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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2011-12-14 Unofficial West Newport Landscaping CAP minutesUNOFFICIAL CITY OF NEWPORT BEACH Citizen Advisory Panel Meeting West Landscaping - Design Guidelines Meetina Minutes Newport Beach City Hall Fire Conference Room 3300 Newport Blvd., Building D Wednesday, December 14, 2011 4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Edward Selich — Council Member Liaison Kimberly Brandt — Community Development Director Brenda Wisneski — Deputy Community Development Director Jim Campbell — Principal Planner Ben Zdeba — Planning Technician Dave Webb — Deputy PW Director /City Engineer Iris Lee — Senior Civil Engineer Dennis Stone — Project Consultant The meeting was called to order at 4:00 p.m. 1. Call Meeting to Order 2. Roll Call Committee Members: Cindy Koller Gina Lesley Jeffrey Morris Tony Petros Paul Watkins All Committee Members and Staff were present with exception of Tony Petros and Council member Liaison Ed Selich. 3. Approval of Minutes from November 9, 2011 Meeting Committee Member Tony Petros arrived at 4:02 p.m. Committee Member Tony Petros requested clarification regarding "alleyway medians" and wanted to ensure it was not misinterpreted to mean installation of medians within an alleyway. Mr. Petros also questioned the use of "tree islands" in the minutes and it was clarified that tree islands were likened to bulb -outs. Committee Member Cindy Koller motioned to approve the minutes as amended with Mr. Petros' comments and Committee Member Paul Watkins seconded the motion. The minutes were approved as amended unanimously (5 — 0). UNOFFICIAL 4. Current Business A. Concept Study Review and CAP Recommendations Project Consultant Dennis Stone introduced David Volz of David Volz Design (DVD) to give a presentation covering the stretches of the project area that were not covered in the previous meeting. i. West Coast Highway Mr. Volz presented several printed sheets of landscaping plans covering the stretch of West Coast Highway from the Santa Ana River to the Newport Boulevard onramp. The concept includes palm trees spaced at 60 — 80 feet interspersed with underlying canopy trees and long reaches of similar plantings to achieve a rhythm that is detectable at higher speeds. The plant palette includes landscaping material from the existing development at Hoag Hospital to tie into an overall theme for the project area. In addition, two unused turn lanes near Newport Boulevard onramp will be used for median expansions to establish new plantings. The floor was opened for public comment. A resident questioned the ease of maintenance on the proposed plant palette and noted that there are some areas in the City that appear to have unhealthy plantings that are not well - maintained. Mr. Volz assured the resident that the plantings had been discussed with the City's Municipal Operations Department and that many of the plantings with unhealthy appearances could be attributed to the age of the actual planting. Another resident requested clarification regarding the gateway and intersection signage as it was uncertain if the two signs would be identical. Mr. Volz stated the signs would be different as the sign at the intersection would be incorporated into the seat wall. Jim Mosher, resident, questioned whether or not there exists a similar planting schematic to the concept being proposed and it was clarified that the concept plan has not been replicated; however, the tree species may be found in places such as Dana Point and Corona del Mar. Mr. Mosher also commented with respect to the blooming season of the flowering trees. Mr. Volz stated that the trees bloom such that there is an overlap and there should always be some coloration. Lastly, Mr. Mosher expressed concern regarding the view from the future Sunset Ridge Park. It was clarified that the plantings and the proposed wall are well below the view in concept. Public comment was closed and a discussion ensued with the Committee members. Committee Member Cindy Koller requested clarification on the proposed gateway entry wall that would replace the existing K -rail. Landscape architect Gary Vasquez of DVD explained the entry wall would be a visual addition that would somewhat meanders within the median, but also serves a safety purpose. Committee Member Paul Watkins requested that the framing of the existing UNOFFICIAL block wall near the Newport Shores Community with Lucite panels be repaired and commended DVD for the design work on the project and also asked that the monument sign size be looked at closer during the design stage. Committee Member Gina Lesley added that the community of Newport Shores would not want a wall and would appreciate the plantings in front of the Lucite panels. Committee Member Tony Petros commented that there may be some development requirements for Hoag's lower campus by the Balboa Coves entrance and that the Concept Plan design should not preclude those requirements. Mr. Petros also commented that many cyclists come down from the Santa Ana River Trail and proceed onto West Coast Highway, so a curb -cut should be provided to allow this motion. Committee Member Jeffrey Morris stated that there are several dead spots in the Corona del Mar plantings, so some sort of uniform coverage would look good in the long run. Mr. Petros added that there should be budgetary numbers provided regarding maintenance costs for the new planted areas. Staff agreed and stated it would provide the estimates to City Council in the staff report. David Volz also stated that the landscaping material selected was low maintenance in nature. Councilmember Ed Selich commended the design team and specifically applauded the unique K- rail solution. Committee Member Cindy Koller motioned to vote on the Concept Plan for West Coast Highway with the aforementioned considerations included. Jeffrey Morris seconded and the vote passed unanimously (5 — 0). ii. Superior Avenue Mr. Volz presented several landscape concept sheets for the project area of Superior Avenue at Ticonderoga Street down to the West Coast Highway intersection. The concept for this stretch includes a continuation of the plantings further up Superior Avenue with lower plantings to preclude blocking ocean views and an improved K -rail, much like that proposed at the gateway entry to West Coast Highway from Huntington Beach. Public comment was opened and several statements were made: 1) outreach to the Balboa Coves homeowners should be completed to ensure the portion of West Coast Highway in front of Hoag does not impact their views and properties; 2) the new K -rail replacement might encourage pedestrian crossing since breaks /openings in the wall are proposed; and 3) alternatives should be considered to the stair - stepped K -rail replacement wall as it appears to make the wall height taller. Public comment was closed and a discussion with the Committee Members ensued. Tony Petros stated that the existing K -rail is scuffed because vehicles hit it, so he emphasized that the K -rail replacement must be safe. He further commented that the view from Superior Avenue is remarkable and that the proposed parkway trees do not UNOFFICIAL help maintain the view. Deputy Public Works Director Dave Webb suggested that the curb to the median with the K -rail replacement could be raised such that it catches most of the initial hits. David Volz clarified that the view is primarily seen down a third of the street and that the design would be considerate of any view corridor. Paul Watkins added that the view drops off at certain points and trees could be installed at lower elevations. Cindy Koller commented that the proposed Queen Palms would block views with the palm fronds. Project Consultant Dennis Stone stated that views and the safety of the proposed wall would be considered during the design process for construction drawings. He also added that there will be many platforms in the future for public comment on the project as it makes its way up to implementation. Councilmember Ed Selich brought up the example of the residents of Harbor View Hills who had input on the landscaping that could potentially impact their views as a similar process to what could take place for this Concept Plan. Principal Planner Jim Campbell also added that Hoag Hospital is required to provide a roughly $150,000 contribution to landscape the area behind the Hoag co -gen facility. Paul Watkins motioned to approve the Concept Plan with the views and safety considered. Jeffrey Morris seconded the motion and the Committee voted unanimously to approve (5 — 0). B. Prioritizing Improvements Project Consultant Dennis Stone explained the process of prioritization in that phasing should be utilized to complete the entire project and certain sections of the project could be deemed a priority. A flipchart was presented with the project area broken down into segments and budgetary estimates by each. Public comment was opened and the general consensus was that Balboa Boulevard should be the priority as it is residential and should have a more neighborhood feel. Public comment was closed and the Committee discussed the prioritization further. Committee Member Gina Lesley stated the importance of the gateway entry from the Santa Ana River Bridge and West Coast Highway. Committee Members Cindy Koller, Tony Petros, and Jeffrey Morris expressed support for prioritizing the Balboa Boulevard stretch and Mr. Petros added that the Balboa Boulevard stretch could be worked on while approvals and funding are obtained for the CalTrans right -of -way (West Coast Highway). 5. Next Steps A. Future Recommendations A list of all recommendations outside of the scope of work of the project area and the CAP'S purview was displayed on the flipchart as follows: 1) undergrounding of utilities; 2) increased street sweeping and steam cleaning; 3) installation of decorative street UNOFFICIAL lighting; 4) increased Code Enforcement and more awareness of Code Enforcement activities; 5) addition of artwork in the project area; and 6) consideration of flashing crosswalk /pedestrian safety. Public comment was opened and the members of the public concurred with the list as presented. Committee Member Cindy Koller stated that the artwork should be particularly considered at the southeast corner of the intersection of Balboa Boulevard and West Coast Highway. Committee Member Tony Petros commented that all available funding options for the projects should be pursued from different agencies. Lastly, it was mentioned that the Conceptual Plan and the project should be consistent and seamless with the efforts of the Lido Village CAP and its Design Guidelines. 6. Public Comments A resident questioned whether or not any of the parties interested in purchasing the mobile home park area approached the Committee Members and expressed concern that there may be a conflict of interest. Project Consultant Dennis Stone stated there is an ongoing requirement to disclose conflict -of- interest information to the Committee and nothing has been brought forward thus far. Upon seeing no further public comment, Mr. Stone closed the floor and invited Councilmember Selich to provide closing comment. Mr. Selich stated he was pleased with the design work that was presented and is looking forward to it being completed. At the close of the public comment session, Dennis Stone noted that this meeting concluded work of the CAP and he thanked everyone for the participation in the process of developing the conceptual plan. 7. The meeting was adjourned at 5:30 p.m.