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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPlanning and Zoning Commission Minutes 08-14-2024CITY of CAPE GIRARDEAU PLANNING &. ZONING COMMISSION PLANNING & ZONING COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES August14,2024 City Hall -Council Chambers 44 North Lorimier Street Commission Members Present: Trae Bertrand, Scott Blank, Kevin Greaser, Robbie Guard, Derek Jackson, Gerry Jones, Chris Martin, Nick Martin Commission Members Absent: Sommer McCauley-Perdue t 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 July 10, 2024 meeting were unanimously approved upon a motion made by Mr. Greaser and seconded by Mr. Bertrand. REZONINGS. SPECIAL USE PERMITS, AND EXCEPTIONS 1. A public hearing was held on the proposed zoning of property at 560 Silverado Trail as R-1 (Single- Family Suburban Residential District) upon annexation. Mr. Tyler Haden, 2085 Derbyshire Lane, explained that he and his wife own the property and plan to construct a single-family home on it. They are requesting annexation in order to connect to City utilities. 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. Jackson and seconded by Mr. Bertrand 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, Guard, Jackson, Jones, C. Martin, N. Martin). 2. A public hearing was held on the request of Ziglin Signs, on behalf of La Croix Church, for an exception from Development Code Section 25-137(b), freestanding signs, for property located at 3102 Lexington Avenue. Ms. Teresa Crump and Ms. Allie Gilmore, representing Ziglin Signs, were available for questions from the Commission. In response to a question from Mr. Greaser, Ms. Crump stated that the proposed signs have face-lit channel letters. In response to a question from Mr. Nick Martin, Mr. Shrimplin explained that the church is proposing to forego its rights to a freestanding sign along Cape Lacroix Road in order to meet the substantial equivalent criterion. This amounts to a transfer of rights to the Lexington Avenue frontage in order to have two freestanding signs along that frontage. The portion of the property along Cape Lacroix Road is not developed, so a freestanding sign is not needed in that location. Mr. Jackson asked if any signage would be allowed along the Cape Lacroix Road frontage if the exception were to be approved. Mr. Shrimplin stated that directional signage would be allowed in accordance with the Development Code. City of Cape Girardeau Planning & Zoning Commission Meeting Minutes August 14, 2024 Page 2 of 4 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: Based on the applicable Code requirements, the subject property is allowed two freestanding signs: one along Lexington Avenue and one along Cape Lacroix Road. Each sign is subject to a maximum area of 120 square feet and a maximum height of 12 feet. The applicant is proposing two freestanding signs along Lexington Avenue. Each sign is 60.5 square feet in area and 7.67 feet in height. The applicant is proposing to forego a freestanding sign along Cape Lacroix Road in order to have a second freestanding sign along Lexington Avenue. This constitutes a substant al equivalent because the number of freestanding signs allowed for the property would not c ange, and neither sign would exceed the maximum area or height. Criterion #2: Approval of the exception request is consistent · 1 ith 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. No freestanding sign shall be allowed al<:mg the Cape Lacroix Road frontage. 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 0 abstaining (Aye: Bertrand, Blank, Greaser, Guard, Jackson, Jones, C. Martin, N. Martin). 3. A public hearing was held on the request of JSCAA Enterprises for an exception from Development Qode Section 25-223(b)(1 ), parking lot interior landscaping areas, for property located at 205 South Mt. Auburn Road. Mr. Guard recused himself from the discus~ion and vote due to a financial conflict of interest. Mr. Jason Coalter, JSCAA Enterprises, was available for questions from the Commission. Mr. Jones asked if the. request was just to reduce the amount of landscaping on the site. Mr. Shrimplin explained that Koehler Engineering and Land Surveying prepared the site plan. The initial version had a lower parking lot interior landscaping percentage than the version submitted . with the exception application. Koehler was able to increase the percentage slightly after making some adjustments. In exchange for approval of a reduced parking lot interior landscaping percentage, the applicant is proposing to provide substantially more plantings that what is required by the Development Code. This wjll result in higher quality landscaping on the site. He noted that the project presents some challenges due to the size of the site and the number of parking spaces required for the restaurant. Even with the proposed landscaping percentage, there is not enough room on the site for all of the required parking spaces. The Development Code allows parking spaces for nonresidential uses to be located off-site as long as those spaces are not being used to , meet the parking requirement for another use and they are I1cated within 500 feet on appropriately City of Cape Girardeau Planning & Zoning Commission Meeting Minutes August 14, 2024 Page 3 of4 zoned property. In addition, the Development Code allows administrative relief to be granted for a reduction in the number of parking spaces by up to ten percent. Mr. Chris Martin asked if it was too early in the process to know for sure if administrative relief would be sufficient. Mr. Shrimplin stated that staff held a predevelopment meeting with Koehler, in which the parking options were discussed. Koehler will do the calculations and discuss the options with the applicant. 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 exchange for approval of a reduced parking lot interior landscaping percentage, the applicant is proposing to provide more plants and plant types than what is required by the Code. 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. Nick Martin and seconded by Mr. Jones to approve the exception request, subject to the condition in the staff report. The motion passed with a roll call vote of 7 in favor, 0 in opposition, and 1 abstaining (Aye: Bertrand, Blank, Greaser, Jackson, Jones, C. Martin, N. Martin; Abstain: Guard). Chairman Blank thanked the applicants for their investment in Cape Girardeau. SUBDIVISION PLATS 4. The record plat of Cape West Crossing East -Third Subdivision was reviewed by the Commission. No one was in attendance to present the plat. A staff report was submitted to the Commission, which recommended approval of the record plat, subject to staffs comments being successfully addressed. A motion was made by Mr. Jackson and seconded by Mr. Jones to recommend approval City of Cape Gi rardeau Planning & Zoning Commission Meeting Minutes August 14 , 2024 Page 4 of 4 of the record plat, subject to staff's comments being successfully addressed. The motion passed with a roll call vote of 8 in favor, O in opposition, and O abstaining (Aye: Bertrand, Blank, Greaser, Guard, Jackson , Jones, C. Martin, N. Martin). 5. The record plat of Ponder's Subdivision was reviewed by the Commission . Mr. Pau l Ponder presented the plat. He explained that his property at 23 North West End Boulevard and his neighbor's property at 1419 Whitener Street have a shared driveway and garage. The owner of 1419 Whitener Street is no longer interested in using and maintaining the driveway and garage, so Mr. Ponder is purchasing a strip of land from him in order to own the driveway and garage in their entirety . 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 Mr. Greaser 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 O abstaining (Aye: Bertrand, Blank, Greaser, Guard, Jackson, Jones, C. Martin, N. Martin). OTHER ITEMS AND COMMUNICATION Commission Communication Mr. Greaser informed the Commission that he would not be available for the next meeting. 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 July 15 , 2024: • 2530 Marsha Kay Drive Rezoning to R-4 - 2 nd & 3rd Readings The City Council approved the following on August 5, 2024: • Park West Hospitality Center No. 3 Subdivision Record Plat - 1 st Reading Mr. Shrimplin stated that he would not be available for the Planning & Zoning Commission meeting on October 9, 2024 . The Commission agreed to move the meeting to October 10, 2024. Mr. Shrimplin reviewed the results of the meeting time survey that was recently sent to the Commission members. Each member was asked to rank their preferences for start times in half-hour increments from 4:30 pm. to 7:00 p.m . Upon discussion , the Commission decided to change its regular meeting time to 5:30 p.m ., starting with th e September 11, 2024 meeting. Adjournment There being no furth er business, the Commission voted unanimously to adjourn the meeting at 7:25 p.m. upon a motion made by Mr. Bertrand and seconded by Mr. Nick Martin. ,? 0 Respectfully submitted by~ ~ Chris Martin, Secretary