05-07-09 Site Review MinutesSITE DEVELOPMENT REVIEW COMMITTEE SUMMARY
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Lower Level Main Conference Room
201 First Avenue East
ATTENDING:
Charlie Johnson, Construction Manager Paul Burnham, Assistant City Engineer
Tom Jentz, Planning & Bldg Director Frank Castles, Deputy Public Works Director
Chad Fincher, Parks Superintendent Sean Conrad, Senior Planner
Dwain Elkins, Plans Examiner P.J. Sorensen, Chairman
Michelle Anderson, Recording Secretary
Guests: James Freyholtz, MDT.
Hear the Public: No one wished to speak.
Performance Bond Reminders: Johnson said Cascade Business Park is finished but they are still
waiting for the record drawings and the engineer's stamp for Lone Pine Trails.
Jentz said in mentioning Lone Pine Trails the city received the easement for Lupine Drive from the
subdivision to Valley View Drive at final plat however there was an additional condition that it was
supposed to be deeded and dedicated to the City of Kalispell and has not been annexed into the city.
The city is currently maintaining the road. It was decided a copy of the easement will be given to
Public Works who will approach the property owners along the easement to see if they can get the
road deeded.
Johnson continued the maintenance warranty bond for Cedar Commons expires in June.
Johnson said the preliminary plat for Westview Estates Phase 3 will expire in August, 2009. Johnson
said the city is taking care of the roads within this portion of the subdivision, which are failing, and
the warranty period has been started. Owens talked to Public Works last year and said the final plat
was going to be filed however, shortly after that they applied for and received a one year extension
for filing the final plat. Further discussion was held and it was decided Public Works will not be
starting warranties until the final plat has been approved. Sorensen suggested that the final plat
would not be accepted unless there is a letter from Public Works stating the roadways meet the city's
standards and Public Works agreed and noted this policy is already in place. Jentz added if the roads
are not brought up to city standards by the plat expiration date the developer would lose their
preliminary plat approval.
Johnson mentioned the same situation could occur with the 2nd part of Phase 1, Silverbrook Estates.
Johnson said he understands Lazy Creek Drive is an easement and Conrad added they did file a
Certificate of Survey dedicating that road to the city. Jentz said however, he didn't think the city has
accepted the street yet but it should be taken care of with the filing of the final plat which is supposed
to be submitted soon.
Spring Creek Estates: Johnson mentioned to Fincher of Parks & Rec that the Spring Creek
Estates letter of credit for trees and parkland expires June 15, 2009.
OLD BUSINESS: Northwest Transition (Pre -Release) Center: Sorensen asked if there were
any additional issues on the Northwest Transition Center and no issues were brought up.
However, D.C. Haas of the Fire Department stated there are still discussions regarding the Fire
Code rating but that won't affect approving the project because it doesn't impact the site. The
committee approved the project.
NEW BUSINESS: Three Rivers Bank — East Idaho and 3"d Ave East: Sorensen reported that
Three Rivers Bank on East Idaho is planning a 6200 square foot, 2-story addition. Elkins noted that
the bank's representative wasn't sure whether they were going to construct an addition or tear down
the old building and construct a new one. Castles said the city would have to retain an easement for
their existing sewer line within the alley. In addition the alley access onto Idaho would have to be
closed, sidewalks and boulevard would have to be addressed; the approaches would need to be
brought up to standards; the 32 foot access on Idaho near the corner of 3"d Avenue East should be
changed to a right-in/right-out only; the north access onto 3"d Ave E should be enlarged to 28 feet and
the south 20 foot access should be eliminated. Sorensen added eliminating one of those accesses
would provide them with additional parking spaces. Other issues included storm water requirements,
sewer and water services must be cut-off in the street not the curb stop, they can receive credits
toward Impact Fees for the single family houses as long as they build within 18 months and requesting
the replacement and upgrading of the fire hydrant @ 3"d & Idaho since the current hydrant does not
meet city standards.
PLANNING OFFICE ITEMS: Conrad stated the site review memos will be sent out tomorrow for
the following projects: A group home on 3"d Street East near the Conrad Mansion is seeking a
conditional use permit and a conditional use permit for expansion of a church on 3"d Avenue East and
6th Street East.
OTHER REPORTS: Temporary Signs on Sidewalks Downtown: James Freyholtz from MDT
stated temporary advertising signs are not allowed on the R/W of MDT maintained roadways.
Sorensen asked Freyholtz to provide that information to the city in writing to present to city council.
9-1-1 Center: Sorensen said the city is ready to issue the 9-1-1 Center permit. Burnham said some
issues on the center have recently come up. Although this is private property they have been
regrading a lot of the ground and there are areas of the building where they are cutting and filling
right under the building pad. The geo-technical engineer has raised the concern and Burnham added
when they put in the well house the city told them they couldn't do it that way and they needed to
excavate and come up with uniform fill. Elkins noted the Building Department will get a special
inspection on it and will include that in the next correspondence to CTA.
Bloomstone Preliminary Plat: Conrad noted Bloomstone received preliminary plat approval for
phases IA & 1B and they want to come in for final plat on only a portion of Phase IA. The parks
condition will be prorated for the number of housing units they want to put in and they will still have
to include the tot lot. Jentz said the city should request that a new phasing plan be submitted that
would indicate each portion submitted as phase 1, 2, etc. instead of IA, 1B, etc. Each phase is
required to be stand alone for parkland, utilities, infrastructure, and fire access and in addition, no
warranty period will begin until each phase is final platted. Burnham added Public Works will look at
the utilities that have gone in already and they may need to put a valve in to prevent a piece of line
that is not part of the first phase. Castles said there should be 3 valves at each intersection. Conrad
asked Fincher if he had talked to them and Fincher said they called to find out what they would have
to do to meet the parkland requirements.
Stillwater Bluffs: Fincher reported that Chad Graham, a resident of Stillwater Bluffs has concerns
with the road on the east side of Country Way going into Stillwater Bluffs. Fincher told Graham a
year ago that road was not a part of the city however it is now indicated as a city street on GIS.
Graham claims to have, in writing that the developer, Jeff Langdon is responsible for seeding and
irrigation along the east side of this street. Conrad said he would review the file to see if there is a
condition that addresses that area. Fincher said Graham had also asked about a monument sign in that
location and Fincher told him Parks would not take that area over as a park but if they wanted a
monument sign there he would have to talk to Public Works. The zoning ordinance also would apply.
Johnson suggested the maintenance issues should be addressed by the homeowners association.
D.C. Haas said the developer of 245 Windward Way is asking for the C of O for 2 suites and Elkins
noted they are trying to get tenants into those 2 spaces however, the committee discussed this last
week and it was decided that no C of O will be issued for that building until the fire issues are
resolved.
D.C. Haas asked if there are any Federal or State funds for a grant to assist in installing lights such as
those on Reserve Loop that would help reduce speed on city streets. Johnson suggested Flathead
Electric Co-op's Round Up for Safety program.
Burnham asked if there was any work proposed to start in the Willow Creek Subdivision and Jentz
said the Turner's focus now is in the acquisition of the R/W along Willow Creek for the bypass.
Lone Pine Trails: Burnham said a year ago there was an excavation for a house foundation in Lone
Pine Trails which, after a rainfall filled up with water. He added even building a crawlspace will fill in
with water in this subdivision and at what point would the developer/contractor be responsible to alert
people building on these lots of these problems. Elkins said every foundation detail that is permitted
shows foundation drainage but the code doesn't specify inside or outside. The Building Department is
now inspecting foundation drainage but the problem is a lot of people put the drainage on the outside
which is a good thing for groundwater but it doesn't help with water inside that won't dry up and
causes mold. Jentz said today that subdivision would have been approved with a slab on grade only
however it wasn't approved that way. Further discussion was held and it was decided no basements
are allowed however, all the city can do at this point is recommend slab on grade and if they insist on
including a crawl space it would be up to the contractor/developer to provide a plan on handling
storm water.
The meeting was adjourned at 11:10 a.m.