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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2022_05_10 - SpecialMINUTES Special joint meeting of the City Council and the Planning Commission of the City of Redlands held in the Council Chambers, Civic Center, 35 Cajon Street, on May 10, 2022 at 6 00 P M Present Staff Paul Barich, Mayor Eddie Tejeda, Mayor Pro Tempore Denise Davis, Council Member Jenna Guzman -Lowery, Council Member Mick Gallagher, Council Member Steven Frasher, Planning Chair Joe Richardson, Planning Vice Chair Mario Saucedo, Planning Commissioner Karah Shaw, Planning Commissioner Matthew Endsley, Planning Commissioner Rosemarie Gonzales, Planning Commissioner Maryn Wells, Planning Commissioner Chris Boatman, Assistant City Manager, Dan McHugh, City Attorney, Jeanne Donaldson, City Clerk, Brian Desatnik, Development Services Director, Brian Foote, City Planner/Planning Manager, Carl Baker, Public Information Officer Mayor Barich and Chairman Frasher called the Joint Special Meeting of the City Council and Planning Commission to order at 6 01 P M This was conducted as a teleconference meeting in the City Council Chambers, Civic Center, 35 Cajon Street, Redlands, California, with Council Members Davis and Guzman -Lowery present via teleconferencing It was established that all other Council Members and Planning Commissioners were present in the Chambers and all votes during the meeting were conducted by roll call The Mayor explained that comments could be presented in -person, via Zoom, via cell phone or landline He offered the public an opportunity to provide comment on any subject within the jurisdiction of either the City Council or Planning Commission, which was not already scheduled on this agenda PUBLIC COMMENT None forthcoming PUBLIC HEARINGS State Street Village Protect Special Joint CC_Plannmg_May 10, 2022 Page 1 Mayor Barich declared the meeting open as a public hearing and called on Development Services Director Desatnik who outlined the structure for the meeting tonight and provided background on the proposed State Street Village project The Applicant, Village Partners Ventures, LLC, and VPV State Street Village, LLC (Village Partners) is proposing to redevelop the Redlands Mall site and the mixed -use project will combine residential and commercial uses m a transit -oriented development located less than one -quarter mile from the downtown Santa Fe Depot train station On April 12, 2022, the Planning Commission was presented the proposed project plans, received verbal and written public comments and after discussion and deliberations, instructed the Developer to revise the plans and incorporate the Commission's suggestions The Commission unanimously voted to continue the public hearing to a joint Planning Commission and City Council meeting Director Desatnik briefly reviewed State Law and Senate Bill 330 (SB 330) Under this law, cities must not hold more than five public hearings or meetings on housing development applications The meeting tonight was in compliance with the law as this was the fifth public hearing He and City Attorney McHugh explained that also under this law, the City cannot deny a housing project or reduce the number of dwelling units based on standards that are not "objective" nor can they change zoning to reduce the density of use for the project Furthermore, on May 18, 2021, the City Council determined the project was exempt from Measure U due to the provisions of Measure U which declare future development directly related to the train stations as being exempt Included for consideration tonight, were the entitlements and architectural design The development agreement was still under negotiation and not for discussion and will be brought back separately to each body at a later date The agreement was a separate legal document that will provide for project timing and fee details and will not be in opposition to the State law requiring Cities to hold no more than five public hearings when considering housing projects City Planner/Planning Manager Brian Foote presented a detailed review of the project It consists of five new buildings, four of which will have retail and restaurant uses on the ground floor with multifamily residential units on upper floors In order to implement the mixed use project, the developer must relocate one existing long-term anchor tenant on the Mall site, CVS Pharmacy and to facilitate a timely relocation for CVS and allow the entire project to move forward, the proposed project includes a new 14,500 square -foot single tenant retail building with pharmacy drive-thru window across the street at the southeast corner of Citrus Avenue and Eureka Street Village Partners, represented by Michael Morris, Kaitlin Morris and Don Henry and John Ellis of Mithun shared a thorough review of the architectural revisions that were previously requested by the Planning Commission These included, Floor Plans, Architectural Elevations, Color Renderings, Storefront Sample Elevations, Street Striping Plan and a Parking Management Plan showing public and private parking space inventory Village Partners added some clarity to project phasing, stating the phasing would work in a counterclockwise fashion, starting with Block 2 in the above ground structure Public Comment As public comment, fifteen people, including Kasey Haws, Garry Cohoe, Neal Waner, Carole Beswick, Erin Hagstrem, Greg Badell, Alana Kole, Maddie Jordan, Jonathan Schidler, Dan Otter, Ian Karundeng, Christian Farmer, Rochelle, Nathaniel Cline, and Valerie Rountree recommended approval of the project They stated the development Special Joint CC_Plannmg_May 10, 2022 Page 2 supported a more vibrant, sustainable community, reduced the number of parking needs, increased walkabihty, added much needed housing, offered amenities such as public spaces and a rooftop dining area, would reduce greenhouse gases and was designed for people, rather than cars They pointed out the Applicant had shown they were responsive to the community's needs, and they encouraged the Council to approve the project and take advantage of this opportunity to redevelop the vacant mall site Evan Sanford, of the Redlands Chamber of Commerce, supported the project in general, but was very concerned about parking impacts and urged the City to consider the bigger picture and proactively look for opportunities to increase the parking supply downtown Eleven people including, John Berry, Lynette Banda, Bruce Crandell representing Friends of Redlands, Diane Christensen, Andy Hoder, Michael Eubanks, Michael Schneblm, Richard O'Donnell, Robb McDermott, Victoria Yundt and Angel Esparza, of the Southwest Regional Council of Carpenters, expressed their opposition to the project Some concerns included, the project was inappropriate in its current form and will overwhelm the site, there were too many unknowns about project timing and fee structures with no development agreement, they thought the project will aggravate existing parking issues, increase homelessness, congestion and traffic downtown and will detract from the historic nature of the area and the small town feel, they recommended the City wait until the Transit Village Specific Plan EIR was complete before approving this, and they questioned whether this site was within a `walkable' distance to the rail station City Clerk Donaldson reported there were five written comments received supporting the project and thirteen opposing it in its current form Final Comments Before Close of Public Hearing Council Members and Commissioners discussed the merits of the project, asked many questions and requested clarification from staff and the Applicant regarding several topics, including, the proposed CVS drive -through, the progress made with CVS negotiations, the archway decor, parking, water features, timing and the Development Agreement, possible condition revisions, public uses and plaza programming and fees Director Desatnik clarified that staffs intent was to bring the Development Agreement back for consideration soon and the document would be approved separately by each body All future fees would be paid at the time the building permit was pulled After a lengthy dialogue, the public hearing was declared closed at 10 30 P M Planning Commission Deliberations Each Planning Commissioner provided their thoughts concerning the project Chair Frasher reminded Commissioners the actions tonight do not relinquish the body's oversight, but there was not a need to micromanage the project On motion of Commissioner Endsley, seconded by Commissioner Saucedo, the Planning Commission unanimously agreed to select the image marked "Preferred", as shown in the packet, and relates to the "four corner element" for the tower located at Redlands Blvd and Third Street Vote 7 - 0 Passed On motion of Commissioner Shaw, seconded by Commissioner Saucedo, the Planning Special Joint CC_Plannmg_May 10, 2022 Page 3 Commission, by roll call vote, unanimously adopted Resolution No 1574 recommending that the City Council adopt the Sustainable Communities Environmental Assessment document prepared for the proposed project in accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act, adopted Resolution No 1575 recommending that the City Council approve General Plan Amendment No 142 for approximately 1 1 acres located at the southeast corner of West Citrus Avenue and Eureka Street, and adopted Resolution No 1576 recommending that the City Council approve the following entitlements for the proposed project with these revisions Conditions of Approval No 12 and No 19 deleted, and added language to Condition No 6 shall read "Prior to approval and issuance of any building permit(s) for each phase, Developer shall submit building plans, elevations, landscape plans, and architectural details (including exhibits and graphics) for informational review by the Planning Commission for each phase/buildmg and the plaza " Vote 7 - 0 Passed Chair Frasher thanked everyone for the care that was taken in this thoughtful presentation tonight With no further action required, the Planning Commission adjourned at 10 58 P M City Council Deliberations Mayor Banch offered each Council Member an opportunity to provide their personal views and perspectives It was agreed no project would be perfect, but they were pleased with how responsive the Applicant had been to the City's requests They expressed their appreciation of the time and effort that everyone had devoted to this project, and they thanked the Applicant and staff for the incredible presentations that were made earlier On motion of Mayor Pro Tem Tejeda, seconded by Council Member Gallagher, the City Council unanimously adopted, by roll call vote, Resolution No 8337 adopting the Sustainable Communities Environmental Assessment document prepared for the project in accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act, On motion of Council Member Gallagher, seconded by Mayor Banch, the City Council unanimously adopted, by roll call vote, Resolution No 8338 and approved General Plan Amendment No 142 for approximately 1 1 acres located at the southeast corner of West Citrus Avenue and Eureka Street, and On motion of Mayor Pro Tem Tejeda, seconded by Council Member Davis, the City Council unanimously adopted, by roll call vote, Resolution Nos 8339, 8340, and 8341, approving Commission Review and Approval No 933 and No 934, Conditional Use Permit No 1155 and No 1156, and Vesting Tentative Tract Map No 20425 for the proposed State Street Village Project by Applicant Village Partners Ventures, LLC, and VPV State Street Village, LLC Vote 5 - 0 Passed ADJOURNMENT There being no further action required the Joint Special Meeting adjourned at 11 15 P M Special Joint CC_Plannmg_May 10, 2022 Page 4