Planning Commission

FAIRMONT PLANNING COMMISSION The regular meeting of the Fairmont Planning Commission was held on March 18, 2015 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 Pitman Commissioner Richardson Commissioner Weber Commissioner Majic Commissioner Greene Commissioner Parker Commissioner Miller Commissioner Straight City Staff Present: Director of Planning and Development – Kathy Wyrosdick Recording Secretary – Maria Cipolla Commissioner Straight motions that Commissioner Pitman be excused from the meeting. Commissioner Weber seconds the motion. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE President Oliver asked for a motion to approve the minutes from February 18, 2015. Commissioner Straight motioned to approve minutes. Commissioner Greene seconded. Vote was 8-0 in favor. PUBLIC HEARINGS TO SET FOR March 18, 2015 1. The adoption of an ordinance providing for a comprehensive amendment and update to Chapter One, Zoning Administration, Chapter Three, District and Regulations, and Chapter Five, Subdivision Regulations of the Fairmont City Code and adoption of the new Clearzoning format. President Oliver asked City Planner, Kathy Wyrosdick, for an explanation of this. City Planner, Kathy Wyrosdick responded that this was everything we just covered in the work session with all of the Commissioner prior to the meeting in the work session. 1 President Oliver asked if there was anyone to speak for this matter. There were none President Oliver asked if there was anyone to speak against it There were none. President Oliver asked for a motion Commissioner Weber motioned to approve Commissioner Majic seconded. Vote was 8-0 in favor. PUBLIC HEARINGS TO SET FOR April 15, 2015 None NEW BUSINESS To set April 15th regular Planning Commission meeting to be held at 7 pm in the new Your Neighborhood, Your Future Studio at 305 10th St. across from Majic Touch Auto Detailing. President Oliver asked if there was a motion to approve. Commissioner Parker motioned to approve. Commissioner Weber seconded. Kathy Wyrosdick stated that she asked the students that are working in the studio to present their work they have been doing at the studio. It would also give us an opportunity to have residents come to the Planning Commission meeting, make their comments and ask us questions. President Oliver asked if we would have anything to hear or set at this meeting. Kathy Wyrosdick responded that there is nothing to hear or set. It would just be an open discuss of all the work the students have been doing. Commission Parker asked if it was allowed for us to have the meeting at another location. Kathy Wyrosdick said that the meetings can be held anywhere with proper notice listing the location. So we will put it in the paper and post it at the studio as well. President Oliver commented that they had had a meeting at the Water Treatment facility right after they opened. CITIZENS PETITION None. 2 OTHER BUSINESS Commissioner’s Comments; Commission Greene commended City Planner, Kathy Wyrosdick and staff on all their hard work on Clearzoning. It is a huge step forward in both customer service and clarity. Commissioner Weber seconded Commissioner Greene’s comments and asked Kathy Wyrosdick to come up with some figures for the overall cost of a GIS system and to bring it before council. Hopefully, they will be able to approve it. He says he has no idea how much it would be but if Kathy Wyrosdick brings the figures to Council, we can work something out. President Oliver asked if this would be something we would have to put in the budget for next year or is there room in the budget for this year. City Planner, Kathy Wyrosdick stated that she will put together a plan. Because it is more than just buying the software, you would need to have someone in house trained on this program or hire someone. I would suggest training someone in house. Commissioner Weber stated that not only would this help the Planning Department and Commission, but also to the police and fire departments. We need to get those figures and bring them before the Mayor (Commissioner Straight). Kathy Wyrosdick added that utility companies would benefit because it is much more dynamic than what they are currently using. They don’t want that GIS system and information to become public. There would have to be safe guards in place. Kathy Wyrosdick then added that she will put together a proposal on what using this system looks like and how we can build it into a bigger system. Commissioner Weber said that if you can put that together and bring it before the Planning Commission, we can then make our recommendation to the City Council to accept it. Commissioner Richardson stated that he enjoyed learning about the data on Clearzoning. It was enlightening but he wants to dig a little deeper. He commended Kathy Wyrosdick and staff on a job well done. Commission Straight complemented Kathy Wyrosdick and staff on their job with Clearzoning and would like to see it move forward. Commissioner Parker stated that he is also excited about Clearzoning. He said it will be very helpful with his job. President Oliver added that this will affect everyone in the city from workers and street maintenance, to fire and police. Kathy Wyrosdick added that this will allow Code Enforcement to hand a two-page overview to people. Commissioner Parker suggested that once City Council approve this, to have some training for the public. Maybe have some more realtors or general public that has some interest or need to use it, to do an hour of training on how it works. It would be a good idea to promote it and make people aware of Clearzoning. President Oliver said that is a great idea. 3 Kathy Wyrosdick said that she would like to host a webinar once it is adopted. She said this would be very easy and would not cost the city anything. But this can’t be done until it’s approved because that is when Clearzoning will add all the hyperlinking. She added that maybe even a five-minute video on You Tube to show how to use the new format. You can then let people know about it on Facebook. She then thanked MSES for showing up for the work session earlier. Commissioner Majic stated that one of his neighbors had asked him about putting up a fence. His neighbor told him that the other neighbors said told her that she had to have their permission to put up a fence on her property. So he showed her the new book and it was very easy for them both to use and understand. It basically makes everyone a know-it-all. President Oliver said that is what we want. He then added that he appreciates the members of City Council members and President of the BZA, Rich Wood for coming to tonight’s work session. He thanked Kathy Wyrosdick and Mark Miller for all their hard work. You did a great job and the presentation was great. And a great job from the Planning Commission on all their work. Kathy Wyrosdick added that the Planning Commission has put in a lot of hours on all of the changes made. Staff Updates City Planner, Kathy Wyrosdick again thanked everyone. This has been a huge undertaking and it will be very beneficial to the city and other departments to be able to rely on this code. The DRC has had a concept plan for boat docks at Palatine Park that the county will be undertaking. The city owns the property put the county will be given an easement to upgrade the boat docks down there in preparation for some tournaments they want to host from the docks and we will be making some upgrades. There is also another proposal on Fairmont Ave. The only thing I can tell you is that it will be right beside Gwynn Tire. As more information is provided to us, I can disclose what that is. It will be a great improvement to that corner. President Oliver asked if Gwynn Tire and the Exxon were still staying. Kathy Wyrosdick told him that it’ll be a new development from Gwynn Tire to the corner. She cannot disclose anything else at this time. She continued by saying they held a DRC meeting on the Spatafore Building. They are moving forward. There have been demolition crews inside the building. Rogers Electric is coming back to the business park. They are building on three lots in the Industrial Park. They were originally here and were going to build in the Industrial Park and then something happened and decided not build. But now, three years later, they are back. They thanked the DRC for being so helpful. I can’t speak any more highly about how well the DRC has worked with these developers. That is evident with Kevin Rogers and how the DRC was able to get him to come back. She is very thankful for all the work the DRC puts into review. We work very well together and people are responding favorably to that. Little Red Hen is also looking at putting in a bake shop in downtown. They are bakers. They are not developers. So we sat with Ken Fletcher from Code Enforcement, the Health Department, and Eddie Simmons from the Fire Department with these two ladies, who are wonderful bakers, and talk them through the entire process. We went over what equipment they would need, where it needs to go, and the water situation. We spent an hour with them. They brought cookies but that did not persuade us. They were excellent. The DRC can be modified. We can add people to the review, if we need to, like the Health Department, for people who are not seasoned developers. She added that she wanted to thank those who came to the open house at the Storefront Studio. It was very well attended and the excitement was great. We had a lot of people wanting to make it a more permanent space. They are already working at adding on to the six month lease. To have more class there to do more work. We are getting a Summer Intern who is going to do her MPA Internship in that space all summer long. She going to take all the past plans and put them into a comprehensive package for that neighborhood. Then we will come up with a funding strategy for all of things in planning for the Beltline. That is about 4 500 free hours for us in that space. She also extended her condolences to Commissioner Eddie Parker in the loss of his mother. She was a wonderful woman. I had an opportunity to meet with her and work with her through her work with the Urban Renewal Authority. She had a vast knowledge of the history of Fairmont. She will be missed. I was very sorry to hear of her passing. After Kathy Wyrosdick concluded her staff report, Commissioner Weber asked about a sign he saw for the BZA by the old Tire Building for a public hearing was regarding. Kathy Wyrosdick said there is a proposal (not for the round building). It is for the garage in the back. There is a gentlemen that wants to open a tire repair shop. Which is an auto sales service. It is not a permitted use. Because it is not a permitted use, they are appealing the decision in attempt to show that it really should be a permitted use with conditions in the City’s Center. Appealing a decision like that is very difficult to prove. It is something very different to interpret those regulations differently than what the Planning department determined them to mean. I have not seen the board overturn a decision that was made by the Planner. I have attempted to find other suitable locations that would meet his needs. We are not trying to run him out the City of Fairmont. It is just that building. This zoning district does not allow that type of use. So he is appealing that decision. But we are all still working, as much as we can, to try and find him a more suitable location. That is what that meeting in front of the BZA is about. I can only work with what I have and it just is not a permitted use. They do have the option to come before this board and asking for an amendment to the zoning code to either allow those uses or to rezone that property. I wouldn’t recommend the rezoning but if he wants to put together a proposal to change the zoning district, he can certainly do that. Although, I believe there are other areas in Fairmont that would be better suited for that. That building is in very bad shape. We have many, many pictures that show the roof is caved in and there is a lot of work that needs to be done. There are more turn-key operation that would be better suited. It is a shame. I would love a reuse of that building, if we could save it. President Oliver ended the meeting by commenting that he loved Maria Cipolla’s cookies. He said, Kathy Wyrosdick was bragging about those other cookies but I thought these were very good. Maria Cipolla thanked him. ADJOURNMENT President Oliver asked for a motion to adjourn. Commissioner Straight motions to adorn Commissioner Majic seconded it. 5