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HomeMy WebLinkAbout~Master - Zoning Board of Adjustment Minutes 1-11-2006MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE ZONING BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT AMES, IOWA JANUARY 11, 2006 The Ames Zoning Board of Adjustment (ZBA) met, pursuant to law, in regular session at 7:00 p.m., on January 11, 2006, in the Council Chambers of City Hall with the following members present: Denise Link, Mary Ann Lundy, Lucy Martin, Bradley Miller and Charles Samuels. Staff members Ray Anderson, Ryan Heiland and Judy Parks were also present. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES: Moved by Samuels, seconded by Martin, to approve the minutes of the December 14, 2005, Zoning Board of Adjustment Meeting. Vote on Motion: 5-0. Motion carried unanimously. CASE NO. 06-04 SPECIAL HOME OCCUPATION PERMIT - BETSY BAUM, 2722 NORTHWOOD DR. Public Hearing on application for a Special Home Occupation Permit to allow the operation of a massage therapy business at 2722 Northwood Drive Planner Heiland stated that this home occupation was approved in July 2005 with six stipulations, one of which required review by the ZBA in six months. He said the Planning Department had logged no complaints and there were no code citations or problems that had come to staff’s attention during the trial period. He explained that the applicant would like the opportunity to operate her business from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. seven days per week, although she would be unlikely to ever have clients at the home more than 15 hours per week. Heiland said the staff recommendation is for approval of this permit with some stipulations, but without a reconsideration date. Betsy Baum, 2722 Northwood Drive, stated that she works alternating days and weekends as a registered nurse at Mary Greeley Medical Center, so she needs to have the flexibility to schedule appointments at times she is available. She said she would possibly have two, but never more than three, customers per day. Julie Engeman, 2617 Northwood Drive, stated that she supported this home occupation request. She said her husband has a home business in the Northwood neighborhood and there is no problem with traffic or parking on the street. Cindy Larson, 507 26th Street, stated that she also has a home occupation in this neighborhood and supports the application. She did not feel that any problems would be created by having the business open every day of the week. Moved by Samuels, seconded by Miller, to ADOPT ORDER 06-04, granting a Special Home Occupation Permit to allow a massage therapy business at 2722 Northwood Drive, with the following stipulations: 1. that the hours of operation be from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., Monday through Sunday; 2 2. that no more than one client vehicle at a time be allowed on the site and that the clients be instructed to park in the applicant’s driveway; 3. that there be no outside employees coming to the site to work; and 4. that no more than ten (10) customer visits be allowed per day. Roll Call Vote: 5-0. Motion carried unanimously. CASE NO. 06-05 SPECIAL HOME OCCUPATION PERMIT - DONALD BARS, 4530 WESTBEND DR. Public Hearing on application for a Special Home Occupation Permit to allow the operation of a behavioral and educational testing center at 4530 Westbend Drive Planner Heiland stated that this was a request to allow operations to continue at a testing center which was awarded a six-month Special Use Permit last summer. Heiland stated that the Planning Department had not received any negative comments or complaints about the business, but he had received a call from someone asking if any type of license was required for this occupation. He explained that there is no licensing requirement, but the applicant does have a variety of professional certifications. Heiland explained that the business hours would be from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. Clients and families will be seen at the home, with no more than two groups present at any one time. Heiland said that staff believed all the requirements were met and recommended approval with three stipulations pertaining to parking, hours of operation, the number of client visits allowed per week. Miller asked if there existed a logical parallel for licensing between this type of business and others that the ZBA approves. Heiland stated that in cases where there are state licensing requirements – for home day care or therapeutic massage, for example – the City or the Board usually requests proof that the appropriate license has been obtained. Dr. Donald Bars, 4530 Westbend Drive, stated that he felt the City should reconsider the requirement that applicants complete a brand new application and pay the full fee when they are asked to return for a six-month review. He said he understands the reasoning behind a trial period and some small fee would be expected, but feels the current system is unfair. Bars stated that he has been certified by a national group to do Quantitative EEG, which means that he has proven that he understands the technology he uses and can properly analyze the data. He worked as an EEG Tech in Boise, Idaho, for seventeen years. He’s also Board Certified to do Neurotherapy. There are no state licensing requirements for this type of work. On another note, Bars added that the neighbor who claimed last summer that he and his wife might not even live in the house sent him an email earlier this week saying he thought he was a good neighbor. Moved by Miller, seconded by Martin, to ADOPT ORDER 06-05, granting a Special Home Occupation Permit to allow a behavioral and educational testing center at 2722 Northwood Drive, with the following stipulations: 1. that no more than two customer vehicles be parked on the site at any time; 3 2. that the hours of operation be between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday; and 3. that the number of client visits not exceed four (4) per week. Roll Call Vote: 5-0. Motion carried unanimously. CASE NO. 06-01 SPECIAL USE PERMIT - ST. PAUL LUTHERAN CHURCH, PROPERTY OWNER; LEO RUNGE, REPRESENTATIVE; WILLIAM DREYER, ARCHITECT, 1435 Wilson Public Hearing on application for a Special Use permit to allow the construction of an addition to a place of worship in a residential zone at 1435 Wilson Avenue Planner Anderson stated that the zoning ordinance requires a Special Use Permit for the expansion of a religious institution, and this request is for construction of additions to the building and the parking lot at St. Paul Lutheran Church. The church is located at the corner of 15th Street and Wilson Avenue. At present, the church has a 7,342-square-foot building; the proposed addition would include two levels attached to the west side, with approximately 2400 square feet on each level. The project would create a new canopied entrance to the church, add 24 parking stalls to the existing 46, and provide for one-way traffic flow from an entrance on 15th Street to an exit on Wilson Avenue. The materials and architectural style of the addition would be compatible with the existing structure and with the surrounding neighborhood. Anderson stated that the proposal meets the required standards and staff recommends approval. Board member Miller said the seven-foot interface between the parking lot shown on the site plan and residence at 1411 Wilson seemed very small. Anderson stated that the landscaping requirements only call for five feet, so seven feet is more than adequate, and shrubbery will also be provided. Bill Dreyer, Senior Principal Architect at Rudi-Lee-Dreyer & Associates, 4712 Stange Road, stated that he represented the applicants. He said that, at present, the entrance to the church is very congested and the parking lot is very small. Both problems would be rectified and brought up to code with the proposed improvements. There was discussion about various aspects of the site plan and future traffic flow. Moved by Martin, seconded by Link, to ADOPT ORDER 06-01, granting a Special Use Permit to allow the construction of the proposed addition to the existing church building and the construction of off-street parking on the property located at 1435 Wilson Avenue. Roll Call Vote: 5-0. Motion carried unanimously. 4 CASE NO. 06-02 SPECIAL USE PERMIT - GARY ALLEN FREEL, RANDY LYNN FREEL & SUSAN GAYLE JONES, PROPERTY OWNERS; ROBERT GOODWIN & BRAD STUMBO, REPRESENTATIVES Public Hearing on application for a Special Use Permit to allow the operation of a salvage yard at 400 Freel Drive Planner Heiland stated that this was a request to allow a salvage yard operation on the east side of Freel Drive, a short way north of South Fifth Street. He said that Fifth Street is built to handle industrial traffic and the site is zoned General Industrial (G-I). Uses of this nature are allowed in the G-I zoning district and there are already two other salvage yard operations on Freel Drive. Heiland said the subject property contains approximately three-and-a-half acres and the applicants propose to install an eight-foot-high, screening-type metal fence on the east side and six-foot-high metal fences on all the other sides. The salvage yard would operate with two employees and a recreational vehicle would be used as an office at the outset. Eventually, a building may be proposed and at that time drainage, parking, and other issues would have to be addressed. The crushing equipment needed for the proposed operation is portable and will not be permanently installed in the immediate future. Heiland explained that environmental concerns had been addressed by the applicants. All equipment will be drained before being crushed to prevent anything from dripping or spilling onto the soil. The crushing equipment is designed to contain and collect any oil, grease or liquid that might remain. The concrete pad beneath the crushing unit will have retaining walls on two sides and the pad will slope into one corner. Fluids that escape will be collected from the lowest corner of the pad and be recycled by the owners for use in their equipment. Heiland said that the Planning and Zoning Commission approved this request with certain conditions, including a one-year trial period, and City Staff also recommends approval. Board member Miller asked what criteria would be reviewed after a year. Heiland said that a review would guarantee that the use was harmonious with the neighborhood and appropriate for the area, and also that the operation was in compliance with any stipulations that might be added to a permit. Acting City Attorney Parks added that whenever there is inventory which is transient by nature and is being stored outside, staff has found a need to review the operational practices. The applicants were present but did not feel the need to speak. Brad Stumbo, Stumbo and Associates, stated that he represented the owners. Stumbo explained that the proposed operation will store and crush vehicles and possibly a small number of appliances. Once crushed, materials will be sold to salvage purchasers and immediately removed from the site. He said that antifreeze will be pumped out of the cars in advance and resold, gas will be pumped out and used in equipment on the site, coolant will be contained, and oil will be used for heating. Everything in the immediate vicinity of the crusher will be contained, and the vehicles parked in the yard will have been drained so they won’t leak into the soil. 5 Moved by Link, seconded by Samuels, to ADOPT ORDER 06-02, granting a Special Use Permit to allow the operation of a salvage yard at 400 Freel Drive with the following stipulations: 1. that the Special Use Permit be granted for a period of one year, at the end of which the applicant shall re-apply for approval of a Special Use Permit if continued use of the salvage yard is desired; 2. that crushed material not be stacked any higher than 12 feet above grade; 3. that the six-foot (6') and eight-foot (8') fences shown on the site plan be constructed of an opaque metal material; 4. that landscaping be provided in the ten-foot (10') front yard building setback per the City of Ames L2 landscaping requirements in Section 29.403(b) of the Municipal Code; 5. that the owner/operator comply with all applicable state and federal regulations pertaining to the operation of a salvage yard. Roll Call Vote: 5-0. Motion carried unanimously. COMMENTS: None ADJOURNMENT: The meeting was adjourned at 8:47 p.m. Karen C. Thompson, Recording Secretary Mary Ann Lundy, Chair The next meeting of the Zoning Board of Adjustment will be a Regular Meeting at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, February 22, 2006, in the Council Chambers of the Ames City Hall at 515 Clark Avenue.