Zoning Ordinance Steering Committee

CITY OF MINOT ZONING ORDINANCE STEERING COMMITTEE Meeting Minutes January 22, 2020 8:00 am – 10:00 am City Council Chambers, City Hall I. ATTENDANCE AND ROLL CALL Committee: Rolly Ackerman, Josh Wolsky, Rusten Roteliuk, Tyler Neether, Tim Baumann, Gloria Larsgaard Absent: Pat Graner City Staff: Brian Billingsley, Community & Economic Development Director Lance Lang, Principal Planner Stefanie Stalheim, Assistant City Attorney Peter Baumgartner, Planner I Emily Huettl, Assistant City Engineer Glenda Sorensen, Planning Assistant Consultant: Scott Harmstead Guests: No external guests present Rolly Ackerman called the meeting to order at 8:00 am. II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Baumann noted that the date on the December 18 meeting minutes is incorrectly shown as December 12 and should be changed to December 18. Motion by Neether to approve December 18, 2019 minutes with corrections as well as January 8, 2020 minutes, second by Wolsky. ayes: all, nays: none. Motion passes III. REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF AGENDA Motion by Roteliuk to approve the agenda, second by Neether. ayes: all, nays: none. Motion passes IV. INTRODUCTION OF GUESTS No external guests present. V. CHAPTER 26 (SUPPLEMENTAL REGULATIONS) Consultant Harmstead gave updates to Chapter 26.  Noted was that Farmers Markets are not currently in this chapter.  The question of whether a permit to operate a farmers market is an in-house administrative permit, or if the item would need to go before the city council. It was decided that a permit to operate a farmer’s market would be classified as an interim use permit. Zoning Ordinance Steering Committee Minutes January 22, 2020  The City of Fargo allows farmers markets, along with greenhouses, fireworks sales, outdoor seating for restaurants, and on-site storage tents or trailers as temporary uses for a time period between 15 days and 8 months as approved by the Zoning Administrator. Garage sales and Christmas tree sales are exempt. Suggest lemonade stands and food trucks be exempt also. VI. CHAPTER 21 (SUPPLEMENTAL DEVELOPMENT REGULATIONS) Section 21 - 1. General Development Principles:  #2 will be stricken pending attorney review  #3 will be stricken pending attorney review  #6 was revised to state that a non-conforming lot can be built on only for a single- family dwelling or any non-dwelling use permitted in the zoning district regardless of historic dates. Section 21 - 2. Special District-Specific Development Regulations: C. R2B and R3B Districts  Paragraph will be stricken in it’s entirely.  NOTE: Compare setbacks that were allowed under R2B and R3B against current setbacks requirements in R2 and RM. Relax setback requirements in R2 and RM to reflect R2B and R3B requirements. Section 21 - 4. General Rules for Yard Setbacks: B. Allowed Projections  #2 – o The projections discussed in this section are generally “above finished grade” such as porch, landing, stairs, and railings, so we should add those words to differentiate from ground plane improvements like a brick or paver patio flush with the ground. A flush-grade patio would not be subject to setbacks nor these regulations. o These exceptions should only apply to older existing developed lots. “New” developments (from the date of adoption of the ordinance revisions forward) will not be allowed these exceptions and must meet current setbacks (which may become more lenient in some cases). o Consultant Harmstead will rewrite and this item will be revisited next meeting.  #3 – o It was decided that an awning can cover the full extent of a deck since the amount of encroachment for a deck will be governed under the paragraph above. o Consultant Harmstead will rewrite and this item will be revisited next meeting. 2 Zoning Ordinance Steering Committee Minutes January 22, 2020 Section 21 - 9. Fence Regulations: Section A – General Requirements  Lang noted, in his opinion, that a residential fence should require a permit. He receives numerous phone calls during construction season about fences where can they be located? How tall? How close to the neighbor or street or sidewalk? The idea for a permit is not to make money, the permit could be $5.00. The point is, that way we can have a handle on these situations before the fence is erected out of compliance (hopefully). A hand-out for residential fencing could be available at the Public Works building regarding fence requirements/restrictions. However, maybe the fence permitting action should wait until the new software is in place?  The committee decided no fence permits required. (Section A – General Requirements - #6 (b) – strike in its entirety on Lang’s draft).  There was a good amount of discussion regarding residential fencing on corner lots where the neighboring driveway or adjacent alley (if present) may have the visibility triangle compromised. Roteluik stated that subdivisions in newer areas require wide rights-of-way, so there is about fourteen (14) feet of room along the street shoulder from back of curb to the fence location if it were on the property line. This should be adequate visibility. Wolsky said he doesn’t think we should open up the viewshed wider than what it is because motorists will drive faster. The committee decided to take no action on changing regs for corner lots. Section B – Residential Fencing Standards  # 4 Add stone, cultured stone to approved materials.  Add # 5 (change existing #5 to # 6) Barbed wire or electrified fencing is not allowed in residential zones, however, zoning districts AG and RR are exempt from this prohibition. Section C – Commercial and Industrial Fencing Standards  Add # 3 (change existing # 3 to # 4). Barbed wire, concertina wire, or electrified fencing is allowed in commercial and industrial zoning districts when installed with a minimum clearance of six (6) feet above grade. Not permitted in the downtown CBD? Section 21-10 – Outdoor Lighting (Lang’s draft)  General discussion on outdoor lighting. Why do we need to regulate it? Would we be liable if some crime occurred in a parking lot the City made them install a particular type of lighting? How much will City regulation of outdoor lighting increase development costs? The premise of this section is to prevent light pollution. Through the use of particular types of light fixtures that are shielded and down-cast, or sometimes called sharp cut-off fixtures, the light is directed down to the ground plane and no ambient light escapes the top or sides as it would with an unshielded globe, for example. Baumann spoke in favor of the 3 Zoning Ordinance Steering Committee Minutes January 22, 2020 proposed outdoor lighting section as it is the right thing to do from an environmental standpoint. Ackerman said the problem with light pollution is already well established with all of the billboard lighting. Why should we be concerned with site development when the billboard companies can do what they want? Baumann stated, again, from an environmental stewardship perspective each incremental change we can make is a positive one. Section D. Exemptions  Assistant City Attorney Stalheim asked about lighting pointed up and projected on building walls? Could that situation be perceived as a type of art or signage? The group agreed it could not contain commercial messages as it would be considered a sign. Lang noted that it wouldn’t be any good during daylight hours. Stalheim noted there needs to be a clarification between lighting as art, as opposed to lighting as sign projection.  # 5 – change “temporary” permit to “interim use” permit. VII. CHAPTER 23 – PARKING AND LOADING REQUIREMENTS  Note: This section was not completed and the remainder will be held over until the next meeting due to time constraints.  Section 23 – 2 - Parking Space Requirements Section A - CBD District Exempt.  Replace “section” with “chapter”.  Off-Street parking requirements do not apply to downtown residential in the current ordinance.  Propose a “Downtown Parking Overlay District” to establish boundaries within which off-street parking requirements are waived regardless of the zoning designation of the property. Section C. The link to Schedule A Table will be addressed at the next meeting. Section D. Add definition of “square feet of floor area” or “s.f.” is understood to mean gross square feet. VIII. Next Meeting  Wednesday, February 5, 2020 @ 8:00 a.m., City Council Chambers  Topic of Discussion – Chapter 23 & Parking Table IX. Adjournment: 10:02 a.m. Meeting Minutes GRS & LAL 4