HomeMy WebLinkAbout09.07.17 P&Z Minutes
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Commissioners Attending;
Heidi Christensen - Chairman
Bruce Sutherland
Greg Blacker
Steve Oakey
John Bowen
Gil Shirley
Rory Kunz
Kristi Anderson
City Staff and Others:
Brad Wolfe – Council Liaison
Val Christensen – Zoning and Building Official
Tawnya Grover – P&Z Administrative Assistant
Nicholas Loosle – Community Development Intern
Chairman Heidi Christensen opened the meeting at 6:32p.m.
Roll Call of Planning and Zoning Commissioners:
Attending:
Steve Oakey, Kristi Anderson, Gil Shirley, John Bowen, Heidi Christensen, Rory Kunz, and Greg
Blacker
Melanie Davenport, Darrik Farmer, and Mark Rudd were excused.
Minutes:
1. From Planning and Zoning meeting – August 17, 2017
Gil Shirley motioned to approve the Planning & Zoning minutes of August 17, 2017 with Horrocks
spelling change on page 3 and one sentence on page 4 needs the word “do” struck. John Bowen
seconded the motion.
All in favor. None opposed. Motion carried.
Silver brook rezone will be moved to October 5th, 2017 due to the Labor day holiday. It did not
make the paper deadline for the September 21st meeting.
Public Hearings:
1. 6:35 p.m. - Thompson Family Farm - Rezone Configuration – Approx. 950 N. Yellowstone Hwy. –
(#17-00439) No change in the size of each zone on the parcel. Zones on parcel will stay CBC,
MDR1, and LDR2. (See Dev. Code p. 219-220; Comp. Plan Ch. 6)
Paul Bringhurst is representing Stillwater Equity Partners based in Alpine, Utah. 160 W. Canyon
Crest Road, 84004. Pauls’ company has two arms: one is developing and the other is lending. They
finance real estate development with all types of buildings all over the country. Paul was an engineer
for ten years before working in Salt Lake’s planning and zoning department. He was also in
economic development for two years before joining his current employer. He thanked the
Commissioners for their service to the community.
Dale Thompson approached this company. Many in his company liked the location
opportunities for development in Rexburg. The property is a little over 60 acres. The parcel abuts
the Yellowstone Hwy. The existing zoning is for some gradient. The intense uses fronted the
highway and graduated out. There is a unique opportunity with three zones on one parcel to get
35 North 1st East
Rexburg, ID 83440
Phone: 208.359.3020
Fax: 208.359.3022
www.rexburg.org
Planning & Zoning Minutes
September 7, 2017
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different uses, but the integration is more difficult with the linear strips. With the current zoning,
the residential will stare at the back of the commercial buildings. A collector road will need to feed
this development somewhat in the middle. He is respecting the current zoning with the exact same
acreage. He has just reshaped it. This allows the zones to face each other and create some
connectivity between those uses.
Existing
Proposed
Chairman Christensen asked the Commissioners if they have any clarification questions for the
applicant. None. She thanked the applicant.
Chairman Christensen asked the Commissioners if they had any clarification questions for staff.
None.
Chairman Heidi Christensen opened the public input portion of the hearing at 6:41p.m.
Favor: None
Neutral: None
Opposed: None
Written Input: None
Rebuttal: None
Chairman Heidi Christensen asked if anyone would like to speak? No response. She closed the
public input portion of the hearing at 6:42p.m. She invited staff to report.
Zoning and Building Official, Val Christensen, talked about the densities remaining the same,
this is just a reconfiguration. The staff was content with the medium density being used to buffer
the commercial component from the residential in the current zone configuration. Val has talked
with Paul about grid connectivity concerning roads through the parcel. With Paul’s new zone
configuration, the south CBC zone has no piece of medium density to buffer the lower-density
residential. The staff felt that if there were roads to split the uses, this could be the needed buffer.
The parcel is very wide. In the comprehensive plan, it talks about 500’ blocks. In this parcel, the
roads requested are placed at about 1,000’ blocks. These streets will probably be collectors within
this parcel. He requests the commission condition the rezone on streets. A road on to the state
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highway will have to be approved by the Idaho Transportation Department. In the future, a traffic
study may be required.
Val read the Public Works Director’s staff review notes, “Sewer capacity is limited and will have to
be reviewed as development happens along this corridor.”
Right now, there is capacity for water and sewer. There are a lot of projects in this area that are
unfolding. Depending on how fast these projects develop, sewer capacity may be an issue. The City
is looking at solutions to increase capacity for this area of north Rexburg. Staff recommends the
Planning & Zoning Commission determine if this request complies with the objectives of the
comprehensive plan and the best interests of the community.
Tawnya read the “Land-use Objectives found in the City of Rexburg Comprehensive Plan”
provided by Craig Rindlisbacher:
Minimize the conflicts generated from incompatible land uses
Cluster synergistic activities into community nodes
Ensure high quality residential development that:
o Is well maintained
o Reflects positively on the City’s identity
o Generates a strong sense of community
o Supports effective neighborhood development
Promote safety and security
Increase the options for multi-model access and circulation that:
o Provide redundant connections to adjacent land-uses and community amenities
o Facilitate strong linkages between neighborhoods
Encourage efficient use of land, public infrastructure and tax dollars
Steve Oakey asked if Paul and Val have discussed the grid system. He also asked about a home-
owner’s association. Paul talked about the north-south zone border. He was trying to align this
border with an LDS church south of the parcel to continue with connectivity. Paul talked also
about an east-west road. Essentially, it is a plus design that has been discussed. He wants the traffic
engineers to determine the size of those roads. Paul has no problem with the block grid. He was
talking about a property manager on site for the medium-density. He is open to a home-owner’s
association. Steve knows his questions don’t relate to the zone itself right now. Steve asked about
private roads internally and the maintenance of those roads. Paul initially assumed the roads will be
public, but is willing to explore private roads.
John asked about the curved road between Commercial and MDR zones and if it can handle the
traffic for both zones. He referenced the many businesses along the highway that each have their
own access. Val talked about this being a bad plan for safety. In the future, Val discussed the
businesses having many accesses within the development and a single access to the highway. John
likes the layout and the separation with the business and residential.
Rory Kunz requested the comprehensive plan be reviewed. Val discussed the comprehensive plan
and the strict boundaries that are not required. The parcel has two regions with different zones
including commercial and low to moderate.
Gil had questions about the development of roads on the north of the property. He was concerned
with other roads within the development. Val said the applicant will come back with a subdivision
plat. Additional roads will be included to connect into the larger collectors.
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Steve Oakey clarified Val’s recommendation.
MOTION:
Steve Oakey made a motion to recommend to City Council to grant the request as stated with the
condition that the applicant follows the staff recommendations. The applicant will implement a
grid system for the roads “at the boundaries of the zones north to south, and the east to west boundary between
commercial and medium density would continue through to divide the LDR zone in half and provide access to the
parcel behind the Thompson property” as per conversation between developer and staff, and due to the
property development benefits for the community.
Bruce Sutherland seconded the motion.
Commission Discusses the Motion:
Steve does not want to inhibit the development with specific language. He would like to keep the
general language. Rory Kunz talked about the medium density used to buffer between commercial
and low density. Heidi thinks the buffer here is the road. Rory asked if this meets the standard the
body intends? He is thinking about the precedence the Commission is setting. Gil likes the way it
is laid out. He talked about driving through commercial to get to the residential. This new
configuration makes each area more accessible. Kristi also had the same hesitation as Rory.
Perhaps, the strategy for this parcel is different than the proposal in the previous meeting. John
talked about the new configuration enhancing the sales of the properties. He talked about looking at
each project individually. Greg talked about the people who choose to move into these areas
knowing what they are getting into up front when they purchase because of the zoning. Kristi
suggested the motion be more clearly stated to include the road configuration. Steve talked about
an assumption that the applicant knows how best to merchandise their property. He doesn’t own
the property and doesn’t know Paul’s success on other projects. He will leave the consequences up
to the developer.
VOTE:
Those in Favor
Heidi Christensen - Chairman
Bruce Sutherland
Greg Blacker
Steve Oakey
John Bowen
Gil Shirley
Rory Kunz
Kristi Anderson
Those Opposed
None
Motion Carried.
Heads Up:
September 21, 2017 P&Z Meeting:
Hearings:
1. U Wrench Annexation – 1334 N. Yellowstone Hwy. - (#17 00461) Due to expansion
and additional hook-up to city water and sewer and the lot is adjacent to city limits, the
city is requesting the lot be annexed into the city.
Rory Kunz motioned to adjourn the meeting. Greg Blacker seconded the motion. The meeting
was adjourned at7:12p.m.