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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06-10-08 MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING BOARD OF ZONING ADJUSTMENT OF THE CITY OF BAKERSFIELD Held Tuesday, June 10, 2008, 3:00 p.m., City Council Chamber, City Hall, 1501 Truxtun Avenue, Bakersfield, California. 1.ROLL CALL BOARD MEMBERS: Present: BRAD UNDERWOOD, Chairperson PHIL BURNS VINCE ZARAGOZA STAFF MEMBERS: Present: JIM EGGERT, Assistant Planning Director PAUL HELLMAN, Principal Planner ROBERT SHERFY, Attorney GEORGE GILLBURG, Engineer II DELORES OLDHAM, Recording Secretary 2.PUBLIC STATEMENTS No speaker cards were presented. 3.CONSENT CALENDAR Public Hearing Items: 1.File No. 08-0550 - Approval to continue to July 8, 2008 a conditional use permit to operate a 1,104 square foot automotive repair shop in a C-1 (Neighborhood Commercial) zone district located at 790 E. Brundage Lane. 2.File No. 08-0613 – Approval of a zoning modification to waive the requirement to construct a six-foot high masonry wall adjacent to residentially zoned property in conjunction with the expansion of an existing commercial development in a C- 1 (Neighborhood Commercial) zone district located at 2400-2410 Columbus Street. 3.File No. 08-0665– Approval to continue to July 8, 2008 a conditional use permit to operate a 5,000 square foot bar in a C-C (Commercial Center) zone district th located at 811 19 Street. Zoning modification to reduce the number of required off-street parking spaces from 20 to 15. 4.File No. 08-0811– Approval of a conditional use permit to allow for nursery/landscape supply sales and limited used automobile sales on a self-storage facility site in a C-1 (Neighborhood Commercial) zone district located at 11015 & Minutes, BZA, 06/10/08 Page 2 11107 Kern Canyon Road. Zoning modification to waive the requirement to screen a portion of the outdoor nursery/landscape supply display area. The public hearing was opened. No one from the audience or from the Board requested removal of any items from the consent calendar. The public hearing was closed. Motion made by Member Burns to approve public hearing consent agenda items. Motion carried by the following roll call vote: AYES: Members: Underwood, Burns, Zaragoza NAYS: None ABSENT: None 4.PUBLIC HEARINGS 1.File No. 08-0330– Zoning modification to reduce the required off-street parking from 32 to 16 spaces to allow for the construction of a new 2-story, 40-bed residential facility for drug and alcohol rehabilitation in a C-1 (Neighborhood Commercial) zone district located at 2111 & 2117 F Street. This item was continued from May 13, 2008 and was readvertised. The public hearing was opened and the staff report given. Staff referred to additional comment letters in opposition to the proposal from neighboring property owners which have been provided to the Board. Staff also stated that the size of the proposed building was understated in the previous staff report due to an error in the application and that the revised proposal is for an approximately 10,000 square foot, two-story building. st John Garone, owner of the property at the southwest corner of 21 Street and F Street, stated that he spoke in opposition to the proposed reduction in parking at the last meeting. He stated that there are serious parking issues in the area and that they are constantly dealing with people parking in their parking lot. He feels that if this project is approved it will make the problem that much worse, which is why he is in opposition. Lori Watson, owner of Bonnie’s Best Café, stated that her business is right next door to the facility and that she is absolutely in favor of the new building. She pointed out that the facility does not need more than the proposed 16 spaces since the most cars she has ever seen at the applicant’s existing facility is about five. She stated that she would love to see a new facility replace the existing old buildings on the site. She stated that her business has a busy lunch crowd and that not too many people have trouble finding parking so she does not see why the applicant needs to provide more than 16 spaces. She stated that Legacy has been a great neighbor and encouraged the Board to approve the project. Minutes, BZA, 06/10/08 Page 3 Martin Hanson, applicant and President/CEO of Legacy Behavioral Services, discussed the revisions made to their proposal in response to the Board’s input and stated that he hopes the Board considers the efforts they have made to downscale the project and to increase parking. Patrick Lucas, owner of the subject property, stated that Legacy is the best tenant to occupy this property since the 1970’s. He stated that the property is obviously run down and that he was recently unable to obtain a loan to fix up the property. He stated that his sister owns the property next door and that she is in favor of the project. He stated that he’s never seen more than three or four cars at Legacy’s existing facility. He also stated that he’s always been treated with respect by Legacy’s clients and that everyone there has a good attitude. The public hearing was closed. Member Burns inquired about the parking standards for general and medical office uses and retail uses. Staff pointed out that they presented proposed amendments to the parking ordinance to the Planning Commission last week and that the Commission recommended approval of the amendments to the City Council. Staff responded that the current standard for general office uses is 1 space per 230 square feet and that the proposed standard is 1 space per 250 square feet. Staff stated that the current standard for medical office uses is 1 space per 125 square feet and that the proposed standard is 1 space per 200 square feet. Staff stated that the current standard for single tenant retail uses is 1 space per 300 square feet and is 1 space per 200 square feet for multi-tenant retail uses, which are not proposed to be amended. Staff stated that the standards for the downtown area, or central parking district, which the project site is just west of, are proposed to be 50 percent of the regular standards. Member Burns stated that the proposed parking requirement for medical office and retail uses would be approximately 50 parking spaces, and if this project was on the other side of F Street they would get the 50 percent reduction. Member Burns stated that part of his concern is if they approve a development with such a large reduction in parking and if it changes hands in the future the Board will have painted themselves into a corner because there would not be enough parking, which is why he is hesitant to approve the development with 16 spaces. He stated that he has considered the possibility of 25 spaces, which would allow for a future office or retail tenant to come in and request a modification based upon the 50 percent downtown area reduction that properties across the street would receive under the proposed code amendments. Member Zaragoza commented on the e-mail from Jim Antt, the owner of a 3,200 square foot building with 14 spaces across the street at 2131 G Street. Member Zaragoza inquired if the proposed building does later become retail would the new use be subject to the old CUP, or would they have to come back and get a new one. Staff responded that if the future use was equally or less intensive in terms of parking requirements, it would be fine; however, if it required more Minutes, BZA, 06/10/08 Page 4 parking than the current facility it would require the approval of a new modification. Member Underwood inquired if at the last hearing the parking requirement for the previous proposal was 48 spaces. Staff responded in the affirmative, stating that the requirement was based upon 0.75 spaces per bed plus one space per employee. Staff stated that under the code, staff parking can either be calculated based upon the number of employees or the square footage of office space. Member Underwood inquired about how the requirement for the revised proposal was calculated; staff explained that the requirement for 32 spaces was calculated based upon the rate of 0.75 spaces per bed and a maximum of 560 square feet of office space, which requires an additional two spaces. Member Burns moved to adopt the attached resolution with all findings approving Modification No. 08-0330 as depicted in the project description approving 25 parking spaces instead of the requested 16 spaces. Staff stated that they have findings and conditions of approval for the Board’s consideration, which staff can also share with the applicant. Member Burns consented to review of the document by the Board and the applicant. Member Burns restated the motion to adopt the attached resolution with all findings approving Modification No. 08-0330 reducing the required off-street parking for a residential facility for drug and alcohol rehabilitation for 40 residents, including 560 square feet of staff office space, from 32 spaces to 25 spaces. Motion carried by the following roll call vote: AYES: Members: Underwood, Burns, Zaragoza NAYS: None ABSENT: None 5.COMMUNICATIONS None. 6. BOARD COMMENTS None. Minutes, BZA, 06/10/08 Page 5 7. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business the meeting was concluded at 3:34 p.m. Delores Oldham, Recording Secretary _______________________________________ JIM EGGERT, Assistant Planning Director