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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes 08/08/2006 .. City of Petaluma, C1 9 'r City Council Chambers "Sic; -'T City IT II 11 English Street, Petaluma,CA 94952 Iasi?) Telephone 707/778-4301 /Fax 707/778-4498 E-Mail planning @ci:petaluma.ca.us, Web Page http://www.ci.petaluma.ca.us Planning Commission Minutes August 8, 2006.- 06:59' Present: Terry Kosewic, John Mills,-Karen•Nau,Kathy.Miller Absent: Will Dargie, Christopher Arras,Tanya Sullivan APPROVAL OF MINUTES:;June27„2006 and July 25,2006(07:00 PM) Motion: Approve.MINUTES: June 27,2006 and July 25,2006 Moved by John Mills,seconded by Karen Nau. Vote: Motion carried 4-0. Yes: Terry Kosewic;John Mills;Karen Nau;Kathy Miller Absent: Will Dargie;Christopher,Arras;Tanya Sullivan DIRECTOR'S REPORT:None(07:00 PM) - COMMISSIONERS' REPORT: (07:00 PM) • Karen Nau • John Mills CORRESPONDENCE:None (07:01 PM) APPEAL STATEMENT: Within.fourteen,(14)calendar days following the date of a decision of the Planning Commission,the decision may he appealed to the City Council by the applicant or by any other interested party: If no appeal is made within that time,the decision 'shall be final.Awappeal'shall be addressed tosthe Council'in writing and'shall be,filed with the City Clerk. Said appeal shall be accompanied by the appeal fee as specified by Resolution 2002-114-N.C.S. as adopted by the City Council. The appeal shall state specifically the grounds for the appeal and the relief sought by the appellant. (07:01 PM) r • • LEGAL,RECOURSE.STATEMENT: Persons commenting orally or in writing are advised to raise all pertinent issues at this state of review so that possible solutions may be implemented or adopted at the earliest opportunity. If you challenge theaction taken by the City of Petaluma in court,.you may be limited to raising only those issues you or someone else raised during the public review process,or in written correspondence delivered to the City ator prior,to the conclusion of the,public review process. (07:02 PM) PUBLIC COMMENT:Open/Closed(07:02 PM) NEW BUSINESS: (07:02 PM) • L GENERAL PLAN 2025(07:02 PM) Pamela Tuft, Director,of General Plan Administiation,;presented the Draft-General Plan i(GP).andDraft: Environmental Impact Report (DEW) to the,Plannuig Commission as the first ofaiseries'ofineetings to complete the General Plan process: She explained this was not a Public Hearing and no decisions or content.would be determined., She said`the.General Plan is mandated by the State through the Government Code. She explained the required elements and optional elements requested by the City Council to be included-in the document. She said the.Plan'uses 2004 as the Base Year for land use projections and the preferred Land Use Plan: PUBLIC COMMENT Ben Sasway Said he attended the May 9, 2006 meeting and presented a preposed:Hillside -Building, Ordinance to• preserve the scenic ridgeline areas. in Petaluma.. He wanted to be Sure:that hillside preservation was addressed in the.General.Plan and he was happy to see,it included. He also wanted the City to inventory the hillside areas slated for development and 'cited the need for interim,development codes.to protect the ridgelines. Tamara Norman 501 Keller Street Stated she is'a member-of the Tree-Advisory Committee,but was not speaking on,their behalf this evening; She wanted the GP to support Petaluma designation as a "Tree City U.S':A"city and-Saw-the Land Us'eeelement an opportunity to look at tree protection-with an ordinance developed[and'standardized-in the process;for land use: COMMISSION COMMENTS Commissioner Mills asked about therindividualsub-areaistudygroups and how these would be established. Pamela explained how this would'.be accomplished. He said he was in favor of bringing in the'public but was,concerned that a small group of people could control'the meeting and overshadow everyone elsesin',the.. area Pamelasaid"there was'a continuing need to reach outdo the entire public in the GP"effort: Commissioner,Kosewic said it was important to tell everyone that if they had a.concern;to come,to the meetings, Pamela said she would;encourage everyone to look.outside their'area and think-abouthow certain areas Would be used by different people. . Commissioner Mills said the Mobility;Element priontized'Rail travel and asked how flexible the GP would' be if this priority,is changed because of the lack of support for rail in the election approval process.. Pamela`:replied that therail corridor is important even,if the Rail vote fails. She said this,corridor could.be used to relieve mobility pressure with:a parallel bus or bike,routes or other forms of travel. 'Commissioner,Mills asked about-retail development and if it was found that some,retail was'n't"working, how could'the Plan be amended and what mechanism would be used'to cliangetlie Plan':., Pamela'said the Plan has a built-in requirement to review it yearly'and that waiting any longer would not be prudent. . , • Conunissioner'.Mills asked about,pdvate open space and if it was included;as well as°public spaceseinthe Plan.'Healso.asked•if Helen Putham.was included: Pamela said open;.space not available to,the,general public was not counted as part-of the park<acreage in the Plan. She answered that Helen Putnam is aregionalpark and not included in the City's park'inventory; • it is recognized as hieing a'regional asset. • • • Council Member Nau asked how the•General Plan workshops would affect any-elected/appointed official's Conflict of Interest based on the basis of the 500' limit.area for declaring a possible conflict. Pamela said that the elected/appointed official can take part in'their neighborhood meetings regarding the GP but she would ask the City Attorney to draft a.memo regarding this She did ask the Planning Commission members to refrain from taking part in the Land Use Element discussion paper however if they resided within 500' of the subject property. Council Member Nau asked about a hillside ordinance as part of the GP. Pamela explained the General Plan would not include any ordinance language but would identify the need • for such an ordinance and could address an expansion of policies regarding this concern. • • Council Member Nau asked Community Development (CDD) Assistant Director if the Commission would direct CDD staff to bring this fortheir.consideration. • .,George White explained the department was working on drafting interim ordinances to address inconsistencies between the. GP the Zoning Ordinance andis'also planning a zoning,update as a directive from the GP. . Council Member Nau asked about ordinances thatwould address the removal of trees. George answered that there'is currently no protection for trees on private property. He said a policy to address tree protection would'follow in a--sirnilarprocessias the hillside ordinance. • Council Member Nau.said she didn't realize the Tree Committee wasn' •included in project review and was especially concerned about removal of large redwood trees. George said the. GP is a policy 'document. The•Tree Committee could be included as part of the development review process,this would help address this problem. Commissioner Mills explained there was tree protection'through SPARC and the Planning Commission process to protect and mitigate free removal. Council Member Nau wanted to be sensitive to tree removal and a process to!make the community aware of this. • 'Commissioner Mills said an ordinance would help developers to be aware of the requirements before starting their projects and would be helpful inthe long run. Pamela said that tree life expectancy has to be taken into account and if the structural integrity of the tree creates a safety factor and requires removal, an ordinance,could address replacement. She said a policy for a tree replacement ratio for development was in the draft GP that stated how many replacement trees had to be planted if adevelopment requiredremoval of trees. Commissioner:Mills added that SPARC!has.set requirements that if a free dies within a certain period after development, the developer has::to:replace it with a free of theF same age and size; he said this made the developer aware of the care and maintenance of trees within their project. George explained the Heritage Tree ordinance is in effect but it is:voluntary. Commissioner Kosewic stated that Heritage Trees can be noted in the deed and protected into perpetuity. George said this is true except for trees on private property. Commissioner Miller stated she liked the idea of tailoringGP'w orkshops,to sPecific aspects of the Plan to allow the public io targefwhich.workshops to:attend. Commissioner Kosewic asked if_the Water,Resources Element in the new GP provides';for private wells since he has been frustrated due to the lack of direction: Pamela said that there-was_ no pro vision in the Water:Resources Element for private wells, only for the City wells for water supply—she said she would check on thus. Commissioner°Kosewic asked about the population estimates and what was the plan for when-the City exceeded this projected number. Pamela said this would.be discussed over the 20 year plan and will be looked at during the yearly review to be addressed by a,growth management ordinance., • Commissioner .Kosewic asked about traditional City recreational, or other activities that impact neighborhoods, like the night softball games at;McNear being;discontinued because of neighborhood objection to,the noise and'lights..He;felt thustwas a"quality of life-issue". , Pamela;said'these traditions,were reminiscent'of?small town activities and when,new people move to a • . neighborhood,they,may not be aware of these activities: She said the City responded to+the recreational needs by creating'Prince'Park. Commissioner Kosewic asked if the"Petaluma Trolley was part of the Mobility the • Pamela said the Trolley would be part of the local transportation system primarily to serve the tourist element. Commissioner Mills,answering the Public Comment regarding a hillside ordinance, said h`-had met,with SPARC members and individuals who were interested in taking part in a committee to create this ordinance He mentioned the County General,Plan and the controversy over its proposed creek setback and asked if the GP would include language regarding this issue;,. Pamela said language is included but it is not as extensive as the County's requirement for setback distances. She said this would be,part of he.Petaluma River Corridor (PRC)and would have a 200' setback from centerline from the river corridor-until the;Surface'Water Master Plan is completed for the Corona&Denman Reach areas;tributaries:would'have a'50' setback from centerline. Commissioner Millsasked how tributanes were defined and how,far from the River itself: Pamela answered that the setbacks'will..have to be addressed onaparcel-by-parcel basis. Commissioner,Mills;mentioned that at Turtle,Creek,;the lights at Prince Park were written into the„CC&R's and the same for the new,apartments near the dog park'and Jericho. He asked if the OP would do anything to protect existing businesses from neighborhood complaints. • 'Pamela-said the,City'has a-Right.to Work,.Farm, Play and alsmavigation easements as tools to inform°new residentsbut this needs to be,expanded. Commissioner.'Mills'and Kosewic suggested signatures required for "Right to Farm” and;the "Right to Parks"and"Right for Creeks". Pamela said this was done in the area of thernew Kenilworth Junior High to accommodate adjoining ' ranches for ingress/egress by using the"Right to Faun"disclosure on the deeds; • Commissioner Kosewic asked if there was apopulation'number that would state development would to unless a southern crossing or Rainier Cross-Town connector was built,— and if there was anyway to guarantee these would'be built: .Pamela+explainedlthaf,tlie`Mobility Element will attempt to create more assurances that these will be built, with the burden being shared by new development and existing citizens. There was not a population number that said development-stops.. 11' Commissioner Kosewic stated that,to.prevent inobility problems;he wanted something to make developers aware before the projectbegins. Pamela said Council,will rrecognize these limits, in particular with.the^Water.Resources Element and water rates. She said,as the GP goes forward to adoption,,how costs and timing of Capital Improvement Projects will be funded will be,addressed. Commissioner Mills asked about;the recommended.changes in development,fee charges. Pamela said these were part of the existing;HousingiiElement(Housing Fees). If needed to be changed to reflect intentions since the GP does not specify fees. Commissioner Mills asked that-the narrative not only address.low income housing but to encourage developers to build more affordable'and"workforce housing by providing incentives with land use and fees. He wanted to see granny units and smaller homes encouraged. Commissioner Kosewic and Pamela noted that the granny units that were constructed as part of the Turtle Creek development were very successful. Commissioner Mills said that infill creates friction because of neighborhood objections to the increased density: He suggested higher density without condominium construction. He-wanted the GP to include as a priority to encourage developers'to build granny units and smallerhbusing with incentives to do this. ' Council Member Nau mentioned flooding, detention, the old Denman dam,proposal as part of the-surface water issues, and the uniqueness of the River and Turning Basin and the need for commercial enterprise on the River for the Army Corps of Engineer's.dredging to continue: Pamela said this was part of the,CPSP and very few changes were suggested other than extending Copeland and a land use designation to correct an'oversight: She mentioned Council discussion instructed no changes to the agricultural land use designation for the Benson,Hummel,and KOA lower section. She said property owners had protested the storm drain retention overlay and the Commission will be sent a discussion paper and then discuss retention policies for ponds as well as'historic flow patterns: She said they are working with SCWA and the Open Space District to obtain the "Pumpkin Patch" for detention and using the XPS- WMM to study detention ponds above Willow Brook; Denman; and Lichau: She said no dams were proposed. She added that two-thirds of the volume in-the upper reaches from Liberty,Marin and Wilson Creeks comes from this western area and feeds'into downtown and Denman: She added that Surface Water has to be looked atforthe whole watershed, not just what is within the City, and the Council wants to look at a regional plan for management. • Commissioner,Mills mentioned the transit stop at Caulfield and Lakeville and asked if this was removed from the SMART proposal. Pamela explained this was an error and the only proposed rail stops were downtown and at Corona. She said the would check to see ifthis was fora bus stop at the Park`n Ride. She said the first Public;Hearing would beheld on September 12,2006: CONIMITTEE•BUSINESS: • II. ELECTION,OF OFFICERS(0830 PM) Geofge'White • Commissioner Mills Motion:,to nominate Will Dargie for Chair • • Moved by Jolui Mills,seconded by Karen Nau. Yote:'Motion carried 4-0., • Yes: Terry Kosewic John Mills;Karen Nau;Kathy Miller Absent. Will Dargie; Cluistopher Arras,Tanya . , Commissioner Kosewic • Motion: to nominate John Mills as second chair. -Moved by Terry Kosewic,seconded by Kathy Miller. • Vot&Motion carried 4-0. Yes: Terry,Kosewic; John Mills; Karen•Nau;Kathy Miller , Absent: Will Dargie;Christoliher Arras;Tanya Sullivan Pamela Tuft III. LIAISON`REPORTS: Under Commissioners' Report(68:32,PM) a. City Council b. SPARC c.Petaluma Bicycle•Advisoty Committee d.tree Advisory Committee Adjournment: (08:32•PM) •