PC Minutes 11-18-19

CITY OF DOVER PLANNING COMMISSION NOVEMBER 18, 2019 The Regular Meeting of the City of Dover Planning Commission was held on Monday, November 18, 2019 at 7:00 PM in the City Hall Council Chambers with Chairperson Dr. Jones presiding. Members present were Mr. Adams, Mr. Roach, Mr. Hartman, Mr. Baldwin, Mr. Tolbert, Mrs. Welsh, Ms. Maucher and Dr. Jones. Ms. Edwards was absent. Staff members present were Mrs. Dawn Melson-Williams and Mr. Julian Swierczek. Also present were Mr. Mark Dunkle and Mr. Harold Mitchell. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Ms. Maucher moved to approve the agenda as submitted, seconded by Mrs. Welsh and the motion was unanimously carried 8-0 with Ms. Edwards absent. APPROVAL OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES OF OCTOBER 21, 2019 Mr. Tolbert moved to approve the Planning Commission Meeting minutes of October 21, 2019, second by Mr. Baldwin and the motion was unanimously carried 8-0 with Ms. Edwards absent. COMMUNICATIONS & REPORTS Mrs. Melson-Williams stated that the next Planning Commission regular meeting is scheduled for Monday, December 16, 2019 in the City Council Chambers. In looking at the application that was filed and our intent to conduct the Public Hearing and formal review of the Final Draft of the Comprehensive Plan that evening, Staff is recommending a 6:00PM start time for that meeting. This is to be able to address both matters in a timely fashion and just keep the December meeting to one meeting rather than scheduling a second special meeting for the Comprehensive Plan. If there are no objections from any of the Planning Commissioners, she asks that you mark your calendars for a 6:00PM start that evening. Mrs. Melson-Williams provided an update on the regular City Council and various Committee meetings held on October 28 and 29, 2019. Mrs. Melson-Williams stated that Mr. Hugg is not with us this evening; he will out of the office for a couple of weeks for some medical procedures. She also noted that they participated in GIS Day last week. OPENING REMARKS CONCERNING DEVELOPMENT APPLICATIONS Mrs. Melson-Williams presented the audience information on policies and procedures for the meeting. OLD BUSINESS 1) Requests for Extensions of Planning Commission Approval: a. S-17-28 Multiplex at 299 College Road – Request for a One-Year Extension of the Planning Commission approval granted on November 20, 2017 for a Site 1

CITY OF DOVER PLANNING COMMISSION NOVEMBER 18, 2019 Development Plan application to permit construction of a three (3) unit multiplex residential building (multi-family dwelling) with adjoining parking spaces. The property consists of a 18,244 S.F. +/- parcel (0.42 +/- acres) and is zoned RM-2 (Medium Density Residence Zone). The property is located on the northwest side of College Road and adjacent to Conwell Street. The owner of record is Stephen E. Lumor (Enyam, LLC). Property Address: 299 College Road. Tax Parcel: ED-05- 067.00-02-26.00-000. Council District 4. Final Plan Approval was granted September 5, 2018. Representatives: None Mrs. Melson-Williams stated that this is a one-year request for Extension. This appeared before the Planning Commission in November 2017. They have moved through the Check Print Review process and Final Plan Approval. They have a Final Plan Approval that dates to September 2018 and that also included a Record Plan because they had some easements and right-of-way dedication that had to be achieved along College Road. It was also a subject of a Variance Application in its timeframe of plan review. The project itself did submit and was issued a Building Permit in late 2018. They received an extension of that Building Permit after six months’ time in June 2019 so they still have an active permit; however, they have not commenced construction. Under the rules in the Zoning Ordinance, they must seek an extension of their Planning Commission approval because while they have Final Plan Approval, they have not commenced construction. Of note, their DelDOT Entrance Plan for an entrance onto College Road remains in effect. It was previously approved and is in effect until 2021. Likewise, their Kent Conservation District permit for site disturbance is also valid for another couple of years. They are making a request for a One-Year Extension of the Planning Commission approval which is noted in the letter that was included in the packet. Mr. Adams questioned if there are any plans to move forward? Responding to Mr. Adams, Mrs. Melson-Williams stated that she is not sure that they gave Staff any reason why they had not commenced construction. They have certainly incurred costs at this point having paid for a permit that is still valid. They could commence activity at any time. She is not sure what is holding them up. Mrs. Welsh moved to approve S-17-28 Multiplex at 299 College Road for a One Year Extension, seconded by Mr. Adams and the motion was carried 8-0 by voice vote with Ms. Edwards absent. 2. C-17-04 House of Pride Offices at 45 South New Street – Re-evaluation Review for a Conditional Use Permit to convert an existing one-family dwelling structure into a philanthropic use as the administrative facility (offices) for House of Pride. The application was reviewed by the Planning Commission on August 21, 2017 with approval of the use conditioned upon a one-year review among other conditions. A one-year review was completed on October 15, 2018 with continued approval subject to a six- month review. Re-evaluation review was completed on May 20, 2019 with continued approval subject to a second six-month review. The property consists of a 9,090 SF +/- parcel. The property is zoned RG-1 (General Residence Zone). The property is located on the east side of South New Street, north of Reed Street, and south of Division Street. The 2

CITY OF DOVER PLANNING COMMISSION NOVEMBER 18, 2019 owner of record is House of Pride, Inc. Property Address: 45 South New Street. Tax Parcel: ED-05-077.05-03-05.00-000. Council District: 4. Representatives: None Mr. Swierczek stated that this is a review of a Conditional Use Review to convert an existing one-family dwelling structure into a philanthropic use as the administrative offices for the House of Pride. The property is zoned RG-1 (General Residence Zone). The property is located on the east side of South New Street, north of Reed Street, and south of Division Street. The application was initially heard by the Planning Commission at the August 21, 2017 meeting where it received conditional approval. It has returned to the Planning Commission on several occasions. The most recent review of this was in May 2019 where the Planning Commission requested that it return after a further six-month period for another review which is why it is being presented tonight. It is noted by Planning Staff that these periodic reviews have been for the confirmation that progress is being made in meeting the conditions of approval as laid out by the Planning Commission and not an actual review for an extension of approval. The conditional approval that was originally set to expire in August 2019, but the applicant had requested a One Year Extension for approval which was granted. Staff notes that since the meeting, the applicant has been making significant progress in the plan review process. The most recent plan submitted to Staff appears to be meeting Planning Staff’s satisfaction. They are waiting on confirmation of approvals from the other review agencies before they can actually achieve the ultimate Final Plan Approval. Mrs. Welsh moved to approve C-17-04 House of Pride Offices at 45 South New Street to include the recommendations of Planning Staff to not require any further reviews based on this progress to date, seconded by Ms. Maucher and the motion was carried 8-0 by voice vote with Ms. Edwards absent. NEW APPLICATIONS 1) S-19-14 Northgate Center Lot 1: Office and Retail Building at 101 Stover Boulevard (Revised) – Public Hearing and Review of a Revised Site Development Plan Application to construct a two-story 27,665 SF office and retail building together with associated site improvements. The project is Lot 1 located in the Northgate Center (previously known as the Stover Professional Campus). The subject property is 2.0 acres +/- and located at the northeast corner of Stover Boulevard and Bay Road. The property is zoned C-4 (Highway Commercial Zone) and subject to the SWPOZ (Source Water Protection Overlay Zone). The owner of record is 605 South Bay Road, LLC. Property Address: 101 Stover Boulevard. Tax Parcel: ED-05-077.00-03-01.00-000. Council District 2. Waiver Request: Reduction of Arterial Street Buffer. The property was part of the development of Subdivision Application SB-05-05F Stover Professional Park. Representatives: Mr. Mark Dunkle, Parkowski Guerke & Swayze PA; Mr. Harold Mitchell, Karins Engineering Mr. Swierczek stated that this is a review of a Revised Site Development Plan Application to 3

CITY OF DOVER PLANNING COMMISSION NOVEMBER 18, 2019 construct a two-story 27,665 SF office and retail building together with associated site improvements. This application was originally submitted for review to the Planning Commission at the July 2019 meeting; however, the plan was withdrawn by the applicant from that meeting pending Site Plan revisions per comments made during the initial DAC Review Process. The project as presented today is located on Lot 1 located in the Northgate Center previously known as the Stover Professional Campus. The subject property is approximately 2 acres and located at the northeast corner of Stover Boulevard and Bay Road. The property is zoned C-4 (Highway Commercial Zone) and subject to the SWPOZ (Source Water Protection Overlay Zone). It should be noted that typically the SWPOZ (Source Water Protection Overlay Zone) has more restrictive zoning and bulk regulations applied to it. Staff has noted a previous letter with a prior determination with regards to the SWPOZ (Source Water Protection Overlay Zone) as it applies to the Stover Professional Campus or currently the Northgate Complex, of which this proposal is a part of. Specifically, it notes that the land was laid out and approved according to the rules in place at the time of the subdivision. So Staff does support that the use restrictions for the SWPOZ (Source Water Protection Overlay Zone) be observed but not necessarily the bulk restrictions. The applicant has submitted elevations for the proposed building. The front of the building faces Bay Road while the back of the building faces the adjacent hotel property. The applicant has not identified any tenants as of yet for the space. The parking requirements for the C-4 (Highway Commercial Zone) is one per 300 square feet of floor area or one space per employee, whichever is greater. The number of employees has not been identified; however, getting the square footage of the building, there would be a parking requirement of at least ninety-three parking spaces and the applicant is showing ninety-four. This is within the 75% maximum lot coverage. The Site Plan shows two entrances to the site. Both entrances are from the shared drive aisle with the hotel and these are also full movement entrances. The drive aisle is located to the east of the property and connects from Stover Boulevard to the south and also through to the Blue Hen Corporate Center. The applicant has noted one waiver request with their plans in accordance with the Zoning Ordinance, Article 5 Section 7.33 requesting to be able to reduce the width of the required Arterial Street Buffer from thirty feet to twelve feet. Staff is recommending that the Planning Commission approve the waiver request as Staff believes that this lesser buffer would be in character with the immediate area. Staff also recognizes the fifty- six (56) foot grass area located in the right-of-way between the edge of paving of South Bay Road and front property line. Finally, requiring the full buffer would eliminate much of the capacity for the site to accommodate the parking requirements for the ninety-three (93) in the site design. There are limited options for the relocation of those twenty-eight (28) parking spaces that would have to be moved. Just as a reminder to the Planning Commission that you should act upon the waiver request as part of any motion regarding this project application or as a separate motion as necessary. Mr. Hartman stated that on the restrictions required by the Zoning Ordinance for the SWPOZ (Source Water Protection Overlay Zone), what input does Planning have on that after the site is built? Since the tenants have not been selected, will the City be interested in the tenants meeting the requirements of the Zoning Ordinance? Responding to Mr. Hartman, Mr. Swierczek stated absolutely. As he mentioned earlier, the applicants have not yet identified any tenants for the spaces; however, whenever a tenant would propose to move in they would have to apply for a Building Permit which the Planning Office reviews. They would have to ensure that any potential tenant or use in that building would be allowed within the regulations of the SWPOZ 4

CITY OF DOVER PLANNING COMMISSION NOVEMBER 18, 2019 (Source Water Protection Overlay Zone). Mr. Dunkle stated that they agree with all of the DAC comments and all of the recommendations of Staff. Just a tiny bit of history, they came in with a plan in the summer and got a lot of feedback. They made quite a few changes to that plan to come to this plan tonight based on Staff comments. They were all good comments and they can fit them in. They do have the Waiver Request. They are asking for a waiver on the Buffer from the highway because the right-of-way is so deep. It really doesn’t add much, and it helps them with the parking. They still think they have a good Buffer and Staff is recommending it. The idea is to bring some office and retail to this area. You already have lots of people working in Stover Park with Chesapeake Utilities and Delaware Solid Waste Authority and you have people living in the apartments behind the mall so they think this is the way to go. The engineer and owners are here tonight for any questions. Dr. Jones opened a public hearing and after seeing no one wishing to speak, closed the public hearing. Mr. Tolbert moved to approve S-19-14 Northgate Center Lot 1: Office and Retail Building at 101 Stover Boulevard (Revised) as presented to us and that the approval include the waiver for the Arterial Street Buffer requirement because that waiver does not cause a problem in the area and is consistent with the other buffers in that area, seconded by Mrs. Welsh and the motion as carried 8-0 by roll call vote. Mr. Tolbert voting yes. Mrs. Welsh voting yes; in accordance with the DAC Comments for the project. Ms. Maucher voting yes; based on Staff recommendations. Mr. Adams voting yes. Mr. Roach voting yes; he thinks that it brings nice visual aesthetics to the area and it fulfills the need for that area in regards to the apartments and hotels and the people working there. Mr. Hartman voting yes; based on the recommendations in the DAC. Mr. Baldwin voting yes; based on the aforementioned statements. Dr. Jones voting yes; based upon recommendations of Staff. It will be a welcomed addition to that area. NEW BUSINESS 1) Project for Dover’s 2019 Comprehensive Plan a. Release DRAFT Plan (dated 10/1/2019) is available for review. See Project website: https://www.cityofdover.com/2019-comprehensive-plan Mrs. Melson-Williams stated that as they reported to the Commission last month, the Release DRAFT version of the plan is out. You can see it on the City’s webpage for the 2019 Comprehensive Plan Project. There is a link to both the text and the map series for the document. b. Update on Public Outreach Events for 2019 Comprehensive Plan: i.Open House Event – October 23, 2019 ii.Visitation Event – October 24, 2019 Mrs. Melson-Williams stated that since your October meeting they have had two public outreach events regarding the plan to start to introduce the Release DRAFT and maps and all to the public. There was an Open House Event held on Wednesday, October 23, 2019 at the Library. They had a number of people stop by and see them. They actually did a presentation at that meeting to 5

CITY OF DOVER PLANNING COMMISSION NOVEMBER 18, 2019 introduce them or remind them about the project. They did receive some comments from people at that event. The very next day they held a Visitation Event on Thursday, October 24, 2019. That was an all-day opportunity for people to stop by City Hall. They had all of the maps on display and Staff was available to answer any questions. That event was not as successful as they had hoped. They did not have a lot of visitors to that. They had a number of Staff in the building stop by to see what all of the crazy colorful maps meant. c. Update on Next Steps i. PLUS Review Comments ii. Formal Review Process and Public Hearings Mrs. Melson-Williams stated that they are in the final stretch. They received their PLUS Review comments on November 8, 2019 which was about a week and a half early. It is about an eighteen page letter. There were a number of things that they commented on which they deem as certification issues which are corrections to be made to the Plan and then a series of recommendations to either correct data or make things better in the Plan itself. They have comments that were received from the Office of State Planning, from DelDOT, from the State Housing Authority, from the various sections of DNREC, comments from DART, and comments from the State Historic Preservation Office. Staff has been working to tackle those comments at this point because they are in motion to prepare what they are calling the Final DRAFT Plan which includes all of the chapters and map series. They are working to prepare that to be ready to be issued the very beginning of December. Be prepared as that document will be coming out. With the release of a Final DRAFT Plan they move into the formal review process which means that they will be doing the formal review and the public hearings on the document at the December 16, 2019 Planning Commission meeting so she encourages all of the Commissioners to be here. It will be the opportunity to review and take action on the Final DRAFT. There are a series of individual Requests that have been received that the Commissioners will act on individually because they make certain Requests to particular properties and how they are depicted on some of the maps. Your recommendation will carry on to City Council who will conduct their formal review and public hearings in early January 2020. Ultimately, if everything runs smoothly that should put us in good stead for meeting the February 2020 deadline for certification of a new plan. If you have not had a chance to take a look at the Release DRAFT she would encourage you to go on the website and take a look at that. The Final DRAFT is not going to be substantially different. There will be minor changes here and there, but you will be able to get a sense of all of the chapters that they are dealing with as well as the map series which is like fifteen or so maps at this point. You have seen pieces of it off and on over the last two years. The document has come together well. It continues to be a significant work item for the Planning Office but they hope to move through that process and have a new plan within a few months. Ms. Maucher questioned if the PLUS letter was available for review? Responding to Ms. Maucher, Mrs. Melson-Williams stated that it is. Staff will likely give the Commissioners a copy of it as part of the overall package. It should be posted on the Office of State Planning’s webpage. They can probably upload it to their project page as well. A lot of it is corrections like them calling something the wrong thing or they needed to talk a little bit more about certain topics; that’s what the content of that letter is. They felt very good at the meeting. They heard 6

CITY OF DOVER PLANNING COMMISSION NOVEMBER 18, 2019 initial comments and then the letter reflected that. They were pleased with our efforts. Nothing major or astronomically wrong with it just a few things to make it better. Ms. Maucher questioned if they would be sending out a redline version of the Plan to reflect the changes? Responding to Ms. Maucher, Mrs. Melson-Williams stated that it will not be a redline version; it will be issued as a Final DRAFT of the document. You will receive a paper hard copy of it this time. They will certainly try to get it to the Commissioners before the regular packet day if they can. Mr. Tolbert questioned if this was a five-year document? Responding to Mr. Tolbert, Mrs. Melson-Williams stated that technically it is a ten-year plan. It is now a ten-year plan under the State Code. They do encourage a review at the five-year timeframe. If there are any significant changes that have occurred in the City that would cause a different direction or vision or portions of the Plan, you can certainly put forth revisions at that time. The Plan also sets forth a yearly Comprehensive Plan amendment process so if there for some reason development or annexation potential drastically changed in an area, there is an opportunity to revisit the Plan at any point during that ten-year time frame. Mr. Roach thanked Staff for all of their hard work on this Plan and he is glad that it is coming to an end so that everyone can relax. Meeting adjourned at 7:42 PM. Sincerely, Kristen Mullaney Secretary 7