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10-27-88 Planning BoardKALISPELL CITY -COUNTY PLANNING BOARD AND ZONING COMMISSION MINUTES OF MEETING OCTOBER 27, 1988 CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order by Charles Manning, AND ROLL CALL President, at 7:00 p.m. Those present were Manning, Hall, Fraser, Furlong, and Hash. APPROVAL OF MIN- Hall moved to approve the minutes of the meeting held on UTES OCTOBER 13 October 13, 1988. Fraser seconded the motion and it passed 1988 unanimously. EVERGREEN ZONING Manning introduced the continuation of discussion on the DISTRICT PROPOSAL Evergreen Zoning District proposal. Greer presented three letters received since the public hearing on October 13 concerning three areas of concern. They are: 1. Darrell Clothier, Spruce Park Mobile Home Court, wrote concerning his land being split with two different zoning classifications - R-5 and SAG-1. He requested that the front 200 feet of his property be zoned for commercial business and the remainder R-5. He also suggested that if the Board did not want to zone his highway frontage as commercial business then he requested that they zone the entire parcel R-5. 2. Terry Williams, owner of Terry's Small Engines, resides on East Evergreen Drive and wishes to be zoned for commercial business so that he will not be subject to the grandfather clauses of the Zoning Ordinance. He is concerned that if he should burn down in the future the ordinance does not allow for rebuilding a non- conforming use. 3. Missoula Truck Sales, Inc. wishes to be zoned Light Industrial rather than having to be a non -conforming use in a Business zone. Greer stated that people have been in the office expressing their concerns. He asked to address the various areas of concern that resulted from the public hearing and individual discussions and show what the Planning Staff is recommending. The first area of' concern was for Mr. Clothier's property encompassing Spruce Park Mobile Home Court which is split by two different zoning classifications. The Planning Staff is recommending that the property should not have two separate zoning classifications and should have the zoning classification of R-5. The staff felt that the R-5 was most �J appropriate. Mr. Clothier has expressed the desire for some 1 highway commercial zoning. Currently, the highway is making some changes and the Staff felt that it would be better to c\ I wait until the highway decisions are made and Mr. Clothier knows where his property frontage is going to be and he has concrete plans for what he wants to do with highway commercial zoning. Then he can ask for a zone change at that time. Next area of concern is Terry's Small Engines which is in an area that is primarily residential. He is concerned about whether he could rebuild if his business burned down. The staff has told him that we will look at rewriting that portion of the zoning ordinance dealing with non -conforming uses. That might be a recommendation passed onto the Commissioners. Mr. Williams needs a B-3 zoning classification which is over a quarter of a mile from the nearest property proposed to be B-3. Greer stated that to zone his property B-3 might be considered spot zoning. Next is consideration of the Missoula Truck Sales request. The neighbors have expressed some dissatisfaction with this business being allowed more than non -conforming status. The owners and the Commissioners feel that Light Industrial I-1 would be appropriate there. Two lots on Sunset Drive have commercial uses including mini -storage and truck repair. The staff is suggesting that 1 B-3 could be extended to include this area as well due to its close proximity to an existing proposed B-3 area. The area of the intersection of Highway 2 and Reserve Drive has been pointed out to us as being more of a B-3 area rather than Light Industrial. Therefore, the staff is recommending that the southeast corner and northeast corner of that intersection be zoned B-3. Another area of concern is the sheet metal shop near Spruce Park Mobile Home Park on Highway 35. After review, the Staff is recommending that the area be zoned Light Industrial which would make that sheet metal shop a permitted use. Greer stated that these are the suggested changes since the public hearing held two weeks ago. Board Discussion Fraser asked how far Terry's Small Engine Repair is located from a B-3 zoning classification? Greer stated that it is better than a quarter of a mile. Manning asked if the little areas of light industrial would be considered spot zoning? Greer said that they may be questionable. The only thing that makes them possible is that they are along highway corridors and that is the rationale behind them. 2 Furlong suggested that it would be proper to give Mr. Clothier his desire for a B-3 zone along his highway j frontage. Greer stated that a B-3 zone cannot be arbitrarily granted without a change to the current Master Plan. If it is zoned B-1 or B-2, then that would be in substantial conformance with the Master Plan. Zoning has to be in substantial conformance to the Master Plan. Greer added that, since Mr. Clothier does not know for sure what portion of his land the Highway Department will be requiring for their widening project and exactly what sort of business he is going to pursue, he should wait until those details are worked out and then apply for a zone change to fit his desires. Greer further stated that as conditions change in any given area of Evergreen, such as a sewer system or extensive private sewer systems, that would provide rationale for granting zone changes in the future. Darrell Clothier stated that he would like either a B-1 or a B-2 zoning for the highway corridor. He stated that the sewer system for his mobile home park has been approved by the State but they have advised that he hold off in investing that much money since Evergreen is trying to get a sewer system. After further discussion, the Board decided by concensus that Mr. Clothier's property would be zoned R-5 and when his plans are complete he can come in for a zone change. The Board discussed the changing of the sheet metal shop from the R-2 zoning proposed at the public hearing to the light industrial zoning proposed by the staff. Ray Van. Lancken, representing Montana Mechanical, said they would be happy with the I-1 zoning. The Board agreed by concensus that it should be zoned I-1. Next property discussed was the property leased by Missoula Truck Sales. One property owner at the public hearing, Bob Henneman, a resident of the area objected to the Industrial zoning. It was shown as B-3 at the public hearing. A member of the audience, also a neighbor to this property, did not agree with an I-1 zoning classification because the uses they have engaged in are heavier than light industrial and she was concerned with the possibility of expansion. She was not against him having a business on that property but did not want it as heavy as it is at the present time. She was particularly concerned with the accesses off of Cottonwood Drive. Greer pointed out that the uses performed at Missoula Truck Sales are allowed in a light industrial zoning. After further board discussion, the Board by concensus felt it should also be zoned I-1. The Board discussion centered on Terry's Small Engine business on East Evergreen Drive. Manning asked how many acres are there? Terry Williams said there are 2.5 acres. 3 Furlong asked what the staff suggestion has been for this property? Greer pointed out that at the public hearing there C was a lot of discussion about home occupations but his business does not fit with any definition of home occupations that could be devised. Greer stated that the non -conforming portion of the ordinance could be amended relative to "fire." The Board of Adjustment would need to be involved since a Conditional Use Permit would probably be required. The Board would need to offer some direction on this matter. Any text amendment would go to the Flathead County Planning Board before going on to the County Commissioners. Furlong felt that it would be a viable solution to this problem. Mr. Williams was not too happy with that because it still did not give him any guarantees and he questioned having to go to a board to get permission to build back in case of being burned out. He added that all he wants is a guarantee that if his business burned down that he could rebuild to the same size. He added that he could not understand the spot zoning concept because of the little areas that have been changed from B-3 to I-1 and R-2 to I-1 and that other area on Sunset Drive that is moved from R-2 to B-3. Those looked like spot zoning to him. A man in the audience pointed out that in that same area where Terry Williams is at has at least 15 established O businesses there in a four -block area. What are you going to do about these? Greer pointed out that a lot of these businesses qualify as home occupations whereas Terry's is a full-fledged business. Hash pointed out that in order to zone his property as a B-3 it would need to be tied in to the nearest B-3 zoning classification area or it is definitely spot zoning. The other areas that might look like spot zoning can either be tied in or have highway corridors. Greer pointed out that if it were possible to zone Terry Williams property as B-3 there would also have to a Master Plan change because that is not in substantial conformance to the Master Plan. Fraser suggested zoning him as B-1 even though he would not be conforming in that zone either. Then the staff could make some text changes concerning non -conforming uses. Greer did not feel that would address his problem any better. Hall felt that in addressing the text amendment the staff should consider that the business person will need to get going as quickly as possible and not be required to spend months trying to get his rebuilding project through one or more boards. After further discussion, the Board could see no other solution and felt that probably the text amendment would be the best solution. 4 Tho Corner o� Highway 2 East and East Reserve Drive was the next area of consideration by the Board. Greer stated that at the public hearing the recommendation shown was for industrial zoning. He stated that the staff feels that the area is more reflective of business uses and would be better zoned B-3. After some discussion, the Board agreed that the staff recommendation in that area is correct. Furlong stated that he had Charles Keller call him concerning some property on the south edge of the LaSalle Industrial Center. Mr. Keller has a house there and he also has his business there. The kinds of uses are industrial and Furlong suggested changing his zoning from residential to industrial which would tie in with the La Salle Industrial Center. Mr. Keller has highway frontage but Furlong did not know exactly where his property was. Hash did not feel that there could be a change in his zoning as long as it is not known where his property is exactly. Other members of the Board concurred. The next area of consideration is the property on which Evergreen Welding is located on Sunset Drive. There is also a mini -storage there. Greer stated that the rationale for zoning them B-3 is that the staff extended the B-3 zoning along the road from the highway frontage and because the road is a truck route to Plum Creek. Manning did not feel 1 that it could be zoned business and Hash and Fraser agreed. After further discussion, the Board felt that the Evergreen Welding should not be given an business zone and should remain R-2. The Board did not want to zone it as business because it would be spot zoning. The Board felt that Evergreen Welding's problem would be addressed with the text amendment to non -conforming uses. The Board discussed the philosophical attitude toward the zoning expressed by Jerry O'Neil at the public hearing and whether to accommodate the uses he was proposing for his property on Helena Flats Road. It was general concensus not to change the zoning there because there are no definite proposals. Ray Lybeck asked for a change in the zoning of his property at the public hearing. The Board, after further discussion, felt that when Mr. Lybeck is ready to subdivide then it would be appropriate to apply for a zone change. Motion Fraser moved to adopt the findings of fact as found in the staff report on the Evergreen Zoning District. Hall seconded the motion and the motion passed unanimously in a roll call vote. Motion Hall moved to recommend to the Board of Commissioners the U zoning as proposed on the Evergreen Zoning District Map with 5 the discussed amendments be adopted. Hash seconded the motion and it passed unanimously in a roll call vote. Motion Fraser moved to recommend that the Board of Commissioners rescind the eight existing zoning districts in the Evergreen Zoning District area concurrently with the adoption of the Evergreen Zoning District. Furlong seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. Motion Fraser moved to instruct Manning to send a letter to the Board of Commissioners to strongly recommend that the Flathead Regional Development Office review the Flathead County Comprehensive Zoning Regulations concerning non- conforming uses and that the FRDO recommend changes to the text that would allow a non -conforming use to rebuild following a catastrophe taking into consideration the sense of the Board concerning expeditious review. Hall seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. OLD BUSINESS None. NEW BUSINESS None. ADJOURNMENT 1 Hash moved to adjourn and Fraser seconded the motion which passed unanimously and the meeting adjourned at 9:15 p.m. l Charles Man ,Pre ident Ava Walters, Recording Secretary Approved:, N.