Planning Commission - Regular Meeting

Okay, good evening. Welcome to the March 16th Planning Commission meeting. Calling this meeting to order. Roll call. Um, Commissioner Deorgio, present. Commissioner Mason, present. Commissioner Leange, present. Vice Chair Deming present. And Chair Rodic present. Um would anyone like to mo make a motion to approve the agenda? So moved. Second. All in favor? I.

Item four, public comments. This is an opportunity for items uh not on tonight's agenda. If anyone would like to provide public comment, we have nobody in the room. Do we have anybody online? We do not. Okay. Um, moving on to item five, consent calendar. We do have three items on the consent calendar. Do I have a motion to adopt the consent calendar? So moved. Second. All in favor? I

I. Item six, continued public hearing. None. Item seven, new public hearing. Item L06-25, Greyhorse Investors Czoning. Um, when staff is available, I will turn over to staff for a presentation.

Thank you. We're just going to get this monitor working and we'll be up and running quickly hopefully. Okay. Just let us know. All right,

thanks for your patience. We're ready to go. Tonight, I will be presenting land use permit application LO6-25 at 3675 Mount Diablo Boulevard. This is to allow medical services within an existing three-story building. The 2 and 1/2 acre project site, which is highlighted in blue on the screen above, is located in Lafayette's downtown. The general plan designation is West End Commercial, and the site is located within the downtown specific plans West End district. The zoning of the site is general commercial. On the screen above, you will see the proposed site in relation to nearby surrounding uses, which includes a mix of office and commercial, multifamily, residential, and restaurants, among other things. Staff finds that medical offices are consistent with the general plan, which envisions the west end commercial area as an office and commercial district. This request is intended to allow all usable tenant space within the building to be eligible for medical office use. As such, there are no specific requests for certain operational characteristics. Medical offices typically operate similar to other businesses, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday and closed on weekends. There is a dermatology office that currently resides on the third floor which is in line with this schedule. The applicant has provided an operation operational model shown on screen to show what this would look like with four different medical services operating.

The model estimates roughly 36 average patients per hour. To accommodate an operational operational model where patient turnover is more frequent, the applicant proposes to convert 25 parking spaces near the building to 2-hour short-term parking. You can see this on the map above. They are highlighted in green. The remaining spaces will serve employees and long-term res uh visitors. No other exterior changes are proposed as part of this land use permit. Medical services where the gross floor area is 3,000 square feet or less are allowed with a land use permit in the general commercial zoning district. However, the city's downtown specific plan envisions medical service use by right within the West End district. The DSP intended to amend the zoning ordinance to reflect this, but that amendment has not yet been implemented. Therefore, it's been the planning commission's practice to consider such cases through the land use permit process. Because the DSP anticipates medical services as a permitted use by right within this district, staff recommends a condition of approval stating that the land use permit approval shall run with the land and will not expire. The project was referred to outside agencies and we received standard comments from EB MUD, the fire district and the central sanitary district. The project was also noticed prior to this public hearing and no comments were received. Staff's recommendation is to find the

project exempt from SQA and adopt PC resolution 20263 approving the project subject to conditions of approval. Thank you. And I'm happy to answer any questions. Thank you. the condition of approval, the recommended condition of approval from staff. Is that currently included? What number? It's the first. Thank you. Just saying that for the the record. Thanks. Any questions for staff? Yep.

Um is the applicant here? Would the applicant like to take 10 minutes? Up to 10 minutes if you're welcome to come up to the podium. I don't think that one's connected, but if you want to go right over there, and there should be a button to that it good.

Good evening. My name is Kurt Bloomstrand. I'm the general managing partner for the partnership, Greyhorse Investors, that own this property. And I have to say that I've been with this project for I think it's probably 40 years and I was the builder of it, the operator, we have the property management there and we have seen this building has always been successful and we have always upgraded it and starting out when we first started we had attorneys and accountants and mortgage companies and all that and over time it changes and we had startup f um companies dryers we had nextel we had all these so we have always been forwardlooking and seeing what's happening and so what has recently happened is that we are starting to get inquiries from medical services And I have John Mure. Where do I go? I go to Shadell's. I go Buzzkerk and over in conquered. And these are all offices for orthopedic looking at your legs. And and having the gel one and things like that or dermatology. And so we were getting inquiries and we did rent um uh a dear dermatology group was in in Lafayette and their facilities was not suitable. They were expanding and so we did it uh this project for them and and so many of their uh clients are Lafayette residents

and they just love it. So we did a very good job and so we were getting inquiries from head nose and clo and throat u chiropractors physical therapy and we've had these type of um firms but they're coming up and they're doing usually they're being purchased by new uh operators and physicians and so forth and they're looking for um servicing their client. And of course, we love to have them in Lafayette because we've always had a good medical basis. And it'd be a shame to see them leave because now with residential just across the street and there more residential coming up, it's a very convenient place. And so the uh um Madison has done a wonderful report and I have no nothing really to add it but I'm here for the purpose if you had any questions on the history and we built the building and we know it it's a steel building concrete slab floors and things like that. So it's it's more of an A building not a B with just wood frame. So anyway, I'm here as a resource. If you want to ask me questions, I'd be happy to ask answer best I can, but the report I've read it and and we I help prepare the information and so I don't think I can add anything more.

Okay. Thank you. Let me ask the comm Wait, before you leave, let me just ask the commissioners, are there any questions for the applicant? Commissioner Mason, not a question, but I just wanted to make a statement. Well, I don't feel the need to recuse myself. Kurt and I go back 40 years and I was the one who designed the structure for that in concrete structure. So, top quality. Yes. Yeah. Fact that's still standing is a testament to your management. Thank you. Great. Thank you. Any bunch? I just curious on the crossaxis to the property to the west. Yes.

Is that a different ownership? different ownership, but we have a cross easement. So, we have access to their property in the back and we can park there and we share it just like my front of my property. Many of their tenants park there as you go down that hill.

The reason I ask is I I'm not one to I like the market to decide what should be in the building. So, I don't like that. So, in terms of I have no issues with this. If it gets too crowded with parking, that will dictate what the next tenants will do. But if you do have cross access, the only thing that I get a little worried about, so I'd love to hear how you would think about this is you might have the neighbors next door who have cross easement like you just described, who could be on the short end if you had crazy success and you know, so many people that they had to inundate the parking over there. H I don't see that happening but I'm just curious in that farle scenario you know how would that be? Well, what actually happened that back piece is a large piece and actually we used to have the city use that for their employees because they keep the trucks close to the building for safety for and but the employee comes in gets in the truck and leaves. So, we encourage people for long term and I will talk to the city about having their their employees parked back there. What we also have found is that we're still working on a hybrid basis and so uh Lennox Homes hybrid braces. So, many of the people work at home, they come in and so forth. So, it's different. we don't have the huge number of people working in the office like it used to be and particularly when we had you know uh real estate firms or mortgage companies. The other thing that I see is like the

city, they have many people come in for a short period of time. And so the 2-hour parking will provide help for the medical, but some of our uh current and uh tenants like the city, they don't need to have a area way far away. when they have someone coming in, they want to just stop off, look at the plans and and then leave. So, the 2-hour parking uh is going to, I think, work out very well. We are in good contact with Desco One, their our property manager and their property manager work well together. So, we we actually coordinate.

Okay. Pretty much. Well, let me ask you and and that that pretty much answers it, but I'm just curious since you have the historic reference. Has there ever been a time over the 40 years where there was parking issues between Yes. And was it because a lot of people parking?

No, it was because the Lafayette Police Department had 42 vehicles with everything and they had a office that was like 1,800 square feet. So, we would give them seven and they just overload everything. So, you know, the story on that. So, I hate to bring it up. I wasn't going to say anything, but if you asked me the question, I and I was heavily involved with Steve Faulk and all and I said, you know, they have to go. Great. Thank you, Commissioner Deorgio. Hi. Hi.

Um, and not talking about what's required, but have you considered what the actual need for handicapped spaces might be at if you include more medical um tenants? because it seems to me when I go to medical buildings there seems to be a lot of people that use handicap spaces and how would you approach that?

Well, we've always been sensitive to the handicap and in our building we put in a standby generator 250 megs and so we hooked up the elevator. So the big problem was people can't get down if there's PG& shuts down they're stuck. that elevator starts within 30 say 60 seconds and takes them down to the floor. So we have the elevator, it's all set up for handicap and so we're always doing that. You see the front door, we have uh a regular push like you have here to open the doors and things like that. Uh it's it's always the code for you know handicap and we have complied. We have revised it. We have done uh additional handicap but we have not had any any problem with and we used to have the Alzheimer's Association which were people that really needed assistance and we never had a problem.

Okay. Thank you. Um I think those are our questions for now and then if we have anything else we'll

All right. Back up. Thank you. Um, so now we're bring it to public comment on this item. There's nobody in the room for public comment. Is there anybody online? There is no one online. Okay. So, we'll close public comment. This is your opportunity if you would like to add anything additional or um provide a rebuttal to any of the public comments. Okay, great. Thank you. Bring it to the commission for discussion, deliberation. Um, any initial thoughts?

Uh, I'm ready to vote. I think this personally is something that, uh, the market decides and I'm since downtown specific plan is going to do this anyways, I've got no issues. Ready to vote. Ditto. I have no concerns. No, happy to vote for this one. Okay, then. Can I get a motion? Sure. I move that we adopt, sorry, that we um adopt resolution L6-25 subject conditions in the staff report. Um, hold on. Wait,

sorry. Okay, let me Did we read that from the right same spot? I thought the resolution was 26-03. That's correct. Sorry, did let me read Let me re let me restate. I wasn't clear. I move that we adopt PC resolution 2026-03 approving um L6-25 and with conditions. Thank you. I I just think we need to add that it's find it exempt from SEO as well. So I would amend that recommendation. Okay. Um

just so it's crystal clear. We there's a motion or Commissioner Leange, can you please make a Okay. I would recommend we change it to that we find the project exempt from sequent adopt PC resolution 2026-03 approving the project with conditions of approval. That's good. Can I get a second? Second. All in favor? I the application passes. Um there is a 14-day appeal. Just heads up. Thank you. Okay.

Yeah. Thank Kurt.

Okay. Um item eight. Other business arc volunteer. It's for virtual meeting on March 27th, 9:30 a.m. Um I have a work meeting during that time. I cannot do it. Okay. Commissioner Deorgio for the 27th. Thank you. Um, commissioners reports. Okay. Um, planning director's report on behalf of the planning director. Thank you. I have nothing to report. Okay. This meeting is adjourned. Thank you everybody. Thank you.