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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09-05-191. 2. 3. 4. .�I. ]�� WheatRdge PLANNING COMMISSION Minutes of Meeting September 5, 2019 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: Staff Members Present: PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Will Kerns Daniel Larson Scott Ohm Richard Peterson Jahi Simbai Vivian Vos Melissa Antol Janet Leo Lauren Mikulak, Planning Manager Stephanie Stevens, Senior Planner Zareen Tasneem, Planner I Jordan Jefferies, Civil Engineer 11 Tammy Odean, Recording Secretary APPROVE ORDER OF THE AGENDA It was moved by Commissioner VOS and seconded by Commissioner KERNS to approve the order of the agenda. Motion carried 7-0. 5. APPROVAL OF MINUTES — August 15, 2019 It was moved by Commissioner LARSON and seconded by Commissioner SIMBAI to approve the minutes of August 15, 2019, as written. Motion carried 5-0-1 with Commissioner VOS abstaining. Planning Commission Minutes September 5, 2019 -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. MS -19-03: an application filed by BTM 37th LLC for approval of a minor subdivision combining and splitting the lots located at 5890 and 5910 West 37th Place into 4 lots with 50 feet of frontage each. Ms. Tasneem gave a short presentation regarding the minor subdivision 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. Commissioner SIMBAI asked who decides where the fire hydrant is placed and who pays for it. Ms. Tasneem said the Fire Department will make the placement decision and the Developer will pay for it. Commissioner SIMBAI then asked if anyone lived in the two homes before they were demolished. Ms. Tasneem thought they had been vacant for some time. Commissioner VOS inquired about any code violations. Ms. Tasneem said she did not have any of those records. Ms. Mikulak added there is no Code violation review for this case and mentioned that Code Enforcement works on a complaint basis and this might be a question to ask the applicant. Commissioner OHM asked if the historic document is what remains today with Lot 18 and Lot 10. Ms. Mikulak explained that there was a period in time a Lot Line Adjustment was exempted from the subdivision regulations and this current subdivision pre -dates the City's incorporation in 1969. This proposed subdivision will clean up the title and lot lines. Brent Metz, Applicant 4134 Fenton Street, Wheat Ridge Planning Commission Minutes -2— September 2— September 5, 2019 Mr. Metz explained that the previous owners demolished the homes to clean up the properties and possibly develop the lots. He mentioned that once he purchased the land he was going to start grading and it didn't happen so the weeds did become an issue, which he apologized for and said it should not be an issue moving forward. He also mentioned he had met some of the neighbors and is in good standings with them. Commissioner LARSON asked what the plan is moving forward. Mr. Metz said he is going to finalize the plans and start to build 2 of the 4 homes this year. Kathryn Baldwin -Johnson, Resident 3735 Fenton Street Ms. Baldwin -Johnson asked what the height of the buildings might be. Ms. Mikulak said she could contact staff for that information. Richard Lomax, Resident 5845 West 3711 Avenue Mr. Lomax has concerns of drainage and would like to see concrete culverts for run-off because he does not want flooding on his property. Mr. Jefferies acknowledged the drainage concern and said all water will drain to the street. Judy Thornton, Resident 5905 West 37' Avenue Ms. Thornton wondered what is going to happen with the existing 6 ft. fence and has concerns about the current rodent issue and would like it taken care of. Ms. Mikulak said any fence issues need to be handled between the property owners. Mr. Kerns asked if these will be townhomes or single family homes. Ms. Tasneem mentioned that only single family homes are allowed in this zone district. It was moved by Commissioner VOS and seconded by Commissioner PETERSON to APPROVE Case No. MS -19-03, a request for approval of a 4 - lot subdivision on property zoned Residential -One C (R -1C) and located at 5890 and 5910 W. 37th Place, for the following reasons: Planning Commission Minutes -3— September 3— September 5, 2019 1. All agencies can provide services to the property with improvements installed at the developer's expense. 2. The requirements of Article IV of the zoning and development code have been met. With the following conditions: 1. Fees in lieu of parkland dedication shall be provided prior to recording the plat. 2. The developer shall enter into a subdivision improvement agreement with required security prior to recordation of the subdivision plat. Motion passed 6-0. B. Case No. WZ-19-01: an application filed by Evergreen -Clear Creek Crossing Apartments LLC for approval of a Specific Development Plan for 310 multi -family apartments in planning area 2 of Clear Creek Crossing on property zoned Planned Mixed Use Development (PMUD). Ms. Stevens gave a short presentation regarding the Specific Development Plan 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. Commissioner PETERSON asked about what will happen with the intersection at 32"d and Youngfield with the amount of increased traffic. Ms. Mikulak mentioned the City worked with the Federal Highways Administration to phase improvements and the traffic studies have shown that in a mixed zone district the peak times for residential and commercial traffic is at different times of the day. Ms. Stevens added that Exhibit 3 outlines the traffic movement. Mr. Jefferies explained that a detailed traffic analysis was completed in coordination with CDOT and there will be long-term and short-term improvements that address traffic concerns. Commissioner PETERSON asked how Clear Creek Drive will cross the creek in the future. Ms. Mikulak explained that if that connection is made, it will have to be a bridge and that is why part of this development (north of the creek) will not happened until the infrastructure is in place. Commissioner PETERSON also speculated about the traffic impact on Clear Creek Trail due to this development. Planning Commission Minutes -4— September 4— September 5, 2019 Ms. Mikulak said there will be more users on the trail, but the City encourages that. Commissioner PETERSON then asked with this being a large and the first phase to be started project, how much does it limit other things in the big picture of this development. Ms. Mikulak said the City has been firm with the original intent and the regulatory documents in terms of connectivity; this phase is consistent with those documents and intent. Commissioner SIMBAI asked about the site being exempted from the Charter's density cap based on a 2009 ballot question. Ms. Mikulak explained that the City's Charter has a residential height limit of 35 feet and a density of 21 units per acre, but the exempted areas are the Urban Renewal Areas (URA) of I-70 and Kipling and the Wadsworth corridor. This property in in the 1-70 URA. Commissioner LARSON asked for more details to understand the secondary access issue. Ms. Stevens explained that a balance needed to be found between the City, Fire Department and public safety. She said the secondary access is closer to the Clear Creek Drive and 40th Avenue intersection than the City allows so there will be only a right in and right out access. Mr. Jefferies added that if there are left turns it could be very dangerous so the condition of approval allows the City to look at options if cars do decide to turn left. Commissioner KERNS asked if the multi -use trail accesses the golf course. Ms. Mikulak said the applicant can answer that question. Commissioner KERNS also asked what the trail to the forebay is. Mr. Jefferies mentioned it is maintenance access to the detention pond. Commissioner KERNS was curious if the retaining wall will be planted. Ms. Stevens said the retaining walls are not a part of this project, but added they will be planted after the walls are permitted and constructed. Commissioner OHM asked if there will be a cross access easement for this project. Planning Commission Minutes -5— September 5— September 5, 2019 Ms. Stevens said it will basically follow the internal roadway network. Commissioner OHM then asked about the missing pages from the SDP. Ms. Stevens said those pages excluded from the packet are the zoomed in views of the civil construction documents which are not required components of an SDP. Staff was aware the packet would be large and decided to only include pages most relevant to determine zoning compliance, but staff has reviewed all the sheets in the SDP. Commissioner OHM asked where the small piece of artificial turf will be located. Ms. Stevens said it will be located at the Community Club House in the outdoor game area and it will not be counted towards landscaped area which makes it allowable. Jeff Wikstrom of Evergreen -Clear Creek Crossing, LLC, Applicant 152 Willow Leaf Drive, Littleton Mr. Wikstrom said it has been great working with staff and gave a brief presentation about the history and vision for Clear Creek Crossing and added that Evergreen Devco has been in the multi -family business since 2010. Commissioner VOS asked about the access to the overlook is just for the renters and/or the public. Mr. Wikstrom said primarily for the renters, but not limited. Commissioner VOS was curious about the rental rates and if there will be playgrounds for kids. Mr. Wikstrom mentioned the rents will be under $1800/month which will include everything except utilities. He added that the apartments will be 1 to 2 bedrooms making the demographics mostly adults, but kids are definitely welcome. Commissioner VOS asked if there will be accessible parking. Mr. Wikstrom said yes, required and there will be elevators to access the apartments. He added there will also be places to park bikes. Commissioner VOS asked if there is access to the Clear Creek Trail. Mr. Wikstrom said there will be internal sidewalks that will lead to the access to Clear Creek Trail. Planning Commission Minutes -6— September 6— September 5, 2019 Commissioner VOS also wanted confirmation that environmental safety issues will be taken into consideration when construction begins. Mr. Wikstrom said yes everything has been taken into consideration so it does not go into storm water systems before the landscaping is in place. Commissioner KERNS main concern is the amount of people adding to noise and vibration with respect to air quality. Mr. Wikstrom said that per the Federal Housing Standard the number of noise decimals is looked at and every standard is being met. He added it helps that the site is on the farthest west side of the property away from the Highway. Commissioner LARSON asked what the property to the east of the multi -family is going to be and is there concern for runoff if it is not developed before the multi- family site. Ms. Stevens said it will be the SCL hospital site and we anticipate plans for that site in a year or two. Mr. Jefferies added the SCL site has been stabilized and storm water should not be an issue. There was then more discussion about connectivity to the Clear Creek Trail and the landscaping from the site blending into the natural part of the detention ponds on the way to the Clear Creek Trail. Commissioner OHM asked for the reasoning behind placing the mailboxes at the clubhouse. Mr. Wikstrom said it is a visible area and also the leasing office, he mentioned not all people will park at the clubhouse, but walk from their apartments so there will not be as much vehicle congestion. Commissioner OHM asked about safety for workers being on top of the retaining wall and watering when there is no railing and wondered if there could be more tiers to the wall. Mr. Wikstrom acknowledged the safety concerns and said the wall will still be the same height and mentioned they are unobtrusive and if more tiers were added it would push into the detention are. Commissioner OHM asked what the horizontal shade is of the long buildings and if the native grasses will survive in the shade. Mr. Wikstrom said there is 60 feet between the northern buildings which is called meaningful space to allow for light. Planning Commission Minutes -7— September 7— September 5, 2019 Ms. Mikulak added that the City has a landscape program and will work with the owner to make sure the landscaping is kept up. Jared Carlon, Norris Design 1101 Bannock Street, Denver Mr. Carlin said he looked at the entire planting plan and made sure the correct species were used depending on solar orientation. He added the 5 -foot cobble zone is used to protect the foundations of the buildings. Commissioner OHM said it looks like there are some trees in easements and above storm pipes and wondered if there were still a sufficient amount of trees on the site if the others are removed. He also mentioned he would like to see large canopy trees at the bottom of the retaining wall. Mr. Carlin said yes they will make sure there are the right amount of trees and will work closely with the City to place the trees. Commissioner OHM asked if there will be wayfinding signs. Mr. Wikstrom said yes that will be part of a Master Sign Plan. It was moved by Commissioner SIMBAI and seconded by Commissioner Peterson to APPROVE Case No. WZ-19-01, a request for approval of a Specific Development Plan for the construction of a 310 -unit multi -family apartment project on property located within Planning Area 2 of Clear Creek Crossing, for the following reasons: 1. The specific development plan is consistent with the purpose of a planned development, as stated in Section 26-301 of the Code of Laws. 2. The specific development plan is consistent with the intent and purpose of the outline development plan. 3. The proposed uses are consistent with those approved by the outline development plan. 4. All responding agencies have indicated they can serve the property with improvements installed at the developer's expense. 5. The specific development plan is in substantial compliance with the applicable standards set forth in the outline development plan and with the City's adopted design manuals. With the following conditions: 1. The technical corrections requested by Planning and Public Works related to labels, notes, and typos shall be addressed prior to SDP recording and prior to issuance of any building permit. Planning Commission Minutes - 8 — September 5, 2019 8. 9. 2. An agreement for the off-site secondary access shall be recorded by separate document prior to recordation of the SDP. The agreement shall include the PA 1 and PA 2 property owners, shall address the phasing, timing, and obligation of the access, and shall be subject to approval by the West Metro Fire Protection District, City of Wheat Ridge Public Works Director, and City of Wheat Ridge Community Development Director. 3. If, upon build -out of the subject site, the interim secondary access is found to be inadequate and/or to pose significant safety concerns, the City may require completion of the permanent loop road, or another alternative secondary access to be approved by Public Works, at the discretion of the Public Works Director. 4. Agreement between the property owner and Longs Peak Metro District shall be recorded by separate document prior to issuance of any building permit. The agreement shall set forth construction, ownership, and maintenance provisions for the retaining walls. Motion passed 6-0. OLD BUSINESS NEW BUSINESS Ms. Mikulak mentioned there will be no 2nd meeting in September and will see the Commissioners on October 3 for a discussion and training. Commissioner LARSON said he would like to see a few suggested topics for training in the agenda packet. Ms. Mikulak asked for the Commissioners to email her if there are any specific topics they would like to see in training. 10. ADJOURNMENT It was moved by Commissioner KERNS and seconded by Commissioner SIMBAI to adjourn the meeting at 9:10 p.m. Motion carried 6-0. f.. Scott Ohm, Chair Planning Commission Minutes September 5, 2019 --1 n)C., Tammy Ode , ecording Secretary