Planning Board Minutes - June 13, 2006KALISPELL CITY
PLANNING BOARD & ZONING COMMSSION
NOWTES
OF REGULAR. MEETING
JUNE 13, 26
CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL
The regular meeting of the us e . City Planning Board and
CALL
Zon�r g Commission was called to order at . o o p.m. oard
members present were: Timothy Norton, Bob Albert, Rick
Hull, John Hinchey, and Robyn. Balcom. Ka.ri Gabriel and
Bryan Schutt had excused absences. Seams. Conrad, P.J.
Sorensen and Toni Jentz represented the Kalispell Pla nm*
Department. There were a. ro=*a.te y 30 people in the
audience.
Vice President Norton welcomed the new member of the
Kalispell City Planru'ng Board, Robyn Bad. om.
ELECTION OF OFFICERS -
Hinchey moved and Hull seconded to elect Timothy Norton
PRESMENT
as President of the Kalis eU City Planning Board.
ROLL CALL
The motion passed unanimously on a. roil call vote.
ELECTION OF OFFICERS -
Hinc .ey moved and Alpert seconded to elect Rick Hull as
VICE PRESM NT
Vice President ofthe KalispeH City Planning Board.
ROLL CALL
The motion passed unanimously on a roll calf vote.
APPROVAL OF NOWTES
Norton moved and Balcom seconded to approve the minutes
of the May 9, 2006 regular~ planning board meeting.
The motion passed unarfi ously on a. roll cad. vote.
HEAR THE PUBLIC
No one wished to speak..
HIGHWAY 3 NORTH
A request by the city of Kalispell to amend the Kalispell
GROWTH ► C
Groff Policy 2020 by expanding the ]ol, nda-Hes of the
AMIENDMIENT
Groff Policy northward using the Stillwater River as the
western. boundary, Church and Birch Dfives as the northern
boundary and generally following U.S. Highway 2, south. to
Rose Crossing. The Growth Policy amendment is intended to
give broad policy direction to growth in this area. should
property owners wish to annex to the city. The policy
anticipates the extension of urban services including sewer
and water into this area over time and is designed to give
guidance to this associated growth.
STAFF REPORT KGPA-06-
Tom Jentz, representing the Kalispell Planm*ng Department
2
presented Staff Report KG -06-02 for the Board.
Jentz described the Highway 93 North Groff Policy
.Amendment Ma.p for the Board and members of the
audience.
Jentz revIeweC the process of review and the meetings that
Kalispell City Planning Board
Minutes f the meeting of June 13, 2006
Page I of 21
were held regarding the growth policy amendment.
.dment.
Staff is recommending that the Kalispell City Planning Board
should take public comment at the public hearing. Based on
that comment and additional board discussion, the board
should make changes as they feel appropriate. Staff
recommends at that point the planning board should, by
resolution resole to recommend. the Highway 93 North
Growth. Policy Amendments is to the City Council for final
actlon and. adoption.
QUESTIONS BY THE In
Noe.
soaRn
UBC HEARING Rolland Andrews, has owned his property for 28 years, and
noted that the location of the government offices was
incorrect on the map. Andrews said he hkes the idea of
getting ahead and planning but he questions the 150 foot
buffer and asked were that came from. Norton said the 150
foot buffer was for aesthetic purposes and is a number that
they proposed during their discussions with. he County
board* Andrews said rear the neighborhood commercial is
the Decorator Warehouse who just got approval from the
County Board of Adjustment to expand their business and
e noted they built right on the highway R/W. dentz said the
proposed buffer has no impact on existing development just
new development that would be annexing into the City. dent
added the buffer would be more problematic when the
property is a small 1 acre piece of land on the highway. if it
is 400 acres on the highway it is a significantly different
issue. The goal was to create a highway that showed well for
generations to come and yet at the same time alloy for
development off of the highway.
Andrews ors said. 150 feet is a. lot of property, 93,000 square feet
or 2*9 acres. Andrews said that if you are talking about an
access road or frontage road that ro ldn"t take 150 feet and
added that aesthetics can be achieved with far less than 150
feet.
Norton asked, if they were considen'ng the buffer area as
contributing to the subdivision as park. Jentz said no, it is
intended to be where a. frontage road would be located, for
be='g and landscaping and a. pedestrian trail. Jentz added
that the buffer was are issue with the planning board because
this is a. significant highway for the valley.
Mayre Flowers, Citizens for a Better Flathead walked through
the policies and goals and her comments were as follows:
Goal. #1 Gateway Entrance standards. They support the
development of the Gateway Entrance standards and feel
that is very important not only aesthetically but to the
economic future of the KallspeR area.
Kalispell City Planning Board
mutes of the meeting of June 13, 2006
Page 2 of 21
Policies 3.b The policy states that access should be
coordinated to allow only collector and arteriai streets to
intersect and it says that the judicious use of right-of-way
approaches, frontage roads, and good interval street
development should be the rule. She has a concern about
the excessive use of frontage roads. She realizes that they do
lay a role but suggested using wording that sees them as a
lover riority option and as much as possible encourage
traffic to be funneled with interior roads.
i. iv. Four sided architecture is referenced and should be the
no= for development adjacent to the impacted area. She
thinks it would also be appropriate under g. 8& h.
3. i. to add "applications for development abutting or Within
the gateway entrance corridor shall be submitted as a PUD
with a sunset clause to discourage speculative and leap frog
development." She also suggested that this could be a. stand
alone policy.
Add a Policy #7 " Phasing wi'11 be established to provide for
groom from the city center outward to prevent premature
leap frog development and to ensure that neighborhood
residential development isn't placed to justify development o
neighborhood commercial areas."
Goad. 2. Covers the KN- 1 area on the ma., and in the
Ka .is e l Groff Polley under the land use and business
chapter on page 14, issue #7 notes that there has been a
question about the need and amount of commercial mercia.l and hght
i.d.ustrial property that is reed.ed for future groom but no
quantifiable information is available to assess the market
absorption and vacancy rates. Ten 'age 19, S. says "when
large scale development may have significant impacts on the
community, studies should be provided to assist in assessing
impacts including analysis related to traffic, infrastructure
and the cost of providingservices." o be in accordance with
hose policies within the Groff Policy Flowers
recommended adding a section that would. establish
Economic and Community Impact Review and she provided
the model for that language.
e.
Goal 2, 3. Flowers suggested that the percentages sold be
looked. at. 25% general commercial equates to ,5o acres o
the 600 acre site and she noted that the downtown Kalispell
area is about 60 acres and the Kalispell Mall sits on about 13
20 acres. 150 acres of just commercial with another 25%
of office and high density residential creates a significantly
large area that needs an impact study. She also suggested in
the future tiring in the percentages to a study that looks at
hat the general need is. Ames, Iowa has a good model to
look at in analyzing the percent of commercial that is needed.
ire an area to serve an existin o .la.tion. Recognizing that
Kalispell City Planning Board
Minutes of the Meting of ,dune 13, '2006
Pate 3 of 21
Kalispell is a commercial hub for our County it takes those
figures into account. nt. Flowers added t.hat there needs to be
some real basis for the percentages that are beffig
recommended and she would not support the percentages as
presented.
Flowers suggested that the board create some standards for
a Town Serving Zone. The board has identified that the core
for this axea should serve that area and yet there are not any
standards for that zone. With the scale of commercial that
may be proposed in this area she feels they need to cool at
the policies within the Growth. Policy that requires the City to
establish standards and to protect the integrity of the
e�dsting downtovm business core.
Flowers encouraged the board to look at the entire
amendment area as a. potential area for a Transfer
Development Rights Overlay Zone and consider are inter -local
agreement with the County. She said people who live in the
City are actually doing a favor for the rest of the population
y ling in a more compact area. They chose that for a
variety of reasons but they can also benefit from the open
space and agncultural lands that can be preserved by
transferring density rights into an area that can protect
waiter quality, be on city services and various benefits to City
residents that could be gained through a Transfer
Development Rights program in conjunction with the
County.
Flowers said she has questions with the map regar �r� g the
neighborhood commercial at the intersection of Rose
Crossing and Whitefish Stage Road. It seems redundant ant with
the policies for the KN-1 Center. She also questioned the
spacing of the commercial development at Reserve and
suggested neighborhood commercial at Tronstad might
adequately serge that need.
Flowers suggested neighborhood commercial at one of the
intersections of Church Drive and . S. Highway 93 Now
may be all that is necessary. ar'y. With a bypass there neighbors
from both sides of the highway ro l have easy access to
commercial on one side. In to=s of the ffer'.g proposed,
Flowers feels it is rea .y important, enhances the value of the
u.s�.r esses, attracts people to businesses that are located in
the corn'dor, enhances the value of the residential
development in those corridors, and she strongly supports
them.
Flowers noted that they have a. comprehensive resource book
on Transfer Development Rights that they would make
available to the board for heir discussions.
Carol Knotts — 12 10 Birch Grove Road asked why Birch Road
was chosen instead of Shrade Road since Sh a .e was are.
Kalispell City Planning Board
Minutes of the meeting of June , 21006
Page 4 of 21
emstmg road. K.otts said that considering the congestion
and the safety factor with the traffic that Raceway Farb and
Majestic Valley produce a service road between Church. Drive
and Shra.d e Road would help to funnel the traffic to other
alteratives emits instead of just coming out on 93. From
Church Drive over to Whitefish Stage there would have to be
propel bought and an entire road would have to be put
through there.
Jentz noted this was just a boundary that was chosen, It is
not intended that a major road system go through. there. This
boundary coincides with the one selected for the
Transportation Plan area. It also buts up against the airport
which is are area where growth will not occur.
Norton read a. letter from Sharon DeMeester that was sent to
the board for the record. (Copy attached)
Norton said that the board is seeing the City growing in this
area and they want to have some control over how It grows.
No one else wished to speak and the public hearing was
closed.
BOARD DISCUSSION Jentz distributed copies of the revised goals & policies for the
Highway 93 North Groff Policy Amendment, based o
public comments tonight and comments & communications
over the past month �r cluing the open house and he
reviewed them for the beard. The revisions are as follows:
Goal 1, Policy f.Add: "Where development entrance siMage
or monument siglages proposed It should be done so as
part of a unified planned unit der to ment cono7
Goal. 1, Policy g. & h. Add: iv. Four sided architecture would
e the norm a.d'aee .t to gateLa entrance."
Goal 1, Policy h. in". Amend to read: "A pedestrian trail or
sidewalk should be mco orated into to landscaped buffer
area �7
Goal 1, Policy it ll. Amend to read: "Within* this impact area,
a combination of terming, landscaping using lyre materials
and trees as well as grass, a. pedestrian trail system, limited
p Ukin and frontage roads sold be incorporated."'
Goal 1, Policy in". Amend to read: "Primary buildings should
not be located in this iM act area."'
Goal 1, Policy 1. Add: "iv. Whenever pang or sig a e is
proposed in the impact area, It shall only be done under a.
PUD process where the impacts of these actions are
anticipated and provided for."
Kalispell City Planning Board
M mutes of the meeting of J un e 1, 2 006
Page of 21
Hl e ey suggested incorporating the amendment to h. iii.
mto g. iii. which will read as follows: " pedestrian tram or
sidewalk should be meor orates into the landscqped buffer
area . oars sta'l`
agree..
Goal 2, Amend to read: "the development of an integrated
residential/ commercial neighborhood (Designatec KN-1 on
Growth ol1e r Mbetween US 3-Reserve Drive and
Whitefish stage.
Goal 2, Policy 1. Amend to read: "Development will be wed
use in nature creating an overall integrated neighborhood
with a town center as opposed to hnear seon-unercial
development ro .t ng the gateway entrances."
The final amendment would be to change the defmition of
Urban Mixed Use Area on the land use ma.p to (offices,
residential 7 commercial & industrial).
Jentz addressed the request by Citizens for a Better Flathead
for an e onor ' e study for this area stating it would not serge
a. beneficial use noting that currently a ]prwdmately 300,000
square Feet/year of commercial is being r g ilt in the city and
we have room for 2-3 years of commercial development
before the cur -rent sites are full..
MOTION
Norton roved and Hint ey seconded a motion to adopt Staff
Report KG -o -o2 and Resolution KG -o -o2, and
recommend to the City Council that the Highway 93 Now
Growth Policy Amendments be adopted.
BOARD DISCUSSION
Hull asked for clarification regarding the 150 foot buffer,
which was provided. Hurl.11 said he was brought into the
Church r ve boundary kicking and screaming because he
wanted the boundary closer to tow.,
M - GROWTH FROM
Hull moved and Hinchey seconded motion to respire that:.
THE CITY CENTER,
the groom be approved in phases from the city center
OUTWARDS
outwards.
BOARD DISCUSSION
Balcom questioned how that could be enforced.
Hull said that the argument was made with sewer and that i
why the boundary was drawn at Church Drive. The idea is if
the growth gets beyond more than a mile from the City we
should ask for less dense development.
Jentz said there are several dffferent models in planning and
the model that Hull talked about is a good policy for a. very
slog growing community. unit . However, it doesn't work so well i
a faster growing area because the dense areas overrunthe
less dense areas then here are newly platted rural
Kalispell City Planning Board
Minutes of the meeting of June 13, 2006
Faze 6 of 211
subdivisions next to urban subdivisions. e t said he would
speak against that motion and he provided the board with
the statistics of significant groom in Kalispell and the
County.
ty.
Nor -ton said growth is market driven. You cannot enforce,
r .sh or restrict those who wart to develop further out from.
the City because someone is closer who sn" oyet.
What that does is inflate land values and restricts growth.
The neighborhood commercial nodes will increase those
property values �r� that area. He does agree that he would
like to see density closer to theCity though h board could
handle that through the PUD process or subdivision review.
ROLL CALL - GROWTH
The motion failed on a. roll call vote of I in favor
FROM THE CITY CENTER
opposed.
OUTWARDS
BOARD DISCUSSION
Hinchey said he likes the concept of the Transfer
Development Rights (TDR) overlay Zone and asked if there
was some why to encourage 's within the County. dentz
said it is a great concept butis not sure where it fits in
this amendment. Jentz suggested discussing TDR's with the
Flathead County Plannffig Board next time they meet.
Hinchey said the neighborhood commercial .t Rase Crossing
and Whitefish Stage does seem a bit redundant and thought
neighborhood commercial should he somewhere else. Jentz
or
said this intersection will probably become a major
intersection and businesses would easily locate there and
would create a bier from the traffic, noise, etc. Jentz added
the KT-1 portion of the map WIR not he entirely commercial
but if it was he would agree that the neighborhood.
ROLL CALL - ORIGINAL
The motion passed unanimouslyon a roll call vote.
MOTION
BOARD DISCUSSION
Norton talked Jentz for all his work on the amendment and
noted that there were several hours put into the amendment
y staff and the board holdffig several work sessions and an
open house.
RIIIEE 'VIESTER INITLkL
A request by Allen and Virgm'ia. Rie e, William and Cindy
ZONMG UPON
Riebe and Polly Webster for annexation, it tird zoning and
"NEXATION AND
subdivision of approximately 12.8 acres located at 386 and
DLAMOND RMGE ESTATES
394 Three Mile Drive, Kal s e . The properties are currently
REIAHNARY PLAT
zoned County R- (ore acre mm* u* n m lot size). The owners
have petitioned to annex into the City of Kalis aeH and have
requested. the City R -2 ,boo square loot r .ir��.mum lot size)
as well as proposing a 23 lot residential subdivision.
Kalispell City Planning Board
Minutes of the meeting of June 13, 2006
�ek -7
ST F REPORT KA- - Sean Conrad, representingthe I s ei� annm'
KP- 6- 3 Department presented Staff Report KA-06-- & KPP-o -o3
for the Board.
Conrad noted the developers requested Paying a cash -ire -lieu
fee to meet the parkland requirements of % based on the
fact that the lots wiH be relatively large, 15,000 - 27,000
square feet, and the developer felt that i en the large lot size
and roxirrr'ty to the park that is now in the Empire Estates
subdivision that a. cash -in -lieu fee would be appropriate. The
Parks 8& Recreation Department upon reviewing the
subdivision recommended that the parkland be dedicated on
site somewhere M the vio* it of lots 6, 7, parkland
requirement would be approximately 1.1. acres. This
parkland would then be taken over, 'improved and
maintained by a homeowners association.
Staff is recommending that the Pia .nr� Board adopt Staff
Report KA-06-04 as findings of fact are.d recommend to the
Kalispell City Council that upon annexation the initial zoning
of R-2 Single Fanffly Residential be approved.
Staff is also recommend That the Planning Board adopt
Staff Report KPP- 0 -- 3 as findings of fact and recommend to
the rasel. City Council that the relim.ary Plat for
Diamond Ridge Estates be approved subject to the 20
conditions listed in the staff report.
QUESTIONS BY THE Norton asked about other subdivisions in the area. that have
BOARD parks and Conrad noted that those were homeowners" parks
and not City Parks. The nearest City park would be in
Empire Estates and is 1.7 acres and being developed with a.
field and some playground equipment.
t.
Hull noted that the area recommended for parkland appears
to be a hill. Conrad said it is a. slight hill approximately 15%
slope and added Parks was looldng for a. central location.
alcorn asked if Parks in subdivisions are geared more for
the residents in those subdivisions and. Conga.d said yes.
aicom said that safety and whether the park is within
wing distance is important.
t.
Hinchey asked if a. homeowners association would be created
to maintain the roads in this subdivision. ivision. Conrad said no the
roads will be taken over by the City. The only catalyst for
creation of the homeowners association would be a common
park. Balcom asked if the homeowners didn't have an
interest in maintaining inin a park could it just become a weed.
patch. Conrad said yes it could.
Albert asked if here is any kind of buffer between lots 9, 10,
11 & 12 by Big Sky Boulevard. Conrad said no just larger lot
sizes. In this case vou would have single faml lots adjacent
Kalispell it Planning Boar
minutes of the meedng of June , 2006
Paw 8 of 21
to single family lots, like uses, so there wouldn't be any reed
for a buffer.
APCANT G.ENCEES En'ca Wir-tala, Sands S rve m' representing the applicants
stated Diamond Ridge Estates was first submitted with 2 cul-
de-sacs thatdidn't quite go all the way through and
proposed a. cash -in -feu of parkland payment. Site Review
thought that a. better design would be to continue that road
through and make it more of a transportation rote as it
lined up better with the Bowser Creek Roads and provided
better traffic flow.
Wir ala noted these lots are �/ acre and would allow for
swing sets and sandboxes. When the homeowners
association maintains the roads, open space, common areas
or parkland they have more glue to hold that association
together and it tends to be more proactive. Here when the
City will take over the ownership and mamtenance of the
road system the Fate of ahomeowners' association park,
being one acre in size, could lapse into the predicted weed
patch. A cash -in -lieu of parkland does go to the purchase o
new parkland or playground equipment for City parks.
Wirta a stated that they concur with the staff report with the
exception of Condition 5, and they respectfully request that
the board either remove or reword the condition so that a
cash-in-Ueu of parkland would . e required instead of an
actual parkland dedication.
ii asked how they would be aisle to put in a 1. 1 acre park.
Wirta a said they would have to decrease the lots in size, or
reconfigure the subdivision by eliminating lots. she added
the applicant would prefer to keep the lots larger.
Norton noted the developer needs to provide evidence that
lots 19 & 20 have been Mcluded in the road maintenance
ance
agreement ent for Wyndover Hill Drive and asked if it was paved.
Wirtala said it is paved and the developer will petition. the
Wyndover Hill Subdivision to create are addendum to their
property owners association which would then allow those 2
lots to be assessed at the same rate as the Wyndover Hi
residents are for road maintenance.
ce.
Norton asked how lots 19 & 20 would ld access their mail.
Wirtala said that they would work with the Post Office to see
if they would require individual mail boxes or if they already
have a. cluster location if they could add those lots to the
cluster site.
PUBLIC HEARING Jim Florman - 145 Brook Drive, lot 15 in Big Sky Homesite
might bellow this property, asked how this subdivision will
affect his property and property varies. Florrnan added they
would not want to use the lots proposed for parkland
because it is a significant slope. He asked if there were are.
Kalispell City Planning Board
Minutes f the meeting of June 1, 006
'e
studies conducted relating to drainage and water and how it
will affect the properties down below. Flo=an also asked
what the City plan is for getting sever up to Three Mile Drive
from. a. 5 grace. Florman said lots 9 - 12 seem like they
will e on a hillside and hedoesn't know how they would
build on the hiU. With the property currently being farmed
they reallydon't have are issue with water, although in 1997
there may have been some water from the huge amount o
snow and rain that year. Regarding the buffer you would
have to have a. 50 foot buffer because of the slope, so it is
impossible.
Jim Bryer - I 11 Brook Drive motel that Florman had covered
his questions but added it is a delicate situation tying in
dense population or housing with those of them who have
been out in the country for a while. Bryer said that this is
not representative of the typical housing in the area now
other than north of Three Mile Drive. He said that they now
en oy deer, grouse, and even a. skunk and a raccoon once in
a. while in their backyards. Bryer said that when they bought
their property the realtor said don't worry Jim you won't
have 15 people iooldng in your back door because it is zoned
for one house per acre and that is all you are going to see.
-r er said that is why they bought their house in this
location. Bryer asked. the board to answer lorrnan-s
questions about the affect on their houses and their property
values. He asked if the roads will provide ra-i a.ge or will it
e runn g down the hill into their as ements ,
Davy Hoag - 85 Vest View Drive in the Two Mile Tract
Subdivision said it was stated that over half of the lots m the
proposed lots are over -1 of an acre and y his count he only
sees 6 out of 23. Basicafly he viers this proposal as a blatant
attempt to make money at the expense of the e .sting
homeowners it this area. Hedoesn't believe that, the
development t as proposed is consistent with the existing
density out there now. In the absence of some compelling
reason for this high density development, other than. greed,
he would suggest that the board reject this proposal..
Erica. Wirtala, Sands Surveying explained ned the preliminary
plat process and said that they worked with an engineering
fry., Carver Engineering on this project. Montana State law
requires that when you create a. development all runoff stays
on that property and can not impact your neighbor's
property. Carver Engineering has devised a series o
retention and detention ponds, and she noted heir locations
on the plat map. Wirta.la said that detention ponds are
temporary and retention ponds will hold the water until it
evaporates or soaks in. The plans are there scat to the
Montana Department of Environmental Quality where they
will be reviewed. A lot of the runoff will also be caught by the
curb, gutter and sidewalks and directed to stormwa.ter drains
and fed through the municipal syster. . The sever will be
Kalispell City Planning Board
ll4i nutes of the meeting of .dune 13, �00
Paw 10 of 21
reviewed by the Public Works Department and if a lift station
is required the developer will bear that expense. The
subdivision regulations read that a aside cannot be
developed if it has a greater than 30 slope and that slope i
not exceeded on this property. They wiH have to work with
the Pubhc Works Department to ensure that the hiEside
standards are adhered to and that they have a good base for
the foundations. She noted iLn addressing the property value
questions there is nothing in Flathead County at the moment
that is decreasing in value and because the property is closer
to town the property value would go up considerably,
especially with the new developments that are bringing
duality homes to the area. Regarding the question of similar
types of development - they felt that the -2 zone would be a
good buffer M relation to the R-3, R-4 and even R-5 zoning
.nearby and it will bring some diversity in the housing
market.
For a.an asked if that would mean they would have standing
gaiter at the edge of their property. Norton said that in the
plan -provided., yes that is a possibility but it would depend
on the rainfall and the runoff for that year.
Anna. Bryer, I I Brook Drive said with the waiter sitting
there who is going to take care of the mosquitoes. Norton
said that there is a County -wide Mosquito District, and with
the number of retention .. and detention ponds in the City he
is not aware of any major problems with mosquitoes in the
City as opposed to other areas of the County.
`lorman noted he and other properties erties around him are on
septic systems and wells and asked if there have been any
impact studies donne regarding waiter duality. Norton said
that the developer would be responsible for any impacts to
other properties and it would be taken care of.
To one else wished to speak and the public hearing was
closed.
MOTION - INITUL ZONING Hi the r moved and Hull seconded a. motion to adopt Staff
Report KA-06-04 as findings of fact and recommend to the
Kalis efl City Councfl that upon annexation the initial zoning
of R-2 Single Family Residential be approved.
BOARD DISCUSSION Hull noted this is logical. fill M for the area.
Norton said this is a great irifill project with almost -1/2 acre
lots. Wyndover Hill also has larger lots and this would be a
natural. progression. from larger acreage parcels to what has
already been approved with Empire Estates and Blue Heron,
Bowser Creek, etc.
ROLL CALL - INITIAL The motion passed unanimously on a roll caH vote.
ZONING
Kalispell Cltv Planning Board
Minutes of the meed n a of June 13, 21100
YPageI I of'1
................
MOTION - DILAMOND RIDGE H chey moved and Balcom seconded a motion to adopt Staff
ESTATES PRELIMINARY Report KP-o -o3 as findings of fact and recommend to the
PLAT Kalis efl City Council that the preliminary plat for Diamond
Ridge Estates be approved subject to the 20 conditions listed
in the staff report.
BOAR DISCUSSION ull said the board has been through a number of meetings
were the neighbors eom lam'd about subdivisions popping
up next to therm. There could be as may as 5 homes on a
acre and the density here is 2 homes per acre. The board
sympathizes with the neighbors but there is �t much that the
board can do. The area is developing with City sewer so it is
logicad that the area will continue to develop.
Hull said the Park issue would require redesigning of the
subdivision. Conrad said that the Parks & Recreation.
Director brought up the issue of a parkland dedication
instead of cash-m' - eu of parkland can the day that they
packets were being mimed. Hull said that he is opposed to
adding the parkland dedication at this late date.
Balcorn suggested that they dedicate one of the lower lots
where the retention ponds and detention basins are located.
Conrad said that the Parks Department does not like to take
parkland that also functions as the detention basin unless is
a very large park.
Albert said that he feels it definitely needs a park but it was
late in the game when it was realized that there wasn't one
provided. Should we make them put one in Albert said
probably not.
alcom suggested using a portion of lots I I & 12 seems like
a win -win situation to her, if It would be possible.
inchey said that he agrees with Balcom that a portion of
Lots I I & 12 could be used for a park. Although he
sympathizes with the fact that it was late in the game and
Parks Recreation should have been more on the ball, he
feels that a park is necessary and maybe the developer can
work with Parks to determine a better location.
Norton said that he agrees with Albert and Hull that Parks
Recreation dropped the ball on this one. He would hate to
have the developer- go back and incur costs by red esl gnmg
the subdivision this late in the game. Norton said that he
totally disagrees with the recommended location of the park.
The more natural area for a park would be along the
southern border.
MOTION Hull moved and Albert seconded a motion to amend
Condition #5 to require cash -in -lieu of parkland instead of a
parkland dedication for Diamond Ridge Estates.
Kai is t City P lann i ng Board
M mutes of the meeting of June 13, .200
Paec 12 of 21
BOARDDISCUSSION
Norton asked .f $25,'000 was adequate for cash -in -lieu o
parkland, because in his opinion it is not. The cash -in -lieu
amount should be based on when the ro oms is developed
and not on raw land. However, since he coot change that
he agrees with the motion.
al om said that they are serving on a .annm' g" board and
looking at a plan. It is not something that is already
established and she added, yes the parkland dedication was
missed but the staff and the board caught it before the fmal
decision was ma. o.
ROLL CALL - AND
The motion to amend Condition #5 as stated above passed
CONDITON #5
on a roll call vote of 3 in favor and 2 opposed.
ROLL CALL - ORIGINAL
The original motion passe. unanimously on a roll call vote.
MOTION
AMENDED AT of
A request by Wayne Turner to amend Empire Estates Phase
EM[PIRE ESTATES PHASE 5
5 and add 7 lots to the approved prehminaxyplat. Phase
mcludes 2.3 acres with preliminary plat approval for 64
lots. Due to a charge in access to Phase 5 and a. redesign o
the subdivision roads and lots the owner was left with
additional al land outside of the 64 preliminary approved lots.
t is on this additional land the owner is requesting to add
lots.
STAFF REPORT KPP-06-04
Scan Conrad, representing the Kalispell Planning
Department presented Sty` ' Report KPP-06-04 for the Board.
Conrad stated rh n Empire Estate's was given preliminary
plant approval in 2003 there was a. proposal to run Temp
Drive (now referred to as Barron Way in Phase 5 on the
southern end of the subdivision across the Kalispell Bypass
and MDT will not allow that road to go through. The
developers .a ow came M are.d amended the plat that
adds sublots with a cul-de-sac at the junction of Barron
Way and the bypass and have eliminated the park at the
southem tip of Phase 5. By in large, the addition of 7 lots will
not impact the roadway access or water and sewer facihties
for this phase of the subdivision.
Conrad said with the addition of 7 lots there is a regulation
m the Subdivision Regulations that requires .03 of an acre
for parkland per dwelling unitwhen you go to a density
higher than 11,880 squaresqua-re Feet per dwelling. This proposal.
.far exceeds that. The developers have come M and requested
additional lots which requires parkland dedication of about
9100 square feet or cash -in -lieu of parkland. In addition to
that, because the previous homeowners' park on the
southern erg.d of the preliminarily plat i-s no longer being
proposed, the Site Review Committee discussed making ._.+
for at least part of the homeowners' park. This discussion
Kalispell City Planning Board
M mutes of the meeting of June 13,-.2-'006
'age 13 o1
4
mcluded possibly creating a. 16,000 square foothomeowners'
park along the bypass. However, at the Site Review meeting
the Assistant Police Chief thought that an �r�terior park near
lot 11 would serve the subdivision better. The owner agreed
to that but where the City went a bit further is instead of just
requ=g a 9 100 square foot park, the City asked for a.
16,000 square foot park to meet the Subdivision Regulations
for the 7 requested lots and secondly to compensate for the
homeowners' park open space that was eliminated on the
southern tip of this phase.
Conrad said the la nm*g Department is also recommending
that a concrete bicycle pathway be constructed somewhere in
the vicinity of Lot 7B to correct the future sidewalk along
Barron Way to the future bike path along the bypass.
Conra.d note. that Condition refers to thehomeowners"
park designation and Condition #7 refers to the
bike/pedestrian pathway.
Staff is recommending that the Kalispell City Planning Board
adopt Staff Report KPP-06-4 as findings of fact and
recommend to the Kalispell City Co .cil that the amended
preliminary plat of Empire Estates Phase 5 be approved
subject to the 17 conditions listed in the staff report.
QUESTIONS BY
_.. HE Norton asked for clarification on location of the bike path
BOARD and who would be responsible for mai t aini both the bike
path and the park. Conrad said at the Site Review meeting
they proposed the park by the bypass and felt that the City
could take over the maintenance of the park since they
would be already maintaining the bike path but since it was
decided to move the park to the i.teor of this phase, the
park would then be maintained by the homeowners".
-- --- - --- -
"PLICANTIAGENCIES Hubert Turner, 3300 Highway 2 West restated the reasons
that they were before the board with a revised preliminary
plat of Empire Estates Phase 5.
Turner said with the elimination of the connecting road
through the bypass they determined they had unused real
estate and in an effort to provide affordable housing they
needed to increase the lots. They submitted a. plat with no
parks proposed because they had just gore through the
process of turning over the homeowners' association of
Phases 1 - 4 and he noted there has been little to no interest
in being involved in the homeowners' association for Empire
Estates to maintain any of the common areas of phases -.
The bike path buffer area that is supposed to be mamta.ine
y the homeowners is not being maintained. Tumer added in
their defense they have only been in control of the
homeowners" association .for about 10 creeks.
Kalispell City Planning Board
Minutes of the mecting of June 13, 00
ppe, 14 of 21
Turner continued that in consultation With staff they realized
that parkland was more important than they had ors gM*a
thought and they agreed there should be a centralized zed park
somewhere in the vicinity of Lot 11. However, he thinks that
asking for 16,000 square feet is too much since the
Subdivision Regulations would only require approximately
100 square feet for parkland. Tuner said this would require
a major redesign of the middle section of the subdivision.
Turner said that he doesn't think that the City or the
homeowners are iosfg a great deal of recreational
opportunity due to the fact that the park isn't there anymore.
He thinks that they are gaining something because they
don't have a .6 acre weed patch chattering up their
subdivision. Tree years ago the City deemed the
homeowners park as having no recreation opportunities and
was not accepted by the City but they were still charged
cash -in -lieu of parkland. In fact what ended up happening
was they purchased that real estate once to subdivide it and
them again from the City.
.r er said he has no problem providing a homeowners park
but they are proposing a. smaller park, the required 9 100
square feet with $10,000 dedicated to develop the park so
that it would be established and the homeowners would he
more wing to take over the maintenance of are established
park. He added there was small homeowners' park at the
southern end of Phase 4 and soon after taking over the
association one of the new board members of the
homeowners' association called the planmng office and asked
if they could sell it because they had no use for it.
Turner said another issue is he has no problem With
connecting their subdivision with the proposed bypass bike
path but suggested that the bike path be constructed
between lots 11 & 12 along the 1 ' easement for the surer
Me. In addition, staff is asking for a. concrete hike path,
which Turner said that he has never seem and added that
concrete breaks and asphalt is more flexible and can stand
up to abuse. He also noted it would be safer for the children
in the subdivision to construct the bike path between lots 11
2.
PUBLIC HEARING I No one wished to speak and the public hearing was closed.
MOTION Hull moved and Hinchey seconded a. motion to adopt Staff
Report KPP-06-4 as findings of fact and recommend to the
Kalispell City Council that the amended preliminary plat o
Empire Estates Phase 5 he approved subject to the 1
conditions listed in the stab' report.
►1W DISCUSSION Hull said that he is in favor of a park but thought it could be
smaller — 14,000 square feet.
Kalispell City Planning Board
Minutes of the meeting of June 13, 2-o 6
Page 15 of 21
Hinc ey asked staff to review for they arrived at 16,000
square feet for the parkland requirement. Conrad responded,
Hinchey said that he is M favor of the 16,000 square foot
park because the lots are small.
alcom said that she agreed with the applicant that the
location of the bike path. along the sewer hne makes more
sense because it would be safer for the kids .
Norton said that he agrees with Balcom.
Hinchey asked if the current bike path is concrete and Jentz
say d that t eras a.s ha.lt. Bentz added that asphalt hasa. life
span of 0-20 ears and concrete has a hfe span of 50 years.
Concrete cracks and stabilizes and with asphalt weeds pop
, it erodes and alligators. Jentz said that the current bike
path is invisible because the homeowners butt up against it
and have fenced it and if located near the park people will
see it and use it.
Norton asked if the City has any ability to enforce the
maintenance of parks by the homeowners associations. Jentz
said that the City has not taken that approach but if weeds
are a. problem it is the planning department's responsibility
to enforce the weed ordinance after July I st.
a.lcom said that it would make e sense for the homeowners to
take care of the parks to protect their property values. she
said that she hopes that affordable housing doesn't mean a
price so low that people wouldn't care about their property
and subdivision. Balcom added she has a. City park in her
neighborhood and they got involved as a. neighborhood and
got the Parks Department to work on the park. It works but
it takes some initiative on the part of the homeowners.
H cheer agreed.
Albert tanks that the requirement t should be 9100 square
feet and not 16,000 square feet, As far as taking care of the
park whoever ma-r tail s it should be required to maintain nta.in it.
Hull said that the he accepts the 16,000 square feet for the
park but felt that the bike path location should be changed.
Turner said when they developed the bike path on another
portion of Empire Estates it was the perfect place to pile dirt
that was dug out of a foundation. The material was then
retrieved by a 950 front end loader in a. fashion that tore up
the asphalt and he had to replace it. Turner er said that he has
never seen a. bike path built of concrete here m Flathead
Valley. Turner said as far as the easement ent location for the
bide path the public safety issue still stands because when
cars are parked along both shies of the street it doesn't
matter how fast you are going children can get hurt.
Kalispell City Planning Board
Minutes of the meeting of June 13. 2006
Page 16 of 21
MOTION - AMENDMENT TO
Hull moved and Norton seconded to amend Condition #7 to
CONDITION
read that bike/pedestrian path easement, 20-Feet wide,
shag be shown on the finalplat." And "The bile pedestrian.
path shall be constructed and paved and be a minimum
with of 10 feet."
BOARD DISCUSSION
Norton said that he agrees with HuH on the amendments to
the bike path and disagrees with Jentz regarding the location
of the bike path. Norton inks that the recommended
location would be dangerous and the placement of the bike
path on the sewer easement wi make the path safer, more
visible an therefore ere ore will be used more.
Jentz said that when you have a City bike path you have the
City putting it M and maintaining it. When you have a
homeowners' bike path your are giving it to the homeowners.
y requiring concrete . tea . of asphalt it would lessen the
burden on the future omeowner .
AMENDED MOT -
Hull suggested amending his motion to read "Me
CONDITION
bike/pedestrian bath shall be constructed out of concrete
a.n.d be a minimum width of 10 feet.'
ROLL CALL - CONDITION
The motion as amended a. e on a. roll. call vote of 4 in
71 AS ENDED
favor and 1 in opposition.
BOA DISCUSSION
Hull said that he noticed that the construction has already
started and Conrad said that they already had approval o
the preliminary plat of Phase 5 and the addition of the lots
and sublots W.11 not impact the infrastructure which 1s being
installed.
Norton said that if they are co . eme i. that the homeowners'
park will be a weed patch, they could require t.a.t the park
e improved with benches and recreation amer tie , etc.
Especially in a subdivision where no one wants to be part o
a. homeowners' association and at least 0% of these lots will
e renters and not owner occupied properties. Turner said he
disagrees that that 0% of the lots will be renters.
a.lc m asked for clarification on how far the City could go in
this regard. Norton said they can include the improvement o
the park with recreational amenities in the conditions.
Balcom asked who would l enforce the covenants. Norton said
that the homeowners association would enforce the
covenants to ensure that the properties are kept up.
ROLL CALL - ORIGINAL
The motion passed unanimously on a. roll call vote,
MOTION
DOWNTOWN PARKIWG
A request by the City of Kalispell to amend Section.
.TEXT MENDMENT
2 F .2 , l the Kalispell Zoning r inanc specificgy
Kaiispell City Planning Board
Minutes of the meeting June 1, 200
Page 17 of 21
to allow for required parking within the Special Parking
Maintenance District No. 2 (Downtown Kalispell) to be met by
a cash. -ire -lieu of parking payment. In addition, it is
proposed that Special Parking Maintenance District .ct To. 2
boundary (Appendix B, Figure 2) be expanded to include the
Kalispell Center Mall bounded by Center Street, Fifth Avenue
West, the BN RR Tracks and North Main Street.
STAFF REPORT'S KZ - - P.J. Sorensen, representing the Kalispell Planning
3 Department presented Staff Reports KZTA-06-03 for the
Board.
Sorensen stated that this amendment deals with parking
relations in the downtown area. {there are general parking
ratios that go with Mdivid al use through the city such as
single familv residences have 2 off-street parldng spaces,
offices have I parking space for every 400 square feet o
gross floor area, and restaurants are 1 space for every 100
square feet of gross floor area. In the downtown core area
uses can come and go with an existing square footage
without having to provide additional parking. New
developments or additions onto existing buildings have to
provide additional parking. He said in practice that is verb'
difficult, if not impossible to come up with because
everything in downtown is already developed.
Most of the towns in Montana that they looked at have a
cash-in-heu payment if someone should fall short of parldng
spaces. The cash -in -lieu payments would go into a fund that
would be used to develop common public parking in the
downtown area. They also looked at the Groff Policy which
specifically recognizes the special parking considerations for
downtown and encourages innovative parking management
and provision of public lots and structures. After further
review and discussions, the city council directed staff to
bring forth this amendment, which states that a cash -in -lieu
payment ent may be paid as an alternative to providing required
arldng spaces on site. The money s ,adl be paid into a. fund
established by the city council and m an amount to be set by
city council by resolution.
Sorensen said that the second part of this amendment deals
with expanding the downtovm parking area to include the
Kalispell Center Mall site. With what is here right now once
they build the bank off of Highway 93 their parking would
e maxed out at the site and they would not be able to
expand the mall or put in any other ildings there.
Staff recommends that the Kalispell City PlannjLng Board
adopt the findings in staff report =A-o -3 and recommend
to the Kalispell. City Council that required parking within the
Special Parking Maintenance District No_ 2 may be met by a
cash -in -lieu payment and that the Special. Parking
Maintenance District No. 2 bound!aa be. expanded to include
Kalispell City Planning Board
Minutes of the meeting of June , 2006
'age 1 '2 1
the Kalispell Center Mall property bounded by Center Street,,
Fifth Avenue West North, the BN railroad tracks, and North
Mai. street.
QUESTIONS FROM THE
Hull asked if the Parking Coma ss .on was pn-vatized.
BOAR.
HMc cy said that the Parking C numlssion works
autonomously omous and is entirely supported by permits and
fines.
HuH asked about the akin lot across the tracks that the
City provided for the expansion of the mall. Sorensen said.
that no City owned parking structures or lots in the nearby
area would support additions to the ma .. Norton said in
other Fiords the mall .l wns land north of the railroad tracks.
Further discussion was held regarding the area across the
tracks from the rah.
PUBLIC HEARING
No one wished to speak and the public hean*ng was closed.
MOTION
Hinc ey moved and , alc rrr seconded a. motion to adopt staff
Report KZT--3 as fmains of fact as recommend to the
Kalispell city Council that required pang within the
Special Parking Maintenance District No. 2 may be met by a
cash -in -lieu payment and that the Special arking
Maintenance District No. 2 boundary be expandedinclude
the Kalispell Center MaH propel bounded by center Street,
Fifth Avenue West North, the BN railroad tracks, and North
Maim Street.
BOARD DISCUSSION
Hull asked what the parking situation was downtown.
Hinchey responded s bleak. Hinchey said they have had
businesses leaving downtown for the express purpose of
fmding more available parking at a. different location. This
has caused downtown to be status quo. They feel that
removing this parking requirement � 1 a i r � us�r� ss sto
expand, however it wiH create a short-term rt-terra. parking problem
that will have to be addressed in a. different way.
Hull noticed that downtown was tuming into office space
and those people are .a �. trouble with the 2 hour parking
limit, Hinc cy said there is no solution and a. lot of those
businesses are leaving d. wnt vm. They are wing to manage
the parking for the clients of these businesses and wing t
discourage people from parking all day.
Hui asked what this money wiR be used for. Hinchey said it
would be put into a. fund heldthe Parking Commission for
future parking requirements. Sorensen said that council
rud need to set up a plan to determine the amount of
cash -in -lieu that would be required and these funds would
be used for a parldng study to identify ca. ns, to purchase
property, ty, and to develo public parking facilities within the
Kalispell City Planning Board
Minutes of the meeting of June 1 x 2W
Pane IQ of I
downtown. area.
aleom suggested that if there is a trend that businesses are
leaving because of the lack of parking the money could go
into efforts to lure businesses back on to Mam* Street.
Hi hey said one reason this came up is First Avenue
Ca.si o/ Restaurant on Ist Avenue blest and 2nd Street West
wanted to expand and because they were expanding they
had to have 2 additional parking spaces. This perpetuated
the discussion to encourage expansion i . downtown but they
are hampered by the current ar ng requirements.
Sorensen said there are at least 4 projects out there that are
-impacted by the current parking requirements.
Norton said he totally understands that there is no parking
downtown and that if the City is going to get any type o
groom or redevelopment downtown something is going to
have to be clone. Norton said cash-in-heu is a logical war to
handle the problem.
Norton was concerned that Kalispell Center Mall is being
considered for inclusion in the parking district. He feels the
.all and their parking is a totally dffferent issue than the
downtown parking issues. The mall has land north of the
railroad tracks and they should. do something with the land
that they own n to provide parking for their future expansion.
The mall could be handled as a separate issue. He added
that he will vote no if the mall is included.
Jentz said he is responsible for suggesting including the mall
in the parking district, the mall did not ask to be a part of
the district. The concept was to include the mall and now
there is a larger group of business owners involved in the
solution.
inc. ey said that it seems to him that if they .ave a. problem
.ov,rntown with parking they need all the players they can get
on their side and that is why he is in favor of keeping the
mall in the district.
Albert said that he agrees with Hinc .ey that they need t
keep the mall in the district.
ROLL CALL The motion passed on a. roll call vote of 4 JLn favor and
opposed.
OLDBUSINESS: I CASINOS EX MENDS T
MOTION Norton moved seconded .l ert to postpone the work
session on the Casinos Text Amendment until the July 11,
2006 meeting date.
Kalispell City Planning Board
Minutes of the meeting of J un e 13, 2006
a o '0;1 1
TRI-OLL CALL The motion Passed unanimouslY on a roU ea. vote.
NEW BUSINESS: Norton noted that Kann Gabriel was involved in faU froma
horse and broke her back. He seat a card areal for
everyone to sir- .
ADJOURNhWNT The meeting was adjourned at approximately : 2 , m.
The next regular meeting of the Ka is efl City Planning
Board and Zoning Commission will be held on Tuesday, July
1 2.
Work session held after the rear meeting on the
fallowing item:
. Preliminary discussion and review of a proposed
development ent at the comer of Church Drive and Highway 93
North, no application has been submitted fret.
Timothy Norton Michelle Anderson
President Recording Secretary
APPROVED as submitted/ corrected: /_/06
Kalispell Cit r Planning Board
Minutes of the m eti cy of June 1, 200
Page 21 of 21