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03-12-02KALISPELL CITY PLANNING BOARD ( /1 MINUTES OF MEETING MARCH 12, 2002 CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE KALISPELL PLANNING BOARD AND ZONING COMMISSION WAS CALLED TO ORDER AT 7:00 P.M., TUESDAY, MARCH 12, 2002, BY RON VAN NATTA, IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS AT CITY HALL, KALISPELL, MONTANA. MEMBERS PRESENT WERE RON VAN NATTA, MARK BRECHEL, JIM ATKINSON, BONNIE SPOONER, BILL RICE, SUE ELLYN ANDERSON AND JEAN JOHNSON. THERE WERE APPROXIMATELY SEVEN PEOPLE IN THE AUDIENCE. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Atkinson moved and Anderson seconded to approve the minutes of the meeting of February 12, 2002, as submitted. The motion was unanimously approved on a vote by acclamation. PUBLIC HEARING ITEMS J & F Construction Initial Zoning A request by J & F Construction for an initial zoning designation of R-3, a Residential district upon annexation into the city of Kalispell on approximately 25 acres located on the north side of Three Mile Drive approximately one half mile west of North Meridian Road. Staff Reuort #KA-02-2 Narda Wilson, of the Tri-City Planning Office, gave a presentation of staff report #KA- 02-2, evaluating the initial zoning classification of R-3, a Residential district upon annexation of the property. Wilson stated the property is intended for future subdivision, however, no subdivision proposal has been submitted at this time. The property is currently zoned County SAG-10, a Suburban Agricultural zoning district, under the Flathead County Zoning Regulations. The property would be annexed under the provisions of Sections 7-2-4601 through 7-2-4610, M.C.A., Annexation by Petition. Staff reviewed the findings of fact and statutory criteria, finding that the proposed zoning complies with the Urban Residential designation of the master plan for the area and is consistent with the urban residential development pattern of properties with City water and sewer to the east. Staff recommended adoption of the R-3, Residential zoning for the property upon annexation to the city. Atkinson asked and Wilson answered that primary ingress and egress would be off Three Mile Drive and an obvious roadway extension to the north off North Riding Road, which would be part of the developers overall development plan. Wilson noted her office received three phone calls from surrounding property owners who had questions regarding availability of utilities and impacts to their properties. Kalispell City Planning Board Minutes March 12, 2002 Page 1 Public Comment - Proponents Mike Fraser, of Thomas, Dean & Hoskins, engineer and consultant for the property owners; stated the proposed zoning is in conformance with the master plan for the area. He said it is an area that is contiguous to the city and intended for development of this type allowed under the R-3 zoning. He said it is intended for public utilities to be extended to the site and this is the first step in a long process. He encouraged that the planning board support the zoning so they could move forward with further development efforts on the property. Public Comment - Obbonents Tom Jones, 171 Three Mile Drive, spoke in opposition to the proposal. He said they did not want to be in the city limits. Jones said the traffic would be terrible and he objected to the rezoning and annexation. Jones stated he bought a ten -acre piece of land 40 years ago to get out of the city and he didn't like the idea of getting back in. Spooner asked and Wilson answered that, no, Jones would not be annexed in unless he requested it. She said he would remain in the county. Murry Graham, 169 North Riding Road, had concerns about the extension of North Riding Road. He noted there was not a lot of maintenance and wondered if the increased traffic would cause stress to the road. He said it was a quiet, dead-end road Uand he had some anxiety about it becoming a straight shot with increased traffic. Spooner asked if there were other homes back there and Jones said yes, all the lots were occupied. Atkinson asked and Wilson explained the difference of County R-2 zoning in relation to City R-3 stating that the major difference is in a larger lot size in the R-2. Robin Graham, 169 North Riding Road, explained that her understanding, if they were surrounded by annexed land, was that they would definitely be a part of it. She wondered if they should be worried about get sucked into the city. Van Natta answered if it becomes wholly surrounded annexation becomes a choice of the City. Graham asked and Van Natta answered that all of Meadowland would likely be annexed. Wilson clarified that if a property became wholly surrounded it would be a matter of assessing the impact to the City and whether the surrounding properties were deriving services from the City. She said there is a provision in the state law that says, if the property is wholly surrounded it provides for a process of annexation, but it would be a well thought out decision by the City Council and the property owners in the area would be able to participate in the process. Steven Rigosovitch, North Riding Road, spoke in opposition to the proposal. He stated concerns about being in the city, with houses all around him. He said the road extension off North Riding would come through an existing right of way, which would Kalispell City Planning Board Minutes March 12, 2002 Page 2 put the road ( 1 uncomfortable put in the area, about twenty feet away from the house and that would make an buffer. Rigosovitch asked how many houses they were proposing to Wilson stated there is no development proposal at this time and when there is one he would receive another notice of public hearing and a copy of the preliminary plat. Rigosovitch commented on the original zoning in the area. He understood they were created because of the type of property that was there. He said that reclassifying property from Agricultural to Residential was done because it was already de -treed and the bumps and lumps taken out, so it made it the most economical land to put houses on. He thought at some point the Valley would grow to the point where there was no more farmland or agriculture. He wondered why they didn't pick a rock pile on the edge of the hills where it's not good for anything else. Rigosovitch added that in Europe they safe guard their agricultural land and build on the surrounding hills, so they still have a viable economy. He thought it was important to think about that when rezoning property that had already been set aside for agriculture. Spooner asked if he used his property for agriculture and Rigosovitch said the land originally belonged to his wife's grandparents and that it is less than an acre. He said they just had a huge garden, half of which is in the right of way for the road. No one wished to speak and the public hearing was closed. Board Discussion Atkinson moved and Rice, seconded to adopt staff report KA-02-2 as findings of fact and recommend to the Kalispell City Council that the initial zoning for this property should be R-3, Residential, upon annexation into the city. Atkinson commented on the growth pattern in an urban standard and stated the proposed zoning was a logical growth pattern for the city because the land was touching city boundaries. He thought it met all the requirements of the master plan for the area. Wilson addressed the issue of the preservation of agricultural land. She stated that when you can take 25 acres and obtain urban services to get a density of 60 to 70 lots that fill a need within the community and conserve agricultural land that is viable and located further outside the city limits, they had to accommodate the influx of new people coming into the valley. The motion passed unanimously on a roll call vote. City of Kalispell Parks and Recreation Department Conditional Use Permit A request for a conditional use permit by the City of Kalispell Parks and Recreation Department to allow the development of a community pool/aquatic facility and skateboard park in Woodland Park. Kalispell City Planning Board Minutes March 12, 2002 Page 3 Staff Report #KCU-02-1 Narda Wilson, of the Tri-City Planning Office, gave a presentation of staff report KCU- 02-1, a request to allow the construction of an aquatic facility and skate park in Woodland Park in the northeast part of the park where ball fields are currently located. The new aquatic facility will replace the existing Bruckhauser pool to the southwest of the new pool site. Wilson described the pool as a leisure aquatic facility, which would have approximately 11,000 square feet of surface area, and a bathhouse that would have approximately 8,000 square feet with changing rooms. Wilson added the skate park would be between 5,000 to 10,000 square feet with entire project covering an area of approximately 3.5 to 4.0 acres. The project would also include concession and seating areas for pool viewing, picnic seating, fencing, parking, landscaping, and roadway improvements in the area of Woodland Park. Wilson stated the project would be funded through the sale of general obligation bonds and the amount of $3,675,000, which was approved by the City of Kalispell voters as November. Wilson reviewed the project according to the evaluation criteria for conditional use permits. Staff recommended adoption of staff report KCU-02-1 as findings of fact and recommended approval subject to the three conditions listed in the staff report. Presentation by the Applicant Mike Baker, Director of City Parks and Recreation, gave a brief report on the proposal and answered questions from the board. Baker stated the proposed pool and skateboard park would be a part of Woodland Park that would be monitored and maintained by the Parks Department's full time maintenance staff and they would be able to accommodate more kids in a safer manner. He anticipated some minor changes in design and layout that would not effect the parking lot or the location of the parking, the pool or skate park. He said the overall pool capacity would increase but that it was not a significant increase. The population and demographics of the area was assessed and met all of the criteria for a neighborhood planned skate park. Baker said there were stringent insurance regulations and it would be constructed to meet that criteria. There would be no increase to the City's insurance costs because of the pool or skate park. He was optimistic about reaching out to the community with this project and how it was being received. Johnson asked if the County was approached in a formal written request regarding partnering with the pool project. Baker said no, they were not formally asked to participate because they indicated they were not interested and had not been interested in partnering in other projects in the past such as the new athletic complex. Johnson asked about the difference in user fees between the City and the County. Baker gave tentative numbers of five dollars for a City resident all day pass and eight dollars for City non-residents. This would given them access to all of the activities that would be offered at the pool. They City anticipates that based on these fees the pool facility would generate some revenue. The skate park would be free. There was a brief discussion about season passes and how the concessions would be operated. Baker explained they were not sure about any of the costs yet associated with the passes or how the concession would be handled. Kalispell City Planning Board Minutes March 12, 2002 Page 4 J Public Comment No one from the public wished to speak and the public hearing was closed. Board Discussion Brechel moved and Anderson seconded to adopt staff report #KCU-02-1 as findings of fact and recommend to the Kalispell City Council that the Conditional Use Permit be granted subject to three conditions, as listed in the staff report. Johnson encouraged City staff, when there is an expenditure of 3.6 million dollars and it's going to be enjoyed by the County residents, not to assume the Commissioners or the County are not going to become a party to it and insist they become a party to it. Anderson agreed. The motion passed on a roll call vote with six in favor and one opposed. Johnson voted in opposition. OLD BUSINESS No old business was discussed. NEW BUSINESS There was a brief discussion on future work programs, such as the growth policy plan, land use issues, and resource documents. It was concluded that because of negotiations between the City and County regarding boundaries they would wait until an agreement was reached before continuing. Wilson noted that the board would be working on developing an annual work program probably in May. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned by motion at approximately 8:35 p.m. The next regular meeting of the Kalispell City Planning Board and Zoning Commission will be held on Tuesday, April 9, 2002, at 7:00 p.m. Ron Van Natta, President Deb e-Willis, R rding Secretary - APPROVED as presented corrected Date: /V-9 -2,- Kalispell City Planning Board Minutes March 12, 2002 Page 5