City Council - Regular Meeting

Good evening. It's 6 o'clock. We're going to go ahead and call the meeting to order. Commissioner Pratt, can you lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance, please?

Please rise. Ready? Begin.

Thank you. Ms. Abdullah, can I have a roll call, please?

Commissioner Daley? Commissioner Lopez? Vice Chair Ivan Garcia?

Present.

Commissioner Quayle?

Present.

Chair Sherrick? Present. Commissioner Galande?

Present.

Commissioner Pratt?

Present.

Commissioner Carloni? Commissioner Orlando Garcia?

Here.

Thank you. A three-minute limitation shall apply to each member of the public who wishes to address the Planning Commission on any item on the agenda, excluding public hearings. There is not a limit to the number of items that may be discussed within the three-minute time limit. Ms. Abdullah, can you have the administration of oath for our public speakers, please?

Please stand and raise your right hand for all public speakers, please. Do you solemnly affirm that the testimony you're about to give before this body will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? If so, please say, I do. I do. Thank you. You may be seated.

Thank you. I have Ms. Delores Armstead, who wants to speak on an item not on the agenda. I have a note. Give us a minute. I think we need to start the timer.

Thank you. I have a statement of concern regarding the June 17th hearing on the cannabis item. The planner that gave the presentation definitely showed her bias to push and have the commercial can board cannabis store approved the store is close to two churches housing library senior housing it is a main artery in the city actually two and definitely in the sixth ward none of the businesses the churches or the residents were notified contrary to what was stated per ibarra council person ibarra at the june 17th meeting there was no address listed on the original permit so how did it happen that this item got approved you need to question your planner the 1602 address was not approved for cannabis your planner lied through her whole presentation Your planner falsely stated the residents, churches, and businesses were notified. They were not. They didn't know until that night when they watched the meeting. None of them knew of the proposed use as a weed store. Was there a traffic study? Because it's going to cause a lot of backup on Highland Avenue, one of the main arteries in our city. it's going to be extreme backup have you seen at other cannabis places this location on highland is a major thoroughfare and there's medical center it is as we said it's near hospital schools library right across the street senior housing oh and highway patrol Not too far away. So how did this get approved? The senior housing site may be zoned as commercial, but it is residential. So please look at your ordinances. We have no objection to the change of ownership. We don't care. But change of location is extremely troubling. Nobody asked the residents. Nobody did a traffic study to see how you're going to be impacted. A library, the CHP. a hospital, senior housing, churches. For your record, when her performance was over, as she walked out with the owners with a huge smile on her face, someone in the audience heard her saying, we did it. Something's working in her favor. This raises a red flag against your planner and her credibility. Mr. Elliott, you have a problem in your planning department. Please check out this planner. Thank you.

Thank you. Mr. Ojeda, you had non-agenda comments. Is that correct?

I'm sorry, sir. Can you please put your mic on?

I think everybody here, so I starting over? That's okay, everybody heard what I said. So anyway, so I just want to commend you guys. I think that we should keep pushing and keep working towards approving newcomers that are willing to come to the city. And everybody's been complaining about the same thing. And I have myself been complaining about the same thing, the fact that it's taking too long to approve. permits. But now it seems that we're moving a little bit faster. And I think that we should keep the momentum. And it speaks volumes. And I think it's about the staff and you as commissioners that are seeing the vision. And it's all about us trying to keep moving the city forward. So I just wanted to say that. Thank you, guys.

Thank you. Those are all the speaker cards I have for a non agenda items. Mr. Elliot, did you want to address any of the comments?

Madam Chair, the planner being referred to is Stephanie Castro, who works kind of economic development slash planning. There are certain carryovers from the economic development responsibility that we currently share. And the presentation was at a city council meeting. and I don't recall if that item came before the Planning Commission first. The cannabis program is basically a program that the City Council installed and regulate and they have very strict guidelines and I have to look into one of the statements made during the hearing was the rules and regulations were written in such a way that they only apply if the property is zoned a particular use not what that particular use is so even if it's right across the street from a cannabis operation if that property is not zoned residential even though it's a residential use it doesn't count so those are some of the things that were presented at the hearing that i'm going to have to i look into at this particular point since the hearing happened june 17 and this is july 17 or 14 we're beyond that 15-day time period for which an item could be appealed or recalled or whatever so the item got approved by narrow margin of the City Council so but it's something that we have to keep in mind in the future that when we do these locational issues we have some additional consideration one of the things mentioned at the hearing was whether or not we should have brought that to I think this was in the sixth Ward we should have brought that to the sixth Ward for consideration and things of that nature so you know a lesson learned

Thank you. So just for clarification, your planners were not involved at the hearing?

No, it was strictly Stephanie.

Thank you. It doesn't come to the Planning Commission. It's not an upper view.

Cannabis program did not come. Right. That particular. So the project was one site was closing down and they were moving to another site. And there's specific locational requirements written into the regulations that I think she followed. And the question is, we have to, you know, I'll speak with Stephanie.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next up is our consent calendar. Consent items are routine in nature and may be enacted in one motion, while public and non-public hearings will be open at one time. Any item may be discussed separately upon request of a planning commissioner or a member of the public. Does staff have any updates to the planning commission?

Madam Chair, no. I just want to point out to you that we have made changes to the April Planning Commission minutes to indicate who was the chair at the time. And so if you see that attached, it's not because it's just true. show you that we actually made those corrections to those minutes, but if you have any specific changes to the June 9 minutes, please let us know.

Thank you. Is there any Commissioner who wishes to speak on the consent calendar or is there a motion?

have a comment i will abstain from the minutes as i was not here thank you is there a motion motion to approve is there a second second thank you i'm sorry vice chair garcia yes commissioner quill abstain

Chair Sherrick, yes. Commissioner Galante, yes. Commissioner Pratt, yes. Commissioner Orlando-Garcia, yes.

Madam Chair, another item I didn't touch on is the, we got a written email from Commissioner Daley that he wasn't going to attend. I did not hear from Commissioner Lopez. I heard from Commissioner Carlone who said he was going to attend, but he's not here, so.

Thank you. We're going to move on to our public hearing items, and the Planning Commission will first hear a report from staff, and then the public hearing will be opened. The applicant will have an opportunity to speak. Next, members of the public will be allowed to speak. Anyone in the audience wishing to speak must be sworn in and fill out a request to speak form. The forms are located on the table near the door. When your name is called, come forward and speak your name into the microphone. Say and spell your name for the taped record. After all have spoken, the applicant will be allowed to respond and the public hearing will then be closed and Planning Commission will be getting deliberations and make a decision. All decisions except general plan amendments and municipal code amendments are final actions unless an appeal is filed and fees are paid within 15 days to the Community Development and Housing Department. If you challenge the resulting action of the Planning Commission in court, you may be limited to only raising those issues you or someone else raised at the public hearing described in this agenda or in written correspondence delivered to the Community Development and Housing Department or at or before the public hearing. I believe we're on item number two.

Madam Chair, item number two is my item. Is it queued up for, there's a PowerPoint presentation. I'm not seeing anything on the screen here.

I think it was unanimous.

Is it working? I think it's working. It is? Oh, okay. I'm going back. Madam Chair, members of the Planning Commission, the first item is what we're bringing to you is an item that would include an amendment to our land use section of our general plan, which would allow for expediting permit processing for EV charging facilities. So the state of California recently adopted AB 1235, which requires local agencies to adopt an ordinance that creates an expedited and streamlined permitting process for electric vehicle charging systems. I don't know if you recall if we have ever brought any projects that are strictly for electric charging to the Planning Commission in the past. But now the state is making cities adopt an ordinance that actually processes these in a ministerial fashion and also has strict requirements as far as size of facility, et cetera, et cetera. So our creation of an expedited streamlined permitting process for vehicle charging stations would facilitate convenient charging of electric vehicles and help reduce the city's reliance on environmental damaging fossil fuels. I mean, those are the those are the reasons why we're being made to adopt this. So the City of San Bernardino currently has a checklist for all the requirements needed for expedited permit processing but we don't have the ordinance in place and we have to have both for us not to face litigation and as you could see in the slide there to be in compliance with state law the city must adopt an ordinance or face potential legal challenges creating an expedited streamlined permitting process for vehicle charging stations would according to the ordinance facilitate convenient charging of electric vehicles and help reduce the city's reliance on environmentally environmentally damaging fossil fuels AB 1236 which Codified in Government Code Section 65850.7 requires all California cities and counties to develop an expedited, streamlined permitting process for electric charging stations. Currently, the city and county streamlining status is reflected in the map that I'm going to show you in the next page, which is this map. So we are the yellow in the middle that looks like the map of England and to the south is the city of Banning they are also non-compliant and to the red on the left side There is the city of upland which is not in compliance So they're right on this map where yellow which means we have one of the two things required and the green background that you're seeing It's not for effect. Those are cities every city within that green area are in compliance, which means they have the map They have the ordinance and they have the steps necessary to process those things. AB 970, which is codified in government code section 65850.71, builds upon the state's existing permit streamlining law, which is AB 1236. Jurisdictions are required to adopt AB 1236 to limit EV charging project review and health and safety requirements. AB 970 ad specific binding timelines to that review period based on the size of the project and clarifies parking requirements. So to meet AB 970 timelines and the requirements of AB 1236, we are required to provide a one complete set of comments detailing all application deficiencies. So this is when somebody submits uh applying for an ev charging facility we have to submit we have to provide comments in one full swoop for that applicant so that they can move forward expeditiously uh with uh with um you know with the project Let me see if this particular applies comprehensive update. So this kind of talks about our comprehensive update and I'm seeing, I don't know what, why these two statements are there. So I mean, go to this image right here that kind of shows the cycle of submittal. You have the ordinance that tells us what we need to do. And then we have the checklist, and then we have the online application permit submittal, and then it goes into the review processes. And through all of that, it gives us a timeline by which we have to abide by some of these things. And you can see there. you can see the the the cycle there uh what are the fiscal impacts to the city uh there are no significant fiscal impacts to the city in fact there are no fiscal impacts to the city uh as far as we using cc resources to uh to enforce any part of this ordinance however um our conclusion is that uh and this is not for the mayor and city council this is for the planning commission is to hold a public hearing and introduce this item, which is, let me see if I have, The resolution 2026017PC, which kind of establishes the standards for expedited electric charging facilities. It's got requirements regarding size of facility, required parking, required time for us to do the plan checking. so the what you'll be doing today is um when you adopt this resolution you make a recommendation to the city council to adopt an ordinance and then and then we we kind of that would be how the process would end so that concludes my presentation and if you have any questions I'll be glad to answer them uh just for clarification is this item itself a public hearing Yes. Okay.

So then I'm going to go ahead and open the public hearing at 622 p.m. I have no speaker cards on this item. Is there anybody on the commission who would like to speak?

Yes. Yes. Yes. I have a question. What is the normal time to get approval for these EV stations at this point?

Commissioner Quill, it would depend. It would depend on what information is provided to us initially. And you know that we use a third party plan checking company, Wildan, to do some of our plan checks. It might go to them for review. They might have some corrections and then it comes back and then we might have a second round of corrections. So it could take yeah you know it could take a few months or longer depending on how quickly uh things have been responded to so what this um adoption of this ordinance does it really makes the city um you know do those things more expeditiously and if we don't then there are consequences

Okay. You had commented that currently you have a checklist. So when these projects are turned in, this checklist is filled out, which should probably answer most of the questions you're going to need to have answers to, right?

Yes, you would think. But sometimes communication gets crossed. And some of the information that we would request would not be provided. So we have to do a little bit back and forth. and we've had applicants who've actually held us to uh you know uh what the requirements of the assembly bill uh is which is you must do this by a certain such a time and our response is understood but we we don't have that ordinance adopted yet so we're lucky that we're able to have at least some EV charging facilities in the city uh the last one was a big opening That was on Mountain View, which was a big EV charging facility for trucks. That was a big ceremony for the city. So we were able to get through something like that, kind of using the same guidelines, but now we have something that's actually codified in our code, and it will be section 19-21, which currently does not exist. So that was part of the challenge, is how do we deal with... you know, a land use type that we don't really have anything in the books for because, you know, electricity and things related to it is kind of the trend going into the future. And this is something that cities that have a climate action plan would have identified in their processes because the goal is to achieve a particular reduction in the carbon footprint by a particular time. okay with that being said i didn't notice in what was on the screen here uh actual timelines is there a 30-day limit so uh if you look in the um i hope there's uh better attachments in the staff report that tells us the things that we need to do because i did put a table in there and i'm going to refer to table one application timelines and parking requirements And so for a station project that is a single site with one to 25 stations, when the application is submitted, after five days, we're supposed to be able to identify what the issues are and let the applicant know. If we don't do that, then it starts to escalate. If not readily approved and denied pursuant to requirements AB 1236, the application will be deemed approved 20 business days after the plans are submitted so if we took the plans in and we're saying yeah we need to assign this to a planner and we're still trying to you know play ping pong back and forth within 20 days of that submittal whatever it is submitted to the city becomes approved automatically okay so i don't see that

And it's been a while since I've pulled a permit personally, but I don't see that Will Dan is going to be able to turn these things around that quick. I'm sure they're required to do their job also.

Well, so we do have an internal staff person. So depending on the complexity of what is being plan checked. the in-house person would take up some responsibilities. I need to confer with the building official whether this will be one of those things that we would actually take on because of the looming timeline that we have. We don't want to wait for Will Dan to take it in, take 10 days and come back. So everybody has to be on the same page or else we're going to have these applications just deemed automatically approved.

Okay. Well, good luck. One last thing, though. How is this going to affect other contractors coming to the city, submitting their plans and the timeline that they're going to be faced with?

Well, that's a very good question. And this is why this is how legislations do work. When you have these state legislations that basically grant special privileges to a particular land use because they have been for whatever reason then they have these bills that protect them and the same way we have bills that protect building affordable housing or anything else that have to be expedited because there is a need for it so By 2030 or 2035 or whatever, California, most cities in California should have been able to reduce their carbon footprint from the 1990 level by a huge percentage point. And these are the things that you would find in ordinances that have been adopted dealing with making the air clean and it's called a climate action plan. This is where you would find such detailed information. So I don't think that would prevent us from still being able to serve those who are doing ADUs. I mean, ADUs also have that special privilege. Single-family homes, for what they are, have become kind of a generic thing for us to be able to plan check. the complications would come with you know the large commercial development with you know multi buildings and equipment and things like that where you have to do mechanical electrical plumbing and so on and so forth which requires different trades and and that is where we might have to go out but anything that is eb charging facility related uh they make it very very simple just look at the charging facilities and you know do them within a particular period of time because they want to promote clean air okay lastly they probably

To expedite any permit, sometimes businesses will have pre-approved plans or organizations, associations have plans that they can bring in, and they really don't have to go to Will Dan in some cases. I mean, ADUs are a good example. I mean, all the ADUs are pre-approved plans, and if you follow this, yeah. Are these plans going to be similar to that, to where they're kind of a pre-approved plan? It would depend.

It would depend on who is doing what. It would depend on how many stations we're dealing with. So I don't think there's one organization that has a stamp of approval over what these EV charging stations should look like. So I think they would come from different, sometimes even individuals, not the corporate, that are trying to do this. You know, for example, with the ADUs, you know, we have pre-approved plants. Even the state has a pre-approved plant for ADUs, which you can actually rubber stamp and pick. That eliminates the plant-taking process significantly. I mean, I mean, reduces the time, not illuminates it.

OK, so this is pretty much a requirement of the state. Yeah. And so we're just going to make it part of our ordinance. Yes. OK, Mr. Elliott, thank you for your comments. Thank you.

Madam Chair, I'd like to call for the question.

Oh, is there a second second? That's a call for the question over call for the question. Trump's any other comments?

It does.

Yeah. Per Robert's roles. Is that correct, madam? Yeah, it is. So is there a motion? But he had a motion to call for the question and there was a second that trumps any other comments.

So we have no questions.

That's what. Yes. Is there a motion?

Motion to approve.

Is there a second?

Second.

Vote, please.

Vice Chair Ivan Garcia?

Yes.

Commissioner Quill?

Yes.

Chair Sherrick? Yes. Commissioner Galande? Yes. Commissioner Pratt?

Yes.

Commissioner Orlando Garcia?

Yes.

Vote passes unanimously.

Thank you. Moving on to item number three. Before I do, I had a couple of late slips. I just want to make sure that they were sworn in. Oscar and Valerie, were you guys sworn in? Ms. Abdullah, if you could swear them in for this item, please.

Please stand and raise your right hand. Do you solemnly affirm that the testimony you're about to give before this body will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? If so, please say I do. Thank you. You may be seated.

Thank you.

Staff.

Good evening, Chair, Vice Chair, Commissioners. I am Chantel Choice with the City of San Bernardino Planning Division. I am here to present item number three, subdivision 25-01, tentative track map 20707. Subdivision 2501 is a request to subdivide six parcels into 105 single-family lots. The subject site contains 107.7 acres located on the north of Vertamont Drive within the residential low zone. As you can see, the project, the subject site is within the RL zone. It is also surrounded by other properties that is also within the residential low zone as well. Here we have the aerial map. You can see that there is already single family development within the area. There is also new construction of single family development that is occurring as well. The applicant is requesting to subdivide six parcels into 105 single-family lots. The request is only for the subdivision at this time. The applicant is planning on coming back with a development at a later date. The project site will have ingress and egress access from Vertamont Drive. It also will include six new streets that will provide adequate circulation within the development the lot sizes will range from 10 000 to 24 891 square feet for the rl zone the minimum average lot size is 9 720 square feet so this project will meet the minimum lot size that is required for the residential residential low zone Here we have a picture of the site from Vertamont. As you can see, the road kind of ends, so that's for future development. This is another site from Vertamont Drive. Here we have the track map showing the new streets that will be included. As you can see, like previously said, that there will be access to the development for Vertamont Drive from three new streets, which we have Antique Street. Right now, this is labeled Street A and Street E. There will be five basins on the site as well. Staff recommends that the Planning Commission adopt resolution number 2026-018, adopting the mitigated negative declaration for subdivision 25-01, tentative track map number NOT20707, in accordance with the section 15074 of the California Code of Regulations, and direct the Planning Commission secretary to prepare and file with the Clerk of the County of San Bernardino a Notice of Determination as provided under Public Resources Code Section 2152 and California Code of Regulations Title 14 Section 15094 and adopting the Mitigated Net Monitoring and Reporting Program of Subdivision 25-01 tentative track map number 20707 and approving subdivision 25-01 tentative track map number 20707 based on the findings of facts. That concludes staff presentation. I did want to note that there was a letter provided by SAFER. Also, there was a letter provided by the applicant in response to safer's letter this was not included into the packet because it was provided after the packet was published and that concludes staff presentation the applicant is here if you have any questions thank you is there a presentation by the applicant or would the applicant like to speak

Thank you, commissioners. Good evening. My name is Jonathan Simpson. I'm with JEC Enterprises representing the applicant for this subdivision, track 20707. First off, I'd just like to thank you for the opportunity to be here this evening and to get this project to a point of approval or review. And I would like to thank the staff. Ms. Choice, Mr. Elliott, and of course, Public Works, Transportation, Fire, all the different departments that contributed to the development of the conditions of approval for this project. It's been almost two years since we've started this project and we're very happy to be here and very happy that we get to work with such a great group of staff and colleagues here to develop this site into a project we think San Bernardino would be happy with and proud of. Much of the infrastructure that is being put into place here is not really mentioned in the staff report, but one of the biggest items I just wanted to contribute was the development of the, and the participation of the developer with the million dollar deposit towards San Bernardino Water to develop the 2300 pressure zone for that area. The 2300 pressure zone is the ability to add additional storage and capacity for all of the North Vertamont area, north of Vertamont Drive itself. And we'll be contributing to additional capacity and pressure regulatory emphasis and benefits for not only the 2300 pressure zone, but in addition to all the additional homes in the existing Vermont area. the the contribution to that has established some infrastructure that's already in place by san bernardino water they've been able to develop a 800 gallon tank at the top of that zone booster stations and distribution lines that will contribute to the overall water quality and and pressure availability for that entire neighborhood We are excited about being able to continue the development of the site. JEC Enterprises has been a builder here in San Bernardino for the last 20 years, has developed hundreds of homes in this location, and will contribute to develop the site to enhance the access infrastructure improvements for water, sewer, storm drain, and streets, and develop the site so that there's multiple accesses through that area. Just over the last five years of the development of 17329, additional infrastructure has been put in to allow additional access off of Little League through Myers, Ohio, and this will also extend Ferdinand Avenue as well as Chestnut Avenue all the way up from Ohio through Ferdinand as well. In addition, we believe this project will enhance the hydrological and water quality for the area. Like Chantelle had mentioned, there's basins in there that will help control flows coming through that area down the mountain and help develop the overall water quality for the entire Vertamont system. One note, the project is 110 acres. but the developable site is 107 acres the developed site is only about a third of that nearly 50 60 plus acres that will remain undisturbed as a part of this project it was included in the tentative map just because of the way the parcel layouts happen so nearly all the development north of the site is north area north of the development site is undisturbed and left in its current state um we're looking forward to being able to develop in if you find that this project is deemed uh worthy we will be developing uh the development project with the architecture that we think you'd be proud of and will fit within the area I'm happy to answer any questions you may have we also have our civil engineer Ed bondeman here and our staff our planner uh yang no to help answer any technical questions I might not be able to help you with so thank you thanks again for your time

Thank you. I'll go ahead and start calling our speakers. Maria? Yes. Okay, we have a translator, is that correct? So it's six minutes, correct? Okay. Is that correct? Yes. Thank you.

Buenas noches. Mi nombre es María Alejandra. Estoy aquí para apoyar el proyecto de Verdemund porque creo que puede traer muchos beneficios a nuestra comunidad. Hoy en día, muchos de nosotros tenemos que manejar muchos minutos para ir a los supermercados, comer en restaurantes o hacer compras. Sería muy bueno tener más opciones cerca de nuestra comunidad. With more families living in Verdemund, it will also be easier for them to get to new businesses in this area. That means more services for us and less time to manage. También me gusta saber que este proyecto incluye mejoras para la comunidad como el sistema de servicios de agua y medidas de seguridad para proteger a la familia. Yo quisiera seguir viendo crecer San Bernardino y a Verdemund de una manera positiva. Por eso les pido que apoyen este proyecto. Muchísimas gracias.

Good evening, my name is Maria. I am here tonight to support the Verdemont project because I believe it can bring many benefits to our community. Many of us have to drive several minutes just to get groceries, eat at a restaurant, or shop for everyday necessities. It will be wonderful for the Verdemont community to have more options closer to home. I understand that as more families move into a community, it becomes more attractive for new businesses, more attractive for new people to open in the area. That means more services for residents and less time spent driving to other parts of the city. I also appreciate that this project includes important community improvements, such as upgrades to the water system and safety measures designed to help protect local families. I want to continue seeing San Bernardino grow in a positive and responsible way. For these reasons, I respectfully ask you to support this project. Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Claudia?

Good evening. My name is Claudia. I am here because I lived in San Bernardino my entire life, and I was hoping to make changes in the project of Vermont. Growing up here, I've seen how much our community has needed more places to shop, eat, and spend time with their families. As being a mom, I usually tend to go out anywhere else besides nearby here. From what I understand, businesses want to see that enough families live in the area before they decide to open a new location. As Vermont continues to grow, I believe we have a better chance of attracting grocery stores, restaurants, and other businesses that our community has wanted for years. I think this project is more about building homes. It's about helping Vermont grow in a positive way and creating more opportunities for people who have already lived here and the future families. I love San Bernardino and I want to see our community continue to grow and improve. That's why I respectfully ask to support the Venmo project. Thank you so much for your time. Thank you. Felix Robles.

Well, I thank you so much for doing the work that you guys do. It's a tough job, and I just appreciate everything that you do to help us grow this community. I think if you've been to our project, you'll see what we've done up here. And it's actually a miracle. I mean, to be honest with you, the housing up there, the people that are moving in, they all appreciate everything that's up there. We're hoping to get enough rooftops up there because that's what will invite the commercial. We've tried to get commercial up there before because As some of the people have stated, they need grocery shopping up here. But it's my understanding that we just don't have enough rooftops. I think with this project and the projects that are forthcoming on the north end up there, I think eventually there will be some commercial up there, which is much needed up there. I've had people that's come to our projects and we probably could have sold a lot more homes up there, but sometimes they ask where's the nearest shopping and it's just not there. So this is going to be a big help. It's going to improve this community quite a bit and improve all the values up there for all the entire community. I'm hoping this thing, this will expand into the inner city and do the same thing in the inner city and try to make this city great again. That's really the main goal here. So anyway, I appreciate you guys and thank you so much for

Chase.

My name is Chase Preciado, and I am a paralegal with the law firm Lizzo Jury, LLP, here on behalf of Supporters Alliance for Environmental Responsibility, or SAFR. SAFR respectfully requests that the Planning Commission refrain from approving the Vertamont Heights project at this time because the project may have significant impacts on biological resources that have not been adequately analyzed or mitigated. CEQA requires the preparation of an Environmental Impact Report, or EIR, rather than an MND when there is a fair argument supported by substantial evidence that a project may have a significant adverse impact on the environment. Here, SAFER's expert biologist, Dr. Smallwood, concluded that the project may result in significant impacts on special status species utilizing the project site. This requires the preparation of an EIR. For example, Dr. Smallwood's associate conducted a survey of the project site and observed monarch butterflies roosting in a pine tree on the site. Based on this observation, Dr. Smallwood was able to conclude that this site is vitally important to monarchs and that the construction of the project would eliminate this valuable roosting site. Monarchs are special status species that is currently a candidate for listing under the Federal Endangered Species Act. Dr. Smallwood's analysis and conclusions regarding the project's impacts on biological resources constitute substantial evidence that the project may result in significant impacts on special status species, including but not limited to the monarch butterfly. as a result and in accordance with sequa an eir must be prepared for this project for reasons stated here and in safer's written comments safer respectfully requests that the commission not approve the project at this time thank you thank you jonathan okay thank you george garcia

Good evening, everyone. My name is George. I believe our city should continue moving forward. As our community grows, more families are looking for a safe, welcoming, and affordable place to call home. We have a responsibility not to plan not only for today, but also for the future of San Bernardino and the generations that will come after us. This project is about more than building houses. It's about creating opportunities for hardworking families stretching our community and ensuring that future generations have the chance to live, grow, and build their lives in Vermont. When families have access to quality houses, our neighborhoods become stronger. Our local businesses benefit and the entire community has the opportunity to thrive. I would love to see a community where young families can put down roots, children can grow up in safe neighborhoods, and seniors can continue living close to their loved ones. Thoughtful and well-planned growth helps create a stronger, more brilliant city that we can all be proud of. I also believe this project reflects an investment in the future of San Bernardino. Grow when it's planned responsibility can bring new opportunities. encourage economic development, and help meet the housing needs that so many families are facing today. For these reasons, I respectfully ask you to support this project. You are investing in families and our neighborhoods and in the future of our city. Thank you very much.

Thank you. I just wanted to confirm that I opened the public hearing after staff's presentation. I think I forgot to state that. Thank you. Oscar?

Good evening, everyone. My name is Oscar and I'm here today to support the proposed housing project in Vermont. I believe San Bernardino needs more housing and Vermont is an important part of that future. Many families are looking for safe places to live and it has become harder to find homes that meet their needs. The state of California has cities, no, sorry, the state of California has asked cities like San Bernardino to plan for more housing and I believe we should continue making progress. This project in Vermont is an opportunity to provide more homes for families while helping our city meet its housing goals. I believe we can support responsible growth that benefits both current and future residents. I respectfully ask you to support the Vermont project and help create more housing opportunities for our community. Thank you for your time.

Thank you. Is it Valerie?

Good evening, mayor and council members. My name is Valerie. I'm a San Bernardino resident. I'm here today to support the purpose project in Vermont because I believe it's about more than just building new homes. It's also about improving our community. I know one of the biggest concerns people have is whether our roads and water systems can handle more homes. From what I've learned, this project is improvement to the water system, including a new water tank that will help serve the Vermont area. I also understand that the developers are helping pay for those improvements, which means the cost isn't falling entirely on the taxpayers. Another reason I support this project is because the homes will be built using California's current fire safety standards. They'll include features like fire resistant materials, sprinkler systems, better drainage, and improved access for emergency vehicles. I think those are important investments that help make our community safer. I believe this is a responsible project that brings long-term benefits to Vermont and to the city of San Bernardino. I respectfully ask you to support it. Thank you for your time.

Thank you. John?

Yes, my name is John, and I go along with the recommending it be approved, providing the Planning Commission require them to the developer to put at least $2 million in a trust for additional schooled rooms for elementary and middle school, because with all these extra ones, Obviously, the schools can't handle that. So I haven't heard anybody say about, you know, the children we need to be thinking about. Because if not, it'll come back later and say, the city will and say to everybody, hey, we need to increase your taxes so that we can build more schools. And I would say to the commission to please listen to the needs of the people as far as getting schools set up or getting money put aside for school rooms later. And if you remember, Chaz would never listen to any of the people in Vertamont District. And what happened to Chaz? And I'm saying that the people in the Vertamont area would gladly go against, as far in the elections, against anybody who didn't think of overall the community. And as far as the homes we're talking about, affordable homes, the latest homes that were built up there are over $800,000. would challenge all the people here can any of them afford an 800 000 home versus them coming back the developers coming back and working with the state or others to get affordable homes and affordable homes don't have to be cheap throwaway homes but so anyway the main thing i have is i if they would require them since I understand that they required them to put money up front for the water up there why not make them do the same for the schools so that's all I have thank you does the applicant wish to rebut anything that was said

Thank you for the opportunity. In regards to the school fees, we are required by law to pay school fees for every new development. right now the plan is to anticipate about a 2800 square foot average home times 105 lots at current rates of five dollars and 17 cents a square foot is about 1.5 million dollars to the school system for San Bernardino County School or San Bernardino City Schools District um In regards to the... We had submitted a response to the safer letter that Chantel had mentioned had not been brought into your package because this response was provided to us from a letter from safer that came in after the public comment period so we had put together a response and i'll let you take that time if you haven't already to review our response it's very comprehensive a couple of just important points that to mention what you have in front of you is a legally binding and environmental review for the project that is was done by our environmental expert for this project that identifies all the special species that were found on the site, burrowing out habitats, nesting bird survey requirements that will all be a part of the development process as per the conditions of approval that we're agreeing to. Specifically, the SAFER letter, jump to a bit of conclusions based on the letter that we received in a sense that there was no observation on site other than potential observation around the perimeter of the site on an 105.5 acre site. The determination of some of the claims that they're making are frankly unsubstantiated in a sense of where the depth and observation and study that they did to evaluate the project site. Most importantly, CEQA does not require an EIR based on speculation or unsupported assumptions or generalized expert disagreement. The initial study mitigated NGDEC and our biological assessment provides substantial evidence supporting the city's determination. The Smallwood report is not substantial evidence because it's not a reliable project-specific biological survey. SAFER's specific biological claims do not establish a fair argument to establish the position that the Commission may take that an EIR is required. And in specific for the monarch butterfly, I'll just read a quick section of this to give you an understanding of our perspective on this. The small report claimed that there were two monarchs were roosting on a pine tree and then leaps to the conclusion that the project site must be vitally important to the monarchs. The conclusion is unsupported. The report does not establish the location of the tree relative to the disturbance area, does not show that the site contains a recognized overwintering grove or breeding resource, does not document milkweed or nectar plants in the impact area, and does not demonstrate that the project would eliminate any significant monarch resource. The conclusion also conflicts with the way the monarch habitat is treated by the Federal Wildlife Agency charged with administrating the Endangered Species Act. its 2024 proposed rule for monarchs the u.s fish and wildlife service proposed critical habitat only at western migratory population overwintering sites in coastal california which was approximately 4 300 acres in alameda marin monterey san luis obispo santa barbara santa cruz and ventura counties did not propose critical habitat in breeding or migratory areas because that habitat is expansive, variable from year to year, and used opportunistically. The project site in New England San Bernardino County is not within that proposed critical habitat, and Smallwood provides no specific no project specific basis to treat a claimed perimeter observation as evidence that the site is vitally important monarch habitat the claim speculative and does not support a fair argument to require an eir thank you thank you does staff have any thing to add to that or anything else that was stated

Yeah, so the MND was reviewed by our internees. It did go out for the 30-day public comic review. For the MND, there are mitigated measures that are placed onto the project that will reduce the impacts to low impact. So that's why we went with the MND. Thank you.

Are there any questions or comments by the commission?

uh Commissioner Garcia our vice chair excuse me um the only question that I had is I know we met the applicant mentioned that it was going to be broken out into phases or a third of it um I know that there's 105 homes that are going to be built I just wanted to get clarification if um the entire footprint or area is going to be developed or is it going to be broken up into phases I'm sorry you said you wanted to speak on number four this is item number give us one moment please

Madam Chair Commissioner Garcia what the applicant actually stated is that the scope of the project itself doesn't include the entire acreage of the site itself so they are leaving most of the site undisturbed but the project is only going to be built on a specific portion of the site itself. So the 105 units for something this large, the construction may be in phases, but as Chantal stated earlier, what we're asking you to do at this particular time is just to approve, you know, the tentative track map and then the development process would take effect soon after that.

Okay, thank you for that. And I support this project. Thank you.

Mr. Ojeda.

Okay. As everybody knows, I'm very active in the community throughout the city of San Bernardino. And for me, it's... You know, I was going to make another comment, but after I listened to the gentleman, they have an opposition to the project because of the environmental studies, you know. I remember that I started doing cleanups in the city of San Bernardino. And I dealt with a lot of the environmental groups, right? They only care about the environment only in words, okay? Because what better way to help the environment than to clean up the streets? the driveways, the alleys of the city of San Bernardino, right? And every time I approached them to come and join us and help us to do cleanups, they would tell me, no, we don't do that, but we can share your flyer. So that shows you the amount of care that they have of our communities. For me, the way I see them is like, I don't know, like the mob, you know, but legally, you know, they go and challenge projects and they hide behind the law and say, oh, we're doing it for the environment. We're doing it for the butterfly. We're doing it for the people. But if you pay them off, all of a sudden, The project is good. They forgot about the kids, about the monarch butterflies. They forget about everything. So, which means they're in for money. I strongly believe in the environment and I have proven it. We are the change, myself and many, many great people from the city of San Bernardino, businesses, regular community members have joined us. For example, 48 and Kendall beautification project, we missed it a lot. You wanna know, I wanna talk about the environment, go to the site and see how this site is attracting butterflies, birds, it's looking great. And I don't take credit for this. I give the credit to the residents, the businesses that are willing to put their money, their work where their mouth is. And this kind of groups, you know, for me, I call them hypocrites, my words, because they don't do anything for communities, okay? In Spanish, we have a saying, it says, , which means the skinniest dog gets all the fleas. And this is what happened. Since we are a low-income community, 52, 53% of the general population in the city is in public assistance. So when we're bringing something positive, something that is going to change the dynamic and the economics of the city, this is what we get. We get Roblox to say, oh, no, let's wait. So it happens with any development. And I'm not saying that. minutes three minutes wow thank you all right thank you next time did you want i can donate you guys a clock but i can see it that way i can get it 10 seconds before thank you commissioner galande okay

I want to say, first of all, I can respect the conservationists as well as the local community advocates who have come forth to challenge our to pause this real estate development in order to protect the monarch butterfly. But as mentioned throughout this presentation, an EIR is not necessary. And so the environmental impacts have been addressed. I know the commissioners, we all have taken a look at it. I looked at it very carefully. everything is addressed in the in the mnd there's rigorous conditions it covers traffic's wildfire safety uh you know etc furthermore jec's been around for a long time they've put a lot of money into our community i live in the fifth ward i live in vertemont i see the quality of the work i see the impact to our community in the the how it's uplifted the community overall and In addition, we need help with our economy. And so by bringing in more development and putting more homes, it does help create new jobs. It further expands our tax base. It's going to generate impact fees, which is good, right, to help fund our roads, water infrastructure, schools. I know that was mentioned by the gentleman. Hopefully the response that you received You are accepting that response with the $1.5 million that's going to go into the school system. It helps with libraries, public safeties, without raising taxes generally for existing residents. I'm a penny pincher, so I look at things like that. I want to know how is it going to impact me overall, and this is only going to be a benefit. Vermont, we're going through a revitalization up there, so things are changing. You know, unfortunately, in California, with low-income housing, I don't know if there is such a thing in California for low-income housing. The average price for a home is $930,000. Going on down to Englewood, let me think, all these little areas that have now have changed. Compton's changed. Everything has gone up. I don't know of any area where you can buy a house under $930,000. it's just it is what it is and so um that being said i i am definitely 100 supporting this i think it's going to respect our community it's going to looked at you know i've seen the homes like i said that have been built they're beautiful they they go with the aesthetics of our foothill community and i am going to say to approve it commissioner garcia orlando garcia

Yeah, thank you. I echo Commissioner Galandi's comments. I too live in Vertamont and I do see the developments. I have visited the homes and they are beautiful. You know, yeah, we're addressing a lot of the community concerns here. The hopes is that, you know, we bring more people, we sell these homes and commercial comes next, right? You know, I'm sure like all of us, we're tired of driving out of San Bernardino to go shop and whatnot. But it's not the small things. We've got to get people here. We've got to get some more tax money. And then when business sees that, business will come. So the hopes is if there's no homes, there ain't no people to eat. There ain't no people to shop. So, you know, I do hear the concerns. I personally have not seen anything negative up there. I take walks all the way up there, you know, all the way up to Vertamont, all the way through the mountains too. And it's a beautiful community. Those places are beautiful. So I too support the project and I look forward to voting for this. Thank you.

Thank you. I just have one, two questions. I read through the fire conditions. I just want to make sure the fire county fire is aware. I know that they meet the two access points, but with the houses that are going to be there, that there is enough time for residents to exit should there be a fire in the foothills. yes so uh fire has reviewed it as well as traffic as well there there was a traffic impact uh analysis done thank you and then just for the developer of the applicant i just want to make sure you agree to all of the conditions as they're stated thank you and for the record that was a yes um if there's nothing else i'll go ahead and call for a motion almost to approve go ahead a second Okay. Motion to approve. And we have a second by Commissioner Quill. Commissioner Quill was a second.

Vice Chair Ivan Garcia.

Yes.

Commissioner Quill.

Yes.

Chair Sherrick. Yes. Commissioner Galande. Yes. Commissioner Pratt.

Yes.

Commissioner Orlando Garcia.

Yes.

Vote passes unanimously. Thank you.

Item number four.

um madam chair item number four is actually angeline's project and i think she just stepped away okay sure for a minute you want to take a five minute recess if you take a five minute reset she'll be back thank you we're gonna go ahead and call the meeting back to order we're on item number four with a staff report by staff

all right good evening madam chair commissioners and members of the public my name is angeline mendoza and i will be presenting item number four subdivision 25-08 for tentative track map number 20838 maybe we could close the door or have the the other party walk down a little bit further Thank you. Go ahead. Thank you, Chair. This request is, sorry, restarting that. The applicant is requesting to divide one existing parcel that's approximately 3.36 acres into ten parcels comprised of nine parcels with an average lot size of 11,373.11 square feet and one remainder lot of 18,158 square feet under this tentative tract map number. The lot itself is located within in the northwest corner of Essena and Garfield Street. It is zoned residential low, or RL, similarly to all the other vacant and developed parcels in the area. All the other developed parcels are also single family homes. This is an aerial of the site, which then also shows all those rooftops indicating residential use. In this case, they're all zoned residential low, or RL, just like our subject site. The site itself is an underutilized vacant parcel. Subdivision 25-08 would allow the applicant to utilize the site and allow for future development of single family homes. Here is a site plan showing the proposed division of parcels. Again, you have that remainder lot all the way to the north, and then the nine remaining lots for future single family residence developments. Again, the applicant is requesting to divide one existing parcel into nine with one remainder parcel. Ingress and egress access will be done from an extension of Garfield Street, which is already existing. For the subdivision, the two relevant development standards would be the minimum average, which for a residential low is 10,800 square feet, in which our proposed project does exceed by 11,343.11 square feet, so we're above that minimum. That being said, staff recommends that the Planning Commission adopt resolution number 2026-019, finding the project categorically exempt pursuant to section 15332 for infill development projects in accordance with CEQA and approving subdivision 25-08 based on the findings of fact and subject to the recommended conditions of approval. Since it went through DERC, condition number 22 was added at the recommendation of the environmental consultants of the project. Copies have been provided to the commissioners and the public for your reading and to have it in front of you. This project was properly noticed in advance of the project, and both the staff and applicant are here for any questions that you may have. Thank you.

Thank you. Would the applicant like to speak?

Good evening. My name is Ed Bondeman with Joseph E. Bondeman and Associates. Thank you to the Planning Commission for taking time every time that you come here late and you're not with your families. I appreciate that. I appreciate staff for bringing this forward. Ms. Mendoza has been wonderful to work with. we have we will i'm here if you have any questions uh but we're okay with the conditions and um would appreciate an approval thank you thank you i have one speaker john oh sorry we're opening the public hearing thank you

Yes, my name is John. And again, my concerns is the same as item three, as far as having money put in trust for additional schools, classrooms, elementary and junior high. The other person said that they had, if they sell all of them, they have what will go into the school district will be a little over a million dollars. I may be wrong, but I'd be willing to bet money that you cannot build two classrooms in an elementary and two classrooms in a middle school for a million dollars. And the idea of waiting until all the homes are sold before you build that being the question. So I'm saying if they can do it for water, why can't they do it for school as far as put the money up front up front realizing and this one here only being nine houses or something like that uh that's not not near the concern is the 105 houses so again that was my concern thank you are there any questions or comments by the commission

I have a question on section 56 applicable engineering fees. Item C says approved in lieu or fair share fee shall be paid. Are there approved in lieu fees?

as part of the project no um for the scope of it it would it's specifically only to the division itself no actual development but once the development does come i'm sure i don't know if the applicant wants to speak um to the in lieu fees but i don't believe that was part of the conversation when the project was being reviewed

okay so there's no in lieu fees it would be we would pay just the standard fees of develop okay yeah I don't I don't that's why I'm asking about it and then it is yeah D says land development shall input this section and what what does can we get clarification on that yes so for that and and the way that that this

hearkens to how things our projects are routed Public Works has a bunch of different divisions and so they have maybe one or two that are I guess kind of representatives for each division making his comments so they all send it individually this kind of nomenclature and format that's been used has been honestly here since well before I've been here, and it doesn't look like it's changed. But rest assured, any indication where it says division shall input in this section, those divisions have provided their condition separately. so do we not get do we not review those conditions also as a part of they are part of it so um specific to integrated solid waste management okay um theirs is kind of tucked further up in the reso they're in different different locations with got you okay do the applicant want yes may i um if you want to approve it and move to strike um items c and d from item 56 i'm cool with that okay is that okay with staff yes so we'll go ahead and make those um we'll go ahead and make those revisions and then we'll bring the revised resolution to the next planning commission to be ratified thank you is there any uh comments from the commissioners with those corrections

is there a motion to approve before the motion is made I just want to address this issue about school impact fees yes please now school fees are demanded at the time when uh planters submitted so the school fees they give us their you know um per square foot for residential and commercial and each school district has their own different fees that they charge so automatically school fees are going to get paid and we don't get a single penny of it it goes directly to the school district the school district gets to decide when and how to use them so that that puts that discussion to rest because school fees are automatically part of every development that comes through the city

thank you I'll go ahead and close the question yes yes yes sir school fees for this these particular projects do they those fees apply to that area so it would depend on which school district it is and I don't know specifically which school district

You'll be surprised to know that in the city of San Bernardino, I think we have at least three school districts, including the Redland School District touches a part of our industrial section. So depending on where it is, those fees go to that particular school district and they get to make the allocations as to how to spend them and what to spend them on.

Thank you. If there's no other comments, I'll go ahead and close the public hearing at 7 to 730 and entertain a motion.

I'll motion to approve.

And the motion includes striking those two conditions, correct?

Correct.

Thank you. So we have a motion by Commissioner Ivan Garcia, a second by, excuse me, a motion by Vice Chair Ivan Garcia and a second by Commissioner Quill.

Vice Chair Ivan Garcia?

Yes.

Commissioner Quill?

Yes.

Chair Sherrick? Yes. Commissioner Galande? Yes. Commissioner Pratt?

Yes.

Commissioner Orlando Garcia?

Yes.

Vote passes unanimously. Thank you, Mr. Bondeman, for that. Thank you, staff.

Moving on to... DO WE HAVE ANY REPORTS OR ANNOUNCEMENTS BY OUR COMMISSIONERS? VICE CHAIR GARCIA.

I JUST WANT TO ANNOUNCE THAT I'M GOING TO BE TAKING A BREAK AS A PLANNING COMMISSIONER. TODAY IS MY LAST MEETING. I'M GOING TO TAKE SOME TIME OFF AND FOCUS ON SOME OF MY PERSONAL ITEMS FROM MY PERSONAL BUSINESSES THAT I WANT TO WORK ON. and it's been a pleasure i'll continue to be active in the city hopefully i can come and make public comments and continue to see improvements in our city but it's it's been a great experience working with everybody and i sincerely appreciate all the planning commissioners in this team hopefully we can continue to work tirelessly on our city and uh for the betterment of our city and help our community residents answering questions Mr Elliott thank you for answering those questions of our residents and just educate inform and push our city forward thank you thank you it's been a pleasure being on the chair with you being on the commission with you do we have any other comments commissioner prep

Good evening, everyone. I would just like to shine a little light on a situation that happened out in town. I was approached by a citizen saying that they had questions about a structure they were trying to build at their home and they had some obstacles. And so I reached out to Mr. Elliott and he provided me with the information to answer all this man's questions. And subsequently, have a satisfied customer and i know staff gets a lot of grief sometimes and i think it's important you know to lift them up when uh when the time comes and so congratulations to you sir for for hearing the public i really appreciated that and uh i also would like to apologize to commissioner garcia for cutting you off earlier i didn't realize that you had comments i apologize for that thank you

thank you do we have a director's report oh it's all right so i just want to give a shout out to my ivan mr garcia you are a gem so i'm just a little thrown back because you've been one of the best planning commissioners that we've had forever um i have looked up to you respected you and i know whatever you plan on doing in the future it's going to be nothing but excellent so i wish you the best Furthermore, you know, as planning commissioners, we don't get paid to come up here. I don't think people realize that. You know, this is all voluntary. We take time away from our families. Oftentimes it requires driving, it requires gas. Just a food for thought. Wouldn't it be nice if we could all come together, maybe get some mileage, some gas mileage? Why not? It doesn't hurt to ask, right? The answer is no, if you don't ask.

So just a food for thought, you know, if we could just maybe get...

Just a couple bucks for our gas. That'd be really helpful.

It's $6 a gallon. Thank you. Thank you. Is there any other comments by the commission? Is there a director's report?

Yes, Madam Chair. Just to remind everybody that the public comments on a draft EIR closes on July 30. The draft EIR, that's going to take care of our... new general plan update the new downtown specific plan our new development code is posted on the city's website if we don't get these comments we don't have anything that informs us I've been getting a few calls about people who are not happy with what their properties are zoned and so on and so forth And some of those are easy fixes. We just haven't received any critical ones. My expectation is maybe a day or two before we're going to get a deluge of letters and calls and stuff like that, which is typically what happens. But that seems to be the biggest thing right now that we're working on is to get this. uh much talked about uh you know general plan uh back uh to the people and um so public comment period and in eir closes july 30. thank you thank you i'll go ahead then and adjourn our meeting at 7 32 p.m thank you