HomeMy WebLinkAbout0520
MINUTES
PALM DESERT PLANNING COMMISSION
TUESDAY - MAY 20, 2008
6:00 P.M. - CIVIC CENTER COUNCIL CHAMBER
73-510 FRED WARING DRIVE
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Vice Chair Tanner announced the passing of the Chair on May 10 and commended David
Tschopp on his dedication and service to the city, noting that he joined the Planning
Commission in January of 2001 and gave his time and a considerable amount of effort to
keep Palm Desert the way he wanted to see it. Chair Tschopp was a resident of Palm
Desert for many years and would be missed. A moment of silence was held in honor and
remembrance.
I. CALL TO ORDER
Vice Chair Tanner called the meeting to order at 6:01 p.m.
II. ROLL CALL
Members Present: Van Tanner, Vice Chair
Sonia Campbell
Connor Limont
Mari Schmidt
Members Absent: None
Staff Present: Lauri Aylaian, Director of Community Development
Bob Hargreaves, Deputy City Attorney
Tony Bagato, Principal Planner
Kevin Swartz, Assistant Planner
Missy Grisa, Assistant Planner
Ryan Stendell, Senior Management Analyst
Mark Diercks, Transportation Engineer
Phil Joy, Associate Transportation Planner
Spencer Knight, Landscape Manager
Tonya Monroe, Administrative Secretary
III. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
Commissioner Limont led in the pledge of allegiance.
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PALM DESERT PLANNING COMMISSION MAY 20, 2008
IV. ELECTION OF OFFICERS
Election of Chairperson and Vice Chairperson.
Action:
It was moved by Commissioner Campbell, seconded by Commissioner
Schmidt, by minute motion, electing Van Tanner as Chairperson and electing
Sonia Campbell as Vice Chairperson for the remainder of the current
unexpired term, with the intent that for the next term that Van Tanner remain
as Chair and Connor Limont to be Vice Chair. Motion carried 4-0.
V. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Request for consideration of the April 15, 2008 meeting minutes.
Action:
It was moved by Commissioner Limont, seconded by Commissioner Schmidt,
approving the April 15, 2008 meeting minutes. Motion carried 4-0.
VI. SUMMARY OF COUNCIL ACTION
Ms. Aylaian summarized pertinent May 8 and May 15, 2008 City Council
actions.
VII. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS
None.
VIII. CONSENT CALENDAR
A. Case No. PMW 07-23 - D.R. HORTON LOS ANGELES HOLDING
COMPANY, INC., AND TOM INCE, Applicants
Request for approval of Parcel Map Waiver 07-23 to allow a lot line
adjustment between Lot 32 of Tract 31836-1 and Lot 488 of Tract
2283 for building purposes on property located at 43-346 Tennessee.
B. Case No. PMW 08-104 - MERNE KELLEY AND IRONWOOD
OWNERS ASSOC. I, Applicant
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Request for approval of Parcel Map Waiver 08-104 to allow east and
south lot line adjustments for Lot 40 for building purposes on property
located at 73-566 Fox Tail Lane.
C. Case No. PMW 08-133 - MONTEREY GATEWAY PARTNERS, LLC,
Applicant
Request for approval of Parcel Map Waiver 08-133 to allow a lot line
adjustment between Parcels 6 and 9 of Parcel Map No. 34843 for
property located at 34-250 Gateway Drive.
Action:
It was moved by Commissioner Limont, seconded by Commissioner
Campbell, 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.
Reports and documents relating to each of the following items listed on the agenda
are on file in the Department of Community Development and are available for public
inspection during normal business hours, Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.,
73510 Fred Waring Drive, Palm Desert, CA 92260, (760) 346-0611.
A. Case Nos. GPA, C/Z AND PP/CUP 08-10 - PALM DESERT
REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY AND COUNTY OF RIVERSIDE
DEPARTMENT OF FACILITIES MANAGEMENT, Applicants
Request for approval of a General Plan Amendment from
Resort/Hotel Commercial (C-R/H) to Public/Quasi-Public
Facilities (PF); a Change of Zone from Planned Residential-5
(PR-5) to Public Institution (P); a Precise Plan of Design and
Conditional Use Permit to allow the construction and operation
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of a new Riverside County Sheriff Station totally approximately
85,496 square feet with a 20-foot by 20-foot rooftop helipad for
emergency purposes, 470 parking spaces, a hazardous waste
storage area, a fleet fueling station, wash bay for oversize
vehicles and bioswales for stormwater pollution management.
The project site is located on the south side of Gerald Ford
Drive, east of Monterey and west of Portola Avenue. The site
includes a 10-acre portion of APN 653-740-001, also known as
73-700 Gerald Ford Drive; and adoption of a Mitigated
Negative Declaration of Environmental Impact as it relates to
the project, pursuant to Section 15074 of the California
Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
Mr. Bagato reviewed the project in detail. He indicated that there were a
couple of changes to the Department of Public Works conditions of approval
which had been distributed to Commission. Based on the findings and
environmental review, staff recommended approval.
With regard to Leed certification and new Title 24 mandates coming down,
Commissioner Limont asked what the difference was between the two and if
there was a significant difference. Mr. Bagato clarified that Title 24 just dealt
with energy. Leed certification went beyond energy. Energy was part of it.
Bioswales would help toward the Leed certification. It was using green
products, recycled material, but that wasn=t part of Title 24. Title 24 was
California=s Energy Code. Ms. Aylaian added that to get points toward Leed
certification for energy conservation, energy had to be conserved above and
beyond what was required by the local jurisdiction; therefore, if they used
Palm Desert=s very restrictive energy code as a starting point, they would
get zero points towards Leed certification. They had to go above and beyond
that and be even more energy conserving.
Commissioner Limont asked if this project was up and above that. Ms.
Aylaian explained that there were six different areas to earn points. Energy
conservation was one of the areas. She didn=t believe they could get Leed
certification without earning points in each of the areas and suggested that
perhaps the applicant could address that more in depth, but she thought they
had some points in that category, which would mean they were even more
energy conserving, or that they=ve used alternative forms of renewable
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energy sources in the design. Mr. Bagato also noted that they were providing
solar panels on the rooftops.
Chairperson Tanner thought this facility would not be an incarceration
center, and asked if there would be holding cells. Mr. Bagato replied that
there would be some holding cells for short-term, but it would not be a jail
facility. Chairperson Tanner noted that the plan was only using a third of the
area and asked if there were future plans. Mr. Bagato explained that the
whole parcel is owned by the Redevelopment Agency (RDA). The ten acres
under discussion would be sold to the County for the Sheriff=s Station. The
rest of the land was vacant and dedicated for commercial. He confirmed that
all they were reviewing was the shaded area identifying the Sheriff=s Station
and the rest of the site was currently zoned for Planned Residential, but
identified as Resort Commercial in the General Plan. It was all owned by
RDA. Chairperson Tanner asked for and received confirmation that the
hours were 24 hours, 7 days a week.
Commissioner Limont asked if staff was using an assumption that the
helicopter would be there 12 times a year. Mr. Bagato said that was correct.
Commissioner Limont asked about the ones currently going overhead that
were emergency vehicles and where they came from. Mr. Bagato said there
was someone from the Sheriff=s Station in the audience that could answer
that, but he thought they came from Indio. Commissioner Limont asked if
they would be coming from this new facility. They weren=t infrequent. Mr.
Bagato deferred to the Sheriff=s Station representative. Commissioner
Limont noted that there were condos next door and possible development on
the other. Chairperson Tanner thought that was a good question for the
applicant. Mr. Bagato stated that it was his understanding that there
wouldn=t be a helicopter housed at this new facility, it was just for
emergency purposes.
Chairperson Tanner opened the public hearing and asked the applicant to
address the Commission.
MR. BOB WOLF, HDR Architects in Pasadena, stated that they are
the architects on the project and he was present to answer any
questions. He stated that there were no specific holding cells in the
project. The only restraints were some handcuff rings on the benches,
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but there would be no cells built in the facility; that would throw it into
a completely different category.
Commissioner Campbell asked about the helicopter.
Mr. Wolf said the Sheriff=s Department was represented, but believed
that the fleet was based in Thermal. There would be no specific
helicopter based at the proposed facility.
LT. FRANK TAYLOR, Assistant Chief of Police for the City of Palm
Desert, explained that the helicopters that currently fly in the valley
were provided by the Sheriff=s Department and by California Highway
Patrol. Both of them were housed regularly down in Thermal and they
wouldn=t be housed at the Palm Desert facility at any time. The new
Thermal station, which was in the planning stages, had a hanger
setup for the Sheriff=s Department helicopter to be housed down at
that location. He hoped that answered the question. Those were the
only two in the valley on a regular basis.
There were no other questions. Chairperson Tanner asked for testimony in
FAVOR. There was none. He asked if there was any testimony in
OPPOSITION. There was none and he closed the public hearing and asked
for Commission comments.
Commissioner Campbell thought it was a great location for the building and
to have the facility here in Palm Desert. She moved for approval.
Commissioner Limont thought it fit with the architecture in the area. She
asked if this would be County property once it was approved. Mr. Bagato
confirmed that it would belong to Riverside County. Commissioner Limont
seconded the motion.
Action:
It was moved by Commissioner Campbell, seconded by Commissioner
Limont, adopting the findings as presented by staff. Motion carried 4-0.
It was moved by Commissioner Campbell, seconded by Commissioner
Limont, adopting Planning Commission Resolution No. 2475, recommending
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to City Council approval of GPA, C/Z, PP/CUP 08-10, subject to conditions
as amended, and a Mitigated Negative Declaration of Environmental Impact
as it relates thereto. Motion carried 4-0.
B. Case No. TPM 35978 - PALM DESERT ASSOCIATES, L.P.,
Applicant
Request for approval of a Tentative Parcel Map to subdivide a
.97-acre parcel with an existing 9,886 square foot building into
five separate parcels with common parking for sale purposes.
Subject property is located at 73-760 Dinah Shore (APN 653-
250-058).
Mr. Swartz reviewed the request and recommended approval, subject to
conditions.
Commissioner Schmidt asked for clarification that the existing building would
be divided into five parcels, not the ground it was sitting on. Mr. Swartz
confirmed it was just the building. Commissioner Schmidt asked if it was
being condominium-ized. Mr. Swartz confirmed that it was for sale purposes.
Commissioner Limont asked how long the building had been there. Mr.
Swartz noted that it was approved on October 4, 2005 by the Planning
Commission.
Chairperson Tanner opened the public hearing and asked the applicant to
address the Commission. There was no response; Mr. Swartz confirmed that
the applicant wasn=t in attendance.
Chairperson Tanner asked for testimony in FAVOR or OPPOSITION to the
proposed tentative parcel map. There was none and he closed the public
hearing and asked for Commission comments.
Commissioner Campbell noted that they have had similar requests before
them and moved for approval. Commissioner Limont seconded the motion.
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PALM DESERT PLANNING COMMISSION MAY 20, 2008
Action:
It was moved by Commissioner Campbell, seconded by Commissioner
Limont, adopting the findings as presented by staff. Motion carried 4-0.
It was moved by Commissioner Campbell, seconded by Commissioner
Limont, adopting Planning Commission Resolution No. 2476, approving
Case No. TPM 35978, subject to conditions. Motion carried 4-0.
C. Case Nos. DA 07-02, PP 07-11 and CUP 07-14 - LARKSPUR
ASSOCIATES, LLC, AND PALM DESERT REDEVELOPMENT
AGENCY, Applicants
Request for a recommendation to City Council for approval of
a Development Agreement, Precise Plan of Design,
Conditional Use Permit and Mitigated Negative Declaration of
Environmental Impact, to allow the construction of a new three-
story 106-room boutique hotel and two-story condominium unit
including 16 three-bedroom lockout rooms (48 keys maximum)
totaling a maximum of 154 units/keys. The project includes 203
underground parking spaces, a restaurant area, gift shop,
conference and meeting rooms, spa, and amenities including a
roof deck pool and bar, roof deck garden and roof deck patios
on 11 of the 16 condominium units. The project is located at
45-400 Larkspur Lane, also known as APNs 627-262-008 and
011.
Mr. Bagato reviewed the proposed project, and based on staff=s review,
recommended that Planning Commission recommend to the City Council
approval of Case Nos. DA 07-02, PP 07-11 and CUP 07-14.
Commissioner Limont noted that Mr. Bagato mentioned that in the event of
an emergency, the hotel could be used as a community cool station. She
asked if that would be for residents of Palm Desert or just for hotel guests.
Mr. Bagato answered that it was supposed to be for Palm Desert residents.
Using a scenario of it being August and getting hit with a major earthquake
and no facilities for a week with the hotel at capacity, Commissioner Limont
asked how many people the facility could accommodate and where they
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would be put. She was asking because if they were using that as part of the
selling points, she wanted to know what they were looking at as a
community. Mr. Bagato stated that they were working on the development
agreement and land transaction. The land was currently owned by RDA
(Redevelopment Agency) and those specifics were being worked out and the
applicant could probably address that in further detail. He didn=t foresee the
hotel being sold out in August, but if it was, there was the lobby area and
potentially the underground parking would be cooler than normal. They were
working on those specifics before start of construction. There would also be
conference and meeting rooms that could be used, as well as a spa and
workout room.
If they didn=t have power, Commissioner Limont asked what was going to
run the cooling system in this building. Mr. Bagato said they would provide
an emergency generator on-site to run the building and air-conditioning.
Commissioner Limont asked for how long. Mr. Bagato wasn=t sure.
Commissioner Limont said those were some of the things they had to ask if
they were going to put it out there as a place where folks could go. Mr.
Bagato agreed. He said if they received approval, they would work on those
details before they pull construction permits.
Commissioner Schmidt noted on the first page of the staff report that 16 units
were proposed as condominium units for financing purposes and they were
not intended to be permanent residential units. She asked if that meant it
would be built in two phases. Mr. Bagato said no, it would be built in one
phase, but, for example, if they had a $40 million loan for the whole project, it
was more difficult to finance. In comparison, with a condominium map, they
could have 16 owners of the condominiums that would be part of the rental
pool and then one owner of the hotel, so they could split up the loans. But
the intent, and it was a condition of approval, was that they couldn=t be used
for living purposes. They were still going to generate TOT (transient
occupancy tax) and act like a hotel, they were just going to have individual
owners instead of just one for the whole project. They could potentially have
16 different owners.
There were no other questions. Chairperson Tanner opened the public
hearing and asked the applicant to address the Commission.
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MR. WILLIAM DE LEEUW, the Managing Member of Larkspur
Associates, LLC, commended staff on the completeness of the staff
report. After reading it, he said it took most of the wind out of his
presentation because it covered everything he was going to present.
But he did want to go back over some of their goals for this project.
After looking at the project and talking to people in the city, neighbors
and other people and what they felt should be accomplished from the
Shadow Mountain area, they said they should make it look
residential. They shouldn=t violate any height along Shadow
Mountain and should only be the 24 feet allowed on Shadow
Mountain; that the project should be lower than The Gardens; that it
should be less dense on the south and then transition to the
commercial and heavier density closer to El Paseo. He thought the
architects did an excellent job doing that. He noted that the project
was twice as dense close to El Paseo as it would be on the Shadow
Mountain side. On the south half of the project there was a total of 48
rooms and on the north half 106 rooms.
He thought Mr. Bagato covered quite a bit of the benefit to the
community; a four-star plus hotel in an under-represented area. They
had a lot of hotels in the city, but there was nothing quite like a
boutique hotel in this area. It would fill a void in the market, one that
each city in the Coachella Valley desired to fill. Everyone would love
to have something in their downtown area that was similar to this
project.
One other thing that was not in the staff report that they had been
working on with their designers was the historical element in the city.
On this site was originally a hotel called Fire Cliff. They wanted to
bring in some of the elements and worked with the Historical Society
to bring some of those elements into their lobby, as much as possible.
As far as naming, they hadn=t gotten that far. There had been
suggestions from people that they try to name it after that, but there
were problems, mainly because there was a restaurant by that name,
they might not want that name, and their operators may not want it, so
it was an open thing.
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Mr. De Leeuw said that Mr. Bagato covered the Leed certification and
also the emergency generator and cool room. Their plan, and he
thought there was a question by Ms. Limont on where that would be,
and he thought it would be in their meeting rooms, in the area they
use for conventions, meetings and public spaces, as well as the
restaurants. If it had to be other places in the summer, they would
probably have vacant rooms, especially the suites, which were fairly
large and could house quite a few people. They weren=t talking about
housing for a prolonged basis, but for 24 to 72 hours until power
could be turned on. Something in that range. He hoped that it
wouldn=t be a lot longer than that, but one never knew.
One thing that had been sensitive, and the neighbors in their meeting
asked them, was outdoor music. He said they have no plans for
outdoor music. They didn=t propose it because he didn=t think it
would fly too well. He said he would be happy to answer any
questions. Most of the presentation that he was going to make was
covered in the staff report, so he didn=t want to be redundant.
Commissioner Schmidt asked about the proposed build-out time frame.
Mr. De Leeuw said ideally, within the next six months. That would be
six months from City Council. They have a development and
disposition agreement with the Palm Desert Redevelopment Agency
that required them to get finished plans, get financing, and start
during that period of time. So their goal was to start construction
during that period of time. They=d been told 18 months, but they
might be able to speed that up a bit, because 18 months hit the
market at the wrong time and they would love to hit that five months
earlier than that. Whether that was feasible or not, he didn=t know.
One other thing that might effect the exact timing was the financing
market right now; it was a little tougher now than it was six months or
a year ago, but it looked like it was getting better. They didn=t get to
make all the decisions themselves and a little bit was out of their
hands.
Commissioner Campbell asked about the parcel zoned Commercial that
went into the parking lot where Mama Gina=s is located and if that would be
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open in case of an emergency so that flow of traffic could go in and out, not
regular traffic, but the hotel or in an emergency situation, or if they would be
closing that.
Mr. De Leeuw said right now there was a 24-foot easement from El
Paseo that goes to that Commercial property. The hotel, as proposed,
didn=t have a legal access to that and they couldn=t use it for parking
or anything else. The Fire Department had access and that easement
couldn=t be built on. It was technically owned by the 10-unit
condominium project to the east of the project.
He also said the Board of Directors of the Shadow Cliff Homeowners
Association passed a resolution endorsing their project; that was the
property directly to the east.
Chairperson Tanner noted that Mr. De Leeuw made a statement about being
able to control the noise on some of the decks on the second story. He
wanted to make sure the noise was controlled, because other inhabitants of
the hotel would not want to come back.
Mr. De Leeuw said having been in the hotel business before, he could
assure them that the hotel management was more concerned about
noise than probably anyone else, because it amounted to basically a
refund. In other words, if they had someone in the room making noise,
people on either side if they were kept up or disturbed, the first
request was for a refund and refunds were the most expensive way to
solve the problem. Security guards, imposition of restrictions,
everything else was a lot cheaper for them and a lot more cost
effective. They had probably more incentive to keep noise under
control than almost anyone else.
Commissioner Campbell asked if the restaurant and bar in the hotel would
be open to the general public.
Mr. De Leeuw said yes. His goal when they started was to keep it to a
bare minimum, but for the certification for four stars that they wanted,
that required a full-service public restaurant, and they were even
smaller than they wanted, they would to like them larger, but his
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general historical philosophy was that hotel restaurants didn=t make
money, so keep them as small as possible. But to answer the
question, yes, open to the public, access directly to the street on
Larkspur, and they also had to have 24-hour room service.
Commissioner Campbell said that even if it was a four-star restaurant, they
would have something open 24 hours a day for their clientele.
Mr. De Leeuw said unfortunately they have to have that.
Commissioner Campbell reiterated that he had to have that besides room
service.
Mr. De Leeuw said yes.
Chairperson Tanner noted that Mr. De Leeuw mentioned a bar on the
rooftop.
Mr. De Leeuw said yes, there were actually two bars. One at the pool
on the rooftop and the other bar adjacent to the restaurant on the
ground floor.
Chairperson Tanner asked if the bar on the rooftop would be open to the
public.
Mr. De Leeuw said the bar would be, the pool technically would not.
Because of the liquor license rules, any bar with a Type 47 license
was open to the public.
Chairperson Tanner noted that the hours would be limited to 12:00 a.m. on
Friday and Saturday.
Mr. De Leeuw concurred.
There were no other questions for the applicant. Chairperson Tanner asked
if anyone wished to speak in FAVOR or OPPOSITION to the proposed
project. There was no one and the public hearing was closed. Chairperson
Tanner asked for Commission comments.
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Commissioner Limont said she was thinking along the same lines regarding
noise as Chairperson Tanner. They had just gone through a pretty horrific
situation with another vendor on El Paseo and the neighborhood, so there
was a concern when they added alcohol, vacation time, and free time and
then they have folks living in the neighborhood. So she had real concerns
with regard to having a pool and a bar on the third story in a neighborhood.
And this was a neighborhood. There were still folks living there. If they were
the person who lived next door in the condos that had a two-year old, how
would they feel if it was midnight on a Friday night and people were having a
good time? She thought they needed to take that into consideration.
But she also thought it would be great to have a hotel close to El Paseo. The
ability for folks to visit Palm Desert, walk to the shops and restaurants, and
to really just enjoy that area was terrific. But she was hesitant at this point
with regard to the third story, with regard to the pools up there, and with
regard to bars up there.
Commissioner Campbell thought the problem that occurred with the other
project was not just loud music, but amplified music. She didn=t think there
would be a request approved for amplified music. So that wouldn=t be
allowed for this restaurant / hotel, even though it would be on the rooftop and
there would be certain hours to be adhered to with regard to selling alcohol.
She was happy to have it on El Paseo, as many of her clients requested
boutique hotels so that they could walk to the shopping area instead of
driving from Palm Springs to El Paseo. She didn=t think they would be
having any increased traffic because as people came, they would park there
and just walk to the other restaurants and to the shopping.
She didn=t have any problem with the heights. The Shadow Mountain area
would be 24-25 feet, just like the other two-story apartments across the
street; the Gardens structure would be taller than this hotel. She was in favor
of the project.
Commissioner Schmidt said she had to admit that when she first saw this
project she went, oh no, here we go. But there had been an incredible
amount of work put into this project from everyone=s standpoint, she was
quite certain. And it really was site specific and looked great, and she
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particularly liked that they front loaded it on Larkspur. The main thrust of
what was going on was on that side of the street which faced Saks Fifth
Avenue. She was very pleased with that. She was also pleased to see that
the condominium element tried to meet the height restrictions and the
density restrictions and didn=t impose itself on the residential community as
much as a plan like this could do. She was a little disappointed that it
seemed busy to her, it seemed architecturally busy, but she knew it was a
tough site to get that kind of density on and thought they had done an
amazing job with it. She said wasn=t even going to argue about the height
because of The Gardens across the street; she thought it worked. And
thankfully they had a fall in the ground elevation to the north which helped a
lot. If this was sitting on flat ground and they came with three stories, she
would not be at all in favor. So with that, she was in favor of this project.
Chairperson Tanner was also a little concerned about the presence of a bar
and a pool in a pavilion-type of area and walk space on the roof. He thought
that Palm Desert needed a boutique hotel downtown Palm Desert, he was
just a little concerned about the bar sitting on top of the roof with the pool,
rooms around it, etc. He just wondered if something could be accomplished
with room service also providing bar service from downstairs. It might be a
little less convenient and maybe that was what he was looking for.
He was in favor of the project and thought it was going to do exactly what
they wanted it to do, and that was to bring people down to Palm Desert and
let them walk El Paseo. But again, he was a little bit concerned about the bar
itself and he was not going to pull his vote just based on that, but
encouraged the developer to look at something different and maybe City
Council, after hearing the Planning Commission, would look for something a
little different. But he thought it was something needed in Palm Desert, he
was just sorry there was an inclusive bar on top.
Action:
It was moved by Commissioner Campbell, seconded by Commissioner
Schmidt, adopting the findings as presented by staff. Motion carried 3-1
(Commissioner Limont voted no).
It was moved by Commissioner Campbell, seconded by Commissioner
Schmidt, adopting Planning Commission Resolution No. 2477,
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recommending to City Council approval of DA 07-02, PP 07-11, CUP 07-14
and a Mitigated Negative Declaration of Environmental Impact as it relates
thereto, subject to conditions. Motion carried 3-1 (Commissioner Limont
voted no).
X. MISCELLANEOUS
A. Case No. PP 07-12 - DAVID NELSON, Applicant
Request for approval of a preliminary building site for a Hillside
Planned Residential property located at 72-340 Upper Way West
(APN: 628-130-008).
Mr. Stendell explained that staff was recommending a continuance of this
item for two weeks in order to do some public noticing. Erring on the side of
caution, staff was recommending a two-week continuation. He was ready
give a full staff report, otherwise, staff would return with the project in two
weeks and present it then.
Commissioner Campbell asked about the public noticing since this was a
Miscellaneous item. Mr. Stendell stated that with the hillside area, there was
never any harm in erring on the side of caution. In this case, even though
they were talking in a very preliminary level and not entitling anything,
because they were talking about the hillside and because it was such a
sensitive area, they were going to do the public noticing as required by the
ordinance, even though the section of the ordinance they were discussing
could be argued that it wasn=t required. But he thought it was the right thing
to do to notice it and come back in two weeks.
Commissioner Campbell suggested hearing the staff report in two weeks. Mr.
Stendell concurred. It was noted that this would be the only item for the June
3 meeting. Ms. Aylaian suggested that it be heard on June 3 with apologies
to the applicant. This was a new ordinance and was the first time this clause
or ordinance had been used and staff read through it three times and
decided that technically, it didn=t have to be a public hearing with the
noticing, but there was concern expressed from neighbors and staff
determined that noticing would be a fair interpretation of the ordinance. It
was a little ambiguous and staff felt when in doubt, it was appropriate to give
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everyone enough notice and because we have kept the applicant waiting,
she suggested meeting on June 3. Commission concurred. Commissioner
Schmidt asked for and received confirmation that there was enough time to
give notice for the June 3 meeting. Chairperson Tanner asked for a motion.
Action:
It was moved by Commissioner Campbell, seconded by Commissioner
Schmidt, by minute motion, continued Case No. PP 07-12 to June 3, 2008.
Motion carried 4-0.
XI. COMMITTEE MEETING UPDATES
A. ART IN PUBLIC PLACES
Commissioner Campbell reported that the next meeting would be May
21, 2008.
B. LANDSCAPE BEAUTIFICATION
Commissioner Limont reviewed the items discussed at the last
meeting.
C. PROJECT AREA 4 COMMITTEE
Commissioner Schmidt indicated that the meeting was canceled and
the next meeting would be in June.
D. PARKS & RECREATION
Chairperson Tanner informed the Commission that there would be a
study session next Thursday regarding the community center. It was
scheduled from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. He stated that he would
update the Commission on that meeting June 3.
XII. COMMENTS
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None.
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PALM DESERT PLANNING COMMISSION MAY 20, 2008
XIII. ADJOURNMENT
It was moved by Commissioner Schmidt, seconded by Commissioner
Campbell, adjourning the meeting by minute motion. Motion carried 4-0. The
meeting was adjourned at 7:09 p.m.
______________________________
LAURI AYLAIAN, Secretary
ATTEST:
_____________________________
VAN G. TANNER, Chair
Palm Desert Planning Commission
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