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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES Estes Valley Planning Commission 2010-03-16RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Regular Meeting of the Estes Valley Planning Commission March 16, 2010, 6:00 p.m. Board Room, Estes Park Town Hall Commission: Attending: Also Attending: Absent: Chair Ron Norris, Commissioners Doug Klink, Alan Fraundorf, John Tucker, Betty Hull, Steve Lane, and Rex Poggenpohl Chair Norris, Commissioners Klink, Fraundorf, Tucker, Hull, Lane, and Poggenpohl Director Joseph, Town Attorney White, Planner Shirk, Planner Chilcott, and Recording Secretary Thompson None The following minutes reflect the order of the agenda and not necessarily the chronological sequence. Chair Norris called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. There were 9 people in attendance. 1. PUBLIC COMMENT None. 2. CONSENT AGENDA Approval of minutes from February 16, 2010 Planning Commission meeting. It was moved and seconded (Hull/Lane) that the consent agenda be approved as presented, and the motion passed unanimously. 3. REPORTS A. PUD Problem Statement Status Chair Norris reported a problem statement was being written to begin investigating the PUD status in the community. Planning Commission review will be delayed until the Town Board requests such a review. B. Comprehensive Plan Review Committee Status Chair Norris reported this committee had its initial meeting in February, 2010. At that meeting, the Action Plan was reviewed, and Director Joseph gave an update on the items listed on this plan. The Committee will identify potential gaps in the Comprehensive Plan and report these to the Town Board. Commissioner Poggenpohl commented the current Comprehensive Plan is a superior and valuable document that needs updating for the future vision of the Estes Valley. C. Wildlife Habitat Protection Code Revisions Director Joseph reported the Board of County Commissioners approved the Wildlife Habitat Protection code revisions on March 8, 2010. The final changes included adding raptor nesting areas as a trigger for a wildlife habitat conservation plan, and authorizing staff to determine who is qualified to conduct the wildlife habitat study. D. Director Joseph reported the Board of County Commissioners will be in Estes Park on March 29, 2010 to hear the Estes Valley Development Code amendments for Accessory Kitchens and Short-term Rentals, Vacation Homes, and B&Bs. The meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. in the Town Board room. 4. PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO THE ESTES VALLEY DEVELOPMENT CODE - SECTION 5.2 - ACCESSORY USES AND ACCESSORY STRUCTURES A. MICRO-WIND ENERGY CONVERSION SYSTEMS Planner Shirk reviewed the staff report and gave a brief history of the timeline of these amendments. Most recently, the Town Trustees remanded the proposed amendments back to the Planning Commission to place Micro-Wind and Small Wind Turbines into two separate amendments. The Town Trustees specifically asked for more information RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Estes Valley Planning Commission 2 March 16, 2010 concerning public safety, blade speed controls, and to identify when a building permit would be required. In review. Staff proposes the allowance of micro-wind energy conversion systems in all residential and commercial zone districts. The setbacks would be same as the underlying current zone districts. Proposed size could not exceed 15 square feet. Height restrictions would remairi at 30 feet. Staff proposes that micro-wind systems be subject to ridge-line protection guidelines. Any noise restrictions would be referenced to the existing Town and County noise ordinances. Lighting of the systems would be prohibited. Provisions were included for unsafe and/or inoperative systems, and all electrical connections would be required to be placed underground. Conduit would be allowed on the tower. Planner Shirk explained that Town Board requested there be a 10-foot ground and structure clearance for the micro-wind energy conversion systems. Roof-mounted systems would be exempt from this requirement. The Town Board asked that total cumulative aggregate swept area of multiple systems be changed to 45 square feet. Planner Shirk stated the Chief Building Official indicated building permits would be required for the installation or modification of any micro-wind energy conversion system th°rnni??d Mthe poyverIgrid’ or when the highest portion of the structure would be greater than 15 feet from natural grade. Fees would be based on the valuation of the project. B. SMALL WIND TURBINES rJdnrpH+the TTn Board reguested the setback on small wind turbines be wVei5- times the !own height t0 two (2)times the tower height. Town Board so proposed adding a public review process to notify neighbors and provide an aSrfltnity t0 com,pent on smal1 wind turbine installations. Staff proposes a new application process for a Conditional Use Permit, which would be verv similar to thP tChUire" Sr,al eViT pr0Cess’ with the exception being the Ranning ColSon L!na the sole decision-making body. Planner Shirk stated this Conditional Use Permit could SLnt n ,CH0nditL0nS be met by ,he aPPliCant Pri0r tf'e is "ulcf Of t Prior to drafting code language. Planner Shirk requested more information from thn rrSS-zSBS'iE—'-Sburalsoryanrfu?u°rBemonn Urt 96 Sh°Uld a.IS° c?nsider not only 'he current property owner, noitve™ helP ®auPe^da ®PP^i^aii<^^,,fbe*standar(^bySWol,anngythnePp" bu' JL RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Estes Valley Planning Commission 3 March 16, 2010 defeat the purpose of installing a wind turbine; after much public input and discussion at previous meetings, the Commission concluded it was important to have the larger systems with more regulations if the micro-systems could be less regulated; safety issues should be dealt with in the building codes; and minimum lot sizes would take care of any setback concerns. Chair Norris requested that the Larimer County standards for wind turbines be sent to all Planning Commissioners for review. Public Comment: Jim Tawney/Town Resident would like to see this topic dropped. He thought this issue would self-regulate, and stated that any regulations would violate property rights. Tom Bergmann/Town Resident stated Governor Ritter’s statement about Home Owner Associations (HOA) being null and void in regards to wind turbines was a disservice to wind turbines. He thought most of the opposition to wind turbines came from residents that are members of HOAs who are no longer allowed to govern their property through the HOA covenants. Mr. Bergmann spoke in favor of a setback of one times the height plus the existing property line setback for small turbines, and suggested it be a regulation of the property as currently defined. Paul Brown/Town Resident reviewed several concerns he had with the details in the code language. He would like to allow micro-wind energy conversion systems lower than ten (10) feet provided they were protected, and stated this would lessen the impact on neighbors and the homeowner. He stated the Larimer County Building Department exempts wind turbines from requiring a building permit when the hub height is less than 12 feet. He suggested changing the EVDC language to exempt wind turbines from requiring a building permit when the total height was 15 feet or less. Mr. Brown thought there should be a way to use swept area measurements to exempt certain wind turbines from requiring building permits. He strongly suggested that Planning Commission review Larimer County’s code requiring, approval through a special review process in certain situations. Bob Clements/Town Resident wanted to know if the letter written by Paul Brown, Tom Bergmann, and him was well-received by the Commissioners. The Commissioners appreciated the positive points, and gave credit to them for getting micro-wind energy conversion systems in front of the Planning Commission. Chair Norris closed the public hearing. Commission and Staff Discussion on Micro-Wind Energy Conversion Systems: Commissioners Poggenpohl and Tucker are fundamentally opposed to a special review process. Commissioner Poggenpohl suggested the language concerning safety be addressed at a lower level than the Planning Commission. Commissioner Hull asked for special review standards from other towns once the Commission begins the review of small turbines. Chair Norris reminded the Commission of the 175-day moratorium extension on building permits for wind turbines. There was general consensus from the Commission to delete the Section 5.2.B.2.g(7)b concerning inoperative systems. Town Attorney White stated this section would be completely ineffective from an enforcement standpoint, and supported the deletion. The Commission agreed to delete “structure” from Section 5.2.B.2.g(8), as well as deleting Section 5.2.B.2.g(9) that deals with blade speed. Referencing Section 5.2.B.2.g(10), a permit shall be required for the installation or modification of any micro-wind energy conversion system connected to the grid, or when the highest portion of the structure is greater than 15 feet from the natural grade. It was moved and seconded (Lane/Hull) to recommend approval to the Town Board of the amendments to the Estes Valley Development Code concerning the RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Estes Valley Planning Commission 4 March 16, 2010 regulation of micro-wind energy conversion systems and the motion passed unanimously. Commission and Staff Discussion on Small Wind Turbines: Commissioner Lane proposed drafting language that would allow small wind turbines as a use by right when certain requirements were met (e.g. using the existing setback requirements and adding a height consideration); otherwise, a type of conditional use permit would be required. Chair Norris directed staff to modify the setback map presented at a previous meeting to show the number of applicable lots using the existing property line setback plus two times the height of the wind turbine. Director Joseph supported Commissioner Lane’s proposal, stating fairly restrictive standards with the setbacks would need to be in place in order to allow a use by right not subject to the conditional use permit review process. Commissioner Fraundorf did not want this review process to become the norm. Chair Norris directed staff to draft language using Commissioner Lane’s proposal as a guide. Director Joseph stated it would be crucial to write a purpose statement with the guiding principle being that the decision by the Planning Commission may require compromising the optimal performance of the unit in order to lessen the impacts to the neighboring properties. It was moved and seconded (Hull/Klink) to continue discussion of small wind turbines to the next regularly scheduled Planning Commission meeting and the motion passed unanimously. 5. REVIEW OF CURRENT TOWNHOME PROVISIONS IN THE ESTES VALLEY DEVELOPMENT CODE Public Comment: Frank Theis/County Resident stated the EVDC definition for townhomes is “no less than three units side-by-side.” He stated there are many different types of townhomes with zero lot lines, and suggested adding these other types into the existing definition. He thought changing this definition would increase the flexibility for new townhome projects. Mr. Theis indicated it would be much easier for buyers to obtain financing for townhomes rather than condominiums because townhome ownership with zero lot lines includes ownership of the land, in contrast to condominium ownership that includes only air space. He suggested considering the allowance of townhomes in A-Accommodations zone districts and PUDs in addition to the existing allowance in Multi-Family zone districts Chair Norris closed the public hearing. It was moved and seconded (Hull/Klink) to continue discussion of the townhome provisions to the next regularly scheduled Planning Commission meeting and the motion passed with unanimously. 6. OTHER TASKS Chair Norris asked the Commission to prioritize the task list and send their top three choices to Recording Secretary Thompson to be included in the next meeting packet. There being no further business, Chair Norris adjourned the meeting at 8:38 p.m. Ron Norris, Chair aren Thompson,ing Secretary