Council Subcommittee

MINUTES OF THE GILBERT COUNCIL SUBCOMMITTEE ON LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE, JANUARY 7, 2020, 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, Planning Manager Eva Cutro, Principal Planner Catherine Lorbeer, Senior Planner Amy Temes, Assistant Town Attorney Nancy Davidson, Inspections Supervisor Lorrie DeOrio, and Development Services Engineer Tom Condit CALL TO ORDER Chair Peterson called the meeting to order at 7:00 a.m. AGENDA ITEMS 1. Approval of the minutes of the December 18, 2019 meeting. A MOTION was made by Vice Mayor Cook, seconded by Chair Peterson, to approve the minutes of the December 18, 2019 meeting. Motion carried 2-0 with Councilmember Ray not present for the vote. 2. Review of previous discussions. Chair Peterson reported she updated Mayor Daniels on the progress of the subcommittee at the last Council meeting. She told the Mayor the subcommittee could present what has been completed to date or they could wait until they are through reviewing the entire Land Development Code (LDC). Chair Peterson said the subcommittee would like to wait until they are through the LDC. Mayor Daniels agreed and asked for a report in May. Assistant Town Attorney Davidson will begin reviewing the completed sections and Senior Planner Temes will begin writing up those chapters. 3. Review and Discussion of Land Development Code Division 2, Article 2.9. Senior Planner Temes explained Table 2.902 Use Regulations shows a matrix of uses, how they are allowed and where they are allowed. In an effort to simplify processes she looked for places use permits could be revoked. She also questioned how use permits are enforced. RESIDENTIAL: Residential, permanent – Loft Unit: The Gateway Village Center (GVC) and Gateway Business Center (GBC) sections both have an L1 restriction. This restriction states lofts are permitted only above the ground floor. This is repetitive as that is in the definition of a loft. Residential, permanent – Loft Unit: The GBC has an L2 restriction. This is states lofts are only above the ground floor and this is repetitive with the definition of a loft. Residential, permanent – Multi-family: The Heritage Village Center (HVC) has an L6 restriction. This states a use permit is required for residences on the ground floor. Senior Planner Temes said Economic Development Director Dan Henderson has asked for multi-family residences to be allowed on the first floor. The proposed development on the 9.1 acre site in the Heritage Center would be required to obtain a use permit. This is also true for the GVC. Chair Peterson said the use permit could be an administrative use permit (AUP) That would be less restrictive but still allow the Town to retain some control. An AUP would also be cheaper. Senior Planner Temes noted residents within 300 feet of the area would be notified if there is an application for an AUP. Residential, permanent – Secondary Dwelling: Senior Planner Temes would like to change “Secondary Dwelling” to “Accessory Dwelling Unit.” She asked if the sections where this is permitted should to an Incidental (I) use so neighbors receive notice. Any buildings would still have to meet all the standards including setbacks. Vice Mayor Cook asked if any construction of buildings in the wrong locations would have been prevented if neighbors would have been notified before the construction began. Senior Planner Temes said if the building meets restrictions a permit is still needed before construction begins. Chair Peterson noted if the building does not fit the standards a variance is needed. Senior Planner Temes will change the “P”s to “I”s. Group Living -- Congregate Living Facility: Senior Planner Temes said she would like to remove the use permit requirement and add that these facilities must be on an arterial road. Traffic and noise are the biggest concerns. Chair Peterson said these facilities are basically a commercial use. Senior Planner Temes said she can leave use permit and add conditions that the facility must be on an arterial street and not in a residential community. Principal Planner Lorbeer noted these facilities can be disruptive and use permit would bring up those issues. Senior Planner Temes said the recent requests to open the facility gym or beauty shop to the public is making these facilities more commercial. Planning Manager Cuatro noted since these facilities have more than eleven residents it is not a residential use. Assistant Town Attorney Davidson said many cities combine congregate care with assisted living. The Town is limited with what they can do with group homes. Vice Mayor Cook said he would like a spreadsheet showing how many facilities are currently in Gilbert and where they are generally located. Group Living -- Congregate Living Facility: In the Multi-family – Low density (MF-L), Multi-family – Medium density (MF-M), and Multi-family – High density (MF-H) Senior Planner Temes would like to remove the requirement for a use permit and allow these facilities. Vice Mayor Cook asked what would happen if a hotel became a congregate living facility. Principal Planner Lorbeer said that would be allowed if the area was zoned commercial. Senior Planner Temes will change the MF-L and MF-M to permitted but leave the MF-H with the requirement for a use permit. Group Living -- Congregate Living Facility: In the Community Commercial (CC) and Shopping Center (SC) there was an instance of neighbors being concerned about the height of the building and potential noise. Senior Planner Temes stated the buffers in these areas are large and it is not noisy. Development Services Director Mieras said he has an issue with the car wash at the corner at Queen Creek Road and Val Vista Drive. Senior Planner Temes stated the use permit allowed for mixed use and it was hoped the business would be something residents would be able to visit. She stated these are commercial buildings and not houses. Group homes are in houses. Planning Manager Cuatro asked if there was any concern over revenue if the use permit requirement is removed. Senior Planner Temes said developers of these facilities are picking places were the land is not as expensive. The deeper lots are having problems finding developer who want to build shopping centers. She will change the designation to permitted in these categories. Group Living -- Congregate Living Facility: There was discussion if the permitted designation was appropriate in the Regional Commercial (RC) category. Group Living -- Congregate Living Facility: Senior Planner Temes said is going to leave the requirement for a use permit in HVC and add it to GVC. Group Living -- Congregate Living Facility: Senior Planner Temes said she is concerned about allowing these facilities in areas zoned for General Office (GO) because she does not want to areas for potential employment. She said congregate living facilities should be near areas where the residents can walk and there would not be places in GO where they can stroll. Development Services Director Mieras said his concern is for the facilities already located in these areas. If the LDC changes they would now be non-compliant. There are currently two facilities across from Mercy Gilbert hospital that are zoned GO. Senior Planner Temes said any existing facilities would be grandfathered in if this changed. She will leave this category as it is. CIVIC AND INSTITUTIONAL: Community Services – Civic, Social and Fraternal Organizations: Senior Planner Temes said she would like to add to GVC and GBC that these organizations must be located on collector or arterial streets and any other location would require a Conditional Use Permit (CUP). Community Services – Daycare, Home Occupation: Senior Planner Temes would like to make this permitted in GVC and GBC. Community Services – Homeowners Association Facilities: There was discussion about the Trilogy development and permitting these facilities. Community Services – Places of Worship, Large Scale: Senior Planner Temes said she would like to change the requirement for a use permit to requiring a CUP if there is a lighted field. Large scale facilities are over 10,000 square feet. They often back up to residential properties. Community Services – Places of Worship, Small Scale: This use is prohibited in houses in residential zoned areas. Senior Planner Temes said they must be on a street that can handle the traffic. Assistant Town Attorney Davidson said this can be covered by a building code provision. Chair Peterson mentioned a home that converted to a church and they went through the Design Review process. Community Services – Public Safety Facility: Large scale facilities are allowed in residential neighborhoods but not small scale facilities. Development Services Director Mieras suggested looking at the definitions. A small scale facility would be a police substation and that would not be appropriate in a residential neighborhood. The matrix makes sense when looking at the definitions. Educational Facility -- Instructional Services, Specialized: Senior Planner Temes said she would like to make this permitted in GVC and Business Parks (BP). The next meeting will be on January 21, 2020 at 7:00 a.m. in Municipal Center II, Room 100. ADJOURN Chair Peterson adjourned the meeting at 8:00 a.m. ATTEST: ___________________________ ___________________________________ Chair Brigette Peterson Lisa Maxwell, MMC, Deputy Town Clerk