PLANNING COMMISSION

GLADSTONE, MISSOURI

 

May 19, 2003

 

 

Item 1 on the Agenda:  Meeting called to order – Roll Call.

 

Present:            Ms. Abbott                           Council & Staff Present:

                        Ms. Alexander                                 Scott Wingerson, Assist. City Manager          

Mr. Dillingham                    Mayor Les Smith               

Mr. Davis                                    Mayor Pro-Tem Wayne Beer    

Chairman Hill                               Councilman Carol Rudi

                        Mr. Kiser                           

                          Ms. Newsom

                        Mr. Revenaugh

                        Mr. Steffens                                               

 

Absent:            Ms. Lowe

                        Ms. Wild

                        Mr. Bone

 

Item 2 on the Agenda:  Pledge of Allegiance.

 

Chairman Hill led the group in reciting the Pledge of  Allegiance.

 

Item 3 on the Agenda:  Approval of May 5, 2003 Minutes.

 

Mr. Wingerson asked if it would be acceptable to have the May 5 minutes presented to the Commission at the next meeting.  Chairman Hill replied that they would allow that.

 

Item 4 on the Agenda:  Communications from the Audience.

 

None.

 

Item 5 on the Agenda:  Consideration of a request to rezone from R-1, Residential to CP-0, Non-Retail Planned District at property legally described as Lots 3 & 4, Old Pike Subdivision.  Applicant:  City of Gladstone.  (#1190) City Council Public Hearing May 27, 2003.

 

Chairman Hill announced that the public hearing for this application was heard at the last Planning Commission meeting.  Tonight, the Commission will discuss the site visit results and they will vote.  Tonight is not an opportunity for public comment.  Chairman Hill called on the site visit Chair, Mr. Kiser for his report. 

 

Mr. Kiser read from his reported dated May 16, 2003.  (see attached)  He stated that the attending neighbors expressed a better understanding and indicated no opposition to the proposal as granted.  In light of this, Mr. Kiser said he would be voting in favor of the application.

 

Mr. Wingerson followed up on a couple of items from the last meeting regarding this application.  The two neighbors that Mr. Kiser referred to in his report are Mr. Spottswood and Mr. McDonald.  He noted that the Planning Commission received a memo in their packets dated May 15, 2003 regarding the traffic concerns.  The traffic study performed during the planning of the Senior Housing Project indicates that 10 vehicles are projected during the AM peak period and 27 vehicles are projected during the PM peak period.  That is at the entrance of Main and Englewood Road.  The study does not address the impact on N. Broadway, because there is no connection to N. Broadway, however, given those relatively small traffic projections it is anticipated to be minimal. 

 

Mr. Wingerson continued by saying that the information received by the NKC School District indicates that 30 children are provided transportation in this area.  These children are picked up at the adjacent apartment complex. 

 

Traffic counts are being conducted at the office building north of the subject property.  The average daily traffic count was twelve, with a peak of four.

 

Ms. Abbott commented that regarding the projected traffic volume from the Sr. Apartments...  due to the fact that 90% of the people that she associates with are over 55 years old.  Out of all of them there are only about two that don’t have automobiles.  Several of them are planning on moving into the Sr. Apartments and they are not planning on getting rid of their cars.  She added that ten cars in the daytime is optimistic.

 

Mr. Wingerson clarified the traffic count by saying that those projections are a 1-hour period in the morning, not all day.

 

Ms. Abbott indicated that now she understood.  She had thought that meant 27 cars all day.

 

Mr. Kiser made a motion to approve the request to rezone from R-1, Residential to CP-0, Non-Retail Planned District at property legally described as Lots 3 & 4, Old Pike Subdivision.   Ms. Newsom made the second to the motion.

 

Ms. Newsom commented that in this case the site visit really helped the neighbors have a better understanding of what was going on and were much more comfortable with the proposal.

 

Roll Vote:            Ms. Abbott             Yes

                        Ms. Alexander            Yes

                        Mr. Dillingham            Yes

                        Mr. Davis              Yes

                        Chairman Hill            Yes

                        Mr. Kiser               Yes

                        Ms. Newsom                      Yes

                        Mr. Revenaugh            Yes

                        Mr. Steffens                      Yes

 

                        (Yes-9, No-0)

 

 

Item 6 on the Agenda:  PUBLIC HEARING:  Consideration of a request for a Site Plan Revision at 4901 Old Pike Road.  Applicant:  Suter-Sambol, LLC.  (#1191) City Council Public Hearing June 9, 2003.

 

Chairman Hill called on Mr. Wingerson for the staff report.  Mr. Wingerson reported that he had placed at the Commissioner’s seats a site plan showing both Steak N’ Shake and the proposed convenience store.  Tonight’s request is a site plan revision that will allow construction of a convenience store with petroleum products on what staff refers to as “the triangle” just south of Steak N’ Shake.  Current zoning of the property is CP2, which is appropriate for this use.  The conditions are rather typical for a development of this type.  Mr. Wingerson drew the Commissioner’s attention to a few conditions, #11 which states that fuel tanks shall be installed in accordance with DNR permit requirements and #12, all vehicular entrances and public ROW shall be entirely unobstructed or permanently closed.  The north driveway shall be eliminated and shared with lot 1, Steak N’ Shake.

 

Mr. Wingerson commented that there has been communications between both the City and Steak N’ Shake and the applicant and Steak N’ Shake about the entrance. 

 

Ms. Newsom asked if Steak N’ Shake would still have the required number of parking spaces when they open up the entrance. 

 

Mr. Wingerson said that they had more than enough parking spaces to begin with, so their parking ratio would be fine.

 

Ms. Abbot noted that on the recommended conditions, number seven should refer to Old Pike Road rather than N. Oak.

 

Mr. Wingerson agreed and noted the change.

 

Chairman Hill asked if anyone was there to represent the applicant.

 

Brian Suter, 12838 Polfer Road, Kansas City, Kansas addressed the Commission.  Mr. Suter said that he is the President of Suter-Sambol and also the Vice-President of Saco Petroleum.  He is asking for approval of the application tonight.  As far as the recommended conditions, he is fine with everything except the truck delivery traffic being limited to the hours of 6:00 am to 10:00 pm.  Mr. Suter said that typically that is when most delivery will take place, but the fuel deliveries mostly come in the middle of the night because there is less congestion and less traffic.  He asked if it would be possible to delete this condition.

 

Mr. Wingerson stated that he has no objection to deleting condition number one.  Steak N’ Shake is a 24-hour facility and Home Depot has extended hours as well.  The site is quite a bit south of any residential areas.

 

Mr. Davis asked what the distance was between Vivion Road and the south entrance.

 

Mr. Wingerson answered that it would be approximately 175’.  That area is right on the edge of the Mo-Dot right-of-way line, where they would have jurisdiction.  The City will coordinate with them as it relates to Mo-Dot and make sure it is safe. 

 

Ms. Newsom asked if the entrance would line up with the entrance of Van Chevrolet.

 

Mr. Wingerson answered that the entrance of the proposed site plan is farther north.

 

Ms. Newsom asked about the turning lane and potential impacts.

 

Mr. Wingerson answered that on the site plan you can see the start of the left turn lane for southbound Old Pike Road.  It will have dual use, one to access the convenience store and one to continue on to make a left turn on to Vivion Road.

 

Chairman Hill asked if anyone from the audience would like to speak in favor of the application.  Hearing no response, he asked if anyone would like to speak in opposition of the application.  There was no response.

 

Chairman Hill asked Mr. Wingerson if it wouldn’t be better to have the access point farther north blocked off instead of the one so close to the intersection.

 

Mr. Wingerson answered by saying that there is logic to it both ways.  One source of logic would indicate to centrally locate the driveways between the two properties and allow an easier lazy right to the convenience store.  The other one has to do with overall traffic circulation, especially for fuel delivery trucks into the convenience store.  To make the radius, those accesses have to be very large to allow turning movement. 

 

Chairman Hill asked if it would be better to have both drives open. 

 

Mr. Wingerson replied that it might be best to have a limited egress to Old Pike Road. 

 

Chairman Hill closed the public hearing and asked for a motion.

 

Mr. Dillingham made a motion to approve the Site Plan Revision at 4901 Old Pike Road with the deletion of #1 of the recommended conditions regarding truck delivery and making the change to #7 of the draft ordinance (N. Oak to Old Pike Road)  Ms. Abbott made the second to the motion.

 

Roll Vote:            Ms. Abbott             Yes

                        Ms. Alexander            Yes

                        Mr. Dillingham            Yes

                        Mr. Davis              Yes

                        Chairman Hill            Yes

                        Mr. Kiser               Yes

                        Ms. Newsom                      Yes

                        Mr. Revenaugh            Yes

                        Mr. Steffens                      Yes

 

                        (Yes-9, No-0)

 

 

 

Item 7 on the Agenda:  Communications from the City Council and City Staff.

 

Mayor Les Smith welcomed Mr. Davis to the Planning Commission.  He announced that Scott will be giving an update on Gladstone Plaza. 

 

Mayor Pro-Tem Beer welcomed Mr. Davis and said that Mr. Davis will be an outstanding addition to the Commission.

 

Councilman Rudi commented that the clean-up is continuing.  Staff is still working hard and that everyone should be thankful to each other for what everyone has done in the past two weeks.

 

Mr. Wingerson welcomed Mr. Davis to the Commission.  Regarding Gladstone Plaza, there was a public hearing in front of the City Council last week to determine if it should be declared as blighted.  Staff put on a presentation; there was objection to staff position; however the City Council did vote to declare the Plaza as blighted.  The second action taken was to approve a redevelopment ordinance which will outline the process of redevelopment.  It provides procedures for issuing an RFP and outlines the public hearing process.  The next step is a packet, which is an RFP for development, will be provided to local area and national developers.  Those proposals will be reviewed which will be followed by a public hearing held at City Council to receive public input.  Once that is done, it will be a process of selecting a developer and negotiating an agreement.

 

Ms. Abbott asked if there would be any possibility of asking Mrs. Wolfe if she would be interested in redeveloping that property as a monument to her husband who was a pioneer of Gladstone.  Perhaps in one corner of the property a monument could be placed in his honor.

 

Mr. Wingerson said that the staff has not approached Mrs. Wolfe in exactly that perspective; however for the last two years the City has tried to approach her and her company representatives concerning redevelopment.  The City would still like them to become a partner in that redevelopment.  Unfortunately, Mrs. Wolfe has not corresponded back with the City on any type of reliable level.  It’s hard to open up a dialog when there is no response.   She is invited to provide a redevelopment proposal for property she owns and she is the best proposer. 

 

Ms. Abbott commented that since she seemed to be so dedicated to her husband, that if the City made it a monument to her she might entertain the idea more positively.

 

Mr. Wingerson said that if they get a chance to talk to her they will see if that leads to more.

 

Mr. Revenaugh asked if she has rights as the property owner.

 

Mr. Wingerson answered that she absolutely has rights.

 

Mr. Revenaugh asked that if Mrs. Wolfe is not re-developing, can she be forced to.

 

Mr. Wingerson said that the City’s hope is that a developer will propose the project and approach Mrs. Wolfe to purchase the property.  If it doesn’t work the City has tools to facilitate the redevelopment.  The redevelopment is vital to the City and the entire west side of Gladstone. 

 

Ms. Alexander observed the fact that Prospect Plaza looks so good now.  That really emphasizes, so much, that we need Gladstone Plaza redeveloped in an attractive manner.

 

Mayor Smith stood up and said that obviously there is a lot of confusion about this process.  He encouraged the Commission members to refer questions they may be asked to Mr. Wingerson so that he can explain the process.  There may be various questions on the tax incentives that are available.  In order to stay focused it would be best if those questions were asked to Mr. Wingerson.

 

Ms. Abbott asked what kind of tax incentives Prospect Plaza has.

 

Mr. Wingerson answered that Prospect Plaza has a form of incentive called Chapter 70.  Chapter 70 is a chapter in State Law that gives the City the authority to offer these kinds of general economic incentives.  The premise of Prospect Plaza is a sales tax reimbursement.  Certain public improvements, were all paid up-front by the developer.  Over a period of time the City reimburses the developer based on the sales performance of that shopping center. 

 

Ms. Newsom noted that those incentives do not harm other entities, such as the school district.

 

Mr. Wingerson said that Home Depot is basically set up the same way.  They are on schedule, as is Prospect Plaza, to pay off early. 

 

Item 8 on the Agenda:  Communications from the Planning Commission Members.

 

Mr. Davis said that this is his third term on the Planning Commission.  It appears that he is appointed every-other decade…the 60’s, the 80’s and now 2003.  He also noted how things change but stay the same.  At his very first Planning Commission meeting in 1968, the item on the agenda was the rezoning request of the Wolfe property.

 

Ms. Abbott welcomed Mr. Davis to the Commission.  She also thanked Scott for his explanation of Prospect Plaza.

 

Mr. Steffens said that since he was so close to the tornado, he would like to thank the City for everything they have done and are still doing.  It has been unbelievable how fast they were there and had things taken care of.

 

Mr. Dillingham welcomed Mr. Davis and said he looks forward to working with him.  He asked Mr. Wingerson about the RV that is at Lighthouse Custard.

 

Mr. Wingerson answered that it is semi-permanent, but he will find out what is going on and get back with him at the next meeting.

 

Mr. Revenaugh welcomed Mr. Davis.

 

Ms. Newsom welcomed Mr. Davis. 

 

Mr. Kiser welcomed Mr. Davis. 

 

Ms. Alexander told Mr. Davis that it is a pleasure to work with him again.  She is glad he is on the Commission.  She asked Mr. Wingerson how many cars Larry Whitton allowed to have on his lot.  She knows he (Larry) doesn’t see it as a problem, but there are some real wrecked cars up there. 

 

Mr. Wingerson said he will make a note to speak with Mr. Whitton.

 

Ms. Alexander said she is so proud of Gladstone and the job it has done.  She is convinced that it is one of the best run cities in the country with a more dedicated staff than she has ever seen.

 

Chairman Hill welcomed Mr. Davis to the Commission.  Mr. Davis has agreed to fill in for Mr. Evans on the Capital Improvements Commission.  He also thanked Mr. Kiser for chairing the site visit.

 

 

Item 10 on the Agenda:  Adjournment.

 

Chairman Hill adjourned the meeting at 8:06 P.M.

 

 

Respectfully submitted:

 

______________________________________    Approved as submitted _____

Becky Jarrett, Recording Secretary

 

______________________________________    Approved as corrected   _____

Brian Hill, Chairman