Huntington Beach Planning Commission Meeting: Study Session and Regular Session - August 10, 2021
STREAMING COPY IN PREPARATION — RECORDING AVAILABLE FROM THE ORIGINAL SOURCE
Huntington Beach Planning Commission Meeting - August 10, 2021
The Huntington Beach Planning Commission held a study session at 4:30 PM and a regular meeting at 6:00 PM on Tuesday, August 10, 2021, in the Council Chambers at 2000 Main Street. The study session focused on a proposed update to the city's Affordable Housing Ordinance (Zoning Text Amendment No. 19-004), while the regular meeting addressed two public hearing items: a continuance for Killarney's Rooftop Dining and a discussion on Electric Vehicle Charging Station Signs (Zoning Text Amendment No. 21-006). No votes were taken on the affordable housing ordinance during the study session; the commission did vote to continue the other two items.
Consent Calendar
- None.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Study Session: Ann Palmer, a Huntington Beach resident of approximately 30 years, expressed strong opposition to the proposed changes to the Affordable Housing Ordinance. She argued that Huntington Beach is a charter city with autonomy from state mandates and that the proposed changes would undermine local control, particularly regarding state-mandated housing requirements. She urged the commission to reconsider the implications for the city's vision and residents.
- Regular Meeting: No speakers signed up for public comments on non-agenda items. During the public hearings for the EV charging station signs, no members of the public offered testimony, and the hearing was closed without comment.
Discussion Items
- Study Session: Zoning Text Amendment No. 19-004 (Affordable Housing Ordinance) – Staff presented a comprehensive overview of proposed amendments to Section 230.26 of the zoning code. Changes include modifying the on-site and off-site affordable housing options (increasing the off-site requirement to 15% and the land dedication/acquisition/rehab option to 20% of units), revising the in-lieu fee calculation from a per-unit to a per-square-foot basis with a cap for ownership projects at 2,000 square feet, clarifying that rental units must be provided at lower income levels while ownership units remain at moderate income, and adding minor clarifications such as excluding ADUs from satisfying requirements. Staff noted that the ordinance is not state-mandated but has existed since 2005 and that the update aims to better align with the city's housing element targets, particularly increasing lower-income units. They also reported that 82 comments were received via email prior to the meeting, and a community survey received over 2,000 responses. The commission asked technical questions about the Kaiser Marston (KMA) report, the process for deviating from recommendations, the predominance of in-lieu fee payments, and the land dedication option. Several commissioners raised concerns about language related to overconcentration and land dedication risks. No action was taken; this was a study session only.
- Regular Meeting: Entitlement Plan Amendment No. 2021-001 (Killarney's Rooftop Dining) – Staff recommended continuing the item to September 14, 2021, to allow additional analysis in response to the request. The commission discussed the procedural aspect of continuances, with Commissioner Mandic questioning the practice of automatic continuances. City Attorney Mike Vigliotta noted that denying a continuance when the applicant is not present could raise due process concerns. The commission voted to continue the item and left the public hearing open.
- Regular Meeting: Zoning Text Amendment No. 21-006 (Electric Vehicle Charging Station Signs) – Staff presented a proposal to exempt signs on electric vehicle charging stations from sign permit requirements, similar to existing exemptions for gasoline pumps, as part of an effort to encourage EV adoption and free charging. The proposal would allow signs with off-site advertising to be placed on charging stations, contingent on city council approval. Several commissioners expressed concerns about potentially oversized signs, video or audio elements, and impacts on pedestrian safety and residential areas. Vice Chair Perkins suggested adding limits on screen size and sound. Commissioner Scandura initially supported the item, but after discussion, a motion was made to continue the item to a date uncertain to allow staff to research and propose standards for sign size, orientation, and noise. The motion carried unanimously.
- Planning Items Report – Staff provided updates on upcoming city council and planning commission meetings, including a potential special meeting on August 31, 2021, which was noted as tentative and likely not needed.
Key Outcomes
- Affordable Housing Ordinance (ZTA 19-004): No action taken; study session provided information and allowed for public comment. The item is tentatively scheduled for a public hearing on August 24, 2021.
- Killarney's Rooftop Dining: Motion to continue to September 14, 2021, passed unanimously. The public hearing remains open.
- EV Charging Station Signs (ZTA 21-006): Motion to continue to a date uncertain passed unanimously. Staff was directed to research and bring back standards for sign size, screen type, orientation, and noise limits, as well as consider location restrictions near residences. Commissioner Scandura also raised questions about the accuracy of council direction and noted that gas station signage already has no restrictions.
- Remembrance: The commission acknowledged the passing of Diane Livengood, wife of former planning commissioner Tom Livengood, and expressed condolences.
All actions were taken with a quorum present (Commissioners Acosta-Galvan, Mandic, Perkins, Ray, Scandura, and Rodriguez).
Meeting Transcript
And Casey, we will never be forgotten. Legacy is gonna 2021 planning commission meeting to order. May you have roll call, please. Commissioner Aposta Galvan. Here. Commissioner Mandik here. Vice Chair Perkins. Here. Chair Ray? Here. Commissioner Scandra? Here. Commissioner Rodriguez. Here. We have a quorum. Thank you. Do we have anyone signed up for study session public comments? Yes, we have one speaker, Ann Palmer. Thank you. Ann Palmer, please come down and you can make your public comment. Well, she's coming down. I did want to make mention uh for the audience here and um at home that this portion is a uh study session, so we will not be voting tonight on the item that's going to be presented to the uh planning commission. Just want to be sure everyone understood the process. Thank you. Um go ahead, Ms. Palmer. Hi, Ann Palmer, Huntington Beach resident for approximately 30 years. So I don't have anything prepared, and I'm glad you're not voting today. That gives you some time to uh think about uh what you're doing to our charter. First of all, this is a charter city, and that's a matter of pride, and that means that we have a certain autonomy versus the state and other factors. So I think you really need to think about the importance of that regarding the change that you're proposing. It's minor, but it changes things dramatically. And I think you understand that many of your residents are already concerned about the mandate from the state and the county on increased housing on overdevelopment and HDD in our community, and they do not necessarily agree. So therefore, changing the charter to automatically accept whatever the state mandates to this city is running so afoul of everybody that lives here. You've never taken that to a vote. You've never really listened to us. I think we were called by the city council drama queens when we were all really upset that we were abandoning the ability to challenge the state while other communities are moving forward. So again, you're not voting today, but please think very hard, very, very hard what the vision is for this city and for the people that live here. It's breaking my heart what they're doing to this place. Thank you. No, there are no other speakers. Uh then we'll move on to the study session item. We'll ask staff to give the presentation. Good evening, Chair Ray and members of the planning commission. It's been a while since I've been here, so it's a pleasure to be here before you this evening. Um, I'd first like to introduce some new staff that you might not have had um access to. So we did have a restructuring that occurred back late last year, and as part of that, um, some of you may or may not know that at one point in time economic development was its own department, and there was then a merger into the city manager's office, and then it's been moved into the community development department, and so there was a position called Deputy Economic Development Director, but since there was no longer that department, that was not an appropriate title. So we now have two deputy community development directors, and so Steve Holtz um sits and fills that other um deputy position, and he oversees our code enforcement housing and economic development divisions with within that. And we have then also done some restructuring and we've hired a new housing manager, and so Charles Kovac is our new housing manager, and so Steve and Charles have worked with Nicole and other planning staff, and so Nicole is kind of like a hybrid. She she was a planner and she's now been moved over as an analyst into the housing division, so she's um a senior analyst working on housing issues.
openpublica.com