city of alhambra alhambra city planning commission september 19, 2016 agenda

1213 Pages·2016·33.66 MB·English

CITY OF ALHAMBRA
ALHAMBRA CITY PLANNING COMMISSION
SEPTEMBER 19, 2016
AGENDA
REGULAR MEETING - 7:00 P.M.
City Council Chambers
111 South First Street

CALL MEETING TO ORDER:

ROLL CALL:
THOMAS MALONEY, President DEBRA MORENO GARCIA, Vice President
TOM BERGE, JR. MARY HOSOKAWA
MARY LOUISE BUNKER STEVEN HUANG
SUZI DUNKEL-SOTO ROSS MAZA
OWEN GUENTHARD GARY TSE

FLAG SALUTE: Led by President Maloney

CONSENT AGENDA (Item 1):

All items listed under the Consent Agenda are considered by the Commission to be routine and will be
enacted by one motion unless a citizen or Commissioner requests otherwise; in which case, the item
will be removed for separate consideration. Items placed on the Consent Agenda include smaller scale
projects, projects which do not require variances, and ministerial matters (minutes, resolutions, etc.).

1. MINUTES – September 6, 2016

Recommended Action: Commission review and approve as submitted the Minutes of the
September 6, 2016 Regular Meeting of the Alhambra Planning Commission.

2. RESIDENTIAL PLANNED DEVELOPMENT PERMIT RP-15-30
1836 South Stoneman Avenue
Applicant: Lily Jiang

This is an application for a Residential Planned Development Permit to add an 878 square foot
single story addition to the rear of an existing 1,122 square foot single family residence on an
approximate land area of 6,700 square feet located in the R-1 (Single Family Residential) zone.

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Recommended Action: Pending public testimony, continue the public hearing to October 3,
2016.

3. VARIANCE V-16-11
652 Orange Grove Avenue
Applicant: George Agopian

This is an application for a Variance to build a new one-car garage in lieu of the required two car
garage to replace an unpermitted carport for an existing single family residence on an
approximate land area of 6,000 square feet located in the R-1 (Single Family Residential) zone.

Recommended Action: Pending public testimony, continue the public hearing to October 17,
2016.

PUBLIC HEARINGS:

4. TENTATIVE TRACT MAPS TT 73743 & TT 73744,
COMMERCIAL PLANNED DEVELOPMENT PERMIT CP-15-8
& CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT CU-15-15
1401-1515 West Main Street
Applicant: Wondries Toyota

This is an application for two Tentative Tract Maps, a Commercial Planned Development Permit,
and a Conditional Use Permit for the phased development of a new 116,426 square foot
automobile dealership and outdoor vehicle display lot on an approximate site area of 3.67 acres
located in the Commercial Planned Development zone and Automobile Commercial Overlay
District.

Recommended Action: Pending public testimony, adopt Resolution 16-47-approving the
Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program, Mitigated Negative Declaration, Tentative Tract
Maps 73743 and 73744, Commercial Planned Development Permit CP-15-8 and Conditional Use
Permit CU-15-15 subject to the Conditions of Approval.

DIRECTOR’S REPORT:

At this time the Director of Development Services, or his/her designee, will provide updates on projects,
programs or events within the City and make announcements as deemed necessary.

PUBLIC COMMENTS/ORAL COMMUNICATIONS:

Citizens wishing to address the Commission on any matter within the subject matter jurisdiction of the
Commission not on the Agenda may do so at this time. Please STATE YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS CLEARLY
for the record.

Please note that while the Commission values your comments, pursuant to January 1, 1987 amendments
of the Brown Act, the Commission cannot respond nor take any action until such time as the matter may
appear as an item on a forthcoming agenda.

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COMMISSION ORALS:

Each Commissioner at his/her discretion may address the Commission and public on matters of general
information and/or concern, including announcements and future agenda items.

ADJOURNMENT:

The next regularly scheduled meeting of the Alhambra Planning Commission will be held on Monday,
October 3, 2016 at 7:00 p.m., in Alhambra City Hall Council Chambers, 111 South First Street, Alhambra,
California.
NOTICE:

AGENDA ITEMS: Copies of the staff reports or other written documentation relating to each item of
business described hereinabove are on file in the offices of the Development Services Department in City
Hall, 111 South First Street, Alhambra, California, and are available for public inspection during regular
office hours, which are 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. Should any person have a question
concerning any of the above agenda items prior to the meeting described herein, he or she may contact
the Development Services Director either in person at the Department offices, or by telephone at (626)
570-5034 during regular office hours.

AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT: If you require special assistance to participate in any City meeting
(including assisted listening devices) please contact the Development Services Department at (626) 570-
5034. Notification of at least 72 hours prior to the meeting will enable the City to make reasonable
arrangements to ensure accessibility to this meeting.

APPEALS: Any person wishing to appeal any decision of the Planning Commission to the City Council may
do so by filing an appeal in writing along with the appropriate appeal fee to the Development Services
Department in City Hall within 10 calendar days of the Planning Commission decision. The appeal period
for items on this agenda expires at the close of business on September 29, 2016.

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Meeting Rules and Regulation

Section 2.24.060 of the Alhambra Municipal Code provides for the Planning Commission to establish and
enforce its own rules and regulations for its meetings. The Planning Commission uses those rules and
regulations established by the Municipal Code and implemented for use by the City Council.

Addressing the Commission: Any person wishing to address the Commission during the meeting must complete
a Speaker Request Card and submit it to the Secretary.

When called upon by the President, please step to the podium and give your name, address and organization or
other party you represent, if any, in an audible tone of voice for the record. Remarks are limited to 5 minutes.

All remarks shall be addressed to the Commission as a body and not to any member thereof. No person, other
than the Commission and the person having the floor, shall be permitted to enter into any discussion, either
directly or through a member of the Commission, without the permission of the President. No question shall be
asked a Commissioner except through the President.

Standards of Decorum: Any person making personal, impertinent or slanderous remarks or who shall become
boisterous while addressing the Commission shall be forthwith, by the President, barred from the meeting.

Persons Authorized to be Within Rail: No person, except City officials, their representatives, and newspaper
reporters, shall be permitted within the rail in front of the Council Chamber without the express consent of the
Commission.

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MINUTES
ALHAMBRA PLANNING COMMISSION

Regular Meeting
September 6, 2016

ROLL CALL:

The Alhambra Planning Commission met on September 6, 2016 at 7:00 P.M. in the Council Chambers of
Alhambra City Hall.

Members present: Bunker, Dunkel-Soto, Garcia, Guenthard, Hosokawa, Maza, Maloney

Members absent: Berge, Huang, Tse

Also present: Tonya Pace, Interim Development Services Director, Rachel Richman, Assistant City
Attorney, Scott Lee, Principal Planner

CONSENT AGENDA:

ITEM 1: Minutes of August 15, 2016

MOTION Commissioner Bunker moved to approve Item 1 (Minutes of August 15) of the
Consent Agenda, as recommended by staff. Seconded by Commissioner Garcia, the
motion carried with the following roll call vote:

AYES: Bunker, Dunkel-Soto, Garcia, Guenthard, Hosokawa, Maloney
NOES: None
ABSTAIN: Maza
ABSENT: Berge, Huang, Tse

HEARINGS: Commercial Planned Development Permit CP-16-13
& Conditional Use Permit CU-16-13
2436 West Valley Boulevard
Applicant: Catherine Liu, Ran Ni & Trump Sun
Request: This is an application for a Commercial Planned Development Permit and
Conditional Use Permit to establish a car rental business in an existing 2,156 square
foot commercial building which has been vacant for more than 6 months on an
approximate land area of 6,000 square feet located in the Valley Boulevard Specific
Plan zone.

Commissioner Dunkel-Soto asked if the CVS Pharmacy lot on the east side of Elm
Street was being used.

Catherine Liu, co-applicant, clarified that the CVS parking lot was a separate lot from
the subject property and was not being used by the proposed business. There was a
separate parking lot located behind the existing building which would be used.
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Commissioner Bunker asked for clarification on how the shuttle would work if the
vehicles were stored in Monterey Park.

Ran Ni, co-applicant, explained that the car rental business at this location would be
primarily on-line. This is the trend in the car rental industry. He stated that had
worked for Hertz and Enterprise in the past. Most of the transaction and
arrangements would be conducted on-line. Customers would go to the office on the
subject property to finalize paperwork and would then be shuttled to the Monterey
Park lot to pick up the vehicle. Vehicles could also be brought to the Alhambra site.

Commissioner Bunker commented that the Alhambra location would function as
more of a business office.

Commissioner Hosokawa asked about the address of the storage lot in Monterey
Park. Mr. Ni stated that the storage lot was located at 283 East Garvey Avenue,
which could accommodate about 30 cars.

Commissioner Garcia asked if the storage lot was already in use and if not, when will
it become operational.

Ms. Liu stated that they were waiting for approval for the Alhambra site as well as
the Monterey Park site from the appropriate cities. They have an additional site at
1084 East Hellman if additional inventory storage is needed.

Commissioner Maza stated that it would be ideal if the approvals were close together.
He inquired about the washing of cars and how would this be addressed.

Mr. Ni stated that commercial car washes would be used and noted a self-serve car
wash on Valley Boulevard near the office which would be used.

Commissioner Garcia and Mr. Ni discussed the proposed business. The busiest days
were Monday for rentals and Friday for returns. The ideal rental rate was 80% of the
fleet being rented at any one time.

Commissioner Bunker supported the request and suggested that the applicant provide
a signed lease agreement for the vehicle storage lot to the City before a Certificate of
Occupancy is issued.

Staff asked if the applicants were agreeable to a condition of approval in this regard.
The applicants had no objection to such a condition.

MOTION Commissioner Bunker moved to adopt Resolution 16-46 approving Commercial
Planned Development Permit CP-16-13 and Conditional Use Permit CU-16-13 as
recommended by staff and with a stipulation that a signed lease agreement for the
vehicle storage lot be submitted before a Certificate of Occupancy is issued.
Seconded by Commissioner Garcia the motion carried with the following roll call
vote:
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AYES: Bunker, Dunkel-Soto, Garcia, Guenthard, Hosokawa, Maza,
Maloney
NOES: None
ABSENT: Berge, Huang, Tse

ITEM 3: Tentative Tract Maps TT 73743 & TT 73744,
Commercial Planned Development Permit CP-15-8
& Conditional Use Permit CU-15-15
1401-1515 West Main Street
Applicant: Wondries Toyota
Request: This is an application for two Tentative Tract Maps, a Commercial Planned
Development Permit, and a Conditional Use Permit for the phased development of a
new 116,426 square foot automobile dealership and outdoor vehicle display lot on an
approximate site area of 3.67 acres located in the Commercial Planned Development
zone and Automobile Commercial Overlay District.

Mr. Lee noted that staff was proposing an amendment to Condition No. PL10 to add
an additional sentence to read as follows: “Any noise-producing work along the
property lines abutting residential uses shall be prohibited prior to 9:00 AM on
Saturdays.”

Commissioner Bunker clarified the construction hours with the proposed amendment.

Ms. Pace clarified that the proposed amendment would not prohibit work prior to
9:00 AM. This limitation only applied to noise producing work at the rear of the
property.

The applicant was available to answer questions.

Lisa Yu, whose family are the owners of 22 North Electric Avenue adjacent to the
project site, summarized the three concerns she had previously brought to staff’s
attention: 1) Use of the existing public address system by employees in the late
evening hours has become a nuisance to the residents. She requested that the
proposed development not include the use of a public address system; 2) Light from
the vehicle display area may shine into two or more bedrooms on her property; and
3) The property owner would prefer that no construction be allowed on weekends so
that the residents’ weekends are not disrupted with construction noise. She was
amenable to the amendment to Condition PL10 as proposed by staff.

Paul Wondries, property and business owner, addressed the issues raised by Ms. Yu.
He acknowledged the City’s Noise Ordinance and stated that he was not sure at this
time what type of communication system would be installed at the new facility, but
was confident that the system would be in full compliance with the City codes.
Regarding the proposed amendment of Condition PL10, he had no objection and
commented that from a practical standpoint, most major construction did not begin
until around 9:00 AM and on Saturdays there is generally less work occurring due to
overtime issues, so most of the construction would be done during the week.
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Regarding the lighting, he wanted to be a good neighbor and would be willing to
mitigate any concerns that the neighbors might have.

Regarding the Public Works requirements, Mr. Wondries believed that the proposed
conditions requiring the resurfacing of the full widths of Main Street, Bushnell,
Electric and Marguerita Avenues and reconstruction of the alley between Electric and
Marguerita Avenues was excessive. He had no objection to the conditions relating to
the replacement of curbs, gutters and sidewalks, but noted that the alley
dedication/reconstruction and street repaving costs were onerous, should be the
City’s responsibility and requested that these requirements be waived.

Commissioner Bunker asked if the dealership would be using the alley and asked Mr.
Wondries if he would agree to not use the alley. Mr. Wondries stated that the alley
might occasionally be used as an exit from the building and stated that he would like
to discuss this further with City staff and his architect and therefore could not agree
or disagree to such a stipulation. He mentioned that the alley would not be a major
access/exit for the dealership.

Commissioner Garcia mentioned that per conditions of approval PL22 and PL23, the
west-facing door from the service department could not be used for any vehicle
movements into or out of the service department and the alley could not be used for
test drives. It seemed that the applicant was asking for something which would not
be allowed as the conditions of approval were proposed.

Commissioner Bunker stated it was her hope that by initiating the alley discussion,
this could begin to simplify the discussion. The proposed plans still contained the
vehicular door which opened to the west side of the building. She also noted that the
residential properties bordering on the alley would very likely be more comfortable
in the knowledge that there would not be any vehicular traffic or trash trucks serving
the dealership. To blend a residential alley with a commercial use was not desirable
and if the applicant agreed not to use the alley for the dealership, in her opinion, this
would relieve him of any responsibility for its maintenance.

Commissioner Dunkel-Soto commented that her understanding of condition PL23
only restricted test drives in the alley.

Commissioner Maloney clarified that repaving of the street was a common
requirement for commercial and residential projects. Ms. Pace stated that this was a
standard Public Works Department requirement, and generally included the full
width of the street and the full length of the site.

Commissioner Bunker noted that the repaving requirement for Main Street in this
instance was for the full width. She recalled an instance several years ago when the
McDonalds on East Main Street was rebuilt, where the repaving was requested for
only half of the street width, based on the understanding that there was a City project
under which the other half of the street would be repaved. She asked if there were
any other projects in this area where something similar would be done.
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Ms. Pace did not know when the streets in the area were last resurfaced, but based on
observation, this did not appear to be anytime recently. She commented the
conditions of approval were imposed by the Public Works Department and therefore
neither staff nor the Planning Commission could modify these conditions. She
further noted that the conditions of approval PL22 and PL23 relative to the alley were
developed by staff based on the traffic study. The alley would not allow through
access to/from the Toyota site to the residential area to the north. There would be a
locked gate with a Knox box for Fire Department emergency access only.

Ms. Pace noted the location of the alley, the proposed building and the emergency
access gate. Commissioner Bunker asked where the trash area was located. Mr.
Wondries and Ms. Pace noted that trash area location on the west side of the building
and accessible for servicing by the trash company from the alley.

Commissioner Garcia commented that the Commission is commonly asked about
street and alley repaving requirements by applicants and the applicants are directed to
speak with Public Works since these conditions are imposed by that department.

Ms. Richman noted that the applicant has raised some serious concerns that are
beyond the scope of the Planning Division and has requested an opportunity to meet
with the Public Works Department. She suggested that the Commission make a
motion to direct staff to work with the applicant on the conditions of approval under
discussion and continue this matter to the next Planning Commission meeting on
September 19, 2016. With a continuance to a specific meeting date, the hearing will
not need to be renoticed.

Mr. Wondries agreed to the proposed continuance, but would prefer to see the project
approved tonight, subject to the unresolved matters being resolved in the future.

Commissioner Maloney thought that the conditions would have to be resolved before
the project could be approved.

Ms. Richman stated that this could be legally done, but she was not comfortable with
this as it was not specific enough and too vague to be approved.

Mr. Wondries asked if there were any other questions that he could answer.

Commissioner Maza suggested that there be no construction access from the alley
and that this should be added to the conditions of approval. Mr. Wondries had no
issue with such a condition.

Commissioner Garcia commented that the construction hours seemed late. Ms. Pace
stated that the City has no specific construction hours, but noted that the Noise
Ordinance limited the hours to Monday through Saturday from 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM.
Mr. Wondries noted that workers generally leave by 4 to 4:30 PM and that work after
that time was rare, although occasional work might be done after 4:30 when it is less
crowded.
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Commissioner Hosokawa asked if there would be a community liaison available in
case there were concerns. Mr. Wondries stated that he would be the contact person
and that his phone number would be posted on the site.

MOTION Commissioner Dunkel-Soto moved to continue Tentative Tract Maps 73743 and
73744, Commercial Planned Development Permit CP-15-8 and Conditional Use
Permit CU-15-15 to September 19, to allow the applicant and the City to resolve
issues regarding reconstruction of the alley and repaving of the streets abutting the
property. Seconded by Commissioner Guenthard the motion carried with the
following roll call vote:

AYES: Bunker, Dunkel-Soto, Garcia, Guenthard, Hosokawa, Maza,
Maloney
NOES: None
ABSENT: Berge, Huang, Tse

DIRECTOR’S REPORT:

Ms. Pace updated the Commission on new businesses and recent projects, including
Robeks Juice (recently opened), Dickey’s Barbecue (in plan check), Road to Seoul
Restaurant (under construction), Tokyo Table Restaurant (under construction), Afters
Ice Cream (in plan check), Applebees (recently remodeled), Wing Stop (recently
opened) and JJ Bakery (recently opened).

PUBLIC COMMENTS/ORAL COMMUNICATIONS:

There were none.

COMMISSION ORALS:

There were none.

ADJOURNMENT:

There being no other business, the meeting was adjourned at 8:03 PM to Monday
September 19, 2016 at 7:00 PM.

_______________________________
Thomas Maloney
President

ATTEST:

_______________________
Scott Lee
Principal Planner
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