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HomeMy Public PortalAboutMinutes - 1988/04/12 - RegularCITY OF TEMPLE CITY PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES APRIL 12, 1988 INITIATION: 1. CALL TO ORDER: Pursuant to Agenda posted April 8, 1988, Chairman Breazeal called the meeting to order at 7:30 P.M. in the Council Chambers. 2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG: Chairman Breazeal led the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. 3. ROLL CALL: Present: Commissioners Muto, Seibert, Griffiths, Coolman and Chairman Breazeal Also Present: City Manager Koski (7:45 P.M.), Community Development Director Dawson, Associate Planner Saldana and Code Enforcement Officer Willkomm Absent: City Attorney Martin 4. CONSENT CALENDAR: Commissioner Coolman requested Item A be removed from the Consent Calendar. Commissioner Seibert moved to approve the Consent Calendar, minus Item A; seconded by Commissioner Griffiths and carried unanimously. Referring to an Ordinance being considered by Arcadia dealing with extremely large sized houses on modest sized lots on Page 8 of the Minutes, (Matters from City Officials), Commis- sioner Coolman requested the Minutes reflect her statements on the importance of this Ordinance because of the side yard setbacks and her feelings that Temple City should not wait for the problem to happen but should be considered prior to the need for an Urgency Ordinance. Commissioner Seibert moved to approve Item A as corrected, seconded by Commissioner Griffiths and carried unanimously. 5 UNFINISHED BUSINESS: There was none. • " " " Planning Commission Minutes Page 2 Date of Hearing: April 12, 1988 6. NEW BUSINESS: A. PUBLIC HEARING: CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT NO. 88 -910 Site: 5921 -27 Cloverly Avenue Applicant: Paul and Mary Torres 5822 Alessandro Avenue Temple City, CA 91780 Owner: Harry and Azar Sagheb 16839 Bajio Road Encino, CA 91436 Community Development Director Dawson said this is a request for a Conditional Use Permit to allow the operation of a church in an existing commercial shopping center and a Zone Variance to allow a church into a shopping center with a shortage of 44 required parking spaces based upon the Zoning Code requirements for an assembly use. Staff recommended approval of this Conditional Use Permit and Zone Variance based, upon the findings and subject to the conditions of approval as contained in the Resolution. Commissioner Coolman asked if this was the same church that was presently located on Oak and Mr. Dawson said it was. Presently they shared parking with the Steak Corral Restau- rant which is closed and will be replaced with a shopping center. There have been no complaints on the church and its operation. Chairman Breazeal asked the number of parking spaces involved in the reciprocal agreement. Staff did not know. The public hearing was declared open. Paul Torres, 5822 Alessandro Avenue, said he and his wife are pastors of this church, which started around four years ago. The lease at their present location ran out and they are looking for something bigger. The church has 75 members. Chairman Breazeal asked Mr. Torres if he had read the condi- tions proposed by staff and if he had any questions. Mr. Torres said he questioned the condition stating the approval would expire in 180 days and the church would have to return and submit another application for a Modification of Conditional Use Permit. He told the Commissioners they had a Conditional Use Permit for their location on Oak and had no problems so he could not understand why this approval was for only 6 months. " " " Planning Commission Minutes Page 3 Date of Hearing: April 12, 1988 Chairman Breazeal stated that the location on Oak did not abut a residential zone. Staff and the Commission were concerned about noise and traffic in the residential area. He said perhaps a reduced fee for the re- application could be arranged. Chairman Breazeal asked Mr. Torres if he knew how many parking spaces were involved in the reciprocal agreement and Mr. Torres said they had the whole parking lot. Mr. Torres could not recall if there was a specific number of spaces stated in the agreement. Mary Torres, 5822 Alessandro Ave., said she is a pastor of the church and felt the church is an asset to the community. She asked if they could have the 6 -month approval contingent upon no problems or would they have to re- apply. They are now in a commercial district across the street from the post office and there is very heavy traffic and confusion and there have been no problems. Paul Hogan, 6026 Cloverly Ave., said he has been a member of the Word of Freedom Ministries for four years and was speak- ing with bias. Regarding the property abutting a residential area, from his knowledge of the people who attend the church, he said most of the members would be exiting out on Las Tunas and therefore reducing the amount of traffic into and through the residential area. He did not feel the church would produce enough noise to impact the neighbors. Roberta Trujillo, 720 W. Lemon, Arcadia, reminded the Commis- sioners that across the street from the proposed location is the Masonic Lodge. They rent out the hall and have late night activities. You would not have this type of activity or problem with the church. Chairman Breazeal said the function was in existence before they became a City. The City has had no problem with the use. Maria Schulte, 334 No. Foxdale, Arcadia, asked the Commis- sioners if instead of approving for 180 days could they approve the proposal and then, if complaints are received, just cancel it at that time. The church has signed a three - year lease. Chairman Breazeal explained the laborious and time consuming process that would be required. He said nothing was prevent- ing the church from signing a lease subject to the Planning Commission approval. Ms. Schulte said the church is asking for four units in a row and it would be impossible to always be able to do this. They really wanted to occupy five units but could not get them. " " " Planning Commission Minutes Page 4 Date of Hearing: April 12, 1988 John Zubrick, 9558 Workman Ave., was speaking on behalf of the Masonic Lodge across the street from the proposed church site, and said he was not present to criticize but wanted the Commission to be aware that there is a parking problem now and with the addition of the church it would possibly in- crease. During activities held at the Lodge a lot of people used the parking available across from the Lodge. Since the new building has gone in, the Temple Board has taken a stand and anyone using the Lodge is informed not to use that park- ing lot. The Lodge has a parking lot in the rear and when that is filled overflow parking is available on the street. As there was no one else to speak on this issue, Commissioner Seibert moved to close the public hearing, seconded by Com- missioner Coolman and carried unanimously. Commissioner Muto said the proximity to the residential uses along Cloverly has been looked at by staff. He personally had reservations about overflow parking onto Cloverly. If the condition that the church instruct its people not to park on the street could be done he would be more relaxed about this. However, it would be very difficult to control and there was a big question mark on how this would work out. This is the reason for the 180 days. He felt the location was proper for a church and wanted to hear from the other Commissioners. Commissioner Griffiths said he was pretty much in the same line of thinking as Commissioner Muto. Parking is the con- sideration and he had no objection to the location. If parking generated by the church would need street parking and overlapped the same time as the Masonic Lodge needed street parking then there would be a problem. He doubted if the noise would cause a problem. He also wanted to hear from the other commissioners. Commissioner Coolman felt this location was an improvement over a church located in the R -1 Zone. They would have no more problems at this site than St. Lukes or any of the other churches with street parking, noise, etc. Commissioner Seibert agreed. Chairman Breazeal said he would like to see a substantially reduced fee and asked staff what the fee was at present. Mr. Dawson said an application for a Conditional Use Permit is $300 and a Modification for a Conditional Use Permit is $120. City Manager Koski said it could be approved for a 180 -day period subject to the review of the Commission. It would be an automatic review in 180 days. " " " Planning Commission Minutes Page 5 Date of Hearing: April 12, 1988 Commissioner Muto moved to approve Conditional Use Permit No. 88 -910 and Zone Variance No. 88 -920, with an automatic review in 180 -days; to approve Negative Declaration, and to adopt by title only Resolution No. 88- 1418PC, A RESOLUTION OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF TEMPLE CITY APPROVING CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT NO. 88 -910 AND ZONE VARIANCE NO. 88 -920, A REQUEST BY PAUL AND MARY TORRES TO ALLOW THE OPERA- TION OF A CHURCH IN AN EXISTING SHOPPING CENTER WITH A SHORT- AGE OF 44 REQUIRED PARKING SPACES BASED UPON THE ZONING CODE REQUIREMENTS FOR AN ASSEMBLY USE AT 5921 -27 CLOVERLY AVENUE. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Seibert and carried unanimously. While the people present for the above hearing left the Chambers, City Manager Koski called the Commissioners' attention to the new Zoning and General Plan maps at the rear of the room. B. PUBLIC HEARING: CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT NO. 88 -916 Site: 5618 Rosemead Boulevard Owner /Applicant: Cindy Sun 2207 S. Atlantic Blvd. Monterey Park, CA 91754 Mr. Dawson said this request was for a Conditional Use Permit to allow the operation of a Chinese restaurant which would provide both fast food (take -out) as well as "sit down" service within a 7,912 square foot commercial shopping center currently under construction in the C -3 Zone. Staff recommended approval of Conditional Use Permit No. 88 -916 based upon the findings and subject to the conditions of approval as contained in the Resolution. The public hearing was declared open. Cindy Sun, 2207 So. Atlantic Blvd., told the Commissioners she had overcome many obstacles on this project and was now ready to start the foundation. She has worked hard to design a quality restaurant. It will be like a McDonalds with a touch of the Orient. She noted staff restricted the hours of operation to 7:00 A.M. to 10:00 P.M. instead of the 24 hours requested. She asked Commission to consider operating hours of 7:00 A.M. to 12:00 Midnight, which would be two full shifts. She said the restaurant would be in the middle of the shopping center and would be set back from the rental units. Commissioner Breazeal said the concern was the parking. " " " Planning Commission Minutes Page 6 Date of Hearing: April 12, 1988 Commissioner Seibert asked Ms. Sun if there would be any sale of alcoholic beverages and was told beer and wine would be offered. Ms. Sun said they could not apply for a license until the CUP was approved. Fern Koenig, 9571 La Rosa, owner of the property directly east of the proposed project site, said the height of the wall was such that it will be easy for people to stand on it and look over. Answering Chairman Breazeal, Ms. Koenig said she would like the fence to be 6 feet. Her tenants are already looking at a 24' high building and now the noise would be increased. She requested the hours be limited to 10:00 P.M. Ms. Koenig said she had previously talked to City Council and was assured there were no facilities for a restaurant going in. Chairman Breazeal said that about 4 months ago when this shopping center was going in, 25,000 square feet did not require a Conditional Use Permit. This went before the CRA. The Code has been changed and now three or more units require a Conditional Use Permit. The Commission did not approve this use until it came as a Conditional Use Permit. It could have been the City Council acting as the CRA. Cindy Sun, in rebuttal, went into some detail about the obstacles involved in developing this property. She felt it would enhance the neighboring properties. Ms. Sun explained the jog in the rear property line to Commissioner Coolman. As there was no one else to speak on this issue, Commissioner Seibert moved to close the public hearing, seconded by Com- missioner Coolman and carried unanimously. Chairman Breazeal asked Mr. Dawson if as City Planner for the City of Monterey Park, a city with some 57 restaurants, he found that many of the late -hour operations drew individuals who were less than totally socially acceptable and would cause a problem in the neighborhood. Mr. Dawson's replied that in the wee hours of the morning there is more likelihood of some kind of disturbance and this is what led to his decision to limit the hours of operation. It is always a potential situation that exists and can be avoided from the City's standpoint and the businesses' if the hours of opera- tion are limited. Also considered was the fact that this development abuts residential to the east and there would be noise, lights, glare, etc. " " " Planning Commission Minutes Page 7 Date of Hearing: April 12, 1988 Commissioner Seibert had some problem with the 24 -hour opera- tion and also had some problem with the operation of a take- out restaurant open until midnight. He felt Temple City did not need this whether at this location or any other. There possibly could be problems arise because of the proximity to a residential area and he would not like to see that happen. He did not see how they could not approve the request but he would limit the time of operation and would go with staff's recommendations. Commissioner Coolman disagreed and said there is no place except Denny's if you want to have a cup of coffee after 10:00 P.M. She would like to see the restaurant open every night until at least midnight and she could see a need for it. The commercial units to the rear also have to produce their own noise. She felt operating until midnight was reasonable. A discussion of the block wall was discussed. City Manager Koski said there is a grade difference between the two prop- erties. The wall could be 6 feet as measured from the Rosemead side. Commissioner Muto said the location was proper and he liked the proposed conditions recommended by staff. The restric- tions set by staff on the hours of operation should be main- tained because the property has a common lot line with residential units. Commissioner Griffiths concurred with the wall being 6 feet high on the applicant's side. He also was in favor of the conditions set forth by staff as far as the closing time was concerned for the reasons given by Commissioner Muto. He was in favor of granting approval with conditions as stated. Chairman Breazeal believed the request to stay open until midnight was not totally inappropriate. He was not sure which would be noisier - the nine units to the east or a take -out restaurant. He did not feel the two hour differen- tial would make a difference. Commissioner Coolman moved to approve Conditional Use Permit No. 88 -910 with the change in conditions of approval to allow the operation from 7:100 A.M. to 12:00 Midnight 7 days a week and the wall should be 6 feet as measured from the appli- cant's side; seconded by Chairman Breazeal and failed to carry on a roll call vote as follows: AYES: Commissioner Coolman and Chairman Breazeal NOES: Commissioners Muto, Seibert and Griffiths " " " Planning Commission Minutes Page 8 Date of Hearing: April 12, 1988 Commissioner Seibert moved to approve Conditional Use Permit No. 88 -910 with the change in conditions of approval to allow the hours of operation to be 7 :00 A.M. to 10:00 P.M., 7 days a week and the wall on the rear property line to be 6 feet as measured from the applicant's side, and to adopt by title only Resolution No. 88- 1419PC, A RESOLUTION OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF TEMPLE CITY APPROVING CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT NO. 88 -916, A REQUEST BY DR. CINDY SUN TO ALLOW THE OPERATION OF A CHINESE RESTAURANT WHICH WILL PROVIDE BOTH FAST FOOD (TAKE -OUT) AS WELL AS "SIT- DOWN" SERVICES WITHIN A COMMERCIAL SHOPPING CENTER LOCATED AT 5618 ROSEMEAD BOULEVARD; seconded by Commissioner Griffiths and carried on a roll call vote as follows: AYES: Commissioners Muto, Seibert and Griffiths NOES: Commissioner Coolman and Chairman Breazeal Chairman Breazeal called a five minute recess at 8:40 P.M. Chairman Breazeal reconvened the meeting at 8:45 P.M. C. PUBLIC HEARING: MODIFICATION OF CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT NO. 87 -823 Site: 5935 -53 Temple City Boulevard Owner /Purchaser: Bob Chang 238 So. Atlantic Boulevard Alhambra, CA 91801 Applicant /Architect: Simon Lee and Associates 365 W. Garvey Avenue, #203 Monterey Park, CA 91754 Mr. Dawson stated this Modification to a Conditional Use Permit is to allow the construction of a commercial building, replacing the market structure which was destroyed by fire on a 56,875 square foot site in the C -2 Zone at the southwest corner of Temple City Boulevard and Woodruff Avenue. Staff recommended approval of this request based upon the findings and subject to the conditions of approval as con- tained in the Resolution. The public hearing was declared open. Planning Commission Minutes Page 9 Date of Hearing: April 12, 1988 Simon Lee, 365 W. Garvey Ave., Monterey Park, told the Com- missioners he has been working with staff on this project to get the best design for the site and he appreciated staff's efforts in working with him. He had no problem with the conditions and was available to answer any questions the Commissioners might have. L. Merritt, 5418 Cloverly Ave., owner of property in the vicinity, stated before the Commission that he felt there are too many mini -malls in Temple City and he would like to see a moratorium on building them. The site was previously a market and the City needs a market and one should be encour- aged to locate at this site. This type of development will bring in businesses that will cut down on business for the existing shops and no one will make a living. Mr. Merritt said he would rather see a seven story office building than what is being proposed. A market would be the greatest and there are small independent markets around that are doing very well. Commissioner Coolman asked Mr. Merritt if he was suggesting some type of restrictive zoning for this site so only a market could go in. Mr. Merritt said not necessarily, but a market should be encouraged. Virgil Graf, 6118 Primrose, asked what was planned for the driveway presently on the site. It is an eyesore. Simon Lee said the project will be built on the property line, thus covering the driveway. As there was no one else to speak on this issue, Chairman Breazeal closed the public hearing, seconded by Commissioner Seibert and carried unanimously. Commissioner Griffiths said he had mixed feelings about this proposed use because of the impact on the neighborhood. He did not feel it would be attractive or of any benefit to the City. In fact, it could have an adverse effect on some of the smaller uses in the area. A market would fill a need and better serve the community. Commissioner Griffiths said he had some difficulty in finding number 3...adverse effect upon the public welfare. He would like to hear more from staff and the City Attorney and just was not ready to vote on this item. Commissioner Seibert agreed with Commissioner Griffiths. He also thought Mr. Merritt had a good point that a market would be more advantageous than some more small businesses and restaurants. At this point he would not be in favor of granting the request. " " " Planning Commission Minutes Page 10 Date of Hearing: April 12, 1988 Commissioner Coolman did not see that the Commission had any grounds to deny this project. Whether they liked or disliked mini -malls was of no concern. It is a commercial use and meets the criteria and would have ample parking. The appli- cant should be allowed to rebuild and rebuild what they want. Commissioner Muto said he had reservations with this. The fact is that if a market study had been made and one would determine the public necessity of what is being proposed, it may be one would conclude this should not be encouraged. However, the findings that have to be made do not give that kind of flexibility in making a decision. In his best analy- sis of the findings, he felt they can be made. He would have to say, reluctantly, that is his position - the findings can be made. Chairman Breazeal said that as much as he admired Commission- ers Coolman and Muto, he did not agree with them. The site is adequate in size, shape, topography and circumstances; the site has sufficient access to streets and highways; however, they must make the determination that it would not have an adverse effect on surrounding properties. Although there was a revision in the General Plan to zone this property Commer- cial, the timing is such that if developed with ten more units, considering the fact of the vacancies in the Haas Center, a double -digit vacancy rate in the commercial area, etc., to approve this project would have an adverse effect on surrounding properties. Therefore, he could not see approv- ing the ten units as proposed. Commissioner Griffiths commented he had no objection to some of the statements made by Commissioner Coolman but did not like to be included in all of her comments. He felt he would like some conversation with the City Attorney. Further, he was not in a position to make a decision that evening. An- swering Chairman Breazeal, Commissioner Griffiths said he would like to continue this matter until he had the opportu- nity to speak with the City Attorney. Chairman Breazeal said he supported this thinking because of certain legal ramifica- tions. Commissioner Griffiths moved to continue the public hearing on Modification of Conditional Use Permit No. 87 -823 until the next Planning Commission meeting on April 26, 1988; seconded by Commissioner Seibert and carried unanimously. Simon Lee said a market could be put in at the site. He also told the Commission he was working on a close time table to develop the site because of an insurance payment to the previous owner. He also told the Commissioners it was not going to be a ten -unit project. Mr. Lee agreed to continuing this item to the next Planning Commission meeting. " " " Planning Commission Minutes Page 11 Date of Hearing: April 12, 1988 Chairman Breazeal turned the meeting over to Vice Chairman Muto and left the Council Chambers. D. PUBLIC HEARING: A CODE AMENDMENT RELATING TO MODIFICATION OF SIDE AND REAR YARD SETBACKS REQUIRED ON M -1 ZONED PROPERTIES OPPOSITE OR ABUTTING "R" ZONED PROPERTIES Mr. Dawson reported that recent variance requests on M -1 zoned lots, related to side and rear yard setbacks, have served to initiate an ordinance amendment that would modify the rear and side yards that are required when M -1 lots abut or are opposite from "R" zoned lots. Specifically, the side and rear yards would be eliminated except when an M -1 lot has a lot line abutting the side lot line of an "R" zoned lot. In this instance a 5 -foot yard area on the "M" zoned lot would be maintained. Staff recommended adopting resolution. Mr. Dawson suggested the possibility of referring the case to the Minor Zoning Modification Committee when a situation arose where an M -1 property abuts an R -1 property for deter- mination of appropriate yard areas. The public hearing was declared open. As there was no one to speak on this issue, Commissioner Seibert moved to close the public hearing; seconded by Com- missioner Coolman and carried unanimously. Commissioner Muto recalled this situation came up in a case not too long ago. The variance was granted and this Ordi- nance has merit and would certainly eliminate a lot of vari- ances. The Commissioners discussed this Code Amendment and Commis- sioner Coolman preferred going with the Resolution rather than fool with the MZM Committee unless the circumstances were very unusual. Commissioner Coolman moved to recommend approval of the subject Code Amendment and to adopt by title only Resolution No. 88 -1420, A RESOLUTION OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF TEMPLE CITY RECOMMENDING A CODE AMENDMENT RELATIVE TO THE REQUIRED REAR AND SIDE YARDS ON M -1 ZONED LOTS WHICH ABUT "R" ZONED LOTS, seconded by Commissioner Seibert and carried unanimously. 7. COMMUNICATIONS: There were none. " Planning Commission Minutes Page 12 Date of Hearing: April 12, 1988 8. TIME FOR THOSE IN THE AUDIENCE WHO WISH TO SPEAK: There were none. 9. MATTERS FROM CITY OFFICIALS: There were none. 10. ADJOURNMENT: As there was no further business, Vice Chairman Muto ad- journed the meeting at 9:15 P.M. The next regular meeting of the Planning Commission will be held on Tuesday, April 12, 1988, at 7:30 P.M. in the Council Chambers, 5938 North Kauffman Avenue, Temple City. "