PLANNING COMMISSION
GLADSTONE, MISSOURI
June 7, 2004
7:30 pm
Item 1 on the
Agenda: Meeting called to order –
Roll Call.
Present: Ms. Abbott Council
& Staff Present:
Mr. Davis Scott Wingerson, Assist. City Manager
Mr.
Dillingham Lynn
McClure, Econ. Dev. Administrator
Mr. Kiser David Ramsay, City Counselor
Ms. McGuire Mayor
Wayne Beer
Ms. Newsom Councilman Carol Rudi
Mr. Revenaugh
Mr. Steffens
Mr. Whitton
Absent: Ms. Alexander
Chairman Hill
Ms. Lowe
Item 2 on the Agenda: Pledge of Allegiance.
Vice-Chairman Dillingham led the group in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.
Item 3 on the
Agenda: Approval of April 19, 2004
Minutes.
Motion by Mr.
Steffens, second by Mr. Whitton to approve the April 19, 2004 minutes. The minutes were approved as submitted.
Item 4 on the
Agenda: Communications from the
Audience.
None.
Item 5 on the Agenda: PUBLIC HEARING: Consideration of a Zoning Change, Site Plan Revision and Final Plat on property described as Lots 3 and 4, Old Pike Ridge Subdivision. Applicant: Affordable Homes, Inc. (#1225 & #1226)
Vice-Chairman Dillingham
asked Mr. Wingerson for the Staff Report.
Mr. Wingerson began his
presentation by reviewing the Staff Report.
He reported that back in April of 2003 City staff presented a zoning
change and site plan for this property that is located at 55th
Terrace and Old Pike Road from R-1 to CP-0 for construction of an office
building. This is property that the City
owns and believed at the time that the highest, best and most reasonable use
for this property was an office building given that there is multi-family to
the west, approved office to the north and east, existing office to the north
and a little bit of single family to the south.
The City went through normal procedures to dispose of the piece of
property and the bids were disappointing.
Mr. Wingerson said that for everyone’s knowledge, there is a contract
between the applicant and the City Council for the purchase of this land. The contingency is on the planning
issues.
Mr. Wingerson continued
by stating that the applicant is requesting a zoning change tonight from CP-0
to RP-3. He is also requesting site plan
approval for ten attached single-family units and finally, final plat approval. There are several issues contained in the
analysis of the staff report. Mr.
Wingerson said that he would quickly summarize a few. First, regarding the change in land use from
R-1 to CP-0 to RP-3, they are all three about equal as they relate to the 1993
Comprehensive Plan. One issue the
Planning Commission may want to consider is reducing the zoning classification
from RP-3 to RCHP-1 (single-family planned residential). The reason RP-3 was suggested to the
applicant is because the RCHP-1 zoning allows for (8) eight attached units
where the garden apartment district allows for (18) eighteen. This project has ten (10) so if the
Commission would prefer the RCHP-1 zoning that’s appropriate. Mr. Wingerson said that the Commission needs
to be aware that they would be varying the density by two (2) units to allow
ten (10) units on the property.
Mr. Wingerson said that
on the final plat lots 3 and 4 currently exist, that’s the legal description on
the property, the final plat would simply make it into one developable
lot. It’s anticipated, or at least
possible, that there would be subsequent final plats to determine future
ownership of the units themselves. In
order to create the ten (10) units on a single developable lot a final plat is
necessary. Staff is recommending
approval. Procedurally, Mr. Wingerson
said, tonight he would suggest if the Planning Commission comes to the point to
make motions that they make three separate motions. One is the zoning change, specifically
stating if they would prefer RP-3 or RCHP-1.
The next would be a motion on the site plan where conditions would be
attached and the third motion would be on the final plat. This one is a little bit different that normal. Mr. Wingerson said he would be available for
any questions at this time.
Mr. Davis asked what the
size of the site is because he couldn’t make it out on the map.
Mr. Wingerson answered
that it was 150’ by 200’.
Mr. Davis asked how many
units per acre that would be.
Mr. Wingerson said he
would do the math and figure it out.
Mr. Davis asked how many
are permitted in R-3.
Mr. Wingerson said that
R-3 would be about fifteen (15).
Ms. Newsom asked if there
was going to be more than one ingress/egress.
Mr. Wingerson answered
that the original ingress and egress on the office project that staff presented
was on Broadway. What is proposed this
time is one entrance on NE 55th Terrace.
Mr. Davis asked what the
setbacks are from the property line.
Mr. Wingerson answered
that the front is fifteen (15) feet, the rear yard is thirty (30) feet, the
side yard to the south is twenty (20) and the side yard setback to the north is
ten (10) feet.
Ms. McGuire said that she
is still uncertain about the density.
She asked if the applicant is asking to go to a density of twenty (20)
per acre, but it’s normally is only allowed a fifteen (15).
Mr. Wingerson said that
no, that’s not correct and he will finish the figures.
Ms. Abbott said that
traveling Old Pike Road like she does everyday, her main concern is having that
many cars come out of one driveway to get to Old Pike Road.
Vice-Chairman Dillingham
said that might be a question for the applicant.
Ms. Abbot said that you
have one driveway coming out on NE 55th Terrace and all the traffic
goes from that one driveway to 55th and onto Old Pike Road. She said it seems like a lot of traffic on
that one little street.
Vice-Chairman Dillingham
said that he thinks you can go out down the hill and through to NE Englewood.
Mr. Wingerson said that
staff compared traffic patterns for what was approved as an office building
with a driveway directly onto Old Pike Road and staff believed that traffic for
an office building would be higher at different times than that of a
residential project. Because the times
are different the location being moved to 55th Terrace is actually
being improved by using that intersection rather than “bogging” up Old Pike
Road at all times during the day.
Ms. Abbott said that she
was thinking about the probability that there would be twenty (20) cars in
those ten (10) townhouses.
Vice-Chairman Dillingham
asked the applicant to step forward.
Art Hammen, President of
Affordable Homes, 7117 N. Norton, addressed the Commission. Mr. Hammen said that his company has been in
business in Gladstone for over twenty-five (25) years. He said that he believes the Commission is
familiar with the property under discussion tonight. As Mr. Wingerson mentioned, the City Council
recently approved a contract to sell this property to Affordable Homes
contingent upon rezoning and site plan approval. The proposal is to reduce the zoning from
commercial to residential and to approve a site plan. The final plat approval is a formality to
combine the two lots into a single lot for development purposes. An office building, apartments and houses
surround this property. Townhomes, which
are residential in nature, provide an excellent transition between these
diverse uses and are consistent with the existing land use plan. Mr. Hammen said that this design concept is
fairly new to the industry and completely new to the City of Gladstone. While the building does contain ten (10)
townhomes, which is the minimum required to make this community feasible, the
length is about the same as two and a half (2 ½) typical duplex buildings set
end-to-end. The building itself is
setback sixty-eight (68) feet from the front property line which is almost
twice the normal setback. This design
will not only benefit the City on this property but it can also fill a need for
future infill and redevelopment projects within the City of Gladstone. Mr. Hammen said that their appeal for this
community will be to young professionals, both singles and couples. Some of the luxury items that are planned to
be in the townhomes include: microwave
ovens, glass-top ranges, ice-makers in freezers, garage door openers,
fireplaces, three (3) ceiling fans and high-tech telephone and cable TV wiring
throughout. Additionally, all exterior
maintenance will be provided. Each
townhome includes two (2) master suites, two and a half (2 1/2 ) baths, an
attached garage and a full basement. In
addition to the garages and the private driveways leading to those garages
there will be seven (7) visitor parking spaces provided on-site. To ensure maximum traffic safety the site has
been designed with only entrance from 55th Terrace. The grade of that drive will be such that it
will slope from the center of the property down to the street. The reason for that is to direct headlights
down and away from any windows on the other side of 55th
Terrace. Special emphasis is being
placed on landscaping to provide the most attractive community possible. To compliment the existing trees, the plan
includes planting twenty-eight (28) evergreens and deciduous trees which is
almost three (3) per townhome. These
will include red and white flowering ornamental trees for spring color and hard
maple trees whose leaves will turn bright colors in the fall. A large berm will be created along the south
side with bushes and trees to obscure the building. To help it blend with the landscaping the
building’s exterior colors will be earth tones.
(Mr. Hammen pointed to some examples he had brought.) Finally, the staff report contains ten (10)
recommended conditions and Mr. Hammen said that Affordable Homes, Inc. is in
agreement with all ten of those. He
asked if anyone had any questions for him.
Ms. Newsom asked if these
units will be rental or owner occupied.
Mr. Hammen said that his
expectation is that Affordable Homes, Inc. will retain ownership of the
property and they will initially be rental units. They will be built in such a manner that down
the road…five, ten, twenty years from now…they can be divided and sold as
individual units.
Ms. McGuire asked what
price the units will rent for.
Mr. Hammen answered that
his expectation would be that they will rent for somewhere in the low
$800’s. He added that if people have not
been in the rental market lately that may seem high, but there are similar
units to this that are going for $1,000.
Mr. Davis asked what the
square foot size was per unit.
Mr. Hammen said that each
individual townhome contains 1,150 square feet of finished area plus an
attached garage and a basement.
Vice-Chairman Dillingham
asked how big the basement is.
Mr. Hammen answered that
it would be a little over 500 square feet.
Mr. Davis asked Mr.
Hammen if he would like to comment on why he didn’t propose the RCHP-1 zoning.
Mr. Hammen said that when
you factor in the cost of the land, which is readily available to all of the
Commissioners, plus the development expenses it simply doesn’t work.
Ms. McGuire asked where
the drainage of the parking lot goes.
Mr. Hammen said that the
drainage was designed so that a small portion of it will go to the north and
onto Old Pike to an existing catch basin along Old Pike Road. The rest of it will drain to the south of 55th
Terrace right outside of the driveway where it connects to an existing catch
basin on 55th Terrace.
Ms. Newsom said that the
preference to do the RP-3 zoning versus the RCPH-1…what was the rationale?
Mr. Hammen said that was
the zoning recommended to him by staff.
He said that frankly, he doesn’t have a strong feeling of one versus the
other. The critical issue is that there
needs to be ten units.
Ms. McGuire asked if we
have been able to answer the density question.
Mr. Wingerson said that
yes, he can. Regular single family would
be around seven (7). This project is
around thirteen (13) and RP-3 allows around fourteen (14) per acre.
Mr. Hammen said that he
would like to point out for clarification that 55th Terrace does
connect not only to Old Pike, but to Englewood Road. It goes to the west and north and through
Sycamore Hills and connects. There is
adequate access both directions for traffic leaving the area.
Ms. Abbott said that this
is also going down to the Sycamore Hills Apartments.
Mr. Hammen said yes, 55th
Terraces goes through the Sycamore Hills Apartments and connects with Englewood
Road currently.
Ms. Abbott said she
didn’t realize it was like that now.
Mr. Hammen said that he
appreciated the Commission’s consideration and respectfully request their
approval on these items tonight.
Vice-Chairman Dillingham
asked where exactly the extra seven (7) parking spaces are on the site plan.
Mr. Hammen pointed to the
site plan and made the clarification.
Vice-Chairman Dillingham
asked Mr. Hammen if he had seen the recommended conditions and asked if he had
a problem with any of them.
Mr. Hammen replied that
he has seen them and he has no problem with any of them.
Vice-Chairman Dillingham
asked if there was anyone in favor of the application that would like to
speak. Hearing no response, he asked for
anyone in opposition to step forward.
Again, hearing no responses he closed the public hearing.
MOTION: By Ms. Newsom, second by Mr. Kiser to approve an RCHP-1 zoning for this request with the variance for ten (10) units.
Ms. Newsom said that she
would propose this motion because of it’s very residential character. It doesn’t have the character of the typical
apartment complex. If, down the line, it
were to be subsumed by another owner they wouldn’t have the option of adding a
lot more units to it or subdividing it as it would with the R-3 zoning. RCHP would be more suited to this kind of a
higher quality of development.
Mr. Steffens asked if it
would make any difference in selling the lots later on.
Mr. Wingerson said that
it wouldn’t make any difference to the City.
It may make a difference in the market.
Mr. Steffens asked why
that would be.
Mr. Wingerson said that
it would be single-family zoning versus apartment zoning.
Mr. Davis said that he is
not going to second that motion because he thinks a more appropriate motion
would be to recommend that it be approved as R-3. The density the applicant is requesting is
R-3. The land immediately to the west in
Kansas City, Missouri is R-3, the land to the north is office and there is some
R-1 near there. Mr. Davis said that to
him, R-3 is what they want to build and R-3 is appropriate.
MOTION: By Mr. Davis, second by Ms. Abbott to approve the rezoning as an RP-3 zoning change.
Vice-Chairman Dillingham
asked for a vote on the first motion by Ms. Newsom.
Ms. McGuire asked if she
could get clarification on the difference between R-3 and RCHP-1 again.
Mr. Wingerson said that
the very simplest way he can explain it is that R-3 zoning classification
allows for more than eight (8) attached units.
RCHP is limited to eight (8) attached units. If the Commission were to approve the RCHP-1
in effect they would also be approving that as well as an exception to the
density to allow for the ten (10) units that are proposed.
Vice-Chairman Dillingham
called for the vote on the first motion for the RCHP-1 zoning with a variance
of ten (10) units.
Mr.
Davis No
Mr.
Dillingham Yes
Mr. Kiser Yes
Ms. McGuire No
Ms. Newsom Yes
Mr. Revenaugh Yes
Mr. Steffens Yes
Mr. Whitton No
(5-Yes, 4-No)
The motion carried. Vice-Chairman Dillingham stated that since the
first motion was carried the second motion will not be voted on.
MOTION: By Mr. Davis second by Ms. McGuire to approve the site plan conditions as stated in the staff report.
Mr.
Dillingham Yes
Mr. Kiser Yes
Ms. Newsom Yes
Mr. Revenaugh Yes
Mr. Steffens Yes
Mr. Whitton Yes
(9-Yes, 0-No)
MOTION: By Mr. Whitton second by Ms. McGuire to approve the final plat.
Mr.
Dillingham Yes
Ms. Newsom Yes
Mr. Revenaugh Yes
Mr. Steffens Yes
Mr. Whitton Yes
(9-Yes, 0-No)
The motion carried.
Item 6 on the
Agenda: PUBLIC HEARING:
Consideration of a Site Plan Revision at 6402-B Antioch Road,
Meadowbrook Shopping Center. Applicant:
Meadowbrook Village (#1224)
Vice-Chairman
Dillingham announced that this public hearing will be continued until the June 21, 2004 Planning Commission Meeting.
Item 7 on the
Agenda: Other Business.
None.
Item 8 on the
Agenda: Communications from the City
Council and the City Staff.
Mr. Wingerson
apologized for not having the information regarding the density ready at the
time the Commission was discussing it.
He also wanted to thank everyone for attending the orientation that took
place before the meeting. It was
important to the City Council and the City Manager and he hopes there was some
benefit in it for them. He encouraged
them all to take the time to read through the notebook that was provided.
Item 9 on the
Agenda: Communications from the
Planning Commission Members.
Mr. Davis asked
staff if they could provide the members with a larger sized site plan in the
future.
Mr. Wingerson said
that staff will start asking for enough large copies from the applicant to
provide them to all the Commission members.
Ms. Abbott said that
Mr. Scharhag cut his grass down there but he still hasn’t done anything about
all the trees that fell down a year ago in the tornado.
Ms. McGuire thanked
Mr. Wingerson and staff for the orientation.
It was much more informative than the other two sessions she attended
this spring.
Mr. Revenaugh said
that the ladies tonight were a much better source of information for new
Commissioners than either of the two sessions he attended at MARC. He doesn’t know what the cost difference is
but if it’s competitive we should go with those two anytime.
Ms. Newsom said that
she appreciates the updated roster in her notebook but the City Council
information needs to be updated as well. The other thing she wanted to ask about is the
Sr. Housing signage. She said that she
doesn’t recall that there was approval for the massive semi-permanent signs on
the west side of the building. It’s
huge, it’s ugly and she doesn’t remember it being part of the plan.
Mr. Wingerson said
that they are temporary and allowed under ordinance under banner signs. He said he would check and see when their
time will run out.
Ms. Newsom said that
the third thing she wanted to say is that the City and Chamber sponsored
Bluesfest is going on at Oak Grove Park this weekend. If the weather holds it should be one of the
biggest ever because of the biggest talent ever. What they need the most right now is volunteers to help run the booths. She asked that anyone interested in helping
to please contact her.
Mr. Kiser said that
the orientation tonight was well worth the time and effort and he enjoyed it.
Vice-Chairman
Dillingham said that he would reiterate the same. It was very informative. He also thanked staff for the Zoning Bulletin
that was included in their packets this time.
Mr. Wingerson said
that he gets those every other month or so and if Becky is willing to copy it
he thought the Commission might enjoy reading it.
Mr. Davis asked if
the Commission could get an update on Englewood Baptist Church after it went to
the Council.
Economic Development
Administrator McClure said that he spoke with Pam Raisher a couple of days ago
and she is waiting for closing on the property.
They are preparing to find a contractor to build the fence and are also
working on a sign change proposal for the Englewood Baptist Church. Ms. Raisher has also been working on the
building permit with Mr. Alan Napoli, Building Official. The City Council voted to approve it as a
fifteen (15) year Special Use Permit.
Ms. Raisher was able to pick up two rows of parking as part of her
purchase. She also agreed to do a sign
on the Englewood entrance that says “Employees Only”.
Mayor Beer
apologized for not being in the room at the time of “Council
Communications”. He thanked the
Commission for their attendance at the orientation this evening. He knows how busy they are and appreciates
their time. When those of them who were
on the Council were on the Planning Commission at the time, those were the same
kinds of issues that they had. MARC is
over general and wide in scope and this training is much more relevant to
Gladstone. He said that he is not trying
to cast any negative thoughts out, but MARC has a lot more groups to satisfy. Mayor Beer said that the training this
evening helps to bring everyone to the same level at the same time. He said that he learned a lot and thought
that it was an exceptional training session but it is the Council’s vision that
they will have continuing service training at least on an annual basis. Mayor Beer also said that City Counselor
Ramsay had an integral part in putting this orientation together tonight and
will continue to put together a group of documents for their review that will
become a method by which the Boards and Commissions will operate.
Mayor Pro-Tem Rudi
said that she did not see any of the Commission members at the movie in the
park Friday night. Parks and Recreation
did a wonderful job and she encouraged everyone to be at the next one later
this summer.
Vice-Chairman Dillingham adjourned the meeting at 8:26 P.M.
Respectfully submitted:
______________________________________ Approved as submitted _____
Becky Jarrett, Recording Secretary
______________________________________ Approved as corrected _____
Allen Dillingham, Vice-Chairman