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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08-12-2014 PC Minutes Planning Commission Minutes Tuesday, August 12, 2014 CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL A regular meeting of the City of Dublin Planning Commission was held on Tuesday, August 12, 2014, in the City Council Chambers located at 100 Civic Plaza. Chair Bhuthimethee called the meeting to order at 7:01:33 PM Present: Chair Bhuthimethee; Commissioners O'Keefe, Do and Kohli; Jeff Baker, Assistant Community Development Director; Kit Faubion, City Attorney; Mike Porto, Consulting Planner; and Debra LeClair, Recording Secretary. Absent: Vice Chair Goel ADDITIONS OR REVISIONS TO THE AGENDA — NONE MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETINGS — On a motion by Cm. Do and seconded by Cm. Kohli, on a vote of 3-0, with Cm. O'Keefe and Vice Chair Goel absent, the Planning Commission approved the minutes of the July 22, 2014 meeting. Cm. O'Keefe joined the meeting after the minutes were approved at 7:06:41 PM ORAL COMMUNICATIONS — NONE CONSENT CALENDAR— NONE WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS — NONE PUBLIC HEARINGS — 8.1 PLPA 2013-00046 Transit Center Site A-1 General Plan/Eastern Dublin Specific Plan Amendments, Planned Development rezoning with a related Stage 1 and Stage 2 Development Plan, Site Development Review, and Vesting Tentative Map 8167 for 52 townhouse condominium units and a CEQA Addendum on a 2.86-acre site. Mike Porto, Consulting Planner, presented the project as outlined in the Staff Report. Chair Bhuthimethee opened the public hearing. Marshall Torre, Summerhill Homes, spoke in favor of the project. He thanked the City Staff and all the public agencies that worked on the project. He stated that he has reviewed the Conditions of Approval and agreed to all of them. He stated that he was available to answer questions and requested that the Planning Commission approve the project. Cm. Kohli asked how many units were originally envisioned for the project. Mr. Torre answered 53 units. Cm. Kohli asked if that was the reason for the land use designation change. <t'fzmrinr commission August 12,2014 ,,Rsgufiar(Veetzm e ,Page 1 127 Mr. Torre answered yes. Cm. Do asked for the definition of a "passive recreation" area. Mr. Torre answered that the center of the project has significant turf area and can be used as a meeting area, and children could play on the grass. Mr. Porto added that an "active recreation" area will have play structures and play fields, but a "passive recreation" area is more for contemplative types of activities such as reading, etc. Cm. Do asked if there will be fencing and/or landscaping along the Iron Horse Trail. Roman DeSoto, R3 Studios, Landscape Architect, referred the Planning Commission to Page L- 8 in the project plans. He pointed out the section along the Iron Horse Trail that shows a retaining wall with a metal fence on top and landscaping. Cm. Do asked if there will be access to the Iron Horse Trail from the project. Mr. DeSoto answered that the residents must exit the project to get to the Iron Horse Trail. Cm. O'Keefe felt that the 4-unit building looks complete, with enhancement on the ends, but felt that there is too much plaster on the 6, 7 & 8-unit buildings. He felt that there should be a more high-end look to the buildings facing Dublin Blvd. with more enhancements. Ralph Straus, SDG Architects, spoke regarding the architecture of the project. He stated that the goal of the architecture was to create a vertical rhythm down the street and draw attention to each unit. He stated that the detailing and style were picked up from the adjacent buildings, using the background color that was designed to allow the vertical components to stand out off of a more neutral background. He felt that the perspective graphic on the cover of the project plans was a better and more realistic rendering of what the buildings would look like. Cm. O'Keefe agreed, but asked if there could be more enhancements to the buildings that face Dublin Blvd. because it is the main artery of the City. Mr. Straus agreed and asked Cm. O'Keefe if he was referring to the back plane of the project or the white plaster elements. Cm. O'Keefe responded that he was referring to both the white and the beige elements. He did not feel that both elements needed to be addressed, but one or the other. He did not want to redesign the project but he wanted the longer buildings, especially on Dublin Blvd., to have more enhanced building materials. Mr. Straus agreed to work with Staff to enhance the look of the buildings on Dublin Blvd. Cm. Do asked about the pairing of vertical elements on the elevations of the larger buildings instead of alternating them. Mr. Straus stated that they developed a number of different components to the units within the project so that the buildings would not be uniform. He stated that he prefers to mix up the materials to create different textures. He continued to describe the architecture and the different c3'&nning Cc mission August 12,2014 egu1ar:,i1e ting (Page 1126 elements and directed the Planning Commission to Page A7.1 for the color palette which will help create depth in the elevations. Chair Bhuthimethee asked if the siding is wood. Mr. Straus answered that it is horizontal lath siding. Chair Bhuthimethee asked if it will match the horizontal screen fencing. Mr. Straus answered yes. Chair Bhuthimethee asked if the material on Page A7.1 for the horizontal screen fencing and the landscaping are the same material. Mr. Straus answered yes. Chair Bhuthimethee felt that the screen fencing material on L.9 looks much richer. Mr. Straus answered that the material will match. Cm. Kohli asked who will be responsible for the maintenance of solar panels if installed on the buildings. Mr. Straus answered that the roofs were designed with area to accommodate solar panels. Cm. Kohli asked who would be responsible for their maintenance, the homeowner or the homeowner's association (HOA). Mr. Torre responded that the Applicant is not proposing to utilize solar panels on the buildings but they must provide the areas for future installation. He stated that it would be up to the HOA to install solar panels in the future and they would be responsible for maintenance. Chair Bhuthimethee referred to Sheet A1.01 that shows 3 doors on the side elevation. She asked what those doors are used for and will they be screened. Mr. Straus answered that there are utility doors at each end of the buildings to provide utility services. He stated that the doors will be screened with landscaping. Chair Bhuthimethee was concerned with the view of the utility doors along Dublin Blvd and asked if the screen fencing can be extended in front of the utility doors. Mr. Straus responded that they are required to keep a certain amount of clearance for PG&E and was unsure if there would be room to extend the fence. Mr. Porto stated that there is a 15 foot wide public utility easement between the building and back of sidewalk. He added that the City controls what can and cannot be installed within those 15 feet. He stated that, if the Planning Commission decides that they want the fence extended, he would need to check with Public Works. He stated that if the fence were extended to screen the doors it would likely be in the public utility easement. Chair Bhuthimethee asked if the screen on the plans is already within the easement. tPfran fling onurcx::'ton :August 12,2014 4? ut:7r.14ei.ting (P .r ; 129 Mr. Porto answered no; it is adjacent to the easement. He stated that the Applicant worked hard to stay out of the easement. Chair Bhuthimethee felt that 15 feet was enough space to screen the utility doors with landscaping. Chair Bhuthimethee closed the public hearing. Cm. Kohli stated that he can make the findings. Cm. O'Keefe stated that he is in support of the project and felt that the Applicant did a good job working with the shape of the parcel. He asked that a Condition of Approval be added for the Applicant to work with Staff to include additional enhanced materials on the elevations of the 6, 7 & 8-unit structures. Chair Bhuthimethee stated that she is in support of the project and felt the architecture fits within the context of the Transit Center and along Dublin Blvd., the pavers at the project entry are nice, and the horizontal siding screening is a good solution to block the views of the garage corridor. She also liked that the amount of parking exceeds the requirement. She felt that the wood siding on the architecture will add depth and be complementary to the other buildings. She stated that she can make the findings. On a motion by Cm. O'Keefe and seconded by Cm. Kohli, on a vote of 4-0-1, with Vice Chair Goel being absent, and with an added Condition of Approval for Staff to work with the Applicant to include additional enhanced materials on the elevations of the 6, 7 & 8-unit buildings, the Planning Commission unanimously adopted: RESOLUTION NO. 14 - 41 A RESOLUTION OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF DUBLIN RECOMMENDING THAT THE CITY COUNCIL ADOPT A CEQA ADDENDUM FOR THE TRANSIT CENTER SITE A-1 PROJECT RESOLUTION NO. 14 42 A RESOLUTION OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF DUBLIN RECOMMENDING THAT THE CITY COUNCIL ADOPT A RESOLUTION APPROVING GENERAL PLAN AND EASTERN DUBLIN SPECIFIC PLAN AMENDMENTS FOR THE TRANSIT CENTER SITE A-1 PROJECT RESOLUTION NO. 14 43 cpitnnina;:araarnissicn August 12,2014 'Regular"Weet;n (Page ! 130 A RESOLUTION OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF DUBLIN RECOMMENDING THAT THE CITY COUNCIL ADOPT AN ORDINANCE REZONING THE TRANSIT CENTER SITE A-1 PROJECT SITE TO PD-PLANNED DEVELOPMENT AND APPROVING A RELATED STAGE 1 AND STAGE 2 DEVELOPMENT PLAN RESOLUTION NO. 14 44 A RESOLUTION OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION RECOMMENDING THAT THE CITY COUNCIL ADOPT A RESOLUTION APPROVING A SITE DEVELOPMENT REVIEW PERMIT AND VESTING TENTATIVE MAP 8167 FOR THE TRANSIT CENTER SITE A-1 PROJECT 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). ADJOURNMENT — The meeting was adjourned at 7:39:10 PM Respectfully submitted, Planni g Commission Chair ATTEST: , Jeff Baker .� Assistant Community Development Director G:IMINUTES120141PLANNING COMMISSION108.12.14 DRAFT PC MINUTES.docx 'banning C'ram nissi:°r August 12,2014 a#-„u =` etzg (Page 131