Board of Zoning Appeals

Board of Zoning Appeals September 8th, 2022 5:15 P.M. (1) Consider for approval the agenda as submitted. (2) Consider for approval the minutes of August 11th, 2022. (3) Consider a request for a variance to reduce the rear yard setback from 25 feet to 10 feet for a total variance of 15 feet for the property located at 770 Brown Avenue (Tax Map 040M, Group A, 011.01). Request submitted by Robert D. Lovell. August 11th, 2022 Minutes  Board of Zoning Appeals Minutes August 11th, 2022 The Board of Zoning Appeals met on Thursday, August 11th, 2022, at 5:15 p.m. in the Council Chambers located at 45 E. Broad Street, Cookeville, Tennessee. Members Present: Nancy Bohannon, James Dial, Michael Detwiler & Connie McCormick. Members Absent: Elwood Ervin Staff Present: Jon Ward, Christopher Phillips, & Haley Dickson. Staff Absent: Ken Young & James Mills. Others Present: Lindsay Pride, Jonathan Wocher & J. D. Parks. Consider for Approval the Agenda as Submitted. Michael Detwiler made the motion to approve the agenda as submitted. Nancy Bohannon seconded the motion and the motion carried unanimously. Approved. Consider for Approval the Minutes of July 14th, 2022. Michael Detwiler made the motion to approve the minutes of July 14th, 2022, as submitted. Connie McCormick seconded the motion and the motion carried unanimously. Approved. Consider a request for a variance to the grades for parking lots to allow portions of parking areas to exceed 5% for the property located at 777 South Jefferson Avenue (Tax Map 066C, Group B, Parcel 007.00). Request submitted by Jonathan Wocher, AICP on behalf of Speedway, LLC. Mr. Christopher Phillips stated that Mr. Jonathan Wocher with McBride Dale Clarion has resubmitted a variance request to the grades for parking lots to allow portions to parking lot areas to exceed five percent (5%) for property located at 777 South Jefferson Avenue. A previous variance was approved at the August 12, 2021, meeting for one year. Analysis: An initial variance to the grades for parking lots to allow portions of parking areas to exceed 5% for the property located at 777 South Jefferson Avenue was applied for and granted at the August 12, 2021, Board of Zoning Appeals meeting. Section 233.9D, 3. Variances, (i.) details the time limit prescribed for a variance, “The Board of Zoning Appeals shall prescribe a time limit within which the action for which the variance is required shall be begun or completed, or both; however, in no case shall more than one (1) year pass before the action is begun. Failure to begin or complete, or both, such action within the prescribed time limit shall void the variance.” Mr. Wocher has stated that delays by Speedway have not allowed construction to begin on the site. Speedway still intends to build the store, but construction has not yet begun. The subject property is located at 777 South Jefferson Avenue. The site is the location for a proposed new Speedway convenience store. This project is a redevelopment where four (4) existing structures will be demolished. Three (3) of these structures are located on Tax Map 066C, Group B, Parcel 007.000 and another located on Tax Map 066C, Group B, Parcel 005.00. The entire site will also incorporate a small portion of the property at 767 South Jefferson Avenue further identified as Tax Map 066C, Group B, parcel 004.00. The developer’s representative has indicated this will consist of approximately 1.7 total acres of property for the proposed Speedway store. The property is zoned CG General Commercial and is bordered by CG General Commercial to the north, south, east, and west and PCD, Planned Commercial Development is on the east side of South Jefferson Avenue. Board of Zoning Appeals August 11th, 2022 Minutes A proposed site plan depicts access to South Jefferson Avenue at the signalized intersection that is the entrance to the existing Wal-Mart development. The site plan depicts two (2) points of ingress/egress on a private access driveway to the Putnam County Fairgrounds property, and other points of access to the north that provide additional access to the Appliance Mart retail shopping center. Putnam County has approved easements to access the driveway to the Putnam County Fairgrounds property. Section 205.7 of the Zoning Code, Design Requirements for Parking Spaces and Lots, Section 205.7D, Grades, provides maximum grades for entrances connecting to a public street and parking lot areas and is included below: 205.7D GRADES 1. Grades within the paved area of a parking lot shall at no place be less than one (1) percent or more than five (5) percent. 2. Grades of driveways or entrances from a public street serving a parking lot shall at no point exceed eight (8) percent. Single- and two-family dwellings are not subject to the requirements of this section. A provided site plan depicts a grade of 3.31 to 3.81 percent at the access to South Jefferson Avenue, which is compliant. Grades of 9.83 percent and 10.01 percent are proposed at the southern access to the Putnam County Fairgrounds driveway. The northern access points are proposed at 10.95 percent and 9.88 percent. Neither of these proposed connections are to public streets as stipulated in Section 205.7D.2. The final grading plan for the development depicts two (2) instances in the parking areas access driveways where the grade is proposed at 6.18 percent and 6.27 percent. These areas are located just northeast of the proposed new principal store structure. All other proposed grades meet the maximum allowable grade of five percent (5%). The Planning Department interprets Section 205.7D.1. to apply to parking lots and the access aisles that serve actual parking spaces. Driveways providing ingress/egress to a development are covered in Section 205.7D.2. The existing topography of the site has approximately fifteen (15) feet of grade change from south to north. Existing grades on the current site exceed ten percent (10%) in several locations. Cookeville Public Works indicated a grade more than seventeen percent (17%) in one location at the northern boundary of the proposed development site. The developer contends that the variance is necessary due to existing site and topographic conditions, unique to the property. The Planning Department feels the topographic conditions present a hardship for any redevelopment of the site. In the opinion of the Planning Department, the requested variance will not be detrimental to the public welfare or injurious to other property in the area. Staff Recommendation: Approval of request to increase the maximum grade of parking areas to allow for maximum grades of 6.27 percent as depicted on the submitted grading plan. Mr. Jonathan Wocher, on behalf of Speedway, stated that the variance requests were approved one year ago and conditions haven’t changed. Nancy Bohannon asked when construction is to begin. Mr. Wocher stated that he doesn’t have an exact date but anticipates it being within the next 12 months. Board of Zoning Appeals August 11th, 2022 Minutes Michael Detwiler made the motion to approve the request as recommended by staff. Nancy Bohannon seconded the motion and the motion carried unanimously. APPROVED. Consider a request for a variance to the maximum width of driveways to allow a driveway width of 50 feet on the property located at 777 South Jefferson Avenue (Tax Map 066C, Group B, Parcel 007.00). Request submitted by Jonathan Wocher, AICP on behalf of Speedway, LLC. Mr. Christopher Phillips stated that Mr. Jonathan Wocher with McBride Dale Clarion has resubmitted a variance request to maximum access width requirement for a proposed Speedway convenience and fuel station located at 777 South Jefferson Avenue. A previous variance was approved at the August 12, 2021, meeting for one year. Analysis: An initial variance to the maximum width of driveways to allow a driveway width of fifty (50) feet for the property located at 777 South Jefferson Avenue was applied for and granted at the August 12, 2021, Board of Zoning Appeals meeting. Section 233.9D, 3. Variances, (i.) details the time limit prescribed for a variance, “The Board of Zoning Appeals shall prescribe a time limit within which the action for which the variance is required shall be begun or completed, or both; however, in no case shall more than one (1) year pass before the action is begun. Failure to begin or complete, or both, such action within the prescribed time limit shall void the variance.” Mr. Wocher has stated that delays by Speedway have not allowed construction to begin on the site. Speedway still intends to build the store, but construction has not yet begun. The subject property is the same site as described in Agenda item number 5. A proposed site plan for redevelopment of the property depicts access to South Jefferson Avenue at the signalized intersection that is the entrance to the existing Wal-Mart development. Section 205.9 of the Zoning Code, Access Control and Requirements for Curb Cuts (Driveways) and Culverts, Section 205.9B, Maximum Width of Access Points and Driveways provides that “For any non-residential use, a point of access for vehicles onto a street, excluding the necessary turning radius, shall not exceed forty (40) feet in width.” Speedway requests that a driveway access point of fifty (50) feet in width be allowed to align with the existing driveway on the west side of South Jefferson Avenue that provides access for the Walmart shopping development. This is a signalized intersection that provides four (4) lanes of ingress/egress for the Walmart shopping center with a divided landscaped median where signage is located. They further contend that the width is necessary for fuel and other delivery truck access. A provided access location/width exhibit provided by Speedway depicts the turning movements of fuel delivery and other delivery trucks, depicting that the width is necessary to navigate the fuel pump canopy and navigate the interior of the site. The Planning Department finds justification in the request due to the existing width of the access point on the west side of South Jefferson Avenue. Also, this intersection is controlled with a traffic signal, which alleviates other concerns with uncontrolled access management. In the opinion of the Planning Department, the requested variance will not be detrimental to the public welfare or injurious to other property in the area. Board of Zoning Appeals August 11th, 2022 Minutes Staff Recommendation: Approval of request to increase the driveway access requirement from forty (40) feet to fifty (50) feet for a total variance of ten (10) feet. Michael Detwiler made the motion to approve the request as recommended by staff. Elwood Ervin seconded the motion and the motion carried unanimously. APPROVED. Adjournment: 5:22 P.M. Submitted for Approval Submitted for Recording _____________________________ ______________________________ Haley Dickson James Dial, Chairman Planning Assistant Board of Zoning Appeals  Item 3 Consider a request for a variance to reduce the rear yard setback from 25 feet to 10 feet for a total variance of 15 feet for the property located at 770 Brown Avenue (Tax Map 040M, Group A, 011.01). Request submitted by Robert D. Lovell.  APPLICATION FOR BZA REQUEST The Board of Zoning Appeals meets the 2nd Thursday of each month. Applications must be submitted to the Planning Department no later than 12:00 p.m. on the third Monday of the month prior to the meeting. In most cases, it will be necessary to submit additional materials (photos, example, sketch, floor plan, survey, etc.) to help explain the request. This information must accompany this application. A fee of $50.00 for each Special Exception and Administrative Review request, and a fee of $200.00 for each Variance request shall also be submitted with this application. ************************************************************************************* 770 Brown Avenue Location of Property: ___________________________________________________________________ 040M-A-011.01 Tax Map Identification Number: __________________________ RS-15 Zone: _____________________ Property Owner Person Making Request Robert D. Lovell Name: ____________________________ Same as Owner Name: _______________________________ 770 Brown Avenue Address: __________________________ Address: ______________________________ Cookeville, TN 38501 _________________________________ ____________________________________ (City, State, Zip) (City, State, Zip) lifeagentbob@hotmail.com Email: ___________________________ Email: ______________________________ (931)528-7917 Phone: ___________________________ Phone: ______________________________ ************************************************************************************* Type of Request: SPECIAL EXCEPTION VARIANCE ✔ ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW Describe the request below (attach any accompanying information): The City of Cookeville right-of-way at the east end of Timber Lane cuts into the southwest corner of our property. We would like to construct a 30' x 30' garage near this corner. The 25' rear-line setback requirement would force us to build on top of our existing driveway, causing considerable inconvenience and loss of driveway space. We are requesting a variance to allow a minimum 10' setback from the 1/2" pipe labeled "P.O.B." in the accompanying survey. This rear property line borders a creek at the east end of Timber Lane with vegetation that largely blocks the view from that street. It seems inconceivable that anyone would ever make use of this unused portion of the city right-of-way lying east of the paved area, particularly since a creek runs in between. The property owner on Timber Lane whose land abuts this corner has stated, in writing, that he has no objection to our request. ************************************************************************************* 08-15-2022 Date Filed: ___________________ Yes Fee Paid: ______________ $200 Amount: __________________ September 8th, 2022 Meeting date set for: ___________________________________________________________________ Jon Ward Request reviewed by: ___________________________________________________________________ Date: August t2,2022 To: Cookeville City Council and Planning Commission From Mark W. Brady 790 Timber Ln Cookeville, TN 38501-2819 RE Proposed abandonment of Timber Lane right-ot-way To Whom lt May Concern: The southeast corner of our property on Timber Lane touches the Robefi and Sammie Lovell propefi, located afl7A Brown Avenue, at one point of the proposed abandonment by the City of Cookeville of approximately 631 square feet of the right-of-way at the east end of Timber Lane. Please considerthis affirmative notice that we have no objection to the approtral of the Lovells' request for this proposal. Sincerely, MarkW Eraty,Grner T90Tlmber lane 9.rt zld 3/a o