Peoria Standard

City of Fairfield Council met April 22.

Here is the minutes provided by the council:

Scott Lepsky called the Regular Meeting of the Fairfield Planning Commission to order. Members present: Scott Lepsky, Don Hassler, Bill Woeste, Gwen Ritchie, and Brian Begley. Motion to excuse Dean Langevin and Missy O’Brien carried unanimously.

MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING

The minutes of the previous meeting held February 12, 2020 were approved unanimously.

OLD BUSINESS

Building Façade Approval – Von Hagen Homes – 5535 River Rd. (Tabled)

Motion to remove this item from the table carried unanimously.

At the request of the applicant, this item is to be removed from the agenda. Motion carried unanimously.

NEW BUSINESS

Building Façade Approval – Berkey Custom Homes – 31 Edna Ct.

Erin Lynn, Planning Manager, gave a brief overview of this property, which is located in the Reserves section of the Emerald Lake Subdivision. The site plan was discussed; the site is relatively flat with generous vegetation to the rear of the property. Four letters were received from residents of Emerald Lake expressing concern with the design of the proposed home. The house has a three car, side entry garage. It is mainly brick, with a small amount of siding on the front and rear gables. There are no windows on the garage side or west side elevation of the house. When new home elevations are submitted, other houses in the subdivision are reviewed to make sure the diversity of the design in the Reserves is maintained. This elevation is similar to a home that the applicant built on Coltan Court (non-Reserves), with a few minor changes. After review of the elevations and taking into consideration the letters from the residents, staff felt the elevations lacked the architectural diversity and characteristics that are expected in the Reserves section. Those concerns were relayed to the applicant; and as a result, the applicant submitted revised elevations this afternoon. Ms. Lynn stated she did not have time to review the revisions and the Commissioners are just now viewing the revision. Ms. Ritchie asked about the siding that is shown on the elevations. Any siding that is approved for the home must be cementious siding.

Kevin Keyes, applicant, was in attendance. He clarified that the siding will be cementious siding.

He indicated that staff sent him some previously approved Fisher Homes plans for reference and he incorporated some design elements into the revisions. He made some changes to the elevations, including brick coined corners, a transom window, and double window in the front. In the front facing gables, frieze board was added under the overhangs for decoration. More windows and brick work were also added. Steve Wolterman, law director, asked for clarification on what submittal the Commission was supposed to be considering for approval; the original or the revisions submitted today. Mr Keyes indicated that he would like the newer version to be considered. Mr. Kathman indicated that the revision was received at 2:00 today and has not been distributed to the neighbors or the HOA. Mr. Lepsky said the revisions appear to be a step in the right direction, but he would not be in a position to move forward with approval today. It was clarified that there is not a substantial square footage change to the home with the changes. The garage specifically gained a few extra square feet. The elevations for the house that Berkey built on Coltan Court and this one were discussed. Ms. Ritchie said the elevations are very similar. Mr. Woeste said he is not sure that diversity was achieved with this floor plan and ranch homes are maybe not what it desired in the rest of the Reserves.

Chad Bierbaum, 23 Edna Ct., was in attendance and spoke. He stated that he has not seen the revised elevations, but has seen the original elevations. He lives in the Reserves. He said he and his wife do not believe the house that is being proposed meets the standards of the Reserves. When he was looking for a subdivision to build a house in three years ago, he liked the Reserves because of the architectural diversity of the homes. He was required to make changes to his plans to meet the PUD and Reserves requirements, requiring a larger financial investment into his property. He believes that it is important to stay consistent with the requirements in order to preserve the property values throughout the Reserves. He provided the Commission with photos he took of ranch houses in the Reserves that were constructed prior to Berkey purchasing the remaining lots. He feels that they preserve the diverse and dynamic architecture of the Reserves. Mr. Lepsky asked him for his feedback on the revised drawings. He said his initial thought was there is no stone and no elevation changes on the façade. Ms. Lynn suggested the applicant bring a 3-D colored rendering of the elevation to the next meeting because it presents a clearer picture to consider. Existing ranch homes in the Reserve section were shown to give the applicant an idea of what he could add to the next submission. Mr. Woeste noted that there are not very many ranch homes in the Reserves. Ms. Lynn stated that the majority of the houses constructed in the Reserves are two story houses.

Mr. Lepsky said the Commission does not have enough information to make a decision at this point. He suggested the applicant submit a color rendering and a bullet pointed list showing the changes that are made. Mr. Woeste said he doesn’t think the revision meets the requirements and do not compare to the ranch homes that are existing. Mr. Begley said he agreed. The other homes have stone. Ms. Ritchie agreed there were elements that were revised that she liked. Mr. Keyes said rather than trying to make the neighbors happy, shouldn’t he be trying to satisfy the requirements of the Reserves? He said he is not being held to a fair standard. Some people choose to build more expensive houses with stone but it is not required. He said a lot of the homes didn’t have to come before Planning Commission. Mr. Wolterman suggested he study the previously submitted and approved homes by other builders for guidelines on what the Commission will approve. Mr Lepsky said the Reserves are held to a higher standard. He suggested Mr. Keyes look at some of the homes already built in the Reserves for inspiration. Mr. Woeste said the Commission will continue to look for input of neighboring property owners, but not necessarily approval. Mr. Lepsky said Mr. Keyes is welcome to submit elevations for pre- approval, to eliminate the need to come before the Commission every time a house is built. Unless that is done, each elevation will be required to come before the Commission.

Scott Lepsky, seconded by, Don Hassler, motioned to table the building façade so the applicant may provide additional information for consideration. Motion carried 5-0.

Election of Officers & Approval of Policies and Procedures

Ms. Lynn gave an overview of the election of officers and approval of policies and procedures. A major overhaul of the policies and procedures was going to be considered after the planned training session. Because the training session has been postponed, these changes have been put on hold. Minor changes to the agenda section in the policies and procedures were made. Mr. Lepsky requested a change to the Reports/Studies/General Discussion section to include discussion regarding major upcoming projects.

Approval of policies and procedures carried unanimously.

Current positions/officers are as follows:

Chairman (Scott Lepsky) 

Vice-Chairman (Don Hassler) 

Secretary (Lynda McGuire) 

Representative to the Board of Zoning Appeals (Scott Lepsky) 

Representative to the Design Review Committee (Don Hassler) 

OKI Representative (Greg Kathman)

Ms. Lynn stated the positions of Chairman and Vice-Chairman must be a member of one of the four wards and not one of the appointed positions. After some discussion, it was decided that despite the absence of two Commissioners, the election of officers should continue this evening.

Motion to continue the appointment of the current list of positions/officers to the Planning Commission carried unanimously.

REPORTS/STUDIES/GENERAL DISCUSSION

Ms. Ritchie reported that the Parks Board had a meeting the previous evening and discussed the March numbers and how with social distancing requirements, revenue is down. Summer camps are still planned, but people are hesitant to sign up because they don’t know what will happen into the summer. Most parks are still open, but some parts of them remain closed due to the government shutdown orders. Golf is still bringing in revenue. Staff is on split shifts to keep people separated.

Mr. Woeste reported that the Mayor has issued a challenge to support small businesses. Prizes will be awarded. The City Manager has enacted a shutdown until the first of May. He reported that he has been appointed to the Butler County Board of Health. First responders have plenty of testing for Covid-19, but widespread testing is not yet available.

Mr. Begley reported that online schooling will remain in place for the remainder of the year. Graduation has been moved twice now, with an August 1 date being planned at the Cintas Center.

Ms. Lynn reported that code changes regarding temporary storage containers will be coming back before the Commission soon. There is a joint public hearing with City Council on May 11 to consider a freestanding Dunkin’ Restaurant next to the existing Chick-fil-A on S. Gilmore Road. The final draft of the connectivity plan will be presented to the Commissioners for review this summer.

Mr. Kathman reported that the north Route 4 market study presentation that he was going to give to Council has been postponed. The date has not yet been set.

Motion to adjourn carried unanimously.

https://oh-fairfield.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_04222020-245