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HomeMy WebLinkAbout4-14-09 BZA Minutes MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING BOARD OF ZONING ADJUSTMENT OF THE CITY OF BAKERSFIELD Held Tuesday, April 14, 2009, 3:00 p.m., Conference Room A, City Hall North, 1600 Truxtun Avenue, Bakersfield, California. 1. ROLL CALL BOARD MEMBERS: Present: PHIL BURNS, Chair VINCE ZARAGOZA Absent: RAUL ROJAS STAFF MEMBERS: Present: JIM EGGERT, Assistant Planning Director PAUL HELLMAN, Principal Planner ED MURPHY, Civil Engineer III ROBERT SHERFY, Attorney DELORES OLDHAM, Secretary 2.PUBLIC STATEMENTS No speaker cards were presented. 3. CONSENT CALENDAR A. Non-Public Hearing Items: 1. Approval of the minutes of the regular meeting held March 10, 2009. Member Zaragoza moved to approve the consent calendar non- public hearing items. Motion carried by the following roll call vote: AYES: Members Burns, Zaragoza NAYS: None ABSENT: Member Rojas B. Public Hearing Items: File No. 09-0054 1. – Approval to continue to May 12, 2009 a conditional use permit to construct a 5,137 square foot drive- through restaurant in a C-1 (Neighborhood Commercial) zone district located at 4600 Ming Avenue. Minutes, BZA, 4/14/09 Page 2 File No. 09-0128 2. -Approval to continue to May 12, 2009 a conditional use permit to operate a recycling center for the collection of California Redemption Value (CRV) containers in an M-1 (Light Manufacturing) zone district located at 518 E. California Avenue. File No. 09-0244 3. -Approval of a conditional use permit to construct an 80-foot tall monopole communications antenna in an R-1 (One- Family Dwelling) zone district located at 8201 Norris Road. RECOMMENDATION: ApproveConsent Calendar Staff noted in their April 14, 2009 memorandum that the applicant for File No. 09- 0244 requested a continuance to May 12, 2009. The public hearing was opened. No one from the audience or from the Board requested removal of any items from the consent calendar. The public hearing for the consent calendar public hearing items remained open. Member Zaragoza moved to continue all consent calendar public hearing items to May 12, 2009. Motion carried by the following roll call vote: AYES: Members Burns, Zaragoza NAYS: None ABSENT: Member Rojas 4. PUBLIC HEARING File No. 08-1795 1. -A conditional use permit to allow the development of a water park, including paid public parking facilities, and a 25,000 square- foot community center with associated parking on approximately 28 total acres within an OS (Open Space) zone district located at 3825 Riverlakes Drive. RECOMMENDATION: Approve The public hearing was opened and the staff report was given. Sean Bryan of In Shape Health Clubs of Bakersfield stated that his business supports the project, but that they take issue with a government project competing with private businesses. Mr. Bryan recommended the following be added to the conditions of approval: 1. The project should be under the same evaluation as a private business. Government monies should not be used to subsidize classes or programs. Minutes, BZA, 4/14/09 Page 3 2. Any programs, classes or activities should not compete with the same programs offered by private businesses, and they should charge comparable fees for such programs. Greg Briggs, Kevin Copahdey, and Joshua Hunter representing the applicant, Clear Water Park Development, introduced themselves. They stated that the company operates a similar water park in Irvine, California and that they have been in the process of developing a water park in Bakersfield for two years and feel that they have found the right site. Mr. Briggs gave a PowerPoint presentation describing their company, their existing water park, and their proposal. Colon Bywater of North of the River Recreation and Parks District (NOR), the property owner, stated that NOR is not in competition with the private sector and that their main focus is supervised programs for youth. Mr. Hunter stated that they met with staff regarding paid parking and hours of operation. He stated that they agreed to offer discounts for carpooling, but are now requesting flexibility regarding the minimum number of persons per carpool vehicle. They do not propose to charge for van or bus parking. He stated that afterhours functions would be kept to a minimum. Mr. Briggs stated they are unsure how parking will work in Bakersfield, which is why they are requesting flexibility. He stated that season passes including parking will be available. Regarding lighting, he stated that their staff works until 10:00 p.m. every night and that they plan to have afterhours functions on occasion. The public hearing was closed. Member Zaragoza referred to a letter dated April 9, 2009 from In Shape Health Clubs. He inquired if any public funding will be used for the water park. Staff stated that no City funding will be used since the subject property is owned by NOR and that the facility will be operated by NOR and their lessee. Dave McArthur of NOR stated that the applicant (Clear Water Park Development) will be leasing property for the development of the water park and that no NOR funds will be used to develop or operate the water park. He stated that the development of the community center will involve public funding from state grants and developer fees. Member Zaragoza asked if the community center will have any restrictions on fees due to the use of public funding for development. Mr. McArthur stated that they will be able to charge fees for their programs. Member Zaragoza referred to the two abandoned oil wells located on the site and referenced recommended conditions of approval requiring the applicant to prepare and implement a Work Plan prior to the issuance of a grading permit for the development. He asked if the State Division of Oil and Gas, County Department of Environmental Health, and/or City Fire Prevention Services will Minutes, BZA, 4/14/09 Page 4 verify that contaminated soils have been adequately remediated. Staff responded that the Work Plan identified in the recommended condition of approval must be prepared to satisfaction of the City’s Prevention Services Director before building permits are issued or site grading occurs. Member Burns inquired about the hours of operation of 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. as described in the staff report. Staff responded that they were told by the applicant that these were the proposed hours of operation, but that the recommended conditions of approval do not identify specific hours of operation. Staff explained that recommended condition of approval 21 states that the water park may not be operated after dark, but that it allows for the use of lighting for after dark maintenance work and security purposes. Member Burns stated that the recommended condition of approval provides flexibility and that he would not be in favor of extending the hours of operation without public comment from residents in the area. Mr. Briggs stated that pools must be lighted for maintenance after dark. He stated it is difficult to advertise that hours are until “after dark” because no one knows what that means, so they need to advertise specific hours. He stated that it is much warmer here than in their other park so guests may want to stay at the park a little later. He stated that at their park in Irvine there are about a half a dozen days per year when schools request an additional 2 hours after the park closes, but that they never remain open past 10:00 p.m. He also stated that it usually takes approximately 45 minutes for the last guests to leave the premises after the park closes, which is why they would like some additional flexibility. He stated that they will not be scheduled to be open beyond 10:00 p.m. Member Burns ask if lighting will be the same during maintenance hours and if there will be additional lighting if guests are permitted to remain on the premises until 10:00 p.m. Mr. Briggs stated they will turn off some of the lighting while performing maintenance activities, but that all lighting will remain on after dark when the park is open to the public for safety. Member Burns stated that he might be in favor of continuing this item if it is proposed to remain open after dark. Staff specified that the water park’s proposed hours of operation were not advertised, so times could be adjusted by the Board without additional public notice. Staff stated that 10:00 p.m. is the cutoff point for City noise regulations and that the condition could be modified to allow the park to be open to the public until 9:00 p.m., which would provide the water park with an additional hour for guests to leave the premises. Mr. Briggs stated one hour is not enough for private after hours events. Staff suggested that the condition could allow for earlier closing hours during the week and slightly later closing hours on weekends. Mr. Briggs requested that the park be permitted to remain open until 9:00 p.m. on weekdays and 10:00 p.m. on weekends, which was acceptable to staff. Minutes, BZA, 4/14/09 Page 5 Member Burns inquired about the applicant’s request to increase the minimum number of persons in order to qualify for free carpool parking. Mr. Briggs stated that the size of families differ in Bakersfield versus other areas and worried that nearly every car would have four or more people. He stated that they might be willing to give a carpool discount to a carload of five people. He also stated that vans would not be charged. Staff discussed the potential for water park guests parking illegally in the surrounding area and that they would like to promote carpooling. Therefore, staff recommended leaving the number of people to four in order to get free carpool parking. Member Zaragoza was concerned about late night lighting which might affect neighbors. Staff stated that a sentence addressing the shielding of lighting could be added to the condition of approval regarding lighting requirements. Mr. Briggs stated that the tallest structure would be approximately 30 to 35 feet in height and that lighting can be channeled. Member Zaragoza moved to approve File No. 08-1795 including the merging of conditions of approval III.F.2. and III.F.3. as outlined in the staff memorandum dated April 14, 2009, as well as restrictions allowing the park to remain open no later than 9:00 p.m. weekdays and no later than 10:00 p.m. weekends. Motion carried by the following roll call vote: AYES: Members Burns, Zaragoza NAYS: None ABSENT: Member Rojas 5. COMMUNICATIONS None. 6. BOARD COMMENTS None. 7.ADJOURNMENT There being no further business the meeting was adjourned at 4:00 p.m. Delores Oldham, Recording Secretary _________________________________ JIM EGGERT, Assistant Planning Director