Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-13-17 Zoning and Annexation ��SpU TH lr x U d W rEnce a 1865 OFFICE OF THE CITY CLERK KAREEMAH FOWLER,CITY CLERK ZONING &ANNEXATION MARCH 13, 2017 3:40 P.M. Committee Members Present: Oliver Davis, John Voorde, Jo M. Broden, Jerry Phipps (citizen member) Committee Member Absent: Gavin Ferlic Other Council Present: Karen White, Tim Scott, Randy Kelly, Regina Williams- Preston (late) Other Council Absent: Dr. David Varner Others Present: Aladean DeRose, Adriana Rodriguez, Kareemah Fowler, Graham Sparks Presenters: Ayoka Paek, Larry Magliozzi, Therese Dorau, Leah Thill Agenda: Bill No. 17-05- Gloria Dei Special Exception APC Briefing on Notification Boundaries South Bend's SolSmart Program Introduction&Briefing Committee Chair Oliver Davis called to order the Zoning and Annexation Committee meeting at 3:40 p.m. He introduced the members of the committee and then gave the floor to presenters for Bill No. 17-05. Bill No. 17-0a - Gloria Dei Special Exception Ayoka Paek, Building Department, stated, This special exception for an accessory parking on property zoned SF-2 (Single-Family and Two (2)-Family) district comes to you with a favorable recommendation from the Area Board of Zoning Appeals. It was initiated by a signed permit application that the Building Department could not approve due to the configuration of the church's properties. The church attempted to vacate the alley which would have removed the need for the special exception, but that was unsuccessful. A variance was approved for the height and size of the sign on the property, pending the approval of the special exception.No one spoke in remonstrance to the special exception and I would be happy to entertain any questions. With no questions from the Council members, Committee Chair Davis opened the floor to the public for those wishing to speak in favor of or in opposition to the legislation. 455 County-City Building•227 W.Jefferson Boulevard•South Bend,Indiana 46601 Phone 574-235-9221 •Fax 574-235-9173•TDD 574-235-5567•www.SouthBendIN.gov JENNIFER M.COFFMAN ALKEYNA M.ALDRIDGE JOSEPH MOLNAR CHIEF DEPUTY/DIRECTOR OF DEPUTY/DIRECTOR OF POLICY ORDINANCE VIOLATION CLERK OPERATIONS With no one wishing to speak in favor of or in opposition to the legislation, Committee Chair Davis turned the floor back to the Committee for further comment or main motions. Committeemember Jo M. Broden made a motion to send Bill No. 17-05 to the full Council with a favorable recommendation. This motion was seconded by Committeemember John Voorde and carried unanimously with a voice vote of four(4) ayes. Councilmember Regina Williams-Preston arrived at the meeting. Committee Chair Davis then turned the floor over to the presenters giving the briefing of notification boundaries. APC Briefing on Notification Boundaries Larry Magliozzi, Executive Director of the Area Plan Commission, stated, The impetus of this discussion is the request by the County Council to expand the notification of surrounding property owners from the three-hundred(300) foot buffer to something else. After some research done around the state,the staff established a proposed six hundred and sixty (660) feet as the next uptick to the boundary of notification. If we are going to do that for the County Council,the Commission has to change their bylaws in order to have that accomplished. We have a draft resolution to be discussed and possibly be voted on. Right now I am just making the rounds to other entities that may want to entertain the same expansion. This proposal dramatically increases the current boundary as well as significantly burdens the developer because they will have to pay for the postage and envelopes for the notification. We feel one of the advantages in the communities that the county doesn't have is the presence of neighborhood organizations. Committeemember Jerry Phipps asked, Have you given any consideration on varying the notification distance based on the zoning district that is requested? I can see where a community business zoning may deserve a much wider notification boundary, but residential rezoning may not affect as many people and might not need as large a boundary. Mr. Magliozzi replied, We have looked at that and some communities do that. Those communities have a very low volume of zoning and rezoning so they can afford to spend the time to institute that. For us, because we have to go through five (5) or six (6)petitions across the various jurisdictions every month and it can become problematic and inefficient. Committeemember Jo M. Broden stated, With neighborhood notification, I like the inclusion. What does that look like specifically? Who are you contacting? Mr. Magliozzi replied, The way it works is a list is developed from the tax records of people within the three hundred (3 00) feet. We generate the labels and that goes out roughly ten(10) days before the meeting. When there is a neighborhood association involved, we notify them right away when we get the petition in our office. Generally that is thirty(30) days before we send out the letters. The neighborhood association has sufficient time and several of them have list serves they use for notifications. I haven't heard any feedback from neighborhood organizations about wanting this changed so I can't speak to whether it works or doesn't work for them. We get our neighborhood list serve updated from the NRC. 2 Committeemember Broden asked, Are we using the notification system that Cherri Peate from the Mayor's Office uses? Mr. Magliozzi replied, I wasn't aware of that list but we can tie into it. Councilmember Tim Scott stated, I would like to stay where we are at with the three hundred (300) feet. I understand in the County, at three hundred(300) feet, you may only hit one (1) house. My concern with neighborhood organizations being so involved with this is at times, there exist two (2) competing neighborhood organizations that may have a different views on same the issue. The weight given to the situation by each organization should be the same as any individual member of the community. In regard to the conversation last week, I would be in favor of waiting before taking any action on anything like this. Councilmember Karen White stated,Have you shared this possibility with any developers? Mr. Magliozzi replied,No, we have not. Councilmember White continued,At what point would you want to sit down and inform them of these proposed changes? Mr. Magliozzi replied, I will probably wait until after the Plan Commission meeting this month, because the Commission will tell us whether or not these changes are ok. The County is anxious to get this moving and if the County passes a resolution, we will bring that resolution to you all. Committee Chair Davis stated, We will probably ask you to come back to the second meeting of April to discuss the updates and changes to this legislation. Councilmember Regina Williams-Preston stated, We've had concerns about businesses coming into neighborhoods and not notifying enough people. With this particular situation, certainly if a business is coming to the neighborhood the residents want to know. With no further discussion on this matter, Committee Chair Davis turned the floor to the presenters for the SolSmart Program briefing. South Bend's SolSmart Program Introduction & Briefing- Therese Dorau Therese Dorau, Director of the Office of Sustainability for the City of South Bend, stated, I would like to introduce Leah Thill who is a SolSmart Technical Assistance Provider. She is a consultant that is working in our region and stationed out of our MACOG Office. South Bend is one (1) of her main clients and I wanted her to come and present to you all. It is early in her tenure here so there are many ways we can take this program. Ms. Thill stated, I'm really excited to talk to you all about this amazing opportunity and program. It is designated to be a national recognition and technical assistance program. It is designed to make it easier, faster, and more affordable for more people and more businesses to 3 go solar. It specifically inspires local communities to target `soft costs,' which will be discussed in more depth later on in the presentation. The technical assistance piece places me in three (3) communities and they are South Bend, Goshen and Nappanee. I will be here for six(6) months, full-time, at no cost to any of the communities. The communities have an opportunity to receive bronze, silver, or gold recognition, all of which are promoted nationally. South Bend also has the opportunity to be the first community in Indiana to be designated, if Goshen doesn't get there first. This program is funded by the US Department of Energy SunShot Initiative. One of the common misconceptions is the lack of solar ability here in Indiana. According to the map on the presentation, Indiana receives more solar coverage than Germany, and Germany has the most solar power per capita in the world. Another important piece is the cost. The cost has dropped another forty-three percent (43%) in the last five (5)years alone, making it very competitive with other energy sources. It is time to think a little more seriously about solar energy. The soft costs of the program is anything that isn't hardware, so examples are permitting, inspection, zoning, financing, customer acquisition, installation, labor and market development. Each one of these can be influenced by local governments. Cost is the number one issue that faces the solar energy avenue because the brunt of the cost is upfront. Bringing down that upfront cost is what focusing on the soft costs will accomplish. Local governments have a large role to play, soft costs are what inhibit the growth of this energy source, and there is a lot of room for improvement. Stakeholder input is key. Committee Chair Davis opened the floor to questions from the Committee and members of the Council. Councilmember White asked, Why South Bend and these three (3) cities? Ms. Thill answered, Bloomington has the most solar energy per capita in Indiana but they have a non-profit third party working for them. South Bend doesn't have that and you are the next natural area to do solar in Indiana. Getting ahead of the curve is the goal here. Councilmember Tim Scott stated, I work in Goshen and we have a 300,000 square foot roof and we are seeing what we could do with that. This is really interesting. With no other business, Committee Chair Davis adjourned the Zoning and Annexation i e at • m. lly S mitted, vis, Committee Chair 4