CITY OF CRESTVIEW HILLS

MINUTES - REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING

August 10, 2000

CALL TO ORDER - With the Pledge of Allegiance and a silent prayer, Mayor Paul W. Meier called the meeting to order at 7:30 PM.

ROLL CALL - Present were Messrs. Ralph Laird, Harold Ries, Joe Maloney, Frank Sommerkamp, David Kramer and Mrs. Robin Huller.

APPROVAL OF AGENDA - Mayor Meier noted that the Ordinance number listed under Old Business, Item A, should be 2000-7-1. Approved as amended. Ayes carried.

Motion: Mr. Ries Second: Mr. Sommerkamp

APPROVAL OF MINUTES - For the regular council meeting of July 13, 2000. Mr. Sommerkamp noted that the first item under the Public Works committee report should read that Lookout Farm Drive will be inspected for possible repair with concrete or blacktop, but it has not been completed at this time. Accepted as amended. Ayes carried.

Motion: Mr. Sommerkamp Second: Mr. Laird

CITIZENS AND GUESTS

None noted.

CITY ADMINISTRATOR’S REPORT

Mr. Celarek reported on the following:

1. A reminder that there is no on-street parking from 3AM to 6AM within Crestview Hills. Signs have been installed in thirteen locations throughout the City as a posted reminder.

2. Neighborhood Watch/Crime Prevention signs have been installed at five locations, with several more soon to follow.

3. Notification of Council that Ms. Judy Cox, Administrative Asst., received certification from the Municipal Clerks Institute, which required three years and 100+ hours of training.

4. The NKADD will be holding their annual dinner on 8/21 at Receptions on Donaldson Rd at 6PM.

5. The N. Ky. Chamber of Commerce will hold their annual dinner on 9/21.

6. The City of Crestview Hills will sponsor an ice cream social to be held 9/1 in the parking lot adjacent to the City Building.

7. Letters from residents in the College Park and Lookout Farm areas were read regarding the trip to Shaker Village.

OLD BUSINESS

A. Safety – Ordinance 2000-7-1

Mayor Meier introduced Ordinance 2000-7-1, which amends section 72.06 of the Crestview Hills Code of Ordinances pertaining to parking on City streets. Item B was added to provide exemptions for those experiencing extraordinary circumstances whereby driveway parking might not be possible. Mr. Maloney made the motion to accept Ordinance 2000-7-1 as written, seconded by Mr. Laird. Ayes carried.

B. Zoning – Ordinance 2000-8-1

Mr. Celarek introduced this ordinance to amend section 10.11 HLC zone for conditional uses. The proposed changes made to KC/MP/ZC were to add item B under section 10.11 which would provide for conditional uses such as an art studio, music instruction studio, interior design showroom, or photographic studio and the standards for the aforementioned. KC/MP/ZC recommended that no additions be made to this section of the Zoning Code. Upon review the Economic Development Committee recommended the additions to the affected section as follows:

· CONDITIONAL USES: No building or occupancy permit shall be issued for any of the following nor shall any of the following uses be permitted until and unless the location of said uses shall have been approved by the Board of Adjustment, as set forth in Section 9.14 of this ordinance.

o Studios for the following:

§ Art Studio

§ Interior design showrooms

o Standards for studios: In order to provide compatible uses in the HLC district, the following standards are set forth:

§ No processes and/or equipment shall be used or goods sold which are objectionable by reason of odor, dust, smoke, fumes, noise, and vibration

§ Hours of operation shall be limited to 9AM to 9PM

§ There shall be no warehousing of merchandise

§ Preserve historic characteristics of the district

This is considered first reading of Ordinance 200-8-1 which would amend section 10.11 of the Zoning Code with the addition of item D and all corresponding subheaders.

C. Economic Development

Mr. Celarek introduced David Cole, owner of Top Flight Gymnastics, and Don Martin, construction supervisor, for explanation of the facility’s proposed addition. After brief explanation, Mr. Celarek noted staff considerations as follows:

CONSIDERATIONS:

· Open-space requirements of 30% (32,670 sq. ft.) is met.

· Fifty-foot rear yard setback is met. Drawing should be changed to denote rear yard setback of 50 feet instead of 40 feet.

· No landscaping is shown. Need new landscaping plan with rear screening before final approval.

· Off Street parking:

o Currently there are five existing spaces in front of the building line in use. This is inappropriate because they are in the front yard setback area.

o No parking spaces are permitted in 50 foot setback for front yard. Plans show 7 improper spaces. Therefore, there are 64 spaces available. This produces 1 space per 233.3 square feet of building area. (15039 sq.ft. / 64 = 233.3)

o Need 10 foot setback for parking on east property line. Need to show dimensions of parking spaces and aisle areas.

5. Drainage calculations need to be re-checked.

RECOMMENDATION:

Staff recommends approval of the expansion contingent upon submitting a new landscaping plan with rear yard screening, re-check of drainage calculations, and annual review of parking requirements. Parking spaces shown on the site plan (minus 7 spaces in the front yard area) are acceptable at this time, but the need for additional parking spaces is subject to an annual evaluation by the city’s zoning administrator.

Mr. Kramer noted that the Economic Development Committee recommended approval of the project based upon concerns stated in staff recommendations be addressed by Top Flight Gymnastics and made the motion stating the same. Motion seconded by Mr. Sommerkamp. Ayes carried.

D. Zoning

Mr. Celarek recapped that at the July Council meeting, Mayor Meier noted that a text amendment was needed under section 9.18 A 9b, which originally allowed a 500 sq. ft. outdoor bathhouse. At the Economic Development committee meeting of July 11, it was decided that an amendment was needed when a building permit was submitted for a 240 sq. ft. bathhouse. The recommendation from the committee was to amend the zoning code to 250 sq. ft. Much discussion ensued regarding a fair size for an outdoor bathhouse. Mr. Maloney made the motion that City staff submit a zoning text amendment limiting the size of an outdoor bathhouse to 200 sq. feet in section 9.18 A 9b and to double check upon submission of a building permit that there is either an accessory building or bathhouse but not both per street address. Mrs. Huller seconded the motion.

Mr. Celarek informed council that the text amendment was submitted to KC/MP/ZC and will be reviewed at the September 7^th meeting. A text amendment regarding storage of RV’s will be addressed at the next council meeting.

NEW BUSINESS

A. Public Utilities

Mayor Meier recalled the touring of a Tipton, IL plant that would be similar in nature to the Cinergy proposed facility in Erlanger, but adjacent to the Old Crestview residential area. On July 24^th, a public forum was held at Thomas More College to explain the plant, it’s capacities and capabilities, and to address concerns. Mrs. Huller requested a resolution stating a City position of opposition based upon a petition signed by 111 residents of Old Crestview for the following reasons:

· increased noise

· ongoing safety concerns

· unsightly

· potential to lower property values

Mrs. Huller made a motion to adopt a resolution stating opposition to the construction of a power generating plant adjacent to the Old Crestview Hills residential area. Motion seconded by Mr. Maloney. Motions were withdrawn to permit public expression of opinion.

Mr. Kramer recused himself.

Jay Zang – lives at 103 Vernon and is very concerned with the construction of the facility. He believes this will affect the whole city, not just Old Crestview. Since it would be detrimental to a part of the community, the detrimental to the whole community. It would affect property values negatively. It is also a standard of living issue as many residents have quite a bit of time invested in their respective neighborhoods. This project will not just benefit Northern Kentucky, but rather the entire country as blocks of energy can be sold to other regional grids. He believed Cinergy when they projected the plant would be operational 25% of the time, however if there were to be an energy shortage, it potentially could run all the time.

Hank Boehmer - has witnessed a lot of growth in Crestview Hills. He agrees with Jay in that Old Crestview is subjected to constant noise from the airport, the railroad, and I-275. This noise already exceeds Federally acceptable levels. He found it noteworthy that 95% of the residents in the Old Crestview neighborhood signed the petition. He felt that if the plant would be operational 25% of the time now, in 2-3 years it could be 58%, and so on.

Charlie Keifer - lives on Winding Way. He is in favor of the project. The stacks in the plant are shorter than the expressway lights, cellular towers, and water towers. As for noise, we already have I-275, the railroad, leaf blowers, lawn mowers, etc. As for pollution, other plants he visited from Cleves to Manchester along the Ohio River have contributed to the raising of the temperature of the river, thus disturbing the ecological balance, however this plant appears to do nothing of the sort. We all want and need more power and it has to be built in someone’s back yard.

Gaylord Morris - lives on Parkway Drive. He is mostly concerned about the extra noise. At the forum at Thomas More College, he noticed projections about ambient noise exceeded normal ranges. He would like Cinergy to simulate fully operational noise levels so residents can get an idea of the levels to which they would fall suspect. If this is a peaking plant, the excess energy could even be sold to Los Angeles. He feels it would be a deterrent to the neighborhood.

Will Cox – lives on Rossmoyne and really just wanted to see what the sentiment of Council was. Always felt that Council has taken care of the residents and tried to maintain the stability and general character of the neighborhood, but he doesn’t like the train, or the expressway and can’t see building something that will add more noise.

Patty Dirr – lives on Woodspoint and feels that this is just adding insult to injury. She and her husband have seen houses on Woodspoint sit with for sale signs in their lots longer than expected. She feels this is because of the lights and added noise from I-275. She also feels that residents should be suspect of a company who says they are going to build a plant only to under-utilize it.

Tom Cheney – is the environmental coordinator for Cinergy. He notes that the permit restricts usage to 15 –25% of capacity per year. It will run more in the summer when air conditioning units substantially increase demand for power. The plans for the units have not been finalized within Cinergy as they would like to be a good neighbor and allow affected residents to be a part of the planning process. It was noted that the turbines used to create the energy would be GE, which are quieter by nature. Buffering to residential areas would be provided with evergreens. Air and water permits through Ky. Dept. of Environmental Protection Agency prohibit additional usage above proposed. There will be someone on site to maintain units and take care of any safety issues when the plant is operational.

There was much additional discussion regarding possible hours of operation, restating of resident’s opposition to increased noise levels, how often KDEPA would monitor the site, and how excess energy would be sold to other areas.

Mrs. Huller re-stated her original motion that Council adopt a resolution of opposition for the building of the Cinergy power plant, based upon the petition signed by 111 households in Old Crestview Hills. Motion seconded by Mr. Maloney.

VOTE CALL

Mr. Laird – abstain, Mr. Sommerkamp – yes, Mrs. Huller – yes, Mr. Maloney – yes, Mr. Kramer – recuse, Mr. Ries – yes

Resolution approved.

COMMITTEE REPORTS

Public Works - Mr. Sommerkamp commented projects at this time include:

· A new double gutter catch basin has been constructed in the cul-de-sac area of Sorority Court. This new catch basin was necessary to collect the storm water in that area of the cul-de-sac.

· The Dixie Hwy. sidewalk has been released for construction. The sidewalk construction is under contract to Paul Michels and Sons. They have been notified to proceed with the work as quickly as possible. It is anticipated that the work will be completed this construction season.

· The drainage problem on the sidewalk area of Legends Way has been corrected. Excavation of the area disclosed there was a large spring in the area that was discharging water onto the sidewalk. The spring was tapped and drained to the nearest catch basin. The area was restored and re-seeded.

· The paving repairs at the middle entrance to Four Seasons will be accomplished during the week of August 21, 2000.

· Paving repairs to Horsebranch Road near I-275 will be completed during the week of August 21, 2000.

· Widening of Thomas More Pkwy. near Turkeyfoot Rd. has been approved by the State of Kentucky for construction. Bids will be taken the first week in September.

· Comparison estimates are being gathered referencing whether to replace bad sections on Lookout Farm Drive or to blacktop the entire road.

Economic Development – Mr. Kramer enlightened council that the committee is looking at issues regarding adult businesses.

Recreation – Mrs. Huller reminded about the ice cream social to be held Friday, September 1, 2000 from 4:30 PM to 6:30 PM in the parking lot bordering the City Building. There is a long range recreation committee meeting August 30, 2000 at 4PM at the City Building.

Mayor Meier noted that the next Mayor’s meeting would be held August 19, 2000 at 9AM at the Ft. Mitchell City Building.

After general conversation, motion to adjourn made by Mr. Ries, seconded by Mr. Laird at 8:56PM.

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Mayor Paul W. Meier City Clerk C.R. Monhollen