Approved Minutes - 2001-07-16I. CALL TO ORDER
City of Lake Oswego
Development Review Commission Minutes
July 16, 2001
Chair Douglas P. Cushing called the Development Review Commission meeting of
Monday, July 16, 2001 to order at 7:02 PM in the Council Chambers of City Hall, at
380 "A" Avenue, Lake Oswego, Oregon.
II. ROLL CALL
Members present were Chair Cushing, Julie Morales, Sheila Ostly*, Bruce Miller, Dave
Powers and Bill Tierney. Vice Chair Nan Binkley was excused.
Staff present were Elizabeth Jacob, Associate Planner; Evan Boone, Deputy City
Attorney; and Jean Hall, Senior Secretary
III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
None.
IV. APPROVAL OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS AND ORDER
None.
V. PUBLIC HEARING
LU 01-0033, a request by Morse & Newman, Inc., for modification of a Conditional
Use permit and a development permit to construct a two-story, 2,127 square foot
addition to the existing Les Schwab Tire Center store. The addition will contain parts
storage and employee lunch, locker and conference rooms. Also proposed is a new
2,400 square foot canopy over a service entry area. A Class 2 variance is requested to
LODS 2.020(7) to allow the building setback from a public street (Boones Ferry Road)
to be 80 feet (existing). The site is located at: 17171 Boones Ferry Rd., Tax Lot(s)
3704 and 3800 of Tax Map 21E 18BA. The staff coordinator is Elizabeth Jacob,
Associate Planner.
Chair Cushing opened the public hearing and explained the procedures and time limits
to be followed. He asked commissioners to report any ex parte contacts, site visits,
biases or conflicts of interest.
*Ms. Ostly joined the meeting at 7:04 PM
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Minutes of July 15, 2001
Mr. Cushing, Mr. Powers, Ms. Ostly and Mr. Tierney reported they had been Les
Schwab customers. Ms. Morales reported her office was adjacent to the site. Mr.
Miller indicated he had visited the business many times. No one challenged any
commissioner's right to hear the application.
Elizabeth Jacob, Associate Planner, presented the staff report. She related the
applicants were requesting modification of their Conditional Use Permit in order to
construct another building and install a canopy over the existing service entry, and a
Class 2 Variance to the Building Design Standard that regulated the setback from a
public street. She advised that the applicant had met all conditions related to a previous
approval allowing the site to be rezoned to IP to allow a tire service store there. She
explained the use was a permitted use and the existing building met IP Zone setback
requirements. She advised the proposed 21 foot high building, which was to be located
behind the existing building, would satisfy the zone's setback and height requirements
related to developments adjacent to a residential zone.
Ms. Jacob addressed the Conditional Use criteria. She advised that the Code allowed an
application to be reviewed as a minor modification if it met the four criteria discussed in
the staff report. She noted the applicant would not increase the intensity of any use at
the site because the improvements were for the convenience of current employees and
would not increase the level of customer use. She clarified that the addition was to
accommodate staff meetings, provide an employee lunchroom and serve as a parts
storage area. She concluded that the staff had found the application did not intensity the
current use, it could be reviewed as a minor modification, and there was no need to
readdress all development standards and Comprehensive Plan policies. She then
discussed the Building Design Standard. She advised that the proposed new structure
would complement the existing building because it's painted white brick or block with
color striping would be identical to the existing Les Schwab business. She said the
proposed entrance canopy would complement the existing building; however, she
recommended that the applicant be required to show more canopy lighting detail
(including photo metrics) during the building permit process to ensure the lighting
would not impact properties across the street. She recommended that the applicant be
allowed a variance from the public street setback requirement for the new building so
they could locate it behind the existing structure, instead of in front of it. She said
imposition of the public street setback requirement would impose a hardship on the
applicant because the new building would then conflict with the customer service bays
in front of the existing building and would require a redesign of the site. She advised
that location of the new building behind the existing building would have minimal
impact on neighbors and only one side of the new building would be visible from
BOONES FERRY RD.. She noted the residential neighborhood was more than 100 feet
away and separated from the site by railroad tracks and a dense vegetation buffer. She
concluded that the application met all variance criteria. However, she recommended a
condition to specify that the hardship was premised on continued use of the existing
building and if that changed, or if more than 50% of the existing building was
destroyed, the hardship would expire. She advised the applicant's proposed colors were
within the Development Standards. Ms. Jacob then addressed the Landscaping
Standard. She advised the site met the 15% minimum landscape requirement for
industrial development and the new building, which would feature a small amount of
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perimeter landscaping was to be located on a part of the site that is currently an
impervious area. She noted that no trees had been proposed for removal.
Ms. Jacob recommended that the application be approved subject to the conditions
recommended in the staff report.
Applicant
Steve Roberts, 12976 SW Bradley Lane, Tigard, OR, 97224, stated that he was
Assistant Manager of the Les Schwab Lake Grove Tire Center. He said the business
intended to create an employee training center and lunchroom that would accommodate
their 38 existing employees. He explained the employees currently were limited to a
small room in the rear of the existing facility that was not adequate for all staff and was
also adjacent to the restrooms. He anticipated the new lunchroom would allow
everyone to eat in peace and enjoy his or her lunch. He clarified that the existing space
would continue to serve as the manager's office. He explained for the Commissioners
that the new canopy would provide a rain -protected area for customer to receive their
cars after the vehicles had been serviced and no service was to be provided on vehicles
under the canopy.
Bill Morse, Morse and Newman, 7085 SW Ventura Drive, Tigard, OR, 97223,
explained that HVAC equipment would be mounted on the building rooftop and the
building parapet was tall enough to screen it from view of pedestrians or drivers. He
said the applicant could also design it as an interior system that would be installed in the
parts room and ducted outside. He clarified the parapet was two feet tall in the rear.
Ms. Morales and Mr. Cushing examined the applicant's drawing and pointed out that
the staff had recommended a condition that the equipment was to be screened. Mr.
Morse introduced his partner, Anthony Newman, and thanked the City for allowing the
application to proceed smoothly.
Opponents
None
Neither for nor against
None
Rebuttal
None
No one present requested that the hearing be continued to allow submission of
additional evidence or testimony. The applicant waived their right to additional time to
prepare a final written argument. Chair Cushing closed the public hearing and opened
deliberations.
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Deliberations
Ms. Morales observed that an addition to the rear of the site would not present a
significant change from the street. Mr. Tierney opined the site was a well-maintained
and functional facility and the canopy would not add character to the building. He
recalled the Commissioners had conveyed their disapproval of proposed color schemes
during other recent applications and he asked why that had not happened in this case.
Ms. Morales explained that the criteria for modifying the existing development were
different that those that were applied to a recent applicant that had proposed a new
building across the street. Mr. Cushing observed that if Les Schwab had proposed to
develop a new site they would have been subjected to more stringent standards. He
recalled that the Commission had reviewed the Shell Oil and Chilies Restaurant
applications according to the more stringent standards. Mr. Cushing and Ms. Morales
also advised that if the Les Schwab site had never featured a canopy, or if they were
asking to change their colors, that request would be scrutinized differently.
Ms. Morales moved for approval of LU 01-0033, subject to the conditions
receommended by the staff. Ms. Ostly seconded the motion and it passed with Mr.
Cushing, Ms. Morales, Mr. Miller, Ms. Ostly, Mr. Powers and Mr. Tierney voting yes.
Ms. Binkley was not present for the vote. Mr. Cushing announced the vote on the
findings, conclusions and order would be held on August 6, 2001.
VI. GENERAL PLANNING & OTHER BUSINESS
Foothills Road Improvement District Committee
The Commission generally agreed to recommend to the City Council that Ms. Morales
be appointed to the Foothills Road Improvement District Committee.
Dr. Fuller's Office
Ms. Jacob recalled that approval of the application for Dr. Fuller's office building on
Quarry Road was to be subject to a condition that the building was not to be painted
pink. She showed the Commissioners an example of the color the applicant had
originally proposed and an example of the color the applicant had proposed in his recent
application for a building permit. The Commissioners viewed the color samples in the
natural light outside of the Council Chambers and determined that they favored a brick
color and the applicant should use a color with a little more brown and gray.
Block 138
Ms. Jacob reported that application had not yet been submitted to the City.
School Buildings Residing Project
Ms. Jacob confirmed the School District was residing some school buildings and the
staff was in the process of making a determination of whether the change of materials
should be reviewed by the Commission.
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Block 136
Ms. Ostly and Ms. Morales commented that actual construction of Block 136 did not
appear as they had envisioned it during the review process. Ms. Morales described it as
a "box with some caps." Ms. Ostly recalled that the Commissioners had asked the
applicants to feature hips and gables on the retail building roof instead of the originally
proposed flat roof and she perceived the actual result looked like those features were
simply dropped on the building. The two commissioners suggested the City reconsider
Downtown Design Standards and whether the English Cottage scale was appropriate so
close to the street. The Commission acknowledged that they could only interpret
existing regulations and were not allowed to change them.
Mary's Woods
At the Commissioner's request, the staff agreed to investigate whether changes some
Commissioners had observed north of the driveway into Mary's Woods was at a level
that should be reviewed by the Commission.
VII. ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business, Chair Cushing adjourned the meeting at 7:40 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Jean Hall
Senior Secretary
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