Planning Commission Meeting

MINUTES PLANNING COMMISSION Tuesday, May 24, 2016 4:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. AFTERNOON SESSION ONLY 580 PACIFIC STREET, COUNCIL CHAMBERS MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA Commissioners Present: Reed, Fletcher, Davis, Dawson, Garden, Millich, Widmar Commissioners Absent: None Staff Members Present: Principal Planner Caraker, Housing Property Mgmt Manager Marvin, Recording Secretary Leinen CALL TO ORDER Chair Reed called the meeting to order at 4:00 p.m. CONSENT ITEMS Commissioner Garden made a motion to approve the Consent Items with amendments to the Minutes. Commissioner Dawson seconded the motion. On a motion by Commissioner Garden, seconded by Commissioner Dawson, and carried by the following vote, the Planning Commission approved the CONSENT ITEMS with amendments to the Minutes: AYES: 7 COMMISSIONERS: Reed, Fletcher, Davis, Dawson, Garden, Millich, Widmar NOES: 0 COMMISSIONERS: None ABSENT: 0 COMMISSIONERS: None ABSTAIN: 0 COMMISSIONERS: None RECUSED: 0 COMMISSIONERS: None Approval of Minutes 1. May 10, 2016 ACTION: Approved as amended. Commissioner Dawson requested that the spelling of Nancy Runion be corrected to Nancy Runyon. Other Consent Items 2. Consider Recommending to the City Council that the 2016/17 Neighborhood Improvement Program is Consistent with the General Plan, Area Plans, Specific Plans, Master Plans, Traffic Calming Plans, And Multi-Modal Mobility Plan (Not a project under CEQA Article 20, Section 15378 and under General Rule Article 5, Section 15061) ACTION: Adopted a Resolution recommending to the City Council that the 2016/17 Neighborhood Improvement Program (NIP) is consistent with the City’s General Plan, area plans, specific plans, master plans, traffic calming plans, and Multi- Modal Mobility Plan. Commissioner Garden congratulated staff on their review of consistency with the City’s plans and said the table included in the staff report was excellent. Regarding the Aeneas Bridge  Planning Commission Minutes Tuesday, May 24, 2016 Restoration project, Commissioner Garden said it is strange that the City would accept responsibility for maintenance of a bridge connecting two pieces of private property, and that if the bridge is a City owned historic resource the Historic Preservation Commission should be involved before the start of any restoration. ***End of Consent Agenda*** PUBLIC COMMENTS Jeffery Modaff, resident of Major Sherman Lane, expressed concern for the safety of residents and employees of the Major Sherman Lane area due to the increasing number of motorists using Major Sherman Lane to avoid traffic on Abrego Street and Munras Avenue. He also thanked Commissioner Garden for his comments on the Aeneas Bridge and said the Cannery Row Business Association would like some attention paid to the bridge. PUBLIC HEARING 3. Consider Recommending City Council Approval of Draft Fiscal Year 2016/17 Action Plan for Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and the 2016/17 Housing Program and Budget to City Council and Successor Housing Agency ACTION: Adopted a Resolution recommending City Council approval of draft Fiscal Year 2016/17 Action Plan for Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and the 2016/17 Housing Program and Budget to City Council and Successor Housing Agency. Staff Presentation/Commissioner Questions Rick Marvin presented the Agenda Report and answered Commissioners’ questions. Public Comments Carl Braginsky, Salvation Army, said one of the issues of using CDBG funds for those who are homeless is the requirement of verifying residency. He also said the funding the Salvation Army receives for rental assistance is very important to their clients. Mr. Braginsky said the Salvation Army appreciates the funding assistance from the City and looks forward to working together in the years to come. He also said the 2016-2017 Housing Action Plan is a well balanced plan. Phil Geiger, Legal Services for Seniors, thanked the City of Monterey for its support of their no- cost legal services for Monterey seniors. He said last year Legal Services for Seniors helped more than 307 Monterey seniors and said they are the only non-profit organization in Monterey County providing direct legal services for seniors with licensed California attorneys. Mr. Geiger also thanked the City on for their support behalf Teresa Sullivan from Alliance on Aging. Lynn Young, Executive Director of the Josephine Kernes Memorial Pool, thanked the Housing Department for the work they do on behalf of her organization and other organizations receiving funding. Ms. Young spoke of the benefits to seniors using the services provided at the pool. She also thanked the City for the funding they provide and said it allows her organization to provide services for low and very low income people. Rob Rapp, Development Director of Community Human Services, said their Safe Place Program is up for funding this year and thanked the City for their previous funding of the program. Mr. Rapp said Safe Place has been a homeless youth program for over 20 years and he looks forward to rehabilitating the building. Planning Commission Meeting Minutes Tuesday, May 24, 2016 2  Planning Commission Minutes Tuesday, May 24, 2016 Jaqueline Ramirez, Fair Housing Coordinator with Project Sentinel, thanked the City for their continued support. Ms. Ramirez said the organization is fairly new to the area but has been successful in providing direct services with regards to housing discrimination to prevent homelessness and ensure equal access to housing. Commissioner Comments Commissioner Garden said that while there are significant restrictions on how the City can allocate CDBG funds, there are millions of other dollars without the same restrictions. He suggested that staff look into other potential ways for the City to allocate income from sources other than CDBG funds to meet today’s most urgent needs. Commissioner Garden made a motion to adopt a Resolution recommending City Council approval of draft Fiscal Year 2016/17 Action Plan for Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and the 2016/17 Housing Program and Budget to City Council and Successor Housing Agency. Commissioner Widmar seconded the motion. Commissioner Widmar thanked Commissioner Garden for his questions to staff, and also thanked Mr. Marvin and City staff for their work. He said Commissioner Garden made good points regarding starting dialog about what the City could be doing differently, and that both policy issues and strategic issues need to be taken into account. Commissioner Widmar thanked the providers for all the great things they do in the community. On a motion by Commissioner Garden, seconded by Commissioner Widmar, and carried by the following vote, the Planning Commission adopted a Resolution recommending City Council approval of draft Fiscal Year 2016/17 Action Plan for Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and the 2016/17 Housing Program and Budget to City Council and Successor Housing Agency: AYES: 7 COMMISSIONERS: Reed, Fletcher, Davis, Dawson, Garden, Millich, Widmar NOES: 0 COMMISSIONERS: None ABSENT: 0 COMMISSIONERS: None ABSTAIN: 0 COMMISSIONERS: None RECUSED: 0 COMMISSIONERS: None PUBLIC APPEARANCE Commissioner garden said it is difficult for participants to attend an afternoon session and moved to continue item #4 to the evening session of the next Planning Commission meeting to allow for public participation. He also said it has been the policy of the Planning Commission to hold items expected to generate public participation in the evening session. Elizabeth Caraker clarified that some stakeholders are restaurant owners and prefer afternoon sessions, therefore she alternates scheduling such items between the afternoon and evening. The Commission discussed prior and upcoming meeting dates, meeting noticing, and the Planning Commission’s policy of setting hearing times. Commissioner Garden’s motion failed for a lack of a second. 4. Receive Report on Local Coastal Program Adaptation Strategies and Provide Direction (Not a Project Under CEQA per Article 20, Section 15378 and under General Rule Article 5, Section 15061) ACTION: Received report on Local Coastal Program Adaptation Strategies and provided direction. Planning Commission Meeting Minutes Tuesday, May 24, 2016 3  Planning Commission Minutes Tuesday, May 24, 2016 Staff Presentation/Commissioner Questions Ms. Caraker introduced David Revell, Revell Coastal, who gave a presentation on Local Coastal Program Adaptation Strategies and answered Commissioners’ questions. Public Comments Bob Mannix, Monterey resident, commended City Planning Staff for their efforts to educate themselves and the community through workshops and sea level rise walks. Mr. Manix said a proactive approach is needed and he encouraged the Commission and the City Council to be proactive through graceful adaptation strategies and to prevent measures such as armoring. Commissioner Comments Commissioner Dawson said he would like to see priority put on determining a publicly known system of trigger points for sea level rise that can be monitored. Commissioner Garden said it would be helpful to show a map in the presentation to give the community a visual understanding of what it means to have eight inches of sea level rise by the year 2030. Commissioner Davis said he appreciated having the adaptation strategies shown along with their impacts. Commissioner Widmar said sea level rise is not only an issue for the coast, but an issue for the community as a whole and that Monterey should work with surrounding communities to address the issue. He also said measures should be taken now to adapt gracefully to sea level rise and prevent an emergency response in the long run. Commissioner Widmar said vulnerabilities should be immediately identified along with strategies to address them. Commissioner Dawson said North Carolina prohibits armoring and questioned whether the local coastal community would allow it. He said he would not rely on armoring because it may not be a possible solution. COMMISSIONERS COMMENTS Chair Reed said he is happy item #4 was not continued since members of the public were present, but said future meetings on the topic should be held during the evening session. INFORMATIONAL REPORTS & STAFF COMMENTS 5. Planning Office Update  Update received. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 5:47 p.m. Respectfully Submitted, Approved, Elizabeth Caraker, AICP Chair Principal Planner Planning Commission Planning Commission Meeting Minutes Tuesday, May 24, 2016 4