MINUTES City Council Chambers* PLANNING COMMISSION 1017 Middlefield Rd June 19, 2018 Redwood City, CA 94063 Regular Meeting Ph: 650-780-7234 7:00 p.m. Accessible to Disabled APPROVED COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Commissioner Hale, Commissioner Safdari, Commissioner Schmidt, Vice Chair Bondonno, and Chair Radcliffe COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: Commissioner White STAFF PRESENT: Planning Manager Turner, Assistant City Attorney Rasiah, Associate Planner Rojas GUESTS: None PROCEEDINGS RECORDED: For further information not contained in this draft of the written minutes, a DVD recording and audio recording of the entire meeting is available at the Planning office, located in City Hall, Redwood City. AGENDA POSTED: Copies of the Agenda for this meeting are posted at City Hall on the Friday prior to the Planning Commission meeting. 1. ROLL CALL 2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE 3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: None 4. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS: Mary Bernea stated that she is showing photographs of 25 floating homes in Docktown Marina that may be demolished. She stated that Habitat for Humanity is interested in converting them into affordable housing. She stated that she hopes they will be able to come back to the Planning Commission in the future with a more formal presentation. Chair Radcliffe stated that Staff will get back to her on this issue. 5. CONSENT CALENDAR: No items 6. HISTORIC RESOURCES ADVISORY COMMITTEE APPOINTMENTS Planning Manager Turner stated that Staff is recommending the Planning Commission appoint applicants to the HRAC. He stated there are two seats for consideration and two applicants. He stated that the Planning Commission conducted interviews earlier in the evening and they are now collecting votes. Page 1 of 7
M/S (Safdari/Schmidt) to appoint both Linda Marie Roche and John Goldman to the Historic Resources Advisory Committee. Motion Passed 5-0 7. PUBLIC HEARING A. Request by California Communities for an Architectural Permit (AP2017-071), a Planned Development Permit (PD2017-005), a Condominium Permit (CP2018-001) and a Vesting Tentative Map (TM2017-005) to demolish eight residential units and to construct 17 for-sale residential (condominium) units at 515 Cleveland Street Apollos Rojas, Project Planner, gave a presentation on this topic. He provided an overview of the required permits for the project and provided a justification for those permits the applicant is requesting. He provided an overview of the site plans for the proposed project. He discussed the design of the building heights and external facades. He discussed the proposed off-site improvements. He discussed the findings of the historical analysis and the CEQA analysis. He discussed the public noticing the applicant conducted. Commissioner Schmidt asked how many people attended the community meeting. Mr. Rojas stated that he will allow the project applicant to answer that question. Mr. Mozart from the Mozart Development Company provided an overview of the project and its history. He discussed they outreach they conducted thus far and how they plan to work around the needs of the community. He discussed his passion for this particular project. Jeff Potts, Principal at SDG Architects, discussed the design of the project, with specific focus on the site plan and its potential impacts on the neighborhood. Commissioner Schmidt asked how many people attended the neighborhood meeting. Mr. Potts stated that they did not do a roll call, but he stated he believes there were approximately 20 to 25 people there. Motion to open the public hearing M/S (Bondonno/Hale) 5-0 Melissa Tosetti stated that in the 23 years she has lived in her house, her car has been side-swiped several times. She stated that the street is very narrow and people move on the street very quickly. She stated that the additional houses will make parking worse. She also stated that additional homes in this area will make the road even more difficult and dangerous than it is already. Donald Kolko stated that the parking situation is currently unbearable and adding more units to this area will exacerbate the issue. He stated it is impossible to get emergency vehicles down the current street. Dennis Pfaff and Kristin Klingvall stated he sent a detailed four page letter over earlier today. He stated that he is concerned about the trustworthiness of the Page 2 of 7
developer. He stated that the developer has been difficult to reach and has made several false promises. He would like to see the city impose serious oversight on this project. He stated that the fact that the traffic report states that there is no impact is a joke. Harry Brenna stated he lives next door to the proposed development. He stated that this project will eliminate low and middle income housing. He stated that this development will ruin the view from his house. He stated that the neighborhood is currently full of one-story single family homes. He stated that they should look to the other side of El Camino rather than change the current shape of the community. Kerry O Donnell stated that she has seen kids almost hit by cars several times. She stated that the parking situation is impossible. She stated that she only heard about the public meeting by word of mouth because the public noticing was so poor. She stated that the proposed development will hurt the community. Rick Lewis emphasized the issue with parking. He stated that with seven houses empty, the parking situation is impossible. He said if you try to leave your house after 7:15 a.m., it s almost impossible to maneuver. Paul Bafaluz stated that the houses that are being demolished do have historic value. He stated that there are several other schools in the area. He stated the community has not been notified properly. He stated he would like to see the impact reports before the project moves forward. Steve Pacheco stated that parking and traffic in this area is terrible. He asked the Planning Commissioners if they had visited the area. He asked that they not approve this project. Motion to close the public hearing M/S (Bondonno/Schmidt) 5-0 Commissioner Schmidt stated that he was unaware that these properties had been empty for a year. He thought there were people still living there. He asked Mr. Mozart when they purchased the properties. Mr. Mozart stated they purchased the property approximately 15 months ago. He stated they anticipated that the process would move faster than it has. He stated the people that lived there moved out approximately three months after he purchased them. He stated they were month-to-month renters. Commissioner Schmidt asked what outreach was done with the schools. Mr. Mozart stated he met with the school. He stated that they had concerns about picking and dropping off kids due to the traffic situation. He stated that they have no problem with the project, just concerns about pickups and drop offs. Commissioner Schmidt asked what inspired the design of the project given the layout of the neighborhood. Page 3 of 7
Mr. Mozart stated that there is no consistent design in the neighborhood and that it is mostly mixed and matched. He stated that he thought a craftsman would be best for the neighborhood. Commissioner Schmidt asked about the guest parking. Mr. Mozart stated that they are currently offering 5 guest parking spaces which is what they are required to provide. He stated he would like to add more but it would require other changes. Commissioner Schmidt asked Mr. Mozart to explain why they chose a project of this scale given the neighborhood environment. Mr. Mozart stated that the traffic report came back with no negative impacts. He stated that he understands the issues with the school, but he stated he lives next to a school and experiences the same problems. Commissioner Safdari asked about the concerns about maintenance of the current properties since their purchase. Mr. Mozart stated that he definitely did not maintain them as he should have. Since they met, he has tried to clean it up. Commissioner Safdari asked about public noticing for those that live beyond 300 feet away from the project. Staff stated that is standard practice. Commissioner Safdari asked if they have any sort of neighborhood parking management plan in the area. Planning Manager Turner stated that there is no management plan he is aware of. Commissioner Safdari asked if the city is looking into helping fix the traffic and parking issue at and around the school. Planning Manager Turner stated that the city is involved in safe routes to school and it is an ongoing effort. Vice Chair Bondonno asked Mr. Mozart about the public outreach. He asked when the public meeting was. Mr. Mozart stated it was held on May 25. Vice Chair Bondonno stated that they waited a long time to hold that public meeting despite having owned the property for over a year. He asked what was the trigger to hold the meeting. Mr. Mozart stated that they finally got to a certain point in the process where they felt confident enough to hold a meeting. Vice Chair Bondonno asked when they met with the school. Page 4 of 7
Mr. Mozart stated he met with Northstar approximately 5 months ago. Vice Chair Bondonno stated that he thinks it would have been beneficial for them to do more public outreach earlier. He asked what follow up they took from the public meeting. Mr. Mozart stated he cleaned up the properties after the meeting. Vice Chair Bondonno asked about the resurfacing of the alleyway. He asked if they could pave the full width of the alleyway. Mr. Mozart stated that they could do that. Commissioner Hale stated that she would have liked to see the applicant incorporate more feedback into the plan after their meeting with the public. She stated she has identified two actionable ideas. The first is paving the full width of the alley. The second is a maintenance plan. She asked Staff if they could create a plan or condition of approval. Planning Manager Turner explained the logistics of that kind of plan. Commissioner Hale stated she believes that should be strongly considered. She asked Staff about the concern that was expressed during public comment about the access emergency services have on this street. Planning Manager Turner asked Mr. Rojas to speak about any concerns that the Fire Department may have had during the development process. Mr. Rojas stated that the Fire Department s concerns were directed at access while on site and they did not have any comments about circulation around the site. Chair Radcliffe asked Mr. Mozart what the plans are going forward for ensuring maintenance on the site. Mr. Mozart stated that they have not begun the CCNR process yet, which they will begin shortly. Chair Radcliffe asked how they will enforce the parking rule on site. Mr. Mozart stated that the garages will have room for two spaces and no street parking will be allowed. Chair Radcliffe stated that they will need to ensure that those garages are not used for storage. Mr. Mozart agreed. Planning Manager Turner discussed the conditions for approval that the Planning Commission may set for approving the project. Commissioner Schmidt stated he has some concerns about this development and feels things are not happening when they should be. He stated he would like to see more community input on the project before it moves forward. Page 5 of 7
Vice Chair Bondonno discussed how the schools are the significant contributors to the problems regarding parking and traffic. He stated that he understands the concerns and he would like to see the developer work with the schools and the community to address these concerns. However, he does not see how this project on its own would be a catalyst for a more significant impact on traffic and parking. He stated he would like to add to condition for approval number 48. He stated he would like to vote in approval of the project moving forward. Commissioner Safdari provided an overview of the pros and cons about this project. He would like the city to begin a conversation with the neighborhood about a parking plan. He stated that they could try to align construction with the summer. Commissioner Hale shared her thoughts on the neighborhood s issues with traffic and parking and how those problems can be solved. She recommended that the developer work on improving their community outreach. She stated that it would be nice to have heard from a school representative. Chair Radcliffe asked Staff if this project complies with the city s zoning practices Mr. Rojas confirmed that it does comply. Chair Radcliffe asked Staff if this project could be bigger. Mr. Rojas stated that the project could be bigger he stated it could be up to 1 story taller for a total of 4 stories and 45 feet. Chair Radcliffe stated that the community outreach could have been a lot better. Vice Chair Bondonno stated he wanted to ensure the amendments to the conditions for approval were clear. Commissioner Hale stated the two conditions for approval she is aware of are in regard to paving the entire width of the alleyway and establishing a plan for overseeing maintenance of the project which includes the plan during construction. She stated that a third point may be the school s safety concerns. Commissioner Safdari stated he had a laundry list of conditions he would like added: stipulate construction times and times of the year, address about concerns of the demolition of preexisting homes Mr. Rojas stated that conditions 49-60 relate to construction related activities that cover a lot of these issues. He stated that staff can try to involve the school, but that school s involvement would be voluntary. Commissioner Safdari stated for clarification that concerns about demolition are already addressed. Planning Manager Turner stated that is correct. He stated that maintenance plans are not outlined in the conditions of approval. He suggested the Planning Commission ask the homeowners association to prepare a maintenance plan that could be submitted to the city. Page 6 of 7
Assistant City Attorney Rasiah provided an overview of condition 18-D. Commissioner Safdari asked if they could ask the applicant to conduct more community outreach. Planner Manager Turner stated that is correct. There was a discussion about whether they should require the applicant to conduct more community outreach meetings. Commissioner Safdari recommended that one of the condition of approvals be that the developer hold two additional community outreach meetings. Assistant City Attorney Rasiah stated the condition of approval for community meetings would be voluntary and confirmed with the applicant s agreement to the voluntary condition. Chair Radcliffe asked that they widen the radius of who should be invited to these community meetings. Planning Manager Turner recommended they expand it to 600 to 800 feet. Commissioner Hale asked that Staff attend those meetings. Planning Manager Turner confirmed that Staff could attend any additional community meetings. Vice Chair Bondonno recapped the list of additional conditions: adding verbiage to condition of approval #48 to require pavement of full width of the alley, require additional public outreach meetings and extended radius of notification. M/S (Bondonno/Safdari) TO ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 18-11 4 1 Motion Passed 8. MATTERS OF COMMISSION INTEREST Planning Manager Turner congratulated Commissioners Hale and Radcliffe on their reappointment to the Planning Commission. He stated that they will have a new Commissioner Michael Smith joining them at their next meeting. He provided an overview of their upcoming meetings. Chair Radcliffe stated she attended the Pop Up Park and got lots of great feedback. 9. MOTION TO ADJOURN M/S (Hale/Bondonno) to adjourn the meeting of the Planning Commission 5 0 Motion Passed The meeting adjourned at 8:33PM to reconvene at the next Planning Commission Meeting scheduled for July 3, 2018 at 7:00PM in the Redwood City, City Hall Council Chambers, 1017 Middlefield Road, Redwood City, California. Page 7 of 7