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05/02/1995 MINUTES PLANNING AND ZONING BOARD May 2, 1995 - 2:00 P.M. Commission Chambers, 112 South Osceola Avenue, Clearwater, FL INVOCATION PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Members Present: Kemper Merriam, Chair Jay Keyes, Vice Chair Edward Mazur (Arrived 2:02 p.m.) Brenda Nixon John Carassas (Arrived 2:04 p.m.) Bernie Baron Robert D. Bickerstaffe Also Present: Sandra E. Glatthorn, Manager, Central Permitting Mike Quillen, Water Resource Engineer, Environmental Sally Demarest, Board Reporter, City Clerk Department The meeting was called to order by the Chair at 2:00 p.m. in the Commission Chambers of City Hall. Mr. Baron led the Invocation and Pledge of Allegiance. Chairman Merriam outlined the procedures for conditional uses and advised that anyone adversely affected by a decision of the Planning and Zoning Board, with regard to conditional uses, has two weeks from this date in which to file an appeal through the City Clerk Department. Florida Law requires any party appealing a decision of this Board to have a record of the proceedings to support the appeal. It was noted that Ms. Glatthorn will serve as Central Permitting staff representative in the absence of Scott Shuford, Central Permitting Director. By motion duly seconded, the minutes of the April 18, 1995 meeting were approved as submitted. There were no requests for extension, deferred and continued items for consideration. The following conditional use requests were considered: C-1. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (Goodwill Industries - Suncoast, Inc) to permit outdoor retail sales, displays and/or storage at 23106 U.S. 19 N, Loehman's Plaza Replat, Lot 1, zoned CPD (Commercial Planned Development). CU 95-29 Ms. Glatthorn gave the background of the application and presented, in writing, the staff recommendations. She indicated the applicant was requesting a conditional use permit to allow outdoor sales, display and/or storage; a proposed drop off trailer for Goodwill Industries; approval of three existing Wal-Mart storage trailers; storage for compacted cardboard boxes; and a retail sales/display area. Ms. Glatthorn said the proposed location for the four trailers use is at the southwest corner of the site, parking at the site is adequate, and added that the Florida Power easement is 200 feet. Representing Wal-Mart, Barry Wagner, 23016 US 19 North, Clearwater, described the project and indicated that the Goodwill trailer will be located in front of the building at no charge, and will be for storage only. The Wal-Mart trailers will supply storage for garden center merchandise, lawnmowers, etc. and the fenced enclosure requested will store flammable cardboard and pallets. Mr. Wagner reported that the requested garden display area on the seven foot sidewalk will allow a four foot path for pedestrian traffic. Concern was expressed that the frontage location of the Goodwill trailer was not compatible with the beautification efforts of City boards and the City Commission, and it was suggested that the Goodwill drop off trailer be located at the rear of the site with a small identifying sign at the entrance to the shopping center. Speaking for Goodwill Industries-Suncoast, Inc., Denny Sullivan, 545 77th Avenue North, St. Petersburg, indicated in his opinion relocation of the trailer to the rear would adversely affect the amount of merchandise received, but that he would be amenable to a rear location if no other option were available. There were no persons or documents in support of or opposition to the application. As a compromise, Mr. Sullivan suggested that the Goodwill trailer location be moved closer to the Jiffy Lube site to offer an aesthetically improved visual impact. In the ensuing discussion, there was general agreement that displaying garden merchandise on the sidewalk would negatively affect the flow of pedestrian traffic, with particular concern for handicapped persons. Security for the storage trailers was questioned. Concern was expressed that building plans should specify space within the structure to accommodate storage, and approval of storage trailers may establish an undesirable precedent. Mr. Mazur asked whether there were any objection to his and Mr. Carassas' participation in the voting on this issue due to their late arrival at the meeting; there was none. It was agreed by the board that item C-1 could not be considered and voted upon as a whole, and each request was addressed individually as C1-A, C1-B, C1-C and C1-D as follows: C1-A. A motion was made by Mr. Mazur to approve the location for the fenced storage of compacted cardboard for recycling subject to the following condition: 1) The storage area for the compacted cardboard boxes for recycling shall be enclosed with a six foot high opaque fence or wall within six months from the date of this public hearing. The motion was duly seconded and upon the vote being taken, Chairman Merriam, Ms. Nixon, Messrs. Keyes, Mazur, Carassas, and Baron voted "aye"; Mr. Bickerstaffe voted "nay". Motion carried (6-1). C1-B. A motion was made by Mr. Keyes to approve the three (3) storage trailers subject to the following conditions: 1) There shall be no display or storage of trailers/merchandise on any right of way, retention area, or required landscaping; 2) the number of trailers at this facility shall be limited to the four proposed trailers. The motion was duly seconded. There was a brief discussion to clarify the motion, and upon the vote being taken, Chairman Merriam, Mr. Keyes, Mr. Carassas and Mr. Mazur voted "aye"; Ms. Nixon and Messrs. Bickerstaffe and Baron voted "nay". Motion carried (4-3). C1-C. A motion was made by Mr. Keyes to approve the location of the Goodwill trailer as detailed on the site plan, with conditions. The motion was duly seconded and upon the vote being taken, Mr. Carassas, Mr. Baron, and Mr. Keyes voted "aye"; Chairman Merriam, Ms. Nixon, and Messrs. Bickerstaffe and Mazur voted "nay". The motion did not pass. Subsequently, a motion was made by Ms. Nixon to locate the Goodwill trailer to the rear of the property with a small sign as a "test case" to see if this would work in other locations. The motion was duly seconded and upon the vote being taken, Chairman Merriam, Ms. Nixon, Messrs. Keyes, Carassas, and Baron voted "aye"; Messrs. Bickerstaffe and Mazur voted "nay". Motion carried (5-2). Ms. Nixon then amended her motion to include the conditions, and after a brief discussion, withdrew her original motion entirely. A motion to reconsider the location of the Goodwill trailer was made by Mr. Mazur in accordance with Section 6(e) of the Bylaws. The motion was duly seconded and upon the vote being taken, Chairman Merriam, Messrs. Keyes, Mazur, Carassas and Bickerstaffe voted "aye"; Ms. Nixon and Mr. Baron voted "nay". Motion carried (5-2). A motion was made by Mr. Mazur to approve the Goodwill trailer, but move the trailer to the east, as close to the Jiffy Lube at North Coachman as possible, subject to the following conditions: 1) The requisite occupational license shall be obtained within six months from the date of this public; 2) there shall be no display or storage of trailers/merchandise on any right-of-way, retention area, or required landscaping; 3) the applicant shall amend the certified site plan to reflect the proposed changes within six months of the date of this public hearing; and 4) the proposed Goodwill trailer shall be managed by an attendant with no items to be stored outside the trailer. The motion was duly seconded. Following a brief discussion, calling the vote, Messrs. Mazur, Carassas, and Keyes voted "aye"; Chairman Merriam, Ms. Nixon, Messrs Bickerstaffe and Baron voted "nay". The motion did not pass. At this point a motion was made by Ms. Nixon that item C1-3 be returned to staff to determine an appropriate location for the Goodwill dropoff trailer and reconsidered separately at the next board meeting on May 16, 1995. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously. C1-4. A motion was made by Mr. Bickerstaffe to deny the sidewalk sales area. The motion was duly seconded and upon the vote being taken, Chairman Merriam, Ms. Nixon, Messrs. Bickerstaffe, Mazur, Keyes and Baron voted "aye"; Mr. Carassas voted "nay". Motion carried (6-1). A separate motion was made by Ms. Nixon that the applicant shall amend the certified site plan to reflect the proposed addition and changes within six months of the date of this public hearing. The motion was duly seconded carried unanimously. C-2. Mission Hills Plaza Venture/Karen Fretcher (Hillside Market) to permit package sales of beer and wine (change of business ownership) at 2907 S.R. 590, Suite 2 & 3, Sec. 08-29-16, M&B 11.01, zoned CN (Neighborhood Commercial). CU 95-30 Ms. Glatthorn gave the background of the application and presented, in writing, the staff recommendations. She indicated the request was for a business ownership change of a 12-seat deli and market retail store having a 2-APS alcoholic beverage sales license, with no proposed changes in the existing business. The applicant, Karen Fretcher, 1725 Ragland Avenue, Clearwater, said she has been in the bar and restaurant business for some time and the proposed business will continue operating in the same manner as it was before. There were no persons or documents in support of or opposition to the application. A motion was made by Ms. Nixon to approve the request subject to the following condition: 1) The requisite occupational license shall be obtained within six months from the date of this public hearing. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously. C-3. Gerald Rehm Assoc., Inc to permit vehicle service at 699 l/2 Lakeview Road, Lake Belleview Addition, Blk 3, Lot 1, and the S l/2 of the vac. street on N, Lots 2-4, and part of unnamed street on W, zoned IL (Limited Industrial). CU 95-32 Ms. Glatthorn gave the background of the application and presented, in writing, the staff recommendations. She indicated an existing warehouse and commercial building are on the property, and the request is for vehicle service involving minor and major repairs and maintenance including engine and transmission dismantling, muffler, upholstery and body work. She relayed staff concerns relative to lack of maintenance and disrepair of the property and the negative effect of the use upon neighboring residential uses. Staff believes fleet maintenance to be too intensive to be accommodated on this site, and recommended denial. The applicant, Gerald Rehm, 721 Lakeview Road, Clearwater, gave a general overview of his own business on the subject site, and was asked by the board to address only this specific issue. He distributed five photographs of the premise and indicated the proposed Church of Scientology fleet maintenance activity will take place on the west side of the property on the railroad track, with ingress and egress over Mr. Rehm's private property. Inconsistencies in the application and accompanying site plan were noted, i.e., the location of the proposed maintenance area on the east side of the property. Mr. Rehm verified that all motor pool activity is proposed for the west side of the building and stressed all work will be done inside the building. There will be no buses on Dempsey Street. It was suggested by the board that dismantling and testing should not take place at night. James Bond, 109 North Fort Harrison, Clearwater, offered a history of the application, reviewing staff denial for location on the east side as indicated on the plan. He said the proposed new location on the west side is away from residences, accesses from that side, and referenced photographs previously distributed. It was questioned whether staff were consulted with the discussed changes and noted that the site plan submitted was unrelated to the request, resulting in an inability of the board to make a decision. At this point the applicant opted to request a continuation of the application to the May 16, 1995 meeting; Ms. Glatthorn mentioned that this scheduling would require site plan submission by tomorrow, April 3, 1995; the applicant agreed. Edward Bivins, 109 North Fort Harrison Street, Clearwater, opined that the proposed move from the present motor pool location to the outskirts would be in the best interest of the City. There were no other persons or documents in support of or opposition to the application. A motion was made by Mr. Bickerstaffe to continue item C-3 to the May 16, 1995 meeting. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously. Ms. Nixon asked Ms. Glatthorn to have staff investigate whether the "storage within the chain link fence and outdoor storage" referred to in this request had been previously approved by the board. The following Annexation, Zoning, Land Use Plan Amendment, Land Development Code Text Amendment and Local Planning Agency Review were considered: D-1. Ordinance No. 5819-95 of the City of Clearwater, Florida, relating to the Land Development Code; amending Section 35.11, Code of Ordinances, to revise the definition for congregate care; providing an effective date. Ms. Glatthorn briefly outlined the proposed ordinance amendment and said its purpose was to clarify the language in the congregate care ordinance, deleting "involving a building" in the definition. A motion was made by Mr. Keyes to recommend endorsement to the City Commission. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously. D-2. Ordinance No. 5820-95 of the City of Clearwater, Florida, relating to the Land Development Code; amending Section 42.34, Code of Ordinances, to require an aisle width of fifteen feet within parking lots that have parking spaces at an angle of 50 degrees, to cap the number of paved parking spaces within a parking lot at 25 percent of the Code requirements, to allow grass parking for warehouse stores, to establish new offstreet parking spaces requirements for three family dwellings, accessory dwellings, mobile homes, multiple family dwellings, elderly and low income dwellings, retail sales and shopping centers, vehicle service uses, personal service uses, offices, private clubs, lodges and other fraternal, civic, union-related and religious organizations, boat slips with live-aboard vessels, and fabricating, processing, and manufacturing uses, and to require conformance to the uniform system of traffic control devices, providing an effective date. Staff has requested and the board agreed to continue item D-2 for thirty (30) days. It was requested that staff also address parking for automobile dealerships. Following are Board and Staff comments: There was a short discussion relative to parking at marinas and boat slips. Mike Quillen, Water Resource Engineer, Environmental Management, offered a presentation relative to landscaping regulations. He relayed provisions of the landscape code and related it to parking. Mr. Quillen said the City is considering 6% of parking area be dedicated to green space, and with parking reduced, 9% might be possible. He described parking lot islands dimensions, and said the City is moving toward larger parking lot landscape areas. Mr. Quillen emphasized the importance of drought-tolerant landscaping and explained "designated water use zones" to be created in an effort to save water. Mr. Quillen credited Mark Roether/Parks & Recreation and Scott Shuford/Central Permitting for their help toward promulgation of the environmental ordinance. He said the ordinance will apply not only to large land developments, but to small lots, and will be uniformly applied. He relayed a desirability for shade trees which provide a canopy and described irrigation systems. Environmental Management will welcome comments from the board and will provide copies of the environmental code proposals, if desired. There was a brief discussion relative to parking lot landscaping and the use of palm trees. The necessity that any redevelopment comply with the environmental ordinance was stressed. Chairman Merriam thanked Mr. Quillen for his comprehensive presentation. There being no further business, by motion duly seconded, the meeting adjourned at 4:00 p.m.