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HomeMy WebLinkAbout0604 MINUTES PALM DESERT PLANNING COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING TiJESDAY - JUNE 4, 19 9 6 7 :00 P.M. - CIVIC CENTER COUNCIL CHAMBER 73-510 FRED WARING DRIVE 1r„�r * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * I . CALL TO ORDER Chairperson Beaty called the meeting to order at 7 : 04 p.m. II . PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Commissioner Ferguson led in the pledge of allegiance. III . ROLL CALL Members Present: Paul Beaty, Chairperson Sonia Campbell Jim Ferguson George Fernandez Sabby Jonathan Members Absent: None Staff Present: Phil Drell Steve Sa�ith Marshall Rudolph Tonya Monroe IV. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: ir.. Consideration of the May 21, 1996 Meeting m�inutes . Action: Moved by Commissioner Campbell, seconded by Commissioner Ferguson, approving the 3une 4, 1996 meeting minutes as submitted. Carried 5-0 . , V. $UMMARY OF COUNCIL ACTION: Mr. Drell summarized pertinent May 23, 199b city council actions . VI. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS None. VII . CONSENT CALENDAR None. i... MINUTES PALM DESERT PLANNING COMMISSION JUNE 4, 1996 VIII . PUBLIC HEARINGS „�,, A. Continued Case No. CUP 96-16 - MONTEREY PARTNERS, LTD. , Applicant Request for approval of a conditional use permit to allow the operation of a 1575 square foot Togo' s sandwiches/ salads restaurant with sale of beer and wine in an existing building in the Plaza de Monterey center at the southeast corner of Monterey Avenue and Country Club Drive. Mr. Smith noted that this matter was before Planning Commission on May 7, 1996 when it was continued to today. At that time the commission heard from area residents who expressed concerns about the existing operation of the restaurant in this center and the possible impact from an additional restaurant on the adjacent residential community. Mr. Smith noted that on page 1 of the staff report staff outlined seven issues that were raised. Since the last ; commission meeting staff inet with Mr. Spinello. As well, he ' had spoken with him on the telephone several times . In those meetings and telephone conversations Mr. Spinello committed �,, to staff that it was his intent to mitigate the concerns . In talking with him yesterday, staff learned that Togo ' s has withdrawn. Although the applicant didn't have Togo' s, staff wished to proceed with a possible restaurant use meeting the criteria that was set up for Togo 's so that if Mr. Spinello could come up with another restaurant tenant for this location that could operate without cooking on the site, with no more than the number of patrons or seats allotted, and if they could live with all the conditions set up, then it shouldn't be any more objectionable and perhaps they could avoid losing another tenant in the future if in fact he is able to find one that can live with those criteria. He indicated that Mr. Sp3nello wished to address the commission as to how he has addressed the problems tha� were brought forward and how he intend� to address them into the future. Staff recommended in favor of the request although there was no actual tenant. - Commissioner Jonathan asked about the mechanics of that recommendation because the request was for a conditianal use permit specifically for Togo' s . He asked if they could just change the language. Mr. Drell concurred. Mr. Smith said that staff would delete any reference to Togo 's specifically. 2 "� MINUTES PALM DESERT PLANNING COMMISSION JUNE 4, 1996 '� Commissioner Ferguson noted that this was similar to the commission's approval of the conditional use permit for the Redevelopment Agency property at the northeast corner of Highway 111 and Portola Avenue as a restaurant related use with no specific tenant. Mr. Smith agreed. Mr. Drell indicated that the city theoretically didn' t approve specific tenants, but the activity the business was engaged in. Chairperson Beaty noted that the public hearing was still open and asked if the applicant wished to address the commission. MR. SAM SPINELLO informed commission that they did lose their tenant that they started out with originally and he didn't have a replacement tenant yet. There was no one on the immediate horizon to occupy this space in this capacity, but in going through all the steps here he wanted to leave the commission with the feeling that they were a group that when they set out to work on things they diligently worked to accomplish the goals and change the problems . Looking at the seven items that were of issue and going through them, he felt they had been extremely successful in six of the items . They still had some work to do on item four. He introduced "� his Director of Property Management, Ms . Darcy Durhler, whom he said was largely responsible for fixing the problems . She handled the problems with the noise and the sweeper. He felt she had also been very successful in doing so and indicated that Mr. Schr2iber was at the meeting tonight to soeak in support. He asked the commission for approval of the conditional use permit so that if he found a tenant that fit in with the criteria they could proceed. Commissioner Jonathan asked Mr. Spinello about the condition of the landscaping at the center. The project-. started out with really nice landscaping on the corner of. Monterey and Country Club and over the yea.r.0 it has deter?orated to where there was now basically di-t. He asked if thPre were plans to �mprove that situati�n. Mr. Drell. noted that he was out there this afternoon and saw a hydro sePder planting something. Ms . Durhler stated that they would soon be planting grass . She said that the plants were trimmed up and sonie plants were moved since the spriz�klers didn't reach certain areas . The original desert landscape theme didn't work because it wasn't irrigated with a drip system and didn't have desert gold on top of it. They also had a lot of gazanias that the gofers loved and they ate them all up. .�.. 3 MINUTES PALM DESERT PLANNING COMMISSION JUNE 4, 1996 � I Their budget allowed them to plant rye and they came back � today to begin the process that they could now keep maintained. Chairperson Beaty asked if anyone wished to speak in FAVOR or OPPOSITION to the proposal . MR. BOB SCHREIBER stated that they had met with the shopping center managers . Since the last Planning Commission meeting they have been very pleased with the proqress that has been made at the center. The delivery hours have noticeably been changed, the sweepers have come at a reasonable hour (i .e. 9 : 00-9 : 30 a.m. ) . The difference was like night and day and they finally have some quiet enjoyment of their property. This morning with the hydro seed they breached the deal by starting at 6 : 30 a.m. , although he understood that it was a once in a many year deal . He stated that he understood that the center delivery hours were between 8 : 00 a.m. and 9 : 00 p.m. To the extent they are able to hold them within those hours, especially within even more reasonable hours, they seemed to be willing to do that and had been doing that for the past month. It has been noticeably different and he was pleased with that. Except for the "trip up" that morning, the only problem � was the bus boys and waiters turning on their boom boxes at the same time every night when they get off work, which makes his house shake. The managers of the restaurants were the ones that needed to be communicated with and he felt those managers should communicate with the employees . He said that he has tried talking directly with the managers but didn't get very far. That was the last issue that was a constant. Everything else had been very reasonable. They were pleased and they hoped it would continue and hoped that any type of approvals that were passed would incorporate or reiterate the fact that these regulations needed to be respected. They wanted a viable center there and enjoyed it very much. A healthy center was a good center. Chairperson Beaty closed the public hearing and asked for commission comments or action. Commissioner Jonathan expressed his appreciation to the applicant for doing the right thing and on a job well done. 4 � MINUTES PALM DESERT PLANNING COMMISSION JUNE 4, 1996 ""' Commissioner Campbell stated that she would be in favor of the conditional use permit for any restaurant that was similar to Togo's and complied with the conditions . Action: Moved by Commissioner Campbell, seconded by Commissioner Fernandez, approving the findings as presented by staff. Carried 5-0 . Moved by Commissioner Campbell, seconded by Commissioner Fernandez, adopting Planning Commission Resolution No. 1745, approving CUP 96-16, subject to amendment. Carried 5-0 . B. Case No. CUP 01-82 Amendment No. 3 - FOUNDATION FOR THE RETARDED OF THE DESERT, Applicant Request for approval of an amendment to the existing conditional use permit to allow Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) to utilize the assembly hall in the main building at 73-255 Country Club Drive on Sundays from 7 :00 a.m. to 10 : 00 a.m. and ""' on Thursday evenings from 7 : 00 p.m. until 9 : 00 p.m. , and to permit Calvary Chapel to hold services on Sunday between 11 : 00 a.m. and 12 : 30 p.m. Mr. Smith indicated that the project was at the southeast corner of Sagewood and Country Club Drive. The Foundation of the Retarded facility has access points on the east side of the property onto Country Club Drive and onto Sagewood from the west side of the property. Parking is provided on the north, west and south sides of the building. For some time now the Foundation of the Retarded has permitted Alcoholics Anonymous and Calvary Church to operate on the site. It came to staff 's attention through a complaint that was received in February and staff turned it over to Code Compliance. Eventually the city received the application before the commission now. Mr. Smith noted that staff circulated the letter of application that was not included in the packet, as well as a letter that was received yesterday from Hiroshi Fukuda at 40-021 Sagewood objecting to AA at this location. When staff received the original complaint it was with respect to people parking on the strest on Sunday mornings . On Sunday, May 19, Mr. Smith visited the site between 8 :45 a.m. and 11 : 30 a.m. to observe the parking situation. The � 5 MINUTES PALM DESERT PLANNING COMMISSION JUNE 4, 1996 9 : 00 a.m. AA session was extremely popular. The parking lot �1 was 11 spaces over the maximum, plus there were five cars that flowed into the Kenny Rogers lot, which was not a problem because they were not open, and there were 13 cars parked on both sides of Sagewood. He did not observe the 7 : 00 a.m. AA session. The letter of application indicated that these morning sessions have 80-90 people attending. The 11 :00 a.m. Calvary Chapel had fewer cars . Staff counted 16 vehicles, excluding the Foundation vehicles . There were a considerable number of vacant spaces and he didn't foresee a problem with that use. With respect to Thursday nights, staff hadn't observed the parking situation there then, however, Kenny Rogers has an agreement with the Foundation to allow overflow parking to use the Foundation parking lot and in the letter from the Foundation they indicated that between 40-50 people attend the Thursday evening session. Staff would anticipate that there would be some conflict between the two uses in that they both have their peak hours around 7 : 00 p.m. Staff noted that with the people attending the 9 : 00 a.m. AA session that car doors were being slammed shut, loud radios were playing and there was several vehicles which exited through the Sagewood community. Staff didn't contact the AA people because staff didn't know who the contact people were and while this is a very worthwhile group and a place needed to be found for them to operate, staff ' s concern � was that they are too successful for the location that they occupy. This is a facility with 57 parking spaces, but every car he observed had a single occupant. If they were having 70, 80 or 90 people attending their sessions, then they need a parking lot with 70, 80 or 90 parking spaces . If there was some way to limit the number of people attending the various sessions of AA, then perhaps they could continue to operate here, but he didn't know how that could be accomplished and was not familiar enough with the organization to know how they could limit the number of people attending. In an effort to try and work with them, staff was suggesting that if the CUP for AA was rejected, then AA be granted a temporary use permit to operate on Sundays and Thursdays through the summer until September 8, 1996 in order to allow them a transition period to relocate to another location. The request was broken into two: one was for the church use on Sundays between 10:30 a.m. and 12 :30 p.m. Staff was recommending in favor of that subject to the conditions in the resolution which included all the previously related conditions for the previously approved conditional uses . Staff was suggesting that they only be able to operate here as long as their average attendance does not exceed 30 persons and that the hours of operation be between 10 : 30 a.m. 6 � MINUTES PALM DESERT PLANNING COMMISSION JUNE 4, 1996 "�" and 12 : 30 p.m. on Sundays. In the matter of the second part of the application for AA, staff was suggesting that the commission reject the request in that staff didn't feel that finding number two could be made, which was that the proposed location of the conditional use permit and the conditions under which it will be operated and maintained will not be detrimental to public health, safety, or general welfare or be materially injurious to properties or improvements in the vicinity. When a church use was approved and there was a requirement of one parking space for every three seats, there were families going to church and staff has found that to be an acceptable parking level. When there was a use where almost 100$ of the people arrive individually, then they needed a site with far greater available parking. In staff ' s estimation, the commission could not make the findings for condition #2 . Staff was reluctantly recommending that Planning Commission deny the application for AA due to the parking inadequacy for the size of the group that they serve at this location. Commissioner Ferguson asked if the city had ever, prior to sending out the notice, received a complaint about AA operatinq in this location. Mr. Smith replied no. The complaint call that he received in February was relative to `�"' the church operating at similar hours to Kenny Rogers . Commissioner Ferguson asked for and received clarification that approximately 75 notices about this hearing were mailed. Commissioner Ferguson asked if Mr. Schreiber, who was present for the last hearing item who Iives across the street from this building, was mailed a notice; Mr. Smith said yes . Chairperson Beaty asked about the recommendation that the church be restricted to 30 persons, while allowing 40 persons for a limited AA operation who apparently had more cars . Mr. Smith said that the number 30 was arbitrary and could be higher. Staff noted that while there were 57 parking spaces on the site, there were not 57 available in that the Foundation stores vehicles there over the weekends . As well, there was constructian activity going on at the south end which was taking some parking spaces, so 40 was equally as valid as 30 . Commissioner Ferguson noted that on page 2 of the staff report Mr. Smith indicated that there were 13 cars parked on Sagewood. He asked if those cars were parked illegally, blocking driveways or otherwise causing a problem. Mr. Smith replied no. Commissioner Ferguson indicated that the site was allowed to have 74 trainees and up to a maximum of 24 � 7 MINUTES PALM DESERT PLANNING COMMISSION JLJNE 4, 19 9 6 employees, which was almost 100 people. He asked if the 57 .r space parking was adequate for them. Mr. Smith explained that the trainees arrived by shuttle and didn't drive. Mr. Farmer from Foundation of the Retarded clarified that all the individuals arriving at the Foundation were physically or mentally retarded and arrived by public transportation. They didn't drive vehicles, therefore parking spaces were available. Commissioner Jonathan asked staff about the structures to the south of the main Foundation facility. Mr. Smith noted that in the commission packets there was a revised site plan-- there were an additional 10 parking spaces on the west, a 3,000 square foot garage-type building to the east and a drop o f f area f or donated goods, and in 19 9 3 the c ity approved three duplex units that were located to the south. Commissioner Jonathan asked if those were initially placed there illegally (i .e. placed without a permit) and were approved subject to them being brought into compliance in some way. Chairperson Beaty felt that there was an emergency request because they had to get them off the site of the Sacred Heart Church. Commissioner Jonathan felt that when it was improved, there was some requirement that they be brought up to code and asked if those structures were now in � compliance. He recalled that more parking was needed to accommodate the additional square footage and that there was a plan to acquire more property and that the trailers were temporary because they were a nuisance to the Sagewood residents because of noise and dust. Mr. Farmer addressed the commission and said that in 1993 it wasn't trailers that were temporarily placed there. That was prior to his arriving as the Executive Director in 1994 . They received three duplexes that were through the Catholic charities . They had built some type of foundation base in the back lot and placed these duplexes there and then found out that they could not get the duplexes licensed or approved, so they had them removed. Most recently in 1995 they had approval for temporary trailers to be placed back there for their temporary workshop since they are renovating the existing building now. Most of their clients were working out of that temporary trailer and that was on a conditional use permit for an 18 month period. At that time they anticipated expanding and building a new workshop. The Foundation currently owns seven acres of land there so they would be expanding in the back in the 8 � MINUTES PALM DESERT PLANNING COMMISSION JUNE 4, 1996 ""'' future within the next two years . They were doing that through the Bob Hope Classic and several other foundations that were supporting the construction of that new facility. Those three existing trailers would be removed and it would all be parking area. Commissioner Jonathan said that he read of city plans to convert the old city library for use by non-profit agencies and would be making that facility available to organizations like AA and others . He asked if that was correct. Mr. Smith informed commission that there just wasn't enough parking at that site either. Mr. Dre11 said he didn't think the building was big enough to hold 90 people, plus there were only 13 parking spaces on the site. Chairperson Beaty noted that the Civic Center had plenty of parking if they used our facility. Commissioner Ferguson asked where the figure of 90 came from because Mr. Smith told him there were 45-60 people. Mr. Drell indicated that in the letter distributed from the Foundation, they said there would be 90 . When adding up the cars, there were 11 more then the capacity of the lot and the lot had 57 spaces, so that was 67 plus the cars in the Kenny Rogers lot and along the street, so there were 80 cars there on the day the facility was observed. Commissioner Ferguson asked if the 55-60 was what Mr. Smith saw when he went out """ there last month. Mr. Smith said he didn't count the number of people entering, but he counted 80 cars with one occupant per car, less five or six Foundation vehicles stored there over the weekend so there were 70-80 people. Chairperson Beaty opened the public hearing and asked if the applicant wished to address the commission. MR. BILL SIMMONS addressed the commission and explained that he was a member of Alcoholics Anonymous . He said that 13 years ago he was a sloppy, falling down, commode hogging, lying, cheating, stealing drunk. That was not who the commission would see tonight as a direct result of the Alcoholics Anonymous program. For six months he was a coffee maker for the Sunday morning meetings and he said he wanted to clarify a few facts . There was only one meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous and that was Sunday morning at the Foundation for the Retarded. They have use of the building from 7 : 00 a.m. until 10 : 00 a.m. From 7 : 00-9 : 00 a.m. there were around 6-8 people in the building making coffee, organizing the room and getting prepared for the meeting. The meeting actually ran from 9 : 00 until 10 : 00 every Sunday morning. He concurred that there were normally 80-90 people at that meeting. ... 9 MINUTES PALM DESERT PLANNING COMMISSION JUNE 4, 1996 He disagreed that everyone drives individually. He has �.�r been a regular at this meeting for some time. The majority of the people did come alone, probably 33-35� come together. So 50-70 vehicles was possible on a Sunday morning, but if public parking was not available to people who have a valid reason for being somewhere on a Sunday morning, he asked what public parking was for. As far as he knew the public streets of this community were for public parking. He didn't think they were unruly in the least. He clarified that the Thursday night meetings and the Sunday night meetings were not affiliated in any way. They were both meetings of the program of Alcoholics Anonymous but they were not affiliated. The Thursday night meeting, which he has been secretary of for the last three months, has an average of 20-25 people in attendance. They use the Foundation parking and one to four cars might park on the street because they find it more convenient, but they don't use the Kenny Rogers parking lot. The people that do use the Kenny Rogers parking lot on Sunday morning have breakfast there after the meeting and once it is open. He told commission that Alcoholics Anonymous saved his life and returned him to the main stream of living. It made him a productive member of this community. He didn't feel that they should limit .r the number of people attending an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting and asked which drunk they would turn away. The doors were open and people showed up in hopes that they too could find a way out of the misery in which they live. If the city asked them to change their location or forced them to change their location, the fact remained that when they moved they lost some of their productivity. Alcoholics Anonymous has survived over 55 years because people have made their homes, their churches, and their meeting rooms available to them and allowed them to conduct the business they do, which was the business of saving lives . He owed his life to Alcoholics Anonymous . He hoped the city didn't limit the places they could meet just because someone got annoyed with someone playing a radio a little too loud. The majority of people for the Sunday morning meeting arrive about 8 : 30 a.m. Prior to 8 : 30 there were 6-8 people in the building and five cars . He felt that if the situation was to be reviewed a little more carefully and more attention was paid they might see a different picture of what Alcoholics Anonymous was and what it could do. 10 � MINUTES PALM DESERT PLANNING COMMISSION JUNE 4, 1996 � MR. RICHARD FARMER, Executive Director for the Foundation for the Retarded, stated that he wanted to address this issue because the Foundation for the Retarded has grown over the years . They were still in a growing stage because there were a lot more handicapped people today then there were 10-15 years ago. This was a direct result of drugs and alcohol use. That makes them developmentally disabled and that was why the scape term was broadened from just mental retardation to developmental disabilities . The Foundation has grown, yet at the same time it was becoming more and more successful . It was the same with Alcoholics Anonymous . They have been working with that organization and there haven't been that many complaints that he has heard, except in February when he received a phone call from Mr. Drell that there was a complaint and that was about the Kenny Rogers . In checking out what they could do, there were several alternatives : 1) the meeting room itself was large enough and has a room capacity of 134-140 people; 2 ) expanding the way the Foundation has, they were going to expand their parking area in the future which would accommodate the AA organization to meet their needs . He said that they have negligently been parking their vehicles in parking "'� spots that were readily available and what they could do to help alleviate that was move their vehicles which would free up an additional 8-10 parking spaces immediately. They would move them to the back where the trailers are now, which was sand, and they could pack that with stone. That should help alleviate some of the problem. He wanted the city' s consideration and indulgence to allow AA and the Foundation to work together and resolve the problem so that there wouldn' t be a problem for them or the Foundation. Mr. Simmons stated that he wanted to make it clear that he didn't speak for Alcoholics Anonymous . He spoke from his personal experience as a member of the program having some knowledge of the two meetings in question there, but didn't speak for Alcoholics Anonymous . They have no spokesperson. Chairperson Beaty noted that no one else was in the audience to speak in FAVOR or OPPOSITION. Commissioner Ferguson stated that he visited the Foundation site earlier and saw the open sand and gravel area that Mr. Farmer referred to and asked if the Foundation owned that r... 11 MINUTES PALM DESERT PLANNING COMMISSION JUNE 4, 1996 property. Mr. Farmer replied yes . Commissioner Ferguson �•/ asked if it would be possible for Mr. Farmer to ask those attending Alcoholics Anonymous on Sunday mornings to make use of that back area for parking. Mr. Farmer replied yes . Commissioner Ferguson asked how many cars that could accommodate; Mr. Farmer said he wasn't sure, but there were about five acres there and they were not adverse to making that available for parking. Commissioner Ferguson noted that Mr. Simmons stated that he didn' t represent Alcoholics Anonymous; Mr. Simmons concurred. Commissioner Ferguson asked if Alcoholics Anonymous was aware that there was a hearing tonight that might take away their use of the Foundation facility; Mr. Simmons stated that he didn't think so. He, himself, was not fully aware of this situation until he arrived here this evening and read the staff report. Commissioner Ferguson asked if Mr. Simmons knew who the city could contact at Alcoholics Anonymous . Mr. Simmons replied that he could get the message to the Sunday morning meeting this Sunday. Commissioner Ferguson asked Mr. Simmons, from his experience, if the membership was asked to utilize the vacant lot immediately south of the Foundation facilities if the members would be able to do that. Mr. Simmons replied that they were a pretty cooperative group of people and that would not be a problem. Once the situation was presented they would do what they could to rectify any problem that .r exists . Commissioner Ferguson clarified for Mr. Simmons that they have never received a complaint about AA meetings, ever, until notices were sent out to 75 people and they received one letter today which made a vague reference to the increased traffic volume being hazardous to children. He wanted Mr. Simmons to know that they city hasn' t received, to his knowledge, complaints about their meetings . This came about as a result of the Kenny Rogers facility opening at 11 : 00 a.m. and the church starting at 11 : 00 a.m. Mr. Drell noted that parking lots, for them to be recognized as parking lots, have to be built to certain standards . They could approve temporary use permits as long as there was a reasonable expectation and a reasonable period of time that the parking lot would meet whatever the standard was that everyone else had to meet. Ultimately, if there was to be more parking developed on the site, then the city would want those standards to meet all the standards that anyone else would have to meet if they built a parking lot. Commissioner Campbell asked where these meetings took place prior to the Foundation location. Mr. Simmons replied that the Sunday morning meeting that has been drawn into question 12 � MINUTES PALM DESERT PLANNING COMMISSION JUNE 4, 1996 `� here used to meet at the Oasis Coun�ry Club. It moved from there because they out grew their facility. Commissioner Campbell asked how many were in the group at Oasis Country Club. Mr. Simmons said there were probably 40-60 people for Sunday morning when they moved to the Foundation for the Retarded. Commissioner Campbell asked how many years ago that was . Mr. Simmons stated that they have been at the Foundation for two and a half years . Commissioner Fernandez asked if Mr. Simmons were to speak to the group and talk to them about car pooling, and they were talking about maybe 14 vehicles that wauldn't be parked on the side of the street, he asked if he could get some cooperation from them on that issue. Mr. Simmons answered that he felt they could get some cooperation. He said the commission had to realize that the people attending this meeting came from all over the area. It was not per se a local meeting. People come from Palm Springs and Indio for this particular meeting because it has proven to be quite successful . It was a very spiritual meeting and on Sunday mornings it was good and was good for anyone to have some spiritual experience. That would solve a little of the problem, but he felt the use of the land that was available there that was not marked for parking at this time would ""� probably be the avenue of escape for them. Once it was pointed out that they needed to get off the street and out of the Kenny Rogers parking lot they would do everything they could because they didn't want to lose this facility. It served their purposes quite well . They would be cooperative in any way they could. Chairperson Beaty asked if the city had contacted the Foundation and asked for a contact person for AA if they would have provided a number; Mr. Farmer replied yes . Chairperson Beaty stated that it was too bad they didn't do that and indicated that he would probably be in favor of the resolution, although if they looked towards the future it looked like the Foundation was growing, AA was growing, and he suggested that they start making plans . Commissioner Ferguson noted that they have five vacant acres . Chairperson Beaty noted that Mr. Drell pointed out that something would have to be done to make that area acceptable for parking because of dust and sand. Mr. Drell indicated that Mr. Smith provided an alternative that either through a temporary use permit, or the commission could adopt a conditional use permit and make it temporary similar to Mr. Muro's project, that a condition of the temporary use permit would be that they do make these temporary spaces available and there were � 13 MINUTES PALM DESERT PLANNING COMMISSION JUNE 4, 1996 temporary dust control measures/materials that could be put � on the sand that could make it an acceptable parking lot for a temporary time that would require that after six months or a year or some date that there would have to be a proposal to make it permanent and process a plan which would ultimately develop those five acres which would include a parking lot. As soon as a renovation of the building is completed those temporary trailers would be removed and the obstacles to expanding the parking lot would disappear. With a temporary use permit they could modify the situation and as along as there was no problem they could continue to extend it. After each period of time they would be consulting with the Sagewood Homeowners Association to ask if they have any objections, they could talk to Kenny Rogers and if no one has any objection and they've made their attempt either through car pooling or the use of this lot to mitigate the problem, they could continue to approve temporary use permits . Commissioner Ferguson stated that he was deeply troubled by the fact that from a due process standpoint that Alcoholics Anonymous did not have notice of this hearing. It would be one thing if they were mailed a notice and chose not to show up, but as he understood it they weren't even mailed a notice. Mr. Drell noted that they were the applicant. Commissioner Ferguson disagreed. He said that the Foundation r► was the applicant. Mr. Drell stated that it was assumed that the applicant represents his clients, in essence, which were the people he was applying for. The city typically relied on the people making the application to notify all those that they have an interest in notifying. Commissioner Ferguson stated that he specifically sat down with Mr. Smith, and this was not a criticism of him, but he thought something could have been worked out by contacting Alcoholics Anonymous and asking them the types of questions they were asking tonight and no effort was ever made. Mr. Drell stated that they asked those questions of the applicant and staff assumed that it was the applicant' s responsibility to represent his case. If a restaurant applied for an expansion, they didn't try and contact all the patrons of the restaurant. They assumed that the restaurant owner would garner the support that he needed to pursue his case. He didn't believe it was his obligation, if it was a church, to go contacting the members of a church. Staff assumes that the leaders of the church do that for themselves . Commissioner Ferguson stated that he understood the point Mr. Drell was making, but he was unwilling to terminate a successful enterprise like Alcoholics Anonymous without them having notice, whoever' s fault it was, and he would be at a minimum willing to continue this so that if it 14 � MINUTES PALM DESERT PLANNING COMMISSION JUNE 4, 1996 � was necessary they could bring them here and involve them in this process, which was the point he was trying to make. It was not a criticism but an observation that they wauldn't do something like that without discussing it with them. Secondly, as far as the overflow parking, the problem that bothered him the most in all this was that this was a victimless crime. Someone complained about Kenny Rogers, which has been the lightning rod of criticism in that area, and the church because it happened to coincide, and as a result they were terminating Alcoholics Anonymous, which made no sense to him whatsoever. He looked at Sacred Heart and the parking situation there which was a dust bowl . He looked at the Redevelopment Agency project next to the Circle K which was a dirt lot and no one has abated that nuisance and it seemed to him that they were taking an elephant gun approach to what wasn't even a real problem. He looked at the minutes relating to Mr. Schreiber who lives right across the street who described his life over there as a living nightmare and he had the opportunity to testify regarding this, he received a notice and he chose not to, which told him that even he didn't see a problem and he was across the street. He was sensitive in wanting to approach this potential problem in a sensible way, but to say that they have to be out by September 8 without ever talking to them � and with no evidence of a real problem was a measure which he could not support. He reiterated that he felt the real problem was Kenny Rogers, not Alcoholics Anonymous, not Calvary Church, and not the Foundation for the Retarded. Commissioner Jonathan felt that the issue seemed to be clouded by the particular tenants, one of which was AA. He wanted to make it clear that he was in favor of the goals and objectives of AA, but he didn't think this hearing tonight was about addressing the worthiness of that program. The Planning Commission was here to address uses of property and unfortunately he felt there was a problem in terms of the use. It was not in conformity with the conditional use permit that the Foundation was issued and that was the problem. The non-conformity was resulting in overflow parking which was impacting the center, which they already knew was a problem, it was also adversely impacting the Sagewood residents. On Sunday mornings the last thing he wanted was a bunch of cars in front of his house and he could understand that was very much a potential problem. He didn 't have a problem with not notifying AA. If they started notifying tenants of applicants the city would use up all the RDA funds it could ever hope to use. He didn' t have a problem with that issue. He noted that Commissioner Ferguson �.. 15 MINUTES PALM DESERT PLANNING COMMISSION JUNE 4, 1996 listed other parking problems but he didn' t see the solution � to those parking problems as creating more parking problems . Whichever ones that were listed should be addressed and dealt with rather then creating more of the same kinds of problems . He was very concerned that no one from Sagewood was present and he agreed that a continuance made sense, but for different reasons . He stated that he would like to hear from the board of Sagewood and if they say this is no problem, they are aware of AA being there and they have no problem with the cars parking in front of their homes, then he was convinced. He wanted to know that they have been made aware of the situation and were in agreement. The possible solutions to the problem such as the use of the area in back when it was last addressed by the Sagewood residents was a real problem because it was on the other side of their backyard. If they did start making noise on Sunday mornings and kicking up dust, this could be creating a problem. He felt that what they were running into was the non-compliance of a permitted use and the encroachment of that non- compliance into a residential neighborhood. Before they look at the worthiness of a program and say at any cost let ' s do it and it was a growing and successful program, which means that whatever its effect it would be magnified in the future, he suggested continuing the matter and giving an opportunity to the Foundation, AA, the church and Sagewood to maybe talk �rr and meet and see what could be worked out. That was his recommendation. Chairperson Beaty stated that he would be in favor of that option also. He again reiterated that they obviously would be having a growing problem and they should start looking for a new facility if they were growing that fast. With 40-60 members at Oasis and now they have 80-90, if they were that successful they might be back here in a year with 130 and that would be a real problem. He also stated that no one was questioning AA and that was not the issue at all . Commissioner Ferguson stated that he wanted to point out that his reference to Sacred Heart Church and the Redevelopment Agency project was not that two wrongs made a right, but that they certainly weren' t shutting down those enterprises because of a concern over dust and he reiterated again, because Commissioner Jonathan said he saw evidence of adverse effect on the neighborhood, that there had been no evidence presented. There was a notice list of 75 people that included Sagewood, and their absence tonight was indicative of the fact that there was no problem and he was not advocating a road rally on the dirt parking lot which could 16 � MINUTES PALM DESERT PLANNING COMMISSION JUNE 4, 1996 '` create big problems . He said he would like to continue this and let AA know about it and Sagewood could certainly check in. He stated that he would speak out for the merits of Alcoholics Anonymous and for the church. They were two tremendously socially beneficial enterprises and they did need to moderate and take a look at their use, but the way this has been handled and approached, he didn't see any sensitivity to these two organizations and if they included the Foundation, those three organizations . It all seemed to have occurred as a result of one phone call relating to Kenny Rogers and now they would limit the growth of a church, throw Alcoho2ics Anonymous out in three months and it seemed that it was wrong and if he was overacting by the strength of his words he would apologize, but he felt very passionately about what they were doing and hoped that something could be worked out with the residents and the parking lot. Chairperson Beaty asked for a motion to continue this item to July 2, 1996 . Commissioner Jonathan requested that the Sagewood Board be included in the communications, rather than just the few homes within 300 feet. Staff concurred. Commissioner Ferguson asked if the Sagewood Board was notified. Mr. Smith explained that the notice was mailed, but it came back yesterday with no forwarding address . ''"" Chairperson Beaty noted that the attempt was made. Action: Moved by Commissioner Campbell, seconded by Commissioner Fernandez, continuing CUP 01-82 Amendment No. 3 to July 2, 1996 by minute motion. Carried 5-0 . C. Case Nos . CUP 96-15 and VAR 96-1 - DENISE ROBERGE, Applicant Request for approval of a Negative Declaration of Environmental Impact, conditional use permit and a variance to allow the construction of a 35 space parking lot on a 14,899 square foot parcel at the southwest corner of Portola Avenue and Shadow Mountain Drive (APN 627-351-039) . Mr. Drell explained that staff was waiting for a completed plan from the applicant and a continuance to June 18, 1996 was being requested. � 17 MINUTES PALM DESERT PLANNING COMMISSION JUNE 4, 1996 Chairperson Beaty asked for a motion of continuance. �i Action: Moved by Commissioner Campbell, seconded by Commissioner Fernandez, continuing CUP 96-15 and VAR 96-1 to June 18, 1996 by minute motion. Carried 5-0. IX. MISCELLANEOUS A. Discussion of AB 771 Grantinq All Existing Tentative Subdivision Maps an Automatic One-Year Time Extension. Mr. Drell informed commission that this was just for informational purposes only. All existing tentative subdivision maps which haven't expired by May 15, 1996 would receive an automatic one-year time extension. Action: None. X. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE UPDATE None. �1 XI . COMMENTS None. XII . ADJOURNMENT Moved by Commissioner Ferguson, seconded by Commissioner Campbell, adjourning the meeting to June 18, 1996 by minute motion. Carried 5-0 . The meeting was adjourned at 8 : 08 p.m. .-----�^ . PHILIP DRE , Secretary ATTE ST: - -��"�` � /� ,� t PAUL . BEATY, Chairpe, son Palm Desert Planning C` mmission /tm 18 �