Welcome to the August 28th Planning Commission meeting. Would you call the roll?
Yes, Commissioner Moran? Here.
Commissioner Count? Here. Commissioner Strongman? Here. Commissioner Kwok? Here.
Commissioner Klopp? Here.
Commissioner, sorry, Vice Chair Needing? Here. And Chair Anderson? Here.
Okay. We have a rare summer circumstance. We have a full
commission tonight. Thank you for all for coming.
I believe we have nothing on the consent calendar, is that correct?
That's correct, nothing on the consent calendar. We'll move on then to public
communications. Public communications, you got two
chances to speak as a member of the public. One is at
any hearing that we're doing and one is right now at the public
communications. This particular time is for things
that are not on the agenda so if you're here to speak on something that's on the
agenda Toyota tonight you're welcome to wait until we're there we'll get there
soon and anyone else would like to speak now they may do so but I think there is
no other member of the public presence so we'll move on from that does anyone
have any export a communications to disclose I'm shaking hands all right
direction way back when we at once upon a time way back there was this I did
have a discussion with Toyota but that's a long time ago before they actually
produced this application it was about the entire project yes okay nice I have
owned five Toyotas in my time but I'm only one at the moment so all right and
and then moves us to the public hearing.
Leadership design review
and tree removal permit application.
And that's the primary items,
but as for our staff report, it's Gil, thank you.
Good evening, commissioners.
I need my glasses.
Good evening, commissioners.
My name is Simmer Gil, senior planner with the city.
We are here tonight to consider the final design review
for the Toyota of Walnut Creek dealership
That will be located at 2150 North Broadway
and 1275 Pine Street.
The applicant, Stephen Scanlon is here tonight
along with his team as am I to answer any questions
that you may have after this presentation.
And before we get into the project,
I just wanted to give some crucial background.
The development of the Toyota dealership
was envisioned in 2014, sorry, May 2024
as part of City Council's approval
that included the creation of a mixed-use special district,
amendments to the North Downtown specific plan
and general plan, as well as the development agreement
that identified development of this dealership
as a critical first step.
The project also advances City Council's priority
of economic development and downtown vitality.
So this project would support growth
of the automobile industry.
And just to provide some site context,
the site, the parcel is zoned auto sales service
custom manufacturing,
which does permit auto sales and service by right.
The site consists of two parcels that will be merged
and will create a L-shaped configuration
as seen on the left image.
The existing uses on site consist of a auto detailing shop
on Pine Street and a vacant structure
on the North Broadway parcel.
The surrounding area consists of a mix of retail office
and auto sales and service uses.
And this image here also shows
where the existing dealership is in relation
to the proposed location for the Toyota dealership.
And this project is, this site is located
within the North Downtown Specific Plan
and also located within two overlay districts,
the Makers Row and the Mixed Use Special District.
And what you see here outlined the outlined area
is the entire North Downtown Specific Plan,
all of the parcels that are within that plan.
And the two parcels of question tonight
where the dealership will be built
are identified with the star.
And the parcel fronting Pine Street
is in the Makers Road District
and the parcel fronting North Broadway
is within the mixed use special district.
And this project does meet the intent
of both of these overlay districts
as the project will be redeveloping
an existing underutilized site
and will also intensify the auto sale and service uses
within this mixed use district
and also provide development
that is visually engaging
and will activate the streetscape
in the Makers Road District.
And as mentioned earlier,
as part of the North Downtown specific plan amendment,
the mixed use district was created
and a dealership was envisioned within this overlay.
And here's some photos of the existing site.
As you can see the existing building on North Broadway
on the parcel that will be demolished.
Here's more photos as you're looking into the site on North Broadway
Here is the existing building on Pine Street again
That will be demolished and this is you're essentially standing across the street and looking into the site
And here's another view from the west and east looking towards the site on pine
so this
The project before I go into the project scope
I wanted to mention that Planning Commission tonight is considering the design review of the construction of a new building
The tree removal permits as well as the sign exception for the larger blade sign that's proposed
The project consists of a construction of a new two-story auto dealership that will offer vehicle sales and service
The first floor consists of the showroom that's fronting
North Broadway and the service area the service repair area fronting Pine streets
There's an outdoor lounge customer parking and an area for vehicle deliveries
The second floor is the vehicle service center, which consists of 47 service-based offices and additional parking
The rooftop is essentially used for inventory and staff parking and there is mechanical
HVAC mechanical equipment that's located on the rooftop as well
A total of 293 parking stalls are proposed.
Of that 110 is dedicated to inventory vehicle storage.
And the site modifications include new pedestrian walkways that are proposed along both street
frontages as well as installation of a new eight-foot wide sidewalk along North Broadway
and a five-foot wide sidewalk on Pine Street.
new landscaping trees and signage is proposed as part of this project.
And I just wanted to go over Design Review Commission's comments as this project went
before the commission DRC on June 4th.
The Design Review Commission had several good comments about the project indicating that
it will redevelop a underutilized site and revive a older neighborhood with new development.
And they provided a positive recommendation on the project.
However, it did have some design comments that were related to possibly consider changing
out the stone veneer color with more texture or just to avoid a more monolithic appearance.
the south and east facades by incorporating two or more colors or
materials. That is also a requirement in the city's design guidelines and to
provide lighting details so the city can ensure that the fixtures will be
directed downwards to minimize any type of glare and to provide details on the
illumination of the diffused glass at the North Broadway entry portal and also
details on the design of the proposed fencing and also to consider a fuller
work a non columnar tree to really create a more robust landscape
appearance and all of these comments were addressed as part of the revised
plans that you have tonight and moving on to the site layout here I have an
image of the existing layout as well as the proposed the existing buildings on
on both of the parcels will be demolished
and the parcels will be merged creating one lot.
Vehicle access to the dealership and service center
will be provided through the 25 foot wide driveways.
And the driveway on North Broadway
leading to the main dealership and showroom
will function as both a entrance and exit.
And the Pine Street building elevation
will have two driveways for the function
of both the repair and the delivery of vehicles.
And the existing development on the adjacent parcel
at the corner of Pine and Broadway will remain.
Moving on to the floor plan.
As mentioned earlier, the sales showroom
and the sales customer entry and exit
to the parking stalls as well as the entrance
to the showroom is located on North Broadway
and the service repair entrance is on Pine Street.
And I will have the applicants team really go over
the operating plan or really how everything functions
and works in more detail.
And here is a closer look at the ground floor plan.
I really just wanted to highlight the upper portion
as the service customer entrance,
as there are three service lanes that are being provided
for customers that will be bringing
their vehicles in for service.
As is shown on this plan and as designed,
it does allow effective cuing and efficient movements
to minimize any wait times,
as well as they're providing enough space
within those service lanes to accommodate multiple vehicles,
preventing any spillover onto Pine Street
or impacts to the traffic flow of the surrounding area.
And here is the second floor plan.
Again, the service shops consisting of the 47 bays,
as well as parts and storage areas,
some management offices,
as well as the two outdoor patio areas shown here,
I believe in the orange.
One is fronting North Broadway, the other is on Pine,
and here is the roof deck.
Again, all the inventory parking
and the staff parking will be located on the roof.
And now moving on into the elevations,
here is the front facing elevation on North Broadway.
which is for the showroom.
The primary building material consists
of silver metal ACM panels,
stucco, red accent, horizontal band will be applied
across the middle of the building on North Broadway,
and a beige-colored stone veneer will be applied
right above the, I guess the outdoor patio
on the second floor is above and below
that will be stone veneer.
And what you see, the DRC version versus the updated design,
there isn't much difference on the North Broadway elevation
except for the addition of the metal louver
that's been incorporated really
just to give more architectural variety.
Initially they were proposing that stone veneer
which is applied on the Pine Street side.
And here is the seals and service portion
of the building fronting Pine Street.
This does feature two projecting stone veneer accents
that frame an outdoor patio lounge
with the remainder of the building being recessed.
Again, if you look at the DRC version and the updated,
this elevation does have several changes.
And there were some, I think,
operational programming changes in the floor plan
that then created a little bit of a reduced width
of those outdoor deck patio areas.
Again, if needed, the applicant could provide
more detail and specifics on that,
as they will also be making a short presentation after mine.
And the only other difference apart from that reduced width
is the change in the stone veneer.
It went from that gray colored to the beige brown color.
staff personally doesn't have a preference.
I believe the first one looked really nice as well,
very contemporary sleek,
but I'll leave that up to the commission to decide.
And there is a condition of approval,
essentially asking the applicant
to provide the actual material sample
once one is chosen or approved tonight.
The other, only other addition or change
is the windows on that masonry wall.
Again, I think it's because of the changes
in the interior space with more executive offices
that they needed the windows.
And here is where the above ground transformer
will be located.
And this shows that screen wall
that is creating basically a screening for the transformer.
So it's visually, aesthetically looks nice.
And here is the east elevation.
this is essentially the rear of the site.
No change has been made on this
and I believe it's the stucco and the CMU,
which is sufficient, it's the rear facing
and it's not really that visible.
And here is the south elevation,
which is the side elevation that will be to the adjacent,
the adjacent tenant to the south of the building.
and the change here is DRC just said
that if you could bring up or expand
some of that stone veneer, apply it further up
and just so they could create some sort of variation
and given that this is partially visible from North Broadway
and here's some photos that shows
that how it applies to the site elevation
and it is visible on North Broadway.
so I think that really helps enhancing the design.
And here also shows some of the landscaping
and how it really ties into the building architecture.
And this is the Pine Street frontage elevations.
And moving on to the tree removals,
the Project Arborist evaluated six trees on site,
and of those, five are being removed.
Four are palm trees.
Three of those are fronting North Broadway,
one in the project site,
and the live oak that's along North Broadway
was approved by the city arborists
due to the health of the tree.
However, the remaining four palm trees
does require Planning Commission approval
as they're in fair to good health.
I did wanna point out that these were
merely landscaped trees that were put
as part of the previous development,
and the applicant is providing new trees
due to the loss of these trees.
And the project is also working near the drip line
of one neighboring tree, which is circled in green.
So that tree will be protected in place during construction.
And here is the landscape plan.
So again, I believe this sheet has been revised,
but this is what I have.
They were initially proposing five new 36 inch box maple trees,
but one of the trees that circled in green,
again, fronting North Broadway,
I believe it's not being planted.
And I'll have the applicant provide the explanation on that.
Apart from that, five gallon shrubs and brown cover
is being proposed.
And the vines that's shown here will be used
along the screen wall for the transformer.
So this project does comply with these cities requirements
and development standards.
So I'll just go through each one line by line.
The project does qualify for a class 32 CEQA infill exemption
as the site is less than five acres.
Auto sales is a permitted use in both the general plan
and zoning designations.
There are existing uses on site.
So there's no habitat for species or wildlife.
And there's existing utilities on site.
And the city's traffic engineer did
review a memo that confirmed that there'll
be less than significant traffic impacts.
And there'll be no noise impacts because everything's
contained inside the building.
And the project also has been designed
to meet the city's design standards.
and it meets the auto sales zoning development standards
such as FAR setbacks and parking standards.
The height that's allowed is 35 feet.
The proposed height in most areas is 33 feet eight inches.
However, the northeast portion of the building
is approximately 40 feet to the top of the roof parapet.
And it is due to a steep slope
or a grade change that's on Pine Street.
There is a section in the Walnut Creek Municipal Code
that does allow the community development director
to have the authority to approve any minor adjustments
to the building's height for similar cases like this
that involve any unusual deviations in the existing grade.
And the deviation is due to a six foot slope
from the top of the building pad to the sidewalk elevation
that is resulting from the design of Pine Street.
The community development director has determined
that this situation does constitute a unusual deviation
and a minor height adjustment should be allowed.
The design is consistent overall,
the building design and the building height
with the measure eight height of 35 feet.
And the last piece is the signage.
So listed here are all of the various types of signs
that are proposed for this building.
Of note are the three primary wall signs
that I have identified with the arrows.
The primary Toyota sign that's fronting the North Broadway,
which is the showroom site, is the largest sign.
It's 49 square feet and it will be illuminated.
The other two identical, not identical,
but the logo signs on the other elevations
are 35 square feet and they will be illuminated.
A total of 191 square feet of signage is proposed,
but that is well below the 200 square feet maximum
that's permitted in the sign ordinance
for a single ground floor business.
So as part of the approvals tonight,
a sign exception is required for the blade sign.
The city sign ordinance allows a four and a half
square foot sign, and the sign should be limited
to 20 feet above grade, so the top of the sign
shouldn't exceed 20 feet from grade.
However, the applicant is requesting an exception
to install a 22 square foot illuminated blade sign
that will be located 29 feet, six inches above grade,
so the top portion will be at 29 feet, the top of the sign.
And here is a rendering that really shows how it integrates or fits into the overall building and staff does believe that the increased height is justified because it is installed approximately nine feet below the building parapet and also maintains a 15-foot clearance from the grade to the bottom of the sign.
It still has that pedestrian-oriented feel and does integrate with the building design.
It's proportionate to the scale of the building and I think it really helps distinguish the
building's two functions which is the sales and then the service and repair side and it
aligns with the overall design intent and will also improve wayfinding and site circulation
for a customer wanting to just bring in their car,
just go to the repair side of the building.
And with that, staff does recommend
that the Planning Commission
adopt the revised resolution.
Actually, I should probably mention that
as part for the record.
So it has been, the resolution has been updated
and the changes have been highlighted in red font.
And I believe all of the commissioners has a copy
and a copy has also been uploaded
to the city's website for the public to view.
So with that, staff does recommend
that the Planning Commission adopt
the revised draft resolution,
determining the project is exempt from CEQA,
as well as approving the design review,
the tree removal permit,
and the site sign exemption
for the proposed Toyota dealership.
And that is all I have,
but I'm happy to answer any questions.
a lot of information thank you. Anyone have any questions of staff comments?
Our vice chair Nini. Is the at a couple of very minor questions the first one is
the traffic mitigation fee that they're supposed to provide that has nothing to
to do with the traffic CEQA impact.
It's just a standard mitigation fee
that's applicable to any project.
It's a standard fee that applies to projects, yes.
Okay, because I didn't notice the site triangle.
So when there was no problems with,
I mean, because you still have to do a traffic,
or a technical study via traffic report
to get your CAT-32.
That's correct.
they've provided a memo to the city's traffic department.
And if needed, we do have the traffic engineer here,
if you have any follow-up questions.
But essentially, yeah, it qualified for the class 32
because the report that was prepared
resulted in a less than significant impact.
But the fee that you're referring to
applies to any new development.
The traffic mitigation fee, got it.
and then okay so that was so I know there's there's in and out on Broadway
and Pine which could help with the queuing because you're constantly flowing
one is service one is come by car yeah my other question is is on Broadway you
said there was no new driveway cut so they're utilizing the existing driveway
cut. I believe they're widening. They're, yeah, they're replacing or, yeah. Okay. The existing.
So then, it could, is it just, is it just a sidewalk widening on Pine? Because I noticed
on Broadway there's a bulb out where there's a crosswalk down the center of the street,
but then when I was looking at Gensler's plans, I didn't see that. And it looks like on Broadway,
none of the street improvements match what's happening.
Because I don't see the, I don't see the bulb out.
I don't see the,
so I believe the plans were also updated.
So we'll wait for the applicants team.
I got ahead.
Provide that information.
Now, you know my question.
I got lots.
That's probably why you caught those.
Yeah, yeah.
Okay, I I'll stop talking.
Any other questions?
Richard Strongman.
Some of my questions might be towards the applicant.
We'll start out with you.
Are the renderings or the design review recommendations
built into the renderings we have on the agenda packet?
The renderings that are in the agenda, no, I
didn't incorporate those.
Again, as part of the applicant's presentation,
they have the colored renderings from the Design Review
Commission, which they can show you the comparison.
And are the buildings actually two separate buildings?
Or are they connected?
Or one building?
It's one building.
One building, thank you.
And let's play for the applicant.
How many employees?
I'll talk to you later on that one.
Are there any noise dampening in this service area?
I mean, it's made a comment on that it'll
be quieter for the rest of us, but it's
all locked into one building for the employees
to hear constantly, is there any noise dampening built into the plan?
Yeah, that's a great question.
I didn't have that information in the business operating plan,
so I'll let the applicant elaborate on that.
And the second floor balcony, is that strictly for employees?
The second floor balconies are for employees.
Okay.
And the roof top parking, I have a few questions.
Is there anything to block the view of the actual park car,
We just don't see bumpers as we're driving down North Broadway. I believe there's the really you're talking about the roof deck
Yeah, the roof deck actual roof deck. There's a three and a half foot tall railing right above the okay armpit
So that should screen it and the lighting I was
It was described that they prefer to have only one pole to illuminate the entire
top deck for security
But to me that seems to be putting a light in somebody's bedroom and they use the keys of the burrito or
Whatever else we have around there. Is there any way we could actually
Make sure that doesn't go outside the property
So I think that was one of design review Commission's comment as well either to lower the pole or to have the light directed
Downwards and are the sides of the buildings?
The buildings excuse me, let me back the signs on the sides of the buildings are great now
But at some point though those next door properties will be developed. Will they still be valid to have?
Need to have the signs there
On the existing building on the new building
At some point the next door property will be hopefully developed
Just something else. I don't know what
So I was wondering if there's need to have the signs at that point in time in the future
You're talking about the building signage or yes, the building signage. Yeah, I mean the building signage will be part of the elevations. Yeah
Identification for the dealership. Yeah, and will the signs be turned off
After business hours, I know the the portal the entry portal will be turned off after hours
I'm not quite certain about the the signage
And finally, which is probably going to be for the applicant currently, we have various parcels in Downtown Walnut Creek been
turned over to excess parking for their competitors. I was wondering whether their excess
inventory is going to be stored. I believe it's going to be at the existing Toyota site current in the
temporary basis. Okay, and that's my questions for now.
Thank you.
Well, Mr. Moran, thank you. I I have to commend you because it's those are maple trees in the front
It's it's amazing exactly how when those pictures were taken that the color matches the logo color side
Whoever did that good job
My question is that can you talk about the the makers?
overlay district a little bit because what I'm what I'm reading in the staff report is it's it's meant to generate more pedestrian friendly edgy
Design, you know, I understand all that. Yeah when I hear
Something about a maker's row. It seems to me like I'm walking down the street and I see a
Boutique, you know or secondhand furniture or a metal works or something like that
And I'm just would love to hear more about
the
philosophy about the makers row
Because when I hear that I don't think service center for car dealership. I do appreciate the aesthetic
changes that were made to kind of
You know go along with what the idea of makers rows, but could you just kind of educate us about that?
But firstly, I just I wanted to highlight that auto sales and service uses are allowed
In the zoning in the general plan as well as both of these overlay districts
so it really ties in and complies.
Yeah, as you mentioned, something more visually engaging,
but it's not a boutique, it's a dealership,
so how do you make this dealership,
how do you enhance the design,
how do you make it look more than just,
like how do you activate it?
So that was the whole intention
behind having that outdoor,
although it is for customer use,
but just to kind of revive it,
or open it up so for pedestrians walking by to beautify it.
So I think it does meet the intent
because of the outdoor upper and lower floor
and also because of the additional landscaping
that's been incorporated into the design.
So, and then the high quality materials
and the way the building's been articulated,
they've also incorporated various types
of different materials.
So I believe it meets the intent of the overlay.
Okay.
Thank you.
I had two questions for you, but you just asked both of them.
So I'll spare you explaining it again.
Any other questions?
If not, thank you very much.
I'll call you back later.
We'll see.
And the applicant have 15 minutes to present.
I'm sorry, 10 minutes.
Hi.
As Simmer said, I'm Stephen Scanlon.
I represent Toyota Walnut Creek.
This has been a journey.
We started this project in 2018, March 10th.
We've gone through two real estate
resets, a pandemic, and now we're
in a new economic environment.
This is our first phase of a multi-phase development
in downtown Walnut Creek, representing
about seven acres in total.
As Simmer mentioned, the dealership
is the first phase and the first thing
that we're looking to redevelop.
We're compliant.
This is a prototype dealership.
We're compliant with Toyota, North America standards.
And this was kind of interesting because they really
didn't have standards for urban dealerships.
I think there's three in the country.
And this is the fourth.
And they're in places like Manhattan.
And so the Gensler guys really took on the urban context.
and this prototypical kind of state-of-the-art dealership
in Elwyn will discuss some of the operating uniqueness.
The world has changed in the dealership world.
The pandemic kind of hit a reset.
Electric vehicles hit another reset.
There's been, in parallel with what's been going on
in the real estate world, the dealership world
has been feeling that same sort of change.
We've done I think what we have is a is a first-class state-of-the-art that dealership that really recognizes
How the world has changed
Oh
Christian sorry
Nice
Good evening commissioners. Thanks for having us. My name is Christian Bell civil engineer for the Toyota Walnut Creek dealership project
We have a two-acre site that is mostly filled by structure
but we are developing the sites and we are proposing street improvements for the benefit of the community and
usability of the site.
We are replacing the curb gutter sidewalk along both frontages of North Broadway and Pine Street.
We are adding new trees along those ways as well.
And we're even providing stormwater treatments as a part of the new stormwater
regulations at the state and the San Francisco Water Board mandate.
And going on to the site real quick, we provide stormwater treatment and compliance with city
and county requirements, and we also provide hydro-modification benefits where we reduce
the runoff flow as compared to the existing site.
The existing site is mostly roof and parking, very little minimal pervious area, and we
actually increase the amounts by a little bit. And our storm drainage system
helps slow down that runoff to a benefit to the main events in the area. So that
is our general summary from a civil point of view. The one I'll jump to
commissioners needing comments about North Broadway. We did need to remove one
of the proposed trees along North Broadway as we needed to make room for stormwater treatment.
And there are a good amount of existing utilities there that need to remain
that aren't just laterals for the site so we can't get rid of them.
So in a previous rendition we did want a bulb out there for the stormwater treatment
but that was actually in conflict with some of those utilities that needed to remain. So we had
to push it to be a part of the sidewalk. We still do provide a four-foot wide ADA compliant sidewalk
behind that flow-through planter. We maximize sidewalk space as much as we can through there.
I think that is it for initial commas. Do we do you have questions now or do we discuss those
later? Okay that's actually about it for what I have. We're not as exciting as the architect's
scope of work here.
All right.
Hello, everyone.
My name is Ellen Balthazar from Gensler.
We're the architectural team that's been working closely with Stephen and Christian and the
rest of the Toyota team on this project.
I'd like to go over the general layout and function of the dealership and what a typical
customer might experience when they visit the dealership.
I'll start at the area fronting North Broadway.
This is considered the main entry of the building, and this is also where the sales showroom
is located.
And as Steven mentioned, the auto sales industry has really changed quite a bit over the years.
Majority of the customers before setting foot in the dealership already know what car they
want.
They've already negotiated with the dealership and transaction is pretty close to complete.
So this gives the dealership a chance to schedule the customer a time to visit, prepare their
car for a test drive, and if the customer is satisfied with everything, they'll proceed
inside the building and finish paperwork in one of the booths provided in a showroom area.
While this is happening, their car is cleaned and detailed, and when completed, it'll be
delivered in one of the six new car delivery stalls
planned east of the showroom.
The customer will then take their new car
and exit towards Pine Street at the northeast
end of the building.
The area fronting Pine Street,
this is considered a service reception area.
If a customer needs their car serviced for whatever reason,
they'll enter the northwest drive aisle.
They'll be greeted and directed into one
of the three service lanes.
The porter will then take their car
and do an initial inspection, and the technology
that they use now enables them to scan
the underbody of the car and quickly assess
any frame damage or fluid leaks, missing components.
And the porter will then take their car up the ramp
and into the service shop on the second floor.
When the customer hands off their car to the porter,
they'll head inside the building and meet with one
of the service advisors.
They'll then have a choice while their car is being serviced
to either wait in the building, where we do provide
a nice environment for them, with outdoor seating,
a lot of lounge areas, amenities, coffee drinks,
snacks, or they can leave the building,
grab lunch, go shopping at the various establishments
around the neighborhood.
When their car is ready and finished with a service,
they'll be called in.
And they'll have their car delivered straight to them.
And again, they'll exit towards Pine Street,
northeast end of the building.
And as mentioned, there were some changes to the plan,
from the DRC to now.
Operationally, we had to separate the trash room
and the secure receiving room.
Functionally, this just needed to happen,
mainly because of the security reasons.
And also we don't want the smells commingling
between the two rooms.
This did shorten the length of the patio a little bit,
but we believe it's still the area,
the environment that we provide the guests
is still pretty good.
On the second level, this is where the service shop is
with a 47 service base.
And the service shop is fully enclosed,
so noise is contained in this room.
The service shop is lined with CME walls,
so it does mitigate the sound.
To the west of the service shop is more offices and outdoor
seating for the employees and training facilities.
North of the service shop is the parts department and storage
for quick access to and from the service shop.
And even further north along Pine,
we do provide a fitness center for use
for all dealership employees and more executive offices
and conference rooms at this corner of the building.
And as mentioned, the roof is strictly
for employee parking and vehicle inventory space.
There were, I believe, some concerns
on how the portal is illuminated.
So we wanted to show some built examples of the portal.
The image above is Toyota Envision
in close by Milpitas, California.
So if for whatever reason you'd like to visit,
I think that would be a good choice.
And the image below is Longo, Toyota, and El Monte.
And hopefully this image showcases
how the portal is only emitting a soft glow.
And the light is fully diffused, as demonstrated
in this diagram that we provided here.
So if you guys have any other further questions,
we'd be happy to answer them.
Thank you.
Any questions for the applicant?
Patricia Kond?
Thank you.
So one of the things that you described
was in purchasing a car, the car would be cleaned and detailed
and then delivered to the new car stall.
But I noticed that it said that there was no car wash on site.
So how does that happen?
It's not a full car wash, but it is
similar type to a mobile detailing car wash.
So it's not one of those you drive through a car wash.
I see.
OK.
OK.
And then just looking at security for the building itself.
When you have the glass pane windows
that are all the way to the ground,
is there something that can prevent, say,
a car from crashing in to break through that glass?
Yeah, so the parking stalls directly
in front of those storefront glazing,
there will be bollards, so it prevents any cars
from driving through them.
Okay, I guess I didn't see that in the pictures.
It's actually inside the parking.
Oh, inside.
But there won't be any, at this facade,
there won't be any bollards.
So there's no kind of mitigation
for a car driving through there.
So it's similar to any other establishments
lining the streets.
Okay, okay.
And then my other question was I think similar to to one that was asked before
which is like in this picture right here you show people walking across a street
and I think that's the main street Broadway right North Broadway and
they're not using a crosswalk or anything so what are definitely jaywalking so and
And there used to be a crosswalk in this vicinity.
So what is the plan for pedestrian safety in this area?
Either both in terms of crosswalks
and also in terms of when pedestrians cross
in front of the driveways,
whether it's the sales entrance and exit
or on the service side,
when pedestrians cross the sidewalks.
There are crosswalks on Broadway
as part of the Broadway Street Improvement Plan.
And then the site triangles were,
we used the site triangles to calculate the visible distance
at the relative rate of travel.
And we should comply with all of that.
So it would be where the existing crosswalk is,
or you're saying in the city plan?
In the city plan, there are crosswalks.
So we're compliant with those crosswalks.
And the site triangles, as you leave or enter the dealership,
those are also compliant with city standards.
OK.
So as a pedestrian crosses in front of the driveways,
is there what's?
There should be enough visibility.
So you see, as you're driving out of the facility,
you see the pedestrians in plenty of time.
OK.
So it's not the kind of thing where there's some sort of sound?
No.
And then the outdoor patio that's the lounge
area along Pine Street that's on the ground level, right?
Is that enclosed to where it's just for people inside
versus someone from outside?
It's elevated, and there's a railing, a glass railing.
And so it's for the people inside.
There's no access onto Pine Street from the balcony,
from the balcony or the deck.
OK.
Thank you.
Sir.
Chris, how strong would you have some questions?
I'd just like to put my vote in for the masonry exhibit number
three that's in the plan for the type of masonry.
But that's later on.
How many employees do you expect to have?
Right now, we're running around 170.
We expect that that will increase slightly.
And is that you open at 8 and close at 10,
so that will be spread out over that period of time, correct?
Yeah.
Plus seven days a week, too.
I think we're earlier than 8, though.
I think we open at 6.30.
And just confirming that any excess inventory
is going to be at the old site?
So the existing dealership site, we still
have about 15 years left on that lease.
OK, thank you.
No further questions?
Thank you.
I just wanted to thank you for the great presentation.
I just wanted to confirm so the current site
will continue operation while you're
able to build this new site.
And then you'll be able to figure out
what you want to do for the residual of that lease.
So in our development agreement that we negotiated with the city,
we are using the existing sites in maintaining continuous
operation while we're building the new dealership.
So we actually acquired the, during the final throes
of the entitlement process, we actually
acquired the Pine Street site.
So we've got one contiguous dealership.
And as that's being built we'll operate on the existing sites.
And then 2100 North Broadway, which
is the existing dealership, our intent
is to repurpose that at some point.
Commissioner Moran.
Just a quick follow up to Commissioner Stroman's question.
There's 170, give or take, people
that are going to be at the new facility.
How many, and I know you don't know this,
how many are at the current one that will be migrating over?
Are we seeing a net positive?
we're like 160 last time I checked so this is maybe a little bit dated but we
were 167 at the current facility we have more service pays on the new facility I
expect that number to go up significant not significantly but some sure good
yeah yeah more people going out to lunch good thank you questions thank you very
much the time for public comment on this item I see actually no members of the
public or not staff or applicant. So there's no one online waiting to get in.
We'll pass that along and you now have five minutes to respond to the public
comment if you wish. I'm expecting that you've done much you want to do. I'll pass
along that and close the public hearing. All right then I will bring it back to
to the commission for discussion or other questions.
I just wanted to reiterate great work, great plan.
It's really exciting to see something we've
been talking about for quite a while come to this stage,
and so thank you for all the hard work.
I did have one question of staff.
On the illuminated wall, how does that
compliant with the dark sky recurrence. I believe it complies yeah all right
suggestions motions I just want to say thank you as well for the for the
excellent plans it's really exciting to just see the kind of upgrades that we
can have in this in this area of our city. So so if we're ready for a motion, I would
like to move that the Planning Commission adopt the revised resolution
attachment one determining the project to be exempt from CEQA pursuant to a
class 32 infill exemption and approving the design review and tree removal
permits and sign exception for the proposed Toyota of Walnut Creek
dealership. Second. We have a motion and a second. Any other discussion on the motion? If not,
could you call the roll please? Great. Commissioner Moran? Yes. Commissioner
Count? Yes. Commissioner Strongman? Yes. Commissioner Kwok? Yes. Commissioner
Klopp? Yes. Vice-chair Needing? Yes. Chair Anderson? Yes. Motion passes. Thank you. Thank
you all. Appreciate you being here this evening and good luck with that. I will
say I was excited to see it Toyota was going back with their first proposal
here and but it's the boring part it's just it's the new dealership. All the
other parcels that you have which you've got all kinds of options to deal
with. I'm looking forward to seeing those. Okay, thank you. All right, very good.
Item five is commissioner considerations.
Do we have any commissioner considerations?
None.
And number six is commissioner member and staff reports or announcements.
Anybody have anything to announce?
I think this announcement was made last at the last hearing, but we do have a September
11th planning commission meeting, and it will be for a Taiwanese cultural community center.
But other than that I don't have any other announcements.
Thank you.
All right.
If there's nothing further, I stand adjourned.