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HomeMy Public PortalAboutCity Council_Minutes_1988-10-04_Regular 19881 CITY OF TEMPLE CITY CITY COUNCIL MINUTES OCTOBER 4, 1988 INITIATION: 1. CALL TO ORDER: Pursuant to Agenda posted on September 30, 1988, Mayor Swain called the meeting of the City Council to order at 7:30 P.M. on Tuesday, October 4, 1988.-- 2. The invocation was given by Reverend Charles Woodworth, First United Methodist Church, 5957 North Golden West Avenue. 3. The Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag was led by Mayor Swain. 4. ROLL CALL: Present: Councilmen Atkins, Breazeal, Froehle, Gillanders and Swain Also Present: PRESENTATION: City Manager Koski, City Attorney Martin, Community Development Director Dawson, Public Works Coordinator Peterson, Parks & Recreation Director Kobett, Asst. to City Manager Durham, Julie Estrada of the Temple City Times and Kurt Holtzclaw of the Pacesetter. Michael Arbogast and Janel Barba of the Automobile Club of Southern California presented the 1987 AAA Pedestrian Protec- tion Program award to the City of Temple City. Temple City has been the recipient of the "Pedestrian Safety Award" for seven consecutive years in the category of cities having a population between 25,000 - 50,000. Mayor Swain accepted this award on behalf of the'City of Temple City giving credit to the community and volunteer groups in the City. 5. CONSENT CALENDAR: Councilmen Froehle and Atkins requested Item F. (1) be removed from the Consent Calendar. On motion by Councilman Atkins and seconded by Councilman Breazeal, the remainder of the Consent Calendar was approved as presented. City Council Minutes, October 4, 1988 - Page 2 A. APPROVAL OF MINUTES - Regular meeting of September 20, 1988. Approved as written. B. REQUEST FOR BUDGET AMENDMENTS - 1988 -89 FISCAL YEAR BUDGET- Council approved the requested budget amendments per staff memo of October 4, 1988, and amended the adopted budget accordingly. C. CLAIM FOR DAMAGES: DIAZ „LOUIE JR. Council denied claim and referred to JPIA. D. APPROVAL OF LEASE AGREEMENT: 9167 LA ROSA - Council approved the leasing of office structure at 9167 La Rosa with Don O'Dell & Associates and authorized Mayor to sign Lease Agreement. E. REQUEST FOR PUMPKIN SALES AND CHRISTMAS TREE LOT AT 6300 NORTH ROSEMEAD BOULEVARD. APPLICANT: LORI J. OWEN /LARRY B. CUDE II - Council approved 6300 North Rosemead Boulevard as a loca- tion for the sale of pumpkins from October 20, through October 31, 1988 and for the sale of Christmas trees from December 1, through December 24, 1988, subject to all general conditions applicable to Christmas tree sales lots. G. RESOLUTION NO. 88 -2813: APPOINTMENT OF BUDGETED PERSONNEL Council adopted Resolution No. 88 -2813 approving the appointment of budgeted personnel. H. RESOLUTION NO. 88 -2814: APPROVAL OF PAYMENT OF BILLS - Council adopted Resolution No. 88 -2814 approving claims and demands in the amount of $348,139.67. F. PLANNING COMMISSION ACTIONS FROM THEIR REGULAR MEETING OF SEPTEMBER 27, 1988 - (1) Approved Conditional Use Permit 88 -926 and Zone Vari- ance 88 -927 to allow the subdivision of an existing commercial building into two tenant spaces and waive the required three parking spaces at 9549 Las Tunas Drive. (C. P. WU) - City Council Minutes, October 4, 1988 - Page 3 Councilman Froehle expressed his concern in allowing retail stores to be subdivided and not provide adequate parking. In this case the adjacent parking district may mitigate the parking problem, but in the future someone may want to cut it more and the problem is magnified. Perhaps the Planning Commission should review the possi- bility of making the crux of the Ordinance the size of the store rather than the number of parking spaces as it is currently written. This would help eliminate the cutting up of stores into small cubicles. Councilman Atkins agreed with Councilman Froehle. Addi- tionally, he said there are two issues involved. He felt Council should look at the subdivision of the stores and review the policy on how the City treats the Parking Districts. Councilman Atkins believed that both the Ordi- nance and interpretation contained ambiguities. Councilman Breazeal agreed with the Planning Commission's decision and had reservations about doing anything at this point in time. He did not see cars flooding the business district and did not feel a parking problem exists and to further restrict parking requirements is unnecessary. Councilman Atkins moved to appeal Conditional Use Permit No. 88 -926 and Zone Variance No. 88 -927, seconded by Councilman Froehle and carried on a roll call vote as follows: Roll Call: AYES: Commissioners Atkins, Froehle, Gillanders and Swain NOES: Commissioner Breazeal 6. UNFINISHED BUSINESS: None 7. NEW BUSINESS: A. PUBLIC HEARING: APPEAL OF PLANNING COMMISSION DECISION DENYING CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT 88 -938 AT 9237 LOWER AZUSA ROAD, UNITS C & D (MORAN PROPERTIES) - City Manager Koski, providing background information, stated the applicant is requesting to utilize units C & D for an auto repair business. The existing building was constructed based on warehouse parking standards and consequently the site is limited in terms of available parking. Additionally, Units C & D are situated immedi- ately adjacent to the main entrance driveway off of Lower Azusa Road. The Planning Commission denied this request based on the fact that an auto repair business is likely City Council Minutes, October 4, 1988 - Page 4 to generate a parking and vehicular circulation problem on the site. Also, the subject site has previously presented code enforcement problems involving parking. Community Development Director Dawson showed a video of the site. Mayor Swain commented that construction was based on warehouse standards for one -half the building and manufac- turing for the other one -half and questioned whether specific standards were set for which part of the building would be manufacturing and which part would be warehouse. Mr. Dawson said the plans showed the units on the east side as warehouse and the units on the west side as manu- facturing. Mayor Swain declared the public hearing open and invited anyone wishing to address the City Council on the matter to come forward at this time. Councilman Atkins moved to include the Minutes and materi- als from the Planning Commission as part of the record of Council's public hearing concerning this matter, seconded by Councilman Froehle and unanimously carried. Larry Moran, 177 E. Front St., Covina, representing owner, stated he was unable to attend the Planning Commission meeting on August 23rd, but reviewed the results of that meeting and wished to address several matters regarding the use and the site. The site plan showed Units C & D as industrial use and the parking for this use is within the code - 59 spaces required and 62 spaces are provided. Mr. Moran also stated the fire lane is not a legal requirement because of access off Encinita. He was aware a problem existed with one of the tenants but the business is phas- ing out and will be out in the next 30 days. The appli- cant has agreed to all the conditions. Mr. Moran could not understand why they were not able to lease space in a zone that allows the use on the assumption there may be a problem. Councilman Froehle stated that some businesses have inher- ent drawbacks and even though the zoning is correct they must be checked out so they will not be too disruptive and cause parking problems, noise, etc. Auto repair, theaters and motorcycle shops are but a few of the businesses that fall into this category. Mr. Moran discussed the submitted plans and the designa- tion of specific units for warehousing or manufacturing. Also covered in this discussion was the number of parking spaces required for each use. 1 1 1 City Council Minutes, October 4, 1988 - Page 5 Mr. Dawson stated plans were submitted showing the units that would be warehousing and those that would be manufac- turing. Planning Department could not approve any use where there would not be ample parking. Ron Gass, 9142 Ardendale, San Gabriel, tenant, said he has opened auto repair shops throughout Southern California and it is his function to take it through the process of getting all licenses and permits prior to opening. He maintains an on -going relationship with the client in operating the business. Mr. Gass' statements centered around the fact that this type of business is allowed at this location, he is a businessman and wants to see the business succeed, he did not feel a parking problem ex- isted because of the type of operation they ran - most cars in and out in the same day, the problem of blocking the fire lane would not occur because the tenant guilty of this is being phased out and it is his contention there would be no problems as far as parking is concerned. Tony Carrrean, 9245 Pitkin, spoke in concern of the noise factor. He talked with Mr. Moran regarding the tenant causing the noise and understands they are phasing out and will be gone. However, since this building has gone up there is more noise in the evening as cars play loud music while parking in the lot. Mr. Carrean said he would not be opposed to a business in there as long as the people are thoughtful and consider the neighbors. Charles Henne, 4846 Heleo, felt the problem is one -half the parking is off of Encinita and no one uses Encinita. People want convenience and are not going to park at the other end and walk. Councilman Atkins moved to include as part of the records, a letter received from Mildred Hegiver opposing the use of units C & D for an auto repair business due to lack of adequate parking; seconded by Councilman Breazeal and unanimously carried. Ron Gass, 9142 Ardendale, in rebuttal stated they would be handling 8 to 10 cars a day and could easily handle that many inside. If a car pulls up and there is no room, it will be driven to the west side and parked until it can be placed inside and worked on. Cars will not be left out overnight but parked inside. Mr. Moran, in answer to Mayor Swain's question regarding the allocation of specific parking spaces for specific businesses, said they have not allocated specific spaces but could do so if required. City Council Minutes, October 4, 1988 - Page 6 Councilman Breazeal moved to close the public hearing, seconded by Councilman Atkins. Councilman Breazeal felt that despite questions, supposi- tions and speculation on what might be an adverse use, it is a situation where they have 6 - 8 parking spaces inside and this is a mitigating circumstance and it is an unusual property. His feeling is he would like to give them a chance to open the business and operate for six months and look at it again to see of it is an adverse situation. He would also add the condition for business hours to be between 7:00 A.M. to 7:00 P.M. Councilman Froehle thought the past problems stemmed from the stereo business and they will be vacated. He is not sure how many parking spaces are required and how many they have but if they are short 3 or 4 this would be taken care of by the 8 parking spaces inside. He has mixed feelings but would like to go six months and see how it works out; however, with the considerable amount of money that would be invested, in this period, they could end up in a legal battle. He would go along with the six -month trial and in addition to the business hours being between 7:00 A.M. and 7:00 P.M., he would like to see Mr. Moran designate the parking spaces. Councilman Atkins said he is troubled by the fact the situation has been misrepresented. He would like to have the garage located where there is parking in front. He would go along with approving the CUP for a six -month period with the conditions as proposed. Councilman Gillanders felt the problem was more than minor. There are 11 industrial uses, 8 auto oriented and 3 used by auto repair shop. An auto repair shop cannot get all the needed parts in a given day and automobiles will have to be stored overnight. With two employees per unit there will not be ample onsite parking and they will have to park on the street. Cars will pull up front and ask attendant for a "quick look" without pulling into the bay. It will be 'impossible to move all the vehicles through the bay in one day - all parts will not be avail- able. Three units are body shops and it is difficult to believe they can get all the parts every day. The ware- house people will be coming and going. Councilman Gil - landers felt the site is not suitable for the use requested. 1 1 City Council Minutes, October 4, 1988 - Page 7 Mayor Swain also had a number of concerns but felt they can be mitigated with proper conditions and proper opera- tion of the business. She referred to the auto repair businesses along Las Tunas and the problems created by storing automobiles on the lots for months. With the proper conditions and a review in six months, Mayor Swain felt there is chance for a good business operation. She indicated her willingness to grant the CUP with a review in six months. Councilman Breazeal moved to adopt Resolution No. 88 -2816 approving Conditional Use Permit No. 88 -938 for reasons stated above, subject to.a six -month review and with the added condition that the owner /operator shall within a 30 -day period designate all parking on the lot for spe- cific uses; seconded by Councilman Atkins and carried on a roll call vote as follows: Roll Call: AYES: Councilmen Atkins, Breazeal, Froehle and Swain NOES: Councilman Gillanders B. PUBLIC HEARING: APPEAL OF PLANNING COMMISSION DECISION APPROVING ZONE VARIANCE 88 -949 AT 9616 LAS TUNAS DRIVE (CHAPIN) - City Manager Koski, providing background information, stated the applicant, Kowabunga Kasuals, is requesting the variance to allow 51 square feet of total sign area in- stead of the maximum permitted 40 square feet in the C -1 Zone. The proposed sign would be an 18" wide by 8' high double faced, internally illuminated projecting sign. The addition of this proposed sign would increase the total signage to 51 square feet. Community Development Director Dawson showed a video of the front and rear of the building and the existing sign - age. Mayor Swain declared the public hearing open and invited anyone wishing to address the City Council on the matter to come forward at this time. Councilman Breazeal moved to include the Minutes and materials from the Planning Commission as part of the record of Council's public hearing concerning this matter, seconded by Councilman Froehle and unanimously carried. City Council Minutes, October 4, 1988 - Page 8 Greg Chapin, 9616 Las Tunas, owner, did not understand the problem as it was previously approved by the Planning Commission. He purchased the business and just added new verbiage to an existing sign. He was requesting a pro- jecting sign for more visibility to passing traffic. Councilman Breazeal concurred that it is very difficult to see the existing sign but did not feel both signs are needed. Continuing, he said he appealed this case because the Planning Commission approved a 51 square foot sign - a 27 -1/2% deviation from standard. This is the first time the sign ordinance has had a zone variance approved on it. He felt it was important to bring it out in the open because in his opinion the sign ordinance is overly re- strictive and this was an ideal opportunity to refer the sign ordinance back to the Planning Commission for further study. Cal Magro, 5824 Temple City Blvd., expressed his support and felt the variance should be granted. Mitch Greenberg, 9659 Las Tunas, favored approving the variance and allowing the proposed sign. Penny Graham, 9612 Las Tunas, thought the sign ordinance is antiquated. When driving through town you can see only certain businesses and other cannot be seen at all. She felt she derived business off her roof sign rather than the front sign. She would like to see the signs moved up to the top - let the trees remain, just move up the signs. She felt the City, from Kauffman to Rosemead, was dark and needs more lights and larger signs. Marianne Milch, 5827 Temple City Blvd., just wanted to reinforce the statements made in a letter from the Revi- talization Committee sent to Council in favor of approving the variance. They are beginning to study the sign ordi- nance and have requested like ordinances from neighboring cities. The Committee is concerned with the revamping of the sign ordinance and a serious study of all existing signs. Councilman Breazeal moved to close the public hearing, seconded by Councilman Atkins. 1 1 1 1 City Council Minutes, October 4, 1988 - Page 9 Councilman Froehle stated the Council went through the sign ordinance a couple of years ago and if inadequate, then Council did an inadequate job. He did not like flip flopping back and forth because it is unfair to staff working at the counter and it is unfair to the business people. If the sign ordinance is inadequate Council should look at it again; however, if Council is satisfied with it they should stick to it. He had no objection. Councilman Atkins agreed with Councilman Froehle. Many of the signs along Las Tunas Drive are 30 - 60 years old. If this type of sign is approved they will only add to clut- ter in the downtown area., Councilman Gillanders stated that when you put in one projecting sign it can be seen - add more projecting signs and you can't see any of them. The City has a sign ordi- nance or it doesn't. Everyone should be given an equal opportunity. Council has been against roof and projecting signs and are now requested to grant an exemption. Coun- cilman Gillanders suggested rejecting this individual appeal and examine the sign ordinance as a whole. He felt it would be better to correct the ordinance than to start a list of exemptions. Councilman Breazeal said the zone variance procedure gives the applicant the ability to apply for relief from the zoning code. His appeal was not intended to overturn Planning Commission's decision but to look at the sign ordinance which he felt is too restrictive. He favored approving this exemption. Mayor Swain said the sign ordinance allows projecting signs but roof signs are not allowed. Defending the City's sign ordinance, Mayor Swain said this ordinance was the result of a long hard study by the Planning Commission and the Chamber of Commerce. You cannot see Mr. Chapin's business as you drive east on Las Tunas Drive. Perhaps again it may be time to form a sub - committee of the Revi- talization Committee and City staff to determine what signage is or is not correct for Temple City. She was in favor of granting this variance and review the sign ordi- nance. City Council Minutes, October 4, 1988 - Page 10 Councilman Breazeal moved to sustain the Planning Commis- sion's approval of Zone Variance 88 -949 with conditions as proposed, seconded by Councilman Froehle and carried on a roll call vote as follows: Roll Call: AYES: Councilmen Breazeal, Froehle, Swain NOES: Councilmen Atkins, Gillanders Councilman Breazeal moved to request the Planning Commis- sion, in conjunction with the Revitalization Committee and any other appropriate people, to review the current sign ordinance, seconded by Councilman Atkins and unanimously carried. Mayor Swain called a recess at 9:30 P.M. Mayor Swain reconvened the Council meeting at 9:37 P.M., noting that Councilman Gillanders left the meeting due to illness. C. PUBLIC HEARING: MENT STANDARDS - ZONING CODE AMENDMENT RE: R -1 DEVELOP- City Manager Koski in presenting the background informa- tion stated the Planning Commission has been reviewing the City's R -1 development standards for several months. On September 13, 1988, the Planning Commission adopted a Resolution recommending the following amendments for the R -1 Zone: 1) Maximum height reduced from 35 feet to two stories or 30 feet, with the provision that in no case shall any portion of the building encroach through a plane projected from an angle of 45 degrees as measured at ground level along the front property line. This means that in the front 30 feet of a lot the building height may not exceed the front yard distance. 2) Side yard setback requirements for second stories would be increased from five feet to eight feet for lots that are 50 feet wide or less and from five feet to ten feet for lots that are wider than 50 feet.' Mayor Swain declared the public hearing open and invited anyone wishing to address the City Council on the matter to come forward at this time. Virgil Graf, 6118 Primrose, stated that at previous meet- ings many people indicated they do not want something huge next door to them. Making the maximum height 30' instead of two -story is a point well taken. People may start adding basements, so 30' above grade is good. City Council Minutes, October 4, 1988 - Page 11 V.C. Chan, 4903 Birchland, explained to Council that his lot is 50' wide, his house is small and he would like to add on and the only way for him to do this is add a second story. Because of the width of the property and the fact that he has an attached garage, it would be impossible for him to add a second story if the new sideyard setback for second stories is approved. He asked Council to recon- sider for small lots. Mayor Swain suggested Mr. Chan talk with Community Devel- opment Director Dawson to find out what can be done within the code. She also pointed out to Mr. Chan that another option would be to apply for a variance. As there was no one else who wished to speak on this matter, Councilman Breazeal moved to close the public hearing, seconded by Councilman Atkins and unanimously carried. Councilman Atkins felt the Planning Commission did a good job of addressing the concerns regarding the proliferation of two story houses. These guidelines will offer attrac- tive architecture and he liked the softened lines. Councilman Breazeal agreed with Councilman Atkins and said the Planning Commission has worked very hard on this code amendment and he commended them on a job well done. He was concerned however with the second story setback re- quirement for an existing structure as he felt the cost would be substantial. Another concern was that when working with an existing single family structure by using the second story setbacks there is the danger of getting a pagoda, pueblo or pyramid look. He suggested excluding existing structures and for these if you add 50% - 60% more space than the existing square footage then you can follow the existing setbacks. Councilman Froehle said he liked the ordinance because it will ensure that the mass is somewhat mitigated. He felt a lot of hours went into this ordinance and the solution is a good one. They did not want to add a financial hardship on the property owner but it is an investment they will get a return on. It is easier on the neighbors and the neighborhood. Mayor Swain agreed with the ordinance but had some of the same concerns as Councilman Breazeal. Her main concern is the increase in setback from 5' to 8' for the second story on many lots that are only 50' wide. The houses were built 3' from the property line in many cases. City Council Minutes, October 4, 1988 - Page 12 Councilman Atkins moved to approve the Negative Declara- tion and introduce for first reading by title only Ordi- nance No. 88 -641, seconded by Councilman Froehle and carried. 8. COMMUNICATIONS: None 9. TIME FOR THOSE IN THE AUDIENCE WHO WISH TO SPEAK: None RECESS TO CRA: At 10:00 P.M., the City Council recessed to meet as the Temple City Community Redevelopment Agency; approved the Minutes of the September 20, 1988 meeting; approved request from Exxon to modify in lieu payment pursuant to Participation Agreement between Temple City Community Redevelopment Agency and Exxon; approved payment on behalf of the City for rent obligation as outlined in the Parking Lot Lease Agreement between the CRA and the City of Temple City; approved adjournment to a closed session to guide staff in the sale and subsequent purchase of property in Block "A" and adopted Resolution No. CRA 342, authorizing payment of bills. The Minutes of the Agency are set forth in full in the Agency's records. RECONVENE AS CITY COUNCIL 10. ACTION ON REQUEST BY CRA: None 11. MATTERS FROM CITY OFFICIALS: None 12. ADJOURNMENT: On motion by Councilman Breazeal, seconded by Councilman Froehle, the meeting of the City Council was adjourned at 10:10 P.M. The next regular meeting will be held on October 18, 1988, at 7:30 P.M. in the Council Chambers, 5938 North Kauffman Avenue, Temple City. ATTEST. Chief Deputy City C 1