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PC - Minutes - 08-07-23Minutes of the PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING August 7, 2023 The regular meeting of the Planning Commission was called to order by Chair Lopez at 7:00 PM PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE — Commissioner Berry INVOCATION — Commissioner Ung ROLL CALL — Commissioners Berry, Escobar, Tang, Vice -Chair Ung, and Chair Lopez STAFF PRESENT — Associate Planner Lao, Deputy Director of Community Development Valenzuela, City Clerk Hernandez Chair Lopez announced that the oath of office will begin for the commissioners that have been reinstated. City Clerk Hernandez administered the oath of office to Chair Lopez. Chen Lin administered the oath of office to Commissioner James Berry. City Clerk Hernandez administered the oath of office to Commissioner Tang. Chair Lopez commenced the process of electing a new chair and vice -chair. Commissioner Berry nominated Commissioner Ung for chair. Chair Lopez seconded the nomination. Commissioner Ung nominated Commissioner Berry for chair. Commissioner Escobar seconded the nomination. Seeing no more nominations, Commissioner Ung called for a motion for Commissioner Berry to be instated as the chair. Chair Lopez seconded the motion. ACTION: City Clerk Hernandez took a roll -call vote for the nomination vote for Commissioner Berry as chair. Vote resulted in: Ayes: Commissioner Escobar, Commissioner Berry, Vice -Chair Ung, Chair Lopez Noes: None Abstain: Commissioner Tang Absent: None Roll call vote resulted in 4 Ayes, 0 Noes, and 1 Abstain. Commissioner Berry was instated as Chair Berry. Chair Berry commenced the nominations for vice -chair. Commissioner Tang nominated Commissioner Escobar as vice -chair. Rosemead Planning Commission Meeting Minutes of August 7, 2023 Page 1 of 6 Commissioner Lopez seconded the nomination. Seeing no more nominations, City Clerk Hernandez commenced roll call vote for Commissioner Escobar as vice -chair. Vote resulted in: Ayes: Commissioner Tang, Commissioner Escobar, Chair Berry, Commissioner Ung, Commissioner Lopez Noes: None Abstain: None Absent: None Roll call vote resulted in 5 Ayes and 0 Noes. 1. EXPLANATION OF HEARING PROCEDURES AND APPEAL RIGHTS City Attorney Tamayo presented the procedure and appeal rights of the meeting 2. PUBLIC COMMENTS FROM THE AUDIENCE There being no comments, Chair Berry opened and closed the Public Comment period. 3. PUBLIC HEARINGS - A. DESIGN REVIEW (DR) 23-03 — Yaxian Zhu has submitted a Design Review application proposing to modernize the exterior fagade of an existing restaurant by repainting the building and creating a more usable outdoor dining area by enclosing the area with a decorative wrought iron fence and incorporating a wooden trellis cover and large boxed planters. The project site is located at 8801 Valley Boulevard, in the Central Business District with Residential/Commercial Mixed -Use Development and Design Overlays (CBD/RC-MUDO/D-0) zone. Approval of a Design Review is required for all improvements requiring a building permit or visible changes in form, texture, color, exterior facade, or landscaping within a Design Overlay Zone. The proposed project would meet all minimum zoning requirements and all applicable sections of the Rosemead Municipal Code. Based on the analysis and findings contained in the report, it is recommended that the Planning Commission adopt resolution 23-04, with findings (Exhibit A), approving Design Review 23-03, subject to twenty-three conditions outlined in Exhibit A, and find that Design Review 23-03 is classified as a class 3 categorical exemption, pursuant to section 15303 of the California Environmental Quality Act guidelines. CEQA — Section 15303 of the California Environmental Quality Act guidelines exempts projects consisting of construction and location of limited numbers of new, small facilities or structures; installation of small new equipment and facilities in small structures; and the conversion of existing small structures from one use to another where only minor modifications are made in the exterior of the structure. Accordingly, Design Review 23-03 is classified as a Class 3 Categorical Exemption pursuant to Section 15303 of California Environmental Quality Act guidelines. Rosemead Planning Commission Meeting Minutes of August 7, 2023 Page 2 of 6 Associate Planner Lao presented the Design Review to the commission Chair Berry asked the commissioners if there were any questions. Commissioner Tang stated that he saw that the width of the outdoor seating area is twelve feet and six inches. He asked what the occupancy was for outdoor seating in the area. Associate Planner Lao answered the occupancy will be determined during the plan check stage with the Building and Safety Division and Los Angeles County Fire Department. Vice -Chair Escobar verified that the applicant was proposing an exterior fagade to the existing structure, categorically exempt, that staff has verified that the proposed fagade renovation is compliant with the Rosemead Municipal Code, and that the applicant was doing interior renovations. She stated that because the conditions of approval were standard, she had no questions. Commissioner Lopez asked if the applicant was planning to provide cover for the outside seating to shield the diners from the elements. Associate Planner Lao answered that the outdoor seating was proposed to be open. However, she would defer the question to the applicant. Commissioner Ung thanked the applicant for the submission and welcomed their business to the City of Rosemead. She inquired that with the trellis pushing the fagade forward, what kind of lighting would be provided for the outdoor diners. Associate Planner Lao answered that the plaza already had existing lighting. Additionally, she stated that the applicant would also answer questions about the lighting. Chair Berry thanked the commissioners for their questions. Seeing as there were no more questions, Chair Berry invited the applicants to speak. Ted Li spoke on behalf of Yaxian Zhu. He stated that the property owner had originally planned to renovate the entire shopping center and Mr. Zhu was under the impression that the fagade would be modernized and upgraded. However, it was later discovered that the property owner had abandoned the project, leaving the exterior fagade in poor condition. Mr. Li stated that when designing the current proposed fagade, Mr. Zhu consciously matched the surrounding design and neighborhood characteristics. He stated that he also consulted with Associate Planner Lao on the design. He stated that the two -toned stucco and the wood elements on the building were both conscious decisions to make the design more balanced and appealing. He stated that the outdoor dining under the trellis was added because of increased preference for outdoor seating after COVID. He stated that the trellis would provide some shade from the sun, but it was not intended to provide full coverage. He stated that the outdoor dining area would remain open in order to provide more air circulation. He stated that the main goal of the project was to provide more outdoor dining. He also stated that the project would improve the appearance of the area around Rosemead City Hall. Vice -Chair Escobar asked if the applicant was to add any additional lighting to the outdoor seating area. Mr. Li stated that the lighting would be new LED lights on the trellis. He stated that these lights would not be direct lights, and would only be visible from the side, but it would go down from the table. He stated that the lights would provide minimal interference to drivers, as the lights would not be visible upon driving by. Rosemead Planning Commission Meeting Minutes of August 7, 2023 Page 3 of 6 Commissioner Tang inquired about the seating occupancy for the patio area Mr. Li answered that the occupancy was determined by the health department. He stated that the applicant was not changing the whole building occupancy, and that rather the seating was determined by the fire department and in accordance to how much tax was paid. He stated that some of the indoor seating occupancy was transferred outdoor that the owner planned to furnish the outdoor dining area with hay tables. He estimated that four hay tables placed in the outdoor seating area would equate to thirty-two occupants. Commissioner Tang asked if he was representing the restaurant owner Mr. Li answered yes. He stated the food will be Shanghainese, which will entail items such as xiao long bao and many handmade food items. He stated that the project will include an open kitchen where customers could watch the chefs preparing the dishes. Commissioner Tang thanked the Mr. Li for coming into Rosemead, bringing his business into the city, and renovating the plaza to be more welcoming. He said that hopefully the landowner would be inspired after the fagade renovation. Mr. Li said that as a contractor, he builds a lot of restaurants. He stated that City Hall has modernized the whole surrounding area and remarked that he feels like there is much potential in the building. He stated that the modernization was an improvement from ten years ago. He said that the recent improvements have encouraged the owner to invest in a business in the area. PUBLIC COMMENTS RECIEVED — Chair Berry opened the public comment period Commissioner Tang asked Deputy Director of Community Development Valenzuela if there was a possibility to bring the property owner back onboard the project and convince him to invest in the business. He added that with the food hall project and the modernization initiatives, there would perhaps be an interest on the property owner to upgrade his property. Commissioner Tang remarked that the site was located on a major corridor that needed improvements. Deputy Director of Community Development Valenzuela answered that both the city and the business owners have had many discussions with the property owner. She stated that the property owner does not want to revamp the entire fagade, thus the business owners decided to do the revamp by themselves. She stated that the City of Rosemead staff have given their best efforts to ensure that the project is consistent with the existing context and does not look like two separate projects. Chair Berry, seeing that there were no more comments, closed the public hearing. ACTION: Commissioner Tang made a motion to adopt resolution 23-04 with findings Design Review 23-03, subject to twenty-three conditions, seconded by Commissioner Lopez. Vote resulted in: Ayes: Commissioner Tang, Commissioner Escobar, Chair Berry, Commissioner Ung, Commissioner Lopez Noes: None Abstain: None Absent: None Rosemead Planning Commission Meeting Minutes of August 7, 2023 Page 4 of 6 Roll call vote resulted in 5 Ayes and 0 Noes. 4. CONSENT CALENDAR A. PC MINUTES 05.15.23 Chair Berry made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Ung, followed by Vice -Chair Ung to approve PC Minutes 05- 15-23 as presented. Vote resulted in: Ayes: Commissioner Tang, Commissioner Escobar, Chair Berry, Commissioner Ung, Commissioner Lopez Noes: None Abstain: None Absent: None Roll call vote resulted in 5 Ayes and 0 Abstain. 5. MATTERS FROM STAFF Deputy Director of Community Development Valenzuela stated that the Planning Division is working on a zoning code update in order to update code sections that are outdated. In addition, she stated that the division will be making some zone changes to meet the city's RHNA numbers, thus the city will be holding a joint study session with the city council and the planning commission in September. She stated that more updates and details will be provided as the session date is finalized. 6. MATTERS FROM THE CHAIR & COMMISSIONERS Chair Berry stated that the city had a great National Night Out where five -hundred backpacks were given to children in need. He stated that the event was great and there was a big turnout. He expressed optimism that the city will be able to do another similar event next year. ADJOURNMENT Chair Berry adjourned the meeting at 7:26 p.m. The next Planning Commission Meeting is scheduled for August 21, 2023, at 7:00 PM in the Council Chambers Rosemead Planning Commission Meeting Minutes of August 7, 2023 Page 5 of 6 ATTEST: Annie Lao Associate Planner Rosemead Planning Commission Meeting Minutes of August 7, 2023 Page 6 of 6