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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMIN 1998 0311 CC SPCMINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL Moorpark, California March 11, 1998 A Special Meeting of the City Council of the City of Moorpark was held on March 11, 1998 in the Council Chambers of said City located at 799 Moorpark Avenue, Moorpark, California. 1. CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Hunter called the meeting to order at 7 :10 p.m. 2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: John Nowak led the Pledge of Allegiance. 3. ROLL CALL: Present: Councilmembers Perez, Teasley, Wozniak and Mayor Hunter. Absent: Councilmember Evans. Staff Present: John Nowak, Assistant City Manager; Nelson Miller, Director of Community Development; Deborah Traffenstedt, City Clerk. --- 4. PUBLIC COMMENT: None. 5. PUBLIC HEARINGS: C. Considered General Plan Amendment No. 97 -1, to Amend the Land Use and Circulation Elements; Zone Change No. 97 -5, to Establish Zone Districts and Controlling Development Standards; and the Moorpark Downtown Specific Plan No. 95- 1, which Includes Land Use and Zoning Maps, a Streetscap Beautification Program, Pedestrian and Traffic Circulation Improvements, Design Guidelines, Development Standards, and Implementation Programs to Guide Future Development, Staff Recommendation: 1) Receive public testimony; 2) Discuss issues identified in the staff report and Downtown Citizens Advisory Committee Report and provide direction to staff regarding any additional revisions to the Downtown Specific Plan; and 3) Continue the hearing to a specific date certain. Mr. Miller gave the staff report. He indicated that LeeAnne Hagmaier, RRM Design Group, was present to answer any "-' questions. Minutes of the City Council Moorpark California Page 2 March 11, 1998 Mayor Hunter indicated that the Council would be going through the 18 major recommendations of the Downtown Citizens Advisory Committee Report. He announced that the public hearing was still open. John Newton, 165 High Street, addressed the Council and indicated he was present as the Chairman of the Downtown Citizens Advisory Committee to answer any questions. Leta Yancy- Sutton, 316 Moorpark Avenue, addressed the Council. She gave a brief history of the zoning on Moorpark Avenue and requested that the Council leave the zoning as it is on the east side of Moorpark Avenue from the railroad tracks to Los Angeles Avenue. She said an office commercial designation would not be as great an incentive for improvement from present or future property owners. She also requested that the Council consider calling the downtown area "Historical Downtown Moorpark" rather than "Old Town Moorpark ". She requested that an advisory council consisting of the property owners and tenants be organized to work together to make improvements. Colin Velazquez, 601 Moorpark Avenue, addressed the Council regarding his concerns. He said he has not heard a compelling argument for changing the zoning to Old Town Commercial (OTC). He said he opposes such a change in zoning. He said he also opposes the proposed landscaping for Moorpark Avenue. He said landscaping setbacks and medians would make projects unfeasible. He suggested solving landscaping problems with a treescape plan. He requested that the City quit expanding commercial zoning. Lori Rutter, 11611 Pinedale Road, made comments regarding a recent meeting for the Downtown Specific Plan. She said she did not believe the comment made by the proposed developer of the Spring Road and Flynn Avenue site that "people will not cross the railroad tracks." She also said that a storage facility is not a desirable use for the site. She said she didn't believe a promenade development or large chain stores on High Street are appropriate. She said she does support the landscaping as recommended for Moorpark Avenue. She said she agrees with Mr. Velazquez that the commercial area in the City should not be expanded. Eloise Brown, 13193 Annette Street, said that old town zoning will diminish the ability of property owners to effectively use /develop their property. She said the money spent on the downtown study should have been spent instead on a parking lot for High Street. Minutes of the City Council Moorpark California Page 3 March 11, 1998 Carolyn Poleri, 6863 Trojan Ct., said she did not understand how the City was going to do anything for High Street when it couldn't get the owner of the Mayflower Market to rebuild in the four years since the earthquake destroyed the market. She said the Mayflower Market is a terrible eyesore. Mayor Hunter indicated that the Council would now discuss the issues identified by the Downtown Citizens Advisory Committee. 1. East Gateway Mr. Miller indicated that the Downtown Citizens Advisory Committee concerns were focused on the day laborer issue. He said the Planning Commission determined that this issue should be resolved outside the zoning process of the Downtown Specific Plan. Mayor Hunter said that number 2. Implementation Plan, and number 3. Financing Plan, will be referred for discussion to the Council's third and concluding meeting on this matter. 4. Approval Authority Mr. Miller said the Downtown Citizens Advisory Committee recommended that after adoption of the Downtown Specific Plan, the Director of Community Development and the Planning Commission implement the Plan with input from the Design Review Committee. He said they recommended that anyone be allowed to employ the appeals process with a recommended 4 hour /$344.00 fee. He said the Planning Commission opinion was that it is a City Council decision as to what projects will be considered by the Planning Commission and the fee to be charged for an appeal. Mayor Hunter said this subject warrants more discussion later. 5. Fees Mr. Miller explained that the Downtown Citizens Advisory — Committee recommended a 50 percent reduction in deposit fees. He said it must be remembered, however, that the Department of Community Development is supported by fees and that if the fees are reduced another fund must be "found" to subsidize the lost revenue. Minutes of the City Council Moorpark California Page 4 March 11, 1998 Councilmember Wozniak asked if there would be an increase in staff time required if a Design Review Committee was added to the process. Mr. Miller said the Downtown Citizens Advisory Committee hoped that the design guidelines in the Downtown Specific Plan would reduce staff time but that inevitably some additional staff time is required for staffing a committee. Mr. Miller said the Planning Commission expressed a willingness to work with staff to recommend the appropriate entitlement fees. 6. Old Town Commercial Zone Uses List Mr. Miller said that the Planning Commission made a variety of revisions to Table 4 shown in the staff report, including some of the revisions recommended by the Downtown Citizens Advisory Committee. He referred the Council to Attachment 2 of the staff report. In response to Mayor Hunter, Mr. Miller said all the recommended changes are relative to a lower approval level. 7. Police Resource Center Mr. Miller said it was the Downtown Citizens Advisory Committee recommendation that the Police Resource Center be relocated to the downtown High Street area. He said the Planning Commission concurred with the recommendation. He said, however, this recommendation is not part of any zoning change. Mayor Hunter said that in moving the Police Resource Center to its present location in the Town Center, 1,200 square feet of space had been gained. He said there is no other available place on High Street with the needed space for providing the services of the Police Resource Center. 8. Medians Mr. Miller said the Downtown Citizens Advisory Committee recommended a median on Moorpark Avenue but none for High Street. He said the Committee felt a median on High Street would not be conducive to parades and other community events. In response to Mayor Hunter, LeeAnne Hagmaier said they (the consultant) felt strongly that a median was needed on Moorpark Avenue to slow the traffic down and to provide an entry statement for the historic downtown. In response to Council question, Mr. Miller said vehicular Minutes of the City Council Moorpark California Page 5 March 11, 1998 speeds are higher on Moorpark Avenue than on High Street. 9. R -2 Zone Mr. Miller said that the Downtown Citizens Advisory Committee recommended R -2 zoning for Flory Avenue and 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Streets (alley access areas)• He said the Planning Commission did not concur with the recommendation. He said the Commission recommended that the west side of Flory Avenue be re -zoned from R -2 to R -1. He said they did not recommend revising the zoning to allow second dwelling units on single - family lots less than 10,000 square feet. In response to Councilmember Teasley, Mr. Miller said there is no other area of R -2 zoning in the city. He explained that existing second dwellings in this area would become legal non - conforming if the zoning were changed. LeeAnne Hagmaier, indicated that in preparing the Downtown Specific Plan, there had been extensive discussion regarding second dwelling units. She said that earlier drafts of the Downtown Specific Plan encouraged second dwelling units. As a result of recent (within the last two years) Council policy decisions discouraging second dwelling units, she said the Downtown Specific Plan currently tries to maintain a single - family "flavor ". 10. Filming Mr. Miller indicated that the Downtown Citizens Advisory Committee recommended significantly increasing fees for filming and designating the money from those fees to the Downtown Specific Plan area. He said the Planning Commission recommended that the film permit fees be kept low. In response to Council question, Mr. Newton said the Downtown Citizens Advisory Committee had some concerns regarding the inconvenience that filming causes local businesses. He said the Committee's thought was that by increasing the fees, the quality of the filming companies attracted might be higher. In response to Mayor Hunter, Mr. Newton said the discussion regarding the designation of fees concerned only fees _ collected from filming in the Downtown Specific Plan area. Mayor Hunter requested that staff provide a survey of fees charged by surrounding cities to see if the City is still in the "ballpark" with its fees. He also asked staff to research if other cities have a separate tier of fees for filming in downtown areas and if they impose any unusual Minutes of the City Council Moorpark California Page 6 March 11, 1998 restrictions in the downtown. He asked staff to include the City of San Luis Obispo in the cities surveyed. 11. Plastic Signs Mr. Miller said the Downtown Citizens Advisory Committee recommended that no internally illuminated "can" signs be allowed in the Downtown Specific Plan area. He said the Planning Commission did not see the need to amend the sign regulations at present but recommended that the subject be taken up by the Council at a later date. 12. Delete Magnolia Street Promenade Mr. Miller said the Downtown Citizens Advisory Committee did not feel that Magnolia Street was the best place for a promenade. He said they felt that vehicular access should be maintained to Charles Street. He said the Planning Commission recommended that language be added to page 140 of the Downtown Specific Plan to clarify that the closure of Magnolia Street is not required. 13. Landscape Percentage Mr. Miller said the Downtown Citizens Advisory Committee recommended 20 percent landscaping for the Downtown Specific Plan area except for High Street and any allowed zero lot line projects. He said the Planning Commission was of the opinion that the recommended setbacks, in combination with existing zoning requirements for 10 percent site and parking area landscaping, would insure adequate landscaping. 14. Star of the Valley Mr. Miller said the Downtown Citizens Advisory Committee recommended adopting the subcommittee recommendation for marketing /logo in the Moorpark Downtown Specific Plan area. He said the Planning Commission felt that any marketing logo was a City Council issue. Councilmember Teasley said this subject should be discussed with the implementation plan. Minutes of the City Council Moorpark California Page 7 March 11, 1998 "— 15. Overcrossing - SPRR Mr. Miller said the Downtown Citizens Advisory Committee recommended additional and enhanced pedestrian at grade crossings. He said they recommended abandoning any pedestrian overcrossings due to cost constraints. He said the Planning Commission did not find any change to the Downtown Specific Plan was needed relative to railroad crossings. 16. Density North of Charles Street Mr. Miller said the Downtown Citizens Advisory Committee recommended reinforcing single- family residential uses. He said they recommended no change of zone with adoption of the Downtown Specific Plan. He said the Planning Commission recommended that Charles Street remain a single - family residential area, with the exception of the existing commercial zoned property at the southeast corner of Walnut and Charles Streets, the Tafoya Terrace Apartments at Magnolia Street, and the condominiums at the southeast corner of Spring Road and Charles Street. 17. Moorpark Avenue Zoning Mr. Miller said the Downtown Citizens Advisory Committee recommended retaining the C -1 zone for the east side and the CPD zoning on the west side. He said the Planning Commission agreed with the land -use designations and zoning recommended in the Downtown Specific Plan. Mayor Hunter indicated the Council would discuss this in greater depth when zoning is discussed. 18. Civic Center Site Mr. Miller said it was the Downtown Citizens Advisory Committee recommendation that the playground equipment be removed from the Civic Center site. He said the Planning Commission opinion was that the use of the Civic Center was a City Council issue. Mr. Miller said that in addition to the 18 major issues identified and discussed, subcommittees met and made various recommendations which the Planning Commission reviewed and commented on. He said the information was all included in the staff report for Council consideration. Mayor Hunter commended the Downtown Citizens Advisory Committee for their work and detailed analysis. Mr. Newton summed up the Downtown Citizens Advisory Minutes of the City Council Moorpark California Page 8 March 11, 1998 Committee report by saying that tough issues were tackled and that though difficult, the Committee came to consensus in providing their recommendations to the Council. He requested that the Council carefully consider the report and requested that they refrain from creating non- conforming uses. He said relative to the R -2 discussion, the Committee was trying to avoid a planned development permit process for development as simple as adding a second dwelling unit or building a home on a vacant lot. Additionally, he said, lots with alleys are perfectly setup for second dwelling units. He suggested the Council look at 113 Third Street as a good example of an appropriate second dwelling. He said housing should be encouraged in the downtown. He said in the future, the Downtown Citizens Advisory Committee can function as an ad hoc committee if needed. He said he felt it would be beneficial if those wanting to build in the downtown could "sit down" with the Committee prior to commencing a project. Relative to fees, he said, the City needs to reduce regulations, processing times and costs. Councilmember Teasley commented that she agreed that the City needed to be careful regarding creating legal non- _ conforming uses. Regarding the use of an architectural review committee, she said she would want to be careful about adding another layer of bureaucracy. The City Clerk handed out the "Moorpark Downtown Specific Plan Implementation Chapter Questions to Consider" to all Councilmembers. Mr. Miller suggested that the Council considered these questions for their next meeting when the implementation plan would be discussed. He said funding is the key to the implementation plan. MOTION: Councilmember Wozniak moved and Councilmember Teasley seconded a motion to continue this item with the public hearing open, to April 15, 1998. The motion carried by voice vote 4 -0, Councilmember Evans absent for the vote. Minutes of the City Council Moorpark California Page 9 March 11, 1998 6. ADJOURNMENT: MOTION: Councilmember Wozniak moved and Councilmember Perez seconded a motion to adjourn. The mot' carried by voice vote 4 -0, Councilmember Evans absent for t e ote. Thf tide was 8:40 p.m. i I ATTEST: --DaC G, Ln Deborah Traffenste t, City Clerk ck Htfffer, Mayor