You Afternoon we will convene our October 3rd 2024 zoning committee meeting. Mr. Crumb. All right Good afternoon. Everyone Daniel crumb planning staff. The first item on your agenda is a Rezoning from back in 2022. This was an application that was filed Ultimately made its way through part of the the planning process and then ultimately in February of 2023 was postponed so the applicant in this case realty and limited bluegrass has Reactivated the application amended a couple aspects of it So as we go through in your binder You'll have the supplemental staff report the one pager or the one page front and back is the most recent staff report The more in-depth staff report is the the original that accompanied that first request So the applicant has modified part of their design and so we'll touch on that as we move through the application But just to orient everyone this is property located at 940 Higby Mill Road This is a request to establish a townhouse use so the applicant is seeking to change the single-family residential into the townhouse residential r1t For the property at 940 Higby Mill Road as far as the place builder Application is seeking to place this as an enhanced neighborhood and a low-density residential development type Which is fairly typical for the townhouse developments that we see But here to orient everyone the subject property shown in the center of the screen here in white is Located at the very end of Higby Mill Road Basically the property spans between Higby Mill and Man o' War but does not have any direct access onto Man o' War Zooming in a little bit closer you can see kind of a layout of the subject property the surrounding zones as well as an Interesting bit of right-of-way that has caused some some complications with this application over the years So here Higby Mill Road Extends to the end of the property here However, there is a remnant piece of right-of-way here that was never fully developed or it was never actually developed So right-of-way that over time has sort of gone unused the applicants around 2016 Requested that remnant right-of-way or their portion generally speaking when we have abandoned right-of-way They if requested it gets deeded over to the respective property owners on each side. So the applicant has obtained his portion However, the the portions on the opposite side Would be then deeded to the the property owners along Cephas Way The previous iteration the plant had some complications and sort of placing parts of the development on this land and so part of the postponement in addition to amending the design was Ironing out kind of the specifics of what can be done and kind of the scope if you will of the development So here we have an area that is decidedly single-family residential that yellow color you're seeing Is R1C and R1D across the road on Man o' War you've got a little bit more intense residential development But this is an existing single-family residential area that the applicant is seeking to enhance with townhome uses Here an aerial kind of shows a little bit better the situation that we have so Higbee Mill existing development single-family residential This kind of remnant piece at the end. You'll see that roadway kind of stops at this portion here and the rest Is sort of this undeveloped land that Ostensibly would be deeded over to the adjoining property owners. The applicant is seeking to establish a townhome development Now this is the initial plan to give you an idea of kind of where staff was looking at in the initial staff report And what has sort of changed since then so here we have a series of seven townhome units And this is the initial proposal staff had some issues with part of the development Including or encroaching into that portion that would be deeded to the adjoining property So they had to essentially stay within their property and the existing public right-of-way that was not going to be dedicated So that created some issues with terminating the end of the roadway Additionally staff had some issues at the time with sort of how this would interact with the rest of the block So essentially the lack of pedestrian features the lack of street trees the lack of really reinforcing the roadway They're parking in the front yard area Just created some some issues that staff was recommending postponement in 2022 and early 2023 to help kind of clarify an address This is the revised design that you have in front of you today So the applicant has shifted to more of a cul-de-sac design With each of the still seven townhome units with a slightly different configuration pushed a little bit further back But featuring two parking spaces in front of each of the units with a drive aisle that goes up and connects to the cul-de-sac And so in doing he's create they've created a little bit more space where potential plantings could be located They're not necessarily denoted on the plan But several issues kind of from staff's original look at the property kind of remain What is this doing as far as the amount of impervious surface? What is this doing as far as the walkability? What is this doing kind of matching the character of the neighborhood? there are a couple technical aspects of this plan that that need to be addressed the while this Cul-de-sac is kind of firmly within the bounds of the project the radius of it doesn't meet the current subdivision regulations Additionally the setbacks on the side here and the side here Do not meet the current regulations for our 1t zoning So a normally an 8-foot sidewalk or an 8-foot Sideyard would be required here where it joins a single family and then a six on the side here At this time the applicant has not opted to request any variances with this request Additionally, there's restrictions on the amount of paving you can have in the front yard area that this appears to exceed So a couple technical issues Additionally staff had some questions about public engagement since 2022 usually if there's a revised plan There's some good dialogue with the neighborhood kind of weighing in in that aspect And there hasn't been any information provided with the submittal that speaks to how the neighborhood has sort of been involved in this particular proposal So at this time staff is recommending postponement There are a couple things that were addressed since the initial submission but really the relationship with this development the amount of sort of impervious surface there and the treatment of kind of how it fits in with The rest of the neighborhood. We're still lingering questions that the the applicant should sort of Address if possible on the plan or kind of think of best ways to kind of address But staff would be happy to entertain any questions you have this time about the zoning aspect Tracy will be on momentarily to talk about the development plan in case there's anything that I've missed but anything on the zoning side Thank You mr. Trump, do we have any questions for Daniel at this time seeing none, thank you miss wait Thank you Daniel covered most of it. I think in terms of what issues we still see For the for the plan the subdivision committee recommended postponement this morning Just because it doesn't currently meet this land subdivision regulations in terms of the cul-de-sac and the side yards for the zoning ordinance And oh, sorry, the other thing is the paving in the front yard so they are required to have 10-foot driveways The maximum would be 10 or half the width of your lot, so I think 10 would be the maximum in this case. And then you have to pair your driveways for Townhouses attached single-family and that's not occurring either All righty, thank you any questions seeing none applicant Well, I just want to thank you for having me here today and having an opportunity to address this board and committee Very difficult lot to develop a lot of easements Terminated Street Started this I bought the property in 16 got my right away. I Approached all my neighbors that I share abandoned right away with They didn't want to sell And they didn't want to deed their right away take deed to it. So in 2022 I withdrew and filed suit against those neighbors To get the issue resolved with the abandoned right away. It is somewhat of a environmental green eyesore with the old honeysuckle and stuff and And We're here now and it needs to be addressed now, you know, there's a lingering problem in our community That needs to be addressed So I one of them or it's got to right away I think the other one is going through the motion to get to right away. So as far as engagement goes with the neighbors They're all well aware of what I'm doing. I spoke with most of them. None of them have any opposition to what I'm doing So I think I've met that part of it as far as the cul-de-sac at 50 feet Back in 1982 when they built Manowar and they condemned and closed Higbee Mill Support their the right away plans, which I have copy here Called For a court to be built there what they called in a turnaround and that turnaround was supposed to be 50 feet Which is the 25 foot radius that you see here For whatever reason it didn't get built. The record is silent. I Don't know why It didn't get bill I'm willing to build the court to the satisfaction of urban county government Just because it's the right thing to do If we leave it if we leave a term street there, which is clear violation of their comprehensive plan then You know, then the goals of that company one of the goals that comprehensive plan will not be built My plan provides balanced Equilibrium the trash company the trash department I'm sorry water company the fire department all these people have no opposition to a 50 foot or 25 foot radius plan So back in the early 80s with you built a radius court or turnaround you would have got 50 foot now The standard is different today But it's important for this not to be a a Terminated Street Then I get this 50 foot court this 25 foot radius I'm gonna build that I'm gonna donate it to the city I'm gonna bond it for a year That will clean up storm water It will clean up a terminated Street. It will make the flow of traffic in and out of there better It's something I'm seeking your support on On the 25 foot radius as far as the side yards go I was hoping to acquire some of this abandoned right away, which is full of easements Everybody's there, you know water company electric company. There's a high-pressure gas line runs through the property Okay, and that's part of the reason the setback is so I'm just going to walk without a microphone I'm just going to walk here and point to the gas That dish that dashed line is a high-pressure gas line so when you take into consideration all the factors That must be Addressed for public safety certainly the gas line Would be on top of them and that's why you get the configuration you got Side yards, none of my neighbors have any opposition to the side yards It's it's just it's just been a tough it's just been a tough one to address all these concerns so now you know, I'm trying to I Mean my development as proposed meets more of the comprehensive plans standards then it's deficient of You're not going to get Your pie and eat it too, particularly on a remnant like this So I'm doing my best to to make a contribution to the community here to address everyone's concern And try to say a safe sound development at a last 100 years So that being said, you know, certainly I open forward to questions, thank you, sir. Do we have any questions for the applicant? See seen none, mr. Pope Why wouldn't you apply for a variance for your side yard deviation from the side yard requirement I It's just timing a lot of its timing but more of it is You know We worked long and hard with my engineer to come up with a plan That Then I think it's safe and workable We just haven't worked down to that yet. Um that will be forthcoming with the Board of Adjustments and so forth But I'd rather deal with the issue of zoning here and Then go into that later If you want if you know, mr. Few if you want, I mean You know fall back and punt which I don't want to and incorporate those things But since I have no opposition from the people impacted from the side yard, I don't think it's an issue All right, any other questions, mr. Wilson I can hear you good. Yes, sir Testing oh Thank you Goodness gracious. What are you plans for street trees the locations of the street trees? Well, we're trying again. We're trying to hit equilibrium and balance here And this plan we really had to scramble to get it together to get it in front of the board quickly But one of the plans before had a tree bank Which which would be known as a tree cluster here at the rear of Man O'War Okay, and this plan We've just to be honest with you, mr. Wilson we forgot to put it on Okay. I mean I at the same time And I'm just going to walk over there those little at the end of the driveways you see those little wing cuts Those they look like knife blades. That's that's going to be grass and trees And again, you know I'm hoping to put evergreens on this property I'm sure we're all well aware of the nuisance of honeysuckle in this community not to mention You know hag berries which are the least desirable green canopy you have I personally like evergreens and one of the reasons I wanted The remnants from my neighbors is to clean up all the honeysuckle Another reason I wanted the remnants and fought long and hard for and finally realized I'm not going to get it It's to make a walkway Finally realized I'm not going to get it. It's to make a walkway off men of war Through this right away all the way down to Pass the churches that place me on men of war and a lot of people like me, you know, I like to walk You know, I enjoy him. I'm too old to run but It's one of the things I wanted but but again, you're not going to get everything. Mr. Wilson Out of this project, you know It just comes down to quality of judgment at the best fits at equilibrium and balance I really wanted that I still haven't give up on it. But my neighbors, you know, they're they're back to me For whatever reason they just don't want to be bothered with it and I I Mean I'm for trees One of the things that's not really apparent when you look at this plant. There's no There's no North Arrow But it orients to the southeast which I don't know if you're all aware of it but solar and wind Renewable so sources have overtaken Coal and natural gas at these power plants. So we're at a threshold this year. This could hold a solar application If the roofs were at 38 degrees angles So the point I'm trying to make is is I've considered everything You know, I've considered everything I've weighed all the options and I think this is the best fit for the community Yes, sir, all righty, do we have any other questions Seeing none. Thank you applicant. Okay. Is there anyone from the public who would like to speak? Seeing none Are there any Commissioner comments or of course floors open for a motion? Just from staff's perspective I'm looking for public engagement feedback More information on the cul-de-sac and The variances requests that correct So that The Planning Commission and then ultimately the Division of Planning signs the plan Indicating that it meets all the requirements So if it doesn't meet the requirements We're going to be in a situation where the director won't be able to sign the plan So we're gonna have to make amendments to the plan Even if they're temporary Like if you're seeking a Board of Adjustment approval in the future We still need to show it complying with the ordinance today and that goes for the subdivision Regulations as well the cul-de-sac so we might have to temporarily In mr. Minutes mind Increase the size of the cul-de-sac in order for the plan to move to the next step. Does that make sense? Because you haven't asked for a waiver, okay, so so so we're gonna If I get my postponement here today, and I pray that I do we're gonna ask for a waiver On the cul-de-sac in the side yards and some other things Okay, okay, and I don't want to hit this too hard But if someone had followed through with the right-of-way plan Back in the 80s that was 50 foot was the standard being I've talked to the fire department. I've talked to Waste Talk to all these folks. They don't have a problem with they think they can make it work if we go into a bigger Radius, we're going to create a lot of problems that don't need to be created. This is a very well-thought-through Functionable solution to an incredibly difficult problem You know all the stakeholders are aware of this meeting they had an opportunity to come here and speak out They all support me and what I'm doing therefore. I'm requesting that this board support me and what I'm doing today That means it Mr.. Minyard, I would like to make a motion for a postponement for PLN MAR 22-16 Second All right motion by mr. Forrester second by mr. Jonathan Davis is there any discussion I just want to Make note that my biggest concern with this plan is that The whole area in front of the buildings is paved I think that's not in in it's not consistent with the tone of the neighborhood and What staff is Saying is required which is a shared 10-foot drive and then you could have your two parking spaces, but If two of those units share a drive you then preserve green space next to the sidewalk and Completely change the tone of the development. I mean the tone of the development as it is Honestly is awful Because it's like a giant parking lot and that's not what you see in that neighborhood So I just want to make that point. I think I think that you need to give that attention as well Well, let me speak to that. You know those are very noble things that you just said you know from You know and fundamentally you might be right. What's not clearly depicted on this plant, which would be corrected The next time is all the green space That's involved here. There's five foot yards in front of the houses and then you have those narrow driveways on the sides These are set up to be true townhouses. The only thing common is the common wall The driveways it's been my experience you start sharing driveways, then you need a homeowner's association You set yourself up for a lot of problems social problems that don't need to be made As far as storm retention all that's taken in with this We are going to try to find a way particularly with the units on the left to shorten the driveways And try to expand. Let me just walk over there to the play You Every one of them has green space in front of them that we're going to put trees in so visually from the street the streetscape in this Will will take in the concerns that you just had And again, we're going to work. This needs to be fine-tuned a little bit. I agree So that being said, you know again, I asked for your support. Mr Don't be afraid to call me if you if you want to meet me on site I'd be happy to meet you there that gas line easement is a big big big big problem for everyone in the neighborhood And it must be dealt with gently so too much activity here Might not be the best thing But yes, I understand your concerns and we'll try to address them better. So any other comments? All Right, if there's no further discussion To mr. Forster's motion, we can go ahead and vote all those in favor, please. Raise your right hand All right, that's unanimous. Thank you very much. Oh, thank you very much. Thank you for having me here All righty second item on the agenda PLN ma are 24 16 LOP 1 Mr. Krumm You have a question, please raise your hand and we'll go ahead and get started. All right. Daniel Crum, Planning Staff. The second item on our agenda is a rezoning request on 223 East 7th Street. This is a request to rezone from the Neighborhood Business B1 zone to the Planned Neighborhood Residential R3 zone. The applicant is seeking to institute this rezoning in order to use an existing structure for a single-family residence. The applicant using a single-family residence in an area that we would consider an existing neighborhood, an enhanced neighborhood. Staff is in agreement with their choice in place type and development type. Here we have the subject property, which is an extremely small piece of property on 7th Street, located generally between Lancaster and Maple. As you zoom in, you get a little bit better idea of the zoning and the surrounding area and kind of its situation. So the subject property currently is zoned B1. There's this strip of B1 zoning that kind of occupies this section of East 7th Street. This was applied a considerable time ago, so it's been zoned B1 since before the comprehensive rezoning of the city and county. Surrounding we have a large amount of R3. So there's R3 present to the exterior or to the rear of the site here, as well as directly across the street. These properties on 7th and Maple, you may recognize within the past couple years, Habitat for Humanity, also rezoned from the B1 to the R3 in order to establish their townhome uses. So this general vicinity is some businesses, but primarily residential, despite some of the B1 zoning. Here we have a look of the aerial of the subject property. So the subject property, once again, shown in yellow. It does adjoin a commercial use. It doesn't appear it's been active for some time, but a actual commercial use to the west. The east is actually a residential use, and then a vacant lot to the rear. As far as the development plan for the subject property, it's single family residential development using existing structure, so there really isn't a development plan to really speak of. It's a subdivision plan, so it's existing lot that you've got shown with a building line. The applicant did mock up an exhibit shown on the screen here that gives you a little bit more context with the situation that we're dealing with. So an existing structure that was, by our records, appears to have originally been built some time ago residentially. It was in a B1 zone, so it was then converted into a business, but the business use has been vacant for some period of time now, and so the applicant thinks it has more application as a residence again, so is seeking the R3 to utilize the building basically as is and put a residence there. So no plan expansion. I'm sure that there would be some renovation involved with that interior. In order to accomplish this, they are going to be seeking a variance from property perimeter, so when you have B1 adjoining R3, there needs to be landscape buffers, and so they have a variance request that I'll address at the end of the PowerPoint presentation, but essentially existing building, want to use for a single family home, increase the housing supply, housing stock, really is an increase in density, but if the property were redeveloped with some of the adjoining R3 in the future, it gives the flexibility on developing a little more dense project. But overall, staff is recommending approval of this request. We find it's contributing to the housing stock in an area that is in need of additional housing. We find that it's in agreement with the criteria for land use, transportation and pedestrian connectivity, environmental sustainability, site design and building form. Once again, very basic in the sense of they are not making many physical changes, so it's really utilizing it as is with its existing connections to the neighborhood. So staff is recommending approval. We'll have Tracy on to give you the rundown of the subdivision plan, limited as it may be, and then I'll give you a quick update on our recommendation for the variance. So with that, I'd be happy to entertain any questions you have about the zone, but just try and utilize the structure. And with regards to public engagement, the applicant, Mr. Wilson keeps me honest. We note in the staff report that there wasn't anything provided as far as an explanation within the actual submission itself. The applicant's partner is here today at their law firm to talk about the request, but my understanding is they've had some conversations, so they should provide some information on what their public engagement has been, because there wasn't any submitted with the application. Thank you, Daniel. Anything for Daniel? I'm going to have Daniel stay up there, though. Okay. Okay. All right. All right. I'm going to flip to that. Yeah. Yeah. The subdivision committee recommended approval. That's my summary. That's great. That's great. That's the best summary I've heard. All right, Daniel. I'm not Tom, so. Yeah. I would humbly protest the brevity of that presentation. On to the variance. The variance request is very simple. Where this adjoins B1 zoning, a 15-foot buffer is required on each side. That can be reduced down to five when you use a wall. However, the existing structure does not allow for this on the west side due to its just distance. So it would take removing part of the structure to meet that five-foot requirement. The eastern portion of the structure, it contains, there is actually a curb cut here and a little shallow driveway that is sort of the sole vehicular access for the site. But this is a narrow area between buildings where a landscaping buffer really wouldn't thrive to begin with. And so staff recommends approval, finding that kind of the development of the site does not lend itself to that buffer and requiring it would constitute kind of an unnecessary hardship for the applicant. This was also sent over to the Division of Environmental Services, the Landscape Review Committee, as of the most recent ZOTA, no longer is an entity. So the folks at DES took a look at it and they recommended approval as well. Staff is recommending approval subject to the conditions on the screen, which are standard conditions. Okay. Thank you, Daniel. Any questions? Seeing none, Mr. Murphy. I'm Dick Murphy representing the applicant. This is actually my partner's case, Chris Clendenin, and he's on vacation. I handed out the picture just to show you what we're trying to accomplish there. On the left, the bright blue building is the one we're asking for the zone change on. On the right is the one next door, which our client already owns and has redone. And I don't think the picture does justice to the building on the right. It really, it's a good looking house. And our client has purchased the property on the left, which is the subject of the zone change. And it was apparently built as a house many years ago, was turned into a business, and has been vacant for a long time, several years. And he wants to turn it back into a house. You can see they're basically the same house model on both lots with the left side and the right side on each one. And he wants to return this to the housing supply. On the public engagement, our client has talked to some of the neighbors who are, I think, supportive of this. There's a neighborhood association here. So we'll talk to the staff and see if some more outreach needs to be made on this or not. But we think that we obviously agree with the staff recommendation of approval and hope you'll vote to approve it. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Murphy. Do we have any questions? Seeing none. Thank you, Mr. Murphy. Any commissioner comment or motion? Mr. Chair, I move to approve PLN or recommend approval for PLN MAR 2416 LOP 1 limited. Second. All righty. Thank you, Mr. Polce. Thank you, Mr. Forrester. Any discussion? If you're in favor, please raise your hand. And that is unanimous. All right. Now the variance. If you're in favor, please raise your hand. And that is unanimous. All right. Now the variance. Mr. Chair. Recommend approval of variance. All right. I couldn't resist. Okay. So Mr. Polce moved for approval of variance. Mr. Jonathan Davis finally got to second. Is there any discussion? Seeing none, we'll vote by raising your hand. And that's unanimous. Thank you. All right. Do we have anything else today? Just wanted to give a quick update. The ZOTA for the ED zone staff has been working with the applicant on that. I know it was requested some data on kind of what some of their proposals would look like in reference to the actual development we have in the ED zone and what they would be allowed. So they're providing us that information and meeting with staff. So no updates at this time. And so as soon as we have any kind of movements on our end as far as recommendations, staff alternative texts, et cetera, we'll bring that forward to you all. Thank you. Thank you, Daniel. Thank you, staff. And if there's nothing else, we are adjourned without objection. Just a note that our next meeting is November 7th, not the 4th. Okay. November 7th. Thank you.