January 5, 2005

COMMISSIONERS PRESENT
Tom Quinn, Chair Rich Urbanowski
John Plotkin Bunny Malm
Bill Marino Charles Choi

STAFF PRESENT
Vince Harris, Planning Manager Ben Mehmen, Civil Engineer I
Chad Minor, Senior Planner John Padon, Traffic Engineer Technician
Tina Dill, Planner I Vicki Kaufman, Plann.Comm. Secretary
Anne Heine, Lead Development Review Engineer
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The following are the minutes of the January 5, 2005 Lakewood Planning Commission Public hearing. A permanent set of these minutes is retained in the office of the City Clerk and a tape recording is located in the department of Community Planning and Development, City of Lakewood.
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INDEX

RZ-04-002: Request of Brian Weishaar and Brian Cruz to consider rezoning from the 4-R (Medium Density Attached) Residential District to the OF (Office) Zone District. The property is located at 1575 Simms Street. The purpose of the rezoning is to construct an overflow parking lot for an existing business at 1555 Simms Street.

The roll having been called, a quorum was declared and the following business was conducted:

ITEM 1: _CASE NO. RZ-04-002:
BRIAN WEISHAAR of 9500 West 9th Avenue, Lakewood, Colorado 80215, is the owner of B & B Property, LLC, the company that owns the property at 1555 and 1575 Simms Street. Brian Cruz is the owner and manager of Tribe Hair Salon, LLC at 1555 Simms Street. 1575 Simms Street is being rented out as a residence, currently zoned 4-R. Tribe Hair Salon has experienced a lot of growth and parking has become a big problem with clients parking in Arby's Restaurant to the south and Family Dentistry, which is in-between their properties. The other business owners have discussed the problem with the applicants and have had cars towed that have been parked illegally. The applicants feel it is in their best interest to keep a good working relationship with the other business owners, prompting their decision to rezone. Tribe would like to hire two more stylists in the future to keep up with demand. Their hope is to add fourteen new parking spaces for a total of twenty-six spaces. They want to add a sidewalk, which is not required but for safety and to tie the property in to the rest of the street, the applicants chose to add one. The landscape designs would enhance the property. The applicant also said he would like to add a wrought iron fence rather than a wooden fence for safety.

The applicant's plan is to donate the house at 1575 Simms Street to Habitat for Humanity and have it removed from the site. Their long-range plan is to purchase the property at 1565 Simms Street, the Family Dentistry, so they can expand and add a spa business either in the existing buildings or by tearing down the existing structures and building a new structure. They have been working with Jefferson County Enterprise Zone Economic Council and with the West Colfax Community Association and the Colorado Economic Development Commission.

BRIAN WEISHAAR said they held two neighborhood meetings. After the two meetings, held March 2, 2004 and August 5, 2004, Brian went house-to-house to inquire if there was any opposition to the rezoning into a parking lot. He told residents his short-term plan and the long-range plan. He found sixteen residents who would support the rezoning petition. There were nine residents who were renters so they couldn't sign but said they would support the rezoning. Two were businesses and needed approval from the home offices. A few residents were elderly and didn't want to sign a petition. The signed petition is a part of Staff's report.

TINA DILL gave the Staff report, entering into the record the Lakewood Comprehensive Plan, the West Colfax Revitalization Plan, the Colfax Overlay Zone District Plan, and the Zoning Ordinance. The applicant's purpose is to serve and expand their current business, the hair salon. The Simms Corridor, on the east side, has mixed uses including commercial properties, single family and multi family residences, the American Legion Hall, Day Care Early Learning Facility, a live-in facility for juvenile offenders, a convenience store, and an automotive repair shop. The rezoning request is consistent with the other businesses in the area. Lakewood Staff recommends approval of the rezoning.

COMMISSIONER MARINO wanted to clarify that the lot Tribe Hair Salon sits on is zoned Office and the Family Dental Clinic is also zoned Office. Tina verified that information. The Land Use map shows Commercial Zoning for Arby's Restaurant and for Tribes Hair Salon and shows something else for Family Dentistry. This was an error on the Land Use Map.

COMMISSIONER MALM asked how far away the day care center was from this property.

TINA DILL said the day care center is on the corner of 17th and Simms Street.

COMMISSIONER PLOTKIN asked Tina to show on the slides where the existing parking is for the existing salon as well as the adjacent property and how many spaces there are for each.

TINA DILL said at Tribe's Hair Salon there are currently four back-out spaces in front and the bulk of the parking is in back. People are often parking in front of the dentistry office. It is undefined and unclear as to how many spaces there are in the rear but there are about a dozen spaces in back.

COMMISSIONER PLOTKIN asked how many spaces would be available for parking if the applicant were to build on the adjacent property?

TINA DILL said it would be the same as for a hair salon, which is one and one-half spaces per stylist.

COMMISSIONER MALM wanted it on the record that she is friends and belongs to the Belmar Optimist Club with Ann Schmidt, a citizen who signed up to speak tonight. Commissioner Malm said these facts would not influence her decision.

ERIC PALM who lives at 1540 Swadley Street, Lakewood, Colorado, 80215, spoke first. He enjoys the convenience of walking to stores in the immediate area and looks forward to having a sidewalk to walk on and is for this rezoning.

BARBARA BARRY whose physical address is on Simms Street but her mailing address is P. O. Box 568, Golden, Colorado 80402, requested, and was granted, additional time to speak as she is representing the Applewood Valley Homeowners Association Board of which she is Vice-President. She said she had a real problem with the Staff report characterization of the information going to the neighbors where it indicates the property will experience expansion of the parking lot. Barbara said the parking lot was the only issue communicated to some of the neighbors for signing the neighborhood petition. They were not told about the expansion onto the middle lot and the larger structure that will result from this rezoning. She personally requested that information from the applicant in March of 2004 because it didn't make sense to build a huge parking lot when all that was needed was one or two more spaces. She felt then that there was something else to be done that would justify the expenditure of creating a parking lot. The people signing the petition stated they were ok with the parking lot but Barbara spoke with one of the residents who was not quoted correctly. The person quoted doesn't even live in the state and was not around to be interviewed. Consequently there was no such statement from that individual saying they were ok with the parking lot, in Barbara's opinion. The owner of the house across the street did not like the idea of loosing any of the houses across Simms Street but was not informed of the expansion of the building into any larger or additional structure. The remaining petition signers are on the west side of Swadley and over on Tabor Streets so they are not exposed to the property to be converted along Simms.
She interviewed the neighbors that live along Simms Street last spring but she has had knee problems since then and was unable to interview neighbors when this case came up. She has talked to some by phone and was told they thought it was just a parking lot. These are the residences that view the property in question and will experience the greatest change that will result from this rezoning.

BARBARA BARRY said Simms south of Colfax does indeed have commercial property on it but Simms north of Colfax does not with the minor exception of Arby's and 7-11 that face onto Colfax. The L & L Auto is properly zoned and faces onto Simms. Barbara thought Tribe Hair Salon and Family Dentistry, with the roofing company behind it (where the second parking lot is), did not go through a standard rezoning process. Her homeowners association, which is the homeowners association for these properties, was never notified of any change in zoning where the Family Dentistry is located. She thinks the discrepancy in the land use map relates to the fact that the dentist property did not go through the documentation that would result in a fully documented decision to convert it to Office - or whatever it is zoned. She says the commercial area should be focused onto Colfax and not onto Simms. Simms is the entrance to a very large residential area with schools, the Alzheimer's facility, the Children's Day Care, all properly zoned residential area land uses. The American Legion was grand fathered in, as it is older than the City of Lakewood.

BARBARA BARRY said further, when they looked at the decision to be made about rezoning, there are elements about this rezoning which are not consistent with the Comprehensive Plan. Ordinance Number 004-48, is a rezoning off of Fenton and Colfax where Planning Commissions rationale was wonderful, it was correct. It was a Habitat for Humanity downgrade from 1-C to a residential complex. Planning Commission was given the proper citations from Staff referencing the Lakewood Comprehensive Plan to strengthen and support Lakewood's neighborhoods, promote compact land-use patterns, encourage high-quality infill and redevelopment, concentrate activities that serve the immediate neighborhood, encourage infill that respects existing land uses. The property in this ordinance has very similar houses to this case tonight. Commissioners tonight did not see the quantity of houses she sited in comments to Staff. This redevelopment does encroach further into a residential area. Barbara's comments are summarized in the Staff Report. This summary tonight includes only about a quarter of the issues that she raised in that meeting. She really feels that the business plan for this enterprise did not plan to use commercial property in its bottom line dollar. Instead it's balancing the books by taking residential property at a much lower cost and saying that's what is needed to make it work. She believes the pages of available commercial properties shown in the Economic Development website all over Lakewood are really good candidates for relocating this business.

COMMISSIONER MALM wanted to clarify what Barbara's objection is: Commissioner Malm thought that the plan is for the existing building to become a day spa in the future. That would not involve building another structure so is Barbara objecting to the structure that is already there or is the objection to the use?

BARBARA BARRY said she is objecting to an expanded commercial business, which in March of 2004 was described as needing to have an expanded building constructed on the three adjacent lots. In the Staff Report there are a couple of minor references to that description. She doesn't object to the use in place but to expanding the building and making a larger commercial enterprise, visibly extending north on Simms Street from Colfax, is a major objection that the homeowners association is making because they are looking at the integrity of the affordable housing neighborhood.

COMMISSIONER MALM asked Barbara if the day care is considered a commercial enterprise that charges a fee for their services?

BARBARA BARRY said no, it is an allowable activity in a residential zone. They're all over the City in residential zones. It is taking care of children just like a school, not a drive-in and drive-out kind of commercial. Once this property is rezoned it may be any of 150 different kinds of commercial activity and that is not ok with the homeowners association board.

COMMISSIONER CHOI asked what is the huge commercial block just south of 17th Avenue if these are the northern most commercial sites on Simms from Colfax? Is it not commercial?

BARBARA BARRY said that is the grand fathered in American Legion Hall.

COMMISSIONER CHOI said he also understands that the business in 1565 Simms is zoned commercial and has not been purchased at this time. This is not the issue before the commission tonight.

BARBARA BARRY said she understands that but the two issues go hand in hand.

COMMISSIONER PLOTKIN wanted to understand clearly whom Barbara was speaking on behalf of? Did the homeowners association have a meeting and discuss this rezoning at length? Are Barbara's statements tonight the homeowner's consensus? He also asked how many board members there are and how many homeowners are in the association and who would have voted on the issues in this case?

BARBARA BARRY said the association board does discuss issues with the full association through their meetings, website, by phone, and their newsletter. One of the things they have been trying to arrive at voluntarily, on their own, with their own funding, is a neighborhood plan. The homeowner's board has discussed extensively the documents in the Staff Report. The homeowner's board, consisting of nine members, voted to oppose the case on the comments Barbara rose here tonight. The entire homeowners association did not vote on this case nor would they vote on any land use case.

CHARLENE BUTLER, of 1777 Simms Street, Lakewood, Colorado 80215, spoke as a concerned homeowner. She is concerned about the traffic. Charlene said the street swiftly goes from four lanes going north to two lanes on Simms off of Colfax Avenue. No sidewalks, just street. If business is going to increase it will create more chaos.

Another concern of Charlene's is affordable housing. The house on this property will be removed and that eliminates low cost housing. She would like to see the area remain residential. She read from the Lakewood Housing Authorities core mission and their strategic goals. She also read a letter from Craig Bachen, an elder at the Shepherd of the Hills Presbyterian Church located on the corner of 20th & Simms. The letter said "Shepherd of the Hills Presbyterian Church has a long history of supporting availability of affordable housing in the community including formal recognition for the church's efforts for Habitat for Humanity and other similar organizations. The church leadership has not specifically reviewed this situation but would be concerned on principle that a variance be granted for a commercial establishment that has multiple options at the expense of existing affordable housing at that location. We also do not see any public rationale for encroachment of commercial activity north from Colfax Avenue when other space on Colfax Avenue is available and appropriate for development. We encourage the commission to consider these matters when reviewing the variance for this property." Charlene also read from the Lakewood Comprehensive Plan to ensure that land use and development is in compliance with that plan, that the proposal furthers one or more goals of the Comprehensive Plan and the proposal does not conflict with or prevent implementation of any goal of the Comprehensive Plan and encourages the preservation and maintenance of existing affordable housing.

DARLENE GOLLAWAY, who lives at 2110 Applewood Drive, Lakewood, Colorado 80215, said she is concerned that everything starts out so innocently. When the beauty salon first started up no one thought a thing about it, but when the commercial and office use start encroaching onto the residential zones, the residents are looking out for that. Now there is a whole area that will turn into a parking lot and looking down the road, if everything is as successful, they may eventually move and that whole site may become what one would not want in a residential area. She has been attending the West Colfax Advisory Committee meetings as a substitute. The goals that everyone has been trying to achieve and obtain are to turn West Colfax into a viable business community that intersperses itself with the neighborhoods and becomes neighborhood friendly. And the goal is to rebuild and revitalize buildings that are already sitting vacant and to revitalize the whole area from the beginning of Sheridan up to Simms. The West Colfax Advisory Committee is working very hard to accomplish these goals along with the West Colfax Revitalization Plan, which is also a very good guideline to go by. It lists a goal of strengthening the neighborhoods next to Colfax. As innocent as these things are now, they may become something bigger and bigger. The important thing is to keep the residential zoning and work along Colfax.

ANNE SCHMIDT, resides at 1802 Simms Street, 80215, and has lived there since 1988. Anne made copies of her speech and the Secretary as well as Commissioners were all given a verbatim copy.
Her speech is attached to these minutes. She also wanted to state that she thought it was very nice of the property owner to try and donate the house to Habitat for Humanity. She does not think they will be able to use the house, however, because of possible asbestos issues.

CHAD MINOR, Senior Planner, asked to address the commissioners at this time. Chad wanted to clarify the confusion with the Land Use Map and the Zoning Map. The Land Use Map is generated by the City GIS Department. We do not use these maps for zoning verifications. There is no factual evidence on those maps that is checked on a regular basis. The property on 1565 Simms is zoned appropriately for the use. It is zoned Office. The Zoning Map before you is correct.

The petitions that were signed were not required or sponsored by the City. Neighborhoods have had three opportunities including tonight's meeting to comment to Staff. The first neighborhood meeting there was only one person in attendance and only five people attended the second neighborhood meeting. There has been adequate notification and opportunity to receive comments from the neighborhood and comments we did receive were included in the Staff Report.

CHAD MINOR added Staff was not aware and therefore did not attend any of the Applewood Valley Homeowners Association meetings. Staff was not there at any time when a vote was taken on this case.

The property in the center (1565 Simms Street) is not before the commission this evening. That property technically could be redeveloped tomorrow under its current zoning. The only reason for the parking lot at this time is to expand and succeed with their existing business.

COMMISSIONER CHOI asked if the parking requirement would prevent a person from parking cars on a residential lot at this time?

CHAD MINOR said current zoning for the property in question tonight is 4-R (Medium Density Attached Residential). Development of a 4-R family would need parking associated with that. The current zoning would not allow a stand-alone parking facility, which is why it needs to be rezoned to Office.

COMMISSIONER CHOI said there has been speculation voiced tonight that 1565 Simms is being contemplated for acquisition but that has not been completed yet. In the event that the acquisition takes place it means there may be a vacation of lot lines and a re-plat into a single lot, and so on and so on. Tonight the commissioners have before them only the rezoning for a parking lot at 1575 Simms Street. Commissioner Choi was wondering if there is some way the applicants could be permitted to park on a developed residential lot and not have to go through the rezoning?

CHAD MINOR said the need for parking requirements would be generated by the use on the property. In Commissioner Choi's scenario it sounded like the property would be vacant and it would need a principle structure for parking.

COMMISSIONER CHOI asked the applicant if he would be going for a complete redesign of a single facility to encompass all three lots?

BRAIN WEISHAAR said redevelopment could be ten to twenty years down the road, depending on cash flow. If he had the cash today he would go forward with his plans right away but that isn't possible.

COMMISSIONER URBANOWSKI asked what were the boundaries of the Applewood Valley Homeowners Association, Daniels-Welchester Homeowners Association, Quail Ridge Townhome Association and the West Colfax Community Association notifications?

TINA DILL said that the southeast corner of the boundary would be at Simms Street and Colfax Avenue.

BARBARA BARRY said the boundaries for the Applewood Valley Homeowners Association extend from Simms Street west to Eldridge, from Colfax Avenue north to 26th Avenue. The Daniels-Welchester Homeowners Association extends from Colfax south to 6th Avenue and from Simms Street west to Gardenia with 1800 households in it. Quail Ridge Townhome Association is east of Robb Street. The West Colfax Community Association is a business association.

COMMISSIONER URBANOWSKI asked if this would go forward how would signage be required? Would the parking lot have signs that say "Parking in the Rear"?

TINA DILL said the Police Department review asked that if signs are put up they say "Parking for Tribe Hair Salon Only" so they can deal with abandoned cars. All signs would have to conform to the City Sign Regulations.

COMMISSIONER URBANOWSKI asked if there is a requirement for a fence on this site?

TINA DILL said on the north side of the property the City would require a fence. The specifics are yet to be determined but it would be a combination of solid fence in some spots with some open areas for visibility into the parking lot for security reasons. There is a half way house for juveniles about a block and a half to the north and the Police are also concerned that the parking lot might attract problems on the west side. Also, the neighbors to the north need to be protected from headlights and glare.

COMMISSIONER URBANOWSKI asked about the drainage and was there a detention facility for the parking lot?

TINA DILL said there is no detention facility required however there is a water quality feature on the northeast corner of the parking lot. The plants shown on the landscape plan are the plants that would do best in an area that will allow water to percolate slowly through a swale type facility.

BEN MEHMEN, CIVIL ENGINEER I, said the proposed grading at the site will drain to the north side with a small swale and there is a small water quality structure in that landscaping area that drains back out to the street.

COMMISSIONER URBANOWSKI then asked the applicant about the house going to Habitat for Humanity. Have they said they wanted the house? How will they get it to another site?

BRIAN WEISHAAR said he approached the problem because at the neighborhood meeting the neighbors didn't want the house demolished. He said he would make it his expense to move the home but Habitat for Humanity wanted to know if he was firm on his decision before they committed further. Brian said he could go no further until Planning Commission and City Council make their decision.

COMMISSIONER PLOTKIN asked if the property was to be rezoned Office so the property would not be limited to a parking lot?

CHAD MINOR said under the current 4-R zoning off street parking areas are allowed only as accessory uses and so there has to be a principle use on the property to allow the off street parking. So if the applicant proposed a parking lot without a principle structure it would not be allowed under the current zoning.

COMMISSIONER MARINO wondered if he owned this property, same house, and he wanted to put parking in for the single-family house, can he? And then if the owner of this property entered into an agreement with the homeowner could he have his clients park their cars on the residential property?

CHAD MINOR said a single family home could technically have seven operational and licensed vehicles parked on the property but our Code Enforcement Officers would see that as a commercial parking lot and the owner would be sited accordingly.

COMMISSIONER CHOI said there is nothing as frightening as the irrevocable consumption of land. So he does want to express to the applicant that rezoning is really a major shift especially when rezoning from a residential zone to commercial use. It tends to change the profile a lot.

BRIAN CRUZ said they have entertained other options but all have been unsuccessful. They have talked to Arby's, and to the dentist office but all to no avail. They tried to park on the lawn and were warned they would be ticketed. They have tried every avenue they could think of.

COMMISSIONER QUINN said the West Colfax Revitalization Plan and the West Colfax Overlay District come into play here. How do they fit in with this project? Are there inconsistencies to be considered?

TINA DILL said she doesn't know of any inconsistencies with these plans. The intention of the Colfax Overlay Zone is to revitalize and improve the district. And this parcel being discussed tonight is in the farthest corner of those maps.

COMMISSIONER MARINO said that, as a member of the Colfax Advisory Committee, looking at the revitalization of that entire area and how best to provide commercial and retail services that have been worked on for the better part of a year but are not yet complete and with the arrival of light rail it is contemplated and embraced that commercial services to the neighborhoods would also be several blocks to the north. So, in his opinion, this case would not be inconsistent at all with what the Colfax Advisory Committee is contemplating.

COMMISSIONER URBANOWSKI asked the applicant if he gave the commissioners all the information he received, negative or positive, related to his survey and the petitions he collected?

BRIAN WEISHAAR said that at all thirty doors he knocked on he told the residents about his short term and long term plans and asked how they felt about the parking lot rezoning.

COMMISSIONER PLOTKIN said that having heard a broad range of testimony with regard to the potential for intruding into a residential community and being very concerned about the effect on the neighborhood, never-the-less he sees this as one lot in what is essentially a commercial area and one lot that will not impact significantly the residential area and that there are other commercial around it. With that in mind, Commissioner Plotkin moved that Planning Commission recommend to City Council to approve RZ-04-002 based upon evidence from Staff and the applicant and taking into consideration the testimony from the public.

COMMISSIONER URBANOWSKI seconded the motion.

COMMISSIONER MARINO said that clearly Simms Street has evolved over the years and its proximity to Colfax Avenue gives it a particular characteristic of an interface between a strictly commercial district and residential areas. As the motion stated there are clearly other commercial oriented land uses in the area. As the commissioners contemplate the evolution of both residential and commercial districts in overlay districts and advisory committees and neighborhood plans, it is trying to engineer the transition between the two that we are tasked with. It may be easy to find conflict in separate sections of the Comprehensive Plan but he feels the commissioners need to look at what is the impact of the case before us today. There is clearly a business problem that needs to be solved and while the commission is tasked with building a Comprehensive Plan that has applicability for ten or twenty years, we have a business problem that needs to be solved today. We have a business owner that is succeeding and we should celebrate that. He needs more parking for his customers and has come to us to try and solve that problem so his relationship with surrounding business owners and the community can be better than it was. Commissioner Marino applauds the applicants. He thinks it is a good transition area between high traffic commercial and different residential and will be voting in favor of the motion.

COMMISSIONER CHOI said he agrees with what Commissioner Marino just said. However, as the commission puts into play the Performance Based Standards, he can't help but think there might have been another way to resolve this. Because we have no other choice, we either leave this business in a residential zone or move it into a commercial zone. He hopes that as time goes by, our city can look at that dimension of the Comprehensive Plan that will permit the commissioners not to make this a conflicting issue but a conciliatory issue. Commissioner Choi will be supporting the motion because of a lack of choice.

COMMISSIONER URBANOWSKI will vote for this motion but said, reiterating what Commissioner Plotkin said; it needs to be emphasized that it is one lot that the commissioners are considering tonight. The Planning Commission is not insensitive to the needs of the neighborhoods nor are they ignoring regulations, they are not abandoning affordable housing, they are looking at this case with a reasonable judgment toward the impacts and the opinions of the adjacent areas and those truly are factored into the decision that each one of the commissioners will make tonight.

Motion carried by a vote of 6-0.

COMMISSIONER QUINN thanked the public for coming out tonight and Staff their work on this case.

ITEM 2: APPROVAL OF MINUTES FROM DECEMBER 1, 2004 PUBLIC HEARING
Meeting minutes for December 1, 2004 were approved by 6 aye, 0 nay.

ITEM 3: GENERAL BUSINESS
COMMISSIONER MALM asked if the other commissioners had seen the Denver Post article that said "Lakewood Raises the Bar for Development Standards in the State."

ELECTION OF OFFICERS:
COMMISSIONER MALM nominated a slate of Officers: Commissioner Marino for Chairman, Commissioner Choi for Vice Chairman, and Commissioner Urbanowski for Secretary.

COMMISSIONER Marino seconded the nomination.

Nominations carried by a vote of 6-0.

COMMISSIONER QUINN then turned the Chairman's gavel over to Commissioner Marino.

COMMISSIONER QUINN added that he would like to discuss with the new Chairman projects started but not completed during the past year. Also the work being done by the commission on the Performance Standards should begin again soon.

COMMISSIONER MALM wanted to welcome the new Chairman, the Vice Chairman, and the Secretary. Then thanked Commissioner Quinn for chairing this year and for his efforts and energy and leadership.

COMMISSIONER QUINN thanked everyone on the commission for their assistance and cooperation.

COMMISSIONER MARINO said he would like to see the Study Sessions begin again on a regular basis with a specific schedule to work on the Performance Based Standards.

VINCE HARRIS said Roger Wadnal has commissioned the Rocky Mountain School of Art and Design to work on what the final form of the Performance Based Standards booklet would look like.

Meeting was adjourned at 9:35.

ADJOURNMENT

Vicki Kaufman, Secretary to the Planning Commission

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