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1. Council Minutes - Regular Meeting November 4, 2002A REGULAR MEETING OF THE KALISPELL CITY COUNCIL WAS HELD AT 7:00 P.M. MONDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2002, IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS AT CITY HALL IN KALISPELL, MONTANA. MAYOR PAMELA B. KENNEDY PRESIDED. COUNCIL MEMBERS JIM ATKINSON, BOB HAFFERMAN, RANDY KENYON, DUANE LARSON, FRED LEISTIKO, HANK OLSON AND JAYSON PETERS WERE PRESENT. COUNCIL MEMBER DON COUNSELL WAS ABSENT. Also present: City Attorney Charles Harball, City Clerk Theresa White, Finance Director Amy Robertson, Fire Chief Randy Brodehl, Police Chief Frank Garner, City Manager Assistant Pati Heath and Tri-City Senior Planner Narda Wilson. Mayor Kennedy called the meeting to order and led the Pledge of Allegiance. AGENDA APPROVAL Peters moved approval of the Agenda. The motion was seconded. There was no discussion. The motion carried unanimously upon vote. CONSENT AGENDA APPROVAL 1. Council Minutes - Regular Meeting October 21, 2002 Leistiko moved approval of the Consent Agenda. The motion was seconded. There was no discussion. The motion carried unanimously upon vote. Mayor Kennedy welcomed Soy Scout Troop 1933. STUDENT ISSUES Ryan Nalty, 181 Riverside Drive, announced there will be a Junior Formal Dance at the High School on November 23. He said the Sophomores are in the process of adopting families for Christmas, and he asked the Council to look into the parking problem and the lack of parking spaces at the High School. Kayla French, 669 West Valley Drive, asked for volunteers to judge the speech and debate competitions scheduled for November 22 and 23. She also asked for help with the parking problem at the High School. HEAR THE PUBLIC Bill Franks, 159 Arbour Drive, informed the Council that a Kalispell Business Owners Association has been formed and its purpose is to represent the interests of Kalispell business owners Kalispell City Council Minutes November 4, 2002 Page 1 on issues directly affecting their businesses and to ensure the appropriate spending of their tax dollars. He said the first question posed to members was whether the City of Kalispell should pay for the legal expenses incurred by the Flathead Alliance for Sensible Growth in their lawsuit against the city. Franks said the response was if you play, you pay and the result was 100 percent voting no. Cheryl Pierce, 1015 Ashley Drive, stated she opposes any new annexations or zoning until a new growth policy is in place. Dale Peirce, 1015 Ashley Drive, also commented that all zoning should stop now, adding there is no emergency that exists which requires the adoption of interim zoning regulations. Lila Kruckenberg, 1204 Sunnyside, read a letter to the Council opposing interim zoning regulations. (Letter is attached and by this reference is made a part of the official record) ORDINANCE 1438 - INTERIM ZONING REGULATIONS This ordinance implements Interim Zoning Regulations for the City of Kalispell until a growth policy can be adopted. Ordinance 1438 was tabled at the meeting October 21st. Leistiko moved Ordinance 1438 be taken from the table. The motion was seconded. There was no discussion. The motion carried unanimously upon vote. Harball explained that staff is presenting Council with a two -prong approach to the issue. He said Ordinance 1438 is the first prong and ratifies those actions taken by the City Council since October 1st, 2001 and supports those developers who have acted in good faith. He said the second prong is Resolution 4750, which gives staff directions and guidelines to use when dealing with developers on all new requests. Kenyon asked what will happen if the Council doesn't pass Ordinance 1438. Harball answered the Council is possibly leaving some individuals in the lurch who have acted in good faith and have asked for land - use decisions. Kenyon responded that the Council could still act on "non - substantive" issues whether Ordinance 1438 is passed or not. Harball said they can, however, no one can agree on what's substantive or non -substantive and the Attorney General didn't Kalispell City Council Minutes November 4, 2002 Page 2 provide an outline. He said the City's professional planning staff can help the Council make findings on what it believes is substantive or non -substantive. Hafferman commented he has tried to figure out why the City needs this ordinance, but he's not convinced there's an emergency. He said the Council should "plead" with the Planning Board to have a growth policy ready by the end of this month for approval by the Council before Christmas. Leistiko remarked he still feels the Council did the right thing by moving ahead with decisions after October 1st and it's not the City's fault that the Attorney General took eleven months to render an opinion. He said all of the cities in Montana are having the same problem and he doesn't feel it would be responsible to "shut Kalispell down" until a growth policy is adopted. Leistiko encouraged the Council to vote in favor of Ordinance 1438. Atkinson said the City was left in the lurch when the County Commissioners refused to sign the City -County Growth Policy forwarded to them. He said the Planning Board, of which he is a member, is meeting every Tuesday evening and is committed to getting a City Growth Policy completed by January. Atkinson said until that time, however, the City needs these interim zoning regulations. Peters said the Council does need to honor the decisions already made, however, from this point forward the City needs to heed the opinion of the Attorney General and not take any action until a growth policy is adopted. Harball said that's why the staff has presented a two -prong approach. He said Ordinance 1438 looks backward, and Resolution 4750 looks forward. Larson spoke in favor of the ordinance stating he feels the Council owes it to the people who have made commitments in the community to ratify the decisions made since October 1st. Kenyon commented he's still having a hard time understanding how an emergency exists requiring the passage of this ordinance. The motion carried upon roll call vote with Atkinson, Larson, Leistiko, Olson, Peters and Mayor Kennedy voting in favor, and Hafferman and Kenyon voting against. RESOLUTION 4750 - ESTABLISHING CRITERIA FOR THE KALISPELL ZONING ORDINANCE This resolution establishes criteria for determining the difference between substantive and non -substantive zoning revisions. Kalispell City Council Minutes November 4, 2002 Page 3 Leistiko moved Resolution 4750, a resolution to establish criteria for the determination of the substantive verses non -substantive revisions to the Kalispell Zoning Ordinance and declaring an effective date. The motion was seconded. Harball explained Resolution 4750 allows the Council to give staff and the public guidance in what it terms substantive and non - substantive revisions to the zoning ordinance. Leistiko said it appears to him that the Council will still be able to determine whether an issue is substantive or non -substantive even without the passage of this resolution. Harball said the staff is trying to avoid an individual review of each case by setting some standards. Resolution 4750 outlines non -substantive revisions as: annexation or rezoning from a residential category of zoning to another residential category; annexation or rezoning from a commercial designation to a commercial designation; or annexation or rezoning from within the same or similar use category. Substantive revisions are listed as: annexation or rezoning from an agricultural to residential, commercial or industrial category; annexation or rezoning from a residential to commercial or industrial category; or changes to the text that would allow uses not otherwise permitted or similar changes. Hafferman commented these substantive and non -substantive revisions should be included in the growth policy. He said he feels the Council is digging a hole deeper and these should be hashed out before the public. Larson stated he agrees a change from one city residential designation to another city residential designation is not substantial, but he asked if a change from county residential to city residential could be. Harball answered the city and county designations don't match exactly, but they're pretty close and would not be considered substantive. Olson said he agrees with Hafferman and feels the Council needs to stop here. He said if this resolution doesn't pass, then the Council gets to look at everything that comes forward. Atkinson remarked that if the Council looks at everything that comes forward, the Council will be violating the Attorney General's directive that you can't pass zoning that is substantive. Harball commented that without defining the terms, the Council is risking arbitrary decisions. He said without a set of standards, he would suggest the Council not consider any revisions. Kalispell City Council Minutes November 4, 2002 Page 4 Larson agreed, stating if criteria is not established, then every substantive or non -substantive decision the Council makes is just a wild guess until a growth policy is adopted. Peters said he would agree if the city is planning to move forward, however, he's urging the Council to place a moratorium on all zoning issues until a growth policy is approved. Wilson asked for clarification. She said a Planning Board meeting is scheduled for November 12 with two items involving subdivisions in Glacier Village Greens that are currently zoned County R-5. Wilson said the request is for annexation and zoning to City R-4 and asked if these are the kind of applications the Council doesn't want to consider until a growth policy is approved. Mayor Kennedy thanked Wilson and said she thinks that's exactly what the Council is trying to resolve this evening; those issues that are already in the "hopper". She said according to the City Attorney, no zoning issue should be considered without substantive and non -substantive criteria. Atkinson said in the last year, twelve annexations came before the Council. He said in his opinion, the Council has to move forward and set some standards on how to move forward. Wilson commented without standards, it's a "crap shoot" for every applicant that walks through the door and a lot of money spent. She said it would be a cleaner and fairer process for the Council to establish criteria if it wants to continue reviewing applications. Kenyon said he feels uncomfortable voting for this resolution because he doesn't know enough about zoning and it seems capricious tc pick arbitrary standards. He said he's not convinced there couldn't be substantive changes within each zoning category. Mayor Kennedy clarified that if Resolution 4750 fails, the Council would be essentially placing a moratorium on annexations and zoning until a growth policy is adopted. The motion failed on a tie vote with Atkinson, Larson, Leistiko and Mayor Kennedy voting in favor, and Hafferman, Kenyon, Olson and Peters voting against. FINAL PLAT - BUFFALO COMMONS - PORTIONS OF PHASES 3 AND 4 Northwest Healthcare Corporation has requested final plat approval of a nine -lot subdivision in the Buffalo Commons development containing approximately 6.7 acres. Larson moved Council approve the final plat for Buffalo Commons, portions of Phases 3 and 4. The motion was seconded. Kalispell City Council Minutes November 4, 2002 Page 5 Wilson reported the six lots to the west are in the area designated for Retail -Commercial -Office uses, and the other three lots to the east are in the area designated as Professional Medical Facilities. Larson asked if the locations for the fire hydrants have been approved. Chief Brodehl said the hydrants have already been installed. The motion carried unanimously upon vote. MAYOR/COUNCIL/CITY MANAGER'S REPORTS Larson inquired as to the status of the sledding hill in Dry Bridge Park. Harball said he spoke with Parks and Recreation Director Mike Baker about that this morning and Baker indicated the hill will be open for sledding if enough snow falls. Larson also asked what happens to the leaves once the City picks them up. No one present could answer the question so Mayor Kennedy asked Heath to check into it. ADJOURN The meeting was adjourned at 8:25 p.m. ATTEST: Theresa White City Clerk Pamela B. Kennedy Mayor Kalispell City Council Minutes November 4, 2002 Page 6 I would take issue in particular with 2 areas of the resolution 4750 altho my belief is interim zoning at this point is moot.Failure to have a growth policy in place as it should have been a long time ago does not create an urgency except for this city council and city manager who have failed to do their job. If you pass this resolution the city of Kalispell will be in trouble big time There seems to be no clarification of the Attorney General's opinion for the City Council I am sure a judge will clarify it for you some where down the line. The growth policy should have been in place 13 months ago to cover the many annexations and zone changes which may have been done illegally Some one needs to step up to the plate and take responsibility. This could be a very costly mistake for the city of Kalispell. I believe that a zone change from county RI to city R4 is a substantive change, county RI will allow one dwelling per acre and if I understood staff correctly at these meetings one can build up to 12 dwellings per acre on property zoned R4. Eleven more dwellings per acre is not a substantive change. Give me a break! Lila Kruckenberg 1204 Sunnyside Drive Kalispell, Mt., 59901 Phone 755-5887