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HomeMy Public PortalAbout10-09-2001PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES - OCTOBER 9, 2001 PRESENT: LENNY LEUER, TOM SUPEL, JERRY BROST, DICK PICARD, SHARON JOHNSON, ELIZABETH WEIR AND MARY VERBICK. ALSO PRESENT: COUNCILMEMBER CAROLYN SMITH, PLANNING AND ZONING ADMINISTRATOR LOREN KOHNEN, PLANNING INTERN BILL DERMODY AND PLANNING AND ZONING ASSISTANT SANDIE LARSON. ABSENT: RANDY BRINKMAN AND RON JOHNSON Chairperson Lenny Leuer called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. 1. PATRICK ZILVERBERG - 1392 MEDINA ROAD - FRONT YARD SET BACK VARIANCE FOR TENNIS COURT - PUBLIC HEARING Loren Kohnen read his memo to the planning commission and then read `Factors in Favor of Granting a Variance and Mr. Zilverberg's response. He then put up an overhead of the area. Pat Zilverberg said that he had considered other sites and Loren is correct, there is room in the backyard, but aesthetically, it is not the best place. He said the proposed site seemed the most practical and the least imposing. He said he tried to make it the best deal for both the city and me. If 15' is a problem, anything would help, 5',10', so I wouldn't have to dig into the hill so much. Tom Supel said there was no addressing the `factors against granting a variance'. L. Kohnen said that the applicants want to be positive and my answers are in the memo. T. Supel had a prepared written statement for Loren. He said given the `factors to be considered' (from Ron Batty), are these what we go by or the ordinance. He said the draft of 8/12/01 was his (Tom's) attempt to mesh the factors with the ordinance. He said using this document, he produced another document and went thru his memo. He said his conclusion is that this application is not consistent with the requirements of the ordinance, that all 6 conditions must be met. Lenny Leuer said that he agrees with Tom and appreciates Tom's work on this. He had a two part comment: 1 - he hoped that the applicant understood the pros and cons of the variance request and this isn't saying that you cannot have a tennis court, just not where you are showing it and 2 - there are a lot of shade trees and the court could go E- W with the trees to shade the court. P. Zilverberq said if the court was E-W, the sun would be in your eyes a great deal of the time, the trees only shade late in the day. He said those that build courts say that E- W is not the way to do it. Planning Commission Minutes - 10-09-01 1 L. Leuer said that you want the court on Medina Road , are you are concerned with the excavation costs. P. Zilverberg said yes, it will also be closer to the house and front yard and we would have to relocate our water line. He said a smaller variance would be o.k. with him. L. Leuer said in his perspective, there is no reasons for a variance of any size. Mary Verbick said that the planning commission does not want to say 1 person can and 1 person can't. Her goal is to only grant variances within the city code. P. Zilverberg said that he is not very upset, but it would be nice if you can be flexible to help good community members, maybe it is not all good to be so stringent. He said he thinks he had a reasonable request, but can accept the planning commissions decision. L. Leuer reminded Mr. Zilverberg that the planning commission was not the deciding factor, but the city council makes the final decision. Jerry Brost said that he understands much of what Mr. Zilverberg said and that the big hammer of government is not always fair, but in looking at this request, there is no real reason for flexibility. This would set a very bad precedent, but he does understand that Mr. Zilverberg would like to do what he wants to on his property. MOVED BY ELIZABETH WEIR AND SECONDED BY TOM SUPEL TO RECOMMEND DENIAL OF THE VARIANCE REQUEST OF PAT ZILVERBERG AT 1392 MEDINA ROAD AS NO HARDSHIP IS SHOWN. MOTION PASSED. Mr. Zilverberg withdrew his application requesting that it not go to the city council. There was discussion of variance factors. 2. DISCUSSION OF PLANNING COMMISSION TRAINING GUIDE Sharon Johnson said that she had received comments from Liz and Tom and this is a starting point. She said that not all the planning commission members have the same background. Jerry Brost wanted to know how much in detail the guide would be. S. Johnson said her idea is to keep it brief. Carolyn Smith said she thinks this is a great idea. Planning Commission Minutes - 10-09-01 2 Elizabeth Weir said that the city's comprehensive plan is a good resource. Lenny Leuer said he agreed, that he carries his with him on the site visits. J. Brost said something like this is not just for the planning commission, but the city council could use something like it also. C. Smith said also the park commission. J. Brost said that Sharon could work with her list and the planning commission operational procedures together. There was continued discussion of the training guide C. Smith said this should not be just a training guide, but a planning commission handbook. 3. MINUTES OF SEPTEMBER 11, 2001 Page 3 - 4th line, correct the spelling of paragraph. MOVED BY ELIZABETH WEIR AND SECONDED BY SHARON JOHNSON TO APPROVE THE MINUTES AS CORRECTED. MOTION PASSED. MOVED BY ELIZABETH WEIR AND SECONDED BY MARY VERBICK TO ADJOURN. MOTION PASSED. Meeting adjourned at 8:35 p.m. Planning and Zoning Assistant Date Planning Commission Minutes - 10-09-01 3