Planning & Zoning Commission

PLANNING & ZONING COMMISSION Minutes to the February 28, 2012 MEETING Members Present: Mr. Chuck Hanson--------------------------------------------------------Chair Mr. Toby Gross----------------------------------------------------------Member Mr. Ralph Brown--------------------------------------------------------Member Mr. Riley Armstrong----------------------------------------------------Member Mr. Bruce Gwartney----------------------------------------------------Member Mr. Eddie Carrillo--------------------------------------------------------Member Members Absent: Mrs. Shirley Childress--------------------------------------------------Member Council Present: None Staff Present: Mr. Louis Najar-----------------------------------------------------City Engineer Mr. Michael Vickers------------------------------------------------City Planner Mrs. Barbara Patterson-------------------------------------------City Attorney Mr. Louis Jaramillo--------------------------------------Zoning Administrator Ms. Amber Copeland--------------------------------------Zoning Technician CALL TO ORDER Chair Hanson called the meeting to order and asked those who wished to speak to sign in. SWEARING IN Chair Hanson swore in the audience and Staff. INFORMATION ITEMS No information items were on the agenda. MINUTES Chair Hanson called for approval of the minutes of the January 31, 2012 minutes. Mr. Armstrong moved to approve the minutes as presented. Mr. Gwartney made the second and all voted in favor. Mr. Brown moved to waive the reading of the ‘Land Use and Zoning Considerations’ and ‘Finding of Facts’ for the following case. Mr. Gwartney made the second. The motion was approved by a vote of seven in favor and zero against. CASE NO. 12-001: A Conditional Use Permit to Park a Travel Trailer in the Front and Side Yard Setbacks in an R-1 Residential District, the south 62' of Lot 6, Block 21 of Mesa Park 5 Replat, 2301 Mills Drive, W. Dean and Sharon Hallock/owners Dean Hallock spoke in favor of the request. He stated a previous Conditional Use Permit had been granted for a similar trailer and that he needed one for his current trailer. He stated he understood the Permit is non-transferrable. Chair Hanson asked if Mr. Hallock understood the Permit would apply only to the trailer listed on the application and Mr. Hallock stated he did. Mr. Gross asked if the applicant was cited. Mr. Hallock stated he was cited and did not understand why. He stated he believed the original Permit was transferrable to a new trailer and was told by Mr. Jaramillo a new Permit would be needed. Mr. Jaramillo stated one letter of protest was received. He stated the Roswell Fire Department issued a statement that the trailer's proximity to a fire hydrant did not present a hazard.  MOTION Mr. Armstrong made the motion to approve Case 12-001 based on Findings of Facts. Mr. Brown made the second. There was no discussion. The motion was approved by a vote of six in favor and one against. Mr. Brown moved to waive the reading of the ‘Land Use and Zoning Considerations’ and ‘Finding of Facts’ for the following case. Mrs. Childress made the second. The motion was approved by a vote of seven in favor and zero against. CASE NO. 12-003: A Conditional Use Permit to Park a Recreational Vehicle (RV) in the Front and Side Yard Setbacks in an R-1 Residential District, Lot 3, Block 2 of Crenshaw Redivision, 2202 Crenshaw Drive, Margie Fay Spear and Juduan A. Prichard/Owners. Mr. Jaramillo stated Ms. Spear would not be able to attend for medical reasons and that Staff would present the case. He stated Staff had received a complaint about an RV at 708 West Poe Street and he noticed the violation at 2202 Crenshaw Drive while canvassing the neighborhood. He stated a previous Conditional Use Permit for a 5th Wheel Trailer had been issued in 1993. He stated Ms. Spear's husband had since passed away and she was not able to hook a 5th Wheel Trailer to a pickup and had purchased an RV to use instead. He stated the RV did not pose a hazard and is located behind a large wooden fence and the neighbor's garage. He stated it did not extend over the sidewalk. Mr. Armstrong asked if a written protest had been received from the owners of 708 West Poe Street. Mr. Jaramillo stated they had not protested and they had moved their RV. He stated one protest had been received from a property owner located within the 100' notification area for Cases 12-001 and 12-003. Chair Hanson asked if a prior Conditional Use Permit had been issued and Mr. Jaramillo stated it had. MOTION Mr. Carrillo made the motion to approve Case 12-003 as presented. Mrs. Childress made the second. There was no discussion. The motion was approved by a vote of six in favor and one against. Chair Hanson asked that comments be brief and limited to new testimony. Mr. Brown, Mr. Gross, and Mr. Carrillo recused themselves. Mr. Jaramillo stated that because more than 20% of property owners within 100' had protested, a majority of 3/4 of the Commission would be required to vote to pass the request and that a quorum was not present. He stated the Commission could still hear the case and allow it to be appealed to City Council. Barbara Patterson stated the Planning and Zoning Commission operates by Robert's Rules of Order and that it defined a quorum of the seven person Commission as four members. She stated the Commission could vote regardless of abstentions. Chair Hanson asked how the number of protests affected the required quorum. Mrs. Patterson stated that in cases with protests of over 20% of property owners within 100' a 2/3 vote of all members, or five out of seven members was required. She stated she recommended the process go forward despite not having enough votes to pass the request. She stated a vote was required because all members were present and the issue was before the Commission. She stated a record would be created to be presented in the future. Chair Hanson stated no matter the appeal process could continue no matter how the Commission voted. He asked if a recommendation could be made to forward the matter on to Council and Mrs. Patterson stated a vote would essentially move the request on. She stated the next level would be notified of the decision made by Commission. CASE NO. 11-018: A Zone Change from R-2 Residential District with a Special Use 2  Permit for a Parking Lot to C-2 Community Commercial District, the North 125' of Krumland Auto Park Easement Plat, Lot 2 of Correction Plat Krumland Auto Park Subdivision, Lot 3A of Winner Circle Right-of-Way Vacate Plat; located on the North side the 2000-2400 blocks of West 2nd Street; Roswell Property Management HY1, LLC and Krum Land and Cattle Co., LLC/Owners, Smith Engineering/Agent. Scott Hicks spoke in favor of the request. He stated in December both sides were heard. He stated Chair Hanson asked if the applicant had met with the protestors and Mr. Hicks replied he had not. He stated the case postponed until the January meeting and that an informal meeting with some of those protesting was held on January 13th at the Roswell Chamber of Commerce. He stated the discussion was civil and centered around the issues raised at the December meeting, including the noise from the loudspeakers, light from the digital sign, and balloons landing in neighboring yards. He stated Mr. Krumland informed the neighbors he had the brightness of the sign decreased and eliminated flashing after 9:00 p.m. He also informed neighbors the balloons were no longer released and that he had instructed his staff to not play music over the loudspeakers. Mr. Hicks stated those issues were not factors in the current case but that they had been addressed with the neighboring property owners protests. Mr. Hicks stated the case was postponed at the January meeting due to a lack of voting Commission members. Mr. Hicks stated the current zoning was made official by a Final Order of the City Council. He stated the Council had suggested the 125' R-2 buffer zone and that the following year a Special Use Permit for a Parking Lot in an R-2 District was granted. Mr. Hicks stated things have changed in the area and that R-2 District property has a lower value than C-2 District. He stated parking lots are no longer allowed in R-2 District because the City recognizes them as a commercial use. He stated a zone change would unify zoning on the lots and that the restrictions placed on the lot as a result of the Special Use Permit for a Parking Lot would still remain. He stated an 8' screen wall will still be required and that drainage in the rear of the lot had been addressed. He stated the R-2 District lot has no access. He stated the area is Commercial now with the Toyota and Hyundai stores already built and the Nissan store to be built soon. Charles Currier, 1900 West 4th Street, spoke in opposition to the request. He gave the Commission members additional documents. He stated the parking lot use has legal non-conforming status and a zone change is not necessary to maintain it. He stated access to the R-2 District lot is up to the applicant. He stated Exhibit A which was the Final Order issued in the Case 02-016. Mr. Currier stated the request for a zone change in Case 02-016 were met with protests by neighboring property owners. He stated the applicant offered to maintain a 125' R-2 District buffer zone. He noted Item 4 of the Final Order, the transitional zone was strongly encouraged by the City's Master Plan and that the City Council found it appropriate. He noted Item 7, the protesting property owners withdrew their protests upon considering the applicant's offer to maintain the transitional zone, meaning the offer was accepted. Mr. Currier stated the process to form a contract is to have an offer, acceptance, and consideration. He stated the steps occurred in Case 02-016. Mr. Currier stated the area on the diagram shown in green is currently R-2 District and is proposed to be changed to C-2 District. He stated 100% of owners affected by the proposed zone change opposed the request. He stated the applicant now wants to back out of the contract for the purposes of benefitting financially. He played a recording of comments made by Mr. Hicks at the January 31, 2012 meeting. He stated the zone change would result in a windfall of $400,000 for the applicant at the expense of the surrounding residential property owners. He read from a letter from a realtor stating the proposed change of zoning would likely result in decreased property values for nearby property owners. He stated Mr. Krumland should be allowed to increase his property value but not by decreasing the value of other properties. Mr. Currier played a recording of Mr. Krumland speaking at the January 31, 2012 meeting stating that nothing would change except for financing. He stated Mr. Krumland could continue development of the proposed Nissan dealership as planned without approval of a zone change. He stated similar development had already taken place on similar lots. Mr. Currier stated the C-2 District zoning would be perfect and could eventually be sold to a party who would not honor the agreement. He stated a zone change must be in the public interest and not solely in the interest of the applicant. He stated the request was solely to increase the monetary worth of the property and that the Commission was required to consider this. He stated the most appropriate use of the land was determined by the City Council in 2002 and that nothing has changed. John Eckstein, 1817 West 3rd Street, spoke in opposition to the request. He stated that in 2002 the neighbors agreed to a plan allowing for a road to the R-2 District property which was 3 determined unfeasible after the Special Use Permit for a Parking Lot was granted. He stated the original agreement was not kept but the Special Use Permit for a Parking Lot was allowed to continue. He stated the area was originally only C-2 District from 2nd Street to the alley but was then extended to 3rd Street. Chair Hanson stated he was not sure what point Mr. Eckstein was making. Mr. Eckstein asked why the C-2 District property was allowed to remain when the original agreement was rescinded. He stated the applicant gained a great deal by misleading the protestors. Helen Cogan, 1908 West 4th Street, spoke in opposition to the request. She stated she is a newer owner and a former appraiser, realtor, and expert witness on property issues. She stated people are not rezoned, land is. She stated a negative impact would be felt in the surrounding Residential Districts. She stated if it was a public take compensation would be required. She stated she and her husband opposed the request. Ivan Hall, 905 Mason Drive, stated he was around for the original zone change. He stated he was proud of the compromise and that the commercial development was supported by the neighbors. At time there were numerous vacant lots. However, five new residential homes have been built. He stated these new homes are in jeopardy and the City should be cautious and that zoning goes with property not the owner. Scott Hicks stated he wanted to clarify earlier remarks. He stated "windfall", as used by Mr. Currier, was inaccurate. He stated a zone change would provide leverage for financing. He stated he had spoken to a realtor who had told him that commercial development can have a positive or negative effect on residential property. He stated earlier complaints, such as the presence of weeds and snakes, would not be an issue on commercially developed property. He stated Mr. Eckstein was not correct that he had been lied to regarding a possible road to the R-2 District properties. He stated things have changed and the property is now commercial. Rochelle Currier, 1900 West 4th Street, read a list of possible C-2 Commercial uses, including liquor stores, crematoriums, and animal hospitals. She stated the property could be sold and uses with negative impacts could be brought in. She stated commercial development can have a very negative impact. Ann Baker, 1802 West 4th Street, spoke in opposition to the request. She stated nothing had changed since the Final Order and that development has gone according to plan. Mr. Jaramillo stated a change had been made to Findings of Fact #1. He stated State Statute had changed and now required 72 hours of advertisement instead of the former 48 hours and that the case had been advertised in accordance with new regulations. Chair Hanson stated he did not agree with the Commission voting to change a Final Order issued by Council. Mr. Armstrong stated he felt the case had been difficult for the Commission. He stated he understood the applicant's right to request a change of zoning and the residents' right to oppose it. He stated he was irritated to see the issue before the Commission when the Final Order was granted by Council. He stated the Commission was being asked to overrule Council's decision and he opposed that. He stated the applicant had the right to change his mind and the protestors had the right to disagree. Mrs. Patterson stated the Commission could vote to approve or deny for a final decision. MOTION Mr. Armstrong made the motion to deny Case 11-018 as presented. Mrs. Childress made the second. There was no discussion. In a roll call vote, Mrs. Childress, Mr. Carrillo, and Chair Hanson voted to deny the request. Mr. Gwartney voted to approve the request. Chair Hanson explained the appeal process. 4  CASE NO. 11-019: A Special Use Permit for a Church in an R-1 Residential District, Tract D of Sulimar Subdivision 2 Summary Plat 2; located on the North side of the 600 Block of West Mescalero Road; First Baptist Church of Roswell/Owner, Smith Engineering/Agent. Chair Hanson stated the Commission had been given a large volume of information and would need an adequate amount of time to read through it. He stated he was upset to have not received the information earlier and that he preferred to be able to visit sites prior to meetings. MOTION Mr. Brown made the motion to postpone Case 11-019 until the March 27, 2012 meeting. Mr. Armstrong made the second. There was no discussion. The motion was approved by a vote of seven in favor and zero against. Other Business: There was no other business to come before the Commission. The meeting was adjourned at 8:20 p.m. _________________________________ ______________________________ Chuck Hanson-Chair Eddie Carrillo- Secretary 5