Planning Commission - Regular Meeting

Yeah, I can't hear it. Yes. Did you hear it that time? Maybe I'm too far away.

We are testing the external audio. We can hear you in here, and I think we're gonna be okay now. Yes, we're good.

Testing.

Chairperson Walker.

Present.

Vice Chair Tran Martin. Commissioner Lieberman?

Here.

Commissioner Perez?

Here.

Commissioner Castro?

Here.

Commissioner Abdul-Rahman?

Here.

Commissioner Kelly?

Here.

We have a quorum.

Thank you very much. If you would all please silence your phones so that they don't disrupt the proceeding, we would appreciate that. The doors at the back of the room are automatic. They open when you get close to them and they don't close until you walk farther down the hall. Please move away from the automatic doors and allow them to close. Today we have one public hearing item on our agenda. I would ask members of the public who wish to speak on a public hearing item to please complete a yellow speaker card and give it to staff if you have not already done so. The cards can be found on the entrance table. Please note that public comments are limited to three minutes and we will ask you to keep your remarks as brief as you can. We are influenced more by the content of your testimony than the length of your presentations. First, we provide an opportunity for any member of the public to speak on items of interest to the public that are within the subject matter jurisdiction of the commission that is not a public hearing item or that is not on today's agenda. Is there anyone that wishes to speak at this time? Seeing nobody, prior to the beginning of the public hearing, I will ask planning commissioners for any disclosures they wish to make regarding the public hearing item today on today's agenda. Seeing no one, please note that the actions taken by the planning commission tonight will be final unless an appeal is filed with the city clerk. The appeal deadline is July 23rd, 2026 at 5 p.m. Appeal forms and information are available on the city clerk's web page. I will now begin public hearing item one and ask staff to present.

Good evening, Chair Walker and members of the Planning Commission. My name is Stacy Tran, Senior Planner. The item before you tonight is a request for approval of a conditional use permit and tentative track map to construct a 27 unit for sale residential project with a modification to building setbacks and a wall and fence variance filed by Malia Homes. The 2.1 acre project is comprised of four individual residential properties located along Ball Road. The surrounding residential neighborhood consists of single family homes to the north and across Ball Road to the south and attached town homes to the east and west. The properties are located in the corridor residential zone designation in the general plan and transition zone of the zoning code, which allows residential development through a conditional use permit. The site is developed with four single family residences and supporting structures. Demolition of the existing structures and site improvements would be required to accommodate future residential development. The applicant proposes approval of a tentative track map to establish a one lot condominium subdivision for the future sale of the 27 residential units. The map includes a 23 foot dedication along the entire project frontage on Ball Road and public easements for utility purposes. The proposed project would develop at a density of 12.85 dwelling units per acre, which is within the general plan's allowable density of zero to 13 dwelling units per acre. The applicant proposes development of 27 units, which include 19 detached homes and 18 attached homes that are duplexes. The two-story homes range in size from 1,500 to about 1,550 square feet, each with attached two-car garages and private rear yards. The proposed project will continue to take access from ball road from a single driveway that connects to an internal loop drive that serve the residential garages and surface parking areas. The project provides 81 parking spaces consisting of 2054 spaces and garages and 27 open spaces which meets code. recreational leisure areas are provided and private rear yards, which are shown in green and a common central area shown in yellow for a combined total of close to 1700 square feet. The common area includes a recreational amenities, such as a lawn area shade structure picnic tables and benches. As part of the conditional use permit, the applicant is requesting to reduce the minimum required building to building setback from 15 to seven feet for some of the units. Staff supports this request since the reduced setback is limited to interior building separations and wouldn't affect perimeter setbacks or emergency access. Privacy will still be maintained through building orientation while allowing an efficient and compatible residential site layout. Aside from the requested setback modification, the project complies with all other building setbacks. Additionally, a variance is being requested for the wall and fences along the project frontage. The code requires structures along major arterials to provide a minimum 15 foot setback. Any walls and fences located within the setback are limited to a maximum height of three feet. The applicant proposes a six-foot wall, decorative steel fencing, and private side fences located six feet on Ball Road. Enhanced landscaping will be provided layered with shrubs, hedges, vines, and trees in front of the wall and fenced to soften the streetscape. Staff supports this request due to unique site constraints from roadway dedication and frontage improvement requirements that constrain the site design. The requested six foot wall within the setback provides noise attenuation, privacy, and screening for the homes along Ball Road. A similar request was granted for the neighboring residential development to the east, which received approval for a taller wall under similar conditions. As previously mentioned, the project includes four existing residences, three owner-occupied units, and one two-bedroom unit occupied by a low-income renter. Consistent with state replacement housing requirements, the applicant has designated Unit 27, which is shown at the star, as the required replacement unit for a low-income household. The applicant will also be required to provide any applicable relocation assistance in accordance with state law. These are renderings of the project along Ball Road, which features a contemporary California farmhouse architectural style with varied roofs, smooth stucco finishes, decorative shutters, recessed windows, and enhanced trim detailing. Each unit would include a front porch or patio with privacy walls or fences in the rear and side gates. Enhanced architectural detailing has been incorporated into the building elevations from Ball Road to avoid blank wall conditions and to provide visual interest along the project frontage. The proposed project would redevelop four residential parcels with a new 27 unit for sale residential development. It is consistent with the general plan designation and applicable zoning development standards, except where reduced setbacks or a variance is requested. The project provides a high quality residential community with adequate parking, circulation, open space, landscaping, and enhanced ball road streets. street scape improvements. For these reasons, staff recommends approval of the conditional use permit with modified setbacks and variance and the tentative track map subject to the conditions of approval. This concludes the staff's presentation. Staff and the applicant are available to answer any questions. Thank you.

Thank you very much. Any questions for staff?

Thank you, Ms. Tran. I just want to confirm, I heard you say it, but there are the developers not requesting any variance to the setback on the interior properties that abut the neighbors on the three sides, that's correct? That's correct. Can you just tell me what the...

Code is or how far those buildings are gonna be basically from the wall Separating the various properties so from the east and west these buildings will be a minimum of 15 feet and then on the north they These buildings will be a minimum of 20 feet whereas these where there's a dry vial. They're gonna be I believe it's like 50 feet Okay, thank you very much

Any other questions? Very good. I'm going to open the public hearing and invite the applicant to come forward.

Hello and good afternoon, Chairman Walker, members of the commission. My name is Chad Brown, Vice President of Planning and Development for Malia Homes. Malia has, I think this is about our sixth or seventh project within the city of Anaheim. We're excited to be back. We're excited to actually be building two-story detached condominiums or duplexes here as opposed to three-story row towns, which we've done for probably the last five, seven years or so. I think staff did a tremendous job. I want to thank Stacy and the rest of the staff for their time and effort in working on this. One point that I want to bring forward is the project, I think, is a real benefit to the city from the standpoint of, if you look back at the aerial that was in the staff report, that Ball Road is an unimproved area out there right now. Not only will this project cause the dedication of that right-of-way to be given to the city, but this project will also improve that entire frontage of Ball Road and add the lane and so forth, lane and additional parking on Ball Road Street, or Ball Road Avenue. I guess it's just Ball Road, right? We'll add that additional parking out on Ball Road as well. So we're not just giving the dedication, but our company would be doing the improvements in accordance with the conditions of approval and under the Public Works oversight. Unless there are any specific questions, I've read through the conditions of approval. I'm accepting of those conditions on an action for approval tonight. I do ask for your approval. I think it's important that I point out to you that part of our process at Malia Homes that we go through before we ever file an application with the city as a part of our due diligence on property is I send out letters to all immediately adjacent property owners, giving them an information, an introduction to us, an introduction to the project as we are at least conceptually proposing it. And that was done in this case. I did receive calls from two of the neighbors in the single family homes on the north side of this. They were very interested in that setback distance from their back wall to our property and that we were compliant with the regulations there. And I talked to them last week again through follow up just to let them know that there weren't any changes from our concept to where we are tonight. And they were very pleased with both the outreach as well as the product. They were happy to see something developed there that might keep some people from wandering off of Ball Road back to their back fences and jumping into their backyards that they've said have had happen in the past. and additionally with that the sunshine ordinance sign has been out since december of 2025 and i and i don't believe staffers have received any calls as a result of the sunshine ordinance side so again i'm happy to answer any questions you have and i do ask for your approval of this project tonight thank you thank you i think i may have forgotten to open the public hearing so i'm doing that now in case Want me to run that back?

No, that's okay. Questions from any commissioners? Very good. We'll see if anyone comes up. Do you have any?

We don't have any.

Does anyone wish to speak on this matter? Seeing nobody, I'm gonna close the public hearing. And any follow-up questions?

I'll move for approval.

I'll second. Very good, let's vote. Nope.

Chairperson Walker?

Yes.

Commissioner Lieberman?

Yes.

Commissioner Perez?

Yes.

Commissioner Castro?

Yes.

Commissioner Abdul-Rahman?

Yes.

Commissioner Kelly?

Yes.

Motion passes.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Thank you. Congratulations. Next on our agenda is the planning commission reorganization where we will select the next chairperson and vice chairman chairperson. Um, I will now ask the assistant a city attorney to conduct the reorganization.

Okay then. So just a reminder under the commission's rules and procedures, any commission member may make a nomination. We will take them in the order that you wish, either vice chair first or chair first, but we should take them in order. Nominations do not require a second, but once all nominations are in for the particular position, we do need to close nominations and then vote. on that, and we are looking for the highest number of at least a majority of at least four. So I guess I'll just go ahead and ask, do you have a preference, Chair, as to if we take up the Vice Chair or the Chair first? Perhaps we do the Chair first?

I think the Chair first would probably be good.

Okay, so at this point we'll open up nominations for the position of Vice Chair.

I would like to.

I'm sorry, the position of chair, sorry.

What, oh.

We'll take up nominations for the position of chair.

Okay, I would like to nominate Commissioner Castro.

Are there any other nominations? At this point, it would be appropriate for someone to close nominations by motion.

I'll make a motion to close.

Thank you, motion made by Commissioner Perez. May we please vote on the motion to close nominations for the chair position? Please vote.

Motion carries six zero.

Okay, congratulations, Chair Castro. Now we will move to the second position of vice chair. Are there any nominations for vice chair? You know what, you are correct. I'm sorry about that. We did vote on closing. Now we will have the vote on the chair position. The nomination is Chair Castro.

Motion carries.

Once again, congratulations, Chair Castro. Thank you, Commissioner Lieberman. We'll now move on to Vice Chair. Are there any nominations for the Vice Chair position?

I would like to nominate Commissioner Walker.

Are there any other nominations for the position of Vice Chair? At this point, it would be appropriate for a motion to close.

I'll make a motion to close.

Now we will vote on the motion to close.

Motion closed 6-0, motion passes.

So now we will take up a vote on the appointment of Commissioner Walker to the position of Vice Chair.

Motion passes 5-1.

Thank you. And congratulations, Vice Chair.

I've got two for you this evening. The next Planning Commission meeting, we will have a conditional use permit for an adult daycare facility. And the next city council meeting on July 28th, the city council will be considering the housing element update. That's all I have this evening.