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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08-02-1988 Planning Commission Minutes CITY OF SARATOGA PLANNING COMMISSION REPORT DATE: Tuesday, August 2, 1988 - 7:30 p.m. PLACE: Community Center Arts & Crafts Room, 19655 Allendale Ave. TYPE: Committee-of-the-Whole Roll Call - Present: Commissioners Guch, Burger, Kolstad, Harris, Tappan, Siegfried Absent: Commissioner Tucker Staff: Planners Caldwell, Young, Adar and City Manager Peacock I. ITEMS OF DISCUSSION A. Discussion of resubmittal of application for City-owned site at Cox and Saratoga-Sunnyvale Road. Mr. Hulberg, applicant~ presented his revised plans. The townhomes had been reduced from 10 to 8 and guest parking spaces increased to nine spaces. The' setback for the southeast unit has been increased from twelve to twenty two feet; the rear yard has increased from eighteen to thirty one feet. The eastern units are increased by 200 sq. ft. in area. The pool/recreation area has been expanded and more landscaping added. The commercial building at the corner was eliminated and the total square footage of Commercial space has been reduced by 2,100 sq. ft. The northerly driveway was relocated 30' southerly, 190' from the closest driveway. Mr. Black, traffic engineer, stated that 190' is an acceptable distance between driveways. The Committee commented as follows: 1. The reduced density of the townhomes and elimination of the corner retail building was good. 2. The third driveway along the commercial frontage was a concern (Burger, Harris, Tucker). 3. The 200' length of the retail building should be addressed. The applicant should prepare an elevation showing the landscaping along the front. 4. Consider tall plants along the eastern property line to protect the view of the single family residences to the east. 5. Pool lights should. be limited to 6 ft. in height and directed towards the ground. 1 Committee-of-the-Whole Report 8/2/88 Page 2 B. Discussion of plan for City Council/Planning Commission involvement with new development (Susan Guch). All Councilmembers except Peterson were present to participate in the discussion. Chairperson Guch referenced a recent meeting, called by the Mayor, to discuss a new project with the applicants at the Odd Fellows Home with the applicants. The meeting suggested questions that the Chair felt the Planning Commission and City Council should discuss regarding master planning for the City. These questions include: 1) does the Council foresee lots of projects to be master planned, 2) what size projects should be master planned, 3) at what point does the Council/Commission joint meetings kick in, 4) to what extent does the Council want to be involved in projects not on City-owned land? The Commission cited past examples where early consultation gave developers a false idea of what was possible (Owens project). The Commission expressed concern that the perception of citizens was that a decision was made before a hearing was conducted. .Generally, the Planning Commission and City Council felt that master planning larger projects was a good idea. The neighbors of the Odd Fellows wanted to see a master plan. Mr. Peacock, City Manager, stated that by the time the tentative map for San Marcos Heights was completed, the IOOF should have their master plan finished so that all the neighbors would know what to expect prior to building their home. The Planning Commission/City Council agreed that; 1) more frequent joint meetings between the bodies were desirable to exchange ideas, 2) a policy regarding master planning would have to be discussed and set by the Council, 3) the Planning Commission would continue to follow the policies set by the Council, and 4) the Commission would do the actual land use planning for the City, following Council policy, 5) lines of responsibility between PlanninE Commission and City Council would not be blurred. C. Discussion of Design Review Handbook Associate Planner Young noted that staff had completed the second draft of the Handbook, which had been sent to the Commission for review prior to this meeting. She stated that the comments made at the retreat in January had been incorporated into the document. She also showed paper and ink samples to be used in printing the Handbook. The Commission was very pleased with the second draft. There was concensus to leave the paper and ink selection to staff's judgment. The Commission decided to go through the Handbook briefly, to give staff final changes and 2 Committee-of-the-Whole Report 8/2/88 Page 3 corrections, as follows: p. 7 - Make grade appear more similar in diagrams. p. 13 - Show retaining wall more clearly in "Yes" diagram. p. 15 - Take out satellite dish in "Yes" diagram. p. 16 - Re-write sentence on chain link fences. p. 17 - Delete fifth diagram down from top of page. p. 20 - Re-write first "Do's" sentence. p. 23 - Re-write first "Do's" sentence; add space between word "maybe" in first "Don't's sentence; add "Don't" sentence about lighting in hillsides. p. 27 - Re-write technique heading. p. 32 - Add sentence about substandard lot setbacks to Table 1. p. 34 - Add definition of hillside lots to Table 3. p. 37 - Finish fence regulations page. There was concensus to not have additional study sessions on the Handbook, but to go directly to a public hearing after the changes are made. Notification will be sent to the community mailing list and architects/designers originally interested in the project. D. Review of Civic Center Master Plan (Harry Peacock) The City Manager presented two conceptual plans for the Civic Center prepared by the architectural consultants. He noted the City Council reviewed them and asked for Planning Commission input. There was Commission agreement with the Council's feeling that some of the features of each plan be incorporated into one. II. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 10:15 p.m. Respectfully submitted Valerie Young 3