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HomeMy WebLinkAboutA001 - Special Use Permit in a Residential Zone application General Standards. The Zoning Board of Adjustment shall review each application for the purpose of determining that each proposed use meets the following “General Standards” set forth in 29.1503(5)(a), and in addition, shall find adequate evidence that each use in its proposed location will: A) Be harmonious with and in accordance with the general principles and proposals of the Comprehensive Plan of the City. Now that we have applied for the one new social service provider lot granted in the new ordinance, we will be harmonious with the existing neighborhood and the Old Town District as far as exterior aesthetics and approved use. B) Be designed, constructed, operated, and maintained so as to be harmonious in appearance with the existing or intended character of the general vicinity and that such a use will not change the essential character of the area in which it is proposed. The exterior of our home will be harmonious with the existing neighborhood and the Old Town District. Any potential changes will be based on what the City requires which will also fit into the guidelines of the Historic Preservation Commission. C) Not be hazardous or disturbing to existing or future uses in the same general vicinity. There will be no issues that could be hazardous or disturbing to those in our neighborhood. We have a solid relationship with our next door neighbor and we have no home to the back of us (alley) and to the south of us (7th Avenue). D) Be served adequately by essential public facilities and services such as highways, streets, police, fire protection, drainage structure, refuse disposal, water and sewage facilities, and/or schools. We will not require any new public services outside of what is already available to us. E) Not create excessive additional requirements at public cost for public facilities and services. We will not require additional requirements at public cost for public facilities and services. F) Not involve uses, activities, processes, materials, equipment, or conditions of operation that will be detrimental to any person, property, or general welfare by reason of excessive production of traffic, noise, smoke, fumes, glare, or odors. The activities that will occur at our location will not generate any increase of traffic, noise, smoke or odors. We have a strong relationship with our neighbor located at 706 Clark Avenue and we abut to 7th Avenue which is a commercial zone. G) Be consistent with the intent and purpose of the Zone in which it is proposed to locate such use. With the City’s approval of the zoning text amendment allowing for social service providers, we will be consistent with the zoning regulations. Residential Zone Standards. The Zoning Board of Adjustment shall review each application for the purpose of determining that each proposed use in a residential zone meets the “Residential Zone Standards” set forth in Section 29.1503(5)(b) listed below, and shall find adequate evidence that each use in its proposed location will: A) Not create excessively higher levels of traffic than the predominant pattern in the area and not create additional traffic from the proposed use that would change the street classification and such traffic shall not lower the level of service at area intersections. Our location at 702 Clark Avenue is ideal due to the existing commercial zone to the south of our home. We will not require additional parking spots for our volunteers and guests outside of what is already provided to us, or what could be required from the City. The traffic into our home from our guests will be from the back door which is surrounded by a 6’ fence. The only traffic coming through our front door on Clark will be the limited staff and volunteers. By using the back entrance for the heavier traffic, Clark Avenue will have minimal traffic. B) Not create a noticeably different travel pattern than the predominant pattern in the area. Special attention must be shown to deliveries or service trips in a residential zone that are different than the normal to and from work travel pattern in the residential area. No changes will occur with packages being delivered or service trips. The pattern of traffic will be the same as it currently is for our home and the neighborhood. Again, we will use the back door of our home for everything outside of staff and volunteers. Our back yard will be fenced and there will be two parking spots in addition to the existing alley. The front entrance should be minimally used which will create a nice quiet environment on Clark Avenue. C) Not generate truck trips by trucks over 26,000 pounds g.v.w. (gross vehicular weight) to and from the site except for food delivery vehicles, waste collection vehicles and moving vans. We do not expect any vehicle of over 26,000 pounds. Any package deliveries or garbage trucks will be similar to what the current neighborhood is already experiencing. Any potential larger vans or vehicles will mostly come in from the back entrance/alley. D) Not have noticeably different and disruptive hours of operation. Our hours of operation are daytime hours which are limited in scope and will not provide disruptive hours of operation. E) Be sufficiently desirable for the entire community that the loss of residential land is justifiable in relation to the benefit. There will be no loss of residential land. F) Be compatible in terms of structure placement, height, orientation, or scale with the predominate building pattern in the area. Outside of any changes the City will require of us, the exterior of our home and yard will be following the zoning requirements and Historic Preservation Commission’s standards. G) Be located on the lot with a greater setback or with landscape buffering to minimize the impact of the use on adjacent property. All fencing and landscape will follow current city code and permits. The only residential home next to us is to the north and we already have landscaping in place. In addition, we have a solid relationship with our next door neighbor who fully supports this special use permit. H) Be consistent with all other applicable standards in the zone. With the passage of the zoning text amendment allowing for social service providers, we will comply with all applicable zoning standards. Effective Date: May 6, 2024 15 Adjoining Property Owner Statement (Completion of this form by the applicant is optional.) To Whom It May Concern: We, the undersigned, own property adjoining _____________________________ Ames, Iowa. It is our understanding that ____________________________________________ has filed an appeal with the Zoning Board of Adjustment to allow As adjoining property owners, we would have no objections to the issuance of this Special Use Permit for the purposes stated above. NAME ADDRESS DATE Docusign Envelope ID: 7AA1F1D0-DE0C-41A3-85C0-F5C0D4474D1D Supplement to Special Use Permit Application Ames Romero House Ames Romero House (ARH) would like to add additional information that will supplement the general and residential standards sections in our application. We hope the Zoning Board of Adjustments (ZBA) finds this added information useful in its determination of our SUP application. In July 2024, ARH applied to the City of Ames for our property at 702 Clark Avenue to offer social services. The request was to initiate a zoning text amendment (ZTA) to the Single Family Conservation Overlay District (OSFC) to allow for establishment of new social services uses. Adoption of the amendment would allow Social Service Providers to locate in the O-SFC, with the approval of a Special Use Permit by the ZBA. Throughout the process, we had several meetings and an open forum to explain why there was a need for the ZTA. Ames Romero House has been a 501c(3) organization since 2020. The purchase of 702 Clark Avenue was important because of its size and openness to serve our guests, and the proximity to where the homeless population currently exists. Many of our guests also visit the Ames Public Library and Food at First, which makes our “ecosystem” for the poor critical in this defined area near downtown Ames. This entire ZTA process brought many from both sides of the issue to the various meetings. One area we could all agree on is that Ames has a growing homeless population that needs to be addressed. On January 31, 2025, the Ames City Council passed the ordinance as follows: Permitted Uses. (c) Social Service Providers require a Special Use Permit to establish a new facility. A Special Use Permit to establish a new facility may only be approved for a property that abuts commercial zoning along the 600 block of Clark Avenue, 100, 200, 300, and 400 blocks of 7th Street with a limitation of only one additional property being approved for a social service provider within this area after January 1, 2025. The Oscar Romero Trust, owners of 702 Clark Avenue, is confident our home at 702 Clark is the ideal location for the new ordinance. In the remainder of this supplement, we will detail what steps we will take to keep the integrity of the neighborhood intact and also meet the standards the ZBA sets forward in its SUP application. We will provide additional evidence that the SUP is needed for our location at 702 Clark, and that the use of our home for social services is the ideal candidate for the city ordinance. Location: 702 Clark Avenue fits into the allowed “property zone” outlined in the new ordinance. We sit on the corner of Clark and 7th Avenue, with Fareway directly to our south, an alley to our east, Clark Avenue to the west, and a neighbor to the north who advocates for us to have this SUP. We are protected on all sides of the property without risk of any neighbor who might have objections to our SUP. Fareway has been a big supporter of ARH, as is our only direct next-door neighbor at 706 Clark Avenue. In the geographical area outlined in the new ordinance, we are confident there isn’t a better lot suitable for the SUP than 702 Clark Avenue. Since we sit on the corner of 7th and Clark, the traffic pattern is already established and won’t change due to our operation. We have Fareway and its traffic directly to our south, so the neighborhood is already used to this traffic pattern. The traffic pattern will not change with ARH having its business at 702 Clark since our hospitality guests don’t drive cars and most of the people who will use our services are already in the area. Hours of Operation: Our operational hours are limited and held during normal business hours throughout the week. We will serve hospitality from 1pm – 4pm from Monday – Friday. The home is closed on Saturdays and open Sundays from 10:30am - 4pm. We are in business only in the afternoon hours and are closed before most people in the vicinity arrive home from work. We believe this is a major point for the SUP as our hours are limited to a 3-hour block in the afternoons and mainly during weekday hours. We see anywhere from 20-40 guests on a typical day. With our hours of operation only in the afternoon, this prevents traffic during the morning and evening hours. Our guests don’t drive, so there will not be an increase of car traffic in the general area – and we have a limited number of staff and volunteers, so the traffic footprint is contained. We have built a 6-foot-high fence around the property to keep the backyard view limited. Our flow of guest traffic will be through the back door entrance and not onto Clark Avenue. The only traffic coming from Clark Avenue will be our limited volunteers and staff entering through the front door. All other traffic will be coming from the fenced-in back area next to the alley. This is critical to keep the flow of traffic contained and not as noticeable to the public. Our limited hours of operation are also critical for any service vehicles that may need to access the property. Nothing will change with garbage collection, garbage containers, or any deliveries of goods as currently exists. We feel this is important to keep the neighborhood intact and consistent with how services are currently operating. Harmonious with the neighborhood: The only changes we are making to the exterior of 702 Clark are the proposed deck to enter into the home from the back, the mandated ADA back door entrance, and a proposed parking spot with access from the alley. The 6 foot-high fence will hide the deck from the outside. The front of the home will not have activity except for staff members or volunteers entering the home. All hospitality guests must use the back door entrance to enter our home. We have stated the importance of being in the Historic Old Town District and adhering to its guidelines. We will keep the outside of the home looking maintained with professional landscaping, a well-kept yard and have the same architectural beauty the home currently maintains. Outside of the use for social services, the remainder of the home fits into the neighborhood and also follows the comprehensive City Plan. The property at 702 Clark needed major repair prior to our purchase in May 2024. We are confident the changes we are making to the home will not only enhance the beauty of the neighborhood, but also keep the structure of the home in great condition for years to come. Proposed Exterior Updates: • We are proposing a rear 8x8 deck with five risers being added at the rear entrance to the house to allow guests more mobility to enter into the home. • The current rear door is being replaced with a 4” wider door to be ADA compliant. • An additional paved parking space is proposed south of the garage with access off the alley. Traffic: We understand the importance of not having a new traffic pattern or a higher amount of traffic near our home. We have taken the following measures to ensure containment of traffic. • Back door entrance for our hospitality guests to keep them off Clark Avenue. • Only a few people will enter from Clark Avenue (staff) keeping Clark Avenue quiet. • No additional service trucks or any other larger vehicles will be needed. • Fareway, a busy commercial property, is directly to our south and they are a big advocate of our mission. • We will no longer have any services at our location at 709 Clark, as this home will be residential only once 702 Clark is active with a SUP. No Additional Public Services needed: As outlined in our SUP application, we don’t foresee any additional public services needed, outside of what is already in place. We will not need any new city services for this location. Aesthetics of our Property: ARH receives high praise from our neighbors at our current 709 Clark location due to the maintenance of the home and the professional landscaping. We will do the same for 702 Clark. The only exterior additions are the proposed backyard deck which will allow those needing more space to maneuver to enter into our home. Also, we are required to have an ADA door in the back which will also serve as the main entrance for our guests. This wider door allows those who need extra room to enter with flexibility. ARH will follow all required ADA standards to assist those who need greater accessibility. Our landscaping and overall yard maintenance will be professional and maintained by our staff and volunteers, similar to our home at 709 Clark. We have proposed a new parking spot, but its access is near the alley and south of the Carriage House. Staff and Volunteers: We will have two full-time staff members on-site in the upstairs office. Typically, we will have 1-3 volunteers assisting with the meals which will be served on the main level of the home. Guests are not allowed to go upstairs or into the basement area. Guests are restricted to the main floor only. With our limited staff and volunteers, we are able to run the organization without constant in-and-out traffic from the front of the home. Restricted Areas of Home: Our plan is to control the flow of traffic both inside and outside of our home. As mentioned, our guests will enter from the back entrance through a gated area. Guests are only allowed on the main floor which includes the dining room, great room, bathrooms and laundry area. Guests will not be allowed to enter into the kitchen area. We have designed the flow of traffic on the main floor to serve this purpose which keeps things organized and contained. Conclusion: The SUP for ARH is needed in order for ARH to open our home to the marginalized in Ames. It was determined by City Council the need for one social service property on 7th Avenue between Clark and Duff. ARH has the perfect location for this area due to the commercial traffic already in place, and our past history of running an organized and respected social service site. We are making minor modifications to the backyard (deck and ADA door) that will be contained by a 6 foot-high fence blocking the views of the backyard. There will be no need for additional services outside of what are already present in the neighborhood. Our hours of operation are limited to weekday afternoons and on Sunday. With our history and solid reputation from our location at 709 Clark over the past few years, we are confident on a seamless transition from 709 Clark to 702 Clark. We know what we are doing and have a neighborhood on Clark Avenue that supports us.