Board of Zoning Appeals

BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS MINUTES APRIL 9, 2009 The Board of Zoning Appeals met on Thursday, April 9, 2009, at 5:15 p.m. in the Council Chambers, 45 E. Broad Street, Cookeville, Tennessee. MEMBERS PRESENT: Paul Bonner, Tracy Cody, and Sid Gilbreath. MEMBER ABSENT: Jane Flatt and Kay Detwiler. STAFF PRESENT: James Mills and Jayne Barns. OTHERS PRESENT: Peggy Michael, Lauren Shibakov, Wilma Diemer, David Wright and Heather Mullinix. WELCOME NEW MEMBER: Paul Bonner. CONSIDER FOR APPROVAL THE MINUTES OF MARCH 12, 2009. Tracy Cody made the motion to approve the minutes of March 12, 2009. Paul Bonner seconded the motion and the motion carried unanimously. APPROVED. CONSIDER A REQUEST FOR A VARIANCE TO REDUCE THE STREET SETBACK REQUIREMENT IN CR ZONE FROM 50’ TO 30’ FOR NEW MINOR STREET ON THE PROPERTY LOCATED AT 965, 971 AND 975 SOUTH WALNUT AVENUE. REQUEST SUBMITTED BY LAUREN SHIBAKOV ON BEHALF OF CHAPMAN-ROSS PARTNERSHIPS. James Mills stated that Ms. Lauren Shibakov, on behalf of Chapman-Ross Partnerships, has submitted for approval a request for a variance to reduce the setback requirement off a minor street to be constructed in a proposed subdivision of property identified as Parcel 22.00 on Tax Map 66 and located off South Walnut Avenue. The subject property is zoned as CR, Regional Commercial and consists of approximately 3.36 acres. A preliminary plat of Walnut Commons, a three (3) lot subdivision of the property, was conditionally approved by the Planning Commission at its March 2009 meeting. The proposed subdivision involves the construction of a dead-end street, Walnut Commons Lane, approximately 200 feet in length running perpendicular to South Walnut Avenue. The variance request is for a reduction of the required setback off the proposed Walnut Commons Lane. The minimum setback off a street in the CR District is 50 feet and the submitted request is for a reduction to 30 feet. The CR District is intended for medium to large scale developments and is required to be located on streets of at least Major Collector status. South Walnut Avenue is classified as a Major Collector Street; however, the proposed Walnut Commons Lane would be classified as a Minor Collector Street. The required setback of 50 feet would be met off South Walnut Avenue. The requested setback reduction to 30 feet is the minimum requirement in the CG, General Commercial and CL, Local Commercial Districts when developments are not located on Major Collector or streets or higher classification. Due to the short length of the proposed BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS 2 APRIL 9, 2009 street and limited number of parcels to be accessed by it, the requested setback reduction would appear to have a minimum impact on the area. Staff recommended approval of the request. There was some discussion about setting a precedent if this request was approved. Mr. Mills stated that the Board has already approved a variance for a similar request in the past and that the Zoning Code may need to be changed to address setbacks on minor streets that are short in length and only access a few lots. Mrs. Wilma Wright Diemer stated that her property was located behind this development and that she was concern about additional water being dumped onto her property. Lauren Shibakov replied that according to the City’s regulations the storm water runoff has to be calculated so that the water run off after development can not be any greater than prior to development. Tracy Cody made the motion to approve reducing the street setback in CR Zone from 50’ to 30’ for a new minor street on the property located at 965, 971 and 975 South Walnut Avenue. Paul Bonner seconded the motion and the motion carried unanimously. VARIANCE APPROVED. ADJOURNMENT: 5:41 P.M. SUBMITTED FOR APPROVAL SUBMITTED FOR RECORDING _____________________________ _____________________________________ JAYNE BARNS CPS SID GILBREATH, ACTING CHAIRMAN PLANNING ASSISTANT BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS