Planning Commission - Regular Meeting

We want them to hurry up.

6 o'clock. Welcome to the planning commission for the city of Monroe. We'll call the meeting to order at the time. It's 6 o'clock and we'll note that all the members are present, which is good. And we welcome our new member, Bonnie. Bonnie Roser. Bonnie, glad to have you. Okay. need to approve the agenda.

We do need to add that one item. Okay, that one. All right, y'all. Excuse me. I'm bumping through this. So, we have a new item on here. The third new business item. We have to approve that. So, I need a motion to approve the agenda. We're adding We're adding officers, by the way. That's what you're doing. you're electing officers this evening since you've got, you know, mics off and you need a chair and a vice chair.

Well, from that somebody's got to nominate somebody to do that. Yeah. I'm just saying I mean that's you're adding a third item. So, we'll do that. We'll handle that after you handle your other new business. Okay. All right. So, need to we need to approve the agenda. Motion to approve. Motion second. F say I. I.

Approved. Minutes from the previous meeting. You have those. That's in our agenda packet here. Okay. You had a chance to look over these minutes from the previous meeting. I would need a motion to approve. A second. Second. Right.

Report from code officer. I don't have anything to report, Mr. Chairman, this evening. Right. That being the case, we'll move into the first item of business. This is going to be a certificate of appropriateness. 1521 South Broad Street convenience store with fuel pumps.

Sir, uh then this is a, as you said, this is 1521 South Broad Street. It is a convenience store with fuel pumps. I don't want to bog you down too much because the commission did just see this a few months ago for a reason and a conditional use. It's the same exact property. They're now back before you for a their certificate of appropriateness because as you remember they were subject to the code change for the reszone and conditional use because this had been approved several years ago. You know the brief history that they had that I put you through there several months ago they had been approved gotten their LDP and then that LDP expired. Well, they're now have gone through the reszone, the conditional use has been approved by the city, and now they're before you for their certificate of appropriateness, which is the last technical public hearing step they need to submit their site development plans to get back to that LDP. So, that's what you're looking at this evening. It's the same plan that you saw back in the reszone, the conditional use, gas station, fuel pumps, retail spaces, the access off of Highway 11. uh spaces there and then uh you know they had some architecture that was submitted with this if you hadn't had a chance to look at it. It does meet your corridor design overlay standards parapit wall plank siding and uh brick with u steel and glass windows and then four-sided architecture with the building. It did meet your code. One exception I had and noted here on the report was uh they need an entry on the this is the side facing south broad. They would need some sort of entryway here, some doorway facing south broad. And then on the landscape plan here, uh they need to add some additional evergreen shrubbery that would be along the part of the area where there's extra paving along the fuel area. That's between South Broad and not the entire front edge of the property, just between where there's extra pavement on the site and then some additional tree plantings. And then u the applicants aware of this that at some point these billboards have

to go. So since they're back before us, I'm asking that these billboards be removed at the LDP stage. So that that's the three conditions that are uh proposed as part of this COA. And that's all that I have, Mr. Chairman. Okay. All right. So do we have anyone here to to speak in favor of this presentation of this? You want to speak for this?

Good afternoon. My name is Nan Wilcox. I'm with Carter Hawker Road Group and we're the civil engineering firm representing Mr. Jeff Russell with um the Monroe Center Market. Um, we did obtain a certificate of appropriateness approval previously and due to the timing and construction cost we had to put this project on hold. Um, Mr. Russell has recommitted to this project and so we uh we have gone through the process and the city has supported the resoning and the conditional use permit. Um and as Brad had mentioned um it appears that we've met um the conditions of the area but um that we need to um address these three items with our permit process and u we are we are available to do that. So, um, I'm happy to answer any questions you might have. And just to be clear, this would all be handled administratively during the site development phase. So, you could approve this with conditions and then we would be handling this later on when they turn in their site development plans and their building permit.

No questions. All right. Thank you. Is anyone here speaking in opposition to this proposal? Not. I call for a motion to approve. Move we approve with the and a second. All in favor say I. I. I. Thank you. Motion passes. Next. Conditional use 422 South Broad Street personal care home.

All right. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Uh, yeah, this is pretty straightforward request. This is at 422 South Broad Street. The property is currently zoned or not zoned, it is designated with a character district, character district 4, which is neighborhood center. Uh so they're asking for a conditional use in that character district which is a family personal care home design uh defined excuse me uh for family personal care homes is care for two to six persons. So that's the home that's on the front of the property. In the rear of the property is a parking lot developed for shared parking with the adjoining uh supermarket. John supermarket I'm sure everyone's familiar with. And so a pretty straightforward request. This is a photograph of the residence. Uh there's not much information in your in your applicant application, but this was historically used uh and I noted that in the report. This has been previously used as a personal care home in the past. What happened was uh they had not kept up with their licensing or it just had not been used for a personal care home for some period of time. it was longer than six months and with a use like conditional uses when they lapse more than six months they have to come back before the city to obtain a new conditional use. So that's why they're before you this evening and that's all that I have Mr. Chairman the request I'm sorry the our recommendation is approval as submitted without conditions.

Is anyone here to speak for this request sir?

Hello. So, how you doing? Sorry. How you guys doing today? My name is Jonathan. I'm with Abundance of Love Personal Care, Arcy Personal Car, and Abundance of Love number two personal care home. Thank you so much. Um, I've been with the city since 2018. I'm trying to help everybody in our community. I started at um 223 South Madison Avenue. Um, I've been with you guys multiple times. I This is like my third time doing this, so just got off of work, so I had to run all the way to Dallas to come over here, too. So, um I just wanted to um to show you that I'm just trying to do the conditional use 422 South Broad Street. Um the landlord, Mr. Steel, the Steel family, I don't know if you're familiar with them, but they wanted to be here, but they're out of town, so I'm just going to tell them I don't know if they were required to be here or not.

They weren't. Okay.

But um so basically, it's a personal care home. We're licensed people. We provide three meals a day, snacks in between, medication management. Uh we pretty much provide wealth, health, and rehabilitation for all of our residents. Um we see residents from the ages of 18 to 99. brought my experience. I we as a um business we taking care of people from all ages from you know 32 people who are like my age people who are 40s even 80 year olds and you know we only thing I wanted to do is to provide value to the community just by providing house a living space for people who are in need. So that's all. Are there any questions this proposal?

Is there a a limit on the number of persons that can be there? Yes. So um so with the residential use um with the license that I usually have all my The next level is group. So group is six to 18 and then beyond that I think the congregate is when you get a bond beyond 18.

Yeah. But this is just um across the street is

do you have applicants for the home already? No.

Is anyone here to speak against this request? And obviously there is none. Therefore we will ask for a motion. Motion to approve. Second. Those in favor signify by saying I. I. Motion passes. Thank you.

Thank you. Next item of business. So if you want they're done with they're done with the agenda. So, you want to have a discussion about one of the items. I mean, I Mr. Chairman, I mean, you can allow it. I mean, I'm obviously they want to talk about the first agenda item you are this evening. So, I don't see why you couldn't. I mean, they're here. You're you're the quarter design over commission. I don't have a problem with it.

You have an opportunity to hear them out. So there I mean there's no point waiting making them wait Sure. 60 more days to make another application to this commission. So please I I would say let

Well, I just wanted to make the board aware Mr. Russell just told me that he already has a contract uh for those billboards that the lease goes through June of next year. And so to put the condition that we could not get the land disturbance permit until those go down He is prepared for them to be removed in June, but if we cannot get the land disturbance permit until June that that halts the project for that amount of time for the billboard, he's prepared to remove them. It's just that he has a current lease on those two billboards till June. So, I don't know if the board could consider a condition of that. And I, you know, I don't know protocol. I just wanted to bring it to your attention. He just made me aware of that.

I think you can I think you ought to recall the item at this point and uh and you can rehear you want to rehear it and then we can redo the conditions because my issue with that is that I have no problem modifying their condition and so if you're willing to modify the condition because you've already approved it so you've approved it with conditions. Um obviously I didn't communicate that that condition to the applicant or to Mr. Russell. He's obligated you know in this this way. I think it's Lamar. Is it Lamar or Fairway? Yeah.

Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. When we bought the property, these signs were there. There was an existing lease and I think it renews year to year. I believe it is June, but as soon I can't take them down because they got a lease on them, but but when that lease expires, and I think it's June, I'm not really sure, but whatever it is, I would would like very much to be able to go ahead and start the project. And thank you for your time. I just spent an hour and a half trying to get out traffic from Atlanta out here. So, I would certainly like to try to get this this clarified. But we if you will just allow us to get started with with the grading the trees and stuff like that because it takes a while. We won't be through this project by next June or whatever. That's another thing I just speaking from memory. It may be June, it may be May or sometime, but whenever that thing expires, then we'll have to not renew it with the sign company and tell them to come remove their signs. So,

I mean, in fairness to Miss Miss Dan and Mr. Russell here, I I mean, there's not there's not an issue with modifying that condition and making it be where the the appropriate wording would be, we can't issue a signed permit to Mr. Russell until those are removed, which would be obviously at the end of your development process, right? You're going to build the site, you're going to complete the whole thing, you're going to put your pumps in on the site, put your tanks in the ground, put concrete on the ground. Like you said, it's going to be further than June next year anyway. Yes. I'm just I'm Yeah, I'm hearing you. I'm almost 85 years old, so I'm sort of speaking from memory, which gets a little bit more hazy all the time. But I'd hate to agree to that and find out it I'm sitting there with the thing completed next year and it doesn't expire to December or some other legal thing in that that would prohibit me prohibit me from doing it. But fair enough,

you know, if I guess that's the case, I'll get one of the gas trucks to run over and take them down. But uh fair enough. So the only thing that would preclude me from giving you a sign permit would be that would be the only thing that would stop anything on the site. You can develop the site. You can do everything to the site you've been approved for. Get your site development plans just like you were previously approved for. We didn't stop that before. And I think we had worked out administratively with Mr. Russell before granted in the site development approval. And it was an unwritten sort of an understanding was the sign permit. If you can make an unwritten thing in as soon as I can take those things down, but I'll have to get financing on this project. Let me finish. And I'd hate to be sitting there at the bank. Okay.

Please let me finish. So when you were going through the process before, I think when I was discussing this with Pat was that we weren't going to grant him any sign permits until those were taken down. And I think at that time you weren't as obligated to that far in distance as you were at that time because you didn't own the property at that time if I'm not mistaken. We didn't. It was the we were we were going to buy it when we get the once we got the permit

of circumstances at that time. So at this at this point I say we probably modify the condition that says the same thing. I can't grant him a sign permit until until those are removed because I that's that's the only thing that would preclude me doing anything to you on the property was those signs are non-conforming. I can't give you any new sign permits until those are taken down. Everything else you can do.

And I haven't gone back and I don't mean to be combative or anything. I just want to make sure I inherited that sign and the lease and whatever it says and I don't really haven't really gone back and read it. I think it renews annually, but for whatever reason, if they got the right to stay there an extra year or something, I don't that I didn't read into the thing, I sure would hate to spend $45 million out here on this project and not be able to get it open. Absolutely. I understand. Um I feel like their signs are non-conforming, right? I feel y'all give them an order and take them down. As soon as it's me, fine. What? I feel like he needs to give you the lease to see what date is actually up on because who says it's could be

I mean we can we can strike this condition and we deal with this on the after on the after with him administratively and just and not make this an issue with this commission and so I'm happy just to take out condition number two and I deal with Mr. Russell, Miss Wilcox after the fact and let him go through whatever iterations he needs to go through because that's where we were. Like he said, can we handle this, you know, where like we were before. I got no problem with that because that's kind of where we were before. I can't issue uh the property any sign permits with a non-conforming sign on the property. Our code is quite clear on this issue. So, so I could just say again, I mean, at my age and all, I am not want to get into anything combative. I want to comply. I want to be an asset and I don't want to be

a liability nor I want to have any kind of confrontation. I'd like to just I believe it's up to me we take them down tomorrow. We understand that. I don't I don't think anyone doubts your sincerity at all. I think I don't think that's the issue here at all. Um yeah. So I think if you want to recall the item and strike number two, I think we're good with that and I'll just deal with this on the face of it um when the time is necessary. I also can learn more with Mr. Russell where he stands on these billboards, how much of a how hole it's in or how what kind of problems he's got with these billboards and I can send you a copy of the lease whatever we got. It's on a file somewhere 10 year renewable whatever you got. That way we both can understand what you're dealing with so I can deal with that on on this issue and then maybe we can talk to the sign company itself and um

far as I'm concerned you can re revoke the permit or something if it's non-conforming whatever y'all can buy. We will I will work with you to get rid of the signs. Sure. Okay. Yeah, because I think they actually encroach into your your landscape buffer and I think even to some of your improvement area, so into your curbing, I mean, they're like physically on your site, so they they intrude into the physical area of your curb, if I'm not mistaken, on your plan. So, they're more than 20 feet into your landscaping. Would it be just as as prudent to just send that that company a notice that the lease will not be renewed regardless of the date that it exists? I'll let Mr. Russell handle that since it's a private matter between him and the lease company, right?

I mean, I I agree that would be something. I mean, he could he could then let you know that he has notified them that they are to vacate, you know, at the end of that lease period. We need to know what that that that in I mean between you and I you can let me know how what that information is. Okay. Thank you all very much. I really appreciate it. It's a commission a long difficult journey to get number two with all the everything you have to go through and we had we thought we were good and didn't realize that our permit had expired but we had to go through the whole process again but we're ready to get started and our tour is signed to to hold me up. Thank you so much. All right Mr. Chairman, if I if I need to, I will motion to

make another motion to strike item three or the two or three. It was condition number two. Two. Two. All right. Then strike number two. And um we approve with recommendations one and three. Motion. We have a second. Second. All in say I. I. Very good. Thank you. No problem. I'm happy to work with y'all on that. So, does that mean that they can't get their exterior signs for the gas station until our code is going to be quite clear on that issue. But it's doing him a favor.

Well, that's where we were before with him. That's how I was going to handle it before. So, if you want to discuss this Yeah. No, I was just I just I just trying to follow it. Yeah. No, you're fine. Okay. I guess I know where we are. Yeah. We need to do the officers now. Um, you got

third business item, elect officers and chair advice. Chair call for motion question. So, we need a motion. Eeny meenie mighty mo. I really plan on getting this doing having this job, but I know Mike retired. But uh so we need to have a motion to appoint a an acting chair. I'll put it that way. This commission who wants to do it. This doesn't have to be your for your entire fiveyear term. If you want to do it on an annual basis, that's fine. I think you have to elect an officer every year anyway. So I think we do that on an annual basis anyway.

That is something we need to find out. Is it annual?

Pretty sure it's an I think we redo this in annually. Um I'm pretty sure that and let me I can double check real quick. term of the chairperson shall be okay. So this is your organization rules. Planning commission shall elect a chairperson from amongst its members. The term of the chairperson shall be one year. Uh the person shall be eligible for re-election for consecutive terms. Plan commission shall make its own rules determine each meeting which you have adopted yada yada yada. So you have a term of one year and I I it doesn't say you can elect the vice chair but just in the event that someone's not here to run a meeting. I mean you can leave it loose and have no one elected as vice chair. Um I don't know. I was calling Randy the vice chair for the longest time since I've been working here. talking about.

Um, so, uh, yeah. So, right now, yeah, your your duty right now is to elect the chairperson to run your meetings. That's fine. I'd like to have a vice chair. Absolutely. I think I think that's appropriate. That way when someone's not here, I there's someone that, as a staff member, I can lean on uh, you know, as a backup and then Right. It helps me.

Very good. So, we need a motion for a chairman and a motion for a vice chairman who like to serve as vice chairman. Vice chairman. Very good. Very good. So, if that's appropriate, we'll need a motion to approve the me tenative chairman and vice chairman Ros. Motion to approve. Second. Motion passes. All right, folks. We're journ