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HomeMy WebLinkAbout7/12/2006 - Planning Commission - Minutes - RegularAPPROVED MINUTES PLANNING COMMISSION July 12, 2006 A regular meeting of the Planning Commission of the City of Salem, Virginia, was held in Council Chambers, City Hall, 114 North Broad Street, at 7:00 p.m., on July 12, 2006, there being present the following members of said Commission, to wit: Gardner W. Smith, Terrance D. Murphy, Vicki G. Daulton, and Bruce N. Thomasson (Jimmy W. Robertson – absent); with Gardner W. Smith, Chairman, presiding; together with Melinda J. Payne, Director of Planning and Development; William L. Simpson, Jr., Civil Engineer II; Charles B. Aldridge Sr., Acting Building Official and Zoning Administrator; Michael Stater, Public Information Officer; Benjamin W. Tripp, Planner; Krystal M. Coleman, Secretary to the City Manager; and William C. Maxwell, Assistant City Attorney; and the following business was transacted: ON MOTION MADE BY COMMISSION MEMBER DAULTON, AND DULY CARRIED, the minutes of the regular meeting and work session held on June 1 4 , 2006, and the minutes of the work sessions held April 12, and May 10, 2006, were approved as written – the roll call vote: all present - aye. ON MOTION MADE BY COMMISSION MEMBER THOMASSON, AND DULY CARRIED, due to the absence of the Executive Secretary and Assistant Executive Secretary, Krystal M. Coleman is hereby appointed Executive Secretary Pro Tem for this meeting of the City of Salem Planning Commission – the roll call vote: all present – aye. In re: Request for final approval of a proposed subdivision plat filed by Thomas LTD, property owner, for four parcels located at the intersection of West Main Street and Maple Street (Tax Map #’s 123-3-1 & 2 and 124-9-5 & 6) (Preliminary approval granted at the June 14, 2006, meeting.) The Executive Secretary Pro Tem reported the Commission has received a request for final approval of a proposed subdivision plat filed by Thomas LTD, property owner, for four parcels located at the intersection of West Main Street and Maple Street (Tax Map #’s 123-3-1 & 2 and 124-9-5 & 6); and preliminary approval was granted at the June 14, 2006, meeting of the Commission; and WHEREAS, the staff noted the following: applicant wishes to subdivide these four parcels into 14 lots to be used for townhouses and alley ways to access parking in the rear; due to concerns about parking and alley-way access onto Main Street, this request was only granted preliminary approval by the Commission at the June 14, 2006, meeting; the developer has been in contact with Staff and has addressed those concerns in the new plat; all Staff concerns have been addressed; alleyway access to Main Street has been removed due to safety concerns by City officials; additionally, the developer has agreed to widen Maple Street to allow residents to park on both sides of the street and to allow City vehicles access; the homeowners’ association agreement must still include a provision for the joint responsibility of all homeowners with respect to the maintenance and upkeep of the storm water easements; and Staff endorses the subdivision plat as it now stands; and WHEREAS, Sean Horne of Balzer & Associates, 1208 Corporate Circle, Roanoke, representing the property owners, appeared before the Commission explaining the request; he noted that the major changes are the widening of Maple Street and the elimination the ingress/egress of the alleyways to Main Street; and further, these items have been addressed with City staff; and WHEREAS, Vice Chairman Murphy asked Mr. Horne how wide Maple Street would be, and Mr. Horne noted that the street would be 38’ from face of curb to face of curb; Vice Chairman Murphy also asked if there would be sidewalk and curbing on both sides of Maple Street, and Joe Thomas Jr., property owner, noted that the project would include curbing but would not include sidewalk; and WHEREAS, Melinda J. Payne, Director of Planning and Economic Development, noted that the developers went back to the engineers and did exactly what the Commission asked them to do; further, she noted the plan submitted has addressed all the questions and concerns voiced at the last meeting; and WHEREAS, Vice Chairman Murphy asked the Director of Planning and Economic Development if the City’s Fire Department has also reviewed and approved the plan submitted; Ms. Payne noted that the Fire Department has given its approval at the site plan review meeting and that Maple Street and the alleyways are more than adequate to accommodate emergency vehicles; further, she noted that the alleyways on the new plan are wider than what was discussed at the site plan meeting; and WHEREAS, Commission Member Daulton asked if the developer was proposing a privacy fence at the back of the property on both sides of the development; Mr. Horne noted that the developer is proposing vegetative screening at the rear of each side of the development; and WHEREAS, Chairman Smith noted the landscaping on Main Street and asked Mr. Horne if this was the same as the previous plan; Mr. Horne noted that the landscaping on West Main Street was on the plan submitted at the last meeting; ON MOTION MADE BY COMMISSION MEMBER THOMASSON, AND DULY CARRIED, the request for final approval of a proposed subdivision plat filed by Thomas LTD, property owner, for four parcels located at the intersection of West Main Street and Maple Street (Tax Map #’s 123-3-1 & 2 and 124-9-5 & 6) is hereby approved and the Executive Secretary and City Engineer are hereby authorized to endorse such final approval on said final plat in accordance with The Code of the City of Salem, Virginia – the roll call vote: all present - aye. In re: Request of Morris Elam Limited Partnership, property owner, for the issuance of a Special Exception Permit to allow the construction of 5 two-family dwellings on four parcels located in the 200 block of South Broad Street and the 200 block of Chapman Street (Tax Map #121-3-2 & 3 and 122-8-8 & 9) The Executive Secretary Pro Tem reported that this date and time has been set to hold a public hearing to consider the request of Morris Elam Limited Partnership, property owner, for the issuance of a Special Exception Permit to allow the construction of 5 two-family dwellings on four parcels located in the 200 block of South Broad Street and the 200 block of Chapman Street (Tax Map #121-3-2 & 3 and 122-8-8 & 9); and WHEREAS, the Executive Secretary Pro Tem further reported that notice of such hearing had been published in the June 29, and July 6, 2006, issues of the Salem Times-Register, and adjoining property owners were notified by letter mailed June 30, 2006; and WHEREAS, staff noted the following: this request consists of four tax parcels (five lots total) located on South Broad Street and Chapman Street; currently, there are two vacant parcels and two with single family dwellings; the original lots were 66’ in width; one 66’ lot was further subdivided in the past and has one of the dwellings; if this request is approved, a plat will be prepared to vacate the interior line and recreate Lot 94 as it originally existed; this request does not include the southern half of Lot 92, which was included in the original request; a similar request was approved by the Commission at the May 10, 2006, meeting but was subsequently denied by Council; the main difference between the two requests is that the prior, approved request would have allowed large multifamily dwellings; the property owner/developer is requesting a Special Exception Permit to allow the construction of two-family dwellings on single lots zoned RSF; included with the request is a copy of the plans for the proposed house-like structures; the change in design was made in sensitivity to neighbor concerns regarding the apartment-like appearance of the first design; if the Special Exception Permit is approved, both dwellings will be removed; further, the property owner is prepared to proffer the exhibit and house plans submitted with the request; a vacation plat can be approved administratively by City staff; and WHEREAS, Morris Elam Jr. of 214 McClelland Street, representing Morris Elam Sr., appeared before the Commission explaining the request to allow the property to be used for 5 two- family dwellings; he noted that they appeared before the Commission a couple of months ago with a proposal to construct an apartment development, which was approved by the Commission and subsequently denied by Salem City Council due to neighborhood concerns; he further noted they have taken into consideration the concerns of the neighbors and downgraded the project to lesser density; with the new plan, they are proposing to construct 5 two-family residences on four parcels in the 200 block of South Broad Street and Chapman Street located just south of the Salem Rescue Squad; the proposed structures will have a one-car garage and two off- street parking spaces for each unit; further, the units will be three bedrooms and two full baths and will have some brick on the exterior; the proposed plan effectively reduces the original proposition by one half the number of units; also, the footprint of the proposed structures would basically be the same as would be allowed with the construction of single-family dwellings; and WHEREAS, Commission Member Daulton asked Mr. Elam if they still intended to rent the units for $600-650, and Mr. Elam noted he thought it would be more like $750-800 per unit; and WHEREAS, no other person(s) appeared related to said request; and WHEREAS, there was further discussion regarding the demolition of the existing structures and the re-creation of one of the original lot lines; and WHEREAS, Vice Chairman Murphy asked Mr. Elam if they had an opportunity to meet with any of the neighbors to address their concerns in relation to the development; Mr. Elam noted that he had not met with the neighbors, but he was unsure if his Dad might have done so; and Mr. Elam noted that he thought the plan presented this evening took into consideration the neighbors’ concerns; ON MOTION MADE BY COMMISSION MEMBER THOMASSON, AND DULY CARRIED, the Planning Commission of the City of Salem doth recommend to the Council of the City of Salem that the request of Morris Elam Limited Partnership, property owner, for the issuance of a Special Exception Permit to allow the construction of 5 two- family dwellings on four parcels located in the 200 block of South Broad Street and the 200 block of Chapman Street (Tax Map #121-3-2 & 3 and 122-8-8 & 9) be approved as presented – the roll call vote: all present - aye. There being no further business to come before the Commission, the same on motion adjourned at 7:17 p.m.