City Council Regular Meeting

Star City Council Meeting Minutes June 1, 2004 Call to Order: Mayor Nathan Mitchell called the meeting to order at 7:00 pm and all stood for the Pledge of Allegiance. Roll Call: Council - Tammy McDaniel, Dustin Christopherson, Tom Erlebach and Chad Bell were all present. Approval of Agenda: Bell moved to approve the agenda, Christopherson seconded the motion. All aye: motion carries. Consent Agenda: Christopherson asked about the Spink Butler bill. Christopherson moved to approve the Consent Agenda consisting of May 18, 2004 Meeting Minutes, May Claims Against the City, Findings of Fact & Conclusions of Law for Ingels Preliminary Plat, Ingels Conditional Use Permit, Streamview Subdivision Preliminary Plat, Pristine Meadows Conditional Use Permit, McDaniel seconded the motion. All aye: motion carried. Public Input: Ada County Assessor's Office Presentation - Bob McQuade handed out information and stated that the numbers subject to change. McQuade discussed the tax notice for Star; total market ) value is up 25%, taxable value is up 31% over 2003. This is a twenty percent increase. McQuade reviewed the City of Star Assessment Notice Summary. Jeannie Nail - Report on Customer Appreciation Day - The event will run 10 to 4 pm on Saturday. Nail is requesting money, the businesses have donated $3200.00. Nail wants $1000. There will be 18 booths. Nail is looking for approximately $295 from the City. Erlebach amended the agenda and added the money request to the agenda, Bell seconded the motion. All aye: motion carried. Item 7-A funding request will be added to new business. Old Business: Havencrest Subdivision Final Plat-Kevin Amar, 114 E Idaho, Meridian, Idaho stated that the applicant has read and agrees with the Staff Report. Two lots have been added to this first phase due to the request from Councilman Stegenga requesting a shift in the road. They will still process 127 buildable lots, they will be putting in landscaping and agree with the conditions of approval. Staff has received no written comments and the extra two lots have been addressed. Bell moved to approve the final plat of Havencrest Subdivision Phase I with the twelve stated conditions of approval, Christopherson seconded the motion. All aye; motion carried. 1  Public Hearings: Meadowbrook Phase II- Reconsideration of PUD: The Mayor explained the public hearing process and asked the Council if there was any ex parte contact or conflict of interest. Hearing none, he asked the applicant to speak. Clint Boyle, Landmark Engineers, 104 N 9th Ave., Nampa, stated that the project has been in front of the Council before, the request was for a 34 lot development, but the Council approved only 30 lots in the development. Applicant is asking for Council reconsideration of the PUD. This proposal is for 33 lots. The difference in plans - central common area 20,000 sq. feet, a residential lot in the comer with a change, expanded pedestrian treatments added. A north south pedestrian way will connect, benches were added for expanded facilities of the park. The project has 12% in common park area - exceeding the PUD ordinance by 10%. Smaller lots are clustered around park area- all are 8,000 sq. foot lots. The differences are 8,700 sq. feet more landscaping which is above ordinance requirements and lots that fall below 8,500 sq. feet lots, open space is almost doubled. The development goes above and beyond in size of lots. Total increase of 15% allowed in PUD, this comes in at 9% density. The ordinance gives 5% bonuses in three areas: 1) provide open space with parking, 2) siting/visual focus points, and 3) design features between sidewalk and streets. This development is at 9% density and exceeded the PUD requirements. The developer is in agreement with stated conditions, and based on amenities believes it to be a benefit to the community. Park amenities exceed many larger projects in Star. Open space is used for park purposes, not storm drainage. If City wants park in the City system, the developer is willing to give it to the City, if not homeowners will own facility. ) Bell asked if this was not granted, will you go back to R-3 development? Boyle stated that an R- 3 application is in at the City now. If this is granted the R-3 application will be withdrawn. Staff has received no written comments and there were no changes to the staff report. Public Input- Kevan Wheelock, 1481 N. Star Road, Star, Idaho -He lives behind subdivision. He is opposed to 33 lots would like to see three homes to an acre. He is not opposed to development and likes the small park for residents as an amenities - he is for the development. Dennis Stegenga, 290 S. Star Road, Star- He opposes this development. The public wants bigger lots. He wants 30 lots and thinks that is what the public wants. He believes we should continue with the R-3 subdivision. Rose Alt, 247 N. Baldy Place, Star- Wanted to know the effect this will have on the Rockbridge Subdivision. She was told that she was addressing the wrong public hearing - it is the next one. The Mayor asked the applicant for any rebuttal - Boyle addressed concerns of Mr. Wheelock and Mr. Stegenga. This is and was a PUD application. At the last meeting we requested 34 lots and were restricted down to 30 lots. There are benefits to the community, look at ordinance. The amenities proposed are above par from everything in town, the developer has gone the extra ) mile. It is feasible at 33 lots with the benefits of a park and nice facilities for all in Star. This has 2  been scaled back to provided additional open space by one less lot. There has been a lot in the news about sprawl. We need to provide more densities when they meet the requirements. Boyle stated that he believes it would be extremely difficult to tell the difference between R-3 PUD and straight R-3 and is requesting approval. The Mayor closed the public hearing. Bell stated that after looking at this both ways - the constituents want open space and to live in a rural area, he likes having open spaces in parks - with increased amenities, he will probably reconsider and look at approving this application. He agrees with the developer, no one could tell the difference between an R-3 PUD and R-3 development. Christopherson stated that the decision was pretty hard. We do want bigger lots and he thinks the applicant has fulfilled the requirements of the PUD. The reason for a PUD and increased density are the three different items discussed. There are not many options with a subdivision this small. There are nice amenities for the City of Star. Christopherson approves the reconsideration. Bell pointed out that lot widths do comply with R3 zones, a straight R-3 won't give any bigger lots. McDaniel in reviewing the staff report for reconsideration and listening to Mr. Boyle -believes it to be more of a benefit to approve the reconsideration. ) Erlebach stated that ifthere is only going to 4,000 more, where is the other 20,000 going? The Mayor stated that the rest of property will go into other lots, a 100 foot lot will get seven feet wider or longer or remain in open space. Christopherson moved to approve PUD #04-13 for Meadowbrook II Final Plat Reconsideration to include the conditions of approval 1-10, Bell seconded the motion. All aye: motion carried. Dudley Ranch, Annexation/Zoning/Development Agreement - The Mayor opened the public hearing and asked Council if they had any ex parte contact or conflicts of interest. Bell stated that he had talked with the developer regarding the park area of proposed subdivision, he did not discuss annexation. Hearing nothing further, the Mayor asked the applicant to speak. Becky McKay, Engineering Solutions, 150 E Aikins, Ste 120, Eagle -McKay has been a planner for several years and now has a planning and engineering company. The property has a lot of natural features that can be enhanced and preserved. Other large projects she has worked on are Bridge Tower, 400 acres; they incorporated pathways, elementary schools; Bear Creek in Meridian, and Locksa Falls she added another four acres. This project is 314 acres in size, it will have 1.87 dwelling units per acre. It will have both commercial and residential areas. They are trying to create a community. They will be creating collectors, pathways, and open spaces. What is this development going to do for our community as a whole? This is an important goal for this project. They have held a large neighborhood meeting, there were a lot of people and had a productive discussion. They are working on smaller groups 3  now, and will try to work through issues. McKay is not here to discuss the specifics, they will need to design the features. She is working with multiple agencies, there will be more with this project. She is asking that this property be rezoned and annexed. The Developer had three options; they could have asked for separate zoning designations, they could amend the Comprehensive Plan, or third they could do a planned development. McKay has used the PUD process on every large project, it has safety features. You can expect more than an average subdivision, it has several options, the Council can impose several criteria. There are three designations on this property now, based on ditches when the Comp Plan was developed. This has an unusual feature in that there are seven zoning districts surrounding the property. She believes that an R-2 zone is the best option. This property looks at Starlight Meadows along the western boundaries with a density of 3.7 lots per acre; Rockbridge is at 2.48 dwelling units per acre, an R-1 as a western boundary, Rural Residential of ten acre lots, and Mixed Use Commercial and the river as boundaries. McKay is committed to the project and intends to work with the parks department to find out what is needed. Star is in need of public park space and ball fields. There will be 129 acres of open space, 68 acres lie in the flood way, the key feature is open space for residents. They will incorporate mixed use, access will be internally oriented, they will be creating a community, there are many different possibilities. McKay believes the project complies with the Comprehensive Plan, PUD, and flood plain. It will provide a lot of open space, with collectors and pathways. At 1.87 houses per acre, this is a very low density, Meridian is at 2.5 to 3.5. This project will provide diversity and is something special not just a plain subdivision. Lots will range up to 41,000 feet, there will be different home sizes and lot sizes. ) Eckles stated that he has received one written letter from the Russell's. There were no further changes. Public Testimony- Pam Leverett, 946 S. Main, Star - Stated that Betsy Dudley assured her that she would sell to someone that would sell to someone that would take care of this land. She used to live in Boise, came to Star. We don't want to be like Eagle and Meridian, she's seen a lot of building running rampant in Star. Last winter the news media stated that Boise was best place to live, now they're talking about urban sprawl. What kinds of amenities for small lots, there are 115 lots in one area. A lot of cars will be on Main Street, she doesn't think this is what we need. She'd like to see the Council accomplish what we elected you to do. She wants to know what happens to the irrigation, there won't be enough water for extra houses, where is water coming from? Michael Goldston, 745 S. Main Street, Star- Stated that he doesn't know about the Dudley Ranch project. When he hears 500 homes it's disconcerting to him. He has lived here for the past 25 years. He never imagined the growth in Star. He is here to speak to concerns over traffic and safety. Main Street probably has no more than 20 or 30 homes on south side and they are one acre sites and some larger. Everyone has dogs, cats, children, squirrels and many die. He is concerned with safety of grandchildren and the neighbors grandchildren. By dumping traffic on Main Street just imagine the safety and speed control problems, and Highway 44 will be a mess. People will go to Boise off Main Street to Chinden. No one drives 20 mph, they mostly drive 25 mph, 40-55 mph for young people. Neighbors are concerned with density. Maybe traffic lights 4 can be considered, many people recommend speed bumps on streets. He is opposed to the development more because of urban sprawl and traffic control. He believes that serious consideration needs to be given to that. Brad Carlson, 960 S. Main Street, Star - Speaking for everyone who buts up to Dudley River Ranch and open space, we've always known that this would be developed. He has always been for property rights, and the right to sell property. Becky has been vary gracious and he appreciates the efforts in neighbor meetings. Contact Becky and get a meeting together. There are a few odds and ends about traffic - enormous traffic - two main arterials State and Star Road. There are no sidewalks and there are families, horses, and kids. He suggests taking the road all the way out to Star Road. He can't see how you can consider putting all the traffic on Main Street with no street light. June Russell, 10569 Gloxinia, Star - She has met with Becky, however she still has questions. Those of us that live within 300 feet of the property received packets stating that this is R2 - this is a misnomer, the town houses are so small, with other small areas. She is requesting that lot sizes be increased- people will be hood winked. Some people didn't receive the packet that she did, people did not receive information. She believes it a crime to dump traffic on Main Street - it makes sense to go through to Star Road. Traffic is a problem - not including 44. She hopes the Council will reconsider lot sizes. The City of Boise is turning down townhouses. Randy Mills, 10665 Gloxinia, Star- Stated that she has concerns about the R-2 zoning, she does not accurately reflect zone. Star has grown since the last time she's seen it. There are Blue Herons rookeries on the property. The wildlife are going to leave - due to construction. She would like to see the developer hold to a more spacious feel. She doesn't want to see hundreds and hundreds of homes - development yes - but intelligent development. Kim Honea, 10505 Gloxinia, Star- Stated that she has three concerns: 1) development could be something different, 2) it needs to offer larger lots, and 3) what are they going to do to maintain the canal, weeds are a fire hazard. And on Delphinium Street - 1,000 vehicle trips a day, it can barely hold what is happening now. She wants neighbors safe, she is concerned. Ron Freitag, 624 S Main, Star - Stated that next to road out on Main Street his biggest concern is traffic, the church traffic is major on Sunday. He believes this should be reconsidered, Main Street is a small street and he would like it to stay that way. He would like to see an increase in lot size and density and reduction in traffic. Andy Clark, 10652 W. Stonecrop, Star - Stated that he backs out on to Delphinium every morning. He has kids and dogs and all traffic who wants it - 1,000 trips a day. He believes it to be crazy to put that many cars out that direction, and the density is crazy. All the development will be on City water, he drills wells for a living. People on Main Street have wells, some 80-88 feet deep wells. The water table will drop. He doesn't want kids to get run over. Marq Ross, 428 S. Main, Star- His property backs up to the Dudley Ranch, he has lived here for 50 years, he grew up here. It used to be a kids playground, you can see wildlife and open spaces. He is opposed to it, but he knows development needs to come. Transportation is a concern, the 5 road coming out on Star Road is a problem too, he would like to see five acre lots. The Boise people want to come west and are looking for five acre parcels. Traffic can be diverted to State Street. His Father corrugated Main Street when it was unpaved. Heidi Carlson, 960 S. Main, Star - Pointed out that a lot of the property is in the flood way and it has been great living with it as open space. Beautiful piece of land, it needs more roads out to State Street. Main Street does not have sidewalks. It could be a little more unique than what we have going. Sherri Link, 437 S. Main, Star- She stated that there is heavy traffic in and out of the church, they have just started ticketing the speeders. She doesn't want anything to happen to anyone's kids - 1,000 more vehicles is prohibitive, and we can't afford anymore for taxes. The water is pretty nasty tasting now. She hopes the Council will go with majority and down size or up size lots. Richard Locket, 209 S. Delphinium, Star - Good Luck. Gary Shoemaker 214 S. Alcove, Star- Stated that Becky worked for Ada County, there is urban sprawl and believes this is number 13 on subdivisions. Star is a good community and if they take this end and develop it he's worried about the river. If you change the course of stream - Mother Nature will bite you and getting help from the Federal Government- good luck. The Boise River may be in downtown Star. Ruth Marcos, 780 S. Main Street, Star- She doesn't want to loose the open space and believes a lot of consideration should go in to the traffic on Main Street. Our street is pretty busy now and people don't obey speed zone. She doesn't want to see that much traffic on that road. Jeannie Nail, 1011 S, Star Road, Star- Stated that there are a lot of cars coming out on Main Street it is directly across from her road. It's too bad it can't be five acre parcels. She understands the density. It is her property and nice to look at property, but if you want to see the animals and greenery buy the property. She asked to consider five acres and the road going out to Star Road. Ron White, 10728 Gloxinia, Star - Stated that this is a nicer development than prior developments by prior councils. To add to mix is the impact on local schools which is a big concern. He was listening to the presentation earlier and believed the Council was coerced into smaller lots due to the park. He is concerned about placing an R-3 designation to control lot sizes to have it run up later. The R-2 sounds better than the R-4. It could look a lot different. Don Soderling 278 S. Alcove, Star - He asked what they are going to do with fill area, this will push water table area to surface and if we get flood, it will go someplace and it may go up Main Street - he is concerned. Four foot flood - put berm and fence. Subdivision is subdivision. Melani Miles, 277 Hullen, Star - She has researched the Council. She asked people to tell her about the Council and asked if they would open it up to development? She feels disappointed that this is being considered. She lives in Rockbridge and hopes that the council will be true to 6  what they said at election time. Star is attractive, she wants Council to apply progressive planning. She is from the West Coast and they can't repair the infrastructure. Applicant- McKay stated that she is not here to discuss number of vehicles tonight. The Ada County Highway District will address the issue of Main and Delphinium Streets. ACHD has said you shall connect to stub roads. Residents won't be contacted regarding the meeting with ACHD on this project, so residents need to attend the meeting. ACHD has reversed their decisions before and they do look at things like interconnection. The collector streets will have no front facing houses on them. Traffic studies will have all of the recommendations. It has not been determined that there will be 1,000 vehicles a day, the study in not yet done, but 1,000 vehicles is a normal threshold. Regarding the irrigation, we will be pumping water. The canal is the main feature through the middle of the subdivision. There will be vehicle and pedestrian bridges. We have dug substantial test holes for ground water and will be working with engineers. McKay stated that there are traffic and safety issues on Main Street, again, ACHD and the Council will determine this. No plan has been submitted yet. Regarding Hwy 44 intersection, they will analyze all issues and Plummer Road at a half mile could warrant lights if warrants are met. McKay stated that Mrs. Russell talked about lot sizes, the lot lines were matched to the Starlight ) Subdivision lots and are 9,600 sq feet. They not only matched width and depth but also the 50 foot common area to preserve Lawrence Kennedy. McKay stated that there are no apartments at all, they don't want apartments. The townhouse pods are in twos, the arterial buffer is between the two collectors. There are acre and acre and a half lots, lots were reduced on the western and eastern boundaries. There are very few properties with opportunities to do something different, they are trying to do that with this property. People are focusing on total number of homes, not 1.87 homes per acre. They are not encroaching in to the flood way. They have met with the Army Corp of Engineers to do study. The Corp looks at us not impacting other properties. Rockbridge is just another subdivision, no club house, pool, just a residential subdivision. We are opening up to an R-2 - signing on dotted line with restrictions. With the expansion of the area of impact to the south and east boundary this type of urban density is what Star will need, not urban sprawl or leap-frogging. Don't make the mistakes your sister City has made. She is very disappointed (Eagle) with the urban sprawl at 1.5 dwelling acres - high density. At 1.87 dwelling units it will allow us to provide amenities and provide for all economic groups. This is a good project and they are still working with neighbors. We can't make everyone happy, but it can make a development they will be happy to live next to. Staff reported that Legal Counsel has reviewed the Development Agreement. Development Agreements are established so that we have a handle on the criteria. This could come back in l and they could apply for several different zones. This seemed to be cleanest. Refers to 7 commercial lots, they will develop as subdivision develops. All ordinances are required to be met. Erlebach stated that if they are not annexed into the City and we deny the application, they can come back at R-3 zoning. The Mayor closed public hearing. Bell stated that there is a fairly large concern of traffic on Main and Delphinium. This application has not gone before ACHD yet. Citizens and Council need to make thoughts known to ACHD regarding traffic concerns. Bell, personally does not have a problem with this application, as it complies with Comprehensive Plan, they have both low and medium densities. He likes the open area, but the large concern is traffic. There are no improvements and nothing to slow traffic down on Main Street. Erlebach stated that he had a number of concerns; ifwe reduce density we take away traffic concerns, he would like to see something different, he loves the idea, but ponds need to be bigger, we have thirty people testifying against it - we do represent citizens of Star. Christopherson stated that the annexation and zone conform to our ordinances. The development complies with Comp Plan diversity which includes: affordable housing, no strip commercial development, commercial within development, mixed use, lots from small to really big lots. We don't see this in Shooting Comet. It complies with the Comp Plan map oflow density, R-2 is low density. An application with low density and provides services falls in line with Comp Plan perfectly. We need to deal with traffic problems and he is concerned with traffic. He would like to see traffic forced through arterials and collectors. In his opinion we should approve the application. McDaniel stated that in her opinion, she is glad that someone developed the property she lives on so she could move to Star. This property has wonderful appeal and allows people to get out of a congested area out of Boise. The traffic flow allows traffic to move quickly through the neighborhood and get to the highway. She feels fortunate that someone decided to develop property so she can live in Star. She is concerned about traffic, a lot of engineering will go into that. She concurs we need to approve. Bell stated that having gone through the Saddlebrook Subdivision we learned a lesson that we can somewhat dictate to ACHD, we may have to arbitrate. He doesn't want to see us not dump traffic on Delphinium and maybe we need to explore stop lights or maybe justify taking traffic out on collectors. His largest concern is the traffic issue. He has no other concerns - they have complied with everything. He believes we should approve the annexation and zoning request and include something about those two accesses. Eckles stated that the traffic issues and road designs will be decided by ACHD. Randy Lane from ACHD is here from ACHD. Annexing and zoning is not the time to determine traffic lSSUes. 8 Christopherson moved to approve the Dudley Annexation file AZ04-04 request to zone R-2 with a development agreement, McDaniel seconded the motion. Bell stated that for clarification for those in attendance we are only annexing and zoning we are not approving development. Bell suggested that everyone keep in contact regarding this. Erlebach asked if we approve this as an R-2, can they come back and we can't approve larger lots? Density is 1.87 units per acre, they can't do more lots. We can approve bigger lots. The Development Agreement protects against this. McDaniel, Christopherson and Bell - all aye, Erlebach - nay. Motion carried. Heidi Hersey Annexation & Zone - The Mayor opened the public hearing and asked Council if there had been any ex parte contact or conflict of interests. Hearing none, the Mayor asked the applicant to speak. Heidi Hersey respectfully requests to be annexed into the City and zoned R-3. The sign issue has been addressed, a 4 x 4 sign is posted on property, she was not aware that the City provides signs. Regarding her signature on petition, it was done for a friend. Eckles stated that he has received three letters tonight regarding the application. These were from property owners west of Can Ada requesting consideration of R-2 zoning instead. Letters from Jeff Storkan, Oliver Storkan, and Ross & Sharon Fontes. Eckles stated that the Comp Plan says they can request an R-4 zone. The sign in question has been moved. Marrilyn Spangler, 1078 N. Can Ada Road, Star asked how this will effect my property? She has had this happened in Eagle and they annexed her property, she doesn't want it to happen again. Mitchell stated that there will be no change. The Mayor closed the public hearing. Bell stated that this is straightforward all properties are compliant. There is nothing they haven't complied with. Bell moved to approve the annexation and zoning ofR-3 of the Hersey property, Christopherson seconded the motion. All aye: motion carried. DeGrange/Watts Conditional Use Permit-The Mayor opened the public hearing and asked Council ifthere was any ex parte contact or conflict of interest. Hearing none, the Mayor asked the applicant to speak. Angella DeGrange stated that they are asking for a Conditional Use Permit in the Estrella buildings on State Street south near the self storage building. The interior is in compliance, the playground will be accessed through front of building. They will have outreach, first aid, and parenting classes, they have a joint loading zone. They have complied with all of the State of Idaho agencies. The maximum number of children is 84. They will be open 6 am to 6 pm Monday through Saturday. McDaniel asked if there was an enclosed fenced area. Yes there is a 6 foot fence. 9  Eckles has received no written correspondence. This application is very sensitive to health and welfare and fire. Everything does comply. The building has been sold. The Mayor asked about an area on the map. It was a loading area. Meloni Miles, 277 N. Hullen, Star asked if the fence was chain link? She stated that she is not getting any packet of information. The Mayor explained the three hundred feet people. The education station is an accredited program. The Mayor closed the public hearing. Bell believes this to be a great application for that piece of property and sees no reason not to grant this. Bell moved to approve the conditional use permit for the DeGrange/Watts Education Station with the three conditions of approval stated, Erlebach seconded the motion. All aye: motion carried. Moyle Annexation/Zone - Eckles received a letter for deferral to the July 6th, 2004. Bell moved to defer the Moyle Annexation/Zone to July 61\ 2004, McDaniel seconded the motion. All aye: motion carried. Reports Request for Star Customer Appreciaton Day monies - Bell moved to approve $295 for the Star ) Customer Appreciation Day, Christopherson seconded the motion; Bell withdrew the motion, Dustin withdrew his second. Bell moved to provide two handicap and one regular porta potties for the Star Customer Appreciation Day, Christopherson seconded the motion. All aye: motion carried. Reports Attorney - nothing to report Clerk - calendar included in packets, remember Baseball game Staff - good job by all on Area of Impact Bell - discussed the park. Erlebach - nothing to report Christopherson - nothing to report McDaniel - nothing to report Violet Blake stated that the park property is flooded. The ground needs to be more leveled at the parking lot - it slopes to much. Mitchell stated that the Ada County Planning and Zoning recommend approval of our Area of Impact request. He stated he expressed appreciation to staff and Council the level of professionalism is hands down higher than our Sister City. 10  The contract lease with Friends Church is being reviewed for the park at 3rd and Star Road along with park regulations. A copy of the building permits has been included in the packets. Reverend Winters is retiring and will be leaving our community. Please thank him for his service if you seen him, he will be missed. Adjournment - It was moved by Christopherson and seconded by McDaniel to adjourn the meeting. All aye: motion carried. The meeting was adjourned at 10:30 pm. Approved: �� Nathan Mitchell, Mayor ) 11