Board of Adjustment - Regular Meeting

OK. I'm going to go ahead and call the August Board of Adjustment meeting to order. Sorry about that. And we're going to start with our housekeeping item here with the attendance. If you would take the.

Yes, sir. Wendell Miller. Here. Josh Stroud. Here. Justin Cawthon. Absent. Wayne Cummings. Here. Terry Clear.

Here.

All right.

Looks like we have a quorum. Okay. All right. Second, we have the minutes from the June meeting that we have. We didn't have one last month, but the minutes from the June meeting, I'll entertain a motion on those.

I move we accept them as presented.

Okay. Second. We have a motion and a second to approve the minutes from the June 4th meeting. All those in favor, acknowledge by saying aye.

Aye.

Any opposed? Hearing none, the motion carried. All right. okay we're going to move on to no we don't have any old business the new business item number one here is a variance from article 7.8 regarding signage height and width located at 303 west main street submitted by vec properties incorporated you have a staff report on that bro yes sir

And you guys have been great tonight, but one of our council people has asked to remind Us to remind you all to make sure you're using your microphones anytime you are speaking, but you guys have been doing great tonight OK, so kind of our housekeeping item that we always hit the items that we need to look at when we're reviewing a variance. The first that the applicant demonstrates that special conditions and circumstances exist which are peculiar to the land structure or the building involved and which are not applicable to other land structures or buildings in the same district. no non-conforming use of neighboring land structures or building shall be considered grounds for the issuance of the variance the board of adjustment shall further make a finding that the reason set forth in the application justify the granting of the variance and that the variance is the minimum variance that will make possible the reasonable use of the land building or structure The Board of Adjustment shall further make a finding that the granting of the variance will be in harmony with the general purpose and intent of the zoning code. In granting any variance, the Board of Adjustment may prescribe appropriate conditions and safeguards in conformity with the zoning code. And then lastly, under no circumstance shall the Board of Adjustment grant a variance to allow a use not permissible under the terms of the zoning code. So with that out of the way, our first item is at 303 West Main Street. This is within the downtown district. It is the existing site of Big Country Tattoos. It is located next to Elite Hair Salon and Just Dance Dance Studio. This property is zoned C1 Central Business District and all surrounding properties are also zoned C1. so the application is requesting the restoration of a directional arrow on an existing sign the arrow will be an additional two feet and three inches in height and nine inches in projecting width over the allowed allotment of four feet in height and six feet in projecting width Staff has found that the applicant has demonstrated that special conditions exist due to the fact that the sign previously existed with an arrow and was removed in 2016 for repair and restoration. The applicant is requesting to restore the sign and has received their certificate of appropriateness through the Historic District Commission. The proposed addition has shown the intent to come in to compliance with the appropriate light colors for the district and comply with all applicable sections of the downtown historic district guidelines. Additionally, staff does acknowledge that historic signage that is being refurbished will likely not fall into current standards of today. It is staff's recommendation that the Board of Adjustment approve this variance as a result of the findings that the applicant has demonstrated special conditions exist and the applicant has met all other variance requirements. Are there any questions for staff?

Thank you. Van, did you have anything you wanted to add to that or is that? OK. All right.

I make a motion to approve it as requested.

OK. We have a motion to approve as requested. Second. We have a second. All right. All those in favor of approving this item here, acknowledge by saying aye. Aye. Any opposed? Hearing none, motion carried. All right. Item number two. VARIANCE FROM ARTICLE 6.1 REGARDING PARKING SPACE DIMENSIONS LOCATED AT 211 EAST HAROLD DRIVE SUBMITTED BY DUBERRY ENGINEERS INCORPORATED ON BEHALF OF TESLA ON BEHALF OF CRACKERBERRY OLD COUNTRY STORE YOU HAVE A STAFF REPORT ON THAT FOR US YES SIR SO AS STATED THIS IS A VARIANCE AT 211 EAST HAROLD DRIVE

This is the existing location of Cracker Barrel. Surrounding uses include a mini storage facility, multiple hotels, two places of worship, a strip mall, a vacant restaurant building, and I-40. This property and all surrounding properties are zoned C2 highway commercial. The applicant is seeking relief from Article 6.1.8, which mandates parking spaces measure no less than 9 feet by 20 feet. The applicant proposes a reduction in the length of the parking spaces from 12 feet to 18 feet. Tesla is utilizing eight existing parking spaces on the western property line and there is an existing open drainage channel that runs parallel to these existing parking spaces. Tesla is proposing to move the existing curb in by two feet to avoid impeding the flow of water with their new equipment. The variance appears to be the minimum necessary to accommodate reasonable use of the land due to the open drainage channel. Additionally, even with the reduction in parking stall length, Tesla will still exceed the city's minimum parking stall depth plus aisle width. So while we have standards on the actual dimensions of the parking space, we also have standards on how much distance should be between parking spaces to allow adequate turning movements. And so they still do have that minimum distance that we would require. In other words, while the parking space itself will be a reduction, the drive aisle will still provide adequate space for vehicles to maneuver. After reviewing the request, it appears that the reduction in space length is reasonable as it would still provide sufficient space for most vehicles while enhancing the overall flow of traffic on the site. Given the applicant's rationale and the potential benefits for site functionality, granting this variance would be considered appropriate under the circumstances, particularly since it would support improved circulation without compromising the intent of the parking standards. With that said, it is staff's recommendation that the Board of Adjustment approve the variance request to Article 6.1.8 regarding parking as a result of the findings that the applicant has demonstrated a clear effort to honor the intent of the provision. The application maintains good civic design and is in visual harmony with surrounding properties. The applicant has demonstrated that special conditions and circumstances exist. This application demonstrates that the request is the minimum to make reasonable use of the land and all other variance requirements have been successfully met by the applicant. Are there any questions?

is that standard for dewberry i mean we're not the first place they put these in is that the is that pretty standard for the of a size of a stall increase for for a charging station yeah and i do know um while our parking standard is nine feet by 20 feet a lot of other cities are nine feet by 18 feet we'll we see a lot of people come in that have that

I know Academy and Olive Garden both got reductions in their parking stall length because that is, you know, standard other places. So it's definitely working other places. And like I say, they do have the adequate range for maneuverability and those turning movements.

All right. Thank you.

What's your pleasure?

I move we approve the variance as stated.

Okay, we have a motion. Second. All right, we have a motion and a second to approve this variance as requested. All those in favor, acknowledge by saying aye.

Aye.

Any opposed? Hearing none, the motion carried. All right, if we have no further business, the Board of Adjustment is, do you have, okay, all right. We're adjourned.