Planning & Zoning Commission Meeting

Meeting Agenda

PLANNING & ZONING COMMISSION MEETING
Held at the Donald “Red” Loehr Police and Court Center 300 Park Drive
March 7, 2016 • 7:00 P.M.

Residents of Ballwin are afforded an equal opportunity to participate in the programs and services of the City of Ballwin regardless of race, color, religion, sex, age, disability, familial status, national origin or political affiliation. If one requires an accommodation, please call (636) 227-8580 V or (636) 527-9200 TDD or 1-800-735-2466 (Relay Missouri) no later than 5:00 p.m. on the third business day preceding the hearing. Offices are open between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday.

AGENDA / briefs

1. Call to Order

2. Approval of Minutes

3. SUE 16-01 Special Use Exception
Bone Auto Glass Specialists, 15479 Manchester Rd, Ballwin MO 63011
Petitioner: Mr. Adam Bone, Bone Auto Glass Specialists LLC, 5821 Hampton Avenue, St. Louis MO 63109

Bone Auto Glass has submitted a petition proposing to open an auto glass repair business in the former Enterprise Car Leasing location at 15475 Manchester Rd. Ballwin’s records indicate that the address of the building they are proposing to occupy is 15479. The 15475 address is actually the address of the Aamco business in the larger building to the rear of this site. The hearing was advertised for the 15479 address. This is a stand-alone business in one of three buildings on a commercial site. Parking has been distributed around the three buildings according to the demand in each pursuant to previously approved site development plans.

4. SUB 16-01 Subdivision Amendment
Essen Estates Subdivision, 214 and 216 Ries Rd, Ballwin MO 63021
Petitioner: Mr. Scott Paul, Vanderbilt Homes, 2617 Wynncrest Ridge Dr, Chesterfield MO 63005

The petitioner secured approval of a 7 lot single family subdivision on an approximately 2.97 acre tract at 214 and 216 Ries Rd. in 2015. During the process of finalizing the documents and associated paperwork necessary for issuing subdivision and land disturbance permits, it was discovered that the petitioner believed that the common ground areas approved as a part of this subdivision were sufficient to meet the open space land dedication requirements of the Ballwin Subdivision Ordinance ( Article IV, Sections 25-121 – 25-123). This issue was not raised by the petitioner during meetings with staff or during the public hearing before the Commission. The petitioner would like to revisit this issue and make its case in support of the common ground areas of this subdivision meeting the open space dedication requirements of the ordinance. The Board of Aldermen agreeing to this would allow the refunding of $29,504.93 to the petitioner that was paid as a fee in lieu of land dedication.

5. Adjournment

Meeting Minutes

STATEMENTS ATTRIBUTED TO INDIVIDUALS IN THIS “DRAFT” ARE NOT VERBATIM QUOTES. 
MINUTES OF MEETINGS ARE REPORTED IN SUMMARY AND NOT REPORTED VERBATIM. 
THIS IS AN “UNOFFICIAL DRAFT VERSION” OF THE MEETING MINUTES. 
DRAFT VERSIONS OF MINUTES ARE SUBJECT TO REVIEW, MODIFICATION, AND APPROVAL OF THE PLANNING & ZONING COMMISSION

 

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RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS

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

March 7, 2016

The meeting of the Planning and Zoning Commission was called to order by Chairman Weaver at 7:00 p.m. Members in attendance were:

PRESENT                                          ABSENT
Chairman Mark Weaver
Secretary Lisa Zimmerman
Commissioner Tracy Bolte
Commissioner Lynn Goetz
Commissioner Frank Karr
Commissioner Chad Silker
Commissioner Mike Utt
Commissioner Vern Young
Alderman Mark Stallmann
Mayor Tim Pogue
Assistant City Administrator/City Planner Thomas Aiken
City Attorney Robert E. Jones

Approval of Minutes
A motion was made by Alderman Stallmann and seconded by Commissioner Utt to approve the minutes of the January 4, 2016 meeting of the Planning & Zoning Commission as submitted. The motion received unanimous approval from the Commission members present.

SUE 16-01 Special Use Exception
Bone Auto Glass Specialists, 15479 Manchester Rd, Ballwin MO 63011
Petitioner: Mr. Adam Bone, Bone Auto Glass Specialists LLC, 5821 Hampton Avenue, St. Louis MO 63109

Mr. Adam Bone, owner of Bone Auto Glass Specialists LLC, addressed the Commission, requesting ap-proval for the special use exception. Mr. Bone said his business is currently based on Hampton Ave. in St. Louis, but he lives nearby and is looking to expand in the west county area. He feels that a Manchester Road location will benefit his business.
Mayor Pogue asked if Mr. Bone has had the opportunity to review the petition review report. Mr. Bone said his wife had read it. Mayor Pogue said that one of the recommendations is that the landscaping on the site be brought up to what had been previously approved and that a means of irrigation be put in place. Mr. Bone said he will comply with those recommendations.
Alderman Stallmann asked about outside repair work. Mr. Bone said there will be some work done inside the building, but 85% of the business is mobile.
Commissioner Karr asked about the dumpster. Mr. Bone said they will utilize the dumpster that is on the site. Chairman Weaver noted that the dumpster must be screened, and Mr. Bone said that it will be. Secre-tary Zimmerman asked if any hazardous materials will be disposed of in the dumpster. Mr. Bone said that it will only be broken tempered glass, nothing hazardous.
Commissioner Young asked if any cars would be parked outside overnight. Mr. Bone said that employees take their vehicles home, and customer cars would be parked inside the building.
Chairman Weaver opened the public hearing, and asked if anyone wished to speak in opposition to Petition SUE 16-01. No one came forward. Chairman Weaver asked if anyone wished to speak in favor of the peti-tion. No one came forward, and Chairman Weaver closed the public hearing.
Mayor Pogue made a motion to recommend approval of Petition SUE 16-01 to the Board of Aldermen. Chairman Karr seconded the motion, which received unanimous approval from the commission members present.

SUB 16-01 Subdivision Amendment
Essen Estates Subdivision, 214 and 216 Ries Rd, Ballwin MO 63021
Petitioner: Mr. Scott Paul, Vanderbilt Homes, 2617 Wynncrest Ridge Dr, Chesterfield MO 63005

Mr. Scott Paul, vice president of Vanderbilt Homes, addressed the Commission, requesting approval for the subdivision amendment to allow the platted common ground areas to be accepted as meeting the private recreational dedication requirements of Article IV of the Ballwin Subdivision Ordinance. Mr. Paul de-scribed the site and surrounding neighborhood. He showed the Commission the three areas the petitioner is requesting to be considered as recreational space – two areas fronting on Ries Road, and the water quality area in the southeast corner of the site. Mr. Paul said that all the mature trees in the three areas will remain in place.
Mr. Paul discussed the ordinance that deals with the payment in lieu of dedicated recreational space. He noted that the three areas the petitioner has set aside meet or exceed the requirements of percentage of rec-reational space required by ordinance. Mr. Paul discussed the definition of the terms “park” and “passive recreation space.” He feels that the three areas on the site meet the criteria for credit for private parks and recreational facilities. Mr. Paul said the water garden portion of the detention area will be used for passive recreation, although it is not needed to meet the requirements. MSD did not require a detention basin, as the amount of runoff was minimal. MSD did, however, require water quality treatment.
Mr. Paul noted that the petitioner paid the parks fee so that construction would not be held up.
Mr. Paul said the petitioner has worked diligently with the City to minimize grading and loss of vegetation. He said he feels the petitioner has gone above and beyond to keep these areas open to meet the requirements for active and passive recreation.
Mayor Pogue said that the Planning & Zoning Commission and the Board of Aldermen both discussed a similar topic with the Essen Place Subdivision development which had a similar proposal. The Commission determined that that the narrow strip of ground set aside was not suitable for recreational space. He said he will not endorse approval of this petition, as a similar situation has already been discussed and rejected.
Chairman Weaver asked if the area around the water garden is flat. Mr. Paul said that it has a 3:1 slope; however, it still meets the 6% slope for 50% of the site. Chairman Weaver asked who will maintain that area. Mr. Paul said there will be a homeowner’s association. Chairman Weaver said the HOA may decide to fence the area, at which point it ceases to be an open recreation area. Mr. Paul said he can write the in-dentures so that no fence is allowed in that area.
Mr. Paul said that the petitioner could have put one more lot on the site, but chose not to in order to have open passive recreational space. Parks don’t need to have playgrounds; he feels the areas set aside in the proposed subdivision meet the criteria for passive recreation.
Commissioner Bolte asked what types of activities Mr. Paul would consider passive recreation. Mr. Paul said he would expect that residents would sit and enjoy nature or read a book. He said there is room to throw a Frisbee. Commissioner Bolte said that kids won’t – or shouldn’t – be playing baseball and throwing a Frisbee in the spaces next to Ries Road. He said it would deter him from buying a home in that subdi-vision if that was the only open space.
Commissioner Silker asked how the water garden will be landscaped. Mr. Paul said it is built with a base of pea gravel, sand and specialty soils. A layer of mulch is placed on top. Native plants that can tolerate both drought and wet conditions will be planted. MSD requires yearly inspections on the water gardens.
Chairman Weaver opened the public hearing, and asked if anyone wished to speak in opposition to Petition SUB 16-01. No one came forward. Chairman Weaver asked if anyone wished to speak in favor of the peti-tion. No one came forward, and Chairman Weaver closed the public hearing.
Commissioner Goetz said that the proposed amendment, in his view, appears to meet the letter of the law. He asked City Planner Aiken what in the ordinance would preclude approval of this proposal. Mr. Aiken said he disagrees with Mr. Paul’s analysis of the requirements of the ordinance; but he acknowledged that the ordinance is ambiguous about the minimum criteria for space to be credited as a private recreational facility. City Planner Aiken said he feels the two acre minimum is a logical minimum area for a park as smaller exclusively passive spaces are not consistent with Ballwin’s active park space history. He doesn’t feel that the water garden feature constitute a passive recreational space. Commissioner Goetz asked if this matter were to go to court, would the City prevail? City Attorney Jones said he doesn’t feel that’s the prop-er analysis. He said he doesn’t believe the proposed areas do not meet the definition of a park, or the sub-jective criteria for open space. City Attorney Jones noted that when the proposed development first came before the Planning & Zoning Commission and Board of Aldermen, the question of open private land in lieu of payment to the City was not raised.
Mr. Paul said he respectfully disagrees with City Planner Aiken and City Attorney Jones. He asked for clar-ification of the definitions in the ordinance. City Attorney Jones said on one hand, the petitioner wants to call the space a park, and on the other hand he doesn’t, because it’s not being dedicated. Mr. Jones said that Section 25-123 talks about a credit for private parks and recreational facilities, and incorporates by reference the suitability requirements. Whether the petitioner calls it a park or an open space, it must still meet the suitability requirements. Mr. Paul said the area of the water garden is not included in the calculations for open space. City Attorney Jones said that the petitioner acknowledges that the area has not been left in its natural state; that it has been graded. Mr. Paul said there is a section that says some of the areas can have slopes. City Attorney Jones said there is a separate suitability requirement that states the space must be left in its natural state. City Attorney Jones allowed that the ordinance is not as clear as it could be.
Mr. Paul said that St. Louis County has a TGA (Traffic Generation Assessment), which is a fee that each developer pays per lot. He suggested that the Board of Aldermen adopt a similar parks fee that developers would pay for each lot. Chairman Weaver said that a calculation for that is in place. City Attorney Jones said that is essentially what the petitioner has already paid. Mayor Pogue added that the City gives the op-tion in case a developer can meet the requirement for recreational space.
Secretary Zimmerman asked if the petitioner considered reducing the size of the lots in order to make a more reasonable recreational space. She said she considers the areas along Ries Road more of an easement rather than usable space. Mr. Paul said the petitioner set aside the Ries Rd frontage to maintain the mature trees along the road.
Commissioner Bolte asked why the petitioner paid the fee if he felt that the open space fulfilled the re-quirements of the ordinance. Mr. Paul said that the fee was paid so that construction could proceed. Mr. Bolte asked if payment of the fee was a condition of approval for the original petition. Mayor Pogue said at the time the petition went through review and approval was when the petitioner had the option of raising the question of whether there was sufficient private recreational space, or fee in lieu of dedication had to be paid. This issue was not discussed at either the Planning & Zoning Commission or Board of Aldermen. City Attorney Jones said there was a specific requirement in the ordinance that approved the final PSD de-velopment plan as submitted. City Planner Aiken said the original plan doesn’t designate the ground as open space or recreational space; it is only labeled as “common ground.” He said the original petition review report states that there is no mention of the petitioner’s intention relative to the requirement of the fee in lieu of dedicated recreational space. The issue was not raised by the petitioner during the public hearing. The normal procedure is payment in lieu of land dedication. As a result, it went through with the fee re-quirement.
Mayor Pogue made a motion to send a negative recommendation to the Board of Aldermen for Petition SUB 16-01. Commissioner Utt seconded the motion, which received unanimous approval from the commis-sion members present.

Other Business
Chairman Weaver asked if there will be a meeting in April. City Planner Aiken said there are no items for the April agenda, but he expects at this point that there will be a meeting in May.

Adjournment
Alderman Stallmann moved to adjourn the meeting. Commissioner Zimmerman seconded the motion, which received unanimous approval from the commission members present. The meeting was adjourned at 7:47 p.m.

Mark Weaver, Chairman
Planning & Zoning Commission

RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS

 

 

The meeting of the Planning and Zoning Commission was called to order by Chairman Weaver at 7:00 p.m.  Members in attendance were:

                                                                                                                                        

PRESENT	ABSENT
Chairman Mark Weaver
Secretary Lisa Zimmerman
Commissioner Tracy Bolte
Commissioner Lynn Goetz
Commissioner Frank Karr
Commissioner Chad Silker
Commissioner Mike Utt
Commissioner Vern Young
Alderman Mark Stallmann
Mayor Tim Pogue
Assistant City Administrator/City Planner Thomas Aiken
City Attorney Robert E. Jones

 

Approval of Minutes

 

A motion was made by Alderman Stallmann and seconded by Commissioner Utt to approve the minutes of the January 4, 2016 meeting of the Planning & Zoning Commission as submitted.  The motion received unanimous approval from the Commission members present. 

 

SUE 16-01  Special Use Exception

    Bone Auto Glass Specialists, 15479 Manchester Rd, Ballwin MO  63011

    Petitioner:  Mr. Adam Bone, Bone Auto Glass Specialists LLC, 5821 Hampton Avenue, St. Louis MO  63109

 

Mr. Adam Bone, owner of Bone Auto Glass Specialists LLC, addressed the Commission, requesting approval for the special use exception.  Mr. Bone said his business is currently based on Hampton Ave. in St. Louis, but he lives nearby and is looking to expand in the west county area.  He feels that a Manchester Road location will benefit his business. 

 

Mayor Pogue asked if Mr. Bone has had the opportunity to review the petition review report.  Mr. Bone said his wife had read it.  Mayor Pogue said that one of the recommendations is that the landscaping on the site be brought up to what had been previously approved and that a means of irrigation be put in place.  Mr. Bone said he will comply with those recommendations.

 

Alderman Stallmann asked about outside repair work.  Mr. Bone said there will be some work done inside the building, but 85% of the business is mobile. 

 

Commissioner Karr asked about the dumpster.  Mr. Bone said they will utilize the dumpster that is on the site.  Chairman Weaver noted that the dumpster must be screened, and Mr. Bone said that it will be.  Secretary Zimmerman asked if any hazardous materials will be disposed of in the dumpster.  Mr. Bone said that it will only be broken tempered glass, nothing hazardous. 

 

Commissioner Young asked if any cars would be parked outside overnight.  Mr. Bone said that employees take their vehicles home, and customer cars would be parked inside the building.

 

Chairman Weaver opened the public hearing, and asked if anyone wished to speak in opposition to Petition SUE 16-01.  No one came forward.  Chairman Weaver asked if anyone wished to speak in favor of the petition.  No one came forward, and Chairman Weaver closed the public hearing.

 

Mayor Pogue made a motion to recommend approval of Petition SUE 16-01 to the Board of Aldermen. Chairman Karr seconded the motion, which received unanimous approval from the commission members present.

 

SUB 16-01  Subdivision Amendment

    Essen Estates Subdivision, 214 and 216 Ries Rd, Ballwin MO  63021

    Petitioner:  Mr. Scott Paul, Vanderbilt Homes, 2617 Wynncrest Ridge Dr, Chesterfield MO  63005 

 

Mr. Scott Paul, vice president of Vanderbilt Homes, addressed the Commission, requesting approval for the subdivision amendment to allow the platted common ground areas to be accepted as meeting the private recreational dedication requirements of Article IV of the Ballwin Subdivision Ordinance.  Mr. Paul described the site and surrounding neighborhood.  He showed the Commission the three areas the petitioner is requesting to be considered as recreational space – two areas fronting on Ries Road, and the water quality area in the southeast corner of the site.  Mr. Paul said that all the mature trees in the three areas will remain in place. 

 

Mr. Paul discussed the ordinance that deals with the payment in lieu of dedicated recreational space.  He noted that the three areas the petitioner has set aside meet or exceed the requirements of percentage of recreational space required by ordinance.  Mr. Paul discussed the definition of the terms “park” and “passive recreation space.”  He feels that the three areas on the site meet the criteria for credit for private parks and recreational facilities.  Mr. Paul said the water garden portion of the detention area will be used for passive recreation, although it is not needed to meet the requirements.  MSD did not require a detention basin, as the amount of runoff was minimal.  MSD did, however, require water quality treatment.

 

Mr. Paul noted that the petitioner paid the parks fee so that construction would not be held up.

 

Mr. Paul said the petitioner has worked diligently with the City to minimize grading and loss of vegetation.  He said he feels the petitioner has gone above and beyond to keep these areas open to meet the requirements for active and passive recreation.

 

Mayor Pogue said that the Planning & Zoning Commission and the Board of Aldermen both discussed a similar topic with the Essen Place Subdivision development which had a similar proposal. The Commission determined that that the narrow strip of ground set aside was not suitable for recreational space.  He said he will not endorse approval of this petition, as a similar situation has already been discussed and rejected.

 

Chairman Weaver asked if the area around the water garden is flat.  Mr. Paul said that it has a 3:1 slope; however, it still meets the 6% slope for 50% of the site.  Chairman Weaver asked who will maintain that area.  Mr. Paul said there will be a homeowner’s association.  Chairman Weaver said the HOA may decide to fence the area, at which point it ceases to be an open recreation area. Mr. Paul said he can write the indentures so that no fence is allowed in that area.

 

Mr. Paul said that the petitioner could have put one more lot on the site, but chose not to in order to have open passive recreational space.  Parks don’t need to have playgrounds; he feels the areas set aside in the proposed subdivision meet the criteria for passive recreation.

 

Commissioner Bolte asked what types of activities Mr. Paul would consider passive recreation.  Mr. Paul said he would expect that residents would sit and enjoy nature or read a book.  He said there is room to throw a Frisbee.  Commissioner Bolte said that kids won’t – or shouldn’t – be playing baseball and throwing a Frisbee in the spaces next to Ries Road.  He said it would deter him from buying a home in that subdivision if that was the only open space.

 

Commissioner Silker asked how the water garden will be landscaped.  Mr. Paul said it is built with a base of pea gravel, sand and specialty soils.  A layer of mulch is placed on top.  Native plants that can tolerate both drought and wet conditions will be planted.  MSD requires yearly inspections on the water gardens.

 

Chairman Weaver opened the public hearing, and asked if anyone wished to speak in opposition to Petition SUB 16-01.  No one came forward.  Chairman Weaver asked if anyone wished to speak in favor of the petition.  No one came forward, and Chairman Weaver closed the public hearing.

 

Commissioner Goetz said that the proposed amendment, in his view, appears to meet the letter of the law.  He asked City Planner Aiken what in the ordinance would preclude approval of this proposal.   Mr. Aiken said he disagrees with Mr. Paul’s analysis of the requirements of the ordinance; but he acknowledged that the ordinance is ambiguous about the minimum criteria for space to be credited as a private recreational facility. City Planner Aiken said he feels the two acre minimum is a logical minimum area for a park as smaller exclusively passive spaces are not consistent with Ballwin’s active park space history.  He doesn’t feel that the water garden feature constitute a passive recreational space.  Commissioner Goetz asked if this matter were to go to court, would the City prevail?  City Attorney Jones said he doesn’t feel that’s the proper analysis.  He said he doesn’t believe the proposed areas do not meet the definition of a park, or the subjective criteria for open space.  City Attorney Jones noted that when the proposed development first came before the Planning & Zoning Commission and Board of Aldermen, the question of open private land in lieu of payment to the City was not raised.

 

Mr. Paul said he respectfully disagrees with City Planner Aiken and City Attorney Jones.  He asked for clarification of the definitions in the ordinance. City Attorney Jones said on one hand, the petitioner wants to call the space a park, and on the other hand he doesn’t, because it’s not being dedicated.  Mr. Jones said that Section 25-123 talks about a credit for private parks and recreational facilities, and incorporates by reference the suitability requirements.  Whether the petitioner calls it a park or an open space, it must still meet the suitability requirements.  Mr. Paul said the area of the water garden is not included in the calculations for open space.  City Attorney Jones said that the petitioner acknowledges that the area has not been left in its natural state; that it has been graded.  Mr. Paul said there is a section that says some of the areas can have slopes.  City Attorney Jones said there is a separate suitability requirement that states the space must be left in its natural state.  City Attorney Jones allowed that the ordinance is not as clear as it could be.

 

Mr. Paul said that St. Louis County has a TGA (Traffic Generation Assessment), which is a fee that each developer pays per lot. He suggested that the Board of Aldermen adopt a similar parks fee that developers would pay for each lot.  Chairman Weaver said that a calculation for that is in place.  City Attorney Jones said that is essentially what the petitioner has already paid. Mayor Pogue added that the City gives the option in case a developer can meet the requirement for recreational space.

 

Secretary Zimmerman asked if the petitioner considered reducing the size of the lots in order to make a more reasonable recreational space.  She said she considers the areas along Ries Road more of an easement rather than usable space.  Mr. Paul said the petitioner set aside the Ries Rd frontage to maintain the mature trees along the road.

 

Commissioner Bolte asked why the petitioner paid the fee if he felt that the open space fulfilled the requirements of the ordinance.  Mr. Paul said that the fee was paid so that construction could proceed.  Mr. Bolte asked if payment of the fee was a condition of approval for the original petition. Mayor Pogue said at the time the petition went through review and approval was when the petitioner had the option of raising the question of whether there was sufficient private recreational space, or fee in lieu of dedication had to be paid.  This issue was not discussed at either the Planning & Zoning Commission or Board of Aldermen.  City Attorney Jones said there was a specific requirement in the ordinance that approved the final PSD development plan as submitted.  City Planner Aiken said the original plan doesn’t designate the ground as open space or recreational space; it is only labeled as “common ground.”  He said the original petition review report states that there is no mention of the petitioner’s intention relative to the requirement of the fee in lieu of dedicated recreational space.  The issue was not raised by the petitioner during the public hearing.  The normal procedure is payment in lieu of land dedication.  As a result, it went through with the fee requirement.

 

Mayor Pogue made a motion to send a negative recommendation to the Board of Aldermen for Petition SUB 16-01. Commissioner Utt seconded the motion, which received unanimous approval from the commission members present.

 

Other Business

 

Chairman Weaver asked if there will be a meeting in April.  City Planner Aiken said there are no items for the April agenda, but he expects at this point that there will be a meeting in May.

 

Adjournment

 

Alderman Stallmann moved to adjourn the meeting. Commissioner Zimmerman seconded the motion, which received unanimous approval from the commission members present. The meeting was adjourned at 7:47 p.m.

                                                                                               

 

                                                                                                _________________________

                                                                                                Mark Weaver, Chairman

                                                                                                Planning & Zoning Commission