Planning Commission

FAIRMONT PLANNING COMMISSION The regular meeting of the Fairmont Planning Commission was held on September 17, 2014 at 7:00 p.m. at the Public Safety Building located at 500 Quincy Street. President Oliver called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. and asked for a roll call of members. ROLL CALL OF MEMBERS Members Present: Members Absent: President Oliver Commissioner Miller Vice President Majic Commissioner Straight Commissioner Richardson Commissioner Weber Commissioner Pitman Commissioner Greene Commissioner Parker City Staff Present: Director of Planning and Development – Kathy Wyrosdick Recording Secretary – Martha Richards PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE President Oliver asked for a motion to approve the minutes from August 20, 2014. Commissioner Parker motioned to approve minutes. Commissioner Greene seconded. Vote was 7-0 in favor. PUBLIC HEARING #1 FOR SEPTEMBER 17, 2014 President Oliver: Zoning amendment to amend Article 13, Chapter 3, Districts and Regulations, Article 1319, Special Districts, SECTION 1319.05 Technology District thereof, to permit limited manufacturing and processing facilities as a Use Permitted by Right. City Planner Wyrosdick: At the request of Mr. Estep, the amendment is being made based on some of the trends that he sees occurring out at the High Tech District. The High Tech Park is surrounded by property that is not in the city, so we don’t necessarily 1 have to take into consideration how this change might impact surrounding properties because they are not inside the city limits. This request is to allow light manufacturing to occur on the Phase II of the property. The trend is that light manufacturing is more in demand and Mr. Estep would like to have more of that in the park. This text amendment will also help spur the oil and gas industry in the area. We had looked at rezoning the property to industrial; I didn’t think that was necessary. I recommend supporting Mr. Estep’s request. Mr. Jim Estep, President and CEO of the High Tech Foundation; we are the developer of the I-79 Technology Park. The part of the park that you see from the interstate is the Phase I portion of the park. There are four phases; the first is the one you see, the second Phase II is the land just over the hill behind the NASA facility that is directly adjacent to the existing industrial park, Phase III goes back towards the old Long and Morgan properties, Phase IV is toward the front area behind the research center facility, and right up behind the exit area. The objective of the park is to be used as a tool to try to recruit new economic anchors, like NASA, the FBI, the NOAA supercomputer center, and two national satellite ground systems, which act as magnets that attract a lot of companies that want to be in the Marion County area and chase that work. More recently, the consortium has started working with some companies that are developing products that might need to be manufactured. For the last three years, they have been working on a device that uses high pulse power to potentially augment or replace classic hydraulic fracturing in Marcellus shale wells. If this can be made to work, it could be very valuable and there would be a lot of demand. They need a place to build it. Mr. Estep speaks of various aspects of the oil and gas industry, and other manufacturing opportunities, and what it would mean to the consortium if they could open up the property to light industry. President Oliver had concerns of past discussions of townhomes and hotels being built on the backside of the property. City Planner Wyrosdick did not seem to think this amendment would affect those visions if they were to transpire. Mr. Estep wishes that a hotel would be built to accommodate professional meetings, conferences, etc. – something that is currently substantially lacking in the area. City Planner Wyrosdick had a question about selling property within the park, and wanted to know the number of people working there. Mr. Estep said there are covenants and restrictions that are part of the property sales within the park, and that there are approximately 1300 people working in the park. President Oliver asked for a motion to approve the zoning amendment. Commissioner Greene motioned to approve zoning amendment Article 13, Chapter 3. Commissioner Pitman seconded. Vote was 7-0 in favor of text amendment. 2 PUBLIC HEARING #2 FOR SEPTEMBER 17, 2014 President Oliver: Debra Miller is requesting a Right-of-Way abandonment of an unopened alleyway behind Hampton Road, off of Moyer Way (Tax Map 01-32, between Parcels 49, 87, and 88). City Council remanded ROW on September 9, 2014. City Planner Wyrosdick discussed the City Council meeting and the three citizens who spoke against the R.O.W. abandonment at that meeting. The City Council remanded the issue back to the Planning Commission for further discussion – nothing specific. Ms. Wyrosdick summarized the Miller scenario, and how accessory structures on separate lots are not permitted for a number of reasons. Ms. Miller has filed for a permit to have the accessory structure, when the R.O.W. is abandoned and she joins her properties, which will make her current separate property her back yard. The right of way abandonment issue is completely separate from the code enforcement issue, which is not our problem. Abandoning the right-of-way is a good thing for the city – it takes liability off the city. A right of way is just the right to put a road in; in this instance, it is a no man’s land. We’re not land-locking anything or anyone by abandoning it. Ms. Wyrosdick discussed property ownership, transfer of property to heirs, and even though there is a current tax lean due to delinquency, Ms. Miller still has standing to request the abandonment. The property is fairly well maintained; it has been concluded that no one is living in the accessory structure. Ms. Wyrosdick discussed Mr. Haddix’ concerns and the resident petition against Ms. Miller, but there was no way to tell what the petition was objecting to. Ms. Wyrosdick stated that she still supports, as an advocate of the city, that there is justification and need to abandonment this right-of-way. In addition, Ms. Miller provide a - not contingent on the abandonment, but as part of the record - that within the 30 day time frame of this ordinance becoming affective, that Ms. Miller submit the proper platting that combines those lots as something you expect to happen. Pictures were passed around, and discussion continued about other residents using the same R.O.W. for other purposes (a swimming pool, vehicles, etc.). Commissioner Parker questioned the location of Celia Street, developing lots in the area, access in and out of Celia Street, and the city validating bad behavior. Ms. Wyrosdick assures the Commission that she does not advocate for either party in this situation. Commissioner Greene agreed with Commissioner Parker’s comments on rewarding bad behavior, and stated the city does not need any more liability. President Oliver motioned to close the public hearing. Commissioner Weber motioned to approve R.O.W. abandonment with the conditions that Ms. Wyrosdick has discussed. Commissioner Greene seconded. Vote was 7-0 in favor of abandonment of R.O.W. 3 PUBLIC HEARINGS TO SET FOR OCTOBER 15, 2014 NONE. NEW BUSINESS Discussion and review of the Connectivity Plan. City Planner Wyrosdick recapped – The Connectivity Plan is a planning document that was paid for and spearheaded by Main Street Fairmont, and Thrasher Engineering was hired to perform the work. This plan looked at the gaps in the system. It is not a comprehensive system of what we have now, but it points out where the gaps exist. How do we better connect residents to commercial centers, to each other, and to public spaces and parks? It is an exhaustive look at everywhere that those gaps exist now and could potentially benefit the community if they were filled. It includes gaps of the trail system, additional trail system opportunities, to expand sidewalks, etc. It was done with a tremendous amount of public input, which came from the 12:30 Meetings. Priority objectives – does this connection have a strong and immediate impact on community well-being and economic opportunities? A lesser priority is, is it easily feasible, and what is the impact within a related neighborhood, and its ability to improve health? WVU did a health impact statement of these recommendations and assessed, of all these recommendations, which ones would have the greatest impact on the overall health of the community. The health assessment is a supporting document that will be provided. The review of the Connectivity Plan and its impact on Fairmont continued in detail. Ms. Wyrosdick recommended the City of Fairmont adopt this plan as part of the Comprehensive Plan. Positive discussion among the Commissioners ensues. The next step will be to discuss adoption of the plan at the next Planning Commission meeting on October 15th. Copies of the plan will be made and distributed to each Planning Commission member, as well as the health assessment document CITIZENS PETITION None. OTHER BUSINESS Commissioners’ Comments President Oliver requests comments and feedback from the Commissioners. We have the city and the residents’ best interests at heart. “When it comes to a roll calls vote, it 4 doesn’t have to be unanimous. I want to thank everyone on this committee for having a backbone, please continue to do that.” Staff Updates City Planner Wyrosdick discussed  DRC activity which included Extreme Plastics request to build a 75’ x 150’ storage building out at the Industrial Park, a multi-use townhouse construction project request, and a pre-application for an apartment complex.  Stony Quinto has filed a lawsuit against the City; Kevin has asked for a dismissal, but it’s still out there.  The Fire House Studio project is an initiative that is currently moving forward – it is an arts center. The URA will be working more directly with Main Street Fairmont on this project, as well as building an economic profile of the downtown Fairmont area.  A Bad Buildings update was presented, including a review of the collected inventory of 313 properties. The LEAP event will be next Wednesday at 6:00 pm in the Public Safety Bldg. This event will be presented by WVUs Law Clinic and will focus on the legal aspects of how to deal with vacant and dilapidated buildings. On October 7, 8, and 9, a Bad Buildings team will be going to a Bad Buildings Summit in Huntington to collaborate with other communities on developing financial strategies for funding vacant and dilapidated programs. Members attending will be Joe Flynn, Lisa Darden, John Miller, Kevin Sansalone, Tracy Evans, and Kathy Wyrosdick. President Oliver asked the City Planner for her interpretation of Home Rule. Discussion ensued. ADJOURNMENT President Oliver asked for a motion to adjourn. Commissioner Weber motioned to adjourn. Commissioner Greene seconded. 5