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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPC_Minutes_74.09.23MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION HELD IN THE CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS, CITY HALL, HERMOSA BEACH, ON THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 1974, AT 7:30 P.M. Meeting called to order by Chairman Rosenberger at 7:33 P.M. ROLL CALL Present: Comm. Chiu, Haller, Hough, Peirce, and Chmn. Rosenberger. Comm. Burt and Collis arrived late. Absent: None APPROVAL OF MINUTES Motion by Comm. Haller, seconded by Comm. Hough, to approve the minutes of the meeting of September 5, 1974 as submitted. Ayes: Comm. Chiu, Haller, Hough, Peirce, and Chmn. Rosenberger Noes: None Absent: Comm. Burt and Collis APPROVAL OF RESOLUTIONS Rod Merl, Acting Planning Director, explained that Resolution P.C. 154-985 must have an affirmative statement in relation to the General Plan; even though there may be some question about the designation of that area, there must be a change in the General Plan before the builder can proceed. He said staff would attend a meeting on September 24 on AB1301, in which the State will clarify its requirements concerning conformance with the General Plan. The State may also require that apartments must conform. Motion by Comm. Peirce, seconded by Chmn. Rosenberger, to approve Resolution P.C. 154- 985 as submitted. Ayes: Comm. Chiu, Haller, Hough, Peirce, Collis, and Chmn. Rosenberger Noes: None Absent: Comm. Burt OPEN SPACE ZONE Proposed amendment to Zoning Ordinance to provide for an Open Space Zone (cont'd 8/26/74) Mr. Merl said the proposed ordinance has been abbreviated, and the requirements stated as guideline criteria subject to Planned Development. Sections 9.5-9 through 9.5-13 of the previous draft were omitted as Open Space will be part of the Zoning Ordinance where the established appeal procedure will apply. Public hearing opened 7:40 p.m. No one wished to be heard. Public hearing closed 7:41 p.m. Motion by Comm. Hough, seconded by Comm. Haller, to approve. Ayes: Comm. Burt, Chiu, Collis, Haller, Hough, Peirce, and Chmn. Rosenberger Noes: None Absent: None PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES - September 23, 1974 Page 2 DETERMINATION OF LEGAL USE Mr. Merl stated that copies of the proposed ordinance and a letter from the City Attorney regarding certain legal questions have been provided. He said the Planning Commission, Board of Zoning Adjustments, and Improvement Commission have been asked to hold public hearings as an opportunity for public input. The role of the Planning Commission is to take public testimony, not to pass on the ordinance; however, they may make official comments and suggestions to the City Council if they wish. Public hearing opened 7:45 P.M. Coralie Ebey, Chairman of Citizens' Advisory Committee on Housing, said she would welcome input from the public, and would like time at the end of the discussion to answer questions. She said she particularly wished to state to the Planning Commission that the Committee had no desire to take away the planning decisions of this Commission. In summation, as requested by Chmn. Rosenberger, she said their purposes are to legalize units prior to 1959, eliminate new bootlegs, derive revenue to the City, and enforce the C i ty laws. Katharine Bergstrom, 519 24th Place, said there are four years of study in this pro- posal, which speaks clearly for itself. She said she would like the opportunity to respond to questions and suggestions. Ray Rodriguez, 1306 Corona, said his main objection is to the philosophy involved in the planning. He said he is concerned, not with the City's having records, but with the privacy of individuals. He believes that housing surveys and meaningful inspections will invade privacy. He said he wants to see the exact format of the plan to take surveys, how it will be done, cost, etc. Concerning revenue to the City, he would like to see in dollars and cents figures what revenue will be brought in, the cost of staffing, and the net gain. He said Towne Hall will discuss the issue of bootlegs on October 2, when Mrs. Ebey will speak on behalf of the ordinance and explain its intent; and he would like to learn at this meeting some of the facts and figures so that he will be ready at the Towne Hall meeting to act or change or refute. Herb Besant, 2207 Pacific Coast Highway, said he agrees on taking action against bootleg apartments, but to go into people's homes will tear the City apart. He said you will never win; all you will get is dissension. He said the solution is to eliminate boot- legs by passing an ordinance prohibiting all on -street parking, on all streets in Hermosa Beach, between midnight and six a.m.; tow away violators and charge them $35 apiece. He said bootlegs are brought in by turning garages into apartments; it is necessary to run them out and one simple ordinance will do it. Wilma Burt, 1152 7th Street, said she is in opposition to the proposed ordinance because it states that cards will be sent out to every single home in the City, not just apartments or the places that are under suspicion. Also it does not say that the card, if filled out, is legally binding and that the City can then come in and check on your house. She said Hermosa Beach is a very small City with a high staff ratio; overcommissioned and overcontrolled. The Building Department and the City Manager should be keeping up the files, which may require monitoring of calls and follow-up action; but the people should not be held responsible for keeping permits for every- thing built before 1958, when the City has destroyed the records. She said the profits from this will not be as much as estimated ($35,000) and the hiring of three staff people as proposed will use up that profit within a year. She said the City does not need a planning survey of the town or another department; surveys have been made over the last eighteen years and none of them have been used. PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES - September 23, 1974 Page 3 Don Baxter, 534 3rd Street, distributed copies of a report and said his views are in the report. He said he has discussed this with the Illegal Housing Committee last week so they are aware of his views, the main area of disagreement being in the method of implementation. He said he sees the need for a central file; that illegal housing is a problem and something should be done about it, but the Building Department said they have never yet been successful in prosecuting. He said the City should make an example of one case and publicize it in the paper; but the citizens of Hermosa Beach should not be sent a letter, which no one has seen yet, and be expected to reply. He said it should be done on a volunteer basis with sixty days grace period where anyone could register an illegal unit and then prosecution could take place; try this for a year and then review to see if more or less stringest procedure is needed. Comm. Chiu asked how he would proceed after the sixty day grace period; if violations found would result in a cessation of the occupancy permit. Mr. Baxter said something like that would have to be done, but it should be publicized so that everyone would know. He said there is a problem in the City of not letting all the citizens know what is happening. He said he does not like to pay for illegal residences, but does not approve Invasion of privacy either; there are serious 4th and 5th amendment implica- tions involving self-incrimination. Comm. Chiu asked If the grace period would include building and housing code violations. Mr. Baxter said no, it would be directed at illegal housing; that "general delapidation and maintenance" seems to say that inspectors can go in and tell people to clean up and repair their houses; that this seems a very general statement and he does not think it right to arm an inspector with that kind of ordinance and a card which was obtained by a form of coercion. Comm. Peirce said he felt 80-90% of the people will sign the letter because they are law-abiding citizens; and if there are any cases where an inspector actually goes in and uses this in a way not intended it should be reported to the City. Comm. Burt asked if Mr. Baxter would object to making inspections at the time the property is up for sale. Mr. Baxter said he would not; If there is illegal housing the seller should have the burden of correcting the situation, not the buyer. He said primarily he objects to the letter, and that it caused people to worry. Sheila Miller, 77 17th Street, said that as an attorney she would not think of signing such a letter; it is coercive, violates 4th and 5th amendments; is extremely general in nature so it violates due process; violation of privacy. She said the proposal is designed to bring in revenue but will be expensive to enforce, especially in lawsuits. Chmn. Rosenberger suggested making an appointment with the Citizens to Save Hermosa Beach to go'over the two ordinances side by side and try to find areas of agreement and differences before it goes to City Council. Mr. Besant said that if these things are to be done it should be at no expenditure to the City. Delma Peery, 720 8th Street, said she feels the letters will be unfriendly and frightening to the recipients; she feels there should be better communication between the Council and the people of the town. George Barks, 725 1st Place, said he basically agrees with all the people in opposition; and agrees with Mrs. Ebey that he would like to see the City cleaned up. He said it is a matter of how it is done; that he does not see in the plan how it is compulsory. He PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES - September 23, 1974 Page 4 said it is voluntary and will not have enough people complying to make it effective. Rather than letters, he would like to have it advertised with a phone number so that people could call in on a voluntary basis; with a compulsory program at time of sale. He said this would take longer, but would tie effective without creating dissension. Mrs. Ebey answered some of the objections. She said there will be no inspection until the unit is legalized; applies only to rental property; no forced inspections; health and safety inspections will have to be at the request of the owner. She said if there is a conflict between usage and zoning, it will come up as a zoning matter; this is concerned with zoning, not health and safety. She said rental of property requires a health and safety inspection. Mrs. Bergstrom said she is concerned with the records; the City must keep records to protect its citizens; records should benefit the Planning Commission and all who are concerned with zoning. She said the committee concurs wholeheartedly that the letter cannot be drafted in such a way as to frighten people; it will have to allay the fears of the people. It should state that the letter was written because the City records are inadequate and ask the people to respond in order to bring City records up to date. She said there must be proper checks and balances; and that property can be declared legally nonconforming. Chmn. Rosenberger asked what would be the contents of the land use survey. Mrs. Bergstrom replied that it would be concerned with how many dwelling units are on each parcel of property in Hermosa Beach, statistics fundamental to the work of the Planning Commission. She said if they receive even partial success with the letter they will have more information than they have now, and it will let people know what the City has on record concerning their houses. She said the fundamental reason there are bootlegs is because there are no records, and amnesty will not update records. She said health and safety inspections must be done; and the revenue was never a part of the program. Comm. Hough asked if a study had been made on the costs of implementation. Mrs. Ebey said Mr. Grippo is working on the figures. Comm. Hough said she would like to have this material when it is completed. Comm. Burt asked how they intend to make a land use survey without inspection. Mrs. Bergstrom said after the letter the records will be completed up to a point; the others will be done by exterior inspection. If the evidence requires it they can go to court and request an interior inspection; this already exists in law. Gus Barks, 159 Pacific Coast Highway, said most people are in agreement that something should be done about bootlegs; the main conflict is how it is to be done. He said he believes that the problem can be solved without any added expense to the City and without developing a bureaucracy, by existing means of implementation at the time of sale. He said the City should notify by letter throughout the City that if a person has a bootleg it must be corrected at time of sale and can be inspected at that time. He suggested utilizing existing ordinances and personnel. He said he would like the democratic process to take place by having the public hearings and then letting people vote on it at the ballot box. Hollie Murray, 1775 Valley Drive, said he does not feel that he has to dig up records that the City has destroyed. People are afraid of this. He said there are a lot of bootlegs but they are very minor compared to the larger problems in town. Public hearing closed 8:48 p.m. PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES - September 23, 1974 Page 5 Comm. Collis said he is not in complete agreement with the letter but one of the prime benefits of the letter would be the actual determination of facts; the Planning Commis- sion is responsible for making recommendations to the City Council in an advisory and planning capacity, and needs to have facts and figures. He said the fact that records were destroyed is past, and we need to work with what is available today; and even partial success with the letter would help. He recommended that the Commission con- tinue this and that a subcommittee review the testimony and make recommendations to the Planning Commission. Chmn. Rosenberger asked the Development Committee to make the review. Comm. Chiu set a meeting date of Monday, September 30, 7:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers. Chmn. Rosenberger requested input from the two organizations that have proposed ordinances, to be compared with the testimony from this hearing, clarifying areas of agreement and disagreement with suggestions as to how the disagreements can be resolved. R-P PROPOSED AMENDMENT Mr. Merl explained that this is a housekeeping ordinance; a proposed amendment to the Zoning Ordinance to make R-3 standards apply to R-3 usage in R-P zones, and to require a conditional use permit for offices in the zone. Public hearing opened 9:07 P.M. No one wished to be heard. Public hearing closed 9:08 p.m. Comm. Burt, Chairman of the Zoning Committee, said that R-P zoning requirements were so lengthy that they took this mode of shortening them. He said they looked at the parcels in the R-P zone and decided they could not rezone immediately so modified the requirements to alleviate conflicts. Comm. Collis asked if the properties affected will be in conflict with the General Plan with these changes. Comm. Burt said no more than they were before. Comm. Collis asked whether it would be better to change to R-3 rather than keep the nomenclature of R-P. Comm. Haller said there are five R-P areas; they decided to alleviate conflicts of the moment and then make a time schedule to consider all zone changes. At that time R-P might be eliminated except there is one area that is really R-P usage. Mr. Merl said if R-P were eliminated and made R-3, the Conditional Use Permit for offices could not be used without an amendment to the R-3 requirements. Comm. Haller said both rezoning and some revision of the General Plan will be necessary. Motion by Comm. Burt, seconded by Comm. Peirce, to approve Resolution P.C. 154-987. Ayes: Comm. Burt, Chiu, Collis, Haller, Peirce, and Chmn. Rosenberger Noes: None Abstain: Comm. Hough, due to conflict of interest Absent: None AMENDMENT #6 - CIRCULATION ELEMENT Council amendments to the Circulation Element. Mr. Merl said the City Council accepted the proposed amendment with changes proposed by the Board of Zoning Adjustments, plus some changes of language in the cover letter. He reviewed the substantive changes as listed in the memorandum to the Planning Commission dated September 12, 1974. PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES - September 23, 1974 Page 6 Comm. Peirce said it makes sense to delete the portion of Hermosa north of Longfellow as arterial, since Manhattan Beach shows no intention of making Manhattan Avenue an arterial highway. He said in the interests of localizing noise and auto pollution, Longfellow should be deleted as a collector street since 27th serves as the crosstown highway in the north part of town; Longfellow is not designed for heavy traffic due to the crest of the hill and steep slope at the lower end; and it would tend to destroy the character of the neighborhood, which is R-1 and R-2. Comm. Collis added that it is also very close to a current collector street, and said he is not prepared to accept that recommendation. Chmn. Rosenberger said it is the opinion of the City Council that if this area is to be considered for a one-way street system that it is necessary, in fact mandatory, that it be designated as a collector. Mr. Merl said there must be two streets available for one-waying and both must be collectors. He said if the General Plan has the latitude, the capacity for two alternatives, an implementation program can accompany it later as.to how to implement the provisions of the General Plan. Comm. Burt said that to redesignate as collector would have no effect at all on the traffic, unless it is changed to one-way. Comm. Haller said that collector reflects the present use of Longfellow from Valley to Hermosa; from Ardmore to Pacific Coast Highway it is less useful as a collector. Comm. Collis said he feels the redesigna- tion Is not necessary; the population of the area being served will not increase sub- stantially. Comm. Peirce said he thinks one-waying should be discouraged here as the two streets are five blocks apart. Mr. Merl said they do not want to one-way now but want that capacity and flexibility for the future. (a) represents no change (Hermosa Avenue from Herondo to Longfellow) (b) change from arterial to collector; reflects usage of the area (Hermosa Avenue north of Longfellow) Motion by Comm. Hough, seconded by Comm. Burt, to concur with City Council on (a) and (b) . So ordered. (c) Motion by Comm. Peirce, seconded by Comm. Haller, to change Longfellow from Hermosa to Valley into collector status. All ayes. So ordered. (d) (1) enlarges the study area at the north end of town (2) and (3) were added. Motion by Comm. Burt, seconded by Comm. Hough, to concur with the City Council. Ayes: Comm. Burt, Chiu, Collis, Haller, Hough, Peirce, and Chmn. Rosenberger Noes: None Absent: None 26 22ND STREET Six-month review of 26 22nd Street (The Bottle Inn) C-74-6 Mr. Merl said a communication was directed to the Police Department asking if there were any problems; no response received. J. Cantisani said window service will be discontinued until next summer; they would like to have the hours extended to 12 midnight on Friday and Saturday. He said the sign on the west side is being removed. PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES - September 23, 1974 Page 7 Motion by Chmn. Rosenberger, seconded by Comm. Hough, to continue for one year with change in the hours of operation to 12 midnight on Friday and Saturday. So ordered. TENTATIVE TRACT MAP 206Lg Request by Raymond Scott for six-month extension on Tentative Tract Map 30694, Mr. Merl said he talked to the City Clerk concerning this matter; it will be a dis- cretionary act by the Planning Commission. It meets the 2:1 parking requirement; but not the 45 units per acre, having about 72 units per acre. He said the original approval will run out on October 23. He said it has 70/,, lot coverage, does not meet the 1000 square foot requirement, nor guest parking requirement; and suggested that the Planning Commission request an opinion from the City Attorneys Motion by Comm. Burt, seconded by Comm. Haller, to continue; to direct a request to the City Attorney to give an opinion on the legal obligations concerning density, legality, and conformance with the new subdivision and condominium ordinances and the General Plan; and to request a reply before the October 15 meeting of the Planning Commission. Ayes: Comm. Burt, Chiu, Collis, Haller, Hough, Peirce, and Chmn. Rosenberger Noes: None Absent: None Chmn. Rosenberger requested that staff schedule regular meetings of the Planning Commission on the 15th and 2 9th of October rather than the 14th and 28th. So ordered. R-3 ZONING STUDY Council request for study of R- 3 zoning along the south side of 15th Street between C-2 on Hermosa Avenue and Beach Drive. Memorandum received from City Clerk dated September 11, 1974. Chmn. Rosenberger recommended that the request be sent to the Zoning Committee for study. Lance Widman, 712 Manhattan Avenue, member of the City Council, referred to the result of the hearing at the last City Council meeting on the zone request for the Biltmore site. He said they wish to remove adjacent R-3 and residential uses from the downtown area and change to commercial use. Mr. Merl said he would compile a report for the Zoning Committee. MOOREFIELD Ray Moorefield, 21305 Ocean, Torrance 90503, requested permission to address the Corr - mission. He said he is cleaning up the First Baptist Church building at 1215 Manhattan Avenue and has named the building the Secura-flanna. He said it will be an office building, but may become a community building; and invited members of the Commission to visit the building after this meeting. He said he has planned a three -level parking structure for the parking lot on the south side of the church, which he also owns. PRECISE PLAN AEQU I REMENT Council request for examination of a precise plan requirement for new commercial buildings. Memorandum received September 11, 1974 clarifying a request to consider Planned Development or Precise Plan for C zone to pertain to new commercial buildings, PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES - September 23, 1974 Page 8 and not to new commercial activity. Chmn. Rosenberger asked if this would apply to structural additions. Mr. Merl said it would depend up9n how the new ordinance is developed. Comm. Burt scheduled a meeting of the Zoning Subcommittee at 4 p.m. Wednesday, September 25, to discuss the R-3 on 15th, the request for Planned Development or Precise Plan, and R-1, R-2, and R-3. A Downtown Committee meeting is scheduled on October 3, 8 a.m. at Empire Savings. TIME TABLE AND PRIORITIES Mr. Merl suggested that the Planning Commission establish a time table and priorities for considering many items, some of which are listed in the packet. He said the City Council has asked the Planning Commission to look into these items, and recommended referring the list to the Development Committee. Comm. Collis said the Development Committee is scheduled to address themselves to the item on illegal housing, will not have time for other business, and should handle this at a separate meeting. COMMISSIONERS' ITEMS Chmn. Rosenberger reported that he had attended the meeting of the Southwest Planning Council where Ellen Stearn Harris talked on the subject of conservation, commenting on the drive for petitions to prevent offshore oil drilling in this area. He said her point was that we will need the energy and what are the cities doing to conserve and cut down on the need for offshore resources. He said the Commission should keep in mind, in their role as planners, that they are dealing with non-renewable resources. He suggested that they be conscious of the energy crisis and view their work from that perspective. Comm. Peirce recalled that a letter was requested asking that all public hearings requiring Environmental Impact Reports be heard by the Planning Commission. Mr. Merl said the letter has been sent to the City Attorney. Mr. Merl said the Oldaker case is now in the City Prosecutor's hands for legal action; and he has directed that a letter be sent to adjacent property owners. Comm. Hough asked if the chart of requirements for the different zones has been compiled. Mr. Merl said he will have a chart by the next meeting. Comm. Peirce asked the status of the rezoning of school property. Mr. Merl said they did not reach a conclusion at the last meeting. Sale or disposal of property must come before the Planning Commission. He said they will be reviewing the Valley Vista proposed reconstruction, which will come to the Planning Commission at the next meeting. Comm. Peirce asked for a breakdown of enrollments from the school board. Meeting adjourned 10:25 p.m. PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES - September 23, 1974 CERTIFICATION Page 9 I hereby certify fyethat the heachra t a 1ng minutes were approved by the PlanningCommission Y a public hearing held on the 23rd day of September 1974. �MROSENBERGE , CUAIItMAN