Minutes_Zoning Board of Adjustment 11 19 20 Copyrig hted
December 7, 2020
City of Dubuque Consent Items # 1.
City Council Meeting
ITEM TITLE: Minutes and Reports Submitted
SUM MARY: Arts and Cultural Affairs Commission of 10/27 and Master Plan Task
Force and Group of 10/27; City Council Proceedings of 11/16 and
11/23; Library Board of Trustees of 9/24, 10/22, and 11/19; Community
Development Advisory Commission of 11/18; Proof of Publication for
City Council Proceeding of 10/19 and 11/2; Proof of Publication for
2020 Financial Report Fiscal Year Ended 6/30; Proof of Publication for
List of Claims and Summary of Revenues for Month Ending 10/30;
Zoning Board of Adjustments of 11/19.
SUGGESTED Suggested Disposition: Receive and File
DISPOSITION:
ATTACHMENTS:
Description Type
Arts and Cultural Affairs Commission Minutes of Supporting Documentation
10/27/20
Arts and Cultural Affairs Master Plan Task Force and Supporting Documentation
Group Minutes of 10/27/20
City Council Proceedings of 11/16/20 Supporting Documentation
City Council Proceedings of 11/23/20 Supporting Documentation
Community Development Advisory Commission Supporting Documentation
Minutes of 11/18/20
Library Board of Trustees Minutes of 9/24/20 Supporting Documentation
Library Board of Trustees Minutes of 10/22/20 Supporting Documentation
Library Board of Trustees Minutes of 11/19/20 Supporting Documentation
Proof of Publication for City Council Proceedings of Supporting Documentation
10/19/20
Proof of Publication for City Council Proceedings of Supporting Documentation
11/2/20
Proof of Publication for Fiscal Year 2020 Financial Supporting Documentation
Report
Proof of Publication for List of Claims/ Summary of Supporting Documentation
Revenues for Month Ending 10/30/20
Zoning Board of Adjustment Minutes of 11/19/2020 Supporting Documentation
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MINUTES
CITY OF DUBUQUE ZONING BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT
REGULAR SESSION
5:00 p.m.
Thursday, November 19, 2020
Virtual Meeting
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and mandates for social distancing, this meeting was
conducted virtually.
Board Members Present: Chairperson Jonathan McCoy, Board Members Keith
Ahlvin, Bethany Golombeski, Gwen Kosel and Matt Mauss.
Board Members Excused:
Board Members Unexcused: none
Staff Members Present: Guy Hemenway, Travis Schrobilgen and Jason Duba.
CALL TO ORDER: The meeting was called to order by Chairperson McCoy at 5:00 p.m.
MINUTES: Motion by Ahlvin, seconded by Kosel, to approve the minutes of the
October 22, 2020 Zoning Board of Adjustment meeting as submitted. Motion carried by
the following vote: Aye —Ahlvin, Golombeski, Kosel, Mauss and McCoy; Nay — None.
DOCKET — 55-20: Application of Deb McDonnell and Barb Weber, 3392 Hillcrest Rd., to
permit residences occupying the first floor and basement, where residential use above the
first floor only is permitted, in a C-3 General Commercial District.
Deb McDonnell, 2254 Antler Ridge, Asbury, spoke in favor of the request. Mrs.
McDonnell said that she is the owner of 3392 Hillcrest and explained that the property
has three buildings. She said that the middle building (#2) is a hair salon, the far
building (#3) is a childcare, and they want building #1, which has units 1A and 1 B, to be
permitted for residential use. She noted that currently one of these units is a spa. She
said that she is concerned with the inability to rent the space for commercial purposes.
She said that she spoke with surrounding property owners, and they were not opposed
to her request. She discussed the mixed nature of the surrounding properties noting
both commercial and residential development that she said constitutes a walkable
neighborhood. She said that they would monitor the property closely.
Staff Member Schrobilgen detailed the staff report noting that generally, the Unified
Development Code (UDC) prohibits residential use on the first floor of commercial
buildings. He said the intent is to allow mixed-uses while maintaining a critical mass of
commercial activity at the street level. He said that the C-3 district preamble states that
Zoning Board of Adjustment Minutes
November 19, 2020 Page 2
the district is intended to provide locations for commercial uses which are designed for
the motoring public. He said that as the area currently includes many forms of mixed-
uses and as 66% of the structures on the property would remain commercial, the
subject property would continue to meet the intent of the UDC and the C-3 district.
The Board discussed the neighborhood noting the mix of residential and commercial
properties. Several Board members said that they felt residential use in the subject
building would not be out of character with the surrounding land use. Some said that
they felt that the addition of residential use would not affect the commercial viability of
the site.
Mrs. McDonnell clarified that their first goal would be to find commercial tenants with
residential tenants as a back-up plan.
Several Board members expressed concerns with having residential uses directly
adjacent to commercial uses. Board members questioned the proximity and availability
of green space and outdoor recreation area for the residential use. The applicant noted
that there is some green space directly adjacent to the proposed residential unit.
A question arose about how the tenant space would be safely converted to residential
unit and staff inember Hemenway stated that the unit would have to meet Building, Fire
and Housing codes and that regular inspections would be conducted.
Motion by McCoy, seconded by Mauss, to approve the request to permit residences
occupying the first floor and basement. Motion carried by the following vote: Aye —
Ahlvin, Golombeski and Mauss; Nay— Kosel, citing conditions 3, 4, and 5 and McCoy,
citing conditions 2, 3, 4, and 5.
DOCKET — 59-20: Application of Don and Angie Heim, 596 University Ave. to construct a
12' x 20' carport 7' from the front property line (University Ave) where 20' minimum is
required in an R-3 Moderate Density Multi-Family Residential zoning district.
Don and Angie Heim, 596 University, spoke in favor of the request. Mr. Heim explained
that the framed carport would be placed on his driveway and remain of an open design
Staff Member Hemenway summarized a letter submitted by an attorney hired by the
Heim's neighbors. He noted that the neighbors were concerned that the carport may
encroach on their property. He said that they requested that the carport be set back a
minimum of 6' from their property line. Staff member Hemenway explained that staff
considered the common property line between the neighbors behind the Heims to be a
side property line with a minimum 4' setback. He said that as the property was recently
surveyed, a building inspector would be able to determine where the property lines are.
The Board discussed the feasibility of the request in light of the plans submitted by the
applicant. The Board debated the advantages of requiring a 6' setback. Board
members noted that the plans show a carport built over a driveway that is 29' long from
Zoning Board of Adjustment Minutes
November 19, 2020 Page 3
the front sidewalk to the rear property line. They noted that the request was to build 7'
from the front property line, and for the carport to be 20' long, leaving only 2' left to the
property line at the back of the structure. The Board considered other options, such as
the Limited Setback Waiver, but ultimately recommended that the Heims request tabling
their application to in an effort to accurately redraft their plans before next month's
meeting. Mr. Heim requested that the Board table their application.
Motion by McCoy, seconded by Ahlvin, to table the request to construct a 12' x 20'
carport 7' from the front property line (University Ave). Motion carried by the following
vote: Aye —Ahlvin, Golombeski, Kosel, Mauss and McCoy; Nay — None.
DOCKET — 61-20: Application of Will Rutherford, 1865 Radford Rd. to construct a
building 45' in height where 40' maximum is permitted in an OC Office Commercial zoning
district.
Will RutherFord, Horizon Development Group, spoke in favor of the request. Mr.
Rutherford explained that Horizon plans to build a 44-unit senior apartment complex. He
said that Horizon has secured a 9% tax credit from the lowa Finance Authority. He said
that they are still in design phase and that the preliminary building height is just under
42'. He said that they want to have a cushion in case there is a slight change the
design, in part because the property has topographical and geological challenges. He
said that without the extra height, they may have to remove a floor and expand the
footprint.
Staff Member Schrobilgen detailed the staff report noting that the concept plan for the
property indicates a 44-unit senior housing community with underground parking. He
said that without the variance, the applicant would need to eliminate an entire floor and
expand the footprint of the structure, which he said may limit the reasonable return for
the project. He noted that the developer said that the building location faces challenges
regarding topography and geology. He said that the variance would allow for five
additional feet in height which is not significantly more than the 40' that is permitted. He
said that the proposal should have little impact on adjacent properties.
Board members felt that, given the surrounding land use and built environment, the
additional building height would have little impact on the surrounding properties. The
Board had no questions or concerns about the application.
Motion by Ahlvin, seconded by Golombeski, to approve the request to construct a
building 45' in height. Motion carried by the following vote: Aye —Ahlvin, Golombeski,
Kosel, Mauss and McCoy; Nay — None.
ITEMS FROM PUBLIC: None
ITEMS FROM BOARD: The Board discussed the current status of two cases that they
previously reviewed. Board Chair McCoy noted that the 9'front setback for 955 Mt. Loretta
was denied, but they subsequently applied for and received a Limited Setback Waiver
Zoning Board of Adjustment Minutes
November 19, 2020 Page 4
and are permitted to build with a 13' 6" setback. Staff Member Hemenway explained that
this LSW mechanism was adopted in 2009 when the ZBA was being overwhelmed with
setback requests, and it has helped reduce the Board's case load.
The Board noted that the McGrath Collision Center has now installed a sign that they
were denied. Staff Member Hemenway explained that they were allowed to do this by
reducing the Certified Service sign to 6 square feet. He said that they have not reduced
the area for the directional sign and so he emailed them to give notice that the illegal sign
must be reduced in area or taken down.
ITEMS FROM STAFF: None
ADJOURNMENT: Motion by McCoy, seconded by Golombeski, to adjourn the November
19, 2020 Zoning Board of Adjustment meeting. Motion carried by the following vote: Aye
— Ahlvin, Golombeski, Kosel, Mauss and McCoy; Nay — None
The meeting adjourned at 6:15 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Guy Hemenway, Assistant Planner Adopted