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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Min 2017-04-05 Cathedral City CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING MINUTES CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS 68-700 AVENIDA LALO GUERRERO CATHEDRAL CITY, CA 92234 Wednesday, April 5, 2017 SPECIAL MEETING 5:00 PM SPECIAL JOINT MEETING CITY COUNCIL AND PLANNING COMMISSION • CALL TO ORDER Planning Commission Chairman John Rivera called the Joint Special Meeting of the City Council and Planning Commission of April 5, 2017 to order at 5:00 p.m. • PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Pledge of Allegiance led by Chairman John Rivera • INVOCATION (MOMENT OF REFLECTION) Council Member Mark Carnevale offered the Invocation • ROLL CALL Present: Mayor Stan Henry Council Member Shelley Kaplan Council Member Mark Carnevale Council Member John Aguilar Planning Commission Chairman John Rivera Planning Commissioner John Holt Planning Commissioner Sergio Espericueta Planning Commissioner Barry Jaquess Planning Commissioner Michael Hagerdorn Planning Commissioner Stan Barnes Absent: Mayor Pro Tem Greg Pettis Planning Commission Vice-Chairman Anna Rodriguez Motion by Council Member Kaplan, Seconded by Council Member Aguilar, to excuse-the absence of Mayor Pro Tem Greg Pettis. Motion carried by the following vote: 10-Councilmembers Kaplan, Carnevale and Aguilar, Mayor Stan Henry, Planning Commissioners Barnes, Hagerdorn, Jaquess and Espericueta, Planning Commission Chairman Rivera • STATEMENT OF PARTICIPATION BY DEPUTY CITY CLERK 1. PUBLIC COMMENT Cathedral City Pagel Printed on 712012017 City Council Special Meeting SPECIAL MEETING April 5,2017 Denise Cross, Cathedral City, was called to speak. Referencd the Adobe Building that is on a piece of property that is for sale, the historical information on the building is not accurate and she is concerned that the significance of the building is not fully described in the survey document. Alan Carvalho, Cathedral City, was called to speak. He supports Denise's comments and urged them to utilize her knowledge. 2. CITY COUNCIL DISCUSSION WITH THE PLANNING COMMISSION Mayor Stan Henry indicated that the purpose of this joint meeting is to discuss how the City is moving forward, share joint information and possibly re-evaluate the way we are doing things. Council Member John Aguilar, feels that the Planning Commission plays an important role for the City. He doesn't want any changes to the structure to impede any upcoming projects for the City. Council Member Kaplan, stated that the Planning Commission has been very busy for a number of months and expressed his appreciation to the members. He feels that they play an important role for the City. He would like to hear the thoughts and ideas of the Commissioners. Council Member Carnevale, stated that he appreciates the Commission and would like to also hear what the Commission has to say and what their thoughts are. Mayor Henry, stated that there will be major development in the downtown area in the coming months. The City hinges on the development of the downtown area all of which will take a lot of work from the Commission. 3. PLANNING COMMISSION DISCUSSION WITH THE CITY COUNCIL Chairman Rivera, stated that the Architectural Review Committee is informal and in some ways can fast track an item making it as easy and painless as possible. He stated that the Commission has been working carefully through the cannabis process. He feels that the applicants are valid and valued applicants and are treated as such. He feels that a strength of the Commission is that they are diverse in their thoughts and the broad discussion brings a lot of value to come to a good resolution for the applicant. Commission Holt, stated that he has enjoyed working on the Architectural Review Committee with Commissioner Jaquess. He feels that diversity works well on the Planning Commission and the Architectural Review Committee. He stated that in the beginning the allowed Cannabis locations was restrictive and now it has gone to approving many locations. He questioned if it is Council's intent to let the market settle things out in the future or are we going to try to control it. He questioned if some of the projects going to the Planning Commission should also go through Architectural Review Committee. He feels that it is a good opportunity to raise some of the standards. He feels that taking a second look at Downtown might be a good idea. Commissioner Hagedorn, expressed his frustration with the review board having more information than the other members on the Commission. He suggested having the entire Planning Commission be the Architectural Reveiw Committee. He discourages having people living outside of the City on the Architectural Review Committee. He feels that having a variety of individuals on the Committee is what makes it work. He is very excited about the development in the City. Commission Jaquess, stated that in general the community is very proud of the Council. The citizen's see them moving in a positive direction. There seems to be a disconnect between the City Council and Planning Commission. The citizen's of the City don't seem to understand that there are applications in queue that were in place prior to the moratorium. He would like the City Council to utilize the Planning Commission as an arm to the City Council. He would like them to be more involved in what the zoning can be, etc. He has enjoyed serving on the Commission and would like to do more. Commissioner Holt stated that perhaps staff could give an overview of their process. Cathedral City Page 2 Printed on 7/20/2017 City Council Special Meeting SPECIAL MEETING April 5,2017 Commission Barnes, stated that he is thankful for the opportunity to serve on the Commission. He feels that staff does an incredible job. He would advocate that there be a separate Architectural Review Committee. He feels that downtown development is very exciting news. He shared his fiscal thoughts about the cannabis industry in the City and expressed his concern that we may be counting on the dollars from the cannabis industry and questioned if there is a contingency on what the City will do if the cannabis funding goes away. He stated that the Commission feels helpless at times with what they would like to see happen with a project. They have felt that they have to pass an item and struggle with what they can and can't ask for. Commissioner Espericueta, questioned if the City decides to have a seperate Architectural Review Committee will they take away the restrictions of living in the City and how will they advertise. City Manager McClendon, responded that the preference would be that the members be a resident of Cathedral City. Commissioner Barnes, stated that he would like to see things made easier for developers not harder. He questioned if staff uses facilitators to work with large developers or have at least one point of contact. Council Member Carnevale, stated that Council is available for anyone to talk to. He stated if there is a disconnect between the Council and the Planning Commission lets fix it and get reconnected. He trusts the decisions that the Commission makes. Commissioner Rivera, stated that it is challenging because they can't deny a project simply because they have different beliefs. They have had small success with the cannabis industry and feels that they have pushed hard to raise the bar of design to be in line with the other businesses in town so they don't have the bunker-like look. Commissioner Hagedorn, feels that Cathedral City is doing something right. Council Member Kaplan,feels that the cannabis industry is a small percentage of the business in town yet has the possibility of a large revenue component. Mayor Henry thanked the Commission and expressed his appreciation. There has been discussions on what downtown will look like, mixed-use to bring the people downtown. There may be new opportunities on the south side that needs to be looked at. ADJOURN Planning Commission Chairman John Rivera adjourned the Special Joint Meeting of the City Council and Planning Commisison of April 5, 2017 at 6:08 p.m. STANLEY E. HENRY, Mayor ATTEST. GARY F. HOWELL, Cit Clerk Cathedral City Page 3 Printed on 712012017