New Planning Commission Sets The Tone

A MEMORABLE FIRST STEP
Monday night the new Costa Mesa Planning Commission met for the very first time in a meeting that was memorable for more than one reason.

THE SWEARING-IN - WITH HARLAN ABSENT
After Deputy City Attorney Yolanda Summerhill led the room in the Pledge of Allegiance, City Clerk Brenda Green conducted the swearing-in ceremony for the four new commissioners in attendance. New Commissioner Jeffrey Harlan was absent due to a family emergency.

WELCOME ABOARD!
Welcome aboard to Stephan Andranian, Byron de Arakal, Isabell Mayer Kerins and Carla Navarro Woods.

 PUBLIC COMMENTS
Interim Development Services Director/Consultant Jay Trevino conducted the Public Comments portions of the meeting.  Eight (8) speakers stepped up to address the commission.

Richard Russell complained about the previous commissions having been "fired", stating flat out it was a bad idea.  Then he thanked the new commissioners for being there, particularly citing Commissioner Andranian as a returning member who could offer continuity.

Cindy Brenneman welcomed the new commissioners, then cautioned them to be careful doing their jobs, citing the fact that Fire Station #1 is currently being constructed simultaneously with new median work being done nearby in Mesa Verde, which is causing all kinds of traffic problems.

Three unidentified people stepped up to complain about the project at 2068 Maple Street.  Summerhill stopped the third midstream and told him they should speak during the time provided when that item is heard.  All three spoke again at that time.

Jay Humphrey congratulated the commissioners, then corrected a number one of those earlier speakers provided about the number of new units built in the past six years.

An unidentified woman encouraged the commissioners to think independently of the others - to make up their own minds.  She praised Andranian for his previous performance on the commission and reminded them that "what you do is important!"

An unidentified business owner and frequent speaker before the commission and the City Council encouraged the commissioners to do what is right for the community, not developers.  Citing the current condition of traffic in the city, he said if it means more traffic, don't build any more.

 ANDRANIAN NAMED AS CHAIRMAN
Trevino then guided the commissioners through the process of selecting a Chairman.  Harlan's name was offered up by Woods, but a substitute motion was made by Kerins nominating returning commissioner Stephan Andranian as Chairman, was seconded de Arakal and he was chosen on a 3-1 vote, with Commissioner Carla Navarro Woods voting NO.  That was interesting...

DE ARAKAL NAMED VICE CHAIRMAN
Andranian then conducted the process of selecting a Vice Chairman for the commission.  Commissioner Byron de Arakal was nominated and seconded and selected on a 4-0 vote.

KERINS NAMED AS COMMITTEE LIAISON
Commissioner Isabell Mayer Kerins was selected to be the liaison to the Housing and Public Service Grant Committee, 4-0.

COMMISSIONER COMMENTS
A short break was taken to juggle chairs on the dais before reconvening for Commissioner Comments.  Woods and Kerins had none.

DE ARAKAL
de Arakal thanked his former compatriots and the staff that supported them on the Parks and Recreation Commission.  He thanked the City Council for their trust in him and offered his congratulations to his fellow commissioners.  He also pledged to weigh the issues and make decisions based the facts and the law, not on personality or politics. 

ANDRANIAN
Andranian thanked the City Council for their trust in selecting him.  He said he signed on previously for a 4-year term and plans to complete that tenure with this assignment.  He said he always listened to the issues and made his decisions considering the property owner's rights and the impact of the decision on neighboring properties.  He also congratulated his fellow commissioners and thanked them for choosing him as chairman.

STRANGE CONSENT CALENDAR SITUATION
Next up was the Consent Calendar, which had a special wrinkle this time.  The only items on the Consent Calendar were five sets of minutes from previous Planning Commission meetings from last year, and the only person on that commission was Andranian.  Deputy City Attorney Summerhill jumped in and told the commissioners that it was OK for them to vote on the minutes if they had a comfort level that they were accurate.  She praised Clerk Julie Colgan and observed that she's very thorough in completing the minutes.  Jay Humphrey stepped to the podium and suggested the commissioners view the tapes before voting on the minutes.  An unidentified woman also addressed this, and observed the minutes contained discussions of Sober Living Homes and agreed with Humphrey about reviewing the tapes.  The commission approved the Consent Calendar, 4-0.

ADDING A SMOG TESTING/REPAIR AT 2059 HARBOR
Next up came Public Hearing #1, the amendment to a planning application to allow automotive service - smog check and repair - at at 2059 Harbor Blvd.  After a 20 minute discussion, including three public comments that opined that this operator should be permitted to run his business, and in which the operator assured the commissioners that the only automotive repair being done at that site would be strictly related to smog compliance with the exception of replacement of catalytic converters, which would be done elsewhere, the commission passed the request on a 4-0 vote.

TIME EXTENSION A SLAM DUNK?  NOPE!
Public Hearing #2, the time extension for a residential project at 2068 Maple Avenue, which should have been a slam dunk, turned out not to be.  The applicants client apparently bought the property and the previously-approved entitlements late last year and was coming to the commission for a one-year extension lest he lose those entitlements on the May, 26th expiration date.  The only issue was the time extension, not the nature of the project - a three-story development with rooftop gardens.

LOTS OF OPPOSITION TO THE PROJECT
Eight (8) residents spoke to this issue, including several who live nearby.  Privacy in their own homes became a large issue because a similar nearby project has sight lines into yards of single story residences nearby.  Several speakers said this project is a corruption of the Westside Residential Overlay, which was concocted and approved a decade ago.

COMMISSION DENYS THE REQUEST
After lengthy discussions by the commissioners in which questions were raised about the applicant's due diligence in acquiring the property with a short time left on the entitlements, and also the fact that there was not financing in place to proceed, the commission eventually voted, 4-0, to DENY the one year time extension.  I cannot recall this ever happening before and may have set the tone for how this commission plans to operate downstream.  The applicant must now scramble to get financing and the tract map approved at the county level, get permits and begin construction - break ground - before that May 26th date or he will lose the previously-approved entitlements.  In my view, this is a really BIG DEAL for the commission and the city.  It will be interesting to see if the applicant appeals the decision to the City Council.

BANQUET/EVENT VENUE AT 3010 RED HILL
The last item on the agenda, Public Hearing #3, was up next.  New commissioner Woods departed, recusing herself for a perceived conflict of interest that was not discussed.  This project will convert an industrial site at the corner of Red Hill and Fischer into a banquet/event venue that will cater mostly to weddings.  There will be alcohol consumption and sales at the site presuming they can acquire the necessary licenses to do so.  Concern was expressed about the security of the alcohol, the parking management of the site and security in general.  Apparently complimentary valet parking will be part of the process - it was specifically mentioned in the discussion before the vote.  de Arakal expressed concern that the site would be made available to promoters and the response was "absolutely not!".  The three remaining commissioners passed the request on a 3-0 vote.

JOINT MEETING WITH CITY COUNCIL IN MARCH
Before Andranian adjourned the meeting to the next commission meeting on February 27th Trevino reminded them to mark their calendars for a joint Planning Commission/City Council meeting scheduled for March 28th at 6:00 p.m.

THOUGHTS....
Some thoughts about this meeting and the new commission...

SMART FOLKS
First, it's not going to take this group long to get settled into their jobs.  This meeting was a good shoehorn for them to begin to figure out where the buttons are on the dais and how the protocols work up there.  It appears to be a strong group.  When Jeff Harlan returns it will be even stronger.  I fully expect to see good, thorough discussions of issues, particularly as the new folks get up to speed in the jargon of the job.

GOOD LEADERSHIP CHOSEN
The selection of Stephan Andranian as Chairman and Byron de Arakal as Vice Chairman was a good move.  Andranian has current knowledge of how things were managed for the past two years.  Certainly, some of that will change, but his institutional knowledge will be very valuable.  de Arakal has demonstrated his skills on the Parks and Recreation Commission for a couple of tours, including as Chairman of that group.  He knows how to run a meeting.  Kerins seems like a very bright woman with a developer orientation, which isn't necessarily bad.  Woods has a strong environmental sensitivity combined with good management skills.  It will take her a little longer to become comfortable with the language of the job - the terms of art that come with any job -  and will likely have to do a little more homework than the others early-on, but she's smart and will bring much to the discussions.  Harlan's presence as a lawyer with a strong planning background will add to the strength of this organization.

THE DARK CLOUD
And now we come to that dark cloud hanging over the Planning Commission - Sandra Genis' voting mistake - and what, if anything, will be done about it. There seems to be no easy "fix" to this - any choice will just add to the confusion and frustration.  I hope we hear about a solution soon - every day that passes with no solution just exacerbates the issue.  In my view, NOTHING should be done about it.  Genis made a mistake, but it is not an earth-shaking mistake.  The City Council has already certified the choices for the three commissions.  They should now just move forward.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY
Happy Valentines Day, everybody.  Give your honey a hug today - I already did - mine, not yours.. you get my drift.

No Surprises At Planning Commission Meeting

IT SEEMED LONGER
The Costa Mesa Planning Commission - with all members present for the first time in awhile - met again Monday night and it took them almost three hours to wade through two agenda items.  It wasn't a long night - it just seemed that way.

MILITARY AFFAIRS COLLECTIONS
During Public Comments, Beth Refakes reminded us that there's still time to donate ball gowns and cocktail dresses to the women of the 1/5 Marines for the Marine Ball.  The cutoff date is September 15th.  She also reminded us that next week the Military Affairs Team will begin collecting individually-wrapped candy for the children of the 1/5 Marines for the "Trunk or Treat" event.

UPCOMING TOWN HALL
Mary Spadoni told us that there's going to be a town hall on September 22nd covering Public Safety and Sober Living Homes.

KUDOS ON BANNING RANCH.... AND SOBER LIVING HOMES
An unidentified person complimented Cindy Black for her photo in the Daily Pilot when the Banning Ranch decision was made last week, stating that it was a victory for the people.  She also told the commissioners that eight of the 15 sober living homes theoretically closed as part of the Solid Landings settlement have reopened.

None of the commissioners had comments.

UFC GYM APPROVED
Public Hearing #1, the request for a UFC Gym replacing a Mitusbishi auto dealership on Harbor Blvd. began just after 6:10 and the vote was taken just over an hour later.  During the discussions the only real sticking points seemed to be the potential for noise for the closest neighbors - more than 250 feet away - as a result of the loud music being played 24 hours a day - and the curious 900 square feet the applicant planned to abandon so they could make the parking spaces work.  Applicant Bill Fancher didn't really have a good answer about the space.  Even during lengthy discussions I don't think we ever had an adequate explanation of what was going to happen to that space.  I guess it's presumed that if the applicant says he won't be using it, then it will just sit empty.  Uh, huh...

WHAT ABOUT NOISE?
Six people spoke on this issue, most of whom were concerned about the noise spillage.  Chairman Rob Dickson seemed concerned about the "bass" (as in sea bass) sound in the music.  Seems he was referring to bass - as in second base - the deepest tones in the music.  He later corrected himself after another speaker used the word properly.  Made me smile.  In any event, after 65 minutes Dickson managed to fumble and stumble through a motion and they voted to approve the project, 5-0.

SPOTLIGHT ON "HOLIDAY"
Then came Public Hearing #2, the request for the new Holiday night club - which sits in place of the old Lion's Den/Maison that generated so much flack last year.  I suspected this one might take awhile, and also suspected it might generate some significant community input.  It did, and it did.

MEL GAVE US THE HISTORY
Senior Planner Mel Lee provided us with the staff report and the background of this property.

ROLAND WHO?
Consultant Karen Martin then presented the applicants side of the story, complete with a fancy set of slides, most of which are shown below and are fairly self-explanatory.  I must note that she couldn't distance their project from the now-infamous Roland Barrera quickly enough, as you can see in the third slide below. (click on the images if you have a hard time reading them)

EXPERT - CAN'T GET RID OF ALL THE SOUND
Another of their speakers was Landon Brown, the acoustic expert hired to help them with the noise issues.  I'll not attempt to cover everything he said, but at the end he acknowledged that it was probably not possible to contain ALL the musical noise coming from the night club, despite significant improvements to the place.  He observed that they needed a number against which to measure performance toward meeting the goals in the application.

CHEN SPOKE HIS PIECE
Ten people spoke on this issue, several of whom were not from Costa Mesa, but were in favor of the venue.  The pros and cons were evenly mixed.  Steve Chen, a resident immediately behind this site, had the proxy to speak for four other people, so Chairman Rob Dickson allowed him fifteen minutes to speak.  He addressed what he said was the overarching authority of the State agency to control this noise issue, and went on at length discussing specific sections of the state regulations - which were obliquely referred to in the conditions of approval - that he said acknowledged this fact.

CHO SAYS NO
Lawyer Michael Cho, retained by the applicant as their ABC expert to address this issue, disputed Chen's position strongly.

OWNER LOVES THE GUYS
Property Owner Larry Smith spoke in favor of the venue, stating that this ownership group was his best tenant in 44 years.

MARGINAL COMMUNITY REPLYS
Managing Partner Marty Kish spoke about the outreach engaged in with the local neighbors, indicating only one had replied so far.  They offered to place sound measuring devices at each propery.

COLIN CRITICIZED CHEN
During the discussion Colin McCarthy criticized Chen's presentation and said he was willing to support the applicant.

YOLANDA MASSAGES THE LANGUAGE
Much discussion ensued as Chairman Dickson consulted with Deputy City Attorney Yolanda Summerhill on some of the language in the resolution.  The motion that was made included a requirement for sound measuring to begin immediately and be reported back within a month instead of the 6 months in the staff report.  The commissioners voted, 5-0, to approve this project.  However, history of this site makes me think this is certainly not the end of this issue.  Without a firm sound measurement line there's too much fuzziness.  It's going to be interesting to watch this play out.

THREE HOURS - SEEMED LIKE SIX
The meeting ended just a couple minutes before 9 p.m., having spend an hour and three quarters on this issue.