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02-13-07KALISPELL CITY PLANNING BOARD & ZONING COMMISSION MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING FEBRUARY 13, 2007 CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL The regular meeting of the Kalispell City Planning Board and CALL Zoning Commission was called to order at 7:00 p.m. Board members present were: Timothy Norton, Rick Hull, Bryan Schutt, Robyn Balcom, Kari Gabriel and John Hinchey. Sean Conrad and Tom Jentz represented the Kalispell Planning Department. There were approximately 25 people in the audience. RESIGNATION OF BOARD Norton announced that Bob Albert has resigned from the MEMBER board due to his work and travel schedule. This seat is appointed by the County Commissioners who will advertise to fill the vacancy. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Gabriel moved and Balcom seconded a motion to approve the minutes of the January 9, 2007 regular planning board meeting. The motion passed unanimously on a roll call vote. HEAR THE PUBLIC Marshall Corbett resides on Quarter Horse Lane and owns the property that is downhill from this proposed subdivision. Corbett asked the board to consider a condition for. stormwater runoff. They have already had a problem last year due to the drainage coming off of a similar subdivision on the east side of Stillwater Road. If the same thing holds true for the new subdivision all this runoff is going to go downhill down to the access road which parallels Tripp's driveway and that water needs to be dealt with and he doesn't want it to come down on his property. Corbett reviewed his advanced degrees in civil engineering and geology and his 40 years of working experience in these fields for the board. Corbett said the soil conditions are not conducive for rapid infiltration. The idea of a sump should automatically be discarded. The other possibility is to set up a ditch and run it over to Stillwater Road, collect from both subdivisions and run a storm drain to where it could run into an existing creek bed. He roughly calculated how much rainfall and runoff might be generated with this subdivision. He said if you use an arbitrary figure like 4 - 1 /2 acres, which is roughly half of the 9 acres that is going to be subdivided and assuming 2000 square foot roofs and 500 square feet of driveway, plus the roads, you end up with something like 114,000 to 123,000 gallons in a 1" rain. The amount of water coming down would be quite significant. Corbett said that is enough to make him and his neighbors concerned. Corbett suggested the board could attach this information to their consideration of the variance but he would at least like Kalispell City Planning Board Minutes of the meeting of February 13, 2007 Page 1 of 8 to see the board pass it on to City Council when the subdivision is reviewed by them. CONSIDERATION TO Consideration to amend City Code Section 4-1 regarding AMEND CITY CODE livestock to allow horses, donkeys, mules, sheep, goats and SECTION 4-1 REGARDING llamas within the City of Kalispell based on a density of one LIVESTOCK WITH THE animal per acre of pasture. Livestock is currently prohibited CITY in the city. STAFF REPORT Sean Conrad, representing the Kalispell Planning Department presented the Staff Report for the Board. Conrad said that at the Planning Board's January 22nd work session this amendment to Section 4-1 of the City Code was discussed and the board directed staff to include horses, donkeys, mules, sheep, goats and llamas to be permitted within city limits provided there was a density which was 1 animal per acre of fenced pasture land, as well as some other provisions regarding offspring, a nuisance clause and properties that are annexed into the city that have densities that exceed what the provisions state. Conrad reviewed a map of current properties within the city limits that are an acre or larger for the board. He noted that the only large portions of land are on the southern end of the city near Sunnyside Drive most of which are still in the county but are adjacent to the city limits and could come into the city where these provisions would apply. Conrad noted that Mike Hall, the Animal Control Officer for the Kalispell Police Department is present if the board wants to ask him any questions. Based on preliminary comments from the planning board members, planning staff is recommending Chapter 4, Animals and Fowl, of the city's code be amended to allow horses, donkeys, mules, sheep, goats and llamas subject to the following standards: Section 4-1 (C). Horses, donkeys, mules, sheep, goats and llamas are permitted within the Kalispell city limits subject to the following minimum requirements: (1). The number of horses, donkeys, mules, sheep, goats and llamas permitted on a property shall not exceed one animal per one acre of fenced pasture land. (2). Offspring to permitted animals living on the lot shall not be counted as part of the animal density for one year from date of birth at which time the owner shall bring the animal density back into compliance with the ordinance code. Kalispell City Planning Board Minutes of the meeting of February 13, 2007 Page 2 of 8 (3). Property owners keeping horses in accordance with the above standards must maintain such animals in a manner that does not cause adverse impact to neighboring property owners. Potential negative impacts on adjacent properties include odors, noise, drainage, erosion and flies. Each person who keeps these animals is responsible for the regular removal and disposal of animal waste, and control of insects, erosion and odor. Failure to maintain the property in accordance with these requirements shall be considered a violation of the ordinance. (4). Property annexed into the city exceeding the densities required under subsection (C) (1) shall have up to two years from the date of annexation to bring the animal density into compliance with the ordinance code. QUESTIONS BY THE Hall said he has some concerns regarding the enforcement of BOARD #3 that references odors, noise, drainage, waste, and insects and he felt that these provisions were somewhat subjective and leave a lot of room for interpretation. Hall noted that he visited with the Police Chief and City Judge who also have concerns with these provisions. Norton asked if a citation would be issued in cases like this. Hall said it becomes an infraction where it would be citable. Hall felt perhaps that these provisions belonged under the zoning ordinance instead of the Kalispell Police Department. because it is a land issue v. a violation of the animals being on the property. Hall noted that this would create another area for the Police Department and courts to deal with and they already have their plates full. Balcom asked if there were any animals on that list that would be less appropriate in the city than others. Hall said that they are all the same and they all do what farm animals do which is probably why they were excluded from the city limits. Norton said that the board discussed putting these provisions into the zoning and they felt it was too broad for the zoning ordinance. Conrad said since there was already an existing City Code that dealt with livestock the Planning Department felt that amending that section would be appropriate. Jentz said staff added the references to odor, waste, etc., and said those do not necessarily have to be in the provisions. By in large this amendment is going to address the 4H projects or someone who has a pasture of land and keeps livestock for weed control. Jentz noted that he ran a program similar to this in the County for 18 years and he can only recall one situation where the lady's kitchen was too close to the fence. Kalispell City Planning Board Minutes of the meeting of February 13, 2007 Page 3 of 8 0 Norton agreed that properties wanting to have these types of animals will be rare. Jentz added that urban land values are too high to have large acreage just to run a few pets on. Jentz suggested the board could continue the discussion or ask staff to remove that one section on the impacts. APPLICANT/AGENCIES None. PUBLIC HEARING No one wished to speak and the public hearing was closed. MOTION TO APPROVE Balcom moved and Hinchey seconded a motion to recommend that Chapter 4, Animals and Fowl, of the city's code be amended to allow horses, donkeys, mules, sheep, goats and llamas subject to the standards listed above with the following amendment: Delete all but the first sentence of #3 which would then read as follows: (3). Property owners keeping the animals in accordance with the above standards must maintain such animals in a manner that does not cause adverse impact to neighboring property owners. MOTION - AMENDMENT TO Norton moved and Balcom seconded a motion to amend # 1 Section # 1 by adding cattle, buffalo, burros and wild or domesticated predatory or game animals. BOARD DISCUSSION Hull said he felt this amendment was pushing beyond the intent of the code which is to allow people who have domestic animals to enter the city without any problem. Also buffalo and elk are hard to contain. Gabriel agreed. Norton said his thought goes back to FFA or 4H projects and having a cow. Norton added he supports youth in agriculture. Jentz noted there are prohibitions in the state about game ranches and the keeping of elk or deer. ROLL CALL - AMENDMENT The motion to amend Section # 1 failed on a vote of 2 in favor and 4 opposed. BOARD DISCUSSION Norton noted that City Code 4-3 states that within the city limits you cannot ride or drive a horse at speeds greater or faster than at a walk within the city limits except upon property owned by the Flathead County Fair Board. It seems to him that is totally conflicting with what they are trying to do with this amendment. Norton said then if he had a horse on an acre he wouldn't be able to ride the horse. Conrad said he didn't think it would be enforced unless it was on city streets and right-of-ways. Schutt said his opinion of this amendment hasn't changed from his input at the work session. They are using a large tool to address a very small number of potential occurrences. Kalispell City Planning Board Minutes of the meeting of February 13, 2007 Page 4 of 8 Someone trying to create an equestrian subdivision could be addressed within the zoning ordinance. He felt that bringing large livestock into the city is setting up the potential for neighbor disputes. There are hundreds of thousands of acres of land in Flathead County where people can keep livestock and it seems those areas are the appropriate places for livestock. Schutt said the board is going in the wrong direction. It was changed 50 years ago for a reason and those reasons still exist. Norton noted that there was some in depth discussion on this issue and the reason it swayed him is the fact that it will be a rare occurrence and may never happen. ROLL CALL - ORIGINAL The original motion passed on a roll call vote of 5 in favor MOTION and 1 opposed. FOX TROTTER MEADOWS A request by FESN, LLC and Windwalker Equestrian Estates, VARIANCE REQUEST LLC for a variance from the Kalispell road and design standards allowing the minimum right-of-way width be reduced from 60-feet to a 45-foot road right-of-way and provide for a boulevard and sidewalk on the north side of the road only. The road would serve a proposed 24 lot subdivision, Fox Trotter Meadows, which the planning board conducted a public hearing on in December of 2006. The board will conduct a public hearing on the variance request only which is on a 10-acre property with an existing house on it addressed as 250 Stillwater Road. STAFF REPORT KPP-06-14 Sean Conrad, representing the Kalispell Planning (AMENDED) Department presented Staff Report KPP-06-14 (Amended) for the Board. Conrad oriented the board to the location of Fox Trotter Meadows. In December the board reviewed the 24 lot subdivision with R-2 zoning and at that time they were proposing a 60 foot R/W on the southern end with 30 feet on the Fox Trotter Meadows site and the remaining 30 feet was a long narrow strip that would serve the property just to the west of the subdivision. Since that time the property owner to the west elected to pull out of the subdivision and annexation request. At that point the developer could not continue with the subdivision configuration because the 60 foot R/W was reduced to 30 feet. Conrad said the proposal before the board tonight is a modified version of the 24 lot subdivision with a 45 foot R/W that will include the required 28 foot wide street with boulevard and sidewalk on the north side of the street. The south side will be curb and gutter only until such time as the property to the west develops and they will be required to provide an additional 30 foot strip to be dedicated as part of the road R/W for Fox Trotter Lane. Kalispell City Planning Board Minutes of the meeting of February 13, 2007 Page 5 of 8 Conrad said the city doesn't see any problems with the reduced R/W width at this time because they will still be getting a full city street. In addition there would be a 30 foot buffer between the city street and the Quarter Horse Estates and when/if the property to the west comes in the 45 foot R/W would then become a 75 foot R/W. The street would be offset from Parkridge Drive and Public Works does not have any issues with that given the low amount of traffic that Fox Trotter Meadows subdivision would generate. Staff is recommending that the Kalispell Planning Board adopt the findings in staff report KPP-06-14 (Amended) and recommend the Kalispell City council approve the variance request to the subdivision regulations. BOARD DISCUSSION Gabriel asked for the location of Mr. Corbett's house and Conrad showed the board, with Mr. Corbett's assistance, on the map. Conrad said that the drainage problems from Northland Subdivision are being changed, with the guidance of the Public Works Department, and will include some detention basins. When Fox Trotter Meadows is developed the city will probably require that the developer clean up the roadside ditches to make the overall stormwater flow better. Norton asked how the board will be assured that in the future the road would be widened to accommodate development to the west if staff has moved on. Conrad said that the plat would be reviewed by the Public Works Department who would notice the undersized R/W and require that it be widened an additional 15 to 30 feet. APPLICANT/TECHNICAL Mike Fraser, one of the developers of this project said that STAFF they were here in December and at that time they thought they had an arrangement with a full 60 feet of R/W on the south which has since changed. They sat down with the Site Review Committee and came up with a compromise solution. Their goal with this R-2 project was to develop a nicer subdivision with lots that vary from 10,000 to 14,000 square feet and 2 lots that will be slightly more than the minimum allowed in the R-2 of 9600 square feet. They want to create a community type project and build it out as a custom built neighborhood. For that reason they want city standards and city streets. The 28 foot street can be built in the 45 foot R/W and the streets in the remainder of the subdivision meet full city standards. Fraser said Parkridge Drive when the north bypass is built will be abandoned. Any of the intersection issues dealing with traffic will go away at that time or they will be addressed when the 30 feet south of this property annexes. Fraser continued the variance is temporary not permanent. The variance doesn't create a hardship or costs to the city, Kalispell City Planning Board Minutes of the meeting of February 13, 2007 Page 6 of 8 there are no traffic impacts and it does not establish a precedence. Fraser encouraged the board to approve the variance request. PUBLIC HEARING Corbett said that he doesn't have any objection to the variance except for one thing. If you are going to set up rules and regulations then they should be followed, especially by the people who make those rules and regulations. John Thomas, A2Z Engineering stated that they are the technical consultants on this project. Thomas said that he would second the comments that Fraser made and point out when people make rules and regulations they realize that they are not always all encompassing and there are special cases and that's why there is a variance process. Thomas feels they have a good case here with a sensible variance request and it does not establish any precedence's. MOTION Schutt moved and Gabriel seconded a motion to adopt the findings in staff report KPP-06-14 (Amended) and recommend the Kalispell City Council approve the variance request to the subdivision regulations. BOARD DISCUSSION Schutt said there are regulations for flag lots and there are ways of getting around that by shifting Fox Trotter Lane to the north by another 15 feet and get the full 60 foot R/W bordering this 30 foot strip although he doesn't know if that would be a good solution in this situation because the lots would be smaller and you would still end up with a long skinny strip. As he looks at it he doesn't have a problem with the variance especially considering that they will be able to widen it out to the full 60 feet if and when the land to the west chooses to develop. Gabriel agreed with Schutt. Norton said the subdivision could be reconfigured and still meet the required lot size without losing any lots but he also agrees this is a special circumstance. The 30 foot strip may never be developed but if it is it will still be larger than a typical roadbed so there will still be enough area between Quarter Horse Estates and this subdivision. He feels it is a win -win situation. ROLL CALL The motion passed unanimously on a roll call vote. OLD BUSINESS: Hull noted that the board had requested that staff set up a meeting with the city's Stormwater Engineer Susie Turner and asked when that would be arranged. Jentz said when an open night is found they will schedule the meeting. Kalispell City Planning Board Minutes of the meeting of February 13, 2007 Page 7 of 8 NEW BUSINESS 1. Flathead County is offering general training for all board members and Jentz distributed copies of the information to the board. The sessions will be held on February 20th at 3:30 p.m., Earl Bennett Building Conference Room, March 2 at 7:00 p.m., Earl Bennett Building Conference Room, and March 6, at 7:00 p.m., Justice Center. 2. Jentz discussed a joint work session with the Flathead County Planning Board to discuss the following items: Jeff Harris, County Planning Director update Tom Jentz, City Planning Director update City impact fees now in place Parks Plan Transportation Plan Utilities Plan West Side Growth Policy Amendment Meeting date options are March 28th and March 21st. (Secretary's Note: The date was not set for the joint work session.) ADJOURNMENT I The meeting was adjourned at approximately 8:00 p.m. �o (i Timothy Nor n President There was a work session held on the following: 1. Glacier Lifestyle Center 2. Valley Ranch Project The next work is scheduled for Tuesday, February 27, 2007 @ 7:00 p.m. in the City Council Chambers. The next regular meeting of the Kalispell City Planning Board and Zoning Commission will be held on Tuesday, March 13, 2007 beginning at 7:00 p.m. ?&LK L�7�) Michelle Anderson Recording Secretary APPROVED as submitted/corrected: 3 //3 /07 Kalispell City Planning Board Minutes of the meeting of February 13, 2007 Page 8 of 8