PC 06/28/1995 - Laserfiche WebLink

A traffic study was prepared by the applicant, confirming staff's belief that there would be low traffic impact. The City Traffic Engineer felt the additional traffic would meet the City's standards. The zoning of this parcel is Commercial/Office, and generally this type of facility is located in a Commercial-Industrial zoning. Staff feels this use on this site would be, at best, innocuous. The strong neighborhood opposition suggests that this would not be a compatible use in the neighborhood. The best location would be away from a residential area. Staff feels other uses would be better suited to this parcel, such as the proposed senior center, small garden offices, or a single user office building. Staff feels single-family residential use probably would not be desirable considering it is bordered on three sides by major thoroughfares; however, it would probably be appropriate to develop townhouses on the site, which can be clustered to avoid traffic, noise, and primary impacts. Staff has determined that this project fails to meet five of the seven PUD considerations. Because of this, staff feels this application should be denied. Commissioner Wright clarified from staff that an office building use could be set back further from the street and it would also block views of the ridge. Commissioners Wright, McGuirk, and Hovingh, and Chairman Lutz noted they have met with the applicant. ~ Commissioner Hovingh reviewed the history of this parcel in that a two-story office building was approved in 1981, a retirement center was approved, and an apartment project was proposed but not approved. This site has been approved for a senior housing project, whereas this application has not be approved. Commissioner McGuirk discussed the monitoring of the storage sites with Mr. Knuppe. Mr. Knuppe proposed monitoring the storage facility yearly. Mr. Iserson noted a condition so stating the City would review the facility's operations. Mr. Beougher advised the City can only monitor the facility's contents through the search warrant process. PUBLIC HEARING WAS OPENED Michael Knuppe represented his family's application to construct a AAAAA Rent-a-Space self-storage facility. He introduced his brother, sister, and wife who are also involved in the project. He then presented video and slide presentations which addressed the concerns of the residents. Robert Siegel of New Orleans, who does location studies for mini storage facilities, gave statistics that the industry is experiencing outstanding growth with the increase of square footage of storage space per capita. The industry is also changing from locating near Planning Commission Minutes Page 4 June 28, 1995 -