Planning Committee - Regular Meeting

the meeting by reading the opening statement. This is the regular meeting of the Louisville Metro Development Review Committee to hear cases as documented for the meeting today. Public notice has been provided and materials have been available for review by the public. Following rules are in place for today's meeting. Please silence all cell phones. Number two, please be courteous and respectful to the committee and your fellow citizens. Number three, for those participating virtually, chat messages are not part of the record and are not monitored by all members. Please refrain from sending messages to the panel. If you have any questions or would like to speak on a case, you may send the messages to the host. Number four, today's proceedings are being recorded. Anyone wishing to address the committee must do so from the podium or virtually. If you plan on speaking, please fill out the speaker's request as soon as possible. Those participating virtually must notify the host if they would like to speak. Priorities shall be given to the speaker cards in the order that they are received. Only those who have completed speaker forms will be allowed to speak. Procedures for the meeting shall be as follows. Number one, the staff will present summary of the request. Number two, the applicant or representative will make a statement or presentation giving the reasons for the request. Number three, other persons in favor of the proposal will be heard. Number four, the opposition representative will be heard. Number five, those opposed to the proposal will be heard. Number six, the applicant or their representative will have an opportunity for rebuttal of the opposition's testimony. No new testimony shall be given during rebuttal. And number seven, if there are further questions by the opposition after the rebuttal, please fill out a form provided. A unanimous vote of this committee constitutes final action on most cases. However, if the vote is not unanimous or if there is otherwise required or recommended, the case will be placed on the regular agenda the next planning commission for further discussion in action. The committee may ask questions of the applicant, representative, or opposition at any time. Can I have a roll call, please?

Lennart? President yes, here step here Fisher here.

Okay, first on our agenda today are the minutes from 8, 19, 20, 26 commissioners. Have you read it? And do we have a motion?

Redmond ready to make a motion. Okay, make a motion and we approve the meeting minutes from August 19, 20, 26.

Seconded by second properly made motion second roll call please.

Yes, yes, step yes Leonard yes Fisher yes.

Under new business. Item number 2, 26 street closure 0025 Abby.

Good afternoon. Abby Bills, Office of Planning Staff, 444 South 5th Street, Louisville, Kentucky, 40202. This is Case 26, Street Closure 25 on Old Manslick Road. This is a request for the closure of public right-of-way. The site is zoned R7 in the traditional neighborhood form district. The applicant is requesting the closure of approximately 39,500 square feet of right-of-way south and southwest of Old Manslick Road. The applicant proposes to consolidate all of the right-of-way with the vacant parcel to the south for a proposed multifamily development. And that category three plan came to DRC at the end of July and was approved. So this is the request for the street closure. You can see it's two sections, A and B. One is to the southwest of Old Manslick Road, one is to the south, and then access to the site will come from the very top of the plot. And then this is the Category 3 plan that was approved, and then the area of the closure in relation to that plan.

This is a zoning map of the closure. And then this is the aerial view.

This is a view of the road closure looking down where it forks off on Old Manslick Road. And then this is a view of the adjacent properties. All of the adjacent property owners are owned by Louisville Metro. And the applicant received consent to close from a 100% of the adjoining property owners. So the proposal is ready for the next available consent agenda of the planning commission because of this staff recommends that you place the street closure on the consent agenda at the next available planning commission. And then that is also your required action.

Any questions for staff any questions once the next consent agenda.

tomorrow. It's a long agenda. But I think if you feel that this won't have any further discussion and we'll just be on consent, then I think you'll be okay to put it tomorrow.

I mean, it's pretty straightforward. And I remember the case coming through for the apartment buildings and gosh, there was nobody here. I mean, so I'd say we put it on a consent agenda if that's okay with you all.

Any other questions?

Okay, thank you. Um, I have one person support of the application. Uh, your hand Willsburg.

He's just here for questions. This is a Louisville Metro project, so he's with the Louisville Metro Office of Housing and Community Development. If there's additional questions.

Okay. all right so they don't want to sell it say anything here no remarks just for questions all right um okay anyone else online are here to speak in favor of or opposed Okay. Let's go to deliberation. Jim, I think you had some remarks.

Well, yeah, makes sense. So the logical second step to the actions that we made on in July for the approval of the development, this development can't happen unless that right away is closed. So we need to, we need to follow through on that.

Motion.

Sure in the case of 26 street closures, 0, 0, 2, 5, I make a motion that we place this matter, uh, on the, uh, consent agenda of, uh, for September 3rd. Uh, I make the motion based on our staff report in our testimony today.

I'll second probably made motion in the second.

Yes, staff.

Yes, yes, okay next item on the agenda is item number 326 waiver 0, 1, 0, 0, uh, landscape and site design waivers Kevin.

Uh, Tyler office of planning 4, 4, 4, South history 4, 2, 2, here to discuss 26 waiver 100. Plants I drive. The request is a waiver of the Jefferson town land development code 10.2 to encroach into the 15 foot lba and another waiver of the Jefferson town land development code 5.5 to to allow off street loading to be visible from the public street. It's located in the city of Jefferson Town and is approximately 1.12 acres. It's in PEC, in Suburban Workplace. It's currently developed. This building currently on there is 10,000 square feet. The applicant is proposing to construct a 4,000 square foot accessory structure in the rear of the property. The one that's pink is going to be the proposed new warehouse. The other building you can see is on the top there. The waiver exhibits the top left corner is the corner of the building that's encroaching into the LBA. Just the corner. It's not the whole building. And then the other bottom red square is where the loading will be. And it's a direct line view to plant side drive, which is on the right. This is the elevations that are provided new building. And then the next slide is a visual representation from the street plants. I drive kind of hard to see goes in red, but the visual of how much you would truly see of the building provided by the applicant.

Is the zoning it's PC. Here is the aerial it's an industrial area.

The subject property. The property on the left, the plants I drive property on the right. And then across the street plants I drive. It's located within an established industrial area. The loading is going to be located approximately 250 feet behind the existing front building facade to reduce visibility. Talking to the J-Town planner, there's agreement that they replace the trees that they're removing in the back. And then the proposed design balances the required LBA with operational needs. That finds the justification for the request is adequate and recommends the DRC to recommend that the city of Jefferson town approve the waivers. Your required actions is to recommend to the city of J town to approve or deny the waiver of section ten dot two in the recommend the city just under approve or deny the waiver of section five dot five dot two. Questions yes.

Is this building going to take the place of these containers? Are they going to do away with the containers in the picture?

That would be a good question for the applicant. From what I see in the site design, the site plan, that the containers are not there. They're proposing to put a fence from where the edge of the parking is.

I'm sorry to say, I . Thank you.

Any other questions? All right. Thank you very much.

I have one person who wants to speak, Carl Lentz. Good afternoon.

I'm Carl Lentz. I'm with LJB Inc. We're the engineers for the project 2373 Armstrong Lane, Mt. Washington, 40047. I'm here to answer any questions, to add to what Tyler explained there, pretty straightforward. I've been dealing with Mr. Steve Russe at J-Town Planning. We've submitted a category 2B development plan to Jefferson Town, sort of identified the waivers that we are requesting as far as the encroachment into the rear LBA and the the loading area being invisible from plant side drive, which we're 250 foot behind the facade. So, you know, there's a lot of instances like that out in the Bluegrass Industrial Park that you're able to see the doors from the street. So I've been working with Steve and said, file the waivers and I'm here to answer any other questions you all have.

Do you know if the containers are going to go away?

Uh, yes, sir, they sure are. We're going to, like, said, uh, containers be gone. We'll have a truck new area. The truck to pull up to the loading dock that we're constructing for the new warehouse building. It's in the back accessory building.

Is there enough room if you're going to put a loading dock on the backside is enough room for the trucks to get in there?

Yes, sir. We've got we got they. they have a dock on the side of the existing building. Now they're going to be moving everything to the back. So they've got maneuverability right in that area there where the parking is to the east of the building to be able to get in the dock. Yes, sir.

Okay. Thank you.

Any other questions? All right. Thank you very much. Thank you. Do we have any one online or is there anyone else here that wants to speak in favor or against Joe? All right. Move to deliberation. Commissioners, how do you feel?

Makes sense to me. And it seems like it's going to be cleaning up the area. I drive by the business quite a bit. It always looks like it's a pretty viable, active, nice operation. Hopefully this will continue on.

I agree. Getting rid of containers and sit there. I know containers are used for storage, but sometimes the multicolor, the size doesn't look very attractive.

Steve, you want to make a motion or have something to say?

The codes, covenants, and restrictions of the original bluegrass research industrial park prohibit docks facing a road. In addition, this property is near a very busy intersection. And backing 55 foot trailers in from the street poses a dangerous situation. So, I just want the committee members to be aware. I'm going to vote in favor of this. But there are some implications of its approval that could be negative.

How do you feel about that? Yes, I'm.

i guess i'm a little confused it looks like the docks are going to be pretty far back and i i've seen what you've talked about uh commissioner lantern in terms of you know trucks as you know maneuvering to back uh into the loading docks maybe we ought to take a look at the so um i mean unless i'm reading this this um you know incorrectly it appears that it's that the loading docks are going to be pretty far back into the uh into the yard there we go back to that drawing that was up there all right um so

It's a Kevin can you explain what. What. Where the all you are.

Would you explain this drawing to us again.

Of course, the entrance coming off plan side there right now, you've got the, there's a set of stairs there on the East side of the existing building just South of that. There's actually a dock door there now, right past that little 1st, little little kick where the, you're coming from the South corner Southwest corner of the building going North. So, what they do now is the trucks pull in turn to the left. They sort of jockey around and back up to that building and they're facing parallel actually with. Plant side drive now what they're going to do now is come in sort of jockey around turn and then just back straight up. So it will be perpendicular to plant side. Way in the back of the property, like, said, 250 back feedback from the facade. So, you know. Actually. The turnarounds will be on the property, not back. Yes. Like I said, they've got trucks that come in there now at back parallel to the perpendicular to the building. And it's parallel with plant side drive now. And they're going to move that dock to the back.

That was kind of the question I was alluding to that. That when they go in and turn around, they turn around on property, not backing in off the street because plant side. And all in other areas out there is congested. So.

Yeah, like I said, this business has been operating here about 25 years. And like I said, they've had big trucks coming in and out. So they've got maneuverability there to get the trucks into the dock without backing off the road.

Okay.

Are these a box truck or a pup trailer can pull onto the property perhaps and back into the proposed dock? But there's not enough room for a 55 foot trailer to pull on that property and maneuver. It has to be backed in from the street, which poses the issue. So all your delivery is going to be pup trailers and box trucks.

They have some of the shorter single cab trailers that deliver their fitness equipment. You know, a 73 foot over the road. No, they're not. They're not going to have any type of that as far as the 55 foot trailer and a double cab.

No, they're not going to they're not going to be able to do it.

No, they don't have those. No, sir.

So, your deliveries will be about smaller vehicles. Yes, sir.

Thank you. Fire up the darker line on the drawing. It just disappeared. Um, uh, I guess that is a retaining wall, uh, getting down to a truck. Well, is that yes, sir?

Yes, sir. It's to make up the forefoot for the dock height and to be able to still get up behind the building. They have an access door on the rear corner of the existing building.

Yeah. Well, I think, you know, considering it is box trucks, and it would take, to Commissioner Lannert's standpoint, you may be able to do it with a semi, but it'd have to be just one of those urban type of semis that are, you know, maybe 40-foot trailer. But nevertheless, this kind of makes, this makes sense.

So, thank you.

I think they've been, they're not changing their business, right? No, sir. This is an operation in an area that they're very familiar with and they haven't had problems with it. It's not like they're trying to start anew. Any other questions? We have a motion.

I'll make a motion.

So we can do both waivers at a time. So in the case of 26 waivers 01-00, I make a motion that we recommend to the City of Jefferson Town approval of a waiver from the Jefferson Town Land Development Code 10.2.4.B.8 to allow encroachment to a 15-foot LBA. And I also make a motion that we approve a waiver from the Jefferson Town Land Development Code Section 5.5.2.B.2 to allow off-street parking or off-street loading area to be visible from a public street. Make a motion based on our testimony and our staff report.

I'll second. Probably made motion and second. Roll call, please.

Lannert?

Yes.

Steph? Yes. Mims? Yes. Fisher?

Yes. I case number 4 today 26 DDP 0, 0, 4, 0. Let's see waiver on district development plan and building design. Marcus Winkler where Rachel.

Boy, this podium is big now.

All right, Rachel Casey, Office of Planning Staff, 444 South 5th Street, 40202. This is 26 DDP 40 for a Bank of America at 10305 Ballersville Road. Your requests are a waiver of section LDC section 5.6.C.1 to not provide clear windows and doors on 50% of wall surfaces at street level and a detailed district development plan with binding elements. The property is zoned C1 commercial. It's in the neighborhood form district. It is approximately one acre in size and it's currently undeveloped. The proposal before you is for a 3,900 square foot bank with 26 associated parking spaces. This is the site plan. Ballardsville Road is at the bottom of the site there. To the west side is an internal access drive. You'll see in the images to follow that this is at the site of the larger site containing the new Publix at the corner of Ballardsville and Brownsboro Road. These are the preliminary elevations. Um, I apologize. I came into this case a little late and took it over. But I believe that the request for the waiver applies to that second elevation down on the left that does not contain the full 50% of clear windows and doors. This is a zoning map. Like I said, it's C1 at the corner of Ballardsville and Brownsboro slash New Chamberlain Lane. It's an aerial image. As I said, the site's currently undeveloped. This is a subject property images from 2024, but it looks essentially the same today on this part of the property. If you go to the next slide, you'll see the public's under construction, which is now open. So this will be adjacent to this new public's building. It'll share an internal access drive. And then across the street feel familiar is the new Kroger that was built on the opposite corner. So we have an emerging commercial activity center that this will be a part of. This is a previously approved plan on the site. So this is not the rezoning, original rezoning, but this was a DDP that was approved in 2021. I've highlighted in yellow where this site is on this plan. In this older DDP, there was nothing proposed for the area of the site we're looking at today, but the 21 DDP was for the Publix building itself, which like, as I said, is now constructed. So the Bank of America is going to be going in the area that's shaded in yellow there. So staff finds that the waiver will not adversely affect adjacent property owners and allows for a building that matches the surrounding commercial development. The proposed development overall contributes to an emerging commercial activity center at the intersection of Ballardsville and Brownsboro, and the detailed district development plan meets the requirements of the LDC and Plan 2040 guidelines. So staff recommends that the Development Review Committee approve both the waiver and the DDP and your required actions are to approve or deny the waiver for the building facade and approve or deny the detailed district development plan with binding elements. Any questions?

All access is internal.

I believe so. Yeah, all access is internal from that internal access drive. That's just off to the West that was developed with that twenty one DDP for the public's. There's an access road from Ballardsville, but there won't be an additional curb cut for the bank.

Thank you. Similar question. Are these the same developer? I mean, is there some.

I'm not sure. The applicant can answer that question. I would guess no, because it was not included in that 21 DDP. So my guess is that they have sold off that track two portion where this bank is located to other developers. But I can't confirm that. I'm sure Mike can.

And I'm sure Mike will be able to tell us that they have an agreement and that there's no problems with utilizing that internal access road.

Yeah.

Okay.

Good. Thank you.

All right.

Mike?

Good afternoon. Mike Hill, Land Design and Development, 503 Washburn Avenue, Louisville, 40222. So this is a development plan and one waiver for an out parcel of this commercial shopping area. Proposed for this particular out parcel is a Bank of America branch building and one waiver, as mentioned. Next slide, please. Uh, this is the site, uh, in question, uh, the, the planning has already occurred that created those 3 out parcels you see there, uh, in front of the larger commercial, uh, parcel in the back. The left side, as mentioned was, uh, approved, uh, for publics and an out parcel on the corner there at Brownsboro and Ballardsville. The right half was blank on the previous development plan. So I would imagine you'll see the other two out parcel development plans and then one in the rear come come before you at some point in the future. This is just the first one that's that's come online. They're all zone C1. Next slide. This is the recent aerial, of course, not too recent because there's a Publix on the left half of the parcel to the left of our site. Next slide. This is our development plan superimposed in the aerial image of the area. There will be no additional access to Ballardville road as mentioned all access is internal from the commercial shopping center. Yes, the, the. same property owner that owns the Publix and the entire site owns this parcel as well. Their current property owner. We have been in communication with them. They're a client of my company as well on the remainder of the site. So we've been communicating with the Bank of America Group as well as the Deerfield Company Group. So there is agreement agreements in place regarding access and shared detention and some other things. um you can see on this slide uh as well as this slide this is fine uh that ballardsville road in this area is a parkway so there is a 30-foot parkway buffer across the frontage of the entire property including this out parcel so we tried to show or illustrate conceptually what kind of parkway plant buffer plantings will be implemented if approved on a future landscape plan that plays into our waiver waiver request because the facade we're asking for the waiver is the front facade facing ballardsville road part of the reasoning there besides a bank requiring just obvious security having obvious security issues for for lots of open light and windows into a financial institution. We'll have landscaping in front that breaks up to the facade where there may be a little less window glazing than a typical retail building or restaurant might. so the parkway buffer requirements is one tree every 40 linear feet and then a three foot screening device which which is typically a berm and then a three foot uh hedge of of shrubs so what we're doing and proposing to do in front of this out parcel matches what's in front of public's to the left of this so If you've seen that it's very similar type landscape, and that will be just continued along this out parcel and then along the 2 out parcels to the right when they, when they come online. So it's pretty simple development plan. Really? It's an acre. It's already been planted the banks a little less than 4000 square feet. We'll have drive through around the rear side. The access will be from on the left side of our site is the internal entrance to the shopping center, which leads back to Publix. And then another access off the rear when that larger parcel behind us comes online. And then they'll, you know, on the back of our site, that road that leads left to right will extend to the two out parcels to the right as well for future connectivity.

Next slide, please.

So these are the facade renderings. um the one that says south facing ballardsville road is the is basically the front entrance into the bank uh there are front uh in entryway doorways and some windows um but that is the one the waiver is is subject of uh the other sides of the building uh face either you know the the left rear or right uh if you will facades which are all uh either internally facing to the parking lot of this site or facing the adjacent commercial development on the other three sides of the property. Next slide. And then this is just the other two facades, the east, which is the back, which is where the drive-through is located, and then the other to the right, or I guess east, No, north, sorry. Directions are confusing me on this one because it's at a bit of an angle. But anyway, next slide. And then we're back to our development plan. Meets all parking, detentions provided elsewhere on the site, which our firm is working on that for the overall developer. And it's received conceptual or preliminary approval from MSD on the idea of how that works as well. I'm happy to answer any more questions if there are.

Any questions?

I have a couple, Mike. So from what I remember, what I saw in the packet, the entrance off of the main driveway into this out parcel was not... close to Ballardsville Road. It's pushed way back towards the back of the bank. Am I looking at that correctly?

Yes. You can see if you want to maybe put the cursor, Joe, on the entrance to the back, move back on our site, on our parcel.

Back, back, a little more, a little more, right?

Well, there's that one, but also right there.

Yeah, that's where it will connect to that entrance road. Okay. And then, of course, it'll go back to the access road that's going to be serving the remaining two out parcels as well as whatever.

Correct. It will extend to the right onto those two out parcels as well.

Yeah. And so the waiver for the building facade and I guess having windows, I mean, I'm surprised there was even a front entrance. I mean, There seems to be enough going on there to make the building interesting enough.

Yeah, we think so. We see this come up a lot when we're working with financial institutions.

Yeah, but on the west side, are there windows? It appeared that there were windows on that side.

There are some windows, yes, on the left side. Yeah, those big gray things. West, correct. Yeah, that's adjacent to our internal parking lot.

Okay, okay.

Thank you.

Any more questions. Thank you Mike thank you is there anybody online. And no one else here to speak for against it so moved to liberation which is pretty clear cut that's exactly what this yeah everyone was wishing was going to go there when they did the development print original development plan.

So we ready to go here yeah. Sure have to make a motion so in twenty six tdp zero zero four zero make a motion that we approve the waiver twenty six waivers or so a two. from the land development code 5.6 point. See point one to not provide clear windows and doors on 50% of the wall surfaces at the street level. I make the motion based on our staff recommendation on our testimony.

Second probably made motion second roll call.

Yes, yes, yes, step for sure.

Yes, and that does it for the day, I think.

We have a detailed development plan. Unless you don't want that, Mike. Go ahead. We might need it. Okay, so same case. I make a motion that we approve the detailed development plan with binding elements here again based on our staff recommendations and our testimony today.

Second. Properly made motion. Second roll call, please.

Mims?

Yes.

Steff? Yes. Lannert?

Yes.

Fisher?

Yes. Make a motion we adjourn.

And with that, we're adjourned.