Planning Commission - Regular Meeting

All right. Thank you. Good evening, everyone. I will now call the Planning Commission meeting of April the 21st to order. We will start with the Pledge of Allegiance led by Vice Chair Ong, and then followed by the invocation led by Commissioner Lopez. Please stand and put your right hand over your heart.

Ready, begin. Pledge of Allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Today I want to just have us bow our heads and pray for the death of Pope Francis. You know, it was a loss that we didn't expect to happen right now, and he was a good man. May he rest in peace and travel to where his family is. Thank you.

Thank you, Vice Chair Ong and Commissioner Lopez.

Linda, can we please get the roll call? Yes. Commissioner Berry?

Here.

Commissioner Lopez?

Here.

Vice Chair Ong? Here. Chair Escobar?

Here.

Thank you. Sorry. Commissioner Tang is absent.

Thank you. We will proceed to item number one on the agenda, explanation of hearing procedures and appeal rights.

Yes, thank you, Madam Chair. Decisions of an application before the Planning Commission shall be final unless within 10 days the applicant or any other person aggrieved by such decision appeals in writing to the City Council by filing an appeal with the City Clerk.

Thank you so much. Moving on to item number two of the agenda is public comments from the audience. This is an opportunity for anyone in the audience to address anything that is not on the agenda, so only non-agenda items. Is there anyone in the audience that wishes to speak on an item not on the agenda tonight?

Linda, do we have anyone via Zoom? No, we didn't receive any comments.

Thank you. I will now close the public comment portion of this meeting. Moving on to item number three, we have public hearings. We have design review 24-04. Staff, can we please get the staff report?

Good evening, Chair and members of the Planning Commission. We're excited to have Naomi Abe join our Planning Division's team. She was our former intern and now she is a permanent staff member of our team. Naomi currently has an associate's degree in architecture from Citrus College and is currently working towards her bachelor's degree in urban and regional planning from Cal Poly Pomona and is expected to graduate in 2026.

So without further ado, I would now like to turn it over to Naomi to present item 3 design review 24-04 Good evening chair and members of the Planning Commission Sandra Ang has submitted a design review application requesting to construct a new two-story 3539 square foot single-family dwelling unit with an attached three-car garage The granting of a discretionary site plan and design review is required for any dwelling unit to be constructed that equals or exceeds 2,500 square feet of developed living area. The subject site is located at 9308 D. Adelina Street in the single-family residential R1 zone. This item was originally noticed for the April 7th, 2025 planning commission meeting. However, due to a publishing error, the project was not agendized for that meeting and instead was renoticed through the regular agenda notification process for this meeting. Based on the analysis and findings contained in this report, it is recommended that the Planning Commission adopt resolution number 25-03 with findings Exhibit A and Approved Design Review 24-04 subject to the 24 conditions outlined in Attachment A. Attached here too. Accordingly, design review 24-04 is classified as a class three categorical exemption pursuant to section 15303 of CEQA guidelines. Staff and the applicant's representative is available to answer any questions the Planning Commission may have. Thank you.

Thank you so much and welcome to the City of Rosemead. We are excited to have you join our staff. So now I will turn it over to my colleagues to see if they have any questions. Vice Chair Ng, do you have any questions for staff? Oh, just a quick one.

Is the new driveway sharing the curb cut with the adjacent property?

No, the driveway will be for this home alone.

So the adjacent property has its own separate curb cut? Yes. Um, I think I just. Quick comment is that, um, I appreciate the detail work that's been added to the facade. It looks, you know, in keeping with the sort of neighborhood, um, style, but yet a little bit modern with, uh, architectural details with the reveals and the nice material. So I appreciate it.

Thank you so much. Commissioner Barry, any questions?

Oh, sorry. Just want to welcome you aboard. I won't get my speech going. No, this looks nice. I like all the landscaping around. And thank you for the comment regarding the driveway because it does look a little close. But no, I really don't have any comments at this time. Thank you.

Thank you. Commissioner Lopez, any questions?

None at this time.

Perfect. Thank you so much. And I, you know, I'm looking at the staff report. I didn't have any questions either. You know, the design is in compliance with the Rosemead zoning code and All applicable development standards, so nothing from me. So now I will turn it over to the public to see if anyone has any public comments for the design review 24-04. Is there anybody in the audience that wishes to speak? Does the applicant wish to come up? Hi, good evening. Can you state your name and your address, please?

Yes. Good evening, Chair, and a member of the Planning Commission and staff. My name is Cayman Lai, address 8748 East Valley Boulevard, switch K, Rosemead. I'm part of the member of the city for a long time, right? Long time. Nice to meet you, Cayman. Okay, first of all, I'd like to thank you for staff that has prepared this very detailed and beautiful report. So I've decided not to waste your time to go over the details. I'm more than happy to answer any question you may have, but the only thing I'd like to emphasize is this project is conforming. We're not asking for any... variance okay minor departure okay um we are okay with all these um conditions approval um we are here um like to ask you approve this project and we can start working join and can go on construction in a few months thank you thank you so much commissioners any questions for the applicant

I do.

Just one quick question on the concrete pad in the back. Is that just for outdoor use, or is there a plan for some sort of trellis or canopy over it?

The concrete pack in the back, it's just a multi-purpose use. Sometimes the kids may hang out there while the adults having their party in the patio in the house. This is open. Anything can happen there. But if we need to build any structure, we will come back and get a permit.

Perfect. Thank you. Commissioner Berry, any questions for the applicant?

uh no i do not have any questions thank you very much commissioner lopez yes just one yes i haven't seen you in a long time kim i know okay all i'm gonna say is that his designs are always been very good very good you know he's well worth having here and rose always appreciate your kind words thank you so much no great design we are very excited for this project

So with that, is there anybody else in the audience that wishes to comment on this item?

If there are no further questions, anybody on Zoom, Linda? No, no comments were received.

Okay, if there are no further comments or questions, I will now close the public hearing portion of this item.

And if I may, motion to approve. And I'll second. Approve design review 24-04. And PC resolution 2503. Oh, and PC resolution 2503. Thank you.

Perfect. Thank you so much. And Lily, do you want to do the 10-day appeal?

I need to do the- After? Okay. All right. Perfect. I'm going to do a verbal vote call. Vote. Commissioner Berry?

Yes.

Commissioner Lopez?

Yes.

Vice Chair Ng?

Yes.

Thank you. And then Chair Escobar? Yes. Thank you.

Motion passes 4-0. Thank you.

Willie, will you do the 10-day appeal? Before I do the 10-day appeal, I wanted to let you all know that Cayman is actually in the process of retiring soon.

What?

And so, you know, we're very happy to see him here tonight because it's been a while. And it's bittersweet. He's a legend, right? Yeah.

And so here when I first started in 2004, we were, we've always seen you and you've always had good, good designs always.

But he has a, of course. He's trained a few of his staff, so there'll be taking.

That means I'm old enough to retire. That's okay. Thank you very much for the welcoming from the staff. I learned a lot from Cedar Rose Mead. I started working with Cedar Rose Mead, I think, I did not prepare this, okay, and Nini was so nice. I started work with C.D. Rosemead in 2000, 1989. Yeah, when I was working for someone. Oh, by the way, okay, my wife is in the office. And so I learned a lot, okay, from working with City of Rosemead. Okay, this is like my backyard. I lived in City of Rosemead for a while, like maybe four or five years. And my office been in City of Rosemead for 25 years. Wow, nice. Yeah. And I love this place. And retirement... It's not what I planned.

He's here to make sure you retire.

Yes, she wants me to retire for a long time. She said, okay, you work too hard. I'm pushing myself too much. And she works too hard too. Hey, for public hearing, you need to come to the podium. And, yeah, okay, yeah, like Commissioner, okay, Daniel said, okay, no peace. That's all right.

Okay, fine.

Yeah, we've been seeing each other for a long time. Okay. COVID, okay, we have no public hearing. Then, well, I'm not supposed to retire, okay, but I have some concerns. illness for the past couple of years. So it speed up my retirement. I'm doing all right now. Okay. And don't be surprised. I will be here for another public hearing. So-called retirement is just to step down from the leadership or the ownership from the company. I have two younger guys who have been working with me for the last 20 years. They now become the owner. So I'm helping them as long as they want me. So most likely, okay, I will be coming for other public hearings in the future. And, yeah, okay, I'm very happy to work with them. all the staff here, okay, the commissioners, okay, Lily, okay, we know each other for a long time, okay? Yes, yeah, long, long time, okay? She's very sweet and nice. Yes, she is. She is, she's the best. Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Thank you, yeah, congratulations. Thank you.

Yes. Okay, Cayman, you know this, but the 10-day appeal begins tomorrow and it ends next Thursday, May 1st. So from now until then, if you can take off, remove that public hearing notice. Thank you.

Thank you.

Okay. Thank you. Goodbye.

Bye-bye now.

All right. Moving on to item number four. On the agenda, consent calendar, PC minutes of the April 7th, 2025 meeting. Commissioners, do we have any questions or any comments on the PC minutes for our last meeting?

I don't. I just moved to approve minutes for April 7th, 2025.

Perfect. Thank you. Do I have a second?

Oh, wait. I think you and I were the only two, but if you two consent, if you've read it and you're okay with it. That's how I understood it that one time. That's all yours.

Perfect. I will second the motion.

We'll do a verbal vote. Commissioner Berry?

Yes.

Commissioner Lopez?

I was not here. Oh, sorry. I will stay quiet.

Yes.

And I'm okay with it.

Okay, great. Vice Chair Ng? Yes. Chair Escobar? Yes. Motion passes 4-0-1. Perfect.

Thank you so much. Moving on to item number five on the agenda, matters from staff. Staff?

Nothing from staff. We're just excited that Naomi's here tonight and she gets to present. Yes.

And you did very well. Yes. Very well. Very good.

All right. Moving on to item number six on the agenda, matters from the chair and commissioners. Commissioners, do we have anything for staff? Vice Chair Ong? No. Just welcome Naomi. Commissioner Berry?

Welcome aboard. And just keep in mind that coming up, I think it's in another couple of months, the backpack giveaway is going to be going on. So donations are greatly appreciated.

Perfect. Thank you so much for letting us refer the reminder. Commissioner Lopez?

May what is the one for Starbucks?

May 1st.

May 1st. Okay, that's Starbucks. And there's something else coming up, too.

We do. So I plan to send you an email with that information.

Also, Annie, still, right down Ramona, you know, they did cut off that one big piece that was flying over from the winds, remember, the ivy? But right next to it, there's one still hanging, a smaller, but just have them come clean it up.

Okay.

Yeah.

Yes, I'll be in contact with Public Works to arrange that with Caltrans.

Good, good, good. Thank you. Other than that, yeah, everything's good. Tea was good.

Thank you, Commissioner Lopez. I do not have anything for staff except for thank you, as always, for all of your hard work. You guys are amazing, and welcome to Naomi. We are very excited to have you. I know the ladies are excited to have you, and you're going to learn so much. These are the hardest working ladies, and we're just excited for you to join the crew. Yes, you are. Definitely. all right so if we do not have any other uh anything else then i will adjourn this meeting and then our next planned meeting is scheduled for monday may 5th at 7 pm here in the council chambers