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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2001.07.18 CITY COUNCIL MINUTES MINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL MEETING July 18, 2001 7:30 p.m. STATE OF IDAHO) County of Madison) SS City of Rexburg) Present were the following: Mayor:Bruce Sutherland Council members:Paul Pugmire Nyle Fullmer Marsha Bjornn Glen Pond Donna Benfield City Clerk:Marilyn Hansen Finance Officer:Richard Horner P.F.C.:John Millar City Attorney:Stephen Zollinger Pledge to the flag. Marsha made a motion to approve the minutes of July 3, 2001, seconded by Nyle. All voted aye, none opposed. CART Request for Funding Denise Miler was representing CART and presented information which had been requested by the Council at the last meeting. CART is looking at a possible $4,000 donation but starting this year at $2,500. The rides in Rexburg are 60% of CART’s service, 40% of what CART provides in service is in Fremont County, there is $2,500 funding requested from City Council, Fremont County donates $4,000 and Madison County donates nothing at this point. The ridership breakdown for June are 20% of the rides provided are for trips of a 5 mile distance, total rides for the month of June are 1,635. Discussion concerning funding from Madison County. Marsha made a motion to donate $2,500 as requested. Motion died from lack of a second. Donna made a recommendation to table this request until Madison County has the opportunity to discuss the request. It was requested that Denise meet with the County Commissioners then return to the City Council with this request. Mayor Sutherland welcomed the scouts. Public Hearing on Conditional Use Permit for the Spori Building at Ricks College The public hearing was opened. Robert Wilkes and Richard Smith were present representing Ricks College. Richard Smith gave a history of the request for the Conditional Use Permit and the time frame involved. The proposal and recommendation from Planning & Zoning is that the required parking for the Spori Building can be located anywhere on campus and from this point forward the college will be treated as a single property and placement of parking would be at the discretion of the college. Discussion of treating the college as a single unit, providing the required number of parking places, the 200' limit requirement, the calculation of parking spaces, parking lot will be built prior to the occupancy of the Spori Building. Glen stated that apparently the College is not planning on any parking near the Spori Building. nd Because of the congestion on 2 South there will be a time when the parking will be eliminated, many professors and college people will be complaining and he highly suggests the college put 1 some type of parking towards the north end of the campus. This plan may pass but it will not nd alleviate the problems the City has with 2 South. Nyle commented that he has a slight problem with the fact that we are not enforcing that aspect of the ordinance. For the number of people and comments received when a dozen parking spaces were eliminated in front of the Snow Building, it is perceived as a problem. When the parking study is accomplished he admonished the college to realize that the on-street parking spaces are not taken into account because those could be taken away. Richard stated that the study will include heavy input from the City Paul reiterated that in his statement supporting the change in the 200' requirement in the nd University zone that the right-of-way of 2 South or any other public street is not zoned University so street parking is not included in that. Discussion. Paul made a motion to approve the Conditional Use Permit as presented on recommendation of Planning & Zoning. . Nyle seconded the motion. All voted aye, none opposed. Robert Wilkes expressed his appreciation to everyone for the serious thought into this matter and for helping begin the Spori Building. Public Hearing on Annexation and Zone Change on Nelda Jeppesen Property Mayor Sutherland urged the crowd of citizens to keep things positive, everyone has a right to speak and we will listen to every person but suggests that if a neighbor or friend says the same thing you want to, you allow their testimony to stand. The public hearing was opened. Judy Davis-Hobbs, Owner/Broker of Real Estate by Archibald th Judy represents Nelda Jeppesen in her desire to annex and rezone 10 acres on the corner of 7 th South and 5 West. It will allow her to complete a sale of her property to Glenwood Intermountain Properties. After a thorough review of the Rexburg Comprehensive Plan she had found the project meets every criteria in the Comprehensive Plan for the future of Rexburg and she did not find a single reference in that Comprehensive Plan where it says the disfavor of the neighbors is appropriate grounds for disapproval of a project. There is a need, Ricks College is projecting a total student population of over 15,000 by the year 2005 with a 12 month constant population of about 12,000 students. There is a need for over 1400 married housing units by the year 2005, the current inventory of multi-family units in Rexburg is between 420 and 450. In an informal telephone survey conducted by Judy’s office they were told by the apartment complexes that they have a waiting list of between 3 and 24 months for people who want to rent their apartments. The City has received two applications for multi-family complexes, one is a 288 unit complex on the Harold Nielson property just across the street to the north, the second one is for a 12-unit complex on North Center, all of those plus the two new applications will make a total of approximately 750 multi-family units in town. The suitability of the Jeppesen property is without question. It is Mrs. Jeppesen’s right to have the property zoned and be able to sell it as she desires when her desire in this project meets with the plan set out in the criteria in the Comprehensive Plan. On behalf of Nelda Jeppesen and the Glenwood Intermountain Properties, Judy urged that this property be annexed and zoned to High Density Residential 2 (HDR2). Michael Kam, Attorney representing Nelda Jeppesen Michael felt Judy had said it all but reiterated that everything required of the Comprehensive Plan, Annexation and the Zone Change is followed carefully. He has reviewed the Comprehensive Plan thoroughly and has found nothing that would take this away from a change in zoning to HDR2, the infrastructure is there, so from a legal standpoint they are advising her to go ahead and proceed. It is apparent there was enough planning in the resources of this City so that a project of 2 this magnitude does fit the existing infrastructure. If this project meets the criteria, the needs of the community as far as safety, water and sewer, they ask that this project be approved. th Don Rydalch - 648 So. 5 West Don has lived at this address for 39 years. To conserve time there has been a little pre-planning and have tried to consolidate those who officially address the Council, not excluding any wishing to speak. Everything said is with total respect for Nelda Jeppesen and family. They strongly object to the proposed zone change from Rural Residential to HDR2, there were 36 people at Planning & Zoning who also objected to the change. Everyone understands the change that comes from the 4 year announcement at the college and other business groups and are certainly mindful of the free enterprise system. Neither of these reasons, as important as they are, can be the fundamental driving force for dramatic zone changes. Annexation into the City is fine but urges the Council that the zoning level be Low Density Residential to be in harmony with the surrounding neighborhood. As ordinary citizens they need the protective help of City Council. Because of the growth known to be coming the Council needs to exercise more restraint and not less, these important things should move ahead slower and not faster. It is not necessary, prudent or wise to approve every zone proposal that comes forth in the form of a major family housing development. You provide the only protection for ordinary citizens who want to continue to live in their homes without a maze of 38-42 apartment units per acre on ground nearby and only you can protect those neighbors. Please vote to hold the zoning on this property at Low Density Residential Thomas J. Blackham - 1165 So. 1000 West Mr. Blackham respects the comments of Don Rydalch, and also has respect for the Nelda Jeppesen family. He is here to plead with the City Council to go back to the City’s original proposal in the year 2000 that this area be zoned as LDR1. Mr. Blackham reviewed the recent annexation and zone change of this area. He made an appeal to the Council that these properties be zoned LDR1 as the City itself proposed last year, please protect the neighborhood from these incompatible 3-story buildings and the high volume of traffic that could result from high density zoning. Wes Lawrence - 1144 So. 1000 West Mr. Lawrence and his wife have resided at this address for over 50 years. The purpose of proper zoning is 2-fold, to promote orderly compatible growth but more importantly to protect the citizens of the community. The area in question is a nice quiet residential area and should be left as such. The proposal to the Council is totally unacceptable to the neighborhood and certainly is not keeping with the intent of proper zoning and is unacceptable for many reasons. Aesthetically it would have a negative impact, people entering the community from the south end of Rexburg should be greeted by nice orderly single family residences, this proposal would have a very serious monetary impact on the surrounding property. People in this area cannot afford that kind of property devaluation, especially when virtually everyone in the county is enjoying appreciation of property values. An apartment complex such as the one proposed should be located closer to the th college in the proximity of other student housing, north of 7 South there are several large student housing complexes and that is where they should stay, the property across the street east of the nd nursing center would be very accessible to Ricks College, across the street east of 2 East is land with an Eaglewood Apartment sign on it which would also be suitable for such a complex. There is much property in the City which has already been zoned for apartments with several just sitting idle waiting for development. When you consider all the negative aspects, aesthetics, monetary, traffic congestion, safety for school children, canal nearby, the prudent thing to do would be to leave it for single family residential. Please consider if this project were coming into your nice residential community, there is not anyone in this room that would vote for it. In City Hall there is a plaque over the door reading “Our goal is to improve the community, we serve the citizens by striving to understand their needs and by responding with quality work”. If the Council members all subscribe to this statement there is nothing to worry about. Darin Call - 1089 So. 1000 West 3 Darin expressed appreciation to the Council for their time. He, along with several concerned residents in the area are opposed to any zoning of that property other than Low Density Residential. The first concern is the location of the Middle School, that dictates the future use of th property on 7 South. The safety of the children should be the foremost concern of every person in the room, public schools need to be built in residential areas for less traffic and makes a safer th environment. There are times during the day when it is difficult for the school children to cross 7 South, the situation will only become worse if the Jeppesen property is zoned HDR2. Seventh th South has become the main artery for the college from the south, the Neilson property on 7 South has been zoned HDR2 which will create more traffic. If this property is zoned HDR2 it will be the straw that breaks the camel’s back for the capability of the street system in that area. th If there is more traffic on 7 South the bike path will be unsafe and therefore unuseful which would be a shame to lose this asset over development. Another concern are the canals that run on the north and east side of the Jeppesen property, these potentially cause a problem for married students with young children that would live in these apartments. There is also a pond directly behind his house, children love water and are drawn to it. There are other properties in the area that have been rezoned for future developments, most of these properties have yet to be th developed. Keep the apartments on the north side of 7 South and the residential homes on the south side which is the way it is now. Let common sense and not the almighty dollar dictate policy in this decision, please zone the Jeppesen property Low Density Residential. Roy Klingler - Madison County Sheriff Roy has numerous concerns for the project due to traffic. The main reason he is concerned is because of all the people here. When he steps back and looks at what is happening to this neighborhood, the potential and future of the property, he is concerned. These people have lived in this area all their life and he is concerned about the High Density Residential 2 zoning. He does not believe the growth of the college should dictate what happens to the neighborhoods, there are areas that can be expanded other than some of the residential areas. There is a money drive on one side and the neighbors are speaking on the other side from the heart. th Greg Furrows - 776 So. 5 West Mr. Furrows lives directly to the west of the property in question, has enjoyed the area for about 9 years, moved there because of the rural setting. He believes there is property closer to the college than the Jeppesen property and he urges a Low Residential Density zoning. Jack Bond - 1931 So. 1000 West Jack has lived in this location for 35 years. Everyone in this room loves Nelda Jeppesen and there is no one that would take a dollar out of her purse, but there are a lot of other fingers in that pot and as he listens anyone can figure out that the person selling the land would make some money, the real estate agent handling it would make some money, the lawyers will make some money but there are the capital gains to think about and some of this money is not ever realized. He has seen the mushroom cloud around Ricks College and instead of the wind blowing from where it normally does it is blowing south and west this time. That mushroom is loaded with money and he does not believe that everyone that is married has to live within a half mile of the college. Everyone has a car, and if you want to go to college you can make it to college, so for Rexburg to feel they have to build all the facilities for all these young people to live right next to the college is ridiculous. He has heard that people cannot make money unless they have the high density and he feels the further they go out they have a chance to make a little bit more money. As people build facilities and are worried about the price, because they are going to be competitive, those further out will fill up because not everyone has that kind of money. He supports everything the others have said, he will not be effected except for the increase of traffic but is supporting them from the things he has seen and the feelings he has. When a housing agent comes up and says, “We don’t care what all these people say” then you are missing one of the two priorities that you are as a City, look out for the people already there. Carmelita Jones - 1858 So. 1000 West Carmelita has been in her home for the past 6 years, the reason they picked this area is because they love the rural setting and feel blessed to live in the neighborhood they do. They love the th neighbors and Nelda Jeppesen. She feels 7 South needs to be addressed, there are people going back and forth from the college exceeding the speed limit. This is an issue right now and if you 4 have more people living in complexes it will add to more people driving on that road and the school is not too far from there. The impression is that BYU-Idaho will have this big massive growth that will happen at one time, the school officials in the past have announced that it will be staggered growth, it will not be a “bang” growth so not all students will be on campus at one time needing housing. There is a need for housing but not this major growth. Please be prudent and cautious and not make a big jump to high density. The public hearing was closed. Mayor thanked everyone for the tenor of the presentations made. Mayor Sutherland acknowledged a letter signed by most of the neighbors and read letters from Jonathan D. Goss, Gale W. Harding, Lila S. Lawrence, and Lucy Blackham all in opposition to the zone change. Paul suggested they begin by dividing the question, there was no opposition to annexing this property and he has felt for a long time that this property should be part of the City. Paul made a motion to annex the property in question at its current zoning. Motion was seconded by Donna. Voting as follows: PaulAyeMarshaNay DonnaAyeGlenNay NyleNay Motion failed. Paul felt that moving slow on this proposal in this particular neighborhood is good counsel. The City is not in the student housing, our laws deal with density and is a separate creation of Ricks College and its rules. It sent chills down his spine when Bob Wilkes was present a couple of weeks ago and said Ricks College would get into the housing business if necessary because this housing would be off the tax rolls. Paul made a motion to annex the property and zone it LDR1. Motion was seconded by Glen. Discussion concerning taxing, zoning process, leaving the property as is and other available property. With the concurrence of a second, Paul offered an amended motion that the City of Rexburg recommend to the County and the appropriate zoning boards that this piece of property in the impact zone have its zoning changed to LDR1 without annexation. Motion was seconded by Glen. Discussion. Paul made this motion to look at how the development and market forces are moving in that neighborhood. and see what the college will do in terms of housing. Glen felt this should be moved on cautiously because a school has been allowed to be in a very inappropriate place and now that comes to play on what happens in that area. Stephen felt this motion would accomplish the exact opposite of what they think it is going to and explained the taxing process. Discussion. Donna stated the difficulty in a decision on this project but expressed her opinion that the idea there is a middle school involved with hundreds of students has made her decision on a safety factor. Nyle made a substitute motion to deny the request for annexation based on safety reasons that can then be addressed by the Safety Committee or Planning & Zoning at a later date. Motion was seconded by Donna. Discussion. Paul supported the substitute motion to replace his own motion. All voted aye, none opposed. Request for annexation and zone change to HDR2 was denied on the basis of safety reasons. Chris Mann request for help st Chris Mann - 165 So. 1 East Chris discussed the problems he was having with his neighbor, American Manor Apartments. Discussion concerning the promises made by Tamla Rencher, owner of the apartments, which have not been completed, in particular the fencing of the property and enforcement of the agreement, revocation of occupancy permit and risks involved, and criminal charges. It was determined that Stephen take the matter and proceed with legal action effective immediately. Request for Classic Car Parade 5 This request is for informational purposes only. Todd Stowell from Taylor Chevrolet has requested a parade permit for approximately 150 classic cars that would like to cruise on Main ndnd Street from 2 West to 2 East, turn around and cruise back beginning at 5:00 p.m. for approximately ½ hour. The permit has been approved by both the Fire and Police Department. The Council approved this as a great idea. Temporary Road Closures Stephen reviewed that in recent past the Police Department has been called upon to assist with the movement of homes from one side of the City to another. It has necessitated closing some roads, directing traffic, there is a statutory requirement that in order to do that they must obtain local permits. We have been charging a $50.00 fee to process the permit and provide the necessary assistance. The City has been approached by one of the companies that moves houses regularly to reduce that fee. Most other cities have treated this as a paper process not a paid fee and Stephen is requesting recommendation on the appropriate fee from the Council for processing the permit, notifying the Police Department and other necessary services. Discussion concerning times, traffic, services of the Police Department, using our most strained public resources to aid and assist in a for-profit enterprise, discussion that the fee is a bargain. Nyle made a motion to set the fee at $50.00 and establish a fee appropriate to a house moving venture to provide the permits and moving assistance necessary to move a house through the City. Marsha seconded the motion. All voted aye. Update on Projects ndnd John reported that the signal project on 2 North and 2 East is moving along well, the concrete has been finished and the curb and gutter is complete and the signal should be in flash mode within two weeks. The seal coat project which has been awarded to HK Contractors has an anticipation start date of th the 15 of August and will take 2-3 days to complete. It will be complete before college starts. This year’s street project was anticipated to be joined with LID 32. LID 32 is not to a point where it can be done this year and it is recommended that most the streets be broken off as a separate project, set up to where LID 32 can be prepared for an early spring project next year and move ahead with the construction project and overhead project immediately. An item not in this year’s budget that may be required is to redo or repair the air conditioning for the City Council room. All air conditioners have been turned on and with the number of people attending the meetings, such as tonight, the present air conditioner will not do it. With Council approval John will move immediately on retrofitting, repairing or whatever needs to be done. Committee Report Donna reported that the Sunbirds are excited with the resurfacing of the tennis courts, but the Porter Park needs the white striping to be completed. She has also received a complaint about the rest rooms at Nature Park which John stated will be rectified immediately. Marsha received a call from a citizen concerning the fire bomb in their mail box and was questioning if the City could pass an ordinance regulating the sale of dry ice. Discussion and it was determined an ordinance would be out of line. United Way is having a struggle with the committee attendance and was making an appeal for help otherwise they may not be able to keep going. It was suggested they call those agencies for help which benefit from the United Way funds, discussion concerning envelopes for contributions from City employees. She did call the Fire Department about the pawn shop, clearing the debris between the buildings but nothing has been done. Discussion of payment of Planning & Zoning Chairman. Nyle made a motion to approve the bills, seconded by Glen. Glen made a motion to adjourn, seconded by Nyle. 6 7