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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPlanning and Zoning Commission Minutes 05-08-2024CITY of CAPE GIRARDEAU PLANNING & ZONING COMMISSION PLANNING & ZONING COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES May 8, 2024 City Hall -Council Chambers 44 North Lorimier Street Commission Members Present: Trae Bertrand, Scott Blank, Kevin Greaser, Derek Jackson, Gerry Jones, Chris Martin, Nick Martin, Sommer McCauley-Perdue Commission Members Absent: Robbie Guard Staff Present: Carol Peters, Ryan Shrimplin Call to Order Chairman Blank called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Approval of Minutes The minutes of the April 10, 2024 meeting were unanimously approved upon a motion made by Mr. Bertrand and seconded by Mr. Greaser. REZONINGS, SPECIAL USE PERMITS, AND EXCEPTIONS 1. A public hearing was held on the proposed zoning of property located at 212 Misty Hollow Lane as R-1 (Single-Family Suburban Residential District) upon annexation. Chairman Blank opened the public hearing. Seeing no appearances to speak, he closed the public hearing. A staff report was submitted to the Commission, which recommended zoning the property as R-1 (Single-Family Suburban Residential District) upon annexation. A motion was made by Mr. Bertrand and seconded by Mr. Nick Martin to recommend zoning the property as R-1 (Single-Family Suburban Residential District) upon annexation. The motion passed with a roll call vote of 8 in favor, 0 in opposition, and 0 abstaining (Aye: Bertrand, Blank, Greaser, Jackson, Jones, C. Martin, N. Martin, McCau/ey- Perdue). 2. A public hearing was held on the request of Blue Oval Auto Group, LLC for an exception from Development Code Section 25-1, driveway width requirements, for property located at 2637 Veterans Memorial Drive. Mr. Chris Koehler, Koehler Engineering & Land Surveying, presented the request. He explained that the 6-acre property is to be developed for an auto dealership. The site plan shows two 40-foot wide driveways on Veterans Memorial Drive, each of which exceeds the maximum driveway width of 30 feet. The additional width is needed to accommodate the vehicle haulers that will be entering and exiting the property. In exchange for approval of the 40-foot driveway width, the owner is willing to forego additional driveways permitted by the Code. Chairman Blank opened the public hearing. Seeing no appearances to speak, he closed the public hearing. A staff report was submitted to the Commission, which contained the following findings of fact: City of Cape Girardeau Planning & Zoning Commission Meeting Minutes May 8, 2024 Page 2 of 5 Criterion #1: As part of the exception request, a "substantial equivalent" is proposed. "Substantial equivalent" means an alternate design, method or feature that accomplishes the same purpose as the applicable Development Code requirement. Finding: The purpose of the requirement is to prevent overly broad driveways, which encourage unstructured driving patterns and increase the potential for accidents. Under the Development Code, the subject property is permitted one driveway for each full 75-foot section of lot frontage along Veterans Memorial Drive. Based on the lot frontage, the property is permitted 10 driveways, each with a maximum width of 30 feet. The applicant is proposing only two driveways, each 40 feet wide. The additional width is needed to accommodate the vehicle haulers (semi-trailer trucks) that will be entering and exiting the property. In exchange for approval of the additional driveway width, the applicant is willing to forego the rights to additional driveways. This constitutes a substantial equivalent because restricting the property to two driveways will reduce the potential for accidents, and furthermore, the additional width will not result in overly broad driveways. Criterion #2: Approval of the exception request is consistent with the general spirit and intent of the Development Code. Finding: The substantial equivalent proposed by the applicant ensures fairness among property owners and tenants, which makes approval of the exception request consistent with the general spirit and intent of the Development Code. Based on the above findings, staff recommended approval of the exception request, subject to the following condition: 1. The property shall be restricted to a total of two driveways as described and depicted in the application. A motion was made by Mr. Greaser and seconded by Mr. Chris Martin to approve the exception request, subject to the condition in the staff report. Chairman Blank asked Mr. Koehler if the 40- foot width would be sufficient, to which Mr. Koehler responded affirmatively. The motion passed with a roll call vote of 8 in favor, O in opposition, and O abstaining (Aye: Bertrand, Blank, Greaser, Jackson, Jones, C. Martin, N. Martin, McCauley-Perdue). 3. A public hearing was held on the request of Blue Oval Auto Group, LLC for an exception from Development Code Section 25-223(a)(2), street landscaping strip requirements, for property located at 2637 Veterans Memorial Drive. Mr. Chris Koehler, Koehler Engineering & Land Surveying, presented the request. He explained that the owner is requesting approval to provide the required street landscaping strip plantings in the landscaping islands adjacent to the street landscaping strips rather than in the strips along Interstate 55 and Veterans Memorial Drive. He continued by stating that owner does not want the plantings in the street landscaping strips because they might block the view of the vehicles for sale. Chairman Blank opened the public hearing. Seeing no appearances to speak, he closed the public hearing. A staff report was submitted to the Commission, which contained the following findings of fact: Criterion #1: As part of the exception request, a "substantial equivalent" is proposed. "Substantial equivalent" means an alternate design, method or feature that accomplishes the same purpose as the applicable Development Code requirement. City of Cape Girardeau Planning & Zoning Commission Meeting Minutes May 8, 2024 Page 3 of 5 Finding: The purpose of the requirement is to mitigate the aesthetic impact of rows of parking along public streets and to help beautify street corridors. The applicant is willing to provide the required street landscaping strip plantings. However, he does not want to position them in front of the parking spaces because the plants, at maturity, could partially obscure the visibility of the vehicles from Interstate 55 and Veterans Memorial Drive (these parking spaces will be used to display vehicles for sale). The applicant is proposing to position the plantings in the adjacent landscaping islands instead. This constitutes a substantial equivalent because the plantings will still be close enough to the right-of-way lines to mitigate the impact of the parking and to beautify the corridors. Criterion #2: Approval of the exception request is consistent with the general spirit and intent of the Development Code. Finding: The substantial equivalent proposed by the applicant ensures fairness among property owners and tenants, which makes approval of the exception request consistent with the general spirit and intent of the Development Code. Based on the.above findings, staff recommended approval of the exception request, subject to the following condition: 1. The final design of the landscaping shall be subject to approval by the City staff. A motion was made by Mr. Bertrand and seconded by Mr. Nick Martin to approve the exception request, subject to the condition in the staff report. The motion passed with a roll call vote of 8 in favor, 0 in opposition, and O abstaining (Aye: Bertrand, Blank, Greaser, Jackson, Jones, C. Martin, N. Martin, McCauley-Perdue). 4. A public hearing was held on the request of Blue Oval Auto Group, LLC for an exception from Development Code Section 25-223(b)(1), parking lot interior landscaping requirements, for property located at 2637 Veterans Memorial Drive. Mr. Chris Koehler, Koehler Engineering & Land Surveying, presented the request. He explained that the site plan shows 10% parking lot interior landscaping area, which is less than the required 15%. A majority of the parking lot will be used for the display of vehicles for sale, and the owner wants to devote as much of it as possible for that purpose. In exchange for approval of the reduced parking lot landscaping area percentage, the owner is willing to provide more plantings than what is required by the Code. Chairman Blank opened the public hearing. Seeing no appearances to speak, he closed the public hearing. A staff report was submitted to the Commission, which contained the following findings of fact: Criterion #1: As part of the exception request, a "substantial equivalent" is proposed. "Substantial equivalent" means an alternate design, method or feature that accomplishes the same purpose as the applicable Development Code requirement. Finding: The purpose of the requirement is to break up the expanse of pavement in parking lots and to provide a balance between the built and natural environments. Landscaping areas make sites more attractive, and they can be designed to incorporate stormwater management features. The Development Code requires parking lot interior landscaping areas to be completely covered with at least one of the groundcover types in Section 25- 225(1) and contain at least one of the plant types in Section 25-225(2) through (6). In City of Cape Girardeau Planning & Zoning Commission Meeting Minutes May 8, 2024 Page 4 of 5 exchange for approval of a reduced parking lot interior landscaping percentage, the applicant is proposing to provide at least two of the plant types in Section 25-225(2) through (6). This constitutes a substantial equivalent because the applicant is upgrading the landscaping in terms of plantings while still providing enough landscaping area to break up the pavement area. Criterion #2: Approval of the exception request is consistent with the general spirit and intent of the Development Code. Finding: The substantial equivalent proposed by the applicant ensures fairness among property owners and tenants, which makes approval of the exception request consistent with the general spirit and intent of the Development Code. Based on the above findings, staff recommended approval of the exception request, subject to the following condition: 1. The final design of the landscaping shall be subject to approval by the City staff. A motion was made by Mr. Chris Martin and seconded by Mr. Greaser to approve the exception request, subject to the condition in the staff report. The motion passed with a roll call vote of 8 in favor, O in opposition, and O abstaining (Aye: Bertrand, Blank, Greaser, Jackson, Jones, C. Martin, N. Martin, McCauley-Perdue). SUBDIVISION PLATS 5. The Commission was scheduled to review the record plat of Knight's Main Street Subdivision. Chairman Blank announced that the applicant recently contacted staff and requested that the Commission table its review of the plat. A motion was made by Mr. Bertrand and seconded by Ms. McCauley-Perdue to table review of the record plat of Knight's Main Street Subdivision. The motion passed with a roll call vote of 8 in favor, 0 in opposition, and O abstaining (Aye: Bertrand, Blank, Greaser, Jackson, Jones, C. Martin, N. Martin, McCauley-Perdue). 6. The record plat of Prominence I Subdivision was reviewed by the Commission. Mr. Chris Koehler, Koehler Engineering & Land Surveying, presented the plat. He stated that the plat creates 12 single- family residential lots and one common ground lot for a stormwater detention basin at 3101 County Road 620. He mentioned that the development would be starting early this summer. A staff report was submitted to the Commission, which recommended approval of the record plat, subject to staff's comments being successfully addressed. A motion was made by Mr. Bertrand and seconded by Ms. McCauley-Perdue to recommend approval of the record plat, subject to staff's comments being successfully addressed. The motion passed with a roll call vote of 8 in favor, 0 in opposition, and 0 abstaining (Aye: Bertrand, Blank, Greaser, Jackson, Jones, C. Martin, N. Martin, McCauley- Perdue). OTHER ITEMS AND COMMUNICATION Commission Communication None of the Commission members had any communication items. City of Cape Girardeau Planning & Zoning Commission Meeting Minutes May 8, 2024 Page 5 of 5 Staff Communication Mr. Shrimplin gave the following updates: 1. Update on items from previous Commission meetings going on to City Council The City Council approved the following on April 15, 2024: • Baldwin Farms Subdivision Record Plat - 1 st Reading The City Council approved the following on May 6, 2024: • Baldwin Farms Subdivision Record Plat - 2 nd & 3rd Readings • 728 Good Hope Street Rezoning - 1 st Reading • Latham's First Subdivision Record Plat - 1 st Reading • Seyer Enterprises Subdivision Record Plat-1st Reading Adjournment There being no further business, the Commission voted unanimously to adjourn the meeting at 7: 15 p.m. upon a motion made by Mr. Bertrand and seconded by Mr. Nick Martin. Respectfully submitted, S-~ Scott Blank, Chairman