Napa Planning Commission Regular Meeting - November 5, 2020
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Napa Planning Commission Regular Meeting - November 5, 2020
The City of Napa Planning Commission held its regular meeting on Thursday, November 5, 2020, beginning at 5:30 p.m., by Zoom teleconference because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Roll call showed Vice Chair Kelly and Commissioners Painter, Murray, and Oñate present, with Chair Huether absent; the roster printed on the agenda differed from the roll call. The commission approved the consent calendar, held public hearings on the Verizon at Hampton Inn telecommunication facility and the Terrace Drive Subdivision, and received updates on the General Plan schedule.
Consent Calendar
- Approved the Planning Commission minutes of October 15, 2020, by unanimous roll-call vote (4-0). No items were pulled for separate discussion.
- There were no consent hearings on the agenda.
Public Comments & Testimony
- During general public comment, no member of the public asked to speak.
- Verizon at Hampton Inn: no public comments were offered.
- Terrace Drive Subdivision:
- Pamela Dawson, an adjacent homeowner, expressed serious concerns about loss of privacy, saying her pool and living space are directly visible from the proposed development. She requested a taller or different fence, more substantial trees for sound and privacy, and single-story homes or a drone elevation study to assess views into her home.
- John, Dawson's husband, spoke from an environmental perspective, questioning whether the project should be exempt from CEQA. He raised concerns about wildlife, endangered species, noise, traffic, air pollution, and climate change, and asked whether electric-vehicle or low-emission requirements should be considered.
- Patrick Band, executive director of the Napa County Bicycle Coalition, expressed support for ensuring adequate right-of-way on Terrace Drive to allow future Class II bike lanes, consistent with the city's 2019 bicycle plan.
Discussion Items
Verizon at Hampton Inn - 945 Hartle Court
- The proposal was a Use Permit and Design Review for a Verizon telecommunication facility on the roof of the Hampton Inn, including three rooftop antenna clusters and one equipment cabinet cluster with backup batteries. Staff recommended approval of the CEQA categorical exemption under Section 15303, the Use Permit, and the Design Review Permit, and asked the commission to name a preferred antenna option.
- Applicant representative Philip Decker of SAC Wireless, on behalf of Verizon Wireless, stated the installation would be 4G only, would not change the building height, and would be maintained by Verizon. The property owner preferred the screened/concealed antenna option, which would look like part of the building.
- Commission discussion focused on design review. All commissioners voiced a strong preference for the screened/concealed antenna option because it blends with the building and is less visually intrusive than bare antennas.
Terrace Drive Subdivision - 1111 Terrace Drive
- The application sought to subdivide a 2.91-acre vacant parcel into 15 residential lots plus an open-space parcel, producing 17 dwelling units through 13 single-family lots and two duplex lots, with a density of 5.84 units per acre. The project also required Use Permits for the duplex units and flag-lot standards, Design Review for the tentative map, and Tentative Subdivision Map approval. Staff recommended forwarding approval to the City Council and determined the project was categorically exempt under CEQA Section 15332 as infill development.
- The project was originally approved in 2016, but the map expired because of right-of-way delays. Applicant team members Jeremy Sill and the owner Mansour explained that the right-of-way issues have since been resolved and the project is ready to move forward.
- Vice Chair Kelly recused himself because he lives within 1,000 feet of the project, and Commissioner Murray chaired the item.
- Public comments are summarized above. In response, staff noted that the maximum fence height is eight feet, that home designs and landscape plans will return to the commission for future design review, and that CEQA infill exemption is appropriate because the site is surrounded by development. Public Works staff (Tim Wood) said the project meets current street standards and that future Class II bike lanes could be addressed through corridor studies, possibly by displacing street parking rather than widening roads.
- Commissioners expressed support for the infill project, emphasized the need for future design review to address privacy and landscaping, and discussed incorporating flexibility for accessory dwelling units (ADUs) in future home designs.
Staff and Commissioner Updates
- Staff announced that the two-part General Plan update series scheduled for November and December was postponed to the new year because of quorum issues and upcoming commission changes. The November 19 and December meetings may be canceled.
- Commissioner Painter was congratulated on her election to the Napa City Council, with a swearing-in date expected on December 8. Commissioner Murray also indicated that he would be leaving the commission once his replacement is seated.
Key Outcomes
- Verizon at Hampton Inn: Motion passed unanimously (4-0) to determine the project exempt from CEQA under Section 15303 and approve the Use Permit and Design Review Permit. The commission's discussion clearly favored the screened/concealed antenna option, though the motion as stated in the transcript did not explicitly name a preferred option.
- Terrace Drive Subdivision: Motion passed 3-0, with Vice Chair Kelly recused, to forward a recommendation to the City Council to adopt a resolution approving the Use Permit, Design Review Permit, and Tentative Subdivision Map for the 2.91-acre subdivision, as proposed with 15 residential lots, an open-space parcel, and 17 dwelling units.
- No other actions were taken.
Meeting Transcript
Just for we have looks like seven viewers from home in the gallery right now, so that are in the Zoom as opposed to watching on the TV from their home. Okay, uh Vice Chair Kelly, you can begin the meeting. It's 5 30. Very good, thank you, Aaron. Um, good evening. Welcome to the November 5th, 2020, City of Napa regular meeting for the Planning Commission. Our first is roll call. I would like to call this meeting to order and ask staff to conduct roll call, please. Vice Chair Kelly. Present. Commissioner Painter. Present. Commissioner Murray. Present. Commissioner Onyate. Present. Chair Hewther is noted absent. Thank you very much. Um item number two, the summary of meeting procedures. Staff, can you please explain to our viewers how the public will participate in the meeting given given our Zoom format? Uh thank you, Vice Chair Kelly. For each section of the agenda, um, after an item is presented, and when public comment is asked for, members of the public who wish to speak on the item should use Zoom's raise your hand button to indicate they'd like to speak. Uh, this appears as an on-screen button who for those who are here in the teleconference. For those members of the public who have joined the meeting by calling into the teleconference from their phone, they should push star nine uh to indicate that they wish to speak when the item of interest comes up. And are any members of the public who submitted emailed comments, 500 words or less to staff before the meeting and requested the comments be read, we would read those item, those comments when the item is called. Thank you very much. So moving on, um, item three is our agenda review. The planning commission conducts all meetings in accordance with the Ralph and Brown Act, California Government Code Sections 54950, and pursuant to the city's rules of planning commission meetings, policy resolution 10. Due to the COVID 19 pandemic, the commission will conduct this meeting as a teleconference in accordance with the governor's executive orders, n-29-20 and 63-20. Staff, are there any changes to this evening's agenda? There are not commissioners, any proposed changes to this evening's agenda, please. No. No changes. Very well. Um, our next item is public comment. And public comment provides an opportunity for members of the public members who have joined us in the Zoom meeting to directly address the planning commission on items of interest that are not otherwise on this agenda. So if you're here to talk about the two public hearings, you'll have an opportunity when we discuss them. But if there's anything else on your mind that you wish to share, please indicate uh to staff that you would wish to speak now. And Mr. Chair. We have about eight members of the public here, but no one has raised their hand. No one has anything to say about anything. Not at this time, it seems. Okay, we're doing really good then. All right, moving on. Item number five is our consent calendar. These routine items may be approved by a single vote. However, any member of the public or commissioner may remove an item for consideration during the public hearing portion of the agenda. If a member of the public wishes to pull an item from the consent calendar, they should use the raise hand button feature in Zoom or push star nine on the phone. Uh this motion.
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