Crystal Lake Park

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Minutes

of the City of Crystal Lake Park, Missouri

Regular Meeting of the Planning & Zoning Commission and Board of Adjustment

Thursday, September 13, 2007

Chairman David Evans called the meeting of the Planning & Zoning Commission and Board of Adjustment to order and announced a quorum of the P&Z Commission.

ROLL CALL:

Present:  David Evans (Chairperson), Martin Long, Marianne Stuart, Chris Kerckhoff,  Dennis Bauer, and Alderman Jim Gehringer, as well as Board of Adjustment member Sue Glarner.  Also attending were new City Attorney Howard Paperner and interim Building Commissioner Steve Littlefield, as well as Alderman Jim Leonard.  Absent:  Rita Brinkmann, Barry Larson, Caili Balcer, Mary Jane Cusumano and Amy Goellner.

NEW BUSINESS:

Chairman Evans began by stating that the meeting would focus primarily on a discussion of District D ordinances.  However, before beginning the discussion, he stated that a resident of the City had contacted him about plans for building a porch on the front of his house and Evans had suggested he attend tonight’s meeting.  As the resident began to show his plans to Commission members, City Attorney Paperner indicated that the issue was not one to be discussed by the Commission.  Instead, he said, the resident should submit his plans to the Building Commissioner (BC) for approval.  If the plans do not garner approval, Paperner continued, the resident could then apply for a variance and request a hearing before the Board of Adjustment.

Evans then indicated that the Board of Alderpersons had asked the Commission to make a recommendation regarding the City’s hiring of a new BC.  Evans lauded interim BC Littlefield’s work to-date and indicated that he was in favor of recommending Evans for the position.  All Commission members agreed unanimously to recommend Littlefield to the Board of Alderpersons for the position.

Evans then noted that there had been a complaint from a resident that the City of Frontenac, which performs our City’s inspections on certain structures and additions, charges a $500 minimum fee for permits.  Paperner stated that he would meet with Littlefield to develop a new permit fee schedule for the City and would also review the City’s contract with Frontenac regarding their services and fees.  He further suggested that the City use some fixed fee permits, i.e. for fences, which should require lesser fees than some other plan reviews and inspections.

OLD BUSINESS:

Evans then began a discussion of the City’s District D ordinances, the primary topic of the evening.  He asked members whether the discussion should be on the ordinances as a whole, or in part, with the issues of square footage and setbacks being resolved first.  It was agreed to discuss the difficult issues first, then to move on to the other zoning ordinance issues.  Commission member Long indicated along with the other members that he had reviewed the ordinances of the cities of Olivette, Ladue and Clayton in order to see how other cities addressed their ordinances relating to similarly sized lots.  He said that his research led him to believe that the zoning ordinances of the cities of Clayton and Olivette were better suited for use by our City.  A discussion followed on the issues of setbacks, square footage of new homes, and height.  It was noted that the cities of Olivette and Clayton used a footprint percentage of varies lot sizes to determine the size of a new home that can be built.  Olivette uses a 35% footprint percentage it was noted, while Clayton used 40%.  Evans said that if our City adhered to its 6’ setbacks and allow for a 42% footprint, the size of a new home in our City would be limited to a maximum of 2090 square feet.  Further discussion ensued.  Paperner then noted that the use of floor area square footage to determine home sizes does not work well with corner lot homes.  He added that in looking at our City’s homes in District D, there was only one lot that was not square, while there were many homes in District B for example, which contained corner and oddly shaped lots.  He stated that it was up to the P&Z to decide whether or not they wanted to City to allow building of new homes that are two stories, which would mean higher heights and additional square footage. 

BC Littlefield suggested that Planning & Zoning Commission, acting as the Architectural Review Board, should become more pro-active in determining the architecture of new homes to be built.  Further discussion ensued regarding aggregates and it was noted that District D was the only district in the City which mentioned aggregates in its zoning ordinances.  After more discussion, Alderperson Gehringer made a Motion to eliminate the aggregates in District D.  Evans seconded the Motion.  Bauer interrupted and asked if the Commission needed to have a public hearing regarding the Commission’s recommendations to the Board.  Paperner stated that no public hearing was necessary,  however, the City would need to post the Agenda of the meeting when discussion of amending the zoning ordinance would occur.  And, he added, the City must have copies of the proposed amendments available to the public prior to any vote taken by the Board of Alderpersons on the issue. 

Further discussion regarding roof height measurement occurred and Evans suggested that the BC determine an appropriate baseline measurement so discussion on the issue could continue at a later time. The BC agreed to do so and further said that he believed that the City of Olivette’s zoning ordinances best fit our municipality.  The other members agreed.  He added that we should use Olivette’s as a footprint for developing new ordinances for District D.  Evans stated that the Commission would do so and asked members if they agreed to use setbacks, and home footprint as a percentage of a lot, while eliminating the requirements regarding square footage.  All members agreed and then a discussion ensued concerning the percentage of the lot the footprint should cover.  Green space, size of driveways and other issues were addressed, too.  Paperner noted that everyone always wants more green space in the City, but with the density in District D, he said, you are not going to be able to have much green space.  He also said that the Commission should include accessory structures in their discussion, like decks, porches, patios and sheds.  Parking in the City, with its narrow streets, would also be an issue to be addressed when deciding whether to allow one or two car garages in new homes.  

Due to the lateness of the evening, Evans suggested that members review and consider the information it had gleaned and be prepared for further discussion at the next meeting of the Commission.

NEXT MEETING:

The next meeting of the Commission and Board of Adjustment will be held on Thursday, October 4, 2007 at 7:00 p.m. at Frontenac City Hall.  

VOTE TO CLOSE MEETING

There being no further business, a Motion was made to close the meeting, seconded and unanimously approved.  The meeting was adjourned at 9:00 p.m.

City Clerk, Lois LaDriere

Chairman, David Evans