Clovis Planning Commission (10/28/21) Fire Station 2 approval + conditional use permit reviewed — fresnoland

Documenter: Heather Halsey Martinez

Here’s what you need to know:

• The Clovis Planning Commission approved amendments to the General Plan, a rezone from the community commercial to the public facilities zone district and the site layout and design for Fire Station 2 located at 2300 Minnewawa Avenue. Construction is planned to begin in 2023 and completed in 2024. 

• After reviewing a conditional use permit allowing Athletic Performance  to continue hosting outdoor training at its property on Clovis Avenue, the commissioners found that the project is not in compliance with all conditions of approval and will schedule a second review hearing on Jan. 27, 2022. A neighbor and commissioners expressed safety concerns about balls flying over fencing or through netting and onto the adjacent business or into traffic.

• At the recommendation of staff, the commission continued to a date uncertain a planned development permit for Gary McDonald Homes to allow deviations from the single-family residential medium density zone district for approximately .78 acres of land located in the northeast area of Gettysburg and Peach Avenues.

The meeting (in full)

The Scene

The Clovis Planning Commission meeting took place on Thursday, Oct. 28, 2021 at 6:00 p.m. The Planning Commission consists of five Clovis residents appointed by the mayor and approved by the City Council. They meet monthly to make decisions and recommendations on city planning issues and review proposals for compliance with the General Plan, in order to make recommendations to the City Council. 

Commission Members:

Paul Hinkle, Chair (also real estate agent with Kellner Properties)

Mike Cunningham, Chair Pro Tem

Alma Antuna

Brandon Bedsted (also Director of IT & Data Services, Community Medical Centers)

Amy Hatcher

The meeting was made available via Webex and YouTube Live. The agenda states that Webex participation continues to be available. All commissioners were in council chambers. Antuna wore a mask, while the other commissioners did not. 

The meeting opened quickly with the Pledge of Allegiance led by Cunningham.

It was then opened for comments by the commissioners or secretary. 

Commission Secretary Dave Merchen said a joint session with the city council will be held on Dec. 13. He said the key item on the agenda is a discussion of the housing legislation, including SB 9 and SB 10. He asked the commissioners to think about any additional topics they would like to discuss. 

Hinkle opened the meeting for commissioner comments and Cunningham said he went by the grand opening of Raising Cane’s today and it was so busy he couldn’t get very close. 

Hinkle then opened the meeting for public comment and no comments were made online or in council chambers. 

Actions

• Approved minutes from the Sept. 23, 2021 meeting.

• Continued to a date uncertain a planned development permit for Gary McDonald Homes to allow deviations from the single-family residential medium density zone district for approximately .78 acres of land located in the northeast area of Gettysburg and Peach Avenues. 

  • In the agenda, it states that staff did not have adequate time to review the revised plans and the applicant requested the item be continued on Oct. 21. 

• Approved amendments to the General Plan, a rezone from the community commercial to the public facilities zone district and the site layout and design for Fire Station 2 located at 2300 Minnewawa Avenue. 

  • Associate Planner Lily Cha presented the item. 

  • She said it is the busiest fire station in town and it responds to 36% of the workload of the fire department annually. 

  • Originally approved with a conditional use permit to operate in a commercial zone. 

  • The applicant is proposing to demolish and replace the existing Fire Station 2 with a new, modernized facility on Minnewawa Avenue, between Shaw and Santa Ana Avenues on approximately .85 acres of property. 

  • Project would demolish the existing 6,500 square foot structure and construct a new 8,430 square foot fire station. 

  • Construction will begin in 2023 and be completed in 2024. 

  • Bedsted asked if they considered other locations to build on or if there were any concerns about remaining there. 

    • Deputy Fire Chief Chris Ekk said it is the optimum location for the fire station and provides adequate coverage for the city in meeting the response time goals.

  • Hatcher asked where the firefighters will stay during construction. 

    • Ekk said that they will build a new training facility, which ultimately will be a training classroom, but will also serve as a temporary station. It will be completed in summer 2022. It is located near the old Pelco campus. 

  • Hinkle asked about the floor plan and pointed out a room that was mislabeled as dining. 

  • Bedsted said he thought that it felt right and appreciated Ekk’s input. 

• Considered items related to a conditional use permit allowing Athletic Performance, an existing athletic facility, to continue hosting outdoor athletic training, activities and events on a portion of an approximate .6 acre property located at 340 Clovis Avenue. 

  • City Planner Dave Merchen presented the item. 

  • It was noted that correspondence was received from the applicant and was shared with the commissioners. 

  • Outdoor activities include adult soccer leagues and football training. 

  • Additional special events allowing for food trucks and alcohol sales were requested. 

  • Fencing requirements were a concern initially. 

  • Merchen said, in general, compliance issues are in three categories: 

    • Special event requirements weren’t met

    • Various sidewalk, frontage and trash enclosure improvements have not been completed 

    • Neighborhood impacts and fencing issues have not been addressed. They expected retractable netting would be used to stop balls from going over the fence. 

      • Merchen shared photos showing the different netting. 

      • He said there were some concerns about baseballs getting through the netting, but they did change the netting to a tighter mesh to prevent the issue. 

      • He said there is a gap in the netting that is a concern also. 

  • Merchen said the applicant is working on complying with the requirements and will discontinue live soccer and facility rentals. 

  • Staff recommends conducting a compliance review of the permit and scheduling a second review hearing on Jan. 27. 2022. 

  • Merchen said it does include the holidays so they may need a period that is shorter or longer. 

  • Antuna asked if the applicant reached out to city staff to express concerns that they weren’t going to meet the requirements. 

    • Merchen said yes, some of it was due to a lack of continuity by staff due to a retirement. 

  • Justin Harris, attorney for the applicant, was in council chambers. He said it first started in a garage and for the last 11 years it has occupied that site. 

    • Harris is also a real estate broker handling the “long and drawn out” process to acquire the property. He said they hope to close on a sale in the next 30 to 60 days. 

    • He said that applicant has met with city staff in the last week and did agree to not do soccer training near the Clovis Garage owner. 

  • Dave Standifer was in council chambers. He said the project came about due to COVID and because they were going to go out of business. 

    • “We were trying to give kids a safe space where they could still participate in sports when there was still uncertainty,” he said. 

    • He said that they “got wrecked” financially. He said for the first time in 20 years, they didn’t know if they were going to survive. 

    • He said some of the sidewalk improvements haven’t been done due to funding, but once they buy the building, they will be able to do that. 

  • Cunningham asked about the non-compliance items, including a failure to obtain an administrative use permit and a mural that is out of compliance with a sign ordinance. 

    • Standifer said they can paint over the logo. They just didn’t realize the sign ordinance would apply to the side of the building. 

    • He said for the use permit, they don’t want to rent it out for events anymore and are just going to focus on training. 

  • Hatcher asked about the noise of balls hitting the neighboring building or fence. 

    • Standifer said there is a netting there and they won’t be doing soccer and kicking balls in that direction any longer. 

  • Merchen said the review isn’t set to modify the conditions of approval. He said they could do that, but it would have to be scheduled for another meeting. 

  • Mark Cannon was in council chambers and said he owned Clovis Garage, a property to the north. He said he supported the business and project, but it wasn’t acceptable for balls to fly over into their property at such high frequency. 

    • He said if they can ensure that a “hard ball thrown by a young athlete” doesn’t come flying through and hurt someone or damage a vehicle at their business. 

    • He said if they can guarantee none of their equipment ends up on their property, he’d have no problem with it. 

    • Hinkle said he thought they addressed the concerns tonight.  

  • Antuna asked for clarification that they were asking tonight for a review and to adopt a resolution for staff to bring the item back for a review in 90 days. 

  • Bedsted said it’s clear that the project is out of compliance. He said that as he listened he’s worried. 

    • He said he likes the project and thinks it creates something neat, but there are some safety issues with the balls going into the street or to the business next door. 

    • Also concerns about it being aesthetically conforming

  • Cunningham said he was ready to move into a resignation of the CUP. 

    • He told Standifer that he was “the new kid on the block” and that Cannon “had standing” in the neighborhood. 

    • He said they are 14 months out from the original approval and only recently they are moving toward fixing the items that are not in compliance. 

    • He said he’s willing to go another 90 days, but “probably not beyond that.” 

  • Antuna said that she originally voted no on this project, because she had concerns that are now coming to fruition. 

    • She said they discussed all of this back in September and they continue to be concerns. 

    • She said that she feels the applicant has had sufficient time to comply and she wouldn’t approve more than 90 days. 

  • Hatcher said she thinks they have made headway, but they should put a net over Clovis Garage so that the balls bounce back and stay on their property. 

    • She understands if they don’t own the property, it’s hard to invest a lot into the concrete. 

  • Cunningham said they went through their alleyway earlier in the day and it looks like there is a “junk pile” along the alley with barbecues that looks “trashy.” 

  • Hinkle said he understands the challenge that Covid has created and that the purchase of the property will delay things. 

The meeting adjourned at 7:12 p.m. Future Planning Commission meetings are scheduled for Nov. 18 and Dec. 16, 2021.

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