ATTACHMENT I
PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES
MINUTES
Regular Meeting of the Planning Commission
MONDAY APRIL 04, 2022
City Council Chambers
1 Civic Center Drive, San Marcos, CA 92069
CALL TO ORDER
At 6:30 p.m. Planning Commission Chair Flodine called the meeting to order.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
Commissioner Rios led the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.
ROLL CALL
The Secretary called the roll:
PRESENT: COMMISSIONERS: NUTTALL, CAVANAUGH, NORRIS, FLODINE, CRAIN, CARROLL, RIOS
ALTERNATE COMMISSIONERS IN AUDIENCE: GARCIA
ABSENT COMMISSIONERS: OLEKSY
Also present were: Planning Division Director Joe Farace; Associate Planner Norm Pedersen, Principal Civil Engineer Stephanie Kellar, Deputy City Attorney Punam Prahalad; Senior Office Specialist Gina Jackson
ORAL AND WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS
None
CONSENT CALENDAR
1. APPROVAL OF MINUTES, 03/07/2022
Action:
COMMISSIONER CRAIN MOVED TO APPROVE CONSENT CALENDAR ITEM #1 AS PRESENTED; SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER NUTTALL. MOTION CARRIED BY THE FOLLOWING VOTE.
Special Planning Commission
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AYES: COMMISSIONERS: CAVANAUGH, NORRIS, FLODINE, CRAIN, CARROLL, RIOS NOES: COMMISSIONERS: NONE
ABSENT: COMMISSIONERS: OLEKSY
ABSTAIN: COMMISSIONERS: NUTTALL
PUBLIC HEARINGS
2. Project No: SP20-0002, GPA20-0002, R20-0001, MFSDP20-0001, TSM20-0001, CUP20-0007, GV20- 0002 and EIR21-001
Applicant: Hall Land Company
Request: Request for a Specific Plan, Multi-Family Site Development Plan, and Tentative Subdivision Map for a 151 -unit condominium development on 10.6 acres. Project includes a General Plan Amendment and Rezone to change the land use and zone of the property from M ixed Use-3 (MU-3) to Specific Plan Area (SPA). Additionally, a Grading Variance to allow for slopes to exceed 20 feet in height and a Conditional Use Permit for temporary crushing of rock material during grading operations is requested.
Environmental Determination: Environmental Impact Report (FEIR 21-001) (SCH No. 2021040009) was prepared pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
Location of Property: 943 E. Barham Drive (south side of Barham Drive, approximately 475 feet east of Woodland Parkway). Assessor’s Parcel No.: 228-310-01-00.
Recommendation: Staff recommends approval to City Council
Norm Pederson, Associate Planner: gave the presentation.
Stephanie Kellar, Principal Civil Engineer: gave the Traffic Impact presentation.
Jason Greminger with CCI, applicant representative: gave applicant presentation.
Planning C ommissioners questions to applicant included: will the units have solar; number of ADA units; will there be another unit above the ADA units; are the ground floor flats available to anyone, not just ADA; confirm if installing bike lane; confirm code using for EV chargers; will EV chargers be installed or make ready; is this affordable housing; location of nearest protected cro sswalk; size of each unit and how many; concern is that we build affordable housing and not just pay fees; have there been other attempts to develop this site; concern over market study; confirm height of highest building; confirm is units are for sale or for rent; concerns with the Vehicles Miles Traveled (VMT) and Level of Service ( LOS) and the current traffic condition in that area; confirm programs in place to support carpooling.
Applicant response: the units will have solar; there will only be 19 ground floor flats are for ADA with another unit above; the ground floor flats are not only for ADA; bike lanes are currently there, the striping Special Planning Commission
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will be painted green for better visibility; we’re using the current code for the EV chargers, but will have to comply with the California Green Code; the EV chargers will be made ready with the garages ; this is attainable housing; crosswalk is located at Woodland; there is a table in the specific plan that lists out every building and every unit size; not awar e of other attempts to develop this site; the market study was developed by an independent contractor that works for the C ity; the highest building is 40 feet; the units are all for sale; a Transportation Demand Strategy (TDM) will be submitted to the City , and will include items to help reduce trips and promote alternative transportation.
Planning Commissioners questions to staff included: is there a City program for ridesharing and how is it funded; will the property pay Mello Roos; is it better to inst all a traffic signal; is the City doing anything specific to improve Barham Drive; with no left turn out of the complex, where is the light to make a U-turn; is there a soft trail and hard trail on the south side of Barham.
Staff response: there is a re gional effort that our City and other cities along the 78 corridor are a part of which collaborates and identifies prime locations for opportunities funded by either SANDAG, Cal Trans, or grants; this project will participate in the Congested Management (C FDs) Community Facilities Directive; it’s better not to have a traffic signal installed by the complex; Barham Drive is built to the ultimate, so no new improvements to widen it or anything else can be done. That’s why the development is proposing programs to encourage carpooling for school and transit use; there may be a U-turn a few lights down before the freeway; staff believes it’s only a hard surface sidewalk.
PUBLIC COMMENTS
Rob Granger, Executive Pastor for Grace Church: expressed concerns with the impact to the emergency egress on their parking lot and how much additional traffic will be added; what will stop drivers from going in and out of the parking lot to maneuver around the traffic congestion; the church has many m inistry activities throughout the week; there is about 5 to 6 days a week that both parking lots are being used; the church also has a preschool and a community park. Would like that everyone is safe.
Marlene Walder, resident at San Marcos Mobile Estat es: indicated that there is no U -turn on Barham unless you go onto someone’s property to make a U-turn; the light where the freeway ramp is located is not enough room to make a U -turn; concerns about the pricing of the new development to residents; there a re nine exits between Myers and Woodland Parkway and the mobile home park does not have a stop sign or signal light to assist seniors with entering and exiting the park; has witnessed many accidents involving seniors entering and exiting the park; has attended many Traffic Commission hearings and still has not seen any changes to the freeway on ramp that was promised any years ago.
CLOSED PUBLIC HEARING
Special Planning Commission
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Planning Commissioner discussions included: provide solutions for traffic congestion instead of contributing to it; concerns that people are still going to turn left when signs state no; dislike Barham but this looks like a beautiful development that will benefit our City; if this was a commercial property the traffic would be worse; concerned about the traffic but like seeing the proposed ADA units; would like to see ADA units available with more bedrooms; provide something so people can go west on Barham; this looks like a nice project with a wide range of sizes to make it more attainable; this is a smart growth for our City, this project is close to transit and the University; would like to see more affordable housing spread throughout the City instead of all in the Richmar area; thank you to the City’s engineer for the explanation on the Level of Service (LOS) and Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT); like that this project enhances the walkability to the Albertsons shopping center nearby.
Action:
COMMISSIONER FLODINE MOVED TO RECOMMEND APPROVAL TO CITY COUNCIL PC22-4978 FOR SP20- 0002, PC22 -4979 FOR GPA20-0002, PC22-4980 FOR R20 -0001, PC22-4981 FOR MFSDP20 -0001, PC22 - 4982 FOR TSM20 -0001, PC22 -4983 FOR CUP20 -0007, PC22 -4984 FOR GV20 -0002 AND ADOPTION OF PC22-4985 FOR EIR21-001; AND SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER CARROLL. MOTION CARRIED BY A ROLL CALL VOTE.
AYES: COMMISSIONERS: NUTTALL, CAVANAUGH, NORRIS, FLODINE, CRAIN, CARROLL, RIOS NOES: COMMISSIONERS: NONE
ABSENT: COMMISSIONERS: OLEKSY
ABSTAIN: COMMISSIONERS: NONE
PLANNING DIVISION DIRECTOR COMMENTS: There is no information to bring forward from the past Council meetings. We will most likely have a hearing item for the Planning Commission in May. We are also in the process of the General Plan Update and have been gathering input received from various workshops and the GPAC these past few months in developing the Land Use Alternative Maps. In May we hope to have our consultant DeNovo here to provide the Commission with an instructional presentation on these Land Use Alternative Maps. At that time, the Commission can provide us with recommendations on Land Use Alternatives and various land uses. We will possibly have a Land Use workshop discussion in June. Once the Land Use Alternative Maps are endorsed by City Council, we will move forward on the General Plan EIR phase. This concludes my comments.
PLANNING COMMISSIONERS COMMENTS : Commissioner Crain expressed that traffic and affordability are the two top topics in the City now, and that it is our duty to try to address them. Chair Flodine mentioned that he, Commissioner Rios and Commissioner Norris attended the League of City’s Planning Commissioners Special Planning Commission
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Academy and few weeks ago. The links for the academy were sent out to the Commission and to view at your leisure.
ADJOURNMENT
At 8:21 p.m. Chair Flodine adjourned the meeting.
______________________________________________
ERIC FLODINE, CHAIRPERSON
CITY OF SAN MARCOS PLANNING COMMISSION
ATTEST:
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GINA JACKSON, SENIOR OFFICE SPECIALIST
CITY OF SAN MARCOS PLANNING COMMISSION