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HomeMy WebLinkAboutRFD - 20-00601 - 264 & 280 E Main - Comp. Plan Map Change to Neighborhood CommercialMixed Use Reason for Decision City of Rexburg 35 North 1 East Phone: 208.359.3020 st Rexburg, ID 83440 www.rexburg.org Fax: 208.359.3022 #20 00601 Comprehensive Plan Map Change 264 & 280 E Main – Change to Neighborhood Commercial/Mixed Use 1.July 30, 2020, An application was received for a Comprehensive Plan Map change from Lot to Moderate Residential to Neighborhood Commercial/Mixed Use by the City. 2. August 5, 2020, The Staff Review Summary and Staff Report were added to the file. th 3.August 6, 2020, Notice was sent to the newspaper to be published on August 14 and th August 28. 4.August 20, 2020, Notice was posted in front of the property. Documents were completed and sent to the Commissioners. 5.September 3, 2020, Alan Parkinson presented the application to the Planning & Zoning Commission. 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. 1 | Page Chairman Rory Kunz reviewed the public hearing procedures. He opened the public hearing at 6:37 p.m. Written Correspondence: NoneFavor: None Neutral: None rd Opposed: Mike Sponseller - 17 S 3 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 rd directly across S 3 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 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 rd 3 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. rd Griseille Datwyler – 15 S 3 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 2 | Page 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 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 3 | Page 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. 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. 4 | Page 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. 6.September 16, 2020, Application presented by Staff to City Council. City Council Meeting September 16, 2020 A.Resolution 2020 – 17 Comprehensive Plan Map Amendment for 264 & 280 E Main St #20- 00601 from Low to Moderate Density Residential to Neighborhood Commercial/Mixed Use – Alan Parkinson Planning and Zoning Administrator Parkinson reviewed the city sponsored Comprehensive Plan Map amendment for 264 and 280 East Main Street from Low to Moderate Density Residential to Neighborhood Commercial/Mixed Use. Council Member Johnson asked for clarification regarding the Comprehensive Plan Map amendment without the zone change request. Planning and Zoning Administrator Parkinson replied the Residential Business District doesn’t have a Comprehensive Plan Map designation. City Attorney Zollinger explained eventually there will be a request to change the zone. Council Member Flora questioned if the Comprehensive Plan Map amendment is denied by City Council is there any consequences. Planning and Zoning Administrator Parkinson replied the challenge would be the city has a zone out of conformity. 5 | Page RESOLUTION FOR AMENDING VISION 2020 REXBURG COMPREHENSIVE PLAN MAP Resolution No. 2020 - 17 6 | Page WHEREAS, on the 16 day of September, 2020, the City Council for the City of Rexburg was th duly convened upon notice properly given and a quorum was duly noted; and WHEREAS, in a Rexburg Planning and Zoning Commission meeting on the 3 day of September rd 2020, the Planning and Zoning Commission held a public hearing, taking public comment for and against the proposal to amend the Comprehensive Plan Map. The public hearing ended with a recommendation of the proposed Comprehensive Plan Map change to City Council; and WHEREAS, in a subsequent City Council meeting on the 16 day of September, 2020, the City th Council reviewed the findings from the Planning and Zoning Commission’s Public Hearing held on the 3 rd day of September, 2020; and WHEREAS, a comprehensive plan is a living document; an ongoing planning participation effort by the citizens of the community is encouraged to ensure changing conditions meet the needs of the community; and WHEREAS, proposed changes to comprehensive plan map can change land use designations; and WHEREAS, the following approved Land Use designation changes to the Comprehensive Plan Map from Low to Moderate Density Residential to Neighborhood Commercial/Mixed Use at approximately 264 and 280 E Main St (20-00601) in the City of Rexburg, Madison County, Idaho and more particularly described as follows: Comprehensive Plan Map Amendment Legal Description: 264 East Main St: Commencing at the Northwest corner of Lot 4, Block 1, of the Rigby addition to the City of Rexburg, as per the recorded plat thereof, and running thence south 9.5 rods; thence east 5 rods; thence north 9.5 rods; thence west 5 rods, to the point of beginning. 280 East Main St: Commencing at the Northeast corner of Lot 4, Block 1, of the Rigby Addition to the City of Rexburg, Madison County, Idaho, as per the recorded plat thereof, and running thence west 5 rods; thence south 10 rods, thence east 5 rods; thence north 10 rods to the point of beginning. WHEREAS, the changes shown on the Comprehensive Plan Map dated September 16, 2020 have been approved by the City Council; NOW THEREFORE, by resolution duly adopted on the date first above written, be it resolved by the Mayor and the City Council the following: The City of Rexburg does hereby accept and adopt the said Comprehensive Plan Map Land Use Designations in the City of Rexburg Vision 2020 Comprehensive Plan. RESOLVED this __ day of September, 2020; by the City Council, City of Rexburg, Idaho. ________________________________ SIGNED BY: Jerry Merrill, Mayor ATTEST: I hereby attest that the above is a true copy of a Resolution passed at a regular meeting of the Rexburg City Council, City of Rexburg, held on September ___, 2020. (Seal) ________________________________ Deborah Lovejoy, City Clerk 7 | Page ATTACHMENT MAP: AMENDED COMPREHENSIVE PLAN MAP 09-16-2020 Council Member Mann expressed his concerns with the Comprehensive Plan Map amendment. The current zone has allowed residents to convert their home into businesses without changing the character of Main Street. The allowable uses in the Comprehensive Plan amendment would allow the property owner to change the character of area. Council Member Walker moved to approve Resolution 2020 – 17 Comprehensive Plan Map Amendment for 264 and 280 East Main Street from Low to Moderate Density Residential to Neighborhood Commercial/Mixed Use; Council Member Flora seconded the motion; Mayor Merrill asked for a vote: Those voting aye Those voting nay Council Member Flora Council Member Mann Council Member Walker Council Member Johnson Council Member Wolfe Council President Busby The motion carried 8 | Page