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08/21/2008 Community and Economic Development Department I GRAND TERRACE PLANNING COMMISSION (A l I f O R N I A MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING AUGUST 21,2008 The reeular meetine of the Grand Terrace Planning Commission was called to order at the Grand Terrace Civic Center. 22795 Barton Road. Grand Terrace. California. on AUGUST 21.2008 at 7:00 mm..by Chairman Wilson. PRESENT: Doug Wilson, Chairperson Matthew Addington, Vice Chairperson Tom Comstock, Commissioner Darcy McNaboe, Commissioner Brian Phelps, Commissioner Gary Koontz, Planning Director Sandra Molina, Senior Planner Jo Verhelle, City Manager Secretary ABSENT: Jerina Cordova, Planning Secretary 7:05 P.M. CONVENED SITE AND ARCHITECTURE REVIEW BOARD/ PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING • Call to Order • Pledge of Allegiance led by Commissioner Vice Chair Addington a! Roll Call • Public address to Commission shall be limited to three minutes unless extended by the Chairman. Should you desire to make a longer presentation, please make written request to be agendized to the Director of Community and Economic Development. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION JEFFREY MCCONNELL Walnut Avenue Mr. McConnell requested status on the nineteen acre-lot to the North of him and on the Manhole Builders property after receiving a phone call from the representative. Director Koontz stated that a representative from Orange County met with him in regards to proposing an equipment store. It was suggested that he meet with the local residents in the area - 1 22795 Barton Road • Grand Terrace, California 92313-5295 9 909/ 824-6621 before proceeding. There has not been any activity on the nineteen acres to the North. PATRICIA FARLEY 12513 Michigan Street Ms. Farley requested the Planning Commissioners to direct staff to explain the changes on the General Plan Map and the City Website. She also requested that the Planning Commission direct staff to prove the current General Plan of 1988 is correct. Ms. Farley submitted a write-up of her research on the General Plan to the City Council on July 22, 2008, as well as providing a copy to the Planning Commisison. Chair Wilson directed staff to meet with the Planning Commissioners on Ms. Farley's request. ITEMS: 1. MINUTES: Planning Commission Meeting Minutes of October 4, 2007 RECOMMENDATION: Approval of revised minutes continued from March 6, 2008 MOTION VOTE: Vice Chair Addington made a Motion Commissioner Phelps Seconded PC-12-2008 3-0-2-0 Motion carries with Commissioner McNaboe and - Commissioner Phelps Abstaining Commissioner McNaboe requested staff to catch up on minutes. Director Koontz stated that a few of the minutes were denied,revised and brought back for approval. Chair Wilson informed the Planning Commission that for the last three years a speed version has occurred however all speakers are required to give their name to assist the Planning Secretary when she is typing the minutes. 2. MINUTES: Planning Commission Meeting Minutes of November 1, 2007 RECOMMENDATION: Approval PC-13-2008 Vice Chair Addington made a Motion Commissioner Phelps Seconded MOTION VOTE: 4-0-1-0 Motion carries with Commissioner McNaboe Abstaining t 2 3. MINUTES: Planning Commission Meeting Minutes of December 6, 2007 RECOMMENDATION: Approval of revised minutes continued from April 17, 2008 PC-14-2008 Vice Chair Addington made a Motion Commissioner Phelps Seconded MOTION VOTE: 3-0-2-0 Motion carries with Commissioner Comstock and Commissioner McNaboe Abstaining 4. Z-06-02/E-07-09 Z-06-02 Proposed Amateur "HAM" Radio Antenna Ordinance and E-07-09 proposed Negative Declaration determining that the proposed Ordinance will not have a significant impact on the environment APPLICANT: City of Grand Terrace Community Development Department LOCATION: City-wide RECOMMENDATION: Conduct a public hearing on the proposed Ordinance and Negative Declaration and vote to recommend to the City Council the adoption of the . proposed Ordinance and proposed Negative Declaration. PC-15-2008 Chair Wilson made an alternative Motion to send it back to the HAM Committee for revisions Commissioner McNaboe seconded MOTION VOTE: 5-0-0-0 Chair Wilson gave the public a brief summary of the Proposed Amateur"HAM" Radio Antenna Ordinance, summarizing that it is before the Planning Commission to make a recommendation to the City Council. Senior Planner Molina presented her staff report to the Planning Commission. The Planning Commission recommended an ordinance to the City Council on January 17, 2008. A Committee was formed on March 11, 2008 by the City Council to reevaluate the ordinance. The Committee met and presented some recommendations on June 19, 2008 to the Planning Commission. The Planning Commission requested changes to the ordinance exempting satellite television, small radio antenna's from acquiring permits, expanded notification boundaries and reduced antenna height. 3 Changes were made to the ordinance by adding certain definitions, exceptions a height stipulation of ten feet and Subsection A-3, notification of boundaries for all proposals has also been added to three hundred feet. The height was reduced to thirty-five feet and anything higher would require a Land Use review before Planning Commission. The Director of Planning could approve the Land Use if it met all of the standards and so long as there were no health and safety concerns. If the conditions were not reasonable the applicant could request a hearing before the City Coucil. Chair Wilson requested clarification on the approval power of administrative reviews. He believed there was a gray area in the director's discretion. Senior Planner Molina briefly explained the administrative review. Director Koontz stated that staff would administratively judge the maximum feet of the of the operating height,per standards, and anything over would be brought before the Planning Commissioner. Letters were received from Zach Mullinex and Robert Souter on the ordinance that is before the Planning Commission and are attached as exhibits in the Staff Report. Staff recommended a public hearing on the purposed ordinance and vote to adopt the resolution that is attached to the report, make a recommendation to the City Council to adopt the negative declaration that was prepared and the purposed ordinance. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION ANTHONY R. GORDON (Inaudible) Senior Planner Molina's Notes: Mr. Gordon felt that the height should be forty-five feet, that the development standards are too restrictive and that the Ordinance.should provide reasonable accommodations. ROBERT STEWART 11677 Mt.Vernon Avenue Grand Terrace, CA 92313 (Inaudible) Senior Planner Molina's Notes: Mr. Stewart is not a HAM operator he is a Short -Wave Listener, and the Ordinance only Id's HAM's. JAMES A.HAUTER Grand Terrace, CA 92313 (Inaudible) Senior Planner Molina's Notes: Mr. Hauter states that some sections are reasonable and some are a little restrictive. The number of antennas is restrictive. Thirty Foot maximum is not reasonable. The wind load is too restrictive. The Ten-foot antenna for television is too restrictive. 4 The AH 3 disagrees that the ordinance is fine. Mr. Hauter supports Bob Souter's letter. The Ordinance is not based on health and safety. ED LUERS 12542 Pascal Avenue (Inaudible) Mr. Leurs provided the Planning Commission with a letter and picture attachments of his Antenna. In summary, Mr. Leur opposed the ordinance, antenna height; number of antennas allowed and felt a negative feeling in the amateur community toward the City. JOANN JOHNSON 12723 Mt.Vernon Avenue Grand Terrace, California 92313 (Inaudible) Ms. Johnson provided a copy of a letter that was addressed to Councilman, Jim Miller. In summary, Ms. Johnson was disappointed with the height of the antenna, felt the 300 ft. notification should be 100 ft., agreed to have a list of licensed amateur operator's in the City, and requested a clear definition of how antenna's were counted. BOBSOUTER 12145 Westwood Street (Inaudible) Senior Planner Molina's Notes: Mr. Souter believes the noticing meets legal requirements. He wants to know why T-Mobile can be at 66 feet. Mr. Souter wanted to discuss public health issues for T-Mobile vs. HAM. Mr. Souter believes that AM Radio promotes health and safety. Mr. Souter believes that the City should be concerned with structural integrity. Mr. Souter wants more than 3 antennas. He believes that the standards are too restrictive. Side B Tape 1 Mr. Souter requested that the ordinance be referred back to the HAM Committee so that it could be reviewed and revised. CHESTER ESTER 21963 Tanager Street Mr. Ester has been a resident and HAM operator before the City became a city. Mr. Ester started with a novice license and stated that an operator has to test for each additional license after that. He believes that HAM operators do what they can to keep from interfering with anybody else. He stated that merchandise such as televisions are made cheap and don't have the capacitors to suppress radio signals. Mr. Ester believed that the 300 ft. notification is too excessive. 5 Mr. Ester would provide radio traffic to Antarctica that allowed families to communicate with each other. Most of the communication would occur at one o'clock in the morning so he does not feel he bothered anyone. Mr. Ester stated that height restriction is limiting. The license that he carries allows him to talk on antenna's that are available on heights taller than allowed in the ordinance. Mr. Ester suggested that a person who understands amateur radio should help rewrite the ordinance in a more appropriate manner. ZACH MULLINEX Highland, California Mr. Mullinex is the head of an emergency communication service for San Bernardino Fire. Mr. Mullinex sat on the HAM Committee and assisted in developing ordinance. Mr. Mullinex supports the ordinance. MARK CVIKOTA 22815 Kentfield Street Mr. Cvikota felt that at the end of the last meeting a good balance of the needs of the HAM Community was met. He supported the ordinance as it is written and encouraged the Planning Commission to support it as is. l NOLAN GAGE 22646 Garden Street Mr. Gage has been a HAM Operator for twenty-seven years and the only issue he had was the height restrictions. JIM MILLER, City Councilman 22996 Palm Avenue Mr. Miller was a member of the committee. Mr. Miller was pleased with the limitation on television and satellite antenna's that are attached to houses. Mr. Miller addressed what he felt was the main issue of height changing the limit from 45 feet height to 35 feet height. Chair Wilson explained the Planning Commissioner's point in going through the process and by directing that all comments go to Mr. Miller. Chair Wilson stated that any written comments should have been directed to Mr. Miller. CARL CARDENAS Perris, California Mr. Cardenas questioned the application process in applying for a larger antenna. 6 Chair Wilson explained the process was a starting point for an ordinance due to an absence of law for accessory structures. People were upset about an installation of a certain structure that had no guidelines for its use. CHESTER ESTER 21963 Tanager Street Mr. Ester addressed power line concerns in the forty percent restriction. Mr. Ester asked for an exception to that rule. Director Koontz explained that if the application was not able to be approved administratively then it would go before the Planning Commission for review. Chair Wilson stated the Planning Commissioners were trying to create an ordinance that would govern most situations. Commissioner McNaboe questioned whether the EOC antenna was over 35 feet. Director Koontz stated that he could not answer the question. Unknown Man#1 (Inaudible) Chair Wilson asked the unknown'man where the facility was located. r^ Unknown Man#1 stated that the county EOC is located in Rialto at 16743 Marlborough Way near the municipal airport. Chair Wilson asked Director Koontz where the City EOC facilities were located. Director Koontz stated that they were located 100 ft. behind the City. Chair Wilson confirmed that City Hall is considered a public use. Commissioner Comstock commented on the 300 foot notification and stressed that it was real important to know where the HAM operators were located in the City. Commissioner Comstock believes that in the event of interference a list could keep people informed of how many . operators are around them. Commissioner Comstock requested that the 300 foot notification to remain in the ordinance. Director Koontz spoke to Zach Mullinex of the fire department communications and he offered to give the City some assistance if there were problems with radio antennas. Commissioner Comstock questioned if adding a phone number list to the ordinance was an option. Director Koontz stated that it would be a code enforcement issue and that the City Code Enforcement Officer knew whom to contact. Chair Wilson clarified if Commissioner Comstock was making a motion to amend the ordinance. Commissioner Comstock stated that he was making a suggestion for a consideration. Chair Wilson requested a history on how staff came up with the 35 foot height issue. Director Koontz stated the Zoning Ordinance allowed for accessory uses up to 20 feet and maximum heights of buildings in different zones is 35 feet. 7 5. SA-08-03/CUP-08-03 & E-08-02 Site and Architectural Review SA-08-03, Conditional Use Permit CUP-08-03 and Environmental E-08-02; to construct a 66-foot high telecommunications tower disguised as a fire hose rack. APPLICANT: Omnipoint Communications, Inc. dba T-Mobile USA, Inc. LOCATION: 22582 City Center Court; Grand Terrace Fire Station No. 23 RECOMMENDATION: Conduct a public hearing and vote to approve the project. PC-16-2008 Commissioner Comstock made a Motion to approve Commissioner Phelps Seconded MOTION VOTE: 4-1-0-0 Motion carries with McNaboe voting No Senior Planner Molina presented the Planning Commission with her staff report. The proposal is to construct 66-foot high telecommunications tower within the Village Commercial designation of the Barton Road Specific Plan. The tower is to be disguised as a fully operational fire hose rack. The fire hose is unmanned and once operational it will be serviced once a month. The proposal is consistent with the Barton Road Specific Plan, Chapter 18.71 of the City's Zoning Code regulates wireless telecommunication facilities, and the proposal is consistent with the City's General Plan. An Environmental Initial Study and Mitigated Negative Declaration were both prepared and noticed. A comment period of twenty days was given however, no comments were received. Staff recommends the Planning Commission adopt the Resolution and Conditions of Approval. LUCIA ORTEGA T-Mobile Representative Ms. Ortega reiterated what staff presented and requested the Planning Commission's approval. She felt that she worked very hard with staff to address visual concerns. Chair Wilson asked if the tower would only benefit T-Mobile customers. Ms. Ortega answered yes. 8 PUBLIC PARTICIPATION PATRICIA FARLEY 12513 Michigan Street Ms. Farley had a concern that other companies would request to do the same thing. She believed that the project was made to look like it was needed by the Fire Department. She believed that there is more needed information on what the fire hose rack looked like and the number allowed. Chair Wilson asked staff if there was an ordinance that does not allow a fire hose rack. Director Koontz reminded the Planning Commission that the Fire Department was a public facility. If the Fire Department elected to install a fire hose, they would not need the Planning Commission's approval. Commissioner Comstock asked what the purpose of the fire rack was. Director Koontz stated that he would address it with the Fire Department; but most likely to extend hoses, which they do now on a chain link fence. Commissioner McNaboe stated that she was not happy with the camouflage of the pole. Chair Wilson adjourned the Site And Architecture Review Board-Planning Commission meeting and convened public workshop session. WORKSHOP ITEMS: 1) SUBJECT: Assessors Parcel No. 1167-291-02 Discuss conceptual subdivision design, as requested by developer, Darryl E. Moore. Director Koontz informed the Planning_Commission that the developer pulled the item from the agenda. 2) SUBJECT: Discuss City of Grand Terrace commercial building and site design Director Koontz informed the Planning Commission of the applications received by the City for a variety of commercial projects along Barton Road. There are a lot of commercial projects and staff would like direction on-End of tape 1 side B. Director Koontz was not expecting a lot of input however, he wanted to introduce what was being proposed. Because these projects are all occurring at the same time, it is a good idea to create a coherent streetscape and nice entrance to the City. Chair Wilson stated that he met with Director Koontz regarding the projects occurring in the City. The corridor to the City is an important portion of the City. The City Council asked that it 9 be addressed. Chair Wilson asked Director Koontz to start up some workshops on the new projects. An application had been submitted on the proposal of the Town Center and each Planning Commissioner had the chance to review it with the Director for comments to the developer. Director Koontz stated that once he received Town Square and Barton Square applications he would start assembling packets with the architectural and landscaping concepts to present to the public. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION PATRICIA FARLEY 12531 Michigan Street Ms. Farley stated the idea is not new and it is what she has been complaining about for years. The guidelines that were there before have not been followed. Ms. Farley stated there are not a legally processed and approved General Plan and General Use. Ms. Farley used Miguel's Restaurant as an example of illegal use. Ms. Farley requested information on a piece of property that is an orange square next to the blue. Director.Koontz stated the center is where Pasta Italia is located but couldn't recall the name. Ms. Farley questioned the projects that were being built by the Brook Church. She didn't feel that parking, circulation, traffic or environmental impacts were being addressed. Chair Wilson stated that General Plan Update should correct all the inaccuracies that may or may not exist. • Information to Commissioners Director Koontz asked the Planning Commissioners their idea on starting the meetings at 6:00 p.m. instead of 7:00 p.m. Vice Chair Addington stated that he could not make it at 6:00 p.m. however, he could make 6:30 p.m. Commissioner McNaboe is okay with 6:30 p.m. Commissioner Comstock preferred 7:00 p.m. but could make 6:30 p.m. Commissioner Phelps expressed no concern. Chair Wilson asked the Commissioners to think about it and follow up at the next meeting. Commissioner Comstock asked what was going on with the cleaning of plating company. Director Koontz stated that there was now a cooperative owner and he.understands the issue. Staff is working together with the owner to mediate the issues. Commissioner Comstock requested status on the high school. Director Koontz stated it is still on track to break ground early next year. 10 Commissioner McNaboe wanted clarification on the Brook Church discussion and wanted to know if it was County or the City of Grand Terrace. Director Koontz stated that it is Riverside County. • Information from Commissioners Commissioner Phelps requested information on dilapidated houses in the City. Director Koontz stated that the Code Enforcement works with the County and Fire Department usually address brush hazards at this time of year. Commissioner Phelps requested an ordinance that requires bank-owned properties to maintain yards of vacant homes. Chair Wilson validated Commissioner Phelps request. Director Koontz suggested the information be taken to City Council. Chair Wilson adjourned the public workshop meeting. The next Planning Commission meeting is to be held on September 4, 2008. Respectfully Submitted, Approved By, Joyce Powers, Doug Wilson Community&Economic Development Director Chairman For Gary L. Koontz, Planning Director 11