HomeMy WebLinkAbout09/22/2009 MINUTES OF THE WATERLOO BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT MEETING HELD ON
SEPTEMBER 22, 2009, IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS, CITY HALL
Chairperson Anfinson called the regular monthly meeting of the Waterloo Board of
Adjustment to order on Tuesday,September 22, 2009,at 4:00 p.m. Board members in
attendance were: Holdiman, Goldsberry, Mohr and Anfinson. Member not in attendance
was Mixdorf. Staff in attendance was Aric Schroeder and Shane Graham. There were 2
people from the public in attendance.
I. Approval of the Agenda fnr September 77, 71119
It was moved by Holdiman, seconded by Mohr, to approve the agenda as submitted. Motion
carried unanimously.
II. Approval of the Minntec of the Reg filar Meeting nn Aiig ict 29, 7(1(19
It was moved by Holdiman, seconded by Goldsberry, to approve the minutes as submitted.
Motion carried unanimously.
III. Tlecicinn Tten,s
1. Request by American Self Storage, Inc. at 7911 Independence Ave for a variance to the hard
surface vehicular use area requirement to allow for the expansion of an existing gravel
vehicular use area.
Schroeder gave the staff report, noting that the property is currently used as a mini-storage
facility, which has a 4,480 SF building and a 2,240 SF building located on it. There is an
approximate area of 20,000 SF in front of the buildings that is currently grass,and the applicant
would like to convert that area to gravel in order to accommodate larger vehicle storage, such as
boats, RV's, campers, etc. The Zoning Ordinance requires that any vehicular use or parking area
"shall be surfaced with a minimum of a two-inch Hot Mix Asphalt(HMA) on a six-inch rock
base or five inches of Portland Cement Concrete." Since the applicants are proposing to
construct it with crushed limestone, the parking area would not be in conformance with the
Ordinance. Graham noted that the applicants are pointing out the fact that their existing
parking lot is currently graveled,which may be the case, however that may be a legal non-
conforming surface and may continue,however, if the parking area is to be expanded, it must
comply with today's regulations. Graham noted that the applicant is pointing to several
different mini-storage facilities in Waterloo that are using a non-approved surface. The first,
Stow Away Storage at 2448 K-Line Dr, does have a gravel parking lot, however that was
constructed back in the early 1970's and may be a legal non-conforming parking lot, such as the
applicant's lot. The second,Cedar Valley Mini Storage at 613 Rooff Ave, was constructed in
2004, and photos show vehicles parking on a grass area. That would be a violation of the Zoning
Ordinance, and staff will send a Code Enforcement Officer out to the site to investigate. The
third, Castle Storage at 2171 Diagonal St, was constructed in 2002, and photos show vehicles
parking on a gravel or grass area, which is also a violation of the Zoning Ordinance. Staff will
inform a Code Enforcement Officer about this property as well. None of the above examples
would appear to be unique in regards to the applicant's request. Graham indicated that staff is
recommending denial of the request, as there would not appear to be a uniqueness with this
request, as the Zoning Ordinance states that an expansion of an existing gravel parking area
must be hard surfaced,and the request could have a negative impact on the neighborhood, as it
could create dust and water drainage problems.
Anfinson questioned if the area to be used for storage would be in the open, and Graham