STAFF REPORT

TO:                 Design Commission
FROM:           Richard J. Bruckner, Director of Planning and Development
SUBJECT:   Application for Advisory Final Design Review
                        3051 East Foothill Boulevard
                        Pasadena Ice Skating Center
                        PLN2007-00117                       Council District No. 3(sic, should be 4)
DATE:            Meeting of March 12, 2007

RECOMMENDATION

The staff recommends that the Commission:

Environmental Determination
Acknowledge that on July 5, 2006, the Zoning Hearing Officer adopted a Mitigated Negative Declaration for the project;

Findings for Compliance with the Tree Protection Ordinance

Acknowledge that there are no protected landmark, native, or specimen trees proposed for removal from the site.

Findings for Final Design Approval

1. Find that the design is consistent with the Citywide Design Principles in the General Plan.

2. Based on these findings, recommend approval of the final design to the City Council, with the following recommendation:

BACKGROUND:
On January 8, 2007, the Design Commission reviewed and provided advisory comments on an application for advisory concept design review for new construction of a one-story, 34-foot high, 60,000 square-foot ice-skating facility at 3051 E. Foothill Boulevard. The Commission provided eight advisory comments to be forwarded to the City Council. The Commission's comments on this application and on the previous Concept Design Review application will be provided to the Council at the time of their next action on the project.

SITE & BUILDING DESIGN SUMMARY
The building is oriented parallel to the Eaton Wash and the Southern California Edison electric towers, with the main entrance facing east. The proposed building will be 500 feet long by 98 feet wide. The building is set back from both the east Orange Grove Boulevard and east Foothill Boulevard street frontages by several hundred feet and is only visible at a distance from these streets.

The building has a flat roof and a simple, rectangular form with the eastern elevation being detailed as the primary elevation. This elevation has a high masonry block base with a deeply recessed terrace above and a row of angled clerestory windows at the parapet. In addition, this elevation includes green-screen trellises and a geometric entry element. The north and south elevations largely consist of glass curtain-wall systems.

RESPONSES TO CONCEPT DESIGN REVIEW ADVISORY COMMENTS
The chart below lists the Commission's advisory comments on the conceptual design from the January 8, 2007 meeting and the applicant's response:

Comment from January 8, 2007 Design
Commission Meeting
 Status at Final Review
  1. The current site design is dependent on the successful outcome of negotiations for an easement for reciprocal access. If the proposed access route is not secured, the site design could be substantially impacted. In addition, any easement should include sufficient space for a drop-off area and transit/shuttle stop.
 The applicant has not indicated the status of these negotiations. The City is moving forward under the assumptions that they will be successful.
  1. The massing of the building should follow the natural slope of the ground with a seaprate mass of lower height at the southern end of the building.
 The architect will discuss this issue further with the Commission at the March 12, 2007 meeting.
  1. The glazing on the south elevation should be restudied to ensure that it gain.
 Translucent glazing will be utilized on the south elevation. Product literature is attached in Attachment B.
  1. The outdoor seating area/terrace should be enclosed and used for spectator seating.

 		Sheets A2.05a & b depict enclosed alcoves along the second-floor terrace for spectator seating.
  1. The perimeter areas of the parking lot should have screening to minimize light from automobiles on nearby residences.

 		The landscape plans on sheet LP1.2 indicate use of New Zealand flax and pittosporum in one-gallon containers on the east and west edges of the parking lot with an additional area of five-gallon wild lilac and firethorn shrubs along the western edge. Based on discussions with a landscape architect on staff, these plantings may not be sufficient to screen automobile headlights from adjacent properties. More substantial screen planting material should be used along the perimeter of the parking lot to address this comment.
  1. The building should be repositioned to the northern end of the site, adjacent to the park, and the parking should be to the south of it.

 		The width of the site will not allow for repositioning of the building, because it narrows to the north. In addition, it may be more appropriate to break up what would be a large sea of parking adjacent to East Foothill Boulevard by placing the building between the existing parking area and the new parking area. Site design is largely fixed through the approved use permit.
  1. The east entry element needs to be studied further; more details are also required for this feature.
 Additional details of the entry element are provided on sheet 5.02, with further details on sheets 8.0 and 8.1.
  1. The green-screen elements should be restudied; as designed they are not connected to the ground, and they will be difficult to maintain.
 The landscape plans on sheet LP1.2 depict installation of 5-gallon violet trumpet vines at the top of the masonry wall base at the location of each green screen structure, which will allow the vine to travel along the green screen structure. The project landscape architect will further address this issue at the March 12, 2007 meeting.

EXTERIOR DETAILING/FINISH SPECIFICATIONS
Final Design review focuses on compliance with the conditions of approval of concept design (in this case, advisory comments provided to the Council) and addresses construction detailing, paint colors, finishes, doors and windows, landscaping, exterior lighting, location/screening of mechanical equipment and venting, etc. The documentation provided includes plans, elevations, construction details, landscape and irrigation plans, mechanical plans, catalogue cut-sheets and a color and materials board.

Roofing Material
 The roof is a flat parapeted roof with single-ply membrane roofing over rigid insulation and metal decking.

Wall Surfaces and Colors
On the primary(west)(sic, should be east - some drawings are mislabeled) elevation, finish wall surfaces include 8x8x16 smooth face black masonry block base (approximately 22-feet high) with random groupings of glass block at the upper seven feet and 7/8" thick sand finish stucco in soft gold on the upper recessed wall plane. A portion of the base north of the entry element will be color conditioned concrete block in winter beige. The entry element consists of fiber-cement panels in "carat titan" color over 2x metal studs framing the entry doors and projecting above the main roofline of the building with an angled roof and soffitt. Fiber-cement panels are also utilized in geometric forms floating in front of the building to the north and south of the entrance.

The north and south elevations have a seven-foot masonry block base with sheet metal panels framing large spans of glazing. The east(sic, should be west) elevation, which is screened from view by existing landscaping which will remain, is largely a blank wall, with the exception of evenly spaced rectangular groupings of translucent glass.

Fenestration
The aluminum-framed windows and doors have a factory applied warm silver paint, with clear or translucent glazing. On the west(sic, should be east) elevation, windows groupings are evenly spaced along the pedestrian terrace with the exception of the entry area, which has a high level of continuous glazing. In addition, an angled transom at the top of the building traverses the entire length of the west elevation.

The north and south elevations each have large continuous spans of glazing. On the north side, the glazing is entirely vision glass, while the south side largely consists of a translucent linear channel glazing system with minimal areas of vision glass. The translucent glazing is also utilized in groupings on the east(sic, should be west) elevation.

Paving
Concrete paving will be used on all surfaces within the project.

Mechanical Equipment
All mechanical equipment will be located on the roof of the building and will be screened from view by the parapet.

Landscaping
Sheet LP1.1 of the landscape plans depicts groundcovers and trees to be planted throughout the parking area, including 36-inch box Chinese flame trees and coast live oaks and 24-inch box Australian willows and crape myrtles. Sheet LP1.2 details other plantings (e.g., shrubs). The landscaping palette is consistent with option A of the conceptual landscape design.

The "green screen" features along the west(sic, should be east) elevation have slightly changed with this submittal. The current submittal proposes groupings of two green-screen structures evenly spaced along the west elevation with the screen panels attached in a somewhat random pattern. Sheet LP1.2 details the planting of five-gallon violet trumpet vines at the top of the masonry wall base of the building at each green screen structure.

Exterior Building and Parking Lot Lighting
Parking lot lighting consists of rectangular aluminum light fixtures which will be shielded and will point downward, as required in the conditions of the CUP for the project. The height of the proposed light standards has not been provided at this time; however the code limits lightstandard height to 18 feet and gives the Design Commission authority to extend this height to a maximum of 20 feet. A catalog cut-sheet of the fixture is attached. There will be no light fixtures attached to the building itself.

Signage
The building will include a large non-illuminated "Pasadena Ice" sign, which will be integrated within the entry element on the east elevation. The sign will be comprised of nine-foot high fiber-cement letters within a rectangular metal frame. The graphic of the sign serves an architectural purpose by signifying the entrance and counter-acting the strong horizontality of the building. The Conditional Use Permit includes a condition requiring a Master Sign Plan for all signage. Because (by code) this review will be conducted by staff, the Commission's comments on the proposed signage may be provided at this time.

CONCLUSION:

Staff concludes that the architects have made an effort to address the concerns of the Commission from the advisory review of the conceptual design and that the additional information provided at this phase results in a better understanding of the project details.


Respectfully submitted,
Richard J. Bruckner,
Director of Planning and Development

Prepared by:
Kevin Johnson, Planner

Reviewed by:
Jeff Cronin, Principal Planner

Reviewed by:
John R. Poindexter,
Planning Manager

Attachments:
A.    Former elevations (Concept design)
B.    Product literature (lighting, glazing) (product literature not included in public copy)
C.    Final design review plans, elevations and renderings


ADVISORY FINAL DESIGN REVIEW - 3051 E. Foothill Boulevard
Design Commission Meeting of March 12, 2007