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HomeMy WebLinkAbout6.04.2020 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 opened the meeting at 6: 30 p.m. He turned the time over to Mayor Jerry Merrill to conduct some business. Commissioner Recognition: Melanie Davenport – completion of 2nd term - served since June 5, 2013 Keith Esplin – stepping down – served since November 8, 2018 Kristi Anderson – reappointment for 2nd term – served since May 17, 2017 Mayor Merrill does not come often to the P&Z meetings, because he is supposed to stay neutral. We would like to thank Melanie Davenport for her years of service on the Planning & Zoning Commission. He has a plaque of appreciation he is presenting to her; he read the inscription on the plaque. He thinks of the Commission like being on the school board; sometimes there are some tense situations and not a lot of appreciation. Melanie waved goodbye to the Commissioners. Mayor Merrill suggested her action sums up one of the benefits of serving on the Commission - you build relationships with the other Commissioners. Keith Esplin is also retiring from the Planning & Zoning Commission. Keith could not be here tonight, but we are thankful for his service and appreciate him stepping in when we needed him. The terms for a Commissioner is three years. The Mayor was surprised when Kristi’s name came up, because he feels like he just asked her to serve. The time has flown by. She has agreed to serve a second term. Commissioner Introduction: Randall Kempton, Sally Smith Randall Kempton and Sally Smith will be joining the Commission. Sally has served with the Council. Randall brings a fresh outlook and a university employee viewpoint. Randall has lived in Rexburg since 1999. He teaches choral music at the University. He has eight children and he and his wife have raised them all in Rexburg. He loves the community; he has enjoyed living here. He looks forward to serving the community. He wants to the see the community stay family-friendly and a beautiful place. Sally is a lifelong resident of Rexburg; she is proud of this. One of the things she has wanted to do is to serve on Planning & Zoning, when she decided not to run for City Council again. She feels P&Z is such an important recommending board. Sally has worked in the real-estate business for 40 years. She has experience on both sides of the dais. She has three grown children, nine grandchildren and five great- grandchildren, who are the joy of her life and lots of fun. 35 North 1st East Rexburg, ID 83440 Phone: 208.359.3020 Fax: 208.359.3022 www.rexburg.org Planning & Zoning Minutes June 4, 2020 2 Roll Call of Planning and Zoning Commissioners: Present: Chairman Rory Kunz, Greg Blacker, John Bowen, Steve Oakey, Vince Haley, Kristi Anderson, Todd Marx, Randall Kempton, Sally Smith. Absent: Bruce Sutherland, David Pulsipher. Minutes: From Planning and Zoning meeting – May 14, 2020 Kristi Anderson said at the very end of the CUP motion, when passing the motion, the minutes stated she was confirming “the expedited approval”. She was confirming the approval of the 89% lot coverage, not the expedited approval. MOTION. Motion to approve the minutes for May 14, 2020, with the identified amendment. Action: Approve, Moved by Kristi Anderson, Seconded by Todd Marx. Commission Discusses the Motion: None. VOTE. Motion carried by unanimous roll call vote (summary: Yes = 9). Yes: Chairman Rory Kunz, Greg Blacker, John Bowen, Kristi Anderson, Randall Kempton, Sally Smith, Steve Oakey, Todd Marx, Vince Haley. Chairman Rory Kunz referred to an invitation the Commissioners received. Jerry Mason with Mason & Stricklin, LLP. will be conducting a Planning & Zoning class, where Commissioners can learn some planning & zoning language from the Association of Idaho Cities (AIC). The training will be on June 11th from 10:30-11:30a.m. Mayor Merrill identified the speaker will be the Attorney for the Association and he has been the Attorney for a long time. He has a lot of knowledge and presents at almost every AIC conference. We invite you to come and attend this training, June 11th, in the City Council chambers. Since the conference is online this year, there is an opportunity to broadcast these classes. Public Hearings: 1. 6:35 p.m. – (20-00266) RPR6N40E203550- Teton River Flats – Change in the Comprehensive Plan Map from Commercial to Low to Moderate Density Residential to match the property to the East that has the same designation approved in 2019. (action) – Bron Leatham Chairman Rory Kunz opened the public input portion of the hearing at 6:41p.m. Applicant Presentation – Bron Leatham – 2535 Little town Dr. – Last year he came in and did a big Comprehensive Plan and Rezone of about 20 acres that wraps around the old Wal-Mart on its north and east side. The land can be accessed on Lorene Street just past the Westmark Credit Union. The land was rezoned to Medium-Density Residential 2 (MDR2). Westmark had this parcel as part of their lot, but they are not using it. Since Bron is developing the land next to this parcel, he did not want to leave an island and approached Westmark to acquire that property. He is just looking to change the Comprehensive Plan and the zoning to match the adjacent land. Commissioner Questions: None 3 Staff Report: Planning & Zoning Administrator, Alan Parkinson – Staff has looked at this request and Staff feels the change is matching the patterns of change in the area. Storm drainage needs to be contained on site. A Traffic Impact Study has been completed and the Developer will share those costs for reimbursement. The sewer service line has limited capacity; the City is working on a plan to increase capacity to accommodate the changes in this area. Sugar City’s needed capacity is prompting this plan. Staff recommends approval of this request. Commissioner Questions for Staff: Greg Blacker asked about the road connection of Lorene into the Stonebridge subdivision. Alan answered part of the project is this connecting road. Chairman Rory Kunz asked the Commissioners if they have a conflict of interest or if they have been approached by any parties relative to this particular subject. If you believe your prior contact with respect to this subject has created a bias, you should recuse yourself, otherwise at this time please indicate the nature of your conversation or contact. None. Chairman Rory Kunz reviewed the public hearing procedures. Written Correspondence: None Favor: None Neutral: None Opposed: None Rebuttal: None Chairman Rory Kunz asked if anyone else would like to speak. He closed the public input portion of the hearing at 6:46p.m. Steve Oakey pointed out the cost is $912 to make this request. He feels this is a simple request and would vote for it. He recommends, due to the simple nature of this request, part of the motion be to bypass three readings on the City Council level. Kristi Anderson asked if the Commission has the authority to make this request of City Council. Chairman Rory Kunz confirmed the Commission could include this request as part of their recommendation to City Council. MOTION: Motion to recommend to City Council to change the Comprehensive Plan Map to Low to Moderate Density Residential for RPR6N40E203550 to match the surrounding area as requested and recommend approval with one read., Action: Approve, Moved by Vince Haley, Seconded by Steve Oakey. Commission Discusses the Motion: None VOTE: Motion carried by unanimous roll call vote (summary: Yes = 9). Yes: Chairman Rory Kunz, Greg Blacker, John Bowen, Kristi Anderson, Randall Kempton, Sally Smith, Steve Oakey, Todd Marx, Vince Haley. 2. 6:40 p.m. – (20-00268) - RPR6N40E203550 - Teton River Flats – Rezone from Community Business Center (CBC) to Medium Density Residential 2 (MDR2) to match property to the East that has been approved in 2019. – (action) – Bron Leatham 4 Chairman Rory Kunz opened the public input portion of the hearing at 6:49 p.m. Applicant Presentation – Bron Leatham – 2535 Little town Dr – This request is the second step to change the land to match the zoning adjacent to the parcel to Medium-Density Residential 2 (MDR2). He appreciates the Staff expediting this process to move the two requests simultaneously, especially when the rest of the property is fully entitled. Often times, this process can be four meetings encompassing two to three months. Commissioner Questions for Applicant: Chairman Rory Kunz asked if this request is for the same property as the previous request for the Comprehensive Plan Map change. Bron confirmed it is the same property. Steve Oakey requested Alan explain what the Comprehensive Plan is and the two actions happening tonight for the new Commissioners. Steve stated the process has changed to consolidate the two actions into one; it used to be the Applicant would come before the Commission for the Comprehensive Plan Map change, and then a few weeks later, he would come in for the request to rezone. Steve feels this change is wise and saves everyone time. Alan Parkinson answered the Comprehensive Plan is mandated by the State to project or plan what we anticipate areas in the city to develop into and what we want to see happen in places in the City. The Plan is a guiding document and ends in 2020. Staff is currently in the process of preparing the Comprehensive Plan for the Commission to review for the next 20 years. Mr. Leatham looks at what he wants to do and the Commission’s job is to decide if the request matches the goals of the community in that Comprehensive Plan. Bron Leatham is taking a risk by submitting both the Comprehensive Plan Map change and the Rezone at the same time, because one of the actions could be turned down and the money for the second request is already spent in notification. Randall Kempton read the Comprehensive Plan should be updated every other year. Alan Parkinson said the plan is reviewed every other year, but a major rewrite is done every 10-20 years. The last rewrite was completed in 2008 for the year 2020. Alan is looking at setting the time for 2040. The Staff’s job is to help keep track of this and come to the Commission to determine if the plan is up to date, if modifications are needed, to determine if the needs of the community are being met, and to identify the direction that is needed. Randall realized this schedule is challenging when the 2008 rewrite and vision went in and the University made major changes the City did not anticipate. Alan also identified at this same time, there was a collapse in the housing industry. He asked why there are two different maps. Alan answered, the Comprehensive Plan Map is the guiding map and the zoning is what is actually approved. The process requires both maps be changed to concur. Staff Report: Planning & Zoning Administrator, Alan Parkinson – Now that he has tentative approval for the Comprehensive Plan Map change, we want to make sure the Comprehensive Plan and the Rezone request match. The adjacent parcel Bron owns is MDR2. The request is for a rezone of Community Business Center (CBC) to Medium-Density Residential 2 (MDR2). The two requests match. Staff has reviewed the proposal and recommends it to the Commission for approval. Commissioner Questions for Staff: Vince Haley asked about the roads involved in the project. Alan answered; Mr. Leatham will be responsible for a portion of the road to make it a passable portion of the road. The north side of the road will not have sidewalks or curb and gutter until someone develops on the north side of the street. Vince asked about access south of Albertsons. Chairman Rory Kunz confirmed a proposal was presented reflecting this access, but the request 5 was not adopted. Vince asked if the plans for the light at ICCU is moving forward. Alan answered, the bids came back very high and the project has been sent out for rebid. The light is anticipated to be completed this year. Vince asked about road connectivity. Bron Leatham responded, his project will tie into the Carlow and Lorene streets. Chairman Rory Kunz asked the Commissioners if they have a conflict of interest or if they have been approached by any parties relative to this particular subject. If you believe your prior contact with respect to this subject has created a bias, you should recuse yourself, otherwise at this time please indicate the nature of your conversation or contact. None. Written Correspondence: None Favor: None Neutral: None Opposed: None Rebuttal: None Chairman Rory Kunz asked if anyone else would like to speak. He closed the public input portion of the hearing at 6:59p.m. MOTION: Motion to recommend to City Council to motion to rezone the property RPR6N40E203550 from Community Business Center (CBC) to Medium-Density Residential 2 (MDR2) for the fact that the Comprehensive Plan Map change was recommended and because the change makes sense. Motion to recommend one reading at the City Council level. Action: Approve, Moved by Vince Haley, Seconded by John Bowen. Commission Discusses the Motion: Sally Smith stated the City Council is required by law to have the three readings. The City Council also has the right to suspend the rules and pass the request in one reading. Chairman Rory Kunz confirmed this is true for any motion made by the Planning & Zoning Commission to City Council. VOTE: Motion carried by unanimous roll call vote (summary: Yes = 9). Yes: Chairman Rory Kunz, Greg Blacker, John Bowen, Kristi Anderson, Randall Kempton, Sally Smith, Steve Oakey, Todd Marx, Vince Haley. 3. 6:45 p.m. – (20-00076) – Thomson Farms - Amend the Comprehensive Plan Map to configure the designations to match the approved Zoning Map. (action) – City of Rexburg Chairman Rory Kunz opened the public input portion of the hearing at 7:01 p.m. Applicant Presentation & Staff Report – Planning & Zoning Administrator, Alan Parkinson – During reviews of the Comprehensive Plan Map, we found when the zone change was changed for Thomson Farms, the Comprehensive Plan was not changed to match the zoning. Staff is asking the Commission to look at this request and change the Comprehensive Plan Map, so both 6 maps concur. Chairman Rory Kunz recalled having two meetings. Planning & Zoning Administrative Assistant, Tawnya Grover explained, when Thomson Farms was a single parcel, the Comprehensive Plan showed two designations on the parcel. Both designations of Commercial and Low to Moderate Density were present on the lot and a change was not needed on the Comprehensive Plan, because this matched the needs of the project. The Applicant had the right to change the zoning without changing the Comprehensive Plan. The map shows the designations in stripes on the parcel. The stripes do not match the zoning shapes. The zoning designation types are not changing. The changes is to show the correct borders to match the zoning layer. Alan stated there is building happening in Phase 1, 2 & 3 of Thomson Farms and the buildings are residential. On the map, the majority of this area is designated as commercial. The Comprehensive Plan Map was shown to identify the current boundaries for the project. The zoning map was also shown to identify the boundaries that the application is striving to achieve. Staff is recommending the change. Steve Oakey asked if the city is sponsoring this request. Alan answered; the City is sponsoring the request, because it is something that was missed. Written Correspondence: None Favor: None Neutral: None Opposed: None Rebuttal: None Chairman Rory Kunz asked if anyone else would like to speak. He closed the public input portion of the hearing at 7:05p.m. Chairman Rory Kunz asked the Commissioners if they have a conflict of interest or if they have been approached by any parties relative to this particular subject. If you believe your prior contact with respect to this subject has created a bias, you should recuse yourself, otherwise at this time please indicate the nature of your conversation or contact. None. John Bowen said this request should be changed to match what the Commission has already approved. MOTION: Motion to recommend to City Council to approve the Comprehensive Plan Map change at Thomson Farms, because it makes sense and because this brings the map into compliance with the zoning that has already been approved. Motion to recommend this request be approved in one reading at City Council., Action: Approve, Moved by John Bowen, Seconded by Kristi Anderson. Commission Discusses the Motion: None VOTE: Motion carried by unanimous roll call vote (summary: Yes = 9). Yes: Chairman Rory Kunz, Greg Blacker, John Bowen, Kristi Anderson, Randall Kempton, Sally Smith, Steve Oakey, Todd Marx, Vince Haley. Items for Consideration: Planning & Zoning Resolution for Deannexation of certain parcels in the Urban Renewal Plan North Highway Urban Renewal Project. Commission to decide if deannexation does not conflict with City’s Comprehensive Plan – Richard Horner (not present). 7 Chairman Rory Kunz referred to the copy of the Planning & Zoning Resolution each of the members of the Commission at the meeting received; it is a document the chairman will have to sign. Steve Oakey asked Alan to explain the Urban Renewal districts and why the parcels are being deannexed. Alan can explain what he has learned, but Richard Horner is the expert. There are times when certain areas in the city need to be improved to accommodate development, such as changes to bridges or roads. The tax base can be shifted to allow the funding to make these changes. The base taxes that normally go to the School District, City and the County continue to go to them, however, the increment in these areas goes to Urban Renewal for these needed projects. When an Urban Renewal District is formed, a time limit is set for use of those funds. In this situation, there are some parcels in a current Urban Renewal District that is getting close to expiring. Urban Renewal wants remove some of the parcels from that district and place them in a new district. This situation describes moving some of the parcels out of a current district and placement into a new Urban Renewal district. Steve stated only a percentage of the City can be designated as Urban Renewal. Urban Renewal is shifting taxes in an area anticipated to be high growth. The City Pool sewer and water was a part of a district. Urban Renewal is a separate entity; the City has no involvement. The Urban Renewal Attorney, Meghan Conrad, had read about this presentation in a previous meeting and the Resolution itself was not presented for discussion. Kristi Anderson says she does not feel this request for deannexation of the Urban Renewal parcels is in conflict with the Comprehensive Plan. Spencer Rammell, City Attorney, advised there should be no negative impact on the parcels proposed to be deannexed. Greg Blacker asked about the duration of the Urban Renewal areas. The time is usually a maximum of 20 years, but can be set to lesser time limits. Randall Kempton confirmed that the Urban Renewal Board is a local board, organized under state statutes. Mayor Jerry Merrill stated he appoints the members, but once they are appointed, they are autonomous. City Staff sometimes presents what they would like to do in those Urban Renewal districts. The increase of the tax base goes into these funds for each district. There are six or seven Urban Renewal districts. He thinks 10% of the property values of the City can be in those Urban Renewal districts. The Board has to follow the State laws and they decide what projects will be done. The Urban Renewal districts were shown on the map. The existence of Urban Renewal districts have been legally challenged, for fear of certain entities will gain the system, because the boards are independent entities. Urban Renewal meetings are open to the public. Spencer Rammell, City Attorney, does not feel a motion is necessary. State statute does not restrict the request to a motion. July 2nd, there are three requests for hearings. Please plan to attend this meeting. Vince Haley asked about the request for a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) adjacent to Taco Time. He understood the corner property had a previous CUP for dormitory. The lots for the development were then joined together and the Conditional Use Permit, then applied to the entire lot. Tawnya confirmed the combination has been completed and recorded. Alan visited with Stephen Zollinger, City Attorney. He said legally he could defend the transfer of the CUP to cover the combined lots; however, he felt it was better to take the proposal before Planning & Zoning. Vince asked, did the request need to go before the Commission? The attorney was he was not positive. The attorney shared this with the landowners and the landowners decided to move forward with the hearing and meetings required for notification. Vince asked if the Commission has the ability to put a sunset clause on the request. When combining lots, is there a way, when this situation is occurring, the Commission always hear these requests? Chairman Rory Kunz stated 8 that loopholes would always be present. Each application needs to be considered on a case-by-case basis. The Conditional Use Permit stays with the land, no matter what selling or buying of the land takes place. Sunsets or time limits can be placed as a condition on a Conditional Use Permit. John Bowen asked about the advantages and disadvantages of this kind of request. A Conditional Use Permit allows a use not specifically laid out in the zone. The Commission decides if the use should be allowed in the specific place in the City. Chairman Rory Kunz identified the CUP process is good for the city, allowing citizens to show up and voice their concerns, if they have any. Alan said, for the request Vince referred to, all places in the City requires a CUP for dormitory use. In the applicant’s case, he was also asking for increased lot coverage. John Bowen asked for a status update on Sundance Apartments. Alan said the CUP has been completed; we are waiting on the Applicant to sign the CUP. Only one read at City Council is required for Conditional Use Permits (CUP). Vince Haley feels the known loopholes should be closed up. Alan feels consistency is the focus. Alan does have a request for volunteers to be a part of the Comprehensive Plan Map changes and Code changes. Staff wants the Commission and Council deeply involved in its construction. Staff looks at areas we see can be changed, makes recommendations, and these boards guide Staff to where we should go. How would the Commission like proceed? The Commission may want to schedule a work meeting to address these sections. Should we plan for a future meeting where there is nothing on the agenda? Alan invited any of the Commissioners to come by City Hall to see the status of these projects and learn about the objectives of the Comprehensive Plan; call to make sure Alan is available. Sally Smith asked about the timeline for completion of the Comprehensive Plan. COVID put Staff two months behind schedule, but they are now continuing to move forward. The goal is to complete the Comprehensive Plan rewrite by December of 2020. Right now, the basis for a public meeting is Envision Madison. The Commission will identify if more public meetings are needed. Chairman Rory Kunz asked Tawnya what she sees as upcoming schedule items. It is too early in June to know if any applications will meet the deadline for the second meeting in July. She should know in the next week or so. She can let the Commissioners know then. Sally Smith says she feels like time goes by so quickly. Right now, the Commission is already talking about the second week in July. Would Planning & Zoning be prepared, if there is a small agenda, to come in for an hour to a work meeting to get things moving? One of the items Alan wants to start with is putting up the Comprehensive Plan Map and brainstorming what the Commission sees is happening, what is needed in areas of the city, like more housing, or light industry. Alan could have this set up for the 18th. The Commission needs to know what we plan to do ahead of time instead of when the applications are placed before them. The Map is the part the Staff is turning over to the Commission. Greg Blacker asked if something could be sent to them to prepare for this work meeting. Alan answered, the biggest preparation the Commissioners can do is to familiarize yourself with what the Comprehensive Plan Map looks like now and what you forsee the changes are in the different areas. In a previous change, clusters were determined for commercial. Where do you see additional commercial and housing? Where do you feel we will grow in the next 15-20 years? Attorney Spencer Rammell said this work would allow the Commission to get ahead of the requests to allow planning prior to application requests. Vince Haley feels there needs to be opportunity for public input. July/August would be the approximate time for a public meeting. Staff is going through the objectives and will bring them to the Commission in chunks. Multiple meetings will be needed to enable the Commissioners to answer the public’s questions. The 9 Commission represents the community. Zoning use requests could also be part of the discussion. Steve Oakey influences Alan. All of the Commissioners have influenced his process for uses. Some uses contradicted themselves. Some industries are out of date. The document has not been reviewed often enough. He would send both the current and proposed documents ahead of time, so Commissioners can prepare. Sally Smith asked about obtaining a copy of the Comprehensive Plan map for the Commissioners’ work. There are no maps printed right now, but the maps will be printed and be ready for pick up at the front desk. Chris Mann, City Council liaison, said the request for the Sundance Apartments did not go to City Council last night. Alan will have colored post-its, which will be placed on a physical map to identify clusters of those areas for change. Heads Up: June 18th – Work meeting. Refreshments will be provided. July 2nd Hearings: 1. (20-00338) – Comprehensive Plan Map Change – 2003 S. Yellowstone 2. (20-00340) – Rezone – 2003 S. Yellowstone 3. (20-00365) – Conditional Use Permit (CUP) – 111 N Center Adjournment: Commissioner Rory Kunz adjourned the meeting at 7:47PM.