Loading...
Zoning Board of Appeals Minutes 2010 04-07-10 APPROVED 7/7/10 UNITED CITY OF YORKVILLE ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS Wednesday, April 7, 2010, 7pm Yorkville Library Historic Room 902 Game Farm Road Board Members in Attendance Jeff Baker, Chairman Mike Skinner Chris Funkhouser Charlie Walker Corey Johnson Don Hirsch Absent: Ryan Woods Other City Officials In Attendance Bart Olson, City Administrator Laura Schraw, Interim Community Development Director Paul Zabel, Code Official Other Guests Dan Kramer, Attorney Mark Johnson Lynn Dubajic, YEDC Sandra & Verne Henne, Esmer Capital Mgmt. Kishor Patel, Hampton Inn Nitin Patel, Yorkville Hospitality Joe Sheffer, Yorkville Hospitality Meeting Called to Order Chairman Jeff Baker called the meeting to order at 7:00pm. Roll Call Roll call was taken and a quorum was established. New Board member Don Hirsch was welcomed to the committee. Previous Meeting Minutes February 3, 2010 A motion was made by Corey Johnson and seconded by Mike Skinner to approve the minutes as read. Unanimously approved on voice vote. Public Hearing Chairman Baker swore in those who would speak at the Public Hearings. 1.ZBA 2009-05 Esmer Capital Management filed an application with the City of Yorkville requesting a variance to City Code, Title 8, Chapter 11, Section 11-D to add a 32 sq. ft. reader board beneath an existing sign measuring 92.8 sq. ft. The legal conforming size of a sign in the zoning district is 32 sq. ft and a message board should measure no more than 50% of the total square 1 footage of the sign. The property consists of 1 acre at 1201 N. Bridge St., Yorkville. A motion was made by Skinner and seconded by Johnson to enter into this Public Hearing. Roll call vote: Hirsch-yes, Walker-yes, Skinner-yes, Johnson-yes, Funkhouser- yes, Baker-yes. Unanimous approval. Attorney Dan Kramer represented the petitioner—Esmer Capital Management, owner of the property in the petition. He asked the Board to adopt the minutes from the February 2010 meeting as part of the record, at which time the petitioner also appeared at this meeting. He said this appearance is a clean-up of the sign height and the City asked that a request for a variance include not only the readerboard, but also the height and square footage on the overall sign. He said the sign has been there 15 years. He noted that this matter must also go to the City Council. YEDC Director Lynn Dubajic spoke on behalf of the petitioner and said that many small businesses need City assistance at this time. These businesses are set back from the road and additional exposure would be very beneficial. Board member Johnson asked if this request should be a 3-part variance or be placed all together. Chairman Baker said all requests should be together. A motion was made by Skinner and seconded by Johnson to close the Public Hearing. Discussion Mr. Hirsch commented that there is actually less square footage for this sign, than what could have been requested. He said the message would only change 1-2 times per day. Skinner noted there could have been 7 signs since there are 7 businesses. At the time of the annexation agreement, it stated there could only be 1 sign. Mr. Walker questioned why there were 6 tenants and only 4 signs. Some tenants do not want a sign. Mr. Skinner said the agreement started on April 14, 2008 and limits it to 20 years with no provisions for changing the existing sign. Kramer said that if there any special agreements and they are not taken advantage of within 20 years, the annexation and zoning still prevail, but the special agreement is terminated. Chairman Baker reviewed the Finding of Fact and Sign Variations for this case. Mr. Skinner the made a motion to approve ZBA 2009-5 sign variation request from Esmer Capital. Hirsch seconded the motion. Discussion Skinner said there are 3 points to be considered: size of sign, height of sign and the flashing sign. He suggested addressing and recommending each one since 2 of the components are outside the ZBA authority. Chairman Baker said that based on past discussions, the only item to consider is the readerboard. Funkhouser said the addition 2 of the readerboard brings the other 2 items into play based on the ordinance requiring them to be brought into conformance. A vote was then taken on the motion: Roll call vote: Funkhouser-yes, Johnson-no, Skinner-no, Walker-no, Hirsch-yes, Baker- th yes. Motion failed 3-3. This matter will now go to the City Council on April 13. 2. ZBA 2010-01 Yorkville Hospitality, petitioner, has filed an application requesting a variance to City Code Title 8, Chapter 11, Section 9.A.1 to allow the maximum sign height to be 12’6” above grade. The legal conforming height of a sign in the zoning district is 8’ or less. The real property consists of approximately 1.94 acres at 310 E. Countryside Parkway. A motion was made by Johnson and seconded by Walker to enter into this Public Hearing. Approved unanimously on a voice vote. Mr. Patel presented information about the Hampton Inn being built at 310 E. Countryside Parkway. He requested a variance to erect a sign 12’6” from top to bottom making the sign more visible. He said the property was purchased in 2008 and construction started this year. The nearby office building (Dr. Gruber) was already built. Chris Funkhouser asked about the actual height of the building and it is 55’ at the highest point. There will also be a sign on the building. Lynn Dubajic added that many people might not be familiar with Yorkville and there is no clear path to the hotel. The Public Hearing was concluded on a motion by Johnson and second by Skinner. Chairman Baker reviewed the Finding of Fact and Sign Variations. Skinner then made a motion to hold a closed hearing and Johnson seconded the motion. This motion died on the floor. Discussion There was further discussion of the height of the sign and the sign on the building. Skinner noted that the sign would be visible over the Rec Center and is contrary to the ordinance. However, Mr. Patel said this is a directional sign. A motion was then made by Johnson to approve ZBA 2010-01 as presented by Mr. Patel. Skinner seconded the motion. Roll call vote: Johnson-no, Skinner-no, Walker-no, Hirsch-no, Funkhouser-no, Baker- no. Motion failed 0-6. th This matter will move to the City Council on April 13. Additional Business: Laura Schraw presented information on the future Rt. 47 road-widening project. IDOT will have a choice of either just moving the existing signs or bringing them into 3 conformance during the move. She said it was the consensus of the EDC to bring them into conformance. IDOT will pay for the conformance and is obtaining estimates. Mr. Walker suggested that business owners should be informed of this action to avoid the cost of changing their signs. If a new sign is desired, IDOT will build. There was no further business and Mr. Walker moved to adjourn the meeting and the motion was seconded by Mr. Skinner. Adjourned at 8:08pm on a voice vote. Minutes respectfully submitted by Marlys Young 4