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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1996-07-09 Planning MINASHLAND PLANNING COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING MINUTES JULY 9, 1996 CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order at 7:05 p.m. by Vice Chair Steve Armitage. Other Commissioners present were Carr, Giordano, Bass, Hearn, Gardiner, Armitage, Howe, and Finkle. Jarvis arrived at the meeting prior to the planning action review. Staff present were Molnar, Knox, Madding and Yates. MINUTES AND FINDINGS Carr moved to approve the Minutes and Findings from the June 11, 1996 meeting. Howe seconded the motion and the vote was unanimous. PUBLIC FORUM ROBERT MCCOY, 160 Orange Avenue, talked about time limit rules. He was given the impression at the hearing last month that there was a time limit of 15 minutes for the opposition with a limit of three speakers only. Because of that he changed and limited his presentation. How can the opposition rebut if they are hearing facts that are not true during the applicant rebuttal? McCoy submitted his rewritten version of the hearing rules. Armitage suggested the Commission review McCoy's comments at a study session. He apologized to McCoy if there was any confusion. McCoy realizes that the Planning Commission is not the enforcement body, but he wanted them to be aware of what was happening on Orange and sent them a copy of a letter he sent to the Council. The letter he sent was a request to shut down Bonin's operation. TYPE II PLANNING ACTION PLANNING ACTION 96-063 REQUEST FOR A SITE REVIEW FOR THE RENOVATION AND MULTI-STORY EXPANSION (FIRST FLOOR WITH MEZZANINE, SECOND AND THIRD STORY) OF THE BUILDING LOCATED AT 62-66 E. MAIN STREET. APPLICANT: ALLAN SANDLER & ED BEMIS Site Visits or Ex Parte Contacts Site visits were made by all. STAFF REPORT The property lies between the Shakespeare offices (listed on National Register) and on the other side Macaroni's and Martino's. The proposal is for an extensive renovation of the lower floor incorporating a mezzanine and the addition onto the existing Mail Tribune building. The lower floor will be occupied by Playbill along with a retail space. The storefront design along East Main will be renovated with a central main entrance door with stairs to the upper floors, There will be three entrances at the East Main store front elevation. The second floor involves two retail spaces along with a handicap accessible apartment. There will be an entrance from the Shakespeare brick courtyard almost level with the courtyard. The primary entrance to that floor will be there. Above the second floor will be a third story housing two small apartments. Those units will be oriented around a central internal courtyard. The proposed building material will be a smooth red brick, similar to the more recent Tudor Guild store. There will be a granite facing along the first floor on East Main. This will depend on availability of the granite. Staff has recommended approval of this application. The proposal has gone through an evolution since it was first reviewed. The applicant has been willing to go through some design renditions and has listened to the Historic Commission. It is not often there is a project of this magnitude in the downtown and the Commission should give it a thorough examination. Staff did not feel the proposed height varied significantly from the other buildings in that block. The Historic Commission felt the height was appropriate. Six conditions are attached. With regard to Condition 5, the brick courtyard with the phone booths is public property. It appears that in order to have an entryway to the rear second floor, the applicant will have to remove a small portion of the landscaping near the phone booth. Staff thought it would be advisable for the City Administrator to give his approval for any modifications of the public property. The applicant expressed some concern that the City Administrator would have a final say and wanted to make sure he would have the opportunity to go before the City Council if he felt it was warranted. There are two or three birch trees at the rear that may need to be removed. The applicant has not made it clear what will happen to the trees, but Staff would like them to retain as many as possible. Carr asked for a definition of "substantial conformance" as used in Condition 2. Molnar explained that Staff is pleased with the detailed architectural features the applicant has specified at this time. But since it is a planned view, it is difficult to get a feel for the depth and dimension these materials will be creating. Staff wanted to make sure that going from site review to building permit that the level of detail would not be lost. An additional side elevation may be needed to verify there would be a depth change. Hearn asked about the tree that appeared to be on Martino's property. Molnar thought it was an elm in the landscaped area next to Martino's and would not be disturbed as part of this project. Finkle wondered why the City Administrator would make a decision regarding modifications to public property (Condition 5). Molnar responded that Staff felt the highest ranking City official should approve such modifications. PUBLIC HEARING ALLAN SANDLER, 1260 Prospect, is one of the owners. It is his desire that there not be any misunderstandings on this project and that they plan to conform with their submitted plans. With regard to plantings, they will keep as many trees as possible. He is hopeful there will be an additional planting area. If they decide to use brick on the building instead of granite, they will resubmit details to the Planning Department for approval. Sandler needed clarification of Conditions 4, 5, and 6. They want to verify that they will not be required to conform to any new sign codes. Also, they do not want to have special Fire Department requirements for this building as opposed to other buildings in the downtown. And, when the City Administrator reviews the modifications of the public property, that it is reviewed in the same way other ASHLAND PLANNING COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING MINUTES JULY 9, 1996 applications are dealt with. Sandler wants to be able to have some recourse if a decision is made that is not agreeable to them. Giordano said the Fire Department does have a certain amount of discretion in interpreting their codes. Sandler understands as long as it is what they are asking of everyone else. Gardiner asked Sandler about the elm tree on Martino's property. Sandler said the tree is weak and they may have to replace it but they have no intention of simply removing it. ED BEMIS, PO Box 1018, Ashland, explained the mezzanine would be coming off the entrance wall and follow the outline of the bar, overlooking the dance floor. Molnar clarified that if the Fire Department make any changes to their code then it would apply to Sandler's project at the time of building permit issuance. With regard to sign permits, whenever there is a multi-tenant building, the tenants need to be aware that a separate sign permit will be issued for each tenant. Molnar recommended a Condition 7: That changes in materials to the first floor be reviewed by the Historic Commission and approved by the Staff Advisor. COMMISSIONERS DISCUSSION AND MOTION Jarvis suggested changing Condition 6 to: That sign permits be approved prior to the installation of any signs. Carr moved to approve PA96-063 with the attached Conditions along with the revised Condition 5 and with the added Condition 7. Howe seconded the motion and it carried unanimously. OTHER Liaison Member Reports Finkle reported that after three years of his involvement in TPAC, they are wrapping up completion of the transportation element of the Comprehensive Plan. At the last meeting, there were a few minor changes that needed to be made to the plan and then it will be reviewed by the Planning Commission in the next couple of months. It has been exciting for various people to come together and look at how the community can grow without getting overwhelmed by cars. The plan encourages people to use alternate modes of transportation. Miscellaneous Armitage asked at the next meeting that a corrected meeting process and order of business statement be made available to the public in the rear of the room. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 8:05 p.m.. ASHLAND PLANNING COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING MINUTES JULY 9, 1996