Planning and Zoning Commission

City of Evanston Planning & Zoning Commission Board of Adjustment 1200 Main Street, Evanston, Wyoming 82930 Ph.# (307) 783-6470 Fax: (307) 783-6490 Email: jcampbell@evanstonwy.org Web: www.evanstonwy.org Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting Minutes November 7, 2016 6:00 p.m.-City Hall Commissioners Present: Maryl Thompson, Chairperson Kevin Adams Robert E. Smith Rowdy Dean Kimberly Begalla Staff Present: Dennis Boal, City Attorney DuWayne Jacobsen, Associate Planner Janel Campbell, Administrative Assistant Chairperson Thompson called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. Chairperson Thompson asked for a motion to approve the agenda for the November 7, 2016 meeting. A motion was made by Commissioner Adams, seconded by Commissioner Dean. Motion carried. Chairperson Thompson asked for a motion to approve the minutes from the August 1, 2016 meeting of the Planning Commission. A motion was made by Commissioner Dean, seconded by Commissioner Begalla. Motion Carried. Chairperson Thompson asked for a motion to approve the minutes from the September 12, 2016 meeting of the Planning Commission/Board of Adjustment. A motion was made by Commissioner Adams, seconded by Commissioner Begalla. Motion carried. Chairperson Thompson proceeded to new business. Attorney Boal opened the public hearing with the following dockets: CP 16-10 A request by Altitude Evanston, LLC for a Conditional Use Permit to allow vehicle sales for properties located at 128 North 3rd Street and 130 North 3rd Street (formerly Sonic restaurant) which is zoned Regional Business-Developing (RB-D). The applicant is proposing a satellite vehicle sales lot at 128 and 130 North 3rd Street. Altitude Evanston, LLC will continue to operate its primary car dealership at 100 Wasatch Drive. (Section 24-15 B. (22.1)); CP 16-11 A request by Altitude Evanston, LLC for a Conditional Use Permit to allow a parking lot as a principal use of a lot for property located at 128 North 3rd Street which is zoned Regional Business-Developing (RB-D). The applicant is proposing a satellite vehicle sales lot for properties located at 128 and 130 North 3rd Street. Altitude Evanston, LLC will continue to operate its primary car dealership at 100 Wasatch Drive. (Section 24-15 B. (8)); and BA 16-03 A request by Altitude Evanston, LLC for a Variance to the minimum lot size requirement of 2.5 acres for vehicle sales on properties located at 128 North 3rd Street and 130 North 3rd Street (formerly Sonic restaurant) which is zoned Regional Business-Developing (RB-D). The lot size at 128 North 3rd Street is .629 acres. The lot size at 130 North 3rd Street is 0.92 acres. The applicant is proposing a satellite vehicle sales lot at 128 and 130 North 3rd Street. Altitude Evanston, LLC will continue to operate its primary car dealership at 100 Wasatch Drive. (Section 24-15 (22.1)) Attorney Boal stated that these hearings would be combined. He explained the legalities of the hearing stating that the applicant(s) would be heard from first, followed by those who were in favor of the applicant(s), and finally, from those who were opposed. He explained that these public hearings are contested case hearings and that anyone who wished to submit a legal brief in support of their position must make it known to him at the closing of the hearings. Appeals of the Planning Commission can be conducted by the City Council pursuant to the provisions of the Evanston City Code which set forth procedure and timeline. Appeals of the Board of Adjustment are submitted directly to District Court pursuant to the rules of appellate procedure. Attorney Boal questioned who would represent Altitude Evanston regarding the requests. Tim Allred, whose mailing address is 1046 S Washington Street, Afton, Wyoming, was sworn in. Mr. Allred stated that their previous applications considered by the Planning Commission/Board of Adjustment in September didn’t include the corner property because they didn’t have it under contract to purchase. Now that they have the property under contract, they would like to show the Commission how both properties would be used together for vehicle sales. Mr. Allred noted that the proposed site plan meets all 20 criteria reviewed for a conditional use permit. However, they don’t meet the minimum lot size requirement for a car dealership. Mr. Allred stated that he does agree with having a minimum lot size of 2.5 acres for a full service dealership. He mentioned that they have a full service dealership located at 100 Wasatch Road which offers service, parts, detail, and sales. They are proposing to only offer vehicle sales at 128 and 130 North 3rd Street. Mr. Allred gave a slide presentation showing how they are proposing to develop the corner lot and how both lots will be used for vehicle sales. Chairperson Thompson questioned if they were proposing to do anything with the canopy which covers the parking spaces located along the north property line of the former Sonic property. Mr. Allred stated that the canopy would eventually be removed. They also are planning to refurbish the building. There will only be one access point to the parking lot via the former Sonic property. Commissioner Begalla questioned if the green area indicated on the PowerPoint slide is grass. She also questioned if it would be irrigated. Mr. Allred answered yes. Altitude Evanston, LLC will obtain all of the necessary permits from the City and State for the proposed car sales use. Mr. Allred showed some slides of the buildings located at 100 Wasatch Road which are proposed to be refurbished in 2107. Commissioner Adams asked if the former Sonic building will be refurbished similar to the proposed refurbished buildings at 100 Wasatch Road. Mr. Allred answered yes. Altitude Evanston, LLC wants to invest in the community and Uinta County. He stated that vehicle sales outside of Uinta County totals 3,200 vehicles per year. Altitude Motors, LLC wants to keep vehicle sales local. Attorney Boal asked if anyone from the public had any questions for the applicant. With no questions, he asked if the Commissioners had questions for the applicant. Chairperson Thompson asked if they were purchasing both lots and the building and not leasing. With 5 employees, she questioned if there was an adequate number of parking spaces for employees and customers. Mr. Allred answered there is employee parking in the back that they did not designate on the site plan. Realistically, they anticipate about one customer per hour and about 50 to 60 car sales per month. There will be 3 employees on site and 2 support employees off site. Attorney Boal asked if Mr. Allred had additional information to share with the Commission/Board of Adjustment. Mr. Allred stated that he didn’t have anything to add but would answer any questions from anyone. Attorney Boal questioned if he is depending upon the application submittals that were submitted to the Planning Department and provided to the Commission and Board of Adjustment for consideration and his testimony. Mr. Allred answered yes. Attorney Boal asked if there was anyone present who would like to speak in favor of the applications. With no one to speak in favor of the applications, he asked if there was anyone who would like to speak in opposition of the applications. Mr. Paul Welling who resides at 3112 Hwy 150 S., was sworn in. Mr. Welling submitted a map as evidence to Attorney Boal, which he marked as Welling exhibit #1. The map indicates that there are 4 available lots in the area. Mr. Welling explained that his father, Jay Welling, had been verbally turned down several times in the past by Mr. Paul Knopf, former City Planner, for a car dealership at the same location. Mr. Welling surmised as to why Mr. Knopf may have turned his father down. Subject lots are located in an area which serves as a hub for the travelling public who purchases food, gas, and supplies. There are a limited number of lots available in this area to meet the needs of that target market. Vehicle sales don’t generate local revenue unless a vehicle is sold and registered to a local customer. Selling cars outside of the county or state will send tax dollars outside of our area. He stated that we need businesses in this area which will appeal to the travelling public and generate tax revenue. He believes that his father may have been turned down for a car dealership in this commercial area because it does not make good tax sense for the city, county, or state. At the September meeting of the Planning Commission/Board of Adjustment, he stated that Mr. Allred mentioned that the proposed location would encourage citizens of Uinta County to purchase locally. Mr. Welling stated that people who live here know where the local car dealerships are located. With low tax revenues, he does not believe it would be a good idea to tie up 2 of the 4 remaining properties in this commercial area. For these reasons, he asked the Planning Commission/Board of Adjustment to not approve the requests. Attorney Boal asked if anyone from the public had any questions for Mr. Welling. With no questions, he asked if the Commission/Board of Adjustment had any questions. Chairperson Thompson questioned the type of businesses he believes would be suitable at this location. Mr. Welling stated that businesses should be tailored to the traffic at this location. Businesses such as fast food and retail, which generate sales tax revenue, would be better suited for this area. Vehicle sales does not generate tax revenue unless the vehicle is sold locally. With no other questions from the Commission/Board of Adjustment, Attorney Boal asked if there was anyone else who would like to speak in opposition to the applications. With no one else to speak in opposition, Attorney Boal asked if the Commission/Board of Adjustment had any questions for anyone. Commissioner Smith questioned the amount of property taxes anticipated being collected for the two lots. Mr. Allred estimated that property taxes might be around $4,000 to $5,000 annually for both properties. He stated that property values are minute in comparison to sales tax revenue generated by car sales. He mentioned that car sales is the number one sales tax generator for municipalities and counties. He mentioned that the additional sales space will allow Altitude Evanston, LLC to offer a larger selection of vehicles. He believes that by offering a larger selection of vehicles, they will be able to capture some of the local buyers who are purchasing vehicles outside of the area. Attorney Boal questioned if Mr. Allred had a chance to review the conditions of approval listed in the staff report and if those conditions were acceptable. Mr. Allred stated that he had read the conditions of approval, and those conditions were acceptable. Attorney Boal asked if there were any other questions from the Commission/Board of Adjustment. Commissioner Begalla questioned if Altitude Evanston, LLC had statistics of vehicles sold locally versus vehicles sold outside the area with their other five dealerships located in western Wyoming. Mr. Allred stated that for new car sales, their franchise captures about 70 percent of the local market. Approximately, 30 to 40 percent of new car sales goes outside of their dealership areas. He noted that these figures don’t include used car sales which they do. Approximately, 3,200 used car sales leave Uinta County. With no other questions for Mr. Allred, Attorney Boal closed the hearing. Chairperson Thompson asked the Commission for a motion to approve CP 16-10. Commissioner Adams made a motion to approve CP 16-10 with staff recommendations, seconded by Commissioner Dean. Chairperson Thompson asked for discussion. With no discussion, Chairperson Thompson called for a vote. The motion was approved unanimously. Chairperson Thompson asked the Commission for a motion to approve CP 16-11. Commissioner Dean made a motion to approve CP 16-11 with staff recommendations, seconded by Commissioner Adams. Chairperson Thompson asked for discussion. With no discussion, Chairperson Thompson called for a vote. The motion was approved unanimously. Chairperson Thompson asked the Board of Adjustment for a motion to approve BA 16- 03. Board Member Adams made a motion to approve BA 16-03 with staff recommendations, seconded by Board Member Smith. Chairperson Thompson noted that item number six in the staff recommendations addresses a time extension for the variance request. With some discussion regarding a time extension for the variance, the Board agreed to keep the variance expiration date at six months and to include this as part of the motion. The applicant may apply for a time extension if necessary. Chairperson Thompson called for a vote. The motion was approved unanimously. With no other business, Chairperson Thompson reviewed future meeting dates of the Commission. Commissioner Dean noted that he will not be able to attend the December 5th meeting. Commissioner Adams may not be able to attend the January 9 th or February 6th meetings. Chairperson Thompson adjourned the meeting at 6:38 p.m.