Zoning Board of Appeals Meeting

March 15, 2017 MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING URBANA ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS DATE: March 15, 2017 APPROVED TIME: 7:30 p.m. PLACE: City Council Chambers, 400 South Vine Street, Urbana, IL 61801 _______________________________________________________________________________ MEMBERS PRESENT Joanne Chester, Matt Cho, Ashlee McLaughlin, Nancy Uchtmann, Charles Warmbrunn, Jonah Weisskopf, Harvey Welch STAFF PRESENT Lorrie Pearson, Planning Manager; Marcus Ricci, Planner II; Teri Andel, Administrative Assistant II OTHERS PRESENT Lorraine Gerhart, Mark Gerhart 1. CALL TO ORDER, ROLL CALL AND DECLARATION OF QUORUM Chair Welch called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. Roll call was taken, and he declared that there was a quorum with all members present. 2. CHANGES TO THE AGENDA There were none. 3. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES The minutes from the December 21, 2016 regular meeting were presented for approval. Ms. Uchtmann moved to approve the minutes as written. Mr. Cho seconded the motion. The minutes were approved by unanimous voice vote as written. 4. COMMUNICATIONS Regarding Case Nos. ZBA-2017-MAJ-01 and ZBA-2017-MAJ-02  Update to Staff Report Memo dated March 10, 2017 5. CONTINUED PUBLIC HEARINGS There were none. NOTE: Chair Welch swore in members of the audience who indicated that they may give testimony during the public hearing. 1  March 15, 2017 6. NEW PUBLIC HEARINGS ZBA-2017-MAJ-01 – A request by Mark Gerhart for a Major Variance to reconstruct an accessory garage which encroaches one-and-one half (1.5) feet into he required five-foot north side yard setback at 717 South Broadway Avenue in the R-5, Medium-High Density Multiple-Family Residential Zoning District. [This variance was originally advertised as encroaching two (2) feet into the required side yard setback.] ZBA-2017-MAJ-02 – A request by Mark Gerhart for a Major Variance to reconstruct an accessory garage which encroaches three (3) feet into the required five-foot rear yard setback at 717 South Broadway Avenue in the R-5, Medium-High Density Multiple-Family Residential Zoning District. Chair Welch opened these two items on the agenda simultaneously since they relate to the same property. Marcus Ricci, Planner II, presented the written staff report to the Zoning Board of Appeals. He began by stating the purpose for the proposed major variance requests. He noted the location of the subject property and gave some background information on the existing garage. He noted the zoning, existing land uses and future land use designations for the subject property as well as for the surrounding, adjacent properties. He mentioned the revised Site Plan that was handed out prior to the start of the meeting. He discussed the plans for the proposed new garage. He reviewed the variance criteria from Section XI-3 of the Urbana Zoning Ordinance that pertained to these two cases and mentioned the communication that was received from one of the neighboring properties. He read the options of the Urbana Zoning Board of Appeals and presented City staff’s recommendation for approval along with the following condition: 1. The site is developed in general compliance with the revised Site Plan and Elevations entitled, “Garage Structure Replacement 717 South Broadway Avenue” and dated March 15, 2017. Chair Welch asked if the members of the Board had questions for City staff. There were none, so Chair Welch opened the hearing for public input. Mark Gerhart, applicant, approached the Zoning Board of Appeals to speak. He stated that the owners were basically trying to replace the dilapidated existing garage with a new structure. With there being no further input from the audience, Chair Welch closed the public input portion of the hearing and opened it for Zoning Board of Appeals discussion and/or motion(s). Ms. McLaughlin moved that the Zoning Board of Appeals forward Case No. ZBA-2017-MAJ-01 and ZBA-2017-MAJ-02 to the City Council with a recommendation for approval along with the condition as recommended 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 Ms. Chester - Yes 2  March 15, 2017 The motion was approved by unanimous vote. Mr. Ricci noted that the recommendation for the proposed two cases would be forwarded to City Council on March 20, 2017. 7. OLD BUSINESS There was none. 8. NEW BUSINESS There was none. NOTE: Ms. Uchtmann inquired whether City staff had started making changes to the Air BnB regulations since there seemed to be a lot of concern at the last meeting. Ms. Pearson responded saying that City staff has been working on completing other projects and assignments. They hope to begin working on new tasks soon. Chair Welch agreed that regulations for Air BnBs needed attention. 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 7:53 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Lorrie Pearson, AICP Planning Manager Secretary, Urbana Zoning Board of Appeals 3