Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting

Meeting Agenda

Meeting Agenda

Meeting Minutes

RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS

MINUTES OF THE PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION MEETING
CITY OF BALLWIN – 300 PARK DRIVE

June 2, 2008

The meeting of the Planning and Zoning Commission was called to order by Chairman Michael Wind at 7:00 p.m.  Members in attendance were:
 
PRESENT                                                              ABSENT
Chairman Michael Wind                            Commissioner Pat Apel
Commissioner Sue Heath                       Commissioner Pat Buehrle
Commissioner Anna Hunter                   Secretary Frank Karr
Commissioner Ron Kadane                  Commissioner Jim Leahy
Alderman Jane Suozzi 
Mayor Walt Young  
Assistant City Administrator Tom Aiken 
City Engineer Gary Kramer 
City Attorney Robert Jones 

Approval of Minutes

A motion was made by Commissioner Heath and seconded by Commissioner Kadane to approve the min-utes of the May 5, 2008 meeting of the Planning & Zoning Commission as submitted.  The motion re-ceived unanimous approval from the Commission members present.

SUE 08-3 – Special Use Exception (Front Yard Parking)
Al’s Automotive Supply, 104 Hillsdale Drive, Ballwin MO  63011
Mr. James R. Scrivner, Al’s Property Holdings LLC, 1217 Camp Jackson Rd, Cahokia IL 62206

Mr. James Scrivner addressed the Commission and requested approval for this petition.  Mr. Scrivner said that Al’s Automotive Supply is family-owned and has been in business for 50 years, with 11 locations in the St. Louis area.  They have been leasing a facility in Ballwin since 2000, primarily dealing in whole-sale auto parts, but would like to be a long-term investor in the community and establish their business more firmly with the purchase and expansion of this building.

Mr. Scrivner said that he met with Planning Director Tom Aiken, and after going over the regulations, developed their site plan.  He went over the proposed development plan for the Commission.  Mr. Scriv-ner said the building would be approximately 4700 sq. ft., which includes the 1600 sq. ft. addition.  He described the proposed landscaping for the site.  Mr. Scrivner said that a sidewalk would be added along Hillsdale Drive.  He said the building will be painted, and an entry canopy and shutters will be added to the south side of the building to make the façade more aesthetically appealing.

Commissioner Hunter asked about additional architectural improvements on the west side of the building.  Mr. Scrivner said they had not planned to make any changes to that side because they didn’t want to dis-tract from the entrance on the south side, but he agreed to adding shutters and awnings to make it more visually appealing from Hillsdale Drive.

Commissioner Kadane said that the submitted plan is not sufficient as a complete site plan, given that the petitioner is planning to expand the parking lot.  Utility easements will need to be shown.  Chairman Wind asked that with the relatively small retail portion of the business, were 23 parking spaces shown on the plan overkill?  Planning Director Aiken said that this is the number of spaces the petitioner is required to have, based on the size of the building and the proposed uses. 

Commissioner Hunter asked about the fence and the landscaping along it.  Mr. Scrivner said they would keep the fence as a privacy barrier, making any necessary repairs and maintaining it. He said they are willing to put in landscaping along the fence line as well.  Planning Director Aiken said that most of the trees shown on the submitted plan are not there.  Mr. Aiken also said that due to the small area between the fence and the building, not much will grow there.  The petitioner provided an updated landscaping plan to the Commission.
 
Chairman Wind asked Mr. Scrivner if he would be willing to grant a cross-access easement, even though the petition review report stated that this requirement could be waived due to topography to the south and the residential neighborhood to the north.  Mr. Scrivner said that he is agreeable to granting this easement.

Commissioner Kadane reiterated his feeling that the petitioner needs to submit a supplemental site plan showing the changes to the parking lot when this proposal goes before the Board of Aldermen.  Planning Director Aiken said that while he doesn’t dispute anything that Commissioner Kadane has said, he felt the differences were so minor that a plan change showing the small change in impervious area was not neces-sary.  He said that before any construction would be done, permits would have to be reviewed and ap-proved.  Commissioner Kadane said that he is satisfied that it will be taken care of at that point.

Chairman Wind declared the public hearing open and asked if there were any proponents wishing to speak in favor of Petition SUE 08-3.  There were none.  Chairman Wind asked if there were any opponents to speak against the petition. 

 Ms. Stacey Readenour, 107 Hillsdale Drive, addressed the Commission on behalf of several property owners around the site.  She said they are not opposed to the proposed plan, but had concerns regard-ing the nature of the business and what was being proposed.  She wants the site to blend with the residential neighborhood.  She said the Commission had already addressed many of the concerns she had.  She asked about the hours of operation, lighting for the site, and the term “front yard parking.” 

Mr. Scrivner said the hours will be Monday-Friday from 8:00 a.m.-6:30 p.m., and Saturday from 8:00 a.m.- 4:00 p.m.  Delivery trucks will be parked at the rear of the property, and customers will park pri-marily on the south side of the site where the front door is located.  Mr. Scrivner said that existing site lighting will be used.  Nothing is proposed that will interfere with the residential neighborhood.

There were no other opponents and Chairman Wind closed the public hearing.

Mayor Young said that he doesn’t see the need for the cross-access easement.  Chairman Wind said that he doesn’t see the harm in having the petitioner grant it.  Commissioners Kadane and Heath agreed with Mayor Young.

Commissioner Kadane made a motion to recommend approval of Petition SUE 08-3 to the Board of Al-dermen, with the following conditions:  the City is aware that additional paving and grading will be done along Hillsdale drive and in the back of the building, sidewalk improvements will be made along the front of the building, the cross-access easement not be required, and the revised landscape plan submitted at this meeting be accepted.  Commissioner Heath seconded the motion, which received unanimous approval from the Commission members present.

Z 08-2 – SUE Regulations Amendments
Z 08-3 – C-1 Regulations Amendments

This item was held over from the May 5, 2008 meeting.  Mayor Young said that in light of ELCO Chev-rolet’s purchase of the Moore Cadillac division, he would like to re-address the issue of outdoor vehicle storage.  He said he doesn’t want to hinder anyone’s business.   Planning Director Aiken said that if ELCO builds a new showroom, it would have a lower percentage of the site in vehicle storage than it does presently.  He added that this regulation would not prohibit them from adding contiguous property; it only prohibits satellite lots.

Chairman Wind asked Planning Director Aiken if any of the zoning petitions on the agenda is more im-portant than another.  Mr. Aiken said they all dovetail together, so the Board of Aldermen cannot really consider them separately.  He suggested they all be discussed and then sent to the Board of Aldermen together as a package.  Chairman Wind declared that the Commission would discuss these changes until 9:00, at which point they would be tabled until the July 7, 2008 meeting.

Mayor Young asked for a review of the item regarding financial institutions.  He said the Board of Al-dermen is getting calls regarding the number of payday loan facilities in the City.  Commissioner Hunter asked if the City can legally prevent new short-term loan facilities from opening.   Alderman Suozzi said the proposed regulations apply to all financial institutions that are regulated by the state.  City Attorney Jones said imposing conditions that are reasonable and applying them to all financial institutions is the best way to go about this.  Mayor Young asked if this would apply to a business within a business, such as inside a grocery store.  City Attorney Jones said it applies to all financial institutions regulated by the Missouri Division of Finance.  The new regulations do not prohibit the payday loan businesses, but they impose regulations for all such businesses in order to get a special use exception to open in the City. 

Mayor Young asked if deleting the item regarding hospitals, clinics, and institutions would affect doctors’ offices.  Planning Director Aiken said it would not.  He recommended deleting those uses because they are not applicable to the current conditions in the city.

Discussion was held on the following points:

12. Nurseries, prekindergarten, day care schools, and play schools not operated on the same premises as a residential use or in conjunction with a residential use…:

and

13. Nurseries, prekindergarten, day care schools, and play schools operated as an accessory and subordinate use to the primary residential use …:

Planning Director Aiken said he separated nursery/day care schools into two classifications:  those that are classified as either residential or commercial.  He said that ten children is the “magic number” that differentiates the two types.  By state law, if someone is caring for 10 or fewer children (not including their own or relatives’ children), they can obtain a residential day care permit to operate in their home from the state and the City.  No permit is required to care for four or fewer children.  If more than ten children are being cared for, it is considered a commercial day care, regardless of where it is located.  

Chairman Wind asked about including language requiring the building to conform to surrounding areas in architectural design.  Planning Director Aiken said that this would be addressed in a special use exception report as an element of the Comprehensive Plan.  City Attorney Jones agreed, saying that that anything aesthetic in nature is too subjective to be included in an ordinance.  He said it is better addressed through discussion when a petitioner comes before the Commission.

Chairman Wind asked about including language regarding security systems and fire alarms/sprinklers.  Planning Director Aiken said that fire alarms and sprinklers are code issues and would be addressed at the time of permit approval.  For a residential day care, Mr. Aiken said he would defer to the state to regulate this.  City Attorney Jones said that the operator should make the determination regarding the type of secu-rity used.

Commissioner Kadane asked for clarification of item 12 (h) regarding the traffic study.  Planning Director Aiken said that it’s not the number of cars that is measured; it is the level of service at the intersection.  Commissioner Kadane said that a one-second delay seems very restrictive.  Planning Director Aiken said that some sites are less suitable than others for this type of development, because the closer to a congested location the proposed development is, the more that traffic flow will be impacted.
 
16. Shop for the sale at retail of antique or used firearms and accessories in the C-1 commercial district…

Planning Director Aiken gave some background of the development of this regulation.  He said there are other limitations on the sale of used merchandise, primarily to prohibit pawn shops in the City.  Mr. Aiken said he inserted the 25% limitation so this section is in keeping with the regulations for all other used mer-chandise sales.  Not-for-profit resale shops are exempt from this rule by state law.  City Attorney Jones said that operational firearms cannot be resold without a federal firearms permit.

19. Storage, display and/or sale of residential lawn and gardening supplies, materials, fixtures, equipment and similar residential lawn and garden items…

Mayor Young asked if this is primarily directed at stores such as Sears and Lowe’s.  Planning Director Aiken said both those stores already have this special use exception.  He said the term “gardening sup-plies” has always been a subjective call on the part of staff, since there is no definition written in the ordi-nance.  Mayor Young asked if the language regarding building and construction materials will cause a problem for a business coming into the City that wants have outdoor display/storage of items such as con-crete and sheds.  Planning Director Aiken said that language is included to avoid the establishment of an operation such as an outdoor lumber yard, concrete plant, brick yard, etc., or other business providing materials at a commercial level.  It does not apply to materials intended for residential use.

20. Shop where food is served for consumption on the premises on which prepared…

Planning Director Aiken said previously there were two separate SUEs for restaurants, one for consump-tion on the premises and another for consumption other than on the premises.  Since virtually all restau-rants offer carry-out, Mr. Aiken’s recommendation on this item is to roll the two SUEs into one.  Mayor Young clarified that this does not include a drive-up restaurant with carhops.  Mr. Aiken said that the City of Ballwin’s current regulations do not allow this type of restaurant.   The Commission decided to delete the lines “…but excluding drive-in curb service” and “This use does not include drive-in curb service to vehicles” from this section.

21. Establishments for the distilling, brewing, preparation and sale of beverages containing alco-hol of any kind…

Planning Director Aiken said this is currently allowed (sale of alcohol by the drink).  He added the lan-guage “distilling, brewing, and preparation” so that a business such as a microbrewery would be an al-lowed use.

23. Theaters presenting performances by casts of live performers…

Commissioner Hunter said that during the Comprehensive Plan process, the residents felt that this is something lacking in Ballwin.  After discussion, it was determined to change 21 (a) from “It is only in conjunction with the operation of a restaurant” to “It may be in conjunction with the operation of a restaurant”.

25. Private retirement community, and/or nursing home offering living facilities…

Planning Director Aiken said retirement homes are currently an allowed use.  Existing regulations limit them to the PSD district.  He has expanded the regulation to include other suitable districts for which they may be considered.  Mayor Young asked if this includes group homes.  Planning Director Aiken said it does not specifically include group homes.  Mayor Young recommended that this use be limited to the C-1 commercial district. 

The predetermined stopping point of 9:00 was reached, and Chairman Wind tabled the discussion of Z 08-2, Z08-3 and Z 08-5 until the July 7, 2008 meeting.

Summary of Items Sent to the Board of Aldermen/Business Licenses Issued

Chairman Wind asked about 520 Kehrs Mill Road.  Planning Director Aiken said that a revised site plan was submitted the week of May 26.  He said that technically that petition is tabled before the Board of Aldermen, so the revised plan will go to them.  Mr. Aiken said that since the plan is dramatically changed, the Board of Aldermen will send it back to the Planning & Zoning Commission.   The plan was submitted in time to be included on the July 7, 2008 meeting agenda.

Adjournment

A motion was made by Mayor Young and seconded by Commissioner Heath to adjourn the meeting.  The motion received unanimous approval, and the meeting was adjourned at 9:10 p.m.

 Michael Wind, Chairman
 Planning & Zoning Commission