Planning Commission

Spearfish Planning Commission Agenda (revised see item C.) Tuesday, February 2, 2021 - 3:00 PM Meeting Location: Zoom Online Meeting Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81073154122 Meeting ID: 810 7315 4122 Dial in: 1 669 900 9128 & enter Meeting ID A. Call To Order B. Roll Call C. Introduction of new member, Abe Kean D. Approve the Minutes from January 19, 2021 E. Declaration of Conflicts of Interest F. Items for Action 1. Request: Modify Zoning Ordinance Article V. Section 3. Minimum Off Street Parking Requirements, Section A.3. pertaining to multi-family parking requirements Location: All zoning districts where multi family is permitted. Applicant: Costello Companies Action: Hold a public hearing and make recommendation to City Council 2. Request: Approve a variance to the front yard lot width requirements of Appendix A Zoning, Section IV. District Regulations, Section 2. R1 Single Family Location: Lot 1 Block 9 Sandstone Hills Addition Applicant: Steve and Kim Hines Action: Make a recommendation and set public hearing date for Board of Adjustment for February 16, 2021 3. Discussion Solar Energy Systems Ordinance and Input: Location: TBD Applicant: City of Spearfish Action: Provide input 4. City Council Update 5. Public Comment - Public comments are welcome at this time, however, no action will be taken. ADA Compliance: The City of Spearfish fully subscribes to the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act. If you desire to attend this public meeting and are in need of special accommodations, please notify the Building and Development Office at 642-1335 and 24 hours prior to the meeting so that appropriate auxiliary aids and services are available.  Spearfish Planning Commission Staff Report Meeting Location: Zoom Online Meeting – instructions to join on page 3 Meeting Date and Time: February 2, 2021 at 3pm Applicant: Costello Companies Request: Modify Zoning Ordinance Article V. Section 3. Minimum Off Street Parking Requirements, Section A.3. pertaining to multi-family parking requirements Action: Hold a public hearing and make a recommendation to City Council Location: City-wide Proposal Summary: This will modify the city’s existing zoning requirements for projects associated with South Dakota Housing Development Authority. Background and History: • City recently amended parking in the C-1 for multifamily uses • Pennbrook Apartments request for a parking variance served as catalyst for this discussion The standards that guide this decision are the following, from the zoning code with staff’s analysis in bold following each statement. A. Standards for amendments. A proposed amendment shall be considered on its own merits using the following criteria as a guide. 1. Text or map amendments. Proposed amendments shall: a. Be necessary because of substantially changed or changing conditions of the area and district affected, or in the ordinance generally. staff has been provided with input that the current requirement is inconsistent with actual demand for parking for multi-family projects where income limits are imposed. b. Be consistent with the intent and purposes of the ordinance. Off street parking will be provided. c. Not directly or indirectly adversely affect any other part of the ordinance. No adverse effects are presented. d. Be consistent with and not in conflict with the Spearfish comprehensive plan. The Plan indicates the need for Page 1 Spearfish Planning Commission Staff Report Meeting Date: 2-2-2021 regulations to promote ….”smarter, more sustainable growth” (p. 10, Implementation Strategy 1.) Staff Analysis: This proposal requests the city to adopt a parking standard that would enable multi-family housing projects developed under specific State authorized programs using federal funding. Under this limitation, staff believes this could be a reasonable alternative to the standard parking requirements but only for the properties that are in the state administered programs. The proposal is for each 1-bedroom or 2-bedroom unit, the parking required is 1.5 spaces. For each 3-bedroom unit, the parking required is 2 spaces. To test the proposed new parking rate as applied to this type of income restricted property, staff analyzed the Rocky Bluffs and Clear Springs apartments in McGuigan Ranch phase 1. Both properties are located on Clear Springs Road and were built using the using the Federal Low Income Housing Tax Credit program administered by the State of South Dakota. Staff visited these properties on several occasions and confirmed the following actual parking usage. Both parcels developed using the 2.25 parking spaces per unit requirement. Thursday 1-14-21 at 6pm: Rocky Bluffs: 72 spaces required / 26 spaces occupied Clear Springs: 79 spaces required / 45 spaces occupied Saturday 1-23-21 at 5pm: Rocky Bluffs: 72 spaces required / 36 spaces occupied Clear Springs: 79 spaces required / 38 spaces occupied Sunday 1-24-21 at 8am: Rocky Bluffs: 72 spaces required / 38 spaces occupied Clear Springs: 79 spaces required / 52 spaces occupied According to the property manager, there are no vacancies at either of the above properties now. Additionally, the manager noted that around 50 percent of the units need two parking spaces, and she felt that there was not any shortage of parking. Using the proposed rate of 1.5 parking spaces per 1 and 2 bedroom units, and 2 parking spaces for a 3 bedroom unit, the following results: Rocky Bluff: 2 bedroom / 16 units x 1.5 = 24 parking spaces 3 bedroom / 16 units x 2.0 = 32 parking spaces 56 parking spaces Page 2 Spearfish Planning Commission Staff Report Meeting Date: 2-2-2021 Clear Springs: 2 bedroom / 20 units x 1.5 = 30 parking spaces 3 bedroom / 15 units x 2.0 = 30 parking spaces 60 parking spaces Staff also followed up with the cities of Yankton, Rapid City, Sioux Falls and Pierre, who use the 1.5 stalls per unit standard: Yankton – no issues encountered with inadequate parking Rapid City – no issues encountered except when a developer provides garages they can turn into storage or used for other than parking. Working on enforcement methods. Sioux Falls – similar to Rapid City, if a developer builds garage or underground parking that fulfills the requirement, and then charges a premium for those spots, the other parking fills up. Pierre – no issues but when garages are proposed to meet parking requirements, it automatically bumps the parking required from 1.5 to 2 spaces for those units. If a second round of multi family parking revisions are desired by the City Council, the garage parking and paid parking issue will be explored in greater detail. For this amendment, both scenarios are unlikely in the affordable housing context. Staff’s opinion is that with Pennbrook Apartments being the first project to use the new rates, any impacts will be known within the next few years and appropriate revisions could be made. Zoning regulations should evolve with changing conditions when a legitimate issue requires a different approach. Public Comments: No comments have been received. A public hearing notice was provided to the newspaper. STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Approve ATTACHMENTS: Page 4 – Ordinance form of special parking rates Page 6 – Costello Companies request for zoning text amendment pertaining to parking rates Page 9-11 – Supplementary documents STAFF CONTACT: Jayna Watson, City Planner, 605-717-1122; jayna.watson@cityofspearfish.com Zoom Meeting Instructions: Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81073154122 Meeting ID: 810 7315 4122 Dial in: 1 669 900 9128 & enter Meeting ID Page 3 Spearfish Planning Commission Staff Report Meeting Date: 2-2-2021  ORDINANCE NO. AN ORDINANCE AMENDING APPENDIX A. ZONING, ARTICLE V. SUPPLEMENTARY REGULATIONS, SECTION 3. MINIMUM OFF-STREET PARKING REQUIREMENTS. BE IT ORDAINED by the Common Council of the City of Spearfish, that Appendix A. Zoning, Article II. Definitions and Article V. Supplementary Regulations, Section 3 of the Revised Ordinances of the City of Spearfish is hereby amended—with strikethrough indicating text to be deleted, underline indicating text to be added, and the remainder of the Article left unaffected—as follows: APPENDIX A. ZONING [...] ARTICLE V. SUPPLEMENTARY REGULATIONS SECTION 3. MINIMUM OFF-STREET PARKING REQUIREMENTS 1. Standards. a. Each off-street parking space shall be an area of not less than one hundred seventy- one (171) square feet, exclusive of access or maneuvering area, ramps, and other appurtenances as per the following standards (for illustration, see Appendix 2): [...] 3. Minimum amounts of off-street parking facilities required. The following minimum amounts of off-street parking facilities shall be provided. The classification of uses shall be deemed to include and apply to all uses and if the classification is not readily determinable it shall be fixed by the zoning administrator. a. Dwellings, one-family and two-family. Two (2) spaces per dwelling unit. b. Dwellings, multi-family. (1) 2.25 spaces per dwelling unit except for senior citizens housing which shall provide 1.5 spaces per unit. (2) For property governed by funding programs administered by the South Dakota Housing Development Authority, 1.5 spaces per one-bedroom or two-bedroom unit, and 2 spaces per 3-bedroom unit. (2)(3) In C-1 and CC zoning districts only, 1.5 spaces per studio/efficiency apartment dwelling unit or one-bedroom multi-family dwelling unit; 2.25 spaces per dwelling unit for all other multi family dwelling units. Page 4 Spearfish Planning Commission Staff Report Meeting Date: 2-2-2021 Severability. The provisions of this ordinance are severable. If any provisions of this ordinance or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held to be invalid, such invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of this ordinance which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application. Effective Date. This ordinance will be effective 20 days following publication, which will occur after the ordinance receives second and final reading by the City Council and is signed by the Mayor. Dated this ___day of __________,2021 CITY OF SPEARFISH By: _____________________________ Dana Boke, Mayor ATTEST: ____________________________________ Michelle DeNeui, Finance Officer (SEAL) First reading: Second reading: Published: Effective: Page 5 Spearfish Planning Commission Staff Report Meeting Date: 2-2-2021  Page 6 Spearfish Planning Commission Staff Report Meeting Date: 2-2-2021  Page 7 Spearfish Planning Commission Staff Report Meeting Date: 2-2-2021  Page 8 Spearfish Planning Commission Staff Report Meeting Date: 2-2-2021  Page 9 Spearfish Planning Commission Staff Report Meeting Date: 2-2-2021  Page 10 Spearfish Planning Commission Staff Report Meeting Date: 2-2-2021  Page 11 Spearfish Planning Commission Staff Report Meeting Date: 2-2-2021  Spearfish Planning Commission Staff Report Meeting Location: Zoom Online Meeting – instructions to join on page 4 Meeting Date February 2, 2021 at 3 p.m. and Time: Applicant: Steve and Kim Hines Request: Approve a variance to the front yard lot width requirements of Appendix A Zoning, Section IV. District Regulations, Section 2. R1 Single Family Action: Make a recommendation and set the Board of Adjustment's public hearing for February 16, 2021 Location: Lot 1 Block 9 Sandstone Hills Addition Proposal Summary: Reduce lot width from 75 feet to 57 feet. BACKGROUND AND HISTORY: • This parcel is zoned PUD/ R-1 Single Family • Parcel size is 2.4 acres • Immediately adjacent to the Lookout Mountain open space conservation area on the north and west • Single family residential located to the east and south • Access from the Pony Express hammerhead turnaround area PROJECT DATA: • The minimum lot width for single family zoning is 75 feet • The applicant is requesting a reduction in lot width to 57 feet • Three lots are proposed (three and fewer lots are administrative approvals, no preliminary plat submittal required) REVIEW CRITERIA AND STAFF FINDINGS: The owner wishes to divide this parcel with each lot having a frontage along Pony Express Lane. Lot width must be measured along the Pony Express right of way according to the zoning code: Setback line means a line delineating the minimum allowable distance between property boundaries and the foundation of a structure, within which no building or other structure shall be placed except as provided in Article V, Section 2. The front setback line is parallel to or concentric with the street right-of-way. (Editor’s note: section 2 pertains to fencing, landscaping, and site distances) The steeper topography of this area presents challenges to developing at greater intensity than in other locations in Sandstone. For this reason, lots in this location were platted into larger parcels because of the constraints associated with steep streets, and limited building sites. Variances must be evaluated according to the criteria established by the zoning code, below. Staff findings are in bold. Article VI Administration and Enforcement, Section 2. Variances: D. Evaluation Criteria. A variance shall be approved only if the applicant is able to satisfy each of the following three (3) criteria: 1. The requested variance is not contrary to the public interest, as determined by the Board of Adjustment. In order to fulfill the public interest, the proposed variance must not: a. Alter the essential character of the locality or b. Endanger public safety. Page 2 Spearfish Planning Commission Staff Report Meeting Date: 2-2-2021  Findings: 1.a: A reduction in lot width has a corresponding effect on development intensity. With the variance three lots/building sites on this parcel would result with the smallest at 12,637 square feet, and 13,349 square feet. The lots on the immediately adjoining parcels are ¾ acre, .9 acres, and 1.9 acres. In staff’s opinion, the size of this parcel does not imply it has or should have more carrying capacity. 1.b: Public safety would not be endangered by this proposal. Criteria 1.a is not met, and criteria 1.b is met. 2. The requested variance must result from special physical conditions on the property, which: a. Are natural or man-made surroundings, shape, or topographical conditions that do not result from persons presently having an interest in the property; or b. Because the property is situated within any of the following downtown core neighborhoods and has a lot width of seventy-five feet (75’) or less, or a square footage of less than eight thousand (8,000) square feet i. Original Town Plat ii. Uhlig Addition iii. Ramsdell Addition iv. West Addition v. Schar’s Addition Findings: 2.a: The applicant cites the configuration of the existing lot lines as the primary constraint to dividing their lot into three parcels. All parcels have a limited number of lots based on how the parcel boundaries are configured. The total lot width at the front setback of the existing overall parcel is 171 feet. This correlates to a maximum of two lots within the overall boundary to develop at the code required 75 feet of lot width. It is the lot width regulation itself that places the third lot in question, not the shape of the parcel boundary. Criteria 2.a is not met. Criteria 2.b does not apply. Page 3 Spearfish Planning Commission Staff Report Meeting Date: 2-2-2021  3. A literal enforcement of the provisions will result in unnecessary hardship. a. Because of the special physical conditions of the property, unusual hardship that would serve no public purpose would result to the owner if required to act in strict conformity with the provisions of the zoning regulations and the authorization of a variance is therefore necessary to enable the reasonable use of the property. b. The hardship must be unique to a particular piece of property to justify a variance, and not shared by all property in a particular zone Findings: 3.a: The applicants cite the Lookout Mountain conservation area as a hardship since they had requested a land trade with the city to adjust their lot line at the southwest corner (see map on page 5). The land trade did not proceed. No hardship is imposed when the city, or any other landowner, is unable to modify their parcel boundary to accommodate another owner’s property development plan. The public purpose served by a lot width minimum is to promote a roughly uniform development pattern of the immediate area. This variance would be contrary to this intent based on the immediate surroundings where lot widths are 170 feet and larger. 3.b: There no unique quality associated with being adjacent to the open space area. Many lots border the Lookout Mountain conservation area and develop while still meeting code requirements. Criteria 3.a and 3.b are not met. PUBLIC COMMENTS: The applicant will post a public hearing notice on the property concerning the Board of Adjustment’s hearing and notice also will be sent to the newspaper. According to the applicant, the adjoining neighbors are in support of their request. STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Set public hearing for the Board of Adjustment for February 16, 2021; staff does not support. ATTACHMENTS: Page 5 – Aerial Map Page 6 – Site Plan Page 7 - Applicant’s narrative and variance questionnaire STAFF CONTACT: Jayna Watson, City Planner, 605-717-1122; jayna.watson@cityofspearfish.com City Spearfish is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting. Spearfish Planning Commission - Time: Feb 2, 2021 03:00 PM Mountain Time Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81073154122 Meeting ID: 810 7315 4122 Dial in: 1 669 900 9128 & enter Meeting ID Page 4 Spearfish Planning Commission Staff Report Meeting Date: 2-2-2021  Lot 1 Block 9 Sandstone Hills Applicants requested a possible land trade with city to gain some additional frontage as shown in yellow triangle, which would have enabled the 75 feet for minimum lot width. The trade did not proceed. Page 5 Spearfish Planning Commission Staff Report Meeting Date: 2-2-2021  Page 6 Spearfish Planning Commission Staff Report Meeting Date: 2-2-2021  Page 7 Spearfish Planning Commission Staff Report Meeting Date: 2-2-2021  Page 8 Spearfish Planning Commission Staff Report Meeting Date: 2-2-2021  Page 9 Spearfish Planning Commission Staff Report Meeting Date: 2-2-2021 Continuation from page 9, Item 1, Variance Justification form: “be able to see very much of our proposed development. There are no houses to the north and west. The home owners adjacent to our property are supportive of our plans.” Page 10 Spearfish Planning Commission Staff Report Meeting Date: 2-2-2021  P L A N N I N G C O M M I S S O N U P D A T E M EM O RA N D U M Date: 2/2/2021 TO: Planning Commission FROM: Jayna Watson, City Planner RE: Photovoltaic/Solar Regulations At the January 19 meeting, the Commission provided additional input to these regulations. Attached is the ordinance outline with some key topics identified for discussion. Please see red text for new information. Definition Based on the input received, staff proposes the following name and definition of the land use. Staff recommends that the size of the parcel not be included in the definition since this is a development standard and is more appropriate to be included in the CUP criteria. Utility Scale Solar Energy System (USES) means a parcel of land where its primary use is the location of one or more devices that rely upon sunshine as an energy source and are capable of collecting, converting, distributing, and storing (if appropriate to the technology) the sun's radiant energy into electrical or thermal energy. A solar energy system includes the solar collection panels and related energy conversion equipment, components, and buildings. This definition does not include solar energy devices used for onsite energy consumption which is allowed as described by the accessory use definition. (see existing accessory use definition on page 2 for reference). (staff note: eliminated the listing of specific componentry such as batteries, transformers, etcetera so as not to have to cover every possible element of solar-electric or solar-thermal)  Accessory use means a use customarily incidental and subordinate to the principal use of land and/or buildings located on the same lot or on an adjoining lot where at least one property line connects to a lot having the same ownership where a primary/permitted use is located, and with a development lot agreement as further described in Section VI Administration and Enforcement. An accessory use may only be constructed in conjunction with the issuance of a building permit for, or following the construction of, a primary use. A topic discussed at the last meeting was how to mitigate impacts on the adjoining properties. The conditional use permit criteria need to contain specific, measurable standards by which to judge this. Staff does not recommend that this topic be subjective and evaluated on a case-by- case basis. See paragraph 3 for possible buffer requirements. Purpose and Intent: 1) Enable development of renewable energy sources to further Spearfish’s commitment to sustainability 2) Mitigate any potential public safety and nuisance concerns 3) Locate installations where impacts to adjoining land uses are minimized Applicability: 1) Sites where USES is the only land use 2) Sites with a permitted primary use and more than one-half acre of the land area developed in a USES 3) Zoning Districts: Ag and Light/Heavy Industrial Approval Process: 1) Conditional Use Permit 2) Conformance to Solar specific CUP criteria; standard CUP requirements would not apply Specific CUP criteria: 1) Parcel size a. No maximum? b. 40 acres (size of the Industrial Park at Exit 8) ? c. Larger ? 2) Equipment standards –International Code Council (ICC) standards and National Fire Prevention standards. 3) Buffer requirements. a. Setback to all equipment - 25 feet if no residential structures existing within 100 feet of Utility Solar site’s property line b. Setback to all equipment - 50 feet if residential structures exist within 100 feet of Utility Solar site’s property line February 2, 2021 solar system regulations Page 2  c. Tree buffer required in 3.b within the setback if residential structures exist within 100 feet of Utility Solar site’s property line 4) Maximum height of all panels, equipment, buildings a. Ag and Industrial districts enable significant heights – 35 feet recommended as a starting point 5) Fencing and security a. three strand wire b. chain link c. other standards? 6) Drainage (standard city requirements for stormwater storage) 7) Weed control (standard city requirements for property maintenance) 8) Glare/glint standards per FAA when within prescribed distance of the airport (more research needed on this) 9) Maximum lot coverage – not recommended since there are no occupied structures which is why lot coverage is regulated in other districts 10) Agreements required if energy to be sold to market or to a defined user group 11) Financial security/bond to ensure decommission and site restoration Submittal checklist for CUP approval: 1) Site plan with layout of all collectors/buildings, setbacks to property line 2) List and illustrations of types of panels and equipment including overall height 3) Drainage plan 4) Vegetation and weed control plan 5) Glare study 6) Agreements as applicable with utility and user group 7) De-commission plan and financial assurance February 2, 2021 solar system regulations Page 3