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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutesPLAN COMMISSION MINUTES December 1, 2020 PRESENT: Mamadou Coulibaly, Margy Davey, Michael Ford, John Kiefer, Thomas Perry, Kathleen Propp, Jay Stengel EXCUSED: Justin Mitchell, Derek Groth, John Hinz, Phil Marshall STAFF: Mark Lyons, Planning Services Manager; Allen Davis, Community Development Director; Justin Gierach, Engineering Division Manager / City Engineer; Brian Slusarek, Planner; Jeff Nau, Associate Planner; Steven Wiley, Associate Planner Chairperson Propp called the meeting to order at 4:00 pin. Roll call was taken and a quorum declared present. The minutes of November 17, 2020 were approved as presented. (Kiefer/Ford) I. GENERAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN & SPECIFIC IMPLEMENTATION PLAN APPROVAL FOR A MULTI -FAMILY DEVELOPMENT LOCATED AT LOGAN DRIVE WEST OF JACKSON STREET Site Inspections Report: Ms. Propp reported visiting the site. Staff report accepted as part of the record. The applicant is requesting General Development Plan (GDP) and Specific Implementation Plan (SIP) approval for a new multi -family development on an existing vacant lot. Mr. Slusarek presented the item and reviewed the site and surrounding area as well as the land use and zoning classifications in this area. The proposed development will include 6 townhome style apartment buildings with a total of 46 units with a total of 126 bedrooms (2.7 bedrooms per unit). The site will have two accesses from Logan Drive for a two-way driveway running through the site. A 3,416 sq. ft. recreation area is provided on the north side of the site, meeting the minimum recreation area requirement of 200 sq. ft. plus 25 sq. ft. per bedroom. The code -required pedestrian access is provided for access to the Logan Drive right-of-way. The applicant is requesting a BSM related to building design standards. To offset the BSM, the applicant has exceeded the overall landscaping point requirement for the site and also provided fagade enhancements to improve the appearance of the building. He said staff recommends approval of the General Development Plan and Specific Implementation Plan with the findings and conditions listed in the staff report. Mr. Lyons stated that something the commission has discussed a lot lately is accessibility. Staff did reach out to the development team a few weeks back and shared a lot of those same questions and concerns that Mr. Mitchell and Mr. Perry have brought up at past meetings. Staff had an open Plan Commission Minutes December 1, 2020 dialogue about trying to make sure there were accessible units. He said he wanted to make sure staff reached out to have that discussion as requested by Plan Commission. Ms. Propp opened technical questions to staff. There were no technical questions on this item. Ms. Propp asked if there were any public comments and asked if the applicant wanted to snake any statements. Abby Maslanka. stated that her team has no additional comments, but they would be happy to answer any questions. Mr. Peter Jungbacher stated that Ms. Masklanka. and her team were instrumental in preparing the documents presented before Plan Commission. This is a market rate multi -family apartment community that provides a host of amenities for residents and for the community. He reviewed prior meetings specifically as they were addressed accessibility matters and this particular project has been designed to all applicable accessibility building code requirements. In the three bedroom units there is a bedroom on the ground floor with access via the front entrance or the garage, both of which are accessible for all tenants. He said that beyond that he does not have anything specific to add unless the commission has questions for him. Ms. Propp asked for the number of one, two, and three bedroom units. Mr. Jungbacher replied that there are no one bedroom units. He said that the bulk of the units are three bedroom units and there are eight two bedroom located at the ends of the buildings. Ms. Propp stated that it sounds wonderful and that there is a dearth of three bedroom units available. Mr. Jungbacher replied that they originally only had three bedroom units, but as they tried fitting everything on site they had to scale it back a bit. He said that in terms of square footage, they're in the range of 1,600 square feet, so they tend to be on the larger side for units on the market. Ms. Propp replied that they will not be inexpensive, but they will be sought after. Mr. Jung replied that they will be market -rate. They looked at WEDA's current rental rates for three bedroom units. The estimated maximum rent limits at 80% of HUD's 2020 median income effective 4/1 in Winnebago County is $1,681 per month, which includes some utilities. Without utilities, it is around $1,500 for a three bedroom unit and that's about the rental rate they will have. He said that despite what WEDA has, the market is still lagging behind in what effective rental rates are for market rate units in this current environment. Ms. Propp thanked him for the helpful information. Plan Commission Minutes December 1, 2020 There were no public comments on this item. Ms. Propp closed public comments and asked if the applicant wanted to make any closing statements. Mr. Jungbacher stated that the shortage of three bedroom units is well stated in their market analysis. There is a shortage of larger units with a full set of amenities. They have in suite washers and dryers and all utilities are metered separately for the units. They have two full bathrooms in the two and three bedroom units. There are fireplaces in the living rooms, vaulted ceilings, and patios in the back, so it's a fairly deep set of amenities which will appeal to a set of the market that is perhaps underserved on the north side of Oshkosh at the moment. He said he is hoping that the project will be well -received and allow them to continue a second phase on the other side of Logan Drive in the near future. Motion by Ford to adopt the findings and recommendation as stated in the staff report. Conditions: Base Standard Modification to allow street facing building ends with 12% of the facade devoted to door/window area, where code requires 20% of street facing facades to be devoted to doorlwindow area. 2. Wall -mounted mechanicallutility equipment on street facing facades be consistent with the color of the structure to which the equipment is attached and be fully screened with evergreen treeslshrubs. 3. Final lighting, landscaping and storm water management plans shall be reviewed and approved by the Department of Community Development. 4. Base Standard Modification to allow front entrance lighting to exceed 0.5 foot-candles at the property line. Seconded by Perry. Ms. Propp asked if there was any discussion on the motion. Ms. Propp stated that the other side of Logan Drive is not the best of our City planning efforts, but it happened many years ago. One of the issues is that it is isolated and there are no sidewalks and no public transportation from that site. It sounds like everyone will have their own transportation at this development and it should not be an issue, but it is still an issue that there are no sidewalks or access to Jackson Street from Logan Drive. Mr. Lyons asked Mr. Gierach if this new development will require a sidewalk. Mr. Gierach replied that they can install it on their own, but it is not a requirement because it is not necessarily going anywhere. He said that Council can order it in, but he has not been made aware Plan Commission Minutes December 1, 2020 of any major concerns or requests in the area for sidewalks because Logan Drive doesn't really go anywhere. Mr. Lyons replied that this could potentially be a section the City does look at ordering in to make sure these individuals have a connection. He asked Mr. Gierach if it could be ordered in on the development in the east. Mr. Gierach replied affirmatively. Mr. Lyons replied it is something they may want to evaluate further. Motion carried 7-0. II. PUBLIC HEARING: ZONE CHANGE FROM CENTRAL MIXED USE DISTRICT WITH A PLANNED DEVELOPMENT OVERLAY (CMU-PD) TO CENTRAL MIXED USE DISTRICT (CMU) AT 500 502 N. MAIN STREET Site Inspections Report: Ms. Propp reported visiting the site. Staff report accepted as part of the record. The applicant requests a zone change from the existing Central Mixed Use District with a Planned Development Overlay (CMU-PD) to Central Mixed Use District (CMU). Mr. Slusarek presented the item and reviewed the site and surrounding area as well as the land use and zoning classifications in this area. The site was previously zoned Central Mixed Use and was rezoned in June 2020 to include a Planned Development Overlay to accommodate a specific signage request. The signage has now been removed and the site no longer includes any unique circumstances to necessitate a Planned Development overlay. He said staff recommends approval of the zone change from Central Mixed Use District with Planned Development Overlay (CMU- PD) District to Central Mixed Use (CMU) District for property located at 500 502 N. Main Street. Ms. Propp opened technical questions to staff. Mr. Ford asked for confirmation that the petition was brought by the City so that the applicant was not charged a fee. Mr. Lyons replied affirmatively, adding that the City is the petitioner for this based on the feedback received from Council and Plan Commission to remove the PD once the sign was taken down. Ms. Propp opened up the public hearing and asked if the applicant wanted to make any statements. There were no statements from the applicant. Plan Commission Minutes December 1, 2020 There were no public comments on this item. Ms. Propp closed the public hearing and asked if the applicant wanted to make any closing statements. There were no closing statements from the applicant. Motion by Coulibaly to adopt the findings and recommendation as stated in the staff report. Seconded by Davey. Ms. Propp asked if there was any discussion on the motion. There was no discussion on the motion. Motion carried 7-0. III A. GENERAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN AND SPECIFIC IMPLEMENTATION PLAN FOR A COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT AT 1870 OSHKOSH AVENUE Site Inspections Report: Ms. Davey and Mr. Kiefer reported visiting the site. Staff report accepted as part of the record. The petitioner requests approval of a General Development Plan (GDP) and Specific Implementation Plan (SIP) for a commercial development (financial institutions) at 1870 Oshkosh Avenue. Mr. Slusarek presented the item and reviewed the site and surrounding area as well as the land use and zoning classifications in this area. The proposed development consists of a 4,668 sq. ft. commercial (financial institution) building including a four -lane drive thru on the west side of the building. The proposed development will have one entrance/exit and one exit only access along Rath Lane. The parking lot will be situated to the north/northeast of the building with the drive- thru lanes on the west side of the building and extending to the south of the building and wrapping around to the west and exiting north to Rath Lane. Access control variances will be required for reduced lateral clearance and driveway spacing. The applicant is requesting BSMs for decreased setbacks, increased parking, specific landscaping area points, reduced sign setbacks, and reduced street -facing door/window area. To offset these BSMs, the applicant will be exceeding the overall landscaping point requirement for the site and also exceed the minimum Class I material allotment for all building facades. Landscaping has also been added around the monument signs to soften its appearance from the public right-of-way. Staff is comfortable that the applicant has adequately offset the requested BSMs and the overall site is complimentary to the surrounding area. He said staff recommends approval of the General Development Plan and Specific Implementation Plan with the findings and conditions listed in the staff report. Plan Commission Minutes December 1, 2020 Ms. Propp opened technical questions to staff. Mr. Lyons stated that there are a number of base standard modifications here and it is consistent with what has been done in the area. The corporate business park has been held to a higher standard than a lot of other zoning code requirements. This is in line with what was done with developments to the east where we're pushing the signs in front, having the buildings at the 30ft setback wherever possible, and trying to have the drive thru facilities shielded as best as we can. Staff has assessed the need for the second access drive, which is why there is an access control variance on the agenda as well. He wanted to note that the project is very consistent with what has been done in the area. We were looking at the immediate street facade when the reduction in the window requirement for the north facade was written. The intent was never for the code to apply to the north facade for triple frontage lots, but it does technically apply with the way the code was written. He said it snakes sense to grant some of these waivers in the scope of the project. Mr. Coulibaly stated that the landscaping on the south side is to mask the traffic in the along the drive thru, but he got the impression that there isn't an open window at the bottom of it. He asked if it could be expanded a bit so as to be functional. Mr. Slusarek replied that the two tall trees are shown as street landscaping points, but they would shift those to paved area points and put the medium tress as required by code to meet the point requirement. He said he thinks that shift some of the landscaping further south to provide more buffer there. Mr. Coulibaly asked if the landscaping will differ from the presentation. Mr. Slusarek replied affirmatively. He said that they will need to be adjusted and staff will address that during site plan review to ensure they are meeting the street frontage landscaping and also providing the evergreen trees along the drive thru to screen that from Oshkosh Avenue. Mr. Lyons stated there are a couple of minor revisions that need to be made to make the landscaping code compliant. He said that typically in these situations a condition is added to make sure we go through the site modifications with the applicant, but still keep them on track with their project. Ms. Davey stated that it is beautiful and looks nice with the trees and brick, but she does have some concerns about the size of the sign. She knows it is consistent with everything else that has been done there, but her concern is that it's going to be difficult for cars that are pulling out to see people coming or bicycles coming and we have to remember this is an entrance to the park. She thinks that we're kind of forgetting there's a park back there since we don't actually see that yet. She also has a concern about the amount of the impervious surface, which she discussed with Mr. Slusarek. She knows it is presented as 32%, but that's because of the large section that is nothing at this point. Hopefully it is going to be something someday, but she does think it is a little misleading to say that it is 32% when we know that's not their final intention. Having said that, she knows we did cut down on or add some last time we discussed this because of the safety issue. Plan Commission Minutes December 1, 2020 Safety does trump sustainability. One solution to the additional parking spaces may have been to realize that this is on a bus route and that this is a location where potentially there could be bus riders that work there or will be carpooling. She is not sure that allowing all the parking that anybody could ever use is really the most sustainable action, but these are only comments she would like noted. She said she is not going to vote against it and it really does look terrific. Mr. Lyons replied that staff also shares her concern with visibility in regards to the sign. It is out of the clear site triangle as required by code so they did want to snake sure it is not directly impacting those direct sight lines. Ms. Propp asked if there were any public comments and asked if the applicant wanted to snake any statements. Mr. Brennan Gries stated that staff has been great to work with up to this point and they are glad we went through the workshop session. They're happy with the outcome for them and the City with the drive thru. He knows that the landscaping concern to block the drive thru has come up, but there is also an ATM at the end island and there has been some security issues in the past. They do not want to make it too dense or create an area for someone to hide. In addition what is not shown here is on Omro or Oshkosh there is a wall that starts to go up, so as far as screening goes, there is already a vertical wall constructed that starts to go up for the bridge overpass. He said that they appreciate all of the help from the entire staff. Ms. Propp asked if there is anything planned for the vacant part of the site that is not part of today's action. Mr. Gries replied that there is nothing planned today. He said that it was purchased because the site was really narrow and it secondarily allowed them to have the drive thru not going past the front of the building. Ms. Propp asked if it would be green space for the time being then. Mr. Gries replied affirmatively. There were no public comments on this item. Ms. Propp closed public comments and asked if the applicant wanted to make any closing statements. Mr. Greg Hilbert stated that Mr. Gries summed it up very well. He appreciated the comments on the final tweaking to landscaping and the drive up. He wants to be mindful of the security issues with ATM in his discussions with staff. He said they want to snake this a win -win for the City and this area of Oshkosh and they appreciate all of the helpful advice and effort put forward. Motion by Kiefer to adopt the findings and recommendation as stated in the staff report. Plan Commission Minutes December 1, 2020 Condition: 1. Access Control Variance required for lateral clearance and driveway spacing. 2. Western driveway access shall be exit only. 3. BSM to allow reduced front yard setback (north) to 28.66' for parking lot/driveway. 4. BSM to allow reduced front yard setback (south) to 15' for parking lot/driveway. 5. BSM to allow reduced front yard setback (east) to 20' for parking lot/driveway. 6. BSM to allow increased parking stalls to 28 stalls, where code allows a maximum of 19.5 stalls. 7. BSM to allow reduced sign setback to 15' (south) and 20' (east). 8. BSM to allow reduced window/door on ground floor of street facing facade to 29.2% where code requires a minimum of 40% 9. BSM to allow 39 building foundation landscaping points on side of main entrance, where code requires 62 points on side of main entrance. 10. Minimum 200 tall/medium evergreen tree landscaping points shall be provided to screen the south side of the drive-thru lane from the Oshkosh Ave. public right-of-way. 11. Final landscaping plait shall be reviewed and approved by the Department of Community Development. Seconded by Ford. Ms. Propp asked if there was any discussion on the motion. There was no discussion on the motion. Motion carried 7-0. IIIB. ACCESS CONTROL VARIANCES FOR COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT AT 1870 OSHKOSH AVENUE Site Inspections Report: Ms. Davey and Mr. Kiefer reported visiting the site. Staff report accepted as part of the record. The petitioner is requesting access control variances to permit the following: 1. Reduced lateral clearance from Rath Lane to 46' where code requires a minimum of 75 feet. 2. Reduced driveway spacing to 63', where code requires a minimum spacing of 105'. Mr. Slusarek presented the item and reviewed the site and surrounding area as well as the land use and zoning classifications in this area. The proposed development will have two driveway accesses along Rath Lane. The intended use of the property is for a financial institution with a four - Plan Commission Minutes 8 December 1, 2020 lane drive-thru. In this particular case, staff does not have concerns with the requested lateral clearance reduction as the site is expected to receive relatively low traffic counts and the proposed approximately 46' lateral clearance provides for stacking of two to three vehicles and the drive- thru will have a separate exit to alleviate stacking concerns. The proposed spacing of the two driveways is approximately 63', where code requires a 105' driveway spacing. Staff is supportive of the requested reduced driveway spacing as the western driveway is exit -only and should not result in traffic concerns. He said staff recommends approval of the access control variances. Ms. Propp opened technical questions to staff. There were no technical questions on this item. Ms. Propp asked if there were any public comments and asked if the applicant wanted to make any statements. There were no statements from the applicant. There were no public comments on this item. Ms. Propp closed public comments and asked if the applicant wanted to make any closing statements. There were no closing statements from the applicant. Motioiz by Ford to adopt the fiizdiizgs aizd recommendatioiz as stated lit the staff report. Seconded by Perry. Ms. Propp asked if there was any discussion on the motion. There was no discussion on the motion. Motiolz carried 7-0. IV. PUBLIC HEARING: CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT REQUEST TO MAKE A LEGAL USE UNDER THE PREVIOUS ORDINANCE A LEGAL CONFORMING USE AT 3849- 3851 & 3850-3852 PARKVIEW COURT Site Inspections Report: No commissioners reported visiting the site. Staff report accepted as part of the record. The petitioner requests a Conditional Use Permit to make a legally established use that was made nonconforming by this chapter a legal use. Plan Commission Minutes December 1, 2020 Mr. Nau presented the item and reviewed the site and surrounding area as well as the land use and zoning classifications in this area. The CUP request to change the use status from nonconforming to conforming is mainly to remove restrictions and limitations set forth by the Nonconforming Use Section of the Zoning Ordinance. The zoning of the property is Multi -Family Residential-12 (MR-12) which allows multi -family uses and structures with a minimum of three units per structure. The subject site only has two principal structures. The unit density of the property can be considered low for a MR-12 zoned site at 3.2 units per acre. Based on the layout of the existing structures, it is unlikely additional dwelling units can be constructed. The applicant is not proposing any changes to the site other than the planned addition to the northern building. The use of the property will continue to be used as a two duplex development and will not have any impact on the surrounding properties. There will be no adverse effects on the surrounding area since the use is already established with no significant changes planned. He said staff recommends approval of the proposed Conditional Use Permit with the findings and conditions listed in the staff report. Ms. Propp opened technical questions to staff. Ms. Davey stated that 2850-3852 should be corrected to 3850-3852 on the Plan Commission agenda. Ms. Propp opened up the public hearing and asked if the applicant wanted to make any statements. Ms. Barbara Renoux thanked Plan Commission for their consideration of this permit. She is looking forward to moving back to Wisconsin where she was born and raised and where all of her family resides there. She said that although it is lovely, Arizona is not family and she is anxious to return home to Wisconsin. There were no public comments on this item. Ms. Propp closed the public hearing and asked if the applicant wanted to make any closing statements. There were no closing statements from the applicant. Motion by Ford to adopt the findings and recommendation as stated in the staff report. Seconded by Coulibaly. Ms. Propp asked if there was any discussion on the motion. There was no discussion on the motion. Motion carried 7-0. Plan Commission Minutes 10 December 1, 2020 Mr. Lyons stated that Mina Kuss, the recording secretary for the Plan Commission will be moving on from the City. He wished her luck on her new adventure and stated that Plan Commission will have a new recording secretary. Ms. Propp asked Mr. Lyons to tell Mina that she will be missed. There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at approximately 5:01 pm. (Kiefer/Davey) Respectfully Submitted, Mark Lyons Planning Services Manager Plan Commission Minutes 11 December 1, 2020