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HomeMy WebLinkAboutP&Z MINUTES FEBRUARY 16, 2006 ORM F EQUEST R RAVEL T P&Z LANNING ONING M INUTES 12 N. Center (PO Box 280) Phone: 208-359-3020 x312 Rexburg, Idaho 83440 Fax: 208-359-3022 www.rexburg.org planning@rexburg.org February 16, 2006 Commissioners Attending: City Staff and Others: Rex Erickson – Council Member Shawn Larsen – Mayor Winston Dyer– Chairman Kurt Hibbert – P&Z Administrator Ted Hill Mary Ann Mounts John Millar – Public Works Director David Stein Thaine Robinson Emily Abe – Secretary Joe Laird Mary Haley Randall Porter Chairman Dyer opened the meeting at 7:15 pm. Chairman Dyer explained that since a legal quorum of six (6) commissioners were not yet present at the meeting, the present commissioners would need to wait for another to arrive before they could proceed with any official business. They would proceed with the items on the agenda that do not require action of a legal quorum. Chairman Dyer noted the passing of Cathy Winters, who formerly served as secretary for the Planning and Zoning Commission. He said their thoughts, prayers and condolences go out to her family. He invited the Commissioners to make personal expressions to the family as appropriate. Unfinished, Old Business: B . Comprehensive Plan: Kurt Hibbert presented the proposed comprehensive plan changes and asked them to add anything they see is missing. He explained the review of the SWOT analysis will allow them to expedite some policy development in the comprehensive plan as they address the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats in each of the land use areas. Kurt also gave the commissioners a list of zones allowed within the different land use designations on the comprehensive plan map. He asked the commission to give their recommendations on some of the new zones, and which land use areas they should fit into. Randall Porter asked where this information would be included in the plan, and who is writing the plan. Kurt Hibbert said it will be integrated into the comprehensive plan as policy direction. Kurt is working on the comprehensive plan and is asking the Planning and Zoning Commission to help develop and update it. Chairman Dyer asked for a list of the zones that have not been categorized. Kurt said he has not been able to develop that list, and he is only aware of a couple of such zones. He added that many of the zones are applicable in more than one land use area. He suggested they have a work meeting and go through and separate the commercial land uses. Some land uses are not on the list, and they need to be classified and added. Kurt Hibbert gave the commissioners a new comprehensive plan map and pointed out the legend clarifications, annexations and zone changes reflected. He asked them to notify him if they noticed any mistakes. 1 Thaine Robinson noted there are two different zones on the annexed Fugimoto property. Kurt Hibbert said there is General Business District on the North and Regional Business Center on the South. Chairman Dyer pointed out that the clarifications on the map legend do not show up very well. Kurt Hibbert then showed the commissioners some other changes on the map, including some areas they want to continue working on. Chairman Dyer encouraged the commissioners to keep the maps in their codes for reference during the meetings. Heads up: Kurt Hibbert pointed out that the comprehensive plan map amendment waiting period ends February 17, 2006. After that date, the commission will be able to process comprehensive plan change requests. Chairman Dyer asked how many applications are anticipated. Kurt said he knows of three (3) right now. They will probably look at these on the second meeting in March. Non-controversial items added to the agenda: Kurt Hibbert informed the commissioners that the city sponsors them if they would like to attend the annual Planning & Zoning Training in Pocatello on March 25, 2006. He told them to contact him if they needed a ride. So far, two (2) commissioners and one (1) citizen are planning to attend. Joseph Laird arrived at 7:46 pm. Chairman Dyer officially opened the meeting at 7:47 pm. He welcomed the public to the meeting, including some students and scouts. Roll Call Randall Porter, Mary Ann Mounts, Winston Dyer, Ted Hill, Joe Laird, Thaine Robinson Charles Andersen was excused from the meeting. David Stein would arrive at 8:30 or 9:00 pm. Minutes: A. Planning and Zoning meeting – February 2, 2006 Corrections: - P. 4 – Change “David Robinson seconded the motion” to “Thaine Robinson seconded the motion.” Thaine Robinson motioned to approve the minutes for February 2, 2006 as amended. Ted Hill seconded the motion. 2 Mary Ann Mounts and Randall Porter abstained for having not been present at the meeting. None opposed. Motion carried. Public Hearings: 7:05 PM - Rezone request from LDR3 to CBC at 1114 North Yellowstone Highway Discussion on this issue began at 7:50 pm. nd Dave Noel: 350 N 2 E. He represented Tom Goe on this rezone request. He explained they are requesting the Commission to allow them to rezone the property from Low Density Residential 3 to Community Business Center, which is the recommended zone for the area in the comprehensive plan. He pointed out that both the property to the North and to the South are also zoned CBC. The developers intend to adhere to all the requirements in the land uses identified in the code for the CBC zone. He asked that the Commission consider the request and recommend the area for rezoning. Randall Porter asked if the property is within the city limits, or if it is in the impact zone. Kurt Hibbert said it is in the city limits, right on the North boundary. Randall Porter then asked why the Highway Business Center or Regional Business Center zones were not considered. He thinks the proposed plan would fit better in the RBC zone than the CBC zone. He thinks this would fit better in the middle of the community rather than out by the highway. Since the project is by the highway, and is between two cities that would use it, it would fit better in the other zones. Dave Noel answered that they are trying to conform to the comprehensive plan. Chairman Dyer asked Kurt Hibbert to comment on this issue. He said the trap they are falling into is that the properties in that area used to be zoned a zone that has been done away with, and now have been zoned Community Business Center. Kurt explained that CBC zone is equivalent to, and almost exactly the same as what the Highway Business District used to be. CBC has every land use that the Highway Business District had. The comprehensive plan calls for commercial land use in that area, but does not designate a specific commercial zone. The zoning is left up to the Planning and Zoning Commission to decide what is most appropriate. Joseph Laird asked what the various buildings on the site plan are. Dave Noel pointed out that the drawing is just an idea of what they are going to do. They do not have any concrete plans. They plan to put in storage units that would serve as a buffer between the residential zones and the project. The plan shows a go-carting area and a miniature golfing area. The other buildings would be for retail shops. Chairman Dyer reminded the commissioners that the applicant is only applying for a zone change, not a building plan. Once the property is zoned a certain way, the applicants could then come forward with site plans for development. Thaine Robinson asked if the lots around the property are both CBC. Dave Noel replied that they are. Randall Porter asked if the Kendall Davenport property is zoned CBC, and what Mr. Davenport has on his property. Mary Ann Mounts clarified that he has a private home on the property that he runs a business out of. The storage units would be located right past Kendall Davenport’s home. Mary Ann Mounts asked what year Tom Goe had previously applied for a different plan on the property. Tom Goe answered he had applied in 1994, and again in 1997. Mary told him that she had always felt bad about the way things had ended in the past. 3 Chairman Dyer opened the public input portion. In Favor: Tom Goe: Owner of the property and applicant for the rezone. He explained the plan is just a concept. They are planning things so they will not be a distraction to traffic or for the neighbors. They want to push the development as far back onto the property as possible. They will try to keep the theater intact. They want to put in a golf course, a go-carting area, and batting cages. They have not yet worked out all the details, but they will work on this later with the developers. Right now it is just a concept. Neutral: None Opposed: None Written Input: -Letter from Kendall and Yolanda Davenport stating their concern with the noise the development could bring in. Mary Haley arrived at 8:00 pm. Rebuttal: Dave Noel restated all they are asking for is to be rezoned to what is recommended in the comprehensive plan, and that they do intend to follow all of the requirements completely. They are not asking to do anything that is not already allowed in the recommended zone they are requesting. Chairman Dyer closed the public input portion. Mary Ann Mounts stated she is in favor of the rezone, especially since this parcel is the only along that side of the road that is not already zoned CBC. She also noted she thinks it is very important that they don’t judge the rezone request on anything to do with the plan, since the decision should be based on the comprehensive plan’s surrounding zoning. Joseph Laird said he is concerned about the street right of way, since it would become quite a busy street. It is also going to have a bicycle path along one side of it. He said they may need to put in a left turn lane, and that the public works department would probably work out these issues with them. Mary Ann Mounts commented the applicant already has two (2) right of ways, an in and an out. Randall Porter said he thinks it would fit better into another zone, particularly Regional Business Center. Chairman Dyer asked Randall to explain why he thinks this zone would be a better fit. Randall said the Community Business Center implies to him that it would be something that would fit into a community, somewhere where people could walk to it from their homes. This property is right in between two (2) population bases, Sugar City and Rexburg. Since Sugar City is going to be increasing its population dramatically over the next four (4) or five (5) years, he thinks this development would fit into a zone that would fit the needs of an entire region, rather than in a community. Also, the zone specifies that it should be located close to a freeway. The only SIC code that fits what he is going to do is on page 97, which mentions specifically miniature golf. He said they at least should clean up the zones and make them consistent with each other. He thinks the whole area out there is becoming more of a regional business center than a community business center. 4 Mary Ann Mounts asked Kurt Hibbert to clarify that the only reasons the other parcels are zoned CBC is because they were previously zoned Highway Business District. Kurt affirmed this was correct. Chairman Dyer pointed out on page 90 of the code, that retail trade, miniature golf and drive-in movies are included in the uses allowed in the CBC zone. Kurt Hibbert stated it was easier to classify each use in the Community Business Center zone, but he could not clearly classify the uses in the Local Business Center and Regional Business Center zones. He said the issue of the consistency of application of the zone in the area is something they may need to discuss in the future. If the zone doesn’t fit in the area, then they should probably look at all the parcels zoned CBC in the area. Chairman Dyer asked why they the Community Business Center zone was selected to replace the old zone, instead of the Regional Business Center zone. Kurt replied the RBC is a larger, more complex use zone, to be used out on a freeway interchange or something. It is intended for a larger market type structure. It would be a campus concept, rather than a strip mall type development. CBC is right in the middle of the RBC and LBC zones in terms of complexity. Mary Ann Mounts said a region would have to be a larger area than just Sugar City and Rexburg. She said this would not qualify as a region. Ted Hill asked Tom Goe how many acres are included on the property. Tom Goe answered a little over ten (10) acres. Thaine Robinson said he can support the zone change, and he thinks Community Business Center fits the project better. Mary Ann Mounts moved to recommend approval of the requested zone change to Community Business Center. Thaine Robinson seconded the motion. None opposed. Motion carried. Unfinished/Old Business: A. Review plans of condition fulfillment on rezone request from LDR2 to RBD at 280 East Main Street (Liahona). Robert Collette: Owner of the property. He stated his appreciation to the city engineer for reviewing the plans so quickly. He said he would instruct the people who drafted the site plan to work with the city engineer to make the lighting conform to the ordinance. He said they would find something modest to put on the home itself for signage, since they cannot put a sign in the yard. As far as parking, they would like to see only three (3) or four (4) spaces behind the home for the cars that are there on a regular basis. He said they would have the planner get with the city to make parking plans that would be in conformance. He said they could put parallel parking in the driveway if they have to. He asked if the commission wanted him to have the site plan redrawn. Ted Hill asked why the lighting did not conform. Kurt Hibbert clarified that the lighting could be in conformance, but they are concerned that the lighting was the kind that lit up parking lots, instead of lighting up the house. They have to have full cut off, so it is headed down, and not out. Randall Porter suggested they use the high pressure sodium lights that are more of an amber colored lighting. These would use less electricity, and would be less intrusive. 5 Mary Haley asked how much of the yard can be taken up in parking. Kurt Hibbert answered that no more than forty (40) percent could be put into hard surface. He said they are not planning to add any additional concrete. Three (3) spaces is the anticipated demand. Chairman Dyer noted that the required handicap parking could be placed in the driveway. He asked if the chain link fence remained on the plan. Robert said they left the fence on the plan because the neighbors want it to remain on the property. Chairman Dyer asked if the fence would provide enough shielding and buffering to block the lights of the cars on the street. Robert said that they won’t know until the plants start growing, but they will change it later if they have to. Mary Haley asked if there were a lot of vines on the fence. Robert replied that the neighbors said the vines that grow on the fence are really nice in the summer. Thaine Robinson pointed out that with the business’ office hours, the car lights would probably not be an issue. Mary Haley asked why they are taking the garage out. Robert Collette said that it is not integral to the home and it detracts from it. Chairman Dyer pointed out that at the last meeting they said if the conditions are not met then the zoning would revert to the original zone. He asked the commissioners to give Robert Collette some fairly specific guidance as to what he needs to do to meet their concerns. Mary Ann Mounts said that she would like to see as few parking spaces as possible. She would like to see the fence kept the way it is. She would also like to see a good looking sign that meets the requirements. Mary Haley asked what the maximum sign dimensions are. Kurt Hibbert said it can be two feet by two feet (2x2). Chairman Dyer asked what mechanism would be used to move this request forward. Since this is the first request for this particular zone, and since the neighborhood has been very proactive in expressing their concerns about it, they need to make sure everything is done correctly. Mary Haley said she would like to see the final product before it they send it on. Randall Porter asked if there were some mechanism where the conditions could be put on the title of the property or somewhere to say that if the conditions are not met, then the zoning would revert. He thinks this would protect the city and some future buyer of the property. Chairman Dyer said they needed to be careful, because if the provision for this were not made in Mr. Stein’s motion to approve the rezone, they probably could not change it now. Mary Ann Mounts questioned if they could make the zoning revert in the future with the sale of the property. Kurt Hibbert said the zoning is a property right. There is a clause in the ordinance that is a part of this zone, Section 3.25.140 “Reversion of Zoning.” If the approval conditions to the rezone are documented and not corrected by the property owner in a timely manner, then the property zoning will revert to the zone existing before the rezone. Mary Ann Mounts interpreted that in the motion to rezone the property in the last meeting, David Stein put a condition on the property that if the owner sold to a business that did not conform, the zoning would revert. Chairman Dyer said since there is enough concern on the part the staff review, coupled with the concern of the commissioners, they would ask that the plan be clarified to their intent and to address the concerns. The commission would like the owner to re-submit the plan to the Commission for their review. The Commission would like to make sure the conditions will be fulfilled. 6 New Business: None Tabled requests: st A. Rezone request from MDR1 to CBC at 330 West 1 South – (Interwest Cabinet) Chairman Dyer said they had discussed this issue, and it would be best to follow the alternative to change the comprehensive plan, and then change the zone. The clock expires February 17, 2006, after which they can consider the comprehensive plan change, and then move this forward. th B.Rezone request from RR to LDR2 at 1139 East 9 North – (Titan Development) Report on Projects: None Compliance: None Falicia Hanamaikai asked if there were any future plans to beautify the alley behind the Westwood Theatre by Gringo’s restaurant. John Millar said they are looking at providing additional lighting, repainting, removing the run down fence, and fixing the parking lots. They are looking at putting all the signage into conformance. They plan to do significant cleanup of those two lots this summer. David Stein arrived at 8:45 pm. Mayor Larsen said they just came from a joint meeting with the Sugar City and County Commissioners. The decision was made to set up an interim committee with two (2) individuals from the County, Sugar City and Rexburg Commissions to look at zoning with consistency in the various jurisdictions. The first meeting of this committee will be March 1, 2006 at the County Annex Building at 7:00 pm. Mayor Larsen asked for volunteers from the Commission to serve on this committee. He specifically asked Chairman Dyer to serve on the committee. Thaine Robinson asked the Mayor to explain the content of the meeting. Mayor Larsen said they would like two (2) commissioners from each commission to meet and look at being consistent. They want to eventually make it so if Rexburg has a zone in their impact area, then the other jurisdictions would have the same zoning on the property. They don’t want to look at lines at this point. This committee would make a recommendation to the joint City- County meeting about possible changes in the different jurisdictions’ ordinances. They want the maps to be consistent in zones and colors in the three jurisdictions. This will be an interim committee that will not be long term. Chairman Dyer said he would be available on March 1 for the first meeting. He asked if there were others interested in serving on the committee. Rex Erickson added that this should be short term, that they want it to be done in May. Mary Haley said she might be interested. Randall Porter said he would be a substitute. Chairman Dyer said he would call the other commissioners and ask them if they have strong interest. Chairman Dyer adjourned the meeting 8:57 pm. 7