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16 APR 11 CITY OF JACKSONVILLE, ARKANSAS REGULAR PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING APRIL 11, 2016 7:00 P.M. – 7:37 P.M. OPENING REMARKS: The Planning Commission of the City of Jacksonville, Arkansas met in regular session on April 11, 2016. Chairman Moore opened the meeting at approximately 7:00 p.m. expressing appreciation to those in attendance. ROLL CALL: Commissioners Patrick Thomas, Jim Peacock, Jr., Scott Scholl, Joe Cummings, Jr., Rick White, Robert Price, and Virgil Healey, answered ROLL CALL. Chairman Jim Moore also answered roll call and declared a quorum. PRESENT (8), ABSENT (1). Others present for the meeting were City Engineer Jay Whisker, Tommy Bond, Geneva Healey, Jim Peacock, Sr., Code Enforcement Officer Charlie Jenkins, Andy West, Daniel Gray, interested citizens, petitioners, and press. CORRECTION AND/OR APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Commissioner White moved, seconded by Commissioner Price to approve the minutes of the March 14, 2016 regularly scheduled meeting as presented. MOTION CARRIED. PUBLIC HEARING(S): a. CONDITIONAL USE 1813 T.P. White C-1 in a C-3 zoning Chairman Moore opened the public hearing at approximately 7:02 p.m. With no petitioner or representative in attendance, Chairman Moore announced that the public hearing would be continued to the following regularly scheduled Planning Commission meeting. He requested that City Engineer Whisker notify the petitioner that the item would be continued on the next Planning Commission agenda dated May 9, 2016. Chairman Moore closed the public hearing at approximately 7:03 p.m. b. CONDITIONAL USE 420 Dupree Drive C-3 in a C-2 zoning Chairman Moore opened the public hearing at approximately 7:04 p.m. Petitioner Larry Griffo II with written permission from property owner Lloyd Friedman, explained that his main business at this location is window tinting and car audio. He stated that he is requesting to be able to sell vehicles legally on consignment from this location. He related that he is not planning to keep a constant inventory but would like to be able to sell one or two cars on consignment. He stated that he is observing City code, saying that he would only be obtaining cars for customers who are looking for a certain vehicle. He reiterated that he does not plan to become a car lot. City Engineer Whisker stated that Mr. Griffo has a good steady business, however the biggest problem from the City’s standpoint is that there is a 3200 square foot building that requires roughly 16 parking spaces and there are only about 8 parking spaces including 1 CITY OF JACKSONVILLE, ARKANSAS REGULAR PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING APRIL 11, 2016 7:00 P.M. – 7:37 P.M. three on the side of the building. He stated that employees are parking off the concrete to make sure there is enough room for customer traffic. He related that to add a car lot for even one or two cars is taking parking spaces when he does not have enough to meet Code currently. He stated that the space is too small to support his request. With no one from the audience wishing to address the item, Chairman Moore closed the public hearing at approximately 7:06 p.m. Commissioner Price questioned if there would be any maintenance including changing the oil, and would it require a specific method of disposal of the oil or other issues that would be of concern to the City that the current business does not have. Mr. Griffo stated that he would not be changing oil; the only work done on vehicles brought to his business is window tinting or audio. He added that anything of that nature would be outsourced regarding modification or repairs of any car to be sold. Commissioner Thomas questioned if he could help people find a car without having it parked onsite, to be in business of being a car dealer. Mr. Griffo stated that he might have one or two vehicles that would be for sale. He explained a situation regarding a lady who came to him for a four-door car, saying that he has used his resources to locate a car in her price range. He then explained that once he locates the vehicle he would like to be able to put the car on his parking lot to be sold legally without having to put tags on the vehicle and put the car in his name. He stated that he would like to do it through being a dealer as opposed to having to buy insurance in his name. In response to a question from Commissioner Thomas, City Engineer Whisker reiterated that when he researched the size of the building it was 3200 square feet including the shop area. He stated that even if you took the requirement to the extreme at 200 square foot per parking space, it would still require that they have 10 parking spaces and they would still be 2 spaces under that requirement. He stated that the shop space occupies the back 2/3’s of the building. He related that there are not enough parking spaces to accommodate the current business without adding a car lot. In response to a question from Commissioner White, Mr. Griffo stated he would not purchase any vehicles that were not operational. He added that he does not plan to keep any car longer than three weeks to one month. 2 CITY OF JACKSONVILLE, ARKANSAS REGULAR PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING APRIL 11, 2016 7:00 P.M. – 7:37 P.M. In response to a question from Commissioner Price, Mr. Griffo stated there are four or five marked parking spots at the front of the building and three on the side. He noted there is also additional parking available that is not marked, adding there is enough room to park three or four more vehicles. He said there is enough room for 11 cars and still have enough room for cars to go in and out of the shop area. He then explained that he works by appointment only so it keeps traffic to a minimum. In response to a concern issued by Chairman Moore, Mr. Griffo stated it is not his intention to park any vehicles close to the street. City Engineer Whisker stated that he does not believe additional parking spaces could be added or garnered from the space available and still allow for flow of traffic to the back shop area. He then answered Mr. Griffo that the point of having parking is to prevent vehicles from being parked on the grass outside the concrete parking. He stated that any parking in the grass is not considered parking spaces that would count toward Code requirements, he then demonstrated that even if the three additional grass parking spaces were concreted it would only provide a total of 11 parking spaces which is still not enough to meet Code given the current size of the building. Chairman Moore questioned how far back the property line is from the rear of the building, noting that he viewed the property and saw cars parked to the rear on the grass. City Engineer Whisker then answered Chairman Moore that currently there are no ADA parking spaces on the property, and that there is a requirement for at least one. Mr. Griffo then answered Chairman Moore that he has not obtained a State car dealer license yet. City Engineer Whisker noted that typically the business would have to meet zoning requirements first. He noted that any additional signage that was not in compliance would have to go before the Board of Adjustment. Mr. Griffo assurance the Commission that the shop area would continue to be used strictly for window tinting and audio. Commissioner Thomas questioned if it would be feasible to allow some of the indoor shop area to be used as storage for one or two vehicles, asking if there are any exceptions that could be made. City Engineer Whisker stated that the indoor area is being used for window tinting and audio, saying that it would be a question for Mr. Griffo if he wanted to use the area as storage. 3 CITY OF JACKSONVILLE, ARKANSAS REGULAR PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING APRIL 11, 2016 7:00 P.M. – 7:37 P.M. Commissioner Thomas stated that he is trying to figure a way that the Commission could put a limit on the number of vehicles Mr. Griffo could have onsite and perhaps use the building for part of the required parking spaces. City Attorney Bamburg stated that there is no way to do that, this request is a conditional use and if he is granted authority to use the location as a used car dealership, attached to it cannot be a limit to the number of cars. Commissioner Price related that it seems the Commission is working hard to come up with a solution but it appears with the current conditions it is not able to be worked out regarding parking. He added that he is unaware if there are improvements that could be done to increase the amount of parking spaces to bring it into Code compliance. Commissioner Thomas questioned if it would be feasible to stipulate that it could only be car sales regarding a specific request for a buyer and that the car could only be there for the time of the transaction. City Attorney Bamburg stated that there would be no way of enforcing those limitations. He surmised that a Code Enforcement officer would have to be at the site on a daily basis. Commissioner Price moved, seconded by Commissioner Healey to deny the Conditional Use request of C-3 in a C-2 for 420 Dupree Drive. MOTION CARRIED. c. REZONING 308 & 312 Valentine Road R-0 to R-6 Chairman Moore opened the public hearing at approximately 7:21 p.m. Petitioner representative Daniel Gray in company with Mr. Andy West related that an offer on the property has been accepted contingent on the rezoning being approved. He explained that currently there are two trailers on the property, adding that the surrounding properties have trailers. He stated that it came to their attention that the property was not properly zoned for mobile homes so they are requesting to correct that. He stated that the purchaser is proposing to remove the old trailer and put in newer mobile homes. Mr. Andy West of RE/MAX Home Finders pointed out that the new mobile homes will enhance the neighborhood. 4 CITY OF JACKSONVILLE, ARKANSAS REGULAR PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING APRIL 11, 2016 7:00 P.M. – 7:37 P.M. City Engineer Whisker demonstrated the properties are addressed off Valentine Road and back up to Noble Road, he pointed out that all the area properties were annexed at the same time, saying that typically when property is annexed it is brought in with an R-0 designation per the ordinance. He stated that all the properties from McCain to Valentine to the south end of Noble Road are all mobile homes or trailers. He reviewed that the request is for a rezoning to R-6, which is individual mobile home owned lots and not what is considered a mobile home park (R-7). He continued saying that each lot can only have one mobile home, adding that currently there are mobile homes surrounding these properties. He pointed out that Noble Road on both sides has mobile homes but when it was annexed it was brought in with as single-family homes. He stated the thought is that there should be single-family housing for the future, adding he feels the other lots will at sometime in the future asked to be rezoned to mobile home residential lots. Chairman Moore asked if anyone would like to speak in opposition to the rezoning proposal. Code Enforcement Officer Charlie Jenkins stated that at present there are at least 7 mobile home parks on South Hwy. 161. He related that th he does not see a need for an 8, adding that he has inspected some of the parks and in his experience as a Code Enforcement officer, new usually means “new to them”. Daniel Gray clarified that City Engineer Whisker had stated that these are individual lots and are not a mobile home park. He went on to say that they represent the seller and the buyer. He stated that the request is for a zoning change and what the owner of the property does in the future would have to come back before the Planning Commission. He reiterated that they are currently just requesting a rezoning for individual single-family mobile home lots. He then noted as pointed out by City Engineer Whisker that there are several mobile homes in the area and it should have been zoned for that when it was annexed, now it needs to be clarified so the sale and purchase can take place. He stated that the existing trailers are eyesores and they could stay there forever, relating that the proposed purchaser wants them as investment properties. He related that it would be a significant upgrade from what is currently on the property. Andy West stated that his client has a new mobile home already that he is going to put on the property and has talked about purchasing another new mobile home for the second lot. Chairman Moore closed the public hearing at approximately 7:28 p.m. 5 CITY OF JACKSONVILLE, ARKANSAS REGULAR PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING APRIL 11, 2016 7:00 P.M. – 7:37 P.M. It was clarified that the rezoning would restrict each lot to one mobile home only. Chairman Moore noted that each lot according to the County’s website is 0.28 acres, which does not allow more than one mobile home. City Engineer Whisker stated that 3 acres is the minimum for a mobile home park, so these lots even together do not qualify for a mobile home park. He related that as two separate parcels of land they can only have one mobile home per lot. Commissioner Price noted that the concerns of Code Enforcement officer Jenkins are not issues because there are two mobile homes there now and only two mobile homes can be on the lots. Commissioner Price moved, seconded by Commissioner Cummings to recommend approval to the City Council regarding the rezoning of 308 & 312 Valentine Road from R-0 to R-6 as requested. In response to a question from Chairman Moore, Mr. West informed the Commission that his client is a mobile home dealer and he was told that it would be at least 2014 or 2015 models. He stated that it is a new mobile home that has not been lived in. At this time, MOTION CARRIED. d. REZONING 420 West Hickory C-2 to R-0 Chairman Moore opened the public hearing at approximately 7:33 p.m. Owner and petitioner Felicia Yagos explained that currently the property is zoned commercial and she is requesting a rezoning to residential because she has a buyer who will use the property as residential with no commercial application intended. She stated that because of the mortgage requirements it has to be correctly zoned as residential. City Engineer Whisker noted that a previous owner had operated a beauty salon from the rear part of the building, and then another person used that space to sell antiques, adding that now the buyer is just interested in the property for residential use. He stated that because the property is located within the City’s mixed use zone it can be used as a business or house regardless of the zoning. He stated that the rezoning would allow the buyer to obtain a residential instead of a commercial mortgage. Chairman Moore closed the public hearing at approximately 7:35 p.m. Commissioner Price clarified with Ms. Yagos that most of the properties on that side of the street are residential, while several locations on the opposite side of the street are commercial. 6 CITY OF JACKSONVILLE, ARKANSAS REGULAR PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING APRIL 11, 2016 7:00 P.M. – 7:37 P.M. Commissioner White moved, seconded by Commissioner Healey to approve the rezoning of 420 West Hickory from C-2 to R-0 as requested. MOTION CARRIED. REQUEST TO APPROVE PLAT(S): BUILDING PERMIT(S): GENERAL: ANNOUNCEMENT: ADJOURNMENT: Chairman Moore without objection, adjourned the meeting at approximately 7:37 p.m. Respectfully submitted, _________________________ Susan L. Davitt 7