May 13, 2009 Minutes

GREATER GOLDEN HILL PLANNING COMMITTEE MINUTES:

May 13, 2009

Meeting held at Balboa Park Golf Course Clubhouse – Golf Course Drive

Call to order: Chris Blatt, chair, was absent. David Skillman called the meeting to order at 6:40 pm. Agenda had been posted in accordance with Brown Act.

Members present: Ruchell Alvarez, Richard Baldwin, Laurie Burgett, Maureen Burke, Carole Caffey (arrived late), Dave Caldwell, Scott Glazebrook, Anita Margolis, Frederick Ruffell, David Skillman, Marie Skillman, Angela Vasconcellos. Members absent: Chris Blatt, Richard Santini

Treasurer’s Report: no report

Community Police Officer: Officer John Graham reported that they have had a series of car burglaries. Deputy City Attorney Danielle Stroud spoke, requesting help from the community reporting problems or problem locations. If you see a crime in action, call 911. For non-emergency calls, use 619-531-2000. If you have less urgent concerns, Danielle’s number is 619-533-5500 or (cell) 619-980-0732. Art (from the police graffiti unit) said to use the 619-531-2000 number if you see graffiti or tagging in process. Immediate action may not be feasible, but be ready to give details or if you can read what it says, when the telephone report unit talks to you. Take photos if you feel comfortable and safe doing so. Caffey wanted to know who to call if you have problems getting a situation resolved. Margolis had a question about prostitution, specifically on El Cajon Boulevard. Our contact is David Cirillo 619-531-2000. Art stated that gangs have gotten involved in this activity, and are rotating workers from one area of the country to another, thus avoiding penalties associated with multiple arrests. He noted that the gang unit has had some recent success in getting “gang bangers” into jail. Recently arrests include crimes relating to identity theft. Officer Graham reminded us that staffing is an issue; Priority 1 calls are handled in order. Art told us that there are 300 tagging crews in the city, with only 6 officers assigned to this enforcement. Those 6 officers also have gang responsibilities. Caldwell suggested reporting license numbers of cars you note in suspicious activities. All of the officers stressed to not be afraid to call in if you see something suspicious.

City Council District 3: Anthony Bernal. City has declared Stage 2 Water Emergency effective June 1. No allocations will be required, but even numbered properties are to water on T-Th-Sa, even numbered properties M-W-Su, multi-unit properties M-W-F, all between 6 pm and 10 am. Ornamental fountains (those that shoot up, not those that trickle) must be turned off. Distributed copies of District 3 newsletter with details. Enforcement will be complaint-driven, 10 employees will be handling: 1^st complaint, a letter is sent. 2^nd complaint, a field officer goes out. There was discussion about neighbor-to-neighbor disputes. Councilman Gloria is working on pedestrian safety issues in Juniper Dip area.

53^rd Congressional District - Katherine Fortner: Distributed copies of May Davis Dispatch. House passed bill regarding credit card companies, who will be required to give 45-day notification of change of rates, etc. Enforcement methods are included in this legislation.

City Council District 8 - Diana Jurado, Mayor; 76^th Assembly District: no reports

City Planner - Bernie Turgeon: will check on ways that community can comment on Bicycle Master Plan, since the public meeting about that is slated at same time as our June meeting.

Approval of Minutes: April minutes were approved (motion, Burgett; second Margolis; all in favor Caffey, Vasconcellos abstained as they were not at the meeting)

Public Comment.

Joyce Summer, CCDC: Ruocco Park, 3 acres by old police station, is in process. Public meetings regarding Civic Center are scheduled throughout the city; more studies may be needed. Deck is in place on Harbor Drive Bridge. See progress at ccdc.com

Jerry Ray: the wrong palm trees were taken out by her home a few years ago, and 6 trees planted in their place. Now roots of these trees are uplifting her sidewalk, she is looking for help to take care of a dangerous situation.

James: lives near 33^rd and Ash. Traffic enforcement and parking tickets are out of control in this area, due to neighbor-driven complaints. He has paid $3,700 in tickets.

INFORMATION ITEMS:

Chairs Report/Mail. No report.

Clean, Green and Safe (MAD) Oversight Committee. Caffey reported that Oversight Committee is debating letter-of-the-law on how funds can be used. Current issues: (1) Sidewalk repairs: debating who is responsible for maintaining. (2) Trail around Golf Course Drive – is it part of Balboa Park. (3) Repair of fountain at Golden Hill Park. See website www.ghcgs.org for more information, or attend meeting on 1^st Monday of month, 6:30 pm, Ethos Church. Ruffell asked about carryover funds from one year to the next – should they be returned to taxpayers? City currently says no. D. Skillman said that a MAD budget report would be forthcoming.

ACTION ITEMS:

Community Plan Update Advisory Committee (CPUAC) Bernie Turgeon:

M. Skillman moved, Caffey seconded, that the following 8 members of GGHPC be elected to serve on CPUAC: Caldwel, Burke, Galzebrook, Caffey, D. Skillman, M. Skillman, Burgett, Alvarez. Passed unanimously.

Margolis asked about alternates, in case one of these members is unable to attend a meeting. Burke moved, Margolis seconded, that any GGHPC member in good standing be able to serve as an alternate. Passed unanimously.

7 public members will be selected by the City to serve on the CPUAC. 7 applications have been received. City is taking names of other interested persons and will make their selection by the end of May. After some discussion, the consensus of GGHPC was that the 7 selected should be community members, with similar residence qualifications as members GGHPC.

D. Skillman moved, Caffey seconded, that a Subcommittee be formed to work on the update to the Community Plan for Greater Golden Hill. (Those elected earlier would serve on this Subcommittee.) This motion was needed to properly form the CPUAC Subcommittee. Margolis asked Turgeon to confirm that we were following the formation rules. Passed unanimously.

A question came from the audience about the time commitment for CPUAC Subcommittee. Turgeon indicated that there would be 6 monthly meetings during the rest of 2009, followed by churettes in January. Committee work between meetings is to be anticipated. The following public members interested in being on the CPUAC Subcommittee were present and introduced themselves: Beau Lynard, a resident and environmentalist; Bary Varel, a local architect intending to redevelop property at 30^th & Grape; Connie McDonough, a resident who worked on the current PDO.

McDonough asked Turgeon to explain the scope of the CPUAC. He said that the current Community Plan and PDO as basis to create a new Community Plan.

There was discussion about the City’s selection of the 7 public members for the CPUAC Subcommittee. Turgeon said that other planning groups had listed categories that they felt should be represented, which the City used as guidelines. Baldwin moved, Burke seconded, that an ad hoc committee meet to choose categories for the public members of the CPUAC Subcommittee. Passed unanimously.

Baldwin moved, Ruffell seconded, that the deadline for public members to apply for the CPUAC Subcommittee be May 22, 2009. Margolis offered an amendment to the motion, adding that the ad hoc committee would meet following the Land Use Committee meeting on May 27, 2009, and that the ad hoc committee’s recommendations would be presented as an action item at the full GGHPC meeting on June 10, 2009. Passed unanimously.

Additional public applications received by the City by the May 22 deadline will be forwarded to Burgett, who will interview the applicants and forward that information to all GGHPC members.

Land Use. Minutes of Land Use Subcommittee meeting 4/29/09 had been emailed to all GGHPC members. Briefly: Item #1, relates the to Verizon tower discussed at the April meeting. Caldwell stated that neighboring residents are the only ones who can make a valid complaint if the cooling unit raises noise above 45 db. Regarding the roof unit, screening the antenna with horizontal bands of wood mimicking those on other parts of the building is recommended. The project gained support by the fact that Verizon was willing to work with the subcommittee on a solution to questions raised earlier. Item #2, a residence at 21^st & B, supported façade improvements. The Subcommittee minutes, in full, are included at the end of the minutes.

Burke moved, Glazebrook seconded, that recommendations be approved for the following projects:

Item #1 Project Name: Verizon Gala #167885, 30th and Ivy Streets – add wireless facility to existing 2 story mixed use bldg on NoWest corner of intersection.

Item #2 Project Name: Rodriguez Residence, Project # unknown, 2108 B Street – add stucco and galvanized panels to bldg exterior and remove cedar siding.

Passed unanimously (10 in favor)

SUBCOMMITEE REPORTS.

Membership. Parks. Transportation. Code Compliance. Balboa Park Committee.

Airport Noise Advisory. Historic. No reports.

Meeting adjourned at 8:35 pm.

Marie Skillman, Secretary.

Greater Golden Hill Planning Committee

Land-use Subcommittee Minutes

April 29 2009

Committee Members present: Frederick Ruffell, David Caldwell, Richard Baldwin, Scott Glazebrook

Project Applicants present: Steven Chatfield (Item #1), James Darroch (Item #2)

Meeting called to order at 6:38 PM by David Caldwell

Item #1

Project Name: Verizon Gala

Project Address: 30th and Ivy Streets

City of San Diego Project Number: 167885

Project Description: Addition of wireless facility to existing two-story mixed-use building on Northwest corner of 30th and Ivy Streets intersection.

Permit: Golden Hill Development Permit, Process 3

Status: Action Item (Community Response Form)

Motion: The Greater Golden Hill Planning Committee recommends approval for the proposed project with the following revisions to the proposed design:

• Replace planned white/translucent polycarbonate rooftop structure used to conceal the wireless antennas with appropriate radio frequency transparent material replicating rhythm, color, and general appearance of existing redwood slat balcony railing used elsewhere on the existing building, specifically balconies seen on South elevation, to maintain greater design consistency throughout the project.

• Request building owner replace or conceal existing white/translucent polycarbonate “lantern” roof-access structure with redwood slat structure matching existing building balconies to create greater design consistency throughout project.

Vote: For: 4 Against: 0 Abstain: 0 Motion Passes

Presentation: Applicant presented proposed wireless facility as required to enhance wireless coverage in South Park, indicated that this building’s roof provided good sightlines for antennae coverage, that existing building has an industrial aesthetic that lends itself to the concealed addition of wireless facilities, that matching the existing “lantern” structure is proposed to match existing building rooftop elements for design unity, and that wireless facility cooling equipment will be concealed behind building in CMU enclosure to mitigate sound at the shared property line with adjacent residential property.

Discussion: Private Residential Use Areas: Concern that requirements for Private Exterior Residential

Use Areas may not have been taken into account, that building was designed minimally meeting Greater Golden Hill Planned District Ordinance requirements and that enclosing a portion of the existing exterior space at the ground level might eliminate some of the required area. It was determined that is probably not an issue. Mounting the cooling equipment on building roof to avoid reduction of private exterior space is not feasible, as roof was not designed for such equipment loads.

Sound/Noise Mitigation: Concern that noise from redundant equipment cooling equipment would exceed maximum permitted at property line thus disturbing neighboring properties; plus a concern that equipment noise would disturb residents of the project building. It was noted that an appropriate sound study was approved by City Staff satisfying noise mitigation needs for adjacent properties by building the proposed CMU equipment enclosure, and that on-site residents may have to live with additional noise from wireless facilities equipment but that is an issue between building owner and their tenants. Mounting the cooling equipment on building roof to reduce potential noise at grade is not feasible, as roof was not designed for such equipment loads.

Radio Frequency Exposure: Discussion about radio power employed and at what frequencies. Contemporary digital signals are significantly less powerful than previous analog signals and are deemed safe at typical distances of exposure. The need for more wireless facility sights is to accommodate the increasing demand in premium digital content on wireless devices.

Community Response / Aesthetics: Community members, as well as members of the Greater Golden Hill Planning Committee, have expressed significant dislike for existing roof-top structure that is being proposed to be replicated to conceal the radio antennas, and have requested that either removal or retrofitting of the structure be a requirement of approval for this project.

Item #2

Project Name: Rodriguez Residence

Project Address: 2108 B Street

City of San Diego Project Number: unknown

Project Description: Remove existing deteriorated cedar shingle and exterior plaster finish, replace with new exterior plaster and zincalum metal panel finish.

Permit: Building Permit, Process 1

Status: Action Item (Letter)

Motion: The Greater Golden Hill Planning Committee supports changes to the existing building’s façade as presented in the drawings dated April 13 2009.

Vote: For: 4 Against: 0 Abstain: 0 Motion Passes

Presentation: Applicant presented proposed exterior finishes repair and upgrade to existing approximately 2,000 square foot single-family residence. Existing materials are in poor condition, and existing building is lacking aesthetic consistency or organization. Proposal is to remove deteriorated materials and added/inappropriate detail and replace mostly with smooth-finish exterior plaster, plus visually enhance/identify one unique portion of the structure with unique metal panel cladding. Proposed project does not include any additional site development.

Discussion: Existing residence has seen numerous non-contiguous additions and renovations over the years without a holistic vision. Originally built in the 1940’s, it no longer reflects the style of building prevalent in that decade. Proposed changes will maintain the existing form but bring some “order” to its appearance. Metal panel will project minimally from surrounding smooth exterior plaster finish.

Meeting Adjourned at 7:50 PM.

END OF MINUTES