ANDOVER CITY PLANNING COMMISSION /

BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS

November 15, 2005

Minutes

The Andover City Planning Commission met for a regular meeting on Tuesday, November 15, 2005 at 909 N. Andover Road in the Andover Civic Center.  Chairman Clark Nelson called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.  Commission Members present were, Lynn Heath, Jan Cox, Ron Roberts, Quentin Coon, Jeff Syrios, and Charlotte Bass.  Others in attendance were Zoning Administrator Les Mangus, Administrative Secretary Deborah Carroll, and City Clerk/Administrator Jeff Bridges and City Council Liaison Caroline Hale.  Commission Member David Martine was absent.

Call to Order

Review the minutes of the October 18, 2005 Planning Commission meeting.

Jan Cox stated at the top of page 16 in the Background Information the text should read “One of 4- 10 acre tracts along 159^th Street”. There were no other corrections noted.

Ron Roberts made a motion to approve the minutes as corrected. Quentin Coon seconded the motion. Motion carried 6/0.

Review the minutes of the Oct. 18, 2005 Planning Commission meeting.

Communications:

Review the City Council minutes from the October 11, 2005 and October 25, 2005 meetings. The minutes were received and filed.

Review the minutes of the October 4, 2005 Site Plan Review Committee Meeting. The minutes were received and filed.

Review the minutes of the October 11, 2005 Subdivision Committee meeting. The minutes were received and filed.

Review the Potential Residential Development Lot Report.

Lynn Heath arrived at the meeting at 7:03.

Communications:

VA-2005-03: Recommendation on the vacation of the east 10’ of the easement on the west side of Reserve “F”, Reflection Lake at Cloud City.

Les Mangus explained the requested vacation of a portion of the utility easement in Reserve “F” of Reflection Lake at Cloud City results from the developer placing a water well within the easement. All of the utility company responses except SBC have had no conflicts. He has contacted Dig Safe to verify the SBC conflict before the meeting but they have not responded yet.

Clark Nelson asked if anyone in the audience wished to speak on this matter.

Ron Smith of 1104 W. Harry and developer of this property said this water well was drilled prior to his purchase of the property. He applied for a sprinkler permit and was notified by the City Inspector that the well was in the easement. Mr. Smith asked if the Planning Commission did not see fit to approve vacation of the entire east 10’ of the easement, if he could be granted enough to hook up electric service to the well pump. He said the Cox Communication line is running on the west 10’ of the 20’ easement.

Clark Nelson asked if this is a 20’ easement. Ron Smith said that is correct with half of the easement in the reserve area and the other half is on the private residence area.  Clark Nelson said he and Les have walked this line and all utility locations appear to be on the residential side. Clark said if this is true, SBC should not have objection to vacating the west portion of the easement. Ron Smith asked for temporary permission to hook up electricity to the well so they can continue to work.

Clark said the burden is on the applicant, not the City to determine the location of utilities on the easement. Clark said this request is reasonable, but not enough information has been received to make a decision. Clark asked Les for direction to proceed.

Les Mangus said the Planning Commission is an advisory body to the City Council. The Public Hearing will be heard by them on November 29, 2005 to vacate this easement. He said this could be ironed out before then.

Quentin Coon asked if we really know where the lines are. Les said Dig Safe has flagged the lines in the west 10’ of the easement. A letter has been received from SBC states they have a line in the east 10’, but no location flags have ever been placed.

Lynn Heath made a motion to recommend approval by the City Council for VA-2005-03 as presented or variation thereof pending approval by SBC.  Jeff Syrios seconded the motion. Motion carried 7/0.

VA-2005-03: Recommendation on the vacation of the east 10’ of the easement on the west side of Reserve “F”, Reflection Lake at Cloud City.

SU-2005-04: Public Hearing on an application for Special Use to establish a Used Automobile Sales Facility in the B-5 Highway Business District located at 1611 W. Ledgerwood Drive.

Les Mangus explained the proposed special use to allow the sale of used cars at the Wholesale Fireworks building is the result of the owner’s desire to relocate a wholesale used car business to office space in the building.

Chairman Nelson asked if anyone in the audience wished to speak on this issue. Debie Bush of 726 S. 159^th Street East stated she is the developer of Cottonwood Point and is opposed to this special use.  Chairman Nelson apologized and asked for anyone in favor of this application to come to the podium.

Shane Krehbiel of E & K Investments LLC and the applicant, approached the podium. He thinks this car lot if approved, would bring revenue into Andover. He said his father owns the Wholesale Fireworks building. Mr. Krehbiel said the car lot would be kept clean and nice.

Clark Nelson asked Shane Krehbiel for more details about his business. Mr. Krehbiel said he intends to sell cars at this location. Clark Nelson asked if he intended to have the cars parked between the building and Kellogg. Shane said yes he did. Clark asked how many autos would be on site at any one time. Shane said between 20 and 40 maximum. There was discussion about Shane Krehbiel’s work history and he currently has a used car business on South Broadway in Wichita. Clark Nelson asked Shane Krehbiel if he knew the parking requirement for the Wholesale Fireworks business. Shane did not know but he estimated 100 existing parking spaces with 15 of the spaces in the front of the property. Clark Nelson asked Les to research this.

Clark asked about the type of vehicles to be sold on this property. Shane said they would be nice SUV’s, 4 wheel drive, and foreign cars.

Lynn Heath asked if this would be a retail car lot like Lubber’s or a wholesale business. Shane Krehbiel said he has a wholesale license and plans to sell both. He said during bad weather, he would bring 20- 30 cars into the building for display.

Jeff Syrios asked about the price range of the vehicles to be sold. Shane Krehbiel said from $3,995 to $30,000.

Charlotte Bass asked about parking lot lighting running over into the neighborhood. Shane Krehbiel said the business would only be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. He did say there is an existing flood light in the rear of the building and a motion detector would be added if his car lot is approved.

Quentin Coon asked if there would be any zoning changes for this property. Shane Krehbiel said no.

Jan Cox asked if the car lot would be open on Sundays. Shane Krehbiel said he is not sure yet but his lot in Wichita is open on Sundays.

Jeff Syrios asked about the current use of the Wholesale Fireworks building. Shane Krehbiel said his father’s main office is in that building and it is rented out for various events and parties. Jeff Syrios also asked how many cars could be stored inside the building. Shane Krehbiel said 20 to 30.

Jan Cox asked who buys his cars at wholesale. Shane Krehbiel said he sells them to dealerships in Wichita and surrounding areas.

Clark Nelson asked if the permit was restricted to inside the building sales only, what would that do to the business. Shane Krehbiel said he would have to discuss that with his father.

Clark Nelson asked if anyone else wished to speak in favor of this application. Seeing none, he asked for anyone in opposition to approach the podium.

Debie Bush of 726 S. 159^th Street East stated she is the developer of Cottonwood Point and is opposed to this special use. She made several points.

ü      Lot is 290’ wide and 500’ deep.

ü      Jan. 2001- special use application for Wholesale Fireworks. Restrictions placed: 1. Outdoor storage defined by the zoning regulations of Andover is not allowed within 100’ of the rear of the property. 2. Hours of operation are limited to 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 2 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. 3. Fireworks are prohibited at this location without a temporary use permit approved by the City Council.

Debie Bush continued to explain that RV’s are being stored from the beginning of Ledgerwood Drive all the way to the back fence. She believes this is a violation of the existing special use permit. She thinks a used car lot would not be compatible with the existing use of this property. She cited special uses for B-5 and B-6 zoning districts. She does not believe the approval of this special use would be compatible with the Comprehensive Plan for the City of Andover. She said the current restrictions are not being enforced by the city and she does not have faith that the city will enforce restrictions placed on a used car lot either. She said the parking lot surface is in poor condition and the parking lighting is not contained to the property. The paint is fading on the existing Wholesale Fireworks building, the chain link fence in the back of the property is down, and the wooden fence has not been maintained. She does not believe the approval of this application will be in the best interest of the City of Andover.

Clark Nelson disagreed to her statement that this application would not comply with the Comprehensive Plan. He asked Debie Bush if it would help for the car lot to be restricted to display only being between the building and Ledgerwood Drive and for storage to be on the interior of the building only. Debie explained this existing building is rented out every weekend for various events and she does not believe the parking lot requirements are being complied with.

Chairman Nelson asked if anyone else wished to speak on this matter.

Annie Vaugh from 622 S. Haney North Court said she has witnessed several noisy parties being held at the Wholesale Fireworks building. She also complained about the parking lot lights being left on all night. She said the haunted house event is a major noise annoyance to the neighbors. She does not want to have a used car lot next to her neighborhood.

Kristi Cole of 609 S. Wren Field Dr. said she is also in opposition of this application. She said the noise, traffic problems from the weekend parties, parking lot lighting, broken fencing, and lack of consistent mowing of the property are her reasons for opposition. She suggested a tall concrete fence for the rear of the property to protect the neighborhood. She further explained her concern for her property value with an un-maintained commercial property next to it. Clark Nelson asked if the Wholesale Fireworks building existed when she purchased her home. She said the building was there before she purchased her home.

Rhonda Peake of 608 S. Wren Field Drive stated the fence of this car lot would run along her backyard. She originally thought this building was only used during the July 4^th holiday and has since been annoyed by the wild parties, loud music, and trash from them ending up in her yard. She further stated her opposition to this application by restating the previous complaints and added she has a drainage problem caused from this commercial property. She is afraid of the clientele from these parties and said he continues to have items stolen from her property. Clark Nelson said very little of this special use application was related to her complaints.

Jeff Syrios asked if the car lot use might make the situation better for this neighborhood. Rhonda Peake said not if the other uses were allowed to continue.

Shane Krehbiel returned to the podium to reply to the complaints. He said he has no control over the uses of Wholesale Fireworks. He promised there would be no more trash behind the building, and he will fix the fences. He said there would not be as many parties going on around his car lot because he does not want his cars damaged. He also promised to have flowers on the lot like the ones at his Wichita business.

The discussion continued between Mr. Krehbiel and the neighbors. Clark Nelson clarified the fact there is a sub-lease between father and son.

Shane Krehbiel continued to defend the other car lots he owns stating they are small but well maintained. The discussion continued between Mr. Krehbiel and the neighbors.

Clark Nelson asked Shane Krehbiel if he would agree to run the used car facility completely inside the building with no outside storage. Shane Krehbiel said that would be impossible.

Jan Cox asked how many business operators are in this building. Shane Krehbiel said this was supposed to be the last year for the haunted house.

Jeff Bridges stated Catholic Charities have already asked to come back next year. Shane said the 2 operators in the building would be Wholesale Fireworks and K & S Motors.

Jan asked if the car lot can co-exist with the weekend parties. Shane said they could not. 

Clark Nelson asked if Shane was prepared to make that a condition of the approval of the special use. Shane said he would have to discuss it with his father first. Shane said the parties could be moved to one of the other Wholesale Fireworks buildings in another city.

Kristi Cole of 609 S. Wren Field Dr. returned to the podium to ask if a site plan would be required for Commission and neighborhood assurance of what the facility would look like.

Shane Krehbiel stated again this business will be well maintained. Clark Nelson asked if anyone had a new question for the applicant. Hearing none, he closed the Public Hearing at 8:00 p.m.

Les Mangus presented the parking lot calculations. He said the property used by Flint Hills RV for display has been used since the early 90’s. Originally E & K Investments owned only the west 260’ where the existing Wholesale Fireworks building is. Some time between the early 90’s and now they acquired an additional 130’ from Flint Hills RV which they used during the fireworks season to make up the parking for the fireworks use. The site plan approved for the fireworks use shows 247 parking spaces available when they have use of the entire 390’ of property. The remainder of the year, the building is used for an office and exhibition assembly building; there are only 70 parking spaces. The open display area rented out is 10,000 square feet and could house 667 people by building code calculations. And would require 167 parking spaces. If the property is used for a car lot, parking would not be adequate for the assembly use of the building at the same time. The B-5 Highway Business District permitted uses would generate lots of traffic 7 days a week, 24 hours a day. Les said the problem is between the assembly use and the used car lot. He does not think the 2 could co-exist without regulating the number of used cars on site.

Clark Nelson said it will be difficult for the Planning Commission to make a decision without further information.

Quentin Coon asked for the difference between this special use request and B-6 zoning. Les Mangus said the B-6 would bring other things such as office warehouse and industrial uses the neighbors would not like. B-6 zoning would not allow the Commission to place conditions shy of a Protective Overlay District.

Clark Nelson began the review of the Rezoning Report:

SU-2005-04: Public Hearing on an application for Special Use to establish a Used Automobile Sales Facility in the B-5 Highway Business District located at 1611 W. Ledgerwood Drive.

General discussion continued. Debie Bush asked if there would be any other notices to the neighbors about this case. Les Mangus said no further notices will be sent. The Planning Commission has to hear this case from start to finish. Applicant and residents left the meeting at 8:28 p.m.

Member Items:

Lynn Heath- none

Jan Cox- Said this area has always been prone to drainage problems. She asked who decides whose problem it is. Les gave the history of this property and it’s zoning. Les thinks the drainage problem of Mrs. Peake is a Cottonwood Point problem, not Wholesale Fireworks problem. He said the backyards next to the business are at a 2 to 1 slope and will require lots of maintenance due to erosion. Les said the pavement at Wholesale Fireworks is a pre-existing condition to the neighborhood.

Ron Roberts- Asked if this special use opened up the previously approved conditions to discussion. Les said no.

Quentin Coon- none

Jeff Syrios- none

Charlotte Bass- none

Clark Nelson- Acknowledged and commended Jeff Bridges for his 2 week effort in Mississippi helping with the hurricane Katrina relief effort.

Clark said at the last meeting David Martine wanted drainage issues addressed.  He asked for a workshop session in 2006 with Les and Mike Thompson.

There was general discussion about the Butler Community College case. The Planning Commission appreciated the issues brought up by the Mayor Lawrence and they all want to continue to work in conjunction with the City Council to make the best planning decisions possible for the City of Andover.

Les said that is the job of the Planning Commission in the Public Hearing is to flush out the effects the neighbors would feel and if it is necessary and ask the applicant to respond to their concerns.

Clark Nelson said he would continue to encourage neighbors and developers to work together to resolve their differences privately. He said the community will be better off if a resolution can be reached from the applicant/neighbor meeting.

Caroline Hale said she appreciated as a City Council member all the concerns and ideas of the Planning Commission to make the best decisions possible for the community.

Member Items

Lynn Heath made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 8:50 p.m. Quentin Coon seconded the motion. Motion carried 7/0.

Adjournment

Respectfully Submitted by

__________________________

Deborah Carroll

Administrative Secretary

Approved this 20^th day of December 2005 by the Andover City Planning Commission/ Board of Zoning Appeals, City of Andover.