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Home My WebLink AboutSR 10/25/07 - PD Mobile Estates Agmt for Lndscpg/Screening ��,--� CITY OF PALM DESERT � � DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT STAFF REPORT REQUEST: Consideration of an agreement for the landscaping/screening of Palm Desert Mobile Estates (Contract No. C26960). SUBMITTED BY: H. Spencer Knight ��q�� -(J� Landscape Manager �.,/ ------- F�J CU�dTft��;��J TC3,�.�,� -_l�— D� DATE: October 25, 2007 � F��j� �� ,��,�� Recommendation: By Minute Motion, that the City Council: 1. Direct staff to solicit competitive bids to install 15-foot high chain link fencing with screen cloth plus appropriate landscaping; 2. Appropriate necessary funds for the project in an amount not to exceed $100,000 to Account No. 400-4614-433-4001; 3. Submit application for a Conditional Use Permit for the subject chain link fencing; and 4. Authorize the City Manager to negotiate agreements for cost sharing of installation and maintenance of the fencing and landscaping between the City of Palm Desert, the Coachella Valley Water District, Chaparral Homeowners Association; and the Palm Desert Mobile Estates. Background: Residents of the Chaparral Country Club have complained that CVWD's removal of tamarisk trees on the south side of the Palm Valley Storm Channel has exposed an unsightly storage yard to view. The storage yard is an RV storage rental facility that is within the boundaries of the Palm Desert Mobile Estates mobile home park. In response to a request from City Council members, staff investigated two options that would provide landscaped screening of the storage area. The two options used different size plant material and were estimated to cost $85,000 and $250,000. Staff Report Palm Desert Mobile Estates Landscaping/Screening Agreement (Contract No. C26960) Page 2 October 25, 2007 The amount of time required for the plant material to provide adequate screening was unacceptable to Chaparral Country Club representatives and they advanced a proposal to use a chain link fence with screening material (similar to that used around tennis courts). At its 27 September 2007 meeting, the City Council directed staff to look into this option, and to provide input regarding potential costs and the required public hearing and approval process. Cost: The Chaparral Country Club representatives requested a fifteen foot high fence. Screen material comes in standard sizes that do not include a fifteen foot width. Therefore, the cost estimates that staff received and that are presented here are based upon a fifteen-foot high chain link fence with twelve feet of material screening. The screening material is considered to provide 100 % obscurity and is beige in color. The estimates are as follows: Sam's Fence - $61,836; Allen Fence - $44,620; Griffith's Fence - $61,000. Hearing and Approval Process: In Palm Desert, a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) is required in order to construct chain link fences in lieu of walls. The CUP requires that a public hearing be held in front of the Planning Commission. However, exceptions to this requirement of the municipal code (25.56.195.D.5) can be granted by the Architectural Review Commission (ARC) if the ARC finds that unusual circumstances exist making the "literal requirements impractical or contrary to the purpose of the ordinance". For an exception, the ARC must also find that the exception will not result in damage to adjacent properties. For either a CUP or an exception, nearby property owners must be informed of the application in advance of the meeting so that they have a chance to make their concerns known. Because of the expanse of wall needed to screen the RV storage area and the cost associated with that wall, staff could recommend to the ARC that an exception be granted to the wall requirement in this instance. However, staff believes that the visual appearance of the screened fence would deteriorate dramatically over time, and would not recommend approval as a permanent solution to the ARC unless landscaping were added, and the fence were required to be removed when the landscape material filled in. Regardless of whether a CUP from the Planning Commission or an exception from the Architectural Review Commission is sought, the completed application will take approximately four to six weeks to process, including notification and appeals periods. Worddocs/tm/citycouncilstaffreports/PalmDesertMobileEstates Staff Report Palm Desert Mobile Estates Landscaping/Screening Agreement (Contract No. C26960) Page 3 October 25, 2007 Recommended Solution: As stated above, staff is of the opinion that the chain link fence will deteriorate significantly over the short term due to climatic conditions (wind and UV exposure) and will not provide an economically sustainable long-term solution. To obtain the level of screening desired by the residents of Chaparral Country Club, it is staff's opinion that the combined use of chain link fence and plant material will provide for both short-term screening (chain link fence) and long-term screening (plant material), provided that the screening is removed in approximately five years when the landscaping fills in. If a CUP is approved by the Planning Commission, a screened fifteen foot chain link fence can be constructed within the following budget estimate: Chain link fence with 15' screening material $ 65,000 Plant Material (150 — 5 gallon plants, installed) $ 3,000 IrrlgatlOn SyStem (does not include water meter—CVWD to provide) $ 8,000 Permits, soft costs, and contingency 24 000 Total $100,000 Cost Sharing: Council members suggested that the expense for this screening be shared four ways by Palm Desert Mobile Estates, Chaparral Country Club, the Coachella Valley Water District and the City of Palm Desert. The manager for the mobile home park has responded to a past request for screening with an agreement to provide one gallon plants at a cost of $3,000. Any additional costs, including continued maintenance of the plant material, would be in the form of capital improvement to be passed on to the residents. Staff contacted Mr. Chuck Autterson representing the Chaparral Country Club HOA, and he indicated that the HOA would be willing to contribute 25% of costs up to a total project cost of $50,000. If the project costs are greater than $50,000, additional approval is required from the HOA board. In conversations with the City Manger, the Manager/Chief Engineer of the Coachella Valley Water District (CVWD) indicated that he would recommend to CVWD's board a cost share of $25,000 and provide and install the water meter for the recommended solution. W orddocs/tm/citycouncilstaffreports/Palm DesertMobileEstates Staff Report Palm Desert Mobile Estates Landscaping/Screening Agreement (Contract No. C26960) Page 4 October 25, 2007 In consideration of the forgoing, staff requests authorization to finalize a cost sharing agreement between parties, appropriate funding, submit application for a Conditional Use Permit, and solicit competitive bids for the fencing and landscaping. Staff will return for approval of the cost sharing agreements and award of bid after the agreements are finalized. Submitted By: Depa m t ead: H Sp nc ght Mark Gree wood L ds ape nager Director of Public Works Approval: Approval: Homer L. Croy Paul Gibson ACM for Development Services Director of Finance Approval: Carlos L. Ort a City Manager W orddocs/tm/citycouncilstaffreports/Pal m DesertMobileEstates �� . . Chaparral �lssocZation October 22, 200� Honorable Richard S. Kelly Mayor ,,,,, � City of Palm Desert � �-, 73-510 Fred Waring Drive � �� Palm Desert, California 92260 —+ �r-z� � Q�� c,� r�'�r�� RE: Palm Desert Mobile Estates Screening � �'�� pa Dear Mr. Mayor, ' r,� w n� v� The City's staff along with the Association's Adhoc Restore Our View committee has spent�' countless hours working to find a solution to screening the storage lot of Palm Desert Mobile Estates from public view. Our committee was happy to have a part in exploring different options and hope we were helpful in obtaining proposals. Unfortunately, there may be a misunderstanding that we would like to take this opportunity to clarify. The reason we took part in the process of suggesting different options and obtaining proposals was that we wanted to help find a solution at minimal cost to the responsible parties. Please be aware that the association cannot contribute monetarily as we did not cause, nor were we part of the problem. Please understand that we do not feel that the City caused the problem either, and thank you for your many attempts to make corrections with Palm Desert Mobile Estates. The Adhoc Restore Our View committee was appointed by the Association's Board of Directors to obtain information and to interface with PDME, the �ity of Falm Desert and CVWD. They were advisors on this screening issue to the Board and had no financial or other decision making authority. Charles Autterson was appointed Adhoc committee chairman and Rudy Friedrich was a member of the committee. They are not members of the Chaparral Association Board of Directors. At this time, it is the consensus of the Board that the Adhoc Restore Our View committee has contributed as much as they can and therefore will be disbanded. The committee's research has resulted in many possible solutions such as a i2 foot high wall, a landscaped tree line and/ or a tennis type fence. They are also in favor of removal of the trailer storage lot coupled with providing screening. 75061 Me�titerrar�ean, Sc�ite B, Palm Desert, CA (760) 346-9000 P.O. Box 12920, P��lm Desert, CA 92255 Fax(760) 346-999? Honorable Richard S. Kelly RE: Palm Desert Mobile Estates Screening October 22, 200� Page 2 of 2 All of the residents of Chaparral take pride in living in Palm Desert and feel that our City government and its employees are the best in the Valley. I am truly sorry for any inconvenience that the miscommunications may have caused and wish to apologize on behalf of the Chaparral Board of Directors. I am hopeful that you will keep me informed of the progression of the screening situation for Palm Desert Mobile Estates. Please direct any and all future correspondence to Chaparral Association Board of Directors, Attention Joe Diehl, President, C/O Albert Association Management at the address listed below. Sincerely, I��(" sL��/�=E'_� � � Joe Diehl, President Chaparral Association CC: Carlos Ortega, City Manager Homer Croy,Assistant City Manager, Development Services Chaparral Association Board of Directors