Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout~Master - Zoning Board of Adjustment Minutes 9-08-2010MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE ZONING BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT AMES, IOWA SEPTEMBER 8, 2010 The Ames Zoning Board of Adjustment (ZBA) met, pursuant to law, in regular session at 7:00 p.m. on September 8, 2010, in the Council Chambers of City Hall with the following members present: Bruce Calhoun, Elizabeth Erbes, Sandra McJimsey, Gary Taylor, and Thomas Weber. Staff members Jeff Benson, Sam Perry, and Judy Parks were also present. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Moved by Calhoun, seconded by Taylor, to approve the minutes of the meeting of August 25, 2010 as written. Vote on Motion: 5-0. Motion carried unanimously. CASE NO. 10-10 SPECIAL HOME OCCUPATION PERMIT - DARYL DANIELSON, 2025 PRAIRIE VIEW EAST Public Hearing on application for a Special Home Occupation Permit to allow a home massage therapy business City Planner Jeff Benson explained that Special Home Occupation Permits are designed to protect residential areas by restricting incompatible uses, developing standards, and ensuring that a requested home occupation can be conducted with no adverse impacts on the neighborhood. The Board has to determine whether there are adverse impacts or not; it can establish conditions or deny a request if there are. Mr. Benson said that the subject property is south of 24 th Street on Prairie View East. The immediate area contains single family residential homes and some apartment units. There are four parking spaces on the property including the garage, and no changes would made to the premises for the home occupation. Approximately 5.5 percent of the home’s floor area will be used. The only equipment that will be used is a massage table, and the only employee is the applicant. The applicant has proposed hours of operation of 1:00 to 7:00 p.m. Clients would come by appointment only, and there would be scheduled time in between appointments so that clients could arrive and leave one at a time. According to Mr. Benson, several letters and one email were received by staff from surrounding neighbors. City staff concluded that enough parking exists that there would not be an adverse impact on the neighborhood, and traffic will be mitigated by spreading appointments out. Board Member Calhoun referenced a letter that was written to the Board in opposition to the request. He noted that most of the points raised involved traffic issues that would be better addressed by an engineer rather than the ZBA. The Board does not have a good way of verifying these issues. Mr. Benson said that if the Board feels that some issues need further analysis, it can ask staff to go back and have engineers review it. The Board can get whatever sort of opinion it needs to make a decision. Mr. Calhoun noted that one of the criteria in the staff report deals with traffic volumes, but it doesn’t directly address the dilemma proposed in the letter. Mr. Benson stated that there may already be some underlying traffic issues in that area. If this were an arterial street, the City’s Traffic Engineer would have been consulted to determine what effect the Special Home Occupation Permit would have. City staff did not think that traffic counts in the neighborhood would be significantly impacted, especially since there will be time in between appointments. Chair Weber surmised that the existing traffic problems could be from the apartment complex near the subject property. Daryl Danielson, 2025 Prairie View East, Ames, Iowa, stated that he has been a massage therapist for eight years and previously worked out of his home at 2002 Ferndale Avenue. During that time, he had no complaints about his business being run out of his home. He has now moved to a new home on Prairie View East and would like to continue the same business. Mr. Danielson indicated that he has a large and loyal clientele, and he works by appointment only and referral only. Mr. Weber asked if he thought that parking would be an issue. Mr. Danielson said that clients will park in the driveway, which is double wide. He will schedule one session every two hours; 70 minutes on the table and 10 minutes before and after, with 30 minutes left until the next appointment. This is the method that he has used for the past 7 ½ years and it has worked well. He typically schedules appointments at 1:00, 3:00, 5:00, and 7:00 p.m. Board Member Calhoun noted that the stated hours of operation in the application were 1:00 to 7:00 p.m. Mr. Danielson said that his last appointment would actually go until approximately 8:30 p.m. He also said that he might occasionally work someone in at 11:00 a.m. if they are hurt. Board Member Taylor asked if the applicant only had one table. Mr. Danielson said that he has one table in the treatment room; if someone is injured and cannot use the stairs, he has a portable table that he can set up elsewhere. Board Member McJimsey asked if there would be any truck traffic associated with the business. Mr. Danielson said that there will not be any deliveries. Duane Mangold, 2036 Prairie View East, Ames, Iowa, stated that he is the neighborhood representative for Prairie View East. He has had the opportunity to visit with his neighbors about the application, and the applicant has invited him over to look at the massage room. Mr. Mangold said that having a massage business in the home is common when looking at the list of massage therapists in the Ames phonebook. He is in support of the business in the neighborhood. He does not think that traffic will be a problem since the clients will be parking in the driveway. Ms. McJimsey asked if Mr. Mangold was speaking on behalf of the Neighborhood Association. Mr. Mangold indicated that he was representing only the people that he has spoken to. Moved by Calhoun, seconded by McJimsey, to adopt ORDER NO. 10 -10, granting the request for a Special Home Occupation Permit to allow a massage therapy business at 2025 Prairie View East, subject to the findings of facts and conclusions stated in the staff report, and subject to operational provisions stated in the application, with hours of operation amended to be 1:00 to 8:30 pm. Ms. McJimsey offered a friendly amendment that the hours of operation be changed to 11:00 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. She specified that she would not want to see a special 9:00 a.m. appointment; strictly 11:00 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Mr. Calhoun agreed to the amended motion. Ms. McJimsey asked about the process if the applicant were to violate the terms of the permit. Assistant City Attorney Judy Parks said that a complaint would be made known to the City’s Planning and Housing Department, and an investigation would be conducted to verify the complaint. If there is a violation of the permit’s parameters, it would be brought back for the Board to decide whether to revoke the permit or change the conditions. Vote on motion: 5-0. Motion declared approved unanimously. CASE NO. 10-11 SPECIAL HOME OCCUPATION PERMIT - BOB MORTENSEN, 2739 SOMERSET DRIVE Public Hearing on application for a Special Home Occupation Permit to allow a home health consulting business City Planner Sam Perry explained that a home health consulting business requires the ZBA’s review because it is not on either the permitted or prohibited list in the Municipal Code. Mr. Perry stated that the hours of operation, appointments, types of deliveries, etc. are all indicated within the application. The area for the proposed business is a basement office, consisting of a desk, bookshelves, and a seating area. The supplement sales would be accessory to the consulting business. The applicant has proposed 30 minutes in between appointments, with a maximum of 4 visits per day. There may be some days with no appointments. The proposed hours of operation are 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. UPS may make deliveries one to two times per week. Mr. Perry indicated that staff found that the application met the criteria within the Municipal Code and that it would not have any potential negative impacts on the area. There has been a lot of public feedback regarding the application; three positive, one “neutral”. City staff did not receive any opposition statements. Board Member McJimsey asked if the four visits per day accounted for clients who might not have an appointment but might come to pick up products. Mr. Perry indicated that the supplement sales would all be done via mail shipments. Ms. McJimsey asked if there would be product in the house to sell to the clients at their appointments. She wants to discern whether sales traffic will be generated, especially as the clientele base grows. Mr. Perry said that since it is a new business, the applicant may not have thought that far ahead yet. He noted that some of the consulting will be done over the phone, so some days there will be no extra traffic at all. Ms. McJimsey asked what would happen if the applicant would some day want to see six clients a day as opposed to the proposed limit of four. Mr. Perry explained that the intent of a Home Occupation Permit is to allow people to start a home business, and then as they expand they can move out into a commercial location. Ms. McJimsey asked if it would be up to the applicant to decide when to make that move. Mr. Perry said that the City would not have a role in that decision; however, if the applicant were to request to raise the number of clients per day, the City and Board would review it. Board Member Taylor asked about a reference in the staff report to off -site employees. Mr. Perry stated that the only on-site employees should be family members. If the business grows and other people located elsewhere can participate, that wouldn’t affect the neighborhood. Robert Mortensen, 2739 Somerset Drive, Ames, Iowa, stated that he plans to control ongoing product orders via shipments. He has done test shipments to friends to see if it is a viable option. In regards to employees, Mr. Mortensen explained that the business is technology -driven, so he will be connected with marketing and website consultants via Voice over IP. He will also utilize that technology for phone consultations. Mr. Mortensen said that this is his third start-up business, but it is different because it has a public presence due to the consultations. He expects three consultations a day, but there may occasionally be four. By starting the business in his home, he will be able to determine if there is a demand at a lower capital expenditure. In consideration of traffic, he will be setting appointments with 30 minutes in between each one. He was also able to contact most of the surrounding homeowners and the president of the homeowners association, and the reception was very positive. Ms. McJimsey clarified that all supplement sales will be done by mail, except for a client who has an appointment. Mr. Mortensen concurred. Moved by Taylor, seconded by McJimsey, to adopt ORDER NO. 10 -11, granting a Special Home Occupation permit to allow the natural health consulting and supplement business at 2739 Somerset Drive, subject to the findings of fact and conclusions stated in the staff report, and subject to the operational provisions detailed in the application. Vote on Motion: 5-0. Motion declared approved unanimously. CASE NO. 10-09 SPECIAL USE PERMIT - UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST FELLOWSHIP OF AMES, 1015 NORTH HYLAND AVENUE Public Hearing on application for a Special Use Permit to allow a parking lot expansion Planner Perry explained that because the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Ames is located in a residential zone, a Special Use Permit is required for expansion. The expansion is for a new parking lot; there will not be any additions or expansions to the building. There would be roughly a 6,000 square feet impervious area increase and 19 additional parking stalls as a result of the project. Mr. Perry indicated that there is some parking currently available at the church, and some churchgoers park on Ross Road and walk to the building. One of the main reasons for review of a Special Use Permit is to make sure that it is not harming the residential character of the area. Mr. Perry said that the proposal would actually lessen the impact on the neighborhood because there would be fewer cars parking on the streets. The church is not proposing any additional services or meeting times. City staff has reviewed the site plan and found it to meet all of the development standards for storm water control, parking flow, design, and dimensions. Chair Weber asked about circulation after the project is completed. Mr. Perry said that there will be a drop-off lane that doesn’t currently exist, and circulation will improve. Planning staff has found that the application meets all of the requirements and does not have potential adverse impacts. Board Member McJimsey asked if there is still one more residential lot to the south of the subject property. Mr. Perry said that there is; it is part of another home farther to the west. It could potentially be split off as a separate parcel someday and a house could be built there; however, the staff reviews the standards as the property exists now. Mimi Wagner, 3301 Ross Road, Ames, Iowa, representing the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Ames, stated that one of the reasons for parking expansion was the need for additional accessible parking stalls, particularly for vans. The current parking meets city codes, but it is not sufficient for the congregation. The proposal was designed with the intent of minimizing the impact on the area. Board Member Calhoun asked if the site plan was reviewed by a City engineer. Mr. Perry said that it was, and it meets all of the engineering standards for pavement and turning radiuses. Mr. Calhoun said that he wanted to make sure that the use would be served adequately by essential public facilities, especially drainage structure. Mr. Perry indicated that the applicant did a storm water management plan, and the City engineers all reviewed it and determined that it met the standards. Moved by McJimsey, seconded by Taylor, to approve a Special Use Permit for the expansion of parking for a religious institution in a residential zone at 1015 North Hyland Avenue, subject to the findings of fact and conclusion stated in the staff report, and subject to the proposal as detailed in the application materials. Vote on Motion: 5-0. Motion declared approved unanimously. COMMENTS: There were no comments by the Board. ADJOURNMENT: The meeting adjourned at 8:05 p.m. ______________________________ _____________________________ Emily Burton, Recording Secretary Thomas Weber, Chair