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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03/27/1997 WHEAT R I D GE B OARD O F AD JU S TA'lENT MINUTES OF MEETING March 27, 1997 • 1. CALL T8E MEETING TO ORDER: The meeting was called-to order by Chairman HOVLAND at 7:32 P.M. on March 27, 1997, in the Council Chambers of the Municipal Building, 7500 West 29th Avenue, Wheat Ridge, Colorado. ROLL CALL: MEMBERS PRESENT: Tom Abbott Bill Echelmeyer Paul Hovland Susan Junker Karen Thiessen Linda Mauro MEMBERS ABSENT Bob Howard Robert Walker STAFF PRESENT: Sean McCartney, Planner Mary Lou Chapla, Secretary PUBLIC SSARING The following is the official set of Board of Adjustment minutes for the Public .Hearing of March 27, 1997. A set of these minutes is retained both in the office of the City Clerk and in the Department of Planning and Development of the City of Wheat Ridge. WHEAT RIDGE BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT MINUTES OF MEETING: March 27, 1997 2. APPROVE THE ORDER OF THE AGENDA Page 2 Motion was made by Board Member JUNKER, seconded by Board Member ECHELMEYER, to approve the order of the agenda as printed. Motion carried 5-0. 3. PUBLIC FORVM (This is the time for anyone to speak on any subject not appearing on the agenda.) No one came forward to speak. 4. PUBLIC HEARING A. Case No ?'rTP-97-1; An application by Gary Wilson for a Temporary Use Permit to allow bedding plant sales in a Residential-Two zone district and located at 3502 Wadsworth Boulevard. Sean McCartney presented the staff report. All pertinent • documents were entered into record, which Chairman HOVLAND accepted. Board Member ABBOTT asked if °compatible' in the staff report means adequate screening, buffering and landscaping, and Mr. McCartney replied yes. Staff will work with the applicant regarding signage and outdoor storage when he applies for the building permit. It was noted the last -- applicant for a bedding plant sales at this location was not Mr. Wilson. Board Member ECHELMEYER thought there might be a need for a stop sign on the site when exiting onto Wadsworth Boulevard, and Mr. McCartney said they will discuss this with a traffic engineer. The applicant, Gary Wilson, 4970 Howell Street, Golden, CO, was sworn in. Mr. Wilson said the structure will be a factory made, temporary, portable greenhouse. The greenhouse passes all building codes and will be anchored and has a °6-mil poly' covering attached. Mr. Wilson said there will be no storage as they have two wholesale • WBEAT RIDGE BOARD OF ADJIISTMENT MINUTES OF MEETING: March 27, 1997 Page 3 greenhouses elsewhere and all the items will be brought in daily for sales only. Board Member ECHELMEYER asked if they will have lighting in the evening, and Mr. Wilson replied no, they will not be open passed 7:00 p.m. There will be a `porta-potty' on the site and placed in a proper location. Mr. Wilson stated they would prefer to keep the stand open 7 days a week since the period of time the stand is open is short. The season is roughly 3 months, and by the middle of July sales are pretty much over. There will also be no more than one employee at a time. Access and ingress onto the site was discussed. Board Member ABBOTT thought the applicant would at least like security lighting, and Mr, McCartney said the applicant stated he will remove all materials at night, so lighting at night will not be a factor. Mr. Wilson added there is no electricity on the sight anyway. No further questions were asked. Motion was made by Board Member ABBOTT, that Case No. TUP- 97-1, an application by Gary Wilson, bs APPROVED for the following reasons: 1. The Board finds that based upon all evidence presented and based upon the Board's conclusions relative to the five specific questions to justify the permit, the evidence and facts in this case do support the granting of this request. 2. The site will be appropriately designed, as required by the city, so as to be in harmony and compatible with the character of. the surrounding area. 3. The use has been on this site before and the operation has proven not to overburden the streets, utilities, parks, schools, and public facilities. WITH THE FOLLOWING CONDITIONS: 1, The liability of exiting on Wadsworth Boulevard shall be determined by the city traffic engineer. WHEAT RIDGE BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT Miivurr.S OF MEETING: March 27, 1997 Page 4 2. The Temporary Use Permit will expire_August 15, 1997._ Motion was seconded by Board Member THIESSEN. Motion carried 6-0_ Resolution attached. B. naGa Nn wn-97-~.; An application by Chris Rusch for Pacifica ARKA Kipling/I-70 LLC for approval. of a 25' sign setback variance for property zoned Commercial-One and located at 9500 W. 49th Avenue. Sean McCartney presented the staff report.- All pertinent documents were entered into record, which Chairman HOVLAND accepted. Since this site does not have an actual corner, Mr. McCartney explained how the sight distan_ ce triangle is measured from two imaginary flow lines that intersect. Board Member ECHELMEYER was concerned if they should proceed since there is no building permit for this sign, and Mr. • McCartney assured him they could since there is a building permit for the development. The city would allow a sign up to 7' in height which could be 5' from the property line. However, a 7' sign in this instance would not probably meet the applicant's needs. Since the development is located near the highway, they would be allowed 600 square feet of freestanding signage_ They are allowed two freestanding signs and one could be 50' in height. There are no restrictions on openness because the sign is out of the sight triangle. Board Member ABBOTT asked if the applicant had obtained a permit where would the city have suggested the sign go, and Mr. McCartney replied their only options would have been this variance or a smaller sign to have the sign in this same area. Their parking lot inhibits a sign of any size. This sign is considered a development sign and it designates the tenants and uses in the building. Roof mounted signs would not be allowed. • WHEAT RIDGE BOARD OF ADJtTSTMENT Mic~ur~S OF MEETING: March 27, 1997 Page 5 • Chairman HOVT,AND questioned the 70 Executive Center sign across the street, and Mr. McCartney stated he does not-know where their property line is, so they could have had a variance, however it looks to be in compliance. _., Chriss Rusch, Rusch Signs and Graphics, was sworn in. _ Mr. Rusch entered into record an information sheet, labeled Exhibit `A°, a photo and design sheet, labeled Exhibit `B', and photos labeled Exhibit `C'. He explained the design of the sign. He talked on the landscaping around the sign and noted the sign will be internally illuminated. Mr. Rusch said this is the best location,.for the sign and the most practical place. Even though they are allowed a higher sign, he feels a higher sign would not be appropriate for this business development. The sign will be oriented to attract traffic going both ways on the interstate, however Board Member ECHELMEYER feels the-sign is not as visible for the traffic going west on the interstate. Mr. Rusch said the sign would not be visible if it had to be moved back closer to the building. He mentioned other similar signs in the area. Board Member THIESSEN commented that anyone traveling down I-70 would not be-able to read the individual tenants names with the size of the lettering. Mr. Busch added, the sign is also for identification of the building itself. Board Member MAURO questioned what landscaping would be around the sign, and Mr. McCartney replied they would make sure that everything previously approved for_the overall site plan would be installed. Keith Thompson, architect for the project, was sworn in. He said the corner is very difficult and they wanted to give ADA access off the street and provide a sidewalk from that location to the front door of Building C. The original plan was to have two sign locations, but have since decided not to put any signage on the other corner because of the residents. They will be planting perennials so they can change the colors annually and try to make this a focal point. WHEAT RIDGE BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT MINUTES OF MEETING: March 27, 1997 Page 6 • Mr. Thompson pointed out the entrances into the building. Discussion followed regarding conventional intersections and property lines. He said the street went through at one time, but was vacated when Kipling went in_and dedicated to the property owner of the 70 Executive Center. He believes the-property line was then moved forward. No further questions were asked. Motion was made by Board Member ABBOTT, that Case No. WA- 97-3, an application_by Chriss Rusch for Pacifica ARKA Kipling/I-70 LLC, be APPROVED for the following reasons: 1. The sign is located outside of the sight distance- triangle so will not impair a driver's line of sight. 2. The property is located adjacent to Interstate 70 and the existing character of the. locality is office/professional. 3. The setback situation is caused by an unusually large radius curve on the street and compounded by an unusual truncation of the property line at the sign location. 4. There is no alternative site for the sign. WITH THE FOLLOWING CONDITIONS: 1. A building permit with site plan must be applied for and issued prior to completion of the existing sign. 2. Landscaping acceptable to_ the city shall be placed around the base of the sign and maintained throughout the existence of the sign. Motion was seconded by Board Member uuivrr~R. Discussion followed. Motion failed 3-3, with Board Members ECHELMEYER, MAURO, and THIESSEN voting no. Resolution attached. C. ~aaa nTn WA-97-~; An application by Gary Chipman for approval of a 25' front yard setback variance on Residential-Two zoned property located at 6090 W. 46th Avenue. Board Member ABBOTT wanted to know what portion of the structure does not comply with the setbacks, and Mr. McCartney replied it would be the eastern 10' of the - structure. Discussion followed. Chairman HOVLAND commented • PIHEAT RIDGS BOARD OF ADJ[TSTMENT MINIITES OF MEETING: March 27, 1997 Page 7 • part of the original structure was out of compliance also. • Board Member THIESSEN asked about the trees,-and Mr. McCartney said he does not believe the trees will be removed because the applicant can access the site. Paving will be required and is normally done back to the structure. The garage will be 1320 square feet, even though the applicant is allowed to build a 1400 square foot garage. The applicant, Gary Chipman, 11224 W< 28th Place, was sworn in. Mr. Chipman said he purchased the property because of his hobby of restoring antique automobiles, and the proposed 44' x 30' garage will be_for that use. The garage will be single story and will meet all other setback requirements. He pointed out the two trees in question on the slides and said they are in the right-of-way and belong to the city. Chairman HOVLAND was concerned if the restoring of antique automobiles is an allowed use, and Mr. McCartney said the only use not permitted on site would be the restoring of automobiles for sale. The applicant is the owner of-the property and the vehicles, and is allowed to pursue his hobbies. Mr. Chipman assured the Board this is not a commercial venture. It was noted there were no protests registered. Board Member ABBOTT feels this property has unusual property lines because normally a frontyard faces the street. Discussion followed regarding setback encroachments and property lines. Motion was made by Board Member ABBOTT, that Case NO_ WA-97- 4, an application by Gary Chipman, be APPROVED for the following reasons: 1. The Board finds that based and based upon the Board's ten specific questions to evidence and facts in this of this request. upon all evidence presented conclusions relative to the justify the variance, the case do support the granting 2. The setback is unusual because it is from a common property line and not from the street. The front WSEAT RIDGE BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT Miav~ic.S OF MEETING: March 27, 1997 Page 8 • property line extends into the parcel 30' on the northeast corner of the lot, therefore, a hardship is created in that any structure built on the east side would need a minimum setback of 60' from W. 46th Avenue. 3. Because the proposed structure will be located 36° from W. 46th Avenue it will not alter the essential charac-ter _,_ of the locality. 4. The proposed garage meets all other development requirements. 5. The variance involves approximately 20°s of the structure. WITH THE FOLLOWING CONDITION: - 1. The structure shall be single-story. Motion was seconded by Board Member THIESSEN. Motion carried 6-0. Resolution attached. _ 5. CLOSE THE PUBLIC HEARING • 6. OLD BUSINESS A. Discussions on signs within the city, billboards, appeals and re-applications. 7. NEW BUSINESS A. Approval of Minutes Motion was made by Board Member MAURO, seconded by Board Member ECHELMEYER, that the minutes of February 27, 1997, be approved as printed. Motion carried. 8, ADJOIIRNMSNT Consensus was to adjourn the meeting. Meeting adjourned at 9:40 p.m. ~~~ e ~hc~~~c. Mar o Chapla, Secretary Date Approved: 5-22-97 w/amendment •