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HomeMy WebLinkAbout~Master - Zoning Board of Adjustment Minutes 5-10-2017MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE ZONING BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT AMES, IOWA MAY 10, 2017 The Ames Zoning Board of Adjustment met, pursuant to law, in regular session at 6:00 p.m. on May 10, 2017, in the Council Chambers of City Hall with the following members present: Amelia Schoeneman, Kyle Perkins, Shelby Ebel, and Susan Bradbury. Board Member Matthew Koehler was absent. Assistant City Attorney Mark Lambert and City Planner Ray Anderson were also present. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Moved by Bradbury, seconded by Perkins, to approve the minutes of the meeting of April 26, 2017. Vote on Motion: 4-0. Motion declared carried unanimously. CASE NO. 17-10 SPECIAL USE PERMIT – Manatt’s, Inc., Public Hearing on application for a Special Use Permit to allow a temporary concrete and asphalt batch plant on the property located at 1811 S. Dayton Place City Planner Ray Anderson displayed a site plan for the project. Manatt’s, Inc. is requesting permission to locate a concrete/asphalt batch plant on the property at 1811 S. Dayton Place, for the time period beginning May 2017, and concluding at the end of December 2017. The site is the location of the former Cyclone Truck Stop, and is presently vacant, with no buildings on the site. Portions of the asphalt and concrete paving remain on the site, which includes approximately 5.21 acres, and is zoned as Highway-Oriented Commercial (HOC). The site is also within the boundaries of the Floodway Fringe. Manatt’s is interested in using the site for a concrete/asphalt batch plant to supply new paving material for road construction projects near Ames. Locations on the site are planned for material storage, batch plant equipment, portable restrooms, water storage, fuel barrel, and dumpsters. The City established a Special Use Permit process and siting standards for temporary use of a HOC zoning district property for asphalt or concrete batch plants in 2011. The request to create such standards was made by Manatt’s Inc. in response to a project they had desired to operate at the former Cyclone Truck Stop at 1811 S. Dayton Place. The standards allow for the batch plant use for no more than nine months total and must be located more than 500 feet from a property with a residential use and 250 feet from a property with a commercial use. The standards were designed to ensure there were undeveloped properties adjacent to any batch plant site. Although the Special Use Permit process was established in 2011, no project has requested approval since the adoption of the standards, until this year. Manatt’s recently applied for a Special Use Permit for 1811 S. Dayton Place and staff determined the site was not eligible for a temporary batch plant based upon the siting setback criteria, as short term lodging (hotels) properties are within 500 feet of the 1811 S. Dayton Place property. In response, Manatt’s has requested a text amendment to clarify that the residential use distance does not apply to short-term lodging. The proposed changes specify that a residential use means either a Group Living or Household Living use. The minimum 500-foot separation requirement would apply to these types of residential uses. Short-Term Lodging would be added to the 250- foot separation standards along with commercial uses. Commercial uses include Office, Retail Sales and Services, and Restaurant, Recreation, and Entertainment uses. The Planning & Zoning Commission considered the request for the text amendment, at their meeting on May 3, 2017, and recommended that the City Council approve the proposed text amendment. Use of the site as the location for a temporary batch plant should not be disturbing or hazardous to existing and future uses in the area as it is an allowed miscellaneous use and deemed compatible with the surrounding existing uses, on a short term basis. Traffic from the site will be directed to the interchange of South Dayton Avenue and U.S. Highway 30, where the truck traffic from this site will access U.S. Highway 30 and I-35 for their paving projects. Dayton Avenue may also be used as a route through the eastern portion of the community to reach an additional paving project between Ames and Gilbert. The site itself is separated from the commercial retail/service and short-term lodging uses by the U.S. Highway 30 right-of-way. Although the proposed use will create additional traffic and noise during operation of the batch plant, the impacts will be limited with the criteria in place for minimum distances from other uses, and limits placed on duration of the use of the site for a batch plant. The concrete and asphalt batch plant is temporary (a maximum nine month approval). At the time the batch plant is removed from the site, the applicant states that the existing gravel and pavement on the site will be removed to make the site more visually appealing. The proposed use is consistent with the intent and purpose of the HOC zone, and the applicant’s proposal meets the minimum criteria for separation from residential and commercial uses, within a certain distance, provided the City Council approves the zoning text amendments to classify short-term lodging as a commercial use, and not a residential use for the purpose of determining the minimum distance separating the batch plant from the hotels on the north side of Highway 30. It was said that no comments or concerns had been received from surrounding property owners. Mr. Anderson stated that based upon the Findings of Fact and Conclusions, it is the recommendation of the Planning and Housing Department that the Zoning Board of Adjustment approve the request for a Special Use Permit to allow a temporary concrete and asphalt batch plant on the property located at 1811 S. Dayton Place, with the following conditions: a. That the text amendments proposed to Section 29.1311 of the Municipal Code be approved by the City Council, and the ordinance adopting the text amendments be published in the Ames Tribune. b. That the temporary batch plant be cleared from the site, including all plant equipment, supplies, temporary site features, and all other items related to the batch plant, no later than December 31, 2017. c. That all gravel and paving on the site be removed from the site no later than December 31, 2017. Mr. Anderson confirmed that the text amendment was approved by the City Council on May 9, 2017, and is to be published on Friday, May 12. Tim Tometich, Manatt’s Inc., was sworn in and testified under oath. Mr. Tometich said the hours of operation are typically 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. If work is to be done at night, flood lights would be required, but he does not anticipate that to occur. The additional noise would be the result from a generator on site, similar to what is used at the nearby quarry. He added that some of the materials used will be coming from the quarry. Mr. Tometich said the goal is to be finished with projects by Thanksgiving, with clean-up complete by December. He mentioned that after the clean-up, the site will look better than its current state. Mr. Tometich lastly added that this location will help minimize the number of trucks and mixers on city streets. Ms. Ebel asked when the Special Use Permit with conditions will go into effect. Mr. Lambert confirmed they will take effect after the ordinance adopting the text amendment is published in the Ames Tribune. Mr. Lambert clarified that the board members did not have to abstain from voting unless the project affects them personally or financially. Moved by Bradbury, seconded by Perkins, to approve ORDER NO. 17-10, thereby approving the request for a Special Use Permit to allow a temporary concrete and asphalt batch plant on the property located at 1811 S. Dayton Place., based on the findings of fact and conclusions stated herein, as detailed on the submitted site plan and application materials with the following conditions: a. That the text amendments proposed to Section 29.1311 of the Municipal Code be approved by the City Council, and the ordinance adopting the text amendments be published in the Ames Tribune. b. That the temporary batch plant be cleared from the site, including all plant equipment, supplies, temporary site features, and all other items related to the batch plant, no later than December 31, 2017. c. That all gravel and paving on the site be removed from the site no later than December 31, 2017. Vote: 4-0. Motion declared carried unanimously. CASE NO. 17-06 VARIANCE – Iowa Farmhouse Association, Inc., Continuance of Public Hearing on application for Variance to allow 1” landscape rock in the East University Impacted Overlay (O-UIE) zone on the property located at 311 Ash Avenue Mr. Anderson stated the applicant has requested to postpone the continuance of the public hearing to June 14, 2017. Moved by Perkins, seconded by Bradbury, to table ORDER NO. 17-06 to the regularly scheduled meeting to be held on June 14, 2017. Vote: 4-0. Motion declared carried unanimously. COMMENTS: There were no comments by the Board. ADJOURNMENT: Moved by Perkins, seconded by Ebel, to adjourn the meeting at 6:21 p.m. _____________________________ _____________________________ Heidi Petersen, Recording Secretary Shelby Ebel, Chair