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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2010 10 10 Other Handout for Agenda Item 502Date: October 10, 2011 This document from Ms. Terry Scarlata was noted for the Record during the discussion of Public Hearings Agenda Item "502" at the October 10, 2011 City Commission Regular Meeting. �1���1`�IE�► ���° �• % �'01� CtTY OF WINI"Ef2 SPRINGS October 6, 2011 OFFfCE OF THE CITY C�EFiK - �= �1 �C?C �Lj �f CL'f� �G� To: City Commissioners Jean Hovey, Rick Brown, Gary Bonner, Cade Resnick, ���,Yrd'yS�cu�r.5c.� Joanne Krebs .�-���;�.��,� ��T�i Mayor Charles Lacey City Manager Kevin Smith City Attorney Anthony Garganese From: Terry Scarlata Subject: Ordinance No. 2011-08 Home Occupations I have concerns regarding the changes you propose for home occupations. Most of the hames built in the older neighborhoods did not consider home occupations when they were approved by the Commission. This is especially true for developments where the streets are narrow and there are no sidewalks. The only indication there was any consideration for the safety of children and pedestrians were in the HOA documents which limited or prohibited business use in the homes. And now I understand that you're not only permitting home occupations under PUD designations, but you're setting the allowable use for home occupations at 30% of the air conditioned area of the residence. I don't know if these regulations take precedent over HOA documents, but in case they do I thought it best to err on the side of caution and write this letter of concern. Point One: There are two statements in Article V to bring to your attention: Section 20-452(a)8 states that "No traffic/parking shall be generated by the home occupation or home office in greater volumes than would normally be expected in a residential neighborhood." Yet, in Section 20-452(a)6p, it states that "group instruction for more than two people" is not considered home occupations. That would mean that group instruction for up to two people does meet the qualification. In other words, it's inevitable that traffic will increase in the neighborhood because people are allowed to provide instruction in their home. In private communities which were not engineered for this kind of exposure, we may have problems in the future depending on how many neighbors opt to go into a business that requires customers to come to their homes. That risk increases if there is back to back instruction scheduled throughout the day. That takes me to the next point. Point Two: By relying on a fixed percentage (30%) to determine the allowable area for home occupation, you are not considering a risk factor which deserves special consideration. Take for example, the house on 1008 Nancy Circle. The property appraiser's office lists the living space at 5399 sq. feet. Thirty percent of that home is 1620 sq. ft. That's like fitting a small commercial building inside that home. Now add that factor to the one I just mentioned—narrow streets with no sidewalks—and you get a worse case scenario. It's a very real situation that you need to consider because the cul de sac in front of that house is one of the few places where children are allowed to play in this community without being harassed by the neighbors. With this new regulation you are introducing another risk factor, which none of us in this community need. Presently, I have no reason to believe the current occupants of 1008 Nancy Circle intend to use their home for anything but residential use, but there's always the fear that the next owners will look at that commercial looking building and come up with other ideas. In conclusion, you can reduce the exposure you are bringing into these badly engineered communities with the following two changes: (1) Put a cap on the square footage allowed for home occupations to keep McMansions from further overpowering a neighbarhood; and, (2) Put a cap on the number of people per day and/or per week who are allowed in a home occupation for group instruction to control the traffic flow. By setting tangible limits, you will give neighbors recourse to control the excesses they're subjected to by their neighbors.