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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMay 20, 2004 PLANNING COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF BAKERSFIELD MINUTES OF MAY 20, 2004- 5:30 p.m. Council Chambers, City Hall, 1501 Truxtun Avenue 1. ROLL CALL Present: Commissioners Tragish, Ellison, Blockley, Gay, Lomas, Spencer, Tkac Absent: None Advisory Members: Robert Sherfy, Stanley Grady, Marian Shaw, Jack Leonard Staff: Jim Movius, Pam Townsend 2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: 3. PUBLIC STATEMENTS - None 4. CONSENT CALENDAR: 4.1 Non-Public Hearing Items 4.1 a Approval of minutes for Planning Commission meetings of April 1 and 15, 2004. 4.1 b Approval of General Plan Consistency finding for the vacation of Pacheco Road between Buena Vista Road and Old River Road. (SmithTech USA). (Exempt from CEQA) (Ward 5) 4.1 c Approval of General Plan Consistency finding for the acquisition of 4.16 acres at the southeast corner of 24th and Oak Street. (City of Bakersfield) (Exempt from CEQA) (Ward 2) 4.1d Approval of General Plan Consistency finding for the acquisition of 29,501 square feet north of Stockdale Highway, west of the Arvin-Edison Canal. (City of Bakersfield) (Exempt from CEQA) (Ward 4) Commissioner Blockley stated he would be abstaining from voting on 4.1d. Commissioner Tragish said the minutes from April 1, 2004 should be changed to reflect that he was absent on that day and that some of the roll call voting should be changed. Motion made by Commissioner Spencer, seconded by Commissioner Ellison, to approve the non-public hearing portion of the Consent Calendar. Motion carried by group vote. Minutes, PC, May 20, 2004 Page 2 Motion made by Commissioner Ellison, seconded by Commissioner Spencer, to add agenda items 7.1 and 8.3 to the public hearing portion of the Consent Calendar. 4.2 Public Hearing Items 4.2a Approve continuance until June 3, 2004 of Development Plan Review (Porter-Robertson) located on the southeast corner of Brimhall Road and River Ranch Drive. (Negative Declaration on file) (Agenda Item 8.2a). (Ward 4) 4.2b Approve continuance until June 3, 2004 of Vesting Tentative Tract Map 6295 (Porter-Robertson) (Ward 4) 4.2c Approve continuance until July 1, 2004 of Tentative Parcel Map 10928 (Pinnacle Engineering) (Ward 3) 4.2d Approval of Zone Change 03-1514 (Marino and Associates) (Ward 6) Public portion of the hearing opened. No one spoke either for or against the projects. Public portion of the hearing closed. Commissioner Gay asked that consent item 4.2d be removed from the Consent Agenda. There were no Commission comments. Motion made by Commissioner Blockley, seconded by Commissioner Spencer, to approve the public hearing portion of the Consent Calendar. Motion carried by group vote. 5. EXTENSION OF VESTING RIGHTS One staff report was given for the following seven items. The recommendation was for denial on each of the seven items. A vote was taken on each item separately. Commissioner Gay stated that it is a concern of the development community whether or not adequate notice was given to the applicant that we could rescind his extension right? Mr. Grady said that we are not rescinding anything. We are just saying that the rights the applicant had prior to recording the map should have been completed within one year of recordation. Since they haven't been, we are asking the developer to pay the current fees. Commissioner Gay asked if these were automatically approved in the past? Mr. Grady said yes before the park and transportation impact fees were increased. Commissioner Ellison asked if the resolutions the City Council passed to increase the fees addressed the Extension of Vesting Rights for tract maps? Ms. Shaw said the resolution for the transportation impact fee did not address the issue. There was no one from the Parks Department in the audience to answer the question concerning the increase in the park fee. Commissioner Blockley asked if similar requests have been heard and denied in recent months? Ms. Shaw said yes once and it was denied. Commissioner Tragish asked Roger McIntosh (representing the applicant) when the assessment district was put together and how long it took to do that? Mr. McIntosh said the maps have to be recorded before the district goes into effect so it was about a year ago. Minutes, PC, May 20, 2004 Page 3 Commissioner Tragish said that he is inclined to vote for approving staff's recommendation for all of these applications but by the same token, he does support granting the extensions for 5.5 through 5.7 because permits have been pulled on them. Commissioner Blockley asked if the tentative maps had not been recorded, would they be subject to the new fees? Mr. Grady said no. Commissioner Ellison said that the staff report states the city would give up 3.2 million dollars in the coming year by approving the extensions and that he would be supporting staff's recommendation. Commissioner Gay said he would support Commissioner Tragish's position. Mr. Grady said the development community knew the fees would be increased a long time before they made the change. The subdividers understand the map act more so than most people so they are not subject to changes in fees after they have committed to a certain development program, Commissioner Lomas commented that the previous Extension of Vesting Rights that was denied by the Commission also had permits pulled on it. 5.1 Extension of Vesting Rights for Tract 6086 (McIntosh &Assoc) (Ward 5) Motion made by Commissioner Gay, seconded by Commissioner Blockley, to deny the request for a one year extension of the Vesting Tentative Rights on Tract 6086 with findings set forth in the attached resolution Exhibit A. AYES: Commissioners Blockley, Ellison, Gay, Lomas, Spencer, Tkac, Tragish NOES: None ABSENT: None 5.2 Extension of Vesting Rights for Tract 6087 Phase A (McIntosh &Assoc) (Ward 5) Motion made by Commissioner Gay, seconded by Commissioner Blockley, to deny the request for a one year extension of the Vesting Tentative Rights on Tract 6087 Phase A with findings set forth in the attached resolution Exhibit A. AYES: Commissioners Blockley, Ellison, Gay, Lomas, Spencer, Tkac, Tragish NOES: None ABSENT: None 5.3 Extension of Vesting Rights for Tract 6087 Phase B (McIntosh &Assoc) (Ward 5) Motion made by Commissioner Gay, seconded by Commissioner Blockley, to deny the request for a one year extension of the Vesting Tentative Rights on Tract 6087 Phase B with findings set forth in the attached resolution Exhibit A. Minutes, PC, May 20, 2004 Page 4 AYES: Commissioners Blockley, Ellison, Gay, Lomas, Spencer, Tkac, Tragish NOES: None ABSENT: None 5.4 Extension of Vesting Rights for Tract 6087 Phase C (McIntosh &Assoc) (Ward 5) Motion made by Commissioner Gay, seconded by Commissioner Blockley, to deny the request for a one year extension of the Vesting Tentative Rights on Tract 6087 Phase C with findings set forth in the attached resolution Exhibit A. AYES: Commissioners Blockley, Ellison, Gay, Lomas, Spencer, Tkac, Tragish NOES: None ABSENT: None 5.5 Extension of Vesting Rights for Tract 6087 Phase D (McIntosh &Assoc) (Ward 5) Motion made by Commissioner Gay, seconded by Commissioner Blockley, to approve the request for a one year extension of the Vesting Tentative Rights on Tract 6087 Phase D with findings set forth in the attached resolution Exhibit A. AYES: Commissioners Blockley, Gay, Spencer, Tkac, Tragish NOES: Commissioners Ellison, Lomas ABSENT: None 5.6 Extension of Vesting Rights for Tract 6104 Phase 1 (McIntosh &Assoc) (Ward 5) Motion made by Commissioner Gay, seconded by Commissioner Blockley, to approve the request for a one year extension of the Vesting Tentative Rights on Tract 6104 Phase 1 with findings set forth in the attached resolution Exhibit A. AYES: Commissioners Blockley, Gay, Spencer, Tkac, Tragish NOES: Commissioners Ellison, Lomas ABSENT: None 5.7 Extension of Vesting Rights for Tract 6104 Phase 5 (McIntosh &Assoc) (Ward 5) Motion made by Commissioner Gay, seconded by Commissioner Blockley, to approve the request for a one year extension of the Vesting Tentative Rights on Tract 6104 Phase 5 with findings set forth in the attached resolution Exhibit A. AYES: Commissioners Blockley, Gay, Spencer, Tkac, Tragish NOES: Commissioners Ellison, Lomas Minutes, PC, May 20, 2004 Page 5 ABSENT: None Commissioner Ellison said that he voted no because he believes the fees should be collected for orderly development to provide for our infrastructure. Commissioner Lomas said she voted no for the same reason and that they had already set a precedent by denying the previous extension on vesting rights. 6. PUBLIC HEARING — Street Name Change from Windsong Street to Ashley Castle Way (Brian Allan Castle) (Ward 4) The public hearing had been opened previously on May 6, 2004. Staff report given recommending denial. The following spoke in opposition to staff's recommendation: Charlotte & Brian Castle rebutted staff's reasons for denying the request. One of the reasons given was fiscal responsibility and they stated they are willing to incur the costs of changing the street signs. They also feel that changing the maps would not be a problem because with all the building going on in the area, maps are being changed all the time. Ms. Castle stated that the second reason for denial was sound alike names. They do not feel this is a valid reason as they found 330 sound alike names in the phone book within 15 minutes of opening it. She then listed examples and stated that emergency response teams are trained well and know the area in which they work. Ms. Castle said she doesn't think setting a precedent is a justified reason for denying the request. They feel this is just a reason being used because there isn't any other justifiable reason to deny the request. They do not think there will be a flood of people requesting street name changes if this request is approved. Ms. Castle said they have exceeded the requirements outlined by the city and they feel that based on this, this request should be granted. Joy Kinney, Joey Garza, Cindy Kinney, and Daniel Froehlich spoke in favor of changing the street name. They feel that changing the street name would promote safety. The street name will be a reminder to motorists and pedestrians to be extra cautious. Ms. Robinson spoke in favor of changing the street name. She said the policy is vague. It seems to be a discretionary decision whereas she feels the policy should be concise. Ms. Robinson said to base a decision on this street name request on a new policy would not be appropriate. She feels that this street name change request would be a good opportunity to decide what the policy may be, such as, paying fees, streets that have no addresses or a certain number of signatures, etc. Ms. Robinson said that given what has been said tonight, there is no basis for denial. All of the issues have been argued and there is no foundation for denial. Brad Henderson, representing Pheasant Run Homeowners Association, spoke in favor of staff's recommendation. Mr. Henderson said the property south of Brimhall is a designated homeowners association with their own governance of CC&R's and architectural landscape controls. They are concerned about the ambience of the intersection. The association approved a statue being placed but there has been an on-going buildup of a shrine of which they have had to bear the idea of walking through or driving through there the whole time. They ask when is enough enough? A plaque has been placed on the wall that the association has to maintain. Minutes, PC, May 20, 2004 Page 6 They believe there is enough memorabilia there. There is no reason to start changing street names. Public portion of the hearing closed. Commissioner Ellison said this is a very serious decision and he is in favor of the name change, He is not worried about setting a precedent. He feels that this would be a way to preserve Bakersfield's "hometown" feel. He can't think of a better way to memorialize Ashley Castle. Commissioner Gay said this is a very difficult decision. He said he developed the subdivision and it was developed with the full intent to locate the Windsong development on a map. He doesn't feel it is the right thing to do. If you change every intersection of Rosedale for every young teenager that had a tragic accident along Rosedale, it would be chaos. Whatever staff's recommendation, Commissioner Gay's philosophy is it is a bad precedent to start and what would happen if someone else had an accident there, would we then change Ashley Castle to the next tragic incident? Commissioner Gay said the City should modify the ordinance to clarify it so that we don't get put in this position again. He believes staff's recommendation for denial is appropriate. Commissioner Blockley is reluctantly leaning in favor of staff's position because he also feels that local government should not begin a practice of street renaming for deceased family members as stated in the staff report. Commissioner Tkac said this is not an easy decision to make. He can't support the name change but he feels that a positive precedent should be set to avoid this happening to other children such as promoting bike safety programs and bike helmets, etc. Due to a malfunction in the tape recorder and a broken tape, the rest of the comments were lost. Motion made by Commissioner Gay, seconded by Commissioner Spencer, to deny the street name change from Windsong to Ashley Castle Way as depicted in the attached resolution (Exhibit A). Motion carried by the following roll call vote: AYES: Commissioner Blockley, Gay, Lomas, Spencer, Tkac, Tragish NOES: Commissioner Ellison ABSENT: None The rest of the minutes were done from notes taken. The tape recorder malfunctioned and the tape of the meeting broke. It was not able to be repaired. 7. PUBLIC HEARINGS —TENTATIVE PARCEL MAPS 7.1 Tentative Parcel Map 11092 (DeWalt Corp) (Ward 4) See Consent Agenda 7.2 Tentative Parcel Map 10928 (Pinnacle Engineering) (Ward 3) See Consent Agenda Minutes, PC, May 20, 2004 Page 7 8. PUBLIC HEARINGS — TENTATIVE TRACT MAPS 8.1 Vesting Tentative Tract Map No. 6256 (Porter-Robertson Eng.) (Ward 3) Commissioner Tragish declared a conflict of interest on this project. This item was continued until the June 3 meeting on a motion by Commissioner Blockley, seconded by Commissioner Spencer, by the following roll call vote: AYES: Commissioner Blockley, Ellison, Gay, Lomas, Spencer, Tkac NOES: None ABSENT: Commissioner Tragish 8.2a Development Plan Review (Porter-Robertson) (Ward 4) See Consent Agenda 8.2b Vesting Tentative Tract Map 6295 (Porter-Robertson) (Ward 4) See Consent Agenda 8.3 Vesting Tentative Tract Map 6296 (Dee Jaspar and Associates) (Ward 1) See Consent Agenda 9. PUBLIC HEARING —Zone Change 03-1514 (Marino and Associates) (Ward 6) Public portion of the hearing opened. Commissioner Gay requested that this item be pulled from the Consent Agenda. Staff report given recommending approval. No one spoke against the project. Jim Marino, representing the applicant, and Paul Ridenour spoke in favor. Motion made by Commissioner Ellison, seconded by Commissioner Tkac, to approve and adopt the negative declaration and to approve zone change 03-1514 with findings and conditions set forth in the attached resolution Exhibit A including a memorandum dated May 13, 2004 from Stanley Grady and recommend the same to City Council AYES: Commissioner Blockley, Ellison, Lomas, Spencer, Tkac NOES: Commissioner Gay ABSENT: Commissioner Tragish 10. COMMUNICATIONS: 11. COMMISSION COMMENTS: Minutes, PC, May 20, 2004 Page 8 12. ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF RE-APOINTMENT OF COMMISSIONER TKAC AND APPOINTMENT OF CHAIRMAN AND VICE-CHAIRMAN: Motion made by Commissioner Tkac, seconded by Commissioner Spencer, to nominate Commissioner Tragish Chairman. Motion carried by group vote. Motion made by Commissioner Blockley, seconded by Commissioner Lomas, to nominate Commissioner Ellison, Vice Chairman. Motion carried by group vote. Motion made by Commissioner Tkac, seconded by Commissioner Blockley, to allow the new Chairman to set seating arrangements. Motion carried by group vote. 13. ADJOURNMEMT: There being no further business to come before the Commission, the meeting was adjourned at 7:37 p.m. Pam Townsend, Recording Secretary STANLEY GRADY, Secretary Planning Director July 2, 2004