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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09/18/2014Approved October 2, 2014 1 Special Planning Commission Meeting Minutes September 18, 2014 Minutes of a Special Meeting Town of Los Altos Hills PLANNING COMMISSION Thursday, September 18, 2014, 7:00 P.M. Council Chambers, 26379 Fremont Road, Los Altos Hills, CA 94022 ______________________________________________________________________________ 1. ROLL CALL AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Present: Absent: Commissioner Abraham, Commissioner Couperus, Commissioner Tankha, Chair Mandle Commissioner Partridge Staff: Suzanne Avila, Interim Planning Director; John Chau, Assistant City Engineer; Steve Padovan, Consultant Planner; Jaime McAvoy, Planning Secretary 2. PRESENTATIONS FROM THE FLOOR There were no presentations from the floor. 3. NEW BUSINESS 3.1 Ordinance to Amend Title 10, Chapter 2, Article 4 of the Los Altos Hills Municipal Code, Site Development Grading (Staff: R. Chiu) Assistant City Engineer John Chau presented the staff report. Commissioner Couperus asked staff to clarify the change that was being made. Chair Mandle wanted to specify that this was not a change but a clarification. Commission asked questions to clarify what staff was proposing and how it would affect residents' lot sizes. Chair Mandle opened the floor to Public Comment. Dru Anderson, Los Altos Hills, asked how this would affect other ordinances such as fencing. Staff confirmed it would have no effect. Chair Mandle closed the floor to Public Comment. Approved October 2, 2014 2 Special Planning Commission Meeting Minutes September 18, 2014 Commissioner Tankha said that as it would not affect Maximum Development/ Maximum Floor Area (MDA/MFA), she was inclined to support this clarification. Commissioner Abraham expressed an issue with the language as the term "right- of-way easement" was not exclusive to roadways. He offered his support of the amendment if the language was corrected. Commissioner Couperus asked how this would affect a panhandle lot. Interim Planning Director Suzanne Avila reiterated, as per Mr. Chau’s report, that grading would still be allowed in the panhandle for a driveway. Chair Mandle also expressed concern with the language and asked if "right-of-way easement" needed to be defined. Mr. Chau clarified that the ordinance would refer only to public and private road right-of-way easements. MOTION MADE AND SECONDED: Commissioner Couperus moved to forward a recommendation to the City Council to approve the attached amendment to Title 10 Chapter 2 Article 4 of the Los Altos Hills Municipal Code, with the amendment to replace "any right of way easement" with "public or private road right of way easement". The motion was seconded by Commissioner Tankha. AYES: Commissioner Abraham, Commissioner Couperus, Commissioner Tankha, Chair Mandle NOES: None ABSENT: Commissioner Partridge ABSTAIN: None MOTION CARRIED 4-0. 4. PUBLIC HEARINGS Ex Parte Disclosures: Commissioner Abraham stated that he speaks regularly with resident Scott Overstreet. Commissioner Partridge was absent. None of the other Commissioners had anything to disclose. 4.2 Draft Policy to Revise the 180-Day Time Extension Process on Existing Building Permits; File #19-14-MISC (Staff: S. Padovan) Consultant Planner Steve Padovan presented the staff report. Approved October 2, 2014 3 Special Planning Commission Meeting Minutes September 18, 2014 Commissioner Abraham asked questions to clarify how the 180 days would be applied per inspection, and addressed the issue of possible loopholes. Commissioner Tankha requested staff include a list of circumstances that would cause a permit to expire with this new policy. Commissioner Couperus inquired about the maximum number of inspections allowed by the new policy. Chair Mandle opened the PUBLIC HEARING. Scott Overstreet, Los Altos Hills, said that he is currently building and his project is considered one of the long term projects in Town. He said he had never had a complaint and expressed concern about the huge penalties that could affect residents like him. The Commission asked questions of Mr. Overstreet. Dru Anderson, Los Altos Hills, said that she lived near a long term development project and she requested that the Town follow up on projects whose permits have expired. Ann Smith, Los Altos Hills, lives on the same street as Ms. Anderson and attested to the nuisance of the aforementioned project. She stated her support for a deadline and/or penalty. Commisisoner Abraham asked if paying the penalty fees would allow the builder extensive time to continue construction. Mr. Padovan said that this would not be the case, and the Town would still consider it a violation if they exceeded too much time. Chair Mandle closed the PUBLIC HEARING. Commissioner Couperus said that the proposal needs work, but that it was better than what the Town has currently, and he hoped that eventually there would be what he referred to as a "global limit." Commissioner Tankha said that she could see the need for this policy, and that it would be a good solution at this time. Chair Mandle said she saw the need to implement something sooner than later, and that she was in favor of giving it a try as long as the Town was sensitive to neighbor input. She further stated that she thought it would be difficult to draft a policy for a process that could be very individualistic. Approved October 2, 2014 4 Special Planning Commission Meeting Minutes September 18, 2014 MOTION MADE AND SECONDED: Commissioner Tankha moved to forward a recommendation to the City Council that a 180 day time extension of up to a maximum of four (4) years be granted to active building permits upon inspection and sign off by the building official of specific inspections that result in the project advancing to the next level of completion as specified in Attachment 1. However, this would not apply to existing interior work where there is no external manifestation indicating construction is incomplete, and provided there are no neighborhood complaints. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Couperus. AYES: Commissioner Abraham, Commissioner Couperus, Commissioner Tankha, Chair Mandle NOES: None ABSENT: Commissioner Partridge ABSTAIN: None MOTION CARRIED 4-0. 4.1 Proposed Construction Time Limit Ordinance for all New Construction; File #19- 14-MISC (Staff: S. Padovan) Consultant Planner Steven Padovan presented the staff report. Commissioner Couperus asked for language clarification on the chart provided by staff. Mr. Padovan clarified that the term valuation is used by the Town in reference to the entire cost to build. Commissioner Tankha asked if there should be a deposit collected in the event that projects are not completed in the allotted time frame. Mr. Padovan stated that this option had been discussed. Chair Mandle asked how the Town had decided on the presented penalty costs. Mr. Padovan said the costs were created in comparison to other cities that had already implemented this process. Chair Mandle opened the PUBLIC HEARING. Scott Overstreet, Los Altos Hills, requested the Commission apply the same exception for interior work that was given in Item 4.2. Dru Anderson, Los Altos Hills, asked for clarification about how many times a project would be allowed to restart and how long they could keep the project on hold before restarting. She then stated that there needed to be an improvement in the policing of permits and when they expire or will expire. Approved October 2, 2014 5 Special Planning Commission Meeting Minutes September 18, 2014 Chair Mandle closed the PUBLIC HEARING. Mr. Padovan responded to the questions posed by Ms. Anderson. Commissioner Couperus asked how they would implement this in response to inflation without having to come back and update it every year. Chair Mandle said these numbers were not based on current costs but on industry standards and complexity, and could be re-evaluated when the standards change. Commissioner Couperus suggested adding the interior remodel clause mentioned in Item 3.1 to Table 2 of Mr. Padovan’s staff report. Commissioner Tankha asked how the Town would enforce this ordinance. Mr. Padovan stated that it may require more time and staff than available, but there were ways of cross-checking that could help enforce this proposal. Commissioner Abraham expressed concern that the policy required all landscaping be completed and that due to the drought, there should not be a requirement. He also requested that the start date be when construction begins, not at the issuance of the permit and requested no fee, and that appeals to the process cost no more than $500 dollars. Chair Mandle said that she would like to see higher fees for the new residences over the remodels, and asked what the benchmark was for commencement of construction. Mr. Padovan said that he would review the ordinances in other cities to see what was used in their models. MOTION MADE AND SECONDED: Commissioner Couperus moved to direct staff to modify the document as per the perceived consensus, and return it back for the Commission's consideration. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Abraham. AYES: Commissioner Abraham, Commissioner Couperus, Chair Mandle, Commissioner Tankha NOES: None ABSENT: Commissioner Partridge ABSTAIN: None MOTION CARRIED 4-0. Commission recess at 9:31 P.M. Approved October 2, 2014 6 Special Planning Commission Meeting Minutes September 18, 2014 The Commission reconvened to open session at 9:37 P.M. 4.3 Mandatory Update of the General Plan Housing Element for the 2015-2023 Planning Cycle; Introduction of the Initial Draft of the Housing Element; File #382-13-MISC Consultant Planner Steve Padovan introduced the update to the Commission and asked them for their feedback and suggestions. Commissioner Abraham asked if the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) was requesting more than one (1) housing unit per month. Mr. Padovan said this was a close approximation. Chair Mandle opened the PUBLIC HEARING. Seeing no one wising to speak, Chair Mandle closed the PUBLIC HEARING. Chair Mandle asked staff to confirm that we did not in fact have to build to these numbers, only plan for them. Mr. Padovan stated that this was correct. Commissioner Couperus expressed concern that the Town would view us as making an exception to our Zoning Ordinance. 5. OLD BUSINESS Interim Planning Director Suzanne Avila discussed a memorandum on discretionary action when it comes to accessory structures and uses, as was brought up by Bill Balson at the September 4, 2014 Planning Commission meeting. No action by the Commission was taken. 6. REPORTS FROM THE CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS 6.1 Planning Commission Representative for September 11 - Commissioner Partridge Chair Mandle relayed notes provided to her from Commissioner Partridge on this meeting. 6.2 Planning Commission Representative for October 16 - Commissioner Tankha 6.3 Planning Commission Representative for November 20 - Chair Mandle 6.4 Planning Commission Representative for December 11 - Commissioner Abraham 7. REPORTS FROM FAST TRACK MEETINGS - none Approved October 2, 2014 7 Special Planning Commission Meeting Minutes September 18, 2014 8. REPORTS FROM SITE DEVELOPMENT MEETINGS - SEPTEMBER 16, 2014. 8.1 LANDS OF SCHILLINGS AND MAH; 26915 Alejandro Drive, File #123-14-ZP- SD; A request for a Site Development Permit for a new driveway entrance/location and pool replacement in the same vicinity as the existing pool. The applicant is also requesting to remove one (1) heritage oak tree. CEQA review: Categorical Exemption per Section 15303 (e) and 15304 (Staff- N. Horvitz). 9. ADJOURNMENT Respectfully submitted, Jaime L. McAvoy Jaime L. McAvoy Planning Secretary The minutes for the September 18, 2014 Special Planning Commission Meeting were approved on October 2, 2014.