Planning Commission Meeting, 1/12/15
CATCHING UP WITH PLANNING COMMISSION
Because I spent last Monday evening watching the Oregon Ducks getting drubbed by the Ohio State University Buckeyes in the first ever real national championship game I missed the Planning Commission meeting on that date. So, here we are, playing catch-up...
SHORT AGENDA...
There was a small agenda, HERE, for that evening and the video is available for viewing, HERE, if you wish. Here's a little summary for you.
PROPANE AT CIRCLE K
Public Hearing #1, HERE, is the appeal brought by Vice Chair Rob Dickson of the Zoning Administrator's decision to approve a minor conditional use permit for outdoor placement of propane exchange and other amenities at the Circle K store at 1654 Santa Ana Avenue. Following a lengthy discussion - 70 minutes - the commission voted unanimously to deny "without prejudice" the original decision. That means the new owner - who will be "cleaning things up" - may return sooner than 6 months from now if he wishes and will not have to pay the fees again.
4 UNITS ON THURIN AVENUE
Public Hearing #2, HERE, was the design review for two duplexes (4 units) at 2136 Thurin Avenue. Commissioner Colin McCarthy became almost orgasmic as he discussed this project because of the large amount of open space and the fact that the developer chose to ask for four (4) units instead of five (5) that could be accommodated on the site. After about a half hour of discussion the commission unanimously approved the project, with modifications to permit him to build the project before a tract map is approved as a condominium project. He will be required to present the tract map before occupancy.
MONUMENT SIGN ORDINANCE DISCUSSION
New Business #1, HERE, is the first step in amending the Sign Ordinance for free-standing (monument) signs. Here's some images of slides used by the staff in the presentation:
Assistant Development Services Director Claire Flynn provided the historical expertise in the discussion and explained that this ordinance would apply only to new signs going forward and would not apply to organizations which already have a Planned Sign Program for their business. The proposed ordinance will now get massaged thoroughly by staff and will be returned to the commission early in March. McCarthy requested more "facts and data" when the staff returns with the ordinance.
TWEAKING THE SMALL LOT ORDINANCE NEXT TIME
At the end of the meeting Flynn reminded the commission that, at their next meeting on January 26, 2015, the staff will have some amendments to the Small Lot Ordinance for them to consider. No further information was provided, but that should make for an interesting discussion. The current version of the Small Lot Ordinance, in the eyes of many residents, simply made life a lot easier for developers who, before it's implementation, were "burdened" by having to follow the development rules that had protected neighborhoods for decades. This issue might generate some conversation from residents.
NEXT MEETING MAY BE JIMMY FITZY'S LAST ONE
By the way, since Fitzpatrick has NOT re-applied for a seat on the Planning Commission, it's likely that the next meeting will be his last one. Sorry... I'm smilin' as I write that...
Because I spent last Monday evening watching the Oregon Ducks getting drubbed by the Ohio State University Buckeyes in the first ever real national championship game I missed the Planning Commission meeting on that date. So, here we are, playing catch-up...
There was a small agenda, HERE, for that evening and the video is available for viewing, HERE, if you wish. Here's a little summary for you.
PROPANE AT CIRCLE K
Public Hearing #1, HERE, is the appeal brought by Vice Chair Rob Dickson of the Zoning Administrator's decision to approve a minor conditional use permit for outdoor placement of propane exchange and other amenities at the Circle K store at 1654 Santa Ana Avenue. Following a lengthy discussion - 70 minutes - the commission voted unanimously to deny "without prejudice" the original decision. That means the new owner - who will be "cleaning things up" - may return sooner than 6 months from now if he wishes and will not have to pay the fees again.4 UNITS ON THURIN AVENUE
Public Hearing #2, HERE, was the design review for two duplexes (4 units) at 2136 Thurin Avenue. Commissioner Colin McCarthy became almost orgasmic as he discussed this project because of the large amount of open space and the fact that the developer chose to ask for four (4) units instead of five (5) that could be accommodated on the site. After about a half hour of discussion the commission unanimously approved the project, with modifications to permit him to build the project before a tract map is approved as a condominium project. He will be required to present the tract map before occupancy.New Business #1, HERE, is the first step in amending the Sign Ordinance for free-standing (monument) signs. Here's some images of slides used by the staff in the presentation:
Chairman Jim Fitzpatrick asked that the goals be modified to include some kind language to provide "balance between business and residents."
At the end of the meeting Flynn reminded the commission that, at their next meeting on January 26, 2015, the staff will have some amendments to the Small Lot Ordinance for them to consider. No further information was provided, but that should make for an interesting discussion. The current version of the Small Lot Ordinance, in the eyes of many residents, simply made life a lot easier for developers who, before it's implementation, were "burdened" by having to follow the development rules that had protected neighborhoods for decades. This issue might generate some conversation from residents.
NEXT MEETING MAY BE JIMMY FITZY'S LAST ONE
By the way, since Fitzpatrick has NOT re-applied for a seat on the Planning Commission, it's likely that the next meeting will be his last one. Sorry... I'm smilin' as I write that...Labels: Claire Flynn, Colin McCarthy, Costa Mesa Planning Commission, Jim Righeimer, Rob Dickson, Sign Ordinance, Small Lot Ordinance
posted by The Pot Stirrer at 1/19/2015 07:51:00 PM
2 Comments:
One thing discovered during the Circle K discussion:
Costa Mesa Connect, Code Enforcement, and the Police Call Center reporting systems are separate databases. In other words, calls to Code Enforcement regarding violations, are not linked to Costa Mesa Connect reports... so it is difficult to know if a property, or area, has a high number of calls.
If you only check one source, it may not seem like a lot of reports - so is crime going down? Nope! Just a lack of communication.
Since we don't have the personnel in PD to compile these reports, how can our officers know of the hot spots? We are not getting the whole story here.
Is someone saying crime is down??
Post a Comment
<< Home