11/23/1999 Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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requires that. The residents can be assured of only what is expressly stated in the ordinance. If ordinance 99-139 is passed it has certain restrictions for uses in the district. One of the restrictions is that there must be a minimum of at least 25 feet of landscape buffering around the entire site. RTA has indicated that,its proposed Park-N-Ride would have 100 feet of buffering, bur the are assurances with respect to buffering are only what is stated in the ordinance. In addition Chapter 1126 of the Zoning Code requires that when a development proposal before Platuung Commission , even though it meets all Khe express requirements of the Zoning Code for thai district, the Planning Commission will still review the proposal for adverse impacts with r: spect to neighboring residential properties, upon vehicle/pedestrian safety and aesthetics. It is ti?,? to the Planning Commission to determine who will do the impact studies which are usually U+>?ie in house by the City, by referring the proposal to police, fire, engineering, the City forester the Architectural Review Board,., Thus, most of the adverse impact issues are handled in house. Once the Planning Commission gets all the information back it is required by 1126 to recommend changes in the developer's proposal that will ameliorate those adverse impacts found tiD exist to the greatest extent practicable. The Planning Commission makes its recommendations and then sends the proposal on to the ultimate decision-maker, which is Council. Council uh;s7lately determines whether a proposal should be approved and sets the binding conditions of th:,z approval. Mr. Balsal questioned what determines what an adverse impact is, how is it dE'.ermined. Mr. Dubelko responded to Mr. Balsal by stating that the members of the Planning Can;mission were volunteer residents who use their every day life experiences to review and dFt:ermine what they believe will be an adverse impact of a proposal. There is input from residents who are in the audience during Planning Commission meetings and when the issues of adverse im.p:let are raised, the Planning Commission funnels those concerns to different City bodies that ha•r°:? expertise in those areas. The City bodies then submit a report back to the Planning Can.imission with recommendations. That is the extent of assurances that you get in the process-- wb<<- the Code expressly requires and what the human beings that populate the government recc);nmend to the developer when he proposes to develops his land. Mr. Basal suggested that the Planning Commission then judge the adverse impacts. RTA is proposing 4 foot mounds with a 6-i-oot fence on top of that which will be a total of 10 feet: A bus is 13 feet high with a pipe on top of that and northwest winds that blow the exhaust towards Sunset Oval and Kennedy Ridge Road. He doesn't believe that the average person would be able to judge or make a qualified der..ision on how to ameliorate the adverse condition. Mr. Dubelko advised that some times the Plaiining Commission would request the developer to conduct a study. There is nothing spe::itically, however, in the current Code that requires a developer of a proposal such as the Parl?:-N-Ride to conduct a study. However if it is something that the Planning Commission sees as ?, concern and doesn't believe that there is enough support in house upon to conduct a study, thefi the commission can ask the developer to hire its own expert and provide the Commission a report. That is a possibility with respect to air pollution in the RTA Proposal, but it is something whiclt should not be addressed until there is a development proposal before the Commission. Agai3t, as far as asking what assurances can be residents rely upon, the assurances only those things which are expressly required by Code. Mrs. O'Rourke commented that the Planning Comx;:ission is very sympathetic to the residents and always has been, as they are all residents themselves. Mr. Basal indicated that there has been a lot of talk as to what should and shouldn't be placed on the land and RTA would be the lessor of the evil and the City can not make the owner leave the land vacant. It is currently zoned residential and has to have an overlay on top of it to allow RTA to have their park and ride. There is residential homes built along the highway all the time so no one can say that residential homes can not be built on the property. What it comes 8