Council Subcommittee

MINUTES OF THE GILBERT COUNCIL SUBCOMMITTEE ON LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE, MARCH 13, 2019, AT 7:00 A.M., ROOM 236, 90 EAST CIVIC CENTER DRIVE, GILBERT, ARIZONA COUNCIL PRESENT: Chair Brigette Peterson, Vice Mayor Eddie Cook and Councilmember Jordan Ray COUNCIL ABSENT: None. STAFF PRESENT: Town Clerk Lisa Maxwell, Development Services Director Kyle Mieras, Interim Planning Manager Catherine Lorbeer, and Interim Principal Planner Amy Temes, Assistant Town Attorney Nancy Davidson, Inspections Supervisor Lorrie DeOrio CALL TO ORDER Chair Peterson called the meeting to order at 7:05 a.m. AGENDA ITEMS 1. Approval of the minutes of the February 27, 2019 meeting. A MOTION was made by Vice Mayor Cook, seconded by Chair Peterson, to approve the minutes of the February 27, 2019 meeting. Motion carried 2-0, with Councilmember Ray not present for the vote. 2. Review of previous discussions. None 3. Review and Discussion of Land Development Code Division 2 Article 2.3. 2.306.C Outdoor Retail Sales and Merchandise Display: Businesses are exceeding the maximum area for outdoor merchandise display. At some businesses there is a problem with merchandise blocking the entrance to a building. Vice Mayor Cook asked Inspections Supervisor DeOrio if Town staff proactively inspects or whether they want until they get complaints. Inspections Supervisor DeOrio replied if the merchandise creates an access issue someone complains. Interim Principal Planner Temes noted the sidewalk displays are pushing people towards the street. Councilmember Ray arrived at the meeting. Vice Mayor Cook said it the current code is not being enforced then it is a bad law and the Town is condoning the behavior. Inspections Supervisor DeOrio asked if it was reasonable to say outdoor displays are allowed as long as Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements are followed and access is allowed. Vice Mayor Cook suggested removing the square footage allowed for displays. He noted one business had a garage sale in their parking lot. Interim Planning Manager Lorbeer noted regional and temporary sales requirements are in a different area of the LDC. There was discussion about the Town’s liability if person trips and sues when they realized the LDC was not being enforced. Development Services Director Mieras said if no complaint was made Town staff would not know about the issue. The business can always fix the problem for inspection and then put the merchandise back out. Interim Planning Manager Lorbeer suggested increasing the square footage allowed in the Shopping Center district and review again at a later date. Interim Principal Planner Temes noted this section is also subjective in that it depends on what merchandise is pleasing. 2.306.D Personal Property Storage: This section will be added to the definitions and removed. 2.306.H Multi-Family Use in Regional Commercial District: Interim Planning Manager Lorbeer said this section is going to Planning Commission for removal. 2.306.C.4 Temporary Use of Parking Area: this section will be moved to the section regarding parking. 4. Review and Discussion of Land Development Code Division 2 Article 2.4. Interim Principal Planner Temes said she is working with Economic Development Administrator Amanda Elliott on the updated Heritage District Guidelines (the Guidelines). The question is whether the information in the Guidelines needs to be duplicated in the LDC. Interim Principal Planner Temes said the LDC was probably created first and no one ever went back and cross-referenced the two documents. Interim Planning Manager Lorbeer said technically the Guidelines are adopted as a chapter of the LDC. Interim Principal Planner Temes said the Guidelines deal with aesthetics and contain a lot of detail. It is good to have both documents. A statement will be added to the LDC to check the Guidelines for additional requirements. Table 2.403 Site Development Regulations – Heritage Village Center District: Interim Principal Planner Temes noted the maximum height listed is 55 feet and that is barely enough for a parking garage. Development Services Director Mieras asked about protecting the views of the water tower and about rooftop signs. Interim Principal Planner Temes said the University Building already blocks views for some areas. Development Services Director Mieras said the buildings in the immediate vicinity of the water tower will probably not building higher. Vice Mayor Cook said where there are currently parking lots buildings will be going up. He does not see a problem with blocking the view or with rooftop signs. He asked if the maximum height is increased what should the new maximum height be. Vice Mayor Cook said there has been talk of a multistory boutique hotel in the Heritage District. Chair Peterson said she is nervous increasing the maximum height to 75 feet and she would rather have a Planned Area Development (PAD) so each project could be reviewed individually. Councilmember Ray asked whether they should care about the height of buildings in the downtown. He does not want to make the building process so difficult that people go other places. Interim Principal Planner Temes noted people have wanted to build a six-story building. It would be helpful to Economic Development to have flexibility. Chair Peterson said she likes for the Town to have more control over what is built in the Heritage District. Interim Principal Planner Temes noted at some point in order to provide parking in the Heritage District building will have to start being built taller. There was discussion about having a maximum height without setting the maximum number of stories with basements not included as a story. Vice Mayor Cook and Councilmember Ray are fine with setting a maximum height of 75 feet. Chair Peterson said she prefers a maximum of 55 feet, no maximum number of stories, and having a PAD. Interim Principal Planner Temes said adding a PAD would increase the cost of a project by $5,000 to $6,000 and it would add four to six months to the amount of time to complete the project. Interim Principal Planner Temes said she will revisit with Economic Development Director Dan Henderson and Economic Development Administrator Amanda Elliott. Chair Peterson said she would like a line of sight graphic included with project proposals. Some cities require a 3-D setback to show how a proposed building fits in the building envelope. Interim Principal Planner Temes said with Computer Aided Design (CAD) drawing this would not be difficult to produce and often developers provide it without being asked. 2.403.B Maximum Building Height: Interim Principal Planner Temes said this must be approved by the Redevelopment Commission and she does not think this is needed here. 2.403.D.1. Storefront and Access: Interim Principal Planner Temes said buildings are required to have a certain percentage of glass and open areas along the front of the building. As buildings are being built taller this is difficult to do as the bottom stories of the building support the upper floors. She said it would be helpful to have more flexibility. Also, this could be included in the Guidelines without including an absolute number. Vice Mayor Cook asked about including a ratio instead of square footage. Interim Principal Planner Temes said that would be easier and she will look into what would be a reasonable amount. 2.403.D.2 Storefront and Access: Requiring an entrance every 50 feet is not possible. This will be included in the Guidelines. 2.403.E.1 Transparency – Ground Floor: Interim Principal Planner Temes said she would like this changed to between zero and eight feet. Roll up doors go all the way to the ground so she would like the minimum removed. This will be added to the Guidelines. 2.403.F Driveway Restrictions: This section will be removed. Interim Principal Planner Temes noted the Town’s Traffic Standards cover this and the Town Engineer must approve it. 2.403.G Parking Setback: This section can be included in the Guidelines without listing an absolute number. 2.403.H Lighting: This will be removed and left in the Guidelines. 2.404.A Accessory Structures: Interim Principal Planner Temes noted it is hard to have ten feet of separation on small lots. To meet Fire Code, the structure must have sprinklers. These structures are on alley side of the main building and not on street side. If this section is removed the structure would still have to meet the Fire Code. Also, the structure could be attached to the main building and that would be covered in the Building Code. 2.404.B Gated Facility Entrances: This is not meeting the requirements of the Engineering Standards. A detail for an urban setting needs to be created. 2.405.A.2 Height of Fences: this screens outdoor storage areas. 5. Review and Discussion of Land Development Code Division 2 Article 2.5. None. The next meeting will be on April 10, 2019 at 7:00 a.m. ADJOURN Chair Peterson adjourned the meeting at 8:01 a.m. ATTEST: ___________________________ ___________________________________ Chair Brigette Peterson Lisa Maxwell, MMC, Town Clerk