2002-11-04 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Session 1859 November 4, 2002 changes and hoped for Council approval. He stated that the proposed changes did not resolve questions relating to infill housing and new construction and requested that the City Council appoint a citizens' committee which would review zoning from a broader perspective and make recommendations to Plan Commission. He said that poor zoning ordinances are a national issue that destroys neighborhoods and expressed the hope that the Plan Commission would look into possibilities suggested by residents. Joan Botwinick, 511 Westview Drive, said she was pleased that the Plan Commission passed some of the regulations suggested by some of some of the residents and that their action demonstrated that residents can have meaningful input into the system. She also concurred with Ralph Bowser's suggestion for a temporary citizen's committee and made the following suggestions: 1. Members should be appointed for one year to review each section of the zoning code and the BOCA code to see determine their consistency and conformance with the needs of residents. 2. This committee should consist of volunteers, knowledgeable professionals, plan commission members and plan department staff. 3. They would meet every two weeks. She cited articles 4 & 5 of the zoning code which she believed included issues that need to be reviewed: 1. Section 34-30: requires that new houses conform with the character of surrounding single family dwellings. She noted several exceptions. She maintained that a 6000 foot minimum lot size with 50 foot frontage requirement is negated by allowing exceptions of 4500 square feet with thirty seven and a half foot frontage. She took note of required twenty five foot set backs but said that terraces are allowed to extend ten feet into the front yard. Thirty foot rear yard set backs permit terraces which project ten feet into the rear yard. Air conditioning equipment can be as little as two feet from the side lot line and she referred to a situation where the outside backyard porch cannot be used by a resident because of noise from neighboring air conditioner ventilator. Ms. Botwinick questioned why five foot yard set backs are required when exceptions to four feet are allowed. She also suggested reviewing the BOCA. code to assure residents that it is suitable for University City. She stated that Section 108.2, applied to the Medve development on Delmar and asked if permits had been withdrawn as specified by the BOCA code because of the length of time that construction had been suspended. She suggested that there should be a requirement that new buildings be completed within a year when extensions are requested. She noted that Clayton and other municipalities require substantial fences around building sites. She believed that fencing would provide "visual comfort", and keep mud and other debris from clogging walkways, roads and sewers.