Board of Zoning Appeals

BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS MINUTES NOVEMBER 10, 2016 The Board of Zoning Appeals met on Thursday, November 10, 2016, at 5:15 p.m. in the Council Chambers, 45 E. Broad Street, Cookeville, Tennessee. MEMBERS PRESENT: James Dial, Elwood Ervin, Sid Gilbreath, and Nancy Bohannon. MEMBER ABSENT: Jane Flatt. STAFF PRESENT: James Mills, Jayne Barns, Ken Young and Jon Ward. OTHERS PRESENT: YashTanwar, Mit Patel, Laura Militana, and Nick Patel. WELCOME NEW MEMBER – NANCY BOHANNON. CONSIDER FOR APPROVAL THE MINUTES OF SEPTEMBER 8, 2016. Elwood Ervin made the motion to approve the minutes of September 8, 2016. James Dial seconded the motion and the motion carried unanimously. APPROVED. CONSIDER A REQUEST FOR A “SPECIAL EXCEPTION” TO REDUCE THE REQUIRED OFF-PREMISE PARKING REQUIREMENTS FOR UP TO 10 SPACES ON THE PROPERTY LOCATED AT 601 AND 633 SOUTH JEFFERSON AVENUE. REQUEST SUBMITTED BY YASH TANWAR ON BEHALF OF NICK PATEL OF VSH INC. James Mills stated that Mr. Yash Tanwar, on behalf of property owner VSH, Inc., has submitted a request for a special exception to allow a portion of the off-street parking required at 601 South Jefferson Avenue to be located off-premise at 633 South Jefferson Avenue. The property located at 601 South Jefferson Avenue is identified as Parcel 7.00 on Tax Map 66B, Group G and is zoned as CG, General Commercial. The parcel consists of approximately 54,194 square feet or 1.24 acres. Located on the property is an approximately 14,640 square foot commercial structure. The building was originally used as an auto repair establishment and was refurbished and expanded in 2015. Approximately 10,000 square feet of the structure was converted to a retail package/beer/tobacco store in 2015. In November of 2015, VSH, Inc. submitted a request for a variance to reduce the off-street parking requirement for the existing 10,080 square foot structure and a 4,560 square foot addition. At the time the request was submitted the petition indicated that the addition would be utilized as a jewelry store. The site plan submitted with the request depicted the provision of 53 spaces which was seven (7) spaces less than required (60). The Board of Zoning Appeals approved a variance to reduce the off-street parking requirement by no more than 10 percent. Since the approval of the variance in 2015 the property owner has revised the layout of the 4,560 square foot addition to utilize only approximately half as a jewelry store. The owner now desires to locate a restaurant in the remaining portion of the addition. Unlike many commercial uses, off-street parking requirements for restaurants are based on the number of BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS 2 NOVEMBER 10, 2016 seats and number of employees, not building square footage. As a result of the change in use significant more off-street parking spaces are required in excess of the variance previously approved by the Board. VSH, Inc. has submitted a proposed lease agreement for ten (10) off-premise parking spaces with the owner contiguous of property identified as Parcel 6.00 on Tax Map 66B, Group G and located at 633 South Jefferson Avenue. According to the assessor’s records, the property consists of approximately 5.23 acres and is owned by Scot Luther/Big Lots Stores, LLC. Located on the property are two (2) commercial structures consisting of approximately 42,000 square feet and 855 square feet. A field review indicates that approximately 195 marked parking spaces are currently provided on Parcel 6.00. According to information provided by the petitioner the larger structure housing Big Lots is comprised of approximately 23,000 square feet of storage and 19,000 square feet of retail space. Based on these dimensions, approximately 46 parking spaces are required for the storage area (1 space per 500 square feet of floor space) and 95 parking spaces are required for the retail space (1 space per 200 square feet of floor space). An additional four (4) parking spaces are required for the smaller commercial structure. The combined required off-street parking of 145 off-street parking spaces is approximately 50 spaces less than is currently provided on Parcel 6.00. It should also be noted that a portion of the Big Lots parcel is utilized for temporary sales for approximately six (6) months each year. The Planning Department estimates that approximately 30 of the marked parking spaces are typically occupied by the temporary sales operation. Eliminating 30 of the 50 surplus parking spaces would indicate that approximately 20 parking spaces on Parcel 6.00 would be available for leasing as off-premise parking. Section 205.4 of the Zoning Code provides that if the required parking spaces for a non- residential use cannot be provided on the same lot as the principal use, the Board of Zoning Appeals may, as a Special Exception, permit such spaces to be located on other property, provided the following conditions are met: • The property shall be located within 400 feet of the principal use as measured from the nearest point of the off-premise parking lot to the nearest point of the building to be served by such parking lot. It appears this condition will be met for the subject proposal. • Such off-premise parking spaces are located within a zoning district which would permit the use to which such parking is accessory. The property proposed for the location of off-premise parking is zoned as CG, General Commercial and parking is permitted as an accessory and primary use in this zoning district. • Such off-premise parking spaces shall not exceed 50 percent of the required parking. It appears this condition will be met for the subject proposal. BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS 3 NOVEMBER 10, 2016 • If such off-premise parking spaces are not in the same ownership as the use being served by said parking spaces, then a duly executed and acknowledged written agreement between the owner of the off-premise parking area and the owner of the use shall be submitted to the Building Official. Said agreement shall assure the continued availability and usability of the off-premise parking for as long as required by the use and shall be recorded at the expense of the applicant with the Putnam County Register of Deeds. As previously noted, a proposed parking lease agreement has been submitted. Staff recommended approval of request subject to compliance with the provisions of Section 205.4 of the Zoning Code and subject to the following conditions: • Determination that the leasing of ten (10) parking spaces will not result in a parking deficit for Parcel 6.00 on Tax Map 66B, Group G (Big Lots) • Construction/installation of pedestrian access (stairs) to access the off-premise parking • Submittal and recording of notarized letter from VSH, Inc. to the City of Cookeville agreeing that if the parking lease agreement terminates for any reason any use located on Parcel 7.00, Tax Map 66B, Group G requiring off-premise parking to meet the City of Cookeville parking requirements will be closed within 30 days of the termination and will remain closed until such time as the parking requirements can be met. Nick Patel stated that they would provide all of the parking that is required but he didn’t think that it would be needed. Mr. Patel added that if their restaurant has more business than what the location can handle, then they will move to another location. Yash Tanwar stated that they will ask their employees to park at Big Lots. Elwood Ervin made the motion to grant conditional approval of the Special Exception, subject to staff’s recommendation. Nancy Bohannon seconded the motion and the motion carried unanimously. CONDITIONAL APPROVAL OF SPECIAL EXCEPTION. ADJOURNMENT: 5:36 P.M. SUBMITTED FOR APPROVAL SUBMITTED FOR RECORDING _____________________________ ______________________________ JAYNE BARNS CPS SID GILBREATH, CHAIRMAN PLANNING ASSISTANT BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS