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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05/03/2001 ORIGINAL CITY OF WHEAT RIDGE PLANNING COMMISSION Minutes of Meeting May 3, 2001 1. CALL THE MEETING TO ORDER The meeting was called to order by Chair McNAMEE at 7:30 p.m., May 3, 2001, in the City Council Chambers of the Municipal Building, 7500 West 29th Avenue, Wheat Ridge, Colorado. 2. ROLL CALL Commission Members Present: Jerry Collins Paulette Cooper Deao Gokey Mariao McNamee Naocy Snow Janice Thompson Paula Weisz Commission Members Absent: Mark Miller Staff Members Present: Alao White, Planning Director Meredith Reckert, Sr. Planner Jerry Dahl, City Attorney Bob Goebel, Public Works Director Mike Garcia, Development Review Engineer Greg Knudson, City Engineer Steve Nguyen, Traffic Engineer Arm Lazzeri, Secretary 3. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE The following is the official set ofPlaoning Commission minutes for the public hearing of May 3, 2001. A set of these minutes is retained both in the office of the City Clerk aod in the Department of Planning aod Development of the City of Wheat Ridge. 4. APPROVE ORDER OF AGENDA It was moved by Commissioner SNOW and seconded by Commissioner COLLINS that the agenda be approved as presented. The motion passed 7-0 with Commissioner MILLER absent. 5. APPROVE MINUTES It was moved by Commissioner COLLI NS and seconded by Commissioner COOPER to approve the minutes of AprilS, 2001 as presented. The motion passed 6-0 with Commissioner SNOW abstaining and Commissioner MILLER absent. Planning Connnission May 3, 2001 Page I 6. PUBLIC FORUM There was no one to appear before the Commission 7. PUBLIC HEARING A. Case No. WS-OO-Ol: (continued indefinitely from November 2, 2000) - An application submitted by Applewood Building Compaoy, Inc. for approval of a ten-lot major subdivision (preliminary aod final subdivision plat) for property zoned Residential-One aod located at 9737 West 32nd Avenue with a variaoce to Section 4-B-5 ofthe Subdivision Regulations pertaining to the maximum length of a cul-de-sac. Prior to the presentation, Commissioner SNOW called for a point of order. Because this case was not to come before the Planning Commission until the application was complete, she asked if the six required items were now complete. Meredith Reckert replied that there were revisions on the drainage report that had not yet been reviewed by the staff. Mike Garcia explained that the developer submitted corrections to drainage plaos this week aod staff had not yet had time to review them. There were items on the construction plaos that the staff had not reviewed. In response to a question from Commissioner COLLINS, Alao White stated his opinion that the Commission could hear the case aod determine what level of information is not available. It was his understaoding that the corrections were somewhat minor in nature. Commissioner COLLINS requested that the Commission make a motion regarding whether or not to proceed with the hearing. It was moved by Commissioner Gokey that Case No. WS-OO-Ol be heard in its entirety. The motion failed for lack of a second. Commissioner THOMPSON commented that it was previously agreed that the Commission would not hear this case until it could be presented in a complete manner. It was moved by Commissioner THOMPSON and seconded by Commissioner SNOW that the Commission hear the variance portion of the application because the variance would need to be granted regardless of the type of development that occurs on this property. The motion passed 6-1 with Commissioner GOKEY voting no and Commissioner MILLER absent. It was moved by Commissioner SNOW and seconded by Commissioner COOPER that hearing of the preliminary and final subdivision plats be continued until the Planning Commission meeting of May 17,2001. The motion passed 6-1 with Commissioner GOKEY voting no and Commissioner MILLER absent. Ms. Reckert reviewed the portion of the staff report which pertained to the variaoce request aod presented slides aod overheads ofthe application. She reviewed the criteria used in the evaluation of variaoce requests. All pertinent documents were entered into the record aod accepted by Chair McNamee. Planning Commission May 3, 2001 Page 2 Ms. Reckert requested direction regarding two letters received by staff that addressed the drainage portion of the application. Chair McNAMEE directed staff to present these letters at the time the preliminary aod final subdivision plats are heard by the Commission. In response to a question from Commissioner COLLINS, Ms. Reckert stated that the fire department had no concerns with the length of the proposed cul-de-sac. Commissioner GOKEY noted that there are two other cul-de-sacs (one on Independence Street & one on Jellison Street) in the area that exceed the length of the one proposed by the developer. In response to a question from Commissioner SNOW, Mike Garcia stated that the Public Works Department had no problem with the length of the proposed cul-de-sac. Commissioner GOKEY asked to hear from those present who lived on the Independence cul- de-sac. Tim Buchanan 14700 West 66th Place - #6 Arvada, CO Mr. Buchaoao, legal counsel for the Applewood Development Compaoy, was sworn in by Chair McNAMEE. He requested the Commission to reconsider their previous action aod hear the entire case at this time. He presented comments on the variaoce request to allow a 122-foot additional length on the cul-de-sac. He stated that the property is unique in that it is bounded on three sides with development. One side has a ditch aod the other side has a street which leaves only one access to his client's property and the cul-de-sac would provide the safest aod most appropriate access to residences. The proposed cul-de-sac would also be in character with the rest ofthe neighborhood. Chair McNAMEE asked to hear from those present who wished to address this issue. Virginia Kanz 3385 Independence Court Ms. Kaoz was sworn in by Chair McNAMEE. She spoke in opposition to the variaoce that would add two more homes to a situation that is already overcrowded. She expressed concern about the impact of drainage on the neighborhood. Bob Eisinger 3395 Independence Court Mr. Eisinger was sworn in by Chair McNAMEE. He stated that he has lived at the end of the cul-de-sac bulb on Independence for sixteen years aod has never experienced any problems in accessing his property. Chair McNAMEE asked if there were others present who wished to address this matter. Hearing no response, she declared the public hearing to be closed. Planning Commission May 3, 2001 Page 3 It was moved by Commissioner SNOW and seconded by Commissioner GOKEY that the request for approval of a 122.91-foot cul-de-sac length variance on Residential-One zoned property located at 9737 West 32nd Avenue be recommended for APPROVAL for the following reasons: 1. Circumstances are unique as the property being subdivided is over 700 feet deep and the property is landlocked by previous developments to the east, west and north. 2. Alternative designs with connections to the east or west would have a detrimental impact on area property owners. 3. Granting of the variance would not alter the character of the area as the cul-de- sacs to the east and west both exceed 500 feet. 4. The longer cul-de-sac should not increase congestion in the public streets or have a negative affect on property values. S. Granting of the variance should result in a more efficient subdivision design. The motion passed 7-0 with Commissioner MILLER absent. 8. OLD BUSINESS There was no old business to come before the Commission. 9. NEW BUSINESS There was no new business to come before the Commission. 10. COMMISSION REPORTS There were no commission reports. 11. COMMITTEE AND DEPARTMENT REPORTS There were no committee or department reports. 12. ADJOURNMENT It was moved by Commissioner SNOW and seconded by Commissioner GOKEY to adjourn the meeting at 8:12 p.m. The motion passed unanimously. '1i&A~fV1(,J.h~ AN McNAMEE, Chair ~cr.~ Arm Lazzeri, ReCord~ary Planning Commission May 3, 2001 Page 4