Chambana Sun

City of Urbana Zoning Board of Appeals met Dec. 20.

Here is the minutes provided by the Board:

Members Present Joanne Chester, Nancy Uchtmann, Charles Warmbrunn, Harvey Welch

Members Absent Matt Cho

Members Excused Ashlee McLaughlin, Jonah Weisskopf

Staff Present Lorrie Pearson, Planning Manager; Christopher Marx, Planner I

Others Present Jason Norton

1. Call To Order, Roll Call And Declaration Of Quorum

Chair Welch called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. Roll call was taken, and he declared a quorum of the members were present.

2. Changes To The Agenda

There were none.

3. Approval Of The Minutes

The minutes from the September 20, 2017, regular meeting were presented for approval. Mr. Warmbrunn moved to approve the minutes as drafted. Ms. Chester seconded the motion. The minutes were approved by unanimous voice vote as written.

NOTE: Chair Welch swore in members of the audience who indicated that they might give testimony during the public hearing.

4. Communications

There were none.

5. Continued Public Hearings

There were none.

6. New Public Hearings

ZBA-2017-C-02 – A request for a Conditional Use Permit by the City of Urbana to allow the use of a Municipal or Government Building at 1907 East Perkins Road in the AG, Agriculture Zoning District.

Chair Welch opened this item on the agenda. Lorrie Pearson, Planning Manager, clarified the address to be 1907 East Perkins Road even though the subject parcel also has an address of 1210 East University Avenue. Christopher Marx, Planner I, presented the staff report to the Zoning Board of Appeals. He explained the purpose for the proposed Conditional Use Permit request and noted the existing zoning and land use for the proposed site as well as for surrounding properties. He reviewed the requirements for a Conditional Use Permit according to Section VII-2 of the Urbana Zoning Ordinance. He read the options of the Zoning Board of Appeals and presented City staff’s recommendation, which was as follows:

Staff recommends that the Zoning Board of Appeals grant the proposed Conditional Use Permit in Case No. ZBA-2017-C-02 with the following conditions:

1. The Building generally conforms with the site plan and renderings in Exhibit D (Site Plan) and Exhibit E (Rendering of Future Building).

2. There is landscaping and screening for the off-street parking area as required by the Zoning Ordinance.

Chair Welch asked if the members of the Board had questions for City staff.

Ms. Uchtmann noticed that the area to the south was labelled as “Heavy Industrial” on the Future Land Use Map. She asked about access to that area and if the proposed building would interfere with that access. Mr. Marx believed that access to the southern portion would be off University Avenue. Therefore, he did not feel that the proposed building would impede any access for any potential industrial use to the south. Ms. Pearson added that the proposed building would be a pole barn, which would not be difficult to take down should there be a major industrial development that would need access from Perkins Road.

Ms. Uchtmann wondered if the area was a storage pit for gravel and asphalt. Mr. Marx explained that there are some piles of materials that are used by the City’s Public Works Department.

Mr. Warmbrunn asked why the City is not proposing to construct the building off the access road to the southeast so it would be further away from other people’s properties. Mr. Marx noted that many large vehicles use the access road so they want to keep the visibility clear.

Mr. Warmbrunn questioned the screening and the number of required parking spaces. Mr. Marx replied that the applicant would install a fence because the existing vegetation along the road is trees that do not keep their foliage through the winter. The Zoning Ordinance requires the number of parking spaces.

Ms. Uchtmann inquired about the area on the Future Land Use Map that is designated as “Park”. Ms. Chester stated that it was just part of the wooded area.

There being no further questions for City staff, Chair Welch opened the hearing for public input.

Jason Norton, of the City of Urbana Police Department, approached the Plan Commission to speak. He mentioned a road along the tree line just south of where they planned to construct the building. Public Works currently uses the lot for a filter. The City planned to construct the building in the proposed area of the lot to accommodate the filter. They would recycle road millings to surface the roads on the lot.

With no further testimony from the audience, Chair Welch closed the public input portion of the hearing. He opened it up for Zoning Board of Appeals discussion and/or motion(s).

Chair Welch asked that Mr. Marx restate City staff’s recommendation with the revised conditions. Mr. Marx did.

Mr. Warmbrunn moved that the Zoning Board of Appeals grant the proposed Conditional Use Permit in Case No. ZBA-2017-C-02 for the reasons articulated in the written staff memo including the following conditions:

1. The building generally conforms to the site plan and renderings in Exhibit D (Site Plan) and Exhibit E (Rendering). 2. There is landscaping and screening for the off-street parking area as required by the Zoning Ordinance.

Ms. Chester seconded the motion. Roll call on the motion was as follows:

Ms. Chester - Yes Ms. Uchtmann - Yes Mr. Warmbrunn - Yes Mr. Welch - Yes

The motion was approved by unanimous vote.

Case No. ZBA-2017-C-03 – A request for a Conditional Use Permit by Ben Miller and Avital Livny to allow a second principal structure on their property at 1208 South Vine Street in the R-3, Single and Two-Family Residential Zoning District.

Chair Welch opened this item on the agenda. He mentioned that the applicants had informed the Planning staff that they would not be able to attend this meeting. He asked if the members of the Zoning Board wanted to continue with this case or continue it to the next meeting.

After some discussion, Chair Welch continued the hearing to next regular meeting on January 17, 2018.

7. Old Business

There was none.

8. New Business

Proposed Change to Meeting Start Time

In response to a request from two members, Ms. Pearson proposed changing the start time of the meetings from 7:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. The Zoning Board of Appeals members expressed agreement.

Ms. Uchtmann moved that the Zoning Board of Appeals meetings begin at 7:00 p.m. Ms. Chester seconded the motion. The motion was approved by unanimous voice vote.

Chair Welch announced that this time change would be effective at the January 17, 2018, meeting.

9. Audience Participation

There was none.

10. Staff Report

There was none.

11. Study Session

There was none.

12. Adjournment Of Meeting

Chair Welch adjourned the meeting at 8:11 p.m.

https://www.urbanaillinois.us/sites/default/files/attachments/02%20-%20APPROVED%20Meeting%20Minutes%20-%2012-20-2017.pdf