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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07-22-2008 Study Session MinutesPlanning Commission Study Session Minutes CALL TO ORDER A special meeting of the City of Dublin Planning Commission was held on Tuesday, July 22, 2008, in the Council Chambers located at 100 Civic Plaza. Chair Schaub called the meeting to order at 5:35 p.m. ATTENDEES Present: Chair Schaub; Vice Chair Tomlinson; Commissioners Biddle, Wehrenberg, and King; Mary Jo Wilson, Planning Manager; Erica Fraser, Senior Planner; and Debra LeClair, Recording Secretary. ABSENT: None 1.1 PA 07-028 Arroyo Vista -- General Plan Amendment, Stage 1 and Stage 2 Rezone, Site Development Review and Vesting Tentative Map. Erica Fraser, Senior Planner presented the project as outlined in the Staff Report. Chair Schaub asked if parking for Citation homes is to code and if there is a requirement for guest parking. Ms. Fraser answered the Citation homes parking is to code and no guest spaces are required. Cm. Biddle asked if there is street parking permitted and hove many spaces that includes. Ms. Fraser answered the Applicant will respond during their presentation. Chair Schaub pointed out the parking ratio table on the slide is slightly different than the table in the Staff Report. Ms. Fraser stated there are three questions for the Planning Commission to answer: 1) Is the design of the project acceptable as proposed? 2) Should Eden provide 50 year roof material rather than 30 year roof material? 3) Is the number of parking stalls adequate for the site? Cm. King asked if the roofs could be adapted to add solar panels later. Ms. Fraser responded Citation can answer that question bu t it would make it easier if the original design of the building included provisions for solar panels to be installed in the future. Cm. Tomlinson mentioned that in other projects the developer had pre-structured the roof supports to handle the weight of the solar panels and then rail conduit from an electrical panel to an area on the roof to be tapped into later. (PCanning Commission I Jufy 22, 2008 There was a discussion regarding the technological advances in the solar industry and how the panels have improved. Cm. King asked why there is an increase in the number of units. Ms. Fraser answered the project has both affordable and market rate units and the Cite Council originally approved 405 units but Eden and Citation lowered it to 378 units. Chair Schaub was concerned Citation Homes is not providing the 12.5% affordable units required by the Inclusionary Housing Ordinance. Ms. Fraser answered that she believed that they are providing 7% affordable units and paying in-lieu fees into the housing fund for the remainder. Kathy Schmidt, Eden Housing spoke in favor of the project. Nis. Schmidt introduced the design team: Andrea Popinastasio, Eden Housing; Mike Sullivan anc_ Steve Christianson, Citation; Lee Rosenblatt, CBG Civil Engineers; Teresa Ruiz and Rachel Kaufman, BAR Architects; Jeff Keller, Keller Mitchell, Landscape Architects. She thanked Staff and Ms. Fraser for her help. Ms. Schmidt gave an overview of Eden Housing and their projects. She stated Eden builds as well as manages and provides services for their projects. Mike Sullivan, Citation Homes spoke in favor of the project. Mr. Sullivan gave an overview of Citation Homes' past projects including Mission Gardens, a redevelopment in Santa Clara which is similar to the project designed for Dublin. Cm. Biddle asked how many parking spaces there are on the public streets within the project. Mr. Sullivan answered there are 74 parking spaces on the public streets and that number is included in the total number of 823 parking spaces for the project. Mr. Sullivan commented, as a project wide calculation for parking, they are asking for a 5% parking reduction, which includes both the Eden Housing and Citation projects as well as the on-street parking. Ms. Fraser indicated that the City does not count on-street parking in the calculation; therefore, the 13% parking reduction is correct for the on-site parking. Cm. Biddle asked if there will be access to the Alamo Creek trail. Ms. Fraser answered yes. Mr. Rosenblatt, Carlson, Barbee and Gibson, pointed out the Emergency Vehicle Access roads as well as the pedestrian connections within the project. Cm. Biddle asked if there will be fencing between the nearby apartments and the proposed project. Mr. Rosenblatt stated there is a retaining wall as well its a fence that would remain. Cm. Biddle asked if they plan to rebuild the sound wall on Dougherty Road. Mr. Rosenblatt answered the sound wall will be rebuilt and moved back approximately 5 feet to allow for landscaping and trees which would be outside the wall along Dougherty Road. Cm. Biddle asked where the traffic signal would be located. Ms. Fraser answered that a signalized intersection is anticipated as part of the project. However, the EIR is not finalized at this time. t'Canning Commission 2 Aly 22, 2008 Cm. Biddle asked Mr. Sullivan what the maintenance responsibility would be and if there will be an HOA that will cover the Citation property. Mr. Rosenblatt stated the attached units and detached units will be handled the same and maintained by the HOA. He stated there will be landscaping within the private area of the single family detached units that will be maintained by the HOA. He continued maintenance would include everything including the structure, roofs, painting and an architectural committee as well. Chair Schaub was concerned with having the same HOA for the attached and detached units and asked how they would make the assessment of dues equal. Mr. Sullivan answered they will assess the attached and detached units at different rates and have different reserve funds for each. Cm. Biddle asked if the front yards of the detached units vAll be landscaped. Mr. Sullivan answered the detached units will have private, fenced yards which will be landscaped by Citation as well as a sidewalk around the side of the house. Chair Schaub stated an HOA is not necessary with only 57 detached units. He suggested having only a maintenance organization instead. Cm. Tomlinson mentioned that with such a small number of Lnits it would be difficult to find a management company. Cm. King asked if there is space set aside for kids to play, not a tot lot but an open space area or basketball court. Mr. Rosenblatt answered there are no basketball courts within the project but in the center of the project there is a park with a tot lot and playground fixtures. He continued both Citation and Eden residents will be able to utilize the are;i. He also pointed out other play areas. Ms. Schmidt, Eden Housing stated the central area and the community building will be available to the entire property not only the Eden residents which is different than what was originally mentioned. She stated behind the community building there is another large grass area and a tot lot and there are linear grass areas between the buildings. Mr. Rosenblatt pointed out the areas with a park-like setting approximately 60 square feet wide, big enough for a birthday party, etc. He continued there is a wide landscape area close to the entrance as welt. Cm. King discussed the different services that are within walking distance to the project. He stated he likes the good mix of pricing levels and the architectural design of the project. He wondered how they will promote life in the neighborhoods and thought the front porches in the design were a good idea in that direction. Cm. King mentioned "four sided architecture" but he could not tell if the project had that aspect from the drawings. Ms. Fraser referred to the Citation drawing PD-53 which shoves the enhanced elevations for the sides and rear of the units. Cm. Biddle felt the enhanced elevations were important because the attached units will face the street and can be seen over the sound wall. 4'lanning (bmmission 3 Jufy 22, 2008 Mr. Rosenblatt stated they intentionally worked with their architect so that the side of the units that face the public right-of-way would be aesthetically pleasing. Cm. King was concerned about the request for a parking reduction. Cm. Tomlinson asked Ms. Schmidt what the age group would typically be within the families that would occupy the Eden project, and how many of those would be of driving age. Andrea Popinastasio, Eden Housing answered the Eden project has a variety of 2, 3 and 4 bedroom units and typically the projection is 1.5 person/ bedroom. Cm. Tomlinson asked about extended families that might increase the number of people living in the apartment. Ms. Popinastasio answered that typically in a 4 bedroom apartment they would expect 5-6 people which would normally be a two-pa ^ent household with a number of children. Ms. Popinastasio responded to the parking ratio issue stating that in other Eden multifamily developments (that are not near transit) they have found that the 1.75/unit parking ratio works well. She stated the ratio would be parking for approximately 1.5 cars per unit with some guest parking. Cm. King asked when the parking statistics are taken and will they plan for increased cars over time as the children become driving age. Ms. Popinasta&.o stated there are fewer cars on average in an Eden project than in a typical market rate development due to the family's economic situation. She stated very few 16-18 year olds have their own cars in a low income family. Cm. Tomlinson felt because the streets are internal to the project and only serve the project residents, those 74 on-street parking spaces should be included in the parking formula. He asked how many seniors own cars in other Eden senior projects. Ms. Popinastasio answered approximately .5 to .6 cars for residents only, no guests. She stated the number of cars tends to decrease over time in the senior development because of advancing age. Cm. Tomlinson asked if a van would be part of the project. Ms. Popinastasio answered no. Cm. Tomlinson was concerned that residents would use their garage for other than parking creating a situation where it would be difficult to turn around on the street. He suggested expanding the head of the streets to give a larger turn around area. Mr. Sullivan answered that part of the benefit of an HOA is that the CC&R's will restrict garage use and provide for site inspections. Mr. Sullivan continued the private drive alleyways have drive-thru areas to access the rear loaded garages which would address Cm. Tomlinson concern. Chair Schaub stated the project was short 46 parking spaces and if the 74 on-street parking spaces are counted the project would be over by 28 spaces. He agreed the 74 parking spaces will only be used by the project residents. He reminded the Applicant that the project would be very dense and to take into consideration some traffic calming devices. Cm. Biddle stated parking control will be critical to the project: particularly at the senior project. He asked if there would be assigned spaces for the seniors. Ms. Popinastasio stated the covered ,Planning CommimIon Jufy 22, 2008 spaces are assigned to the residents for the family development. Chair Schaub mentioned the childcare spaces can be used for guest parking and the community center can also be used for guest parking. Ms. Popinastasio mentioned that Eden has a very active management company that will ticket and/or tow any inoperable or illegally parked vehicles. A former resident of Arroyo Vista was concerned about traffic signals and play areas for the older children. Cm. King was also concerned about open spaces for older children and the Applicant pointed out those areas on the site map. He thought they would be areas where a basketball hoop could be brought but also asked if those areas were meant to be well manicured, grassy parks. Ms. Popinastasio answered they try to make sure there are places for children of all ages to play and provide afterschool programs. She stated they have had mixed success with basketball courts. She felt they are not the best option for older children and teenagers; they try to provide other programs and activities. Cm. King responded the basketball court is a metaphor for a pace for the older kids to go. Jackie Keller, Landscape architect pointed out areas of open grassy space. She also pointed out the perimeter pathway where there will be native plants, birds and access to Alamo Creek. Cm. Tomlinson was impressed with the landscaping along the streets which include separation between the sidewalks and the cars and felt it made the street more inviting. Cm. Biddle agreed with Cm. Tomlinson regarding the street landscaping along Dougherty Road. Chair Schaub liked the landscape strip on the main public street which shows the road, landscape, trees then the sidewalk. Ms. Keller commented the plan was to plant the trees along the street as close to the street as possible to encourage shade onto the project. Bill Hornbuckle, Resident, Crossridge Road asked if they were referring to the Alamo Creek trail. Chair Schaub answered they were referring to the trail 1.hat comes into the property from the northwest end which will be continued to the southwest and connects to the Iron Horse trail. Mr. Hornbuckle asked if there would be access to the Alamo Creek. Mr. Sullivan answered the creek is permanently fenced off so there is access to the trail but not the creek itself. Mr. Hornbuckle asked if there would be water conservation efforts in the project. Ms. Fraser answered the landscaping plans are not final until the project is at the building permit stage. She continued as part of the landscaping application there is a Water Efficient Landscaping ordinance which requires drought tolerant species, irrigation and many other items. Mr. Hornbuckle commented the renderings of the project looked lash with green plants. Ms. Fraser <f'Canning Commission 5 July 22, 2008 answered not all landscaping requires a lot of water and there are a number of species that are green but are also drought tolerant. Cm. Biddle mentioned the project has access to recycled water ,also. Mr. Hornbuckle was concerned about the traffic the project will create and felt adding another traffic signal would create more congestion on Dougherty Road Chair Schaub mentioned the Commission would study the EIR at the public hearing. Mr. Hornbuckle asked when the EIR would be ready. Ms. Fraser answered we anticipate it to be available in approximately 2 months. She offered to notify him when it is available. Ms. Lorianne Behrens former resident of Arroyo Vista was also concerned about traffic. Chair Schaub responded the Planning Commission will study the raffic when the EIR is finalized. Ms. Behrens stated she is now living in a senior complex at The Groves and the parking situation is very difficult. Cm. Biddle did not notice an elevator in the senior project. Ms. Schmidt answered there is an elevator in the senior project. Chair Schaub stated he is opposed to composite roofs and felt a 30 year roof was not acceptable and that a nice articulate 50 year roof should be a requirement for the project. Cm. Tomlinson felt the architecture is well done and the 50 year roof would enhance the look of the project with a thicker more interesting roof. Chair Schaub added the 50 year roof would make it consistent with the rest of the project which is a finding the Planning Commission must make. Ms. Popinastasio stated Eden Housing would like the project to be comparable as much as possible. She stated they brought a few samples of the roofing to show that the thickness depends on the manufacturer. She asked the Planning Commission if they are asking Eden Housing to have a greater thickness than a standard 30 year :-oof. Chair Schaub answered the Planning Commission is not focused on the number of years but more concerned with articulation and thickness that looks nice and is consistent with the roofs on the other units. Ms. Schmidt stated Eden Housing would do their best to comply. Cm. Biddle suggested to Citation creating storage space within the crawl space of the detached, 3 level units, to alleviate the garage storage problem. Mr. Sullivan agreed to study Cm. Biddle's suggestion. Hearing no further comments, Chair Schaub adjourned the meeting at 7:05 p.m. July 22, 2008 4'lnnning ('ommission