HomeMy WebLinkAbout~Master - Zoning Board of Adjustment Minutes 8-24-2011M INU TE S OF T HE REGULAR M EETING OF
THE ZON IN G BO A R D OF A D JUSTM EN T
A M ES , IO W A A U G U ST 24, 2011
T he Ames Z on in g B oard of Adjustmen t (Z B A) met, pursuant to law, in regu lar session at 7:00 p.m.
o n A ugust 24, 2011 , in the Council C ham bers of C ity H all w ith the follow ing m em bers p resen t:
Bruce Calhoun , Elizabeth Erbes, Sandra M cJim sey, G ary T aylor, and T hom as W eber. Staff m em bers
Ray A n derso n, S am Perry, and Ju dy P arks w ere also presen t.
A P P R O V A L O F M IN U TE S : M oved by E rbes, seconded by M cJim sey, to approve the m inutes of
the m eeting of A ugust 10, 2011, as w ritten.
V ote on M otion : 5-0. M otion carried unan im ou sly.
CAS E NO. 11 -1 7 - SP E CIAL US E P ERMIT - 51 6 KEL LOGG AVENUE
P u b lic H earing o n ap p lication for a S p ecial U se P erm it to a llo w co n struction of a tw o-sto ry
ad d ition to F irst U n ited M eth od ist C h u rch
City P lann er R ay A nd erson ex plained that the application is to allow an addition to the existing F irst
U nited M ethodist Ch urch building. H e explained the project in detail, as described in the staff report
and application . H e no ted that a dev elop m ent agreem ent w as ap pro ved by the C ity C ou ncil in M ay
of 20 11 , w hich specifies that several easem ents m ust be granted for this project.
O n e of these easem en ts is bein g gran ted b y the ch urch to the City acr oss th e park ing sp aces nex t to
the alley on the eas t sid e o f the church to accom m odate the m ovem ent of the A m es Pu blic Library
bo ok m ob ile in an d out of the lib rary gar age. T h e u se of the p arking sp aces w ill b e lim ited on certain
days to allow fo r m an eu vering by the boo km o bile. T he chu rch is also gran tin g an easem en t to the C ity
for the southernm ost par king space along the alley for use by staff. A t som e future date, an easem ent
m ay be requ ired if the Library bu ilding ex pansion p ro ject m o ves for w ard ; the ch urch h as agreed to
pro vide this easem ent in the develop m ent agreem ent.
M r. A nd erson describ ed the o ther easem ents an d the rest o f the pro ject de tails. H e said that C ity staff
has review ed the requ ests in accordance w ith the stand ards in the M unicipal Code and have found the
application to m eet the criteria. T he staff recom m end ation is for ap pro val w ith cond ition s.
Bo ard M em b er M cJim sey inq uired abo ut the p ro perty o w n er. S he no ted tha t p age o n e of th e staff
repo rt lists the City of A m es as the prop erty ow ner. M r. A nd erson said that it sho uld say F irst U nited
M ethodist C hurch; the C ity once ow ned a portion of the property, but it has been sold to the church.
Board M em ber E rbes asked abo ut p arking requ irem ents for ch urch es. M r. A nd erson explained that
the ch urch is not required to hav e any off-street parking becau se it is located in the D ow ntow n S ervice
Center zone. T here are 27 parking spaces being elim inated w ith the rem ov al of the p arking lot that
w as City’s; there w ill be 28 new spaces provided once the project is finished.
In regards to condition E in the staff recom m endation, M s. M cJim sey asked if th ere is a standard
pro cedure for reserv ing p arking spaces. M r. A nd erson said that the P ub lic W ork s D epartm ent does
have a standard p rocedure for any perso n to reserve a City parking space.
D ale V ander Schaaf, 2602 T yler A venue, A m es, Iow a, stated that he has been serving as the chairm an
of the project steering com m ittee for the last few years. T he pro ject has been throu gh several changes
thro ugh the plan ning stages, and h e feels that this pro po sal w ill best m eet the need s of the ch urch into
the future. H e ind icated that the C ity h as been in p artnersh ip w ith the chu rch as the plan has m ov ed
forw ard. T here are tw o alternative site plans in place should the library ex pansion m ove forw ard. M r.
V ander Schaaf said that the new addition w ill be an asset not o nly to the church but also to the
com m un ity because o f the v ariou s com m un ity pro jects that the church is inv olved in.
Chair Calho un inq uired about the length an d w idth of the parking spaces in the alley. H e noted that
they appeared to be m uch shorter and the drive aisle m uch narrow er w hen com pared to the parking
spaces on the south side of the building. H e asked if the applicant has dem on strated that full size
vehicles can fit in the spaces and back ou t w itho ut hitting the building. M r. A nd erson said that it has
been dem on strated, and the d rive aisle and alley m eet the m inim um stand ards for access to the spaces.
M r. Calho un asked w hat the m inim um stan d ard s are. M r . A nd erson explained that for a 60 degree
parking space, the perpendicular depth m ust be 21 feet, and the aisle w idth m ust be 18 feet. M r.
Calho un do es no t think that the alley is 18 feet w ide, no r do es he think that cars w ill b e able to back
out w ithout hitting the w all. S ince this area is supposed to be used b y the Library, he w ants to make
sure that the parking spaces function. There does not seem to be evidence show ing w hat the w idth of
the alley is. M r. A nd erson no ted th at th e C ity’s T raffic E ngineer has review ed the plans and has
approv ed the parking spaces w ith access off the alley. M r. Calhoun w ou ld like the record to sh ow that
there is no testim on y that the aisle w idth is 18 feet, despite the fact that the C ity engineer h as said that
it w ill function.
M ov ed by Taylor, seconded b y Erbes, to adopt O RD ER N O . 11-17, thereby approving the requ est
for a S pecial U se Perm it to allow con struction of a tw o-sto ry add ition to F irst U nited M etho dist
Ch urch at 51 6 Kello gg A v en ue, b ase d upo n the find ings o f fact and co nclu sio ns in th e staff rep ort,
and sub ject to the follow ing condition s:
A .T he C hu rch sh all com ply w ith all of the prov ision s of the D evelop m ent Agreem ent for F irst
U nited M etho dist C hu rch E xpa nsion P roject, as approved by the City Council on M ay 24, 2011;
B.Provisio ns explaining the respo nsibility for mainten an ce of the sto rmwater easeme nt shall be
included in the easem ent docum ent signed by both the City and the Church;
C.The easem ent granted by the Church to the City for access across parking spaces on the east side
o f the C hu rch for the Library’s b oo km o bile sh all be a five-year period ic ren ew ab le ease m en t;
D .T h e ho urs durin g w hich park ing is p ro hibited in the space s on the east side of the C hu rch shall
be determ ined b y the Public W orks D epartm ent in consultation w ith representatives of the
C hu rch and the D irector of the A m es P ub lic Library, and shall be clearly po sted on s ignage
installed by the C ity;
E.Parking spaces in the C ity parking lot at 500 Kellogg A venue shall not be reserved for use by the
C hu rch, ex cept as oth erw ise ap prov ed b y the P u blic W o rk s D epartm en t fo r sp ecific events held
at the Church.
M r. Calho un stated that this is a goo d p roject and it w ill enhance the ex tent of activities that occur at
the church.
V ote on M otion : 5-0. M otion declared appro ved un anim ou sly.
C A SE NO . 11-18 - SPECIA L USE PER M IT - 2811 HY A TT CIR C LE
Pu blic H earing on app lication for S pecial U se P erm it to allow a retail bu siness to exceed 3,000
squ are feet in an area zoned General Ind ustrial
City P lann er S am P erry stated th at this is an ap plicatio n for a retail bu sin ess prop osed at 281 1 H yatt
Circle, in a new ly dev elop ed area of the city near the interstate. T he M unicipal Code allow s retail uses
in a Gen eral In du strial (GI) zo ne up to 3,00 0 sq uare feet witho ut an y b oard or co mmission rev iew.
A t 7,000 square feet, this proposal is over the threshold.
M r. Perry noted that the pu rpose of the Special U se Pe rm it process is to determ ine any im pacts the
prop osal m ay hav e o n the surro un ding area. In th is s ituation , th e surro un ding area is cu rr en tly v acan t,
so it’s difficult to determ ine w hat the im pact m ight be. H e said that it is still w ithin the realm of the
Z BA to determ ine any future im pacts the b usiness m ay have.
M r. Perry stated that there are other bo arding facilities in A m es, and the m ajority of them hav e another
principal use such as a veterinary office or groo m ing service. T he app licant describes his bu siness as
being a com m unity service and a partner of the anim al shelter providing general pet care education.
T he staff repo rt states tha t the kenn el w ill hav e a cap acity of 50 do gs, b ut M r. P erry no ted that it is
actually a capacity of 54 . H e also co rrected a statem ent in the repo rt about the ro o f; it w ill no t be a
shingled roof. The City’s D evelopment Review Com m ittee did a technical review of the site plan and
suggested several revisions, w hich are reflected in the staff report. City staff is recom m ending
approv al of the application w ith co nd ition s.
Board M em ber W eber inq uired abo ut the ration ale of no t allow ing b usinesses over 3,000 square feet
in a G I z on e w itho ut B oard app roval. M r. P erry ind icated that there are a lot of differences betw een
retail uses and ind ustrial uses, such as hours o f op eration and tra ffic g e n e r a tion . There are several
sm aller-scale retail uses such as day cares and foo d service establishm ents that w o rk w ell am idst
ind ustrial uses, as they pro vide nearb y serv ices to tho se w ork ing in the ind ustrial zon e. S taff believes
that the reason for the threshold of 3,000 square feet for a retail use in an industrial zone is to ensure
that there are no conflicts w ith the tw o uses next to each other. The retail use in an industrial zone
sho uld be accesso ry to th e in du str ial uses, no t a regio nal dr aw.
Board M em ber E rbes inqu ired as to w hether or no t sidew alks w ill be required for this new bu siness.
M r. Perry indicated that there w ill be a sidew alk on one side of the street; it is only required on one
side in ind ustrial zo nes.
M r. Perry review ed the rem ainder of the staff report and highlighted sever al points in the application.
H e noted that there w as one additional condition not listed in the staff report; staff w ould like the
applicant to obtain appropriate N ational Pollutant D ischarge Elim ination System and C onstruction
Site Erosion and Sedim ent Control perm its prior to approval of the m inor site development plan.
Chair Calho un ex pressed concern abo ut the n oise that m ight be generated from the o utside p lay area.
H e noted that there is a vacant lot to t he no rt h of the subject property, w hich could potentially be
develop ed as an office area. H e asked w hat the recou rse w ou ld b e if this facility produ ced too m uch
noise. A ssistant City A ttorney Judy Parks indicated that the City uses the noise control ordinance and
the a n im al co ntro l ord inan ce to en for ce no ise issu es. Sh e said that the C ity h as the prerogative to
enforce the req uirem ents if an anim al is m aking excess noise that is bo thersom e to an yon e.
Board M em ber E rbes inquired abo ut restriction s to the num ber of anim als that the kenn el can hav e.
M s. Parks said that the anim al control ordinance contains standards of care regarding the size of the
containm ent facility and w hat is appropriate for the breed and activity level. Sh e surm ised that there
m ay also b e State requ irem ents.
Randy D uncan, 207 M orningside Street, Boone, Iow a, addressed M r. Calhoun’s question regarding
noise. There w ill be a large area inside the facility w here the dogs can play, and dogs w ould go outside
in attended groups of only five or six. There w ill be a privacy fence outside, and the inside of the
bu ilding has n oise sup pression m aterials.
M ov ed b y Erbes, seconded by W eber, to ad op t O R D E R N O . 1 1 -1 8 , thereb y app rov ing the requ est
for a Special U se P erm it for the retail use of a kennel, w hich is over 3,000 square feet, subject to the
findings of fact and conclusions stated in the staff report and evidence in the application, and upon
the follow ing condition s:
1.T he site develop m ent plan be revised w ith the follow ing correction s:
a.Shrubs be show n in place of Reed Grass along w estern edge of parking for L2 screening
b.Shrubs be show n to meet L2 requirem ent along eastern property line/parking
c.M ulch no t extend beyon d d rip line o f shru bs in L2 land scape area
d.A landscape edger be installed to separate the landscaped from the storm w ater detention
e.T he electrical tr a nsform er at the southeast corner of the b uilding be m ov ed ten feet farther
sou th for easier access and h ave ten feet of op en sp ace betw een doo rs and shru b screen
2.O utdoor pet areas are cleaned after each day of use, and as often as necessary to avoid any
detectable odors beyon d the prem ises.
3.That the applicant obtain required National Pollutant D ischarge Elim ination S ystem and
C o nstruction Site E rosion and Sedim ent Control perm its prior to approval of the m inor site
development plan.
V o te on M o tion : 5-0. M otio n declared app ro ved un an im o usly.
C OM M EN TS : There w ere no com m ents by the Board.
ADJOURNMEN T: Th e meeting ad jo urned at 8:0 6 p.m.
______________________________ _____________________________
E m ily Bu rton , Reco rd ing S ecretary Bruce C alh ou n, C hair