HomeMy WebLinkAboutminutes.apz.20100216City Planning & Zonine, Meeting -Minutes -February 16. 2010
................................2
Comments ................................................
Minutes ....................................................................................2
Conflicts of Interest .....................................................................2
Asaen Valley Hosaital -Final .........................................................2
726 WFrancis -Conditional Use and associated land use reviews............ ~
Miscellaneous Code Amendments ................................................
Citv Plannine & Zonine Meeting -Minutes February 16 2010
Stan Gibbs called the regular meeting in Sister Cities Meeting Room to order at
4:30pm. Commissioners present were Cliff Weiss, Bert Myrin, Brian Speck,
Michael Wampler and Stan Gibbs. Jasmine Tygre, LJ Erspamer and Jim
DeFrancia were excused. Staff present were Jim True, Special Counsel; Jennifer
Phelan and Community Development; Jackie Lothian, Deputy City Clerk.
Comments
Bert Myrin asked at the last meeting if there was a process to track things. Jennifer
Phelan replied that she started a list.
Stan Gibbs apologized to staff and the commission for the outrageous behavior of
the members of the public and some comments were made that were very
disruptive and inappropriate. Gibbs asked Jim True if as chair he had the authority
to ask disruptive people to leave the room. Jim True replied that he actually did
have the authority to ask them to leave and if they refuse to leave it is appropriate
to call the police and ask that they be escorted out. True said there was a delicate
balance between somebody's rights to participate in the process but most courts
have upheld if somebody is disruptive. Mike Wampler stated that Stan handled
that well.
Myrin asked if after something comes through P&Z can we talk to that applicant or
can we talk to the public in support or opposition of that project. True responded
that it depends on the nature of the application and we have taken the position that
the P&Z Member may have to recuse themselves.
Minutes
MOTION: Bert Myrin moved to approve the minutes from February 2, 2010 with
amendments to pages 5, 9 and 14; seconded by CI~Weiss; all in favor, approved.
Conflicts of Interest
Mike Wampler stated that he attended the Crossroads Church even though he was
not a member but he did not think that it would affect any decision. Jim True said
unless there was a financial interest.
PUBLIC HEARING:
Aspen Valley Hospital -Final
Stan Gibbs opened the Public hearing onAVH Phase II final PUD.
MOTION: CZ~Weiss moved to continue the public hearing on Aspen Valley
Hospital to March 2, 2010, seconded by Bert Myrin. All in favor, approved.
PUBLIC HEARING:
726 W Francis St Conditional use and associated land use reviews
2
City Planning & Zoning, Meeting -Minutes -February 16 2010
Stan Gibbs opened the public hearing for 726 West Francis Street conditional use
and land use reviews. Drew Alexander responded that Crossroads Church has
requested 4 approvals, 3 of which are final at Planning & Zoning; Conditional Use,
Special Review for parking and a Dimensional variance. The Growth
Management Quota System, for an essential public facility, which is a
recommendation from Planning & Zoning, which is finalized thereafter by City
Council. Alexander said the notice had been provided.
Alexander said that Crossroads Church was built in 1964 and it was called the First
Baptist Church at the time and has undergone several small renovations throughout
the years; the last in 2004. The Crossroads Church received a similar renovation
approval in 1977, which included an expansion for additional programming space
and offices; that application was approved but the work was never completed. The
current proposal consists of expansion primarily to the second floor, which would
change the overall floor area of the church from 4, 774 square feet to 7,299. The
upper level expansion would include offices for the current 7 employees who share
office space and classroom space; the expansion will also provide improvements to
programming, entrance and existing, re-orientated entrance; ADA compliant
access along 7a' Street and ADA compliant restrooms. The Special Review for
Parking for arts, cultural and civic uses; the church currently has approximately 15
spots on street parking, 4off-street spots along the alleyway and a verbal
agreement between the church and the forest service where they use 6 spots in the
forest service lot on Sundays during service hours.
Alexander said the Dimensional Variance was for combined side yard setback and
minimum side yard setback being that the church is on a corner lot in the R-6 Zone
District there is a combined side yard setback requirement for a lot this size at 30
feet; currently there is 16.2 being proposed with a west side yard of 5.5. The front
yard has been recorded along Francis Street; the yard along 7`t' Street is able to
have a setback that is two-thirds of the distance of the required front yard setback
which is 6.6 feet; they are asking for a variance of 5.5 feet for an area that is a
gable above a new stairwell access. All other portions of the expansion have been
stepped back so they are in compliance with the R-6 setback requirements.
Alexander said the programming has been enhanced and there was an additional 80
seats in the sanctuary but the plan doesn't include increasing services or
membership. Staff recommends the growth management review for the employee
housing be waived and recommends approval based upon the design of the
expansion. The applicant also completed a traffic analysis for the special review
for parking. Alexander said on page 3 of the memo is an idea of how the proposed
3
Citv Planning & Zonine Meetine -Minutes -February 16 2010
footprint aligns up with the existing. There has been a curb and gutter plan along
Francis Street from the engineering department and also curb and gutter be
installed along 7~' and the curb and gutter and sidewalk would not conflict with the
significant trees, drip lines and root bases and possibly use alternate materials for
the sidewalk. The Fire Department asked that the water line be assessed during
building permit; the size of the pipe needs to be adequate for fire suppression and
the water utility to the church also recommended by the Water Department. Staff
recommends approval of all reviews.
Cliff Weiss asked if there was no new membership capacity proposed. Alexander
replied that was the intent but the membership capacity could increase but that was
not the intent to increase service hours or numbers of services on Sundays or
number of programs during the week. It was strictly to provide offices for their
employees and improve the ingress and egress on the lower level and add 80
additional seats to the sanctuary. Weiss asked if there weren't enough seats for
their membership now. Alexander explained that with this expansion there were
some roof form changes and a part of that is severing the sanctuary platform
coming away from the north end of the space and reconfiguring to the eastern in
the more centralized location and there was a gathering area on that level that was
being removed.
Bert Myrin asked the system in place for the City Community Development to
address that parking agreement with the neighbor; what if the neighbor changes the
agreement down the road. Alexander said there were a couple of things specific to
this site that help with the transportation needs; if they lose those 6 spaces there
were things that they could do like advertise on their web site for alternates like
RFTA, new additional bike racks, to coordinate with City Shuttle systems. Myrin
asked how this gets implemented; P&Z was making a land use decision based upon
those 6 spaces as part of their decision and if those go away at some point then
what happens. Jennifer Phelan responded that it could be a condition in the
resolution that if that agreement dissolves that it is the responsibility of the
applicant to notify the City.
John Galambos said that he was a member of Crossroads Church and the architect
preparing this application. Galambos stated that Crossroads Church has been there
a long time. Don said that it has been there since 1957. Galambos said in the
basement there was Sunday School and nursery, storage and a kitchen; there
currently was no second floor. Galambos said that by turning the sanctuary from
the traditional stage at the end of pews they are trying it at 90 degrees so there was
a little more intimate connection, which will enhance the experience in the
4
CityPlannin~ & Zoning Meeting -Minutes - February 16, 2010
community. In moving the offices upstairs they are trying to create a better flow
and better connecting point and when the services end the people can discharge on
Francis and 7`h Streets. Galambos said that the ADA bathrooms would be
addressed and handicap access on 7`h Street with a sloping walkway and an
elevator.
Galambos said they want to preserve the trees so there will be some negotiating
between Parks and Engineering on that and the trees were on the City right-of--way.
Galambos said that they would be within the 25 foot height limit in the zone
district. Galambos said that he heard from 3 neighbors and received favorable
input from 2 and the third was sent the views from the back where she lived.
Galambos said there were between 425 to 475 people coming to church during
those 3 services. They were at about 80 to 85% capacity for the second 2 services.
In the summers the Music School uses their facility for some lectures: The
weddings and funerals are packed.
Galambos asked Jeff Ream a traffic engineer to come up and they did a couple of
studies comparing the 3 west end churches on Sunday mornings; essentially
everybody has to park on the street Sunday mornings. Galambos asked to consider
the proposal without those 6 spaces at the forest service. Jeff Ream said that he
worked for a traffic and transportation consultation firm; churches and schools
create a unique challenge; everyone comes at the same time and leaves as soon as
it's done. Ream said that he came up on the weekend of January 31S` during the X
Games and watched traffic and parking for the two busiest services 9:30 and the 11
o'clock and used the information collected from that to augment his traffic analysis
for this particular site. Ream said there were 4 spaces in the alley, 10 angled along
7`h Street and 6 along Francis. Everybody else just parks on the streets and was in
a two hour parking zone Monday through Friday 8 until 6. Ream utilized graphics
(figures 1-5) that street occupancy at 85% full might mean there were 1 or 2 spaces
available; yellow means there were plenty of spaces available and you can find a
spot; green was less than 50% full which generally means that you can park
anywhere you want. Ream said the forest service lot was fully occupied and they
all changed over; 7~' between Hallam and Smuggler was full on both sides and
Francis between 6~' and 7~' was full. Ream said there were about 160 folks at the
9:30 service, the busiest service. Ream said there were about 5% walking; we can
assume that most of the people are driving to church; in the summer there might be
a few more people walking. Ream said the total traffic is about 115 trips on
Sunday morning created by the expansion and transit was good to the site.
Galambos said that they had an open house.
5
Citv Plannine & Zonin¢ Meeting -Minutes -February 16 2010
Mike Wampler said that during the walk through you stated that this may be a 5 or
possibly 10 year project with no money raised; why are you doing this now when
10 years down the whole game plan could be changed. Galambos replied that they
were asking fora 5 year vested rights instead of 3; he said that they did not want to
go into massive debt in order to do the project; it wasn't part of the philosophy of
the church.
Cliff Weiss said that he saw 12 streets in your grid, 240 spaces roughly. Ream said
that was for a113 services. Galambos replied the second and third services had
kids programs; the second service being more heavily attended. Mike Wampler
said that people drove slow and sometimes had to park 2 blocks away. Weiss said
that he didn't see any letters from neighbors so he wasn't worried. Weiss asked
what was happening the rest of the week. Pastor Dan said that there was nothing
during the week for kids, it was only Sunday school. Pastor said that they were in
the office as a staff Monday through Friday; in the summer there was a lecture on
Fridays at lunch; the Music Associates use it; Thursday Mornings about 25 ladies
gather for a study; Wednesday Mornings there were about 8 men that gather for a
study; Monday nights about 10-15 youths meet; Tuesday nights there is a band
rehearsal with the Theatre Company lead by David Ledingham about 8 people;
Wednesday nights they have 20 something that meets and a band practicing;
Thursday night there is another band rehearsal and another study that meets with 8
or 9 people. Pastor Dan said Friday and Saturday nights nothing happens; he said
that weddings happen about 5 times a year and maybe a couple of funerals a year;
there is no formal school just Sunday school. Pastor Dan said that one of the
Church statistics is when you get over 80% full people tend to not come; the
capacity was 180 so this expansion would be to make it a more workable facility.
Weiss asked about using the church for something else; if you were using this for
hundreds of people that would impact more days of the week than Sundays. Pastor
Dan said they do not want the burden of becoming a rental facility but want to
serve the community needs.
No public comments.
Commissioner Comments:
Cliff Weiss stated he was concerned about the parking and noise for the
neighborhood and renting out the facility for rock concerts but the pastor stated
that they were not interested in renting out the facility. Bert Myrin asked about the
employee audit for employee housing mitigation and if it was part of a
recommendation to City Council. Stan Gibbs said the 4 reviews are in the
6
City Planning & Zoning Meeting -Minutes -February 16, 2010
resolution. Gibbs said the lack of concern by the neighbors lead him to believe it
wasn't a big issue. Brian Speck commended the applicant on the project.
MOTION: Bert Myrin moved to approve Resolution #006, 2010 with conditions
and the amendment to require an employee audit a year after the addition was
built and recommending the Ciry Council approve this Resolution; Mike Wampler
seconded. Roll call: Speck, yes; Myrin, yes; Weiss, yes; Wampler, yes; Gibbs,
yes; Approved S-0.
PUBLIC HEARING:
Miscellaneous Code Amendments
Stan Gibbs opened the public hearing. Notice was provided. Chris Bendon said
staff thought this was a simple amendment to the definition of artist studio, a
revised sign code and to touch on calculations and measurements.
Bendon said on page 5 of the packet the artist studio residence was removed from
this definition and code. Bendon said the following would be added to the
proposed language: "An artist studio may include a teaching or instructional
component accessory to the primary use of a fine arts workshop".
Cliff Weiss asked why we were allowing teaching or instructional components and
asked what is your intent. Bendon replied to allow accessory teaching or
instructional component so if someone has a ceramics studio and they want to do a
seminar on raku ceramics it would be part of their studio. Stan Gibbs asked if
there were other uses in the S/C/I zone that have instructional or educational
components of this language. Bendon replied that they used to for martial arts
studios and it was taken out.
Bert asked if artist studio included land use planners and architects. Bendon
replied it does not.
Weiss asked if it was reasonable to say that the Yellow Brick, Anderson Ranch and
parts of the Red Brick are exactly the locations where there are classroom artist
studios already. Bendon replied yes. Weiss said aren't we working on having
zoning to have more light industrial and S/C/I; he said that he leaned against this
because there were already are appropriate places for classrooms and artist studios
associated with classrooms.
Stan Gibbs said that given the artist studio is a use in the S/C/I he didn't have a
problem with adding the educational and Brian Speck agreed with Stan.
7
Ci Plannin & Zonin Meetin -Minutes - Febru 16 2010
Bert Myrin asked if this wasn't added to the code could someone just come and ask
us to add it. Bendon replied yes.
MOTION: Stan Gibbs moved to approve Resolution #007-10 to amend the artist
studio definition; seconded by Brian Speck. Roll call: Wampler, yes; Myrin, yes;
Weiss, no; Speck, yes; Gibbs, yes; APPROVED 4-1.
Chris Bendon said that there were a series of changes to the sign code; we have
provided an exhibit of the existing code with no changes; the in between exhibit
shows all the changes and in the Resolution was the language as proposed.
Drew Alexander said this started in September 2009 for changes in the code.
Alexander utilized power point in his presentation. Alexander said that the
redundancies and inconsistency would be removed from the current code.
Alexander said there were the following types of signs in the commercial core:
sandwich board signs, current and proposed signage allotment systems, free
standing sign (current 10 square feet limit) with some kind of anchor in the ground,
wall signs, cut out letter signs, projected or hanging signs (limited to 6 square feet),
awning signs, window signs and business directory signs on buildings. Alexander
said that sandwich board signs should only be used for restaurants and retail and
under the draft code sandwich board signs would only be allowed for businesses
without ground level exposure or no visibility along main public rights-of--ways.
Alexander said there were some unique opportunities along alleyways where
businesses could locate and it would be appropriate for sandwich boards. Chris
Bendon stated that they wanted to provide a discussion on whether to allow all
sandwich board signs or take them all away; they were looking at the enforcement
on signs.
Cliff Weiss asked about design elements; if he wanted to put a sign out that was a
backlit transparency or a dimensional sign (3 dimensional versus 2). Bendon
replied that you can't have internal illumination; you can have illumination that is
not direct, can't expose a rope light or a bulb. Alexander said there were the
rights-of--way at 6 foot travel distance. Brian Speck asked if there could be a
measurement from the building that the sandwich board sign could be placed.
Alexander said there was a menu approach to how many sandwich board signs a
business can have, illumination and location come at the end. Weiss said that car
alleys were inappropriate. Alexander replied that the signs wouldn't be in the alley
but directing you on the right-of--way (sidewalk) along the street into the alley.
Gibbs suggested an amount of feet within the entrance or access to the building.
8
City Planning & Zoning Meeting -Minutes - February 16, 2010
Alexander said that staff recommended buildings with more than one business in it
could have more of a directional sign with the businesses in the building.
Weiss said that he wanted to make sure things were fair. Bert Myrin said that if
you were on the second floor you did not have the street front presence. Weiss
said the signs have to be reined in. Myrin said that sign boards were easier but one
of the concerns was the business entrance was on the street level but the business
was upstairs.
MOTION: Cliff Weiss moved to extend the meeting 1 S minutes, seconded by Bert
Myrin. Approved 4-1 (Wampler no).
Alexander said that 1 square foot of signage was each 3 feet of building length
along a frontage and if there were 4 businesses within that frontage they all have to
share that signage; the way this has been created was up to the landlord to hand out
to his tenants to make sure they all have equal opportunity for signage. This
hardly ever happens; most of the landlords don't live here and sign a letter from
their tenant to give them permission to put a sign up and when that tenant comes to
Community Development with the description of their signage they find out
sometimes there is no opportunity to even put a sign up. Alexander said these
permit requirements that create a frustration and often dangerous trying to measure
the lettering on an awning leaning over the edge. Speck brought up that a lot of
landlords do not live out of town. Bendon said the key was that landlords would
be actively monitoring this.
Alexander said that the proposed sign code language changes was in the shared
element in the allotment; each business would be given its own signage amount
and provide a menu style of signage to make the code user friendlier and the field
time spent trying to complete permits for that applicant. Each business would be
allocated 6 square feet of signage regardless of frontage size; buildings with a
single tenant within a half of a block or more were granted 20 square feet which is
equal to what they receive today, like City Market for example.
Weiss said that you can illuminate a sign by aiming a light bulb at a sign; you can
backlight a sign; you can have neon; you can put a transparency on a sign.
Alexander said none of those were in the current code. Bendon said it was a tricky
thing to be creative and it is subjective to the reviewer.
MOTION: Cliff Weiss moved to extend another I S minutes, seconded by Brian
Speck. All in favor, approved.
9
Citv Plannine & Zonine Meeting -Minutes -February 16 2010
Weiss said that billboards were in most big cities and there were things that project
out of the rectangle; it is their job to be creative for designers that deal with this all
the time. Weiss said that designers have a way around everything that can be
perceived. Bendon said that it gets a little tricky but it comes back to the core
question that comes back to responding to City Council. Weiss asked to be more
restrictive about the size of awnings or no more awnings.
Myrin said the bonus should not increase the size. Weiss asked what kind of
materials they were limited to. Alexander replied that it depends on where you are
located; if you are in the commercial core or Main Street you would have to go
under HPC review for your sign. HPC has guidelines for the materials. There
were no reflective materials allowed in town.
Mike Wampler asked about real estate signs being looked at. Wampler said
garage sale signs get left up and would like to see some sort of fine regulation on
them to have them taken down after the sale. Alexander said the new proposed
code language had new real estate sign language.
Weiss asked if a window display was included in signage.
MOTION: CI Weiss moved to continue the Signs Code Amendment to Apri16,
2010, seconded by Mike Wampler, all in favor, approved.
Adjourned at 7:30 pm.
~~ni
kie Lothian, Deputy City Clerk
10