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Home My WebLink AboutMin - PC - 2002.06.11CITY OF BURLINGAME PLANNING COMMISSION APPROVED MINUTES SPECIAL STUDY SESSION Burlingame Public Library Lane Community Room 480 Primrose Road, Burlingame, CA Tuesday June 11, 2002 Council Chambers I. CALL TO ORDER Chair Keighran called the June 11, 2002, special meeting of the Planning Commission to order at 7:07 p.m. II. ROLL CALL Present: Commissioners Auran, Bojués, Brownrigg, Keighran, Keele, Osterling and Vistica Absent: Commissioners: None Staff Present: City Planner, Margaret Monroe; Senior Planner, Maureen Brooks; City Attorney, Larry Anderson III. APPROVAL OF AGENDA There were no changes to the agenda. IV. STUDY SESSION 1. CONTINUED DISCUSSION FROM THE MAY 23, 2002 STUDY SESSION OF THE PROPOSED SAFEWAY PROJECT – CONSTRUCTION OF A NEW 69,747 SF COMMERCIAL BUILDING FOR SAFEWAY AND WALGREEN'S AT 1420 – 1450 HOWARD AVENUE AND 249 PRIMROSE ROAD; PROJECT INCLUDES REZONING, CONDITIONAL USE PERMITS, PARKING DIMENSION VARIANCE FOR PROJECT PARKING LOT AND PARCEL MAP FOR LOT MERGER AND RECONFIGURATION OF LOTS; PROJECT ALSO INCLUDES RECONFIGURATION OF CITY- OWNED PUBLIC PARKING LOTS. Chair Keighran called the meeting to order and noted for the record that this meeting was continued from the Commission’s Special Study meeting on the Safeway project at 1450 Howard Avenue on May 23, 2002. Because it is a continuation of that meeting and public comment was held in that portion of the meeting, this meeting will focus on discussion and comment between the Planning Commission and the representatives of the project; and there will be no public comment this evening. She also noted that the purpose of tonight’s meeting was to give the Planning Commission and applicant further opportunity to discuss the interests expressed at the last meeting and to explore options for the project. CP Monroe reviewed the staff report briefly noting the scope of the proposed project and that John Glaser was present this evening to facilitate the discussion, to see that we continue forward from the last meeting and to focus on the generation of options and solutions that have the potential of resolving points of disagreement. John Glaser discussed briefly the ground rules for the meeting, noting that this is not a public hearing. He introduced a general agenda for discussion focusing on the critical components of: siting the building, store layout and reviewing the alternatives to the proposed project included in the environmental document. He concluded that al the end of the meeting the next step would be determined. Safeway representatives: Kathleen Gallagher, Vice President Real Estate- Northern California Division, Safeway; Jeff Fergot, Design Manager for Northern California Division, Safeway; Richard Zlatunich, project architect; Mathew Ridgeway, Traffic Consultant; presented additional information on how the interior store design works, how that relates to the exterior dimension of the store and site arrangement, including orientation of parking areas, loading docks and customer egress. Working from Safeway’s ideal template for a 55,000 SF store they demonstrated how the standards were adjusted for the proposed project in Burlingame; as well as how they were applied in the Safeway stores in Belmont and Millbrae. City of Burlingame Planning Commission Approved Minutes June 11, 2002 May 23, 2002 2 During the review and discussion of the various alternatives the Planning Commission stated that they felt that the following items are important elements that should be included in the proposal: is there a way to provide customer access on the sides of the store rather than just facing El Camino for customers coming from downtown Burlingame; provide opportunity for customers to park once to go to Safeway as well as other merchants; provide pedestrian connection to the Burlingame Avenue shopping district; avoid semi-trucks from using Primrose; incorporate landscaped open spaces; provide a pleasant pedestrian experience linking shopping areas; don’t disrupt the activities of other merchants in the area; it is important that the public parking provided be located to serve Fox Mall and Burlingame Avenue; eliminate the feel of a big structure; give the building interest; design should be compatible with Burlingame’s “quasi-urban” nature; provide continuity along Primrose; store size is not appropriate to the community; provide for safety of pedestrians and smooth flow of traffic around loading areas; adequately address public parking needs; reduce store footprint; and combine Safeway and Walgreen’s loading docks. Safeway representatives expressed the importance of including the following criteria in the proposal; moving customers safely and efficiently; safe, clear path of travel for customers; reduce car circulation in the parking lot; loading dock accessibility for trucks; distribute the cars coming in and out of the site; provide proper emergency exits and ADA compliance; size project with ample merchandise space to make the project financially feasible; minimize interaction between production areas and customers; provide an inviting layout for both Safeway and Walgreen’s; smooth flow of customers between gondolas (rows of shelves) and check stands; create a pleasant shopping experience that justifies the financial investment; a project which can be approved when it gets to Council; avoid customers queuing at registers; and avoid parallel parking spaces and parking perpendicular to the front of the store to reduce vehicle backups in the parking lot. During the discussion on the alternatives the following options were identified: • Reduce number of check stands to increase floor space. • Provide extra entrance with check stand for both Walgreens and Safeway. • Merchant Association Alternative: o Move Safeway Entrance to Face Primrose, and reconfigure the parking so the aisles are perpendicular to the store. o Revise so that the entrance to Safeway faces Primrose, move Walgreens towards El Camino, loading from Howard and/or El Camino. • Winges Alternative: o Save Oak tree by adjusting building layout. • Can the layout of the Millbrae store be translated to this location. • Eliminate the small retail uses along Primrose and provide a raised plaza and seating area in a setback area along the Primrose frontage. • Put the loading docks on Howard side of building. • Provide a developed pedestrian space and store entrance at Fox Plaza and Primrose. • Loading docks and service areas on El Camino side of site. • Create a pedestrian space along Primrose, continuing the tot lot concept along the west side of the street frontage. City of Burlingame Planning Commission Approved Minutes June 11, 2002 May 23, 2002 3 • Public parking lot on Wells Fargo site. • Mixed pedestrian oriented open space with vehicle use on Fox Plaza Lane with store loading dock elsewhere. • Provide ingress/egress from Fox Plaza via El Camino for deliveries to backs of Burlingame Avenue businesses. • Put Walgreens on second floor to reduce footprint of the building. • Safeway parking and public parking should all be considered together as "parking". • Provide underground parking for employees. • If building is placed along El Camino frontage, scenic highway can be buffered with landscaping. • Use the 20' setback along El Camino Real as a truck access. • Two building option with Safeway facing El Camino with parking in front; some parking and Walgreens facing Primrose. • Either two separate buildings are one L-shaped building, each store in a leg of the "L". • Walgreens horizontally along Primrose, with a row of shops facing Primrose, Safeway with back on El Camino, front on Primrose, parking in front. • Same as above, with Walgreens entrance facing Primrose and no additional shops. • Place stores together to consolidate loading spaces. • Orient store layout so loading access is on Howard and place angled entrance at Fox Plaza Lane corner. • Provide separate loading docks for Walgreens and Safeway. • Walgreens loading access from Primrose/Howard. • There is flexibility with the 20' setback from El Camino (10' minimum). Commission discussion: at the end of the meeting the Planning Commission and applicant decided that the applicant would review the options identified from the discussion and see how they could be incorporated into a project solution(s). The group agreed that there should be another working session to review the viability of the resulting project approaches. Chair Keighran continued the meeting to June 20, 2002, at a location to be announced, providing the Safeway representatives were able to prepare the project approaches in time. V. ADJOURNMENT Chair Keighran adjourned the meeting at 10:55 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Ralph Osterling, Secretary Approvedminutes6.11