Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2008-11-18 PZC MINUTES• • • Pl anning and Zoning Commissi on Study Session -Priorities No vember 18 , 200 8 Page I of8 CITY OF ENGLEWOOD PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION Regular Meeting November 18, 2008 I. CALL TO ORDER The regular meeting of the City Planning and Zoning Commission was called to order at 7:04 p .m . in the Community Development Conference Room of the Englewood Civic Center, Chair Bleile presiding . Present: Absent: Staff: Bleile, Roth , King, Welker, Calonder, Krieger (e nt e re d 7:07), Knoth, Brick Fish Alan White, Community Development Director Tricia Langon , Senior Planner Nancy Reid, Assistant City Attorney II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES GI November 4, 2008 Knoth moved: Roth seconded: TO APPROVE THE NOVEMBER 4, 2008 MINUTES Chair Bleile asked if there were any modifications or corrections . Mr. Roth noted on Page 5 nex t to last paragraph Mr. Krieger should read Ms . Krieger. There being no other changes the Chair called for a vote . AYES: NAYS: ABSTAIN: ABSENT: Bleile , Roth, Welker, Krieger, Calonder, Knoth , King, Brick None None Fi sh Motion carried . Ill. PRIORITIES Mr. White stated he was looking for more input from the initial discussion at the last Planning and Z oning meeting. He said he did not want the member's thinking to be constrained by we can 't possibly get to that next year. This can be a multi-year scenario . He referenced the three l ist s of items that were included in the meeting packet. Staff has also been thinking of the Hwy. 285 , Kenyon, Broadway to Santa Fe as the next step in our • • • Planning and Zoning Commission Study Session -Priorities November 18, 2008 Page 2 of8 small area plan program. In the RTD FasTracks proposal they owe the City some parking spaces and where to put those is und e r discussion right now. RTD is looking at alternatives, but none of those alternatives takes Bates Station off the table at this time. He noted RTD is restructuring their financing and that could change at some point. Looking at the Council list, Tricia took the commercial vehicle weight and hard surface to Council on first reading and a public hearing will be held in two weeks so those two items should be done this year. We are going to be working on in some manner th e issue of flags in business districts. Planning and Zoning will need to come back to this is sue as soon as possible and study how to let other businesses have flags . Mr. Bleile asked if for other businesses in the BID or outside of it. Mr. White said outside the BID. Ms. Reid said what went on first reading was just in the BID. Mr. White said that was correct. Mr. Welker said if we do that he believes the Commission needs to also discuss signs. He stated he had been driving around the City in the last few days and it is the most abominable collection of signs that people are doing. There are sandwich signs along Broadway, more temporary banners that ever have been put up, and more windows painted than we used to ha ve . Mr. White asked Ms. Reid if Staff was still holding off on the sign discussion or was that just murals . Ms . Reid said just murals. Ms. Krieger asked if the Commission could move forward in changing the sign code. Ms. Reid said yes. She asked that if anyone sees a mural that has been put up to please let Staff know. Just because we are in litigation with a couple of them it doesn't mean we are not going to enforce the Code. She noted the City won the first case in District Court. The y said our Sign Code was constitutional as applied. We are good until somebody tells us we are not good. As far as she's concerned any part of the Sign Code is ready to be enforced at any time. Mr. Welker said his point is not so much that he wants to start complaining about everybody individu al ly, he just believes the Commission needs to discuss it and see if we need to make changes . Mr. Bleile said if we are going to talk about that, personally he would like to see it approached in the same way the last couple of big tickets items were which is to have pictures and numerous examples from other cities and within the city to view. Hav ing good visual representation helped drive previous discussions and would work for him in regards to this issue . Mr. White asked the Commission if they wanted to explore the issues before we begin the process of rewriting the Code. Mr. Bleile said he would like to see what else is out there, • • • Planning and Zoning Commission Study Session -Priorities November 18 , 200 8 Page 3 of8 what's bad, what's good, and what we as a City or a team would really like it to look like in the future. What's the goal and objective? Ms. Langon said it was quite a while ago that Staff actually looked at the Sign Code and one of the things she identified is there is something like 60 different definitions that relate to signs in the current Code . A lot are intertwined and very confusing to use. One of the things when she started to work on it was trying to get it in a more concise format and definitions . She had some discussion with several sign fabricators to get ideas of what they use in the sign industry for terminology. Her idea was to start with common definitions so we know what we are talking about...that makes it a lot easier because what is a "po le sign" or a "canopy sign"? It could be different things to different people. She agreed with Chair Bleile that pictures would be helpful during the discussion . Most felt it will be a monumental task. Mr. White asked if some type of expert help was needed in regards to sizes , tra ve l speed , what people are able to grasp or can we do it in-house . Ms. Langon said she feels Staff can do a good portion of it in-house if we have an understanding of what it is we are talking about and what the Commission and Council would like to see ultimately. When we get to the technical part of how big is big we ma y need to refer to an expert. Mr. Welker said it would be nice to have input as to how other cities are dealing with signs. Mr. Knoth said he believes most other cities in the metro area have good definitions in place . Mr. King said when you look at the new businesses that are coming in like Starbuck 's and Panda Express their signs are tasteful and well done. It's the older signs that are the problem and you can't change that. Ms. Langon asked from general policies would it be better to have fewer but larger signs that are visible or is it better to have smaller signs and have twice as many? One way to look at it is signs are visual clutter ... are you cluttering it up by having so many or is it actually less clutter. Mr. Knoth said it depends on the tenant. Target will want to have the biggest bulls eye that you can see for mi les. Other tenants will want a sign on every side of the building. Mr. Welker said that brings up a point that we also need to talk about. For large properties (Target, Wal-Mart, K-mart and car dealers) what signage is appropriate for them? We hit on those types of properties more than we do on the small strip center or Broadway. They put up more signs that really aren't within the Cod e today. As far as quantity, sizes, temporary banners and sandwich boards the bigger businesses really aren't over signed except occasionally. The members discussed several violations they have seen recently. Mr. Knoth stated he approves of signs that are permanent, but not the sandwich boards or temporary signs . • • Planning and Zoning Commission Study Session -Priorities November 18 , 2008 Page 4 of8 Mr. White asked the members what type of public process they see going through? Would we get the business community involved up front, the BID, the Chamber or do we workshop it and go to Ordinance? Mr. Welker said he felt the Commission does need to talk to the others at some point, he just didn't know if they were step 1 or step 2. Chair Bleile said he felt the Commission should formulate a plan first and have a general outline before taking it to others. Mr. Welker suggested the Alliance for Commerce in Englewood Commission be invited and some type of stakeholder group. Ms. Krieger said it would be helpful to ha ve the general direction Planning and Zoning want to go in set up first and then meet with the stakeholders and then ask them if they have any objections or other id eas . We could use the expert to talk about design, size, etc. Mr. Welker said he took the Community Development wish list and prioritized them as follows : 1 . 2. 3. 4. 5 . Medical District Small Area Plan Signs Landscaping Parking PUD Other categories include Uses/Limited Use, Flood Plain and Energy {Wind and Solar). Mr. Brick asked if Staff is beginning to see homeowners and small businesses wantin g to install wind and solar equipment. Do we need to come up with some regulation s or is this just something off in the horizon? Ms. Langon said it is a little bit of both. There have been inquiries for both. Ms. Langon asked if anyone else had prioritized the list. Chair Bleile said he would place parking up a little higher on the list under the Small Area Plan because they are tied together. Mr. King stated he attended one of the Stakeholder meetings for the Medical District Small Area Plan and the design consultant for the streetscape gave a presentation, which was pretty impressive. She was very good. One of the things they did bring up, which is a capital expense, in advance of development is getting these areas paved, the sidewalks in , the planters and park benches done in order to attract development as opposed to putting it in after the fact. Slides of the new streetscape completed in Eagle , Colorado were shown and it really did change the streetscape quite a bit and draw a lot of businesses wanting to relocate into those areas. Mr. Welker said maybe that is one of the things that should be put on the capital • improvements list. Mr. Brick said in terms of where the City sits financially right now would Planning and Zoning Commi ss ion Stud y Session -Pri01ities November 18 , 2008 Pa ge 5 of 8 • we look to try and get the developers to do that work after the fact even though it m ight be attractive before the fact. Can the City afford to spend the money to make it happen? • Mr. Welker said the money isn 't there now, but as we start putting a wish list together of capital projects ... .we've done that along Broadway, why not along Old Hampden? Mr. King said if money wasn't an issue it would be better for the City to do it first. Mr. Welker and Ms. Krieger felt that is one thing the City can do to encourage economic development in that area. Ms. Krieger brought up the need for some type of access from the west side of Santa Fe to the Light Rail Station, especially now with all the apartments going up in the old drive-in location . If we had more development on the west side of Santa Fe feeding off the rest of this is would put even more impetus behind that... .. either over or under Santa Fe. Mr. White asked if that was an area we should look at. Mr. Welker said it should be part of the mix when you're talking about this area . It's part of Englewood. Mr. Welker said he does not see a reason for it not to be placed on the list. Mr. White said some type of access has the potential to bring a lot of people into this area. Mr. Knoth said his priorities on the Planning and Zoning list include: 1 . 2. Economic Development Green Codes -incentives for both commercial and residential Mr. King said Englewood is a relatively green city residential wise anyway. Englewood uses the 2006 International Energy Code, which is stricter than Denver. He said rather than having fields of solar panels that are owned by utility companies that charge for the power that come through those and is sold to your house, the real estate that ultimately needs to be covered is the roof tops. You can get panels now that weave right into the shingles and you can hardly see them. We may be premature in doing it now because of the cost aspect, but felt it should be put into the long-range planning . Mr. Welker said we haven't really defined green codes yet. Where does it fit...into building or zoning or something else. Mr. Brick stated he knows very little about green codes. Mr. Knoth stated there is a gentleman with the Rocky Mountain Land Institute that has written with some codes that are very green . He heard him speak at a DRCOG program last year . Mr. King asked if Staff has ever considered on new builds burying the power as opposed to going overhead . Ms. Langon stated that is a requirement today. Mr. Welker noted that is from the pole to the house, not neighborhood wise. Mr. Welker said maybe we should be looking at the main service lines and getting all of that ugliness off our streets. Mr. Calonder • asked if that was even in the scope of what Planning and Zoning can do. • • • Planning and Zoning Commission Study Se ssion -Priorities November 18 , 200 8 Page 6 o f 8 Ms. Langon said when we were working on the UDC years ago that was a topic that came up. If one has to do it and eventually the next one and the next one, ev entuall y it will be done, but it's not going to happen immediately. Chair Bleile stated he would like to see the alleys paved . Mr. Welker said if we were to prioritize the small area plans he said it would be to finish the Medical District one that is in progress and then do the 285-Kenyon/Broadway to Santa one. The transportation corridor one is important but Bates is not within our control. Ms. Krieger said it's almost impossible to prioritize because they all are so important as far as the Community Development list goes. Ms. Langon said her list would be based more on things that she sees from a day to day basis and things that affect the most people and properties or would have the most immediate effect. It would be as follows : 1 . 2 . 3. 4. 5. 6. 7 . Medical District Small Area Plan which is being done Landscaping and Parking. Needed to move the small area plan forward . Flood Plain -it affects a large number of properties and could be done with a small amount of effort. Discussion ensued regarding the flood plain. Signs Limited Use -affects a good number of properties and needs to be adjusted . Energy PUD -affects a few, but is a major problem. Prior to the PUD there was a PD and Staff has issues with that in dealing with old properties that have th at designation. Mr. Calonder suggested the Commission use Ms. Langon 's list since she sees the issues every day. Mr. Welker asked what the Uses category is ... what does it incorporate ? Ms. Langon said Uses is looking at the uses that we have in the chart and identifying: 1) are the definitions in the Code definitions that we need today and (2) are the uses appropriate in the zone districts that they are in . Mr. Welker said on the Planning and Zoning list he would like to get back to the commercial vehicle issue and noted capital projects are going to be discussed e v ery year. Mr. Brick said the City budget has come to Planning and Zoning very late in the past and we discussed the possibility of getting some input earlier in the year. Mr. White said he was thinking more in terms of May as that's when the budget process really starts gearing up. He said he believes the requirement for the Commission is to provide a recommended list. Mr. Welker said one of the things that has come up tonight and something he would like to see put on the priority list is what the City can do and put into the capital budget to address some issues in the Medical District Small Area Plan district. • • • Plann ing and Zoning Commi ssion Study Session -Prioriti es November 18 , 200 8 Page 7 of 8 Ms. Krieger asked Mr. White what his priorities are. Mr. White said his first priority would be to f inish up the Medical District Small Area Plan including landscaping and parking. He said signs are going to need to be looked at. Th e flood plain issues need to be taken care of, but could be relatively painless as well as energy . He noted Staff did respond to a Council request regarding protecting solar access. Boulder and Denver have regulations that protect a structures ' access to solar radiation. Council did not ask that we proceed at this time, but may in the future. Mr. Welker asked about the bulk plain and how it could affect so lar radiation. Denver requirements were discussed . Mr. King said his personal opinion is that the single-family requirements are good, but multi-family is not, mostly because it is just too difficult to get the square footage inside on a 50 foot lot. Mr. Welker believes solar access needs to be looked at in the commercial sector also . Mr. White said Staff has also been looking at adding residential uses in certain areas of the City's industrial zone districts. We had a group from the Urban Land Institute visit during the Placemaking conference in Denver and they did a critique of the City Center TOD. They had some great ideas for taking the area to the next level. He said he has been approached by the City Manager, Deputy City Manager and several member of the Council to undertake what is called a placemaking study. Basically, it would be taking a look at this area and identifying physical improvements we can do and public improvements ... what could we do to really reinvigorate this area . Chair Bleile said he believes City Center personally was extremely short sided on a vision of how it should look 10 years from now. Mr. White said we wou ld be developing that vision and some implementation on a short-term and long-term basis . Chair Bleile said that would be a good idea . Mr. Welker asked if the group 's input was primarily for City Center. Mr. White said some groups went all the way over to Englewood Marketplace. They had a problem with all the barren asphalt/concrete areas. M r. White said there is huge potential for this area. Various potential improvements from City Center to the Englewood Marketplace area were discussed. Ms . Krieger suggested the ideas be talked about and acted on . Mr. White sug gested they be put into a plan and we start implementing that plan . Chair Bleile said he would like to have the City Center area be put on a meeting agenda in the first quarter of 2009 . IV. PUBLIC FORUM There was no pubic present. V. DIRECTOR'S CHOICE • • • Planning and Zoning Commission Study Session -Priorities November 18 , 2008 Page8of8 Mr. White had nothing further to report. VI. STAFF'S CHOICE Ms . Langon gave an update on future meetings : December 2: Mr. Voboril will discuss the Medical District Small Area Plan . Landscaping discussion if time allows December 16 : Meeting cance lled Mr. Knoth asked what the next step is in the process assuming the Medical District Small Area Plan passes. Ms. Langon said if the plan is adopted, it does not rezone property so the property would have to also be rezoned. Ms. Kr ieger said the plan is just a vision. Chair Bleil e suggested the members bring up their questions at the Decembe r 2"d meeting with Mr. Voboril. Ms. Langon noted that the R-1 5% lot subdivision issue went to Council two weeks ago and failed . VII. ATTORNEY'S CHOICE Ms. Reid noted the deadline for current members to reappl y for boards and commissions is Wednesday, November 26th. VIII. COMMISSIONER'S CHOICE Ms. Krieger suggested potential future meeting information be includ ed on the agenda instead of providing a separate calendar. The members agreed and staff will do so in the future. The meeting adjourned at 8:18 p.m .