Planning Commission Minutes 2021 08 12

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Planning Commission Meeting Minutes August 12, 2021 Page 2 of 4 Diehl moved and Howe seconded a motion to approve a continuance for the Foundry GDP Amendment to August 26, 2021 at 6:30 PM. Motion passed 4-1, with Commissioner Williams voting nay. Ritchie thanked the members of the public in attendance for their participation, noting that sometimes there were last-minute schedule changes for public hearing items. NEW BUSINESS — PUBLIC HEARING ITEMS LMC Amendment — Swimming Pools and Spas: Request for approval of a draft ordinance amending the Louisville Municipal Code Title 17, Zoning, concerning swimming pools and spas (Resolution No. 12, Series 2021). •Applicant: City of Louisville • Case Planner: Lisa Ritchie, Principal Planner All notice was met as required. Ritchie described the item as an effort to clean up the Code, adding that it would not change the current standards. She described the history of the zoning code regarding fences around swimming pools, which had been in place since 1973, and stated that building codes had advanced since then regarding pool safety and were much broader than what was in the zoning code. Issues occurred when residents applied for pools and did not understand that the underlying zoning also applied, and these issues have increased as the number of pool applications has gone up recently. Overall, cleaning up the Code would help reduce the burden of the fence standard. Ritchie added that hot tubs or "spas" were not currently addressed in the Code and this would fix that. She described the specific standards that related to swimming pools and spas. Diehl asked if people were erecting secondary fences around pools due to the Code requirement. Ritchie replied that staff had given a couple of paths around the requirement, giving the example of a couple of homeowners who have erected internal fences that met the zoning code. Staff did not feel those additional steps were necessary if an applicant met Title 15. Diehl asked what would happen to a homeowner with a PUD requirement regarding pools if Title 17 went away. Ritchie replied that under the building code a pool application had other options other than fences to ensure safety under Title 15. The applicant would have to do something in addition to a fence outlined in the PUD under Title 15. Moline asked if there was a minimum size where a pool was no longer called a pool. Ritchie replied that she did not know about a minimum size but there was a whole building code section that captured best practices regarding pools, including different sizes. Williams asked if there was a maximum depth for pools.