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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01/22/2019Approved March 7, 2019 1 Planning Commission Special Meeting – Study Session January 22, 2019 Minutes of a Special Meeting Town of Los Altos Hills PLANNING COMMISSION – STUDY SESSION Thursday, January 22, 2019, 7:00 PM Council Chambers, 26379 Fremont Road, Los Altos Hills, CA, 94022 ______________________________________________________________________________ 1. ROLL CALL AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Present: Absent: Chair Mandle, Commissioner Smith, Commissioner Abraham, Commissioner Couperus, Commissioner Patel None Staff: Planning Director Suzanne Avila, Principal Planner Steve Padovan, Planning Technician Cody Einfalt 2. PRESENTATIONS FROM THE FLOOR Chair Mandle opened presentations from the floor. Seeing no one wishing to speak, Chair Mandle closed presentations from the floor. 3. STUDY SESSION AND DISCUSSION Chair Mandle explained the procedure for the study session and stated that no motion would be taken on either of the items heard this evening. 3.1 ADDITION & REMODEL OF TOWN HALL - 26379 FREMONT RD Steve Padovan, Principal Planner, presented the staff report. The Commission asked questions and received responses. Commissioner Smith inquired about the Purissima Hills Water District building and asked if it could be relocated. Mr. Padovan stated that the Purissima Hills Water District does not have to be located where it is. He mentioned that the Water District is only leasing their current building and could relocate at a future time. Commissioner Patel inquired into how much space the Water District building is occupying on Town property. Approved March 7, 2019 2 Planning Commission Special Meeting – Study Session January 22, 2019 Mr. Padovan explained that the water district's building is roughly 1,400 square feet. Commissioner Patel explained that when remodeling any building the possibility of future staff expansion should be considered. He asked staff if the preliminary designs allow for staff to grow in the next 10-15 years. Mr. Padovan explained that there is additional room for growth. With the proposed design, each staff member would have their own desk and also create four more spaces for future employees. Commissioner Patel said that currently there is no dedicated space for the Town's committees to hold meetings. He said he likes that the tentative plans have incorporated meeting rooms for the committees and adequate space for staff. Commissioner Couperus asked staff about the cell tower behind Town Hall and the status of the current lease on the antenna. Mr. Padovan said he believes the lease ends in 2025. Commissioner Couperus said that when the cell tower was constructed, its supporting infrastructure took over the shed behind Town Hall. He explained that he would like to have that shed back for the residents to enjoy. Mr. Padovan stated that the cell tower has no impact on the tentative remodel plans for Town Hall. Commissioner Smith stated he had no comment. Chair Mandle opened the floor to public comment. Lester Earnest, Los Altos, Hills, took a different approach to the remodel project. His idea is to utilize Town property off O'Keefe Lane for the new Parks and Rec building. He stated that this location has good pathway connectivity and that there is plenty of room for sport courts, playing fields, and parking. He added that he is in favor of removing the Heritage House. Peter Brown, Environmental Design and Protection Committee, said he would like to keep the Heritage House as well as the native garden behind Town Hall. He said that the Heritage House has history with the Town and demolishing the native garden would set a bad example of site development projects. Eric Bredo, said he would like to see the facts on why Town Hall needs to be expanded. He expressed curiosity on how fast Town staff has grown over the years and why this remodel project is necessary. Approved March 7, 2019 3 Planning Commission Special Meeting – Study Session January 22, 2019 Mr. Padovan explained that staff is doubled up in some cubicals and must utilize common area table top space to get work done. He also said that Town Hall only has one large room for all the activities it facilitates. Nancy Couperus, Open Space Committee, said that there is no opposition against the expansion from the Committee, however they would like to keep the Heritage House for the storage of historical documents. She also expressed her own desire for a new community center. Carol Gottlieb, History Committee, said that the Committee is in favor of the expansion to the Parks and Rec building, but they are against the removal of the Heritage House, farm equipment, and native garden behind Town Hall. She explained that the Heritage House was intended for the History Committee’s documents but the space was taken over by the Emergency Operation Center. Ann Duwe, Los Altos Hills, said she supports additional space for staff and committee meetings, but requests a full kitchen be incorporated into the plans. She said an option would be to remodel the Heritage House to add a better kitchen for classes and activities. Ying Liu, Education Committee, said when she first moved to the Town she felt lost and wished there was a community center she could have gone to meet other people in the Town. She said she would like the Town to build something to increase the sense of community. Gary Hedden, Los Altos Hills, stated he thinks the Heritage House does have a strong significance in the Town and he would like to see it saved. Abigail Ahrens, City of Los Altos, spoke of saving the Heritage House and how it would be a nice thing to show children in the future. She said that the house has withstood earthquakes and keeps the Town in compliance with State law requirements for historical structures. Frank Lloyd, City of Los Altos, spoke of the Heritage House's historical significance. He stated that the house has withstood many earthquakes and that the Town has plenty of money to repair the structure if necessary. Birgitta Indaco, Environmental Design and Protection Committee, said she would like to save the Heritage House. She said that the house provides important meeting space for the Town's various committees and clubs. Diana Huffman, Los Altos Hills, she said that she approves of the Town Hall remodel project, however she is concerned about parking and traffic. She said that adding a kitchen would bring more noise to the area and possibly cause a nuisance. She said she is also concerned about the setback variance. She does not think the Town should grant a variance for itself. Approved March 7, 2019 4 Planning Commission Special Meeting – Study Session January 22, 2019 Mark Breier, Los Altos Hills, stated that he thinks that this remodel project is an act of fraud by the Town. He said that a community center was not supported by Town residents in the last community survey and the proposed plans violate setback requirements, require the removal of large redwood trees, and introduce a dangerous intersection onto Fremont Road. Linda Swan, Los Altos Hills, said that that she wants to keep the Heritage House and that she approves of building a new community center for Town residents. Scott Vanderlip, Los Altos Hills, said that he supports the proposed remodel plans, however, he thinks the plans fall short to think about the Town's needs 20 years into the future. He stated that he thinks a master plan is needed to adequately plan for the future. Kathy Evans, Los Altos Hills, said that she supports the addition, remodel, and new kitchen idea for Town Hall. She said she would specifically request an oven and dishwasher for the small kitchen. She said she does not see the Town hosting large events which would create a traffic problem. She said she would like to save the Heritage House and that staff should look into the possibility of adding a basement to the new Parks and Rec building for additional space. Chair Mandle closed the floor to public comment. Commissioner Patel asked staff whether they considered moving the Heritage House rather than removing it. Mr. Padovan said that a cost study could be conducted in how much it was cost to move the Heritage House. Commissioner Patel asked staff if they looked into a cost estimate of remodeling the Heritage House. Mr. Padovan explained that no cost estimates where conducted for removing, moving, or remodeling the Heritage House. He explained that the study session that evening is to find out if the proposed plans meet the needs of staff, committee members, and the residents of the Town. Commissioner Patel said he sees the remodel project in two ways: figuring out the desired changes to Town Hall and the technicalities of the project. He said the technicalities are easier to deal with as a Planning Commissioner, but the desired changes must originate from the Town's residents. He said he is comfortable supporting the project as it stands right now, but he feels poorly about removing the large redwood trees behind Town Hall. He said he would like to see the Town plant replacement trees to accommodate for this loss. He said he supports the additional space for committee members, staff and residents. He mentioned that it would not be the first time that the Planning Commission has Approved March 7, 2019 5 Planning Commission Special Meeting – Study Session January 22, 2019 granted variances and he could entertain a variance request for this project. He said that he is not concerned with the privacy concerns of the neighbors behind Town Hall because they cut down large trees in the past without any action to replace them. He said he would love to see more data on how many events have been canceled at Town Hall because there has been a lack of space to host them. Commissioner Couperus stated that this project was initially started due to a lack of space. He said that the fundamental mission of the Town is not to run yoga classes, but to oversee development and maintain public infrastructure. In recent years, the Town has started to give offer more classes and a perceived "want" has started to become a "need.” He spoke of the growth of staff over the years and made the claim that the current staff has outgrown their space. He spoke of the legal nonconforming approval process and said one possibility of handling the current Parks and Recreation building would be to grandfather it in. He commented that moving the Parks and Recreation building to O'Keefe would be unfeasible. He said that there is a need for work and storage space for committees, because committee members are currently keeping Town documents at their homes. He said that the Heritage House needs to be remodeled, such as with better lighting, and that the house did withstand past earthquakes, so he does not have a concern that it will fall down. He stated that he would like the house to be rotated clockwise so that the house is accessed from Fremont Road rather then Town Hall. He said that there can be a reconfiguration of the new multipurpose room so that more square footage is incorporated. He then spoke of the traffic and parking problem and said that the back-in parking proposal would not work for Town Hall. Commissioner Smith said he was concerned about the preservation of the important historical documents in the Town. He said that moving them to a safer location would be a good idea. He said he agreed with Commissioner Couperus in the fact that the Town needs to separate their "needs" from their "wants." He said that giving more space to staff is a "need," but the recreation room is a more of a "want." Commissioner Abraham said he agrees with a lot of what has been said by his fellow commissioners. He said that the O'Keefe property idea will go no where because routing traffic in that area of Town will bring many problems. He said that the Heritage House has its own problems if the Town decides to do anything with it. The house is currently being used for the Emergency Operations Center (EOC), but the house itself does not meet the building code requirements to house such an operation. He said the proposed plan does not help the EOC whatsoever. He said he is cautious to do anything to the Heritage House because he does not want to trigger a requirement to bring it up to the current building code which could be very expensive. He is in favor of improving the lights, electrical, and plumbing systems to make it more usable. He said he is in favor of having more committees use the Heritage House for their meetings. He said that staff does need more space, especially in the Planning Department, but he thinks the plan does not go far enough in providing the most space possible. He spoke in favor of Approved March 7, 2019 6 Planning Commission Special Meeting – Study Session January 22, 2019 a kitchen, but not a large restaurant sized kitchen. He said that the setback issue must be understood from the perspective of the surrounding residents and the notion of privacy and it would be easy to make the findings for a variance. He said he is in favor of preserving the records in the corporation yard on Purissima Road. Commissioner Mandle shared her thanks for the public attending the study session and providing comments on the project. She said that she is happy with the ideas and opinions that have been shared and she would like to save the Heritage House and see it be more utilized moving forward. She said she supports the idea of a modest kitchen and does not have a problem with the driveway reconfiguration. She said that staff can conduct studies to make sure that the parking lot is as safe as it can be. She said that the Planning Commission has not been included in determining the perceived needs of Town Hall, but the she has received enough evidence to support the notion that staff, and the Parks and Rec building need more space. She said that she is against the variance request for the remodel project when she has spent so much of her time on the Commission defending the setback requirements listed in the Municipal Code. She would not give an exception to a Town project. She thinks the rest of the project is a good solution to the problem. Mr. Padovan summarized the consensus from the Planning Commission neighbors and stated that he sees an overall approval of the remodel project and to move forward in the process. Commissioner Patel said that he would like a cost analysis done on several aspects of the project. He said he would like to know the cost of the following tentative subprojects: removing the Heritage House, moving the Heritage house, remodeling the Heritage House, and installing a basement underneath the Parks and Recreation building. Mr. Padovan said that cost estimates would be a City Council decision. 3.2 DISCUSSION OF FAST TRACK GUIDE AND FAST TRACK PROCESS Director Avila presented the staff report and recommended a course of action for the Commissioners to modify the Fast Track guidelines. She said that it is important to get a recommendation from the Planning Commission to the City Council. She updated the Commission on the special projects the Planning Department is currently working on and said that the Fast Track guidelines can be moved to a higher priority if desired. Commissioner Patel asked staff what percentage of projects would be upgraded from Fast Track if the trigger for Planning Commission review was maxing out floor area and development area on a property. He said that he would also like to alter the trigger requirements for routing projects to the Town's committees. Approved March 7, 2019 7 Planning Commission Special Meeting – Study Session January 22, 2019 Director Avila said that almost every site development project coming through the Planning Department is maxing out the property. She explained that this restricts any future development on the lot in the future, specifically the possibility of adding a second unit. She also said that changing the trigger requirements for routing projects to the Town's standing committees may require a charter change for that specific committee. Chair Mandle opened the floor to public comment. Birgitta Indaco, Environmental Design and Protection Committee, said that she supports three filters being added to trigger Planning Commission review: large basements over 900 square feet, any basement that has a connected underground garage, and any estate home. She explained that she is primarily concerned with the amount of grading being done on recent projects. She said her long term concerns are with LED lighting and total amount of glass. Carol Gottlieb, Environmental Design and Protection Committee, said that there are many cases where maxed out properties are adding more development to their properties without letting the Town know. Chair Mandle closed the Public Hearing. Chair Mandle said that she would like the Commission to come to an agreement on three or four short term filters to be implemented immediately. She said a longer list of changes can be made at a later date to be heard by the City Council. Commissioner Couperus said that he agrees with Chair Mandle. He said that the underlying process needs change in the future, but some triggers can be altered immediately. Commissioner Patel said he agrees with his fellow commissioners that three broad changes should be agreed upon soon, but that he would like to give the Open Space Committee the ability to review more projects. He spoke of past development projects that would have benefited from a review by the Open Space Committee and asked staff how this change of the review process could be implemented. Director Avila said that changing the Pathways Committee review trigger would require a code amendment and changing the Open Space Committee review criteria would require a charter amendment. Commissioner Abraham said that the purpose of Fast Track was to help streamline the development process. He said that the Fast Track option made it so that projects were picked apart by the Town's committees. He said that projects with only 400 square foot additions should not be routed to the Open Space Committee because it would add trouble to the review. He said that the Town's approach to lighting could be improved as the lights can be restricted to Approved March 7, 2019 8 Planning Commission Special Meeting – Study Session January 22, 2019 a maximum number of lumens and color temperature which would limit brightness. He said that no one installed incandescent lights anymore. He is also in favor of limiting the amount of glass in a development project. Chair Mandle stated that she would like the Planning Commission to see all projects maxing out their floor area and development area allowances because these properties would not have any room for a second unit to be added in the future. She said that if the project is maxing out their allowances, but includes a second unit, she is okay with the project going through the Fast Track process. Commission discussion ensued regarding how to create a trigger to limit the boxy appearance of new residences. Commissioner Couperus said that there is no architectural review committee in Town. He explained that the Town took a stance to not make architectural judgments, however the boxy style of current residences going through the planning process have become an issue. He said that popular architectural style has changed since the creation of the Fast Track process and the Town must do something to catch the limited review on bulky/boxy new residences. Commissioner Patel said that creating a trigger to limit the type and scale of bulky houses is a very complicated problem. However, he said that if there is a bulky house, the use of large trees, such as redwood trees, can provide adequate screening. He said that this brings up another issue; when new houses are built maximizing floor area and development area, they leave no room for landscape screening. This limits the homeowners ability to screen a bulky house due to the fact that the landscape screening plan comes later in the development process. Chair Mandle agreed with Commissioner Patel and said that that is one of the reasons why she would like the Planning Commission to review properties that are maxing out their floor area and development area. Commissioner Patel said that an effort should be made by staff in the review process to tell applicants ahead of time to plan for landscape screening allowance in their development area count. Commissioner Abraham stated that redwoods are not an ideal tree to be used for screening because they use a large amount of water and can cause the homeowner a fire safety concern. Chair Mandle reiterated the intent of the item on the agenda. She said that the Planning Commission needs to agree upon changes to the Fast Track review process. Commissioner Smith said that bulkiness is a hard concept to quantify. He said that lighting is a large concern and the Town should put an effort forward to Approved March 7, 2019 9 Planning Commission Special Meeting – Study Session January 22, 2019 enforce its lighting policy even after projects receive their final inspection from the Planning and Building Departments. He said that the amount of glass being proposed should be limited as well. Chair Mandle said that she thinks those types of changes will need to be made by a subcommittee of the Planning Commission. Commissioner Patel said that the maxing out of floor area and development area could be used as a trigger, but he is concerned that every project going through the planning process would be sent to the Planning Commission. Commission discussed ensued regarding how to construct floor area/development area triggers. Chair Mandle said that she looked to comparable cities to the Town and found that the cities such as Portola Valley have a trigger of 85% maxing out of development area as a trigger for project to be sent to the Planning Commission. Director Avila said that the Town of Los Gatos has a limit on the development area that would send a project to the Planning Commission. Commissioner Abraham stated that the Town of Woodside also has a maximum. Commissioner Patel suggested that the Town set a percentage maximum for one year to see how it goes. He said that a year of this trigger change would show the commission how many projects are coming forward instead of going through Fast Track. He said that a Planning Commissioner should also attend all Fast Track meetings. Chair Mandle said that if a Planning Commissioner voiced their opinion at a Fast Track meeting, they would not be able to vote on the project. Director Avila said that the Planning Commission does have the ability to appeal a decision made at a Fast Track hearing. She said that the amount of review by staff for a Fast Track hearing and Planning Commission hearing are exactly the same; the only difference is the process of the hearing itself. She said that many of the controversial projects get elevated to the Planning Commission when neighbors do not agree with one another. She said that she was open to trying out new triggers proposed by the Planning Commission for six months or some other specified time frame to see how they are used in action. Commission discussion ensued regarding past projects that have been approved through the Fast Track process and how specific problem projects got their approval. Commissioner Patel asked staff about their experience with the point system of the Fast Track process. Approved March 7, 2019 10 Planning Commission Special Meeting – Study Session January 22, 2019 Director Avila said that the point system should be updated because there are issues with lighting and current architectural and development styling that are being approved through the Fast Track process. She said that the amount of grading is an example of one of these issues. Commissioner Couperus stated that the amount of grading is a concern for development. He explained that projects should be reviewed for two types of grading: the inclusion of basements, and everything else. He provided the commission with an idea of how to create a trigger of the amount of grading on a property which would require a Planning Commission level review. Director Avila said that she could provide the Commission with data on the amount of grading included with approved projects. She said that there is a difference between the amount of dirt being moved on a property and the amount of dirt being exported off a project site. Commissioner Couperus said that he has three issues he would like to see changed in the Fast Track guidelines: the amount of cubic yards being graded, maxing out the development area on a property, and controlling the bulkiness of new residences. Commissioner Patel asked staff about their thoughts on updating the Town’s lighting policy. Director Avila said that the outdoor lighting policy has been under review, but other projects are taking precedence. Commissioner Patel said he would like the Commission to consider updating the lighting policy, but he is unsure on how to frame the limitation of lighting. Commission discussion ensued regarding how to control the amount of lighting on a new development. Commissioner Patel asked how the Town would enforce noncompliant light fixtures around Town. Chair Mandle said that the enforcement process is a separate issue the Planning Commission could hear at a different time. Commissioner Abraham expressed his opinion that limiting the amount of grading on a property could discourage people from including basements in their design. Commissioner Couperus made the clarification that the grading trigger is not a hard limit on development, but a method for projects to be flagged and sent to the Planning Commission for approval. Approved March 7, 2019 11 Planning Commission Special Meeting – Study Session January 22, 2019 Commissioner Patel said that the basement concern would also be caught by the floor area/development area trigger that the Commission spoke about previously. Director Avila said that a development project with a bunker would always be sent to the Planning Commission. Basements are restricted to the building envelope of the structure if an applicant wishes to proceed through the Fast Track option. Chair Mandle brought the discussion back to the floor area/development area topic. She said that if her fellow commissioners are looking for an exact number to act as a trigger rather than a percentage, she would be happy with 1,000 square feet below the maximum floor area because that is the maximum size of a second unit in the Town. Commissioner Couperus said that he was worried that a trigger of that scale would send all projects to the Planning Commission. Commission discussion ensued regarding how the Lot Unit Factor (LUF) plays into the ability to build second units on the property. Commissioner Patel said he can support the 85% maxing out of floor area trigger, but he is curious how many projects that have gone through the Fast Track process in the past years would have had to come to the Commission if this trigger was applied. He also asked how this trigger would be applied. Director Avila said that the applicant could be informed of this new trigger at the time of the pre-application meeting. Commissioner Abraham said that he believes this trigger would not discourage anyone from reducing the size of their house to comply with the Fast Track process. Chair Mandle said that she is okay with this because then the Planning Commission would have the ability to see more of the problematic development proposals, which is at the heart of this whole discussion. 4. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 9:55 PM. Approved March 7, 2019 12 Planning Commission Special Meeting – Study Session January 22, 2019 Respectfully Submitted, Cody Einfalt Planning Technician The minutes of the January 22nd Special Planning Commission Meeting were approved as presented at the March 7, 2019 Regular Planning Commission Meeting.