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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPZ Minutes 6.1.23(208) 359-3020 35 North 1st East Rexburg, ID 83440 Rexburg.org | Engage.Rexburg.org Planning and Zoning Minutes - June 1, 2023 City Staff and Others: Alan Parkinson – P&Z Administrator Katie Jo Saurey – P&Z Administrative Assistant Kyle Baldwin – Planner 1 Natalie Powell – Compliance Officer Spencer Rammell – Commissioner Attorney Chairperson Smith opened the meeting at 6:30 PM. Planning & Zoning Meeting: Welcome Pledge of Allegiance ROLL CALL of Planning and Zoning Commissioners: Present: Vince Haley (Vice Chair), Randall Kempton, Todd Marx, Sally Smith (Chairperson), Bruce Casper, Eric Erickson, Brad Wolfe, Vanessa Johnson, McKay Francis, Aaron Richards, Absent: Jim Lawrence Minutes: Approval of the P&Z Minutes from May 4th, 2023 (Action) MOTION: Motion to approve the Planning & Zoning minutes as recorded for May 4th, 2023. Action: Approve, Moved by Aaron Richards, Seconded by Randall Kempton. Commissioner Discussion on the Motion: None VOTE: Motion carried. (Summary: Yes = 9, No= 0, Abstain = 1). Yes: Vince Haley (Vice Chair), Randall Kempton, Todd Marx, Sally Smith (Chairperson), Bruce Casper, Brad Wolfe, Vanessa Johnson, McKay Francis, Aaron Richards, No: none Abstain: Eric Erickson Plats: 1. (22-00124) Trappers Landing Div. 2 Commercial Plat – Located at approximately 20 S 12th W, this property is zoned as Community Business Center (CBC). The plat consists of approximately 13 acres and will contain 9 lots. – Jared Kay (Action) (208) 359-3020 35 North 1st East Rexburg, ID 83440 Rexburg.org | Engage.Rexburg.org Alan presented the Trappers Landing Division 2 Commercial plat, explaining that it is located West of the Valleywide subdivision, and that the applicant has met all of the requirements for infrastructure and lot size. He asked the Commission to consider recommending the plat be approved by City Council. Eric initiated a discussion on both this commercial plat and the residential plat that has not yet been presented. Aaron clarified that the civil plan included the infrastructure for the entire development. Alan confirmed there are two separate plats and the residential plat will be presented later as a separate plat, that this application is only for the property zoned as Commercial next to 12th West. Aaron commented that Lots 1 and 6 were substantial in size and asked if they could be re-platted. Alan confirmed that they could be split in a plat amendment, which would come back before the Planning & Zoning Commission for a decision. Eric commented on the lack of public comment. Alan reminded him this is not published, and it merely needs to be prepared and ready 48 hours prior to the meeting. Sally commented that this fits the area. Vince recognized this is a great location for commercial use being close to the highway and 12th West. He mentioned that during a previous public hearing to rezone a portion of the property, a neighbor to the South of the development stated he had animals and did not want to hear complaints about his animals if the property was rezoned and developed. Vince expressed that this is a great intermediate between the county side and commercial use and likes the idea of mixing commercial and residential in this area. MOTION: Motion to recommend to City Council the approval of Trappers Landing Division 2 Commercial plat as presented and as approved by staff as they have met the requirements and the staff has approved it and we need to move it forward. Action: Approve, Moved by Aaron Richards, Seconded by McKay Francis. Commissioner Discussion on the Motion: None VOTE: Motion carried. (Summary: Yes= 10, No= 0, Abstain = 0). Yes: Vince Haley (Vice Chair), Randall Kempton, Todd Marx, Sally Smith (Chairperson), Bruce Casper, Eric Erickson, Brad Wolfe, Vanessa Johnson, McKay Francis, Aaron Richards, No: none Abstain: none Following the motion, a brief discussion was held regarding improvements to 12th West, including adding lanes and widening the intersection at Highway 33. (208) 359-3020 35 North 1st East Rexburg, ID 83440 Rexburg.org | Engage.Rexburg.org Public Hearings: (22-00299) Amendment to Ordinance 1200 – Development Code – Ordinance Amendment – Proposing modifications to several sections of the Development Code, including but not limited to definitions, density, fencing, flagpoles, manufactured housing, permitted uses, and Ready Team. – Alan Parkinson (Action) Alan presented the amendment explaining that the proposed changes had been broken into sections and that individual motions for each section can be made, or the sections can be grouped into one or more motions, allowing sections without concerns to be passed and moved on. He reminded the Commission of their ability and authority to line item change any of the proposed updates. Vince stated he would prefer to vote on them all at once. Chairperson Smith opened the public hearing at 6:46 pm. Favor: none Neutral: none Against: Rory Kunz, 38 S 2nd E, began by thanking the Commission. He expressed that he does not have a problem with the entirety of the amendment, but that a few items caught his attention. His first concern is that it seems that the ability to have a manufactured home on a permanent foundation is being removed. He explained that from a realtor’s perspective, these are considered Real Property, are not typically a problem, and can be a cheaper, more efficient way for homeowners to get into a home instead of new construction. He asked that this be reconsidered. Rory’s second concern is in regard to the allowance of pets and livestock within all zones. He referenced a current listing that is behind a subdivision and is not in a HOA, and a potential buyer could decide that the 1 acre lot is adequate for 20 pigs, which would not make the neighborhood happy. Rory mentioned Vince’s previous comment about the neighbor who wanted to state on the record that he had animals and did not want complaints about them. Rory brought up that there is no definition of adequate nor specification of the type and quantity of animals. He feels there should be more discussion on these topics and that they should be removed completely from the Commission’s considerations. Chairperson Smith closed the public hearing at 6:52 pm. Chairperson Smith asked for any conflicts of interest. None (208) 359-3020 35 North 1st East Rexburg, ID 83440 Rexburg.org | Engage.Rexburg.org Commissioner discussion: Eric began by stating that this has been discussed for months and that the animals discussion relies on other sections of the code that are not presented here. He asked if the density of animals allowed was defined elsewhere in the code. Sally answered only in TAG, allowing 10 per acre. Eric asked how, after all of the discussion, the number of animals was removed. Alan stated that this was never part of the original changes. He explained that staff had no plans to change the animal standards, but someone came in and wanted it changed. He explained the thought process behind working through the suggestion including looking at acreage, square feet, and reason. Alan clarified livestock is only allowed up to the LDR3 zone. Aaron brought up that in previous discussions there have not been animal issues with animal control, the commission is not addressing an issue, and there is no one asking to increase their animal use. Alan answered there is always the potential and having a vague definition of what is pertinent to what those animals need can make it a challenge, but so far have not had any trouble with it. McKay pointed out that over the last several months, there have been work meetings trying to figure out how many acres are needed per animal; going from a vague understanding of the animal policy to exact numbers and specifics then back to super vague. Alan stated the shift was due to legal counsel advisement. Sally remarked that the code wasn’t vague, livestock just wasn’t allowed, so this is a huge change. Sally asked Attorney Rammell if the public could speak even though the public hearing was closed. Attorney Rammell advised a motion could be made to reopen the public hearing portion of the meeting. Brad asked if it would be better to specify who is going to determine what adequate means? Alan suggested the Commission can add line similar to ‘must be cleared with the City’ or 'must have permit’. Attorney Rammell indicated that he had not been as involved in the work meetings as Attorney Zollinger, but guaranteed that lawyers, people in community, and judges would never agree on what adequate means and that sometimes lawyers like it because it is malleable based on facts and circumstances. Alan added that the nuisance and noise ordinances can stop issues as well. Randall stated that it comes down to having some level of trust in the community because you cannot legislate every detail, and the noise or nuisance ordinances can stop problems, but there is not a current problem being addressed. Eric vocalized that he thinks the animal changes should be pulled out, it should go back to what it was, and exceptions can be dealt with as they come. Sally thinks the group needs to consider that almost everyone on the dais lives in a subdivision and they have covenants that prohibit livestock but covenants are old and not always followed. She doesn’t feel that as a body, the Commission is representing the entire city. She expressed her concern with “adequate” and that with no enforcement until someone (208) 359-3020 35 North 1st East Rexburg, ID 83440 Rexburg.org | Engage.Rexburg.org complains, it tears neighborhoods apart and becomes neighbor against neighbor. She agrees with Eric that if adequate is not defined, then livestock should be taken back out of LDR1, LDR2, and LDR3. Attorney Rammell added that its not that adequate is not being defined, Brad interrupted saying that it is leaving the door open to which Sally agreed. Attorney Rammell continued stating that it is a term that leads to a large amount of interpretation. Sally questioned who decides what is adequate. Eric asked if the current code disallows animals in any zone. Alan responded that domestic livestock is currently only allowed in TAG, RR1 and RR2. Eric voiced his support of the current code. There was a discussion concerning changes made and if City Council would send the entire amendment back to Planning & Zoning if a single motion was made. Sally mentioned that Rory brought up his concerns with manufactured homes. Alan clarified that manufactured homes are not being removed, rather we are acknowledging them similar to stick built homes and referred to preparations for tiny homes as influencing the removal of the width requirements. MOTION: Motion to reopen the public hearing to allow further public comment prior to a decision. Action: Approve, Moved by Brad Wolfe, Seconded by Aaron Richards. Commissioner Discussion on the Motion: None VOTE: Motion carried. (Summary: Yes= 10, No= 0, Abstain = 0). Yes: Vince Haley (Vice Chair), Randall Kempton, Todd Marx, Sally Smith (Chairperson), Bruce Casper, Eric Erickson, Brad Wolfe, Vanessa Johnson, McKay Francis, Aaron Richards, No: none Abstain: none Chairperson Smith reopened the public hearing at 7:07 pm. Ted Whyte, 369 Eagle Court, shared his gratitude for the commissioners. As a real estate agent in Rexburg and former commissioner, he is not seeing the up side to putting this into an ordinance. He believes the wording is vague. He referenced Eaglewood subdivision covenants which state that no animals are allowed except for pets which are defined as cats or dogs. He expressed that trying to put domesticated animals, besides cats and dogs, into ordinances can create additional problems for the City, enforcing covenants, and pits neighbor against neighbor. He discussed that animals eat and poop and their feed attracts rodents. He does not see the benefit of this ordinance across the town and believes LDR zones are against it. Harvest Heights covenants may limit livestock, but were written long ago and may not address pets as defined in today’s world, such as a pet chicken, pet goat, pet pig, etc.. (208) 359-3020 35 North 1st East Rexburg, ID 83440 Rexburg.org | Engage.Rexburg.org Eric asked Ted if he was specifically against animals. Ted confirmed. Eric asked if there were any other sections Ted was concerned with and asked for Ted’s opinion on the definition of household pets. Ted agreed it was generally an okay statement. He shared that he has a friend with pot bellied pigs as pets and their back yard is atrocious from the pigs digging. He stated he can appreciate how things evolve, but with evolution creates anguish for the City and neighbors. He questioned if this a good ordinance to pass as it suits 1-2% of the public and reiterated that neighbors complaining to the City and to other neighbors causes issues. Chairperson Smith closed the public hearing at 7:14 pm. Vince shared that after hearing Teds comments his thoughts on the matter have changed. He is now thinking that there was a resident who at the beginning of the discussions had specifically requested chickens, and is not sure if the changes enable them to have chickens or if it is too much and opens a can of worms that will not make everyone happy. Discussion turned to opportunities for youth to participate in FFA and 4H programs, as well as the possibility of requiring animal permits. Attention was drawn to this part of the ordinance trying to please one person, who is already enabled to have livestock. Aaron suggested deleting the section, removing the proposed verbiage and keeping it as it remains today. Attorney Rammell advised that he would prefer that compared to a substantial change, and the section not moving forward is not a change. Vince questioned there being a hole in the development code where the permitted use jumps zones. Aaron and Alan clarified that pertained to daycares and was corrected in the proposed uses before them tonight. MOTION: Motion to recommend that City Council approve the Ordinance Amendments as presented with the deletion of all changes to domestic livestock with the reason being the changes for approval have gone through multiple public events and work meetings and the only item causing friction is the changes to domestic livestock. To clarify, the code regarding domestic livestock shall remain unchanged. Action: Approve, Moved by Aaron Richards, Seconded by Brad Wolfe. Commissioner Discussion on the Motion: None VOTE: Motion carried. (Summary: Yes= 10, No= 0, Abstain = 0). Yes: Vince Haley (Vice Chair), Randall Kempton, Todd Marx, Sally Smith (Chairperson), Bruce Casper, Eric Erickson, Brad Wolfe, Vanessa Johnson, McKay Francis, Aaron Richards, No: none Abstain: none (208) 359-3020 35 North 1st East Rexburg, ID 83440 Rexburg.org | Engage.Rexburg.org Heads Up for June 15th, 2023: Plats: Public Hearings: Adjourned at 7:35 PM.