HomeMy WebLinkAboutP&Z MINUTES/CITY COUNCIL MARCH 28, 20121
March 28, 2012
Mayor Richard Woodland
Council Members:
Christopher Mann Jordan Busby
Donna Benfield Jerry Merrill
Bruce Sutherland Sally Smith
City Staff:
Stephen Zollinger – City Attorney
Richard Horner – Finance Officer
John Millar – Public Works Director
Val Christensen – Community Development Director
Scott Johnson – Economic Development Director
Blair Kay – City Clerk
7:00 A.M. City Hall
Attending: Council President Mann, Council Member Benfield, Council Member Sutherland,
Council Member Merrill, Council Member Smith; STAFF: Scott Johnson, Craig Rindlisbacher, Val
Christensen; Planning and Zoning: Corey Sorensen, Jedd Walker, Richie Webb, Scott Ferguson,
Marilyn Rasmussen, Dan Hanna; BYU-I: Phil Packer; and Mayor Woodland.
Jordan Busby asked to be excused.
Mayor Woodland thanked the group for coming to the early morning meeting.
Economic Director Scott Johnson - Welcome and recap of the last meeting. He presented an
overhead presentation, “Preparing for 2030, A Vision for Quality Growth.”
Economic Director Johnson reviewed the Rexburg Vision Statement, and then presented the 2030
growth assumption chart:
0
20,000
40,000
60,000
80,000
100,000
Conservative Moderate High
Students
Residents
Economic Director Johnson reported on the growth challenges that exist in Rexburg. He
reviewed three challenges: financially planning for the future in a resource limited environment,
educating and engaging the public in a vision that improves the quality of the community, and
protecting community values such as frugality. He then listed seven strategies to these challenges:
35 North 1st East
Rexburg, ID 83440
Phone: 208.359.3020 x2313
Fax: 208.359.3022
blairk@rexburg.org
www.rexburg.org
City Council Meeting
March 28, 2012
Total City Population
Conservative
• 55,000
• 30,000 students
Moderate
• 65,000
• 35,000 students
High
• 80,000
• 40,000 students
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staying ahead of growth (acting not reacting), increase investment, redevelopment, mixed-use, public
private collaboration, place making, and effective land use.
Economic Director Johnson reviewed the strategies in detail.
1. Staying Ahead of Growth (Acting not Reacting). Rexburg has a history of forward
looking investment in its infrastructure. Rexburg needs to anticipate BYU-Idaho’s
growth, and efficiently use existing capacity.
2. Increase Investment. It will take place when the city continues to look at innovative
streams of revenue or investment through broadening the tax base, and encouraging
development that enhances quality and tax base.
3. Redevelopment creates a cost effective opportunity to accommodate rapid growth and
can be accomplished by the infrastructure already in place, and when new developments
accommodate future developments.
Proposed Map of Infill Focus Area
4. Mixed-Use supports higher density development and provides higher quality experience
by leveraging proximity of uses to one another. A mixed use model is a return to the
planning of our city founders such as capitalizing on the proximity of downtown to
campus.
5. Public Private Collaboration. Rexburg needs to partner the leadership vision of the
community with the capabilities of the private sector. Quality development must
respond to more than the short term return of an individual project. Partnering with the
private sector will bring credibility to this vision. It will also share the risk, protect the
public, university, private interest, and increase employment opportunities.
6. Place Making creates a unique experience that is diverse, walkable, and compact; with
vibrant public spaces. The gathering places will be inviting, and will create a shared
identity among students and residents.
Economic Director Johnson suggested moving the airport and redeveloping the land for industry,
and reviewed the items listed on the action list. He closed the presentation – moving forward will
need a strategy that will engage policy makers and the general public.
Scott Ferguson asked about the population numbers 10 years ago. He was concerned the current
graph is not accurate.
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Community Development Director Val Christensen presented an overhead presentation,
“Redevelopment, Infill and the Mixed Use Model – Preparing for 2030 and Beyond.”
Community Development Director Christensen indicated their model will increase property
values. He referred to his youth in Pocatello, Idaho where his mother did not drive. She used the
city’s bus system to shop and get around in Pocatello. Val Christensen indicated Pocatello was the
size (30,000) of current day Rexburg when he grew up.
Community Development Director Christensen presented the issues that face the City of
Rexburg: the city is growing at a rapid rate, BYU-I student housing used most of the undeveloped
sites, resources are limited, transportation and street costs are greater as housing is constructed
farther from campus and Downtown Rexburg, and leap-frog developments create vacant and
undesirable areas. Three planning tools were proposed as solutions: infill, redevelopment, and
mixed-use.
Why Infill and Redevelopment? It creates an invigorated downtown. There are
limited properties that are close to campus and to Downtown Rexburg, older single-
family homes converted to dormitories are an inefficient use of valuable land, and may
be unsafe. Infill and Redevelopment also increases tax revenues and property values. It
enhances circulation and walkability, reduces growth and pressures on rural areas, energy
is conserved through the reduced reliance on the automobile, etc.
Community Development Director Christensen proposed the location of a focus area for
redevelopment and infill. The area is close to the BYU-Idaho campus and Downtown Rexburg.
Proposed Area of Focus
Why Mixed-Use? Mixed-use developments often have higher property values. It creates
independence of movement, eases traffic congestion, maintains air quality, lowers traffic
speeds, provides safety through around-the-clock presence of people, and provides
economic viability.
Community Development Director Christensen proposed that now is the time to act, and good
planning is a part of Rexburg’s heritage. If we don’t act now we will lose our chance to influence
well thought-out development, and we will be left with random and inefficient results.
Community Development Director Christensen identified strategies to proceed: work with the
Rexburg Planning and Zoning Commission, and the City Council in a joint planning effort. Other
strategies include: creating sub-committees, exploring ideas, working with BYU-Idaho staff, and
looking to other communities for ideas and solutions.
Community Development Director Christensen reviewed “The Infill and Redevelopment Code
Handbook” (IRCD) and the seven conclusions that work well for infill and redevelopment projects:
need for planning, audit codes, physical constraints require flexible standards, design based,
planning, incentives, neighborhood support, and the human element.
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Community Development Director Christensen shared a couple of passages from the IRCD
book on more ways in which infill and redevelopments can be promoted:
“Neighbors will support good projects when they feel that the project benefits them. Public
education and good examples to point to are critical” (IRCD)
“Staff and local policy makers need to have a favorable attitude toward infill and
redevelopment to get good results” (IRCD)
Community Development Director Christensen closed presentation – this model will need
input, leadership, and support.
Jedd Walker referred to an entity sponsored by the Architecture Association.
What can R/UDAT do for your community?
Communities across the country are constantly changing. Some of the challenges they
encounter include the loss of major employers, new bypass roads, gridlock, unfocused
suburban growth, crime, loss of open space, regional conflict, unaffordable housing,
abandoned mills and industrial plants, environmental problems, vacant storefronts, and loss
of identity. A R/UDAT can help you to respond to these kinds of issues, develop a vision for a
better future for your community, and implement a strategy that will produce results.
Because the R/UDAT process is highly flexible, it is effective in communities as small as
villages and urban neighborhoods and as large as metropolitan regions.
Marilyn Rasmussen asked about older established neighborhoods.
Scott Ferguson said there will be families frustrated with growth pressures.
Council President Mann said they have already identified larger lots needing infill. He referred to
developers seeking cheaper ground outside the infill areas.
Corey Sorensen indicated neighbors can be affected more with distant developments than closer in
developments targeted for infill.
Council Member Smith felt there was a disconnect to staff.
Council Member Sutherland would not want to live on Center Street where he grew up. He felt
the identified area was areas the City Council could work with infill.
Community Development Director Val Christensen and Scott Ferguson presented an
overhead presentation, “A Walkable Community.”
Community Development Director Val reviewed what makes a successful pedestrian street:
safety, comfort and attention to detail. A good mixed-use project utilizes store fronts, landscaping
and other public features to create a welcome effect. He reviewed what makes walkable and livable
mixed-use community:
“Human scale”, which is created through a sense of enclosure and when the ground level is
distinctive and includes entrances and display windows.
Commercial on lower level with wider sidewalks and other landscaping features creates a
“sense of place”.
Well thought-out landscaping is critical for “place-making”.
Well defined front entrances, attractive lighting and landscaping features help an all
residential project “feel” more pedestrian friendly.
Community Development Director Christensen also reviewed items that make an undesirable
mixed-use community:
A commercial project pulled to the street without retail, and with limited landscaping creates
a sterile uncomfortable pedestrian feeling.
A commercial building without windows or landscaping does not make for an inviting
walkway.
A commercial project pulled to the street without retail and with limited landscaping creates
a sterile uncomfortable pedestrian feeling.
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Attractive building facades alone may not be enough to invoke a comfortable pedestrian
environment.
Community Development Director Christensen asked the council and members of the meeting
if they could visualize the mixed-use model in Rexburg, if so, where does it fit? Could Rexburg be
more walkable?
Corey Sorensen said sooner or later the size of the community will change with the growth. This
issue will be having enough jobs, etc.
Val Christensen said planning is the right thing to do.
Council President Mann said you need strong design standards to make it work.
Dan Hanna was concerned with developers developing small pieces of a block instead of an
inclusive development for the entire neighborhood or block.
Jedd Walker reviewed the target market for mixed-use. Currently the target market is students. Val
Christensen said there are elderly people wanting to stay in Rexburg in a twin home, condo, etc. As
the city grows with more jobs, there will be an interest in urban housing.
Richie Webb said in 20 years the development will follow the money. Pro growth business friendly
standards are needed. Developers need to know what the community wants and where the
community wants to go. There is a need to create an acceptable theme and direction.
Discussion to set the next joint meeting on planning. April 19th at 6:00 P.M.
Adjournment at 8:22 A.M.
_____________________________
Richard S. Woodland, Mayor
Attest:
________________________________
Blair D. Kay, City Clerk