Union City Planning Commission and Board of Zoning Appeals Meeting Minutes   Third Quarter 2002   July 9, 2002, Meeting Minutes July 24, 2002, Meeting Minutes August 13, 2002, Meeting Minutes September 10, 2002, Meeting Minutes   July 9, 2002 PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES Members Present: Glynn Marsh Mayor Packard Lawrence Beyer Dale Shields Lynne Thomas-Roth City Staff Members Present: John Applegate Denise Winemiller   The Planning Commission meeting was called to order and attendance was taken. All the commission members were present. 1. Mr. Shields asked if there were any additions or corrections of the minutes of the April 9, 2002 meeting. There were none so Mr. Beyer moved that the minutes be approved. Mayor Packard seconded the motion. Mr. Shields abstained, the other commission members voted for the motion and the minutes were accepted as prepared. 2. Mr. Shields then asked if there were any additions or corrections of the minutes of the June 11, 2002 meeting. There were no corrections to be made so Mr. Beyer moved that the minutes be approved. Mayor Packard seconded the motion. Mrs. Thomas-Roth abstained, the other commission members voted for the motion and the minutes were accepted as prepared. 3. 02-12 - Final Plat application for Concord Meadows, Section 3. Mr. Applegate introduced Jeff Van Atta from Van Atta Engineering. Mr. Van Atta was present to represent Mr. Sam Knobler who is currently out of the country. Mr. Applegate said this was the final application for Concord Meadows, Section 3. Sections 1 and 2 are currently being developed and lots are still being sold. Section 3 would be the next group of single family homes and it complies with the conceptual plan that was approved by the planning commission. Woolpert Engineering is currently reviewing the plan. Mr. Applegate said the approval of this application would be contingent upon the final results of the engineer's review. Mr. Van Atta said he felt they were in compliance with Union regulations and would make any modifications as required. Mr. Applegate said HLS Engineering which did the first few sections is no longer doing the work for Concord Meadows. Van Atta is the new engineering firm. Mr. Beyer asked when they would be ready to start. Mr. Van Atta said as soon as they would receive the approval of the construction drawings, they would be ready to start. Mr. Applegate said Mr. Knobler would like to start in early August. Mr. Marsh asked how many more sections were proposed. Mr. Van Atta said there are roughly three more single family home sections and three more two family home sections. Mayor Packard said the development was looking very good. Mr. Shields asked if the lots were large enough to avoid needing variances. Mr. Applegate said they were except that some homes were larger, like seventeen and eighteen hundred feet. The next sections of lots will be smaller, more like the R-PUD size. The developer was asked to make the lots larger in the first sections to blend better with the existing homes. Mr. Applegate said he wanted to point out that the back lots are what is generally more like R-PUD lots. Minimum width is sixty-four and seventy-four feet. Lots can be larger but not smaller. Mr. Applegate said that only nine homes out of the twenty-two built in Concord Meadows are less than sixteen hundred square feet. Mr. Applegate said that he had informed MidLife Development on the discussion of the square footage increase. They are very much opposed and ask that the city hold a special meeting so they can discuss this further. If this section is approved, it will be subject to current regulations. Mayor Packard moved that Concord Meadows, section 3 be approved pending the review by Woolpert Engineering. Mr. Shields seconded the motion. All concurred and the motion was passed. 4. 02-13 - Review of new proposed conceptual preliminary plan for Mill Ridge Village site. Scott Puckett, president of the Brethren Retirement Community, Barbara Kreuzer, house manager and Dale Musser, director of construction, in charge of the landscaping was present. They have a new site plan worked up by the Troyer Group. The original design had a large area of green space. They decided to make more room to add different levels of care. The first phase, repeated five more times and would have had about seventy two units. It has been redesigned to include 125 independent living units. Most are single dwelling units and approximately thirty of them would be duplexes. They have changed the campus to be more attractive. They are adding water areas, an actual mill, a mini-golf course, a playground, and a pavilion. The existing community building would have a walkway connected with assisted living and independent congregate living so as people's circumstances change and they need more services, they could move to more care but still stay within the facility. They would hope to provide food and dining services for the community or possibly the surrounding area. Most of the duplexes would be near the community center because that is where the hub of the services would originate. The buildings would probably be two floors, possibly three. They would have phases one through eight, with each phase taking twelve to eighteen months. The service area would be in phase six, so they would have a better idea of where the market is. Mrs. Thomas-Roth expressed concern about the ponds being on the outside of the development which was discussed on the original plan. Mr. Puckett said because of the stone being so close to the ground, the ponds would not be more than two to three feet deep. Mayor Packard expressed concern that it was a multi-family and that was not included in the zoning. Mr. Marsh asked what size the units would be. Mr. Puckett said between thirteen to eighteen hundred square feet. Mr. Puckett said he would like to see if they could build 900 square feet units closer to the service area. Mr. Puckett said retirement communities have units as small as 600 square feet sometimes. Eight hundred square feet is very common with a single car garage. Often people can only afford a smaller unit, thirty percent of those people moving in will lose a spouse within five years. He proposed that not more than thirty percent of the units would be less than 1,100 square feet, greater than 900 but less than 1,100. Mayor Packard asked what the cost would be on a single unit. Mr. Puckett said it would be $80.00 a square foot, so a 1,500 square feet unit would be $120,000. The monthly fee is between $495.00 and $545.00 which is the maintenance of the grounds and the units themselves. They will have a housing manager. There is an area for maintenance and RV parking. Mr. Puckett said that area would be enclosed. Mr. Applegate asked if one of the exits would come out on Heckman. Mr. Marsh asked if two major entrances coming out on the same road would be a safety concern with the police and emergency vehicles. Mr. Applegate said the station was close to the area. Other households have limited exits and entrances. Mr. Applegate said these would all be private streets. Mr. Beyer asked if parking would be allowed. Mr. Puckett said they would try to put the driveways in so they could put two to four cars on each driveway. Mr. Beyer asked definition of independent and assisted living. They have 1.2 staff persons per resident, licensed staff available twenty-four hours a day. Mr. Beyer asked about the meal service being open to the community. He asked Mr. Applegate what zoning would be involved with opening up food service to the community, like it would almost be like a commercial food service. Mr. Puckett said that was an option. Mr. Applegate said they would have to take a look at the regulations. They are allowed to cater meals now and are doing that. There was a discussion on the steps Union had made to encourage better quality homes, such as more square feet and two car garages. Mr. Beyer thought that it would be a step back, to have smaller square footage and one car garages. Several of the planning commission members had a problem with the house size. Mr. Marsh talked about the development that makes an attractive entrance to the city with lots of green. He said the initial concept had lots of green, mounding, etc. He said he had some problems putting the houses so close to the road and eliminating the wide buffer of green space. Mr. Puckett said the density requirement is not more than five units and this proposal is 3.7 units per acre. There is still a buffer of trees that is already planted. Mr. Marsh asked about additional water run off. He asked if any studies have been done. Mr. Puckett had asked Mr. Landis to do a study and he is doing a stormwater plan. Mr. Applegate said they would have Woolpert also look at the proposed stormwater plan. In a discussion about two car garages, Mr. Puckett said they did have some areas of additional parking. Most of the buildings would be all brick or mostly brick. Mayor Packard said he would be willing to accept the one car garage if they can get the zoning to comply. Mr. Applegate said that people would consider these as apartments and apartments had always been turned down by the residents, even when supported by the council. Mr. Applegate said residents would be afraid that property values would go down. Mr. Beyer asked that they look into the zoning suitability and let the planning commission take a new look at the site. Mr. Marsh asked if this community would generate taxes even though it was church owned. Mr. Applegate answered that it would and Mill Ridge would not be exempt. Mr. Marsh asked if it would generate building permit fees. Mr. Applegate said only one, two, and three units would have permits from the city. The four unit buildings would be issued permits from Montgomery County. Mr. Beyer said he wanted to consider the one car garages. Mr. Marsh asked about sidewalks. Sidewalks would be required along the outer perimeter. Mr. Beyer asked if privacy fences were allowed. Mr. Puckett said the back patio areas could be fenced. They could go out eight to ten feet. Mr. Puckett said they had decided against putting in curbs which would allow more natural drainage. Mr. Applegate said he had no problems with that for private streets. Mr. Applegate said he wanted this development to happen but he would not want the public to file a referendum against the project. Mr. Beyer clarified that Mill Ridge wanted thirty percent of the 165 units to be 900 to 1,100 square feet with one car garages. Mr. Puckett said they would be licensed as residential care. Mr. Marsh asked if the sketches could include dimensions for the Mill Ridge proposal. Mr. Applegate suggested he think about putting the one car garages on the inside so the appearance is more like a normal width driveway. Mr. Applegate said he wanted to go back to the discussion of having a special meeting. They decided on Wednesday, July 17, at 6:30 p.m. Mr. Applegate said Lynnette Ballato would be at the August meeting and the commission had received copies of the new proposed changes for sign regulations. Mr. Marsh said the 25 feet sign information is still there. Mr. Applegate said that they could bring that up at the meeting. They were unable to find any regulations on industrial park signs. They will be creating regulations for that. The city will still not allow signs off site because that would open the city up to signs all over. 4. Mr. Marsh moved that the meeting be adjourned. Mr. Beyer seconded the motion. All concurred and the planning commission meeting was adjourned. Back to top of page.    July 24, 2002 SPECIAL PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING Members Present: Glynn Marsh Mayor Packard Lawrence Beyer Dale Shields Lynne Thomas-Roth City Staff Members Present: John Applegate Denise Winemiller The special planning commission meeting was called to order and attendance was taken. All the planning commission members were present. 1. DISCUSSION REGARDING CONCORD MEADOWS. From a discussion at an earlier meeting, the planning commission had forwarded to the council recommendations on increasing the square footage for new homes. Mr. Applegate had met with Sam Knobler and his partner, Les Sandler, from Mid Life Development, concerning the Concord Meadows Subdivision. They discussed plans, goals, contracts that are already in place, such as with Brighten Homes, and how the increased square footage for homes would affect them. Mr. Applegate said Mr. Knobler requested a meeting to discuss the development since approximately one half of their models would not meet the new requirement. Mr. Knobler, owner of Mid Life Development, thanked the commission for having the special meeting. He said their past relationship had always been mutually beneficial and that Mid Life had made an investment in Union. Since the completion of Union Ridge had gone well, Mr. Knobler had decided to go forward with the Concord Meadows project. He explained that they had run into a considerable rock problem and had to invest additional money to do blasting to install the utility lines so the company had additional expenses on the project in the initial stages. Mr. Knobler said that he had to establish contracts with builders to obtain financing. Their assumptions were that they would build homes for $125,000 to $150,000 range, at 1,400 square feet and up. They had worked to attract a major builder to the development and had a contract with Inverness Homes and J. Michael Joly, which enabled Mid Life Development to obtain financing from the banks since they had valid contracts with builders. They also funded widening the road and putting in a turn lane to State Route 48, to further bring people into the development. Mr. Knobler passed out information from Brighten Homes, saying they are probably the second or third largest builder in Dayton. Mr. Knobler said the development is dependent on having a major builder involved. Brighten Homes offer twelve models and they offer basements which increases the cost. If the square footage requirement would take place, Brighten Homes would lose six of their models, or fifty percent of their product line. Mr. Knobler added that based on a survey that he conducted in Concord Meadows, roughly one third are under sixteen hundred square feet. Mr. Knobler said the city had three subdivisions that offer more expensive homes, Lindeman Commons, Irongate Estates, and Stoneycrest. To purchase a $130,000 to $150,000 home, the family income would need to be around $50,000 to $55,000. That is the market that Mid Life Development is aiming for. If the square footage change would go through, Mr. Knobler felt he would lose his contract with Brighten Homes. Mr. Knobler gave additional figures on the sales for Concord Meadows. The development was approved in 1999 and started in 2000. They anticipated selling twenty-five to thirty homes a year. They sold six homes in the last part of 2000, thirteen homes in 2001, and so far in 2002, they have closed twelve homes. If they could continue this pace, they will sell twenty to twenty-two homes this year. Mr. Knobler said there is not much demand for duplexes now. His company has increased advertising and they are still struggling to get new home buyers. He said that taking away half of their product could put his company at risk for bankruptcy and he needed Union's help right now. Mr. Knobler said most R-PUD zoning is stricter zoning and gives the city more control over the developer in what kind of housing they want. He said he could understand if they wanted to change the square footage size in other residential districts. Mr. Knobler said he felt he offered a nice product for a certain group of people. Mr. Beyer said the planning commission could not give Mr. Knobler anything in writing because the planning commission did not have that authority. The council could still change the square footage requirement. Mr. Applegate said that by motion of the planning commission, the city manager was asked to recommend a proposed zoning code change to the council which would increase the square footage requirement for new homes. He suggested that the planning commission again, by motion, instruct the city manager to take to the council a request to exempt the R-PUD zoning from the change in the square footage requirement. Mr. Marsh said he wanted to make a statement and ask a question before any motions would be made. Mr. Marsh said that he felt that Mid Life Development had been extremely good for the City of Union and he was willing to cooperate up to a point to keep the development company happy so they could continue to build in the city. Mr. Marsh asked Mr. Knobler if he was doing another development in the city and asked if he would be satisfied with residential zoning with the increased square footage rather than asking for a re-zoning change to a R-PUD district. Mr. Knobler said that was correct, he would be satisfied with the new requirement in residential zoning. Mr. Marsh moved that they forward a recommendation to the council for the "R" designations and "PUD" designations changing the "R" designations only and exempting the square footage increase at this point in time for "PUD". Mr. Beyer seconded the motion. All concurred and the motion was passed. In response to Mr. Marsh's question, the only two R-PUD areas exist in the city, they are in Union Ridge and Concord Meadows. Mr. Knobler said in a few weeks they will be opening up twenty more lots. He said Inverness had purchased another fourteen lots and Mr. Joly had purchased seven lots. 1. a. DISCUSSION OF MILL RIDGE VILLAGE. The Brethren Home, at the July 9th planning commission meeting was asking for 950 square feet single family homes and double units and single car garages. Mr. Marsh said he would have less trouble if they were asking that for doubles. Mr. Beyer said he would be willing to go with smaller square footage and two car garages. Mrs. Thomas-Roth said she felt that people did want to downsize later in life and that they were doing the community a service by having that as an option. Mr. Shields said he felt they would need to maintain the two car garage. Mr. Marsh said most people would only have one car and use the rest of the garage for storage. Mr. Applegate referred to the Brethren Home representatives saying that the difference between a one and two car garage was $10,000 and Mr. Applegate said he had checked with a few builders and that figure was too high, that it was more likely $4,000.00 to $5,000.00. Mr. Applegate said that people would use the other half of the garage for storage. Mr. Marsh said he had seen garages that would be considered a car and a half and they had room for organized storage, with shelving, and he thought that seemed to be a comfortable living arrangement for those people. Mr. Marsh added another consideration could be that at some time the development might be sold to some other business and could be sold in individual sections. He said he saw single car garages with lower square footage as a setback for what the city has tried to accomplish. Mr. Applegate said that areas that only have one car garage have cars parked outside and items stored along side the home. Mr. Marsh said he felt the problem with the slow development was with the high monthly maintenance fee of $500.00 per month. Mr. Applegate said the Brethren Home wants the units sold before they build. Mr. Applegate had suggested they build homes first and then they sell them because people want to see what they are buying. Mr. Marsh said he was also concerned about the higher density compared to their original concept. He thought since Sweet Potato Ridge is one of the main access roads into the city, he thought it would make an impression. Mr. Shields said he would like to continue with a two car garage but he thought that 1,400 square feet was a large area for one person to take care of. Mr. Marsh suggested single homes with 1,100 square feet and a two car garage. Mr. Marsh suggested a double at 1,000 and a single at 1,200 square feet. Mr. Beyer said he had moved from a 1,000 square foot home and a one car garage. They discussed that the additional square footage cost for a larger home was not a significant amount, and would mostly be for the extra building materials. Mr. Applegate said they commented about not doing all brick. He suggested that if they allow the reduced square footage, they would need to require all brick homes. For discussion purposes, Mr. Beyer made a list of possible requirements. Single homes would need 1,200 square feet, two car garages, and be all brick. Doubles could be 1,000 square feet, with one car garages in the center. There was still some concerns expressed that in the future, the development would be sold and the units sold individually. Mr. Applegate said he believed the appearance of the home was improved with a two car garage. He said where there were one car garages, there would frequently be four cars in front. With a two car garage, two cars can go in the garage and more vehicles can fit in the wider driveway. The planning commission looked over the minutes from the previous meeting to see some of the specifics that were presented by the Mill Ridge Village representatives. Mr. Applegate said the developer was asking for a minimum of 1,300 square feet for single family homes so they determined to ask for 1,300 square feet for single family homes, two car garages, all brick. They will request doubles to be 1,100 square feet with one car garages, with garages in the center, and all brick. Mr. Applegate suggested they ask for additional storage space. A formal request has not been made so the commission decided to present this to them at the next planning commission meeting. There would be a zoning change required and they may need to create a special zoning for this development. Mr. Applegate said he did think they would create a new zoning since apartments are included. Mr. Beyer suggested a non profit PUD or retirement PUD. Mr. Marsh asked about the food service to be offered for the residents of the city. Mr. Applegate said the developer had called and changed that. If people are visiting or on the site as a guest, you could order something but Mill Ridge Village will not advertise or try to bring someone off the street. Mr. Beyer asked if they would need to send the proposal to Mill Ridge Village. Mr. Applegate said he thought they should and then have them come to the planning commission meeting in August. They will ask for thirty percent of the units to be single family homes. 3. Mr. Beyer moved that the meeting be adjourned. Mr. Marsh seconded the motion. All concurred and the planning commission meeting was adjourned. Back to top of page.    August 13, 2002 PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES Members Present: Glynn Marsh Lynn Thomas-Roth Lawrence Beyer Dale Shields Robert Packard City Staff Members Present: John Applegate Denise Winemiller The Planning Commission meeting was called to order by Mr. Shields and attendance was taken. Mayor Packard was present during part of the meeting. 1. Mr. Beyer moved that the minutes of the July 9, 2002 meeting be accepted as prepared. Mr. Marsh seconded the motion. All concurred and the minutes were approved. 2. Mr. Beyer then moved to approve the minutes of the July 24, 2002 meeting. Mr. Marsh seconded the motion. All concurred and the minutes were accepted. 3. 02-13 - Review of new (revised) proposed conceptual preliminary plan for Mill Ridge Village site. Mr. Applegate said they had sent a letter to Mill Ridge Village on the items that were discussed and determined acceptable from the special meeting of the planning commission. Mr. Applegate said representatives were present from Mill Ridge Village, Scott Puckett, Tim Hissong, and Barbara Kreuzer. Mr. Puckett thanked the planning commission for their time and asked if they could have further discussion on some of the items. He said one of the items in the letter was that single family dwellings would not be less than 1300 square feet. Most of the single family homes would be from 1400 to 1800 square feet. They would like to build a few from 1100 to 1200 square feet. Mr. Puckett said that limiting them to build homes at 1300 square feet and larger would hamper their ability to serve the people in Union and they would not be able to fill up the development at the rate that they wanted. He also asked about the all brick requirement. They thought the majority of the homes would be brick but he asked if they could do some half brick, with brick up to the window. He said they could still do a very attractive home and combine it with siding and landscaping. He said that the development would not be a site for inexpensive homes. Their organization is one hundred years old and even though they take deposits for homes, the homes still remain the property and assets of the Brethren Homes. Mayor Packard asked what the cost would be for a single unit. Mr. Puckett said they would be in the $75.00 to $80.00 per square foot price range. The first sixteen units have been more like $90.00 per square foot. They are trying to make the buildings more affordable because the units are costing between $140,000.00 to $160,000.00 and there does not seem to be a market for that range. He said they wanted to have different sections with different sizes of homes. Mr. Shields asked what percentage of homes would be in the 1100 square foot range. Mr. Puckett said when the plan was originally developed, 1100 square foot homes were what was planned. Now they are asking for twenty-five percent to be 900 to 1100 square foot homes. He said the development was part of Union but it was a specialized population and deserved special consideration. Otherwise, he said he felt that many people would drive by and think they could not afford to live there. Mr. Marsh asked if any studies had been done on the monthly service charge. He asked if they had considered modifying the cost as they add more units. Mr. Puckett said they had to spread out the cost of providing ground maintenance, housing manager, security services, and other services over 125 homes instead of 74 homes, there would be a savings and the development would be better able to compete with other communities. Mr. Beyer said when he looked at the minutes from the last meeting, the maintenance costs were $500.00 a month so the people that would be looking to live in that type of community would not be poor. Mr. Beyer said he would not want to go that much smaller with the square footage. Mr. Puckett asked that they remain open and check with people of that age to see what size of home they would prefer. Mr. Marsh asked if they knew sizes of different areas like Friendship Village, even though it was a different concept. Mr. Puckett said the demographics are different depending on the area and he added that their facility could not be compared to facilities built with a different concept. He said they are finding that people that want to come into the area can not afford it so they buy a cheaper home that will not be in great shape within fifteen years. Mr. Puckett said that was the beauty of a continuing care retirement community, that the property would be maintained. He said that was a wonderful service for a community. Mr. Applegate commented about the tour of the Greenville complex. They saw the units built in the last phase and he asked if Mr. Puckett could arrange to show the planning commission the inside of those newer buildings. The ones that were under construction that the commission did not see were smaller square footage and also examples of units with brick up to the window and attractively landscaped. In response to a question, those buildings have one car garages. Mr. Puckett said that people are wanting more choices. Mr. Applegate asked if the planning commission would approve a reduced square footage, would Mill Ridge stay with two car garages. Mr. Puckett said the single car garages, if side by side, would be allowed in doubles. He said the majority of people would want two car garages. Mr. Applegate asked who would pay property taxes. Mr. Puckett said that Mill Ridge Village would and the monthly fees include the cost of the property taxes, water usage, and property insurance. Residents would only insure their own personal possessions. Mr. Puckett added that retirement communities do more than other communities. Mr. Applegate suggested they go look at some of the smaller living units in Greenville. Ms. Kreuzer talked about some requests from potential buyers that were close to buying but would need a smaller place that was more affordable. The planning commission members wanted Mill Ridge to be more specific on how many units they actually wanted and where they would want the 900 square feet units. Mr. Applegate said they would need a commitment that there would not be more than a certain percentage of the smaller square footage homes. Mr. Beyer said they were committed to all brick homes but would consider dropping some of the square footage. Mr. Shields said he would like to see an example of a 900 square foot home and an idea of what the partial brick homes look like. Mrs. Thomas-Roth said she was interested in seeing an existing smaller square foot homes at another Brethren Home campus. Mr. Marsh said he would like to see a map color coded indicating where the 900 square foot homes would be built. Mr. Applegate said that if the larger buildings were towards Sweet Potato Ridge Road and Old Mill Road it would be more to what the city had approved of in the original concept. They decided that they would arrange a field trip for the planning commission. Mr. Puckett said they could send a bus or they could come individually. The matter was tabled until the planning commission looked at some of the existing buildings in another development. 4. Discussion of Zoning and Action for the area of the city on the east side of the Stillwater River. Property owners Richard Oaks and Tom and Linda Hellard were present. A map of the existing and proposed zoning was furnished to the planning commission members. The city was working on the comprehensive land use plan and Mr. Applegate had met with property owners on land annexed on the east side of the river. There is a requirement in the code that would require the planning commission to take a look at the zoning. The property owners would like to start the process of re-zoning. Currently there are three types of zoning planned for the area: light industrial, medium density residential (R-4) and low density which would be R-3. They would also recommend a small area for a commercial area. Mr. Applegate said the property owners were asking for a public hearing to be set to have the area rezoned. Mr. Oaks thanked the Halliards for attending the meeting and said they would like to move the re-zoning along. Mr. Beyer moved that the planning commission approve this to go forward to the council to set a public hearing and possible zoning change. Mrs. Thomas-Roth seconded the motion. All concurred and the motion was passed. After a short break, there was a discussion concerning proposed updates/changes to the city's sign regulations. Ms. Ballato and Mr. Moore were present. Ms. Ballato presented the planning commission with her revisions to the sign regulations as per recommendations from the planning commission members' last review of the information. Mr. Beyer questioned section 1341.05 concerning the enforcement officer. Ms. Ballato will revise that section to designate the City Manager or his designee as having enforcement responsibility. Mayor Packard was present for a portion of the planning commission meeting. Since he had to leave early, he requested Ms. Winemiller to express that he felt developers should be permitted, within the real estate section of the regulations, to have small offsite signs within the right of way to advertise their new residential subdivisions. He felt this was especially necessary for new subdivisions being constructed east of the Stillwater River. Mr. Applegate said he has had several developers also request this type of offsite directional signage. Mr. Beyer and Mr. Marsh were opposed to permitting this within the proposed revisions to the sign regulation. Mr. Applegate suggested that the Planning Commission take one more opportunity to review the proposed revisions to the sign regulations. After some discussion, Mr. Beyer and Mr. Marsh agreed that they felt the Planning Commission had reviewed and revised the regulations to their satisfaction. Mr. Beyer made a motion that the planning commission submit to city council the proposed sign regulation revisions as they were presented at the August 13, 2002 planning commission meeting and that the planning commission recommend that city council pass the sign regulations as an emergency measure. 5. Mr. Beyer moved to adjourn the planning commission. Mr. Shields seconded the motion. Mr. Beyer voted against the motion, the other planning commission members voted for the motion and the meeting was adjourned. Back to top of page.    September 10, 2002 PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES   Members Present: Glynn Marsh Lynn Thomas-Roth Lawrence Beyer Robert Packard City Staff Members Present: John Applegate Denise Winemiller The Planning Commission meeting was called to order by Mrs. Thomas-Roth and attendance was taken. Mr. Shields was not at the meeting. 1. Mrs. Thomas-Roth asked if there were any additions or corrections to the minutes of the August 13, 2002 meeting. There were none so Mr. Packard moved that the minutes of the August 13 meeting be accepted as prepared. Mr. Beyer seconded the motion. All concurred and the minutes were accepted. 2. 02-13 - Review of new proposed conceptual preliminary plan for Mill Ridge Village site. Mrs. Thomas-Roth welcomed Mr. Musser, Mr. Pucket, and Ms. Kruezer representing Mill Ridge Village. A letter requesting approval for a revised preliminary development plan and containing six items had been provided to the planning commission members. Mr. Musser offered to read each item and stop for any comments. The first item mentioned was a proposal for the construction of not more than 25% of all independent living units be between 900 and 1100 square feet with garages adjacent to each other and all units would be duplexes or fourplexes. The duplexes would have single car garages. Mrs. Thomas-Roth asked if the fourplex units was were not as popular. Mr. Musser said they would only have three or four fourplexs. Mrs. Winemiller asked if there was a garage plan for the existing fourplex in the corner. Mr. Musser said there was not but one could be built if required. The second item was that single family homes would not be built with less than 1100 square feet. The third item stated that the exterior of the home would be brick, stone, or stone and brick-like composite materials. When asked how high up the material would go, Mr. Musser said it would go up to the soffit. Mr. Beyer asked what size of garages would be included for single family homes and the answer was two car garages. The fourth item was that the Brethren Home planned to build a residential care facility with services ranging from independent congregate to assisted living. The Brethren Home would like to reserve the right to modify the size of the care facility based on market needs. All this would be licensed residential care with medical staff available twenty-four hours a day. They would plan two floors on one side and one floor on the other side. If the market was there, they could put in a two story building. Mrs. Thomas Roth asked if that would be the largest building allowed, holding forty to sixty units. Mr. Musser said that would be the largest they would consider. They would want a facility large enough to service the campus. The fifth proposed item concerned the maintenance building which would be built along the same theme and would be landscaped. The size would be roughly thirty feet by fifty feet. There would be an office space, a place for the storage of mowers, and room to park a bus and a truck with a snow blade on it. The maintenance area would be separated by a green space to the north before backing up to the existing road. The city has green space up to Martindale Road. The projection was for 125 single family units in all combinations but not including the residential care facility area. Mr. Marsh commented that he had a problem with the 900 square feet and wanted the duplex to be 1100 square feet with the one car garage. On the single family homes, Mr. Marsh stated that they have tried throughout the community to increase the value and sizes of new homes being built and are increasing sizes to 1600 square feet. He said he would like to see 1250 to 1300 square feet minimum with a two car garage. He was bothered with the "other quality exterior covering" as far as the brick or stone exterior but as long as it would look like brick or stone, he would accept a composite. Mr. Marsh was not opposed to the residential care facility and considered that as a strong plus factor. He said he wanted to hold the square footage higher than what was being requested, in the event that the Brethren Home would want to sell. In that event, they would have a property zoned for smaller units than what would be allowed in other zoning areas. Mr. Beyer suggested they call it something like "retirement community zoning" so if the Brethren Home left, another builder could not come in and build smaller homes. Mayor Packard said he had no problem with the square footage since this was for a special situation. Mr. Musser said 1100 square feet was the minimum when they originally approached Union but Mr. Beyer said that was for two family homes. Mr. Musser said if they went up to 1250 to 1300 square feet, they would be eliminating some people that could not afford a larger home. Mr. Musser said the average units would probably be 1600 square feet. Mr. Beyer said they were not disputing the quality or appearance of the proposed homes. Mr. Packard had no problem with the proposal for duplex or single family home sizes. Mrs. Thomas-Roth said she had no problem with the single family homes. On the tour in Greenville, they had looked at 980 square feet and she noted that the units they were proposing were only 900 square feet. Mr. Musser said generally when potential buyers are presented with a range of floor plans, they generally do not choose the smallest home, but go up to a bigger size of home. Mr. Beyer said the zoning process would take about three months. Mrs. Winemiller said they would need some time to prepare the legislation to come up with the appropriate zoning. Mr. Musser said they were selling homes in the next phase. The commission members had no problems with the site plan. Mr. Beyer suggested they wait until Mr. Shields was present and then decide at the next meeting. Mrs. Winemiller suggested they start researching for a zoning change. Mr. Musser said they will continue to build within the original proposal. Mr. Beyer said they will discuss this at the next workshop meeting and provide a decision on October 8, 2002. Mr. Beyer moved that a work shop meeting be held on Wednesday, October 2, at 7:00 p.m. for a discussion with Oberer Development for a new development off of Frederick Pike. 3. Mr. Beyer moved that the meeting be adjourned. Mrs. Thomas-Roth seconded the motion. All concurred and the planning commission meeting was adjourned. Back to top of page.