Planning & Zoning Commission - Regular Meeting

I'd like to call this Planning and Zoning Commission meeting to order on Monday, July 6th. Roll call, please.

Felicam.

Here.

Murray. Here. Schallin.

Here.

Sisler. Here. Wright.

Here.

McMahon.

Here.

Warren-President.

Okay, thank you. At this point of the meeting, I'm going to ask for an approval of the agenda. So moved. Motion to approve the agenda as submitted by Wright. Second? Second. Second by Fellebaum. All in favor, say aye. Aye. All opposed, same sign. The agenda is approved. At this point in the meeting, I'm gonna ask for an approval of the minutes from the June 15th, 2026 meeting. So a motion. We have a motion to approve the minutes from the June 15th, 2026 meeting from Fellebaum. Is there a second? second there's a second from right all in favor say aye all right all opposed same sign the minutes from june 15th have been approved this is the public participation portion of the meeting if there's anybody in the audience that wishes to speak of something that's not on the agenda tonight this is my invitation to you to come up to the podium and address the council of the commission seeing none i'm going to close that public participation portion of the meeting and i'm going to open it up for new business On the new business portion, the first item we have on the agenda is a public hearing. It's a petition by the City of DeKalb for a special use permit to allow a public transit facility for a 35-acre site with an address of 855 and 900 West Dresser Road, located along the north side of West Dresser Road between Normal Road and North Annie Glidden Road. I see in the agenda here we have a motion to table. Is there a presentation from the city?

Yeah, just briefly, we're recommending this hearing be tabled. No specific date at this time. We're having a more detailed noise study done. On its impact to nearby residents, once that study is completed, a new hearing date will be set, and the city will send out letters again. So if we get a letter for tonight's hearing, they'll be sent a letter at least 15 days prior to the hearing date. Notifying them of the new hearing date. So all the surrounding neighbors will be notified again when that hearing date will occur. So a motion is there to table the special use permit.

Any questions from the commissioners on this? Can I get a motion to table this?

I'll move to table the petition by the city of DeKalb. for a 35-acre site with an address of 855 and 900 West Dressel Road, located along the north side of West Dressel Road between Norma Road and North Annie Glidden Road.

We have a motion on the floor from Scholle. Can I get a second? I'll second. We got a second from Sissler. Do we need a roll call or can we do this by voice?

By voice votes.

All in favor say I I all oppose same sign. OK, that item is going to be tabled and we gotta come back to us at a future date. The second item on the agenda is another public hearing. So at this point of the meeting, at 6.03 PM, I'm going to open up a public hearing. And this is a petition by the city of DeKalb for text amendments to the Chapter 23 Unified Development Ordinance of the Municipal Code, Article 7.07, Home Occupations. Is there a presentation from the city?

Yeah, we're proposing a text amendment to Article 7, 7.07 in the UDO. That's a home occupation section or the home-based business regulations. And it kind of came up with, generated these amendments in relation to a resident, Jessica Chima, who's here tonight. She lives at 250 Augusta Avenue. Requested to use the original one-car garage And I'll kind of go over the specific situation that came up. Again, this is an amendment to the UDO text amendment, so it affects the whole ordinance or any property zone residential in the city. But she, you can see the nice historic home on the site. Jessica raises a lot of vegetables on the site. You can see some, a lot of plants, cansum, does a lot of work on that, and she'd like to See some of the pictures here. Hold some classes in the detached garage, which is a little smaller, really for a modern vehicle. I like to hold classes in there to teach others about what she does and how she grows things. The site actually is all multi-family residential, but the home occupation regulations, and I'll go to the specific amendment. Currently, home occupations must occur in the house on the site. You can't do it in the detached garage or other accessory structure. Certainly what she's doing now is allowed, but with the classes, it would not be allowed. So what we're recommending is a proposed amendment. You can see in the red markup here. that the exception of the home occupation situation of educational programming can occur in the garage or other accessory structure. In the opinion of the city manager, the activities will not create substantial greater vehicle or pedestrian traffic than would normally be generated by the home occupation. within the principal residence. So it still would act, look like a regular type of home on the site. There was a sentence added at the end to make sure the educational program does not include any prohibitive home occupations, which we do list in 7.0703, which prohibits any type of automobile car repair. Carpentry work, painting of vehicles, etc., that's prohibited, and you're certainly not allowed to have classes regarding that. So that just emphasizes that those items will be prohibited. Jessica mentioned that probably up to 10 at the max number of people would be attending these classes. On the site, there's access to Augusta, then kind of circles around the back of the house to Park Avenue. And cars would park on there. Actually, on the street, Augustine Park is parking only for residents with a permit at this time. So the findings of fact, which we do for every text amendment, which is in the UDO, we take a look if it's consistent with the comprehensive plan. It is. The plan talks about encouraging positive community appearance. It also calls for support of sustainable development practices, which it does. It meets the intent of the UDO in terms of public health and safety. It provides flexibility to the home occupation regulations to somebody to do something like this. At the same time, ensuring the residential character is maintained in our neighborhoods. And the proposed amendments will not cause any nonconformities, also will be fairly administered along all the zoning districts. So we'd recommend approval. Bill and I met with Jessica out at her place a few weeks back, and Bill talked to her previously to that about this, and we're very comfortable with the proposed language in Exhibit A, and we recommend approval. A sample motion is prepared in your staff report. And Jessica can answer any questions if you have any for her.

All right. Thank you very much for that. This being a public hearing, I'm going to ask if there's anybody from the audience that wants to speak on this issue at this point. Come on up to the podium. If you could state your name and address.

So my name is Jessica Chima from 250 Augusta Avenue. And first I want to say thank you for considering the amendment to the text. And in terms of sustainability and home education and programming, I just want to say that I'm a firm believer that I can't change the world, but I can have a meaningful impact on my community. And I try to raise all heirloom varieties, homemade compost, collected rainwater, and those are things that I would like to be able to teach other members of our community how to do as well. So I'd like to take the garage as an opportunity to showcase the process that's involved in starting plants from seed, harvesting seed, and growing your own food sustainably.

Thank you. Very good. Thank you so much. Is there anybody else from the public that wishes to speak on this issue? OK, seeing none, I'm going to close the public participate or the public portion of this public hearing at 6.09 PM and I'm going to open it up for the Commissioners for questions from this to the city or to Jessica. And this to be clear, this is a text amendment to the UDO, so if we say yes tonight to these changes, this can happen to any home based business in the city.

Any other residential zone property they would? be able to comply with the regulations, have educational programming, with the limit that it doesn't create any additional traffic beyond the typical residential or pedestrian traffic, so up to the city manager. So we don't think this would really occur that much. Again, we have those prohibited uses, so you can't do any educational teaching on those. But there could be some others, so we take a case-by-case look at those and make sure they're not really any additional impact on the neighborhood.

My only thought or concern in the city manager's here, but is this the best use of the city manager's time to go case by case with these things here?

Well, I'm glad you asked that. I have to say I'm not much of a cook and I don't have time to prepare food as described by Dan here, but I have to say that I have a pretty good eye and taste for delectable homemade jellies and jams and pies and and soups and so forth and If this delightful lady wants to teach people how to do that In a small space which isn't even big enough I don't know how it was ever big enough for a Model A or Model T when it was first business this property goes back to 1908 historic building and garage so it's it's just only good really for this kind of a thing and and we support it this would be an easy one and if there's another one like this I think that would be easy one thing that I found just in driving up so I had my first tour with Jessica and Dan This is in that area, one of the areas in town where we have permit only as Dan referenced and you really can't find a place to park. If so, there's not going to be a crowd coming here. So it would be a very low impact use and that would be what we'd be looking for. Home occupations, I well enough to know when we first wrote this stuff out back in the late 80s, early 90s. One of the big concerns of neighbors has always been the traffic. We've even had some churches that had to come here before the plan commission and the council and prove that on a Sunday there would be enough parking for everybody if they were to be able to install church. This is such an infinitesimally small use compared to that, I think we can handle it. Thank you, Bill.

And I have a follow-up, I guess. So the intent is not to sell anything, right? Strictly classes.

Is there a minimum or maximum square footage that will be allowable?

I think we have to take each one as it comes and see. As in this case, I don't know, it might be a 15 by 25, or 20, maybe 15 by 20 garage. Is that fair to say, Jessica?

Did you actually consider putting a number? I see the text doesn't have a specific number. Another reason I ask is someone could, from Mary Kay Longaberger, tastefully simple, start rattling off all your home-based businesses that have parties and have people over selling goods and tasting things. That happens frequently. Why don't we have a, do you want to not put a specific number in there because of, I mean, why wouldn't you limit to 10? Because if someone has 30 people over, 40 people over, that will increase traffic.

Yeah, that wouldn't even be an allowable home occupation. So the idea of the home occupation is the old, you've got a doctor and a lawyer who has people come, like in the 30s and the 40s, and go see old Doc Smith, and he's at that location down the block. We don't have that anymore. So this is a pretty unusual thing. This is the first time in my last eight years here as city manager that we've had any interest. So I think if those things are happening, we're not going to go out hunting for them, but if they're happening, they're not legal right now.

And also on this, this is for classes only, not for parties, not for selling Mary Kay stuff.

And currently right now, it shows up in the house, there's a max of 15% of the total floor area of the house can be used for allowable home occupation. But again, no selling. No retail sales allowed.

So 15% of our garage is... That'd be small.

But you still have the same requirement, a maximum of 15% of the house. And if I'm going to do some educational... Classes that are related to the home-based business. I'm allowed to do this garage. It's a case-by-case structure thing and You know, the only other concern is I mean bill you're in favor of this today what if One we've another city manager down the road and do we have to come back to this can Will the potential? home-based business be at risk that what if the next city manager doesn't approve of this and

Well, I can guarantee you'll have another city manager down the road. So, but, and the council always has the right to revise and review, you know, and hopefully they do so. I will say, so Jessica could have done all this without asking. But she's very careful. She has, obviously, a DeKalb County Health Department license for what she does, because she sells her wares at our farmer's market and other places. And she wanted to make sure that it would not violate that license to do this outside, one. And then, two, does the city allow this? And so she and I had a conversation at one of them. one of the events where she was displaying her goods. It was such a good idea, I thought, and it seemed very responsible.

Brian, did you have a question?

No, I'm just looking. I already read that.

Jerry, anybody, any other further questions, comments? Okay, well seeing no questions, no comments, I was wondering if I could get a motion on this.

I move the Planning and Zoning Commission forward its findings of fact and recommend to the City Council approval of the text amendments to article 7.07 home occupations of the unified development ordinance as indicated in Exhibit A.

We have a motion on the floor from Shelly. Can I get a second?

I'll second.

I heard a second from Murray. Yes. Second on the floor from Murray. Roll call please. Yes.

Murray? Yes. Shawnee?

Yes.

Sisler?

Yes.

Wright?

Yes.

Chairman McMahon?

Yes.

Motion passes.

All right. Thank you very much. That closes off our second public hearing tonight. We have one item on the agenda tonight, which is why we have a full house, I'm sure. We have an election of a vice chair.

And I'll just kind of, yeah, we don't have a vice chair. Jerry stepped in last week as interim chair, did a good job. And so I'll just open up any nominations for election as vice chair of the commission. And the chair can make a motion, or can make a recommendation on that.

Well, I've only heard good things about last meeting, so I have. I think our Facebook views went through the roof. So our attendance is so great this week.

Let's call it a fix, Jerry.

Jerry, would you be interested? Sure. Are there any other nominations on the floor? We could have a long, drawn-out debate. I'm seeing Villebon being eyed here. Nope. All right. I'm unreliable. Let's get a motion.

All right. What do we do now? A motion? Motion to appoint Jerry as vice chair.

I can make the motion? You can ask for a motion. All right. I'm going to ask for a motion to hold the election for Jerry Wright to become our new vice chair.

I would like to make a motion.

All right, we have a motion from fellow bomb on the floor.

He our next vice chair.

Can I get a second?

I will all fight for that second.

All right, I heard Charlie first. We do this with the voice vote. Sure all in favor of accepting Jerry Wright as our new vice chair say aye aye aye all opposed same sign. Congratulations Jerry. Thank you very much.

In accepting this position, I would like to give a speech.

All right. Reports. Are there any reports this day?

Yeah. Next meeting, July 20th. Just one hearing, one agenda and item so far. 332, 336 East Lincoln Highway. That's downtown. site zoned central business district the owner would like to add a second apartment unit above on the second floor in the CBD we require a certain amount of lot area for each dwelling unit and there can't meet that with there's another unit already in the building so but with a special use permit you can get that so That's a hearing coming up. And last council meeting on June 22nd, they approved the special use permit for the Hillcrest Covenant Church expansion with the Parkey lot and building. That was unanimous. In addition, they also approved the new manufacturing building, the plat and plans out at Park 88 that the commission approved also. So that went through unanimous vote. That's all. Thank you.

Any reports from the commissioners? Seeing none, I'm going to ask for a motion to adjourn. So moved. We have a motion to adjourn from right on the floor. Second?

I'll second.

Second from Murray. All in favor, say aye. Aye. All opposed, same sign. Thank you, everybody.

Go USA!