Neighborhood Districts

Neighborhood District 2 Mtg Minutes Oak Hills, Wasatch, Foothills, Provost, Provost South, Spring Creek Wednesday, May 1, 2024, Provo City Hall Community Room Board members present: McKay Jensen, Katherine Hall, Kristina Davis, Hannah Petersen, Ruth Eldredge Thomas, Mitzi Collins, Ashley Rayback Attendance: Annette Newren, Michael Newren, Bill Elieson, Karen Elieson, Susan Teemant, Kris Teemant, Carilo Beltran, Kathryn Brallier, Cristina Bray, Jared Bray, Brian Woodfield, Ashley Gephardt, Adriana Kaeding, Russell Bateman, Rossy Mijares, Angela McMurray, Cesar Mijares, Timothy Stockdale, Juan Sebastian Ramirez, Zoom members: 14 Welcome by McKay Jensen, Chair (6:00 PM) 1. Department Topics A. Traffic Reports: Traffic Manager Vern Keeslar –560 N & 900 E pedestrian crosswalk: Link to 560 N 900 E slides. They’re trying to have right turns only and eliminate left turns. Question: Is the crash data submitted normal? Answer: This is a fairly conservative estimate, not all reported, this is a conservative estimate. Question: What does this do to the designated bike lane? It looks narrower? Answer: The goal is to not have bikes on 9th East, they want them to be moved to 800 E and wayfinding. –No left turn sign at 1550 N 900 E: Link to 1550 N 900 E slides. This is BYU’s road so there isn’t a lot of input from the city allowed. However, BYU is aware of the problem because of people trying to turn left there or cut through the parking lot. Comment: There are often people crossing from the Creamery all the way to the MTC across any of University Ave regardless of crosswalk. Question: Can the city look at a curb down the middle of 9th East or something instead of four lane traffic? Comment: A curb down the middle of the street would be bad because it wouldn’t allow for turning left at all. Getting out is not a problem, they just turn right and then turn left from another place further down. We want to cooperate with BYU as best we can. –Data from speed sign on Slate Canyon Drive: Link to speed sign data slides. The peaks are 8 AM or 5 PM. Comment: Speed data is skewed because the cars can get going faster as cars go down the hill. Answer: He wanted to get it at the top of the hill in order to remind people to go slower while driving through the houses. Question: How does this compare to the speed before you put in the sign? Answer: It was presented six months ago, he doesn’t remember. Comment: Per their remembrance, the data was very similar. B. Provo River Bridge & Trail Project, 820 North, Traffic Manager Vern Keeslar, Thomas McMurtrey, Consultant working on it. Stacy Adams: Link to 820 N Bridge slides. We have received some funding for 2025 so we want to have it planned and ready to go by the time we get the money. This is the third bridge we’ll be improving because we’ll be improving two under the bridges–State Street Bridge, Columbia Lane Bridge. When looking at the design of the bridge, they’re trying to decide what will serve Provo for the future and future needs. They are looking at closing off access to 900 W and 850 W to keep it safe. June 6 Public Open House to disseminate information about the bridge changes.  Question: They ride bikes a lot and it’s scary. What about doing a wider trail on one side instead of bike lanes? Answer: Many people desire to be on the trail, but the experienced bicyclist doesn’t mind riding on the pavement. On some of the options you’ll see a 10 foot trail on the side. They think there is value in looking at both. Question: With the four to five lane bridge will the road have to be widened further down? Answer: That is a future question, certainly the roundabout is for a single lane in each direction so that would have to be part of any discussion for any potential widening in the future. Right now 11,000 cars doesn’t warrant a five lane but there are a lot of things going on on the West side and a bridge this size may be needed, they want to be proactive about it and not short-sighted. Comment: A heavy consideration of that if you’re looking into the future, there are a lot more types of wheels coming in the future and so looking at that now will allow for better wheel safety overall. Comment: What will the impact on Timpanogos Elementary School be? Make sure that Timpanogos Elementary is involved in this process. Answer :One of the stakeholders they meet with will be Provo City School District. C. Emergency Communications, Emergency Management Coordinator Chris Blinzinger: Link to Everbridge Emergency Alerts sign-up slide. 1) There are cards in the back for everyone to take. In the past they used reverse 911 but now there is not a phone book for cell phones so now you have to register in order to be notified. 2) They are starting to organize their Ham radio organization to share information into the city in an emergency and they’re developing that program (contact Chris at cblinzinger@provo.org or 801- 852-6455 if interested in participating). 3) Get a kit, be informed, make a plan, check on your neighbors. a) It is important to check on your neighbors and establish a relationship with them ahead of time. D. 1,000 Trees Project for trees along 300 North, 900 East, Slate Canyon, Nevada Ave, Spring Creek Elementary, Urban Forester Chaz Addis, Sustainability Coordinator, Hannah Salzl 1) Currently there are 470 trees planted right now, and the trees go into vacancies that are not brand new development. (New trees do not count into the 1000 trees). They’re looking to fill the 1000 tree goal. If a neighborhood wants to get together and make a project they’ll come in and put in the trees for free. They were just awarded $370,000 to go into disadvantaged neighbors and most of the areas they looked into for our neighborhood did not qualify. They looked at about 300 spots inside Dixon, Timpanogos areas to put in new trees. With these trees this will put us above the 1000 trees initiative, but they don’t want to stop there. The idea is to have tree- lined streets, big mature trees (they require less water and the turf underneath requires less water), helps conserve energy inside your house. Last week they gave away 300 trees and there will be another one in September. a) 300 N: There is a church on the Northeast corner, they could put eight trees there. There aren’t trees inside of those park strips but there isn’t water and they’re looking for park strips at least 4 feet and these are only 2’. The standard code now is 7’ for park strips. Older neighbors have almost 10-15 feet. b) 900 E and State (by Provost): Most park strips are narrow and so they won’t put them there. c) Slate Canyon Drive: Where there are usable park strips they are filled with trees and the rest is undeveloped land that doesn’t have any water to it. d) Nevada and Slate Canyon Drive: Church, they could put about 25 trees there. e) Spring Creek Elementary: The rocks are there because there isn’t water. If the school district put water there they could put trees and vegetation. Question: What year or census data were you looking at because that information may not be correct for whether it is a disadvantaged area or not.  Answer: He was confused why they asked them where the disadvantaged areas are as he feels he might not be the expert, but they are hoping to have more trees in the ground and put 650 more trees in the ground and hopefully we’ll get more money in the future. Question: What varieties of trees are you putting in? Answer: Zelkovas and Elm varieties because they’re super hardy and can deal with our salinity levels well. We also salt the roads and so on the westside where the runoff comes they need to be heartier and able to withstand our weather and the salt runoff. E. Parks Updates: John Bunderson, Parks Planning Manager. Foothills Trails Park Trailhead parking area plan: Link to Foothills Park slide. They would like to put together a parking design before a more permanent design is put in. About 20 stalls for park access. There would be a bike repair station included as part of this. They need to include waste receptacles and doggie bags. Comment: He lives right below this and he can see it from his window. He thinks it’s a great idea because people park on the cul de sac (even though it says no parking) and they leave everything there. Right now there is a huge pile of boulders but he would like a better block to keep the motorcycles out. There is major erosion coming down from the motorcycles in the winter. Comment: Our neighborhood utilizes that trail and welcomes the improvements. Comment: They live in Spring Creek and they would love to have less trash there. Question: What is the timeline? Answer: We’re hoping for later this year, but there are other things in the queue as well, but knowing that it’s savvy with the neighborhood we’ll put it in our queue and get working on it. We have budget for it and the trails crew would like to do it ASAP. Rock Canyon Trailhead improvements: Link to Rock Canyon Park slides. The improvements are mostly taking place by the parking lot and restroom replacement and upsizing the amphitheaters, bouldering practice for kids, wayfinding, interpretive loop talking about wildlife, plant life, etc). We are currently on schedule, the project is running at budget and we are anticipating opening this fall. Question: Why were so many trees taken out? Answer: There were changes in the grading to accommodate the parking area and being on the slope we couldn’t just tip it for our accessibility requirements. There are also requirements with a large gas line. They’ve been able to maintain a lot of the vegetation, and there will be all new vegetation planted. Question: Since water doesn’t come down there unless there is a huge runoff has there been something addressed in changing the biology of the canyon? Answer: Public works has been putting in a large pipeline that feeds from the river close to 2230 N, they are bringing water into the canyon and discharging by the chlorinator station and will be running year round both on the North of the existing channel and it will also come down the south. It will be parallel to those trails and interpretive loops. They are under construction. Question: where is the water that used to come down there? Answer: Those springs are captured in a pipeline that comes down to a small chlorinator station that treats the water and it goes into the water tank on the north side of the canyon. It is drinking water for the city. They expect low to moderate flows in a couple of weeks from runoff to reach Rock Canyon Park. Comment: At another meeting we can have Provo Water come and describe what is happening with water treatment. Question: Worried about shade and reflection of asphalt? Answer: There are requirements to cover 50% canopy over parking areas. At Foothills Trails Park they haven’t gotten to the point of choosing vegetation or water source for that. They will have to be compliant with Provo City Code. 2. Planning Item Buckley Draw - Development Services requests a Zone Map Amendment from the PF(CH) (Public Facilities – Critical Hillside Overlay) Zone to the R1.8(PD) (One Family Residential - Performance Development Overlay) Zone to create a 110-lot single family development, located approximately at 1630 S Nevada Ave. Provost South Neighborhood. Aaron Ardmore (801) 852-6404 aardmore@provo.org PLRZ20240047 Link to Neighborhood District Program-Developer decorum slide. This will be on the May 22nd planning commission. You can express your opinions and feedback on the plan. Dave Morton with Anderson Development: Link to Buckley Draw project slides. Question: She’s lived on the hillside for many years and there have been field fires, and it became an area for mudslides. So what is your plan for that? Answer: The city created a berm and made certain that the water and any debris were caught prior to that so if there was any type of event like that again the water and debris would be sent to that area. So what they’ve done with the city is a hydrology report. They’re going to continue this channel and take it through the open space up top so it will be redirected into the park. Comment: Some may wonder why the city wants to develop it at all. The history is that the county jail used to be where the 55+ community is and when the city decided to put it up for sale and the neighborhood asked the city to step in and buy the property and to do that they ended up buying where the school is, where the church is, the hillside, and even where the 7/11 is. They paid $1.2 million to make sure that our homes were not the site of a jail. They developed in low density. They promised this would be single family homes and they are keeping their promise. Question: If the city didn’t buy it could someone else buy it and develop it? Answer: When the neighborhood plan was adopted they wanted single family homes. The proceeds from this are supposed to develop Bicentennial Park and finish it. Comment: The biggest concern of the neighborhood is the size of the homes. That seems to be overbuilding, that will contribute to the existing problems for Slate Canyon Drive, it will increase traffic and parking issues. Putting in a garage does not mean the cars aren’t going to be parking on the streets. Answer: They are traditional homes with front and back. The smallest lots are about 5000 sq ft. The land values have gone so high that they’ve reduced the size of the lot. Comment: There are already traffic problems in the neighborhood, there are speeding problems, there is now traffic control on this road, and this will dramatically impact the traffic in the whole area. Bill Peperone: When Anderson development started they were told not to go over four units per acre. There are smaller lots because the density is clustered. They are trying to balance all the pressure. Answer to parking: Parking is self-contained. There are full-width streets and they will park there. Question: Their house butts right up to the new development, but one of the things with that comes is there isn’t very much land in Provo that allows for animals, property values, blend to the mountains. That’s part of the appeal on a meta standpoint vs. packing everything into as much as space as you can. There is no school crosswalk across Spring Creek Elementary School. Answer: This has been anything but rushed, even in the designing of the road. Question: You’re putting gazebos right and lights by the house. Question: Was there any shielding on the lighting? Answer: The city of Provo wouldn’t have issues with that, but if there was some ordinance that didn’t allow it they couldn’t. Question: How does this interplay with the existing trail to Alpine? Question: Timeframe? Answer: Everything costs more and takes longer. They wouldn’t start for a year and a half or two years. Question: What is the space between each home? Answer: 10-15 feet per homes. Comment: He thinks it looks good.  Question: There is a reason why we have fought to not have this developed. There are many people who use the trails who would no longer have access. No fire buffer. How much water do we have to fight a fire in the neighborhood? Question: Are HOAs necessary for this? Answer: Yes, to maintain Opinion Poll: Who is for? 9 Who is against? 30 Your voice really counts at the planning commission and at the city council meeting. Go to the meetings and state your opinion and if you can’t go, there are emails. 3. Additional Topics A. Update on Slate Canyon Drive meeting and City Council meeting (Council Staff) Link to Slate Canyon Drive Parking slides. They’re hoping for June 1st to be when the enforcement begins. Question: If the cars that are on Slate Canyon move elsewhere where will they go? Answer: Please email the council with what they see and what they think. Question: How does the council plan to notify the residents on the road? Because some will need some lead time to prepare for that? Answer: They’re working with different departments to figure out when they can feasibly get it in and get people notified. Parking is aware that when this goes into effect there will be some leniency before they get fully into it. Comment: When this was designed and they’re expecting them to go down to two cars with a month’s notification. Last we heard everyone was discussing a parking permit and then there is a huge restriction. Answer: Everyone is allowed to have four parking spots on the street, but if you have specific feedback or concerns with your property, please email the council. In code two in the garage and two in the driveway is code. Comment: They emailed the council and they told them to deal with it. Answer: This is the solution the council decided. They decided to do a ban on overnight parking because it’s the easiest thing to reverse. Comment: This is so much better than zoning enforcement. She is grateful for the council to consider this is heavy zoning enforcement because you have to have enough parking for everyone. There are cars currently overflowing past the area. Question: For the zoners who live there it’s very confusing because they were told they didn’t have to have a zoning problem. He wants to see the people who live on the street polled. Comment: He has a work truck he can’t fit in his driveway and so he is incensed. He thinks it’s a horrible idea. What is he supposed to do with his work truck? He thinks it’s one of the worst ideas ever. Comment: She lives on the street and is a homeowner and opposes it. The total ban is new and was sprung on them. Answer: The 12:00 AM to 6:00 was on the agenda last year and letters have been sent to city council. Comment: He does live on Slate Canyon and is glad there’s a ban. B. Grant application update (McKay Jensen). If you can think of something we should add to the value of the community let him know. C. 5-minute brainstorm of enforcement issues to be considered in the next meeting (Katherine Hall): What is a problem that the city should enforce? Vehicle Limits and Over Occupancy, ban parking in the entire city?, illegal duplexing Email McKay with any other concerns: mckay.jensen@gmail.com 4. Adjournment (8:23 PM)