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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES Estes Valley Planning Commission 2011-10-18 RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Regular Meeting of the Estes Valley Planning Commission October 18, 2011, 1:30 p.m. Board Room, Estes Park Town Hall Commission: Chair Doug Klink, Commissioners Ron Norris, Alan Fraundorf, John Tucker, Betty Hull, Rex Poggenpohl, Joe Wise Attending: Chair Klink, Commissioners Norris, Fraundorf, Poggenpohl, Tucker, Wise, and Hull Also Attending: Director Chilcott, Town Planner Shirk, Town Attorney White, and Recording Secretary Thompson Absent: Town Board Liaison Elrod The following minutes reflect the order of the agenda and not necessarily the chronological sequence. Chair Klink called the meeting to order at 1:30 p.m. There was one person in attendance. 1. PUBLIC COMMENT None. 2. CONSENT AGENDA A. Approval of minutes, September 20, 2011 Planning Commission Meeting. B. Lot Consolidation of Lots 2 & 3, Niebur Exemption Plat, 1719 & 1723 Mills Road; Charles Santagati, Owner/Applicant. Request to combine two lots of record into one lot. It was moved and seconded (Fraundorf/Hull) to approve the consent agenda as presented, and the motion passed unanimously. 3. CHANGE IN MEETING TIME FOR NOVEMBER MEETING Director Chilcott announced the Triangle meeting will be held November 15, 2011, which is the usual meeting date for the Planning Commission. It was discussed in the study session to hold the regular Planning Commission meeting at 11:30 a.m., with a break prior to the 2:00 p.m. start of the Triangle Meeting. No study session will be scheduled. It was moved and seconded (Poggenpohl/Norris) to change the meeting time for the November, 2011 meeting to 11:30, and the motion passed unanimously. 4. AMENDED DEVELOPMENT PLAN 07-10B, LOT 3, SCHROEDER SUBDIVISION, THE TIMBERS TOWNHOMES PROJECT Director Chilcott stated the applicant had requested a continuance to the next meeting. Celine LeBeau/Project manager, requested that a revision to the amended development plan be added as a condition of approval rather than continuing the application to the next meeting. Planner Shirk reviewed the staff report. The applicant requested to amend an approved development plan, subdivide the property into townhome lots, and submit a request for a preliminary townhome map. The development plan was approved in 2007, three units have been constructed along the street, and three units on the southern property line are currently under construction. The amendment would include replacing the approved tri- plex condominium unit (airspace ownership) with a townhome duplex unit (land ownership). Preliminary plat recommendation would be from the Planning Commission to the Town Board. A final plat would be submitted to the Town Board for review. Planner Shirk stated there were no significant issues with the plat. Focusing on the amended development plan, Planner Shirk stated there were some lots (4, 5, 6, 10 and 11) that would exceed the 80% maximum lot coverage requirement. RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Estes Valley Planning Commission 2 October 18, 2011 Planner Shirk stated this was a consequence created by the conversion of condominiums to townhomes. Planner Shirk stated the original site plan accounted for a drainage swale and stormwater facilities in an outlot. He stated the overall lot coverage complies, and the applicant was asking for leniency on the non-compliant subdivision lots. Staff recommended approval of the revised lot coverage. Planner Shirk stated staff recommended disapproval of the amendment to the development plan, primarily due to the parking configuration. A standard parking space is 20 feet deep, and one of the proposed spaces would not allow that depth. Staff recommended eliminating the parking space altogether. With this space eliminated, the applicant would still be in compliance with the minimum number of guest parking spaces available. Planner Shirk stated the bigger issue was the driveway to one of the townhomes that would be placed in the setback and utility easement. The development plan approval allows this with neighbor approval. This particular driveway would not affect the public street; however, the turning radius for the driveway would be 7.5 feet, when the smallest public road standard has a minimum radius of 20 feet. The Public works department recommended increasing the turning radius. Planner Shirk stated Appendix D.III.B.1 of the Estes Valley Development Code states “safe, convenient and adequate access to individual buildings by driveways shall be provided.” Staff suggested the proposed driveway layout did not provide safe and convenient access. Staff recommended disapproval of the amended development plan and recommended approval of the preliminary townhome plat with the conditions listed below. Public Comment Discussion occurred with Mark Theiss/property owner about the continuance of the amended development plan to the next meeting. Mr. Theiss suggested approving the amended development plan with a condition of approval to revise the entrance to the garage, placing it underneath the townhome with a straight in entrance, eliminating the curve. Mr. Theiss stated property owners favor main-level living, and he would prefer to provide a parking area in the location of the originally proposed driveway, close to the front door of the dwelling. If allowed, the turn radius would not be an issue without a garage. The timeframe was important to Mr. Theiss. Planner Shirk stated staff would need to see the revised plat prior to approval. Celine LeBeau/project manager presented a possible revision to the amended development plan. Keeping the parking behind the unit and changing the turning radius to a 14 foot interior radius, which she said should be sufficient for a truck. Planner Shirk had concerns about placing the driveway in the setback and utility easement, but stated it would comply with the code requirement for safe, convenient access. It was mentioned the driveway would be very close to Unit 9. Ms. LeBeau stated she could probably shift it away from the unit. Planner Shirk stated there is a three-foot separation requiremenb between property lines. Director Chilcott stated it was difficult for staff to review a proposed plan on the fly. She understood that the Planning Commission was comfortable with approving the amended development plan with revisions discussed at the meeting. She suggested staff could meet with the applicant and approve the final revisions. Staff was comfortable with the Planning Commission recommending approval with conditions for the revised plan. Staff would require a review of the revised plan before moving forward to the Town Board. Staff and the applicant could work this out. Public comment Mark Theiss expressed confusion about meeting dates for approvals. Town Attorney White explained the process, stating the preliminary townhome plat could not move RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Estes Valley Planning Commission 3 October 18, 2011 forward to the Town Board until the amended development plan was approved. Mr. Theiss requested a meeting with staff as soon as possible to determine deadline dates and Town Board meeting dates. It was moved and seconded (Tucker/Poggenpohl) to give staff final authority to approve the Amended Development Plan 07-10B with the findings and conditions recommended by staff; with the timing sufficient to be heard by the Town Board on November 8, 2011; and to approve the preliminary townhome plat, and the motion passed unanimously. 5. AMENDMENT TO THE ESTES VALLEY DEVELOPMENT CODE REGARDING ALTERATION/EXTENSION OF NONCONFORMING USES AND STRUCTURES Director Chilcott reviewed the staff report. It was proposed at a previous meeting to address a small portion of the discussion about existing ADUs. The proposed amendment drafted by staff would allow for the interior of an existing legal nonconforming accessory dwelling unit to be changed without expanding the amount of living space, changing the footprint of the unit, or moving the building. The proposed amendment would not allow for expansion of living space into the garage, if there was one, and would not allow expansion up or out of the existing unit. Examples would be: modernization of a kitchen by adding a dishwasher, adding a laundry facility, changing interior wall locations, etc. Director Chilcott stated the proposed amendment would add to Section 6.4 Change of Nonconforming Use, Item C “A nonconforming accessory dwelling unit may be altered provided the alteration does not enlarge or move the building (See §13.3.13 Alter or Alteration). “ Staff recommended continuance of this item to the next meeting, based on feedback at the study session. Study session discussion included comments about specific language for not enlarging the accessory dwelling unit rather than the building in general; and to review the language concerning the moving of the building. Director Chilcott stated the intent of Chapter Six was to eventually amortize the structures out of the community. The reality of the situation with accessory dwelling units is that people see value in them and want to modernize them. The proposed amendment would allow improvements and discourage property owners to make improvements without obtaining building permits, potentially sacrificing building safety. While the theory is that nonconforming uses and structures will eventually go away, there are cases where we do want to allow property owners more flexibility other than basic repair and maintenance. Director Chilcott clarified that an improvement to convert an existing deck to enclosed living space would not be allowed; the change would need to be fully contained within the existing interior of the structure. Public Comment Johanna Darden/Town resident was satisfied with the proposed code amendment. She pointed out that current nonconforming accessory dwellings can be repaired and maintained, eliminating safety concerns. It was moved and seconded (Norris/Hull) to continue the proposed amendment regarding alteration/extension of nonconforming uses and structures to the next regularly scheduled meeting, and the motion passed unanimously. 6. TRIANGLE MEETING AGENDA Director Chilcott stated the triangle meeting will include a time for public comment. The meeting format has been revised from past meetings by including staff reports to the members. Meeting packets will be distributed to the Planning Commission and both Boards prior to the meeting. The packet will also be available on the Town website for public viewing. The information in the packet will allow time for thought about the different issues prior to the meeting. Director Chilcott stated the agenda would be presented to the County Commission and Town Board. Staff reports would provide more detail about code amendments and other issues to help facilitate a productive meeting. She thought it would also be helpful to RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Estes Valley Planning Commission 4 October 18, 2011 determine if the process for code amendments and other issues was working efficiently (e.g. problem statements). Public Comment Johanna Darden/Town resident expressed her frustration about getting her ideas for code amendments in front of the Planning Commission, County Commission, and Town Board. She would appreciate a clear procedure to guide a citizen on initiating a problem statement. Town Attorney White stated there is a process, where the citizen converses with a Town Trustee who could sponsor the item if he/she chose to do so. Ms. Darden gave the example of a definition for open space or wildlife that she hoped would be considered for the comprehensive plan. Comments from the Commissioners were supportive of making it easier for the public to bring issues forward. Director Chilcott stated she would be willing to meet with Ms. Darden to review her comments and come up with a plan to report back to the Planning Commission. 7. REPORTS Director Chilcott report the Problem Statement for Accessory Dwelling Units will be presented to the County Commission and the Town Board on October 24th and 25th, respectively. Director Chilcott reported on a pre-application meeting for the Telemark property on Moraine Avenue adjacent to Park River West. Currently, the property has older units at the back of the property. The developer is proposing to build multi-family residential units that could be used for short-term rentals. Director Chilcott reported there was a pre-application meeting with a developer wanting to develop the lot behind Nicky’s and adjacent to Streamside Condominiums. Director Chilcott reported there have been no updates on the Elkhorn Lodge proposals. There has been some discussion, but no submittals. The developer was considering asking for a request to waive the development plan associated with the annexation/rezoning request. The code requires that development plan be tied to the rezoning portion of the application. A waiver could be granted if the development code is followed for the waiver process. Staff will continue to keep the Planning Commission updated on this project. Director Chilcott reported the rezoning of the Witt property on West Elkhorn was approved by the Town Board. In addition, an Amended Condominium Map for East Riverwalk Center Condominiums was approved, which allows space for an outdoor patio for the Time Out Sports Bar. A Supplemental Condominium Map for Park River West was also approved by the Town Board. The code amendment for RLUIPA and Private Schools was approved by the County Commissioners on October 17, 2011. There being no further business, Chair Klink adjourned the meeting at 2:37 p.m. ___________________________________ Doug Klink, Chair ___________________________________ Karen Thompson, Recording Secretary