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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05-11-1999 MINUTES OF THE PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION Now REGULAR MEETING HELD TUESDAY, MAY 11, 1999 CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order by Chairman Switzer at 7:40 p.m. A moment of silent meditation was followed by the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. A quorum was declared present. Chairman Switzer welcomed new member James McNeil and introduced him to those members who had not met him. PRESENT: Chairman Switzer, Vice Chairman Bond, Members Christoefl, Hopkins, McKey, McNeil and Miller. Also present were Planning Director Wagner, Assistant City Attorney Formella, Principal Planner Horne and Deputy City Clerk Green. ABSENT: Members Landefeld and Rhodus. CONSENT AGENDA The consent agenda consisted of approval of item A: A. Minutes of the Planning and Zoning Commission Regular Meeting held on Tuesday, %,,,,. March 9, 1999. Having been advised by the clerk that a correction was needed on page 8 to change Carol Jos lin to Carol Johnson, Chairman Switzer, seconded by Member McKey, moved to approve the consent agenda as corrected. Motion carried 7 -0. NEW BUSINESS ORDINANCE No. 99 -23 - LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE AMENDMENT TO ADD UPGRADED DEVELOPMENT REGULATIONS FOR PROFESSIONAL OFFICE, SERVICE, COMMERCIAL, AND INDUSTRIAL AREAS (LDC -99 -001) - PUBLIC HEARING Planning Director Wagner presented the staff report for the proposed Ordinance to provide new development regulations for City -wide professional office, service, commercial, and industrial areas. He explained that, at the direction of the City Commission, Staff has revised the site development standards utilized within the State Road 50 Activity Center Special Development Plan to form the basis for the new regulations. He said the proposed regulations would still allow creation of Activity Centers, Interchange Impact Areas, and a downtown Overlay District. He directed attention to the detailed areas of change as defined in the staff report. He said, if adopted, the proposed Land Development Code (LDC) Amendment would: (1) create new City -wide Private Property Regulations; *ow (2) create new City -wide Public Property Regulations; Planning and Zoning Commission Regular Meeting ,,,. May 11, 1999 (3) eliminate the Private Area Special Regulations within the State Road 50 Activity Center Special Development Plan to reduce conflicts; (4) eliminate the Public Area Special Regulations within the adopted State Road 50 Activity Center Special Development Plan to reduce conflicts; and (5) delete the Private and Public Area Special Regulations within the State Road 50 Activity Center Special Development Plan. He explained that the Amendment was created by starting with the State Road 50 Activity Center Special Development Plan's Private and Public Area Special Regulations and revising them to be more generic. It includes deletion of all specific references to the State Road 50 Activity Center Special Development Plan; correction of typographical and scrivener's errors; clarification of intent by rewording certain provisions; and the addition of some regulations that were inadvertently left out of the original standards. Assistant City Attorney Formella explained that Exhibit "C" of the staff report showed modification of § 5 -3.2 of the Code to reflect that the Activity Center Special Development Plan will no longer include the Private Area Special Regulations and the Public Area Special Regulations. Mr. Wagner said that, in general, he thought adoption of these regulations City -wide would: %w • make it easier to administer commercial and industrial standards; • offer the ability for staff to work with developers in a more flexible manner; • make it easier for developers to understand. The public hearing was opened and, as no one wished to speak, was closed. Commending the Planning Department, and especially Mr. Wagner, Member McKey said he thought the proposed changes were a tremendous step forward toward having the City's documents consistent. Member McKey requested clarification on the size of large scale projects. Mr. Wagner explained that provisions in the LDC already define 25,000 square feet as the threshold at which a commercial project becomes large scale. He said it was the provision in the Activity Center standard, which varied from as small as 15,000 square feet, that was being raised to 25,000 square feet to make it consistent with the LDC. Mr. Wagner pointed out that members could discuss and give direction about that threshold when the updated LDC comes before them. Member McKey asked if this (the new regulations) would be applied to Silver Star /Clarke Road (the Olympia PUD). Mr. Wagner said they had agreed to follow the State Road 50 Activity Center regulations, not the amended version. Assistant City Attorney Formella said that in a lot of those conditions we have identified the Code as it stood at the time it was being implemented, so if a specific issue came up we would have to look at that particular issue. What 2 Planning and Zoning Commission Regular Meeting Nifty May 11, 1999 was referenced was State Road 50 Activity Center Standards, but the adoption date was not referenced. Mr. Wagner said he does not expect any great differences. Member Miller asked why Lynx does not want to use bus transit cutouts. Mr. Wagner said the Activity Center regulations required everyone to provide a station for Lynx, but Lynx had said they did not want it or need it. He said Lynx often does not want cutouts because buses have difficulty reentering traffic from them. He said Lynx has some definitive stops, but usually the cutouts are fairly long so they can decelerate into them and accelerate out of them. He said Lynx' practice of arbitrarily stopping in the streets to pick up passengers and, especially, to adjust their schedule, had caused considerable controversy. He said the regulation had been loosened to make the rules more flexible for the developer while maintaining the ability for Staff to enforce the requirement if needed in specific cases, but not require it to the point that it stopped the development. Ms. Miller said she thought staff had done a good job with the Amendment. Member Christoefl asked if there would be bus service on Maguire Road. Mr. Wagner said it has not been requested, but should be looked into for the future. Member Christoefl asked why the regulations were limited to only professional office, service, commercial and industrial areas within the community. She suggested they should include the entire City, especially noting the need for higher landscaping standards for multi- family projects. Mr. Wagner explained that the form of the regulations was specifically geared to commercial uses and that it would be difficult to tailor them to include residential. He suggested it would be preferable to boost the regulations for residential development in conjunction with the update of the LDC. He said the consultant could work on those sections of the LDC first and they could be brought back to the board within three or four months. After a lengthy discussion, it was the consensus of the board to recommend the adoption of upgraded regulations for multi - family residential projects as soon as possible. Member McNeil asked about the provisions related to the grouping of outparcels under Site Design Standards in § C.1.b.(iv) on page 16 of the blacklined version, "no more than two outparcels permitted that front on an internal street in a commercial subdivision." He asked how that would relate to, hypothetically, the Mall's future development along Clarke Road. Mr. Wagner explained that the outparcels of the existing mall have been set by the site plan. He said it was the intent of the provisions to discourage strip commercial development and to prevent having so many outparcels along an arterial street that the view plane of the shopping center was obstructed. Member McNeil also asked about the provision which allowed no outparcel lots to be less than an acre. He expressed concern that the one acre requirement might preclude development such as a bagel or coffee shop that would create pedestrian activity near a residential area. He asked Nifty 3 Planning and Zoning Commission Regular Meeting Ni, May 11, 1999 if, for example, the Valvoline at the corner of Clarke /Silver Star would be permitted in future. Mr. Wagner said only if it is on an acre parcel, but noted that the Valvoline outparcel was 9/10 of an acre and the approved plan for the site shows a second use. He said it should be possible to have what Mr. McNeil wanted and yet avoid a cluttered look. Discussion ensued about smaller uses and standards for "whimsical" architecture. Some members expressed the opinion that that standard should be conservative. Vice Chairman Bond said she was pleased with the provision allowing for quick appeals to the Development Review Committee (DRC) and Mr. Wagner explained the appeal process. Member Hopkins asked if the decision is to be given at the meeting that takes place in seven days. Mr. Wagner explained that the appeal must reach the DRC in seven days. If the DRC supports the request, then they go ahead with their plan. If the DRC does not support it, Staff must prepare a staff report and provide documentation to the City Commission in an advertised public hearing within 30 days. In response to a question by Chairman Switzer, Mr. Wagner said the City Attorney does not usually attend DRC meetings. Member McNeil asked if the City has required traffic studies on all commercial development in _..- the past. Mr. Wagner confirmed that it has been a policy of the City to require a traffic study. He said this provision (on page 18) restates that policy and adds a little more emphasis. Member Hopkins asked for clarification for minimizing the pruning of trees (on page 32 § C.2.j. (iii)) Mr. Wagner explained the intent to avoid "lollipop tree" pruning as has been done with oak trees by a business on SR 50. He said the intent is for the trees to screen and soften the commercial look, and explained the procedure for violators of the provision. Chairman Switzer said he thought it was a good ordinance. As had been recommended by staff, Vice Chairman Bond, seconded by Member Hopkins, moved to recommend approval of proposed Ordinance No. 99 -23: Land Development Code Amendment to Add Upgraded Development Regulations for Professional Office, Service, Commercial, and Industrial Areas (LDC -99 -001). Motion carried 7 -0. COMMENTS Planning Director Wagner reported that the groundbreaking ceremony had been held today for a $23,000,000.00 new Ocoee Middle School and he hoped it might stir some redevelopment in the area. 4 Planning and Zoning Commission Regular Meeting May 11, 1999 He reported on the status of ongoing projects in the City. Member McKey asked what was happening with Valvoline, and Mr. Wagner said that the project had been shut down by the City and St. John's River Water Management District because the water and sewer lines had not been installed properly. He said City staff had recently approved their amended plans and they will be redoing all their utilities. Member Christoefl asked when the school on Maguire would be started. Mr. Wagner said it was projected in five years, but he thought it would be begun in three. He said the City can use all 25 acres as a park until the school is built and is now considering ball fields and practice fields for the site. Member Hopkins said she lives across the street from the gazebo on Oakland, and had been told that the City was planning to take that whole block to expand the City complex across the street, possibly to include a new Fire Department. Mr. Wagner said the City has bought a number of parcels in that block and over time intends to buy the whole block. He said it would be a long term acquisition and he knew of no immediate plans. He said the Fire Department was trying to buy property further down Bluford Avenue near Orlando Avenue. He said the City does not have a plan and it is a subject of debate for the City Commission to appropriate funds to develop a master plan for that area. Nimir Member Christoefl said that Matthew's Steak and More has opened in the Plantation Grove Shopping Center. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 8:42 p.m. k aALI9A4 ) Marian Green, Deputy City Clerk o Swi zerfhairm lofty P Y Y , 5