IRWINDALE COMMUNITY CENTER
1610 ARROW HIGHWAY
IRWINDALE, CALIFORNIA 91706
JULY 19, 2023
WEDNESDAY
6: 00 P. M.
The Irwindale CITY COUNCIL and PLANNING COMMISSION met in special joint session, beginning at the above time and place.
ROLL CALL: Present: Councilmembers Mark A. Breceda, Larry G. Burrola, Manuel R. Garcia; Mayor Pro Tem Albert F. Ambriz;
Mayor H. Manuel Ortiz
Commissioners: Maricela Frymark; Vice Chair Enoch Burrola, Chair Suzanne Gomez
Absent: Commissioners Richard Chico and David Fuentes
Also Present: Julian A. Miranda, City Manager; Adrian Guerra, City Attorney; Marilyn Simpson, Community Development Director; Jeff Wagner, Information Technology Manager; and Laura Nieto, Chief Deputy City Clerk
SPONTANEOUS
COMMUNICATIONS
DENA ZEPEDA Dena Zepeda asked whether she may speak on the item listed on the agenda. Mayor Ortiz confirmed that she would be given the opportunity to speak.
NEW BUSINESS
ITEM NO. 1 COMPREHENSIVE ZONING CODE UPDATE
COMPREHENSIVE
ZONING CODE
UPDATE
DIRECTOR SIMPSON Director Simpson introduced the item. She advised that no decision on the zoning code would be made tonight. Rather, staff seeks comments and feedback to assist in drafting the update. She introduced Nick Pergakes, Project Manager from Interwest, which is the firm that is working on preparing the update.
NICK PERGAKES Nick Pergakes made a PowerPoint presentation wherein he discussed what a zoning code consists of, why it needs to be updated, goals and objectives of the code update, important changes, the structure of the new zoning code, and an environmental review.
CHAIR GOMEZ Responding to a question by Chair Gomez, Mr. Pergakes spoke on his analysis of the city's existing code and explained his efforts in ensuring that the update reflects the Councils vision in its policies.
CITY COUNCIL / PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES
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He also advised that they are updating the commercial and industrial guidelines and noted that the zoning code would take precedence over design guidelines.
Chair Gomez also asked questions about height measurements, which Mr. Pergakes elaborated on. He also requested that any further questions or comments be received by July 31.
As requested by Chair Gomez, Mr. Pergakes also briefly explained ADU standards as well as building standards.
VICE CHAIR BURROLA Responding to a question by Vice Chair Burrola, Mr. Pergakes indicated that his firm would work toward including modern land uses and development standards to the update, and encouraged all to contact him if further clarification is needed.
CARMEN ROMAN Carmen Roman asked whether the current zoning code is available to view and whether a list of changes would be made available. She asked what residents stand to gain Al zoning is eliminated and asked whether the code can remain as it is now. Should the code change, she asked whether the City could guarantee that homeowners would not be taxed any higher. She said that she has additional questions and requested being able to ask questions beyond July 31 and expressed her preoccupation that residents would not be allowed to have fruit trees on their properties.
FRED BARBOSA Fred Barbosa asked whether homeowners' tax rates would change with a potential change in zoning for their properties and asked whether such a change in zoning would benefit residents. He also stated that residents would not want to give up their right to have animals on their properties.
ROBERT DIAZ Robert Diaz stated that he has spoken to residents living along Arrow Highway, who all prefer that zoning for their areas remain zoned for residential properties. He also suggested that certain areas be rezoned as commercial, requested clarification on height limits and M1/ M2 zoning, and suggested restoring height variances.
DENA ZEPEDA Dena Zepeda stated that she grew up listening to chickens and roosters and asked that fruit trees not be taken from residents. She then suggested that zoning be changed for Arrow Highway to reduce truck pollution and reflected on the time she said she was able to grow marijuana for medicinal purposes when it was illegal.
ONLINE ATTENDEE An online attendee asked whether the zoning update would include a variety of photos and descriptions of what each zoning area would include.
CITY COUNCIL I PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES
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MAYOR PRO TEM Mayor Pro Tem Ambriz agreed that the July 31 deadline to submit AMBRIZ questions is too soon and requested that the deadline be extended.
He also stated that it is imperative that the City retain local control.
He then requested additional details over zoning consolidation, to which Mr. Pergakes advised that similar zones could be combined when they would essentially do the same things and would be consistent with each other. Mr. Pergakes then stated that he would put together responses to the questions that are posed.
FRED BARBOSA Responding to a question by Fred Barbosa, Mr. Pergakes advised that his firm would go through the process to see what should be allowed by right, what should require conditional use permits, and what should not be allowed in certain districts.
MEGAN ZEPEDA Megan Zepeda asked whether answers to the questions being posed would be answered. She then spoke against vaccine mandates.
MAYOR PRO TEM Mayor Pro Tern Ambriz stated the M11M2 zone along the Arrow AMBRIZ Highway corridor needs to be reviewed. He also stated that residents living in M1 I M2 zones are worried that a change in zoning for their areas would displace them. He recommended clearly identifying why zoning changes would be made.
COMMISSIONER Commissioner Frymark noted that the summary provided explains FRYMARK that the intent behind the zoning code update was to fix problems, inconsistencies, and errors found in the existing code, and asked which problems were found.
COUNCILMEMBER Councilmember Breceda suggested that the zoning for the residential BRECEDA area that Mayor Pro Tern Ambriz referenced be changed to residential and concurred that the July 31 deadline to submit comments or questions is too soon.
COUNCILMEMBER Councilmember Burrola concurred that additional time is necessary BURROLA in order to make informed decisions.
COUNCILMEMBER Councilmember Garcia stated that M1 zones need to be clarified and GARCIA that it needs to be determined whether agricultural zoning could be kept. He stated that he needed additional time to review the information.
CHAIR GOMEZ Chair Gomez spoke about an auto dismantling overlay zone and encouraged tougher regulations against auto dismantlers in light of their continued code violations. She also suggested stronger penalties for the use of illegal fireworks.
VICE CHAIR BURROLA Vice Chair Burrola suggested looking into requiring more commercial zoning to encourage more development. He also suggested analyzing the reclamation plan and receiving more input on what future uses could be.
CITY COUNCIL 1 PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES JULY 19, 2023 SPECIAL_ MEETING PAGE 4
CHAIR GOMEZ Chair Gomez stated that the housing element contains sites where overlay zones could potentially be placed that could be earmarked for housing, which could be used to shown that the city is making good - faith efforts to meet its housing mandates.
FRED BARBOSA Fred Barbosa requested that more compassion be shown to homeless people.
MAYOR ORTIZ Mayor Ortiz concurred that the July 31 deadline should be extended so that all questions could be answered. He also asked whether a zoning change to Al was necessary and spoke on the need to update the code as relates to indoor warehousing so that today' s standards are reflected. He also posed questions regarding the differences between R1 and R2 zones as relate to the construction of ADU' s.
Responding to a question by Mayor Ortiz, Mr. Pergakes spoke on the update's timeline and the need to use GASB funding by a certain date. He added that he would prepare a FAQ sheet with responses that could be reviewed before the Planning Commission this fall.
DIRECTOR SIMPSON Director Simpson thanked all for their participation and indicated that comments and questions could also be directed to city staff.
ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to conduct, the meeting was adjourned at 7: 25 p. m.
4U40 MAJ,
L/ aurh M. Nieto, MMC
db9f Deputy City Clerk
Approved as submitted at the meeting held August 23, 2023.