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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2009-08-04 PZC MINUTES• • • Planni ng and Zoning Commission Study Ses sion Case # 2008-04 Landscaping Amendments August 4 , 2009 Page 1of4 CITY OF ENGLEWOOD PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING August 4, 2009 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, Vice Chair Knoth presiding. Present: Absent: Staff: Guest: Roth , King, Welker, Krieger, Knoth, Brick Bleile, Fish , Calonder (excused ), Kinton (unexcused) Tricia Langon, Senior Planner Nancy Reid , Assistant City Attorney Ryan Ludwig 11. STUDY SESSION lM Amendments to Title 16 Related to Landscaping Mr. Langon stated she has been working on the landscaping draft, but it is not complete . The full draft will be ready for either the August 18 th or September gth meeting. Tonight the Commission will be looking at the residential, commercial and industrial area sections . Past discussions were reviewed. Residential Minimum Plant Material Requirements, Tr ees was discuss ed. Mr. Roth suggest ed if the landscaped area is less than 1,000 square feet, a minimum of two (2 ) trees shall be required be changed to read less than 1,250 square feet. Ms. Langon wi ll change the draft. Existing trees on a lot, as long as they are not of the prohibited species, will count toward landscaping requirements. Industrial Past discussion was reviewed. The eight foot street perimeter buffer was discussed . Ms . Langon asked the Commission if they had an y comments . Ms. Krieger said the section looked good . . .., • • • P lanning and Zoning Commission Study Session Case # 2008-04 Landscaping Amendments August 4, 2009 Page 2 of 4 Comm e rcia l and M edical District Ms. Langon noted this section needs additional wo rk. Pr ev iousl y th e Commission discussed go ing to a flat 10% requirement, req uirin g street tr ees, number of shrubs requ ir ed, and the f ee-in-lieu option. Mr. Welker said th e bigger issue with this area, as far as percentage goes, i s when a building sits right on the front property lin e t here is n o opportunity for any significant landscape . When yo ur lands cape area is limited by where th e b uil d in g front is, what is the trade-off. .. w hat is the requirem e nt...should we eve n have much of a require m ent? Mr. Roth said businesses spend a lot of money putting up sign s and th en th e tr ees grow u p and completely block those si gns. Mr. Knoth stated h e has run into that issue sho w in g property. Mr. Brick brou g ht up the issu e of g ree n roofs. Ms. Lan gon said th at is one of the alternative compliance options she is reviewin g. Mr. Welker said from an environmental sense it is fine, but it is not visual. M s. Langon remind ed the Commission this Cod e wi ll b e for new construction unle ss it is an existing building that is bein g e nlarged so mu ch that it tri gge rs th e new req uirem ents . Mr. Welker said he would lik e to see th e fee-in-lieu be us ed to beautify th e same neighborhood where the lan dscaping was originally to be and n ot in another area of t he City. Ms. Lan gon said administratively that wou ld be hard to do. If there were only a few dollars from a project, wha t are yo u going to do? You most li ke ly would need t o put it with money from another project. Mr. Welker st at ed he would like t o exp lo re th e possibi lity further. Ms. Krieger asked Ms. Lan gon is she had any recomme ndati o ns . Ms. Langon said m aybe it is as simple as if th e developer wants to in stall the landscapin g, fin e, if n o t, us e the f ee-in- li eu option. Th e Commission urg ed St aff to think o ut of t he box in t erms of options for main street landscaping or in instanc es where a building is placed on th e front lo t lin e. They wo uld also like to encourage people t o not use th e fee-in-lieu, but to enhance th e fr o nt of th eir property in some way. Vice Chair Knoth asked that seve ral case studies b e done and discussed at th e n ext meeting. Ms . Langon stated she will be wo rkin g on a landscape manual 1n conjunction with the am end ments . • • • Planning and Zoning Commission Study Session Case # 2008 -04 Landscaping Amendments August 4, 2009 Page 3 of 4 Before t he A u gust 18th meeting Ms. Langon asked the Comm iss ioners to drive by 3 lots on East Hampden that have been redeveloped and look at the various ways the lots were landscaped. 111 . PUBLIC FORUM tt] No one wished to address the Commission. IV. DIRECTOR'S CHOICE l~ D i rector Whi t e was not present. V. STAFF 'S CHOICE lfll Mr. Brick and Mr. Kinton will be attending the Planning Commissioner's Workshops with DRCOG t his coming Saturday . Ms. Langon asked if they could please report back to th e Commission on what they learned at the next meeting. The Board and Commission Appreciation Night will be on Monday, August 1 Ot 11 at Pirate 's Cove. Chair Bl ei le and V ice Chair Knoth are u nable to attend . Ms. Langon asked for a voluntee r to give a sho rt talk on Planning and Zoning activities . Mr. Roth stated he would be attending and would speak. Ms. Langon provided an update on future meetings: • August 18 -Landscape Amendments • September 9 (Wednesday) -Landscape Amendments City Counc il has requested the Commission take a look at two areas: 1. H ard surface and vehicles ... coordinate the numerous sections of the Code. Th ey have asked the Commission to not only look at what is in Title 16, but in all thr ee sections of the Code. They have asked for recommendations as to w h e re changes might be made. 2. Distr ibution and Growers of Medical Marijuana ..... Last night City Council on first reading enacted a moratorium on the distribution centers and growe rs . If pass ed on second reading it would be effective on August 17 th; it is a six month morat o rium t o February 17, 2010. It takes approximatel y 4 112 months to complete this procedure, so the Commission has quite a bit of work to do . Staff will be working on pre li minary information to bring to the Commission and 1s hoping to start this process at the September 22 nd meeting. The zoning map is currently being revised due to the changes in the Downtown and Medical District Small Area Plan; new ones will be distributed when comp l eted . • • • Planning and Zoning Commission Study Session Case # 2008-04 Landscaping Amendments August 4 , 2009 Page 4 of 4 VI. ATTORNEY 'S CHOICE Ifill Ms . Reid said the plan is to license the medical marijuana growers and distributors. The Constitutiona l Amendment for the State of Colo rado allows for an authorization from the State to grow, distribute and use marijuana. Englewood Code currently has restrictions in the Criminal Code and those will have to be modified to match the State Statute. VII. COMMISSIONER'S CHOICE [~ Mr. Brick asked if the issue of hospital expa n sion on the north side will be addressed soon. Mr. Roth noted City Council also brought this issue up recently. Ms. Langon said Mr. Voboril will be working on the issue as time allows . Vice Chair Knoth stated he tries to make his decisions in this room based on long-term value in Englewood and in business decisions as to whether or not the City would make money on it. He also attended one of Counci lmember Joe Jefferson's district meetings. The meeting adjourned at 8:30 p.m .