Development Services Director's Hearings - Regular Meeting

Okay. All right. I'm going to start this Director of Development Services hearing or meeting. And we have one public hearing, the shots, coffee, poll sign, with the recommendation to hold a public hearing and adopt a resolution finding the project is exempt from CEQA and approving with conditions. Alex is our... associate planner and worked on the project.

Okay, good afternoon, director. Today I'll be presenting the Schatz Coffee Pulse Line project located at 2742 Broadway. Sorry, the project is located in the western portion of the city in the coastal zone. Zooming in, the subject property outlined in yellow is accessed from Broadway near the West Harrison Street intersection. The applicant, in this case, Jeff Wells, on behalf of the owner of Shots Coffee, is proposing to install a 24-foot-tall pool sign with a 49-square-foot double-sided internally illuminated square cabinet sign for the existing Shots Coffee business. The pulse line is supposed to be placed within an existing landscape planter area near the traffic control signals, but according to Caltrans will not be impacting traffic control signals. The project meets the definition of development in the Eureka Municipal Code and therefore a coastal development permit is required. Therefore, based on the findings of the staff report, staff believe the required findings to approve the Coastal Development Permit can be made, and the recommendation is to go to public hearing and adopt the resolution approving the project with conditions. I have a suggested motion when you're ready, but we'll stop screen sharing until then. We're available for questions if you have any, and the applicant might be available as well.

Thanks, Alex. I saw in the report Baykeeper comment. Did the Coastal Commission comment at all? No, no comment from Coastal Commission this time. Okay. Probably a good thing. And then I also noticed that there's something about succulents getting put in.

Yeah. The applicant submitted a pretty detailed landscaping plan and they were proposing native, non-invasive plantings and they required 25 square foot by the code, but they made a or I think it's up to the applicant as well, they may end up landscaping that whole planter area.

Cool.

All right. Well, then I will open the public hearing. Nicole, you're the only one here. If you want to speak, or if not, that's fine too.

I'm not sure what I'm supposed to speak about. I've never done this before, but I will ask a question if that's okay. Yeah, go ahead. If we do redo that planter, like re-landscape it, How do we keep the homeless people out of it? It's so bad right there. Like we, they're pooping right behind our building, like right by our doors. They're like, they're pee everywhere. They're sleeping back there. The girls that come in at five 30 in the morning. And it's like, it's so bad right there.

So I would recommend is we do have, um, uh, Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design grant program. It's called CEPTED. And I don't know if you participated in it before. It's for economic development and police department. But basically, we'll go out on a site visit with economic development and EPD and building and planning. And we'll check out the site. And EPD often has recommendations for things that can be done to discourage use like adding signage or fencing or whatever and then um there's grant money through the city to pay for those improvements yeah oh okay um

I know that there's a fence all around, but they keep cutting the fence. And it's like, I don't know. I don't know if there's anything else that can be done by somebody. Yeah.

I know, like, yeah, it's mostly what gets recommended is lighting stuff and fencing stuff.

Design stuff.

But they, so I know. They recommend, like, removing awnings or something that maybe is, like, you would sleep under. Yeah. They might have a creative idea. I don't know. It might not help.

It's a tough situation for everyone right now, unfortunately. And I know that fence there was replaced recently, hoping so people don't hide out behind the fence. But now I think what happened is now that there's not a fence that they can hide out behind and screen, they're coming forward now. Yeah, and being close to the building. They replaced the fence to make it more hardy too. So it couldn't get cut, but you're saying it's still getting cut. Correct. Yeah, it's tough.

Yeah, I also just we have gotten. Pre development, we've had a pre development meeting or 2 about the Mr fish property. So my hope is they'll get somebody in there. And once there's an active use of that site, hopefully that will help.

So that's definitely attracting. attracting.

But also there's the marsh behind you and there's not really anything to do about that.

Okay.

What is happening with Mr. Fish's property? Do you guys know? He's actively trying to sell it and a few people have come in interested in developing various things there.

Yep. Like we've seen a oil stop there as well.

I saw a new small drive-thru and maybe a boutique hotel.

Someone talked about a boutique hotel.

I also got called about just like a food truck core there. So I know he's actively trying to get a new owner. Yeah. Okay. But, yeah, it's taken way longer than is ideal.

Yeah. That area has struggled for a long time with the Vigo Street right there and the In-N-Out behind there. If you're not from the area, yeah.

I know Carrington Company manages the In-N-Out property that has the Chipotle. They really struggle with it, too. Mm-hmm. So maybe you guys could work together on the plan.

Yeah.

And what was the name of the place? CEPTED or something, did you say?

Yeah.

C-P-T-E-D, Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design is the acronym.

Yeah. Do you have a phone number for them?

We'll follow up after the hearing. Oh, perfect.

Okay.

That's awesome. Sweet. All right, hearing nothing else, I will close the public hearing, and then I will move to adopt the resolution, finding the project exempt from CEQA and approving with commissions. Ann?

I was going to talk about the 10-day uphill period.

Yeah, there is a 10-day appeal period. Usually that's if the applicant doesn't like the outcome of the project. And after the 10-day appeal period, there's, I believe, a 15-day postal commission appeal period. And then Jeff can pull those building permits. And then I'll be in contact with Jeff over the conditions of approval and what we'll need to get through the building permit process as well.

Okay, so then we should be done in about 10 days, and then we have another 15 after that?

Yeah, it's calendar days, though, so it's going to be almost a month. It's like three weeks, unfortunately.

So probably maybe all the appeal periods are probably done, I would say, latest first week of October.

Yeah, we can email that to you.

And I can email a timeline for you.

Okay, and there's no way to do the appeal things at the same time?

No, because when our decision is final as a local government, that's when the Coastal Commission has their appeal period is after the. the city's decision is final. So our decision becomes final if there's no appeal to planning commission within 10 days of the director hearing.

Oh, I see. Okay.

The only way we could have set it up if we had gone like directly to city council, then there would have been no local appeal process. But we only do that for like controversial projects.

Okay. So there's no way to hurry this. We've been at this, I paid for these in January. So- Um, it's going to be almost a year already before we get these in.

Well, you should definitely talk to your contractor about that. Your applicant.

Cause yeah, there's been a lot of back and forth on this. So our apologies on that wait time. We definitely hear you. It's tough way to appeal period afterwards. Um, but we can definitely work with Jeff in the meantime to make sure the building permit goes quickly. As long as we get complete plans in the building permit, it should be a pretty, it should be a breeze after that. Um, but yeah, sorry about that.

That's okay. Okay. Perfect. Thank you. Thank you. Thanks Nicole. Okay. Are we all done? Yeah. Oh, awesome. Well, it's nice meeting you ladies. Yeah. Yeah. You take me and we'll reach out with that information. Yep. Perfect. Thank you so much. Thank you. Okay.