Okay, good evening and welcome to the Thursday, July 13th,
2023 regular meeting of the Walnut Creek Planning Commission.
At this time I'll ask our Commission Secretary Andy Smith to please call
the roll. Commissioner Reiser? Here. Commissioner
Neiting? Here. Commissioner Lezak? Here. Commissioner
Anderson? Here. Vice Chair Strongman? Here. And Chair Ward? Here.
And Commissioner Pickett is absent tonight but we have a quorum with six.
Thank you. All right, next up on our agenda is the consent calendar and I'd
I'd like to confirm that we have none.
That is correct.
Excellent.
All right, so that brings us to item three,
which is public communications.
Public communication portion of the meeting
is reserved for comment on items not on the agenda.
Under the Brown Act, the commission cannot act
on items raised during public communications
but may respond briefly to statements made
or questions posed, request clarification
or refer the item to staff.
So just to reiterate, it's the time for comments
on things other than the Mercedes application
that's on the agenda.
And I'd like to repeat my previous comments
regarding inappropriate remarks
that are made at public meetings.
I wanna remind everyone that not all speech is protected.
It's not an absolute right and I do not tolerate
or allow hate speech of any kind during public comment
or any comment at any time during a meeting that I chair.
It has no place in our community and I will not allow it.
Are there any public people from the public
who would like to comment?
And I would note we actually have one attendee
on Zoom who's attending via phone.
So if that person wishes to speak,
would ask that they dial star nine
if they would like to address the commission
on any item not on tonight's agenda.
And it does not look like they're doing that.
Okay, so seeing no one in the chambers or online,
I guess we'll move on to our next item,
which is item four, public hearings.
We have one scheduled today.
I'd like to start by asking if any member
of the commission has had any ex-party communications
related to items on the agenda.
All negative nods, thank you very much.
So let's move forward.
I guess the staff presentation is next.
Thank you.
Good evening, commissioners.
My name is Gerardo Victoria.
I'm an assistant planner
in the community development department.
The project before you today is a special use permit
application Y23047 for Mercedes Benz of Walnut Creek temporary vehicle
storage. The project address is located at 1910 North Broadway. It is the former
DMV site. As you can see here on the aerial map Oroyo Way, Fronts It and
North Broadway is to the north of it. It's three parcels approximately one
1.56 acres. The project is a special use permit for temporary off-site vehicle storage for
up to 120 vehicles for a period of up to 24 months. The previous special use permit expired
this year on February 23rd, 2023. The property address at 1910 North Broadway has an active
application to develop a multi-family housing project. The applicant Leah
Lenoir could not be here this evening. She is located in North Carolina. The
Mercedes-Benz general manager Jason Viscara is in attendance and he's
available for questions after the presentation. This is the proposed site
plan for the project. As you can see, Arroyo Way is located right here and
and North Broadway is right here. There are three entrances to the lots. One is
located here that has a gate but it is closed. The other entrance is located off
North Broadway right in this location that also has a gate but that's been
closed and the gate that is going to be used to access the lot is located right
here. So special use permits have the same findings as conditional use
permits plus one additional special use permit finding. The standard findings
under a conditional use permit are it's consistent with a general plan the
specific plan and the underlying zoning district that it's located in that it
will not be detrimental to the public health safety and welfare of the
community and any specific findings required by the zoning district. The one
special use permit finding is that the use provides a necessary service to the
community. The staff analysis is that the site is compatible with the proposed use,
the neighborhood is compatible with the proposed use, and that the applicant maintain the property
in an orderly use and its appearance also. And I'll more of that in a second. The recommended
conditions of approval are that the vehicles must be stored in an orderly manner. If you
see the bottom left-hand picture that they are stored in an orderly manner. The
drop-off and pickup are to occur on the site at 1910 North Broadway. The site be
maintained free of weeds, trash, and debris. As a side note I visited the site
earlier this afternoon and there was a maintenance truck on the site
performing such maintenance. And also Mercedes-Benz shall not use car alarms
to locate the vehicles on the site. So at number four, specifically a bit of a
housekeeping item, the draft resolution that was originally sent out
did not have this condition of approval, but that has been since passed to all
the commissioners as well as uploaded to the city website. The findings for a
conditional use permit that it must be consistent with the general plan, specific
plan, and the underlying zoning district, it will not be detrimental to the public
health, safety and welfare.
Any specific findings required also by the zoning district
and the finding for a special use permit
is that the use provides a necessary service
to the community.
Provide support for the Mercedes-Benz dealership
located at 1301 Parkside, is that correct?
Yeah.
It utilizes a current property.
It's compatible with its location.
The economic use while the property owner pursues
a mixed use entitlement.
And the traditional auto dealerships require inventory
that is not typically accommodated
on the actual dealership site.
So staff recommends to approve
the special use permit application Y23047,
subject to conditions of approval for a period of 24 months.
And I am available for questions or comments.
Thank you very much.
Are there any questions from commissioners?
Commissioner Reiser?
Just a really quick question.
I'm sure it'll be asked.
But the last time this was before this body,
we asked such questions as it was the same thing
with just the gates and whatnot.
Are you gonna put up a fence?
Are there gonna be any lighting and concerns of security
and people wandering the lot and things like that?
Totally fine with it.
I haven't personally seen anything.
I live downtown.
I pass it all the time.
Have there been any incidents of either vandalism theft,
break in, anything like that?
Not that I am aware of if Planning Commissioner Secretary, if Andrew Smith,
are you aware of any such incidences? I'm not but the applicant may be able to speak to that.
Okay. There are proposed lighting is not part of this project. Only one gate will be used for
to access the lot. Great presentation by the way. Thank you. Oh and as a side note the applicant
did say that they will only use site 10 visits per day and two of those visits
will be to open the gate and close the gate. Thank you. Commissioner Lezak.
Just for I suppose curiosity, what was the concern that triggered the
additional condition of approval relative to using the car alarms to find
the vehicles? Was that triggered by like an actual complaint from someone in the
neighborhood or is it just something that seemed appropriate relative to the
site? Yeah the community development department did receive some calls from
the folks at the arroyo apartments regarding car alarms, staff personnel at
the dealership trying to locate the vehicles so that's why we included it
this time. And other than maybe complaints related to that particular
item are there any other maybe we have mentioned we don't believe that there's
any other incidents of vandalism but do any other complaints other than that.
No, sir. All right, thank you. If I may, Madam Chair, I also to add and Mr.
Victoria can correct me if I'm wrong but I believe this project or this
application was actually referred to the police department just as a matter of
two business course. Correct. Correct, yeah, and so they at least did not note that
there had been any such incidents. Great, thank you. Anybody else? Vice-chair
storm. Just a quick question. As Mercedes indicated how they're going to find cars
without doing the alarms going down the road. I think the applicant can answer
that question. Okay, we'll wait for that then. Thank you. Very good presentation.
Presentation. Thank you. All right, seeing no further questions, now's the time the
applicant could come up and do your presentation if you would like. Hello,
Thank you for having me.
Mr. Victoria did such a great presentation.
I don't have anything prepared, but I am prepared
to answer any questions you all may have.
Okay, I think a couple questions were asked
about whether there were complaints or vandalism,
police incidents, or any issues.
We've had some minor stuff, but nothing noteworthy.
You know, luckily, the cars all have tracking systems,
so they're not really a target for theft,
and we have several lots that we're holding cars
that don't have fences, so we haven't had anything noteworthy.
Excellent. Okay, does anybody else have any questions for the applicant? I'll ask
my question of how, since you can't use the alarms anymore, how are you going to
find the cars? Using the alarms is one way, it's not the most efficient way and
it's not friendly to our neighbors, so we discussed it and Lily, our new car
manager who came tonight as well, we organized the cars by color and model.
So there's only so many and we gave the staff a map as they know exactly where to go
And the color of the car is on the tags. They can quickly find the car that way. It's actually quicker this way
Hey, it appears we have no further questions for you. Thank you. Thank you very much
All right, so I need to
Ask if any members of the public wish to provide public comment on this item at this time
And I will note we now we no longer have anybody attending via phone
but we do have somebody attending through normal Zoom,
so I'd ask if they're interested in providing comment
that they press the raise hand button, please.
And it does not look like they are.
Okay, so usually this would be the time
when I'd invite the applicant back up
to address anything that happened at public comment
or beyond, and I'll give you this opportunity,
although it seems like there's nothing further
we need to know.
Excellent, all right, thank you.
So I'm gonna close the public hearing
and bring it back to the commission
for any comments, questions, deliberation,
or possibly a motion.
Happy to make the motion.
I move to approve the resolution pertaining
to Mercedes-Benz of Walnut Creek temporary vehicle storage
special use permit application Y23047.
Second.
Okay, we have a motion and a second.
Andy, can you please record the vote?
And just for the record,
I just want to ask the motioner and seconder
that that does include the additional condition of approval
in the amended recommendation from staff.
Yeah, so it was what I was reading from the yes, yes, the updated version the updated version. Yes. Okay, great. Thank you
Okay, Commissioner riser, yes, mr. Needing yes, mr. Lezak. Yes, mr. Anderson
Yes, vice chair strongman. Yes and chair Ward. Yes, and the motion carries six zero
Thank you. And thank you for the presentation and comments. We appreciate it
All right, so at this time, I'd like to move on to agenda item number five commission considerations
And we have no items tonight, okay
And that brings us then to item number six commission member and staff reports or announcements
Anybody
takers
All right. Well, my my dad turned 87 on Monday, so I'd like to wish him a very happy birthday
Have nothing else
Now we're all diving in okay my daughter my oldest daughter is starting kindergarten
All right anybody else is your big chance
My son's gonna be starting junior high which I can't believe
Alright, actually didn't make finals in league. So
Things are going well for us. I really appreciate
I do actually have just one quick note so that you won't be expecting quite such a
short meeting the next time, but it will be a very fun and interesting meeting.
Coming up on July 27th, we will be having a study session for our work on a permanent
SB 9 ordinance.
SB 9, as you'll recall, is a state law that was passed, I think, two years ago now that
effectively allows up to four dwelling units
on single family lots.
We have a local ordinance that's in the form
of an interim urgency ordinance
that will be expiring at the end of the year.
So we're now working and we have a consultant on board
as well for preparing a permanent ordinance.
And the study session will be providing information
on what the state law requires and what it allows us to do.
And we'll be seeking input from the commission
as to what should or should not be contained
in the local regulations
because we can't do less than what's required of us,
but we can do more.
So I just wanted to let you know.
Excellent, I'm sure that's gonna be really,
as you said, very interesting and it's very complicated.
So we'll look forward to your support and feedback on that.
All right, if there's nothing further,
then at this time, the planning commission meeting
is adjourned at 6.16.
Thank you all very much, appreciate it.