Minutes_Zoning Advisory Commission 12 6 17 Copyrighted
January 16, 2018
City of Dubuque Consent Items # 1.
ITEM TITLE: Minutes and Reports Submitted
SUMMARY: Cable N Commission of 1/3/18; City Council Proceedings
of 1/3/18; Historic Preservation Commission of 12/21/17;
Library Board of Trustees of 11/16/17; Park and Recreation
Commission of 12/12/17; Resilient Community Advisory
Commission of 11/2/17, 12/7/17; Zoning Advisory
Commission of 12/6/17, 1/3/18; Zoning Board of
Adjustment of 12/21/17; Proofs of Publication for City
Council Proceedings of 12/18/17 and List of
Claims/Summary of Revenues for Month Ending 11/30/17.
SUGGESTED DISPOSITION: Suggested Disposition: Receive and File
ATTACHMENTS:
Description Type
Cable N Commission Minutes of 1/3/18 Supporting Documentation
City Council Proceedings of 1/3/18 Supporting Documentation
Historic Preservation Commission Minutes of 21/21/17 Supporting Documentation
Library Board of Trustees Minutes of 11/16/17 Supporting Documentation
Park and Recreation Commission Minutes of 12/12/17 Supporting Documentation
Resilient Community Advisory Commission Minutes of Supporting Documentation
11/2/17
Resilient Community Advisory Commission Minutes of Supporting Documentation
12/7/17
Zoning Advisory Commission Minutes of 12/6/17 Supporting Documentation
Zoning Advisory Commission Minutes of 1/3/18 Supporting Documentation
Zoning Board of Adjustment Minutes of 12/21/17 Supporting Documentation
Proof of Publication for City Council Proceedings of Supporting Documentation
12/18/17
Proof of Publication for List of Claims/Summary of Supporting Documentation
Revenues ME 11/30/17
D�ubuquJe
THE CITY OF AII�An�er'icaCiiry
DuB E �ijji� D ��
Maste iece on the Mississi i �uu�•�u�
rP PP zoi3�zoi�
MINUTES
CITY OF DUBUQUE ZONING ADVISORY COMMISSION
REGULAR SESSION
6:00 p.m.
Wednesday, December 6, 2017
City Council Chamber, Historic Federal Building
Commissioners Present: Chairperson Tom Henschel; Commissioners Pat Norton,
Rich Russell, Laura Roussell, Steve Baumhover, Martha Christ, Tom Henschel and
Michael Belmont; Staff Members Kyle Kritz and Guy Hemenway.
Commissioners Excused: None.
Commissioners Unexcused: None.
CALL TO ORDER: The meeting was called to order by Chairperson Henschel at 6:00
p.m.
AFFIDAVIT OF COMPLIANCE: Staff presented an Affidavit of Compliance verifying
the meeting was being held in compliance with the lowa Open Meetings Law.
MINUTES: Motion by Christ, seconded by Norton, to approve the minutes of the
November 1 , 2017 meeting as submitted. Motion carried by the following vote: Aye —
Norton, Russell, Roussell, Baumhover, Christ, Belmont, and Henschel; Nay — None.
WAIVER: Application of McDermott Enterprises, LLC/Kim McDermott to waive Section
13 of the Unified Development Code regarding the 20°k green space/permeable area
requirement, tree planting requirement, shrub planting requirement and two storm water
management tools for property located at 485 Central Avenue.
Alex Wilson, 71 Ford Dr., East Dubuque, IL reviewed his request, noting that the
existing site is entirely paved, and to reduce the paved area as per City requirements
would not allow for adequate parking and automobile display area.
Staff Member Hemenway reviewed the waiver procedure and criteria necessary for the
Commission's consideration. He noted the location of the property and discussed the
differences between development of a green field site and an urban in-fill site. He
reviewed the standards required for granting a waiver.
Commissioner Norton asked about the existing easement through the property. Staff
Member Hemenway noted there is a 20-foot wide sanitary sewer easement that bisects
Minutes — Zoning Advisory Commission Page 2
December 6, 2017
the property which he said limits the position of any structures on this site. He said that
the subject property is located in a mixed-use area that is primarily commercial, but with
some adjacent residential use. He noted that the Zoning Board of Adjustment had
approved a Conditional Use Permit for an auto sales lot in this area as it is mixed use.
Commissioner Russell asked about the location of the existing curb cuts. Mr. Wilson
said that there are two curb cuts each on Central Avenue and lowa Street. He noted
that a couple of the curb cuts may be closed leaving only one from Central Avenue and
one from lowa Street.
Commissioners reviewed the location of the proposed curb cuts. Staff Member
Hemenway noted that site plan review by the Engineering Department would ensure
that the curb cuts were placed to provide the greatest degree of traffic safety possible.
Commissioner Norton expressed concerns with waiving the storm water BMPs because
of the potential for downstream flooding. He said he was not concerned with the other
waiver requests.
Commissioner Russell stated that he felt the applicant could have done more to comply
with the green space, landscaping and storm water management requirements.
Commissioner Norton reviewed the ordinance language that outlines the measures
necessary to trigger compliance with design standards.
Commissioner Roussell said she agreed that the applicant could have included some
measures that would more closely mirror the standards that are established in the
ordinance.
Commissioner Baumhover said he was torn, noting it would be difficult to redevelop the
site following current regulations.
Commissioner Belmont said he felt the applicant had an opportunity to provide
additional green space on the site.
Commissioner Christ said that she had mixed feelings, and agreed that redevelopment
of this site would be positive, but there were other measures that may be taken to
further comply with the ordinance.
Mr. Wilson reviewed how the site would be redeveloped, noting that the site has been
vacant since 2011 . He said that they were planning to open around the first of the year,
and that tabling the request was not desirable.
Commissioners discussed potential alternatives for the requested waivers.
Minutes — Zoning Advisory Commission Page 3
December 6, 2017
Motion by Norton, seconded by Christ, to approve the request to waive Section 13 of
the Unified Development Code regarding the 20°k permeable area requirement, tree
and shrub requirement, 10-foot landscape buffer requirement along the 5�h Street, lowa
Street, and Central Avenue frontages, with the exception of the two-foot buffer along 5�n
Street as indicated on the submitted site plan, but not waiving the two BMPs for storm
water management and requiring that the 10-foot buffer be placed between the south
side of the existing office building along Central Avenue to the southern property line of
the subject property. Motion was denied by the following vote: Aye — Russell,
Roussell, and Belmont; Nay — Baumhover, Christ, Norton and Henschel.
Motion by Baumhover, seconded by Christ, to approve the request to waive Section 13
of the Unified Development Code regarding the 20°k permeable area requirement, tree
and shrub requirement, 10-foot landscape buffer requirement along the 5�h Street, lowa
Street, and Central Avenue frontages with the exception of the two-foot buffer along the
5�h Street frontage as indicated on the submitted site plan, but not waiving the two
BMPs for storm water management. Motion was approved by the following vote: Aye —
Baumhover, Christ, Norton, and Henschel; Nay — Roussell, Russell, and Belmont.
WAIVER: Application of McClure Engineering Associates, Inc. to waive Section 13-4.6
of the Unified Development Code regarding parking lot landscape buffer requirements
for property located at 2620 Dodge Street.
Mike Janacek, representing McClure Engineering and the Starbucks at 2620 Dodge
Street, reviewed his previous request to waive the buffer setback on the west side of
the parking lot. He said that their initial intent was to waive the entire buffer, and they
felt that that had been approved. Mr. Janacek noted that a portion of the Plaza 20
access drive encroaches on Starbuck's property. He said that they could place stop
blocks in the parking lot to prevent encroachment into the access driveway.
Commissioner Norton asked how the initial engineering had failed to note the
encroachment into the setback. Mr. Janacek explained misunderstanding, stating they
had measured face-to-face on the curbing, not back-to-back. He said that there is two
feet of area from the face-to-face of the curbs.
Staff Member Hemenway reviewed the waiver request, noting what transpired regarding
the first waiver request. He said that the initial site plan submittal indicated a two-foot
landscape buffer on the west side of the parking lot but that it was not clear that there
was an encroachment into the setback. He noted that a letter had been submitted by
Plaza 20 management expressing concerns that vehicles parked up to the curbing on
the west side of the lot encroach onto Plaza 20's access driveway.
Staff Member Hemenway said that he feels that the small 10"-16" earthen area is not
adequate to support vegetation, and he recommended that a substantial iron or steel
fence with brick or concrete pillars be placed along the west side property line. He
Minutes — Zoning Advisory Commission Page 4
December 6, 2017
noted that redevelopment of the site had added green space and eliminated curb cuts
thus increasing permeable area and improving traffic safety.
Commissioner Belmont asked if the applicant considered angled parking as a means of
reducing the drive aisle width and increasing the landscape buffer area. Mr. Janacek
said that Starbucks did not want to create a single access parking lot. Commissioner
Roussell asked about the possibility of a wrought iron fence. Mr. Janacek said that he
could not necessarily agree to that because he could not speak on behalf of the owner.
Commissioner Norton noted it would be difficult to maintain viable vegetative
landscaping along the very narrow buffer on the west side of the property.
Commissioners discussed alternatives to address the aesthetic quality of the parking lot
and to adequately eliminate encroachments into the traveled portion of the access
drive. Commissioners discussed the request and agreed to waive the landscape buffer
requirement with the condition that a substantial barrier, a minimum of three feet in
height, be placed in the buffer area along the west side of the parking lot.
Motion by Roussell, seconded by Christ, to approve the request to waive Section 13-4.6
of the Unified Development Code regarding the parking lot landscape buffer
requirement with the condition that, in lieu of landscaping, a substantial barrier a
minimum of three feet in height be placed along the west side of the parking lot to
eliminate the potential for encroachment into Plaza 20's access drive. Motion carried by
the following vote: Aye — Norton, Russell, Roussell, Baumhover, Christ, Belmont, and
Henschel; Nay — None.
ITEMS FROM STAFF: Staff Member Hemenway distributed hard copies of the Imagine
Dubuque Comprehensive Plan and stated that the Comprehensive Plan represented
the culmination of several years of staff, consultant, and community work. He
recommended that the Commission review the Comprehensive Plan and use the
information contained within to help make more informed decisions for future zoning
requests.
ADJOURNMENT: Motion by Christ, seconded by Baumhover, to adjourn the
December 6, 2017 Zoning Advisory Commission meeting. Motion carried by the
following vote: Aye — Norton, Russell, Roussell, Baumhover, Christ, Belmont, and
Henschel; Nay — None.
The meeting adjourned at 720 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Kyle L. Kritz, Associate Planner Adopted