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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes 05/03/2001 CITY OF SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO REGULAR PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES MUNICIPAlL SERVICES BUILDING 33 ARROYO DRIVE May 03, 2001 'f.A.PEl CALL TO ORDER / PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE The meeting was called to order at 7:30 p.m. ROLL CALL / CHAIR COMMENTS MEMBERS PRESENT: Commissioner D'Angelo, Commissioner Honan, Commissioner Ochsenhirt, Commissioner Sim, Vice Chairperson Romero and Chairperson Meloni MEMBERS ABSENT: *Commissioner Teglia STAFF PRESENT: Planning Division: Thomas C. Sparks, Chief Planner Steve Carlson, Senior Planner Director Marty Van Duyn Kimberly Johnson Richard Harmon Sgt. Mike Newell Rocque Yballa ECD: City Attorney: Engineering: Police Dept.: Bldg./Fire Prevo AGENDA REVIEW - No Changes ORAL COMMUNICATIONS - None CONSENT CALENDAR 1. Approval of Regular Meeting Minutes of March 1, 2001. Motion Honan / Second Sim to approve the Consent Calendar. PUBLIC HEARING - AGENDA ITEMS 2. Sprint PCS/The Alaris Group/Kelly Pepper-applicant So. S. F. Health Center/So. San Francisco Redevelopment. Agency-owner 306 Spruce Ave. UP-OI-035 and Categorical Exemption Class 32 Sectio1115332 In-Fill Development Project Use Permit allowing a wireless communication facility within 300 feet of a residential zoning district, situated in the Downtown Commercial (D-C) zoning district. Commissioner Ochsenhirt stepped down due to a potential conflict of interest. Senior Planner Carlson presented the Staff Report. S:\Minutes\050301 RPC.doc Page 1 of 9 Commissioner D'Angelo: Does the building or antenna have its own emergency generator? Senior Planner Carlson: There is no generator there now but in the event the power goes out, the applicant would have a generator connected to the antenna. All antennas have a receptacle for emergency generators. Commissioner D'Angelo: Can the generator provide emergency power service to the medical facility in case of a blackout? Director of ECD Van Duyn: The City is inspecting the building for power in light of the blackouts this summer. Commissioner D'Angelo: One generator is better rather than having two and close to a school. Director of ECD Van Duyn: That would have to be discussed with the clinic operator. All the utilities are being kept separate for independent operation purposes and liability. The City does not have any objection to joint use of a generator. Commissioner Sim: Was a master plan required for this application? Senior Planner Carlson: Yes. They did provide one. Commissioner Sim: Does the City have a master plan requirement? Senior Planner Carlson: Yes. Commissioner Teglia: Application is not in compliance with the telecommunications ordinance. The ordinance calls for stealthing or partial screening of the antenna. The Commission expects a higher quality of applications. The ground mounted cabinets have been required to be underground so views are elimated. It would much easier to put the cabinets down four feet. Chairperson Meloni: The staff report states that the cables will be inside the building. Yet the photo sim plans show that the cable tray is mounted on the side of the building. Senior Planner Carlson: The equipment from the cable tray is in the building. Chairperson Meloni: Page A-3 of the plans shows the cable tray along the side of the building. Senior Planner Carlson: The applicant was informed that the cable tray would have to be inside the building or run on the outside of the building between the two buildings. The plans do not reflect what was agreed upon. Kelly Pepper, Sprint PCS, gave a presentation. The cable tray can be moved to one of the discussed locations. The existing fence will be increased in height to screen the enclosed cabinet and the cable bridge. Commissioner Teglia: Is the antenna height needed for line of site for a particular coverage area? Is it possible to bring it down behind the five foot screen? Ms. Pepper: That is the minimum height that is needed to get line of site. The screen was proposed at the height due to wind issues. Commissioner Teglia: Can the antennas be moved from the outside of the building closer to the middle of the roof, so that the visual impact will be minimal? Ms. Pepper: The antennas would have to be increased in height and would be about as visible. Vice Chairperson Romero: The enclosure is 12 by 20 feet. Why is it so large? What will go in there? Ms. Pepper: Seven equipment cabinets will be in their and there are requirements to allow the technicians room for servicing the antennas. Vice Chairperson Romero: Where would the generator be? Ms. Pepper: The generator would not be inside and will only be brought out in an extreme emergency. It does not come out if the power is out for an hour. Vice Chairperson Romero: Will the generator be on site? Ms. Pepper: Yes, it will be onsite. It will be where the generator receptacle is shown on the plans. Chairperson Meloni: A large generator will be put on the site with no screening. Ms. Pepper: They can look into screening the generator. It would only be used in the event of an emergency and it will not be on the site long-term. Vice Chairperson Romero: What are the functions of the equipment cabinets? Ms. Pepper: The equipment cabinets provide the power and they are also battery backups if the power goes out for an hour. Vice Chairperson Romero: This is near a school and is concerned with not having it fully enclosed. The entire area should be enclosed and not simply screened with a fence. Ms. Pepper: That is not a problem. Vice Chairperson Romero: This item should have gone through Design Review, even if the City owns the site. Vice Chairperson Romero: What is currently in the fence now? Is that where the garbage can is? Director of ECD Van Duyn: Yes there is one and it was being used for recyclables. It has been moved and there is a new area designated for , that. The applicant is proposing to match the design specifications similar to the garbage enclosure. The building S:\Minutes\050301 RPC.doc Page 2 of 9 design and trash enclosure did go through DRB with the exception of the antenna. The ground pad of the site is a dead area and it was better to use this space rather than putting the equipment on the roof. Commissioner Honan: Who decides when the generator is brought to the site? Director of ECD Van Duyn: Under the lease the applicant has the right to bring in the emergency generators for the length of the emergency. The length is not being restricted because of the projected blackouts in the summer. Commissioner Honan: An emergency has to be defined. Is there a representative available from the consulting that performed the frequency study? Senior Planner Carlson: No. Commissioner Honan: Has not seen the study and it bothers her. This is so close to a school yard. Senior Planner Carlson: The Commission has come to accept in the past that distance is the attenuator and the distance is far enough, given the location of the antenna on the roof, will not represent any health threat. The area of concern is an 8 foot radius. Commissioner Honan: Will there be a mark off for those working in the area? Senior Planner Carlson: The report asks that the area be blocked off and a sign posted. Public Hearing opened. Public Hearing closed. Commissioner Teglia: The demarcation has been included into applications before. Does the RF frequency energy penetrate into the building? The cabinets can be put below grade in the rear and some landscaping applied. Commissioner D'Angelo: Can deal with the roofing and any concerns can be taken care with signage. Does not like the back area with regard to fencing and exposure of cabinets. The applicant states that the generator will be brought into the site for the periods of time that there are outages. The owner states that it is during a period of a declared emergency. A declared emergency would be that made by the Mayor or the Governor, and not by Sprint. This needs to be resolved. How many kilowatts is the applicant talking about? What is the sound impact on the school? Commissioner Teglia: There is not another cell site where there has been a generator issue. The big sensitivity is the school. The emergency period is when the ISO declares a stage 3 blackout. Recommends below grade installation of cabinets and having the generator in another area that not near the school. Chairperson Meloni: The application is not complete. Staff knows what the Commission needs and should have the material for the Commission's packet. It is easy for individuals to pull the plugs of the generators. Who will be on site to assure that no one will do this while the generator is running? Motion Teglia / Second Honan to allow staff to work with the applicant to address the Commission's concerns. Approved by majority voice vote with Commissioner Ochsenhirt abstaining. 3. TERRABA YIPhase II & III Myers Development Corp.-owner/applicant San Bruno Mtn/Terrabay PP-OI-020 and SA-OI-020 Public Hearing on a proposed Vesting Tentative Map and Precise Plan for residential, recreation and office development and the preservation of open space for Terrabay Phases II & III. Chief Planner Sparks presented the Staff Report. Jack Myers, Myers Development Corporation, presented the project. Commissioner Sim: Thanked the applicant for responding the Commission's concerns. The applicant took the prototypical housing types and refreshed the interpretation using the contemporary modern elements. Commissioner Teglia: Commended the applicant on their work. Is the color scheme on the paired housing units S:\Minutes\050301 RPC.doc Page 3 of 9 protected through the CC&Rs? Mr. Myers: Absolutely. This will ensure the future character of the property. Commissioner Teglia: The parking structure is not massive anymore and takes on a decked parking structure. There are not any architectural features to it. Genentech and Oracle have shown that a lot can be done to dress up parking structures. Are there plans to do something with the parking structure? Mr. Myers: Most levels of detail to the parking garage like paint and landscaping enhancements will be incorporated to the fa<;;ade. Commissioner Teglia: The second row of residential units has two paired units at the end of the cul-de-sac and are out on their own. The soils report stated that if the two paired units were removed, a great deal of grading and retaining wall would be eliminated. Mr. Myers: The retaining walls have almost been eliminated. At one time the applicant was required to provide as many housing units as they could. Their objective has been to be repair the hill and they managed to bring the retaining walls down to 4-5 feet. The retaining walls are more modest and nearly undetectable. Commissioner Teglia: The point will be a rolling grass land area. Eric McHuron: UBC is relevent in the area and there have to be benches in the high slopes. The benches on the Point are being softened and the object is to have rolling grass lands. If the lower cul-de-sac were to be pulled back, it would result in the loss of eight units. Commissioner Teglia: Do the landscape architects have species in mind? Larry Pierson, Architect: Have been working with horticulturists. The precise plan drawings have a plant list that they will be working. New Zealand Christmas trees do great along Sister Cities Boulevard. Chairperson Meloni: What box size are the trees? Mr. Pierson: There is a 15 gallon minimum on any of the trees. A portion of them would be 24 inch box and the specimen material would change in critical locations. Commissioner Sim: Are special landscaping features being proposed along the lineal park? Mr. Pierson: The lineal park starts along Sister Cities Boulevard and has a variety of plant material on the slope. At the corner of Bayshore and Sister Cities, where the public sculpture will be, there will be tree massing to create a setting for the sculpture. Around the corner on Bayshore Boulevard heading towards the entry to the office building there will be street trees creating a base from the street side to the project. Commissioner Sim: Where are the entry driveways and where does the lineal park overlap? Mr. Pierson: There will be a pedestrian walkway as it crosses the driveway, with special paving. Mr. Myers: The lineal park starts at Phase I of Terrabay. Commissioner Sim: Why are leaves that way? Michael Duncan: The idea was to separate it into three distinct phases that wrap around the contours of the hill. He gave a detailed description of what was done. Mr. Myers: There is a distinct pattern on the three penthouse levels of the condominium units. This defines the top of the residential power. Commissioner Sim: Asked for description of the residential unit layouts. Fisher Freeman: Gave a detailed explanation of the different types of homes and how the layout on each floor was. Commissioner Honan: What types of trees will be used and are they historic to the area? Mr. Myers: They have looked at what species have survived in the area. The proposed species are common to the area. Commissioner Ochsenhirt: The retaining walls will be reduced from 4 feet to 12 feet, instead of the 26. Will there be some more than 4 feet in height? Mr. Myers: Was referring to area on Cypress Drive where the retaining walls have been reduced. On the downslope of Redwood Drive there are some retaining walls. Commissioner Ochsenhirt: Have you talked to the Cultural Arts Commission regarding the public sculpture? Mr. Myers: Has been talking to Genentech who will celebrate their 25th anniversary. They want to do a public art in a visible area and this area is one that offers the opportunity. Commissioner Ochsenhirt: The CC&Rs will have a master CC&Rs that will contain all of Phase III and there will be a separate CC&Rs for heritage and tower. Are pets included in the CC&Rs for the condo units. Assistant City Attorney Johnson: The CC&Rs contain a section for pets. She proceeded to read the section in the CC&Rs that pertained to pets. Commissioner Sim: Is there going to be a pel forming arts center or is it merely a concept? Mr. Myers: The performance center is incorporated into the project. Commissioner Honan: Will the pelforming arts center be S:\Minutes\050301 RPC.doc Page 4 of 9 used as a conference room during the day? Mr. Myers: It is intended to have a dual purpose. As a conference area for the offices and a performing arts center during evenings and weekends. Assistant City Attorney Johnson: It can function as a conference room and a cultural arts center. The City reserves the right to use it as a cultural arts center during the day on a case-by-case basis. The details will be negotiated between staff and a project sponsor. Chief Planner Sparks: The language is not prohibitive and the use will be reflected on the needs of the center at a given time. Chairperson Meloni: Thanked Mr. Myers for a good project on a difficult site. Motion Sim / Second D'Angelo to recommend the item to the Council for approval with additional conditions of approval from the Fire Department. Approved by unanimous voice vote. Mr. Myers: Thanked the Commission for supporting the project. Commissioner Teglia: Thanked Mr. Myers for his excellent work with the neighborhood. Recess taken at 9:20 p.m. Recalled to order at 9:31 p.m. ADMINISTRATIVE BUSINESS 4. Items from Staff a. Study Session MarbellalDuc Housing Partners, Inc., applicant Thomas Callan, owner Gellert Blvd., westside between Westborough Blvd. & Roundtree Way GP-00-053, PUD-00-053, SA-OO-053 allld ND-00-053 General Plan Amendment, Planned Unit Development, and Tentative Map to allow development of 280 residential units on the west side of Gellert Boulevard, between Westborough and Roundtree. Chief Planner Sparks presented the staff report. Carol Anne Painter, Duc Housing, and team presented the project to the Commission. Commissioner Sim: Is there a 5 foot retaining wall along Gellert? Ken Rhodie: The size varies throughout the site. Commissioner Sim: Where is the 30 foot retaining wall? Mr. Rhodie: Begins in the rear. Chairperson Meloni: What is the setback from the back of the sidewalk to the front of the building? Ron Kalhoun, Civil Engineer: From the property line it is 32 feet. Chairperson Meloni: The retaining wall is massive when driving into the site. Has any thought been given to terracing the walls to reduce the height? Mr. Kalhoun: The rear retaining walls can be terraced. Anne Garie, 2455 Unwin Court: There are too many people in South San Francisco to support the habitat of the human beings. There is a water shortage and Westborough purchases their water from San Francisco. Traffic is horrendous. There are no more cars needed in the Westborough area. When Aegis Assisted Living was going through its approvals she did not get noticed. A notice was mailed to the Westborough owners with a proposal for two new childcare centers. There was a fire last year in her area. Why can't this site be used as a childcare center instead. Make the neighborhood happy before bringing in new developments. The project will bring 700 new people and new cars to the area. The townhouses have been vandalized. Transients are not needed. S:\Minutes\050301 RPC.doc Page 5 of 9 Raul Mercado: Speaking on behalf of his wife, a Dentist at the Westborough medical building. There were concerns regarding the assisted living construction and not receiving any notices when that was going through the approval process. They are concerned with the closing of the back road to the medical building. This entrance is frequently used by all the doctors and their patients because the Westborough entrance is much more dangerous. Will the back road be closed off with the construction of this new project? The project will bring in more traffic to the area. Will a traffic study be included into the EIR? Dr. Salin Chew, 2400 Westborough: Concerned with traffic and their access easement being blocked by the construction of the Aegis Assisted Living. There will be about 500 cars going through the easement each day. Will the traffic be mitigated? Meredith Turner, 2425 Williamsburg Court: Concerned with loss of view and the amount of people it will bring into the neighborhood. This will devalue her home. Was concerned with the erosion of the slope. If the walkway is made accessible to more people it will be a target for burglaries. Pat Conway, 2418 Williamsburg Court: The geological and engineering issues are her main concerns. The property is unsound. There are a lot of underground creeks running under Westborough. There should be better property around that is sounder to build on. The geological engineering needs to be throughoughly investigated. Consuelo Breighton, 2424 Williamsburg Court: There are existing problems with water rising from the ground. The view will be blocked. The value of their homes will be reduced. She has been vandalized while walking through the walkway. The walkway will be enclosed and this increases the possibilities of being vandalized. Shirley Tang, 2406 Unwin Court: There was a fire that was 3-4 feet away from her home. What will be done with the vegetation to prevent fires in the future? Parking is an existing problem. There are 618 parking sites of which 130 are guest parking. There will be approximately 1.7 parking spaces for each home. Can there be more parking spaces included? There could be overflow parking into other neighborhoods because parking is not permitted on Gellert. The retaining walls need to be studied in detail to be sure that their will not be any future landslides. Will there be maintenance on the public access road? The left turn out of the Westborough shopping center is dangerous and there will be more problems with this new project. Will there be enough public services provided for the new development and to serve the rest of the City? Will the new homes impact the energy crisis? Paul Yau: Was interested in purchasing a home. The speakers do have very good concerns. Traffic is a problem and with this new project it will be very congested for the neighborhood. Donna Toi, 2449 Williams Court: Suggested sending a picture of what the project will look like. This way many more residents would have shown up. Going from 74 units to 280 units is a big difference and it is too many homes for the area. Vice Chairperson Romero: There are two representatives from the medical building concerned with access to their building. What is the update with regard to the access? Chief Planner Sparks: This is a private road and the City has no control of it. Development Review Coordinator Harmon: The medical building has an access easement and they need to exert their rights with the contractor that is working on the assisted living project. Vice Chairperson Romero: There is a need for there to be emergency access to the site and the site cannot be accessed through Westborough with emergency vehicles because of the low ceiling. The assistant superintendent spoke to the Fire Department in order to have emergency access to the building. Deliveries from trucks and suppliers also would be able to access the building through the easement. There was no notification given to the lease owners of the building because the negotiation was with the building owner. Job site safety is important as well as the need to have emergency access to the building. Development Review Coordinator Harmon: Once the grading permit was complete the Engineering Division no longer has any right. The Fire Department would be the one that has authority at this point. Assistant Fire Marshall Yballa: Prior to the access being blocked the Fire Department S:\Minutes\050301 RPC.doc Page 6 of 9 went out and determined if they could meet certain conditions with regard to maneuverability. They were satisfied with the access points on the site. Vice Chairperson Romero: Were the physicians in the building notified that these arrangements were made? Assistant Fire Marshall Yballa: That is the responsibility of the owner. The department works with the property owner. Vice Chairperson Romero: It is a good idea to involve the tenants and it needs to be addressed. Commissioner D'Angelo: What is the history of the land and the fire suppression? Is the location of the proposed project fire safe? Assistant Fire Marshall Yballa: The maintenance of the propelty has a long history. Weed abatement was done on the property with little cooperation. The fire mentioned by the speakers had nothing to do with the growth of vegetation. It occurred from hot mopping and patching done to a roof on an end house. The high winds could have made the fire increase had the fITe department not responded in a timely manner to contain the fire to that particular house. The properties identified are more than four stories and subject to the SSFMC requirements to have fire sprinklers, standpipes, and a higher quality fire system. The project can be done in a safe manner consistent with recognized standards and codes. Commissioner D'Angelo: Thanked the members of the audience for speaking on the item. The Planning does not make policies and City Council makes policies. This project was a 74 unit project and now it is up to 280 units. The developer was invited to increase the number and the Commission will only review the plan. The public should focus their attention to the policy makers to be heard. Chairperson Meloni: The Commission determines landuse and the appropriateness of the landuse. Part of the landuse is the development of the site. This is a preliminary meeting before the Commission makes a decision. The Commission takes input from the public, the developer and staff and all comments are addressed. The Environmental Impact Report will be addressing parking, traffic, geological impacts and all the issues discussed by the Commission. If these impacts do not meet standards then mitigation measures are developed that will correct the matter. The project is in its initial stage and the Commission recommends having community meetings to allow the neighborhood to familiarize themselves with the project and offer comments to the developer. Commissioner Teglia: It is important to have the public's input. The Commission, as a landuse body, can make a good recommendation with that input. Staff encourages the high density. The site is zoned mixed commercial. Why is staff recommending high density when the developer was willing to go with a lower density proposal? Chief Planner Sparks: There is a serious housing problem in the citywide and Bay Area wide. The project is consistent with the General Plan by trying to meet housing needs, although the designation is mixed commercial. Staff is behind utilizing land as efficiently as possible. There are 19 units per acre on this project which is higher than anything that is in South San Francisco now. Vice Chairperson Romero: Staff is pushing high density and is ignoring any commercial possibilities. Chief Planner Sparks: Yes staff is supporting high density and commercial is not a use that is being ruled out. The developer is not interested and does not specialize in commercial. Commissioner Teglia: The General Plan also addressed open space. South San Francisco parkland is low compared to other cities. There are a lot of requirements for developments for open space. The density should require some mitigation. There should be an amenity for the residents. Chief Planner Sparks: These issues do have to be addressed because this is a large project. Commissioner Sim: What is the history of other development proposals on the site? Development Review Coordinator Harmon: The area was originally designed for a commercial and residential project. It was graded to accommodate a project similar to Colina. The slopes were graded by the City when Gellert Boulevard was constructed and the City paid Mr. Callan for the dirt to fill the canyon. Since then there have been a number of projects for the site. Mr. Callan was not able to find any commercial interest in the property because the developers were not interested in that site. The last commercial project that was proposed on that site was Orchard supply. There are plans in the file from mid 1960s. Commissioner Sim: Where is the finished grade being proposed? Mr. Kalhoun, Civil Engineer: The elevation ranges from 414 on the north side to about 285 S:\Minutes\050301 RPC.doc Page 7 of 9 on the south towards McDonalds. The street follows the same elevation along Gellert Boulevard. The elevation from where the soil intercepts the face of the building up to the top is about 60 feet. Commissioner Sim: This is a conceptual drawing and it may not go this way. The residents have illustrated that the visual corridors are very important to them. A lot more needs to be done with presentation and Commission. Traffic is an issue to the residents and the EIR will address this concern. What do the residents want on the site? They need to be included in the process. The project is too dense and the housing shortage problem has to be solved. Commissioner Ochsenhirt: Thanked the public for speaking on the item. Only half of the lot is being developed and the other will be open space. There are requirements that are beyond the City's elected officials policy makers' control. They are being pressured by different entities to have developments like this. It is the duty of our policy makers to be sure that the requirements are met. All the concerns are valid and will be addressed. Commissioner Teglia: Open space is that which is usable and the slope is not usable park land and is not an amenity to the community. Some of the buildings would have to be removed to have flat usable open space. This may be one the items that the Commission can discuss by itself as a separate evening. The building viewed from 280 and Gellert is massive and out of context with the area. Commissioner Teglia: Left at 10:49 p.m. TAPE 2 Commissioner Ochsenhirt: San Bruno Mountain is not usable and it is considered open space. Commissioner Honan: A lot of work needs to done on the project. She encouraged the public to voice their concerns in front of the Planning Commission. Many of the speakers were concerned with being robbed. The Commission needs a report by the next meeting on these burglaries. Vice Chairperson Romero: There is a visual element to open space that does not mean it has to be used. The slope needs to be improved. The project applicant needs to provide play area, and lawn areas. These will be rental units and not for sale units. The units are 1-3 bedroom units which means there will be children living there. A recreation facility is included into the project. The applicant needs to give some thought to including a daycare center and other amenities to be used by the residents. Security will be an important issue and has to be aggressively addressed. The project is dense and units should have outdoor capabilities. Commissioner Honan: Supports sending out a notice with a picture to give the public an idea of what the project will look like. Chairperson Meloni: Would like to see pictures of the relationship of the project with the neighborhood. There are 456 parking spaces left for resident parking. Using the same criteria that has been used on previous applications the required spaces should be 508. There needs to be adequate parking for the residents and the guests. Will there be separate owners for the units instead of one for all? Chief Planner Sparks: Ownership has not been decided yet. Chairperson Meloni: Willow Gardens had separate ownership and it did not work out as staff would have liked it to. The project needs to be worked on extensively. The developer needs to work with the community. Commissioner Sim: The developer needs to look at the elevations and show the Commission the bigger picture. b. Grosvenor Hotel-owner Michael Heckmann Architect/applicant 3S0 South Airport Blvd. UP-OI-00S and Categorical Exemption Class 32 Section 15332 In Fill Development Project Review of color scheme. (Recommend continuance to May 17,2001) Motion Sim / Second Honan to continue the item to May 17, 2001. Approved by unanimous voice vote. S:\Minutes\050301 RPC.doc Page 8 of 9 5. Items from Commission - None 6. Items from the Public - None 7. Adjournment Motion Romero / Second Honan to adjourn the meeting. The meeting was adjourned at 11:15 p.m. ~~L~ Thomas C. Sparks Secretary to the Planning Commission City of South San Francisco ~~.~ Micha Meloni, Chairperson Plannin Commission City of South San Francisco NEXT MEETING: Regular Meeting May 17,2001, Municipal Services Building, 33 Arroyo Drive, South San Francisco, CA. TCS/bh S:\Minutes\050301 RPC.doc Page 9 of 9