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HomeMy WebLinkAboutBoard of Adjustment Minutes 12.19.1996 MINUTES BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT DECEMBER 19, 1996 7:00 P.M. COUNCIL CPiAMBERS MEMBERS PRESENT: OTHERS PRESENT: Andy Muri, Chairman Bruce Teeters Robert Western Johnny Goodman Marvin Carter Cal Cumin, City Planner Cheryll Lund, City Secretary Paul Thomae File No. 96-09. Thomae L~her. Fees paid. Advertised 2 times in Laurel Outlook. Neighbors notified. One letter of protest received from 17 Washington Avenue. Paul Thomae spoke regarding the letter of protest from the resident of 17 Washington Avenue. The City of Laurel gave him a loading/unloading zone on Washington Avenue. The City has not posted the loading/unloading zone signs and they need to do so. The building he proposes to build will be a 62' X 120' pole barn or red iron building. Cosmetically the new building will blend in to look like the old one. He has plans to remove one of the two existing bays and one 20 foot wide wood rack will come down. He feels it will give his business a newer more cosmetically pleasant look. His proposal for a 62' X 120' building puts his lot coverage at 58%, which is 8% over the limit, which works out to 30~8 square feet over the allowed coverage. This new building, in his opinion, will not increase the amount of traffic. He feels it will actually keep the traffic more onto his property and take pressure off of Main Street because the customers can enter and exit on the property. He also feels that his proposal for the new building will increase property values and he will be able to service his customers and the people of Laurel better. Cal Cumin spoke in regards to the proposal. He explained the variances that Thomae Lumber is asking for tonight. 1) Expansion of a non-conforming use: the property is zoned 1 2) Community Commercial, which does Because it is a non-conforming without this boards approval. not allow lumber yards. use it cannot be expanded Off street parking: requirement for this expansion is 18.6 spaces: If Thomae cannot put 18.6 parking spaces into his plan he is required to pay $1,000 for every space he cannot provide. In this case the cash payment could get as high as $18,000.00. 3) Lot coverage: the proposal from Thomae is over the 50% lot coverage limit by 3098 square feet. (8%) 4) Set back requirement: twenty foot set back is required when any new additions/buildings are built in that zone. Thomae is asking for a zero foot setback. Jim Flisrand pointed out that he would like to see Mr. Thomae be able to expand his business as he would like to, for the City residents. But, the City needs to be consistent in the enforcment of the current rules and regulations. Mr. Thomae's current building was built when there were no setback requirements, in the 1930's or 1940's. Any new construction has to conform to the new setbacks and regulations. Off-street parking has been enforced on every business that has developed here in Laurel, either through the assessment of monies per lot or by contracting with somebody else to come up with the required number of spaces. Or, they actually built a parking lot on their property. That has been enforced sin~e the 70's. Jim remembers at least 20 businesses that have had to come up with the requirements for off-street parking. He doesn't remember of anyone that was excluded. The only time the City adjusted parking space requirements was the new cabinet shop on Washington Avenue. It was a warehouse situation and they did relax the spaces due to several reasons. It may be that Thomae falls under the same situation. This could be looked at. Jim does feel ~hat once the public sees that Thomae's wood is under cover it will generate more business and thus more traffic and customers. Discussion. Could the parking across Main be considered as off- street parking? Jim states that the codes restrict off-street parking to the crossing of a major arterial unless there is a signal light. Question to Mr. Thomae regarding making the room for the off-street parking. He states that it would not be feasible. 2 Question on what percentage of Thomae's gross sales are walk-in versus deliveries? Mr. Thomae thinks about 20-25% of his business is walk-in, 70-75% is delivered. Question on the letter of protest that was sent regarding the loading/unloading on Washington Avenue. Why was the letter sent to the Board of Adjustment when it deals mainly with the loading/unloading on Washington Avenue? Cal states that the property owner of 17 Washington has every right to write a letter, but he does feel that her letter does not have any bearing on this application. He will pass her letter onto the City Council. Question by Andy Muri on whether or not Mr. Thomae would be willing to pay $18,000 for off-street parking if he cannot provide the spaces in the proposal? If not the $18,000 what amount would he consent to paying? Mr. Thomae states that he would not be willing to pay the $18,000, but would consider paying $7,000 or putting 7 paved spaces on the proposal. Jim Flisrand pointed out that the amount of 7 spaces is not a set figure and may not apply to Mr. Thomae's situation. That figure relates to the cabinet shop on Washington Avenue. Discussion on off-street parking requirements at different locations. It is pointed out that because Mr. Thomae is tearing down approximately 2,192 square feet of building that an adjustment could be made to lower his required spaces down to 13. Also the use of the building will be more for warehousing of material as opposed to a retail area. Motion by Marvin Carter, spaces for Thomae Lumber to be occupancy of the building. to allow the 7 paved spaces off-street parking or $7000.00 before Discussion on off-street parking. Bruce Teeters feels that the off-street parking limits new businesses from coming into Laurel. In order to attract businesses into Laurel he feels we need to relax the off-street parking. Motion by Marvin Carter, seconded by Bob Western, to grant the non-conforming use for Thomae Lumber. Motion carried 5--0. Motion by Marvin Carter, seconded by Bob Western, ~o allow the building to be placed on the front property line, and waive the 20 foot setback. Motion carried 5--0. 3 Motion by Marvin Carter, seconded by Bob Western, to allow the expansion of 58% lot coverage (50% is the maximum). Motion carried 5--0. Motion by Bz-uce Teeters, seconded by Marvin Carter, to waive the off-street parking requirements for Tkomae Lumber from 18.6 spaces to 0 spaces. Discussion. Bob Western points out that we would be setting a precedent for other businesses wishing to expand or build within Laurel and he feels this is not a good idea. Discussion. Due walk-in customers additional spaces to the fact that 20-25% of Thomae's business is the board feels that they should require only 4 for this expansion of the building. Motion by Bob Western, seconded by Marvin Carter, to amend the motion to waive the off-street parking requirements from 0 spaces to 4 paved spaces, or $4000.00 cash payment. Motion carried 4--1. (Bruce Teeters voted "NO".) Ail of the above motions are to include "subject to all existing building codes". Motion by A~dy Muri, seconded by Marvin Carter, to recommend that the Laurel City Council review the off-street parking requirements. Motion carried 5--0. The meeting was adjourned at 8:00 p.m. Respectfully sub~tted, Cher~ll Lund, Secretary 4