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HomeMy Public PortalAbout20070108_PC_agenda_mtg 1 PLANNING COMMISSION CHAIR CITY MANAGER Lawanna Tsoulos Diane Schleicher PLANNING COMMISSION ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR Barry Brown, Vice Sharon Marshall Susan Hill, Vice Vice Charlie Brewer CITY ATTORNEY Sandy Chandler Edward M. Hughes Bill Garbett Honor Hutton Gene Kindrick Chuck Powell MINUTES Planning Commission Agenda Meeting January 8, 2007 – 7:00 p.m. Planning Commission Vice Chair Barry Brown called the January 8, 2007 agenda meeting to order. Other Commissioners present were Charlie Brewer, Sandy Chandler, Bill Garbett, Honor Hutton, Chuck Powell, and Chair Lawanna Tsoulos. Absent were Gene Kindrick and Susan Hill. Vice Chair Barry Brown reminded the Commissioners to review the Minutes of the December meetings for approval at the meeting on January 16th. No one was present to represent a Special Review petition for 117 Cedarwood Drive, PIN 4-0002-18-008. The request was to construct a new detached garage with a second floor to be used as living space. Tony Petrea was the petitioner. Discussion regarding whether the property was zoned P-C or R-1 concluded with a determination that it was R-1. Vice Chair Barry Brown asked if it was two separate houses on one piece of property. Sandy Chandler said it was a garage apartment. Bill Garbett said it was not an apartment because it did not have a stove. Chuck Powell read Section 3-070 about detached structures. He said there were two issues: no detached accessory building shall be more than one story and it may not be located in front of the principal building. It was decided to put the petition on the agenda. William Dowell represented a Map Amendment for 706 Polk Street, PIN 4-0026-11-001, Zone C-2. The request was to rezone from C-2 to R-2. Dowell said the property does not fit the C-2 criteria. He said the property is surrounded by creek, marsh and a driveway. Vice Chair Barry Brown asked if the property was more than 200 feet off of Highway 80. Dowell said yes. Bill Garbett asked if this was a legislative matter. Lawanna Tsoulos said yes. Garbett asked how many other properties along the marsh would fall into the same category. Dowell said there were none. The item was placed on the agenda. Pat Livingston, Ward-Edwards, represented a Site Plan Approval petition for 1115 Highway 80, PIN 4-0026-03- 021, Zone C-2. Bill Garbett asked about the 90° turn when driving around the rear of the building and also the dumpster location. Vice Chair Barry Brown asked about handicap accessibility. Chuck Powell asked about a tree. Livingston said they are saving all the trees. Charlie Brewer asked about a lighting design for night transactions. Alan Fleming, First National Bank, said they would put together a proper lighting plan. Brown asked the square footage of the structure. Livingston said 1,320 square feet. Brown asked how many parking spaces were required. Chuck Bargeron said the norm would be 1 parking space per 200 square feet of building. Lawanna Tsoulos asked if a bank was an allowed use in C-2. Bargeron said he would get clarity on that. Bargeron said he had already called FEMA. Sandy Chandler said he was under the impression the use had to be specifically stated. Powell said for every 200 square feet of commercial building there needs to be 1 parking space so they needed 7 parking spaces. Powell said “professional and business offices” was listed as a use by right in C-2. Bargeron said he would check with City Attorney Bubba Hughes. Audience member Rachel Perkins reminded the developer that the property came with a requirement to plant some trees because the owner, Gerald Schantz, had removed some trees in preparation for his development. It was decided to put the petition on the agenda. The next item was discussion regarding a Text Amendment for Special Event Facilities. Sandy Chandler recused himself. Lawanna Tsoulos said that the Planning Commission sent the Text Amendment to City Council to approve 2 a new use in C-2. She said there will be some conditions attached to this use. She said if the Planning Commission is going to recommend allowing off-site parking then they must determine how it will be controlled and how many spaces will be needed. Tsoulos questioned if, when such a business applies for their annual business license, they would turn in documentation, such as a lease, for that year’s off-site parking. She said if there is no parking it is a disservice to the community as a whole. She said they need to look at it more carefully in terms of the complications that could come down the line. She said another thing to look at is if they are going to require security as a fairly large number of people would be arriving, congregating and leaving at one time, unlike a restaurant where people come and go a little bit at a time. Vice Chair Barry Brown said City Attorney Bubba Hughes recommended sending the Text Amendment to Council without any direction or definitions. Tsoulos said maybe, if the Planning Commission has a consensus, they need to ask Council to send it back for clarification on some of the conditions. Honor Hutton said when they sent the Text Amendment they put parking and alcohol license in the description so each would be considered on a case-by-case basis at the Site Plan level. Tsoulos said it was sent to Council asking if it was an allowed use or not, but they did not address, for instance, whether or not off-site parking would be allowed. Brown said everything that has a use by right has a direction and definition of what to go by on the parking, the square footage, but this Text Amendment does not have any of that information with it. Tsoulos said that was basically Planning Commission’s job to recommend to Council, and they need to send it to Council with some recommendations of some conditions. She said off-site parking is one that could become complicated and the more it is ironed out before hand the less burden it places on Staff, the Planning Commission and City Council. Tsoulos said that certainly there will be a number of things that will always be addressed at the Site Plan level, which is appropriate. Brown said the Text Amendment petition will be at Council Thursday night [January 11]. Tsoulos said if the Planning Commission has a consensus, she felt Council will honor a request to return the Text Amendment to the Planning Commission for study and review. Brown said, if everyone agrees, he will request that at the Council meeting so that the Planning Commission could do more homework. It was agreed to do so. Chuck Powell asked about a letter that was received from Rachel Perkins asking that she be appointed to the Buffer Committee. Vice Chair Barry Brown and Lawanna Tsoulos noted that when members were appointed Perkins was out of town. Tsoulos said Perkins requested that she Chair the Buffer Committee, but City Council gave the issue to the Planning Commission so the Chairperson would be up to the Planning Commission, not Council. Tsoulos said in terms of her participating, Perkins could certainly get with one of the two groups that are Committee members. Brown said Perkins could voice her opinion through them. Charlie Brewer said they had worked to make the Committee diversified. He said Perkins’ letter indicated that the Buffer Committee did not have a scientist, but Bill Garbett has a deep background in science. Brewer said they tried to ask the scientists at the Workshop very specific questions but the science people kept bouncing them back to the people who live here. Brown said common sense goes a long way. Tsoulos said the reality is that once the Planning Commission has done its work with the Buffer Committee, the recommendation to City Council will come from the Planning Commission. Powell asked that Perkins be written as a courtesy to tell her that new Committee members are not being appointed. It was decided that Tsoulos would do so and that she would recommend to Perkins that she work through one of the groups. Chuck Bargeron talked to the Commissioners about the EPD Road Show Workshop on January 18 from 9:00 am to 2:30 pm. The meeting adjourned.