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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05/02/2002 CITY OF WHEAT RIDGE PLANNING COMMISSION Minutes of Meeting May 2, 2002 ORIGINAL 1. CALL THE MEETING TO ORDER The regular meeting of the Wheat Ridge Planning Commission was called to order by Chair WEISZ at 7:30 p.m., May 2, 2002, 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 John McMillin Marian McNamee Philip Plummer Nancy Snow Paula Weisz Kevin Witt Staff Members Present: Alan White, Planning Director Bob Goebel, Public Works Director Mary Austin, Planner Ann Lazzeri, Secretary 3. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Following is the official set of Planning Commission minutes for the public hearing of May 2, 2002. 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. Commissioner SNOW requested addition of an item under New Business to discuss a request for a legal opinion from the city attorney. 4. APPROVE ORDER OF AGENDA It was moved by Commissioner COOPER and seconded by Commissioner McNAMEE to approve the agenda with an amendment to the title of Item B to include Article I in the title and the addition of an item under New Business to discuss a request for a legal opinion. The motion passed 8-0. 5. APPROVE MINUTES It was moved by Commissioner PLUMMER and seconded by Commissioner SNOW to approve the minutes of April 4, 2002 as presented. The motion passed 8-0. Planning Commission May 2, 2002 Page 1 6. PUBLIC FORUM There was no one to appear before the Commission at this time. 7. PUBLIC HEARING A. Case No. ZOA-02-02: An ordinance amending Section 26-603.2 of the Wheat Ridge Code of Laws concerning sight distance triangle standards. Alan White stated that proper notice requirements concerning this hearing had been met. He entered all pertinent documents into the record and informed the Commission they had jurisdiction to hear the case. The case was presented by Bob Goebel. The proposed ordinance follows safety guidelines set forth by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials Policy on Geometric Design. He reviewed the staff report which recommended approval of the ordinance. In response to a question from Commissioner WEISZ, Mr. Goebel stated that he did not know exactly how many intersections would be affected and it is planned to correct sight distance triangles as staff becomes aware of them. Commissioner SNOW expressed concern about liability for the city if each intersection in the city is not evaluated. Mr. Goebel stated that there is not adequate stafftime to evaluate each intersection in the city. In response to a question from Commissioner McMILLIN concerning the different heights of vehicles on the road, Mr. Goebel stated that the standard height for a driver's eye is 42 inches. There were no members ofthe public in attendance to address the ordinance. It was moved by Commissioner PLUMMER and seconded by Commissioner SNOW that Case No. ZOA-02-02, an ordinance amending Section 26-603.2 of the Wheat Ridge Code of Laws concerning sight distance triangle standards be amended to add the following words to Section 6: in accordance with the most current edition of the Policy on Geometric Design of Highways and Streets, published by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) and forwarded to City Council with a recommendation of approval. The motion passed unanimously. A. Case No. ZOA-02-03: An ordinance amending Articles I, III and IV of the Wheat Ridge Code of Laws concerning preliminary development plans and preliminary subdivision plans. This case was presented by Mary Austin. She reviewed the staff report which set forth a recommendation of approval of the proposed ordinance which would result in an elimination of redundant information and a reduction in review and processing time for applicants as well as staff. Alan White entered all pertinent documents into the record and stated that proper Planning Commission May 2, 2002 Page 2 notification procedures were followed. Therefore, the Commission had jurisdiction hear the case. In response to a question from Commissioner SNOW, Ms. Austin stated that the proposed ordinance would not eliminate any information that is being required now and, in fact, more information would be required from the developer at the Outline Development Plan stage. Notification procedures would stay the same. Commissioner COOPER asked for clarification of item K. Ms. Austin stated that language had been included to allow consideration of vegetation or land use features adjacent to a proposed development. Alan White stated that this ordinance would not affect any of the options available to Planning Commission when considering a case. There were no members of the public in attendance to address the ordinance. It was moved by Commissioner McNAMEE and seconded by Commissioner PLUMMER to recommend approval of Case No. ZOA-02-03, an ordinance amending Articles I, III and IV of the Wheat Ridge Code of Laws concerning preliminary development plans and preliminary subdivision plans with one amendment to Article I - Development Review: Section 26-102 be changed to Section 26-106. It was moved by Commissioner SNOW and seconded by Commissioner McMillin to amend the motion to provide that the preliminary plan be retained for any piece of property that does not require rezoning to a planned development. The motion failed 5-3 with Commissioners COLLINS, COOPER, McNAMEE, PLUMMER and WITT voting no. A vote was taken on the original motion which passed by a vote of8-0. 8. OLD BUSINESS There was no old business to come before the Planning Commission. 9. NEW BUSINESS A. Request for Legal Opinion - Commissioner SNOW requested a legal opinion from the city attorney regarding the legality of Urban Renewal Authority executive sessions under state law, the charter or other laws. Commissioner McMILLIN requested, in the legal opinion, an answer to the question of when a preliminary development discussion becomes a plan that should become public. There was a consensus of the Commission to request a report from the city attorney regarding this matter. 10. COMMISSION REPORTS There were no commission reports. Page 3 Planning Commission May 2, 2002 11. COMMITTEE AND DEPARTMENT REPORTS There were no committee or department reports. 12. ADJOURNMENT It was moved by Commissioner McNAMEE and seconded by Commissioner COLLINS to adjourn the meeting at 8:30 p.m. The motion passed 8-0. v~ ~~~ Arm Lazzeri, Recording cr ary Planning Commission May 2, 2002 Page 4