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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Landscape Beautification Committee 06-18-2008 �,��,� CITY OF PALM DESERT � MINUTES �' LANDSCAPE BEAUTIFICATION COMMITTEE ADJOURNED REGULAR MEETING Wednesday, June 18, 2008 - 11:30 a.m. Public Works Conference Room - Palm Desert Civic Center 73-510 Fred Waring Drive, Palm Desert, California 92260 I. Call to Order 11:30 a.m. It. Roll Call Present: Absent: Chairman H. Spencer Knight Member Martin Alvarez Vice-Chairman Lauri Aylaian CITY COUNCIL ACTION: Member Homer Croy �PPROVED DENIED Member Mark Greenwood RECET�I�L� - OTHER —"`-'" Member Richard S. Kelly ,;, �;- �j,n Member Connor Limont M�~����`' �''�``'�-- .���1�;�: Member Carlos L. Ortega rro�;�s Member Bob Spiegel ��s�;r��A��� -- Member Janis Steele ��STAZN� -�— --- VERIFIEI7� BY: — Also Present: Qrigina� an k'i.�e cvi ity C1.erk's OfficR Diane Hollinger, Landscape Specialist �lart Ponder, Code Compliance Man�ger Bertha A. Gonzalez, Recording Secretary Guest s : Susan Belleville, Marriott Desert Springs Villas Chris Gianni, David Evans and Associates Glen N. Knorr, Marriott Desert Springs Villas Rob Parker, RGA Landscape Architect III. Oral Communications Member Spiegel asked for status on the sister City trees that were to be installed at the entrance to the Council Chambers. Member Knight informed the Committee that staff is working on the scope of work and will present it at the next scheduled meeting. APPROVED MINUTES LANDSCAPE BEAUTIFICATION COMMITTEE June 18, 2008 IV. Consent Calendar A. MINUTES of the Regular Landscape Beautification Committee Meeting of May 21, 2008. Approve as presented. Upon a motion by Member Spiegel, second by Member Limont, and 9-0 vote of the Committee Board, the Consent Calendar was approved as presented. V. Consent Items Held Over None VI. New Business A. Marriott Desert Sprinqs Villas Landscape Renovation Glen Knorr and Susanne Belleville, Director of Engineering and General Manager of Marriott Desert Springs Villas, seek the Committee's approval of the preliminary plan for their landscape renovation project. Last year their staff began addressing the water issues of the future with the board and they were given direction to seek out a landscape architect to redesign the grounds. Their main objectives are to improve the overall appearance and reduce the turf by half. Ron Gregory from RGA Landscape Architects was hired to do the redesign and Rob Parker of the Marriott Desert Springs Villas conducted the presentation. Highlights of the project included: • Entry Area — Adding medians, replacing the palms with Palo Verde trees and installing plant material that will not obscure the mountain views. • The two fountains at the Cook Street entrance will be replaced with desert landscape because of their low visibility and high maintenance. The wall behind the fountains will be removed or buffered and small scale plant material will be installed. • Fountain Area - replacing the shrubs with softer plant material, keeping the annual color, correcting erosion problems, removing turF and installing rock that will mimic the look of the water feature. • Clubhouse Building Entrance — Installing large scale plant material, removing the bougainvilleas and adding mounding • Parking areas - removing non-active turf areas and installing shade trees; installing shade structures in order to screen the tram stop. 2 APPROVED MINUTES LANDSCAPE BEAUTIFICATION COMMITTEE June 18, 2008 • Phase 1 Building - removing 50 percent of the turF around the buildings and installing shade trees; addressing the privacy issues by installing mid-level shrubs in order to provide a sense of enclosure; replacing the turf on the slope areas with desert plants, boulders and ground cover. • Phase 2 Building — Removing Desert Willow trees that do not provide intended shading, adding mid-level plants, removing the turf and installing plant material, and pulling planting close to the barbeque areas. Concerns with the project included: • The Committee believed the photos show the plant material to be too symmetrical. According to Mr. Parks, it will not be installed in that manner. • Marriott's staff is currently entertaining a vendor that is setting a proposal to install solar panels. The proposal will then be presented to the board; the Committee asked to be kept informed of the outcome. • Overspray issues will be addressed as they move forward with the project. The anticipated water savings have not been looked at specifically, but they estimate a reduction of 35 percent water usage. Upon a motion from Member Limont, second by Member Aylaian and a 9-0 vote of the Committee Board, the project was approved as presented. B. Monterev Avenue Median Landscape and Art Proiect Concept Landscape Concept - The project is located at the intersection of Dinah Shore Drive and Monterey Avenue. It's comprised of center concrete median and two side slopes. Chris Gianni of David Evans and Associates presented the highlights of the project as follows: • Medians - Four proposed sculpture locations; vertical elements include: palms, rock cobble, large boulder and glass cobble, Ocotillos, blue palms and taller cactus species. • Slopes — Installing large spreading plant material; large trees; water efficient irrigation; and suggestion to install mulch material to assist with stabilization. • Top of Slopes — installing decorative cobble or mulch • Reclaim City right-of- away turf corner and install color with cobble and plant material. Staff will work with Costco to remove the oleanders. 3 APPROVED MINUTES LANDSCAPE BEAUTIFICATION COMMITTEE June 18, 2008 Concerns: • Large yellow crash barrels need to be kept in their current locations, but Committee asked if they could be made to blend with the plant material and have reflective bands around them. • The Committee requested Mr. Gianni to find out if the guard rail that Caltrans installed could be removed. • Member Knight informed the Committee that the wind issue is being addressed by not installing decomposed granite and installing the type of plants that will to cover about 70 percent of the slope. • The City hopes Costco will allow the City crew to have a backdoor access for maintenance of the slopes in order not to impede with the flow of traffic. • Concern with the cost increase if pockets and wells are installed was expressed, but dismissed. Staff will do a scope and present it to the Committee. • The plant material could be spread out in order to avoid the symmetrical look, but it's been installed with the intention of preventing erosion. • The photos show the planting to be over the City standards. Per Mr. Gianni, the plants are shown at 90% growth and the intention is to cover the slope and protect it from erosion. Upon a motion by Member Limont, second by Member Ortega and a 9-0 vote of the Committee Board, the project was approved with the conditions to alternate species in order to minimize the symmetrical appearance and increase spacing of plants to normal standard where erosion is not a problem. Art Concept - The intent of the architect for the proposed art feature on the Monterey center median is to represent a mirage of animals marching towards the City. Member Knight presented the Committee with photos of the proposed art features and a vote was taken: • Lizards • Boulders and agaves • Giraffes • Direct the architect to develop other options Upon a motion by Member Spiegel, second by Member Ortega and an 8-1 vote of the Committee Board with Member Kelly opposing, staff was directed to have the architect develop other options. 4 APPROVED MINUTES LANDSCAPE BEAUTIFICATION COMMITTEE June 18, 2008 C. Microchip Implanting on Landscape Specimen Plant Material Member Knight informed the Committee that �pproximately $20,000 worth of plant material has been stolen from the City. Although some of the plants have been recovered, he presented a proposal to microchip the City's plant material in order to have a better recovery rate on stolen plants and opened the item for discussion. The cost will be $3,000 for the first 100 plants and $10 for each additional plant. He also informed the Committee that cases of stolen plants have decreased since The Desert Sun printed an inaccurate article stating microchips had already been installed in the City's plants. Upon a motion by Member Limont, second by Member Spiegel and a 9-0 vote of the Committee Board, staff was directed to microchip high value plants and high target areas only. D. Renovation of Older City Median Landscapes City staff is currently in the process of infilling and changing some of the character, in a limited way, of some of the older medians in the City. Member Knight posted the question, "Should missing plant material be replaced with plant material from the original design or with a different species?" Upon a motion by Member Spiegel, second by Member Aylaian and a 9-0 vote of the Committee Board, staff was directed to replace the missing plant material with the existing plant species. VII. Continued Business None VIII. Old Business None IX. Reports and Remarks - Member Ortega stated that the Hwy 111 medians are not within character with the rest of the City medians. Staff will add the renovation of Hwy 111 median to their list of future projects. - The residence located at the s/w corner of Kansas and Hovley Lane East has been a victim of a number of accidents; the most current one happened last week. The house has been repossessed two times and is 5 � , , APPROVED MINUTES LANDSCAPE BEAUTIFICATION COMMITTEE June 18, 2008 currently under foreciosure. Member Greenwood suggested that the City purchase the property and install a landscape area in order to prevent accidents against property. The Committee agreed and directed staff to place the item on the upcoming City Council Meeting under Close Session. X. Adjournment With no further business or discussion, and Landscape Beautification Committee Board concurrence, the meeting was adjourned at 12:50 p.m. H. S enc r Kni h , andscape Manager ATTEST: rtha A. Go lez, cording cretary Landscape Beautification Com ittee 6