Loading...
Tri-City Staff Report/Growth Policy AmendmentTri-City PlanningOffice 17 Second Street East - Suite 211 Kalispell, Montana 59901 Phone: (406) 751-1850 Fax: (406) 751-1858 tricity@centurytel.net FORT TO: Kalispell Mayor and City Council FROM: Thomas R. Jentz, Director Chris A. Kukulski, City Manager SUBJECT Wolford Amendment to the Kalispell Draft Growth Policy Plan MEETING DATE: October 15, 2001 BACKGROUND: The Draft Growth Policy Plan: On October 1, 2001 the Kalispell City Council adopted Resolution 4660 directing the Tri-City Planning Office staff to review the requested master plan amendment submitted by Wolford Development, Inc. in the context of the Draft Kalispell City -County Growth Policy Plan. The Kalispell City Council recently completed their review of the draft growth policy plan and forwarded it to the Board of County Commissioners on August 22, 2001. Subsequent to that, the Board of County Commissioners referred the draft plan back to the Kalispell City - County Planning Board for review. The planning board met on October 9, 2001 and during their regular meeting decided to bring issues for discussion to the regular meeting of November 13, 2001. Potentially an initial work session date would be set at that meeting. It is likely the planning board will be scheduling work sessions to review the document and upon the completion of their review, will return the document to the county commissioners for their review with changes made by the planning board. As you are aware, there have been several years of work and deliberation put into the "growth policy." Prior to October 1, 1999, the comprehensive or general plan for the planning jurisdiction was called the "master plan" under the statutes but is now referred to as the growth policy. In the 1999 legislative session, there were amendments to the State statutes regarding master plans. Essentially, the name "master plan" was replaced with "growth policy plan" and, most problematic, there was an annotation on the transition applicability added that states "A governing body that adopts a master plan pursuant to Title 76, Chapter 1, before October 1, 1999, may adopt zoning regulations that are consist with the master plan pursuant to Title 76, Chapter 2, part 2 or 3, until October 1, 2001. The requirements for a growth policy in (section 8) amending 76-1-602, apply to the adoption of zoning regulations pursuant to Title 76, Chapter 2, part 2 or 3, after October 1, 2001." It may be notable that the new growth policy laws address neighborhood plans in 76- 1-601(3)(a) which states "a growth policy may include one or more neighborhood plans. A neighborhood plan must be consistent with the growth policy." This annotation has become problematic because it has raised questions regarding the status of the existing master plan, amendments to the existing master plan and Providing Community Planning Assistance To: ® City of Kalispell ® City of Columbia Falls • City of Whitefish Wolford Development Master Plan Amendment October 15, 2001 Page 2 the ability of local governments to amend the existing zoning on property or to create "new" zoning. Adoption of neighborhood plans that are currently part of the existing master plan were recommended as an addendum to the new growth policy plan. Their validity and status also becomes questionable under the new statutes. The master plan: The plan currently in place is the Kalispell City -County Master Plan adopted in June of 1986. This plan is the official plan of record until it is replaced with an update, which will be referred to as the Kalispell City -County Growth Policy. The Kalispell City -County Master Plan is used as a policy guide for development decisions, zone changes and other land use decisions and recommendations. The plan was developed prior to the installation of public sewer in Evergreen and because of that is somewhat dated. However, many of the land use issues addressed in the current plan are still valid and unresolved issues. Furthermore, the plan did recognize that Evergreen would eventually be on public sewer and addresses redevelopment of areas once sewer is available. Several neighborhood plans have been adopted as an addendum to the Kalispell City - County Master Plan for instance the Stillwater Destination Resort Plan, Section 36 Neighborhood Plan and Two Rivers RV Resort. An amendment to the master plan and adoption of any additional neighborhood plans becomes a critical question in this process. If the city council adopts the position that there can be no amendments to the master plan, then the only alternative will be to wait until the growth policy plan is formally adopted. Wolford plan amendment: On July 9, 2001, Wolford Development, Inc., submitted an application to the Flathead County Planning and Zoning Office to amend the Kalispell City -County Master Plan and change the master plan map from light industrial and agricultural to commercial on approximately 148 acres for the purpose of developing a large-scale indoor mall containing approximately 750,000 square feet. The subject property has approximately 2400 feet of frontage along the east side of LaSalle Road (US Hwy 2) north of East Reserve Drive and abuts the BN railroad tracks north of the LaSalle Road - BN railroal intersection an additional 1260 feet along the tracks. Approximately 1500 feet east of the intersection of LaSalle Road and East Reserve Drive, the project also has approximately 650 feet of frontage along East Reserve Drive. As staff reviews the proposal, there are several areas of confusion relating to the application. The first involves the actual size of the plan amendment. The application materials map shows an area of 148 acres proposed for the plan amendment. The text of the amendment references 144, 148 and 150 acres in various sections. There is already 15 acres of land designated Commercial on the Kalispell City -County Master Plan map and the draft growth policy plan map within the project area at the corner of LaSalle Road and East Reserve Drive which would reduce the actual plan amendment area to approximately 135 acres. After doing some rudimentary calculations on the acreage, it appears that there are some potential errors in the application the area under consideration. Wolford Development Master Plan Amendment October 15, 2001 Page 3 It appears that the actual area that would require a master plan amendment to allow for commercial zoning would be 133 acres (the existing 15 acres would then total 148 acres). To add to the confusion, it would appear that the vicinity map included in the Flathead County Planning Office staff report and acted on by both the Kalispell City - County Planning Board and the Board of County Commissioners included approximately 33 acres that was not part of the application. The County staff vicinity map shows approximately 178 acres. To add further to the confusion, it appears that there was approximately 3.3 acres that was not referenced in the application materials or in the staff report that was intended to be included in the proposal. Although a minor but important technical point, all of the references to the property location in the application and the staff report referenced the wrong section number, i.e. section 27 instead of section 28. In short, it appears that the information used by the staff, planning board and county commissioners when reviewing the application was not accurate. In reviewing the application materials, it appears that the applicant never actually surveyed the property in order to provide an accurate assessment of the acreage included in the proposal, which is unfortunate. While scientific accuracy is not critical to the evaluation of the project, the quality of information submitted has led to confusion. We are faced with an application that could be off upwards of 29 to 34 acres, which in turn raises a serious question of procedure for the planning board and commissioners' actions relating to the approval. A second area of confusion with the application surrounds the very nature of the application itself. It is unclear what is exactly being proposed with the master plan amendment. Is this a plan amendment for a specific development proposal, i.e. Glacier Mall, or is this a proposal for a plan amendment from industrial, residential and agricultural to commercial that would not be tied to a specific project? The application submitted by Wolford states "Wolford Development requests that the map to the Kalispell City County Master Plan map be amended to show that the area designated on the map accompanying this application is designated for commercial development." The supporting application materials submitted by Wolford; however, clearly focus on developing "Glacier Mall" as an enclosed 750,000 regional shopping center. The discussions at the public hearing before the planning board and county commissioners have, to date revolved around the regional mall concept. However it doesn't appear that anything in the public review processes that have occurred to date bind the applicant to a regional mall, or for that matter, development of any type other than general commercial. In addition, as late as the last city council work session, there was general discussion that this application is strictly a map amendment and that it was premature to discuss a specific project on this property. The question of the nature of the application was posed to Jean Johnson, the local consultant for the developer, this past Monday. Mr. Johnson reiterated that the plan amendment was for the speck "Glacier Mall" project and that it was not just a Wolford Development Master Plan Amendment October 15, 2001 Page 4 general amendment to the plan map to change a series of classifications to commercial. With this in mind, review of the proposal should not be done in the context of whether or not this is a good location for additional general commercial, although that is certainly a primary consideration; but rather the bigger and more complex question which is "Is this an appropriate location for a large scale, regional mall; what are the benefit and consequences of it being placed at this location and if there are negative consequences, can they be mitigated if the plan amendment is approved?" Background Information of the Review Process: It appears that the first contact the staff of the Flathead Regional Development Office had with Wolford was in December of 1999. Narda Wilson and I met with Mr. Wolford and two of his colleagues. At that time, they told us that they wanted to utilize approximately 85 acres for developing a large-scale indoor mall. Although we embraced the concept of a regional mall, we told Mr. Wolford that we had serious concerns about the proposed location of the project because of the lack of services and because of the political strains between Evergreen, the City of Kalispell and the County. We told him that in order to rezone the approximately 70 acres of property from light industrial and agricultural to commercial, he would first have. to do an amendment to the master plan because the majority of that area called for light industrial and some agricultural. We encouraged him to try to find another site and even prepared a map that showed the parcels over 20 acres in size within the planning jurisdiction. We also encouraged him to talk to the city manager about the provision of sewer services to the site. Because of the location of the site, we knew that the issue of the sewer service would be difficult to resolve. We encouraged Mr. Wolford to try to address the issue of sewer service up front if possible, since it would be one of the most difficult points. Subsequent to that first meeting, we learned that Mr. Wolford had made contact with the State DNRC about the use of their property, but was discouraged by the lease arrangement the State was mandated to use. We then had one or two meetings in 2000 and the early spring of 2001 with Ken Kalvig, Mr. Wolford's legal counsel, about the process that would need to be undertaken to amend the map and the zoning. At that time we were under the assumption that we were talking about 85 acres of land on the "Jump property." We also knew that Mr. Wolford had retained Paul J. Stokes and Associates as their technical consultant. On July 1, 2001 the new Flathead County Planning and Zoning Office was established. The Wolford application for the master plan amendment and for a zone change to County B-2 were submitted to the Flathead County Planning and Zoning Office on July 9th and on July 1 lth the County office accepted them as complete. The Kalispell City -County Planning Board held a public hearing on the master plan amendment on August 14, 2001 and forwarded a recommendation to both the City and County to approve the proposal. The planning board also held a public hearing on the zone change at a special meeting held on August 21, 2001 and recommended approval of the zone change from I-1 H, SAG-10 and R-2 to B-2 to the county Wolford Development Master Plan Amendment October 15, 2001 Page 5 commissioners. On August 23, 2001 the county commissioners held a public hearing on the zone change and passed a resolution of intent. On September 18, 2001 the Board of County Commissioners held a public hearing on the master plan amendment and postponed action on the matter until September 28, 2001. On that day the commissioners approved the master plan amendment to commercial on approximately 178 acres and a zone change to B-2, General Commercial, with an implied understanding that the developers would later submit a proposal for a planned unit development for the mall project. There is no specific time frame within which each local government has to act on the master plan amendment application. However, the issues relating to the October 1, 2001 date prompted swifter action by the planning board and county commissioners A public hearing before the Kalispell City County on the proposed plan amendment was scheduled for September 17, 200, but was cancelled on the advice of the City's legal counsel, Bill Astle. The City of Kalispell has not yet taken formal action on the proposed plan amendment and a question remains as to whether an amendment to the existing master plan can be made after October 1, 2001 or if indeed we still have a master plan to amend. The matter of the proposed master plan amendment was taken up at the regular meeting of October 1, 2001 and the proposal was formally transmitted to the Tri-City Planning Office staff for review "in the context of the draft growth policy plan." The staff was direct to report back to the council by October 15, 2001. Stan review of the plan amendment -Staff Direction: Review the proposed plan amendment "in the context of the draft growth policy plan." The city council directed the planning staff to review the proposed Wolford master plan amendment in the context of the draft growth policy plan. The rational was that the council had just finished a yearlong plus laborious task of reviewing an update of the growth policy plan and that the proposal should be assessed in the context of the draft growth policy plan. It also seems fairly clear that an amendment to the draft growth policy plan could not be "processed" per se since the plan is not yet an officially adopted document. Summary of the project under review: For the purposes of clarification, this is a summary of the application under review by the staff: The applicant states he wishes to build a 750,000 square foot enclosed mall with four anchor tenants and 90 to 100 retail stores, a food court, and movie theater. The mall will draw from halfway to Missoula up into Canada. The application states, "Wolford Development is willing to be annexed into the city of Kalispell or waive protest to future annexation (in exchange for the provision of sewer service)." Wolford Development Master Plan Amendment October 15, 2001 Page 6 Based on the information provided in the application, the entire area proposed for consideration is approximately 150 acres although 15 acres of that has a commercial designation. Following is a listing of the existing County zoning classifications that would be affected by the Wolford Project, as their ultimate zoning goal is B-2. I-1H, Light Industrial Highway - 55.6 acres R-2, One Family Limited Residential- 17.9 acres Suburban Agricultural, SAG 10- 58.1 acres General Business, B-2 - 15.8 acres Total acreage (approximate) 147.4 acres The project area for the mall contains approximately 85 acres while the remaining peripheral acreage that is proposed for a change to commercial contains approximately 63 acres is not designated for development as part of the mall project. It would appear that the remaining 60 plus acres is generally speculative in nature and intended to capture future commercial development which could potentially surround the site. The Wolford application includes a vision statement that makes it clear that the applicant proposes the plan amendment for the purposes of constructing a large-scale indoor mall. It is their hope to construct such a facility that will in turn "attract other commercial business to Flathead County." The applicants list their "Goals" for the project: ® Secure Kalispell and Flathead County as the retail center of NW Montana, ® Keep existing retailers in Flathead County and attract new retailers, ® Reduce the number of dollars leaving the local market for Missoula and Spokane ® Develop a center that captures travelers along Hwy 2, ® Locate where there is room for expansion and peripheral growth. The applicant then proceeds to address some of the issues related to the plan amendment dealing with the need for the change in the master plan, growth management, environmental issues, economy, land use, transportation, availability of public services, coordination between the City and County. When addressing availability of public services, the application states that Wolford would prefer to connect to public sewer, but would use on -site treatment if necessary as a means of sewage treatment and disposal. Analysis of Wolford application based on the Draft Kalispell City -County Growth Policy Plan: There are 12 chapter headings in the Draft Kalispell City -County Growth Policy and an Appendix A, the Resource and Analysis Section dated August 2001. Staff will use the 12 chapter headings as the review format that identifies each goal, policy or recommendation statement of the draft growth policy that has bearing on the amendment request either pro or con. Staff will then review these statements in light Wolford Development Master Plan Amendment October 15, 2001 Page 7 of the information presented by the applicant in the original application. Staff will then summarize findings from the draft growth policy, attempt to identify the primary issues and offer a recommendation. Draft Kalispell City -County Growth Policy Plan (An Analysis) The vision statement for the draft growth policy plan, page 1, paragraph 3 states (in part) that "the Kalispell area will continue to strengthen its position as the regional commercial and government center..." and that "as new development and redevelopment occurs, it is expected to be in areas where public services and infrastructure are available." The vision statement would support efforts to enhance the Kalispell area as a regional commercial center and on its surface could support the development of the Wolford Mall project. It is generally accepted that the Wolford Mall, by its projected size would be the largest enclosed mall in Montana and would qualify as a regional shopping center. The second portion of the vision dictates that such development needs to be served by public services and infrastructure. The availability of public infrastructure to serve the mall site appears to be critical. Infrastructure and services include public sewer and water, storm water disposal, police and fire protection, street construction and traffic management to list a few. The availability of these services will be addressed below under Public Facilities. With regard to the draft growth policy land use map, page 3, paragraph 3 of the plan states, "The growth policy map found in the back of this document is a geographic illustration of the plan's goals and policies applied to the lands in the planning jurisdiction. The map indicates the types of land uses recommended at each location representing the plans recommendations of an orderly growth pattern." Both the Planning Board and the City Council have completed a review of the draft growth policy map. It is noteworthy that the draft growth policy map submitted by the Kalispell City -County Planning Board in November, 1999 based on their thorough review and the Kalispell City Council's draft dated August, 2001 are identical in this area. The Planning Board and Council map update process has brought to light several changes to the existing City -County Master Plan map in the area of the Wolford development proposal. The growth policy map designates US 2 as a Highway Community Entrance (a new designation that was not included in the master plan document). The commercial designation stayed in tact except for a minor extension along the entire US 2 frontage the depth of a lot (about 100 feet). The light industrial classification was replaced in the growth policy process by a single "industrial" classification. The industrial area on the map, however, stayed generally intact except that the southern portion along East Wolford Development Master Plan Amendment October 15, 2001 Page 8 Reserve Drive was reduced and re-classified as urban residential (3-12 residences per acre) in light of existing and approved residential development for that area. The growth policy map also re -designated all the lands east of the industrial area. Previously, this land was agricultural. The draft growth policy now considers this as future residential lands with urban densities along East Reserve Drive and suburban residential (1-2 dwelling per acre) for the remainder of the section over to Helena Flats and north to Rose Crossing. Therefore, it is noted that the draft growth policy plan map which illustrates policy for development of this area has changed to include only slightly more commercial development on the highway corridor, slightly reduced industrial activity and substantially more residential development. In summary, the draft growth policy map shows less than ten percent of the area proposed by Wolford for a plan amendment is designated as commercial lands with the about 25 percent being designated as industrial and approximately 65 percent being designated as residential. The policy shown by the growth policy map anticipates a tier of commercial development along US 2 with a tier of industrial behind the commercial to the east followed by a transition to a substantial residential area beyond a 1/4 mile form US 2 and along East Reserve. The proposed map does not support the request. Chapter 1 encourages cooperation between the City and the County on development issues. One of the policy statements is that the plan should be used when considering all development decisions. It further states and new and existing neighborhood plans should be consistent with the growth policy plan and encourages review every five years to determine relevancy. This section does not necessarily apply to the application, but may provide opportunities for the council, commissioners and local service districts for coordination. WIF Page 8, Goal #4 states, "New commercial development should occur in areas where public water and sewer are available." It is clear that public water and sewer must be available to the site and that lack of such services would prove fatal to the project as it would encourage a pattern of development contrary to the plan Goal statement 4 above. Apparently, Evergreen water is available to the site. There has also been discussion of extending Kalispell water to the site. No information was submitted to show the feasibility of this. The site abuts Evergreen sewer yet no decision as to its availability has been made. The applicants have indicated in Wolford Development Master Plan Amendment October 15, 2001 Page 9 their application that in the absence of public sewer they are prepared to proceed with on -site sewage disposal. This method is unacceptable. Page 8, Policy 2 states to encourage flexible government policies for development and infrastructure within urban areas. As with any large project, flexible policies will be needed. At this point, the City of Kalispell, the Evergreen Water and Sewer District, Flathead County and the Montana Department of Transportation all appear to have overlapping jurisdictions. This will be an ongoing task. Page 9, Policy 6 states that development should be located to protect the public safety, fit the character of the area and insures the adequate provision of services. The application provides very little information in light of public safety. It is assumed that traffic will be the single largest safety issue followed by police and fire protection. None are directly addressed. Traffic figures were not submitted with the application. In terms of traffic, the institute of traffic engineers assumes that a 750,000 sq. foot mall will generate 2,400 peak hour vehicle trips during the week with increased traffic on weekends. Note that the Glacier Mall (at 17 acres of store surface) and associated parking will account for only perhaps 50% of the development on site as Mr. Wolford proposed 150 acres of development total. It is assumed the MDT will review the mall project to determine that levels of traffic service will not be compromised, that the access points onto US 2 will function and that traffic lights/signage will be incorporated where needed. Two unresolved issues linger - internal traffic design and adjacent retail developments. The Mall project is only 50 % of the Wolford Development. Additional adjacent development will incrementally follow as an offshoot of the mall project. The greater difficulty will be to ascertain impacts on all adjoining streets including East and West Reserve from the adjacent development. The Wolford application does provide for one north -south cross street between East Reserve and Helena Flats. The Reserve intersection however appears problematic and there is no east -west relationships provided within the project or on adjacent lands. This is generally inadequate to address the issues at hand. Police protection could be a factor for the County Sheriff or Kalispell Police. Availability of service, staffing and response times has not been addressed in the application. Evergreen Fire in now the likely fire service provider. If annexed, Kalispell would be. No discussions to date in terms of service or coordination of service have occurred as part of the application. The growth policy map provides guidance for determining the future character of the area. The map anticipates this area to grow, but apparently at a substantially reduced density relative to the commercial activity generated by a Wolford Development Master Plan Amendment October 15, 2001 Page 10 mall. The future character of the area would appear to be a small hub of commercial activity at the corner of Reserve and US 2 (approximately 15 acres) with some highway frontage development with a layer of industrial activity behind the highway frontage. The remaining 2/3 of the site would be medium and low density housing and the remainder of the section of land to Helena Flats and north to Rose Crossing would likewise be low density residential development. Page 9, Recommendation 2 states the Kalispell Extension of Services Plan should be used as a guide when deciding the future use and densities in a particular area. Currently most of the area proposed for commercial development is outside (beyond) the City's potential sewer service area as identified in the Kalispell Extension of Services Plan. However, the City of Kalispell is undertaking a new facility plan analysis. The service boundaries could be amended as part of that process if new information warranted the need for extending those services. Nothing in this section appears to apply to this development. R+ • � R+ R I :i R Page 13, issue 2 states that the advantages of highway corridor design (The Wolford Project qualifies) are high visibility for business and a concentration of business traffic. The corresponding design problems are traffic congestion during peak periods and lack of secondary street access. Issue 2 notes that commercial and industrially zoned property is in oversupply in the Kalispell area but often lacks adequate infrastructure. Page 14, Goals 1, 2 and 5 relate to this type of development. It encourages mixed -use development pattern that encourage small businesses to locate in areas where public water and sewer are available. Large-scale retail is specifically encouraged to locate in a mixed -use manner rather than as an isolated development. Page 16, Subsection 5 deals with the Highway Community Entrance issues. Encouraging special design standards for the gateways to the community. Page 16, Subsection 6 identifies Target Development Areas and identifies several areas where increased development would be most warranted and desirable. Page 17, Recommendation 5 recognizes the potential effects large scale development can have on the community and encourages studies to analyze the impacts on public services, economic development and traffic. Because of the size and location of this project, it directly reflects many of the issues found under this chapter, particularly with regard to development on Wolford Development Master Plan Amendment October 15, 2001 Page 11 the highway corridors located on the entrance to the community. The highway location will naturally increase traffic and congestion and impact public services. Issues regarding the delivery of services, particularly with regard to public sewer, have not been fully addressed. The strictly commercial proposal could integrate some type of mixed -use development on this site. The proposed development does not occur within one of the designated target development areas. No formal analysis or studies have been provided to date that address the various impacts the development could have on the community. Pages 18 and 19 recognize the tenuous state of agriculture within the planning jurisdiction particularly on the fringe areas of the community. The plan generally encourages methods of conserving agricultural activities and opportunities for redevelopment once urban services become available. The property where the development is proposed is currently under active agricultural production. However, its location is at the "urban fringes" and would be viable for development when public services are available to serve it. The growth policy map does not anticipate long-term agricultural activity at this location. The resources and analysis document does not designate this land as prime or important farmlands. This area could be considered an "urban reserve" as mentioned in this chapter until urban services are fully extended. Issue 1, Page 20 and policy 7, page 21 recognizes Kalispell as the commercial center of the valley. The proposed development would strengthen Kalispell's position as a regional retail center in the area. Goal 1 page 21 supports the creation of jobs, especially higher median income jobs. With regard to the Wolford Mall Project, it is unclear whether retail sales and service jobs would necessarily generate the "living wage" type jobs that are encouraged with this section. Typically they do not. Policy 8, page 21 speaks to supporting activities to ensure that the Kalispell Central Business district remains healthy and active. The Wolford Mall Project will directly complete with and change the focus of the Kalispell downtown. The Wolford Mall will become the retail power center in the Flathead. M Wolford Development Master Plan Amendment October 15, 2001 Page 12 Policy 5, page 25 states that developments in areas that have know high ground water should be restricted until such time as public sewer is available. The applicants are proposing public sewer via a connection with Kalispell. This is important. However, they state that if they cannot negotiate service they are prepared to develop an on -site system. This would be incredibly unfortunate in light of the $13 million of public (federal, state and local) dollars that were spent into addressing the Evergreen area sewer problems this past decade. This would a giant step backwards if this project were allowed to proceed using an on -site system. Policy 7, page 25 states that new development should have paved roadways to protect air quality. Flathead County's primary air pollutant is retrained road dust from dirt and gravel roads and parking lots. Either city or county zoning will require that all parking lots and primary access roads associated with the Mall be surfaced. The peripheral development adjacent to the mall may be more problematic. If the project develops inside the city of Kalispell, the city has air quality standards in place as it is in a federal attainment status. The County may not have as extensive a handle on the private drives and small parking lots. Recommendation 3, page 26 says to limit impacts related to outdoor lighting and noise. Noise will not generally be an issue as this will be a commercial center. However, outdoor lighting including building and parking lot lighting could be an issue. The Wolford Plan amendment does not address this. Chapter 8: Historic and Cultural Conservation Urban Design Page 27 recognizes how the built environment can effect social interaction, cultural and historical resources and "quality of life" in the community. Goal 2 and Policy 6 encourage the design of urban streets and encourages pedestrian oriented design. A project of the type and size as that proposed does not easily lend itself to developing urban streets or pedestrian oriented design, but would rather be a destination in itself where the vehicle and pedestrian traffic would be captured based on an exterior design that brings people here and an interior design that provides for efficient and safe movement for vehicles and pedestrians. The applicant has verbally stated he would extend the Helena Flats Trail down east Reserve to the Reserve - US 2 intersection, but that is not part of the proposal. The application also shows the single north south cross street. No additional detailed or even general plans have been submitted to show how the mall project and the remaining 65 or so acres would relate together or function. Wolford Development Master Plan Amendment October 15, 2001 Page 13 There is no information to evaluate. It would appear that there is enough acreage to contemplate a "mixed use" development in the periphery area. • This chapter encourages the integration of parks facilities, bike and pedestrian trails and new development. Page 30, recommendation 1 encourages the development of links between the urban and suburban areas. Although this section has little that would apply to the proposed development, it has been stated that the developer has been working with the school district to develop a trail between Helena Flats School and the project, although that was not part of the initial project proposal. Additionally, this will give the kids in Evergreen a new hangout and special status because of the mall location and a new place to ride their skateboards. .r . Policy 2, page 32 states that street improvements that would accommodate significant traffic increases should be the subject to review by affected neighbors and agencies. No traffic information other that the proposed access points and a new traffic light have been submitted. Traffic volumes will substantially increase in this area. There is no readily available mechanism to institute this outside of the neighborhood planning process. Policy 3, page 32 encourages the coordination of land use and transportation and locating higher density development along arterial/collector streets. Hwy 2 is a major arterial funded and maintained by MDT. Reserve Drive is recognized as a minor arterial in the plan and exists as a Secondary maintained by MDT. Page 37 of the graft growth policy lists Reserve Drive between US 93 and Hwy 2 as a second priority project that would need to be widened from two lanes to four lanes with a center turn lane and also mentions an upgrading of Reserve Drive east of LaSalle. No specific evaluation of the impacts to US 2 or East and West Reserve Drive has been included in the initial proposal submitted by the developer. The location of the development on a major arterial such as LaSalle Road seems an appropriate location. Policy 5, page 32 speaks to reserving adequate right-of-way along arterials and limit access onto them as well. There has been no information submitted as to the needs of the street system. If the project goes through subdivision review, this could be addressed. The mall may not be required to go through subdivision as it could be treated as a Wolford Development Master Plan Amendment October 15, 2001 Page 14 single entity. The general site plan submitted, although it is apparently not binding does show limited access to 3 points from the development. MDT will review these access points. Recommendation 1, page 35 states that the Kalispell transportation plan needs to be updated on a regular basis. It should be noted that Carter and Burgess conducted a thorough transportation study for the Kalispell area in 1994. At that time, the transportation plan was undertaken as part of the bypass feasibility study. The adopted transportation plan and the resulting 70 million dollars worth of infrastructure upgrades recommended by the plan did not anticipate a regional mall destination at the US 2 and Reserve Drive intersection. In fact, the existing Kalispell City -County Master Plan map was used which showed a substantially less dense development pattern and no indication of a major attractor such as that being proposed. The Wolford Mall Project will outdate the existing transportation plan for this part of the Planning Jurisdiction. This chapter recognizes the various issues associated with the provision of public services and infrastructure. With regard to public sewer, page 40 states a policy that those areas receiving sewer from the City of Kalispell should be annexed. Page 41 recognizes that there are problems with the lack of storm water systems in the planning jurisdiction and encourages improvement of the facilities as development occurs. Fire service in the northern part of Kalispell is recognizes as a issues on page 43 and how future growth in the area will effect the City's insurance rating. The developer has stated that he would prefer connection to public sewer and would have engineered storm water management plans in association with the development. In addition, Mr. Wolford states in the application that he welcomes annexation to the city. No petition to annex was submitted with the application for the plan amendment nor were specific plans developed to address the provision of public services. Coordination between the fire departments and police departments would be issues that would need to be addressed in association with the development. Unfortunately, no specific information is enclosed in the application. Various neighborhood plans within the planning jurisdiction are listed and a brief summary of their goals and policies is outlines. This tool has been used in the past to deal with complex development proposals in the planning jurisdiction that were not specifically addressed in the overall master plan. It may be noteworthy that the neighborhood plan model has been used in the past to deal with complex development proposals. Examples include the Wolford Development Master Plan Amendment October 15, 2001 Page 15 Section 36 DNRC lands issue and the Valley Dome (Home Depot, site) to name 2 recent cases. Because of the speck nature of this development proposal and issues related to the area, it may be that this development should be addressed as a neighborhood development plan for the area. Clearly the draft growth policy plan anticipates some limited commercial development along the highway corridor. New commercial development is encouraged to occur as an expansion of the existing commercial areas. It could be argued that the proposed location of the development meets the criteria of expansion of the established commercial area and in a location that provides good access and good exposure. It does not appear that the draft growth policy plan fully addresses a regional mall or large scale retail development other than a single reference in the plan that "recognizes the potential effects large scale development can have on the community and encourages studies to analyze the impacts on public services, economic development and traffic." It does not specify an appropriate location or design standards other than to say that the used should be developed in a "mixed use fashion" rather than as an isolated development. The proposal as submitted does not appear to provide "studies that analyze impacts" nor does it integrate other uses in the project such as office and residential that could potentially be located on the peripheral area to the east. The plan attempts to specify areas where future development and redevelopment is considered most appropriate such as the area around Center Street, the area near Hwy 2 and Hwy 35 and to the north around the school section property. These are designated as "target development areas." The project obviously in not in an area targeted for future growth. Of course the single largest issues aside from unknown economic impacts to existing and future commercial development, is the absence of public water and sewer currently available to the site. Although the location provides good access and exposure, the absence of this critical element creates problems. All throughout the draft growth policy plan document, there is reference to new commercial development and expansion being located in areas where full public services are available. The Kalispell Extension of Services Plan does not anticipate sewer or water service to this area which isn't to say that it can't be amended to provide service to the area. Additionally, the 1994 Carter Burgess study and development of the Kalispell Transportation Plan did not anticipate the type of intensive land uses proposed on the site when identifying roadway upgrade priorities. The plan map in the draft document designates the corner of LaSalle and East Reserve Drive as commercial, a small highway corridor as commercial that may comprise approximately 20 acres of the 150 acre site. Approximately 55 acres or so is designated as industrial in the area currently zoned industrial and the remaining portion of the site is designated as residential. Wolford Development Master Plan Amendment October 15, 2001 Page 16 It becomes fairly obvious that the proposed project does not comply with the many of goals, policies and recommendations contained in the Draft Kalispell City -County Growth Policy Plan nor does is comply with the land use designations on the plan map. The plan does not fully address large scale retail development nor does it contemplate the location and development of a regional mall complex. • ,_ - -' •, There have been several watershed events in Kalispell's development history. Approximately 10 years ago, the city entered into an agreement with the Evergreen Water and Sewer District that facilitated the construction of public sewer n Evergreen by using the Kalispell treatment plan for the sewage. The agreement was executed in the spirit of addressing a serious water quality issue that had valley wide ramifications. The agreement did not anticipate or address the ramifications of public sewer outside of the city of Kalispell's control. With the advent of sewer, the Evergreen area was poised for development. It had a public water system, a public sewer system, a state and a federal highway running down the middle, substantial highway frontage, commercial zoning, a lower tax rate and undeveloped or underdeveloped land available. Sewer had been the missing key. In the past 10 years the vast majority of commercial development has either located or re -located to the Evergreen area. The impact on Kalispell has been to significantly limit new commercial growth inside the city and to limit the creation of an additional tax base while accommodating additional activity and traffic in the city core. With the Wolford Development proposal, the City is again faced with one of the largest single decisions it will have make concerning the future of not just the city of Kalispell, but also the Flathead Valley. This project truly involves the creation of a new commercial center, a new central business district for the Flathead Valley and shifts the "center of gravity" for new development. The economic vitality and growth of the valley will be focused in this immediate area for the next 10 to 20 years. Below is a listing of some of the issues that are an outgrowth of the draft growth policy review and should considered as part of the evaluation process. Other issues may be identified in the review process or perhaps some of the obvious issues may become more fully developed. Prior to making a decision on the Wolford Development plan amendment, these issues should at least be recognized and an attempt made to address them. Issue 1 Is the City willing and able to do the things necessary to incorporate Wolford's project and the neighborhood into the city of Kalispell? It is critical that the Wolford project be annexed into the city of Kalispell. The applicant has stated he is willing to be annexed. The city needs to have a real presence in the area. Failure to fully annex (not just an annexation district Wolford Development Master Plan Amendment October 15, 2001 Page 17 agreement) Wolford's project and have the ability to oversee, guide, serve and annex all surrounding development as it develops next to Wolford's power center will only serve to foster a future dilemma. We will have a well -designed island (Wolford's mall) in a sea of "Evergreen to the airport" strip with businesses on septic systems, private wells, individual accesses and inadequate circulation. These costs, particularly future upgrades to Reserve and US 2 caused by development outside Wolford's site may have to be picked up by the general taxpayer or worse, will continue to deteriorate in their ability to function and create a continuously more dangerous traffic situation. Failure to annex now will also ignore the fact that the economic/commercial growth for the next decade will happen in the area of the mall, not in other segments of the city of Kalispell. Kalispell's tax base could and will become stagnant with out these measures. No one has addressed the incremental development around the mall development. What will it be and what will the resultant impacts be? ® The City of Kalispell needs to serve the mall and the surrounding area with Kalispell sewer and water, (not Evergreen and not on -site) to maintain a coordinated system of services if annexed. Can we efficiently provide Kalispell sewer and water to the site and the neighborhood? ® We need to require a comprehensive traffic study. MDT will require a traffic study for the mall and require Wolford to participate in the recommendations. The MDT study will not address future development outside of the immediate mall impacts and outside of Wolford's control. Unfortunately, that happens incrementally. We need to evaluate not just street and traffic impacts associated with the Wolford project but look at the greater area as commercial development will occur outside of the Wolford property: East and West Reserve upgrades, a local circulation system, traffic control features, side street development. The developer will take care of impacts associated with the mall, how do we address impacts beyond the mall boundaries? ® If annexation occurs in this area, can we provide for street maintenance of local streets if they are annexed? ® If this is annexed to the City, we will need to provide Kalispell Police Service. Can we do this effectively? ® We need to negotiate with the Evergreen Fire Department to determine whom and how fire protection services are provided to this area. ® How will solid waste be handled for this area? 0 Kalispell Parks needs to be prepared to expand their services. Wolford Development Master Plan Amendment October 15, 2001 Page 18 Recommendation: Require the developer to provide an analysis of what it will take to provide City sewer, water, streets, pedestrian access, fire and police and other services to this area to serve the development and the significant surrounding area. Work with the developer to undertake a transportation study of the area to determine the need to develop upgrades to adjoining road systems and to develop an internal road system. Because of the substantial shift in development patterns and the demand for services the City should be prepared to begin annexing the Evergreen commercial area and begin the process of annexing others area of Evergreen as well so that the Wolford Mall is not just an City island three miles distant from the city. We need to be looking at this in terms of growing one large city. The city of Kalispell will either grow and prosper or have its commercial stamina continually drained away. It is easier and cheaper for business to locate to Evergreen. It has been the norm for the last 10 years since the advent of sewer. Wolford's mall will not be the only area growing. Business will go where it is easiest and quickest, just outside of Wolford's control and the economic attraction for the Wolford neighborhood will be intense. Recommendation: Begin researching Evergreen. Prepare a timetable, service maintenance and administrative issues, etc. the feasibility of annexing portions of provision issues, legal steps, assess the The City should not be intimidated by Wolford's statement that the mall will happen with or without the City. The Wolford Mall project needs public sewer to be successful. This will be a business decision. The option of moving just north may not be real at this time. The developer does not have the land assembled; a railroad boarders one side of the highway, and ground water is just as problematic north as it is here. He needs sewer to sell development sites at decent density to all his potential buyers - motels, restaurants, banks, etc., and the tenants primary concern will be location. Recommendation: The city's future is important. We should continue to negotiate with the developer in good faith, not operate as if our hands our tied and we have no recourse. Wolford Development Master Plan Amendment October 15, 2001 Page 19 Issue 4 Does the valley need a regional mall? It is consist with the vision for future growth in the Valley? Can the Valley support a regional mall? Is the timing right for this kind of development? The answers to these questions are difficult issues to assess. The Valley and specifically the Kalispell area are facing commercial pressure, how much is the unknown. In very recent years we have already seen Section 36 and the Mountain View Plaza (Home Depot) project sites come on line on the north side of Kalispell and the airport development sites to the south of Kalispell. Wolford states that he has done his research, and he is confidant he will be successful. We do not fully know what the impacts will be on rest of Valley and Kalispell with the advent of his development. The mall and the area around the mall have the potential to absorb/attract substantial growth to Reserve - US 2 area rather than other areas in the Valley for many years into the future. Recommendation: These are philosophical questions for which there are no easy answers. Providing the public to meaningfully participate in answering these questions is an important part of the review process. The Wolford master plan amendment application specifically discusses a large-scale mall proposal. However, only 85 acres or approximately 55 percent of the 150 or so acres Wolford proposed for a commercial designation will be used directly for the enclosed mall. Approximately 65 acres or so of commercial land is unaccounted for and the change to commercial could be considered speculative. To gain some perspective, downtown Kalispell (from Idaho to Sixth Street south and extending two blocks either side of Main and including the Kalispell Center Mall) contains approximately 75 acres. The Mountain View Plaza where Home Depot and other commercial would occur containing approximately 500,000 square feet contains approximately 60 acres. Wolford's agent has stated and it appears in the application that this is a proposal for a specific commercial development, i.e. the Glacier Mall. The other commercial area has not been planned, but may offer opportunities to create a mixed use development that can become a true neighborhood. Because of the amount of surrounding property that is not included as part of the mall development proposal, but rather future undefined development, appears this proposal may be more appropriately handled as an application for a development proposal under the process of a "neighborhood plan" for a specific development. There are several reasons besides the nature of the development proposal that a neighborhood plan may be a more appropriate mechanism. ® Without tying the plan amendment to a speck development proposal or a "neighborhood plan," a simple plan amendment to commercial could leave the City Wolford Development Master Plan Amendment October 15, 2001 Page 20 completely out of any further review. The County has already tentatively approved B-2 zoning and Wolford has publicly stated he could do an on -site sewage disposal system if the City won't / can't provide public sewer to the site. If this were reviewed as a development plan amendment like what was done with the Valley Dome (Home Depot site) and the Stillwater Resort (Roger Claridge golf resort north of Kalispell) the City would have significant guidance over the development. Otherwise, the City would have limited or no review again with either the mall development or the ancillary development around the mall. And the subsequent ancillary development will be significant. If Wolford is willing to do a neighborhood plan, which could involve inviting many more people to the table and more time and effort, there would be some opportunities to plan for the entire area and incorporate some concepts of orderly growth such as traffic circulation and integration of design. Recommendation: If approval of the development is imminent, the City should require approval of the plan amendments as a neighborhood plan in order to continue negotiations with Wolford and to maintain direction over development of the site. Ri Are we concerned about "economic flight" from the city and other areas in the Valley? If flight is significant enough, it could cripple the vitality of major segments of our community including commercial development in the downtown and south of town. Positively it could also open up areas of the community for changes in use and new uses. This would take great effort to see that re -development is done well. This is a difficult issue to quantify. We need to ask if the council is concerned, concerned enough to do further study or concerned enough to stop the project. Frankly, the council needs to get better numbers and / or determine if it is an issue they care about. Recommendation: Ask if the council if it is concerned enough to do further study to try to assess the potential economic impacts or concerned enough to stop the project. Issue 7 If the Wolford Mall proceeds, it may be appropriate to review our downtown re- development goals in light of the fact of such a significant economic shift. Unfortunately, with the June 2002 deadline for the Downtown Urban Renewal District looming up we may not be able to adequately react as ramifications to the downtown will occur over an extended period of time. The Kalispell Center Mall can be assumed to loose its primary anchors; all other viable mall stores will also be assumed to relocate. The existing downtown mall could remain empty for a considerable period of time as the Ernst building has. The mall is Wolford Development Master Plan Amendment October 15, 2001 Page 21 already for sale; realistically a change in use of the mall may be a significant consideration. This will also be the case faced by the larger remaining commercial actors in the downtown core area. Downtown could transition to a cultural center, a performing arts center, a convention center or other theme could be a consideration. However, this transition would take time and considerable investment without the benefit of the tax increment financing. Recommendation: Consider and review the re -development issues. Are all activities still viable in light of the potential shift of retail/commercial activity or should there be a shift in the focus of downtown Kalispell. If the Wolford Mall proceeds, there will be significant ancillary development around the perimeter of the mall and beyond. Development pressures will radiate beyond the mall property and will be outside of the current Kalispell planning jurisdiction. Approval of the mall proposal and annexation of the property would place the city limits of Kalispell at the northernmost edge of the current planning jurisdiction boundaries. Extension of City sewer to this area will foster new requests for development primarily to the north and to the east. The City may or may not be in a position to service new development. There will also be increased development pressures along Hwy 2 that will extend between the mall out to Glacier International Airport. The City will need to have some influence and authority as to the type and timing of development within this "sphere of influence" beyond the mall boundaries. Recommendation: Consideration should be given to revising the Kalispell planning jurisdiction boundaries particularly to the north of the mall site to enable the City to maintain some influence over the type of development that would occur. Final Summary: The project will truly make the Kalispell area the regional retail shopping center of Northwest Montana. It will also provide substantial employment opportunities and significantly contribute to the local tax base. However, there exist many unresolved issues related to the development proposal. It is unclear how much land is involved in the proposed plan amendment. It appears that it may be anywhere from 132 acres to 177 acres. A second question surrounds what is really the nature of the application as a regional mall only utilizes half the site. There are no guarantees either will be built. Wolford Development Master Plan Amendment October 1 S, 2001 Page 22 The project is not reflected in or anticipated by the Kalispell Area Transportation Plan and is not generally anticipated or supported by the Kalispell Extension of Services Plan. Provision of services to the site is one of the biggest issues associated with the development. No less than eight times under different chapters, the draft growth policy plan called out the need for public water and sewer for new commercial development. The City (and County) need to have assurances that a development of this magnitude will be required to connect to public sewer and not left to explore the use of on -site sewage treatment. Provision of services by the City of Kalispell raises the issues of annexation and how that would be accomplished. Provision of services to this site raises the issues of how other development in the immediate area would occur. Naturally, a development of this nature and magnitude will foster other high -density development in the immediate area and increase the City's "sphere of influence." The applicant has stated he supports annexation the city, which is highly beneficial for both parties but there is no commitment at this point that that would happen. Annexation of this site raises the issues of annexation of other areas of Evergreen and the area surrounding this site. It appears that there are many unanswered questions that relate to the potential impacts of this development that have not been addressed in the initial plan application. The proposed plan amendment should probably be considered in the context of the a neighborhood plan for the area and treated as an addendum to the master plan and in the future as an addendum to the growth policy plan when adopted. Most appropriately, this should be considered as the "Glacier Mall Development Plan," and amendment to the master plan as an addendum. The plan would specifically detail the goals and policies for growth and development in this area, identify what the impacts would be and how public services would be provided. This would also provide an opportunity to assess the appropriateness of designating the entire area as commercial, whether the development would be phases, impacts that would occur and / or potential changes in land use in the immediately surround area and the types of peripheral uses that might be appropriate It may be useful to consider the options the developer may have in developing the site. The first option would of course be to pursue the master plan amendment by the City and to negotiate the provision of services to the site. The second would be accept the count commissioners' approval of the B-2 zoning as a valid approval and apply for a State building permit and develop an on -site sewage treatment system. Another option the developer has would be to submit an application to the County for a fully developed PUD proposal and go through the public hearing process as a County project. A final option would be for the developer to attempt to assemble Wolford Development Master Plan Amendment October 15, 2001 Page 23 property in an unzoned area of the county and do the project elsewhere without public sewer. Conclusion and Recommendations: This project may be a substantial benefit to both the City of Kalispell and Flathead County as the application states. However, based on both the draft growth policy plan and the current Kalispell City -County Master Plan, the development proposal does not comply with either. It is also clear that the rezoning of this property is not a simple housekeeping matter based on the validation of the existing plan designation for the area by both planning board and the commissioners when rezoning some of the property from SAG-10 to B-2 and I-1H in 1994. Additionally, the application leaves many issues inadequately addressed. It may appropriate for the city council to reject the master plan amendment as proposed and returned the application to the developer based on the lack of information and the many unanswered questions to date including: ® the lack of any clear process that insures what the developer will build, • the fact that the mall proposal only accounts for 85 or so acres and the remaining 65 or so acres are not mentioned, ® the unanswered questions surrounding the provision of all services in this area, and ® non-compliance with a substantial number of goals and policies in the draft growth policy including the land use designation on the draft growth policy map; In light of the above shortcomings, staff would recommend that if the applicant is willing to pursue the project, that it be done so under the "neighborhood plan process." The plan area could incorporate not only the applicant's property, but some of the lands in the immediate area of influence of the project in order to plan for the future uses in the area outside the mall. The neighborhood plan process could insure that the issues that have been identified can be fully addressed and thus allow the council to make an informed decision about the future land use of the area that will serve the greater community. It would probably take several months (not years) to complete the neighborhood plan review process. While the neighborhood plan process would not in itself guarantee approval of the mall project, it would allow the city council and county commissioners to more fully address the issues required to make an informed decision. If either the applicant or the council is unwilling to follow through with the neighborhood plan process, staff feels it must recommend denial of the proposal as presented.