08/27/07 Council Meeting Minutes

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REGULAR MEETING AUGUST 27, 2007 He mentioned this afternoon at the committee meeting this particular site will have commitments. They will be going back to the Area Plan Commission and he advised that this is basically in response to the owner meeting with the neighborhood groups and since the last time they met with Council the owner has met three (3) times with the neighborhood associations. Those commitments would be part of is 1.) They would be limited to the twenty-four (24) single family attached homes that are on the site plan. 2.) That the side yard setbacks closest to Northside Boulevard would have a setback from the property lines on the east and west boundaries of the project site at 22'. The buildings that are closest to the St. Joseph River would have a set back of 12' along the east and west boundary lines. They would be evergreen screening along with a 6' fence put up along both the west and east boundary lines. The height of the evergreen screening at the time of the installation would be 15' tall evergreens. They would also be doing that this would be a gated community that was part of the letters that the Council had received copies of There would be a setback from the centerline of Northside Boulevard to where the buildings are along that first tier of buildings of 50'. Mr. Danch stated that he believed that met most of the requirements that were stated in the letters that the Council had received. He again reiterated that they would go back to the Area Plan Commission to have those made part of the record and it would be part of the site plan that would be submitted back to Don Fozo for approval and for building purposes. From the usual part drainage is going to be on site as per the City standards from a landscaping part around the buildings there will be extensive landscaping that will be done. They will be hooked up to water and sewer and will certainly meet all the fire requirements set out by the South Bend Fire Codes. Councilmember Rouse stated that there has been a tremendous amount of changes since the Area Plan Commission last heard this petition. He asked Mr. Danch to go over those changes. Mr. Danch advised that the original plan that was submitted to the Area Plan Commission for approval approximately two (2) years ago had 28 units as compared to the 24 units that the Council is currently looking at this site plan. That original one also only had two buildings along the frontage of Northside Boulevard and what that did is caused a great concern for some of the adjacent residents that just by having two buildings instead of what the Council is currently seeing now is four buildings that it would be an imposing structure along the south side of Northside Boulevard. The density was obviously higher for that original development that they had submitted. The buildings and the parking area on the interior were different, it required more interior parking there would have been more homes creating more traffic onto Northside Boulevard. Going to 24 units allowed them to free up some of the landscape areas between the buildings, open up the site and reduce the intensity of the single-family homes. One of the other things that the original plan had back in 2005 was that they were talking about townhomes or condominiums. This particular plan that is being presented tonight to the Council will be single family attached homes. Assuming that they receive approval from the Council this evening they would also be going back to the City Board of Zoning Appeals and actually creating legal lots of record for each home. So that when someone buys a home in this development, they would actually be buying a home on a lot and that is the difference that was originally stated back in 2005. Council Attorney Kathleen Cekanski-Farrand stated that there is a scrivener's error in the second paragraph, the last line where it says 25 single family homes should be 24 homes. Councilmember Pfeifer made a motion to amend the substitute bill scrivener's error in the second paragraph, the last line to read 24 homes. Councilmember Dieter seconded the motion which carried by a voice vote of nine (9) ayes. This being the time heretofore set for the Public Hearing on the above bill, proponents and opponents were given an opportunity to be heard. Mr. Chris Dressel, Community & Economic Development, 12~` Floor County-City Building 227 W. Jefferson Blvd., South Bend, Indiana, spoke in favor of this bill.