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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08-24-16 YPC MinutesCity of Yakima Planning Commission (YPC) City Hall Council Chambers Meeting Minutes of August 24, 2016 Call to Order Chairman Scott Clark called the meeting to order at 3:00 p.m. Roll Call YPC Members Present: Chairman Scott Clark, Vice -Chair Patricia Byers, Al Rose, Bill Cook, Peter Marinace, Tom Trepanier YPC Members Absent: Gavin Keefe (excused) Staff Present: Jeff Peters, Supervising Planner; Sara Watkins, Senior Assistant City Attorney; Trevor Martin, Associate Planner; Lisa Maxey, Department Assistant; Avina Gutierrez, Council Liaison Others: Sign -in sheet in file Staff Announcements Supervising Planner Jeff Peters announced that Commissioner Trepanier is present for his first meeting with the Commission. Chairman Clark welcomed him to the Planning Commission and Commissioner Trepanier then briefly introduced himself. Audience Participation None noted. Approvalof Meeting Minutes of Acs st 101h,201 Commissioner Byers made a motion to approve the meeting minutes of August 1041, 2016. The motion was seconded and carried unanimously. Public Hearin - "Vista Ridge" PLP#002-16 Associate Planner Trevor Martin presented his staff report to the Commission. Commissioner Marinace made it known that he will refrain from voting on this issue as the applicant is a client at his firm. Commissioner Cook asked for clarification on the content of the comment letter received from Yakima County, to which Martin explained that it addressed right-of-way width standards in relation to Yakima Municipal Code Title 12 and the Transportation Plan. Peters clarified that staff is advocating that the right- of-way width of that portion of South 72nd Avenue shown on the preliminary plat be left to the discretion of the City Engineer. Chairman Clark asked if the Streets and Traffic Division commented on the width of the right-of-way, to which Martin responded that they did not. Commissioner Byers questioned if the dedication of right-of-way issue with the neighboring property owner, Vincent Lombardi, was resolved. Martin answered that he is not certain at this point in time if it has been resolved but clarified that the City is not a party to the agreement between the applicant and Lombardi in this matter. Chairman Clark offered an opportunity for the applicant to speak to the project; the applicant was not present. Bob Desgrosellier, Senior Engineer, submitted to the Commission a comment letter with photos which addressed concerns of his mother-in-law, Jane Hartinger, who is a neighboring property owner to proposed site. Degrosellier explained the letter which requested that the southwest corner of Vista Ridge be barricaded from any access -1- southerly to the undeveloped "72nd Avenue" driveway until such time that the 72nd Avenue is fully improved. The letter also requested that construction equipment for the development of Vista Ridge not be allowed to utilize the unimproved portion of 72nd Avenue between Occidental and Vista Ridge. Commissioner Rose commented that the Commission needs to know if the unimproved section is dedicated public right-of-way. Peters commented that the Commission has the ability to make a recommendation to the City Engineer to block off access to that section of the road but that staff will need to confirm if it is dedicated public right-of-way prior to making that recommendation. Roy Stensrud, a neighboring property owner, also spoke regarding future traffic issues on that private road. Commissioner Marinace asked about the developer's plan for primary access to which Trevor Martin responded that the main access will be from Easy Street and they will be required to put in a paved emergency fire lane to the north of 72nd Avenue to Coolidge Road. Jeff Peters reported that the Yakima County Assessor's information shows that portion of 72nd Avenue as public right-of-way. Commissioner Cook added that he would like to have the plat indicate that the portion of 72nd Avenue be blocked off it is found that it is a private road, or for the Commission to forward a recommendation to the City Engineer that the road be blocked off if it is dedicate public right-of-way. Discussion took place regarding the emergency access lane. Commissioner Marinace asked if the applicant has had any concerns about what has been stated in the staff report. Martin answered that no concerns have been reported. Further discussion and debate took place on the right-of- way width noted on the plat and about sewer connections. Commissioner Rose made a motion to approve the preliminary plat with the recommendation that the portion of 72nd Avenue south of the plat be blocked off if it is a private road or have the City Engineer consider the possibility of blocking the road if it is determined to be dedicated public right-of-way. The motion was seconded and was carried with 3 votes in favor, 1 vote in opposition, 1 member recused from voting, and the Chairman not voting on either side per standard procedures. Continued Discussion on Codifying Right -of -Way Vacation Standards This item was tabled until copies of the draft were provided to the Commission. Continued Discussion on Outdoor Displays of Merchandise Commissioner Byers talked about addressing outdoor displays of merchandise from a cultural aspect and about the possibility of hearing the perspective of business owners who are actively using outdoor displays of merchandise as a form of advertisement. Sara Watkins, Senior Assistant City Attorney, commented that there may be an opportunity for outreach by talking to the Chamber of Commerce and the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. Council Liaison Avina Gutierrez mentioned that it was Council's intention for the Planning Commission to take a look at how large or widespread this issue is and base their next steps off of that determination. This item was tabled until copies of the memo from Sara Watkins were provided to the Commission. Other Business Jeff Peters discussed the changes made to the draft land use action posting certificate. Commissioner Cook made a suggestion to remove the sentence fragment "that I may" in -2- the sentence "...I shall be responsible for all costs associated with the sign and its removal, and that I may be subject to code enforcement action..." Continued Discussion on. Codifying Right -of -Way Vacation Standards Trevor Martin continued outlining the changes made to the right-of-way vacation standards draft. Chairman Clark requested that the term "DST" be included in the definitions section and have the acronym spelled out (Development Services Team). Commissioner Cook brought to light his concerns with the all of the submittal requirements listed in 14.21.030(B) being costly and time consuming for the applicant to obtain without the applicant knowing the likelihood of their request being granted. Chairman Clark added that it may be appropriate to include in 14.21.020 Initiation of Vacation section that the applicant should consult with a city planner prior to submitting an application. Commissioner Byers and Commissioner Rose made it known that it should be emphasized in preliminary discussions with applicants and be carried over to the Petition Procedures section (14.21.030) that the applicant will be responsible for the cost of providing the city with a record of survey prepared by a registered surveyor. Jeff Peters confirmed that the Commission will see this proposed code section again at the time of a public hearing for the text amendments. Continued Discussion on Outdoor Dis la ° s of Merchandise Sara Watkins provided to the Commission her memo which answered questions asked at the last Planning Commission meeting in reference to outdoor displays of merchandise. Watkins made the recommendation to the Commission to consider defining "incidental use" and "principal use", and consider modifying or further defining "sign.", and "temporary sign'. Avina Guti6rrez asked if the cities used as examples for their ordinances related to this topic were selected at random or based on demographics comparable to Yakima. Watkins responded that she did a search through the code publishing database and selected ordinances from cities that used that same database for publishing their municipal codes. Discussion took place regarding how this topic affects strip malls, the issue of using parking for outdoor displays, and unlicensed retailers. Commissioner Byers stated that she would like to move forward with regulating outdoor displays of merchandise. Watkins added that the Commission may want to consider regulating outside promotional sales in more zoning districts than just the B-2 zoning district, as the code currently stands. Commissioner Rose emphasized that his main concern at this point is being able to reduce the volume of merchandise displayed outdoors. Commissioner Marinace and Commissioner Trepanier did not feel the need to further regulate as long as public safety and access were adequately addressed. Chairman Clark requested that the Commission revisit the topics of zoning districts where outside promotional sales are regulated and the possibility of setbacks from the entrance of adjoining businesses. Peters and Watkins briefly addressed why in the past only the B-2 zoning district has had regulations for outside promotional sales. The Commission had consensus to move forward with regulating outside promotional sales in the B-1, B-2, GC, CBD, SCC, and LCC. The Commission agreed to revisit the topic of sign code amendments, which was discussed earlier in the year, and add those amendments to the list of other text amendments; then proceed with a public hearing on those text amendments before setting up additional study sessions on the subject of outdoor displays of merchandise. -3- Adjourn A motion to adjourn to August 31, 2016 was passed with unanimous vote. This meeting adjourned at 5:10 p.m. rgl�3 6 Chairman Scott Clark Date This meeting was filmed by YPAC. Minutes for this meeting submitted by: Lisa Maxey, Department Assistant II