Planning Commission

Planning Commission Minutes November 13, 2023 The City of Yukon Planning Commission held a Meeting on November 13, 2023 at 7:00 p.m. in the Centennial Building at 12 South 5th St. ROLL CALL: (Present) Bill Baker, Chairman Nick Grba, Commissioner Lee Clark, Commissioner Jeff Geis, Commissioner (Absent) Jarrid Wright, Vice-Chairman OTHERS PRESENT: Jessica Bloye, City Planner with J&A Mark Zitzow, City Planner with J&A Julie Shannon, Planning Director Danielle O’Neal, Asst Planning Director Mitchell Hort, Assistant City Manager Roger Rinehart, City Attorney INVOCATION: Commissioner Geis FLAG SALUTE: Commissioner Clark 1.ITEM: APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF THE JULY 10, 2023 MEETING Commissioner Grba asked that the minutes be amended due to an error on Item 3. He asked that the error be fixed to reflect the correct vote of 0-5 instead of 5-0 and the motion be corrected to say “failed” instead of “carried”. Motion: Commissioner Grba stated “I would like to make a motion to approve the minutes of the July 10, 2023 meeting with the corrections”. Seconded by Commissioner Geis. The Vote: Ayes: Baker, Grba, Geis, Clark Nays: None Vote: 4-0 Motion Carried 2.ITEM: VISITORS None 3.ITEM: PC 2023-1 TO HEAR A REQUEST BY GLORIA HERNANDEZ FOR SPECIAL USE PERMIT FOR A SHORT-TERM RENTAL AT 241 E. MEADE. Legal: Lot TWENTY-FOUR (24), in Block THREE (3), of PARKLAND HEIGHTS SECOND ADDITION, to The City of Yukon, Canadian County, Oklahoma, according to the recorded plat thereof. Discussion: Chairman Baker asked if anyone was there to speak for the project and no one approached the podium. He then called people from the sign-up sheet and gave each three minutes to speak. Nine people, listed below, signed up to speak in opposition to application: Doug Elledge Linda Elledge Diane Edwards Kimberly Smith Otis Davenport Jennie Thompson Marty Martinek Billy Martinek Kyle Henson Topics included not wanting to live next to a hotel, party house issues such as disturbing the peace, parking hazards, safety issues with the pool, excessive noise level, the listed occupancy load being exceeded, commercial lights creating a spillover nuisance, having things thrown in their yards, being approached and intimidated by guests, suspicion of drug activity and a lack of parameters for guests such as quiet hours and limited vehicular parking. Concerns about the owners not knowing what was going on in the house were also common. Other more general concerns about short-term rentals were about the potential for child trafficking, drug activity, property values possibly going down around them, and non-stop parties. Wendy Hernandez, the daughter of the owner, said she was in charge of the Air BNB. She spoke about changing the rules of the house and putting cameras up. She said she feels like they are being harassed because other short-term rentals are not dealing with the same issues they are. She said that neighbors had contacted her through Air Bnb about using the swimming pool and that even if the house was not rented, they would rent the swimming pool. Commissioner Grba asked why they continued advertising after they were asked not to and why they took the public notice sign down and did not put the sign back up after they were asked to put it back up. Ms. Hernandez said that they tried to cancel the Air Bnb but they would not let them cancel. Chairman Baker asked how many permitted Short-Term Rentals we had now. Danielle O’Neal spoke on behalf of the City to let him know that we had none yet, that the ordinance did not go into effect until August. She explained that we created a process through the new code and that every Short Term Rental operator who was advertising on Air Bnb or VRBO was contacted and asked to apply for a Special Use Permit to come into compliance with our new code. She explained that we check those sites daily and that we give everyone the same amount of time that we gave the Hernandez House to get in compliance. The only difference is that the City Attorney sent the letter to the Hernandez House because of the complaints. Christian Castor, the owner’s nephew spoke about how they were new at the Air Bnb business and that a neighbor notified him about lots of people being in the house. Now there are cameras in the house and they check it frequently. They have been working hard on the property. He said they don’t want the neighbors to be worried about them. He requested that the City treat all of the Air Bnbs the same. Chairman Baker asked staff to explain how the City is handling the other short- term rentals. Danielle O’Neal spoke again about the process that the City uses to find illegal short-term rentals and the length of time given to get in compliance. Danielle O’Neal clarified that they would not be allowed to rent out just the swimming pool. Chairman Baker asked if the other commissioners had any comments. Commissioner Geis asked if the sign was ever put back up in the yard. Chairman Baker asked if the sign would go up for every SUP application for short-term rentals and Danielle O’Neal confirmed that they would be put in the yard 20 days before the Planning Commission meeting along with other public notice such as the newspaper notice and notification letters going out. Chairman Baker stated that the Planning Commission had three options for making a motion: defer vote until later meeting, recommend approval and set conditions, or recommend denial. Mitchell Hort was asked if applicants could re-apply at a later date and he said yes they could. Chairman Baker asked if there was a recommendation: Motion: Commissioner Grba recommended denial of the Special Use Permit. Seconded by Commissioner Geis. The Vote: Ayes: Baker, Grba, Geis, Clark Nays: None Vote: 4-0 Motion Carried 4. ITEM: NEW BUSINESS Assistant City Manager, Mitchell Hort said staff would be bring several items to Planning Commission for review. One would be the Property Maintenance Code and another would be revisions to the Unified Development Code. 5. ITEM: OPEN DISCUSSION Bill Baker thanked the City for the Veteran’s banners on Main Street. 6. ITEM: ADJOURNMENT – NEXT MEETING DECEMBER 11, 2023