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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2010 [05] May 03May 3, 2010 Page 1 of 4 Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, the Planning Commission for the City of St. Joseph met in regular session on Monday, May 3, 2010 at 7:00 PM in the St. Joseph City Hall. Members Present: Chair Sr. Kathleen Kalinowski, Commissioners Ross Rieke, Mike McDonald, Mike Deutz, Brian Orcutt, John Meyer, Dale Wick and City Administrator Judy Weyrens Others Present: Tom Borresch, David Fimrite, Tom Klein Approval of the Agenda: Meyer made a motion to approve the agenda as presented; seconded by Wick and passed unanimously. Approval of the Minutes: Wick made a motion to approve the minutes of April 5, 2010 with minor changes. The motion was seconded by Deutz and passed unanimously. Interim Use. Variance — Tom Borresch: Weyrens stated the Planning Commission tabled action on the Interim Use request of Tom Borresch to allow for display and sale of accessory buildings in a B2 Zoning District. The matter was tabled in April as the petitioner /owner was not present. In reviewing the plans it was noted that the accessory buildings were located on property not owned by Borresch and members identified some compliance issues that needed to be addressed. Therefore the matter was tabled to this meeting. Tom Borresch approached the Commissioners as the owner of the parcel in question. He stated that he has met with Weyrens and understands that the accessory buildings he has already placed on the property are not located on property he owns. He also stated that he has been made aware of some Ordinance compliance issues. As of this time he has not had the opportunity to determine how to resolve the outstanding issues and would like some additional time so that he may meet with the Building Official and Public Works Director to receive feedback and direction. With regard to the structure he placed in the railroad right -of -way, he has contacted a representative of the rail company leasing the tracks to determine setback areas. He again stated that he would like some additional time so that he can get a better understanding of what exactly he can do and then propose what can be done. Weyrens stated that the matter before the Commission is a land use matter that requires action within 60 days of submittal unless the petitioner or City extends the time requirement. Weyrens stated that prior to the meeting she discussed the requirement with Borresch and he stated that he would be willing to extend the time requirement. Borresch presented the Commission with a letter waiving land use action within 60 days of application. McDonald made a motion to accept the waiver of the 60 -day land use requirement and table action until a future meeting. The motion was seconded by Meyer. Discussion: McDonald spoke to Borresch and stated that he appreciates him moving the buildings back. In his opinion, it looks a lot neater and they are now located on his property, but yet they are still visible from the road. Borresch added that they also have a parking issue that they must deal with. McDonald questioned whether they will see what can be done with the property across the street as well to which Borresch stated they will. He added that he needs to talk to the City about the proposed improvements to 16th Avenue as well to see how /if he will be impacted by those improvements. The motion passed unanimously. North Country Trailer Sales: Weyrens stated that she recently discussed with the owner /operator of North Country Trailer Sales the conditions of the Special Use Permit (SUP) issued by the City. One of the provisions included SUP stated "all vehicles or trailers located on the property for sale will be stored on the existing bituminous surface ". Currently the trailers extend beyond the paved area. Since it was a provision of the SUP, the Planning Commission must review changes and forward any recommendations to the City Council. May 3, 2010 Page 2 of 4 David Fimrite approached the Commissioners on behalf of North Country Trailer Sales. Weyrens stated that the parking of the trailers has exceeded beyond the paved areas. Fimrite advised the Commissioners that behind the building there is a gravel /rock surface on which they have been storing some of their trailers that were not for sale. He stated that they could now use some additional space and would like to use the area behind the building. Wick clarified that they only plan to use the gravel area, not the grassy area. Fimrite replied that, with the economy the way it is, they are surviving, but there are other things that need to be done at the property. They are trying to budget their money to replace the shingles. He added that business is generally slow in the summer months for trailer sales; however, they expect that sales of cars and motorcycles will pick up. In the event that this request is granted, McDonald questioned how much more inventory they plan to add. Fimrite responded that they would like to make enough room for a dozen trailers in the back which would be roughly the same amount of space that they have in the front of the building. McDonald stated that he does not see a problem with approving the request. Meyer, on the other hand, stated that he does not want to set precedence. Weyrens added that if this were to be approved, it could be approved with the contingency that it is reviewed annually and a plan should be submitted for paving at some point in the future. McDonald stated that the matter just discussed by the Planning Commission includes a parking area for a business which is gravel. He also stated that the City needs businesses to be able to survive and the Planning Commission does not wish to create hardships, rather assist the businesses. McDonald suggested that the requirement for paving be extended to January 2012. Meyer stated that it would be best to pick a date around the blacktop season and suggested June 1, 2012. Fimrite stated that they are asking for another 40-60 feet for display, which is currently gravel and at this time they do not have plans to pave the area. Meyer questioned whether or not this is reviewed on a case by case basis to which Weyrens stated that this was a stipulation of the Special Use Permit. Deutz suggested that they come back to the Planning Commission with a plan to show what their future plans are for the site. Meyer agreed. Fimrite responded to Deutz by stating that they do not want to set a number or limit to the amount of space as they may want to use more in the future. Rieke suggested that the property owner meet with the building inspector. Rieke stated that the real issue is to agree what that space is and memorializing the agreement with a written document. Weyrens stated that staff can meet with the property owner to identify the current paved areas, gravel area for additional display and future plans. The Planning Commission would need to determine the amount of time that would be granted to have the area paved. Rieke stated that the Commissioners must look to amend the findings of fact for the Special Use Permit relating to the parking of trailers and vehicles on bituminous surface. The property owner will be responsible for providing the City with a detailed site plan showing the current plan and the expansion area. He added that they, along with staff, must then agree to what that space is and document that and have it attached to the Special Use Permit. It would then come back to the Planning Commission for approval. Rieke made a motion to consider relieving the 3'd requirement of the Special Use Permit which states that "all vehicles or trailers located on the property for sale will be stored on the existing bituminous surface ". The building inspector is to meet on -site with the property owner to determine the current paved or granite chipped area and identify the immediate and expansion area. The motion was seconded by Wick. Ayes: Kalinowski, Rieke, McDonald, Deutz, Orcutt, Wick Nays: Meyer Motion carried 6:1:0. Downtown Parking: Weyrens stated that the St. Joseph Meat Market has presented the staff with the footprint for a proposed addition. The proposed addition meets Ordinance requirements with the exception of the parking lot standards. The current Ordinance requires parking lots to include perimeter curbing. The property owner does not intend to curb the parking area and staff has concurred that May 3, 2010 Page 3 of 4 curbing in this particular case does not make sense. However, staff cannot relieve Ordinance requirements and at this time they are questioning if the property owner needs to go through the expense of hiring an engineer to re- design the parking area. Weyrens stated that in calculating the number of parking spaces that would be required after the addition, the current parking area meets the Ordinance requirements. The staff also discussed whether or not this would be the opportunity to review the downtown parking standards and address the parking shortage. The City Engineer has prepared some draft designs for the downtown area that would provide additional parking, but the property owners would need to be involved in such discussions. Weyrens questioned the Planning Commission if they would like to proceed and discuss downtown parking at a future meeting, establish a sub - committee or instruct staff to work on parking standards and designs. McDonald stated that he would be interested in more parking downtown as the street parking is horrible. He questioned; however, how many use the parking that is currently available. McDonald stated that he attended the recent EDA meeting at which he saw a concept plan of the proposed parking for downtown. Rieke questioned whether or not there had been a decision already made by the Council. According to Weyrens, the issue is first being addressed at the Planning Commission level as they handle the planning and zoning. She suggested that the various committees meet to discuss this to try to come up with a better solution. Meyer stated that he feels that the Planning Commission should be instrumental in this process. Weyrens advised the Commissioners that the EDA became involved as they spearheaded the downtown revitalization efforts. Deutz commented that he thought that they looked at everything downtown without a set of ordinances. Weyrens stated that the downtown area is not exempt from the Parking standards; rather, they are exempt from the strict number of spaces required. Since the Meat Market will need to secure a building permit, they will be required to adhere to the parking lot standards. Wick stated that if they follow the current ordinances, there would be a lot of curbs. Weyrens stated that she needs some direction from the Planning Commission before moving forward. Wick advised the Commissioners that the Meat Market is planning to build this summer. According to McDonald, they have more than enough parking now. Weyrens added that, if they can meet all of the Ordinance requirements, they would not need to come to the Planning Commission for approval. The issue is not whether or not they have enough parking spaces, rather the perimeter curbing in the downtown area. Deutz stated that it is his opinion that the perimeter curbing be taken out. Meyer feels as though this is being rushed by development and he does not see a need to rush the ordinance due to development. Rieke suggested that staff tell the Meat Market that they would not be required to curb now; however, they may need to do that in the future. Weyrens stated that they could add that into the developer agreement. Rieke made a motion to relieve the St. Joseph Meat Market of the requirement to install perimeter curbing around the parking lot at this time. Relief is being granted to allow the Planning Commission time to review the parking lot standards. When the Planning Commission is completed with the Ordinance review, the St. Joseph Meat Market will be required to adhere to the Ordinance provisions approved by the Planning Commission and City Council. The motion was seconded by Wick. Discussion: Deutz stated that the purpose of curbing is to control water. He added that storm sewer is already installed and thus he does not see a need for curbing. Weyrens agreed and stated that new construction is one thing, but retrofitting is another. Wick stated that the issue is that, currently, staff has no leeway. Kalinowski stated that they would simply notify the Meat Market that this is a temporary delay. Wick added that the Planning Commission will continue to review the downtown parking standards. The motion passed unanimously May 3, 2010 Page 4 of 4 McDonald Resignation: McDonald advised the Commissioners that, due to personal issues, he will be resigning from the Planning Commission. This has to do with the City and the value statements that were recently adopted by the City Council. He stated that he does not like how it was done in the sense that it was not brought before the board. He feels that one must subscribe to the value statements and say that they agree to do those things. He does not want people looking at his personal actions. It was said several times that they are unenforceable; however, Councilman Frank questioned how to keep board members accountable. McDonald stated that he believes he does live up to those values, but feels they are petty and unenforceable. He also feels that this should have been presented to the various board members. Rieke thanked McDonald for all of his service on the board. Weyrens advised the Commissioners that packets will be distributed to all board members with information relating to the value statements and the Code of Conduct for City Officials. Adjourn: Deutz made a motion to adjourn at 7:50PM; seconded by Orcutt and passed unanimously. t J y Weyrens Administrator