PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION
CITY HALL,
TUESDAY, MAY 11, 2010
PLANNING AND ZONING WORK SESSION
6:40 P.M.
1. CALL TO ORDER: Mr.
Blake opened the Planning and Zoning Work Session at 6:40 P.M., with the
following members present: Mr. Blake,
Mr. Sauer, Mrs. Evans and Mr. Nicholas. Mr. Bosch arrived at 6:15 P.M., Mr.
Hackworth arrived at 7:15 P.M. and Mr. Binkley arrived at 7:20 P.M. Others
present were Mayor Mitch O’Brien, William Vance, Chet Hopper,
2. SCHEDULED MATTERS:
A. Discussion regarding Code
Enforcement. Mr. Blake stated the
Commission will discuss the Old Downtown Village signs, however first Mr. Chet
Hopper, Chief Building Official for the City of Pickerington, will go over Code
Enforcement. Mr. Hopper stated he
started on January 4th and was here to answer any questions that
members may have. Mr. Blake clarified that Mr. Hopper has not had a chance to
look at the Zoning Code Interpretations that was in P & Z Commission
packets in the past and offered his to Mr. Hopper for use during the work
session. Mr. Blake stated that the Law Director’s firm found that there are
some discrepancies in the way the code was written and the intent of the code. Mr. Blake stated that Mr. Nicholas had
brought up, one or two meetings ago, the portable sign that shows up on Friday
at 5:00 P.M. at the Green Leaf Grill and sometimes is gone on Sunday, and
sometimes it isn’t. Banners that have
become permanent signs for some of the businesses in the
Mr. Hopper stated he was with the
City of
Mr. Hopper stated the ordinance for Pickerington is that notification is done by personal service and if that cannot be accomplished then it’s done by certified mail. If that does not work, then we can post the property. He feels that is backwards, that we should be able to post the property, then send the letter, and then we take legal action if that is needed. He feels we need to work with the resident. If a resident is making strides then we need to allow them however long it takes. Mr. Blake inquired if Mr. Hopper felt face to face contact goes further than sending something out in the mail. Mr. Hopper stated not necessarily face to face, we work 8-5 and a lot of our residents do also. We could post the property with the code violation notice and assume they got the information. If they don’t contact us in a certain amount of time, then we will send a letter out.
Mrs. Evans stated that posting
would not be expensive, however it could be embarrassing to the resident and
businesses. Mr. Hopper stated the
businesses are open during the day so we could make contact with a
manager. The posting in
Mr. Bosch stated the process Mr. Hopper wants to do seems exactly what the City needs to do. Anytime you can make it a one on one process is better. It takes a lot of time when you get into the legal stuff and certified letters do cost extra money.
Mr. Sauer stated he thinks it is more professional to post the property first before doing the certified letter and legal action. There will be a notice on the door advising there is a violation and what is needed to resolve the issue, then if the issue is not taken care of the certified letter is sent. He further stated last year it seemed like things were not getting followed up on, they got lost in the process. Since then we have purchased new software and that is helping. He has been looking at the reports that are coming to the Safety Committee and it’s reassuring to know now that the list is changing and things are being followed up on. He is pleased with the direction it is going and encourages Mr. Hopper to continue.
Mr. Hopper stated that the
software being used now in Pickerington is the same as he used in
Mr. Blake clarified that Code
Enforcement in
Mayor O’Brien stated from a residential standpoint, he will use a house in his neighborhood that was abandoned. They threw open all of the windows, plugged the drains, turned the water on and were gone. No one caught that for the whole summer and the house was filled with mold, lots of deterioration of things started to happen. When a house is let go like this, it devalues the property. We know that because several of the neighbors were going to try to sell their houses and when they had the appraisals done they found out how much lower in value their houses had gone. One house can affect many. Mayor O’Brien further stated that the Planning and Zoning Commission put a lot of effort in what they do for businesses, for quality commercial development. It’s a let down when you put as much as you put into something only to drive up to a neighboring business and look over at one you approved and they have a picture of a half naked girl in the full glass door that is rated R and you shouldn’t have to look at that. You shouldn’t have to look at the push-in signs that are everywhere in front of businesses, the neon, the glow paint in the windows and some of the other things you see. He further stated he thinks it is time to push the pendulum back more towards the center, or slightly above for the City, take a little pride in what we have, what we expect from ourselves. We take pride in our own homes and we should take pride in the community and support staff in trying to be more proactive as opposed to totally reactive. It can also get into another neighborhood situation where it becomes a neighborhood feud. He took Mr. Hopper to meet some of his neighbors. In his neighborhood a feud has been going on for 20 years, and they call on each other all of the time. The thing is, the violator is getting better. The car that has been up on blocks for five years is now being driven. She got sick of being cited for it. It has taken a long time however it is starting to have an affect, because the City has been more aggressive with her, mostly the Police Department. There are some success stories. In 90% of the cases people don’t know they are in violation and 90% will comply.
Mayor O’Brien introduced
Mr. Blake stated it’s not what
you say it's how you say it, the way you deliver the message. He thinks that
95% of the people, once they are contacted, will take care of the violation.
From the commercial standpoint, as the Mayor explained, the Commission has
tried very hard to treat every business as if it were their own and trying to
make it in this terrible economy. He will use The Green Leaf Grill as an
example of things he sees and inquired where we are with that and if there has
been a complaint. Mr. Hopper stated that it is being addressed at the attorney
level. Mr. Blake stated he has two friends who own businesses in town and they
brought up Green Leaf, Grill, J’ Nicole’s and the Doggie Day Spa. They stated
they have been told to take down a banner, they have gotten a permit for a
banner, so when they drive by these businesses every day and see it, it’s a slap
in their face. Mr. Henderson stated
that both of those currently are in compliance, they have zoning
certificates. Mr. Blake stated he feels
that for the past year, and he might go so far as say two years, they haven’t
been. Mr. Henderson stated two months
ago they did a survey of the
Mr. Sauer inquired what happed when the 30 days are up and the banner is still up if no one complains. Mr. Hopper stated that what you will see in the future is that Code Enforcement will work with the Zoning Department and communicate that the banner is in compliance until a specific date, once that thirty days is up Code Enforcement will be out doing inspections, will see the banner and know it is not in compliance and will inform them at that point they are not in compliance and are in violation of city code. Mr. Sauer clarified that once the 30 days are up Code Enforcement gets involved.
Mr. Vance stated there are situations where you might initiate an enforcement activity however you can’t physically go onto someone’s property and correct the situation. An individual could be driving by a shop everyday and assume nothing is taking place at a certain location when the City has actually initiated some type of code enforcement effort and it has to go through a lengthy legal process until the issue can be resolved. He stated he thinks we will do some proactive things, such as a calendar dedicated to such permits. When someone is issued a permit, at that point a reminder is written 30 days ahead to follow up by checking if it is still up and if their intention is to take it down. Mr. Vance further stated that if you see things around the City, or someone contacts you as a representative of the City and asks why the City isn’t doing anything about this, he recommends, if he were in your position, in the future after July 1st, you pass them on to staff and recommend they send Mr. Vance or Mr. Hopper an email. The new administration guarantees a response in writing to any inquiry received in regard to any situation that involves City business. This is the way we are going to proceed in the future. He predicts Code Enforcement will get more efficient in the future, it will be more customer friendly and it will always be a constant, it will always be ongoing. Code Enforcement is an art, it has to be done so that it provides for the needs of the City, and it also has to be done in a common sense manner. Mr. Vance stated he just met Mr. Hopper yesterday and they haven’t had the opportunity to get together and coordinate a formal game plan for the future but he assures that it will be more efficient in the future.
Mr. Nicholas stated that Mayor O’Brien is very astute in his observation that Mr. Bosch and he have been on Planning and Zoning Commission for quite some time. They try to make it as speedy a process as they can, staff has always been great in providing the information they need and he looks forward to the same from Mr. Vance and Mr. Hopper. He also stated it was great to see Susan Crotty back with the City again. He further stated that he, and he hopes the rest of the Commission, will support the incoming City Manager in any way they can.
Mr. Hopper stated that, with the program being used, he thinks it will be a good tool in the future to be able to provide statistics and asked for a little patience while they get the ball rolling. He thinks an improvement will be seen in the future. Code violations do not get resolved overnight, but his goal is that at some point in time they do get resolved and it improves the community.
Mr. Nicholas stated that they all realize it will take time and we now have people on staff to support what Mr. Schultz and Mr. Henderson are doing. They were stretched thin for a number of years and it is good to have people in the right places to do the right things. He further stated he thinks we will now have more eyes, ears and minds on what we are trying to accomplish. He inquired if they were going to discuss the packet from the Law Director? Mr. Blake clarified that Mr. Hopper had not seen this so he did not want to go into specifics at this time. There is one thing he did want to discuss. Mayor O’Brien, Development Director Susan Crotty and himself had a brief conversation about some of the signage in the Olde Village Association and asked Ms. Crotty for her comments.
Ms. Crotty stated she had brought the section of the code for members to have in front of them. Some members of the Olde Pickerington Village Business Association (OPVBA) met with the Mayor and herself with questions regarding procedures, guidelines and requirements for the portable sandwich board a-frame signs in the Olde Downtown. In reviewing the code she did not come up with a good answer. It mentions getting a Certificate of Appropriateness from Planning and Zoning and we are not doing those anymore, so they are being asked to come in for Comprehensive Sign Plans for portable signs. In looking at the code there are specific requirements on the color, size, and materials. There is also a section on changeable copy too so you might want to look at that in conjunction with the approval process. If someone in the Olde Downtown has a sign that meets all of these guidelines and is compliant with this section of the code, is this something that could be approved administratively? If this is something that you do want them to appear before the Planning and Zoning Commission for we at least need to clean up that section of code about requiring a Certificate of Appropriateness.
Ms. Crotty stated if we are going
to make some changes to this section she has a couple of other things for
discussion. One being signs not being
tethered or weighted down and we might want to think about a requirement to
make them more secure. In addition, the requirement that there be 48” of clear
walking space on the sidewalk, the question came up that there is not a lot of
sidewalk space in this area and if that could be reduced it might be helpful to
the applicants. Mr. Bosch stated it
could go to 42” and if it is going to be modified we probably should change it
to maintain the clear
Mr. Blake inquired if Mr. Schultz felt, with how this is written today, that it is something he could approve administratively. Mr. Schultz stated yes, if it is written correctly. Mr. Blake inquired if Mr. Banchefsky feels it is written correctly? Mr. Schultz stated he thinks some items need modified. Mr. Banchefsky stated in terms of approving administratively, if that is the way your want to go then it does need to be amended. Mr. Blake clarified that the time frame of coming before the Commission is one month. Mr. Blake clarified it would take a minimum of thirty days and a fee, if they are required to come before the Commission. Mr. Schultz stated there are two fees, one is a fee for planning and zoning review which is the Certificate of Appropriateness and Comprehensive Sign Plan, the second fee is the zoning certificate and that is required regardless. The zoning certificate fee is $25.00 for a temporary sign, and $50.00 for a permanent sign and to come before Planning and Zoning Commission the fee is $150.00. When this ordinance was adopted in 2004 a Certificate of Appropriateness was required for any new structure, site, landscaping, lighting, signage, etc. When a sign would come in, a Certificate of Appropriateness was done. If it was a second sign on the building, the Commission asked why we were doing a Certificate of Appropriateness for a sign and not a Comprehensive Sign Plan. Mr. Schultz stated he made the administrative decision to call any sign a Comprehensive Sign Plan if it’s one, or five, instead of a Certificate of Appropriateness where it would be easier to track. However when this was written one sign was a Certificate of Appropriateness, more than one sign was a Comprehensive Sign Plan.
Mr. Hackworth stated he thought
with Ordinance 2004-18 and the Olde Pickerington Downtown, council passed the
Sandwich Board Signs to get around all of this. Mr. Schultz stated in 2004 this
was adopted, prior to 2004 we didn’t have any requirements for sandwich board
signs in the City, none the less the old downtown and people were putting up
signs in the right-of-way on the sidewalks throughout the old downtown. The
City would tell them they couldn’t do that, they came in upset and asked what
the requirements were to do this.
Planning and Zoning Commission adopted a sign package and one of the
requirements was that they come before the Commission. Ms. Crotty clarified
that they are now being required to come before the Commission for a
Comprehensive Sign Plan and that is what needs cleaned up. Mr. Hackworth stated
we also were going to have to establish what the Olde Downtown area is and he
doesn’t think we have ever done that. Mr. Schultz stated there are about 40
properties in the Olde Downtown District.
Mr. Hackworth stated all of the property west of
Mr. Blake inquired if Mayor O’Brien has any suggestions. Mayor O’Brien stated that the City should prepare guidelines on when the signs are allowed to be out there and how big they are allowed to be. Mayor O’Brien stated they want the signs from summer through fall.
Mr. Blake asked Ms. Crotty if she has gotten any feedback from the business owners regarding what they think would be appropriate. Ms. Crotty stated the biggest issue was the procedure. Mr. Blake clarified they would like to come in and get it approved in a couple of days, not a month. Ms Crotty stated they also felt the code is very specific on the type, size, colors and they felt that if they had a sign that met those requirements that it would be like other signs that could be approved administratively.
Mr. Blake clarified that Ms. Crotty will come back again after discussing this with Mr. Banchefsky. Mr. Nicholas stated in concept he agreed with approving this administratively. Mr. Blake clarified that none of the members have any issues with this being done administratively.
Mr. Vance thanked everyone for welcoming him this evening and stated he feels very fortunate to inherit such a talented staff, including the folks sitting at this table.
3. ADJOURNMENT. There being nothing further, the Planning and Zoning Work Session closed at 7:30 P.M., May 11, 2010
RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED:
__________________________
Karen Risher, Administrative Clerk
ATTEST:
_______________________________