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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02.07.19 P&Z Minutes_exppdf 1 City Staff and Others: Scott Johnson – Economic Development Stephen Zollinger – City Attorney Natalie Powell – Compliance Officer Tawnya Grover – P&Z Administrative Assistant Chairman Rory Kunz asked Commissioner Melanie Davenport to chair tonight’s meeting. Chairman Melanie Davenport opened the meeting at 6:30p.m. Roll Call of Planning and Zoning Commissioners: Present: Melanie Davenport, Greg Blacker, Steve Oakey, Kristi Anderson, Council Liaison Brad Wolfe (Not voting), Keith Esplin, Vince Haley, Todd Marx. Absent: Bruce Sutherland, John Bowen, Darrik Farmer, Rory Kunz. Minutes: From Planning and Zoning meeting – January 31, 2019 Keith Esplin Memorial change to Idaho Water Users Association. Motion: Motion to approve the minutes with the above change., Action: Motion, Moved by Keith Esplin, Seconded by Todd Marx. Vote: Motion passed (summary: Yes = 6, No = 0, Abstain = 1). Yes: Keith Esplin, Kristi Anderson, Melanie Davenport, Steve Oakey, Todd Marx, Vince Haley. Abstain: Greg Blacker. Public Hearings: 1. (#18-00712) – 146 N 1st W – Rezone from High Density Residential 1 (HDR1) to High Density Residential 1 (HDR2). There is no HDR2 zoning adjacent to or in this area of the city, however, the parcel is adjacent to some Mixed Use parcels. (action) Presenter: Attorney Zollinger The project was originally constructed by Bron Leishman. The property is across the street from Tri-State Tire. On the North is the Twin Pines apartments. At the time it was originally constructed, a series of building were built on the east side of the development for storage. The applicant has seen little desire for the tenants to make use of them. The applicant is asking to rezone to HDR2 to allow the conversion of storage areas into apartments. 35 North 1st East Rexburg, ID 83440 Phone: 208.359.3020 Fax: 208.359.3022 www.rexburg.org Planning & Zoning Minutes February 7, 2019 2 Chairman Davenport asked if the commissioners have a conflict of interest. None. Compliance Officer Powell presented the staff report. There are no public works issues or extra traffic due to this change. Commissioner Steve Oakey stated this change does not affect the height of the buildings and asked about parking issues. Powell answered the applicant will need to turn in a site plan with the construction drawings indicating there are enough parking stalls for the added units. Chairman Melanie Davenport opened the public input portion of the hearing at 6:36p.m. Favor: None Neutral: None Opposed: None Written Input: None Rebuttal: None Commissioner Oakey asked if this change would require three readings in City Council. The response was it would unless City Council waves the rules. This would need to be part of the motion. Chairman Davenport closed the public input portion of the hearing at 6:37p.m. Commissioner Kristi Anderson asked if this change would be a “spot zone.” A spot zone means you are creating an island that is inconsistent with surrounding zoning. The adjacent zones have similar densities, so this would not be considered a spot zone. Staff did not consider this to be inappropriate for this area. MOTION: Motion to recommend to City Council to approve the applicant's proposal and suggest they consider this proposal third read, because this causes little change to increase the value of the person's property., Action: Motion, Moved by Steve Oakey, Seconded by Greg Blacker. Commission Discusses the Motion: None VOTE: Motion carried by unanimous roll call vote (summary: Yes = 7). Yes: Greg Blacker, Keith Esplin, Kristi Anderson, Melanie Davenport, Steve Oakey, Todd Marx, Vince Haley. 2. (#18-00709) – 150 E 2nd N – Rezone from Community Business Center (CBC) to Mixed Use (MU). There is no Mixed Use zoning adjacent to this parcel or in this area of the city. Surrounding parcels are Community Business Center (CBC) and in close proximity to Low Density Residential 2 (LDR2). (action) Attorney Zollinger presented the property as a residential home directly west of the Bank of Commerce. The home is sandwiched between 3 a commercial driveway and the back of Claire and Dee’s. The home is currently a single- family home. The properties to the west are all single-family homes. The applicant is requesting the property be rezoned to Mixed Use. The infrastructure is not an issue. Staff does not have a problem with the zoning part of the property, however, Staff felt the dormitory use is not consistent with the uses in this area causing some concern. Commissioner Oakey recognized the change would drop down the allowable building height. As currently zoned, CBC allows a 65’ maximum building height and Mixed Use would drop this down to 55’. Attorney Zollinger clarified Mixed Use is the designed interface between commercial and residential zones. Commissioner Esplin asked if the property is big enough for apartments. This comment will need to be brought up in the CUP request. Commissioner Oakey referred to the staff report. The comments thereon do not enthusiastically recommend this change. Attorney Zollinger responded there is possibly a miscommunication due to two public hearings on this property at the same time and the fact this zoning is a desirable buffer between commercial and residential. Chairman Melanie Davenport asked if this change would be considered a spot zone. Attorney Zollinger responded this is a good buffer between commercial and residential; it does not constitute spot zoning. Commissioner Haley referred to the Staff Report language of “spot zoning.” Dormitory housing is not allowed in the CBC zones. Commissioner Esplin asked for the definition of dormitory housing. Attorney Zollinger answered, dormitory housing is a congregate-type space with shared kitchen and amenities. Chairman Melanie Davenport opened the public input portion of the hearing at 6:50p.m. Favor: None Neutral: None Opposed: None Written Input: None Rebuttal: None Chairman Davenport closed the public input portion of the hearing 6:51p.m. Commissioner Steve Oakey sees this as a down-zone; he doesn’t see a problem. He suggests the staff should be more clear about the stand on the matter. Commissioner Keith Esplin asked if everyone within 350’ was notified? They have been notified. The property was also posted with the notice. Commissioner Greg Blacker asked about the illegal size of a parcel for this zone. The property is already non-conforming in size as the property is only 6,000 square feet. The parcel is already nonconforming in the CBC zone. Commissioner Steve Oakey does not believe this is a good residential home with the commercial projects around the home. He believes the group is denying the applicant the value of his property. MOTION: Moved to recommend the City Council approve the zone change from Community Business Center (CBC) to Mixed Use (MU), because it provides a good buffer from the commercial to the residential east of the property., Action: Motion, Moved by Vince Haley, Seconded by Keith Esplin. 4 VOTE: Motion carried by unanimous roll call vote (summary: Yes = 7). Yes: Greg Blacker, Keith Esplin, Kristi Anderson, Melanie Davenport, Steve Oakey, Todd Marx, Vince Haley. 3. (#18-00708) – 150 E 2nd N – Conditional Use Permit for Dormitory Housing. The applicant is illegally using the property as dormitory-style housing. He is attempting to bring this use into compliance with City zoning. (action) Attorney Zollinger stated the concern from staff is the ability to gain access to the back yard for parking. Although the applicant has submitted a proposed drawing, it does not meet the minimums. Without an easement or access off the current alley, staff cannot determine any manner that would allow any more than four parking stalls. A 22’ driveway is required and the applicant only has a little over 16’6”. The applicant may be able to negotiate some understanding with the commercial driveway. As proposed, staff does not believe the timing is proper for dormitory-style housing. Presenter: Cy Hepworth After talking to Claire & Dee’s, Chris Cornelius said he could put access through the back fence to his driveway. A strip of property was discussed to provide access, but the owner is not interested in selling this property. The property is in a unique place. Across the street is Standard Plumbing. The property across the street also has the rear yard covered with asphalt. Single-family homes are not current uses allowed in Community Business Center or Mixed Use. Cy is trying to get the house to work. Concerning the sound, commercial is a greater noise generator than dormitory renting. Individual students showed up to rent the rooms. Those students sublet the rooms to create the dormitory situation we are seeing. Cy is trying to cause this structure to be compliant for the dormitory use. Financially, a commercial space wouldn’t cover the mortgage. Chairman Melanie Davenport asked, why don’t you find a use that works there? Commissioner Steve Oakey talked about the City code requirements. A two-way drive requires 20’. 13’ would be required to have a one-way drive. If a permanent written easement could be obtained supporting the access plan, Staff could have commented on this information. Attorney Zollinger stated conditions could be placed on the CUP that would be contingent on the access. This easement would not have to be granted in perpetuity if the condition was tied to the CUP. If the easement is sold, the applicant would have to discontinue occupancy and the applicant would have to find a different use for the property. Chairman Melanie Davenport asked why the easement agreement was not brought tonight? The property owner would not give permanent easement. 5 Staff Report: The concern by staff is the ability to gain access to the backyard for parking. The applicant has submitted a site plan. However, the road does not meet required minimums. Approval of access from the alley has not been obtained at this time. Access using the commercial driveway might make the access viable, but this is not the case at this time. Chairman Melanie Davenport asked how many people put input into this report? Public Works, Planning & Zoning, and GIS departments contribute to the Staff Report. Attorney Zollinger and Acting Planner, Scott Johnson, have also reviewed the review comments. Commissioner Greg Blacker asked about the green space. The green space of 10% is required on the property. The parking is one space per tenant. Commissioner Kristi Anderson asked about the snow removal. The applicant answered there is room on the southern border, about 6’ to put the snow when removed. The drawing submitted will not be sufficient for occupancy. If a snow storage area is not identified, a written plan for the removal of snow will need to be submitted. Chairman Melanie Davenport suggested the staff report is limited. Item “e” was identified as the location for outstanding issues. Tawnya shared Val has dormitory housing just down from where he lives. He feels like the noise generated and traffic are nuisances. The boys are very disruptive trying to impress the girls at this dormitory housing. Val Christensen is looking out for the Bell’s; he feels dormitory at this time may not be a good idea. Mrs. Bell has had surgery and could not be present tonight. Mrs. Harris may participate for her. Chairman Melanie Davenport opened the public input portion of the hearing at 7:16 p.m. Favor: None Neutral: None Opposed: Ryan Thueson – 654 Harvest Drive – Chris Cornelius is his business partner and they own the alley to the west of the applicant’s property. There are storage units south of Cy’s property. To the south, there is also a dormitory-like use; there are transitional people in an out all day long. The people are there by the court’s order. He has had people wandering around his property. Someone tried to steal a car off his property. A person was arrested just the other day from this house. He is not trying to take away someone’s ability to make money, however, he feels it is a big problem trying to put residential into a commercial area. Ryan’s business has been in its present location for 53 years, like the Hepworth’s. The applicant’s house tonight has been a single-family home up until just a few months ago. He identified a pony wall fence Cy is trying to gain access through to the driveway. Ryan does not plan to give this access by easement. He does not know what is going to happen with his property in the future. An easement gives away part of his property. Ryan doesn’t care if Cy tears down the fence to get access using the driveway. He does not have a problem with someone using the driveway. However, it is his driveway and if he has something parked in the driveway, don’t come ask him to move it. If the tenants can’t park; it will not be his problem. Written Input: None 6 Rebuttal: Cy Hepworth responded in lieu of this house and there are many other houses like these all over Rexburg. Just because the magnifying glass is on this property today, the issue is not solved. No one wants to live there as a single family. The look and style of the home does not lend itself to commercial uses. Financially, this is the only way this property works. Chairman Melanie Davenport closed the public input portion of the hearing at 7:25p.m. Commissioner Vince Haley talked about the Bank of Commerce as a 9-5a.m. Monday through Friday business. Standard Plumbing closes down on Saturday at noon. The area tones down on the weekend. He works in an office in this vicinity. His office has an easement for the owner behind them, and they have had a difficult time appeasing her. Commissioner Haley does not like easements. He does not see the idea of a dormitory working well in this area. Commissioner Kristi Anderson wondered if the request was approved and there was noise or problems, could the CUP be revoked? Permits can be revoked if laws are broken. This would go through the court system. Commissioner Steve Oakey does not want to prohibit anyone from doing what they want on their property. Cy has several issues he has to work through with the City. From Steve’s perspective, he would sit back and watch to see if Cy can produce a product he can sell on the market. Commissioner Vince Haley sees a hindrance to Claire & Dee’s ability to get his semis in and out, which hinders the ability for them to sell their product. Attorney Stephen Zollinger stated the access as clarified by Ryan will not get Cy Hepworth approval. A temporary easement would be needed to process this application; there is no other logistical way to make this proposal work. Commissioner Steve Oakey will not stand in the way of two consensual people negotiating commerce. He would make a motion to approve the application if no one else is. Commissioner Greg Blacker feels he cannot vote for this because the requirements for the City are not met. Commissioner Steve Oakey says the challenge of the market is creativity. Commissioner Keith Esplin agrees with staff that this is not a good place for dormitory housing, but I don’t know what else the applicant would do with the property? This housing would be for non-BYU-I students. Chairman Melanie Davenport does not feel this is the right timing; it is too early and the proposal is incomplete. There is an oversupply of housing, which brings the prices down to meet the demand. Commissioner Steve Oakey stated it is up to the owner to sell his product. The oversupply brings the prices down to meet the demand. The market will determine who will succeed and who will fail. Tawnya stated the Conditional Use Permit will be tied to the property. When a property is sold, the Conditional Use Permit goes with the property. Commissioner Keith Esplin stated we should give him the right to try. MOTION: Recommend to City Council to pass the application as requested to allow a working relationship with the City and the owner, Action: Motion, Moved by Steve Oakey, Seconded by Keith Esplin. Vote: Motion failed (summary: Yes = 3, No = 4, Abstain = 0). Yes: Keith Esplin, Kristi Anderson, Steve Oakey. No: Greg Blacker, Melanie Davenport, Todd Marx, Vince Haley. 7 MOTION: Recommend the City Council deny the request, because the property does not meet the standards and rules of the city, Action: Motion, Moved by Greg Blacker, Seconded by Todd Marx. Vote: Motion passed (summary: Yes = 4, No = 3, Abstain = 0). Yes: Greg Blacker, Melanie Davenport, Todd Marx, Vince Haley. No: Keith Esplin, Kristi Anderson, Steve Oakey. Commissioner Keith Esplin suggested to the applicant to get his permits in place and come back to be heard before this body and the outcome may be different. The proposal will now go to the City Council. Items for Consideration: 1. (#18-00699) 7th & Stonebridge – Preliminary Plat – 103 Townhomes are proposed in the Medium-Density Residential 1 zoning part of the property on the west side of the church located at 475 E 7th N. (action) Staff Report: Public Works Director Keith Davidson taught on a preliminary plat, Staff is looking for the utilities to be laid out, street right-of-way widths, and storm drain calculations. The preliminary plat would be a plan view with the lines on top to make sure the utilities will work for the development. The final plat is just looking at the metes and bounds descriptions, making sure the sign blocks are correct, the canals should be indicated, and irrigation requirements met. Some of the lines didn’t come through on the preliminary plat; water and sewer lines need to be extended to property lines. There a couple of items that have not been taken care of yet. There is an irrigation ditch that runs through this property and services properties to the south. Mr. Jolley is working with the properties to the south to see if the irrigation ditch can go away. If the irrigation ditch cannot go away, Mr. Jolley will have to account for that. Grading will be looked at on the construction drawings. Lighting will also be required on the construction drawings. 8 Mr. Jolley is in the process of doing a traffic impact study, and as soon as Keith gets those results back, he can determine what corrections will be needed. The preliminary plat helps to draft the development agreement. A development agreement lays out the requirements for the developer including building of the roadway, expanding 7th N, area charges, and the developer’s portion of the traffic signal. A sidewalk will also be need to connect this development to Covey Cove to the west. Chairman Melanie Davenport suggested “Development Agreement” be defined in the definitions section. Attorney Zollinger said the development agreement requirements are determined by the location and needs of a property are individual for each property. Commissioner Kristi Anderson asked about the funding for the traffic light changes. ITD met, but no decisions were made. Keith Davidson is trying to set up a meeting with the Jason Mensiger, District Engineer at ITD, who wants to negotiate items concerning Hwy 33. There are no clear decisions from ITD at this time. Presenter: Blake Jolley – 1150 Hollipark Dr. – Connect Engineering – The preliminary plat takes place on the West side of the church boundary to the storage units, behind the homes to the south, and along 7th N. The plat will be a one-lot plat that will house townhomes. Some of the units are one-bed, one-bath, and some are two-bed, 1-bath units. Each one is a single story with a single-car garage and a tandem space in front of the garage. Blake has been working with staff to address the comments brought up by Keith. The latest drawings were received yesterday, and a quick review has been completed. Keith has shared the requirements still needed with Blake. Blake is willing to work on addressing Keith’s comments and the requirements of the City. Commissioner Vince Haley asked if the units all look the same. The one-bed units have a garage out front. The two-bed units have a garage that is inset between the units to help mitigate the noise between units. The applicant showed where different units were located on the plat. Commissioner Haley identified a parking lot. Blake tries to provide some guest spaces and this parking lot is a guest parking lot. On-street parallel parking also allows some guest parking spaces. Commissioner Steve Oakey asked if the applicant thinks he can 9 market his development. Blake does believe he can market his product; there are 103 units. Blake’s client also purchased the land to the east of the church. This part of the land is zoned LDR2 and will allow duplexes as a maximum. The project he is presenting today will be a test for the market. Whichever units sell the best, those units will be built as duplexes on the remaining west side of the property in the LDR2 section. Commissioner Vince Haley asked if there would be a formally formed HOA, because the project is not a Planned Unit Development (PUD). The development will remain under one ownership. The owner will be responsible for the maintenance including storm water retention and snow removal; the area outside of the public right-of-way will be maintained by the owner, except the water and sewer easements. Who will be your target market? The owner owns properties like these in different places throughout Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana. They see a variety of people who rent these units. Attorney Zollinger stated the Commission should be looking at whether they like the geographic design and layout. Mr. Keith Davidson will figure out if the infrastructure will work. Commissioner Greg Blacker asked about the pedestrian access. Sidewalks are on both sides of Stonebridge for future connection. Kristi Anderson asked about the greenspace. The plans say “43% is the provided landscape”. There are 40’ -50’ between units. The light color on the plans is landscaping of some sort. Commissioner Esplin clarified the street will be widened in front of the property at 7th N. Blake Jolley stated the road isn’t uniform through this area. Blake is trying to square everything back up; he will add curb, gutter, and sidewalk, and the additional street width as part of his improvements. The road will have to be widened to the corner of the home on the west boundary on 7th N, but the sidewalk will connect in front of the homes to the Covey Cove development. If Keith and Blake can work it out, the one section that connects down to 7th N will also be widened. The hope is something like the agreements with Eden Apartments. Commissioner Keith Esplin asked who pays for the highway widening? The property owners cannot be required to widen the road. In the past, Keith Davidson said in the past, the City traded the improvement for the land to widen the road. Commissioner Vince Haley clarified the road would be widened to the West line. Keith Davidson said, unless the traffic impact study came in and said the impact of the development on the area warranted the widening of the road, the entire road would not be widened. A fairly significant development would have to go in to warrant larger than a 2-lane road. Commissioner Keith Esplin remembered a comment Attorney Zollinger made, wondering why the road was not widened at the time Stonebridge was built. Attorney Zollinger said Stonebridge as a development would have been required to widen the road, but the widening did not get done. He does not know why the road did not get widened when Stonebridge went in; the Stonebridge subdivision fronts 7th N and the practice of the City has been the development would have to dedicate right-of-way and widen the road. Keith Davidson said this was originally a country area, which has changed into a city area. One of the challenges with Stonebridge is the power line; the power company has an easement and to move the power line would have cost $1 million ten years ago. Chairman Melanie Davenport recognized sometimes things do get missed. Commissioner Vince Haley asked if approval from the landowners would be required to widen the road and put 10 in the sidewalk. An alternative way may be possible for pedestrian connectivity, possibly on the south side of the road. Thomson Farms was reviewed: sidewalk, or get across the road to the pathway for pedestrian connectivity. Attorney Zollinger said if an agreement cannot be reached, with the three homeowners, then when the properties change hands or require permission from the City, the City would influence them to widen the road at that time. Commissioner Vince Haley said he would hate for the property owners to not agree and hold up the project. The types of units Blake is wanting to put in sell very quickly. MOTION: Motion to recommend approval of the preliminary plat, because it meets the requirements of the City for a preliminary plat., Action: Motion, Moved by Kristi Anderson, Seconded by Todd Marx. Vote: Motion carried by unanimous roll call vote (summary: Yes = 7). Yes: Greg Blacker, Keith Esplin, Kristi Anderson, Melanie Davenport, Steve Oakey, Todd Marx, Vince Haley. Report on Task Force: Commissioner Kristi Anderson has been talking to people. Attorney Zollinger counseled, if you do independent research, you are the receptacle of all knowledge. Commissioner Anderson has looked at different websites for different cities to see what notification systems they have. A large number of the websites have systems where the people can voluntarily submit their email. The emails can choose which notifications they get. There is a broad range; the emails can be used for advisory committees, community events, agendas for Planning & Zoning and City Council, and emergency notifications. She asked the Mayor wondering if this kind of thing has come up before. Software is needed to make this system easy to maintain. The Mayor has received advertisements for something like it, but has never done anything with it. The City Manager of Centerville, Utah, and asked what kind of system they have. The City Manager said they do not have a large number of people that use these systems, but they are available. The availability of this system and social media like Facebook and Instagram, which seem to be the most popular, provide a good way for people to get notifications if they want them, besides the newspaper. In Utah, they have done away with their mailing to the property owners, and in its place, they have a statewide database for people to sign up to be notified when land issues come up in their City. Every city has to post their notices on the Utah state website. Calling a task force can be avoided if Commissioner Kristi Anderson writes down her research and provide the information to the Mayor to aid in his decision making. Adjournment: Meeting adjourned at 8:17PM. Heads Up: February 21, 2019: Currently no hearings scheduled.