Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout~Master - Zoning Board of Adjustment Minutes 5-23-2018MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE ZONING BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT AMES, IOWA MAY 23, 2018 The Ames Zoning Board of Adjustment met, pursuant to law, in regular session at 6:00 p.m. on May 23, 2018, in the Council Chambers of City Hall with the following members present: Amelia Schoeneman, Kyle Perkins, Matthew Koehler, and Rob Bowers. Board Member Susan Bradbury was absent. Assistant City Attorney Victoria Feilmeyer and City Planner Julie Gould were also present. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Moved by Perkins, seconded by Schoeneman, to approve the minutes of the meeting of May 9, 2018. Vote on Motion: 4-0. Motion declared carried unanimously. CASE NO. 18-05 SPECIAL USE PERMIT – Randy Larabee, Collegiate United Methodist Church, Public Hearing on application for a Special Use Permit to allow the construction of a new accessory garage for Collegiate United Methodist Church on the property located at 2622 Lincoln Way City Planner Julie Gould introduced the request. The applicant is requesting approval of a Special Use Permit to const ruct a new accessory garage building at 2622 Lincoln Way for the Collegiate United Methodist Church. The church was built in 1920 and has been expanded over the years with the last addition to the main church building in 2006. The church’s ownership area contains multiple buildings including the main church property, the Church Annex and Lighthouse buildings along Sheldon Avenue, a small house/daycare building located west of the main church along Lincoln Way and parking. The church campus totals approximately 4.9 acres. In October 2015, the Zoning Board of Adjustment approved a Special Use permit to allow construction of a new accessory garage based on the conditions that the structure comply with the brick façade requirements of the Campustown Service Center (CSC) district and obtain a Plat of Survey to consolidate all of the properties. A Plat of Survey was approved in April 2016; however, the Special Use Permit has since expired and the applicant is applying for another. Section 29.1503 (5) Lapse of Approval, states Special Use Permits expire 12 months after the date of issuance unless the use is undertaken or a building permit has been issued and actual construction has started. The current request complies with both of the previous conditions. Additionally, in 2015, the applicant requested thr ee Variances for the proposed accessory garage; minimum height, reduction in the required percentage of brick for exterior façades, and reduction in the minimum required FAR for the properties. The Variances of minimum height and FAR were granted. The Variance for a reduction in brick facades was not. In 2016, Council approved a text amendment that exempts those uses requiring a Special Use Permit in the CSC district from meeting FAR and minimum height r equirements. The previously approved Variances are no longer needed pro vided findings of compatibility are made with the Special Use Permit approval due to a zoning text amendment approved in 2016. The site plan, project description, applicable law, and Findings of Fact and Conclusions were reviewed in detail by Ms. Gould. The applicant is requesting to construct an accessory garage structure, approximately 1,162 square feet in size, which is smaller than the previously approved 1,450 square foot garage. It will be located along the south property line of the Collegiate United Methodist Church building property in the CSC Zone. The church previously had an accessory garage located in the same general location, but has demolished the building in anticipation of the new garage for the storage and use of the maintenance equipment for the church. Sec tion 29.408(7)(c) of the Zoning Code requires that garages or accessory buildings to Institutional uses shall be required to receive approval of the Special Use Permit when such garage/accessory building is larger than 900 square feet in area. The proposed structure is a one-story, three-bay garage proposed at 22’ in height as measured from grade along the east side of the structure to the midpoint of the sloped roof. It will be constructed with a brick veneer on all walls. The proposed structure does not meet the two -story minimum height requirement nor does the overall site meet the minimum 1.0 FAR requireme nt. However, the current church building is two -stories in height. These are important standards for CSC to meet the efficiency of use and design interests for Campustown. Staff determined that the proposed garage is consistent with the requirements of the zone and that as an accessory structure located in the rear of the site there is not a negative impact to the intent of the zoning district by providing an exception to the garage structure from the height and FAR requirements. The proposed accessory build ing will be used to house a church bus and existing maintenance vehicles for the church. The proposed use will not create additional requirements at a public cost for public facilities, nor will it produce any additional traffic, noise, smoke, fumes, glare , or odors that would be detrimental to the surrounding areas. The use is also consistent with the intent and purpose of the CSC district to provide an array of uses a nd services adjacent to campus. The location of the garage is situated to have limited visibility from any of the surrounding properties and has been designed generally to mimic the design features of the church so as to blend in with the surrounding buildings. Access to the site will remain as it exists today, with ingress and egress from bot h Sheldon and Hayward Avenues as well as egress onto Lincoln Way just west of the church building. Mindy Bryngelson, Clapsaddle-Garber Associates, 1523 S. Bell Avenue, Ames, Iowa, was sworn in and testified under oath. Ms. Bryngelson stated that she is available to answer any questions about the site, and another representative was present to answer questions about the use of the proposed structure. She briefly mentioned that multiple projects have been going on for years to update the church premise s, and this structure would be used to securely store items used by the church. Moved by Schoeneman, seconded by Bowers, to approve ORDER NO. 18-05, thereby approving the request for a Special Use Permit for a new accessory garage for the Collegiate United Methodist Church at 2622 Lincoln Way based on the submitted Site Plan and the findings of fact and conclusions stated herein, as detailed on the submitted Site Plan documents. Vote: 4-0. Motion declared carried unanimously. COMMENTS: Mr. Koehler welcomed Mr. Bowers to the Zoning Board of Adjustment. ADJOURNMENT: Moved by Perkins, seconded by Koehler, to adjourn the meeting at 6:08 p.m. _____________________________ _____________________________ Heidi Petersen, Recording Secret ary Matthew Koehler, Chair