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12/26/01 SP City Council MinutesA SPECIAL MEETING OF THE KALISPELL CITY COUNCIL WAS HELD AT 7:00 P.M. WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2001, IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS AT CITY HALL IN KALISPELL, MONTANA. MAYOR WILLIAM E. BOHARSKI PRESIDED. COUNCIL MEMBERS JIM ATKINSON, DON COUNSELL, RANDY KENYON, FRED LEISTIKO, RON VAN NATTA AND CITY MANAGER CHRIS KUKULSKI AND ACTING CITY ATTORNEY CHARLES HARBALL WERE PRESENT. COUNCIL MEMBERS DUANE LARSON AND DALE HAARR WERE ABSENT. Mayor Boharski called the meeting to order and led the Pledge of Allegiance. AGENDA APPROVAL Leistiko moved approval of the agenda. The motion was seconded by Van Natta. There was no discussion. The motion carried unanimously upon vote. ORDINANCE 1411 - ESTABLISHING AN INTERIM KALISPELL CITY PLANNING BOARD AND ZONING COMMISSION Ordinance 1411 establishes a seven -member city planning board that also functions as a zoning commission. Due to its emergency status, this ordinance becomes effective immediately and does not require a second reading. Leistiko moved Ordinance 1411, an emergency ordinance establishing an Interim Kalispell City Planning Board and Zoning Commission; and establishing an immediate effective date and limited 90 day duration. The motion was seconded by Counsell. Kukulski explained that recent actions by the Board of County Commissioners disbanding the joint planning board leaves several issues unresolved. He said one of the more important is how to address pending applications for projects within the city limits that would normally have come before the joint board. Kukulski said because of the legal questions surrounding the Commissioners' actions, the staff is recommending that the City Council create an interim city planning board and zoning commission. He said how the appointments are made to the seven - member board is determined by State law, with the County Commissioners already indicating that they will exercise their right to appoint one of the board members. Leistiko commented that he doesn't see this issue being resolved within 90 days and asked whether the duration of this ordinance could be extended to 180 days. Kalispell City Council Minutes Special Meeting - December 26, 2001 Page I of 4 109 Harball said the duration :has to remain at 90 days, but if the Council gets close to that date and there still isn't any resolution, then it can take action again to continue the board. Kenyon asked if the creation of this board puts the City in the position of "abdicating" the multi -jurisdictional area. Harball said this board will only handle planning within the city limits and simply allows applications to go forward. Counsell asked what would happen to the applications if the city board isn't established. Harball said the Council would have to act as the board and hold the public hearings. Kukulski commented the Council can act as the planning board, but with a city this size he wouldn't recommend it. Public Comment Ken Kalvig, Attorney for Bucky Wolford, stated he feels setting up this board is wise, however, he's concerned with the interim nature of it. He said he assumes it's being labeled an interim board because the City is not sure how it's going to respond to the County's actions. Kalvig said that uncertainty is causing Wolford and other developers concern and he urged the Council to give prompt consideration to how it wants to respond to the County. Norbert Donahue, 144 Crestline Drive, stated the City doesn't have to establish a planning board and could accomplish the same goals with a planning department consisting of a planning officer and a zoning officer. He said the Council could hold the required public hearings which would actually speed up the time developers have to wait for a decision. Rob Heinecke, 320 Ponderosa Street, said he supports the creation of a city planning board but doesn't support appointing a Council member to a seat. He suggested using the extension of service plan as a guide to determine the extraterritorial jurisdiction and encouraged the Council not to file another lawsuit. Diane Conradi, Citizens for a Better Flathead, stated an interim board is prudent because the City has a lot of options to look at which should be looked at seriously. She said this is about taxpayers and how the City's going to grow and who's going to Kalispell City Council Minutes Special Meeting - December 26, 2001 Page 2 of 4 110 bear that burden. Conradi encouraged the Council to keep its options open. Boharski said he was swayed by some of Donahue's comments and asked why the Council can't do the work. Torn Jen.tz, Tri-City Planning Office Director, said Donahue was right when stating the City doesn't need a planning board, but it does need a zoning commission which is required to hear all zone changes, text amendments and conditional use permits. He said if you have a zoning commission, it just makes sense to have a planning and zoning commission. Leistiko said all of the information gathered at the planning board meeting is listed in the board's minutes. He said if the same information was to come directly to the Council, meetings would be dragged out for hours. Van Natta said other than possibly having shorter meetings, he feels the testimony presented to the planning board is basically the same that's presented to the Council. He said by being on both boards he hears the same thing twice, however, he still feels the City needs a planning board, not only because it needs a zoning commission, but more importantly to develop a growth policy. The motion carried unanimously upon roll call vote. DISCUSSION OF REVISED GROWTH POLICY PLAN Kukulski said even though the City needs to work quickly on a resolution to the growth policy, he suggested that any discussion on the growth policy plan be postponed until a future date. He said rather than discussing the issue tonight, he would like to have a work session January 9th or loth with the new Council members regarding legal issues. Boharski commented that he has drafted a document outlining what the Commissioners have verbally agreed to in an attempt to move forward on zoning and planning issues. (Draft is attached and by this reference is made a part of the official record) He said the Council has to recognize there is a difference of philosophy and there's nothing to gain by "going to war with the County Commissioners". Boharski said the Commissioner's offer of two separate growth policies "is in the best interest of both parties". Kalispell City Council Minutes Special Meeting - December 26, 2001 Page 3 of 4 Leistiko said he has a copy of the Mayor's draft document, but it's like "negotiating with ghosts" because he's never seen anything in writing from the Commissioners. He said he needs to see a signed written document stating what the Commissioners want to do and then he would be happy to work on it. Boharski said the document is the result of a conference call between himself, Dale Williams and the secretary and was simply intended to give direction to the attorney in drafting a legal document. He said that's all it was meant to be. Atkinson thanked Boharski for working toward a resolution and said if the Commissioners would agree to the document as their own, then he would be more than willing to work on it. Atkinson said he's encouraged for the future because he sees a cooperative spirit in the new Council and he feels there are going to be positive changes. Kukulski said he's also optimistic, but this issue is going to be difficult. He said at the December 17th meeting, the City put its utility service area on the table and the Commissioners pulled the jurisdiction back to the City limits. Kukulski commented it's unfortunately gotten to a point where "it seems that people can't save face unless they destroy what's in front of them". He said the City will continue to work toward a resolution, but it won't come easy. ADJOURN The meeting was adjourned at 8:55 p.m. ATTEST: Theresa White City Clerk Approved January 7, 2001 ;a Wm. E. Boharski Mayor Kalispell City Council Minutes Special Meeting - December 26, 2001 Page 4 of 4