Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2007-03-06 PZC MINUTES• • • CITY OF ENGLEWOOD PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSIO N Mar ch 6, 2 00 7 I. CALL TO ORDER The regular meeting of the City Planning and Zoning Commission was called to order at 7 :00 p.m. in the City Council Chambers of the Englewood Civic Center, Chair Roth presiding . Present: Absent: Staff: Diekmeier, Brick, Welker, Krieger (ente re d a t 7 :0 5 ), Knoth , Roth , Mosteller Fish (Excused), Bleile (Excused) Tricia Langon, Senior Pl anner John Voboril, Planner Brook Bell , Planner Nancy Reid , Assistant City Attorney II . APPROVAL OF MI NUTE S February 6, 2007 Mr. Brick moved: Mr. Diekmeier seconded: TO APPROVE THE FEBRUARY 6, 2007 MINUTES AS WRITIEN. AYES: NAYS: ABSTAIN: ABSENT: Brick, Knoth, Roth, Welker, Mosteller, Diekmeier, Krieger None None Bleile, Fish Motion carried. 111. PU BLIC HE A RI NG Case #ZON2007-001 Chair Roth stated the issue before the Commission is Case #ZON2007-001, Swedish Medical Center Planned Development Amendment No. 6. Chair Roth asked for a motion to open the public hearing. Mr. Welker moved : Mr. Diekmeier seconded: THE PUBLIC HEARING ON CASE #ZON2007-001 BE OPENED. AYES: NAYS: ABSTAIN: ABSENT: Brick, Knoth , Roth, Mosteller, Welker, Diekmeier, Krieger None None Fish, Bleile • • • Motion carried . Chair Roth asked staff to present the case. Senior Planner Langon was sworn in. She stated the case before the Commission tonight is Case #ZON2007-001, Amendment No. 6 to the Swedish Medical Center Planned Development. Already presented for the record is proof of publication that the Public Hearing was noticed in the Englewood Herald on February 6, 2007 and Certificate of Posting that the property was posted properly for the required 15 days. Amendment No. 6 of the Swedish Medical Center Planned Development is a proposal for construction of a 40 foot expansion above the operating rooms located over the main entrance of the hospital building located at 501 East Hampden Avenue. The Community Development Department recommends that the Planning and Zoning Commission forward a recommendation to City Council approving the Planned Development Amendment No. 6 with the condition that there be approval of a revised City Ditch License Agreement and Construction Agreement. The current zoning of the site is MU-B-2 (Business District) and MU-R-3-B (High Density Residential District). The portion that is being considered tonight for expansion is within the MU-R-3-B District. The original Swedish Medical Center Planned Development was approved by City Council in 1989. There have been five previous Amendments. Amendments in 1989, 1990, and 1992 were for the medical office buildings. Amendment No. 4 occurred in 1993, which dealt with the future build-out of the facility. In 1996 the Planned Development, which is an overlay zoning, was repealed in favor of adoption of the Planned Unit Development Ordinance. The repeal did not change the status of existing Planned Developments, such as the Swedish Medical Center. Any amendments to the Planned Development were to be made under the same procedures as the original Planned Development. In 2001 Amendment No. 5 dealt with the creation of the current entrance with surgical floor above. The intent of Amendment No. 6 and the expansion is to provide medical and surgical beds in private rooms to meet the patient focused facility that Swedish Medical Center is. The reconfiguration of semi-private rooms to private rooms that is occurring within the hospital and is part of the expans ion project adds only five additional beds to the hospital. The expansion requires a 40 foot extens ion of the currently 53 foot tall entry area and surgical suites above. That 40 foot expansion includes two occupied floors of private rooms and one interstitial floor that will house mechanical equipment and also serve as a transition for the different levels of flooring between the new expansion and the existing patient tower to the north of the building. The proposal was reviewed by the Development Review Team , which consists of seven departments or divisions in the City. All identified issues have been resolved except the outstanding issue of revision of the City Ditch License Agreement and a Construction Agreement. Th e applicant is working with the Utilities D epartment to achieve this requirement. Community Development asks that the Planning Commission finds that Amendment No. 6 meets the five Planned Development standards: 1 . The use is a permitted use within the zone district. Hospital use is an allowed use within the MU-R-3 District 2 • • • 2. T hat the proposed Amendme n t No. 6 is co n sist en t w it h the Co m prehensive Pl an -Roa dm ap En glewood 2003 . Englewood Comprehensive Plan recognizes Swedish Medical Center is an anchor to the City's economy. It is the largest employer in the City. The Plan also recognizes that the hospital is in a growth mode and is also a catalyst to further redevelopment in the City. 3. T he proposed A m e ndm ent No. 6 takes in to co n sideration th e effects on th e su rrounding area. The proposed expansion 1s located above the hospital 's mam entrance, fully within the hospital campus, all set-backs are maintained as they have already been previously approved, the opportunity for public comment is being presented through this process, and the hospital is aware of public sentiment favoring upward development of the hospital rather than horizontal expansion into the residential areas. 4. Th at the Landscaping requireme n t is m et. Under Amendment No . 5, in 2001 , the landscaping was identified at 2 7.33 %. The minimum requirement is 25 %. Since the expansion is upward other than a small area for a stairwell, the degree of landscaping that will be removed is minimal. 5. T hat the off-stree t pa rkin g req ui rement is met. The City's minimum requirement for the hospital is based on the number of beds and maximum number of employees on a shift. That number is 637 parking spaces. The medical center provides 2,458 spaces. Staff be lieves that t h e ove rall d evelopme n t pl an for Ame n d m en t No. 6 is co n sistent w it h t h e inte nt of th e Compre h e n sive Pl an an d t h e Pl an ned D evelop m ent Sta n dards an d therefore seeks approval. Ms. Langon offered to answer any q u estions the Com mi ss io n mi gh t have . Ms. Moste ll er asked Ms. Langon to clarify t h e he igh t li m itati o n s i n re lation to the height excep t io n reg ul at io n that was in place before . Ms. Langon stated t h e c u rrent he i ght of the b uil ding w ith the su rg ical unit is 53.5 feet. Th e O rd inance unde r which t hi s PD was approved was a maxim u m heig h t of 60 fee t; h owever, there was an exceptio n t hat al lowed for every foot of additio n al side set-back p rov ided beyo n d the requ i rement, th e b uil d ing could go up an additio n al foo t. The b uil d ing is 53 feet; they wa n t t o go to 93 fee t, a d ifference of 40 feet. O n eac h side se t back t hey have to meet the ini tial 15 feet sid e set- back plus 40 feet per side. T ha t equ als 65 feet from the side of the b ui ld in g t o th e side property lines . Si de property lin es are Cl arkson on the East and an adjoining prope rty t o t he West. The Ci ty cons iders th e full ca mpu s as th e property. T hey are prov id in g fro m th e build ing in q u estion more t han 300 feet o n o n e side an d m ore than 600 feet o n the other. 3 • • • Mr. Welker asked if the increase pertains to only this one building and not to other buildings on the campus . Ms. Langon stated that was correct. Amendment No. 6 is for just the one building. Chair Roth thanked Ms. Langon. Mr. Will Wagnon , Chief Operating Officer at Swedish Hospital was sworn in. A short PowerPoint presentation was shown. A rendering of the proposed expansion was shown and discussed. He stated the last major renovation was in 1973. Swedish feels it needs to migrate to private rooms to remain competitive in today's healthcare environment. He stated the hospital is focusing expansion vertically and to the south side of the hospital , away from the north side of the facility. The net impact in beds is only five medical/surgical beds to the entire facility. The hospital feels by making these changes they will be able to offer a private patient room environment for all the community they care for. Pending approval of the PD and obtaining a building permit, construction would begin in the third quarter of 2007. The expansion over the current operating rooms would be complete in the first quarter of 2009. Converting the existing semi-private rooms to private would take an additional two years. All construction associated with this Amendment would be complete in 2011. The west Emerson parking lot will be used for construction traffic and the hospital will adhere to the 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. construction time zones. There will be some unique sensitivities related to the City Ditch, which the hospital should be able to successfully accommodate. Mr. Wagnon asked the Commissioners if they had any questions. There were none . Chair Roth asked if there was anyone present who would like to address the Commission. There was no one. Mr. Diekmeier moved: Ms. Krieger seconded: THE PUBLIC HEARING ON CASE #ZON2007-001 BE CLOSED. AYES: NAYS: Brick, Knoth , Roth , Welker, Diekmeier, Krieger, Mosteller None ABSTAIN: None ABSENT: Bleile, Fish Motion carried. Mr. Welker moved: Mr. Knoth seconded: CASE #ZON2007-007 , SWEDISH MEDICAL CENTER PLANNED DEVELOPMENT AMENDMENT NO. 6, BE RECOMMENDED FOR APPROVAL TO CITY COUNCIL WITH A FAVORABLE RECOMMENDATION FOR ADOPTION WITH THE CONDITION THE CITY DITCH REQUIREMENTS BE MET. AYES: NAYS: Brick, Knoth, Roth, Welker, Diekmeier, Mosteller, Krieger None 4 • • • ABSTAIN: ABSENT: None Bleile, Fish Mr. Welker said he felt the expansion falls within the realm of what has been discussed extensively by the Commission and during the Small Area Plan meetings with the public and is the direction that we approve of, going up and increasing density rather than the perimeter where it impacts the neighborhood more. Ms. Mosteller echoed that comment. She appreciates the hospital making the effort to find a solution that went up instead of out. She also said she believes the proposal is consistent with the Comprehensive Plan and as an anchor employer in the community she said it's great that they are modernizing and making themselves competitive. Ms. Krieger said things the Commission is usually concerned with, such as the shadow lines and the bulk plane, the hospital has managed to keep the impact to a minimum on the surrounding neighborhood. Overall visually it does not impact the surrounding neighborhood much at all. At this time Chair Roth asked for a vote . Motion carried. PU BLI C HEARING Case #2007-04 Chair Roth stated the issue before the Commission is Case #2007-04, Englewood Downtown and Medical Center Small Area Plan. Chair Roth asked for a motion to open the public hearing. Mr. Brick moved: Ms. Krieger seconded: THE PUBLIC HEARING ON CASE #2007-04 BE OPENED. AYES: NAYS: Brick, Knoth , Roth , Mosteller, Welker, Diekmeier, Krieger None ABSTAIN: None ABSENT: Bleile, Fish Motion carried. Chair Roth asked staff to present the case. Mr. Voboril, City Planner, was sworn in. Mr. Voboril provided for the record proof of publication for a public notice to conduct a public hearing for the Downtown and Medical Center Small Area Plan which was published February 16, 2007 in the Englewood Herald . The Englewood Downtown and Medical Center Small Area Plan Goals and Objectives basically establish a policy direction for the development and design of strategies that can be used by the Community Development department to implement strategies that are 5 • • • designed to foster economic revitalization and community redevelopment within the two districts. These strategies will then be compiled, prioritized and organized within the framework of a work program that will cover a period of five to ten years that will help the Community Development department design and implement the vision that was articulated through the development planning process that was conducted with the stakeholders. Staff will continue to work closely with the stakeholders in the coming years to begin developing the details that the Goals and Objectives support. Tonight Staff requests that the Planning Commission conduct a public hearing on the Downtown and Medical Center Small Area Plan in order to judge the adequacy of the public planning process, determine if the Goals and Objectives of the Small Area Plan are consistent with and in conformance with the Englewood Comprehensive Plan, and ultimately to make a recommendation for adoption by City Council by Resolution, approving the Goals and Objectives found in the Small Area Plan as official public policies of the City of Englewood. Mr. Brook Bell , City Planner, was sworn in . He provided a brief description of the public planning process up to date. Mr. Voboril presented the Findings of Fact that support adoption of the plan Goals and Objectives for the consideration of the Planning Commission members: 1. That residents , property owners and business owners having personal interests within and one block beyond the study area boundaries were invited to participate as community stakeholders in the Englewood Downtown and Medical Center Small Area Plan stakeholder planning process. 2 . That eight first-round stakeholders meetings were held on October 3, 4, 10 and 11, 2006; two second-round stakeholders meetings were held on November 14 and 1 5, 2006; and one public open house was held on October 1 7, 2006; in order to gather information from stakeholders to be incorporated into a set of goals and objectives. 3 . That the Englewood Downtown and Medical Center Small Area Plan goals and objectives adequately capture the intent of stakeholder comments . 4. That the Englewood Downtown and Medical Center Small Area Plan goals and objectives are consistent with the intent of the goals and objectives of Roadmap Englewood: The 2003 Englewood Comprehensive Plan . 5. That the Englewood Downtown and Medical Center Small Area Plan should be adopted as a policy document to guide the development of implementation strategies for the two districts. Mr. Voboril and Mr. Bell offered to answer any questions or clarifications the Commission may have. · Mr. Brick asked how the plan reinforces a quality workforce to Englewood. Mr. Voboril stated Swedish Medical Center is the City 's largest employer and is also one of the best 6 • • • employers in terms of wages and benefits. The growth of the hospitals and encouraging them and allowing them to grow in a responsible manner will help bring more high paying jobs to Englewood. There were no further questions. Chair Roth thanked Mr. Voboril. Chair Roth asked if there was anyone who wished to address the Commission. Maureen White of 32 71 S Grant Street was sworn in. She said she didn't think the wording of the goals was very strong. She feels a lot of them are great ideas, but don't say exactly how they are going to be accomplished. She stated her greatest concerns are with the attention that was paid to rental single-family homes and attempts to eliminate those as if those were the only big issues. She does not believe they are. She believes if the City is going to create more apartment buildings the City should require they have on-site management. She said she would like to see the word "appropriate" changed to "adequate" in regards to parking requirements. She said it would be nice to have a movie theatre and clothing stores in the City. She stated she lives in Englewood and is a teacher at Littleton High School. It is sad to hear about the kids that open enroll at Littleton High School. Something needs to be done to improve Englewood Public Schools. She suggested a youth program in the summer to help the elderly with the upkeep and maintenance of their homes. Lastly, she shared concerns about cleaning up the old trees in the City. Chair Roth asked if there was anyone else who would like to address the Commission. There was no one . Mr. Welker asked Staff is they would like to comment on Ms. White's testimony. Mr. Voboril commented on the goals not being that strong. The public did want to have more precise answers as to what could be done in their neighborhoods. The way the planning process works is if you get down into the details right away you can get very bogged down and not get anywhere with that type of approach. First you need to take a very big view of the area and try to get people to think in the bigger picture. The Goals and Objectives are not as precise as many of you would like, but they give a good guideline of where we go from here. This is a continual process that will go on for five to ten years. The next step is to take the time to develop more specific strategies. He stated there will be a meeting with the stakeholders this year to begin to slowly get more and more defined as we go. Mr. Welker stated part of the process is defined by what City Council authorizes to happen. They have asked Staff to put it out on the table as a small area plan. It is not the last step, it is just the beginning. Mr. Brick said he liked the suggestion to change the word "appropriate " to "adequate" in regards to parking. Mr. Welker Mr. Diekmeier moved: Ms. Krieger seconded: THE PUBLIC HEARING ON CASE #200704 BE CLOSED. 7 • • • AYES: NAYS: ABSTAIN: ABSENT: Brick, Knoth , Roth , Welker, Mostel ler, Diekmeier, Krieger None None Bleile , Fish Motion carried. Ms . Krieger moved; Mr. Knoth seconded CASE #2007-04, ENGLEWOOD DOWNTOWN AND MEDICAL CENTER SMALL AREA PLAN, BE RECOMMENDED FOR APPROVAL TO CITY COUNCIL WITH A FAVORABLE RECOMMENDATION FOR ADOPTION. AYES: NAYS : ABSTAIN: ABSENT: Brick, Knoth, Roth , Welker, Diekmeier, Mosteller, Krieger None None Bleile, Fish Ms. Mosteller said she is really excited about the Small Area Plan and that it has so many different residents and business leader's fing e rprints on it. She believes it is going to be very meaningful once we get to the point where we are actually starting to see som e change that the people want and ask for. It does a great job of capturing some of the objectives in the City 's Comprehensive Plan, particularly in the areas of housing, transportation and environmental quality. She thanked the attendees for attending and participating in the process. Mr. Welker said he felt Ms. White's comments were right on. He had one amendment to the comments from a previous Small Area Plan discussion. On page 8 under Medical Sub Area 1 the word "blocks " should be "two lots north of Girard ". He also had comments on Englewood students attending Littleton High School . He said he was very glad to see the public attend the meeting and asked them to continue to let the Commission know when they are on-track and off-track as the City continues this process. He also encouraged them to serve on a Board or Commission. Motion carried. IV . PUBLIC FORUM There was no one present to address the Commission. V. ELECTION OF OFFICERS Mr. Welker moved: Ms. Mosteller seconded : DON ROTH BE RETAINED AS CHAIR AND BRIAN BLIELE BE RETAINED AS VICE CHAIR AYES: NAYS: Brick, Knoth , Roth, Welker, Mosteller, Diekmeier, Krieger None 8 • • • ABSTAIN: ABSENT: None Bleile, Fish Motion carried. VI. STAFF'S CHOICE Ms. Langon stated at the March 20, 2007 meeting the Commission w ill be looking at more UDC topics. Mr. Knoth signed up to attend the DRCOG Planning Comm iss io n seminar at DU on March 101 ". Ms . Langon sent out an ema il to all Commissioners regarding a DRC OG seminar on economic development to be held on March 22 , 2007. If anyone would li ke to attend they are to contact Staff. Since Mr. Fi sh is ill tonight and cou ld not atte nd pictures of he and Mr. Calonder will be taken at a later date to update the Commission's profile. VII. ATTORNEY'S CHOICE Ms. Reid stated she had noth ing to report. VIII. COMMISSIONER'S CHOICE Mr. Welker commented on Gertrude Welty's passing. Gertrude was the Planning and Zoning recording secretary for many yea rs. Ms. Krieger sa id she attended the serv ice. Ms. Mostel ler asked in the future if the Comm ission would like to discuss the id ea of community/neighborhood id en tity. Mr. Welker sa id it has been discussed before, but may be time to talk about it aga in . Ms. Krieger asked what the benefit would be. Ms. Mosteller said she bel i eved the Commission would have to think abo u t o utcomes before spending a lot of time on it. Th e meeting adjourned at 8:30 p.m . 9