Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout1975-01-02ADJOURNED CITY COUNCIL MEETING JANUARY 2, 1975 PALM DESERT MIDDLE SCHOOL I. CALL TO ORDER The Adjourned City Council meeting was called to order by Mayor Clark at 7:10 P.M. on January 2, 1975 at the Palm Desert Middle School. II. PLEDGE III. INVOCATION IV. ROLL CALL Present: Councilman CHUCK ASTON; Councilwoman JEAN BENSON; Councilman NOEL BRUSH; Councilman JIM McPHERSON; Mayor HENRY B. CLARK Absent: None Others Present: City Manager - Harvey L. Hurlburt City Attorney - Dave Erwin Dir. of Environmental Services - Paul A. Williams V. PUBLIC HEARING A. Consideration of appeal of Clifford Henderson and Lyman Martin of Planning Commission approval of Case 14MF - DESERT MART - Construction of a department store, a supermarket, and several retail shops on a 12.5 acre site located at the northwest intersection of State Highway 111 and Monterey (C-P-S) Mayor Clark explained the procedure was for the staff to give a presentation describing the project and making certain recommendations they felt warranted. Following the staff pre- sentation the Council may ask questions of staff. The proponents then have an opportunity to speak, then the opponents will have an opportunity to speak, and the proponents will have an opportunity to make a rebuttal. After that there will be an opportunity for the Council to address questions to those who have spoken and following that, the public hearing will be closed and the Council will begin its deliberations to whatever action they may wish to take. The Mayor opened the hearing., Mr. Hurlburt pointed out that all the letters received pro and con have been duplicated and given to the Council. Attorney Erwin said basically this is an appeal of an approval by the Planning Commission. The proponents are those individuals speaking in favor of an appeal. The opponents will be those wanting the appeal denied. In the event the appeal is denied, that action will serve to uphold the decision as rendered by the Planning Commission. The Council may, if they wish, approve the appeal and take action on the project. This action can take several forms. One, to send the plans back to the developer for resubmission or redesign. They may approve the appeal and approve the project as submitted, adding additional conditions to the project or modifying the conditions imposed. Council may approve the appeal and continue the hearing for further study. Mr. Williams explained the project in detail, and gave the background leading up to the appeal. The Planning Com- mission had imposed 37 conditions. Mr. Williams said staff is recommending an additional 8 conditions. Meeting was recessed at 7:34 P.M. to bring in more chairs. Meeting was resumed at 7:37 P.M. Mr. Williams said another justification for additional conditions and recommending upholding the appeal is that the appeal has allowed the staff and Council to further review the circulation matter. He said staff recommended such action by Resolution No. 75-1. Mr. Ben Dobbins, County and City Traffic Engineer, gave traffic figures published by CALTRANS as the latest figures on Highway 111. At this time the average daily traffic is 17,400 vehicles. The peak daily average will be 22,100 vehicles, a peak hour of 2,600 vehicles. 0n State Highway 74 the count is 7,400 vehicles; the peak daily is 9,600; and the peak hour is 1,250 vehicles. Monterey Avenue carried approximately 2,500 cars a day, with a peak hour of about 250. At this time, Mr. Dobbins said it does not indicate that the development would put an overstrain on the maximum vehicles, even in peak hours. He said circulation is adequate because there were different ways to enter the complex. In answer to an inquiry, Mr. Dobbins said these figures were from the 1973 Traffic Volumes Publications by CALTRANS and the figures are for vehicles traveling in both directions. Mayor Clark said the proponents would now have an opportunity to speak and emphasized that the proponents in this case are the people favoring the appeal request to the Council. He said the appeal was filed by Cliff Henderson and Lyman Martin. Mr. Cliff Henderson, P. 0. Box 1, said he had the first deed restrictions in the City of Palm Desert registered on November 7, 1946 in Riverside County. He said the community was projected to the world as a high class community and should not develop as Miami Beach did. He was concerned about traffic and exhibited a map showing traffic figures as pre- pared by Wilsey & Ham. He said the project site is the busiest corner this side of Riverside. Mr. Lyman Martin, 73-218 Fiddleneck, asked for a con- tinuation until the General Plan has been adopted and traffic studies completed. Mr. Walter Mintz, 76-850 Iroquois, Indian Wells, representing the El Paseo Association of Palm Desert, said that he took a poll of 32 merchants on El Paseo, and 28 of them are for the appeal. Their concern was the size of the building, the traffic, and wanting to wait until a General Plan is approved before anything of this size is allowed. 2 Mr. Charles Root, 45-860 Ocotillo Drive, said when K-Mart went into Portland it built 3 miles from a shopping center. He found that people will go there. He did not think they needed to be this close and he is not against K-Mart but is against the traffic problem. Mr. Mike Buccino, landscape architect, 73-495 Parasella, commented on the aesthetic side of the project. He thought the land should be used to the best advantage possible. He said this was the most important corner in Palm Desert. He said the plan is unimaginative, that he would reject it on the plan itself, that it has little interest, the building is so big that you can't break it into intimate little areas. The plan has to be dolled up even to be acceptable to the Council. He did not think it should be in the heart of the city; a building of this size serves no purpose. Mr. Bob Solis, 43-676 Marigold, said that up until five minutes ago he had no intention of getting up and talking, that he hadn't given much thought to it but all of a sudden it has come to his mind that he has always wanted a place to go shopping and pay the leas. amount of money, but why should we have to accept second best. If K-Mart wants to come into Palm Desert let the developers come up to our standards. Mr. Tiger Berne, 74-402 Abronia Trail, said a meeting was held on the EIR on September 21. He looked at the minutes of the meeting and the exact conversation was that Tiger Berne and Cliff Henderson spoke against the Desert Mart project and were informed by the Mayor and Mr. Williams that this is the EIR and not the appropriate place to dis- cuss the project. He said that he was not against K-Mart, that he was not against anything. Dr. Reynolds, 74-404 Goleta, said he had been a resident of Palm Desert for 16 years. He said he had been horrified that people had been against K-Mart and he found out that he did not realize the magnitude of a store this size. He said giant sales would bring people from 100 miles away. He said he was for some type of a department store like K-Mart but it seems out of place in that particular area as far as the traffic is concerned. He would like to see the Council post- pone the recommendation until the master plan has been com- pleted and possibly give consideration to a site farther to the north or where traffic could be controlled. Chris Kaylor, 74-057 De Anza Way, resident of Palm Desert since 1949, said she was grateful for the quality in Palm Desert. She felt something is needed for the middle "guy" but did not feel a K-Mart would bring the type of reputation to Palm Desert it deserves. She too felt it should be in a better thought-out location. She added she thought that anything that brought dissension to a town was wrong. Kenneth Calk, 43-301 Portola, asked that the Council use good judgment, that it should be in a buffer zone, that he thinks the Council is jumping in with a Boeing 707 when you should be using a little Piper Cub. Mr. Harold Bromley said he would like to endorse what Mr. Henderson is standing for. There were no further proponents. Mrs. Eunice Pearson, 45-430 Sunset Lane, said she was in favor, that it had been made to be a beautiful building and would be an asset. She said there was no one in the room who could not use some of the merchandise. She said there would be a traffic problem at this corner regardless of whether there is a K-Mart or not. She said the proposed hotel on the same corner would involve traffic. She saw no reason why the people in Palm Desert had to drive 11 miles to get to a FedMart. Mr. Virgil Leeman, 43-101 Portola, did not think the picture of the building looked any worse than any of the other buildings. He said this would make the City some money. Re- garding traffic, he said FedMart in Indio should have a traffic problem but he had never seen an accident there. He thought it would create more jobs. Why should we take money out of our City and put it in other cities? Mr. Anthony Kane, retired, represented the Citizens Action Committee of Palm Desert as its Chairman. He said they had determined through a solicitation vote from the voters of the community in the previous effort of K-Mart which was defeated, that 1,700 registered voters indicated they wanted a K-Mart in Palm Desert. He said one of the supporters tonight in favor of delaying the building said they wanted in -put from the citizenry. He said that has already been established. It would bring jobs for the youth. It is a beautiful building that has been passed by experts in traffic from the County, it has passed the Planning Commission, and now comes to the City Council on an appeal for delay. In all the shopping centers from Indio to Palm Springs, he had never met a traffic problem coming in or out of any one of them. He hoped the Council recognized the right of a person to go into business, and urged that the request for appeal be denied. Mr. Oscar Hurley asked to go on record to the City Council with a letter which he read in full. Mr. Robert Shurneck, 74-325 Fairway Drive, said he took a survey of the people on Fairway drive and he read a letter for the record. Mr. Morrie Resnick, developer of the project, said they had been working on the traffic question for two years. He said a regional shopping center would not bring 5 times the traffic. Regarding an eyesore - he said it would be one of the most beautiful structures in the City, regardless of the price of the merchandise. There is nothing in the City which would have the beauty of the landscape which the Architectural Review Board required. Mr. Robin Barrett, 44-393 Lingo Lane, said this had hung around the community long enough and he thought some kind of a formal decision should be made. Mr. Elliot Caplow, developer from Tarzana, said the City Attorney had ruled this appeal was possibly invalid. He said they had no objection to going ahead with the hearing but they do want to protect their position. He said the traffic situation was well controlled, that there would be no problem in many, many years. Regarding the extension of Plaza Way north - that is something they cannot agree to do because it is not their property, it is owned by the Ahmanson Company and they have no rights to agree to a dedication or improvement of a road. He said they are not adverse to therboad: but cannot agree to it as he does not know what Ahmanson is going to say. Re- garding planting that would grow 14' high in 9 months, he said 4 only God can make a tree, and they will try but he could not guarantee how fast they will grow. He said there were 45 conditions now, some of which will cost a lot of money - the traffic light, water lines up 44, undergrounding utilities down Monterey was quoted as $65,000, an ordinance has been passed which would cost $20,000 in building tax. He does not know whether Kresge would agree to the sign request. He said the additions were quite a burden. He said a prior survey of property owners within 300' showed no objections to the development and that the project was already included in the master plan. Mr. Francis Mallory, 49-305 Highway 74, said we are no longer a dreamy, sleepy little village, that the town now consists of gift shops, men and women's apparel shops in the high price market. Where do we go for our everyday household needs when we want something immediately? We have to go to Indio or Palm Springs. This takes gas, we are in an energy shortage condition. We need a balance of price shops. Meeting was recessed at 8:58 P.M. Meeting was resumed at 9:12 P.M. Mrs. Rhea Lawman, 73-816 De Anza Way, thought it was a beautiful project, that it had been thoroughly studied and analyzed, that we need the project in Palm Desert, and that the K-Mart people had been very cooperative, and urged the Council to approve the project. Mrs. Rosalie Rojas, 44-759 San Juan, said she was tired of going out of town to do her shopping and would appreciate having a K-Mart to shop in, that what they have to offer is great and their prices are tremendous. She said when she voted for incorporation she had no idea all this hassle would happen. Mr. Jim Carroll, 43-101 Portola, recently retired, said he wanted to call attention to the City Attorney who said that he questioned the legality of delaying this project. He said the additional revenues that would come in would be of advantage and recommended the project be settled in favor of it. Mr. Harry Schmitz, representing the developers, said they have estimated revenues will produce in excess of $100,000 a year on sales tax, three -fourths from the K-Mart store alone. 170 jobs will be provided. The store is a beautiful store and better looking than many of the stores in Palm Desert. The frontage area is almost one acre in size. He asked for flexibility in the conditions so that it would enable the developer to work out some minor details with the staff in order that he could meet all of the standards set forth. Debra Hold, 73-358 Santa Rosa Way, said she had to go to work in Rancho Mirage but would rather work in Palm Desert. Her husband has been looking for a job for 5 months and K-Mart would open up more jobs. Ann Gordon, 74-059 De Anza Way, thinks it is a beautiful building, has more to offer than beauty - jobs for people - and favors a K-Mart. Phyllis Manley, 73-588 Carmel Circle, does not believe a few people in the community have the right to make deci- sions for what the majority need. She said other stores had passed Palm Desert up. 5 REBUTTAL: Cliff Henderson said the Palm Desert Chamber of Commerce petitioned the City to deny K-Mart in its present location and that the Palm Desert Property Owners Association, repre- senting 1,000 property owners, had passed a resolution to the same effect. Regarding the building, he said they keep coming back with prettier pictures. He would like to see a certified report of what money they had spent. He said the Council candidates made promises which they did not keep. He said they don't want dissension at this time, and he urged another location. Rod Claiborne, Fairway Drive, said the Council is jumping the gun to undertake a project of this magnitude without first completing the master plan. Once you construct a building of that size you are living with it forever. Councilwoman Benson asked Mr. Schmitz if he had had an economic survey made on this location and what area of the Valley it encompassed to bring in $75,000 sales tax. Mr. Caplow said from part of Indio to part of Palm Springs, that normally they only encompass a radius of 10 miles but because of the sparse area it had covered 15 miles. Councilman Brush inquired about a signal at Plaza Way and Highway 111 in the near future. Mr. Dobbins said an actual vehicle count had to be made first and then it would be several months. He reiterated that he saw no traffic' problem due to this project. He said 111 could easily handle 3,200 cars in a peak hour and at present there are only 2,600. Mr. Hurlburt recommended the following changes to the conditions of approval: Condition No. 28 - "A landscaped screen (minimum 10 feet in height) shall be provided along north property line. The prescribed height shall be obtained within 12 months from the time construction begins." Condition #38 - "That a street of a minimum of 30' half - width be constructed to County standards on the west side of the property and aligned with the street serving the Palms to Pines Shopping Center." Condition #40 - "That the developer, as a part of his application for building permit shall enter into an agreement with the City to pay the cost of one -eighth the installation of a traffic signal system at the intersection of Highway 111 and Plaza Way extended at the time that said intersections meets the warrants for a traffic signal system. Accompanying said agreement shall be a bond in the amount of one -eighth of the cost for the installation of said traffic signal system to State standards." Condition #42 - "That the center driveway into the K-Mart parking lot off of Highwaylll be limited to right hand turns only and build to State standards." Condition #45 - Eliminated Councilwoman Benson asked if the applicant had agreed to the first 38 conditions. Mr. Caplow, said they have no alter- native but to try to comply, that they would endeavor but hoped they would be practical. 6 Councilman Brush asked if they had the right to modify the conditions and Attorney Erwin said yes. The Mayor closed the hearing. Councilman McPherson said it is difficult to sit and listen to the evidence and decide bas'ed on the legalities whether we will or will not have a K-Mart. The people in favor should realize that we have to look at all the im- plications, the traffic problems, the aesthetics of the building. We are giving a whole year's consideration of the traffic problem. We are not making our decision based on whether we want the project. The building has been redesigned a couple of times by the applicant and the Architectural Review Board so at this point it has gone as far as it should go and he thought a decision was to be made tonight. Councilman Aston said as a legislative body in hearing this request for an appeal we have gone above and beyond the call of duty because our legal opinion was that they were out of time. He felt that we are in a position that we have been since the inception of this wherein they have tried to get everything encompassed in this project to be the best looking that could be made in Palm Desert by action of the Architectural Review Board, Planning Commission, and time with City staff. As long as they meet all the require- ments zone -wise and the requirements of the Architectural Review Board and the Planning Commission, there is no way we can turn them down because we cannot take their land away from them. They have met all the requirements. Councilman Brush said no one could say we have rushed into this project. The objection on the original site was traffic. He does not see that same objection exists at this site. The land has been designated commercial if the business meets the standards set by the community, it has a right to proceed. How can you deny on the basis of brand names or merchandise? Councilwoman Benson said the main purpose for incor- porating was to have local control and to stop the spot zoning the County imposed on us, that if we go ahead with this before the master plan is completed then we haven't lived up to what we were elected to do. Mayor Clark said last year at this time we did a lot of soul searching as a brand new Council faced with orga- nizing the City. We have gone through the major portion of a General Plan. The Planning Commission has approved the General Plan As a newcomer here 4 years ago it was a nice, quiet, little town. It wasn't a year later. I feel strongly that the General Plan showing the commercial development on both sides of Highway 111 has been constructed so it is a self-contained unit. I can remember last January driving around all the streets pertaining to the original K-Mart site and I'm sure we all did the same with this site. Mayor Clark commended the audience for their thoughtful comments and conduct. Councilman Brush moved for approval of the appeal and approval of the project as submitted, subject to the 45 conditions imposed and the conditions as amended, by Resolution No. 75-1. Councilman Aston seconded the motion which carried by the following vote: 7 AYES: ASTON, BRUSH, McPHERSON, CLARK NOES: BENSON ABSENT: NONE VI. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS Mr. Clifford Henderson commented on City Hall rent, number of City employees, City Attorney's salary and fees and contracts with special consulting firms for planning matters. He asked for an audit, referred to the City Manager as a spendthrift, and complained about higher debt and higher taxes VII. REPORTS & REMARKS A. City Manager - None B. City Attorney - None C. Mayor & City Council - None VIII. ADJOURNMENT Meeting was adjourned to 7:00 P.M., January 6, 1975 at the Palm Desert Middle School.