Planning Commission - Regular Meeting

Good evening everyone. Uh the time is now  7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, November 12th,   2025 and this meeting is called to order of  the Monrovia Planning Commission. Uh, first up,   please stand and follow Commissioner  Janisk in the pledge of allegiance to the flag of America and to the stands nationy andice. Thank you, Commissioner  Janisk. Moving along. Uh, next,   uh, we would normally have approval of minutes,  but we have none to approve for this meeting. Oh, sorry about that. I skipped something. Uh,  let's do a roll call, please. Yes. Commissioner   Austin, Vice Chair Rose, and Chair Brown are  excused. Commissioner Stira is filling in as   acting chair. Commissioner Janisk here. Sheffller  here. Stira here. Bashani here. Thank you very   much. So next would be approval of minutes. We  have no minutes to approve in this meeting. Uh so   following that in the agenda is the public input  portion of tonight's meeting. Uh so at this time   uh citizens with uh items to discuss that are not  on the agenda tonight are welcome to uh approach   the podium and speak. Um and just a reminder, we  may not discuss or vote on these items. Uh, but   the time for that input is now. Do I have anybody  that wishes to speak on items not on the agenda? All right, seeing none, uh, let's move along  to the public hearing portion of tonight's   meeting. Uh, we have two public hearing  items on the agenda today, PH1 and PH2.  

First up is PH1, which is a request to approve  two variance requests, three minor exceptions,   and a neighborhood design compatibility  review. The subject property is at 113 South   Mountain Avenue uh uh with um uh Kadi Damlian as  applicant. And these approvals would allow for the   construction of a single family residence at the  subject property. Um, I believe we have associate   planner Gillespie with the staff report. Take  it away. All right. Thank you, Chair, and uh,   good evening, commissioners. Um, as you mentioned,  um, there's three variances, two exceptions in   a design review, all for a new twotory single  family home uh, at uh, 113 South Mountain. Um,   so just for some uh history about this property,  um, some of you may know uh that this property had   a large pine tree um, on the side and in May of  2024, this pine tree fell on the house that was   previously there. It dem uh, it demolished about  half of the house. Um, and currently it sits uh,   vacant. The property it's located within the PD  area 2. Uh so that's plan development area 2 which   allows normally for multifamily development. Um  and when we take a look at this uh block of uh P2,   you can see the size of the property really  stands out as being the smallest on the block.   Um and when we take a closer look, you can see  that the lot um it really has very tight uh site   uh property constraints that limit development  potential. Uh so the property it's 58 feet deep   and only 43 feet wide and in total it's just under  2500 square ft in size. Uh when compared to other  

properties in this uh zone uh most of them are  closer to a little over 7,000 square ft in size.   Uh so in order to build uh almost any development,  you would need at least two variance requests   which are uh before you tonight and as well as uh  exceptions including a uh a sideyard setback uh   exception, a rear yard setback uh minor exception  and a backup clearance from the garage. And the   variance requests are to exceed the maximum floor  area as well as reduce the front yard setback. So this is a picture of the site as it  currently stands. Um you can see what   remains of the home is still there and it's  uh on either side of the property you can see   there are garage structures. Um so it really  kind of sits on on its own in this block.   And this is the proposed development that will  replace it. Uh you can see it's a two-story   uh with a minimal uh design cues  um from found in the neighborhood. So uh the site meets uh most development  standards. However, as mentioned before,   um it does need a variance request to  exceed uh the maximum floor area ratio.   Uh the maximum is normally 40%, they're  requesting 57%. Um it needs this variance   in order to meet the minimum dwelling size for  a single family home. Uh normally the maximum   uh floor area allowed for this property is just  under 1,000 square ft. Um also they are requesting   a 9 ft uh front yard setback which is uh much  smaller than the 25 ft standard. Uh and then  

when we look at the exceptions, uh it's a 3-FFT  setback on the north side and a 16 ft uh rear   uh yard setback. And finally, a 10-ft uh backup  distance from the garage door. So on this slide,   you can see how that relates to the site. Um so  the house, it's designed as a single structure,   uh fairly centered in the property. Um, it's  positioned closer to the front yard in order to   allow more of a backyard space that is more usable  for the resident. And they've positioned the house   closer to the front in order to uh provide access  on the south side to the rear of the property. And when we take a closer look at the  architectural materials, uh it's more of like a   modern but minimal traditional style using stucco  siding, a composite horizontal siding on key,   uh areas of the home, and a uh standing seam metal  roof uh for the top and bottom roof elements. Overall, the building will be only 25 ft  tall. Uh the maximum height allowed is 27   feet within this area. And you can see uh based  on the front and side elevations, they've added   uh wall articulation and modulations. Um so  it's not just a stuckle box in the middle. A part of neighborhood compatibility, we look at  the context um in which it's designed. And you   can see this neighborhood has a mix of styles um  both older and and modern or min um mid-century.   Um it mostly resembles a home of multif family  home across the street um using that stucco  

and horizontal siding elements that are found.  Another aspect is privacy impacts um and window   placement. Um so they've been very careful  in the window placement and size. Um they've   uh try to limit larger windows to the front  and the rear of the home where there's more   space for landscaping that can be added  and minimize the windows on the sides. Um   it's also you can see it's been placed uh  pretty far away uh from other residences.   um the closest being about 40 feet uh 41  feet from the uh residents to the northwest. And when we look at the street frontage and how  it compares to the neighboring uh structures,   um you can see that the 9- foot uh setback for the  front does seem very small, but when compared to   the neighbor to the north, um their side setback  is only actually uh 9 ft and 7 9.75 ft. Um so   you can see it's relatively in the same line of  that structure. And also to the south, the 10-ft   setback for the garage is in line with the uh  10-ft side setback with the home to the south. Uh so part of this uh project included a  review by the development review committee.   Um this occurred on September 3rd. Uh with  this uh review, there was public comment   um from the neighbor to the south. Uh they  had concerns at the time because originally   there was a three-foot setback proposed on the  south side. Um they had concerns about access   um particularly uh utility service or utility  access and fire uh emergency access. Also,   there were some concerns about um privacy  impacts with the second floor. Um,  

but these were addressed with a redesign  of the house being set 5 feet away. The development review committee also had  some input on the uh layout. Um there was   con some concern about the driveway depth  and the parking as well as uh utility and   easement access in coordination with  the um the utility hookups and the   uh front yard driveway setback. Um the staff  worked with the applicant to try to address all   of these concerns and we feel with the conditions  um they've been fully uh analyzed and addressed. Also, uh, with this project, there was a,  uh, public hearing notice that was sent out,   including a 400 foot mailing radius, a sign  posting in the front yard. And with that,   we did receive two comments. One was in favor  of the project from a neighbor on Wild Rose,   and one a comment had concerns about potential  encroachments onto their property. Um,   this was from the neighbor to the north.  However, with the setback of 3 ft that is   taken from the property line, um not the fence  that is currently there. Um they did a survey   of their property and found that their fence  encroached onto their property. Um but there   is no new fencing proposed or required uh with  this development. So that would not change. Um, we've also added uh several conditions  in order to help address these concerns. Um,   also the any concerns brought up through the  development review committee. These include   uh a survey for any future fencing that might  be proposed as well as a covenant prohibiting  

uh parking within the driveway area. Um this  was a concern brought up during the DRC meeting   that public uh parking could encroach into  the public rideway. Um also landscaping is   required and designed in a way to minimize uh  privacy impacts. And finally a condition was   added to uh secure the property with uh  temporary fencing uh to keep people out. And then this was reviewed by the fire  department, building division and public   works. We've added uh their conditions  as well um including fire sprinklers,   grading and building plan check and seeing if the  existing utilities can be uh utilized if possible. Uh so with that staff is recommending approval  with the conditions in the staff report. I'd   be happy to answer any questions as  well as the applicant. Um they are   they're available. Uh so this concludes  my presentation. Thank you. Thank you,   Vincent. Uh do we have any questions from  commissioners for Vincent, the applicant? Go ahead, Commissioner Janack. Um my one question  is is uh just maybe a little bit of clarity on   um the uh condition for the parking covenant.  Um I guess what uh is you know aside from like   the covenant what is like is there uh like  do people report if people have parked in   those kinds of spaces or Yeah. I guess what  what is the conditions associated with that?   Um I can try to address that for you um  Commissioner Jennis. So, the purpose of   that covenant is we know that the applicant  plans to reside in this home and although   they've agreed not to park in that driveway,  the covenant um would run with the land. So,  

if the property were to be sold to a future  homeowner, they would immediately know that no   parking would be allowed in that. So, it's really  to memorialize in perpetuity um the restriction. Commissioner Mashi, what was the depth of that  driveway? Uh 10 about 10 feet. 10 ft. Okay. And   10 ft was a was an issue that was too So it  was a concern brought up um at the meeting   uh about having having an encroachment  in the public rideway, people parking   in front of the garage. Okay. And the owner  was okay with this? We did talk to the owner   um before adding the condition and yes  they they did agree to it. Okay. Thank you. Um were there any public comments uh received  about this? Yes, we received two comments for   today's uh tonight's meeting. Um one was just  that they were in favor of the exceptions. The   other was uh concerns about encroachment of the  house onto the neighboring property. Um however,   as mentioned, the setback is 3 ft, but that's  taken from the property line. Um so it it would   not encroach into the property. Thank you. And  uh one more about the fencing. Um so you you   mentioned that there would be a survey required  for any uh future modifications to the fencing.   Can you just remind us what is the current state  of the fence around the property? Yes. So to the   south u because the tree fell over the those  owners replaced the fencing that was damaged.   Uh and to the north um there was a fence permit  issued in 2005. Um however the current owner did  

a survey and found that encroached onto their  property a little bit. Um, so that was mainly   the issue. It's really between the two property  owners is the fencing. And that one is still   in place where it was or where it has been. Yes.  Undamaged. Anything at the rear of the property?   There is a fencing to the rear. Um, we haven't  heard anything about that. That hasn't changed.   Great. Any other questions from commissioners  before we go? All right, seeing none, uh this   is the time and place for public input regarding  PH1. Uh we'll accept testimony in the following   order. Uh the applicant if they wish to speak,  then persons in favor, then persons with concerns,   and then the applicant will have a chance to  respond to those concerns. Uh just a reminder   if you would like to speak just please come to the  podium state your name and uh we will and address   your comments to me and we'll go from there.  Would the applicant like to speak? Do we have the   applicant? No. All right. That's a no. Um do we  have any persons in favor who would wish to speak? Seeing none, uh, do we have any persons with  concerns about this agenda item? All right,   that makes this easy. Uh, the public testimony  portion of this hearing is closed and it's time   for the commission to deliberate. Um, in that  brief interlude, have any more questions arisen? Nope. Okay. Don't see any questions from the  commission. So, if there's no further discussion,  

do I have a motion? Yeah. Uh I move to approve  variance uh uh identified as ver v2025-001 variance v2025-00002 minor exception ME 2025-000010 minor exception ME 20225-000011 minor exception ME 2025-0018 and level 6  neighborhood compatibility design review   DR2025-000018 with the conditions as presented  in the staff report. All right. Any do we   have a second? Second. We have a motion and a  second. Could we please have a roll call vote? Yes. Commissioner Janisk. I. Sheffller. Yes.  Vashani. Yes. Acting chair. Yes. With that, uh,   the motion is approved. Uh, could someone read the  appeal language? Uh, yes, Commissioner Stura. So,   all decisions of the planning commission may be  appealed if filed in writing within 10 days of   tonight's decision, and an appeal appeal fee does  apply. Thank you. Thank you, Director Burme. All   right, moving right along in our agenda. Next  up is PH2, uh, which is a request to approve   resolutions recommending city council take several  actions regarding, uh, sub a subject property,   including, uh, certifying an environmental impact  report, adopting a specific plan, approving   a general plan amendment, approving a zoning  amendment, and approving a tenative partial map,   and approving a conditional use permit. Uh, the  subject property is at 701 South Myrtle Avenue.  

uh with uh BGB Myrtle LLC Scott Griggs as  applicant. And these approvals would allow for the   construction of a five-story mixeduse building at  the subject property. I believe we have planning   division manager John Mayer on deck to deliver  the staff report. Take it away, John. Thank you   very much, chair and commissioners, and thank you  uh chair for covering that first slide for me. Uh   that covers everything we're going to talk about.  Um and and based on that, um just since we have   a lot to cover tonight, I thought I'd provide a  quick road map of what we'll cover tonight. I'll   start with how this area um 701 South Myrtle  fits in with the city's long-term vision. I'll   then walk through the feasibility analysis that  was done for the project. We'll cover the project   design and the public realm improvements. Uh after  that, we'll look at the environmental review and   the development review uh committee feedback u  before wrapping up with staff's recommendations.   So, this area of 701 South Myrtle um  has been an area of part of a Monrovia   um that's had a long-term vision for a long  time. Uh back in 2008, the general plan   identified South Myrtle as an opportunity to  extend the character of Oldtown down toward   the 210 freeway. And the idea was to turn  what was once an industrial corridor into   a walkable mixeduse extension of Oldtown. Uh  we've already seen parts of that vision come to   life with projects like Avalon and Paragon. These  projects have helped bring more activity, housing,   and storefronts into the corridor, uh putting  more feet on the street in the Oldtown district.   Uh the project tonight um is considered a next  step in that long-term plan. This slide shows   the current site. It's a singlestory 1979  office and light industrial building with  

a very large surface parking lot. It's one of  the key remaining development sites in Oldtown   Extension District and it's well positioned  to continue Oldtown's walkable character. So, how we got here? Um, the developer approached  the city with a a larger and taller mixeduse   project than what the city's current standards  allow. The city paused that initial idea so we   could study what what was appropriate  here. We looked at the design context,   economic feasibility, and long-term  goals for the corridor. And this led   to a a very collaborative approach with  with the city and the San Gabriel Valley   Council of Governments working together  on an independent feasibility study for   this site. This graphic shows where we are  today versus what the proposal could bring.   The idea is to move from a low industrial I'm  sorry low low inensity industrial site to a   pedestrianfriendly mixeduse corridor uh corner  that continues Oldtown's street experience. So, regarding this independent economic  study, um EPS was the company that was   uh selected to test whether the project on this  site could actually be built under the current   zoning. Uh they found that the old standards, the  54 units per acre and the fourstory height limit   uh that's currently in place today simply  didn't pencil out for a project like this.   increasing the density and the height uh would  make the project feasible while still maintaining   strong design controls. And that analysis has  guided us uh towards the creation of this PD29. PD29 is a a new land use designation created  specifically just for this site. It would allow   the density and height needed to make a mixeduse  project feasible and requires on-site affordable  

units. It also allows additional density and  height to achieve the economic feasibility. It   would require on-site affordable housing equal to  10% of the total units plus three at the modern   income level. And it also ties the entire project  to a sightspecific specific plan which gives the   city strong oversight over the design. The way we  can think about this PD29 is it works kind of like   a puzzle. We're balancing three pieces at once.  affordability, a design that is thoughtful and   contextsensitive, and project feasibility.  Each piece matters, and if one is missing,   the picture just doesn't come together. So, what  is this PD or plan development? This is a tool   that the city has used for decades. It allows  us to tailor the height, the density, and the   design requirements to fit the neighborhood. We've  used this successfully in Oldtown, for example,   Colorado Commons. This was a mixeduse housing  and retail development on a former parking lot.   We also have a PD for the adaptive reuse of that  1950s era telecommunications building that's now   u storage storage facility on the upper floors and  ground flooror retail just east of Oldtown. PDS   are customized zoning tools created by the city.  They're not a one-sizefits-all. Instead, they they   let us tailor development standards to fit the  unique character and goals of a specific site. The specific plan is essentially a  detailed rule book. In this case,   701 South Myrtle specific plan is the rule book  that would implement what we call PD29, the plan   development designation for the site. What that  means, it takes the general fra framework of PD29   and spells out exactly what can be built here.  Things like the design standards, the land uses   that are allowed and the development regulations  that apply. The purpose is to make sure that the  

project moves forward in a way that's consistent  with the city's general plan. And for this area,   the general plan calls for a walkable mixeduse  corridor that extends the vitality of Oldtown   Monrovia south towards Station Square. And the  specific plan is the tool that ensures this   project contributes to that vision. So the role  of this specific plan is put the PD28 designation   into action. That means it takes the site, which  was previously zoned light industrial uses,   and establishes the framework for a mixeduse  development with both housing and commercial   space. The plan also sets detailed standards to  make sure the project extends Oldtown's pedestrian   environment. This includes required structured  uh structured parking instead of surface lots,   widening the sidewalks, creating a public plaza  at Myrtle and Olive, and ensuring active ground   floor uses face Myrtle Avenue. It also requires a  strong street facing design elements such as the   use of brick and stucco and stone so that the  new building fits well with its surroundings.   Finally, the plan makes sure the affordable  housing is included and the design standards   applied to the project are consistent  with the character of Oldtown Monrovia. This slide here now focuses on the development  project itself. The actual building that would be   constructed under the specific plan. The project  covers a 1.61 acre site and proposes a fivestory   mixeduse building. The height is set at 65 ft  with architectural features permitted to extend   about up to 80 80 feet. Along Myrtle Avenue, the  top floor steps back 15 ft to reduce the apparent   scale from the street. The building total includes  204 residential units made up of 20 studios, 141,   I'm sorry, 147 onebedrooms and 37 twobedrooms.  Within this total, 20 units are affordable.  

17 are reserved for lowincome households and  three are for moderate income households in   line with the PD29 requirements. Parking for  the project is provided consistent with the   state density bonus law which allows reduced  parking ratios for the projects that include   affordable housing. So instead of the city's  standard 2.5 spaces per unit, this law permits   one space per studio and onebedroom units and  one and a half spaces for the two-bedroom or   more units. And based on these ratios, the project  provides 271 spaces meeting the state requirements   while supporting a more efficient use of the  land in a downtown setting. The project also   includes a mix of public and private open spaces.  These include a new public plaza at the corner of   Myrtle and Olive, two landscape courtyards for  the for the residents, and private balconies   and a rooftop deck. Together, these features  reflect how the specific plan translates into   a single development project designed to add  housing, incorporate affordability, and provide   adequate parking under the state standards and  contribute uh new public space along the corridor. This slide is an aerial photo uh showing where the  project is located uh in the broader south Myrtle   corridor. The site uh sits at the southwest  corner of Myrtle and Olive, right at the edge   of Oldtown's southern boundary. It's within  what we call the Oldtown District, uh, sorry,   Oldtown Extension District in the area where  the city has envisioned that walkable mixeduse   character. You can also see how the project  is positioned between two major developments,   the Paragon to the northeast and the Avalon to the  southwest. And that gives this site an important   role in connecting those projects and creating  some continuity along Myrtle. Uh finally, the site   is about threequarters of a mile from the Metro  Aine station, which helps support the transit   use and reduces vehicle trips. So overall, the  location fits very well with the city's long-term  

vision for this walkable corridor um linking  Oldtown to Station Square. Here's some images of   uh just a look at the surrounding context for  site. You can see uh that um to the to the north   we do have some shops and apartments leading into  Oldtown. To the east across Myrtle is the Paragon   project which is three to four stories tall. Uh  to the south we still have some remnants of the   some office and light industrial buildings. Uh  then transitioning into that five-story Avalon   uh project. Um and to the west uh the area steps  down into some light industrial and residential   neighborhoods uh which the project design takes  into account through its massing and setbacks.   Here's an overall uh site plan. I just want  to walk you through this. Uh moving clockwise   uh around the site at the corner of U. Myrtle uh  and Olive. The plan creates a new public plaza.   This plaza provides outdoor seating and serves  as a main pedestrian entry uh activating the   corner and linking directly to the ground floor  commercial space. The main residential lobby is   also located here giving residents direct access  to Myrtle. reinforcing the pedestrian orientation   of the building. Moving south along Myrtle Avenue,  the front engine includes a brick clad arcade.   This is a covered walkway uh just meant to improve  the pedestrian environment and uh providing some   access to the commercial storefront. The arcade  also fronts the project's fitness studio uh one   of the indoor amenities for the residents and u  helping just to keep that activity along Myrtle   Avenue. Continuing around the west side, the  rear alley is designed for the service access,   including deliveries and designated space for  resident moveins. Locating these functions here,   uh, helps keep them out of view of from Myrtle  Avenue and Olive Avenue, preserving those front  

edges for pedestrians. And then along the western  side, uh, between the alley and Olive Avenue,   the plan provides a small outdoor dog park. Uh  this space is reserved for the residents and   screened with landscaping and provides a private  open space amenity for for the residents. And then   finally at Olive, this is the vehicular entry into  the structured parking garage. The garage extends   one and a half levels below grade and provides a  total of 329 spaces. Of those 255 are secured uh   behind a gate for residents with access controlled  by a call box. Another 50 spaces are set aside for   guests and 10 are located in front of a gate uh  for easy visitor access. So this approach keeps   the resident parking secure while making guests  and customer parking accessible, ensuring that   it's all parked and um and accommodated on site  without the need for service surface parking lots. Moving up to the second floor podium level, I  just want to stress that this is the second floor,   not the ground floor. This this plan introduces  the project's larger amenity areas. Uh there are   two landscaped courtyards designed with seating  and open space intended for resident gathering and   recreation. In addition to the courtyards,  the club room is located at this level,   providing an indoor amenity space that complements  the outdoor areas. Together, these features create   a mix of indoor and outdoor spaces available to  the residents. Access to this podium level is   restricted to residents and because it sits above  the street, the courtyards have an added degree of   of privacy. And finally, the structured parking  beneath the podium is directly connected by   elevators, so residents and their guests can move  between the garage and the ground floor and the   podium level without needing to exit the building.  Levels two and three are what we would call the   typical residential floors of this project. These  levels contain a mix of studios, onebedrooms,  

and two-bedroom units, consistent with the overall  unit count in the specific plan. From the outside,   the facades of these floors don't change much  compared to the base level. Windows are aligned   in a consistent pattern, maintaining a a nice  rhythm that matches Oldtown's um traditional   architecture. And for private open space,  residents will have their balconies or Juliet   railings, which provide some opportunities to  look out over the street and into the courtyards. On the fourth uh residential level, the building  introduces a step back along Myrtle Avenue. Uh   this means that the top floor is pulled back from  the street by about 15 ft, which helps soften the   overall height when viewed from the sidewalk.  Within the stepback, the specific plan includes   a rooftop terrace that faces Myrtle Avenue and the  St. Gabriel uh St. Gabriel Mountains. This terrace   is designed as a shared open space for residents,  functioning as a lounge and gathering area. And   along Olive Avenue, the building also steps back  at the upper level, creating some additional   residential deck areas and further reducing  the building's bulk at the street street edge. This is a cross this is a cross-section uh showing  the full vertical organization of the project.   Looking from the south, on the right hand side  of the diagram is Myrtle Avenue and on the left   hand side is the location of the resident dog  park along Olive Avenue. Starting below grade,   the project includes one and a half levels  of subterranean parking. Uh this is where   the resident guest and commercial parking  is accommodated. Uh secured by a gate and   connected by the building elevators. Above the  parking is the podium level located on the second   floor. This is uh this level contains two large  courtyards for the residents and a pool and and   and another outdoor seating and dining space. The  next three floors, levels two through four contain   the residential units. And these floors maintain  a consistent um rhythm and design pattern uh as  

I mentioned earlier along Myrtle. At the top,  the building steps back from uh Myrtle Avenue,   reducing that perceived scale when  re when viewed from the street. This slide highlights the planting and heartscape  approach for the project. Along Myal Avenue,   three existing street trees will remain in  place. Along Olive Avenue, new uh new street   trees are proposed uh to provide some shade and  visual interest. The public plaza at Myrtle and   Olive incorporate widened sidewalks, shade trees,  planters, and decorative paving, street furniture,   lighting, and other elements within the public  ride ofway will will need to follow city   standards. Within the site, the courtyards and  dog park are designed with a pallet of drought   tolerant shrubs, native or adaptive tree species,  and turf or ground cover where appropriate. So the design character uh this slide just gives  a sense of the overall architectural character of   the project. The design blends contemporary  mixeduse architecture with some traditional   materials, bricks, stone, stucco, and articulated  bays. The ground floor is designed to be very   open and transparent with large storefront  windows and active street frontage. Uh this   helps keep the pedestrian environment lively  and connected. You'll also notice that the   upper floors step back as the building goes  up. Those stepbacks help reduce the massing   and soften the overall appearance from the  street. All of these elements, the materials,   the transparency, the stepbacks, and the  proportions are all intentional. They're   designed to make the project feel compatible with  the Oldtown Extension District and to continue to   the visual rhythm of the corridor. And this  particular elevation, this is one that faces   toward Oldtown Monrovia. So, this is a view  that you would see going south on Myrtle. Uh   so the next few slides I just want to focus  specifically on that connection and explain  

why the project is not expected to create any  adverse impacts on the Oldtown historic district. Just want to walk through the historic resources  analysis that was completed for the environmental   impact report. Even though Oldtown is not a  formal designated historic district at the local,   state or federal level, it was identified in  the city's um historic survey as an eligible   historic district. And so under SQA,  when an area is considered eligible,   uh we must treat it as a historic resource and  evaluate whether a project could impact it.   So, uh, the city's team, um, uh, historic  consultant Debbie How Ardella, um, prepared the   full technical report on this, and she evaluated  the potential Oldtown commercial historic district   using the SQA criteria of integrity. Things like,  uh, setting and feeling and design and association   are all attributes of historic preservation.  And because the site is several blocks away,   separated by a major intersection, and because  there are non-historic buildings in between,   the study found that the project would not change  the district's character or impact its potential   eligibility. The building also incorporates a  lot of design um a lot of design elements such as   stepbacks and traditional materials and a strong  pedestrian orientation. All of this helps it fit   within the Oldtown uh extension cont context. So  in short, the analysis concluded that the project   would not create or direct or direct a direct or  indirect uh significant impact uh to the potential   Oldtown historic district under SQUA. And this  this uh slide simply explains why SQUA requires   us to complete this kind of study. SQUA doesn't  just look at uh designated landmarks. It also   requires the city to evaluate these resources uh  that have been identified as potentially eligible.  

So because Oldtown has been identified um as  eligible, SQA treats it as a historic resource. So the next series of slides um will be uh to  show the architectural images of the project.   This is a view from the southwest quarter  of South Myrtle and West Olive Avenues   facing that corner plaza I discussed  earlier. The design incorporates a   brick clad arcade at the ground level with  commercial storefronts and this treatment   is consistent with Oldtown's pedestrian  environment and helps activate the street.   This is a view looking south on South Myrtle  showing the corner plaza and scale relative to   the Paragon development across across Myrtle. Uh  the public plaza at Myrtle and Olive incorporates   widened sidewalks, shade trees, planters, and  decorative paving, street furniture, lighting,   and other elements uh within the public ride ofway  uh will all need to follow uh city standards. This is another view. This one is um across  the street of Myrtle Avenue showing how the   storefronts are framed with the canopies uh  providing shade along that ground floor um area. This is the view looking northwest on South Myrtle  Avenue on the south alley elevation. This is the   side of the building where the service functions  are located, including the the loading entry. This   is um there's a loading entry for deliveries and  resident moveins. Uh this is also the out uh the   location where um the trash pickup will will occur  as well. Uh this is a sort of a massing model   uh in a view looking northeast from the rear  alley. The design is more simplified in this   um this view uh compared to the Myrtle Avenue.  But the plan does call for lighter materials  

and some visual breaks uh in the design like  changes in the materials to avoid that flat wall   uh appearance and keep the facade in  rhythm with the old town's character. And finally, this is a rendering looking southeast  towards the project from across West Olive Avenue.   The ground floor uh on this side incorporates  residential entries directly at the sidewalk,   creating a more residential scale and  reinforcing a neighborhood feel along the   this edge of the specific plan. The length  of this West olive facade, as you can see,   is broken into some distinct building blocks  uh separated by two podium level courtyards   uh which all help reduce the apparent mass of  the building and provide some visual balance. So before a project like this can move forward,   the city is required by the California  Environmental Quality Act or SQA to study   whether it can have any significant effects  on the environment. For 701 South Myrtle,   the city prepared a draft environmental impact  report or an EIR and that was available for   public review from July 3rd through August 18th,  2025. During that time, residents, agencies, and   organizations have the opportunity to comment on  the analysis. We've also prepared the final EIR,   which includes responses to those comments and  identifies the mitigation measures or the specific   steps that the developer must take to avoid or  lessen any potential impacts that were identified. So the ER looked at a wide range of environmental  topics. Everything from air quality and traffic to   cultural resources, noise, utilities, and  public services. Each topic was analyzed  

to determine whether the project could  create any significant impacts, and if so,   whether those impacts could be reduced through  mitigation. Across all 15 environmental areas,   every potential impact has been reduced to  a less than significant level. So that means   there are no unavoidable or unmititigated  environmental impacts associated with the   project. Some topics like aesthetics or quality,  transportation, energy use were already below   uh significance thresholds. Others like cultural  resources, noise during construction, geology and   soils, hazardous materials needed some mitigation  measures in this case, and we'll cover those next. Just to give you a sense of the city's due  diligence, these are the main mitigation   measures that will be conditions of approval  for the project for the cultural and tribal   resources issue area uh before any demolition  or excavation begins. Construction workers will   receive training on how to recognize artifacts  or tribal materials. If anything is uncovered,   work must stop immediately and a qualified  archaeologist and tribal monitor must evaluate   and handle the find appropriately. With respect to  the geology and soils issue area, the project must   follow detailed recommendations from a licensed  geotechnical engineer, including engineered   shoring for the underground parking levels, proper  soil compaction, and foundation design standards.   all to ensure safety and prevent settlement  or instability. For the hazards materials uh   environmental issue, uh because the site once had  a gas station, there's a chance an old underground   storage tank could still be buried. The contractor  will need to investigate and if found, remove and   dispose of it safe safely under the uh state  and local oversight, including soil testing and   cleanup if contamination is detected. Regarding  construction noise, the project must prepare a  

construction noise management plan to limit noise  for neighbors. This includes maintaining mufflers,   limiting loud activities to daytime hours,  uh posting contact information for on-site   uh uh posting contact information on site for  any complaints uh noise complaints and installing   temporary sound barriers if needed. Regarding  utilities and waste, the project must comply with   all city and state recycling and waste diversion  programs, confirm that the utility systems have   capacity, and include electrical vehicle charging  infrastructure. Regarding transportation,   the project qualifies as a low vehicle miles  traveled area, meaning residents are expected   uh to drive a lot less because of its location  near downtown, near shops and jobs and transit,   which aligns well with the state environmental  goals for reducing car dependence. So together   these mitigation measures um are um are there  to ensure that the project is environmentally   responsible and consistent with SQA's intent  to avoid or reduce impacts wherever feasible. And at this time I want to just want to  acknowledge some of the comments that we receive   that fall outside the SQA um review but are  still very important to the community and to the   city. Uh the three main themes we heard were the  height and scale with residents concerned that the   five-story building near Oldtown might feel too  tall or out of character. Uh people also talked   about the architecture. They wanted the design to  feel like Monrovia, not something generic. Uh the   loss of the tall pine trees came up frequently.  Uh they've been part of the landscape here for   decades. Parking and traffic were also mentioned,  especially fears about congestion or overflow   into into public areas. Some residents expressed  concerns about uh construction noise or dust. And  

there's a general feeling of what might we might  call uh development fatigue in the community. Uh   the sense that several new apartment buildings  were have already gone up nearby. And of course,   these are understandable concerns and staff  and the applicant have worked carefully to   to address these through the project  design and and enforceable conditions. We also received a letter uh yesterday from  an organization called safer. Uh this stands   for the supporters alliance for environmental  responsibility. And their letter focuses on two   specific SQA topics, air quality and noise. on air  quality. They argue that the EIR underestimated   certain uh construction emissions and should  have included a health risk assessment related   to diesel particulate matter. On noise, they argue  that more detail should have been provided on the   modeling assumptions and that the construction and  operational noise levels may may be understated.   So, Safer's position is that the ER doesn't fully  analyze or disclose these issues and that the   document should be revised or recirculated.  Uh for tonight, uh we do have the applicant   SQA consultant here, Tracy Zinn, and she will  respond to these uh safer um technical assertions   uh during the public comment portion of of  the meeting. And staff will include both   the letter and the consultants responses in the  final EIR record that goes to the city council. Uh this slide just summarizes the development  review committee meeting that took place on   October 15th. At that meeting, staff presented the  project, walks through the design and circulation   and summarized the key SQA findings. The applicant  team also described how the um the um how the   project supports the city's long-term vision and  to extend Oldtown South along Myrtle. Um the his   our historic consultant Debbie Howardillo  was there uh also presenting her findings of  

the historic resources analysis including the  conclusion that the project would not impact   the potential Oldtown historic district. After  the main presentation, the city's departments   each reviewed their areas of concerns. The fire  department had originally raised some questions   about the fire engine movement in the alley.  Uh that issue was resolved after the meeting   through the addition of a a center pullout area  uh within the six-stall alley segment. So there's   six parking spaces along that alley and the fire  department had some concerns about maneuvering   some of their trucks. Um the applicants architect  was able to to provide a little more space for   those for those fire trucks to maneuver back  there. The police department also asked for   some improved emergency access to the building uh  which was addressed by just adding two designated   parking spaces um one on Myrtle and one on Olive  so that they have easy access into that main   lobby. Uh that's something they requested both and  also the public works department uh reviewed these   updated plans and agreed with that circulation  layout and the revised striping that's needed   for those for those concerns. So in the end the  all the departments uh concurred with the changes   and the DRC supported the project moving forward.  And before I conclude this presentation tonight,   I just want to briefly highlight a couple  of cleanup items that staff um updated to   make sure everything is fully aligned uh with the  environmental impact report and the conditions of   approval. The first one is condition number 28.  Uh this deals with the open space and parkland   dedication fees. The earlier draft of the of the  condition used an older population estimate 1.5   persons per bedroom which understated the total  number of future residents. We've now updated that   condition to match the population assumptions  used in the environmental impact report which   estimates 556 future residents. This update  doesn't change the project at all. Just simply  

ensures the condition is consistent with the  environmental impact report and their population   and housing analysis. Uh the second cleanup item  is uh condition number 37. The original draft of   this condition only referenced the mitigation  measures from the environmental impact report.   Uh but we've now updated that condition so that  it clearly requires compliance with all the SQA   commitments in the IR just not just the mitigation  measures uh but also the design features and the   um applicant that the applicant committed to  as part of the project and all the regulatory   requirements. And the purpose of this update was  just to simply consolidate everything all in one   comprehensive SQA compliance conditions so that  there's no confusion uh later during plan check   or during construction monitoring. Again, this  doesn't um add any new obligations to the project.   These items were just already part of the EIR and  makes the condition clear and more enforceable. And before we move into the formal  recommendations, I just want to make   take a moment to clarify um what it means to  certify an an environmental impact report and   what that actually means under SQA and just as  importantly what it doesn't mean. Uh certifying   an EIR means that the environmental document was  prepared in accordance with SQA law. It provides   a full disclosure of the project's potential  impacts and that the city has exercised its own   independent judgment in reviewing and relying on  that analysis. So this means that the associated   the associated mitigation monitoring and reporting  program will be implemented ensuring that all the   mitigation measures design features and regulatory  requirements identified in the ER are carried out   through construction operation. Uh certification  does not mean that the planning commission is   approving the project. uh certification is really  a procedural step under SQA. The commission is   simply recommending the council find that the  EIR is adequate under SQA's legal standards. Uh  

it also does not require the commission to agree  with every detail or conclusion in the EIR. Uh   the focus is really on whether the document as  a whole uh meets SQA's requirements for analysis   and disclosure. final project approval itself,  including the specific plan, the zoning actions,   and the parcel map will all occur at the  city council hearing. So, with that cl   uh clarification, staff is recommending the  following actions tonight. Um, environmental   impact report. staff recommends that the planning  commission adopt a resolution PCR 2025-00004 recommending that the city council certify the  EIR adopt SE SQA findings effect and approve the   mitigation monitoring program the general  plan amendment staff recommends adoption   of resolution PCR 2025-00005 recommending the  city council approve the general plan amendment   which would establish that plan development  area 29 the 701 South myrtle specific plans   Staff recommends adoption of resolution  PCR 2025-006 recommending that the city   council approve the 701 South Myrtle specific  plan. The zone change in zoning map amendment,   the adoption of resolution PCR 2025-00007  would recommend that the city council approve   the zoning ordinance amendment and map amendment  to reclassify the site from ODLM to SP specific   plan. And then finally, the tenative partial map  and conditional use permit. Uh staff recommends   that the planning commission recommend  approval of those to the city council and   uh subject to the conditions uh in  the staff report in data sheet one. So with that, uh, staff is recommending that  the planning commission recommend approval   to the city council and, uh, myself, city  attorney, community development director,  

and the applicant's entire team is here to answer,  uh, any questions you have on this project. Thank you, John, for excuse me,  uh, for that thorough report.   Uh, and thanks all for all the  work that went into creating all   of these materials and taking this  project to where it is today. Um,   do we have any questions from the commission  for John or uh other members of the team? Yeah, go ahead, Commissioner Jan. Yeah. Hi.  Um, one of the questions I do have is um,   particularly uh, it's it's in alignment with one  of the concerns or some of the concerns mentioned   uh, in the report um, about uh, the trees um, and  the the pine trees that are on that corridor. Um,   and while it might not necessarily be completely  in alignment with this project in particular,   um, the city of Monrovia has a two for one  replacement tree replacement policy. Is that   or do we have any standards for that? Well, um  the only real protected trees um in the city   are are oak trees and those are under an oak  tree preservation plan. Generally speaking,   when a project moves forward and a oak tree is  being um recommended for removal, then we will   bring in either a suggested replacement plan or we  there's no standard really. We look at the how big   the tree is and sorry start from there. But but  two for one has been somewhat of a of a standard,   but it's not it's there's nothing official  about it. There's a lot of things we think  

about before we recommend that. Gotcha. Good to  know. Thank you. So, let's talk more about trees.   Um Monrovia is a considered a tree city USA. So,  say the signs as we come into the city limits.   Um and uh the benefits of a mature urban  healthy tree canopy uh are are well known   and well well researched. Um and our general  plan and I believe the specific plan also   um contain goals um and and policies that  promote and support a healthy tree canopy. Um so   uh given that can you talk a little bit more  um about uh you know the thinking behind   uh the number and the size of trees um that are  part of this plan and the measures that we have   um to ensure that this project uh I is um uh  achieving those goals uh in the general plan   and and the specific Man, certainly um staff did  um discuss this issue with the developer and uh   those those tall pines are have been in in place  for quite a while. And um the the fact is is that   those um the roots of those trees would have a  conflict with the subterranean parking that would   um be constructed right on the site there. Um  very difficult situation to make that work. Um the   uh the applicant is uh understands that concern  and uh is proposing to plant some substantial   trees along that elevation uh to brought to  provide that shade. Probably a better shading   than what the pine trees currently provide at  this time. Um that would help shade the sidewalk  

and create an even more comfortable uh pedestrian  experience along West Olive there. Um, some would   say also the building also creates amount a good  amount of shading along the sidewalk too, but also   the trees really help soften the appearance of  that as well. In terms of environmental impact,   the trees were analyzed on whether these trees  would have an impact to the environment. Um   since they are uh considered um parking lot trees,  basically it's really um their trees were really   to decorate the parking lot to make it look a  little more um you know aesthetically pleasing.   Um those were not considered environmental impacts  um for their removal. Okay. Um, I was just going   to also add that the specific plan has a dedicated  section that actually provides the standards for   the sub submission of a landscape plan. Um, that  requires the approval of the director and it gives   um outlines the requirements for both irrigation  and plant selection and planting notes to make   sure that what is planted is sustainable. in  a long-term manner and that the the plantings   um are a sufficient size um in compar to to what  can be supported upon initial initial planting.   Uh follow-up question on the size um particularly  for the trees. Um one of the conditions in the cup   says it talks about a landscape management  plan and it says minimum 24 in or 36 in   uh box trees um should be used. Um how is that uh  is that complimentary to what's in the specific  

plan? And is that consistent with uh the size  guidelines? Yes. Okay. Um is there anything uh is there anything that could be  done um to encourage larger tree   uh integration into the project? larger  than a 20 larger than a 36 inch box tree. Um not really. I don't we haven't really discussed  anything larger. Um some of the things that I can   tell you that our team does as a project goes  through development a development um phase   into building plan checked is our planning team  actually works closely with our public works team   to look at what's uh comparable within public  rightways and adjacent to public rightaways.   And that's something we do through our development  services team where we have all uh actually hands   on deck folks who actually um are h are our work  within the line of landscaping. We we actually   coordinate with the applicant as well. And that's  something we've done um consistently on all these   larger projects, but have also been taken care  care to do on these on new new developments since   some of these other projects in the past have  moved forward since like for example the In-N-Out   project, Chick-fil-A for example. At at what stage  in the in the uh design and construction process   does that type of review and interaction happen  upon their initial submitt of a landscape plan.   Okay. So, everything right now is concept. Um, but  once they start proposing something for us to look   at and they have approval, then that's when we  start looking at it more carefully. And does that  

typically happen after things like most of the  hardcape are finalized? And it actually happens   during the plan check of the entire project. So,  the entire project. Yeah. Before any permits are   issued. Uhhuh. Um, one of the other continuing  with trees. Um, one of the other things that,   um, I believe you mentioned, John, and and  I know, uh, the staff report mentions is,   uh, preservation of, I think the three trees on  that, uh, are right along South Myrtle Avenue. Um,   I see language in the cup that says, you know,  preserve those trees where feasible. Um, is   there a commitment to preserve those trees? Would  that also be part of the landscape plan? Could we   remove the language where feasible there? Yes,  absolutely. I I don't know if those trees have   been assessed lately to to determine their health,  but I I think that will take place and and if they   are uh viable and healthy trees, then of course,  yes, they will they'll remain as part of the   landscape plan. Yeah. And that might be another  question you want to explore with the applicant.   Sure. Um and one more here on uh on trees. Um when  I look AC uh across the across Myrtle to the east   at the Paragon property um I see along Olive  Avenue um there are quite a few street trees in   that sidewalk. Um I think I counted something like  15. Um I can't quite remember. Uh I know that this   is uh the renderings that we've seen here like  the uh one that has the amenity deck um and the   uh and the conceptual greenery plan is not final  uh but I see something like eight trees along that   street um have there been any discussions  or could there be to increase that number?

We could certainly do. We could certainly have  those discussions with the applicant and the   city. Yeah. Okay. Uh and is that something that  could be uh added to conditions of approval of   the landscape? Um, I I think at this point what  we should probably do is um there's always that   possibility, but might be good to open the public  hearing and start hearing from the applicant,   getting public testimony before we start  committing to conditions. Great. In this phase.   Cool. Okay, I've been on the stage for a while.  Any other questions uh from No, I got Vashani.   Go. This is definitely a small project. This is a  definitely a nice project and there's a lot going   on here. I think some of the uh discussions about  concerns about building height and scale and the   density is definitely can be seen in comparison  to say the Avalon project next door from a height   perspective, a density perspective and how you  compare the two projects together. Can you give   me some kind of comparison between the two? Is  this more? Is it less? Is it in line with the   Avalon project? Because a lot of the concerns  that I saw after Avalon was done was that the   scale was too big and people had a lot of concerns  about that. I heard that from the public. I heard   that when there's rock in the streets that didn't  fit the mold of of the downtown. I like that we   set back some parts near Myrtle and Olive going  further back so we don't have that same impact.   But if you can answer some of those questions  that'd be great. Yes, actually Sherry can answer   that. This I know Avalon was constructed with a  density bonus um as a density project. I'm sure   you can fill in with that. Um yes, thank you John.  So the Avalon project will likely be is probably   comparable in size to this particular project. So  it it measured 65 ft in height. That's what this  

project is proposing. Um the difference between  the two projects is Avalon was developed with an   above grade five-story parking structure. So the  units are wrapped around it. The other thing is um   it it also uh um they also applied for a density  bonus and through that phase there wasn't as much   articulation as proposed on this project. So, this  project's actually developing their parking garage   below grade, which allows for a lot more openings  and articulations, especially on floors 2 through   five, where across all of you can actually  see into the project. Um, and the design of   the Avalon project was pretty much a box. Yeah.  Um, so comparable in height, but I would say this   project was definitely more articulated, a lot  more um colors and materials incorporated into   um the the architecture and and that and that's  what I see from the pictures. There's definitely a   different view to the whole thing in terms of the  architecture, in terms of the the the designs, the   curvature. Um that's I do like that all um from  the parking perspective is there ability I know   we're doing I think two levels you said two two  and a half levels three levels is there have we   looked at that the thought of and I know this is  probably nothing more for the city to look at but   u adding more parking that relates back to public  use in there because we do have a a parking issue   in the city which is the biggest complaint from  all of the uh commercial users in the city of the   of the of the stores here and so is there a way  to add more public parking here? It didn't seem   like we had a lot of public parking here. It's  all private parking and that's that's a little   bit of a concern for me. Yeah. So, the project is  actually parked um based on for the residential  

units based on the state's density bonus law.  The city cannot require any additional parking   beyond that. for anything else that's proposed.  This project actually parks the leasing area,   the uh commercial area, and is there anything  else that all the the non-residential? Yeah. And   and with some surplus if I'm not mistaken. Is the  guest parking for visitors only? Is he they said   50 guest spots? 50 spaces for the uh guests of  the residents. Residents only. Okay. Okay. Well,   that's something that if there's a way to  incorporate that more, I don't know. That's more   with the city is seeing if there's other ways to  add that to the city. That could be a good time to   do it because I think we miss a lot when we don't  do that when we build the projects when we need   more parking as it is. And then the next thing  is I noticed that the uh the commercial space is   like I think 2,800 ft² or something like that as I  remember. Um but a big portion of the area that's   on Myrtle is the fitness center that faces Myrtle.  Did we look at that space as being, you know,   to incorporate it more into the city along with  the commercial and the walk walking through this   the down Myrtle Street? Did we look at that being  all commercial and then having the the fitness off   the main street so you're not seeing that from the  street? This way we see more of the stores to go   align with the rest of Oldtown. The development  standards in in our existing general plan,   they do call out for a commercial space  at the corner, right, which they fulfill.   Um what's very different when the standards  um there's been a lot of changes right for re   non-residential development right most housing  developers mixeduse developers um do not like   to incorporate any particular I think um our team  worked with the Scott Griggs team for over a year   on convincing them to incorporate this particular  ground floor commercial space in and I think the  

idea of putting all the active uses along the  ground floor achieves the pedestrian feel and   activity. Um, and we've that was consistently done  with the Avalon project and I did see that with   most with Avalon with Paragon with all of them.  They they kind of do that. I'm just thinking about   that that this is a kind of the entry point to the  uh the town is you know before before Avalon came   and I want to make sure that we don't I wouldn't  say have any mistakes but the same kind of feeling   you have around Avalon that's now we're getting  closer to the to the downtown that was some of   the things I had there um let's see what else  they have the there is there there are I think   I saw one of the drawing there was a loading  zone in front on Myrtle Is that Did I see that   in there? The um the myrtle access is is for for  the residents and guests and and the commercial   space. Uh the loading area is in the alley in the  back. Okay. I thought I saw in the drawing it said   loading there in the front too. Maybe I'm wrong on  that emergency vehicle. That's emergency vehicle   maybe. Okay. I just I have so many notes here.  So Okay, I'll stop right now. Um thank thanks   Commissioner Vashani. Um just going back to one  of the points Commissioner Vashani made um we   were discussing the articulation that was made  possible by this particular design on the north   side of the building uh fronting Olive Avenue. Um  I don't see uh much of that articulation on the   south side. Um can you talk about the reasons  for that and um if any of that was explored?   I think the the back the backside the alley side  is is um probably the simplest design feature of   the building and um there are some design tricks  that the architect included to to make it look   like the make it not look like a flat appearance  design tricks with paint and things like that.  

And I think that's really where the bulk of the  the building really needs to occur along that   alley portion right there. And everything else was  articulated. Um it was designed to slope down and   um towards Oldtown Myrtles so that doesn't create  a very um dramatic um bulky mass in the corner. So   um the the design tricks were intended to soften  the appearance on that on that south elevation. So   just an observation uh you do get that sloping  on the the old town side. Um but when you pass   through the the art the gate the entrance to  Oldtown that's at the corner um of uh Chestnut   and and Myrtle. One of the first things you see is  the southside bulk of this particular project. One   thing that staff appreciated with this project is  that brick facade does wrap around the alley side   so that when you're driving north on on um Myrtle  that um you do have a portion that's that's brick   um for the visible part that you see. Um  but yes, the rest of it is is flat. Yeah,   it does make that corner slightly more attractive.  um question about the uh is there any uh vision or   development vision or thinking about the parcels  that are immediately south of this property   between this property and Avalon? Um right now  you said there are some residual industrial and   commercial uses. Um are there is there interest  in changing that use to a mixed use like this?   Um can you just talk about that a little bit? We  u we don't have anything proposed at this time or   we haven't had any um expressed interest in that  but um I believe that whatever is proposed would  

have to respond in context uh to the 701 South  Myrtle project and everything around it. Yeah. So,   and I just to reiterate that, you know, um the  general plan sets the vision for this area between   Olive and Maple as this Oldtown Extension Oldtown  Extension District. So, the the base zoning is   office research and development. The general plan  has that designation. Um and then um this overlay   was added um I want to say in two maybe 2008 to  encourage right the redevelopment of these areas   into mixeduse projects. Yeah. So it's likely that  a future use of that area would be consistent with   that. Abs. Absolutely. And we could potentially  get more projects within this area because   that's we're really seeing these higher density  projects where this general plan allows for them   in this Oldtown Extension District and Station  Square. Yeah. Uh just I mean this is speculating,   but we could end up with another project similar  in scale uh and scope to this one uh on that   property. And then we would have an alley of  two backsides of mixed use projects meeting each   other at that alley um for whatever that's um and  just a reminder to the commission, now's the time   for questions. We should save all opinions and  observations until after the public hearing. Thank   you. Um all right. Uh getting back to a a question  uh on the specific plan. Um I I know you said John   that um you know this is really the specific plan  is a tool to um allow us to you know customize the  

the development um for this particular area. Um is  there any concern of uh of this being a slippery   slope here uh of the city you know losing some  discretionary review authority um in you know   approving the additional density height and and  floor area ratio um for this project um I I would   I believe the specific specific plan is the city's  con uh planning tool to control and enforce the   design that's in this plan. Um, one thing that we  lost during the project with the Avalon was um,   yes, they had a specific plan, but they came  out of the ground with um, the density bonus.   So really, um, there wasn't a lot of specific  design review that that the city could conduct on   that project. We did. Um, but I think for this  particular project, the city um staff really   worked hard to get a design that um, you know,  reacted to the comments that the community heard   um, during the initial community meeting phase,  respond um, to all the general plan design   criteria and guidelines that were outlined in the  Oldtown Extension District. I think it was really   important that the specific plan didn't lose  those but built those into the entire plan. Okay. Um, more questions from anybody? No.   Just going back to the now to the density bonus  and looking back at the affordable housing and   just can you kind of just recap some of the  affordable housing numbers and and you know  

moderate and just tell me kind of where the  numbers are at towards going back to our plans.   Do you mean the housing movement? Yes. As in  our arena. Yes. Thanks. Kind of where this this   fits into that. Absolutely. So, the city's uh six  cycle housing element has a a goal for the city to   attain um about 1600 units, 1,670 units. Um every  project we that incorporates affordable housing.   um any housing contributes to the overall uh goal  of those total housing units that um we have a a   standard for each of the very low low moderate  and above moderate. So all of these units would   contribute to the city's attainment within the six  cycle and these were mostly all moderate right?   Um these were 17 low income and three moderate.  Okay. Okay. Thank you. And just one last question   actually. I know we were trying to do the setback  of the heights to not be so big when you come back   from Myrtle looking at the site and right right  in the center we have the the the front part   is five stories high in the corner there. Did is  there a reason why they chose to go five stories   right right at the entrance of the of Myrtle  and uh Murder and Olive. I think this is just a   design feature to help um substantiate that corner  presence design. Okay. Just thinking about the the   setback and why we did the setback of the four the  four levels and then over here you have this big   one right in front that I get the design part  of it. No. Yeah, I understand. And the general   plan actually calls for a sitback along Myrtle  Avenue um between the third and fourth floors. So   what this project did is it did that sit back at  the fourth floor. Okay. Thanks. Okay. Thank you.

I'm good. It's okay. Uh any other questions that  folks have thought of? Um I just have I think   two more topics uh that I wanted to cover. Um can  you talk a little little bit about the like water   capacity um uh and like the studies that were done  and if this is more appropriate for the applicant   you can let me know um but just summarize uh  things about the like total water demand. Yeah,   I'd be happy to defer that to the um applicants  consultant. I'll direct those to the applicant. Um   and then uh oh could you talk a little bit how the  um uh the the parkland uh dedication or inloo fee   how that works and the situation for this project?  Yes. actually the um the project uh applicant is   required to either pay an parkland impact fee  or uh um join a community facilities district   that would actually fund that. Uh it's based on  a formula based on the number of residents and   that's collected uh before uh the certificate  of occupancy is is is um issued. Okay. And   um that requirement is memorialized in the um  mitigation measures from our housing element.   That's the root of that requirement and and  the previous general plan amendment. Very good. Okay, that exhausts my questions for for this  part of the uh for this part of the meeting. Um   so let's move along to the public testimony  portion. And chair, before you move along,   I just wanted to provide a few brief  remarks. Yeah. Um, so as staff mentioned,  

the city did receive a comment letter from Safer  yesterday and the developers consultant will dive   more deeply into the comment letter and the  substance of that. Um, but before doing so,   I just wanted to let the commission know that  the letter was received significantly after um,   the period of time for public comments on or for  comment letters on the EIR. Um and if safer safer   had a significant period of time to provide this  comment letter and did not do so. Um and if they   wanted an actual substantive response they could  have provided this comment letter dur during the   comment letter period. Um second preliminarily  based on what we're able to evaluate at this late   date this letter is not new information and would  not re would not require any recirculation of the   EIR. Um, and then finally, as staff mentioned,  the letter that was received from SAFER will   become part of the record and will be submitted  to the city council prior to the public hearing   at the city council meeting on this project um and  will be evaluated fully between now and then. Very   good. Thank you. Uh, should we hear the summary  of the response from the consultant before or   after opening the public testimony portion?  Yeah, great question. you should open the   public testimony portion and then we will hear as  part of the applicant's presentation. Very good.   Um a summary of the letter and the response.  All right. Uh now that we've cleared up that,   let's move on to the public testimony portion  uh of this public hearing. Uh so again,   as a reminder for folks, uh this is the time and  place for public input regarding PH2. Uh we'll   accept testimony from the applicant first. uh then  any persons in favor then persons with concerns   uh and then the applicant will have a chance  to respond. Uh so if you would like to speak   uh when you come to the podium please just  state your name and direct your testimony  

to me. Um so with that uh I would welcome the  applicant to come forward and get us started. Good evening. Um, there is one item that I would like to clarify  on the agenda. Um, that it is BGP Myrtle LLC and   it's written out BGB. Um, but sorry. Um, good  evening staff and commissioners. My name is Scott   Griggs. I'm a development manager with Blake  Griggs Properties. We're located in Danville,   California. Um, we're a Californiabased company  with a proven track record in infill multifamily   development. Uh, we have an affiliated company,  Opportunity Housing Group, that works in providing   moderate income housing. Um, one of these is  actually Moda located over in Station Square.   Um, I also want to take this time to  thank John Mayor for such an indepth   and thoughtful presentation. This  really makes my job a lot easier. Um,   uh, his presentation reflected the history,  collaboration, attention to detail, and all   the thought that have really gone into to shaping  this community. Um, some of you may be aware, uh,   I started my career playing professional baseball  for for eight years. I actually spent some time in   Rancho Cukamonga. Uh, if there's one thing I've  learned over that time, it's it's really uh,   you're only as good as the team that supports  you. Um, and I believe we we've assembled one   of the best teams in the industry. Uh with us here  tonight we have Kenneth Walpa and Tobin Semac from  

AO Architects. Uh Debbie Hell Ardia, our historic  preservation consultant with Chattel. Tracy Zen,   our SQL consultant with TMBB Planning.  Um there's two groups that couldn't   be here tonight. Kieran Wright, our civil  engineer, and MJS, our landscape architect. Uh, I would also like to thank the  Feder family, Blaine, Linda, and Nick,   who have lived and conducted business  here in Monrovia for many, many years.   Um, this all started when they approached  us back in 2022, uh, with a shared vision to   create a community that helps bridge Oldtown  and Station Square by creating a pedestrian   friendly and activated frontage uh, between the  districts. Uh, the Feders will remain actively   involved with the project and its vision  throughout the process as the land owners. Uh since the inception of this project, we've  worked very closely with the city and the   community to refine this vision. We've hosted  community outreach meetings. The first of that   being in November 2023. Uh that really helped  us understand the rich history of the Oldtown's   character. Uh the second meeting uh was held with  the Monro Monrovia Historic Preservation Group.   That was in February of 2024. That's really where  we refine the architecture to better match the   historical content and context, the compat  compatibility of the surrounding area. Um,   following those conversations, uh, you know,  we wanted to make sure that we were crossing   our tees and dotting our eyes. So we had  Debbie uh complete the historic resource  

analysis which concluded that there would result  in no adverse impacts to the surrounding areas   abil ability to gain historic designation in the  future. Um, with that input from the community,   um, you know, we incorporated that  into our design, as John noted, uh,   through steps in the massing, traditional brick  and awning features, the small plazas, courtyards,   walkability along the sidewalks, landmark building  forms, and distinct bulkheads on the storefronts. We're extremely proud of this proposed project.  We've worked on it for three years. Uh, you know,   I've run the day-to-day on this for three  years. Um, you know, I think it's a a beautiful   addition to Monrovia, to the community.  Um, it's going to provide 204 new homes,   um, helping meet the city's Rena goals. 17 of  those will be low income, three of those moderate,   activating the ground floor with the commercial  and uh residential fitness center, bringing both   life and energy to this emerging Oldtown Extension  District. I want to thank the commission for   your time as well as the community who shared  their input and ideas over the past few years.   We believe this project honors Monrovia's rich  history while looking towards the future. We   fully support the staff's recommendations  here tonight. Um, and with that, I would   like to invite Tracy Zenup, who is going  to respond to Safer's letter. Thank you. Thank you. Good evening. Tracy Zinn with the  consulting firm TMBB Planning and I was the  

primary author of the environmental impact  report. Um, as mentioned, Safer submitted a   comment letter on the EIR which I think the city  received actually we received this morning. Um,   I'm going to respond to it here um, verbally  at the podium. So, some of this information is   for your benefit. Other of the information is a  little bit technical, but I need to state it into   the record so it's in the public record. As staff  mentioned, we will be preparing a written response   um to the letter that we will provide in advance  of the city council meeting. Um Safer's concern   were over two technical areas, the air quality  analysis and the noise analysis. Um first,   Safer claimed that the ER should have included  a construction health risk assessment.   Um, the EIR did include a localized significance  threshold methodology and relied on the guidance   of the South Coast Air Quality Management District  and the modeling that the district recommends. Um,   the um the district does not recommend that a  construction health risk assessment be done for   projects of this size. Health risk assessments  are typically done considering an exposure of   the surrounding community of 70 years. 70  years. Um this project will only be excuse   me under construction for approximately 3  years. Um so the state guidance does not   require us to complete a health risk assessment.  Um attached to the safer letter they did perform   a screening level health risk assessment using  a software program called um airc screen. That   software program is commonly known to overstate  impacts. It does not take into consideration   things like meteorological data, temporal data  like climate, wind direction, summer, winter,  

etc. Um so it it does exaggerate um health impacts  um when that model is run. We do not believe that   it's credible evidence that this project would  cause a significant health risk to the community   and we stand by the conclusions of the ER that the  impacts would be less than significant. They also   questioned input into the air uh quality model.  air qual the air qual quality modeling was done   using Caliod. Um that is a software program  developed by the California Air Pollution   Control Officers Association and it's the model  most often used to calculate air quality impacts   under SQUA across most of California. Um Kelly  uses defaults of data based on surveys of actual   projects throughout the state of California. um  those defaults can be overridden when project   specific information is available and we did that.  Uh we contacted the applicant, asked them a lot   of questions about their construction process,  how many construction employees are they going   to have on the site? Um what type of equipment  are they going to have on the site? What's their   construction schedule going to be? So we overrode  the defaults for everything where the information   was actually available. Um, Safer complained  that all of the defaults were not overridden,   but it wasn't possible to do that. Things like the  distance that dirt would be hauled um during the   um export operation. The applicant won't know that  until they actually get to construction and know   where their dirt's going. Um, so we did continue  to rely on the default, which was 20 miles,   which is very conservative. And in fact, the  earth calling will probably not be um that long. The second topic was noise. So in the safer letter  in general, they nitpick the noise analysis. It  

was prepared by a professional noise modeler and  peer reviewed by a technical expert hired by the   city. impacts will be less than significant and in  compliance with the city's noise ordinance which   sets hours for construction. As was mentioned  in the staff presentation, there will be a   construction noise management plan that will be  implemented during construction. So if the noise   on the ground exceeds what the standards are, the  applicants are required to pause construction,   erect a sound attenuation barrier and  continue monitoring to make sure that   the noise levels stay beyond um the level of  significance. So we are strongly confident   that the analysis presented in the ER and the  supporting technical reports is sound and that   um the comments submitted by safer do not  contain um merited information that would um   give us any pause um for the planning commission  to not recommend certification of the EIR. Um,   again, we intend to respond to all the comments  in writing before the city council meeting. Do you have any other questions for  me while I'm up here? Do we have any   further questions from the commission?  Okay, thank you. Thank you very much,   Miss Sin. Uh, do we have anyone else from the  applicant team who would wish to speak? All   right. Uh do we have uh questions for  the applicant while while we're here? Um Mr. Griggs, uh if you don't mind, um could  I ask you about the water capacity study that   was done uh and to talk a little bit more  about that part of the project? Um yes,  

I'm actually gonna default back to Tracy. Okay. Sorry. Of course, after we said we had no  more for you, we make you get back up. Yeah,   that's okay. And as mentioned, the civil engineer  isn't here, but I think I could probably answer   the question. So, um, as part of the final EIR,  um, a water demand assessment was done. Um,   it is attached to the final IR as attachment one,  the water capacity study. Um, so that study looked   at all of the potential water use opportunities  on the site, including the residential units,   the commercial units, down to like how much  water is it going to take to refill the   swimming pool. Um, and based on the capacity  or the water demand, it was calculated that   the project's estimated water demand will  be approximately 39.2 acre feet per year.   um that was compared against the available supply  and it was determined that there is enough supply   in the city system. Um there are not any upgrades  needed even to like the pipe sizes. Um and the   project's going to just connect to the l the  uh lines that are uh adjacent to the property   and the streets. Uh thank you. And then I think  maybe for city staff um for projects of this size   uh that are tapping into utilities like that. Is  there a fee that uh that these projects also pay   uh to support that use of the infrastructure?  There is a higher water rate for multifamily   housing that was passed several years ago.  Okay. Thank you for the reminder on that. Any more questions before Miss Simpson's down  again? Okay. All right. Um, do we have any  

other questions for the applicants? All right.  Thank you again uh for speaking with us. Um,   let's move on to any persons in favor in the  audience. Please, uh, just state your name. Good evening. My name is Blaine Federer. Um, I  was the developer along with George Boon of this   project in 1979. Um, this was the first project  that our firm did in the city of Monrovia and   I would call it a first date. Um, we had a great  track record in other places in Los Angeles County   and Monrovia was in trouble. It was in trouble.  This is not a simple place to imagine coming and   building a development in. Um, but I'd grown up in  Arcadia. My wife grew up Linda Boon in San Marino.   So, we knew the area. We knew the area west of  which was barely the new 605210 junction. Um,   and decided to do this again as a first date. Um  it was an improvement over and I'll be honest with   you what Jean's Grinder's project had been a few  years before and the city was very disappointed   in that outcome. So we brought this in as  sort of a hybrid project in terms of the   use. It can be office, it could be industrial.  Uh we made it architecturally more attractive   than what have been developed in the area. Um  over the years that building has incubated or   spawned some major companies here in the city of  Monrovia. One of the best was a company called Se   Beyond which you some of you might recall but  they went from 180 square foot office space to   250,000 square feet here in the city. Um we had  the good fortune to develop all of the projects  

for them. So our history here in the city is  storied. We've been very successful as has   the city of Monroia and we've been very proud  of the relationship we've had for the last 10   years. I've been looking at the Myrtle Business  Park going this it's got to go. But what are we   going to do with it? It's got to be special.  Every time we've done a project in this city,   we've attempted to make it better than the one  that we've done before. I've known Mr. Griggs,   Brad Griggs for 20 years and knew of I know all  of his history and he is a nearly gifted uh multif   family developer. So we handpicked him. I mean  thinking about picking somebody from the Bay   Area to come down here, but we knew and had such  a high degree of confidence in him that we wanted   him. The interesting part of the this property is  it's familyowned and it's now into the second and   third generations of the family and it's a little  bit of an important piece in their their life,   their portfolio. They need to get that check  every month. So the idea of selling this would   never replace what they were getting. So what  we're going to be doing is participating in   the ownership of this project. So, it's very  important to the Boone Federer family. Um,   and final comment I want to make is I planted  those trees. We tried multiple trees. These trees   are not worth saving. I would love to take you on  some tours of our projects because our landscape   is fantastic and these are not indigenous  trees. I I'm going to be honest with you. I   think out of frustration, we got a deal and we  stuck those in there after the uh um sycamore   trees that we had planted. There's just they  we could never get them to survive. So anyway,  

um happy to meet with any of you at some point in  time and we'll take you on a tree walk. Thank you. Thank you very much for your for your testimony.  Uh any other persons wishing to speak in favor? All right. Uh, any persons who with concerns? Seeing zero people with concerns. No  need for the applicant to respond. Uh,   so let's move forward. Uh, the public  testimony portion of the hearing is closed now.   Uh we can deliberate and  discuss. Sorry back to you. Further questions. Go ahead. I see something brewing. We're good.  We're good. It's I mean it was more I mean I   think Chelsea would agree now is the time where  we can have those kind of discussions. So you're   welcome to express those things. Yeah, I know  that there is concern about uh parking and you   know parking shortage um you know where my fellow  commissioner was wanting more. I was sitting here   looking like we have a surplus according to the  requirement and so I was like you know what is   the purpose of that but and then I think one  of the things I I just want to have a comment   on is while parking is important to consider and  I think we have secured the at least requirement   based on the density bonus um I think to to my  fellow commissioner's comment is this I I do   believe they're uh the parking that's currently  on site and then the parking that's going to be  

there. It's it's not technically like a city  on public parking lot. And so I my my only   comment was like while I think that we could  use more parking, I think that like we can't   we can't force them to do the parking that  like is not taking away public parking. So   that was just like a a thought process, but I  just put that out there. So excellent point. I'm not question comment. No. Okay.  Hold hold hold that for a moment. Um   I'd just like to revisit um uh do  we have anything else from staff? Okay. Um I just want to revisit uh some of the  earlier things um that I had mentioned about   trees. Um just looking at in the conditional  use permit um at condition 15 I think it is   that's the one that's about the landscape plan  uh or landscaping um uh is it possible I would   like to strike the where feasible um for the  existing street trees along Myrtle Avenue. Um,   I feel like where feasible is implied um in the  uh in the generation of a of a landscape and   irrigation plan. Um, am I wrong there? Um, would  it be reasonable to strike that? Um, I guess my my   my initial concern is that we haven't evaluated it  yet. So when we say where's where feasible is we   do our greatest effort to make sure um a project  you know can preserve but we balance that with   the reality of trying to get the project off the  ground. Um, we could add a condition that requires  

that the the landscape plan go to the development  review committee for oversight. Um, and final kind   of review to make sure we've covered all of  our basis on on that. Um that's not something   we normally do, but given maybe the scope of  this project, that's something the applicant   um would would be willing to to do given the  the sensitivity regarding tree removal. Yeah,   I would say thank you for that suggestion. Uh  I resonate with that. Uh and given that this is   uh so central uh to this area um and you know  the the the landscaping and the design features   of this particular project will be here for a  long time to come. Uh I would be in favor of   adding that condition and seeing some thoughts.  And I think what um the city staff would also   bring forward with that review to the to the  development review committee is not just um   the planning staff review, but maybe a coordinated  review with the with the arborist working on the   project to also make their presentation to the  DRC. And I'm assuming it would also talk about   how it's consistent with the general plan. Oh,  absolutely. The specific plan. Great. Uh okay,   I like that. Um, I think that addresses uh one of  my concerns. Um, any other questions or comments? Go ahead. I'm good. Okay. Far away. Move  to adopt planning commission resolution   number PCR 2025- 004 recommending approval of  city council of environmental impact report  

00 excuse me for 701 South Merurl specific  plan and development project including   certification adoption of adoption  of findings of facts approval of   reporting program planning commission  resolution ution number PCR2025-00005 recommending approval to city council  of the general plan amendment GPA   2025-002 to establish planning  development area 29 PD29 for 1.61   61 acre project site. Adopt planning  commission resolution PCR 2025- Z006   recommending approval to city council of  70701 South Merrl specific plan SP2025-002 adopt planning commission resolution  PCR 2025-007 recommending approval to   city council of the zoning ordinance ordinance  number 2025-12 and map amended amendment ZA 2025-   001 to reclassify the property from or RDLM  to specific plan. Remove recommend approval   of city council of tenative parcel map number  085041 and conditional use permit CU 2025-000010 subject to conditions and recommendations in the  staff report. again uh with condition number 15   modified to with condition number 15 modified  to include uh review of the landscape plan to   include DRC to review the landscape. There we go.  All right, we have a motion. Do we have a second?  

I'll second that. We have a motion and a second.  Uh Commissioner Sheffller deserves some water.   Uh, could we get a roll call vote, please?  Yes. Commissioner Janisk, yes. Sheffller,   yes. Pashani, yes. Acting Chair Stahhira, yes.  All right. With that, motion is approved. Um,   uh, would you like to read read the appeal  language? Oh, no appeal. No, no appeal because   this is these are resolutions going to the city  council. Thank you. And our our anticipated is,   uh, council hearing is December 5th. Oh, second.  Like I said, December 2nd. Um, and I just want   to say uh I want to thank uh the applicant and  the city staff for all the work uh that they put   into this. Um, both the project and itself and uh  itself and the presentation. Um, it made our job   uh easier for sure. Um, and looking forward to  seeing this uh go forward. Okay. Thank you. Okay,   with that we can move along in the agenda  for tonight's meeting. Uh I see we have   no administrative reports on the docket. However,  uh I think we do have development update from the   community development director, director Berillo.  All right, take it away. Thank you very much. Um,   just wanted to let the commission know that our  building division is currently working on the   uh uh new building code update that's will go  into effect on January 1st. So, he will be taking   um the introduction of the 2025 building code to  the meeting on December 2nd. Um, and we will be   kind of reaching out to see if anyone's interested  in looking at it ahead of time. But again,  

these are really state standards that will  be adopted. Um, it's very exciting. Something   that the building official gets to do every 3  years. Just wanted to share about that. Cool. Any other development updates from you. No,  I think this 701 South Myrtle Avenue project   has taken up a lot of uh John's time and our city  attorney's time. A lot of team teamwork makes the   dream work effort was involved in this. Yeah. How  long have you been working on it again? Two and a   half years. Two and a half years. That is a that  is a substantial chunk of time. All right. Um I   did want to mention uh next week the thankful and  grateful celebration is happening on Thursday. So,   hope to see many of you there. Um, any  other reports or announcements from my   fellow commissioners? Yeah, staff, everybody  involved in this project. It's awesome. It's   It's no questions. Did a lot of reading. You  guys did a great job. Yeah. Thank you very much. Okay. Uh with that I believe we can  adjourn the meeting at 9:22. It says   10:22. I know. Uh we we can adjourn  to our next meeting on December 10th,   2025. Thank you very much. Thank you for  leading tonight's meeting. Happy to do it.