Planning and Zoning

Planning & Zoning Commission August 14th, Minutes City Council Chambers The regular meeting of the Planning and Zoning Commission was called to order at 7:00 p.m. by Chairman Phil Garcia. Upon roll call, the following were present: Chairman P. Garcia Vice-Chairman K. Wilson Commissioner K. MacKenzie-Chavez Commissioner J. Dooley Commissioner F. Pawlowski Commissioner F. Kozeliski Upon roll call, the following were absent: Commissioner J. Fuhs (Sr.) Presented to the Chairman and Commissioners for their approval were the minutes of the July lOth, 2013 meeting. Commissioner Dooley motioned for approval of minutes as presented. Seconded by Commissioner Pawlowski, A.V.A. Motion Carried. Chairman Phil Garcia administered the oath required by state law for public forum. ITEM ONE: CASE# 12-00100001: City initiated request to add an additional413.58 Acres to the Rehoboth Christian School Annexation. Said property is immediately adjacent and contiguous to the northern City limit boundary line. Annexation will contain a total of 1,082.75 acres m/1. CB reminded the Commission that the Annexation request had come before them at the last meeting on July lOth. Before the Planning and Zoning Commission's recommendation was presented to City Council, the City attorney reviewed the request further and determined that we have an opportunity to annex additional territories along with this annexation action. The City is requesting that we include territory to the north of I' 40, this would be property owned by ConocoPhillips, BNSF Railroad and KinderMorgan, Inc. Using the overhead screen, CB detailed the property lines of the original annexation request and the additional properties the City would like to include. He also provided the acreage of each of the additional properties and the proposed zoning designations. The Planning and Zoning Commission's recommendation will go before Council on August 26th at 11:00 a.m. Originally, this item was scheduled to go before Council at its regular meeting on August 27th, but due City Council attending the upcoming New Mexico Municipal League Seminar, it has been re-scheduled for Monday, August 26th, at 11:00 a.m. Chairman Garcia wanted to be clear as to the Commission's options on this item; he asked CB if the Commission options are to approve, disapprove or approve a portion of this request. CB responded that they were to only make a positive or negative recommendation on the entire item -not a portion of the item. Chairman Garcia stated that they had already provided a positive recommendation on the original Rehoboth Christian School Annexation request. CB agreed, adding that their positive recommendation has not yet come before City Council. It was an agenda item, but Council voted to table this item for another meeting, so it has not been heard by Council. Chairman Garcia commented that he does not feel the Commission has to approve the entire plan, as they have already made positive recommendation for the original annexation request. He added that he sees no benefit to the additional property owners to be included in this annexation. He asked that the Commission hear testimony and then discuss their options. Frank Santiago, ConocoPhillips, stated that they did not know they were part of the annexation request until they received a letter from the City of Gallup Planning Department dated July 26th informing them of such. Their primary concern is whether or not they would be able to operate and continue conducting business as they are currently doing if they are included in the annexation. Currently they are not abiding by City ordinances as they are located in McKinley County jurisdiction. He explained that as ConocoPhillips has not had the opportunity to do its due diligence and review thoroughly how this action will affect their business, they would like the Commission to postpone this item to allow ConocoPhillips to do so. Chairman Garcia stated that the City Planner has already pointed out that ConocoPhillips properties shall have an initial zoning designation of Industrial (I), this will allow them to continue to operate as they are. Chairman Garcia added that although the zoning designation should not pose a problem, he can certainly understand why ConocoPhillips would want to study the matter further. Mr. Santiago stated that there will be an impact on customers that they service and they currently do not have enough information about the Industrial Zoning designation to make the determination that the designation will not impact how they are doing business. Chairman Garcia asked if ConocoPhillips receives any services from the City of Gallup at this time. Mr. Santiago replied that they currently have a contract with the City for electrical services. Chairman Garcia asked about sewer and water services. Gabriel Aparicio, Plant Supervisor, replied that the only service they receive from the City is electric and they have recently signed a contract for five years - it will go until July 30th, 2018. Chairman Garcia stated that he can only assume that ConocoPhillips receives services from the Gallup Fire and Police Departments as well. CB commented that our fire department would be the first responders in an emergency situation, so ConocoPhillips is already receiving additional City services. CB stated that their property taxes will increase slightly, but he noted once again, that they already have access to our City services. Once annexed, they would be able to apply for industrial revenue bonds if they ever decide to do a large improvement or re-construction project. CB also stated that as far as operations are concerned, everything will continue as it is now. Should they ever decide to expand or begin a construction project then they will have to comply with City building and zoning codes, but for now the Industrial Zoning Designation will allow them to continue with no changes. Chairman Garcia asked if ConocoPhillips has State codes that they need to comply with. CB replied that they do, it is the same State building codes that we have to comply with. Mr. Santiago wanted to add that ConocoPhillips is not stating whether they are for or against being annexed, only that they have not had the time to do due diligence. They are simply requesting time to review the matter and determine how this may or may not affect their customers. He understands that they will be in the Industrial Zoning District, but they have not had the opportunity to research the zoning district requirements. Chairman Garcia asked how much time they would need to do their due diligence. Mr. Santiago replied that they would like a minimum of 30 days. They would like to review our City code and Zoning regulations, as well as speak with the City to get a clear understanding of how this action could impact them and their customers. Commissioner Dooley asked if ConocoPhillips could currently refuse assistance from the City of Gallup Fire Department - meaning that if something should happen at the plant, ConocoPhillips could simply shut down and not allow our fire or police department onto their premises. But if they were annexed, they would then have to accept City Fire and Police Department services - she asked if she was correct in her assumption. Mr. Aparicio, explained that they have an emergency response plan in place, they would secure the facility and evacuate if necessary. But, he added, the NM State Police have the ultimate say - if they should decide to take over the situation, then ConocoPhillips would have to comply. Commissioner Kozeliski asked if the City has any environmental laws that would affect the plant. CB replied the City currently _does not, such matters would be regulated by the environmental department and he is sure they are already complying with the environment department regulations. Mr. Santiago concluded with once again asking the Commission for a recommendation to allow ConocoPhillips time to thoroughly evaluate the action and also meet with City officials for further clarification. · Chairman Garcia stated that he is confident that once ConocoPhillips has completed its due diligence, there will not be a problem but he also agrees with Mr. Santiago that this matter has moved along rather quickly. Just a month ago we were considering the properties south of 1'40 and now we are considering the entire sections 16 and 17. CB reminded the Commission that even though City Council has the ·final say and the Commission will submit their recommendation, and if Council should approve the annexation, there is a thirty-day appeal period - so there is a built in mechanism providing ConocoPhillips with the 30 days they are requesting to · complete their due diligence. Commissioner Wilson asked if the 30 day appeal period begins after the council takes action. CB replied in the affirmative. Commissioner MacKenzie-Chavez asked Mr. Santiago if he felt 30 days was enough time to investigate the annexation. Mr. Santiago replied that if they were given only the appeal period as the timeframe window to do their review, this would lock them into a 30 day window with no exception. ConocoPhillips would prefer that it not go before Council for a vote until they know all the ramifications that may exist. He added that they are curious as to why "all of sudden" they were included in the annexation request. Chairman Garcia responded by stating that it is a issue of controlling our growth, that is what Planning and Zoning is all about. He also made the observation that ConocoPhillips existed at their current location long before the City Gallup had a Planning and Zoning Commission. Now the City has grown enough that it is at their borders, and there is a need to be able to control the growth - that is the purpose of planning and zoning. Ms. Belinda Gonzalez, Sundance resident, asked regarding the "property the city is buying - is it not the Navajo Nation's land and what is the City planning on building there?" Chairman Garcia explained that the City is not buying or building anything. The City is attempting to annex, or bring in, the properties into City limits. She then asked that once it comes into the city limits, what is the City planning on building? Chairman Garcia further explained there is no plan to build, adding that the current owners would retain ownership. Ms. Gonzalez asked who owns the property. Chairman Garcia provided names of the majority land owners. Again, Ms. Gonzalez stated that she knows the City would not buy land and not have plans to build on it. Again Chairman Garcia explained that the City is not buying the property nor does it have plans to build on it. Ms. Gonzales then stated that the "Rehoboth" people block roads and she is wondering if they are going to block the road that goes to Sundance. Chairman Garcia stated he did not know which road she was referring to. She said there are two roads, one goes to Rehoboth and one goes to Sundance - she is referring the Hogback Road. CB described the roads that will be named with this annexation - Church Rqck Street will be extended, then the road turns south, this portion will be named Lynx Ridge Rd, and finally it turns east, toward Sundance, it will be named Hogback Road. These are all established right-of-ways and will remain as is; we cannot go in and simply block access. Ms. Gonzales stated that in the past, Rehoboth blocked their access to Sundance. Chairman Garcia commented that one of the duties of the Planning and Zoning Commission is to dedicate roads. Ms. Gonzales stated that a road they had used in the past had been blocked off. Chairman Garcia explained that individuals cannot go through private land and expect to be able to do so indefinitely. He further explained that once a right-of- way is dedicated, then they will have some protection. Ms. Gonzales continued voicing her opinion about the road and added problems she encountered with the cemetery and her husband's gravesite. Chairman Garcia directed the discussion back to the annexation request and asked if anyone else had a comment. Ms. Mae Micon, Sundance resident, asked if "from the Rehoboth gate or the fence where the gravel road is -is that the part that the City of Gallup is going to 'purchase' "? Chairman Garcia asked for clarification as to the area she was referring to. She explained and pointed out on the annexation plat which she was referring to Hogback Road. CB once again explained that there is a misconception as to what "Annexation" is, the City is not purchasing land, nor is it going to own the land and it is not going to control development of the land (other than enforcing building code and zoning regulations), the current property owners will continue to own the land and they will decide what they want to do with the land. If anyone has any questions as to future development, they will need to defer their questions to the property owners. Ms. Micon then referred to the area along the gravesite, "there is a fence there - is this part of the area being annexed"? CB pointed out the annexation boundaries and explained that the cemetery is south of the boundary and not included in the annexation request. Ms. Micon explained that her family has some land near the cemetery and had additional questions regarding the area. CB answered each question and she concurred that her property is not being included in the annexation. Chairman Garcia asked the Commissioners to voice any questions and/or concerns they may have, adding that he has a problem with the expansion to the north, he feels that ConocoPhillips needs to be given additional time to research the matter. At the same time, he hates having to hold up the request by Rehoboth Christian School as they have been waiting a very long time, and if we postpone their request will have to come before the Commission for a third time, even though the Commission had submitted a positive recommendation with the original request. Commissioner Wilson agreed with Chairman Garcia and stated he feels they have already submitted their positive recommendation regarding the initial Rehoboth Christian School Annexation request. He feels it is the City's request to add the additional properties on such a short notice and an industry of such a nature should be given the time to research the action thoroughly. Commissioner Dooley asked if regardless of what recommendation the Commission makes to the Council, the Council can still approve or disapprove the request. CB explained the Commission's recommendation will be on record as to whether or not they feel the annexation is in the best interest of the City, and ultimately that is what matters- is it in the best interest of the City to acquire the territory. Chairman Garcia stated that there is no question that it is in the best interest to the City but, he added, there is a good way and a wrong way and to rush it through is, in his opinion, the wrong way to do it. Commissioner Kozeliski asked if ConocoPhillips wants 30, 45 or even 60 days to review the request, can the Commission place a provision that we will proceed with annexation if ConocoPhillips is in agreement? CB explained that for an annexation request the Commission cannot place any restrictions on the action, they can however make a recommendation to Council stating what they would like to see happen. Commissioner Pawlowski asked about their options, he understands that they can recommend approval or disapproval but does the Commission have the option to table this item to the next meeting. Chairman Garcia replied that they certainly do. Commissioner Wilson asked CB if there would be a problem with the Council making a decision on the Commission's previous recommendation and then, at a later date, making a decision on including the additional properties - is there a reason that the two items have to be decided on together.. CB replied that actually there is, with this action we have the majority of the land owners on board, if we approve only the first annexation presented, then we would no longer have the advantage of having the majority land owners. We would only be able to annex the areas included in the initial request. But state statues allow for the annexation of territory if we have the majority of the land owners signing off on the petition, and in this case we do. This is our only opportunity to do this, if we do not take advantage of it now, then it may never happen. Chairman Garcia added that he certainly feels the annexation will happen, he just thinks ConocoPhillips should have time to do their due diligence. Commissioner MacKenzie-Chavez asked Chairman Garcia if the Commission can table this item and allow ConocoPhillips the time they need to review the request. Chairman Garcia replied that they can if that is what they wish to do. CB then clarified that at this venue, they cannot table the request. The Commission can only make a recommendation to Council as to what they would like to see happen- only Council can table the request to another meeting. The Commission can make the recommendation to Council that they table the request to allow time for review by ConocoPhillips. Motion by Commissioner Wilson to submit a recommendation to City Council on the Rehoboth Christian School Annexation that Council table this item for thirty days to allow for due diligence to be accomplished by the interested parties. Seconded by Commissioner Pawlowski, A.V.A. Motion Carried. There was no discussion on Information Items Two and Three. Commission Adjourned at 7:38p.m. PLANNING & ZONING COMMISSION (fkt A~ - PHILIP G. GARCIA, CHAIRMAN ATTEST: cf~ SECRETARY TO PLANNING & ZONING