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06-01-1976 Regular MeetingPLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION A meeting of the Planning and Zoning Commission was held in the Council Chambers on Tuesday, June 1, 1976. The meeting was called to order at 7:30 P. M. by Chairwoman Ray with the following members present: Messrs. Sullivan, Norquist, Knowles, Czech, Jones and Sargent. City officials present were Councilman Charles Beals, City Manager Tiffany and Building Official Nagel. The Invocation was given by Chairwoman Ray. The Minutes of the meeting held on May 4, 1976 were approved as written. Definition of "Structure" and Maximum Lot Coverage City Manager Tiffany advised that as a result of research regard- ing tennis courts in residential areas, he had discovered that the definition of "Structure in our zoning ordinance, in relation to the maximum lot coverage requirements for each zoning district, needs to be clarified. City Attorney Baird advises that all structures, including private recreation facilities, must be considered in the computation of maximum lot coverage, and recommended that this problem be referred to the Planning and Zoning Commission for consideration. As the ordinance is now written, the administrative staff feels that all structures must be considered in maximum lot coverage computation. In discussion of this problem, it was general consensus of the commission that the present code as written is too stringent in its definition of "Structure" by including "anything constructed or erected on the ground or attached to something located on the ground". No recommendations were made and Chairwoman Ray referred the matter to the Planning Committee for further study with their recommendations to be discussed at a future meeting. Mr. Norquist questioned what our stringent ordinance would do to the value of property because as it now stands it appears to restrict propert y owners from improving their property. The Secretary was requested to obtain copies of zoning ordinances from several communities in Lake County for study of definitions of structure and maximum lot coverage computation. Rezoning C-2 to R-3 City Councilman Charles Beals asked if the Commission had considered rezoning for the south half of the block between 7th Street and Lake Avenue in view of their recent recommendations on a new Central Business zoning district. After due discussion, motion was made by Mr. Jones, seconded by Mr.Norquist and carried that recommendation be made to City Council that the zoning of the south half of Block 75 (Lots 4 thru 6 and 14 thru 20) facing Juniata Street be rezoned from the present C-2 zoning to R-3 zoning. The commission felt that it was an oversight in their recommendations on rezoning of the CBD to leave these lots in a C-2 zone. Fire Protection With regards the City's fire protection, motion was made by Mr. Jones that recommendation be made to the City Council that full time personnel be available 24 hours a day, on a rotating shift, to be responsible to drive the fire truck to a fire. The motion carried with Messrs. Czech and Sargent voting Naye. Mr. Cech stated he voted Naye, as he would like to see this recommendation referred to the City Manager and the Fire Chief for them to explain more fully the cause for the delay in the fire call to the Stephens' residence and what the normal procedure is for answering fire calls. Mr. Sargent stated he voted Naye as he felt that first a study should be made on ways and means to cut down response time on fire calls. City Manager Tiffany interjected the comment that the delay in a fire call earlier in the week was not a typical situation since the primary pumper was at the garage at the time of the fire call and had an unusual distance to travel to the fire. Street Lights As a result of a request from Mr. Jones that street lights be installed between East Avenue and past Orange Hill Subdivision along Grand Highway, the Chairwoman referred the matter to the Safety Committee to make a survey of areas in the City where they felt lighting was needed. The meeting was adjourned at 9 P. M. Ruth Alice Ray, Chairwoman M. Dollar, Secretary