Okay, well welcome to our December Planning Commission meeting the last meeting for the year If we could we'll go ahead and start with the roll call Commissioner Ruth. Yeah, Commissioner Newman. Yeah, Commissioner Christensen. Yeah, Commissioner Wilk. Yeah, Chair Welch. Yeah, thank you Now we'll stand for the Pledge of Allegiance, please Very good, thank you for Coming this meeting is a cable cast live on charter communications cable TV channel 8 and AT&T Uverse channel 99 And it's being recorded to be replayed on the following Monday and Friday at 1 p.m. Charter channel 71 and Comcast channel 25 Meetings can also be viewed from the city's website at www cityofcapitola.org Our technician tonight is Ben Thompson and if you could just make sure your phone is on silent Then that would help us and if you do come up to speak we ask that you sign in so we have your name for the record With that we'll start off with oral communications any additions or deletions to the agenda Okay Now it's a time for public comments for any item that's not on tonight's agenda So if you want to come up and speak to us about an item not on the agenda This is your chance for three minutes at the mic Sheree McCoy here and the purpose of the Capitola mall is to make money for Capitola these days many consumers shop online and a trip to the mall is unnecessary We need a special place that is more than just for shopping a true destination spot where people can spend their money Enjoy a unique Capitola experience having an enclosed contiguous and mall brings the masses together and provides a sense of community When Merlin Geier presented their proposal for redevelopment They showed pictures of the Venetian the six sisters and other examples of Capitola architecture Then they showed drawings with their own interpretation for a new Capitola aesthetic The proposal does not reflect Capitola and looks like any ugly mall in America with high density housing the proposal dedicates a Considerable amount of property and amenities exclusively for new residential use Courtyards with relaxing green spaces cozy group gathering spaces expansive bar seating Relaxing lounge nooks and turf for outdoor games and activities Amenities such as these should be in the grand plan for all mall patrons not for new create newly created residents with their 1,100 cars Unrealistically the rendering show a handful of vehicles with people happily walking in front of the cars New streets with a four-way intersection in the middle of the project does not build community. It builds separation Creating new streets for shoppers and residential access will not eliminate the traffic on the surrounding streets Emitting housing from the project frees up the massive amount of green space that the plan reserves exclusively for residential use mall space green small green space Can be converted from a bunch of trees in the parking lot to usable green space? Research indicates that residential use for the site is not profitable for Capitola the many complications and contingencies within the Proposal dissipate when residential use is moved from the plan Outdoor dining doesn't have the eating at a table on a sidewalk thoroughfare next to a street with cars Outdoor dining should offer patrons a relaxing place to get away from it all Including the escape from car exhaust loud bluetooth conversations and blaring radios honking horns and cussing from drivers waiting for motorists to hurry up and navigate the angled parking spaces on the street Although the plan frowns upon orphaned buildings It calls for isolated units to introduce sidewalk oriental commercial buildings along 41st Avenue street frontage Vehicles must drive through the parking lot to access these businesses a contiguous mall with a pedestrian inner core of Courtyard's restaurants and shops would better serve us all Thank you. Thank you Okay, do we have anybody else would like to come and speak to you on our item? Not seeing me. I'll bring it back for commission comments I have a comment on Heritage trees. There's been some progress on heritage trees since we've last met may recall in October. There was a split vote on a heritage or not a heritage tree, but a tree that was There was an attempt to to ask for a permit to remove it and it was Denied and the applicant mentioned that well Where is the city's? Skin of the game so to speak they offered to sell it to us for a dollar basically if we could take over the liability So it turns out we have an opportunity to put some skin in the game and specifically paragraph 12 12 o 20 paragraph G and our goals and policy talks about the goal to silly city to develop partnerships Regarding heritage trees, etc. Etc. And it even goes so far as to say the funds may become available at the community tree fund so I brought this up at the Committee on the environment and the unanimous unanimously wanted to pursue the notion of providing those funds for applicants to maintain their trees and I then talked with staff and staff agreed even though it's already in the code There is no policy is how to implement Access to those funds so staff agreed that they would look into writing such a policy for Review, okay, so that's the status there Very good. I think it's going to city council in January Actually, we it'll be going this month December 19th due to the weather and City council asked that it comes sooner if possible and the applicant was willing to make that happen Great, well thanks for sharing that with us Peter Yeah, I want to acknowledge the passing of Ron Graves. He passed away about three weeks ago Ron served on the council for nearly 31 years first elected in 1968 He served on this body. Also, I believe for four more years and He really did a lot for this city. So I just like to acknowledge that he's gone and we miss him Recognize that he did so much for this town Absolutely, I agree with that and he would he may have been on planning commission more than four years He was here for a while. I know and he's on the traffic and parking commission, right? Maybe on a couple other commission. So he definitely served the city and we want to remember remembering things for that Now we'll move on to staff comments No staff comments in the oven update at the end of the meeting about the LCP Okay, very good Okay, with that then we'll move on to approval of our minutes from our November 7th meeting Can I have an addendum to that? I'm sorry? I was gonna have one correction. Okay. I also have a correction. Okay under I'd be the individual comments or concerns that were voiced by the by the commissioners. I think it's page 7 I think that's what it is least under my comments. It said Attributed to me. We don't want too much open space as it can be problematic I don't believe I said anything like that. I may have said that. I think that was me. Of course. Thank you And my comment was that talking about thanking the participants. I only thank Merlone guy or not the rest of us Thank you. I'll change that and then Okay, we have a motion second and a second all those in favor hi passage in embassy Okay, so now we're an item for what this is a consent calendar We have one item for it for 706 Gilroy Drive In the consent calendar We approve all the items in the consent counter with one vote and that somebody would like to pull the item So do we have a anybody from the audience or the planning commission that would like to pull the item? No, I move the agenda Okay, we have a motion to approve And a second all those in favor hi and very good. Welcome 706 Gilroy. You're good to go You're welcome to stick around the rest of meeting if you like I'm sure it's gonna be exciting, but it's up to you Good luck Okay, that moves us to item five or public hearings or we're gonna start off with item a 1008 Chittendale Lane Okay, I'm just gonna give you a brief overview that we had an appeal for 1008 Chittendale Lane for a property that we're having some stormwater issues with and runoff onto the neighboring property I don't want to get too much into the details of this the Steve Jesford Our public works director has been working with the property owner and they're cooperating and they're supposed to bring in Plans I believe in the next week or so to address the item they met on site last week So what we'd like to do is in the event that the property owner stopped working with the city We'd like to be able to have a subcommittee that the appeal could be heard by we're looking for two planning commissioners We're hoping not to have to go to that stage. He really seems to be cooperating at this point and But in the event we wouldn't want to hold off on this Review until the January meeting because it's the third Thursday in January, so basically I don't want to Bring up too many details of it because I think it is getting worked out But if we could get two volunteers to participate Only we had a land use to turn you on the board. I think he's a would be a good choice to have Yes, I Okay, and do we do we have another I'll do it with it, okay, and It's so it just needs to be the two people two people and we'll let you know if this will occur, so we're hoping very good Well, hopefully that all works out for them. Thank you So that was quick. This may be a fast night item B 1591 Prospect Avenue for Fince permit location with a location exception and revocable encroachment permit Getting me commissioners chair welch the application before you is To propose or is proposing to construct a fence and privacy and screens which will encroach into the public right-of-way The property is located at 1591 Prospect Avenue within the single-family residential zoning district The proposal includes a major revocable encroachment permit and an exception to the fence standards both which both require planning commission review The lot is on the corner of Prospect and Lincoln Avenue within the jewel box Oh, excuse me near the jewel box neighborhood and it's surrounded by one and two stories single-family homes The property and fence as it appears today there The existing fence is aligned with the approximate property boundary Above are the locations of the proposed encroachments with the pink line It's hard to see but it's near the right next to the red one parallel to the home Showing the property boundary The proposed wall seen in red Would be made of plastered concrete blocks and has a maximum height of 42 inches The privacy screens seen in blue between the property line and the wall there Will consist of wooden posts and slats for a maximum height of five and a half feet The proposed wall and privacy screen elevations are shown here The planning commission must evaluate major vocal encroachments permits using the following considerations the expense and difficulty that will be entailed in removing the improvements Whether the proposed improvements are in conformity with the size scale and aesthetics of the surrounding neighborhood The preservation of views and whether granting the permit would tend to result in a granting of special privilege These considerations were analyzed in the staff report and no conflicts were found Above are the locations of the proposed encroachments Same looking slide there the application also includes an exception to the fence location Corner lot fences are required to be set back at least five feet from the property line on that side of the lot Which has the greatest length along the street in this case that would be Lincoln Avenue parallel to the pink line there Pink line should shown represents the property boundary and the green line parallel to it represents the five foot setback the areas in red Indicate portions of the wall and privacy screen that enter into the required five foot setback So it's really just the the end pieces of one privacy screen and the end piece of the wall there as it crosses from the private property line to the public right of way Staff recommends that the planning commission review and improve the encroachment permanent and fence permit based on the conditions of approval and findings Okay, thank you Sean. Any questions for staff? Was this posted on the property? I believe so as I when I went back where was it posted I couldn't find it I wonder what the weather if something happened to the posting I went right when the Materials were so it was kind of before this and who posted it. I mean they would know where it was posted. I never saw it It's usually matter. I it would have been done that okay, but 22nd or 25th So I had that question Because as far as you know for a fence permit and a major revocable encroachment permit I do not think it requires public hearing Anyway, but well we can look into that my second question is I just I'm not getting this wire Why are they building into the right-of-way? What's the reason one and two? That's very common on the street actually any of the neighborhoods that don't have curb gutter and sidewalk required there Have if you look I'm not prospect Avenue. There's multiple examples and More coming actually, but it's just something that public works generally has done in my experience on Depot Hill and The jewel box that area of the jewel box Am I understanding this right? There's a they have a particular property. They have a property line and They're now wanting to incorporate but Five feet by whatever of property. That's not theirs into their property correct And we think that's a good idea Yeah, yeah, so there we actually have a map on file of areas that are not Planned for sidewalks the sidewalk exempt areas and this is in one of the sidewalk exempt areas So in the past the public works will accept applications But with the understanding that if we were ever to make improvements that it would be at the property owners cost to remove these improvements Okay Isn't there isn't there a Precident along that same street where other there is a property did exactly that Mr. Newman brings up a good point there because the people do stand to gain a significant amount of Public land when they install a fence out in the public right away like this, but precedent has been set along that very same street Commissioner Ruth. Yeah, it is pretty prevalent up there and on deep oil also Deepo Hill I think almost everyone does that does does the proposed wall follow the line of the current fence with the exception of the corner so It deviates once it reaches the corner of Prospect along that long linear area on Lincoln. It follows the same line as the fence As the current one. Yes, okay Commissioner Christiansen you have a few comments Then the incorrigible the major incorrigible permit it It includes removing the wall and the patio outside the property line Everything that the owners constructed outside the pink line is Removable by their expense. Yeah, I Have a problem with the plum trees. I am removing the plum trees it seems I Know assistant planner as a santo reviewed the canopy coverage Which still remains after the removal of the plum trees and we also were they fruiting plum or not fruiting plum? I was only impression they weren't fruiting Because if they're fruiting plums, we don't really people are allowed to just pull out fruit trees fruit trees. Yeah, so I Know this is prevalent on Deepo Hill But I have some real heartburn about a couple of specific properties on Deepo Hill that we approved That has come back to the hunt. Well me as an individual I'm sure the city one is on grand and central and So on that one we approved it and there's a learning lesson for me as a planning commissioner to take a tape Major with me when I go look at these These plans because on that one I didn't measure out from the house Their staff report had said they were not allowed to move bollards that were in front because where the road was closed And so I took for that they would be granted be inside those bollards well the applicant in fact moved two bollards and Put a fire pit a putting green Way out into an area which was an area at the end of grand where cars normally turn around and it creates I'm was happy putting that haven't go back and at least make the applicant put a turn around in because there's no room for the for You know visitors up in that area to turn around and they had knocked the neighbors ate off the driveway a couple times So that one it what ends up it happening is it does set a precedence because then everybody along that Street wants to move their to where This property line is and it takes up parking places What it does it makes it more congested up there. That's one the second one is at the end of again on grand and Oakland and so they did The major vocal Enforcement permit revocable that they would pay for it and they put in a big fire pit and then they already had to hedge there This is the area where our walkway was going along the bluff there and Since a segment had fallen off they closed off that walkway because there This area it was in kind in the walkway in this week Walkway completely fell away on the bluff all the way up to their hedge. So there's no access even though We could if the city chose to Make them pull out their hedge and pull out their wall and run the sidewalk of the walkway along that area I see this property is a little bit different because they don't have those type of issues there But it's I guess sometimes you don't notice the impacts downstream when you make these types of conditions, so I Don't know that have specific heartburn. I looked at it It is a sidewalk exempt area But I just know in my tenure here We've had two of them that's come back to kind of haunt us in the process and doing that While we have a precedent, it's not always a good person I guess it's my thought so I'll save my comments still after we hear from the public and so forth But I do have one more question An applicant is here as well. So aren't the applicants here as well, right? I want to hear I do have one more question when we grant an encroachment permit like this to take over public property Is it exclusive or if they put a fire pit there? Can I use it? If you can get over the they get exclusive use of this area to the Exclusion of the rest of the 10,000 citizens of Capitola in that case let them put in a hot tub. I think I prefer that, you know That I am familiar with a situation just like that where someone claims the right to a hot tub on someone else's property That has 395 shareholders. I say well, just keep it hot You're gonna have a lot of company Very good. Well, there's no more questions all I didn't get an answer to that one. Oh, you want to Just they get to use it along with everyone else you know Basically the the document that's recorded is only for the revocable encroachment permit so I don't we don't Touch upon that in as I don't think there's any dedication of exclusive rights associated with that So it's a great question. I can follow up If that's something that we should be Placing on these deed restrictions are clarifying we could do that with our city I know that there's a lot of history here that goes back to when Capitola became a city But that doesn't mean we can't relook at some of these things. There's an area for example along the Coast there with a path where people have taken over part of the property that belongs to the now there were the Regional Transportation Commission and built little patios and things in there Because they claim a prescriptive right to use that area which in that case would not be exclusive So everyone should know that they're welcome to use those areas if they want they have as much right as the people who Improved them interesting Okay, no more questions for staff. I'll open up for the applicant. We have the applicant here Good evening commissioners My name is Pedro Rosado. I am both the applicant and the architect that prepared the plans for the owners and You you alluded a little bit to the background of Capitola and What I wish to touch upon which is Significant in this case of this corner lot is that the side yards are extremely narrow and whether the whether the house was Put where it's at because of the the shrinking of the lot or maybe that's what somebody thought of at one time Many years ago when the when the property was developed Is beyond me, but what it did was it left on the east side a Three-foot side yard, which isn't very much usable space and then down on the south side there's about maybe an 8 by 10 foot space as a rear yard and And then the front yard of course has a little bit over 15 feet That's a long prospect Avenue and along Lincoln Avenue There's The side you the actual side yards only eight feet wide So but there is actually approximately 19 feet there and if you take away the five feet that Between the curb and the and where the wall wants to be placed Then you have about 14 feet left and then you put a wall in it so you're down to 13 feet of usable space on that side and That's the only area which Which the owners could use as Maybe a little barbecue area or even sitting and But the primary Their thought was to have a wall that would provide some privacy between cars passing by and And anybody walking along Lincoln Avenue the by putting in the wall Also does not in my opinion take up any any more of the the accessible parking That already exists along the street unless the city decides to widen or put in sidewalks So that that's a little bit of background on the shrinking on the shrinking yards of the property but The owners are asking Or asking the city to grant an encroachment To install a prop wall and privacy partitions that create a usable Area separated from traffic and people that are walking along Lincoln Avenue So The and the wall Proposed on Lincoln site is to be in line with the adjacent neighbor now And also the landscape is proposed to match that of the the neighbor which has Flacks that are spaced apart And so what we wanted to do was continue that along this side The the prospect site is already landscape with grass They don't plan on on changing any of that There was a comment about the plum trees being removed and in order to gain Gain the space the the trees would be in the way, and it would be extremely difficult to To put the wall through them Or have them in place and keep the trees one thing that I could on behalf of the owners is recommend to take and Put into palm trees. I'm not sure at this point how they're going to How they would fit in there, but that could be done And so and so We have reviewed the staff report and concurred with finding is and recommend requirements necessary to obtain a permit for the improvements We believe that the proposed improvements are in keeping with the neighborhood character and hope that the board finds in favor of this proposal And if anybody would like to ask any other questions. Yes, sir Whose trees are those that are coming out? They're they're pretty close to the Don't know there's a they're they're on the public right away They're outside the boundaries of the property, right? Yes Hey, so the right to take take out city trees. We we typically in areas that are not Utilized by the city the unimproved right of way We allow applicant people to plant in those areas and we also expect them to care and Maintain any trees in that area. So we would as the city would Have the applicant be the owner responsible for any trees within that portion of the right of way They're already there the trees. So what I'm hearing is that the trees are coming out that the applicant is this is goes to a Commissioner's comments. The Appleton is basically being given a Pass to remove city trees Just so I understand well, you know, it just I don't I know for me when I built my place I had to put the improvements in that area. So But I have now I have to take one out because PG knees making me but So I don't know if it's if that's really a city tree I mean they They required me to landscape it. I couldn't leave it open So I think public works would say it's the property owners That's what I expect them if they may have planted the tree and they should maintain those trees that are adjacent to their property in that Unimproved right away. Yeah, that could be a It's it's definitely an awkward area with these We've had instances in the past where we've had to have property owners remove trees in that area And the city doesn't take ownership of them. It's the responsibility of the adjacent property owner Any other questions for mr. Risotto? I have a note to that Removing those plum trees improve the sight lines I don't know if I was the right property or whatever, but is that today? It's those they're they're pretty far from the corner where the sight lines come into play. So Okay Any more questions for mr. Risotto Can you show the slide that has the photograph of the house with the white fence that way Where are the palm trees in that picture No, the palm trees no their plum plum trees they would be to the right of the house as you see it on the right side you see the that's a magnolia tree on the corner and then right behind it on Lincoln Avenue is The oak tree and then behind that are the two plum trees So the question I asked staff was the fence Well, the new wall will be where the current fence is yes the fence will be removed On the plan it shows the wall going right through the tree correct Oh Which tree the Magnolia or the plum trees, it's right correct. Yeah Okay, any other questions for mr. Risotto. Thank you, sir Thank you. Yeah, do we have any other People in our public to the like to speak on this item No, not seeing any I'll bring it back to the planning commission I think we should get opinion from the city attorney whether we're Empowered to give away public property like this without a consideration Isn't that what an approach for permit allows well You know encroachment permit covers a lot of different things like a sign hanging over But this is basically taking a strip of property that's public property and having it fenced in by the homeowner To increase and obviously increase the value of their property as a gift and it is Christmastime. I know But I think that we should get an opinion I just have a vague idea in my mind that there's some rules about that In the state codes So are you suggesting we continue this item? Yeah that we get an opinion from city attorney as the propriety and not You know, I maybe it's been done in the past, but that doesn't mean it's good That's my I think in this spot. I mean you see where the neighbor's wall is he's talking about being in layman with that and And I think improvements are a good thing to a point this one because it does have curbing gutter it kind of Already the limits. I think the most general public would think that was someone's private property on the other side of the The curbing gutter, but I understand your concern. I I know that the city in my having to build my place Requires that and I don't I didn't ask to put a fence up, but they required me to maintain it as far as anybody knows That's it's my property So, but I understand your concern. I my only concern was when we do these it We have to be careful that we're not giving away City rights and city property to the point that it affects everybody else and on this one. I don't necessarily see that but The house next door that he's wanting to Don't know The house right next door that we're looking at that he wants to match up with that wall, but that house That's the front. That's their front yard, correct He's on a corner where that's technically his side yard, right? So he has a pretty nice front yard with a grass patch and a driveway The eight feet that's included in his property up to that pink line on your site map Seem to be a sufficient side yard, you know, I mean as far as side yards go and what was I'm just curious as to Instead of encroaching into public space What was the determined like the decision-making process of why not just to ask to put the wall right on the property line? You know to just to include their own yard They're eight feet and then leave the public space alone including the plum trees and oak tree and to keep it kind of simple You know, I just this is what they wanted. They pursued this from the beginning So we told them what the rules were and they decided to go with this option. So I think I think the dichotomy of this whole thing the challenging part is that it's this area that We make the homeowner responsible for to maintain it, but then we want to set boundaries that something you know, you understand what I'm saying it's like There they're expanding and I should go back a little bit about the trees anything under six inches in diameter at four feet high I think we Doesn't count. So the one plum tree gonna and then the other ones are It doesn't doesn't matter whether they're bearing food is a plum trees a plum tree, right? so I think that because they're fruit trees they could remove them either way but Having said that I don't I Hate to make a problem worse, but I don't know that this is really give me one those it's gonna Effect the long-term issues that we saw in some of these other items that I brought up But I'll defer to our group and see where we want to go with this Do we have something like to try a motion or do we want to have a motion to continue? I don't have a problem with that. I think all along prospect there We have all kinds of encroachments. I think down in the corner There's a garnet and prospect there's a Fence post rail type fence that encroaches in the right away. I don't not even sure they even got permits But I don't have a problem with it. I'd move approval Okay, is that a motion? That's okay. We have a motion to move approval a second inquisitive minds people Now I you know what I'll do a second for discussion I'll prove a second just for discussion and You know my thought is This because of the curbing gutter when you when you look at especially The toolbox area it's also been in our plan declared as a non sidewalk exempt area so You hate to see unimprovements through around that area to me I think it's going to add to it at least it will be an improvement area. Yes Do they get to claim that as their yard? They basically already do and not only Do they have that as their yard without a fence there? And you're right if they put a fire pit in our hot tub probably a few people would jump in but without the fence but We require them already or ask them to maintain that area so For me, I don't know if I have real heartburn with this one based on the curbing gutter being there It's not going to affect the general public, but I understand Commission also appears the wall on the neighbor's house there We'll all closest to the street is encroaching. Oh, it's absolutely encroaching. Yeah, there's no doubt that one No, they're enjoying that that aspect of it. I agree My only concern is that our land-use attorney wanted to get another legal opinion and I respect his request Well, here's so this is where we're at We have a motion with a second and we can call for the vote and if we don't get Majority, then it doesn't pass and then we can try something else Yeah, we can do a roll call vote commissioner Ruth Commissioner Newman Mr. Christensen Commissioner Wilk no chair Welch. Hi, so the motion fell so I Guess that takes it back to you want to try a motion continuing or does someone have a better idea? Okay, go to the city council and they can decide if they want to perpetuate the gift of public property or not Well, I think I would change my vote if you had an opportunity to get your second legal opinion a legal opinion Didn't give us any horrible information So I just assume we continue this and give staff an opportunity to get more legal advice And then bring this up again at another meeting rather than burdening the city council with another one of our failures But we can leave it up to the applicant whether they want to take a denial and appeal it or yeah, so mr. Rosano you You can come on up. So you understand right now The application was denied so you have a choice We're gonna hopefully give you choice here that you can accept that denial and with that You could go to the city council and appeal our decision and see what they think or We could look at continuing this Our staff get better information and and bring and then you would come back to this body again Sure, let's continue it for now So do we have thank you, sir. Thank you Do we have a motion to a motion to continue the item? We have a motion to appeal I mean a second and a second all those in favor. Hi All right. Thank you very much mr. Reson and you know what? I just a note of that I think it's good. I did a good legal opinion anyway because this is gonna be an ongoing Okay, so with that we have our next item see 4170 gross road Conditional use permit for a new cannabis establishment commissioners chair Welch Tonight you have before you 4170 gross road Afghan is proposing convert 722 square feet of commercial space into a retail cannabis establishment in the regional commercial zoning district Project includes a conditional use permit for the change of use Sign permit for a new sign and a variance request for a second sign on the existing monument sign for the commercial center Existing structure at 4170 gross road is a one-story commercial building with four tenant spaces off of auto plaza drive Approximately 200 feet from 41st Avenue The lot is adjacent to a storage business to the east a residential neighborhood to the south Pete's my heart to the west and an automobile sales business across the street to the north So here's the proposed site plan with the building outline in blue the lot line in red and the proposed commercial space with the hatching there With the addition of the retail cannabis business the four commercial uses occupying the structure 23 on-site parking spaces and there are 24 spaces provided on the site shown here with the stars on May 28th 2019 the proposed retail cannabis establishment the hook was one of two businesses selected as potential retail cannabis license holders Potential retail cannabis license holders have six months or in this case until February 2nd 2020 to obtain a conditional use permit from the Planning Commission For a specific location and appropriate state licenses if the potential retail cannabis License holder is unable to obtain either of those requirements The selection will expire immediately and the retail cannabis license will be made available and publicly noticed under the capitol municipal code retail cannabis businesses in the regional commercial zoning district require a conditional use permit In order for the Planning Commission to approve a conditional use permit application for retail cannabis The project must meet certain standards Related to the distance from schools and churches distance between cannabis establishments Independent access and signs the project was reviewed by staff and it complies with all of those standards So the proposed floor plan with the entrance to the business shown on the left there Multitenant commercial site has two uniform signs for each tenant space That includes one wall sign within a light box suspended from the roof overhang in front of each suite and one tenant nameplate on the monument sign The applicant is proposing one 15 square foot wall sign with the words the hook and one green cross within the existing light box shown here The wall sign is oriented toward the parking lot The proposed sign is 10 feet wide by 1 foot 6 inches high with black lettering and yellow to orange gradient The sign complies with the sign standards for the retail cannabis establishments Because the sign standards for retail cannabis limit businesses to only one wall sign The applicant is requesting approval of a variance to have a second sign Allowing them to have the name of their business added to the tenant nameplates on the existing monument sign shown here To prove a variance the Planning Commission must make our favorite two findings which I will not read to you tonight They're listed here For finding a the special circumstance related to the property is the low visibility of the commercial property Such that one wall sign in the proposed location would not be easily visible from the street or sidewalk due to the orientation of the building on the property The property is one of two properties located on gross road very limited traffic and visibility on the dead end street The building is oriented into the site toward the parking area and does not face gross road The main thoroughfare which is 41st Avenue is as I mentioned earlier 200 feet away from the property In terms of the second finding the grant of variance permit would not constitute the grant of a special privilege Because the property is located Sorry because every other non retail cannabis commercial space in the regional commercial zoning district is allowed to have a nameplate On a monument sign in addition to a wall sign if the property has three or more businesses So it's the exact same situation is here in addition every other tenant in this commercial plaza currently has a nameplate on the existing monument sign So staff recommends playing Commission approve this application subject to the conditions of approval and findings Any things that any questions for staff? I Just have one question chief McManus. It was he had some input on the site location. I didn't see is For this staff report, but they're involved. Yes, so he chief McManus has been very involved with the applicant in terms of the license Licensing and they have to look at the safety of the site and they've been working with the officers and He's very much aware and was he was part of the selection process and where we are today with the Applicant that was selected and he's he's definitely been out to the site And they've been they're putting together their management plan and their safety plan and that will all have to be approved as Part of the condition after the conditional use permit as part of the licensing, right? Thank you. Okay, okay With the applicant like come and speak Hello, I'm Courtney Hughes. I'm with William Fisher architecture. We are Preparing the plans and helping Bryce various and the hook business With their use permit and then we'll also be assisting with the building permit I'm happy to answer any questions I guess I would like to say that Bryce is a business owner of other establishments and I think has proven himself to be a responsible business owner that's taking into consideration the community and wanting to You know provide a cannabis establishment in a very responsible way we've done a lot of projects with him and I Also just it's probably obvious to everybody but as I was looking at it I wanted to be clear and mention that on that monument sign the The logo or the hook with the gradient was not proposed to be on that monument sign the monument sign would match All the other ones there That might be obvious to everyone. I just wanted to make sure That and that visibility of the you know of this is so hidden. You can't see it from 41st Avenue It's hidden behind the Pizza my heart parking lot and there are multiple things kind of making it difficult to see from there, right? Yeah, does anyone have any questions? I'll be curious if you would would want to have a green cross on your monument sign And if the owner of the property would allow that I don't know if that wasn't something we were proposing We're planning to have it match the other placards that are on the sign If that was an option, it might be something that owner. Nope. He shook his head not interested Actually, I don't think it was enough. I think when we wrote that it could only be one cross if I remember, right? So Okay, any other questions for Courtney? Thank you very much Is there anybody in the audience that like to speak on this? Come on up My name is Bryce Berry Essa So I did just want to address and let you know that I've had captain daily out to the site We did a full walk-through. He's also gone through our security plan And I've assessed and gone through with the checklist for what the police department's looking for and made sure that we've met And exceeded all of those requirements without issue So we have been in good dialogue with the police department and particularly captain daily around the issue of security at the location Very good. Thank you, Mr. Thank you Great anybody else who would like to speak on this Okay, see none. I'll bring it back to the planning commission for discussion That sitter is virtually invisible And to me it just makes complete sense to have their sign on the on the monument sign In the other discussion, it's a good spot for the use personally My else Okay, I guess I'm looking for a motion approval And a motion on a second All those in favor hi hi and it passes congratulations welcome If I may I just wanted to bring to your attention That we allowed to site to we and only in the Regional commercial zone it was very difficult for the applicant to find a site due to like different restrictions within Browns Ranch the mall proximity to other uses so in the future when we're Considering this it really pushed them to one location within the regional commercial but it was it was it was hard for them to find the right location and Right up to the last minute where we have that six month requirement of finding a spot so as we're thinking of zoning code updates in the future and if if we want to make it a I think we limited it to the regional commercial because it was our the first to But just knowing that that was very difficult to achieve for the applicant and so We do have our two so we're good, but Just to be aware Very good Okay, so that moves us on to our last item on the gender 111 Capitol Avenue conditional use permit for alcohol cells with a tasting room for a commercial structure located in the central village Thank You chair Welch the applicants submitted a quest for a conditional use permit as you mentioned for alcohol sales of the tasting room in the Central Village Zoning District at 111 Capitola Avenue Located along Capitola Avenue between Capitola seashells and Capitola reef Capitola Avenue contains one and two-story structures with retail uses on the first story 11 Capitola was originally a single-family home Then it became a mixed-use space with commercial in the front and residential in the rear of the traditional mixed-use setup Before becoming entirely commercial When the non-conforming residential use was discontinued sometime prior to 2011 Applicant is requesting a approval of a conditionally use permit for alcohol sales Business will be operated by English ales brewery, which is pretty local located in marina, california The small 775 square foot building is proposed to include 341 square feet of retail space for the sale of to-go beer and beer related items and 158 square feet of space for a tasting room shown here bordered by the dashed red line The remaining space includes a storeroom storage room bathroom and the service bar area Improved hours of operation would be from 11 a.m. To 8 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11 a.m. To 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday according to the Okay According to the operation plan the business would provide three main functions for them Introducing English ales craft beers to the local populace and visitors Developing their wholesale business within Santa Cruz and Santa Clara counties by providing prospective accounts with a facility in which they can taste their products and Establishing a retail outlet for beer and beer related items such as glassware mugs growlers shirts and other things Proposed use will not intensify the parking requirements for the site. So no additional parking was required Chief police terry mcminus has reviewed the application conducted site visit and made findings that support the approval of the type 23 alcohol license at 111 capital Avenue He also provided a letter of necessity and convenience for the project Which is required by the ABC as you're very familiar with at this point for a location in a high crime area Or a census tract with the Ober concentration of alcohol outlets so How did we arrive at this proposed arrangement? As you all know businesses serving alcohol in the central village district require conditional use permit However, alcohol tasting rooms are not defined in the zoning ordinance. So staff in order to arrive at the setup I had to review similar uses within the zone we also looked at the new zoning code and Try to figure out a way to treat this this proposed use There we knew that there was at least one other tasting room our Mita that's existing at 103 Stockton Avenue And then via some public comment that that you saw the email exchange There was actually another one in the David Ling building at the corner of Stockton Capitola That was actually approved in 1979. I found that out after staff for an out. So I put that in here So there have been two wine tasting rooms in the village Neither of those included a maximum number of seats both were actually designed with just a bar We'll be able to come in stand taste wine mingle and then leave There I've also been multiple takeout establishments that were approved with alcohol sales as well and those under the code are restricted to the six seats or less and then the new zoning code actually limits the consumption area of takeout restaurants to actually under 160 square feet so we took all those things and Put them together to help the applicant Design what you see before you tonight. So they have limited the area open to customers for alcohol consumption to a less than 160 square feet shown where six seats would be located in the inside the Tasting area and all that was basically to make sure that the use wasn't going to get intensified and have more parking required So staff recommends the planning commission consider What we put together in the staff report and the proposed set up with the alcohol sales and tasting room Plenty commission may not agree with this interpretation and so we put together several options for you You could approve that approve it obviously You could also deny the application due to the use not being specifically listed under the land as a land use within the CV zoning district At that point tasting rooms could be then further analyzed during future zoning code updates So at this point we just I'll hand it back to you I guess and you can either approve it deny it or discuss it and take some other route I'm gonna chime in real quick typically. We like to attach a strong recommendation or recommendation to An applicant with this we did you know as Matt went over we looked into the history of other tasting rooms typically For a land use permit. It's great to have a defined use and to have conditions tied to it for a conditional use permit so we also understand that with LCP updates it takes a lot of time to get the zoning code updated and I'm Applicable within the this area. So looking at that we went with what we've seen happen in the past But didn't want to give a very strong recommendation on this one since it was based on previous interpretations. Thank you Okay. Thank you any questions for staff. No I'm not sure I can formulate this question But I I'm wondering what impact this has on some other sites in the Village that such as 401 capital So taking this action if you were to support the tasting room other applicants could come in and Have to go sales for retail for alcohol and it could be This would be in this CV across the street is still the neighborhood commercial zone So a little bit different in that they they can already do To go like a sell a six pack there But it tastes you would be start allowing another tasting room within capitol if you were to tell us that you'd like staff to Clarify the definition come back within the zoning code Or because typically what you don't have listed in the code is expressly prohibited within a code. So this is Right now if we could take the stance that it's not it it hasn't been defined with that the code So therefore it's prohibited, but because it's they've been approved Under this Interpretation in the past we brought it forward. So how do you determine the parking requirements for the use that's not? Specifically provided so because this has been interpreted as retail sales with tasting it has no parking associated with retail sales There's the same parking. It's 240 One space for 240 square feet of area So it doesn't intensify it because it's retail sales. So they don't have any tables in there So they have to end a bar Takeout restaurants with six seats or less and three tables are also 240 square feet for parking space So that's the only part that's kind of puzzling me a little bit as we're taking the use and applying the retail We don't have anything specific in the code. We're applying the retail rules to it, but yet It's not really because we're allowing tables I think we there should be a clear line drawn on this one the restaurants were just to give the example of the six seats This is not a restaurant. They will not be serving food. So that really shouldn't be part of this evaluation. It's a retail sales With tasting different than restaurant no food on site. So In that aspect, it really doesn't fit under our code under the typical restaurant to go restaurant with a maximum of six seats So if we approve this would that give the armito winery Precedent to put in tables and chairs in their tasting room They're not limited right now. They could put in tables and chairs There's no condition on their permit regarding tables and chairs. So we've looked back at their permit Yeah, there was There was a deli next door that was limited to six chairs, but not yes I don't have a problem with this application. I just don't want to create any kind of Similar applications as a result of I mean, I'm not sure how we carve this one out So obviously we need to develop some guidelines for tasting rooms So we we just approved one in the mercantile. It's a coffee beer, but they serve food is This is a similar but different because of the lack of food. So it's kind of a I'm not sure why I'm not sure what the concern is frankly We're setting precedent for something that would be too many more tasting rooms in the village and not enough shops or something Or what's the concern? I Which is the I don't know which one that is The white one right across the street Okay, but that's a different zone because that's the neighborhood commercial not the central village but it it doesn't really They could do they could come in with a similar application. It would be a modification to their CUP To serve to have retail sales with a tasting room they they could come in Yeah, because he's conflicted the Becomes a parking so yeah, so they they are the only differences in fact they call themselves the capital of tap room That's her The 401 property so but they don't serve alcohol at this point There's kombucha. So it's a little bit different, but I understand the The process would be nice to have a little more good. I I see this as a trend and so it'd be nice probably to have this Looked at what if we have any more questions for staff. I'll ask the applicant to come up My name is Karen Blackwell Harrison. I'm actually the daughter of the applicant My parents are out of town right now. So I get to be here with you But I'm a member of the family business in Marina. We are English Ells brewery. We're family run We have been there for 20 years now And we have a nice little pub locals place and we distribute and wholesale our beers also and And We don't do things really quickly so it took us 20 years to decide we like to open another little tap room And and we thought Capitola would be a great little spot for that So it's just basically a small place as you saw It's just a place to get people to be able to taste our beers particularly in this area We we have a couple of counts over here, but not very many So it gives us an opportunity to maybe open up our customer base a little bit and hopefully last another 20 years and Gives us a chance to we do have some of our regular customers live over here So they're excited to be able to have our beers this split side to and be able to get some product to go So basically it'd be a little little tasting room like we do at the pub. We have little four ounce tasters It's not a bar. We've never done the bar thing We won't be any food and then we'll have retail also So some of the English Ells swag that we like to sell and then some other little English trinkets and such So I'm happy to answer any questions. I have my parents on speakerphone. I've muted them so they don't talk the whole time But in case there's something I don't know I'm gonna unmute my mom I'm just wondering if I'm sitting at those tables What are the quantities of beer I can buy can I can I buy beer to go and then sit at that table and drink it? No, you can't you can't buy to go beer and sit there same as our pub you have we have product to go Six packs anything bottled like that or or at our pub in Marina if you feel a growler That's not for on south on site consumption on site consumption would only be what's on the taps there Our tasters are four ounces and then the pints are 16 ounce So a pint's a pretty good size. Yeah, it's it. It's a US pint So if I came in there with three of my friends and sat there and started ordering pints of beer What's to stop? Your business from allowing that to happen to stop you from having too many of them well I want to come in there and have pints of beer with my friends to me that turns it into a bar, okay? I think space wise people are not gonna stay there all that long I think it's gonna be more like a wine tasting room where you have a couple tastes and then you move on to the next place I feel it's more that type of atmosphere Also, we've done this for so long. We've been in the bar business a very long time We wouldn't allow you to drink too many beers The concern I have with that is the physical layout because you have the tasting room at the bar And then over on the frontage or the front of the building you've got this the chairs right in the tables Imagine you're only gonna have one employee working at any one time. Yeah, I would assume so I think it's gonna be my dad first of all, okay, but if that person is behind the bar there in the tasting room There's no visibility of those tables from that particular Workspace from if you're in there from where you are you can see around the corner there. It's actually not all that big Also our job when we I've been bartending for a lot of years Part of my job is to monitor everything else. So even at our place in Marina where it's larger I don't just stay behind the bar. I'm out monitoring cleaning picking up things and interacting with customers So it would be monitored and it's not a very big space So it's easy enough to move from there and come round into the real-tale space Plus we would want to talk with those folks also I'm just saying if somebody's busy behind the bar serving people that are tasting and you've got a group Sitting over at the table and maybe some of their friends come in or just standing up. I don't see how you control that I Understand that I I honestly don't think that's an issue because we already control that type of thing in the bar that we have now We just don't we don't allow people to just stay there and drink for a really long period of time We monitor that and this is such a small place that I think that'll be easily monitored honestly Okay, thank you. Thank you The other questions for Karen I Just had a quick look at your your place in Marina. Is it also a tasting room or is it it's actually a pub? It's it's our brewery So it's where we make the beer and then we have a tasting room on site and a pub So it began as the the brewery we started because we wanted to produce beer And then we added the the tasting room and pub on site. We just we're not fancy food We're a little pub grub type of place great local following So we kind of hoping to do the same thing over here great Thank you. Any other questions? Thanks Karen. Thank you Do we have anybody else that would like to speak? My name is Jill Campbell, and I'm the former CEO of Laguna Seca Raceway in Mono, California English Ales has been a client of ours for the past 18 years And I just want to say that I have never worked with a more responsible organization there To your concerns sir about people sitting around drinking a lot of beer There's no different than a wine tasting room where they're tasting Beer, I think that you'll find that these people have a license to protect as well and so their responsibility is enormous and I would strongly recommend Anyone to have them as a tenant or as a business in a local area. Thank you you Good evening Karen Hannah So I'm here Supporting this project Kind of on behalf of all the businesses on Capitol Avenue were extremely excited to see this type of business there It should bring if nothing else more light in the evening because it's on a very dark part of the street and Several of the businesses there close fairly early And so the the other people are really excited to have something that's going to stay open later It's going to be a little bit more lively those of us who do stay open late find that People are walking around and they're complaining that nothing's open and Having a place that is established as being open. I think is actually going to be a real asset I know maybe year-round. They might not stay open till late I I don't know but I know that during the busy times it'll be really nice to have them there I've met the gentleman her dad and he just I just can't even see how you'd be concerned that he's gonna have a place that's rowdy or difficult or in any way a problem because he just couldn't be nicer and You know nice middle-aged man that You know it's gonna have a nice business there and the fact that they've been in business for so long down in Marina I think speaks volumes. So Yeah, we're excited about it and we hope you approve it. Thanks Voted in the BIA so I can't really say that we've taken a stand because they they didn't really come to us for any kind of Approval we just you know and Rodney here as well and we just spend a lot of time talking to other people on the street especially about the issue of Businesses being open later light in that part of the That particular side of the street on that block which has no street lights and only pretty much depends on the businesses and the palm tree lights For any kind of illumination Everybody just seems to be very positive the gentleman has made an effort to meet the neighbors and They're very positive about it. I'm concerned about increased parking issues or oh, no No Not at all. I mean people You know the reality of the small shops is people come and they go from one to the other to the other together Maybe they eat and then they leave it's you know The people who are living down there have permits and such They're the ones that you know park in there They may be there the car may be sitting in front of your business all the whole weekend Or a whole week even you know, so yeah, no, I don't think this this type this Especially because it was a retail shop before So it may be a more pop slightly more popular retail shop But that really isn't taken into consideration in the ordinances. It's just retail to retail So no, I don't nobody's expressed that concern Thank you to to us. Thank you. Thanks card Rodney Wurzak with capital a candy company. We're super excited to have a place That's gonna be open past 6 p.m. In all honesty on Capitol Avenue It's gonna create some nighttime traffic for Capitol Avenue a lot of times people just come around right there at Stockton and go straight down to the Esplanade and we lose all that traffic So having somebody open their past 6 p.m. It's gonna be awesome And I think it's gonna encourage a lot of people to shop more down our street and then on your view of The tasting room I went in there for the first time to see what they're working with it's very small I mean very small. They have a very small space to work with Complete view right there through that little doorway that you see that I could see where you're kind of concerned with And I don't see you and your buddies wanting to sit in there For more than a few tastes. I have a feeling you'll be taking six packs out where they're growlers those days are behind me Yeah, it's honestly just this space It really is a tasting room and they're really pushing those growlers and those six packs to take home So I we're really excited about and I've talked to Pretty much everybody along that side, and I haven't heard a single person concerned about parking or anything for that matter and I've met Pete the Father as well Great guy very family-oriented will fit in the village awesome Great thing. Thanks Rodney. Thank you. Okay. I think that's everybody in our audience. Oh, we have one Would you like to speak to are you? Okay All right, I'll bring it back to the planning commission for discussion I'm gonna I think everything is good about this and I think there is a distinction, but I'm gonna abstain Just because of the I mentioned before okay, I'll leave approval Okay, so we have motion for approval In a second all those in favor. Oh, yeah, we can do it. Yeah, we can get your abstention Commissioner Ruth. Hi Commissioner Welch. Hi. Excuse me chair Welch. That's right. Hi, Mr. Christensen. Hi, Commissioner Wilk. Hi, and Commissioner Newman's abstain Very good. You passed. Welcome to Capitola So with that I pretty much Sin of our night so directors report. Oh, you're gonna talk about the yeah, I have a I've got a few things for you So First I'll go over the where we're headed with the zoning code update We're gonna be hitting it pretty hard beginning of January There is a few changes to state code that really impact our accessory dwelling unit ordinance So in January, you'll be hearing an update to ad use Temporary signs. We're also there's something in the That would be open to lawsuits So we're gonna be making a change to our temporary signs and also the regional commercial zoning district We had the modifications in there Regarding density that kind of got stuck with all the coastal updates and I want to bring those forth before the mall application comes back so there was Removing the density limits that were we Removed from the general plan and this would be the follow-up to remove them from the Zoning code as well because that would So we'll go over those in January following January The City Council had sent us back to the Coastal Commission to get some questions answered We are actually meeting with Coastal Commission tomorrow. They've had our questions for about working them over for two to three months We've got all their comments. We work through Those their comments with our city attorneys will meet tomorrow But we plan to go back to the City Council in February to talk about the coastal overlay zone, which is quite substantial the changes there Parking in the central village. This is something you've had to grapple with quite often and we'll be bringing that to City Council to discuss Monarch Cove Inn is an outstanding item for the Council to discuss as well as the Village Hotel in height So those will be discussed in February and March As we discussed them with City Council, I'll be bringing to you them to you the following meetings to give you update on the Direction so that you're getting this in pieces of what the updates are from the City Council And then we're going to move forward with adoption hearings in April and May for Planning Commission Probably a special meeting to hear this is one item and really get to go through any questions You have I plan to first bring have it as a Give you a broad overview and then at the following meeting ask for a motion so we can really work through the items And then City Council May or June and then submitting the LCP so a year behind schedule Where we were hoping to be but we had some hiccups in the road and we wanted to make sure that there was no overreach So and I think we're at a much better point and we're looking forward to our meeting with the Coastal Commission tomorrow So other items I wanted to bring up is that the coast that City Council past the first reading of a sidewalk vending ordinance and This will impact all of Capitola. This is something that came down from the governor's office and that became applicable in 2019 and We just with our LCP update and everything that was going on with zoning code. We didn't have We had initial discussions on this with City Council in the summer and then with the mall application coming in We finally have gotten around to the first reading and it's a pretty restrictive ordinance in terms of trying to protect health and safety of our residents and make sure We've got setbacks. You're allowed to protect the experience from our parks and the enjoyment of nature, so there are larger setbacks from our beach and Esplanade Park Also, our pathways are going to be protected. So up on Grand Avenue pathway The pathway above the railroad on prospect So I'll bring you more details of that once it's adopted But really try to protect the city and make sure that the natural enjoyment can continue without having vendors all over the city and there's lots of new Regulations there the other update is this past week 401 Capitola Avenue across the street was doing work outside of their permit They were installing a patio that was much larger than was approved by the Planning Commission So we've red tagged the building. There was also work being done inside that was outside of the permit Prior to moving forward, they're going to have to update get an updated building plan They're going to have to remove the patio that was required to be smaller And any improvements that are on the exterior that were not approved by the Planning Commission So just wanted to let you know we've got that situation under control the applicant is happily working with us but was not following the process so We've been working closely with her and I think you're going to be seeing the pavers removed in the Shortly and then the posts so see there are two new parking spaces in front of their Place there weren't they going to be were they going to be painted green? I believe Green or yellow, okay. Yeah, there are no parking meters, but yet yet at least I Thought they were gonna be 24 minute. I thought they were gonna be yellow. Yeah, I thought that's what we recommended But it seemed like public works said Different I can't I don't recall now. Yeah, it is different from what it was It's I think our recommendation was it to be 24 I'll send you an email and let you know what that is Cuz it so on the zone can I ask a question about the zoning court? Would this be appropriate time to do something simple with regard to tasting rooms in the CV zoning? Possibly I think so We're trying not to continue to introduce more to the zoning code because we really want to get There is a need for this one ambiguity or gap in the code and it'll be very simple just to confine that the CV district true Just guidelines that aren't embedded in the code. Yeah Or this CV and maybe the regional commercial or CC Very good any questions for staff I've heard that Swenson has pulled the plug on doing anything with a hotel down there. Is there any truth to that? There is no truth to that. Okay. Okay, and then what's the what's the status of the old orchard supply building in the new? What is it called home supply? outdoor supply hardware so Previous employees of orchard supply have created a spin-off business and it's outdoor supply hardware We've been working diligently with them to get them open as soon as possible And it doesn't need any permits other than building permits because everything will fit in the original location and So we're hoping any time now the They've been working away over there and hoping for and they were hoping to open before the holiday The biggest issue with orchard supply over the years was the sidewalk in front They're aware of that I shared the original or that conditionally sperm about the stamped concrete areas and everything so they've been made aware of what they're I just so areas are out there. Okay. We've got the same problem at Whole Foods. That's a The sidewalk that's when we would see Ron Graves come talk to us Exactly Any other questions or any commissioner comments? Those were good things. Well, I guess we're adjourned until January 16th Everyone have a great Christmas and New Year. Yeah Thanks