Planning & Zoning Commission

P&Z REGULAR MEETING MINUTES Roswell Planning & Zoning Commission Tuesday, November 28, 2023 - 6:00 PM Roswell Development Services Conference Room 500 N Main Street, Suite 100 (Sunwest Centre) Roswell, New Mexico Chair: David Storey; Vice Chair: Saul Aguilar; Secretary: Jesse McDaniel Members: Jana Lessard, Steve Henderson, Richard L. Gutierrez, Greg Holman Jessica Vickers, Esq Merideth Hildreth, AICP Miguel Martinez, CZO Louis Najar, P.E. James MacCornack, P.E. Notice of this meeting has been given to the public in compliance with Sections 10-15-1 through 10-15-4 NMSA 1978 and Resolution 23-01. A. CALL TO ORDER AND WELCOME – Chair David Storey Chair Storey called to order the regular meeting of the Planning & Zoning Commission at approximately 6:02 p.m. B. ROLL-CALL David Storey Present Saul Aguilar Absent Jesse McDaniel Present Jana Lessard Absent Steve Henderson Present Richard L. Gutierrez Absent Greg Holman Present Staff Members Present: Merideth Hildreth, AICP, Planning and Zoning Administrator Miguel Martinez, CZO, Associate Planner Louis Najar, P.E., City Engineer James MacCornack, P.E., Senior Engineer Audience Members Present: Paul Taylor, Ariana Franco, Tim Smith, Freddy Nasrallah C. SWEARING IN: Steve Henderson swore in staff and members of the audience. For the Record: Member Saul Aguilar arrived at 6:04 p.m. 1 D. APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA Consider approval of the November 28, 2023 Planning & Zoning Commission meeting agenda. Commissioner Henderson MOTIONED to approve the Tuesday, November 28, 2023 Planning & Zoning Commission agenda as presented. SECONDED by Commissioner McDaniel. A voice vote was as follows: David Storey-yes, Saul Aguilar-yes, Jesse McDaniel-yes, Steve Henderson-yes, Greg Holman-yes the motion passed 5-0 with Jana Lessard and Richard Gutierrez being absent. E. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Consider approval of the October 24, 2023 Planning & Zoning Commission meeting minutes. Commissioner Holman MOTIONED to approve the minutes of the October 24, 2023 Planning & Zoning Commission meeting as presented. SECONDED by Commissioner Aguilar. A voice vote was as follows: David Storey-yes, Saul Aguilar-yes, Jesse McDaniel-yes, Steve Henderson-yes, Greg Holman-yes the motion passed 5-0 with Jana Lessard and Richard Gutierrez being absent. F. PUBLIC HEARING ITEMS: 1. CASE 23-012 SUP: Request for a Special Use Permit to operate a Child Care Center in I-1 Light Industrial Zoning District at 602 E College Blvd. Chair Storey introduced Case 23-012 SUP Commissioner McDaniel MOTIONED to waive the reading of the findings of fact and land use and zoning considerations with respect to case 23-012 SUP. SECONDED by Commissioner Aguilar. A voice vote was as follows: David Storey-yes, Saul Aguilar-yes, Jesse McDaniel-yes, Steve Henderson-yes, Greg Holman-yes the motion passed 5-0 with Jana Lessard and Richard Gutierrez being absent. Merideth Hildreth: Presented Case 23-012 SUP Louis Najar Comments: This place was used by Maddy-Tay’s in the past. The location is suitable for use as a child care with on-site drop-off and pick-up area. A child care center is a permitted use in the I-1 Zoning District with a Special Use Permit. Chair Storey: Is there anyone wishing to speak in favor of Case 23-012 SUP? In Favor: Ariana Franco: Requesting Special Use Permit to operate a child care center will be beneficial for the community since many of the child cares in Roswell have a waiting list to care for children, especially infants. This center will operate 6:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Monday thru Friday and will be able to care for at least 30 infants. 2 Paul Taylor: Owns the building and is looking forward to Ariana Franco’s child care center opening. Maddy-Tay’s Pre-School used this space for many years. Chair Storey: Is there anyone wishing to speak against Case 23-012 SUP? Against: None Motion – 23-012 SUP Based on the land use and zoning considerations, findings of fact, conclusions of law, surrounding land uses, regulations established in the Zoning Ordinance, Staff recommendations, materials presented, and testimony received, Commissioner Henderson MOTIONED to approve Zoning Case 23-012 SUP. SECONDED by Commissioner McDaniel. A voice vote was as follows: David Storey-yes, Saul Aguilar-yes, Jesse McDaniel- yes, Steve Henderson-yes, Greg Holman-yes the motion passed 5-0 with Jana Lessard and Richard Gutierrez being absent. Chair Storey: Indicated in his opinion the reason the Commission approved this case was based on staff recommendations, previous use, and everyone seeming to like the location and building use, and the need for it. 2. CASE 22-039 CANN TIME EXT: Request for approval of a time extension to obtain a Building Permit to build and operate a new retail cannabis establishment with ancillary facility located at 3500 S Main Street. Chair Storey introduced Case 22-039 CANN TIME EXT Commissioner McDaniel MOTIONED to waive the reading of the findings of fact and land use and zoning considerations with respect to case 22-039 CANN TIME EXT. SECONDED by Commissioner Aguilar. A voice vote was as follows: David Storey-yes, Saul Aguilar-yes, Jesse McDaniel-yes, Steve Henderson-yes, Greg Holman-yes the motion passed 5-0 with Jana Lessard and Richard Gutierrez being absent. Merideth Hildreth: Presented Case 22-039 CANN TIME EXT Louis Najar Comments: Appreciates the request for the time extension. The Engineering Department is seeing cost increases in bids and having to rebid while cutting items out in order to stay within budget. A new build is different from a tenant space remodel. Mr. Najar supports this request for a time extension and affirms the economic and market situation. Chair Storey: Is there anyone wishing to speak in favor of Case 22-039 CANN TIME EXT? 3 In Favor: Freddy Nasrallah: Asking for a time extension not only because of market conditions, but there are only two banks in New Mexico that fund cannabis that he is working with. Mr. Najar: The building design is UFO-themed and not a standard build. Chair Storey: Is there anyone wishing to speak against Case 22-039 CANN TIME EXT? Against: None Motion – 22-039 CANN TIME EXT Commissioner Aguilar MOTIONED to approve Zoning Case 22-039 CANN TIME EXT based on the surrounding land uses, regulations established in the Zoning Ordinance and Subdivision Code, and testimony presented. SECONDED by Commissioner McDaniel. A voice vote was as follows: David Storey-yes, Saul Aguilar-yes, Jesse McDaniel-yes, Steve Henderson-yes, Greg Holman-no the motion passed 4-1 with Jana Lessard and Richard Gutierrez being absent. Explanation by Commissioner Holman: Finds the business use and building use not beneficial to the community. In the past year, several new businesses have come up; extending time to add a new cannabis business is not a good use for that space. Explanation by Commissioner McDaniel: Thinks it is beneficial when someone invests an estimated $3 million in our community. Cannabis is now a legal business now just like alcohol stores. Business is business. It takes money and revenues to run cities and everything else. 3. CASE 23-013 ZOC: Request for a Change of Zoning of approximately 8.273 acres from R-3 Residential to MHC Manufactured/Mobile Home Community in order to expand 7.626-acre Paradise Greens Mobile Home Park on existing 15.899-acre lot. Chair Storey introduced Case 23-013 ZOC Commissioner Holman MOTIONED to waive the reading of the findings of fact and land use and zoning considerations with respect to case 23-013 ZOC. SECONDED by Commissioner Henderson. A voice vote was as follows: David Storey-yes, Saul Aguilar-yes, Jesse McDaniel-yes, Steve Henderson-yes, Greg Holman-yes the motion passed 5-0 with Jana Lessard and Richard Gutierrez being absent. 4 4. CASE 23-014 VAR: Request for a Variance to north Yard Setback for proposed units in Paradise Greens Mobile Home Park. Chair Storey introduced Case 23-014 VAR Commissioner Aguilar MOTIONED to waive the reading of the findings of fact and land use and zoning considerations with respect to case 23-014 VAR. SECONDED by Commissioner Holman. A voice vote was as follows: David Storey-yes, Saul Aguilar-yes, Jesse McDaniel-yes, Steve Henderson-yes, Greg Holman-yes the motion passed 5-0 with Jana Lessard and Richard Gutierrez being absent. Merideth Hildreth: Presented Case 23-013 ZOC and Case 23-014 VAR Merideth Hildreth: Comments on Case 23-014 VAR Requested Planning & Zoning Commission provide determination of Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law when rendering a decision on this case. Ms. Hildreth read sections from the Zoning Ordinance listed on page 61 of the meeting packet regarding standards for approving variances. Staff is asking the Commission to discuss and apply the code and provide the reasons of either denial or approval for all zoning cases and especially for variances given how the code is written in stipulating the granting of a variance. Commissioner McDaniel: Why isn’t staff giving a recommendation on this case? Merideth Hildreth: Our legal staff wants the Commission to apply the code and to provide the reasons for denial or approval for all zoning cases. Miguel Martinez: It is up to the applicant to show proof of hardship on the property. There was no evidence of a hardship provided on the property. This is why staff presented to case to the Commission for an unbiased recommendation. That was the directive given from the legal team. Louis Najar Comments: The applicant is following the rules. I agree with Miguel about the hardship for the variance. I don’t see it. You could lose some lots and make the setbacks work. I don’t agree with the preliminary site plan. Internal roads vary in width and are too narrow. An eight-foot sidewalk would be required in the right-of-way along Country Club and along Atkinson. All of that is the engineering part. We have two things here, the zone change to correct the mismatch in zoning. A solid fence on all sides would be required. I understand that it is affordable housing. The 20-foot setback is measured from the property line. An accessory structure requires a 10-foot clearance from the primary structure. This would require another variance in the future. Solid screen fencing on all sides of the mobile home park will be required. 5 Chair Storey: Is there anyone wishing to speak in favor of Case 23-013 ZOC or 23- 014 VAR? In Favor: Preston Mitchell: Landscaping would be outside the wall along Country Club. The piece of property along the north property line is narrow. We are willing to remove a couple of units to comply with setbacks. We want to improve this piece of property and provide affordable homes. I am a mobile home dealer in the State of New Mexico and am able to bring in new homes relatively quickly. As tenants move out, older homes will be replaced with newer homes. This park has 74 units and approximately 98% occupancy. The strip in the front is unusual as it is a narrow strip. When we purchased the park, there were 52 park-owned homes of which only 25 were rented and the rest were uninhabitable. We rehabbed some, sold, and demolished some. We brought in several new tenant-owned homes. There are only two rental units at this time that are Section 8 housing. Chair Storey: If one case passes and the other fails, does that hinder the project at all? Preston Mitchell: The zone change would have to happen for the project to happen at all. We could work without the variance if we had to. We would appreciate the variance because we are investing money and trying to provide affordable housing. We are fine with shaving off a few spaces to accommodate accessory structures in each mobile home space. Merideth handed out a copy of Article 22: MHC Manufactured/Mobile Home Community District. Louis Najar: This could be a double variance. One variance for the setback requirement and one variance for the accessory structure distance requirements. Preston Mitchell: We have already taken out the dead trees and shrubs. We are still cleaning up with the property and removing older homes. We bought this park in 2021. Bringing in newer units and removing older units, installing landscaping and a privacy wall will improve the look and feel of this property. Commissioner Holman: Carports are allowed in the side yard setback. Can we allow for storage sheds to be allowed within that same side yard setback? Louis Najar: If that is what you want to allow, include that in the variance now so it will be established in the carport area. Commissioner Holman: The chart in Article 22 reads the 35-foot setback is measured from yard to street. 6 Merideth Hildreth: Everywhere else in the code, setbacks are measured from the property line. If you look at page 58 in your packet, you see the plat, an excerpt from the plat, and a the property corners. Louis Najar: We have one case that is the zone change. The other case is the variance. I would request more of an effort and definition of the variance being requested for the accessory structures. Tim Smith: Based on the number of inquiries at Paradise Greens Mobile Home Park, there is a high demand for low-income housing in this area. More homes will benefit the community. Michelle Hampton: I have lived on the property for four years and have seen major improvements to the park and yards in the past couple of years. I’ve seen the trailers been redone and repainted. The owners have done wonders. When I first moved into the park it was bad with lots of police calls, drugs, and shootings. I’m here to support the request and believe this would be an improvement to the community for trailers to be moved into the park. Chair Storey: Is there anyone wishing to speak against Case 23-013 ZOC or Case 23- 014 VAR? Against: None Motion – 23-013 ZOC Commissioner Holman MOTIONED to approve Zoning Case 23-013 ZOC from R- 3 to MHC as presented based on the land use and zoning considerations, findings of fact, lists as presented in Exhibit B, conclusions of law list, number 1 though seven. SECONDED by Commissioner McDaniel. A voice vote was as follows: David Storey-yes, Saul Aguilar-yes, Jesse McDaniel-yes, Steve Henderson-yes, Greg Holman-yes the motion passed 5-0 with Jana Lessard and Richard Gutierrez being absent. Motion – 23-014 VAR Commissioner McDaniel MOTIONED to approve Zoning Case 23-014 VAR based on the land use and zoning considerations, findings of fact, conclusions of law, surrounding land uses, regulations established in the Zoning Ordinance, Staff recommendations, materials presented, and testimony received, and add to this variance that it will be allowed for detached and attached structures in the side setback to include carports and/or accessory structures such as storage sheds as long as it meets space side setback. SECONDED by Commissioner Aguilar. 7  Commissioner McDaniel: The reasons for making my motion for approval, on page 61 of the packet, Exhibit B, Section 8, is that nobody was opposed to the variance. In my opinion the lot is narrow, and the request is in the best interest of the public and not solely in the applicant’s interest due to the dire need for affordable housing. Chair Storey: The twenty-foot setback will be measured from the property line. The fence will be on the property line, so from the street you wouldn’t be able to see if the setback of houses is 20’ or 35’. Visually, it will not be noticed from the street. Commissioner Holman: There is also the discrepancy in the Zoning Ordinance Article 22 Section 4 table that states 35’ yard setback from street rather than property line. A voice vote was as follows: David Storey-yes, Saul Aguilar-yes, Jesse McDaniel- yes, Steve Henderson-yes, Greg Holman-yes the motion passed with Jana Lessard and Richard Gutierrez being absent. G. OTHER BUSINESS H. PUBLIC COMMENTS I. ANNOUNCEMENTS Happy Birthday to Commissioner Henderson J. ADJOURN Chair Storey adjourned the meeting at 7:32 p.m. 8