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DRC 04-19-07 Design Review Committee April 19, 2007 Cupertino, CA 95014 (408) 777-3308 APPROVED MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE DESIGN REVIEW COMMITTEE HELD ON April 19, 2007 ROLL CALL Committee Members present: Cary Chien, Chairperson Gilbert Wong, Commissioner Committee Members absent None Staff present: Aki Snelling Staff absent: None APPROV AL OF MINUTES: March 15,2007 AprilS, 2007 March 15,2007 Minutes of the March 15, 2007 Design Review Committee meeting were approved AprilS, 2007 Minutes of the AprilS, 2007 Design Review Committee meeting were approved WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS: None POSTPONEMENTSjREMOV AL FROM CALENDAR: None ORAL COMMUNICATION: A resident, Jennifer Griffin, asked about how and when a project requires public art. She was directed to the Fine Arts Commission for those specifics. CONSENT CALENDAR: None PUBLIC HEARING: 1. Application No.(s): Applicant: Location: ASA-2006-14 Wayne Okubo 19770 Stevens Creek Blvd Architectural and Site approval for Building C at Marketplace Shopping Center Design Review Committee decision final unless appealed. Staff member Snelling explained that the new development was approved by the City Council with the condition that the Design Review Committee review the architectural detail of the 2 Design Review Committee April 19, 2007 proposed new building prior to the issuance of building permits. The application before the Committee is to review the details and building design changes. The building design has been modified from what the Council approved with regard to the floor-to-floor height. The approved building design called for the first floor to be 16' and the second floor to be 12'. The applicant is requesting that the first floor height be decreased to 13.5 " and the second floor be increased to 16'. They are requesting this change to accommodate a potential restaurant tenant. In addition to the floor heights, they have raised the roof height to "balance" the building and increased the height of the south entry. The south entry has been changed to a two-story entry to accommodate a new stairway for customers to access the second floor restaurant. The rest of the details match the existing building. The landscape plan shows that the existing parking lot trees will be removed and replaced with Brisbane box trees that will thrive in the parking lot area. Staff member Snelling stated that the Design Review Committee is not able to make a determination on the proposed uses of the building at this time because the parking calculation study has not been completed. She also pointed out that the Use Permit requires retail on the first floor. A landscaping bond has been received to ensure the replanting of the required palm trees. The palm trees will be re-planted in mid-May. Commissioner Wong confirmed that the parking lot trees were recommended for planting by an arborist so that the applicant does not have to continue to replant trees that aren't viable. Chairperson Chien expressed concerns about separating the architectural height changes from the potential use of the space. The architect, Yu Hay Lee, stated that there was an error on the plans showing office space on the ground floor. He said that the floor to ceiling height ratio was too low on the second floor to be used for restaurant space. Commissioner Wong asked the condition of approval concerning a required parking study be removed in that the parking study is already required for the site as part of a different application approval. The applicant, Wayne Okubo, thanked the Staff for their efforts on the application. He wanted the Committee to know that the all the buildings at the shopping center will be the same architecturally, be uniform in color and that they have proposed to plant twice as many trees as the code requires. Two residents, Jennifer Griffin and Keith Murphy, spoke about the requirement to replant the "heritage" palm trees and wanted assurances that this would be done before construction begins at the new building so that the replanting requirement wouldn't get overlooked. Another resident, Boris Abramzon, expressed concern about the number of restaurants at the shopping center and the excess garbage. He said that the garbage has attracted rodents and that the garbage trucks are coming by too early in the morning. He also mentioned the need for more parking. Resident Alan Roth, was concerned about the odor filtering of the restaurants. He said that the odors from the restaurants is very strong most of the time even though promises had been made that the restaurant food odors would be mitigated. Staff member Snelling, the applicant and the Committee members discussed the questions brought up during the comment period by the residents and proposed some solutions. The landscape plan for Building C was presented at the meeting. It was reviewed and discussed. Commissioner Wong stated that he liked the architectural design of the new building. He felt that the designer did a good job creating continuity between all the buildings on the site. He did have some concerns about the removal of the elm trees along Portal A venue, but felt that the landscape architect presented a nice plan as well. Chairperson Chien also liked the design of the building. He did ask the applicant to work better with the neighbors to resolve some of the concerns mentioned, specifically, the food odor situation. Commissioner Wong moved to approve the application with the following modifications to the resolution; strike Section 3, item 6 & 7 and add to item 9 an approval of the landscaping plan introduced at the meeting. The mature elm trees proposed for removal will remain until there is sufficient evidence showing they should be removed. 3 Design Review Committee April 19,2007 MOTION: Commissioner Wong moved to approve ASA-2006-14 SECOND: Chairperson Chien ABSENT: none ABSTAIN: none VOTE: 2-0 OLD BUSINESS: None NEW BUSINESS: None Respectfully submitted: &~ FJb~ Beth Ebben Administrative Clerk g:planningIDRC CommitteejMinutes041907