Administrative Review Board

A G E N D A City of Farmington Administrative Review Board August 8, 2013  A G E N D A Administrative Review Board August 8, 2013 at 6:00 p.m. Item No. 1 Call Meeting to Order 2 Approval of the Agenda 3 Approval of the Minutes from the June 6, 2013 Meeting 11 4 Petition No. ARB 13-08 – a request from Craig Siegel for a variance to the 1 maximum length of a flaglot driveway and a variance to the minimum separation of an accessory structure from a property line for property located at 601 Ashurst Drive in the SF-10 and SF-7 Single-family Residential Districts 5 Business from: Floor: Chairman: Members: Staff: 6 Adjournment ATTENTION PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES: The meeting room and facilities are fully accessible to persons with mobility disabilities. If you plan to attend a meeting and need an auxiliary aid or service, please contact the City Clerk's office at 599-1101 or 599-1106, prior to the meeting so arrangements can be made. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10  MINUTES ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW BOARD June 6, 2013 - 6:00 P.M. The Administrative Review Board met in regular session on Thursday, June 6, 2013 at 6:00 p.m. in the City Council Chambers, 800 Municipal Drive, Farmington, New Mexico. Members Present: Chairman Tom O’Keere Ireke Cooper Nick Martin Members Absent: Tim Christensen Staff Present Kathy Banks Cynthia Lopez Other Attendees Ronald Clayton Thomas Dawes Thomas Dinning Monica Nagahiro Mary D. Womack Call to Order The meeting was called to order at 6:04 p.m. by Chairman O’Keefe and, there being a quorum present, the following proceedings were duly had and taken. Approval of the Agenda A motion was made by Board Member Martin, seconded by Board Member Cooper, to approve the agenda. Members were polled and motion was passed unanimously 3-0. Approval of the Minutes from the May 9, 2013 Regular Meeting A motion was made by Board Member Martin and seconded by Board Member Cooper. Members were polled and motion passed unanimously 3-0. Petition ARB 13-06 Variance to the Front and Rear Yard Setback 2909 E. 23rd Street Discussion of ARB 13-06 on June 6, 2013 The Staff Report was presented by Senior Planner Cindy Lopez. Ms. Lopez stated that the property was designed for single-wide mobile homes manufactured in the 50’s and 60’s when the houses were much smaller, so lots are only 100 to 110 feet deep. Today’s manufacturers of single-wide-mobile homes make them much longer and they don’t fit on existing properties throughout the city. The petitioner is trying to replace an 11 existing smaller mobile home with a longer newer one. The property to the east of petitioner received a variance quite some time ago and they are 9.7 feet from the rear property lines, so the petitioner wants to align his newer trailer with the one to the east so he would match the 9.7 feet. That would have him encroach on the front yard setback by approximately 8 inches. Mr. Dinning is asking for the variance to both the front and rear yard setbacks. Staff recommends approval of Petition ARB 13-06 from Thomas M. Dinning for a variance to the required front (25-feet) yard setback to allow an encroachment of 8- inches and rear (15-foot) yard setback to allow an encroachment of 5-feet 4-inches for property located at 2909 E. 23rd Street in the SF-7 SMHAO District. Staff finds the justifications are met, the property is unique and the variance is an easing of the code. The variance requested is generally in harmony with the neighborhood and will not be injurious to the neighbors. Board Member Martin had a question that the City Engineer requested a 10-foot utility easement from the fence, but the drawings show only a 7.5- foot utility easement. Do we know which one of the two is accurate? Ms Lopez stated the Engineering Department actually has a 7.5-foot easement recorded on the plat on the rear end of the property and then on the south property there is also a 7.5 foot easement which makes it a 15-foot wide easement. Petitioner Thomas Dinning, who resides at 159 Road 3950, Farmington, addressed the Board. Mr. Dinning, who is also the landlord of 2909 East 23rd Street stated that he has rented the property for the last 2 ½ years to a couple, and the mobile home he plans to put on the property would be a considerable upgrade to the property and neighborhood. Chairman O’Keefe asked if there was anyone present to speak in favor of the petition. No one came forward. Chairman O’Keefe asked if there was anyone present to speak in opposition to the petition. Mr. Ronald Clayton came forward. Mr. Clayton resides at 2906 E. 22nd Street, Farmington. He had concerns regarding the movement of new mobile homes within the city limits having to be placed on a permanent foundation. Chairman O’Keefe said that it was not required by the code. Ms. Lopez stated that the SMHAO governing this district does not require single wide mobile homes to be placed on a permanent foundation. Ms. Lopez also stated that a skirt would be required as well as two-paved parking spaces that are called for in the code. Mr. Clayton asked if the new mobile home would encroach in any way on the access to the existing irrigation ditch right of way. Ms. Lopez stated ditch access will not be interfered with at all. Mr. Clayton then asked about access to the utility pole located on 2909 East 23rd Street property, stating there is no access to the existing utility pole through his property. Ms. Lopez stated the utility company will notify adjoining property owners if they need access to the pole. Mr. Clayton is concerned that if the utility company needed access to the pole, they would damage his existing fence rather than demo the existing building that is on a permanent foundation located at 2909 East 23rd Street. Chairman O’Keefe asked Mr. Dinning about the building on the property. Mr. Dinning stated the building in question is actually a storage shed that is located on a concrete slab. Ms. Lopez didn’t think it would block utility access to the pole. Mr. Clayton then asked about the new mobile home’s placement. Ms. Lopez stated the new mobile home is 15 feet X 76 feet and will be placed as close to where the existing mobile home was as possible. Mr. Dinning clarified that there is an existing sewer line that he does not want covered up and that 12 the mobile home will be placed as close as possible to the existing sewer line. Mr. Clayton restated that his concerns were regarding the irrigation ditch access and utility easement access. Chairman O’Keefe asked if there was anyone else who wished to speak in opposition to please come forward state your name and address for the record. Mary D. Womack of 201 La Plata Drive came forward. She and her husband are the owners of the property located at 2906 E. 23rd Street, Lot 12. Her parents previously owned the land and subdivided the land into lots. She stated that per the original plot, there is a 15 foot easement to the rear of the properties so everyone can get water. She shares Mr. Clayton’s concerns about the access to the ditch and the utility poles’ easement. Mrs. Womack also expressed her concerns regarding the traffic congestion that already exists. She also expressed that bringing in newer mobile homes would greatly improve the neighborhood and she was in favor of that. Board Member Martin had a question regarding the congestion and if it involved traffic or parked cars. Ms. Womack replied her issue was with parked cars, there are numerous cars parked in the street making entry to the neighborhood difficult. Mr. Dinning said that the cars mentioned were a possible code violation, not anything having to do with his petition. He also stated that he gave his current tenants notice and that when he placed the newer mobile home on the property, his plan was to sell it rather than rent it out. There were no other objections. Board Member Martin said that he agrees with staff’s findings and is in favor of the petition. Board Member Cooper also is in agreement with the staff’s report and further agreed that the concerns that were brought up before the ARB Board were not something the ARB Board would oversee, nor have any power to enforce. Administrative Review Board Action of June 6, 2013 A motion was made by Board Member Martin and seconded by Board Member Cooper to approve Petition No. ARB 13-06, a request from Thomas Dinning for a variance to the required 25-feet front yard setback to allow an encroachment of 8-inches and the 15- foot rear yard setback to allow an encroachment of 5-feet 4-inches for property located at 2909 E. 23rd Street in the SF-7 SMHAO District. AYE: Chairman O’Keefe and Board Members Cooper and Martin NAY: None ABSTAIN: None ABSENT: Board Member Christensen MOTION TO APPROVE PASSED 3-0 13  Petition ARB 13-07 Variance to the Front Yard Setback and to the 10-foot Distance from an Existing Home for a Workshop Discussion of ARB 13-07 on June 6, 2013 The staff report was presented by Senior Planner Cindy Lopez. These lots were plotted in the 1950’s. The residences in the area were built from 1955 to 1960. The lot is a 60- foot X 165.5-feet parcel on the southeast corner of San Juan Place and Douglas Street. This area was annexed in 1901 and 1930. The Nagahiro’s are requesting a variance to an existing house that was built within 6-feet 11-inches of the Douglas Street side which is north of the property. They have a carport in the back and they have a large workshop/garage that they enter from the alley. The workshop/garage was permitted and approved prior to the current Unified Development Code adopted in 2008 and its closest point is 6-feet from the existing carport. The house is a U-shaped house and has an open courtyard in the middle section with two pitched roofs that run into that courtyard. The petitioner would like to be able to put a roof over the courtyard to enclose the courtyard and to prevent water issues in that area. They will be able to utilize that space as part of their home. It is a nonconforming structure and is allowed to exist as it is but cannot be expanded as it is. So if the variance is approved it means that it meets code and then they can expand on the use and put the cover over the open courtyard. The homes built on Douglas Street on the north side and to the east of the petitioner’s property are all built closer than the required 25-feet. The requirement would be reduced to 15-feet if they didn’t take access to Douglas from their driveway. It is an existing condition and they are asking for a variance. Staff feels that because the shorter setback is existing, it won’t be a detriment to the community, and it is a minimum easing of the code. Staff is recommending approval. The petitioner Monica Nagahiro addressed the Board. She resides at 514 San Juan Place with her husband Thomas Dawes. She agrees with what staff said. Thomas Dawes stated that they have lived in the residence since 2004 and have done nothing but make upgrades to the house, added to the yard and made it their home. If they cannot expand, they will have to move and they do not want to do that. Mary Womack of 201 La Plata Drive, Farmington addressed the Board. She said she has known Thomas since she became a Womack. She agrees with the variance, and that the petitioner has upgraded to make the property better. She is very happy for them. Board Members Martin and Cooper both agreed with Staff’s recommendation. Board Member Cooper stated if there was no more discussion he would be happy to make a motion. 14 Administrative Review Board Action of June 6, 2013 A motion was made by Board Member Cooper and seconded by Board Member Martin to approve Petition No. ARB 13-07, a request from Monica Nagahiro for a variance to the corner front yard setback and for a workshop that is less than 10-feet from the existing home located at 514 San Juan Place, in the SF-7 Single-Family Residential District. AYE: Chairman O’Keefe and Board Members Cooper and Martin NAY: None ABSTAIN: None ABSENT: Board Member Christensen MOTION TO APPROVE PASSED 3-0 Business from the Floor: There was no business from the Floor. Business from the Chair: There was no business from the Chairman. Business from Members: There was no business from the Members. Business from Staff: Senior Planner Cindy Lopez informed the board that Board Member Martin was able to attend the Semi-Annual Workshop for the New Mexico League of Zoning Officials (NMLZO) in Albuquerque in May. The City of Farmington who are co-sponsors of the NMAPA Conference are going to have Randy VanVleck in October at their conference for a half day of Board Training. Ms. Lopez will have Dee Dee email the dates so the October workshop can be put on everyone’s calendar. Adjournment: The June 6, 2013 Meeting of the Administration Review Board was adjourned at 6:35 pm. ___________________________ ___________________________ Tom O’Keefe, Chairman Kathy Banks, Permit Technician I 15