2009 09-17Meridian Planning and Zoning Meeting September 17, 2009
Meeting of the Meridian Planning and Zoning Commission of September 17,
2009, was called to order at 7:00 p.m. by Chairman David Moe.
Members Present: Chairman David Moe, Commissioner Joe Marshall, and
Commissioner Michael Rohm.
Members Absent: Commissioner Tom O'Brien and Commissioner Wendy
Newton-Huckabay.
Others Present: Ted Baird, Nancy Radford, Pete Friedman, Bill Parsons, Scott
Steckline and Dean Willis.
Item 1: Roll-Call Attendance:
Roll-call
Wendy Newton-Huckabay Tom O'Brien
X Michael Rohm -Vice Chairman X Joe Marshall
X David Moe -Chairman
Moe: Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. I'd like to welcome you to the
regularly scheduled meeting of the Meridian Planning and Zoning Commission
for September 17th. At this time I'd like to open the meeting and ask the clerk to
call roll, please.
Item 2: Adoption of the Agenda:
Moe: Thank you very much. Next item on the agenda is the adoption of the
agenda. Commissioners, we got a few changes here on the agenda. On Item
No. 4, that item has now been deleted from the agenda in its entirety. And, then,
Item No. 7, when we get down to that point that one will be continued to the
regularly scheduled meeting of November the 5th at that time. And, then Items 8
and 9 will be heard tonight. So, having gone through that, can I get a motion to
accept the revised agenda?
Rohm: So moved.
Marshall: Second.
Moe: It's been moved and seconded to approve the agenda. All those in favor
say aye. Opposed? That motion carries.
MOTION CARRIED: THREE AYES. TWO ABSENT.
Meridian Planning & Zoning Commission
September 17, 2009
Page 2 of 12
Item 3: Consent Agenda:
A. Approve Minutes of August 20, 2009 Planning and Zoning
Commission Meeting:
Moe: Next item on the agenda is the Consent Agenda. We have one item on
that. That would be the approval of the meeting minutes of August the 20th,
Planning and Zoning Commission meeting. Any questions or comments,
Commissioners? Can I get a motion to accept the Consent Agenda?
Marshall: So moved.
Rohm: Second.
Moe: It's been moved and seconded to approve the Consent Agenda. All those
in favor say aye. Opposed? That motion carries.
MOTION CARRIED: THREE AYES. TWO ABSENT.
Item 4: Request for Withdrawal of Shaylee Estates Application CUP
08-025 by Marc Johnson:
Moe: Just another note. I have taken -- Item No. 4 has been deleted off the
agenda.
Item 5: Continued Public Hearing from August 6, 2009: RZ 08-005
Request for Rezone of 91.09 acres from an R-4 to an R-8 zone for
Cavanaugh Ridge by Affinity Bank -located at 4275 S. Locust
Grove Road, east of S. Meridian Road and south of E. Victory
Road:
Item 6: Continued Public Hearing from August 6, 2009: PP 08-010
Request for Preliminary Plat approval for 252 residential building
lots and 29 common area lots on 91.09 acres in a proposed R-8
zoning district for Cavanaugh Ridge by Affinity Bank -located at
4275 S. Locust Grove Road, east of S. Meridian Road and south of
E. Victory Road:
Moe: Items No. 5 and 6, as you can see on the agenda, those have been
renoticed for the October 1st, 2009, meeting.
Item 7: Public Hearing: AZ 09-004 Request for Annexation and Zoning of
0.98 of an acre from R1 in Ada County to L-O (limited office) zone
for The Baby Place by Brent and Coleen Goodwin - 270 N. Linder
Road:
Meridian Planning & Zoning Commission
September 17, 2009
Page 3 of 12
Moe: So, we are now on Item No. 7, which is a public hearing on AZ 09-004. I'd
like to open the hearing for the sole purpose of continuing it to our regularly
scheduled meeting of November the 5th. Can I get a motion to do such?
Rohm: So moved.
Marshall: Second.
Moe: It's been moved and seconded to continue The Baby Place hearing of AZ
09-004 to the regularly scheduled meeting of November the 5th. All those in
favor say aye. Opposed? That motion carries.
MOTION CARRIED: THREE AYES. TWO ABSENT.
Moe: For the purpose that we don't have a -- well, just as I got ready to say that,
we had some people come in. Because we have some that may not have
attended a Planning and Zoning meeting, I will just kind of give a brief overview.
I will open the hearing. At that time I will, then, ask the staff to go over the
information within that hearing. After they are done I will, then, ask the applicant
to come forward and the applicant will have 15 minutes to discuss the project and
answer any questions that may have come up from staff or give their input as
well. After that time is up I will, then -- there is a sign-up sheet in the back, if
you're wanting to speak to one of these hearings you can sign up and you will
have three minutes to give your comments, want to ask any questions. After the
sign-up sheet's finished I will ask one more time if anyone has any other
comments and anyone will be able to have three minutes to speak their mind as
well. After that I will, then, ask the applicant to come back up and rebut anything
that was stated in the public hearings or just give additional information. At that
time, then, we will close the public hearings and, then, the Commission will
deliberate and, then, vote on that hearing.
Item 8: Public Hearing: MCU 09-001 Request to modify the building
elevations with the Conditional Use Permit for Locust Grove Plaza
for Locust Grove Plaza Assisted Living Facility by Wes Edwards
- 1695 S. Locust Grove Road:
Moe: So, having said all that, I would now like to open the public hearing on
MCU 09-001 for the Plaza Assisted Living Facility, start with the staff report,
please.
Friedman: Thank you, Mr. Chairman, Members of the Commission. As
Chairman indicated, this is a modification to an approved Conditional Use Permit
for the Locust Grove Plaza located on the southwest corner of Locust Grove and
Overland Road. Just by way of background, the original CUP was approved by
the Commission back in February of this year. The approval was fora 30,000
square foot, two story, 54 bed assisted living facility. At that time the design
Meridian Planning & Zoning Commission
September 17, 2009
Page 4 of 12
review for the site and structure were included in the UDC and those were also
approved with that CUP approval, as was alternative compliance to construct the
retaining walls in the plaza area within the required street buffers along Overland
and Locust Grove Road. A CZC or certificate of zoning compliance was
approved for the project on April 24th, 2009, for the first phase and if you have
driven by the site you will notice that they are under construction. The reason
this is back before you tonight is that under the UDC, the planning director has
the latitude to approve certain modifications to approve conditional use permits.
However, there is a threshold on that and the requested changes that are before
you tonight exceed that threshold, specifically the first change would be the
removal of the drive-up canopy and I don't know if these site plans really show
you very well where it was located, but it is on the interior portion of the site. So,
you have Overland Road to the north and Locust Grove to the east. That drive-
up canopy was located in here. They are proposing to move it and just simply
have the -- a turnaround as was originally planned there. To give you another
elevation view of it, this is what it looks like with the building elevation. The
second modification they are requesting is to change the composition of the
exterior siding. Originally, the building was approved with a combination of
stone, lap siding, and stucco. Subsequent to the approval of the first CUP and
design review the applicants came back to us, said we kind of want to change
that mix a little bit. Staff worked with them through administrative design review,
came up with a plan that we were able to approve at the staff level, but reduced
some of the lap siding and replaced it with stucco. When the applicant
determined that they wanted to remove the drive-up canopy, they also presented
us with another set of elevations that removed more of the lap siding and
replaced it with stucco. At that point we said that exceeds what, essentially, we
can do. It's a modification of our approved design review and the planning
director at that point said let's convene our design professionals committee to
review the changes to the -- the material changes to the elevation. So, that
committee was convened prior to the recommendation being made to the
Commission. They reviewed the changes and they were very comfortable with it.
They indicated that there was still -- even though there was more stucco, there
was still enough changes in elevation, mix of materials and so forth, that they felt
that the proposed changes to the elevations and the material composition met
with the spirit and the intent of the design guidelines and they also felt because
the drive-up canopy was an interior element that really isn't viewed from the
street, that that really did not detract from the overall design that was approved
by the Commission. So, they made that recommendation to the director. We
have included that in our recommendation to you for approval of the two
modifications to the Conditional Use Permit. And for the benefit of anyone here
in the audience tonight, we are not revisiting the whole concept of whether or not
it's appropriate to have this facility in this location, it's just revisiting a couple of
the design elements that were previously approved through the Commission.
So, with that said, I'd be happy to answer any questions or wait until you have
heard any testimony.
Meridian Planning & Zoning Commission
September 17, 2009
Page 5 of 12
Moe: Thank you. Any questions?
Marshall: A quick question, Pete.
Moe: Commissioner Marshall.
Marshall: I thought when I was reading this and my copies were a little darker
and a little harder to see and now looking at it, this is the -- the latest that they
are talking about.
Friedman: Yes.
Marshall: So, the lap siding there on the second floor above that corner is of the
outside corners and so -- and on the inside there isn't any -- there is only one
corner on the outside that gets that?
Friedman: Yeah. There is only one corner the way the architect felt that kind of
drew the upper -- upper floor together.
Marshall: Okay. Thank you.
Moe: Okay. Any other questions? All right. Okay. Would the applicant like to
come forward, please. And state your name and address for the record, please.
Halladay: My name is Scott Halladay. I'm with -- address is 2548 Stokesberry,
Suite 105, Meridian. Just briefly, I think the staff went over it very well. We did
have a public neighborhood meeting and had the homeowners association
president show up to the meeting and had several phone calls from the
neighbors that abut directly to the property. Nobody really had any concerns.
They actually like the idea that the big canopy was being removed, just didn't
make the building look as big. As far as changing, having more stucco, they
didn't have any issues with that. One of our main reasons for applying more
stucco is the longevity maintenance issues of it. Stucco is easier to maintain
than painted lap siding and also creates more of a continuous barrier for water --
not allowing water penetration. Other than that, we -- the neighbors were fine
with everything. They are pleased with what's going -- the construction process
that's going on. We are trying to be good neighbors and that's all I had to
present. If there is any questions I'll be more than happy to answer them.
Moe: In regard to the stucco, we are speaking of stucco, not an efface product?
Halladay: Yes. Stucco.
Moe: Okay. Okay. Any other questions of the applicant?
Rohm: I have none.
Meridian Planning & Zoning Commission
September 17, 2009
Page 6 of 12
Marshall: No.
Moe: Thank you very much.
Halladay: Thank you.
Moe: Okay. There is no one else signed up and Scott had signed up here and
he's done, so if there is anyone else in the audience that would like to come,
you're more than welcome to come up. And I see no one that's ready to come
up. So, Commissioners, can I get a motion here?
Rohm: Mr. Chairman?
Moe: Mr. Rohm.
Rohm: I move that we close the public hearing on -- which one are we on? MCU
09-001.
Marshall: Second.
Moe: It's been moved and seconded to close the public hearing on MCU 09-001.
All those in favor say aye. Opposed? That motion carries.
MOTION CARRIED: THREE AYES. TWO ABSENT.
Moe: I would say I don't really have any problems with the change there. I would
hope that that would be the last changes that we go through on this item, so we
go from there. So, that's all I would ask.
Marshall: I like the fact that it's gone through the design review of the board that
was convened by --
Moe: Absolutely.
Marshall: -- planning department, so --
Moe: No. I agree.
Marshall: I like the fact that they met again with the neighbors and discussed
that. That's good.
Moe: Uh-huh. Mr. Rohm, you look like you're just dying to do something here.
Meridian Planning & Zoning Commission
September 17, 2009
Page 7 of 12
Rohm: Yes. Mr. Chairman, I move that we forward on to City Council
recommending approval of MCU 09-001 to include the staff report with no
changes.
Marshall: Second.
Moe: It's been moved and seconded to approve MCU 09-001. All those in favor
say aye. Opposed? That motion carries.
MOTION CARRIED: THREE AYES. TWO ABSENT.
Item 9: Public Hearing: CUP 09-008 Request for Conditional Use Permit
for 48 multi-family dwelling units on approximately 3.17 acres in an
existing R-15 zoning district for Gramercy Apartments by
Sagecrest Development, LLC - 2549 E. Blue Tick Street:
Moe: At this time I'd like to open the public hearing on CUP 09-008 for Gramercy
Apartments and start with the staff report, please.
Parsons: Thank you, Mr. Chairman, Members of the Commission. The
application before you tonight is a Conditional Use Permit and design review for
a 48 multi-family development. The subject site is currently zoned R-15 and is a
platted parcel within the Gramercy Subdivision. The site is located approximately
a quarter mile west of Eagle Road just south of Overland Road. It is bordered on
the north by vacant land zoned TN-R and C-G. To the south is vacant land and
Thousand Springs Subdivision, zoned R-15 and R-4. To the west is Mountain
View High School, zoned R-4. And to the east is EI Dorado business campus,
zoned C-G. Here is an aerial right now. It's a little more developed than that.
Like I mentioned, this property was platted in 2006. As part of that approval
process this site was designated for multi-family development and so the
applicant has come before you tonight to try to get that conditional use approved
for that site. Here is the site plan that the applicant's proposing. Staff is
generally supportive of the site plan. As you can see here they are proposing
three buildings containing a total of 16 units each, roughly average -- ranging in
size, each consisting of 15,852 square feet. Also, it's hard to see here, but if you
can see my arrow, the office and storage for the site will be located here. The
majority of the parking is internal to the subdivision and an access will be taken
form two curb cuts -- two curb cuts along East Blue Tick Street and one along
East Griffin Street. I'll go back to the aerial real quick. Right now as this is
currently platted this is the only public street that provides access to this
residential portion of the project. And, again, if you follow my arrow you can see
it comes down and you can see the site is bordered by three public streets on
each side and all those improvements are in currently. The parking internal to
the subdivision will also be covered parking in accordance with the UDC. This
site plan depicts some of the amenities that the applicant is proposing. You can
see some of the hardscape plaza areas with the meandering pathways to provide
Meridian Planning & Zoning Commission
September 17, 2009
Page 8 of 12
connection internally to the development, but also to the adjacent public
sidewalks and, then, also with Gramercy there was some additional pathways
along the Ridenbaugh Canal. There is also Gordon Harris Park that's located in
the southwest corner, which is just, you know, a few steps away from this parcel
and also the pathway that runs along the western border that connects and
provides internal connectivity as well. So, the applicant -- what the applicant tried
to do with this site plan is to have some of these amenities that are consistent
with that approval in 2006, with the hardscape, seating areas, and, then, fronting
those buildings along the streets. Having the parking internal to the project and,
then, also having these pedestrian areas or private patio areas that also front the
street, which staff has worked with the applicant to try to accomplish those
things. One thing staff is recommending is when we were reviewing the site plan
it appears that not all the units provided 80 square feet of usable space per code,
so staff has made a recommendation that the applicant, with their CZC submittal,
that they correct that issue before submitting for CZC. The majority of the
concerns that staff had with the project related to the landscaping plan.
Basically, some of the landscape islands were deficient of shrubs and hard --
excuse me -- shrubs and ground cover. UDC just doesn't allow rocks and trees
in planter islands, so that's been addressed or conditioned. The other concern is
right along the eastern boundary is an ACRD storm drainage easement. It
terminates -- you can see my arrow here. The easement's located roughly in this
area here. This property boundary scales about 340 feet. So, that staff
calculation they could have considerable amount of trees and since the
easement stops here, staff was recommending that they at least plant some
trees located along here and, then, they'd have to submit for alternative
compliance. They could either plant those additional trees someplace else on
the site or they could ask for that to be mitigated for through alternative
compliance. The other thing, too, is because this is an ACHD easement and
they are showing improvements within that easement, that more than likely they
will have to get a licensing agreement with them to do those improvements. So,
staff has notified the applicant that that's something they should check into and if
that's the case, then, we would want that agreement in place before we issue the
CZC. Here are the elevations that the applicant has proposed. Again, there is a
mix of materials. Keep in mind the Gramercy project was really more -- the land
use for this site is a mixed use regional and more of an urban feel out there, but
staff met with the applicant several -- on several occasions and felt the garden
style apartments would be -- would be fine as long as they incorporated some of
those other elements that Gramercy has out there and so what the applicant has
proposed to do is add three different siding materials on each product -- or each
elevation with a mix of stucco, stone, and two different types of wood siding,
either board and batten or lap. They also propose to use three different colors.
Staff has conditioned the staff report that the applicant comply with this -- with the
submittal of the CZC, so we will be looking for that mix out there. One other thing
that I also included was some of the elevations. I don't know if Commissioner
Marshall was on the Commission at the time, but in '07 we actually did a project
out there for amulti-family -- for four parcels out there for multi-family and also
Meridian Planning & Zoning Commission
September 17, 2009
Page 9 of 12
the townhomes just north of this site and this is one of the elevations. This was
the Brownstone elevations that the applicant proposed at that time and you can
see these were three story units. Access was taken from the street and, then,
was an alley behind these for alley loaded parking and alley loaded access and,
then, these were the condo units that the applicant proposed as part of the
Conditional Use Permit as well. So, I wanted to at least give you a taste of what
was previously approved for a portion of that residential out there, just to see how
this would mesh with what the applicant is proposing before you tonight. Staff
did not receive any written comments from the applicant or from the public. Staff
is recommending approval of the project with the conditions stated in the staff
report. And with that I'd stand -- be happy to answer any questions the
Commission might have of me.
Moe: Bill, can you go back to the elevations of the -- you said that that is exactly
-- those are the colors that they are proposing?
Parsons: The applicant -- excuse me, Mr. Chairman, Members of the
Commission. The applicant did not propose the colors. There is nothing -- the
colors aren't called out. This is just what they -- they submitted. So, staff isn't
necessarily looking for a red building, but we definitely want to see a mix of three
different colors as they have proposed here.
Moe: Thank you. I just -- I thought I heard that that -- you say that that was it
and I would hope anything but red.
Marshall: Bill, could we go back to the townhomes there and was that previously
approved, but it has not been constructed yet?
Parsons: Mr. Chairman, Members of the Commission, that is correct. However,
as part of that approval back in '07 they did amend the development agreement
to tie these elevations to that project. So -- so, let me -- if I can go to -- back to
the zoning map, you can see where that property is zoned TN-R --
Marshall: Yes.
Parsons: And you see the 2116 address, that's where those Brownstones are
proposed to be constructed.
Marshall: Thank you.
Moe: Any other questions, staff? Would the applicant like to come forward?
McKay: Becky McKay, Engineering Solutions, 1029 North Rosario, Meridian. I'm
representing the applicant on the application before you this evening. I will just
kind of give you just a real quick brief overview. In the Gramercy project that we
brought through the city, against Overland Road it was intended to be a retail
Meridian Planning & Zoning Commission
September 17, 2009
Page 10 of 12
area and those retail -- some of those retail buildings have been constructed and
there is, I think, a Bank of the West. Then, as we move south into the interior of
the project, we had a band of office, multi-story type office. None of those
structures have been built at this time. And, then, we transition to a mixture of
multi-family, which included some designs of very large multi-family buildings,
some Brownstone live-work type apartments or townhomes and, then, more
standardized apartments. And, then, as we move south and go towards
Thousand Springs, which is a single family residential development zoned R-4,
we went to like garden style courtyard type developments or projects. Anyway,
with this development it was intended to be, you know, a very nice mixed use
project incorporating new styles, new designs, having more of an urban feel.
When we processed the conditional use for the Brownstones, those were
intended to be about 350,000 dollar units with the -- the residential portion
upstairs on the upper two floors and the live-work office at the bottom.
Obviously, with the marketplace being what it is, they can't even sell condos
downtown Boise for those kind of dollars. So, they have had to, obviously,
rethink that. What they -- what they end up building there in the future I'm not
sure. They did -- we did agree to those elevations, but, obviously, I anticipated it
having to be something a little bit more affordable. What we -- what you see
tonight we worked closely with the staff. We met with Bill, Will, Pete on multiple
occasions working through the site plan, working closely through the building
design, trying to incorporate some of these new urban designs, but yet still
maintaining what Bill described as a garden type apartment. With the
hardscapes, the pathways, the amenities, the fountain that we incorporated, we
think that the appeal from the street, since this is bound by three -- three streets
on three sides, when you drive through you see that hardscape, you see the
fountains, it kind of -- the buildings we took them as close to the roadway as we
could. We couldn't push them right up against the -- the right of way, because of
sewer and water stub easements that are already recorded on the plat. So,
those are as close to the street as we could get them. We feel that this -- this will
be a good start to the multi-family portion within the Gramercy project and it will,
obviously, you know, set a nice tone. The colors -- I agree with Commissioner
Moe, when I received the colored elevations from the architect I was a little
surprised with the red. The earth tones I thought looked very nice. So, I will
definitely take that comment back to the applicant and his architect. Can I
answer any questions that you may have? We -- oh. We are in agreement with
all conditions of approval.
Rohm: Is it your intent to build all three structures at the same time or phase it or
what?
McKay: Mr. Chairman, Commissioner Rohm, I believe their intent was to build
the whole facility. Since there are only 48 units that they were going to build it all
as one, because we'd end up building the entire parking lot and everything. That
was my understanding. Now, when they'd construct it I am not sure. Initially the
discussions were that once we obtained approval, they wanted to go into
Meridian Planning & Zoning Commission
September 17, 2009
Page 11 of 12
construction as soon as possible. With the market being a little bit unstable right
now, they have talked about waiting a few months, seeing what the economy is
doing, looking at the Meridian Market and, then, making a determination. So, I
don't anticipate them making any moves as far as construction until probably
spring would be my best guess or summer of next year.
Moe: Any other questions? I have none. Thank you very much.
McKay: Thank you.
Moe: There was no one signed up. Is there anyone in the audience that would
like to speak on this hearing, you're more than welcome to come up for three
minutes. Well, I see no one that wants to come up and speak as well.
Rohm: Mr. Chairman?
Moe: Commissioner Rohm.
Rohm: I move we close the public hearing on CUP 09-008.
Marshall: Second.
Moe: It's been moved and seconded to close the public hearing on CUP 09-008.
All those in favor say aye. Opposed? That motion carries.
MOTION CARRIED: THREE AYES. TWO ABSENT.
Moe: Just a couple of my comments. I would anticipate the -- the applicant said
it best on what the market's doing these days and for them to at least try and get
something moving, I commend them on that as well. I think the changes are
such that they still fit within the intent of Gramercy, so I don't see a problem with
this at all.
Marshall: It seems to be fitting within the intent of the city to see how this builds
out, too. I agree.
Rohm: Okay. Well, Mr. Chairman, I move that we approve CUP 09-008, to
include the staff report and no changes.
Marshall: Did we need to include DEF 09-017?
Moe: We are only doing the CUP.
Marshall: So, I will second just the CUP.
Meridian Planning & Zoning Commission
September 17, 2009
Page 12 of 12
Moe: Okay. It's been moved and seconded to approve CUP 09-008 as noted.
All those in favor say aye. Opposed? That motion carries.
MOTION CARRIED: THREE AYES. TWO ABSENT.
Moe: Well, Commissioners, there is only one more thing to do.
Rohm: Move we adjourn.
Marshall: Second.
Moe: It's been moved and seconded to adjourn. All those in favor say aye.
Opposed? That motion carries.
MOTION CARRIED: THREE AYES. TWO ABSENT.
Moe: We are adjourned at 7:30.
MEETING ADJOURNED AT 7:30 P.M.
(AUDIO RECORDING ON FILE OF THESE PROCEEDINGS.)
APPROVED
DA MOE -CHAT MA DATE APPROVED
ATTEST: r _'
JA CEE L. HOLMAN, CITY C
6~
r~'GO~PORp~~j~ 1''t
~ 6.: o~raca ~ C`O ~ ~;
f ~
If ~~
U4~; wr+v ~ Bi U y'S.,.
' c~
i ~;~ ~ i~
~~,~ ~ ~'~ T °~ , V~~~~