10-14-14KALISPELL CITY PLANNING BOARD & ZONING COMMISSION
MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING
October 14, 2014
CALL TO ORDER AND
The regular meeting of the Kalispell City Planning Board and
ROLL CALL
Zoning Commission was called to order at 7:00 p.m. Board
members present were: Chad Graham, Charles Pesola, Rory
Young, Matt Regier, Steve Lorch, Karlene Osorio-Khor and Doug
Kauffman. Tom Jentz, Kevin LeClair represented the Kalispell
Planning Department.
NEW BOARD MEMBER
President Graham welcomed Doug Kauffman as the new planning
board member.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Osorio-Khor moved and Lorch seconded a motion to approve the
minutes of the September 9, 2014 meeting of the Kalispell City
Planning Board and Zoning Commission.
VOTE BY ACCLAMATION
The motion passed unanimously on a vote by acclamation.
PUBLIC COMMENT
No one wished to speak.
FLATHEAD HIGH SCHOOL
Residential On -Street Parking Permit Program around Flathead
PARKING DISTRICT
High and Elrod Elementary; Residents in the vicinity of Flathead
PUBLIC HEARING
High School and Elrod Elementary School have requested the
Planning Board consider creation of a residential on -street parking
permit program that would require a permit for on -street parking
from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, Monday to Friday, when school is in
session. Only residents of the district would be eligible to purchase
permits. The approximate boundary of the parking district includes
an area bounded by 3rd Street West on the north, 9th Street West on
the south, 2nd Avenue West on the east, and 6th Avenue West on the
west. The cost of the permits have yet to be determined, but will
be established by a resolution of the City Council, based on the
cost to administer and enforce the parking regulations.
BOARD MEMBER STEPPED
Karlene Osorio-Khor stated she served on both the committee for
DOWN
the residential parking district, composed of school officials and
residents of the district and a school committee also composed of
residents and school officials. Osorio-Khor said because of that and
the unique rules that this board runs under she feels that she must
recuse herself from this discussion tonight.
Osorio-Khor added this is a board they are not city council
members. (Board Secretary note: With the exception of
President Graham who is the city council representative
serving on the planning board). Osorio-Khor continued they
don't represent particular individuals or particular wards. Each
board member brings a unique skill set to the board and they are all
Kalispell City Planning Board
Minutes of the meeting of October 14, 2014
Page 1 of 17
on the same boat called Kalispell.
Board Member Osorio-Khor vacated her seat.
Kevin LeClair, representing the Kalispell Planning Office provided
a brief background on the issue of parking at Flathead High School.
City staff has been working with residents of the community for
about 1-1/2 years. The issue was raised to the council and the
council directed staff to work with the neighborhood to see if a
solution could be reached. Work Sessions/Open Houses were held
with the school district, which were heavily attended, and several
issues were raised. LeClair described the process of forming
subcommittees — one of which was formed to specifically talk
about the on -street parking issue; a series of meetings were held
with neighborhood volunteers and members of the school district
for 9-10 months; and a large volunteer outreach effort collected
signatures from the neighborhood on a petition. In addition a
representative from this effort presented a proposal to the planning
board in June and a work session was held in July where the board
directed staff to hold another work session in September and a
public hearing in October.
Ultimately the board's job is to provide an opportunity for the
public to speak on the issue and make a recommendation to city
council. LeClair asked that anyone from the public who wishes to
speak, speak directly on the issue of the residential on -street
parking district to help the planning board formulate a
recommendation to forward to city council. The board knows a lot
about the issues and the challenges both the neighborhood and
school district has faced.
Graham outlined the rules of decorum for the public comment
period.
PUBLIC HEARING
Mark Flatau, School District 45 Superintendent, thanked the board
for the opportunity to speak and thanked the individuals that have
worked to find solutions to this issue which includes the residents
in and around Flathead High School and Elrod Elementary, the city
and school district staff.
Flatau said they want to provide background knowledge and
information, show some progress in regards to the issues and then
present a proposed solution from the district's perspective.
Flatau noted that he has never heard any of the school district's
staff say the school is against the parking district but they are
against a parking district that totally excludes staff and students.
The district's proposal provides a parking district for residents,
Kalispell City Planning Board
Minutes of the meeting of October 14, 2014
Page 2 of 17
students and staff
Flatau presented the school district's perspective on the parking
district followed by a presentation of data they collected regarding
usage of parking in the neighborhood and the school district's
approach to addressing the parking issue. He was joined by
Michele Paine, Assistant Principal Flathead High School who
provided additional comments. A copy of their proposal is
attached to the minutes.
Graham addressed Peter Fusaro, Principal of Flathead High School
regarding an email Mr. Fusaro sent the board indicating that a
parking lot could be put together using a tax increment financing
district. Fusaro said one of the things that they wanted to look at is
buying some of the residential properties near the school and
perhaps using a tax increment financing district in order to provide
additional parking.
Flatau noted a representative of the Northwest Montana
Association of Realtors is here and he noted they are offering
$1,500.00 to be used towards a parking study in the area.
Lorch asked how school staff encourages kids to use the existing
lots at the school. Fusaro said they have told staff to be good
neighbors and use the existing parking lots. He added they have
also told the students that they need to use the lots and if the senior
lots are not full they will be opened up to all students. Fusaro said
they continue to look at opening up the staff lots to students
without permits and they are planning to remove trash bins behind
the school on the west side which would open up additional spots.
Erica Wirtala, NW Montana Association of Realtors stated the
Association has noticed that the parking issue is becoming more of
a problem and that real estate values are precarious in the
immediate area. She suggested striping the parallel parking spots
may help. The $1,500.00 grant money that the Association would
secure could be used to add impartiality to the process and get
numbers on the table to assist in providing a good resolution for
everyone.
Andi Utter, 347 3rd Street West, Isabell Dunn, 1828 Airport Road,
Brittany Staat, 2140 Harlequin Court, all students of Flathead High
School introduced themselves along with Amanda Matdies,
Advisor of the Environmental Club at Flathead High School.
Matdies noted the students asked her to come forward to oppose
the residential on -street parking because they have a garden on the
green space that is proposed for additional parking. They want to
keep the garden.
Kalispell City Planning Board
Minutes of the meeting of October 14, 2014
Page 3 of 17
Linda Geisell, 245 41h Avenue West said these are public streets
and anyone should be able to park on the public streets. She has
never heard of tax -paying residents having to buy a permit to park
on the streets and she is against the parking district.
Donna Smith, 839 3rd Avenue West said she has been involved
with the parking discussions from the beginning. When the grassy
area was put in at the high school they lost 24 parking spaces and it
should be removed. This is an opportunity for Flathead High
School and the school district to show their good faith in helping to
solve this problem. She supports the residential parking district
ordinance and addendum (copy attached) and is willing to pay for a
parking permit in order to park in front of her home.
Jesse Cady -Kauffman, 911 8fh Avenue West said she is in support
of the School district's proposal because it is a proposal that offers
a solution for both sides. She is concerned that the message being
sent to the students is they don't belong in this community and by
pushing the kids further out from the school it will create safety
issues especially at night. In addition there is no transit system,
like Missoula, that can transport kids to school especially from the
outlying areas and the parents rely on the kids being able to drive
themselves to school.
Mike Lincoln, Assistant Principal, Flathead High School, 131
Sherry Lane referenced his email to the planning board that
describes the parking district program in Helena and noted they are
considering eliminating some of their districts because the interest
for the districts has come and gone and they are not getting the
enough revenue from the districts to support them. He provided
additional information on other districts and added the other
districts need to be considered in order for the board to make an
informed decision.
Isabell Dunn, 1828 Airport Road wanted the board to know that the
garden was put into the green space because it is one of the best
places for a garden and they want to be able to keep it.
Jonathan Smith, 501 3rd Avenue West said he is opposed to the
parking district because the parking problems have decreased with
the construction of the Glacier High School in the last few years.
He added since school has started this fall he hasn't seen his street
full yet. He has several cars and he doesn't want to have to pay to
park them out in front of his house.
George Giavasis, 545 3rd Avenue West voiced his support of the
parking district as submitted. The only thing the school district is
Kalispell City Planning Board
Minutes of the meeting of October 14, 2014
Page 4 of 17
addressing is the parking issues and not the other issues such as
lack of services.
Jeff Hutten, 132 8fh Street West noted they live on the edge of the
proposed parking district and they have not had any parking
problems in front of their house since Glacier High School was
built. The school's compromise of alternating 3rd and 4fh Avenues
is a start and is similar to the committee's two-year program,
although it will push the congestion out further. He likes the ideas
of striping the parallel parking spaces; the school coming up with
the additional spaces; charging for school parking that would go
into a fund for parking lot maintenance or acquisition; encourage
car pooling by designating spaces for car pools; work release and
after school activities; students who maintain a minimum GPA;
and off -site parking with shuttles. Hutten is in favor of a solution
and he hopes one can be reached.
Linda Armstrong, 149 N Riding Road and Principal of Elrod
School said she wants to address the safety issue in relation to the
elementary children. They were told to use an alternative parking
area for two weeks and when they did the streets were empty. The
use of the blacktop area for parking would limit the area used for
the 325 children at their school and the park area is not suitable in
the winter and spring as it is either icy and snow covered or wet
and muddy. She asked that the board consider the kids at Elrod
when making their recommendation.
Allison Schmaltz, 124 Buffalo Stage said in deference to the
concerns of the adults who own property around the schools, the
issue is not only the parking but the disrespect of the kids that goes
along with that. She complimented the administration for trying to
find solutions to the problems. She thinks marking spots would be
helpful and limit the blocking of driveways which has created
confrontations between adults and students. The board should
maintain what the children at Elrod have because crowding that
many children into a smaller area is a problem.
Devin Kuntz, 725 2nd Avenue West said he is in support of the
committee's proposed parking district with the addendum and not
necessarily opposed to the school's proposal. There will be some
inconveniences for those who commute but the board needs to
consider the property rights, quality of life and livability of the
residents in this neighborhood. He thanked the school for creating
some additional parking spaces but a timeline needs to be attached.
He noted the inability to receive services such as snow plowing,
leaf pickup and contractors coming to your home to do work. The
school district's proposal doesn't resolve the congestion issue and
doesn't address the lack of parking on their property.
Kalispell City Planning Board
Minutes of the meeting of October 14, 2014
Page 5 of 17
Kuntz said they are thankful that crime is on a two-year decline but
it still exists which is another safety issue. He does commend the
schools for doing a better job with litter pickup. He added it is
necessary to ensure resident parking beyond the west side of 3rd
and 4fh Avenues respectively. Much of the feedback from residents
opposed to the parking district is payment for the permits and he
agrees they should not have to pay for the services they already pay
for via taxes although he is willing to pay if that will mitigate the
problem. He added the residents' proposal provides a mode of
sustainability and a mechanism for maintaining a district by the
collection of parking fines and paying for permits.
Kuntz reviewed statistics that show the parking problem will grow
with growth of the City of Kalispell. That will saturate the district
even more without an appropriate plan. The solution put forth by
the residents will bring the issue to a head and be a catalyst for
change. It is fair, equitable, long-term, sustainable, and has been
proven effective in many other communities. He asked the board to
recommend approval of the residential parking ordinance to the
city council at no cost to the residents or their guests.
Austin Henderson, 327 8fh Avenue West said he strongly agrees
with the school district's proposal mostly because he has walked
every street in Kalispell in every kind of weather since
Kindergarten. There are no street lamps almost all the way to the
high school and it is very unsafe walking in winter. He worries
about the safety of his cousins and siblings having to walls to
school in the dark.
Kaki Mendius, 99 Sunrise View Lane said she is the parent of a
Flathead student who lives out towards Creston and who drives to
school because he has a job after school. The residents' proposal is
not fair because students are not even being considered they are
being pushed out into the dark and into unsafe areas without street
lights. The residents already have parking in their alleys behind
their houses. She noted she paid less for her home on the east side
because it is near the railroad tracks just like people paid less for
their home on the west side and now they are trying to "move the
train".
Jess Roper, 836 3rd Avenue West said he lives within the proposed
parking district and asked the board not to recommend this
proposal to council. The proposed solution would benefit a few at
the cost of many. He likes the school district's proposal but he
fears it will push this problem to their neighbors. School District 5
is not a for -profit business and the cost of buying land to increase
parking would ultimately fall on the taxpaying community. Roper
Kalispell City Planning Board
Minutes of the meeting of October 14, 2014
Page 6 of 17
said his proposal would be to have a resident only parking space in
front of their homes with the cost for the signs paid by the
homeowner. He applauds the school on their efforts toward
cleanup and added the city needs to help them out because they are
not receiving services, perhaps the city could provide services on
Saturday or before or after school.
Toff Mendius, 99 Sunrise View Lane said he is a student of
Flathead High School and he disagrees with the parking district
proposal. He believes the school district's proposal is closer to a
solution however he doesn't agree with the destruction of the
garden and green areas around the school because he thinks the
students need that space. He also addressed the safety issues of
walking in the dark especially in the winter and changing the
schedule for city services to after school or on the weekends.
Elma Giavasis, 545 3rd Avenue West thanked the school for taking
the time to look at the problem. Safety of the children is her
biggest concern. A long-term solution is to have more on -campus
parking and if the school district can come up with this much
parking in a month what can they do in two years. They have not
seen many kids having to park in the residential areas after school
hours because they are parking on campus for after -school
activities.
Stacey Schultz, 304 Stoneridge Drive and a parent of a student at
Flathead High School said she is in favor of the school district's
parking proposal. Her daughter is currently in Missoula at a varsity
volleyball game and their bus is due back at 11:47 p.m. She
encouraged the board to look at the sex offenders in the
neighborhood because once you push the kids out, the number of
offenders' doubles. Schultz added she is pretty sure everyone
knew they were purchasing their home near a high school.
Daniel Olszewski, Student Body President of Flathead High School
residing at 377 Orchard Lane said he wants to give the students a
voice. Safety is a huge concern for them, especially at night and
during the winter and also considering there were some student
attacks last year. He has gotten home from events in 2:00 a.m. and
some students get back even later. They have worked really hard to
encourage their students to be the best that they can be, to be good
neighbors and to be respectful. The current proposal doesn't solve
the problem and there is only so much parking that can be created
on campus so there needs to be other alternatives around the
neighborhood. He is in favor of the school district's proposal as it
is a step towards a permanent solution.
Gavin Pirrie, 115 Rainbow Drive said the streets proposed for the
Kalispell City Planning Board
Minutes of the meeting of October 14, 2014
Page 7 of 17
parking district are public streets and paid for by the taxpayers,
who are both the residents and the parents of the students. They
encourage the students to park in the school lots and the
community garden teaches the value of community service. The
garden also provides local produce for the school. Safety of the
students is a concern. Pirrie noted in Missoula every third
Wednesday or Thursday of the month they are asked to not park on
the street during the night so the streets can be cleaned. He is in
favor of the school district's plan.
Isabelle Dunn, 1828 Airport Road added it costs the students
$30.00 to park in the school lots and some students are not able to
afford the parking pass. She suggested the students could pay a
higher fee than the residents in the parking district.
Cynthia (no last name or address provided) said she is a parent of a
Flathead High School student and she is troubled that the proposed
parking district seems to be rushed and that the students seem to
have been painted in a very negative light. Most of the students
work very hard to be successful in their academics, sports and
extra -curricular activities. She provided information on the
formation of the parking districts at MSU and U of M and noted
the planning process was about 3 years for both districts and noted
they both have transit systems. Please don't make it any more
difficult to get our kids to school and take time to make sure that if
there is a parking district created it is done with thought and with a
process similar to Bozeman and Missoula.
Pauline Sjordahl, 234 3rd Avenue West said she has lived near
Elrod for 17 years and nobody parking on the south side of 3rd
Street West has anything to do with Elrod and there has never been
an issue. Sjordahl added there is a couple at lst Avenue and 3rd
Street who keep the sidewalk from Elrod School up 4fh Avenue
clean, salted and clear, and they keep the drain clear so any child
going to and from school will not have a safety issue.
Joe Matulevich, 442 West Spring Creek Road said there have been
a very significant number of stakeholders that have been left out of
the discussion — 400 students and 130 staff members at Flathead
High School who have parking permits. A study is not needed as
the problem is they are short around 200 parking spaces and the
solution is they need to come up with roughly 200 parking spaces.
Anything else is not going to solve the core problem. The city
and/or district 5 needs to realize the lack of parking and start
acquiring properties so they can expand the parking capabilities
and the high school if necessary in the future.
Matulevich continued the city planning staff and School District 5
Kalispell City Planning Board
Minutes of the meeting of October 14, 2014
Page 8 of 17
need to get together and determine how to go about having a right
of first refusal for every home sale that occurs within 1/2 block of
Flathead High School and the district should come up with a plan
for land acquisition.
Matulevich said the single space per parcel was a good suggestion.
It doesn't require bureaucracy to manage it and only requires
someone to put green paint on the curb. He also suggested that the
City of Kalispell could waive the stormwater treatment
requirements so that the district could maximize the amount of
parking that they could put on any piece of land that they acquired.
When students are classified as a sub -standard class of citizens and
are excluded from the ability to park on public property that is bad
government. He strongly urged the board to recommend to the city
council that they do not institute a parking district. The problem
needs to be solved in other ways.
Grace Cady, 911 8fh Avenue West said one issue that hasn't been
properly addressed is the "Graduation Matters" effort. It is
important to get the kids to school and if you want the kids in
school, getting a diploma and at Flathead High School then you
have to make that easy for them.
Casey Petek (no address provided) said she just came back from a
volleyball game in Missoula and was picked up by her mother
because if she had ridden the bus she would have arrived between
11:45 and midnight. She read from a letter that was provided to the
board prior to the hearing dealing with the safety issues that are
faced by the athletes having to walk to their vehicles in the dark
and with the sex offenders in the neighborhood. Please keep the
students safe.
BOARD DISCUSSION
President Graham noted they have received a lot more information
on this issue that needs to be considered by the board. He asked for
a motion to table this item to the October 28, 2014 work session.
MOTION
Lorch moved and Regier seconded a motion to table the discussion
of a parking district near Flathead High School to a work session to
be held on October 28, 2014.
ROLL CALL
The motion passed unanimously on a roll call vote.
BOARD MEMBER
Board Member Osorio-Khor returned to her seat.
RESEATED
OLD BUSINESS:
CAPTAIN'S MARINE
A request from APEC Engineering, on behalf of Captain's Marine
Kalispell City Planning Board
Minutes of the meeting of October 14, 2014
Page 9 of 17
PLANNED UNIT (Somers Bay Trading Co. LLC), for a Planned Unit Development
DEVELOPMENT for the development of a boat and trailer sales and service facility
consisting of 14,900 square feet of sales, offices, and service areas
on the main floor and 1,800 square feet of offices on the second
level. The PUD proposal also includes associated parking,
landscaping, and public utility connections and extensions as
needed or required. The property is located at 3215 Highway 93
South.
STAFF REPORT KPUD-14-01 Kevin LeClair, representing the Kalispell Planning Office recapped
the revised staff report sent to the board. At the last meeting the
proposal submitted was a single-phase of the development on the
western half of the property. The owner/ applicant wanted to have
the full PUD reviewed so they provided additional materials for the
staff s review.
This PUD application consists of three phases of development on
the property: Phase 1 is the boat and trailer sales facility, associated
parking lot, landscaping and access to some of the other buildings
that exist on the property; phase 2 is the addition of boat and
storage facilities and wood -framed metal sided buildings that
would be available for dry storage. Also included in phase 2 is the
removal of the three residential structures; and phase 3 is an
additional boat storage facility on the far eastern part of the
property.
LeClair described the dimensions and building uses currently on
the property. He noted there is a slough area on the eastern portion
and geotechnical information will have to be obtained in order to
determine how close to the steep slopes the owner will be able to
build. He also reviewed the elevation drawings and a site plan of
the PUD.
LeClair reviewed the PUD placeholder that was put on this
property by the Gardners' which was set up to provide access to
city services and when the property was developed a full PUD
application would have to be submitted. LeClair noted since then
full PUD applications were submitted and approved for Fred's
Appliances and the Volkswagen dealership that was to be located
on the northeast corner of the PUD. Both projects included
development of not only how the applicant would use the property
but also how it would integrate with the overall mixed -use
industrial business park that was planned when the PUD was fully
developed. The same is true for Captains Marine. Not only will
they have to look at how this property will be developed for the
owner but also look at how it will integrate with the overall PUD
even though the balance has not been developed.
LeClair noted the Growth Policy always intended for an internal
Kalispell City Planning Board
Minutes of the meeting of October 14, 2014
Page 10 of 17
routing system in this area that would create additional access
points for the properties as it was built out.
Condition 41 is the placement of a no -build area that would extend
the 60 foot R/W of United Drive south across the property. The
city would require that this area be reserved so that in the future
when development occurs that warrants access, it will be available.
LeClair added with the information submitted by the developer it
appears there are other building placement options that would still
provide adequate access to the buildings and other areas of the
property and therefore condition 41 can still be met and allow them
to use the property as they proposed.
LeClair referenced an email from the city's Public Works
Department, copies of which have been given to the board, which
raised concerns with condition 41 and how the condition was
meeting the policies in the City of Kalispell's Extension of
Services Plan. LeClair reviewed the memo and indicated that the
Public Works Department has requested that additional language
be added to condition #1 to state: "A no protest to a special
improvement district for roadways is required to be constructed as
a result of future development shall be signed and submitted by the
owner." LeClair said that would add a level of protection to ensure
the R/W would be available if and when a roadway would be
required in that area.
Staff recommends that the Kalispell Planning Board adopt the staff
report KPUD-14-01 as findings of fact and recommend that the
Kalispell City Council approved the planned unit development
subject to the 22 conditions of approval as amended.
BOARD DISCUSSION Osorio-Khor said when she was first appointed to the board they
were working on the growth policy and it was pointed out to her
that planning was flexible and we didn't need to fixate on the
specific wording. She said condition 41 bothers her because this is
one lot, one business and the idea of bisecting it, basically turning
it into two lots, seemed odd and not what the owner was proposing
in the first place. In addition it is a safety issue with employees or
customers having to cross a city street to get to the other portion of
the business. The road would not connect to anything and if we
insist that a portion of his property be condemned so that a road
can be put in she asked if the city would compensate this property
owner for the loss of his property. LeClair said no, that is not
proposed at this time.
Young said staff is trying to highlight the need to take a step back
and look at the Gardner Investment PUD that was put into place.
As a condition of that PUD and for the privilege of being annexed
Kalispell City Planning Board
Minutes of the meeting of October 14, 2014
Page 11 of 17
into the city the Gardner's PUD was allowed a placeholder status.
Part of that status is that you have to provide a long-term plan that
shows roads, sewer and water and he added there was always a
suggestion that a road would be there. Young said this is an issue
between the owner/developer and the person that he purchased the
property from. The property was allowed to be annexed into the
city on the condition that the whole property would be considered
and because they only bought one chunk is unfair to say they are
no longer a part of the overall PUD.
Graham noted there is an island of the PUD further to the south and
if the road was not required through the Marine property the island
would not be connected to the rest of the PUD in the future.
There was lengthy discussion regarding the PUD placeholder, the
properties included, a lack of an infrastructure plan for the entire
PUD, and the ability to do a full PUD for a single parcel or an
assemblage of parcels in order to develop an overall development
plan for an area.
In relation to the roadway no -build area the city is not requiring a
roadway easement at this time because there are no other
development plans to the south and it is not warranted. No public
access will be allowed and the owner can still use their property
with the exception of the 100 foot no -build area. Further
discussion was held.
Young asked for an explanation of how the waiver of protest to a
special improvement district would be set up and LeClair
explained.
APPLICANT/TECHNICAL Kim Larson, APEC Engineering said they don't have a problem
SUPPORT with most of the findings in the staff report with the exception of
condition 41 and they request that the condition and associated
references in conditions 4 & 5 be deleted.
The 60 foot access easement (approximately 1 acre of the property)
would bisect the property contrary to the best interests of the
owner. The intent of purchasing the 10 acre property was to have
one consolidated sales/service/boat storage facility and the
easement would severely limit the owner's flexibility in further
development of the property. The issue is complicated by the
existence of a wetland area on the east portion of the property with
a 100 foot setback further reducing the area remaining for
development on the eastern portion of the site. The required storm
water retention area west of the wetland will also cut into the area
left.
Kalispell City Planning Board
Minutes of the meeting of October 14, 2014
Page 12 of 17
By providing a phased development plan with adequate traffic
circulation to serve the area in the rear of the property they can
responsibly develop the property without the north -south roadway.
Larson indicated the roadway only shows up on the Growth Policy
Future Lane Use Map as two small arrows on Lower Valley Road
and Snowline Drive and nowhere else. Larson concluded by saying
there are frequent references in the staff report referring to the
growth policy and please keep in mind that the growth policy is
only a guideline and does not necessarily constitute law. They need
to do what makes sense and it is not sensible to take that road
through at this time, or at all.
Randall Seifert, Somers Trading Company and owner of Captain's
Marine quoted from an article from the Daily Inter Lake that states:
"While the growth policy is an official public document it doesn't
create law or regulate development. It is rather a community guide
for making land use decisions." Seifert said he feels the city is
regulating that he has to have an easement and although it has been
referred to as a no -build zone it still prevents him from using his
property the way he wants.
Seifert said he keeps hearing the discussion that these lots are deep
and narrow and he can't develop the back half. He said his plan
clearly shows that you can develop a piece of property well. In fact
there is such a small percentage of land that is actually usable in
the back the argument to develop a road to further develop the back
of the lot doesn't really make a lot of sense.
The maps he has seen, including the city maps, have always shown
United Drive turning to the north of his property and to suggest that
he would have known or had any belief that there was a road that
was supposed to go through the middle of his property is just a bit
off The bottom two properties of the PUD already have good
access through Highway 93 South and Snowline Drive so those
properties shouldn't even be in the discussions.
Seifert continued that although it is currently called a no -build zone
it is an easement because the city is saying he can't do what he
needs to with his property and he isn't getting any compensation
for it.
Seifert pointed out that he is also requesting approval to use
crushed asphalt in some of the parking areas. He noted the area is
for boat storage and there won't be cars driving over it all the time.
MOTION Young moved and Pesola seconded a motion to adopt revised staff
report KPUD-14-01 as findings of fact and recommend to the
Kalispell City Council that the planned unit development for
Captain's Marine be approved subject to the 22 conditions listed in
Kalispell City Planning Board
Minutes of the meeting of October 14, 2014
Page 13 of 17
the staff report.
MOTION TO AMEND
Lorch moved and Pesola seconded a motion to adopt the
CONDITION #1 AS
amendment to Condition 41 recommended by the Public Works
RECOMMENDED BY THE
Department to add the following statement: "A no protest to a
PUBLIC WORKS
special improvement district for roadways is required to be
DEPARTMENT
constructed as a result of future development shall be signed and
submitted by the owner."
BOARD DISCUSSION
Regier asked if the applicant would be opposed to a jog in the road
and moving it more towards the back of the property and Siefert
noted that would actually take up more of the land. Jentz said the
road needs to connect at the north and south ends but it could wind
through the property.
Pesola said he supports the amendment because should there be a
need for a road in the future there would be a means to have it
built. He added there is no requirement to build the road at this
time.
Osorio-Khor clarified is the motion that condition 41 as it presently
is written will be amended to add the language recommended by
the Public Works Department and Graham said yes. Osorio-Khor
added then the next step would be to determine whether condition
41 remains as a condition and Graham said yes.
ROLL CALL — AMENDMENT
The motion passed on a roll call vote of 6 in favor and 1 opposed.
TO CONDITION # 1
BOARD DISCUSSION
Lorch asked where the crushed asphalt is proposed to be placed
and Seifert said for exterior areas used for boat and trailer storage.
Osorio-Khor stated she has a great deal of difficulty with condition
41. She thinks it is unnecessary, doesn't make sense and isn't good
planning. She was assured by the board that the growth policy was
flexible and she agrees we need to be flexible otherwise it is almost
as if we are making it punitive to do business. She understands the
concept but on this particular property with this configuration, with
the wetlands and the fact that it is one business, and whether this
roadway gets built now or 40 years from now she will not be
voting in favor of the PUD with condition 41.
Graham said he understands Osorio-Khor but there was a lot of
work done on the original Gardner PUD overlay in 2008 and it had
a designed purpose and Graham has a hard time moving away from
that purpose. Street connectivity was planned and without that it
would disconnect the lower portion of this PUD from the intended
PUD overlay as a whole stopping city growth south.
Kalispell City Planning Board
Minutes of the meeting of October 14, 2014
Page 14 of 17
Further discussion was held regarding location of the utilities,
extension of services, and the need to secure R/W for future road
extensions, should development warrant those extensions.
MOTION TO STRIKE
Osorio-Khor moved to strike condition 41. The motion failed due
CONDITION #1
to a lack of a second.
BOARD DISCUSSION
Young asked if Public Works had any comments regarding the
developer's request for a variance on surfacing materials and
LeClair said it was not discussed with Public Works as the city
didn't have enough information from the developer. In other
projects in the city there are often requests to use a soft surface for
any kind of storage areas which is generally not allowed.
Graham said this came up with Kalispell Toyota's expansion of
their lot and when it comes to deviations we have to apply equal
application of the design standards. LeClair said in order to have
parity on projects the idea is that you pave the areas that you are
planning to use for parking and circulation. Parking of motor
vehicles also includes trailers. The fact that it might be incidental
or slow moving is not really a consideration. There are also air and
storm water quality issues and without any justification the city
would deny the request.
Lorch said that is why he asked for clarification on the variance
request because he couldn't see where on the plan this material
would be used. It would be hard to respond without specifics.
Lorch added he would probably have more sympathy toward that
request in the 100 foot no -build area which could also reduce the
area required for storm water and could enable the back portion of
the property to be more usable.
LeClair noted the board could make a motion to add a condition
that a crushed asphalt surface could be used in areas of the no -build
area, outside of parking and circulation for incidental storage or
something along those lines. Anyone who has dealt with
development within the city knows that a hard line is drawn on this
issue. When you talk about paving your parking and access
circulations areas and having the rest of the area landscaped with
something that is desirable it makes the quality of the development
look better in the long run v. having rough parking fields.
Osorio-Khor said the board is supposed to serve as a balance.
Everything is a guideline and we are trying to do what we think is
best. She doesn't see any problem with them using the crushed
asphalt and also allowing this material in the 100 foot no -build area
as suggested. LeClair noted that the paving standard is not a
Kalispell City Planning Board
Minutes of the meeting of October 14, 2014
Page 15 of 17
guideline it is a regulation that is applied to every project that
comes in to the city. Osorio-Khor said just because something is a
rule doesn't mean that there aren't exceptions to a rule.
Young said he has used recycled asphalt and it can turn out great
but as an advisory board we would be ill-advised to tamper with
city standards that are probably incorporated by ordinance from the
city council.
LeClair said it might be entirely appropriate to ask for a deviation
of this standard but it needs to be done in a very limited and
confined way because when you approve a deviation for one
developer it cascades to the next project and then the next. LeClair
said he doesn't think it is necessarily a bad idea for storage around
the outbuildings on the back part of the property. The city would
need to have additional information on what areas the crushed
asphalt would be placed.
Lorch clarified that his suggestion was for areas of non -circulation
and recognizes the fact that the owner of the property isn't going to
be able to invest a lot in the no -build area without it being at risk
when further development occurs.
MOTION — REQUEST FOR
Lorch moved and Regier seconded a motion to add condition 423
PAVING SURFACE
that states as follows: "A variance is granted to allow the use of
MATERIALS VARIATION
recycled asphalt for parking and boat storage and on the non -
circulation areas in the 100 foot no -build area."
BOARD DISCUSSION
Jentz noted that this variance would not be a substitute for the
landscaping requirements within the development.
Osorio-Khor asked if the city often allows PUD's that have islands
of county land in between the city properties and LeClair said yes.
Osorio-Khor asked if there have been road requirements like this
and LeClair said there have been discussions on how the properties
will be integrated in the future and Jentz added with Glacier Town
Center there were 4-6 roads that went straight north out of that
property, so yes it is a normal condition. The difference is they
would have been using those roads after the property was
developed. LeClair added in an ideal situation you might bring
United Drive into this property and actually have a cul-de-sac that
would terminate at the southern boundary so there would be a
turnaround. Right now there would be a dead end road which is an
undesirable condition for people who are driving south on United
Drive as they have to turn west and drive across an easement that
may be other people's private property.
Osorio-Khor asked if the areas of the recycled asphalt would be
Kalispell City Planning Board
Minutes of the meeting of October 14, 2014
Page 16 of 17
determined by the applicant and if so if that wording is part of the
condition and LeClair said not as part of the motion but anytime a
structure comes in for development it would go through Site
Review and the conditions of the PUD would be reviewed at that
time. Osorio-Khor thought the wording should be included in the
motion and LeClair noted the applicant can propose anything they
would like but added final engineering rarely matches the original
conceptual designs.
ROLL CALL - VARIANCE
The motion was approved on a roll call vote of 5 in favor and 2
opposed.
BOARD DISCUSSION
Osorio-Khor said she does not like condition 41 and she will be
voting against it.
ROLL CALL — ORIGINAL
The motion was approved, as amended, on a roll call vote of 5 in
MOTION
favor and 2 opposed.
NEW BUSINESS:
None.
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting adjourned at approximately 10:40 p.m.
NEXT MEETING
The next regular planning board meeting is scheduled for
November 12, 2014 (Wednesday due the Veteran's Day Holiday)
beginning at 7:00 p.m. and located in the Kalispell City Council
Chambers, 201 lst Avenue East, Kalispell .
/s/Chad Graham
Chad Graham
President
APPROVED as submitted: 12/9/14
/s/Michelle Anderson
Michelle Anderson
Recording Secretary
Kalispell City Planning Board
Minutes of the meeting of October 14, 2014
Page 17 of 17