Planning Commission

February 24, 2014 The Russellville Planning Commission will hold its Regular Meeting on Monday, February 24, 2014 at 5:30 p.m., in the City Hall Council Chambers. PLANNING COMMISSION AGENDA Welcome Visitors 1. A request to review and approve the minutes of the January 27, 2014 Regular Meeting. 2. A Public Hearing requesting to review and a recommendation of approval to the City Council for a Special Use Permit to allow a portable unit for sale and use located at 1101 East Parkway, submitted by Nathan Saul. (SP.14.01.118) 3. A Public Hearing requesting to review and a recommendation of approval to the City Council for a Special Use Permit to allow a mechanic shop for property located at 1209 East 14th Street, submitted by Daniel Hughes. (SP.14.02.119) 4. A Public Hearing requesting to review and a recommendation of approval to the City Council for a Special Use Permit to allow a used car lot for property located at 902 East 4th Street, submitted by Danny D. Delano. (SP.14.02.120) 5. A request to Planning Commissioners to submit nominee(s) for an at-large member to serve on the Board of Adjustment to fill the vacancy left by Dusty Bond. The appointment shall be confirmed by the Russellville City Council. 6. Late Agenda Item: A request to review and approval to close a portion of the 60’ right-of-way of West 2nd Street that lies adjacent to and south of Lots 5, 6, 7, and 8 in Block 10 in the McClure and Bayliss Additions to the City of Russellville, submitted by Kirk & Dana Warren. (ST.14.02.74) 1  Russellville Planning Commission Minutes February 24, 2014, @ 5:30 p.m. The Russellville Planning Commission held its regular meeting on Monday, February 24, 2014, at 5:30 p.m. in the Russellville City Hall Council Chambers. Members Present Chairman Dennis Boyd Herschell Hargus Vice-Chair EricWestcott Mike Wilkins Secretary Aldona Standridge Todd Meimerstorf Jimmy Davenport Doug Skelton Jimmy Sims Council Liaison Richard Harris Members Absent None Also present: City Planner David Harris, City Attorney Trey Smith, Planning Assistant Lequitta A. Jones, Fire Marshall Richard Setian, Jim Lynch/City Corp, Building Inspector Brian Holstein, RaNita Johnson/ATU, Alex Martinez/ATU, Nathan Saul, Danny Delano, and Yesy Garcia. Chairman Boyd welcomed those in attendance and recognized the presence of special guests, ATU students from Professor Michael Rodgers’ State and Local Government Class. The Chair also welcomed new Commissioners Todd Meimerstorf and Doug Skelton, encouraging them to feel at home and not hesitate to take part in tonight's discussions. Chairman Boyd then yielded the floor to Commissioner Hargus, who wished to speak. Commissioner Hargus said in the recent past he had become frustrated with the City Council disregarding Planning Commission recommendations. He further stated he understood that the council had the right to vote however they wanted to vote, but he questioned the purpose of the Planning Commission if its recommendations were overruled. That frustration led to his resignation. After further thought, Mr. Hargus said he had changed his mind regarding resignation, and hoped he would be allowed to withdraw his resignation and continue his service with the commission. He said he felt there were battles worth fighting and he wanted to be a part of it. Chairman Boyd noted that the Planning Commission does not have the authority to appoint or confirm any member to the Planning Commission. The chairman said he had spoken with Mayor Eaton, City Attorney Trey Smith, and also with Commissioner Hargus. All agreed that Mr. Hargus' request was acceptable and required no City Council action. The First Order of Business was a request to review and approve the minutes of the January 27, 2014, Regular Meeting. Commissioner Wilkins made the motion to accept the minutes of the last meeting. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Westcott and passed unanimously. The Second Order of Business was a Public Hearing requesting review and recommendation of approval to the City Council for a Special Use Permit to allow a portable unit for sale and use at 1101 East Parkway. Submitted by Nathan Saul. (SP.14.01.118) City Planner Harris said he had distributed photographs in case anybody had not had an opportunity to visit this property or was unfamiliar with it. Mr. Harris said the property is zoned C-2, so commissioners could consider granting this special permit. It is already in use as a car lot. Some of the same conditions would carry over, such as the requirement that any inventory must be on a hard surface. Mr. Saul was notified that cars on the lot east of the car lot property must also be on a hard surface, but that any expansion of the car lot would constitute an expansion of the special use, which must go through the Special Use Permit process. Planner Harris also mentioned the Commercial Building Design requirements. Should commissioners and the council choose to grant Mr. Saul his requested Special Use Permit, those requirements would apply, meaning the building would have to be finished with one of the approved materials on all walls that face the street. Planner Harris strongly recommended that commissioners attach that condition if the building is to be used in any form or fashion at anytime. That would mean the façades on the west and north would have to be completely covered with some material from the accepted list in the Zoning Code (brick, sculptured blocks, etc). Also, the forward 8' of the east and south sides would have to be faced with the material. Mr. Saul said he just wanted to use the building as a model. He noted that it is portable and can be moved in two days. I would like to use it to wash cars, but if that is a problem, I won’t. Commissioner Wilkins said he had driven by and looked at the building. He said he has no problem with portable buildings in general, but he does have a problem with this particular one. This is a large building and I question the load-bearing load rating. If you have people washing cars in there in time of snow, I think the strength of the roofing could be an issue. Another problem I have is a building this large being considered 'portable.' I drove by there last week and you could not have jammed another automobile into that lot. I just have a problem with the building being called a portable building. In my opinion, it is far from portable. If it is anchored to the earth it is not a portable building. I believe a building that size may need an engineer stamp as to the safety of the structure. This building appears to be a building similar to what you might use as a pole barn on a farm, not on a commercial lot in the City by a major intersection. I think it is a safety hazard, and if it is even going to be considered for approval, then setback rules require much further study. Alderman Harris asked if the issue was not so much the building, but the fact that he plans to use it for washing cars. Commissioner Wilkins said it is a combination of both. If they use it to wash cars, then it is not portable. It is a structure. Alderman Harris asked if this is one of several buildings that would be put on this lot for sale, or is it a model, but to be used for washing cars. 2 Planner Harris said if you approve the special permit use to sell the portable building, then Mr. Saul could place as many buildings on the lot as would fit. If the portable building business was wildly successful, Mr. Saul could choose to remove some, or all, of the cars and have more space for portable buildings. Alderman Harris asked how the building could already be on the lot if approval was required. City Planner Harris said the building was started without any permits. Planner Harris reiterated that if Mr. Saul uses the building for any purpose, then he must comply with Commercial Building Design standards. However, even if the building is not used in any way, you still have a large metal building in a commercial zone. If the building is sold and removed, then Mr. Saul seems to have indicated that he would then erect another model building, also for sale. From the standpoint of the Commercial Building Design standards, which were intended to improve the appearance of Russellville's commercial areas, what difference does it make to the appearance of the property if one metal building stays for six months, or if there is a different building every month, or every few days. Visually there would be no difference. Planner Harris gave the example of tow truck operators who argue for the right to have wrecked cars on their properties because the cars only stay a few days. People viewing the property probably would not think the new batch of wrecked cars looked any better than the batch from last week. If it is going to be a cycle of one building being sold, and then another one goes right back up, we still will have a big metal building sitting there all the time. Whether intentional or not, this would subvert the intent of the Zoning Code requirement that says you can’t have a metal building facing the street. Commissioner Skelton stated his concern that the building could decrease the values of adjacent properties, and that this concern should be part of our decision making process. Commissioner Westcott said that on the initial petition, the applicant stated that the intended use of the building was as a portable unit for sale and use, which tells me that the petitioner plans to use the building. From my perspective, this may circumvent the normal way of having to build a building, and the requirements to build something that on the outside looks portable, but isn’t really intended to be portable. I don’t see how this can be approved this under those conditions. City Planner Harris said this is a 1,440-square foot building, which is substantial. Mr. Saul said if size is a problem he would be willing to decrease it. In response to a question from Commissioner Wilkins regarding the building’s ability to withstand high winds, Mr. Saul said the manufacturer’s website stated that the building could withstand a 90 mph wind. Commissioner Wilkins said the staff and Planning Commission are charged by the City to protect the interests and safety of all the citizens of this City. I make a motion to deny the request. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Westcott and passed unanimously. The Third Order of Business was a Public Hearing requesting review and recommendation of approval to the City Council for a Special Use Permit to allow a mechanic shop for property at 1209 East 14th Street, submitted by Daniel Hughes. (SP.14.02.119) 3 Planner Harris said this is an existing building with existing concrete parking surrounded by auto-related uses. It is in a C-2 zone. Existing uses are fairly similar along 14th Street, so this would not impact uses that are already there. This building is well suited for this use. Commissioner Skelton asked Mr. Harris if they would be allowed to park inoperable vehicles in front of the business. Mr. Harris said that the commission could make a prohibition on such parking a condition of their approval. Planner Harris said the staff report included a similar condition: All work and any storage of materials and equipment should be inside. You could certainly add that any cars left outside would have to appear to be whole. Commissioner Skelton asked if there is a requirement that some type of collection service be in place for oil and other fluids. Commissioner Wilkins moved for approval with these conditions: 1) visibly dismantled/disabled vehicles must be shielded from view from the street, and 2) the business must utilize a waste collection service for oil and other fluids. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Westcott and passed unanimously. The Fourth Order of Business was a Public Hearing requesting review and recommendation of approval to the City Council for a Special Use Permit to allow a used car lot for property at 902 East 4th Street, submitted by Danny D. Delano. (SP.14.02.120) Planner Harris said there are several existing auto-related uses in the area. This is an existing building with paved parking. Mr. Delano will have to limit this inventory so that the number of spaces left available for customer parking is not reduced below the Zoning Code requirement. Planner Harris said you may want to have some sort of language that says inventory must utilize a portional share of the parking lot. Otherwise, there are no issues with this request. Mr. Delano said he would have no more than 10 vehicles on his lot at any given time. Commissioner Skelton said that is consistent with the lease between Mr. Delano and the property owner. Commissioner Skelton asked Mr. Delano if there would be any maintenance and repair work. Mr. Delano said none at all. Commissioner Westcott made the motion to approve the request subject to the terms of his lease. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Hargus and passed unanimously. The Fifth Order of Business was a request for Planning Commissioners to submit nominee(s) for an at-large member to serve on the Board of Adjustment (BOA) to fill the vacancy left by Dusty Bonds. The appointment shall be confirmed by the Russellville City Council. Chairman Boyd submitted Mr. Wesley White, former principal at Russellville High School and current school board member, for consideration. The chairman said that Mr. White has expressed an interest in serving and is well-suited. Commissioner Davenport moved to close the nominations. Commissioner Wilkins seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. Commissioner Standridge moved to submit Mr. Wesley 4 White to the City Council to fill the spot on the BOA. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Wilkins and passed unanimously. The Sixth Order of Business Late Agenda Item: A request to review and recommend approval to close a portion of the 60’ right-of-way of West 2nd Street that lies adjacent to and south of Lots 5, 6, 7, and 8 in Block 10 in the McClure and Bayliss Additions to the City of Russellville, submitted by Kirk & Dana Warren. (ST.14.02.74) The petitioner requested that this item be postponed until next month’s meeting. Meeting Adjourned. ________________________________________ Chairman Dennis Boyd 5