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HomeMy WebLinkAbout3/7/2019 - Work SessionMINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE TOWN OF VINTON PLANNING COMMISSION HELD ON THURSDAY, MARCH 7, 2019, AT 6 P.M., AT THE VINTON MUNICIPAL BUILDING, 311 SOUTH POLLARD STREET. MEMBERS PRESENT: Dave Jones, Vice Chairman Bob Benninger Bill Booth Bob Patterson MEMBERS ABSENT: Keith Liles, Chairman STAFF PRESENT: Anita McMillan, Planning and Zoning Director Nathan McClung, Principal Planner Julie S. Tucei, Planning and Zoning Coordinator AGENDA WORK SESSION I. Call to Order—Roll Call II. Zoning Amendment Topics for Discussion: 1. Accessory Dwelling Units a. Review attached ADU Memorandum b. Review consultant’s recommendations in Vinton Zoning Revisions Framework Document 2. Signage Ordinance Revisions a. Review attached ordinance revisions draft 3. RB Setback Changes a. Review consultant’s recommendations in Vinton Zoning Revisions Framework Document b. Review attached RB Setback Memorandum 4. Lot Coverage Requirements a. Review attached Lot Coverage Memorandum b. Discuss whether or not we want to pursue lot coverage requirements c. If lot coverage requirements are implemented, consider whether accessory structures should be included in this calculation 5. Parking Requirements a. Watch YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Akm7ik-H_7U b. Review consultant’s recommendations in Vinton Zoning Revisions Framework Document 6. Short-term Rentals a. Discuss description of what a short-term rental means and the impact on localities b. Keep it on the table for future meetings III. Comments of Planning Commissioners and Planning Staff VI. Adjournment The work session of the Planning Commission was called to order at 6:03 p.m. by Vice Chairman Jones. Roll was called, and all members were present, except Chairman Liles. Chairman Liles was out of town PLANNING COMMISSION WORK SESSION MARCH 7, 2019 PAGE 2 due to his job. Ms. McMillan stated that Chairman Liles will be unavailable for upcoming meetings from Mondays through Thursdays. She said he will be reviewing the meeting packets and giving comments on them. She mentioned that he can only meet on Fridays after 4 p.m., if needed. Vice Chairman Jones asked how long Chairman Liles won’t be available for meetings during the week. Ms. McMillan stated that it would be for the next 6 months. Ms. McMillan said he will continue to be involved through email. Vice Chairman Jones asked if Chairman Liles would also miss council meetings. Ms. McMillan said Chairman Liles will miss council meetings during that time. The first item on the agenda, Zoning Amendment Topics for Discussion, was next. Ms. McMillan said that staff can provide them with the suggested revisions for the ordinance if they wish. She also stated that they need to decide when/if citizen involvement will be needed. She mentioned that Mr. McClung has reviewed a lot of surrounding localities’ ordinances, as well as some outside of this area. Mr. McClung showed them the “to review” chart he had prepared. For this meeting, he said he hopes to go over six of the “to review” items. He said these items are just drafts, and staff will need their input on them. The first item to review was accessory dwelling units (ADU). Mr. McClung first described accessory units/apartments for them. He stated that they are different from medical pods. The state requires medical pods to be allowed. The medical pods cost around 80 to 120 thousand dollars. Vice Chairman Jones agreed that ADU are different. Mr. McClung said ADU are meant to be more permanent than the med pods. He stated that ADU can help limit urban sprawl and can help with lessening burden on utilities such as water and sewer. Mr. Benninger mentioned that the Western Virginia Water Authority’s position on ADU is to require a separate meter for accessory units. Mr. McClung stated that Roanoke City requires the use of the existing water and sewer connections. He said that the consultants have given us some recommendations for our ordinance update, but we do need to tailor them to the Town. Mr. McClung stated that some localities require the owners to live on the property. Vice Chairman Jones asked how the Town would be able to police that type of requirement. Mr. McClung said one way would be to use the information on the water and sewer records. He said that there is an annual permit process in Blacksburg for ADU. Vice Chairman Jones asked if, in Blacksburg, that was by Special Use Permit. Mr. McClung said it is not the same as a Special Use Permit, it is just a policy. He mentioned that he has rejected 2 to 3 ADU since he has been employed by the Town. Another thing to consider is whether or not to require ADU owners to provide a parking space for the unit so the street isn’t clogged with cars. Mr. McClung said that the industry standard for the size of an ADU is 800 square feet. However, the consultants suggested for Vinton that it be 300 square feet. Ms. McMillan said, not only are ADU good for elderly citizens, they can also be good for people whose grown children would like to move back home after being away for some time. Mr. McClung mentioned a request he recently received from a parent who wanted to convert his garage into an apartment for his disabled son. He said the regulations will have to specifically spell out who can live there and define family or caretakers. Vice Chairman Jones asked how it could be policed by the Town. Mr. McClung said it would be difficult to police because we are not going to do DNA tests to see who is related. He stated that if the regulations are written that ADU are for family use only, it would cut out the typical landlord/tenant situation. Mr. McClung said that in regards to Special Use Permits (SUP) for ADU, most localities don’t require a SUP. Roanoke City; however, does require a special exception for them. Mr. McClung PLANNING COMMISSION WORK SESSION MARCH 7, 2019 PAGE 3 stated that the consultants recommended only allowing ADU in the R2 District, but he said he thinks it should be allowed in areas which allow single family detached residences including the R-1, R-2, and R- 3 Districts. Ms. McMillan said this issue is not going away. Mr. McClung said they will have to determine if ADU should be family only or for additional income rentals. Vice Chairman Jones said staff and the commission will need to try to come up with regulations that will work. Ms. McMillan said they can come up with some recommendations, and then present those to a committee. Mr. Benninger asked if Town Council has considered short term rentals. Ms. McMillan said they have not yet, but the Commission will be considering them—they are on tonight’s agenda. She mentioned a rental house that is used by Virginia Transformer for rotating their engineers in and out of the area every few months. Vice Chairman Jones asked how that is different from regular rentals. Ms. McMillan said there is no difference really, but if we regulate it then the Town may be able to get some revenue from the rentals. Vice Chairman Jones asked if staff will make a recommendation on the ADU. Mr. McClung stated that he is just giving them some information about them tonight. He said we will probably want to have some input from the public through the committees on the issue. The next item up for discussion were the revisions to the signage ordinance. Mr. McClung stated that he used Norfolk’s ordinance when he was drafting proposals for the Town. He stated that the sign ordinance needs revisions due to a court case in Gilbert, AZ which mandated that localities can’t regulate signs on content. Localities may now only regulate signage on the size. Mr. McClung said that a copy of the sign ordinance had been provided to them in their electronic packet. He said the items in black ink are what is already in the ordinance, and the items in blue ink are the suggested changes. He said that Town Staff and contractors need to have a sign ordinance that is easy to use, and said that the proposed revised ordinance is easier to use. However, he mentioned that the proposed ordinance would be stricter. Ms. McMillan stated that there is a lot to go over within the proposed sign ordinance. Unfortunately, there won’t be time to go over it entirely tonight. Ms. McMillan said that she believes we are ready to send it to a committee. Ms. McMillan asked if there were any questions about the signs. Mr. Booth asked about the regulations for flag poles. Both Ms. McMillan and Mr. McClung stated that flag poles are exempt from the regulations. Mr. McClung performed a brief demonstration on how to look up a sign in the draft ordinance. He said the suggested changes are a hybrid of our current ordinance and other localities’ ordinances. Mr. McClung said if they are comfortable with the sign ordinance suggestions, we could move them on to the committee. He mentioned that the new ordinance can no longer single out certain types of businesses such as gas stations. Vice Chairman Jones said he would bet that sign permits are probably one of the most requested things the Planning and Zoning Department does. Mr. McClung said we definitely need to get a lot of public input on this section since signs can be a touchy subject. The next item up for discussion was the RB District Setback Changes. Mr. McClung stated that staff is proposing to change the RB front yard setback to 15 feet. He said he researched the RB District by taking all the RB properties and measuring the setbacks with GIS. He said about 49 percent of properties in the RB District do not meet the current setbacks. However, if the ordinance is changed as proposed, only 17 percent of properties would then be nonconforming. He said Dr. Chandler applauded the town for considering this revision to bring more properties into compliance. Mr. McClung mentioned that this subject is very important, but it should not be too controversial. He stated that the PLANNING COMMISSION WORK SESSION MARCH 7, 2019 PAGE 4 Town wants to incentivize traditional neighborhood guidelines and also community walkability, and this revision would help with those items. Ms. McMillan said Mr. McClung used about 157 properties in the sample to see the compliance percentage. Vice Chairman Jones said Nathan brings new things to the table, and he said Mr. McClung’s presentation is great so far. The next item up for discussion was Lot Coverage Requirements. Mr. McClung mentioned that a hot topic today is stormwater which is affected by lot coverage. He stated that GIS would be difficult to use to regulate this, and we also don’t want to be physically measuring each property either. Mr. McClung said for his calculations, he only used the principal structure for the numbers, however principal structures are only a small part of the equation. He stated that the consultant recommend that the town expand the lot coverage that is only currently in R3 District to the other districts. Mr. McClung did a demonstration on how the lot coverage regulations could work. Vice Chairman Jones mentioned that the lot coverage regulations would have stopped the construction of the large, red garage on Duke Drive. Ms. McMillan asked if they agree on the proposed lot coverage regulations. Vice Chairman Jones said he thinks they need to have them. Mr. Benninger asked if a tennis court would count towards the lot coverage, and Ms. McMillan responded that it would be exempt. The next item up for discussion were the revisions to the parking requirements. Mr. McClung first showed a video on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Akm7ik-H_7U) about parking. Ms. McMillan stated that we may want to change the requirements from a minimum amount to a maximum amount of parking required. She said that she believes the Town currently requires too many parking spaces. As an example, she mentioned the apartments going into the former William Byrd High School building. She said that they were able to work with the developers on the parking requirements when they rezoned the property to MUD. Vice Chairman Jones asked about the parking for the new Macado’s restaurant. Ms. McMillan stated that they have an agreement with the Town to use the Vinton War Memorial parking lot as overflow for the restaurant. Vice Chairman Jones mentioned that some of the Macado’s overflow has been parking in the Thrasher Church parking lot and walking over to the restaurant. However, he stated that the church doesn’t have an issue with that. Mr. McClung said the typical maximum is 120% of the requirement, or we could just go maximum parking outright. Vice Chairman Jones said the current parking requirements which cause a lot of paving are why we have stormwater issues. The next item up for discussion was Short-term Rentals. Mr. McClung mentioned that we had discussed this earlier along with the ADU. In response to the question of lodging taxes, Mr. McClung said we would have to pull in the Finance Department on that. Vice Chairman Jones said a lot of this will be hard to police. Speaking of rentals, Mr. McClung said we will also have to look into scooter rentals soon as they are getting ready to bring them into Roanoke City. The final item of the work session was the comments from Planning Commissioners and Staff. Vice Chairman Jones said we need to move the items to citizen committees. He reminded everyone that the Commissioners had suggested names of people who might want to serve on the committees. Ms. PLANNING COMMISSION WORK SESSION MARCH 7, 2019 PAGE 5 McMillan said she has spoken to many of them and some have already agreed to be on the committees. She said she still has several people to call. Ms. McMillan reminded them that they will have to meet in April to hear the Capital Improvement Plan (CIP). She said they can discuss the short term rentals more and can work on a schedule for the committees. Vice Chairman Jones asked what had changed in the department because it seems that this presentation tonight has been a lot more involved. Ms. McMillan said that with the Code Enforcement going down to the Police Department, the Planning Department has more time to work on these types of items. Vice Chairman Jones stated that they need to get the word back to Town Council that it was a good move to move Code Enforcement to the Police Department. The next meeting was schedule tentatively for April 11, 2019, at 5:30 p.m. The meeting will consist of hearing the CIP and also continuing the Zoning Ordinance updates discussion. Ms. McMillan stated that she will check to see if Chairman Liles can remotely attend meetings, especially if there is a need for a public hearing. Mr. McClung mentioned that Roanoke City has put a lot of their items to special exceptions for their Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) to hear. Vice Chairman Jones said he applauds tonight’s presentation. He also thanked Staff for providing the Samsung tablets for the packet delivery, and he said it will save a lot of time and resources by using them from now on. Vice Chairman Jones mentioned that the Town will be collecting old trash cans and recycling them since the new Town carts had been rolled out. He asked Ms. McMillan to ask Public Works about making people move the new carts that were delivered to the back of their houses. He said leaving them at the street could be a security issue because people will know who is home and who is not. With there being nothing further to discuss, the work session was adjourned at 7:41 p.m. by Vice Chairman Jones Respectfully Submitted, Anita McMillan Planning Commission Secretary