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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03/20/2008 ....~J.( ~ ~ City of ?Wheat:R;Ldge PLANNING COMMISSION Minutes of Meeting March 20, 2008 ORIGINAL 1. CALL THE MEETING TO ORDER The meeting was called to order by Chair BRINKMAN at 7:03 p.m. in the City Council Chambers ofthe Municipal Building, 7500 West 29th Avenue, Wheat Ridge, Colorado. 2. ROLL CALL OF MEMBERS Commission Members Present: Anne Brinkman Jim Chilvers Dick Matthews Davis Reinhart Kim Stewart Steve Timms Commission Members Absent: Jerry Scezney Staff Members Present: Ken Johnstone, Community Development Director Sally Payne, Sr. Planner Ann Lazzeri, Recording Secretary 3. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE 4. APPROVE THE ORDER OF THE AGENDA It was moved by Commissioner MATTHEWS and seconded by Commissioner REINHART to approve the order of the agenda. The motion passed unanimously. 5. APPROVAL OF MINUTES - March 6, 2008 It was moved by Commissioner MATTHEWS and seconded by Commissiouer STEWART to approve the minutes of March 6, 2008 as presented. The motion passed 5-0 with Commissioner REINHART abstaining and Commissioner SCEZNEY absent. 6. PUBLIC FORUM (This is the time for any person to speak on any subject not appearing on the agenda.) There was no one to address the Commission at this time. Planning Commission Minutes 1 March 20, 2008 7. PUBLIC HEARING A. Case No. ZOA-08-01: An ordinance amending Section 26-803 ofthe Wheat Ridge Code of Laws pertaining to floodplain control. This case was presented by Tim Paranto, Director of Public Works. New floodplain studies for Clear Creek and Lena Gulch have been accepted by the Urban Drainage and Flood Control District. The new studies are scheduled to be adopted by City Council and references in Article VIII of Chapter 26 must be updated. All zoning code revisions must have a public hearing in front of Planning Commission. In response to a question from Commissioner REINHART, Mr. Paranto explained that houses added to the floodplain would be required to have flood insurance. Those houses removed from the floodplain would not be required to have flood insurance. There are houses that will be removed from the floodplain under the amendment as well as houses that will be added to the floodplain. In response to a question from Commissioner TIMMS, Mr. Paranto outlined some of the stringent requirements for construction in a floodplain area. Chair BRINKMAN asked if there were members of the public who wished to address the Commission. Hearing no response, the public hearing was closed. It was moved by Commissioner MATTHEWS and seconded by Commissioner REINHART that Case No. ZOA-08-01, a proposed amendment to Section 26-803.G. of Article VIII, Floodplain Control, of the Wheat Ridge Code of Laws, be forwarded to City Council with a recommendation of approval for the following reasons: 1. The proposed legislation adopts the new studies. 2. It will allow the City to administer activities within the correct floodplain boundaries. The motion passed 6-0 with Commissioner SCEZNEY absent. 8. STUDY SESSION A. Neighborhood Revitalization Strategy Ken Johnstone presented this matter. He reviewed the staff report and a digital presentation regarding adoption of the Neighborhood Revitalization Strategy (NRS) as an amendment to the Comprehensive Plan. The presentation included a complete review ofthe NRS. This discussion is merely a study session. A public hearing will be held at a future time. Planning Commission Minutes 2 March 20, 2008 In July of2005, City Council accepted the NRS and established its findings and recommendations as guiding principles for revitalizing the City. Therefore, staff was given informal direction in a January 2008 City Council Study Session to adopt the NRS as a formal amendment to the Comprehensive Plan for reasons outlined in the staff report. Ajoint work session will be held with the Planning Commission and City Council on April 21 st to discuss a preliminary work program to update the Comprehensive Plan. Commissioner STEWART commented that she was pleased to see the Orchard District name changed to Fruitdale District. Commissioner REINHART asked ifhe were correct in understanding that the language in the NRS as an amendment to the Comp Plan would supersede prior language in other portions of the Comp Plan. Mr. Johnstone stated that this was correct. Commissioner REINHART also commented that the current Comp Plan seems to only outline what already exists in the city. Commissioner MATTHEWS commented that he believed adoption of the NRS as an amendment to the Comp Plan would make land use planning more predictable. In response to a question from Commissioner BRINKMAN, Mr. Johnstone stated that the NRS is a strategic document that is not a Comp Plan. The NRS has portions that make land use and process recommendations. The NRS would be considered an addendum to the Comp Plan. Further, the sub-area plans would always stand alone. Commissioner REINHART asked Mr. Johnstone to clarify the term "aggressive" when describing the document. Mr. Johnstone stated that it is a document that says it's time to look at where the city is and then be aggressive in taking advantage of opportunities rather than being passive. Commissioner REINHART stated that he is supportive of this plan. (Chair BRINKMAN declared a recess at 8:21 p.m. The meeting was reconvened at 8:29 p.m.) Mr. Johnstone stated that his staff has been working with the Wheat Ridge 2020 staffto learn their experience with reaching out to the development community. This has showed that there are still significant obstacles to development that can be better addressed in the code. Some of the issues are contained in the city charter. These are significant issues for the city. It is important to acknowledge that some issues are technical and some are more political and emotional. One example is that the city cannot initiate upzoning. Staff has proposed to look at the issues in a more strategic and systematic way with both short-term and long-term plans of attack. Planning Commission Minutes 3 March 20, 2008 Commissioner MATTHEWS expressed appreciation to the staff for the work involved in this matter and that this is the right direction to take. Commissioner CHIL VERS stated that he has attended WRZ020 and other meetings over the past few years and one of the obstacles has appeared to be the density issue. Commissioner STEW ART stated that the plan overall is good for Wheat Ridge. Some things will face more obstacles. There are a lot of areas that need redoing but some can be upgraded without scraping and redoing. Commissioner BRINKMAN commented that more public education is needed in relation to taxes and revenue that are involved in making changes. Commissioner STEWART agreed. Mr. Johnstone stated that May 15th is a target date for a Planning Commission public hearing to consider adoption of the NRS as part ofthe Comp Plan. Commissioner BRINKMAN suggested that a link to the NRS be placed on the city's web site. 9. OTHER ITEMS There were no other items to come before the Commission. 10. ADJOURNMENT It was moved by Commissioner STEWART and seconded by Commissioner DAVIS to adjourn the meeting at 8:54 p.m. ~(wl(~ Anne Brinkman, Chair Cp cLu ~ lJ.~ Ann Lazzeri, Secretary Planning Commission Minntes 4 March 20, 2008