Zoning Board of Appeals Meeting

March 16, 2016 MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING URBANA ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS DATE: March 16, 2016 APPROVED TIME: 7:30 p.m. PLACE: City Council Chambers, 400 South Vine Street, Urbana, IL 61801 _______________________________________________________________________________ MEMBERS PRESENT Matt Cho, Ashlee McLaughlin, Nancy Uchtmann, Charles Warmbrunn, Jonah Weisskopf, Harvey Welch MEMBERS EXCUSED Joanne Chester STAFF PRESENT Lorrie Pearson, Planning Manager; Kevin Garcia, Planner II; Teri Andel, Administrative Assistant II OTHERS PRESENT Maritza Chavez, Nola Flynn, Alyssa Jaje, Kendra Kuenum, Geoffrey Merritt 1. CALL TO ORDER, ROLL CALL AND DECLARATION OF QUORUM Chair Welch called the meeting to order at 7:33 p.m. Roll call was taken, and Chair Welch declared that there was a quorum. 2. CHANGES TO THE AGENDA There were none. 3. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES The minutes from the December 16, 2015 regular meeting were presented for approval. Ms. McLaughlin moved to approve the minutes as written. Mr. Cho seconded the motion. The minutes were approved by unanimous voice vote as presented. 4. COMMUNICATIONS There were none. 5. CONTINUED PUBLIC HEARINGS There were none. 1  March 16, 2016 NOTE: Chair Welch swore in one member of the audience who indicated that he may give testimony during the public hearing. 6. NEW PUBLIC HEARINGS ZBA-2016-MAJ-01 – A request by Geoffrey Merritt for a Major Variance to install a front canopy that will encroach seven feet into the required front yard at 303 West Griggs Street in the B-1, Neighborhood Business Zoning District. Chair Welch opened the public hearing for this case. Kevin Garcia, Planner II, presented this case to the Zoning Board of Appeals. He began by stating the purpose for the proposed variance. He gave a brief background on the history of the proposed site and reviewed the variance criteria from Section XI-3 of the Urbana Zoning Ordinance. He read the options of the Zoning Board of Appeals and presented City staff’s recommendation for approval with one condition. Chair Welch opened the hearing up for questions for City staff. Lorrie Pearson, Planning Manager, stated that City staff would like to add “general” to the condition so that it reads as such, “The canopy shall be built in general conformance with the plans provided by the applicant in Exhibit E.” This allows for minor changes to meet the Building Code, for example. With there being no questions for City staff, Chair Welch opened the hearing for public input. He invited the applicant to approach to speak. Geoffrey Merritt approached the Zoning Board of Appeals. He stated that he did not have anything further to add; however, he would answer any questions from the Board members. Ms. Uchtmann asked how long a canopy would stay in good condition. Mr. Merritt replied that the proposed canopy would be made out of steel instead of canvas and would be built into the building. He did not know how long steel canopies last but anticipated it would last a long time. With there being no further questions, Chair Welch asked if anyone else in the audience wished to speak. With no further public input, Chair Welch closed this portion of the hearing. He, then, opened the hearing for Zoning Board of Appeals discussion and/or motion(s). Mr. Warmbrunn moved that the Zoning Board of Appeals forward Case No. ZBA-2016-MAJ-01 to the City Council with a recommendation for approval with the condition as amended during this meeting by City staff. Ms. Uchtmann seconded the motion. Roll call on the motion was as follows: Mr. Cho - Yes Ms. McLaughlin - Yes Ms. Uchtmann - Yes Mr. Warmbrunn - Yes Mr. Weisskopf - Yes Mr. Welch - Yes 2  March 16, 2016 The motion passed by unanimous vote. Mr. Garcia noted that the case would be forwarded to the Urbana City Council on March 21, 2016. 7. OLD BUSINESS There was none. 8. NEW BUSINESS There was none. 9. AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION There was none. 10. STAFF REPORT There was none. 11. STUDY SESSION There was none. 12. ADJOURNMENT OF MEETING Chair Welch adjourned the meeting at 7:45 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Lorrie Pearson, AICP Planning Manager Secretary, Urbana Zoning Board of Appeals 3