Board of Zoning Adjustment - Special Meeting

And plus the interpretation of it too. Yeah. Yeah.

We're good. All right. Good deal. This being the time and place of a special called session of the board and zoning adjustments, I would like to call this meeting to order. Please call the role. here. Here

all right. Uh we don't have any minutes for this uh special call. Uh I'd like to take a moment to introduce the board of zoning adjustments and give a brief description of what we do and how this meeting will be conducted. The board consists of five regular members and two supernumemerary members who are appointed by the city and represent as equally as possible the council districts or other areas of the city as determined by council. My name is Tom Pulk. Other members are Chester Ays Mark Mccur Mark Moody John Bagot. Uh, not here today are Erica Uber Hubber, excuse me, and John Ba, excuse me, you're you're here. And Fa Gonzalez. Uh, members of the public seeking to get an item considered by the board of zoning adjustments must send an application to the planning department no less than 21 days prior to the next scheduled meeting. The first part of today's meeting is new business. Each item will be read separately and voted on after comments and discussions. If you wish to comment on an item, we ask that you come forward to the microphone, state your name and whether you're a citizen of Decar and then make your comments. We ask that you keep your comments to three minutes or less and sign the sign-in sheet afterwards. Please come forward when your case is called and state your name and what you would like this board to do for you today. Please read the first case.

Good afternoon. The first case is variance 260331023. The petitioner and property owner is Bill Voss and Jonah Voss. His subject property is located at east of 4870 Crusher Road Southeast. The request is for a variance to allow an accessory structure before the primary structure. And the second variance is to allow the accessory structure to be located in the front of the what dwelling beyond the front building line. is currently zoned AG agricultural zoning. The surrounding land around it to the north is unincorporated, to the south is agriculture, to the east is agriculture, and to the west is unincorporated. The subject parcel is located on the outskirts of the city limits. It's characterized by dense vegetation and substantial tree coverage. The visibility of both the proposed accessory structure and future primary residents will be significantly limited. The planning department is currently considering revisions to our zoning ordinance to be able to accommodate and allow for parcels that are exceeding a spec a specific acreage to construct an accessory structure prior to a principal structure. For example, on a lots that would not be uncommon because many people sometimes purchase a lots and never build a home or never intend to. So they may build an accessory structure prior to that. The hardship in this case arises from the unique physical characteristics of the property and the parcel's irregular shape created by non-standard boundaries. This constraint is compounded by the site's topography which includes variations in elevation, slope, and natural drainage patterns. The applicant is also seeking approval of a variance to permit an accessory structure exceeding 4t in height to be located forward of the front building. The what's unique about this particular site is that its visibility will remain

limited to due to the existing vegetation that is between the property and a frontage road on crusher. The spirit of the zoning ordinance is being met along with the parcel's location size and a dense vegetation vegetation along its frontage. This makes one of the few instances in which the planning department would recommend allowing an iness an accessory structure exceeding four feet in height to be located forward of the front building line. Are there any questions? Uh not at this moment. I guess we'll wait till the petitioner like to speak. Hey guys, I don't know that I really have much more to add than what he already said. He covered it pretty well. The only thing I'd maybe point out is the uh detached garage is it is closer to the road, so essentially in front of the house, but it's really more positioned to the side.

Sure. The way that the house is going to be facing. Um you would state your name. I'm sorry. Bill Voss. And you're a citizen of Decar? Yes. All right. Thank you. Sorry about that. I didn't want Sorry about that. Um, yeah, but other than that, I think Jad covered it all. Um, I've got some images from the road looking towards where the detached garage would be, so you can see how much vegetation there is in between if you guys would like to see that. Yeah, that'd be great. Yeah, I'd like to

those are taken yesterday. And then on the um as far as building it before the the home uh the primary home. So we're only a week or two out from pulling the permit on that. We're just wait we had to move a couple of points on the survey uh for the setbacks and then um just waiting on the final drawings so that we can pull permit on that. So we'll really be starting at about the same time. So it's pretty densely covered, isn't it?

Looking at the survey that was part of your Well, it's part of a survey that was included, I guess, with your sub your permit package. Yeah. Your application package. There's not a call out and I guess this is Crusher Road here. Yeah, that's right. Yep. And I guess it goes to the planning. This question would go to actually the planning department. Is there a front yard setback? And would this accessory structure meet that front yard setback? There is a front yard setback. There's plenty of enough ways away from the road. Okay.

But yeah, with it being no call out on there, I might attach that to a motion. Just it should be easy to meet a front yard setback in that is it an average of what's adjoining the property or is it a numerical?

Okay. 35 back from the back of the house was 35. Yeah, I think so.

Front yard set back is a minimum of 50 ft. Would that be I mean if if that we made that if that was part of a motion to approve with the condition that this accessory structure be meet at least the minimum front yard setback I mean would that be yeah we should be good yeah I mean look just looking at eyeball here and then the there is some call outs for 82 foot and 80 feet at the house from the adjacent the sideyard uh looking at that just as a you're going condition that that has to be met. Okay. Thank you. Awesome. So, you don't have to worry about that.

Okay. It would be part of the normal understood only. So, I think you should be good. Perfect. Thank you. All right. Anything else from that y'all would like to Yeah. No, I don't think we have anything else. Sure. Is there any questions from the board? Any questions or comments from the public? Comments from the planning department. Please call the role. Oh, excuse me. All right. It's in our ball ballpark. Motion to approve. A second. All right. Um, please call the roll. Agres, yes. Yes.

Yes. Booty, yes. Bagot, yes. All right, you've been approved. Thank you guys. Appreciate it. Thank you. Have a good day. Thanks. Y'all too.

Okay, let's proceed to the next case is for variance 260331-03. The petitioner is Tri-State Metals. The property owner, City of Decatur. The request is a variance to allow a sign to go over the allowable square footage by 2454 square feet. Current zoning, institutional uses and zoning. To the south of this property, it is agriculture and community commercial. To the east is light industry and to the west residential single family and community commercial. The applicant is requesting a variance to construct a metal sign for the new Decator Recreation Center. The proposed sign exceeds the maximum allowable square footage, approximately 2,454 square ft. The proposed sign is a key component of the city's broader rebranding initiative. The design reflects a cohesive architectural look and feel that aligns with the new construction and surrounding environment. The sign is not a typical standalone sign. Rather, it is integrated into the pavilion design which requires the lettering to be spaced in a manner consistent with the overall architectural aesthetic. The sign is located adjacent to the building and sits approximately 400 yards from the primary roadway where it will be viewed by the public. To put it in simpler terms, imagine four football field lengths away from the roadway. In order for the sign to be legible and effective from this distance, increased scale is necessary. A smaller sign compliant with the ordinance would not be readable from the roadway and would fail to serve its intended purpose of identifying a site and communicating the city's updated rebranding. Additionally, while the total panel area

is approximately 2574 square ft, the actual lettering occupies only about 200 square ft. According to the architect, the larger panel is required to accommodate the spacing and design elements necessary for the architectural integration and branding standards. The hardship in this case is driven by the combination of distance from the viewing public, the integration with the pavilion structure, and adherence to the city's rebranding design standards. For these reasons, we respectfully request approval of the variance to allow the sign to be constructed at the proposed size, ensuring it fulfills its intended civic andformational purposes. I will also add that typically if a commercial business is located on a major roadway, they are permitted 180 square feet. Considering that the letters alone are only 200 square ft, that makes it even more acceptable.

All right. Um, who's representing this case?

Hi, I'm Brianna Parmley. I'm representing Tri-State Metals. I'm not a resident of Decar. um located in Florence, Alabama. So, only about an hour away from y'all. Um he pretty much covered it within the hardship statement. Um yes, it is a large overall scale sign, but the letters themselves only make up approximately 200 square feet, give or take. Um within the letters themselves, the width of the overall building is um leads more into that over 2,500 ft total. Um, but as he said it in actuality, the sign is only taking up so much square feet. Um, if y'all like to see an image of the rendering that we have, then we have this pulled up on the side of the building. It's just a rendering of what that sign would look like on that wall. Um, but as he mentioned as well, it's also 400 square feet or 400 feet away from the roadway as well. So, it's not going to have a strong visual impact. Um, that would be unnecessary. Yeah.

Is the sign lit in any way? No, sir. Okay. Is there any flood lights on it or um Not that I am aware of. Um I think that would go back to um the architect um not to us who are making the sign itself. Okay. Are you aware of any flood lights? I'm not sure. Okay. Any questions from the board? Questions or comments from the board? Any questions or comments from the public?

Any comments from the planning department? All right. This case now being presented uh is for our consideration for a motion uh of some sort to consider this case. Do I have a motion? Make a motion to approve. Make a motion to approve with a second. Please call the role. Yes. Paul, yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. All right. And you've been approved. Thank you'all so much. You're very welcome.

Please call the next case. The next case is a variance for 260331-04. The property owner is Todd Zachary Raymond Ogle and Todd Donald Raburn Ogle. The subject address is 1213 and 1211 Cedar Street Southwest. The variance is to allow a lot area that is 3,350 ft less than the minimum required by the zoning district RS10. The current zoning is RS10. the single family residential zoning to the north of it is RS7. To the south is residential single family RS10. Uh to the east is residential single family RS10 and to the west RS10. The applicant is requesting a variance to allow a lot that is 300 350 3350 ft smaller than the required RS10 zoning district. The dwellings on both parcels already exist and a variance would bring the properties into compliance with current zoning regulations specifically for one parcel. The city of Decar planning department recommends approval of the requested variance to allow a lot area that is 3,350 ft less than a minimum required in the RS10 zoning district. The hardship is not self-imposed as it dates back to the original development of the property when the existing dwellings were constructed. The proposed subdivision will separate two existing dwellings which are currently located on a single parcel, creating a more practical and typical ownership pattern. One resulting parcel will meet all applicable zoning requirements, while the second parcel, though undersized, will accommodate an existing dwelling and maintain the established character of that area. And as mentioned in the preession, this property could exist as a legally non-conforming lot with a home on it. The home could not be expanded or enlarged in any form or fashion because

then that would exceed the requirements for this lot. Anytime there's a legally non-conforming use, it can exist, but it can't be expanded or enhanced unless they're doing improvements on the interior of the structure. Granting the variance will not adversely affect surrounding properties as this request is consistent with the existing development pattern and does not introduce new or incompatible uses. I would also add that I just recently noticed that to the north of this area is zoned single family RS7. The actual size of this lot will be close to what it should be for RS7 zoning anyway. So it it fits the compatibility of the areas, not straying very far from what previously existed. Therefore, approval of the variance is considered reasonable and in keeping with the intent of the zoning ordinance.

Very good. Is anyone here representing this case? Oh, Ben, how you doing? Pretty good. How are you?

I'm good. Uh Ben Wood. I'm not a resident of Decar. live in Priceville. Um so I'm the petitioner on this when I'm looking to purchase this property. Um as as the planning department mentioned there there is two existing houses on this parcel. Uh both already have their own 911 addresses. Uh really we would be just looking to subdivide this as the way it should have been done a long time ago. Um each on their own parcel. Um there is a there is a flag lot on this parcel that was due to the recommendation of Decar Utilities um to have both parcels touching the sewer main that runs in between uh the two parcels there. Um so uh we do have this going to uh planning commission at a at a later date. Um again I I wasn't the one who built the two houses on the same lot. uh just looking to purchase this and kind of subdivide it the way that you know just clean everything up doing it this way.

I thought the flag pole was for trash pickup as well. I know that was an alley. Is that is it alley pickup in that neighborhood? I'd have to look into pickup but it should be I think along Cedar Street would be where the pickup is. Okay. It's got frontage on Cedar and Cleveland there. So, all right. Any questions or comments from the board? Any questions or comments from the public? Any comments from the planning department? No comments. All right. This case being presented uh before the board. It's uh up for consideration. Do we have a motion?

Motion to approve. I make a second. Second. Second. Um, we've got a motion to approve and a second. Please call the role. Second. Yeah, I think three of us did. Mark, you want? Yes. Yes. Curry, yes. Yes. Yes. All right. You've been approved, man. Thank you. Thank you. Have a good day. All right. Is there any any business that the board needs to discuss planning department or anything? All right.

The meeting move to 30. Yeah. Oh, yes. Oh, yes. Yeah. Yeah. Um, thank you, Chester. I would like to see if you all agree with moving our 28th meeting. We got to have it before the end of the month. How many days do we have in 30? 30. So we couldn't go beyond 30. Has it already been advertised as we have not yet. Okay. But we have ample time to do so. And we know for certain we'll have two cases. So we're looking at moving it to the 29th Wednesday or Thursday or Thursday the 30th. Third the 30th. Uh

I'll be available on 30th if needed. Okay. I've got looks like yeah looks like let me check one more place. So we have three availabilities four.

Okay. Yeah. I I'll be available then as well. So okay. You good too? I'm good. I think we'll have a quorum on the 30th. So is that something we need to vote on or is that just something we agreed upon? And you can go ahead and vote on that way. It just covers it either way. All right. So, we right now we've got a a call to vote on meeting um April the 30th at 3:15 for our premeating and at 4:00 for our regularly scheduled or yes to be rescheduled meeting. Uh please call the role. What about uh what we got? We we were supposed to be on the

project gamble pool house. That's uh that is what we're It'll be April the 30th. Yes. This was We were told that if we got in on by a certain date, we'd be on the emergency by the 14th. Somebody actually called me and said, "Hey, if you get in today, we got an emergency on the 14th. We can get you on the I'm not sure. It's not on the agenda. I make the agenda. I did see your So it was um John Wagner called me and said, "Hey, you get it in today."

So John Wagner is from the building department and they used to be over Boza, but planning is now. So, it probably should have been communicated to us and we we would have to had advertise it to be on this agenda, but our regular schedule BOSA meeting is it was supposed to be on the 28th, but we bumping it to the 30th and so that that'll because we have to advertise and so forth. So, we'll have to do it on the 30th. All right. I was unaware that on the 30th. Yeah.

Sorry for the inconvenience. Yeah, we had a motion. Yes. For for the reschedule. And who's first? Uh, who made that? The motion. We just said we're going to move it from the 28th to the 30th. Second. There you go. All right. Good. You'll have the conference. No, we coming back on the 28th. We'll be fine. Okay. Okay. All right. So, we've got a motion to reschedu for the April 30th at 3:15 for our pre and 4:00 for our regular meeting. Please call the role.

Yes. Yes. Curry. Yes. Yes. Yes. All right. Perfect. All right. Well, that concludes all our business. Do we have a motion to adjurnn? Motion to adjourn. We are adjourned. All right.