Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout01/05/95MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF BAKERSFIELD Held Thursday, January 5, 1995, 5:30 p.m., City Council Chamber, City Hall, 1501 Truxtun Avenue, Bakersfield, California. Commissioner Marino chaired this meeting in the absence of Chairman Andrew and Vice-Chairman Delgado. 1. ROLL CALL COMMISSIONERS: Present: STEPHEN BOYLE MATHEW BRADY KENNETH HERSH JIM MARINO ROBERT ORTIZ DARREN POWERS, Alternate Absent: JEFF ANDREW, Chairperson DOUG DELGADO, Vice-Chairperson ADVISORy MEMBERS: Present: LAURA MARINO, Assistant City Attorney JACK LaROCHELLE, Engineer IV DENNIS FIDLER, Building Director STAFF: Present: STANLEY GRADY, Planning Director JIM MOVIUS, Principal Planner MARC GAUTHIER, Principal Planner MIKE LEE, Associate Planner LAURIE DAVIS, Recording Secretary 2. PUBLIC STATEMENTS No one made any public statements at this time. Chairman read the notice of right to appeal as set forth on the agenda. Commissioner Powers stated he had listened to a copy of the tape of the Monday pre-meeting as he was absent from that meeting. Minutes, PC, 1/5/95 Page 2 3. CONSENT AGENDA ITEMS Agenda Item #9.1 - General plan consistency finding for proposed vacation of the unused north 10 feet of the 30-foot wide alley in Block 461. o Agenda Item #9.2 - General plan consistency finding for proposed acquisition of blocks 348 and 349, City of Bakersfield for additional parking area to serve the downtown convention center. Property is bordered by the Santa Fe Railroad on the north, "P" Street on the east, 14th Street on the south, and "N" Street on the west. Agenda Item #9.3 - General plan consistency finding for Proposed acquisition of a 2.5 acre parcel located along the west side of Manor Street south of the existing bike path parking lot. Commissioner Boyle confirmed that the property for Agenda Item #9.2 is owned by the City and not A.T.& S.F. Motion was made by Commissioner Powers, seconded by Commissioner Boyle to approve consent agenda. Motion carried. 4. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Motion was made by Commissioner Powers, seconded by Commissioner Brady to approve minutes of the regular meetings held October 20, October 31, November 3 and November 14, 1994. Motion carried. e REQUEST FOR RECONSIDERATION - GPA 4-94, SEGMENT IV AND ZONE CHANGE #5603 Information concerning this request was given. Commissioner Powers abstained from participating on this item because he was not present at the original hearing on this item. Mr. McIntosh said since the last hearing they have met with city staff and understand if this item is heard at the hearing of the 19th it could follow the cycle. He asked that the request for consideration be granted. Steve Walker, Traffic Engineer, said his staff met with CalTrans and other city staff and an addendum was prepared for the study. Amended conditions have been prepared which he felt would satisfy CalTrans. If their concerns are satisfied there would not be a problem with hearing this item on January 19th. Minutes, PC, 1/5/95 Page 3 Commissioner Brady said he would have no problem hearing this item on the 19th if staff will have time to prepare. Motion was made by Commissioner Brady, seconded by Commissioner Hersh to reconsider GPA 4-94, Segment IV and Zone Change #5603 which were heard at the meeting of December 15, 1994. Motion carried. Motion was made by Commissioner Brady, seconded by Commissioner Hersh to place these items on the agendas of January 17, and January 19, 1995. Motion carried. Commissioner Powers was absent. 6. PUBLIC HEARING - TENTATIVE TRACT 5700 Staff report recommending approval was given. Responding to question by Commissioner Boyle, Mr. LaRochelle said there will be a need for signal lights at Harris and Stine in the future. Part of the mitigation fee for this project includes this. Public portion of the hearing was oPened; no one spoke in opposition. Bruce Anderson represented the applicant stating concurrence with recommendations of the staff report and conditions of approval. Public portion of the hearing was closed. Motion was made by Commissioner Boyle, seconded by Commissioner Hersh to adopt resolution to make all findings set forth in the staff report, and to approve Proposed Tentative Tract 5700 subject to the conditions outlined in the Exhibit "A." Motion carried. PUBLIC HEARING - ZONE CHANGE 5596 Commissioner Powers said he was not present at the previous hearing on this item. Staff report recommending approval was given. Mr. Lee said an additional letter regarding school'mitigation had been submitted. The applicant had verbally agreed to the condition as proposed by the school district. He also referred to a memo dated January 5, 1995 from Public Works regarding traffic mitigation. Mr. LaRochelle said a portion of the traffic study had inadvertently been left out. The memo makes an adjustment in the fee per dwelling unit. Minutes, PC, 1/5/95 Page 4 Public portion of the hearing was opened; no one spoke in opposition. Roger McIntosh represented the property owner. He stated he had not had time to look at the additional information, asking for a two-week continuance on this item~ Motion was made by Commissioner Brady, seconded by Commissioner Hersh to continue this item to the next meetings of January 17, and January 19, 1995. Motion carried. e PUBLIC HEARINGS - GENERAL PLAN AMENDMENT 4-94, SEGMENT VIII Commissioner Powers stated he was not present at the December 15, 1995 meeting and would not participate on this item. Staff report was given. Mr. LaRochelle stated staff had met with Mr. Galey to discuss the alignment. He said if they were to shift the alignment to the south in order to conform with Mr. Galey's request it would require a general plan amendment of the circulation element. Public portion of the hearing was opened. Don Galey, 3408 Panorama Drive, said he purchased the property with the understanding that the alignment would go through his property. His property would now not be profitable for sale. He saw no. reason the alignment could not be changed from what is presently proposed. Responding to question by Commissioner Marino, Mr. Galey said his property is comprised of 2-1/2 acres zoned residential. Mr. Galey responded to question by Commissioner Hersh saying he has been assured by staff all along that the alignment would go through his property. Public portion of the hearing was closed. Responding to question by Commissioner Brady, Mr. LaRochelle said the circulation element shows the old alignment of Morning Drive as a major collector street rather than an arterial which is what will run through Mr. Galey's property. Minutes, PC, 1/5/95 9.1 9.2 9.3 Page 5 Commissioner Marino said he was not aware of any area in the city which has two arterials as close together as what Mr. Galey is asking for. He was inclined to support staff's recommendation because there are constraints as to where Morning Drive can go. Responding to questions by Commissioner Boyle, Mr. LaRochelle gave history regarding the alignment. Commissioner Boyle did not feel the city could guarantee investments, however needs to design the city to the best of their ability. He saw no reason to vary from the general plan concept especially when a major collector will run through Mr. Galey's property. Motion was made by Commissioner Boyle, seconded by Commissioner Hersh to adopt resolution making findings as set forth in staff report recommending approval of the Negative Declaration with mitigation measures set forth on Exhibit "A," and approval of the amendment to the Circulation Element establishing specific plan lines, and recommend same to City Council. Motion carried by the following roll call vote: AYES: Commissioners Boyle, Brady, Hersh, Ortiz, Marino NOES: None ABSENT: Commissioners Delgado, Andrew, Powers GENERAL PLAN CONSISTENCY FINDING - PROPOSED VACATION OF THE UNUSED NORTH 10 FEET OF THE 30-FOOT WIDE ALLEY IN BLOCK 461 (WEST SIDE OF ELM STREET, BETWEEN 21ST AND 22ND STREETS) Approved as consent agenda item. GENERAL PLAN CONSISTENCY FINDING - PROPOSED ACQUISITION OF BLOCKS 348 AND 349, FOR ADDITIONAL PARKING AREA TO SERVE THE DOWNTOWN CONVENTION CENTER. Approved as consent agenda item. GENERAL PLAN CONSISTENCY FINDING - PROPOSED ACQUISITION OF A 2.5 ACRE PARCEL LOCATED ALONG THE WEST SIDE OF MANOR STREET SOUTH OF THE EXISTING BIKE PATH PARKING LOT. Approved as consent agenda item. Minutes, PC, 1/5/95 Page 6 10. COMMUNICATIONS A) Written None B) Verbal None 11. COMMISSION COMMENTS A. Committees Sign Committee Off-site residential directional kiosk signs - update and Commission direction. (Continued from the regular meeting of December 15, 1994) Mr. Grady gave background concerning the efforts of this committee, giving the options available. He said it was felt it was best to bring this issue to the full commission for direction. Responding to concerns by Commissioner Powers, Ms. Marino said there would be no reason he could not participate in giving direction on this item in light of the fact he was not present at the December 15, 1994 meeting. Commissioner Boyle said the committee favored the option of replacing the existing ordinance with the kiosk ordinance because of the advantage that signs could be set up more than one mile away from projects, there would not necessarily be a limitation on the number of signs on the kiosk and preference could be given to developers within specific areas of their development. He said the disadvantage would be that the county has no similar plan and it is not likely the county will participate in coordinating a kiosk program at this time. He did not feel the constrUction industry was in total agreement with the plan, however for the most part most of them saw the advantages. He stated concerns of developers concerning information to be placed on the signs regarding builder name, subdivision name and pricing. He said pricing is not allowed under current ordinance and no final decision has been made on this issue. Commissioner Brady felt a problem does not necessarily exist with the present ordinance but a problem with enforcement of it. He felt it may be appropriate to just add the kiosk program to the existing ordinance. Minutes, PC, 1/5/95 Page 7 Commissioner Hersh felt the kiosk program is attractive and would allow for advertisement of developments at a further distance. Commissioner Marino felt all details needed to be worked out before passing it onto the council. Responding to questions by Commissioner Marino, Commissioner Hersh said it was discussed that perhaps the BIA would control the kiosks and builders would arrange with them for placement of. signs on the kiosk. He said this arrangement has been successfully followed in other areas. Commissioner Marino gave suggestion concerning the transition period after adoption of ordinance saying perhaps those developers who have already pulled permits before adoption could operate under the previous ordinance. Commissioner Powers felt this kiosk ordinance will upgrade the signage image of the community. He asked if a bidding war would come about with those bigger developers getting the top panels. Barbara Don Carlos, BIA representative, said builders on both sides of the issue have given their opinions. She said it was recognized that a reasonable phase-in period would have to be developed for this ordinance. Regarding positioning on the sign board it was discussed that it would be on a first come first serve basis or random drawing. She said in order to construct the kiosks she will first have to get support of builders who want to put placards on this kiosk because it represents a significant initial financial investment. She said this is something the builders must feel is advantageous and will work. Her board of directorS has asked that she request the opportunity to have the kiosk program in addition to some off- site individual signage. She has contacted other BIA's in other cities and has sample ordinances. Commissioner Powers asked about standardized off-site signage so that every sign would be the same size and dimension separate from the kiosk. She said he would take this proposal to her board members. Commissioner Boyle said in reviewing other ordinances their transition period was from 6 months to 1 year from the date the ordinance would go into effect.- This would mean the old signs would not have to be removed for a considerable period of time. Regarding priority based upon section lines, it was discussed that where projects are near a border they would have priority in both sections. On signage priority he said when signs are first erected it would be first come first serve, from there on they would move up as someone is removed. It would not be on a bidding basis. Minutes, PC, 1/5/95 Page 8 Commissioner Brady asked if the BIA had a position about whether the kiosk program would be supported if it were only applicable to the city and not the county and metro area. Ms. Don Carlos said she has had discussions with county staff in which they have indicated they would be favorably looking at implementing the program in the county areas also. Responding to question by Commissioner Brady, Ms. Don Carlos said they would need assurances that spaces would be leased before kiosks were built. She said they have the staffing to maintain the operation of the program, however the program would have to financially support itself. Responding to question by Commissioner Brady, Commissioner Boyle said in enforcing the existing ordinance there is not sufficient time and manpower to delete illegal signs and assess fines. The existing ordinance is not working. Mr. Fidler responded to question saying at this time if staff observes signs in the public right-of-way they are picked up. If they are on private property a notice is served. They are held for 30 days and then thrown away. Commissioner Brady suggested a large fine for enforcement. Mr. Fidler said the problem with this is that when regulating fines the court system comes into play and is not always supportive of this type of case. Mr. Fidler said staff goes out about every 2-3 months and collects between 300 and 500 signs. Commissioner Brady was concerned that any ordinance would not be effective because it cannot be effectively enforced. Ms. Marino said a suggestion is that any builder on a kiosk sign that places illegal signs in other areas loses privileges on the kiosk sign. She explained this process and the appeal process for the developer, saying it would probably be handled by the Building Appeals Board. Ms. Don Carlos said builders are concerned about having some individual identification. Commissioner Hersh felt this would be an upgrade for the community and felt the county's cooperation is necessary. Motion was made by Commissioner Powers, seconded by Commissioner Brady to refer this item back to committee to work with the BIA. Commissioner Brady asked if he were intentionally not making a recommendation on choices available. Commissioner Powers felt the intent was to have input from the Commission and return it to committee. Commissioner Marino said he would like to see the kiosk program placed into effect, however not necessarily in addition to the existing ordinance. Motion carried. Minutes, PC, 1/5/95 Page 9 Commissioner Marino said a Trails Committee meeting was scheduled for January 11, 1995. Responding to question by Commissioner Boyle, Mr. Grady said he would get information concerning a meeting with the Urban Development Committee of the Council and Subdivision Committee of the Planning Commission.. 12. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to come before the Commission, meeting was adjourned at 7:00 p.m. Laurie Davis Recording Secretary Planning Director