ON THE AGENDA: 29 Palms Planning Commission, July 16, 2024

Revising Development Code standards on lighting, noise, and trash enclosures for new and remodeled structures

Desert trash—from another city. (Alamy stock photo)

Well, hello, Planning Commission—it’s been a minute!

The last commission meeting was held on May 21, in which the commissioners considered development code amendments to chapters in Article 4 that established height limitations for structures such as water elements or art pieces in residential and commercial setback areas; removed design guidelines; established a limit of two cargo shipping containers per residential property; and modified allowable fence heights in residential and commercial zoning areas. Proposed changes brought a lot of public comment, recapped here.

This Tuesday’s meeting continues to look at Article 4 in the development code; commissioners—and the public—will discuss light standards, noise control, and trash enclosures. These can all be hot topics in the community, so expect some lively discussion. The agenda is here.

PUBLIC COMMENTS

After Planning Commission announcements, you can comment on items not on the agenda. Public comments on agenda items will be requested when the item is discussed. Fill out a green comment sheet for public comments or agenda item comments and hand it to the staff, usually sitting at the desk at the front of the room on the right side. You have three minutes to make your comments.

Because this a fairly light agenda, this is a good time to air your concerns—and public comments come before the public hearing, making it easier to speak for three minutes without having to wait until near the end of the meeting, as you do with the City Council. But be aware that you have three minutes to comment on all three topics covered in one agenda item.

You may also email comments to Planning Commission members and Keith Gardner, the Community Development Director, and request that comments be read at the meeting.

CONSENT CALENDAR

The sole item on the Consent Calendar is the approval of the May 21, 2024, meeting minutes.

PUBLIC HEARING

2 Development Code Amendment (DCA), Article 4 Site Development Regulations Part 2

The Planning Commission and the City Development director have been working through the development code and making adjustments to language. Tuesday the topics and proposed changes include lighting standards, noise control, and trash enclosure standards. (Natalie Zuk wrote a useful explainer of the development code, which was published in May’s Planning Commission preview.)

Lighting Standards

Twentynine Palms residents value their dark skies. This chapter enforces safe lighting intended to minimize light pollution and glare and conserve energy. Some of the wording changes include definitions, such as “Attached Lighting: lighting that is affixed to a building.” Changes are:

• Changing the measurement of lighting standards from foot candles to watts

• Establishing the height of building-mounted lights to be at eave level or below the top of the wall

• Residential light poles cannot exceed eight feet and light poles in other land-use districts cannot be taller than 16 feet

• The City requires nonconforming light fixtures to be either shielded, filtered, redirected, replaced with a less intense light source or removed. All existing nonconforming fixtures are exempt, so this applies to new construction. In addition, government buildings are exempt from compliance. 

New wording outlines penalties for noncompliance that include a notice for the first violation and a citation and a possible fine for continued noncompliance.

Examples of unacceptable and acceptable light fixtures from the Staff Report.

Noise Control

This amendment adds language about noise-sensitive land uses, briefly defining these as “land uses…that require exceptional quiet” and gave residences, schools, hospitals, nursing homes, religious institutions, and libraries as examples.

The noise standard table has been revised to include different decibel readings for day and night; these were not part of the existing code. Looking at the chart, you’ll see some of the decibel readings have increased around businesses and in residential mixed-used zoning—for example, office and commercial districts have gone from 45 to 55dBA. (According to a Yale Environmental Health and Safety study, 55dBA is the sound of a household refrigerator.)

Revised noise standards as proposed in the Staff Report.

Trash Enclosure Standards

The existing development code requires that “all outdoor storage of trash, garbage, refuse, and other items or material intended for discarding or collection be screened from public view by a permanent trash enclosure” including the trash, recycling, and organics containers.

These standards apply to:

• new uses and buildings established after the standards are adopted,

• buildings that are modified or their use expanded so that there is an increase of more than 25% in the number of existing dwelling units or a 25% increase in existing square footage of commercial or industrial projects,

• when an existing building is converted to a restaurant, food service, grocery or other business creating organic waste even if square footage isn’t increased.

Residential projects of four units or fewer are exempt.

The proposed amendments to this chapter have new language that calls for:

• A solid roof treatment that is architecturally compatible with the primary buildings on site shall be provided and shall be designed in a manner to prevent windblown trash from leaving the enclosure.

• Concrete curbs, bollards or wheel stops shall be installed or constructed inside the enclosure to prevent bins from damaging the enclosure. Concrete curbs or equivalent shall protect the exterior of enclosures adjacent vehicle parking and travel ways.

Also, these enclosures shall be located:

• a minimum of 10 feet from any building, 25 feet from any public street, 15 feet from any private street, and in nonresidential zones, 20 feet from any residentially zoned property, and

• shall not conflict with circulation or parking conditions on site. A condition shall not be created where a parked vehicle will obstruct access to an enclosure nor where a disposal truck will obstruct parked vehicles.

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR UPDATES

Keith Gardner, Community Development Director, will report on recent developments.

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