HomeMy WebLinkAbout11-04-2013 Planning Commission MinutesNovember 4 , 2013
Planning Commiss ion Minutes
The Pl anning Commission m et Monday, November 4th, 20 13 at 5:00 PM at the C ity
Munic ipa l Complex, 161 N. Section Street in the Counci l Chambers.
Present: Lee Turner, Chairperson; Geor ge Roberds, Vice-Chair ; Tim Kant; Jennifer
Fidler; Bob C lark; Dick Charles; Councilmember Diana Brewer; Jonathan Smith,
P lanning Director; Nancy M il ford, Planner; and Kim Burmeister.
Abse nt: Berni e Fogarty; E mil y Boyett, Secretary
Ch airman Lee Turner call ed the meeting to order at 5:00 PM and announced the meeting
is being recorded. The minutes of the October 7th, 20 13 meetin~ were considered and
Di ck Charl es moved t o accept the minutes as written and was t 1 by Bob Clark. Motion
can-ied unanimously.
UR 13 .13 Request of Preb le-Rish, LLC on behalf of the City of Fairhop e for an
11.52.11 review and approval of the proposed Fair hope Soccer Co mplex, John
Avent. The project w ill be located at the so uth west corner of Manley Road and Count y
Road 13. Jonathan Smith gave t he staff report say ing the project co nsists of 10 soccer
fi eld s; 455 paved parking spaces and 240 grassed parking spaces; approx imately 325
trees of var ying sizes; field li ghting will consi st of 32 poles and lights; concessio n stand,
conference room, a nd restroom fac iliti es totaling approximately 3,000 square feet; locker
room, restroom , storage and press box totaling approx imate ly 2,880 squ are feet; and
approximat ely 7,700 square yard s of sid ewalk will b e provide d fo r pedestrian access
around the site . There are also several shade structures and playground equipme nt
proposed. The site has 3 proposed access points to Manley Road. The site will prov ide
detention for all improvements along the eastern property line. Staff recommendation is
to approve the proposed lo cation, characte r and extent of the City of Fairhope Soccer
Comp lex. John Ave nt of Preble-Rish, LLC addressed the Commission and stated they
have worked with Sheny Sull ivan, the Recreation Board , and a soccer committee to
revi ew several different configuratio ns and this design works best for the property. Mr.
Charles asked if the site wi ll require a lot of gradi ng and Mr. A ve nt r esponded yes. Mrs.
Fid ler stated concerns with drainage a nd detenti on. Mr. Avent stated th ere will be green
parking, depressed bio-retention a reas in the parking area, and a detention pond. Mrs.
Brewer asked if t h ere is adequate ingress/egress fo r emergency vehicles and Mr. Avent
re sponded yes, but only at one point so th ey wi ll look at it further. Mrs. Brewer asked for
additi onal information regardin g the use and the length of t h e soccer seaso n and how
much th e s ite wi ll be used. Bob Keyser of the Recreati on Boar d add ressed the
Commiss io n saying soccer team s currentl y u se Founder's Park 11 months a year. He
stated the City has approxim ately 1,000 k ids registered to u se soccer faciliti es and thi s
complex w ill accommodate these as well as the proj ected growth. He said the parking at
Fo und er 's is an issue and t hi s n ew faci li ty wi ll he lp support sports touri sm for our area
and allow the City to h ost large to urnan1 ents. Mr. Charles asked abo ut the lighting and
sequence of construction. Mr. Keyser responded onl y 8 fi elds will be lit and the fie ld s
c losest to Summer Lake a nd Manley Road will not be li t a nd the rest will utilize musco
li ghtin g whic h is directional LED li ghtin g. He st ated the biggest concern ri ght now is
fie ld space so he would like to see them built first but he wants it done ri ght. Mrs. Fidler
asked if a fence will b e r equired around the pond and does it h ave to be wet. Mr. A vent
sa id a fence w ill have to be looked at and yes, the pond w ill have to be wet in order to
meet th e City drainage require ments. Mr. Keyser stated the Soccer Committee would
November 4, 20 I 3
Planning Commiss io n Minutes
like to have the pond fenced. Mr. T urner asked if there w ill be any re taining walls and
Mr. A vent re sponded n o, he thinks everything can be done with slopes. Mr. Turner asked
the access points can be moved east or west so they wo uld not line up w ith the
s ubdiv ision and Mr. A vent stated yes, but they h ave been placed for the be s t circ ul ation
and if move d they could be a traffi c h azard. Mr. Charl es asked if the shooting range on
the east side of County Road 13 is a concern and Mr. A vent state d he could not speak to
that. Mr. Keyser said the situation is not unusual and it is not an issue. Mayor Kant
asked if the fields were sitting north and so uth for a reason and Mr. Keyser responded
yes, for visibility due t o the ri sin g and setting of the sun.
Mr. Turner stated this case do es not require a public hearin g but he opened the floor to
public comme nts .
Sherry Roberts -resident of Summer Lake, supportive of this project but doesn't want
children in dan ger, wants streets realigned because Manley Road i s already
overwhelmed.
Jason Gerhardt -Danah Street , concerned with traffic, wants parking off of Manley and
on Co unty Road 13.
David Usher -11 2 44 St. Ives Court -live in Daphne but kids play Fairhope soccer
because of the program and the coach es but bu sting at the seams , need to find somethin g
that meets the needs of the program but also serves the community.
Jamie Fer guson -9911 Bella Drive -has been involved w ith socce r for 10 years , safety
is fir st, influencing lives through sports and thi s is a top notch complex and h opes it is not
compromised .
Mark Connell -5 Moss Oak Corn1 -ever yone can be sati sfi ed b y flipping the design and
mov ing the ingress/egress to County Road 13 .
James Dorgan -Summer Lake resident , don 't want to stop the proj ect but don 't want
their nei ghb orho od to beco me the driveway to the park, turn t he des ign an d front it on
County Road 13, keep a few fields at Founder's Park.
John Cardwell -90 19 Gale Rowe Lane, Fairhope Hig h Sc hool Principle, thanked the
City for the vi s ion and thi s project.
Emmy Keyser -soccer player for 14 years, struggle for fi e lds even for practice no w,
tournaments sen d directions w it h packe ts and a re not going to be c uttin g through a
neighborhood, splitting th e fields is a in convenience for players and parents, rotating the
desi gn and losin g even one field is a bi g deal , players are very excited about thi s proj ect.
Tracy K ield -lives on County Ro ad 13 , played soccer throu ghout hi g h school and
co lle ge, comparing this complex to Founder's where yo u have to go throu gh a
subdi v is ion to get to the fields , locals may cut throu gh bu t tournament players and teams
wo n 't beca us e dir ections will li st main roads.
Andrew Bradley -Summer Lake r esid ent an d soccer coac h, ever yone is say in g the same
t hing and everyone wants the complex just rotate the orientation of it.
Reese Jones -14 6 W ill ow Lake Drive, safety is an is s ue now w ith Founder's, people are
h avi ng to park o n Twin Beech and jump a fence, any thing i s better than w hat there i s
now.
Mr. Turner closed th e public input. Mr. Avent addressed the public's co mme nts sayi ng
rotatin g th e d esign 90 d egr ees is not feasib le due to the topograph y of th e l and an d the
sun and rotating it 180 degrees wou ld require a ll of the traffic to be brou ght through the
parking area. Mr. Turner asked if the main entran ce co ul d be off set from the subdivision
street and Mr. A vent s tated t he layo ut is symmetrical and designed for maximu m traffic
fl ow but it can be l ooked at. Mr. Clark as ked if County Road 13 was ever considered for
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Nove mber 4, 20 13
Plan nin g Co mmi ssio n Min ut es
the ingre ss/egre ss point and why was it not chosen. Mr. A vent res pond ed yes , it was not
feasibl e due to the topography, grading, and drainage and keep 10 fields. Mr. Turner
stated he like s the ent rance on Manley R oad for the pede strian com1ections. Mrs. Fidl er
s ugge sted moving the e ntire co mplex to the north and remo vin g the "green " parking and
adding an additional entrance and parkin g on County Ro ad 13 . Mr. A ve nt stated there
were other scenario s but thi s des ign was the one that was cho sen to bring befo re the
Commission. M r. Roberds stat ed rotating the des ign 180 degrees w ill be a safety i ss ue .
Mayor Kant stated the project will be on the Ci ty C ounc il agenda again M o nday ni ght
and he fe el s the traffic w ill go thro ugh the neighb o rhood s whether the entra nces a re ther e
or not and there s hould b e a compromise and may be make the other entranc es p edestrian
o nl y. Dick C harles made a moti on t o acce pt the staff recommendation to approve th e
proposed location, ch aract e r and extent o f the City of Fairhop e Soccer Compl ex . Bo b
Clark t 1ct the motion and the moti on carried un animo usly .
SD 13 .14 Public hearing to con sider the request of the City of Fairhope Planning
Department for the proposed amendment to Article V , Section E., 2. Lot Sizes, b. of
the City of Fairhope Subdivision Reg ulations to modify lot size requirements for
land not subject to z onin g, Jonathan Smith. Mr. Smith gave the s ta ff r eport sayin g the
staff has discussed the need for amending the Sub. Regs . regardin g increasing the
minimum lot siz e fo r un zoned properties to be in compliance w ith R-1 Low Density
Sing le Fa mily R esidential District lot area sizes. Curre ntl y prope rti es are all owed
preliminary plat approv al of small er lots prior to a nnexati on into the Fairhope corporate
limits up on p etition to the C ity Council. Contigu ous p ro perti es are au tomaticall y
annexe d as R -1 Low Den sity Single Famil y R esid ential District. T hi s si tuati on creates
non-confor min g lot con ditions that allo w fo r inconsistencies w ithin the C ity of Fairhop e
corp orate limits . Th e proposed minimum lot area standards for R-1 Zo ning area as
follo ws: minimum lot area -15,000 squar e feet ; minimum lot w idth -100 linear feet.
St aff pro poses t o c h ange the wo rdin g of Article V, Sect io n E., 2 . Lot S izes as fo ll ows :
2 . Lo t S izes -
a. Land Subject to Zon in g -W he re la nd is s ubj ec t to zo ning a l l lot s s ha ll full y
conform t o the re qui re me nts of the a pplica ble zoning o rdina nce. The
applicant s ha ll furni s h t o t he commi ss io n s ite drawin gs to demo ns trate
complia nce. L o t s not in complia nce sh a ll not h ave building pe rmi ts iss ued
unl ess com b in e d w ith othe r lots and reco nfigured so as t o compl y w ith
zonin g re quire me nts.
b. Land not Subject to Zoning -
I) Lo t s no t s ubj ect to zo ning s ha ll have lot a re as of no t less t han 15,000
squa re feet a nd a minimum lot w idth of 100 feet;
2) W he re neit he r publi c wate r no r public sewage is ava il ab le, lot areas and
w idth s s h a ll co nfo rm to the require me nts of t he publi c hea lth a ut hori t ies,
but in no case s ha ll be less th an 100 fee t in w idth and 20,00 0 squa re feet
in a rea.
Staff recomm endati on is to app rove as p resented. Mr. Turn er op ened t he public hearin g
and having no o ne presen t to s peak, he cl ose d the publi c heari ng. George Roberds m ade
a m oti on to accept the staff reco mmend ation to approve as p resented . J enni fer Fi dler 2nd
the moti on and t he motion carri ed u nanimous ly .
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November 4, 2013
Planni ng Comm iss ion Minutes
ZC 13.12 Public hearing to consider the request of the City of Fairhope Planning
Department for the proposed amendment to the Zoning Ordinance to delete Article
IV, Section G. Signs; Article VII, Section E. Non-Conforming Signs; and a portion
of Article IX, Section C. Defined Terms in order to incorporate the City's sign
provisions from the Zoning Ordinance into the City's Code of Ordinances,
Jonathan Smith. Mr. Smith gave the staff report saying the City currently regulates
signage through the Zoning Ordinance. Through discussions with the City's legal
counsel and information gathered at the 213 American Planning Association National
Conference, it was determined that addressing sign regulations through the City's
Municipal Code of Ordinances is more appropriate than addressing sign regulation in the
Zoning Ordinance, which primarily relates to land use. Staff proposes to remove Article
IV, Section G . Signs; Article VII, Section E. Non-Conforming Signs; and a portion of
Article IX, Section C. Defined Terms of the Zoning Ordinance and a stand-alone Sign
Ordinance will be proposed to the City Council. Staff recommendation is to approve as
presented. Mr. Turner opened the public hearing . Having no one present to speak, he
closed the public hearing. Dick Charles made a motion to accept the staff
recommendation to approve as presented and forward a favorable recommendation to the
City Council. George Roberds 2nd the motion and the motion carried unanimously.
New I Old Business
Election of Officers -Mr. Clark made a motion to re-elect Lee Turner as the Chairman ;
George Roberds as the Vice-Chairman; and Emily Boyett as the secretary. Dick Charles
2nd the motion and the motion carried unanimously.
2014 Agenda Schedule -Jonathan Smith stated the proposed schedule has been
reviewed for conflicts with holidays . Dick Charles made a motion to accept the 2014
Agenda Schedule as presented. Diana Brewer 2nd the motion and the motion carried
unanimously.
George Roberds asked about the Comp. Plan Update and Mr. Smith stated he is waiting
until the ACE information comes back and it will probably be February. Mr. Roberds
applauded the City Council for the purchase of the Triangle Property and Mr. Clark
agreed.
Having no further business, Jennifer Fidler moved to adjourn and was 2nd by Dick
Charles . Motion passed unanimously. The meeting was duly adjourned at 6:21 PM.
J?ec ~ ____ z -B -tfi
Lee Turner,~ Emily o tt , S er tary
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