PLANNING COMMISSION
GLADSTONE, MISSOURI
August 18, 2008
7:30 pm
Present: Council & Staff Present:
Ms. Newsom Mayor Pro-Tem Carol Rudi
Mr. McCullough Scott Wingerson, Assistant City Manager
Mr. Shevling Melinda Mehaffy, Econ. Dev. Admin.
Ms. Smith Chris Helmer, Planning Specialist
Mr. Whitton Becky Jarrett, Admin. Assist.
Ms. Abbott
Ms. Alexander
Mr. West
Mr. Garnos
Ms. Babich
Mr. Steffens
Chairman Hill
Absent: None
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 the August 4, 2008 minutes.
MOTION: By Mr. Steffens, second by Mr. Whitton to approve the August 4, 2008, minutes as submitted. The minutes were approved as submitted.
Item 4 on the Agenda: Communications from the Audience.
David Cheek, 7917 N. Forest addressed the Commission. Mr. Cheek stated that he has the commercial building at 303 NE 72nd Street. He placed the building up for sale and it was brought to his attention that the zoning wording has been changed since the last time he knew anything about it. Anyway, they (City) have eliminated automotive sales and repairs and he feels that with that it is going to hurt his chances of selling it. Mr. Cheek said he would like to know if there is anything he can do to get it back the way it was. It’s been a bike shop for 35 years and he would like to keep it in that same category.
Chairman Hill replied that he can’t really answer that and he asked Mr. Cheek if he had spoken to City staff about the issue.
Mr. Cheek answered no.
Chairman Hill suggested contacting staff tomorrow to discuss options such as a special use permit or a rezoning request.
Mr. Whitton said it was his suggestion to have these gentlemen come and speak tonight. They had contacted him and he had contacted the City and staff had said the zoning had been changed and that the possibility of working on vehicles connected with new dealerships had been changed and taken from C-2 zoning. Mr. Whitton said it seems unfair because of the fact that about a month ago they changed the zoning laws to allow a parts store in C-1 on N. Prospect on the east side of town. These gentlemen have had two buyers to fill this business but they won’t buy it now because of the zoning change. He wondered if this parcel would be grandfathered in. He (Mr. Cheek) purchased that land with that zoning for that use way back in history and it seems to him like it would terribly unjust to take that right away from him. It would almost be like down-zoning.
Chairman Hill said he would have to defer to City staff and the City Counselor as to whether or not a use is grandfathered in or not. He is just not sure; he doesn’t think that site has been rezoned.
Bill Cook, 6528 N. Jefferson, addressed the Commission. He said that the zoning has not changed and that it is not just a motorcycle shop, it’s retail sales and repair which is a lot broader than that. Mr. Cook explained that the verbage has changed in the zoning. They took that verbage out, which to him seems like the same thing as changing the zoning.
Item 5 on the Agenda: CONSIDERATION: of Resolution No. 08-01 relating to the Gladstone Comprehensive Plan. File #1298.
Mr. Helmer reported that on August 4, 2008 the Planning Commission held a public hearing for the Comprehensive Plan. After that meeting a resolution of support went to the City Council on August 11th at which they unanimously voted in favor of the resolution. Tonight is the final adoption of the Plan which is under the authority of the Planning Commission. Mr. Helmer added that this is the resolution that would support final adoption and therefore, take it into the policy and implementation stages that are outlined. He would ask that the Commission consider this resolution in support of the Comprehensive Plan.
MOTION: By Ms. Newsom, second by Mr. West to approve Resolution Number 08-01 relating to the Gladstone Comprehensive Plan.
Chairman Hill commented that this Plan has been a step forward for the City and it will benefit lots of things.
Ms. Newsom said it seems so simple to say and do this right now when so much work has gone into it by the community and staff. It’s a good document and she thinks they need to move forward with it.
VOTE:
Ms. Newsom Yes
Mr. McCullough Yes
Mr. Garnos Yes
Ms. Smith Yes
Mr. Shevling Yes
Mr. Whitton Yes
Ms. Abbott Yes
Ms. Babich Yes
Mr. Steffens Yes
Chairman Hill Yes
The motion carried. (12-yes, 0-No)
Item 5 on the Agenda: PUBLIC HEARING: on a Rezoning and Site Plan Revision at 2412 NE 72nd Street. Applicant: QuikTrip. Owner: Harriet Chesterton. File #1320.
Mr. Helmer reported that the applicant is requesting two different actions by the Commission. One is a rezone; the second is a site plan approval. The application contains two phases. Phase I consists of a new drive to the west off of NE 72nd Street. Currently the parcel it is to be constructed on is zoned R-1, single family residential. In order for this application to move forward a rezone of this property will need to take place. Mr. Helmer stated that the existing drive along NE 72nd Street that exists today is a full access drive. It is proposed that this drive would revert into a right in/right out drive. Phase II of the development shows that the right in/right out drive would be closed a new drive onto M-1 Highway would be proposed as well as a new 4,500 square foot building. The current store is 3,200 square feet.
Mr. Helmer reminded the Commission of the two actions being requested, a rezoning from R-1 to CP-2 and a site plan revision and offered to answer any questions.
Ms. Alexander asked if QuikTrip has received approval from MoDot for the new access.
Mr. Helmer answered that staff continues to work with MoDot on their requirements for QuikTrip.
Ms. Babich asked if condition #11 was a typo- “landscape to be a minimum of 6 inches”.
Mr. Helmer answered yes; it should be “6 feet”.
Mr. Wingerson expanded on the M-1 access issue by stating that over the years QuikTrip has approached MoDot on several occasions to gain access to M-1. Staff is currently working on the process again, but haven’t had any success yet. Mr. Wingerson indicated that they will continue working with them until they have a reasonable solution.
Mr. Wingerson explained that QuikTrip originally only wanted Phase I to bring to the Commission tonight, which would have only been a zoning change and site plan for a driveway onto NE 72nd Street. In fairness to the neighborhood, Commission and the City Council; however, he felt that they should show the entire future development plan of the area. Therefore, he would consider Phase I as the true focus of tonight’s discussion and Phase II more along the lines of a preliminary development plan. Although he explained that what is really missing is a provision that allows the Commission to do that. There are a variety of mechanisms that they can talk about after the public hearing about how to make that happen. Mr. Wingerson stated that he would like to make it clear that QuikTrip’s primary objective tonight is to focus on the new driveway and then later Phase II.
Ms. Newsom asked if there is a proposed timeline for Phase II.
Mr. Wingerson answered no.
Chairman Hill asked the applicant to come forward.
Jeremy Crosby, Real Estate Manager for QuikTrip, 5725 Foxridge Drive, Mission, Kansas, 66202 addressed the Commission. Mr. Crosby thanked the Commission for their time and for consideration of this matter tonight. He also thanked City staff for helping them with this project. As Mr. Wingerson stated, their original approach to this process was to gain the additional drive on Phase I, as currently the store only has one driveway that is very tough to get in and out of. Their proposal tonight is that they would turn the current drive into a right in/right out and then demolish the house at 2412 NE 72nd Street and install a 35’ full access driveway. Mr. Crosby explained that with Phase II, there is no time line, but it was brought up by staff that they work together on a full development plan for this project so that everyone would understand what the long-term goal is for this area. Currently, this is a good store and operates well, but at this time does not warrant the need for being rebuilt. With only one driveway the access into and out of it doesn’t allow for it to act that way. He remarked that they are working diligently with City staff to gain access through MoDot off of M-1 highway and that is something that would need to be worked out before even considering Phase II.
Mr. Crosby said that last week on August 7th, they met with neighbors regarding some comments they had. One comment was the service of their trash trucks that were coming at 2:30 am. He said he has already implemented a change through his division staff to have that done at a later time. He was unaware this was happening. Mr. Crosby also spoke about another comment from the meeting, which was a storm inlet on the drive. Apparently when it rains really hard Mr. Wilcox gets a lot of water in his front yard. Currently, the inlet is clogged up with debris and trash and QuikTrip has agreed to maintain that as part of their project to keep it free of any debris. The majority of the remaining comments came with Phase II and had to do with seeing the new store that would be built. He tried to assure the neighbors that this Phase was not in the near future, but that they would like to gain approval for the plan based on City staff’s comments.
Mr. Crosby said that as far as their plans for Phase II along the northwest corner, they inadvertently showed that they would take all of the existing tree line out and it would be removed with construction- that is a standard boiler plate comment on their site plan and in fact on Phase II, the comment was put on the plan which states that they will keep as much of the natural landscaping that is out there remaining. Even with Phase I…what they would really like to do is demolish the house, build the driveway, install a 6’ privacy fence around the radius of the driveway to match up to the existing 6’ fence that is there and leave all the existing vegetation behind. That is their goal. With the new building, if and when that happens- based on the capacity of the store, they would try to leave as much of the natural vegetation back there for buffer and screening. Also, along that property line they would be willing to install a 6’ fence as shown on the plan.
Mr. Crosby commented on the recommended conditions of the staff report:
A true or modified monument sign shall be utilized to serve the development.
Monument sign shall be landscaped. Mr. Crosby asked that this condition be modified and added to Phase II. That is in consideration of a monument sign that is shown on Phase II. On Phase I they are not planning on changing their monument sign at all and to install any landscaping around it at all would really hurt the visibility to the sign because it sits on the ground and would be really hard to see. He would ask that this condition be applied if Phase II is constructed.
Dumpsters shall be enclosed with materials consistent with the primary building.
Trash services shall be scheduled between 7:00 am- 7:00 pm. Mr. Crosby said that as stated earlier he has already taken steps to correct the trash truck time frames.
Tractor trailers shall not park or be stored overnight. Deliveries shall be made between 7:00 am-7:00 pm. Mr. Crosby asked that this condition be stricken from the conditions or that they work with staff. As a convenience store their primary time for business is from 7:00 am to 7:00 pm and to allow for deliveries during this time would defeat the process of trying to get their lot to turn over a little better. If there were trucks at the front of the store between these times it would really congest the lot. In addition, Mr. Crosby said that they do not control their vendor’s delivery times and they can’t make them deliver at any certain times. He said that he has already worked with the Division Manager, Mr. Tim Huback to try and alleviate most of the congestion at night and that they try to receive as many deliveries as possible between 7:00 am and 7:00 pm.
Ms. Newsom said that condition #3 contains two things- parking tractor-trailers and deliveries. She asked if Mr. Crosby had any issues with the parking of tractor-trailers or just the deliveries.
Mr. Crosby answered that QuikTrip doesn’t allow for a tractor-trailer to pull on to their lot and just park there overnight anyway, so he doesn’t necessarily have an issue with that, it’s just that if parking a truck for delivery is considered parking then they feel that’s tough to uphold.
Ms. Newsom said she didn’t think that is the spirit of this condition. They have put this on other projects so that trailers are not left on properties for storage.
Mr. Crosby stated that they are okay with conditions #4-#8.
Right-of-Way shall be dedicated to allow completion of N. Olive Mr. Crosby said he received clarification from Mr. Wingerson prior to the meeting this evening, so they are okay with this condition.
A 3’ berm shall be constructed along the north property line and west property line. Berm shall extend approximately 100’ east and 100’ south from the northwest corner of the site. Berm shall be constructed concurrent with Phase I improvements. Mr. Crosby said this goes back to the initial plan that showed they would remove all the existing trees that are on the site plan for construction; however, that is not the case. They would like to contain as much as the natural vegetation back there as possible. Regarding the 3’ berm, in Phase I, they do not plan on disturbing that area and would like to keep it as original as it is today. To go back there and tear down very mature trees that have been there for years to build a 3’ wall and then put up a 6’ tree just doesn’t make a lot of sense. Mr. Crosby stated that they would rather keep the natural vegetation there because it will provide a much better screen and buffer to the neighbors. He indicated that this was the largest issue that was brought up from the neighborhood meeting on the 7th. QuikTrip is well known for being neighborly and want nothing more than to be good neighbors with the residents near them and to provide a good screening from the commercial to the residential; therefore, they are willing to work with the neighbors and staff to provide that. Mr. Crosby said that what is out there today is a pretty good screening, but they are more than willing to add additional. If any of it has to come out with construction they will replace it with more. He spoke with Mr. Helmer today about going over the landscaping with him after this meeting and discussing it in more detail. He asked that this condition be stricken from the list and that they work with staff to keep the most natural landscaping that is there today.
Berm shall be sodded and planted with dense landscaping with a minimum height of 6’. Mr. Crosby said this goes with #10 and asked that it also be stricken.
Exterior lighting shall be designed, installed, and maintained to reduce any adverse impact on the surrounding neighbors. Mr. Crosby said they are okay with this condition.
In closing Mr. Crosby thanked the Commission for their time and consideration of this project. He said that QuikTrip has been at this location for over eighteen years and would like to remain at this location for eighteen or more years, so he respectfully requests their approval for Phase I and Phase II and the rezoning of this property.
Ms. Newsom asked if they still have speakers outside their store.
Mr. Crosby answered that they don’t generally use those. They used to greet every customer at the pump, but now that they have the pump start card they don’t have to do that anymore.
Ms. Newsom remembered their being an issue at one time about the noise with the speakers.
Mr. Crosby said that should no longer be an issue.
Ms. Smith asked if QuikTrip’s plans are to build a fence in Phase I and leave the remainder of the property “as-is.”
Mr. Crosby answered yes.
Ms. Smith asked if QuikTrip will be responsible for maintaining and mowing the new area.
Mr. Crosby answered yes.
Ms. Smith said it would be blocked by a fence and wondered if you would even see it.
Mr. Crosby referred to the site plan and pointed to the area where the fence would be. He said that some of the trees will die when construction begins because they will be disturbed when the house is demolished, but they will clean that up and everything else will be left the same. They will clean up the debris and the over growth so that it has a cleaner look.
Ms. Smith asked if it would be a fair assessment to say that if QuikTrip does not get approval from MoDot that they will probably not re-do this store.
Mr. Crosby replied that would be a pretty fair assessment. He added that if the store would do well enough with just these two driveways they could potentially do that; but he doesn’t foresee that happening.
Mr. McCullough asked if with the potential increased store size would that change the status of the QuikTrip next to McDonalds at 64th & Antioch.
Mr. Crosby said that at this time it is their choice to keep that store operating and open.
Ms. Abbot asked about the one on Englewood Road.
Mr. Crosby said it is their plan to keep that one operating.
Chairman Hill voiced his concern with adding the new driveway and asked if they really need and want the right out from the existing driveway.
Mr. Crosby replied that it is their preference to have it; however, he could talk to their corporate folks and see. Originally they have looked at a number of different configurations for that and this is what, with staff, they have agreed to.
Chairman Hill said that his thought is that if you make everyone exit through the new driveway, then you don’t have any issue of someone going out and turning right from the existing driveway and a potential accident from someone pulling out from the new driveway because someone has just come out.
Ms. Newsom remarked that being a frequent patron of that station, attempting to even pull out and turn right the traffic coming from M-1 heading west…they don’t pay any attention. If you get a little hitch in your get-along, your history; you’re going to get hit. It’s not safe. She hadn’t thought about it in that context, but she agrees with Chairman Hill and thinks that is something that needs to be looked at in the overall traffic flow of things.
Larry Dickerson, Director of Real Estate for QuikTrip, 5725 Foxridge Driver, Mission, Kansas, addressed the Commission. Mr. Dickerson said that in respect to the question regarding the right out that is being proposed (he referred to the PowerPoint screen) where it says right-in/right-out, there is a pork-chop style concrete median area in the middle that is really large. It has effectively reduced the lane size for people coming in to or out of it so for people trying to turn right out and them making a left turn to go back east, that tight turn makes it more difficult for them to do that. He believes that is actually a MoDot spec of how to design and lay that out.
Chairman Hill said he didn’t think Mr. Dickerson understood what he was saying. He’s not saying if someone tries to go out and turn left. His concern is that if you have someone going out the old drive, turning right and going west that you have other traffic leaving the new drive turning left and trying to get out into traffic and if you have cars entering the road from the old entrance/exit turning right in close proximity there…maybe 100’…it’s going to make it more difficult for people to get out of the new drive and turn left and it also may cause accidents because they’re not anticipating cars coming out of the new drive turning right or they may not see them because it’s such a short distance. Chairman Hill said he can see that it’s pretty well angled and the median is there, but he’s concerned about people using it as it’s designed. To him it would make more sense to make everyone exiting go to the new drive and then either go right or left as opposed to having the cross traffic.
Mr. Dickerson said there are a couple of issues there. One is that there is a pretty good distance there. It’s not like they’re within 50’ or so. The second item is that those two pieces of property are owned by two different entities. QuikTrip is in the process of purchasing the house in the rear for the additional driveway and the landlord who owns the store and the property up front that they are leasing has the driveway only. So, to take his one and only driveway from a full access drive to a right-in/right-out is a pretty big deal. To take it to a right-in only he can’t have any way to get his future tenant customers out that is something that doesn’t work real well.
Mr. Dickerson said in regards to people turning right and sometimes not looking, he would comment that in the past when they were working on the M-1 curb cut one of the things that MoDot was going to do to make changes to that intersection was to pull the triangle area out farther and consider a signal head. He depicted these items on the screen while speaking.
Chairman Hill asked if the lawn is currently irrigated.
Mr. Crosby answered yes.
Chairman Hill asked if that would be continued with the new site plan.
Mr. Crosby answered yes.
Chairman Hill asked if their red ribbon went all the way around their building to the back.
Mr. Crosby said some of their stores have it on the back and some don’t. He is not sure if this one does or not.
Chairman Hill said his concern with a new store being built closer to the residents is the red lighting on the north and west. He’s not saying to eliminate all lighting on the north and west because obviously they have traffic coming from 72nd and from M-1 and they need to be able to see the store for their purposes, but if they could stay away from the northwest corner and most of the west side of the building he thinks that would help the residents out.
Mr. Crosby said that is something they would be willing to work with.
Chairman Hill asked where the vendors park at this store.
Mr. Crosby replied that they park at the north end of the lot.
Ms. Smith asked if the rezoning is approved and QuikTrip decides to not to do this expansion is it within the new Comprehensive Plan to rezone this parcel to commercial.
Mr. Wingerson commented that directly to the south of this was an area that the Comprehensive Plan indicated should receive additional study. It’s hard to say one way or the other, but certainly the intersection of 72nd Street and Prospect is a commercial intersection and you can expect it to grow.
Mr. Helmer added that the Comprehensive Plan can be seen as a guiding tool for land use, but not necessarily for the specifics of getting down to a parcel level of rezoning.
Mr. Steffens asked what staff thought of the changes that Mr. Crosby has proposed for the recommended conditions.
Mr. Wingerson said that he is okay with the delivery change, but he would like QuikTrip to put some boundaries on when deliveries would occur. Staff is getting reports from area residents that they are being woke up on almost a nightly basis with delivery traffic. It seems like there could be some very broad time of night that deliveries wouldn’t occur. The berm issue is a little bit more difficult (Condition #11). The berm comes from the original thought that if there’s going to be a new QuikTrip at this location, if they start now to provide the screening for the adjacent residents then it would be more mature by the time the store was actually built. From what Mr. Crosby said tonight there is an erroneous plan now, so staff would ask QuikTrip to very clearly indicate the construction limits and the do not disturb limits and then staff can take another look at the vegetation. Mr. Wingerson said that in terms of things that go with Phase I and Phase II, staff doesn’t have objection about how those things would work.
Chairman Hill called for those in favor of the application to come forward.
Shirley Wethered, 2404 NE 72nd Street addressed the Commission. Ms. Wethered said she is right next to this property and she would like to know more about the fence. Is it going to be right on the property line?
Mr. Crosby showed Ms. Wethered on the site plan where the fence would be and indicated that it would probably be within 5’ of the property line.
Chairman Hill asked if there was anyone else to speak in favor of the application. Hearing no response he asked for those in opposition to come forward.
Dan Buchholz, 7217 N. Park addressed the Commission. Mr. Buchholz stated that today he read the Comprehensive Plan and he believes it speaks specifically to this intersection and says that it should be mixed-use and not commercial…mixed-use being low to moderate dense residential/office and limited retail use which doesn’t include this commercial zoning. He thinks it goes against…he doesn’t know if it’s the letter or the spirit. Mr. Buchholz has specific concerns about how it will affect the value of their property in the area. He believes it will be a negative impact. Also, he is concerned about the increased traffic going down Park by diverting some people down NE 73rd Terrace and down N. Park even more than now. Another concern is as the intersection of 152 and M-1 Highway becomes more developed and the likelihood is that there is going to be a gas station there, what will that mean down the road? They are going to have this huge expansion and then all of a sudden the business is going to dry up. Also there are concerns with the light and noise pollution. Mr. Buchholz said that as reading the Comprehensive Plan and the results of the survey it indicated that only 7% of those surveyed identified this intersection as a location that needed to be modified in any way. It sounds like everyone feels pretty good about the way it is now, so he would encourage the Commission to listen to what everyone has to say and to no approve this change.
George Wages, 7201 N. Park addressed the Commission. Mr. Wages stated that he lives on the intersection of 72nd and N. Park and his concern is the traffic. During rush hour going east traffic is backed up from the stop light almost down to his house. If he backed out of his driveway he couldn’t turn left. The intersection with all those islands…seems like there ought to be something different, but doing this in-right/new drive he doesn’t know how that’s going to help because you still won’t be able to get out during rush because it’s going to be backed up all the way back down there. Mr. Wages asked where the fence starts because right now you can’t hardly see the fence that’s there because of all the nice trees, but when they start to take all those out you’re gonna see fence.
Recording system failed from this point on.
Earl Wilcox, 7201 N. Park addressed the Commission. Mr. Wilcox said he would like an understanding on what the Commission is approving this evening.
Chairman Hill explained that the application is for both a rezoning and site plan.
Mr. Wilcox said that he feels the neighborhood was miss-lead at the QuikTrip meeting. He is not for or against the proposal, but if they are approving Phase II he thinks there are a lot of problems that have to be resolved. There will be more run-off with Phase II and they need to fix his drainage ditch. He also asked why they don’t have the access off of M-1 yet.
Noha Shalabi, 7221 N. Olive Street addressed the Commission. Ms. Shalabi stated that she lives at the dead end of N. Olive and she is concerned about the noise and lights of this project. The proposed trash enclosure would be right next to her house.
Denise Nance, 7233 N. Olive Street addressed the Commission. Ms. Nance stated that she has many of the same concerns as her neighbors. Currently she can hear patrons of QuikTrip and the trash being picked up, which is worse in the winter without the leaves on the trees. She also worried about increased walking traffic to the store.
Gail Kerns, 2308 NE 72nd Terrace addressed the Commission. Ms. Kerns remarked that she shares the same concerns as the others that spoke. She looks at all the “For Sale” signs and it seems that the they keep being pushed to the brink. There are all these vacant store fronts everywhere and now they are building a new video store just down the street. Why don’t these businesses want to remodel and go into the existing vacant buildings all over town? She asked how many new pumps are being proposed.
Mr. Crosby responded that there will be two more making a total of eight.
Ms. Kerns said that QuikTrip used to be in that small building at 72nd and Euclid, now it’s growing again. They don’t need a truck stop there; the neighborhood was here first.
Mark Johnson, 7224 N. Olive Street addressed the Commission. Mr. Johnson said that he has the same concerns as his neighbors and asked for a show of hands of people that would agree with him.
Shirley Wethered, 2404 NE 72nd Street addressed the Commission. Ms. Wethered said that she would like to state that those houses on 72nd Street are going to sell anyway. Hers will sell anyway.
Mr. Caravella, 2404 NE 73rd Street addressed the Commission. Mr. Caravella said his concern is with traffic because they already get a lot of traffic because of dead end traffic.
Virginia Fowler, 2313 NE 73rd Street addressed the Commission. Ms. Fowler stated that QuikTrip has been operating successfully there for years. There are a lot of children in the area now and she urged the Commission to vote to oppose the application.
Mr. Wingerson commented that he would like to take a minute to answer a couple of questions that the audience had. One was regarding the access of M-1 Highway. He said that the City has been lobbying for that access for ten to fifteen years. When the building was built the owner sold the ingress/egress rights to MoDot. Mr. Wingerson assured the Commission that staff will continue to work with them until it happens.
Earl Wilcox asked if stormwater detention was required by the APWA.
Ms. Alexander said that the bank that was proposed for this property several years ago and Family Video from earlier this year were required to have stormwater detention. She asked why we are requiring it on this project.
Mr. Wingerson answered that it would defiantly be required.
Chairman Hill asked if it needed to be added as a condition.
Mr. Wingerson said that a stormwater study would be required prior to a building permit, so it really wasn’t necessary.
Chairman Hill closed the public hearing.
Mr. Garnos said that he lives in the neighborhood behind this project and that when he first viewed the plans he was happy to see that they were trying alleviate traffic congestion, so he thinks they need to be given credit for tying to fix it.
Ms. Abbott said that she travels this area on occasion and the house to the west of QuikTrip that is proposed to be demolished is an eyesore and she would think that some residents would be glad to get rid of it.
Mr. West commented that he would prefer to see a comprehensive stormwater study as a condition of this application.
Ms. Newsom explained that when the original QuikTrip building was proposed about eighteen years ago she spoke against it for not being a good location. She would love to see this parcel have a safer ingress/egress so this business could be successful and safe; although she’s just not sure this will fix it. Ms. Newsom also voiced her concern about the commercial creep along 72nd Street.
Chairman Hill asked if the M-1 access should be tied to Phase II.
Mr. Wingerson said it is.
Chairman Hill stated that he would like these things added as recommended conditions: lighting on the back of the store, lawn irrigation and stormwater study.
Ms. Babich voiced her concerns about the commercial creep along 72nd Street as well. She said she voted against the video store and noticed that right after it was approved that Hollywood Video went out of business because of competition with NetFlicks. She knows the gas industry is changing and is worried about approving this application to have it become another empty building down the road.
Mr. Garnos noticed on the map that it looks like the land will increase by 50% and seems like there will still be a significant buffer between the neighborhood. He said it also looks like there will be significantly more parking on the site plan than what’s required.
Mr. Crosby replied that he would have get confirmation, but that this is a template of the biggest, store they could provide, but he doesn’t know that’s what it will be.
Chairman Hill asked Mr. Crosby if he would consider dealing with Phase I now and later coming back with the new store.
Mr. Crosby answered yes.
Ms. Alexander said she would be happier going that direction and would like the new site plan for the store to include water retention.
Mr. West remarked that he does not like the parking on the back side of the store so he would rather go with Phase I tonight and drop Phase II.
Chairman Hill called for a five minute recess.
The Commission reconvened at 9:00 pm.
Ms. Newsom said that there are a lot of positive and negative things about this application and she would suggest they table this request until the next meeting to give QuikTrip time to work out some of the issues raised here tonight.
MOTION: By Ms. Newsom, second by Ms. Alexander to table File #1320, Rezoning and Site Plan at 2412 NE 72nd Street until the next Planning Commission meeting. All said aye.
Chairman Hill announced to the audience that the next meeting would be Tuesday, September 2, 2008.
Item 6 on the Agenda: Communications from the City Council and City Staff.
Mayor Pro-Tem Rudi made the Commission aware of the Smoking Forum on August 26, 2008 from 6:00 pm to 7:30 pm at the Community Center.
Mr. Helmer announced that the Comprehensive Plan is being submitted to the American Planning Association for an award. He will keep everyone posted on the outcome. Staff is also receiving requests for proposals for architects for the Atkins-Johnson Farm on September 2nd.
Item 7 on the Agenda: Communications from the Planning Commission Members.
Mr. Garnos said he has been pleased with the resurfacing that is taking place around the City.
Ms. Newsom thanked staff for sign enforcement around the City.
Ms. Abbott asked about the status of the dam at the Leimkuehler pond.
Mr. Wingerson reported that staff has spoken with DNR about the dam and found out that it is private property and therefore, are handling it as such. Hopefully there will be relief from the heavy vegetation soon.
Ms. Babich asked for an update on the research of the anti-clutter ordinance.
Mr. Wingerson said it is coming and will be bundled with two other issues to be presented to the City Council tentatively in October.
Mr. Whitton thanked Ms. Newsom for her motion this evening. He thought that was a smart move.
Chairman Hill said he noticed many signs have disappeared and thanked City staff for that; there is still one at 64th and Prospect though. He also thanked the Commission for their work tonight with somewhat of a difficult issue, but felt it was handled well.
Item 8 on the Agenda: Adjournment.
Chairman Hill adjourned the meeting at 9:12 pm.
Respectfully submitted:
______________________________________ Approved as submitted _____
Becky Jarrett, Recording Secretary
______________________________________ Approved as corrected _____
Brian Hill, Chairman