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HomeMy WebLinkAbout~Master - Zoning Board of Adjustment Minutes 11-13-2019 MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE ZONING BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT AMES, IOWA NOVEMBER 13, 2019 The Ames Zoning Board of Adjustment met, pursuant to law, in regular session at 6:00 p.m. on November 13, 2019, in the Council Chambers of City Hall with the following members present: Leila Ammar, Kyle Perkins, Amelia Schoeneman, Ronald Schappaugh, and Rob Bowers. Assistant City Attorney Vikki Feilmeyer and City Planners Eloise Sahlstrom and Benjamin Campbell were also present. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Moved by Perkins, seconded by Schappaugh, to approve the Minutes of the meeting of October 23, 2019. Vote on Motion: 4-0-1. Voting Aye: Perkins, Schoeneman, Schappaugh, Bowers. Voting Nay: None. Voting to Abstain: Ammar. Motion declared carried. DISCUSS FUTURE MEETINGS FOR GUEST LODGING SPECIAL USE PERMITS City Planner Eloise Sahlstrom introduced the request, explained the types of guest lodging, and noted the need for additional meetings. Ms. Sahlstrom stated that guest lodging had been approved for the third reading the evening before at the City Council meeting. She said guest lodging is the advertising, offering, or otherwise making available use of a home or a room in a home for overnight lodging for a period of 31 consecutive days or less in exchange for money, goods, labor, or service. Guest lodging does not include hotels or motels, however they are subject to hotel and motel tax. Guest lodging is commonly referred to as an “Airbnb,” one of the many online platforms used for advertising such units. City Council spent almost two years discussing the different types of guest lodging, and came up with six categories. To summarize, guest lodging can be an accessory use or principal use. Accessory use is approved at the staff level, and means the home is the primary residence of the owner or renter and the use is incidental. Principal use is when the home is being used as a business or when an entire home is being used as guest lodging, and the owner doesn’t live there. Also called a vacation rental, the home is available for the full year in short increments of time. Principal use is much more intrusive to a neighborhood, and because of that the City Council decided that this use would require a Special Use Permit. Ms. Sahlstrom noted that Zoning Board bylaws limit the number of items on an agenda to five. She said staff is expecting to receive around 20 applications immediately, which would take four to six meetings to consider cases. Therefore, Planning is asking for a second meeting in January, February, and March. Board member Schappaugh questioned from where the five agenda item limit comes. Ms. Sahlstrom stated that the five items rule is in the bylaws of the Zoning Board. Board member Schoeneman said that the average Special Use Permit presentation by a planner is approximately 30 minutes, and five of those per meeting would mean a two-and-a-half-hour meeting. She would prefer additional meetings rather than additional items being added to an agenda. 2 Moved by Bowers, seconded by Perkins, to allow an additional meeting on the fourth Wednesday of the months of January, February, and March 2020. Vote on Motion: 5-0. Motion declared carried unanimously. CASE NO. 19-08 SPECIAL HOME OCCUPATION PERMIT – YASSIR OBEID, CLEAN INDEED CARPET, 4004 ARKANSAS DRIVE Public Hearing on application for a Special Home Occupation Permit, continued from the September 11, 2019, October 9, 2019, and October 23, 2019 meetings, to allow carpet cleaning, water damage mitigation, and odor removal at 4004 Arkansas Drive: Board Member Ammar stated that this Zoning Board meeting is her first, but she reviewed the details of the case prior to the meeting and felt knowledgeable enough to participate in the discussion of this case. Mr. Bowers stated that he received a call from Mr. Drew Kamp with the Chamber of Commerce about this case and that Mr. Kamp called on behalf of the applicant. He said Mr. Kamp never asked him how he would vote and did not ask him to vote in a specific way. Mr. Bowers didn’t believe that their conversation would influence the way he viewed the evidence or any information that was presented. Ms. Schoeneman stated that the public hearing on this issue had been closed at the last meeting, and that there would need to be a motion to open the public hearing. Moved by Schappaugh, seconded by Perkins, to open the public hearing. Vote on Motion: 5-0. Motion declared carried. Ms. Ammar asked staff if the applicant needed to register vehicles with the business. Mr. Campbell replied that there is no requirement to register vehicles for Special Home Occupation permits. Mr. Campbell stated that he had checked with the Fire Inspector about the chemicals Mr. Obeid uses for his business. The Fire Inspector didn’t feel that the chemicals used for the cleaning business posed any greater risk than what a person would normally have in their home or garage. Mr. Schappaugh asked staff if the Special Home Occupation permit goes with the property or if the permit ceases when the applicant moves. Mr. Campbell said that the permit would cease if the applicant moves. Mr. Schappaugh also asked if there is a requirement for Materials Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) to be provided to the neighboring properties. Mr. Campbell said the applicant provided the MSDS sheets to the fire department for review, but that the applicant does not have to provide the sheets to the neighbors. No comments were made from the public. Moved by Schoeneman, seconded by Perkins, to adopt ORDER NO. 19-08, thereby approving the request for a Special Home Occupation Permit to allow carpet cleaning, water damage mitigation, and odor removal with a maximum of two non-family member employees at 4004 3 Arkansas Drive with the addition of two non-family member employees with the following conditions: 1. There shall be no on-site operation of equipment for cleaning of customers carpets 2. The number of employees must be reduced to two 3. Loading and unloading of service vehicles may only take place in the driveway 4. Chemicals shall be secured in the garage or in work vehicles 5. The Special Home Occupation Permit shall be reviewed with a public hearing in one year Board Member Ammar suggested a friendly amendment to the first condition to omit the word carpets. Ms. Schoeneman and Mr. Perkins accepted the amendment. Therefore, the motion reads as follows: Moved by Schoeneman, seconded by Perkins, to adopt ORDER NO. 19-08, thereby approving the request for a Special Home Occupation Permit to allow carpet cleaning, water damage mitigation, and odor removal with a maximum of two non-family member employees at 4004 Arkansas Drive with the following conditions: 1. There shall be no on-site operation of cleaning equipment for customers 2. The number of employees must be reduced to two 3. Loading and unloading of service vehicles may only take place in the driveway 4. Chemicals shall be secured in the garage or in work vehicles 5. The Special Home Occupation Permit shall be reviewed with a public hearing in one year Roll Call Vote: 4-1. Voting Aye: Ammar, Perkins, Schoeneman, Bowers. Voting Nay: Schappaugh. Motion declared carried. ADJOURNMENT: Moved by Schoeneman, seconded by Perkins, to adjourn the meeting at 6:27 p.m. _____________________________ _____________________________ Jacque Higgins, Recording Secretary Amelia Schoeneman, Chair