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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09-09-02 Zoning & Annexation dkN tommitte Uport Zoning alb SZturtzution tommitat The September 9, 2002 meeting of the Zoning and Annexation Committee was called to order by its Chairperson, Council Member Karen White at 4:27 p.m. in the Council Informal Meeting Room. Persons in attendance included Council Members Pfeifer, Kelly, Varner, Kirsits, Coleman, Aranowski and White; Planner Jeff Meyer, Area Plan Assistant Director John Byorni, Building Commissioner Don Fozo, Dan Akin, Kenneth R. Gean, Jon Hunt, Terry Bland of the 'Guth Xfrab gribUllt,and Kathleen Cekanski-Farrand, Council Attorney. Council Member White noted that the first item on the agenda was Bill No. 48-02 which is a rezoning request for the property located at 2004 Fast Edison. Council Member White further noted that Don Shaum, Jr. sent a letter dated September 5, 2002 (copy attached) advising the Council that he desires to withdraw this rezoning request. Council Member White brought to the Committee's attention a Memorandum dated August 26, 2002 from Council Member King noting his opposition to Bill No. 48-02 (copy attached). Council Member White stated that the proper motion this evening would be to strike Bill No.48-02 at the request of the Petitioner. The Committee then turned its attention to Substitute Bill No. 49-02 which is a rezoning request for the property located in the 100 block of West Angela Boulevard. Planner Jeff Meyer presented the report from the Area Plan Commission noting that the Commission sends the proposed rezoning to the Common Council with a favorable recommendation. Dan Akin, Vice-President of Engineering with Dansch and Associates made the presentation. He noted that the "0" office requested use would be an excellent transition use for this single story building which would be a dental office. They would have six (6) employees and would separate the employee parking from the customer parking, and have agreed to the additional screening requirements requested by Area Plan. Council Member Kirsits stated that this property is located in his neighborhood. He supports the rezoning request and the neighborhood association is also in favor of the request. He noted that there has been illegal parking of vehicles on the lot and this would be a great improvement. He also voiced support of having the parking lots separated. Following discussion, Council Member Coleman made a motion, seconded by Dr. Varner that Substitute Bill No. 49-02 recommended favorably to Council. The motion passed. The Committee then reviewed Bill No. 02-62 which would approve a petition of the South Bend Board of Zoning Appeals for the property located at 2805 Mishawaka Avenue. Building Commissioner Don Fozo noted that the request is consistent with state law and received a favorable recommendation from the South bend Board of Zoning Appeals at its meeting of August 12,2002(packet of information attached). The Petitioner. Kenneth Gean made the presentation. He noted that they plan to move their business back to its original location at 2805 Mishawaka Avenue. v i 4 Y Zoning and Annexation Committee September 9, 2002 Page 2 Following discussion, Council Member Coleman made a motion, seconded by Dr. Varner that Bill No. 02-62 recommended favorably to Council. The motion passed. Council Member White then stated that she had requested the Area Plan Staff to begin a detailed presentation on the proposed Comprehensive Plan. She noted that Mr. Sante provided preliminary information to the Committee at an earlier meeting, however several Council Members either did not have, or did not review a copy of the proposed Comprehensive Plan prior to that meeting. She then presented a two-page handout entitled"Proposed Schedule for Discussion and Review of the Proposed Comprehensive Plan" (copy attached). She asked everyone to carefully review the proposed schedule and to voice any concerns which they may have. She noted that this proposed schedule should not be an indication that there was a lack of support for the proposed comprehensive plan, but rather should be viewed as providing opportunities to receive relevant information and to allow open discussion of this document which sets the vision for the city and county for the next twenty(20) years. Council Member White then asked Area Plan Assistant Director John Byorni to address the Committee for a period of 25-30 minutes. Mr. Byorni presented a copy of the Area Plan Commission minutes dated January 29, 2002, the date when the Area Plan Commission adopted the first version of the proposed Comprehensive Plan (copy attached). He noted that he did not bring with him a copy of the April Area Plan Commission meeting minutes when the Comprehensive Plan was amended to included various "housekeeping items". He noted that Mr. Sante recently certified the amended comprehensive plan to the Common Council. Mr. Byorni stated that HNTB was the consultant hired for the preparation of the comprehensive plan. A proposed comprehensive plan was prepared in the 1970's, however was never formally adopted by any of the entities who are members of the Area Plan Commission. Monies were placed in the St. Joseph County budget in 1997-1998 to fund the bulk of the project. Mr. Byorni stated that request for qualifications (RFQ's) were sent to 15-20 firms located within a day's driving distance of downtown South Bend,and nine(9) proposals were received. Three(3) firms were then interviewed resulting in the selection of HNTB. The overall budgeting for this project by the County was over a three-year period. Mr. Byorni noted that the City of South Bend assisted by doing a detailed land use survey which took a long time to do; and he noted that the City will continue to maintain this information and have it rolled into the GIS. In response to a question raised by Council Member Pfeifer at an earlier Zoning and Annexation Committee meeting, Mr. Byorni provided a copy of the one-page existing comprehensive plan which was in technical compliance with the state law provisions (copy attached). He also noted that the documents prepared in the 1970's which were never adopted had four (4) volumes, of which Volume#3 has been filed with the City Clerk's Office. Council Member White inquired about the overall cost to prepare the proposed Comprehensive Plan. Mr. Byorni stated that St. Joseph County budgeted $200,000 over a three-year period for the plan. He added that South Bend earmarked $25,000 in the Health Communities budget to be used for work related to the plan. t Zoning and Annexation Committee September 9, 2002 Page 4 quote appears: "Encourage tax-base sharing and other measures to minimize income disparities between municipalities". This was one of the principles listed with regard to smart growth, and he questioned whether this was really viable for the county and the city. Dr. Varner then referred to page 3-12 where the statistics are listed for rentals with South Bend having 34% and Mishawaka having 40%. He noted that often the "high rental rates" is South Bend is given as a reason for some of the problems in our city, yet comparatively South Bend is lower than other communities. All in all, Dr. Varner stated that we need opportunities like the time spent in this Committee meeting to spend the proper amount of time in reviewing and discussing the material. Council Member Coleman stated that we could debate the details, however with regard to rentals the real issue is the concentration of them which may be causing the problems. Dr. Varner stated that rental concentration is part of the problem, but density and quality of the rental units should also be addressed. He again stressed that the general statements which are included in the proposed comprehensive plan may get the city into trouble. Jon Hunt stated that the City Plan would set forth information in a more detailed fashion. For example it may cite that the conversion of single-family homes into rental units is a concern. Council President Kelly stated that the proposed comprehensive plan covers a lot of details. Many of the points stated today are well taken, but he voiced concern that the Council could " knit-pick the plan to death". He stated that the Committee needs to have the meetings as proposed by Council Member White, but then it needs to decide. Council Member White thanked Mr. Byorni and Mr. Hunt for their presentations. She also noted that on the proposed meeting schedule on the proposed comprehensive plan that October 9th is a Wednesday. The Zoning and Annexation Committee would meet again to continue this discussion on Tuesday, October 2nd. There being no further business to come before the Committee, Council Member White adjourned the meeting at 5:15 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Council Member Karen L. White, Chairperson Zoning and Annexation Committee KCF:kmf Attachments