Planning Commission - Regular Meeting

Calling to order the planning commission for the city of Tulare, Tuesday, February 10. We're getting signals. We're gonna begin with the pledge of allegiance. Commissioner Miller will be leading us.

Please stand and join me in the pledge of allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of The United States Of America

And to the republic

for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Next item is public comment. This is set aside for anyone who would like to address the planning commission on an issue that is not on the agenda. So nonagized issue, or if you would like an item pulled from the consent calendar. Discussions are limited to three minutes per person, and make sure you tell it's your address and name. And at that, I open up the public comment. Anyone like to come forward and speak to us, feel free. Feel welcome. Seeing none, I close the public hearing comment, commissioner's reports, and items of interest.

Is staff aware that at least one person that had property that was voted in to be part of the historical district received a email supposedly from the planning department asking for money and, to process their claim to process their application and do all of that, you know, shepherd it through the process. Are you aware of that?

Good evening, mister Miller. Yes. Staff was made aware. The applicants have forwarded the emails, and those have been presented to our information technology, IT, to look into it, but also to the authorities, law enforcement, to see if seems to be some a lot of scams going around. I know the county and Tulare had something very similar not too long ago. I don't know how it's occurring. They must be looking at agendas and looking at the applicants and their emails and and probably targeting them. It appears to be conducted that way. But, yes, we were made aware.

Okay. Thank you.

I guess I'll I'll put it out there. I know there's some applicants in the audience. If anyone and for anyone listening, if anybody receives such an email that claims to be there from the city of Toyota Planning Commission or city of Toyota Planning staff, requesting money or payment and of an immediate nature. Please always just call us or email us, come in in person, just verify the because there's a lot of scams going on out there.

Thank you. Moving on to consent calendar. Commissioners.

I'll move to approve the consent calendar as presented.

I'll second.

The item has been moved and seconded. All in favor, say aye. Aye. Aye. Post. Consent calendar is adopted. Moving on. Public hearings. Six, we have two. 6.1 conditional use permit number 2026Dash.

Good evening. The item before you is request by Sabino Guzman to operate a stationary mobile vending vehicle on the property located at 651 West Prosperity Avenue. The business will operate from 11AM to 11PM, Monday through Sunday. The vending operation contains refrigerator, cooking appliances, food preparation areas, and customers will have access to restrooms. The proposed site is zoned c one neighborhood commercial.

General plan designation is neighborhood commercial, and the use requires a conditional use permit to be approved by the planning commission. The project is cap orally exempt pursuant to section one five three zero four e of the California Environmental Quality Act. Inclusion staff recommends approval of conditional use permit application number 2026Dash02 subject to the recommended conditions of approval provided in our staff report. This concludes my presentation. Staff is available to answer any further questions.

Thank you. This is a public hearing item. Anyone like to come forward and speak it for or against this project? Feel free to do so at this time. Seeing none, commissioners.

I see that is this a renewal?

Yes. It is.

Okay. And to our knowledge, has there been any issues with the location or anything, you know, that calls for PD or anything?

Not I'm aware of.

Okay.

Okay. Then I'll move that we approve conditional use permit application number 202602 subject to the findings and conditions in resolution number 5544.

I'll second.

It's been moved and seconded. Please pull the commission.

Vice chair Miller. Aye. Commissioner Limas. Aye. Chair Miguel.

Aye. Item passes. Moving on to 6.2 variance number 469.

Good evening, chairman Miguel, members of the commission. Oh, this PowerPoint. Oh, the item before you is a request by Karim Salim Gawani to allow the creation of four parcels and a remainder, where not all of the proposed parcels meet the minimum lot frontage requirement of 20 feet on a public street as required by the city's municipal code. The subject property is located on the South Side of Bardsley Avenue between La Spina Street and Global Court. The subject property is zoned R H 14, which is a multifamily residential zone district and is designated high density residential within the city's adopted general plan.

The applicant is proposing to divide the subject property into four parcels and a remainder for financing purposes in order to facilitate the development of a multifamily residential development. According to the City Of Tulare Municipal Code chapter 10.1804, the minimum lot frontage for all parcels shall be 20 feet on a public street. The applicant is proposing to create four parcels that will not have any frontage on a public Street. The subject property is currently shaped as a flag lot with the pole portion of the lot fronting on Bardsley Avenue and the flag portion of the lot being behind a parcel that fronts Bardsley Avenue and is currently under separate ownership. The subject property currently has 59 feet of frontage on Bardsley Avenue, and due to the shape of the existing parcel, it is not possible to meet the lot frontage requirement and to divide the parcel as proposed by the applicant.

The proposed parcels meet all other requirements such as lot size, depth, width, and and other requirements of the municipal code for the zone district. The applicant is requesting a variance from the frontage requirement and has applied for a variance in order to be able to deviate from these standards. The applicant has been working to establish a 17 unit multifamily residential development on the subject property as shown here. In accordance with chapter 10.8405 of the City Of Tulare Municipal Code. Recommendation for approval of a variance is required to be based upon seven findings.

Response and analysis of those findings have been provided, from the applicant as well as from city staff within your staff report, and staff believes that the required findings can be made and is recommending approval of the variance requested. Staff has determined that the project is categorically exempt pursuant to section one five three one five minor land deviations and one five three three two infill development projects of the California Environmental Quality Act. If approved, the applicant will be required to file a tentative and final map, parcel map application in order to create the parcels requested. And in conclusion, staff is recommending approval of variance application number 469 subject to the recommended conditions in your staff report. And this concludes my presentation.

I'm available to answer any questions you may have.

Thank you. This is a public hearing item. Anyone who would like to come forward to speak on this, feel free to do so.

Hello. My name is Steve Sparshott. 1206 West Evans, Visalia. Myself and the owner, Salim, are both here to represent our desire to get the variant, so we encourage you to do so. We appreciate your time. Thank you.

Thank you. Anyone else like to speak? Seeing no one, commissioners. I close public hearing. Commissioners?

I I just have a couple of questions. Is it too soon in the process to see, what plans the developers have or the owners have to what the final placement of the buildings will be on those lots.

Sure. So the site plan that you're being provided is what is the current iteration that staff is reviewing. I do wanna stress to you that what is being requested tonight is a variance from the lot frontage and only that the if the applicant desired to move forward with building what is shown on your site plan, the planning commission does not have discretion over, the development, and it's only subject to site plan review and is a permitted by right use. But we are providing it for your review, just to as a courtesy.

Okay. And do we know I'm sorry.

I was just gonna add. Just to be clear, though, it would not be subject to your planning commission as long as it met the development requirements when it goes through site plan review or when when reviewing for plan checks. So if there's further deviations other than the variance, like deviations from development standards, that could be something potentially that could come near your commission. But that's not the intent, I don't think, at this time.

Okay. Do we know of are there many other situations like this with lots that have are kinda landlocked and that kind of thing?

So I was able to provide some examples in the staff report where parcels do not have any lot frontage and were allowed to be created. Those examples are a little bit different in that they're they're typically smaller than this parcel is and only fit, like, four units. So they are a little bit different. The in those examples, they have absolutely no street frontage, and we're just simply allowed to be created behind other similar type development, away from the public way and are served by a private private drive. This is somewhat similar.

However, this is a little bit different in that it has a a flag lot feature to it where a a portion of the overall development is touching the public way in Bartley Avenue. The other ones aren't necessarily, like, the flag and pole typical flag lot that you see here. So I didn't there are examples that are fairly close, but there there are some differences.

Okay.

Okay. Thank you.

I think this is a great use for a variance. I personally can't see making this parcel work for anything else without allow making some allowances here. I feel like the use, of course, is it's by right, but pits with the surrounding parcels and find no fault in staff's findings. Guess we're ready for a motion? Okay.

I will recommend that we adopt resolution number five five four five, approving variance number 469, allowing the creation of four parcels and a remainder that do not all meet the minimum lot frontage of 20 feet on a public street.

I'll second.

Animum moved and seconded. Please poll commission.

Commissioner Limas? Aye. Vice chair Miller? Chair Miguel?

Aye. It's been approved. Moving on to general business number seven. Comments related to general business items are limited to three minutes. I don't think that's going to be a problem tonight. Per speaker for a maximum of nearly thirty minutes per item, unless otherwise extended by the commission. 7.1 appointments of planning commission chair and vice chair.

Good evening, chair Miguel, vice chair Miller, commissioner Lemus. So, yeah, this item, every per the the planning commission handbook, every January, we're supposed to have a a vote for appointing a chair and a vice chair. Slipped our mind with the last meeting since we had, I think, only one meeting in in January. But here we are in February, so we were looking to rectify that and put it on the agenda. So you're welcome to have take motion on this item among the three of you.

We know commissioner Henard is is handling duties at the farm show. It is within your purview if you wanted to continue it until at least we have them for, but it's certainly within your purview to have the discussion at your pleasure this evening in terms of the appointment of the chair and vice chair.

Well, my understanding is that the chair and vice chair serve a two year term, and those terms were the new appointees or people would be appointed at the end in in November of election years. So it would happen, you know, November 2026. And that's the way we have been operating since I've been on on the commission. Has there been a change to the handbook? Or

Yes. It has been revised, and and I think maybe absolutely, what we can do is make sure I mean, you all have access to the handbook, but just to make it easy to find the information, can follow-up and provide it via email to each of the commissioners just for review and then any questions or comments, but it's been revised to now show Jan. And in terms of when it was revised, I have to go back and check. But certainly within the last several years, there's been an update. I wanna say 2017 perhaps comes to mind.

I'll have to double check the the date, but I can send that out. It's been changed to now be on January and and service for one year instead of the two. And, again, it's a it's a form it's a formality. It's right. I think in the past, at least since I've been here at the city in the planning division, oftentimes, we have tax commissioners who aren't interested or and this you know, we have our current chair and vice chair who's done a great job throughout the years.

And sometimes, you know, as long as you're you feel comfortable continuing and if that's the consensus of the planning commission, there's nothing that says we have to keep the same ones. We just have to have the discussion on the agenda and have a vote and see what what plan commission's pleasure is. But be happy to if if you're ready to have that discussion here on the dais. Otherwise, if you prefer to read the updated handbook, if you haven't had a chance, I can provide it, and maybe we can table this for the next meeting when at least we'll have at least four of the members. But certainly up to your council sorry, commission's letter.

Do do we have any updates or idea on our fifth commissioner?

No. I was gonna make that during I'll I'll report on it now. We were advised that commissioner Chano Guro resigned. Unfortunately, we loved having her on here. Definitely thank her for her service. She's a great asset to our commission. But shortly after, the city clerk's office did open applications to fill the seat. We don't have any updates as of now, but I know they are taking applications. And my guess is we'll probably once the application window closed, that would have to go to counsel for appointment of that fifth seat.

And do we know when the application closes?

I I I'm I'm sorry. I I didn't recall right off the top of my head, but I believe typically they fly for about thirty days. So if they had opened it's been about a week, week and a half, two weeks. So I'd say by the end of this month.

Okay. So I personally would like to have this rescheduled to the next meeting. You know, we're all great people, but it's a little intimidating to be just the three of us making that decision. So I would like to have that table to at least the next meeting. Do we do we want to wait for the new person?

You certainly can. I I'd you know, what we can do is after this meeting, I can provide a more subs specific timeline in terms of when that would go to council, when we can expect that appointment to happen. And yeah. I guess it depends. It's I'll look at the handbook too if there's anything that says, like, by a certain amount of time.

Considering it's a one year appointment, we wouldn't wanna delay it Exactly. Six months or most of the year to appoint someone for six months. That's something to keep in mind as well. Is the sooner, the better we could meet that requirement of the commission, and then, you know, we're on for another year. But what I can do is provide the handbook again for everyone's to kinda brush up on, including myself because I I I don't recall some of these facts right off top of my head, in terms of, like, when it was, revised.

But we can certainly if it is the, majority of you that wanna table this to the next, scheduled meeting, we can do so. We would have at least a four, and then I can provide a more definitive schedule on approximately what we we could expect appointment of a fifth commissioner and perhaps, you know, decide there. If it happens, maybe it coincides with the next meeting, then fantastic. If it drags on another month or two, then it may be advisable to at least hold the vote with the four.

Well, I'm comfortable with rescheduling to the next meeting. I don't know about everyone else, but I just think it's since there's only four of us, I think that everybody's input should be shared.

Yeah. I agree. I I would like for it to be

a decision of five, but I get your point that we can't wait too long.

Yeah. I think it's a good idea to reschedule till we have four. I'm not so much concerned about the fifth appointee because they haven't worked with us. So if they were voting, they'd be voting That would be voting from personal experience. So

So just a clarification, was Shawna commissioner Guerrero appointed to fill a re an empty seat? Was she appointed? Okay.

Yes. And because of that, she didn't serve, a full term. Right. And so the term expired. It was in the fall here, this last this past fall. She was reappointed recently, and so she was starting a new term.

Right. Like, a a term on her own of her own, not filling somebody else's.

Correct.

Got it. Thank you.

I I absolutely appreciate Shana's contribution, and she was a quick learner, and she was an asset. And I'm sorry to see her

go. Yeah.

Just a point of order.

If it's the commission's desire to table the item and continue it to the next meeting, we would need a motion.

That's it.

Okay. I move that we table the appointment of chair and vice chair to the second meeting in February.

I'll second.

Item has been moved and seconded. Do we need a a poll, or do can we do an invoice? Please poll the commission.

Vice chair Miller? Aye. Commissioner Limas? Aye. Chair Miguel?

Aye. We will see this subject again, this item again. That step staff updates?

No. No specific updates. Just, hopefully, we're blessed with more rain and snow up in the mountains for all the various uses. We we rely on that water, and then, with, you know, plenty of visitors we get in our city this time every year. And so, our patience and also our gratitude that we have folks, staying in our hotels and and spending money in our at our businesses. And so yeah. We're all gonna be hosts for the next couple days. Yep.

Thank you. Thank you. At that, I will adjourn today's meeting. Everybody have a good night.