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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1216 MINUTES PALM DESERT PLANNING COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING TUESDAY - DECEMBER 16, 1997 7:00 P.M. - CIVIC CENTER COUNCIL CHAMBER 73-510 FRED WARING DRIVE I. CALL TO ORDER Acting Chairperson Campbell called the meeting to order at 7:02 p.m. It. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Commissioner Beaty led in the pledge of allegiance. Ill. ROLL CALL Members Present: Sonia Campbell, Acting Chairperson Paul Beaty George Fernandez Sabby Jonathan One Vacancy Members Absent: None Staff Present: Steve Smith Bob Hargreaves Tonya Monroe IV. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Consideration of the December 2, 1997 meeting minutes. Action: It was moved by Commissioner Beaty, seconded by Commissioner Jonathan, approving the December 2, 1997 minutes as submitted. Motion carried 4-0. V. SUMMARY OF COUNCIL ACTION: Mr. Smith summarized pertinent December 11, 1997 City Council actions. VI. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS None. VII. AWARDS/PRESENTATIONS It was moved by Commissioner Beaty, seconded by Commissioner Fernandez, adopting Planning Commission Resolution No. 1843, commending James Cato Ferguson for his contributions to the community. Motion carried 4-0. i.r MINUTES PALM DESERT PLANNING COMMISSION DECEMBER 16, 1997 Vill. CONSENT CALENDAR A. CASE NO. PMW 97-32 - DAVID FREEDMAN & CO., INC., Applicant Request for approval of a parcel map waiver to allow a lot line to be readjusted back to its original position (PMW 92-20) for the northwest corner of Gerald Ford and Portola Avenue. Action: It was moved by Commissioner Jonathan, seconded by Commissioner Beaty, approving the Consent Calendar by minute motion. Motion carried 4-0. IX. 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. CUP 97-14 - COACHELLA VALLEY TRAINING, INC., Applicant Request for approval of a Conditional Use Permit to operate a private postsecondary vocational school offering medical, dental and computer "r careers in the R-3 zone at the northeast corner of Santa Ynez Avenue and Alessandro Drive, specifically Suites Al and A2 at 74-350 Alessandro. Mr. Smith explained that the request was for approval to operate a professional school at 74-350 Alessandro in an existing building. There are two buildings - one along the east side of the property known as Building B and on the corner, Building A. Building A has three suites and the applicant desired to occupy two of the three suites. As outlined in the staff report, Mr. Smith indicated that the applicant operates in the city's industrial park on St. Charles Place from a second floor location. Currently there were 43 students enrolled and the new location at full capacity would provide for a total of up to 85 students at any one time. That would be 25 in the computer section, 25 in the dental section, and 35 in the medical assistant room. The key concern with professional schools has been the parking situation. The Palm Desert ordinance requires one space for every three students plus employees (one per each employee). Following that criterion there was a need for 35 parking spaces. The existing site provided 34 parking spaces. Building B took up a significant portion of the on-site parking which would leave the applicant with the assignment of 12 parking spaces out of the 34 on-site. Mr. Smith stated that he spoke with Mr. Brown about this a week ago Friday and explained staff's concerns regarding parking and urged him to see if he could find some other parking in the neighborhood that he could lease. At the time the staff report was written he had not heard from Mr. Brown and there was some other 2 MINUTES PALM DESERT PLANNING COMMISSION DECEMBER 16, 1997 t.w research done in that over the years as staff has viewed these applications, what became apparent was that the city's ordinance did not require enough parking for this type of use. Staff looked at the La Quinta ordinance and it requires about double, or 20 spaces per classroom. He noted that the city has appointed a Zoning Ordinance Review Committee and they were doing a comprehensive review of the entire zoning ordinance and eventually that group would get to parking. This was one issue that would be before that group. Mr. Smith indicated that he reviewed the matter with the City Attorney last week and he concurred that the city could require in excess of what the city's parking ordinancer requires because it is a conditional use and the reason it is a conditional use is because it is an extraordinary use and has different characteristics than typical. Staff's recommendation was approval subject to the applicant obtaining a long term lease for additional parking within 300 feet of the property for at least an additional 57 parking spaces. The applicant's application indicated a desire to operate in the evening hours. He did not at this time operate in the evening hours in that there was no demand for it, but his authorization to operate would permit him to do so. Staff felt that the city should take it one step at a time and if he gets to a point where evening hours are desired, then he could ask for an amendment to this permit. Acting Chairperson Campbell how many actual parking spaces were required for the 43 current students and seven employees. Mr. Smith replied 20 or 21 and the number available fluxuated between 8 and 12 as to what is available onsite; 21 total would be required if the commission accepted the city's parking standards which staff was saying was questionable at best. Commissioner Jonathan noted that there was a side issue about the loss of one space due to double wide trash enclosure and then the loss of six other parking spaces due to some kind of modifications which were made by staff after approval by the planning commission and those modifications resulted in the loss of six parking spaces, plus the other one. That was an issue that was probably unrelated to the application and he wanted to mention that he was concerned about that issue, but if it was all right with the chairperson he would bring that issue up under Miscellaneous. Acting Chairperson Campbell concurred. Acting Chairperson Campbell opened the public hearing and asked if the applicant wished to address the commission. MR. STEVEN BROWN, the owner of the school, stated that he bought the assets of a school, managed its programs abysmally and went out of business in 1995. In October of 1995 through bankruptcy court he bought the tangible assets of the school. After about ten weeks of massive restructure they opened the doors in January of 1996 with six students, four in the medical section and two in the computer program. Since then they have graduated more than 110 students. He said most of these people are hamburger flippers and they had a miserable education experience, barely passed high school or GED and they would not be comfortable on a two or four-year college campus. Their students were not there for an adventure, 3 MINUTES PALM DESERT PLANNING COMMISSION DECEMBER 16, 1997 but for a job. They realized after being in work for several years that they wouldn't make a lot of money in life being in charge of "special sauce, lettuce and cheese". That was what the school did. They took the people that essentially didn't survive a traditional educational system. The first thing they did was recognize that these people bring with them a tremendous amount of personal baggage and they were scared to death on their first day of classes because many of them have been told since day one that they wouldn't succeed. Their data suggested that with an 86% job placement rate in the market in this community their average age of student was the low 20's. They were not people who were being trained here and going somewhere else. These were people who have roots here and want to stay here. They selected these two fields, health and computers, because this was a very good place if someone was going to get sick and a lot of jobs needed computer literate employees. They were twice as good as what the U.S. Department of Education accepts as an approval rate and they have done so in part because of the program, because of their faculty and because of their staff, but it was time for them to move. The current building they were in now was upstairs. The property manager would not put in a ramp or elevator and they couldn't get government money for their students because they weren't Americans with Disability Act approved and that was the purpose of moving to this building and why they selected it. In talking with Mr. Smith the week before last, Mr. Smith indicated to him that a total of about 24 parking spaces was what was needed. In this site there were seven parking spaces exclusively reserved for them and there was a total of 12 for the general population exclusive of other business owners who have their businesses in Building B. Between the 12 and the 7 there are 19 reserved for them plus one for handicapped, so they had a total available to them of 20. When he got this letter yesterday, when it required that he jump from 24 to 57 spaces after already having opened discussions with the people across the street (they were directly behind McCormick's). Their hours were 8:00 p.m. to 3:00 a.m. He dropped a request for them to see if they could negotiate something. There were 12 or 15 spaces there. He also entered into negotiations with El Dorado Animal Hospital and they were checking with their landlord to see if this could be done and he assured all of them and commission that their liability insurance could easily be extended for their hours. He said he explained to Mr. Drell that for the lease on the building, it was currently for three years with two two-year back to back options, and as he indicated in the legal description, he has an option to acquire the building and he intended to do so. He felt it was an excellent building for them. He asked Mr. Drell why staff would require a ten-year lease when his by itself was only for seven. It was going to take him some time to negotiate with those people and they would certainly not move without notifying the city that they met the requirements, but to ask for a ten-year lease when the only existing one he has is seven he thought was a bit much. He felt the commission could understand the logic behind that. They do the right thing for people for whom the education system for whatever reason failed. They place people who would probably otherwise be a tremendous economic burden on the local area and they do just the opposite. They have a motto, Wo 4 MINUTES PALM DESERT PLANNING COMMISSION DECEMBER 16, 1997 professional careers through personal growth. Every one of those words was literally their motto and this was his passion. He has lived and died for this school for the last two and a half years and the fact that the numbers attest for themselves that they are doing something right. He needed the commission's cooperation so that they could continue to do so. One of the concerns that he noticed was to approve the operations only to 4:30 p.m. On Fridays, the students were out at 12:30 p.m. He said they have been approached by someone who was helping them develop a nursing assistant program. He said that in California now a bed pan couldn't be changed without a license so everyone who wants to be a nursing assistant had to have a 150-hour course. From there these men and women could then go on to be home care people, or into other levels in the health care industry. That was available for them. One of the things they told him was that an evening program would be very successful because so many of the students who applied for this already had daytime jobs. With respect to the provisions, he could come up with the additional parking spaces but the minimum ten year lease was too much since his lease was only for seven years. If he acquired the building, they could consider at that point doing something with it. Since 1995 in the city of La Quinta, he was not aware of any schools similar to what he operates. There was one but they closed their doors in 1996 for reasons other than associated with parking. They made a marketing mistake. He asked if commission had any questions. Commissioner Jonathan noted that Mr. Brown indicated that there were 20 spaces available to Building A. He asked if Mr. Brown agreed that there were a total of 34 existing spaces. Mr. Brown said yes. He said that when the building was built there was supposed to have been 41 and when it got finished there were 34. He didn't know what happened to them because that was a number of years ago, but if he could call the commission's attention to the second to the last page of the staff report, there was a schematic of Suites A-1 and A-2. Suite A-3 was currently unoccupied. There was reserved parking for Suites A-1 and A-2 directly in front which totaled seven, plus the last one on the side reserved for handicapped use. The unrestricted parking totaled 12 spaces. He didn't show on the other side parking for Building B but there was a total of 12 parking spaces between reserved parking for Suites A-1 and A-2. They had seven, this 12 and there was a one car parking space under a carport. They actually had a total of 20. Commissioner Jonathan noted that Mr. Brown was thinking in terms of what is available and what is marked as allocated to Building A, because those kinds of allocations were user allocations. When the commission looks at available spaces, they tended to look at the parking lot and for example, if two buildings total 11 ,000 square feet, 10,000 net for purposes of computation and at four spaces per 1,000 square feet, that was where the 41 figure came from. If they looked at it and said that Building A was 4500 square feet and Building B was 6500 square feet and did an allocation based on that that was where staff did its analysis and 5 MINUTES PALM DESERT PLANNING COMMISSION DECEMBER 16, 1997 i came up with less than the 20 available. Another way to look at it is that there are 34 existing spaces and Building B has a requirement for 26 based on its square footage and that left eight for Building A. Since Building A is vacant, they could look at Building B to see its requirement and it was using 26 of the 34 and then there was even a bigger problem. There were different ways to look at it, but they agreed that there were 34 parking spaces for the entire facility. Mr. Brown concurred. He said that just to the left of Alessandro Drive McCormick's had available approximately 14 or 15 spaces and at the El Dorado there were six or seven. Further east there was another parking area He felt that obtaining 57 additional spaces was going to be difficult. Commissioner Jonathan said that was going to be one of his questions. He asked when Mr. Brown went through the available spaces from other existing businesses, if staff had in mind was to take spaces away from existing usage. In other words, McCormick's has an active lunch business and dinner business. Mr. Brown indicated that McCormick's was only open from 8:00 p.m. to 3:00 a.m. Commissioner Jonathan clarified that his point was that if Mr. Brown took parking away from a place that needs the parking spaces that wouldn't solve the problem It might for him, but wouldn't for the overall neighborhood, particularly if he 1, wanted expanded hours. He noted that Mr. Brown indicated that he wasn't really happy with the 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. hours of operation. Mr. Brown said that Friday until 4:30 p.m. was not a problem because students were out on Fridays at about 12:30 or 1 :00 p.m. For the evening nursing assistant program they were contemplating those hours being Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings up until 8:30 p.m. They were subject to a variety of laws and in the state of California they report to a council for postsecondary and vocational education. January 1 they were shifting over to the Office of Consumer Affairs. Their rules and regulations were such that they could have no more than 15 nursing assistant students in a classroom at any one time. Even if they did consider that expansion, the numbers would be very small. Commissioner Jonathan asked in terms of hours of operation what Mr. Brown was looking for; if it was 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday or what he was suggesting. Mr. Brown said that for right now that would fine. They generally close the administrative offices at 5:00 p.m. or later, but most of the medical and dental students left at 1 :00 p.m. The computer students leave at 4:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday, but on Friday they leave at 12:30 p.m. Commissioner Jonathan noted that to change the hours of operation in the future, it would probably mean that Mr. Brown would have to go through this same 6 MINUTES PALM DESERT PLANNING COMMISSION DECEMBER 16, 1997 ,,.. process to modify the conditional use permit and suggested that he might want to consider changing the hours now than to come back. Mr. Brown said that he would like to do so, but he couldn't give the commission a proposal. Assuming that he gets the number of parking spaces the commission requires, either on this location or elsewhere, he asked if they get that done if they might still be back before the commission having another discussion. Commissioner Jonathan said that from his perspective it would depend on the number of spaces that Mr. Brown could get and that had yet to be determined. Staff's recommendation was that the facility have 60 spaces available just for the three classrooms, plus five for administration, which totals 65. If the commission determined, they have 20 available right now or whether they have eight available, they were still looking for 45-57 more spaces. Depending upon how many he was able to obtain and under what circumstances, conceivably there wouldn't be a problem. Incidentally, he appreciated that Mr. Brown described the program and none of this discussion was about the validity of the program. He knew the operation Mr. Brown took over and the step forward Mr. Brown has made for Palm Desert and for his students and that was not the issue. Mr. Brown said that he had taken a little bit of umbrage when there was a reference to a use in 1988 and if there is a problem endemic to these types of uses, fine, but he didn't even live here in 1988. Fortunately those people were long gone. Commissioner Jonathan said he wanted to make sure that Mr. Brown understood that the discussion has to do with the technical usage of the space and was no reflection on the school. Mr. Brown said he understood. His concern was if he could only get 56 spaces and the requirement called for 57. Commissioner Jonathan thought that would be a good problem to have and felt that Mr. Brown would find the staff and commission helpful. Mr. Brown stated that he wanted to stay here and they have students from Desert Hot Springs to the Salton Sea and this was the place for them to be. It was easy to get express or local buses on Highway 1 1 1 , but from Cook Street and Highway 111 up to their location almost doubled the commute time and he has students that have left Desert Hot Springs at 5:30 a.m. to get to school. This way he could alleviate the extra commute time and the new businesses going in at the corner of Deep Canyon and Highway 1 1 1 would benefit from the students spending money there. That was the closest bus stop location to the school. There were two sandwich shops in that area and they put their businesses there because they felt they could make some money. Having their students there would help everyone. 7 MINUTES PALM DESERT PLANNING COMMISSION DECEMBER 16, 1997 Commissioner Beaty asked Mr. Brown how many of the 43 students have vehicles and how many ride the bus. Mr. Brown said that out of the 43 it was either 11 or 12 that rely on public transportation. Of the remainder there were probably 14 students that car pool because they come from Indio, Coachella and Desert Hot Springs. He said that he has picked up students on the way to work just to get them there. Commissioner Fernandez stated that he was in favor of the school, but asked if Mr. Brown had spoken with staff about other locations or a location that would have the required parking spaces available. Mr. Brown stated that he has. One of his concerns was location. He would like to be as close to Highway 111 as possible because it was more conducive to public transportation. They were looking at two other places. They looked at Pietro's next to Gumbo Joe's and that building has been vacant for two or three years. They approached them some time last summer and the property manager was still looking for another restaurant because for a restaurant business the lease was small per square foot, but they took a percentage of the gross. This was a nice area, but like tattoo parlors the last thing they might need is another restaurant. As he understood it that situation has changed and he was approaching those landlords now. The other location he looked at was at 44-495 Town Center Way behind Best Buys. He thought it used to be a record store and was a freestanding building "0 approximately 5,000 or 6,000 square feet in size. He asked Mr. Drell the same question yesterday. His concern was if a landlord would allow them to keep cars there for an extended time during the day. That particular location was away from some of the other traffic areas where the other shops are and was around the corner from Cost Plus and other shops. Within that immediate vicinity in that alcove area there was a total of 25 or 30 parking spaces there. He wouldn't have a problem with entering into a lease with the landlord for a certain number of parking spaces. They could have some with the building adjacent to it. Commissioner Jonathan noted that it was a shared parking lot and he didn't think he would have that requirement. He said he would have hundreds of spaces that would be accessible. Mr. Brown indicated that sometimes landlords asked what the traffic would be and ultimately the leased price might be based on how many cars they expected to have and how many were reserved for that use. That would be another ideal location as well as the Pietro's location because it was still adjacent to Highway 1 1 1 and was literally next to the sound wall and they could hang an approved advertising sign up there and everyone who went down Highway 1 1 1 would see them twice a day. 8 MINUTES PALM DESERT PLANNING COMMISSION DECEMBER 16, 1997 �.�. Acting Chairperson Campbell asked if Mr. Brown had already signed a lease at the location on Alessandro. Mr. Brown replied yes. Unless something happened with the landlord, he was tied in. Acting Chairperson Campbell asked if he made it contingent upon the approval of the conditional use permit. Mr. Brown said that was correct. Acting Chairperson Campbell asked about the growth rate for the students to reach a maximum capacity of 85 students from the current 43. Mr. Brown stated that historically the business was quite seasonal. This time of year they were registering students but new students were not arriving because classes were finished this Friday for the holidays. January and February were historically good months for enrollment. Their programs were approximately five months in length. Although they were gaining 12, they would lose almost that equal number of graduates. Students there in January would all be working on or before June 15. For those programs that were approximately five months, the last four weeks the students completed an extern at a hospital or dentist office and they were not actually on the campus. There was a 160-hour extern program and they got to practice what they learned. Acting Chairperson Campbell asked if when they were at the maximum enrollment of 85 students (35 in medical, 35 in dental and 25 in computers) if all of the students would be there at once during the day. Mr. Brown replied no. Right now on campus although they have 43 students enrolled, there were 9 currently on extern sites, so they were down to 34 or 35 students. Historically for their medical and dental programs there had always been between nine and 14 students that were enrolled but not on campus because they were completing their extern requirements. Acting Chairperson Campbell noted that the nursing assistant program would require evening hours and asked what the evening hours of 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday would be for. If it was medical, dental and/or computer students. Mr. Brown stated that they were currently licensed to offer evening classes but they didn't have the number of students enrolled to justify that. He didn't anticipate evening programs for the medical or dental students until a year from now. The only students in the evening, and they were limited to having a maximum of 15 students in each classroom, so they would be down to 30 students plus two instructors. If they took 30 and used the 3 to 1 ratio they would need a total of ten spaces for the students and two for the instructors, 9 MINUTES PALM DESERT PLANNING COMMISSION DECEMBER 16, 1997 or 12. They already have seven reserved for them and since this was, ,,r generally speaking, after business hours he didn't believe they would be an excessive burden using five of the other spaces when 12 or 13 were available for them. Acting Chairperson Campbell asked how many of the students were from Palm Desert. Mr. Brown replied six. He said that of the 110 students that have finished the program, 14 were working in Palm Desert. Two worked in private offices and the others worked in dental or medical offices. Acting Chairperson Campbell asked if anyone wished to speak in FAVOR or OPPOSITION to the proposal. There was no one and Acting Chairperson Campbell closed the public hearing and asked for commission comments or action. Commissioner Jonathan felt that it was clear that more parking was required than is currently available. He suggested that the matter might have to be continued to allow the applicant an opportunity to obtain more spaces, but the question still remained as to how many more. The number of deficient spaces that staff came up with was 23. He came up with 27 in his calculations because of the existing deficiency. Staff then recommended that there should be a total of 65 spaces, so their calculation was more like 53. There was a range of deficient spaces between 23 and 53. He thought that in a situation like this he would like to see the applicant move forward but shared Commissioner Fernandez's observation that there were other spaces where this use might fit and the applicant has done some work in that area and he didn't want to go overboard and try to make it work only to have the applicant face the difficulties of the shortage of parking and have that whole area burdened with that kind of shortage. They were somewhere between 23 and 53 short. He thought that if the applicant went out and got around 35-40 more spaces, he probably would have solved the problem in a reasonable fashion. His inclination was to continue the matter but to give the applicant some number that he should be seeking for additional parking. Commissioner Beaty asked if they needed to continue the matter or if they could act on the matter conditioned on the acquisition of the appropriate number of parking spaces so that he wouldn't have to come back if he acquires the parking. Commissioner Jonathan felt that made sense and he would not object to that. If they were going to do that he would like to direct staff in approving the parking to make sure that they weren't creating another problem in solving this one and that they were in fact not taking spaces from a use that needed it. Acting Chairperson Campbell asked if they could lower the lease from ten to seven years since Mr. Brown's was only for seven years if he stays in that building. Commissioner Jonathan said he would be in favor of that. He asked if the conditional use permit was for a time certain. Mr. Smith replied no, that it would run with the land. Commissioner Jonathan asked what would happen in a 10 MINUTES PALM DESERT PLANNING COMMISSION DECEMBER 16, 1997 situation where there is a requirement for the applicant to lease additional parking spaces and if the applicant does it for seven years and it is terminated and the applicant still occupies the same use, if he would need to renew the lease or make some other form of arrangement. Mr. Smith concurred and explained that otherwise he would be in a similar position as Mr. Castelli. Commissioner Beaty noted that the conditional use permit is subject to review at any time if there were a problem. Mr. Smith concurred. Commissioner Beaty felt that Commissioner Jonathan identified the problem and that was how many additional spaces the commission wanted to require. Mr. Smith stated that he didn't have a suggestion for a number, but indicated that he visited the area several times over the last ten days and his observations were that the parking at McCormick's was always empty. There was never a car in it. At the vet clinic to the west of McCormick's there were 12 parking spaces adjacent to the street and those 12 were never occupied. There were spaces occupied adjacent to the building. To the west of that there were 13 parking spaces against the street and they were never occupied. On the lot to the east of McCormick's there was a similar parking layout where everyone parked against the building and there were only one or two of the 13 occupied against the street. If the applicant was to come up with leased parking, he anticipated that they would be in those locations. It would be closest to his building and it appeared that it wasn't being utilized at this time. Those spaces totaled 44. Commissioner Beaty asked if Commissioner Jonathan would review the deficiency again. Commissioner Jonathan explained that it depended on how it was looked at, but the high ~" requirement was 53 and the low was 23. He suggested requiring 40 additional spaces and if it turned out to be a problem, the applicant could always come back and tell the commission that he could only get 20 and they could approve it for a maximum student enrollment of 60 students and if he reaches 60 and needs more spaces, then the problem could be readdressed. To keep it simple, they could sw that if he wanted an application for the full capacity he needed 40 more spaces and if that turned out to be a problem, the commission could reexamine it and look at other options. Commissioner Beaty asked if the 40 would fulfill the 20 spaces per classroom requirement that Mr. Smith referred to. Commissioner Jonathan said no, it was a little short of that, but it was more than the ordinance requirement. He said this would accommodate the total enrollment of 85 students. He indicated that it was kind of a compromise in that it was more than the ordinance requirement, but less that staff's proposal. It was also reasonable in light of the fact that the facility was short due to whatever problem occurred when it was built. Acting Chairperson Campbell indicated that if there were any complaints, they could revisit the matter. Commissioner Fernandez stated that he agreed with Commissioner Jonathan and Commissioner Beaty as far as staff getting together with Mr. Brown and deciding on the parking spaces and that they could take care of it in the Planning Department. Commissioner Beaty asked Mr. Brown if the acquisition of 40 spaces sounded extreme to him. Mr. Brown said it would be a challenge but he would do the best he could. 11 MINUTES PALM DESERT PLANNING COMMISSION DECEMBER 16, 1997 Commissioner Jonathan emphasized his earlier comment to make sure the applicant understood that if the commission approves the use requiring 40 additional spaces and the applicant found it to be a problem, the other option would be to come back to the commission and request approval at a lower student maximum enrollment. For an example if there was a maximum enrollment of 60 students, the parking requirement might only be 20-25 additional spaces. He also indicated there were other options mentioned for other possible locations. Acting Chairperson Campbell asked if the hours of operation for this conditional use permit would be from Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. through 4:30 p.m. or if it would also involve the nursing program until 8:30 p.m. Commissioner Jonathan stated that based on his questioning, he understood that from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. was what the applicant wanted at this time and he would come in for a change when it became appropriate. Mr. Brown stated that there were a number of other state agencies that he would have to receive approval from and he didn't want to jeopardize his license by jump-starting a program without authorization from the state. Acting Chairperson Campbell stated that she concurred with all the other commissioners. Commissioner Beaty asked if they would be causing a potential problem if they allowed him to extend hours conditioned to parking at this point in time whether he needs it or not or if it would be necessary for Mr. Brown to come back and go through the whole process again to get the extended hours. If in January or February Mr. Brown is approved and wanted to start evening classes, he couldn't unless the commission acted on it. Mr. Brown asked how difficult it would be for him now to request the operating hours be extended to 8:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday evenings. Commissioner Beaty said that was what he was suggesting. Acting Chairperson Campbell asked if that would require more parking than the extra 40. Mr. Brown said that they would have one group leaving at 1 :00 p.m. and another leaving at 4:30 p.m. and another group coming in at 5:00 p.m. Commissioner Jonathan said that where he felt it could come into play was if the additional parking spaces were obtained from a restaurant use that has a demand for those spaces in the evening, then there would be a problem. Maybe what they could do was leave that part of the hours of operation as is and if it looked as if the nursing program was going to happen, then Mr. Brown could come back and they could address it and review the parking situation. However, in lining up those parking spaces, Mr. Brown might want to give thought to the eventuality of coming back before the commission and saying that he has the additional 40 spaces and they are at such and such location, therefore an expanded use to 8:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday would not present a problem. r% 12 MINUTES PALM DESERT PLANNING COMMISSION DECEMBER 16, 1997 tow Mr. Brown didn't think it would given the fact that most of those businesses are professional offices that leave at 5:00 p.m. If there was a store that was open until 9:30 p.m. or 10:00 p.m. that would bea different story. He noted that the animal hospital closes at 5:00 p.m. Commissioner Jonathan stated that if that was the case, when Mr. Brown comes back to the commission to request additional hours of operation to 8:30 p.m., approval should be a slam dunk. Mr. Brown concurred. Acting Chairperson Campbell asked for a motion. Commissioner Jonathan stated that he would move for approval, subject to condition number 6 being amended to 40 additional parking spaces as opposed to 57 and changing the lease length from ten years to seven years and leaving hours in condition number 5 the same and leaving condition number 4 the same. Action: It was moved by Commissioner Jonathan, seconded by Commissioner Beaty, approving the findings as presented by staff. Motion carried 4-0. It was moved by Commissioner Jonathan, seconded by Commissioner Beaty, adopting Planning Commission Resolution No. 1844, approving CUP 97-14, subject to conditions as amended. Motion carried 4-0. X. MISCELLANEOUS Commissioner Jonathan said he would give staff the benefit of a doubt and assume that there was some kind of mistake and there was an aberration and the commission should have confidence that when it approves something, it generally goes up as approved. He asked if that would be accurate. Mr. Smith said that was accurate. He said he has looked at this situation and he couldn't tell the commission what happened. The building grew and parking area left. How it came about he didn't know. Commissioner Jonathan said he would like for staff to take an informal look, and it didn't have to be an audit, but at the next meeting he would like Mr. Smith to tell the commission that he looked into the matter and this really was an aberration and the commission should continue to have confidence that what is built is what the commission approves. Maybe they discovered the tip of the iceberg and there really is a problem, but more likely there isn't and he would just feel better if staff would just look into it a little bit and do some spot checking as a professional so that Mr. Smith and commission could feel confident that this really was just an aberration. He asked if that was reasonable. Mr. Smith and the rest of the commission members concurred. ftw 13 MINUTES PALM DESERT PLANNING COMMISSION DECEMBER 16, 1997 4 XI. COMMITTEE MEETING UPDATES A. CIVIC CENTER STEERING COMMITTEE - (No meeting) B. DESERT WILLOW COMMITTEE - (No meeting) C. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE - (No meeting) D. PROJECT AREA 4 COMMITTEE - (No meeting) E. PALM DESERT/RANCHO MIRAGE MONTEREY AVENUE CORRIDOR PLANNING WORK GROUP - (No meeting) F. ZONING ORDINANCE REVIEW COMMITTEE - (No meeting) Acting Chairperson Campbell noted that on December 17 she would be attending the ZORC meeting and that on Thursday Commissioner Jonathan would be attending the EDAC meeting. Commissioner Beaty noted that he would be out of town on the 23rd. Acting Chairperson Campbell said that she would attend the Desert Willow meeting if it was held on that date. XII. COMMENTS Commissioner Jonathan asked when the election of Chair and Vice Chair would be placed on the agenda. After discussion it was determined that staff would place it on the next agenda. XIII. ADJOURNMENT +� It was moved by Commissioner Beaty, seconded by Commissioner Fernandez, adjourning the meeting by minute motion. Motion carried 4-0. The meeting was adjourned at 8:08 p.m. T N SMITH, Acting Secretary ATTEST: SONIA M. CAMPBELL, Acting Chairperson Palm Desert Planning Commission /tm i 14