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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2009-05-05 PZC MINUTES• • • Plannin g and Zoning Commission Public Hearing Cas e #2008-03 and #ZON2009-01 May 5, 2009 Page I o f 10 CITY OF ENGLEWOOD PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING May 5, 2009 I. CALL TO ORDER ~ The regular meeting of the City Planning and Zon i ng Commission was ca lled to order at 7:06 p.m . in the Council Chambers of the Eng lewood Civic Cente r, Vice Chair Knoth presiding. Present: Absent: Staff: Roth , King, We lker, Calonder, Krieger, Knoth, Fish , Kinton Brick, Blei le Alan White, Comm u nity Deve lopment Director John Vobo r il , Pla n ner Nancy Reid, Assistant City Attorney 11. APPROVAL OF MINUTES April 1 71 2009 Krieger moved : Calonder seconded : TO APPROVE THE APRIL~, 2009 MINUTES Vice Cha i r Knoth asked if there were any modifications or corrections. There were none. AYES: NAYS: ABSTAIN : ABSENT: Roth , Welker, Krieger, Calonder, Knoth, Fish , King None None Brick, Bleile Motion carried . 111. PUBLIC HE A RING : CASE #2008-0 3 AND CASE #ZON2009-01 ~ Welker moved : Roth seconded : THE PUBLIC HEARING ON CASE #2008-03 AN D CASE #ZON2009-01 BE OPENED AYES: NAYS : Knoth, Roth , Welker, King, Kr ieger, Ca londer, Fish None • • • Planning and Zoning Commission Public Hearing Case #2008-03 and #ZON2009-0l May 5, 2009 Page 2 of 10 ABSTAIN: None ABSENT: Brick, Bleile Motion carried. Mr. Voboril, Planner, was sworn in. He stated tonight's Public Hearing will be focusing on two related but separate zoning cases, Case #2008-03, Medical Zone and Overlay Amendments to Title 16 and Case #ZON2009-01, Amendment to the Official Zoning Map to rezone an area of the City generally bounded by South Logan Street, East Girard Avenue, South Lafayette Street and Little Dry Creek to M-1 and M-2 Mixed Use Medical Districts and to establish areas in which supplemental M-0-1 and M-0-2 Medical Overlay District Regulations Apply. CASE #2008-03 Mr. Voboril stated he has proof of publication of the public hearing notice, which was published in the Englewood Herald on April 17, 2009. The Swedish Medical Center and Craig Hospital area was first identified as a potential area of change in Roadmap Englewood: The 2003 Englewood Comprehensive Plan. In support of that vision the Community Development Staff, with the support of City Council, began to develop a small area planning process centered on the Downtown and Medical District areas in the fall of 2006. Five thousand people were invited to participate as stakeholders: all property owners, business owners and residents within the two original study area districts plus an additional one block radius beyond those borders. Three hundred people registered to participate and approximately 150 actually attended the meetings. At the stakeholder's meetings Community Development Staff gave a presentation on the existing issues and conditions within the two districts and posed a number of questions to the stakeholders concerning what types of development they felt were appropriate in the Medical District. From that feedback, Staff developed a vision, goals and objectives that were then incorporated into the Small Area Plan document. This policy document went before Planning Commission in a similar Public Hearing process and was recommended for adoption and approved by Resolution by City Council in the spring of 2007. Shortly after that, Staff began to work on an analysis of the existing medical district zoning in order to determine whether it was conducive to achieving the vision, goals and objectives that were found in the policy document. Staff determined that the existing zoning was not conducive to the vision in the Small Area Plan document. Staff then began working on developing medical district concepts for rezoning the area . Once that was completed, another series of study sessions with the Planning and Zoning Commission were held to explain the concepts and to make refinements. When completed, presentations were once again held with the stakeholders and the hospital staff. The hospital meetings occurred in September and October of 2008 and the stakeholder's meetings were on November 12 and 13, 2008 . At the meetings, Staff presented the concepts. The feedback from the meetings was that Staff had generally created amendments that were in the spirit of what was in the policy document. • • • Planning and Zoning Commission Publ ic Heari ng Case #2008-03 and #ZON2009-01 May 5, 2009 Page 3 of 10 Comprehensive Plan Housing Goal #1 states "Promote a balanced mix of housing opportunities serving the needs of all current and future Englewood citizens". Supporting that goal, Small Area Plan Housing Goal #3 states "Encourage investments in new housing within the Medical Center area ". The inspiration for the Medical Zone and Overlay District Amendments, in terms of housing, comes from The Terraces at Pennsylvania project. This is a recently completed project built by the Englewood Housing Authority which was forced to go through a Planned Unit Development Rezoning process. Staff would like to allow that ty pe of development to occur without the rezoning requirement. Staff focused on making the setbacks more flexible and creating a larger development envelope on a particular property for more fl ex ibility for development purposes. Also , Staff looked at changing the way the City regulates the number of residential units on a property. Existing zoning regulates the number of residential units b y land area per unit. Staff suggests switching to a sy stem which would regulate the number of residential units on a development by the maximum height restrictions and minimum parking requirements . Staff also instituted a number of different height zones . Some area heights were kept at the current level in order to protect th e ne ig hborhoods to th e north and the east. In other areas south of the main hospital campus, Staff created a height zone of 145 feet to encourage a more intensive residential type development in an area that would not affect the single-family residential neighborhoods to the north and east. As for landscaping, Staff has transitioned away from a suburban residential style to a more urban style . Mr. Voboril stated he would now be discussing business goals. Comprehensive Business Goal #5 states "Reco gn ize unique charact e ristics and associated opportunities for enhancing the value of Engle wo od 's commercial, industrial and mixed-use districts." In support of this Comprehensi ve Plan goal Staff has recognized three Small Area Plan Business Goals. They are : 1. Promote the old Hampden Corridor as a fine grained pedestrian oriented commercial district. 2. Ex pand opportunities for the recruitment and development of neighborhood serving businesses within the Medical Center District. 3. Work closel y with Swedish and Craig Hospitals to accommodate facility expansion in a manner that preserves and enhances the quality in life in surrounding nei ghborhoods . In support of these business goals the follo w ing items ha v e been incorporated into the Medical Zoning Amendments : 1 . For land uses Staff has expanded the area for retail development from the original Old Hampden MU-B-2 corridor to include the area south of the medical campus stretching to Highway 285 between Logan and Emerson • • • Planning and Zoning Commission Public Heari ng Case #2008-03 and #ZON2009-0 l May 5, 2009 Page 4 of LO Street. At the same time, Staff has restricted the maximum size of retail per parcel to 10,000 square f ee t in the spirit of the small scale retail that was envisioned in the Small Area Plan Policy document. 2. Hotel use has been added to the entire medical district area in support of the hospitals so that families of patients would have a place to stay in the area . 3. New automobile uses have been removed from the corridor in the spirit of the Small Area Plan Polic y document. Existing automobile uses can continue to operate, but in the future no new automobile uses will be allowed to come into the district. 4. Setbacks have been made more flexible, creatin g a larger building envelope and more flexibility for developers. 5. Landscaping has transitioned away from a residential suburban style to a more urban style of standards similar to the MU-B-1 and MU-B-2 Districts we have today. 6. Pedestrian oriented designs have been incorporated into the Amendments such as bringing the building close to the street (zero and no more than 10 feet away from the property line ); creating a more retail friendl y pedestrian district and creating the opportunity for sidewalk cafes ; forcing the parking to locate primarily to the rear and side of the building; and also requiring a certain percentage of windows for first floor retail so that people walking by can see the activity inside. Staff recommends to the Planning and Zoning Commission the following motions concerning CASE #2008-03: 1. That residents, property owners, and business owners having personal interests within and one block beyond the original Downtown and Medical District study area boundaries were invited to participate as community stakeholders in a review of the proposed Medical Zone and Overlay District concepts. 2. That two stakeholder meetings were held on November 12 and 13 , 2008 in order to present proposals for Medical Zone and Overlay District concepts based on previous directions given by stakeholders documented in the goals and objectives of the Englewood Downtown and Medical District Small Area Plan . 3 . That the proposed amendments related to the creation of the M-1 and M-2 Zone Districts and the M-0-1 and M-0-2 Overlay Districts are consistent with • • • Planning and Zoning Commission Public Hearing Case #2008-03 and #ZON2009-0 l May 5, 2009 Page 5 of LO the goals and objectives of Roadmap Englewood: The 2003 Englewood Comprehensive Plan. 4. That the proposed amendments related to the creation of the M-1 and M-2 Zone Districts and the M-0-1 and M-0-2 Overlay Districts should be adopted as part of Title 16: Unified Development Code of the Englewood Municipal Code . CASE #ZON2009-01 Mr. Voboril presented proof of notification of the Public Hearing published 111 the Englewood Herald on April 17, 2009. The Medical District area was initially identified in Roadmap Englewood: The 2003 Englewood Comprehensive Plan as a potential area of change for the City of Englewood. In support of that vision the City of Englewood Community Development Department began a Small Area Planning process in the fall of 2006 with the blessings of City Council. Five thousand letters were mailed to all business owners, property owners and residents within the two districts inviting them to participate in a series of stakeholders meetings. Three hundred people registered to participate and approximately 150 people attended the meetings . At the stakeholders meetings Staff gave a presentation on existing issues and conditions found in the Medical District area . Staff then posed a series of questions to the stakeholders concerning the areas they felt were areas of stability and those that were areas of change . Staff took that feedback and developed the vision, goals, and objectives that were then incorporated into the Small Area Planning Policy document which was then brought before the Planning Commission in a Public Hearing. It was recommended for approval to City Council and City Council approved the document by Resolution in the spring of 2007. Soon after that Staff began to work on developing a rezoning boundary area for the medical district. Staff had originally divided the area into six different sub-areas. Stakeholders were asked to focus on each sub-area, look at the existing conditions and then comment on what areas they felt were appropriate for change and which areas they did not want to see significant change in. Staff then developed a series of goals and objectives for each sub-area. Staff then used those goals and objectives to create the boundaries for the rezoning area . Once those boundaries were developed Staff held a series of Planning Commission study sessions where those boundaries were discussed and slight modifications were made. Once the boundaries were finalized Staff held public sessions with both the hospitals and with the stakeholders. Maps of the proposed boundaries were displayed and Staff asked for comments. There were no serious objections to the boundaries. At this time, Mr. Voboril stated he would like to go over the relationship between the Sub- area Goals and the Medical Zone Overlay District boundaries. Sub-areas of change included Medical Sub-areas 1, 4 and 6. He referred to a large display map set up for the • • • Plannin g and Zoning Commission Public Hearing Case #2008-03 and #ZON2009-0l May 5 , 2009 Page 6 of lO Commissioner's review. All of Sub-areas 1 and 4 have been incorporated into the medical rezoning boundary area. The majority of Sub-area 6 has also been included in the rezoning boundary area as well. Sub-areas 3 and 5 were identified as partial Sub-areas of change. Medical Sub-area 3 Goal B states "Encourage limited change to Swedish owned properties immediately adjacent to Girard Avenue". This area is designated in blue on the map and as M-0-1 Overlay. These properties are owned by Swedish and Craig and the intent was to allow limited change in these properties in support of the main hospital use, but at the same time to limit the encroachment within the rest of the Sub-area. The boundary was drawn to include only the first 100 to 150 feet of that Sub-area. Medical Sub-area 5 Goal B states "Promote Sub-area 5 as an area of change along the Old Hampden Avenue corridor". Mr. Voboril pointed out the area on the display map . The stakeholders were very amenable to change occurring along the Old Hampden Corridor but wanted to protect the majority of the residential area to the south. For the area they supported, Staff rezoned the current MU-B-2 zone as M-2 with the first property immediately to the south designated as M-0-2, as an overlay district that would serve as a transition zone. Maximum height in this overlay district would be 32 feet creating a nice transition between the business corridor and the residential area . Staff recommends to the Planning Commission the following motions concerning CASE #ZON2009-01: 1. That residents , property owners, and business owners having personal interests within and one block beyond the original Downtown and Medical District study area boundaries were invited to participate as community stakeholders in a review of the proposed Medical Zone and Overlay District boundaries. 2 . That two stakeholder meetings were held on November 12 and 13, 2008 in order to present proposals for Medical Zone District and Overlay boundaries based on previous directions given by stakeholders documented in the goals and objectives of the Englewood Downtown and Medical District Small Area Plan. 3. That the proposal to rezone an area of the City generall y bounded b y SouthLogan Street, East Girard Avenue, South Lafa y ette Street, and Little Dry Creek, from MU-B-1, MU-B-2, MU-R-3-B, PUD, R-2-B , and R-1-C to M-1 and M-2 Zone Districts, to establish areas in which supplemental M-0-1 and M-0- 2 Medical Overlay District regulations apply and is consistent with the goals and objectives of Roadmap Englewood : The 2003 Englewood Comprehensive Plan. 4 . That the proposal to rezone an area of the City generall y bounded by South .Logan Street, East Girard Avenue, South Lafayette Street, and Little Dry • Planning and Zonin g Co mmi ssion Publi c Hearing Case #2008-03 and #Z O N2 009-0l May 5 , 2009 Page 7 o f IO Creek, from MU-B-1, MU-B-2, MU-R-3-B , PUD, R-2 -B and R-1-C to M-1 and M- 2 Zone Districts, to establish areas in which supplemental M -0-1 and M-0-2 Medical Overlay District regulations apply and should be adopted as an amendment to the Official Zoning Map of the City of Englewood. Mr. Voboril offered to answer any questions the Commission may have . Mr. Roth said for the record in Zone District #3 , the Commission had an objective in the Small Area Plan which said "Discourage further hospital expansion bey ond the current hospital owned properties north of Girard Avenue ". As noted at the last Planning and Zoning meeting that objective has not been met because of continuing to allow hospital use in the MU-R-3-B zone district. He said if I am reading the tables correctly, if someone were to accumulate 24,000 square feet of property north of the M-0-1 zone district they could build to 60 feet and have a hospital use. Mr. Voboril said at this time that is correct. He stated the plan , at this time, is that a Phase II process would need to be done in the future after these Medical Zone Districts are approved . Regulations for th e MU-R-3-B would need to be revisited and at that time Staff would make the necessar y changes that would protect those areas from encroachment from hospital campus uses . • Vice Chair Knoth stated the Commission discussed ha v ing separate columns for M-0-1 and MU-R-3-B. Is that going to be done? Ms . Krieger stated it w as decided to keep them in the same column . • Mr. Welker said he was glad Mr. Roth brought up the issue of hospital use . He stated he is comfortable it will be re v isited . Mr. King asked Mr. Voboril if there are an y dev elopers who are currently sitting in the wings waiting for this change to take place. Mr. Voboril said there was someone looking at the northwest corner of Highway 285 and S. Clarkson Street for a hotel ty pe of use. Vice Chair Knoth thanked Mr. Voboril for his presentation . Vice Chair Knoth asked Ms . Perry-Smith to come to the podium . PUBLIC TESTIMONY (Both Cases) ~ Ms. Debbie Perry-Smith was sw orn in . She thanked the Planning and Zoning Commission for the opportunity to speak in favor of both cases tonight. She stated she and her husband have been property owners in Englewood for almost 20 years . She said they completed a pioneering project last year at 960 East Hampden Avenue and really likes the direction the City is going. Old Hampden is a gatew ay to Englewood through the Medical District. She stated she has been very much in v ol v ed in this process and attended the stakeholder • • • Plann ing and Z oning Commission Publi c Heari ng Case #2008-03 and #ZON2009-01 May S, 2009 Page 8 of 10 meetin gs since da y one. Sh e said she would like to see the City expand the boundary where the step down is allowed . That area definitely lends itself to more projects like 960 East Hampden Avenue. Sh e thanked the Commission for their time. ~ Welker moved: Krieger seconded: THE PUBLIC HEARING ON CASE #2008-03 AND CASE #ZON2009-01 BE CLOSED AYES: NAYS : Knoth, Roth , W elker, King, Krieger, Calonder, Fish None ABSTAIN: None ABSENT : Brick, Bleil e Motion carried. ~ Krieger moved : King seconded : CASE #2008-03 , AMENDMENTS TO TITLE 16: UNIFIED DEVELOPMENT CODE OF THE ENGLEWOOD MUNICIPAL CODE RELATED TO ESTABLISHI N G NEW MEDICAL ZONE (M-1 AND M-2) AND MEDICAL OVERLAY DISTRICTS (M-0-1 AND M-0-2), BE RECOMMENDED FOR APPROVAL TO CITY COUNCIL WITH A FAVORABLE RECOMMENDATION FOR ADOPTION. Vice Chair Knoth asked the Commission for comments . Mr. Welker said this process has in vo lved a lot of work for many years. He said he belie v es the Commission is doing the right thing . Maybe the fact that there is not a lot of public here toni ght means that the outreach has been successful and the planning has been good. He commended the City Staff for that. Ms. Krieger added that the Commission is probably movi ng in the right direction . She said it is particularl y gratify ing to see how faithfully Mr. Voboril has w orked with the issue and to make sure the Commission followed the Comprehensive Plan initially to get the Small Area Plan into this form . She said that's awesome and that's the way it is suppose to work. Mr. Welker said he would lik e to add to Mr. Roth 's comment; we still have some issues to work on . One of them is establishing some protection between the O v erlay Districts and the residential districts that the y are a part of. The bigger concern is parking regulations, which the Commission has not resolved even though we have discussed and studied it at se vera l stud y sessions . Further discussion is needed regarding parking and landscaping. • • • Planning and Zoning Commission Public Hearing Case #2008-03 and #ZON2009-0I May 5, 2009 Page 9 of 10 Mr. Fish said he has lived in the area for 25 years and walked the streets many, many times, mostly for pleasure . He stated he is excited to see these zoning changes take place because he feels the area has stagnated in some areas. This will provide the opportunity for development along the right tracks . He feels it is in line with what the City wants to do and we need to stimulate development in that area . Mr. Welker stated it is a goal of his to create new life in that area and some viability. One of the reasons the Commission has not been able to deal with the parking issue yet is that we do not want to inhibit development there, but structure it in such a way that it can be successful and not destroy those things that need to be maintained in the surrounding area. AYES: NAYS : ABSTAIN: ABSENT: Knoth, Roth, Welker, King, Calonder, Krieger, Fish None None Brick. Bleile Mr. Roth voted yes , but wanted to express that the Commission needs to see the missing issues sooner rather than later. Motion carried . Fish moved: Roth seconded: CASE #ZON2 009-0 7, AMENDMENTS TO THE OFFICIAL ZONING MAP TO REZONE AN AREA OF THE CITY GENERALLY BOUNDED BY SOUTH LOGAN STREET, EAST GIRARD AVENUE, SOUTH LAFAYETTE STREET AND LITTLE DRY CREEK FROM MU-B-7 , MU-B-2 , MU-R-3-B, PUD, R-2-B AND R-7- C ZONE DISTRICTS TO M-7 AND M-2 ZONE DISTRICTS AND TO ESTABLISH AREAS IN WHICH SUPPLEMENTAL M-0-7 AND M-0-2 MEDICAL OVERLAY DISTRICT REGULATIONS APPLY, BE RECOMMENDED FOR APPROVAL TO CITY COUNCIL WITH A FAVORABLE RECOMMENDATION FOR ADOPTIO N. Vice Chair Knoth asked if there was any discussion . There was not. The Vice Chair called for a vote. AYES : NAYS: ABSTAIN: ABSENT: Knoth, Roth , Welker, King, Calonder, Krieger, Fish None None Brick, Bleile Motion carried . • • • Planning and Zoning Commission Public Hearing Case #2008-03 and #ZON2009-0 l May 5, 2009 Page 10of10 Ms. Krieger thanked Mr. Voboril for all his hard work; he 's done an excellent job and reall y was responsive to the Commission's concerns and the stakeholder's concerns. He reall y tri ed to make sure that Staff met ever yo ne 's varying i deas of what should happen as best he could. As Mr. W elker said , the Commission has worked long and hard on th is issue and appreciates things being carried through . Sh e said in her time on th e Commission she has seen numerous plans come forward, but we nev e r get to the impl ementation strategies . It is really wonderful to see that happening. She said kudos to Mr. Voboril and Director White for keeping the priorities in place. Mr. King seconded that. IV. PUBLIC FORUM ~ There was nothing further to report. V. DIRECTOR 'S CHOICE ~ Director White congratulated Mr. Voboril and th e Commission on a job well don e. VI. STAFF 'S CHOICE ~ Director White noted the next m ee ting will be held on May 19, 2009 and the Commission will continue the landscaping amendments discussion . V I I. ATTOR N EY'S CHOICE ~ Ms . Reid had nothing to report. VIII. COMMISSIONER 'S CHOICE ~ The Commissioners had nothing furth e r to report. The meeting adjourned at 7:51 p.m. J