[Music]
good evening and welcome to the planning
and zoning commission meeting
today is october 26th
i mean sorry looking at them
yes today is november 23rd
2021 and i'm calling this meeting to
order at 6 00 pm
it does is there any conflict of
interest that's the first item
from any of the commissioners up here at
the diocese
no seeing none
any from staff
none for staff
okay next item is approval of the
minutes because we have a motion and a
second to approve the minutes
i make a motion we approve the minions
i'll second
we've had a first and second to approve
the minutes can we have roll call board
member bennett yes foreign
yes
[Music]
i wasn't in attendance
so you're abstain
vega
yes former gordon yes
chair thomas
yes
thank you
the next item is postponements um we
have an announcement first in that area
from
our director larry nichols
thank you madam chairman
for the record larry nicholas community
development director
i'm requesting a motion from the
pnc commission to reschedule
the special use permit
on case number
until january the 25th
meeting
and twin do you want that postponed
until
yes madam chairman uh post moment until
the pnc meeting of january the 25th uh
of this coming year of 2022. the reason
for the rescheduling
is that we need to send out additional
notification
to the area of the
special use permit and we need the
that has to be done
to allow for the 30-day notification
and so
we can't do it for the december 28th
25th meeting excuse me
and that's why we'll have to move it to
the january 25th that'll give us the
30-day notice requirement
okay so i'll entertain a motion to
reschedule
the
hickory
all right i'll make a motion wait just a
minute
to the hickory what's it called it's
hickory drive to the hickory drive
special use permit case until january
25th 2022
and i'll make a motion that we postpone
case number three the 1018 hickory drive
special use permit until january the
25th
a second
okay we have a motion and a second is
there any discussion up here
can we have a roll call board member
bennett
yes yes
i
need you on the microphone please
did she hear
she said yes but not on the microphone
thank you very much i don't know why i'm
having problems with it that's what i
was doing pushing it
yep yes
yes thank you board member gordon
yes chair thomas yes
okay well i want to say to the people
that are here i'm sorry that we have to
postpone this but we have to abide by
the amount of days that it has to be
advertised so you'll see a new sign and
you'll get new notifications and it'll
be moved to january 25th
the next item is public participation
this is for
anyone who's here to speak about
something that is not on the agenda
if you're here for something on the
agenda we'd like you to wait until that
item comes up
so is there anyone here who
wants to speak about something that's
not on the agenda
i see a show of hands
no one
okay
then we'll move on to the consent agenda
can i have a motion and a second to
approve the consent agenda
i make a motion that we approve the
consent agenda
i'll second
it's been moved and seconded that we
approve the consent agenda can we have a
roll call
board member bennett
yes guerrero uh yes foreign
yes
board member vega yes former gordon
yes chair thomas
yes
now we'll move on to new business the
first item is
spit street variance request the way we
do this is we have a motion and a second
so that we can discuss it then we have a
staff presentation
then if anybody connected to the
property wants to say anything they have
an opportunity
then the commission discusses then we go
to public comment and then we come back
to the commission and vote that's our
way we handle these
so i need a motion and a second to
approve the spit street variance request
i'll make a motion have we approved the
spitz street variance request item
number one under new business
real second
okay and we have vincent banangus to
give a presentation thank you
yes ma'am madam chair commissioners
vincent venegas uh interim planner for
the record
uh this is a variance request involving
the address 2719 spit street
case 21vo050093
current conditions for
the property
as addressed as specified
just a second ago it's a single family
residence
1.79 acres in size plus or minus and it
is currently zoned r1a which is our
single
family medium density residential
district
the house
was built in 2003
and
on some of the maps you may have seen in
your packet there are accessory
structures that exist on the property
some a workshop and a couple of carports
and a pool but all structures comply
with current code requirements
so this is a
case that is seeking to be allowed
two dwelling units on the property in
the r1a district you are currently only
allowed a single home
and there is an existing home as
indicated on the property at present
the second
structure the casita as as the applicant
is is calling it
will be constructed if approved this
evening
this map is a zoning map of the property
and the surrounding area
the
property in question is highlighted in
red
you do it as indicated r1a is the zoning
for the property and you do have
r1a zoning
predominantly in the neighborhood
both north and south immediately north
and south of the subject property
and due east along spit street dine
avenue cielo vista court et cetera
there are two
in essence two distinct developments
there
all single family in nature
some patio home some your typical single
family home
and and elsewhere in the area you have
o2
r3 zoning you have commercial zoning
further south
and some some r2
zoning
further east or west i should say
here's an aerial map showing the
property in question
again it is developed and properties
immediately south are developed to an
extent
and properties due north are not
so you get a mixture of
potential development in the immediate
vicinity and again as indicated
single-family to the east and and you do
have a mobile home park
or parks i should say
here along el camino real
in the western southwestern area
and of course some apartments due south
adjacent to el camino rio
as indicated the variance is seeking to
be allowed to dwelling units
the request uh stems from the fact that
the property is of adequate size to to
uh
request that
the second unit or the casita will be
approximately 660 square feet in size i
think one of the maps will illustrate
that it's 600 square feet but i think
that didn't
take into consideration perhaps the
porch and that type of thing
but maximum 660 square feet overall
and it is to be used by a member of the
family in this case the daughter of the
current property owners
the casita itself in terms of access
there will be shared access with the
main dwelling
and parking will be shared as well there
is a carport that will be adjacent to
the proposed location for the casita
where
the daughter will be able to park
the casita development is as indicated
by the applicant when they place that
structure
they will do everything in their power
to retain the natural landscape buffer
along spit street
and use materials in the construction
that are at least similar to those on
the main dwelling
i will discuss the natural landscape
buffer here in a little bit and you'll
see it's it's quite substantial so there
shouldn't be any problem in in doing
that
the applicant justifies the request as
follows
first of all
in various phone conversations with the
applicant ms tren
we looked at the existing dwelling and
tried to come up with an approach
that would allow her an accessory
dwelling unit that is authorized or
allowed in our zoning code it would
allow that use
more or less as a standalone unit within
an existing home
the home is a rammed earth
type of construction
and in looking at
the alternatives that were available we
looked on top of the garage we looked at
modifying the garage area
there's a lot that would be involved
moving the pipes
etc new construction et cetera et cetera
and so
we we kind of ruled that out due to cost
factors
also we looked at subdivision as a means
to
get the casita on its own property of
course as we know that has some cost
factors as well
and so we begin to look at the various
processes the third option which is
being
taken this evening
again the casita is to aid a family
member who suffered quite a bit in
talking with the applicant
as a result of the recent fires there in
california and unemployment due to coved
so trying to get a new start
with family and get going in that
direction
the lot is definitely large enough to
accommodate the additional dwelling i'll
be showing you a site plan that
illustrates that
and again the buffer screen
as indicated by the applicant will be
maintained to the extent possible
and it will also shield
quite a bit of what you'll see in terms
of development on the property
this is a
modified site plan showing
part of the property in question this is
the main dwelling
you have a pull sorry for the
blurriness of of the
aerial but you got to pull here
you got
basically a carport workshop here and
another carport at this location
this little box in yellow is where the
applicant originally had them draw the
potential location of the casita
again it's shown here that it's 20 by 30
but overall it won't exceed 660 square
feet
as indicated
it will be able to meet a substantial
distance from the main dwelling it'll
easily meet the front required front
setback from spit street
and so really all we're talking about is
the allowance for an additional unit
this here
along the
southern portion of the slide this is
the shared access that i've referred to
it is currently the driveway
that the current property owners use to
gain access to their property
this is just a site plan showing the
survey
uh it was uh an older survey
xerox several times
and so it was a little difficult to to
enlarge and show the location of the
structure hence the previous
version of the site plan
here's a couple of photos
now these are google photos so they may
not show
existing conditions but
pretty much what you see is what you get
out there this is a shot looking
head on to the property in question you
can't even tell there's any development
beyond there
i had to take this uh pull this image
just to show the angle and show that
there is development this is that
driveway in question
and you see some development here
structure here and part of one right
there
and then this is looking
at
various directions along spit street
both north and south
just to show you what is
adjacent to the property in question
notice was sent to the surrounding
property owners and staff receive no
input or inquiry to date
so no one's no one's opposed it
and and so here we are
staff recommendation and findings
we recommended conditional approval uh
in that the proposed casita would be
subordinate in size that's one of the
condition
we've illustrated that that would be the
case
that the architectural style and at
least materials used for the casita be
reasonably compatible to the main
dwelling
and that much of the natural landscape
along spit street
to be retained so those were the
conditions that i have
no doubt the applicant would find
acceptable
the findings for the decision
by staff for recommendation by staff is
that the property is definitely large
enough to accommodate the proposed use
it would retain its subordinate nature
to the main dwelling
and
obviously we're trying for compatibility
assuming that you'd be able to see it
the buffer
will
definitely
limit any visual impact development
would would have on
folks along spit street or drive along
spit street
monetary considerations as you know
as a whole aren't allowed to be
considered
for
justification for variants however
when the alternatives
cause considerable monetary hardship in
the strict application of code
requirements they can be used
and in this instance it's not often but
in this instance a variance of this
nature is supported by the elevate las
cruces comprehensive plan
and that the use of the casita will help
achieve alternative housing styles and
missing middle housing for at least that
property
in that there will be two units as
opposed to the single unit
if approved the action would not be
contrary to section 3810k which is a
criteria for decisions
of the 2001 las cruces zoning code and
that of course references the monetary
considerations there
so your options this evening commission
is to vote yes and approve
the request
as presented vote no and deny it
should be noted that if you do that make
a motion for denial that you include any
findings of fact that are different than
those that i presented
in that those i presented are in favor
of the request
and that if you apply any conditions you
could vote yes with conditions and if
you apply any conditions you could use
those that staff has provided or any
that you deem appropriate
failure to include any
conditions in your motion will mean that
no conditions were applied so and that
concludes steph's presentation on this
case madam chair and i'll be happy to
stand for any questions
the applicant is in attendance and is
able to speak to any
issues
do any commissioners have questions for
mr benegas
does the applicant wish to say anything
thank you
thank you i just want you to know that
vincent has been a help through this
process to um
to
have you swear and refer before you can
speak is that okay oh okay
do you swear and affirm the testimony
you're about to give is the truth and
nothing but the truth under penalty of
law i do and then could you state your
name my name is paula tren i live at
2719 spit street las cruces
fine go ahead okay i just want to say
vincent has been a real help through
this process you know i've never applied
for anything like this before and when
we built the house with soledad canyon
they of course took care of everything
so
it's been it's been an interesting
process
i want you to know that
the casita will
not be a visual impact from spit street
there will be at least
15 feet of heavy mesquites as you see
along uh
spit street there and the
front door of the casita will
face inwards so
my daughter who's in the audience will
drive in park in the
carport
and have her little casita there and
hopefully they live there a long time
and help me as i get old and gray so
i appreciate it do you have any
questions
anybody have questions for mr
no thank you very much thank you madam
chair
and um now we go to public is there
anyone in the audience who would like to
uh say something
okay seeing none come back to the
commission anybody up here
want to comment
okay guess we're ready for a roll call
board remember bennett
i vote yes based on staff recommendation
site survey and the variants will meet
elevate las cruces
guerrero uh i vote yes as well uh based
on uh site drive and it meets
recommendations for staff and elevate
las cruces as well
board member renis
i vote yes and
as long as they follow all the codes
and keep it updated
and this it and
madam chairman this is to help a
relative right who's going through a bad
time now i think we're going to see many
other cases like this
come along long as it fits in the
neighborhood and
it'll be fine so once again i say yes
board member vega
i vote yes based on staff recommendation
it meets the missing middle housing for
the area and based on site visit
board member gordon
i vote yes based on state
recommendations with the conditions
my site visit it does comply with
elevate las cruces and i think the
purpose for which it's being built is
very admirable
and i hope that her your daughter will
enjoy living here in las cruces
chair thomas
i vote yes based on staff
recommendations and elevate las cruces
and also because we need a lot more of
this kind of housing in this city in
order to deal with
all the people who can't afford housing
this is happening all over in washington
and oregon the state law and oregon that
you can build accessory dwelling units
california so i've just been out there
looking into doing the same thing on my
son's properties pretty familiar with
this so
i'm glad we have a model now and we can
hope we can do more going forward thank
you
okay our next
case is a 950 cali day in in
in kanto sorry a variance request i need
a motion and a second to approve
i think mr guerrero make a motion to
approve
one second
okay we have a motion and a second to
approve the calyadan
encanto variance request and we have mr
banegas again
yes ben madden chair
a slight variation it's still a variance
request but this does involve 950
coyotes
case
21vo050096 current conditions on the
property
location i just identified it is a
single family residence
that was built in 1954 so it's a little
dated but nonetheless kept up very nice
it sits on .214 acres
in an existing subdivision that at least
in in terms of our information our data
information refers to casa linda acres
460 subdivision
and the property is zoned r1a which
again is our single family medium
density residential district
the zoning map shows the property in
question it's outlined here in red along
the
encanto you have brown road just to
orient you
to the north
you have valley drive
to the west
and
various streets circle drive et cetera
to the east
it sits obviously predominantly in an
r1a area in fact the area immediately
around it and further
east is r1a you have
the fronting properties along valley
drive are c2 zoning which is our
commercial
zoning district in our code
and so
there is a mixture but a high
prevalence of r1a zoning
immediately surrounding subject property
aerial map shows that
all the properties for the most part
that i see anyway are developed
you do have car dealerships along valley
drive but they are at least buffered
from this property by a couple of sets
of rows of housing
and that's
the general makeup of land use around
here so a lot of commercial and a lot of
residential
so what is the request well in this case
the request involves the side yard
setback it is a variance of four feet
eight inches to the required five feet
for a side yard setback in the r1a
zoning district
it's for
it's in order to accommodate a carport
that
what other eyes have to meet that five
foot setback because it is being
attached to the main dwelling
and uh the proposal is for it to be made
out of metal
uh four by four post it's a substantial
metal it's not just those
less
substantial carports that we have seen
out there made with fabric etc for shade
this one is going to have
our panel roofing it's going to have
four by four posts and beams in order to
support the structure and it will be
attached to the main house
the size of which is about 192 square
feet in area
and due to the proximity to the side
yard in terms of the setback
fire
department when they conducted their
review indicated that they'd have to be
made out of non-combustible material
which is fine and that the applicant is
seeking metal
for the construction material to be used
the justification for this variance or
request is quite simply the carport that
exists for the property is not
adequately sized for two vehicles it is
a home that's of older construction
and they had a single car carport
designed within it so the lot width is
simply not wide enough to accommodate
the carport without the setback request
the climate that we have here in las
cruces as you all know come july
august it sizzles a little bit
and so they're looking to not only
protect their vehicle from the elements
but try to help shade it and keep it
cool
and thereby lasting a little longer
the carport itself as
in discussions with the applicant will
have a color scheme that's similar or
or complementary i should say to the
existing home
in hopes of minimizing visual impacts
so this is the site plan
in question you have caye de luncanto
here
and you have
an existing driveway to the existing
carport single car carport in this
location here what is being proposed is
location of this proposed carport in
this location
they will be meeting the required 25
foot front yard setback
because they want to retain access as
shown here a little walkway
they are looking to connect by
establishing a form of breezeway with
the same size
members or similar members mental
members that will attach to the house
and so
the 16 by 12 foot carport
will fit but only if this setback is is
authorized and and
acceptable
now these are just sketches they're
simplistic but but nonetheless it's
going to be a flat roof type
construction
this is the side elevation showing the
front of the structure back of the
structure
indicating four by four metal uh post
and probably beams being used with our
panel up top
and of course a front elevation again
just showing a basic construction type
now some of these are this one here is a
google uh
pick or or scan
showing what used to be the one on the
right is showing more or less what has
been modified
they have poured some concrete here
which is fine
uh their sign is posted but you see
right laying next to the sign
the r panel that's the roofing material
that's to be used
in the construction if permitted
so there's slight modification to what
you see over here on the left but
nonetheless
the house is what you see is what you
get there
and again a couple of shots going
both directions along
cai de lancanto just showing you some of
the flavor of the neighborhood
notice was sent to the surrounding
properties and like the other variants
case staff received no input
or inquiry to date
so
from that perspective things look good
the applicant did approach
the adjoining neighbor most impacted by
this request and in talking with the
applicant the neighbor had no issue with
that they were not against what was
being proposed
so again conditional approval
is recommended by staff and
one of the concerns we had is that the
design however it's laid out was
particularly with the roof that it would
prohibit storm water from falling onto
the joining property
and due to the orientation of the roof
and then talking with our engineer who
reviews some of these proposals and some
of the plans
the discussion was satisfactory to our
engineer and they will be orienting the
panel to allow
flow
onto the applicant's property
ensuring that it doesn't cause a problem
for the neighbor
again the color scheme will be
complementary to the existing house
and the variants as requested
should only serve the purpose of the
proposed carport and not the entire side
yard so we're limiting the impact
should further development or
construction on the property be
considered
and the findings for oops findings for
this case
is that the proposed carport meets the
required front yard setback
and the remainder of the property
appears setback compliant
carport will blend to the extent
possible with the dwelling
compatibility wise and again the
adjoining property owner did not oppose
the request
the r panel orientation i touched on
that's a finding that i found it'll
retain storm water on site
and no input opposing it
the request has been made
and if approved once again action would
not be contrary to section 3810k
criteria for decisions of our 2001 las
cruces zoning code
again monetary considerations aren't
applied as a whole but if you
look at the options available to meet
the stated objectives of the applicant
and strict
application of the code provides that
financial hardship then you can consider
them
so your options this evening regarding
this case
is to approve the case
deny it if you deny it please state
findings that are contrary to what i've
just presented and that they are in
support
and you can vote yes with conditions and
again if you use any of staff conditions
or your own please include them in your
motion
or you can vote to table the request and
madam chair that concludes staff's
presentation
and i believe mr thomas is in attendance
he's the applicant
and he's able to answer any questions
you might have as well and i stand for
questions there any questions from the
commissioners from mr venegas
yes mr nichols
matter of chairing commissioners larry
nichols committee development director
for the record
although it albeit has been covered in
the presentation by
mr venegas
i would want to highlight to the
owner if the variance is approved
the carport will require a building
permit that's correct
the fact that it's uh
over a 120 square feet
so the variance would give you the
zoning permission but you would also
need to
obtain a building permit once you decide
to construct the property
thank you madam
madam chair
mr nichols
in talking with the applicant i did
share that same information with him
does the applicant wish to speak
thank you very much
okay
i need to swear you in okay do you swear
and affirm the testimony you're about to
give is the truth and nothing but the
truth under penalty of law
yes ma'am i do and would you state your
name edward thomas jr thank you go ahead
okay um
commission uh thank you very much for
hearing me and uh i just want to thank
you commission members for
for allowing me this chance to
improve my home
basically i
moved from texas
to here to las cruces because we love
the area and we we have family here
and the house that we moved from in el
paso
had two carports
well it had a garage and a carport i let
my mom park her car in the garage
because she's special to me
but i had a carport built at our el paso
home
and that's how you know i protected my
vehicle under the carport and i'd like
to do the same here
in las cruces
i'm familiar with las cruces
and i've uh uh luckily i've endured some
uh hail storms
which are infrequent here but still they
they they happen
and uh uh relatively unscathed but uh
i love my little pickup truck and i want
to i want to
keep it i want to shelter it from the
elements
and the thing that concerns me is is the
the hail storms uh during the summer
and that's
my main reason for you know
adding on adding this carport to my
my property
um
i'm you know i
want to improve my property i want to
make it look good i want to
blend in with the
surrounding neighborhood and uh so far
all of my neighbors have have uh
encouraged me so i
i feel privileged in in being able to
approach you and ask for this uh
variance and and uh to your your
question regarding the permit that's the
next step uh as mr venegas here has
instructed me and i i intend to uh
pursue that and and
and comply with all parts of the law
thank you i hadn't thought about hail
but that's a good point yes i've
encountered several
hail storms we do have hail storms here
yes any questions from the commissioners
for mr
thomas oh see none thank you very much
thank you anybody from the public who
wish to make a statement
see none
okay we'll come back to the
commissioners they'll be ready for a
roll call
board member bennett
i vote yes based on staff recommendation
and site survey as long as the carport
is designed so stormwater doesn't flow
over to the neighboring property i see
no problems board member guerrero
i vote yes as well based on staff
recommendations and site visit and uh
got the same concern too i'm sure you
and the neighbor have
uh agreed on what it's supposed to look
like
board member nice
i vote yes and i like the idea that
with this carport they're going to paint
it to blend in with the residents it
just won't look like a
metal roof sitting up there on the
property
former vega
[Music]
um i vote yes i appreciate that you
reached out to your neighbors to
to get there okay i also have a truck
that i'm very fond of and the hail
storms have me thinking about the same
thing
and then also based on staff
recommendation
board member gordon
i vote yes based on staff
recommendations with conditions my site
visit
it does comply with elevated las cruces
and i do understand your concern for
hail storms i know when uh unfortunately
i have a garage but sometimes when i'm
out i can see the damage that can be
done by them
so in that case i definitely vote yes
and good luck
chair thomas
i also vote yes based on staff
recommendations and a site visit and it
meets the objectives of the applicant
passes six to nothing
thank you
so the next item
got
moved to january so the next item after
that is commission commentary anybody
have any comments
just want to wish everybody a happy
thanksgiving have a good holiday
don't eat too much and we'll see you all
next month
harvey you beat me to the punch y'all
have a great thanksgiving
commissioner bennett you have to push
that button faster
i just want to say that next month will
be my last meeting commissioner flores
is
nominating someone else appointing
someone else
this person has a lot of experience with
planning and i think it'd be a good
addition to the commission
and then are there any staff
announcements
thank you madam chair larry nichols for
the record
and and commissioners uh
well i'm going to be the third party to
wish everyone here on the day of stay
to have a uh
a blessed and enjoyable thanksgiving
and uh you know we're at this uh time of
the year where we begin to enjoy some of
the traditional holidays
i would also
offer uh
just a few comments about the
current zoning code update we're calling
it realize las cruces
we have a consultant that has undertaken
to help staff with that
and the update is on schedule we've been
addressing the various components of the
zoning code and the one that's kind of
before us at the moment is the
subdivision section of the code
and we have involved
the
public outreach
and involved a number of developers and
builders
uh in an ad hoc committee to help us uh
update that code that were to be
workable for for the city
and then lastly i
i just want to pick up on a comment that
chair thomas i just made
uh it's going to be
difficult for us to see you depart the
commission
uh plenty of zoning commission chair
thomas you've made a tremendous
uh contribution
uh the city
uh the council
and in particular the community
development staff
has been a been a pleasure to work with
you and thank you for your sage
observations and advice
and we're going to have to do something
to give you a proper send-off don't do
that thank you
i know it's all right just something
that we have to remember
because our meeting next month will be
after christmas i want to wish everybody
a merry christmas
i want to get that in too but also i
will say my comments for next month from
commissioner thomas will be at her last
meeting
but we will miss her
thank you thank you for all those kind
words
i meant to i meant to retire so many
years ago but then i found out that the
city actually was going to do a new
comprehensive plan and that's what i ran
on the very first time i ran all those
years ago so
so i asked
councillor flores if she would appoint
me to the commission so i could be part
of the
doing the planning for the new
comprehensive plan and really have
appreciated all the work everybody's put
in with
commissioners and staff and i think we
have a great plan
so now it's time for me to depart
thank you very much
i will entertain
a motion
to
leave
anybody want to do that one i make a
motion to adjourn is there a second
i second all those in favor say i
i i
okay we are adjourned
you