Village of Los Lunas Planning & Zoning Agendas

MINUTES PLANNING & ZONING MEETING July 2,2014 The Village of Los Lunas Planning & Zoning Commission met in their regular session on Wednesday, July 2, 2014, at 6:00 pm in the Village Council Chambers. Members present were as follows: Commissioners Stephanie Williams, David Crawford, Terry Ulibarri, Frank Vigil & Walter Baca. Staff members present were Christina Ainsworth, Community Development Director, Nathan Feddes, Planning Technician and Marie Marquez, Recording Secretary. Members of the public present were as follows: Ralph Villegas, Rueben Martin, Kirk Gilcrease, David & Jolaine Padilla and Orlando, Maria Gonzales, Gina Armijo & Joseph Armijo. The Meeting was called to order by: Chairman Stephanie Williams APPROVAL OF AGENDA Chairman S. Williams called for any changes or additions to the agenda. Commissioner W. Baca made a motion to approve the agenda as presented. Commissioner T. Ulibarri seconded the motion. Everyone voted yes, motion carried, SWEARING IN OF PARTICIPANTS AGENDA ITEMS: ZONE CHANGE Reuben L. Martin - DESIGNATED USE PERMIT- Reuben L. Martin ZONE CHANGE Kirk Gilcrease - ITEM 1 — ZONE CHANGE — Reuben L. Martin Chairman S. Williams introduced Item 1- Zone Application by Reuben L. Martin. The action requested of this commission is to have a public hearing to recommend approval or disapproval of the request for this Zone change. Chairman S. Williams called on Nathaniel Feddes, Planning Technician to present the item. Nathaniel Feddes approached the podium to present the two items, since they were both regarding the same property and proposed use. One is the zone change and one is the designated use. He asked the commission if it was their consent to present these two items at the same time. The site is located at 3408 Highway 47, SE. The first request is to rezone the property from C-l to C-2 for Tracts 79-B-I and 80-B-I-A and the second request is for the designated use permit. The intent of the applicant is to rezone the property with the designated use permit for the purpose of an open air market. To date, no commentary has been received from any of the property owners within 100 ft. of the property. With regard to the first item, it is the recommendation of staff to make a finding of conformance with the municipal code and comprehensive plan and recommend to approve the requested zone change from C-l to C-2, and with regards to the second item it is the recommendation of staff to also make a finding of conformance with the municipal code & the comprehensive plan and recommend approval of the request for the designated use permit, noting any conditions that the commission may suggest to council for the permit. Chairman S. Williams stated the applicant was not present at the last meeting, but comments were taken from the public which will be taken again this evening. Commissioner D. Crawford had a comment, regarding the suggestions made by the commissioners not noted on the packet received, such as trash containers, driveway access points, security and bathroom. Nathaniel Feddes told Commissioner Crawford that with the designated use conditions could be set. The one bathroom is in conformance with the code. Commissioner D. Crawford also questioned the customer parking. He said, this would cause a backup problem on the highway. Nathaniel Feddes said, there is no on street parking allowed by the DOT, but they have granted him an access so his driveway is permitted to allow onsite parking, with the exception that no one can park on the driveway. Commissioner Crawford asked, so there are no requirements for customer parking? Nathaniel Feddes said, according to the code it is based on occupancy, and it is difficult to set restrictions on occupancy without having an actual structure. Nathaniel Feddes referred the question for adequate parking for an open air market to Christina Ainsworth. She said, there is some updating to do on our code and it is difficult to determine at this time. Staff will be doing some revisions. Commissioner F. Vigil asked if any correspondence had been received. Nathaniel said, no. There were no other questions. Chairman S. Williams called on Mr. Martin. applicant. Mr. Reuben L. Martin approached the podium to present his proposed request. He said, initially in the past there was not much interest and was going to close the flea market down, so the bathroom was removed from the premises, then it started to pick up again. There are currently about 30 vendors on weekends, but the majority of the time there are 15. Chairman S. Williams asked Mr. Martin to explain what all is in place from the drawings on the packet. He said, a bathroom has been placed there, and 2 trash cans. He said, the market is open 7 days a week, and he has a caretaker on site all times, and has authorized him to monitor the property. He stays there in a trailer and has his own bathroom, etc. Commissioner T. Ulibarri asked Mr. Martin how the residents behind his property felt about the noise. Is there a buffer of some sort? Mr. Martin said, at one time he had a bathroom there, but removed it, and there is a buffer. Mr. Martin said, the market is only open during the day, not at night. There is a fence on the Northside, The entrance is on the Northside & customer parking has been allowed on the front. Commissioner F. Vigil told Mr. Martin the plans he had to follow from NM Dept of Transportation conditional approval. All vehicles are to enter the parking area through NM Hwy 47 driveway only? That is the only entrance from Hwy 47. Mr. Martin said, he was not aware of the conditions. Commissioner Vigil also asked Mr. Martin if he had “No Parking” signs set up? Mr. Martin said, he had an individual on site seven days a week to direct parking & to handle all situations there. Mr. Martin said, he is there during operating times. Commissioner F. Vigil asked him if approved, would he be willing to abide by all 4 conditions set by the NM Dot? Mr. Martin’s respond was yes. Chairman S. Williams called for any public comments. Orlando Tapia, resident who lives behind the property within 100 ft. He said, he had no problem with the flea market but did have a problem because his son-in-law owns the property behind and was not notified of this meeting. He was told that his son-in-law’s property is not within 100 ft excluding the right of ways which are the requirements, and he lives across the street, Nathaniel pulled up the list and showed the buffer on the screen. Commissioner W. Baca read the list of people who were notified. Chairman S. Williams asked, if signs were posted? Mr. Martin was responsible for the posting of the signs on the property. Jolaine Padilla also came up and thanked Mr. Martin for addressing one of her concerns since, he was not present at the last meeting, and that was trash and putting up a bathroom. She also stated that before there was a fence in place but it has been knocked down. She said, is it my responsibility to put it up or how would that work at this point? She said, she put up no trespassing signs, which has alleviated some trespassing. She was also asked, how the lighting was and her reply was there is no lighting. Chairman Williams asked if she thought it would be safer to close that north entrance or leave it open. Ms. Padilla said, it would be safer to have both open for that extra venue to alleviate the traffic going in and out of there, because sometimes there is a lot of vendors and a lot of people going in and out of there. There have been two accidents there already. She said, people hang out there at night. Commissioner W. Baca suggested that perhaps the comments/concerns should be read again for those who were not present at the last meeting. There were no further comments against this request. Chairman S. Williams called for any further comments for or against. There were none, so Commissioner W. Baca was asked to read the concerns from the last meeting He went on to say that” Mr. Tapia asked at the last meeting if the zone change is approved what will be allowed there? Nathaniel Feddes said, with the zone change, there is a designated use which will be very specific to what they have applied for, which is an open air market. There is nothing else they can do until they change the designated use permit. Mr. Tapia asked, how long has this open air market been going on there? Nathaniel said, in 2009 there was a conditional use permit which is indefinite as long as it keeps the same use. Mr. Tapia said, he called the Village and he was told that they didn’t have a permit. Mr. Tapia’s concern is that they are using the bathroom in the back, they didn’t have a toilet back there, now they do. That was their concern”, also Jolaine Padilla also had some concern: “Her concern was they have had to call law enforcement in twice for a lot of issues such using the restroom on their property and people driving into the property in the middle of the night & walking around. Private property signs have been put up as recommended by law enforcement, but people are still coming on to their property from Mr. Martin’s property. She said, many times she has been alone with her son, that was another concern safety. David Padilla also had some concerns: “if there was a specific location for placing port-a-pots”. He said, right now it’s on our driveway and I lock the gate at night. Nathaniel said, that was something that will be addressed for the designated use. There has been a plan submitted and it can either be approved or disapproved.” Chairman S. Williams asked the commissioners if there were further questions or comments from staff or applicants? Commissioner W. Baca said, his concern was the safety issue and questioned the hours of operation. Mr. Martin said, all vendors are gone between 5-6 p.m. There is only one outside vendor who stays overnight in his trailer. He is the only exception. Mr. Martin said, there was no further record information of disturbance on property, except the one and as far as traffic, he was not aware of more than one accident. Commissioner T. Ulibarri made a comment of disappointment directed to NM Dot that the north entrance would be closed and it yet it is being ignored because they have not come to check on it. He said, he would like our minutes to indicate that we do not police what DOT does and does not tell them how to run their business. The other issue is people coming into private property to relieve themselves are unspeakable. He said, that is a residence and he would not be happy if someone came into his property to urinate. He said, his suggestion is that staff recommend some type of fencing and make sure it is checked to see if it has been done. That would only be fair to the residents since they are not opposed to the flea market. Mr. Martin said, he could put up a barb wire fence, but was told it was not allowed. He said, it’s too expensive to put up a chain link fence; the flea market doesn’t make that much money. So Christina Ainsworth asked him to come in and talk to her and they would work with him on what type offence he could put that would be effective and wouldn’t cost him that much. Chairman called for a motion for approval or disapproval of the zone change for recommendation to council. Commissioner D. Crawford made a motion to recommend to council approval of the zone change with the following conditions: To work with staff for adequate fencing to provide security to the neighbors behind, also that NM State DOT monitors their regulations as stated in their letter. Commissioner W. Baca seconded the motion. Everyone voted yes, motion carried. ITEM 2- DESIGNATED USE PERMIT APPLICATION Chairman S. Williams said, this is a public hearing, is there public comment from anyone? Commissioner D. Crawford asked if there are requirements for insurance as DOT states on their letter, or any other requirements from them or is it up to us to notif,’ them or just simply ignore them? Commissioner T. Ulibarri said, “we do zoning”. Christina Ainsworth made a comment that our Code Enforcement patrols and will take care of those issues with DOT. There were no further comments. Chairman S. Williams said, the designated use is a continued open air market. She called for a discussion from the commission. Commissioner W. Baca said, if the zone change has been reviewed by staff, concerns have been addressed from 1-6 and they meet all requirements for this open air market; I make a motion to recommend to council approval for this designated use. Commissioner T. Ulibarri seconded the motion. Everyone voted in favor, Motion carried. ITEM 3—ZONE CHANGE — Kirk Gilcrease Chairman S. Williams introduced the application request for a zone change from Kirk Gilcrease. The action of this commission is to have a public hearing to recommend approval or disapproval of the request. Chairman S. Williams called on Nathaniel Feddes to present the item. Nathaniel approached the podium and stated the case number for the 3’’ item is l4-3-R with the name of Kirk Gilcrease. The legal description S:23 T:7N Tract 97A of Map 70 MRGCD consisting of 1.40 acres located at 3485 Main St. SE, the property is located in district 4. The request here is to rezone the property from SU to M-1 and it is the intent of the applicant to rezone the property for the purpose of expanding the existing landscaping material business to include a small batch concrete mixing facility. Notice was sent to all property owners within 100 ft. As of today no commentary opposition has been received. It is the recommendation of staff to make a finding of nonconformance with municipal code and comprehensive plan and not recommend the requested zone atlas amendment to council, noting that current zoning ordinance in the future land use plan does not promote this type of use in the general location. Commissioner W. Baca asked, if this was the same one approved recently where they were just going to pickup small amounts of gravel for small uses? Nathaniel Feddes said, they were allowed to sell landscaping material, gravel and that sort of thing based on their SU zoning. However, they want to expand to small batch of concrete mixing and staff felt it didn’t conform with the municipal code. Commissioner W. Baca asked if there was a concrete mixing plant not too far from there? Nathaniel said, it is not in operation and hasn’t been for some time. He asked, if that wouldn’t be an option to look into that property? Commissioner W. Baca asked if M-1 was a manufacturing business? Christina said, it is a heavy industrial zone. Commissioner F. Vigil asked about the future land use. Nathaniel told him it was for commercial purposes. Mr. Kirk Gilcrease, applicant was called to present his proposed request. Mr. Kirk Gilcrease said the purpose of expanding the landscaping business to add on a small batch concrete mixing is less than 2 yds. Concrete is mixed and put into a small trailer and trucks just come in and pick up for curbs and small jobs. The small batch concrete machine is air quality and it cannot be confused with the Tabet Plant. The property is 1.40 acres. Mr. Ralph Villegas came up and stated this machine is a small machine, it is clean, doesn’t make noise. Commissioner W. Baca asked the size of motor. Mr. Villegas said, it does not have a motor. It has a hydraulic pump which pumps it up. He was asked how noisy it was. Mr. Villegas said, the traffic on Hwy 47 is louder. I will only be mixing between 3-15 yds a week. He was asked if he had access. He said, yes he has his own access to Hwy 47. He has had this business about 2 ‘/2 yrs. Commissioner F Vigil asked, if there were any concerns when he first got the permit such as dust etc. Christina said, at first when he installed the concrete mixer, calls were received from many of the neighbors. One was the dust, and two was the installation without a permit. Ralph Villegas said, at first it was run by a generator. Commissioner W. Baca asked about the size of generator. in Mr. Villegas said, it is a 35 horsepower generator. He said, they had a back house where they have their silo, so the dust is limited. Commissioner D. Crawford said, there are several environment issues. Phillip Armijo came up and was very opposed to this concrete business because of noise & dust. They have dump trucks, loaders, gravel is always up to the road. When the weather is windy it creates a lot of dust. They are there till all hours of the night as well as weekends. His main concern was safety issues. Mr. Armijo said, he lives right next door. He also said, Mr. Gilcrease has already been broken into several times. Maria Gonzales, sister also came up and said, her main concern was health issues. They are residents who have been there for many years. They have grand kids coming and the air is bad for them. No matter how minimal it is, it’s still a concrete plant. We have put up with the landscaping business with all that dust. Now this, it will clog up your air conditioner and your lungs. Joseph Armijo — brother came up to speak against this proposed business. When the big trucks come in he said the dust gets bad. Chairman S. Williams called for further questions from the commissioners or staff. Chairman S. Williams asked, when he built it? Mr. Villegas said, it’s already built. I brought it and placed it there. She asked if it could be moved. He said, yes. Christina came up to make some comments. She said, first I want to point out that there are two issues. One is the appropriateness of the zone that’s being requested, which is M-l. M-1 is of course heavy industrial zone which is, if it were to be rezoned it would open it up to other possibilities in the future. She said, she couldn’t stress enough on how inappropriate it would be. The second issue, is the appropriateness of the use itself. Our zoning code is out of date and there are some uses that are not categorized. What we need to look at is making available other zoning districts for smaller operations, which is this one. She recommends that staff be allowed some time to look at the codes and other districts and perhaps write some criteria. She also suggested that the applicant speak to the property owners and see if there is a way this could be resolved, if we were to allow this type of business in our zoning code without having to rezone. Those were her recommendations. Commissioner W. Baca made a comment that it is not fair, that we allow these businesses to put this type of business right in there bedroom window. Commissioner D. Crawford had a concern that may not be appropriate, to allow a heavy manufacturing business in the middle of a residential area. Chairman S. Williams called for motion. Commissioner F. Vigil made a motion to table the item until it is reviewed/revised by staff. Commissioner T. Ulibarri seconded the motion. Everyone voted in favor of tabling the item. Motion carried. ITEM 4—APPROVAL OF MINUTES — Minutes of 6/4/2014 Chairman S. Williams called for a motion to approve the minutes 6/4/14. Commissioner W. Baca made a motion to approve the minutes for 4/2/14 as presented. Commissioner F. Vigil seconded the motion. Everyone voted yes, motion passed. ITEM 5- DISCUSSION Community Development Activity Report Christina gave an update about the Comprehensive Plan that was printed and thanked them for all the effort that they put into the plan. She said, she had additional copies if needed. She also gave the commissioners an update of the new businesses coming in and their locations. Code Enforcement Issues Commissioner T. Ulibarri made some comments regarding all the semi trucks parking. — Christina said, we are still working on it, but haven’t had much luck. ITEM 6- ADJOURNMENT Chairman S. Williams called for a motion to adjourn. Commissioner T. Ulibarri made a motion to adjourn, D.Crawford second the motion. Everyone voted yes, motion passed. Frank Vigil, Commissioner Walter Baca, Commissioner