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HomeMy WebLinkAbout12/18/2003 CITY OF WHEAT RIDGE PLANNING COMMISSION Minutes of Meeting December 18, 2003 ORIGINAL 1. CALL THE MEETING TO ORDER The regular meeting ofthe Wheat Ridge Planning Commission was called to order by Chair McNAMEE at 7:02 p.m. in the City Council Chambers of the Municipal Building, 7500 West 29th Avenue, Wheat Ridge, Colorado. 2. ROLL CALL Commission Members Present: John McMillin Marian McNamee Phil Plummer (arrived at 7:04 p.m.) Paula Weisz Scott Wesley Kevin Witt Staff Members Present: Alan White, Community Development Director Kathy Field, Administrative Assistant 3. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Following is the official set of Planning Commission minutes for the public hearing of December 18, 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 WEISZ and seconded by Commissioner WITT to approve the agenda as presented. The motion passed unanimously. 5. APPROVE MINUTES - December 4, 2003 It was moved by Commissioner McMILLIN and secouded by Commissioner WESLEY to approve the minutes of December 4, 2003 as presented. The motion passed with Commissioners WEISZ and WITT abstaining. 6. PUBLIC FORUM There were none present to address the Commission. 7. PUBLIC HEARINGS A. Case No. ZOA-03-19: An ordinance amending Section 26-621 ofthe Wheat Ridge Code of Laws pertaining to parking in residential areas. The case was presented by Alan White. He advised the Commission there was jurisdiction to hear the case and reviewed the staff report. Planning Commission December 18, 2003 Page 1 Commissioner McMILLIN suggested that language be added to clarify that if an RV is parked on the side, but a portion of it extends into the front yard, it would be counted as an R V parked in the front yard. Commissioner McMILLIN referred to the 6-foot height limitation, and suggested that specific language be added regarding boat trailers because, while a boat trailer would not exceed the 6- foot limitation, adding a boat would most likely exceed that 6-foot limit. Alan White commented that this would come under the exempt status. In response to a question from Commissioner McMILLIN, Alan White estimated that variance fees would fall between $200 and $500. Commissioner McMILLIN then suggested that variance fees be forgiven for a certain period of time to allow citizens to apply for a variance without charge. Commissioner WESLEY asked if there are height limitations for boats. Alan White explained that height limitations presently apply only to structures. Chair McNAMEE invited public comment at this time. Don MacDougall 9815 W. 37th Ave. Mr. MacDougall was sworn in by Chair McNAMEE. He did not feel lot sizes had been adequately taken into consideration in this ordinance. He has lived in his present location for 35 years and has never received a complaint about his horse trailers and stated he was in favor of a grandfather clause. Victor Olson 2620 Upham St. Mr. Olson was sworn in by Chair McNAMEE. He questioned the objective behind the regulations. Alan White responded that it was developed to help clean up the appearance of the City. Mr. Olson questioned where such regulations had been effective and what ordinance the regulations were modeled after. He objected to the whole concept of regulating RV's. Tom Gillen 3250 Nelson St. Mr. Gillen was sworn in by Chair McNAMEE. He thought the ordinance was a good compromise. He thanked Alan White and staff for their work on the issue. Roger Davidson 4590 Vance St. Mr. Davidson was sworn in by Chair McNAMEE. He stated he thought the City was shooting itself in the foot by making these rules. He asked about non-operative vehicles and was told they are handled under the nuisance code. He asked about vehicles parked partially in the front yard. Planning Commission December 18, 2003 Page 2 Denver Johnson 2948 Vivian St. Mr. Johnson was sworn in by Chair McNAMEE. He commented that the rules were being established for aesthetic reasons. He has a utility trailer and an RV. He explained that his house sits on an angle on a comer lot and asked how the rules of front yard and side yard would apply in his situation. Jim Opp 3232 Vivian Dr. Mr. Opp was sworn in by Chair McNAMEE. He explained his situation. His lot backs up to Lena Gulch and he can't access his back yard from the rear. He can't access his back yard from the side and he can't park on the side because the houses are too close together, so he must park his RV and trailer in the front yard. He suggested a holiday period for enforcing the regulations so that residents could apply for variances. Polly Pinkston 10630 W. 46th Ave. Ms. Pinkston was sworn in by Chair McNAMEE. She asked if the regulations applied to her property zoned A-2. Alan White replied that the regulations only apply to residentially zoned property and that they would not apply to her. She thanked staff for their work. Kevin Craig 10615 W. 46th Ave. Mr. Craig was sworn in by Chair McNAMEE. He questioned if there would be a height problem with trailers and whether the 6-foot exemption applied with or without contents loaded on it. Alan White responded that it would depend - empty and less than 6 feet it would be exempt; loaded and over 6 feet it would not be exempt; loaded and under 6 feet it would be exempt. Mr. Craig supported the holiday period to apply for variances. Vanessa Moreno 6671 W. 26th Ave. Ms. Moreno was sworn in by Chair McNAMEE. She commented about the proposed setbacks. In her case, the increased setback would actually make her trailer more visible. Commissioner WESLEY commented that the sign of a good govemment is one that changes laws according to times. Because there seems to be a lot of confusion about this ordinance and because there seems to be no precipitating action to warrant the ordinance, he believed there should be more information in order to make a fully informed decision. Commissioner McNAMEE stated she was strongly opposed to having horse trailers included in this ordinance. One of the nice things about the city is the number oflarge lots and horse properties. She also commented that she had never seen a problem with RV's in the city. She believed that setback issues need to be examined more closely. Commissioner WEISZ commented that she believed the ordinance presented a good compromise from the more restrictive ordinance. She agreed that a further compromise would be a holiday of nine months from fees for variance applications. Planning Commission December 18, 2003 Page 3 Commissioner PLUMMER agreed that horse trailers should be eliminated from the ordinance and suggested that a waiver of variance fees be allowed for a period of up to two years. He further commented that the Commission should act upon the ordinance at this time. Commissioner McMILLIN disagreed that the Commission should act upon the ordinance at this time because there is not a full Commission and he didn't believe there was any pressure from City Council to take immediate action on this matter. He suggested continuing discussion of the ordinance until January. He also believed that it will take a complicated ordinance to address everyone's issues. He further agreed with a fee holiday. He suggested that the Commission meet with the Board of Adjustment to discuss variances for RV's. He commented that he felt a grandfather clause would be feasible and disagreed with the 15- foot rear yard setback requirement. It was moved by Commissioner PLUMMER and seconded by Commissioner WEISZ to recommend approval of an ordinance amending Section 26-621 of the Wheat Ridge Code of Laws pertaining to parking in residential areas with an amendment to allow a waiver of variance fees for a period of two years after the ordinance is adopted and that horse trailers be eliminated. Commissioner McMILLIN offered the following friendly amendments: Reduce the rear yard setback from fifteen feet to five feet. If the RV or loaded vehicle is less than six feet in height, it can be parked next to the rear property line. If any portion of an RVextends beyond the front structure of the house, it would be counted as a "front-yard" RV. To determine whether a trailer is exempt or non-exempt, it must be loaded with its intended cargo of boats, snowmobiles or motorcycles. The amendments were accepted by Commissioners PLUMMER and WEISZ. The motion passed 5-1 with Commissioner WESLEY voting no. 8. OLD BUSINESS . Commissioner McMILLIN asked about the status of an earlier request for staff to investigate a lighting code based on objective measurements. Alan replied that this request was taken to Council and they also requested staff to pursue the matter. Commissioners PLUMMER and McMILLIN volunteered to prepare a report based on their research resources. 9. NEW BUSINESS . Alan White advised the Commission that the next Planning Commission meeting falls on January 1,2004 (New Year's Day). It was moved by Commissioner PLUMMER and seconded by Commissioner WEISZ that the January 1,2004 Planning Commission meeting be canceled. The motion passed unanimously. 10. COMMISSION REPORTS There were no commission reports. Page 4 Planning Commission December 18, 2003 11. COMMITTEE AND DEPARTMENT REPORTS There were no committee and department reports. 12. ADJOURNMENT It was moved by Commissioner PLUMMER and seconded by Commissioner WESLEY to adjourn the meeting at 9:08p.m. The motion passed unanimously. (!jat.L(;J!\ /J"bIJofl\...OO ../ Marian McNamee, Chair ~,~ Planning Commission December 18, 2003 Page 5 PUBLIC FORUM ROSTER (December 18, 2003) THIS IS THE TIME FOR ANYONE TO SPEAK ON ANY SUBJECT NOT APPEARING ON THE AGENDA. (Comments may be limited to 3 minutes) Please print name, address and phone number. 6/ A~ [079 E ~-7 l0 6' 1 e Aplann ing\forms\pfroster