505 S. Garey Ave
Pomona, CA 91766
Wednesday, June 26, 2024
City of Pomona
Draft Action Minutes
Planning Commission
Chairperson Alfredo Camacho
Vice-Chairperson Kyle Brown
Commissioner Yesenia Miranda Meza
Commissioner Gwen Urey
Commissioner John Ontiveros
Commissioner Ron VanderMolen
Commissioner Kristie Kercheval
Council Chambers
7:00 PM
CALL TO ORDER
Chairperson Alfredo Camacho called the Planning Commission meeting to order at 7:01 p.m. in the Council Chambers.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
Chairperson Alfredo Camacho led the Pledge of Allegiance.
ROLL CALL
Present: Chairperson Alfredo Camacho
Commissioner Gwen Urey
Commissioner John Ontiveros
Commissioner Ron VanderMolen
Commissioner Kristie Kercheval
Absent: Vice-Chairperson Kyle Brown (resigned)
Commissioner Yesenia Miranda Meza
Staff Present: Ata Khan, Deputy Director of Development Services Department Geoffrey Starns, Planning Manager
Vinny Tam, Senior Planner
Arnold Dichosa, City Engineer
SELECTION OF VICE-CHAIR
Selection of Vice-Chair due to Dr. Kyle Brown’s resignation from the Commission on June 13, 2024.
A motion by Commissioner Kercheval, seconded by Commissioner VanderMolen, to select Commissioner Kercheval as Vice-Chairperson, Commissioner Kercheval politely declined.
A motion by Commissioner VanderMolen, seconded by Commissioner Urey carried by a unanimous vote of the members present (5-0-0-2) to select Commissioner Ontiveros as Vice-Chairperson of the Commission.
Chairperson Alfredo Camacho - yes; Vice-Chairperson Kyle Brown – resigned; Commissioner Miranda Meza – absent; Commissioner Urey – yes; Commissioner Ontiveros – yes; Commissioner VanderMolen – yes; Commissioner Kercheval – yes.
OPPOSITION: None
IN SUPPORT: None
DISCUSSION TIME: 2 minutes (7:03 p.m. to 7:05 p.m.)
PUBLIC COMMENT
Mike Suarez stated that he is a 40 year resident of the City of Pomona. He mentioned that building more homes without thinking about traffic would change our neighborhoods forever. He said that parking and traffic throughout our city is unmanageable due to not having access to driveways and garages. He stated that residents are forced to park on the street in front of homes because developers will not take parking in consideration when building houses. He stated that building houses without the city considering parking and traffic would increase these problems.
Carol Anton, resident, mentioned that Pomona is in deep distress with parking problems and it is everywhere. She stated that we need humps and bumps on the streets to stop drivers from speeding.
Dawn Van Allen, resident, said that tonight I would like to address a few problems throughout the City. She mentioned that in our rush to meet the dictates of the State we have not been given the proper research regarding our parking problems. She stated that most of our complaints are related to traffic and parking.
A member from the public stated that he almost was hit when driving a minivan due to a car not stopping at the stop sign.
Ismael Sanchez, resident, stated that he has seen several incidents of cars speeding through the streets.
Valerie Gonzales stated she submitted a request back in 2012-2013 to try to get speed bumps but nothing was done. She mentioned that she could hear drivers race down the street on Palomares south of San Bernardino. She mentioned that there are a lot of people walking on this street and feel unsafe.
Maricela Noriega, resident, stated that she sees a lot of drivers speed down the street on Towne. She mentioned that there is a lot of traffic on San Antonio and she is scared to walk her dogs when she goes to Lincoln Park.
Oscar Caldera, resident, said that he would like to see a solution for Holt Avenue. He mentioned that there is a lot more activity on Holt, since he first moved here five years ago.
COMMISSIONER COMMUNICATION
Commissioner VanderMolen praised the public for coming out to speak tonight. He asked the Planning Department to take a closer look when developments are coming up on how it is going to affect the neighborhoods. He mentioned that speed bumps do slow traffic and it is a concern for the Fire Department. He stated that neighborhoods should work together, work with the Planning Department, and look at other cities to see what they are doing.
Vice-Chairperson Ontiveros said that he has noticed an increase in traffic and an issue with parking. He mentioned that we should think about our residents and their well-being.
CONSENT CALENDAR
None
PUBLIC HEARING ITEMS
Development Plan Review (DPR 021499-2023), Tentative Tract Map (TRACTMAP 021501-2023) Property location: 1707 N. Towne Avenue
PC Resolution No. 24-011
PC Resolution No. 24-012
Chairperson Camacho opened the public comment.
The applicant affirmed with the conditions of approval listed on the presentation with the exception of the vehicular gate. Staff is recommending not installing a vehicular and pedestrian gate in the Southwest corner.
Staff received a public comment from Walter Ragsdale in writing opposing the project.
Staff received a public comment from Ben Kim, Chair of Board of Directors, Covenant Korean Church in writing supporting the project.
Chairperson Camacho closed the public comment.
A motion by Commissioner Urey, seconded by Commissioner Camacho, carried by a unanimous vote of the members present (5-0-0-2) to approve Development Plan Review (DPR 021499-2023) & Tentative Tract Map (TRACTMAP 021501-2023) with conditions (1) the applicant shall construct all exterior facing windows with the minimum two inch recess from the window framing (2) the modification of condition no. 25 to reduce the temporary noise barrier from the east side from 12’ feet to 10’ feet (3) modification of condition no. 52; applicant/developer shall identify the existence of all City utilities that may be in conflict with the development and submit protection measures to the City Engineer for those City utilities (4) applicant shall not be permitted to install any gate, fence, and/or wall at the western driveway area along the San Bernardino Avenue for the purposes of controlling vehicular and pedestrian access (5) applicant must provide a parking management plan for the purposes of preventing overflow parking from the project site unto the public right-of-way in the immediate vicinity of the project area.
Chairperson Alfredo Camacho - yes; Vice-Chairperson Kyle Brown – resigned; Commissioner Miranda Meza – absent; Commissioner Urey – yes; Commissioner Ontiveros – yes; Commissioner VanderMolen – yes; Commissioner Kercheval – yes.
OPPOSITION: Diana B., resident, spoke in opposition of this item.
Deborah Clifford, resident, spoke in opposition of this item.
Carol Anton, resident, spoke in opposition of this item.
Dawn Van Allen, resident, spoke in opposition of this item.
Alberto D, resident, spoke in opposition of this item.
Ann Tomkins, resident, spoke in opposition of this item.
Lisa Matthews, resident, spoke in opposition of this item.
Henry Thomas, resident, spoke in opposition of this item.
A member of the public spoke in opposition of this item.
Oscar Caldera, resident, spoke in opposition of this item.
IN SUPPORT: Matt Livingston, President of RC Homes, spoke in support of this item.
DISCUSSION TIME: 1 hours and 53 minutes (7:38 p.m. to 9:31 p.m.)
DISCUSSION ITEMS
None
STAFF COMMUNICATION
Deputy Director Khan stated that City Council approved the first reading of the Update to the Zoning Code. He mentioned that the second reading of the ordinance would move forward on July 1, 2024 and will be effective July 31, 2024. He said that Associate Planner Barron would provide training for staff. He said the next step would be to look at the General Plan. He mentioned that in September or October we will have a consultant begin work on Complete Streets.
ADJOURNMENT
The Planning Commission meeting was adjourned by Chairperson Camacho at 9:34 p.m. to the next regularly scheduled meeting of July 10, 2024 at 7:00 p.m.
Respectfully submitted, Prepared by,
Ata Khan Miroslava PourSanae
Deputy Director of Development Services Administrative Assistant