Planning and Zoning Commission backs revised River Park replat and recommends rezone to council, 4-2

The Planning and Zoning Commission approved a revised plat for lots in the River Park addition and recommended the rezone of the same area to City Council by a 4-2 vote on a motion Wednesday.

The commission approved the plat after a staff response and discussion about access, fire apparatus turning space and setbacks; later, after a lengthy public discussion with the developer, the commission voted to recommend the rezone to the City Council by roll call: Megan — Aye; Brian — Nay; Brooks — Aye; Rob — Nay; Alyssa — Aye; Michael — Aye (4–2).

The recommendation followed a developer revision presented by Jordan Heffner of VanBuskirk Companies of Sioux Falls and developer representative Steve Van Buskirk. Heffner said the developer “revised both the residential and the commercial parcels, putting all 4 of the residential parcels together, to show a commercial driveway on both sides” and eliminated a center driveway that previously ran between the four residential parcels.

Commissioners and staff raised safety and compatibility concerns. One commissioner said the parcel “is an open parking lot” now but warned approving a plat without verifying setbacks could place existing structures in violation of rear or side-yard requirements. City staff noted that the plat application included an exhibit and that staff had checked for nonconformance. Patrick (city planning staff) told the commission the fire department — a volunteer department in this jurisdiction — is generally provided development plans as a courtesy and that “these meet city standards,” but commissioners pressed whether turning movements for fire apparatus and the length of dead-end access had been confirmed.

Commissioners repeatedly raised the potential for commercial truck traffic to use a residential street as a shortcut if commercial parcels back onto a double-loaded residential street. One commissioner said the parcel’s new layout still left a risk that delivery trucks or semi-trailers could use the residential street and noted that most communities limit dead-end streets to about 250 feet; this parcel’s access was described in the discussion as near 500 feet. Developer representatives replied they would provide mutual access easements and additional curb cuts intended to reduce the need for delivery traffic to drive through the residential area.

Technical clarifications emerged in the discussion: under the city’s General Business (GB) district standards cited in the hearing, side-yard setbacks for GB property are 7 feet but increase to 15 feet where a GB parcel abuts residential zoning; a corridor study for Holly Boulevard requires arterial curb cuts to be 300 feet apart, though staff said ride-in/ride-out access is possible with medians; one driveway concept shown on the developer’s sketch was reported as 56 feet wide. Developers described typical lot and building depths they expect to accommodate — for example, an 80-foot-deep commercial building and typical strip development dimensions — and said they planned four residential units (fourplexes) as a transition between commercial frontage and deeper commercial lots.

The commission discussed design trade-offs: several members said the revised plan is preferable to the earlier layout that routed a road between residential parcels, and one commissioner said the fourplex option was acceptable as a way to put otherwise unused depth to productive use. Another commissioner said the commission’s role is to try to minimize commercial traffic on residential streets through design and that the new layout represented an effort to respond to the commission’s earlier concerns.

The commission approved the plat on a motion “based on the response received from city staff” and later made the motion to recommend the rezone; the rezone recommendation passed by roll call 4–2. The record shows Rob and Brian voted against the rezone. The developer team indicated they plan to continue filing plats for commercial parcels and that additional plats and site plans will return to the city as the project proceeds.

The commission’s discussion included several practical suggestions from the applicant, including posting signage to direct delivery vehicles to intended access points and using mutual access easements to control routes through the development. Staff and the developer said additional plat and site plan review, and coordination with the fire department, will occur as each commercial parcel is submitted.

The commission’s action sends the rezone to City Council with the commission’s recommendation; the council will consider the rezone at its public hearing and subsequent readings.

The developer representatives at the meeting included Jordan Heffner (VanBuskirk Companies) and Steve Van Buskirk. Patrick (city planning staff) and Tammy (city staff) participated in the hearing and provided technical responses to the commission’s questions.