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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05/01/2003 CITY OF WHEAT RIDGE PLANNING COMMISSION Minutes of Meeting May 1, 2003 ORIG;i~'AL 1. CALL THE MEETING TO ORDER The regular meeting of the Wheat Ridge Planning Commission was called to order by Vice Chair WEISZ at 7:00 p.m. in the City Council Chambers of the Municipal Building, 7500 West 29th Avenue, Wheat Ridge, Colorado. 2. ROLL CALL Commission Members Present: Karen Berry Kimberly Davis John McMillin Michael Stites Paula Weisz Commission Members Absent: Marian McNamee (excused) Phil Plummer (excused) Kevin Witt (excused) Staff Members Present: Alan White Travis Crane Ann Lazzeri 3. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Following is the official set of Planning Commission minutes for the public hearing of May 1, 2003. A set of these minutes is retained both in the office of the City Clerk and in the Community Development Department of the City of Wheat Ridge. 4. APPROVE ORDER OF AGENDA It was moved by Commissioner BERRY and seconded by Commissioner McMILLIN to approve the order of the agenda. The motion passed 5-0 with Commissioners McNAMEE, PLUMMER and WITT absent. 5. APPROVE MINUTES It was moved by Commissioner DAVIS and seconded by Commissioner BERRY to approve the minutes of April 17, 2003. The motion passed 5-0 with Commissioners McNAMEE, PLUMMER and WITT absent. 6. PUBLIC FORUM No one indicated a desire to speak at this time. Planning Commission May I, 2003 Page 1 7. PUBLIC HEARINGS A. Case No. MS-02-04 (continued from April 17, 2003): An application filed by Daniel and Diane Brauer for approval of a two-lot minor subdivision plat including a 6-foot variance to the 75-foot lot width requirement in the R-2 zone district, resulting in a lot width of 69 feet on property zoned Commercial-One, Residential-Two and Residential- Three and located at 6375 West 44th Avenue. The case was presented by Travis Crane. He advised the Commission there was jurisdiction to hear the case. He reviewed the staff report, digital presentation and entered all pertinent documents into the record which were accepted by Vice Chair WEISZ. He advised the Planning Commission that a lot width variance is not required in this application as indicated in the case title. Staff recommended approval of the application for reasons outlined in the staff report. In response to a question from Commissioner McMILLIN, Mr. Crane explained that the city is only interested in purchasing the residentially zoned portion of the property (lot 2) for use as a park. Commissioner BERRY asked iflot 2 was under contract with the city. Mr. Crane stated that negotiations with the applicant and Jefferson County Open Space have been in process for some time. Daniel Brauer 6375 West 44th Avenue Mr. Brauer, the applicant, was sworn in by Vice Chair WEISZ. He stated that he has been in contact with Joyce Manwaring of the Parks and Recreation Department as well as with Mr. Callahan of Jefferson County Open Space. He informed the Commission that an agreement has been reached for sale ofthe property to the city and would be finalized immediately if the subdivision plat is approved. Vice Chair WEISZ asked if there were others present who wished to address this matter. There was no response. It was moved by Commissioner DAVIS and seconded by Commissioner BERRY to approve Case No. MS-02-04, a request for a two-lot subdivision located at 6375 West 44th Avenue, for the following reasons: 1. The plat meets all requirements of a final plat. 2. All requirements of the zone districts will be met. The motion passed 5-0 with Commissioners McNAMEE, PLUMMER and WITT absent. Planning Commission May 1, 2003 Page 2 B. Case No. WZ-03-04 (to be continued to Mav 15.2003): An application filed by Excell Fund, LLC for Family Dollar for approval of a rezoning from Restricted Commercial (R-C) to Planned Commercial Development (PCD) and approval of an outline and final development plan for property located at 6090 West 44th Avenue. Due to an error in meeting publication requirements, staff recommended continuation of Case No. WZ-03-04 to the Planning Commission meeting on May 15, 2003. It was moved by Commissioner DAVIS and seconded by Commissioner McMILLIN that Case No. WZ-03-04, a request for approval of a zone change from R-C (Restricted Commercial) to PCD (Planned Commercial Development) and approval of an outline and final development plan for property located at 6090 West 44th Avenue, be continued to May 15,2003. The motion passed 5-0 with Commissioners McNAMEE, PLUMMER and WITT absent. 8. OLD BUSINESS . Commissioner McMILLIN stated that he understood that the City Council publicly chided the Planning Commission for suggesting an 8-foot noise barrier between the kennel on 44th and the park. He suggested that Council members attend Planning Commission on a rotating basis in order to open up lines of communication. He also stated he believed that, since the applicant requested a variance to the setback in order to gain an economic advantage, that a trade-off to request a noise barrier was justified. Commissioner DAVIS commented that the minutes were sketchy and didn't fully explain the reasons for Commissioner McMILLIN's condition-that barking dogs bothered people who were using the park. She expressed concern that the City Council directed the city attorney to review city rules and regulations with the Planning Commission and instruct the Planning Commission regarding its authority to set conditions. For the record, she stated that these comments "irked her to death." She took offense to Councilman Edward's comment that the Planning Commission's action wasted the Council's time and requested the record to reflect that during the City Council meeting, the mayor erroneously assigned an ordinance number to a motion which wasted the Council's time. She also commented that the City Council and Planning Commission should work together for the betterment of city. Alan White stated that he would arrange to have another session with the city attorney to provide further training for the Commission. He explained that the problem with the condition to place an 8- foot barrier was not consistent with city limitations of 6 feet. An 8- foot barrier could not be enforced without approval of a variance for the extra two feet. There was also a concern expressed by the fire district that the wall would have blocked fire access. Commissioner McMILLIN stated that it would have been helpful ifhe had been informed during the meeting about the 6-foot limitation. There was discussion about conducting joint meetings between the City Council and Planning Commission. Commissioner BERRY commented that she knows of other jurisdictions that provide an annual recap of action taken by city council on planning Planning Commission May 1, 2003 Page 3 commission recommendations in order to evaluate the council's and planning commission's concerns. Alan White suggested one solution would be for Commissioners to ask questions of staff during the meeting about the appropriateness of a possible condition. In regard to Commissioner McMILLIN's suggestion to have individual council members attend Planning Commission meetings, he suggested that it might be better to meet with the City Council as a whole. There was a consensus of the Commission to request Alan White to arrange a joint meeting with the City Council. . The applicant for Case No. WZ-03-04 addressed the Commission to state that he was unaware his case had been continued and expressed concern about the timeline to meet his closing date. Alan White apologized and assured the applicant that, even with continuance of the case, the timing of first and second readings of the ordinance would still enable him to meet his deadlines. 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 STITES and seconded by Commissioner BERRY to adjo the meeting at 7:35 p.m. The motion passed unanimously. , a-~~ Ann Lazzeri, Recordi g ecretary Page 4 Planning Commission May 1,2003