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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes PLAN COMMISSION MINUTES October 16,2018 PRESENT: David Borsuk, Steve Cummings, Thomas Fojtik,John Hinz,John Kiefer,Andrew Mott, Thomas Perry, Kathleen Propp, Robert Vajgrt EXCUSED: Ed Bowen,Michael Ford STAFF: Mark Lyons, Principal Planner;Brian Slusarek, Assistant Planner; Steven Wiley, Assistant Planner; Steve Gohde,Assistant Director of Public Works;Mina Kuss, Recording Secretary Chairperson Fojtik called the meeting to order at 4:00 pm. Roll call was taken and a quorum declared present. The minutes of October 2, 2018 were approved as presented. (Propp/Mott) I. ACCEPT STORM SEWER EASEMENT AT 1925 SHELTER COURT The City of Oshkosh is requesting the acceptance of a storm sewer easement on the west side of the subject property. Mr. Slusarek presented the item and reviewed the site and area of the proposed easement request. He explained the reason for the request was due to a council resolution from 1988 which passed the acceptance of storm sewer easements for a number of properties adjacent to the railroad for drainage. Easements were entered into shortly after the resolution and storm sewer was then installed. All of the properties included in the resolution had easement documents recorded, except for Oshkosh Area Humane Society. To remedy this oversight, the Department of Public Works is requesting to draft and record an easement to ensure that the City has legal rights to perform any potential future repairs or replacement of the storm sewer. There was no discussion on this item. Motion by Vajgrt to approve acceptance of a storm sewer easement for property located at 1925 Shelter Court. Seconded by Hinz. Motion carried 9-0. II. RESIDENTIAL DESIGN STANDARDS VARIANCE TO ALLOW FOR THE CLOSURE OF WINDOW OPENINGS ON THE FRONT FACADE AT 1723 ALGOMA BOULEVARD The applicant is requesting approval of a variance from the City's Residential Design Standards to allow for the closure of window openings on the front facade at 1723 Algoma Boulevard. Plan Commission Minutes 1 October 16,2018 Mr. Wiley presented the item and reviewed the site, surrounding area, land use and zoning classifications in this area. The applicant would like to remove the wood frame and windows in the breezeway and close this portion of the front wall off while maintaining but shifting the entry door. According to the applicant,many of the existing windows are missing glass and much of the wood frame is rotting and falling apart. The applicant would like to close the windows and install siding similar in appearance to that on the rest of the house. The applicant cited difficulty obtaining similarly sized windows and the deteriorated state of the facade for wishing to close in the windows. The vinyl siding the applicant would install would prevent a patchwork appearance on the front facade of the house. Staff is of the opinion that closure of the front breezeway openings will not have a detrimental impact on the architectural integrity of the home. Mr. Fojtik asked if the breezeway was original to the house. Mr. Wiley replied he believes so but the applicant would have to confirm it. Motion by Vajgrt to approve a residential design standards variance to allow for the closure of window openings on the front fagade at 1723 Algoma Boulevard with the following conditions: 1. Siding that the applicant installs on the fagade plane shall match or be similar in appearance to existing siding on the home. 2. Front door to remain on the fagade plane with relocation per the submitted elevation drawing permitted. 3. Any potential future window closures on the front fagade shall be filed as a separate requests and be reviewed by the Plan Commission. And the following finding: 1. The variance will not be contrary to the public interest. Seconded by Mott. Mr. Hinz commented that he has the same jalousie windows in his back porch and they are very energy inefficient. He said people with these types of windows should be encouraged to replace them because they are ineffective all year round. Ms. Propp noted she does not perceive the proposed window as a standard window. She stated this is an excellent request and she is happy to support it. Mr. Cummings added that these types of windows are extremely hard to clean. Motion carried 9-0. Plan Commission Minutes 2 October 16,2018 III. COMMERCIAL DESIGN STANDARDS VARIANCE TO ALLOW A RENOVATION USING CLASS IV MATERIALS TO CLAD PORTIONS OF THE EXISTING BUILDING AT 804 WITZEL AVENUE The applicant is requesting approval of a variance from the City's Commercial Design Standards to allow a renovation using Class IV materials to clad portions of the building at 804 Witzel Avenue. Mr. Wiley presented the item and reviewed the site, surrounding area, land use and zoning classifications in this area. The building is constructed largely of cinderblock which is a Class IV cladding material by ordinance. The building predates the current zoning ordinance and is a nonconforming structure. The petitioners are seeking to enhance the appearance of the building by covering the majority of the existing block with Grandrib 3 metal panel by Fabral. The Grandrib 3 is a Class IV material and by ordinance, would not be permitted for use as a cladding material on a commercial building in the City. The applicant noticed a number of other buildings in the vicinity that make use of metal panel systems. The applicant would clad the base of the front facade in stone and small portions of some facades in James Hardie fiber cement. Staff is of the opinion that the proposed recladding will not have a detrimental impact on the appearance of the building. The metal panels, lap siding, and stone proposed for the new cladding together will enhance the appearance of the building. Mr. Borsuk stated the rendering does not show landscaping or signage. He asked if there would be any changes to those items. Mr. Wiley replied there were no comments on changes to landscaping or signage in the application. He believes both would remain as they are. Mr. Lyons added if the applicant had to remove the landscaping along the front facade in order to complete the renovations, the site would have to be landscaped back to code as part of the application. He said in terms of signage, the applicant has not indicated any changes. He stated any signage change would have to meet base code for the district. Mr. Borsuk reviewed and asked for confirmation on the process for landscaping after the renovation. Mr. Lyons confirmed the process. Mr. Fojtik noted there are a lot of similar buildings in the city that do not meet code. He said these types of buildings want to renovate and are not renovating to code,but they are still improving the appearance of the building. Mr. Lyons explained that was a reason staff is in support of the renovation. He said the applicant would go from a Class IV material to another Class IV material which is not negatively impact the site in terms of material. He said in addition to the materials, the applicant is vastly improving on the appearance of the front facade. Plan Commission Minutes 3 October 16,2018 Dennis Ruedinger, 1434 Hazel Street, stated he is with the proposed general contracting firm for the project and is available for questions. Mr. Fojtik asked if Mr. Ruedinger had any issues or objections to the proposed conditions. Mr. Ruedinger replied he did not. He stated there has been initial discussions about rebranding and the signage could potential change in the future. Ms. Propp confirmed that Mr. Ruedinger did not have any objections to the condition of adding some feature(s) to break up the side facades. Mr. Ruedinger confirmed he did not have any issues with the condition. He mentioned the side facade is not as visible and is longer than it appears in the photos. He explained more details on the proposed masonry of the building. Motion by Vajgrt to approve a commercial design standards variance to allow a renovation using Class IV materials to clad portions of the existing building at 804 Witzel Avenue with the following conditions: 1. Owner shall ensure that the cladding is maintained throughout its lifespan. 2. Any future intentions to renovate using Class IV materials to be filed as separate request(s)and be reviewed by the Plan Commission. 3. Variance is only for the work proposed and mentioned here and any future work that would not comply with prevailing Design Standards shall be filed as separate requests and be reviewed by Plan Commission. 4. Petitioner shall add some feature(s) to break up the side (left and right)facades and submit revisions to those facades (areas with large expanses of metal panels) to Department of Community Development for staff review and approval before proceeding with work. And the following finding: 1. The variance will not be contrary to the public interest Seconded by Perry. Ms. Propp commented on the Park Department building and had hoped they would have been able to move into the Public Works building. Mr. Hinz stated it is nice to see applicants with similar cinderblock buildings requesting variance approvals to improve the appearance of these buildings. Motion carried 9-0. Plan Commission Minutes 4 October 16,2018 IV. SPECIFIC IMPLEMENTATION PLAN AMENDMENT FOR FENCING ADDITION AT 1130 N. WESTFIELD STREET The applicant requests approval of a Specific Implementation Plan amendment for a fencing addition extending into the front yard area at 1130 N. Westfield Street. Mr. Slusarek presented the item and reviewed the site and surrounding area. The only change being proposed for the site is an extension of an existing section of 6 ft. tall solid wood fencing. According to the site plan, the existing fencing runs along the north side of the northernmost parking area fronting N. Eagle Street. The proposed additional fencing will be 6 ft. tall cedar shadowbox fencing,extending 15 ft. (northeast)toward N. Eagle Street, ending 18 ft. from the front property line. A base standard modification is required for the proposed fencing as the zoning ordinance limits front yard fencing to a maximum height of 4 ft. and maximum opacity of 50%. According to the applicant, the purpose of the fencing extension is to improve views for prospective residents by further shielding the parking lot from view. The applicant is not proposing any changes to the site's landscaping. It appears that there are existing trees and shrubs on the north side of the proposed fencing. There will be no other changes to the rest of the site except for the proposed request. Theresa Brockman (VP of Marketing and Business Development), 1130 N. Westfield Street, stated she was present in case anyone had questions about the proposed request. Motion by Vajgrt to approve a Specific Implementation Plan Amendment for fencing addition at 1130 N. Westfield Street with the following conditions: 1. Base Standard Modification to allow 6 ft. tall solid fencing in front yard. 2. Landscaping be installed/maintained on the north side of the fencing,per Department of Community Development approval. Seconded by Perry. Motion carried 9-0. V. CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT AND SPECIFIC IMPLEMENTATION PLAN FOR A MULTI-FAMILY DEVELOPMENT LOCATED AT THE NORTHWEST CORNER OF W. 6TH AVENUE AND OREGON STREET, COMMONLY REFERRED TO AS "THE MORGAN DISTRICT" The applicant requests approval of a Conditional Use Permit for a Project Review within a Special Area Design Review (Riverfront Overlay District, RF-O) for a multi-family development as well as a Specific Implementation Plan to allow for construction of said development. Mr. Lyons presented the item and reviewed the site and surrounding area. He explained that the Oshkosh Common Council previously approved a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) and General Development Plan (GDP) for the proposed development at their June 26th, 2018 meeting. The applicant now proposes to move forward with Phase I of development. Phase I is intended to include the first three apartment building, clubhouse, pool, private drives and associated surface Plan Commission Minutes 5 October 16,2018 parking lots. The units within the proposed buildings have been altered to only include 0-2 bedroom units and no longer includes three bedroom units. Subsequent phases would add the remaining multi-family buildings and townhomes. The applicant has provided building elevations for the multi-family apartment buildings. The proposed elevations meet or exceed the Riverfront Overlay District requirements for both exterior materials and glazing. No building elevations have been provided for the clubhouse at time. Mr. Borsuk asked if there was any consideration for the remaining undeveloped portion of the site to be landscaped as grass. Mr. Lyons stated staff did not feel it was appropriate to condition at this time but it could definitely be part of this discussion. Ed Bowen(The Morgan District, LLC), 601 Oregon Street, recapped some of the highlights from the General Development Plan discussions. He said there has been some modifications in the last couple months to the renderings and exterior. He stated the initial plans had a significant amount of metal on the exterior. He said in order to achieve the 70%Class I materials requirements, the majority of the metal has been replaced with brick, which mirrors more closely with some of the existing neighborhood. Mr. Bowen brought examples of the materials and floor plans. He stated there has also been an increase to the glass on the structures which has been evenly distributed throughout the units. He explained the clubhouse did not have a 2-demnsional elevation but he did bring in a rendering. He presented the rendering and explained that the clubhouse does have similar materials and styles as the apartments. He added that he did not anticipated any deviation from the overall design of the clubhouse rendering. Mr. Borsuk asked if there was a plan for the build out of the site. Mr. Bowen replied there is not because they are still in the process of finding users for the commercial side of the site. He added they are hoping to get significant commercial in the remaining parts of the site. He stated there is no real timeline and that there is currently grass at the area by Oregon Street. Mr. Borsuk inquired about the timeline for the residential/west side of the site. Mr. Bowen responded the residential area would be dependent on the demand of the market. He said they may know more about the demand once the first building goes online. He explained how the fifth floor is designed for condo-like replacement units with dens. Mr. Borsuk asked if there were intentions to grass the area where the townhomes would be located by 61h Avenue. Mr. Bowen responded they most likely would not be grassing the area because of the soon to be work to be completed in that area. He mentioned there are cap requirements for the site and they would have to meet those requirements. Plan Commission Minutes 6 October 16,2018 Mr. Fojtik commented that the proposed buildings looked extremely attractive. Mr. Bowen stated the site is very modern. He explained the reason why they chose the architect that they did for designing the site. Ms. Propp stated there is also a modern look across the river. She said she loves balconies but has some concerns about the balcony sizes with only being 4 feet wide. Mr. Bowen said some balconies have more depth than others. He explained the balconies are not bolt on balconies but are built in balconies and support the structure which has more impact on the size of the balconies. Joseph Lee (JLA Architects), 311 E. Chicago Street, stated the smaller units have the smaller balconies and some units have no balcony. Mr. Bowen stated the balconies are scaled appropriately for each unit. He explained there was a unique variation in units from the condo-like replacement units to micro units that are 400 square feet. Ms. Propp asked if they were market rate units. Mr. Bowen responded they are and have no intentions of doing tax credits or similar programs. Mr. Borsuk asked if all three buildings were going to be built at the same time. Mr. Bowen replied they would be built out in phases. He predicted around three years with a best case scenario of 18-24 months. He mentioned they would still have to go through Site Plan Review as well as other steps in order to start the development. Motion by Vajgrt to approve the conditional use permit and specific implementation plan for a multi- family development located at the northwest corner of W. 6th Avenue and Oregon Street, commonly referred to as "The Morgan District"with the following conditions: 1. BSM to increase the maximum allowed waterfront setback to 105', 133'and 47'respectively. 2. BSM to reduce the number of required parking spaces for Phase 1 from the required 324 to 290 as indicated on the site plan. 3. BSM to reduce the number of required exterior bike parking space from 16 to 8 as indicated on the site plan. 4. Master sign plan shall be submitted and approved as a separate planned development amendment or meets the underlying RMU code requirements. 5. Revise lightning plan to meet the 0.4 foot-candles requirement for all vehicular circulation areas. 6. BSM to allow a 6'fence within the waterfront front yard setback around the pool/clubhouse area with final design and materials to be approved by the Department of Community Development. 7. BSM to reduce the required 6'deep balconies to allow 4-5'deep balconies. Plan Commission Minutes 7 October 16,2018 8. Revise landscaping plan to include the required 440 street frontage landscaping points along W 6th Avenue and the required 180 street frontage landscaping points along Iowa Street. 9. Interior landscaping island shall be added for parking rows exceeding 20 spaces. 10. The final building elevations for the clubhouse shall be reviewed for consistency with the approved multi family buildings by the Department of Community Development. If the elevations are found to be substantially different in design, the applicant shall seek approval as a separate planned development amendment. Seconded by Hinz. Ms. Propp reiterated on Mr. Fojtik's comment and said she feels this is going to be a marvelous development. Mr. Fojtik added the development also has a good range of units. Ms. Propp asked where the Riverwalk was located on the property. Mr. Lyons showed where it was on the aerial photo. Motion carried 9-0. There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at approximately 5:00 pm. (Vajgrt/Hinz) Respectfully submitted, Darryn Burich Director of Planning Services Plan Commission Minutes 8 October 16,2018