Planning Commission

Spearfish Planning Commission Agenda August 20th, 2024 at 4:00 p.m. Meeting Location: City Council Chamber, 625 Fifth Street, Spearfish, SD And Zoom Online Meeting Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85391993019 Meeting ID: 853 9199 3019 A. Call To Order B. Roll Call C. Approve Agenda D. Approve the Minutes from August 6th, 2024 meeting E. Declaration of Conflicts of Interest F. Items for Action 1. Request: Approve a preliminary plat of Lots 1 Thru 4 of the Miller Subdivision Location: South of Pendo Road and west of the Centennial Mountain subdivision; Within the Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Applicant: Jeff Miller Action: Hold a public hearing and approve the preliminary plat 2. Request: Consider a variance associated with a sketch plat of Lots A & B of the Oak Hills Subdivision Location: Southwest of Thoen Stone Road; Within the Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Applicant: Johanna Meier Della Vecchia Action: Consider a variance G. Items for Discussion a. Future Land Use Map and Land Use Designations Draft H. Public Comment - Public comments are welcome at this time, however, no action will be taken. I. Adjournment ADA Compliance: The City of Spearfish fully subscribes to the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act. If you desire to attend this public meeting and need special accommodations, please notify the Building and Development Office at 605-642-1335 and 24 hours prior to the meeting so that appropriate auxiliary aids and services are available.  Spearfish Planning Commission Regular Session Minutes August 6, 2024 at 4:00 p.m. The Spearfish Planning Commission met in regular session on Tuesday, August 6, 2024 in the Council Chamber of City Hall and via Zoom video conference. Greg Kruskamp called the meeting to order at 4:00 p.m. Roll call was taken with the following members present: Greg Kruskamp, Amy Davison, Rick Tysdal, Dylan Wilde, Toby Bordewyk, and Meghan Byrum.. Also present: Kevin Koelbel, Planning Director, Jaymia Ecker, Assistant Planning Director, John Senden, Mayor. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Kruskamp noted a revision to correct the date of the agenda item to approve meeting minutes to June 4th. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Tysdal moved, Wilde seconded, and all voted to approve the minutes of the June 4th, 2024 Planning Commission meeting. DECLARATIONS OF CONFLICTS OF INTEREST: Kruskamp called for any potential conflicts of interest to be identified. No conflicts were identified. ITEMS FOR ACTION: 1. Request: Approve a sketch plat of Tracts 1 and 2 of the Bender Subdivision Location: West of Lookout Mountain Road; Within the Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Applicant: Marjorie Bender Action: Approve the sketch plat Ecker presented the staff report concluding that staff recommended approval. A commission member inquired about the proposed access off Lookout Mountain Road. Lawrence County Highway superintended must permit access. Davison moved, Wilde seconded, and all voted to approve the final plat with the condition that Lawrence County will review and approve the proposed access. 2. Request: Consider a variance associated with a preliminary plat of Lots 1 Thru 4 of the Miller Subdivision Location: South of Pendo Road and west of the Centennial Mountain subdivision; Within the Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Applicant: Jeff Miller Action: Consider a variance Eric Neis and Jeff Miller presented the request for a variance to the dedication of public right of way. Koelbel presented the staff report concluding that staff do not recommend approval based on the variance procedure. Planning commissioners inquired about access for emergency vehicles, future street network connectivity, further subdivision of the property, and adjacent development. After additional discussion, Tysdal moved to approve the request for a variance to the public right of way with the following conditions: 1. Any further subdivision of the 4 proposed lots or the remainder of the property will require the private access be converted to public access. 2. Adequate egress and access to each of the proposed lots will be met to ensure emergency services can be provided.  Bordewyk seconded the motion and Kruskamp called for a vote. Bordewyk, Tysdal, Davison, and Byrum voted aye, Wile voted nay citing that the criteria for the variance have not been met as his reasoning. The motion passed. 4. Public Comment – no public comment was made 5. Items for Discussion a. Future Land Use Map and Land Use Designations Draft Koelbel presented the draft future land use map and land use designations inviting commissioners to provide feedback at the next meeting. ADJOURNMENT: Meeting was adjourned at 5:27 p.m.  Spearfish Planning Commission Staff Report Meeting Location: 625 Fifth Street, Spearfish SD, Council Chamber of City Hall and by Zoom Online Meeting Meeting Date and Time: August 20th, 2024 Applicant: Jeff Miller Request: Approve a preliminary plat of Lots 1 Thru 4 of the Miller Subdivision Action: Hold a public hearing and approve the preliminary plat Location: South of Pendo Road and west of the Centennial Mountain subdivision; Within the Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Proposal Summary: The proposed plat will subdivide a 160-acre tract to create Lots 1-4 all being 5 acres. Subject area is shown in blue above. Page 1 Spearfish Planning Commission Staff Report Meeting Date: August 20th, 2024 General Comments: This is a major plat application within the city’s extraterritorial jurisdiction. A variance request to the dedication of public right of way required by ordinance was approved by the Planning Commission with conditions (see August 6th, 2024 Planning Commission agenda and meeting minutes). The property is currently developed with a single-family residence and multiple outbuildings. The proposed lots are undeveloped and forested. Staff Review Zoning: The parcel is zoned PF – Park Forest District (Lawrence County zoning designation). The minimum lot size for this district is 2 acres with a 5-acre average; The proposed plat meets the density/minimum lot size requirement. Utilities: The subdivision regulations allow private or shared water and sewer services for residential lots 2 acres and larger. The existing residence is served by a shared private well and individual septic system. The applicant is proposing individual wells and septic systems for the lots created by this plat. Permitting for wells and septic systems is handled by Lawrence County and the South Dakota Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources. Access: Doc’s Place provides access to the parent parcel from Pendo Road and is dedicated as public right of way. A private access easement will provide access to the proposed lots from Doc’s Place. Platting Process: Noticing requirements for the public hearing have been meet. After the preliminary plat is approved, the final plat may be submitted for staff review. The final plat will go before the Planning Commission for consideration and then to City Council for final approval with a second public hearing. Summary and Staff Recommendation: With the approval of the variance, the proposed plat meets applicable zoning and subdivision requirements. Staff recommend approval of the preliminary plat. Staff Contact Kevin Koelbel Planning Director kevin.koelbel@cityofspearfish.com 605.717.1122 Join Zoom Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85391993019 Meeting ID: 853 9199 3019 Attachments Page 4 – Preliminary plat Page 2 Spearfish Planning Commission Staff Report Meeting Date: August 20th, 2024  Page 3 Spearfish Planning Commission Staff Report Meeting Date: August 20th, 2024  Spearfish Planning Commission Staff Report Meeting Location: 625 Fifth Street, Spearfish SD, Council Chamber of City Hall and by Zoom Online Meeting Meeting Date and Time: August 20th, 2024 Applicant: Johanna Meier Della Vecchia Request: Consider a variance associated with a sketch plat of Lots A & B of the Oak Hills Subdivision Action: Consider a variance Location: Southwest of Thoen Stone Road; Within the Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Proposal Summary: The proposed plat will create Lot A, 4.66 acres, and Lot B, 137.85 acres from a tract in Section 16 and 21 of Township 6 North, Range 2 East. Subject area is shown in yellow above. Page 1 Spearfish Planning Commission Staff Report Meeting Date: August 20th, 2024 General Comments: This is a minor plat application within the city’s extraterritorial jurisdiction. The plat includes a variance request to the road right of way and design standards required by the extraterritorial subdivision ordinance (Ordinance #561 Section 4.3). Property is currently developed with two single-family residences and multiple outbuildings. Staff Review Zoning: The parcel is zoned PF – Park Forest District (Lawrence County zoning designation). The minimum lot size for this district is 2 acres with a 5-acre average; The proposed plat meets the density/minimum lot size requirement. Utilities: The subdivision regulations allow private or shared water and sewer services for residential lots 2 acres and larger. The existing residences are served by a shared private well and individual septic systems. Access: Thoen Stone Road provides access to the proposed lots. The existing road is dedicated as public right of way within city limits and does not meet existing city road standards. Thoen Stone road transitions to an access easement through the subject property also providing access to private property owned by Les and Daren Turgeon. Section 4.3 of the subdivision ordinance details design standards for roads. A local road requires a minimum of 66’ right of way and 4” gravel surface. The applicant is requesting a variance to these standards. Instead, they are proposing a 66’ access easement and no additional improvements to the existing Thoen Stoen Road citing concerns that the dedication of right of way will lead to trespassing on the adjacent private property, much of which is within a restrictive conservation easement prohibiting public access. The variance procedure is governed by Section 1.13 of the subdivision ordinance copied below. Staff analysis is shown in italic. 1.13 Variances 1. General. Where the Planning Commission finds that extraordinary hardships or practical difficulties may result from strict compliance these regulations and/or the purposes of these regulations may be served to a greater extent by an alternative proposal, it may approve variances to these subdivision regulations so that substantial justice may be done and the public interest secured, provided that such variance shall not have the effect of nullifying the intent and purpose of these regulations; and further provided the Planning Commission shall not approve variances unless it shall make findings based upon the evidence presented to it in each specific case that: a) The granting of the variance will not be detrimental to the public safety, health, or welfare or injurious to other property in the area in which it is located; The proposed access easement and current road conditions are not necessarily detrimental to public safety, health or welfare. Making improvements to the road and dedicating right of way could improve the ability of first responders to access the area in the case of an emergency. b) The conditions upon which the request for a variance is based are unique to the property for which the variance is sought and are not applicable generally to other property. Page 2 Spearfish Planning Commission Staff Report Meeting Date: August 20th, 2024  The existing conservation easement (Doc # 2022-01590) prohibits public access and subdivision of approximately 762 acres of land adjacent to the subject property. In addition, private property to the northwest accessed by Thoen Stone Road and owned by Les and Daren Turgeon is subject to covenants that prohibit subdivision and restricts development to one single family dwelling. Given these restrictions, future subdivision and development of the area surrounding and access through the subject property is not feasible at this time. c) Because of the particular physical surroundings, shape or topographical conditions of the specific property involved, a particular hardship to the owner would result, as distinguished from a mere inconvenience, if the strict letter of these regulations are carried out; There are no physical conditions of the property that would prohibit the road requirements to be met that would then result in a hardship. d) The variances will not in any manner vary the provisions of the Official Zoning Map, Comprehensive Plan, Major Street Plan and Master Neighborhood Park Plan. Thoen Stone Road is designated as a local road in the Master Transportation Plan. The future street network does not indicate a proposed connection to other existing street networks. Platting Process: Following sketch plat approval, the final plat may be submitted for staff review. The final plat will go before the Planning Commission for consideration and then to City Council for final approval with a public hearing. Summary and Staff Recommendation: The existing conservation easement limits future land use of the conservation area to farming/ranching related activities. The Turgeon property is also subject to covenants that restrict development. Proposed lots A and B are not subject to the conservation easement and could potentially be further subdivided and developed. While this property is adjacent to existing city limits and could be eligible for development in the future, the conservation easement does provide limitations for connectivity through this property in the future. Therefore, staff does not have a recommendation to the variance. Options for the planning commission would be: 1. Approve the variance 2. Deny the variance 3. Approve the variance with conditions determined by the planning commission Staff Contact Kevin Koelbel Planning Director kevin.koelbel@cityofspearfish.com 605.717.1122 Join Zoom Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85391993019 Meeting ID: 853 9199 3019 Page 3 Spearfish Planning Commission Staff Report Meeting Date: August 20th, 2024 Attachments Page 4-5 – Sketch plat Page 6-7 – Variance request narrative Page 8 – March 21st, 2023 Staff Report Summary (item was not placed on the agenda) Page 9 – Subdivision ordinance design standards for roads, Section 4.3 Page 10 – Map of Conservation Easement Page 4 Spearfish Planning Commission Staff Report Meeting Date: August 20th, 2024  Page 5 Spearfish Planning Commission Staff Report Meeting Date: August 20th, 2024  Page 6 Spearfish Planning Commission Staff Report Meeting Date: August 20th, 2024  Page 7 Spearfish Planning Commission Staff Report Meeting Date: August 20th, 2024  Page 8 Spearfish Planning Commission Staff Report Meeting Date: August 20th, 2024  Page 9 Spearfish Planning Commission Staff Report Meeting Date: August 20th, 2024  Page 10 Spearfish Planning Commission Staff Report Meeting Date: August 20th, 2024  Page 11 Spearfish Planning Commission Staff Report Meeting Date: August 20th, 2024