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HomeMy WebLinkAboutA003 - Staff Report ITEM #: 2 DATE: 06-24-20 CITY OF AMES DEPARTMENT OF PLANNING AND HOUSING REPORT TO THE ZONING BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT DATE PREPARED: June 19, 2020 APPLICANT: Lixia Zhu, Meta Electronics PROPERTY OWNER: Nianhai Shen & Lixia Zhu ZONING: RL (Residential Low Density) REQUEST: To allow the online purchase of merchandise, merchandise storage, and online merchandise resale for the property located at 1648 Reagan Drive, as a Special Home Occupation at 1648 Reagan Drive. PROJECT DESCRIPTION: The applicant is requesting allowance for Meta Electronics to operate as a home business from the residential property at 1648 Reagan Drive. The business purchases merchandise online, has the merchandise shipped to the home, and then re-sells the merchandise online. The merchandise includes small office electronics and home printers. This business does not fall under "[m]ail order businesses where products are shipped directly from the supplier to the customer," a permitted home occupation under Sec. 29.1304(1)(a), as the products are shipped to and from the subject property. The City received a complaint concerning the business for frequent deliveries to the property. The applicant applied for the Special Home Occupation after being contacted by Staff. The applicant purchased the property in June of 2015. The subject property contains a one-story single-family home with a basement. The Story County Assessor lists the square footage of the house as 1,354 square feet. The house has a two-car garage, recorded as 508 square feet by the Assessor. Merchandise storage will take place in the garage. No modifications to the home are proposed for use by the business. The applicant has indicated that office space inside the residence will be used for the business. The applicant has stated the following regarding the use: - There are no employees outside of the household. - No customers will visit the site. - An office space inside the dwelling occupies approximately 35 square feet. - A space in the garage of less than 100 square feet will be used for storing merchandise. The space needed will not replace a car stall. 1 - There will be regular package deliveries, estimated at up to 5 per weekday. The packages will be small, less than 28 inches for any side, and will weigh less than 28 pounds. No special equipment is required to move the packages; they can lifted or moved with a dolly. APPLICABLE LAW: Ames Municipal Code Section 29.1304(3) establishes the criteria for reviewing a Special Home Occupation permit and describes the finding of fact that the Zoning Board of Adjustment must address before a Special Home Occupation permit can be granted. Ames Municipal Code Section 29.1304: (3) Criteria. All home occupations must meet the following criteria: (a) Area to Be Used. (i) The activity shall be conducted in a manner that will not alter the normal residential character of the premises nor, in any way cause a nuisance to adjoining residents, nor shall there be any structural alteration to accommodate the occupation. There should be no emission of smoke, dust, odor, fumes, glare, noises, vibration, electrical or electronic disturbances detectable at the lot line that would exceed that normally produced by a single residence. Special noise exceptions will be allowed for day care homes due to the nature of the clients using the facility. (ii) The activity shall be located within the principal building or within an accessory structure. It shall occupy no more than 25% of the total floor area of the residence and shall not exceed 400 square feet of an accessory building. (b) Signs. Any sign utilized at the home occupation shall be limited to one flush-mounted sign on the main residential structure, which shall not exceed one square foot in area. Such sign shall not be lighted and nonreflecting materials shall be used. The legend shall show only the name of the occupant and the type of occupation. Color shall be consistent with the residential character. (c) Equipment. There shall be no mechanical equipment used except as customary for domestic household purposes. Any merchandise or stock in trade sold, repaired, or displayed shall be stored entirely within the residential structure or in any accessory building. No storage is to be visible from lot lines. (d) Employment. The activity shall employ only members of the household residing in the dwelling unless the Zoning Board of Adjustment grants approval for the employment of up to two non-family members. (e) Traffic. The activity shall not generate significantly greater traffic volumes than would normally be expected in a residential area. Not more than 10 vehicular visits per day shall be allowed. An exception to the number of visits allowed per day may be permitted for family day care homes and adult day care due to the number of children 2 or adults allowed on-site and the need for parent or caregiver contact during the day. The delivery and pick up of materials or commodities to the premises by commercial vehicles shall not interfere with the delivery of other services to the area. (f) Parking Criteria. (i) Only one delivery vehicle associated with the activity may be parked on the street near the premises for not more than four consecutive hours. (ii) One additional on-site parking space is required above the normal parking requirements where two or more clients are likely to visit the premises concurrently. (iii) No more than four client vehicles during any given hour shall be allowed on the site. This requirement shall not be construed to prohibit occasional exceptions for such events as meetings, conferences, demonstrations, or similar events that are in no way a nuisance to adjoining residences. (g) Class Size. If the home occupation is the type in which classes are held or instructions given, there shall be no more than four students or pupils at any given time. The Board may approve up to six students if it finds that the additional students will not generate additional traffic. Day-care homes may have up to six children or adults at a time. Additional children or adults will require a Special Home Occupation Permit for a day- care center. (h) Number of Home Occupations. The total number of home occupations within a dwelling unit is not limited, except that the cumulative impact of all home occupations conducted within the dwelling unit shall not be greater than the impact of one home occupation. This will be determined by using the home occupation criteria. PUBLIC COMMENTS: Notification was made to all owners of property within 200 feet. A notice of public hearing was placed in the front yard of the property. FINDINGS OF FACT & CONCLUSIONS: Based upon the project description the following findings of fact and conclusions may be made: Findings: The applicant has stated that: a. There are no outside employees. b. No changes will be made to the premises. c. Approximately 122.5 square feet (35 in the house, 87.5 in the garage) of the 1,862 square feet (1,354-square-foot conditioned space and 508-square-foot garage) will be used for the business. The maximum area is 465.5 square feet (25% of the total area). d. No sign is proposed. 3 e. There will be regular, commercial deliveries from UPS, FedEx, and the Postal Service. f. No mechanical equipment will be used for the business. g. Clients will not visit the property. h. There are no other home occupations at this location. Conclusions: The proposed online purchase, on-site storage, and online re-sale business will not exceed the allowed 10 visits per day based upon the applicant's statements. The space used for the business will occupy less than the maximum allowed 25% of the total floor area of the residence. No customers visit the property, but deliveries happen regularly. Delivery vehicles do park on the street but for a short time. The UPS, FedEx, and USPS vehicles are standard home delivery trucks; large truck deliveries are not proposed. Due to the nature of the business as described in the application, it can be concluded that the proposed use will not alter the normal residential character of the area. Sec. 29.1304(3)(e) prohibits the business activity from generating "significantly greater traffic volumes than would normally be expected in a residential area. Not more than 10 vehicular visits per day shall be allowed." Sec. 29.1304(3)(f)(i) states that "[o]nly one delivery vehicle associated with the activity may be parked on the street near the premises for not more than 4 consecutive hours." Staff concludes that as long as deliveries do not exceed the above standards, the home occupation meets the Zoning Code criteria. Therefore, based upon the application as described herein, the ZBA may conclude that the application meets all applicable criteria of Ames Municipal Code. ALTERNATIVES: 1. The Zoning Board of Adjustment can approve this request to allow the online purchase of merchandise, merchandise storage, and online merchandise resale as a Special Home Occupation at 1648 Reagan Drive by adopting the findings and conclusions noted above with different stipulations. 2. The Zoning Board of Adjustment may deny this request for a Special Home Occupation, if the Board finds and concludes that the proposed Special Home Occupation is not consistent with adopted policies and regulations, or that the Special Home Occupation will impose impacts that cannot be reasonably mitigated. 3. The Zoning Board of Adjustment may table this request for a Special Home Occupation and request additional information from City staff or the applicant. DEPARTMENT RECOMMENDATION: Based upon the Findings of Fact and Conclusions herein, it is the recommendation of the Department of Planning and Housing that the Zoning Board of Adjustment act in accordance with Alternative #1. This will allow the applicant to proceed with a business that purchases merchandise online, stores the merchandise on-site, and re-sells the merchandise 4 online at 1648 Reagan Drive subject to the home occupation being operated as described herein. 5 Attachment `A' Location & Zoning Map 80 1567 1641 1573 4 1635 1629 68 1579 ' ---"AGA N-DR 2862 1512 1636 1630 1618 �- 1615 1611 1h1i' 1605 1•i1 1617 JA E KSO WDR-iO4 02 1618 S h % Location Map 1648 Reagan Drive Special Home Occupation r „ Legend 1648 Regan Drive C3 200'Buffer FPPt 6 Attachment `B' Site Plan 1579 GP Aft •� ��17 1 165d � r ,� ' ;� Storage in arage i 1648 i 16 1 1 q Location Map 1648 Reagan Drive Special Home Occupation Legend p 12.5 25 60 1648 Regan Drive Feet 7