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HomeMy WebLinkAbout~Master - Zoning Board of Adjustment Minutes 3-11-2009MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE ZONING BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT AMES, IOWA MAR CH 11, 2009 The Ames Zoning Board of Adjustment met in regular session at 7:00 p.m. on March 11, 2009, in the Council Chambers of City Hall, pursuant to law, with the following members present: Link, Martin, Miller, and Weber. Board Member Calhoun was absent. Staff members Benson and Parks were also present. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Moved by Martin, seconded by Miller, to approve the minutes of the February 11, 2009, meeting as written. Vote on Motion: 4-0. Motion declared carried unanimously. CASE NO. 09-04 SPECIAL USE PERMIT - JOHN BURDINE, JR., 1432 BURNETT AVENUE Continuance of a Public Hearing on Special Use Permit for Functional Family application to allow five unrelated people to occupy a residential dwelling unit Chairman Miller stated that this is a continuance of a prior case because they had only four Board members present at the previous meeting, and the vote was split (2-2). As no decision was reached, the hearing continued to this meeting. He also stated that Board member Link, who was absent at the previous meeting, has reviewed the tape and so there was no need to revisit old evidence; however, they would hear any new evidence provided by Staff or the applicant. Staff member Benson stated that he had nothing new to add. John Burdine, 1432 Burnett Avenue, Ames, said that he would like to comment regarding an issue that came up at the last meeting pertaining to the statement that “any group of individuals whose association is temporary or seasonal in nature would be excluded from the definition of a functional family.” Mr. Burdine referred to the discussion of the Board that their living situation would not be permanent; therefore, their association is temporary as well and thus disqualifies them. He stated that the nature of their association and the idea of people living together, especially young single men in order to improve their walks with God, was taken from their mentors in the church and others before them. Mr. Burdine provided background of Stonebrook Church, indicating it was started in 1970s by young people similar to themselves. Several of those people eventually moved away and started new churches in other towns, which is what his group aspires to do. Mr. Burdine said that not only has an example been set for them of living together, but also of still associating together regardless of location. He explained that Stonebrook Community Church is a member of Great Commission Association of Churches, which is comprised of churches that were started by men who lived in households together in Ames and have gone on to live in other cities and start other churches, but still associate closely with one another. Mr. Burdine expressed that this is the legacy his group intends to uphold. Craig McClanahan, 2201 Hayes Avenue, Ames, testified that he has known three of the applicants for over seven years, one for over ten, and two for two years, and meets with 2 them weekly. He stated that he has been involved in youth ministry with them since they were in Junior High. He also explained that four of them are Ames High School graduates, all of them are employed here, live in this community and pay taxes here. Mr. McClanahan pointed out that when he came to Ames for college, this law was not in effect. He surmised the law would never have been made if the groups of young people living together had values like this group. He stated that the main reason for these young men living together is to help each other follow Jesus Christ better, follow the law better, love people better, be better neighbors, etc. Mr. McClanahan emphasized that their association is not one of convenience; two are moving out of their parents’ homes where they live for free and are moving out because of how they want to be involved in each others lives. He stated that this is exactly the kind of thing that Ames needs as a very positive example for young men and women who want to make a contribution to the community and to each other - not only for the short term but for the long term - and he encouraged the Board to support it. Moved by Weber, seconded by Martin, to adopt ORDER NO. 09-04 granting a Special Use Permit for occupancy of a dwelling unit at 1432 Burnett Avenue by John Burdine, John Fitzsimmons, Jonathan Williby, Anthony Ashley, and Kyle Colson as a functional family with the following conditions: 1. The two spaces in the garage be made available for parking 2. The permit expires on March 1, 2010 and a new permit applied for at that time 3. No “regularly” scheduled meetings that include more than two non-residents of the house Board Member Link offered a friendly amendment that the Special Use Permit expire on July 31, 2010, when their lease expires. There was discussion about what “regular” meetings meant. Mr. Weber said he knows that this group plants churches, and they are not approving a church at this location. He stated that if they began to have regular meetings of ten people every weekend, it would become a church. Mr. Burdine stated that they have no problem with that stipulation, and that in the course of a month they may have a couple of nights when they have a few people over. Chair Miller reiterated his reservations about the original application and stated that there were two points that he was concerned about. One was the temporary nature of their group, which he thought was fairly well addressed by the evidence recently presented. The second was in regard to two sections in the Code: one part seems to permit this kind of association, and another has a list of what should be excluded. Mr. Miller said he felt that when things are specified as “excluded,” that bears more weight in his mind. He then emphasized the words “fraternity,” “coterie,” or “like organization” and stated that at the last meeting, he struggled with the likeness of this group to a fraternity or like organization. Mr. Miller then discussed the definition of coterie, which is a group of people who associate closely. He stated that, personally, he felt that this housing arrangement would be positive for the community and for the applicants, but based on the examples and the way the Code is written, it seems to exclude it. Mr. Miller said that as this is a judicial Board based on the Code and not his opinion he felt this application was not allowed. Mr. Weber pointed out the statement in the Code that an example of a functional family is a “religious order.” Discussion ensued as to how they define “order” and whether or not this 3 group would be defined as such. The Board then discussed the meanings of “coterie” and “family.” Board Members Link and Martin stated that virtually no one would qualify based on the strict definitions of these examples, and that they are merely examples. Mr. Weber said that they need to try to perceive what the Code’s intent was, adhere to it strictly, and allow very few exceptions. The Board continued the discussion about the different examples in the Code and how they relate to the applicants. Ms. Link raised the question of whether or not this opens the Board up to a lot of people coming in wanting to do this, and she felt that they should take each as they come and judge the applicants on their own merits. To that, Mr. Miller replied that he is very concerned about this becoming a basis for judging people’s values rather than adhering to the Code. Roll Call Vote: 3-1. Voting Aye: Link, Weber, Martin. Voting Nay: Miller. Motion declared approved. COMMENTS: Chair Miller stated that he was happy that this was approved, and that it is difficult to keep consistent with the Code and vote on what you personally want to see go. The Board talked about personal opinion vs consistency with Code. It was also noted that this was the last meeting for Board Members Miller and Martin. ADJOURNMENT: The meeting adjourned at 7:26 p.m. __________________________________ _____________________________ _______ Emily A. Burton, Recording Secretary Bradley Miller, Chair