City Council Minutes 2021 05 18 - Laserfiche WebLink

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City Council Meeting Minutes May 18, 2021 Page 6 of 9 Councilmember Lipton stated he thinks the Council should not be in the public health realm and this decision should be left up to staff. Councilmember Leh stated if the Council puts in place a specific rule it may be easier for staff to enforce it rather than a simple recommendation. VOTE: Motion passed 4-3 with Councilmembers Lipton, Dickinson, and Fahey voting no. ORDINANCE NO. 1807, SERIES 2021 — AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 17 OF THE LOUISVILLE MUNICIPAL CODE CONCERNING BUILDING HEIGHT CALCULATIONS ORDINANCE — 2ND READING —PUBLIC HEARING (advertised Daily Camera 4/15/21) continued from 5/4/21 Mayor Stolzmann introduced the item noting it was continued from May 4. She asked if there were any disclosures; seeing none she reopened the public hearing. Director Zuccaro stated the purpose of this code amendment is to ensure that new development meets the spirit and intent of the height limitations set by zoning and development standards without artificially adding grade to obtain additional building height. It is intended to eliminate the ability for developments to manipulate final grade in order to gain additional building height. The proposal includes: • Changing the definition of "Grade (Ground Level)" to "Natural Grade" where such grade is the elevation of the lot prior to adding fill for either new development or redevelopment. • Creating a section of the code to specify that building plans measuring building height shall be from "Natural Grade" at the average of the highest and lowest corners of the structure. The proposal would allow an exception to add up to an additional twelve inches to the starting point of where the height calculation is measured from if grade is raised for drainage purposes. This is similar to the current allowance that allows up to twelve inches of grade before the measurement must be taken at a point ten feet from the structure. • Removal of current standard to measure grade ten feet from the structure when more than twelve inches of fill is added around the foundation. • Allowing grade to be measured from an over -lot grading plan if approved as part of a final plat, final planned unit development, or general development plan. • If grade has been disturbed prior to development, the Planning Director will determine the natural grade based on the best available topographical information. This could include a survey or GIS elevations. The City currently has 2-foot elevation contours as part of our GIS data that can be used to verify base grade when better information is not available. The existing code allows up to 12 inches of fill at the corners that would not count against your height calculation. Staff is proposing to keep that to allow for good drainage away