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HomeMy WebLinkAbout12-08-2009 PC Minutes~~ ~~ ~x~ Plannin Commission Minutes ~~~~ g Tuesday, December 8, 2009 CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL A regular meeting of the City of Dublin Planning Commission was held on Tuesday, December 8, 2009, in the City Council Chambers located at 100 Civic Plaza. Chair Wehrenberg called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Present: Chair Wehrenberg; Vice Chair King; Commissioners Schaub, Brown, and Swalwell; Jeri Ram, Community Development Director; Kit Faubion, City Attorney; Mike Porto, Consulting Planner; Jamie. Rojo, Assistant Planner; and Debra LeClair, Recording Secretary. Absent: None ADDITIONS OR REVISIONS TO THE AGENDA -Chair Wehrenberg suggested moving the Goals and Objectives discussion to the end of the meeting, after the public hearings. The Commission agreed. MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETINGS - On a motion by Cm. Schaub, seconded by Cm. King the minutes of the November 24, 2009 meeting were approved. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS -NONE CONSENT CALENDAR -NONE PUBLIC HEARINGS - 8.1 PA 09-028 Ruby Health Massage Conditional Use .Permit for a Massage Establishment. Jamie Rojo, Assistant Planner presented the project as outlined in the Staff Report. Cm. Schaub asked to review the parking chart as he felt there should be one space required for an office. Ms. Rojo answered the Applicant does not have an office. Chair Wehrenberg asked if the reception area is considered an office. Ms. Rojo answered the reception area was counted as a waiting area. Cm. Schaub felt the parking space requirement for an office should still be included because if there is a business there needs to be an office facility. Jeri Ram, Community Development Director mentioned that this is a small business and often in this type of business the owner is a masseuse as well as the manager. .~. _ ~- .Y ..,a~~ 203 Cm. Swalwell asked if there will be showers located in the facility. Ms. Rojo answered no, only bathrooms; one for men and one for women. Cm. King asked what is required to obtain a permit and if a background check is performed for anyone wanting to open such a facility. Ms. Rojo answered the Chief of Police issues the permit and does a background check. They are also required to have a state permit and a building permit. Cm. Schaub read the findings and asked if these are the findings in the resolution that must be made in order to approve the application for CUP. Ms. Rojo answered yes to each finding. Chair Wehrenberg opened the public hearing. Dennis Wang, 8888 Bellina Commons, resident spoke in opposition to the project. He stated his residence is next to the proposed massage center. His reasons for opposition are: 1) the facility. is too close to neighborhoods with small children; 2) he is concerned about possible illegal activities; and 3) it will attract the wrong type of people to the area. He is also .concerned because the facility is ten steps from the Dublin Center Village with approximately 50 townhouses. He felt that there are many massage businesses that open in the mall and are open for everyone to see what is happening. He felt the enclosed small rooms for massage was "asking for trouble." He hoped the Commission would reject the business at that location. He also mentioned their Homeowners Association did not have enough time to discuss the matter in depth and asked the Commission to give them time for a complete discussion so that they could have a uniform voice. He also suggested the City do background checks to ensure the Applicant does not have a criminal record. Chantha Vater, 8913 San Ramon Road, spoke in opposition to the project. She agreed with Mr. Wang and also asked for more time for their HOA to meet and discuss the project. She was also concerned about the hours of operation. Jian Chang Xie, Applicant, and Norman Lew, interpreter spoke in support of the project. Cm. Swalwell asked if this is the first massage establishment he has run or if he has operated others and if so, where are they located. Mr. Xie stated this is the first one. Cm. Swalwell asked why he chose Dublin for his business. Mr. Xie answered he had been looking for a space for his massage business for a long time and saw the space on-line and felt it was a good location. Cm. Swalwell asked if all of the masseuses will have a license. 204 Mr. Xie answered yes. Cm. Swalwell asked what the masseuses will wear. Mr. Xie answered a white uniform. Cm. Swalwell asked if the uniforms will always be worn. Mr. Xie answered yes, always. Cm. Brown asked if the masseuses will be both male and female. Mr. Xie answered they may hire two female and 1 male masseuse. Cm. Brown asked if he requires the employees to have massage training. Mr. Xie answered yes; all employees must have a license. Cm. Brown asked what is required to obtain a massage license. Mr. Xie answered they must go to school, and work for approximately 600 hours. Cm. Schaub asked what time during his hours of operation most of his customers will arrive for services. Mr. Xie answered his customers arrive during lunch time or after 6pm after work. Cm. Schaub asked about weekend business. Mr. Xie responded that business is very slow on the weekends. Cm. Schaub asked how he would feel about closing the business at 6:OOpm Mr. Xie felt 6:OOpm was too early, but felt that 7:OOpm could work but 8:OOpm would be better. He stated that most other massage facilities close at 9, 10 or 11 and offered to check with other businesses in the area. Cm. Schaub asked about the hours of operation to determine what the Applicant felt about possibly changing the hours to make the neighbors feel more at ease about the business. Cm. King asked if all the rooms were designed to be private rooms. Mr. Xie answered yes. Cm. King asked why the rooms needed to be private. ,~-T. ,~ ~~~~~~~ w~~~ ~;~~,.. 205 Mr. Xie stated he had no problem making the rooms transparent if there is a concern about illegal activities. He suggested making the walls not extend all the way to the ceiling, or make the doors glass. Cm. Schaub mentioned he has friends that use professional massage services and felt it was a legitimate business. Cm. King agreed with Cm. Schaub that there is a legitimate need for professional massage .services. He asked the Applicant if he understood the neighbors' concerns. Mr. Xie answered yes he understands their concerns but stated his business is totally legal. He stated his family had an acupuncture/massage business in China which is why he wanted to open this facility. Cm. King asked if he has received any type of medical training to use massage services to help with any health or medical conditions. Mr. Xie answered yes he has a personal massage license and 2 years ago he went to school and worked for 600 hours to learn massage and obtain his permit/license. Chair Wehrenberg felt Cm. King was asking if he would be billing insurance companies as a health care provider. Mr. Xie answered no. Chair Wehrenberg felt the word "health" in the name implies that he is a health care provider. Mr. Lew, interpreter, was not sure why the Applicant named his business Ruby Health Massage. Mr. Xie stated he named the business Ruby Health Massage because he thought it relates to medications and helping people reduce stress. Chair Wehrenberg closed the public hearing. Cm. Schaub stated as far as land use he does not see any reason for this business not to be approved. He felt the Police department would monitor the business if there were anything illegal going on. He stated he can make the findings and is in support of the project. Cm. King stated he too has no reason to vote against the application. He felt the police. would determine whether or not prostitution is going on in the business. He felt that transparency between the stalls could help. He also questioned the word "Health" in the name and felt it implies something other than what is being offered. Cm. Swalwell stated he understands the concerns of those who spoke, and appreciated the Applicant addressing the Commission s concerns and speaking in English. He felt there is a blurry Iine between a legitimate massage establishment and prostitution. He felt it was ~r~,, e.,. , ~.~.. ~ a, ~~#~ ~~ ~. 206 unfortunate that the Applicant had to be subjected to guilt by association. He felt there is a nexus between prostitution and massage parlors, etc. He stated the Commission does not know anything about the business except what has been submitted. He agreed with Cm. Schaub to leave it up to the Police to enforce the law. He felt the transparent rooms were not necessary and was in support of the hours of operation. He suggested two conditions: 1) the Applicant shall not be allowed to advertise under adult services on any Internet website; and 2) the City would be allowed to revoke the CUP if any arrests were made for prostitution. He was also. in support of postponing the vote until HOA had time to discuss the project but would go along with the rest of the Commission. Cm. Brown agreed with the other Commissioners and Mr. Wang s concern that the HOA did not have time to discuss the matter. He felt that they should be given time to discuss it. He felt the business was in a good location and was in support of the project.. Chair Wehrenberg appreciated the residents coming in, but the Commission is disagreeing with the allocations that are being made. She stated she uses massage services for medical reasons and her appointments are usually after work hours. She is not opposed to the project but wanted to address the issues the speakers brought up and let them know that the Commission listened. She stated the police will do a background check and make periodic visits to ensure they are following City codes. She felt the business is in a good location, hours of operation are not a problem and she disagrees with any modifications to the rooms. She mentioned that there is an opportunity to appeal the Commission s approval to the City Council. Ms. Ram stated they have 10 calendar days to appeal after the Planning Commission takes action. Chair Wehrenberg felt that the project meets the findings. She felt that the other businesses in the area are also personal service businesses and did not wish to change the. hours of operation or add any other Conditions of Approval. Cm. Schaub was in support of the hours of operation and felt if it's a legitimate business then there is no need to worry about transparency. He agreed with Cm. Swa1we11 regarding the proposed added conditions. He was not clear the HOA would add anything but felt they are a legitimate group of people whose opinion should be heard. Cm. King agreed with Cm. Swalwell's proposed conditions. On a motion by Cm. Swalwell and seconded by Cm. Brown, on a vote of 5-0, adding the following. Condition of Approval: "The Applicant shall be prohibited from advertising adult and erotic services through any form of media (website, periodicals, newspapers, etc.)" the Planning Commission approved: RESOLUTION N0.09-52 A RESOLUTION OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF DUBLIN a,~~, 207 APPROVING A CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT TO OPERATE A MASSAGE ESTABLISHMENT (RUBY HEALTH MASSAGE) LOCATED AT 8933 SAN RAMON ROAD (APN 941-0164-003-09) PA 09-028 8.2 PA 09-034 Fiorano Site Development Review for a portion of the Positano project which includes 43 single-family detached residential units on approximately 9.2 acres within Tract 7951 formerly known as Salerno II. Mike Porto, Consulting Planner presented the project as outlined in the Staff Report. Cm. Schaub asked how many granny flats have been used as a true secondary unit. He felt there will be parking issues if they were all true secondary/granny units. Mr. Porto responded the granny flats are a requirement for affordable housing that a certain number of units must be provided, in this project 11 out of 43 will have granny flats... He continued that Salerno will still have to build their affordable housing units. Cm. Schaub was concerned that if alI the granny flats were in the same area -there would be a parking problem. Mr. Porto stated there were allowances made for parking in the secondary unit ordinance; also there are 18 foot driveway aprons which allow two parking stalls on the driveway plus one parking stall within 150ft for all the on-street parking within the neighborhoods. Cm. Brown asked how the 11 granny flats satisfy the requirement for affordable housing units. Ms. Ram responded when Braddock & Logan submitted the Fallon Village project they made a proposal to the City Council to satisfy the entire Inclusionary Zoning Ordinance requirement to build a certain percentage of single family homes, a percentage of secondary units and an off- site mitigation area of 88 units on the Anderson property. At the same time they proposed a community benefit payment. The City Council approved that proposal. as an alternative method of compliance with the Inclusionary Zoning Ordinance. Cm. Brown asked how many of the units in this project would not be granny flats. Mr. Porto answered it would be easier to say how many definitely will have the granny flats. He stated there will be 11. D. R. Horton bought the Inclusionary requirement as part of the deal with Braddock & Logan therefore they are required to build 11. He continued they could build more but they would not necessarily comply with inclusionary housing. ., 208 Chair Wehrenberg felt that Staff and the developer had brought in a very good project and that they had listened to the Planning Commission and the detail and the effort put into the project is appreciated. Cm. King asked about the option for solar wiring. Mr. Porto answered yes there will be that option and the developer will install it in the model homes. Cm. King. asked if there was any way to encourage a developer to include. solar wiring in their development as an option even if the purchaser does not want to pay for it. He also asked about the expense. Mr. Porto stated the developer will wire the homes for solar and offer the option to install the photovoltaic panels at a future date. Chair Wehrenberg stated as long as the infrastructure is already there it is less expensive then to try to retrofit the house at a later date. Mr. Porto stated the Commission had brought up the concern with earlier project as to why they cannot have the ability for the homeowner to install solar at a later date. He continued Lennar Homes, on their own, put solar into their units. He stated this is the City's first opportunity for a developer to provide solar wiring for the home purchaser. Cm. King understood that the wiring is the infrastructure which will be done on all the units and the option is to include the solar or photovoltaic panels. Mr. Porto answered yes. Cm. Schaub felt the cost would be difficult to predict with so many programs available. Chair Wehrenberg felt this helps the City meet more green building guides. Chair Wehrenberg opened the public hearing. Dean Mills, D. R. Horton, Applicant, spoke in favor of the project. Chair Wehrenberg asked about the timeline and if he felt the market is strong and that people are interested in green housing. Mr. Mills stated they have found there to be a mix and it also relates to the price of the homes. He continued that D.R. Horton offers solar as an option in most of their properties, but this is the first time making the pre-wire standard. He felt how it is received is based on the price of the house. He felt that not all the market for the solar panels is there yet but feels that cities are going in that direction. He stated their company tries to design houses with green building in mind. 209 Chair Wehrenberg asked if the rebates help. Mr. Mill answered yes but in some areas (Roseville} electricity is cheap so solar isri t needed. Chair Wehrenberg asked about a timeline to start the. project. Mr. Mills answered they would like to start as soon as the plans are approved. Cm. Schaub asked if there will be a specific HOA for the project or will they be included in the larger development's HOA. Mr. Mills answered the project will be part of the existing HOA. Cm. Schaub asked if the front yards will be maintained by the HOA. Mr. Mills answered the watering will be controlled by the existing HOA. Chair Wehrenberg closed the public hearing. Cm. King liked the pre-wiring option and stated he would like to see a requirement for all buildings to be wired .for solar. He also would like to find a way to encourage front yards that don't involve lawns with the extent of water rationing in California. Mr. Porto stated the lawns in this project will be minimal.. On a motion by Cm. Schaub and seconded by Cm. Swalwell, on a vote of 5-0, the Planning Commission approved: RESOLUTION N0.09- 53 A RESOLUTION OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF DUBLIN APPROVING A SITE DEVELOPMENT REVIEW FOR FIORANO AT POSITANO, FOR 43 SINGLE FAMILY DETACHED RESIDENTIAL UNITS ON APPROXIMATELY 9.2 ACRES WITHIN TRACT 7951 PA 09-034 WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS - 7.1 Planning Commission Goals and Objectives 2010 Jeri Ram, Community Development Director presented the Goals and Objectives. as outlined in the Staff Report. ,~, .~_a ~, zr 210 Ms. Ram mentioned Goal #7 "Amend the Streetscape Master Plan to include enhanced entry feature designs at Gateways" which had a staff priority of "delete" because the monuments were ready to be installed. Cm. Schaub asked if it should be "completed" because the monuments are already to be installed and that was the goal. Ms. Ram felt that Cm. King's goal was to enhance the plan and change it. Cm. King stated his intent was to create something so that people coming into the City would recognize they are in Dublin; which could be a theme, landscaping, or anything. Ms. Ram stated if that is the case then it should be marked "complete" because the monuments are being installed. Cm. King asked what features were installed other than the monument sign. Ms. Ram answered there will be features along Dublin Blvd. on the medians .that have cut-out Shamrocks. Cm. King felt it would be nice if the gateways had some kind of identifying themes. He continued when he set the goal he was not referring to Dublin Blvd. Ms. Ram responded all gateways into the City will have a monument sign and the median structures will be replaced with shamrocks as well as along the overcrossing where the rails are currently. Therefore she felt the goal should be marked as "completed." Cm. Schaub agreed it should be marked completed. Cm. King agreed it should be marked completed. Cm. Brown was concerned there are no directional signs to any destination at any of the gateways into Dublin. He felt the signage would need to fit in with the monuments and should complement them as well. Ms. Ram stated within the Streetscape Master Plan there are community directional sign standards. She agreed to speak with the Public Works Department to see what the plan is for community directional signs. Ms. Ram stated in reviewing the Goals and Objectives Staff took a no-cost perspective due to the fiscal issues in local government. She stated Staff is hoping to finish the projects on the list; the only additional cost is the Scarlett Court Specific Plan. Ms. Ram asked the Commission if they would like to add any additional items or goals to the list. - ~ ,.~ r _ . ~ ,~~ 211 Chair Wehrenberg mentioned Goal #8 - "Updating the City's General Plan' which they had not discussed as yet. Ms. Ram stated it would be cost prohibitive to continue with this goal therefore it was recommended to be deleted. Ms. Ram asked for any additional Goals and Objectives. Cm. Schaub stated the Commission had discussed studying the Parking Ordinance. but they did not have the opportunity. He mentioned the City Council has it on their list of Goals and Objectives. He thought the Council had wanted the Planning Commission to study parking. He felt the issue should be discussed. Ms. Ram stated Staff will analyze, this year: restaurant parking, outdoor seating and shared parking. She stated the City did- not have funds for a consultant to do a revision of the Parking Ordinance. She continued Staff reviewed the issues that had been brought to the Planning Commission most frequently and found the following parking requirements to be out of sync: indoor recreation, large family -day care, restaurant, as well as outdoor seating and .shared parking issue. She stated Staff hopes to have all the parking concerns studied and submitted to the Council and the Planning Commission by the end of the fiscal year. Chair Wehrenberg felt that the shared parking issue is unique. Ms. Ram stated the study will be done at the Staff level with no additional cost to the City. Cm. Schaub suggested the Planning Commission take a tour of the City to talk .about commercial architecture and decide what they like or dori t like. He stated he would like to do this before they are presented with the Draft Downtown Speci€ic Plan. Cm. Schaub thought it is important for the Planning Commission to know the different styles of architecture and be able to name them. The Commission discussed a tour of the City to determine what kinds of buildings they like and dori t like. Chair Wehrenberg felt that they should know what kind of projects are coming up and what issues are important now before they schedule a tour. Ms. Ram mentioned the computer survey done by the City to determine the likes and dislikes of the residents as well as 3 walking tours of the downtown area that were conducted during the Downtown Specific Plan process. Cm. King asked if the survey brought any meaningful information to Staff. Ms. Ram answered yes it was discussed at the last joint City Council/Planning Commission study session. -. 212 Cm. Schaub felt it would be beneficial to review the survey and then physically look at the buildings that the residents liked. Ms. Ram suggested waiting to take the tour until the design guidelines are out for review. She agreed to speak with Jeff Baker, Planning Manager, regarding a tour of the City for the Commission. The Planning Commission had no Goals and Objectives to add. Preliminary Goals and Objectives 2010-2011 PLANNING COMMISSION VOTE 1. Implement residential planned development and HIGH -Unanimous investigate opportunities to create a new, village in Easter Dublin Transit Center 2. Complete Parks Reserve Forces Training Area (Camp HIGH -Unanimous Parks General Plan ands ecific Plan Amendments. 3. Update Downtown, West Dublin BART and San Ramon HIGH -Unanimous Specific Plans into one Comprehensive plan that addresses the entire Downtown area. 4. Complete Scarlett Court Specific Plan King -High Wehrenberg -High Brown -Med Schaub -High Swalwell - Hi h 5. Partici ate in 2010 Census HIGH -Unanimous 6. Develop policy requiring play areas in walking distance DELETE -Unanimous of new homes in new subdivisions. 7. Amend the Streetscape Master Plan to include enhanced DELETE -Unanimous entr -feature desi sat Gatewa s. 8. U date the Ci 's General Plan DELETE -Unanimous HOUSING: The Planning Commission had no Goals and Objectives to add. HOUSING VOTE 1. Process 10 First Time Homebuyer Loan applications Schaub -High King -High Wehrenberg -Med Swalwell -Low Brown - Hi h 2. Develop appropriate plans and policies for becoming a HIGH -Unanimous Communi Develo ment Block Grant entitlement ci 3. Work with Dublin Housing Authority and development HIGH -Unanimous team on relocation of Arroyo Vista tenants, grant a lications and develo ment of ro'ect site. 213 NEW OR UNFINISHED BUSINESS -NONE OTHER BUSINESS -NONE 10.1 .Chair Wehrenberg mentioned she would not be available .for the Goals and Qbjectives meeting scheduled for January 23, 2010. 10.2 Ms. Ram informed the Commission of the Planning Institute scheduled in Monterey with a115 Planning Commissioners as well as Ms. Ram and Jeff Baker will be in attendance. 10.3 Cm. Swalwell asked if there was anything new with business licenses, new applications or anything happening in the. City. Ms. Ram was not aware of anything new. ADTOURNMENT -The meeting was adjourned at 9:10 p.m. Respectfully Doreen Wehren Chair Planning ~ ATTEST: ~~~ 1 ~~ L- Jeri Ra CP Community Development Director G: MINUTES ~ 2009 ~ PLANNING COMMISSION ~ 12.8.09.doc ~~,. ~`3~~a~~r &, 2I3fJ9 214