if there was any other testimony in opposition. Hearing no one, he asked the applicant to answer questions and offer rebuttal comments. Ms. Correll said that with regard to fireworks, the Living Desert does not shoot off fireworks. That comes from most likely the Vintage and the Reserve. In fact, they call the Living Desert when they are going to have a fireworks program to let them know because they were concerned that it might cause problems with the animals, but that was not the case. The animals habituate to it, and because of where they are located and how it is planted, the 15 MINUTES PALM DESERT PLANNING COMMISSION DECEMBER 2, 2008 animals don’t really hear it. That was something out of their control and they have no control over who shoots off fireworks. With regard to the buses, they do offer bus parking and have 14 spaces. They are used most of the time for school buses. They do have tour buses that come through and they do ask that the buses park there. If they choose for their customers, or it’s their company policy that they have the buses running for air-conditioning, she didn’t know that they had any control over that. With regard to the noise level of parties, they do offer parties and people do from time to time have wedding receptions and things like that at the park. When they are notified that the noise level is too loud, because sometimes it does get loud, and on occasion they have had to tell the people renting the space to quiet down or they have to close the function down, so they try whenever possible in their planning and what they do to be good neighbors to the Corsican Villas, to the folks at the Vintage, and at the Reserve. She didn’t know if she missed anything. Mr. Ramser addressed the entry complex and what that would be. He said that wasn’t a separate entrance onto Portola; that was the entrance from the parking lot into the zoo, so it would be a new entrance gate where you pay admission. It would include gift shop and some other services for security and things like that. It wouldn’t directly affect any traffic. There was also a question about timeline of the future phases. Basically the phases that would include the entry complex and then the event center, there were basically no timelines at this point because they were anticipated to be several years out at this point. Ms. Correll said that right now, Phase 1 and Phase 2 construction would begin in 2009 and they anticipated that to go 18 months to two years, depending on what happens, for completion in 2011. Referring to her notes, regarding the chain-link fence, as she recalled, they worked with the City of Palm Desert to install that and plant it at some point quite a while ago. So they did that in conjunction with the City. The parking lot itself, they just put pavers down and used the existing space that they had for their parking lot. They eliminated berms and some plantings in the dirt parking lot and installed pavers, which allows water to seep through. She asked for any other questions. 16 MINUTES PALM DESERT PLANNING COMMISSION DECEMBER 2, 2008 Ms. Aylaian said the one remaining question she didn’t hear addressed was the use of leaf blowers. She asked what hours the maintenance crew worked. Ms. Correll said their gardening crew works in the summertime 6:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. She understood those hours were per City ordinance, but if she was wrong, and they do use leaf blowers in the interior of the park, not every day, but they do use them. (Someone from the audience spoke and said they were also used outside on the sidewalk.) Ms. Correll said they try to meet the City ordinance, and if it was 6:00 a.m., that’s what they were doing. If it was before then, they wouldn’t want to do that and would want to meet the City ordinance for leaf blowing. Chairperson Tanner asked for their hours of operation. Ms. Correll said they are open 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. with the last admission at 4:00 p.m. Chairperson Tanner asked about the parties they have for weddings, anniversaries, etc. Ms. Correll said that typically the parties they have are smaller functions in the space. They have a DC house, they have a new Chase administration building they rent, and they rent out their palm garden, which is the largest of the venues and that can hold around 200 for a seated dinner and up to 400 for a standing cocktail kind of hour. It is a revenue-generating source for them, but most of the parties were not a lot of people because the venues they have are smaller. It was just the palm garden. They don’t get weddings every weekend or anything like that; occasionally they do. Chairperson Tanner asked how late those go. Ms. Correll said those can go until midnight. Chairperson Tanner asked if that was with music. Ms. Correll said not with music, but the whole function itself, they’ve had them as late as midnight. But that was a rare thing. Usually 17 MINUTES PALM DESERT PLANNING COMMISSION DECEMBER 2, 2008 there are dinners and things like that which are over with around 10:00 p.m. Commissioner R. Campbell asked if they could somehow find another parking area for these buses to go to, and the people who ride the bus, because he has gone through this in other places where they’re told the bus will not be back until 4 o’clock and they would have to find something to do until that time because they are not allowed to have the buses parked there idling. So it made him wonder if something like this could be worked out with somewhere else in the city. Ms. Correll said possibly, but when they built the new parking lot itself and redid it, they allowed for 14 spaces. Those were mainly for school buses that do come and go, but they do park there. Anything was possible, so yes, it was possible. Commissioner Limont thought it was obvious that the City needed to maybe have a conversation with the Living Desert and say we have some neighbors, here are the issues, and take a look at our ordinances and make sure, because it didn’t matter if they are non-profit. They are all neighbors in this town and she wanted to make sure they are within the ordinances and make sure everyone was in agreement that we address this and then at a later time bring some of these issues back. Commissioner S. Campbell noted that there were quite a few issues here that should be given an answer to and suggested a continuance. The noise up to midnight, and Augusta’s having to close, so she thought they should continue it. Chairperson Tanner asked if that was a motion. Commissioner S. Campbell made motion to continue. Commissioner Limont seconded the motion. Action: It was moved by Commissioner S. Campbell, seconded by Commissioner Limont, continuing Case No. CUP/PP 08-263 to the first meeting in January (January 6, 2009). Commissioner Schmidt asked about the scope of the future events center and asked Ms. Correll to elaborate on it a little bit. Ms. Correll said it was called the Special Events building and was basically a big box and what they would be doing with that is using it for temporary exhibits that they might want to bring into the park. 18 MINUTES PALM DESERT PLANNING COMMISSION DECEMBER 2, 2008 They would also use it for their own fundraising. Right now they rent a tent when they have their annual fundraising event. They would be able to use that building for that. If someone wanted to have an indoor space instead of using their palm garden for a larger event, they would be able to have that facility for rental. She wanted to emphasize that most of these events are small events at night and it was rare that they really go late. She just wanted to make sure everyone understood that. Commissioner Schmidt asked if the events were placed more toward the center of the complex or around the periphery. Ms. Schrader showed a site plan of the future buildings and believed the larger building was for special events and the smaller the entry complex. Mr. Ramser also showed the corner of the existing parking lot, the administration building and pointed out the new entry area. Commissioner Schmidt noted that it was a little north and east of the street entrance from Portola. Mr. Ramser thought that it would be almost straight south from the entrance. Ms. Schrader explained that the plan was turned around. She showed Portola and pointed out the entry area and the events building, as well as the Portola entrance. There was no other discussion and Chairperson Tanner called for the vote. Motion carried 5-0. IX. MISCELLANEOUS A. Case No. VAR 08-821 – MICHAEL AND MARIANNE TOIA, Applicants Per Planning Commission direction on November 18, 2008, presentation of a resolution denying a request for a variance that would reduce the required minimum side yard setback from five feet to zero feet to allow construction of a golf cart shed located on property line for an existing single family home located at 46-020 Burroweed Lane. 19 MINUTES PALM DESERT PLANNING COMMISSION DECEMBER 2, 2008 Action: It was moved by Commissioner S. Campbell, seconded by Commissioner Limont, approving the findings as presented by staff. Commissioner Schmidt wanted to make sure that a yes vote was to deny it. Commissioner S. Campbell said yes. For the record, Chairperson Tanner stated that his understanding of what the Planning Commission does is they look at ordinances and not the legal aspects of building and not building. At the meeting, there was comment about the legality of building the complex, about proper permits and he understood that and feels for that, but at the same time, what was presented before them was the variance of five feet. He, again for the record, just wanted to make sure they know that that is what they are supposed to be doing. There was a motion and a second. He called for the vote. Motion carried 4-1 (Chairperson Tanner voted no). It was moved by Commissioner S. Campbell, seconded by Commissioner Limont, adopting Planning Commission Resolution No. 2492, denying Case No. VAR 08-821. Motion carried 4-1 (Chairperson Tanner voted no). X. COMMITTEE MEETING UPDATES A. ART IN PUBLIC PLACES Commissioner S. Campbell gave an update on their last meeting. B. LANDSCAPE COMMITTEE Commissioner Limont reported on their last meeting. C. PROJECT AREA 4 COMMITTEE Commissioner R. Campbell noted that there hasn’t been a meeting since he was appointed as liaison. Commissioner Schmidt asked if the support staff had been notified of the change. Commissioner R. Campbell said he called it in right away. D. PARKS & RECREATION Chairperson Tanner said Parks and Recreation met that morning and reviewed their items of discussion. 20 MINUTES PALM DESERT PLANNING COMMISSION DECEMBER 2, 2008 XI. COMMENTS A. Commissioner Schmidt asked if Chairperson Tanner had an alternate for the Parks and Recreation meeting. Chairperson Tanner said no and invited her to attend. He noted that they meet the first and third Tuesdays at 8:30 a.m. B. With regard to the Jiffy Lube on Highway 111, Commissioner Limont was approached by a neighbor of the project and asked if there was a condition of approval about the bay doors. The bay doors were open all the time. Ms. Aylaian said she would ask the Code Enforcement folks to pay them a visit. Commissioner Limont thanked her. C. Commissioner Schmidt asked for clarification about the Living Desert and why it was continued. Chairperson Tanner noted that there were many questions that needed to be asked of staff. And another thing for clarification, he asked about the chain-link fencing. He had noticed that too and had a question about it. He asked if that was a permanent chain-link fence along Portola or if it was temporary and why it was allowed. He didn’t think it came before the Planning Commission. Ms. Aylaian said that staff would look into all the issues that were raised and would report back. Commissioner S. Campbell noted that they would hear all about it in January. D. Ms. Aylaian indicated that staff would like to schedule a Joint Study Session with the Planning Commission and the City Council on the proposed Westfield expansion. It would be on January 8, 2009 at 2:00 p.m. in the Administrative Conference Room. She indicated that Westfield has been interested in expediting the project and expediting the review they would hold a Joint Study Session to facilitate that. Commissioner S. Campbell asked how long the meeting would be. Ms. Aylaian said that it had to be done in an hour because the City Council goes into closed session at 3:00 p.m. XII. ADJOURNMENT It was moved by Commissioner Limont, seconded by Commissioner R. Campbell, to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried 5-0. The meeting was adjourned at 7:30 p.m. 21 MINUTES PALM DESERT PLANNING COMMISSION DECEMBER 2, 2008 _______________________________ LAURI AYLAIAN, Secretary ATTEST: ____________________________ VAN G. TANNER, Chair Palm Desert Planning Commission /tm 22