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HomeMy Public PortalAbout20060612_agenda_mtg 1 MINUTES Planning Commission Agenda Meeting June 12, 2006– 7:00 p.m. Planning Commission Members present at the Agenda Meeting on June 12 2006 were: Barry Brown, Sandy Chandler, Bill Garbett, Susan Hill, Honor Hutton, Rachel Perkins, Chuck Powell, and Lawanna Tsoulos. Gene Kindrick was absent. City Staff present: Dee Anderson, Diane Schleicher and Dianne Otto. Chairperson Lawanna Tsoulos called the Meeting to order. She reminded everyone that Minutes were being taken. She told the Commissioners they would be approving the Minutes from May 8th and16th at the Meeting on June 20, 2006. Gail Lamb represented a Zoning Variance petition in Zone R-1-B, 9 Lovell Avenue, PIN 4-0003-17-005. Lamb distributed a survey of the lot. She said the goal is to use two historic buildings. She said it is a small lot. Lamb talked about being able to provide off-street parking. Lamb said without a Variance she can lift the building up and add a 25 by 43 foot addition in the back. She said what she is asking for is to use an historic portion of the old Fort Screven hospital wing for the back portion. She said it is 25 feet and 6 inches wide, so she would need a side setback variance of 9.75 feet on each side to provide for the extra 6 inches. Lamb said they would move the cottage out, put the wing in, and then move the cottage back in front of it. Lamb said the lot is 45 feet wide. She said second is the hardship part: if they raise the cottage and put piers under it there is no way to park underneath because the widest portion is 7- foot, 4 inches. She said she is asking to square off the cottage, not with living space but with open porches on each side in the front; all she would be adding in the setback is porches. Lamb said so they can make it 25 feet wide, they have to shift it 3 feet to the left, so they can park under it. She said that would allow two 10-feet, 6-inch wide parking spaces. Lamb said she may not raise both of these structures two levels; they are still looking at what is most feasible. She said she may raise the cottage one level and the back portion two levels. She said the drawings show the most they would do. Lamb explained they might build above the cottage if they raise it one level instead of two. She said she talked with Braswell, the house mover, and he measured everything: if Savannah Electric will move a pole, the cottage will fit in front of 7 Lovell while they move the wing in. Lamb referenced a letter from engineer Robert Millikan stating the plan is feasible and will meet all applicable Code requirements. Lamb said all the houses on that side of Lovell have mass in the setbacks so the project is not going to change the integrity of the street. She said as far as the side setbacks, the house next door has a bay window that juts out, and she is asking for 3 inches. Sandy Chandler asked Lamb about wanting to move the house over to the side to allow parking underneath. Lamb said making it 25 feet wide gives two 10-feet, 6-inch wide parking spaces, and if they raise it straight up and square it off they can use the entire 10 foot side setbacks. Barry Brown asked Lamb if she could retrofit the cottage inside the hospital wing instead. Lamb said she would lose living space. Brown said she is on the property line with a 3-story structure. Lamb said so are the rest; all the houses there are that far forward. Honor Hutton said those are 1-story cottages; they are not 3-stories. Lamb said the one on the south side is three stories. Chairperson Lawanna Tsoulos said at the Agenda Meeting the Commissioners look to make sure the petitioners have brought what they have requested so they can put it on the Agenda. She said they will hear the issues pertaining to it at the Public Hearing. Rachel Perkins asked about one of the porches. Lamb said the porch is going to be deeper than shown on the plan. Perkins asked if the new porch on the top level would have a roof over it. Lamb said she would like to cover it but may not. Chuck Powell asked if moving the cottage temporarily would block the street. Lamb said it is a dead end street. Powell asked how long it would be blocked. Lamb said one or two days. Bill Garbett asked Lamb what Variances she is requesting. Lamb said 9.75 feet on the side setbacks, adding porches in the front setback, and shifting it over three feet. Tsoulos said when Lamb moves the structure then she has to ask for a front setback Variance. Susan Hill talked about the Zoning Variance application needing to be rewritten, which Lamb agreed to do. There was further discussion about the Variances. Powell cited Section 3-020 of the Land Development Code, Continuance of Nonconforming Uses/Structures. Lamb said if she has to raise it up exactly where it is and can square it off, the parking is narrow. Brown said according to the Ordinance, if Lamb lifts up the cottage and moves it off the lot, all bets are off. Lamb said they have been talking to attorneys to get a reading on that: a footprint is a footprint on the ground. Tsoulos told Lamb the petition will be on the Agenda for June 20th. 2 Ron Jacobs represented a Zoning Variance petition for owner Gilda DeMott for 606 Miller Avenue, PIN 4- 0005-13-003, Zone R-1. Jacobs said a building permit was issued. He said the site plan showed wetlands. He said a Stop Work Order was issued, and they would like to get back to work. Jacobs said he had EMC Engineering show wetlands mitigation. He said it falls well below the Corp of Engineers threshold for wetlands mitigation requirements. Jacobs explained the drawings. He said they have been stopped for a month and want to get back on the job. Barry Brown asked about the wetlands area. Jacobs said it is a manmade drainage ditch created by the City of Tybee Island. Chairperson Lawanna Tsoulos said whether it is manmade or made by nature, once it is there it is there. Jacobs said yes, that is a moot point. Brown asked what constituted being a wetland. Rachel Perkins said vegetation. Chuck Powell said the EMC letter proposes restoring the correct type of vegetation for that wetland. Jacobs said their proposal it to mitigate wetlands through vegetation and grading. Tsoulos said the petition will be on the Agenda for June the 20th. Bobby Chu represented a Major Subdivision of Land at 707 Strand, Zone R-2, PIN 4-0005-20-006. The petition includes Zoning Variances of the Land Development Code Section 5-010 (J), Shore Protection with Variance Clause and Section 10-080 (E), Street Design and Construction Specifications. Chairperson Lawanna Tsoulos said City Council requested it return to Planning Commission for further study. Chu said they changed the request from 40 feet to 50 feet. He said there is a dedicated easement where nothing could be built. Chuck Powell asked if that would be permanent. Chu said permanent. He said they lose four oak trees on the property: one 6-inch, two 7-inch, and one 10-inch. He said they would plant fifteen 3-inch oaks, equivalent to $15,000. Chu said they are asking for the Shore Protection Variance now. He said if they are granted the Variance they still have to go to DNR to get their Variance. Chu said they are asking for the dune crosswalk now too. Chu explained that a letter from Mark Williams will be available for the Planning Commission meeting on June 20th about the water and sewage lateral. Powell asked if the City must approve before Chu can apply to DNR. Dee Anderson said he can not go to DNR until it meets the City’s requirements. Rachel Perkins gave background on the Shore Protection Ordinance. She said Georgia is the only state that does not use a dune feature for deciding the setback line. Chu said none of the structure will be in the dune. He said nobody has been turned down for a Shore Protection Variance if they are behind the toe of the dune. Anderson said that was correct. Chu said they plan to move the house. He said the streets will be pavers. Chu said Mallory Pearce is working out the language of the conservation easement. Chu said the County has gone from 60-feet to 50-feet for the width of a road. Bill Garbett asked Chu to explain the hardship at the Meeting next week. Powell asked if Chu knew the disposition of the McNeal house. Chu said it will be moved through the Seiler property. Barry Brown asked if the 50-foot easement was the building line. Chu said that was correct. Tsoulos told Chu they would see him on the 20th. Chairperson Lawanna Tsoulos asked if there was a Dark Sky Subcommittee update. Chuck Powell said they met with Henry Levy and Charlie Brewer, a former employee of the electric company. Powell said Levy has two electrical engineers that are also going to meet with them. He said they are meeting June 15th at City Hall at 9:30 pm to take a tour of the island to look at lighting and to educate themselves on lighting. Powell said the model ordinance is being revised. He said it is not ready to be presented. Tsoulos said there will be a Public Hearing. Barry Brown asked if it was primarily street lighting. Powell said it encompasses all lighting. Tsoulos recommended the Commissioners attend the Subcommittee’s meetings. Mack Kitchens represented a Zoning Variance at 160 South Campbell Avenue, Zone R-2, PIN 4-0016-02- 012, Continuance of Nonconforming, for Alan Yesner. Kitchens said they would like to demo this house. They intend to build a new single family home. He said the new structure would not be in the 25-foot marsh buffer. Kitchens said the current house is about 65 years old and there is not enough integrity structurally to raise the house. Chuck Powell asked if they were going up. Kitchens said parking would be underneath and they will meet the FEMA standards. Susan Hill asked if Kitchens had a plat that shows what he wants to do. Kitchens said he would have it for the Meeting. Bill Garbett asked what the Variances are. Anderson said from Section 3-020, Continuance of Nonconforming, of the Land Development Code. Kitchens said Dick Smith is going to represent him at the Planning Commission meeting. Tsoulos said to note that it is not 400 feet Kitchens is adding; it is 200 feet. She told Kitchens it was on the Agenda. 3 Zoning Administrator Dee Anderson said petitioner Steve Watson wants to add text to the Maritime District to allow single and two-family dwellings, over commercial space. Chuck Powell asked if this would change the definition of Maritime District, which would be a request for a zoning change rather than a Text Amendment. Anderson said no, it is a Text Amendment to put the use in for Special Review. Powell said in the original [Ordinance] there is no provision for family dwellings. Anderson said there was until about three years ago when residential use was taken out. Chairperson Lawanna Tsoulos said residential would be an allowed use after Special Review. Tsoulos said this is the type of Hearing when they are allowed to have ex parte communication, unlike the other petitions on the Agenda. Mark Cadman and Joe Jones represented a Sketch Plan Approval petition with Zoning Variances for 15 Silver Avenue, Zone C-1, PIN 4-0008-06-035. This was for a 6-unit condominium building. The first Land Development Code Zoning Variance was from Section 3-080 (B), Control of Access to Residential Uses, and the other was from Section 3-090, Development Regulations. Barry Brown asked if the project could only have a 25-foot driveway opening at the property line. Dee Anderson said that was correct. Chairperson Lawanna Tsoulos said they are asking for 66-feet. Cadman said the other Variance is for the porches. The plan showed the porch for each unit extending 6 feet into the front setback. Tsoulos said because this is a residential use in C-1 they have to conform to residential setbacks. Chuck Powell asked that when Cadman and Jones come to the Hearing they explain the hardship because Variances are granted due to hardship. Cadman said it is mainly for aesthetics. Rachel Perkins said they are lacking a survey of the existing property. Cadman said the lot is vacant and this is a Sketch Plan. Bill Garbett asked if Jones was requesting two Variances. Cadman said yes, the access driveways and the porches. Cadman said they are providing three parking spaces per unit. He also said according to the calculation, they could build seven units, but they are only going to do six units. Tsoulos said he would need the driveway Variance regardless of whether they put the maximum number of units if he keeps with the same design. Anderson told Cadman to fill out a Variance application to go along with the Sketch Plan application. Tsoulos said they also need a survey. Cadman said it has been ordered. Tsoulos said it was not required for a Sketch Plan. Tsoulos said it will go on the Agenda for June 20 as a Sketch Plan. Cadman said he will not be attending but Jones will. Chairperson Lawanna Tsoulos said the Planning Commission needs to appoint a member to the Ethics Advisory Board. Tsoulos said she has had conversations with Linda Gladin, and the meetings will be afternoons and initially there may be multiple meetings. Chuck Powell nominated Susan Hill. Sandy Chandler seconded. Tsoulos asked Hill if she would accept the nomination. Hill said yes. The vote in favor was unanimous. Rachel Perkins said the Planning Commission paperwork says a Member can miss up to four meetings, and she will be gone July, August and September. She said she missed one meeting in the spring. Perkins said missing four meetings is within her rights as a Planning Commissioner, but she does not want it to cause any burden. She said she will be here October, November, and December. She said she would like to continue with the Planning Commission, however if the Commissioners felt uncomfortable with having the seat vacant she would offer her resignation. Perkins said she spoke to a couple of the Council people and they said they would rather see her stay then to bring on somebody that would have a learning curve. Chairperson Lawanna Tsoulos said the learning curve is very steep. She said she would like Council to start thinking a year out of the people they would like to serve on the Planning Commission so those people could attend meetings and trainings so they would be somewhat up to speed when they take office. She said this is something they may want to propose to Council. Tsoulos said they would not have to be ironclad nominees, rather a pool of people that could be drawn from. Perkins said Brian Renner served on Planning Commission. She asked if a temporary can be on Planning Commission. City Manager Diane Schleicher said no. She asked about the terms of the Members. Zoning Administrator Dee Anderson said there would be five Commissioners going out at the end of this year. Tsoulos said the alternatives for Perkins are to: stay on and ask for excused absences, or resign and Council would appoint someone to fulfill her term. Chuck Powell said he thought they should keep Perkins. Brown said it is important that everybody be here. Anderson said by the time Council fills the spot Perkins would be back. Tsoulos and the Commissioners talked more about having a pool of candidates. Tsoulos told Perkins the consensus of the group was that she remains on the Planning Commission. Tsoulos confirmed Perkins would be absent July, August, and September. Susan Hill asked if it was appropriate for Perkins 4 to email her input but not vote. Tsoulos said that would fall into the realm of ex parte communication. Tsoulos said Perkins will be able to get Minutes of the Meetings to stay informed. Chairperson Lawanna Tsoulos asked Dee Anderson about the Sample Comprehensive Plan Scope of Work that was included in the Commissioners’ packets. Anderson said it was for them to look over. He said the Master Plan is to be redone this year, and they will be getting much more information. Tsoulos asked if RDC [Coastal Georgia Regional Development Center] would guide them through the process. Anderson said he did not know if they would be using RDC or MPC [Metropolitan Planning Commission]. Tsoulos asked when it had to be done. Anderson said 2008. He said the demographics of the island have changed and the average house cost was $29,000 in the 1992 Master Plan. Chairperson Lawanna Tsoulos said it would be helpful to have a synopsis of what is needed for a Sketch Plan, a Preliminary Plan, and a Site Plan. She said the Commissioners would then know what they need to be addressing at each step. Dee Anderson said it would come from Section 5-040 (G) of the Land Development Code [Application for Permits or Actions]. City Manager Diane Schleicher said when the Planning Commission is approving a plat, the developer’s agreements or promises to the City are not recorded anywhere except maybe vaguely in the Minutes. Schleicher distributed a sample Developer’s Agreement for a subdivision. She said Tybee’s would not need to be as detailed as the sample, and a lot of it is redundant, but basically in the Agreement the relevant information is stated. She talked about the importance of holding developers accountable. Schleicher said things can be recorded on the plat and also referenced in the Agreement. The Agreement would also cover costs, such as plan reviews. She said the Agreement could include upfront cash deposits that could be drawn upon, as well as bonds for improvements. Barry Brown said bonds are used for new subdivisions. Schleicher said there is a bonding mechanism but it is not as formal. Schleicher said what she is suggesting is a more formal and interactive way of doing it. She said one of the conditions for having a final plat approved would be entering into a Developer’s Agreement. Schleicher said then if a developer sells an approved plat, the Developer’s Agreement is assignable and goes with the plat. Barry Brown suggested it also be used for Variances. Susan Hill and Chuck Powell agreed. Schleicher told them it would not have to be as complicated as the sample and would decrease misunderstandings. City Manager Diane Schleicher asked if they would be interested in requiring commercial site plans to show bicycle racks. Rachel Perkins said that was a recommendation of one of the committees. Barry Brown said some bike racks are taking up good parking spaces. Dee Anderson said the ones at the parking lot have been moved to between the lift station and the fence. Chairperson Lawanna Tsoulos said they need to think about asking for bike racks. Tsoulos suggested both the Developer’s Agreement and the bicycle rack issues be discussed again at the next Agenda Meeting. Barry Brown asked if a Variance is passed on to a buyer. Anderson said it goes with the property. Powell asked if changes would void it. Anderson said any changes would have to come back to the Planning Commission. Chairperson Lawanna Tsoulos said in regard to Variances, a hardship applies to a piece of property. She said according to Tybee Code, but the hardship belongs to the property, not the person. Barry Brown and Sandy Chandler talked about a hardship being an irregularity of a piece of property. Chairperson Lawanna Tsoulos said that when petitions come before Planning Commission, if there is any reason they feel they should not move forward, then is the time to address it. She said one of the Planning Commissioners needs to make a motion to Continue. Tsoulos said it is real important to keep this in mind. She said that during the Hearing, prior to the vote, if they want to Continue a petition, that is their right and privilege. She said that once they have voted it is too late. Tsoulos said another thing they can do is Table a petition and move it to the end of that night’s Agenda. Tsoulos said these are mechanisms they can use to not hear something that they are uncomfortable with. She said that once the Commissioners vote, the vote belongs to the Commission as a whole and the Minutes will reflect how each person voted. She said for any motion that is made, any Member can abstain from voting and state the reason so it will be reflected in the Minutes. Tsoulos said once it goes to City Council, the vote is for the Planning Commission as a group. She said Planning Commissioners would not go to the podium and say, “I am on the Planning Commission and I voted against that,” and then tell Council why. She said if during the Public Hearing it comes to light that the Planning Commission was lied to, either purposely or 5 by omission, a Commissioner should bring that to the Planning Commission Chair and the Chair would approach City Council. Tsoulos said any concerns about Planning Commission business would always flow from the Planning Commission Member to the Chair to City Council. Rachel Perkins said she went up at the last Council Meeting. She said she was very uncomfortable at the Planning Commission Meeting when they got a brand new plan. She said she got overwhelmed and voted for it. She said now that she has this understanding of how to deal with it, that is how she would deal with it. Tsoulos encouraged them to speak up if they are not comfortable with something. She said the people that are developing have money at stake, and the people want to move forward, and the Planning Commission gets caught up in that. Tsoulos said it is the Planning Commission’s prerogative to slow that down if there is something they need. Barry Brown said they can go up and voice their opinions in an open meeting; just do not state that they are a Planning Commission Member. Tsoulos said they can state they are a Planning Commission Member and speak to an issue; they do not lose their First Amendment rights. She said they would speak to the issue as an individual and not bring Planning Commission business into it. Tsoulos said at Agenda Meetings she would like them to look at issues like this that have come up. Chuck Powell said he had a request from someone at the last Hearing that the Planning Commissioner’s names appear on the Agenda. Following discussion it was decided that Staff would add the names to future Agendas. City Manager Diane Schleicher said the Audit Committee recommended that the website have a stronger disclaimer or state that it is under construction as far as Ordinances. The Agenda Meeting was adjourned.