Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout01.05.17 P&Z Minutes 1 Commissioners Attending; City Staff and Others: Jedd Walker – Chairman Brad Wolfe- City Council Liaison Bruce Sutherland Val Christensen – Community Development Director Steve Oakey Keith Davidson – City Engineer/Public Works Director Richard Smith Colton Murdock – Community Development Intern Greg Blacker Elaine McFerrin – P&Z Coordinator Melanie Davenport John Bowen Rory Kunz Gil Shirley Chairman Jedd Walker opened the meeting at 6:35 pm. This is the first P&Z meeting with the new meeting start time of 6:30 pm rather than 7:00 pm. Roll Call of Planning and Zoning Commissioners: Attending: Steve Oakey, Rory Kunz, Richard Smith, John Bowen, Greg Blacker, Jedd Walker, Bruce Sutherland, Melanie Davenport Heidi Christensen and Mark Rudd were excused. Minutes: 1. From the Planning and Zoning meeting – December 1, 2016 Greg Blacker motioned to approve the Planning & Zoning minutes of December 1, 2016. Steve Oakey seconded the motion. Melanie Davenport, Richard Smith, and Bruce Sutherland abstained for not having been present. None opposed. Motion carried. Public Hearings: 1. 6:35 pm - Rezone – Approximately 801 West 7th South – Low Density Residential 2 (LDR2) to High Density Residential 2 (HDR2) - Bron Leatham and Bob Conger Chairman Walker explained the procedure that is followed for public hearing. The applicant will come forward to explain the proposal. The Commission may ask clarifying questions; the public may also be given the opportunity to ask such questions. Public hearing testimony will then be given. During this time there can be no back and forth conversation between the Commission and applicant and those testifying. The staff report will be given, followed by discussion and deliberation by the Commission. The Commission is a recommending body and will make a recommendation to the City Council, who will make the final decision on the request. Bron Leatham, applicant, 1272 North Yellowstone Highway. The property was shown on the overhead screen. 35 North 1st East Rexburg, ID 83440 Phone: 208.359.3020 Fax: 208.359.3022 www.rexburg.org Planning & Zoning Minutes January 5, 2017 2 About a month ago the applicant came through with a Comprehensive Plan change to Moderate- High Density Residential. They are now requesting the zone change from Low Density Residential 2 to High Density Residential 2. Traffic and pedestrian connectivity were the two main concerns brought up at the time of the Comprehensive Plan change. Horrocks Engineers have done a traffic study just completed yesterday. In the long term there will have to be solution. They are working closely with the City’s Public Works department. At this point they want to move forward with the rezoning at this time. There is also a concern because of additional properties north of them wanting to develop. The properties would also be part of the extended Horrocks traffic study. The applicants feel this location is great for high density housing, especially with all the surrounding land uses. It is a better use than commercial given the constraints of the railroad tracks nearby. Steve Oakey asked if Public Works has discussed the staff review comments with Mr.Leatham. Bron Leatham said he has met with City Engineer/Public Works Director Keith Davidson. They have also spoken with Rocky Mountain Power, and power issues are not what they were several years ago. Rocky Mountain Power told them as long as they are not coming in and building twenty acres of housing all at once, it should be fine. Regarding green space requirements, the applicant will do whatever is required. Their main intent is to continue to move forward with the process. Richard Smith asked about the traffic study. Bron Leatham said all the analysis has been done. The main issue is where 7thSouth connects with Pioneer Road. Horrocks suggested 2 different scenarios – a roundabout, or slightly move 7th South, curving it further to the north and t-ing into Pioneer Road. Public Works Director Keith Davidson said the study is not completed yet. The city has asked Horrocks to include property to the north in the study. Chairman Walker asked if the report will include pedestrian flow. Bron Leatham said it would be for traffic flow, looking at connectivity, especially from 7th South across the tracks and toward the middle school and the University. John Bowen asked about egress. Mr. Leatham said there would be one access into the property from 7th South. The long-term plan is that there would be more accesses whenever the land to the west and south develop. They will do whatever accesses the fire department requires. It was clarified that the Cook residential property to the east of the subject property is not part of this rezone nor was it part of the earlier Comprehensive Plan change. The Cook property remains with a Commercial land use designation, and the zoning remains LDR2. There were no further questions from the Commission. One audience member commented that the Pioneer and 7th South intersection is a concern. It is a bottleneck now. Community Development Director Val Christensen had no clarifications of the proposal at this time. 3 Chairman Walker opened the public input portion of the hearing. In Favor: Kelly McCandless, 223 Jill Drive. He is in favor of this rezone request, and he also supports the earlier Comprehensive Plan change. He, along with partners, owns two lots on Handcart Lane to the north of the subject location. They are designing a small apartment facility. The land is currently zoned mixed use but they have intentions of going forward with a Comprehensive Plan change and then a Rezone in order to do high density residential zoning on the land. They are in the middle of environmental studies. The traffic study needs to continue to north because of this and other development. Neutral: None Opposed: None Written Input: None Chairman Walker closed the public input portion of the hearing. Community Development Director Val Christensen gave the staff report. The current LDR2 zoning allows a minimum 8000 square foot lot, with 10,000 square feet necessary for a duplex. The applicant wants HDR2, the highest density zoning. This zoning could be up to 48 units per acre for 1 bedroom units. The requested zone change would allow a significant increase in population in this area, with a significant increase in traffic, which the study is looking at. Public Works has concerns. Gil Shirley arrived at 6:58 pm. Director Christensen said the Commission could condition the zone change to allow the applicant to move forward; Public Works, Engineering and the Fire Department would need to have the ability to stay on top of how this project develops. Concerns could also be addressed in the Development Agreement. We are still waiting for the complete traffic study. Chairman Walker said when there is a rezone, then the developer has certain rights by right. When does a development agreement kick in? Currently the process requires a traffic study in this case. When Walmart rezoned their land, there was a road expansion required. Director Christensen said Walmart was required to work with the Engineering and Public Works Departments on that issue. In this subject request, what will be necessary to be required is still not known at this point. Richard Smith asked the anticipated completion time of the traffic study. It was thought to be at least a couple of weeks. Mr. Smith said he felt a rezone approval would be premature. Not long ago, the City Council said it is not a good idea to condition a zone change. He feels the traffic study is very important. What if the study came back saying the requested high density plan was impossibility? He thinks it would be the proper use, but the request is premature. 4 Chairman Walker asked when they have the results of the traffic study and the zone is changed, what is the mechanism to require the recommendations in the traffic study to be addressed? He feels that the perhaps the consensus of the Commission is likely that this would be the best use for the property, but the question is a procedural question more than anything else. Melanie Davenport said the mentioned past discussion on conditioning of rezones was a vigorous one. Bruce Sutherland said he realizes the need to facilitate the request for the applicant. However, what is before the Commission is a request that they should be prepared to say yea or nay to, or be prepared to wait until the transportation study is has reached completion. He agrees with Mr. Smith that it is better to address the issue in the development agreement and not condition a zone change. Chairman Walker asked procedurally what kicks in the development agreement. Director Davidson said anytime there is right of way involvement there would be a development agreement with the developer. Chairman Walker clarified that if the P&Z Commission were to recommend changing the zone, there is a mechanism in place for the developer to comply with the traffic study results through a development agreement with the city that would include addressing the traffic issues. Director Davidson said that was correct. John Bowen wondered if there would be a problem for the developer to wait until the traffic study results are done in a couple of weeks. Then the developers would know what they were facing and where they were going. Bron Leatham said he is very familiar with development agreements. He has never developed anything without one. His concern with the timing is finalizing the designing for the project. He asks that the Commission allow him to keep moving forward with the zone change so he can start the engineering process with the project and with the city. Director Christensen said if the development agreement can address transportation study issues and Public Works and Fire Department issues, then he feels the request could move forward without conditioning the zone. Director Davidson reiterated that any issues could be handled in the development agreement. Chairman Walker said the Commission would likely see this land again when it goes through the plat procedure. Melanie Davenport wondered about wastewater capacity concerns. She realizes some of the decisions cannot be determined until the city actually sees what the developers want to do. Director Davidson said any issues regarding line size capacity would be looked at when the city has the development plans to review. Rory Kunz asked if there is a chance that the Horrocks study could say this development was not possible and that it would not fit or would overload the system. Director Davidson did not think so. The development could be made to fit if necessary and if the developer wished to change any plans. 5 Chairman Walker said there is a solution. It is just how. John Bowen wondered about an additional railroad crossing. Director Davidson did not foresee needing another crossing. Steve Oakey expressed that as the population increases and the college campus continues to grow, there is a lot of pressure for developers to develop housing. Eric Conrad from the University came to a P&Z meeting several months ago to inform the city of the projected growth numbers. 2018 projections would bring the student population to more than 20,000 students. Director Christensen stated that the University’s “married student” housing needs in the community are quite large. There is a huge demand. The city is hearing that students are living in other communities because they cannot find housing in Rexburg. Steve Oakey said if the city does not allow timely housing development for the students, the University was possibly going to compete against the private market. It would be best if the city made the process as rapid and simple as is possible for the developers who are willing to come in and invest in this community. Melanie Davenport agreed. She knows of situations where families were sharing an apartment. She has also seen a situation where wastewater connections were outdated and it created problems. She hopes there is a legal way to do this that satisfies the needs of everyone. Bruce Sutherland said the applicants are asking for a zone change. The Commission has gone beyond that to discuss the project. The Commissioners have to focus on whether this zone change would be a good use for this land. The plat will come later. Bruce Sutherland motioned to recommend approval to the City Council of a rezone from Low Density Residential 2 (LDR2) to High Density Residential 2 (HDR2) for the property located at approximately 801 West 7th South. Steve Oakey seconded the motion. Rory Kunz commented that they need to keep consideration of the concerns. Does the zone fit the area? How does it affect the whole area? John Bowen feels this is putting the cart before the horse here. He sees nothing wrong with a zone change here, but if you change the zone and then the developers do not move forward because of something that they or public works cannot do, there is no going back. Get the issues out of the way before granting a zone change. Mr. Sutherland said his motion stands. Richard Smith said he is not opposed to the zone change request, but based on review comments of staff, the request is premature. Greg Blacker agreed that the issue of traffic is a large concern. Bruce Sutherland withdrew his motion. 6 Bruce Sutherland said the Commission needs to look at whether this area would be better as the current LDR2, or as HDR2. Melanie Davenport said we still do not know that, because we do not have the traffic study. Rory Kunz said we do not know if the applicant would be willing at any cost to move forward if the traffic study presents multiple issues. Steve Oakey said eventually the area is going to change anyway. This is not going to remain a low density area. There is no reason to delay the zone change request; for the developer’s sake, move the project along and keep it timely. Solutions can and will be found. Director Christensen commented that the development agreement would be the mechanism to address traffic study results and other issues if the zone is changed. Given HDR2 guidelines, the developer could still do a lower density, with fewer units, if found to be necessary. Other decisions can be made. Chairman Walker said if the Commission recommended to the City Council that the zone be changed as requested, it seems to him that there are mechanisms currently in place that would address everything the Commissioners have been concerned about in their discussion tonight. If that is the case, he does not have a problem with the rezone request. Richard Smith said Mr.Leatham’s desire is to move forward with the project design. Bron Leatham said that is correct. They are looking at about 20 acres and not the full 60 acres. He has seen the numbers. All of 2nd East is worse than that now. Mr. Smith said that is a great example. They have all seen projects throughout the city that start and then do not move forward. His biggest concern is if they are willing to wait for a completed traffic study. The Commission needs to know the traffic study results so that they can make an intelligent decision. Director Davidson reiterated the study is not completed yet. The study will be looking at the entirety of the specified area, not just this request. The city wants to look at the bigger picture when looking at this future development. There was some discussion of future extension of Golden Beauty Road. Bruce Sutherland said he has had the opportunity to look at such issues for a long time and in different ways. Low density residential would never go in this area. Light Industrial, Commercial, and High Density Residential are the choices. Tonight, this is a land use decision. This area fits the High Density Residential, whether the land is developed by this developer or someone else. Low Density Residential does not fit the area anymore. Bruce Sutherland motioned to recommend approval to the City Council of a rezone from Low Density Residential 2 (LDR2) to High Density Residential 2 (HDR2) for the property located at approximately 801 West 7th South. Steve Oakey seconded the motion. 7 John Bowen thought this was still putting the cart before the horse. It is doing this before seeing infrastructure issues. He is against doing the request at this point. Why change it before we know the issues? Bruce Sutherland said his motion stands. Rory Kunz said high density was explained by Mr. Christensen – the high density residential is the cap and could go lower if necessary. Bruce Sutherland said the Commission would see this matter again when a plat moves forward. John Bowen said they should wait to rezone the property after the developer meets requirements. Director Christensen stated that after Director Davidson’s comments that city staff has the ability to stay on top of the issues and plans and that Mr. Davidson did not see an issue in moving forward, Mr. Christensen feels confident this request could move forward. Director Davidson commented that the city generally does not call for a traffic study until after a zone change. However in this case, because of the area and concerns, there was a need for it at this time. Richard Smith had a comment. If a traffic study is necessary, do not bring the issue in for a zone change until we have the traffic study results. Bruce Sutherland called for a vote. In Favor Opposed Steve Oakey John Bowen Rory Kunz Richard Smith Greg Blacker Jedd Walker Bruce Sutherland Melanie Davenport Gil Shirley abstained as he was not present for most of this hearing. Motion carried. Unfinished/Old Business: None New Business: None Compliance: None Non-controversial Items Added to the Agenda: None Report on Projects: None Tabled Requests: 1. Development Code Ordinance No. 1115 Amendment –Proposed changes to the Development Code concerning substantive and non-substantive changes 8 Steve Oakey motioned to pick Development Code Ordinance No.1115 Amendment for proposed changes to the Development Code up off the table. Rory Kunz seconded the motion. None opposed. Motion carried. Chairman Walker said he had sent out an email several days ago to the Commissioners that everyone was to review the proposed changes and come prepared with any questions relative to the items. Community Development Director Christensen asked for any concerns. Bruce Sutherland said he did not see any red flags in the proposed changes. Steve Oakey said pursuant to the discussion of mini homes and shipping containers: Section 3.17.020 p. 101 – Central Business District - Steve Oakey said a long list is added. Could more general verbiage be used? Mr. Christensen said many of the conditional uses were moved to the permitted uses list, to simplify the process for applicants. These proposed amendments to the Development Code are more of a stopgap. The city is trying to remove some barriers. They are trying to make the process easier for applicants and development. Many conditional uses were moved to the permitted uses list. They are trying to make the Development Code document work until there is substantial rewrite in the future. Steve Oakey said the biggest changes are in lighting. Director Christensen clarified that discussion of this lighting issue already took place before the Commission some time ago, with City Electrical Inspector Bret Stoddard helping in presenting the issues. The changes were just not added to the code. They already basically have been approved by this group. Steve Oakey said regarding ‘prohibited lighting’ -.flashing, reader board, etc. - sometimes personal preference gets built into these rules. He suggested that: Commercial Lighting Standards p. 207 Number 2, under xiii – regarding flashing, nuisance lights - could be rewritten more simply. Director Christensen suggested language such as: ‘Lighting could be problematic as determined by staff.’ Section 4.15 page 216 PUD size should say minimum one acre for residential PUD. Section 5.10 page 256 PEZ (Pedestrian Emphasis Zone) has been changed to PEO (Pedestrian Emphasis Overlay). Steve Oakey asked what is the difference and why. Director Christensen said there is no difference. The wording remains the same. It is just a clarification and change of the name. The PEZ was never a zone. It is an overlay, therefore the clarifying name change to PEO. The overlay is to allow reduced parking and higher density in the specified area; that is what the overlay is trying to achieve. 9 Section 4.14 Commercial Lighting Standards, xiiii p. 207 - delete the word ‘Exempt’ lighting – the document should say ‘Example’ lighting Section 3.27.170 a. Change in use of University Facilities p. 166 Strike - a. Conditional Use Permit section Section 8.5 – Impact Area Add in the approved new Impact Area legal description, said Richard Smith. Section 3.20 Industrial Zone, page 129-130 – Strike -‘Pasture and Range Land’ out of the conditional use list. This should have been taken out already, as it has been added to permitted uses. DJ Barney in the audience said he liked the proposed changes that have been made to the code. Chairman Walker opened the public input portion of the hearing. In Favor: None Neutral: None Opposed: None Written Input: None Chairman Walker closed the public input portion. The proposed changes to the Development Code would include what is shown in the working Development Code document that the Commissioners have reviewed , and in addition the changes that were stated in tonight’s P&Z meeting. Melanie Davenport motioned to recommend to City Council to approve the proposed amendments to the Development Code Ordinance No. 1115 as currently stipulated and discussed. Gil Shirley seconded the motion. None opposed. Motion carried. Building Permit Application Report: None Heads Up: January 19th, 2017 P&Z meeting – No items scheduled Steve Oakey motioned to cancel the January 19th, 2017 P&Z meeting. Bruce Sutherland seconded the motion. None opposed. Motion carried. The meeting was adjourned at 8:50 pm.