Council Subcommittee

MINUTES OF THE GILBERT COUNCIL SUBCOMMITTEE ON LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE, MARCH 16, 2020, AT 8:00 A.M., ROOM 100, 90 EAST CIVIC CENTER DRIVE, GILBERT, ARIZONA COUNCIL PRESENT: Chair Brigette Peterson and Councilmember Jordan Ray COUNCIL ABSENT: None STAFF PRESENT: Town Clerk Lisa Maxwell, Development Services Director Kyle Mieras, Principal Planner Catherine Lorbeer, Senior Planner Amy Temes, Assistant Town Attorney Nancy Davidson, Code Compliance Supervisor Lorrie DeOrio and Development Services Engineer Tom Condit CALL TO ORDER Chair Peterson called the meeting to order at 8:05 a.m. AGENDA ITEMS 1. Approval of the minutes of the February 19, 2020 meeting. A MOTION was made by Chair Peterson, seconded by Councilmember Ray, to approve the minutes of the February 19, 2020 meeting. Motion carried 2-0. 2. Review of previous discussions: a. Articles 2.1 through 2.9; b. Articles 3.1 through 3.5; c. Articles 4.1 through 4.5; d. Articles 5.1 through 5.11; e. Article 6.1; and f. Glossary of Terms. Open Space in a Downtown: Senior Planner Temes reviewed requirements in neighboring cities. They mainly speak more to street tree requirements and lot coverage and not as much about Open Space in a downtown. What Gilbert has is in line with other cities. Open Space Calculation: Every city that has a calculation published does their calculation differently. The City of Chandler considers everything except driveways, parking area and the building footprint. The City of Mesa excludes buildings, parking areas, driveways and other vehicular surfaces. The City of Phoenix includes any portion of the property that is common property. Vertical Overlays (including in Multi-Family zoning areas): In Gilbert this is 90 feet for and for most areas. Anything over 90 feet the developer must refer back to the matrix and zoning or that areas. Some cities allow staff to make a decision based on their matrix. Height Limitations in Downtown: Right now Town staff looks for a Planned Area Development (PAD) for each project. No other cities has a minimum height listed except for Gilbert. There are currently some requests for taller buildings in the Heritage District. Compact Parking: The Land Development Code (LDC) only allows four compact spaces in a row when computing parking requirements. Other cities do not allow compact spaces to count towards parking requirements. Bike Parking: The LDC is consistent with other cities that do address bike parking. Senior Planner Temes noted she did like how The City of Queen Creek included a column in the parking table which showed bike parking requirements. When the parking table in the LDC is updated she would like to include something similar. Street Tree Ratio: This was changed at some point to one tree every 30 feet. Senior Planner Temes said she liked the City of Scottsdale requirement of no gaps between plants of more than seven feet. Congregate Living in Single Family (SF) 35 and 43: Gilbert is different from neighboring cities in that is does allow congregate living with a use permit in residential areas. Code Compliance Supervisor DeOrio said she has had no complaints parking or traffic near these facilities. Assistant Town Attorney Davidson said this is a zoning action and removing the use permit requirement would not result in a legal issue. Code Compliance Supervisor DeOrio mentioned that in Phoenix these permits had to be renewed annually. Chair Peterson said she would remove this as an option. Banquet in SF: This is only permitted in Chandler and only at the purview of Council. Chair Peterson said she has received complaints and she would like to remove it as an option. Banquet Off-Site Parking and Shuttles: Most cities do address off-site parking but not in regard to banquets. Senior Planner Temes asked if there should be some parameters. Chair Peterson said she would like to look at this on a case-by-case basis. Code Inspections Supervisor DeOrio said a written agreement would need to be in place for review by staff. Vehicle Sales in Light Industrial (LI): This is an issue because of web-based vehicle sales. These businesses do not have large lots. The primary activity at their facilities is detailing. Gilbert is in the middle of what is required by other cities. Code Compliance Supervisor DeOrio asked if the businesses would be restricted to internet only. She has seen problems in the past with foot traffic at these businesses. Chair Peterson noted there is not much property zoned as LI. Councilmember Ray asked why these businesses went to LI areas. Senior Planner Temes said it is cheaper there. She said areas zoned as Business Park (BP) are not very active now. These businesses could move to those areas. Chair Peterson and Councilmember Ray liked that option. Mini Storage in Regional Commercial (RC): Most cities allow this with a use permit. These facilities have a very specific footprint and if the mini storage left it would be difficult to find a use for the building. This will be removed from RC. Home Occupation Employee Count: Most cites are more restrictive than Gilbert with some only allowing people who reside in home to work at the home. There was consensus that allowing one other employee who was not a resident was good. Senior Planner Temes will continue to work on the following items:  Definitions – adding new ones and updating the language. She will add links wherever possible  Including sign types that are not addressed in the LDC  Options for large building size banners displayed for temporary promotions  Temporary trailer structures and PODs  Adult uses  Incentive Zoning/Performance Zoning Assistant Town Attorney Davidson is reviewing text changes now. Senior Planner Temes is looking to have the update completed and ready for Council review in May. ADJOURN Chair Peterson adjourned the meeting at 8:50 a.m. ATTEST: ___________________________ ___________________________________ Chair Brigette Peterson Lisa Maxwell, MMC, Deputy Town Clerk