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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2001.01.17 CITY COUNCIL MINUTES MINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL MEETING January 17, 2001 7:30 p.m. STATE OF IDAHO) County of Madison) SS City of Rexburg) Present were the following: Mayor:Bruce Sutherland Council members:Kay Beck Paul Pugmire Nyle Fullmer Marsha Bjornn Glen Pond Donna Benfield City Clerk:Marilyn Hansen Finance Officer:Richard Horner P.F.C.:John Millar Legal Counsel:Chip Stanley Excused:City Attorney, Stephen Zollinger Pledge to the flag. Nyle made a motion to approve the minutes of January 3, 2001. Motion was seconded by Paul, all voted aye, none opposed. The Mayor excused Glen Pond, for the first portion of the meeting, he will be here later. John Millar discussed the Water Department’s backhoe which is approximately 2 years old. A program through Case has offered a buy-out program which offers the City to buy a new backhoe for $8,000. It was not anticipated during the budget process but in a discussion with Richard there is sufficient in the Water Department budget to participate in this opportunity. The present backhoe is in need of about $1,000 of repair and the feeling is this is an excellent opportunity to keep the equipment updated for a minimal cost. This is a $75,000 piece of equipment. Kay made a motion to authorize John to accept the buy out offer of $8,000. Marsha seconded the motion, all voted aye, none opposed. An item of previous discussion on what to do with driveways on West Main was reviewed. A mailer had been sent to 45 residents on West Main affected by the snow plowing of the State Highway. There were approximately 19 responses. The most predominant responses were 6 for $5.00 per month, 10 out of the 19 responses stated they were not interested in this program. John asked for direction on this matter. Since more than half did not want the service, it was discussed that those interested may want to acquire help from an individual source. If anyone in the City knew of a source of help, those names could be sent to the interested residents on West Main. John discussed the purchasing of land on the south end of the airport runway which is part of the Evergreen Subdivision giving the City and County ownership of what is known as the Runway Protection Zone (RPZ). Appraisals have been done, there have been numerous contacts with FAA and they have given authority to go ahead with purchase of the property if the Council and County Commissioners approve. Kay made a motion to approve the purchase of the land in Evergreen Subdivision. Motion was seconded by Nyle, all approved, none opposed. Mayor discussed the appointment of two new Planning & Zoning members, Glenn Walker and Mike Ricks, which have been appointed by the County to the City Planning & Zoning 1 Commission. Nyle made a motion to approve Glenn and Mike, seconded by Marsha. All voted aye, none opposed. Final Plat Review for LDS Church The plat has been approved through Planning & Zoning and John explained the location of the ndnd property on the west side of 2 East behind the bowling alley and across 2 East from Sears. The property will be divided into four commercial lots, Lot 3 is intended in the future to house the Deseret Industries building, Lots 1, 2, and 4 will be for sale. It is currently zoned Highway Business District, the City has water and sewer along the east side of this property. Kay made a motion to follow the recommendation of Planning & Zoning and approve the final plat. Marsha seconded the motion. There was discussion in clarification of the other land surrounding this plat. All voted in favor of approving the plat, none opposed. Public Hearing on Comprehensive Plan John Millar discussed and showed on the map the several items of property in question for the Comprehensive Plan. For ease of tracking, each parcel was discussed by number: 1. This area is redefining the Rexburg Business Park to correct an error made in the original Comprehensive Plan. When this development was established and original zoning set up it was done with the easterly portion being industrial and the westerly portion being Highway Business District or commercial. This change will bring the property into compliance with the actual zoning and intent. Mayor opened this for public comment. There was no public comment. 2. This is the area located west of the Salem Highway and south of Cemetery Road. On the original plan the front portion was shown to be industrial and a small portion in the back was shown to be single family residential. The industrial was done because the primary use in that area is the potato processing plant. The north highway has been developing and Planning & Zoning felt it would be best to develop that frontage into Highway Business District in agreement with other developments in that area. P&Z approved and made the recommendation to City Council that this portion on the map be changed to Highway Business District. Donna declared a conflict of interest and was excused from the discussion and the meeting. The Mayor opened this for public comment. Joe Allen - 215 So. Austin, Sugar City Joe purchased the house on this property. He is involved in this change and would request that the entire parcel be changed to Highway Business District. He discussed letters written by the Birds, the Winters and Chuck Porter, all owners of property nearby requesting this change be made. Ken Benfield - 201 Millhollow He owns the land behind the house purchased by Joe Allen and would request that the entire parcel be changed to Highway Business District. Rudd Phillips - 211 W. 1500 North Rudd is one of the five houses on Cemetery Road. He is most upset about changing the back portion of the land, a 100 ft. strip which is behind the homes, to Highway Business District. He is not in favor of the back strip being changed, he has been there for 25 years and would like to stay awhile longer but if businesses are going to be built there he feels he would have to lump a $25,000 loss in value on the property and leave. Mitch Neibaur - 3685 W. Highway 33 2 Mitch owns businesses in downtown Rexburg. He is speaking in favor of the change. Salem Highway north has been improved and the reason for that improvement was to allow and promote business activity from Highway 20 into our area. He is concerned with development of downtown and the economic structure and feels anything we can do to encourage anchor stores to remain in the area and particularly where they will be viable active businesses, they will attract other anchor stores into the area which will promote new opportunities. He feels these parties requesting the change have been active participants in the community and commends them for their desire to improve their business and it will be good for the area. With no further comment the next item was discussed. Donna returned. 3. This area is south of the Teton River and behind the Department of Labor and Health Department building. The property is currently owned by the Walker family. On the Comprehensive Plan it is shown as open space, they have requested that the front portion or the area adjacent to existing businesses be changed to commercial and that the area further to the east be changed to single family residential. The Mayor asked for public comment on this area. There was no public comment. 4 and 5. Areas 4 and 5 were requested to be changed on the Comprehensive Plan. They are both single family residential, they were looked at by Planning & Zoning and not recommended for change and will remain as they are. 6. This area is located east of U. S. 20 between 1500 West and U. S. 20, north of the large storage sheds in that area. The area currently shows single family residential. There has been a request and Planning & Zoning concurred with it that a strip of land adjacent to the northerly side of the storage units go to multi-family residential to allow a transition between the single family and commercial use. The Mayor ask for public comment on this area. There was no public comment. 7 and 8. These areas are basically recognizing problems that exist with the present Comprehensive Plan. Area 7 is the quarter of the block behind the old Broulims building that was shown as commercial, it was zoned High Density Residential and it is now being built as High Density Residential. Where it was zoned for that use, that use was allowed. Area 8 is also the same situation. The two blocks involved are essentially zoned High Density Residential, they have been used that way for several years, they are shown on the Comprehensive Plan as commercial and these changes will bring the Comprehensive Plan into agreement with the zoning in that area. The Mayor requested any public hearing on Items 7 and 8. There was no public comment. 9. This property has been purchased by Hawkins Companies of Boise. They have requested it be changed from single family residential and industrial to allow for the northwest corner to be single family residential. It provides an area through the center of these two 40 acre th tracts as multi-family housing and the area along the railroad and north of 7 South to be commercial. The Mayor requested public comment. Mary Ann Beck - 1442 W. 1000 South Mary Ann is a neighbor to this property and requested having the letter from Teddie Lou Steiner read. This letter is with regards to the public hearing for the Hawkins Companies and will be read at that public hearing. The Mayor requested any further public comment to the Comprehensive Plan and the proposed changes. There was no further comment and the hearing was closed. 3 There was some discussion on clarification of properties. Kay made a motion to approve the Comprehensive Plan as recommended by Planning & Zoning, approving the changes on 1, 2,3, 6, 7, 8 and 9 and leave areas 4 and 5 unchanged. Nyle seconded the motion, all voted aye, Donna abstained, none opposed. Glen Pond arrived. Public Hearing for Hawkins Companies annexation and zone change. John Millar presented the explanation and description for the requested annexation and zone th change on the property on 7 South. There have been numerous discussions with Hawkins and as th a function of this development there is a proposal that 7 South be realigned as a portion of their th development. This will basically take 7 South across the railroad tracks and swing through the center of the commercial development, through the center of the High Density Residential and would rejoin what is 1500 West at the lower end of the residential area. They will be building that as part of their actual development, would be built to the City standards and would be a dedicated City street. Hawkins will also be extending the necessary water and sewer lines into this area. Hawkins will come and in do the overall primary infrastructure, then would sell the other areas to subsequent developers to do the residential developments. The details will be worked out in an annexation agreement prior to their formal annexation. It will require that the pumps at the Stake Center lift station be upsized and a new pressure line be built which Hawkins will bear the cost. Russ Van Allen - 932 So. 1560 West Russ clarified the location of a couple of homes on the map. He is not opposed to the sale, development or annexation of this property, but he likes his neighborhood the way it is. He realizes he cannot stop change but he is opposed to the current proposal for rezoning. He would prefer single family dwellings which gives you owner occupancy, which brings stability and neighborhood pride. One of the purposes of the zoning ordinances is to protect property rights and enhance property values. He does feel that 59 acres of apartments and commercial use will enhance the neighborhood. He had visited with a few residential owners who live near current apartments and one of their express concerns has been the quality of their neighborhood. Most do not feel their neighborhood would be a good place for a friend to buy, they are concerned with the traffic, the parking and the noise. Close to the campus most owners have vacated family housing to student housing and there are some places that look neglected. Currently near the college campus there are apartments going up, houses are scheduled to be torn down and moved and there are other spots available to build apartments. He questioned the need for 40 acres of apartments in this area by his home? He would like single family dwellings next to the current neighborhood, lots should be consistent with the average size of the lots in the current neighborhood. It would also be nice to have a greenbelt and a park which could separate the residential area and the light industrial area. This would help enhance and beautify and become a showcase area for Rexburg. He is open to any plan that will protect the quality of life and enhance the neighborhood. He is not in favor of the current proposal to rezone this property as shown at this time. With no further comment the Mayor closed the public hearing. The Mayor read into the record a letter received by Teddie Lou Steiner concerning this proposal. There was discussion of a 20' vegetation buffer zone and vinyl fence, the series of neighborhood th meetings called by the Hawkins Companies, 7 South, and clarification of the current zoning, Nyle clarified that the annexation was not at the request of the City but at the request of the developer. He is concerned about so much of this parcel going to High Density Residential, the plat shows apartments or townhouses and there is a lot of difference between the two. He would feel more comfortable with more clarification as to what this means. If this were to go to sub- developers there is no solid idea as to this plan. He suggests leaving it agricultural and letting the rezoning be up to whoever is going to be the developer. 4 Paul shares the hesitancy to zone so much of this land as High Density Residential. It is under tillage at the present time giving time to think this through and make the right decision. He would like to look at the property with this plan in mind. Paul made a motion to table this proposal, motion was seconded by Nyle. All voted aye, none opposed. This matter was tabled until the next Council meeting on February 7. Public Hearing for Scott Spaulding Annexation and Zone Change at 1520 West and U. S. 20 John reviewed this requested subdivision and presented the Council with a copy of the proposal. This parcel is located south of the Widdison Addition and contiguous to the storage sheds. This property will require the construction of a lift station for the wastewater flows from the area. They are requesting the north half of the development to be zoned LDR1, the south half MDR. The intention is that they will build either four or six-plex townhouse developments on the south portion and family residential on the north. Mayor opened the public hearing. John Dester - 2606 N. 860 East, Provo, UT John explained the development of the property. John’s company has developed this type of townhouses for the past 20 years, having built nearly 1,000 of them. He builds a traditional type, owner occupied complex. It usually begins at starter level but doesn’t look like starter level. He showed pictures of past projects and pictures for this proposed project. The townhouses have private yards in the rear with a detached garage, they are individual townhouses, he does not build any stacked or flat type apartments or condominiums. Each one is built with its individual look so they don’t all look alike. His units are generally 8 or 9 units to the acre which would be low density in a medium density zone. His projects have never turned into rental projects because they are too expensive for that. He believes these will sell in the $89 to $99,000 range. A 4-plex of this configuration would be a $400,000 4-plex, so it is not practical that these would go into rentals. There is always a home owners association that maintains the property. Single family lots will buffer the existing homes. The townhouses will be between storage sheds and single family lots. Access will be through an alley with the garages being in the rear. The two-bedroom units are 1,050 square feet, the three-bedroom units are 1,270 square feet. Ferron Sonderegger - 1627 W. 190 South Ferron’s home is located in the existing subdivision. The concern in the neighborhood is the amount of traffic if there are that number of townhouses in the area. He questioned the buffer between his neighborhood and the development. He was told that the plat shows single family residences abutting that neighborhood and there is nothing in the zoning ordinance requiring fencing between single family residents. Discussion of zoning the way the original plat shows or if it is possible to move the line a little to make a better design. It is important to know if that line is sacred. He was told the line is noticed that way, the line is the official division between the two zones and to change this would need to go through another zone change with the public hearings. Discussion of the density. Public hearing was closed. Nyle made a motion to annex the property and zone as is drawn and as is recommended by Planning & Zoning. Motion was seconded by Marsha. Discussion of annexations and if the Chief of Police has reviewed all the annexations. All voted aye to the motion, none opposed. Public Hearing for Joe Allen Annexation and Zone Change at 17 W. 1500 North Donna declared a conflict of interest and was excused from attending this hearing. 5 John Millar reviewed the location, description, and request for zoning to be changed to Highway Business District. Planning & Zoning has reviewed this and recommended approval to City Council. Public hearing was opened. Joe Allen - 215 So. Austin, Sugar City Joe requested that the entire parcel be rezoned to Highway Business District to enable them to sell part of the back portion of the property to another business. They are willing to follow the city laws and zoning regulations concerning trash, buffer zones, water rights, culverts and anything else. The proposed plan is for Lot 4 to be storage units and storage units are only allowed in Highway Business District. He requests the entire parcel be changed to facilitate future expansion for parking, etc. Lot 3 could also possibly be sold. The entry into the store will come from Salem Highway, they will do whatever is necessary for City regulations to comply with the entry from the highway. Rudd Phillips - 211 W. 1500 North He objects to moving business in on the neighborhoods that have been established and the businesses will simply destroy the neighborhood. Business will be moving out Salem Highway, he agrees, they need a buffer but he does not understand the change of the property behind the existing homes. This appears totally unnecessary to change to any business use at all. This is a neighborhood and should remain as such. Ken Benfield - 201 Millhollow The overall picture of the City is growth, retail is moving out north, there is not room to expand his business on Main Street, there is no parking and he is losing business because of it and is forced to move where retail is going. There will be retail all the way out Salem Highway to the freeway. If the land is kept this way the only other option would be to put mobile homes there on 3.2 acres which he does not want to do and would create more problems down the road. He requests that the entire parcel be zoned Highway Business District. Discussion of why it needs to be HBD and what else it could be used for. st Nephi Allen - 253 E. 1 North Nephi requests the lot in question, Lot 4, be zoned Highway Business District, his company would like to purchase the property and building storage units. LuAnn Webster - 145 W. 1500 North LuAnn lives in the second house down from the property in question on Cemetery Road. She has attended two Planning & Zoning meetings. At the first meeting the back portion was cut off and not included in the zone change, the second meeting it was included. She would personally rather see people back behind the homes, it would make the value better. At one time they were given an offer to buy the land behind all five homes for $45,000. She has children, all the neighbors have children, she is concerned that something be there that includes a fence high enough the children cannot go over to investigate. She is concerned about traffic and the speed limit of 45 mph, is the Police Department going to be over taxed because of more land being included in the City. They do not want to be annexed to the City. Discussion of land values and buffer zones. With no further comments the public hearing was closed. Paul discussed the substantial role this business plays in the community, Paul supports them in their efforts to expand their business. If this is approved it increases the requirement on everyone to pay attention to the downtown because a hardware store downtown is influential on a downtown. He is troubled by Lot 4, he believes Lots 1, 2, and 3 are straight forward and should be approved. He is not comfortable that a sufficient amount of evidence has been presented to persuade him to take Lot 4 to HBD at this time, however, the choices are such that there is no other zoning this fits right now. He suggests approving the changes for Lots 1, 2 and 3 and to table the action on Lot 4. 6 Discussion from the Council concerning what could go back there, if they would really want a mobile home park in that area and why the neighbors did not take the offer to sell that strip. Kay made a motion to accept the Planning & Zoning recommendation to annex and zone this entire parcel to Highway Business District. Glen seconded the motion. There was more discussion on the land values and use of the property. All voted aye on the motion to approve the annexation and zone change, none opposed. The Mayor acknowledged the presence of Chip Stanley, legal counsel on loan tonight from the County. LID 31 final assessment. Richard presented the Council with a packet, a resolution and the listing of LID 31 assessments. Resolution No. 2001-01 fixes the time and place of hearing for Local Improvement District No. 31 assessment roll providing for publication and assessment thereof. LID 31 encompasses five different parts including miscellaneous sidewalk projects throughout town, South Highway st project, the light on 1 West and Main Street, the project at Grandview Apartments and miscellaneous items added on. Richard explained the items on the assessment rolls. The assessment roll will be mailed out and published and the hearing will be the time to pass this Ordinance. The interest rate will be 6%, the hearing will be held Wednesday, February 7, 2001, at the City Council. Nyle made a motion to approve Resolution 2001-01 setting the hearing date, motion was seconded by Glen. All approved, none opposed. Nyle made a motion to approve the bills, seconded by Glen. All voted aye, none opposed. John gave an update report on the City parking lot behind Sherry’s Floral. There were some cars towed from the parking lot that had been there for an extended time period, the number of two hour parking stalls has been decreased to 16. John discussed the changes with the coordinator from INEEL and they agreed the changes would be fine. There are long term overnight parkers using this lot and the snow removal will be a problem but the snow will have to be plowed when the cars are gone. Discussion of parking in the north golf course parking lot for those riding buses to INEEL. Nyle discussed the Tabernacle Committee and their desire to erect a marquee, or possibly an electronic reader board that can be changed to announce events or other things. There should not be a problem with erecting one and John will check size requirements. Dama Wirries and Ralph Hall have visited with Nyle in an effort to fund the animal adoption agency. He questioned the budget for animal control and could any of this money go toward this fund. Also is there any possibility of soliciting on the water bill for donations by adding a dollar to their water bill that would go directly to the foundation. Discussion of legalities and/or other charitable funds. Legal counsel was assigned to review the legality and it can be looked at later. The Mayor reminded everyone of the meeting and luncheon at Ricks College with the Ttest Corporation. Glen made a motion to adjourn. Motion was seconded by Nyle, all voted aye, none opposed. _____________________________________ 7 Bruce Sutherland, Mayor ___________________________________ Marilyn Hansen, City Clerk 8