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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes 03/12/1997 HEARING DEVICES ARE AVAILABLE FOR THOSE NEEDING ASSISTANCE. . AGENDA CITY OF PORT ANGELES PLANNING COMMISSION 321 East Fifth Street Port Angeles, W A 98362 March 12, 1997 7:00 p.m. I. II. III. . IV. CALL TO ORDER ROLL eALL APPROVAL OF MINUTES: February 26, 1997 PUBLIC HEARING: 1. SHORELINE MANAGE:MENT PERMIT - SMA 97-02, 400 North Ennis Stre.el.:. Request for a demolition permit for a fiber mill located in the IH, Industrial Heavy zone. Portions of the site extend over water. (This item to be continued to April 9, 1997.) 2. P ARKING VARIANCE - PKV 97-01 - ROMIZA, 710 So. Lincoln Street: Request for a reduction in the required parking from 19 spaces to 5 spaces for a restaurant use in the CSD, Community Shopping District. V. COMMUNICATIONS FROM THE PUBLIC VI. STAFF REPORTS: Clallam County Planning Training Session, March 31,1997. VII. REPORTS OF COMMISSION MEMBERS VIII. ADJOURNMENT . PLANNING COMMISSION: Tim German, (Chair). Dean Reed (Vice), Bob King. Cindy Souders, Linda Nutter, Mary Crnver, Martie Lucas. ST AFF: Brad Collins, Director, Sue Roberds Planning Specialis~ David Sawyer, Senior Planner. . . . All correspondence pertaining to a meeting or hearing item received by the Planning Department at least one day prior to the scheduled meeting/ hearing will be provided to Commission members at the meeting. PUBLIC HEARING PROCEDURE: Spokesmen for the proponents and opponents will be given an opportunity to speak to the request. Information submitted should be factual, relevant and not merely duplication of a previous presentation. A reasonable time (10 minutes) shall be allowed the spokesman; others shall be limited to short supporting remarks (5 minutes). Other interested parties will be allowed to comment briefly (5 minutes each) or make inquiries. Thc Chair may allow additional public testimony if the issue warrants it. Brief rebuttal (5 minutes) for proponents and opponents will be heard separately and consecutively with presentation limited to their spokesman. Rebuttal shall be limited to factual statements pertaining to previous testimony. Comments should bc directed to the Board, not the City Staff representatives present, unless directed to do so by the Chair. . . . MINUTES PLANNING COMMISSION Port Angeles, Washington 98362 March 12,1997 7:00 p.m. ROLL CALL Members Present: Linda Nutter, Cindy Souders, Tim Gennan, Bob King, Dean Reed, Mary Craver, Martie Lucas Member Absent: None Staff Present: Brad Collins, David Sawyer, Sue Roberds, Dan McKeen Public Present: Dennis Snyder, Don Schouendiman, Bill and Ed Kopf, Dan Gase, John Weber, Richard Diven, Joe Warwick, B. Densen, Clint and Cindy Austin, Paul Perwitz, Al Oman, Nany Oman, Rose Crwnb, Carol Brown, Gail Frick, Gail Craig, Glen Simkins, Tony Massey. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Commissioner Souders asked that the February 26,1997, minutes be continued to the next meeting for approval. The Commission agreed. PUBLIC HEARINGS: SHORElJNE MANAGEMENT PERMIT ~ SMA 97~02, 400 North Ennis Street: Request for a demolition permit for a fiber mill located in the IH, Industrial Heavy zone. Portions of the site extend over water. (This item to be continued to April 9, 1997. ) Chair German explained that although a public hearing was duly advertised for consideration of a shoreline management permit in association with demolition of the Rayonier mill site, an environmental threshold determination has not been made and so a recommendation from staff has not been submitted. Additional information was requested from Rayonier that will enable staff to complete the environmental review process and forward a recommendation to the Commission, but that information has not been received at this point. The public hearing will be opened and those who wish to speak may present their testimony but the hearing will be continued to April 9, 1997, for the reasons previously explained. He then opened the public hearing. . . . Planning Commission Minutes March 12, 1997 Page 2 Dennis Snyder, Vice President of Pulp Services, Rayonier, Stanford, CT, was pleased to be present to clarify what Rayonier is trying to do at the site in the demolition process. The main objective in the demolition is to create an environmentally safe site that can be returned to productive use in a timely, safe, and environmentally sound manner. The project does not include any work beneath the ground or in the water. Removal of the above-ground structures will allow a full environmental assessment of the site. All systems to protect water quality, the sewer system that catch and route runoff to the treatment system and the secondary system, will remain in place during dismantling, The vast majority of the pulping chemicals have already been removed, Procedures for handling potentially hazardous materials will be followed using the same laws and regulations which governed operating actions during plant operations. Experienced Rayonier personnel who have dealt with these requirements in the past will continue with the addition of specially trained contractor personnel. All hazardous materials will be handled and disposed of according to well established practices. The materials will be identified, tested, placed in specifically designated containers by licensed contractors, and removed from the site by licensed haulers to licensed landfills. John Weber, President of ICONCO, Oakland, CA, stated that ICONCO has performed dismantling and salvage work since 1964 and has an office in Seattle. ICONCO has done several dismantling projects at the Port Angeles Rayonier mill since the late 1960ts when the old wood mill was removed. Other projects in the area include the old Crown Zellerbach mill and buildings at the Clallam County Courthouse complex for a new addition, Major projects perfonned elsewhere were described to support the contracting firm's expertise in the field. Eighty-five to ninety percent of the materials removed from the site will either be sold for re-use, re-cycled for metal scrap, or crushed for use as aggregate base material. Nonnal hours of work will be 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., five days a week. There will be twenty to thirty workers on the site at all times. Dust will be controlled with standard 1 ~" fire hoses equipped with fog nozzles, On an average, five or six pieces of equipment will be on the site at any given time. Lead or hazardous materials will be removed from a given area by trained and state licensed employees before dismantling in those areas. ICONCO will have an environmental consultant on site as well as the Rayonier environmental staff that will remain on-site. Work plans will be submitted to the appropriate state agencies. Hazardous materials will be manifested and removed to authorized and licensed land fill sites. Being no one else to speak to the issue at the present time, Chair German noted that the public hearing is continued to the April 9, 1997, meeting of the Commission, 7 p.m., City Council Chambers. PARKING VARIANCE - PKV ~1 - ROMIZA, 710 So. Lincoln Street: Request for a reduction in the required parking from 19 spaces to 5 spaces for a restaurant use in the CSD, Community Shopping District. Senior Planner David Sawyer reviewed the Planning Department's report and provided a brief history of the growth of the business and the applicant's desire to legitimize the present operation with the reduced parking, Dan Gase, Port Angeles Realty, 1129 East Front Street, commended staff for the user friendly atmosphere in assistance through the application process. He explained that a previous parking agreement with a nearby church which was withdrawn was required for continued operation of the . . . Planning Commission Minutes March 12, 1997 Page 3 restaurant activity. Withdrawal of the agreement was not due to dissatisfaction with the operating procedure of the bakery/restaurant, but was because of the church's concern that its tax status may be questioned if involved with a commercial venture. The applicant has no objections to the conditions of approval recommended by staff for approval of a parking reduction with the exception of Conditions Nos. 2 and 3. Condition No.2, a revised parking plan indicating five parking spaces, is not objectionable to the applicant; however, it may not be possible given the prohibition of backing into an alley and the location of a natural gas tank to provide the five spaces. Condition No. 3, an agreement with the adjoining property owner to the south for access to parking spaces, cannot be met. Such an agreement is not possible due to relations with the neighboring property owner. Mr. Gase submitted a petition signed by 111 members of the Lutheran church in the neighborhood in support of the parking reduction. Clint Austin, 205 East Eighth Street, owns an upholstery business across Lincoln Street from the site. He stated that his customers frequently walk across the street to Gina's while parking in his parking area. He provides four parking spaces for his six hundred square foot building. Many of Gina's customers walk from businesses around the area of her business. Gall Craig, Manager ofU. S. Bank, 134 East Seventh Street, stated that her customers are Gina's customers and frequently share her parking area. The bank is glad to have the business there. She encouraged the Commission to consider that this use draws its customers from several neighboring businesses, a neighborhood church, and neighborhood residents, which are factors that should be taken into consideration for a variance in the parking standard. This is a good, quality, business and a good neighbor. Dan Gase submitted copies of a proposed parking arrangement that was submitted when the bakery use opened showing five parking spaces as an alternate parking plan to the one submitted with the current application in the event the current configuration does not work out. He asked staff for assistance in working with the applicant if a revision is needed to the alternate plan if it does not conform to current parking standards. In response to Commissioner Craver, Mr. Gase used an overhead to indicate the on-site parking area and lot dimensions. Commissioner Nutter asked if a survey had been performed to ascertain how many drive-in customers versus walk-in customers frequent the business. Mr. Gase answered that he counted the number of people working within a 600 foot radius of the site as 250 people. He believed that most of those people would use the business but had not done a survey to determine how many or how much. Gina Romiza, 1024 East Ninth Street, responded to an earlier question from Commissioner Reed that her early customers may use the bank parking lot and do not bother the bank as it is not open at the early hour. Her rear area is busy in the morning and during lunch, but by 3 p.m., nearly all activity has ceased. She noted that inclement weather does not affect her business because people who are regular customers live or work within an area close enough to the site that they are walking anyway and not bothered by weather. She estimated that sixty percent of her business is walk-in and asked that this be given consideration in the request for a variance. A parking agreement with a neighboring property owner is not desirable because there are too many unknowns and she prefers that the use stand on its own merits independent of what happens around the site. This is a unique situation that she believes a variance is suited for and as the building has existed since 1938 in its current location, there isn't a possibility of creating parking where none now exists. . . . Planning Commission Minutes March 12, 1997 Page 4 Glen Simkins, 124 East Seventh Street, has lived in the neighborhood for fifty-five years. The current bakery/restaurant business has been the best use of the site in all those years, in his opinion. A drug store occupied the site several years ago that generated much more traffic than the current use and it didn't seem to be a problem to anyone. Gina's is a good influence to the neighborhood, and he asked that special consideration be given to the unique qualities of the use and the site in granting the requested variance. Tony Massey, 206 East Ninth Street, has lived in the neighborhood for fifty years and is very happy to have the bakery/restaurant as a neighbor. AI Ulman, 214 Hancock, was originally concerned about the parking but it has not turned out to be a problem at all given the use characteristics. He asked that the use be given special consideration and that the community stand behind Gina in support of the variance request. Rose Crumb, 236 East Ninth Street, encouraged leniency in this matter as the property has contained previous uses that allowed people to park allover the street. This is a commendable local business with a good deal of walk-in business that should be encouraged to continue its operation. Planner Sawyer read a letter from Kathe Smith, 607 East Fourth Street, in support of the parking variance. She suggested that the Planning Commission approve the request and ask that a bicycle rack be installed instead thereby encouraging an alternative mode of transportation. There being no further testimony, Chair German closed the public hearing. Commissioner Nutter asked if a parking variance is granted if it would be for only the current use or in perpetuity. Planner Sawyer answered that the reduction would be for the type of use at that location, but would continue in the event the business was sold as long as the use did not change. There was discussion regarding the possibility of a reduction to less than the five spaces requested by the applicant. As the legal publication indicated the reduction was proposed to be to five spaces, if the Commission is desirous of a reduction below that figure, a new public notice would have to be provided and a new comment period observed prior to such consideration. It was determined that the parking layout submitted for consideration that was the basis for the request to five spaces did not meet current stall requirements and the access was questionable. The Commission determined to readvertise a public hearing for April 9, 1997, to consider an open reduction at no specified stall figure. Commissioner Reed moved to continue the public hearing to April 9, 1997, 7 p.m., City Hall, to consider a reduction of less than five spaces for the bakery/restaurant use. Commissioner Nutter seconded the motion, which passed unanimously. COMMUNICATIONS FROM THE PUBLIC None. . . . Planning Commission Minutes March 12, /997 Page 5 STAFF REPORTS Planning Director Collins indicated that there will be a short course on planning issues sponsored by the Clallam County Department of Community Development on March 31,1997,6:30 p.m. He encouraged those commissioners who could attend to do so as it is a good learning experience and a good brush up for those who have taken the course in the past. Commissioners Craver, Reed, Lucas, and Nutter indicated that they would attend. REPORTS OF COMMISSION MEMBERS Chair German and the other members welcomed Commissioner Martie Lucas who replaced the position previously held by Bob Philpott. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 8:35 p,m. ~~ rad Collins, Secretary PREPARED BY; S. Roberds PLEASE SIGNlN CITY OF PORT ANGELES Planning Commission Attendance Roster Meeting Date: '77M ~ 199;' ADDRESS: ' . .~, ...- ". ... .,:~' . . ~:~~::..