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HomeMy WebLinkAbout~Master - Zoning Board of Adjustment Minutes 04/22/2020 MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE ZONING BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT AMES, IOWA APRIL 22, 2020 The Ames Zoning Board of Adjustment met, pursuant to law, in regular session at 6:01 pm on April 22, 2020, via Zoom communication with the following members present: Leila Ammar, Amelia Schoeneman, Ronald Schappaugh, Rob Bowers, and Chad Schneider. Also present were Assistant City Attorney Vikki Feilmeyer and City Planner Benjamin Campbell. Board Chair Schoeneman announced that it is impractical to hold an in-person meeting due to the Governor of Iowa declaring a public health emergency because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, limits have been placed on public gatherings, and this meeting is being held as an electronic meeting. ELECTION OF OFFICERS: Moved by Bowers, to elect Amelia Schoeneman for the office of Chair of the Zoning Board of Adjustment. Roll Call Vote: 5-0. Motion declared carried unanimously. Moved by Schoeneman, to elect Leila Ammar for the office of Vice Chair of the Zoning Board of Adjustment. Roll Call Vote: 5-0. Motion declared carried unanimously. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Moved by Schappaugh, seconded by Schoeneman, to approve the Minutes of the meeting of March 25, 2020. Roll Call Vote: 3-0-2. Voting Aye: Schoeneman, Bowers, Schappaugh. Voting Nay: None. Voting to Abstain: Ammar, Schneider. Motion declared carried. CASE NO. 20-24 SPECIAL HOME OCCUPATION PERMIT – CHRISTOPHER WIEGERS, A STITCH IN TIME UPHOLSTERY, 3020 EVERGREEN CIRCLE Public Hearing on a Special Home Occupation Permit to allow Custom Upholstery on the property located at 3020 Evergreen Circle. Planner Benjamin Campbell stated that the applicant was requesting an allowance for a professional upholstery business, A Stitch in Time Upholstery, to operate as a home business from the residential property at 3020 Evergreen Circle. The business provides upholstery services for automobiles, boats, motorcycles, and furniture. Staff does not consider this proposed use to be repair or painting of motor vehicles, including motorcycles, a prohibited use for a home occupation. The applicant purchased the property in March of 2020. The subject property contains a two- story single-family home with a basement. The Story County Assessor lists the square footage of the house as 1,930 square feet. The house has a three-car garage, measured at 742 square feet, where the shop activity will take place. 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: 2 - He is the only employee. - Customer visits will typically be by appointment – posted hours are Monday-Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. - He plans to work in the garage from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and 12:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. - An office inside the dwelling will occupy approximately 130 square feet. - The shop in the garage will take up approximately 240 square feet. - There will be no commercial deliveries, outside of those from UPS and FedEx. - The specialized equipment is limited to a sewing machine and an air compressor (which, according to the applicant, is 80 percent quieter than the standard air compressor). The air compressor is used for tools, including a glue gun, and is stored in the garage. - A personal vehicle doubles as a company vehicle. The applicant stated that cars coming for upholstery work will be parked in the garage/shop. When boat seats are being upholstered, the applicant requests that only the seats are brought in – not the whole boat. Mr. Wiegers also stated that the only time he requests the boat be brought to the property is when he is making a boat cover. The proposed upholstery business will not exceed the allowed 10 visits per day. The primary area used for the business will occupy less than the maximum allowed 25 percent of the total floor area of the residence. Parking is available in the applicant’s driveway or, if needed, on the street in front of the home. 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. Mr. Campbell stated that the ZBA may conclude that the application meets all applicable criteria of Ames Municipal Code. The Zoning Board of Adjustment may approve this request to allow an upholstery business as a Special Home Occupation at 3020 Evergreen Circle by adopting the findings and conclusions noted above with the following stipulation reflective of the Special Home Occupation standards: o No outdoor storage is permissible overnight. Applicant Christopher Wiegers, 3020 Evergreen Circle, Ames, Iowa, was sworn in and testified under oath. Mr. Wiegers stated that he had no additional information to provide. Board Member Schoeneman asked the applicant if all visits are by appointment. Mr. Wiegers stated that that was true. Ms. Schoeneman asked if 10 to 15 visits per week would be the maximum that Mr. Wiegers could handle since he is the only employee. Mr. Wiegers stated that he had not yet come close to 10 visits per week. Ms. Schoeneman asked Mr. Wiegers if he was aware that he was not allowed to have more than four visitors per hour, and if he had more than four visitors per day. Mr. Wiegers stated the maximum visits per day is typically two to three and typically around the same times each day so as not to bother the neighbors. Xinwei Wang, 3036 Evergreen Circle, Ames, Iowa, was sworn in and testified under oath. Mr. Wang stated that he was concerned for the kids when coming and going to school. He felt that there were strange cars that came to the applicant’s home and making the neighbors feel unsafe. He didn’t feel that operation of the compressor would be an issue for the neighbors. Wenzhen Li, 3133 Sycamore Road, Ames, Iowa, was sworn in and testified under oath. Ms. Li 3 stated that she understood that an in-home business could help the applicant save money, but she had a couple concerns. She stated that she and her husband chose the neighborhood because it was a residential area and very quiet. She felt that if an exception was offered for the applicant to have an in-home business, then there could potentially be others that would want the same. Ms. Schoeneman asked Mr. Campbell if he had forwarded an email from someone inquiring in the Zoom chat window. She then asked Mr. Campbell to read the email into the record. Mr. Campbell stated that he received an email from Natalie Kee at 5:31 pm which stated, “Dear Zoning Committee, Hope everyone is well during this unprecedented pandemic. This is to share concerns regarding the application of a Special Home Occupation Permit for Custom Upholstery on the property located at 3020 Evergreen Circle. While we very much welcome the new family to this wonderful neighborhood, we have concerns regarding commercial traffic that will bring non-residents to the immediate vicinity of our residential area on regular basis five days a week, negatively affecting the characteristics of our quiet family oriented neighborhood where everyone feels safe with familiar faces. Another concern is the aesthetics of the neighborhood which may be affected in a way that none of us experienced before. (Please kindly see the attached pictures from the business website.) Also having the immediate vicinity of our living areas appear on Google map in the proximity of a commercial business is unsettling, perhaps more so due to the fact that there have been multiple burglaries in the neighborhood in the recent past. As residents, we are also deeply concerned about violating the Home Association Covenants on which all residents signed and accepted to abide by at the time of purchasing a home in Northridge. While we greatly appreciate small businesses and our veterans as well as everyone who puts hard work to support a family, the collective agreement was put in place to preserve the characteristics of the neighborhood and we all agreed to abide by as the residents of Northridge. Having seen his outstanding workmanship as displayed on his website, we are eager to refer friends and family for their upholstery needs. I am just afraid that the only issue here is that the location is not the right fit. Thanks very much for your time and consideration. Sincerely, Natalie.” Ying Zhou, 3026 Evergreen Circle, Ames, Iowa, was sworn in and testified under oath. Ms. Zhou stated that her concern with the business was that it appeared on Google Maps giving the address and business hours which would allow for people to stop in randomly without an appointment. She also expressed concern for the neighborhood covenant. She stated that when she purchased her home, she did not expect for a commercial business to be allowed. Mr. Schappaugh asked staff if municipal codes supersede a covenant. Mr. Campbell stated that covenants and deed restrictions are independent of the city, governed by state law, and therefore the city does not regulate or enforce deed restrictions. It does not mean that they aren’t valid, just that the city does not enforce them. Mr. Campbell said a person would have to go to the courts to enforce deed restrictions and covenants. He stated that he was given a copy of the deed restrictions for this unit. The zoning code still considers this to be residential with an accessory use of commercial, and the deed restrictions and covenants did not specifically address something like a home occupation. According to the zoning ordinance, which is how the city regulates land used, this is a residential use with an accessory use as a home occupation. Mr. Schappaugh asked if the City Attorney had any comment to add. Ms. Feilmeyer stated that normally covenants are private property rights, and that people have an ability to enforce covenants but that is not what the city does. She said there may be some limited circumstances 4 where the city is a party to such things but that is something that is between private property owners. Mr. Schappaugh stated that one of the emails included a link to an unsigned, unnotarized copy of the Northridge covenants. He asked if anyone had seen a signed and notarized copy. Mr. Campbell said he had not. Ms. Schoeneman asked Mr. Campbell to state the consequences of the applicant exceeding the number of visits per day or per hour. Mr. Campbell stated that there may be no more than 10 visits per day and no more than four client vehicles during any given hour onsite. He said if there is a violation of this ordinance or any ordinance, then a neighbor should contact the city. If the city doesn’t know of a violation, then it cannot be addressed. Mr. Wiegers stated that he and his wife had checked with their realtor and the seller’s realtor to make sure that there were no covenants to prevent a home occupation permit. Mr. Wiegers stated that he has four children under the age of five, so he understood the concern about safety. He stated that he had been running his upholstery business in Ames for almost two years and had never had more than 10 visitors per week. Ms. Schoeneman asked Mr. Wiegers if he had many walk-ins with his business. He stated that in the last two years he had approximately two to three walk-in visitors. Ms. Schoeneman asked if Mr. Wiegers was okay with the condition of no overnight outdoor storage on his property. He stated that he understood the condition and was fine with it. Ms. Schoeneman noted that the applicant appeared to meet all standards for a home business. Moved by Schappaugh, seconded by Bowers, to adopt ORDER NO. 20-24, thereby approving Alternative One with condition. Roll Call Motion: 5-0. Motion declared carried. ADJOURNMENT: Moved by Schappaugh, seconded by Ammar, to adjourn the meeting at 6:40 p.m. _____________________________ _____________________________ Jacque Higgins, Recording Secretary Amelia Schoeneman, Chair