District 4 Advisory Board

District 4 Advisory Board Minutes Monday, August 2, 2021 • 6:30 p.m. In-person and virtual Meeting • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Order of Business The District 4 Advisory Board meeting was held at the Alford Branch Library, 3447 S Meridian, at 6:30 p.m. The meeting was also available by via Zoom. Council Member Jeff Blubaugh, nine (9) DAB members, seven (7) City staff, and three (3) guests in attendance. DAB Members Present Staff Present Wally Bell Rebecca Fields – Community Rep Grant Delmar Robyn Belt – Library Manager Dalton Glasscock Sgt. Nicki Woodrow - WPD Michael Gomm Deputy Chief John Eck - WFD June Johnson CP Officer Atlee Vogt - WPD Matt Lashley Lt. Mike Linnehan – Patrol West Jonathan McRoy Bill Longnecker - MAPD Laura Rainwater Rebecca Robertson Guests Present Vincent Hancock DAB Members Absent Russ Ewy Alex Martinez Mrs. Bell Council Member Present Jeff Blubaugh DAB Member Michael Gomm, Chairman, called the meeting to order at 6:32 p.m. Mr. Gomm proceeded with the agenda and asked approval for the August 2, 2021 agenda. DAB Member Jonathan McRoy made a motion to approve and DAB Member Rebecca Robertson gave a 2nd. Motion was approved 9/0. The next item was approval for the July 12, 2021 DAB 4 meeting minutes. DAB Member Grant Delmar motioned to approve and DAB Member Wally Bell gave a 2nd. Motion was approved 9/0. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Page 1 of 7 Staff Reports Chairman Gomm asked for the Police staff report. Sgt. Woodrow, Community Police Supervisor from Patrol West introduced herself. Sgt. Woodrow reminded everyone that Neighborhood Night Out is August 10. Patrol West will be conducting the 2nd Chance Thursday at the Bethel Life Center on south Meridian on Thursday, August 26, 11 am – 7 pm. This is where people can take care of any outstanding traffic warrants, and notice to appear or probation violations. Sgt. Woodrow then proceeded with a report about speeding in the 10000 block of south Yosemite. A stealth-stat box was installed which is like a hidden radar that records the number of vehicles, speeds, and times. This box was also installed along this route in March of 2020. In July of this year the box was installed for 5 days and 3,671 vehicles were recorded. The average speed during this time was 25.5 mph. 85% of the vehicles were doing 32 mph, 26 vehicles were going 40 mph, and the top speed recorded was 49 mph. This was compared to March of 2020, when the top speed was 57 mph and more than 50 vehicles were going 40 mph and above. The current numbers show a significant decrease. Sgt. Woodrow then allowed questions from the Board. DAB Member Grant Delmar spoke up and said that he lives in the 9600 block of Yosemite. He asked about how many cars were recorded last year. Sgt. Woodrow replied that there were 1,748 vehicles over a 3-day period and in July there were 3,671 vehicles over a 5- day period. Sgt. Woodrow pointed out that there were 2 additional days recorded this year. Mr. Delmar commented that nonetheless, this is a tremendous amount of traffic for a residential street. Mr. Delmar would like to see 31st Street paved in order to alleviate the amount of traffic that uses Yosemite to access Maize Road from Tyler and vice-versa. DAB Member Rebecca Robertson commented that the traffic on west Maple between Tayler and Maize is also an area where traffic speeds and would like to have radar set up for this area as well. Sgt. Woodrow commented that she will add this area to requests for a stealth-stat. The attributes of using this method is that the reports from the stealth-stat help officers to pinpoint the times of day that would benefit from having officers on location with radar detectors in order to issue traffic tickets. There were no further questions for Sgt. Woodrow. Officer Atlee Vogt, 29 beat, then gave a report from Patrol South. Officer Vogt said that they addressed a couple of theft complaints recently which were mostly larcenies from autos and that people were getting complacent about leaving items in their vehicles that were visible through the windows. Officer Vogt has been identifying these “hot spots” and then speaking with residents about not leaving items in their vehicles and making sure that vehicles were locked at night. Officer Vogt then spoke about South Lakes Park and the youth football program that is being implemented for Saturday games. These games will begin at 8:30 am and go through 7 pm, so traffic and parking control is being planned in order to keep the games on time. This activity will be every Saturday through the end of October. There were no questions for Office Vogt. Page 2 of 7 Lt. Michael Linnehan then took the floor and introduced himself. Lt. Linnehan stated that he worked nights for 15 years and is now working days. Rebecca Fields asked if he would relay his meeting with the business owners along the south side of West Kellogg near Tyler that were experiencing problems with homeless individuals coming from a nearby motel. Basically there were 2 homeless people that were camping along the south side of the Deluxe Motel and making a mess and digging in the trash of nearby businesses. Lt. Linnehan stated that officers attempted to contact the motel, but they would not answer the office door or the phone. A task team was then formed that included himself, Officer Woodrow, members of the H.O.T. team and other officers. Lt. Linnehan said that he drove by this area before coming to the DAB meeting tonight and that there was no trash spread and that the homeless people were nowhere to be found. The HOT team had previously contacted the two homeless people (a male and female) who told the officers that they would be moving further east. The area is currently an improvement over what it was a couple of weeks ago. There were no questions for Lt. Linnehan. Chairman Gomm moved on to the Library report. Robyn Belt, Library Manager, gave the following report: The Alford Branch Library attendance for July was 3,587, and 6,297 items were checked out. The Fall Gardening Series kicks off Thursday, August 5, 6 p.m. online via Zoom. Each Thursday for five weeks, our friends with the K-State Research and Extension – Sedgwick County Master Gardeners program will discuss different fall gardening topics to help you get your yard ready for spring. You can register for these virtual programs at wichitalibrary.org/gardening. Here are the topics:  Turning Dirt Into Soil: The Miracle of Microbes (August 5)  Perennials: The Garden’s Foundation (August 12)  Landscape Design (August 19)  The Ultimate Guide to Fall Lawn Care (August 26)  Where’s the Watermelon? Seasonal, Local Eating in ICT (September 2) We are wrapping up our summer Candid Conversations series, “Wichita’s Diverse History of Baseball,” with an exhibition softball game on Sunday, August 15, 6-8:30 p.m. at McAdams Park. This softball game will celebrate Wichita’s history of baseball and the longstanding impact of the McAdams urban park. Wichita Urban Professionals is organizing the event that, in addition to the game, will include a DJ, games and activities for children, free giveaways and more! The fall Evolve guide will be available soon at all Wichita Public Library locations. This is the joint activities guide with the Library, CityArts and Park and Recreation. The guide will highlight programs from September-December. Make sure you pick yours up the next time you’re in the Library. DAB Member Dalton Glasscock asked Ms. Belt if the attendance at the library was back to normal and Ms. Belt replied no, that the numbers were still down from previous years to the ongoing pandemic. Mr. Glasscock asked how the attendance was counted, and Ms. Page 3 of 7 Belt replied that it is the number of times the inside door is opened that leads directly into the library. The count is only for those who come into the actually library, but not for those who use the drive-up window. Chairman Gomm inquired if there were any telescopes available. Ms. Belt replied that there is a waiting list to obtain one and you just need to get on that list if you would like to check one out. There are also hotspots available now but those were currently all checked out. Chairman Gomm then moved on to the report from the Fire Department. Chief Eck reported the department raised money for the Salvation Army last month and the total was $18,400. There was a significant fire at Central & Ridge Rd at an apartment complex. Make sure you use a metal bucket to discard cigarettes when smoking off a balcony. Chief Eck then shared his screen and showed via the Fire Department dashboard that in July there were 30 fire alarms, 373 medical alarms, 75 service alarms, and 122 other alarms totaling 599 alarms in District 4. Of these calls, 167 calls were responded to by Station 12, 157 calls from Station 4, and 66 calls were responded to by Station 17. It was a somewhat busy month due to the July 4 holiday. DAB Member Rebecca Robertson asked to see the medical responses again in District 4 and how many were responded to by Station 17. Chief Eck said that Station 17 responded to a total of 66 alarms, but unsure as to how many of those were medical. If he were to go by the ratios, then he estimated that there were about 50 medical alarms for this one station. Station 17 also responded to a total of 49 alarms in District 5. Chief Eck commented that it was a slower than normal month for Station 17. Councilman Blubaugh then commented that during the City’s budget meeting last week he wanted to make sure that there were no budget restraints for Station 17, especially with the recent concerns about Sedgwick County EMS responses and the large geographical area of District 4. There were no further questions from the Board Members, and questions were then opened for the public viewers. Tristan Block appreciated Councilman Blubaugh’s comments and asked Chief Eck if there was any update as to the status of the pilot program for Station 17. Chief Eck replied that the pilot program is coming up on the year and that he will try to come up with the yearly totals for the September DAB meeting. Mr. Block then asked what the status is of the implementation of Predictive Analysis. Chief Eck responded that he is unsure of where the Department is on this as they are still training people and entering data, but they are getting closer to implementation. It is a large undertaking. Page 4 of 7 There were no further questions for Chief Eck. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Public Agenda Scheduled Items There was no one schedule for this portion of the agenda. Off-Agenda Items There were no comments from the public. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • New Business CUP2021-00039: Mr. Bill Longnecker, Senior Planner with the Metropolitan Area Planning Department (MAPD) presented this case. The applicant is requesting an amendment to the Dugan West Kellogg Community Unit Plan CUP DP-320 to eliminate Parcel 7, Reserve A, and Reserve B; permit an off-site/billboard sign along West Kellogg Drive; align the CUP with the recent replat which created the Dugan West Kellogg Commercial 3 rd Addition; and permit Warehouse, Self-Storage as a permitted use on Parcel 8. The Limited Commercial- zoned property is approximately 51 acres and is generally located on the south side of West Kellogg Drive and within one-quarter mile east of West 135th Street South. The first part of the amendment to the CUP is the elimination of Parcel 7 and Reserves A and B from this Community Unit Plan (CUP) (Reserves platted in the Dugan West Kellogg 2nd Addition). The applicant has indicated that they intend to rezone this property to Planned Unit Development for multi-family development at a later date. Mr. Longnecker had the Board look on page 18 of the staff report. Secondly, the applicant requests the ability to construct a single off-site/billboard sign along the West Kellogg Drive Frontage at the intersection of Hickory Creek Street. The sign would be constructed inside Reserve A, Dugan West Kellogg 3rd Addition, which is the island located near the entrance drive onto Hickory Creek Street from West Kellogg Drive. General Provision 6-D is amended to permit the sign and states that a billboard shall not exceed 400 square feet in area, it is limited to 35 feet in height, and it does not have to be setback from the property line. The content of the sign may carry the name, occupation, or nature of the activities on the premises; and may be a multi-tenant sign. Typically, an off- site/billboard sign only carries messaging for uses not on the premises and is not permitted to have on-site messaging. This provision of the CUP allows it in this case. Thirdly, the applicant requests an amendment to align the CUP to the recent replat of the western portion of the site. On April 22, 2021, the Dugan, West Kellogg Commercial 3 rd Page 5 of 7 Addition was approved by the MAPC and encompasses Parcels 1, 6 and 8 along with Reserve A of the subject CUP. On July 13, 2021, the replat is scheduled for consideration for final approval by the Wichita City Council. Finally (4th part of amendment), the applicant is requesting that Warehouse, Self-storage be allowed as a permitted use on Parcel 8. The use is subject to Supplementary Use Regulations in the Unified Zoning Code (UZC) Section III-D.6.y unless modified by the CUP. The full list of these Supplementary Use Regulations is attached. Except for parking, the governing language of the CUP regarding this use is in general conformance to the applicable Supplementary Use Regulations. Supplementary Use Regulation #7 requires one parking space per 8,000 square feet of storage plus one per employee. The concept plan shows eight parking spaces. The total square footage of storage plus an assumed one employee would require at least 10 parking spaces. General Provision #3 of the CUP proposes a reduced parking requirement of eight spaces for Warehouse, Self-Storage. The requested reduction would be permissible by Administrative Adjustment. Mr. Longnecker commented that the Planning Commission approved the amendments unanimously on July 22, 2021. There was one protest letter received on June 26, but there have been no other objections to this. Staff is recommending approval of this case. DAB Member Dalton Glasscock commented that this seems to be a more complex zoning case than what is normally heard and he just wanted to verify the dates that were given as to the approval. DAB Member Grant Delmar was curious as to what the protest letter objected to. Mr. Longnecker replied that the sender of this letter did not want to see any self-storage warehouse in this development due to all the other storage units available in the area. There were no further questions from the Board, so Chairman Gomm opened up any discussion for the public viewers. Russ Ewy, agent for the applicant, spoke up and said he could answer any questions that Mr. Longnecker might not have covered. DAB Member Rebecca Robertson asked Mr. Ewy if there would be any fencing or screening between the storage units and other buildings. Mr. Ewy stated that the same developer is building the storage units as well as the homes. The primary intent is to provide storage facilities for those residents who will be occupying the homes in the adjoining development. There is a natural 100 ft barrier to the south that is the bike path that runs along the development. This path sits up about 8 ft – 12 ft higher than the surrounding properties. And W Kellogg Drive allows for great access to the storage facilities. Mr. Ewy pointed out that to the west is an area used by a construction company for materials, and that to the east is a natural barrier of land that cannot be developed due to it being used for storm water runoff. DAB Member Dalton Glasscock made a motion to approve and DAB Member Matt Lashley gave a 2nd. The motion passed 9/0. Chairman Gomm then moved on to the Board Agenda. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Page 6 of 7 Board Agenda Councilman Blubaugh thanked everyone for being at the meeting and stated that he was unable to be at the library due to his son’s first football practice currently taking place. CM Blubaugh reminded everyone of the upcoming budget meeting this coming Thursday that takes place in the evening at City Hall. The Council wants to give those who work during the day the opportunity to come to a meeting in the evening in order to give their comments and concerns about the City’s proposed budget. CM Blubaugh considers the budget to be on track for District 4 and will be receiving quite a bit of money for various projects. If anyone has any questions or ideas regarding the budget, please let him know prior to Thursday’s meeting. DAB Member Dalton Glasscock asked if those who object to any Zoning (Planning) case are made aware that the District Advisory Board meet and hears these cases so that they can attend the meeting to state their objections. Staff Rebecca Fields confirmed that residents and other interested parties are made aware of this. Chairman Gomm was thankful that the light at Harry St on West Street had been fixed and adjusted to a proper wait time. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Adjournment Chairman Gomm asked for a motion to adjourn. DAB Member June Johnson made a motion to adjourn and DAB Member Matt Lashley gave the 2nd motion. Motion was approved 9/0. The meeting adjourned at 7:20 pm. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • The next DAB 4 meeting will be held at the Alford Branch Library as well as on-line for Board Members, staff, public, and guests, September 13 at 6:30 pm. Page 7 of 7