Planning Commission - Regular Meeting

Commissioner Daley, can you lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance? Commissioner Carloni, can you lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance? Thank you, Commissioner. Ms. Abdullah, can I have a roll call, please?

Sorry, just an announcement I would like to make is due to technical difficulties, we are currently not live streaming until further notice. Commissioner Daly? Commissioner Lopez? Commissioner Ali? Here. Commissioner Quayle? Here. Chair Sherrick? Present. Commissioner Galande?

Present.

Commissioner Pratt? Present. Commissioner Carloni?

Here.

Commissioner Orlando-Garcia?

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

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

I'll call our first speaker, Dolores Armstead. Would you like me to say the same right here?

Would you like me to say the same right here?

Thank you. This is about item number two. So that's a public hearing item, correct?

public hearing. You didn't mark an item number on your speaker's list.

Oh, I do have a general comment though.

Let's make your general comment. I'll call you back up for item number two.

Just a question. When will the general plan be updated? The specific downtown specific plan, a traffic study. When is any of this going to happen? We just had a cannabis shop approved because our stuff was not updated in the sixth ward where we did not need it, did not want it. The citizens turned out But because the planning element, whatever, none of that stuff has been updated in 25 years or more. So we don't have another crap like this happen. When will it be updated? I would love to serve on that committee. When will it be updated? When will they be updated? Specific plan, general plan. Traffic study? I thought traffic study was done, but my understanding traffic study hasn't been approved. When will this stuff happen so that we don't have the chaos and stupidity that happened regarding this Canada shop happen again? We citizens need it, and then we don't have another warehouse where we don't want it. We need to know. Without these plans updated, we're going to keep having this crap happen. Please let us know. We deserve better. 25 years, people, or more. Thank you.

Gil?

Botello? Botello, thank you. Is this just a general comment? Yes, ma'am. Thank you.

Okay. Madam Chair, commissioners, Mr. City Attorney, staff and residents, good evening. I'm here tonight to welcome your newest commissioner, Muhammad Ali. I am a lifelong resident of San Bernardino and I live in the third ward and it's an honor to be here to see him tonight at his first meeting. Let the record reflect that you do have a quorum. Nobody said that, so that's a good thing, because the work of this commission is very important. So, Again, I just want to say that Mohammed is a local businessman. He cares about our community, always giving away things that our community needs to survive during these hard times. In fact, just this past weekend, he had a food giveaway to over 200 residents in the third ward. And I just want to applaud his efforts. And I think that he has a lot of common sense. And I expect a lot of hard work and

thoughtful work out of him on this commission thank you all thank you i have no others uh staff would just like to also welcome commissioner ali and we appreciate your service on the dicey Thank you.

Thank you. We have no other general speakers on items that are not on a public hearing, so I'll move on to our consent calendar. Consent items are routine in nature and may be enacted in one motion. All public and non-public hearings will be open at one time, and an item may be discussed separately upon request of a member of the Planning Commission. Does staff have any updates to the consent calendar?

No, Chair. There's no updates.

Thank you. Is there any commissioners who would like to speak on the consent calendar? If not, may I entertain a motion for approval?

I motion to approve.

Thank you. Do we have a second?

Yes.

Thank you. Roll call, please.

Commissioner Ali?

Yes.

Commissioner Quayle?

Yes.

Chair Sherrick? Yes. Commissioner Galande? Yes. Commissioner Carlone?

Yes.

All right, vote passes unanimously.

Thank you. The Planning Commission will first hear a report from staff and then the public hearing will be opened. The applicant will have an opportunity to speak. Next, members of the public will be allowed to speak. Anyone in the audience wishing to speak must be sworn in and fill out a request to speak form. The forms are located on the table near the door. when your name is called come forward and speak your name into the microphone say and spell your name for the taped record after all have spoken the applicant will be able to respond the public hearing will then be closed and planning commission will begin deliberations and make a decision All decisions except general plan amendments and municipal code amendments are final actions unless an appeal is filed and fees are paid within 15 days to the community development and housing department. If you challenge the resulting action of the planning commission in court, you may be limited to raising only those issues you or someone else raised at the public hearing and described in the agenda or in written correspondence delivered to the community development and housing department or before the public hearing. Item number two.

Okay. Good evening, Madam Chair, commissioners, and members of the public. My name is Christian Collison. I'm one of the associate planners for the City of San Bernardino Planning Division. Tonight, I'll be presenting item number two, which is Conditional Use Permit 25-15. Conditional Use Permit 25-15 is a request to establish a self-storage facility with an ancillary use for a recreational facility, which would be an indoor soccer facility within an approximate 6.8 acre site. The project site is located at 736 South Inland Center Drive at APN 0141-071-69 within Ward 3, and the zoning of the site is within the commercial general CG-1. Here is the zoning map. As mentioned previously, the existing site is located within the commercial general CG-1 and surrounded by similar uses, except on the northern port boundaries, which are all industrial land use. This is the satellite map of the site. Currently there's an existing building on site and it will be reconfigured to meet the two proposed units or uses. On the other side of Inland Center Drive is the Inland Center Mall and within the proximity of the project site are various industrial businesses. The conditional use permit applies solely to the self-storage facility. The ancillary recreational facility is the permitted use that is therefore allowed within the underlying land use designation. The applicant team is proposing a unique contemporary facility intended to introduce a new and engaging amenity that will provide a meaningful benefit to this community. The self-storage facility contains 272 storage units. It will also have a unique characteristics that uses a two-way drive aisle system designated to improve the circulation and access within the indoor units. The facility will also have administrative offices, customer lounge, and EV charging stalls. The second story will be occupied by the recreational facility, which is the soccer field, which will include two regulation-sized fields, a spectator viewing area, dedicated locker room and shower rooms on the second level. The hours of operation for the self-storage facilities is approximately 8 o'clock in the morning to 8 p.m. at night, and for the soccer facility will be at 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. at night. The subject site has two existing driveways along Inland Center Drive and Adele Street. The site will have a total of 169 parking stalls with 147 being regular passenger stalls with six EV stalls and 14 ADA stalls with eight motorcycle stalls. The site was previously occupied by Amtex which occupied that place from 1999 to 2021 and has been vacant ever since. These were photos provided to me by the applicant to showcase the site's current condition. I did visit the site yesterday and noticed that it's been well maintained. It's similar to the photos that you're looking at. So nothing much has changed in the past couple of years. Here's the site plan. As mentioned, they will utilize and maintain the two existing driveways on the site and will primarily use them for entrances for boat users. The entrance on the DEL will be for the self-storage facility, which can be seen on the western portion of the building or the site, while Inland Center Drive will have the recreational facility frontage to attract more footprint in that location. This is the floor plan for the self-storage facility. As you can see, they are proposing the 272 units, and it will have the two-way drive aisle inside the building to better improve the circulation and efficiency to accessing those units.

Let me see.

The storage facility will have five different types of units, ranging from 155 square foot units to 525 units, totaling to, as said, 272 storage units. This is the floor plan for the recreational facility. The indoor soccer facility will have two fields, a spectator lounge, and block rooms. The layout will also include four stairs on the corners of the building for egress. These are some of the renderings of the facility to give you more of a clear understanding of what the second floor would look like. This will have the two soccer fields as an amenity for the self-storage. Here are some close-up of the administrative office lobby area for the recreational facility. As part of the project as well, the applicant is also installing new landscaping to enhance the site. They're proposing approximately 153 trees and approximately 367 shrubs on site. And these are just a couple of the species that will be included on the site. The next couple of pages are elevations for the building. They're proposing a more modern aesthetics with the materials and colors that they're choosing. As mentioned, they will be utilizing the existing building so there won't be any additional square footage or anything that will be included on the outside of the facade. The next couple of slides are also rendering of the project to give you all a better understanding how this would look as a finished product. So this rendering right here is for the entrance for the self-storage facility. This one is the rendering for the recreational facility, which going to be the frontage on Inland Center Drive. And here's just a couple of photos for nighttime to kind of give a better idea how the uplight would look like on the site. With that being said, staff's recommendations for planning commission to adopt resolution 2026-022, finding the project categorically exempt pursuant to section 15302, replacement and reconstruction in accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act and approving conditional use permit 25-15, based on the finding of fact and subject to the recommended conditions of approval. I do want to point out that the project was properly noticed and staff did not receive any comments from the public. The applicant and their team is here and available to address any specific question regarding the proposed project. And they will also have a short presentation as well. Thank you.

Thank you. Jeffrey? Harlan?

Good evening, Chair and Commissioners. My name is Jeffrey Harlan, representing the applicant this evening. First, I want to thank staff and Christian in particular for shepherding this project for more than a year. We started in a very different place, and I think through his guidance and staff's input, we had a much better project to present to you. We've worked collaboratively, and I don't say that lightly. I work in a lot of jurisdictions, and I have not seen the kind of responsiveness or diligence that I've seen with your staff. So thank you very much. You know, this project not only meets all of the design and development standards for the city, but it also sets a high standard for design, and I hope you can see that in the renderings here. This really is a unique offering. I've worked on several projects like this throughout Southern California, never put together one that has a mix of uses like this, recreational facility and commercial self-storage. Often we try and provide more benefits on the architectural side, but this is really a unique land use mixture, and one I think that will serve the city well. In this case, we are reusing a developed site. This is not raw land with golden opportunities. We're really trying to take advantage of an existing structure that is, quite frankly, outdated. vacant it's been there for five years so this we see will be a huge new investment for this area we know there's demand for both of these uses especially for the soccer and we think that recreational facility is going to be well well used by the community especially youth in San Bernardino but each of these is going to operate independently and we are hopeful as i think hopefully you would be that this kind of investment is going to spur more similar type development in this area of the city looking at some of the renderings i'm not going to go through them again but you can see this is a high quality design we've tried to think of all aspects whether it's lighting parking security even just choice of materials this is all complementary and tailored to this specific site and i do have the project team here if you have any specific questions otherwise we are very excited to bring this to the city and we appreciate your consideration thank you thank you our next speaker is dolores armstead

Thank you. The fact that this building was a vacant warehouse for so long is indicative of the overbuild of warehouses in this city. It should not have been vacant. It is. That means we have too many. And now let's go on. Right now we have 17 storage facilities throughout San Bernardino, 17, this will be 18. The soccer field on top, that's cute. How long before it all becomes a storage unit? Because we ain't stupid. Storage on the bottom, yes, soccer field on top. You've never done it. It's not up to goodness of your heart. It's because it will be converted. A year, two years, darn, we couldn't make soccer work. We're going to have to make the whole thing a storage unit. That's what's going to happen. We know what's going to happen. But there's nothing we can do about it. We're just citizens. You guys are who you guys are, and they got a good attorney. It's going to work. Anyway, as I said, we've already got 17 storage units. What's one more? It's an overbuild in this city, but that's typical. I think the city deserves better. I'm tired of wherever I go. We're considered the armpit of California, and here we go with another project. But that's indicative of what this city has done. Anyway, we will now have storage number 18. And yes, the soccer field sounds really nice. but we all know it ain't going to be long before it becomes storage. Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Armstead. I wanted to mention that I did not officially open the public hearing, so I want to make sure that that public hearing is open for the speakers, for our applicant, as well as our one speaker, Ms. Armstead. Is there any comment or question of the commission for the applicants? Commissioner Carloni?

I would just like to say I think it's a very nice facility. I really appreciate the elevations, the planting, upgrading the building. I think the soccer is going to do great. There's been a lot of indoor lately. If you ever go down over there off Arden, the outdoor soccer fields are packed every weekend. The indoor one's going to be great. And the amount of homes that are being built, people are looking for storage. So I think this is a great project. I appreciate you bringing it to San Bernardino.

Yeah, to the applicant, I have a comment also. I concur with my fellow planner here. I think this is a great opportunity for the city, and I think you've done an excellent job of designing this and laying it out for this facility. I do have a question I have not been able to figure out, probably didn't read enough into it. Is the soccer field on the lower floor or is it on the upper floor? Upper floor. And what is the height of the ceiling in there? And the upper floor.

Can you please come to the microphone? Thank you.

24 to 30 from there.

Yeah, that makes it real good. Yeah, I think it's a great project. I commend you for bringing it to the city. Thank you very much.

Commissioner?

I agree with my colleagues, and I just want to say thank you for bringing this project. It's great. Actually, two projects in one, and this is very nice. And I have one question. How much will it cost for a soccer, to use a soccer facility? Is there any answer for that?

Nick, do you want to come on up?

Hi everyone, my name is Ianek and I'm one of the project managers in this. For the system to use about like 200 to 300 per team per month to use it to come and play. And one of the reason we want that because we want kids to play under the indoor because to avoid a lot of cancer, skin cancers and all that. As you see the temperature outside, it's getting strong. So that was the purpose, yeah.

Great, thank you. My son is a soccer player, and he loves it, so I want to sign him up. So thank you for bringing it in. Appreciate it. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. I have one question. On page, the top of page 22, under applicable engineering fees, it's condition number 82C, approved in lieu or fair share fees shall be paid to Public Works. Are you willing to strike any in lieu or shared fees and just pay the cost?

let me sorry let me get to that again absolutely we talked about all of the conditions of approval with staff these were all what generally staff had provided and my understanding is these were pretty much the standard it is so what is the difference that you're asking for so I'm asking instead of paying a in lieu fee or a fair share fee that we that the developer the applicant pays what the fee is

And so there's not this, well, if you're conditioned for X, you don't want to build X, you want to pay an in lieu fee instead.

Let me confer with my client about that.

Pardon? Yeah. Okay. Okay. It would be whatever, in lieu of whatever. All right.

Madam Chair, respectfully, we're not comfortable with changing a standard condition of approval at this time.

OK. Thank you. Is there any other comments or questions? Is there a motion?

Can you provide some clarification? I'll use your microphone. Sorry. Can you provide some clarification in regards to what she's describing here in regards to the in lieu fees? I'm talking to the attorney.

Yes, the code requires various off-site improvements, and the code allows you the option to either build those improvements or provide an in-lieu fee. The planners don't know how much that in-lieu fee is. That's really Public Works' domain, but the code does allow developers to pick between the two.

Is it a significant cost, just based on your experience?

If I may, I'll give an example in regards to what in-lieu fees are used for. Underground utilities, right? When a project is being developed on site and there's utility poles on site that is required to be underground, there's times where applicant pays the city an in-lieu fee to underground, put some sort of a fair share of amount to underground those utility poles. It's usually... I don't want to say 100% of the cost, but there's a way where city and the developer pays at the same time. And in regards to the conditions that Madam Chair is mentioning, I don't think there's a number for the in lieu fee. I believe that's a standard conditions of public works as input. So at the moment, there's no X amount of number in regards to what that is.

And so the city would cover any additional costs, not the developer or the applicants?

If there's any. No.

Can we let him finish first?

Yeah, so at the moment, I think that conditions is a standard comment that Public Works has put. I don't believe there's any number amount that the city will do or have the developer have in regards to this site. They just have a standard procedure comment for that.

In regards to this site or in regards to any site? In regards to this site. Thank you.

Usually, they're about $150,000 to $200,000, but you are correct. If they do not pay into it and they do expire, the city has to make up the bulk.

Yes, that's correct. The city covers that cost.

Okay, so I just did this, all right? So we did an in lieu fee for traffic signal, and every developer that built on that street paid a portion. And at the end of the day, whoever was the last one built on that block was able to use those in lieu fees, plus they had to cover the difference, not the city.

Right, that was that specific instance. That's not always the case. That's not always the case.

It's always happened in the last 40 years.

It's not always the case. Example, Fifth Street. Street widening. If the developer is widening the street, the city has to pay for that. Not the developer, not the applicant. And then the city has to pay prevailing wage.

I've never seen the city come in and pay for the developer. Usually the developers pay nice wages.

correct correct and again as mentioned with this project the developer are not doing any improvements on site so there's not going to be any changes that will be done the whole project is entirely for the facade and interior of the building in regards to the in Luffy that is just a standard common public works as put the developer are not doing any undergrounding any curb widening anything in such it will be as is with the site

i may just to put a fine point on it um there are no off-site improvements required for this project so it's a moot point thank you is there a motion i'll make a motion that we accept staff recommendation and the planning commission adopt resolution number 2026-022 approving conditional use permit 2515 based on the finding and facts and subject to the recommended conditions and approvals.

Is there a second?

I second it.

Thank you.

Commissioner Ali?

Madam Chair, sorry, just want to confirm, did you close the public hearing?

I'll go ahead and close the public hearing at this time.

Thank you.

Commissioner Ali?

Yes.

Commissioner Quayle?

Yes.

Chair Sherrick? Yes. Commissioner Galande? Yes. Commissioner Carloni?

Yes.

Vote passes unanimously.

Thank you. Thank you very much.

Item number three.

All right, thank you, Madam Chair. Good evening, commissioners, members of our public. George Velarde here on behalf of planning. Before us is item number three, which is extension of time 26-06 for subdivision 21-03, which is tentative track map number 20455 and development permits type P22-04. Some quick background information. This is only an extension of time application. This doesn't change anything with the original project approval. This simply provides the developer with an additional year to vest their project. But as mentioned, there were two projects, two applications associated with the original project. you had the subdivision or tentative track mac number two zero four five five which subdivided two lots of approximately 4.27 acres and some change into 16 single family lots which range in size of approximately 7 200 square feet to 10 200 square feet the other application which was the development permit which which was for this site in architectural review for 16 homes THIS PROPOSAL, WHICH WE'LL GET INTO MOMENTARILY, BUT IT INCLUDED THREE DIFFERENT FLOOR PLANS RAGING IN SIZE FROM 1800 SQUARE FEET TO 2500, WITH TWO DIFFERENT ARCHITECTURAL STYLES WITH BOTH TRADITIONAL AND MEDITERRANEAN TYPE OF HOUSES. AS FAR AS THE LOCATION, THIS PROJECT IS GENERALLY LOCATED AT THE SOUTHWEST CORNER OF WEST 48TH STREET AND NORTH ORANGE DRIVE AND THE ZONING FOR THIS PROPERTY IS RESIDENTIAL SUBURBAN OR RS FOR SHORT. A LITTLE BIT OF MORE BRIEF BACKGROUND FOR US. THE PLANNING COMMISSION AT THE TIME HAD APPROVED THIS PROJECT BACK ON DECEMBER 13, 2022. WITH ALL PROJECTS, THE STANDARD CONDITION OF APPROVAL THAT'S OUTLINED, IT GENERALLY GIVES PROJECTS, ACTUALLY, IT DOES GIVE TWO PROJECTS TWO YEARS TO VEST THEIR ENTITLEMENT APPLICATION. THIS PROJECT WOULD HAVE OTHERWISE EXPIRED ON DECEMBER 13, 2024. in addition to that pursuant to the assembly bill 2729 this is applicable to certain residential projects that were entitled prior to january 1 2024 and were set to expire before december 31st 2025 they were given an automatic 18-month extension this practice is quite common we've seen that the state in in the past years they've stepped in and granted these projects additional life just to see these residential projects go through by way of additional time if you can recall back to maybe the housing crisis back in 07 08 those extensions that kind of built the basis for a lot of these so overall this thanks to this assembly bill this put the new expiration for this project on june 13th 2026. so here's an aerial view of the site again located at the southwest corner of orange street and west 48th street again so it's approximately 4.27 acres and some change primarily around the east west and south side you have existing single family and then on the north side across 48th street it's a vacant lot HERE IS THE ZONING OF THE PROPERTY. AS MENTIONED THE ZONE OF ITS RESIDENTIAL SUBURBAN AND IT'S ALSO FOLLOWING THE GENERAL PLAN LAND USE DESIGNATION WHICH IS ALSO DESIGNATED FOR RESIDENTIAL. Here's our site plan. Part of this project includes the developments of public streets to access the homes, as well as the other off-site improvements, the installation of a curb gutter sidewalk and some street lighting. As mentioned, there are 16 homes ranging in size from 1,800 square feet to 2,500 square feet on lots ranging in size from 7,200 to 10,000, approximately 10,000. So some nice sized lots there. THIS ALSO INCLUDES A COMBINATION OF AROUND THE PERIMETER OF THE HOMES ON THE REAR AND SIDE YARDS YOU DO HAVE A DECORATIVE SPLIT FACE BLOCK WALL. With this project, I'll go over this really quickly. The applicant is proposing two different architectural styles, both Mediterranean and traditional style homes. All units are light earth tone colors with hues of beige. They include recessed areas, pop outs, the faux shutters, veneer, window mullions. They also included elements to really accentuate the architectural style they're going for. So for example, with Mediterranean, you have the estal roof and the decorative venting pipes. With the traditional architectural styles, they have the exposed corbels to really bring out what they're trying to accomplish. So here's plan one, plan two, and plan three. And as mentioned, there's three different floor plans. So here's plan one, plan two, plan three. Here's their landscaping plan. They have a mix of drought-tolerant, non-invasive one-gallon and five-gallon shrubs in addition to some of the ground cover. Of course, this is conceptual, so at a later time, we're still going to review these through a landscape plan just to make sure it's in compliance with water efficiency and all that. And here's an existing site. This would be the view looking southwest from West 48th Street and the bottom ones looking from Western Avenue. And here are some renderings to just highlight and illustrate some of the elevations a little bit more and kind of see the staggering architectural styles. and then with that being said the recommendation is for planning commission to adopt resolution number 2026-023 and find that this project is exempt pursuant to CEQA this doesn't we're using the common sense exemption here just because this project was previously analyzed under class 32 for infill just because it's less than the five acres again this project is simply just taking what was previously approved and giving it another year of life and ultimately approving this extension of time for the subdivision or tentative track map number 20455 and the development permit type p22-04 we did notice this project in preparation for tonight's hearing and we've been monitoring the phone calls and emails staff at this point has received no public comments so myself staff and the applicant are here if you have any questions thank you

Thank you. I'll go ahead and open up the public hearing at 6.38 PM. Jim Powers.

Thank you very much. Madam Chair, Commission members, my name is Jim Powers with Mark Holmes. We appreciate the opportunity to come before you tonight. As everybody's aware, the housing market has been tough over the last few years. We see some sunshine coming over the horizon. and believe that we'll definitely be able to get started within the time period that we're asking for. Again, I would like to thank the Planning Commission for your time to take a look at this project. We think that it's a good area. We like San Bernardino. We like the fact that we're within about a mile of Cal State University's San Bernardino. And we've seen a lot of nice things going on up in that area, and we're excited about this project. So if you have any questions, I'll be happy to answer those. Thank you.

Thank you. Are there any questions of the commission? Okay, I'll go ahead and close the public hearing at 640 and entertain a motion by the commission.

Motion to approve. Is there a second?

I'll second it.

Commissioner Ali?

Yes.

Commissioner Quayle?

Yes.

Chair Sherrick? Yes. Commissioner Galande? Yes. Commissioner Carloni? Yes. Vote passes unanimously. Thank you. Item number four, please.

Yes, thank you, Madam Chair and commissioners. My name is Mike Rosales, senior planner. Item number four tonight is general plan. Let me get the little clicker. ALL RIGHT, APOLOGIES. ITEM NUMBER 4 TONIGHT IS GENERAL PLAN AMENDMENT 2502, DEVELOPMENT CODE AMENDMENT ZONING MAP AMENDMENT 25-07, SUBDIVISION 25-03 FOR TENTATIVE TRACK MAP NUMBER 20826 AND DEVELOPMENT PERMIT TYPE P25-07. THE PROPOSED PROJECT IS A REQUEST TO AMEND THE GENERAL PLANNED LAND USE DESIGNATION FROM COMMERCIAL TO MULTIFAMILY RESIDENTIAL, REZONE THE SITE FROM COMMERCIAL OFFICE TO RESIDENTIAL MEDIUM, ALL FOR FOUR VACANT PARCELS, WHICH TOTAL APPROXIMATELY 5.82 ACRES. it is also to amend the standard in chapter 1904 of the residential chapter for the development code for planned residential development of section n numbers two and five and also to approve tentative track map number 20826 to subdivide the project site into 68 planned residential developments or prds AND AN APPROVED SITE IN ARCHITECTURAL REVIEW FOR 68 TWO-STORY DETACHED PRD SINGLE FAMILY DWELLINGS AND THAT WOULD BE DEVELOPMENT PERMIT TYPE P25-07. IT IS LOCATED ON THE CORNER OF NORTH MIRIAMOTTE DRIVE AND NORTH LITTLE MOUNTAIN ROAD IN THE WARD TWO WITHIN THE COMMERCIAL OFFICE ON 5.28 ACRES. Here we have the aerial map. The project is located on an approximately 5.2 acre site on the corner of North Miramonte Drive and North Little Mountain Road. The project site is vacant and bounded by multifamily residential to the north and single family residential to the east. Properties to the west and south are also zoned commercial office. here's the aerial view of the project site to the west of it is apartments and to the north would be a preschool then we have of course the interstates so general plan amendment 25-02 changes the 5.82 acre project site land use designation from commercial to multiple family residential development code amendment zoning map amendment 25-07 re-zones four of the vacant parcels from commercial office to residential medium and updates to plan residential development standards to allow flexible setbacks and site coverage subject to the city approval and compliance with the california building code and county fire code requirements With approval of both the amendments, the proposed 68 unit single family plan residential development is consistent with the city's general plan as of now and complies with the development code of today. Tentative track map number 20826 subdivision 25-03 subdivides the 5.82 acre site into the 68 single family residential lots. The lot sizes are approximately 7,200 to 8,600 square feet. THE DENSITY PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT ACHIEVES 11 UNITS PER ACRE. IT'S CONSISTENT WITH THE PROPOSED RESIDENTIAL MEDIUM DESIGNATION WHICH ALLOWS UP TO 12 UNITS PER NET ACRE. DEVELOPMENT PERMIT TYPE P25-07 EVALUATES THE OVERALL SITE AND ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN OF THE PROPOSED RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT. Also the neighborhood design for the two-story homes with varied orientation, side entry designs, attached two-car garages, private driveways, and private backyards to promote privacy, functionality, and outdoor living. The housing mix is of four floor plans ranging from 1,435 square feet to 1,728 square feet, featuring three to four bedrooms, 2.5 to three bathrooms, and three architectural styles, Santa Barbara, Spanish Colonial, and Italianate. 20 homes are included in plan 1 22 homes are included in plan 2 19 homes are included in plan 3 and 7 homes in plan 4 for the total of 68 residences for the architectural character varied roof lines massing and warm earth tone color palette with decorative architectural details designed to complement the surrounding neighborhood and enhance an underutilized site oops Site access is primary access from North Miramontes Drive with secondary access from Little Mountain Drive North, including new driveway entrances and a monument signage. Circulation is internal streets and pedestrian pathways, which provides safe, efficient vehicle circulation and pedestrian connectivity. There will be 179 total parking spaces, including 136 two-car garage spaces with EV charging capabilities, 41 guest spaces, and two ADA accessible spaces. The community features private streets maintained by the Homeowners Association. PERIMETER IMPROVEMENTS FOR THE OUTSKIRTS OF THE PROJECT WOULD BE DECORATIVE SPLIT FACE BLOCK WALLS WITH STONE ACCENTS THROUGH THE ENTRY MONUMENT SIGN EMERGENCY VEHICLE ACCESS GATES AND VINYL FENCING BETWEEN THE HOMES FOR PRIVACY AND SECURITY FOR THE COMMUNITY'S DESIGN IT'S ARCHITECTURAL SITE PLANNING ARE INSPIRED BY THE SAN BERNARDINO MOUNTAINS REFLECTING THE AIR'S NATURE AREAS NATURAL LAND FORMS AND CHARACTER the landscape design features native drought tolerant plants with efficient irrigation systems creating a sustainable landscape that complements the total environment it is a code compliance landscaping exceeds the city requirements providing 20 whereas it's required 15 by the development code some of the residential amenities include five amenities walking paths shade structures a community gathering lawn playground and barbecue area which exceeds the city's requirements of two amenities Site revitalization, it transforms a vacant underutilized 5.82 acre site into a high quality residential community and enhances the surrounding neighborhood. Project approval includes the general plan amendment, development code amendment, development permit and subdivision. For the housing opportunity, it provides 60 new single family homes to help meet the city's housing needs and complies with the city's development code as of today and is subject to conditions of approval to minimize potential impacts. Here is a development code amendment within the residential chapter. And the reason we are doing this is so that the developments moving forward can actually have their own design for the planned residential developments where it's a little more lenient. So as long as they're meeting the city code and the fire code, there's certain setbacks that they would be allowed to do, closer setbacks, clustered looks, as long as they can meet those codes. Our development code as of now is a little more restrictive. It requires 5,000 square feet for a parcel, which is very hard to get out of PRDs. Most other cities are all establishing their own standards through development code amendments or specific plans for those actual projects. So another would be the setbacks. The minimum front and rear and side setbacks from the project perimeter are 15 feet. That's just not feasible. For clustered homes and for these planned residential developments, they tend to have a more clustered look, so they're proportionally closer together. SO IN LIEU OF THOSE TWO, WE WOULD INCORPORATE A STANDARD THAT SAYS MINIMUM LOT SIZE AND SETBACKS NOT WITHSTANDING THIS SECTION, A PRD MAY ESTABLISH ALTERNATIVE SETBACKS INCLUDING BETWEEN STRUCTURES AS WELL AS MINIMUM LOT SIZE SUBJECT TO APPROVAL OF THE REVIEW AUTHORITY. ALL SETBACKS AND SEPARATIONS COMPLY WITH APPLICABLE STANDARDS OF THE CALIFORNIA BUILDING STANDARDS COMMISSION AND THE CITY OR COUNTY FIRE CODE AS DETERMINED BY THE BUILDING OFFICIAL AND FIRE DEPARTMENT. and shall be sufficient to ensure emergency access, life safety, and implementation of any mitigation measures adopted pursuant to California Environmental Quality Act. Here we have the site plan and the track map. You can see the more clustered look of the homes. Circulation, all on-site improvements, off-site improvements, brand new curb and gutter, utilities undergrounded, and everything we had asked for in the conditions of approval. Here are the elevations. One elevation is Spanish Colonial. We have another one, Santa Barbara. And we have another one, Italianate. Here we have the floor plans showing plan one and plan two. We have the floor plan showing plan three and plan four that shows variation of the homes. For the landscape plan, they're including Coastal Live Oak, Desert Willow, Palo Verde Sugarbush, Texas Ranger Indigio Bush, Blonde Ambition, and all plant species have an irrigation efficiency of .75%, so they're under the WOCOL's water demand. They're watered either with a spray, drip, or bubbler system for low water usage, and the project landscape is totaled at 20% of the surface parking exceeding the 15% required. Little Mountain Project has provided a total of five amenities. These include walkable pedestrian paths, shade structures, a gathering lawn for community events, a playground, and a barbecue area. And here we have them pictured. This is just a rendering of what the outside of the community would look like. So we have the existing site looking northwest. You can see it's a vacant parcel, has not ever been developed. And the existing site looking west. all right so with that um our recommendation today is that the planning commission adopt resolution 2026-024 forwarding recommendation at the mayor and council city council one adopt the mitigating negative declaration for general plan amendment 25-02 development code amendment zoning map amendment 25-07 Subdivision 25-03 for tentative track map 20826 and development permit type P 25-07 in accordance with section 15074 of the public resources code and direct planning commission administrator to prepare and file with the clerk of the county of the San Bernardino a notice of determination as provided under public resource code section 21152C and California code of regulations title 14 section 15094 and 2. APPROVED GENERAL PLAN AMENDMENT 25-02 DEVELOPMENT CODE AMENDMENT ZONING MAP AMENDMENT 25-07 SUBDIVISION 25-03 FOR TENTATIVE TRACK MAP 20826 AND DEVELOPMENT PERMIT TYPE P 25-07 BASED ON THE FINDINGS OF FACT AND SUBJECT TO THE RECOMMENDED CONDITIONS OF APPROVAL. AND I CAN TAKE ANY QUESTIONS AND THE APPLICANT IS HERE AS WELL.

Thank you, Mr. Rosales. I'll go ahead and open the public hearing at 6.52. Mr. Brian Taylor, would you like to speak? Were you sworn in? No. Okay, can you sign them in real quick? Thank you.

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

Good evening, Planning Commission. Thank you, staff, for working with us over the last year. And I appreciate the staff report. Everything Mike covered is the project. One request that we had tonight on condition of approval number eight, the condition revolves around us working Monday through Friday and gives out the specific hours which we can work. We are requesting that planning commission allow us to work on Saturday. So revise the very last word of the condition instead of Friday to say Saturday. The city code doesn't specify specifically Monday through Friday, at least what I saw. And we did talk to engineering. They're OK with it as well. And we'll happily pay all overtime inspection fees if inspections are needed. So we do respectfully ask that planning commission revise that condition of approval to allow for work on Saturday. And I'm here to answer any questions. I'd love to talk about the project if you guys have any questions.

Is there any questions by the commission for the applicant?

I have a question. Yeah. Looking at this and the location, I'm real familiar with that area. When you're developing a track of homes like this, is there any consideration given to the sound? That interchange right there, I couldn't live there personally. And these homes are so close together, I guess that's what the law allows, huh?

Yeah, I mean, on the sound side of things, we do an extensive noise study and work closely with staff with their review as well, including we implemented a seven-foot wall along Little Mountain to help with that sound, in addition doing thicker windows and construction-related material to help with that noise that is already out there. So we do pay close attention to that, and we'll continue to do so during construction. And then on the density of it, Century Communities is a first-time home buyer builder. That's really what they strive to do. And as everybody knows in this market, everything is so expensive. With this irregularly shaped site, we really wanted to make a site where we promoted detached homes, but also private yard space, which is harder and harder to come by these days because all of a sudden if you're doing your traditional 7,200 square foot lots, they're like a million dollars, which isn't isn't, you know, isn't right anymore. So that's really where we came from here to promote that first time home buyer community.

Okay, another couple of questions. What is the price range of these homes? Are you anticipating? And secondly, are people able to put ADUs in these small yards?

So I'm not on the revenue side, but it's something I can find out and happily send an email over to staff that they can distribute. I'll talk to the sales team to find out what the sales prices are gonna be. And then with the ADUs, I don't know if there's enough space to follow. the state law regarding detached ADUs, but I believe residents could turn their garages into ADUs following state laws, but I'm no expert at that.

Yes, that would be the only applicable space they'd actually be able to use because there's a 10-foot separation between structures. So even if they did, let's say they proposed a detached ADU, you would have to go through a rigorous fire department plan check where they would probably ask for two-hour firewalls and stuff to that accord where it gets a little bit expensive. So the most we would be looking at maybe is some JADUs through the garage or maybe ADUs in the garage only.

Okay, because what I'm seeing in our community as I drive around, a lot of the older home areas that have narrow streets... The homes have now put ADUs in or refurbished their garages that so many people live in, to where you can't even drive down the streets because there's cars parked on both sides now. And so you've got to look at these roads within these developments because you can anticipate that it's not going to be one family living there. It could be two families living there. so it's it i i believe it's an unfortunate thing but probably the cost of this housing is it going to accommodate you know first-time buyers or something like that i would hope but that's the goal i'll bet you never i think that price tag is going to be somewhere around four to five hundred thousand dollars if not higher yeah amazing thank you no problem are there any other questions by commissioners

I'd like to make a motion to approve.

Wait, I have one second. I have a couple questions also. As we go, go ahead, Madam Chair.

He might answer my questions.

So actually, we had some changes to the resolution for the traffic requirements. So within the resolution under 31 traffic requirements, condition of approval two, it says, is the current condition is call box lane should prove should be provided as a separate lane 12.9 feet in width within a 43 foot driveway width that allows vehicle u-turns and that's been revised to call box lane should be provided as a separate lane 13 feet in width and a 46 foot driveway width that allows vehicle u-turns and the final dimensions to be determined at plan check And then also within the same Section 31 under Traffic Intersection Improvement Requirements, Condition of Approval Number 7, the current condition of Miramonte Drive, North slash Little Mountain Drive, no physical improvement is required with the proposed project opening as traffic signal and all-way stop warrants are not met. The applicant should conduct a follow-up operational review of this intersection within one year of the project occupancy to the satisfaction of the city engineer. And it will be revised to be stating Miramonte Drive North slash Little Mountain Drive. No physical improvement is required with the proposed project opening as traffic signal and all way stop warrants are not met. THE APPLICANT SHOULD CONDUCT A FOLLOW-UP OPERATIONAL REVIEW OF THIS INTERSECTION WITHIN ONE YEAR OF THE PROJECT OCCUPANCY TO THE SATISFACTION OF THE CITY ENGINEER. AND I DO HAVE TRAFFIC HERE TONIGHT TO ATTEST THAT THEY DO AGREE WITH THESE CONDITIONS. TRAFFIC, DO YOU MIND COMING UP? THIS IS RYAN CASTILLO. HE'S THE TRAFFIC ENGINEER. AND, SIR, IS TRAFFIC AMENTABLE TO THESE CONDITIONS OF APPROVAL?

GO AHEAD AND PRESS A LITTLE.

YES.

Thank you, Mr. Castillo. And I would also like to note that this resolution will be adopting the MMRPs, which are the mitigation monitoring reporting program for the CEQA document that was conducted, answering some of the questions like circulation and noise. And that will be adopted within this resolution as well. And that's all I had.

Thank you. I have a couple of questions with the work on Saturday. Is there a different time frame for work on Saturday? Is this by, my computer kind of is having trouble catching up with me, so are there, is this project a but residential?

It does to the north, there's apartments. Let me see if I can get to, so those apartments there, multifamily, and see all those apartments to the west are multifamily.

So what is the proposed working hours on Saturday?

Currently, the condition of approval reads from 7 a.m. all the way up to 8 p.m. But on Saturdays, we're fine only going to 5 p.m. We're not going to go past that.

And starting at what time?

Ideally, 7 a.m. It will be quicker in the long run. Let's just say that for the residents. We do like to move as fast as we can because it is impactful.

I'm not in it. I don't approve of disrupting their lives for that time frame.

So typically, in my experience, it's 7 a.m. to like 3.30. Yeah, I've never seen a crew go to 5 or 8. That's not happening.

I think 7 a.m. is a little early on a Saturday morning.

So we could start them at 8 a.m. and go to 2.30? I don't agree. Okay.

Okay. I don't know. If that's what the body wants, I don't agree with that. But I also have a couple of other questions with regards to, so that would be from what, eight to four? Is that what we're thinking? Is there a consensus on that?

I'm good with that.

Can I take like a straw poll on that? So that would be your consensus?

Yes, it will be eight to four. Is that okay with that?

based on the majority though it looks like there's a consensus yes okay and then parking are there restrictions on parking with this track map

So there's 43 guest stalls. There will be an HOA, which will include a parking committee, including requiring parking in the garages. So the garages will be restricted from using just for storage, for example. And we do a really good job explaining that to the buyers coming in, to the best of our ability, obviously, because parking's a thing in every single community out there.

Yes. And so to Commissioner Quill's point, there is or is not parking allowed on the street?

There's 43 designated parking stalls. Other than that, there are fire lanes that we will not be able to park on. They'll either be red curb or signage that states no parking.

And are those parking stalls, or are the stalls on the street abutting the curb?

There's parking stalls and parallel stalls within the community. Okay.

Thank you. In keeping with the question, and let me clarify the question as I had with the last project, maybe not with fair share, but in lieu fees, would you be willing to strike in lieu fees from your conditions on this project?

I don't think we have any in lieu fees that we're paying. OK. No, because we're doing the traffic.

OK. Thank you. And you accept the conditions as they are?

Thank you. Yeah, we're doing the traffic improvement at the 27th and Little Mountain completely.

So is there a motion to approve the, I know that you had, Dan, you had a motion and you were approving it with that timeframe on Saturday?

Yes.

Is there a second?

Yes. Madam Chair, so as I understand and as the body understands, condition number eight of the resolution will be amended to say construction related activities may not occur between the hours of 8 p.m. and 7 a.m. No construction vehicles, equipment, or employees may be delivered to or arrive at the construction site before 7 a.m. or leave the site after 8 PM, construction activities shall only occur Monday through Saturday, Saturday being 8 AM to 4 PM.

Yes.

Madam Chair, now I would ask that you ask the applicant's representative if he agrees to that condition and the other conditions that staff read earlier that were going to be amended.

Understood. Does the applicant agree to that change for Saturday and the other conditions that staff read into the record?

Yeah, and I just want to, yes, I believe so. I just want to clarify on condition of approval 31-7 regarding the no physical improvements, you did delete the sentence, the applicant shall conduct a follow-up operational review of this intersection within one year of the project occupancy to the satisfaction of the city traffic engineer? Correct, that would be. Yes, we agree to the modifications. Thank you.

I do have one other question. I'm sorry. Is there any incentive for first-time homebuyers?

So currently, every single community has a lot of incentives to get buyers in the door and to hopefully close deals. And then additionally, they have all the special loan programs out there through the government that really help first-time homebuyers as well.

So when we get that started, can staff help disseminate that information on the project?

Yes, we can.

Thank you. At this time, we have a first and a second. I'll go ahead and close the public hearing at 7.05 for a roll. Thank you.

Thank you.

Sorry, did we take a motion?

We have a motion by Commissioner Carloni. Correct. And we had a second by Commissioner Ali.

And before the vote is taken, because we have one new commissioner, because we have one new commissioner. Let me just remind the commission that because this item includes a general plan amendment and other legislative amendments, this item requires five affirmative votes to make the recommendation. And so there's only five of you here, so the vote has to be unanimous to make the recommendation to council. Thank you.

Commissioner Ali?

Yes.

Commissioner Quayle? Yes. Chair Sherrick? Yes. Commissioner Galande? Yes. Commissioner Carloni?

Yes.

Vote passes unanimously.

Thank you, thank you.

Thank you Madam Chair and commissioners.

I believe that was the last public hearing item. Do we have any reports by commissioners? No. I would like to go ahead and welcome our new commissioner to the commission. And welcome. You're welcome. Thank you. Is there a director's report?

Yes, there is, Madam Chair. So just a few announcements. So Mary Lanier was appointed as the interim director of community development and housing. She'll be joining us within the next few meetings. We welcome Commissioner Ali. Thank you, sir. THE GENERAL PLAN AND DEVELOPMENT CODE ARE MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION. THE CITY MANAGER GAVE US A DEADLINE OF NOVEMBER. SO WE'RE HOPING TO START PUSHING IT OUT, GETTING IT APPROVED AND HAVE IT ADOPTED AND PROBABLY ROLLING OUT BY THE 1ST OF JANUARY, HOPEFULLY. So that's where we're at on that. Some positive news. The NFL did a documentary series and featured Jaden Daniels from the Washington Commanders and alumni of Cajon High School. It featured the city of San Bernardino and some of its grassroots beginnings. And if you want to watch it, it's called Quarterback Season 3 on Netflix. Also, the film industry has its eye on San Bernardino as a film-friendly city. So we've had Netflix, Amazon, Warner Brothers come in under the guise of different direction or studios so that you wouldn't know who they were, but they're coming in. And then planning has been nominated for a California On Location Award for its streamlining of major movies and being a team player with the industry. um and despite a slow economy the city's still receiving a good number of projects and inquiries so we're getting projects every week we have stuff to do here and um on another positive note of 701 northeast street for the public safety building right down the street over here for police services is on time for construction and raising the standards for downtown construction also um in past meetings there's been an ask for major planning projects And we went ahead and put together a list. It's pretty up to date, and we just want to let you have it so you can stay kind of on the same page with us.

If you have any questions, you can reach out to me.

Anything you want to ask, you can go ahead and let us know, and we'll take care of that for you.

Thank you, Mr. Rosales. Can you place this on the website for the general public? And also, would you mind reaching out to Ms. Armstead, Delores Armstead, with the information on the specific plan, general plan, and traffic study? Thank you.

Yes, will do, Madam Chair.

Thank you. I appreciate that. And I actually have a take back. Are you done?

Yes, I'm done.

Thank you. I would take back. I wanted to point out the comments from Mr. Jeffrey Harlan about working with staff. The staff often hears how challenging the department is to work with, how projects are held up. And so I really want to highlight the positive comment that Mr. Harlan made about working with staff. It's important for staff as well as the public and this commission to hear the positive when that does occur. So I wanted to highlight that. Thank you. If there are no other comments, I'll go ahead and adjourn at 7.09 p.m. Thank you.