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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1992 [07] Jul 06July 6, 1992 Page 1 Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, the Planning Commission for the City of St. Joseph met in regular session on Monday, July 6, 1992 at 7:30 p.m. in the St. Joseph City Hall. Members Present: Chair Hub Klein. Commissioners Sr. Kathleen Kalinowski, Ken Hiemenz, Linda Sniezek, Kurt Schnieder, Dan Nierengarten, Donald "Bud" Reber. Secretary of the Board Judy Weyrens. Others Present: Clerk/Adm Rachel Stapleton. Council Liaison Stephanie Hazen, Mary Kaye Nordmann, Roger Steichen, Ken Twit, John Forsythe. Approval of minutes: Kalinowski made a motion to approve the minutes of the June 1, 1992 meeting with the following corrections: Page 2: ..but one they receive their variance.. should be .. but once. Page 3: Vote call for Klein variance should have been was listed in error. Reber voted naye. The motion was seconded by Reber. Ayes: Klein, Kalinowski, Hiemenz, Sniezek, Schnieder, Reber, Nierengarten. Nayes: None. Motion Carried 7:0:0 Kalinowski made a motion to approve the minutes of the June 22, 1992 meeting as presented; the motion was seconded by Sniezek. Ayes: Klein, Kalinowski, Hiemenz, Sniezek, Schnieder, Reber, Nierengarten. Nayes: None. Motion Carried 7:0:0 Mary Kave Nordmann: Mary Kaye appeared before the commission to discuss her plans to open a pizza restaurant in the building currently owned by Gary Schyma, 13 College Avenue North, and is questioning whether or not the planning commission would permit her family to live upstairs. The zoning ordinance for General Business does not allow living quarters in the zone, however, the ordinance does provide for the provision should the owner go through the special use process. The Commission discussed the parking issue as it would relate to off street parking of her personal car, since parking is not allowed on the streets during the snow months. Mary Kaye stated that she is currently looking for parking places and does not see that as a problem. The Commission scheduled a public hearing for a special use permit on August 3, 1992 at 7:30 p.m. John Forsythe: John Forsythe, owner of Bo Diddley's, appeared before the Commission to discuss the possible expansion of his business. Since Gary's Pizza will be constructing a building adjacent to his property, Mr. Forsythe feels that it would be easier to put the footing in without a building in the vacant lot. He does not foresee constructing the addition for at least two years, but would like approval to place the footings in the ground. The Commission commended Mr. Forsythe for future planning, at which time Hiemenz made a motion to approve the footings and block work to grade level, for the future expansion of Bo Diddiey's. The motion was seconded by Sniezek. July 6, 1992 Page 2 Ayes: Klein, Kalinowski, Hiemenz, Sniezek, Schnieder, Reber, Nierengarten. Nayes: None. Motion Carried 7:0:0 Mr. Forsythe questioned the process he must go through when the addition is constructed. Since building permits cannot be issued for the future, and have a time restraint of one year, Mr. Forsythe was informed that he would have to re-appear before the commission at the time of construction. However, they could not see a problem with his future plans. Ken Twit: Ken Twit, 213 Able Street East, appeared before the Commission to discuss the addition to his home. He currently has a detached single garage on the West side of his house, and would like to move that garage to the back of his property, and construct a 24 x 28 foot attached garage. The current ordinance allows a maximum square foot for garage and accessory building of 800 square feet. Mr. Twit's combined square footage would exceed the ordinance by 152 square feet. The Commission was in general agreement that the maximum allowed square foot of a garage/accessory building needs to be updated and reviewed. With this in mind, Reber made a motion recommend Council approval to allow Mr. Twit to move the existing garage to the backyard and construct his new garage as presented, with the following stipulations. If after the Commission reviews and updates the ordinance, the garage does not fit within the guidelines, Mr. Twit will either have to apply for a variance or remove the garage. The motion was seconded by Nierengarten. Ayes: Klein, Kalinowski, Hiemenz, Sniezek, Schnieder, Reber, Nierengarten. Nayes: None. Motion Carried 7:0:0 OLD BUSINESS Assessment Policy: After the recent street project of East Baker and 7th Avenue, questions have arisen as to the current City policy for assessments. The commission is requesting the Council to authorize the City Attorney, John Scherer, to provide them with the following information: 1. Procedures of Assessments 2. Common practices in reference to percentages used 3. Common practices in defining the front yard and back yard Size of Accessory Buiidinx: Trends in the building industry have made portions of the City Ordinance outdated. Most new construction is providing for three stall garages, and the current City Ordinance only allows a maximum of 800 square feet. The commission discussed alternative methods of re-drafting the ordinance. After discussion, the Commission requested the Council to authorize the City Attorney, John Scherer, to provide them with the following information: 1. Common practices in reference to other municipal allowances 2. A proposed ordinance with verbiage to include a percentage of lot coverage in addition to maximum allowed square footage for a garage. 3. Re-define the following terms: July 6, 1992 Page 3 a. Garage - attached (do not associate a garage an accessory building) b. Garage - detached c. Accessory building Parking Spaces: The Commission discussed modifying the Ordinance to regulate the size of parking stalls. Discussion items included designated parking for compact cars -vs- larger cars, and the amount of parking that should be required within the City. After a lengthy discussion, the Commission recommended the Council authorize the City Engineer, Joe Bettendorf, to review the current ordinance, pertaining to parking, and make a recommendation. Council Liaison Hazen, discussed with the Commission the need to include adding recreational goals to the comprehensive plan. Jim Brummer recently announced that the study group for the proposed recreation center was going to cease, but the idea of a recreational facility needs to be provided for in the future. The Commission discussed with Council Liaison Hazen, the role of the Planning Commission as it pertains to the joint meetings with the Township. Since the Council has been meeting with St. Joseph Township and talking about annexations and a possible merger, they feel that it is important that they have a significant role, as the matter is planning for the future. The meeting was adjourned at 9:20 p.m. Respectfully submitted, udy Weyrens Secretary of the Board