Planning & Zoning Commission

CITY OF MANCHESTER PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES JANUARY 12, 2015 COMMISSIONERS CITY OFFICIALS AND STAFF Jason Truesdell, Chairman (2018) Mike Clement, Alderman, Ex-Officio member James Labit, Secretary (2016) Kathy Arnett, Planning and Zoning Director Joni Korte (2016) Melissa Barklage, Recording Secretary Tom Brown (2017) Jack Fluchel (2015) Mark Smith (2018) Dave Willson, Mayor CASES REPRESENTATIVES OF CASES NUMBER  Kim Darland Love N’ Laughter Christian Academy 15-SP-001 - A request for Site Plan Approval by Kimberly 230 Henry Ave Darland for a 770 square foot addition to Love N’ Laughter Manchester, MO 63011 Christian Academy located at 230 Henry Avenue. The 636-394-8589 property is zoned R-1 Single-Family Residential District.  Gene Holtzman 15-SUP-001 - A request for a Special Use Permit has been Hutkin Development Co. made by Mark Clements with Hutkin Development Company, 10029 Olive on behalf of Sher Care Corporation and Sher Properties, Creve Coeur, MO L.L.C., for a laundry and dry cleaning business to include 314-872-9140 collection, distribution, and on-site processing at 14523 Manchester Road (Baxter Shops). The name of the proposed  Mike Corrao business is CD One Price Cleaners. The property is zoned C-1 CD One Price Cleaners Commercial District. 2205 West Enterprise Dr. Suite 502 Westchester, IL 60154 847-912-1137 15-TXT-001 - A text amendment is proposed to the  Kathy Arnett Development Standards (Signs) in the PBD Planned Business Planning & Zoning Director Development District and to the Supplementary Regulations – Sign Regulations of the City’s Zoning Code. 1. CALL TO ORDER Commissioner Fluchel called the Planning and Zoning meeting of January 12, 2015 to order at 7:00 p.m. 2. ROLL CALL Commissioner Fluchel asked the Recording Secretary to take roll. 1 PLANNING AND ZONING MINUTES JANUARY 12, 2015 Commissioner/Secretary James Labit Present Chairman Jason Truesdell Excused Commissioner Jack Fluchel Present Commissioner Mark Smith Present Commissioner Joni Korte Present Alderman Mike Clement Present Commissioner Tom Brown Excused Director Kathy Arnett Present Mayor David Willson Present Melissa Barklage, Recording Secy Present 3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Commissioner Labit made the motion to approve the minutes of November 24, 2014. Motion seconded by Commissioner Korte; motion approved by voice vote. The vote taken was recorded as follows: Ayes Nays Abstentions Excused 5 0 0 2 4. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Commissioner Fluchel asked if there were any changes to the agenda. Director Arnett stated that on the agenda for this evening the case number for case number 3 is incorrectly listed at 14-TXT-001 and should be changed to 15-TXT-001. Mayor Willson made the motion to approve the agenda with the correction made. Commissioner Smith seconded; motion approved by voice vote. The vote taken was recorded as follows: Ayes Nays Abstentions Excused 5 0 0 2 5. OLD BUSINESS A. No Old Business 6. NEW BUSINESS A. CASE #15-SP-001 - A request for Site Plan Approval by Kimberly Darland for a 770 square foot addition to Love N’ Laughter Christian Academy located at 230 Henry Avenue. The property is zoned R-1 Single-Family Residential District. Speaking for the case is Kimberly Darland who is the owner and director of Love N’ Laughter Christian Academy. Love N’ Laughter is a full day preschool for children ages 2 through 5 and is open from 6:30 am to 6 pm Monday through Friday. The Academy teaches a regular preschool curriculum in addition to classes on music, religion, and Spanish. The school has been in Manchester for 35 years and Mrs. Darland has been the director for the last half of that time. The Academy has a large fenced in playground behind the facility but there is no alternative area for the children to play when weather does not allow them to go outside. The site plan approval is for the front addition to the building which will serve as an indoor area for the children to play on days with inclement weather. Mrs. Darland pointed out that current enrollment at the Academy is set at 60 students and this would not change with any new addition. Director Arnett then gave a staff report on the case. The preschool opened in 1977. The Manchester City Code was created in 1978 and at that time allowed the use of the preschool in the residential district. However, the zoning code did change later on and no longer allows that particular use in the residential districts. While the business is still a legal business due to its being grandfathered, it does place the use of the building in a non-conforming status. The proposal is for a 770 square foot 1 story addition which will extend to the front of the building. Staff does not anticipate increased run-off on to neighboring properties due to the mostly flat layout of the property and the slight slope goes toward the petitioner’s driveway and Henry Ave. City code allows non-conforming uses to increase their floor 2 PLANNING AND ZONING MINUTES JANUARY 12, 2015 space up to 51% which this addition would be in compliance with as the overall increase of square footage would only be 24%. Since there will be no change in the enrollment of students there will be no changes in parking requirements and overall impact on the neighborhood. Staff confirmed that both setback and green space requirements will be met by this addition. The landscaping that is currently in front of the building will be extended to the new frontage once the addition is built. Staff does recommend approval based upon the condition that enrollment at the Academy remain at 60 students. Alderman Clement inquired about whether the Academy is in the Henry historic district. Director Arnett stated that it is not in the historic district. Commissioner Labit asked if there were handicap entrances at the school. Mrs. Darland stated that they do not currently have any handicap entrances to the school. Commissioner Labit asked if that would be something they plan to add with the new addition. Mrs. Darland said it had not been brought up to her in the past when she has had her annual inspections. Commissioner Labit asked if the city engineer had reviewed the plans. Director Arnett stated that Mrs. Darland did hire an architect to draw up plans according to current code but if she gets to St. Louis County and they require a handicap access she will be required to put one in at that time. Commissioner Labit asked Mrs. Darland if planned to use the new addition for after hours events. Mrs. Darland stated that they will still close at 6pm as always. Commissioner Korte asked if the Academy was at maximum enrollment currently. Mrs. Darland said that they are at the maximum 60 student enrollment now and have been at that enrollment for most of her last 15 years at the Academy. Commissioner Fluchel asked where the classrooms are located in the building. Mrs. Darland explained there are five classrooms in the building; three on the main floor, 1 upstairs and 1 downstairs. She also explained that the proposed addition would only be two large rooms but would not be classrooms. Commissioner Fluchel asked how close the neighbor on the side is to the building. Director Arnett stated that Academy is at 12.5 feet from the side yard boundary line so she would be in slight excess of 20 feet from the neighbors. Mayor Willson made the motion to approve the site plan on CASE #15-SP-001with the condition of a $2500.00 deposit for construction and also that maximum enrollment remains at 60 students. Commissioner Labit seconded the motion; it was passed by voice vote. The vote taken was recorded as follows: Ayes Nays Abstentions Excused 5 0 0 2 B. CASE #15-SUP-001 - A request for a Special Use Permit has been made by Mark Clements with Hutkin Development Company, on behalf of Sher Care Corporation and Sher Properties, L.L.C., for a laundry and dry cleaning business to include collection, distribution, and on-site processing at 14523 Manchester Road (Baxter Shops). The name of the proposed business is CD One Price Cleaners. The property is zoned C-1 Commercial District. Speaking first for the case is Gene Holtzman with Hutkin Development, who manages the property at 14523 Manchester Road. He feels that the CD One Price Cleaners is a great fit at their location. There will be ample parking there for the proposed company. They have hired a code consultant to investigate compliance with building codes. Mr. Holtzman states they feel assured from the code consultant that there will be no detrimental impact to the location by allowing CD One Price Cleaners to occupy the space with the chemicals they use in their business. Director Arnett stated that in the C-1 Commercial District laundry services that have on-site processing are allowed only by Special Use Permit and there is a special clause that it be reviewed for the chemicals being used and proper flues and venting. The issue that is unique to this use is that this cleaner does on-site processing which not all cleaners do. This petitioner is proposing the use of a hydrocarbon solvent which is more environmentally friendly than the tetrachloroethylene (perc) which 80% of dry-cleaners still use today. The hydrocarbon solvent used by CD One Cleaners is a less 3 PLANNING AND ZONING MINUTES JANUARY 12, 2015 caustic cleaner. Also CD One uses newer equipment which uses fewer chemicals. This translates to less storage of chemicals on-site. The Zero Waste close-system that the cleaners use only releases heat or water vapor which helps the department to be in support of the approval of the case. The flooring is sealed and has a lip that helps to contain if there does happen to be a chemical spill of some kind. All staff at the cleaners goes through thorough training on OSHA procedures as well as state, federal, and local guidelines on the clean up. Director Arnett stated she did contact the City of Naperville, IL, where CD One Price Cleaners currently has two (2) locations. They reported no code enforcement issues or neighbor/ customer complaints. Staff has reviewed the petitioner’s request with the Fire Marshall of West County Fire District. The Fire Marshall concluded that compliance with International Fire Code can successfully be achieved by the petitioner at the proposed location. There is no indication that public safety or health would be adversely affected. Staff does support the favorable recommendation of the request with the condition if flues or vents are required as compliance with building or fire code that those are to be screened behind existing architectural features on the building. Commissioner Korte asked for clarification on if St. Louis County would be the ones that decide if additional flues or venting would be required for the business. Mike Corrao presented himself as the chief operating officer for CD One Price Cleaners. They have been in business since 2001. This would be their first store in the St. Louis area. Commissioner Korte asked what their business hours would be. Mr. Corrao answered that the store would be open 7am – 7pm six days a week. If they do decide to be open on Sunday there would be no production on Sundays. Commissioner Korte asked if the solvents that are used in the cleaning would require annual inspections. Mr. Corrao stated that in Illinois there is an inspection once a year, however, they also have staff that does daily, weekly and monthly inspections of the machinery to make sure it is running properly. He also confirmed that when it does have an annual inspection they will maintain copies of those inspections. Commissioner Smith asked about who would regulate the use and storage of chemicals. Director Arnett answered that the volume and manner by which the chemicals are stored is regulated by the Fire Code and International Building Code. When CD One Price Cleaners goes through their permitting for the interior finish of the building they will be reviewed for these procedures at that time. Alderman Clement discussed with Mr. Corrao what type of signage he would like to use at the proposed location and what methods of advertising he would like to use. Commissioner Labit asked Mr. Corrao how many dry-cleaning machines they plan to have on site. Mr. Corrao stated that they would have two machines for dry cleaning and 1 machine for laundry. Commissioner Labit discussed with Mr.Corrao how the zero waste process works. Commissioner Fluchel made the motion to make a favorable recommendation to the Board of Alderman with the condition that any flues or ventilation would be screened from traffic on the street by existing architectural features of the building on CASE #15-SUP-001. Commissioner Labit seconded the motion; it was passed by voice vote. The vote taken was recorded as follows: Ayes Nays Abstentions Excused 5 0 0 2 C. CASE #15-TXT-001 A text amendment is proposed to the Development Standards (Signs) in the PBD Planned Business Development District and to the Supplementary Regulations – Sign Regulations of the City’s Zoning Code. Director Arnett explained that the text amendment to the zoning code first in the Planned Business District (PBD) section and then also to the general sign regulations. The PBD regulations were created in 2013; however during the practical application of the requirements it has been found that the sign regulations could use some updating and modification. A need was found to broaden some allowances 4 PLANNING AND ZONING MINUTES JANUARY 12, 2015 for signage on different types of properties in the PBD. The proposed changes to the ordinance bring the PBD regulations closer in line with the C-1 zoning district however, still more restrictive than the C-1 and still acknowledge the unique and historic characteristics of the PBD. Another change of this ordinance is to remove the reference to the BOCA code (Building Official’s Code Administrators International). The BOCA code is no longer in use. St. Louis County uses the International Building Code for building permitting. Alderman Clement discussed with Director Arnett how the Planned Business District sign requirements might compare with surrounding cities down Manchester Road. Commissioner Smith made the motion to approve the text amendment for CASE #15-TXT-001. Commissioner Korte seconded the motion; it was passed by voice vote. The vote taken was recorded as follows: Ayes Nays Abstentions Excused 5 0 0 2 7. PLANNING AND ZONING DIRECTOR’S REPORT Director Arnett shared with the Commission that there is a site plan approval case that is pending for the January 26th agenda. Also, the Commission will discuss at the next meeting the scheduling of the annual Planning & Zoning Commission dinner. 8. EX-OFFICIO’S REPORT Alderman Clement stated Board of Alderman meetings have been brief. The last meeting had only 1 minor bill passed. Nothing further to report at this time. 9. COMMENTS FROM THE PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION 10. ADJOURNMENT Commissioner Labit made the motion to adjourn the Planning and Zoning Commission meeting of January 12, 2014, at 8:32 p.m. Motion seconded by Commissioner Korte; motion approved by voice vote. The vote taken was recorded as follows: Ayes Nays Abstentions Excused 5 0 0 2 Respectfully submitted by: Melissa Barklage, Recording Secretary # # # 5