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PC - Item 4A - Minutes 08-02-21Minutes of the PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING August 2, 2021 The regular meeting of the Planning Commission was called to order by Chair Berry at 7:00 p.m. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE — Commissioner Lopez INVOCATION — Chair Berry ROLL CALL — Commissioners Lopez, Ung, Vice -Chair Tang, and Chair Berry STAFF PRESENT— City Attorney Thuyen, Director of Community Development Frausto-Lupo, Planning & Economic Development Manager Valenzuela, Associate Planner Lao, and Commission Liaison Huang EXCUSED ABSENCE OF COMMISSIONER LEUNG — Vote resulted in: Ayes: Berry, Lopez, Tang and Ung Noes: None Abstain: None Absent: Leung Roll call vote resulted in 4 Ayes and 0 Noes. 1. EXPLANATION OF HEARING PROCEDURES AND APPEAL RIGHTS City Attorney Thuyen presented the procedure and appeal rights of the meeting. 2. PUBLIC COMMENTS There being no comments, Chair Berry opened and closed the Public Comment period. 3. PUBLIC HEARINGS A. MUNICIPAL CODE AMENDMENT 19-02, GENERAL PLAN AMENDMENT 19-03, AND ZONE CHANGE 19-03 — The Freeway Corridor Mixed -Use (FCMU) Overlay encompasses six geographic areas within the City of Rosemead. The areas total approximately 60 acres (186 parcels) and were selected based on proximity to the Interstate 10 (1- 10) Freeway, location along primary City corridors, and adjacency to public transit lines. FCMU Overlay areas are located along Del Mar Avenue, San Gabriel Boulevard, Walnut Grove Avenue, Valley Boulevard, Temple City Boulevard, and Rosemead Boulevard. The FCMU Overlay identifies special provisions for land use, development standards, urban design, community benefits, and by -right uses, in addition to those in the existing underlying base zone, to support appropriate mixed-use and residential development. The FCMU Overlay also identifies public and private realm improvements that will further enhance the aesthetic and character of these areas. No base zones are proposed to be modified. PC RESOLUTION 21-08 - A RESOLUTION OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF ROSEMEAD, COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES, STATE OF CALIFORNIA RECOMMENDING THAT THE CITY COUNCIL ADOPT RESOLUTION 2021-29 FOR THE APPROVAL OF GENERAL PLAN AMENDMENT 19-03 AND ADOPT ORDINANCE 1001 FOR THE APPROVAL OF MUNICIPAL CODE AMENDMENT 19-02 AND ZONE CHANGE 19 - Rosemead Planning Commission Meeting Minutes of August 2, 2021 Page 1 of 03, AMENDING THE LAND USE ELEMENT OF THE GENERAL PLAN, THE ZONING MAP, AND TITLE 17 (ZONING) OF THE ROSEMEAD MUNICIPAL CODE, FOR THE FREEWAY CORRIDOR MIXED-USE OVERLAY STAFF RECOMMENDATION - It is recommended that the Planning Commission: 1. Conduct a public hearing and receive public testimony, and 2. Adopt Planning Commission Resolution 21-08, a resolution recommending the City Council adopt Resolution No. 2021-29 and Ordinance No. 1001, approving Municipal Code Amendment 19-02, General Plan Amendment 19-03, and Zone Change 19-03. Director of Community Development Frausto-Lupo introduced Diane Bathgate, Principal at RRM Design Group and the RRM Design Group team and discussed the project efforts. RRM Design Group Senior Planner Matthew Ottoson, Project Manager, provided a presentation titled "City of Rosemead - Freeway Corridor Mixed -Use Overlay'. Chair Berry opened the Public Hearing. Vice -Chair Tang questioned how the Freeway Corridor Mixed -Use (FCMU) Overlay complements or integrates the Garvey Avenue Specific Plan (GASP). Mr. Ottoson stated as we went through the process, the Garvey Avenue Specific Plan has seen quite a bit of success with projects coming down the pipeline and there was not a desire to move away with this effort in the sense of changing land uses or changing development standards. He added that if compared side by side, there are a lot of similarities, but there are also some specifics that relate to the context of the overlay area that was built in to provide flexibility to property owners. Vice -Chair Tang expressed that there was a lot of work done on the Garvey Avenue Specific Plan and believes there is a lot of value in that, which you can replicate on Del Mar Avenue and San Gabriel Boulevard. He added, the lot sizes are going to be a little bit different, but in terms of the opportunities for those mixed-use developments, it would fit in well. He questioned why there is a difference of 65% residential and 35% nonresidential mix for the FCMU Overlay, whereas, the Garvey Avenue Specific Plan has 67% residential and 33% nonresidential mix and inquired if the percentages could be consistent. Mr. Ottoson replied that their intent was to be consistent with the City's other overlay document, and you'll notice that the percentages are consistent there. He stated that consistent with the other overlay in the City was the best approach, then building in flexibility. He added there is some percentage flexibility related to ground floor uses that serve the residential that can be counted toward nonresidential, as well as, the community benefits program, which provides some additional flexibility in exchange for public benefits. Vice -Chair Tang expressed he liked the flexibility and believes a lot of developers would appreciate that simply because depending on the economy, it can vary, sometimes housing sells better or commercial sells better, so he likes inputting that flexibility. He questioned how the deviation of up to 20% is achieved in the community benefits program. Planning & Economic Development Manager Valenzuela clarified that the 65%, and 35%, is consistent with the Garvey Avenue Specific Plan. The 67% and 33% is the Residential/Commercial Mixed -Use Overlay, which has a different ratio from Garvey Avenue Specific Plan and the FCMU Overlay and turned back to Matt to provide clarification on the 20% deviation. Vice -Chair Tang thanked Planning & Economic Development Manager Valenzuela for the clarification. Mr. Ottoson stated in the notes portion of the development standards, there are some specifics related to the 20%. The intent was that 20% is the upper threshold of allowed flexibility with that mixed use percentage, a large portion of which is overseen and approved by the Director of Community Development, so it's not something that an applicant can come in and say here's my project. He added, there is a process that is outlined to ensure that the development is good quality, the residential and Rosemead Planning Commission Meeting Minutes of August 2, 2021 Page 2 of 5 nonresidential portions work, and that there is still some oversight on the land use mix, depending on what the project proposes Vice -Chair Tang questioned if the Director could approve up to a 10% flexibility in the mix, and another 10% can be achieved through the community benefits program to total the 20%. Mr. Ottoson stated that is correct, there are a couple of different avenues that can be used to earn a total of 20%, such as adding a 5% possibility for ground floor uses. Vice -Chair Tang questioned how lot consolidation is defined. Mr. Ottoson replied that consolidation is geared towards merging small or undersized properties. He stated that a great example of this can occur on Del Mar Avenue and San Gabriel Boulevard, where there are quite a few smaller properties, somewhere in the range of 5,000 square feet, so the intent is to enable for more creative and integrated project designs by allowing for lot consolidation and providing some incentives for doing so. Vice -Chair Tang questioned the definition of family friendly development. Mr. Ottoson stated in the basis for calculating points, this is providing more than 10% of the total housing units as three bedrooms or larger. He added it's consistent with the Garvey Avenue Specific Plan and believes it is a great community benefit, as we have seen several projects across the State that really focused on one, and two bedrooms which really missed that three-bedroom size so incentivizing that would be very attractive to future potential development. Vice -Chair Tang questioned if there are specific design requirements for outdoor dining. He stated the pandemic has forced a lot of these businesses to serve outdoor operations for its consumers, and temporarily, the City has allowed many businesses to put up tents, tables and chairs. He also questioned if that type of use is allowed, but with some design standards for curb appeal. Mr. Ottoson referred to Chapter 3 which focuses on the appropriate location for outdoor sidewalk dining, and touches the physical design requirements, including furnishings and planters. He stated the applicant would need to interface with City staff to work on the design component as it is currently written. Vice -Chair Tang commented that he read Chapter 3 and thought the streetscape furnishing session was a little broad and would like to know if there was a more narrowly defined design standard. Planning & Economic Development Manager Valenzuela clarified that during the drafting of the FCMU Overlay, the Commercial Task Force Subcommittee wanted the document to be consistent with the Garvey Avenue Specific Plan. She added that the standards were developed based on consistency with both the Municipal Code and the Garvey Avenue Specific Plan. Vice -Chair Tang confirmed if it's replicating the design standards from the Garvey Avenue Specific Plan. Planning & Economic Development Manager Valenzuela replied that is correct and reiterated that we wanted to keep it as consistent as possible, which was also recommended by the Commercial Task Force Subcommittee. Vice -Chair Tang questioned if the FCMU Overlay zone assisted the City to gain Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) credits for the City's allocation. Mr. Ottoson responded yes, residential is allowed both in standalone and mixed-use configurations. He added, as part of the Housing Element efforts, this overlay is being integrated as part of that process and would ensure compliance with State requirements based on the various income levels and total number of units that have been allocated to the City over the next cycle period. He also added, this is something that we worked with staff on to ensure that we were really positioning the City Rosemead Planning Commission Meeting Minutes of August 2, 2021 Page 3 of 5 well for success moving forward Planning & Economic Development Manager Valenzuela clarified land use ratio that was questioned by Vice -Chair Tang. She stated that the standard for land use ratio is 65% residential and 35% commercial. She added that if an applicant wanted to deviate up to 10%, the Community Development Director would be able to authorize that 10%, if it is a good project. She also clarified that through the Community Benefits Program, they can earn an additional up to 20%, so in total, it is possible to earn up to 30%. Vice -Chair Tang thanked Mr. Ottoson and Planning & Economic Development Manager Valenzuela for the clarification. Commissioner Ung referred to side and rear yard setbacks and asked if those areas can be occupiable spaces, such as balconies. She added, if yes, guard rails would be needed. She then questioned the height dimension for a two-story. Mr. Ottoson replied that those setback areas would be related to the building wall plane. He added, if he was a creative designer, he would utilize those setback areas as part of a private open space requirement to provide the required private open space for his project. He also added there are no preclusion that those spaces cannot be used for private open space. Commissioner Ung asked if there are any height determinations for those two-story, three-story planes, in terms of limitations. Mr. Ottoson expressed that the development standards for different zones identify maximum heights for standalone residential projects and mixed-use projects, where a parcel may be located next to the R-1 and R-2 existing zones. He added, the setback standards would be applied and there is a setback requirement for all portions of the building over three -stories. There being no additional questions from the Commission, Chair Berry asked if we received any public comment. Commission Liaison Huang replied no public comment was received for this item. There being no public comment, Chair Berry closed the Public Hearing. ACTION: Commissioner Lopez made a motion, seconded by Vice -Chair Tang, to: Adopt Planning Commission Resolution 21-08, a resolution recommending the City Council adopt Resolution No. 2021-29 and Ordinance No. 1001, approving Municipal Code Amendment 19-02, General Plan Amendment 19-03, and Zone Change 19-03. Vote resulted in: Ayes: Berry, Lopez, Tang and Ung Noes: None Abstain: None Absent: Leung Roll call vote resulted in 4 Ayes and 0 Noes. 4. CONSENT CALENDAR A. PC MINUTES 07-19-21 Commissioner Lopez made a motion, seconded by Chair Berry, to approve PC Minutes 07-19-21 as presented. Vote resulted in: Ayes: Berry, Lopez, Tang and Ung Rosemead Planning Commission Meeting Minutes of August 2, 2021 Page 4 of 5 Noes: None Abstain: None Absent: Leung Roll call vote resulted in 4 Ayes and 0 Noes. 5. MATTERS FROM STAFF Director of Community Development Frausto-Lupo welcomed Commissioner Ung and thanked Assistant City Manager Kim for covering the meeting while she was out. She also recognized the Planning Division and RRM Design Group for months of work that went into the FCMU Overlay project and is excited to see what's coming to Rosemead. She also reminded Commissioners the next Planning Commission Meeting is scheduled for August 16, 2021. 6. MATTERS FROM THE CHAIR & COMMISSIONERS Vice -Chair Tang thanked Diane, Matthew, and Collette from RRM Design Group for this project and expressed his appreciation for their expertise in this field. Commissioner Ung added she is excited for the project and looks forward to seeing the developments in these areas. Chair Berry stated his appreciation for RRM Design Group's assistance and hard work as this is a great plan. Diane Bathgate from RRM Design Group thanked everyone, noting she enjoyed this collaboration. ADJOURNMENT Chair Berry adjourned the meeting at 7:38 p.m. The next regular Planning Commission meeting is scheduled for August 16, 2021, at 7:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers. ATTEST. Angelica Frausto-Lupo Commission Secretary Rosemead Planning Commission Meeting Minutes of August 2, 2021 Page 5 of 5 James Berry Chair