 Okay, good afternoon like to call the order of the meeting of the city of Santa Rosa design review board March 5th 2020 to order Mike may I have a roll call, please? I'm gonna do a roll call vote chair Kincaid Yes Vice Chair Hedgepeth Board member Goldslag Gold member Corden Brock I'm here Gold member Sharon here gold member wicks I'm here and gold member waggle here let the record reflect that all commissioners are present except commissioners Hedgepeth and Corden Brock Thank you, Mike And on to item number two approval of the minutes We have before us the minutes from February 20th 2020 regular meeting Are there any corrections comments? Noted. All right seeing none. We will put those into the record Board of Business Board of Business is where we talk about what we do here at the designer view board versus other boards and commissions So I will read aloud the statement of purpose Project review the review authority shall consider the location design site plan configuration and the overall effect of the proposed project upon surrounding properties in the city in general Review shall be conducted by comparing the proposed project to the general plan any applicable specific plan applicable zoning code standards and requirements consistency of the project within the city's design guidelines Architectural criteria for special areas and other applicable city requirements i.e. city policy statements and development plans So that's this board's focus At this time I'd like to move on to item number four public comment Are there any members of the public wishing to speak on items not on today's agenda? But are under the purview of the designer view board and I see Dwayne hello, my name is Dwayne do it Good day to you board members. I Wanted to come back because with you folks being members of the climate emergency response team for the city of Santa Rosa One of the main things you could be helping with is trees Landscaping is something that comes forward to you with various projects and I want to be a person that supports lots more trees, especially in projects coming forward What I'd like for you folks to do though if possible is begin to become proactive and getting more trees back into the city Hopefully as you go through the city you look and you see that there are many tree wells that are empty now Many trees are coming down and are not being replaced One of the best ways to perhaps try to deal with urban heat island effects greenhouse gas locally right here in our community Things such as diesel particulate matter pollution Are to have trees and make sure that those trees are kept in good shape? I come here today because especially in The area where I'm from over to the Southwest we've been losing trees and A big road project went in with the city of Santa Rosa redeveloping Stony Point Road In that project design which took years to get done One of the reasons why it was made as wide as it was knocking out some houses even 17 housing units Was because they were going to put in lots of trees They put in a median in some areas with trees and then they put street trees along both sides of Stony Point Road They then put something on the trees that are known as rain gators Water bags if you put water in them, but no one's ever put water in them And it's now been there for a couple years. We just went through the driest February We've had in over a hundred and fifty years according to the records So I'm hoping that you folks might be able to convince somebody to water the trees that we do have and Then also to advocate to get more trees In every different project that we can While saving trees wherever we can over in Roseland, there's projects going forward We want to make sure that those projects save trees not just the heritage trees But basic trees, they're all helpful to us in one way or another Typically what's happening now though. They're just ending up as firewood for somebody or mulch And that's a sad state of affairs that doesn't help with co2 and greenhouse gas retention So once again, I want to bid you a good new year and hope that you have a great new year all the best to you Thank you for your time Dwayne much appreciated Any other public comment for the design review board Seeing no one approached the microphones I will close the public comment period Item number five statements of Stentioned by board members I will need to abstain from today's item Thank you, Adam And before we call that item To order we'll let Adam vacate Have a good afternoon, right? Okay, we're now free to begin the scheduled item for today the only one on the agenda item number six It's a concept design review of 1650 West D. Elaine apartments at 1650 West D. Elaine file number DR 2008 and We have planner Ross to give us presentation as well as the applicant all yours Thank You chair Kincaid members of the design review board As you stated, it's the project is a 1650 West D. Elaine apartments. It's the concept design review For located at that same address the West D. Elaine apartments It's a 36 unit courtyard apartment complex comprised of one two and three bedroom units one parking spaces provided per unit for a total of 36 spaces and For the sake of time I'm going to go through my presentation fairly quickly and pass it off to the applicant who has a more detailed description of the project for you But some key points are it's 36 units by right it's allowed 18 units They are the project includes a minor use permit will include a minor use permit for a 100% density bonus Due to the proximity to the smart rail line Which allows certain properties close to those for that for that 100% density bonus It also includes a parking concession which is allowed via the state density bonus and the supplemental density bonus it's Located in the northwest quadrant of the city the general plan land use designation is medium density residential So this is also in the north station Santa Rosa north station specific plan and priority development area, so Similar to other projects in this area. They have to be activate the street frontage this being West D. Elaine and also Also Parking in the rear To so it's not seen from the street and it is also Part of the priority development area. I'm sorry for that delay So that means it's coming to you as a concept. It will go to the zoning administrator after this site plan and Again, the applicant will cover all of this in their presentation Some public correspondence. There was a neighborhood meeting held for this project Concerns from the neighbors and local businesses were density traffic and parking Overall, the design was favored so a recommendation by from planning staff is that the designer view board make comments considerations or recommendations for the West Hill Lane Apartments within the north station Within the north Santa Rosa station area specific plan, which is a priority development area and I'll be available for any questions, of course, and I'm going to open up the applicants presentation now Why don't we take questions for staff? Well, we're getting the applicants presentation up Eric. Do you have any questions for staff? No, not this time Drew questions for staff. Yeah, I have a couple Adam do you know when the minor use permit will be up at planning For up for a vote it would go at the same time as the Minor design it would go to the zoning administrator, so we can go to planning commission. Okay. That's good to know and then what Since this isn't a priority development area and based on I think some of the public documentation we received There is potential I guess I would want to say opposition to the project So depending on how that kind of plays out What is the likelihood that this particular project would get elevated back to the design review board as opposed to Staying at the zoning administrator level So we'll continue to monitor that and as we get closer and get ready to schedule this will make a determination So there is an outside chance that we could elevate it just at the outset and bring it back to the board If we don't if it goes to the zoning administrator and then there is the potential that it gets appealed and then we come to the board Cool. Yeah, I just wanted to make sure everybody understood that because I guess based on the correspondence We've gotten and whatnot. I just want to make sure everybody understood that And then I guess You you touched on this but can you can you explain it in a little bit more detail? the supplemental density bonus is a Product of the north station area plan not anything from the state Correct, or am I mixing that up in my head? No, that's that's pretty close to it. And I'm I apologize for not providing more of that information for you at this time, but Certain locations were identified in the city that are close to major transit hubs and that identifies those sites to have Certain criteria which could get supplemental density bonuses. So right now the state allows 35 percent Which is a ministerial act and the supplemental density bonus was identified by the city For that additional density bonus this particular site has the Conditions that would be required to allow a 100% density bonus. So in short it is a city Ordinance that a That Solidifies or codifies it Pass that 35% yeah, it's essentially an overlay from the state. It's and it upgrades it within the city essentially more or less more or less I Guess what I'm asking is you can't Stack Density bonus in this instance Right because the city is the the biggest one you couldn't stack like an additional Like if they went to low income or affordable or something like that you couldn't stack a density bonus on top of that Well, they would have to supply Affordable units on site and there's a there's a matrix that determines how they get to those additional That supplemental density past the 35% so it'd be 35% from the state and then the remainder 65% through local Authority the supplemental. Okay. Yes. Yeah, I just wanted to clear that up in my head how that worked the mechanism Cool. Those are my questions Henry questions for staff Yeah, one Ross During that minor use permit process for the bonus bonus density increase And the request for a parking reduction down to 36 spaces is is a traffic study required in that process so That's a good question I don't know I don't have that information in front of me I can if you give me a few minutes I can get that for you, but typically it's a concession approved through the the state density bonus and we couldn't we couldn't it be harder to deny a Concession for parking in this case Okay. Yeah, because I know there's there's lots of different concessions height Parking Others and I just was curious if if in parking reductions a little bit more of my own education Is it is traffic analysis done when parking reductions are requested? So traffic engineering can ask for operational standards for for a traffic study And so it could be included in the in that focused traffic study So there's a couple things that will be evaluating one is the Parking concession as it relates to the density bonus and there are certain criteria that have to be in place To be able to to grant that And then you also have the potential for a sequel and so parking Kind of by itself is not necessarily a sequel impact It is however in as much as it affects Traffic so there might be an analysis through the sequel component as it relates to traffic Directly and it can kind of come back and be there's a relationship with parking But parking like I said on its own is not a sequel consideration So that's a long answer to say there may be a traffic study with this project And I'll thank my board members for asking all the questions that I had so I don't have any further questions So at this time, we'll hand it over to the applicant for a presentation if you can remember to speak into the microphone So that the recording can hear you and if you want to introduce yourself and give your relationship to the project that would be great Thank you So good afternoon board members and members of the public. My name is Patrick O'Neill originally from Ireland and Came to San Francisco 25 years ago We do high-end construction in San Francisco And we're in kind of and their own property in Santa Rosa and Katari since 2009 So my background is European finished carpenter with all the nice details and All the facades of different Georgians and awarding and different buildings throughout the area So I've always liked Santa Rosa. I think Santa Rosa is a blossoming city Reviewing over the last 11 years the transformation in different areas is very welcoming to see and the smart train and then The third lane the one-on-one coming up through so the city is definitely a Place that I really like and I'm gonna hopefully build this 36 units for the residents of San Rosa And it's gonna stay in the family Area from trust for the next 40 50 years where they kiss me paint So all of the apartment buildings I have through the one-on-one We've never sold any of them and it's always about giving some sort of Experience to the tenants. So when I started working with Ingrid and heads part architects We had to come up a concept that some of the moves in here wants to be here and the person that built this place Wants them to be here also and have an experience and that's why we come up with the courtyard as you walk through the main Entrance and into the courtyard and three separate buildings and each tenant has their own Access there's like six different staircases so they can congregate together or they can be individual whichever the case may be And it wasn't I looked at this side of thinking if I'm gonna put my name on this for the next 50 years I want to build something that's good. I want to build something that's attractive to the area I want to build something that I can come up here and look at and be proud of like all that we do all of the 18th century Historic buildings in San Francisco and it's crazy beautiful. So I want to come up here and give this Lot a different viewpoint so you just don't come up and put up plywood and stuck on colors a day So I want to look across from the shows museum, which I met with Collette and Gina a few weeks ago and Had a great time walking through the shows museum and the ice rink and the children's museum And I was like, hmm, it's pretty impressed man like two and a half hours with them. So but I really thoroughly enjoyed it and they brought up the Concepts of parking and stuff which I rolled out a idea to them that I'm still playing with Etc. So I wanted to do something that was different I don't want to do something that everybody could look at and maybe make this like a new start And people look at these buildings just like they do in Europe with all the apartments and condos and everything that are beautiful When you go, why can we build this they built that you know a thousand years ago so I want to look at this building as something I'm gonna have the next 40 50 years and be a proud of and My colleagues here the planners have been great to work with and stuff So I'm more about just like the experience for the tenant that's gonna enjoy this Apartments and then for these five five of these units could be low income. There's a three bedroom for You know emergency families that displaced etc So we're taking all of that into consideration And that was all part of how we got to this concept so we've been working on it for about a year on different ideas and You know, it's just some I think it's actually pretty cool. It's my two cents Hello I'm here on behalf of Hedgepeth architects and representing Patrick our client And I'll run through the presentation show you the the architectural concept Next slide Okay, thanks in the following slides. I'll just show how the Project responds specifically to the design goals of this north station area specific plan And as we went over it does have a 65 percent density bonus beyond the state There are four buildings one of them is a parking structure and the building design is to arrange the four buildings to define the edges of an interior courtyard an exterior plaza and also to Connect back to the fabric of the city By being arranged parallel to the Property lines and the city sidewalks and right up to the edges of the setbacks We're attempting also to define connect to define public spaces and transition into the interior semi-private space of the unit of the project so The streetscape itself was an important first premise and the design Doesn't In the design we try to break down the massing of the buildings by varying the the frontage playing back and forth on the on the planes of the walls adjacent to the street and also Changing the ridges So that they move back and forth and are broken up instead of being one continuous roof mass against the street Yeah, and Here we're showing that it's a multi-story building three stories. So Somewhat taller than other development that's existing in the area But we're trying to break down that scale and mass and also create a lot of interest At the pedestrian level on the street level and make it a good Participatory experience for the residents and pedestrians and cyclists See I think I already talked about the building facades being parallel to the street front So and then about the setbacks The architectural forms and design values are related directly to our clients roots in in Great Britain and Ireland and We look back towards to the time at the turn of the century when Traditional forms were changing over to modern forms in in architecture and Those forms are defined by an acceptance or they were Generated from an acceptance of machine technology and building and by architectural The next slide architectural attributes such as planar undecorated walls and gables the extension of planes into space Beyond traditional bossy boundaries of buildings A suppression of detail There's a fatic horizontality and fenestration and The building forms reading is pure geometric forms squares or circles and in an anecdotal application of decoration Which in this project we used the brick shaped ceramic glazed tiles that's set into this deco I gave you some samples up there for you to look at and In decorative arts we were inspired by the design work of Charles Boise And that is one example right there of a tile designed that he did So I think in the next the following slide you can see some of that inspiration playing out in our In our work here So the facades are detailed with attention to human scale elements low walls at the street level defining gardens and shaping the the plazas and amenities that draw people into the spaces of the project such as the circular plaza in the front, which has a tree in the plan for the front I took it away from this view so that you could see the the architectural forms the raised plaza sets the The the procession of the spaces into more private domain inside the courtyard Can you back up and that by the way the the lower right hand view is the interior of the courtyard And you do go through an archway to get into that space That's detail number three We also wanted to Address to respond directly to the goals for parking because we knew that this was A different kind of a proposal to park one to one one stall to one unit and so to mitigate that we are trying to also Respond directly to the design goals for parking and with the of the north station area specific plan We only have one driveway entry on meadowbrook road The circulation through the site is designed to minimize the amount of circulation with the car And we also screened the parking as much as possible with the tuck under parking under In building b and also in the automated parking structure in the rear That's proposed. It's a two level single row stack So there are 26 spaces 25 cars the empty bay is used for the Movement of cars from the upper level to the lower level on side to side Okay And this is the landscape plan The plant palette includes drought tolerance species 45 of the site not including the paved areas for auto circulation are devoted to landscaping or hardscape for pedestrians And we use landscape treatments that reflect the character of an urban residential pocket park has a wall patios Raise entry plaza covered passage Into a courtyard a formal parterra style planting That emphasizes the axial organizing principle of the project And the civil engineers plan also response directly to the design goals of this specific plan for this area The buildings are designed to provide cross-through ventilation and to maximize Natural light inside all the dwellings all the dwellings Have windows that see to the right of way as well as to the interior domain of the project And therefore the courtyard and also the courtyard design is conducive to sheltering Open spaces from the weather and elements and from heat gain And storm runoff is detained by maximizing the use of previous surfaces and bioswales And in conclusion, I believe we believe that this site will transform an urban A vacant lot into medium-high density housing project that revitalizes the area architecturally The high density is supported by the existing infrastructure around the area and the proximity of the smart rail And the vision of the project Set by the owner to be specifically transit oriented to proactively reduce the dependence on automobile Um and the courtyard archetype is a european and inter-fraud It's all over the world. It's a it's a historic archetype in arc in urban design And it has a lot of imagery that we can draw from The courtyard and plaza act as a terminus for the street in a sense and so it is Is woven into the fabric and enriches the fabric of the street network in the city And I I think it it's a a nice Counterpoint to some other gems of Of in in santa rosa such as the um Schultz museum the children's museum and the ice rink In this neighborhood So because they do they too are responsive to the To it to santa rosa and and provide a richness for the city I'd like to also invite um Our project planner gene capulchuk To speak a few words. I believe she can also contribute to some of your questions about density and parking Good afternoon gene capulchuk 843 second street santa rosa um I'll be reviewing the um sequel area for this project the environmental Document and because the project is less than five acres under sequel it will qualify for two exemptions One is a class 32. It's for an infill But this gets to your question of having to do with the parking and the traffic In order to grant an exemption It cannot have a significant effect on traffic noise air quality or water So those issues and cultural resources historic resources So those issues need to be addressed specifically in order for it to meet the criteria for an exemption So there is a parking um a traffic parking study being done right now Um for the project. So those that issue will be specifically addressed Second exemption that the project qualifies for is a 1 1 5 1 8 3 under sequel and it has to do with consistency with the specific plan and because of the policies within policies having to do with affordable housing Opportunity areas plus the north station area specific plan and the consistency of this project with that plan We could also move for a statutory exemption. So that's what's being looked at now It's in process And if it comes back to you, you'll see those documents. Thank you very much I'd also like to invite um our landscape architect to say a few words about his design Don McNair Good. Good afternoon Don McNair p.o. Box 251 Kenwood, California Yeah, we're you know, it's a it's a very drought tolerant landscape we're proposing very pretty low water use Um, the the spaces are tight by definition Uh, so plants will be smaller in general Um, they're going to be probably mostly a mixture of shade loving plants as well as Uh, lower light plants, you know with the exception of some of the perimeter areas Um trees around the project would include um westeal lane probably crepe myrtle Um because it is a three-story building we're restricted by the fire department regulations To smaller trees in those areas Um parking lot. We'll try and get some larger trees in there as well as You know just around the parking in general a little bit taller trees The the backside of the parking structure would be a vine colored covered trellis Uh preferably evergreen vines something that would last year around in terms of screening that from that side and adding interest as well um Honestly, I don't think I really have much more to say on that unless you have any questions I think we'll get to questions in a bit. Thank you for your presentation And finally I'd like to just ask Andy board SF Um civil design consultants to say a few words about the site design Hello board members. Uh Andy board SS civil design consultants From a civil engineering aspect, uh Not many complications here probably the thing that would interest you the most Is that it does meet all of the um LID requirements uh for stormwater treatment That's being taken care of with some uh bio retention areas within the courtyard Uh along uh metalbrook and along the south property line so Pretty much all the off-site infrastructure is in place to support the project um It's really all I have Thanks, Andy Ingrid is that the conclusion of the presentation? Yes, it is. Thank you wonderful. Thank you um great presentation and Even though this isn't a public meeting with an action We are going to open it up for public comment So we'll go ahead and take public comments at this time and I have a few speaker cards here So we'll start with those but uh by no means because you haven't filled out a speaker card doesn't mean you can't speak So um, we'll get to those who want to speak without a speaker card after So at this time I'd like to uh welcome Colette Michoud Good evening panel. Thank you I just want to start by saying that I was at that neighborhood meeting a few weeks ago And I would not characterize the reaction as favorable to this project We do appreciate By the way, my name is Colette Michoud and I am the CEO of the Children's Museum of Sonoma County Which is located on West Dealing And while I greatly appreciate Patrick's efforts to make a beautiful Uh apartment complex I do believe that this is going to have an adverse effect On the whole on the area and I would really I I guess I'm here today to really urge the panel to think about the Cultural institutions that are already located on West Dealing and have been there for as many as 50 years When the ice arena was first located there. There was not the dense Uh residential area around it the city allowed Those residences and those apartment buildings to be built around a cultural institution like the ice arena And then when the Schultz arena or Schultz museum was built, you know 15 years ago and now the Children's Museum The city of santa rosa has a wealth of cultural Wonderfulness that is happening on westeal lane between the three institutions. We serve 400 000 people a year On a two-lane road That now has a smart train on one end with no left turn signal that when the smart train comes through at five o'clock It backs up all the way to the to the Children's Museum's driveway And you know, that's not even talking about going into codding town and the traffic jam craziness getting into codding town From the from all of our institutions I just would really again like to urge the the panel to recognize how Important these cultural institutions are to the city in terms of their impact that they're bringing in economically Between the three of them it's incredible And the the traffic issue is a problem right now By putting another high density resident apartment complex on westeal lane is not long term Thinking it's very short-sighted And I just I just don't know that the city understands the incredible value of these institutions And if anything they should be supporting and making the access to these institutions easier not harder And by putting this in you're going to make it harder. You're going to you're going to make it More That's it. Thank you very much Thank you for your time and comments and look at that cute little alarm bell I'd now like to welcome Karen Johnson to the microphone My name is Karen Johnson, and I'm the director of the Schultz Museum as Colette Mentioned we were built and open in 2002 One of my issues I want to speak specifically to is the issue of a traffic study which needs to be done But there's a real issue around the uniqueness of traffic study when you have these three cultural institutions It's not just monday through friday or monday through sunday. It's holidays. It's three day weekends The three of us have to work together to get all of our guests parking for the summer for three day weekends And that's the issue that I am most concerned about when you think about the frontage of where this apartment building is going It's on one of the shortest blocks one side is for a bus The other side is for bicycles and that makes it a very narrow one-way car Then we have three Three driveways. We have a driveway into the church. We have a driveway into the ice arena on the other side of the street We have a driveway into the shopping center I can tell you in the morning just on a normal day We all start getting backed up because someone wants to go to the church Someone's got to get into the ice arena Someone on the other side is going into the shopping center and as colette said it backs into that very complex area so my issue is We have to do a parking study But you have to do it as it relates to how the traffic traffic is driven over 400,000 people The schulz museum has over 70,000 people from around the world who come to this institution and stay for two weeks Stay in hotels. Gina will tell you about the enormity of what the ice arena has contributed But the biggest issue is the parking and the traffic on that short dense block That already has too much activity with three entrances Bus on one side Parking on the others. I mean Bicycle on the other side. It is one of the smallest areas That's my concern Not the gift of what this would bring In some other location That's the issue And I can tell you you'll hear from me if we start getting yelp reviews saying nice place to go But don't go it's hard to get to We don't have that right now And if we do have that you are going to lose economic impact That is unique to this city this county and this state Charles Schultz is known around the world And it drives the train in that area Thank you Thank you. Ms. Johnson And now I would like to welcome Gina huntsinger Good afternoon Board members and staff and Patrick O'Neill Just want to say my name is Gina huntsinger. I'm the general manager of snoopy's home ice We have an arena an ice arena cafe and a gift shop. We have 175 thousand people that come To our facility every year We bring in Just we have four huge sports tournaments every year One of those which is the senior hockey tournament for 10 days brings in 5.8 million dollars into santa rosa Every single year. So it's important that we just Remember what what's being contributed and you also I think when you look at the traffic study because we're worried about three things The density because you have all the density bonuses And in an already dense area The traffic because it is really complicated to navigate that one block Where where this Especially that one block where the ice ring is because I look across at Patrick's property every single day and And secondly parking because you have concessions for For three 36 units with only 36 parking spots. So let me just go through these quickly First of all safety is a number one concern. I'm sure it is for Patrick too and everybody else who's on that street This week on tuesday, there was a kid walking home from school and they were hit by a car Coming coming out of the ice arena. It was because it is so complicated. There's there's bike lanes on both sides of the street There's two bus stops and there's four four ways four places people are going and there's no turn lane in the middle So it's soup like you're not it's not like it's a straight line It's like you got a car stopping here. Then you got a car stopping on the other side So it's really complicated to navigate and I hope that parking study checks that out Because it I'm I'm worried, you know, I'm worried about the kids walking home from school. She was on the sidewalk Secondly Parking Patrick I love that you're looking into more parking because that's super critical 30 36 parking spots for 36 units and there's three bedrooms and two bedroom places. We all know That's not that's not you're not going to have one parking One car for each unit secondly Melbrook court where all those apartments are where this development is Every single apartment complex has tow away warnings in their parking spots. So it's already packed as I'm there every day There's there's no parking. So I don't know where everybody else is going to park except in our parking lots For free and then we're going to have to spend the money trying to enforce it Which I think it's almost impossible to do so And we don't want to get those Yelp reviews which say there's no parking And lastly just Thank you for your service to our community too. I want to say that Thank you Thank you for your time. Much appreciated Okay, that's all the speaker cards I had but again if there are any other members of the public wishing to make a comment sir My name is joe aim. I'm the president of the meadowbrook of santa rosa homeowners association And we are pretty much diagonally across from the proposed site There isn't a meeting that I preside over that we don't discuss parking and when I saw the Pamphlet that came in the mail that said there is 36 units going in and 36 parking spaces I asked where are the other 18 people? as per santa rosa's numbers of cars per household going to park The street is already At 100 percent if you were to go by there and just an hour or two you see that every side space is already taken up by a car I'm here to protect this guest spaces of santa rosa of the meadowbrook associations for guests of Meadowbrook association occupants and not have people who are searching for parking spaces because there are none to be taken up those spaces and so it I just believe it's not accounting for the realities of the situation That exists in santa rosa right now where people are doubling up and there's more than one car per household In santa rosa any just all I have to say Thank you for your time, sir Any other members of the public wishing to speak on this item? Seeing no further people approaching the microphone. I will close as a public comment period and bring it back to the board I promised drew that I wouldn't start with him tonight, but I keep my head keeps going that way So I'll turn my head this way Eric, why don't we start with questions for the applicant or any further questions for staff and then we'll go into comments After we get through questions for staffer so it's the The minor use permit that's going to make the decision in regards to parking correct that was not The decision on this board Kind of so the density bonus the supplemental density bonus requires a use permit And the supplemental density bonus also allows the conception of parking so they effectively go hand in hand And it is largely a land use concern but as patrick As adam indicated all the feedback that you gave will be forwarded to the zoning administrator When that decision is made so if you have thoughts today Regarding the parking from a design perspective, it'll definitely be important information for the zoning administrator So I'm sorry Please just to just to add to that if there was no supplemental density bonus But there was also a parking reduction request. It would be attached to the minor design review permit If there was no other one if There was no entitlements and a um a greater than 25 percent reduction was requested. It would require a minor use permit for that parking reduction Okay for staffer there Is there any future plans for? steel west steel lane in regards to parking bike lane I mean, I don't see it. I don't see the room personally. There's no left turn lane on demota brook uh coming from a headed westbound Any information on your plate there? I don't have any information in regards to that. I do know that Traffic engineering would look at any sort of traffic control measures. Um, and the engineering department um engineering development services would also implement any sort of um any sort of uh street widening or or or Additional traffic calming measures as well So I think there are some of my questions to the applicant and I really appreciate and thank you very much for such a complete package Uh, and and it's very beneficial Uh, and I know that that's a lot of work. So thank you very much. I really appreciate that I am slightly confused um on some On parts of the package if we go to the Ross, you don't mind going to the applicant uh presentation deck and What page are we on here? See one two, um, so page six There we go. Thank you So I'm a little confused because I noticed it throughout several parts of the the presentation It shows the tile the multicolored tile below the windows on several of the elevation concepts, but when I see it the buildings and it's It goes away. It's not it's not matching. It's my shortcoming. I didn't model the tile So it won't show up in three dimensions only in a flat view It's just because uh, it's just because I'm not as adept at the software as I could be So okay, and so I can show the tile in two dimensions on a flat view But it doesn't show up in 3d because it's not actually modeled as an object in 3d. Okay But it will be um, it can be so Okay, thank you. I appreciate that. That's one of the reasons I brought the tile in actually and all the samples Thank you. Um So in regards to And I heard from from both of you, you know, you have this entrance there at the corner of Meadowbrook and west steel That you want to warm and welcoming for the residents there and and and their guests But I guess my question is if if there's no street parking on west steel All the parkings to the rear You can't drop off or drop pick up or drop off passengers There on west steel and so most of the traffic is coming in through the the rear entry of the building I guess, you know My thought is that entrance wallet aesthetically looks nice Takes up a lot of space and maybe that space is needed for something else. So I'm I'm not sure I guess I'm just trying to look for more of an explanation of Um How it's welcoming to if most most of the most of the Traffics coming in through the rear of the building pedestrian traffic Um the automobile traffic definitely of the residents would come in through the rear But the reason that the plaza is there there are three reasons One on the from the larger perspective. It's an urban design gesture It's a terminus for the street and a way to address the corner situation um number two It looks forward to some of the design goals of the north station area specific plan and that is to Recognize that this area has the potential to become more pedestrian oriented unless of a car using neighborhood um and number three um I was trying to pleat the building in effect to give as many units as possible exposure to The right of way or some other Open space so that Each unit could be could have that through ventilation through daylight um garden apartment deal rather than just a double-oaded corridor type of Um apartment setup where there's only light from an ventilation from one side Okay, I appreciate that. Thank you Ross, can you bring up the staff presentation deck? And I think it's at least ours I think yours was a little different when you presented it the page two Which is again that 3d picture of the front There we go. Thank you. Well now you had it Uh, so my questions aren't I don't you know, I don't see the landscaping in the 3d version Which may be the same issue with the tile but is there any What's the plan in regards to Are those stucco walls cement walls that are in the front for I guess it I guess it's the patio areas for some of those units and Can you tell me about what the face of those are going to look like right? Those are cmu walls six inch cmu that are faced with a stow ifa system stucco um, that's an integrated color stucco and um We we're looking into what possibly capping them within cast stone and The reason they are higher is that there are Mature redwood trees on the adjacent parcel in the rear And we and because of the expansive soil in this in the site One possibility for foundations is to bring in fill and compact that which would mean that um The level the accessible level the ground floor of the project is higher than the street and so those patios Effectively act as a sort of retaining wall as you're coming around the corner on west steel down to meadowbrook and they also protect the um residents and their semi private open space from directly being right in the sidewalk area and in street in the street, so What would be on the face of those walls is it just a stucco material as a stucco It's a brown coat on cmu with a stucco finish a stow finish um in What was the selection process in regards to the colors for the tiles and that would be well, um I guess you'd call that a the aesthetic of the architect We were we're going I think I'll reach back to We like the the the modernist feel the clean simple palette of the black white and gray But the earthiness of the adding that morel color which is not really a black or a gray has a bit of brown in it and then The the green which is not a straight green but has a little bit of yellow And then the bluishness of the other tile on the top. I think the three work together and if you go to the previous slide um that's Actually, it's it's in my presentation. I'm sorry the one the presentation that I brought in so Um, I think some of the colors were Definitely inspired by looking at the English arts and crafts movement And the palette that they were using at the time Which directly relates to nature And so I think if there was the slide before this There um, let us pray that design is something Anyway, I've always loved It has that the same contrast between the darks and then the citrus and the white outlining the The solids and and then the white becoming the void in that sense Because if you were looking at inspiration that would be it Any inspiration from the surrounding neighborhood surrounding buildings We did some early studies where we we directly What we're trying to draw from the architecture of the icerina but um the And then as you see the hip roof and That type of architecture the looking back to the gothic Was definitely an inspiration for some of these architects that we studied for this project but um In terms of feasibility Cost-wise and also just the way it modeled up. I think the project we have now Is a better choice so in regards to The parking so the The the multi parking Device Doesn't take Is it limited in regards to it cannot take any pickup vehicles at all any pickup cars And then also if you have electric vehicles, is there any way any electrical in there at all? Yes, each each of these structures is custom made for the project that it's in and so they can be electrified And um, they do accommodate everything from compact cars up to large SUVs. Yeah And then what about pickup trucks? Um, I I believe that they're they can do a pickup truck. I don't know how large that's all That but the the literature there shows that there's a range of vehicle sizes And we did have this structure designed to accommodate a range of vehicle sizes Do you know what sizes um, I don't remember the exact proportions, but I know it's small medium and large And the weights too as we're talking up here, um, it says that maximum vehicle length is 16 foot 5 inches And it's about well 6 12 foot 6 high total both Yeah, both Vehicles There are also five parking spaces in full-size garages and two of them are accessible And that's the tech under parking and building b alongside the driveway The parallel parking spaces are also 22 feet long so Those are the surface park those surface parking stalls Yeah, if I might chime in just as an example, right we live in Sonoma county a lot of farmer types outdoor types that drive Crew cab trucks as an example. I know a couple of us on this board drive them Uh, that particular vehicle is over 20 feet long as an example. So it wouldn't fit into the multi park option So just food for thought while we're talking about that parking thing um I think those are the questions I have for now, but I may have another one later You never know Thank you. You're right. Your right has been reserved Drew questions for the applicant or for the questions for staff. Uh, I do have a A bunch of questions So I think Eric addressed my kind of vehicle type question uh So one thing I noticed is that the the zoning and the design Guidelines for the north station area plan limit the development to 35 feet But yet the building is shown at 37 6 to 40 feet in both the design Narratives and also the the elevation drawings. Is that Is that something that would be part of the minor use permit? That particular item Correct. They could request a concession for certain development standards and one of that being is Concession against a high limit. Okay, and how many how many are you allowed again? concessions Unlimited or there's a I think they're in their limitation or I believe there's three. Okay Three in for the north station area specific plan, correct For density bonus for density bonus. Okay, cool. Just want to make sure that's clear So one of them in this case would be just to clarify this I think for both the public and also myself Building height parking reduction But there's no third concession currently being requested by the applicant. Is that correct? As far as we know, okay, it's time. All right. Just wanted to make sure that was square in my head So this is probably a question for staff so we kind of touched on traffic engineering And any potential future plans for west elaine? It does not sound like you guys are aware of that of anything being in that process Would there potentially be a requirement of the applicant to do something based on the traffic study potentially or Just trying to get my question answered there. Yeah, so They could potentially fall on that. Um, you could see Restriping of bicycle lanes Typically sidewalk improvements if there's no sidewalk you build it out to city standards for the street type You could also see depending on impacts traffic Traffic signals install that intersections as well. Those are just examples. Okay, cool And that's really dependent upon the traffic study and then also the input from city engineering traffic engineering. Correct. Ultimately. Okay, cool Um Sorry, I wrote a lot of notes here Um, so this is an applicant. This is a question of the applicant. So I was looking at the plans I found your ada parking. It was kind of hidden For a minute there, but so the ada parking is in the pull-under spaces on the south facade the south building, right? and there's two of them Is that correct? So one in kind of the west building and one on the east building Okay, and there's no access from the parking garage because I guess that's how it's detailed or is it a open parking Pull in or it doesn't have a door It does not have to have a secure door at the ground floor although class offers that option We haven't made that choice yet. Okay, and then um, so then there's no But there's no other access into the garage from like say the north side of the building Is that correct because I'm not seeing a door or anything You would access the parking area from the driveway And um use an app on your phone or your your key fob To bring your car down No, no, no, I meant the parking garage is underneath Underneath the building. Oh, I see. Oh, I see. There's no well. There's a side door indicated at the three bay on building C And on building B um We could put aside I believe I put a side door on the from the meadowbrook side of building B, but I'll have to look at the plan if you can't find it. That was my intention. So Yeah, I can't find it, but that's okay. Okay. I just was curious because basically just The way that either of these are designed they wouldn't technically meet The CBC ADA requirements, but that's not a big deal Well, the sidewalk is shown going up to the side to the access aisle next to each Of the um accessible spaces And so it would just be a matter of putting a door in that wall Yeah, it's just you have to have it on the for a van space. You have to have it on the passenger side But that's a minor nuance. It's not a big deal Um, okay. There's one other question. I had Eric, did you you might have asked this and I may have missed it. Um the tile detail It's only is it only on the exterior of the building or is it on the interior? It's on it's on every elevation if you look through the sheets of elevations Okay, I just it's yeah, that's what I that's what I thought I just it's it's not showing up on For instance building a east on sheet a nine But then it's present everywhere else. There's just a couple three windows There were some windows. We selected not to use them on Um, mainly the triples. Yeah. All right. So that is the case Okay, that's that's the extent of my questions Thanks Thank you drew Henry Um a couple questions for the applicant one one for the architect. Um If we could get to a slide that has the 3d elevations on it Um, mainly just the the front one which I think is Yeah, that's it Is this the one or do you want the one with the side street view? No, that'll that'll work. Um My question was the the height of it and it and it sort of dovetails with with uh Eric's question about the concessions and the height of the building but Uh, I'm just I'm curious if it was a civil Determination on getting site drainage or Why the why the big elevation change and the step up from the corner? That's a collaboration between the civil engineer and us um determining how we were going to deal with the Uh condition of the mature trees and the established wood structure On the rear of the site And the condition of the soil for for construction the possibility that we would have to have fill And then the need to provide accessible access through the inside of the courtyard to get out to the street and um using the wall of the plaza as a Retaining wall to contain the ramp down to the street. So got it. I I I like it. It's it's nice looking. I was just was wondering what the reason for it was Whether they were the reason framing under uh on the ground level or you're going to do slab on grade and slab on grade Slab on grade. Yeah, then the grade is established by fill that's been compacted probably so that we can have a Not a math slab foundation, but um a standard Go ahead. I was just going to call andy Andy help if you uh, can you bring up just a basic site plan? And i'll give you one other explanation of why we're high at that corner um, if you look on the east property line kind of behind the the parking Uh the stackable parking garage There's a whole row of redwood trees right there and the grade The low point on the entire piece of property is the corner of meadow brook and westeal lane So in order not to impact those redwood trees where we were trying to maintain grade And the fact that all of the buildings have the same floor elevation That also created that corner there to be raised up Great, thank you. I I suspected it had something to do with civil but I do like the plaza being elevated there and I I like the That anchoring and the urban gesture you've done there that my other question before I get in a comment, so Is for the applicant forgive me you introduce yourself and I've already forgotten your name everyone needle Are you prepared to um turn I assume you're going to get applicants for leasing these apartments and I just wanted to know what your Preparedness is for turning people away that have two cars and is that part of the application process? obviously you're going to have to alert them that there's one space available and and uh If you've got two cars sending them out onto the streets not an option The process of this what I was thinking about because the smart train is less than a mile away And I think you know teenagers these days Um, they really don't want to drive anymore. I want to get nervous and travel all the way around I have 16 I couldn't wait to get a license, but today's world. They don't feel that way so if you go to europe ridley everybody's on foot and Bicycles and all that stuff so thought process here was if you have two applicants And one is say It works in marina or Nevada or san francisco and they're an outdoorsy person The likelihood of them having a car if one doesn't have a car and one does have a car then the applicant that is more thinking about you know, the environment and stuff and wants to Run or take the bicycle or go to the smart train then they would get the apartment so it would be us merely The the whole design concept behind the building is cannot have that the car is gonna pretty much Go away essentially to a point and then become more urban And use the smart train resources like a european Sort of concept is where I was thinking so the idea was if your two applicants And they're exactly the same but one is more Texas bike to work or whatever or is more Caring about the environment and doesn't have two cars three cars or whatever then they would get the lease That was my thought process So we then try and at some point at some introduction Throughout this whole thing we have to try and push away from the car and we can't have to go to more pedestrian Sort of apartments and the fact that this connington mall north station area is Heading towards that potentially for the smart train and stuff Then somebody has to start somewhere We just can't evolve all these projects around parking and what you know, the theory of parking and stuff the new Generation coming in their concept may not be that's and they'd probably love something like this that they're training and stuff Because my kids don't want to drive So that's in the kids up here don't want to drive, but at some point we got to take the direction And move away from the car Okay, thank you. That's uh questions I have for now Okay I have a question about the roof lines and the It appears that at the lower roof elevations you've tucked in a mechanical well. Um, is that Exactly what it is or that's exactly what it is And then I guess One of the questions I guess I'll just ask that as a question as opposed to comment It hasn't been thought Because when warrants here he always brings us up is that the tuck under parking spaces be decoupled from those actual units Um, they don't necessarily have to go with those units that they're tucked under That's correct. Yeah, and it's not necessarily So that a unit might come with a parking space if we choose to do and if the applicant chooses to do Unbundled parking and then Because of the car mix and such that we've been talking about would the Parallel spaces be designated to people or units per se There are three types of parking Facilities and so If it was unbundled parking presumably they would all be offered at different rates And so covered parking would be offered at a different rate than surface parking Okay, so yes Um, I think those are my only questions Um, Eric, did you have any other questions as you've listened? Okay, so why don't we jump into comments? Um, I'm going to try to keep a running list since Mike is pinch hitting for patty and um, I'm sure adam will take a list as well and then we'll compare notes, but Why don't we start with you Eric comments on the project? Um, I think I share everybody's concerns in regards to Parking and traffic The problem we run into in our community is that we're trying to discourage people from owning cars and Using and we're encouraging people to use bicycles and walking in public transit But we have a trick chicken versus egg problem with with it is do you Wait for those that start reducing their use and build accordingly or do you build to help encourage that? So uh, it's a tough one and and I think as we look at each Each project and each Community that that project is located at this point is when we're we're kind of making those recommendations um, I'm very very familiar with this area and Uh I echo those concerns by the neighbors in regards to parking uh, one of the issues That I see is that um You know, we talk about keeping our workforce local and being able to stay here and work and live here Um, and somebody had mentioned earlier about I brought up pickup trucks, but basically a workforce that that needs those trucks for their work And the problem with that is that those pickup trucks usually have equipment supplies in them You can't park on site other than the five or six spots. I think That are not in the the parking apparatus And ends up parking out in the neighborhoods So I don't feel the owners of the trucks would be feels that secure with it The neighbors still certainly have issues with it I strongly encourage a not only a part and sounds like a parking study is already underway But a really close examination of that And some more community input um In regards to the tile panels that are under the window um I'm not so sure I like them I'm kind of in the middle of the road, but I'll leave that to my architectural experts on that because clearly It helps with accenting You know the the building maybe if those colors or patterns can help can be tied into The stucco patio walls that are down at the sidewalk I would really discourage you to leave them as a plain stucco wall For those lower the low elevation level at the sidewalk level patios It's problematic for that neighborhood to have plain walls there It it will encourage some problems and a lot of maintenance and expense for the owner I think you may be looking at A different type of material out front maybe putting tiles some other facade rock Something or something that can maybe tie into the tile panels color wise or Pattern wise that would Help make it look a little more aesthetic I'm a little more pleasing. I think would is my recommendation as well It is nice and to see another project coming that lots been vacant as long as I remember And you know slowly those neighborhoods have grown I remember when the sun leaf Lane condo project was first built and they were going to build another one next to it and it never happened That's how back far back my history goes with that community and that neighborhood so I think those are my layman's con comments and I'll leave it up to you guys for the expert ones Thank you, Eric Drew comments on the project Um So, uh, I forgot to mention. Thanks for providing a nice package As always, um I think I've got a couple of design guidelines. I'd like to read If that's okay with everybody So these are specifically from the north santa rosa station area specific plan in our design guidelines and uh I was looking at these and I I think it's important to to just um Think about them As they relate to this particular project So they're uh, okay, so uh 410 2l compatible design so Development on either side of streets facing each other should be designed at a compatible scale and massing To encourage a comfortable pedestrian environment and maintain a sense of visual cohesion along the street so while I appreciate the design Uh for what it is in terms of You know Echoing, you know, rinny mackintosh and kind of these european Uh styles of builds it to me is not compatible to anything on that street Um because you have a swiss chalet across the street. You've got the Uh kind of modern children's museum. You've got the charles schultz museum, which is also modern and then you have kind of northern california vernacular Uh medium and low density housing kind of to either side and then then you've got um kind of strip mall Uh commercial kind of at the corner there and then you've got a church So to me the design as presented is not compatible within this area to now That being said Is there a comfortable pedestrian environment created by the design? Absolutely because you've got an interesting plaza You've got some other kind of pedestrian friendly features that are really unique to the project so It's kind of you got kind of got two things happening You're not compatible, but you're also presenting some really interesting Site elements as well The next one that I would like to read Is let me find it. Sorry So 410 3a which is architectural guidelines um And I think this maybe goes to what eric was saying 3 blank wall should be avoided and large scale hv. Well, the rest of this is But blank wall should be avoided. It's basically the big one. So I feel like there's a lot of blank wall um And maybe it's because of the way the 3d is rendering or or the elevations are reading I just feel like there's a lot more blank wall that I guess I'm used to seeing And perhaps that is the the renny macintosh Style of house there was a lot of blank wall in those style of homes and multifamily developments Because it was about the transitions between the materiality as opposed to the you know Articulating each individual material individual, you know kind of as its own little jewel box as we sometimes see in like arts and crafts Or other things like that So I wonder about the blank wall component The the north facade is 140 Sumod feet I think based on my quick measurements. And so that's the next one facades greater than 100 feet And length should incorporate recesses and projections, which I think you're starting to have along that facade The north side, yeah Yeah, I mean it's so it has those recesses, but then there's no There's no windows or kind of materiality change. So it feels very flat to me currently even though if you look at the plan You certainly have some depth. So maybe it's just reading that way because of the kind of monochromaticness of the the materiality Also, there there's landscaping. Although it's not shown on the elevation. There are trees in front of that along the planter street You know, so take that comment with a grain of salt I think maybe because it's hard to tell kind of what's being presented sometimes when we look at flat elevations Uh, particularly if there's something going on in terms of landscape components or what have you Um, let me go back here Okay And then the last one I I think is really kind of interesting in here is the there's a 4.2 I think it's two 4.2 site development guidelines. It talks about urban plazas f and I think what's really cool about this plaza in particular is it plaza design should emphasize Adequate areas of hardscape and seating to host a variety of activities and events Um, so what's unique about kind of I think the interior courtyard and the exterior courtyard both Are that they do provide a flexibility to some of that Which is unique to this project which is not kind of present on the rest of the street At least if you're taking it from kind of like marlowe to the funky intersection At steel and gernville and range right if you kind of look at that as a whole strip, there is no Kind of front plaza. There is no courtyard on any of the adjacent properties Uh, so I think it's interesting. Um, I am wondering about the front plaza if perhaps I mean it's 52 ish feet in diameter So i'm wondering could there be a way to Reduce the size of that plaza while also still Maintaining all of the amenities And then that might buy you some additional parking potentially or additional green Greenscaping or something like that um Because it is pretty large, but it's an you know, it might maybe just a little kind of Squishing I guess Uh, well, I do like the design concept and the elements. I'm wondering if maybe it could be shrunk a little bit Sorry, I have a bunch of notes like in a bunch of different places. I apologize um I do like the tile Uh, I think it's unique and interesting and it kind of breaks up the facade I kind of almost want more of it. I think like I was saying Uh, because there is a lot of I think you said efis or stucco one or two um Because we do see a lot, you know, I think Collectively on a lot of residential projects. We see a lot of either efis or stucco Because it's cost effective, right? Um But I think I think it might be interesting to explore a A second material maybe in the recesses like we talked about or maybe more of the tile I'm not exactly sure what eric's concern is with durability That tile is gonna unless somebody like goes and rips it off. I'm a little work I mean, I'm not worried about it, but I was looking more at the The patio walls in the front and maybe tying material To the front of that up to those tile panels. Okay. I see what you're saying. Yeah, maybe a A little nexus there. Yeah, you're talking about the site walls if they're just stucco Are they gonna get whacked and run into by like bikes or skateboards or what spray painted spray paint or that? I'm trying it. Yeah um Nobody's talked about the laser cut metal on the parking garage Uh, that's kind of an interesting element that's not present anywhere else I don't know if it fits But I think it's kind of a cool way to screen the um cars in there I don't I don't know how it fits. I don't know what the color is Because it doesn't it's proposed as a dark bronze or a good deep black. Yeah, and um the The actual design is um, we found an oakland company that does laser cutting And it relates somehow to the random, um You know vertical brick pattern on the tile so So and then I had uh, so you're you're I I thought it was asphalt shingles when I saw it but it You want to do slate Actually, is that right? No, it's a recycled Composition shingle that simulates slate according to the kind of right as that old european style Right, exactly. Uh-huh, and but we didn't have a sample of it and so it's took That hence my confusion. I was like, wait, you're putting asphalt shingles on here, but you're not you're actually putting a Something that looks like slate that's a recycled material. Okay, cool um I think the railings are really nice um, they fit within the aesthetic The aluminum kind of really got with the wood shown whether you have the wood or not um I think the overall simplicity of the palette is really nice uh But again, I think maybe another material Might help with the way the recesses are reading Uh, and then also I think durability of what we kind of talked about At that front wall and then the parking sorry not the parking structure Well, actually, no. Yeah, both the parking structure and the trash enclosure They appear to be indicated To have a similar stucco finish. So I would encourage That you know continuity between your support structures Because the trash enclosure looks like it's a cme block wall on one of these drawings But maybe that doesn't indicate that Um, it's cmu, but it will have a stucco face on the outside. Yeah. Yeah. Okay, cool Um, yeah, just for compatibility sake What do you think? Let's see if I got any more comments here So, uh, this is a general comment not necessarily to the applicant or to staff or anybody, but it's more a Personal comment. Um, I I think there's a bigger issue at play here than just the development of this particular site There are a lot of what I would call hinky things going on with, uh, the road design between The intersection of west steel Uh and gernville and range and where it terminates at marlowe in this particular stretch of road um I don't know if that's something that this particular board can address Within the confines of our purview, but I think we can potentially ask staff And traffic engineering to explore Uh those issues, um The current, uh, kind of right-of-way Uh in my kind of initial look Does not appear to be able to accommodate any street widening So if street widening were to occur, um The property owners on either side would have to Give way to a right-of-way widening I think If that were to happen, um street widening could potentially alleviate some of the issues if A turn lane is incorporated of center You know planting strip of trees You know calming humps things like that that are pretty common in development standards for urban pedestrian environments that We have some of them in our design guidelines currently for I think the downtown station area plan We've got a lot of those elements in there So I'm I'm curious Kind of what perhaps the the response is from the city on that to To address I think the the cultural institutions on the north side of west steel um Because those those types of solutions would be how to potentially improve vehicular access and pedestrian access Along that strip of road in there to help you guys out long term In terms of the development of that street Because if it just stays as like, you know, I know I've gone to the ice rink with my family And we just sit there waiting to turn left and you got to wait and people speed and do all sorts of other kind of silly things Um, so this is I think a larger issue than than one, uh, one property development And I think the applicants desire to Perhaps make a statement in terms of vehicular usage through this project Could be a catalyst in a way. Um, I think we talk a lot about uh different projects You know, you got to start somewhere. Uh, I know Hugh Frutrell had a project or has a project I think it's on fourth street. Uh, that's seven stories tall And you know, you would say oh, that just doesn't match any of the the surrounding neighborhood Because there's nothing else that's seven feet tall, but are seven stories tall but you know in order to Catalyze more, um Development of that nature for somebody's got to kind of kind of light the fire so to speak. So this may be That in this area So And then I guess one final question, uh, did you How did you land on 36 units, did you do a You know development study or you know in terms of penciling it out or the static curiosity Oh Well, the the project Is zoned for 18 to the acre so 100 density bonuses 36 That's the maximum Use of the site. Okay, cool. Yeah, I just was curious how you landed on that because again That's the the zoning with the density bonus both applied to units and parking So cool. Thank you Thank you. Drew Henry Thank you very much for the very complete design package. Um liked your design inspirations page. Um I like the applicants idea and bringing some things from europe here I'll back up a little bit my offices were on hardy's lane for 10 plus years So i'm very familiar with the neighborhood And I've watched that vacant lot be vacant for for a long time I'm glad to see something Being proposed for that Um I like all the other board members comments so far and I would agree with them to to a a certain point Um, but like to expand on a couple of them um One of them the neighborhood compatibility and our design with the guideline that uh, drew read Um, I think it's important in a lot of areas, but in this particular case Um, I'm kind of glad your design inspiration is coming from from another palette Um The museum I think is nicely done. It's it's kind of fresh But I'd hate to see you have ski soled style architecture here. That doesn't quite make sense um But to that I I think there is a lot of white and I and I'm surprised it's not seagull white that that Warren often speaks of here in our our meetings See pearl very close, but uh Someday I'm sure he'll bring us a project with seagull white, which I want to see that But I I like the nice clean aspect of it At one point I was going to suggest Reveals and and cutting it up and making it more modern looking, but I think you're I think you're kind of spot on with the with the large um Clean forms But to Drew's point, I think maybe if if you looked at maybe taking the gray Give back to your color palette the the gray color that you're using on the CMU walls And maybe taking some of that and and letting it integrate Vertically in some of those recess panels at least take a color study look at it in Revit And I and and think about it It'd just be a suggestion. Even if we were voting on it to be a I don't know something I would request um Those CMU walls, I I'm hoping Don McNair can Maybe suggest a vine to grow on those so it's a little bit less Maybe maybe even has a one or two foot stagger to them. So they're not so long But maybe maybe some sort of a of a vine element because the A lot of the landscaping as I interpret it is is um It's not very heavy nor nor probably should it be the the mix of street trees and and low shrubs Along west steel. I think is is probably appropriate I'm pretty good at visualizing what what don has come up with your landscaping and then applying that to that 3d But most people aren't and I think as you move forward with this and show other people It'd be really really helpful if you added not only Eric's suggestion on the the tile and because it's missing and it was a good catch on Eric's part I I thought why is this so plain and and it's missing a lot of the very um Clean and crisp detailing and the images you want to evoke on this project It's missing on those elevations So if you could help have somebody help you with that that graphically get it on the next go around And and add the trees and maybe work with dawn on making it accurate. So it has some some relief to it I kind of like drew's um suggestion of shrinking the the uh Plaza if it helps with Eric's comment about Getting an unloading zone along west deal, you know I think we're all I think you're headed in the right direction with getting people out of their cars and getting using them getting people to use public transportation and and you've got to bust up across the street. You got to train fairly close. You've got Walkable amenities in cutting town to use That's going to segue into my last comment But but let me finish my point if if you could shrink that plausible a little bit get an unloading zone for Either uber taxis share rides I think that would really really help this project From what I can tell with looking over drew's shoulder on Street parking on meadow. It's not a lot. I know there's a little bit of street parking on hardy's But but you've got some people in the neighborhood You you probably ought to need to work with on that aspect too when they have events all that street parking gets used up Um, I bet during the daytime my experience That that parking is available on street along hardy's but that's a pretty good walk to the apartments and I wouldn't think you would ever try to Have a business plan to have an apartment complex with with street parking I think it's a I think it's a temporary solution to A long-term problem is going to cause issues with your neighborhood so I'm going to close with be be prepared to turn away applicants to have more than one car Hope hopefully you have lots of applicants with no cars and and or one car and it's a You know compact sized truck maybe Or or you or you somehow reserve those tuck under parking spaces for the trucks, but um I'd absolutely be a hypocrite if I said that one one space per unit wasn't something I believed in from a urban design standpoint I've I've had other projects where where I think that standard works great, but it usually only works well with um A parking garage in air at ample street parking um So I'm I guess I'm I wish a traffic study would have been done Prior to coming here, but I think that traffic study is going to help bear out some of this, but I'm okay with one space per unit. I think it's I think it's the trend. I think you hit spot on that I think this younger generation Doesn't like to drive they'd rather they prefer not to drive I think of easy transportation was available to them They do that or they're or they're going to walk and that's an experience with my younger staff So We need housing units. Um, there's there's a low income Component to this so I I Encourage you to keep working with the neighborhood and keep pursuing the project. I think it's a nice nice project overall Thank you. Henry. Sorry. I'm writing as well. Um Drew before I forget. Can you while I'm making my comments, uh, The urban plaza The number of the guideline when you get a chance. Thanks So I too really like the project, um You know again, I think Warren and the Hedgepeth architects lead by example and putting together a good package for concept design reviews. So much appreciated as was echoed earlier by my colleagues Um, I think that what I'm hearing a lot of and and it's from members of the public and the neighborhood as well as that You know, we're struggling to define the balance between higher density Reducing greenhouse gases, you know being the stewards of as mr. Dewitt reminded us earlier the climate emergency response team And all of that says less vehicles less vehicle miles traveled You know more Higher density development. Uh, and this this brings it all To this location the challenge being that there's already several establishments in the location that have a lot of vehicle miles traveled to Reach those destinations. So, you know, it's it's it's never going to stop and it's always going to be a challenge and and there's but I think there's a way to to find it and so my first comment would be to Echo Drew's encouragement of staff and traffic engineering to take a look at this entire street And not burn in one project with the struggle of the street but You know really take a look at a street that does have a lot of activity and and does have an empty lot on it that could house 36 plus people Um and and that's a great asset and so With every challenge becomes an opportunity and the opportunity is to address the street There's you know, several things that can be done from right turn only from all of the driveways No left hand turns on the streets To the barriers and other things that can become again assets with trees and and that sort of thing Incorporated into it. So I think that staff has heard that loud and clear in the public as well I asked about the mechanical wells earlier Being that it's an elevated site It may not even be an issue, but I think that because The ice arena is also elevated and has a deep setback entrance. You're going to be able to see that vantage point pretty clear It may get high enough, but just take some consideration to screen in that mechanical well that faces west steel With whatever units end up being up in in those mechanical wells Um, I'd also encourage and again back to the parking thing. Um, we've seen in other developments where there's if there's a garage door that you have glazing up at the top so that Whoever manages these units can check and see that they're being used for vehicles and not storage Um, and so that you don't lose accidentally lose the parking space by allowing someone to Store items as opposed to their vehicle in those spaces. So That may help out See In Landscaping again, I know we're at concept Design and so the actual design on the page is probably limited and I'm not a plant expert as dawn knows So I'm hoping that there's more color than just green And so I just you know encourage that There's color throughout And I think you know, I'd echo the the fact that one of the ways to dress up those blank walls It may be use of materials Could be a screen that vines grow up on that's offset on it You know play with those type of things and and see what you come up with I also think that You know on the returns you might be able to bring in some of those tile elements So that it's not just on the faces, but it's on the returns of those courtyards might be a nice feature Um, I too really like the tile element. Um, I think it's Conceptually difficult to illustrate But I think in reality, it's going to be a beautiful element And and I would you know encourage Again more use of it Maybe in some fun ways where it doesn't isn't so Linear and and The same Drew you want to make mention So yeah, so you asked me to find the design I so as I was looking at this again and reading through it It's I think there are a lot of elements in it. So it's a section 4.10 Subsection 2 site development guidelines And it is section f urban plazas And I read from one of them, but as I was reading through all of these it's it's actually Interesting, I think as I was reading through them. I think we've addressed these design guidelines around the central Entry courtyard or the entry the corner entry courtyard. Um, but I wanted to emphasize a couple of them real quick here number seven Provide interest plazas should incorporate a variety of materials color texture and focal elements Such as fountains or public art, but I would you know, I wouldn't say you need public art But I think in terms of the the facade of the wall, right? I think that what we commented on kind of applies in that item Shade trees and shaded seating which I think you guys have indicated Are on there and then plazas should be located adjacent to sidewalks, which you've done Um to maximize visibility You've got seating you've got connectivity to the pedestrian path system You've got you're kind of hitting on a lot of these but I think you need to Just take another pass through them based on kind of our comments And I think you'll find that If you make a couple of tweaks, you'll really hit on all of these Very well in that kind of corner plaza component Thank you, drew And I'll also Echo Henry's comment even though we're talking about the plaza being a nice element If you were and I think drew mentioned as well if you were able to shrink it down for a unloading area, I think You know, that would be a huge asset to the project Even though we're trying to get people out of cars They're going to be in cars sometimes Overall I'm very supportive of the project again Not to diminish the traffic and congestion concerns of the neighborhood but from a architectural standpoint and You know going with higher density and bringing more housing to Santa Rosa I'm encouraged I'm encouraged about your enthusiasm For the area so thank you for that If it's helpful to staff I could run through kind of the main comments Um And I wrote it by name. So if I messed something up, you can correct me So Eric personally wasn't a huge fan of the tile But he's in the minority on that one so but I'll mention it And There's more encouragement of dynamic material and colors Of the courtyard facades and I think that's a general comment throughout Drew you commented on the north station area specific plan design guidelines In particular design guideline 410 to l That the design style doesn't fit within the neighborhood design per se Doesn't mean I don't like it. It doesn't mean he doesn't like it. It just didn't fit within the neighborhood Henry echoed that comment And then another design guideline from the same section is 410 3a, which was the avoidance of blank walls, which we've also all touched on section 410 to f urban plaza And then we've all touched on you know to explore anyways reducing the size of that plaza to allow for Other enhancements of the project whether it'd be additional parking or it'd be a drop-off unloading area You know make it may move on just as it is and I think everyone would be fine with that It's just an idea Drew likes the tile Maybe add more Likes the metal screen of the parking Um the parking screen parking stacked parking screen likes the simplicity of the palette Maybe you explore adding another material to the palette I want to make sure there's continuity of the accessory buildings with the finishes And then maybe that you know this project Will be the catalyst for moving the needle to less cars and I think that's what we're striving for And again reiterating that staff should an engineering should look at the street and it's all of its opportunities Henry happy that the design style has gravitated towards this architectural type and didn't Mimic anything in the neighborhood not that there's poor choices in the neighborhood, but A unique building is welcome Um Recommended studying doing a color study with the gray color and possibly in the verticals and in the bays Give a little bit more color variation. See what that looks like Uh potentially using landscaping or vines on the CMU courtyard walls We already talked about the unloading zone reducing the courtyard Be prepared to turn away applicants that have two or more cars Thumbs up from the applicant. I mean from our applicant And is okay with one space per unit as am I And we need housing units and his overall support of the project My comments were Possibly looking at adding tile at the returns on the courtyard element walls Um and I'm overall supportive of the project and my other comments of our oh the mechanical well Um taking a consideration of views from neighboring properties from the mechanical wells And I'm overall very supportive of the project as well Any final comments? Okay, any questions or concerns from the applicant or applicant team No, we're very grateful for all the attention and time and care you paid to our presentation though. Thank you One of the things I like that is the As you read through all the documents and extremely great questions especially by drew going through all of the notes and the The sonarosa plan and everything and the tile comments in the ring And it's all well taken in a lot of its good consideration And the project list needs to be able to be defined in certain people's minds like x y and z So, yeah, I want to thank you for the time and the quality of questions and It was pretty cool. Thanks Any questions for staff? okay Well, I always like to thank the applicant for considering an investment in Santa Rosa So thank you very much and thank you for the public for being here to express your concerns for the neighborhood and your businesses So with that We will conclude our items for today and move on to item number seven board member reports any board member reports It's not a report per se, but um We've seen uh, mr. Dewitt a couple times now talking about trees And I think it's important. Um, I think for the public to realize that Trees are not the end-all be-all solution for climate action When we are discussing the built environment it requires more than merely plantings And other elements that requires good design passive solar design Uh an attention to recyclable materials and attention to parking standards and attention to embodied carbon Intent, you know, so there are more elements than just trees and and while I you know, his comments are important I think it's important for everybody to realize that to tackle a item such as a climate action plan Is no small task and it requires a lot of moving parts for a lot of different things. And so it may It's a lot like turning a an aircraft carrier Or rather I should say a battleship from the 1940s It's it's a difficult thing to do and You know, we in california are you know, leaving the way in many ways In terms of climate action, but it takes more than just trees. So I just thought that was important Thank you drew and I think if you gave mr. Duet more than three minutes He would give you all the ways so we could do that Okay, thank you department reports bill Nothing specific. I was going to take a poll kind of gauged board members for availability for our get together We've talked about but I think since we don't have a full board what I will probably do is just send out an email Um, I know chair concave may 7th is a date that you won't be available So, um, we'll get that out shortly so we can put that on the books and it's Eric's birthday So he probably doesn't want to do that either And I'm also, uh, I we don't have a board meeting that never mind forget. I said anything Great. Thank you. Uh, we'll look forward to the email And with no further items we are adjourned