So, the meeting for tonight for the Design Review Commission is now in session.
Can we have roll call, please?
Thank you, Vice Chair.
Commissioner Case?
Here.
Commissioner Riley?
Here.
Vice Chair Basting?
Here.
Chair Newsom is on vacation, I believe, and we have quorum.
So, are there any items on consent?
There should be on the agenda, there should be the adoption of meeting minutes for September
4th, November 20th, and December 4th of 2024.
I can make a motion that we adopt the meeting minutes.
I second that motion.
Okay.
Roll call.
Commissioner Case?
Yes.
Commissioner Riley?
Yes.
Vice Chair Basting?
Yes.
Okay.
Let's see.
Motion carries.
Approve.
are there any public communications for items not on the agenda this evening okay seeing none
are there any ex parte communications that any of the commissioners needs to report on no okay
thank you so now shall we begin the public hearing yes staff has a presentation good evening design
review commissioners my name is stephen cook and i am an assistant planner with the city's community
development department. Before you tonight is a proposed amendment to the master sign
program for the John Muir Medical Campus located at 17-7 La Casa Villa. The project is designated
as application number Y25031. For some site contacts, the parcel is located along La Casa
Villa, as highlighted in blue on the vicinity map. The site contains an existing three-story
medical office building which houses the Hofmann Cancer Center. This site is a part of the
larger plan development that makes up the John Muir Medical Campus.
In 2022, the Design Review Commission approved an amendment to the master sign program to
include the new medical building on the project site. That approval included several exceptions
to the city's sign ordinance such as several skyline signs, freestanding signs, and increases
in the overall sign area.
Since the most recent approval, the applicant is requesting a further amendment to the Master
Sign Program with a few updates, and I'll walk you through those changes beginning with
the proposal to modify the existing entry wall signage.
Under the previous approval, the signs were labeled Outpatient Center and Cancer Center.
The applicant now proposes to replace those with the donor name, Hoffman Cancer Center.
sign will measure 13.5 square feet and will feature face-lit internally illuminated channel
letters in the color black with the two inch deep aluminum return.
Before and after renderings along with their corresponding locations are included in the
slide for your reference.
An additional skyline sign is being proposed which will also feature the donor's name.
This sign will measure 28 square feet and like the others will use face-lit internally
illuminated channel letters in the color black with four-inch deep aluminum
returns. While the city sign ordinance limits the heights to 25 feet the
proposed sign reaches approximately 27 feet at its highest point and as such
approval require the Design Review Commission to make several specific
findings including that one the good design criteria is required for a higher
sign, two that the business is identified by the sign occupies all floor space
adjacent to the wall where the signs being placed, and three, that this higher sign enhances
the building's architectural appearance. While staff is confident that the DRC can make the
necessary findings, there is some concern about the potential visual impact on nearby residences,
especially those directly oriented in the direction of the skyline sign. And to address
potential nighttime lighting impacts on nearby residences, staff has included a condition on
on the draft resolution that restricts illumination between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. daily.
To summarize the proposed amendments to the master sign program, first, the applicants
again requesting and modify the two existing entry wall signs to integrate the donor's
name. Two, the skyline sign will also include the donor's name. And three, to increase
the total allowable sign area from 530 to 567 square feet for the 177 La Casa Via parcel.
The CEQA section, well, the CEQA exemption guidelines under section 5301 existing facilities
is recommended for this project.
Staff recommends the design review commission to move to adopt the resolution approving
the master sign program amendment for 17-7 La Casa Villa at the John Muir medical campus
subject to the conditions of approval contained therein.
And that concludes the presentation for tonight.
Staff is available for any questions and furthermore the applicant is also present and available
for any questions you may have. Thank you. Do we have any questions? I don't have questions
of staff but I might have a question of the applicant. Okay so my question is of the applicant
did you consider the the conflict with the potential nearby residences with the lighting
that says the Hoffman Cancer Center and are you okay with that limited schedule and based on your
Opinion of that light illumination. Do you think it's gonna be an issue?
So the there's currently an address a building address. That's also similarly illuminated. It's it's same exact fabrication same details
It's just the 177 address
So the idea is that this sign would be the same illumination levels and in the past couple years so far
We haven't heard any complaints from the neighbors
And so the intent was to match that illumination and then shut it off at 10 p.m.
to 6 a.m. per the recommendation and so that shouldn't be an issue because it
is an outpatient facility and the hours are limited to regular business hours
and so there's no need to search for it in the like middle of the night as a
destination. Right. Could you state your name for the record? Oh sorry this is
Nikki San Miguel I'm the applicant. I'm sorry.
Nikki San Miguel with clear story I'm the applicant. Okay that was my primary
question I'll let you guys go and see if something flows through. So I'm wondering will
Will Outpatient Center be anywhere on the building anymore or will it just be the donor's
name?
There is no longer going to be an outpatient center as a destination within the building.
Everything is either identifying the Bering Pavilion as a building and then the Hoffman
Cancer Center as a sub-destination within the Bering Pavilion.
So I guess you're I don't really understand so there won't be any signage saying that
there are outpatient services on the exterior of the building.
So the outpatient specialty center was intended to be a separate entrance from the cancer
center entrance and now that the cancer center services are expanding and very prevalent
in the building, it's become the dominant service,
and so there isn't a need to call out
the two separate centers anymore,
it's just the cancer center,
which also has outpatient services included.
So the intent was just to streamline all wayfinding
to one destination, which is the cancer center,
instead of having to try to parcel out patients
to an outpatient specialty center versus a cancer center.
Will there still be blood draws and those types imaging,
those types of things happening within that building
not related to the cancer center?
Correct, there will be, but the majority of the services
are cancer services.
Okay.
Do you have any more questions?
I just wanted to ask, since it is creating a couple
of these exceptions, like it's a little bit higher
and it's a little more square footage,
did you guys study what it would look like
to stay within those parameters?
So we did study it at the original application.
And when we looked at it at the lower levels under the 25 feet,
it was either obscured by tree lines
or the canopies obscured the visibility to the sign.
And so based on that precedence, we wanted to align the sign.
So they have this consistent datum line.
And it's just more architecturally similar.
And then in terms of square footage,
the size we're aligning architecturally to the width of the windows.
And so you can see, like, it's very intentional.
And so that's the size that we're trying to work with and just make it look as
architecturally intentional as possible.
Those are my questions.
My question is you're leaving the other signs intact, correct?
And then you're changing the one that says cancer center to include the
sponsors name Hoffman? Not entirely we are taking down all the cancer center
letters and the outpatient center letters on the canopy because to drop in
the new message you have to there's going to be holes that are going to
result and so there's going to be some metal facade that's going to need to be
replaced as a result so even though the message is just expanding by adding the
the donors name the Hoffman name
Technically, we have to put in a brand new sign
Thank you commissioners
So if there are no more questions, what?
Close the public hearing and move to comments. Are there any public comments?
Okay, seeing none do the commissioners have comments
So, my only hesitancy, I think that lighting looks good and all of the other adjustments
and I understand it's a large building and clear signage is really important.
As someone who uses this facility and my family uses this facility, I think that it will be
confusing if it just says cancer, the Hoffman Cancer Center on it, and doesn't state that
there are outpatient services there.
I know that that is probably out of the range of this meeting, but I do know that for anybody
going to do blood work or going to get imaging, it could be confusing if there's no signage
saying this is the building you would go in to get that work done.
already multiple buildings on that John Muir campus, and so it's just getting
more and more difficult to find where you need to go. And so losing that simple
sign I think might make it a little bit more confusing for people. Thank you.
I feel like the criteria that we were charged with making sure Met, some of the
exceptions was Met. I feel like it aligns better with the architecture and I am
I'm imagining it needs a little more square footage
because it's a longer word.
And I took a look at the other signs
and stuff in the packet and it seems pretty consistent
with like the family of signs going on there.
So in that vein, I think it's, you know,
I would like to trust that you guys know
the directional signage that's necessary better than I would.
So I think, you know, design review wise, it looks good.
Okay, thank you.
have no further comments do does anyone want to make a motion I liked the
suggestion for the the timing of the light so I want to make sure that's part
of the condition of approval which I think you guys already requested but
other than that I say we approve as recommended in the staff report I second
that was okay that was it there it is yeah so to be clear was it was there a
condition about the timing there is? Yes, so it's already in there. Okay great. Let's
see Commissioner Case. Yes. Commissioner Reiling. Yes. Vice Chair Viesing. Yes. We have a motion
passed. Okay, since that was the only item on the agenda, do either of the
commissioners have any other considerations? Nope. All right. Are there any staff reports
or announcements? We have some staffing issues and we had an item I believe for the next
meeting which I think was the 20... August 6th. That item got moved and I think
we're gonna have some staffing issues that Dave will likely cancel that
meeting but more to come on that. Otherwise that's all I got.
All right, no other comments this meeting is adjourned