Planning Commission - Regular Meeting

Mr. Chair, we're live.

Well, good evening. Um, I'd like to call this meeting to order. This is the regular meeting of the Baldwin Park Planning Commission of for September 24th, 2025 at 7:01. Um, if you're able to please stand for the flag salute Great. Thank you all. Planning Secretary, will you please um call roll?

Yes. Good evening. Uh Chair Pñena, present. Commissioner Escobosa, present. Commissioner Rodriguez, present. Commissioner Miranda Dib,

present. Thank you. Oh, and may uh may the record reflect that um the vice chair uh is vacant. Thank you. On to verbal communications. I now declare verbal communications open. Anyone wishing to address the commission on anything other than the items listed on the agenda may come to the podium, take a number, and we will call speakers in numerical order. Uh, of course we will be restricting your comments to maximum of three minutes. So any wish, anybody wishing to speak, please come to the podium. Seeing no further interest, I now declare verbal communications closed. Um, now on to the consent calendar. The lone item on the consent calendar is the meeting minutes from the previous planning commission meeting. Would any commissioner like to pull this item? Seeing none, I do I have a motion to approve the minutes of June 20 June 25th of 2025 on the consent calendar.

I motion. Good question. Motion to approve. Sure. Thank you. Thank you for that clarification. Is there Do I have a second? I'll second. That in mind, can we get a roll call, please? Chair Pña, yes. Commissioner Escoa, yes. Commissioner Miranda the Zip, I'll abstain. I was absent on that uh meeting. Thank you. Commissioner Rodriguez, yes. Motion carries.

Thank you. On to public hearings. The only case on the agenda is the request for consideration of a general plan amendment to change the land use designation from commercial industrial to park space, a zone change from industrial commercial to open space, and a design uh review for the construction of a new approximate 9,000 ft² pocket park, the Anna Montenegro Park located in um the uh APN uh 8536-16-902. too. Planning staff, may you please have a presentation?

Yes, thank you. Uh it, can you please ceue it up? Thank you. As residents of the city, I'm sure you're all aware that the city of Balden Park is deficient in parks and open space. Balden Park has 0.3 acres of park space per 10,000 residents compared to the county average of 3.3 acres per thousand per thousand residents. Public parks offer recreational opportunities benefits. They benefit the community health and wellness and provide aesthetic beauty and enjoyment. Because of these benefits, the city is committed to finding opportunities to expand existing parks, trails, and finding opportunities to create parking uh pocket parks, which is why I'm pleased to present to you the city's proposal for a brand new park named Andam Monro Park. This pocket park is approximately 9,000 square ft in size on land that is vacant and is located in the northwest corner of Main Avenue and Joonbridge Street. The current Oh, the current land use of the property is industrial and the current zoning is industrial commercial. And it is bordered by an auto repair use to the north, a water utility to the south, a single family residence to the west, and light industrial uses across the street to the east. The property was acquired by the city in April 2022 using Quimby in community enhancement funds for the future use of park as park space. The recreation and community services department brought acquisition of the the property before the city council on April 6th, 2022 and share the conceptual

design of the park to the city council on February 5th, 2025. The feedback received from the city council at those meetings was incorporated into the project scope. Next slide. The park celebrates pre-Colombian artistry and incorporates quality design wherever possible. Improvements such as colorful place uh a colorful play surface, a play structure, a swing set, and play climbers will be installed for the kids to play on. shade sails, a decorative shade structure, and five sha shade trees will will add relief from the sun and the elements and providing provide a relaxing environment for all. A men and women's restroom building will be built on the west side of the park. A 10-ft block wall will be constructed along the park's north and west boundaries to provide visual and noise screening for the adjacent properties. A decorative 3-ft wall and 8 8 foot tall uh steel pickets on top will be placed along the south and east edges of the park. There will be a pedestrian gate that will be closed at sunset to securely close the park at night. Additional amenities will include benches, seating boulders, a bike repair station, a drinking fountain, decorative seat walls, trash receptacles, solar powered security lighting, and a camera system, and a monument sign. No off- streetet parking is provided with this proposal. Next slide, please. This project is proposed on a lot with a land use designation of commercial industrial and a zoning designation of industrial commercial. The land use and zoning must be changed to accommodate the public park and both the land use and zone change require the the following findings

that the amendment is consistent with all of the goals, policies and objectives of the general plan. The amendment will not adversely affect the surrounding properties. The amendment promotes public health, safety, and general welfare. And that the amendment serves the goals and purposes of the zoning code. um on that first one which is the that the amendment is consistent with the goals and policies and objectives of the general plan. The project is consistent with goal three uh which is for the provision of a revitalization of deteriorating land uses and properties. And that is because it will develop a vacant lot currently that's um it's just uh characterized as as just plain dirt and will convert it into a thriving park space. The park is also consistent with urban design element of the general plan that calls for the beautifification of street frontage through landscaping, lighting and community amenities near the gateways of the city. Lastly, the project is consistent with the goals of uh goals for mini parks, also called pocket parks, in the general plan, and it is located on a street corner and it is uh designed for safety and security and it will be regularly serviced by city employees all of which is in support of that uh land use element or sorry element of the general plan. Uh the second the second one is the amendment um the amendment will not adversely affect the surrounding properties. Parks are widely accepted by the community as amenities that benefit the the area that they serve. So the expectation of a park additional park space on the subject lot is a positive and it will be a positive effect on the surrounding properties. Efforts taken to

provide appropriate security measures such as lighting and security cameras ensure a safe environment. Limiting park use at daytime only further secures the site and protects the site against potential nuisances. The next goal was that or the next finding is that the the amendment has to promote public health, safety and general welfare. The city of Baldwin Park is underserved in terms of park space and all new park areas where uh residents and visitors can recreate and enjoy natural amenities supports the general welfare of the city. And the la that last finding is that these amendments have to serve the goals and purposes of the zoning code. Uh the project is proposing an amendment to the zoning for the property to be open space uh which will comply with the the proposed park space uh uh land use that's proposed for this project. Next slide please. Just a quick note here, there's a typo on the slide. The heading should be the design review findings and not what's written there. As far as the design review findings, the project the project site is fenced with chain link fence and is unimproved with simple dirt and uh some scattered vegetation. The the proposals to develop the site into a vibrant park space for the community to enjoy. The design also reflects the community's vision for the space, fostering a harmonious blend of history, culture, and education. The overall design incorporates culturally rich elements such as a tower-like play structure inspired by an alabri serpent, a rubberized flooring with pre-colrian pre-colian patterns, walls with talo vera pottery designs and a shade

structure uh with a design inspired by pel picallo. The only building uh proposed on the property is a 500 square foot restroom building and that will have Spanish architecture to match match the Spanish influenced design of the park. the project meets the required findings for design review. Um as detailed further detailed in the staff report um in in regards to SQA the SQA finding for this project uh a a draft initial study mitigated negative declaration was prepared to identify potential site specific environmental constraints associated with the Baldin Park and a Monge project. The draft initial study determined that the project could result in potentially significant impacts following the uh environmental topics of biological resources, cultural resources, energy, geological soils, noise, and tribal resources. Since all the potentially significant impacts could be fully mitigated, the project qualifies for a mitigated negative declaration and therefore does not require the preparation of an environmental impact report or SQA. Next slide, please. In conclusion, it is recommended that the planning commission approve the following resolutions in support of an the Anamana Negro Park project. recommending that the city council approve uh uh the approval of the general plan amendment zone change and and design review and adoption of the initial study mitigated negative declaration and mitigation monitoring and reporting program. Thank you. That concludes my presentation and I'm

available for any questions that you may have. Thank you for that presentation, Nick. I know it's been a long time getting to this point. So, I appreciate your staff um um and the rest of this uh department working on this um um report. Um are there any questions? Um all right, we're going to uh not yet. We'll go and open up a public clear in a few moments. Uh so, first of all, we're going to have the commission ask any questions to staff. Um, I do have a couple of questions and I apologize if you already covered this. Um, but as with any park, um, there's going to be people that are driving towards the location to access the resources. Was there any conversation or mention about how many parking spaces would be created for this? So there are no uh parking spaces proposed for the project given that it's a it's a it's a very small site and a pocket park um no no parking was provided. Okay. And then um my my last question then would be um I know that the city has taken a lot of measures maybe currently still taking a lot of measures um to create some water sustainable um systems in the larger parks. Is there any conversation about that taking place with these smaller pocket parks?

Yes. uh this this project will be subject to low impact development and we'll incorporate those uh design elements in support of that requirement into um the project design. Most of that most of that you won't it'll be there you won't even see. So that'll be um a lot of pvious soil. There's going to be drought tolerant landscaping and then there will definitely be uh elements that are designed to retain storm water on site. Thank you. And then Nick, do you mind clarifying? Are you also considered the applicant at this point or are you in what capac is it

um presenting on behalf? So I would say the applicant is uh the city's um recreation and community services department but presenting on behalf of the city. Okay. So we can ask you questions in the capacity as city planner but also in the capacity of the applicant. Yes. Roman, did you have any questions? I know you're an expert in parks and wreck. Um I know you mentioned mentioned some of them a little bit in the report. Could you elaborate more on the safety measures, lighting, um mentioned the fence and then hours of operation?

Yes. Yeah, happy to do so. Um there will be lighting um uh there will be lighting for safety, pedestrian uh pedestrian level uh safety. Uh there's going to be cameras, a camera system there that will be able to be monitored um remotely. So that's a great uh benefit that um both for city staff for for ease of um monitoring and and en ensuring safety. Um perhaps the biggest safety measure I would say is the limiting of park hours. So it's going to be open during the day and it's going to be closed at night. And so this is an important uh point to stress because many parks are officially closed at night but have no way to um keep people out or to really to really secure the site. This will be a fully fenced park. So there'll be walls on two sides and then there'll be fences on two sides. And um so at at sunset those those fences are going to close. There'll be no way to get into the park. So that will um that will do they'll go the farthest I would say to protect um the site from becoming any sort of nuisance where people are hanging out when they shouldn't be there.

Um and two more questions real real simple though. Um would this be considered an passive park or would there be programming there? I would say it's um it's I would say it's somewhat active um because it has um play equipment. It has features to to draw people in opposed to a passive park which you might find um landscaping and trails. So, and last question just cuz I'm in the parks and recreation business. Yes. You got a small new park. Is it will it be pet friendly or would there be a limitation on pets inside the park? Ah, it's a good question. I I don't know the answer. I'm sorry. Thank you.

Okay. Um couple questions. uh when reviewing the report um I I know as part of this report um or sort of when we mix these types of um projects was there any feedback from the community? I know that parks and wreck had sort of a listening tour. Um but as far as just the notices and so forth, were there any um feedback from from the local residents on this? Uh in response to the notices, no notice. Okay.

No. Um the other question I have is I know this was being funded by grant funding. So I'm curious from the point of view of parks and wreck or even just the uh larger um administration of the city um is there going to be what is the sustainability for the funding to ensure that the security measures as well as the maintenance of the park um are maintained over a long term versus what the grant funds are intended for? That's a good question and often one that's difficult to to to to fully get around because it does require projection of funding. Uh so so Quimby fees are so it's one of the contributing funding sources for the development and that's quim Quimby fees are received when there's other other developments going on. Everyone pays into um purchasing a pro park space. So that's part of what goes to the initial funding and then there was another source as well. But I think you were you what you're getting at is for the operations and maintenance.

Correct. There may so that part is um I think it's to be determined. I mean the the assumption is that general funds will go go towards the operations and maintenance of this small park and uh city staff will will use our existing resources to cover it. But that isn't to say that uh future grants couldn't be obtained to u just supplement the costs or or partially go towards paying for the operations and maintenance.

Thank you. And then I know Commissioner Scabosa brought up a really good point about parking. Um so I know when I look at the report it implies that it is for folks who are walking or um or or being on a bike. Um I recall when I was in one of sort of the listening tours, um they talked about having maybe sort of a bike station to repair and so forth. So my concern is still that there isn't parking. Um you know, are people parking on the street? You know, is there create more density? Um I'm curious to see other pocket parks outside of the city of Baldin Park. um when looking into, you know, finally developing this, you know, were there any um adverse problems as a, you know, as a result of having no parking or did it maybe discourage people from even fully enjoying it, you know, rather than an active park, it was more sort of a passive park. So, I'm really curious to see, you know, again, from the parks and wreck point of view, um, if this is going to become sort of a serious issue where, you know, it's nice in paper, but in reality, nobody's going to just because, you know, there's the accessibility part to it.

Yeah, it's it's it's definitely a good topic to bring up. Um, parking is always great when you we can provide it because it does open the park up to to more users than than you would have if if there's no parking. So, as a parket park and and being so small, it's going to cater to your very local community, folks that can walk to it, folks that can bike or take um non-motorized transit, perhaps even bus. Um, so that is by not providing parking, you are going to limit, that's just a a reality of it. You're going to limit how many users from that that are going to be driving can actually use the park. But I think as a parket park, it is more intended for that the more immediate community. Thank you for that clarification. Um, another concern of mine is the noise and the privacy. Um, certainly I know that there's sort of some efforts to, you know, sundown, let's close down the park. Um is there um ensuring that there isn't any crime or so forth? Is there um any monitoring system any official monitoring system aside from you know PD you know coming and just checking in on or code enforcement stopping by? Is there sort of an active monitoring system in place to ensure that you know the noise level is kept you know at at a minimum or there is sort of a consistent feedback from the surrounding neighbors where again it's not some neighbor coming into to the second floor here and providing the feedback and then of course they just take it and it just stays there. Is there sort of an active

monitoring system in place to ensure that? Well the the surveillance cameras will be there. So, so there's in terms of monitoring, there'll be visual monitoring of uh of the site and that'll be uh around the clock 24/7. So, that's that's a big benefit because that not all parks have that. And then will it be monitored 24/7 in real time or available? So, the feed the feed will will never turn off. So, the police department will have access to the feed. Um in terms of servicing and sorry, let me clarify. So the the feedback um it's it's being recorded 24/7, but it's not somebody at dispatch that has a monitor and looking at the park. Is that correct?

I I'm not sure of the detail of that of um to what extent it's going to be and how actively it be monitored, but it will be available to be moni monitored.

Sure. Um and then just the last question that I have is um I know when there was the report there were again sort of I think three factors or three um obstacles when looking at it. I think there was one sort of the burial understandably um but the other one was just sort of the noise the construction noise as well as the potential of the or is it the nursery for the birds. Um can you elaborate more on those you know pretty much the issue but more importantly how it's going to be um tried to kept as a to to a minimum or mitigated? Yeah, for um of course um construction noise is always it's construction noise is always an issue for uh for any project during construction. It's it's un it's anticipated that heavy machinery will be used and every time you're using heavy machinery whether it's for grading or moving dirt around that's going to there's going to be noise impacts but uh the code does allow for that given that it's temporary. And furthermore, there are um mitigation measures included in the the monitoring program that um require best practices be used and as long as those best practices are used, I think um it it should be a good project. It should be should be fine. I think you also mentioned um nesting from birds. So also also with the the mitigation measures there is going to um it's going to protect potential birds nesting in there provided the mitigation uh measures are followed. You typically those med mitigation measures are that you don't um remove the vegetation where those nests might be during the nesting season. So you plan according accordingly. Thank you. And just the last question, the actual last question that I have

now, um, currently it's just a dirt site. Is that right? So, had how long has it, if you know the information, how long has it been a vacant lot? Um, actually, I'm not aware that it was developed if if it was developed before. Yeah. So, and then the city recently purchased that law. Is that right? Is that okay? Relatively recently, a year ago or so. Uh I think it was 2022.

2022. So before then it was still undeveloped um area. So you know I think just thinking out loud and I'm not you know um putting words in your mouth or the city's mouth but you know if the city wouldn't have come at 2022 and purchased it um present day at 2025 going into 2026 it most likely could have been sort of still a vacant lot unless somebody else had purchased and developed it. Right. I suppose. Yes. If I may add to that um I can the site based on its existing situation because it's still an assigned APN which is the assessor's parcel number or or identification number and no address has been issued that leads to to tell me that this site was never developed.

Yeah, good point. Because if a site is developed then the city whether it's the planning department or our building and safety would assign it an physical address to the site. That's why in the staff report project site irreference an assessor's parcel number versus an address because it was never developed as an official building or site that was utilized whether prior to the city incorporation or during the city incorporation. Thank you for that clarification. Are there any additional questions?

I have one last question just out of curiosity. I did see in the report that um I'm going to try so hard to pronounce all these words correctly. The hereditary chief of the Kichchi Nation, Gabriel Nino Band of Mission Indians, reached out asking for basically a sit down to have um governmenttogoment conversations and consultation around this project. Do you know if that's taken place? Yes. Yes. So we've uh we've engaged in consultation with um with that tribe and offered and offered mitigation measures with them. Thank you.

All right. Uh seeing that there aren't any further questions uh to the commission to staff by the commission um I will now declare the public hearing open. Anyone in the audience wishing to speak on this matter uh will have your opportunity to speak. um please come to the podium and you'll have three minutes to speak. Before I have somebody uh or the members of the community, we do ask the applicant the opportunity to speak first for three minutes. So, I know you've said a lot, Nick, but in this case, would you still like to have the opportunity um or anybody from your staff to speak? Um no, we'll go ahead and yield to the uh the audience.

Great. Thank you. So, with that, we're going to go ahead and again open public testimony. Anybody wishing to speak, please come to the podium. And when you get to please Yes. Once you come to the podium, please state your name and then you'll have three minutes to speak.

Good evening, council members. My name is Laura Carmona. I'm here with my husband, Manuel Chavez. We're the residents that live right next to the empty lot. Um I can address one um point that you brought up was the parking. We've brought that up uh many times when you said there was no input from the community. We've brought that up quite a bit. We've been here to the comm to the meeting, the first meeting that they had. I addressed the mayor. She didn't address my concerns. I wrote her an email. Still didn't address my concerns. So, as far as the parking, I've let them know there is no parking. The street parking that's there now is overtaken by the businesses on Main Street. There's uh auto shops, mechanic shops. They come and they park all their cars there. So there'll be no parking for the park. We've let them know that there is no parking. They fill up all both sides of the street is full with their cars from the auto shop. That's one issue that you brought up. So there there'll be no parking for the park because they overtake all the parking that's there. We've mentioned it to them. Why can't they make parking for the park so there's spots for people that want to go to the park so they can park there? They said there there just won't be no parking for the park. It's it's curbside parking, street parking. So, that's the answer that we got. As far as the surveillance, how do I know that with the cameras, my privacy is not being invaded by those cameras? We're right next to a empty lot. That was one of our concerns. Yes, the cameras offer security, but what about our privacy? What about the foot traffic that's going to be coming by our house? What about that? We've addressed all these concerns to the mayor. I've written emails to the mayor, to the city manager. He's been very helpful. Because of the city mayor, I mean the city manager, we got the 10-ft wall cuz they

were going to just put a decorative fence right next to our property, which is they're putting a seating area right next to our garage. So, I was like, how is that um going to affect our privacy if there is no wall? it was just going to be a fence, a decorative fence. So, that brick wall was something that we fought for as a resident right next to that empty lot. That's one of my concerns, too. I suggested speed bumps up and down the street cuz down Joanbridge Street, cars drive very fast. I know cuz I jog every morning around the block and cars do not slow down. I'm going like this to them. They still don't slow down. There's an issue with the homeless in our neighborhood. I've brought that up every day. There's a new homeless in our neighborhood. Every day I've sent pictures to the city manager every day. This is the homeless of the day. This park, I keep telling them, is going to attract the homeless, especially with the restroom. We've been telling them it's a very small area.

Thank you for your time. I do have to stop you there. There's more issues. What's your name? I didn't catch your name. My name is Eric Pñan. Just to clarify, we are commissioners, just a humble commissioners, not council members. Okay. Thank you so much for your time. Okay. With you because you seem to be asking a lot of important questions that the mayor didn't even ask. He just approved the last layout. You can send any questions uh to to the city planner and the city planner will will um forward the questions to us or comments. Thank you so much. Is there anyone else from the audience wishing to speak on this matter? you can state your name and then we'll

Good evening. My name is George and um although I am for parks um I am concerned about like few things such as you mentioned it it is an industrial area how are they going to benefit or how is the community going to or I'm not sure if it's the right place to place a pocket park when there's not enough residents there's no parking how are they going to travel there is there uh enough homes around or for people to use that park or is it just going to be a place for homeless to stay. Like the if it's if it's there's not enough homes around that park, I don't think it's beneficial for that community to place a pocket park there. Um other than that, um yeah, thank you for your time. Is there anyone else who hasn't spoke wishing to speak on this matter? Okay, seeing that there aren't uh any um further uh comments, I will now declare public hearing closed. Uh with that in mind, I will either entertain a motion or of course we can open up for deliberation. And of course, we can continue to ask questions to staff um based off of the feedback that we've received from the community.

I do have one question regarding the cameras. Um that was an important point. How are we ensuring that the cameras are facing the park only and not the various residences surrounding the park?

Sure. that that would be one of the things that we'll take care to to make sure we get right that that the cameras are only recording in the park area and are not going to be directed at uh neighboring properties. Um and then sorry I thought that was the last question. I can't help but as we're talking about this park, I can't help but think of another park, not quite a park pocket park, but a fenced off park, Walnut Creek Park. Um, which is a park that I am very familiar with because I do live in the area. And while it is fenced off, um, there have been concerns about people, you know, people can climb a fence and people find ways in. Um, and there have been concerns in the neighborhood throughout the years about people camping out in the middle of the night. It's not people that necessarily live in the neighborhood. It's people who aren't doing they're not engaging in legal behaviors. Um, and so that does create a sense of of a lack of safety. So, wanting to bring that up, hoping that it's taken consideration as talking about cameras and talking about um monitoring, live streaming, all of that.

Um yeah, all good points. Um the perimeter barriers are not just your standard barriers. So, it's a the walls are 10t tall. So that would So that's that's that's it's quite a quite a climb if you it's not I wouldn't say it's impossible, but that's that's a that's a difficult climb. Uh and then on on the south and west, which is the street facing sides of the property, you're looking at um eight foot tall fences or the eightball uh they call it pickets in the design, but that's that's taller than your more typical five or six security fencing that you might see around schools. Eight. It's it's quite tall. Um, and then the last part about um, kind of hanging out there when and doing things you shouldn't be doing. Um, keep in mind that this is going to be a place that's going to be surveiled easily by the police department and you could e more easily do bad things someplace else because you that you that surveillance is not there. So just kind of a couple thoughts that have been coming and certainly this isn't a question. This is just more um you know based off of hearing the feedback and also being part of this listening tour. You know it's no secret that the city of Baldin Park is park poor that there's a park equity gap. Um you know when you go to the city of Walnut there's plenty of greenery. Um but certainly when you come here it is very very dense and we hardly see you know that sort of um green space that we all so need here in the city. Um, but certainly when I look at kind of the pocket park, it does remind me a little bit about the soalo across the street. So certainly that looked good in paper. Um, but to be perfectly honest, you know, even when there's an activity going on, I still see more people in Morgan Park because it's green. Um, it's

more central. Um, there is parking in the Soalo. There really isn't parking. Yes, you can park down here. You still have to cross the street and God willing, the cars do do stop. Um, it does pop, you know, when you're crossing. it's very very busy. Um it does remind me you know when you talk about sort of the speed bump. So I am really torn um on this again it seems really great in paper I think ideally for those who are living in the area certainly can walk their dog uh their bike and so forth but I'm just wondering how much people will really really benefit from this park and will that be sort of another silk alo where again you see more cement rather than than greenery. So, um, you know, it's still one of those things that I'm still torn about it and certainly people, you know, in the feedback that we've received here, um, but also certainly the feedback that we've received and just sort of those listening tours, uh, conducted by the parks and wreck department. Um, you know, it is still I feel that in some cases there are more cons to pros. Um, however, just to play devil's advocate as well, you know, that's why I had asked the question before, well, what was there before there? you know, was there maybe a gym, you know, something that a community center, uh maybe a a religious um um uh temple or or anything like that, but again, because it was abandoned, it you know, you still have an APN number, you don't have an address. Um you know, that means it's it's been vacant obviously for a really long time. So I do see sort of this initiative from the city coming in trying to do the good thing or trying to maybe do the best thing because certainly you can't do much with that space but certainly I can see um you know that there are some cons to it. So um I'm still torn still certainly haven't made a decision. I know a decision still has to be made today, but I am really curious about feedback from my fellow commissioners about um what their thoughts are on on having this pocket park.

Um just being a lifelong resident of the city of Baldwin Park, um we have absolutely nothing we say on the north side of Baldwin Park. We have nothing within walking distance. Um, I believe the biggest green space in that area was Margaret Heath School, which has recently closed down. So, as in terms of accessibility, there's absolutely nothing in that area other than um the Santa Fe Dam. So, within walking distance, again, if it's to serve a smaller neighborhood and maybe it doesn't have the big physical imprint like a Zokalore or Morgan Park does, it will definitely benefit the children in the neighborhood. And um because any grand space, knowing how dense the city of Baldo Park is, it is definitely going to be a benefit even just to escape the outside, sit outside, read outside, um get some it'll definitely benefit the community rather than it being a vacant lot, undeveloped. Maybe there's some zoning that could happen on the street with the parking, maybe temporary 30-minute parking that maybe could help get those um cars that aren't supposed to be there out of there. maybe that that could help mitigate some of that. So, keep people moving. Don't keep them staying there all day. Um, but I think it's definitely a benefit rather than a drawback.

I'd also like to say um I I know there was at least three meetings at Morgan Park um and they invited the community to come and speak and I went to two of those meetings. Um, one thing that I did hear a lot was our elderly residents in the community don't have a safe space to walk and so that the design of the park has a almost like a a circular path. So um you know if people wanted to walk um they would also um they also discussed the playground and so the materials for the playground um and that the playground would be accessible for for children who may have some sort of disabilities. Um, so that's also something that I thought was was pretty positive. And yes, it's not it's a pocket park. It's not a Morgan Park. So, it is gonna, you know, in terms of comparences, you you can't really compare. Um, but if if you think, would you rather have a vacant lot or a nice, you know, pocket park? Um, I think it's an improvement. If there was something there that was better and then we're changing it to a pocket park, that that may be a different discussion. But um in terms of the elderly residents and the children who um can play at the park, I think that would it seems like it would be something positive for our city.

I do agree. From my perspective, um this is not perhaps in the way that it's currently designed, it's not perhaps the perfect um answer or the complete answer. And so I do think that there are a few things that could be tweaked and improved. Overall, I do agree that uh aesthetically um as far as the usage of the land, a pocket park is an improvement from a vacant lot. Um I also am compelled to remind myself and maybe even the my fellow commissioners that our job today is to vote on whether this project is meeting the regulations as as they're established today. Thank you uh for that feedback and uh Commissioner Skosa, not to put you on the spot, but you mentioned there were some tweaks or areas of improvement or growth. Could you list a couple of them or what did you have in mind? I actually really like the idea that Commissioner um Rod Diaz, I messed up everybody's last name, my apologies, that Commissioner Rodas put forward about some conversations on how to mitigate traffic um and some additional steps that can be taken. Um I I still remain concerned. I I know a 10-ft wall seems impossible, but I taught I was 19 years old once upon a time, Nick, and I could climb a 10-ft wall. I could figure it out. Um, and so I still remain concerned about, you know, making sure that the local residents feel comfortable, feel like we're not invading on their privacy. Um, so just things like that.

Yeah. Great. Thank you. And then I know Nick. Um, yes, please.

I I do want to give the commission and the audience a little bit more perspective with regards to this. Um, I'm fairly new to the city. um been doing planning for over 28 years now. You have to look at kind of the bigger picture. Um this is a a huge opportunity. Um it's really rare for a city to be able to acquire uh properties small or big and utilize that to um generate proactive um use that could be beneficial for the community especially open space. Um there's a lot of struggle for many community to seek grants grant funding to purchase and acquire property for such open space. But the really the bigger perspective in terms of land use the city has been incorporated for over 60 years and our anniversary date is coming up next year um being 70 years. So for over 70 years and prior to that it was unincorporated area of LA County. So for all these years the site was never developed and there was no opportunity for development or people choose not to develop for whatever reason. But keep in mind that the underlying land use the underlying land use is industrial and commercial industrial. So modifying and changing and amending the land use to be less impactful. So just imagine if somebody were to come in and develop they will be able to develop something very similar to the surrounding use to

the north which is industrial use auto repair auto body um manufacturing so on and so forth. you think this is an impact that is going to be much more of an impact in addition to the parking and spillover. Uh I hear about the concern about parking and the city hear about that. In fact um earlier today uh myself, the city manager and our code enforcement supervisor did an actual uh site visit, not just this site but multiple sites around the area. Um yes, we saw the concern with regards to the adjacent um business operator across the street in terms of the parking impact, them pulling their vehicles and putting it on the street. We will address those. In fact, we will coordinate with our code enforcement team, our parking enforcement team, and our PD run the plates of the vehicles, make sure that the vehicles, if they're residents living in that community, that wouldn't be a problem. If vehicles that does not belong there, nor that belongs to the adjacent business that has to spill over onto the street and putting the burden on our city streets. We will address that. We will chalk it. We'll tag it and then we will tow it if need be. And in addition to that, we'll put the business owner on notice in terms of the business violation, the parking violation, so that way they're also fully aware and also be cognizant of the impact that they're creating on the community. a small pocket park like this. Typically in um many cities who have the opportunity to apply for and purchase and acquire

for open space and um an active park. That is a diamond in the rough and that's really rare. Um, we wish for over 70 years that we have a developer that comes in and improved that site instead of it's sitting vacant. Um, I think the code enforcement team, our homeless outreach team, our PD, I think they're doing a great job. the worst case scenario, they see a vacant lot like this, our transients folks, they tend to squat there and we constantly have to remove them. And that's not the case here. Um, that is that that's wonderful. That means we're doing something right because there are shopping centers. You see it at our plaza prime location in our downtown. Very heavily foot traffic and vehicle traffic area. Has a pretty successful business from vodka, the juice place, the Vietnamese restaurant, Superior Market, El Poo Loco, Dutch Bakery or the Dutch Dutch Cafe and all the other businesses. And we're looking to improve that. A lot of transients are there and we're working with the property owner and the management company to address those issue. This is you know fairly good you know and yes there are additional impacts there are you know some inconvenience with that but the intent of the park is to serve the neighborhood the community that is in need of that in need of an open space. in need of an active space. So if you have residents within the surrounding area that has children, that has elderly folks, now they have a place

that they could just walk to it and enjoy the space and get to spend time with the family, get to spend time to reminisce and relax. um and the ability for cyclists do to make a pit stop to get some rest to use a restroom and it becomes an active space in this situation it's a control active space so I just want to share that information with the commissioner if we have uh a magic wand there will be a development that would be in compliance with the existing underlying zone but this opportunity that's uh that was given to us. Um keep in mind, you know, for over 70 years of not being developed and the city had an opportunity to seek grant funding for the purpose and of acquiring open space, public open space that is really rare in many and and a lot of cities from uh not just in Southern California, but in California alone. So um I'm not here to really defend the project. The the project is a capital improvement project. The city is an applicant. There are many department and many division that's involved in this project. Our planning department is the face of the project since they are the agency or the department that is an expert in SQUA, an expert in land use and entitlement and but the project involves recreational and community services department involves public works involves administration the city manager's office and city council's office involves of of course planning and community development. Along with this there will be other division that

we will be involved building and safety. So you know public works in terms of storm drain the county um meeting the requirement of all the requirements set forth by the state and by the city is a process. So it's an undertaking. Um, so I just want to shine some light for the commissioners and for the audience tonight. Um, you know, the impact is pretty minimal. Just imagine if an auto body or an auto repair shop come into a facility and create more impact. That would be worse than what it is uh would be now.

Sure. Thank you for that insight. So what I'm hearing it's sort of the lesser of two evils in some cases prior to 2022. Um, so yeah. So, so certainly puts a lot of things in perspective. I still want to kind of go ahead and go back to uh Commissioner Scabosa's point um about sort of much of sort of that mitigation that also uh Commissioner Rodriguez had also brought up with sort of the parking traffic. Um is that over the purview of the commission or is that more on the council or is that sort of a separate avenue of of what um our new community development director talked about where let's make m be more a little aggressive with parking enforcement, code enforcement um on that. So is that is that something that we can add on the on the resolution or do we have to take take your word for that? it is within your rights to because this is a recommendation that's in front of you today. Um so one of the one of the options that you have is to recommend approval uh if you will of of these resolutions with some additional notes for the city council for consideration. So, we recommend approval with some cons with in the and some advice for the city council to consider adding a conditional approval um as however you'd like to phrase it, whether it's the the 30 minute parking signs um that you mentioned, commissioner, or or another condition of approval that would be up up to you to come up with.

Um would that also we can also do speed bumps as well. Is that right? You can recommend. Okay. Yes.

Um the other thing that I had a question was I I know that there was the feedback there and then I know this was also brought up with the commissioner about had asked about sort of the privacy and sort of the angle of the cameras. Um you know I have mixed feelings both sides because certainly there is a camera you know our our camera that's um being recorded 24/7 but certainly there could be a Ring door camera in front of their property as well recording that. But as far as kind of just sort of the um and I know said you said that that would be actively worked on. Um is that something else that needs to be sort of put um we can add as far as notes as making sure that it's only within um the scope or the view I should say of the park. Yes, I believe so. If you'd like to add a condition of approval to clarify that point, whether that

I mean I mean you one suggested wording and feel free to make your own wording would be to a condition for um city staff to to verify the the the the scope of what's being recorded. It's only within uh the boundaries of the of the law. If I may, uh, please keep in mind that this item will be going to the planning commission, uh, to the city council. Absolutely. So, all of your concerns will be put in the report. Mhm.

Letting the council know the concerns that the commission have. That's, you know, discussed from the public as well. Um, putting speed bumps, reducing speeds or what have you. It requires traffic studies, traffic reporting. uh there are certain protocol in order to comply with the standard public safety standard and uh street regulation standards as well in order to warrant the installation of those. It's not as uh easy as we all think.

Yeah. Abs. Absolutely not. And I think my sort of and the reason why I sort of bring this up as far as recommendations just to the council is you know what if you know folks who are have you know the luxury of time to be here won't aren't available when it's actually popped up on the agenda for them. So, um, certainly I think these are things that we can certainly talk about right now. If we feel comfortable approving this or at least the recommend these resolutions or recommendation to the council, um, I think this is still a really good opportunity to address um, some of the concerns that we've had originally and also the concerns of the community as well. Um, so with that in mind, yes,

I I think um I would be comfortable as a commissioner to include those, you know, whether it's the speed bumps, the the lighting um or the camera rather, and then um the what was the third one? Um parking.

Parking. Yes. Yeah. With the cameras, I'm I'm a little that doesn't bother me so much because everywhere you go now, there's a there's a camera. And I'm sure I mean I'm sure the city's only going to have a camera in plain view. Whatever's in plain view can be recorded at any time. So um sometimes those cameras are actually a benefit. You know if there if there is a um you know something illegal going on then then they're able to identify or they may be be able to identify um the person. And so the cameras, I'm not as concerned about the parking and the and the speed bumps. Um because again, if we're going to have children in that area and elderly people in that area, we do want them to be safe. And if Absolutely.

Yeah. Yeah. So what I was just discussing right now is just sort of the language that we would like to do. So certainly um just the three items of concern are the speed bumps, the parking as well as just sort of the cameras. Is there anything else that the commissions commission or commissioners would like to go ahead and add? Seems like Just a point of clarification. So um when I want to say that I want to for this project along with the conditions right

I'll actually make the motion. Great. Thank you. Well, with that in mind, I'd like to make an emo a motion to approve this project. Um, but would like to add uh the recommendations for council consideration for the following concerns, uh, which include the speed bumps, parking, as well as cameras. Is there a second? I'll second a motion to approve. Roll call, please. Chair Pñena. Yes. Commissioner Escobosa, yes. Commissioner Miranda Dzip, yes. Commissioner Rodriguez, yes.

Motion carries. Okay. Uh with that in mind, the planning commission and bear with me all uh has voted to adopt the resolution number 25-15 entitled a resolution of the planning commission of the city of Balden Park recommending adoption of one an initial study and mitigated negative declaration and mitigation monitoring and reporting program for the Anam Montenegro Park project located at APN8536-016-902. the adopt to adopt the resolution number uh 25-16 entitled a resolution of the planning commission of the city of Balden Park recommending the approval of the general plan amendment number uh AGP25-01 to change to the land use designation from commercial industrial to park space to adopt resolution number 25-17 entitled a resolution of the planning commission of the city of Balden Park recommending approval of the zoning code amendment number Z25- 01 to change the zoning designation from industrial commercial to open space to also adopt the resolution number 25-18 entitled a resolution of the planning commission of the city of Balden Park recommending approval of design review for number PR25-25 for the design of the park um along with just the recommendations for consideration uh to the council of the following concerns speed bumps parking as well as cameras. [Music] So, we'll pass it on to the non-heering items. I'm sorry, non-public hearing items.

I believe that is that the reports of officers then or uh Yes. No, we can move on to the reports of officers now. Okay. We do have one item under the reports of officers that is the reorganization of the planning commission. It is that time again. Um, so with that, I think uh most of you all were here uh for the last time we've done it. I uh I'll pass to you uh uh Chair Pñena to open it up to your colleagues uh for a vote on uh a new chair and a and a new vice chair.

Great. Thank you. All right. Well, we'll start off with the chairperson. I'll open it up for nominations and self-nominations are allowed.

I'd like to nominate Eric Pñena for chair. I respectfully decline.

Like to nominate um Commissioner Dib. I I will also decline. I feel like I'm still getting my feet wet. To nominate Commissioner Escobosa. I will accept. Then on to is there a second? Second. And then roll call, please. Chair Pñena, absolutely. Uh, Commissioner Escobosa, yes. Commissioner Miranda the Zip, yes. And Commissioner Rodriguez,

yes. Motion carries. All right. Congratulations. Thank you. Okay. Sure. On to um nominations now for vice chair. I'd like to recommend um Commissioner Pena.

I decline. Thank you. Thank you. We have any selfnominations, guys? I know I'm a Gemini, but I can't think like everything. So, Commissioner Jazib, I know you're still getting your feet wet, but certainly I think this would be a really good opportunity for you to get your feet even wetter. How can I be opposite? I will be here as long as the city.

Yes, I I will accept. Great. Can I get a second, please? Second. Thank you. Roll call, please. Chair Pena. Yes. Commissioner Escobosa. Yes. Yes. Commissioner Miranda Dip. Yes. and Commissioner Rodriguez. Yes. Motion carries. Great. Congratulations to you both and of course we look forward to your leadership, continued leadership.

So, we've uh completed reports of officers as far as commission staff and uh commission and staff communications. Yes, I'm sure you've noticed we have uh two new faces here tonight before you. First, I would like to uh introduce uh Okina Door. He's our new community development director. Thank you, Mr. Baldwin. Uh, it's a pleasure to be here. Um, I hear a lot of good positive things about the commission and the team. Uh, I am the new community development director for the city of Baldwin Park. Uh, my first date here was June 9th. I've been here a little bit over three months. uh attended the city council meeting and uh very delightful community. I had the opportunity to be interviewed by the executive team. Saw how wonderful they were in terms of welcoming uh welcoming me to Bowwin Park family. Uh what's even uh better was the council how much embraced me of that and uh invite me to the family as well. But what's most important that brings me here every single day that I look forward to come to Bowwin Park and working in the city is the staff. We have an amazing staff. Uh a lot of support. As you are aware, community development consists of planning, building and safety, housing, building, uh, as well as code enforcement and economic development. So, the team itself just makes me want to come to work every single day. And it's just one of those feeling that it's it's amazing that you're invited to part be

part of the family but to uh be embraced not just by the council but by the staff and the community itself. Um a little bit about myself. I've been in government for over 28 and a half years. Been in local government. Uh my first city government was the city of Cerritos. Started as a young planner. Then went to the city of Lndale for about 4 and a half years after that. Then I came to the city of Artisia where I was there for over 23 years and now I'm with the city of Baldwin Park and uh it's very exciting. There's a lot of exciting activities here. There's a lot of things to address and a lot of things to share. Um, I chose to work for small city and small community for a reason because I want to make a change. I want to make an impact. Uh, provide the best quality of life for our residents in our community. Furthermore, uh, to provide the best quality customer service to our residents, developer, and community. And you know having an amazing team working with an amazing team from all the different division uh is just wonderful. Uh our city is truly a one-stop shop. We have our own in-house plan checker building and safety engineering planning and with very to no or minimal contracts that's outside. so our community can come in here, get their project expedited, move forward. And with that said, I also want to introduce our my other counterpart, our new

planning staff, our planning assistant, Yadera, uh Yadera Carina or Kona, my apologies. Gideera graduated from Calpali which um as you may be aware Calpali is a ranch that breeds planners. Um I'm also a a Calpaly alumni myself. Uh not to be biased but um Calpali especially Pomona is known for breeding amazing architects, amazing planners, uh amazing designers that we see in everyday community. Uh Yodera is actually a a longtime Baldwin Park residence. Uh I did not know that until she shared the information with me. She went to elementary school here at Burch Elementary School, Olive Middle School, and Sarah Vista High School. So, longtime residents. She has her degree in urban and regional planning with a bachelor degree. And she used to work for a private consulting company as a head drafter for the company itself. So she has quite a bit of drafting background. She was interested in architecture first before she became a planner. Um she used to work for the city of Suz uh Isuza as a planning technician before she joined us here as an assistant planner. She also gained valuable experience and development services that brought her here. That's why she's one of the best candidate out of the selection. Um it was a a very uh competitive process but thank you and uh congratulation Yadera

for making in uh to join our team here. She has a a great level of customer service. Uh I do encourage our residents and our community to visit city hall um visit all different department learn the steps and process. You have any issues concerned feel free to stop by. We don't want to be the sterical this stereotype bureaucracy government. We want to be inviting. We're here to serve our community. There is no awkward question. Every question is a good question and we're here to hopefully provide you the best um service possible to the community itself. Um Yera also um have a a meaningful understanding of the community that she really call home and she's very active. Uh her spare time she liked to spend time relaxing being with the family um and staying active with her church and community activities. So uh and she's also part within the church itself. She's part of the social media team to get the the outreach out there. So we'll take advantage of her social media experience in our city as well. And then of course she love exploring uh nature and spending time watching comedy movies and shows. So, that's just a little bit about Yera and I encourage all of our residents to come by city hall. Come speak to us. Ask any questions you uh you need to. We're trying to um bring a different variety to our city. We have some amazing uh Mexican restaurant, amazing cultural diversity

in terms of other ethnic food and more to come. and uh forthcoming you know we will try to activate soalo park all the improvement that we put in and it's going to be a much more active area for to service our community but not just to service our community not just to service our residents we want to also encourage our neighboring city residents to enjoy the city of Bowen Park and to spend money in the city to generate more revenue for our city. um but more so that active space that will be forthcoming. Um it will be a a communal effect that will benefit the community. We will be working with school districts, nonprofit to engage them to be inviting to uh to to that active space. So that will be coming soon. Um, I'm looking forward to presenting that to our city council and to utilize that area that's right now is underutilized, but once the activity is there, we're going to have a destination point where when you come to the meeting, you could just walk outside, grab a bite, enjoy some food, enjoy the activity, and enjoy the community itself. So, I do want to thank you and thank everybody here for being present uh in the audience. um feel free to come by and see me if you need to and I'm always approachable anytime.

Well, thank you so much for those introductions and we look forward to working with both of you and I'm sure there's a lot of area of growth we can work on together. Um Nick, is there anybody else you'd like to introduce? There is. I'm sure you've noticed our new city attorney. Uh I'd like to introduce you to Christy Smith. She's with Jones Mayor, our our new law firm. Thank you so much.

So, the other staff communication that we have is we did receive some correspondence from the Baldwin Park Women's Club uh inviting the commission, the staff, and of course the audience or I shouldn't say the community. Um, this Saturday, September 27th, um, there the Saturday, September 27th, there is going to be a summer party, The Magic of Martyra, for $25 from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. Enjoy the magic of the food, music, and good times of Martyra. Wine service 21 and over. Enjoy live musical entertainment with a great southern comfort and cradle inspired uh, meal. There also will be souvenir photos included. So, they are raising support funds to support our local charities. And of course, everyone's support is key. Um, please if you have any questions, please contact Marine Foster at 951-6748407. We look forward to seeing all of you there. Um, great. Are there any additional staff communications? Okay, great. So, with that in mind, um, is there, um, a motion to approve, I'm sorry, excuse to adjourn tonight's meeting? Um, I think that's all that in mind. meeting has been adjourned. Thank you so much everyone and have a good night. I'm sorry we've already adjourned the meeting. We can't have any questions during this time but certainly we can address them after. We only ask uh can only have questions maybe during the I would say even questions just comments during the public hearing options. So certainly we'll still stick around or the staff to answer any questions but as far as during the the meeting we only have the um public hearing sections. Sure. Thank you so much for understanding. Thank you so much everybody and good night. Good night everyone.