TO: ARCHITECTURAL AND PRESERVATION COMMISSION
FROM: BRAD JOHNSON, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR
DATE: MAY 15, 2024
SUBJECT:
Title
PROGRESS UPDATE ON MOTEL 6 LIGHTING AND LANDSCAPING
Body
SUMMARY
In response to public comment at the March 13, 2024, Architectural Commission meeting Chair Neiuber asked staff to provide a report on the outstanding items of the Motel 6 landscaping project. This report provides an update on the current status of the project along with responses to the points raised by a Motel 6 neighbor during public comment before the Commission.
RECOMMENDATION
Recommended Action
Staff recommends the Architectural and Preservation Commission (formerly Architectural Commission) receive staff’s oral presentation, ask questions, take public comment, and file this update report.
Body
ALTERNATIVE TO RECOMMENDATION
In addition to the recommendation, there is the following alternative:
• Request additional information from staff.
FINANCIAL REVIEW
The staff cost to prepare this report is estimated at $1,510 and is included in the operating budget of the Community Development Department.
ANALYSIS
Background
The City received a number of citizen complaints regarding criminal/nuisance activities and declining physical conditions at Motel 6 during the Covid-19 dominated year of 2021. In response, City staff began working with the business to address the various concerns. Police Department staff performed a number of undercover details as well as regular, proactive enforcement in the area and the City eventually passed a Hotel/Motel Ordinance to better regulate hotels and motels Citywide. This ordinance took effect in April 2023.
The Planning Division and Community Improvement staff also worked with the motel owners and management to address concerns regarding the removal of trees that had been required to provide a privacy screen for adjacent neighbors as well as to eliminate roof-mounted lighting that was not installed according to the originally approved plans for the motel. To address these issues, the motel submitted a proposed landscape and lighting plan, which was reviewed by the Architectural Commission at its meeting on October 26, 2022. At that meeting, the Commission strongly supported staff’s recommendation to replace lights and missing landscaping, and added/modified conditions that required the motel to:
1. Widen the planter on the east side of the property to allow 36-inch box hedge trees to be planted and extend this hedge landscaping for the entire length of the eastern property border. This was to be done without causing the loss of a row of parking.
2. Move the trash enclosure from its then-location (adjacent to homes) and place it further west, preferably at the northwest corner of the property.
3. Refill the empty swimming pool as soon as possible.
4. Remove all non-code-compliant lighting fixtures and replace them with code-compliant lighting.
5. Revise Condition of Approval G to require full landscaping within 12 months and replenishment of temporary bark mulch cover after six months.
Point 5 above was incorporated into a revised approved Resolution 2022-11 (Attachment A), where the revised Condition G reads as follows:
“G. If demolition work for re-development of the tennis courts does not commence within 12 months of the date of this approval, the applicant shall submit a separate landscape & irrigation plan for consideration of all existing landscape planters surrounding and between the courts, including the public parkway along American Avenue. Bark Mulch during the 12 months shall be maintained in a weed free and trash free condition. Bark Mulch shall be replenished or replaced after the initial 6 months.”
The Commission’s approval was appealed by Motel 6 to the City Council, who heard the appeal at their November 22, 2022 meeting. At that meeting, the City Council upheld the Architectural Commission decision, including the revised Condition G. The final approved Landscape and Lighting Plans, including revisions approved by staff prior to construction, can be found in Attachment B. The staff PowerPoint presentation and excerpted minutes from the October 26, 2022, Architectural Commission meeting are also attached as Attachments C and D respectively.
Progress to Date on Commission-Specific Items
Planter Widening
The planter along the eastern property line between the existing parking lot and property line wall with neighboring residences has been widened to five feet to accommodate 36” box-sized Ficus nitida hedge trees without losing a row of parking or compromising the width of the drive aisle, which also serves as a fire lane. This is consistent with the direction provided by the Architectural Commission and upheld by the City Council. Further, staff does not support widening this planter beyond its current five-foot width. If this planter were wider than five feet, it could cause parked cars to encroach on the fire access lane and risk the Fire Department determining that there is no longer enough space for their safe access. This could cause the Fire Department to require the entire eastern row of parking to be removed - which was not the intent of the Architectural Commission.
Trash Enclosure
The trash enclosure has been relocated from its previous location adjacent to homes and has been placed in the northwest corner of the property as directed by the Commission.
Refill Swimming Pool
The swimming pool was refilled shortly after the Architectural Commission meeting, as directed.
Replace Non-compliant Light Fixtures
The non-code-compliant lighting, which included lighting mounted above the eave line of the motel building, has been removed. In its place, new fixtures have been mounted below the eave line and augmented by new, free-standing parking lot lights that are compliant with City Codes and generally match locations shown on the original plans for the motel. After receiving a complaint from an adjacent neighbor, the applicant had large custom glare shields, usually referred to as “house shields”, installed on all fixtures adjacent to the east property line. It should be noted that although this was not a requirement detailed in the approved resolution, Motel 6 management agreed to the additional cost of the house shields to accommodate neighbors’ concerns. The new lighting is set at a 3,000 Kelvin color temperature to comply with City Code requirements as well as American Medical Association health advisories. In addition, unpermitted wall sconces under the porte-cochere with blue light have been replaced with warm white (3,000 Kelvin) globe lights to emulate the light originally approved for the hotel, and consistent with the mid-century styling of the motel.
Landscaping of Tennis Court Area and American Avenue Parkway
Although the tennis court area is under contract to be sold to a residential developer, City Ventures, the project is not entitled or permitted and work has not commenced. Consequently, the requirements of Condition of Approval G require the area to be landscaped. The applicant has submitted plans for landscaping this area with a simple design consisting of the drought-tolerant plants contained in the plant palette used for the permanent landscaping on the motel site. This landscaping is anticipated to be installed prior to May 15, 2024. The plants will be installed in a relatively sparse manner as the landscaping is expected to be temporary and removed once the new City Ventures residential development is entitled. If that project is unexpectedly canceled or delayed, these plants are expected to fill the area within three years. Prominent plants to be utilized are
Myoporum parvifolium, Salvia “hot-lips”, and lavender. Teucrium lucidrys may also be added for additional variety.
Progress to Date on Other Items Included in the Commission’s Approval Resolution
Relandscaping of Motel Site
The Motel 6 portion of the site has been completely landscaped in general accordance with the landscape plan approved by the Architectural Commission with minor modifications approved by staff. This includes:
• The planting of 110, 36-inch boxed-sized Ficus nitida trees, 5-feet-on-center along the eastern edge of the property;
• Mulching of all planters, including the tennis court area and American Avenue parkway;
• The planting of approximately 62 additional trees in a variety of species, including several large canopy trees in the main courtyard, and corner planters of the parking lot;
• Replacement of parking lot perimeter plantings and the central courtyard of the motel with a mix of drought-tolerant ground covers and shrubs;
• Creation of new concrete walkways and seating areas in the courtyard; and
• Installation of decomposed granite for additional pathways and pet areas.
The relandscaping included the removal of several severely topped trees, which have been replaced with a variety of new species.
Removal of Unpermitted Shed
Motel 6 has removed the unpermitted shed located in the northeast corner of the property as required in Condition of Approval H of the Commission-approved resolution.
Compliance with Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance
The landscape and irrigation plan for the new landscaping of the motel site complies with the State’s Model Water Efficient Landscaping Ordinance (MWELO) as required in Condition of Approval K of the Commission approved Resolution.
Staff Response to Additional Complaints Expressed During Public Comment
Several issues were expressed by a Motel 6 neighbor during the general public comment portion of the Commission’s March 13, 2024 meeting. Staff recorded the following five discreet complaints presented during the three-minute public comment:
1. The existing dense tree canopy screening was removed by the Motel 6 staff and the removal of the screen created an untenable lack of privacy for neighbors due to sight lines from the second story of the motel.
2. The City’s response has been a “Bait and Switch”. “15 feet became 8 feet”. The lack of screening is going to last years because of the size of the replacement trees.
3. No root barriers were installed.
4. The proximity of the trees to the property line leaves inadequate space for trimming.
5. The glare from the new lights is very intense and shields have not been installed.
In addition to this list, an additional complaint has been raised by the same neighbor to staff and City Council members.
6. There is a gap at the north end of the property where no hedge trees have been installed.
Staff’s responses to these six issues are listed below.
1. As discussed above, the removal of several dense Eucalyptus trees along the east property line of Motel 6 precipitated much of the City’s response regarding both the perimeter landscaping and roof-mounted lighting on the motel. The tree removal work was stopped in the field when complaints were received, though the damage was mostly done by that time. The trees that were being removed had, for years, been heavily topped by Southern California Edison due to their proximity to overhead power lines.
2. In response to the tree removals, a dense hedge of Ficus nitida have been planted that are intended to more than replace the removed trees. This hedge will, in a relatively short period (two to three years), fully screen sight lines from the motel to adjacent neighbors. Ficus nitida grow up to 24 inches per year. This is consistent with the direction provided by the Architectural Commission and upheld by the City Council.
In addition to this hedge, the badly damaged or removed trees in the parking lot finger islands have been replaced with new Brisbane Box trees. Coast Live oaks have been planted in the larger corner planters. Both of these tree species are fast-growing and evergreen. Again, this is consistent with the direction provided by the Architectural Commission and upheld by the City Council.
While the full screening has not yet been achieved, the new hedge trees have been planted five feet on center and currently range from 10 feet to 15 feet in height. It should be noted that the Ficus trees were originally proposed to be a 24-inch box size and spaced at 10 feet on center and the Commission required upsizing to a 36-inch box size at five feet on center. The larger box size required the applicant to expand the planter area from 42 to 60 inches wide from the wall face to the back of the curb, which was intended to maximize planting area while not obstructing the adjacent fire lane.
3. Root barriers were not required in the plan approved by the Architectural Commission and City Council and were not specified in the approved resolution; however, the landscape architect noted that they would be used during the Commission hearing. Root barriers are a best practice for commercial landscapes and were included by the landscape architect in the final construction drawings for the project.
Root barriers were installed in accordance with the project plans. During construction, staff observed the barriers on site and in place where they were called for in the project plans. Along the east property line, root barriers were specified for the parking lot side of the five-foot-wide landscape planter. When staff asked why the root barrier was not specified adjacent to the perimeter block wall, the landscape contractor stated that the foundation of the wall was solid, reinforced concrete that was at least as deep as the root barrier, so it made no sense to install the root barrier. Staff agrees with this assessment and finds the practice to be consistent with its past experience with root barriers. The landscape plan also required all trees in narrow or “finger island” planters to receive 5’ segments of 18” deep root barriers be installed on both sides of the tree at the back of the curb. Staff has observed these barriers in place in accordance with the plans.
4. The Ficus trees have been planted 30 inches from the property line to allow space for an arborist to periodically trim the back side of the hedge. During the Architectural Commission discussion, the landscape architect stated that these Ficus trees could be trimmed to maintain a width of 3’ or 18” from center. Because the trees are being planted 30” from the face of the wall and the hedge can be trimmed to 18” from centerline, there is a 12” wide buffer where trimming can occur on the motel side of the property line. The landscape contractor has noted that nets could be used to keep trimmings from dropping on neighboring properties, if necessary.
5. As described above, house shields have been installed on all parking lot lights adjacent to the east property lines to prevent the glare described by the neighbor. Photos of these shields will be provided during staff’s presentation. Although this was not a requirement of the approved resolution, Motel 6 management agreed to the additional cost of the house shields to accommodate neighbors’ concerns.
6. It was the general intent of the Commission that the Ficus tree screen extend the full length of the property from American Avenue to the Caltrans property line. This direction was in response to neighbors southeast of the motel expressing concerns that privacy lines for the southern half of the site (tennis courts) needed to be addressed in the plan, which originally showed the hedge lining the motel parking lot, but not the tennis courts. Accordingly, the applicant has installed a solid hedge row of 36-inch box-sized Ficus trees that extend the length of the parking lot and the southern half (tennis court portion) of the site, which is approximately 600 feet in length. These hedge row trees are placed at 5-feet-on-center intervals with a total number of 120 hedge trees planted.
There remains a 45-foot wide gap between the Caltrans right-of-way and the north end of the hedge. This gap is currently occupied by a new stormwater filtration basin (dry well) and concrete pad where the unpermitted shed and trash enclosure were previously located. This is what was shown on the approved plans for this area. Due to its proximity to the Interstate 10 sound wall and location north of the motel building, there are minimal sight line concerns in this area, and the newly planted Ficus and Lophostemon confertus (Brisbane Box) trees should help block most sight lines to this area from the motel.
During the public review process, there was a discussion of the purpose of the dry well. The landscape architect noted that it was needed to help capture and percolate a portion of the very large amount of stormwater that drains from the Caltrans right-of-way into the Motel 6 property at this corner. The Commission appeared to be supportive of the dry well and there was no specific reference to filling this gap in the hedge during that hearing. As such, this gap in the hedge has not been addressed. The freeway storm runoff in this area remains a concern. Staff is currently working with Caltrans to see if they will help resolve this issue as it is created by the freeway. Because any meaningful solution is likely to result in an even larger stormwater catchment device in this area, staff believes that it is premature to require additional Ficus trees in this area.
CEQA REVIEW
This item, a progress report on a previously approved project, is not subject to environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
PUBLIC NOTICE PROCESS
The agenda and staff report for this item have been posted on the City website and distributed to interested parties. If you desire a copy, please contact the City Clerk’s Office.
Submitted by: Reviewed by:
Brad Johnson Christopher Veirs
Community Development Director Principal Planner
Attachments:
A - Architectural Commission Resolution #2022-11
B - Final Approved Landscape Plans for the Motel Site
C - Staff Presentation to AC October 26, 2022
D - Excerpt from Architectural Commission Minutes of October 26, 2022 Meeting