City Planning Commission

PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 9TH, 2019 Planning Commission Members Present: Jamie Baird, Phil Folyer, Jesse Fox, Joshua McKee, Charles Matthews, Tom Sahlberg, Richard Siler Adjunct Member(s) Present: Anita Eylar Absent: Staff Present: Lisa Key, Kelsey Wright Call to Order: Meeting was called to order at 4:01 PM. Roll Call: A quorum of members was present. Anita Eylar arrived shortly after roll call was completed. Review of Agenda & Approval of Minutes: The Commission unanimously approved the agenda. Commissioner Siler moved that the December 12th minutes be approved, seconded by Commissioner Baird. Minutes were approved with all ayes. Public Hearing: Proposed amendments to City of Liberty Lake Street Tree Regulations Commissioner Folyer reviewed the process and expectations for the hearing and opened the hearing at 4:08 PM. Lisa Key presented a brief staff report on the proposed code amendments. Public testimony opened at 4:17 PM. Kevin Schneidmiller, representing Greenstone, spoke on a few portions of the proposed Street Tree Code amendments they are concerned with: • In Article 10-3C-4 (C) (7), although minor compared to other concerns they have, they are concerned with the level of detail of restrictions with the addition of “deicing chemicals” primarily because it opens up the door to impose restrictions based on certain types of chemicals, etc. and may create enforcement issues. • In Article 10-3C-4 (D), while they support a minimum caliper for tree planting, and try to plant nothing less than 2”, they have found that if you get good quality trees, 1.75” caliper has thrived well for them. He noted that they have faced issues with the nursery business of availability of species and at larger calipers. • In Article 10-3C-4 (F) (3), at the end of item 3, Mr. Schneidmiller pointed out that perhaps it’s not written clearly, and raises concern that there is no way to change a planter strip once street plans are designed, approved, and built. • In Article 10-3C-4 (F) (4), regarding items a-i, Mr. Schneidmiller acknowledged these requirements are currently in other sections of the code, but have previously not been enforced. Traditionally the City has only enforced the clear view triangle. He Planning Commission Meeting Minutes Page 1|3 January 9th, 2019  noted that if the City plans to enforce the code as written there will be very few lots that will have street trees, i.e. lots with 50 or 60 ft frontage won’t allow street trees between driveways. He proposed that the City drop the requirement of 15’ separation distance from driveways, that the separation distance from lighting be reduced to 15, and that the City clarify the separation distances from sewer and water lines not be applied to service lines. • In Article 10-3C-4 (J), in regards to species- acknowledges they have made mistakes in the past in this area. They agree with most of the changes, but have issues the removal of many maple tree varieties as they have many varieties of maples they have had no issues with 22 years later and advised that they are worried about to limited of species options going forward. • In regards to Section 3.3 (K) (3) (a), root barriers, Mr. Schneidmiller spoke with 3 different landscape architects and got a variety of opinions on effectiveness and hinderance to tree growth. He advised that opening a trench for depth and width required may risk the stability of the sidewalk and curb already in place. Lisa Key and Kevin Schneidmiller each answered Planning Commissioner questions. Commissioner Sahlberg moved to continue hearing and deliberations to January 23, 2019 at 4:00 p.m., to allow staff time to research and provide some potential revisions to address comments received. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Baird, and approved unanimously with ayes. General Business: A. Planning Commission Elections (Chair, Vice Chair & Design Review Subcommittee): Lisa Key explained the separate voting process for Chair and Vice Chair. Commissioners submitted ballots for both. Phil Folyer was voted in as Chair for 2019-2021. Charles Mathews was voted in as Vice Chair for 2019-2021. B. Planning Commission 2019 Meeting Schedule: Lisa Key presented the option to take a sabbatical during the summer months and/or hold meetings twice a month. After some discussion it was generally decided to continue with meetings once a month and add meetings as needed throughout the year based on work program volume. Regarding a sabbatical, it was decided to defer that decision to later in the year. Commissioner Sahlberg spoke to the importance of having a representative from the Planning Commission attend the City Council meetings and report to them what they are working on. Commission Folyer volunteered to attend the next City Council meeting. To facilitate scheduling, a City Council reporter of the month will be added to the agenda, so that Planning Commission can assign a Commissioner to attend each City Council Meeting. C. Updated Planning Commission Work Program: Lisa Key presented on the changes made to Planning Commission work program to include review of our parking standards per City Council’s request. Design Review and Landscape Standards are the next two highest priorities in the work program. Questions asked and answered. Planning Commission Meeting Minutes Page 2|3 January 9th, 2019 Action Items/ Discussions Presentations: A. Design Review Code Workshop (City Development Code 10-4C): In the interest of time, Lisa Key requested to defer this agenda item and requested that Commissioners review the design review code section on their own and come prepared to discuss possible code revisions at next regular meeting. Secretary’s Report: Lisa Key reported on the below listed items: o 2019 Call for Short Course in Planning (Anita responded as interested in attending) o Planning Commission Resource Guide o January 23rd – continuation of hearing and will talk about design standards Planning Commissioner Reports: No reports at this time. Citizens Comments: No comments made at this time. Adjournment: The meeting adjourned at 5:58 p.m. Planning Commission Meeting Minutes Page 3|3 January 9th, 2019