City Council Minutes 2013 05 21 - Laserfiche WebLink

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City Council Meeting Minutes May 21, 2013 Page 12 of 19 Michael Menaker, 1827 W. Choke Cherry Drive, Louisville, CO agreed the wayfinding signs do not work. He stated the signs are too small, too dark and are not readable. City Manager Fleming commended Finance Director Watson for his work on the budget appropriation amendment. Mayor Muckle called for public comment and hearing none closed the public hearing. MOTION: Council member Keany moved to approve Resolution No. 27, Series 2013, seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Dalton. Roll call vote was taken. The motion carried by a vote of 7 -0. RESOLUTION No. 28, SERIES 2013 - A RESOLUTION APPROVING AN AMENDMENT TO PLANNED UNIT DEVELOPMENT (PUD) PLAN FOR THE PURPOSE OF INCREASING THE HEIGHT OF THE PREVIOUSLY APPROVED TOWER TO 47 FEET, EXTENDING TO 80' WHEN TEMPORARILY TESTING WIND GENERATORS MANUFACTURED ON SITE AT LOTS 1 & 2, BLOCK 5, CTC 1 Mayor Muckle requested a staff presentation. Planner I Robinson explained the Boulder Wind Power facility is located at 1812 Boxelder in the Colorado Technology Center (CTC). The original planned unit development (PUD) for the property was approved by City Council in 1995 for industrial /office use. In 2012, the City Council approved an amendment to the original PUD to allow for the construction of a 38 foot permanent tower, which would extend to 54 feet when testing wind turbine generators. The applicant has since determined that height is not sufficient and is requesting an increase in allowed height. Boulder Wind Power designs and manufactures utility scale wind turbine generators, which is the portion of a windmill that converts the rotational energy of the blades into electricity. Boulder Wind Power is requesting an increase in the allowed height for a wind turbine generator test tower in the rear of the lot. The 38 foot tower approved in 2012 has not been built. The new requested height is 47 feet when empty, and up to 80 feet when testing a generator. The diameter of the tower is still 10 feet. The generators may have diameters up to 73 feet. The 2012 approval limits how often a generator may be operated on the tower to 8 times a year for no more than 150 days. The applicant is not requesting to change the duration of operation. The Industrial zone district and the Louisville Industrial Development Design Standards and Guidelines (IDDSG) allow structures up to 50 feet to accommodate specialized equipment when permitted through the PUD process. The tower falls under the "specialized equipment" designation, and would therefore be allowed to go to 50 feet. This applicant is requesting a variance for an additional 30 feet above the allowed 50 feet for limited amounts of time. Under Section 17.28.110 of the Louisville Municipal Code (LMC), a waiver is allowed as part of the PUD process if it is "warranted by the