Plan Commission Meeting

January 21, 2016 MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING URBANA PLAN COMMISSION APPROVED DATE: January 21, 2016 TIME: 7:30 P.M. PLACE: Urbana City Building Council Chambers 400 South Vine Street Urbana, IL 61801 MEMBERS PRESENT: Barry Ackerson, Andrew Fell, Lew Hopkins, Christopher Stohr, David Trail, Daniel Turner MEMBERS EXCUSED: Maria Byndom, Tyler Fitch, Dannie Otto STAFF PRESENT: Lorrie Pearson, Planning Manager; Christopher Marx, Planner I; Teri Andel, Administrative Assistant II OTHERS PRESENT: None 1. CALL TO ORDER, ROLL CALL AND DECLARATION OF QUORUM In the absence of a chair, Lew Hopkins called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. Mr. Fell moved to nominate Lew Hopkins as Acting Chair for the meeting. Mr. Trail seconded. The motion passed by unanimous voice vote. Roll call was taken and there was a quorum of the members present. 2. CHANGES TO THE AGENDA There were none. 3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES The minutes from the December 3, 2015 Joint Meeting and from the December 10, 2015 Regular Meeting were presented for approval. Mr. Ackerson requested a change to the December 10, 2015 minutes on Page 7, Paragraph 5, Line 2 to remove the first “not” so that it reads as such, “…they want to remove the existing partial sidewalk because it is not really used…”. Mr. Ackerson, then, moved to approve the December 3, 2015 minutes as presented and the December 10,2015 minutes as corrected. Mr. Trail seconded the motion. Both sets of minutes were approved by unanimous voice vote. Page 1  January 21, 2016 4. COMMUNICATIONS  Revised Staff Memo regarding Plan Case No. 2270-T-16 5. CONTINUED PUBLIC HEARINGS There was none. 6. OLD BUSINESS There was none. 7. NEW PUBLIC HEARINGS Plan Case No. 2269-T-16: A request by the Urbana Zoning Administrator to amend Article II, Article V, and Article VIII of the Urbana Zoning Ordinance to establish a definition and regulations for transitional housing. Acting Chair Hopkins opened the item. Lorrie Pearson, Planning Manager, presented the case. She noted the Council direction to bring forward the amendment, compared existing related uses to the proposed use of Dwelling, Transitional Home, where each are permitted, and the parking requirement. She summarized the staff findings, read the options of the Plan Commission and presented City staff’s recommendation for approval. Mr. Ackerson asked why the Transitional Home would be more restricted than a Community Living Facility. Ms. Pearson replied that Community Living Facilities are specifically defined by the state to serve a specific population. A Transitional Home would not have the same restrictions. Mr. Stohr asked if the home at the northwest corner of Vine and Washington is a transitional home. Ms. Pearson indicated she would need to look into it. Mr. Hopkins suggested it could be a Community Living Facility. Mr. Trail inquired about single-family homes, the R-1 zoning district, and if the amendment would be a way to regulate a homeowner having a family live with them temporarily. Ms. Pearson explained that Council requested that the text amendment be proposed after a rezoning and special use permit for a transitional home came before them. Mr. Ackerson and Mr. Hopkins explained that the intent was to allow transitional homes operated by agencies and not to impact homeowners. Mr. Ackerson asked if staff consulted with any homeless service providers. Ms. Pearson responded that the Grants Management Division staff did solicit input from some service providers and once their questions were answered, no further comment was provided. Mr. Trail suggested that the use should also be allowed in the R-1 zoning district, where many appropriately-sized homes may be available for this type of use. Mr. Ackerson agreed, but Page 2  January 21, 2016 expressed concern that expanding the scope could jeopardize the amendment being approved. Ms. Pearson pointed out that while some Community Living Facilities are allowed in the R-1 zone, there is separation requirement imposed for the second facility to locate within a certain distance from the first facility. With no further discussion, Mr. Fell moved that the Plan Commission forward the case to City Council with a recommendation for approval. Mr. Turner seconded the motion. Roll call was taken and the motion passed by unanimous vote. Plan Case No. 2270-T-16: A request by the Urbana Zoning Administrator to amend Article II and Article V of the Urbana Zoning Ordinance to change definitions, use provisions, and regulations of “Home Occupations”. Acting Chair Hopkins opened the item. Christopher Marx of the Planning Division presented the case. He explained the reasons for the text amendment including a request from Council and elaborated the proposed changes. He summarized the staff findings, read the options of the Plan Commission and presented City staff’s recommendation for approval. Mr. Fell asked about whether Conditional Use Permits were permanent and if principal use of a property could be fundamentally altered in ways unintended by the Ordinance. Mr. Marx explained the limits and expirations of a permit along with the existence of other code in the Zoning Ordinance. Ms. Pearson added home occupations were still only allowed as accessory uses to the principal residential use. Mr. Ackerson asked for further clarification about the time limits and ownership of a Conditional Use Permit. Ms. Pearson offered the explanation. Mr. Stohr asked about the singling out of vehicle repair and if it might limit the ability to repair automobiles. He asked about the ability of someone to continue working on cars as a hobby. Mr. Marx replied that the regulation for home occupation of vehicle repair was changing very little and that additional language was clarifying as opposed to changing the ordinance. He also noted there are other regulations limiting commercial vehicle repairs at home, such as environmental restrictions. Mr. Fell moved that the Plan Commission forward the case to City Council with a recommendation for approval. Mr. Ackerson seconded the motion. Mr. Stohr moved a friendly amendment to strike language involving vehicle repair in Section V- 12.E. Mr. Turner noted that the language in Section E already exists in the current Zoning Ordinance. City staff is only proposing additional language to clarify that minor (not major) vehicle repairs would be allowed as a home-based occupation. Mr. Stohr removed the motion for a friendly amendment. Roll call was taken and the motion passed by unanimous vote. 8. NEW BUSINESS There was none. Page 3  January 21, 2016 9. AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION There was none. 10. STAFF REPORT Ms. Pearson reported on the following:  Upcoming cases – Omnibus rezoning, CCZBA text amendment (February 4th), Urbana Bicycle Master Plan Update, Annual Review and Adoption of the Official Zoning Map, and Block North rezoning. 11. STUDY SESSION There was none. 12. ADJOURNMENT OF MEETING The meeting was adjourned at 8:48 p.m. Respectfully submitted, ____________________________ Lorrie Pearson, Secretary Urbana Plan Commission Page 4