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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPlanning & Zoning Commission Minutes 06-10-26CITY of CAPE GIRARDEAU PLANNING & ZONING COMMISSION PLANNING & ZONING COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES June 10, 2026 City Hall -Council Chambers 44 North Lorimier Street Commission Members Present: Trae Bertrand, Scott Blank, Blake Hagedorn, Derek Jackson, Gerry Jones, Nick Martin, Emily McElreath, Larry Patterson Commission Members Absent: Chris Martin Staff Present: Carol Peters, Ryan Shrimplin CALL TO ORDER Chairman Nick Martin called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. and welcomed Larry Patterson to the Commission. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A motion was made by Mr. Bertrand and seconded by Mr. Blank to approve the minutes of the May 13, 2026 meeting as submitted. The motion passed by a unanimous vote. A. REZONING$, SPECIAL USE PERMITS, AND EXCEPTIONS A. 1. A public hearing was scheduled on the request of Robinson Outdoor, LLC for a special use permit for the purposes of constructing, maintaining, and operating a billboard on property located at 53 Doctors Park Drive, zoned C-1 (General Commercial District). Staff presented the Commission with opposition letters received from D. Shawn Parker, MD, and Gregg S. Hallman, MD. Mr. Shrimplin stated that the letters were shared with the applicant, who then requested that the Commission table the request to the July 8, 2026 meeting to allow time for the applicant to meet with the Doctors Park Covenant Board. A motion was made by Mr. Bertrand and seconded by Mr. Hagedorn to table the special use permit request. The motion passed by a roll call vote of 8 in favor, 0 in opposition, and 0 abstaining (Aye: Bertrand, Blank, Hagedorn, Jackson, Jones, N. Martin, McE/reath, Patterson). A.2. A public hearing was held on the request of Miller Mini Storage LLC for an exception from Development Code Section 25-161(a), fence height and surface requirements, for property located at 1200 South West End Boulevard. Ms. Rachel Elliott, Klingner & Associates, presented the request. She explained that the property is proposed to be developed for a self-storage facility. The owner would like a 6-foot tall chain link fence in the front yard to provide better security and to match the height of the fence in the rear and side yards. The fence would have a black vinyl or powder-coated finish. City of Cape Girardeau Planning & Zoning Commission Meeting Minutes June 10, 2026 Page 2 of 4 Chairman Nick Martin 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, or results in a significant public benefit. Finding: The purpose of the requirement is to prevent privacy fences and galvanized chain link fences in the front yards of commercial properties. The proposed chain link fence has a decorative finish as opposed to a galvanized finish. As long as it does not contain slats, a fabric cover, or other screening element, it will meet the 50% open surface requirement and thus will not be a privacy fence. 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 portion of the fence in the front yard shall not contain slats, a fabric cover, or other screening element. This requirement shall not apply to the portion of the fence along the north property line that is being used to meet the bufferyard requirements in Section 25-224 of the City Code. A motion was made by Mr. Jackson and seconded by Ms. McElreath to approve the exception request, subject to the condition in the staff report. The motion passed by a roll call vote of 8 in favor, 0 in opposition, and O abstaining (Aye: Bertrand, Blank, Hagedorn, Jackson, Jones, N. Martin, McE/reath, Patterson). A.3. A public hearing was held on the request of St. Vincent De Paul Church for an exception from Development Code Section 25-223(b)(1), parking lot landscaping requirements, for property located at 1912 Ritter Drive. Mr. Sumner Sparkman, Bowen Engineering & Surveying, presented the request. He explained that the request is for approval of a reduced parking lot interior landscaping percentage (10% vs. 15% required) in exchange for providing more plant types and quantities than what is required by the code. Chairman Nick Martin 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, or results in a significant public benefit. City of Cape Girardeau Planning & Zoning Commission Meeting Minutes June 10, 2026 Page 3 of 4 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 the 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 parking lot landscaping shall be subject to approval by the City staff. A motion was made by Mr. Jackson and seconded by Mr. Patterson to approve the exception request, subject to the condition in the staff report. The motion passed by a roll call vote of 8 in favor, 0 in opposition, and O abstaining (Aye: Bertrand, Blank, Hagedorn, Jackson, Jones, N. Martin, McElreath, Patterson). B. SUBDIVISION PLATS 8.1. The record plat of Hope Lutheran Ministries was reviewed by the Commission. Mr. Ryan Brase, Bowen Engineering & Surveying, presented the plat. He stated that the plat combines two lots in order to construct a parking lot. A staff report was submitted to the Commission, which recommended approval of the record plat. A motion was made by Mr. Bertrand and seconded by Mr. Hagedorn to recommend approval of the record plat. The motion passed by a roll call vote of 8 in favor, 0 in opposition, and O abstaining (Aye: Bertrand, Blank, Hagedorn, Jackson, Jones, N. Martin, McElreath, Patterson). C. OTHER BUSINESS COMMUNICATION AND UPDATES COMMISSION COMMUNICATION Chairman Nick Martin requested that the staff email to the Commission members any correspondences received from the public in regards to applications on the Commission's City of Cape Girardeau Planning & Zoning Commission Meeting Minutes June 10 , 2026 Page 4 of 4 agenda . Mr. Shrimplin stated that the staff will do so moving forward , but it is important that the Commission members not respond or engage in any dialogue concerning the emails outside of the meeting because it could violate the Missouri Sunshine Law. STAFF COMMUNICATION 1. Update on items from previous Commission meetings going on to City Council The City Council approved the following on May 18, 2026: • Prominence I Subdivision Record Plat - 2 nd & 3 rd Readings • 306, 308 , 406 & 450 North Main Street and Adjacent Parcel to the North Rezoning - 2 nd & 3 rd Readings • Chapter 25 Amendment Regarding Billboards - 1 st Reading • Chapter 30 Amendment Regarding CBD, Central Business District and C- 1, General Commercial District - 1 st Reading • Presley's Addition Record Plat - 1 st Reading The City Council approved the following on June 1, 2026 : • Presley's Addition Record Plat - 2 nd & 3rd Readings • 2090 North Sprigg Street Special Use Permit Denial Mr. Shrimplin explained that the Chapter 25 and Chapter 30 amendments were not on the June 1st agenda for second and third readings due to public comments received by the City Council after the first readings were approved. As a result, the Chapter 25 amendment has been revised to remove the downtown billboards subsection and the Chapter 30 amendment has been revised to remove the proposed change to the CBD regulations . New ordinances will be prepared and will appear on the June 15, 2026 agenda for first reading. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business , the Commission voted unanimously to adjourn the meeting at 5:45 p.m . upon a motion made by Mr. Hagedorn and seconded by Mr. Blank.