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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPlanning & Zoning Commission Minutes 01-14-2015 CITY O.f CAPE GtRARDEAU PLANIVING & ZONIfVG COMMISSIdN � PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES January 14, 2015 City Hall — Council Chambers Present: Trae Bertrand, Larry Dowdy, Jeff Glenn, William Hinckley, Randy Kluge, Patrick Koetting, Scott McCfanahan, Doug Spooler, Thomas J. Welch Absent: None Staff Present: Carol Peters, Ryan Shrimplin Call to Order: Chairman McClanahan called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. The minutes of the December 10, 2014 meeting were unanimously approved upon motion made by Mr. Koetting and seconded by Mr. Spooler. REZONINGS. SPECIAL USE PERMITS. AND VARIANCES � 1. A public hearing was held on the request of Keystone Design, Inc. to rezone property at 820 North Sprigg Street from the C-1 (General Commercial) district to the NC (Neighborhood Commercial) district. Mr. Grady Wooten, Keystone Design, Inc., explained that the property currently contains a multi-tenant commercial building. The upper level of the building contains retail uses and the lower level is vacant but was formerly occupied by a night club. The property owner, Crown Development, would like to convert the lower level into ten (10) one-bedroom apartment units. Mr. Wooten stated that several of the surrounding properties are owned by Crown Development and already have apartments, which they feel would be better suited for the area. The NC district would allow the retail establishments to remain on the upper floor while allowing the residential use on the lower level. No one spoke in favor of, or in opposition to, the request. The staff report recommended approval. A motion was made by Mr. Hinckley and seconded by Mr. Koetting to recommend approval of the request to rezone property at 820 North Sprigg Street from the C-1 (General Commercial) district to the NC (Neighborhood Commercial) district. The motion passed with a vote of 8 in favor, 0 in opposition, and 0 abstaining. (Aye: Bertrand, Dowdy, Hinckley, Kluge, Koetting, Maxton, Spoo/er, Welch;Absent: G/enn) 2. A public hearing was held on the request of Coast to Coast Signs for a variance from Development Code Section 25-506(a), wall signs, at 3047 William Street, Suite 105. No one was in attendance to present the application. Mr. Shrimplin explained that signage is proposed on the west elevation, which does not have street frontage. Staff has verified that the applicant has unused wall sign area that can be transferred to the west elevation. A staff report was submitted to the Commission containing the following findings of fact: � Criterion #1: The requested variance arises from a condition which is unique to the property in question and which is not ordinarily found, and is not created by an action or actions of the property owner, the applicant or predecessors in title. City of Cape Girardeau Planning&Zoning Commission Meeting Minutes January 14,2015 Page 2 � Findin : The subject tenant space is located at the southwest corner of a multi-tenant commercial building in front of the West Park Mall. The south elevation fronts on a street and therefore is afforded wall signage. The west elevation, which contains the tenanYs entrance, faces Steak 'n Shake and does not front on a street. A majority of the traffic to and from the mall and the surrounding businesses comes from William Street, which is located on the north side of the subject building. Wall signage on the south elevation of the tenant space is not visible to William Street traffic. Because the Development Code does not permit wall signage on elevations that do not have street frontage, the tenant cannot use the west elevation to display the necessary wall signage to properly identify its business to drivers on William Street and above its entrance. This constitutes a condition that is unique to the subject property. Criterion #2: The granting of the variance will not adversely affect the rights of adjacent property owners or residents. Findinq: The west elevation of the building faces existing commercial developments and as such, the display of wall signage will not adversely affect the rights of those property owners and tenants. In order to maintain a standard of fairness among properties, the variance should only be granted with a condition that the aggregate sign area of all wall signs for the subject tenant space shall not exceed the maximum permitted wall sign area per the Development Code. Since the entire wall sign area is based on the south (street-facing) elevation, granting a variance to allow wall signage on the west elevation will reduce the permitted wall sign area on the south elevation by the same amount. Thus, the tenant does not receive an increase in permitted sign area; instead, they are 1� granted approval to transfer it to another elevation. Criterion #3: The strict application of the provisions of the Development Code from which the variance is requested will constitute unnecessary hardship upon the utilization of the property. Findinq: Denial of the variance will result in a hardship because the tenant will not be able to display the necessary wall signage to properly identify its business to drivers on William Street and above its entrance. Criterion #4: The requesfed variance will not adversely affect the public health, safety, morals, order, convenience, prosperity, or general welfare. Findin : If the variance is granted with the recommended condition of approval, it will not adversely affect the public. Criterion #5: Granting the requested variance will not undermine the general spirit and intent of the Development Code. - Findin : The variance request is reasonable and based on a unique condition of the subject property. As such, granting the variance will not undermine the general spirit and intent of the Development Code as long as the recommended condition of approval is included. � Based on the above findings, City staff recommended approval of the variance request, with the following condition: City of Cape Girardeau Planning&Zoning Commission Meeting Minutes � January 14,2015 Page 3 1. The aggregate sign area of all wall signs for the subject tenant space shall not exceed the maximum permitted wall sign area per the Development Code. No one spoke in favor of, or in opposition to, the request. A motion was made by Mr. Kluge and seconded by Mr. Spooler to approve the variance for wall signs at 3047 William Street, Suite 105 with the staff recommended condition. The motion passed with a vote of 8 in favor, 0 in opposition, and 0 abstaining. (Aye: Bertrand, Dowdy, Hinckley, Kluge, Maxton, McClanahan, Spooler, Welch; Absent: Glenn) SUBDIVISION PLATS 3. The record plat of Pfeiffer Subdivision was reviewed by the Commission. The plat combines an existing lot with common ground to create a new lot on Autumn Leaf Drive. Mr. Shrimplin informed the Commission that the existing lot and the common ground are both owned by the developer. The staff report recommended approval as submitted. A motion was made by Mr. Dowdy and seconded by Mr. Welch to recommend approval of the Pfeiffer Subdivision record plat as submitted. The motion passed with a vote of 8 in favor, 0 in opposition, and 0 abstaining. (Aye: Bertrand, Dowdy, Hinckley, K/uge, Koetting, McClanahan, Spooler, Welch; Absent Glenn) 4. The record plat of West Park Center Subdivision was on the agenda for review by the Commission. The applicant informed staff that they would like for the item to be tabled until they could speak with Mr. Eric Cunningham, City Attorney, about easements required on the � plat. A motion was made by Mr. Bertrand and seconded by Mr. Spooler to table consideration of the Pfeiffer Subdivision record plat. The motion passed with a vote of 8 in favor, 0 in opposition, and 0 abstaining. (Aye: Bertrand, Dowdy, Hinckley, Kluge, Koetting, McClanahan, Spoo/er, Welch;Absent: Glenn) OTHER ITEMS AND COMMUNICATION Election of Officers The Commission held its annual election of officers. A motion was made by Mr. Hinckley and seconded by Mr. Dowdy to re-elect Mr. McClanahan as Chairman, Mr. Glenn as Vice-Chairman, and Mr. Kluge as Secretary. The motion passed by a unanimous vote. Mr. Glenn arrived at the meeting at this time. Other Communication Chairman McClanahan informed the Commission that the TTF 5 Subcommittee submitted to the City Council a list of proposed projects for TTF 5, including eight (8) specific projects, four (4) alternate projects, and four (4) general projects. The Council will review the proposed projects and make decisions regarding what gets included in the final list. Mr. Glenn commented that the Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce's Transportation Committee also received the list. They expressed concerned with how much funding was proposed for preservation versus new � construc#ion. The Transportation Committee has tasked its members with reviewing the list and reporting any proposed changes at their next meeting. Mr. Shrimplin informed the Commission that the Comprehensive Plan Oversight Committee will be meeting on January 30, 2015 to begin reviewing sections of the Comprehensive Plan to City of Cape Girardeau Planning&Zoning Commission Meeting Minutes January 14,2015 Page 4 � determine what updates are needed. He added that major developments have occurred since the plan was adopted in 2007, such as the casino and the business park, and the plan needs to be updated to address these and other changes. Adjournment Upon motion made by Mr. Koetting and seconded by Mr. Glenn, the Commission voted unanimously to adjourn the meeting at 7:25 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Ra tly luge Secretary � �