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Home My WebLink About09-24-14 YPC MinutesCity of Yakima Planning Commission (YPC) City Hall Council Chambers Meeting Minutes of September 24, 2014 Call to Order Chairman Dave Fonfara called the meeting to order at 3:30 p.m. Roll Call YPC Members Present: Chairman Dave Fonfara, Vice -Chair Scott Clark, Al Rose, Patricia Byers, Ron Anderson YPC Members Absent: Bill Cook, Paul Stelzer Staff Present: Valerie Smith, Senior Planner; Jeff Peters, Supervising Planner; Glenn Denman, Building Official and Supervising Code Inspector Others: Tom Hale, Joe Walsh Staff Announcements Jeff Peters introduced Ron Anderson back to the Planning Commission. Ron Anderson shared with the commission, staff, and others a little bit about himself. Audience Participation No audience participation noted. 0 1 N 1 ti Jeff Peters explained the process and reasoning of approving the 2013 YPC Minutes in sections. Al Rose made a motion to approve all of the YPC Minutes from 2013 that are listed on the Agenda and have the Planning Staff review the October 23rd minutes and make changes to the adjourning date as appropriate. The motion was seconded; motion carried unanimously. Discussion of Sign Code Amendments Peters introduced Glenn Denman to the Planning Commission as the Building Official and the Supervising Code Inspector. Jeff went over the topics of the Sign Code Amendments packet and then proceeded to go over the Signs YMC 15.08 PowerPoint. The PowerPoint covered issues such as the definition of signs including roof signs and exempt signs, the renaming of the "exempt signs" section, and examples of what exempt signs are. Dave Fonfara made the comment that the current sign code language is sometimes inconsistent and can be confusing to both the sign users and code enforcers. Dave suggested that the Planning Staff bring back suggestions that will simplify the process. Al Rose suggested starting with the definitions and then implementing regulations that are appropriate. Glenn Denman added that Codes approach is to have the code be less restrictive than it is now because of the difficulty to enforce the current code. -1- Patricia Byers brought up the issue of people attaching vinyl signs to buildings and calling them permanent signs. In addition, Byers talked about signs for non-profit organizations and expressed that she believes the percent of the window being covered is more important than the number of signs in the window. Jeff brought up the concern about health and safety when windows are covered heavily in signs. Dave made the argument that some buildings don't have windows at all. Al added on to the conversation by mentioning that some buildings may not have signs but the windows are covered by drapes, which is also a health and safety issue. Jeff Peters went on to discuss issues relating to wall signs and the cross over between wall signs and roof signs. Chairman Dave Fonfara mentioned that three of the five Planning Commission members needed to leave around 4:45 pm. The chairman pointed out that there was a member in the audience waiting for the community gardens discussion and that time was running out. He suggested either continuing with the sign discussion and dealing with the community gardens discussion at the beginning of the next meeting or skipping right to the community gardens discussion. The commission and staff agreed to move on to the community gardens discussion and have staff bring back definitions for the sign section for the next meeting. Discussion on Mock Application for CommunjW Gardens Valerie Smith provided a memo discussing the current status of the text amendment to include community gardens in the Yakima Urban Area Zoning Ordinance. Smith also brought in a sample of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) Between ABC Sponsor (whoever will be sponsoring the community garden) and the City of Yakima. She mentioned that a MOU would be required with their type 1 or type 2 application submittals. Chairman Dave Fonfara expressed the commissions interest in moving forward with the text amendment for community gardens. Tom Hale came up to the podium and briefly spoke about the sample MOU. Valerie reminded the commission and that all of the comprehensive plan amendments for 2014 are going to the public hearing on October 8, 2014. Other Business No other business. A motion to adjourn to October 8, 2014 was passed with unanimous vote. This meeting adjourned at 4:47 p.m. Chairman Dave Fonfara Date This meeting was filmed by YPAC. Minutes for this meeting submitted by: Lisa Maxey, Temporary D.A. II. -2-