Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting

Meeting Agenda

Meeting Minutes

RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS

MINUTES OF THE PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION MEETING
CITY OF BALLWIN – 300 PARK DRIVE
May 5, 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 Pat Buehrle 
Commissioner Sue Heath 
Commissioner Anna Hunter 
Commissioner Ron Kadane 
Commissioner Frank Karr 
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 Karr to approve the minutes of the February 4, 2008 meeting of the Planning & Zoning Commission as submitted.  The motion re-ceived unanimous approval from the Commission members present.

SUE 08-2 – Special Use Exception Petition (Front Yard Parking, Restaurant, Carryout, Sale of Alcohol by the Drink on Premises, Entertainment)
Clubhouse Pizza, 14932 Manchester Road, Ballwin MO  63011 – Mr. Daniel Mueller

Mr. Daniel Mueller, co-owner of the property, addressed the Commission and requested approval for this petition.  Mr. Mueller said that he and his wife plan to remodel the former Red Lobster building and open a family-oriented pizza restaurant.  He said the restaurant will include a game room equipped with ap-proximately 20 games, which will be separated from the dining area by plexiglass.  This will allow par-ents to monitor their children.  The main dining area will seat approximately 200 customers.  Mr. Mueller plans to build a deck on the back of the building to allow patrons to watch baseball games at the Ballwin Athletic Association fields. 

Commissioner Heath asked the petitioner about landscaping.  Mr. Mueller gave each of the commission members a copy of the new landscaping plan.  Commissioner Kadane asked if Mr. Mueller is the lessee.  Mr. Mueller said that he is buying the property.  Commissioner Heath asked about the sidewalk fee and the cross-access easement agreement.  Mr. Mueller said that he will comply with both of those require-ments.  He added that at a later date, he would like to provide an exit going out the side or back of the parking lot.  Planning Director Aiken said that if such an alternate connection were established, he would not be averse to recommending the City vacate the easement along Manchester Road.
Commissioner Kadane asked Planning Director Aiken if the petitioner was not required to provide a le-gitimate site plan because they are doing minimal site work.  Mr. Aiken said that the ordinance allows for staff to waive some of the formalities for relatively simple sites, so he allowed the plan that was submitted to suffice.  Mr. Kadane said the 50’ cross-access easement should be shown on the site plan.  Mr. Aiken said that it would be a separate recorded document, and the petitioner would not be allowed to move for-ward without it.

Chairman Wind asked if the landscape plan provided by the petitioner met the requirements of the code.  Mr. Aiken said that the code requirements apply to green space requirements such as the rear yard set-backs.    Mr. Aiken said the petitioner’s site is legally non-conforming, but landscaping should be pro-vided in the 10’ rear yard setback that does exist.  Mr. Mueller said that grass is in place now, but they will provide small bushes in order to allow visibility to the ball fields.

Commissioner Karr asked if the light standards are all on the petitioner’s property, including those for the ball park.  Mr. Mueller said that they are.  City Attorney Jones clarified that the Dean Team granted by deed the footprint of the light standards to the BAA.  Commissioner Karr asked the petitioner if the BAA would be cooperative in allowing straight access to the proposed restaurant.  Mr. Mueller said that he hasn’t contacted the BAA yet, but he feels confident that they will allow it.

Chairman Wind noted that the current ordinance restricts the number of amusement devices allowed.  He told the petitioner that approval for the SUE petition, if granted, does not approve the additional number of machines he is proposing.  That issue is on the agenda for discussion later at this meeting.

Alderman Suozzi asked if the HVAC units will be on the roof, and if so, what is the plan for screening them?  Mr. Mueller said that the units will be on the roof and will be screened from the front with vinyl fencing.  Mr. Aiken said if the commission members are satisfied with screening only from the front, it would be best if this was so stated in the recommendation. He said that the ordinance is not specific on that point, but it has traditionally been interpreted as requiring 360-degree screening.   

Commissioner Hunter thanked Mr. Mueller for considering Ballwin for the location of his restaurant. She feels that the petitioner should be allowed as many amusement devices as he wants.

Commissioner Karr asked who owns the property next to the petitioner’s site.  Mr. Dick Richards, the real estate broker for both properties, said that the property to the west is owned by John Greeson, Sr.  Mr. Richards said that the vacant property consists of 1.4 acres, and the owner has no plans to develop it.
 
Chairman Wind declared the public hearing open and asked if there were any proponents wishing to speak in favor of Petition SUE 08-2.  There were none.  Chairman Wind asked if there were any opponents to speak against the petition.  There were none and Chairman Wind closed the public hearing.

Commissioner Karr asked if MSD would have to approve the drainage system.  City Planner Aiken said that the petitioner requested a waiver of the detention requirement.  He said that the site will remain fun-damentally unchanged, and he is not aware of any problems with drainage from the site.  Mr. Aiken said that as standard procedure, MSD would be required to sign off on the site plan.  Commissioner Kadane pointed out that MSD will require a site plan with an engineer’s signature.  Mr. Mueller said that there are two drains at the back of the parking lot.  He said that there are plans to clean out any debris and perform any maintenance needed on the drains.

Commissioner Hunter made a motion to recommend approval of Petition SUE 08-2 to the Board of Al-dermen, contingent on MSD approval, adequate screening of the HVAC equipment from Manchester Road, landscape screening provided to code, granting of the 50’ easement, and payment of the sidewalk fee by the petitioner.  Commissioner Kadane seconded the motion, which received unanimous approval from the Commission members present.

SUE 08-1 – Special Use Exception Petition
Enterprise Rent-A-Car, 15201 Manchester Road – Enterprise Rent-A-Car, 29 Hunter Avenue, St. Louis MO  63124 – Mr. Timothy Hof

Mr. Timothy Hof, Operations Manager for Enterprise Rent-A-Car, presented his proposal to the Commis-sion, requesting approval to open a car rental business in the space formerly occupied by The Dean Team.

Mr. Hof said that 100 cars will be leased from the site per week, but there will only be 10-12 cars on site at any time.  One of the bays will be used to wash cars, and the other will be closed off.  He said that the building will be upgraded when one of the bays is enclosed, but there is no elevation available to show the architecture.

Commissioner Hunter asked if the car wash facility will be open to the public.  Mr. Hof said that it is not an automated car wash, and there will not be enough staff to wash cars other than those owned by Enter-prise.  Commissioner Karr asked if Ellisville location would remain open.  Mr. Hof said that their lease at that site expires in 2012.

Chairman Wind declared the public hearing open and asked if there were any proponents wishing to speak in favor of Petition SUE 08-1.  There were none.  Chairman Wind asked if there were any opponents to speak against the petition.  There were none and Chairman Wind closed the public hearing.

Commissioner Kadane made a motion to recommend approval of Petition SUE 08-1 to the Board of Al-dermen, contingent on the petitioner providing elevation drawings.  Commissioner Buehrle seconded the motion, which received unanimous approval from the Commission members present.

SUB 08-1 – Subdivision Petition
Estates at Ries Bend, 300 Ries Bend Road – Mr. Steven Nodiff

Mr. Steve Nodiff, owner of the property, addressed the Commission, requesting approval to subdivide the property at 300 Ries Bend Road.  Commissioner Kadane noted that the submitted plan does not contain an engineer’s seal, only a surveyor’s seal.

Chairman Wind asked Planning Director Aiken about the petition review report statement regarding the difference in the setbacks for the two proposed homes.  Is this saying that it is difficult to put two homes on this lot?  Mr. Aiken said that statement references the “neighborhood compatibility” recommendations of the comprehensive plan.  He said the lots meet the zoning requirements for setbacks. 

Chairman Wind asked about the square footage of the proposed homes.  Mr. Nodiff said that the homes will probably be between 2500-3200 sq. ft.  Alderman Suozzi asked about the proposed design that was submitted to the Commission.  Mr. Nodiff said that the pictures are just examples of the types of homes that he builds.  Ms. Suozzi said that she liked the side-entry garage shown on one example.  She encour-aged Mr. Nodiff to reconsider building the home that shows 50% of the façade as garage.  Mr. Nodiff said that the site doesn’t allow for a side-entry garage.

Commissioner Heath asked if the petitioner would be able to preserve any of the mature trees on the site.  Mr. Nodiff said that most of the trees on the site are not in good shape, and he is proposing to put in more trees and bushes.  Mr. Aiken concurred with Mr. Nodiff on this point.

Commissioner Apel stated his concern that the placement of the driveway on Lot A would make it diffi-cult to enter and exit the property, and asked the petitioner to consider flipping the footprint of the house so that the driveway would be farther away from the intersection of Ries Road and Ries Bend Road.

Chairman Wind declared the public hearing open and asked if there were any proponents wishing to speak in favor of Petition SUB 08-1.  There were none.  Chairman Wind asked if there were any opponents to speak against the petition.  There were none and Chairman Wind closed the public hearing.

Commissioner Kadane said that he wanted to clarify that the site plan submitted is a concept drawing, and not a legal document that can be recorded.  Planning Director Aiken outlined the administrative process and the documentation that needs to be provided before a plat is signed and sealed by the City for re-cording.

Commissioner Heath made a motion to recommend approval of Petition SUB 08-1 to the Board of Al-dermen.  Commissioner Buehrle seconded the motion, which received unanimous approval from the Commission members present.

Z 08-2 – SUE Regulations Amendments

Planning Director Aiken said that the Board of Aldermen had previously asked the Planning & Zoning Commission to discuss the utilization of property in the commercial district, with emphasis on maximiz-ing the land use from a revenue-generating perspective.  As a result, the Board recommended a review of the SUE regulations.  Mr. Aiken said that reviewing SUE regulations necessitates a review of the C-1 regulations since changing one has an impact on the other.

Mr. Aiken said that the Zoning Ordinance is approximately 60 years old and was written when zoning was more straightforward and simple.  He said that he went through the applicable code sections point by point and made specific recommendations, including adding uses, deleting uses, reworking descriptive and regulatory language, and moving some from C-1 to SUE.  

Discussion was held on the following points:

1. Sales of new motor driven vehicles and recreational trailers subject to all of the following re-strictions and regulations:
2g:  The total paved land area dedicated to all types of outdoor vehicle storage shall not exceed 85% of the total land area of the site exclusive of required green spaces, detention facilities and pollution mitigation areas. Facilities existing in violation of this provision at the time of the adoption of this ordinance may continue to operate with their current percentage of land utilized for vehicle storage, but such non conforming site must be brought into compliance with this requirement upon the addition of any new land to a site.

Commissioner Kadane asked if this applies to sites that do building modifications. Planning Director Aiken said that he chose the 85% figure because it is a median point of existing conditions at the car deal-erships in the City.  The Commission may determine that some different approach or limitation would be more appropriate.  The idea is to keep auto dealerships from dedicating more than 85% of their total sur-face area to outdoor storage of vehicles.

Commissioner Hunter said that she doesn’t see a problem with dealerships using more than the 85% for vehicle storage.  Alderman Suozzi said it’s an issue of them not generating sales tax revenue for the City.  Commissioner Hunter argued that the dealerships bring people into the City and to Manchester Road.  Chairman Wind noted that the dealerships pay significant business license fees.  Planning Director Aiken said that while dealership business license fees are large, they are relatively low compared to sales tax generation. 

Commissioner Leahy said that if a business wants to expand, they should be encouraged rather than pun-ished.  Commissioner Karr agreed, saying that the state determines the sales tax distribution, not the deal-erships.

Alderman Suozzi said that the point of these amendments to the SUE regulations is to bring them up to date, and part of that is bringing them in line with the Comprehensive Plan and working to make Man-chester Road a vital, viable piece of property.

After discussion, the Commission members decided to accept Section 1, Item 2g as written.  It was de-termined that Section 1, Item 2e be amended to include utility trailers.

5. Banks, Savings and Loan Associations, short term loan establishments and other financial businesses that are regulated by the Missouri Division of Finance subject to the following regulations:…

Planning Director Aiken said that this section is new.  Previously these businesses were allowed by right in the C-1 commercial district. SUEs were only required for associated issues such as front yard parking and drive-thru windows.  Mr. Aiken said that the Board of Aldermen has imposed a moratorium on such businesses.  City Attorney Jones said that changing the regulations for these businesses so that they are required to undergo the SUE scrutiny will give the Planning & Zoning Commission and the Board of Al-dermen opportunities to place restrictions on incoming petitioners.  Planning Director Aiken said that he worked closely with Police Chief Schicker to come up with the restrictions in this section, including the limiting factor of Item C:

c) Such facilities shall provide a vault or safe to protect cash or other liquid assets. Such vault or safe shall have a UL rating of TRTL-15 or better. Such safe or vault shall be in-stalled in such a manner that the area near the safe/vault shall be visible from the park-ing lot and the surveillance system.

Mayor Young said the payday loan facilities do not have cash on hand, because they issue checks that are taken to local banks.  Will this restriction apply to them?  City Attorney Jones said that it doesn’t depend on whether they have cash; if they are regulated by the state, they are required to have it.  Alderman Suozzi said that the perception is that these types of institutions do have cash.   Clearly the payday loan business that was held up had some cash on hand.

10. Motels, hotels and similar operations offering sleeping facilities on a single night rental ba-sis provided that such use:…

b) Does not contain any cooking facilities in the rental rooms; 

Planning Director Aiken said that this is primarily written to exclude residential hotels.  Mayor Young said that most hotels have a coffeemaker, microwaves and refrigerators.  The consensus was to remove Item B from this section.

As Petitioner Daniel Mueller was in attendance to hear the outcome of the discussion of petition Z08-4, Chairman Wind tabled the discussion of Z 08-2 until later in the meeting.

Z 08-4 – Amusement Device Amendments

Planning Director Aiken said that Mr. Mueller had approached the Board of Aldermen regarding the number of amusement devices allowed by the City.  A major element of the business plan for his restau-rant is to have 20 amusement devices.  The Board of Aldermen felt the matter was worth consideration, and requested that it be discussed at the same meeting as Mr. Mueller’s petition.  Mr. Aiken said that this section of the code covers only pay-to-play devices; it does not cover vending machines, slot machines or any other regulated gambling device.  

Mayor Young asked if there is any requirement for a license for each individual machine.  Planning Di-rector Aiken said that there wasn’t a license provision in the code, and he did not add one. 

Alderman Suozzi said that it is her understanding that amusement devices generate sales tax revenue.  Mr. Mueller confirmed that he does report it as revenue subject to sales tax.

After discussion regarding the limits set on amusement devices, the Commission members agreed to amend the regulations for Section 23 as follows:
(1) One amusement device is permitted as an accessory use for the following listed uses for each 300 square feet of gross floor area of the building in which the amusement devices will be located; pro-vided that the maximum number of amusement devices which may be had and maintained by any one of the uses listed below shall be limited to three (3) in number and no more than three (3) pool/billiard tables shall be allowed at any location or business: …

(2) One amusement device is permitted as an accessory use for the following listed uses for each 300 square feet of gross floor area of the building in which the amusement devices will be located; …

Commissioner Kadane made a motion to recommend approval of Petition Z 08-4 to the Board of Alder-men as amended.  Commissioner Apel 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

Commissioner Kadane made a motion to table items Z 08-2 and Z 08-3 until the June 2, 2008 meeting of the Planning & Zoning Commission.  Commissioner Heath seconded the motion, which received unani-mous approval from the Commission members present.

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

No discussion was held on these items.

Adjournment

A motion was made by Commissioner Heath and seconded by Commissioner Buehrle to adjourn the meeting.  The motion received unanimous approval, and the meeting was adjourned at 9:25 p.m.

Michael Wind, Chairman
Planning & Zoning Commission