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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06/01/171. 2 3. 4. 6 ' Cily of ��WheatP,tdgc PLANNING COMMISSION Minutes of Meeting June 1, 2017 CALL THE MEETING TO ORDER The meeting was called to order by Chair OHM at 7:02 p.m. in the City Council Chambers of the Municipal Building, 7500 West 291h Avenue, Wheat Ridge, Colorado. ROLL CALL OF MEMBERS Commission Members Present: Commission Members Absent Dirk Boden Alan Bucknam Emery Dorsey Donna Kimsey Janet Leo Scott Ohm Vivian Vos Amanda Weaver Staff Members Present: Meredith Reckert, Senior Planner Lauren Mikulak, Senior Planner Mark Westberg, Engineering Projects Supervisor Tammy Odean, Recording Secretary PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE APPROVE ORDER OF THE AGENDA The Commission discussed amending the order of the agenda to hear Case No. WS - 16 -02 first and hear the code amendment second. It was moved by Commissioner BUCKNAM and seconded by Commissioner BODEN to approve the order of the agenda as amended. Motion carried 7-0. 5. APPROVAL OF MINUTES — May 18, 2017 It was moved by Commissioner VOS and seconded by Commissioner LEO to approve the minutes of May 18, 2017, as amended. Motion carried 7-0. Planning Commission Minutes June 1, 2017 -1— 6. PUBLIC FORUM (This is the time for any person to speak on any subject not appearing on the agenda.) No one wished to speak at this time. 7. PUBLIC HEARING A. Case No. WS -16-02: An application filed by Merkwood Homes for approval of a 7 -lot subdivision plat for a property zoned Residential -One (R-1) and located at 11435 West 32nd Avenue. Ms. Reckert gave a short presentation regarding the Subdivision Plat and the application. She entered into the record the contents of the case file, packet materials, the zoning ordinance, and the contents of the digital presentation. She stated the public notice and posting requirements have been met, therefore the Planning Commission has jurisdiction to hear this case. Ms. Reckert also handed out an updated version of the Merkwood Estates replat and another letter of objection. Commissioner BUCKNAM asked if the intent of the City is to construct a connector to have 33rd Avenue become a through street. Ms. Reckert said yes at the developer's expense. Commissioner BUCKNAM also asked about the alignment of the drainage easement on the Baptist Church property and Robb Street. He asked for comments from Mr. Westberg regarding the traffic if the connection of 33" Avenue goes through. Mr. Westberg explained that the culvert that runs under 32nd Avenue discharges on the church property but meanders to this new property and would be under Robb Street. With regards to the 33rd Avenue connection between Routt and the subdivision to the east, Mr. Westberg explained the ROW for 33rd Avenue has been in place since 1983 when Applewood Brookside was platted. It is critical to provide this connection to go east or west, so the residents have an option instead of only one direction. In addition, not 100% of the Robb Street traffic will be going through the current subdivision, it will be dispersed in each direction. Commissioner DORSEY asked about the elevation drop from 32nd Avenue to the subject property and wanted to know if it will be filled like it was done to make the connection between 32nd Avenue and Routt Street. Mr. Westberg explained that Robb Street will not connect to 32nd Avenue. Robb Street will be about 5 -feet below 32nd Avenue and there will be a connection of sidewalk ramps stepping up for pedestrians to get from Robb to 32nd Avenue. Planning Commission Minutes -2— June 2— June 1, 2017 Commissioner KIMSEY asked about the letters from the citizens distributed earlier by Staff and the concern about the 33rd Avenue connection and school traffic coming through. She wanted to know where the school is in relation to this property. Ms. Reckert showed on the map where the school is; on 33rd Avenue between Pierson and Parfet. Commissioner VOS asked about the need for a Homeowners' Association (HOA) and why one is needed for such a small development. Ms. Reckert explained an HOA is need if there are common elements that need to be maintained to serve the subdivision. In this case, the drainage channel to Lena Gulch would be included in the HOA. Commissioner VOS also asked where the detention pond will be located on this site and how it will be drained. Ms. Reckert showed on the map that it will be on the southern end of lot 7. Mr. Westberg added the pond will treat the water before it is discharged to Lena Gulch. Commissioner VOS asked what the concern is to make 33rd Avenue a through street. Staff explained that if a property is developed and exceeds 4 lots, a dedicated public street is required instead of a private drive. The design is analyzed to see whether the residents can get safely in and out of a subdivision, in addition to emergency vehicles. Commissioner LEO asked if when Quail Hollow developed, whether it was disclosed that 33rd Avenue would be extended to the west. Ms. Reckert did not know how it was advertised, but during the public hearing process, the potential extension was made known. Commissioner OHM asked about the permanent drainage easement on the church site and wondered if it is common to have off-site easements to make a subdivision's drainage system function. . Mr. Westberg explained it is not uncommon. Commissioner VOS asked whether the improvements for Consolidated Mutual Water Company would be done at the owner's expense. Planning Commission Minutes -3 — June 1, 2017 Ms. Reckert replied affirmatively. Commissioner VOS asked whether Robb Street would be maintained as a fire lane. Ms. Reckert said it would. Commissioner VOS also wanted to know what the Recreation and Park fee is. Ms. Reckert explained that for any new residential subdivision an assessment is done to see the impact the new residents will have on Parks and Recreation facilities. It is usually a fee assessment of about $2500 per new household. Commissioner VOS asked if the subdivision approval is contingent on the connection of 33`d Avenue. Ms. Reckert explained that the proposed design was the only way Staff would support the request. Commissioner BUCKNAM asked if there are parking restrictions on one side of Robb Street due to the fire lane. Ms. Reckert said yes. Discussion continued regarding traffic to and from Prospect Valley Elementary Ms. Reckert and Mr. Westberg indicated that the City does not designate the access for drop offs and pickups at the school. They indicated that the option to use 33rd Avenue to access the school would be a positive impact on the area. Steve Merker, Applicant 6990 W. 38' Avenue, Wheat Ridge Mr. Merker explained he lives and works in the City and has followed the design direction from Staff. . Commissioner VOS asked if he would like to see 33`d Avenue to go through to make the development happen. Mr. Merker said his original plan did not have the 33`d Avenue connection but that he worked with staff to propose a design that would be supported. He is aware that not all the people will be happy about the connectivity, but it has been the City's vision for a long time. Stephen Archer 3260 Routt Street Planning Commission Minutes -4— June 4— June 1, 2017 Mr. Archer's concerns are traffic, emergency vehicle access and the hammerhead turnaround. He also addressed section 26-412 in the City's Municipal Code with regards to street design referencing design requirements for cul-de-sacs and dead- end streets. Mark Hillman 3310 Routt Street Mr. Hillman had concerns about traffic, but not from the new subdivision. He was concerned with school traffic if 33rd Avenue is connected as a through street. He would like to see 33`d Avenue be a pedestrian walkway with access for emergency vehicles only. David Hay 3280 Routt Street Mr. Hay is concerned with the potential increase of traffic if there is a 33`d Avenue connection He would like to see 33`d developed as a pedestrian walkway and have Robb Street connect to Quail, not Routt. Ross Casados 3291 Routt Street Mr. Casados is proud of his neighborhood and does not want 33`d Avenue to connect. He was concerned there could be racing teenagers driving through the neighborhood. David Moss 3221 Routt Street Mr. Moss agrees that 33`d Avenue does not need to be a through street. He would like to see Robb Street filled in to be level with 32nd Avenue and have Robb Street connect with 32"d Avenue. Jill Moss 3221 Routt Street Ms. Moss state she has lived here for 31 years and chose this house to live in because it is on a cul-de-sac. She likes the safety of minimal traffic so her grandchild can play and is concerned there will be more traffic volume if 33rd Avenue is connected due to school traffic. There is already pool traffic on weekends. She asked that the Commission consider connecting Robb to 32nd Avenue and putting a light on 32nd Avenue. Ross Fawcett 3240 Routt Street Planning Commission Minutes -5— June 5— June 1, 2017 Mr. Fawcett would like to see the 33`d Avenue ROW dedicated by the Applewood Brookside Subdivision be turned into a park instead of through street, move emergency turnaround between lots 4 and 5 and have Robb connect to 32"d Avenue. He thinks three cul-de-sac neighborhoods would bring more to the City than a connected street. Lori Marcello 3241 Routt Street Ms. Marcello has lived in the neighborhood for 27 years and is a graduate of Wheat Ridge High School. She feels that even though the City platted the ROW of 33`d Avenue in 1983 it will change way of life for the people on Routt Street in a negative way. She does not want to see more cars driving through the neighborhood from the school. Nick Marcello 3241 Routt Street Mr. Marcello appreciated growing up on the Routt Street cul-de-sac and thinks it is the best option for the neighborhood and for the safety of the kids who play there. Jeff Nielsen 3280 Routt Street Mr. Nielsen is opposed based on the reasons previously mentioned and feels the City will be taking away a desirable cul-de-sac to create seven new lots. Tony Marcello 3241 Routt Street Mr. Marcello stated he is not opposed to the subdivision just the connectivity of 33`d Avenue. He feels this will negatively impact the neighborhood and thinks it does not follow the WR 2020 plan which is supposed to make Wheat Ridge a better place for people to live. In addition, Mr. Marcello thinks the property values will drop if 33`d Avenue becomes a through street. Ray Archer 313 Union Street Mr. Archer said he was the developer of Applewood Brookside and questions why the City will be giving up two cul-de-sacs to create a dead-end street. He also does not feel the emergency vehicle turnaround is doable and likes the idea of bringing in dirt to connect Robb Street with 32"d Avenue. He also wanted to know why more signs were not posted for this case. Planning Commission Minutes -6— June 6— June 1, 2017 Katie Kublitskiy 3333 Routt Street She moved into the neighborhood in May because it was a peaceful cul-de-sac and feels the through street of 33rd Avenue will lower the quality of life in the neighborhood. Gil Schmidtke 11305 W. 3311 Avenue Mr. Schmidtke says he is new to the Quail Hollow Subdivision and is against the 33rd Avenue connectivity. He does not want to see the school traffic coming through the neighborhood. He feels the neighborhood can handle traffic from seven new homes, but not hundreds of cars. Michelle Hillam 3310 Routt Street Ms. Hillam is concerned with the increased traffic that will come down Routt Street if 33rd Avenue is connected due to the school traffic. She would like to see Robb Street become a cul-de-sac and put a light on 32nd Avenue. She is also worried home values will drop. Mack Lover 11355 W. 33r1 Avenue Mr. Lover questioned the logic of connecting 33rd Avenue and bought his home because is sits on a cul-de-sac. He does not want to see curb and gutter disturbed and would like Robb Street to connect to 32nd Avenue and install a light on 32nd Avenue. Rebecca Hay 3280 Routt Street Ms. Hay does not see the benefit in a 33rd Avenue connection and is concerned with who will incur the cost of the improvements to the bulb on Routt Street when some of that land is given back to the homeowner if 33rd Avenue goes through. She would also like to see the ROW become a pedestrian walkway. She would also like to see parking modified on 32nd Avenue due to pool parking on the south side of 32nd Avenue. Danielle Marcello 3241 Routt Street Planning Commission Minutes -7— June 7— June 1, 2017 Ms. Marcello has lived in the neighborhood for 22 years and does not want to see 33`d Avenue connected to Routt Street because the beauty of the neighborhood will be lost and the property values will drop. Discussion continued regarding the connectivity in the area and traffic from the Prospect Valley if 33rd Avenue is connected between Routt and Quail. Commissioner OHM asked if there is a traffic study for the school. Mr. Westberg said that a traffic report was not required because there is not enough traffic during the peak hours to warrant one. Since 1983 the goal of the City is to have 33`d Avenue connect from Routt Street to Quail Street. Commissioner OHM asked about the street design in 1983. Mr. Westberg explained the 33`d Avenue connection is important because it will reduce the automobile impact on other streets. The residents who live where a bulb can be vacated will gain property if the streets are squared out. In response to questions about the Robb Street turn -around design, Ms. Reckert addressed the cul-de-sac regulations and design and stated there is discretion built in, especially if it makes sense for the development of the property. Mr. Westberg added there are a lot of deep, thin properties in the City and cul-de- sacs have a ROW of 90 -feet and Routt Street does not meet that standard. The hammerhead turnaround works on these dead-end streets because there is more room and they take up less lot space than putting a cul-de-sac at the end of a street. Commissioner OHM asked if an easement affect the square footage of a property. Mr. Westberg said it does not. Commissioner OHM asked whether speed calming is a possibility. Mr. Westberg said it absolutely is a possibility and if the neighbors want a speed hump, one can be installed. Commissioner OHM asked about a stop light at 32nd and Quail Street. Mr. Westberg said it can be looked at and see if it is warranted. With regards to the Robb Street offset, it is greater that the Quail Street offset and more accidents could happen because of more conflict points. Commissioner OHM asked about the posting signs. Planning Commission Minutes -8— June 8— June 1, 2017 Ms. Reckert stated high winds could have brought one down and that the City also gives notice in the Transcript and on the City's website to alert people in the community of the upcoming public hearing. Commissioner OHM asked who would own the turnaround on Robb Street. Ms. Reckert replied the land will belong to the two property owners and will be maintained by the homeowner's association. Mr. Westberg added the City will hold the rights to the easement. Mr. Westberg also addressed the swim club that is in the City of Lakewood. There is no parking allowed on 32nd and to call the Lakewood or Wheat Ridge Police Departments this continues to be a problem. Commissioner BUCKNAM asked staff if they know the rationale behind the vision of 33`d Avenue being connected. Mr. Westberg explained that in the 1983 packet, the extension of 33rd Avenue was discussed and it is why Quail Hollow was designed the way it is; to allow for the extension to the west. It is good to have connections, which distribute traffic to other streets so not all the traffic burden is left to one street. Anthony Marcello Mr. Marcello does not understand the intent of the 1983 33`d Avenue extension being a connection from Quail Street to Routt Street and would like to see proof. He thinks there will be a longer response time for emergency vehicles if 32nd is not connected to Robb Street. Mr. Westberg indicated that an Exhibit from the 1983 case file showed this connection which was entered into record. Mark Hillam Mr. Hillam stated that with regards to safety he has never seen an accident triggered by the offset of Routt Street to the south across 32nd Avenue. Rebecca Hay Ms. Hay asked who would incur the cost of "truing up" the corner of her property where the cul-de-sac is at Routt Street and proposed 33`d Avenue. Mr. Westberg explained there is an easement there and Public Works can help pay for the SE corner. Jill Moss Planning Commission Minutes -9— June 9— June 1, 2017 Ms. Moss asked about the drainage through Merkwood Estates and wondered how it will be handled. Mr. Westberg stated the drainage for Merkwood Estate is separate from what runs down Quail Street. Quail Street drainage goes to the Quail Hollow subdivision and then to Lena Gulch. The proposed drainage plan for Merkwood Estates has been reviewed and approved by Public Works. . David Hay Again, expressed concerns about the traffic from the school if 33rd Avenue goes through. Mack Lover Mr. Lover wanted to know how the Robb Street detention pond drainage will work. Commissioner OHM asked again about the safety of the emergency turnaround. Ms. Reckert reiterated the West Metro Fire Marshall has approved the design of the turnaround. Galen Hagen -Peter, Civil Engineer for the applicant gave a description of how the proposed drainage for the subdivision would function. It was moved by Commissioner LEO and seconded by Commissioner VOS to recommend denial of Case No. WS -16-02, a request for approval of a seven -lot major subdivision plat for property located at 12435 W. 32nd Avenue, for the following reasons: 1. The proposed street system and drainage design do not provide a logical development pattern for the new parcels. Commissioner BUCKNAM said he will vote against the motion because he does not see evidence of the drainage design is deficient in any way. In addition, he has seen an offset intersection in other areas and it can be very dangerous because people do not know what to do when they have to turn opposite ways. This risk should be avoided. Commissioner OHM also stated he will vote no on the denial. He also feels the offset is dangerous. He thinks connectivity is important and wondered if emergency barricades could be put up by Routt Street and still leave bike and pedestrian access. Planning Commission Minutes _10— June 10— June 1, 2017 Commissioner BODEN said he will vote for the denial, but not because of poor drainage, it will be because of the 33`d Street connectivity. Commissioner VOS would like to see a plan that would benefit the citizens as well as the developer. Motion carried 5-2 with Commissioners OHM and BUCK -NAM voting against. B. Case No. ZOA-17-03: An Ordinance amending Chapter 21 and 26 of the Code to regulate and allow Small Cell Commercial Mobile Radio Service facilities in public rights-of-way. Ms. Mikulak gave a short presentation regarding the Ordinance. She entered into the record the zoning code and contents of the case file. She stated the public -notice- h -Ave bean met, refore,the, pl Winn Gemmission has urisdic en to hear this case. Commissioner VOS asked why the providers want small scale CMRS to be in the right-of-way (ROW). Ms. Mikulak explained there is more opportunity on power poles and most of the power poles are already in the ROW. She explained there can be challenges for new providers to find locations and negotiate private property leases. Commissioner OHM asked if there is any graphic of locations of these CMRS facilities. Ms. Mikulak explained that the City does not own all of our light poles, Xcel Energy does own some. Any of the poles that are owned by the City in the ROW will most likely be in our mapping system (GIS). She added that the City knows where the cellular towers are because they have been installed due to a special use permits. Commissioner DORSEY asked if the city is trying to align with the State regulations in passing this ordinance. Ms. Mikulak said yes and clarified that if the City doesn't establish some standards, the state law would allow small cell facilities in the ROW regardless. It was moved by Commissioner BUCKNAM and seconded by Commissioner BODEN to recommend APPROVAL of the proposed ordinance amending Chapter 26 concerning the design, location and approval process for small cell CMRS facilities. Motion carried 7-0 Planning Commission Minutes— June 1, 2017 8. 9. 01 OTHER ITEMS Ms. Mikulak alerted the Commission to the record number of building permits being processed due to the hailstorm on May 8. During the last 3 days we have exceeded the amount of permits processed during the entire month of May in 2016. The building department appreciates the patience of the community and contractors as we work through this. Commissioner BUCKNAM asked why the online permit process had been suspended. Ms. Mikulak explained the online process is not automatic and permits still need to be processed by our Permit Tech. We only have one Permit Tech at this time and the influx of people walking through the door makes it hard for her to serve both inlets. We are handing out numbers to make the process run a little bit smoother and will be refining things as time moves forward. ADJOURNMENT It was moved by Commissioner VOS and seconded by Commissioner LEO to adjourn the meeting at 10:07 p.m. Motion carried 7-0. OTHER ITEMS 9. ADJOURNMENT It was moved by Commissioner VOS and seconded by Commissioner LEO to adjourn the meeting at 10:07 p.m. Motion carried 7-0. Alan Bucknam, Acting Chair Planning Commission Minutes June 1, 2017 Tammy Odea , ecording Secretary -12—