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12-14-04KALISPELL CITY PLANNING BOARD & ZONING COMMISSION MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING 1 DECEMBER 14, 2004 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: George Taylor, Jean Johnson, Timothy Norton, and John Hinchey. Rick Hull entered at 7:10 pm. Kari Gabriel and Bryan Schutt were absent. Narda Wilson represented the Tri-City Planning Office. There were approximately 10 people in the audience. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Taylor moved and Johnson seconded to approve the minutes of the Kalispell City Planning Board and Zoning Commission regular meeting of November 9, 2004. The motion passed unanimously on a roll call vote. HEAR_ THE PUBLIC No one wished to speak. MILBRANDT CONDITIONAL A request by Barry Milbrandt for a conditional use permit to USE PERMIT REQUEST construct a tri-plex on property zoned RA-1, Low Density Residential Apartment, in the City of Kalispell. STAFF REPORT Narda Wilson, with the Tri-City Planning Office, gave a KCU-04-11 presentation of Staff Report KCU-04-11, a request by Barry Milbrandt to construct a tri-plex on property zoned RA-1, Low Density Residential Apartment, in the City of Kalispell. Wilson stated that this property is on the east side of Fifth Avenue East, across from the Birchwood Apartments, and that a 14 unit apartment complex on the property adjoining this to the east and owned by this individual was granted a CUP last year, and annexed at that time. She stated that the property proposed for the tri-plex is occupied by a single family residence which will stay. She said that the both properties have been sold to the current applicant since the CUP was granted, and the owner is going to use the private road easement to access the triplex and the house. Wilson said the proposed access road is on the adjoining property where the apartments are proposed and is 43 feet wide. The new proposal, by necessity, shows access to the triplex from the road easement and creates a large curb cut on the access road. She said because this is a triplex, there are 2.5 parking spaces required per unit, plus two for the house, which means 10 parking spaces total are needed. Three of those, the overflow spaces, are shown on Fifth Avenue East, which has no curb or sidewalk. She said it is a 26 foot wide roadway, and the parking is generally practical. Kalispell City Planning Board Minutes of the meeting of December 14, 2004 Page 1 of 5 Wilson said she included an alternative site plan that she created that reorients the building facing to the east, and shares a parking lot with the apartments to the east, but it does not comply with zoning; parking can't be located on a separate lot in a residential zone. She said the owner could do a boundary line adjustment, but the setbacks would not be 10 feet and it would encumber the property with 17 units, and would be potentially more difficult to sell. Wilson said there is also no provision for a variance in this case; the owners can not meet the variance criteria. She said that no comments from the public were received prior to the meeting either in favor or in opposition to the proposal. Wilson finished by stating that staff recommends the Planning Board adopt the staff report and recommend that the CUP be granted subject to the listed conditions. QUESTIONS BY THE Taylor asked about the snow removal area, and why it BOARD couldn't be used for more parking. Wilson said it could be used, but it would mean more paving and more impervious surface. She said the Board could consider that as an alternative. Hinchey said there are four parking stalls along the house anyway, and he was wondering if there was a way to reduce the parking by the house. Norton asked if the three parking spots were on Fifth Avenue or if they are on the property. Wilson said they are on Fifth Avenue. PUBLIC HEARING The public hearing was opened to those who wished to speak on the issue. APPLICANT/AGENCIES Barry Milbrandt, 2955 Farm to Market Road, stated that when the 14 unit apartment complex CUP was applied for, there was a boundary line adjustment made for the future use of a four-plex. He said it created a 12,000 square foot lot which could be used for a fourplex. He said if the access was not from the easement, someone else could have cut another driveway off of Fifth Avenue instead. In response to a question from Taylor, he said the house has great curb appeal and its condition does not warrant removal. He said he is considering building single car garages in place of the three spaces. Hinchey stated that if there will be curb and gutter along the private drive, will it also be along Fifth Avenue as well? Wilson said there are no plans to require them on Fifth Kalispell City Planning Board Minutes of the meeting of December 14, 2004 Page 2 of 5 Avenue, but the Board could make them a condition. 0 PUBLIC COMMENT I No one wished to speak and the public hearing was closed. MOTION Norton moved and Taylor seconded to adopt staff report KCU-04-11 as findings of fact and, based on these findings, recommend to the Kalispell City Council that a conditional use permit be granted to Barry Milbrandt to construct a tri- plex in an RA-1, Low Density Residential Apartment, zone, subject to the eight listed conditions. BOARD DISCUSSION Norton said that the major contention with this project is parking, and that 2.5 spaces are needed per unit for multi- family. He said that a duplex would eliminate the need for the off street parking. He does not want to tell someone what to do with his property, but he is not too keen on the parking issue as it stands. He said he feels that garages may worsen the parking situation. Wilson made some comments about the density. She -said that a 12,000 square foot lot under the RA-1 zoning could theoretically hold four units because the zone requires 6000 square feet for the first duplex, and 3000 square feet for each additional unit. However, she does not believe they could build a driveway off of Fifth Avenue and get all of the parking off street. Parking cannot be placed closer than five feet from the lot lines. It simply doesn't appear feasible to get four dwellings on the site along with all the parking with an access from Fifth Avenue. Wilson stated she shares the concerns about the density and parking situation and to limit it to a duplex unit would be an option. Taylor said he does not like the parking overflow onto Fifth Avenue East and asked if -it is a fairly usual occurrence. He stated he wanted an integrated type of plan onto itself that did not require on -street parking. Wilson said that on -street parking spaces are required to be 23 feet long, and there is 69.3 feet in front of the house which meets the requirements by an extremely small margin. She said that current access to the house is from the private access road. Norton asked if they could get two more parking spaces by using the snow removal area. Wilson said they could and it may be better to relocate the snow removal area further to the west, and put an off street parking space there and have two spaces in the street. She said that sloppy parking will be a problem otherwise. Hull stated he feels the tri-plex proposal is too much for the site, and they are trying to stuff too much on the lot. He said Kalispell City Planning Board Minutes of the meeting of December 14, 2004 Page 3 of 5 he would like to see it come back as a duplex. Hinchey echoed Hull's comments that it is too crowded, and he feels it is not appropriate for the neighborhood. Wilson said the Board could limit it to a duplex instead of a triplex and recommend that to the City Council. MOTION (CONDITION 9) Norton moved and Hull seconded that the development of the site be limited to a duplex instead of a triplex. DISCUSSION Norton asked the applicant if they were going to develop the 14 units soon. The applicant said they were going to build next year and that the property was marketed to him as being suitable for four units. Norton stated the existing house on the property is very sound and shouldn't be removed. He would like to see a duplex on the site rather than a tri-plex. ROLL CALL (CONDITION 9) Condition 9 passed unanimously on a roll call vote. MOTION (CONDITION 10) Hinchey moved and Hull seconded that a waiver of protest to an SID to upgrade Fifth Avenue East to City standards be added to the CUP. ROLL CALL (CONDITION Condition 10 passed unanimously on a roll call vote. 10 ROLL CALL (MAIN MOTION) The main motion passed unanimously on a roll call vote. OLD BUSINESS Wilson said she now has an updated draft for the architectural review standards. NEW BUSINESS Norton said that the lighting standards are an example of the feedback that we get from the Council, and he would like more feedback from them on what they did at their last meeting. He suggested it could be a category under Old Business whether matters were approved, or if there were any issues with any items. Norton also stated that there is going to be a neighborhood meeting about Courthouse East on December 16 at Keith House and that he plans on attending this meeting. He said he got very good information from the last meeting. Taylor said he was previously concerned about a possible conflict of interest and that he asked Charlie Harball, Kalispell City Attorney, about that. Harball said he could go only as an observer; if he takes any sort of active role, when it comes before the Board he must recuse himself. He said they must avoid the appearance of impropriety. Kalispell City Planning Board Minutes of the meeting of December 14, 2004 Page 4 of 5 Norton asked what is going to happen to the Tri-City office. Wilson talked about Whitefish's withdrawal from Tri-City and what may happen after that. Hull asked about the Hyatt -Palma meetings and what the Board's role would be in the downtown plan. Wilson said the Board would review Hyatt-Palma's plan as an addendum to the Growth Policy, probably in the spring. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at approximately 8:05 p.m. The next meeting of the Kalispell City Planning Board and Zoning Commission will be held on Tuesday, January 11, 2005. There will be a workshop immediately following tonight's meeting on lighting standards. Judi Funk Recording Secretary APPROVED as submitted/corrected: i / " /05 0 Kalispell City Planning Board Minutes of the meeting of December 14, 2004 Page 5 of 5