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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPZ 08-08-1989 MINUTES OF THE PLANNING AND ZONING BOARD MEETING HELD ON kimpo TUESDAY, AUGUST 8, 1989 Vice Chairman Linebarier called the meeting to order at 6 p.m. and Chairman Swickerath arrived at 6:05 p.m. PRESENT: Chairman Swickerath; Vice Chairman Linebarier; Board members Weeks, Switzer, Shiver, Bond, Sims, and Alternate Carroll; Director of Planning Behrens; Associate Planner Claman; and Deputy Clerk Resnik. ABSENT: Alternate member Breeze. Vice Chairman Linebarier said for the record that there was a quorum of regular members, therefore Alternate Board member Carroll would take part in all discussions but would not formally vote. Vice Chairman Linebarier then relinquished the chair to Chairman Swickerath. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Vice Chairman Linebarier moved to approve the minutes of July 11, 1989, Board member Switzer seconded, and approval was unanimous. Vice Chairman Linebarier explained that Deputy Clerk Resnik handed *or out a one page amendment (page 6) to the July 25, 1989 minutes with the amended paragraph highlighted. Board member Switzer moved to approve the minutes of July 25, 1989 as amended, Board member Bond seconded, and approval was unanimous. NEW BUSINESS Discussion of Off - Street Parking Requirements for Addition to Scottys Located at Bluford Avenue and Old Winter Garden Road Director of Planning Behrens read the staff report and explained that Scottys was in the process of expanding its store and parking area. Director Behrens said staff brought this before the Board to discuss reducing the parking space requirements in order to save some of the trees on the site. Board member Switzer said the information in the packet was not specific enough and he wanted to know which area of the property the expansion would be on. Chairman Swickerath said he had the same problem and said a map would have helped him to understand better what they were asking for. Director of Planning Behrens said a representative from Scottys was at the meeting and planned to explain the expansion in detail. Chairman Swickerath said getting the material ahead of time would have better enabled the Board members to do their homework. Director of Planning Behrens asked Chairman Swickerath if it was the Board's desire to continue the discussion tonight or to table the item to another meeting. The Board agreed to hear the item tonight. Page 2 Planning and Zoning Board Meeting August 8, 1989 Director of Planning Behrens said Tipton & Associates had conducted a traffic study for Scottys that concluded that the heaviest traffic time was generally on Saturdays at about 1:30 p.m. at which time a little more than 100 parking spaces were needed. Director Behrens said the City regulations for "Commercial establishments not otherwise classified" would require 350 spaces to support the square footage that Scottys was proposing as its gross area after the expansion. He said staff decided to bring the issue to the Planning and Zoning Board because it felt that Scottys does not necessarily fit into that category. Director Behrens said if the store does not fit into any of the categories outlined in the Zoning Code, the Code states that the City's Planning Board shall make a determination of the parking demand and thus the parking requirement. Director of Planning Behrens said according to the study conducted by Tipton & Associates, 127 spaces would meet the parking demand created by the store and would also allow many of the trees to be saved. Director Behrens said since the Code allows for the r Planning and Zoning Board to make the determination, staff agreed to allow Scottys to make a presentation. He said staff had not yet seen the proposal that was to be presented. Steve Norris, Construction Manager for Scottys, Inc., said Scottys was recently bought out by another company and the new management planned to upgrade many of the existing stores with the Ocoee store to be one of the first to go through the changes. Mr. Norris explained that the existing lumberyard would be moved to the other side of the building and that the old lumberyard area would be turned into a shaded plant area along Old Winter Garden Road. Mr. Norris said the upgrading would include airconditioning for 45,000 square feet of the retail- warehouse section. He said the lumberyard and additional parking would be in the treed section to the west of the store facing the site from State Road 50. Mr. Norris explained that part of the area between Scottys and the Hardees restaurant was sold by Scottys to a discount auto parts store that planned to build there. Board member Shiver and Chairman Swickerath asked if the parking spaces planned for Scottys also included parking for the discount auto parts store and Mr. Norris said they would not. He said the two sites would be considered separate and the discount auto parts store would provide its own parking spaces. Irr Page 3 Planning and Zoning Board Meeting August 8, 1989 Chairman Swickerath asked what percentage of the building would be warehouse and Mr. Norris said 12,000 square feet. Board member Weeks said he did not have a problem with the number of spaces that Scottys was asking for. He said a reduction in spaces may hurt Scottys' business but he did not see it hurting the City. Board member Weeks said he would rather see more trees and landscaping than more pavement, especially since the traffic study concluded the store did not need the 350 spaces and he personally had never seen the parking lot full. Chairman Swickerath said it appeared to him that the plan did not show a significant amount of trees being saved. Director of Planning Behrens suggested that the Board discuss the issue of parking requirements first, and then talk about the trees. Chairman Swickerath disagreed and said if staff was asking to allow less parking spaces in order to save trees, then the two issues were inter - related and needed to be discussed simultaneously. Director of Planning Behrens said if the Board could determine a parking space requirement, then the staff and the developer could r work on a plan using that requirement that would save the most trees possible. Vice Chairman Linebarier said he would like to see a tree survey first before he made any decisions. Board member Carroll agreed with Director Behrens that the Board was only granted authority on ruling on the number of parking spaces and that any development would then have to abide by the tree ordinance. Chairman Swickerath suggested that the item be tabled until staff could research how other cities handled similar situations. He said that the parking space requirements may decrease as the amount of square footage increases. Chairman Swickerath said he needed more information before he could make a decision. Chairman Swickerath said he was unsure about allowing less parking spaces because even though Scottys may not require them, if the store was to go out of business or relocate and a large chain grocery store moved in, a traffic problem may result. Board member Shiver asked what constituted the warehouse that was discussed earlier and Mr. Norris explained that although it was called a warehouse, in reality it was a retail sales area and not a storage area. Page 4 Planning and Zoning Board Meeting August 8, 1989 Vice Chairman Linebarier said he had no problem with less spaces since he had never seen the parking lot full to capacity. Board members Switzer and Shiver agreed. Chairman Swickerath said he felt it would set a bad precedent if the Board was to arbitrarily change the requirement without first researching the alternatives. Board member Shiver suggested moving the trees but Board member Bond said the cost would prohibit that as an alternative. Board member Sims referred to the Zoning Code and questioned whether Scottys fell under "Commercial not otherwise classified" or "Other, to be determined by the Planning and Zoning Board ". He said the Board should have a clear reason for granting the reduced number of parking spaces. Board member Sims said he may agree with allowing less spaces, but agreed with Chairman Swickerath that further research should be done to give the Board "something to hang their hat on" to prevent opening up the alternative to all business establishments. Board member Sims said that Tipton had done a good job on the study and that his suggestion was no reflection on them but rather to justify the Board's position. He said he was not convinced that saving trees was the reason. Board member Sims said although that was the reason staff gave, he felt it may not be the real reason. Chairman Swickerath said the Board could either refer the item to the Board of Adjustment or vote arbitrarily. Board member Sims said it would not necessarily be an arbitrary vote because the Tipton study was well done. Board member Shiver asked Associate Planner Claman why she felt that the "Commercial not otherwise classified" classification did not apply to Scottys. Associate Planner Claman said the store did not fall neatly into any of the items listed in Chapter III, Section 9.7(6) A -G, with the "Commercial not otherwise classified" category being questionable. Board member Shiver asked why it was questionable and Associate Planner Claman said because the definition was not specific enough and that she felt this was an unusual concept. Associate Planner Claman said Scottys was not simply a retail establishment nor simply a warehouse establishment. She further stated that staff saw the possibility of saving some trees and felt it could be done without causing a traffic problem. Board member Shiver said it sounded more to him like Scottys would need a variance. litarr Page 5 Planning and Zoning Board Meeting August 8, 1989 Board member Shiver asked Associate Planner Claman how she would classify the 'Burdines' department store with the available criteria and Associate Planner Claman said "Commercial not otherwise classified ". Board member Shiver pointed out that 'Burdines' had a warehouse area and was not strictly retail or warehouse either. Director of Planning Behrens said that the possibility of saving some trees was the primary reason this issue was brought before the Board and when staff considered that Scottys may not fit into any of the classifications given, they thought the Planning and Zoning Board should be involved to get the Board's input. Chairman Swickerath said if saving the trees was the main issue, then staff should not request that the Board decide on the parking first and the trees later. Board member Bond said she was personally in favor of saving the trees, and that she thought it would look better driving into the town. Board member Bond said she felt 187 parking spaces was enough since she had never had a problem parking there in the past. `Ir She asked the other Board members if anyone felt similar. Board member Switzer said he was willing to allow less spaces if Scottys was willing to give up the spaces. He cited the Piggly Wiggly shopping center on State Road 50 as an example of mandating a certain amount of parking spaces only to see them empty most of the time. Board member Shiver asked if the site did not have any trees on it and saving trees was not the issue, whether the Board members would still be willing to grant the smaller number of parking spaces. Chairman Swickerath said the way he saw it, the plan would only save about 12% of the trees and probably exceed the landscaping requirements somewhat. Chairman Swickerath moved that the Tipton survey be studied and verified and that the Zoning Code be amended to include a warehousing provision for retail establishments. Board member Sims asked whether the open space requirement would be met if the store was required to put in all 350 parking spaces but Director Behrens and Associate Planner Claman were unsure. William E. Tipton, Jr., of Tipton & Associates, Inc., said the study was based on Scottys Cocoa Beach store which was the only store of the new prototype. He said it was slightly larger than ice, Page 6 Planning and Zoning Board Meeting August 8, 1989 the Ocoee store. Mr. Tipton explained how the traffic counts were done and the specifics of the study including the methodology and the analysis. Chairman Swickerath asked for comments or a motion from the Board. Board member Sims suggested the first motion include a decision on whether the project was being considered under the Zoning Code's Chapter III, Section 9.7(6)h or Section 9.7(8). Board member Shiver moved to accept staff's recommendation as presented in the staff report and Board member Switzer seconded. Board member Sims asked for clarification on whether the motion included that the request was being considered as falling into the Section 9.7(8) category and Board member Shiver said it was. Board member Sims suggested that the motion also be amended to include that the Board used the Tipton report as support for the number of parking spaces requested. Board member Shiver agreed and Board member Switzer agreed to include that in his second of the motion. Vice Chairman Linebarier asked that the motion be further amended to state 186 parking spaces as presented to the Board tonight, *1r rather than the 127 spaces in the staff report. Board member Shiver agreed to amend his motion to move that the Board grant the request to reduce the amount of parking spaces required to 186 under the provision that the store fell into Section 9.7(8) "Uses not listed above" which allowed the Planning and Zoning Board to make a determination of the parking demand to be created by the store, and further moved that the Board's decision took into account the Tipton study. Board member Switzer agreed to second the motion as amended. Upon a roll call vote, Vice Chairman Linebarier and Board members Shiver, Switzer, Bond, Sims, and Weeks all voted in favor of the motion and Chairman Swickerath voted against. Alternate Board member Carroll did not vote since there was already a quorum of regular members. The motion passed 6 -1. Review of "Draft" Housing Element Director of Planning Behrens handed out the interim housing element and asked the Board to review the material and prepare any comments or suggestions for the next meeting. OLD BUSINESS Public Participation Procedures - Formation of Subcommittees to Review Elements of the Comprehensive Plan Director of Planning Behrens said there was not enough time to discuss this item tonight because of the City Commission meeting Page 7 Planning and Zoning Board Meeting August 8, 1989 that would be taking place at 7:30 p.m.. Associate Planner Claman asked the Board members if they would at least indicate which of the subcommittees they would like to serve on. She asked each member to give a first and second choice. Switzer 1. Future Land Use 2. Capital Improvements Weeks 1. Traffic and Infrastructure 2. Intergovernmental Coordination Carroll 1. Future Land Use 2. Housing Swickerath 1. Future Land Use 2. Recreation & Open Space Shiver 1. Capital Improvements 2. Recreation & Open Space Sims 1. Intergovernmental Coordination 2. Capital Improvements Bond 1. Future Land Use 2. Housing Linebarier Vice Chairman Linebarier indicated that he may not have time to serve on a subcommittee. Chairman Swickerath directed staff to place this item first on the next meeting's agenda. Director of Planning Behrens said the Housing and Intergovernmental Coordination elements will also be on the September meeting agenda. After some discussion it was decided that the Board would meet on Saturday, August 19, at 3 p.m., at the Holiday Inn to discuss the Housing Element. Chairman Swickerath reminded the Board members that there would be a joint meeting with the City Commission also on August 19 at 4:30 p.m. at the Holiday Inn. There being no further comments by Board members, Board member Switzer moved to adjourn, Board member Bond seconded, and approval was unanimous. ADJOURNMENT: 7:30 p.m. ice, Page 8 Planning and Zoning Board Meeting August 8, 1989 d-6.14.d CHAI 4144.1d4.4.7 KERATH ATTEST: DEPUTY CLERK RESNIK 'taw r