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PC - Item 5A - Minutes of March 7, 2022 Minutes of the PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING March 7, 2022 The regular meeting of the Planning Commission was called to order by Chair Berry at 7:00 p.m. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Chair Berry INVOCATION Vice-Chair Leung ROLL CALL Commissioners Lopez, Ung, Vice-Chair Leung, and Chair Berry STAFF PRESENT Assistant City Manager/Community Development Director Kim, City Attorney Thuyen, City Engineer Ackerman, Building Official Yuan, Associate Planner Lao, and Commission Liaison Huang 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. SPECIFIC PLAN AMENDMENT (SPA) 21-01, ZONE CHANGE (ZC) 21-01 Del Mar Property, LLC has submitted entitlement applications requesting to amend the Zoning Map by changing the zone of the subject properties from Garvey Avenue Specific Plan (GSP) to Garvey Avenue Specific Plan, Incentivized Mixed-Use (GSP-MU) zone, for the development of a new residential/commercial mixed-use development. The project is located on a 0.95 acre vacant site at the northeast corner of the intersection of Prospect Avenue and Garvey Avenue (7539 & 7545 Garvey Avenue, APN Nos. 5286-022-009 and 5286-022-010). The project proposes the construction of a seven-story, mixed-use development with 6,346 square feet of nonresidential (commercial) use on the first floor and 75 residential units on the first through seventh floors. Of the 75 residential units, 30 are live/work units and 45 are residential apartments. The project also proposes 147 parking spaces, including 110 standard spaces, 32 compact spaces, four handicap accessible spaces, and one loading space and 12,547 square feet of landscaping. The project also includes a text amendment to the Garvey Avenue Specific Plan permitting sit-down restaurants with a minimum requirement of 1,000 square feet to obtain an Administrative Use Permit (AUP) for beer/wine sales in the Garvey Avenue Specific Plan (GSP) and Garvey Avenue Specific Plan, Incentivized Mixed-Use (GSP-MU) zones. PC RESOLUTION 22-02 - A RESOLUTION OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF ROSEMEAD, COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES, STATE OF CALIFORNIA RECOMMENDING THE CITY COUNCIL APPROVE ZONE CHANGE 21-01 AND SPECIFIC PLAN AMENDMENT 21-01 TO AMEND THE ZONING MAP BY CHANGING THE ZONE OF 7539 & 7545 GARVEY AVENUE (APN NOS. 5286-022-009 AND 5286-022-010) FROM GARVEY AVENUE SPECIFIC PLAN (GSP) TO GARVEY AVENUE SPECIFIC PLAN, INCENTIVIZED MIXED-USE (GSP-MU) ZONE, FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF A NEW RESIDENTIAL/COMMERCIAL MIXED-USE DEVELOPMENT, APPROVE A TEXT AMENDMENT TO THE GARVEY AVENUE SPECIFIC PLAN PERMITTING SIT-DOWN RESTAURANTS WITH A MINIMUM REQUIREMENT OF 1,000 SQUARE FEET TO OBTAIN AN ADMINISTRATIVE USE PERMIT (AUP) FOR BEER/WINE SALES IN THE GARVEY AVENUE SPECIFIC PLAN (GSP) AND GARVEY AVENUE SPECIFIC PLAN, INCENTIVIZED MIXED-USE (GSP-MU) ZONES, AND ADOPT THE INITIAL STUDY/MITIGATED NEGATIVE DECLARATION AND MITIGATION MONITORING AND REPORTING PROGRAM Rosemead Planning Commission Meeting Minutes of March 7, 2022 Page 1 of 7 STAFF RECOMMENDATION - It is recommended that the Planning Commission: 1. Conduct a public hearing and receive public testimony; and 2. Adopt Planning Commission Resolution No. 22-02 with findings, a resolution recommending that the City Council adopt Resolution 2022-18 for the adoption and approval of the associated Initial Study/Draft Mitigated Negative Declaration and Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program and Ordinance No. 1008 for the approval of Specific Plan Amendment 21-01 and Zone Change 21-01. Associate Planner Lao presented the staff report. Chair Berry opened the Public Hearing. -story mixed-use and asked if there are any others of this size in the City. Associate Planner Lao answered that this would be the first seven-story along the Garvey Avenue Specific Plan Corridor and is allowed. Commissioner Lopez questioned if we are bringing in something this tall due to our sister cities that also have high rise buildings. Associate Planner Lao expressed that prior to the adoption of the Garvey Avenue Specific Plan, the properties were zoned C- 3 and the zone allowed a building height of 75 feet. She added, the RC-MUDO mixed-use zones only allow three to four stories, which is kind of restrictive in regard to development. She added the Garvey Avenue Specific Plan is more business friendly. too close to the neighbors. He added, we have seen developments in other cities of this size and they are lovely. Commissioner Ung expressed her concern that the eastern side of the property has no setback. She inquired if the drawings were distributed and reviewed by the Fire Department. She questioned if there are no setbacks due to the previous use of the property when it was commercial and not necessarily for residential. Associate Planner Lao stated that the plans will be submitted to the Fire Department when it goes through the building plan check process. She stated in the Garvey Avenue Specific Plan, this is proposed to the GSP-MU. She added, they are proposing the project in terms of GSP-MU standards, and if it is commercial to commercial, there is no required setback. Commissioner Ung noted that this will have residential mixed-use components and questioned if there are imposed setbacks on the upper floors of the eastern portion. She added if there is an emergency, units facing that side of the property would be difficult to get through and noted some of the windows are within ten feet from the property line which may be an issue for fire safety. Associate Planner Lao stated that it does not have a zero-property line and when it goes towards the other stories, there are a few setbacks. She deferred this question to the architect on the line to further address this question. Assistant City Manager/Community Development Director Kim provided a quick background of the Garvey Avenue Specific Plan. He said the Garvey Avenue Specific Plan was initiated by the City several years ago and it took about four to five years to have it adopted. He also said the City had a subcommittee at that time, which consisted of a few Council Members, one or two Planning Commissioners, and City stakeholders, and noted the plan itself went through a long vetting process. He also addressed the height concerns and said height of the Garvey Avenue Specific Plan is really controlled by the total height of the building, rather than the number of stories. He added, the Garvey Avenue Specific Plan was also brought to the Planning Rosemead Planning Commission Meeting Minutes of March 7, 2022 Page 2 of 7 Commission and City Council, and at the time when the development centers were proposed and adopted, this specific plan went through several vetting processes, and it was decided that this is a type of project that the City wanted to see and encourage and that's why the guidelines are in place as such. He also added, the City wanted certain design elements to be incorporated and referenced the staff report and there is a list of community benefits that are incorporated to this specific plan, and when those community benefits are incorporated, there are additional benefits that are given, and this project does meet all those specific filing requirements. Assistant City Manager/Community Development Director Kim then stated that the applicant is requesting to rezone the property so they can do a mixed-use project on the site because it is commercial designation only. He said staff supports the project because RHNA requires the City to come up with over 4,000 housing units which is a hard number to accomplish and this project will help the City in accomplishing that. He also said he believes the conceptual set has been submitted and routed through various departments during the planning stages and will go to LA County in terms of coming up with the code compliance, which the architect can further discuss. Commissioner Ung thanked Assistant City Manager/Community Development Director Kim for that background. She stated to avoid any misinterpretation, she believes this project looks beautiful and stated it would be a great addition to the city. She added, her only concern was the eastern residential side of the property, which is close to the property line. She noted that they have accommodated with the terracing of the back elevation to the single-family property to the north and staff has done a great job working with the applicant to develop this design. City Attorney Thuyen stated that a lot of the project details are for context and background. The item before the Commission is the request of the Specific Plan Amendment and Zone Change, so it could be characterized as a different zone compared to what it is right now. He added, a lot of this information provides a background on how it fits within the new standards, as well as provides the sense of the entire concept for the purpose of considering this Zone Change and Specific Plan Amendment. Chair Berry thanked everyone for their comments and clarification and asked if there are any applicants who wish to speak. Speaker Roland Lo, Architect of Scale(s) Lab Architects, stated he designed and is representing on behalf of the applicant. He thanked staff for working closely on this project to generate this design and how it stays in compliance with the Garvey Specific Plan which has very detailed plans and believes question regarding fire and setback on the east building and property line. He stated that as you step up on the east property line, there are some setbacks, and it is within the building code. He said even though this is a zero-lot line setback situation, it's adjacent to commercial. He added, they considered that there should be some setback which is a variable setback from anywhere of eight feet to six feet setback which is allowed by the building code. He then said, in terms of Fire Department, they have discussed the project early on with Los Angeles County Department of Fire Department and this project is kind of exempt from their access and fire review because of adjacency to major streets such as Garvey Avenue to the south and Prospect Avenue to the west. He added, the construction type will be a higher fire rating construction type and the Fire Department in the land development unit, allow them to process the application without review. He further added, once this is somewhat approved in terms of the entitlements, they would submit to life safety review to county which would then look at exiting and fire rating situation. Mr. Lo expressed that he does not see an issue with this building type because it is a Type 3 and Type 1 Building, which has very high standard of fire rating than your normal mixed-use project. Seeing no additional questions, Chair Berry thanked the applicant and opened the public testimony portion of the public hearing. He asked the audience if there was anyone who would like to speak on this matter. Public Comment: Aaron Contreras, member of the Southwest Regional Council of Carpenters, who lives in the local area, work and recreate the vicinity of the project at 1200 Corporate Center Drive, Monterey Park, believes the City should require the project be built utilizing local and trained workforce. He expressed that this is a beautiful project, but it does not do anything for the community if it is not built from the people within the community. He stated, local hire and skilled trained workforce requirements reduces construction related enviro California on the High Road - Rosemead Planning Commission Meeting Minutes of March 7, 2022 Page 3 of 7 concluded that investments in growing diversifying and upscaling California's workforce can positively affect the returns on climate mitigation efforts. He said, this year, the South Coast Air Quality Management District found that used of local state certified apprenticeship program or a skilled and trained workforce with a local hire component can result in air pollution reductions. He added, other cities have not hesitated to apply skilled work force requirements for private development projects in their City. He then said the City of Hayward recently adopted skilled and trained workforce requirements into its General Plan and Municipal Code and local trained workforce requirements can boost economic development and mitigate transportation and greenhouse gas impacts by minimizing vehicle miles traveled. Mr. Contreras emphasized how the City would benefit for having its constituents that live and reside within the city to start a career through a State approved apprenticeship program, He added, it is something that you take pride in not only in your community, in your city, but it's something that generates wealth within the community you come from. In conclusion, he said there's nothing better than moving or buying a house in the City you grew up in and knowing that you had something to do with that project and offers a sense of pride especially when you come from the community. Seeing no additional speakers from the audience, Chair Berry inquired if we received any written comments and if there is anyone online who would like to speak. Commissioner Liaison Huang responded that no written comment was received for this item, and there were no callers online who wished to speak. There being no further public comment, Chair Berry closed the public comment period. City Attorney Thuyen expressed that this is going to be a Zone Change and Specific Plan Amendment, which is not for product specific. He added, we are not reviewing it for how it's built, but rather focusing on what zone it sits in right now and allow the zone change. Chair Berry inquired if the building part of the project will be brought back to the Commission later on. City Attorney Thuyen defers that to City staff and states it depends on where the project is at. Chair Berry questioned if this is simply changing the zone for the applicant to move forward. Assistant City Manager/Community Development Director Kim stated yes, the Planning Commission's recommendation to the City Council. Commissioner Ung noticed that some of these units are four-bedroom units and questioned if there are only one spot per unit for the parking requirement. Associate Planner Lao stated that is correct. Commissioner Ung inquired if there are assigned guest parking spaces. Associate Planner Lao replied that the guest parking spaces will be managed by the Association within the project, and they will be secured for the residential portion. She added, it would be up to the Association to decide, but they do require guest parking. Commissioner Ung expressed that there may be a shortage of parking for the residents. Associate Planner Lao responded yes, however; the project does comply with all parking standards which is one space per unit regardless of bedrooms. Rosemead Planning Commission Meeting Minutes of March 7, 2022 Page 4 of 7 Seeing no additional comment or questions from the Commission, Chair Berry requested for motion and a second. ACTION: Chair Berry made a motion, seconded by Vice-Chair Leung, to: 1. Conduct a public hearing and receive public testimony; and 2. Adopt Planning Commission Resolution No. 22-02 with findings, a resolution recommending that the City Council adopt Resolution 2022-18 for the adoption and approval of the associated Initial Study/Draft Mitigated Negative Declaration and Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program and Ordinance No. 1008 for the approval of Specific Plan Amendment 21-01 and Zone Change 21-01. Vote resulted in: Ayes: Berry, Leung, Lopez, and Ung Noes: None Abstain: None Absent: None Roll call vote resulted in 4 Ayes and 0 Noes. B. MUNICIPAL CODE AMENDMENT (MCA) 21-05 Municipal Code Amendment 21-05 (MCA 21-05) is a City initiated 17.30.040(E) permitting sit-down restaurants with a minimum requirement of 1,000 square feet to obtain an -1), Medium Commercial (C-3), Regional Commercial (C-4), Central Business District (CBD), and Residential/Commercial Mixed-Use Development Overlay (RC- the COVID-19 pandemic. The AUP is an administrative review by the Community Development Director, whereas the CUP is approved by the Planning Commission. PC RESOLUTION 22-03 - A RESOLUTION OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF ROSEMEAD, COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES, STATE OF CALIFORNIA, RECOMMENDING THAT THE CITY COUNCIL ADOPT ORDINANCE NO. 1009 FOR THE APPROVAL OF MUNICIPAL CODE AMENDMENT 21-05, AMENDING SECTIONS 17.28.030(C)(4) AND 17.30.040(E) OF TITLE 17 (ZONING) OF THE ROSEMEAD MUNICIPAL CODE, PERMITTING SIT-DOWN RESTAURANTS WITH A MINIMUM REQUIREMENT OF 1,000 SQUARE FEET TO COMMERCIAL (C-1), MEDIUM COMMERCIAL (C-3), REGIONAL COMMERCIAL (C-4), CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT (CBD), AND RESIDENTIAL/COMMERCIAL MIXED-USE DEVELOPMENT OVERLAY (RC-MUDO) STAFF RECOMMENDATION - It is recommended that the Planning Commission: 1. Conduct a public hearing and receive public testimony; and 2. Adopt Planning Commission Resolution No. 22-03 with findings, a resolution recommending that the City Council adopt Ordinance No. 1009 for the approval of MCA 21-05. Associate Planner Lao presented the staff report. Chair Berry opened the Public Hearing. Commissioner Lopez expressed that there would be a lot of permits allowed in the City. He said beer and wine does not sound like much; however, we are trying to keep a tight lid on any kind of alcohol throughout the City. He added, he understands the pandemic has caused hardship on businesses, but questions if this would be a good route because a 1,000 square feet minimum requirement would mean almost anyone could apply and there would be a lot of beer and wine licenses permits. Rosemead Planning Commission Meeting Minutes of March 7, 2022 Page 5 of 7 Assistant City Manager/Community Development Director Kim clarified that there are two distinctions of alcohol sales. He said there is the full alcohol, which allows for spirits and then the second tier is the beer and wine, which is what we're looking at. He added, this request is only to allow beer and wine with a sit-down restaurant, not like fast food type of service. He then made reference to fast food restaurants, like Chipotle that can sell beer and wine. He also added, we are looking at only the legitimate bona fide sit-down restaurants, and it would not be permitted by right, and there is a review process. He said currently, the review process is the Conditional Use Permit which comes before the Planning Commission. He then said the recommendation is to change the process to an AUP process where the Community Development Director will review the application and determine whether alcohol sales or the online sales would be permitted or not. He stated the process is pretty much the same and it would be a discretionary action and just because somebody applies for it, it does not mean they are going to get it. He said it's not a guarantee and there is still a review process to enter and adding conditions will still be in place and the proposal just streamlines the process, by making it instead of a CUP to an AUP application. Chair Berry questioned if applicants would go through the administrative process only, and no longer appear before the Planning Commission. Assistant City Manager/Community Development Director Kim stated that there is an appeal process, so anytime there is an objection to the application, anybody can file for an appeal. If an appeal is filed, then that appeal will come before the Planning Commission for consideration. Commissioner Lopez questioned if this would apply to fast food restaurants. He added, chains such as McDonalds and Burger King have large seating areas. Assistant City Manager/Community Development Director Kim answered no, it would not apply to fast food restaurants. He added, he looks at this as an amenity for a sit-down restaurant. Some of the best restaurants are the hole in the wall spots, while you sit down and enjoy your meal, this would be an amenity they can enjoy as well. He reiterated that this would not at we do not want people to walk out with alcohol. Commissioner Lopez noted that was his question. He said he has been to hole in the wall restaurants with very few tables that sell beer and wine, but now understands because it is a sit-down restaurant. Seeing no additional questions, Chair Berry opened the public testimony portion of the public hearing. He asked the audience if there was anyone who would like to speak on this matter. Seeing none, Chair Berry inquired if we received any written comments and if there is anyone online who would like to speak. Commissioner Liaison Huang responded that no written comment was received for this item, and there were no callers online who wished to speak. There being no public comment, Chair Berry closed the public comment period. Seeing no additional questions from the Commission, Chair Berry requested for motion and a second. ACTION: Commissioner Lopez made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Ung, to: 1. Conduct a public hearing and receive public testimony; and 2. Adopt Planning Commission Resolution No. 22-03 with findings, a resolution recommending that the City Council adopt Ordinance No. 1009 for the approval of MCA 21-05. Vote resulted in: Ayes: Berry, Leung, Lopez, and Ung Noes: None Rosemead Planning Commission Meeting Minutes of March 7, 2022 Page 6 of 7 Abstain: None Absent: None Roll call vote resulted in 4 Ayes and 0 Noes. 4. CONSENT CALENDAR A. PC MINUTES 02-07-22 Commissioner Lopez made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Ung, to approve PC Minutes 02-07-22 as presented. Vote resulted in: Ayes: Berry, Leung, Lopez, and Ung Noes: None Abstain: None Absent: None Roll call vote resulted in 4 Ayes and 0 Noes. 5. MATTERS FROM STAFF None 6. MATTERS FROM THE CHAIR & COMMISSIONERS Commissioner Lopez inquired about the building at the corner of Rosemead Boulevard and Garvey Avenue as it has been under construction for a few years now. Assistant City Manager/Community Development Director Kim stated that property does not fall within jurisdiction and belongs to South El Monte. He believes it will be a media center and informed the Commission that staff can research and provide more information. Vice-Chair Leung thanked staff for their hard work and is excited for the project. Chair Berry thanked staff for resurfacing a part of Walnut Grove Avenue and improving the streets. Assistant City Manager/Community Development Director Kim informed the Commission that the City is planning to do a lot more street improvements. 7. ADJOURNMENT Chair Berry adjourned the meeting at 7:45 p.m. ATTEST: ______________________________________ James Berry Chair __________________________________ Ben Kim Commission Secretary Rosemead Planning Commission Meeting Minutes of March 7, 2022 Page 7 of 7