Planning and Zoning Commission

Jim Liesen, Chairman Lake Havasu City Jim Harris, Vice Chairman Donald Bergen Lake Havasu City Police Facility 2360 McCulloch Blvd North Lucas Still Mychal Gorden Regular Meeting Minutes - Final Lake Havasu City, Arizona 86403 www.lhcaz.gov Neil Ott Chad Nelson, Alternate Planning and Zoning Commission Daniel McGowan, Alternate Wednesday, January 15, 2014 9:00 AM Regular Meeting PURSUANT TO THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT (ADA), LAKE HAVASU CITY ENDEAVORS TO ENSURE THE ACCESSIBILITY OF ALL OF ITS PROGRAMS, FACILITIES AND SERVICES TO ALL PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES. IF YOU NEED AN ACCOMMODATION FOR THIS MEETING, PLEASE CONTACT KELLY WILLIAMS IN THE CITY CLERK’S OFFICE, TELEPHONE (928) 453-4142, AT LEAST 24 HOURS PRIOR TO THE MEETING SO THAT AN ACCOMMODATION MAY BE ARRANGED. 1. CALL TO ORDER The January 15, 2014, regular meeting of the Planning Commission was called to order by Vice Chairman Jim Harris at 9:00 a.m. 2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE 3. ROLL CALL Present: 5- Neil Ott, Jim Harris, Lucas Still, Mychal Gorden and Daniel McGowan Absent: 3- Donald Bergen, Jim Liesen and Chad Nelson 4. MINUTES A motion was made by Mr.Ott, seconded by Mr. Still, that the meeting minutes from November 6, 2013, be approved. The motion carried by the following vote: Aye: 4 - Ott, Harris, Still and Gorden Absent: 3 - Bergen, Liesen and Nelson 5. CORRESPONDENCE AND ANNOUNCEMENTS Mr. Schmeling stated that he has one announcement which will be more for the audience than the commissioners. There is a new system in place called the vote cast system. He asked that the public be patient during the meeting. We realize that there is just one agenda item today, but if we seem a Lake Havasu City Page 1 Printed on 3/13/2014 Planning and Zoning Commission Regular Meeting Minutes - January 15, 2014 Final bit mechanical at times, it is going to be because we are still unfamiliar with this program. We attempted to do two practice sessions, one of which did not work at all, so we are still new at this system. Mr. Harris noted that the title of the meeting which was shown incorrectly at the beginning will be corrected. 6. PUBLIC HEARING ID 14-0006 A request for a major amendment to the approved general development plan for Parcel “I” of Grand Island Estates to allow a clubhouse and pool to be located on Lot 40 instead of the originally proposed single-family residence. 14-00200001 - A REQUEST FOR A MAJOR AMENDMENT TO THE APPROVED GENERAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN FOR PARCEL “I” OF GRAND ISLAND ESTATES TO ALLOW A CLUBHOUSE AND POOL TO BE LOCATED ON LOT 40 INSTEAD OF THE ORIGINALLY PROPOSED SINGLE-FAMILY RESIDENCE. TRINITY LAND DEVELOPMENT, OWNER; GREG CLARKE, APPLICANT. Mr. McGowan took the vacant seat at this point. Mr. Schmeling stated that this is the Grand Island Estates development on the Island and most of you are familiar with this. The owner is Trinity Land Development and the applicant is Greg Clarke who represents the owner. The entire development is a little over 103 acres in size and it encompasses basically the center of the Island. There are several elements to this development. The specific item today is on one of the individual single family lots which is in Parcel I. As a little background regarding the whole development, there are four parcels that are resort and commercial on the northwest side; there are five single-family areas that all have different ownerships and parcels. There is a parcel in the center of the project that has been dedicated to the City for a park and the area that we are talking about today is Parcel I in the extreme southwest corner of the entire development. The typical or traditional unit that you would find on a piece of property on a lot in Parcel I indicates a typical house with a ten-foot rear yard setback, a 20-foot front yard setback and a five-foot setback on one side and zero on the other side. The application is a little bit different than what was originally proposed for the lot. He showed the site plan for the subject parcel which is on the corner of Grand Island Drive and then he showed the floor plan indicating a pool and clubhouse. Although this is defined by code as a “major amendment” to this Planned Development, if you look at it from a planning perspective and an impact perspective, there will be very little overall impact. I would argue that because Parcel I as well as several of the other residential parcels are basically gated communities, there would be relatively no impact outside of the gate. Several of the lots in this parcel which adjoin the subject lot may have a small impact, but the floor plan indicates that this looks very similar to a single-family home and there is nothing that prevents any Lake Havasu City Page 2 Printed on 3/13/2014 Planning and Zoning Commission Regular Meeting Minutes - January 15, 2014 Final home from having a pool. There will obviously be increased traffic and it will be owned by the homeowner’s association, but from an impact standpoint, I would argue that there will be little or no impact to anybody outside the adjoining five or six lots. Mr. Schmeling said he did receive a letter of objection this morning from somebody who is not within this subdivision; it was from the mobile home park across the street and it does not appear that they fully understand the content of this application. I will go back and try to discuss with them and address this. They are objecting to this application as well as other issues. They talk about a launch ramp and other things in the letter so this might just be their opportunity to object to things that are going on on the Island and using this as their means to do so. I believe I can address their concerns. Mrs. Garry said, since this letter was not included in the packet, could you please read from the portions of the letter that apply. Mr. Schmeling read: “We received the proposed project for Grand Island Estates, Sienna Village, to allow a clubhouse and pool located on Lot 40 instead of a single-family residence. To our disappointment we cannot attend the meeting; we live in California and have a prior commitment. We object to the request to amend the General Plan (which obviously is not the case). We own a trailer in Beachcomber Resort. We have watched the construction on the Island for the past 25 years beginning with the old airport. Once the builders started to develop the land on the Island, we wanted to purchase a lot, but during our due diligence we came across a proposal to allow lots to be married in Parcel H (Seashell Estates, they have in parentheses).” A lot of this does not even apply. “In January 2012,we put deposits on several lots. At the time we did not have any pricing information. Eight and a half months later we received a letter that the paved streets and model homes were going up along with a clubhouse and pool and gates would start going up.” Evidently, they made the decision based on that not to buy. There isn’t much in the letter that deals specifically with this request. I think it is just something that I can clarify for them. Mr. Harris said, for the record, who was the author of the letter? Mr. Schmeling said it was from Mark and Paula Hilliard. That concludes my presentation. Mr. Ott noted that there are four parking spaces and asked if that is ample for the use. Mr. Schmeling said that is correct and it is ample for the square footage of the clubhouse and the pool. Mr. Still asked about the other lots surrounding this lot and if they are still owned by the developer. Lake Havasu City Page 3 Printed on 3/13/2014 Planning and Zoning Commission Regular Meeting Minutes - January 15, 2014 Final Mr. Schmeling said he does not know and the applicant can probably answer that question. Mr. Greg Clarke said I am the developer and manager of Trinity Land Development. I moved to Lake Havasu in December 1992 and we have been involved here in town for twenty years. We have had several retail businesses. In 2003, we got involved in building spec homes and in 2005 we first became involved with Grand Island Estates. From the original map you can see that there were five residential parcels. The first two parcels were D and E, Tuscana and Montecello. We had a joint venture agreement with the master developer which was Sienna Villages which we are discussing today and we were part of the team that designed that plat and always intended for Lot 40 to be a clubhouse. That is why it is a large corner lot. I don’t know why it didn’t show on the map at that time. In Parcel D we do have a similar lot that has been designated for a pool and clubhouse and that plat was already approved, so City Council has already approved a similar concept. I have been working with Mr. Schmeling for a long time on this. There are some language differences where this is supposed to be a zoning change, but we do not believe it is a zoning change. It is in CRMU and within all of the guidelines and we are allowed to have all of these amenities such as clubhouses and pools. My view has always been that it is a technicality because the lot was labeled Lot 40 instead of a clubhouse and pool. That was our mistake and why we are here today. Regarding the question about the lots that were sold, four of those lots going around the corner have already been sold and they are all aware of the clubhouse and pool and most like the idea that they can look out their windows and watch their kids or grandkids or guests swimming in the pool. They have known that this has been in the plans and everyone in the neighborhood knows. Lot 15 is the only lot we have under construction and a permit has just been pulled for Lot 18 yesterday, Lot 16 is on the corner and has his plans finished but has decided not to build right away. Lot 17 is one of our investors in the subdivision and his plans are in for a permit right now. The two lots below, Lot 41, 42 and 39 have not been sold and are still developer owned. I do not know of any type of impact to people in the mobile home park. This is a private clubhouse and pool just for people inside our gated community so there should not be extra traffic going in and out of the gate to get to it. It is for residents only. Mr. Harris opened the meeting to the public. Ms. Carla Dunavant said she used to work for Mr. Clarke. I do not see this as a negative impact for any of the surrounding communities or this specific parcel. I think it is a benefit to everybody living there and they are all looking forward to having a clubhouse and a pool. Ms. Sheila Clark said I am the broker and have been at Grand Island Estates for six years now and it is my sales’ staff and my opinion that one of the main draws that people are waiting for within the development is the clubhouse and the pool and being gated because most of the lots are really not big enough to have their own pools. A lot of people are just waiting for this. Some of them have purchased hoping that this goes through and we have been honest with them and told them Lake Havasu City Page 4 Printed on 3/13/2014 Planning and Zoning Commission Regular Meeting Minutes - January 15, 2014 Final we have to wait for the approval. I see no negatives to this and honestly, it is a huge positive for all of us. Mr. Harris closed the public hearing. Mr. Schmeling stated that Section 14.44.070(G) requests that eight findings be met before a Planned Development amendment can be approved. Staff finds that this request meets all review criteria necessary to approve the requested major amendment. Therefore, based on those findings, staff recommends that 14-00200001 be forwarded to the City Council with a recommendation of approval with the following condition: 1. The sewer lateral be appropriately sized to accommodate the proposed clubhouse and pool facility. Mr. Harris asked the application if he understands the recommendation. Mr. Clarke agreed. Mr. Still made a motion to approve Item 14-0006 (14-00200001) as recommended by staff. The motion was seconded by Mr. Gorden and carried by the following vote: Aye: 5 - Ott, Harris, Still, Gorden and McGowan Absent: 3 - Bergen, Liesen and Nelson 7. CALL TO PUBLIC None. 8. FUTURE MEETING Mr. Schmeling stated that at this point, I do not have any agenda items for the February 5, 2014, meeting, but I can report that with regard to the General Plan and the zoning code update, we will be conducting interviews with three firms that responded. Those interviews will be held on January 17, so we are moving forward with that and once that occurs will be holding several public meetings. Mr. Harris asked about the pool code modification. Is there any possibility that we can work that in before the plan update? Mr. Schmeling said we can work toward that, yes. 9. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 9:25 a.m. _________________________________________ Lake Havasu City Page 5 Printed on 3/13/2014 Planning and Zoning Commission Regular Meeting Minutes - January 15, 2014 Final Jim Harris, Vice Chairman ________________________________________ Jean Vinson, Recording Secretary Lake Havasu City Page 6 Printed on 3/13/2014