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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Minutes - Planning Commission - Meeting Date: 4/2/2009 (3) MINUTES FOR THE WORKSHOP MEETING OF THE CITY OF GLENDALE,MARICOPA COUNTY, ARIZONA PLANNING COMMISSION CITY HALL—MUNICIPAL COMPLEX CONFERENCE ROOM 2A 5850 WEST GLENDALE AVENUE THURSDAY,APRIL 2,2009 6:00 P.M. I. CALL TO ORDER Chairperson Tennyson called to order the meeting at approximately 6:03 p.m. H. ROLL CALL MEMBERS PRESENT: Michele Tennyson,Chairperson Patrick Sutliff,Vice Chairperson Ron Abrahams Raymond Spitzer Doug Ward MEMBERS ABSENT: John Kolodziej STAFF PRESENT: Jon M. Froke,AICP,Planning Director Jim May,AICP,Deputy Director for Current Planning Ron Short,FAICP,Deputy Director for Long Range Planning Paul Li,Assistant City Attorney Maryann Pickering,AICP,Zoning Administrator Thomas Ritz,AICP, Senior Planner Robert Lamb,Economic Development Administrator Lisa Hunt, Senior Secretary III. WORKSHOP ITEMS Mr. Jim May, AICP, Deputy Director for Current Planning, introduced agenda item 1 as Zoning Text Amendment (ZTA) ZTA09-01. He stated that this is for discussion only and that no action is required. 1. ZONING TEXT AMENDMENT ZTA09-01 -CITYWIDE Staff will present a draft of the proposed revisions to four of the seven sections of the city's Zoning Ordinance. Staff Contact: Maryann Pickering, AICP,Zoning Administrator. April 2,2009 Planning Commission Workshop Minutes Approved May 7,2009 Page 2 Ms. Maryann Pickering, AICP, Zoning Administrator, presented this item. She provided those present with the attached summarization matrix of the proposed changes that she believes will make it easier for anyone wishing to review the proposed ZTA to understand. Ms. Pickering stated that in January, 2009, the Planning Commission initiated the comprehensive update in order to address current development trends in Glendale and the shift in development that has occurred since it was last updated in 1993. It will allow projects that are more compatible with our recent developments while still maintaining the character of the residential areas and updating processes to allow more flexibility in facilitating the development process. Since that time, the city has hosted several meetings with internal and external stakeholders to obtain feedback. External participants included representatives from Valley Partnership, home owners associations, developers, architects, planners and sign makers that provide residential and commercial support to the City of Glendale. Internal feedback was provided by department heads and members of the review committee that consisted of representatives from various departments within the city. Mr. Jim May, AICP, Deputy Director for Current Planning, stated that the proposed changes would implement the General Plan and provide us with a competitive market when competing with surrounding cities like Avondale, Goodyear,and Peoria. Ms. Pickering demonstrated how easy it was to locate the information on the City of Glendale Planning Department's website (http://www.glendaleaz.com/plannineh. Applicable files are located in the"Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance Update"section. She opened each document and explained their purpose. Ms. Pickering briefly discussed the proposed changes to articles 1, 3, 4 and 5 and noted that article 2 would be updated last as it was the definitions section. Staffs goal is to complete a full review during the month of May and to have the comprehensive update completed by June 30,2009. Ms. Pickering concluded her presentation by asking if there were any questions. Commissioner Doug Ward wanted to know if that meant that the city was going to be approving applications like drive-thru's that now go before the Planning Commission. Mr. May assured Commissioner Ward that staff would still review all Zoning Ordinance requirements during the design review process. Ms. Pickering also noted that variance applications may be reduced as there is a recommendation to use an average setback for in-fill development. She stated that in-fill single-family homes in the R-3 district would use average setbacks of neighboring properties;therefore,no variance may be necessary. Another example would be that non-conforming lots might not require a variance for some development standards. Commissioner Ward expressed concern with item #92 of the summarization matrix. Ms. Pickering stated that staff was proposing that the maximum height for C-1, C-2, and C-3 be 35 feet and that the maximum height for B-P, M-I,and M-2 be 45 feet. April 2,2009 Planning Commission Workshop Minutes Approved May 7,2009 Page 3 Commissioner Raymond Spitzer wanted to know who would find these changes user-friendly. Mr. May explained that the citizens, commercial developers and,basically, anyone will find these changes user-friendly. The ordinance will be easier for residents to understand and utilize when submitting variance applications and the development community will appreciate the changes we've made to some of the application processes and requirements. Our city staff will value these changes, as well, as it will be a more user-friendly training tool for new employees. Chairperson Tennyson wanted to know how the developers and businesses perceive our regulations. Mr. May believes that we do a good job. Mr. Jon M. Froke, AICP, Planning Director, stated that the deputy city manager conducted small focus group initiatives from December, 2008, to January, 2009. Designers,planners, architects, smaller developers and contractors, etc. were invited and, for the most part, the comments were glowing. They stated that we have a good customer service base, Building Safety, Environmental Resources, and Planning. We asked them and there were some suggestions, though,which is why Mr. May and Ms. Pickering have taken the initiative to address those issues. Mr. May stated that one of the processes they're proposing is an adjustment to the pre-application process. The process was originally coordinated to gather various departments to review applications at one time, reducing the time it takes to start the process. Our proposal will reduce the amount of time it takes, even further. Proposed recommendations will save an additional 30-60 days. The Conditional Use Permit process is similar,too. Commissioner Abrahams stated that his question was not related to Glendale but rather Phoenix. He wanted to know why businesses could only have the hours of operation on their door and not the business name. Mr. May stated that his initial guess would be that it may be a building safety or fire issue. Commissioner Abrahams mentioned that he knew that Credit Union West was helping home owners in duress. He went on to discuss the home owners associations and how they're being affected by all the foreclosed homes and wanted to know if Glendale was experiencing the same problems. Mr. Froke stated that West Glen Estates was having a hard time. Commissioner Abrahams wanted to know what was being done. Mr. May said that Community Partnerships is offering grants and trying to provide assistance. Commissioner Spitzer mentioned that he was doing some research with regard to tankless water heaters on the Glendale website. He stated that the website is not user-friendly. Mr. May stated that he would send Commissioner Spitzer a hyperlink to the information he needed. He continued by stating that people think they're not dangerous, when in fact they really are which is why we have building safety inspections. Chairperson Tennyson believed it was mandatory to have water heaters inspected and Mr. May agreed. Chairperson Tennyson asked the commissioners if there were any more questions. Commissioner Ward wanted to know when the next three meetings were. Mr.May said that they planned on meeting in May and June, vacating July and maybe even August; however, it all depends on the case-load. April 2,2009 Planning Commission Workshop Minutes Approved May 7,2009 Page 4 Vice Chairperson Patrick Sutliff noted the new process is accelerated. Mr. May thanked them for their willingness to be so flexible. IV. REPORTS AND COMMENTS Mr. May mentioned Habitat for Humanity's final plat. He said that the city had completed an annexation for the west half of 95th Avenue, north of Glendale Avenue. The city worked with the property owner to make that connection into the Sports&Entertainment District. Chairperson Tennyson wanted to know how the other businesses are doing. She knew that Fox Sports Grill closed their doors. Mr. Froke stated that The Ellman Company already had a replacement tenant of McFadden's. Chairperson Tennyson was pleasantly surprised and excited to hear the news. Chairperson Tennyson asked if there were any other questions. There were none. V. ADJOURNMENT Chairperson Tennyson adjourned the meeting at approximately 6:38 p.m. .4 ' ' I ;.r Secretary