1609 - September 13
Planning & Development Department
102 West Main Street Prattville, Alabama 36067 334-595-0500 334-361-3677 Facsimile
planning.prattvilleal.gov
CITY OF PRATTVILLE
BOARD OF ZONING ADJUSTMENT
A G E N D A
September 13, 2016
4:00pm
Call to Order:
Roll Call:
Chairman Leo Jamieson, Vice-Chairman James Miles, Mr. Jerry Cimis, Mr. Mac Macready, and Mrs. Jerry Schannep.
Election of Officers:
Minutes:
August 9, 2016
Old Business:
None
New Business:
1. 160913-01 VARIANCE
To allow a sign 7’ over the maximum 25’ height.
2091 Fairview Avenue (Highway 14 E)
B-2 Zoning District (General Business)
Long Lewis of River Region Inc., Petitioner
District 3
Miscellaneous:
Adjourn
Prattville Board of Zoning Adjustment
September 13, 2016 Minutes
Page 1 of 2
City of Prattville Board of Zoning Adjustment
Minutes
September 13, 2016
CALL TO ORDER:
The regular meeting of the Prattville Board of Zoning Adjustment (BZA) was called to order by
Chairman Leo Jamieson at 4:02 p.m. on Tuesday,September 13, 2016.
ROLL CALL:
Present:Chairman Leo Jamieson,Vice-Chairman James Miles,Mr. Gerald Cimis, Mrs. Jerry Schannep
and Commander Whaley.Absent:Mr. Mac Macready.
Quorum Present
Staff present:Mr. Joel Duke, City Planner and Ms. Alisa Morgan, Secretary.
Chairman Jamieson stated the governing rules for the Prattville Board of Zoning Adjustment according
to the Code of Alabama, 1975 and the procedure of the meeting.
MINUTES:
Mr.Miles moved to approve the minutes of the August 9, 2016 meeting as corrected.Commander
Whaley seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.
OLD BUSINESS:
There was no old business to discuss.
NEW BUSINESS:
VARIANCETo allow a sign 7’ over the maximum 25’ height.
2091 Fairview Avenue (Highway 14 E)
B-2 Zoning District (General Business)
Long Lewis of River Region Inc., Petitioner
Mr. Duke introduced the request for a variance at 2091 Fairview Avenue.He stated that the request is
for a 7’height increase to the maximum sign height of 25’.He stated that the petitioner is requestingto relocate the business’ existing sign from 1825 East Main Street which was approve for a 10’height
variance in 1995.
Charles Wall of Long Lewis of the River Region, Inc.,stated that the owner received approval for a
35’ sign for their existing sign on Main Street. He stated that they want to relocate the existing sign to
the new business without having to refurbish it.
Chairman Jamieson opened the public hearing.There were none to speak.The public hearing was
closed.
The vote was called. Mr. Cimis moved to establish the finding of facts:1.The granting of a variance
is in harmony with the intent and purposes of the zoning ordinance;2. A variance will not adversely
affect the surrounding property, the general neighborhood, or the community as a whole;and 3.A
variance will not allow the establishment of a use prohibited under the terms of the zoning ordinance
in a B-4 district.Mrs. Schannep seconded the motion.
Prattville Board of Zoning Adjustment
September 13, 2016 Minutes
Page 2 of 2
The motion to approve the finding of facts passed unanimously.
Mr. Cimis moved to approve the request based on the approved finding of facts contingent that the
variance is void should the business ceases to exist.Mr.Miles seconded the motion.
The motion to approve passed unanimously.
The BZA voted unanimously to approve the variance to allow a sign 7’ over the maximum 25’ height
contingent that the variance is void should the business ceases to exist at 2091 Fairview Avenue.
MISCELLANEOUS:
ADJOURN:
After no further comments, questions or discussion the meeting was adjourned at 4:20 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Alisa Morgan,Secretary
Board of Zoning Adjustment
CITY OF PRATTVILLE
Board of Zoning Adjustment
Planning Department Staff Report
VARIANCE 2091 Fairview Avenue (AL Highway 14 East)
BZA Application – 160913-01
DATE September 12, 2016
PROPOSED DEVLOPMENT
Petitioner: Long Lewis of the River Region, Inc.
Property Owners: LLRR Properties, LLC
Agent: N/A
Location: Lot under development at NE Corner of Old Farm Lane
and Alabama Highway 14 East
Development Status and History
Previous Variance
Requests/Approvals:
150414-01 – granted April 14, 2015 – Landscaping
setback variance
Conditions of Previous
Approvals:
1. Reduction of required trees on AL 14 East frontage
from 19 to 15 and on the Old Farm Lane frontage
from 12 to 9
2. Elimination of required berm on both the AL 14
East and Old Farm Lane frontages
3. Reduction of the required foundation landscaping
to less than the required 5’
Property Configuration
Acreage: 13 acres
Zoning Classification:
B-4, Highway Commercial
Relevant District
Standards:
Zoning Ordinance, Article 12. - Signs, Section 134. -
District regulations,
Subsection (c) Business districts, office districts, and
manufacturing districts:
High mount freestanding signs, Maximum Height: 25’
Page 2 of 3
Requested Variance:
Effective variance as re-stated by staff (see application for
applicant statement):
1. Permit a freestanding, high mount sign with a
maximum height of 32’, or 7’ greater than the
allowed maximum of 25’.
2. Sign proposed for installation at 32’ is an existing
sign and will be relocated from 1825 East Main
Street. Sign was installed at E. Main Street location
in 1995 under a variance granted on April 18, 1995
(order included as Attachment A).
Statement of Hardship:
(taken from application)
“As per previous agreements with city and county officials
at pre-construction, we did not want to have to purchase
new signs as the ones we currently own, and want to
move, are relatively new and very, very expensive to
replace. Additionally, adjacent property owners have
signs that are relatively the same height and we did not
feel that we would have a disproportionate (impact) in that
business setting.”
PLANNING STAFF EVALUATION
Reviewed by: Joel T. Duke, AICP
Site Visits Conducted: Several visits in 2016
Recommendation: Approval – existing sign constructed under a variance
granted in 1995, overall spirit of the ordinance is maintained,
and previous variances of a similar height have been granted
in the same roadway corridor.
While a special privilege is confirmed on the applicant, the
requested variance is similar to those granted other
commercial establishments in the AL Highway 14
East/Fairview Avenue corridor
Page 3 of 3
Planning Staff Comments:
State code and best practices require the BZA to measure variance requests against
several basic standards. Below is the staff opinion regarding the standards and this
request.
1. No special conditions and circumstances exist regarding this structure which are
not applicable to other lands, structures, or buildings in the same B-4 zoning
district.
2. A literal interpretation of the zoning ordinance would not deprive the applicant of
rights commonly enjoyed by other properties in the same district under the terms
of the zoning ordinance.
3. The special conditions and circumstances do result from actions of the applicant.
4. The granting of a variance will confer a special privilege on the applicant that is
denied by this ordinance to other lands, structures, or buildings in the same B-4
district;
5. The granting of a variance is in harmony with the intent and purposes of the
zoning ordinance;
6. A variance will not adversely affect the surrounding property, the general
neighborhood, or the community as a whole;
7. A variance will not allow the establishment of a use prohibited under the terms of
the zoning ordinance in a B-4 district.
ATTACHMENTS
A. 1995 Variance Order – 1825 East Main Street
Application and location map previous provided.
DATE:8/22/16
CASE FILE NUMBER:160913-01
APPLICATION TYPE:Variance
PROPERTY LOCATION
or DESCRIPTION:
2091 Highway 14 East
PETITIONER(S) ANDAGENT(S):Long Lewis of the River Region, Inc.
ZONING DISTRICT(S)B-2 (General Business)
REQUESTED ACTION:To allow a sign 7’ over the maximum 25’ height.
ZONING ORDINANCE
REFERENCE:
Appendix A-Zoning Ordinance Article 12 Signs Section 134
District Regulations (c) Business districts, office districts,
and manufacturing districts:
Sign Types Permitted:High Mount Freestanding Sign
Setback10’
Max. Height25’
Min. Height8’
Max. SizeNot specified