Minutes_Zoning Board of Adjustment 10 24 13Dubuque
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MINUTES
CITY OF DUBUQUE ZONING BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT
REGULAR SESSION
4:00 p.m.
Thursday, October 24, 2013
City Council Chamber, Historic Federal Building
Board Members Present: Chairperson Eugene Bird, Jr.; Board Members Jonathan
McCoy, Jeff Cremer, Heath Hutchinson, and Bill Gibbs; Staff Members Guy Hemenway,
Kyle Kritz, and Wally Wernimont.
Board Members Excused: None.
CALL TO ORDER: The meeting was called to order by Chairperson Bird at 4:00 p.m.
AFFIDAVIT OF COMPLIANCE: Staff presented an Affidavit of Compliance verifying the
meeting was being held in compliance with the Iowa Open Meetings Law.
MINUTES: The minutes of the September 26, 2013 Zoning Board of Adjustment meeting
were approved unanimously as submitted.
DOCKET 38-13: Application of Mulgrew Oil /Dubuque Sign for a variance for property
located at 1215 East 16th Street to allow installation of a roof mounted sign in a C -3
General Commercial zoning district.
Keith Wolff, Dubuque Sign Company, said that he represented Mulgrew Oil Company.
He noted that Mulgrew's building is residential -style architecture with a gable roof,
which he said leaves no room below the eaves for standard commercial signage. He
said the signage will be placed on a louvered panel that will be located on the roof and
parallel to the front building wall, similar to a parapet. He cited examples of other
similar signs in the Dubuque area. He submitted renderings and photos of the building
and signs for the Board's review.
Staff Member Wernimont noted that the square footage of the proposed sign is
compliant; however, he said that as the sign is not placed below the eave or located on
the parapet wall it is considered a roof - mounted sign and prohibited by the Unified
Development Code. He said that Mulgrew is proposing to utilize less square footage
than the maximum permitted. He said that the sign has been designed to be an integral
part of the building. He recommended the Board review the criteria for granting a
variance.
Zoning Board of Adjustment
October 24, 2013
Page 2
Motion by McCoy, seconded by Cremer, to approve the installation of a roof - mounted
sign in a C -3 District. Motion carried by the following vote: Aye — McCoy, Cremer,
Hutchison, Gibbs, and Bird; Nay — None.
DOCKET 39 -13: Application of Renee Krier and Gary Garner for a variance for
property located at 2307 Central Avenue to construct an addition 0 feet from the front
property line (23`d Street), 20 feet minimum required, in a C -3 General Commercial
zoning district.
Gary Carrier, 1664 Washington Street, noted that he is the general contractor for Ms.
Krier. Renee Krier, 2307 Central Avenue, introduced herself as the owner of Romper
Stompers Child Care Facility. Mr. Carner noted that they are proposing to build a
kitchen addition that will be more easily accessible.
Tim Murphy, 70 W. 23`d Street, spoke in opposition to the request, stating that the child
care facility consumed on- street parking. He said that expanding the building may the
limit the ability for fire trucks to safely negotiate the street and alley. He expressed
concerns with the potential for loss of employee parking and green space. He said that
the applicants are continuing to expand and cover the lot with buildings.
Ms. Krier noted that the building area will be 12' by 30' and will not consume any
employee parking. She said that the addition will place the kitchen in a safer location.
She noted that they currently have an excess of the required playground area.
Mr. Carner said that employee parking would not be impacted, and that the existing
parking is not fully utilized.
Staff Member Hemenway outlined the staff report, noting the non - conforming status of
the existing building. He discussed the proposed building addition setback and stated
that visibility for vehicles exiting the rear parking lot would not be affected. He said that
a conditional use permit had been granted for the licensed child care facility several
years ago and that at that time, the applicant was able to demonstrate to the
satisfaction of the Zoning Board of Adjustment and the State Department of Human
Services that they had adequate drop -off and pick -up area, employee parking and
outdoor recreation area. He noted that the applicant had submitted a written statement
detailing the need to locate the building addition so as to take advantage of the existing
basement and interior plumbing configuration.
Board members noted that the building has always been zoned commercially and used
for commercial purposes. Board Members discussed the request and felt it was
appropriate.
Zoning Board of Adjustment
October 24, 2013
Page 3
Motion by Gibbs, seconded by Cremer, to approve the variance application as
submitted. Motion carried by the following vote: Aye — McCoy, Cremer, Hutchison,
Gibbs and Bird; Nay — None.
DOCKET 40 -13: Application of DeeAnn Ballard for a Special Exception for property
located at 1342 Forest Lane to build a single family home 5 feet from the front property
line and 2 feet from the side property lines, 20 feet and 6 feet minimum required
respectively, in an R -2 Two Family Residential zoning district.
DeeAnn Ballard, 1342 Forest Lane, stated that she would like to demolish her existing
house and build a new house, expanding the footprint. She said that she would like to
elevate the home so that the main floor is at street grade and expand the house to the
west within two feet of the side property line.
Vincent Thor said that he owns the adjacent rental property at 1380 Forest Lane. He
said that he felt that the applicant should verify the lot line location and maintain the
existing fence.
Ms. Ballard said that she was willing to keep and maintain the fence between the two
properties.
Staff Member Hemenway presented the staff report. He noted the setback
requirements for the zoning district and the existing building footprint and lot
configuration. He said that the house expansion would be parallel to the street and that
it would not encroach closer to the east and front property lines but that it would be built
closer to the west property line. He said that he felt cars backing from the paved pad
on the adjacent property would still have adequate sight visibility to the street.
Board Member Cremer asked about the establishment of the property lines. Staff
Member Hemenway noted that the Board could require a survey, or that the property
owner could be required to establish the property line to the satisfaction of the building
official. Board Member Cremer said he would like the fence to remain in place.
Board Members discussed the request and felt it was appropriate.
Motion by McCoy, seconded by Hutchison, to approve the special exception request as
submitted. Motion carried by the following vote: Aye — McCoy, Cremer, Hutchison,
Gibbs and Bird; Nay — None.
DOCKET 41 -13: Application of Jeffrey Streinz for a variance for property located at
2195 Central Avenue to allow construction of an addition less than 1 foot above the
Regulatory Base Flood Elevation.
Zoning Board of Adjustment
October 24, 2013
Page 4
Jeff Streinz, 2894 Thornwood Court, said that he would like to place an addition on the
west side of the Meineke Muffler Shop. He discussed the recent FEMA flood plain
determination and subsequent IIW Engineer Technical Report regarding the flood
status of the property. He noted there had been no flooding within the building during
the July 2011 storm event. He said that expanding the building will enable him to add
jobs.
Staff Member Kritz outlined the staff report, noting that the applicant is requesting to be
granted a variance from the flood plain development regulations, which he said have a
specific set of criteria. He discussed FEMA's requirements regarding elevation of
structures above the base flood elevation. He said that the owner of the property has
indicated that elevating the floor of the addition will create a trip hazard for employees
traversing the two halves of the building. He discussed the flood history of the area
utilizing aerial photos of past flood events. He noted that special criteria for granting a
variance from the flood plain ordinance have been established and are outlined in
Section 6 -4.14 of the Unified Development Code.
Staff Member Kritz noted that the variance request is to allow the addition to be .22 feet
above the base flood elevation (BFE) where 1 foot minimum above BFE is required. He
noted that the consulting engineering firm IIW, P.C. was hired by the applicant to
determine the BFE as in Zone A no BFE had been determined.
The Board questioned the City's liability in the event that the Board would approve a
variance and that subsequent flood damage would occur. Staff Member Kritz noted
that if the variance is approved, the City Planner is required to prepare a letter noting
that it is likely that insurance rates for the property would increase and that the
proposed construction may increase the risk of personal injury and property damage.
He said that this requirement is outlined in Section 6- 4.14(D)(4) of the Unified
Development Code (UDC).
Staff Member Kritz read each of the 12 criteria outlined in Section 6- 4.14(E) of the UDC
listing the factors the Board is to consider regarding the variance request.
Board Members discussed all of the criteria outlined in Section 6- 4.14(E) of the UDC
and said that they felt that the information provided by applicant, their engineer and City
staff adequately demonstrated that the criteria had been met.
Chairperson Bird asked Mr. Streinz if he understood that, if approved, he will bear all of
the risk to the structure and employees should there be a future storm event. Mr.
Streinz said that he understood.
Board Member Hutchison asked if the Board could include indemnification clause with
the variance approval. The Board and staff discussed this idea and felt that it would be
more appropriate for the City's Legal staff to consider that issue.
Zoning Board of Adjustment
October 24, 2013
Page 5
Board Member McCoy said that the applicant and the engineers have demonstrated
that they have done their due diligence.
Motion by McCoy, seconded by Hutchison, to approve the variance request as
submitted. Motion carried by the following vote: Aye — McCoy, Cremer, Hutchison,
Gibbs and Bird; Nay — None.
Motion by Bird, seconded by McCoy, to request that the City Attorney explore the use of
an indemnification agreement for the City and Board to be included with any variance
approval. Motion carried by the following vote: Aye — McCoy, Cremer, Hutchison,
Gibbs and Bird; Nay — None.
ITEMS FROM STAFF: None.
ITEMS FROM BOARD: None.
ITEMS FROM PUBLIC: Sue Caspar, 40 Milwaukee Street, asked for the Board's
reconsideration of her Special Exception request regarding the setback of a garage on her
lot. She noted that the Board had recently approved her request, but that she would now
like to build the garage closer to the rear property line. Board Members and staff asked
that she provide an accurate detailed site plan for the Board's further consideration.
Motion by McCoy, seconded by Hutchison, to reconsider Docket No. 33 -13 for a special
exception at the November 21, 2013 Zoning Board of Adjustment meeting. Motion carried
by the following vote: Aye — McCoy, Cremer, Hutchison, Gibbs and Bird; Nay — None.
ADJOURNMENT: The meeting adjourned at 5:00 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Kyle L. Kritz, Associate Planner Adopted