Chambana Sun

The city of Urbana's Mixed Office Residential District Development Review Board met Nov. 18 to receive public comment.

"The MOR Development Review Board oversees new construction in the Mixed Office Residential District (MOR) on Green and Elm Streets. Any development project in the MOR corridor that does not include adaptive re-use of the existing structure is subject to approval of the DRB. When a new building or use is proposed in the MOR, the applicant must present his or her design to the DRB to determine if it is compatible with adjacent uses and meets the Design Guidelines for the MOR District."

Here are the meeting's minutes, as provided by the board:

November 18, 2015

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MEETING MINUTES

URBANA MOR DEVELOPMENT REVIEW BOARD

DATE: November 18, 2015 DRAFT

TIME: 5:00 p.m.

PLACE: Urbana City Building

City Council Chambers

400 South Vine Street

Urbana, IL 61801

_______________________________________________________________________________

MEMBERS PRESENT: Matt Cho, Scott Kunkel, Dannie Otto, Jeffery Poss, Kim Smith,

Jonah Weisskopf

STAFF PRESENT: Lorrie Pearson, Planning Manager; Christopher Marx, Planner I

OTHERS PRESENT: Kima Kheirolomoom

1. CALL TO ORDER, ROLL CALL, AND DECLARATION OF QUORUM

Chair Poss called the meeting to order at 7:33 p.m. Roll call was taken and a quorum was

declared with all members present.

2. CHANGES TO THE AGENDA

Planning staff requested that the item on the agenda under Study Session be heard prior to the

case under New Public Hearings. This change was accepted by the Board members.

3. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES

The minutes from the September 30, 2015 meeting were presented for approval. Ms. Smith

asked for a clarification on Page 4 to Mr. Engstrom’s response to Mr. Otto’s question regarding

open porches in a setback. She suggested adding language so it reads as follows, “Mr. Engstrom

replied yes. Open porches may encroach into a required yard, but only up to five feet and no

closer than five feet to the property line.” Ms. Smith moved to approve the minutes as amended.

Mr. Kunkel seconded the motion. The minutes were then approved by unanimous voice vote.

3B. STUDY SESSION

MOR Zoning District and Guidelines

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Lorrie Pearson, Planning Manager, gave a presentation on the following:

? History (1990-2003)

? Downtown to Campus Plan

? MOR District created

? Development Review Board (DRB) created

? Mixed Office Residential Zoning District Map

? Amendment (2003)

? Changes to DRB

? Project Reviews

? Review Criteria

? Required Design Items

? Design Guidelines (2004)

? Summary

Mr. Cho asked for a definition of “adaptive reuse”. Ms. Pearson explained the definition.

Mr. Cho asked about the incentives for adaptive reuse. Ms. Pearson stated that the incentives

were part of the Downtown to Campus Plan. It was translated into the MOR Zoning District by

providing administrative review. Administrative review is a quicker process and saves time,

which is the incentive.

Mr. Otto asked if staff states that an application meets the intent of the MOR District, is there a

means for the Board to deny the application or does it mean that the case should be approved.

Ms. Pearson replied that it is the MOR Development Review Board’s role to evaluate the

Planning staff’s analysis.

Ms. Smith commented that during the previous case that was reviewed on September 30, 2015, it

seemed that the massing and scale of the building were a big concern. Has there been any

review by City staff on whether the calculations allowed for massing and scale should be

changed. Ms. Pearson said not yet; however, this exercise is part of the process to re-familiarize

the Board members with the details of the MOR District. Chair Poss stated that there were

several issues, such as massing and scale and economic interest of adjacent property owners,

mentioned during the case on September 30th that suggests a review of the MOR details be in

order.

Mr. Cho inquired as to whether the changes that were made in 2003 and 2004 had made a

positive impact on the development and adaptive re-use of existing buildings in the MOR

District. Ms. Pearson did not feel that with the recession there were enough cases to make a

determination on the success of those changes. Chair Poss added that there are a variety of

interpretations of the MOR District and what it means. He was comfortable with the conflict

because it is the nature of a living organism, whether it is a person, an entity or a place. Each

member has to use their own judgement and value system to interpret each criteria/guideline.

Mr. Otto believed that if the primary purpose of the MOR Development Review process is to

adaptively reuse existing structures, then the City needs to look at the Ordinance and criteria to

see if it is working. If the primary purpose is the economic development and growth of the real

November 18, 2015

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estate tax base, then that needs to be clarified. It does not seem like the result of the last case met

the purpose of the 1990s or the 2003 Ordinances. If adaptive reuse is not legitimate anymore,

then let us simply say so and disband the district. Ms. Pearson noted that this was discussed in

2003 when the MOR Development review process was revised and there was a recognition that

not everyone wanted to convert their old houses into retail shops.

Chair Poss stated that it would be helpful to know how many cases there were during each period

and whether the cases were for adaptive reuse or for tear down /rebuild projects. Ms. Pearson

replied that she could provide that information to the board members in an email. Chair Poss felt

it would give them a larger perspective of whether any changes need to be made. There are

incentives for adaptive reuse and he wondered if those incentives were changing the overall

context of decisions that were being made by property owners in the MOR District.

Mr. Kunkel felt they needed to be aware that there were other contemplated projects that did not

occur because of the requirements of the MOR District. Chair Poss added that the more

restrictions that are placed, the fewer opportunities people are going to see. That is character

versus economics. The MOR Board is trying to find the uncomfortable balance between

adaptively reusing existing properties and new developments.

Mr. Otto requested that City staff include in the email if there were any projects that required

substantial revisions prior to being approved or were denied. Ms. Pearson said that she could

include this information as well.

Mr. Cho asked if other cities used MOR Districts as a way to promote adaptive reuse of existing

structures. He wondered if the MOR zoning was outdated. Ms. Pearson responded by saying

that every community has their own strategy. City staff are currently reviewing the Home

Occupation regulations and are researching how businesses are changing, specifically the

merging of home and work. The City strives to achieve mixed use because if a person can live

and work in the same neighborhood, there are many benefits from environmental to social.

Therefore, she cannot say whether the MOR District is working or not working at this point.

However, if there are changes that can be made to improve the process and intent, then it is

something that City staff and City Council can look at.

Mr. Kunkel commented that there are a whole basket of tools that could be used to promote

adaptive reuse if the scale is tipped towards new development. He would rather provide good

incentives to promote adaptive reuse than to tighten the requirements for new development.

Cho stated that he would like to revisit the MOR requirements. He would like to see some

innovative changes that would work and encourage adaptive reuse for the properties in the MOR

District.

4. COMMUNICATIONS

There were none.

November 18, 2015

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5. CONTINUED PUBLIC HEARINGS

There were none.

6. OLD BUSINESS

Discussion of Amendment to the Official Bylaws

Ms. Pearson stated that City staff is looking into potentially creating another area in the

downtown that would require some design review. Staff will be gathering public input soon to

find out what the community wants for this area. Once a district or design guidelines are created

for the Downtown area, City staff can begin to discuss the merging of the Design Review Board

and the MOR Development Review Board and the districts that will be covered.

7. NEW PUBLIC HEARINGS

Case No. DRB-2015-02 – A request by Kima Kheirolomoom for review of a Site Plan and

design of a garage at 410 West Elm Street in the MOR, Mixed Office Residential Zoning

District.

Chair Poss opened the public hearing for this case. Christopher Marx, Planner I, presented this

case to the MOR Development Review Board. He gave a brief description of the proposed site

and of the adjacent properties noting their current land uses and zoning. He showed the Site Plan

noting the location of the new garage on the property. He reviewed the Site Plan criteria from

Section XI-12.I of the Urbana Zoning Ordinance. He also discussed how the proposed garage

would conform to the MOR Design Guidelines with regards to façade zone, building orientation

and patterns, massing and scale, openings, outdoor living space, materials, parking areas,

landscaping and commercial site design. He read the options of the Board and presented staff’s

recommendation. He noted that the applicant was present at the meeting.

Chair Poss asked if there were any questions from the Board members for City staff regarding

the proposal.

Mr. Otto inquired if the owner was required to provide three parking spaces. Mr. Marx answered

that the property owner was required to provide two parking spaces for the single-family use.

Chair Poss suggested changing the language for Condition #3 to read as such, “The building

material of the garage simulates the pattern and scale of the exteriors found on the surrounding

houses in the district.”

With no further questions for City staff, Chair Poss opened the hearing for public input.

Kima Kheirolomoom, applicant, approached the MOR Development Review Board to answer

any questions the Board members may have.

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Mr. Cho wondered if the applicant had scaled down the size of the garage in order to meet the

requirements of the MOR District. Mr. Kheirolomoom replied no. They only have one car in

the family. They prefer the green space in the backyard rather than filling it up with the

structure.

Mr. Otto asked if the roof material was the same as the siding material only turned a different

direction. Mr. Kheirolomoom answered that the roof material is a ribbed material with wider

spaces, and would be placed vertically to allow snow and ice to slide off during the winter

months. The two materials are similar but not exactly the same.

Ms. Smith inquired about the height of the walls and the peak of the roof. Mr. Kheirolomoom

clarified that the walls would be nine feet in height. There would be an additional four feet to the

peak of the roof.

With no further public input or questions for the applicant, Chair Poss closed the public input

portion of the hearing. He, then, opened the meeting up for discussion and/or motion(s) by the

MOR Development Review Board.

Mr. Kunkel moved that the MOR Development Review Board approve the application in Case

No. DRB-2015-02 as recommended by City staff including the first two conditions as written in

the staff memo and with the change that Condition #3 read as follows: “The building material of

the garage simulates the pattern and scale of the exteriors found on the surrounding houses in

the district.” Mr. Cho seconded the motion.

Mr. Cho - Yes Mr. Kunkel - Yes

Mr. Otto - Yes Mr. Poss - Yes

Ms. Smith - Yes Mr. Weisskopf - Yes

The motion was approved by unanimous vote 6-0.

8. NEW BUSINESS

There was none.

9. AUDIENCE PARTICIPATIONS

There was none.

10. STAFF REPORT

There was none.

11. STUDY SESSION

Refer to 3B above for minutes on the study session item.

November 18, 2015

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12. ADJOURNMENT

Ms. Smith moved to adjourn the meeting. Mr. Weisskopf seconded the motion. The meeting

was adjourned at 5:58 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Lorrie Pearson, Secretary

MOR Development Review Board