Zoning Board of Adjustments

MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE SAN MARCOS ZONING BOARD OF ADJUSTMENTS San Marcos City Council Chambers 630 E Hopkins San Marcos, TX 78666 June 16, 2016 Board Members Present: Lisa Spencer, Chair Matthew Chambers, Vice-Chair Gary Gooch, Member Rick Henderson, Member Ivan Friedman, 1st Alternate City Staff Present: Shannon Mattingly, Director of Planning and Development Services Tory Carpenter, Planner Will Parrish, Planning Technician 1. Call to Order / Roll Call With a quorum present, the Regular Meeting of the San Marcos Zoning Board of Adjustments was called to order by Chair Spencer at 5:45 p.m. on Thursday, June 16th, 2016 in the San Marcos City Council Chambers, 630 E. Hopkins, San Marcos, Texas 78666. 2. Chairperson’s Opening Remarks. Chair Spencer welcomed the audience. 3. Executive Session. There was no Executive Session discussion. 4. Citizen Comment Period. Chair Spencer opened the citizen comment period. No one spoke. 5. VR-16-01 Hold a public hearing and consider the appeal, by Kate Kniejski, on behalf of Gunner Inc., for a for a Special Exception to permit the reconstruction of a nonconforming building which has been damaged to the extent more than 50% of its replacement cost at 701 Cheatham Street.  Page 2 of 4 Tory Carpenter presented the staff report and recommended approval as submitted. Chair Spencer opened the public hearing. 3 comment letters were received and given to each member of the Board to review. Kate Kniejski, 2021 E. 5th Street, Ste 110, Austin TX, representing the owner, presented the case to the Board. Joanna Reid, Austin, TX, representing the applicant, presented the case to the Board Curtis Gunnarson, Austin, TX, the applicant, presented his case to the Board. Diane Wassenich, 11 Tanglewood, spoke about previous code and construction violations on the property and urged the Board to be careful in the way they word their motion. Tatiana Walker, 326 Riverside, spoke against the request. Michael Lean, 315 Riverside, spoke against the request. Anna Martinez, 315 Riverside, spoke against the request. Laurie Gunnarson, 330 Riverside, spoke in favor of the request. Denel Gunnarson, 8528 Adirondack Austin TX, spoke in favor of the request. There were no additional citizen comments. Chair Spencer closed the public hearing. MOTION: Ivan Freeman made a motion to Deny. The motion was seconded by Matt Chambers. After discussion the motion failed 5-0. MOTION: Ivan Freedman made a motion to postpone to allow neighbors and staff to work with the applicant to bring forward a recommendation. The motion failed for lack of a second. MOTION: Rick Henderson made a motion to approve with the condition that the applicant will work with the City and stakeholders including the neighboring residences to mitigate any flooding issues. The motion was seconded by Gary Gooch. After discussion Ivan Freedman made a motion to amend the motion. Amendment: Require the applicant to work with the neighbors to address issues such as landscaping, light pollution, dumpster location, and watershed protection plan phase 2. The amendment was seconded by Matt Chambers. After discussion Ivan Freedman withdrew his amendment. Rick Henderson then made a motion to amend his motion to approve. Amendment: The applicant will work with the City and stakeholders, including neighboring residents to mitigate flooding among adjacent properties, as well as address landscaping, light pollution, dumpster location, and require a watershed protection plan phase 2 for the area being reviewed for drainage. The amendment was seconded Ivan Freedman. The motion was approved 5-0. 6. VR-16-02 Hold a public hearing and consider a request by Kate Kniejski, on behalf of Gunner, Inc, for a Special Exception to permit the resumption of a previously abandoned nonconforming (grandfathered) use at 705 Cheatham Street, being the River Pub parking lot. Tory Carpenter presented the staff report and recommended approval as submitted.  Page 3 of 4 Chair Spencer opened the public hearing. Kate Kniejski, 2021 E. 5th Street, Ste 110, Austin TX, representing the owner, presented the case to the Board. Joanna Reid, Austin, TX, representing the applicant, presented the case to the Board. Tatiana Walker, 326 Riverside, requested a xeriscape requirement and that the large oak tree be protected. Diane Wassenich, 11 Tanglewood, also stated that xeriscaping would be good, and that the large oak tree should be protected from the parking area. Laurie Gunnarson, 330 Riverside, spoke in favor of the request. MOTION: Ivan Freedman made a motion to deny. The motion was seconded by Matt Chambers. The vote was 3-2, with member Gary Gooch and Chair Spencer voting against the motion. MOTION: Rick Henderson made a motion to postpone to a future date in order for the concerns of the Board to be addressed by the applicant and Staff. The motion was seconded by Gary Gooch. The motion passed 5-0. 7. Consider approval of the minutes of the ZBOA Regular Meeting on September 18, 2014. MOTION: Rick Henderson made a motion to approve the minutes. The motion was seconded by Ivan Freedman and passed unanimously, 5-0. 8. Question and Answer Session with Press and Public. There were no comments. 9. Adjournment There being no further business for the Zoning Board of Adjustments, Chair Spencer adjourned the meeting at 7:50 PM on Thursday June 16, 2016. _________________________________ ___________________________________ Lisa Spencer, Chair Gary Gooch, Member _________________________________ ___________________________________ Matthew Chambers, Vice Chair Rick Henderson, Member ________________________________ Ivan Freeman, 1st Alternate ATTEST:  Page 4 of 4 ____________________________________ Will Parrish Planning Technician