Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting

Cedar Falls Planning and Zoning Commission Regular Meeting May 8, 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, May 8, 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, Holst, Larson, Leeper, Prideaux, Saul and Wingert. Giarusso and Hartley were absent. Karen Howard, Community Services Manager, David Sturch, Planner III, Shane Graham, Planner II, and Iris Lehmann, Planner I, were also present. 1.) Chair Holst noted the Minutes from the April 24, 2019 regular meeting are presented. It was noted that Ms. Oberle should be removed from the votes and replaced with Ms. Prideaux. Mr. Leeper made a motion to approve the Minutes with that change. Ms. Saul seconded the motion. The motion was approved unanimously with 7 ayes (Adkins, Holst, Larson, Leeper, Prideaux, Saul and Wingert), and 0 nays. 2.) The first item of business was a College Hill Neighborhood Overlay District review for 2119 College Street. The item is being deferred to the next meeting. 3.) The next item for consideration by the Commission was the Preliminary Plat for Western Home Ninth Addition. Chair Holst introduced the item and stated that he will need to abstain from the discussion and vote due to a conflict of interest. He asked Mr. Leeper Chair the meeting. Mr. Sturch provided background information explaining that the item is for another phase of condos at the South Main Street campus of the Western Home. The property is located in the MU District and is a re-plat of 18 acres in the southeast corner of the Seventh Addition. He noted that there will be more public streets added, and utilities will be extended as the project is extended. Storm water will be collected in the storm sewer and conveyed to area wide basin on Viking Road south of Menards. Tract C is intended for future development and the southern area of the tract includes existing drainage/utility easements. Options for possible street extensions into the southern part of Tract C are being left open. Mr. Sturch displayed a rendering of the Master Plan and discussed the need to update the plan to reflect the future use. Staff recommends approval with stipulations, including: 1. Any comments or direction by the Planning and Zoning Commission. 2. All public streets and roads are 31-foot wide back of curb to back of curb. 3. Label all easements and building setbacks on the plat. 4. Conform to all city staff recommendations and technical comments. Mr. Leeper asked if this item is for discussion at this time or for approval. Ms. Howard stated that staff would like to move forward with the understanding that there needs to be better labeling to the plat. Chris Hansen, Western Home Communities, stated that they would like to move ahead at this time if possible. Bill Claassen, Claassen Engineering, noted that the changes are very minor and the changes can be made in a very short amount of time. Ms. Saul made a motion to approve as long as conditions of labeling are met to staff’s satisfaction. Ms. Adkins seconded the motion. The motion was approved unanimously with 6 ayes (Adkins, Larson, Leeper, Prideaux, Saul and Wingert), and 0 nays, and 1 abstention (Holst). 1 4.) The Commission then considered a site plan review for the All Smiles Dental Clinic. Chair Holst introduced the item and Mr. Sturch provided background information. He explained that this is a PO-1 District site plan review in the 1000 block of Hudson Road. He stated that this is the last lot in development in the Schofield Stevenson plat. He displayed the original site plan and the revised/proposed site plan and explained that a secondary driveway was needed for better access and reduction of congestion. He discussed the site plan elements, including building and parking lot setbacks and parking stalls, as well as public sidewalk and dumpster location. Mr. Sturch displayed the landscaping plan, noting that all requirements are met. He also noted that the storm water management plan and building design requirements are met as well. Staff recommends approval of the plan. Ms. Saul made a motion to approve. Mr. Larson seconded the motion. The motion was approved unanimously with 7 ayes (Adkins, Holst, Larson, Leeper, Prideaux, Saul and Wingert), and 0 nays. 5.) The next item of business was an MPC site plan review for 5601 University Avenue. Chair Holst introduced the item and Ms. Lehmann provided background information. She explained that the new owners of the property are proposing to build a new 24’ x 36’ detached storage shed in the property’s rear yard, as well as modifying the existing parking lot layout to accommodate a driveway connection to the shed. Mr. Larson recused himself from the item due to a conflict of interest. Ms. Lehmann stated that the proposed modifications would serve the new business (Design Lab) that is locating to the site. The property is one out of five located in the MPC district, Major Thoroughfare Planned Commercial District, directly east of Black Hawk Village . This district encourages a mixture of residential, institutional, professional office and commercial uses that will result in minimal impact to residential areas. Ms. Lehmann showed an image of the proposed site plan and discussed the requirements that have been reviewed. All requirements have all been met. Staff recommends approval of the site plan. Mr. Leeper asked if the storage shed will be used for the new business. Ms. Lehmann clarified that it will. Ms. Saul made a motion to approve. Ms. Adkins seconded the motion. The motion was approved unanimously with 7 ayes (Adkins, Holst, Leeper, Prideaux, Saul and Wingert), and 0 nays and 1 abstention (Larson). 6.) The next item for consideration by the Commission was a rezoning request from R-3, Residential to C-2, Commercial at 2600 Grove Street. Chair Holst introduced the item and Ms. Lehmann provided background information. She explained that it was brought to staff’s attention that there has been an error in the City’s zoning map She explained that the property in question was zoned R-3 in 1970 but the commercial structure that currently stands on this lot was built in 1969 before the R-3 zoning boundary was established. The commercial use on this lot is currently legally nonconforming. 2600 Grove Street is located directly on a C-2 zoning boundary line. Staff assumes there was an error drawing the boundary when the zoning was established in the 1970s. Staff is requesting that this property be rezoned from R-3 to C-2. All rezoning requirements are met. Howard noted that this rezoning request was prompted by a request from the current property owner wanting to use the property for commercial purposes. Staff is introducing the item at this time and asks that comments are gathered and a date for public hearing be set for the next meeting on May 22, 2019. As there were no further comments by the Commission, the item will be continued at the next meeting. 7.) The Commission then considered a HWY- District site plan review at Lot 2 of Gateway Business Park. Chair Holst recused himself from the item and Vice-Chair Leeper introduced the matter. Mr. Graham explained that the lot is at the northeast corner of Hudson Road and West Ridgeway Avenue and is approximately four acres. He displayed the site plan and 2  discussed the entrances to the proposed businesses, as well as the storm water detention basin, sidewalks, trail connections and trash enclosures. He also presented the landscape plan and noted that all requirements are not only met, but exceeded. The signage plan includes three monument signs that also meet requirements. The storm water management plan appropriately manages water runoff and meets all requirements. Mr. Graham provided an overall site layout and discussed building design proposal. Mr. Graham noted that staff requests that the south side of the convenience store building that faces W. Ridgeway Avenue also include the cornice feature along the roof line, as that side of the building faces a heavily traveled street and would give that side of the building a more pleasing look like the main facades of the building. He noted staff concerns with the significant amount of pavement around the gas canopy at the gas station and stated that staff would like to see that reduced, if possible. At this time the item is just before the Commission for discussion and is proposed to come back to the next meeting for a vote. Martin Rouse, 902 13th Street, Grundy Center, Iowa, introduced himself as the developer of the project. Brad Best, 1212 Oak Park Boulevard, stated that he is representing Peters Construction, as the general contractor, and is available for any questions. Jennifer Rude, American Dairy Queen Corporation, 8331 Norman Center Drive, Bloomington, Minnesota, 55437, stated that she is pleased to see the newest prototype of Dairy Queen coming to Cedar Falls. Jon Biederman, Civil Engineer for the project, stated that they have additional parking spaces as they believe they will need them. He also addressed the additional pavement around the gas canopy, noting that many times people will have larger vehicles or trailers that will need the extra room to maneuver. He also discussed parking and open space requirements, as they would like to replace a small green space near the northwest corner of the convenience store building with pavement. Mardy Holst, AHTS Architects, spoke to the cornice on the side of the building that staff would like to see added. He explained that they have not shown a cornice as they are typically reserved for the entry of the building. As there are no entries at that side they were not added to that side. Ms. Prideaux asked about the two open space islands. Mr. Leeper stated that the cornice wasn’t really an issue for him, as well as the islands. He did note that he would encourage reducing the paving, but it is not essential. Mr. Larson felt it made sense to leave the additional pavement and he was okay with the cornice and the removal of the islands. Mr. Wingert also noted that he believes that the cornice is good as it is, and that he understands the need for the additional paving. The item was continued to the May 22, 2019 meeting. 8.) Ms. Howard noted that there will be a meeting will be held on Monday, May 13 to discuss the preliminary findings with regard to parking in the College Hill area. It will be held from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. at the Center for Energy and Environmental Education at UNI. She noted that it will be televised for anyone who cannot make it to the meeting. 9.) As there were no further comments, Mr. Leeper made a motion to adjourn. Ms. Prideaux seconded the motion. The motion was approved unanimously with 7 ayes (Adkins, Holst, Larson, Leeper, Prideaux, Saul and Wingert), and 0 nays. 3 The meeting adjourned at 6:40 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Karen Howard Joanne Goodrich Community Services Manager Administrative Clerk 4