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HomeMy WebLinkAbout69 - PH-4 - Attachment 3 - 6/17/2014ATTACHMENT 3 5.27.14 PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING EXCERPTS OF PUBLIC HEARING NO.4 REGARDING PA -13-29 and TT -17668 (Harbor and Hamilton livetwork units) 4. Application No.: Applicant: Site Address: Zone: Project Planner: Environmental PA -13-29 and TT -17668 South Coast Communities – David Hutchins 2095 Harbor Blvd. PDC Minoo Ashabi Determination: Mitigated Negative Declaration Description: The proposed project involves: 1) A Master Plan for construction of 28, three-story detached live/work units at the southwest corner of Harbor/Hamilton 2) A Tentative Tract Map for a 28 -lot subdivision for condominium purposes. 3) Deviation from Residential Design guidelines related to second floor and third floor ratios to first floor (100% allowed, 104-110% proposed). Minoo Ashabi, Principal Planner, summarized the staff report for a 28 -units Master Plan project on 1.53 acre. Ms. Ashabi reported receipt of 17 letters of support and 2 letters of opposition and added that the exhibit in Attachment 7 (Pg. 87) needed to be replaced with a revised version that included two additional parking spaces. The Commissioners discussed density, parking, circulation, fire access, reduction of perimeter open space, plate line in Condition of Approval No. 6, Notice to Buyer provisions, practical ways of protecting the adjacent businesses, noise levels, pervious pavers in Condition of Approval No. 16, PUBLIC COMMENTS David Hutchins, representing the applicant South Coast Communities, stated they agreed with most of the Conditionals of Approval except Condition of Approval No. 6 that they wished to discuss further and the removal of Code Requirement No. 37 that pertained to an alley (alley not applicable to this project). Mr. Hutchins provided background information regarding the project. Lynn Redman, Costa Mesa resident, has been the original renter of Parcel No. 1 since the Hamilton Community Gardens opened. Mr. Redman was concerned that a block wall would create continuous shading on the garden. He addressed parking and hazardous materials concerns and asked that the new development going on the site be sensitive to the Community Gardens. Tim Lewis from Red -E -Rentals, submitted a letter with his concerns. He said the applicant's presentation did not mention his request to leave an extra 10 feet for an additional lane at Hamilton to make the driveway effective. Mr. Lewis felt the project's traffic flow was an error because instead of dumping the traffic onto Charle Street (a street severely impacted) they should have moved the traffic flow to Harbor Boulevard.— a street capable of handling the traffic. Mr. Lewis said the City Council's vote on the zoning issue was an error. Marina Renka, representing Rudy's Garage, said the developer had never approached them. They were opposed to the project because the area was for commercial projects not residential and the proposed project was non -conforming to the surrounding businesses. Ms. Renka was disappointed with the City of Costa for allowing a residential project at the corner of Harbor and Hamilton. She understood that the Hamilton/Harbor corner needed to be revitalized but approving a residential project for that area was a mistake. Rick Huffman, Costa Mesa resident, agreed with a lot of Mrs. Renka's comments. He felt that approving mixed-use live/work units was just an excuse to jam units in and urged eliminating the pretense. The Commission should be encouraging commercial uses such as store front shops and restaurants on the southern part of Harbor Boulevard. He felt that three-story residences backing up to Harbor Boulevard was preplanned blight and knew that replacing obsoleted buildings was necessary but not with live -work projects. Mr. Huffman offered alternatives for the project. Beth Refakes, Costa Mesa resident, was concemed with the project's location, parking and egress on to Hamilton. She was happy that a big eye sore on Harbor Boulevard that attracted transients was going to be eliminated and felt it should have been declared a nuisance a long time ago. Ms. Refakes was concerned that the rules and regulations for the Community Garden did not prohibit the use of any types of chemicals and felt the existing businesses needed to be protected. Dale Frankhouse, owner of the medical building at 2077 Harbor Boulevard, did not think the development had sufficient parking. He was concerned that the project's overflow would go into his parking lot leaving his tenants and customers without parking and losing money. He requested 30 -foot bamboo to act as a buffer and replace the beautiful tree that gave him privacy and did not want to see his neighbors involved in litigations or people complaining about the noise when it already pre-exists. Greg Sullivan, representing Red Mountain, empathized with the concerns of the public speakers and felt it was fear of the unknown. The project received wide -area support from other businesses in the neighborhood — it was a good project that was going to benefit Costa Mesa and hoped the Commission would support it. Chair Fitzpatrick asked Mr. Sullivan for a brief overview of the project's history. Mr. Sullivan deferred the Chair's request to Eric Nelson who provided the overview. MOTION: Adopt Initial Study 1 Mitigated Negative Declaration and approve PA -13- 29 and TT -17668 based on the evidence of the record, the findings in Exhibit A and subject to the modified Conditions of Approval in Exhibit B as follows: Amend Condition of Approval No. 4, middle of sentence one after "site" to read: "with the exception of the property lines adjacent to Red E Rental and the medical office which shall be 8 -foot high masonry walls, Amend Condition of Approval No. 10 to read: "Landscaping and irrigation shall be installed in accordance with the approved plans prior to final inspection or occupancy clearance, including screening by frees andlor landscyRing along the property line with Red -E -Rentals and the medical office to the satisfaction of the Development Services Director_." Amend Condition of Approval No. 16 by Adding at the end: "as approved by the Development Services Director." Amend Condition of Approval No. 17A to read "The CCBR's shall contain provisions requiring that the HOA homeowner's association (HOA) effectively manage parking and contract with a towing service to enforce the parking regulations, and prevent to the extent possible resident or guest parkin in adjacent businesses". Amend Condition of Approval No. 26 by adding "shall be provided to all adjacent Property owners upon recordation" at the end of the second -to -the -last sentence (after whichever is longer) Add Condition of Approval No. 32 to read: "With the concurrence of and to the satisfaction of the Transportation Department, extend the length of the eastbound left -turn storage lane on Hamilton Street by an additional 50 -feet for a total storage length of 240 -feet " Code Requirements Condition No. 31 — strike in its entirety. Special District Requirements Condition No. 6 — strike in its entirety. Moved by Vice -Chair Dickson, seconded by Chair Fitzpatrick for discussion. As a neighborly effort, Chair Fitzpatrick asked the applicant to reach out to the members of the Community Garden, find out their needs and help them. The motion carried by the following roll call vote: Ayes: Fitzpatrick, Dickson, McCarthy, Sesler Noes: None Absent: Mathews Abstained: None The Chair explained the appeal process.