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HomeMy WebLinkAbout12/28/2010 MINUTES OF THE WATERLOO BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT MEETING HELD ON DECEMBER 28th 2010, IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS, CITY HALL Chairperson Anfinson called the regular monthly meeting of the Waterloo Board of Adjustment to order on Tuesday,December 28,2010,at 4:00 p.m. Board members in attendance were: Anfinson, Goldsberry (4:08 p.m.),Mixdorf,and Holdiman. Board members absent was: Mohr. Staff in attendance was Noel Anderson,Shane Graham,Tim Andera,and Adam Poll.There were 8 people from the public in attendance. I. Apprnval nf the Agenda for December 98, 9010 It was moved by Holdiman,seconded by Mixdorf, to approve the agenda as submitted. Motion carried unanimously. II. Apprnval nf the Mirnytec nf the Regular Meeting on November 91, 7010 It was moved by Mixdorf, seconded by Holdiman, to approve the minutes as submitted. Motion carried unanimously. Goldsberry arrived at the meeting at 4:08 p.m. III. Tlericinn Ttems 1. Request by the City of Waterloo at Danes Baseball Complex and Tibbits Baseball Complex for a special permit to allow for the construction of 90 to 120 mesh screened advertising signs at each complex and a variance to allow off-premise advertising in an"A-1" Agricultural District. Poll gave the staff report noting City of Waterloo would like to install 90 to 120 mesh screen advertising signs at both the Danes and Tibbits Baseball Complexes. Poll noted that the advertising signs are designed to primarily be viewed by individuals attending sporting activities at the complexes,but the signs would also be visible to the public from beyond the property lines of the complexes, so the special permit is required. Poll noted that the request would not appear to have a negative impact on the neighborhood,however,the proposed signage would not appear to be highly visible from nearby residences and are similar to many other materials used to increase the visibility of a fence. Poll noted that the signage would be placed along the outfield fencing for all three baseball fields at both sites. Poll noted that staff felt that as the signage could potentially be observed by nearby residences that a special permit should be required. Poll noted that 5 homes appear to be in direct visual sight of the Danes Baseball Complex with none of the homes facing the Complex and that at least 20 residences would be in direct visual sight of the signage proposed at Tibbits Baseball Complex,but all of those properties to the north of Tibbits Baseball Complex are addressed off of Wakonda Drive with their rear yards abutting West Donald Street and facing the proposed signage. Poll noted that other sporting facilities have similar advertising such as at Young Arena and Riverfront Stadium,however these signs are not visible from off premises. Poll noted that a variance would also need to be granted by the Board of Adjustment as these signs will be considered off-premises advertising,a use that is not allowed in the"A-1" Agricultural District. Poll noted that staff recommends the Special Permit request be granted. It was moved by Holdiman,seconded by Mixdorf,to approve a special permit to allow for the construction of 90 to 120 mesh screened advertising signs at the Danes and Tibbits Baseball complexes and a variance to allow off-premise advertising in an"A-1"Agricultural District.Motion carried unanimously. SPECIAL PERMIT AND VARIANCE REQUEST APPROVED BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT DECEMBER 28,2010 Minutes property in question and the property directly next door and to the north at 803 West 5th Street have 0' side yard setbacks, so it would appear that that the precedence for reduced setbacks has been established. Andera noted that the proposed request would be in conformance with the classification of this area as Commercial on the Future Land Use Map within the City of Waterloo Comprehensive Plan adopted February 3,2003. Andera noted that the applicant owns the property at 827 West 5th Street,which houses Mike Fereday Heating and Cooling and that the applicant would like to construct a new 3-stall garage on the rear of the building for the purpose of storing company vehicles,business supplies and tools in the new structure. Currently, all company vehicles are parked outside facing towards Grant Avenue. Andera noted that in order to meet the rear yard setback,the applicant would be able to construct a 15' addition of the rear of the building,however,the amount of storage space would be greatly reduced. Andera noted that in discussions with the applicant,they also noted that they looked at the possibility of extending the garage from the side of the building towards Grant Avenue,however,due to the design and the way the building was constructed,the costs to due so would be much higher,as additional structure work would be needed to tie the roof line of the new building in with the original building. Andera noted that the Zoning Ordinance requires a minimum rear yard setback of 35',however,if the new addition is constructed as the applicant is requesting,the entire principal structure would have a setback of approximately 2' to 3'from the rear property line. Andera noted that the rear property line separates the property in question from the residential property at 725 Grant Avenue,and would be considered the side property line for that address Andera noted that the applicant has received a signed letter of petition from the next-door neighbor at 725 Grant Avenue,noting that they have no objection to the variance request. The adjacent neighbor has noted that the new garage addition will extend just as close to their lot as the existing 240 SF detached garage that sits at the far east corner of the lot. Andera noted that at the September 28,2010 BOA meeting,the Board approved a variance to the rear yard setback for 923 West 5th Street,to allow a 10' rear yard measured from the middle of the adjacent alley,however, the structure itself was 0' from the platted alley line. Andera noted that this particular property had an existing 20'x 26'detached garage that was already 0' from the platted alley line,and the applicant wanted to construct a new addition between the principal building and the detached garage, thus incorporating the detached garage into the principle building,making it one contiguous structure. The detached garage along the alley was constructed in 1948,and during its existence,has not appeared to have a negative impact upon the surrounding area due to its reduced setback. -Andera notedthat-the applicant has notedwithin-their appeal letter that the construction of the new addition in the location requested appears to make the most sense,as it would appear to be the most practical location to construct the new garage,as it would maintain the functionality,efficiency,as well as the main parking area of the site, and construction in this particular location would allow for the new addition to match the existing building design and be able to better tie in with the roof structure of the existing building. The applicant also noted that the Habitat for Humanity property directly to the north at 803 West 5th Street actually touches their building,and believes that the original zoning for the property in question prevents a reasonable use of the property due to the larger setback required for the rear yard. Andera noted that in discussion with the applicant,they are aware that the reduced setback would warrant that additional Building Codes are met, and it would be necessary that a firewall be installed on the sides of the building facing towards 725 Grant Avenue and 803 West 5th Street. It was moved by Holdiman seconded by Goldsberrv,to approve a variance to the 35'rear yard setback requirement in the "C-2" Commercial District,to allow for the construction of at 48'x50' addition to the existing building,with a rear yard setback of 2',33'less the minimum required. Motion carried unanimously. VARIANCE REQUEST APPROVED 3 BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT DECEMBER 28,2010 Minutes could set a precedence for future outside storage areas within the Highway 218 Corridor Overlay District to not provide proper screening and there would appear to be no uniqueness to the request. Holdiman noted that Highway 218 is considerably higher then this area, so a solid 8' screen would not screen the property as the elevated highway would allow drivers to see over the top of the fence. Mixdorf noted that although the screen may not be effective he did not want to set a precedence to allow other properties to not have use a visual screen. Holdiman noted that this property is unique as the highway is elevated,but that he agreed with Mixdorf about setting precedence. Shannon Rousselow,Leers Cycle Center,noted he would like to connect this fence to the existing 218 Fence erected by the DOT. Graham noted that the DOT fence is approximately 50' from the actual property line,and short of obtaining an encroachment agreement from the DOT he can only have a variance granted to the edge of his property. Goldsberry questioned if a solid fence was necessary or if there were other fencing options that could be utilized. Holdiman noted that he would be ok with a chain link fence if there were plantings present. Mixdorf noted that he would support the chain link fence with strips woven into the fence to create a visual barrier noting that it would not set a precedent. Mixdorf moved to approve a variance to the Highway 218 Corridor Overlay District setback requirement of 50' for a fence from the Highway 218 but deny a variance to the solid screening requirement in the Highway 218 Corridor Overlay District,to allow for a chain link fence to be constructed on the property. Goldsberry noted that if planting were used they would take up additional space on the property. Graham noted that the applicant could contact the DOT and ask permission to plant trees on their property. Mixdorf withdrew the pending motion and made a new motion. It was moved by Mixdorf seconded by Goldsberry to approve a variance to the Highway 218 Corridor Overlay District setback requirement of 50'for a fence from the Highway 218 to allow for the construction of a fence along the property line along Highway 218,50'less than the minimum required,and a variance to the solid screening requirement in the Highway 218 Corridor Overlay District,to allow for a chain link fence to be constructed on the property.Motion Carried 3-1 with Anfinson voting against the motion. VARIANCE REQUESTS APPROVED V. Tlicrncsinn Items There were no discussion items. VI. Ad)n»rnmPnt It was moved by Goldsberry, seconded by Holdiman, to adjourn the meeting at 4:46 p.m.Motion carried unanimously. Respectfully submitted, Adam Poll, Associate Planner 5 MINUTES OF THE WATERLOO BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT MEETING HELD ON JANUARY 25th 2011, IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS, CITY HALL Chairperson Anfinson called the regular monthly meeting of the Waterloo Board of Adjustment to order on Tuesday,January 25,2011, at 4:00 p.m. Board members in attendance were:Anfinson, Goldsberry,Mixdorf,Mohr,and Holdiman.Staff in attendance was Aric Schroeder,Shane Graham, and Adam Poll. Councilperson Steve Schmitt was also in attendance. There were 4 people from the public in attendance. I. Apprnval of the Ag-nrla for January 25, 7f111 It was moved by Holdiman,seconded by Mohr, to approve the agenda as submitted.Motion carried unanimously. II. Apprnval of the Minutes of the Regular Meeting nn December 98, 7n1n It was moved by Mohr,seconded by Mixdorf, to approve the minutes as submitted.Motion carried unanimously. III. Election of Officers 1. Election of Chairperson and Vice Chairperson for the 2011 calendar year. Mohr noted that he would no longer be a resident of the City of Waterloo in 3-4 months and questioned if he could still serve on the Board of Adjustment. Mixdorf noted that to serve on the Board you had to live or work in the City of Waterloo. Mohr noted he would still be working in Waterloo. It was moved by Holdiman, seconded by Goldsberry to re-elect Larry Anfinson as Chairperson for the Board of Adjustment for the term ending on December 31,2011.Motion carried unanimously. It was moved by Anfinson, seconded by Mixdorf to elect Jason Mohr as Vice Chairperson for the Board of Adjustment for the term ending on December 31,2011.Motion carried unanimously. IV. Derision Ttems 1. Request by Trailblazers Off Road Club at NE of 3505 Easton Avenue for a Special Permit/Variance for the construction a 40' x 60' (2,400 SF) storage building within the Riverview Recreational Area, and a special permit to allow for the placement of the structure within the Floodway of the Cedar River. Poll gave the staff report noting that the applicant is requesting to construct a 2,400 SF maintenance building in the Riverview Recreational Area that will be located within the floodway of the Cedar River. Poll noted that the request would appear to have a positive impact upon the park area,as the new storage building would allow storage of equipment used to maintain existing off-road trails. Poll noted that the site is zoned A-1 Agricultural District and sits near existing off-road trails. Poll noted that the request would not appear to have any negative impact on traffic conditions, as it is well off the road and located close to the river and a gravel parking area is located to the northwest of the proposed location. Poll noted that the proposed building would not appear to have an adverse impact on drainage.The building in question would be required to submit a drainage plan to the Engineering Department. Poll noted that the proposed building would be located within the floodway of the Cedar River,however,an elevation certificate has been submitted showing that the elevation of the land for the site in question is 6' higher then the 100-year flood elevation,and the proposed building would be constructed 7.5' higher then the 100-year flood elevation,therefore the request would appear to meet the performance standards