Planning & Zoning Commission

MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION OF THE TOWN OF PINETOP-LAKESIDE, ARIZONA, HELD THURSDAY, JUNE 9, 2016, IN THE TOWN COUNCIL CHAMBERS. Chairman Jarchow called the Regular Meeting to order at 6:01 p.m. Roll call was as follows: ROLL CALL: Present Absent Present Absent John Jarchow X Timothy Williams X James Snitzer X Errol Heslop X Rob Ingels X Adam Staley __X__ Richard Smith X STAFF PRESENT: Cody Blake, Interim Zoning Administrator; Matthew Williams, Community Services Manager and Jill Akins, Assistant to the Town Clerk. ITEM NO. 3, CALL TO THE PUBLIC: There were no requests to address the Commission at this time. ITEM NO. 4, APPROVAL OF THE REGULAR MEETING MINUTES FOR MAY 12, 2016, JANUARY 21, 2014, FEBRUARY 4, 2014, FEBRUARY 18, 2014, MARCH 4, 2014, MARCH 18, 2014, APRIL 8, 2014 AND APRIL 15, 2014: COMMISSIONER INGELS MOVED TO APPROVE THE REGULAR MEETING MINUTES FROM MAY 12, 2016, FEBRUARY 4, 2014, FEBRUARY 18, 2014, MARCH 4, 2014, MARCH 18, 2014, APRIL 8 2014 AND APRIL 15, 2014. COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS SECONDED THE MOTION AND IT CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS MOVED TO APPROVE THE REGULAR MEETING MINUTES FROM JANUARY 21, 2014. VICE CHAIRMAN SNITZER SECONDED THE MOTION AND IT CARRIED 4-1 WITH COMMISSIONER INGELS ABSTAINING. ITEM NO. 5, STAFF REPORTS: Cody Blake said the Taco Bell remodel had started, and said the project will take two months to complete. Matthew Williams said he spoke to Bill Bess, Navajo County Public Works, regarding a meeting between the County and the Planning and Zoning Commission. He said a tentative meeting date of Thursday, July 21, 2016 at 6:00 p.m. in Holbrook had been scheduled. He said this would be a round table discussion to discuss the Town’s Codes versus the County Codes, and said to begin a relationship between Navajo County and the Town. Vice Chairman Snitzer said he would be available to attend. Commissioner Ingels said he is available to attend, but said he was hoping the meeting would be held in Pinetop-Lakeside. Mr. Williams said he offered for the Commission to meet in Holbrook, and said the County was receptive to meeting in Holbrook. Vice Chairman Snitzer said the Commissioners would car pool to Holbrook for the meeting. Mr. Williams said Chairman Jarchow said he would like to discuss the Zoning Code and the Comprehensive Plan. Commissioner Williams said he would like to discuss the Painting Code, building exteriors and all Building Codes approved by the Town. Vice Chairman Snitzer said he would like to discuss commercial development in the County close to 1 Pinetop-Lakeside, technology and regional technology. Commissioner Ingels said he would like to discuss lighting issues in the County islands, signage, architectural theme and design review. ITEM NO. 6, INFORMATION/DISCUSSION/LEGAL ACTION REGARDING CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT NO. 120; LOCATED AT 868 W. WOODLAND LAKE ROAD, APN 212-40-226 TO 212-40-233; ALLOWING USE OF A 30’ X 50’ CANVAS EVENT PAVILION FOR WEDDING AND RECEPTION ACTIVITIES ANNUALLY FROM MAY THROUGH OCTOBER: COMMISSIONER INGELS MOVED TO ADJOURN FROM THE REGULAR MEETING AND MOVE INTO THE PUBLIC HEARING. COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS SECONDED THE MOTION AND IT CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. Mr. Blake said an application was received for a Conditional Use Permit for an event tent at 868 W. Woodland Lake Road. He said requirements for the event tent are notice from the fire department if any tent restrictions had been placed on the tent. He said in the past the fire department had not put many restrictions on event tents. He said he had sent a request to Timber Mesa Fire Department regarding any restrictions on the tent, and said it had been over two weeks and he had not received a reply from Timber Mesa Fire Department. He said he did place, as a suggested condition, the tent be subject to any conditions Timber Mesa Fire had regarding the tent. He said this would be the second event tent in Town, and said there had not been any issues with the other tent. He said this tent would be smaller than the Nature Center event tent. He said the only potential concerns are parking and noise. He said Pico’s Nursery would be closing on July 31, 2016 and said there would be additional parking spaces due to the removal of the plants and planters for the nursery. He said there are one hundred and twenty-five parking spaces that would be available. He said the owner Mrs. Stewart is in attendance to answer questions. Vice Chairman Snitzer asked if Town staff had any concerns regarding parking or egress. Mr. Blake said no, and said there are two different access points for parking and said he does not see any major traffic issues. Commissioner Ingels said he had some concerns for staff, and said he was hoping the Town attorney would be at the meeting to answer questions. He said he is concerned wedding activities would be held in R-Low Zoning. He said he is concerned large wedding activities or other large events would be held in R-Low Zoning. Mr. Blake said he had attended four different wedding receptions on the property over the last six years, and said he views it as an established use on the property. He said the property adjacent to Woodland Lake Road is zoned commercial, and said there are two R-Low pieces at the back of the property. He said the tent placement would be on the R-Low property. Commissioner Ingels said he is concerned about restrooms and alcohol being served on the premises. Mr. Blake said the owner would have to contact Arizona State Liquor board for information regarding alcohol on the premises. Vice Chairman Snitzer said the Commission would hear from the public. Ray Williamson said he lives at 963 West Yavapai Lane, one house removed from the site. He said he and his wife have no objection to the event tent, but said he had two issues. He said the first issue is the termination time of events. He said the applicant stated they would end all events at 10:00 p.m., and said the Town noise ordinance states 11:00 p.m. He said he would like to see a condition in accordance with the 10:00 p.m. time the applicant submitted. He would like it to state all events would end by 10:00 p.m. He said the second issue is parking for one hundred and twenty five cars and said it would be impossible to mark the parking spaces. He said if there are one hundred cars with two people per car at an event that would be a large event. He said he would like a condition to be a limit of two hundred attendees at any single event. 2 Carol Pennington said she lives at 774 West Woodland Lake Road, and said she is next door to Pico’s Nursery and the area that would be the parking lot. She said the business is a great idea and the community needs a place like this, but said she is worried about events ending at 11:00 p.m. and taking any extra hour for people to vacate the property. She said she is worried about the noise and drinking of alcohol, and said she is right next door to the parking area. She said she does not know what type of questions to ask so she does not worry about her peace and quiet being disturbed during her last years of life. She said noise is her concern, but said this is a well-planned business. Merry Cox said she lives at 974 Hopi Lane, and said her house is two houses down from the business. She said she spoke to John, the other business owner, and said after she heard how the business would be run she does not have a problem with the business. She said the business is wonderful, and said she and other neighbors are very glad Allison and John have bought the property and keeping it as is. She said because the property is commercially zoned someone could have bought it and turned it into something awful. She said the compromise is the property would be the park and trees would be kept, and said basically the property would remain as is. She said once you hear Ms. Stewart’s business plan a lot of concerns will go away. She said she also likes her peace and quiet, and said the compromise is the property would stay as is, the business proposal would be conducive and a good addition to the neighborhood. Allison Stewart said there are five access points onto the property. She said she had been in the White Mountains for over forty years, she raised her family here, and said she is an associate broker and has been an Office Manager with Frank Smith & Associates for almost thirty years. She said she considers Frank Smith & Associates to be a model business in the community, and said she had been instrumental to obtaining and maintaining their reputation in the community. She said she intends to adhere to the same strict business practice that she has implemented at Frank Smith & Associates. She said in 2015 Frank Smith & Associates paid one and a half million dollars into the local economy. She said she has a commitment to the community, and said she only knows how to do business at a very high level of professionalism. She said before she purchased Pico’s she went door to door to each neighbor and spoke to each neighbor that was at home about the business. She said their plan is to build a permanent structure, but said financing cannot be secured for a permanent structure until they are able to show a history of success. She said the ability to erect a tent will provide shade for guests and shelter against rain, but it will allow us to prove the financial gain to secure financing for a permanent facility that would be located on the commercial portion of the property. She said they would take great measures to provide quiet enjoyment to their neighbors, and said she and John live there. She said the events would take place in her front yard. She said she works a full-time job, and said she is not going to have seven events each week. She said the plan is to have twenty events a year on Saturdays, but said there could occasionally be additional days of the week. She said included in their lease agreement is a paragraph guests would have to sign relating to off premise parking, and said clients would be advised to include instructions to their guests regarding the correct parking procedures and advising the guests they would be subject to towing if the procedures are not followed. She said there would be ample signage the day of an event directing traffic to appropriate parking spots, and said she would be a parking attendant if needed. She said she and John would always be onsite during an event. She said one hundred and twenty-five parking spaces had been outlined on the site plan. She said their intention is to have weddings that are less than fifty 3 people. She said the property is ideally suited for a mature wedding, not for individuals that are looking for a drunken crazy wedding, but for someone who wants to enjoy a beautiful garden setting that is peaceful and serene. She said last Saturday she and John were their first clients, and said the tent was installed for their personal wedding. She said there was one hundred people in attendance, and said there were not any issues. She said Portofino lights were installed in the garden area through the trees. She said they plan to start a community garden to help foster good relationships with their neighbors. She said The Gathering Place turns away many clients due to being booked, and said she can offer another venue for weddings and events. She said they would have a governing system to plug into an events sound system, and said she would control the decimal levels. She said the system is locked, and said they would not allow sound over what the Town allows. She said small speakers would be placed around the property to keep the noise level down. She said there are two restrooms, one in the guesthouse and one in the retail store. She said she hopes to not have more than one hundred guests and will not allow more than one hundred and twenty five guests. She said she does not expect to have many events this year, but said two events were grandfathered into her contract. Commissioner Heslop asked if the tent would be staked down to accommodate large wind gusts. She said the tent is staked down into hard dirt, and said there are forty-eight 4 foot long stakes in the ground with ratcheted straps that are checked every two days. Vice Chairman Snitzer said the Nature Center tent is anchored with spikes in the ground, and said it is a 50’ by 50’ tent and they had never had a problem with the tent. Ms. Stewart said the tent would be removed each October, and said she hopes to only use the tent for a few years before a permanent building would be erected. Commissioner Williams said the other owner, John, should be listed on the Conditional Use Permit. Commissioner Williams said if houses are affected by noise or lighting could foliage be installed between the parking and the affected houses. Ms. Stewart said they intend to install fencing or foliage as needed on the property. Commissioner Ingels said he thought the property was commercially zoned, and said there are different set of circumstances allowed in R-Low. He said by zoning ordinances this is not a typically allowed use of the property allowed in residential, and said R-Low is very specific in allowing plants and nursery as use but not weddings and events being held. He said he came to the meeting with discomfort with wording in the zoning ordinance about the conditional use only being granted subject to the listed use, and said unfortunately the use of the tent for up to three years on the property, for a maximum of one hundred and twenty-five people, and with events ending at 10:00 p.m. is not listed conditional use. He said as a Commissioner he said he wants to be very careful of what conditions are part of this use, and said he had hoped to get a legal opinion on the correctness of the conditional uses allowed in R- Low. He said a nursery and occasional events are not a problem, but said now it would be providing a structure for weddings and events and would be the primary income for the property. He said with the parking areas on residential lots he would like to have buffering around the parking areas. Commissioner Williams said he has lived there twenty-one years, and said he hears less noise from events held at the nursery than from Mountain Meadow Recreation Park. Ms. Stewart said their lease agreement states the music will turn off at 10:00 p.m. and the clients are off premises by 11:00 p.m. and the lights go out by 11:00 p.m. Commissioner Ingels said this information has made him more comfortable as a Commissioner, and said it helps in making a decision for the Conditional Use Permit. Commissioner Smith asked Ms. Stewart if she expects most of her customers to be from the local area or from out of Town. Ms. Stewart answered some of both. Commissioner Smith said the venue would be drawing business to the Town of Pinetop-Lakeside. Discussion ensued regarding uses for R-Low. Commissioner Ingels said he wanted the Town attorney available to give advice for legally allowing the Conditional Use Permit on R-Low Zoned property. Commissioner Heslop said he considers the wedding facility in the garden as an ideal situation. Mr. Blake said this is a permissible 4 Conditional Use Permit use, and said he considers it an established use for over twenty-five years. Vice Chairman Snitzer said he has the following conditions for the Commission to consider adding to the Conditional Use Permit, and said they are music would end at 10:00 p.m., clients would be off the premise by 11:00 p.m., and the total number of attendees would be held at a maximum of two hundred. Vice Chairman Snitzer asked Mr. Blake if the number of restrooms was adequate. Ms. Stewart said they would bring in port- o-pottys as needed for an event, and said when they permanent structure is built it would have the adequate number of restrooms. Mr. Blake said the Building Code states for eighty people you are required to have four bathrooms, two for men and two for women. He said at one hundred and fifty people there would be another increase. Vice Chairman Snitzer said there would be conditions to add to the Conditional Use Permit, and said they are as follows: adding the other owner, John, to the application; music would end at 10:00 p.m.; events would end by 11:00 p.m.; limit the attendees to a maximum of two hundred; and review the Conditional Use Permit. Mr. Blake asked Ms. Stewart if she would be providing alcohol. Ms. Stewart said she would not be providing alcohol for the events. Commissioner Williams said the client would have to get insurance for the event if alcohol is being served and provide the insurance to Ms. Stewart. Vice Chairman Snitzer said the insurance is called Liquor Legal Liability. COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS MOVED TO ADJOURN FROM THE PUBLIC HEARING AND MOVE INTO THE REGULAR MEETING. COMMISSIONER HESLOP SECONDED THE MOTION AND IT CARRIED 4 TO 1 WITH COMMISSIONER INGELS AGAINST. COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS MOVED TO APPROVE CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT NO. 120; LOCATED AT 868 W. WOODLAND LAKE ROAD, APN 212-40-226 TO 212-40-233; ALLOWING USE OF A 30’ X 50’ CANVAS EVENT PAVILION FOR WEDDING AND RECEPTION ACTIVITIES ANNUALLY FROM MAY THROUGH OCTOBER WITH THE FOLLOWING CONDITIONS: THE CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT TO BE REVIEWED IN THREE YEARS, MAXIMUM OF TWO HUNDRED ATTENDEES AT EACH EVENT, MUSIC ENDING AT 10:00 P.M., EVENTS ENDING BY 11:00 P.M., IF ALCOHOL IS SERVED ON THE PREMISE A LIQUOR LEGAL LIABILITY FORM IS PROVIDED FOR EACH EVENT, AND ADDING JOHN SAMORA TO THE APPLICATION. COMMISSIONER SMITH SECONDED THE MOTION AND IT CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. ITEM NO. 7, INFORMATION/DISCUSSION/LEGAL ACTION REGARDING REVIEW OF TOWN CODE CHAPTER 16 SUBDIVISIONS: Vice Chairman Snitzer proposed to work on Town Code Chapter 16 until 8:00 p.m. and begin again at the next meeting where the Commission finished. He said the Commission would keep working this way on Chapter 16 and Chapter 17 until finished. He proposed to the Commissioners to read through each paragraph. He said action would not be taken until Chapter 16 and Chapter 17 are complete. The following changes were made: Sections would be revised to the following order: 16.04.040 Definitions 16.04.050 Adoption of figures 16.04.060 Adoption of appendices and maps 16.04.070 Maps 5  Definitions #2 to be rewritten at a later time. Definitions #4 “Alter the mountain top ridge line” means any development on the primary ridgeline that disturbs or alters the natural mountain top profile. (Note: Prohibited per Chapter 16.20.) Definitions #5 add “Mountainside Development” - (see Chapter 16.20 – Mountainside Development) Definitions #8 Basin, drainage remove. “Basin, detention” and “Basin, retention” would both be kept in the definitions with “Basin, drainage” being removed completely from the definitions. A definition for “Watershed” would be added to the list of definitions. Definition for “Bicycle path” would be moved to #12; and the definition for “Bicycle trail” would be moved to #13. In the “Bicycle trail” definition the word “utilized” would be replaced with the word “designated.” ITEM NO. 8, FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS: Vice Chairman Snitzer said Town Code Chapter 16 Subdivisions would continue to be discussed at the next meeting. Vice Chairman Snitzer said for future reference, next time there is a Conditional Use Permit the Planning and Zoning Commission would like to have the following information included with the application: three hundred foot submittal map showing the affected properties and a site plan. Dated this 15th day of June 2016. PINETOP-LAKESIDE PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION _____________________________________________ Jill Akins, Assistant to the Town Clerk 6