District 5 Advisory Board

Minutes 1 June 15, 2015 District V Advisory Board Meeting Minutes www.wichita.gov Wichita Fire Station #21 June 15, 2015 2110 N. 135th St. W. 6:30 p.m. Wichita, KS 67235 The District V Advisory Board Meeting was held at 6:30 p.m. at Fire Station #21, 2110 N. 135th West Wichita, KS 67235. In attendance were Council Member Brian Frye, three District Advisory Board members, four City staff and fifteen signed in members of the public. Members Present Council Member Brian Frye Mike Green Staff Present Joey Ellzey Case Bell, Community Liaison Jill Kerschen Joe Hickle, Public Works Dale Miller, Planning Members Absent Officer Perkins, Wichita Police Jose Gutierrez Wichita Fire Department Kelly Watkins Claire Hersh Guests JV Johnston Listed on last page Troy Palmer Mike Hill Order of Business The meeting was called to order by Pro Tem, Mike Greene at 6:30 p.m. Approval of Agenda The agenda was approved Motion passed: (3/0) Approval of Minutes The minutes for May 18, 2015 were approved. Motion passed: (3/0) Public Agenda 1. Scheduled items: None 2. Off Agenda items: None  Minutes 2 June 15, 2015 Staff Presentations 3. Community Police Report Officer Perkins, Wichita Police, reported on Beat 18. He warned the public to be careful with fireworks and high water this time of year. If a citizen drives around barricades it is a citation during high water. Patrol West will be doing seatbelt special assignments in the evenings in the area. Some handgun incidents in the area, but no prosecutions. He warned people that some criminals are watching citizens put items in their trunks in parking lots and then waiting for them to walk away and quickly pop the trunk to steal the items. The 1600 block of N Parkridge had packages stolen from their mailboxes. There are also some issues with counterfeit dollar bills being used at cash transactions such as garage sales. Come July 1st, the new weapons laws will be in effect which will mean no more licenses for conceal carry. Public? Is an air rifle considered a firearm? A: A weapon that fires using compressed air is considered a firearm. *****Action: Receive and file. The Wichita Fire Department reported that there were no May fires in District V and only two fires City- wide. One was in a vacant building and last week there was a fire from grilling in a garage. Recommended placing grills 10-15 feet away from any structures. Also advised people not to drive through high water. With the 4th of July coming up the fireworks rules will be the same as last year. Recommends shooting off fireworks inside the City limits only when they were bought within the City limits. DAB? What is the number for reporting firework complaints? A: 290-1011. *****Action: Receive and file. New Business 4. ZON2015-00012 and CON2015-00010 Dale Miller, Metropolitan Area Planning Department, presented this request again for a zone change and conditional use. DAB V heard the case at the April 21, 2015 meeting. Twenty to 30 neighbors attended the DAB meeting expressing concerns similar to those presented at the MAPC meeting. The DAB voted to deny the application (6-1). At the close of the protest period, 47.98 percent of the valid protest area had submitted protest petitions. The Wichita City Council considered the case on May 5, 2015, and voted to send the case back for consideration to DAB V, DAB VI and the MAPC. The application was approved by the Metropolitan Area Planning Commission 12-0. The applicants are requesting a zone change from SF-5 Single-Family Residential (SF-5) to Limited Commercial (LC) for 4.94 acres of a 5.5-acre unplatted parcel, located west of North Hoover Road on the north side of West 29th Street North. In 1958, Sedgwick County zoned three of the four corners (northwest, northeast, southeast) of the intersection of North Hoover Road and West 29th Street North to LC in anticipation of commercial development. The east portion of the parcel, approximately 0.45 acre currently zoned LC, was part of the1958 LC zone change. In addition to the requested zone change to LC, the applicants have submitted a request for a conditional use to allow “warehouse/self-service storage” on the site (CON2015-10).  Minutes 3 June 15, 2015 The applicants have submitted a site plan of the proposed building layout, internal vehicle circulation and the access onto West 29th Street North that will be reviewed and approved during platting should ZON2015- 00012 and CON2015-00010 be approved. Upon approval of ZON2015-12 and the associated CON2015-10, the applicants will be required to file and perfect a plat within one year, and provide a revised site plan giving more detail including, but not limited to, storm water drainage, landscaping, any proposed light poles and identification of customer and employee parking. The applicants have developed a more detailed site plan than was originally submitted. The new site plan will be provided at the second round of District Advisory Board (DAB) and Metropolitan Area Planning Commission (MAPC) hearings. With this case there were three additional presentations including City of Wichita Public Works, the applicant, and one of the petitioners against the project. With regards to drainage, Joe Hickle, Public Works, presented that the drainage for the area is natural to South Lake through the 29th Street drainage. The Applicant is planning a dry pond which will remain dry until it rains with a device to catch any floatable debris. Questions: DAB? Will the dry pond be on the property? A: Yes, it will be a depressed area with grass. DAB? Would there be a drainage pipe from the dry pond to the storm sewer? A: Yes. Public? How do they know what kind of pipe to use when building the system? A: They plan for a 10-year rain event. The applicant presented that the approach with the property is to try and hide the self-storage facilities behind an eight foot fence. The existing building that is there currently comes over the fence and the trailer home is currently above the fence. The salvage yard to the north of the property is hidden by the fence as well. They are planning a monument style sign instead of a tall sign and the façade from the street will be stone with pitched roofs, stone pillars, wrought iron fencing, and landscaping. Trees will be planted around the entire property as well. The applicant feels that MAPC approved the project because Hoover is currently expanding and this will help to screen the salvage yard which would prevent homes from being built on the land. The applicant also noted that the zoning does not allow for outdoor storage. Questions: DAB? Will the monument sign be backlit? A: That hasn’t been discussed yet, but it would probably have lights pointing at it from the ground. DAB? Will the area be 24 hour accessible? A: It will be staffed with normal business hours, but will be accessible 24 hours a day. DAB? Will the berm be 5-6 feet high? A: 5-6 feet is the minimum, but it will be higher in spots with a retaining wall on the back side. DAB? What is the intention on the north side for grass? A: It will be a landscaped fescue grass. Public? Even though no fencing is not required, have you addressed screening on the east side? A: Yes, there will be solid fencing. Public? Would you be expanding commercial land to the west? A: There hasn’t been any discussion of that yet.  Minutes 4 June 15, 2015 Public: They are concerned that RV’s would not fit in the units. Applicant: There is a large building on the north boundary that can house RV’s. The existing building which is over the fencing is taller than they need for that purpose. Public? With the lot being five-six acres and the plan being three acres, how much of the surface when fully developed will be impervious? A: Unknown exactly, but it will be taken into account when drainage is installed. Public? How many days of retention will there be on the lot? A: A one year storm requires 48 hours of retention. For each type of storm they have to plan accordingly to City standards. Public? Why is there a second driveway on to the lot? A: For emergency vehicles. Public? Are there any plans to expand to the southeast and if so will the dry pond be enough? A: Further expansion will be dictated by usage, but if they did expand the dry pond would still be enough. Dale Miller, Planning: If approved they have to build according to the site plan, if they want to expand it would have to come back before MAPC, but adjustments would not have to go back to the DAB. They would hang a sign with a 10 day comment period. If enough people complain it would come back to the DAB. Public: They are concerned that the owner to the west of this property has plans for the sand pit. Brook Grizzell, 5937 W. 29th St N, presented on her view as a resident of the area. Pictures of the current homes and examples of nearby storage units were shown. She feels that the buffer to the salvage yard already exists and wouldn’t be a benefit of this project. Money has been offered to the current owner of the property so that is left alone and the lot was only on sale for two months before the current contract was pending. She is concerned about the loss of value to her home and feels that there is enough self-storage in Wichita and feels that this does not conform to the 2030 Land Use Guide. Questions: DAB? Are you opposed to the LC Commercial zoning or the conditional use? A: Both. DAB: The homeowners around the new Sam’s also had similar concern, but feels that Sam’s did a good job with screening. Public: This area is not the same as that area because it’s almost entirely residential around here whereas Maize road was already highly commercial. Public? Have you looked at the real estate tax that the units would pay versus residential taxes? A: No. The following are additional comments from the attending citizens and DAB. Public: They are concerned about when the salvage yard was formed they complained about it but weren’t listened to. They are concerned about the zoning enforcement. Applicant: They are also residents of the area and feel that the area will benefit from the business. Public: They only take their boat out once in the fall and the storage unit a half a mile away only has a dozen boats in storage. They report that they talked to self-storage business owners in the area and boats are not a money maker for them. They feel that there is a big difference between this and the Sam’s project and that this area should be protected because it is a unique draw for physicians that are being recruited to move to Wichita. Public: They feel that the change would hurt the long term residential value and they feel that there really isn’t a need for this business.  Minutes 5 June 15, 2015 Public: They feel that once it’s a storage unit, it will always be one. At the current zoning, there are already two offers that would keep it the same usage. They do not feel that it’s the right direction for the neighborhood and just because the salvage yard went in that’s not a good reason to expand the commercial usage further. Public: They feel that there is a difference in residential traffic and commercial traffic for the area. Council Member Brian Frye? How many single family lots can go on the current lot? A: Probably between 15 and 20. *****Action: The DAB V members voted 3-0 to recommend approval of the request subject the addition of the east side fencing. 5. CON2015-00019 Dale Miller, Metropolitan Area Planning Department, presented this request. The applicant is requesting a “conditional use” to allow outdoor vehicle sales, boat and recreational vehicle storage, and “self-service storage” on Lot 1 Block 1, Johnson’s Garden Center Ridge Addition, which is currently zoned Limited Commercial (LC). The site is located approximately 700-feet north of W. Central Avenue on the east side of N. Ridge Road (802 N. Ridge Road). The subject site is developed with six structures that were used for retail, office and greenhouses during the time the property was operating as a garden/landscaping center. The applicant proposes to retain three buildings on the west end of the property and remove the greenhouses. Fifteen new self-service storage units will be built and an area designated for storage of boats and recreational vehicles. Per the Unified Zoning Code (UZC), outdoor vehicle and equipment sales and indoor self-service storage may be permitted with a conditional use in the LC zoning district. Outdoor storage of boats and recreational vehicles are not allowed in LC. The applicant’s site plan shows the existing retail structure, maintenance building and office building. The site has two existing drives onto North Ridge Road. The site plan also indicates the drive access to the self-service storage units and the parking for vehicle display, customer and employee parking. Only one person filed a protest. The applicant noted that the petition was regarding outside storage, but outside storage is not allowed by zoning. Questions: Ben Control, 970 N Red Barn? What kind of vehicle sales? A: Used vehicles, but nothing further has been decided. *****Action: The DAB V members voted 3-0 to recommend approval of the request subject to the eight listed conditions.  Minutes 6 June 15, 2015 Board Agenda 6. Updates, Issues, and Reports A DAB Member noted that 135th St is completed, but the entrances are not completed yet. They will contact Leslie Hicks with the City to get more information. Council Member Brian Frye reported that construction on Tyler and 29th is well under way. The plan is to open it back up by the start of the school year. Council Member Brian Frye reported that the DAB is currently down to six members with three more being appointed tomorrow out of 11 possible spots and two more members will be coming off. Next Meeting: July 13, 2015 Respectfully Submitted, Case Bell, Community Engagement Guests Brook Grizzell Mary Gadma Dennis Grizzell Shelly Moore Rick Pugh Bill Moore Francis Hitschman Jeff Ruskam Jenny Hitschman Mary Brand Jennie Pogg Sharon Buck Sara Kittrell Dennis Fairbanks Ben Kittrell