Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting

Meeting Agenda

PLANNING & ZONING COMMISSION MEETING
Held at the Donald “Red” Loehr Police and Court Center
300 Park Drive
July 2, 2012
7:00 P.M.

AGENDA / briefs

1. Call to Order

2. Approval of Minutes 

3. SUE 12-02 – Special Use Exception 

The Dent Devil, 14949 Manchester Rd, Ballwin MO  63011
Petitioner:  Mr. Terrence McDonald, Freeworld LLC, 14949 Manchester Rd, Ballwin MO 63011 

Mr. McDonald received a special use exception to operate a paintless auto body shop with front yard parking in 2005. This business was housed in the existing auto service building that was already on the premises. Mr. McDonald now wants to erect a second building on the premises. The new building will be a membrane covered structure mounted on metal poles (essentially a wallless tent). In order to do this, it is necessary that he amend the site development plan to show the new building.

4. 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

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

July 2, 2012

The meeting of the Planning and Zoning Commission was called to order by Acting Chairman Frank Karr at 7:20 p.m.  Members in attendance were:

Approval of Minutes

A motion was made by Commissioner Weaver and seconded by Mayor Pogue to approve the minutes of the June 4, 2012 meeting of the Planning & Zoning Commission as submitted.  The motion received unanimous approval from the Commission members present. 

SUE 12-02 – Special Use Exception
 The Dent Devil, 14949 Manchester Rd, Ballwin MO  63011
 Petitioner:  Mr. Terrence McDonald, Freeworld LLC, 14949 Manchester Rd, Ballwin MO 63011 

Mr. Terry McDonald, owner of Dent Devil, addressed the Commission, requesting approval for the erec-tion of a tent behind the building to be used for the repair of automobiles.  Due to the recent storms, there is a need for additional space to perform dent repairs from hail damage.  Mr. McDonald said he contacted Mayor Pogue for help in finding a location that would accommodate the space requirements, but there was not a suitable space in Ballwin. 

Mr. McDonald said he spoke with City Planner Aiken regarding setting up a temporary tent.  Mr. Aiken said that the ordinance states that auto repair shall be done within an enclosed building, and specifically precludes work done inside a temporary structure.  Mr. Aiken added that under our building code there is no such thing as a temporary structure; every structure is assumed to be permanent.  The closest thing that the ordinance addresses is a construction trailer, which doesn’t apply in this case.  Tents are allowed for up to three days as a special event. 

Mr. Aiken said there are criteria for the type of structure (membrane structure) Mr. McDonald wishes to build under the International Code Council (ICC), but it would be considered an accessory structure, which requires a site development plan amendment to allow for it to be placed permanently on the site. 

Commissioner Utt asked if the Commission approves this request, can it be stipulated that the structure can only be up for a specific period.  City Attorney Jones said yes.  Mayor Pogue confirmed with Mr. McDonald that he doesn’t want the tent to be a permanent fixture, but only wants to put it up on an as-needed basis for 60-90 days.  Mr. McDonald said this is correct.  He doesn’t feel that the work flow would be justify needing the structure for more than four months.  Mr. McDonald added that if customers have to wait longer than that, they will take their business elsewhere. Mr. McDonald said his intention is not to detract from the visual appeal of the site.  He understands that the tent is not attractive and would not have it up any longer than necessary.

Alderman Boerner asked Mr. McDonald how long it takes to put up the tent.  Mr. McDonald said he hires a company to put it up and take it down, which costs him about $1700 each time.

Mayor Pogue said he feels placing a limit on the time the tent can be up will prevent having these types of structures put up everywhere, which is his biggest concern.  He said Mr. McDonald keeps his site immac-ulate and noted that Dent Devil won the Ballwin Days Beautification Award before it was even opened for business.  Mayor Pogue said Mr. McDonald has proven that he maintains that level of landscaping.

Commissioner Utt asked if Mr. McDonald would be able to comply with the 10-foot front yard setback along West Orchard.  Mr. McDonald said he could move the tent closer to the building to ensure compli-ance.

Alderman Boerner asked how many cars would be able to fit under the tent.  Mr. McDonald said he could reasonably work on six or seven cars at one time. Mayor Pogue asked if his staff has been increased as well.  Mr. McDonald said he employs 13 people to keep up with the current demand.

Alderman Boerner asked about including provisions that would prevent businesses from erecting tents arbitrarily.  City Attorney Jones said the ordinance could be crafted in such a manner.  Commissioner Schwent asked if Mr. McDonald would ever need to put up the tent more than once a year.  Mr. McDon-ald said that it is possible to have more than one major storm a year, but the main season is between March 1 and May 31. 

Commissioner Schwent asked City Planner Aiken about the process – if Mr. McDonald needed to erect the tent, would he apply for a permit?  Mr. Aiken said it would depend on how the ordinance was written, but that permitting would be one way to do it; or it could be an allowed use for the specified timeframe.  Mayor Pogue asked if it would require a building permit. Mr. Aiken said it would be best if it were in-spected to ensure that it was put up and anchored properly. 

Alderman Boerner asked if the wording “act of God” could be used as criteria for allowing this type of structure. City Attorney Jones said he would encourage the Commission to make its recommendations based on this property, this operator, and this special use exception, rather than generalize it for everyone to meet the criteria.   Mr. Jones said this is not setting a precedent.  The Commission would then look at each application on a case-by-case basis.  City Planner Aiken added that everyone who has a special use exception would be eligible to come before the Planning & Zoning Commission and request an amend-ment.

Mayor Pogue read the language in the ordinance for temporary storage containers:  “The purpose in es-tablishing these regulations is to acknowledge that business in Ballwin periodically encounter circum-stances that require temporary expansion of their on-site storage facilities, for a limited period of time, due to an unanticipated or annual upturn in operations. This article is intended to allow a means for these businesses to temporarily expand their storage needs without having to undergo the prohibitive cost of a permanent addition. This will allow business to stay within Ballwin when they might otherwise have to relocate to a different community.”   Mayor Pogue said the spirit of this can be written into the revision of this special use exception.

Commissioner Goetz asked for a brief explanation of “special use exception.”  City Attorney Jones said a special use exception is an administrative proceeding where the Board of Aldermen considers whether to allow a use that isn’t ordinarily allowed in the zoning district.  Certain things are allowed uses; others are only allowed with a special use exception.

Acting Chairman Karr opened the public hearing and asked if there were any opponents who wished to speak in opposition to Petition SUE 12-02.  There were no opponents.  Acting Chairman Karr asked if there were any proponents wishing to speak in favor of the petition.  There were none, and Acting Chair-man Karr declared the public hearing closed.

Mayor Pogue asked if Mr. McDonald was planning to add any illumination other than what is needed for the work that will be done.  Mr. McDonald said there will be no exterior illumination of the tent.

Acting Chairman Karr asked about MoDOT approval.  City Planner Aiken said something like this would not normally be submitted to MoDOT.  Mayor Pogue added that the tent will be behind the building and will not interfere with access from Manchester Rd.

Discussion was held regarding the timeframe needs for the tent, and the wording of the recommendation to the Board of Aldermen.

Mayor Pogue made a motion to recommend approval of Petition SUE 12-02 to the Board of Aldermen, with the following conditions:  Delete or amend Ordinance No. 05-19 Exhibit One Paragraph 2 to elimi-nate the tent and outdoor work prohibitions; establish a 90-day timeframe to allow a tent to be erected for excessive workloads; allow one tent to be erected per event; include Ballwin Building Code Chapter 7 Section 301 criteria in the SUE language; and require a building permit for installation.  Commissioner Utt seconded the motion, which received unanimous approval from the Commission members present.

Other Business

City Planner Aiken said there are no agenda items for the August 6, 2012 meeting of the Planning & Zon-ing Commission.  Mayor Pogue noted that the International Baseball Tournament will be held that week (August 4-11) at the Ballwin Athletic Association. 

Mayor Pogue said Ballwin was selected as one of the top ten cities for families by Family Circle magazine.  The article is in the August 2012 issue of the magazine.

Adjournment

A motion was made by Acting Chairman Karr and seconded by Commissioner Weaver to adjourn the meeting.  The motion received unanimous approval, and the meeting was adjourned at 8:35 p.m.

Frank Karr, Acting Chairman
Planning & Zoning Commission