Trustee Meeting Room
3292 Montgomery Road, Landen Station
MINUTES
CALL TO ORDER: John Richardson, Chairman
ROLL CALL: Scott Evans, John Richardson, Robert Giesse, Matt Evans, and Alternate John Rickert were present. Don de Reynier was absent with previous notice. Also present was township attorney, Doug Miller. Leeann Shroder did the minutes in the absence of Marilyn Arnold.
MINUTES: Minutes DT Zoning Commission February 02, 2004
Roll Call - Matt Evans-Yes, S. Evans-Yes, J. Richardson-Yes, R. Giesse-Yes, John Rickert-Yes The motion was approved.
Motion John Richardson made a motion to change the order of the meeting by bringing Case 2003-612 to the beginning of the meeting. This action was to complete the Stage 2 hearing on the Shoppes of Deerfield South. There was a second by Scott Evans. The vote was all yes and the motion was approved.
Mr. Richardson asked the board if they have any changes to the 44 conditions. Matt Evans asked why the specific words he used were not reflected in the conditions (minutes). Mr. Richardson asked him to refer to which ones. Mr. Richardson said on #13 he wanted awnings over walkways and the condition just refers to “provide covered walkways.” Matt Evans said on the minutes what the board talked about was shown but on the 44 conditions it is different in both #13 and #32. Mayank Kumar said if the board wants to change these, that is fine. Mayank said Condition #8 refers to Condition #32. Matt Evans decided those items were fine after he reviewed them. John Richardson said the only other item he was concerned about was, that since they haven’t seen a Stage 2 site plan showing these conditions, do they want to see the Stage 3 plan before it goes to the trustees. John Rickert said yes. Doug Miller said the proponent may want to argue to the trustees some other plan than what you are recommending. It is up to the board, if they want the trustees to see this plan that tells the trustees this is exactly what you are talking about. Mayank said when the board talks about this issue if you read Condition #43, says that the plan should be approved by the Zoning Commission before it goes to the trustees. At the trustee meeting they would say what are the thoughts of the zoning commission on this. John Richardson said do we want to amend #43 because it implies that, or add a #45 saying that we want to see revised plans before they go forward to the trustees. Matt Evans said this same would apply to #13. Matt said he would like to see the plan before it goes forward to the trustees. Mr. Richardson said we are making recommendations to the trustees with these 44 conditions, and it is not truly a condition to the trustees, it is a fact that we want to see these again with the 44 conditions from them. Robert Giesse said in #43, it should read “and / or” in front of buildings. Matt Evans said he wants to see the revised plan. Matt said he wants them to make the proposed changes. Scott Evans said we need to act now. Doug Miller said they can take the discussion up with the trustees. Doug Miller said with the 44 Conditions, does this board know what these conditions mean without seeing them. Matt Evans said the conditions are so open to interpretation. Tim Hershner said an alternate that they have used in the past to seeing the plans, is rather than waiting to see the revised plans before sending them forward, is sending them forward contingent on seeing the plans and approving them at zoning commission prior to Stage 3. The trustees can pass judgment on Stage 2 and similar to a site plan review coming back, you get to see the final plans. Often times applicants don’t want to spend the kind of money in detailed plans until they know that similar conditions are going to be approved by the trustees. Tim said if the general motion were to recommend approval based on these conditions subject to a site plan review by the zoning commission prior to Stage 3. Tim said when the plans are not detailed, when they find specific tenants, they can come back for a final site plan review to this board. Mayank Kumar said something should be added regarding design standards. Joe Trauth, Attorney for Walmart, wanted to comment on changes to the conditions. John Richardson said the changes have not been reviewed by this board.
Motion There was a motion by John Richardson that this board approve the Stage 2 site plan for the Shoppes of Deerfield South with the 44 Conditions listed changing Condition #43 to “reduction in parking and/or buildings” and under #2 in the Design Standards the 2nd to the last line to read “architecturally compatible in terms of materials and colors.” Prior to Stage 3 approval the Zoning Commission has the opportunity to review the Stage 3 site plan prior to going to the township trustees. There was a 2nd by Robert Giesse.
Roll Call – Scott Evans-Yes, John Richardson-Yes, Robert Giesse-Yes, Matt Evans-Yes, John Rickert-Yes The motion was approved.
Motion There was motion by John Richardson and 2nd by Robert Giesse to take a break. The motion was approved. There was a motion by John Richardson and a 2nd by Scott Evans to re-adjourn. Themotion was approved.
CASE 2003-707 Arbor Square, Outlot #4, Final Site Plan, 9,800 Square Feet Retail
Staff Report Mayank Kumar gave the Staff Report and said the board has previously reviewed this case on December 15th and Mayank explained concerns from the previous meeting. 1) The access drive had a problem previously and the applicant met with the Warren County Engineers and that was resolved. 2) The rear elevation which faces Arbor Square Drive should not be considered a rear view due to the visibility. The applicant has made the rear elevation a duplication of the front. 3) There have been improvements to the number of parking spaces and amount of landscaping. In both areas there has been compliance with the code. Mr. Kumar said in the event this board approves this proposal, there are 11 conditions in which there must be compliance.
1) The maximum floor area for restaurant use shall not cause the overall PUD parking space ratio to be less than one parking space for every two hundred square feet of gross leasable floor area.
2) The building material of the west side (rear) elevation shall be in compliance with the subtitle-2 “Building Materials” of Arbor Square of Deerfield Design Standards (Exhibit B).
3) Indicate one off-street loading space of 10’ x 25’ in compliance with Section 20.07 of Deerfield Township Zoning Resolution and subtitle-5 “Off-Street Loading” of Arbor Square of Deerfield Design Standards (Exhibit B).
4) The ground mounted signage which will include tenant’s name/signage shall reflect integrity in terms of font size and shall have one base color.
5) One wall mounted sign shall be allowed for each tenant with a maximum sign face area no greater than one square foot of sign face area for every lineal foot of store front. This wall sign shall be installed on the east building elevation.
6) The proposed directional sign along Arbor Way shall be in compliance with Chapter 22, Signs, of Deerfield Township Zoning Resolution.
7) Provide letter of approval from the Warren County Soil & Water Conservation District, Deerfield Township Fire Rescue, the Warren County Engineer’s Office, and the Warren County Water & Sewer Department, in compliance with the Deerfield Township approved plans. Any change to the approved plans shall require Zoning Commission review and Trustees’ approval.
8) All parking lot and wall mounted lighting fixtures shall be flat glass, full cut-off fixtures as determined by the IESNA (Illuminating Engineering Society of North America). Maximum mounting height shall not exceed 24’ on all fixtures. Foot-candles shall not exceed 0.2 at any property line.
9) Ensure the connectivity of existing sidewalk with the proposed development to the satisfaction of Zoning Administrator.
10) Sidewalks shall be constructed and maintained.
11) Neither outside storage, nor sales (sales does not prohibit dining/café use) shall be allowed at any time.
John Richardson asked the proponent to come forward.
Proponent Craig Kolb, Terra Firma, pointed out on Condition #5 that the Deerfield Township Trustees allowed this signage and explained why. John Richardson asked the board if they had questions. Matt Evans asked about the sidewalk and if there was a change from the original plan. Mr. Kolb explained that. Robert Giesse asked Mayank how they figured out the requirement for parking spaces. Mayank said he considers 1 parking space for 4 people in one vehicle. John Richardson said the board has recently tried to eliminate excess parking spaces. Mr. Kolb said the code isn’t clear on that but the new code will have a more specific requirement. John Rickert asked if the outdoor dining area would be 10 tables or 30 tables. There were no opponents. Mr. Richardson asked for board discussion.
Matt Evans said the revised plan is good. He suggested that if the Kroger parking lot is going to continue to be used for the outlots, we should take that into consideration when other outlots come. Matt Evans said others should be allowed to use CMU in their plan. John Rickert asked if Condition #11 should be changed. Mr. Rickert said after the word “sales” we should say, “outdoor sales does not prohibit outdoor cafe/dining.” Doug Miller said in a PUD you can put whatever conditions on it. Doug Miller said there is not a lot of residential around there but even if it is indoor music we get complaints. Doug Miller said they could add a condition which says, “There shall be no outdoor entertainment.” Doug Miller said with a noise rule you must stipulate how loud. We should put it in the condition that there should not be any outdoor entertainment. Bob Giesse said don’t we have a noise resolution. Doug Miller said you run into a problem with what is too loud. Matt Evans we could state that we limit that to outdoor dining.
Although the public portion of this case was closed, John Richardson allowed Diana Halligan, 4011 Brookside Court, to talk about storm water. Mayank said her concerns would be covered on Condition #7 where it states that a letter of approval must come from the Warren County Soil & Water District.
Motion John Rickert made a motion to accept the Arbor Square Outlot #4, final site plan with the 11 conditions and modifying Condition 11 to include ( “sales does not prohibit dining / café use”).John Richardson 2nd the motion. Roll Call: Robert Giesse-Yes, Matt Evans-Yes, Scott Evans-Yes, John Richardson-Yes, John Rickert-Yes The motion was approved.
NEW BUSINESS Tim Hershner said the Infrastructure Committee of Deerfield Township has been reviewing a Pathway Plan for this board to review. There are green and red lines on the map which show the pathways on the map. Tim said he has been meeting with Sheldon Davis. Sheldon Davis, 3353 Cutter Lane, Maineville, OH, said he has been working on the Miami to Miami Bike Trail with Butler and Warren County. Now this plan is primarily dealing with Butler County, Warren County, and the City of Mason. This also includes Symmes Township. Sheldon said there is no plan for Butler-Warren Road. Snider Road and Mason-Montgomery Road are on the plan. He feels there are 3 opportunities in zoning particularly along Mason-Montgomery Road, Wilkens Boulevard, and Snider Road. Sheldon said he hopes to fill in any gaps. There are gaps on Socialville-Fosters Road. He wants to make sure an 8 to 10 feet path would be installed rather than a 4 to 5 feet path. He spoke about security on paths where people can walk. He said Montgomery Road is getting widened. He said there are steps which go from Montgomery Road by the Little Miami River down to river level. He said the steps are in good condition but the hand rails need work. He said he has tried to use the county and township roads. Matt Evans asked him if this is part of a development plan. Tim Hershner said the county needs to adopt this and make it part of the county record. Tim said Ashmont and Long Cove in the Natorp Development, are planning a 6 feet wide sidewalk, and we would recommend an 8 feet wide sidewalk. Tim said if the county approves our plan, then they could make suggestions. John Richardson said he doesn’t believe this board should comment on each path but this board should make general comments. John Richardson asked Sheldon about the abutment in the Kings Mansion property and whether a bridge might go in there. Sheldon said a bridge is not in the picture but an off road trail that goes along the river would work. He said many people are into mountain biking. Sheldon said that property is one of the prettiest pieces of property in the area. Matt Evans said this proposal is exciting and he hopes our residents realize this is in the works. John Richardson asked if this board should do a motion in support of these plans. JohnRichardson asked for public comments.
Tonya Hines, 9041 Fields-Drive, asked Sheldon if the schools are connected so the children could ride bikes. Sheldon said yes that is one of the objectives and to also connect parks by trails is in the plan. Ms. Hines said crosswalks would help. Sheldon he found the county more than willing to work with this. Ms. Hines said she thinks the bike paths should all be the same width and made of the same materials.
Victor Honda, 4447 South Mallard Cove, thanked the board for including this bike path in the meeting. He asked about time lines and what would be finished when. Sheldon said Montgomery Road is going to be widened by 2005 and hopefully the path will go to the bridge. He said the Mason-Montgomery area would have paths as the township and the residents plan for that. Mr. Honda asked him what side of the road on Mason-Montgomery would there be paths. Sheldon said on Mason-Montgomery Road the path would be on the west side. Sheldon said on Socialville-Fosters and Irwin-Simpson most of it would be on the south side. Mr. Honda continued to ask Sheldon about paths near his neighborhood off Socialville-Fosters Road. Tim said one of the challenges in trying to do this is trying to get sidewalks put in as things develop. Tim said now the county is suggesting sidewalks. Tim said the developers are suggesting 6 feet wide rather than the 8 to 10 feet wide. Matt Evans asked Tim if the residents can be forced to pay for the sidewalks. Tim said there are a number of ways to get this done. Matt said if we wait for all the developers to do their piece it could take a long time. Robert Giesse said this gives us good tool we need to suggest to the developers. Tim said in Kings Mills the track students run throughout Kings Mills area. Sheldon said whatever we put in should match up with whatever Mason has put in. Matt Evans said he appreciates off street trails.
Marsha Sullivan, 3651 Stoneboat Court, asked where the bike paths are in Landen. Sheldon said Socialville-Fosters Road and Montgomery Road will be used. He said they hope to connect with Mason’s Innovation Way. Tim said they are trying to connect to Landen but also connect to subdivisions along Socialville-Fosters Road. She said she moved to her house because of the hiking trails and is not sure she wants her trails connected to the planned system Sheldon is working on. She complained about not having the community that she thought would be here when she purchased her home.
Rob Olsen, 8704 Charleston Woods Drive, was in favor of the hiker / biker trails. Leeann commented that Sheldon Davis was the Deerfield Township Volunteer of the Year for 2003. Tim said the next Infrastructure Committee Meeting will be held February 26, 2004, at 7:30 at the township meeting room.
Motion There was a motion by Scott Evans to show this Zoning Commission’s support of the township hiker / biker trail plan. There was a 2nd by Matt Evans. The vote was unanimous. The motion was approved. 9:15 PM ADJOURNMENT
There was a motion by John Richardson to adjourn. There was a 2nd by Robert Giesse.
Roll Call S. Evans-Yes Richardson-Yes, R. Giesse-Yes, Matthew Evans-Yes, J. Rickert-Yes
The motion was approved.