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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-22-1992 Planning Commission minutes- CITY OF SARATOGA PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES April 22, 1992 - 7:30 p.m. City Council Chambers, 13777 Fruitvale Ave. Regular Meeting The meeting was called to order by Chairperson Caldwell at 7:30 p.m. ROLL CALL Present: Chairperson Caldwell, Commissioners Favero, Forbes, Tucker, Bogosian, Moran and Durket (Commissioner Durket arrived at 7:33 p.m. as noted) Absent: None Commissioner Durket arrived at 7:33 p.m. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE MINUTES Minutes of April 7, 1992 Chairperson Caldwell had the following corrections: Page 3, paragraph 1, 6th line up, the words "house size" should be replaced with the words "living area of the house". Page 6, paragraph 3 from the bottom of the page should read: "Chairperson Caldwell expressed concern about the limited visibility from the perspective of a driver at the corner where the facility is located, and safety issues. She stated the neighbors have addressed the issue of increased noise associated with doubling the number of children at the facility and staff should..." Page 6, the motion made by Favero/Bogosian, finding 1 should have the word "Regulation" added after Zoning. Page 10, middle of the page, second paragraph that begins with Chairperson Caldwell, should read: "Chairperson Caldwell stated there is a continual problem with the Commission noticing practice and suggested this be addressed at a study session." Commissioner Bogosian had the following changes: Page 4, second paragraph, fourth line, should read: "He noted that the applicant had not pursued studies for. drainage etc. and now he should investigate the possibility of lowering the building." Plannin Commission Mir~iGres 9 Meeting of April 22, 1992 Page Two --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Page 7, second paragraph down from Item 6, the paragraph should read: "In response to Commissioner Bogosian's question about winter grading provisions, Ms. Adar stated..." BOGOSIAN/FAVERO MOVED TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF APRIL 7, 1992, AS AMENDED ABOVE. Passed 4-0-3 (Comm. Durket, Forbes and Tucker abstained.) ORAL COMMUNICATIONS Ray Sinsley, 12280 Farr Ranch Road, spoke in regard to the house at 15229 Keydora which he is presently constructing. He stated that the parcel was a result of a 3-lot split and after the approval was granted, the Planning Commission in reviewing the landscaping plans granted the developer at the time, Peter Olsen, permission to save the old Adobe wall and move it into the easement. When Mr. Sinsley began building the house he discovered that the wall was not accurately identified on the map. He received a red tag to halt construction and was advised by staff that the wall had to be moved to the easement before he could continue construction. He had met several times with staff and the Acting Planning Director, Eisner, and had not received adequate direction/assistance with working out the problem with the wall and its placement. Mr. Sinsley stated that he did not think it fair for him to pay a fee in order to put the issue on the Planning Commission agenda since he did not create the original problem. Chr. Caldwell expressed understanding for his problem and stated that the City now has a new Planning Director and that the matter should be taken up with the Director. Mr. Sinsley agreed to do so. Comm. Bogosian directed staff to write a memo for next Planning Commission packet informing the Commission of the status of this issue. REPORT OF POSTING AGENDA Pursuant to Government Code 54954.2, the agenda for this meeting was properly posted on February 7, 1992. Technical Corrections to Packet There were no technical corrections to the packet. PUBLIC HEARING CONSENT CALENDAR 1. DR-92-006 - Black, 18532 Paseo Pueblo, request to construct a 796 sq. ft. second-story addition and 175 sq. ft. of first floor area to an existing 2,284 sq. ft. one-story residence, per Chapter 15 of the City Code. The parcel is approximately 11,543 sq. ft. and is Planning Commission Mires Meeting of April 22, 1992 Page Three located in an R-1-10,000 zone district (Cont. to an unspecified date to allow applicant to address staff concerns. The item will be renoticed for a future date). Item 2, Kinnier - DR-91-064 and V-91-017, and Item 3, Lin - DR-88-057 were removed from the consent calendar. MORAN/TUCKER MOVED TO APPROVE THE CONSENT CALENDAR. PASSED 7-0. 2. DR-91-064 - Kinnier, 14706 6th St., request for design V-91-017 - review approval to construct a new, two-story, 2,226 sq. ft., single family residence on an approximately 3,271 sq. ft. parcel and a request for variance approval to encroach into the required front, side and rear yard setbacks and from the City parking requirement in the R-1-10,000 zone district per Chapter 15 of the City Code (Cont. 4-0 from 4/7/92 to adopt denial resolutions). Comm. Moran asked that the resolution reflect more thoroughly the concerns that were raised by the Planning Commission. In particular, the Commission's concern with privacy not only in the rear yards of the existing residences but also with the habitable rooms themselves. She also requested that the resolution include wording to reflect that the Commission felt the proposed side yard setbacks left inadequate room for landscaping to satisfy their privacy impact concerns. Planner Walgren offered the following wording to be added to the resolution to address Comm. Moran's concerns: Finding 1 - "The project does unreasonably interfere with the surrounding residents in that the proposed home will overlook and impact the privacy of both the rear yards and habitable rooms of the immediately adjacent properties. In addition the proposed 6-foot side yard setback will not provide sufficient area for planting to mitigate these impacts and concerns. MORAN/BOGOSIAN MOVED TO APPROVE RESOLUTION DR-91-064 (FOR DENIAL OF APPLICATION) WITH THE ABOVE AMENDMENT. PASSED 5-2 (Comm. Durket and Tucker abstained) MORAN/FORGES MOVED TO APPROVE RESOLUTION V-91-017. PASSED 5-2 (Comm. Durket and Tucker abstained). ~, Plannin Commission Miry tes • 9 ' Meeting of April 22, 1992 Page Four --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------3. DR-88-057 - Lin, 12532 Parker Ranch Ct., request for Planning Commission review of exterior materials changes to an almost completed home within the Parker Ranch subdivision. Revised elevations of the residence and a materials board will be presented at the meeting (cont. from the 4/14/92 regular adjourned meeting). Planner Walgren gave a brief report on the application and answered questions of the Commission. Comm. Moran asked that the Commission be given the color board for their review. MORAN/TUCKER MOVED TO APPROVE ITEM 3, DR-88-057. Comm. Forbes stated that the site is very visible and that the original color was approved after some consideration to the building's visibility and therefore the original color is essential to the building. Comm. Durket concurred with Comm. Forbes' comment. Comm. Tucker stated that she felt that the site was no more visible than other parcels in the particular area. She commented that she thought the proposed color would help alleviate some of Comm. Forbes' concerns and that she found the site to have abundant vegetation that would also help screen the building. For these reasons, she stated that she was in favor of the material change. Chr. Caldwell stated that she concurred with the original decision of the Planning Commission in regard to the item and that the original materials were to help break up the massive appearance of the building and to integrate it in with the natural grade of the topography. THE MOTION FAILED 2-5 (Comm. Caldwell, Favero, Forbes, Bogosian and Durket opposed). FORBES/FAVERO MOVED TO DENY THE ADMINISTRATIVE APPROVAL OF THE MATERIALS CHANGE BASED ON THE FOLLOWING FINDINGS: 1. THAT THE BRICK VENEER IS ESSENTIAL TO THE HIGHLY VISIBLE SITE; AND 2. THAT THE ORIGINAL MATERIALS HELP TO INTEGRATE THE BUILDING INTO THE NATURAL TOPOGRAPHY Comm. Moran asked if there had been a request to change the color or was the color shown on the materials board the original color approved by the Planning Commission. Planning Commission Mires Meeting of April 22, 1992 Page Five Planner Walgren stated that due to the City Hall remodel, the original color board was in storage and could not be accessed so the applicant created another color board for the meeting, but according the Planner Walgren's recollection, the color board represented the originally approved color. Chr. Caldwell stated that she felt the color was suitable for the building, but that the building needed the brick as originally approved. THE MOTION PASSED 6-1 (Comm. Tucker opposed). PUBLIC HEARINGS 4. DR-89-065.1 - Dymand, 21116 Comer Dr., request for aone- V-89-021.1 - year extension to design review and variance approvals to allow the construction of a 9,555 sq. ft. two-story residence, in the NHR zone district, per Chapter 15 of the City Code. Variance approval was granted to allow exceptions to the "floor area", "impervious coverage" and "height above a major ridge" standards of the NHR district. -------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------- Comm. Durket stated that he may have a conflict of interest in regard to the item and excused himself from the dias. Planner Walgren presented to the Commission the Report dated April 22, 1992 and answered questions of the Commission. Comm. Bogosian asked the City Attorney as to what type of findings must be made by the Commission to deny the request for an extension. The City Attorney explained that there must be strong findings to support that the public health, safety or welfare is somehow now in jeopardy where it wasn't before, when the original approval was granted. Chr. Caldwell ask staff if anything had changed since the original approval that would alter staff's analysis from that which was originally presented to the Commission in 1989. Planner Walgren explained that the zoning regulations have been amended in particularly the floor area regulations and grading standards had been changed and the project would not comply with the current regulations. Chr. Caldwell asked staff whether the square footage of the strip of land that was transferred with this project's lot line adjustment had been used to calculate the allowable floor area for buildings on each of the parcels. Planning Commission Mires Meeting of April 22, 1992 Page Six Planner Walgren explained that the square footage had been used for the F.A.R. calculation for the Dymand residence only. Chr. Caldwell opened the public hearing at 8:01 p.m. Virginia Fanelli, representing the applicant, spoke in favor of the request for a time extension explaining the circumstances which contributed to the need for a time extension. She also stated that the neighbors were still in support of the project and submitted a signed letter expressing this support. She commented that there were no changes that had occurred with the lot or project that would pose a health, safety or welfare concern. She also answered the Commissions questions in regard to the project. LuAnn Neiman, 13217 Padero Court, spoke in opposition to the application stating that she had appealed the original approval of the project and presented a packet to the Commission. She explained that the project denies access to the back of her property from Padero Court. She also stated that the variances deviated from the zoning regulations and that the public was not adequately informed as to the amount and location of the property involved in the original application. She also answered questions of the Commission. The City Attorney explained that the easements and lot line adjustments were not the subject of the hearing, but that only the request for an extension of time on design review was what was to be considered. Virginia Fanelli, representing the applicants again addressed the Commission in favor of the granting the request for an extension of time. Chr. Caldwell asked that staff address the drainage and erosion concerns expressed in a letter sent by the Sniffens. Planner Walgren explained that it was his belief that the Sniffens were concerned with the potential pavement of the easement and not the request for the extension of time. Mr. Dymand, applicant, spoke in favor of his application and addressed Comm. Bogosian's question regarding any action taken by the Dymands to deter the use of their property by 4-wheel drivers. Comm. Favero asked Mr. Dymand if he would be willing to alter the square footage of the house in light of the fact that the zoning regulations had been changed since the project's original approval and in the objective of preserving the hillside ridgeline. Comm. Favero also stated that he could not support the request for an extension of time since the project no longer conformed with the City's objective. TUCKER/MORAN MOVED TO CLOSE THE PUBLIC HEARING AT 8:40 P.M. Passed 6-0. Planning Commission Mies Meeting of April 22, 1992 Page Seven TUCKER/BOGOSIAN MOVED TO APPROVE THE REQUEST FOR A ONE YEAR EXTENSION OF DR-89-085.1 AND V-89-021. Comm. Forbes stated that he believed that the current regulations should be in effect for this project since no construction had actually taken place. City Attorney explained that the request for the extension was the subject of the decision and that unless there was evidence of a change that would adversely effect health, safety or welfare, there were no grounds to deny the request. She also answered other questions of the Commission regarding the subject. Comm. Favero stated that he felt there were, because of the changes made to the zoning regulations, sufficient grounds to reconsider the entire project. Bogosian stated that he would vote to approve the request for extension, but agreed with Comm. Forbes and Favero that if the design and variance were to be presented at this time, the application would be looked at differently. Comm. Moran stated that she could find no health, safety or welfare issues to support a denial of the request. Chr. Caldwell stated that she would very reluctantly support the application for an extension. THE MOTION PASSED 4-1-1 (Comm. Favero opposed and Comm. Forbes abstained). The Commission took a break at 8:50 p.m. and was re-convened at 9:02 p.m. Comm. Durket re-joined the Commission at the dias. 5. Administrative Lass, 12879 Regan Ln., request for Planning Appeal Commission consideration of an administrative determination pursuant to Article 15-90 of the Zoning Regulations. The appellants are requesting that their proposed "horse-shoe" driveway be considered exempt from the City's site coverage requirements based on its necessity for perceived safety purposes. Staff's investigation determined that no such safety consideration existed to warrant the exemption. Planner Walgren presented the Report dated April 22, 1992 and answered the Commissions questions in regard to the application. Chr. Caldwell opened the public hearing at 9:06 p.m. Planning Commission Mies Meeting of April 22, 1992 Page Eight Jerry and Mary Pat Lass, applicants, spoke in favor of their application and explained the various safety factors that warrant their need for ahorse-shoe driveway. BOGOSIAN/MORAN MOVED TO CLOSE THE PUBLIC HEARING AT 9:23 P.M. Passed 7-0. Commissioner Bogosian stated that he had .visited the site and determined that there was a great deal of impervious coverage and could not see any safety concerns or sight/visibility problems and therefore supported a denial of the applicants' request. All the other Commissioners expressed support for the applicants' request. Comm. Tucker stated that she felt that the current ordinance regarding impervious coverage should be revised to allow some leniency. She inquired as to where the Commission should draw the line on whether to allow or prohibit certain impervious covers. Chr. Caldwell and Planning Director Curtis both explained that such determinations for leniencies could be granted on a case by case basis, based on the observations of the Commission and the various individual circumstances that come into play in regard to each site for which such a similar application is made. FAVERO/MORAN MOVED TO GRANT THE APPLICANTS' APPEAL. Passed 7-1 (Comm. Bogosian opposed). 6. DR-91-065 - Frater, 22100 Mt. Eden Rd., request for V-91-021 design review approval to construct a 1,842 sq. ft. one and two-story addition to an existing two-story residence and a 604 sq. ft. addition to an existing garage. The applicant is also requesting variance approval to exceed the allowable impervious coverage per Chapter 15 of the City Code. The total square footage including the residence and accessory structures will be 8,514 sq. ft. The parcel is approximately 21 acres in area and is located in the NHR zone district. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Planner Walgren presented the Report dated April 22, 1992 to the Commission. He stated that a discussion of the City's Park and Trails Master Plan which identifies a proposed trail system to connect the two parcels immediately to the south (where the current trail system ends) to the southwestern portion of the subject property which abuts the unincorporated area had been omitted from the staff's analysis section of the report. The reason for the extension of the trail is to enable the City, should the unincorporated area become incorporated, to continue the pedestrian/equestrian trail into that land. Planner Walgren stated that he had prepared additional wording to add to the resolution as Condition 26 to reflect this intent. He paraphrased the wording as follows: ' Planning Commission Mir"Rles i ` Meeting of April 22, 1992 Page Nine The applicant must comply with the following: A. The pathway will need to be staked out across the subject property connected with the terminus of the existing easement on the lower lot to the south on Parcel 503-9-7 to a point to be determined along the southwest boundary of the subject property. B. The purpose of this pathway is to connect future development in the unincorporated area on Parcel 503-9-8 which is the County parcel, with the City's equestrian system, therefore prior to the issuance of a zoning clearance, the actual location of the trail's end point shall be field determined based on topographical constraints by Planning staff in consultation with the Park and Recreation Commission. Further the wording would explain when the legal description of the easement needs to be recorded and that the trail would need to be improved per the Parks and Trails Master Plan. Chr. Caldwell opened the public hearing at 9:34 p.m. Mark and Linda Frater, applicants, spoke in favor of their application and stated that they had no objection to the condition requiring an easement. They also answered questions of the Commission regarding the project. MORAN/TUCKER MOVED TO CLOSE THE PUBLIC HEARING AT 9:40 P.M. Passed 7-0. MORAN/FORBES MOVED TO APPROVE V-91-021. Chr. Caldwell suggested that the following be added to the end of the last finding of the variance resolution: "...in that the increased site coverage is not expected to result in drainage or run-off problems." This added wording was agreeable to the mover and the seconder of the motion. THE MOTION PASSED 7-0. MORAN/FAVERO MOVED TO APPROVE DR-91-065 WITH THE ADDED CONDITION FOR THE PEDESTRIAN/EGIUESTRIAN TRAIL EASEMENT. The motion passed 7-0. Planning Commission Mir'f6tes Meeting of April 22, 1992 Page Ten --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------7. GP-92-001 -City of Saratoga, General Plan Amendments to include policy statements in the Safety Element related to winterization of construction sites. A Negative Declaration has been prepared for this project. Consideration of General Plan amendments to include policy statements in the Safety Element to address winterization and erosion control measures on construction sites when construction is not completed prior to the rainy season (Cont. from 4/7/92). Planner Adar presented the Report dated April 16, 1992 to the Commission. Chr. Caldwell opened the public hearing at 9:43 p.m. Since there was no one wishing to speak, FORGES/MORAN MOVED TO CLOSE THE PUBLIC HEARING AT 9:43 P.M. Passed 7-0. BOGOSIAN/FORGES MOVED TO APPROVE RESOLUTION GP-92-001. Passed 7- 0. DIRECTOR'S ITEMS 1. Memo from City Manager re: Impervious Coverage Limits Planner Adar gave a summary of this item. Planning Director Curtis stated that the item would not be difficult and suggested that the issue be addressed at a worksession to be scheduled in June. Comm. Moran expressed agreement with Mr. Curtis' comment and stated her preference to deal with the issue sooner rather than later. Comm. Tucker stated that she would like to compare the old ordinance with the new proposed ordinance and would like to be given information as to the reasons for the various changes. Chairperson Caldwell pointed out that staff had recommended the change to exempt necessary driveways and decrease allowable coverage limits in R-1 districts and had promoted this change as one that would not make any difference to the average homeowner, but would allow some leniency for difficult lots. She suggested that staff present to the Commission its analytic justification for this recommendation so that the Planning Commission could determine its validity. It was agreed that the item would be addressed at a worksession in June. V Plannin Commission Mir~les 9 ` Meeting of April 22, 1992 Page Eleven ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2. Review of modifications to an approved plan set; Rivoir, 20415 Montalvo Oaks (DR-91-004). Planner Walgren briefly explained the modifications and answered questions of the Commission. Comm. Favero excused himself from the meeting at 10:00 p.m. Comm. Bogosian, Tucker and Durket indicated that the changes were acceptable to them. Comm Moran asked whether the neighbors down the hill had been noticed of the modifications and stated that she would feel more comfortable if they had been noticed. Planner Walgren explained that one site was a vacant parcel and the other an empty house. It was the consensus of the Commission that the changes were acceptable and could be handled at the administrative level. The Commission also reviewed minor modifications to the project at Lot 22 of the San Marcos Heights subdivision. The changes were outlined by Planner Walgren. It was Planning Commission consensus that the modification were acceptable. 3. Selection of Planning Commission representative for the Library Expansion Committee. Comm. Bogosian, Planning Commission representative for the Library Expansion Committee, stated that the meeting was held on a Monday at 4:00 p.m. and because of his work schedule was unable to attend. , He explained that he had contacted the Chairperson of the Committee, Ms. Campbell and discussed whether the meeting times were flexible and could possibly be changed. He expressed a desire to participate in the Committee if the meetings could be rescheduled. Planning Director Curtis stated that he would speak with Ms. Campbell to find out about the meeting schedule. Comm. Tucker stated that if the meeting times could not be changed she would be willing to attend. Comm. Moran also volunteered to attend the meetings as an alternate (when another Planning Commission representative is unable to attend the meeting). COMMISSION ITEMS Comm. Durket reported on the Planning Commission Convention e Planning Commission Mir , yes Meeting of April 22, 1992 , Page Twelve Chr. Caldwell suggested that the Commissioners turn into staff the papers they received at the convention on that staff could copy them and distribute them to the other Commissioners. COMMUNICATIONS Chr. Caldwell requested that the letter from the Gibersons be distributed to the Commissioner in their next packet. Written 1. City Council Minutes - 4/1 /92 2. Heritage Preservation Minutes - 3/11 /92 Oral City Council ADJOURNMENT Chr. Caldwell adjourned the meeting at 10:15 p.m. Andrea M. Chelemengos Minutes Clerk