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Home My WebLink About2014-01-07 PZC MINUTES• • • CITY OF ENGLEWOOD PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING Community Development Conference Room January 7, 2014 I. CALL TO ORDER The regular meeting of the City Planning and Zonin g Commission was called to ord e r at 7:00 p.m . in the Community D eve lopme nt Confe rence Room of the En g lewood Civic Ce nter, Chair Bri ck presiding . Present: Bleile, Roth , King, Knoth , Bri c k, Kinton , To wnley, Fish , Kin g, Welker, Freemire (a lternate) Absent: Staff: N one A l an White, Director, Community Deve lopme nt Ch ri s N e u becker, Senior Planner N an cy Reid , Ass i stant C ity A tt o rn ey 11. APPROVAL OF MINUTES D ece mber 3, 2013 Knoth moved: Bleil e seco nd ed : TO APPROVE THE DECEMBER 3, 2013 MINUTES C h a ir Brick as ked if there were any modifi ca tions o r co rr ect io ns, there were non e . AYES: NAYS: ABS TAIN: ABSENT: Bleil e, Roth , Kin g, Knoth , Br i c k, Kinto n, Tow nl ey, Fish , Kin g, Welker Non e Non e N one Motion ca rri ed. Ill. STUDY SESSION Chris N eubec k e r, Sen io r Pl a nn er, rev iewed the proposed Zonin g Tex t Amendment for Non-Conforming Structures. Acco rdin g to a m ap developed b y St aff, th e re are 104 structures in the City identified as non-co nformin g du e to de nsity. Th e re is no app are nt patte rn to the lo cat ion of th e b uildin gs. It was c la rif ied th at th e re are two diffe re nt code sect ions: 16-9-2 N o n-Conforming Us es a nd 1 6-9-3 N on-Confo rmin g Str u ct ures . Th e proposed text am end ment add resses 16-9-3 N o n-Conformin g Structures . Pa ge 1 of 4 • • • At the direction of the Commission, Staff will revise the lan guage regarding vo luntary redev e lopment and eliminate the duplicate information that cur rently exists by removing item 16-9-3-B(4). Chair Brick asked for comments or further co nsid era tion on the topic based on the discussion from last meeting. Mr. Roth had conce rns about the scope of the change based on the fact that the discussion began because of only two buildings and suggested that MU-R-3-B would be the only zone district to which the amendment should app ly. Brick asked for an estimate of the potential number of properties affected, Neubecker estimated that less than 1 % would likely be damaged or destroyed over the next 20 years . Including voluntary redevelopment and reconstruction of the same, that number may be closer to 5%. Bleile pointed out that these instances would be only in the event of an acc id e nt or in cide nt that would substantially damage the structure. King stated that obsolete buildings would be rebuilt according to current building codes and zoning regulat ions. Welker suggested that the difference between building codes and zoning codes needs to be clearly defined. The staff proposal is for a change in verbiage to the current zoning code. It was agreed that there is a need for consistency throughout the code between zoning and building to eliminate confusion in the event of repa ir to damage to a structure. Neubecker suggested that a sentence be added that regardl ess of any waivers or other co nsideration that would be given to a property owner regarding zon in g codes, a ll cu rr ent building codes would apply . Chair Brick polled the Commission for their opinion on whether or not the changes shou ld apply to all zones or just MU-R-3-B as suggested by Roth. The majority of the Commissioners feel that the revision should apply to all zoning districts. The duplexes in R-1-A would be subject to the revised zoning code. It was agreed that these situations would be subject to Staff review on a case-by-case basis in the event that a building is "grandfathered" und e r the current zoning code prior to reconstruction through the Zoning Site Plan Review process (16-2-9.) The property owner would have the opportunity to appeal any Staff decision through the Board of Adjustments. Fish and Townley suggested removing the term "p ra cticab le " or clarifying the definition of "p ract icable with existing standards" and state who would make the determination of what "practicable" repair to a structure would be. Neubecker pointed out that the word "p racticable" provides some direct ion for redevelopm e nt. Directo r White stated that there is a better chance of the site plan meeting the adopted standards if the wording on "p racticable" was included. Staff will revise the verbiage as needed and prepare for Public Hearing. It was agreed that the zoning code should be tightened up to be congruent with building codes in the interest of staff protection and the best interests of the City of Englewood . Page 2 of 4 • • • IV. PUBLIC FORUM No m embers of the public were prese nt at the meetin g . V. A TIORNEY'S CHOICE Ms. Re id did not have any co mments for th e Commission. VI. STAFF'S CHOICE Chris N eub ec ker, Se nior Plann e r, revi ewed the Lon g mont f ie ld trip and presented photo s of the highlights. Dis c ussion ensued on th e following features that the Commiss io ners felt co uld be impl e mented in the City of En g lewood : Street Trees -Careful co nsid e ration should be give n t o placem e nt a nd typ e of trees installed to preve nt obscuring storefronts. Brick Sidewalks -Sid ewa lks other than plain conc ret e create a we l co ming v i ew and provide direction for pedest rians with th e u se of co lo r and t ex ture . Mr. Roth pointed out that th ese surfaces ne ed to be wheelchair fri endly. Th e add ress markers for t h e businesses were set into th e sid ewa lks in front of th e doors . Historical Markers -Capitalize on th e histo ry of th e City to engage visitors to th e area . There is a lot of interesting history in Englewood that co uld be do c um e nted. Alleyways -Lon gmont improved th e ir a ll eyways w ith adeq u ate drainage, li g hting, surface tr eatme nts and waste/recycling co rr a ls. Beca u se Englewood has 1h block lots a lon g Broadway, thi s would not b e as easy to ac hi eve he re but cou ld potent i ally h ave a positive imp ac t on property values . Some of th e buildin gs in Lon g m o nt h ad e ntr ances o n thr ee sid es includin g the breezeways. Consideration should be g ive n to expanding those lots and th e commercial zoning along Bro adway, w hen buildin gs are redeve loped . Ms. Tow nl ey inquired as to whether EPA funds mi g ht be ava il ab le for en h anci ng th e drainage in a ll eys . Breezeways or Paseos -By providing li g htin g, aw nin gs and artwork, the space is more us er friendly and enhances th e co nn ec tion between th e main st reet and the adjacent parking areas. Art Community -Lon gmont is pursuing designation as a Co lo rado Creat ive Distr ict. In co rporat in g th e c rea ti ve co mmunity into th e planning process, this act ivity could be a catalyst for further eco nomi c development. Murals and ot her public art displays were evide ntl y e n co uraged and it was su ggested t h at this type of "s ignage" sho ul d be mentioned promin e ntly in the sign code . Page 3 of 4 • • • Director White asked for suggestions for further training for th e Commission. Field trips were suggested, possibly to downtown Littl eton and other nearby developments. Mr. Fish mentioned possible training related to upd ating the Compre he n sive Plan. Mr. Brick suggested that crime prev e ntion be integrated with planning wherever possible and that there may be resources available to facilitate training. VII. COMMISSIONER'S CHOICE Knoth-Felt that the field trip was very beneficial and spoke about comparisons between Lon g mont and the Broadway co rridor. H e m ent ion ed the li g htin g on Larimer Square downtown and the ambiance and definition that th e li g htin g provides to the area. Kinton -Embrace the history of the C ity of Englewood and us e the hi sto ry to build a sense of place. Townley -Engage with Englewood Arts Commission to foster the creative commun it y. It was suggested that they attend a Planning and Zoning Commission meeting to share ideas. Fish -The funds from the Longmont DOA were instrum enta l in developing their downtown area. Creative funding would be necessa ry to impl e m ent some of th e ideas ga th e red during the field trip . Welker -Strong leadership and vision are needed to take id eas to the next step , creat in g place is important, utilizin g MOA (M u se um of Outdoor Arts) and history projects would be a sta rting point. Brick -The Plannin g and Zonin g Commission h as the ability to become leaders on th e new Comprehensive Plan in the City of En g lewood . The ne xt regularly scheduled meeting is W ed nesda y, January 22, 2014. Th e meeting adjourned at 8:34 p.m. Isl lulie Bailey Recording Secretary Pa ge 4 of 4