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HomeMy WebLinkAbout8.1 Attch 3 PC Minutes 09-14-2010da r1I t,;. Planning Commission Minutes Tuesday, September 14, 2010 CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL A regular meeting of the City of Dublin Planning Commission was held on Tuesday, September 14, 2010, in the City Council Chambers located at 100 Civic Plaza. Chair King called the meeting to order at 6:59:31 PM Present: Chair King; Commissioners Swalwell and Wehrenberg; Jeff Baker, Planning Manager; Kristi Bascom, Principal Planner; Mike Porto, Consulting Planner; and Debra LeClair, Recording Secretary. Absent: Cm. Brown and Cm. Schaub ADDITIONS OR REVISIONS TO THE AGENDA - NONE MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETINGS - On a motion by Cm. Swalwell, seconded by Cm. Wehrenberg the minutes of the August 24, 2010 meeting were approved. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS - NONE CONSENT CALENDAR - NONE WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS - NONE PUBLIC HEARINGS - 8.1 PA 09-002 Esprit at Dublin,Station, Amendment 1 to the Development Agreement for the Dublin Transit Center E-1 Project. Kristi Bascom, Principal Planner presented the project as outlined in the Staff Report. Chair King opened the public hearing; with no one to speak he closed the public hearing. Cm. Swalwell was in support of the project and had no questions. Cm. Wehrenberg wds in support of the project and had no questions. Chair King was l'h support of the project and had no questions. On a motion I y Cm. Wehrenberg and seconded by Cm. Swalwell, on a vote of 3-0-2, with Cm. Brown and haub being absent, the Planning Commission approved: RESOLUTION NO. 10 - 39 A RESOLUTION OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION Pfmrvirar (;cr-ar!iss?oa ?ept?•=7ts:r i J, ')?!% KequfarY.'aet{,irj 98 ATTACHMENT3 There was a discussion regarding open-view fencing and possible view issues with the HOA or the surrounding developments. Chair King urged the Applicant to ensure that view restrictions are addressed in the CC&R's and that homeowners are aware of the restrictions when buying their home. Mr. Montgomery stated he would ensure that all homeowners read and sign the CC&R's at the time of purchase. Chair King closed the public hearing. Cm. Swalwell stated he liked that there are 3 plans, he felt it was a nice balance with Positano, and not too dense. He mentioned the Applicant is exceeding the requirements of the Green Building Ordinance. He also encouraged the Applicant to include information regarding views in the CC&R's. He complemented Mr. Porto and the Applicant for a well done project. Cm. Wehrenberg stated she liked the architecture and attention to detail and is in support of the project. Chair King stated he was in support of the project. On a motion by Cm. Swalwell and seconded by Cm. Wehrenberg, on a vote of 3-0-2, with Cm. Brown and Cm. Schaub being absent, the Planning Commission approved: RESOLUTION NO. 10- 40 A RESOLUTION OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF DUBLIN APPROVING A SITE DEVELOPMENT REVIEW FOR LIVORNO AT POSITANO, FOR 69 SING14E FAMILY DETACHED RESIDENTIAL UNITS ON APP*OXIMATELY 16.7 ACRES WITHIN TRACT 8036 PLPA-2010-00043 8.3 PA 06-060, Avalon Bay Communities, Dublin Station (Transit Center Site C) for Stage 1 Development Plan Amendment and Stage 2 Development Plan, Site Development Review, Vesting Tentative Map 7929, and Development Agreement submitted by Avalon Bay Communities, Inc. Mike Porto, Consulting Planner presented the project as outlined in the Staff Report. Cm. Swalwell asked what type of security the project will have. Mr. Porto answered the buildings will be secure with gated parking and each resident will have an FOB for entrance into both the parking garage and the residence buildings. YIa xr,R{q (i7nrrni.ts .tt i?`1sent rr ! 1, 2010 n tuGr'#1cc;iry 100 Cm. Swalwell asked what type of restrictions will be on the 25 on-street parking spaces. Mr. Porto answered there will be a maximum 2 hour parking limit on the public streets throughout the Dublin Transit Center development. He continued this is consistent with the Elan.and Avalon I projects. Cm. Wehrenberg asked if the glass area on the top floor is livable space. Mr. Porto answered yes, and stated it is a compilation of an urban look and the traditional elements of the Avalon I building. Cm. Wehrenberg felt it was a good change from the original project and liked how they addressed lighting on the garage and security which were the two main concerns of the Commission. She also liked the garage access and that they eliminated the Commission's concern regarding bike storage. Mr. Porto responded there is a significant amount of storage in the project. He stated the increase in storage came from increasing the architectural elements to create the different roof planes that the Commission had requested. Cm. Swalwell asked if Mr. Porto felt that increasing the residents in the development would help to increase the retail in the project. Mr. Porto answered there are 12,000 sq ft of vacant retail space. He continued there have been various retail users brought forward but nothing has worked. He stated the way the PD was written the retail component is ancillary which gives some flexibility. He continued this developer located commercial adjacent to other commercial to group them together which could be a way to activate the retail/ commercial area. Cm. Swalwell asked what type of retail is anticipated for the development. Mr. Porto answered the types of uses would be food, coffee, dry cleaners; establishments that would have more service oriented uses, which would work with the livability of the area, plus the proximity to the BART garage. Mr. Porto felt this commercial space would become successful over time and mentioned the Fairway Ranch development at the Groves, where there are 5,000 sq. ft. of ancillary commercial still vacant. He mentioned the Tralee project where it has worked with the same type of element and similar types of uses. Cm. Wehrenberg stated this development is designed to eliminate cars and create an area where residents can walk to most conveniences. She asked if in the future when the economy and the City are back on track would there be a possibility of converting some of the units to retail. Mr. Porto suggested asking the Applicant but he did not feel it would be easy to do. 'Ilannin-gC'enumu-tIon ?/,trmbr !d, 2010 ? t' "m(ar.`-t!Petln.?n 101 Mr. Porto mentioned there is also additional retail available across the street in front of the BART garage. Chair King asked about the circular area in the middle of the project. Mr. Porto answered that is the end of Hamlet Lane. He stated that street is for Fire truck access, private on-street parking and trash collection trucks. Cm. Swalwell asked if there are any PG&E gas lines that the City should be concerned with in the project area. Mr. Porto answered the Public Works Department is currently doing inspections on all gas lines in the City and making a report to the City Manager. Chair King opened the public hearing. Tom Sheldon, GGLO Architects, spoke in favor of the project and presented a Power Point that showed a comparison of the previous project submittal and the current project which took into consideration the Planning Commissions comments from the earlier submittal. He stated the Commissions concerns were: the sense of arrival, a reduction of the horizontal appearance in the roof lines, more variety of materials with more texture, more variety in the elevations, and more colors. Cm. Wehrenberg asked if there were any bike paths planned for the development. Mr. Sheldon mentioned the City's bike path plan. Mr. Porto mentioned the Bikeways Master Plan and the Iron Horse Trail which is to the west of the project, but does not intersect with it. Cm. Wehrenberg felt it was unfortunate there were no bike paths in the project because it is so close to BART. Cm. Swalwell agreed with Cm. Wehrenberg. Mr. Porto stated the streets are all built and the infrastructure is in place. He stated as part of the original plan there are no paths, other than the Iron Horse Trail, in the area. He felt this issue should have been thought out a bit more thoroughly back in 2000-03, but with these individual projects it is hard to retrofit streets and it becomes the City's responsibility. Jeff Baker, Planning Manager mentioned the City has a Bikeways Master Plan which shows a circulation map with existing and proposed facilities. The concepts of the Bikeways Master Plan have been incorporated into the Multi-Modal maps in the General Plan. He continued there are proposed Class 2 facilities included in the Transit Center, as well as, the Arnold Road facility which provides pedestrian and bike access to the site. -?fan! ksa ('onzmrc,inrt A;i;j't7t?r= iYfctti; :{ 102 Mr. John Rennels, BART, Principal Property Development Officer, spoke in favor of the project. He felt the project was a good example of a creative public/private partnership. Ile stated BART entered into the partnership in order to increase parking at the station and create a sense of place and community. Cm. Wehrenberg asked how Dublin can have BART add a story to their parking garage. Mr. Rennels stated BART anticipated the addition of parking would be needed. He stated BART has environmentally cleared an adjacent parking garage to accommodate an additional 500 spaces. Fatimah Rambo, resident of Avalon I was concerned about traffic and asked if there was a plan to alleviate excessive traffic in the Dublin Transit Center area with this new project. She stated there is only one lane in each direction on Iron Horse Pkwy with only a STOP sign for control. She felt that with an additional 486 apartments, getting out of the Avalon I garage will be even more difficult. Mr. Porto stated Iron Horse Pkwy is built to its ultimate improvement. He stated there are two access points out of the Avalon Bay Apartments. He discussed Ms. Rambo's chosen path out of her garage and felt there were other access points that could make it easier to exit the complex. He stated there are no plans to widen Iron Horse Pkwy. Cm. Swalwell asked if a signal would be better then the stop sign. Mr. Porto answered t here were no signals planned for any of the intersections, the traffic analysis indicated the stop improvements would serve the pedestrian and traffic needs in that area. He stated signalization was not considered at that time. Cm. Wehrenberg felt a signal in that area could create problems on Dublin Blvd. Mr. Porto continued no signalization was considered at the intersection of Martinelli and Iron Horse Pkwy because of the type of traffic patterns and urbanization that the developer was trying to achieve. He stated there was one intersection primarily regulated by stop control instead of signal control. Cm. Wehrenberg asked about striping on the streets to keep an area clear at the exit points. Mr. Porto stated the streets are public streets at this point and should be addressed with the City's Traffic Engineer. Mr. Porto asked Ms. Rambo if she had spoken to anyone at the City to address this problem. Ms. Rambo answered no and Mr. Porto asked her to speak with him after the meeting so that he could give her contact information. Chris Page, resident at Elan spoke regarding the traffic problem. He felt the traffic would be worse with the number of units in the area being doubled. He is adjacent to DeMarcus Blvd :}'trptt: rrrzc;zon •S ?•P•cru?rr I 'tr l:' hygfj r<Cr r aecl irry^ 103 and has experienced back-up's of up to 10 minutes to get out to Dublin Blvd. He wanted to understand how this development will mitigate the traffic problem. Chair King felt the traffic is a problem and might become worse and would like the City to address the traffic problem at the Dublin Transit Center area. Mr. Baker felt some of the traffic concerns were directly related to the operation of BART. He stated that the project may help to alleviate some traffic by eliminating BART surface parking spaces with the project. Project residents would travel in the opposite direction, leaving the Transit Center when BART patrons arrive in the morning. He stated the City has a Traffic and Safety Committee which reviews traffic concerns, intersection delays and that sort of thing, he offered to relay this information to that committee and ask them to take a look at the functionality of the intersections and determine if there is a need for improvements. He mentioned Mr. Page and Ms. Rambo should talk to Mr. Porto to get contact information and he will relay their concerns to the Traffic and Safety Committee. Cm. Wehrenberg stated there is a Condition of Approval regarding traffic on Iron Horse Pkwy and DeMarcus regarding frontage improvements, she asked if the Commission could add a condition to study the traffic problems at this project. Mr. Baker answered the Commission could do that as part of the City's process. He stated the streets have been designed for the assumed capacity of the areas, but the City can look at the functionality and determine if there are improvements that can be made as part of the Traffic and Safety Committee. Cm. Swalwell felt the project is more pedestrian friendly, safer and more secure, but is still concerned with traffic. He wants to support the project but traffic is an unforeseen issue that he would want more information about Cm. Wehrenberg stated the Planning Commission reviewed the traffic study as a whole for the Dublin Transit Center and felt the traffic was overlooked with the expectation that a lot of the residents would be taking BART versus using their cars. Mr. Porto stated the project was originally evaluated as the Transit Center in 2000 and approved in 2003. He continued there was an EIR with an extensive traffic analysis as part of the document. He stated there are no additional units being added anywhere in the Transit Center that were not considered with the original PD and the streets were designed in accordance with the traffic analysis at that time. He continued that time has passed, people have moved in and the project has been developed exactly as it was anticipated at the time. He stated public improvements need to be reviewed from time to time to ensure proper operation. He felt the Traffic and Safety Committee is the proper body to look at the concerns and determine what can be done. He stated these are public streets at this point and not something the developer has any control over because the improvements have already been constructed. Cm. SwalwelI asked if the Commission can add a Condition of Approval that would make the Commission's approval subject to the Traffic and Safety Committee's approval. 104 ;;,!,, Mr. Baker answered they could add a condition to have the Traffic and Safety Committee review the adequacy of the streets in the project. Cm. Swalwell felt he would like to have the Traffic and Safety Committee co-sign on the project because they are the experts. Cm. Wehrenberg asked if the cost associated with any improvements would fall on the City of Dublin. Mr. Baker answered yes since they are public streets that have been accepted by the City in anticipation of the development in the area. He stated the City would need to look at how the intersections are functioning and what impact this project would have on the traffic. Cm. Wehrenberg asked if signage to the BART parking garage would be a good idea and also felt improving signage could redirect the traffic. Mr. Baker stated that would be some of the many things the Traffic and Safety Committee would look at to see what kind of options are available. Cm. Wehrenberg felt striping the intersection to keep it clear would be a big improvement. Cm. Swalwell felt the traffic was an unforeseen problem that is not the developer's fault. He stated that since the problem falls to the City we must find a way to handle it. He asked what the consequences would be if the Commission held up the project to have the Traffic and Safety Committee evaluation it. Chair King asked if the Commission approved the project would that stop any opportunity to mitigate the traffic problems. Mr. Porto answered no. Chair King asked that whatever can be done can still be done if the Commission approves the project. Mr. Porto answered yes; the streets are the City's responsibility. Pat Cashman, Alameda County Surplus Land Authority spoke in response to the traffic issues. He stated these issues were anticipated in 1999, 2000 during the traffic studies. He stated that as traffic conditions change, people shift behavior. He stated that most of the traffic is coming onto Iron Horse Pkwy instead of Martinelli which is the back entrance to the garage. He stated Campus Drive, which hasn't been built yet, will further serve the garage. He stated he agreed with Mr. Baker, the fact is that the 486 residential units will replace 1,000 units of surface parking which will make the traffic flow completely different. He continued eventually the hope is to replace 500 of the 1000 parking spaces that will be lost. He felt that the West Dublin BART Station will help when it opens. He felt the project is still in development and he can appreciate that with almost 3000 parking spaces that there is an influx in the morning and an outflow in the afternoon that is severe and he sympathize with residents. He felt this change +uy 1"e;j,L., <u,<: ,,,? 105 will actual reduce the traffic in the morning and afternoon and there will be more circulation and better signage to the BART garage. Chair King asked Mr. Cashman if his view was that this project will help mitigate the traffic problem. Mr. Cashman answered yes, because currently there are 1000 cars every morning going into the surface parking lot all flowing in one direction from Dublin Blvd towards BART. This will reverse the flow, rather than 1,000 coming in there will be 500 going out. He stated it will reverse the flow and change the character of those intersections and they will function better. An audience member asked how this project could reverse the traffic flow. Mr. Cashman answered in the morning the cars are coming into the BART station and as a result of this project, 900 surface parking spaces on lot C will be replaced with residential and there will be approximately 500 units leaving the Transit Center in the mornings. He stated that reverse flow takes advantage of an intersection without putting a burden on it. Mr. Cashman felt the signage in the area is inadequate. He stated most drivers don't come in on Martinelli, Arnold or Altamirano which is the back entrance that was projected that most people would use. Cm. Wehrenberg agreed that the signage is inadequate and she felt that traffic on DeMarcus Blvd would be used only to drop off and pick up BART passengers. Cm. Swalwell felt the Planning Commission could make a recommendation to the City Council and create a record of the Commissions concerns and also referring those concerns to the Traffic and Safety Committee. Mr. Porto showed a map and pointed out the access points to the parking garage and discussed the reverse traffic flow. Cm. Swalwell felt that the West Dublin BART Station will help as well. Cm. Wehrenberg felt the key issue is the signage and would like to see that addressed on the project now and asked if the Commission could do that. Mr. Baker stated these are public streets providing access to the BART station and that the City has already accepted so signage is the City's and BART's responsibility. He continued the Traffic and Safety Committee would need to address those concerns. Chair King felt there are four ways the traffic problem may be relieved: 1) Campus Drive will be built; 2) reduce the number of parking space available to the public; 3) more signage to encourage people to use the back entrance; and 4) the West Dublin BART Station opening. He asked that if the Commission approves the project as submitted it will not foreclose any of the options to help alleviate this traffic issue. •:?r.nn;4 C!;?r212?02r1:1 5 7 106 Mr. Porto answered yes. Chair King felt this issue is within the Commission's area of concern but he would like to go forward and vote on the project and then suggest adopting a motion urging the City to address the traffic issue and create a record of their concerns. Steve Brophy, resident at Elan spoke regarding the project. He stated he lives on the south side of the development which looks directly at the new project. He stated he lives on the 6th level and currently has a view of the hills. He asked about the height of the new project and if it will block his view. Mr. Porto stated Mr. Brophy will be a bit higher then this project. He stated the project will be approximately 5 stories. He stated this project was anticipated at this type of density and building height at this location. He continued it was originally anticipated that the project would be higher, up to 8-10 stories. . Mr. Brophy asked how high the floors are for this project. Mr. Porto answered the project is a little less than 10 feet/floor. Mr. Brophy felt there will be some obstruction of view such as chimneys that might obstruct his view. Robert Johnson, resident at Elan spoke in favor of the project. Chair King closed the public hearing. Cm. Wehrenberg asked what areas were included when the Commission approved the Transit Center. Mr. Porto answered the Transit Center is from Arnold Road on the east, Iron Horse Pkwy on the west, Dublin Blvd to the north, and I-580 on the south. He continued all the traffic movements and anticipated square footage for development in that area were considered at that time. Cm. Wehrenberg felt if eventually when those other areas are built there could be a recurrent traffic problem. Mr. Porto responded that Martinelli and Iron Horse Pkwy are both constructed to their ultimate improvement. He continued the City of Dublin usually builds the full improvement when the roads are built. Mr. Baker stated the Transit Center was built with multiple access points to provide traffic relief and some of this access ways have not yet been constructed. Cm. Wehrenberg felt there should have been other things added originally. She stated she would be satisfied if the Traffic and Safety Committee would review the Commissions concerns at their earliest possible opportunity. She felt it would be better to address the problem during _. c .?>,?,rr r r, 107u t't,(ll;cT +fE•ab 107 construction. She stated she could make all the findings and found the project to be consistent with development in the area. She continued the architecture is great, and all issues have been addressed from 2008, landscaping and lighting are all good and she is in support of the project. Cm. Swalwell likes the project, he felt the arrival point is excellent, it is safe, and felt it was night and day different as far as esthetics; traffic is still a concern but not the developer's problem. He felt the Planning Commission has a responsibility to address the traffic problem. He felt comfortable making the findings as long as the Traffic and Safety Committee review the traffic issue. He also felt comfortable that once Campus Drive is open and West Dublin open a lot of the concerns will be alleviated. He is in support of the project. Chair King felt the project is beautiful and is in support of the project but is still concerned about the traffic problems. He felt traffic is an issue that the Planning Commission should be concerned about but felt satisfied that approving the project won't make it worse and it appears the project will help to mitigate the situation. Mr. Baker stated Staff has heard the Commission's concerns regarding traffic and those concerns will be related to the Traffic and Safety Committee and it will also be reflected in the minutes. Cm. Swalwell thanked the residents that came forward to speak on the project and talk about their concerns. He was confident the Applicant will work with the City to alleviate traffic problems. Mr. Baker stated that the Commission's issues will be referred to the Traffic and Safety Committee on September 15, 2010. He was unsure as to when the next meeting was but the issue will be referred before the City Council meeting. He was unsure that they would be able to research and resolve the issue before the Council meeting but it would be referred. Cm. Swalwell stated that his preference would be that the City Council does not act on the project until the Traffic and Safety Committee has made their report. On a motion by Cm. Swalwell and seconded by Cm. Swalwell, on a vote of 3-0-2, with Cm. Brown and Cm. Schaub being absent, with the caveat that the traffic issue is referred to the Traffic and Safety Committee, the Planning Commission approved: RESOLUTION NO. 10 - 41 A RESOLUTION OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF DUBLIN RECOMMENDING THAT THE CITY COUNCIL ADOPT A STAGE 1 DEVELOPMENT PLAN AMENDMENT AND STAGE 2 DEVELOPMENT PLAN FOR THE AVALON BAY COMMUNITIES DUBLIN STATION PROJECT ON SITE C OF THE DUBLIN TRANSIT CENTER PA 06-060 'Yl?mn; n.» C cacar_,sion ,; rf3nz?<i ?ii,p f`s; ul?: `l?etllr,? 108 RESOLUTION NO. 10 - 42 A RESOLUTION OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF DUBLIN RECOMMENDING THAT THE CITY COUNCIL ADOPT AN ORDINANCE APPROVING A DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT FOR DUBLIN STATION, SITE C, DUBLIN TRANSIT CENTER, AVALON BAY COMMUNITIES PA 06-060 RESOLUTION NO. 10- 43 A RESOLUTION OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF DUBLIN APPROVING SITE DEVELOPMENT REVIEW AND VESTING TENTATIVE TRACT MAP 7929 FOR AVALON BAY COMMUNITIES, SITE C, DUBLIN TRANSIT CENTER (APN 986-0054-005-02) PA 06-060 Chair King thanked the members of the community who came forward to speak to the Planning Commission. NEW OR UNFINISHED BUSINESS - NONE OTHER BUSINESS - NONE 10.1 Brief INFORMATION ONLY reports from the Planning Commission and/or Staff, including Committee Reports and Reports by the Planning Commission related to meetings attended at City Expense (AB 1234). 10.2 Mr. Baker stated that recently there was a Study Session regarding the DDSP and Staff will release the Downtown Dublin Specific Plan Draft EIR for the 45 day public review period this week. 10.3 Cm. Wehrenberg asked about the West Dublin BART Station and the Camp Parks projects and their progress. Mr. Baker stated West Dublin BART is anticipated to be opened in 2011 and SunCal, the developer for Camp Parks is still in negotiations with the Army. ADJOURNMENT - The meeting was adjourned at 8:42:37 PM :PLnr,ntr,j (:?»; ur_csirn ,Sr!!:znrr,4r ,' ?'J'0 °r?d, Lia" ".1 r• (Vi,f 107 Respectfully submitted, ATTEST: Jeff Baker Planning Manager Morg <ing Chair Planning Commi sion Q J Ml NUT S J 2010 ? PLANNING COMMISSION ? 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