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HomeMy WebLinkAbout0302 ����'� MINUTES PALM DESERT PLANNING COMMISSION `'" � TUESDAY - MARCH 2, 2004 . • 6:00 P.M. - CIVIC CENTER COUNCIL CHAMBER 73-510 FRED WARING DRIVE * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * I. CALL TO ORDER Chairperson Jonathan called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. II. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Commissioner Campbell led in the pledge of allegiance. III. ROLL CALL Members Present: Sabby Jonathan, Chairperson Dave Tschopp, Vice Chairperson Sonia Campbell `, Jim Lopez Members Absent: Cindy Finerty Staff Present: Phil Drell, Director of Community Development Bob Hargreaves, City Attorney Francisco Urbina, Associate Planner Phil Joy, Associate Transportation Planner Tonya Monroe, Administrative Secretary IV. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Request for consideration of the February 3 and 17, 2004 meeting minutes. Action: It was moved by Commissioner Campbell, seconded by Commissioner Tschopp, approving the February 3 and February 17, 2004 meeting minutes. Motion carried 3-0-1 to approve February 3 (Commissioner Lopez abstained) and 4-0 to approve February 17, 2004. V. SUMMARY OF COUNCIL ACTION � Mr. Drell summarized pertinent City Council actions of February 26, 2004. MINUTES PALM DESERT PLANNING COMMISSION MARCH 2, 2004 ; VI. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS � None. VII. CONSENT CALENDAR A. Case No. HPR 03-01 - DORI CREE, Applicant Request for approval of a first one-year time extension of a hillside development plan allowing grading and construction of a 12,819 square foot building pad, and a 6,415 square foot access driveway, on a 5.12 acre lot in the hillside planned residential zone west of the storm channel, south of Southcliff Road, APN 628-120-013. B. Case No. PP 01-27 - RICK JOHNSON COMPANIES for MATINEE TRUST, Applicant Request for approval of a second one-year time extension for a precise plan of design to convert three single family dwellings into professional offices and r"'� parking lot. The project is located at the west end of Guadalupe Avenue at Monterey Avenue, 73-026, 73-031, 73-040 and 73-041 Guadalupe Avenue. Action: It was moved by Commissioner Lopez, seconded by Commissioner Campbell, approving the Consent Calendar by minute motion. Motion carried 4-0. 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. rr/ 2 MINUTES PALM DESERT PLANNING COMMISSION MARCH 2 2004 r. A. Case No. CUP 04-01 - NEXTEL COMMUNICATIONS AND CINGULAR WIRELESS, Applicants Request for approval of a conditional use permit to allow construction of a 75-foot high monopine wireless telecom- munications tower with adjacent equipment buildings to be located on the south side of Country Club Drive approximately 1,300 feet east of EI Dorado. Mr. Urbina outlined the salient points of the staff report describing the location, surrounding uses and zoning. He reviewed the history of approval for an existing 63-foot high monopine nearby. He also used photo simulations to show the views from the Indian Ridge Country Club golf course of the existing SprinWerizon 63-foot high monopine and the proposed Nextel/Cingular Wireless 75-foot high monopine. Mr. Urbina noted that two letters had been received in opposition. One letter stated that the Indian Ridge Country Club Homeowner's Association started receiving complaints from homeowners about view impacts from the existing ..► monopine after it was erected, but at the time of that hearing there were no letters of opposition. The letters of opposition now request that the Planning Commission deny the new monopine because of impacts on aesthetics, views and there was also an allegation that it could adversely affect property values within Indian Ridge Country Club where there are many homes valued at or above $1 million. The reason the project site was chosen was because of an existing gap in coverage for both Nextel Communications and Cingular Wireless. The closest existing towers are in the vicinity of Hovley Lane East and Cook Street and in the vicinity of Country Club Drive and Washington Street. These facilities are approximately 1.5 miles from the proposed project site. He explained that the Zoning Ordinance encourages the location of wireless communication facilities on industrial or commercially zoned properties, but the nearest zoned industrial properties are on Cook Street near Hovley Lane East and on Country Club Drive approximately a quarter mile west of Washington. The nearest commercial property is the Ralph's shopping center at the NEC of Country Club Drive and Cook Street. He said the sites in between these areas were ruled out by the applicants because they are not as much in the geographic center of where the existing gap in coverage exists. In addition, � this site was chosen because the Zoning Ordinance encourages co-location 3 MINUTES PALM DESERT PLANNING COMMISSION MARCH 2, 2004 .i.i o� clustering of these wireless communication facilities. The existing monopine, however, could not accommodate additional carriers because there were already finro carriers and each carrier needs a certain amount of vertical separation distance as well as a certain minimum height to adequately relay a signal. He showed other views of the site and stated that the nearest homes in Indian Ridge Country Club are located approximately 340 feet to the south. He reiterated that the main objections from the Indian Ridge Country Club Homeowners Association are negative impacts on views and potential adverse impacts on property values. Mr. Urbina informed the commission that one of the main criteria for approving a conditional use permit per the Zoning Ordinance is that the conditional use will not create a materially injurious impact on surrounding land uses. He supposed that could be construed in different ways and negative aesthetic impacts could fall into that category. The Zoning Ordinance encouraged the design of wireless communication towers with a stealth design as the applicant had done in this case. The new monopine is proposed to be 12 feet higher than the existing monopine in order to avoid signal interference with the existing two carriers. There also had to be a ce�tain amount of vertical � separation distance. Staff's recommendation was for the Planning Commission to approve CUP 04- 01 based on the findings and subject to the conditions contained in the staff report. He noted that both of the applicants were present. Commissioner Tschopp announced that he would be abstaining since he owns a residence in Indian Ridge Country Club. Commissioner Lopez asked if the proposed monopine was the same company that did the previous one. Mr. Urbina deferred the question to the applicant. Commissioner Campbel) noted that the plans also showed a two-foot diameter microwave dish that would be at 40 feet. She asked if that would also be covered by the branches. Mr. Urbina indicated that the elevations didn't show the dish being covered by branches, however, one of staff's recommended conditions of approval is that additional artificial branches be added in the lower part of the monopine so that there will be a maximum distance of 20 feet from ground level to the closest branches so that the branches would match ..�r 4 MINUTES PALM DESERT PLANNING COMMISSION MARCH 2, 2004 ... the lower branches of the existing adjacent pine tree. With that condition staff thought that microwave dish would be camouflaged by the artificial branches. Chairperson Jonathan said he didn't see that dish on the plans. He asked if it was part of the original submittal. Mr. Urbina explained that there were two sets of plans distributed. The dish only showed up on the Cingular Wireless plans so if he was looking at the Nextel Communications plans he would not have seen it. Chairperson Jonathan asked if ARC considered that dish and if they had that plan to look at. Mr. Urbina said no, the Cingular plans were submitted afterwards. Chairperson Jonathan asked if what they saw was just the Nextel proposal and they had not had the opportunity to review the modifications that Cingular Wireless was proposing. Mr. Urbina said that was correct. The Cingular plans are virtually identical except for that two-foot dish so the Architectural Review Commission did not review the two-foot dish, but everything else on the plans were supposed to be the same. Chairperson Jonathan asked if ARC was aware of the two-foot dish when they granted preliminary approval. Mr. Urbina said no, because it was communicated to � staff that the two applicants had worked together to jointly prepare the set of Nextel plans. The microwave dish came fater. ... Chairperson Jonathan asked if the existing monopine was about 20 feet lower. Mr. Urbina said it was 12 feet lower. Chairperson Jonathan noted that in the past applicants have always said, as this one is saying, that they need to be higher than anything else around them. He asked what a higher antenna and tree might potentially do in obstructing the existing monopine. Mr. Urbina said the existing height was being requested in order to avoid horizontal signal interference with the two existing carriers. Chairpe�son Jonathan said he knew why the new monopine would be okay since it would be higher than everything else around it, but he asked if the new monopine would pose an obstruction to the existing monopine antenna. Mr. Urbina said no, not according to the applicants because of the new monopine's additional height and avoidance of signal interference. Chairperson Jonathan said he would address this with the applicant also because every time an applicant has come before them and they have had concems about antenna height, they have always said they had to be higher than anything else around them. In this case the applicant is making a similar case and says they need to be 12 feet higher so they can be higher than the other one. That left the other one lower, so he would defer to the experts. Mr. Urbina agreed that the applicant could better answer that question. ... 5 MINUTES PALM DESERT PLANNING COMMISSION MARCH 2. 2004 Chairperson Jonathan o�ened the public hearing and asked the applicant to '� address the commission. MR. JAMES LEE, Nextel, 1590 Milliken Avenue, Unit H, Ontario, California, addressed the question. To answer the question about the vertical separation, he explained that the reason they need to be higher, they need vertical and horizontal separation so they don't interfere with the existing signal. The reason they don't go lower, although it was possible to stagger the antenna and go lower, but if they go lower the carrier below them would also have to go lower and most likely that wouldn't meet their coverage objectives. Chairperson Jonathan asked if it was possible that the proposed monopine could create interference for the existing monopine. Mr. Lee said there was no evidence that would be created. When they go out there they do a study to make sure that isn't the case because that wouldn't be useful for them or the other carriers. Chairperson Jonathan asked staff if the other carrier was notified of this � application--if they received public notice. Mr. Urbina said no,just surrounding prope�ty owners within a 300-foot radius. As a follow up, Mr. Lee said he reviewed the conditions of approval set forth and accepted them. Chairperson Jonathan asked if the dish was necessary. Mr. Lee explained that the dish was actually for the other carrier and it is necessary. It is for Telco to transmit Telco to the site. He clarified that Telco was telephone service. Commissioner Lopez asked if Nextel was going to be the higher of the two. Mr. Lee said that was correct. Commissioner Lopez asked if they needed to be higher than the other monopine so that there would be no interference with the other tower. �.r 6 MINUTES PALM DESERT PLANNING COMMISSION MARCH 2. 2004 `.. Mr. Lee said that was correct. Cingular is staggered with Verizon and then there is Sprint, then Nextel. Commissioner Lopez said he was still confused about how this affects the other tree. Mr. Drell explained that the tree wasn't the obstacle. It is separating the signals from one another so that they are all going out on a plain. They need the signals at a different vertical plain. They need to be vertically separating. The reason they are higher is to get higher than the highest antenna on the existing pine. Otherwise, if they were on the same level, they would be on the same plain and they would be picking up each other's signals. It is to create vertical separation. Theoretically, they could have one pine that was even taller. Maybe 80 or 90 feet and create the separation on the one. Mr. Lee said that was correct. Mr. Drell said if they did that the tower would be even taller than the proposed one. Chairperson Jonathan suggested that the next time they have an applicant �..� that says he needs to be 75 or 85 feet high because he needs to avoid interference with surrounding structures, they can say no, that isn't true. Mr. Drel! said that it was finro different issues. The issue of height had to do with overall coverage. The higher the antenna the more the antenna can cover because it doesn't run into things in the environment. This height issue had nothing to do with that. This had to do with particularly avoiding conflict with the antennas on the adjoining tree. Mr. Lee confirmed it was to avoid interference with the existing carriers. Mr. Drell said they usually hear that they want the height because they want that antenna to cover a larger area without n�nning into buildings or other large obstructions in the vicinity. This had nothing to do with that, although a side benefit is additional coverage. But the primary benefit is so that the antenna will work and not interfere with the adjoining antennas. Commissioner Lopez said that Nextel is at 75 feet or so. Mr. Lee said Nextel is at 65 feet. The top of the pole is at 75 feet to create the integrity of the pine tree. � 7 MINUTES PALM DESERT PLANNING COMMISSION MARCH 2. 2004 Commissioner Lopez asked on the next level below that, who the next vertical � carrier is on the existing pine. Mr. Lee said it is Sprint PCS. Commissioner Lopez asked how high they were. Mr. Lee said it was 57 feet to the top of their antenna. Commissioner Lopez asked who the next one was. Mr. Lee said Cingular. Commissioner Lopez asked if that was another eight feet of difference. Mr. Lee said roughly eight feet. Commissioner Campbell pointed out that the information was on their chart. Commissioner Lopez acknowledged that and then noted the next one wou{d be below that. So they needed approximately eight feet difference. � Mr. Lee said it was about three feet from tip to tip from antenna to antenna to antenna. There were no further questions. Chairperson Jonathan asked if Mr. Stackhouse from Cingular wished to address the commission. MR. STEVE STACKHOUSE with Velocitel Incorporated, 18071 Fitch Avenue Suite 200 in Irvine, 92614, stated that he was present on behalf of Cingular Wireless. He explained that Nextel Communications is the lead agency in this request. They were approaching SCE as far as doing a co-location at this substation when they realized that having discussed this matter with the City of Palm Desert, that Sprint had already been approved here, as well as Verizon to co-locate with them. They met with them because, after doing a great deal of recon for this entire area as determined by the search rings given to them by Cingular Wireless, when that occurs they have a very finite area of opportunity where they are to try to seek to provide a location. .rrr 8 MINUTES PALM DESERT PLANNING COMMISSION MARCH 2, 2004 1�..• In doing their investigation, they realized that the area of coverage objective being sought here was almost entirely, if not entirely, residentially zoned and predominately residentially used as well. The first commercial opportunities were to the east about a mile and a half away, as well as to the west about a mile and a half away at Cook and Country Club. As Mr. Urbina pointed out earlier, there was also a commercial opportunity over by Washington just a little bit south of the 10. Those fell well outside their coverage objectives, so they really had to try to isolate any opportunity to locate in the area they were looking for as dictated to them by the search rings by the Cingular Wireless RF engineer. Going back to the substation, it is zoned residentially, but was obviously more of a utility type of use. They learned that there had been a prior approval made for Sprint PCS, as well as a subsequent co-location approval made for Verizon to locate on that same monopine prior to them making their submittals to the City. When they approached SCE, they also learned that Nextel shared an interest in doing something at that location. So that is when Nextel and Cingular �..�, more or less matched up their needs and they did a joint site design walk whereby the RF engineers, the construction managers and everybody involved identified the different heights they needed to be at in order to accomplish the coverage objectives for their individual carrier. As had been said before, height is everything. The higher they are the greater the coverage. They didn't necessarily want to go with a structure 150 feet high, because while that might accommodate four or five carriers at a time on the same vertical structure, that was not what they were after since they already had one structure there providing for two carriers. Realizing the heights they are located at, they went about staggering their heights to not be in conflict with theirs. They placed their monopine somewhat to the southwest to also maintain a minimum amount of horizontal separation required by their industry and the way the antennas receive and transmit their signals. He stated that there was an intermodel study done by their engineers to better insure there will be no cross talking or interference between the antennas and the carriers. He also suggested to the commission that in working with SCE, it is a part of their lease language to all new r.. 9 MINUTES PALM DESERT PLANNING COMMISSiON MARCH 2, 2004 carriers that no new carrier coming in behind any of the others can � have any negative impact or influence on a previous carrier who is already there and operating. So while the other carriers might not have been notified of their request, he was quite certain through SCE that SCE has advised them of their intentions and he provided SCE plans showing their heights, their location, their frequencies and things of that nature, so he would like to think that Sprint PCS as well as Verizon are informed of their proposal. Having said that, they finally located here because upon further investigation there were simply no further windows of opportunity. This substation was almost like an island or an oasis in the desert in that it is the only pocket of opportunity in this entire sea of residential area. So this is why they actually located at this spot, having no other opportunities to place something that would provide the coverage that Cingular was needing, as wel{ as Nextel. In providing for that at this location, the heights they were seeking were the minimum heights required to accomplish the coverage objective that Cingular is after. They needed a minimum height that in turn triggered the height that Nextel needed to go at so that they could maintain their vertical stagger � or separation between the same carriers going on the same monopine. Their tree/monopine is a little taller, but that was to provide that vertical stagger to minimize or prevent any interferences between all four carriers once all four are operational. The propagation maps provided demonstrated what gap in coverage there currently is for Cingular and the fact that being able to place this facility at this location provides coverage for what would be approximately a mile in diameter in this residential area. They have an existing site to the northeast of this location up toward the 10 at Washington and they have a site more west but somewhat southwest at Hovley and Cook. This site, because of its location, wilf f{I a major gap that Cingular presently has in its coverage for this area. He didn't know about the commission or about anyone in the audience, but generally more and more people are using cell phones in their work and personal use and certainly in times of emergency when something has occurred and they are needing to reach out and call someone quickly and a land line is simply not convenient. Being able to serve Cingular's subscribing clientele is obviously something that is �/ 10 MINUTES PALM DESERT PLANNING COMMISSION MARCH 2, 2004 ■.• mandated to them by the FCC license upon its issuance. Cingular is simply trying to set about to provide coverage to their subscribing clientele as provided by their license and as dictated by simply fulfilling their obligation to the FCC. Because of the legal issues and because if anything should come from this he wanted to make sure all the salient points were presented. Having located here, part of it was that there was precedent. Sprint was approved and is already up and operating. They tried to go where previous approval has been accomplished along with the other reasons he mentioned. He also stated that there is language in the 1996 Telecom Act that also speaks to the fact that what state and local jurisdictions can and cannot do relative to their actions taken on carriers and they could not preclude nor prevent fair competition amongst carriers at the same location from being able to operate and compete fairly. That is a paraphrase of Section 704, but nevertheless it was there for that reason. He said he would like the opportunity to come back and speak, perhaps ,r,., after Mr. Lee, upon any rebuttal that might be necessary. He asked for any questions. (There were none.) Chairperson Jonathan asked if anyone wished to speak in FAVOR or OPPOSITION to this matter. MR. BARRY KEYS, 244 Whitehorse, said he lived right in front of the tree that was put up. He invited all of them to come and see what this looks like from all the residences there. He said it is an eyesore and was put in a place where a lot of the residents were unhappy about it. Unfortunately, more of them weren't present tonight. He was in business himself and he didn't want to stop progress, so he recognized the need as these gentlemen eloquently put out to the commission, but the�e were possibly other locations on that property. If they put it closer to the street, he didn't believe it would be an eyesore to a lot of the homes. The tree itself is a different type of pine tree than what is there now. It looked odd compared to the other trees that are there. ... 11 MINUTES PALM DESERT PLANNING COMM1SS10N MARCH 2, 2004 Looking at the height of it, he said it is pretty tall. Now they were talking � about another tree that will be even taller than that which he thought would Iook out of place. He also understood there was going to be a third or a fourth tree put in eventually into the site. He didn't know if that was true or not, but understood it was a possibility. So they were going to have a kind of forest there that would be out of place and he thought the possibility of having it closer to the street may not be as much an eyesore as it is today. Unfortunately they, himself included, fell asleep at the wheel when this came around because he didn't think the residents recognized what actually was going to be up there before the planning committee approved this. He just heard about this one a couple of days ago that they were putting up a second tree. So he wasn't as prepared as he would like to be. If they see this and look at it from the perspective of the homes that are there, it is definitely an eyesore. He didn't think anything could be done about it at this point, but to stop future ones is what they were looking to do. Only at that property or that site. He didn't know if Indian Ridge, because he hadn't talked to them, if perhaps they might have some property there this could go up at. � Closer to the street there is property that the electric company has and they could possibly put them there. He spoke to Mr. Lee this evening and asked him if there was some other way or some other possibility and he indicated that he would try to look at it, but doubted it. Mr. Keys invited them to look at this property and see what this is. Obviously, it was in their hands. He thanked the commission for letting him speak, but they could see all the residents that are there in that circle and around that are looking at that site. He said his home is also up for sale and he has lost finro potential buyers because of it and he had to reduce the price of it. He said he's going to be moving into the same area, but not at that particular property. So it is a problem for him. He would appreciate it if they would look at it and evaluate it. Chairperson Jonathan asked if the applicants had any rebuttal comments. Mr. Lee informed commission that he spoke to Mr. Keys before the meeting and they talked about possibly relocating the pole. He noted that it was unfortunate that SCE has determined the spot for them. They are planning for future expansion inside the SCE substation, � 12 MINUTES PALM DESERT PLANNING COMMISSION MARCH 2. 2004 r.. therefore, it would be difficult for them to go any where else on the property. He said he did mention when they reconned the site to get it closer to the street, however, according to the new relevation that they are going to expand it for future development, his hands are tied. He also mentioned that there could be another location at Indian Ridge; however, he did get a letter complaining about their proposal, so it wasn't likely that they would entertain any sort of expansion on their property. Mr. Stackhouse addressed the commission. He stated that Mr. Lee was correct. When they did the site walk SCE representatives were very flrm about where they could locate on this property and it was only to the rear of it because of future expansion or the prospect of future expansion in the vacant area to the northeast corner and to the east. They were pretty much dictated to only locate in the southeast corner of the property. To address the issue of Mr. Keys' home and it being for sale, he knew that was a very difficult situation to be able to lock in on. He knows � several realtors, and his wife is a realtor, and he actually understood more times than not people are wanting to know if cell service is in a given location where they are looking to purchase a home because of the interest in being able to have that sort of reception rather than having it be a deterrent. He didn't know the circumstances of Mr. Keys' transactions, but he knew that it seemed that more and more people are wanting to have cell service and having a facility close by would ensure that. He thought that would be more of a benefit than a detriment. He thanked the commission for their consideration. Chairperson Jonathan closed the public hearing and asked the commission for comments. Commissioner Lopez said he had a question for staff. He said the proposed tree looked different from the existing tree and asked if they took into consideration the need to have trees that look similar so they look compatible or have the same type of pine tree. Mr. Urbina said that language could be added to one of the Community Development Department conditions that the � 13 MINUTES PALM DESERT PLANNING COMMISSION MARCH 2. 2004 � same construction company be used as was used for the existing Sprint .�ri monopine. Commissioner Campbell said she looked at the area and it took her a while to find the pine tree because there were so many trees clustered around it. She said she changed frorn Cingular to Verizon because of the service and while she doesn't use her cell phone much, she could understand why service would be necessary in that area. Also, she liked the condition that staff added for additional branches on this tree. She thought it was a better antenna then some of the other ones in the city and she was in favor. Commissioner Lopez said he struggled with the height, although he went out and took a look at the location. It is protected from the main thoroughfares and based on the photographs received tonight, it looked like it was there when they are looking out their homesites at Indian Ridge. That was why he wanted to make sure that there is some type of adaptability to the existing tree or bring the existing tree up to the standards now set as it pertained to the proposed monopine. It was unfortunate that it was situated in a location that has little flexibility on movement, but it seemed to work in this location and allowed them to provide for additional service to the community. He was in favor. � Chairperson Jonathan stated that he went by and looked at the existing monopine and thought it was pretty well done. He did not look at the view from the homes and they may have a different perspective. He said he had a few concerns. 1) The dish was a modification that ARC didn't know about or review; 2) We don't know if the existing monopine users, Sprint and Verizon, were notified of this application, and 3) there is a possibility that with some pressure Southern California Edison might at least consider the possibility of an alternative location on the property. His personal preference, and he respected the wishes of the commission, but his personal preference would be to send this back to ARC to get their opinion about the dish. He was kind of concerned about it and wanted to make sure that if it is going to happen, that the design be to their satisfaction. During the time it goes back to ARC, he thought they then had the opportunity to notify Sprint and Verizon and to give the applicant an opportunity to discuss the matter with Southern California Edison and indicate there is some potential desire from the neighborhood, from the City, to at least examine alternative locations within the SCE property. That would be his personal preference, but he would respect the wishes of the majority. r 14 MINUTES PALM DESERT PLANNING COMMISSION MARCH 2 2004 ... Commissioner Campbell said that regarding the dish,with the addition of more branches on the trunk it would be very well camouflaged, so she didn't think it would be sitting out like a sore thumb. Mr. Urbina suggested adding to Condition No. 9 that the dish be painted a green color to match the branches or a brown color to match the artificial pine trunk, if that was okay with the applicanYs representative. He asked if they could accommodate painting the dish either a brown or a dark green color. (Mr. Stackhouse said yes.) Commissioner Campbell said she would stand with her motion for approval. Action: It was moved by Commissioner Campbell, seconded by Commissioner Lopez, approving the findings as presented by staff. Motion carried 2-1-1 (Chairperson Jonathan voted no, Commissioner Tschopp abstained). Chairperson Jonathan asked for and received clarification that the motion included amendment of Community Development Department Condition No. 9. ..► It was moved by Commissioner Campbell, seconded by Commissioner Lopez, adopting Planning Commission Resolution No. 2251, approving CUP 04-01, subject to conditions as amended. Motion carried 2-1-1 (Chairperson Jonathan voted no, Commissioner Tschopp abstained). B. Case No. DP 12-79 Amendment - WESTFIELD CORPORATION, INC., AND S.A. MIRO, INC., Applicants Request for approval of an amendment to the Westfield Shoppingtown development plan to add a nine (9) bay Sears Auto Center in the north parking lot approximately 300 feet west of Fairhaven Drive, 44-430 Town Center Way. Mr. Drell noted that the commission had a legal notice and plans showing the location. He asked if they had a booklet with pretty colored pictures. The commission said no. Mr. Drell stated that inherent in the Redevelopment Plan to re-tenant and revitalize the mall, Sears is coming into the vacated Robinson's May store on Highway 111. Inherent in Sears' operation is an auto center. It is a vital part of Sears' move and so the task was to find a location � on the site that is most compatible with an auto center. Auto centers are a 15 MINUTES PALM DESERT PLANNING COMMISSION MARCH 2. 2004 historic use of the site. He noted there is a Goodyear already on the site. To "'� both mitigate any particular noise problems or any impacts on existing parking, this site was selected toward the northwest corner behind the fire station. All the bays were only open to face the west and didn't face east to address any potential noise concems they might have had with houses on Fairhaven. He said Sears chose the site that is the least visible, least offensive, and least impacting on parking and resources. The architecture, although it might not win any awards, is a reasonably attractive building that is screened from public view by the fire station. He didn't think it would be seen unless someone was driving back there. Based on the almost total lack of oil spots on the parking lot, he didn't think that anyone had driven back there in the 15 or 18 years the mall has been open. Staff felt this was the appropriate location for the use, compatible with other surrounding uses, and recommended approval. Commissioner Tschopp asked how far away the residences to the east would be. Mr. Drell thought it was approximately 300 feet. Commissioner Campbell confirmed that the staff report said 300 feet. Commissioner Campbell noted to the north of it is Trader Joe's and that "'� commercial center. Mr. Drell concurred. He informed the commission that their grade is actually about five feet lower. They were still working on it, but they were trying to create a pedestrian link between the back of this parking lot to get to Trader Joe's. Commissioner Campbell pointed out that people could drive there. Mr. Drell said that theoretically people waiting to get their tires could walk down to Trader Joe's. The specific objective was to create some employee parking for the Trader Joe's center. The City is getting a public easement for the parking along the back end of this lot to allow general public use. Chairperson Jonathan asked if Mr. Drell would circulate the colored booklet. Mr. Drell did so. Commissioner Campbell asked when this building goes up if the parking lot would be taken care of, all the holes would be removed and new landscaping installed. Mr. Drell said that in the commission packets there is a new landscape plan. Commissioner Campbell asked if that was for the whole parking lot, the remaining portion. Mr. Drell said no, it was only for the area adjacent to Sears. He believed the redo of the whole parking lot was Phase � 16 MINUTES PALM DESERT PLANNING COMMISSION MARCH 2. 2004 ... 4 of the rehab. To a certain degree there is hope on Westfield's and the City's part that a certain other large retail department store might by that time be interested at which time there might be some other use put to that portion of the rear parking area. Or another parking structure to accommodate a certain other department store. Commissioner Tschopp recognized that the sign program had not been approved and was not part of this application, but he assumed that the signs would be facing the west and the south and probably would not be high enough or facing the residential area. Mr. Drell said that was correct; there would be no need for any signs facing east. He didn't think it would be hard for anyone to mistake it as the Sears Auto Center if they are wandering back there. Chairperson Jonathan asked if ARC gave this project preliminary approval. Mr. Drell said yes. Chairperson Jonathan didn't think they had a copy of those minutes. He asked if Mr. Drell was present at their meeting. Mr. Drel( said the project was probably at finro or three meetings. Given its location, he thought they gave it the attention it deserved. It is relatively unobtrusive. If they looked r.., at the landscape plan, the elevations didn't show the trees that are required. It has trees at the comers. With the landscaping and trees that they didn't see in those elevations, it would be a little more interesting. Chairperson Jonathan thought that it kind of looked like something they pulled out of their file from buildings that went up in the 1950's that didn't really change. He was kind of surprised that ARC didn't put them through the paces a little bit more. He asked if Mr. Drell could shed a little light on the dynamics on ARC's meeting. Mr. Drell said the architect could speak more to the stylistic inspiration that went into it. Obviously the west side was mainly the service bays. That is its nature. He guessed by virtue of the fact that it can't be seen, they almost looked at it as an industrial building by virtue of its location. Chairperson Jonathan noted that they have required some pretty nice looking industrial buildings. Mr. Drell said this one can't be seen and maybe this was their version of a stealth building. Chairperson Jonathan said he was curious about the dynamics of the meeting since he didn't have ARC's minutes. Chairperson Jonathan opened the public hearing and asked the applicant to address the commission. MR. CHRIS DEBOLT with Westfield Corporation, 11601 Wilshire Boulevard in Brentwood, California, addressed the commission. Mr. � 17 MINUTES PALM DESERT PLANNING COMMISSION MARCH 2. 2004 Steve Henderson, S.A. Miro Incorporated Architects, representing � Sears Roebuck and Company, 4582 South Ulster Street Parkway in Denver, Colorado, was also present. Mr. Debolt stated that he would defer to Mr. Drell's presentation and would not elaborate any further. He was available for any questions or comments. Mr. Henderson also deferred to Mr. Drell's presentation. He said they met with Mr. Drell several times and appreciated the help that ARC and Mr. Drell's department had given them. The overall design intent on the building was to keep it clean, keep it simple and try to use appropriate materials, split face CMU and stucco. It is a clean, open look and that was kind of what they wanted. Commissioner Tschopp commented that the renovation to the front of the mall buildings looked very nice and was a great upgrade and was badly needed. In taking off where Chairperson Jonathan stopped, he asked if there was any thought given to the architecture of the building that would tie in an element of the mall to this building to make them look like they belong as one unit or � as part of the same development. � Mr. Debolt thought they left the architecture to Sears' architect. He thought their desire would be to tie into their aesthetic and their department store itself, not necessarily the mall's. Commissioner Tschopp pointed to the picture of Sears in the mall, which has a nice facade, and this building is part of the same property and the same development had a very plain facade and nothing was tying it in. He was just curious if there was a way to maybe enhance the architecture a little bit by drawing in some of the mall buildings' elements into this building. Mr. Debolt wasn't at the ARC meetings and asked if that comment was made. Mr. Henderson said one point was with the extreme separation of this building from the rest of the mall, what they tried to do was bring forth some of the color schemes and stay with the appropriate colors that Macy's has picked up and the other parts of the mall has picked up. But with the extreme separation, they kind of have a separate little unit out � 18 MINUTES PALM DESERT PLANNING COMMISSION MARCH 2, 2004 �.. there stuck out at the back so they tried to incorporate some of the things that Sears wants as far as their auto center design went. They also tried to pull coloration in. Mr. Debolt thought the design fit in more with the fire station than the facade of the mall. And that was probably what they wanted, more of an integration of what is back there today rather than what is facing Monterey. Chairperson Jonathan asked if anyone wished to speak in FAVOR or OPPOSITION to the proposal. He noted that he had a couple of Request to Speak cards and asked if Rebecca Juarez wished to speak first. MS. REBECCA JUAREZ, 72-757 Sonora, stated that she has lived 23 years in that neighborhood. Before she lived on Rancho Grande and then the Town Center blocked all her views. So they moved to Sonora and Fairhaven because they loved to see the mountains and liked the view. Now this project would obstruct the view. She was also worried about the noise, pollution, and all the things that could result from this „�. project because it would be almost in front of her house. MR. WILLIAM TRAVIS, 44-168 Fairhaven, addressed the commission. He said his home faces directly where the building would be. It would also cut off his view and he reaNy thought noise was going to be almost unbearable. Pollution right now when they get a wind, their swimming pool is filled with debris that comes from the parking lots over there. It all comes across the wall because the wall on the side of the parking lot isn't as high as it is on Fairhaven Drive. Kids climb over the wall from the parking lot and come down in front of his house. He said they already have enough noise because for a lot of those businesses, the delivery trucks come at night. Some of the stores are open at night or they are stocking their shelves at night and the noise sometimes was unbearable. One evening not too long ago he called the police because they were out there screaming and hollering. They were drinking and he could hear the cans being thrown and bottles. He didn't know what this would do to the property values, but it would have to do something because it will be an eyesore. He thanked the commission. `.,. 19 MINUTES PALM DESERT PLANNING COMMISSION MARCH 2, 2004 There was no one else requesting to speak. Chairperson Jonathan asked if "'� the applicant wished to address the commission with rebuttal comments. Mr. Henderson said he might ask the owner's representative to speak as well in terms of the concern that was raised addressing the noise and the operation. The essential noise side of the operation faced toward the fire department. There were no service bays which opened to the back or to the residential side. What noise there would be would be oriented in that direction. Today they were just walking the site and looking at some specific issues. Quite frankly, the fire department generates quite a bit of noise. This would not be a significant increase in the noise. It was simply an exchange of parts because they change tires. There was no plain welding. The noisiest thing they would probably have is the pneumatic wrench they use to change tires and that was oriented toward the west. That was not oriented toward any of the residential areas. Commissioner Campbetl asked what the hours of operation would be. That wasn't included in the staff report. Mr. Jim Griffin of Sears, 2100 N. Tustin Avenue in Orange, California, "� spoke from the audience and said 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Chairperson Jonathan asked if that would be seven days a week. Mr. Griffin said yes. Chairperson Jonathan asked about deliveries. Mr. Griffin and Mr. Henderson said there would be no deliveries or stocking after hours. Chairperson Jonathan asked if there would be an amplified speaker system. Mr. Griffin said no. Chairperson Jonathan asked if there was anything that opened to the Fairhaven property. ari 20 MINUTES PALM DESERT PLANNING COMMISSION MARCH 2 2004 � Mr. Henderson said no. There is one door that opens that is just a drive through. It was not a service bay. It was called a battery express and they do the work at that end. It was automatically operated and they exit out that side, but that was not a service bay. All service bays are to the west. Chairperson Jonathan asked if there were any other comments or questions for the applicants. There being none, Chairperson Jonathan closed the public hearing and asked the commission for comments. Commissioner Campbell thought the location was very good. It was going to be behind the fire station and very well camouflaged from the street. As far as the maximum building height, it would range from 22 to 26 feet so for the people on Winterhaven, the building wouldn't be in their line of sight when they look up at the mountains. She didn't know what Mr. Travis was saying about the height of that wall there, it should be a standard wall at six feet tall. As far as the building design, it looked like the 1950's and was a nice, clean look. She was in favor of it. She thought it would be an asset to have that back there in the parking lot instead of just having a barren parking lot. She also .�. hoped there would be more people parking there. Commissioner Lopez said he wasn't crazy about the design, but it was in a location that was fairly well hidden. He said he liked the clean look. It was nice to see it and it adapted well to the fire station in that particular location. The addition to the building to that area would enhance that particular area as far as maintenance is concerned, as far as limiting what he believed would be concerns by the residents as to what that parking lot is used for other than what it will be used for. He could remember when that used to be the location to drop off Christmas trees when they were being recycled. It is still not the greatest thing in the world, but he thought it would enhance that location. He thought competition was good and was in favor. Commissioner Tschopp thought the location was good and would utilize the area back there and perhaps even enhance that area. The building meets or exceeds the code. Although he disagreed and thought the architecture was a little plain and he would like to see it spruced up and more fitting with the great job they did on the mall itself, overall it is a very good building and is a good location and would meet the needs. ... 21 MINUTES PALM DESERT PLANNING COMMISSION MARCH 2, 2004 Chairperson Jonathan said that he would suggest that conditions of approval "'� be added to limit the hours of operation from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., seven days a week. That deliveries be limited to business hours. That there be a prohibition against any kind of an amplified sound system and that all work be limited to the interior. Those were suggested conditions of approval. Having said that, he thought the building itself would enhance the mall and that part of the parking lot; however, he thought they could do better with the design. He didn't have a problem with the fundamental design, the clean look and even kind of the quasi retro look, but he thought it looked more like the car wash then the fire station and that he did have a problem with. With a little bit of design improvement with some elements that would tie it in a little bit better to the mall itself, they could come up with a better looking building. He hoped it would be busy, and hoped it would be successful, and that it won't be tucked into the back and that a lot of people will use it. He thought a little touch up was in order and he might be in a minority of one, but he would be in favor of sending this back to ARC with those comments and letting them exact a little more quality design elements. He said he didn't mean to be pejorative to the architect and recognized that this is a style and received approval from other quarters. He asked if there was a motion. Commissioner Tschopp said that although he wasn't crazy about the "� architecture, he would acknowledge that it will probably work back there, so he would make a motion to approve it, adding in the various operation conditions. Commissioner Campbell said she would second that motion. Action: It was moved by Commissioner Tschopp, seconded by Commissioner Campbell, approving the findings as presented by staff. Motion carried 3-1 (Chairperson Jonathan voted no). It was moved by Commissioner Tschopp, seconded by Commissioner Campbell, adopting Planning Commission Resolution No. 2252, approving DP 12-79 Amendment, subject to conditions as amended. Motion carried 3-1 (Chairperson Jonathan voted no). IX. MISCELLANEOUS None. � 22 MINUTES PALM DESERT PLANNING COMMISSION MARCH 2. 2004 ... X. COMMITTEE MEETING UPDATES A. ART IN PUBLIC PLACES Commissioner Gampbell stated that they met and it was mostly informational, but they would have two entrance signs on EI Paseo, one on the east end and one on the west end. It would be a water feature and it would be installed September or October. They were really looking forward to that. B. LANDSCAPE COMMITTEE None. C. PROJECT AREA 4 COMMITTEE None. XI. COMMENTS ... Commissioner Tschopp asked about the next meeting's agenda. Mr. Drell indicated that the Palm Desert Country Club project would be on the agenda, as well as a few other items. XII. ADJOURNMENT It was moved by Chairperson Jonathan, seconded by Commissioner Tschopp, adjourning the meeting by minute motion. Motion carried 4-0. The meeting was adjourned at 7:20 p.m. C"'".'--.,� -��, � ....i ' /�` � _ - i -__t,r' : /�r'._..�C.� PHIL DRELL, ecretary '���� ATTE : ;� SABBY JO THAN, Chairperson Palm Desert Planning Commission ... /tm 23