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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda_ZBA_02.21.2017Notice of Meeting for the Zoning Board of Adjustment of the City of Georgetown February 21, 2017 at 5:00 PM at Council Chambers, 101 East 7th Street, Georgetown The City of Georgetown is committed to compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). If you require assistance in participating at a public meeting due to a disability, as defined under the ADA, reasonable assistance, adaptations, or accommodations will be provided upon request. Please contact the City Secretary's Office, at least three (3) days prior to the scheduled meeting date, at (512) 930-3652 or City Hall at 113 East 8th Street for additional information; TTY users route through Relay Texas at 711. Public Wishing to Address the Board On a subject that is posted on this agenda: Please fill out a speaker registration form which can be found at the Board meeting. Clearly print your name, the letter of the item on which you wish to speak, and present it to the Staff Liaison, preferably prior to the start of the meeting. You will be called forward to speak when the Board considers that item. On a subject not posted on the agenda: Persons may add an item to a future Board agenda by filing a written request with the Staff Liaison no later than one week prior to the Board meeting. The request must include the speaker's name and the specific topic to be addressed with sufficient information to inform the board and the public. For Board Liaison contact information, please logon to http://government.georgetown.org/category/boards-commissions/. A As of the deadline, no persons were signed up to speak on items other than what was posted on the agenda. Legislative Regular Agenda B Call to Order Pledge of Allegiance Comments from the Chair - Welcome and Meeting Procedures Action from Executive Session C Consideration and possible action of the Minutes from the December 20, 2016, Zoning Board of Adjustment meeting. D Public Hearing and possible action on a request for a Special Exception per Unified Development Code (UDC) Section 14.05.050, Abandonment of a Nonconforming Site, to waive required site improvements at 3700 Williams Drive, also being Lot 2, Block A, Georgetown Retirement Residence Subdivision. (SE-2016-001) Valerie Kreger, AICP, Principal Planner Page 1 of 13 Adjournment CERTIFICATE OF POSTING I, Shelley Nowling, City Secretary for the City of Georgetown, Texas, do hereby certify that this Notice of Meeting was posted at City Hall, 113 E. 8th Street, a place readily accessible to the general public at all times, on the ______ day of __________________, 2017, at __________, and remained so posted for at least 72 continuous hours preceding the scheduled time of said meeting. ____________________________________ Shelley Nowling, City Secretary Page 2 of 13 City of Georgetown, Texas Zoning Board of Adjustment February 21, 2017 SUBJECT: Consideration and possible action of the Minutes from the December 20, 2016, Zoning Board of Adjustment meeting. ITEM SUMMARY: FINANCIAL IMPACT: NA SUBMITTED BY: Tammy Glanville, Recording Secretary ATTACHMENTS: Description Type Draft ZBA Minutes for December 20th Cover Memo Page 3 of 13 Page 1 of 2 City of Georgetown, Texas Zoning Board of Adjustment Meeting Minutes Tuesday, December 20, 2016 at 5:00 PM Council Chambers 101 E. 7thStreet, Georgetown, Texas 78626 Board members: Josh Schroeder, Chair; Kevin Pitts, Kaylah McCord, Alex Fuller This is a regular meeting of the Zoning Board of Adjustment of the City of Georgetown. The Board, appointed by the Mayor and the City Council, acts on requests for variances, interpretations and special exceptions under the Georgetown Zoning Ordinance. Board Member(s) Absent: Aaron Albright Staff Present: Carolyn Horner, Planner, and Tammy Glanville, Recording Secretary. Chair Schroeder called the meeting to order at 5:00 p.m. Regular Session - To begin no earlier than 5:00 p.m. B. Call to order: 5:00 p.m. (The Board may, at any time, recess the Regular Session to convene an Executive Session at the request of the Chair, a Board Member, the Director or legal counsel for any purpose authorized by the Open Meetings Act, Texas Government Code Chapter 551.) Action from Executive Session. There was not an Executive Session. C Consideration and possible action of the Minutes from the June 21, 2016, Zoning Board of Adjustment meeting. Motion by Board Member Fuller to approve the Minutes from the June 21, 2016 Zoning Board of Adjustment meeting. Second by Board Member Pitts. Approved 4-0-1 (Albright absent) D Public Hearing and possible action on a Variance to Unified Development Code (UDC) Section 7.03.020 regarding dimensional standards to allow a driveway and parking to encroach into the side and rear setbacks and to Section 9.03.020 regarding parking space and parking lot design to allow a reduction of the minimum required aisle width at 1614 Williams Drive, being Lot 7, Block 2, Crestview Addition Unit 1. (VAR-2016- 006) Valerie Kreger, AICP, Principal Planner Staff provided an overview of the Variance request and description of project. Staff recommended denial. Page 4 of 13 Page 2 of 2 Chair Schroeder invited the applicant to speak. Applicant gave a brief overview of their project. The Public Hearing was opened and closed with no speakers coming forth Discussion among board members and staff regarding pavers, impervious coverage, heritage trees and the criteria’s. Motion by Board Member McCord to deny the requested variance on the basis it does not satisfy all the required criteria. Second by Board Member Pitts. Motion to deny passed 3-1-1 (Pitts opposed, Albright absent) E. Public Hearing and possible action on a Variance to Unified Development Code (UDC) Section 10.06.010, Sign Dimensional Standards, to increase the height allowance for Extra Space Storage, located at 2100 JM Page Lane (VAR-2016-007) Carolyn Horner, AICP, Planner and Jeff Cardwell, Chief Commercial Plans Examiner (Item E. was pulled from agenda prior to meeting per applicant). Adjourned at 5:22 p.m. _____________________________________ __________________________________ Chair Secretary Page 5 of 13 City of Georgetown, Texas Zoning Board of Adjustment February 21, 2017 SUBJECT: Public Hearing and possible action on a request for a Special Exception per Unified Development Code (UDC) Section 14.05.050, Abandonment of a Nonconforming Site, to waive required site improvements at 3700 Williams Drive, also being Lot 2, Block A, Georgetown Retirement Residence Subdivision. (SE- 2016-001) Valerie Kreger, AICP, Principal Planner ITEM SUMMARY: Background: The applicant is requesting a Special Exception per Unified Development Code Section 14.05.050, Abandonment of a Nonconforming Site, to waive required site improvements in order to re-lease the property to a retail establishment. This application is accompanied by an application to rezone the property to the Local Commercial District (C-1), which will be reviewed by the Planning and Zoning Commission. The applicant is requesting to allow re-occupancy of the existing site in its current configuration without adding or replacing any site improvements. He has specifically asked for exceptions to the parking lot paving requirements, landscaping requirements, and sidewalk requirements. His intent is to eventually sell the property to someone who will completely redevelop the property and feels any improvements he makes at this time will be torn out when the property is redeveloped.. Public Comment: To date, no written public comments have been received. Staff Recommendation: Staff recommends denial of the Special Exception request to waive required site improvements at 3700 Williams Drive. FINANCIAL IMPACT: None studied at this time. SUBMITTED BY: Mike Elabarger, Senior Planner, and Sofia Nelson, CNU-A, Planning Director ATTACHMENTS: Description Type Staff Report Cover Memo Attachment 1 - Location Map Backup Material Attachment 2 - Applicant Letter of Intent Backup Material Page 6 of 13 Georgetown Planning Department Zoning Board of Adjustment Staff Report 3700 Williams Drive Page 1 of 5 Meeting Date: February 21, 2017 File No: SE-2016-001 Project Planner: Valerie Kreger, AICP, Principal Planner Report Date: February 13, 2017 Relevant UDC Section: 14.05.050 Abandonment of a Nonconforming Site Staff Recommendation: Denial Item Details Project Address: 3700 Williams Drive Total Acreage: 2.208 acres Legal Description: Georgetown Retirement Residence, Block A, Lot 2 Current Zoning: Agriculture (AG) Applicant’s Request The applicant is requesting a Special Exception per Unified Development Code Section 14.05.050, Abandonment of a Nonconforming Site, to waive required site improvements in order to re-lease the property to a retail establishment. This application is accompanied by an application to rezone the property to the Local Commercial District (C-1), which will be reviewed by the Planning and Zoning Commission. The applicant is requesting to allow re-occupancy of the existing site in its current configuration without adding or replacing any site improvements. He has specifically asked for exceptions to the parking lot paving requirements, landscaping requirements, and sidewalk requirements. His intent is to eventually sell the property to someone who will completely redevelop the property and feels any improvements he makes at this time will be torn out when the property is redeveloped. Property Information and History The subject site is located on the south side of Williams Drive, close to the intersection of Williams Drive and Wagon Wheel Trail. The property has approximately 250 feet of frontage on Williams Drive with an overall depth of almost 900 feet. The property is developed with a house that has been converted to a commercial structure. The lot has several large trees and an unimproved parking area. One driveway allows access on Williams Drive, identified as a Page 7 of 13 Zoning Board of Adjustment Staff Report 3700 Williams Drive Page 2 of 5 major arterial roadwayin the City’s Overall Transportation Plan. There are no new driveways proposed at this time. Surrounding Properties: Location Zoning Future Land Use Existing Use North C-3 Mixed Use Neighborhood Center Retail Sales, Office Use South C-1 Mixed Use Neighborhood Center Retirement Center East C-1 Mixed Use Neighborhood Center Unimproved land, Office Use West C-1 Mixed Use Neighborhood Center Retirement Center The original 4.55 acre property the subject site was part of was annexed in December of 2006 and consisted of two buildings and gravel parking. The property was assigned the base Agriculture (AG) zoning district, the default zoning district assigned at time of annexation. Upon annexation, the City recognized the operation of a general retail use in the front portion of the site and a general contractor services use at the rear portion of the site, and permitted Page 8 of 13 Zoning Board of Adjustment Staff Report 3700 Williams Drive Page 3 of 5 their continued operation as legal nonconforming uses on a legal nonconforming site. (A nonconforming site is one where one or more existing site improvements, including but not limited to parking areas, storm drainage facilities, sidewalks and landscaping, do not conform to one or more of the regulations of the UDC). Nonconforming uses or improvements lawfully existing upon annexation are considered legally nonconforming situations and are allowed to remain in the capacity and configuration they were in at time of annexation. In 2013, the 4.55 acre property was later subdivided and the rear portion of the property that included the general contractor services use became part of the adjacent Oaks Retirement Living Facility and the remaining front portion of the property that contained the general retail use became a separate lot. Sometime after this division the general retail use vacated the subject property and the general contractor services use moved from its location to the previous retail building without City approvals. The nonconforming contractor services use was only allowed same extent and manner it existed upon annexation and would not have been allowed to move to the now separate lot. Unfortunately because of this and the fact that no City approvals nor Certificate of Occupancy was acquired, the site was considered an illegally occupied site and its occupancy not recognized. The general contractor services use vacated the property in November of 2016. Due to the lack of recognition of the occupancy of the general contractor services use, the last legal occupancy of the site was the general retail use that vacated the site in 2013. The legal nonconforming status of a nonconforming use on a property is lost and considered abandoned after the nonconforming use has not occupied the building or site for twelve or more months. The legal nonconforming status of nonconforming site improvements is lost and considered abandoned after the property has not been legally occupied for a year and one half (18 months) or longer. Because the time periods for determination of abandonment have been exceeded, the retail use and the site improvements are classified as abandoned and therefore any new use of the site must be one permitted within the AG district or the property must be rezoned and the requirements of Section 14.05.050 for re-occupancy of an abandoned nonconforming site are applicable. Staff Analysis and Review Criteria Section 14.05.050 requires a site that has been determined to be abandoned to be altered upon re-occupancy to bring certain site features into compliance including the following: • Parking and parking lot design including providing adequate off-street parking space numbers and striping, adequate pavement, and removal of parking spaces accessed via a public right-of-way • Alteration or removal of driveways not conforming to number, spacing or width requirements Page 9 of 13 Zoning Board of Adjustment Staff Report 3700 Williams Drive Page 4 of 5 • Landscaping meeting UDC requirements or approval of an alternate plan meeting the intent of the requirements • Removal of encroachments into required setbacks • Any applicable limitations or requirements of Chapter 5 for the new use • Construction of sidewalks • All incidental site features including, but not limited to, fences, dumpsters, lighting and mechanical equipment must be altered to conform However, Section 14.05.050 provides that a Special Exception may be granted by the Zoning Board of Adjustment if it is determined that conformance with all requirements will cause the expansion or creation of another nonconformity or where it is determined that all provisions cannot be reasonably met. A Special Exception should only be approved if it is not contrary to the public interest, the spirit of the Code is preserved, and substantial justice done. While some sections of the Code provide extensive criteria that must be met for a particular Special Exception, the considerations for which requirements may be waived to allow the re-occupancy of an abandoned site is limited to avoiding creation of another nonconformity and reasonability of meeting those requirements. With this particular Special Exception request, the applicant has requested to not make any site improvements prior to re-leasing the building to a retail establishment. This site does not meet the following identified requirements: • Parking and parking lot design: The current parking and maneuvering spaces are not paved. Because of the lack of pavement, the parking spaces are not adequately striped and parking numbers cannot be confirmed. Additionally, without the adequate pavement on site, fire truck access cannot be provided. • Landscaping: The site does not have any landscaping, just a handful of existing trees, the species and size of which are unknown. • Setbacks: Although not paved, the driveway, maneuvering areas, parking areas, and fenced in outside storage area (which was illegally added and will have to be removed) encroach into the required 10-foot side setbacks. • Sidewalks: The property does not currently have sidewalks along Williams Drive. While staff recognizes the applicant’s concern for constructing improvements that may eventually be removed, there is no way of guaranteeing the time line for redevelopment. Staff’s concerns are as follows: • The lack of pavement on the site affects not only the parking on the site, it also affects safety with regards to fire protection. Page 10 of 13 Zoning Board of Adjustment Staff Report 3700 Williams Drive Page 5 of 5 • The UDC provides for approval of an alternate landscape plan meeting the intent of the requirements, for which staff would be willing to work with the applicant, as opposed to not addressing the intent of the requirements at all. • The non-paved maneuvering areas can more easily be removed at this time. The fenced area in the rear of the property was never permitted and needs to be returned to its natural state. Additionally, encroachments into setbacks can have a negative effect on adjacent properties and therefore the public interest. • Sidewalks are located in the right-of-way and any new development on site will have little effect on existing sidewalks. Staff Recommendation Staff recommends Denial of the Special Exception request as staff finds that granting the request does not uphold the spirit of the UDC, does not provide for substantial justice to be done, and is contrary to the public interest. Public Comments Per the Unified Development Code, all property owners within a 200 foot radius of the property were notified of the application (8 letters), a legal notice advertising the public hearing was placed in the Sun Newspaper on December 4th, and one sign was posted on-site. As of the date of this report, staff has not received any public comment. Attachments Attachment 1 – Location Map Attachment 2 – Applicant’s Letter of Intent Page 11 of 13 B O O T Y S C R O SSING RD NORTH W E S T B L V D SERENADADR WILLIA M S D R WILLIAMS DR BOOTYS CROSSINGRD (River/Stream) SE-2016-001Exhibit #1 Coordinate System: Texas State Plane/Central Zone/NAD 83/US FeetCartographic Data For General Planning Purposes Only ¯ Location Map 0 0.5Mi LegendSiteParcelsCity LimitsGeorgetown ETJ Page 12 of 13 Page 13 of 13