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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09-17-201. 2. 3. 4. 4 City of _]�qrWheat�idge PLANNING COMMISSION Minutes of Meeting September 17, 2020 CALL THE MEETING TO ORDER The meeting was called to order by Chair OHM at 7:01 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 Melissa Antol Kristine Disney Will Kerns Ari Krichiver Daniel Larson Scott Ohm Jahi Simbai Janet Leo Lauren Mikulak, Planning Manager Tammy Odean, Recording Secretary APPROVE ORDER OF THE AGENDA It was moved by Commissioner SIMBAI and seconded by Commissioner ANTOL to approve the order of the agenda. Motion carried 7-0. APPROVAL OF MINUTES — a) July 2, 2020 It was moved by Commissioner DISNEY and seconded by Commissioner KRICHIVER to approve the minutes of July 2, 2020, as written. Motion carried 6-0-1 with Commissioner KERNS abstaining. Planning Commission Minutes September 17, 2020 -1- b) July 16, 2020 It was moved by Commissioner SIMBAI and seconded by Commissioner LARSON to approve the minutes of July 16, 2020, as written. Motion carried 6-0-1 with Commissioner KRICHIVER abstaining. c) August 20, 2020 It was noted that the Vice Chair LARSON opened the August 20 meeting, and the minutes should be amended to reflect such. It was moved by Commissioner LARSON and seconded by Commissioner ANTOL to approve the minutes of August 20, 2020, as amended. Motion carried 6-0-1 with Commissioner OHM abstaining. 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. PUBLIC HEARING A. Case No. ZOA-20-06: an ordinance amending Chapter 26 of the Code of Laws concerning sign and letter notice requirements for quasi-judicial public hearings. Ms. Mikulak gave a short presentation regarding the ordinance concerning sign and letter notice requirements for quasi-judicial public hearings. She stated for the record that this hearing was published in accordance with the Code of Laws and the Planning Commission has jurisdiction to hear this case. Commissioner LARSON asked why this ordinance is being discussed now and if it is an overdue topic. He was also curious if the Public Hearing sign will become larger during the redesign phase. Ms. Mikulak stated that this ordinance is overdue and that City Council brought it up at a Study Session a couple months ago. Regarding the sign inquiry, she mentioned the sign might be a little bit larger and some of the text will be eliminated or shortened. Commissioner KERNS asked to have the distance for noticing letters explained. Ms. Mikulak explained that the distance for a neighborhood meeting is 600 ft. and for a public hearing it is 300 ft. Staff thought it would be better to have them the same distance and to notify the same group each time. Planning Commission Minutes -2- September 2 - September 17, 2020 Commissioner ANTOL wondered why the City wouldn't notice addresses at a 1000 ft. radius and if there is a State standard. Ms. Mikulak said there is not a State minimum or maximum for noticing. She added that the purpose of noticing is to make sure that the people who will be affected are going to be noticed. Ms. Mikulak mentioned that 500 ft. for noticing is a standard and 600 ft. should be a good fit for the City of Wheat Ridge by reaching approximately two blocks. She reminded the Commissioners that the City triangulates noticing with postings in the Transcript, signs and mailings, which can reach a broad number of people. Commissioner OHM mentioned that higher density can impact distancing and also wondered if the impact of the case could possibly impact the mailing distance. Ms. Mikulak explained that the City does not have much vacant land anymore. She agreed that if there is high density in a noticing area then there will definitely be more residents receiving notices. It is staff s preference to have a single set mailing distance. There was then discussion regarding the signs. The Commissioners said they would like to see the signs a little bit bigger, continue to be yellow and red in color with simpler text that is in "plain speak" so everyone can understand what the Public Hearing is about. Ihor Figlus, resident 9775 West 36' Avenue Mr. Figlus said he would like to see more noticing and community outreach, the distance for letter noticing increased and the number of signs on the property increased. Vivian Vos, resident 6920 West 4711 Place Ms. Vos, would like to see the City utilize Next Door to notify residents and to also increase the noticing distance. Odarka Figlus, resident 10580 West 48th Place Ms. Figlus would like to see the noticing increased to 1000 ft., and thinks the signs should be larger with more on each parcel. She also mentioned the signs should acknowledge the City's Charter and should be visible to adjacent property owners. She described the challenges of notice at Clear Creek Crossing. Commissioner OHM asked Ms. Mikulak to address some of the concerns. Planning Commission Minutes -3 - September 17, 2020 In response, Ms. Mikulak mentioned that the Resident Engagement Program (Let's Talk) will give the City a lot of good information on how the community gets their information; the goal of this ordinance is to have better communication and there may be more changes to notice and communication in the future in response to resident feedback. Council wanted to proactively and quickly improve notice through these changes. Letters will likely continue to be used over social media to ensure recipients have equal access to the information. She added that no one notice type is perfect for all properties, such as at Clear Creek Crossing, but that's why multiple notice methods are used and why these two notice methods are being improved. Commissioner OHM closed the citizen's forum. Commissioner DISNEY said she thinks increasing the noticing distance from 300 ft. to 600 ft. is adequate. There are ample ways for a resident to know what is going on in a city of our size. She added that staff has effectively covered all bases for noticing and expressed support for the code change. Commissioner KERNS says he likes the new sign design and thinks 600ft. for distancing is perfect. Commissioner LARSON asked if the QR Code will still be on the sign. Ms. Mikulak confirmed it will still be included, it links to Wheat Ridge Speaks. Commissioner OHM thinks all is a good compromise with sign and distance changes. It was moved by Commissioner LARSON and seconded by Commissioner DISNEY to recommend APPROVAL of the proposed ordinance amending Chapter 26 of the Wheat Ridge Code of Laws concerning sig and letter notice requirements for quasi-judicial public hearings. Motion carried 7-0. 8. OLD BUSINESS 9. NEW BUSINESS • Let's Talk Ms. Mikulak mentioned that Let's Talk has officially launched in the Bel Aire and East Wheat Ridge areas. There have been updates shared through social media and on whatsupwheatridge.com. The program will concentrate on the Planning Commission Minutes -4- September 4 - September 17, 2020 neighborhoods for approximately 3 months each. There is a live survey on the website and much more information that Ms. Mikulak recommended the Commissioners review and share. • October 1 Planning Commission Meeting There will be two cases to hear at the next meeting of the Planning Commission • Boards and Commission Appreciation Ms. Mikulak reminded the Commissioners to consider attending the Boards and Commission Appreciation Drive-thru night on September 29 at City Hall. This will take place instead of the usual dinner due to COVID-19. 10. ADJOURNMENT It was moved by Commissioner KERNS and seconded by Commissioner LARSON to adjourn the meeting at 8:02 p.m. S t Ohm, Chair Planning Commission Minutes September 17, 2020 Motion carried 7-0. W�Qr` Tammy Odeair,- cording Secretary -5-