Minutes 11-25-2013 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Tony Blake said that situation is exempt. He said the new technology makes this possible. He said margins have been cut because of the economy, and there is a lot of need and demand for this. Commissioner Gordon said she has comments. Pete Hallenbeck asked if there were any other questions before moving on to comments. Commissioner Gordon said that much of this discussion is about the difference between major and minor home occupations and the smaller lots and residential areas versus the larger lots and rural areas. She said there is a lot of discussion about what kind of impact there will be. She said maybe the primary focus for ordinance changes should be made in the major home occupations that involve a special use permit, because special conditions can then be accounted for. She said she has been looking at some of the proposed changes for minor home occupations and the large size of the accessory structures. She said these structures are bigger than some houses. She feels there should be some kind of permitting process before getting into these bigger impacts. She feels the 500-700 square feet for the minor category is fine, but she questions going above 1000 square feet or 2 employees for the minor home occupations. Commissioner Gordon said people on small lots are more affected by what neighbors do. She said the difference between neighbors creating a lot of impact is whether they are making any money. She said if money is being made; but your peace and tranquility is being compromised and your property values go down, then the balance has been exceeded. She feels that it would be better to make increases and changes in the major home occupations versus the minor. She said if you are on 25 acres, the business is in the middle of the property, and there is plenty of area for parking, no one is going to be bothered. She feels the minor home occupation category needs to be kept as is, and the changes should be made only to the major. Commissioner Gordon said it is good to help the artists and photographers who are just doing work at their place. She said this is very different from someone having noise, odors, impact or storage issues that interfere with residential character. Commissioner Dorosin said this needs to be thought of as economic development. He said economic development is not just about luring big businesses to come here. He said it is also about supporting home grown entrepreneurship and individual small business that can grow and become successful. He said the lot size and homeowners association have to allow for the building of a 1500 square foot accessory building. He said the purpose here is to control the impacts, such as noise, odor or impact, and it's not about controlling the building. He said he is encouraged by these changes, and this should be characterized as the economic development engine that it could be. Commissioner Pelissier said she echoes what Commissioner Dorosin said. She said this is a great opportunity for economic development. She feels this shows that development is encouraged and does so in a way that is not disruptive to individual residences. She noted that these accessory structures are required to look like a residential structure. She said the issue is the noise and traffic; it is not about the occupation, but it is about the impact on neighbors. Commissioner Pelissier said she does not want to make the rules so restrictive and she would like to see some more work done on this. She questioned why a home occupation on a major road would need 40 feet of trees or a fence for something that is not an eyesore. She feels there needs to be some more balancing to make it less difficult for some of the home occupations.