08-15-91 Planning BoardKALISPELL CITY -COUNTY PLANNING BOARD AND ZONING COMMISSION
MINUTES Or' MEETING
AUGUST 15, 1991
CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order by Charles
AND ROLL CALL Manning, Vice President, at 5:30 p.m. Board
members present were Manning, Dominick, Fraser,
Sloan, Kennedy, and Gould. Board members absent
were Hash, Stephens, and Lopp. David Greer,
Senior Planner, represented the Flathead Regional
Development Office.
APPROVAL OF Manning called for approval of the minutes of
MINUTES June 11, 1991. Kennedy so moved and Fraser
seconded the motion; it was passed
unamimously.
APPROVAL OF Manning called for approval of the minutes of
MINUTES July 9, 1991. Kennedy so moved and Fraser
seconded the motion; it was passed unanimously.
_______SMITHLTN ZONE Manning introduced the request by John Smithlin\
CHANGE REQUEST - Helseth to amend the Willow Glen Zoning District
WILLOW GLEN by changing the zoning of a tract of land from
Residential R-2 to General Business B-3.
Greer gave the staff report pointing out that the
location of the request is on U. S. Highway 2 and
UMontana Highway 35 in Evergreen. The existing
zoning is part of the Willow Glen Zoning
District. When U. S. Highway 2 was zoned, it was
from the center line out, so that everything 250
feet out from the center line in the area was
zoned General Business B-3.and everything beyond
that was zoned Residential R-2. The request by
Smithlin and Helseth is to extend the B-3 zoning
further to the south and extend it out further
from the highway. This is in the area of Super
One Foods, Ralston Motors, Evergreen Auto, and
Summit Spas. The request does not affect any
residential property, only commercial or vacant
property associated with commercial uses and all
this property is oriented towards the highway as
this is the only access. Greer pointed out that
the zone change request is in substantial
compliance with the Master Plan, but the access
onto the highway is bad. Any future or additional
development in the area will require an
encroachment permit from the State Highway
Department. Greer stated that- the zone change
will not improve traffic in the area, but by
granting the zone change to commercial, it may
facilitate the extension of community water and
sewer to the area. Greer also noted that there is
a wetland in the area behind Ralston Motors. Any
development in that area will require a permit
from the Corps of Engineers before, or if, it can
be filled. The staff recommended approval of the
zone change request.
Public Hearing Manning opened the public hearing, calling for
comments from proponents.
The following people spoke in favor of the
proposed zone change: John Smithlin and Ernest
Helseth.
There being no other proponents, Manning called
for comments from opponents. There were no
opponents and the hearing was closed to public
input.
Board Discussion Fraser asked if the property was under the
ownership of Smithlin and Helseth? Greer replied
it it was, with one other landowner associated
with Ralston Motors. Fraser asked if all owners
had received notification of the proposed zone
change? Greer replied they had. Kennedy asked if
there would be any effect on the proposed traffic
flow of having a bypass going through that area?
Greer replied that it is shown on the Master Plan
map as only one of the alternatives. Gould asked
U if the property on the east is zoned commercial
and if the bypass chose that route, wouldn't the
cost of land acquisitions increase, and is there a
way to exempt that portion of land that might be
included in the bypass? Greer replied that the
Commission could exclude an easterly portion of
the property from the zone change.
Motion Fraser moved to adopt the findings of fact of
Staff Report #FZC-91-3 and to recommend approval
of changing the zoning classification from R-2 to
B-3. Sloan seconded the motion.
Gould made a motion to exclude the east 60 feet.
Manning asked if Fraser and Kennedy would accept
that as an amendment? Fraser replied that since
the bypass will go through review, an exclusion
would be premature. Kennedy voiced some concern
that the exclusion could be considered spot
zoning. The motion died for a lack of second.
Question Those voting in favor were Kennedy, Sloan, Fraser,
Dominick, and Manning. Gould voted against the
motion. Motion carried.
N
KALISPELL Manning introduced the Kalispell Market Place
MARKET PLACE Urban Project and asked for a report.
URBAN RENEWAL
PROJECT Fraser excused himself from participation in the
agenda item due to a conflict of interest.
Greer explained that Kalispell operates under two
master plans: the Kalispell City -County Master
Plan and the Downtown Redevelopment Plan. He said
that any redevelopment project within the
Redevelopment area should be considered by the
Planning Board and the recommendations passed on
to the City Council. He said the City is
proposing to participate in a project involving
Tidyman's Super Stores, which involves the
abandonment of Second Avenue East and the
alleyway, and participating in infrastructure
improvements by using tax increment funds. 1st
Avenue East would be extended from Center Street
across the railroad tracks. Greer turned the
meeting over to Steve Cervantes for further
technical information.
Cervantes stated that the City has been working on
the proposed project for approximately three
years, but that it has not been formally approved
as a permanent redevelopment project. Cervantes
explained that the proposed project by Tidyman's
was to build a 57,000 square foot store facility
and an additional retail site for other uses, with
Second Avenue East being abandoned, along with the
alleyway. To ensure that First Interstate Bank
has adequate ingress and egress, it is proposed
that all of the alleyway be given to this purpose
and the rest would be used for parking. The
development would generate approxiamtely $100,000
a year in taxes through tax increment financing.
Clete Daily of Clete Daily and Associates, Traffic
and Transportation Engineers of Helena, then
presented a traffic analysis on the impact of the
proposed project, and Larry Gallagher, a real
estate consultant working for the City of
Kalispell, presented additional technical
information. Several board members asked
questions regarding the impact of traffic on other
areas beyond the proposed redevelopment area.
Manning asked for any further input from the
Board. There was none.
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Public Hearing Manning opened the public hearing, calling for
comments from proponents.
Max Lager, who lives on First Avenue East, stated
that he was not against the project, but he had
concerns regarding the impact of the traffic
outside the redevelopment area and asked what
provisions would be made to control the traffic so
that First Avenue East does not become a
thoroughfare?
There being no other proponents, Manning called
for comments from opponents.
Glen Graham expressed his concern and opposition
to tax increment funds being used for the project.
There being no other opponents, Manning closed the
hearing to public input.
Board Discussion Sloan asked Daily if there would be any
regulations against a bypass or truck traffic on
First Avenue East. Daily replied that there would
be no truck traffic.
Manning asked for the latest information on the
proposal to make First Avenue East or First Avenue
O West one-way streets. Cervantes replied that the
Public Works Department had started to look into
the matter, but decided to wait and do a
comprehensive traffic plan.
Kennedy asked Daily if there would be a need for
stop lights or stop signs further down First
Avenue East to allow for the flow of traffic?
Daily replied that First Avenue East •to Fourth
Avenue East would be the section that would be
used to connect to U. S. Highway 2, and that the
residential areas should be protected as much as
possible.
Gould asked Cervantes if the jobs created by the
project would be from Tidyman's? Cervantes
replied that in the first year, 70 jobs would be
created from Tidyman's and 16 from Pizza Hut, with
the rest over a period of one to two years. Gould
asked how many jobs would be lost by other
businesses due to the competition from the
proposed project? Cervantes replied it would be
difficult to analyze. Gould expressed concern
that the tax increment money that would go to
local government and school districts would be
withheld and not be available for the larger
community.
M
Cj
Motion Dominick moved to •recommend approval of City of
Kalispell Resolution No. 4002, a Resolution of
Intention to Modify the Downtown Redevelopment
Plan to Approve a Certain Urban Renewal Project,
specifically the Kalispell Market Place. Sloan
seconded -the motion.
Question Those voting in favor were Kennedy, Sloan, Gould,
Dominick, and Manning. The motion was passed
unanimously.
PROPOSED AMEND- Manning introduced a proposed amendment to the
MENT TO THE procedures for amending the Kalispell Downtown
PROCEDURES FOR Redevelopment Plan.
AMENDING THE
KALISPELL DOWN- Greer stated that the Downtown Redevelopment plan
TOWN requires notification of everyone within that
REDEVELOPMENT district of any proposed project and a proposal is
PLAN being considered to make project notification less
cumbersome.
Cervantes explained that within the urban
redevelopment area, there are approximately 900
property owners that must be notified of a Board
or Council meeting whenever a project is
proposed. A provision that excepts that is to
amend the process, adopting by ordinance. The
public hearing would not be eliminated but the
focus would be narrowed down to projects in the
area that are related, and so help reduce the
costs.
Public Hearing Manning opened the public hearing, calling for
comments from proponents. There being no
proponents, Manning called for opponents. There
being no opponents, the hearing was closed to
public input.
Board Discussion Sloan asked Cervantes how much it cost to notify
the landowners? Cervantes replied $1,000. Sloan
aksed how many city blocks 150 feet equaled?
Cervantes replied it would be at least -the depth
of two parcels surrounding an area.
Manning asked if the proposal would be to notify
the newspaper and send written notices to people
within that radius, rather than those 900
landowners. Fraser asked if the proposal would
make the radius 150 feet or 300 feet? Cervantes
replied that 150 feet was preferred. Fraser asked
if in zoning changes or subdivisions, adjoining
property owners within 150 feet had to be
notified? Greer responded that in a zone change,
landowners within 150 feet had to be notified and
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that for subdivisions, adjacent landowners had to
be notified.
--� Motion Sloan moved to recommend adoption of Resolution
No. 4001, A Resolution of Intention to Modify the
Downtown Redevelopment Plan by modifying the
procedure for modification and amendment thereto,
with the inclusion of a requirement to notify all
property owners within 150 feet of a proposed
project area. Fraser seconded the motion and it
was passed unanimously.
OLD BUSINESS Greer stated that they were in the process of
gathering information on the social impacts of
tourism. A number of studies have been done by
the University of Montana and Herbaly is compling
that information for a packet.
Dominick asked what the information would be used
for? Greer replied that the information would be
incorporated into any related information
regarding tourism into the Master Plan.
NEW BUSINESS Gould asked about future work projects? Greer
stated that there is increased interest in the
airport plan and that it would be the next project
to be pursued, probably in the fall and winter.
�l Gould gave an update of the Lawrence Park program,
a funded program to stabilize the steep bank. The
project is scheduled to start in September.
ADJOURNMENT Gould moved to adjourn and Kennedy seconded the
motion. The meeting was adjourned at 6:55 p.m.
Charles Manni g, Vi e Presi ent Sandie Mueller, Recording Secretary
APPROVED:
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