Planning Commission Regular Meeting

WEST VALLEY CITY PLANNING COMMISSION PUBLIC HEARING MINUTES SEPTEMBER 27, 2023 The meeting was called to order at 4:00 p.m. by Vice Chair Lovato in the City Council Chambers at West Valley City Hall 3600 Constitution Boulevard, West Valley City, UT 84119, and using Zoom at https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88955119737. WEST VALLEY CITY PLANNING COMMISSION MEMBERS David McEwen, Brent Fuller, Mathew Lovato, Darrick Porter, Martell Winters, Cindy Wood, and Harold Woodruff ABSENT Brent Fuller WEST VALLEY CITY PLANNING DIVISION STAFF Steve Pastorik, Jody Knapp, Brock Anderson, Steve Lehman, and Kirsten Hunt WEST VALLEY CITY LEGAL DEPARTMENT Brandon Hill, Deputy City Attorney AUDIENCE There were 5 people in the audience ZT-6-2023 James Warner An amendment to Section 7-14-403 of the zoning ordinance to allow non-masonry materials on the street facing exteriors of buildings within the 5600 West Gateway Overlay Zone James Warner with Truckpro, LC has requested an amendment to Section 7-14-403 of the zoning ordinance to allow non-masonry materials on the street facing exteriors of buildings within the 5600 West Gateway Overlay Zone. The ordinance currently states: “All Buildings shall be constructed using one hundred percent masonry on any Street facing Façade”. The applicant is requesting that the City allow “architectural metal siding as well as ceramic and wood textures that are being used extensively in most cities on higher-end buildings”. The applicant’s justification for this application is as follows: “The types of textures used in the past 5-10 years on higher-end buildings are mainly ACM (Architectural Metal), ceramic tiles and wood siding. The facility that we are considering building has specific requirements to qualify it to be one of 22 INEOS Grenadier dealerships in the U.S. and the only dealership in Utah. The buildings require high-end ACM and possibly wood or simulated wood look on ceramic or metal. By approving these materials, we believe that the city will attract higher-end buildings and businesses as most of them are using these premium materials. With the current standards and requirements, businesses that the city might otherwise want may not even consider West Valley City as if they understood the current code and did not want to go through the text amendment process and cost.” The 5600 West Gateway Overlay Zone, which was adopted in April of 2004 (Ordinance 03-82), extends from the 2100 South Expressway (Highway 201) south to 3100 South, and 250 feet on either side of the Right-of-way line for 5600 West. Ordinance 03-82 included the following whereas statement: “the City would like to encourage development in this area that is aesthetically pleasing, complimentary to adjacent uses, and appropriate for an important gateway to the City”. After reviewing the supporting materials for Ordinance 03-82, it is apparent to staff that the City did not want to perpetuate the type of metal buildings that existed within the Overlay Zone. The architectural metal siding proposed by the applicant has been used in the City on commercial buildings such as Embassy Suites, Granger Medical, SpringHill Suites, Fairbourne Office Tower, and Mountain America Credit Union. Tile has been used on the SpringHill Suites as well as the Lofts on 35th Townhomes. A faux wood composite material was used on the Embassy Suites. Staff is supportive of allowing more flexibility in materials within the Overlay Zone; however, we believe the ordinance language should be specific enough to prohibit the lower quality materials the ordinance was originally intended to exclude. As such staff suggests the following language for the Overlay Zone: “Only the following exterior materials shall be allowed on all Street facing Façades of Buildings:   masonry which shall include brick; stone; colored, painted, or textured concrete block; stucco or EIFS, fiber cement siding, and architectural concrete;  architectural metal siding that is used only as a veneer and not as structural sheeting;  ceramic tile;  faux wood composites; and  other materials that, at the discretion of the Planning Commission, are comparable to the above listed materials.” Staff Alternatives: 1. Approval. This application should be approved subject to the language recommended by staff. 2. Continuance. This application should be continued for reasons determined during the public hearing. 3. Denial. The 5600 West Overlay Zone should remain as it is. Discussion: Steve Pastorik presented the application. Commissioner Winters said, according to the photos, the suggested materials look nice and seem to hold up well over time. Motion: Commissioner Winters motioned to approve ZT-6-2023 subject to the language recommended by staff. Commissioner Wood seconded the motion Vote: Commissioner McEwen Yes Commissioner Wood Yes Commissioner Woodruff Yes Commissioner Porter Yes Commissioner Lovato Yes Commissioner Winters Yes Unanimously – ZT-6-2023 – Approved C-18-2023 CR England Expansion 4527 West SR-201 S. Frontage Rd. M Zone (40.96 Acres) The applicant, CR England, is requesting conditional use approval for expansion of their truck center and trailer storage located at 4527 West SR-201 S. Frontage Rd. The zoning for this area is M, manufacturing. The West Valley City General Plan designates this area as light manufacturing. The surrounding zone is manufacturing on all sides. The surrounding uses include similar freight/trucking uses with Wheeler Machinery to the west and Asahi Refining located to the east. The applicant is requesting approval for various portions of the CR England campus that have been improved over the last several years and are occupied by trailer storage areas that are leased as well as truck parking. The first area is a crushed asphalt lot on the northeast section of the site that is u-shaped around Asahi Refining. This area is used for storage of leased trailers. There is no direct access to a public right-of-way and the traffic in and out is intermittent and not daily. The west edge of this u-shaped area has frontage along the 2100 South Frontage Rd and is set back about 150’ behind a landscaped recreation area. This section of fence is chain link and slats will be added to provide screening. There are 2 lots to the south east that are paved and have been used by Amazon for van storage as well as for FedEx trucks. The last area is to the south west. This is crushed asphalt and is for overflow trailer storage. The remaining areas of CR England have been part of past approvals and are all paved. These areas are used for employee, truck and cab parking as well as the maintenance facilities and offices etc. The entire north frontage along the 2100 S Frontage Road will be required to comply with the 7-10 landscaping standards as well as the 7-2-117 right-of-way standards for curb, gutter sidewalk and street lights. The width of the section of landscaping along the building frontage will remain as it is currently, however trees must be added as well as the required right-of-way improvements. The 4800 West landscaping improvements will also be completed as part of this project. That will include trees planted 1 every 30’ with additional plant material coverage of 50% minimum. Sidewalk will be located on the west side of 4800 West due to the location of the right-of-way and sidewalk on 2400 South, so that is not part of this application. Staff Alternatives: Approval, subject to the resolution of any concerns raised at the public hearing as well as the following conditions: 1. The properties discussed in this application shall be improved per the approved site plan which includes crushed asphalt trailer parking and paved vehicle/van parking. There shall be no junk storage or salvage uses at this site. 2. The site surfacing shall be maintained and free of weeds. 3. The section of trailer parking east of 4605 West that has frontage on the 2100 S Frontage Road shall be setback a minimum of 150’ and must be screened from  public view. The screening may be chain link with slats. 4. All parking and maneuvering areas must have the required lighting as outlined in 7- 9-113. 5. The overall minimum required landscaping for the site is 5%. The north frontage shall be designed in accordance with the Landscaping Standards for High Image Arterials (7-10). The width of the section of landscaping along the building frontage will remain as it is currently, however the required trees must be added per the Code. 6. The 4800 West frontage shall include 20’ of landscaping, measured from the curb, and one tree every 30’ with additional plant material coverage of 50% minimum. 7. All requirements of affected departments and agencies must be met, including but not limited to WVC Public Works and section 7-2-117. 8. This use is subject to review upon a valid complaint. Continuance, to allow for the resolutions of any issues raised at the public hearing and to allow time for the applicant to submit more detailed information on the project. Discussion: Jody Knapp presented the application. Andrew Carlino, representing the applicant, said that he didn’t have anything to add to Jody’s report and thanked the staff for their help with this application. Motion: Commissioner Porter motioned to approve C-18-2023 subject to the staff alternatives outlined in the staff report. Commissioner Woodruff seconded the motion. Vote: Commissioner McEwen Yes Commissioner Wood Yes Commissioner Woodruff Yes Commissioner Porter Yes Commissioner Lovato Yes Commissioner Winters Yes Unanimously – C-18-2023 – Approved C-23-2023 Squared Away Properties, LLC (Outside Storage) 2601 South 2700 West M Zone (1.53 acres) The applicant, Jim Arbuckle with Squared Away Properties, LLC, is requesting conditional use approval for outside storage at 2601 South 2700 West. This property is zoned M, manufacturing and the West Valley City General Plan designates this area as Light Manufacturing. The surrounding zone is Manufacturing on all sides and the surrounding uses include warehouse/light industrial with Ready Made Concrete to the south and Roger Knight Construction to the north. The current owner of this property has been in the process of updating the site and has requested a conditional use for outside storage. The storage area would be located on the south side of the building. As part of this use review the site layout and parking requirements must be evaluated. Therefore, it is important to understand a little bit of history with this property. This building was originally built in the mid-1970’s as a light industrial warehouse (C- 305- 1973). At that time 2590 South was a private street/access. Therefore, historically there have not been improvements in that area along the north frontage. Parking has also not ever been designated in this area. In 2021, an application was submitted for a Church. That change of use triggered the installation of improvements to that north frontage that included landscaping, curb, gutter and streetlights. Due to the narrow depth of the lot and the increased parking need on that north side the applicant requested a variance from the Board of Adjustment (B-5-2021) The Board granted the variance for a reduced setback that would include 10’ of landscaping from the property line and 10’ of landscaping in the right-of-way for a total of 20’. That use ended up not coming to the site however, that process established a parking and site layout. The property owner has since re-paved and repaired the parking lot but chose a different layout from that plan. The concern now is the parking stalls are located out into the right-of-way, which creates an unsafe situation and the outside storage use is eliminating a lot of parking from the south side of the building that does need to be relocated to a conforming location on site. Therefore, Staff recommends that the parking layout be completed on the site in accordance with the variance approval and setback reduction. This can be achieved by repainting the stalls and creating a painted buffer and installing parking curb stops. That plan was also not reviewed or approved by Public Works. They will have to review the access spacing, even for just painted stalls and access. This ensures that when the physical improvements to the ROW and landscaping are triggered in the future there is no confusion or discrepancies. The actual parking calcs are also still being reviewed and evaluated and so that final required number will be part of that formal site approval process. The outside storage will be located on an existing asphalt surface. The items that will be stored in this area will be cars from the two automotive tenants, and finished metal products from the powder coating company and machine shop. The storage will not exceed 6 feet in height. The area is directly adjacent to 2700 West which is a High Image Arterial so the masonry screening will be required along that frontage. That masonry screening will also be extended along the south property line for approximately 95’ on the shared property line with Ready Made Concrete (RMC), starting at the 20’ setback and running east to the edge of the RMC building. There will be an access gates with slats and a fire lane access must also be maintained through this area. The east end of the lot will also be gated but slats are not required there due to the parking and storage location. Site maintenance issues were previously addressed with the property owner through business license reviews and an enforcement case so the landscaping on site has been repaired and installed in accordance with the 7-10 standards. Staff Alternatives: Approval, subject to the resolution of any concerns raised at the public hearing as well as the following: 1. Outside storage is only permitted on the south side of the site and must be located on the improved hard surface area. 2. The outside storage area must be screened in accordance with 7-7-119 including masonry along the 2700 West frontage as outlined in the report. 3. All landscaped areas need to be maintained free of weeds. The 2700 West frontage shall contain the required landscaping per the 7-10 standards in the City Code. The south frontage shall be landscaped with trees at a ratio of 1 for every 30’ of frontage as well as 50% live plant material coverage. 4. A parking plan shall be approved by West Valley City that complies with the standards in 7-9 of the City Code and the variance approval from B-5- 2021. Parking stalls shall not be located within the public right-of-way. 5. Must meet the requirements of all affected departments and agencies. 6. Subject to review upon valid complaint. Continuance, to allow for the resolutions of any issues raised at the public hearing. Discussion: Jody Knapp presented the application. Jim and Brian Arbuckle, the applicants, said they didn’t have anything to add to Jody’s presentation. Motion: Commissioner Woodruff motioned to approve C-23-2023 subject to the six staff alternatives outlined in the staff report.  Vote: Commissioner McEwen Yes Commissioner Wood Yes Commissioner Woodruff Yes Commissioner Porter Yes Commissioner Lovato Yes Commissioner Winters Yes Unanimously – C-23-2023 – Approved C-24-2023 Rocky Mountain Power Lay Down Yard 5875 West 4700 South M Zone (6.90 Acres) The applicant, Rocky Mountain Power (RMP), is requesting conditional use approval for a laydown storage yard as part of their public utility installation facility. This property is zoned M, Manufacturing and the West Valley City General Plan designates this area as Utility. The surrounding zone is M, Manufacturing on all sides and the surrounding uses include Ken Garff (NAC) to the east and south and an existing RMP substation to the west. This property is located adjacent to an existing RMP substation and will be utilized as a storage yard for utility infrastructure equipment and materials. Due to the nature of the yard the area will be surfaced with gravel, which is typical for the utility yards and stations. The area will also be screened. Since this is adjacent to 4700 South and is a high image arterial the north section of wall and approximately 150’ of the east side will be masonry to comply with City Code section 7-7-119. The landscaping along that frontage will also comply with the 7-10 standards of the City Code. RMP is currently reviewing the grading and their security fencing needs along the east side but their intent is to have the screen wall on the east property line so there is not additional landscaping to maintain and interfere with their security protocols. If the screening wall is moved off the property line they will maintain that area as landscaping with 50% live plant material coverage and 1 tree for every 60’ of frontage. That exact design will be determined during the formal plan review process. Staff Alternatives: Approval, subject to the resolution of any concerns raised at the public hearing, as well as the following conditions: 1. The site shall be improved and landscaped per the approved plans including landscaping along that frontage to comply with the 7-10 standards of the WVC Municipal Code.  2. The north frontage and first 150’ of the east side of the site shall be screened with a masonry wall to comply with section 7-7- 119 of the WVC Municipal Code. 3. Subject to review upon valid complaint. Continuance, to allow for the resolutions of any issues raised at the public hearing or to allow for a revised site/landscape plans to be submitted. Discussion: Jody Knapp presented the application. She pointed out that there would be a 50- foot gap between the fence and the property line on the east side of the property. Jody reviewed what the applicant has proposed for that space. She said that she would like more clarification regarding the plans for the gap and the applicant can speak to this in today’s meeting. Jody explained that currently, the staff report states that they would meet the standard parking lot landscaping requirements. Brad Knoles, the applicant, said that he is joined by Jeff Shepherd, the project manager, today. Mr. Knoles explained that, typically, they would set the masonry wall on the property line. However, in this case, there is a canal between the property line and where they propose to put the laydown yard. He noted that there is also a significant grade change in that location, and if the wall is built on the lowest grade, it would be less effective in screening the storage. Mr. Knoles mentioned that the company is very aware of water conservation and discussed their initiatives and strategies with Jody. He stated that they intend to meet the landscaping requirements for the length of the masonry wall, which wraps along the east side 150 feet. Mr. Knoles noted that they are proposing a chain-linked fence for the remaining 600 feet on the east side of the property, and that is where they are requesting an exception to the landscaping. He pointed out that they would like minimal grass in that area. Mr. Shepherd explained that they plan to add rip rap along the entire length of the canal, keeping its integrity. He noted that the Kearns Improvement District had mentioned not wanting trees planted over their pipes. Therefore, they are proposing to add them to the park strip. Commissioner Winters asked what rip rap is. Jeff explained that it is made up of larger rocks that help keep the ground in place while letting the water flow. Jody said she isn’t sure why Kearns Improvement District mentioned that concern because the surrounding properties have added trees within the 20-foot setback, not in the park strip. She asked the applicant if they propose meeting the landscaping requirements for the first 150 feet along the east side because they do not show that in their plans. Jeff said that is correct.  Commissioner Woodruff wonders if granting the exception would be fair to the Garff business next door. He pointed out that they are meeting the landscaping requirements. Jody suggested that the applicant add a formal 5-foot strip of landscaping next to the chain-linked fence on the east side. Commissioner Woodruff said we should continue this application so the applicant can update the landscape plan to reflect what is being proposed. Motion: Commissioner Woodruff motioned to continue C-24-2023 to allow for the resolutions of any issues raised at the public hearing or to allow for a revised site/landscape plans to be submitted. Commissioner Wood seconded the motion. Vote: Commissioner McEwen Yes Commissioner Wood Yes Commissioner Woodruff Yes Commissioner Porter Yes Commissioner Lovato Yes Commissioner Winters Yes Unanimously – C-24-2023 – Continued There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 4:50 pm. Respectfully submitted, Kirsten Hunt, Administrative Assistant