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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05-15-251. 2. 3. 4. 5. PLANNING COMMISSION Minutes of Meeting May 15, 2025 CALL THE MEETING TO ORDER The meeting was called to order by Chair Quinn at 6:30 p.m. This meeting was held in person and virtually, using Zoom video -teleconferencing technology. ROLL CALL OF MEMBERS Commission Members Present: Commission Members Absent: Staff Members Present: PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Kristine Disney Daniel Graeve Cody Hedges Krista Holub Michael Moore Patrick Quinn Syrma Quinones Susan Wood Jana Easley, Planning Manager Scott Cutler, Senior Planner Tammy Odean, Recording Secretary APPROVE ORDER OF THE AGENDA It was moved by consensus to approve the order of the agenda. APPROVAL OF MINUTES — April 17, 2025 It was moved by Commissioner HEDGES and seconded by Commissioner GRAEVE to approve the minutes of April 17, 2025, as written. Motion carried 6- 0-2 with Commissioners HOLUB and QUINONES abstaining. 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. Planning Commission Minutes May 15, 2025 -1 — 6. PUBLIC HEARING A. Case No. ZOA-25-4: An ordinance amending Chapter 26 of the Wheat Ridge Code of Laws concerning multi -unit residential parking requirements and making conforming amendments therewith. Chair QUINN opened the public hearing. Mr. Cutler gave a short presentation regarding the multi -unit residential parking requirements ordinance. Public Comment No one wished to speak at this time. Commissioner WOOD asked if there have been any complaints about insufficient parking outside of multi -unit developments. Mr. Cutler mentioned that the only comment staff receives is about on - street parking in -front of personal homes believing it is reserved only for the property owner. He also explained that Wheat Ridge is not dense enough to have a lot of parking issues. Ms. Easley added that some management companies will require tenants to use their garages for parking not storage, so there is no spill over into the streets. Commissioner GRAEVE inquired if there is a clear delineation between townhomes and condos in the code. Mr. Cutler clarified that condos are more like apartments because the owner does not own the land underneath and usually townhomes are built side by side and the land is owned by the owner typically. He also mentioned it is more difficult to build condos today because of the Condo Defect Legislation which is part of State regulations. Ms. Easley added that a townhome can be condominiumized and said it is just a form of ownership. In response to a question from Commissioner HOLUB, Mr. Cutler clarified that in the Code there are on -site parking requirements that will go away as part of this amendment, but explained it will not get rid of other requirements that the City has to build other public improvements related with a new development including on -street parking; adding that it does not mean the developer can't have parking on -site. In response to a question from Commissioner HEDGES about House Bill 1304 Mr. Cutler explained that he does not know the real intent, but thinks it is to reduce barriers to housing, adding that parking can add a huge Planning Commission Minutes - 2 — May 15, 2025 amount of cost to development and at times parking gets over built. He also mentioned that DOLA is more concerned with apartment construction and townhomes are not at the same density level. Commissioner HEDGES also asked if City Council would entertain not requiring parking for townhomes in transit -oriented service areas because it would serve the purpose of Bill 1304. Mr. Cutler explained this is a bigger policy question and is not sure if City Council will go for that idea, or not mainly because transit -oriented service areas already cover 90% of the City. Commissioner HEDGES inquired if there is a way to request that potentially City Council consider in the future eliminating the need for parking at townhouse locations if the ordinance is passed today. Ms. Easley mentioned a motion could be made with an amendment for that request. There was then discussion about the definition about townhomes and in response to a question from Chair QUINN, Mr. Cutler mentioned that apartments located above a business will not be required to provide parking due to the state legislation. Commissioner GRAEVE asked if there are maximum parking requirements and if a garage space meets the minimum requirement. Mr. Cutler explained there are maximum parking requirements in some zone districts with higher densities which is 21i2 per unit. He added a garage space will meet the minimum requirement for townhomes. Chair QUINN Closed the public hearing It was moved by Commissioner GRAEVE and seconded by Commissioner WOOD to recommend approval of the proposed ordinance amending Chapter 26 of the Wheat Ridge Code of Laws concerning multi -unit residential parking requirements and making conforming amendments therewith. Commissioner WOODS is comfortable with the motion as written and not in favor of an amendment regarding discussion of not allowing parking for townhomes at a later date. Commissioner QUINONES is in favor of the original motion. Planning Commission Minutes - 3 — May 15, 2025 Commissioner GRAEVE is comfortable with the ordinance as written and appreciates finding out how far the comfort level goes with parking and how the staff and City Council is preserving the character of the city. Commissioner HOLUB recommended that with parking going away then she would like staff to look at ways to encourage affordable housing. Commissioner HEDGES believes this ordinance is important to meet House Bill 1304 and how townhouses are defined. Commissioner DISNEY said she is in favor of this motion as it stands. Commissioner MOORE also is in favor of the motion. Chair QUINN understands the spirit of the motion but is reluctantly in support of the it due to unreliability of public transit and people who live in apartments are transients and needs their vehicles which means there needs to be parking at multi -unit locations. A friendly amendment was moved by Commissioner HEDGES and seconded by Commissioner GRAEVE requesting City Council to hold a study session to consider the feasibility of eliminating minimum parking requirements for townhouse developments within transit service areas. Commissioner HEDGES said that the purpose of House Bill 1304 is to reduce the amount of unnecessary parking in cities because increasing parking increases housing costs and encourages vehicle ownership when it is not necessarily required. He would like to see a discussion to give the developer the option for building another unit or so if the parking requirements are eliminated for townhomes in transit service areas. Commissioner GRAEVE already thinks this is the discussion happening already and the needle needs to be moved on the transit side, and he does support the amendment. In response to a question from Commissioner HOLUB, Ms. Easley and Mr. Cutler mentioned a townhome developer could ask for a reduction in parking during through an administrative adjustment during the review process if a parking study was done, but it is not common. Commissioner HOLUB mentioned she is conflicted on the amendment and not sure of the timing. Amendment failed 4-4 with Commissioners WOOD, QUINN, MOORE and DISNEY voting against. Planning Commission Minutes - 4 - May 15, 2025 Motion carried 7-1 with Commissioner QUINN voting against. B. Case No. ZOA-25-5: An ordinance amending Section 26-502 of the Wheat Ridge Code of Laws concerning procedural updates to landscaping requirements. Chair QUINN opened the public hearing. Mr. Cutler gave a brief presentation regarding the ordinance for landscaping updates. Public Comment No one wished to speak at this time. In response to a couple questions from Commissioners HEDGES and HOLUB about athletic fields of play, Mr. Cutler said it is term used by the state and the City's attorney mentioned it be in the code for consistency. Chair QUINN closed the public hearing. It was moved by Commissioner HOLUB and seconded by Commissioner DISNEY to recommend approval of the proposed ordinance amending Section 26-502 of the Wheat Ridge Code of Laws concerning procedural updates to landscaping requirements. Motion carried 8-0. 7. OLD BUSINESS 8. NEW BUSINESS A. Upcoming Dates Ms. Easley mentioned there will not be a meeting on June 5. B. Project and Development Updates C. Commissioner Updates Commissioner HEDGES mentioned this is his last meeting with the Planning Commission because he has accepted a job in Oakland, CA and has enjoyed his time with the Commission. Planning Commission Minutes - 5 - May 15, 2025 Commissioner GRAEVE congratulated Commissioner HEDGES on his new job and mentioned that on June 28 is Ridgefest at Anderson Park and encouraged the community to attend and it will showcase Makerspace. Commissioner WOOD mentioned she hates to see Commissioner HEDGES leave because their paths often crossed in the professional world and wishes him good luck. 10. ADJOURNMENT It was moved by Commissioner HEDGES and seconded by Commissioner MOORE to ad" urn the meeting at 7:42 p.m. Motion approved 8-0. Patrick Quinn, Chair Tammy Odean, Recording Secretary Planning Commission Minutes - 6 - May 15, 2025