At the Planning CommissionIn and for said City March 6, 2024Minutes of the Richfield City Planning Commission meeting held on Wednesday, March 6, 2024, at 6:00 p.m., Chairman pro tempore Lisa White, presiding.
- Roll Call
- Conditional Use Permits/Home Occupation Permits
a. Taylor Jeffs – Requesting approval to place a sign at 1100 S. Main for Farm Bureau Insurance.
b. Brent Poulsen – Presenting concept for building located at 89 South Main Street.
c. Mark Dean – To request the expansion of a nonconforming use.
d. Tim Ramey – To request a conditional use of adding two bedrooms to a home at 361 S. 100 E. - Discussion Items –
a. Discuss redefining RM-11 in the general plan.
b. Discuss limitations of RM-11 zones. - Minutes Approval
- Other Business
- Adjournment
- Roll Call – Commissioners Lisa White, Wes Kirschner, Zach Leavitt, Blaine Breinholt and Brandon Anderson. Excused – Wayne Cowley and Josh Peterson
Also present, Deputy Clerk David Anderson, Brent Poulsen, Troy Poulsen, Marna Win, Kendrick Thomas and Mark Dean - Conditional Use Permits/Home Occupation Permits
a. Tyler Jeffs – Requesting approval to place a sign at 1100 S. Main for Farm Bureau Insurance’s new location.
Jeffs joined the meeting via Zoom. Deputy Clerk Anderson shared a photo of the proposed sign location and asked if it were accurate. Mr. Jeffs affirmed that it was.
Anderson and Jeffs had spoken previously about the proposal to locate a sign that is located off of the property where Farm Bureau is relocating. The ordinance states that off-premise signs are not permitted in Richfield City. The property where Mr. Jeffs wants to install the sign, and the one where his business is located do border each other.
Mr. Jeffs said there is not a lot of traffic that goes down 1100 South. He has spoken with the owners of Silver Eagle/Rally Stop and they have given their consent. The concept is to place an LED sign in the location to increase the visibility of his business.
Commissioner Leavitt asked to see a photo of the property boundaries, which was provided.
Commissioner White said as she reads the code, it is clear that all off-site premise signs are prohibited.
Approving the sign would open the door to all kinds of other sign situations along Main Street, said Commissioner Kirschner. He said the only signs similar in concept are for government entities. Commissioner Breinholt said there isn’t any other place in town where this was allowed.
Mr. Jeffs said the office is currently at 178 N. Main. He said he has been at the Richfield address for seven or eight years. He would like to be able to continue to operate in Richfield. He asked for the commission’s consideration in allowing the sign, but if the decision is no he would be a good neighbor about it.
Commissioner White asked if Mr. Jeffs could appeal to the city council. Commissioner Leavitt said he doesn’t know if this is something that would qualify for a variance. Commissioner White said the only other option would be to change the code.
Deputy Clerk Anderson said when the sign ordinance was developed, it was done with the intention of cleaning things up in the community and not have lots of signs everywhere. The restrictions were put into the code purposely.
Changing the ordinance or something similar would be the only option, Commissioner Kirschner said. It opens a lot of doors for possible abuse of it in the future.
Another thing to consider is all the small businesses that are allowed as home occupancies may see it as an opportunity to promote themselves on Main Street, Commissioner Anderson said.
Commissioner Kirschner said this particular proposal does make sense, but what does it do down the road?
Commissioner Breinholt motioned to deny the request for Farm Bureau Insurance to place on off premise sign. Commissioner Anderson seconded the motion. The motion carried with commissioners Blaine Breinholt, Branden Anderson, Zach Leavitt, Lisa Ogden and Wes Kirschner voting aye.
Mr. Jeffs asked if the current signs are on private property or not? He said he wondered if they were on state or city property. The current signs are on private property as the state and city don’t allow signs in their right-of-way.
Mr. Jeffs asked if he could locate a monument sign on his property. Deputy Clerk Anderson said monument signs are allowed, so it is an option.
b. Brent Poulsen – Presented a concept for the former Nights Inn building located at 89 South Main Street. Downtown zone.
Mr. Poulsen said they have been working for several months to get a concept together for the renovation of the property into apartments. He said there are two properties they are looking at doing this to in Richfield City, including the Nights and Royal Inn. However, the plans provided to the commission were only for the Nights Inn property.
Commissioner White asked if the new requirements for mixed-use development apply to this development, or if the requirements at the time of the initial concept approval apply.
Deputy Clerk Anderson said it would be subject to the requirements discussed in the letter and the minutes of the last meeting, which state that the amount of available commercial space can’t be reduced. He said the question is how much could be considered as an expansion of the residential or a reduction of the commercial. Also, what items in the plans are of a commercial nature. A common room, or laundry room for residents of the development – would those be considered commercial?
Commissioner White said the standard for commercial is that it has to be something that is reasonably accessed by the public. She asked about a shipping operation that was in the building at one point.
Mr. Poulsen said that was a temporary tenant in the building. He said the community room in the plans would most likely be open to general public use.
Troy Poulsen, the other principal in the project, said the Coldwell Banker office would move into the building as well as a New Horizons Crisis Center office. He said the community room would be open, but its purpose is for the tenants.
One concern staff had was the addition of a studio apartment on the southwest corner of ground floor, which along with other apartments in the front building appeared to be a reduction in the amount of commercially available space, Deputy Clerk Anderson said.
Commissioner Anderson said he would like to know what was considered commercial at the time of approval.
Brent Poulsen said in the time he and his brother have owned the building there have been a few small commercial uses in it, but previous to that there were no commercial uses of it. He said the number of units would be reduced in the back from 48 to 30.
Kendrick Thomas, engineer representing the Poulsens, said there is roughly 950 square feet of commercial office space. It wasn’t defined, just that it shouldn’t be reduced. It’s loose and not really determined. He said there is also a balancing act because the more commercial is included, the more parking will be required than what is required for apartments.
He said there were plans for a possible restaurant, but the parking load would be too high. He said the goal was to come up with a layout that made sense for the site – cleaning it up and making it useable. The inhouse architect at Jones & DeMille is working on this project as well, and part of this project is a historical remodel and preservation.
Brent Poulsen said as they get into the project, it may make more sense for them to just tear the building down and build something new within the same footprint.
The buildings in the back would stay with a full remodel, Poulsen said.
Commissioner Anderson said while the community room would be used more for tenants, he would consider that somewhat commercial. He said he likes the layout.
[Commissioner Anderson excused himself from the meeting]
Commissioner Kirschner asked if the footprint of the building would change.
Deputy Clerk Anderson said part of the issue at hand is this is the downtown zone, which is supposed to be the commercial center of the town. The building has a history of being completely commercial. He said items like the proposed study area would be servicing the residential portion of the property, not the commercial.
Commissioner White asked if this is subject to current standards for mixed-use or those at the time of the original approval of a mixed-use.
What is comes down to is there a reduction of the commercial space.
Brent Poulsen said there would be more commercial operating in the space once it’s done than there has been since we’ve had it.
The available commercial space would be less than the current standard of 33 percent.
Commissioner Breinholt said he has a person who rents a storage unit from him and lives in a residence at the Mount Air apartments, which are also on Main Street. He said the individual is nice and needed a place that met the needs of a single man. He said developments like the ones proposed by the Poulsen brothers do serve a need.
Commissioner Kirschner said he doesn’t like the one-bedroom studio apartment on Main Street. He said they may put a lot of effort into making it nice, but the renters will do what they do to it.
Brent Poulsen said the goal is to make it look good. He said he thinks the plan is hitting the mixed use.
The older buildings on Main Street are a challenge, according to Kendrick Thomas, engineer who is working for the Poulsen brothers. It’s a major investment to do anything with an older building. The opportunity to do a lot of commercial is tough, and having a mechanism to do apartments there provides a more guaranteed revenue source. If there is an investor or developer who wants to do something to clean it up, as long as it’s reasonable and sustainable, they should be allowed to do so.
Commissioner Kirschner said that’s fine as long as the owners conform to it as well. He said it could be sold, and then the new owners may not be diligent.
Brent Poulsen said it’s intended to be a long-term investment for him and his brother.
Commissioner White said the baseline may just be the shipping business that was in there at the point of the approval, and defining the era of the commercial use in the building would help.
Deputy Clerk Anderson said at the time it was defined as space available for commercial – not necessarily what was operating.
Brent said available would basically be the entire building.
Commissioner White asked what staff concerns were.
Deputy Clerk Anderson said it appeared to be a reduction of commercially available space. Also, items like the “tot lot” and the laundry are there to serve the residential portion of the building, and are not commercial. Basically, the only true commercial in the building would be the real estate office, the crisis center office and possibly the community room.
One question is if the tot lot is accessible from the community room? Brent Poulsen said it would make sense to have it be.
Commissioner White said the sticking point is the baseline. How do you say more or less without a defined baseline.
Commissioner Breinholt motioned to recommend approval of the concept pending review of the city attorney of what constitutes the baseline of the commercial space. Commissioner Leavitt seconded. The motion carried with commissioners Lisa White, Blaine Breinholt, Zach Leavitt and Wes Kirschner voting aye.
c. Mark Dean – To request the expansion of a nonconforming use by enclosing an existing carport at his home at 228 South 200 West [tabled from last month]. C-1 use in an R1-10 zone.
Commissioner Brienholt said this is a non-compliant carport, but it already exists.
Mr. Dean said the current structure does have footings on one side that go down 30 inches, but only 16 inches on the south side. He said he would be strengthening the footings.
Commissioner White asked about the possibility of a firewall as well as the concerns from last month, as was discussed last month. There is quite a bit of distance between the carport and the neighboring structure, according to Commissioner Breinholt. He said one of the big concerns is that it is nonconforming, but that he wasn’t opposed to it.
Commissioner Kirschner said closing it in doesn’t appear to really cause any more issues, other than losing access to the backyard. It’s not changing the nature of the home.
Mr. Dean said he plans on installing a garage door on the rear of the structure as well.
Commissioner Leavitt motioned to approve Dean’s proposal to enclose the carport. Commissioner Kirschner seconded the motion. The motion carried with Lisa White, Blaine Breinholt, Zach Leavitt and Wes Kirschner voting aye.
d. Tim Ramey to request a conditional use of adding two bedrooms and a driveway to a home at 361 S. 100 E. C-1 use in a Downtown Zone.
This item was tabled until the April meeting. Commissioner Breinholt motioned to table it. Commissioner Leavitt seconded the motion. The motion carried with Lisa White, Blaine Breinholt, Zach Leavitt and Wes Kirschner voting aye.
- Discussion Items –
a. Discuss redefining RM-11 in the general plan as high-density housing, consider making the language consistent with the current zoning ordinance.
Commissioner White said she feels that RM-11 needs to be defined differently from RM-24. She said RM-11 should not be considered high-density housing.
Deputy Clerk Anderson the question has come up – is a development like Eagle View the same as a three-plex? Commissioner White says it depends on the site. The requirement is based on the number of units per acre. White said she’s not opposed to calling it multiple family residential, but it’s not the same as high-density.
Commissioner Kirschner agreed that RM-11 shouldn’t be considered as high density.
b. Discuss limitations of RM-11 zones.
Commissioner White said she is open to adopting limitations for RM-11 that are similar to the ones in place for RM-24. She said having some of the stand-alone limitations could be a good thing, such as a maximum number of units. Maybe use the same acreage-based restrictions as an RM-24, but tailored for RM-11. The maximum number of units would be 33 in any RM-11 development.
She said the city could use the same type of tier as what’s in place for RM-24.
Commissioner Leavitt said the limitations should be geared more toward the RM-11 zone. Make it so that there can still be RM-11 developments scattered around, but not butting up against each other.
Maximum size would be three acres for any development, for RM-24 or RM-11, Commissioner Leavitt said. He also suggested a baseline amount of open space, similar to what’s required for RM-24. Commissioner White said it should be the same, 25 percent.
The proposed limitations would include –
1 acre or less = No distance requirement between developments.
1 to 2 acres = distance of 1/4 mile (1320 feet).
2 to 3 acres = distance of 1/2 mile (2640 feet).
Maximum number of units in a development is 33 units, with 25 percent open space. - Minutes Approval – Since only one of the commissioners at this meeting was present at the last meeting, the minutes were tabled for next month.
- Other Business
- Adjournment – Commissioner Breinholt motioned to adjourn the meeting. Commissioner Leavitt seconded the motion. The motion carried with Lisa White, Blaine Breinholt, Zach Leavitt and Wes Kirschner voting aye.