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HomeMy Public PortalAbout20070116_PC_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 Meeting January 16, 2007 – 7:00 p.m. Planning Commission Vice Chair Barry Brown called the January 16, 2007 meeting to order. Other Commissioners present were: Charlie Brewer, Sandy Chandler, Bill Garbett, Susan Hill, Honor Hutton, and Chuck Powell. Absent were Gene Kindrick and Chair Lawanna Tsoulos. Chuck Powell motioned to approve the December 11, 2006 agenda meeting Minutes. Sandy Chandler seconded. The vote was unanimous. Susan Hill motioned to approve the December 19, 2006 meeting Minutes. Charlie Brewer seconded. The vote was unanimous. Vice Chair Barry Brown said that the Text Amendment for Special Event Facilities agenda item would not be discussed because City Council was addressing it. Tony Petrea presented a Special Review petition for 117 Cedarwood Drive, PIN 4-0002-18-008, Zone R-1. The request was to construct a new detached garage with the second floor to be used as living space. Petrea said they are building a single-family house and they wanted to build a detached garage with the idea to build something that would correspond with the surrounding neighborhood. He said the house would be a cottage about 4 feet off of the ground. Petrea said they want to put a 16- by 24-foot garage next to the house. He said in the Zoning they can build a 2-story garage if it is attached to the house. He said they are looking for a carriage house look rather than a garage with an overhead door. He said they chose not to attach it to the house because they did not want the look of an attached garage which would take away from the aesthetics. He said the only thing they can apply for under Special Review that is allowed is a guest cottage. He said they do not want a guest cottage; they want a garage with living space above, more like a bonus room. Petrea described it as having a bathroom and a living area. He said it would take up less square footage of the lot by building up instead of out. He said the garage would be in front of the house because there are 8 or 10 pine trees that would have to be cut down in order to shift the garage back. Sandy Chandler asked how it differed from a carriage house. Petrea said it was pretty much the same other than that it is located to the front of the building. Chandler asked if there would be cooking facilities. Petrea said no. He said there may be a countertop with a sink. Chuck Powell asked if there would be a microwave. Petrea said the owners could answer that; he would not be installing any appliances under his contract. He said it would not be for rental and there would not be a separate water meter. Chuck Powell asked the total square footage of the lot. It was determined to be 9,586 square feet. Powell asked if it was a substandard lot. Petrea said it was. The driveway was discussed and Petrea said the 11-inch oak tree would stay. Vice Chair Barry Brown asked if Petrea slid the house forward could the carriage house go to the back of the lot. Petrea said the house is on a bias to face south because they are trying to build as green a house as they can. Charlie Brewer asked the reasoning for more south face. Annice Estes, property owner, explained that they would like to have solar hot water and there was too much shade near the tree at the front of the lot. Cliff Bentson, property owner, talked about the potential and effects of a building being put on the adjacent lot. Charlie Brewer talked about the additional sun exposure increasing cooling costs. Estes said they were going to use Bahamian shutters. Estes said she is writing an article about building the house for “Smart Homeowner” magazine. Chandler asked about splitting the difference by bringing the house forward, removing 2 pine trees, and sliding the garage back. The group discussed the locations of the trees. Brewer recommended changing the 2 insulation and mounting the solar collector on the back of the house. Garbett said the oak trees were not very spread out and the house could be moved forward. He asked about the trees by the garage. Petrea said the stairs will be moved; not the pine trees. Garbett confirmed that there would not be parking under the house. Petrea asked if it was a carport if it could be in front of the residence. Chuck Bargeron said that was correct. Petrea said it depends on what they want to see. Powell said it was not a matter of what they want to see; it was a matter of what the Code calls for. He said a detached structure may not be in front of the house and it has to be a one-story structure. Petrea said the house was the more important issue with the owners and it was where they want it. Chandler asked if the garage was moved back to the forward corner of the house was that far enough to satisfy the Code. Bargeron said yes. Brown asked if there was anyone in the audience to speak in favor of or in opposition to the petition. He closed the Public Hearing. Garbett moved to approve. Susan Hill seconded. Brewer said the environmental project is admirable but it is a small lot. Bargeron referred to the Minutes of the August 19, 2003 Planning Commission and the September 25, 2003 City Council meetings with respect to the subdivision, the trees being saved and the lots being substandard. Powell commented about people proposing to construct green buildings asking for variances from the Codes. He said the Codes are set up to keep down congestion and to make neighborhoods healthy and safe. He said Estes and Bentson are already on a substandard lot and adding another building would not be environmentally friendly to the neighborhood. Chandler said that with some minor design changes the house could be moved forward and the structure could be pushed back to at least meet that aspect of the Code. He said it would at most require the removal of 4 pine trees. He said the impact on the neighborhood would be less intrusive. Voting in favor of the motion to approve were Garbett and Hill; opposed were Brewer, Chandler, Honor Hutton, and Powell. Brown abstained. The vote was 2-4 so the motion to approve failed. Brown advised the petitioner he could proceed to City Council on February 8. William Dowell presented a Map Amendment for 706 Polk Street, PIN 4-0026-11-001, Zone C-2. The request was to rezone the property from C-2 to R-2. Dowell said they were not aware it was zoned C-2 until recently. He read the definition from the Code of the C-2 Highway Business District. He said “arterial street” is defined as a street which is designated as arterial on the major thoroughfare plan and which is used or intended primarily for fast or heavy traffic. Dowell described his property and the zoning of some other properties. Chuck Powell asked if the driveway to the house was a street or private drive. Dowell said it was a private drive. He then referenced Code Section 4-030, Interpretation of District Boundaries, and Section 4-040, Zone Line Dividing a Lot. Dowell stressed that there is no direct contact with Highway 80 by the property. He said no commercial venture could succeed there. The zoning of various other lots was discussed. Sandy Chandler said the property fits the idea of a variance in that there is a geographical feature that impedes the development of the property for anything other than what it is. Bill Garbett asked why Dowell did not request that lot 6, which Dowell owns, be rezoned also, and would he object if it was included. Dowell said he would not object. [The PIN for that lot is 4-0026-11-021.] Garbett asked how rezoning would impact the neighbors. Dowell passed around a photo. He said it may impact to the west. Honor Hutton asked if there was a noise problem. Dowell said not now; there have been a few instances in the past. He said one of the main reasons they want to go residential it to preserve the quiet use of their property. City Manager Diane Schleicher said it did seem to be an arbitrary measurement from Highway 80. She said she is going to recommended rezoning properties that are full parcels that are not adjacent to Highway 80 to residential. She said any existing use of commercial would be grandfathered in. Dowell said his property was RA [Residential Agricultural] when they purchased it and got rezoned without them knowing it. Chuck Bargeron talked about TBR [Transitional Business Residential]. Powell said he was glad to hear the City was going to look at the C-2 residential issue. Vice Chair Barry Brown asked if there was anyone in the audience that wanted to speak in favor or opposed to the petition. Brown closed the Public Hearing. Chandler motioned to approve for both PIN numbers. Powell seconded. The motion to approve passed. The vote was unanimous with Brown abstaining. Chuck Bargeron asked Vice Chair Barry Brown if he decided not to vote or did he abstain from voting on the Tony Petrea petition. Brown said he abstained from voting. Pat Livingston, Ward-Edwards, presented a Site Plan Approval petition for 1115 Highway 80, PIN 4-0026-03- 021, Zone C-2. The request was for a temporary branch bank for First National Bank. He said that during the agenda meeting they received some preliminary comments from the Planning Commission and the revised Site Plan was their attempt to address those. He said one was the turn radius of the drive-thru so they shifted the building. He said they also realigned the site so the dumpster may be more friendly to the dump truck. He said there was a comment from one of the residents about the landscaping being consistent with what was proposed 3 with the barbecue facility that was originally approved for the site. Livingston said they are putting in more trees with the bank plan then they were with the barbecue plan. He said they also received some minor comments from Downer Davis which they intend to comply with. Charlie Brewer asked why it was a temporary structure instead of permanent. Alan Fleming, First National Bank, said is was temporary so they can get a facility operational on Tybee. He said they are working on for a permanent facility but they are not finalized so he was not at liberty to talk about it. He said they are hoping to be in the branch facility for 9 to 12 months, and in that time have the permanent facility up and going. Brewer asked if the permanent facility would be at a different location. Fleming said the 1115 Highway 80 lot was not large enough. He said the sites for a permanent structure are limited; it takes a very specific and ideal location to make that kind of financial commitment. Brewer asked what the plans would be to return the lot to its natural state. Fleming said the agreement is to return the site to its original purpose minus removing the landscaping. Referring to the Site Plan, Brewer asked about ecostone. Livingston said ecostone is a paver that has void spaces. Vice Chair Barry Brown asked about commercial abutting residential and if a 20 foot buffer was needed. Chuck Bargeron said that was part of what the Planning Commission could cover under this Review. He said they could request a fence along with the planting. Brewer said the Land Development Code says any time there is commercial abutting a residential zone there has got to be a buffer, but it appears that is only required when commercial bumps into residential, and in this case the property behind is C-2 which would negate the need for the buffer. Brown said it is C-2 but is being used as residential. Sandy Chandler said the petitioner was 26 feet from it. Bargeron said it was a temporary structure which will have a time limit established with it. He said fences go up and fences come down. Brown asked if the structure was for inside banking as well as the drive-thru. Fleming said it will have a drive-thru and a walk-in full- service bank. Bill Garbett asked if there were restrictions on temporary buildings. Bargeron said he contacted FEMA in Atlanta and the City can allow a temporary structure and cover itself by placing a time limit on it. He said it is a commercial use, not residential. Bargeron asked Fleming if the axles would be attached. Fleming said he did not know. Bargeron said that would be handled administratively. Brewer said in the Land Development Code there wasn’t anything about commercial but there was a lot about residential manufactured housing. He asked about imposing anchors to meet the residential requirements. Bargeron said the unit has to be controlled for lift, movement, flotation, and such. He said if it taken off the axles, it is no longer considered temporary and must be on a fixed pier footing system, anchored properly, and be at or above the base flood elevation requirement. The foundation was discussed further. Bargeron said there is an allowance of granting them a variance per se, but it would be noted, logged and detailed in the Minutes so if any question comes up they know we did our homework and put a stipulation on it. Chandler asked how this compared with Phil O’Dell’s building or Arby’s. Bargeron said both met the flood plain requirements and that was the highest point of the island. Brown asked if the petition needed to be continued to determine if it was going to be on piers. Bargeron said if it was going to be on piers they have to meet the base flood elevation. He said if the wheels and axles are fixed then it can temporarily be in that flood zone. Chuck Powell asked for Downer Davis to comment. Davis said Tybee does not have a requirement that commercial developments use porous pavers. He said ecostone is 4 times as expensive as conventional pavement like asphalt and recommended that the Planning Commission not require the removal of the ecostone because when a permanent facility goes on the site he would like it use the ecostone. Brown asked Davis about a comment in his letter that temporary structures are not allowed. Davis said he was not aware of the temporary exclusions that FEMA has so he thought the building would have to come up another 3-1/2 feet. He said there is room for modification without serious changes to add another ramp with a landing. Brewer asked how it would affect the drive-thru. Brown said they would have to ramp up to it. Davis agreed. He then talked about 2-inch water service off of McKenzie Street being oversized; a 3/4-inch would be adequate. Davis said Livingston concurred. Davis said Livingston agreed to use signage to provide traffic control absent of being able to mark on the pavement. Brewer recommended not planting 3 large live oaks under the main electric power feed. Davis said that was up to City Staff to address but he agreed that something more appropriate should be planted. Brown asked if anyone wished to speak in favor of or in opposition to the Site Plan. Brown clarified that City Attorney Bubba Hughes stated this was a professional office, which is an allowed use in Zone C-2. Brown closed the Public Hearing. Brewer motioned to approve. Garbett seconded. It was properly amended to include a time limit of 12 months beginning from occupancy of the building and all the issues from Downer Davis must be met. Powell commended the petitioner on the native tree plan. Hill commended them for the eco-pavers. She said she wished they had some architectural covenant because the trailer is not very Tybee chic or Tybee pretty. The motion to approve passed with a unanimous vote. Brown abstained. City Manager Diane Schleicher encouraged the Commissioners to attend the Master Plan Project Team meeting on Monday, January 22nd at 7 pm, and the Short Term Rental Workshop on Monday, January 29th from 6 pm to 9 pm. 4 * * * * * Vice Chair Barry Brown announced that on February 8th City Council will recognize the Planning Commissioners whose terms are ending. City Council Member Wanda Doyle said she has been charged with setting up a joint City Council / Planning Commission Workshop to be scheduled the first week in March. She told the Commissioners to be thinking of topics they would like discussed. Vice Chair Barry Brown suggested that the Commissioners email Dianne Otto their topic ideas. Chuck Powell asked if City Attorney Bubba Hughes said it was okay for the Planning Commission to meet with the City Council. Chuck Bargeron said that once the meeting has been advertised the meeting procedural law has been followed. Chuck Bargeron reminded the Commissioners of the EPD Road Show Workshop on Thursday, January 18 from 9 am to 2:30 pm. Sandy Chandler motioned for the meeting to adjourn. Honor Hutton seconded. The vote was unanimous