Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-14-1997 PC MinutesA regular meeting of the City of Dublin Planning Commission was held on Tuesday, October 14, 1997, in the Dublin Civic Center City Council Chambers. The meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. by Chairperson Jennings. ROLL CALL Present: Commissioners Jennings, Johnson, Oravetz, and Hughes; Eddie Peabody, Community Development Director; Jeri Ram, Associate Plalmer; Jerry Haag, Consultant Planner and Gaylene Burkett, Recording Secretary. Absent: Cm. Musser PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG Cm. Jennings led the Commission, Staff, and those present in the pledge of allegiance to the flag. ADDITIONS OR REVISIONS TO THE AGENDA The minutes of the September 23, 1997, meeting were approved as submitted. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS None WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS None PUBLIC HEARING 8.1 97-023 Turan Residential Care Facility A Conditional Use Permit for a residential care facility in a remodeled single family home located at 8521 Valencia Street, that will have a maximum of 12 elderly adults. The residential care facility currently being operated in this residence by the applicants houses 6 elderly adults. The Center will operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. October 14, 1997 Regular Meeting 88 [10-14] Cm. Jennings asked for the staff re~ Jeri Ram, Associate Planner, gave the history of the project. The Turan's are currently operating a residential care facility for six elderly adults. She stated the project was to expand the operation to twelve elderly adults. She stated that the Turan's would be expanding into the rear of their lot. The addition is consistent with the Zoning Ordinance and the General Plan. She stated that the Turan's have operated a dental lab since August of 1996 however with the expansion, the Fire Department has stated they could not operate a dental lab and have the residential care facility. The Turan's have agreed not to run the lab. The fire department has put a condition that if they are to operate with more than six people, they would have to increase the type of construction to bring it up to a different type of occupancy rating. She stated that Staff recommends approval of the project. Cm. Hughes asked if this type of business was regulated by the state Ms. Ram stated yes, but with six or less, the City does not regulate. If they request to seven to twelve then it is licensed by the state and they have to follow certain guidelines. Cm. Hughes asked if the state had approved the twelve senior citizens. Ms. Ram stated that the Turan's would have to bring in the state license before they could have occupancy for up to twelve people. Anna Turan, stated they currently have four elderly living in their home. They wanted to expand to twelve. She stated that the City was the first step in getting approvals. Cm. Hughes asked if they presently had four bedrooms and they were planning to add four more bedrooms and 1½ bathrooms. Ms. Turan stated yes, that they would have a total of 8 bedrooms and 3½ bathrooms. Cm. Oravetz asked the age requirements for the elderly. Ms. Turan responded 65 and over. Cm. Oravetz asked if she talked to her neighbors about this expansion. Ms. Turan responded yes, and almost everyone supported it. There was one person on Galindo who did not like the idea. Cm. Oravetz asked the type of clients they would be taking care of. Ms. Turan said their clients are 65 and older and cannot take care of themselves in their own home. Cm. Oravetz asked Ms. Ram if a condition was placed for only 65 and older. Ms. Ram stated that the facility was only for elderly, and that 65 and older was considered elderly. October 14, 1997 Regular Meeting 89 [10-141 Cm'. Johnson complimented Ms. Tt, ~,x on the appearance of her home. He s .ed it was well landscaped and was one of the nicer looking homes on the block. He asked if she had any Alzheimer patients? Ms. Turan said she had one lady in the early stages of Alzheimer, but she has been medicated to control it. Cm. Johnson asked if she had a nursing background or did the state require a medical background. Ms. Turan said no, but she did have to take a test. Cm. Jennings asked if they plan to hire additional staff. Ms. Turan said that she has two daughters that help out. They may hire more help for the weekends. She stated that the state requires one adult for six people. Alex Turan, the applicant's son, asked about the name filed with the City. The City has the name Turan Elderly Care. He stated it was currently registered as Villa Dublin Home Care. Ms. Ram asked that the applicant to send a letter to correct the name. Karen Hammer, 8508 Valencia Street, stated she discussed this with other neighbors, and they have some concerns. The value of their homes was one concern. The neighbors were also concerned if the Turan's move or sell their home, what kind of facility would move in there. Another concern was the added patients may cause more traffic, the possibility of ambulances, and added noise. Cm. Jennings asked about the ambulances. Ms. Turan stated that they have never called for an ambulance; however, any house could call an ambulance in case of emergency. Cm. Jennings asked how many patients they currently have. Ms. Turan responded that they have four people since February, 1997. Cm. Jennings asked about having a conditional use permit, and selling the house. Ms. Ram stated that the conditional use permit will allow care for the elderly only at this location. Mrs. Hammer stated that it was still a concern that the noise could increase. She asked if her property value was going to go down. Cm. Jennings stated her experience was that it would not lower the property values. The addition would not be seen from the street. Cm. Oravetz asked Mrs. Hammer if she was speaking for herself or other neighbors. Mrs. Hammer responded that she was speaking for herself. October 14, 1997 Regular Meeting 90 [10-141 Tom Scanlon, 8492 Valencia Stree.. ~ated he lives across the street from th~ aran's. He used to live on the other side of the bay, and the house was sold and the area eventually turned into a residential care facility. He feels that this project was a commercial business and should not be in a residential area. Bob Miller, 8526 Valencia Street, stated he had concerns about the use for the area. He complimented the Turan's on how beautiful their house was. Cm. Jennings asked if more and more applications came in for that use on that street, would that be taken into consideration. Ms. Ram stated they would bring that to the Planning Commission's attention, and it would be up to the Planning Commission if they wanted to allow other uses. If the home care was for six or fewer, Staff would not know. Cm. Johnson asked if there was a way to find out how many residential care units were in Dublin. Mr. Peabody stated the state may have those records available. Cm. Johnson stated the state was encouraging this type of facility in residential areas. Mr. Miller asked if the Turan's planned to buy the homes on each side. Ms. Turan stated no. Cm. Hughes stated the policy in the state of California was to encourage day care and elderly facilities to be in residential neighborhoods; he felt there was a great need for this type of facility. The concerns were similar to those of a daycare facility. Rick Hansen, 8503 Valencia commented on the work done to the house, and the improvements to the neighborhood was appreciated. He stated that the Negative Declaration stated there was not much traffic; his grandmother was in this type of facility and was visited regularly by the family. He stated that the increase from six to twelve patients would increase the amount of traffic. He asked if there was staff on hand twenty four hours for these patients. He asked if this was the first of this kind to come before the Planning Commission. The Commission all agreed it was the first Mr. Hansen stated that if this was true, this was the direction the Planning Commission was heading. He stated that he was for elderly care, but in moderation. Cm. Oravetz asked if he lived next door to the Turan's. Mr. Hansen stated he owned the property next door, but the house was a rental. Cm. Oravetz asked if he visited his grandmother in this type of facility. October 14, 1997 Regular Meeting 91 [10-141 Mr: Hansen stated that if one visits ; facility, he would say the maximum. 21 of parking was four cars without using the garage. He stated he was not opposed to the operation now; his concern was increasing from six to twelve. Cm. Hughes asked if he had any complaints or observations with parking. Mr. Hansen stated there was unfamiliar cars in front of the neighbors house. Cm. Hughes asked in terms of this particular resident, was there an increase in parked vehicles. Mr. Hansen stated that there was a parking problem throughout the neighborhood. His concern was that there was only four elderly there currently, but the Commission was opening the door to twelve. Cm. Hughes stated that his concern was the trend in this country was to take the elderly, place them in a facility much worse than this and then forget about them. He felt maybe the potential for lots of traffic would not be that great. Cm. Johnson stated he has had experience visiting an aging relative and during that time, there has never been a lot of cars. He felt the Turan's home care was an excellent facility for people who need assistance. Cm. Hughes asked the applicant if they would be living in the residence, and how many vehicles would be there. Ms. Turan responded yes, they would be living there and they have two vehicles. Cm. Hughes asked how many visitors have been to the house since February. Ms. Turan stated that some family only visit once a month and some visit once a week. She stated that a nurse might be there twice a week, if one of the patients comes back from the hospital. Cm. Johnson asked if they are using the garage for anything else. Ms. Turan said no, they could park their cars there. Cm. Oravetz asked if they had set visiting hours. Ms. Turan stated that visiting hours were from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Cm. Jennings asked if there was parking anywhere else other than the driveway. Ms. Turan responded the driveway and the garage. Alex Turan responded on some issues brought forward; he stated that he did the accounting for this facility, and he does it for four other facilities in Dublin. He stated that the nurse visits were limited to about 15 minutes, and they may employ one person to watch the patients while they were out. The parking issue has never been a problem. October 14, 1997 Regular Meeting 92 [lO-14] Cm-. Jennings asked if any of the or. ~ facilities have more than twelve in on .ouse. Mr. Turan stated no. Cm. Oravetz asked instead of twelve, why not go to eight. Mr. Turan stated it was better to go to twelve long term. Many people prefer to put their parents or grandparents in this type of facility where the care is better, and the neighborhood is better. Cm. Oravetz asked why not start at eight and slowly increase it little by little. Mr. Turan stated he felt is was not a good use of Planning Commission time and neighbor time. He wanted one build-out at a time, instead of piece by piece. They did not want to add a large addition and not know if it would be approved down the line. The construction and cost would be minimized. Cm. Jennings closed the public hearing. Cm. Hughes felt there probably will be some increase in traffic; however he believes it was a compatible use, and any type of use would be a minimal inconvenience. He felt any problems would be outweighed by the conveniences. He felt the Planning Commission's duty was to look at the proposal fairly, and he felt it was compatible. He supports the project and feels it should be approved for twelve patients. Cm. Oravetz stated that he has traveled that street quite a bit and it is like driving down a mine field. With the added facility he did not think Valencia Street in Dublin could handle this type of facility. Cm. Johnson felt the facility was as good on that street as it would be on any street in that area of Dublin. He felt the location looked good with the large backyard and to stop at eight would not be adequate from a financial stand point. He stated that there was a definite need for this type of facility and they should be allowed to go to twelve. Cm. Hughes felt the duty of the Planning Commission was to look at the compatibility of the project and not how property values would be effected. He does not believe that this type of project would decrease the property value for the area. When some one adds this type of addition, property values would increase. Cm. Oravetz asked who would have to disclose the facility was there when they went to sell their house. Cm. Jennings stated anyone who lived within a ten block area. Cm. Jennings asked if there were parking complaints for the area. Ms. Ram stated they were public streets and as long as they park legally, cars can part anywhere on the street. Mr. Peabody stated that the project was for a Conditional Use Permit. If there was a problem, it could be brought back before the Commission. The streets are public streets and unless there was a nuisance we would go out and talk to the neighbors to try to find out what the concerns were. October 14, 1997 Regular Meeting 93 [10-14] On-motion by Cm. Hughes, secon ~ by Cm. Johnson and with a vote of ' Cm. Oravetz opposed, the Planning Commission adopted, · 1, with Cm. Musser absent and RESOLUTION NO. 97 - 20 APPROVING PA 97-023 TURAN RESIDENTIAL CARE FACILITY CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT REQUEST TO ALLOW THE OPERATION OF A RESIDENTIAL CARE FACILITY (COMMUNITY CARE FACILITY) IN AN R-l, SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENTIAL ZONING DISTRICT AT 8521 VALENCIA STREET 8.2 PA 97-019, Park Sierra Apartments A Mitigated Negative Declaration has been prepared for this project. A General Plan Amendment to change the land use designation from "Medium Density Residential" to Medium-High Density Residential," a zone change to "Planned Development-Medium High Density Residential," and Site Development Review for a 209 unit apartment project on 8.9 acres of land. Cm. Jennings asked for the staff report. Jerry Haag, Planning Consultant, gave a history of the project. He stated this project was discussed at a study session on September 23, 1997. He stated that Shea Properties was requesting three approvals from the City. The General Plan Amendment to change the General Plan designation on the site from medium to medium high density, a rezoning to the PD district, and the Site Development Review approval. He gave the specifics of the project, number of units, number of parking spaces, unit composition, etc. Since the study session, the applicant had addressed several of the issues of concern, mainly the landscaping has been increased, access to the site would be off Dougherty Road with two emergency access points, and a third vehicle access to the rear. A new traffic signal would go in on Dougherty Road and be partially paid for by this applicant. A letter was received by MCE who stated they start their equipment early in the morning and had concerns on noise and felt people would complain to the police. Disclosure would be required to the tenants to notify them that there could be noise. In order to midigate this issue, a twelve foot substantial sound wall would be placed Cm. Oravetz asked where MCE was located. Mr. Haag showed Cm. Oravetz where MCE was located on the map. Don Gause, Shea Properties, addressed the concerns expressed at the study session. They prepared two new site plans. Landscaping and open areas were addressed; the trees between the buildings would provide separation. He stated that the architects were available if there was any questions. Cm. Oravetz asked if they considered changing the gate leading on to Sierra Court to be an enter and exit type gate. Mr. Gause stated they still preferred it to be an exit only, and they have the support of the Police Department. He stated they could amend it to go both ways in the future if there was a problem. Cm. Johnson asked if there was going to be development to the north of the project. October 14, 1997 Regular Meeting 94 [10-14] Mr: Haag stated there was vacant p. ~,erty owned by the Housing Authority .... d Shea has been talking with them. Cm. Johnson asked about the parking lot that does not go anywhere. Mr. Gause stated that it will lead to a steel gate used for emergency vehicle access and for Zone 7 maintenance crews. Cm. Johnson asked if there was any way to make that accessible to the property. Mr. Gause responded no. He stated that it went directly to the creek and was the maintenance road for Zone 7. Cm. Oravetz asked when Scarlett Drive would be done. Mr. Peabody stated there would have to be improvements along the Iron House Trail. Cm. Johnson asked about the space between the garages. Mr. Gause stated it was 25 feet. He stated that there was some vine pockets in between the garages. Cm. Johnson stated that Amador Oaks was similar to this project. Cm. Jennings asked about the color scheme. Mr. Gause stated that the revised color scheme was beige's and taupe's with an accent color of cobalt blue. Cm. Jennings asked what was going to be on the balconies that would help mitigate sound. Philip Turhorse, Architect, stated that the balconies that face the industrial side will be solid and air tight. Eddie Su, Ruggeri Jensen, thanked Staff in getting the project together in the last two weeks. Don Roads, Landscape Architect, stated that it has been a good experience working with Shea. He stated that Shea has directed him to put in lots of trees, evergreen vines, barbecue pits, and tot lots, etc. He feels the project will look nice. Gabrielle Goss, Regional Director of Shea properties. She stated she has had the pleasure of working on this project, and Amador Oaks was not as pretty as this project will be. Joe Flanagan, Project Manager of Shea. He stated that his experience has been great working with the City of Dublin. Cm. Jennings closed the public hearing. On motion by Cm. Oravetz, seconded by Cm. Hughes and with a vote of 4-1, with Cm. Musser absent, the Planning Commission adopted, with changes to Exhibit E, Regular Meeting 95 October 14, 1997 [10-14] RESOLUTION NO. 97-18 APPROVING SITE DEVELOPMENT REVIEW FOR PA 97-019, PARK SIERRA APARTMENT PROJECT, SHEA PROPERTIES RESOLUTION NO. 97- 21 RECOMMENDING CITY COUNCIL ADOPTION OF A NEGATIVE DECLARATION FOR PA 97-019, PARK SIERRA APARTMENT PROJECT, GENERAL PLAN AMENDMENT, PD REZONING AND SITE DEVELOPMENT REVIEW RESOLUTION NO. 97- 22 RECOMMENDING CITY COUNCIL APPROVAL OF AND ESTABLISHING FINDINGS AND GENERAL PROVISIONS FOR A PLANNED DEVELOPMENT (PD) REZONING CONCERNING PA 97-019, PARK SIERRA APARTMENT PROJECT, SHEA PROPERTIES NEW OR UNFINISHED BUSINESS Mr. Peabody discussed the field trip scheduled for Saturday, October 18, 1997. Cm. Oravetz gave a report on the Downtown Study Task Force. He felt there would be a lot of information coming of this task force. Mr. Peabody handed out the schedule, and went over upcoming projects and issues. He stated that October 18, 199 was the field trip for the project review. More information will be coming out shortly. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 9:00 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Planning/Commiss,~ Chairperson~ Community Development Director October 14, 1997 Regular Meeting 96 [10-14]