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HomeMy WebLinkAbout9.03.2020 P&Z Minutes_exppdf 1 City Staff and Others: Scott Johnson – Economic Development Stephen Zollinger – City Attorney Natalie Powell – Compliance Officer Alan Parkinson – City Planner Tawnya Grover – P&Z Administrative Assistant P&Z/City Council Joint Work Meeting: Goal to finish picking out the spots on the Comprehensive Plan Map. Everyone was given a map of a conceptual drawing of what Alan thought might work. The Commissions’ job is to determine if they agree with his designations. Parcel lines vs. General Areas. If parcel lines are followed, the Commission will see fewer Comprehensive Plan Map changes than with General Areas. General Areas will cause parcels with two designations to come before the Commission each time to bring the parcel into compliance with any zoning requests. Parcel lines are trickier for the Commission right now, however, this will save applicants’ time in the process. The group says we will follow parcel lines. Sally Smith brought an area to Alan’s attention. On Moran Road, there is property there that was recently purchased and it is being split into 2-3 zones. Right now the land is an industrial zone. The owner wants to put in residential and the Comprehensive Plan will need to be changed. Basic American takes up a majority of the nearby area. Do we want residential in this area? There are also grain fields. How many of you would like to live near Basic American? There are days when the smell from their plant is strong. Residences are already in the area. Should we move the residential in this area further to the south ? Randall Kempton says the conceptual map shows what is right now. He would like a transitional zone that allow a use in an area to go either way. The map he is working with shows the uses as they are right now and not what they should be or could be. This is the tricky part. He talked about keeping the area along the 2nd Yellowstone commercial. The Thomson Farms area provides a break between commercial uses, and apartment buildings are currently under construction there. Part of the Thomson Farms development is commercial. This area has been changed within the last couple of years to bring the area into compliance with the zoning. This development has a Neighborhood/Mixed Use commercial organization. These transition areas are not in the new designations the group was anticipating. Steve Oakey said the topic tonight is general visioning areas, not zoning areas. If someone wants to come in and change the zoning, the comprehensive plan areas should be broad enough to allow the uses, rather than change the Comprehensive Plan and the Zoning. Alan Parkinson said the people and uses that exist where they are will not be forced to change anything. We have to look at where we think the future uses are going. Where do we see the growth going? Do you see a lot of growth on the north end? John Bowen says isn’t the change to the Comprehensive Plan and Rezone happening right now? Alan answered, we have been making Comprehensive Plan Map changes in a several little areas. Is the Comprehensive Plan guiding us in the direction we want to go? Or are we granting each person’s request who makes application? Some areas will change anyway. We want to project uses, so there are less Comprehensive Plan changes needed. 35 North 1st East Rexburg, ID 83440 Phone: 208.359.3020 Fax: 208.359.3022 www.rexburg.org Planning & Zoning Minutes September 3, 2020 2 Randall Kempton talked about commercial corridors. On Main Street, a commercial corridor is working its way to connectivity from the Mixed Use area at about 5th W to the commercial on Pioneer Road. There is some residential in between. Are the neighborhoods changing to commercial? The airport is right in this area, so buildings cannot be very tall due to the flight path. Randall Kempton talked about land on the east side of the University has apartments. Apartments are along S 2nd E to E 7th S, but there is still University land south of E 7th S where apartments could also be located adjacent to University land. Visioning along the university should provide more housing. Kristi Anderson says the MDR1 apartments are further from the downtown, but they are not the large density apartments. The apartments on this east side of the university are zoned HDR1 & HDR2. Buildings in HDR1 are bigger than you think. Vince Haley asked how far are we projecting out? Alan answered, 5-10 years. Vince said the Abri Apartments are west of S 2nd E. There are three blocks around Cornell area designated in zoning as LDR2. Alan said this area will be included in form-based zoning with its own Comprehensive Plan designation. No designations can be changed to match form-based code until is adopted by city government. Alan said another proposal coming before the Commission will be a change in the Pedestrian Emphasis Zone overlay East of S 4th W and the railroad tracks to S 2nd W, extending the current boundaries PED boundaries. Steve Oakey talked about the constancy of change. He looks at what kind of barriers can we take down. When I allow people to make decisions for their own life, no matter what that is, it generally turns out well. Alan asked, what is the balance? Property rights vs. what is best for the community. Steve said Charlotte Walker came in and on the Barney Dairy Rd, she wanted to develop her family property into residential, but the neighbors didn’t want that. She wanted city-size lots, instead of 1-acre lots. The neighbors wanted 1- acre lots. Are we going to turn her down because the neighbors don’t want small lots? For me, it is an easy answer; it is her property; let her do what she wants to do. However, we want to preserve the neighbors’ value as well. Alan said, I hope people understand, our decisions on these map designations don’t lock people into what they can and can’t do. Everything is open to interpretation and change, depending on what people ask for. People have the right to come in and request a change to the Comprehensive Plan Map and the Zoning Map. Scott Johnson said people have the opportunity to ask. Bryan Ball was trying to develop, but the road and other things was more than anticipated. Steve Oakey did talk to Bryan Ball that there was several reasons the project didn’t go forward. Sally Smith said that we need to remember the map is just part of the Comprehensive Plan. Transportation is part of the Comprehensive Plan. The road would need to change, in Bryan Ball’s example, to meet the goals of the Transportation section of the Comprehensive Plan. Reviewing a plan for Comprehensive Plan compliance is a combination of factors and those factors can impact each other. Alan asked how many people know what stacking is? Stacking is when you have to stop at a light, people behind you have to stop and stack-up. When that stacking locks up other intersections causing no cars to be able to turn, a blow-up, the city has to step in and design a better system. Blow-up makes a road very difficult to use. Sally is saying, when the volume of a road is increased, more lanes have to be put in or different traffic painting configurations to improve the flow of traffic. 2nd E has 26,000 cars. Alan believes 30,000 cars on 2nd E will cause a blow up and something will need to have to be done. Alan said geography also plays into transportation as well. Sewer and water needs to be reviewed. It may be we can not service this area at this time. Sewer and water on the north end of the town will be expensive. Scott Johnson said there are a lot of reasons that determine what uses should go in certain places. We won’t be able to anticipate every factor. When an application comes in, the departments each review the plans to determine if it meets the requirements of the City. This review process usually takes a couple of weeks. 3 Kristi Anderson talked about industrial behind Wal-Mart between commercial and residential. The area right now is open fields. Residential in this area could support the commercial uses. One parcel is doing concrete casting for septic systems. There are grain bins, a trucking company are in this area, a parcel is shipping cinders and a fertilizer plant will change to propane and fuel. Currently, there is a stretch along the railroad for these industrial uses. Alan said commercial likes to have street frontage. Scott Johnson confirmed the need for commercial to be seen from the road. He said we have lost quite a bit of light industrial in the city. Yellowstone Highway allows rail and highway access. There is also good access to Highway 20 in this area. We may think rail use is dying, but it is actually starting to come back due to shipping costs. Pocatello is working with Union Pacific. If this happens, you will see the trains come through the city more frequently. A study was done about how many people are using rail from Ashton south. They were astonished by the results in tons. We need an area with Light Industrial around the rail. Kristi recalled talk about a frontage road coming in the north west for Industrial. Alan said this is a good question; we actually have one parel in this northwest section of town that is zoned Light Industrial. The frontage road might not happen in 10-20 years. Scott Johnson said in our previous Comprehensive Plan, high-density housing was shown just north of Basic American, because the anticipation was Basic American would move. We now know Basic American is not going to move. The housing probably should not be right next to Basic American. We are trying to look at some best guesses as to what will happen in the next few years. Alan said looking at 2nd E, we are having a lot more businesses starting to build on that road or expand. We are almost full in the Rexburg Business Park and out by the airport. This is about all the Light Industrial we have for people to build out. There is a little bit south of town, but we really don’t have much industrial within the city limits. Light and heavy industrial are included in the Industrial designation. Scott Johnson said the proximity to Yellowstone National Park puts restrictions on industrial. One of the reasons BYU- Idaho decided to move away from using coal was they are just outside of the 50 miles as the crow flies from the national park. We probably won’t have heavy industrial due to the emissions and proximity from the airport also. Alan asked Brett Sampson about the University. What are the projections for BYU-Idaho? COVID has proven more students can attend the University online than in person on campus. Will this effect the future of education? Brett Sampson said he has been watching the online trend and BYU-Idaho has been leading the way on this trend as a church school. There are no projections beyond the 22,000 cap. No buildings are on schedule to expand the campus. We do know students still want to gather and are interested in coming to campus. There are students that are all online or are doing online synchronous classes and are living in Rexburg. What does the city need to plan for with all of the BYU-Idaho owned land on the south of campus. Brett does not know. Right now, this land is all being used for farming. Alan said let us start on the north end at the freeway and the group can point out areas believed to need a change. The lines on the conceptual map are not on property lines. Alan tried to put the line on a border of some kind. David Pulsipher feels like the industrial should follow the railroad tracks. ArtCo is not in the city at this point and they will be Light Industrial. Wal-Mart should probably be out of the industrial. Steve Oakey said he believes the jagged edges need to be cleaned up. If it obvious things are creeping into your residential. Create a clean line based on where you are already seeing commercial and light industrial. If you can make lines where there are obvious barriers, like railroads, then make the lines there. Kristi Anderson said, but this is what creates a property owner having to come in to us each time. Steve said the zone request makes a line on a parcel with two Comprehensive Plan Map designations superfluous. The zone is the governing change. Chairman Rory Kunz says, I hear what you are saying, but we have had several requests lately on this issue. Kristi said if the line was clean, on the parcel lines, he would not have 4 had to come see us. Steve said the city used to change the Comprehensive Plan Map two weeks before the zoning. Now the City is doing the Comprehensive Plan Map change and the Rezone at the same meeting. Why is that? The Applicant is paying his money; let us make it easy. Alan said there is a risk. If you do both actions at the same meeting, if one or the other is turned down, the money is lost. The Staff counsels the Applicant about the risk. The Applicant has to choose to do this process and take the risk on their own. Alan agrees with Steve where there are large tracts of farm ground, clean lines can be created, but this is not a defining line of what is going to happen. When the parcels are smaller, it is difficult to have a broad line that runs through. Maybe a mix of both will be needed. Those recent parcels that have just been through a Comprehensive Plan Map change, we are going to want to leave alone. The request denied for 53 & 55 E 1st N did not turn in their appeal. The denial will stand. We talked to them on the phone; they had 15 days from the Planning & Zoning decision by written appeal. If the Applicant does not appeal in the required time, the Applicant will have to start over. Vince Haley said in this situation, if Joe off the street comes in and makes a request and the Commission denies the application, the Applicant has the right to come back and ask again. He does not want to deal with Joe coming back every two weeks. Steve Oakey said the iron rule of zoning is things are going to change. A vibrant, living economy causes change. Alan tries to give the Commissioners all the tools they need to place the boundaries where they feel is best based on their current information. There is a variety of community members in the room to help weigh in on the map from their perspectives. Scott Johnson said the reason why the commercial does not have a clean line east of N Yellowstone Highway, is because we have already had development come in and request a change. Steve says he still feels people are viewing this map as written in stone; it is a visioning map. Randall Kempton cannot understand why overlapping designations is not the answer. Alan asked Spencer about changing the Comprehensive Plan Map on proposals recently approved. How would this affect future buildings that would go into these areas? Randall said why do we have to have designated lines? The Idaho State Law says specific areas have to be designated for the Comprehensive Plan. Alan said you would have to go back and choose different designations that are a blend, which would support what Steve is proposing in the first place. Randall says a designation blend communicates to someone coming in that an area can go either way. Kristi asked what do other cities have? Cities do a variety of strategies. Alan said we can do what Randall is suggesting, but you would need more designations; a designation would have to be created to allow both zoning types in it. The initial discussions were on simplifying the designations and make less of them. If the group feels this is the way we need to go, we can go that way. Tawnya said, think of areas that are already high-density. Are the designations right next to single-family? Do we need to have a buffer between them? Perhaps you need a designation in between Low-Density Residential and High-Density Residential and you make a designation that would allow for that. David Pulsipher confirmed the designations are required by State law and any zoning change has to match what is in the Comprehensive Plan. Therefore, the Comprehensive Plan cannot just be a broad statement; it is a legal force. The clean lines would be nice if this was just a guiding document. Alan said you have to have a designation and a zone that matches the designation. If you do not, then you have to come in and change the Comprehensive Plan Map to Rezone. This is the only reason why we have a Comprehensive Plan; otherwise, we would just have zoning laws. Steve Oakey read from Givens & Pursley, “The Act [LLUPA] indicates that a comprehensive plan and a zoning ordinance are distinct concepts serving different purposes. A comprehensive plan reflects the ‘desirable goals and objectives, or desirable future situations’ for the land within a jurisdiction. This Court has held that a comprehensive plan does not operate as legally controlling zoning law, but rather serves to guide and advise the governmental agencies responsible for making zon ing decisions. Te Board may, therefore, refer to the comprehensive plan as a general guide in instances involving zoning decisions 5 such as revising or adopting a zoning ordinance. A zoning ordinance, by contrast, reflects the permitted uses allowed for various parcels within the jurisdiction. (p.34)” The Comprehensive Plan Map should be a visioning tool and easily changed. The discussion in his mind takes place with the zoning. Attorney Spencer Rammell talked about the Comprehensive Plan Map being binding and there is a mechanism in place. It used to be the Comprehensive Plan Map could not be changed every 6 months and that was too long between changes;. Scott Johnson said this was actually state statute. Now it can be changed whenever someone requests it. Steve said do we want to make it more difficult to make the Comprehensive Plan change? Spencer said the courts may interpret the law differently. We can send a link to the Commissioners for this handbook to the group. Vince Haley says if the request is denied base on the visionary documents, what can the Applicant do? The Applicant has the right to appeal. Steve lives in a neighborhood that not too many years ago adamantly opposed an upgrade in density. Last year, the neighbors agreed to change to high-density. Vince is trying to determine what level he needs to zone in on as a visionary. Alan said the key word is visionary; we are trying to get a guidance map. We are determining where we think we see the city going, knowing we could be 100% wrong next year. We will look at this map again and adjust. Scott Johnson said let us look at Basic American. 20 years ago Basic American was in place. There is a smell that comes off of the plant. 20 years ago, we did not think Basic American would stay. Now, we know they are and they are expanding. So, you are probably not going to have housing right next to the plant. Steve said, this does devalue the housing around the plant, but maybe this is an opportunity for affordable housing near this plant. Like used cars, there will be somebody that wants to buy the land and they are perfectly happy to live there. He does not think we should deny them the choice, as long as state health guidelines are met. We are talking about the bearable nuisances. If you live on a farm with cows, you will have heavy methane smells. Drive out in the County and there are people living next to these farms. Alan says when the spuds are sprayed to kill the tops of them, he has to deal with this every time. Sally said by looking at the acreage percentages the group can also determine the needs of the city. 600 acres of the industrial use is Basic American of the 843 total acres designated as industrial. Vince Haley said we currently have twenty-one zones. He proposes four new designations to the current list. Alan said we just went from eleven designations down to six. Aaron Richards asked if you could write into the Comprehensive Plan within 100 feet of a designation border could have either designation? No, the designations have to be specifically identified on the map. Alan said I am going to get one section from the group discussed before the end of the work meeting. The parcel line behind Wal-Mart will be the dividing line between Industrial and Commercial. Industrial will be on the East and Commercial will be on the West. This line will continue north to the Impact line boundary and south to the city boundary line, which goes around ArtCo. Commercial will follow the boundary line around ArtCo on the west side. ArtCo will remain Light Industrial. The line to the south of ArtCo dividing and Commercial and Light Industrial will generally remain the same, but follow parcel lines. Basic American’s parcels will be the only parcels on the north west corner east of Highway 20 and west of N 2nd E that will be designated as Industrial. The remaining land will be Low to Moderate Density Residential. Open Space will be most of the area around the river. The ground around the river is being used for agriculture, however, there are a few houses on Moran. Housing would not be allowed at the end of the runway for the airport. 340 N 12th W parcel and parcel to the east, bordered by Highway 20 and south that are currently Low-Moderate and Moderate-High Density Residential south of these parcels will be commercial. Land at Thomson Farms and south to the river and east will be low to moderate residential. The commercial will stay the same in this area. Most of this area east of the old Wal-Mart is residential and is being developed as residential. Alan said we will clean up the map to reflect the areas discussed today. Then, at our next meeting, we will work on the land south of the river. The golf course will be low to 6 medium density residential. The parks will be shown and also the school buildings. We will pull the city buildings and the county buildings. The corridor at Highway 33 commercial. Are we o.k. with the commercial shown on this road by Mother Hibbards and Valley Wide? The group agreed. Kristi recalled a request west of the Highway and south of W Main Street. North of the river was discussed; the next meeting will discuss the south side of the river. Meeting closed at 6:28 p.m. Chairman Rory Kunz opened the meeting at 6:30 p.m. Roll Call of Planning and Zoning Commissioners: Present: Chairman Rory Kunz, Greg Blacker, John Bowen, Steve Oakey, Vince Haley, Kristi Anderson, David Pulsipher, Todd Marx, Randall Kempton, Sally Smith, Aaron Richards. Minutes: 7 Planning & Zoning Meeting August 20, 2020 (action) Motion: Moved to approve the minutes for August 20, 2020, as recorded, Action: Approve, Moved by Steve Oakey, Seconded by Kristi Anderson. Vote: Motion passed (summary: Yes = 10, No = 0, Abstain = 1). Yes: Aaron Richards, Chairman Rory Kunz, David Pulsipher, Greg Blacker, John Bowen, Kristi Anderson, Sally Smith, Steve Oakey, Todd Marx, Vince Haley. Abstain: Randall Kempton. Public Hearings: 1. 6:35 p.m. – (20-00601) – 264 & 280 E Main – Comprehensive Plan Map change from Low to Moderate Density Residential to Neighborhood Commercial/Mixed Use. The properties are a medical office and a hospice service. Adjacent to the west is a large medical plaza on Professional Plaza Street. (action) – City of Rexburg Staff Report: Planning & Zoning – Alan Parkinson – In reviewing what was going on in the city, there are two areas that we will be discussing tonight on E Main going up to the hospital. The two properties are the only two properties that are Residential Business District. After this hearing, there will be a request for a zone change. To change the zone, the Comprehensive Plan needed to be changed first. Right now, the two properties are Low to Moderate Density Residential. The two properties are being used as businesses; we believe this area is more of a commercial area. The proposal is from Low to Moderate Density Residential to Neighborhood Commercial/Mixed Use. Staff recommends the change for Commission approval. Staff reviewed the application and believes this to be in the best interest of the neighborhood and the community. Conflict of Interest? - 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. Vince Haley said his parents live on the other side of this block. Chairman Rory Kunz asked if Vince has a financial interest in the rezoning of this property. Vince answered, he does not. Chairman Rory Kunz reviewed the public hearing procedures. He opened the public hearing at 6:37 p.m. Written Correspondence: None Favor: None Neutral: None Opposed: Mike Sponseller - 17 S 3rd E – He does not know enough to know what is happening here. Does this mean a County Fried Chicken can go on this property? He lives directly across S 3rd E from the highlighted section. He has lived across the street for 11 years and in Rexburg for 15 years. Right now, the area has trees along the road. Are you talking about taking the trees down that have been growing there for seventy plus years? Is there going to be lighting and generators or air conditioners? If there is lighting problems or noise, he will complain. Right now, there is more of a parklike feel adjacent to his home. His big concern is to rezone a neighborhood street to commercial. He has some friends from Boston, Clark and Christine Gilbert. Christine says this is her favorite street in Rexburg; the street makes her feel like New 8 England. There is a charm to the neighborhood. When you change the designation to a type that could be anywhere in Rexburg, you lose the charm that Rexburg has and what is special about Rexburg. He said you can do whatever you want in the Professional Plaza part, but once you start coming up S 3rd E, messing with the residential homes with children. If he thought the area would be commercial someday, he would have never bought his house there. He does not know enough about what the plan is; it could be a very nice plan; right now, he is against the proposal. Griseille Datwyler – 15 S 3rd E – This is her first home with her and her husband. The two were just married. They were able to save up enough money to buy their first house. We would never have bought this home, if they knew the street in front of their home was going to be commercial. She votes against the proposal, because when the two do have children, people coming in and out using the parking, not having a lot of parking available, and just not being a neighborhood we thought it would be. Rebuttal: Chairman Rory Kunz asked Alan to speak to the reason the application was initiated. Alan Parkinson – The purpose is the Professional Plaza used to be a Professional Office Overlay and when the zoning was removed, the area reverted to low to moderate density residential. The zone is not correct for the use. There are no plans for a change at this point, but the uses for commercial in the Community Business Center would be allowed there. As far as taking out trees, there are requirements for landscaping, setbacks, noise, light and buffering for neighbors in residential areas. The properties are being used for commercial. Additional parking would have to be buffered. Commissioner Questions for the Applicant: David Pulsipher talked about these being the only two parcels in the city zoned Residential Business District. Is this request in purpose to eliminate the Residential Business District zoning? Alan confirmed this question. These are the only two lots in the entire city zoned Residential Business District. The Residential Business District zone is not being utilized. The Community Business Center matches the current use for compliance. The city will propose to remove the Residential Business District. The properties have to be rezoned before the zoning designation can be removed. David remembers when these two properties were changed to Residential Business District. The point of the Residential Business District was to look residential and allow commercial. Removing this zone would open the businesses up to non-residential looking buildings in these locations. Alan said this is an option for these two properties. Kristi Anderson said she believes Residential Business District is a commercial designation in the Comprehensive Plan. If the zoning stays Residential Business District, the Comprehensive Plan Map can be changed. Alan said the Comprehensive Plan Map change approval does not guarantee the zone change. David Pulsipher asked if the Residential Business District would be allowed in the current Low to Moderate Density Comprehensive Plan Map designation. The Residential Business District zone is not included in the Comprehensive Plan Map designation table. He sees this designation as a hybrid designation. Chairman Rory Kunz asked if someone does want to tear these homes down, is there a design review process the applicant would have to go through? Alan answered as long as their plan meets the standards for design in the Development Code, they would not have to go to the Design Review Committee. It is when they want to do something different then they do have to go before the Design Review Committee. Steve Oakey asked Alan talked about the city’s policy for owners removing trees on their property. For example, Raymond Hill has a house just up the street with some large trees. Does 9 the city prohibit private owners taking out their own trees? Alan answered; if the trees are located in the right of way landscape strip, someone could take trees out, but those trees would have to be replaced. On private property, trees can be removed. Steve asked Alan to talk about creating safe zones for the children. Alan said Staff is mindful of the children’s safety. The city has two crosswalks in this area and the speed limits drop significantly there; this will not be changing at this time. Sidewalks will continue. Steve assumes city has nuisance rules for lighting and noise production. Alan confirmed the City has rules for both. Lights cannot reflect into the neighbors’ yards; they have to be directed down; the city uses light meters to test the lighting to make sure they are not intruding on the neighbors. Noise and odor are reviewed. Businesses are reviewed for the nuisance value to the surrounding neighborhoods. Aaron Richards clarified the city is proposing this change; the property owner is not requesting this change. The surrounding residential uses, are they grandfathered at this point? Could commercial be allowed on the single-family lots? Alan answered only these two lots are changing; the lots around this area would require a comprehensive plan change and rezone. This would be end of the commercial moving east toward the hospital. Sally Smith asked about the acreage of the two lots. 0.313 + 0.3 = 0.613 acreage. Vince Haley said the proposal is Comprehensive Planned as Low to Moderate Density Residential, which the properties are not currently being used as, they are currently being used 100% commercial; there is no one living in these homes. The proposal is to change the property to Neighborhood Commercial/Mixed use, which would allow a better fit for the use. The uses are grandfathered in because they have been there longer than anything else has. David Pulsipher is looking at the proposed designations moving forward; this would be a commercial designation. Alan said we have to look at this proposal as if the discussions to change the designations did not exist. Kristi Anderson would like to know which Comprehensive Plan designation the Residential Business District would be under. Looking at the adopted Comprehensive Plan Map designations, Residential Business District is not one that can be zoned to and match the Comprehensive Plan. She does not know if she agrees to the proposal. Vince Haley talked about the need to fix this, because it is commercial in a residential area. Right now, he is looking at the proposal as matching what the property is currently doing. Alan said Residential Business District is not in the current Comprehensive Plan designation chart. A change would be needed to a current designation. Chairman Rory Kunz reminded the Commissioners the proposal is for the visionary Comprehensive Plan change. David Pulsipher confirmed the lots are grandfathered. Vince read from the Development Code in the RBD zone, “The objectives are 1) a single structure that will function as a part of a greater neighborhood, 2) the architectural design and character will be compatible with that of the surrounding residential environment, 3) attractive and well-maintained landscaping will also be characteristic of this zone. The RBD zones shall only be allowed if the area requested for designation as such is contiguous to either a commercial zone other than RBD, industrial zone, or a medium or high-density residential zone. The RBD zone is established to provide for the use of single-family residential homes for commercial and service uses.” The book identifies the zone fits; we need to bring it up to code. David Pulsipher identified the zoning exists, but that zoning designation is not linked to anything on the Comprehensive Plan. Chairman Rory Kunz asked if anyone else would like to speak. He closed the public input portion of the hearing at 6:59p.m. 10 MOTION: Move to recommend City Council approve the request to change 264 & 280 E Main to Neighborhood Commercial/Mixed Use based on the fact the two homes do not have residential uses, but 100% commercial uses and they are contiguous with a commercial designated area, Action: Approve, Moved by Steve Oakey, Seconded by Todd Marx. Commission Discusses the Motion: David Pulsipher speaks against this vote. He believes the use is working well in a Low to Moderate Density Residential and is not willing to change the RBD to CBC. He thinks the property works the way it should; a commercial business looking like a residential. This is a gateway for the neighborhoods in this area. Going every direction but west is residential. This is an open blank check for commercial going east. Now it is commercial, but being kept in a low to moderate density appearance. He feels this is the right move for the future. Chairman Rory Kunz believes this is not an open check. The zoning keeps the uses in their bounds. Kristi Anderson said leaving it as it is, is there a problem with that? As is, the property is not in compliance and is out of compliance. We could leave the land as it is until something is fixed in our code. Tawnya said the Residential Business District is on only these two lots in the city and has not been changed for many, many years. No one is using this zone; these two are just grandfathered. Aaron Richards believes Staff is doing their job and addressing a nonconforming issue. David Pulsipher feels Staff is doing their job and they are trying to clean things up. This is a necessary move for the next hearing to rezone to Community Business Center. When you only have two lots in the city under a single zoning designation, he understands why you would want to clean that up. At the same time, the zoning designation was created for a reason and these two pieces are actually doing very well as they are. Chairman Rory Kunz deferred to the attorney for compliance. Attorney Spencer Rammell counseled a motion is in place and seconded, a vote should happen. VOTE: Motion passed (summary: Yes = 9, No = 2, Abstain = 0). Yes: Aaron Richards, Chairman Rory Kunz, Greg Blacker, John Bowen, Kristi Anderson, Sally Smith, Steve Oakey, Todd Marx, Vince Haley. No: David Pulsipher, Randall Kempton. 2. 6:40p.m. – (20-00602) 264 & 280 E Main, Professional Plaza Street and Grand Loop from Residential Business District, Low-Density Residential 2 (LDR2), and Technology and Office Zone (TOZ) to Community Business Center (CBC). (action) – City of Rexburg Staff Report: Planning & Zoning – Alan Parkinson – The Professional Office Overlay was a zoning designation that used to be in play. When it was taken out, the parcels reverted to what fit in a commercial zone. This section was missed somehow and changed into Low-Density Residential 1, but most of the parcels are already commercial uses. The proposal includes the two parcels from the previous hearing, where the Comprehensive Plan Map change was recommended. These are clean-up areas. The reason for the E Main parcels is to bring them into compliance, so the Residential Business District can be removed from the code. The Grand Loop area is in the Technology Office Zone. This zone was created to allow high-speed fiber, a high-technology area with computers. This area has not been built out or used in this fashion. Technology fits within any commercial or light industry zone. The buildings on the two lots in the TOZ zone that have been built on are not being used this way. Most of the lots are not being used. The front part of this development is the East Idaho Credit Union. Doctor’s offices are built on the east side of the business park. Residential townhomes have been built to the south. The area would fit better zoned a commercial center. We have reviewed the proposal as Staff and we believe this to be the best option to create a more usable area. 11 Commissioner Questions for Staff: Aaron Richards asked about the area for the reverted zoning. The area for Professional Plaza Street was the area for reverted zoning, not the 264 & 280 E Main properties. 264 & 280 E Main are zoned Residential Business District. Alan clarified there is a doctor’s office on the corner of Ash Ave. and E Main Street and residential in between this business and S 3rd E. Staff is not asking to change any of this block at this point. Greg Blacker asked to see the two residences included in the rezone. The houses are located on the south side of the plaza. The homes are being used as rentals and are not owner-occupied. David Pulsipher talked about the doctor’s office next to the hospital Alan identified; it has been a doctor’s office forever. Why is this doctor’s office not being changed to a Community Business Center zone? The homes along E Main Street between the proposal and the hospital are believed to be owner-occupied and are not being changed at this time. If the residents want to change the zoning here, they would come in and make the request. Chairman Rory Kunz reminded Commissioners the discussion should be on the properties for the proposal before them tonight. Conflict of Interest? - 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 that have not already been discussed. Chairman Rory Kunz reviewed the public hearing procedures; he opened the public hearing at 7:14p.m. Written Correspondence: None Favor: None Neutral: None Opposed: Mike Spotseller – 17 S 3rd E - Can the city approve all but one parcel in the proposal in the neighborhood? Can the parcel on S 3rd E be excluded from approval? The proposal would have to be shut down tonight and a separate proposal would be needed to come before the group. This is what Mike would propose. Rebuttal: None Chairman Rory Kunz asked if anyone else would like to speak. He closed the public input portion of the hearing at 7:17p.m. Commissioners Discussion: David Pulsipher has stated what he wants to say. He says changing the Grand Loop area and the Professional Plaza area work really well. He is concerned about the E Main parcels and the way they intrude into a residential area. He believes the Residential Business District is a nice transition zone. David is surprised there are only two parcels in the city who have taken advantage of this zoning. He would do the same Residential Business District with the other long-standing doctor’ office. He is opposed. He believes these businesses should be in a residential zone with some kind of conditional use permit to be 100% commercial. If it has to be all or nothing, he is against. Kristi Anderson feels the same way; she feels the proposal should be split up. Steve Oakey has no strong decisions one way or another because the property owner is not making the request. If the property owner was making the request, he would feel differently. Randall Kempton agrees with David Pulsipher. If we are eliminating the zone and making an administrative change that does not need to be made, he feels we should keep the zoning. Vince Haley agrees with the comments made, but wants to uses statistics for his reasoning. The homes in the Professional Plaza request are rentals along E 1st S. 12 His parents live nearby as a statement of fact. If the proposal is met, giant buildings like Season’s and Hemming’s could be built up against the homes. The CBC allows a 10’ front setback, a 0’ rear yard setback along the backs of these homes. The building can be 65’ tall. The zone allows these elements. Spencer Rammell said the issue is not the future proposal, but the parcel itself. Alan clarified the setbacks are increased up against residential. Vince talked about the area around Grand Loop and the tall commercial buildings against the residential homes to the north. The land proposed is separated from the proposed lots and the residential by a canal. He is concerned about the tall buildings allowed in commercial up against a very residential neighborhood. Looking at the entrance of the commercial park into this area, it is not intrusive, but 65’ is very tall against a single-family dwelling. Sally Smith asked what the Technology Office zone allows. Vince read the setbacks for Technology Office zone: the front setback is 10’, the rear yard is none and the zone allows a 55’ building height. Sally said right now, the same building types and setbacks of a Community Business Center zone could be built in the Technology Office Zone. Aaron Richards said now the Comprehensive Plan matches the actual use today, if the zoning was denied, would the zoning be in conformance? Alan answered, as they are currently, yes, they are currently in compliance with the Comprehensive Plan map. Kristi confirmed in the TOZ zone, the Comprehensive Plan Map designation matches, but the zone does not match the current uses of the buildings. MOTION: Motion to recommend to City Council to deny the request to rezone the parcels due to the fact the properties of 264 & 280 E Main have the correct zoning and the requests were submitted and have to be considered as one. We recommend the areas come back as three separate requests, so the Commission can review each request separately, Action: Amend, Moved by Kristi Anderson, David Pulsipher seconded. Commission Discusses the Motion: 264 & 280 E Main will be one request, Professional Plaza will be a second request and the Grand Loop will be a third request. Vince Haley said there would still be some LDR1 residences on the south end of the Professional Plaza request. Chairman Rory Kunz said this is true, but not unheard of. Randall Kempton agrees RBD is the correct zoning for 264 & 280 E Main. Zoning is messy and sometimes we need to leave some mess. VOTE: Motion passed (summary: Yes = 10, No = 1, Abstain = 0). Yes: Aaron Richards, Chairman Rory Kunz, David Pulsipher, Greg Blacker, John Bowen, Kristi Anderson, Randall Kempton, Sally Smith, Steve Oakey, Vince Haley. No: Todd Marx. 3. 6:45p.m. – (20-00505) – Rezone 220, 224 & 228 N 3rd W and parcel RPRRXB10122970 from Low-Density Residential 2 (LDR2) to Medium Density Residential 2 (MDR2). The Applicant is seeking to greater densify this area with rental properties. (action) – Blake Jolley for Morgan Peterson Applicant Presentation – Blake Jolley – 1150 Hollipark Drive – The main reason behind the request is the Comprehensive Plan allowing developers to see into the future. As we look at this area, it is identified as Low-Moderate Density Residential. Medium-Density Residential 2 (MDR2) is allowed in the designation for Low-Moderate Density Residential and fits the zoning designation. As we look at the zoning in the surrounding areas. In the general vicinity there is some MDR2 zoning. Northeast of this request is some MDR2. South of the block and northeast, there is some Medium-Density Residential 2 zoning. Blake feels this fits the area and the overall concept plan. Ability to serve the parcels with infrastructure. Some of the criteria for rezone requests are if they request is in compliance 13 with the Comprehensive Plan, the capacity of existing public facilities (sewer, water, streets). Staff has identified this request does not put an undue burden on existing facilities and the capacities are available to handle this type of zone request. Safety, emergency and public services; Staff felt this was not applicable. The only comment is the area would have to be platted. We are in the process of doing this right now, irregardless of the decision tonight. There have been changes taking place in this area. The last item is compliance with the Development Code. “The change tonight will bring some of the current uses into compliance with that code with the current uses.” These items are being read from the Staff Report. Blake believes the request matches the trends the Applicant has seen in this area. Commissioner Questions: Kristi Anderson asked for the parcels to be identified. Steve Oakey asked if this area is in the Infill/Redevelopment area. It is not. The request is north of the boundary for the Infill/Redevelopment overlay. Staff Report: Alan Parkinson – The proposal is in an area that is currently Comprehensive Plan designation is Low to Moderate Density Residential. The property is currently zoned Low-Density Residential 2. The proposal is for Medium Density Residential 2 allowed in the same Comprehensive Plan Map designation. In the surrounding area, single-family homes are to the north. Mobile homes are to the east and the west. Single-family homes are to the south. Three of the homes to the south are duplexes. Zoning in the area is Low-Density Residential 2 surrounding the proposal. The property in recent months has been platted for additional lots and access. Platting is in process. The Applicant is seeking greater density with rental properties. There parcels are already attached to city water and sewer. Duplexes were approved in 2002, 2003 and 2004 on the south side of the block. If it is deemed necessary, a Traffic Study will be requested. Recommend the Commission approve the proposal if compatible with the area and in the best interest of the neighborhood and the community. Commissioner Questions for Staff: Greg Blacker asked if the rentals are owner-occupied. Alan answered there is a combination in this area; he is not sure of the specifics of who lives in or rents otherwise. Greg lives close to the area, but not in this area. He asked what the truck route for Walters’ Ready Mix is usually. Alan answered most of the trucks will come down 5th W or through Rocky Mountain. He does not believe it is a major road for N 3rd W. Conflict of Interest? - 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; he opened the portion of this meeting at 7:40p.m. Written Correspondence: None Favor: Wayne Henry – 381 E 3rd S – He holds the property directly to the west and the south. He does not live on the property, but rents the homes. The property that has three manufactured homes on the corner. The neighborhood is a variety of single-family, multi-family, commercial and the fair grounds. Wayne feels the development will improve the neighborhood and prompt further development. Increased density gives people incentive to invest, increase the landscaping, and to improve the neighborhood overall. In addition, the continuity of the neighborhood would be improved as well, since there is a lot of variety in the area. He put a mobile home up for rent and received 50 responses of people who wanted to live there. More affordable housing brings in 14 people and more traffic. He is not sure of the impact. Increased people is increased tax base and keeps people in the community. 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 7:43p.m. Commissioners Discussion: Sally Smith feels this is a transitioning area. Major improvements were recently made in W 2nd N. Traffic should not be a problem. The fairgrounds are used more and more. More housing in this area is probably a good idea. She feels the area would be improved with the higher density. Since this proposal matches the Comprehensive Plan, Randall Kempton would be in favor. Aaron Richards would support this type of redevelopment, the land use and the area fit. MOTION: Move to recommend City Council approve the request for rezone of 220, 224 & 228 N 3rd W and parcel RPRRXB10122970 from Low-Density Residential 2 (LDR2) to Medium Density Residential 2 (MDR2) because it fits the Comprehensive Plan and seems to be a good area for this kind of development, Action: Approve, Moved by Randall Kempton, Seconded by Aaron Richards. Commission Discusses the Motion: None VOTE: Motion carried by unanimous roll call vote (summary: Yes = 11). Yes: Aaron Richards, Chairman Rory Kunz, David Pulsipher, Greg Blacker, John Bowen, Kristi Anderson, Randall Kempton, Sally Smith, Steve Oakey, Todd Marx, Vince Haley. Chairman Rory Kunz read the heads up. Vince Haley asked if another work meeting could be held before the hearing? The Commission agreed. A work meeting is planned for 5p.m. on September 17th to finish the Comprehensive Plan Map designations. Heads Up: September 17th Hearings: 1. (20-00603) – Development Code Ordinance Amendment – Remove Infill, Amend PED, Amend LDR3 density Adjournment: Commissioner Rory Kunz adjourned the meeting at 7:46PM.