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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10/16/2003 CITY OF WHEAT RIDGE PLANNING COMMISSION Minutes of Meeting October 16, 2003 ORI'-"II"AL LJ j I~ 1. CALL THE MEETING TO ORDER Tbe regular meeting ofthe Wheat Ridge Planning Commission was called to order by Chair McNAMEE at 7:00 p.m. in the City Council Chambers of the Municipal Building, 7500 West 29th Avenue, Wheat Ridge, Colorado. 2. ROLLCALL Commission Members Present: Karen Berry John McMillin (arrived at 7:20 p.m.) Marian McNamee Phil Plummer Michael Stites Paula Weisz Kevin Witt Kimberly Davis Staff Members Present: Alan White, Community Development Director Gerald Dahl, City Attorney (arrived at 7:50 p.m.) Ann Lazzeri, Recording Secretary 3. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Following is the official set of Planning Commission minutes for the public hearing of October 16, 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 Commissioner McNAMEE requested an addition to the agenda under old business to have the city attorney address the Commission on ex parte communication. It was moved by Commissioner PLUMMER and seconded by Commissioner WEISZ to approve the order of the agenda as amended. The motion passed unanimously. 5. . APPROVE MINUTES - October 16, 2003 It was moved by Commissioner STITES and seconded by Commissioner PLUMMER to approve the minutes of October 2, 2003 as presented. The motion passed 6-0 with Commissioner DAVIS abstaining and Commissioner McMILLIN absent. 6. PUBLIC FORUM Terry McFadden Paradise Billiards 5250 West 38th Avenue Mr. McFadden appeared to express his frustration with the Urban Renewal process which he Planning Commission October 16, 2003 Page I stated has left his and other affected businesses in a state of uncertainty for the past fourteen months. He also did not believe that long standing businesses in the urban renewal area would be adequately compensated for relocating. 7. PUBLIC HEARINGS A. Case No. WS-03-01 (continued from October 2. 2003): An application filed by the Wheat Ridge Urban Renewal Authority in conjunction with Cornerstone Group for approval of a consolidation ,flat and alley vacation for properties located at 5208 West 38th Avenue, 5250 West 38 Avenue, 5280 West 38th Avenue, 3749 Sheridan Boulevard, 3718 Ames Street and A.P.N. 39-251-01-038 (the parking lot directly to the north of3718 Ames Street). The case was presented by Alan White. In response to requests made by the Commission at the October 2nd meeting, copies of the traffic impact report were made available to Commissioners for this meeting. In regard to questions about traffic calming features, the developer has agreed to pay for two speed humps with locations yet to be decided through a public process. Traffic control signage would include no-left-turns on both curb cuts on Ames, weight limit signs for trucks using Ames Street, and a no-left-turn sign from the site onto northbound Sheridan. In conclusion, Mr. White stated that since the October 2nd Commission meeting, the developer has agreed to move the location of the alley rather than vacating the alley. Commissioner BERRY disclosed to the Commissionthat she has received several phone calls since the last Commission meeting concerning the Walgreens plat. She advised the callers that she could not discuss the matter outside the public hearing process. In response to Commissioner DAVIS, Mr. White stated that no properties in the urban renewal area can be negotiated or acquired until a financing package is approved by the Urban Renewal Authority. Jeff Bailey Cornerstone Development Chair McNAMEE advised Mr. Bailey he was still under oath from the October 2nd Planning Commission meeting. He advised the Commission that the traffic consultant was present to answer questions. Kathleeu Krager Bowers and Krager Chair McNAMEE advised Ms. Krager she was still under oath from the October 2nd Planning Commission meeting. In response to a question from Commissioner BERRY, Ms. Krager stated that while CDOT has restricted access to Sheridan to a % movement, this movement is not restricted by a median and therefore the consultant was requested to analyze this access as a full access. She stated that CDOT doesn't have plans within the next five years to improve this area of Sheridan but medians are included in CDOT's twenty-year plan. In response to questions raised at the last meeting, Ms. Krager stated that traffic generated from existing uses is 100 trips during pm peak hour as opposed to a projected use of 147 trips if Planning Commission October 16, 2003 Page 2 Walgreens is built. Secondly, traffic volumes for the Walgreens at 32nd and Y oungfield were documented. Tbe pm peak hour was 157 trips (compared to an estimated 151 in the traffic study). Drive-through window pm peak hour was 8 trips with 2-3 trips per hour at other times of the day. Twenty-four hour trips at that store are about 10% less than the national average and this could be partly due to the limited hours at this location. Charles Durbin 3703 Ames Street Mr. Durbin was sworn in by Chair McNAMEE. He expressed his opposition to the urban renewal plan which would displace long-established businesses to allow a multi-million dollar corporation to build a store which is not a public use. He asked the Commission to vote against the application. Kimberly McKinney 3690 Ames Street Ms. McKinney was sworn in by Chair McNAMEE. She expressed her opposition to the plat and expressed concern about increased traffic from Walgreens during the time children are playing. She stated that she was told that there was no financing in place and that the Walgreens project was "basically dead." Elise Brougham 3545 Allison Court Chair McNAMEE advised Ms. Brougham she was still under oath from the October 2nd Planning Commission meeting. Ms. Brougham stated that the Comprehensive Plan should be the main guide in all planning decisions. The designation of village center under the Comprehensive Plan for this area should be adhered to in that existing businesses fit the village center designation. She did not believe that replacing these businesses with a 24-hour intense commercial business fit under the village center designation. She questioned the proposed additional 1 % sales tax for this store without a vote of the people. She also suggested a conflict with Mr. White's position as executive director of the Urban Renewal Authority (URA) and Director of Community Development. In response to Commissioner McMILLIN's request for clarification regarding Ms. Brougham's comments, Mr. White stated that he is executive director of the URA, however he cannot make independent decisions in this position and must take direction from the URA. The 1 % additional sales tax referred to by Ms. Brougham is actually a 1 % public improvement fee that has been proposed as part of the financing package and does not require a vote of the people since it is not a citywide sales tax increase. The fee is entered into voluntarily by the developer. He noted that this financing proposal has been used in Lakewood for the Mills project as well as the Villa redevelopment project. In response to a question from Commissioner McMILLIN, Mr. White stated that no other projects in Wheat Ridge have used this fee thus far. Chuck Mandril 4660 Teller Street Chair McNAMEE advised Mr. Mandril he was still under oath from the October 2nd Planning Commission meeting. He expressed frustration with the uncertainty of the urban renewal project over the past sixty weeks which has hurt the affected businesses in this area. He urged Planning Commission October 16, 2003 Page 3 the Commission to deny the application. He further asked the Commission to ask for a financial study of the proposed project because he questioned the projected $75,000 increase in sales tax. He believed a Walgreens would decrease business for the four existing pharmacies in the area rather than generating new revenue. He did not believe the amount of money proposed to be spent on this project would ever be recovered. Chair McNAMEE asked if there were others present who wished to address the matter. There was no response. Commissioner PLUMMER stated that he assumed that all affected properties would be properly paid for and the Walgreens would be an improvement to this corner. Further, if a financing package cannot be established, the project would not happen. Therefore, he would move to approve the consolidation plat. It was moved by Commissioner PLUMMER aud seconded by Commissioner WEISZ to recommend approval of Case No. WS-03-01, a request for a consolidation plat for properties located at 5208 West 38th Avenue, 5250 West 38th Avenue, 5280 West 38th Avenue, 3749 Sheridan Boulevard, 3718 Ames Street and APN 39-251-01-038, for the following reasons: 1. It meets the requirements for a Final Plat. 2. All of the traffic concerns have been answered. Commissioner WEISZ explained that she seconded the motion because, while the vote may be unpopular, the application meets all of the requirements for a final plat and she must base her decision on that criteria alone. Because this plat is only part of a larger application, she encouraged citizens to attend the City Council meeting to voice their concerns because Council has the ability to address issues which are not relevant under the plat consideration. Commissioner McMILLIN concurred with comments offered by Commissioner WEISZ. In his role as a member of the Planning Commission, he stated that he must vote for the plat because it fits all of the city's requirements for a consolidation plat. However, he believed there are many reasons the urban renewal project should not be approved in whole: the neighbors are opposed, business owners wish to stay in their present locations and there is a speculative nature to the financing with an extra 1 % surcharge. Commissioner DAVIS stated that, while the plat meets all the requirements, the citizens have expressed opposition to the project and she would vote against the motion. Commissioner WITT stated that while he has empathy for all those involved, Planning Commission is not the venue to discuss the urban renewal project as a whole and he would vote in favor of the motion because the plat meets all requirements of a consolidation plat. Commissioner STITES stated that he would also vote in favor of the motion because the plat meets all requirements for a consolidation plat. Planning Commission October 16,2003 Page 4 Commissioner BERRY stated that she would vote against the motion based on the fact that information requested at the last Commission meeting was not provided for this hearing. The motion passed 6-2 with Commissioners DAVIS and BERRY voting no. 8. OLD BUSINESS Information session with Gerald Dahl. City Attornev - At the request of Chair McNAMEE, Gerald Dahl reviewed the matter of ex parte contact as it relates to members of Planning 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 PLUMMER and seconded by Commissioner STITES to adjourn the meetiug at 8:30 p.m. The motion passed unanimously. 1Jauan 1(Y2.IJ~ Marian McNamee, Chair a~ Planning Commission October 16, 2003 Page 5