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HomeMy WebLinkAboutA001 - Council Action Form dated September 12, 2000 �G - J �� ITEM #� DATE 09/12/00 �35q COUNCIL ACTION FORM SUBJECT: RECOMMENDATION TO CITY COUNCIL APPROVING A SERIES OF AMENDMENTS TO THE RECENTLY ADOPTED ZONING ORDINANCE ACTION FORM SUMMARY: Staff has conducted a comprehensive review of the recently adopted Zoning Ordinance and is proposing a series of amendments to the text of the ordinance. These amendments are a result of several months of administration of the newly adopted ordinance where staff realizes that amendments to the ordinance are needed. Approval of these amendments is recommended. BACKGROUND: From the beginning, staff has indicated that there would likely be a need to make numerous adjustments to the newly adopted Zoning Ordinance. Changes have already occurred in several instances with various portions of the ordinance. Recently staff has conducted a comprehensive review of the recently adopted Zoning Ordinance. This review has been focused on numerous changes that staff believes are needed in the ordinance to more accurately reflect the intent of the ordinance. These amendments had been occurring in a piece meal fashion, and staff has decided to focus specific attention on the entire ordinance at one time. The following information in this Action Form is a summary by the applicable article or section of the Zoning Ordinance that gives a general description of the numerous amendments that are being proposed. The actual ordinance change is attached to this Action Form. ANALYSIS: Article 2 - Definitions. Several definitions have been added and several existing definitions have been revised to assist in the administration of the ordinance. Article 3 -Zoning Process. The acronym that refers to the Suburban Residential Floating zone has been revised to make the reference more clear in the remaining portions of the ordinance. Article 4 - Development Standards. A number of changes are being proposed to this Article of the ordinance. The most significant changes in this article include: revisions to tree spacing, wooden fencing has been provided for as screening device and taller fencing is proposed in some instances. Taller fencing has been proposed for the High Wall Screen option; revisions to the perimeter parking lot landscape standards have been proposed; interior landscaping standards have been significantly changed; and remote parking is now being proposed as alternative means of obtaining the required parking for uses in three of the commercial zones Article 7 - Residential. A number of changes are being proposed to the residential zones. The most significant includes the proposal to provide for Group Homes, if they preexisted in the RL zone. This change will allow for expansion of the Beloit Group Home complex that was referred to staff from the City Council. Much smaller lot area requirements are being proposed for the interior lots for an attached dwelling where there are three or more dwellings in the RM and RH zones. Article 8 - Commercial. The most significant change is to permit Adult Entertainment Business in the DCSC and HOC zones. Previously, they had not been permitted even though there are extensive standards for this type of use in Article 14. Staff was concerned about a constitutional difficulty with the previous omission. Article 9 - Industrial. No major changes are proposed for this section, although clarification of several acronyms is inserted into the ordinance. Article 10 - Special Purpose Districts. School Districts have been added as a governmental unit that is subject to the provisions of the Government/Airport District. The Zoning Map indicates most, if not all, school property as being zoned S/GA. This revision will make the map and the text consistent. Article 11 - Overlay Zones. Revisions to the Historic Preservation Overlay that clarify the intent and the process of the OH overlay are being proposed. Additional clarification in the Gateway and University Overlay zones is also included in this revision. Article 12 - Floating Zones. A number of significant changes are being proposed to these regulations. In the Village Residential Floating Zone the significant changes include: definitions for front porches, frontage line and stoops; placement standards for detached garages for country houses; and a reduction in parking standard for commercial uses is proposed. With respect to the Suburban Residential Floating Zone, the most significant revision is a reduction in the lot area requirement for interior lots for attached dwellings. This was been necessary as a means to accomplish the 3.75 density standard that now includes attached dwellings. Some minor changes are proposed for the Planned Residence District. Article 13 - Additional Requirement for Specific Uses. The most significant changes include the reference to Home Occupations as being required to obtain a permit through a Special Home Occupation Permit in contrast to the previous Special Use Permit. Also, additional antenna devices can be installed on an approved monopole for cellular telephone technology by simply obtaining a permit from the Building Official. This is needed to accomplish the objective of "co-location". 2 Article 14 - Administration. Reference is now made to the process for a Special Home Occupation Permit to be consistent with the changes that have occurred in Article 13. Article 15 - Procedures. Changes have been made to the requirement for posting a notice on property to more accurately reflect actual practice, and other changes to the notice provisions have been made to create more consistency between numerous applications relative to the notice provisions. (A complete copy of the proposed changes to the Zoning Ordinance is attached to this Action Form. In addition to the substantive changes summarized in this Action Form, the attached ordinance also includes numerous format and typographical changes.) RECOMMENDATION OF THE PLANNING & ZONING COMMISSION: The Planning and Zoning Commission reviewed this request at their meeting of August 16, 2000 and approval with the following modification: Article 7. That the inclusion of Group Homes to solve the problem for Beloit, which is limited to residences for the physically, mentally, and emotionally disturbed, be consistent in the RL (Residential Low Density) zone and the UCRM (Urban Core Residential Medium) density zone. This change has been made. Article 12. Based on discussion that occurred at the Commission meeting, the Commission directed that staff research the impact of reducing the interior lot sizes for single-family attached dwellings in the Suburban Residential floating zone. The research should focus on impacts on traffic, open space, storm water, and other issues. This research is still underway and the proposed change to lot sizes for single-family attached dwellings in the Suburban Residential floating zone will be brought forward to the Commission and Council at a later date. STAFF COMMENTS: As stated in the background section of this Action Form, these proposed changes reflect staff's effort to make needed adjustments to the ordinance based on several months of experience in administering the new ordinance. When these proposed changes were reviewed by the Planning and Zoning Commission, several additional changes have occurred that staff totally agrees with. These changes are now reflected in the ordinance that the City Council is being asked to take action on. It is the belief of staff that with only a few exceptions, these proposed revisions represent a comprehensive analysis of changes needed. 3 There are still several changes that are being investigated as directed by the City Council. These include setback provisions for commercial land uses and the setback requirements for corner lots in the RM and RH zone. These changes, as directed by City Council, have more significant implications with respect to the Land Use Policy Plan, especially the commercial setbacks. It is still possible that a need for further adjustments may arise in the future, yet with this comprehensive review, staff believes that these future adjustments should be few in number. ALTERNATIVES: 1. The City Council can approve the numerous changes that are being proposed by staff and the Planning and Zoning Commission as part of this comprehensive review of the recently adopted Zoning Ordinance. 2. The City Council can deny the proposed changes to the Zoning Ordinance. 3. The City Council can approve some of the proposed changes to the Zoning Ordinance. 4. The City Council can refer some or all of these proposed changes back to staff for additional information. RECOMMENDED ACTION: It is recommended that the City Council adopted Alternative #1. This will approve the proposed changes to the newly adopted Zoning Ordinance as outlined in this Action Form. This effort represents a comprehensive analysis at proposing needed adjustments to the newly adopted ordinance after several months of experience at administering the ordinance. Attachment 4