Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting

Cedar Falls Planning and Zoning Commission Regular Meeting March 27, 2019 City Hall Council Chambers 220 Clay Street, Cedar Falls, Iowa MINUTES The Cedar Falls Planning and Zoning Commission met in regular session on Wednesday, March 27, 2019 at 5:30 p.m. in the City Hall Council Chambers, 220 Clay Street, Cedar Falls, Iowa. The following Commission members were present: Adkins, Giarusso, Hartley, Holst, Larson, Leeper, Saul and Wingert. Oberle was absent. Karen Howard, Community Services Manager, Shane Graham, Planner II, and Iris Lehmann, Planner I, were also present. 1.) Chair Holst noted the Minutes from the March 13, 2019 regular meeting are presented. Mr. Wingert made a motion to approve the Minutes as presented. Ms. Giarusso seconded the motion. The motion was approved unanimously with 8 ayes (Adkins, Giarusso, Hartley, Holst, Larson, Leeper, Saul and Wingert), and 0 nays. 2.) Chair Holst opened the public comments portion of the evening. Ty Kimble, President of Community Main Street, read a statement from the Director, Carol Lilly, on behalf of Community Main Street. The intent was to let newer members to the Commission know about past action taken by Community Main Street has taken in support of downtown challenges and their desire to continue to working on District challenges. The statement also provided background on Community Main Street’s efforts to improve parking over the years. Ms. Lilly asked that the Commission also consider the opinions of CMS regarding the parking study. 3.) The first item of business was the Central Business District Overlay – River Place II Site Plan. Chair Holst introduced the item and Ms. Lehmann provided background information. She explained that the proposal is to build two new mixed-use buildings at the former Wells Fargo site located at the intersection of East 3rd Street and Main Street, as well as the East 3rd Street and State Street intersection. As the project is located in the Central Business District Overlay, the project requires Commission and Council review and approval. The item was introduced at the last Planning and Zoning meeting. Ms. Lehmann recapped that two new buildings are being proposed, one on each side of the alley. The building at 302 Main Street is a proposed three-story building with commercial and office on the main floor and office space on the second floor. The building at 123 E. 3rd Street is a proposed six-story building with underground parking, commercial on the first floor, office space and parking on the second floor, and residential on the third through sixth floors. The buildings meet the C-3 Zoning requirements, including setbacks, open space/landscaping, and sidewalks/streetscape. Ms. Lehmann also discussed the parking requirements and the parking proposed by the developer, noting that the proposal meets and exceeds those requirements. A parking Impact Analysis was done by WGI and it was found that there is sufficient developer controlled private parking to support the project. Ms. Lehmann reviewed the proposed drive-through in the alley for a financial institution at 302 Main Street. The applicant has provided a four foot setback with a no build easement to allow for two-way traffic circulation. Staff is still concerned with the potential traffic issues from the buildings. To address staff concerns, the applicant agreed to include conditions regarding the drive-through in the Development Agreement to allow the City to impose additional modifications to the drive-through if issues arise. There is also an understanding that the drive- through will be discontinued if there is a change of use, unless reviewed and approved by the 1 Planning and Zoning Commission and City Council. Ms. Lehmann discussed the proportion of the buildings as well as the proposed stepbacks that were included in the designs to visually reduce the heights of the buildings. She displayed renderings of the proposed buildings to show how they relate to the existing fabric of the downtown. Staff feels that the proposed design creates well-proportioned and visually interesting buildings that meet the intent of the design standards for building proportion. Ms. Lehmann summarized the other design standards and noted that they have all been met. Staff recommends approval of both buildings. Mark Kittrell, Eagle View Partners, spoke on behalf of the project and thanked Community Main Street for their input and the Commission and the community for all their work. Mr. Leeper stated that he believes this is a good community project. Mr. Wingert asked how Community Main Street feels about this project. Ty Kimble stated that he believes that the Community Main Street Board is behind economic development and are conscious of comments made by the Commission, developers and the citizens. Mr. Wingert asked if he personally feels there is enough parking and Mr. Kimble stated he does. Mr. Holst commented on the parking concerns and noted that it seems that everything is in compliance with the Ordinances. Ms. Giarusso also voiced her thoughts on the parking issues noting that she feels that existing customers and clients need to be protected and ensured parking. Ms. Howard stated that the parking impact study took into account the existing private parking area at River Place and noted that the parking study indicated that the residential parking requirement in the zoning code over-prescribes parking for the residents, so there is considerable available parking that can then be utilized by the commercial tenants (owners and employees) within the proposed buildings. Ms. Saul asked about future parking concerns. She stated that she loves the project but is concerned about other potential projects down the road that may not be required to provide parking and won’t have other private spots to offer. She asked what would happen at that time. Ms. Howard stated that the parking study was done to look at short-term and long term- parking concerns and solutions. This will include a partnership between the City and the stakeholders in the downtown area. Ms. Saul asked about the proposed agreements with business owners to share private parking spaces. Ms. Howard stated that working with private property owners would provide additional parking during evening peak times, but is not considered a long term permanent solution for more public parking in the downtown area. Ms. Saul asked about the long-term solutions to ensure that there is enough parking to support current retail and commercial businesses. Ms. Howard stated that these are important questions, but are a separate topic for discussion than the item on the agenda, which is site plan review for the River Place II development. She asked the Commission if they would like an informational session to be added to a future agenda regarding the parking study results and recommendations. She also noted that the parking study and recommendations are posted on the City’s website for review. The Commission in general agreed that that would be helpful to have a presentation and informal discussion at a future meeting. Chair Holst asked about storm water quality management requirements. Ms. Howard stated that the plan is to install hydrodynamic separators to filter the water before it gets to the storm sewer. Mr. Wingert asked about the total office space that is being proposed. Ms. Lehmann stated that there is approximately 20,000 square feet proposed. Wingert noted that his parking concerns are with the office spaces as the employees will be parked for the majority of the day. Kayla Toale, Products and Services Director at Eagle View Partners, shared the tenant parking policies that would be in place and showed examples of the parking passes that would 2  be used. Mr. Larson noted that he shared the concern with the office spaces and parking requirements, but that he felt those concerns were addressed. He also shared concerns with the alley and the drive through. Ms. Howard said that if this project were approved, part of the agreement will be to add signage to the alley to help navigate traffic. She also noted that many of the traffic congestion concerns will be addressed by making the north portion of the alley two way which creates alternative traffic flow options. Mr. Leeper added that he is also concerned with the drive through and what happens if the setup doesn’t work. He stated that he would like to see language in the Development Agreement that will allow for the City to make adjustments if it doesn’t work. Jesse Lizer with Emergent Architecture, spoke to the information used in creating the drive through. Mr. Wingert asked who patrols and enforces the stickers that will be used in the lots. Ms. Toale explained that their maintenance staff patrols all of River Place’s parking lots and they have tickets that they issue for improper parking. Ms. Saul made a motion to approve. Mr. Wingert seconded the motion. The motion was approved unanimously with 8 ayes (Adkins, Giarusso, Hartley, Holst, Larson, Leeper, Saul and Wingert), and 0 nays. 4.) The next item for consideration by the Commission was an amendment to an Agreement to the MPC Development Procedures. Chair Holst introduced the item and Ms. Lehmann introduced the item. She explained that Jim Benda is requesting to amend a Development Agreement for properties at 2910 and 2920 McClain Drive and 5609 University Avenue. They are currently in the MPC zoning district with R-1, Residential to the north and south and S-1, Shopping Center to the west. The Major Thoroughfare Commercial Zone requires approval of a detailed site plan and Development Procedures Agreement. The MPC District’s intent is to permit the development of a mixture of residential, institutional, office and commercial land uses that will result in minimal negative impacts upon adjacent low density residential areas. The previously adopted plan only allowed for the demolition of the houses to be replaced by a restaurant and a parking lot. The applicant would like to amend the Agreement and site plan to allow the three residential buildings to continue to exist as single unit dwellings or be wholly or partially converted into commercial businesses or offices permitted in the MPC District. The proposal provides a good transition into the lower density residential areas around it and provides opportunities for small neighborhood-serving businesses that will not generate much traffic, noise or congestion as other larger commercial areas. Staff recommends approval of the amended Agreement. Mr. Larson abstained from the vote due to a conflict of interest. Mr. Wingert made a motion to approve. Mr. Leeper seconded the motion. The motion was approved unanimously with 7 ayes (Adkins, Giarusso, Hartley, Holst, Leeper, Saul and Wingert), 1 abstention (Larson) and 0 nays. 5.) The Commission then considered an S-1 District site plan review for Ashley Homestore. Chair Holst introduced the item and Mr. Graham provided background information. He noted that he will run through this item and the next item (Ashley Furniture Store Preliminary and Final Plats), as they are associated together. He noted that these items are on the agenda for introduction and initial discussion only. He explained that the site is located in the former Younkers store in College Square Mall and is zoned S-1, Shopping Center District. He explained that the developer who purchased the site would like to make it into an Ashley Homestore and discussed the proposed site details, such as the proposed use, existing and addition size and parking. Mr. Graham also displayed a rendering of the existing and relocated 3  access easement, as well as of areas needing parking lot repairs and required landscaping. He explained that new sidewalk will be installed to connect with the existing sidewalk and discussed the two new hydrodynamic separators that will be installed to address water quality. He also showed the proposed building façade and signage discussing materials to be used. At this time staff would like to gather comments and continue the discussion at the April 10th Planning and Zoning meeting. Mr. Graham then discussed the Preliminary and Final plats, showing drawings of the plats and the requirements for each. Staff would also like to gather comments on this item and continue the discussion at the April 10th Planning and Zoning meeting subject to stipulations. Troy Eichmann, project developer from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, provided his background to the Commission and discussed the plans being proposed. He noted his appreciation to the community. Mr. Hartley stated his support for the project. Mr. Larson was pleased to hear about the interior connection to the mall and the improvements to traffic circulation. Mr. Wingert asked who is responsible for maintenance of Tract A. Mr. Graham explained that the mall is responsible for it and they are working on a plan for the road between the property and the outlots. Mr. Leeper asked about storm water requirements and commented on the lack of landscaping around the edges and that it seemed like the waiver request was more of a workaround. Mr. Holst voiced the same concern. Mr. Leeper would like to be sure all setbacks work with the platting. Ms. Saul and Ms. Giarusso were happy to see the building being re-used. The items will be continued to the next meeting. 6.) Ms. Howard provided updates to the Commission, reminding them of the Planning & Zoning for Local Officials event coming up on April 18, as well as a the Downtown Visioning kickoff meeting on April 2. She discussed future opportunities for public and Commission participation in the Downtown Visioning project. 7.) As there were no further comments, Ms. Saul made a motion to adjourn. Mr. Hartley seconded the motion. The motion was approved unanimously with 8 ayes (Adkins, Giarusso, Hartley, Holst, Larson, Leeper, Saul and Wingert), and 0 nays. The meeting adjourned at 7:00 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Karen Howard Joanne Goodrich Community Services Manager Administrative Clerk 4