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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2006-10-26MINUTES REGULAR PALM DESERT CITY COUNCIL MEETING THURSDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2006 CIVIC CENTER COUNCIL CHAMBER I. CALL TO ORDER - 3:00 P.M. Mayor Ferguson convened the meeting at 3:04 p.m. I1. ROLL CALL Present: Councilmember Jean M. Benson Mayor Pro Tem Richard S. Kelly Councilman Robert A. Spiegel Mayor Jim Ferguson Also Present: Carlos L. Ortega, City Manager/RDA Executive Director David J. Erwin, City Attorney — Sheila R. Gilligan, ACM for Community Services Homer Croy, ACM for Development Services Justin McCarthy, ACM for Redevelopment Stephen Y. Aryan, Assistant to the City Manager Rachelle D. Klassen, City Clerk Joseph S. Gaugush, City Engineer Amir Hamidzadeh, Director of Building & Safety Phil Drell, Director of Community Development Patrick Conlon, Director of Office of Energy Management Paul S. Gibson, Director of Finance/City Treasurer Mark Greenwood, Director of Public Works David Yrigoyen, Director of Redevelopment & Housing Frankie Riddle, Director of Special Programs Frank Taylor, Asst. Chief, Palm Desert Police/Riverside Co. Sheriffs Dept. Grace L. Mendoza, Deputy City Clerk III. ADJOURN TO CLOSED SESSION Request for Closed Session: Conference with Legal Counsel regarding existing litigation pursuant to Government Code Section 54956.9(a): MINUTES REGULAR PALM DESERT CITY COUNCIL MEETING OCTOBER 26, 2006 a) City of Palm Desert v. Labrador Investments, et al., Riverside County Superior Court, Case No. INC059971 Upon a motion by Spiegel, second by Kelly, and 4-0 vote of the City Council, an additional case of potential litigation was added to the Closed Session agenda. Conference with Legal Counsel regarding significant exposure to litigation pursuant to Government Code Section 54956.9(b): Number of potential cases: 3 + 1 On a motion by Spiegel, second by Kelly, and 4-0 vote of the City Council, Mayor Ferguson adjourned the meeting to Closed Session at 3:05 p.m. IV. RECONVENE REGULAR MEETING - 4:00 P.M. A. REPORT ON ACTION FROM CLOSED SESSION. None V. AWARDS, PRESENTATIONS, AND APPOINTMENTS A. REQUEST FOR APPOINTMENT OF MEMBER OF THE CITY COUNCIL TO SERVE ON THE COACHELLA VALLEY ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP'S EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE. Responding to Councilman Spiegel, Mayor Ferguson stated he currently served on the Board but would be happy to serve on the Executive Committee, as well, if that was the desire of the Council. Councilman Spiegel moved to, by Minute Motion, appoint Mayor Jim Ferguson as the Palm Desert's representative to the Coachella Valley Economic Partnership Executive Committee. Motion was seconded by Kelly and carried by a 3-0-1 vote with Ferguson ABSTAINING. VI. CONSENT CALENDAR A. MINUTES of the Regular City Council Meeting of October 12, 2006. Rec: Approve as presented. B. CLAIMS AND DEMANDS AGAINST THE CITY TREASURY - Warrant No. 54. Rec: Approve as presented. 2 MINUTES REGULAR PALM DESERT CITY COUNCIL MEETING OCTOBER 26, 2006 C. CITY COMMITTEE AND COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES. 1. Historic Preservation Committee Meeting of August 28, 2006. 2. Marketing Committee Meetings of June 27 and September 19, 2006. 3. Parks & Recreation Commission Meeting of September 6, 2006. 4. Sister Cities Committee Meeting of July 20, 2006. Rec: Receive and file. D. REQUEST FOR AUTHORIZATION of Grant of Easement for Sewer Installation for Section 29 Assessment District, No. 2004-02. Rec: By Minute Motion, authorize the Mayor to execute a Grant of Easement/Pipeline for Section 29 Assessment District, No. 2004-02, Phase I Sewer Installation (Project No. 627-S-05). E. REQUEST FOR RATIFICATION of the City Manager's Authorization of Purchase OrderforAnnual Color (Contract No. C25000, Project No. 930-06). Rec: By Minute Motion, ratify the City Manager's authorization for Purchase Order No. 013497 to Armstrong Growers, Bermuda Dunes, California, in the amount of $12,451.05 — funds are available in Account No. 110-4614-453-3370. F. REQUEST FOR ACCEPTANCE OF WORK for the Portola Avenue Median Between Chicory Street and Fairway Drive (Contract No. C25020A, Project No. 630-06) (Landmark Site Contractors, Perris, CA). Rec: By Minute Motion, accept the work as complete and authorize the City Clerk to file a Notice of Completion for the subject project. G. REQUEST FOR APPROVAL of Tract Map No. 34391 (Trans West Housing, Inc., Applicant). Rec: Waive further reading and adopt Resolution No. 06-140, approving the Final Subdivision Map of Tract No. 34391 and the Improvement Agreement Relating thereto. H. REQUEST FOR APPROVAL of Sponsorship for the Leadership Coachella Valley Program. Rec: By Minute Motion: 1) Approve $5,000 sponsorship for Leadership Coachella Valley; 2) appropriate said funds from Account No. 110-4159-415-3125. 3 MINUTES REGULAR PALM DESERT CITY COUNCIL MEETING OCTOBER 26, 2006 I. CONSIDERATION of the Recommendations of the Legislative Review and Youth Committees Relative to Tobacco Retailer Licensing Program. Rec: By Minute Motion, concur with the recommendations of the Legislative Review Committee and Youth Committee, and deny a request by Riverside County to adopt an ordinance relative to Tobacco Retailer Licensing Program, which would be enforced by County personnel. J. REQUEST FOR RATIFICATION of an Appraisal of Real Property for a Portion of APN 653-420-021. Rec: By Minute Motion: 1) Ratify the City Manager's approval of an appraisal by Capital Realty Analysts, Palm Desert, California, for 8.26 acres of the subject property; 2) appropriate $3,500 from Account No. 110-4159-415-3090 for this purpose. K. REQUEST FOR RATIFICATION of a Legal Services Agreement for Assistance with the Palm Desert Sister Cities Committee IRS 1023 Application for Tax-exempt Status (Contract No. C25880). Rec: By Minute Motion: 1) Ratify the City Manager's approval of the subject agreement with the Law Firm of Green, DeBortnowsky & Quintanilla, LLP, in the amount of $2,000; 2) appropriate said funds from Account No. 110-4416-414-3126. L. REQUEST FOR AUTHORIZATION to Award Contracts for Various Desert Willow Golf Academy Remodeling Projects (Contract Nos. C25890A-F). Rec: By Minute Motion, authorize: 1) Award of contracts to Southwest Coatings, Inc., San Pedro, CA, California Window & Door, Inc., Palm Desert, CA, Sheperd's Architectural Coating Systems, Palm Desert, CA, Magsam's, Palm Desert, CA, Great Lakes Golf Course Products, Delafield, WI, and Shade Structures, Costa Mesa, CA, in the total amount of $45,829 for remodeling the Desert Willow Golf Academy; 2) City Manager to execute said contracts; 3) Director of Finance to set aside the amount of $4,583 as a 10% contingency (use of contingency requires additional action); 4) reallocation of funds previously set aside in the Fiscal Year 2007 Desert Willow Capital Budget for security gates at the Academy, Golf Course, and Desert Willow Drive to be used for the Academy remodel projects listed in the accompanying staff report. 4 MINUTES REGULAR PALM DESERT CITY COUNCIL MEETING OCTOBER 26, 2006 M. REQUEST FOR APPROVAL of City Sponsorship of the Desert Willow Ten-year Palm Desert Resident Celebration. Rec: By Minute Motion: 1) Approve City's sponsorship of the subject Celebration to be held at Desert Willow on May 15, 2007, in an amount not to exceed $22,000; 2) approve an amount not to exceed $4,000 for residents to be invited to lunch following the event; 3) appropriate $26,000 from Account No. 110-4416-414-3061 for this purpose. N. REQUEST FOR AWARD OF CONTRACT fora Mobile Banquet Bar for the Restaurant at Desert Willow (Contract No. C25910). Rec: By Minute Motion: 1) Authorize award of the subject purchase contract to Mobile Beverage Services in the amount of $18,856.25 for the Mobile Banquet Bar, Beer Cart, and Beverage Refill Station to be used in the Restaurant at Desert Willow Golf Resort; 2) authorize the Mayor to execute said contract; 3) appropriate said funds from Account No. 241-4195-495-8092. Upon a motion by Member Spiegel, second by Kelly, and 4-0 vote of the City Council, the Consent Calendar was approved as presented. VII. CONSENT ITEMS HELD OVER None With City Council concurrence, Mayor Ferguson suspended the agenda at this point in order to take up Section XIII - Public Hearings - Item A. Please see that portion of the Minutes for subsequent discussion and action. VIII. RESOLUTIONS None IX. ORDINANCES For Introduction: None For Adoption: — None 5 MINUTES REGULAR PALM DESERT CITY COUNCIL MEETING OCTOBER 26, 2006 X. NEW BUSINESS A. REQUEST FOR APPROVAL OF AGREEMENT WITH THE CITY OF RANCHO MIRAGE FOR DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION OF STREET IMPROVEMENTS ON MONTEREY AVENUE FROM GERALD FORD DRIVE TO COUNTRY CLUB DRIVE (CONTRACT NO. C25900, PROJECT NO. 631-07). Councilman Spiegel asked when construction would start and the anticipated completion date, because he was concerned that part of Monterey would be closed down right in the middle of the season. Mr. Greenwood replied they were just starting on the design, but the goal was for construction to start in the Summer of 2007. Councilman Spiegel moved to, by Minute Motion, authorize the Mayor to execute the subject agreement with the City of Rancho Mirage and appropriate $50,000 from Unobligated Fund 400 to the project account for this purpose. Mayor Pro Tem Kelly asked if a sidewalk was included with the improvements being made on Palm Desert's side . Mr. Greenwood replied that the project included the block between Country Club Drive and Frank Sinatra but no sidewalk on Palm Desert's side. He said although a sidewalk had not been proposed, it could be included in the project. Mayor Pro Tem Kelly stated that it would be a good idea, having just reviewed the Parks and Recreation Survey. The survey indicated walking was important to the residents; he asked staff to make sure sidewalks were included anywhere the City made improvements. Councilman Spiegel agreed but noted that part of the project was in the City of Rancho Mirage. Mr. Greenwood explained that the entire block between Country Club Drive and Frank Sinatra used to be partially County territory but was now in the City of Palm Desert; however, north of Frank Sinatra was partially in the City of Rancho Mirage. He agreed to speak to Rancho Mirage's staff to offer them the opportunity of adding the sidewalk as part of the project, noting they may want to wait until that area got developed, Councilman Spiegel agreed to amend his motion to include sidewalk in the project wherever it can be installed. Motion was seconded Kelly and carried by a 4-0 vote. 6 MINUTES REGULAR PALM DESERT CITY COUNCIL MEETING OCTOBER 26, 2006 _ B. REQUEST FOR APPROVAL OF THE PURCHASE OF OFFICE FURNISHINGS AND STORAGE CABINETS FOR THE NEW BUILDING AT THE MAINTENANCE SERVICES FACILITY. Councilman Spiegel moved to, by Minute Motion, approve the subject purchase from G/M (Goforth & Marti) Business Interiors, Riverside, California, in the amount of $51,554.29 — funds are available in Account No. 110-4330-413-4440. Motion was seconded by Benson and carried by a 4-0 vote. C. CONSIDERATION OF REQUEST FOR SPONSORSHIP FOR THE BOB HOPE CHRYSLER CLASSIC GOLF TOURNAMENT, JANUARY 15-21, 2007. MR. JOHN FOSTER, President of the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic, introduced Mr. Ernie Dunlevie, Founder and Executive Committee Member, and Mr. Michael Milthorpe, Executive Director. Mr. Foster said they were prepared to provide a presentation, adding that they were not asking for charitable dollars, as the City could do that whenever they wanted. He said their organization hoped to give away close to $2 million to this community in the next month and felt the City had an opportunity to brand with the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic in a nationwide/worldwide venue, with the ability to maximize the City's exposure. He said placing a dollar value on branding was difficult and could only be done by comparison. He offered the comparison that Chrysler Corporation had four events on the PGA Tour this year but will be only sponsoring one tournament thereafter —the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic —and will spend in excess of $8 million to promote it. He said branding with this event could help enhance Palm Desert, the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic, and the Coachella Valley. As the PGA Tour now deals with the Golf Channel, that is where the event will be televised. He went on to say that Comcast was the cable sponsor of the event with a 15-year agreement. He noted that the NFL Network started promoting their own games on their own network television broadcast, and Major League Baseball has gone to Turner Television to do the same. He said cable television has changed how people market and sell their product, including major league sports. Mayor Ferguson agreed the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic would be a great event and televised around the world but asked Mr. Foster to address some of the issues raised in the staff report. He pointed out that staff recommended denial of sponsorship because the Marketing Committee did not see the value for the money. He added that the AFC and NFC National Championship Games were on at the same time on the final day of the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic Tournament, and the Committee felt the viewing audience for the event would be reduced. MINUTES REGULAR PALM DESERT CITY COUNCIL MEETING OCTOBER 26, 2006 MR. FOSTER explained he had met with staff once, but due to scheduling conflicts, was unable to meet again to discuss those issues. In the meantime, others spoke with City staff but got the impression the City was not interested. He offered to go over those details with the Council. Mayor Ferguson asked how much money was requested. MR. FOSTER replied that the value of the branding was $275,000, and the eight benefits were listed in the staff report. The benefits included that all press datelines and PGA Tour Releases for the tournament would be Palm Desert, all newspaper ads would include Palm Desert's logo, and it would also be televised with the pre -work on the Golf Channel that goes on all year long. In addition, all letterhead distributions would have Palm Desert's name on them. Mayor Ferguson pointed out that the Marketing Committee received the same information and still recommended denial. Councilman Spiegel said the City offered $50,000 but Bob Hope Chrysler Classic felt that was inadequate and wasn't interested. MR. FOSTER stated branding had a certain value, and he was trying to promote some understanding about it. He said there were a variety of ways to brand and promote a City and this was the value they came up with. He felt it was well worth it and offered to give the full presentation. Mayor Ferguson responded that their proposal was thoroughly reviewed already. Responding to an earlier comment by Mayor Ferguson regarding going up against NFL on Sunday, Mr. Foster replied they have experienced that for the past 46 years and that competition was always a fact of life. He pointed out that the latest Samsung tournament held in Palm Desert went up against college football. He said the ratings will be what they are and didn't see the relevance. MR. MICHAEL MILTHORPE, Executive Director of the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic, explained that with regard to the NFL telecast on Sunday, the first NFL game came on at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time, and the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic broadcast from 4:00 p.m. -7:00 p.m. The event would not be hindered in the first hour, only the last two. He stated coverage for the 2007 event would be 15 hours live, with 3 hours a day and 15 hours re -broadcast. The broadcast will air Wednesday from 3:00 p.m. -6:00 p.m. and again from 9:00 p.m.-12:00 a.m., for a total of 30 hours of cable coverage on the Golf 8 MINUTES REGULAR PALM DESERT CITY COUNCIL MEETING OCTOBER 26, 2006 Channel. He said the tournament would be up against football on Sunday for the last two hours but not on Saturday because there were no games. Councilmember Benson moved to, by Minute Motion, concur with the recommendation of the Marketing Committee and deny the sponsorship request. Motion was seconded by Spiegel and carried by a 4-0 vote. With City Council concurrence, Mayor Ferguson suspended the agenda at this point in order to return to Section XIII - Public Hearings - Item A. Please see that portion of the Minutes for subsequent discussion and action. D. REQUEST FOR AWARD OF CONTRACT FOR PUBLIC RELATIONS SERVICES THROUGH OCTOBER 2007 (CONTRACT NO. C25920). Councilman Spiegel stated the request was reviewed by the Marketing Committee and was unanimously recommended to the City Council. Councilman Spiegel moved to, by Minute Motion, concur with the Marketing Committee's recommendation and award the subject contract to Nancy J. Friedman Public Relations in the amount of $60,000. Motion was seconded by Kelly and carried by a 4-0 vote. — E. REQUEST FOR AWARD OF CONTRACT FOR THE LEASE/PURCHASE OF NEW GOLF COURSE EQUIPMENT FOR DESERT WILLOW GOLF RESORT (CONTRACT NO. C25930). Responding to Councilman Spiegel's question regarding total bids received, Mr. Yrigoyen replied three bids in total were received and listed on the second page of the staff report. Councilmember Benson asked if the contract included golf carts. Councilman Spiegel replied it only pertained to equipment for cutting the grass. Councilmember Benson said someone asked her if the golf cart was included with the golf fee. Mr. Yrigoyen confirmed that it was. Councilman Spiegel asked what would happen to the old equipment, once the current trucks and mowers were replaced. Mr. Yrigoyen stated the bid includes replacement value, and equipment would be turned back in to AA Equipment, and it brought down the cost. Mayor Pro Tem Kelly moved to, by Minute Motion, authorize: 1) Award of the subject contract to AA Equipment, Indio, California, in the amount of $29,680.47/month for a period 9 MINUTES REGULAR PALM DESERT CITY COUNCIL MEETING OCTOBER 26, 2006 of 48 months; 2) City Manager to execute all documents necessary to complete this transaction. Motion was seconded by Spiegel and carried by a 4-0 vote. XI. CONTINUED BUSINESS None XII. OLD BUSINESS A. INFORMATIONAL REPORT ABOUT THE CALIFORNIA WELCOME CENTER. Councilman Spiegel moved to, by Minute Motion, receive and file. Motion was seconded by Kelly and carried by a 4-0 vote. B. REQUEST FOR AWARD OF CONTRACT FOR LANDSCAPE IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PORTOLA AVENUE MEDIAN BETWEEN FAIRWAY DRIVE AND CHICORY STREET (CONTRACT NO. C25020B, PROJECT NO. 926-06). Responding to Councilman Spiegel, Mr. Greenwood confirmed the project was opposite Washington Charter School. Councilman Spiegel commented that it was admirable that the vendor would only work between 8:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m., when school was in session. Councilman Spiegel moved to, by Minute Motion: 1) Waive the irregularities in bid submitted by Horizon Professional Landscape, specifically Bidder's Bond and Non - collusion Affidavit not attached to the bid, and clerical errors in the bid submittal not affecting the total bid price; 2) award the subject contract to Horizon Professional Landscape, Coachella, California, in the amount of $60,875 ; 3) set aside a 10% contingency for the project; 4) authorize the Mayor to execute the subject agreement. Motion was seconded by Benson. Mayor Pro Tem Kelly inquired about the palette for the project, since he participated on the Landscape Beautification Committee and was interested in the plan. Mr. Greenwood responded the plan was typical Palm Desert median design. He said Landscape Manager Spencer Knight approved it but was not present at this meeting to speak on it. Mayor Pro Tem Kelly said it would have been nice to have included that fact in the staff report. 10 MINUTES REGULAR PALM DESERT CITY COUNCIL MEETING OCTOBER 26, 2006 Councilman Spiegel suggested approving the item, subject to the approval of the Landscape Beautification Committee at its Tuesday, November 7, 2006, meeting. Mr. Greenwood agreed. Mayor Ferguson asked for and confirmed his colleagues' concurrence with the amendment to the motion. Responding to Mayor Ferguson's question about legally waiving the irregularities, Mr. Erwin replied the City reserved the right to waive irregularities, if the Council wished to do so. Mayor Ferguson noted that the low bidder was $47,000 lower than the next highest bid and $197,000 lower than the third bid. He wondered if the irregularities were mathematical. Mr. Greenwood responded that the low bid was higher than the City's normal expected landscaping bid, and the others were just extremely high. Mayor Ferguson called for the vote, and the motion carried by a 4-0 vote. XIII. PUBLIC HEARINGS -- A. REQUEST FOR APPROVAL OF AN AMENDMENT TO A HILLSIDE DEVELOPMENT PLAN/PRECISE PLAN TO EXPAND THE APPROVED GRADED AREA FROM 38,000 SQUARE FEET TO 61,110 SQUARE FEET FOR A RESIDENCE LOCATED AT 706 SUMMIT COVE IN THE FOOTHILLS OF THE CANYONS AT BIGHORN GOLF COURSE Case No. HPD/PP 04-21 Amendment #1 (Hagadone Family Trust, Applicant). Following is a verbatim transcript for the discussion and testimony offered for Public Hearing Item A. Key JF Jim Ferguson, Mayor PD Phil Drell, Director of Community Development JMB Jean M. Benson, Councilmember RAS Robert A. Spiegel, Councilman RSK Richard S. Kelly, Councilman DJE David J. Erwin, City Attorney DH Duane Hagadone, Applicant JN John Nicholson, Attorney for the Developer LS Lawrence Sutter, Ironwood resident GH Gunnar Hasse, Ironwood resident SG Samuel Goldstein, Palm Desert resident RS Ray Sebastian, Ironwood resident 11 MINUTES REGULAR PALM DESERT CITY COUNCIL MEETING OCTOBER 26, 2006 MM Marie Mack, Attorney for Ironwood Master Association GP Gloria Petitto, Palm Desert resident RDK Rachelle D. Klassen, City Clerk JF Okay, let's go to the Public Hearing on the Hagadone application. This is Item A on the agenda for Public Hearings. It's the request for approval of Amendment to a Hillside Development Plan/Precise Plan to Expand the approved graded area from 38,000 square feet to 61,110 square feet for a residence located at 706 Summit Cove in the foothills of the Canyons at Bighorn Golf Course. May we have a staff report? PD Yes, you may. Again, I think most of the Council and the public is aware of this project. The specific application before the Council is an expansion of the existing pad area. Here is the new proposed pad for the building (pointing to the area on the display) this represents the portion of that, which is an expansion of that. Most of it is virtually all of it is behind the building and is not visible from either the west or the north, or the south for that matter, and in itself, will not have a significant impact on the surrounding properties. The ... what it does give the City the opportunity to do, in that the request is a completely discretionary action by the Council, in terms of approving the exception to the Hillside Ordinance, it does give the Council the ability to reexamine maybe some of the aspects of the original proposal which have become a problem. Or by... now that the project has been nearly completed, it probably has surprised many in the City in terms of how it appears. In certain respects, both the prominent location of the project and its size probably created some difficulties we weren't able to evaluate when it first went through. The areas of specific concern, first, include (a picture of the Hagadone House was displayed) though this is not the most current photograph, the Applicant may have a more current one than the illustration, the shape, texture and visibility of the office structure, which is there on the right. The original goal was to camouflage it to the greatest possible extent, to make it look like a natural feature of the hill. If you look on the left side, you see a very similar shaped structure. You see the contrast between the two in terms of natural texture color of that ridgeline. Although the rock work on the office is quite dramatic, unfortunately, it serves more to draw attention to the office than to camouflage it, so that's issue number one. Number two, although in this picture you see the ... kind of a shroud that was built over the pool, one of the things that stand out in any development in the hill is straight lines. The infinity edge of the pool represents a rather long straight line. And as part of the application, that line has been lengthened. The pool is now completed. And as far as these two aspects, the Applicant has agreed to get his designer back to work and attempt to add rock structures below the infinity edge, to break up that horizontal line and to add more work on the office structure to allow it to more closely resemble the smoother curves and the finer texture of the natural hillside. Additional issue of some concern with the pool, which again, was something hard to evaluate - to where if you see it when it is lit at night. Will there be a kind of glow? A blue glow that will... horizontal line. Again, so that will be something that we can evaluate 12 MINUTES REGULAR PALM DESERT CITY COUNCIL MEETING OCTOBER 26, 2006 when it's lit. Hopefully, it will be addressed with the other work to break up the horizontal line of the edge of the infinity pool. Other issues are, principally, surround lighting in general. In goal, the Hillside Ordinance is to camouflage hillside projects to the greatest extent possible. If our goal is to camouflage, it defeats the purpose if they are highlighted at night. In examining lighting plan with the Applicant, we have already identified some exterior up -shining, landscape lights, which clearly would be a problem, and the Applicant has agreed to remove them. There is a number of other lights. which are... may or may not be a problem. I think we have a general agreement, that again, we will wait until they are lit and evaluate to the extent that they are a problem. The last lighting problem, which does not involve ... we have an Outdoor Lighting Ordinance that, again, regulates Tight in the outdoors, and specifically refers to, is referred to in the Hillside Ordinance. One of the, again, one of the more sensitive aspects of the project being the office and the windows of the office, still some concern; and that our goal is to make that office disappear during the day. Were uncertain of how it will look at night when the interior is lit. And again, we had suggested originally some shading, if necessary. But again, that's something that I think we will have to wait until the light's turned on, and the Council will have to evaluate to the extent of the problem and look at what sort of solutions might be appropriate. So again, in general, the Applicant has been very responsive in trying to deal with these issues. Some of them are just inherent in the design of the building. At this stage, there is limited mitigations we can employ, but I think he is willing to work with the City to come up with a solution that — is satisfactory. With the applications, appropriate conditions to address these issues, we recommended approval of the expansion of the pad. JF Questions of staff? JMB In dealing with it, can we deal with the sports court separately and the other improvements? PD Again, the Council can approve all or a portion of the expanded request. Again, this sports court is not proposed to be lit at all. It is a basically a flat, hard surface that various activities could go on, but that is not proposed to be lit at all. It's probably one of the lesser impacting aspects of the proposal. RAS My question is, if you are able to take care of the pool and the office now, what about the flying wing off the roof? PD The exposed... those are roof structures of the picnic, of the pool pavilion. Those are what you see is what you see. We had a specific concern on the original lighting plan of actual ceiling lights that were mounted under that roof, that was actually exposed, you actually saw that exposed ceiling. Most of those lights have been removed. Again, it's been somewhat unclear in the lighting plan what remains and what effect it will have. Other than having it removed, having those roof structures redesigned, you know... 13 MINUTES REGULAR PALM DESERT CITY COUNCIL MEETING OCTOBER 26, 2006 RAS What you see is what we got. PD Yes. JF Mayor Pro Tem Kelly. RSK Question. I think what Councilmember Benson asked, and I'm not ... but I didn't get the answer. If this is what she asked... I guess I could re -ask the question, that is can we deal with ... mitigate this site and make sure that it's camouflaged before we actually deal with approval of the sports? PD No. Our ability to apply conditions is tied to the request for the sport court. JF Let me .. . RSK But as an example, the first time I approved this, I didn't think I was approving anything that could be seen over the ridgeline. But now, if I approve this sports court with condition that this doesn't show over the... this is mitigated what shows over the ridgeline, what's my guarantee, because I thought I had a guarantee once before? PD My understanding is that the Applicant is working with the City Attorney on a separate agreement specifically committing to, again, certain performance standards that addresses the Council's concerns. RSK So if we approve it, and then those conformances aren't met, then what will be our alternative. PD I would refer that question to the City Attorney. RSK And, is this an alternative again, that becomes unrealistic. Because it's like a house that's built, and after the fact... I can't imagine us telling the Applicant to tear the house down. And so what happens when we set those conditions and when we're back to where we started again? How do we guarantee ourselves that it's going to be mitigated? JMB How can we separate those two? PD Obviously our... we have two choices: One, which is the more usual choice, which states that you can't occupy the house until the conditions are fulfilled. That's our usual lever. That the house isn't finished until it's finished. What the Applicant's attorney has proposed is, again, some form of agreement which provides the City with some continuing authority after occupancy. Again, I don't know, it's up to the City Attorney to explain how that might work. 14 MINUTES REGULAR PALM DESERT CITY COUNCIL MEETING OCTOBER 26, 2006 JF Let me ask the question from an opposite approach. If we were to unanimously turn down Mr. Hagadone's request, would he have any legal obligation to make one change to that structure? PD It would be questionable whether we would have any ability to enforce... JF So our ability to impose conditions is tied with this discretionary approval that we can give, to the extent were willing to get the Applicant to go along with us and work with us to make those changes. Whereas, if we just turn him down, he's got no incentive to do anything? PD Correct. RAS But on the other hand, when we approved an infinity edge on the pool for 43 feet, and now it's 180, what's our recourse? PD Our recourse is to force him to camouflage that infinity edge so it... RAS Why couldn't it be to make an infinity edge of 43 feet, which is what we approved? PD And our goal would be to, using additional rock work from below, to achieve equivalent result. RAS Well, no, it's just that what we approved, is not what we got. I was told by an executive of Bighorn Development; "nobody would ever see this house." It's an exciting house. When you look at the house and the maquette that was made, it's an exciting house. But so far, they haven't lived up to what they said. That's it. PD I am not going to dispute that. JF Well, and I guess my question is, one thing everybody agrees on is they don't want to see it; even the Applicant says he doesn't want to be seen. I think Mayor Pro Tem Kelly's question, and I kind of want to follow up on it, is If the carrot that were dangling for a sports court that nobody is ever gonna see, is to get rid of the stuff we can see, what is our security that that will actually happen? JMB I don't understand. When we didn't approve the sports court originally, and he didn't live up to what he said he would do originally, why we have to give him more land to do something, that's probably, at this point with the grading and all the stuff he's done illegally already... we take some poor guy that doesn't have a nickel and make him tear down a house and rebuild it, because he did it without a permit. And then we look at something like this, and well, okay, he's saying if you let me do something more, I'll help you. But if you don't, I'm not gonna do anything. And he didn't do what he said in the first place. As Councilman Spiegel said, they stood up there and blatantly lied to us. As we questioned, and questioned, and questioned, 15 MINUTES REGULAR PALM DESERT CITY COUNCIL MEETING OCTOBER 26, 2006 "Would you see this house?" No. "Would you see the roof?" No. And would you see? I don't understand at all why there is anything that we have to approve him something more in order to get him to do what he should have done in the first place. I don't know why they can't be separated. (Applause from audience.) PD Again, that's a question I think the City Attorney ... JF Well maybe the City Attorney can answer it. DJE Well, basically, you have the original permits, which were for the house. I don't believe there's any condition in those permits that the house would not be seen. It is really questionable whether you can impose any condition now on the original approvals based upon the current application that is on file with us. My understanding is that the Applicant has voluntarily indicated he is willing to do a number of things. A number of things that I believe we could not legally enforce based upon the permit. He may well do them without the permit. I don't know. I've not had a discussion with him. I have discussed it with his Counsel, and I think they intend to do a number of things, whether we grant this permit or not, to attempt to alleviate any circumstances that exist there. But we have very limited ability to impose conditions on the original permit that was issued. JMB But the original permit did not include a sports court. DJE It did not include a sports court. JMB So why do we have to approve that now? DJE You don't. PD No. JMB Okay, so, then if we don't approve that, then he doesn't have to do the improvements? DJE Well, there are several things that he has asked for. He has asked to expand the graded area, and then he asked for the sports court as well. You can approve part or all of that approval. You don't have to approve the sports court, if you also approve the expanded area. You can just approve just the expanded area, if you wish, and leave the sports court out. JMB I would think that in good faith that Mr. Hagadone is so anxious to correct that, that he would withdraw the request for the sports court until he has mitigated all the things that we want done. 16 MINUTES REGULAR PALM DESERT CITY COUNCIL MEETING OCTOBER 26, 2006 JF Okay. This is the time for staff questions, and I am sure we will get to a point of formulating opinions. But are there any other questions of staff? RAS Well, a question for staff or the developer. Assuming that all the items that you listed, A-D, are accepted, how long do you anticipate it would take to complete those? (Unknown) (unclear) RAS Less than a (unclear) Okay. Thank you. JF All right. If there are no further questions of staff, I will go ahead and open the public hearing. The way I would like to conduct this is to first have the Applicant, who made the application, address the Council. Then I have a number of blue cards here, which are people who have requested to speak, and then, I'II ask if anybody else would like to come up and speak. So let me start with the .... Open the public hearing and start by asking the Applicant to address the Council on his request. DH Thank you very much your Honor, Councilmembers. My name is Duane Hagadone, the owner of the subject property at 706 Summit Drive at Bighorn. I've been a resident of the Coachella Valley, a homeowner for over 30 years. And so I am very — familiar with your area. We went through a family process to pick out our retirement home on a location to build our dream home for Mrs. Hagadone and myself and our family, and we chose the site that we are now discussing. We are very proud of the home, and I may have to refer to legal counsel, but it was my understanding that we do have a permit for the expansion of the pool area. That did go through the process and that we do have the permit to expand it. Is that correct? I wanted to stand corrected that we did. RAS Thank you, that was not the information that I had. DH I also... from the minutes, I was not at the meeting when the building was approved at the Council, but if you go back and look at those minutes, it talked about the size of the building, it talked about the fact that there would be some impact - Highway 74, that there would be some glare, the lights from the office, and that the property would be seen to some degree from the north. I certainly have not ever proposed or commented that the building would not be seen at all. What I would like to share with you is that I am very sensitive to wanting to be a good neighbor. I have worked very hard to try and make this piece of property as environmentally positive looking as I possibly could. We did work to the roof. We could have put a copper roof; it was a darken copper through a very special process, it's that patina look for some time. We picked a faced stone, a slate that is very much of the colors of the mountains. And one of my frustrations at night, I did meet, by the way, with members of Ironwood this morning. I came down; I got up at 4:30 this morning, 17 MINUTES REGULAR PALM DESERT CITY COUNCIL MEETING OCTOBER 26, 2006 came down from Coeur D'Alene, to meet with them. We spent over two hours, we looked at the property and discussed it very thoroughly. You must be reminded that in that picture, and if you go up there and look today, the building is not finished, especially on the north side. We made a commitment to Bighorn that we would put all of our energy to finishing the south side prior to the World Golf Championship. We worked very hard, and it's probably 98 percent finished. What you're looking at there is totally unfinished, it's plywood, it's tar paper. The edge that you see that you look at in the infinity pool is concrete, and it is not finished. What I would ask is that we be allowed to finish the building. Yes, you can see it, but it will be dramatically softened when we have completed the building, which I would hope to be in the next 90 days. We need to have that opportunity. I have listened to the staff report by Mr. Drell, and to work in camouflaging, to the best of our ability, the infinity edge. I think that can be done. We have talked about it, and I'm committed to the Bighorn people, excuse me, to the Ironwood people that I met with today, and I will work to do that. We talked of the office and what could be done to improve it as its exterior look, and I am willing to look at it. We have talked some texture, they have talked some color. It's a very tough thing, because they agreed that a lot depends on the shadows —where the sun is located —and it gets darker in some areas with the shadows. But we're happy to take a look at that and look at the color and the texture of the office. The other area that I think Mr. Drell alluded to was the lighting. There is no exterior lighting on this side of the house. He has examined our exterior lighting plan, and there were some lights on the Bighorn side that were approved by the Bighorn Architectural Committee that do accent. He felt those were not in accordance with the City's lighting code, and we've taken those out. We've taken almost 50% of the lights out of the office. We've taken almost 50% of the lights out of the outdoor pavilion to make the look as blending into the area as much as we can. So I guess I just stand here before you today to share that we're very proud to be part of your community, and we've worked extremely hard. You must remember there was going to be a home built on this site. It's an extremely valuable piece of property. It was gonna' be a substantial home. When I bought the property, it was approved, and that was, what, some three years ago. So I think that when I look at the other hillside homes, especially on the other side of 74, that we have done a great job in trying to camouflage it. We have spent a great deal of money, even to the point that about a year ago when the office seemed to be a major concern, and there was a lot of talk, our people met with the representative of Ironwood, their attorney, and met with the Architectural Board of Bighorn. They came up with a new model as to what they thought could be done to improve the rock work and camouflaging of the office area. It was taken to the Ironwood attorney. Her name is Marie Mack, and she said that it looked good. So we took it to the Bighorn Architectural Committee, and they approved it. They thought it was a big improvement. We reduced the amount of window that you could see; we brought the rocks down, moved them up. We did a lot more texturing, and after great discussion, and strictly voluntarily, I agreed, and I got the price. It was $360,000 to make the improvements —that on a volunteer basis that were asked that we do —to become a better neighbor, and we did that. Now as we look at it, there 18 MINUTES REGULAR PALM DESERT CITY COUNCIL MEETING OCTOBER 26, 2006 _ still is concern about the structure. As I understand it, and I have asked the question —it seems to be more —some of the color, some of the texture —and I want it to be right. I just stand before you to say that I am willing to work with whoever, however you select the process as to what we do. We'd like to get on with the project. I don't see these three conditions that you talked about as anything that we can't put together. We're not gonna' please everybody, you know that, but we can sure work hard to do the very best we can. I want to also share with you that the area in back that we've asked and is, basically, that's the permit, is this additional footage that has been in our plan since day one. If you look at the original plan, it shows an arrow going back to the sport court. But it is a precise grading permit, and it was felt that it would not be a problem. It can't be seen from anywhere. It's all flat; it's an area that we want —I'm a gardener, and I love flowers. There is nothing back there but lawn, flowers, a koi pond for our grandchildren, and a sport court where the kids can get out in a very small slab of concrete and play some 16 games. None of it you can see; it's totally within our own property, and that's basically what...we're asking for here tonight. And it will substantially enhance the... value of ourfamily's usage of the property, and we would hope that that...would take place. But I probably rambled on more than I should. I'm happy to answer any questions, but I just want to commit to you that...l've been here a long time, I want to be a good citizen, I want to be a good neighbor, and I'll commit to do whatever I can, within reason, to make this home as compatible as possible. I know there is no way that you are not going to see some of those upper tips. But when they get — finished in copper and finished in stone and finished in wood trim that goes underneath, they will be dramatically softened from that picture today, which is strictly roughed in, and it is today, if you go look at it, but in the next 60 days or so, we will definitely (inaudible). Any other... JF Any questions... DH ...questions that I can answer? JF ...for Mr. Hagadone? I guess I've got one. Yes, I know that the parcel up there was approved as part of the Master Plan for Bighorn some 12 years ago. And, legally, every parcel owner is entitled to build a home; and I know that you came to us, you showed us the model, you showed us the plans, and we voted for it, unanimously, if I remember correctly. But as our Planning Director said, we sort of got an unexpected surprise, particularly when you went back and tried to improve on what was, I think most people in our Valley would consider, a blight. And I don't mean to be overly harsh with that, but...your home is probably the most visible home in the whole Coachella Valley behind Bob Hope, probably. And I think the one thing that most of us all agree on is that attempted fix on the office didn't do any favors for you. In fact, I think Phil's illustration of "the mound to the left, and the mound to the right," is a perfect contrast of what is natural and what's not natural. So I appreciate your willingness to do something that you don't legally need to do, but at the same time, you're asking us to do something we don't need to legally do. And so I go 19 MINUTES REGULAR PALM DESERT CITY COUNCIL MEETING OCTOBER 26, 2006 back to Mayor Pro Tem Kelly's question, and I want to pose it to you. What assurances do we have that those things will get tended to if we are to consider approving your application? DH I guess it's that I stand before you, I don't know...and I guess maybe I could yield to the legal people, but I stand before you to assure you that, I mean, I've done it once. I thought it was taken care of. JF Would you be willing to work with our Architectural Review Committee and our Planning staff, and maybe a couple members of the City Council and see what they would like to see up there? DH Who would be involved? JF I don't know, I'm just posing a suggesting that somehow the City have oversight of this process...instead of you guessing what we want, why not just ask us. And you know, we're pretty good at solving problems and mitigating, and Bighorn, you know, does a very good job, I think, of hillside development, and I'm sure we can come up with a fix for this, I just...l'm...my two colleagues here to the right, their point is very well taken —how do we know it's going to get fixed? DH Well, I guess if you do appoint a...committee, I'd be very happy to work with them. JF Okay. DH Needless, with the investment I've made, I'm going to be around. You can look at my background and my history, I'm a man of my word. I want it to be right, and we can make it better. It's not totally wild. I'm willing to...work, and I'm willing to get our people together and see what we can do to make it...better. I don't think we're gonna' please everybody, but if we can do a much better job, I...am willing to commit to do that. JF Any other questions for Mr. Hagadone? RAS I have one, Mr. Hagadone. DH Mmm-hmm. RAS In your office, I was up to see your property about a week and a half ago, and it's a beautiful home. DH Thank you. 20 MINUTES REGULAR PALM DESERT CITY COUNCIL MEETING OCTOBER 26, 2006 RAS As I indicated earlier, it really is, it's a chestnut for our city. That said, the problems that we see now weren't there when we approved it. And in the office, you've got a curved glass window that goes around. DH Mmm-hmm. RAS And from the Ironwood side, the sun reflects off that window, reflects down on the backyards of some people. Is there any way that window can be cut down, and the length of it...it's like a half circle, could it be a three-quarter circle? DH I don't think so. Keep in mind, that office and even a more glass than showing now, was on that plan that was approved. RAS That's correct. But also I was told by an executive at Bighorn that no one would ever see this house. I was told that. DH Well, I can't... RAS I know you can't. I'm just telling you where I'm coming from so you understand. And now when I go out there, and I did the same thing...that you did with the people at Ironwood and made a tour, and I saw what we see there, and you indicated that you're going to be working on improving it all, but I worry about that window, — personally. DH Well, I...all I can share with you is that the interior of that office is all dark colors. RAS Yes. DH Dark stone on the counter top, it's a dark carpet, navy blue cabinets and...so the entire area is...finished, and when it gets finished, and that will eat up a lot of the light. I don't see that as a...l've heard comments of it being a beacon, and that will not...be the case. I think that to look out, you've got to have soft lighting; all the lights in that office are on a rheostats. There could be one light over my reading area that could be a little brighter, but I don't think that's going to be a beacon at night. I'm very comfortable that when it's finished and all the materials get in there, it is going to be nothing more than...a glow that you're seeing from certain parts of the Valley. I... JF Let me ask another question. DH Uh-huh. JF What would the harm be in working on these three items and continuing your application until we could see some demonstrated efforts? I mean, I...know you want to occupy the house, but you can do that anyway now. Your sport court is now 21 MINUTES REGULAR PALM DESERT CITY COUNCIL MEETING OCTOBER 26, 2006 a temporary staging area for your construction equipment. So, essentially, the land's already disturbed, and I know you may want to have the kids plan basketball on Valentine's Day, but what would be the problem in meeting with the members of our Council and staff and coming up with some conceptual plans; meeting with the folks at Ironwood and The Summit, and Indian Springs, and elsewhere, and just starting that process. Does the sport court really throw you off kilter? DH You're addressing...there is that entire landscape area behind. JF Correct. DH And if you were to look at the house, you come down— we've got to work our way out of that site through to the driveway and finish the driveway and out to the gate. And to come back at a later date would be an extremely hard thing to do. And...I don't know how that would... JF When do you estimate completion of your house? DH Well...l'm hoping to get in in late January. JF So you don't think between now and late January we can figure out some, at least conceptual solutions to these problems and circulate them among the folks that are impacted and get some kind of a general consensus? DH Well, that's when I'm going to move in, and there is a fair amount of work —we've got to get equipment up there...that would need to be done. I'm willing to meet...immediately with...l've been...and the part of being a good citizen is to try and get this house done —we're actually going to build it within two years. Many people thought it would take three, three and a half; again, being a good neighbor and getting it done, getting it behind us, we've been working very hard. We've been working a very large crew, and I guess when you get to my age, you don't want to lose another winter in the desert, and...so I'm...I am sensitive to getting it wrapped up, and it is, it would be a huge problem to come back at a later date and fix it and put that...koi pond and put the sport court and the patios on that site. JF Well I guess my request, whether you come back with your application or not, and maybe I didn't word it well; but I think what I'm hearing is people would like to see the improvements done before the sport court goes in. DH Well, I... JF And that's not possible under your current construction schedule? DH Well, I...guess I respectfully, if you talk of all of those that you're going to include in this process, I...have to worry. I mean when you talk of bringing many different 22 MINUTES REGULAR PALM DESERT CITY COUNCIL MEETING OCTOBER 26, 2006 entities in. To some degree, it's a subject almost like art; and to get a consensus, to me, is going to be a very, very tough thing to do. But I will...if we can meet immediately with whoever you would like me to...meet with... JF Well I guess what...I'm suggesting is we don't legally have the ability to go back and reopen your approvals. You've got your permits, you're vested, the building's built, and you have no obligation to do anything with that land. You're offering to do something, and what I want to do is sort of put you through the process that we go through normally to try and fix things, and that does involve our architects, it involves our Planning staff, it usually involves some input from the Council. We have a Landscape Committee that can certainly take a look at it. I know we're government, but we can certainly do something by January. So that's what I'm asking you to submit to, because we can look back and point fingers all we want, but your house is there, it is obtrusive, to a large degree, and the question in my mind is how do you make it better. And rather than having you guess at what we want, I'd rather have us just sit down and say, "Here's what we think will make it look better." And then if you don't like it, you don't...have to go along with it, but you won't get a sport court. DH I think it's something that I want to talk to my people about... JF Okay. DH I'm not sure that... JF It's just a question. DH Maybe we... JF We've got Tots of testimony coming up, so... DH Right. That maybe we should...just go ahead and finish the house and withdraw the application. JF You could do that (unclear). DH Maybe we should take a look at it at a...later, at a later date. I don't, I honestly don't know, and I have my man here, whether we can get back up there and pour concrete and do all the things that we need once we get the driveway put in. JF Well we've got no shortage of people that want to speak, and certainly, if you've got other representatives that you'd like to talk to us, please do. But maybe during that time, you guys can huddle and see which way you want to go. DH Okay. 23 MINUTES REGULAR PALM DESERT CITY COUNCIL MEETING OCTOBER 26, 2006 JF But my sense is the concern is that something actually get done, and Councilmember Benson, you know, rightly or wrongly, feels like she was misled. And I've heard Councilman Spiegel say that he felt like he was misled, and so there's distrust, not for you, necessarily, but certainly on the representations that they believe they heard. And so I think the Council's looking for some assurance that these things are actually going to get done. And the only way I can see to do that is to have you do the...grading expansion after you've done the first three improvements. But I'll let you chat about it. DH What happens if I go to great effort to try and please all of these people that you might bring in and can't, and I've gone to all that effort? JF Well you're standing in front of me saying "Trust me." And I'm sitting in front of you saying trust us. We are pretty good at knowing how to fix problems in Palm Desert, and it's not going to be a long, mechanical process, and we generally get input from our residents, which means we are going to talk to the Ironwood people and other people that are affected, people across the highway. I don't think we're going to make you take down a $30 million house, but we can help you make it a little dressier. Anyway, you think about it. DH All right. JF At the close of the hearing, I'II ask you to come back up and tell me what you think. DH All right. Thank you. JF Is there anybody representing the developer that would like to speak? Yes, sir. JN Good evening, Council, my name is John Nicholson. I am the attorney for the developer. As I understand it, I think Councilman Kelly expressed a concern about the additional area, the 13,000 square feet, how can the Council be assured that there isn't going to be any surprise associated with, I thought I heard that question. And, can you not impose a condition on the amended precise grading plan that would effectively say there's no view impacts. We know there's not going to be any lighting on it, and there's not going to be any...I...there were two conditions imposed by the Commission...as part of that approval. And...I think one of the options, and we want to come up with something that works for everybody, is to hopefully, get an approval with a mechanism in place where we work with the City and...reach a consensus with the City and the residents...but allow this project to go forward on both fronts. I'm just hopeful we can come up with something like that. Is...would that address your concern if there was a condition...about the approval of the 13,000 square feet that there would be no view impacts from it in the record as part of the condition for approval? RSK I can't answer that now. I'd like to hear...the rest of the testimony. 24 MINUTES REGULAR PALM DESERT CITY COUNCIL MEETING OCTOBER 26, 2006 JN Okay. Thank you. JF I...have a question for you. And it's not meant to be snide, so please don't take it that way. JN Sure. JF It's just a lawyer -like question. JN Okay. JF When you guys went in front of the Planning Commission, Commissioner Finerty suggested these very same conditions, and you guys did not accept them. And you got approved by the Planning Commission without them on a 3 to 1 vote. Why are you now amenable to these conditions when you weren't before? JN We were amenable to the...objectives of those conditions being achieved, and I don't want to try to be legal, but the idea was Mr. Hagadone wanted to blen-, do more blending with the rocks, as far as the office, fix the pool issue that was brought up, but do it not in the context of project conditions but through...a mechanism of...an agreement with the City. And so that was why...there's...at the Planning Commission, there was an issue about whether those could be legally imposed as — conditions. JF Okay. JN And so we felt, since they could not be legally com-... JF Imposed. JN ...imposed, but we still wanted to commit to those, could we come up with a mechanism to do that. JF So are you guys prepared, you mentioned the word "agreement" with the City, prepared to enter into a written agreement to work on these things? JN I'm going to ask my client that, but my rec-... JF Okay, I'm sorry. JN ...but my recommendation is that we would enter into an agreement with the City, because we...want to reach a place with the City. As Mr. Hagadone said, we can't get everybody happy, but there's, we want to do more work up there. And we want to get to a point where...we can reduce the dissatisfaction to a point as much as we can and make the thing as compatible as possible. 25 MINUTES REGULAR PALM DESERT CITY COUNCIL MEETING OCTOBER 26, 2006 JF Okay. JN Thank you. JF Any other questions for...anybody else for the developer? Bighorn care to weigh in on this? Okay. Then I'm going to go to the blue cards next, like I said I would, and I'm going to start with Lawrence Sutter. LS Good afternoon, I'm Lawrence Sutter, my wife and I live at 49-220 Quercus in Ironwood, here representing the 1,100 homeowners/residents of Ironwood. A lot has happened this week. For a recap, I won't repeat it all, but first of all, thank you to the Council for visiting with us earlier in the week. For those in the room, last Tuesday, all four of you came by and spent an hour plus with us and representatives, I would say, of Monterra... JF At different times. LS At different times, not...a quorum, you're not in trouble (unclear). (Laughter from the City Council.) RAS That's not legal. LS Where's the Desert Sun here? Can I have my picture taken with you, by the way? Anyway, so we had repre-, it was not an Ironwood -only, we keep referring to Ironwood, but I would just tell everyone, it's not Ironwood only. It's Ironwood and Monterra, and The Reserve, and The Summit who met with yourselves, and then also this morning, with Mr. Hagadone, who was nice enough to come by, and we did spend two and a half, two hours plus at that...meeting. And like our session on Tuesday, we found our session this morning with Mr. Hagadone very helpful. We found him, and we, you know, we just met, we did ask him to take the house down; he refused to do that for some reason. But seriously, you know, I felt he was very sincere in his efforts to mitigate the situation. We had a spirited discussion. I explained to Mr. Hagadone, as did yourselves I think, our people in Ironwood pref-, preferred the structure not be here, but it is here. So our objective, at this point, is how do we make this the most acceptable, how do we mitigate it? And the items that Phil Drell mentioned and are noted in the October 26 Planning Commission report are things we would like to see worked on. You mentioned a committee of interested parties working with Mr. Hagadone and Summit, Ironwood, etc. I mean, that might sound good on paper, but I agree with Mr. Hagadone, that could be a really unwieldy group. From my standpoint, I would defer to the City and the Hagadone camp to work that out. I think if you got all these community people involved, it would get too complicated; although, they may want to put their two cents in, they may want to have a hearing. This morning sitting in Bryant Court, Mr. Hagadone asked us, "What would you like to see done?" So we looked up there, 26 MINUTES REGULAR PALM DESERT CITY COUNCIL MEETING OCTOBER 26, 2006 _ and we all four of us put in our two cents in, but we're not architects, we're not landscape experts, excuse me, and so you know, I said, finally, you know, we defer to the experts in that matter. So anything that can be done to break up the pool line, to soften the impact of the office, and...especially the lighting, we're very concerned about that when they turn the lighting on, but that's really of what's interest to us. So...we would support, we would not oppose the expansion on a provision that, you know, the discussions we had this morning with Hagadone and yourselves the other day, separately, would follow-through, and we would work to optimize this, and mitigate this in the best way possible. There've been a lot of mistakes made here, a lot of learning that's occurred; no sense in going through all of it. We are where we are, realistically, and our goal, at this point, is to make the visual impact on Ironwood and all the neighborhood as minimal as possible. The suggestions that Mr. Hagadone had and his people have had and were identified by Tony Bagato in the Planning Department, and all the other reports are really in the right direction. So anything the City can do to work with Mr. Hagadone and his camp to mitigate this further, we would support. So...l don't know, it's, this is a monument to something, and...even though I'm sure everything was done legally, you know, somehow it didn't all come out right. But I think both parties now have the ability to turn this into a better situation than it...was a few months ago, and I...frankly, am very encouraged with the progress that we've made in the last month. Because a month ago, or September 19`h at those Planning Commission hearings when it was voted down, the conditions of approval, down 2-1, I think it was, — actually, with one abstention, that was a...dark day. It didn't look too good. But thanks to yourselves and Mr. Hagadone and discussions, that I'm more optimistic that this can be done. So we would support the extension, providing that...some mechanism for mitigating this can be put in place. Thanks very much. JF Great. Any questions for Mr. Sutter? RAS I have none. LS Pardon me? JF I just asked if Council had any questions for you. Okay. I have a blue... LS I'm...sorry, I had, if I can come back. I do have two other suggestions I mentioned to you. It's hard to remember if I mentioned to you them or here, but two other very important matters. One is the future. One is, we talked the other day, I mean, do we need to actually strengthen or rewrite the Hillside Ordinance so it has more teeth? What would occur to me if there were some standards for exceptions, that might be more helpful. I'm not an expert on these matters, but I read through them, and I didn't see any standards for exceptions. We're grading 61,000 feet, or that's proposed, versus 10,000, what are the standards in that way. You're, you know _ about this more than I do, but that's...a future concern. And secondly, this...notification of 300 feet, it's really a problem. People in Ironwood, I think one 27 MINUTES REGULAR PALM DESERT CITY COUNCIL MEETING OCTOBER 26, 2006 reason you hear the frustration is we feel like we have no say in the matter. City records show that a notice was sent to an entity that preceded the Ironwood Country Club, but you know, that never, maybe got thrown away or certainly homeowners didn't hear about it, so we just felt left out. And I would strongly suggest that we see how...what can we do to that 300-foot notification rule or regulation that would make sense for a hillside development like this. And maybe it should be one -mile line -of -sight or something like that. But if those things were in place, we would feel more comfortable to, that these situations would be, would not occur in the future. Thank you. Sorry re-... JF Thank you. The next blue card I have is from, and it just said Item VIII, and we're on VIII-A, so I don't know if this is applicable to this or to the Larrea project, but Gunnar Hasse? GH My name is Gunnar Hasse, I live inside Ironwood at 73-203 Ribbonwood Court. And I used to be able to sit on my patio and see an unobstructed ridgeline. And I know there's nothing you can do about the ridgeline, it's...been destroyed forever. When I had a meeting with Phil Drell, that I was told that there would be no visible structure; the only thing we would see would be the infinity pool line, and that was only 43 feet. It is now 180 feet. So my concern is that, I agree with the mitigation that's in there. I think there should be a lot more specificity into what is intermittent rocks, what is the, how are they going to cover the office or mitigate the pool line, and etc. I...agree that to, from my perspective, if Bighorn isn't concerned about the grading on the other side, it doesn't affect Ironwood at all. What my concern is the ridgeline. It's been now destroyed for every resident in Palm Desert. It's gone forever, it can't be recovered...and...I think that I'm with Larry Sutter, I think that the ordinance you have on the ridgeline has to be strengthened. I think that...to allow something like this to happen is almost...it's...extremely bad. I think that you can put specificity into the ordinance to stop things from happening like this, even if it's saying that nothing can be built within 100 yards of the ridgeline. Or line of sight has to be for a public hearing on it so that these things don't occur in the future for any other sites, any other mountains around Ironwood or in Palm Desert. And I think that, and I don't know Hagadone, but I think that...the individual probably is...an honorable businessman. And that if he signs an agreement with the City, I think that it's going to be, that he will do things that he can to, do to mitigate the situation. And I just wish that, please, keep the committee to a minimum; the more people you have in it, the worse it's gonna' get. So if the City takes the lead in it, I think they'll be very good. I'm just concerned that with the lighting, so it doesn't become a beacon at night; so when I sit on my patio, I don't look out there and look like it's a search light on top of the mountain. And I hope the City can resolve this issue. Thank you. JF Thank you. Next card I have is from Samuel Goldstein. 28 MINUTES REGULAR PALM DESERT CITY COUNCIL MEETING OCTOBER 26, 2006 SG Good afternoon, Mayor, Council. My name is" Sam Goldstein, I live at 73-311 Mariposa. This project is right in front of my view. I sit on the patio, and I look at Mr. Hagadone's office, the pool line, the ridgeline that has been taken away and is not being replaced. I don't understand how it started, but we have a very negative result. I sent a letter, and I'd like to read it to you, because you probably had hundreds of letters. But as an affected homeowner in Ironwood Country Club, I must let you know that the above -proposed residential development is and has been an outrage to the beauty and tranquility of Palm Desert. The project is so big that it can be seen for miles from the site, and what it shows is a City Council that seems to be out of touch with the visual blight of ridgeline development. Our mountain ridgetops are sacred to this community, and the development has crossed the line between intelligent design and intrusion into everyone's peaceful and tranquil view of the mountains. The Planning Commission's recent vote of 2 to 1, endorsing an enlargement of the development from 45,000 square feet to 61,000 square feet, despite the absolute negative input of the City staff had rendered to the Commission, is a further violation of really bad and insensitive decisions for this project, let alone illegal grading that went on. The Hagadone site, as described in the Palm Desert ordinance, only allows for a 10,000-foot building pad, and without variances, this project cannot move forward. There are no grounds for a variance for this project, and there never has been, but the Applicant has been granted massive building without justification. This project has overdeveloped the site, contrary to the building permit, and taken more ridgeline with it. In no other — community this project would have been, in...any other community, this project would have been red -tagged, shut down until it was brought back to what was granted in the original permit. Currently, the pool is almost twice the size as described in their initial building plans, with the infinity edge following the ridgeline, when it was supposed to be set back from the ridgeline. The violations in the existing construction of this building site are too many to mention when you start with a 10,000-foot building pad, and the Applicant is now seeking to rape and pillage up to 61,000 feet of buildings and more ridgeline-taking. There seems to be a disconnect between sensible and sensitive building than just destroying miles of beautiful mountain views that affect everyone in the Valley for a greedy, self - interested, insensitive person with full cooperation with the City Council and Planning Commission. What was the City Council thinking when you granted the original building permit for this monster project? Didn't you stop to think why you agreed to permit despoiling the mountain ridgelines that I think you all love and respect? And as an added note, our community of Ironwood was never notified of this outrageous project from its conception and approvals, but now that we know what has been done, we will not go away. It's never too sto-, never too late to stop and turn things around, and I very strongly urge you to do just that. Stop this insanity, and stop this project until Ironwood retrieves the beautiful ridgeline that it never agreed to lose. A copy of this letter is going to be sent to The Desert Sun, which I've sent to them, Fish & Game, Audubon, NRDC, and any other protection agency that will help reverse the environmental catastrophe and bring back our 29 MINUTES REGULAR PALM DESERT CITY COUNCIL MEETING OCTOBER 26, 2006 ridgeline beauty and tranquility. Where is the environmental impact report that supports this absurdity? Very truly yours, Samuel Goldstein. Thank you. JF Any questions for Mr. Goldstein? Thank you, sir. Okay, those are all the blue cards that I have. So any member of the audience wishing to address the Council on this item at this point in the public hearing may do so. (Unclear) RS My name is Ray Sebastian, I live at 49-030 Della Robbia in Ironwood. I had a number of prepared remarks, most of which have been rendered irrelevant, I think, by the response of the Council, which I appreciated, actually. I wanted to say, though, that in an attempt to avoid wasting your time today, I reviewed the entire 154-page City file with respect to this project. And I'm struck by the number of both residents and City officials who have, in one way or another, asked "How did this happen?" I think I have a little bit better idea, having listened to some of the questioning by the Council, as to how it happened. But it would seem to me that a proposed project that so vastly exceeds the applicable provisions of the Municipal Code - the Hillside Ordinance, with respect to both grading and square footage - ought to be required to meet a higher standard than a normal project in terms of approval. My conclusion, after reviewing the file, is that not even a moderate standard was met. There are many, many statements in the file having to do with reviews by the Planning Commission, for example, of this project. Commissioner Campbell felt the project blended in with the natural terrain and ridgeline and was very well camouflaged. Commissioner Lopez believed that even though the project is far beyond the Hillside Ordinance standards, the purpose, presumably the purpose, as expressed in Municipal Code 25.15.10 [sic], was there. Unfortunately, in my opinion, these statements just plain are not accurate. The project sticks out like a sore thumb, adversely impacts a prominent ridgeline, and I believe clearly violates both the spirit and the letter of 25.15. The clause allowing exceptions, which is contained in 25.15.30 [sic], requires that exceptions be in conformity with the basic purposes set forth in 25.15.10 [sic], and that was not the case. I think that you were, I think that you, as Councilmembers, are moving in the direction I would have recommended anyway, so I'm not really going to speak to that. But the final thing that I wanted to talk about was what should be done in the future. It seems to me that one of the problems here is that the current process for approving projects has no teeth in it. Unless the City actually wants to encourage more projects of this kind, either 25.15 needs to be interpreted by both the Planning Commission and the City, and applied so that massive developments on ridgelines cannot and do not receive approval as exceptions. Or else the City needs to adopt new provisions of the Municipal Code to achieve the result that 25.15 already purports to achieve. And part of that process, it seems to me, is a process for either independently entering into agreements with persons who want exceptions to hold them accountable if things that were said to the Councilmembers turn out not to be true. Thank you. JF Thank you. Ms. Mack. 30 MINUTES REGULAR PALM DESERT CITY COUNCIL MEETING OCTOBER 26, 2006 MM Mr. Mayor, Co-...Councilmembers, Marie Mack, 74-399 Highway 111, Suite — (unclear), Palm Desert. JMB Pull the mic down just a bit. MM Yes, is that better? I'm a little shorter. Yeah, as mentioned, I am the attorney for Ironwood Master Association, and I've also been asked by The Reserve to speak on their behalf in connection with these matters. I do have a small...insight into part of how this happened, and I'm not sure how beneficial that is at this time, since we're trying to fix where we're at now. But at the invitation of Mr. Hagadone's people, I've been up to the site a few times, as I know you have, as well. The first time I went up was this past summer, before the rock work was done around the office, and when the people were very concerned that what we had up there was simply a glass structure that was completely unblended and looked like a flying saucer. We came to understand that it was in an interim stage of construction and that there was always rock work of this type planned for the office structure. So when we hear from the Applicant that this was a great expense that was undertaken, I would respectfully point out that that was always part of the construction of this project. But I had an opportunity when I was up there to take a look at the model that was created by the architectural team of this project. It was the model that you folks that were on the Council saw when you were so incredibly impressed with how this blended into the landscape and how it was clearly shielded — from view. If you see the model, which I had the opportunity to see very recently, and which, perhaps, you have not since this dispute has arisen, and, perhaps, no one in the audience has seen, the model clearly depicts that this house is below the ridgeline and that the office does not protrude up in the manner that it now does on the top of the..peak there. The model showed something more almost appearing to be set down and recessed like a volcano cone -type effect. Anyway, my point being, for the benefit of the audience members who may be wondering how did this happen, if they had seen the model, they would understand more why the Council was so persuaded that this was a very minimal view impact. Having said that, when I met with them and expressed our real serious concern about the glare from the glass, it is true that they gave us the courtesy of sending over a very tiny thumbnail computer sketch of what the rock work might look like when completed. And I did say, looks good, and I passed it on to the Ironwood Master Board for feedback, which they asked many times, "Are you guys gonna' be agreeable with that?" We never did approve it. As we know, models and reality can be different. This rock work just doesn't blend, so I'm not going to reiterate all the points and say how much, you know, we would wish for change. We really do support all the mitigation measures proposed in the staff report. I've heard many times from Mr. Nicholson that they really are amenable to working these things out, and I hope we leave today with an agreement between the Applicant and the Council whether, you know, side agreement through the City Attorney, or whether it's ultimately through conditions tonight. But I hope we have an agreement and a framework and not just expressions of goodwill. That's my hope. Thank you. 31 MINUTES REGULAR PALM DESERT CITY COUNCIL MEETING OCTOBER 26, 2006 JF Thank you. Anybody else wishing to address the Council? Yes, ma'am. GP Hello, everybody, my name's Gloria Petitto, I live on 49-425 JFK Trail, up at the head of Ironwood. Four homes were built up there in '56. I've lived there for 40 years. JMB Could you pull the mic down just a little bit more, Gloria (unclear)? GP Okay. When those houses were built, not one rock was moved. Anything that was brought in was built around the natural nature. As someone else spoke, the view is destroyed, and I can't visualize any kind of prop, which is what it will be, put in there to camouflage what's there. Damage has been done. And when I...can see that mountain from any room in my home, which is really quite sad — a big rock or a tree, whatever they think they can put up there to camouflage that mess is beyond me. I...just can't ever visualize it. It's too bad that someone would take some beautiful and natural item and destroy it. If you want to build up there, why didn't they build below? You wouldn't have to worry about camouflaging anything, you wouldn't see it — like in the belly of the mountain, like when Country Club was built off of 74. You'd never know that Club was there with the mountain that is still there. Thank you. JF Thank you. Anybody else wishing to address the City Council on this item? Steve, can you go see where Mr. Hagadone and Phil are and if they have any comment before we close the public hearing? I'm gonna' go ahead and leave the public hearing open and continue on with our regular business agenda. (Inaudible) JF Want to take a five-minute break? Okay. We will recess for five minutes. With City Council concurrence, a recess was observed from 5:29 p.m. to 5:38 p.m. Mayor Ferguson resumed the regular agenda, Section X - New Business, and Items A-C were considered. JF Okay, let's go back to Mr. Hagadone and get that item taken care of. We still have the public hearing open. We wanted to give you the benefit of responding to some of the things you heard, and it's your application, so ... DH Well thank you, and I'm sorry for the additional time that it took. It is a serious problem, and we do have a...proposal that we would like to offer to you. And I have listened to...all of you on regard to this matter. If you will approve the precise grading permit tonight, we are on a very tight time schedule to get that completed, I will, I would recommend that you appoint an ad hoc committee of Councilmembers who I will meet with, and I will commit that we will work together, and if we cannot come to a satisfactory condition, I will take the sport court out. 32 MINUTES REGULAR PALM DESERT CITY COUNCIL MEETING OCTOBER 26, 2006 JF Let me see if I can clarify. You're saying that you will take care of the three mitigation factors first, and if the City isn't satisfied, there will be no sport court. DH I will take it out. I've got to...go, we have got to move ahead if, or not do it at all. Because I don't want to bore you with the access that's coming up there. So we would need, we need your approval for what's in the application tonight. If you will give us that approval tonight, then we will go ahead. And then I will commit to work with an ad hoc committee of Councilmen that you appoint, and we will see if we can come to a satisfactory resolution on the three points that have been discussed. If we cannot, I will take the sport court out. JF Okay. DH You were asking for something binding, I tried to...but, I can't, I can't wait and...get the house done, and you'd have to come up and see that road —the main electrical service to the entire house is underneath that road, and it's got to come out...very shortly, within the next two weeks. But I'm...here, and I'm willing to work with you, whoever you appoint. I don't think it should be a big committee, and I thought that Larry Sutter of Ironwood, who I met with this morning, and in his comments said that it should not be a big committee, and it should be just an ad hoc committee that you would appoint of Council. — JF Okay. DH So... JF Questions? DH ...that would be my proposal to you, and it seems it gives you the teeth that if I can't satisfy...the ad hoc committee, the sport court is torn out. RAS Would you be opposed to making it, say a three -person committee, rather than two? JF A Brown Act Committee? JMB What was that, Bob? RAS No. Not a Brown Act, I'm talking about someone in the Planning Commission as member of the committee? JF Oh. DH I don't know...who you have in...I mean, I guess it's none of my...business as to who you appoint. I guess that a...l would 33 MINUTES REGULAR PALM DESERT CITY COUNCIL MEETING OCTOBER 26, 2006 RSK You'll be treated fairly. DH Pardon? RSK I...know you'll be treated fairly. You shouldn't be troubled with that agreement. DH Okay. I then will stand. I am a fair man. I want to get this resolved. I want to do what's right. I would like to thank you honorable people and let's...get with it. The question that I would ask is that if you would approve this tonight, that we immediately jump on it and...start the process. Because I am trying to get in the house...in the next 60 to 90 days, and this work has got to be done. But we can take the sport court out and break it up and take it out of there in wheelbarrows if we can't come to a satisfactory... RAS When will you have something to show us? DH I think what has to happen first is I need to meet with you. Because I need...to hear what your concerns are, and I'd like to do that immediately. And to me that is step one, is to have a meeting. I'm gonna' be... I've not been involved in the past, in all this work that was done, and I'm not being critical of my people, because I think they did the very best, and I think they thought that they'd gotten all the approval necessary. But I am going to be here for the month of November, except for three days next week. And I'll spend all the time, and I would hope that we could meet, say Monday afternoon, and have our first meeting. I'II be gone Tuesday and Wednesday and then back, and then I'm here the rest of the month. I want to jump on it, and I want to get it to your satisfaction and resolve it. To me, I've tried hard to listen to you, and you said you gotta' have some teeth in it. RAS Would...you bring your architect along so that he can tell us what he visualizes in what we discuss? DH If he is available Monday afternoon, yes. And I would go one step further --the art of rock in a building is very, very tough. It's not...a science, and...we're working with the finest manufactured rock company that I know of. They've done the work at the Vintage, they did the work at the entryway to Bighorn. They've done a lot of work, and I would like to bring...the owner of that company...with me on Monday afternoon. And we can...talk about the, what we can do to the...exterior of the office, and we can...and I think we should meet up there so we can show you what we plan to do, and under any regard to the infinity edge and what we might be able to do if you are...comfortable with it. But I ask just out of...we've been working...to get in, and if...you're willing to spend some time, I certainly am, and I'll bring the people that I have confidence in, and we'll see if we can't work it out. I'd like to think we can. I think we're fair people, and I want this house —I don't...want it to be a big eyesore. I don't think you can have a big committee, as was stated by the Ironwood fellow. He said it should be left up to the, to an ad hoc committee. 34 MINUTES REGULAR PALM DESERT CITY COUNCIL MEETING OCTOBER 26, 2006 JF Okay. RAS Would you have an agreement in place by then, Dave? DJE I think we can, yes. But may I comment on the committee? JF Sure. DJE If you add more than two members of the Council... RAS No, no. No. DJE ...then you're gonna' have to have an agenda. If you add a Planning Commissioner... RAS No, I wanted...hmm? DJE If you add a Planning Commissioner or anybody else, you need to have an agenda and post notice of the meetings. Two members of the Council may meet without doing that. JF But, a Planning Commissioner triggers... DJE If you add anybody else... JF Well then... RAS Then what were doing... but changing the subject, but when we meet with the School District on the 2 x 2 Committee, there's two Council, there's the City Manager, there's Assistant City Manager, and a lot of staff. That should be noticed? DJE Yes. RAS It never has been. JF Well we've got that on the record. (Laughter from all) RAS Yup. Got that on record. RSK You had to bring that up. RAS Took me 14 years to learn that. 35 MINUTES REGULAR PALM DESERT CITY COUNCIL MEETING OCTOBER 26, 2006 JF All right. Any questions for Mr. Hagadone? RAS No. JF Thank you. Anybody else wishing to speak on the subject? Seeing no one, I will close the public hearing and ask what the pleasure of the Council is. RAS Let's go back to the noticing, David. What has to...if we plan on meeting Monday afternoon, can we do that with three people or no? DJE The committee can only be made up of two members, less than a quorum, of the Council. RAS Yes. DJE If you...and it says only then. Now, if you want to call other people in to ask their opinions, such as the Planning Director or a member of the Planning Commission, or Mr. Hagadone, or somebody from Ironwood, or anybody else, you're entitled to do that. But the committee make-up can only be two members of the Council. RAS Okay so it can be two members of the Council... JF But you can consult... RAS ...but we can get an opinion DJE Absolutely. RAS ...of a third person? DJE Absolutely. RAS Or fourth. DJE Absolutely. As many as you wish. It's just that the membership of the Committee can only be less than a quorum of the Council to those. JF Okay. So it's a form over substance issue. They can still work with the Planning Director and Architectural Review, and if they want to talk to Ironwood, they can talk to Ironwood? DJE Absolutely. Absolutely. JF It's just the formal composition of the committee can only be two Councilmembers. 36 MINUTES REGULAR PALM DESERT CITY COUNCIL MEETING OCTOBER 26, 2006 DJE That's correct. JF Okay. RSK So... JF What's the pleasure of the Council? JMB Well, I'm sorry but... I can't vote for that if it includes doing the sport court now. I just feel that we're being blackmailed with it. I've been up there; I don't see that that sport court is going to interrupt finishing that house, because the house is separate. The thing is out there as staging area with a bunch of brick on it. Leave it that way. How many people have to wait to fix up their back yard when they do a house. They don't wait to do the backyard because they can't move in. And I just...don't believe that unless we have some leverage on it, that it's gonna' happen. And to say "I'll pull it out," the next thing, "Well I can't pull it out, it cost me too much money," now you've got to do something. And I just cannot vote for it, if he's gonna' start the sport court. JF Okay. RSK Well...I think that...from the testimony and from our meeting, I think that the — Ironwood folks would like us to do something —work on...mitigating and making it... look, come out acceptable, and I think that we would not be doing...the people any favor who are looking at it now if we just...if we don't move ahead with Mr. Hagadone's proposal to work with two Councilmembers and...mitigate the problem that we have there. I think that's what the people would...like us to do. And I think that...I'm...willing to put in the time and spend the time to try to make it work and make...the mistake that's been done, fix it as best we can. RAS I agree with that. I think we're, if...we don't do that, we're going to be at an impasse, and I don't know where we're gonna' go from there. I think we've got to do something, and the sooner the better for all involved. So...I would agree with Mayor Pro Tem Kelly. JF I've wrestled with this now for...how many months I've been up to your home, saw your model, I've been to Ironwood. I used to live in Ironwood, by the way; it's the first place I lived when I came to the Desert. And I've, you know all those streets that you mentioned for the Ironwood folks tonight, I used to drive my golf cart up and down there and look at that same peak —used to go out on the 15th and 16th fairways and take a look at it, and it's a beautiful club. And unfortunately, you have a highly, highly, highly visible house. But the Master Plan for Bighorn was approved. It did include a lot up there. You came to us, you showed us a model, you gave us your plans, we approved it, you built it, and we have an unintended consequence, rightly or wrongly. And to me the question is where do we go from 37 MINUTES REGULAR PALM DESERT CITY COUNCIL MEETING OCTOBER 26, 2006 here? And it seems to me, and I don't want to break my arm patting myself on the back, but the City, I don't mind doing that, the City has a very good track record in solving problems. And I think having two members of the Council, who will have the ability to talk to Ironwood, or Indian Springs, or anybody else, they want to work with you to come to a conclusion. And with the security that you may have to rip out hundreds of thousands of dollars of improvements if you don't satisfy a couple of our colleagues, I don't know who they are yet, makes imminent sense. I also know that Bighorn is probably one of the best quality builders that we've had in the City. They've been one of our best residents. And I don't know how many hundreds of homes you've built, Carl, but they all blend nicely into the hillside. So I'm confident that with your expertise and background, and with the Council, and if you're bringing the president of this company out...personally, the most offensive part of your house is the office. You know, I...nobody likes to see the tip of a roof or, you know, break up the infinity edge, but it's just the unnatural contour of that rock, that craggy feature that I think sticks out to so many people. Even my wife, driving up Haystack, she said, "I never noticed that mountain before, but I notice it now." So I'm confident that we can smooth those edges. We can lighten the color. I don't dis-, I mean, I don't necessarily agree with the comments that said that hillside is ruined forever, because you can restore it to a certain degree. If you look on the west side of 74, you'll see far more visual impediments than you do over at Bighorn. We have a lighted cross up on a hill that couldn't be any more of a beacon, and yet it doesn't seem to be a problem. And if you have a rheostat on your lights, and the City comes up and it's too light, you can turn down your lights. But if you're willing to work with us, we're willing to work with you. And if we have the security and the leverage of being able to take out that sports court, I agree with Mayor Pro Tem Kelly and Councilman Spiegel that I think that's an acceptable compromise. I agree with Councilmember Benson that I am reluctant to take a "wait and see" approach, because that's really what we're doing; and losing a sport court isn't that big of a hammer, to be candid with you. But you seem like an honorable guy. You've worked well with us, and you didn't do anything that we didn't tell you you could do. So I don't think punishing you by telling you can't build a sport court and foregoing the opportunity to get rid of those mitigation measures is a pretty prudent move on our part. So I'm...if there's a motion made that includes two representatives from our Council, I'll be happy to second it. RSK I would...move that we...approval with those conditions. And...I guess I'd volunteer to be one of the members. RAS Could I add that...our attorney make it legally binding? RSK And that the attorney make it legally binding, and if we look into the notice of areas we notice, and that we look into...doing some work on the Hiliside...Ordinance. JF Okay. There's been a motion by Mayor Pro Tem Kelly. Is there a second? Oh I said I'd second it. Second. Please vote. 38 MINUTES REGULAR PALM DESERT CITY COUNCIL MEETING OCTOBER 26, 2006 RSK Did...you agree to be my partner? JF Oh. JF Then let's take care of that little provision, wanna'... RDK Motion carries 3-1, Councilmember Benson voting NO. JF Okay. The motion included Mayor Pro Tem Kelly, but it didn't include another Councilmember. So Bob, would you be willing as part of the landscape committee? RAS I'd be willing to do it. JF Not as part of landscaping committee, but because you're on it, you'd probably be the best person. RSK I'll amend my motion to include Councilmember Spiegel. JF I'II second that amended motion then. Please vote. It just includes Bob. RDK Motion carried 3-1, Councilmember Benson voting NO. JF Okay, let's get to our next item. RAS Before we put issue with that, I would like to suggest that Planning Commissioner Finerty be an ad hoc person that would be available for the meetings. DJE Don't do that. Ask her to appear if you want, and ask her for all of her comments, but don't make her a part of the committee. RAS I didn't say not, no, okay, not as a part of the committee... JF Feel free to invite her. RAS ...but that we, yes, okay, make that an invitation. RSK Yeah, I suggest that she's not a part of the committee. JF Okay. That takes us back to New Business. For purposes of clarification,: Mayor Pro Tem Kelly moved to, by Minute Motion, waive further reading and adopt Resolution No. 06-141, approving Hillside Development Plan/Precise Plan 04-21 Amendment #1, subject to: 1) Applicant working with a City Council Subcommittee consisting of Mayor Pro Tem Kelly and Councilman Spiegel to recommend measures that will mitigate the identified issues to the satisfaction of the City, 39 MINUTES REGULAR PALM DESERT CITY COUNCIL MEETING OCTOBER 26, 2006 with the Applicant agreeing to remove the Sport Court included in said approval if successful resolution is not achieved; 2) said conditions to be memorialized in a legally binding agreement; 3) City to review noticing requirements and its Hillside Ordinance. Motion was seconded by Ferguson and carried by a 3-1 vote, with Benson voting NO. B. REQUEST FOR APPROVAL OFADEVELOPMENTAGREEMENT, ALONG WITH A PRECISE PLAN/CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT, TO ALLOW A NEW, 12-UNIT, 36-KEY BOUTIQUE HOTEL CONDOMINIUM PROJECT LOCATED AT 73-811 LARREA STREET Case Nos. DA 06-01 and PP/CUP 05-20 (Villa Property Developer, LLC, Applicant). Mr. Drell stated this was the same project reviewed by Council some four months ago. At that time, the Applicant had lowered the rear sets of buildings, removing the roof decks, down to 26 feet. The Council was not comfortable amending the zone or creating an overlay zone for hotels in this area and directed staff to prepare a development agreement to accomplish the required modifications to the R-3 Zone specifically for this project. At this point, the project met all development standards of a condominium in the zone, with the exception of the height. It also met all the standards of the hotel requirements in the zone, except that it is 36 keys instead of 18. He said the desire of the market for most condominiums or multi -family projects is to have 9-10 foot plate heights in the interior space, and when applying that to the geometry of a building, you end up with a minimum of 26 feet, which was the height of the rear of this building. The height of the front of the building included the roof deck and was designed to create screening from both exterior and interior view and privacy for both adjacent properties and hotel guests. He said it was staff's perspective that this area has always accommodated hotel use commensurate with the current character of El Paseo, and this was the type of hotel that was necessary. Staff believed that the hotel needed to contain enough amenities in order to be successful and cautioned the City Council about any further modifications to it that would render the hotel unsuccessful. The development agreement was prepared by the City Attorney, implementing the design and conditions that came out of the last set of hearings, and he recommended approval. Councilman Spiegel noted the staff report indicated the apartment building just north of this site was 30 feet tall. Mr. Drell stated with the combination of the height of the building and difference in grade, it was equivalent to 30 feet. Upon further question, he confirmed the subject project would be lower than the adjacent apartment building. He added that he helped change the standards back in 1982 from 30 feet to 24 feet in connection with the approval of One Quail Place. 40 MINUTES REGULAR PALM DESERT CITY COUNCIL MEETING OCTOBER 26, 2006 _ Mayor Ferguson declared the public hearing open and invited testimony in FAVOR OF or in OPPOSITION TO this matter. MR. WILLIAM DeLEEUW, Villa Property Developers, stated since the last meeting there were several options, and the one approved by the Council was to lower the height in the rear with additional direction to meet with the community to try and mitigate some of the other issues. He said he personally contacted all of the homeowners in the area and sent e-mails to many of the residents. He reported the height of the rear building was lowered as agreed. The architect prepared new plans, as well as a three- dimensional computer animation of the entire project; all the neighbors were invited to view it. An attempt to provide an additional meeting at the Architect's office was made, which no one attended. He felt they complied with all the Council's wishes and met with City staff to work out the details of the development agreement. He said that in response to a letter sent to the Planning Commission, which indicated that only one e-mail was sent out, this particular individual had appeared before the Council on previous occasions; and in reading over the minutes and the file, he thought this person was in agreement with their last project. Subsequently, it seemed to be the only person, at that time and throughout meeting with the people, who was opposed to the project. He went on to say there was erroneous information in the letter and wasn't certain she was a property owner or voter of the area. However, the point of her letter dealt significantly with the economics of the project. He said they weren't here for the economics of the project but for the approval of a development agreement, and he said Council's consideration of the project was appreciated. He noted the architect was also available to answer any questions. MR. JUAN CARLOS OCHOA, Architect for the project, offered to answer any questions on the architecture or changes made to the prior design. MR. CARL COX, Shadow Mountain Drive, stated he's lived in Palm Desert for 35 years, prior to Palm Desert becoming a City. He was not against hotels but didn't feel this was the right location for this one — like putting ten pounds in a five -pound bag. He thought desert architecture meant a low silhouette and large overhang; it seemed to him they are now trying to see how high they can go. He lives a few blocks away from the project and tonight was the first time he was able to view it. He expressed his opposition to the project. A member of the public came forward, stating she was speaking on behalf of Ms. Connor Limont. She submitted a copy of a petition with 36 signatures collected from residents in the neighborhood, requesting that City Council enforce the existing height limitations with regard to the proposed boutique hotel on Larrea Street. She read a portion of the petition, which stated a 24- 41 MINUTES REGULAR PALM DESERT CITY COUNCIL MEETING OCTOBER 26, 2006 foot height code was put in place to ensure neighborhood compatibility, but the proposed hotel was simply not compatible with the neighborhood when considering both the proposed height and density. As a neighborhood and a town, they relied on the elected representatives to uphold the height limitations. MS. SUSAN MYRLAND, Shadow Mountain Drive, stated she was the property owner who wrote the letter referred to by Mr. DeLeeuw in his earlier comments. She said she was a property owner twice over, with property on Shadow Mountain Drive and in Marakesh, and a registered voter. She noted back in June, City Council asked the developer to take very seriously Councilmember Benson's concerns regarding height and density and to do a better job of communicating with the residents. The developer did not make any changes in the height or density, and only chose one of the two options that were presented, not several. He sent an e-mail to one resident, inviting her to see plans that she'd already seen. Personally, she lived immediately adjacent to the project, spoke to her neighbors on both sides, and was told they did not receive any notification. She felt the developer played the Council, and that type of behavior should not be allowed or rewarded. She said this was an opportunity for the Council to send a message on how the City does business and what's expected from developers in the way of compliance. She said it was still the same 36-key hotel, not 12 condominiums. She said the staff report states it would not be sold as condominiums and would operate as a hotel in a space smaller than an acre, and the zoning for that space would be 16-17 units --the same squished project the Architectural Review Commission and Councilmember Benson expressed their concerns about. The project was still higher than the zoning and represented an exception to the General Plan. She felt there were still many questions and unresolved issues, like whether it would be sold to 12, 18, or 36 people; who would oversee it once it's sold, and who will enforce the underground parking. She believed there were still many red flags and loopholes in this project, and that concerned many in the neighborhood. Ultimately, she said the developer bought the property knowing the existing zoning and thought he could make it pencil out. She asked why the Council would start bending the rules; she bought her property as it was zoned and was not asking to make it taller. This project had the potential to grow out of control, like the Hagadone house, and those residents asked the Council not to let it happen again. She said the answer would be to enforce the existing zoning and to stick to the rules that have made the area valuable. She presented a petition with 30 signatures from her neighbors in the buildings immediately next to this project, and she collected those signatures in an hours' worth of time the previous day. Those individuals expressed concern about the project, whether rules will be bent for it, asking the Council to enforce the existing zoning, and about the lack of notification for the case. 42 MINUTES REGULAR PALM DESERT CITY COUNCIL MEETING OCTOBER 26, 2006 MR. JOHN HEDGES, Juniper Street, stated he lived a couple of blocks away from the project and was not notified. He was appalled that the City was trying to put too much in a small space; a 36-key room in that space was ridiculous, especially in that neighborhood, which was low in height with desert -looking homes. This project would be like taking the Mojave and making it a three-story unit on the corner of Shadow Mountain. He said if the developer came back with a proposal on a smaller scale, everyone would nod their heads. MS. DEBORAH HALL, Joshua Tree Street, stated she received the e-mail from the developer but, unfortunately, was in New Zealand at the time. She said the 300-foot notification about the hotel was an issue and pointed out that it was also an issue with the Hagadone Project. She said 300 feet was not enough and asked the Council to consider revising it, so that those impacted by traffic or noise can be notified. She suggested having staff go out to the project site and made a judgement as to what distance would be appropriate. At the previous City Council meeting, she asked who would monitor the project, and after hearing about the Hagadone house, she now wanted City Council's personal assurance to the residents. She wanted the City Council to hold the developer to what is approved and that someone will be out there monitoring the project to avoid any surprises. She was supportive of moving forward and building in the City, noting her business was real estate investment, but she was also concerned about investment in the community. She wanted the community to continue to grow and attract the type of people to Palm Desert who were interested in its beauty, convenience, and open space. She asked that the Council use their good judgment to do the things that keep the City beautiful and make the project conform to the -height and size requirements or not vote for it. MS. NANCY LEPPERT, Shadow Mountain Drive, stated she lived kitty- corner to the proposed project. Her opposition to the project was with allowing variances to the current zoning laws regarding the density and height. She requested the Council to vote against the project and have the developer go back to the drawing table to create something new. She agreed this could be compared to the Hagadone situation and opposed. Council approving such an opened -ended project. MS. SUSAN MYRLAND returned to provide a copy of the letter given to the Mayor and Councilmember Benson earlier. She also stated that the letter noted by Mr. DeLeeuw was not sent to the Planning Commission but to Tony Bagato and stated she stood behind everything that was included in it. She noted that she did not agree or support the project when it was presented in June and felt the project was a mistake from the beginning. 43 MINUTES REGULAR PALM DESERT CITY COUNCIL MEETING OCTOBER 26, 2006 MR. ALIBABA FARZANEH, Rancho Mirage, CA, said he didn't know the developer but felt the architecture of the bgilding was beautiful. He felt it went with the desert because it had a Moroccan style. Regarding the land issue, he said ne had a three-story, 130-room hotel in Burbank on a one -acre land; the size of the land should not really matter, but he could not speak on the proximity of the residents' homes. He said he lived in Palm Desert for 24 years and always thought El Paseo was a region that should be mixed use. He thought the project fit perfectly for the area and would be good for El Paseo to have a hotel component. He said City comments were always geared towards retail but felt that El Paseo was lacking hotels within walking distance. He said he attempted to develop a hotel on El Paseo for the last 14 years but unfortunately was not able to. He commended the developer and thought the project fit well in the area. MS. KIM HOUSKEN, Somera, Palm Desert, stated she concurred with others who spoke earlier to the density and height. She felt compelled to speak after hearing a comment made by staff, cautioning the City Council against modifying the project because it would not be good for the Applicant. She felt the Council was to look out for the residents of the City; the Applicant was not a resident of the City. She encouraged the Council to consider what the residents wanted and not be dictated by what was or wasn't good for the Applicant. MR. DeLEEUW, pointed out the density was exactly what was allowed by the zoning code. He said that as a condominium project, density would not even be discussed. Right now the parking was underground, with a much less dense project than it was before, and he had explained it in his letters to Ms. Myrland. He apologized for his comment that Ms. Myrland was not a resident of Palm Desert, but the tax records did not indicate she was a property owner in Palm Desert. He said they have done all they could to comply, not only in the spirit but with full and total intent to honor the specifications requested at the last City Council meeting. MR. OCHOA, stated he was the architect of the project and affirmed that it was changed and revised, which was reflected in the latest exhibits submitted to the Council. With respect to the amenities, the interior open - space was a major amenity they wanted the tenants to enjoy, which perhaps he thought was not adequately portrayed in the elevations. Mayor Ferguson pointed out that the staff report clearly indicated the height was lowered. With no further public testimony offered, Mayor Ferguson declared the public hearing closed. 44 MINUTES REGULAR PALM DESERT CITY COUNCIL MEETING OCTOBER 26, 2006 Councilmember Benson stated she voted against it the last time, and would do so again. She said she was not concerned with the number of rooms but that it was the wrong project for that location. She also didn't feel hotels needed to be built around Larrea, especially when it impacts a residential community that close to the project. She didn't believe a few people would make a huge impact on El Paseo just because they were out sunning and golfing. Councilman Spiegel said the project area was blighted and awful. Currently, there were three large pads with sand and a concrete wall that did nothing for the City. He said the project would have no additional parking because it would all be underground; it did not include a restaurant, which would support the existing ones on El Paseo; and the pools were taken off the roof deck as requested. He acknowledged that the height of the building was two feet over the current zone, but the adjacent building, built many years ago, was four feet higher than what's now being requested. He thought it was a pretty good project. Mayor Pro Tem Kelly stated he was impressed there would be no vehicles parked on the surface, no restaurant, and no meeting rooms. He said if the project was an apartment house, it would be a larger impact than it would be with a hotel line. He failed to see how it was not an ideal location for this type of a hotel to support that particular area. He felt it was a good project. Mayor Ferguson said he couldn't support the project. He acknowledged requesting the developer to specifically work with the neighbors and commented that it clearly didn't work out, noting the residents are smarter than what they are given credit for —they read and do their research. He felt that an overwhelming amount of people, not only the ones who were present for the meeting but who have called and written, pleaded for him not to approve the project. He would be remiss to approve something in the middle of a residential neighborhood that clearly was not wanted. He said he was aware of the fact that developers want to put hotels on El Paseo and personally felt a hotel fronting on El Paseo made more sense —maybe farther away from the residences. He said he would love to see the T.O.T./Sales Tax, that only helped the City's revenues, but he was not willing to sell Palm Desert, and if he voted in favor of the project, he would be doing that. In response to Mayor Ferguson's comment, Councilman Spiegel explained that his comments regarding approval of the project was not only to get T.O.T. /Sales Tax. He reiterated that it was a blighted area of the City and needed attention. Mayor Pro Tem Kelly stated that motels were located one block farther into the residential area; what is being called a residential area is mostly 45 MINUTES REGULAR PALM DESERT CITY COUNCIL MEETING OCTOBER 26, 2006 apartments and motels. He said he lived in that neighborhood and traveled around there. Over the years, the Council tried to figure out what to do about parking areas and what to do to hide the vehicles. The City's never had a project that was going to be built with no vehicles showing. He thought it was an ideal situation and would like to see more projects in the City with underground parking. Councilman Spiegel agreed. Councilmember Benson agreed but would like to see the underground parking in the right place. Councilman Spiegel moved to waive further reading and: 1) Pass Ordinance No. 1128 to second reading, approving Development Agreement No. 06-01; 2) adopt Resolution No. 06-142, approving Precise Plan No. 05-20, subject to conditions. Motion was seconded by Kelly and received NO ACTION on a 2-2 vote, with Kelly and Spiegel voting AYE, Benson and Ferguson voting NO. Mayor Ferguson noted that a NO ACTION vote was not a denial but suspected that if there was a motion to deny, the results would be the same. MR. DeLEEUW wondered if lack of support was due to the hotel use because the project was designed as a condominium project. He said they would be back with the same project as a condominium project that would be virtually identical. He said today's request was for a Conditional Use Permit and a Development Agreement to operate as a hotel. He stated they did not have to operate it as a hotel and, if appropriate, wondered if the project could be voted on simply as a condominium project. He thought once built in the future if they wanted to convert it, they would come back. Mayor Ferguson directed Mr. DeLeeuw to go back to the Planning Commission to ask them and get their input on Architectural Review and bring back to the City Council as a condominium project. MR. DeLEEUW asked if that process was required, since it was already approved as a project. The reason they were here was for approval on a development agreement to upgrade as a hotel. Mr. Drell stated it was the same situation, and the other alternative was to wait for a fifth vote when the City Council had a fifth member. In response to comment, he said the application contained several parts. First is the physical configuration of the buildings, and secondly, was the use of the building. The Council can approve a portion of that application. It can approve the configuration of the buildings, the use of the 12-unit condominiums and not approve the exception on the density for a hotel, which was 18 instead of 36. It can be approved as a 12-unit condominium. The Applicant was trying to say that the project would be identical in all 46 MINUTES REGULAR PALM DESERT CITY COUNCIL MEETING OCTOBER 26, 2006 respects in terms of physical appearance, site planning, and architectural design and wondered whether the Council could approve a development agreement modified to delete the reference to a hotel. Mayor Pro Tem Kelly suspected that if that was changed, it would have to go back through the Planning Commission process. Mayor Ferguson thought Mr. Drell's first suggestion was the best route, to wait for a full Council. Mr. Drell suggested a continuance until January. Upon further question by Mayor Pro Tem Kelly, Mr. Erwin explained that he didn't know if the notice was sufficient to allow the Council to consider the item without having it go back through the hearing process before the Planning Commission. Mayor Ferguson said it wouldn't make a difference either way and suggested continuing the item. Mr. Drell agreed that if it didn't make a difference, a better solution would be to continue for two months to the first meeting in January. Councilman Spiegel moved to continue the matter to the first meeting in January. Motion was seconded by Ferguson and received NO ACTION on a 2-2 vote, with Spiegel and Ferguson voting AYE, Benson and Kelly voting NO. Mr. Drell stated that a NO ACTION would continue the item, and it would need to come back on the agenda every time unless its continued to a date certain. MR. JUAN CARLOS OCHOA welcomed everyone to meet again, if they so desired, to clear up whatever issues remain in order to get a vote one way or the other. Mayor Ferguson thought that was a good idea. Councilman Spiegel suggested the Mayor provide a copy of the petition to the developer, so that they can contact the residents. He asked the City Clerk to provide copies of the petition tomorrow afternoon. 47 MINUTES REGULAR PALM DESERT CITY COUNCIL MEETING OCTOBER 26, 2006 XIV. REPORTS AND REMARKS A. CITY MANAGER None B. CITY ATTORNEY Mr. Erwin asked that when the City Council adjourns this meeting to October 31, the agenda include a Request for Closed Session with 2 cases of potential litigation pursuant to Government Code Section 54956.9(b). C. CITY CLERK 1. Reminder to Adjourn this Meeting to October 31, 2006, at 1:00 p.m. for the Purpose of Conducting a Public Hearing Relative to Adopting a New Transportation Uniform Mitigation Fee (TUMF). Mrs. Klassen noted the reminder. D. PUBLIC SAFETY o Fire Department None o Police Department None E. MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL o City Council Requests for Action: 1. Consideration of Request for Funding by R.S.V.P. for its Recognition Luncheon (Mayor Jim Ferguson). Councilman Spiegel moved to, by Minute Motion, approve the funding request in the amount of $2,200 by R.S.V.P. Motion was seconded by Kelly and carried by a 4-0 vote. 48 MINUTES REGULAR PALM DESERT CITY COUNCIL MEETING OCTOBER 26, 2006 o City Council Committee Reports: 1. SunLine — Councilman Spiegel reported that 17-year SunLine employee Dennis Gilman would be retiring effective tomorrow. Additionally, he noted that there have been recent news reports of a possible bus driver strike. He noted that a wage increase had been approved by both the SunLine Board and the bus drivers; however, the union's representative has not yet agreed to sign the resulting agreement. Although, based on the Board's approval for the increase, it has given General Manager Mike Oglesby authority to sign the agreement, and its terms will be retroactive from that date. o City Council Comments: None XV. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS - C None — XVI. ADJOURNMENT With City Council concurrence, Mayor Ferguson adjourned the meeting at 6:52 p.m. to Tuesday, October 31, 2006, at 1:00 p.m. ATTEST: RACHELLE D. KLASSE N, CITY CLER CITY OF PALM DESERT, CALIFORNIA 49