HomeMy WebLinkAbout01-28-15 YPC MinutesCity of Yakima Planning Commission (YPC) City Hall Council Chambers
Meeting Minutes of January 28, 2015
Call to Order
Chairman Dave Fonfara called the meeting to order at 3:30 p.m.
Rn11 Call
YPC Members Present: Chairman Dave Fonfara, Al Rose, Bill Cook, Patricia Byers,
Ron Anderson
YPC Members Absent: Vice -Chair Scott Clark, Paul Stelzer
Staff Present: Jeff Peters, Supervising Planner; Rob Peterson, Airport
Manager; Valerie Smith, Senior Planner; Robbie Aaron,
Assistant Planner
Other:
Staff Announcements
Supervising Planner Jeff Peters announced that the 2014 Planning Commission minutes
need to be approved. He suggested having the Planning Commission receive the
packets in two sections, approving the first set of minutes at the 1St Planning
Commission meeting in February and then approving the second set of minutes at the
2nd Planning Commission meeting in February.
Jeff also made the announcement that item 8 on the agenda, the status update on
Moratorium Issues in the SCC Zones, will not be discussed at today's meeting. He
added that staff is still working with Yakima Neighborhood Health on their application.
Senior Planner Valerie Smith provided an update on the City's efforts to open the
Comprehensive Plan Map Amendment process for 2015. Valerie explained to the
Commission that the Planning Commission will open the Comprehensive Plan Map
Amendment process during the regular meeting on February 11, 2015. She added that
any applications received for this purpose will need to be received by the Planning
Department by April 30, 2015 to be considered. She reminded the Commission that this
is the last formal amendment process for the Yakima Urban Area Comprehensive Plan
2025. Amendment requests for the years 2016 and 2017 will be considered during the
state mandated Comprehensive Plan Update which will take place in June of 2017. Staff
has prepared legal notices, display ads, and a press release to be sent out directly before
and after the Planning Commission's February 11, 2015 meeting.
Jeff Peters made it known to the Commission that Paul Stelzer has requested to step
down from the Planning Commission. The City Clerk has indicated that the City
Council will be entertaining applications and selections of members to new committees.
If the City Council appoints a new member to the Planning Commission, it is likely that
their first meeting will be the 2nd meeting in February, according to Peters.
-1_
Election of Chairman and Vice -Chairman for the Yakima Planning Commission
Ron Anderson made a motion for Dave Fonfara to continue as Chairman of the
Planning Commission. Patricia Byers seconded the motion. The motion carried
unanimously. Dave Fonfara accepted his nomination and added that this will be his last
year accepting the role of Chairman of the City of Yakima Planning Commission.
Al Rose made a motion to nominate Scott Clark as Vice -Chair of the Planning
Commission. Ron Anderson seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously.
Peters informed the Commission that Scott Clark indicated to him that he would be
willing to accept his role as Vice -Chair if nominated, and that Jeff could accept the
nominations on his behalf.
Audience Participation
No audience participation noted.
Public Hearin Amendments to YMC 15..08 Sign Code - "l'XT#1005-14 SEPA `0 -1.4
Dave Fonfara asked staff to provide a brief report on amendments to the sign code.
Jeff Peters went over the staff report and the proposed changes to the code. Staff made
an additional suggested change to strike item 1 under 15.08.110 that says, "Only one
temporary sign on each street frontage per parcel or lot is permitted".
David Servine, a member of the audience, explained his affiliation with the
International Sign Association and Heath Northwest Sign Company. David
complimented staff and the Commission on their proposal. David proceeded to make
number of suggested changes:
• Marquee Display Case Sign.. Servine expressed his concern of the use of the
word "glass" as using glass can be a potential safety hazard. He added that the
material used needs to be shatter -resistant according to the building code.
Section Letter Signs: David mentioned that section letter signs are not
mentioned in the code when it comes to determining the area of a sign.
• 15.08.040 Temporary Si ns. David mentioned that number 11 under Non-
regulated Signs of 15.08.040 does not take into consideration parcels with two
street frontages. Bill Cook clarified that the section under fee -exempt signs for
temporary signs will allow someone to have more signs if the request goes
through review. Peters brought up the fact that there are no longer time limits for
temporary signs and that the "temporary" term refers only to the material of
which these signs are composed of. Servine made the point that no time limit on
temporary signs can be counterproductive as it can promote clutter. Robbie
Aaron cited 15.08.110 from the municipal code which states that "no temporary
sign shall be displayed more than fifteen days after the event for which it is
intended".
1.5.08.045 Fee Exempt Si ns. David pointed out that in 15.08.045 when the code
speaks to on -premise signs not readable from the public right-of-way, it needs to
be specified that these are exterior signs. Jeff and Robbie read aloud the
definitions of on -premise signs and on -premise directional signs.
-2-
• 15.08.055 Sign Maintenance: David explained that he believes the term
"prohibited" should be replaced by "public nuisance". Jeff explained that the
Planning Staff and Commission can only modify what the City Council directed
them to review as laid out in the memorandum of understanding passed down
from the City Council to the Planning Staff and Commission. Al Rose asked if
there is a definition of prohibited signs in the code. Robbie confirmed that there
is no definition of prohibited signs. Jeff Peters and Bill Cook pointed out that
there is a list of signs that are prohibited in section 15.08.050 of the code,
however. David expressed his concern of the ambiguity of using the term
"prohibited" Bill Cook explained that using the term "public nuisance" would
not be as legally secure.
• Table 8-1: David asked for clarification on what sign is the table referring to
when it says "1 per street frontage". Valerie Smith explained that the "1 per
street frontage" is referring to freestanding and projecting signs as demonstrated
in the table.
• Table 8-: David pointed out that there is information missing in this table. Jeff
clarified that this table will not be changed from the way it is in the current
municipal code and that the information in the table will be filled in on the draft
for proposed amendments to the sign code.
• 15.08.070 General Provisions:, David made the suggestion to change item A
under this section to say "construction shall satisfy the requirements of the
building and electrical codes" to ensure that electrical signs are taken into
account. David also mentioned the vagueness of item F which reads, "all signs
together with their supports, braces, and guys shall be maintained in a safe and
secure manner". David asked for clarification on the meaning of item G that says,
"the ratio of the area of the sign support, framing structure, and/or other
decorative features which contain no written or advertising copy to the sign
cabinet shall not be greater than 1:1". Jeff explained the thought process behind
this provision. On item H which refers to the vision clearance section 15.05.040,
David made the suggestion to state the requirements of the clearview or vision
clearance triangle in that section for user convenience. Jeff justified the absence of
this information by explaining that changes have been made to the vision
clearance section so it would be easier to direct readers back to that section of the
code in order to remain consistent. David pointed out that there are no
regulations in that section for projecting signs over the sight triangle. Valerie
clarified that there are regulations for this in the section for clearview triangles.
• 15.08.090 .Roof Signs: David questioned the wording of this section. Jeff
explained that the language used in this section allows for creativity in how to
integrate a roof sign into the roof system.
Al Rose asked for David to make a suggestion on what language should be put
into the definition of "marquee/ display case sign" referring to David's concerns
expressed earlier in the meeting of the use of the term "glass" in the definition.
David suggested using "tempered glass", "shatter -proof glass", or to eliminate
the use of the term glass. Jeff Peters suggested striking "glass/ or other".
-3-
Jeff Clemens, a member of the audience, expressed his concerns about the code as the
manager of Yakima Theatres and the owner of the Beer Shoppe in Yakima. Clemens
asked about the marquee signs at the Orion theatre. Peters responded saying that at this
present time the marquee signs would be considered temporary signs but under the
new code they would be considered wall signs. Dave Fonfara asked Jeff Peters if the
new code would change the Orion's operations as they are now. Jeff responded that it
would not affect their current operations and that the new code would make the use of
their signs compliant with the code. Jeff Clemens asked for clarification on temporary
signs and how that would affect his business at the Beer Shoppe. Jeff explained that if
the amendments to the code are approved, any business can cover a maximum of 50%
of their window area with temporary signs.
Bill Cook asked how long temporary signs can be up. Peters explained that under the
new code there are no time limitations on temporary signs. Valerie added that
temporary signs for a specific event must be removed 15 days after the event.
Al Rose asked if the electrical code is covered adequately in other areas in the code. Jeff
stated that Labor and Industries regulates electrical code. Al Rose also asked about a
creating a better way to address individual letter signs. Jeff and the rest of Planning
staff determined that it would be best to leave room for architects and engineers to
show Planning staff how they plan to integrate these signs. Patricia Byers pointed out
that it would helpful to label the illustration for roof signs as only an example and not
the only way that a roof sign can be integrated.
Valerie Smith reminded the Commission and staff of the proposed changes to the
ordinance made during this meeting including striking out "glass/ or other" in the
fourth sentence of the definition of "Marquee/ Display Case sign" and also to strike
item 1 under 15.08.110 Temporary Signs that says, "Only one temporary sign on each
street frontage per parcel or lot is permitted".
Chairman Dave Fonfara closed the public hearing at 5:09 p.m..
Jeff Peters made a request for the motion to recommend approval of the sign ordinance
to City Council to empower the Chairman to review the draft findings and to sign them
on behalf of the Planning Commission.
Patricia made a motion to approve the changes to the sign ordinance and to empower
the Chairman to review the changes before the amended ordinance is sent to the City
Council. Al Rose seconded the motion. Bill Cook amended the motion to authorize the
Chairman to review the amendments to the ordinance and to review the draft findings
of fact to forward to City Council as the Planning Commissions recommendation. Al
Rose seconded this amended motion. The motion carried unanimously.
Continue Discussion - Airport Safe Overla
Peters explained that the City is moving forward to adopt the Airport Master Plan
which will happen sometime around March 3, 2015. Robbie Aaron provided the
commission and staff with the new proposed Chapter 15.30 Airport Safety Overlay, the
current Chapter 15.30 Airport Safety Overlay, a map that demonstrates the height
overlays, and a map that shows land use overlays. Robbie went over the height overlay
map first, explaining that height overlay 1 will not allow anything over 35 feet. He then
proceeded to explain that in height overlay 2 nothing will be allowed over 150 feet.
These numbers are based on the Airport's elevation. Next Robbie explained the land
use zones map, mentioning that these land use zones are based off WSDOT's
suggestions of what is compatible with the airport overlay. He told the commission that
the orange zone means only airport uses are allowed, the blue zone means a Class 1 use
with restrictions of large amounts of public assembly, and the purple zone means some
Class 2 and some Class 3 uses.
Dave Fonfara brought up that it would be helpful to see the land use overlay map on
top of the current zoning map. Rob Peterson, Airport Manager, and Robbie explained
that the GIS file is not necessarily accurate enough at this time to fulfill this request but
Peterson is working to obtain an accurate GIS file. Rob Peterson said he hopes to have a
completed rough draft of the new proposed Chapter 15.30 Airport Safety Overlay in the
next 4 weeks. Jeff and Rob informed the commission that Carter Timmerman of
WSDOT will be helping in this process.
Other Business
No other business noted.
M
A motion to adjourn to February 11, 2015 was passed with unanimous vote. This
meeting adjourned at 5:31 p.m.
4- � —
Chairman Dave Fon ara Date
This meeting was filmed by YPAC. Minutes for this meeting submitted by: Lisa Maxey, Department Assistant II
-5-