HomeMy WebLinkAbout~Master - Zoning Board of Adjustment Minutes 5-23-2012M INU TE S OF T HE REGULAR M EETING OF
THE ZONING BOARD O F ADJUS T MENT
A M ES , IO W A M A Y 23, 2012
T he Ames Z on in g B oard of Adjustmen t (Z B A) met, pursuant to law, in r egu lar sessio n a t 7:00 p .m.
on M ay 23 , 20 12 , in the C ou ncil C ham bers of C ity H all w ith the follow ing m em b er s presen t: E lizab eth
E rbes, Sandra M cJim sey, and G ary Taylor. B oard M em bers P atrick B rooks and B ruce C alhoun w ere
ab sen t. S taff m em bers C h arlie Ku ester and Ju dy P arks w ere also presen t.
A P P R O V A L O F M IN U T ES : M oved by M cJim sey, seconded by Taylor, to approve the m inutes of
the m eeting of A pril 25, 2012, as w r itten.
V o te on M o tion : 3-0. M otio n carried un an im o usly.
C A SE N O . 12-10
S P E CIAL US E P ERMIT - AS CE NS ION L UT HE RAN CHURCH, 24 00 BL OOMINGT ON
ROAD
Pub lic Hea ring on applicatio n for Special Use Perm it to allo w an ex pans ion of the existing
parking lot on the property located at 2400 Bloom ington R oad
City P la n n e r C harlie Kuester ex plained that the A scension Lutheran Chu rch received a S pecial U se
Perm it from the ZBA on D ecem ber 8, 2010, to allow the construction of a church at 2400 Bloomington
Ro ad . Co nstru ction w as c o m p leted and a certificate of occu pancy allo w ed it to ho ld serv ices, but it
becam e apparent that it does not have enough parking spaces for the congregation. The church seeks
to ex pan d the existing p arking area to the no rth. T h is a dd ition w ou ld increase the num ber o f spaces
from 75 to 105. The parking w ould be extended to within about 20 feet of the north property line and
land scaped to m eet the req uirem ents of the ordinan ce. S ince the site p lan is being am end ed, a new
Special U se Perm it is required.
M r. Ku ester rev iew ed the cr iteria and findings o f fact an d co nclu sio ns as detailed in the staff rep ort.
H e noted that one call w as received from a neighbor to the east w ho did not have a concer n after the
project w as described. H e stated that the am ended site plan has a m inim al im pact on the neighbors, and
the ex ten sio n of the park ing lot w ou ld h av e little significan t im p act on the neigh bo rh oo d. C ity staff
recom m ends approv al of the application w ith co nd ition s.
Board M em ber M cJim sey noted that the applicant did not com ply w ith a m echanical landscape
scr eening req uirem en t on the original site p lan. S he ask ed how this o ccurred. M r. K uester said that City
staff is unable to m onitor everything that happens on a site; it could be lack of com m unication w ith a
sub contractor o r a nu m ber of other situation s. O ftentim es there are three o r four version s of a site plan
that are cir culating, so there ar e m any op portunities for error. M s. M cJim sey referenced a statem ent
in the staff report w hich says that the proposed parking lot landscaping w il l m eet the screening
perform ance standards w ithin three years if proper ly m aintained. She asked if the Board should add
a condition that w ou ld req uire pro per m aintenan ce of the landscap ing. M r. Kuester said th at proper
m aintenan ce is already required in the Code, so it w ou ld not be necessary to ad d as a con dition .
D an Kruger, C hu rch C ou ncil President, A scension Lu theran C hu rch, 24 00 B loo m ington R oad, A m es,
Iow a, stated that the new plan w ill hopefully benefit the n eighborhood, because som e church m em bers
are cu rr en tly park ing alon g H yde A venu e w h en the p arking lot is full.
R ichard Gladon, 1821 N orthw estern Avenue, A m es, Iow a, stated that he is one of the com m ittee
m em bers taking care of the landscaping. H e gave details about the landscaping plan for the site. M r.
G ladon ind icated that the tw o large H V A C un its w ill be screened, and he w ill ov ersee the plantings.
M ov ed b y Taylor, seconded by M cJim sey, to ad op t O R D E R N O . 1 2-1 0, thereb y ap pro ving the request
for an am ended S pecial U se P erm it for the religiou s institution at 24 00 B loo m ington Road as detailed
on the S ite P lan d ated A pril 30 , 201 2, w ith the ado ption of the find ings of fact and con clusion s stated
in the staff repo rt, and sub ject to the follow ing con dition s:
a. N o on -site signage shall b e installed w est of the drivew ay.
b. N o electronic signs such as LED (light em itting diode) displays shall be perm itted.
c. T he scop e of op eration is prim arily lim ited to w orsh ip activities.
d. A flat lens shall be required on site lighting fix tures.
e. T he ow ner sh all subm it a cost estim ate for the rem aining land scaping and screening as detailed
on the am en ded site plan and su bm it a fina ncial in stru m en t accep table to th e C ity for that co st,
w hich the City w ill draw upon in the event that the landscaping and screening is not com pleted by
Septem ber 15, 2012.
V o te on M o tion : 3-0. M otio n declared app ro ved un an im o usly.
C O M M E N T S : Board M em ber M cJim sey inquired about a portion of the A pril 25 m inutes regarding
the application for a Special H om e O ccupation Perm it for hom e firearm s sales. She asked for a status
up date o n w h ether or n ot C ity staff h ad insp ected the ap plicant’s gu n safe. M r. Kuester said that he w ill
be m eeting w ith the applicant in the next w eek to discuss the gun safe and the log that the applicant
w ill need to keep . M r. Ku ester w ill follo w up an d m ak e sure th at all o f the con dition s are b eing m et.
A D JO U R N M EN T: T h e meeting ad jo urned at 7:3 2 p.m.
______________________________ _____________________________
E m ily Bu rton , Reco rd ing S ecretary Elizabeth Erbes, V ice C hair