Light Agenda Faces Planning Commission Monday Night

A THIN AGENDA AWAITS
The Costa Mesa Planning Commission meets for the first time in a month for a meeting that should get everyone home early on Monday.  You can read the agenda, HERE, for the meeting that begins in City Council Chambers at 6:00 p.m.

FORMER COMMISSIONERS TO BE RECOGNIZED
While such segments are very unusual for the Planning Commission, I'm happy to see that a presentation is scheduled early in the meeting to recognize former Planning Commissioners Rob Dickson, Jeff Mathews, Colin McCarthy and Tim Sesler, shown above with current Chairman Stephan Andranian.  While I often disagreed with those four men as a group and as individuals, one cannot deny their service to our community.  It's completely appropriate to recognize them for that contribution.

PACIFIC ARTS PLAZA DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT REVIEW
There are three (3) public hearings on the agenda.  Item #1, HERE, is the two-year review of the Pacific Arts Plaza (formerly Two Town Center) development agreement.  This one shouldn't take long, even if the new commissioners have questions.

SMALL LOT DEVELOPMENT AT 245 KNOX PLACE
Public Hearing #2, HERE, is yet another small lot ordinance project at 245 Knox Place at the corner of Westminster Avenue, replacing an existing single story residence and a detached garage with two two-story residences.  The project appears to comply with all codes.

SMALL LOT DEVELOPMENT AT 1933 CHURCH STREET
Public Hearing #3, HERE, is one more small lot ordinance project at 1933 Church Street.  This proposal will replace a single story residence and detached garage with two two-story residences.  It appears to meet all codes and asks for no variances.

A THOUGHT...
Permit me an observation...  Since the City Council has recently opted to exclude the Planning Commission from the review of the dammed-up Sober Living Home appeals and applications, this group will find itself with much less to do than anticipated over the next few months.  That decision was a mistake, in my opinion.  This commission is the appropriate body to be the first stop in the appeal process and the City Council is going to find itself buried in those issues for the next few months.

Anger, Frustration Mark The Planning Commission Meeting...

...AND THAT WAS JUST AMONG THE COMMISSIONERS!
Yes, it was a short, tense Planning Commission meeting tonight.  Yes, there was anger, frustration and disappointment in the City Council Chambers, and probably felt most strongly on the dais, as all five commissioners clearly showed their anger and frustration at not being able to hear the four remaining items on their agenda.  Three others had been pulled last week.

LAWYER ABSENT DUE TO FAMILY MEDICAL EMERGENCY
According to information provided by staff during the short discussion of the first item, it seems the lawyer for all of the applicants tonight had some kind of a family medical emergency and so all the applicants and the lawyer requested that all the items on the agenda be continued - and they were!

ANGRY CROWD HEARS BAD NEWS
At the very beginning of the meeting, before what I've been told was a packed house, Chairman Rob Dickson mentioned that there was a possibility that each of the items on the agenda - all sober living homes - would be continued, but they wouldn't know for sure until they began hearing the items.  The members of the public who took time out of their busy lives - again, for some of them - clearly were not happy with that news.

HELPING STANDING ROCK
Thirteen (13) members of the public stepped up during Public Comments to express their views on this situation.  Only one, Mary Spadoni, spoke on another issue - the recent community outreach to gather goods for the Native Americans at Standing Rock.  She used a clever video clip of a pooch to enhance her presentation for the sales of homemade dog cookies, the sale of which will be donated 100% to the folks at Standing Rock.

QUALITY OF LIFE ISSUES
Many of my Eastside neighbors spoke tonight.  Katie Arthur spoke about the impact of the sober living homes on our neighborhoods, citing quality of life issues.  She encouraged the commission to be bold - to think outside the box and work together to get this issue resolved.

"ENOUGH IS ENOUGH"
One speaker told the commission she was appalled that they were considering continuing the items, advising them that these venues were all over the Eastside and that they were near areas earmarked for high density housing.  She told the commission that "enough is enough".

"SICK AND TIRED OF IT"
A local businessman angrily spoke to the commissioners, telling the commissioners they are not listening to what the people are saying, and that they - the people - are sick and tired of it.  He used the word "corrupt" without any details.

SHARED HORROR STORIES
Flo Martin spoke about personal issues and those of her relatives and neighbors in College Park dealing with the impact of sober living homes.

RESTRICT TO COMMERCIAL AREAS
A gent from Irvine who alleged having ties to Costa Mesa suggested closer attention be paid to the State Health and Safety Code and that sober living homes should be restricted to commercial areas.

PANDERING
Richard Russell, a frequent speaker, praised the commission - "you guys make good decisions" and refuted an earlier suggestion by a speaker that the city "invited sober living homes into the city."

CORRUPTION?
The final speaker, who didn't identify himself but proclaimed that he had previously worked for Solid Landings - a large sober living outfit in town - and painted a grim picture of those operations.  He said the operators take advantage of the families of kids in need of detox - claiming that they charged $30,000 per bed per month.  He claimed that the organization broke the rules by housing too many clients, then disbursing them when inspections were scheduled, only to return them later.

SESLER PLEADS FOR UNDERSTANDING
The Public Comment segment lasted about 25 minutes, then came Commissioner Comments and you could see the steam coming from their ears.  Stephan Andranian had nothing to say.  Tim Sesler acknowledged the passing of Jeff Arthur, Chair of the Pension Oversight Committee.  He then pleaded with the audience to understand that the commissioners were there to do the right thing, citing the fact that they all live in the city and raise their families here.

COLIN DEMANDS NUMBERS
Colin McCarthy also acknowledged Jeff Arthur.  He then asked interim Development Services Director Jay Trevino to check with the staff and come back with a number of high density projects this commission had approved in the past 4 years - again, attempting to refute claims made by earlier speakers.  He said he could only recall a couple.

MATHEWS SHOULD HAVE KEPT QUIET
Vice Chair Jeff Mathews was clearly peeved and he said he wanted one or two Code Enforcement officers assigned to doing regular, frequent checks on all the sober living homes in Costa Mesa.  He said if we don't have enough staff he wanted more to be hired.  He also complained about sober living homes being located in residential neighborhoods, defining it as "stupid" that they can be there.  I thought it was interesting, since all the guidance the city has gotten from our lawyers tell us to avoid inflammatory statements like that because it may bite us later in court - it shows an institutional bias against sober living clients - a class of people protected by the ADA and Fair Housing laws.  Usually Mathews just sits there and says nothing.  Tonight that would have been a good idea.

STAFF READY TO GO, MORE OR LESS
At 6:40 p.m. Interim Assistant Director of Development Services Sherri Vander Duessen began, with Deputy City Attorney Tarquin Preziosi, to discuss Public Hearing #1, the sober living home at 2041 Tustin Avenue - a couple blocks from my home on the Eastside.  It was this hearing that took the longest because the issue of the absence of the lawyer for the applicant was discussed at length.

SUMMERHILL KEPT THEM ON COURSE
As each commissioner expressed their anger and frustration it became clear that they REALLY wanted to move forward with the hearing, but the staff was firm in their advice against it.  Deputy City Attorney Yolanda Summerhill held a steady hand on the tiller, reminding the commissioners that it was critical that the applicant receive a fair hearing and that he not be denied due process.  And, of course, she was correct.   To do otherwise would have likely entangled us in lengthy, costly legal battles.

NO MAS!
Both Andranian and Mathews expressed the opinion that if they agreed to continue this item they wouldn't agree to subsequent continuances, even if the applicant's lawyer wasn't available.  Andranian opined that there are plenty of other lawyers out there.

VOTED TO CONTINUE
Summerhill reminded the commissioners that we need to take these issues step-by-step.  Finally, at 6:55, the commission voted, 5-0, to continue this item to a future date - undefined at this time.  The crowd was angry and many began to leave, so Dickson called for a short break - it lasted 2 minutes as the angry folks filtered out of the auditorium.

TEN MINUTES FLAT FOR THE OTHER THREE
When they re-convened they made quick work of the other three sober living issues remaining on the agenda.  It took less than 10 minutes to have each read into the record and to vote to continue them on 5-0 votes.  During the first couple several commissioners continued to grumble about it.

SHORT AND NOT VERY SWEET
At 7:05 p.m. - 65 minutes after the meeting was called to order - Dickson adjourned in memory of Jeff Arthur to the meeting NEXT Monday night, December 12th.  It's my understanding that they have a full agenda at that meeting, too. 

FRUSTRATION ALL AROUND, BUT THEY DID THE RIGHT THING
Here's my view on what happened tonight.  I certainly understand the anger and frustration expressed by my friends and neighbors - and by the commissioners, too.  I believe the commissioners had no other choice but to honor the requests for continuances, even though all were frustrated because a couple had previously been continued.  McCarthy, in an earlier meeting, opined that they were being "played" - manipulated by the lawyer.  That may, in fact, be the case.  However, Summerhill gave them good advice - all five of the commissioners have legal training - and they took it, although begrudgingly.

THE NEW CITY COUNCIL WILL HAVE THESE THROWN TO THEM
It's going to be very interesting to see how this all plays out over the next few months.  The staff has consistently recommended denial of these issues.  The can will be kicked down the road under the normal course of events to a brand new city council.  These hot potatoes will be dropped squarely in their lap, most likely beginning in January.  It's going to be very interesting.

ON JEFF ARTHUR...
On a personal note, I didn't know Jeff Arthur well, but did have several conversations with him and had a chance to watch him work on city committees.  He was a hardworking, decent man who brought intelligence and decades of solid business experience to his assignments for the city.  His presence on the Pension Oversight Committee will certainly be missed.  You can read Bradly Zint's piece on his passing from the Daily Pilot HERE.  Condolences to his family and his friends on this loss.  The following is a video clip from our pal, Barry Friedland at Costa Mesa Brief of a presentation Jeff made to the local Tea Party group on the issue of pensions.

Planning Commission Meeting Wrap...

LATE, BUT MOST FOLKS DON'T CARE...
Yeah, I know... I'm tardy with this report, but I seriously doubt if too many people are worried much about it.  There were fewer than a dozen folks in the auditorium Monday night for the 90 minute meeting, and nearly all of those were involved in one of the two items on the agenda.  But, let's get with it.

PUBLIC COMMENTS
All the commissioners were present at the meeting and they started right on time.  During the Public Comments segment three people spoke on issues important to them.

LICENSING CONFLICT
Steve Chan, who has been up to his ears in hassles with the new night club, Holiday, near his Center Street home, stepped up to remind the commission and Deputy City Attorney Yolanda Summerhill of the complications of issuing an entertainment permit to an establishment that is already encumbered with a beverage permit from the State that includes language affecting noice issues.  He's hoping for a clarification of the issue soon.

SUCCESSFUL GOWN DRIVE
Beth Refakes, representing the Military Affairs Team, told the commission about the successful gown collection/distribution event for the wives of the 1/5 Marines at Camp Pendleton.  She and her cohorts did a great job again of gathering gently-used gowns, prepping them and delivering them to Camp Pendleton for distribution.  Kudos to all involved again.  She also reminded us of the collection of individually wrapped candies for the "Trunk or Treat" event.  Residents are encouraged to deliver candies to City Hall for that distribution in a week or so.

SOBER LIVING HOMES
An unidentified person spoke to the commissioners on the Sober Living Home issue.  She's a member of TBON, a grass-roots organization created a few years ago to help get a handle on the proliferating Sober Living Home issues.  For more information on the group click on their name.

INTRODUCING NEW CONSULTANTS
Before turning to Commissioner Comments Chairman Rob Dickson introduced Jay Trevino, Interim Development Services Director, replacing the departed Gary Armstrong.  Trevino has a long and illustrious career in planning, both in Los Angeles and Orange County.  He held the top Development position in Santa Ana most recently.  He, in turn, introduced another consultant, Peggy Schneble, who is the Interim Assistant Director of Development Services - the position Claire Flynn held until she left for a private sector position earlier this year.  Both these individuals bring decades of relevant public and private sector experience to our city and should be helpful at a time when the workload is up and staffing is down.

During Commissioner Comments Colin McCarthy noted the departure of Fire Protection Analyst, Dave Hollister, who retired last week after decades of service to the City.  He suggested a proclamation be prepared to acknowledge his contributions.

Tim Sesler, once again, refuted comments made by that unidentified person, above.  He does that each time she speaks.

Neither Vice Chair Jeff Mathews nor Commissioner Stephan Andranian had any comments.

Dickson also addressed Hollister's contribution and spoke to Chan's concerns about the ABC license and asked the staff for a brief presentation on the process.

CLARIFICATION ON THE MINUTES OF 9/12/16
Chan asked for one of the items on the Consent Calendar - the minutes of 9/12/16 - be pulled for separate discussion.  He reminded the commission that they were being considered this time is because he challenged them at the last meeting as being inaccurate.  He is concerned that they may not meet the legal test because they are "action minutes".  When he finished it was explained by Dickson that if there were to be any legal challenge parties could refer to the video for a precise record of the event.

OLD LOS ANGELES TIMES SITE
At 6:25 Principal Planner Minoo Ashabi began hearing Public Hearing #1, the Re-zone of the old Los Angeles Times property and an adjacent chunk that currently contains a ball field - a total of just over 23 acres.  One speaker addressed this issue, reminding the commission that the "evil twin mayors" - Steve Mensinger and Jim Righeimer - had long ago commanded that there would be no residential uses north of the 405 Freeway and questioned their authority to unilaterally make such judgments.  She also told the commission that the Pat Moore Foundation - a 78 bed sober living facility - had recently moved out of their facility and, apparently, nobody at the City knew about it.  She wondered what was moving in there.  After almost no discussion the commissioners voted, 5-0, to approve the staff recommendation for the re-zoning of the property.  The entire discussion took less than 10 minutes.

SELF-STORAGE AT 375 BRISTOL STREET
Next came Public Hearing #2, the second pass at a modification of the property at 375 Bristol Street presented by Senior Planner Mel Lee.  The commission denied an earlier plan for this property in June.  This time around consultant Paul Freeman presented a different plan which abandoned the earlier proposed food court, retained some of the existing businesses and reduced the number of self-storage units to 719.

 A half dozen people spoke to this issue.  The previous time many more spoke - mostly business owners that would be forced to move with the old plan.  This time it was equally split between supporters and opponents, including existing business owners on both sides of the issue.

Following the speakers and other discussion Freeman reminded the commission that the current use is very constricted by the location and the airport and that the existing business model is not sustainable. 

Dickson told us he asked for a report from the Costa Mesa Police Department on typical calls for service to public storage places verses calls at the existing auto repair mall.  The self storage facilities had fewer calls for service.

McCarthy recalled the earlier presentation and described it as a "potato only half-baked".  He supported the new plan.

Sesler seemed on the fence about it and interrogated Freeman on some issues.  An amusing sidebar - Freeman had to ask Sesler to speak into the microphone because he couldn't make out what he was asking.  Welcome to my world, Paul!  Sesler is nearly impossible to understand when you're in the auditorium - he usually sounds like he's talking with a mouth full of marbles.

Andranian acknowledged that it is a difficult piece of property to work with, but felt he could support the current plan. 

The commission voted to approve the plan, 5-0, at 7:24 p.m.

ADDITIONAL MEETINGS... MAYBE
Trevino told the commission that they were working on a plan for possibly having extra meetings this month and, maybe, again in December.  He mentioned that they might have back-to-back meetings on October 24th and 25th to accommodate the avalanche of Sober Living Home appeals, and said the staff was working with the commissioners to coordinate their schedules.  As it turns out, as of this afternoon, there will only be one meeting - at the regularly-scheduled time and date - Monday, October 24, 2016.

Surprising Lack Of Unity Marks Planning Commission Meeting

OOPS... A LITTLE DISAGREEMENT
The Costa Mesa Planning Commission met Monday night to a full agenda and, to my amazement, they actually found an issue that split their vote.  More on that when we come to it.

PUBLIC COMMENTS
During Public Comments Beth Refakes, representing the Military Affairs Team, gave an update on the success of the gown drive for the wives of the 1/5 Marines and announced the current candy drive - Trunk or Treat - for the children of that organization.  Individually wrapped candies may be delivered to the lobby of City Hall for this drive.

FIREFIGHTERS FOR THE GOOD GUYS
Mary Spadoni announced the Firefighters event supporting candidates Sandy Genis, John Stephens and Jay Humphrey on Saturday, October 1st at TeWinkle Park at which the firefighters will serve pancakes in the morning and roasted brats for lunch.

CRITICIZING COLIN, TICKING OFF MATHEWS
An unidentified woman took Commissioner Colin McCarthy to task, citing his recent commentary in the Daily Pilot praising the current council majority.  She also asked Vice Chair Jeff Mathews where he lived - south county?  Mathews was REALLY peeved at that question and said he lived on 20th Street and "don't ask me that question again!"  Hmmm... struck a nerve, did she?  As a matter of fact, she can ask him anything she wants and Mathews can do nothing about it.  Methinks he doest protest too much.  Hmmm...

GOOD JOB, SAILORS
During Commissioner Comments Stephan Andranian praised his alma mater, Newport Harbor High School, for their good behavior while losing the Battle of the Bay last weekend.  He was obliquely refering to some bad behavior by students from Corona Del Mar High School at the event.

PETTY TIM
Tim Sesler was peeved at Spadoni's announcement.  He, of course, mispronounced her name - SPANDONI - and suggested she ask firefighters about their high pay.  It was hard to hear him on the CMTV feed - I think he sometimes speaks with marbles in his mouth.

COLIN CAMPAIGNS FROM THE DAIS
McCarthy also used his time to campaign from the dais, speaking about his personal experience ten years ago with alleged firefighters going door-to-door.  He launched in to a lauditory screed about how lucky we are to have the current council majority because they are responsible for our $11 million surplus.

THEY JUST CAN'T STOP IT
Chairman Rob Dickson spoke briefly about how lucky he had been to have purchased a former rehab home on the Westside and how the property has doubled in value.  Again, campaigning from the dais.

CORRECTING THE RECORD
The only item on the Consent Calendar was the minutes of the September 12th meeting and resident Steve Chen pulled them for discussion.  He presented some specific items on the minutes that he said misrepresented the actual facts and asked that they be corrected.  The commission decided to have the staff review the entries and bring the minutes back for approval at a future date.  I think this is the very first time I've seen anyone from the public challenge the minutes.  It was refreshing.

788 CENTER STREET FIRST
Then, instead of taking the Public Hearings in order they decided to pull #4 to the front, apparently because the applicant showed up with small children.  So, the commissioners took a couple of minutes to hear the staff report and hear from the applicant for 788 Center Street in which an old single-story home will be demolished and two units built.  It was approved, 5-0.

THE CURIOUS CASE OF 2850 MESA VERDE DRIVE EAST
Then we went back into the normal order and heard Public Hearing #1, the General Plan Amendment and Rezone at 2850 Mesa Verde Drive East.  This one is curious - and I don't mean that in a good way.  It seems this is out of sequence because the City Council, during a Special Meeting in June to hear the General Plan Update, somehow managed to approve, 4-0 (Gary Monahan was absent) that this issue would be included in the motion.  Normally, there would be a separate hearing in which a Tentative Tract map would be considered.  So, Peter Zehnder - who has build several small developments around town, including one right next door to this proposed project - presented it for the commission's consideration.  The plan is to demolish two existing office buildings and replace them with low density housing.  Zehnder provided a potential project layout.

LOSS OF BUSINESSES
Several prople spoke out against this plan, including Reverand Jim Terrill, who has had an office in one of the buildings for 28 years.  He spoke about the disruption of him and 20 other tenants and those who used the services provided by those businesses.

LOSS TO THE COMMUNITY
Robin Leffler, a Mesa Verde resident, spoke about the loss of this "business community" and how it would negatively impact the nearby residential community.

MCCARTHY BRUSHES CONCERNS ASIDE
After a discussion in which McCarthy shrugged off the claims of this business complex would be a loss to the community by telling us that his dentist used to be there but he didn't like the shabby buildings, so he changed dentists - as if that had ANY relevance to the issue at all!

"THE COUNCIL GAVE US DIRECTION, SO...."
Commissioner Stephan Andranian said he sympathized with the business owners, the City Council had apparently provided direction that this is the way they wanted to go with this proposal.  So, the commission passed it along, 5-0.

LOW DENSITY IN MESA VERDE... CURIOUS
An observation - low density developments are pretty rare these days in our city.  It's more than curious that two of them are now going to be done back-to-back in Mesa Verde - where McCarthy and the Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem lives.   Just sayin'......

SOBECA - DON'T BLINK
That brought us to Public Hearing #2, the required action bringing the recent changes to the General Plan Update for the SoBECA area into compliance with the General Plan.  This took less than 10 minutes and the commisson passed it, 5-0.

PIERCE STREET ANNEX/THE COUNTRY CLUB
Then came Public Hearing #3, the proposal to convert the existing Pierce Street Annex, a bar at 330 East 17th Street, into a restaurant to be called The Country Club.  The applicant, Mario Marovic - owner of the Wild Goose a block to the East - also wanted to have operating hours of 6 AM to 2 AM.  We've seen Marovic in action before - when he pitched his ideas for The Wild Goose.  He's a very polished operator and, lest you forget that, he comes prepared with slides and charts telling you what a great guy he is.

WHAT LIVE ENTERTAINMENT?
One thing that happened during the discussion was the revelation of a couple things.  One, the current operation was already permitted to operate starting at 6 AM if they wished to. And, contrary to a section in the staff report, the current use already includes live entertainment.  That surprised the commissioners.  Marovic didn't want to give either of those up.  There was also some haggling over the facade in the front of the restaurant - the City wants more "transparency" in the front wall and Marovic didn't.  The staff could find no record of a live entertainment permit having been issued - but this place has been open for business under one name or another since 1959.  After nearly 90 minutes the commission eventually passed it, 5-0, with some changes regarding the facade - more light showing - and deleted the reference to live entertainment.

PARKING PROBLEMS WITH THE CRACK SHACK
After a short break they tackled Public Hearing #5, the conversion of a bank building at the corner of 17th Street and Orange Avenue into a restaurant called Crack Shack - a place that specializes in chicken and egg dishes.  This one seems like an interesting concept, but parking was an issue.  The applicant, Mike Rosen, brought with him a "parking consultant" who proceeded to tell the commissioners why our parking standards are all wrong for this use - at least, that's what I think he said, because we couldn't hear a word of his presentation.  He had stepped away from the microphone to be able to read his slides, so those of us watching at home have no clue about what he said, except what we could attempt to interpret from his slides.

RESIDENTS BALK AT PARKING PROBLEM
Beth Refakes and Chuck Perry - both Eastside residents - expressed grave concerns about the parking issue.  It seems our requirements for this use is 75 spaces and the applicant's solution only provides for 62, but does include a valet option.  Round and round the discussion went.  McCarthy observed that in EVERY case involving this kind of a situation the applicant will present a parking expert to find a way around our parking requirement and the result is severely underparked projects like this one.  He specifically cited 17th Street, where parking is terrible.

 SHARED PARKING OPTION
Andranian suggested that the applicant find a nearby business to negotiate a shared parking arrangement.  The applicant said that was in the works, but balked at the requirement because of the unknown of the future of the business in question.  He was adament that his project met the city requirements via the use of valet parking.  After a little more than an hour the commissioners voted, 3-2, to REQUIRE the applicant to find shared parking for 13 more cars.  Dickson and Sesler voted NO.  That was VERY interesting.

 LATER HOURS AND ALCOHOL FOR PIZZA PRESS
The final item, Public Hearing #6 - a Conditional Use Permit for the Pizza Press at Metro Point to operate past 11 p.m. with the onsite sale of alcohol.  The hours would be 11 AM - 1 AM.  The commission took only 10 minutes to approve this one, 5-0.

LATER THAN WE THOUGHT
Dickson adjourned the meetin at 10:10 p.m.