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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2002.05.15 CITY COUNCIL MINUTES MINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL May 15, 2002 7:30 P.M. STATE OF IDAHO, ) County of Madison ) SS. City of Rexburg ) Present were the following: Mayor:Bruce Sutherland Council Members:Glen Pond Shawn Larsen Marsha Bjornn Donna Benfield Excused:Paul Pugmire Nyle Fullmer City Clerk:Blair D. Kay Finance Officer:Richard Horner PFC:John Millar City Attorney:Stephen Zollinger Pledge of allegiance. Mayor Sutherland welcomed a scout from Scout Troup # 404 Miss Rexburg, was introduced by Von Tracy The Mayor welcomed both guests to the meeting. Mayor’s Business The Mayor asked for a motion to appoint Blair Kay as City Clerk for Rexburg. Donna made a motion to appoint Blair as City Clerk, seconded by Shawn. All voted Aye to The motion carried. accept the motion. The Mayor asked for a motion to appoint Stephen McGary to the P&Z Commission. Glen made a motion to appoint Stephen to the Rexburg City P&Z Commission, the motion was The motion carried. seconded by Donna. All voted Aye to accept the motion. The Mayor welcomed Stephen to the Commission stating that ‘The next few years are going to be extremely interesting’. The Mayor introduced Kurt Hibbert as the new Rexburg City P&Z Administrator and expressed a necessity to hire this new position to manage the increased work load the City is experiencing. Kurt will work with John Millar, the Rexburg City Engineer on P&Z issues. New Business : Review Resolution 2002- 3, Intent to create LID 32 Richard Horner - Intent to create LID 32, for $466,000 th - Need to set a Public hearing for June 5 @ 8:00 pm Resolution 2002 - 3 - The intent is present the for discussion - 187 Properties will be affected with about ½ being new owners 1 - New owner section states - LID 32 would be required for new owners - City will negotiate if necessary Shawn asked Richard about the esimated cost per property owner - Richard said the cost would change based on the bid price per foot. The bid price can not be higher than 20% of the estimated cost. There was discussion on which properties would be affected with LID 32. Marsha clarified the cost of the project to be $466,000. Marsha made a motion to send Resolution 2002 -3 to create LID 32 to a hearing with the City Council, Glen Seconded, All voted Aye. The motion passed. Public Hearing for Zone change from LDR and MDR to HDR thth Greg Luce - Review the location at North Main between 4 and 5 West The Mayor asked Greg to review the intent of the P&Z Commission on this zone change. Greg said P&Z’s recommendation was to recommend for approval to the City Council. The Mayor opened the Meeting to a public hearing on the Zone change. Greg Luce of Homestead Development -Testified concerning four properties - proposed the new housing was for small families including student families. - 250 units needed for family housing immediately and 150 per year after this Housing Needs Assessment Study year per the for the City of Rexburg. - We are ready to go with Engineering and Financing. - HUD has made available for 8 or 9 unites home funds subsidies. - The property description was given as Multifamily called Main Street Station. - The area is moving to HDR development. - Good neighborhood at 20 units per acre. - Greg is requesting 1 to 2 bedroom units for 30 units per acre - The difference between his request for HDR from MDR is 8 to 10 additional units. Less density will cause higher cost to the renters. Craig Hanney - Craig asked the people to stand if opposed to this project. About 10 people stood up. John explained the property in question. Craig said MDR should protect LDR - Craig wished to leave the block MDR. Shawn asked John, if Craig’s property is being changed to HDR in this proposal? - There was discussion concerning the sale of the back portion of Craig’s property and the zoning in the area. Jack Covington- My concern is to keep a barrier between development property and our street. - We understand that this right of way is only for fire protection. - We were told to bring this up at the right meeting. - We are really concerned about traffic in this area. Mayor said this meeting was for a zone change only - Jack’s issues need to be discussed at the Site Plan Review in P&Z. This particular meeting is to address the zone change from MDR & LDR1 to HDR. Jack expressed a concern that he might miss the correct meeting. Graden Burton- I have had visits with Mr. Luce. He has been very cordial. - My experience with HDR is that we will not have peace and quiet. - How high are the buildings? Mayor explained that they will be 2 stories. - What will be the buffer between complex and our homes? This can be reviewed with Mr. Luce. 2 - We have talked to some of our neighbors and they are concerned about getting low offers to move somewhere else. Wanna Camphouse - It concerns my house - right of way was obtained under false pretences - Mr Barney wanted a piece of my land and that was alright - but I do not want an apartment next to my place with people running through my place. Property was sold under a different understanding than it is being developed. I don’t feel secure anymore, I think the zoning should stay as is. Cristine Beesley - Two HDR apartments will cause more accidents in the area. Moroni Burton - New comer to the area - we live in a duplex and my question is - how many acres are in the development? John - I don’t have that but I think that it is between 2 to 3 acres. About 3.75 acres. Moroni - The area is quiet and this would add about 70 units - 70 cars would change the small town feeling into something that is big. The understanding is that Rexburg is in need of more housing. The noise level with people coming and going - High Density changes market values, property values, It changes too many things for my plans for a future here. If it does become HDR with apartment buildings, most people will be looking for somewhere to go to escape and not finding anywhere to go. High Density will change not only what people do but how people live. Cindy Wakefield - I agree with Moroni - Changing it to HDR would have an unfavorable impact and I believe that it could be developed with the existing zoning. - I feel like the P&Z voted for a plan and it is just a plan. They voted to change it to HDR, but there is no guarantee in the future of what would happen. - My husband and I gave you all a letter which discussed keeping all of the existing neighborhoods in balance. - I am totally against the change to HDR and believe that it could be developed with the existing zoning. Mayor Closed the Public Hearing and turned it over to the council for discussion. Marsha Bjornn discussed the situation of keeping the balance in the City and the inconsistencies of th zoning between 5 West and Main Street. HDR would be too much for the area. I would vote thth against the change. Marsha discussed protecting the East side of 5 West like the West side of 5 West was protected. Shawn Larsen discussed Mr. Luce statement about needing HDR to make a profit - Shawn would vote against the change to HDR. He thought MDR would create a better buffer next to a residential home. Donna Benfield asked John how would we handle the traffic flow with HDR? John said the flow would go to approximately mid block on main street. Early discussion indicated that any access st on to 1 North would be very limited. Any access would be restricted to emergency access. Marsha indicated the need for a traffic light, however John indicated that it would not come anywhere close to the requirements for a light. Marsha - Would 8 or 9 units have subsidies? Mr. Luce stated the HUD department would provide funds to reduce 8 or 9 units to 30% or 40 % of median income for Madison County. There will be no direct subsidy to the tenant or to the developer. The cost for that unit has been lowered because they gave us those funds that will allow those families to live at a lower cost. In 3 return, HUD asked us to qualify those tenants to live there. Voucher tenants would be accepted in those 8 or 9 units. Sixty Eight units are proposed with 8 or 9 units being subsidized. Marsha - Is there any assurance it will not go to low income? Mr Luce discussed the economics of keeping the unit costs down to stay competitive for multifamily units. Mr. Luce stated that he appreciated the neighborhoods concern, ‘I want to preserve that neighborhood, I have no desire to do anything, that will hurt that neighborhood’. Mr. Luce stated that he is requesting 20 units nd per acre vs 16 units to keep costs down for renters. He needs the 2 access for fire - restricted access will be his request. We are proposing 68 units. Immediately accross the street the City Council has just zoned a piece of land HDR. Mr. Luce indicated that Main Street is in transition to a multifamily housing. He stated that main street is not a single family street. He also stated that a lender can not make loans at the present density restriction. I can not do the development at MDR. Mr. Luce stated that the numbers don’t work for MDR housing. Across the street from him is HDR, he is asking for equal treatment. Glen and Mr. Luce discussed the rental price for the units with 60 units vs 68 units. Glen asked if Mr. Luce knew the Zoning was MDR when he bought the property - It will work for 2 and 3 bedrooms units. He is changing his occupancy and reducing occupancy because that is what his market study said this community needs the most and that is what your community needs, so that is what he is attempting to do. Glen commented in reviewing P&Z minutes the vote was split. Three against and five in favor of moving to high density. The only compelling reason that he could see that P&Z acted on was that the piece of property had sat idle for years with no development or care. Ted White - 68 units vs 60 units - Ted commented that his vote to change to HDR zoning was based on adding 8 more units to the existing MDR zoning. He did not feel that it would be that much more impact to the neighborhood. Mrs. Burton asked if she would have accesses on both sides of her house? The Mayor said that there would probably be one on the West of her property. Mr. Luce said that “Between the property line, we will put a fence up at the property line”. The City has asked that we have a set back of 20 feet from the property line. Glen asked John if there would be any area for outside activities or is it mostly pavement with a little green strip here and there? John - 20% of the property is required to be non hard surfaced with 80% being developed with either roofs or parking lots. Mr Luce said they would have a Tot lot and an area for larger children. Donna made favorable comments on Mr. Luce’s other developments in the City. Mr. Luce discussed the density level compared to other developments and his plans to protect the neighbors. Glen - How many buildings does 8 units represent? Mr. Luce - One additional building. ‘My square footage of what I am allowed to do in MDR is greater than what I am proposing to do in HDR’. John Millar stated that the property South of this property is two acres, zoned HDR2 and has 42 units per acre - John reviewed other developments in the area on the overhead map. Marsha - John, Mr. Luce made the statement that nothing is happening in regards to Multi- housing. Is that true? John - Pretty much. Since the announcement, One 12 plex has been completed, another 32 units are nearing completion, and 31 units started construction about two weeks ago. Marsha asked John how may units would be allowed in HDR. John - almost a hundred units. 4 Marsha was concerned that the developer could change the number of units after approval. Mayor - Confirmed that Mr. Luce has done everything he said he told us he has done in the past. ‘I don’t suspect that he would ack any differently’. Mr. Luce - ‘Councilman Bjornn, I can tell you that my architectural drawings are complete, I can tell you that engineering is complete, I can tell you that my financing package is done and approved and committed. That is a huge, huge task. I have been working that since last November. It’s done. I believed that this would not be so difficult, I made a mistake. I know th that if approved and the site plan is approved I will begin construction on June 15. I will tell you frankly, we are talking about nearly $100,000 worth of work I have had complete. I am not going to throw that away, and try to build a 100 units of something else that I do not want to build. I am going to build this, this is the only way I can have it delivered mid-winter’. Mr. Luce - ‘I am asking for 8 more units above what it appears everybody is pretty much in agreement on’. This is what he needs to have to make it feasible. Marsha - John how high will the building be? - John said it could go to three stories. Both zones would allow three stories. Discussion on the height of the building and the number of stories. MDR could allow 3 stories. This plan is just 2 stories. Others could develop a 3 story project. Shawn - comment - ‘If it does pass and goes to HDR, Then the meeting that you need to be to, another long meeting, would be the P&Z where they review the site plan, where the Planning and Zoning Commission will then decide exactly what is going to be the gate going on to first North, How high is the fence going to be? That is when the neighbors comments, the P&Z can look at his site plan and say, OK, we won’t approve it unless you do this. So, I would encourage you either way, if it does get approved, come to Planning and Zoning when the site plan is reviewed and to make those suggestions’. Mayor - Discussed the growth issues facing the Community. Marsha - ‘With a zoning issue, We can’t say that this is restricted to 68 units in this zone?’ Steve said the site plan meeting could address the issues and concerns of the neighbors. Concerning voting on the issue, Steve explained that the vote on the zoning changes are based on the factual analysis of the surrounding area. Shawn - ‘I appreciate the debate and the discussion ....I think he makes a good point, that the space that is going to be taken up is actually less than the space that could be taken up under MDR, under his plan for 68 units, so as will be noted in the minutes, I have first apposed this but now I believe that I am going to support the request’. Shawn - Made a motion to accept P&Z’s recommendation to change the property to HDR. Glen - Seconded the motion. Mayor - It has been moved and seconded, any discussion. All in favor - All voted Aye except Marsha who voted Nay Mr. Luce will address neighbor issues ASAP. Steve - John will provide copy of site plans to neighbors on a list that they will sign. Ohlson Lavoie Corp. - Report on Rexburg Recreational Center- Study Mr Mushgrave gave the report: We are looking for sites for a Community Center 5 Recreation Committee has done a lot of wonderful work We have moved our first meeting to a date good for the public next Wednesday Mayor - Questions we have needed to answer. 1) Costs? 2) Venues? 3) Are there any questions from the council? Marsha Bjornn - Would exercise equipment be included? Mr Mushgrave explained that the City may choose to have exercise equipment or some other method of generating revenue to make the Center go. In order to build a Community Center without subsidizing it to a large extent you need to generate revenue. Mr. Mushgrave - User fees are needed to offset cost of operation - An endowment fund could be set up - Admission through the door could be charged - The City can make the choice on how to generate revenue Marsha - I would support a modest complex if it did not compete with local business. I would not want to go into it in a big way. Mayor - The decisions are going to be made along the way and all the various meetings are open for anybody. Marsha - It would be helpful to know when the meeting are being held. Mr. Mushgrave said he would provide the meeting schedules by Email to the Council members. Shawn Larsen - In our contract with you, where are we? Mr. Mushgrave - Maybe 2 or 3 % complete. Shawn -After the process, you will come to us with a recommendation. Yes, what we will do is tell you the feasability of building a Community Center and give you options to do just that in a report form. It will then be your decision on how to proceed. Shawn asked about the time frame. Mr. Mushgrave is working towards doing an August vote. That decision has not been officially made. The timing for the project will be decided next Thursday. Shawn - If you become the Construction Manager what will be your fee? Mr. Mushgrave said to do the entire project they would charge between 6 and 9 %. Ray Michaelson - Land exchange (Gringos) Ray presented a proposal to exchange land to build a new restaurant and provide Rexburg a new restaurant with a new and improved parking lot. The sq ft is about 4900. Council discussed the proposal. The owners were in favor of the proposal. Steve Oakey - Discussion - Idamont Hotel is in receivership - maybe it would be possible to improve the building with a restaurant in the basement and historical site above and use the back for parking. This effort is to maintain the historical aspects of main street. Ray - I think the two main benefits would be to increase parking and a new building. Glen - I’d make a motion to move this to pubic hearing. 6 Donna - I seconded the motion. Mayor - Moved and seconded, any discussion? All in favor. All voted Aye. Mayor - Any opposed? No opposition Richard Horner - Presentation of Build out study and discussion on impact fees Marsha - Is this a different study than the one for apartments with the college? Richard - Yes Richard - This study has an inventory of all property. Richard turned the time to Stan Whiler of Hoffman Planning Associates Stan - We were hired to do a land use study for the city purpose - do a build out analysis for a tool in future planning efforts methodology - GIS for land use survey for the entire City, Land use designations, Acreage, Existing conditions, Underutilization Existing conditions - Residential - 1900 homes, 2700 multi family units, for a total of 4710 units; Non-residential - over 4 million sq. ft. of commercial and 2.4 million sq. ft. of Industrial for a total of 6.7 million sq. ft. existing today in the study area. Underutilization - In the future you can expect 5000 more single family units and about 9100 multi family units given the existing comprehensive plan land use designations. In the future you are going to jump from 4700 units up to about 14,000 units. To determine the future number of units, we determined the vacant land and how that would be built out. We based those assumption on looking at the latest developments that have been approved through the City, the newer subdivisions. The single family average dwelling unit per acre was 2.4 units per acre. The Multi-Unit family was 22 units per acre. Commercial was 5.5 million sq. ft. and Industrial was just under 2 million sq. ft. We found that about 30 % of the lots for commercial and industrial are being covered so we used that as our assumption to determine what the future sq. ft. are going to be on vacant and under-utilized properties. Marsha - What is difference between future and build out? Stan - The future is what we can expect to built from this point on. Build out is what is existing today and the future. It adds those two together. Build out is some time in the future. This is a snap shop in time. Marsha - I notice on page seven that total industrial growth in the future is down. Stan - That is correct, there will be continuous growth. Shawn Larsen - Pages 1-30 please explain the top of data Stan - Each parcel is assigned a number and the square feet was measured, then acreage, number of dwelling units per lot, multi-units per lot, Land use designations, etc. - reviewed all of the columns on the report and how to read the report. - We did 22 Multi-family units per acre in this study based on past history for Rexburg. Shawn Larsen - Can you give me a short overview of Impact fees? Stan - gave overheads to show the analysis of impact fee studies to determine a level of service for city council to make decisions. He discussed other city impact studies for levels of service. Marsha - Does it include roads, arterial roads? 7 Stan - yes - The impact fees go toward capital improvements - future growth could be paid by impact fees. Current deficiencies can not be paid for by development impact fees. Mayor - How much cost to complete this study? Stan - For the four facilities that we identified we have given you a proposal of $28,000. Shawn - When did the Legislature give us the right to charge impact fees? 1994 to 1995. Do you know of any cities that charge impact fees without this process? - Who pays these impact fees? Stan - Any new development would pay Impact Fees. Mayor - Discussed the challenges the City is facing with the limitations given by the Legislature as far as ancillary or revenue enhancement. Stan - The funds that come in have to go in to separate interest bearing accounts. Stan - The money must be spent within five years or may extend to eight years with findings. Shawn - If approved, How long to get to the ordinance? Stan - Your looking at about six months. Shawn - Would there be a waiting period? Stan - Yes, after approval you must wait 60-90 days to collect fees unless findings warrant immediate collections. Mayor - Continued discussion is needed. Stan - Developer could mitigate cost by self development, (i.e. bike path) Steve - Discussed the use of Impact Fees verses Development Agreements. capital improvements Stan - Developers must get a credit against impact fees for Name change for 1500 West Mayor- read two letters giving suggested names for 1500 West - Hiram Ricks road, Beck road, Pioneer road - Author Porter Road Mayor - What is the councils desires? Glen - I Want to give it some thought. John - Reminded council that they deferred the decision from a past decision Steve - Recommended that Porter road would be his recommendation Shawn Larsen - Made a motion that it be named Porter Road; No second th Mayor tabled it and asked that it be put on the agenda for June 5 Glen excused himself due to a conflict with the line relocation Glen came back to the council after Mayor deferred Line relocation of 1000 North to executive session Old Business Preliminary Plat for Phase 5 of Hidden Valley Estates John reviewed Map of area and discussed traffic concerns for Phase 5 The Council discussed the plan and requested changes for access. 8 John - The traffic would use second north as a primary access Winston explained the developers modification to access phase 5 Mayor called for a motion Shawn made a motion to move the access to the opposite side from the trailer park with Marsha The seconding the motion. Discussion - The cul de sac must accommodate a bus turn around. motion carried. Those voting Aye:Shawn Larsen Marsha Bjornn Donna Benfield Those voting Nay:Glen Pond The Mayor declared that the majority of all the members of City Council present voting “Aye” carried the motion. rd RE: UFO Ordinance Repealing Section II of Ordinance No. 827 (3 reading) The Mayor read the third reading of the Ordinance to be numbered 873. AN ORDINANCE REPEALING SECTION II OF NO. 827 AND ADOPTING THE INTERNATIONAL FIRE CODE, 2000 EDITION, COPYRIGHTED BY THE INTERNATIONAL CODE COUNCIL; REQUIRING COPIES OF SAID CODE TO BE KEPT IN THE OFFICE OF THE CITY CLERK; PROVIDING FOR A PENALTY FOR TH E VIOLATION OF THIS ORDINANCE AND FOR SEVERABILITY; AND REPEALING ALL ORDINANCES AND PARTS OF ORDINANCES IN CONFLICT HEREWITH AND PROVIDING WHEN THIS ORDINANCE SHALL BECOME EFFECTIVE. BE IT ORDAINED BY THE MAYOR AND COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF REXBURG, IDAHO; There was discussion on how the new code would impact multi year projects. The Mayor then called for the voting for final passage of the Ordinance, and the motion was made by Council Member Marsha Bjornn to adopt the UFC Code and implementation will be done by resolution. Council Member Shawn Larsen Seconded the motion that Ordinance 873 be passed. Those voting Aye:Glen Pond Shawn Larsen Marsha Bjornn Donna Benfield Those voting Nay:None The roll showed all Council Members present voting “Aye” carried, the Mayor declared that the majority of all the members of the City Council had voted for the passage of said ordinance, which was duly and regularly passed. the motion carried Mayor Sutherland declared. Committee reports Marsha - Mary Harris from the Family Crisis Center would like to implement two person advocate to go with law enforcement if needed. program discussed - Jay Walking Ordinance discussed Update on Projects 9 Shawn - Madison county transportation department will give input the Department of Transportation Donna - Emergency services have been excellent and are really appreciated. John Millar - Discussion on the near completion of GIS Arial mapping Carnation Treatment plant equipment being installed Bids are out for more drying bed area thth Sewer lines on 7 south and 7 north by developers th Bear Street was paved today by 4 west Approval of Minutes Marsha made a motion to approve the minutes of May 1, 2002 Seconded by Glen, All voted aye, none opposed. Approval of Bills Marsha made a motion to approve the bills, Donna seconded, All voted Aye Motion passed Donna moved to go into executive session Marsha seconded All voted Aye, the motion passed Mayor ended executive session Discussion on the Recreation Center and Ownership issues. Adjourned 11:45 PM Mayor - Thank you everyone __________________________________________ Bruce Sutherland, Mayor ______________________________________ Blair D. Kay, City Clerk 10 11