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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1990-01-09 PZC MINUTESCITY OF ENGLEWOOD PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION January 9, 1990 I. CALL TO ORDER. The meeting was called to order by Chairman Gerlick at 7:00 P.M. in the Com- munity Development Conference Room. Members present: Carson, Fish, Gerlick, Schultz, Tobin, Becker Wanush, Ex-officio Members absent: Hogue Also present: Planning Administrator Dorothy Romans II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES October 24, 1989 December 6, 1989 Chairman Gerlick stated that the Minutes of October 24, 1989 and December 6, 1989 are to be considered for approval. Carson moved: Tobin seconded: The Minutes of October 24, 1989 be approved as written. AYES:. NAYS: Gerlick, Schultz, Tobin, Carson None ABSTAIN: ABSENT: Fish, Becker Hogue The motion carried. Becker moved: Fish seconded: The Minutes of December 6, 1989 be approved as written. AYES: Gerlick, None Carson Hogue Schultz, Tobin, Becker, Fish NAYS: ABSTAIN: ABSENT: The motion carried. III. LONG-RANGE PLANNING Mrs. Romans stated that there are two vacancies on the Commission at the pres- ent time, and Mr. Carson's term expires February 1, 1990. Mr. Gerlick stated that Mr. Hogue has given him verbal notice that he is resigning from the Com- mission and moving out of the City, and that Mr. Hogue has stated he has sub- mitted a written resignation, also. Mrs. Romans stated that she is preparing a memorandum for the Assistant City Manager, and is reviewing the records of membership and attendance of the Com- mission since 1985. Mrs. Romans cited the statistics which show that there -1 - have been 27 different members appointed to and serving on the Commission since 1985. Since January 1, 1985, there have been only eight (8) meetings of the Commission at which time there has been a nine (9) member complement, and at which all nine (9) members were in attendance. Mrs. Romans cited statis- tics from each year, and discussed the difficulty in obtaining continuity to work on long-range planning projects. Mr. Gerlick stated that there was an article in the latest Chamber of Commerce newsletter giving the requirements for service on the various Boards and Com- missions in the City. Mrs. Romans stated that the article did give erroneous information on the compensation paid to the Commission and Board of Adjustment members. Mrs. Romans stated that she did have forms available for members of the Commission if they knew of neighbors or acquaintances who might be inter- ested in serving on any of the various Boards or Commissions. Mr. Wanush stated that compounding the problems with the membership and atten- dance of the Planning Commission is the fact that the staffing of the Depart- ment has been reduced; when he started his employment with the Department in June of 1988, the staff comprised the Assistant Director (Planning Administra- tor Romans), a Senior Planner, a Planner II position, and a Planner I posi- tion. The staffing of the Department at the present time is Mrs. Romans as the Planning Administrator, and Mr. Harold Stitt as the Planner, plus himself. The Department was given approval to hire an Economic Development Coordinator in November; however, this person is not involved in the everyday workings of the Planning Division and preparing reports and studies for the Commission. Mr. Wanush stated that the Department also has two Code Enforcement Officers, who are being trained to answer telephone and personal inquiries regarding zoning and land use issues; however , this does take time and training. Mr. Wanush stated that the staff is serious about proceeding with long-range plan- ning projects and providing the Commission the information they need, but there are staffing constraints that must be taken into consideration. Mr. Fish excused himself from the meeting. Mrs. Tobin inquired about making use of college students to assist in the of- fice. Mr. Wanush stated that the Department does have an intern who began work last week, Mr. Dan Girouard. Mr. Girouard will be working an average of 20 to 25 hours per week, but again cited the need for time and training of this person who is in a "learning situation" and is working for credits on his degree. Mr. Wanush urged Commission members to talk to neighbors and acquaintances who might be interested in service on the boards and commissions and urge that they apply. Discussion ensued. Mr. Gerlick asked how deep the discussion on the Comprehensive Plan should be at this point in time in light of the vacancies in membership and new members being appointed in the near future. Mr. Wanush suggested that information on economic development be presented at the next meeting and that Ms. Pepper, the Economic Development Coordinator, would be asked to attend this discussion. Mr. Wanush stated that it may take a couple of meetings to debate the economic development information that has been developed. Mr. Wanush stated that the Housing Task Force has pretty well finished their report, which will be presented to their Committee for final review at the -2 - next meeting at the end of the month. This report should then be presented to the Commission sometime in February for their consideration. The Waste Management Task Force did not meet in December, but does have a meeting scheduled for 5:30 P.M. on January 16. The Traffic Task Force met once but has had problems getting attendance at subsequent meetings, and has been placed in abeyance until the new Council and Commission members are appointed. Mr. Wanush stated that he has asked Mrs. Romans and Mr. Stitt to consider the possible rezoning of portions of the industrially zoned area south of U.S. 285. Mr. Wanush stated that there are three ways in which rezoning may be initiated: (1) by a property owner in the subject area; (2) by the Planning Commission; or (3) by the City Council. Any rezoning will go through the Public Hearing process before the Commission and City Council. Mr. Wanush stated that he also wanted to give further thought and study to the possibility of extending the commercial zoning to the street centerlines on either side of South Broadway rather than to the a 11 ey centerline. He has also asked Mrs. Romans and Mr. Stitt to consider the ramifications of this proposal, and means of protecting the residential uses along these streets. Mr. Carson stated that he could not support this proposal because it would permit the encroachment of the business zoning into the residential districts. Discussion ensued. Group Homes is another issue that Mr. Wanush stated needed to be addressed. There have been recent amendments to Federal regulations and the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance needs to be brought into alignment with those Federal regulations. Mrs. Becker agreed there is a need for the Commission to have direction and understands that the staffing of the Department does present problems in pro- viding the Commission information needed in a timely manner. Mrs. Becker stated that it is her opinion the Planning Commission should be one of the most important and powerful boards or commissions in the City, and she wants the Commission to have "something to get our teeth into." Mrs. Becker sugges- ted that there are things that the individual Commission members might do to assist the staff. Mr. Carson cited the annexation of several properties in the southwestern area bordering the City and the revision of the Planning Commissioner's Handbook. Mrs. Becker suggested the need to place time limitations on the goals and ob- jectives that the Commission devised recently. The issue of Flex zoning was briefly discussed. Mrs. Romans stated that flex zoning might be considered in the area between Hampden and U.S. 285, Logan and Lafayette to allow some uses that would be compatible with the medical campus. Mrs. Romans stated that several years ago the R-2-C SPS District was developed with application of that District to the northwest Englewood area specifically in mind. However, this District designation has never been enacted for this area, and this may be a topic that should be considered by the Commission. Mrs. Tobin suggested the need for a liaison officer with other communities someone to attend the Planning Commission meetings of those jurisdictions to -3 - learn what those communities are planning. Mr. Carson stated that the Commis- sion used to meet periodically with commission of the adjoining communities. Mrs. Becker supported this concept, and pointed out that Englewood is an en- clave and there is need to have communication between adjoining communities. Mrs. Becker suggested that members of the Commission could assume this role and report back to the Commission on activities of the other jurisdictions. Mr. Gerlick inquired on the status of the former Fairgrounds site. Mr. Wanush stated that this was annexed to the City and zoned for commercial and multi- family development. Mrs. Romans stated that the First National Bank of Engle- wood has control of the site, and is looking for a buyer/developer of the site . Brief discussion on possible use of the Fairgrounds site ensued. Mrs. Becker discussed the need for the Commission to get back on a regular meeting schedule. Mr. Gerlick asked if anyone had anything further to discuss on the long-range planning issue. He suggested that members review the outline provided, and come prepared for in-depth discussion at the next meeting, January 16. IV. PUBLIC FORUM. There was no one present to address the Commission. V. DIRECTOR'S CHOICE. Mr. Wanush stated that he had nothing to bring before the Commission. Mrs. Romans stated that she and Miss Welty had attended a showing of photo- graphic works by various artists whose work was chosen to appear in the Lit- tleton Annual Report/Calendar. One of the artists who had a photograph chosen for this publication, and who has four photographs on display, is Mrs. Mar- jorie Becker. Mrs . Romans stated that this showing is most interesting and urged members to take the opportunity to view the works of these various art- ists. The showing is being held at 2450 West Littleton Boulevard. VI. COMMISSIONER'S CHOICE. Mrs. Tobin asked whether the Housing Task Force was to continue after the com- pletion of their report. She stated that this had not been her understanding, nor did she think it was the understanding of the majority of the membership of the Task Force. However, she has heard comments that have led her to ques- tion whether the intent was that it be an on-going committee and asked for clarification. Mr. Wanush stated that once the recommendation of the Task Force is submitted to the Commission, he did not envision the Task Force having on-going responsibilities. He suggested that the Task Force membership might be invited to attend the Commission meeting for discussion of the report at such time as the report is submitted. Brief discussion ensued. There was nothing to report on the Traffic Task Force. Mr. Schultz stated that the Waste Management Task Force will meet at 5:30 P.M. on January 16. Mr. Wanush stated that he wants to suggest that the Task Force meet with two trash hauling firms and two recycling firms and formulate some recommendations. Mr. Gerlick reported on a recent television program he had seen on the issue of waste management/l andfi 11 s; this report indicated that -4 - • paper is one of the biggest problems, and not plastics as had been thought. A lot of the inks and dyes used in papers get into the groundwater, and paper does not decompose as rapidly as previously estimated. Discussion ensued. There being nothing further to come before the Commission, the meeting was declared adjourned at 8:00 P.M. Gertrude G. Welty Recording Secretary -5 - .:. January 9, 1990 Englewood City Council Englewood City Hall Englewood, CO 80110 Mayor VanDyke & Members of City Council: It has been my pleasure to serve for the past 6 months as a member of the Englewood Planning & Zoning Commission an d I am grateful that you gave me this opportunity. 8 (a) Due to some recent, unexpected changes in our lives, Barbara & I will be moving to Lakewood later this month. This has been a difficult decision for us to make after spending the last 19 years in Englewood. As a necessary consequence of this move, I regret to inform you that I must resign as a member of the Planning & Zoning Commission. When I accepted this job last summer, I had no inkling that I would be in the position that I am in now regarding a change of residence. I am normally in the habit of following through on the commitments that I make. Please accept my apologies for this untimely move and the extra work that it creates for you. I appreciate all your efforts and know that I will continue to see good things happening in Englewood. Sincerely, Bruce Hogue . ~ -. -· ~E