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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPlanning Commission Minutes 04/04/2017Planning Commission Special Meeting of April 4, 2017 Page 1 City of Petaluma, CA City Council Chambers City Hall, 11 English Street Petaluma, CA 94952 Telephone 707/778 -4301 / Fax 707/778 -4498 E -Mail cdd @ci.petaluma.ca.us Web Page http: / /www.ci.petaluma.ca.us Planning Commission Minutes Tuesday, April 4, 2017 — 07:00 PM Special Meeting FINAL MINUTES 1. CALL TO ORDER Chair Gomez opened the meeting at 7:00 pm. 2. ROLL CALL PRESENT: Diana Gomez, Gina Benedetti - Petnic, Jocelyn Lin, Bill Wolpert, Jennifer Pierre, Richard Marzo, and Chris Albertson. ABSENT: None. 3. GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT The Commission will hear public comments only on matters over which it has jurisdiction. There will be no Committee /Commission discussion or action. The Chair will allot no more than three minutes to any individual. If more than three persons wish to speak, their time will be allotted so that the total amount of time allocated to this agenda item will be 15 minutes. Chair Gomez opened the General Public Comment period. Chair Gomez closed the General Public Comment period. Commissioner Lin recused herself from the meeting due to living within 500' buffer of the project site. Chair Gomez Planning Commission Special Meeting of April 4, 2017 Page 2 4. NEW BUSINESS A. Davidon /Scott Ranch Draft Environmental Impact Report — Review and provide comment on the Draft Environmental Impact Report, prepared pursuant to CEQA, for the proposed Davidon /Scott Ranch project. Project Location: Northwest and southwest corners of Windsor Drive and D Street File Number: 03 -TSM -0396 Staff: Alicia Giudice, Senior Planner Davidon Staff Report Attachment A - Executive Summary Attachment B - Public Comments Davidon Scott Ranch DEIR (Volume I Part 1) Davidon Scott Ranch DEIR (Volume I Part 2) Davidon Scott Ranch DEIR (Volume II) (14.5 MB) Davidon Scott Ranch DEIR (Volume III Part 1) Davidon Scott Ranch DEIR (Volume III Part 2) Davidon Scott Ranch DEIR (Volume III Part 3) Public Comments After Packet Distribution 4 -03 -17 Public Comments After Packet Distribution 4 -04 -17 Alicia Giudice, Senior Planner Shabnam Barati, Impact Sciences Chair Gomez Ms. Barati Chair Gomez Ms. Barati Chair Gomez Ms. Barati Chair Gomez Ms. Barati Chair Gomez Ms. Barati Chair Gomez Ms. Barati Chair Gomez Ms. Barati Chair Gomez Ms. Barati Chair Gomez Ms. Barati Chair Gomez Ms. Barati Chair Gomez Ms. Barati Planning Commission Special Meeting of April 4, 2017 Page 3 Council member Albertson Ms. Barati Council member Albertson Ms. Barati Ms. Giudice Council member Albertson Ms. Giudice Ms. Hines Chair Gomez Ms. Barati Commissioner Wolpert Ms. Barati Commissioner Wolpert Chair Gomez Ms. Barati Chair Gomez Commissioner Wolpert Ms. Barati Chair Gomez Ms. Barati Chair Gomez Ms. Barati Chair Gomez Council member Albertson Chair Gomez Ms. Giudice Chair Gomez Steve Abbs, Davidon Homes Chair Gomez Chair Gomez opened the public comment period. Brian Gaffney, member of Petalumas for Responsible Planning, urged the Planning Commission not to recommend moving forward with a Final EIR because it would be premature. He felt that a decision should not be made if all of the comments have not been submitted. There are significant impacts identified in the 2013 DEIR that are not included in the revised DEIR such as construction noise & vibration and Greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, the parking lot is within the 300 foot setback of urban separator which is inconsistent with the General Plan. Sherri Fabre- Marcia, President of Petalumans for Responsible Planning and Petaluma resident, stated that her group has attended many public meetings, provided input to the General Plan 2025, and have been helping guide the planning of Petaluma. Her group has $1M that can be used to convert this site to parkland for the enjoyment of the public. Petalumans for Responsible Planning are opposed to any development at this location due to it being an environmentally sensitive area, that it would destroy the visual beauty, would increase greenhouse gases and would not improve quality of life for people or wildlife. She stated that Planning Commission Special Meeting of April 4, 2017 Page 4 the project would not address housing needs due to the cost of the proposed homes which affects the future generations of Petalumans. Chris Cort, Petaluma resident, presented a video from the Petalumans for Responsible Planning in opposition to development of the project area. Susan Jaderson, member of Petalumans for Responsible Planning, presented and explained the petition that was submitted to the Planning Commission opposing the proposed project. Sigrun Seifert, Petaluma resident, discovered a red legged frog on her property and believes that this corridor of wildlife near Kelly Creek should be more protected. She stated that any impact of development will be a destruction of habitat. Joseph Grubaugh, member of Petalumans for Responsible Planning, stated that Kelly Creek has gotten polluted over the years due to over development of the area. He is also opposed to this development due to increased traffic. Tamara Galanter, partner of law firm Shute Mihaly & Weinberger representing the Kelly Creek Protection Project. She stated that she reviewed the DEIR and believes that there is a violation of CEQA due to two major flaws. The project description does not meet the CEQA standards of being finite, accurate and stable because the project is in a state of flux due to the ecological sensitivity of the site. Ms. Galanter stated that the analysis of biological impacts of the California Red Legged Frog is not sufficient and outdated data was used. She stated that there is not a focused survey on the Western Pond Turtle habitat. She believes that the decision makers must have the benefit of the public comments in order to evaluate the DEIR and noted that there are many site cons and this site is too ecologically valuable to support this amount of development being proposed. Greg Colvin, Director of Kelly Creek Protection Project, has reviewed the 66 home alternative and pointed out the critical wildlife habitat in the Kelly Creek Area is not just one creek, Kelly Creek, but also the D Street tributary. He believes the project site is unique piece of land that is a critical frog habitat within city limits and the red legged frog should not be moved into the County. He also believes that there should not be more than 26 homes, that no housing should be south of Kelly Creek, and the entire property is unsuitable for residential development. Maggie Jensen, landscape architect, Prunuske Chatham and with Sonoma Land Trust, presented an alternate concept using a variation of the 28 home alternative with a reduced size parking lot and which meets the 50 foot creek setback. Peter Cohn, Petaluma resident and member of Kelly Creek Protection Project Advisory Committee, presented a letter to the Planning Commission outlining his concerns. He stated that he fully concurs with presentations of previous speakers. He believes that this development would destroy beautiful and scenic lands and this property belongs in Helen Putnam Park and should not be developed. He also noted that the 17 homes in the E street Planning Commission Special Meeting of April 4, 2017 Page 5 portion of the proposal should not be part of the plan since there is a blind curve in the road and could be a potential dangerous situation. Marcia Joynt. Petaluma resident, stated concerns about the project such as traffic, creek pollution, and the storm drain. Paul Scharfe, Petlauma resident, is concerned about the impacts that this development would have on traffic. He and his family have seen many changes over the years. He encouraged the Commission to prevent this development from happening. Bob Billings, Petaluma resident, stated that landslides and cuts into unstable geology are a concern. He also expressed concern about the environmental sensitivity of the parcel and noted that it is zoned for very low density. He believes that this parcel should not be developed or as minimal as possible due to its complexity and beauty. Lydia Schindler, Petaluma resident and Founder of West Petaluma Hills Wildlife Corridor Coalition, described a wildlife corridor and stated the importance of having a significant amount of land as habitat for mammals and raptors and their prey. She also noted that the California Red Legged Frog can survive up to two miles from a water source and even the encroachment of a few homes will be a significant impact. She believes that this area should be a model to balance our lives with a natural habitat. Chair Gomez closed the public comment period. Chair Gomez Commissioner Pierre Ms. Giudice Ms. Hines Ms. Giudice Commissioner Pierre Ms. Hines Commissioner Pierre Ms. Hines Commissioner Pierre Ms. Hines Commissioner Pierre Chair Gomez Council member Albertson Commissioner Pierre Council member Albertson Commissioner Pierre Council member Albertson Ms. Hines Council member Albertson Chair Gomez Planning Commission Special Meeting of April 4, 2017 Page 6 Ms. Hines Council member Albertson Ms. Hines Commissioner Marzo Ms. Hines Commissioner Marzo Ms. Hines Commissioner Pierre Ms. Giudice Commissioner Pierre Chair Gomez Ms. Giudice Chair Gomez Ms. Giudice Chair Gomez Commissioner Benedetti - Petnic Ms. Barati Ms. Hines Commissioner Benedetti - Petnic Ms. Hines Commissioner Benedetti - Petnic Chair Gomez Motion: Approve extending the meeting beyond 11:00 made by Chris Albertson, seconded by Jennifer Pierre. Vote: Motion carried 6 - 0. Yes: Diana Gomez, Gina Benedetti- Petnic, Bill Wolpert, Jennifer Pierre, Richard Marzo, and Chris Albertson. Recused: Jocelyn Yeh Lin. Commissioner Wolpert Ms. Giudice Commissioner Wolpert Ms. Giudice Ms. Hines Commissioner Wolpert Ms. Giudice Ms. Hines Commissioner Wolpert Ms. Giudice Commissioner Wolpert Ms. Giudice Commissioner Wolpert Planning Commission Special Meeting of April 4, 2017 Page 7 Commissioner Pierre Ms. Giudice Commissioner Wolpert Ms. Giudice Commissioner Wolpert Commissioner Pierre Ms. Giudice Commissioner Pierre Ms. Giudice Commissioner Pierre Ms. Giudice Ms. Hines Commissioner Pierre Ms. Hines Commissioner Pierre Commissioner Wolpert Commissioner Pierre Ms. Hines Commissioner Pierre Commissioner Wolpert Commissioner Pierre Commissioner Wolpert Commissioner Pierre Ms. Hines Commissioner Pierre Ms. Giudice Ms. Barati Commissioner Pierre Commissioner Wolpert Commissioner Pierre Commissioner Wolpert Commissioner Pierre Commissioner Wolpert Chair Gomez Commissioner Marzo Chair Gomez Commissioner Pierre Chair Gomez Ms. Hines Commissioner Benedetti - Petnic Ms. Hines Commissioner Benedetti - Petnic Ms. Hines Chair Gomez Planning Commission Special Meeting of April 4, 2017 Page 8 Commissioner Wolpert Commissioner Pierre Ms. Hines Chair Gomez Ms. Hines Commissioner Pierre Ms. Hines Commissioner Pierre Ms. Hines Commissioner Pierre Commissioner Benedetti - Petnic Commissioner Pierre Commissioner Benedetti - Petnic Commissioner Pierre Ms. Hines Ms. Barati Chair Gomez Ms. Barati Chair Gomez Commissioner Benedetti - Petnic Ms. Hines Council member Albertson Ms. Hines Chair Gomez Ms. Hines Motion: Approve recommendation to authorize the City Council to move forward with preparation of the Final EIR for the Davidon /Scott Ranch project with adequate environmental analysis of an alternative for eliminating development south of Kelly Creek, as well as a request to review the Final EIR before forwarding to Council made by Gina Benedetti - Petnic, seconded by Jennifer Pierre. Vote: Motion carried 6 - 0. Yes: Diana Gomez, Gina Benedetti - Petnic, Bill Wolpert, Jennifer Pierre, Richard Marzo, and Chris Albertson. Recused: Jocelyn Yeh Lin. Chair Gomez S. ADJOURN The next regular meeting of the Planning Commission is scheduled for Tuesday, April 11, 2017. The meeting was adjourned at 11:11 pm.