TO: ARCHITECTURAL AND PRESERVATION COMMISSION
FROM: BRAD JOHNSON, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR
DATE: JULY 10, 2024
SUBJECT:
Title
ARCHITECTURAL AND SITE PLAN REVIEW #24-A04, PROPOSED 1,248 SQUARE FOOT WOMEN’S LOCKER ROOM ADDITION TO THE CLAREMONT POLICE STATION LOCATED AT 570 WEST BONITA AVENUE - APPLICANT: CITY OF CLAREMONT
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SUMMARY
The City is requesting Architectural and Preservation Commission approval of the site plan and design for a proposed 1,248-square-foot expansion to the Claremont Police Station to accommodate a new locker room for female employees. The single-story addition is located near the southeast corner of the existing building and is intended to blend with the existing architecture. The floor plan for the addition includes a locker room, showers, bathroom, quiet room, hallway, and entry vestibule intended to provide facilities for female staff and officers that are similar to those of male officers. To provide adequate space for the addition, a small section of angled parking (four spaces) along Cornell Avenue will be replaced with parallel parking. Landscaping in the area, including two existing redwood trees and two Victorian Box trees, will be replaced with new, climate-appropriate landscaping.
The Police Station was originally constructed in 1973 and is not listed in The Register of Structures of Historic and Architectural Merit of the City of Claremont (Claremont Register). While no Certificate of Appropriateness is required prior to as part of the approval of the addition, the project architect has worked with staff and Claremont Heritage to create an addition that blends with the architecture and materials of the original building and complies with the Secretary of Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties. The design incorporates the projecting concrete columns and beams, flat roof, masonry walls, and diagonal wood siding found on the original building.
RECOMMENDATION
Recommended Action
Staff recommends the Architectural and Preservation Commission:
A. Adopt A RESOLUTION OF THE ARCHITECTURAL AND PRESERVATION COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF CLAREMONT, CALIFORNIA APPROVING ARCHITECTURAL AND SITE PLAN REVIEW #24-A04, FOR A PROPOSED 1,248 SQUARE FOOT WOMEN’S LOCKER ROOM ADDITION TO THE CLAREMONT POLICE STATION LOCATED AT 570 WEST BONITA AVENUE: APPLICANT - CITY OF CLAREMONT; and
B. Find this item is exempt from environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
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ALTERNATIVES TO RECOMMENDATION
In addition to the recommendation, there are the following alternatives:
A. Continue the item for additional information.
B. Approve the project with additional or revised Conditions of Approval.
C. Express intent to deny the proposal, specifically identifying the review criteria of Section 16.300.060.A of the Municipal Code that cannot be met and continue the item to July 24, 2024, for adoption of a denial resolution as all of the necessary findings cannot be met.
Background
The Claremont Police Station is located at 570 West Bonita Avenue in the Claremont Village Expansion Area Specific Plan (VESP) and is zoned Public Facilities (PF). The VESP anticipates that both the Police Station and adjacent Fire Station will remain in place and lists “Government Offices” as a permitted use. The Community Development Director has determined that the lockers, restrooms, quiet room, and associated hallways and vestibule spaces contained in the proposed addition are classified as Government Offices and are therefore permitted. Staff also notes that these uses already exist on the site, within a small modular building that will be removed when the addition is completed.
The current police station was designed by renowned local architects Theodore Criley Jr. & Fred McDowell and constructed in 1973. Designed for a staff of 25 officers, the 9,762 square foot station was a significant increase in size over the previous station, which consisted of 1,200 square feet of space located within City Hall. When the doors to the new station opened in 1974, Claremont had a population of 24,750 residents and was 7.6 square miles in area. There were no female officers at that time. Today, Claremont has a population of more than 36,000 residents and is 14.14 square miles in area.
The Police Department now has 44 Police Officers and 31 professional staff members. This includes 30 female staff members and 4 female volunteers, the highest level of female personnel in Department history. Twenty-five of the female employees are uniformed and require access to locker room facilities. Additional restroom facilities are also needed to accommodate the increased level of women employees in the Police Station building. In 2003, the Police Department purchased a pre-fabricated 10’ x 20’ modular building to serve as a temporary locker room for female officers. Located west of the existing police facility, this modular building was originally intended to be a short-term solution until a new police facility was funded and built. It is detached and requires staff to exit the main building in order to use locker and restroom facilities.
After two bond measures to demolish and replace the Police Station facility failed, the City focused instead on making incremental improvements to the existing facility to address code, safety, and staff equity issues and meet current standards. This addition is among the largest of these improvements and is sorely needed to address staff equity concerns.
The original intent was to place the addition on the west end of the station; however, that location was determined to be infeasible for a variety of reasons related to access issues, utility conflicts, and the likely loss of a large amount of employee parking and equipment storage space. The proposed location of the addition appears to be the only feasible area on the property with adequate space and the ability to provide direct access to the existing Station building.
After seeking proposals from firms, Dunbar Architecture was hired to design the project. The design team is led by Jennifer Dunbar, a licensed architect who also has extensive work as a historic architect and worked previously for Architectural Resources Group, which is among the most respected historic preservation consulting and design firms in the state. The landscape plan has been designed by Ben McCoy of the Department of Space. Mr. McCoy lives in Claremont, has served as an Architectural Commissioner in the past, and has a high level of experience with landscapes in the City.
As noted above, the Police Station is not listed on the Claremont Register, however, it has been roughly 50 years since it was constructed. The structure has been modified on many occasions, especially in the interior spaces. The decorative wood siding, a wood trellis, and large sections of a rooftop equipment screen have been removed due to rot, corrosion, and wind damage. Some of the exposed rafters are showing signs of decay and should be preserved and restored. Despite these changes, the exterior remains relatively intact and exhibits the modern lines that architects Criley and McDowell are known for. Because the original design firm is notable locally, the City may consider adding the building to the Claremont Register in the future, as staff time and budget permit. Regardless of designation status, the addition has been designed to comply with the Secretary of Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties.
Project Description
The proposal includes the following elements:
1. New Construction - Construction of a new single-story addition containing 1,248 square feet of locker room, restroom, and associated facilities. The new addition will match the flat roof height of the existing building and no equipment screen is proposed.
2. Design - The design of the addition matches the roofline, eaves, exposed rafters, poured in place concrete columns and frieze, concrete block, and diagonal wood siding of the main building. The façade is organized with the same column spacing and proportions as the main building. The colors of the addition will match those of the original building. The building is accessed through a corridor that is an extension of an existing exit vestibule located on the south façade near the southeast corner of the existing building.
3. Parking - To provide space for the addition as well as ample space for perimeter landscaping, four angled parking spaces along Cornell Avenue will be removed and replaced with landscaping, a revised sidewalk, and two parallel parking spaces. While the net loss of two spaces is regrettable, the spaces are used sparingly, mostly by department employees, and are more than made up by the parking spaces that are saved by not locating the addition on the interior of the lot.
4. Landscape - New landscaping will be located along Cornell Avenue. While the new location meets the City’s needs, it results in the loss of two existing redwood trees, which are struggling to adapt to Claremont’s climate, and two existing Victorian Box street trees, one of which is in very poor condition and conflicts with grading and the other which would be removed to provide planting space for a new Coast Live Oak near the corner of Cornell and Bonita Avenue. The new oak and two additional Arbutus Marina trees will provide much-needed canopy cover to replace and significantly expand the tree canopy on the west end of the police station site. The Arbutus Marina (Madrones) provide more height and a similar color to the redwood trees but are drought tolerant and climate appropriate.
A reduced-sized set of the project plans is included in Attachment B. Original plans for the building are included in Attachment C.
Basis for Recommendation
Staff finds that the proposal satisfies all architectural design review criteria listed in CMC Section 16.300.060.A for the reasons stated in the draft approval resolution. While the property is potentially eligible for the Claremont Register, it is not currently listed and staff finds the addition does not represent a significant change to the potentially character-defining features of the building as it has been designed to blend with the original design by an architect highly qualified to complete historically appropriate modifications. The addition, while on a street facing side of the building, is in an inconspicuous location and a portion of the building that has no particularly notable design elements. The face of the addition essentially reproduces the original building while also restoring the diagonal wood siding that has been removed due to deterioration of the original siding. The addition also allows for the continued use of the original building by accommodating the current needs of the Police Department without necessitating the demolition and replacement of the structure. As such, staff recommends that the Architectural and Preservation Commission approve the proposed addition, landscaping, and associated sidewalk and street parking modifications.
CEQA REVIEW
This Project, a 1,248 square foot addition to an existing 9,762 square foot Police Station building is categorically exempt from the provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) under Section 15301(e) (1), in that the project consists of an addition to an existing structure that will not result in an increase of more than 50 percent of the original structure and is less than 2,500 square feet in an area. In addition, the subject property is not listed on The Register of Structures of Historic and Architectural Merit of the City of Claremont (Claremont Register), the California Register, or the National Register of Historic Places. Even though the property is not designated a historic or cultural resource, the Project has been designed in accordance with the Secretary of Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties to respect and protect the building’s original design. Therefore Section 15300.2 - Exceptions (f) Historical Resources does not apply and no further environmental review is necessary.
PUBLIC NOTICE PROCESS
This item has been noticed through the regular agenda notification process. Copies of the submitted plans are being held at the Public Counter at City Hall for review.
As a courtesy, notice of this meeting was mailed to properties within 300 feet of the subject property on June 27, 2024. A copy of this report has been sent to the applicant, Claremont Heritage, the project architect, and other interested parties.
Submitted by: Prepared by:
Brad Johnson Christopher Veirs
Community Development Director Principal Planner
Attachments:
A - Draft Resolution
B - Project Plans
C - Original 1973 Plans for the Claremont Police Station