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The comments received at the November 18, 2015 Planning Commission meeting were generally <br /> supportive. There were some objections noted regarding the building height. The Planning Commission <br /> focused their review of the project on removal of the parking and commensurate compensation, the <br /> compatibility of residential uses in the Downtown area, and the building height. The Planning <br /> Commission voted unanimously to approve the project, including a Condition of Approval for carriage <br /> style garage doors and payment of in-lieu fees for the loss of on-street parking (for up to three spaces), <br /> but did not approve payment of in-lieu fees for off-street parking. <br /> Staff noted the competing policies in play in relation to the project and the City's General and Specific <br /> Plans. The project does provide good urban design, second story residential uses, and the new <br /> commercial uses in the proposed plaza to add to the vitality of the Downtown area. Staff recommends <br /> the developer pay the in-lieu fees. <br /> Mayor Thorne stated that he wanted all potential owners of the project to be aware of the Downtown <br /> Vitality Zone and to ensure that the construction on the project is noise attenuated, there are train <br /> tracks, and there is a restaurant use close by. He inquired as to whether a Condition of Approval could <br /> be included for noise attenuation. Staff responded that they will require the deed of sale for all lots <br /> include disclosure statements regarding proposed Condition 22. <br /> In response to an inquiry from Councilmember Narum, staff noted that if the applicant was willing to <br /> upgrade the streetscaping to make it more uniform with the adjacent areas, City staff would work with <br /> the applicant to ensure design details are compliant as it is a public right-of-way. Staff stated that it did <br /> not want to tie the upgrade of the streetscape to the permitting process, but rather to the Certificate of <br /> Occupancy. Staff would prefer to leave flexibility for this aspect of the project and have it approved <br /> administratively through staff. <br /> Councilmember Pentin stated that he does not want to have the streetscape project delayed due to the <br /> Specific Plan update. <br /> Councilmember Narum inquired as to the process required to convert certain areas of the project, such <br /> as the small house, back to residential use if necessary. Staff noted a Planned Use Development <br /> modification would be required to allow for residential uses in that area and they would try to do it as a <br /> minor modification, noting the significant investment to revert the project back to residential. <br /> Councilmember Brown inquired as to whether there is a potential to allow a higher fence for three (3) of <br /> the structures that have only a three (3) foot setbacks, in order to preserve privacy. Staff noted that the <br /> developer designed the windows to be sensitive to privacy concern, and although staff generally <br /> discourages higher fences, they would support it in this case as it would be a "benign" structure. Staff <br /> further noted that the intent to limit building height is not to limit all structures in this area to two (2) <br /> stories, but rather, to recognize the design difficulties in meeting regulations with a three (3) story <br /> structure in this area. <br /> The Mayor opened the public hearing. <br /> Bryan Bowers, applicant, stated that the proposed mixed-use project was designed to bring added <br /> vitality to the Downtown area and noted the design features of the commercial retail plaza. He affirmed <br /> that the infill project meets General Plan and Downtown Specific Plan objectives and that their proposal <br /> has 50 policy recommendations. He noted that the proposed project was designed to minimize height, <br /> preserve the existing structure, maximize the on-site parking, and maximize the outdoor plaza. The <br /> project's height is well under the 40-foot maximum for the CC District. He stated that parking could be <br /> saved if the residences were pushed out to the street; however, they wanted to be sensitive to those <br /> impacts. They do not want to be punished with additional in-lieu fees due to their conscientiousness <br /> with the project's design. He requested that the project be included in the CC zoning, that they be <br /> City Council Minutes Page 5 of 15 December 15, 2015 <br />