Planning Commission

Russellville Planning Commission Minutes April 25, 2016 @ 5:30 p.m. The Russellville Planning Commission held its regular meeting on Monday, April 25, 2016 at 5:30 p.m. in the Russellville City Hall Council Chambers. Members Present Chairman Dennis Boyd Mike Wilkins Secretary Wendell Miller Peggy Stratton Shirley Hatley Nathan Barber Todd Meimerstorf Council Liaison Freddie Harris Members Absent Vice-Chair Doug Skelton John Whiteside Also present: Mayor Randy Horton, City Engineer Kurt Jones, Planner James Walden, Building Official Brian Holstein, Planning Assistant Lequitta Jones, Fire Marshal Richard Setian, Jim Lynch/City Corp, David Garza/Barrett & Associates, Sean Ingram/The Courier, Steve and Betty Hefner/ABC Children’s Academy, Bucky Croom, Bob Weibler/ReMax First. Welcome The First Order of Business was a request to review and approve the March 28, 2016 minutes. Commissioner Wilkins made the motion to accept the minutes as written. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Miller which passed unanimously. The Second Order of Business the City Council returned the proposal for further study and recommendation for a Special Use Permit, to allow parking of trucks, equipment pertaining to house moving, and temporary parking of houses that are being moved, for property located at the corner of Hwy-7T and Jimmy Lile Road zoned C-2. Submitted by Shane Cantrell d/b/a Combs Home Builders, Inc. (SP.16.02.140) Planner Walden said this item is coming back to you because the applicant appealed to the City Council and there was new information presented. Based upon that, I’ve updated the staff report with that information. The applicant largely addressed all the concerns that were identified during the process. One of the initial concerns is what kind of material would be utilized for parking because of it being in a vegetated state, it is not suitable for parking heavy loads. The applicant has stated that the parking area will be graveled and fenced, and that a 40-foot driveway with a concrete apron would be provided. We asked what measures would be taken to protect the adjacent property owners. They will be talking to you about the finalized plan with fencing material and landscaping provided there. There will not be a dumpster on-site because there will not be any construction, demolition or additions occurring. The applicant has proposed a 90-day limit for temporary storage of no more than two houses at one time. One of the concerns with this application was what is meant by a “temporary storage and staging area.” Does this mean that the property might evolve into being a junk yard? We now have a lot more clarity on that and the applicant has proposed several self-imposed conditions that, should you approve this, I would recommend those conditions be included. The conditions are: 1. A maximum of 2 houses be staged on site at one time. 2. No house may stay on the site for more than 90 consecutive days. 3. An opaque fence and landscaping as reflected on the applicant’s site plan be installed. The detail provided by the applicant indicates a chain link fence pre-slatted with durable metal slats. 4. The use not access Highway 7-T for loading and unloading. 5. No remodeling, construction, or demolition of houses would occur on-site. That addresses largely all the concerns about intensifying over time or the other issues that were raised in terms of access and safety. The visual appearance of the site has all been addressed. The recommendation for action with this is approval with those conditions in place. The property and business owner, Shane Cantrell, said we have owned and maintained this property since 1968. There is a gas line that runs parallel to Hwy-7T on the property. So as far as building a structure of any significance in the future, this land would be limited to whatever would be built there. We just strictly want a parking area to park our equipment. I have letters from a lot of the landowners next door to us saying they have no problems with what we have done in the past or our future uses. The people of Russellville would benefit from Comb’s using our land. It would directly affect the cost of our moves in the area. A lot of times we have multiple jobs in the area, but at different dates and times. The ability to haul in one load various steel beams and having them there cuts down on hauling costs back and forth. It saves on fuel, tire wear, mileage of the vehicles and time spent hauling. It saves the local people money when we bid the jobs. The houses we move help save landfill space. It takes an average of 100 trees an average of 17 years to grow to build a normal house today. The houses we move around Russellville benefit the Russellville area directly in a positive way. When an old house is moved out something new usually goes in its place. The City benefits from that with permanent fees and materials bought here; hardware, fuel used to build, and landscaping of the new construction. The money that’s spent stays in the local economy. And then there are the old houses that we moved out. It is usually for someone to live in or for rental property. People that cannot afford a new home can afford a used home at a greatly reduced price. Once moved they come back to Russellville to buy the materials that they need to make the house their own; that’s lumber, plumbing, doors, roofing, fixtures, concrete, wiring, tools, and fuel sales directly going to the local economy. As far as fencing, we are open to the idea of a wood fence if that helps sell this better. Commissioner Wilkins said there is a lot greater detail covered in this since Mr. Cantrell’s original proposal. Throughout his history of the ownership he has tried to be a good neighbor to the church next door. We have two automobile salvage yards right down the road. And given the amount of work and diligence that he is paying in his revised proposal, the way he is trying to protect the neighbors and the fact that the staff has recommended approval, I think we need to approve this. Commissioner Wilkins made the motion to approve the request with the conditions: 2  1. A maximum of 2 houses may be staged on site at one time. 2. No house may stay on the site for more than 90 consecutive days. 3. An opaque fence and landscaping as reflected on the applicant’s site plan be installed. The detail provided by the applicant indicates a chainlink fence pre-slatted with durable metal slats. 4. The use may not access Highway 7-T for loading and unloading. 5. No remodeling, construction or demolition of houses will occur on-site. Commissioner Miller seconded the motion which passed unanimously. The Third Order of Business was a request to review and approve the Final Plat for Shiloh Manor Phase V Subdivision located north of Shiloh Road. Submitted by Dave Garza of Barrett & Associates on behalf of Bucky Croom d/b/a Croom Construction, Inc. (SD.16.04.304) Engineer Kurt Jones said this is Phase V of a Preliminary Plat that was approved several years ago. There is one more phase remaining in this particular subdivision. The developer has basically constructed everything to this point consistent with the design presented in the Preliminary Plat that was previously approved. The subdivision is not finished at this point. The applicant is requesting to provide some surety for the unfinished improvements at the time it goes to the City Council, which will need to approve the final plat. At that time, they hope to have everything done except for the final layer of asphalt. They plan to actually pave the subdivision sometime in June. Right now they are setting up to pour curb and gutter and have that poured prior to the City Council meeting in May. Dave Garza, on behalf of Bucky Croom, said all that is left is the curb and the tops of the inlets and gravel after that. We have three weeks before the City Council meets and we’re certain it will all be complete by then. Commissioner Stratton asked Engineer Jones about the sidewalks? Engineer Jones said this plat was approved without sidewalks prior to the code revision requiring sidewalks. Commissioner Meimerstorf made the motion to approve the Final Plat Phase V as submitted. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Stratton and passed unanimously. The Fourth Order of Business was a public hearing requesting review and a recommendation of approval for a Special Use Permit to operate a pre-school and child care center, for property located at 2005 East Fairway Blvd. zoned R-2. Submitted by Kirk & Dana Warren. (SP.16.04.146) Planner Walden said this property is surrounded by single-family residential to the south, an assisted living facility to the west, vacant to the north and single-family to the east. This is consistent with the comprehensive plan. In terms of review, this is almost an ideal location because this type of use will be able to be utilized by the folks that live within that area, and also located on a roadway suitable for this type of use in terms of handling that traffic. The stacking and traffic flow they provided with the loop-drive will manage the traffic well. There are three contingencies that I have for recommendation for its approval, but in this particular zone there is no site plan 3 requirement so this wouldn’t be coming back for site plan approval. So, as such, prior to building permits being issued there are three things that the applicant should address with the City staff: 1. Provide elevation drawings for the proposed structure in order to verify that they comply with the façade requirements. 2. Indicating the maximum potential employment of the site in order to verify the adequacy of the parking. 3. Indicate plans for sidewalks or make a request for payment of a fee-in-lieu. This makes sense because the assistant living facility to the west developed without sidewalks. The single-family residential neighborhood to the east has no sidewalks either. There is a multi-use trail on the other side of the street, so in terms of looking at the next 30 to 50 years there is not going to be a lot of potential for redevelopment for sidewalks to go in that area. So the fee-in-lieu for the sidewalk to be able to be used by the City for developing sidewalks would probably be advantageous in this particular situation. Mrs. Betty Hefner spoke on behalf of Kurt and Dana Warren stating the ABC Children’s Academy is requesting a Special Use Permit to expand our preschool to the Fairway location at 2005 East Fairway Blvd. The ABCCA plans to be open from 7:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at this location. Because the zoning is R-2, a Special Use Permit is being requested to operate a daycare in this area. It is going to be low traffic area and going to be closed during the summer. Dave Garza of Barrett & Associates said that their company was doing the site plan, grading plan, the utility plan and the storm water plan for this project. Bob Hiegel Architects are doing the building plans. Commissioner Wilkins made the motion to approve the request. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Hatley and passed unanimously. The Fifth Order of Business was a public hearing requesting review and a recommendation of approval to rezone property currently C-4 (Neighborhood and Quiet Business) to R-3 (Medium/High Density Residential), to construct student apartments, for property located in the 200 Block of Lakefront Drive. Submitted by Dave Garza of Barrett & Associates on behalf of Russellville Christian Center (Z0.15.12.193) City Planner Walden said this amounts in some way to a down-zoning because it is currently a combination of C-4 and R-3. They are going to all R-3 so it’s piecing together some area of C-4 with some currently R-3 property. In terms of the adjacent uses there is a hotel to the north, ATU Farm/single-family residential to the south, a mobile home park to the west that could potentially be a future phase of apartments and then commercial to the east. The property is already partially zoned for this proposed use. It is likely that the site wouldn’t be able to be well utilized unless you piece these two portions together. The property is currently surrounded by higher intensity zoning. In terms of looking at potential external impacts in the future, when you have higher intensity zoning surrounding it you are really looking at a situation where you might be 4 more concerned about the type of uses that would be exerted on this property rather than this property exerting external impacts on the adjacent property. This proposed rezoning is consistent with the comprehensive plan. The comprehensive plan indicates future multi-family development for this site. The staff recommends approval. Commissioner Wilkins asked Mr. Garza about the sidewalks. Mr. Garza said the project is going to be contingent that Tech allows them access to Red Hill Road. They will have that access as well as Lake Front Drive. They have to have two accesses. There will be eight units in the first phase. Commissioner Miller made the motion to approve the request. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Stratton and passed unanimously. The Fifth Order of Business was a public hearing requesting to approve a community rezoning sponsored by the City of Russellville for the following properties: 6A. ZO.16.03.195A - Owner C. Tim White/Ambient Investment, Inc., for property located at 200 West Tacoma currently R-1 (Single-family Residential) to C-2 (Highway Commercial). This property is used as pet grooming. 6B. ZO.16.03.195B – Owner Russell Rector/Off-Road Tire Inc., for property located at 106 West Tacoma Avenue currently R-1 (Single-family Residential) to C-2 (Highway Commercial). This property is used as a tire sales & accessory shop. 6C. ZO.16.03.195C – Owner Emmitt Barnes, for properties on West Main & 201 West Tacoma Avenue currently R-1 (Single-family Residential) to C-2 (Highway Commercial). This property is used as warehousing and vacant property. Planner Walden said several months ago, we had initiated action on an adjacent property and noted that these three properties were zoned incorrectly. There are properties in this area that are operating commercially that aren’t commercially zoned, and we needed to address that situation. So that is why the City took the initiative to contact those property owners. These properties were already being used for the kinds of commercial uses that are within this rezoning request. It is more of an issue of cleaning up the zoning and preventing future issues for the property owners should a disaster strike. This change should prevent the property owners from being put in a situation where they have to come to the City before they can move forward to address their loss. Commissioner Stratton made the motion to approve the request as submitted. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Wilkins and passed unanimously. Meeting Adjourned ___________________________________________________ Chairman Dennis Boyd 5