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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10/4/2019 - Work SessionMINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE TOWN OF VINTON PLANNING COMMISSION HELD ON FRIDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2019, AT 12 P.M., AT THE VINTON MUNICIPAL BUILDING, 311 SOUTH POLLARD STREET. MEMBERS PRESENT: Keith Liles, Chairman Dave Jones, Vice Chairman Bob Benninger Bill Booth MEMBERS ABSENT: Bob Patterson STAFF PRESENT: Anita McMillan, Planning and Zoning Director Nathan McClung, Principal Planner Julie S. Tucei, Planning and Zoning Coordinator Joey Hiner, Public Works Director William “Bo” Herndon, Assistant Public Works Director OTHERS PRESENT: Ray Varney, Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) Brian Blevins, Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) AGENDA WORK SESSION I. Call to Order—Roll Call II. Introductions III. Subdivision Ordinance Recommendations: Presentation by Brian Blevins, P.E. (VDOT) and Ray Varney, P.E., LS (VDOT) 1. Topic #1: Turning radius definition and requirements 2. Topic #2: Block length size reductions 3. Topic #3: Mid-block crossing necessity 4. Topic #4: Sidewalk requirements 5. Topic #5: Street trees requirements 6. Topic #6: Width of right-of-way discussion IV. Comments of Planning Commissioners and Planning Staff V. Adjournment The work session of the Planning Commission was called to order at 12:29 p.m. by Chairman Liles. Roll was called, and all members were present, except Mr. Patterson. After roll call, introductions were made around the room with each person present stating their name and title. Afterwards, Ms. McMillan mentioned to those in attendance that Mr. Liles is also on Town Council and Mr. Benninger is also on the Board of Zoning Appeals. Ms. McMillan gave everyone a brief summary of the zoning ordinance revision process to date. Mr. McClung briefly went over what would be discussed at today’s meeting. He mentioned that he will be showing a PowerPoint presentation during the meeting containing all of the information, a copy of which will be made a part of the permanent record for this meeting. Mr. McClung stated that the PLANNING COMMISSION WORK SESSION OCTOBER 4, 2019 PAGE 2 PowerPoint is just a guide for the meeting, and attendees should feel free to comment at any time during the presentation. The first topic for discussion is the turning radius definition and requirements. Mr. Blevins from VDOT stated that in their design, they are looking at moving traffic. He said; however, in a case like this, you have to think about both people and vehicle movement. He mentioned that a larger turning radius is worse for pedestrians due to speed that can be obtained by vehicles and also the length of crossing for the pedestrian. He said that they should keep in mind the Town’s specific uses. If the use is mostly cars, then a smaller turning radius is fine. Mr. Blevins stated that a smaller radius increases walkability for pedestrians. Natural traffic calming methods such as tighter turning radii and street trees help to slow traffic. Ms. McMillan mentioned that the Fire/EMS personnel are always stating that they do not like the tighter radii with the large emergency vehicles. Ms. McMillan said movement of emergency vehicles needs to be considered so they don’t have trouble navigating the streets during emergency calls. Vice Chairman Jones also mentioned that the public works vehicles, such as refuse trucks, should also be considered. Mr. Blevins said they will have to consider the “typeology” of the road. He mentioned that a main street should be wider than a side street. Mr. McClung asked Mr. Hiner about how wide Cleveland Avenue is when vehicles are parked on both sides. Mr. Hiner stated that he didn’t have exact measurements on that street at the moment. He mentioned that Bowman Street is probably the tightest street width in town. He mentioned that, when thinking about the revisions, they also need to also consider the snow plows. Mr. Booth stated that Blair Street is also very tight. He mentioned that today, when he was on Blair, a moving truck was having trouble getting through because it was so tight. Mr. Hiner did say that those are considered residential streets, and the narrowness does help with some traffic calming. Mr. Varney from VDOT asked Mr. Booth how fast the moving truck was going. Mr. Booth said it was barely moving. The next topic for discussion is about a size reduction in block lengths. Mr. McClung stated that the proposal is to reduce the minimum block sizes from 300 feet to 150 feet and to reduce maximum from 1000 feet to 800 feet. Vice Chairman Jones asked if the Town was going to bust up existing blocks. Mr. McClung stated that these new regulations would apply to future development in the Town. Chairman Liles gave some examples in the downtown area, such as the Vinton Motors lot. Mr. Blevins said VDOT does not have much guidance on this particular subject. He stated that this is more about what the Town wants or needs. He did mention the Daleville Town Center as an example. He said that is about the only development in the local area that would demonstrate this type of design. Mr. Blevins said at the time it was built, it was called a neo-traditional development. He said the Daleville Town Center is ahead of their time in this area. Mr. Hiner asked if this would be applied to specific areas, such as Mixed Use District. Ms. McMillan said it will depend upon what the Council would like and also where staff thinks the town will be 10 or more years down the road. She said it depends on how the Town decides to balance it. Mr. Varney asked how this type of subdivision regulation will be applied in the Town. He asked if it would it be an overlay district. Ms. McMillan said that is still to be determined by looking at the different situations within the Town and whether it will make sense to require it on certain properties. Mr. Booth asked if there are any annexation plans by the Town in the near future. Ms. McMillan said she does not have the answer to that. Mr. Hiner stated that it is not outside of the realm of possibility, but who knows when or if it will happen. Vice Chairman Jones mentioned the gain PLANNING COMMISSION WORK SESSION OCTOBER 4, 2019 PAGE 3 sharing agreement with the County, but Mr. Liles stated that it had recently expired. Ms. McMillan said that instead of the gain sharing agreement, the Town now has a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the County. Some of the benefits and monetary proceeds that the gain sharing agreement had have been cut out in the MOU. Next, Mr. McClung skipped ahead to topic 4, Sidewalk requirements. He explained the proposed requirements for sidewalks, which are shown in the PowerPoint. Mr. Blevins stated that VDOT standards do not require street trees and buffer zones. He said VDOT doesn’t have enough people to maintain the trees and grass. He said if the County were to require trees and buffer zones, VDOT would require an agreement with the County for the maintenance. Mr. Varney mentioned that people who park under the trees don’t want sap all over their cars, so if trees are going to be required, they need to be the right trees. He also pointed out that what comes off trees may go in the stormdrain as well. He reiterated that the right type of trees must be selected. He stated that there are a lot of things to consider such as sap, or bird droppings, or that the roots could break up pavement. Mr. Hiner said the trees roots could also affect the utilities, in addition to the pavement and sidewalk. He mentioned that the trees also contribute to icier roads in the winter due to shading the pavement. Mr. McClung said the ordinance will include regulations on what types of trees that can be used. Mr. Varney asked if alleys will be included in these regulations. Ms. McMillan said the Town is already so fully developed, and there is not much land area left for a town center that would have new alleys and such. She stated that the lack of vacant land is the challenge. She said they do not want to adopt regulations when they will not make sense for the Town. However, Ms. McMillan mentioned the possibility that the River Park Shopping Center could become a town center in the future. Mr. McClung asked if VDOT requires sidewalks. Mr. Blevins stated that it depends on volume and lot size and density. He mentioned that City of Roanoke has complete street requirements that seem to work well for them. Mr. Blevins said VDOT’s sidewalk requirements are in their regulations, and he will be glad to send Mr. McClung a copy via email after the meeting. Ms. McMillan did mention that some of what the Town’s consultants recommended along these lines do apply more to higher growth areas such as in Northern Virginia. The third topic for discussion was the mid-block crossing necessity. Mr. McClung stated that this topic is fairly self-explanatory. He said that an engineering study would determine the need for any midblock crossings. Mr. Booth asked if homeowners’ associations (HOA) could cause conflicts on some of the requirements. Mr. Varney stated that, if a fixture is to be located in the right-of-way, it is VDOTs responsibility and they have the control over it. He said his main thought is always how VDOT will maintain the fixtures once they are built. Mr. Blevins said the HOA requirements could be reviewed during the subdivision reviews to make sure they are not going against the ordinance. Mr. McClung mentioned that VDOT is moving away from midblock crossings. He said the private developers will have to fund any engineering studies that may be needed. Vice Chairman Jones asked why VDOT moved away from the midblock crossings. Mr. Blevins explained that it is generally expected that pedestrians will cross at intersections, rather than in the middle of a block. VDOT moved away from them due to the danger to pedestrians. Chairman Liles mentioned that the town plans to put a midblock crossing on Hardy Road near Dillon Woods and the elementary school. The fourth topic for discussion was on sidewalk requirements which was already discussed previously PLANNING COMMISSION WORK SESSION OCTOBER 4, 2019 PAGE 4 during the block length size reduction portion of the meeting. The next topic for discussion was Street tree requirements. Mr. McClung showed some photos in the PowerPoint presentation that depicted streets with street trees versus streets with no street trees. The sixth and final topic for discussion was on the width of right-of-ways. Mr. McClung showed a diagram of a typical urban street that was provided by VDOT. Mr. Blevins said they just need a maintainable width along streets. He said something like 29 feet, face of curb to face of curb, is adequate. However, if you add bike lanes, you would need about 8 more feet, not including buffer areas with sidewalks and trees. With all that, it would bring the total width to about 66 feet. He also mentioned that 3 feet must be provided behind the sidewalk to allow for maintenance. Mr. Hiner stated said many localities are reducing the right-of-way width, but then adding public utility easements to allow for the placement and maintenance of utilities. Mr. Booth asked about the mowing of the grass in those areas. Mr. Hiner stated that Roanoke City has an ordinance to take care of that type of problem. Mr. Hiner also mentioned that Mr. McClung is working with the Town Attorney to develop an ordinance for the Town regarding the mowing of the right-of-ways. Mr. Varney pointed out that a road with 29 feet total width that has parking on both sides of about 16 feet total leaves only about 13 feet for traffic to pass between the parked cars. He cautioned the town to think about the road width carefully. Mr. Blevins said that emergency responders are not usually in favor of the smaller width streets as mentioned earlier in the meeting. However, he said that his neighborhood has very small streets and people slow down more there. Mr. Varney also mentioned when people are parked there and open their car doors to get out, it lessens the available width further. He said that Mr. Blevins made a good point, though, that it does calm traffic. Mr. Hiner said parking could be restricted to one side of the street especially in the downtown area, but not so much in residential areas. Ms. McMillan asked Mr. Hiner about his recommendation on the utilities within subdivisions. Ms. McMillan said she realizes that they may like to have a lot of the utility lines outside of the paved areas. Mr. Hiner mentioned that utilities have certain requirements for placement, including things like manholes, etc. Mr. Hiner stated that localities getting utilities out of the paved areas is a new trend. He pointed out that there would also be sidewalks to consider in regards to utility placement. Mr. Hiner mentioned that sidewalks are not always needed on both sides of the streets, though. He said it comes down to what you are looking for as far as pavement width taking into consideration whether there will be on-street parking with car doors opening. He said bicyclists also must be considered. The last item on the agenda were the comments from Planning Commissioners and Planning Staff. Mr. McClung mentioned bandit signs that have been showing up more and more in the Town right-of-ways. He said that some localities have civil penalties for the people who put up bandit signs. He asked if VDOT has regulations on the bandit signs. Mr. Varney said that, by code, signs in right-of-way are illegal, but VDOT doesn’t necessarily go out and enforce it on a regular basis. He did mention that church signs in the right-of-way are exempt from the regulations. Chairman Liles asked if the Town would require a permit for real estate signs or political signs. Mr. McClung stated that the courts have ruled that permits cannot be required for those types of signs on private property. He said that he has been calling some of the numbers on some of the bandit signs to let the people who placed them there know they are not allowed in the Town right-of-ways. PLANNING COMMISSION WORK SESSION OCTOBER 4, 2019 PAGE 5 Vice Chairman Jones said that he thought this has been a very interesting discussion. Chairman Liles mentioned recent car break-ins in Vinton neighborhoods. He asked about how to get new streetlights installed in the neighborhood areas. Mr. Hiner stated that Town has standards for the installation of new streetlights, and all the requests go through the Town Clerk, Susan Johnson. Mr. Hiner said he believes that 400 feet between each street light is a general standard. He said they also like to have them installed at intersections. He asked Chairman Liles to refer citizens wanting to request streetlights to Ms. Johnson. Ms. McMillan asked the VDOT representatives, Mr. Blevins and Mr. Varney, about the e-scooters and if VDOT regulates them on state roads. Mr. Varney said the DMV regulates the motorized scooters. Chairman Liles said he did not think DMV would regulate these types of scooters, which can be rented over the internet. Mr. Blevins said on a VDOT-owned road, the same laws would apply to e-scooters as they do to bicyclists. He said he doesn’t think they will see many of the e-scooters on VDOT- maintained streets. Mr. Booth asked if there is any information on a Sheetz coming to Vinton. He said he has heard strong rumors about one coming to the area. Chairman Liles said he has not heard anything about that. With there being nothing further to discuss, Chairman Liles requested a motion to adjourn the meeting. Vice Chairman Jones made a motion to adjourn the work session at 1:58 p.m., which was seconded by Mr. Booth. Respectfully Submitted, Anita McMillan Planning Commission Secretary