Agenda - Planning Commission - 05/05/2016

Home

/SPECIAL USIE, W'HC�LE T. YfG'eWbl4unngni�igwunup'k�8uti�uif�lp� 0.0 411) Frt°\ - - TY R1('•HT� Citizens sometimes claim that conditional approvals are needed to offset the rights of developers makers cannot help but count the number of citizens objecting at hearings, introducing politics into the process. While citizens have legitimate concerns about aesthetics, traffic, or other elements, the subjective nature of the standards for approval can bias results. At hearings citizens often make declaratory state- ments such as that the use will create severe congestion or danger. This is a factual issue and the quantity of objections does not ad- dress facts or objective measures. For example, in one hearing citizens claimed that heavy truck traffic on their road would affect safety and property value. The developer proposed building a new three-mile road with an underpass under the local road so there would be no truck traffic, but this was ignored. Furthermore, comprehensive plans can be adversely affected. In one case a county plan sought to preserve rural areas by increas- ing density of infill development. Infill develop- ment generally required a PUD, and after the hearings, nearly every proposal had its density reduced, eroding the strategy's effectiveness. At a different zoning ordinance hearing, a citizen advocated for more conditional uses because it offset the rights of developers. The cartoon above was inspired by citizen testimo- ny on the need for conditional approvals. MINIMIZING DISCRETIONARY APPROVALS Variances andconditional uses can be dramati- cally reduced. PUDs may be eliminated entirety. A great number of variances relate to changes in zoning. Neighborhood conservation districts that retain the standards a subdivision was built under can eliminate a whole range ofvari- ance requests. If there is a high percentage of variance approvals, change the zoning to elimi- nate the requests. Limited Uses To reduce conditional uses, add a new category of approval, a "limited use," to the table of use permissions. Limited -use standards can ad- dress design, location, spacing, intensity, sign, or other standards. The limited use standard, such as minimum lot area, may not be met on every property in the district. The standards are objective. A professional staff reviewer can look at the plan and determine whether the standards are met. There is a simple approach to writing limited -use standards that is not an overwhelm- ing burden for local staff. The record of approved conditional uses will contain the conditions attached to each. Communities repeatedly use a small number of conditions for each use. Some conditions are attached to nearly every use. These conditions have been proven and can be made into standards. The initial work can be done by clerical staff. For each use a spread- sheet can be used to document the conditions and the number of times it has been used. There may be several wordings of the same condition, so some professional effort is required. A more comprehensive and demanding approach is a review of each conditional use. The review would analyze the use and identify the problems, such as unsightly buildings, oversized signs, light, glare, access problems, exterior storage, noise, odor, dirt, loading areas, garbage, or traffic. This effort should involve the citizens to get their input. A list of attendees at a hearing provides an excellent mailing list to get participation. This approach is more challenging because it requires the de- velopment of a standard that addresses each of the listed problems. The conversion of most conditional uses to limited uses with specific standards should make it possible to nearly eliminate conditional uses. Only a few complex uses like airports, incinerators, or landfills have massive impacts and may require significant on -site expert testi- mony to determine if health and safety can be protected. Here are some relatively common issues that limited -use standards can address: Signs Having too many signs, or signs that are too large or too tall, is a problem. Sign regulation is a common zoning tool. The height can be restricted to promote shorter, more attractive ground signs. It is legitimate to control the total number and size (or area of sign or total sign area) of signs on the property. Specific uses like gas stations and fast food restaurants can have their own sign standards. Access It is easy to address the number and frequency of curb cuts. Limited -use standards can stipu- late the minimum distance between a curb cut and an intersection as well as the maximum number of curb cuts fora use. For example, there is no reason a gas station needs four ac- cess drives at an intersection. Design A number of uses have design features that are undesirable. Examples are gas stations with ugly canopies, fast food restaurants with outdoor play structures, and pole -barn style buildings used for industrial or commercial activities. For gas stations, the limited use standards could require all canopies to have pitched roofs and prohibit the entire canopy face from being used as a sign. For fast food restaurants, require the play structures to be indoors with glass that obscures them. Requir- ZONINGPRACTICE 4.16 AMERICAN PLANNING ASSOCIATION Ipage 4