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HomeMy WebLinkAboutP&Z MINUTES JUNE 15, 2006 Planning & Zoning Minutes June 15, 2006 12 North Center Phone: 208.359.3020 Rexburg, ID 83440 Fax: 208.359.3022 www.rexburg.org Commissioners Attending: City Staff and Others: Rex Erickson – Council Member Kurt Hibbert – P&Z Administrator Winston Dyer– Chairman Emily Abe – Secretary Mike Ricks Mary Haley Joe Laird Charles Andersen Dan Hanna Ted Hill David Stein Randall Porter Chairman Dyer opened the meeting at 7:04 pm. Chairman Dyer excused Council Member Rex Erickson from the meeting. Roll Call of Planning and Zoning Commissioners Ted Hill, Randall Porter, Mary Haley, Dan Hanna, Winston Dyer, David Stein, Mike Ricks, Charles Andersen Thaine Robinson and Mary Ann Mounts were excused. Tabled requests: A. School District Expansion Randall Porter motioned to pick up the School District Expansion issue off the table. Mike Ricks seconded the motion. None opposed. Motion carried. st Nick Holmes: 1290 N. 1 E; Representing the Madison School District. He gave the Commissioners information on the modular school buildings. He said last year the school came to the Commission and proposed to put a portable classroom at Lincoln School. They were told they couldn’t put it up unless it was on a permanent foundation. The Commission gave them a variance to keep it there until the construction was complete. Right after the school year, he had to move that building out to the Burton School. The two modular classrooms he has ordered for Burton will be here in July. He would like to place this on a permanent foundation at Adams School. He pointed out where the school wants to place the building. They will follow the required setbacks and put privacy slats in the fence. The building will be basically out of sight. He said if there are any aesthetic concerns, they will be willing to do whatever they need to do. There is not much room for growth at Adams School. The board would like to build a new elementary school, and they would like to renovate and expand the Lyman School. They have plans of purchasing some of the ground up on the hill for future expansion. All these plans depend on funding. The schools are bursting at the seams. They have 148 new students in the last nine (9) months. Their 1 only option is to bring in these modular classrooms. At the start of this school year, they will have nine (9) modular classrooms in service. Chairman Dyer asked him to explain why they are going to modular classrooms as opposed to adding onto the buildings. Nick Holmes said adding on four (4) new classrooms to the school building would cost $1 million. This modular classroom will cost them $87,000. The school district has no money to build brick and mortar buildings. Mary Haley asked if this is one classroom or two. Nick Holmes said it is two (2) classrooms. They are both about the same size as most of the rooms in Adams School. The teachers and students love them. They are light and airy, and they have all the electrical outlets that are necessary. The school isn’t supposed to allow over thirty (30) children per classroom. Joe Laird arrived at 7:14 pm. Mary Haley asked about parking and how fire trucks will have access. Nick Holmes said there is access along side the building. They will be putting a covered entry from the building to the school. Kurt Hibbert said there is adequate room, but the property is made up of parcels that are in two different zones: CBC and LDR2. Schools are an allowed use in both zones, but require a Conditional Use Permit in the Residential zone. Residential properties are on the north side. He will make sure the building conforms to residential setback requirements. A manufactured home is not allowed in LDR2 unless it is on a permanent foundation. This building will be placed on a permanent foundation. Chairman Dyer said the issue is a property rights question between what the school has rights to do and what the neighborhood has rights to do. Kurt Hibbert said obviously someone gave the school permission at some point in time to have a school in this zone. Since the school is an existing situation, his preference would be to issue them the permission to do this under their existing Conditional Use Permit. Chairman Dyer said the question is shall a manufactured building for a classroom, mounted on a permanent foundation, be allowed for installation on school property in a Residential zone under a Conditional Use Permit. David Stein said there are design standards for public and institutional buildings, which are the same as multi family dwellings. He asked where modular buildings come in. Are we opening up a potential problem down the road? Kurt Hibbert said we have not to date applied those multifamily design standards on public structures. This is a very good question. Randall Porter asked what the lifespan is on a building like this. Nick Holmes said if this structure is placed on a permanent foundation and maintained properly, it should last forty (40) years. Randall Porter asked if this could be moved somewhere else if the need arises. Nick Holmes said the foundation could be demolished and it could be moved somewhere else. Chairman Dyer said one of the concerns about the permanent foundation is that the building has to be properly anchored, so in an earthquake or high wind situation it is safe. Mary Haley asked if the School District is considering this a permanent structure, or if they are considering it a temporary structure. Nick Holmes said he can’t imagine them doing any construction at Adams school for two (2) to three (3) years. It will be there for three (3) years. 2 Charles Anderson said the school doesn’t have control of the growth of the city. They are not in control of the bond, either. Nick Holmes said the board of trustees has every intention of passing a bond for building brick and mortar schools for the children of this community. Dan Hanna asked if there are any other alternatives. Nick Holmes said they have looked at this very thoroughly, and they cannot afford to add on to Adams School until they pass a bond. There are too many children at Adams School. He said they are going to do their best. This is the only option they have right now to add two (2) classrooms to the school by September. Mike Ricks said this will make the school look trashy. He said if the School District is short classrooms, they should go to two sessions a day school. He said two (2) classrooms won’t be enough for this year. Nick Holmes said the School Board has explored all sorts of different options. This is what they can afford to do right now. He said the community is going to have to dip in their pockets and build a new school. Mary Haley asked if there will be ramps to the building. Nick Holmes said there will be short ramps, since it is a low building. Dan Hanna asked when the next bond issue is coming up for voting. Nick Holmes said they might try to go for a bond at the end of this summer. Dan Hanna pointed out that another phase of Stonebridge subdivision has been approved. This will further compound the issues Adams School is facing, with more children moving in at that elementary school age. Joe Laird asked what is going to happen to the asphalt area to the east side of the school. Nick Holmes said it will stay exactly the same. It will be for parking and fire access. Chairman Dyer said the Commission has expressed serious concerns about close coordination with the School Board in terms of their plans for future development. They want to help each other. He personally had some conversations with the Superintendent. They talked about getting the School Board the Planning & Zoning Agendas so they know when there are going to be issues. They discussed having the School Board report to the Commission quarterly or semi-annually. We need this close interaction and discussion to help them accomplish their objectives and to help the community meet its goals. Chairman Dyer said the Commission certainly supports the School District. We want to do anything within our power help them do whatever needs to be done to ensure the proper education of our children, and for the quality of life and maintenance of our community values. At the same time, we are the “guardians” of public rights. Rules and regulations have been made, and investments based upon them. There are certain expectations that these people feel ought to be met. We have the challenge of conflicting interests and property rights of neighboring properties. It is a very challenging thing for this Commission to be faced with these decisions and deliberations. He said as we deliberate, he hopes it is understood that we are interested in doing what we can to support the School District. We’re also interested in doing what we can to make sure we hold true to our Comprehensive Plan and community vision. We need to turn our discussion towards the question, which is, “shall a Conditional Use Permit be issued”. David Stein asked if they would issue this under an existing or new Conditional Use Permit. Kurt Hibbert said this would be under an existing Conditional Use Permit. David Stein said since the desire is not to continue using modular buildings on permanent foundations, he would be in favor of issuing a Conditional Use Permit and making it temporary. If they treat it as a temporary building, he would be in favor of it. 3 Ted Hill said we can’t restrict this to a two (2) or three (3) year program. If we have the growth that the school has projected, and they don’t pass a bond, where are we going to put all these kids? As far as this building not meeting Design Standards and codes, it meets both. It is a standard building, so it has to meet codes throughout the country. Why handicap the School District with a time limitation? Two (2) or three (3) years is too short of a time period. He said if you are going to buy property next to a school yard, you are going to expect some expansion. If the neighbors don’t want that in their back yard, they shouldn’t have bought that property. How are they going to educate the kids if they don’t have the classrooms to do it, and if they don’t have the money to build a new school? Mary Haley said this should be a separate Conditional Use Permit. This is not an existing use. This is an entirely separate building that doesn’t even meet our building codes. David Stein said the school is a conditional use, and it has obviously been grandfathered in. Mary Haley said when it comes to this kind of building, people need to know what is going into our schools system. She said she has a problem with the immediacy of the building needed, and with this coming under the current Conditional Use Permit. Mike Ricks said this band-aid approach is probably the only solution we have for the immediate future. Even if a bond is passed, it will take a few years to complete a new school. The temporary building would have to be allowed for a minimum four (4) to five (5) years. Randall Porter said the bond is an all or nothing issue. Even if the bond is defeated, the school can still afford to build individual buildings. Since the School District was able to handle the situation at Lincoln school, they will probably be able to handle the situation at Adams School in a few years. Nick Holmes said they have used all of his operating funds. He had to leave roofs unfinished, and defer all his maintenance because of the construction at Lincoln School. The Commissioners discussed the process of adding to an existing Conditional Use Permit. Charles Andersen motioned to approve this proposal to add the modular school building as proposed, tying it back to current and existing historical use for a school, with the condition that if a bond or additional plant facility funds be made available that the School District will take no more than five (5) years to remove this structure from use at this site. If this is not possible, due to growth, the School District is required to return and re-apply for a Conditional Use Permit. Ted Hill seconded the motion. None opposed. Motion carried. Minutes: A. Planning and Zoning meeting – June 1, 2006 Corrections: -P. 5 – The conditions in Charles Andersen’s motion to approve the AMET project are not linked to any specific landscape requirements. The motions need to be more specific. -P. 5 – Under David Stein’s comments, change “He doesn’t have the rational to accept this” to “The applicant doesn’t have the rationale to apply for this.” -P. 4 – Under Chairman Dyer’s comments, designate that “Hyde Park Apartments” need to be looked at for meeting their requirements. 4 Mike Ricks motioned to approve the minutes for June 1, 2006 as amended. Charles Andersen seconded the motion. Ted Hill, Mary Haley, and Randall Porter abstained for having not been present. None opposed. Motion carried. Public Hearings: None Unfinished/Old Business: A.Architectural Design Standards Review for Industrial Buildings Kurt Hibbert said there are three (3) different types of places they want to apply the Design Standards. He explained some of the proposed Design Standards. The Commissioners discussed the standards. Charles Andersen left at 9:00 pm. New Business: A.Subdivision Ordinance Chairman Dyer said there have been several drafts of a new version of the Subdivision Ordinance. We are going to put it into Ordinance 926. We have had several reviews in the last few years, but it probably needs to be read in light of some of the other things that are in Ordinance 926. Kurt Hibbert said the State Statutes require certain things to be done when you go through a platting process. Planning & Zoning Commission approves a Preliminary Plat and sends it to City Council for approval. The developers then bring a Final Plat back to Planning & Zoning for approval. The Planning & Zoning Commission then sends the Final Plat to City Council. After the point that a Final Plat is approved by City Council, the County Assessor’s office have been statutorily charged with doing a final review of the plat to make sure everything is right on the drawing, so it can become a public record. There is a series of approvals that have to be given on that final document. This includes signatures from the District 7 Health Department, signatures from the surveyor, a signature from the County surveyor, etc. In the past, this process has been left to the whiles of the consultant to try to get all these signatures. The signatures have been given out of order. To be included in the new Subdivision Ordinance is a signature hierarchy. This way, each of the governing bodies can see that it is going through an orderly process. This has never been done, and it has been causing problems. The signature hierarchy is a forthcoming amendment to the Subdivision Ordinance. Hopefully this will speed things up. Kurt Hibbert said one of the changes in the Subdivision Ordinance will be the requirement for a master plan to be presented up front as the preliminary plat. The issue is that on some of these subdivisions with ten (10) phases, after reviewing the preliminary and final plat on each phase, we could have forty (40) meetings. We could cut this time in half if we required a master plan. This will also require that after the final phase is done, an “as built” preliminary plat be submitted at the end of the total project. Dan Hanna asked if it would be appropriate to have that master plan extend out beyond just the properly line of the development, to show the effect on adjoining properties, so we don’t ever land lock a property, or deny access. 5 The Commissioners discussed this issue. Compliance: A. Report on Compliance Issues Mike Ricks reported on the status of some compliance issues in the community. Compliance Officer Natalie Powell will report on compliance issues at the first meeting in July. Mary Haley said Wilcox doesn’t have any landscaping, just a picnic shelter. Joe Laird said that was approved with the specific requirement that there would be a line of trees all the way along the side. Joe Laird said the upper storage yards on Pioneer Road were supposed to landscape along the corners out near the road. This has never been done. Mary Haley said the new owner came and requested to build a house out there, and the landscape requirements were discussed then also. Non controversial Items Added to the Agenda: A.Report on Right of Way Issue – John Millar John Millar will report on this issue at the next meeting. Report on Projects: A.Comprehensive Plan Kurt Hibbert had nothing to report at this time. Building Permit Application Report: Heads Up: nd A. Conditional Use Permit at 179 East 2 South for Greenbrier Dormitory Housing – (Scheduled to be published for Public Hearing on June 16, 2006) th This Conditional Use Permit application will not be published June 16as scheduled, since the applicant has not yet completed the application. Chairman Dyer adjourned the meeting at 10:08 pm. 6