Loading...
11. Conditional Use Permit - Freedom House (Tabled Sept 7)Tel 406.758.7709 Fax 406.758.7771 charball@kalispell.com 'boa Kalispell City Council Jane Howington, City Manager F 0 I: Charles Harball, City Attorney DATE: October 4, 2010 — Regular Council Meeting SUBJECT: Conditional Use Permit for Freedom rouse of Kalispell, Inc. -- Tabled August 2, 2010 and September 7, 2010 This matter was tabled at the regular meeting of Council on August 2, 2010 to September 7, 2010 for the purpose of allowing the property owner to file an agency letter indicating approval and interest in the conditional use permit as applied for by Freedom House of Kalispell, Inc. [Freedom House] . That agency letter was submitted and the matter was again considered on September 7, 2010. Council heard more evidence from the applicant and from the public and determined that it was in the best interest of the applicant and the public to again table the matter until it could be discussed in a workshop session to ensure that the Council had a firm grasp on the legal parameters under which it is operating as well as the issues brought forth by the neighborhood. The Council has now had the opportunity to discuss the matter more fully at a workshop and has taken more public comment from the applicant and the neighborhood. Based upon the discussion the Council has had with the staff during the prior meetings and workshops it would seem that there are three different directions Council could take that are summed up as follows: 1. } The Council could choose to male the determination that this particular use does not require a conditional use permit. Basically such a finding would be that the use is primarily a permitted residential use within the R--4 zone and that therefore no conditions will be placed upon such use. If that is the Council's desire, a motion should be made that, based upon the record, the Council finds that the proposed use is most appropriately a permitted residential use not requiring a Conditional Use Permit and that therefore, no permit be issued. CUP for Freedom House of Kalispell, Inc. October 4. 2010 Page - 2 2.) The Council could choose to determine that a conditional use permit be issued with certain conditions attached. There has been much discussion regarding what conditions may be placed on this use that are allowable under federal later that would not be deemed discriminatory against this protected class. Council should consider that conditions placed on the residential uses of this property must not be any more restrictive than conditions placed on other residences within the zone. Further, the conditional use process that targets a specific property must not be used as an attempt to correct general parking and density issues within a neighborhood or zone. A primary concern raised about this facility, however, is the apparent lack of oversight, which addresses the nonresidential use of the property (treatment of addiction). Even though the Zoning Administrator chose to frame this matter as a Community Residential Facility because of its similarity to that statutorily defined use, the applicant's proposed use has no state licensing or oversight requisites. Based upon testimony received., the Council may consider a condition that requires that the facility have a resident manager. The current plan of the facility is to continue to have such a manager but there is currently no requirement for that on the part of the City. If this is the direction that the Council wishes to go, or if there are other conditions it grants placed on the facility, it should make that determination, move to table the matter to give staff the necessary time to return at a regularly scheduled meeting with a properly drafted Conditional Use Permit for Council consideration. 3.) Finally, the Council could determine that it will deny the conditional use permit. Staff is recommending that the Council not take this action as it would operate as an outright prohibition against the proposed use of the property. That action would be difficult to defend and to show that the City has taken the necessary action to provide reasonable accommodation for the applicants. Respectfully submitted, Charles HaAall, City Attorney ane Howington, City Manh6r Office of City Attorney City of Kalispell Return to: Kalispell City Clerk Po Box 1997 Kalispell, MT 59901 City of Kalispell P. o. Pox 1997 Kalispell, Montana 59903-1997 GRANT of CONDITIONAL USE APPLICANT: Freedom House of Kalispell, Inc. Po Box 3532 Kalispell, MT 59903 LEGAL DESCRIPTION: Lot 4 of Bloch 146, Kalispell Addition 1 located in Section 18, Township 28 North, Range 21 West, P.M.M., Flathead County, Montana ZONE: Two Family Residential, R-4 The applicant has applied to the City of Kalispell for a conditional use pernu*t to locate a clean and sober house for eight or fever men recovering from alcohol or drug addictions in an existing home in a Two Family Residential, R-4, zoning district. The facility falls under a special provision in the state statutes that gives them a specific "residential" status. The Kalispell City Planning Board and zoning Commission, after due and proper notice, on July 13, 2010, held a public hearing on the application, tools public comment and recommended that the application be denied. .After reviewing the application, the record, the KPD report, and after duly considering the matter, the City Council of the City of Kalispell, pursuant to the Kalispell Zoning ordinance, hereby adopts Kalispell Planning Department Conditional Use Report #KCU-10-4 as the Councils findings of fact, and issues and grants to the above -described real property a conditional use permit to locate a clean and sober house for eight or fewer men in an existing home in a Two Family Residential, R.-4, zoning district subject to the following conditions: 1. It is suggested that Freedom House hold a neighborhood meeting quarterly for the first two years of operation to foster improved neighborhood relations, to increase awareness of the operations and activities of Freedom House and to create a forum to accept neighborhood concerns or issues in the future. 2. The Freedom House sign shall be removed within 10 days of approval of the conditional use permit. Dated this day of 12010. STATE OF MONTANA. ss County of Flathead Tamnzi Fisher Mayor On this day of , 2010, before me, a Notary Public, personally appeared TamrDi Fisher, Mayor of the City of Kalispell, known to me to be the person whose name is subscribed to the within instrument and acknowledged to me that she executed the same on behalf of the City of Kalispell. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed my Notarial Seal, the day and year first above written. Notary Public, State of Montana Printed Marne: Residing at Kalispell, Montana My Commission Expires September 28, 2010 Mayor and City Council Again, I want to thank you for your time and attention to the issues of Freedom House particularly, and sober living facilities generally. I remain convinced that there is a way that persons dedicated to their recovery can live and prosper in our neighborhoods and communities. However, the example shown to us by the actions ❑f the Board of Freedom House to date is not the way. Pursuing the conditional use permit process has allowed stakeholders to present information. I believe the conditional use permit process revealed ambiguity and gaps in city and state legal tools and process for this new type of entity. I think we must take our knowledge forward and address the ambiguity and gaps collaboratively with state government officials. Sober living facilities need a strong foundation, as a genuine community residential facility, or as a new entity. whatever the chosen designation, state and local governments need to develop aspects of the foundation relevant to their jurisdiction AND congruently, or at least in parallel, with other jurisdictional authority. I want to support your work in this direction. I will not be able to attend future meetings as I have a new position beginning Oct 1 in Helena. I will remain a homeowner in Kalispell, working on my house weekends. I plan ongoing communication with neighbors and will continue to communicate in writing/email with you and other city officials. Respectfully, Allison Ann Bishop 11153rdAve w From: Phil & Michelle Guiffrida [phil.cjpllc@yahoo.com] Sent: Monday, September 27, 2010 10:50 PM To: Theresa White; Jane Howington; Theresa white; Judi Funk; Michelle Anderson Subject: Freedom House City of Kalispell, Please review my request that the State and City Jointly investigate Freedom House and their "Sober Living Facility!" I am fairly certain they can be defined as a true Community Residential Facility with the statements of fact I addressed tonight. The State of Montana would most likely deny their license removing your liability. I think Freedom House is being coached by Landlord Rep Tara Norick, I also believe that they will try to rescind the CUP application. This will also give you an out, leaving us to suffer. I would also like to point out that there was a lot of talking taking place in the gallery area during this workshop. In the future I would request that something be said about this disruptive behavior as it took away from my ability to listen to public comment. (I am also talking about the interesting lady with the pooper scooper that kept trying to talk to me!) Sincerely, Phillip Guiffrida III Allison Ann Bishop 1115 P Avenue W Kalispell MT 59901 September 27, 2010 Kalispell City Council and Mayor City of Kalispell Planning Board and City of Kalispell Planning Department During the past month, concerned neighbors have continued to collect information about sober living facilities across the country to learn what helps, and does not help, facilities to be successful in the community. Relapse and failure are as much a part of a full and complete recovery as other factors. It is imperative that sober living facilities have diligent and meaningful oversight and hold themselves accountable ---and are likewise held accountable —to rules and regulations, lawfully generated from state and city entities, which provide the necessary backbone for the program and the communities in which they reside. I ask the Mayor and Council to address the following: The report from the Planning Board regarding the request for a conditional use permit (document #KCU-10-4) must be amended to describe the actual circumstances of the property. Remove biased conjecture and state the facts. This is a foundation document for any decision and must be accurate. At the minimum, amendment must address: (1) dwelling size and condition vis a vis density of persons on the property. It is not a duplex. The garage contains an apartment with its own occupancy requirements which must be considered, (2) parking requirements for the correctly described dwelling, (3) removal of commentary regarding "no impact on the neighborhood" and "no impact on property values." If Council intends to implement any City government authority, e.g. conditions/ordinances.. assure that they can be enforced. Formulate clear rationale for the decisions. All of us need to be able to understand the structure we develop so as to be able to make it better. Shifting the monitoring burden to neighbors places responsibility on wrong shoulders. Compliance and accountability must be to legitimate authority. To date, the hallmark of Board of Freedom House is evasion of accountability to anything outside its own Board's arbitrary rule enforcement. Placing unenforceable conditions will only enable further evasion. This type of housing must be held accountable somewhere, and be subject to the rights and responsibilities of that designation —as a business, as a documented, legitimate not -for -profit, as a leasee/subleasee, or as a community residential facility with licensure and regulation. It cannot exist as "not quite anything", and therefore unaccountable. I ask you take your perspective as city government officials forward to Montana government officials, both department and elected officials. An effective and accountable structure for community based treatment exists in the intersection of state and local authority. The structure in this intersection needs to be developed and coordinated. we need to take the experience and knowledge, from all points of view, forward --for ourselves and other communities in Montana. Respectfully, Allison Ann Bishop Theresa White From: Jeremy Olmsted Dolmsted @ krmc.orgj Sent: Monday, September 27, 2010 :37 PM To: Theresa White Subject: Freedom House To whoa it may concern, It has been brought to my attention that the members of the council would like to hear the effects of having the Freedom House move into the unit in front ❑f us has affected us. We have tried to remain as neutral as possible and not voice to much as we did not want to sound like we were complaining. These men truly are trying to better themselves and have been stuck in a very difficult position and we did not want to come across like we were opposed to this, because we are not, we want these men to better themselves and move past their previous demons. We also have tried to remain somewhat less vocal as we did not want to harm our relationship with the men or our landlord by voicing what we have been feeling. We still have to live there and want to get along with the men and our landlord without bias or negative feelings that could cause unwelcome feelings or consequences. That being said I would like to outline two side effects of the Freedom House moving in. The first part will be the physical effects and the second will be the emotional. 1. Physical Effects a. In my previous email to the council I talked about the side effects of the smoking I would like to further elaborate on this as some other things have come up that I wasn't able to mention. First of all I would like to outline our how I handled the situation. While I was away on a business trip the men had only been there for a few weeks. My wife informed me that these men were looking into our windows and smoking right next to them, we had not had our child yet so it was just her at home. She called Skyler Norick and informed him of what was going on. He said he would talk to the men which seemed to help..briefly. Now I am not sure if the men were originally setup on the lawn with a table or they moved over there after Skyler talked to them. when I got back they had a table setup out in the lawn near the face which would be to the left looking out or windows. During this time it wasn't too hot so we just left the windows closed and dealt with it because any breeze would blow the smoke right into our house. As the weather began to get hotter this became an issue. We would try to open up the windows and we had fan running upstairs to try and blow some cool air in as our upstairs would get extremely hot. Since it was just the two of us we pretty much dealt with it especially since there were no laws or recourse to make them stop smoking. We then had an emergency c-section and were in the hospital for two weeks. When we got out of the hospital for some reason they had moved the table and the chairs to the patio which is right next to our living room window and below our bedroom window. This became a huge issue we continually had second hand smoke in our house if we tried to open up the windows. I decided to call Randy Marr as he had given me his business card and told me to contact him with any issues or concerns. I talked with him and asked if we could setup some sort of schedule so the men wouldn't smoke past a certain time so we knew we could open up the house and not worry about waking up with smoke pilfering into our room and downstairs. When I talked to him and asked this he said that sounded more than reasonable but since he wasn't at the house much and didn't know what was going on to talk with his manager Bill. When I talked with bill and explained that I had talked with Randy he said that yes he had talked to him and that he said he couldn't/wouldn't do that. He said the men already had enough rules and that he was sorry but wouldn't. All he could do was ask if they could move over to the side. I tried to explain the side effects and health issues for nay wife and I but mainly for the new baby. Second hand smoke is terrible for infants. He refused. So we proceeded be on constant watch. We would open our windows and whenever they would go out to smoke we would hurry and close the windows run upstairs and turn off the fan. It was quite frustrating. Then there were quite a few times when it would be 1, 2,. 3 am pretty much all hours of the night that we would wake up and have smoke coming into our house. I again called hoping to talk to the president which was the new gentleman since Randy has 1 stepped down. But Bill called again and I asked if we could at least stop the all night smoking which again he said the men have different work schedules and he would not. We never did call Tara about this because we felt like she was for the Freedom House and we didn't have any laws or rules that we could try to enforce so we felt like it was a mute point and something we just had to deal with. We were very very frustrated. Then on top of all that we decided to try and open the windows during the day and evening as long as we could before they would come smoking since no one was supposed to be on premise during the 9-5 hours. We then had men hanging out during the day smoking throughout the day and still do have men coming and going throughout the day not just for picking something up but prolonged periods. b. Sound is an issue I be it smaller then the smoking but still when you get that many men they are right next to our windows talking on the cell phones, laughing sometimes playing music and your windows are open you hear everything. We have overheard counseling sessions that Bill was giving to the men. This concerned nee that one it was somewhat loud but also it shouldn't be our business what he issues were and how they were handling therm. The sound also comes into play since they sometimes are out all hours of the night that we have the little one that gets woken up and wakes us up as well. Like I said not as big of an issue as the smoking as they did try to stay quieter later at night not always successful but was pretty good. c. During my phone calls with Randy and Bill I had also asked therm what the curfew meant one being the 9-5 not there and the other the 10 being back there at the home. when we had originally talked with Randy and his wife when we had a garage sell and they introduced themselves my wife had asked what the 10 o'clock curfew meant because they were staying out and smoking and talking somewhat loud. His wife told mine that 10 meant inside and that if we caught them talking loud or smoking to tell there to stop since they weren't supposed to be out there anyway. I tried to ask both bill and Randy to confirm this and every time they never answered my question and just moved on. This concerns me since it seems like they are not being enforced. The other thing that is part of this is we have observed on numerous occasions what seems to be more than 4 men that is currently supposed to be allowed living there. So if simple things aren't being enforced what about the larger things. d. The garage which has a divider wall that is open at the top so fumes and smoke drift over into our side was an issue for a while with fumes and seems to becoming more of an issue as the weather gets worse. There was a gentleman living at the house that was working on his car that wasn't running well. He would try to get it started and not open the garage door and the fumes would make your eyes water and would start to come into our house. Carbon monoxide is deadly and seemed to happen quite regularly. He was a very nice man and finally got the car running so that isn't an issue anymore but concerns me that this could happen again. The smoking thing seems to be where when the weather is worse and they aren't allowed to smoke inside they go to the garage. well we have stuff on our side boxes and coats and stuff that if they continue to do this all of our stuff is going to begin to smell like smoke. Including our car if we happen to leave the windows rolled down. This greatly concerns me since they are just moving the smoking to another location that is inside. we open our door to go out and the smoke/smell comes right in when they do smoke out there. I am not sure if this is going to happen on a more regular basis or if it was just a few times but this is not good. e. with the smoking and the talking we have at times felt like we were in a prison rather than a home. We felt like we couldn't open windows to let fresh air in. We couldn't open up the blinds because they would look into our house. It felt very restrictive. 2. Emotional Effects a. This has affected nay wife's emotions a lot more then I would like it to, at times she is in tears from this. Not being able to open up the house, having the smoke issue, have been big. But even bigger she still has in the back of her head the safety of herself and our child. They have never done anything aggressive or out of control but when she hears violent offenders or sex offenders its hard to get it out of your head no matter how much they promise they won't rent to them. with the recent news of Randy being put in jail because he slipped up was just a reinforcement in her mind of the worry that what happens one of the men that already have a potential history slip up. I am not going to lie I have to 2 listen to her concerns so it does worry me. The stress of having to always be on edge of what might they do, it only takes once. b. We now almost feel like because the Freedom house has moved in that we have to move out. We don't understand why we have to change or conform to dealing with issues that we have tried to fix but nothing has come of it. The only course of action in our minds to fix the issue is to move. Which brings another stress finding another place that fits within our budget restrictions is not easy. c. overall the stress of worrying about the health and safety of our family has taken its toll we try not to be negative to the men but its not always easy when they are the cause because of the situation that has been force upon them. They were moved into a place that does not fit well with what they are trying to do. with two living spaces so close together having 4+ individuals there living habits are going to effect and flow into the other living space. when this living habits are so different ie. Smoking, than the other space it begins to cause friction and issues. They need to be free of outside influences and focus on what they are trying to do which is get better, which I think everyone is for. We really want these men to succeed in getting their lives back on track. We have sat back and thought what could we do to help these men and we felt strongly that taking a back seat at first was the best approach partly due to we had to lure there but also we didn't want to sound like we were just complaining. which is the reason why we haven't contacted Tara more often. It seems though that maybe taking a back seat wasn't the best approach because it wasn't clear as to how this was effecting us. So in closing we have really tried not to sound as if we are complaining but our hope is that we were informative and helpful so that the best decision could be made in the issues that have been brought up in regards to Freedom House. I do hope that the best interest of not only the men that are part of Freedom house but also the people directly and indirectly affected will be taken into consideration. We hope to see you at the meeting tonight and be able to answer any more questions that you might have. Best Regards, Jeremy Olmsted Theresa White From: neighbor hood 3rdaveneighborhood@gmail.comj Sent: Saturday, September 25, 2010 10:24 AM To. dtesta@flath eadbeacon. com; news@flath eadbeacon.com; edit@ daiiyinteriake.com; jmann @ dailyinterlake.com; hgaiser@ dailyinteriake.com; csoptelean @ dailyinterlake.com; kalbertson @ dailyinterlake.com; cchase @ dailyinteriake.com; comm unity@ dailyinteriake.com; jheadley@ kcfw.com; bswan @ keci.com; news @ kcfw.com; Jane Howington; Theresa white; Theresa White; Judi Funk; Michelle Anderson Subject: Freedom House of Kalispell's President Randall Marr arrested after causing a disturbance at a hospital while intoxicated. Top story on KCFW news last night. We would like to thank Reporter Jessica Headley for her continued communication to the 3rd Ave Neighbors and her fair and ballanced reporting on this issue. htt://www.nbemontana.com/news/25l5l.7l2/detail.html Freedom House of Kalispell needs to become a State Licensed Community Residental Facility. There needs to be oversight by the Montana Department of health and Human Services. The current board of Freedom House are rehab profiteers. Their current management style is for their own personal benefit and they are hurting the very people they are trying to help. The neighborhood will continue to protect both the tenants of Freedom House and the property values/safety of the neighborhood. We will openly welcome a properly managed Community Residential Facility with licensing and oversight. Recovery when done correctly, and only with the cooperation of the addict will lead to proper assimilation back into society. This is the overall goal of the neighborhood. Please join us for the Monday night work session at the City Council Chambers on September 27 @ 7 : oo pin. htt :f/www.kalis ell.com/mayor/agenda.cfm property upon annexation be R-3, Urban Single Family Residential. BOARD DISCUSSION Hinchey said initially he was not in favor of this annexation until he heard Mr. Everett speak and now he strongly supports a recommendation to city council that they seriously consider annexation of the wholly surrounded properties. ROLL CALL The motion to approve annexation and initial zoning passed unanimously by a roll call vote. MOTION -- WHOLLY Griffin moved and Clark seconded a motion to recommend that the SURROUNDED city council move forward with the annexation of the entire wholly ANNEXATION surrounded island referred to as Greenacres. BOARD DISCUSSION Graham said he wants to make sure that everything is done to address the concerns of the neonle who live in this area and Jemt7: said everyone will be contacted by letter inviting them to a public meeting, the annexations will be reviewed by the board and a public hearing will be held. Clark said he is a representative of the Evergreen water and Seger Board and their drive has been to get as many septic tanks and leaching fields out of the area as they can. There are currently 1800 septic systems in the Evergreen area. Although not all property owners will be supportive of annexation the city is going to have to annex these properties otherwise the state will mandate annexation. Schutt said because it is within state law to forcibly annex these wholly surrounded properties it is the best long-term solution and how that process is managed is up to city council. Mendius said there is a corridor of city limit property down willow Glen Drive and noted that the city limits in some areas are only the road. In view of that to call this wholly surrounded property is, in his opinion, a stretch. Mendius said if he was on the city council he would be apprehensive of annexing this large block of properties based on that. Mendius added he is not against annexation but if the majority of residents in the block of land were against annexation the city may run into problems. Mendius said he is opposed to this advisory to the city council. ROLL CALL I The motion passed on a roll call vote of 6 in favor and 1 opposed. FREEDOM MOUSE A request by the Freedom House of Kalispell, Inc. to operate a CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT clean and sober house (The Freedom House) for men recovering from alcohol or drug addictions. The property where the Freedom House is located is zoned R-4 (Two Family Residential). The property is Located on the west side of the street midblock on Third Avenue West between l lth and 12t' Streets West. The property can Kalispell City Planning Board Minutes of the meeting of July 13, 2010 Page 4 of 14 be legally described as Lot 4 of Block 146, Kalispell Addition 1 located within Section 18, Township 28 North, Range 21 west, P.M.S., Flathead County, Montana. The Freedom. Douse is operated as a clean and sober house which provides an environment for persons actively seeking recovery from alcohol and other drugs. Under the Fair Housing Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act, the city's zoning regulations are required to provide reasonable accommodations for such uses. Because of this requirement, no conditions may be placed on the conditional use permit that would not otherwise apply to residences m general. Additionally, the conditional use permit cannot be denied by the governing body and the public hearing is intended as a forum for information and public comment. STAFF REPORT KCU--10-04 Sean Conrad representing the Kalispell Planning Department reviewed staff report KCU-10-04. Conrad reviewed the location of the Freedom Douse which is on Yd Avenue Nest, between l 1 th and 12th Streets west. The property is zoned R-4 (Two -Family Residential). Conrad said Freedom House is requesting to operate a clean and sober house for men recovering from alcohol or drug addictions. Conrad said that specific type of use is not listed in the city's RW4 zones however there is a provision in the zoning ordinance that allows the zoning administrator to determine the most appropriate classification if that particular use is not listed in the ordinance. Based on the information the city received from the Freedom. House clean and sober houses most closely resemble a community residential facility which requires a conditional use permit in the R-4 zoning district. Conrad added typically when this board has seen community residential facilities they need licensing from the state and in this case there would be no licensing requirements. The clean and sober house falls under the provisions of the Fair Dousing Act and under the Act cities need to provide reasonable accommodation for people recovering from alcohol and drug addiction. The city's reasonable accommodation for this use is to provide the public forum for the neighborhood's comments. He added staff reviewed this request like other residential community facilities to make sure it would maintain the outward appearance of a residence and doesn't present any negative impacts to the neighborhood. Conrad reviewed the property and the house and noted surrounding the house is primarily single-family housing however to the north there is a duplex and a small apartment complex. Legends held is also to the south of the property. Although limited signage is allowed in the R--4 zoning district it is mainly limited to charitable organizations, non --profits and individual families. Based on the Kalispell City Planning Board Minutes of the meeting of July 13, 2010 Page 5 of 14 definitions of signs in the zoning ordinance staff felt that the Freedom House sign went beyond what would normally be found in a residential neighborhood and is recommending that the sign be removed if the conditional use permit is approved. Staff' recommends that the Kalispell City Planning Board and ,Zoning Commission adopt staff report CU-10--04 as findings of fact and recommend to the Kalispell City Council that the conditional use permit be approved subject to the 2 conditions listed in the staff` report. Conrad asked the board to review the letters from concerned neighbors that were distributed before the meeting. BOARD DISCUSSION Hin.chey said he was confused about the number of occupants and asked if 8 people would be allowed in the facility and Conrad said yes, S unrelated persons are allowed in a household. Hinchey asked why this house was defined as a duplex when the units are not connected. Conrad explained in gears past when the permit was issued for a duplex the buildings just had to be structurally attached and people would connect them by 2x4's. In the zoning ordinance update there will be a definition of "structurally attached" which includes a common roof line. Current r zoning would not allow the 2 separate houses on one lot in an R--4 zone. Graham questioned how 8 men could live in such a small house. Griffin said he was confused by the parking. If there are 8 people plus the manager at the residence there is the potential for 9 cars. Conrad said in the application they anticipate up to 4 cars and since this is being reviewed as a single-family residence they meet the minimum of 2 off-street parking spaces based on the garage and parking in front of the garage off the alley. Gri ffm asked when would that many cars become an issue for the Police Department and Conrad said if a car has not been moved for 22 hours then it becomes a violation. Conrad added it is a public street so they can park anywhere along the street. Jentz added there are 2 housing units and the parking required is 4 off-street spaces — 2 per unit. Any overflow parking would be on the public street. Griffin said in reading through the letter from the attorney from Washington, D.C. and the attorney's interpretation of Federal law pertaining to the status of the individuals who will be living at the facility, they would be considered handicapped. Conrad said yes, staff looked up the citations in the letter and that is correct. Clark asked if there is any delineation between rentals and Kalispell City Planning Board Minutes of the meeting of July 13, 20 10 Page 6 of 14 purchased property and Conrad said no. APPLICANT/TECHNICAL Randall Marr, P.O. Box 3532, Kalispell said he is the President of REPORT the Board of Directors of Freedom House of Kalispell, Inc. Marr said they are a Montana non-profit corporation operating a clean and sober house at 1128 3rd .Avenue west. The Freedom House is a safe and sober environment that is provided to newly sober men where they have mutual support and go to meetings together, encourage each other and monitor each other. Their facility is not a drug rehab facility and they do not employ counselors. There is one meeting a week where the residents get together to talk about house issues. Graham said a letter from a neighbor included the Freedom House website page which clearly states that they operate a rehab program and Marr said that is incorrect. There is a national website that lists the Freedom House as a referral but they do not operate a rehab facility. Board members questioned why this facility would not be licensed and Hinchey said it sounds like Freedom House is operating a boarding house and Conrad said yes, they take in men who are trying to get clean and sober and as Mr. Marr said they don't offer any services that would require licensing. Graham noted there is no monitoring other than the manager and there are no rules for the residents. Marr said they have a sober living plan where they must attend AA or NA meetings per week; have an AA or NA sponsor; and curfews are in place. Drug testing is done on a random basis and the residents know they could be tested at any time. They don't tolerate anyone there that is using drugs or alcohol and they don't allow anyone in the house who uses medical marijuana. Marr continued they currently have 5 residents and a volunteer manager. The manager works outside the home during the day but is present in the home at night. If the manager is absent a board member will fill in. The house manager has experience with recovery and is active in AA and NA. In addition the board has developed criteria for the manager's position. The house has 4 bedrooms, one full bath and one 3I bath. The residents pay monthly rent and commit to 90 days. Major maintenance would be done by the owner and minor items by the men living in the facility. If they become aware that anyone in the house is under the influence of alcohol or drugs they are immediately evicted. If a problem occurs the police will be called. Marr suggested the board do an on-line search for the Oxford House that is a national clean and sober house organization for additional information on the operation of a facility such as this one. Marr said typically there are very few problems at these Kalispell City Planning Board Minutes of the meeting of July 13, 2010 Page 7 of 14 homes because they are there for a mutual co nuuo n purpose, to stay sober and drug free and to live productive and responsible lives. There are a lot of fears initially in the neighborhoods when a clean and sober house moves in but the whole point in having this house is to help them clean up and stay off the streets. Marr said chances are that neighborhood has active alcoholics and drug addicts living there that are more of a threat than any man in this house would be. Graham asked about the screening process for the residents and Marr said they screen the residents because they want to know who is corning into the house. Mar added however, a prior criminal conviction or being on probation is not something that would exclude a person from moving in. Hi.n.chey asked Mr. Marr's involvement with the house and he said he is the President of the Board of Directors and he visits Freedom House almost daily. Marr said he is essentially the off -site manager of the house and the board has designated hire as being the liaison with the manager. Hinchey asked if the tenants come from the court system and Marr said the judges in the city and county are aware of Freedom House but they haven't had any direct referrals from the court system but have had a few referrals from the probation department. Mendius asked Marr to describe the parking situation and Marr said they do have a 2 car garage and 2 parking spaces in front of the garage. Right now there is only one resident who has a car and the reality is a lot of the men are coming in without driver's licenses and cars -- they are on bicycles and so parking is not an issue at this point and they don't anticipate that it will be. Mendius asked if these men would be homeless if not in their facility and Marr said no mostly they do not want to return to the environment they were in when they were using. Freedom. House is not a shelter but a self-supporting home and the residents pay rent and are already working when they move in. There may have been one person who moved in without anywhere else to go because they do burn bridges with family and landlords when in an active alcoholic or drug use condition. Mendius asked if the residents are from the Flathead and Marr said out of the 5 residents they have now only one is from Helena and the rest are from the Flathead. Graham asked if there is a convicted sexual offender in the house. Darr said at this time they have no one who is a convicted sex offender or anyone listed on the violent offender registry. Marr said he checks the registers when renting to a person. Marr pointed out there are a number of offenders in the neighborhood but not in this house. Kalispell City Planning Board Minutes of the meeting of July 13, 2010 Page 8 of 14 UBLIC NEARING Phillip Guiffriday III stated he owns the duplex located directly north o f this facility at 1124 & 1126 3 ��� Avenue west. He currently has a tenant in 1126 3rd Avenue West and he resides in 1124 3rd Avenue west with his wife and b month old child. Guiffrida reviewed a number of concerns listed in the attached letter. Jeannie McFarland, 1135 3rd Avenue west said she lives across the street from Freedom House and agrees with the comments made by Mr. Guiffrida. She has concerns with the number of kids who live or hang out by her home who are attending events at Legend's held because now there is this unknown in the neighborhood -- 8 adult men from the Freedom House. She is concerned to finad the vice - President of the facility's board is a sexual offender and there is a violent offender living there. She is a single parent and now feels her daughter can't hang out in their front yard any longer. Her other concerns include: the inaccurate information on the website; and the affect the facility already has had on property values. She added they don't have the comfort level in their neighborhood they had before the Freedom House moved in. Melissa Evano ff, 182 North Belmar Drive said she was moving back into a house right next to the entrance of the held and now she is having second thoughts. She has always been a stay at home morn and home schools her kids and she will be going back to work and her kids will be home alone. She also didn't think with the drug/alcohol use by the kids who attend events at the held it is the best place for the residents of Freedom 1-louse because they would constantly be exposed to that behavior. She feels this is a disaster waiting to happen. Jerri Guiffrida staffed she owns the small apartment complex on the corner. She wants the board to know on Mr. Marr's face book entry he was talking about how well they are doing and that they were thinking about establishing more locations. She said the board can deal with it now or deal with it over and over as it spreads through the whole City of Kalispell and she hopes the board will deal with it now. Phil Guiffrida., Jr., 1506 Greendale Court agreed with his wife in that the situation isn't going to stop here. This is not the right location for this type of facility. His other concerns included: the condition of the home; the house is too small to accon ucnodate 8 adults; parking; and the narrowness of 3rd Avenue west making it difficult for emergency services to respond. He also questioned its "non --profit" status. Allison Bishop, 1115 3d Avenue west asked that the board and staff generate a report that truly reflects what is going on and don't bias it one moray or the other. That will serve everyone the best in Kalispell City Planning Board Minutes of the meeting of July 13, 2010 Page 9 of 14 the end. Because of the way Freedom House moved in it is difficult to trust that the management there will keep a very detached approach if there are problems. Bishop said she wishes there would have been a more open approach initially that would have allowed there to voice their concerns and work together toward a better resolution. David Mosby, 233 Co clet Lane said he owns property about I block from the facility and he wasn't aware that it was there until he got a letter in the mail. He has bad a lot of exposure to AA., recovering alcoholics and drug addicts, he raised one. All they are trying to do is give these men a place to stay and have a community around then for support. This is not dangerous and if they show signs of acting out they have a contract with the management that says they have to leave. These guys are motivated. They wouldn't be in recovery or doing what they are doing if they weren't motivated which is a lot more than he can say for some of his neighbors. Mosby said there are going to be sex offenders and problems with neighbors anywhere you live and he doesn't see where a group of well -intending guys trying to make their lives better is going to hurt any neighborhood in Kalispell. He thinks it is a wonderful idea and he is totally for it and he would welcome them next door to him at any time. Beverly Boe, 233 Coclet Lane stated she is David Mosby's wife and when she got the notice in the mail she was very surprised because it sounded like it was already operating and it seemed it should have gone through a public review process beforehand. The facility has little or no supervision and she has mixed feelings about it. She added she agrees with her husband that they could have someone right next door with those problems and not know it. But it seems kind of shady to just slip in to a neighborhood, she added, and at the same time she asked where are these guys going to live if not in our neighborhoods. The best support for them is often alongside people who have been through recovery. MOTION Clark moved and Griffin seconded a motion to adopt staff report KCU- 10--04 as findings of fact and recommend to the Kalispell City Council that the conditional use pen -nit be approved subject to the 2 conditions listed in the staff report. BOARD DISCUSSION Griffin said in looking at this from a conditional use aspect he is having difficulty in determining what separates this facility from a motel or another business that would charge for rooms by night and Conrad said they are asking for a 90 day commitment and in a hotel/motel it is nightly rentals. Jentz said our zoning ordinance makes the distinction that daily/weekly rent is commercial and 30 days or more is residential. Kalispell City Planning Board Minutes of the meeting of July 13, 2010 Page 10 of 14 Clark said this is the classic case of a need to be filled but not in my back yard. Clark said it is probably the toughest decision that the board can make because we understand the neighbors are concerned and he understands who the Freedom House board is trying to help. That is why the state has that law and the only tu' ne the board rose above it was when a facility already had two houses in a neighborhood and was asking for a third. Because of the objections of the neighbors and the board the applicant, in that case, decided to withdraw the application and open a facility in another part of town. The board Gould dump this on city council with a unanimous recommendation to deny but council would still have to approve it because they have no choice. Clark said the board should approve the conditional use permit request but added Mr. Marr could have done a better job of communicating with the neighbors before they moved in. Schutt said it is obvious there has been a lack of communication and there is a serious lack of trust with the entire operation. MOTION -- AMEND Schutt moved and Graham seconded a motion to have Freedom CONDITION #1 House hold monthly neighborhood meetings to provide a venue for airing grievances and to be able proactively react to situations before they get out of hand. BOARD DISCUSSION Hinchey noted this appears to be a condition that would not be placed on a residential property. Conrad said based on the public testimony, letters and contacts staff received from the neighbors there was a lack of communication and that is why condition # 1 was added to help foster neighborhood awareness and relations with the Freedom House. Jentz said the board can .make the amendment to condition ##1 and the city attorney can look at it to detenyAne if it is a reasonable condition before it is forwarded on to city council. Hinchey asked Mr. Marr if they would consider meeting with the neighborhood and he said they did send out a flyer before anyone besides the manager had actually moved in to invite the neighbors to contact them if they had a chore that needed to be done. He said they did make some effort to communicate and would like some face--to-face time with the neighbors. He added both he and the manager are available by phone if there are any concerns. Hinchey asked if they had any problem with the condition to remove the sign and Mr. Marr said no. Further discussion was held on the motion to amend condition #1 and it was decided as follows: Kalispell City Planning Board Minutes of the meeting of July 13, 2010 Page 11 of 14 2" AMENDMENT — Schutt moved and Graham seconded an amendment to the motion. CONDITION #I to suggest quarterly meetings for the first 2 years of operation. ROLL CALL — AMEND The motion and amendment passed unanimously on a roll call vote. CONDITION #Z MOTION — TO LIMIT THE # Schutt made a motion to limit the number of residents to 6 however OF RESIDENTS IN the motion failed due to lacy of a second. FREEDOM HOUSE TO 6 BOARD DISCUSSION Schutt said recommendations for these facilities are always tough for the board. However it is an important service in the community and he thinks the people who are in recovery are probably less of a threat and disturbance to a neighborhood than people who aren't. Schutt said he will be voting to forward a recommendation of approval on to city Council. Hinchey said he feels a lot of the friction began with the sign and the way the process unfolded. Hinchey said it is too bad that neighbors were shocked into realizing what was happening. Hinchey added he thinks the record should show that in the future better connnunication would go a long way. Griffin said he will be voting against the motion because in his mind this is not the same classification as the other facilities they have reviewed. This facility has no state affiliation; no state licensing; no state governance; no state inspections and is totally free to do anything, anytime, anywhere they want within the lags of the city. Griffin said he doesn't agree the board should be told that they have to recommend approval regardless of the testimony, regardless of behavior and regardless of history. Graham said the board makes reco nun.endatio ns to the city council for approval or denial and he doesn't feel right voting in favor of something that he can't recommend. He added what city council does with it after that will be the final decision but he is voting against this conditional use permit because there is no oversight for the facility. ROLL CALL -- ORIGINAL The motion to approve the conditional use permit on a roll MOTION call vote of 2 in favor and 5 opposed. OLD BUSINESS: Jentz updated the board on the progress of the zoning ordinance updates. The changes will become effective August 18, 2010. Griffin discussed the issue of the owners of willow Creek requesting from the city council that they be able to retain their water rights on the ro erty. The council tabled the r uest until Kalispell City Punning Board Minutes of the meeting of July 13,,2010 Page 12 of 14 phase 3 of the subdivision to sort out the legal issues. Further discussion was held on updating the subdivision regulations to require water rights always be required to be turned over to the city. In addition Griffin said there were recommendations for changes to Willow Creek's conditions presented to council that the planning board did not have an opportunity to consider. Jentz noted there was discussion by council that these issues should be sent back to the planning board for review but since time did not allow that additional review all but the water rights issue were rejected by co unci e Griffin asked if a development can request an extension on the PUD through council and Jentz said they have 3 years to complete phase I of their preliminary plat and can request another year from city council for a total of 4 years. NEW BUSINESS: Graham suggested the board discuss how to handle similar requests for conditional use permits for facilities like the Freedom House in the future. Jentz said this is not a .Montana State protected facility it is a Federally protected facility. The board, staff and the neighborhood can get upset about it but when the Fair Mousing Act says you shall give reasonable accommodation you shall give reasonable accommodation. Further discussion was held. Jentz noted the board could consider cancelling the August I V, meeting due to lack of applications. MOTION To CANCEL THE Clark moved and Schutt seconded a meeting to cancel the August AUGUST 10, 2010 MEETING I O, 2010 meeting due to a lack of applications. VOTE BY ACCLAMATION The motion passed unanimously on a vote by acclamation. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at approximately 9:00 p.m. NEXT MEETING The next regular meeting of the Kalispell City Planning Board and zoning Commission is scheduled for September 14, 2010 at 7.-00 p.m. in the Kalispell City Council Chambers located at 201 First Avenue East in Kalispell. The next work session of the Kalispell City Planning Board and Zoning Commission is tentat scheduled for Tuesday, September 28, 2010 after the regular meeting in the Kalispell City Council Chambers located at 201 First .Avenue East in Kalispell. Kalispell City Planning Beard Minutes of the meeting of July 13, 2010 Page 13 of 14 PLANNING FOR THEFUTURE URE July 27, 2010 MONT"A Jane Howington, City Manager City of Kalispell P.O. Box 1997 Kalispell, MT 59903 Re: Conditional Use Permit for the Freedom House Dear Jane: Planning Department 201 1$' Avenue East Kalispell, MT 59901 Phone: (406) 755-7940 Fax: (406) 755-7739 www.kalispell.com/p!annina The Kalispell City Planning Board met on July 13f and held a public hearing to consider a request by the Freedom House of Kalispell, Inc. to operate a Glean and sober house (The Freedom House) for men recovering from alcohol or drug addictions. The property where the Freedom House is located is zoned R-4 (Two Family Residential) . Clean and sober houses are not listed in the Kalispell Zoning Ordinance. However, section 27.02.050 of the Kalispell Zoning Ordinance allows the zoning administrator to determine the appropriate classification for a use not listed in the zoning ordinance. Based on this section of the zoning ordinance and description of the intended use of the property, the zoning administrator has classified the use as a community residential facility requiring a conditional use permit to continue operating the Freedom House in the R--4 zoning district. The Freedom House occupies one unit of a duplex dwelling at 1128 Third Avenue west. The property is located on the west side of the street midblock on Third Avenue west between 11 thand 12thStreets west. The property can be legally described as Lot 4 of Block 146, Kalispell Addition I located within Section 18, Township 28 North, Range 21 West,, P.M.M. , Flathead County, Montana. Sean Conrad, with the Kalispell Planning Department, presented staff report KCU-1 0-4 and reviewed the proposed site plan. He recommended approval of the conditional use permit subject to 2 conditions. During the public hearing portion of the meeting Randall Marr, president of Freedom House of Kalispell spoke in favor of the project and answered questions from the board. One other person spoke in favor of the Freedom House. Seven people spoke against the project or had concerns with the Freedom House. Concerns included impacts to the parking in the area, incompatibility of the Freedom House with the neighborhood, impacts to property values and poor communication by the Freedom House with the neighborhood. No one else spoke either for or against the project and the public hearing was closed. During the planning board discussion there was general discussion on the nature of the Freedom House. A motion was made and seconded to recommend approval of the conditional use permit subject to the 2 conditions. Further board discussion included a motion to amend recommended condition # 1 to suggest quarterly meetings for the first 2 gears of operation. The motion to amend condition # 1 passcd unanimously. Following the planning board's motion to amend condition # 1, several planning board members discussed their concerns with. the Freedom House. Those concerns included the fact that the Freedom Mouse is not the same classification as the other community residential facilities the board has reviewed in the past. The Freedom House has no state affiliation; no state licensing; no state governance; no state inspections and is totally free to do anything, anytime, anywhere they want within the laws of the city. one planning board member took issue with the planning n i g board being told that they have to recommend approval of the use permit regardless of the testimony at the public hearing. Another planning board member expressed his concerns with the lack of oversight of the facility. Based on this discussion the planning board voted on the main motion to approve the conditional use permit. The motion failed on a vote of 5 to 2. Please schedule this matter for the August 2, 2010 regular City Council meeting. You may contact this board or Sean Conrad at the Kalispell Planning Department if you have any questions rega�rdffig this matter. Sincerely, Kalispell City Planning Board John Hinchey President Attachments.- Letter of transmittal Staff Report #KCU-10W-4 and supporting documents Draft minutes from. the 7 / 13 f 10 planning board meeting c W/ Att: Theresa White, Kalispell City Clerk c w/o Att: Freedom House of Kalispell, Inc. Randall Marr, President PO Box 3532 Kalispell, MT 59903 .: CONDITIONAL USE PERNaT KALISPELL CITY PLANNING BOARD FREEDOM HOUSE OF KALISPELL The Kalispell City Planning Board held a public hearing on this matter at the regularly scheduled planning board meeting on. July 13, 2010. The following conditions have been amended to reflect the actions taken by the planning board at their July I3thmeeting: I. t is suggested that Freedom. House hold a neighborhood meeting quarterly for the first 2 gears of operation to foster improved neighborhood relations, to increase awareness of the operations and activities of Freedom House and to create a forum to accept neighborhood concer r�s or issues in the future. • 2. The Freedom House sign shall be removed within 10 days of approval of the conditional use permit. -4'----EDOM HOUSE OF KALISPELL, INC, F1 Tr FOR A CONDITIONAL USE PER ifli KALISPELL PLANNING D.E.. STAFF REPORT #KCU- 10-4 This is a report to the Kalispell City Planning Board and Kalispell city Council regarding a request from the Freedom House of Kalispell, Inc. to operate a clean and sober house (The Freedom House) for men recovering from alcohol or drug addictions in. an R-4, Two - Family Residential, zoning district. A public hearing on this matter has been scheduled before the Planning Board for July 13, 2010 beginnm* g at 6:00 PM, in the Kalispell City Council Chambers. The planning board will forward a recommendation to the Kalispell City Council for final action. BACKGROUND TION: The Freedom. House of Kalispell, Inc. is requesting a conditional use permit to operate a clean and sober house (The Freedom. House) for men recovering from alcohol or drug addictions. Clean and sober houses are not listed in the Kalispell Zoning ordinance. However, section 27.02.050 of the Kalispell Zoning Ordinance allows the zoning administrator to determine the appropriate classification for a use not listed in the zoning ordinance. Based on this section of the zoning ordinance and description of the intended use of the property, the zoning administrator has classified the use as a community residential facility requiring a conditional use permit to continue operating the Freedom House in the R--4 zoning district. Although the Freedom. House is being classified as a community residential facility for the purposes of the Kalispell Zoning ordinance, the use does not need the required state licensing to operate. Petitioner; Freedom House of Kalispell, Inc. Randall Marr, President PO Box 3 532 Kalispell, MT 59903 (406) 257-771 S Size and Location: The Freedom House occupies one unit of a duplex dwelling at 112S 3rd Avenue west. The property is Located on the merest side of the street midblock on 3rd .Avenue west between 11 th and 12th Streets west. The property can be legally described as Trot 4 of Block 146, Kalispell Addition. 1 located within section. 18, 'Township 28 North, Range 21 Nest, P.M.M. , Flathead County, Montana. Figure 1. View of the Freedom House from 3rd Avenue vilest. A. Summary of Request: The Freedom House is operated as a clean and sober house which provides an environment for persons actively seeking recovery from alcohol and other drugs. The home opened up approximately 2 months ago and was brought to the attention of the planning department by neighbors upon seeing a sign placed on the front of the house identifying the home as "The Freedom House". Contact with the Freedom House and follow --up discussion led the applicant to submit a conditional use permit to operate the home at this location. However, the conditional use permit cannot be denied by the city council and the public hearing is intended as a forum for information and public comment. As part of their application the applicants retained the services of a lawyer who submitted a letter, dated April 29, 2010 and attached to this report, on the applicant's behalf detailing the pertinent sections of the Federal Fair Housing Act as it applies to the proposed use. Under the Federal Fair Housing Act a city cannot discriminate in the sale or rental of a dwelling to handicapped persons. Specifically, the letter cites section 3604 (f (3)(B) of the Federal Fair Housing Act which defines discrimination to include " a refusal to make reasonable accommodations in rules, policies, practices, or services, when such accommodations may be necessary to afford such [handicapped] persons equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling." Handicapped persons are defined in the 2 Code of Federal. Regulations, Title 24 Section. 100.201(a) (2) to include persons with drug addiction (other than addiction caused by current, illegal use of a controlled substance) and alcoholism. Therefore, under the Federal Fair Housing .Act, the city's zoning regulations are required to provide reasonable accommodations for such uses. Because of this requirement, no conditions may be placed on the conditional use permit that would not otherwise apply to residences in general. .Also, as stated above, the conditional use perrn.x.t cannot be denied by the city council. The conditional use permit application includes a brief summary of the operations of the Freedom House. The Freedom House expects to have a maximum number of eight residents at any one time. All residents are expected to be employed and are required to be out of the house between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. The Freedom House will have a volunteer house manager but will not have any paid therapeutic or counseling staff. All residents must comply with a sober living plan and participate in various 12 step programs to help with their addictions. There will also be a night curfew in place and all residents must submit to an alcohol and / or drug screening if requested by the house manager. Are addendum to the conditional use permit was submitted by the applicant requesting a waiver to the maximum number of unrelated persons that can be deemed a family. currently the zoning ordinance defines a family as one or more persons related by blood, marriage, adoption or a group of not more than four persons excluding servants, not related by blood or marriage, living together as a single housekeeping unit in a dweili.ng. The Freedom House conditional use permit request is to have up to eight persons with the home. The planning department has determined the use of the home most resembles a community residential facility. Based on the zoning ordinance definition of a community residential facility a maximum of eight persons are allowed within the home. Therefore, since the use is determined to be a community residential facility, it already implies that up to eight unrelated persons may occupy the home and no waiver is needed from this definition of the zoning ordinance. B. E7dstin.g Land Use and Zoning: The property is zoned R-4, Two -Family Residential, and is developed with a duplex. C. Adjacent Land Uses and Zoning: The immediate area is characterized by single- family homes on city lots on three sides of the property. A duplex and a small apartment complex are located north of the site. Legends field lies one block to the south. 3 Figure 2: Aerial view of the property and adjacent properties D. Relation to the Growth Policy: The current Kalispell city Growth Policy Map designates this area as urban residential, which provides the basis for the R--4, TIWO-- Fami]y Residential, zoning designation. Chapter 3, Policy 10 of the Growth Policy, states that single family homes are the primary housing types in the urban residential land use category. E. UtiHties j Services: Sewer service: City of Kalispell Water service: city of Kalispell Solid waste: city of Kalispell Gas: Northwestern Energy Electric. Flathead Electric Cooperative 4 phone: CenturyLink Police: City of Kalispell Fire: Kalispell Fire Department Schools: school District #5, Kalispell This application has been reviewed in accordance with the conditional use review criteria in the Kalispell Zoning Ordinance. 1. Site Suitability: a. Adequate Useable ace: The property is 7,100 square feet in size and contains an existing duplex with an attached two car garage. 'There is adequate space on the site for the proposed use. b. Adequate Access: The property is accessed off of 3rd Avenue West, an approximately 32 foot wide city street. The existing access is adequate to serve the home and its Occupants. C. Environmental Constraints: There are no obvious environmental constraints apparent on the property. 2. Appropriate Design. a. Parkm Scheme: One unit of the duplex will be used as a clean and sober house. Since the use is considered a single family residential use per federal later, the Kalispell Zoning Ordinance requires two off-street parking spaces per single family residential. home. The existing garage and parking in front of the garage meet this requirement. The application states that currently one resident has a vehicle at the site and it is anticipated that the ma.3d urn number of vehicles on the site may be four. Even at four vehicles there is off- street parking and on -street parking to accommodate the vehicles. b. Traffic Circulation: One to four vehicles may be present during the day and night hours. The use of the duplex as a clean and sober house is not expected to significantly alter current traffic circulation in the neighborhood. C. Open Space: No specific open space requirements are required under the R--4 zoning district other than the required setbacks. d. Fencing Screenin Landsca in : The existing house has fencing along the front and rear yards. The front of the house has landscaping typical of a residential. neighborhood. No changes are proposed from the current fencing and landscaping on the site. e. Sizn.age: In a neighborhood setting homes can typically be seen with a placard with the surname of residents of the home. This display is not considered a sign as a sign is defined as having symbols and. / or written copy designed specifically for the purpose of advertising or idenffying any establishment, product, goods, or service. A placard is currently displayed on the front of the house identifying it as the "Freedom House". This placard displayed at the Freedom House is in conflict with the city's sign ordinance. The R 4 zoning district permits signs for non-- residential uses and signs for identifying public, charitable and religious institutions. The sign displayed at the Freedom House does not denote a surname of the residence but contains portions of the name of the non-profit operating the home. The applicant has requested the Freedom House be given reasonable accommodations for their use within the neighborhood and the use be treated as a single-family residence. In keeping with the applicants request the planning department is recommending the sign be removed in order to maintain the character of the residential neighborhood treating the Freedom House as any other single-family residence. The planning board and city council should also be aware that most other group homes permitted wi tbin the city in the last few years have not requested nor have placed any outside signs indicating the use of the home as a group home or other facility. Figure 3: F)isting sign on the Freedom House 3. Availability of public Services / Facilities: a. Schools: This site is within the boundaries of School District #5. No impact is anticipated with the proposed use. b. Pans and Recreation.- There should be no significant impact on the pans and recreation programs and facilities as a result of this use. C. Police: Police protection will be provided by the Kalispell Police Department. No unusual impacts or needs are anticipated from the proposed use. d. Fire _..... Protection- Fire protection will be provided by the Kalispell Fire Department. use. No unusual impacts or needs are anticipated from the proposed e. water: City crater currently serves the existing duplex. No significant impact on water services can be anticipated. as a result of this use. f. Sewer: Sewer service is currently provided by the City of Kalispell. No significant impacts on city sever services can be anticipated as a result of the proposed use. g. Storm water Drainage: Storm grater runoff from the street and driveways is directed south of the site to existing storm water drains. h. Solid waste: Solid waste pick-up is provided by the City. This project will have no impact on current services. i. roads: Srd avenue west serves as the access road to the home. The street is in good condition. Neighborhood. impacts: The group home will be located in a Drell --established urban residential neighborhood. impacts to the neighborhood should be relatively insignificant as the residents will be working during the day wi.th an on. -site manager enforcing curfew during the evening and night hours. 5. Consideration of historical use patterns and recent changes: This area has historically included residential and apartment housing with little change over the years. 6. Effects on property values: No significant negative impacts on property values are anticipated. As previously mentioned, the proposal is compatible with the neighborhood, will not create any adverse impacts with regard to noise or traffic. COA1MENTS FROM ADJACENT PROPERTY 0'��� Prior to receiving the use permit application the pla r mn g department has talked with several of the neighbors in the area regarding the Freedom House. Concerns included the number of people staying at the house, traffic and not wanting this particular use within the neighborhood. A letter from an adjacent property owner to the council dated May 2, 20 10 outlining concerns and questions on the Freedom House is attached. The plann* g board and council cannot deny the use permit based on federal regulations. The planning board and city council may add conditions to the use permit that would maintain the residential character of the neighborhood. 7 The staff recommends that the plan mg board adopt the staff report # KCU-10-4 as findings of fact and recommend to the Kalispell City Council that the Conditional Use Permit be approved subject to the following conditions: 1. It is suggested that Freedom House hold a neighborhood meeting to foster mi-iproved neighborhood relations, to increase awareness of the operations and activities of Freedom. House and to create a forum to accept neighborhood concerns or issues in the future. 2. The Freedom. House sign shall be removed within 10 days of approval of the conditional use permit. ON CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT TO I R-4 (TWO FAMILY RESIDENTIAL)