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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1120 MINUTES PALM DESERT PLANNING COMMISSION • TUESDAY - NOVEMBER 20, 2007 I. CALL TO ORDER Chairperson Campbell called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. II. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Commissioner Tschopp led the pledge of allegiance. III. ROLL CALL Members Present: Sonia Campbell, Chair Dave Tschopp, Vice Chair Connor Limont Mari Schmidt Van Tanner Members Absent: None Now Staff Present: Lauri Aylaian, Director of Community Development Bob Hargreaves, Asst. City Attorney Tony Bagato, Principal Planner Kevin Swartz, Assistant Planner Grace Mendoza, Deputy City Clerk IV. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Request for consideration of the October 16, 2007 meeting minutes. Action: It was moved by Commissioner Tanner, seconded by Commissioner Tschopp, to approve the October 16, 2007 meeting minutes. Motion carried 5-0. V. SUMMARY OF COUNCIL ACTION Ms. Aylaian reviewed pertinent October 25 and November 8, 2007 City am Council actions. MINUTES PALM DESERT PLANNING COMMISSION NOVEMBER 20, 2007 VI. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS None. VII. CONSENT CALENDAR A. Case No. PMW 07-19 — JANICE C. WOOD, Applicant Request for approval of a parcel map waiver to adjust existing property lines in equal amounts of land area to correct an existing non-conforming structure. Located at 72-375 Upper Way West (APN: 628-130-014). Chairperson Campbell noted that staff provided additional information to all the Commissioners. Action: It was moved by Commissioner Tanner, seconded by Commissioner Limont, to approve the Consent Calendar by minute motion. Motion carried 5-0. Vill. 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 07-12 — WILSON AND JOHNSON DEVELOPMENT MANAGEMENT, Applicant Request for approval of a Conditional Use Permit to allow a Karate instructional studio and the required amount of parking stalls. The Project is located at 73-010 El Paseo Drive, Suite 2 (APN: 640-017- 012). Mr. Swartz reviewed the staff report and recommended approval. He noted a correction to the Conditions of Approval. He said the Applicant requested that Condition No. 6 should reflect a maximum of 20 students per class. Commissioner Schmidt asked if there were no classes on the weekend. Mr. Swartz answered that was correct. no 2 MINUTES PALM DESERT PLANNING COMMISSION NOVEMBER 20, 2007 Commissioner Tschopp asked if there were any complaints from the current tenants that occupied the surrounding buildings. Mr. Swartz responded there were none. Commissioner Schmidt stated the proposed studio abutted the bank and noticed the plans indicated there was sound atenuation in the walls. She asked if the walls were beefed up because a Karate studio would be noisier than a business. She said she'd wait for the Applicant to respond at the appropriate time. Chairperson Campbell noticed the Karate studio office hours listed in the staff report and those listed in the Conditions of Approval were not the same and asked which were the correct hours. Mr. Swartz responded it was an error, and confirmed the correct office hours should read 10:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. With no further questions of staff, Chairperson Campbell owed the public hearing and invited the Applicant to address the Commission. MR. MATT JOHNSON, Applicant, responding to Commissioner Schmidt's earlier question, confirmed sound boards were installed in the walls. He noted the bank was aware of the Karate studio going in next door. He said the suite was configured in a way that immediately on the other side of the wall was a conference room with restrooms that were rarely used. He thought it worked out well and didn't anticipate any problems with the bank. Chairperson Campbell invited testimony in FAVOR or OPPOSITION to the Application. With no further testimony offered, the public hearing was closed. Commissioner Limont stated she recognized that at the small complex, at the far end of Starbucks, things got squished in with Quiznos, Starbucks, and the cleaners. She said parking would be tight but didn't see any problems with the application unless someone brought it to her attention to indicate otherwise. Commissioner Tanner stated the studio was at a great spot and in an area that all can utilize. Action: It was moved by Commissioner Tanner, seconded by Commissioner Limont, to adopt the findings as presented by staff. 3 MINUTES PALM DESERT PLANNING COMMISSION NOVEMBER 20, 2007 Chairperson Campbell agreed the studio was in a good location, because eventually when restaurants went in, there will still be adequate parking on 1Or the weekends. Chairperson Campbell noted there was a motion and a second and called for the vote. Motion carried 5-0. It was moved by Commissioner Tanner, seconded by Commissioner Tschopp, to adopt Planning Commission Resolution No. 2458, approving Case No. CUP 07-12, subject to conditions as amended. Motion carried 5-0. MS. DEANNA BIWIANS stated she was the owner of the Karate studio and was glad to meet the Commissioners and looked forward to getting to know them better. She noted she had 30 years experience in her career and stated it was a pleasure to have attended this meeting. IX. MISCELLANEOUS A. Informational discussion of Massage Establishments in the City of Palm Desert, compared to neighboring cities Ms. Aylaian stated at the Planning Commission meeting of September 4, 2007, staff brought forward a proposed CUP that would place a massage establishment in the President's Plaza area. At the time the issue was reviewed, and the CUP was approved, the Planning Commission expressed curiosity regarding the number of massage establishments in the City and where it ranked compared to surrounding cities. The staff report with the findings was provided as an informational item in response to the Commission's request. She offered to answer questions. Commissioner Limont thanked Ms. Aylaian for responding to the request because it helped to know how many massage establishments the City had. She said her concern was perception, and she wasn't trying to limit competition in business. It was the same way that cities looked to limit the number of liquor licenses because sometimes there was also a perception with the number of liquor licenses. She said it was also good to learn which ones were in hotels. Commissioner Tschopp stated the findings were interesting and helpful and appreciated having the information. Ms. Aylaian thanked Mr. Swartz for making sense of the information collected. It was learned that different cities licensed things differently, and Mr. Swartz had to discern and make sense of a lot of data. .r 4 MINUTES PALM DESERT PLANNING COMMISSION NOVEMBER 20, 2007 Action: None. X. COMMITTEE MEETING UPDATES A. ART IN PUBLIC PLACES Chairperson Campbell stated there was no meeting. B. LANDSCAPE BEAUTIFICATION Commissioner Limont stated the meeting was scheduled for the following week. C. PROJECT AREA 4 COMMITTEE Commissioner Limont stated her next meeting was scheduled for March 2008. D. PARKS & RECREATION Now Commissioner Tanner reported that the Parks & Recreation meeting was short and only had a few items to report on. He said the Palm Desert Senior Softball was granted one more year of continued use at the Civic Center Park at no charge. Parks & Recreation Services Manager Janis Steele had called attention to information about linking recreational opportunities with crime prevention by stepping in and offering activities for kids. In addition, signs will be placed around the parks that promoted keeping dogs on a leash. Chairperson Campbell stated she understood trying to keep dogs on a leash, but felt that pet owners would still not clean up after them. Commissioner Tanner clarified it was more about dogs off a leash that run toward dogs on a leash that created a bit of problem. He went on to say, that Coachella Valley Recreation and Park District presented the programs for Janaury and February, and that the Senior Games were still being held in Palm Desert. 5 MINUTES PALM DESERT PLANNING COMMISSION NOVEMBER 20. 2007 XI. COMMENTS no Commissioner Tschopp asked what could be expected in future agendas. Ms. Aylaian stated there were some large projects submitted and they will be brought forward over the next couple of months. She said there were some significant commercial projects, one being a large senior residential project, directly north of Bristol Farms on the vacant lot of Country Club Drive and Monterey at the northeast corner. In the immediate future, at the December 4 meeting, notices were mailed out to hold a public hearing to modify the Conditional Use Permits for Augusta's; there have been complaints about noise generated there. In addition, a couple of projects had been floating around for months as staff awaits information from applicants: the Jewish Federation School and Marty's Tire Center. Staff expected those to be around the corner, but the applicants didn't have all the pieces put together yet. Chairperson Campbell stated she understood something was already on the agenda for December 4, and asked about the December 18 meeting. Ms. Aylaian responded it was too early to know for sure and would hate to lay odds on anything if it hadn't been already noticed. The December 4 meeting item was a certainty because the public notice had already gone out. She added there were some "cool" projects coming up in the following months. XII. ADJOURNMENT With Planning Commission concurrence, Chair Campbell adjourned the meeting at 6:25 p.m. LAURI AYLAIAN, Secret* ATTEST: SONIA M. CAMPBELL, Chairperson Palm Desert Planning Commission /glm 00 6