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Minutes Zoning Advisory Commission 8 6 08THE CITY OF DUBUQUE Masterpiece on the Mississippi Dubuque All-American City 2007 Draft MINUTES ZONING ADVISORY COMMISSION REGULAR SESSION Wednesday, August 6, 2008 6:30 p.m. City Council Chamber, Historic Federal Building 350 W. 6th Street, Dubuque, Iowa PRESENT: Chairperson Jeff Stiles; Commissioners Ron Smith, Stephen Hardie, Martha Christ, Charles Miller, and Tom Henschel; Staff Members Kyle Kritz, Tim O'Brien, and Guy Hemenway. ABSENT: Commissioner Patrick Norton. AFFIDAVIT OF COMPLIANCE: Staff presented an Affidavit of Compliance verifying that the meeting was being held in compliance with the Iowa Open Meetings Law. CALL TO ORDER: The meeting was called to order at 6:30 p.m. MINUTES: The minutes of the July 2, 2008 meeting were approved unanimously as submitted. ACTION ITEMIPLAT OF SURVEY: Application of Buesing & Associates/ECIA for approval of the Plat of Survey of Lot 1-6 & Lot 2-6 of Block 3 of Westbrook Subdivision located on Commerce Park Drive. The applicant was not in attendance. Staff Member Kritz outlined the staff report. He discussed the subdivision location and configuration. He said that Lot 2 of 6 will not have the required frontage on a platted street. He indicated that staff does not object as there is a reciprocal access agreement between the adjacent properties. He said the plat is otherwise in substantial compliance with the City of Dubuque subdivision regulations and recommended approval. The Commission discussed the request and felt it was appropriate. Motion by Hardie, seconded by Christ, to approve the plat of survey of Lot 1 of 6 and Lot 2 of 6 of Block 3 of Westbrook Subdivision subject to waiving frontage for Lot 2 of 6. Motion Minutes -Zoning Advisory Commission August 6, 2008 Page 2 carried by the following vote: Aye -Smith, Hardie, Christ, Miller, Henschel and Stiles; Nay - None. ACTION ITEMIFINAL PLAT: Application of English Ridge LLC (tabled from the June 18, 2008 meeting) for approval of the Final Plat of English Ridge Subdivision located on Stone Valley Drive. Ronald Klein, 771 Waterfall Road, Platteville, WI, said that the Commission had previously tabled the request because the proposed park area was not clearly defined. Staff Member Kritz reiterated that the original final plat had not indicated the location of the proposed park area to be dedicated. He said the park area is now defined as Lot K with 1.6 acres of area. He said this was larger than the formerly proposed park area. He said that the park is located along a future street that will provide access to the Barrington Lake Subdivision when the interchange at Seippel Road and U.S. Highway 20 is constructed. He said the park will be located next to the proposed detention area. He said that the final plat is in substantial compliance with City of Dubuque subdivision regulations. Chairperson Stiles stated that it appears that the park is somewhat removed from the area where the housing will be located. Commissioner Hardie agreed, noting that the park is in a relatively remote area, but he said he felt it was the best location the Commission could hope for. Motion by Hardie, seconded by Christ, to approve the final plat of English Ridge Subdivision as submitted. Motion carried by the following vote: Aye -Smith, Hardie, Christ, Miller, Henschel and Stiles; Nay -None. ACTION ITEMIPRELIMINARY PLAT: Application of Tom Larsen, Buesing & Associates/JFT LLC/Charles Daoud for approval of the Preliminary Plat of North Fork Trails located at the east end of Keymont Drive. Charles Daoud, 346 Moore Heights, outlined his request to subdivide a 12-acre parcel creating 20 lots that will accommodate 40 dwelling units and an approximately 4 acre park and green space area. He noted that the green space may serve partially as a detention area. He discussed the proposed "green" initiatives to be incorporated into the subdivision, including permeable pavement, narrower streets and sidewalks on one side of the subdivision. He said he would work with City staff regarding site development. He said the plat represented no substantial change from the conceptual layout presented to the Zoning Advisory Commission for the rezoning. Staff Member Kritz outlined the request, noting the number of lots, proposed extension of the Keymont Street, paving and right-of-way width and lot configuration. He noted that parking would be restricted to one side of the street. He said there will be four paved off- street parking spaces per unit. He discussed infiltration measures proposed by the Minutes -Zoning Advisory Commission August 6, 2008 Page 3 developer to sequester storm water on the site. He discussed flood plain issues noting that no building lots will be located in the flood plain. He discussed the acreage dedicated to park area, noting that a portion may serve as potential storm detention area. He said that soil analysis and storm water calculations will be necessary to determine how storm water will be managed on the site. He said that City water and sanitary sewer are nearby. He discussed the storm water infiltration problem with the sanitary sewer main, noting that the City will begin a project to increase the capacity of the main this fall. Chairperson Stiles asked if sidewalks would be placed on both sides of the street in the subdivision. Staff Member Kritz said that sidewalks are proposed to only be placed on one side, but that staff recommends that sidewalks be placed on both sides of the street to encourage pedestrian usage. Chairperson Stiles said that he did not want the Commission to set a precedent by allowing sidewalks on only one side of the street in the subdivision. Commissioner Henschel said that he is satisfied with the submittal because it indicates the exact number of lots and units and park area forthe proposed subdivision, and that no lots are located in the floodplain. The Commission discussed the preliminary plat and was comfortable with it. Motion by Hardie, seconded by Christ, to approve the preliminary plat of North Fork Trails with the condition that sidewalks be placed on both sides of Keymont Street and Keymont Court. Motion carried by the following vote: Aye -Smith, Hardie, Christ, Miller, Henschel and Stiles; Nay -None. PUBLIC HEARINGIAMEND PLANNED UNIT DEVELOPMENT: Application of DuTrac Community Credit Union (tabled from the June 18, 2008 meeting) to amend the PUD Planned Unit Development District to change vegetative screen to vinyl fencing. Tom Anderson, representing DuTrac Credit Union, noted that landscaping had been added on the exterior of the fenced area to soften its appearance as requested by the Commission. Chairperson Stiles noted the receipt of a letter in opposition to the request submitted by a neighbor. Mr. Anderson said that he had discussed the project with neighbors and has tried to address their concerns. Staff Member Kritz outlined the staff report, discussing the minutes from the 1986 meeting for the original PUD. He discussed photos of the existing vegetation, noting that the existing arborvitae are stressed and will eventually have to be replaced. Mr. Anderson clarified that the proposed fence will be four feet in height, and that the photos were misleading since they were not produced to scale. Minutes -Zoning Advisory Commission August 6, 2008 Page 4 Staff Member Kritz discussed the proposed landscaping, including ornamental grass and spirea. Commissioner Hardie asked why screening was necessary. Staff Member Kritz said that the ordinance requires screening to be placed between parking lots and the public right-of-way to help hide the lot, suppress noise, and screen headlights. Commission and staff discussed the lot topography and screening for various developments throughout the community. Commissioner Hardie said he felt fencing and landscaping is more appealing than a wall of arborvitae. He asked if the applicant would consider removing the fence and replacing it with low lying vegetation. Mr. Anderson stated he felt a low screen of shrubbery would not create a security problem. Commissioners asked if Mr. Anderson would be willing to table his request and submit a landscape plan similar to that of Mercy Hospital's parking lots. Mr. Anderson agreed to table his request. Motion by Hardie, seconded by Smith, to table the request to amend the PUD Ordinance. Motion carried by the following vote: Aye -Smith, Hardie, Christ, Miller, Henschel and Stiles; Nay -None. PUBLIC HEARINGIAMEND PLANNED UNIT DEVELOPMENT: Application of Jim Collins, Loras College to amend the Loras College ID Institutional District to allow a 32-unit (128- bed) Oaks Housing Project located south of Byrne Oaks housing complex and north of Rohlman Hall. John McDermott, representing Loras College, 1415 Alta Vista, described his request for the Commission. He said Loras is interested in building a 32 unit, 128-bed student residential housing complex. He said the housing will be created as part of a general remodel of other residence halls on campus. He said the location is appropriate and discussed the building design, materials and surrounding architecture. He said Loras has held neighborhood meetings regarding the project. He said that in the process, Loras will expand the Byrne Oaks parking lot creating 32 additional spaces and the 48-space parking lot for the San Jose Pool will be reassigned. He said the building design would be sustainable with low energy demand, using geothermal, local brick and maintaining the existing trees on the site. He distributed a rendering of the building. He said that when the additional parking demand is calculated, the project will be within the overall campus parking requirement. He said Loras plans to move the existing tennis courts along 17th Street and create in excess of 100 additional parking spaces. He played a video showing athree-Dfly-around rendering of the proposed building and its location on campus. He said the building design is very sensitive to scale and its surroundings. Nelson Klavitter, 865 Kirkwood Street, said that he attended the neighborhood meeting and noted that the building has what he feels is an excellent design. He said the expansion of Byrne Oaks parking lot will help alleviate some parking on Kirkwood Street; however, he said he feels it will not address the entire demand for parking. He recommended that the Minutes -Zoning Advisory Commission August 6, 2008 Page 5 lot at the San Jose swimming pool be expanded. He said that Loras College's excessive charge for parking permits discourages the use of existing lots. Mr. McDermott noted that Loras College has always supported residential parking permit districts for surrounding neighborhoods. He said that the parking, as proposed should be adequate to serve the site. He said the campus redesign utilizing bridges should encourage more pedestrian usage and generate less demand on parking. He said that he feels that the tennis courts would be relocated within the year, at which time they would be converted to parking. He said it may be possible for Loras to add a row of parking along the pool lot but the site is somewhat limited due to topography. Staff Member Kritz said that the housing development represents asignificant on-campus expansion; therefore, it requires an amendment to the Loras College ID District. He said that this represents an in-fill project utilizing interior campus space. He said that the Fire Marshal has reviewed and approved the access and that the building will be sprinkled. He discussed the distribution of parking across the campus, noting that the college meets current parking requirements, but that parking may not be ideally located. Commissioner Hardie questioned the use of the San Jose parking spaces to serve the residential development. Staff Member Kritz stated that the San Jose lot did have some space available during the day. Commissioner Hardie recommended that the existing lot along Kirkwood Street be expanded to provide additional parking spaces. Commissioner Henschel concurred with Commissioner Hardie, noting however, that the topography in this area may limit the ability to create additional parking. Commissioner Hardie noted that economics was not germane to the issue, and he recommended that the Commission quantify the parking requirement. The Commission felt that the applicant should resubmit a site plan indicating additional parking for the residential facility. Commissioner Smith stated that he felt that the existing parking lots are not ideally located and that they need to be placed closer to the demand. Commissioners discussed various parking scenarios and felt that it may be best to ask the applicant to resubmit a plan indicating additional parking for the residential development. Motion by Hardie, seconded by Christ, to table the request to the next regular meeting, with the conditions that the applicant resubmit their site plan indicating additional conveniently located parking, and that the San Jose parking lot spaces remain available to users of the San Jose pool. Motion carried by the following vote: Aye -Smith, Hardie, Christ, Miller, Henschel and Stiles; Nay -None. PUBLIC HEARINGIPLANNED DISTRICT: Application of Greg Prehm, Dubuque Property Management rezone property located at 2635-2635 % University Avenue from R-1 Single- Minutes -Zoning Advisory Commission August 6, 2008 Page 6 Family Residential District and R-2 Two-Family Residential District to PR Planned Residential District. Ken Buesing, Buesing and Associates, 1212 Locust Street, said he represents Dubuque Property Management, LLC. He distributed a concept plan showing the initial submittal and the new submittal side-by-side. He noted that the differences between the two submittals were obvious. He contrasted the number of units between the old and new proposals, noting that historically there had been up to 15 units on this site. He noted the amount of permeable area and location of the access drives. He discussed the anticipated traffic volumes from the proposed development. He noted that there had been an initial concern regarding off-street parking and that the applicants had increased the number of spaces from two to three per unit. Carol Steckel, 2645 University Avenue, said she liked that the five-plex building along University Avenue was set back 39 feet from her property line. She said she was concerned with driveway access onto University Avenue, which she said has high traffic volumes. She said she feels the development would increase demand on parking and increase noise. She said that curb cuts onto Beverly Avenue would lead to accidents and create traffic congestion. She said she felt the green space provided was not sufficient to handle storm water. She distributed photos of the various properties owned by Dubuque Property Management. Audrey Yarnell, 2653 University Avenue, distributed a letter to the Commission. She asked that Mary Kass, 2617 Van Buren Street, read the letterto the Commission.. Ms. Kass read the letter, noting concerns with traffic safety and lack of information on the conceptual plan and the application. Don O'Meara, 2631 Nebraska Street, stated there was only three feet between buildings. He said this was not adequate for fire safety. He said that the buildings, at three stories in height, are too high and that they do not provide adequate parking. Mike O'Meara, 105 Cathy Lane, Mt. Prospect, IL, said that he represents the Lenox Neighborhood Association. He noted that the conceptual plan does not note the amount of permeable area on the site. He discussed permeable area calculations for the site. He said the plan was lacking in that it did not provide bulk standards including the height of the buildings or number of bedrooms. He said that the private driveways were not adequate for the volume of traffic they would create. He said the site plan did not include information on storm water, existing topography, or where garbage cans would be located. He said that he felt there was no material change in the most recent version of the concept plan. He discussed case law concerning quasi judicial hearings. He reviewed the powers and duties of the Zoning Board of Adjustment and the Zoning Advisory Commission. He submitted several exhibits concerning requests made by the applicants before the Zoning Board of Adjustment. He distributed exhibits regarding notification and the City Clerk's publishing of the July 7th City Council agenda. He discussed the application process for Planned Unit Minutes -Zoning Advisory Commission August 6, 2008 Page 7 Developments, noting that the overall application was deficient in that it did not provide all the necessary information. He discussed due process, stating that he felt that the neighbors did not receive all the necessary information in a timely fashion. He stated he felt that the setbacks were not adequate for fire safety. Mary Kass, 2617 Van Buren, objected to the request, expressing concerns with density and traffic safety, and safety of children in the neighborhood. Ashley Glick, 2662 University, expressed concerns with traffic safety, especially as it affected children walking to and from school. Mr. Buesing distributed photos of units and residential properties owned by the applicant from various locations in the community. He stated the Commission could judge for themselves whether the buildings were well maintained. He stated that automobiles exiting the five-plex on University Avenue would have the ability to back out, turn and face the street. He said that the access had been revised based on comments received at the last Commission meeting. He said that the amount of permeable area provided exceeds that required by the City. Mr. Prehm stated he has met with the Fire Department and they had no major concerns with his project. He said that storm water management measures will have to be reviewed and approved by City staff. Staff Member Hemenway outlined the staff report. He stated that the City staff had in all respects complied with state and city ordinances requiring notification and procedure. He stated that the Zoning Board of Adjustment was within its power to grant a variance regarding the area of the PUD because it is a bulk standard established in the Zoning Ordinance. He stated that the Board reviewed the variance request, and felt that the PUD met the criteria established for granting a variance. He discussed the requirements of the PUD noting that he felt the plan was complete. He stated that the Commission had initially expressed concerns with density, traffic safety, parking and green space. He said that the applicant had addressed each of the four concerns. He said that the new site plan showed that the green space had been increased from 33% to 46%, that the density had been reduced from 18 to 14 units, that applicant had supplied 33% more parking, which he said worked out to three spaces per unit when the ordinance requires only two. He said that traffic safety had been addressed by reducing the amount of units existing onto Beverly Avenue by half. He noted that the five-plex would exit onto University Avenue. He said that the conceptual development plan established bulk standards, and that the setbacks from the adjacent properties in the right-of-way were compliant with established standards, except for the 15-foot setback for the five-plex along University Avenue. He noted that there was an abundance of green space behind the five-plex that could be shared by all the units. He said that the green space could accommodate recreation, infiltration and garbage storage. Minutes -Zoning Advisory Commission August 6, 2008 Page 8 Commissioner Smith asked how many mobile homes were on the site and how many were occupied. Staff Member Hemenway stated he felt there were eight mobile homes on the site, and he did not know how many were currently occupied. Commissioner Christ asked how many units would be allowed under the existing zoning. Staff Member Hemenway noted that if the property were to be replatted, it could possibly accommodate five single-family homes and three duplexes. He reviewed the existing platted lots. Commissioner Smith stated that he feels that the plan, as modified, is still too intense for this site. Commissioner Hardie stated that when the Commission agreed to re-hear this request, that they made it clear that they would scrutinize it. He said that he was disappointed that the Commission did not receive all of the information he felt was necessary to make an informed decision, including a rendering of the building style. He said that he felt that the accesses are still too close to the intersection of three streets. He said he was not certain that the five-plex was compatible with the neighboring residences. He said he did not feel that the proposed green space was adequate. Commissioner Henschel concurred, stating that he also felt that there was a safety issue for vehicles backing on to Beverly Street. Commissioner Christ stated that she was concerned that the revised plan did not address the problems initially raised by the Commission. Commissioner Miller said that he feels that the density is still too high for the neighborhood. Chairperson Stiles sated that he felt there had been substantial changes, but that he still has concerns about traffic safety as it concerned the intersection of Beverly and Van Buren Avenues. Motion by Christ, seconded by Smith, to approve the rezoning as submitted. Motion was denied by the following vote: Aye -None: Nay -Smith, Hardie, Christ, Miller, Henschel and Stiles. ADJOURNMENT: The meeting adjourned at 9:30 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Kyle L. Kritz, Associate Planner Adopted F:\USERS\Kmunson\WP\Boards-Commissions\ZACUVIinutesVAC Minutes 2008VAC Min 08_O6_08.doc