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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2011-03-01 PC Regular Meeting Minutes MINUTES PALM DESERT PLANNING COMMISSION TUESDAY — MARCH 1, 2011 I. CALL TO ORDER Chair Campbell called the meeting to order at 5:59 p.m. II. ROLL CALL Members Present: Sonia Campbell, Chair Nancy De Luna, Vice Chair Van Tanner Roger Dash Connor Limont Members Absent: None Staff Present: Jill Tremblay, Assistant City Attorney Lauri Aylaian, Director of Community Development Christina Canales, Assistant Engineer Kevin Swartz, Assistant Planner Tony Bagato, Principal Planner Tony Becker, Administrative Secretary Justin McCarthy, Assistant City Manager Ruth Ann Moore, Economic Development Manager III. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Chair Campbell led the pledge of allegiance. IV. SUMMARY OF COUNCIL ACTION Ms. Aylaian informed the Planning Commission that the Council met on February 24, 2011 taking action on the Vons store that went before the Planning Commission, granting a request for continuance by the applicant. They also unanimously approved the DMV building as presented to the Now MINUTES PALM DESERT PLANNING COMMISSION March 1, 2011 Planning Commission in February. Councilmembers Harnik and Kroonen were appointed to a sub-committee to work on the issue of neon window .r signage and to incorporate new language allowing it in moderation into the zoning ordinance. V. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS NONE VI. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Request for approval of the February 15, 2011, meeting minutes. Action: Commissioner Limont moved and Commissioner De Luna seconded the approval of the February 15, 2011 meeting minutes. Motion carried 5-0. VII. CONSENT CALENDAR NONE Vlll. PUBLIC HEARINGS Chair Campbell stated that 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 10-438 Little Monsters/ Little Angels, Applicant. Approvals of a Conditional Use Permit to allow Little Monsters / Little Angels pre-school to operate in a 4,130 square foot building at 74-124 Highway 111, located in the C-1, S. P. Zone, (General Commercial). Assistant Planner, Kevin Swartz orally presented his staff report and PowerPoint presentation describing the site and location and the outdoor play area. The site is located between Highway 111 and Alessandro Alley in the `old Maytag Building'. The applicant proposes to close off one of the two drives to gain more control over the flow of traffic. The applicant also proposes to erect a wrought-iron fence and gate around the outside play area where the children would play. Staff recommended approval of the Conditional Use Permit to operate the day-school at this location subject to the attached conditions. Mr. Swartz volunteered to answer Commission questions. . r 2 MINUTES PALM DESERT PLANNING COMMISSION March 1 2011 Commissioner Limont began by asking staff if the pre-school was already operational. Staff said no, not yet. Commissioner De Luna asked about the access off of Highway 111 and the gate that is there. She wanted to know which part of the property would actually be fenced off and how that would protect the children. Mr. Swartz showed on overhead map the areas for the children to play and where the parents would drop off their children. Commissioner Dash wanted to know if that area is fenced off completely. Mr. Swartz stated that it would be completely fenced off (referring to a location on the overhead map). Commissioner Dash asked if staff foresaw any problems with traffic/parents dropping the kids off and blocking lanes as at other schools, and will parents just drop their children off or will teachers meet the students? Mr. Swartz said that he would let the applicant speak to that last question. In answer to the first question posed, staff didn't believe that parking would be a problem for this school since they only would have 30 students and not hundreds as would be found at a public school. Commissioner Limont wanted to clarify one issue on the overhead map as to where the fenced-off area actually would be. Mr. Swartz pointed to the map indicating exactly where the fenced off area was to be. Chair Campbell asked about the hours of operation. She noted that the listed hours were 8-5, Monday through Friday and asked if children would be there all that time. Mr. Swartz deferred to the applicant. Chair Campbell declared the public hearing open. Kristine Wells of 72690 Homestead, Palm Desert, CA greeted the Commission and proceeded to answer some of the questions posed. She stated that the State requires that parents escort their children into the building and sign them in and out; the children are not allowed to be in the parking lot unattended at all. Commissioner Tanner asked if there was a curriculum and also wanted to know what time(s) the children would leave. Ms. Wells stated that there would be a morning class from 8-12 and an afternoon class from 1-5. She also indicated that only a few parents have requested that their kids be there the entire day, otherwise most children would be there for one class or the other. She stated that those classes include teaching motor-skills, social skills, and self-help skills to name a few. Commissioner Tanner wanted to know if the Tot Stop was nearby. Mr. Swartz stated that the Tot Stop was located on Washington Street, near St. John's Lutheran Church. The Palm Desert Early Education Center is near the proposed Little Angels/ Little Monsters. Commissioner Dash asked if the construction would be completed before the children attend. Ms. Wells stated that the State won't allow them to open until everything is completed including paperwork, construction etc. Chair Campbell 3 MINUTES PALM DESERT PLANNING COMMISSION March 1, 2011 asked how long would the process take with the State. Ms. Wells stated that it could be 30-120 days depending on the completeness of the application file they have submitted. She mentioned that in order to make sure that file is ready; .� she has been going to Riverside every few days to complete their`check-list'. Commissioner De Luna ended by asking for clarification about at which drive the children would be dropped off. Ms. Wells indicated that they hadn't yet decided, but that they DID decide to only allow one entrance/exit so as to provide the utmost control. She also indicated that the parents would escort their child to the chosen entrance/exit and State law requires a parent to sign them in/out at all times. Chair Campbell opened the public hearing for testimony IN FAVOR OF or IN OPPOSITION TO the project. Hearing none, she closed the public hearing. Action: Commissioner Limont moved and Commissioner De Luna seconded the motion to approve case CUP 10-438. The motion carried for approval 5-0. Commissioner Limont moved and Commissioner De Luna seconded adopting Planning Commission Resolution No. 2546 recommending approval of CUP 10-438. Motion carried 5-0. IX. MISCELLANEOUS A. Villa Portofino. Continue the discussion of Villa Portofino until the April 19, 2011 Planning Commission meeting, allowing time for escrow to close between City National Bank and Family Development. Commissioners Tanner and De Luna recused themselves and exited the Council Chambers. Mr. Swartz indicated that Family Development just recently went into a 45- day escrow with City National Bank, and was expected to close at the end of March. The current property owners and potential property owners have met with City Staff to discuss the work program (attached to packet). Staff recommends continuing the matter until April 19, 2011 to allow escrow to close. Chair Campbell asked if all of the owners were in favor of the continuance and to present their information in April. Mr. Swartz said that they were. 4 MINUTES PALM DESERT PLANNING COMMISSION March 1 2011 Commissioner Limont asked about the final paragraph of the staff report and wanted to clarify that the plan of action were the line items being discussed. Mr. Swartz said yes. Action: Commissioner Limont moved and Commissioner Dash seconded the motion to continue the matter to the April 19, 2011 Planning Commission meeting. Motion carried 3-0-2-0 (Commissioners De Luna and Tanner ABSENT). Commissioners De Luna and Tanner re-entered the Council Chambers. A. Governor's Redevelopment Proposal An informational report will be presented by a representative of the City of Palm Desert Redevelopment Agency on the impact of the Governor's proposal to eliminate Redevelopment Agencies in the State of California. Ms. Aylaian introduced Assistant City Manager, Justin McCarthy and Economic Development Manager, Ruth Ann Moore. They presented a report to the Planning Commission about the Palm Desert Redevelopment Agency, its impact to the community and the impact of Governor Brown's proposal to eliminate Redevelopment in the State of California. Mr. McCarthy began by explaining that Redevelopment does more than just remove blight. Blight isn't just defunct buildings; it can be inadequate public facilities, infrastructure or inadequate commercial facilities that no longer are able to meet the demands of a growing community. The purpose of this presentation is to answer some of those questions posed about the connection of Redevelopment to places like El Paseo that don't appear to have any blight, and what Redevelopment does for the local and State economies. In the 1970's, the City saw two floods and major destruction to local infrastructure because it was unable to handle the deluge. Mr. McCarthy showed slides of what damage was done 30 years ago to roads and washes and homes that were affected. The Highway 111 business district was shut down due to flooding. Then-Governor Brown visited the area and declared it a disaster area, thus creating a need for a mechanism for blight removal (the same mechanism that he seeks to shut down today). The Governor stated that the community would be largely on its own for financing the blight removal and repairing the infrastructure and that it 5 MINUTES PALM DESERT PLANNING COMMISSION March 1. 2011 should begin finding a way to finance those tasks as soon as possible. Redevelopment is that mechanism that permits local governments to rely upon themselves for situations such as this. To repair the flood damaged area, streets and washes would cost nearly $20 million, and the City only had a General Fund of $1 million. Carlos Ortega, former City Manager and then-Redevelopment Executive Director was and is credited with bridging the financial gap and instituting that mechanism to work solutions for flood damaged areas. The Palm Valley Storm Channel was constructed with the help of CVWD, Indian Wells, Rancho Mirage and the Palm Desert Redevelopment Agency. Mr. McCarthy explained how Redevelopment works. He stated that property taxes are frozen in a defined Redevelopment Project Area. The usual taxing districts (schools, county, etc.) still receive their percentage of the property tax under Proposition 13. Then, as the property taxes increase due to the removal of blight, that increment above the frozen rate is distributed to affordable housing, pass-through entities, and capital projects (infrastructure, economic development). -Affordable Housing: The City of Palm Desert has about 1800 affordable homes: 1500 are directly administered by the City, and 300 are indirectly administered or were rehabilitated from other owners over time. Mr. McCarthy showed examples of some affordable housing projects in the wMr city that have been rehabilitated and improved via Redevelopment. -Pass-through: A portion of the pass-through money was used to construct the new Riverside County Sheriff's station and the Coachella Valley Animal Campus (Animal Shelter), and over $ 30 million has been used by Desert Sands Unified School District (DSUSD) for Palm Desert High School expansion and renovations. The Redevelopment Agency also dedicated land and money, combined with private donations, to build the Cal-State San Bernardino/ University of California Riverside campuses. -Capital Improvements: Projects built in part with discretionary funds from Redevelopment Project area funds were the Health Sciences Building and the Public Safety Academy. These are two examples of local training facilities dedicated to training local nursing and public safety students that were built with the assistance of the Redevelopment Agency. Other projects include, but are not limited to: a remodel of two of the three city fire stations, the multi-agency library, the YMCA and Wallaroo Childcare centers, Joslyn Senior Center, the Aquatics Center and parks in the city all have benefitted from the Redevelopment Agency. The interchanges that 6 MINUTES PALM DESERT PLANNING COMMISSION March 1 2011 link Palm Desert to Interstatel0 and the Portola Bridge were built using Redevelopment and Measure A funds. In the area of Economic Development, the Redevelopment Agency looks to fund public parking and secure parking easements. The parking structure behind the Gardens on El Paseo is just such an example of this type of assistance. The Palm Desert Redevelopment Agency counters the State argument that Redevelopment Agencies around California contribute very little or nothing to the state economy by saying that the growth seen in the city and the Coachella Valley directly contribute to the state in jobs and revenue. For every penny of sales tax received by the City, the State receives about 6.5 cents. Therefore, over $273 million in revenue has gone to the State. Without the original investment in the Storm Channel after the flood, the Coachella Valley would certainly not be the tourist attraction it is today, attracting hotels, businesses and people from all over the US and Canada and generating over $3 billion in sales taxes that go directly to the State. Mr. McCarthy wanted to end by saying that Redevelopment is the tool used to build the buildings and services that a developed community requires without having to raise taxes or offer general obligation bonds to Now the public in order to build these services. He mentioned the website: www.pdrda.org for further information and sample letters to State Representatives voicing your support of Redevelopment. He offered to answer any questions. Commissioner De Luna asked what the Governor is going to do. Mr. McCarthy stated that he doesn't have a definitive answer, but speculates that because the Governor has a budget problem that must be resolved, yet Redevelopment Agencies are target rich for readily available assets, then maybe a compromise can be reached to find an ultimate solution. The Palm Desert Redevelopment Agency has been in constant contact with the Inland Empire Redevelopment Agency Association and there appear to be discussion of various compromises and perhaps a tightening-up of agency oversight that the State may vote for rather than an absolute shut-down of all Agencies that has been promoted to date. An immediate sale of all assets held by various Agencies would be more problematic for the State than people realize at this point and would cost the public a large amount of tax money. too MINUTES PALM DESERT PLANNING COMMISSION March 1�2011 Commissioner De Luna wanted to know if Prop 22 would factor in to any of this and would it become a legal battle? Mr. McCarthy indicated that .r Counsel to the Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO) stated that the Prop 22 would be problematic for the current proposal. It would indeed be a good legal defense against the Governor's action. She wanted to know if the Redevelopment Agency could continue to function as normal should any litigation take place. Mr. McCarthy stated that is speculative and would really be more of a legal question that he couldn't answer. She asked one final question if he thought that progress could be made or if he thought this would be a stale-mate. Mr. McCarthy stated that there is an air of compromise among various legislators who see the value of Redevelopment rather than shutting down the agencies altogether. Mr. McCarthy wanted to add that the State sometimes over-estimates assets available to it as it relies on data that sometimes is over 18 months old. Property values have dropped in the last 18 months as well as the State already reclaiming billions of dollars last year and he posited that if the State were to liquidate Agency assets, the returns that they expect to get versus the actual returns on those assets would be very diminished because of those actions; therefore, he hopes that the State sees room for compromise on this matter. Commissioner De Luna asked if Redevelopment Agencies were perceived as a "cash cow". Mr. McCarthy replied that perception does exist. Commissioner Tanner mentioned the recent article about Redevelopment Agencies funding some payrolls and wanted some feedback on how that works out for Palm Desert. Mr. McCarthy stated that the City of Palm Desert actually falls below the median of RDA contribution to salaries compared to other agencies in the state. He also wanted to point out that according to a recent study by the California Redevelopment Association, that over $40 billion of economic activity and over 200,000 jobs were generated by Redevelopment Agencies. Commissioner De Luna asked Mr. McCarthy to state for the record the findings of the `auditor' from the State about the state of the City of Palm Desert's Redevelopment Agency. Mr. McCarthy said that the City was one of 18 agencies reviewed. After two days of viewing the City and the requested documents and supplemental information, the Agency received an `exit letter' stating that no major findings were indicated. The `auditor' was very complimentary about the Agency. Mr. McCarthy graciously thanked the assistance of Janet Moore, David Hermann and Veronica Tapia for their hard work on this matter. .wt 8 MINUTES PALM DESERT PLANNING COMMISSION March 1. 2Q11 Commissioner Limont asked what percentage of cities in California have redevelopment agencies. Mr. McCarthy said that out of 500 (or so) cities, nearly 390 of them have Redevelopment Agencies and some are County agencies, making it nearly 80-90%. X. COMMITTEE MEETING UPDATES A. ART IN PUBLIC PLACES Commissioner Campbell stated that AIPP reviewed the Redevelopment Presentation and chose artists to be added to the registry. B. LANDSCAPE BEAUTIFICATION COMMITTEE Commissioner Limont stated that the committee discussed the underfunded landscaping areas in the city and identified some areas where plants can be removed and replaced with decomposed granite (DG) for minimal upkeep. The cities of Rancho Mirage and Palm Desert will split the cost 2/3 to 1/3 respectively to clean up the median along Monterey Avenue and have minimal plants and lay down some DG. C. PARKS & RECREATION Commissioner Tanner said that the committee appointed two new OWN committee members: Coach Dowdy from COD and Mary Helen Kelly. The Family YMCA hired Karen Cressey, the new Director of Aquatics for the Aquatics Center. The Committee saw the Redevelopment Agency presentation as well. He also stated that their next project will be to plan for the Easter Egg hunt. D. PROJECT AREA 4 COMMITTEE Commissioner Dash indicated the committee had not yet met, but he did receive a Notice of a Special Meeting upcoming and is looking forward to being part of that and will report back after that meeting. XI. COMMENTS Ms. Aylaian stated that the Commission would meet on March 15, 2011. She is working on the Housing Element Update. Because it is rather large and will take some time to read through, a copy of this update will be provided to each of the Commissioners one week prior to the meeting to give ample time to review it. It will either be on the agenda of March 15 or the first meeting in April as a stand alone item. 1. 9 MINUTES PALM DESERT PLANNING COMMISSION March 1 2011 XII. ADJOURNMENT Commissioner Tanner moved and Commissioner Limont seconded the .� adjournment of the meeting by minute motion. The motion carried 5-0. The meeting was adjourned at 6:53 p.m. AURI AYLAIAN, Secretary ATTEST: SONIA CAMPBELL, Chair Palm Desert Planning Commission /tb r.w 10