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03-11-97(-� KALISPELL CITY -COUNTY PLANNING BOARD AND ZONING COMMISSION MINUTES OF MEETING MARCH 11, 1997 CALL TO ORDER The regularly scheduled meeting of Kalispell City -County Planning AND ROLL CALL Board and Zoning Commission was called to order at 7:03 p.m. by President Hash. Board members present were Walter Bahr, Milt Carlson, Pam Kennedy, Bob Sanders, Jean Johnson, Mike Conner, Robert Lopp, Joe Brenneman, and Therese Hash. The Flathead Regional Development Office was represented by Narda Wilson, Senior Planner. There were approximately 20 people in the audience. APPROVAL OF The minutes of the meeting of February 11, 1997 were approved as MINUTES written on a motion by Conner, second by Brenneman. The motion passed by acclamation vote. OLD BUSINESS The agenda was changed to hear a presentation on housing discrimination by Dennis Hester, Deputy County Attorney, on behalf of the County, as part of a settlement agreement with the Human Rights Commission. He handed out information on the State statutes pertaining to discrimination in housing, and cited examples of discrimination based on "familial status" in Flathead County. He answered Board questions, and invited the Board members to call the County Attorneys' office, if they have any further questions. CITY OF President Hash returned to the published agenda and introduced a KALISPELL request by the City of Kalispell on behalf of Gardner Auction Service for MASTER PLAN a master plan amendment and appropriate zoning for property located on AMENDMENT / the west side of Airport Road approximately 1,500 feet south of 18a` GARDNER Street in Kalispell. The property under consideration is currently zoned AUCTION SERVICE RA-1; Low Density Residential Apartment, and contains approximately 2.3 acres. The property can be described as Assessor's Tract IAA and Lots 1 and 2 of Guest Addition, in Section 19, Township 28 North, Range 21 West, P.M.M., Flathead County. Staff Report Wilson reviewed report #KMPA-97-2. The request for a master plan amendment and zone change from RA-1 to I-1 was evaluated in accordance with the statutory criteria and was found to meet all the necessary requirements. Staff recommended approval. Public Hearing The public hearing was opened to those in favor of the master plan amendment and zone change. 1 In Favor Todd Gardner, stated that their testimony in November would be the same for this. This is an attempt to reuse our building for another use other than an auction, now that we have outgrown it, and are leasing land from the City. There is a strip of land beside the auction building, between us and the ball fields that we have been using, We are working on a deal to develop it for them. There is a plan on file for sidewalks, shrubs, sprinkler system and grass to develop that entrance. We are very interested in doing that, even though we are moving to our new location south of town. Your support is appreciated in helping us. No one else spoke in favor. The public hearing was opened to those opposed. Opposition Jerry Begg, 220 Woodland Avenue, was opposed to being put in the position of telling someone what to do with their property. The Gardners have worked hard on that property and have done a good job. I'm glad they were successful and were able to grow and move to a bigger and better location. I think the. mini -storage units have been good for the area. I have no disagreement with that portion of their business. I would like to give you a bit of history from my standpoint concerning that area. My folks own property there. A number of years ago, when the City was looking for an area to develop for the legion bafffields, my folks donated about 17 acres to the City, along Ashley Creek. Begg Park Drive divides the park. The south side was turned over to private groups, and they did a terrific job with the legion ballfield. On the north side, our agreement with the City was to develop a park similar to Woodland Park. It would have facilities for families to use for picnics, walkways along Ashley Creek, etc. Not a lot has been done on the north half of the park for a number of reasons. In 1972, I met with Mike Baker, the Park Director, Glen Neier, the City Attorney, and Bruce Williams, the City Manager. For approximately 41/z years, I was stonewalled. Nothing was done. This last spring, I met with Mike Baker and Councilman Dale Haarr, and discussed my concerns about what was being done with the entrance to the property which the city owned. I made an analogy that if I had a tractor or pickup that I wanted to sell and parked beside the cannon in Woodland Park, how long do you think that would be there? No one could come up with an answer. Mr. Gardner and his family have used that area for a number of years. Finally, this summer they were told that was city property and not to park their vehicles on it. I went by this morning and this evening, and both times there was a one ton pickup, there was dog kennel, with a dog, two half ton pickups, a flat bed tandem axle trailer all parked on this property. This has been going on for years, on city park property. Nothing has ever been done about it. If you have ever walked out into what should someday be a city park, from every area in that park, you can see the 2 (� Gardner's building, because it is on a hill. If that goes in to a light industrial use, you will have no control over any kind of mess that a renter might leave. Obviously, if the city can't control their own park property and make sure it is used for the purposes for which it was donated to the city and given to the people of the City of Kalispell, how would they control someone on their own property doing what they want to do? I am opposed to this being used as an industrial site. No one else spoke in opposition to the proposal. The hearing was closed to public comment and opened to Board discussion. Board Discussion Lopp asked what has changed since the previous hearing when staff could not support a zone change? Hash elaborated on the position of the Board's previous action, which was dealing with a text amendment, which had a much more far reaching effect. She noted at the time of the Airport Neighborhood Plan, the idea was that there would be a variety of non residential uses in the vicinity. Conner added when the Airport plan was done, the Gardners had requested that their non -conforming use be addressed, but for some reason it was excluded when the plan was completed. He was bothered there was four years of no response to a concern dealing with the issue, that was experienced by Mr. Begg, although felt that it probably isn't an isolated occurrence. Varr Gardner agreed that they avant to get this done. Right now, I do not have any more room to put anything. This will help what Mr. Begg would like to see. We have used that land for 18 years, and I want to see it look nice. We are working out the legalities on it with Mike Baker. There will be a survey done before we lease it to someone, to determine where the boundary is. We aren't trying to take over the property. We have mowed and maintained it all these years. We intend to put the landscaping in. The Board were in general agreement that this was an appropriate zone change. Motion Bahr moved that the Kalispell City -County Planning Board and Zoning Commission adopt staff report #KMPA 97-2 as findings of fact and forward a recommendation to City Council and County Commissioners to amend the master plan from High Density Residential to Light Industrial and rezone the property from RA-1 to I-1. Carlson seconded. On roll call vote Sanders, Bahr, Conner, Carlson, Brenneman, Lopp, Johnson, Kennedy, and Hash voted aye. 3 BIRCH PARK The next item on the agenda was introduced on a request by Carver MOBILE HOME Engineering on behalf of Alberta Singer for preliminary plat approval to COURT allow the expansion of an existing manufactured home park known as EXPANSION / Birch Park Mobile Home Court. The applicant is proposing to create 15 PRELM INARY additional spaces in an existing 25 space mobile home park for a total of PLAT 40 spaces. The property is in the Evergreen and Vicinity Zoning District and is zoned R-5, a Two Family Residential zoning district which lists manufactured home parks as a conditionally permitted use. The applicants have also requested a conditional sue permit from the Flathead County Board of Adjustment. The property is located between LaSalle Road (Highway 2 East) and West Cottonwood Drive approximately 1,000 feet north of the intersection of Highway 35 and Highway 2 East. The property address is 58 West Cottonwood Drive, Kalispell, Montana. Wilson gave a detailed overview of report #FPP-97-3. Based on review of the necessary criteria, staff recommended 14 conditions of approval for the expansion of the mobile home court. The project also requires a conditional use permit from the Flathead County Board of Adjustment, which went to a public hearing on March 4''. After taking public testimony, where the neighbors voiced considerable opposition to the expansion of the mobile home court based on the existing violation of the community decay ordinance, the Board of Adjustment continued the matter to May 6, 1997, to allow the applicant time to put together a management and implementation plan. Two formal complaints were filed with our office following that public hearing. The Board of Adjustment is concerned with the neighborhood impact. However, what is under consideration with the preliminary plat application is the expansion of 15 spaces, and not the old mobile home park. Since the applicant has paid the fees for the process to be set in motion, the project is before this Board tonight, so as not to further delay the permitting process prior to the construction season. Public Hearing The public hearing was opened to those in favor of the proposal. In Favor A letter from the applicant, Alberta Singer, was read into the record, as she lives out of state and was unable to attend the meeting. Andy Hyde, with Carver Engineering, representing the applicant, spoke in favor of the project. The condition of the existing park, there is no dispute that it is not in good condition. This proposal is a chance for the Cowner to both upgrade the existing park, and to create an additional 15 4 units that would be in much better shape than the existing 25. The applicant needs the total of 40 to finance what she is proposing to do, which includes paving the roads, putting in a landscape buffer, and a playground. Of the 14 conditions, we have no dispute with any of them. He reviewed the proposed design for the expansion and improvements to the existing mobile home park. Condition #13 is important, in that if this preliminary plat is approved, the FRDO would be required to certify that the violations of the community decay ordinance had been eliminated, and that the mobile home park is in compliance before the final plat could be filed. So, there is some teeth in the conditions to improve the park, and have a positive impact on the neighborhood. There is a great need for this type of development. It represents affordable housing which is in great demand. I know these 15 spots would be rented very quickly and would help generate revenue to pay off the financing of the investment. This is an area where the character of the area is consistent with the proposal. It is adjacent to existing courts to the north, south and west. To the east is the commercial strip along LaSalle. This is not creating a mobile home court out in the woodlands, or on agricultural land. This is in the core area of Evergreen. The character of the neighborhood is not unlike what this proposed expansion will be. In other areas where this is proposed, almost without exception, new trailer courts have been denied. (� It is has public water and sewer and the density is supported by the availability of these public utilities. This will give the owner the opportunity to get rid of some of the blight, junk and be able to create a quality development that will attract a higher type of mobile homes. The level of pride in their abode, right now, is not very high. I think if this is allowed to be improved, you will see a general improvement of the existing homes, as the decay is eliminated. The owner lives in Texas. She mentioned that her two sons have managed the court, and have not been very motivated to really work in their mother's interest. She plans on living on site. She wants to deal with her existing tenants, which is something she has not been able to do living in Texas. She is looking at borrowing over a $1/z million dollars to improve the court and it is in her interests to create a good quality court. As to the question about why this application is before you tonight. The conditional use permit public hearing was just a week prior. This hearing was already scheduled. It is the expectation and hope that the Board of Adjustment will grant the conditional use permit They had concerns about the existing court, and wanted to be convinced that granting the conditional use permit would have a net positive impact on the neighborhood. I will work with the owner to develop a plan that will convince them this proposal will have a positive impact on the 5 neighborhood. It is the plan to utilize the 1997 construction season to implement these improvements. After the subdivision consideration by the County Commissioners, there is a lengthy process to get health approval. We would rather have the permits in line early in the construction season. There were no other proponents of the project. The public hearing was opened to opposition. Opposition Two letters were received in opposition to the proposed expansion of Birch Park Mobile Home Court, and are a part of the record. Brenda Hall, 71 West Cottonwood, is opposed to the expansion of the existing park. I work for the County Weed District, and two years ago, on official business, I sent a letter to the absentee landowner, Alberta Singer, regarding noxious weeds on the property. I received a response a couple of months later, saying that she intended to expand the park and this would be taken care of then. That was two years ago. Nothing has been done. So, I am frustrated that she has owned this park for five years, and still has not had the incentive to make the tenants clean up their places. How can you force these people to clean it up? The corner trailer lot, she has actually been trying to evict those people for four Jmonths. Our worry is that if this expands, is that the kind of renters she is going to get in there, again? That this is where the people who can't afford a nice place will put their trailer? This is a concern for our property value. I would hope that she actually made good on her promise of improving the park. Right now, I have been frustrated, and even with the issue of weeds, she could have acted on it and didn't. Lynn Mergenthaler, 35 West Cottonwood, spoke in opposition. I keep the roads plowed going in and out, because I don't like getting woke up in the middle of the night because people are stuck. It is steep, and on a blind corner. I was interested in purchasing the property adjacent to mine, to put in some mobiles of my own. I was told they had to be double wides on a permanent foundation. There was only room for two, and I could not put on double wides to rent out and stay afloat. Yet, they want to put 15 single wides across the street. That isn't right. I wasn't able to do it across the street. There are health problems. I have seen raw sewage on the ground. There is water leakage, year round. It is in poor maintenance, which devalues my property. Larry Hall, 71 West Cottonwood, said the roads are not maintained. One is almost completely impassable, where people are stuck all the time. Coming from the north, you can see the whole trailer park. There is one ~ nice trailer there that is about a $40,000 trailer, but what is going on 6 there is contagious, because he has tires; batteries, cars and junk in his yard, too. If this lady can't even abide by County weed laws, she is not going to be able to keep up with what she has planned here. There were no other speakers in opposition. The public hearing was closed and it was opened to Board discussion. Board Discussion There was considerable discussion on enforcement of the community decay ordinance, as well as the subdivision regulations for mobile home parks in order to bring this mobile home court up to a standard that the neighbors can feel comfortable with. The applicant would have to meet the conditions of approval prior to final plat approval. Generally, performance bonds are not accepted for mobile home parks. The economic reality of the 'situation is that she needs the additional 15 spaces in order to get a bank loan to finance the improvements. The Board wanted to know what kind of maintenance agreement, covenants or park rules were in place? Andy Hyde read through the rental agreement/park rules, which she initiated last November, and entered into with the tenants. (� Johnson felt there was a problem with possibly having two sets of rules — one for the existing park, and another for the new expansion. Conner suggested adding a condition incorporating the park rules as further mitigation of the neighbor's concerns. Wilson said there is a provision in the subdivision regulations for management regulations and that would be appropriate to add as a condition. If the park rules are not enforced then she is in violation of the condition of plat approval. Lopp agreed that adding the park rules as a condition was an excellent idea. Upgrading the park, and raising the lot rent will help to clean it up. Enforcement of the rules, however, is a concern. The Board agreed by consensus to add a condition 415: "That park rules be included with final ,plat and enforced by the prope owner." There was discussion on the importance of the availability of Evergreen Water and Sewer. Condition #6 was modified to add "Seek approval from the Ever rg; een Water and Sewer District for service." 7 C� Condition #14 was amended to add "That the nreliminarX plat shall be valid for three years and that the conditional use permit ..." Motion Kennedy moved that the Kalispell City -County Planning Board adopt report #FPP-97-3 as findings of fact and recommend the County Commissioners grant preliminary plat approval for the expansion of Birch Park Mobile Home Court subject to the attached 15 conditions as 4mended. Conditions #6, #14 and the new #15. Bahr seconded. On a roll call vote the motion carried 9-0 in favor. WILLOW BROOK / The next item on the agenda was introduced on a request by Billmayer PRELL UNARY Engineering on behalf of American Land and Development, Inc. for PLAT preliminary plat approval of an 87 lot subdivision, called Willow Brook Subdivision. The property is located in the Willow Glen Zoning District and is zoned R-3, Single Family Residential. The property proposed for subdivision contains approximately 28.86 acres and is located on the east side of Willow Glen Drive directly across from Kelly Road and approximately 1,100 feet south of Leisure Lane. The property can be. described as Assessor's Tracts 4C and 4AA in Section 21, Township 28 North, Range 21 West, P.M.M., Flathead County, Montana. Staff Report Wilson gave a detailed presentation of report #FPP-97-4. The application was reviewed in accordance with the necessary criteria, and based on the evaluation, 16 conditions of approval were recommended. A change was made to condition #12 to add "That all water and sewer plans and specifications shall be reviewed and approved by the DEQ, the Kalispell Public Works Department, and Kalispell City Council." Questions Conner had concerns about possible hazardous waste on the site. Public Hearing The public hearing was opened to those in favor of the proposal. In Favor Jay Billmayer, Billmayer Engineering, spoke on behalf of the developer. He addressed Mr. Conner's concern regarding the fact that this used to be an equipment yard, and there has been oil 'on the ground surface. Oil was not disposed of on this property. The shop facility is not a part of this subdivision, but we have looked into that to assure that there is not an overall problem. We are caught between the city and county differences of philosophy in zoning. They are both R-3, but we made the lots at 10,000 square feet for county R-3, rather than 7,000 square feet for city R-3. We lost some units, but the overall economics will be about the same. We have established harmony between the staff goals and the developer's goals. nHe elaborated on the stormwater treatment facility. We have been � / working on wetlands for treatment of both sewage and stormwater. There was a real need there for the entire neighborhood, because it has never been adequately addressed. We have had discussions with the County Commissioners and hopefully will be able to fill in the gap to this comprehensive solution. If we do not come to a final decision, we will be redesigning. A redesign will be significant if we are forced to come up with a different stormwater system. We expect this to be fenced, so that there will not be access for children. We have had meetings with the Christian school about improving their playground equipment, and in addition to cash -in -lieu of parklands, that utilizes the amenities in the neighborhood. No one else spoke either in favor or in opposition to the project. The public hearing was closed and opened to Board discussion. Board Discussion Conner commented that he thought Willow Glen is scheduled to be reconstructed. Wilson clarified that it is on the priority list, but there are no design and construction plans at this time. It is number three on the list. UKennedy reviewed the project as it was discussed at the council work session the previous evening. The parklands issue was important to the Greenacres neighborhood, to preserve some green space, and to have a place for neighborhood children, however, the Commissioners had a different view. Brenneman also had a concern about the cash in lieu of parkland. His preference would be to have a park within the subdivision. As a parent, I would be uncomfortable with my kids crossing a construction zone to get to the playground, and those living in the north lots would be about V2 mile from the Christian school. He also had concern about the transitory nature of a Christian school. There was considerable discussion on the parkland arrangement however, it was agreed that the condition #9 addressed it. Dennis Dortch, President of the Greenacres Homeowner's Association, was asked to comment on the homeowner's feelings on this subdivision. He stated that their preference was to have parkland for the neighborhoods. In general, they are satisfied with the project. If the lots had been at 7,000 square feet, it would have been a different story. They are happy to see the wetlands extended to make up for those that have been filled in. It will be a great improvement over the yellow graveyard. 9 Based on Mr. Billmayer's testimony, condition #9 was modified to strike the last part of sentence 2 to: "Access from the subdivision to the school shall be provided. by way—o—a feozhiage--aerc-.. the -stomivoa� treatment swage A pedestrian access easement shall be located ..." Motion Carlson moved that the Kalispell City County Planning Board adopt the findings of fact in report #FPP-97-4, and recommend that the County Commissioners grant preliminary plat approval for the subdivision subject to the 16 conditions as amended by discussion. Kennedy seconded. On a roll call vote the motion carried unanimously in favor. OLD BUSINESS Other old business was update on the Kalispell City -County Master Plan. Chapters 1 and 3 were submitted to the Board for their review. Any comments or changes were solicited from Board members on this information. By consensus, the Board agreed to meet at 6:00 p.m. for a one hour work session before the regular meeting on April 8th. NEW BUSINESS Conner wanted to discuss under new business the provision for a green belt buffer, which came up tonight with the Begg Park. Another issue vwhich was brought up was some sort of leverage to enforce the decay ordinance. There was -discussion on the decay ordinance. ADJOURNMENT There being no other business, the meeting was adjourned at 10:15 p.m. —+L tre,�-_ Therese Fox Hash, President i APPROVED: LVTCh Ontko, Recording s 10