City Council Regular Meeting

Star City Council Meeting Minutes March 18, 2008 The regular meeting of the Star City Council was held on March 18, 2008 at the Star City Hall. Mayor Nathan Mitchell called the meeting to order at 7:03 pm and all stood for the Pledge of Allegiance. ROLL CALL: Councilpersons Tammy McDaniel, Dustin Christopherson, Tom Erlebach and Chad Bell were all present. APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA: Bell moved to approve the agenda and added item 5- B Police Report; McDaniel seconded the motion. All ayes: motion carried. CONSENT AGENDA: The Consent Agenda consisted of: Regular Meeting Minutes of March 4, 2008; Time Extension – Hunters Creek; Fair Housing Proclamation; Findings of Fact & Conclusions of Law for Neilson-Young Conditional Use Permit. McDaniel moved to approve the Consent Agenda; Bell seconded the motion. All ayes: motion carried. Erlebach questioned the statement in Hunters Creek Time Extension regarding increased standards before issuing building permits. Chris Yorgason, representing Capital Development, stated they were referring to a requirement from the City Engineer that they were unaware of; they had to clear the job site before they could get building permits. Erlebach questioned them putting in a swimming pool when they only had a couple of building permits. Mayor Mitchell pointed out the City had issued them a building permit for the pool. Yorgason stated the pool was in the process of being built and they hoped to have it done this spring to use as a marketing tool. PUBLIC INPUT/PRESENTATIONS: Public - Frank Turner, 234 N. Devon Way, Star, discussed the dispute in Garden City regarding bikes on the pathway. He wanted to know if Star had any ordinances to protect the pathways. The Mayor stated the City did not have a master plan for pathways yet, but there is to be a pathway in Heron River. The City does have a floodplain development ordinance that does not allow development there, so a corridor would be preserved. The Mayor does have the city planner addressing a master plan. Turner stated he had sent an e- mail to the Council and had received no response. Mayor Mitchell stated the city clerk monitors the e-mail sent through the web site and noted he had not received Mr. Turners e- mail. It appears some e-mails are being lost due to the updating of the web site. Mayor Mitchell asked Mr. Turner and anyone else to follow up with a phone call if they do not get a response to their e-mails. Mayor Mitchell explained he did not anticipate taking any new public input for the Stonebriar application this evening as the public hearing had been closed at the last council meeting. He asked legal counsel, Paul Fitzer, how he should proceed and whether written and oral comments served the same purpose. Fitzer stated if they chose to consider the written testimony before them, they would be reopening the public hearing and would have 1 to allow additional public testimony and rebuttal by the applicant. The Mayor stated they would address the issue later. Police Report – Sergeant Ramage stated February had been a great month, as all crimes were down, except for the one armed robbery. In his observation, speeding through town appears to be slowing down. Christopherson thanked him for the town hall meeting and stated he would like to see it done again. Ramage informed him the school principal has talked to him about the possibility of holding another one at the beginning of the school year. The Mayor noted he had received two calls from teachers at Eagle High thanking the City for putting the meeting on. The Mayor and Ramage noted they are trying to address gang problems aggressively. Erlebach asked Ramage if they had a bio on the robbery perpetrator. Ramage stated they estimate him to be around 13 years old, 4 foot 11 inches, 95 pounds, slight of build, and wearing a black hoodie and a western style mask. He noted the best defense against crime is citizens reporting anything they see that is unusual. PUBLIC HEARINGS: Conditional Use Permit – Todd Campbell – The Mayor stated they have one staff report for the two following public hearing and asked legal counsel if they could combine the hearings into one. Fitzer explained they could only be combined if the applicant was the same on both. As there were two different applicants, the Mayor stated the public hearings would be heard separately. Mayor Mitchell explained the procedures for public hearings. He declared the public hearing open and asked the Council if they had any conflicts of interest or ex parte contact, hearing none, the Mayor asked the applicant to speak. Applicant - Kurt Reliford, J.J. Howard Engineers, 3746 N. Plantation River Drive, Boise, stated they are proposing to divide a 14.76 acre parcel into two lots, one to be 4.5 acres and the other 10.26 acres. They are splitting off the 4.5 acres for the building of an LDS Church. Mayor Mitchell asked if they planned to file an amended preliminary plat for the remainder of the property; Fitzer pointed out the previous preliminary plat had expired so they would need to. Reliford stated they would do what is required of them, but had no definite time frame. Public – No public input was offered. Mayor Mitchell declared the public hearing closed and moved to deliberations Christopherson stated he felt this was a pretty basic application and they should go ahead and approve it. Christopher moved to approve File CU 08-05 Conditional Use Permit for the Todd Campbell Property with the six recommended conditions of approval; McDaniel seconded the motion. All ayes: motion carried. 2 Conditional Use Permit – LDS Church – The Mayor declared the public hearing open and asked the Council if they had any ex parte contact or conflicts of interest, hearing none, the Mayor asked the applicant to speak. Applicant - Steve Simmons, LCA Architects, 1221 Shoreline Lane, Boise, stated he was coming before the Council to build a 16,000 square foot Church on the previously approved 4.5 acres. He noted there was no time frame set for building to commence. Erlebach asked if this building would be around the same size as the Church currently in Star on Main Street. Simmons stated it would be similar. Christopherson asked if there would be more parking on this site than is on Main Street. Simmons stated they do 220 parking spaces for meeting houses. The Mayor pointed out they will do what is required in the code. Public – Mike Mendice, Floating Feather Road, Star, asked if there were going to be any additional churches within a two mile radius of this one. He understood they are also planning on one on Pollard and Beacon Roads. Rebuttal – Steve Simmons informed him they had previously been looking at Beacon Light and Pollard Roads, but the site is in the floodplain and so they are not pursuing it. The Mayor declared the public hearing closed and moved to deliberations Bell stated he didn’t see any problems with this application and felt it was in order. Bell moved to approve the Conditional Use Permit for the LDS Church with the six stated conditions of approval; Christopherson seconded the motion. All ayes: motion carried. NEW BUSINESS: Landscape Plan Review – Republic Storage – Mayor Mitchell explained they were holding a discussion regarding the landscaping at Republic Storage because two citizens had questions at the last Council meeting. He pointed out there is landscaping in place which meets the code. It was conditioned that the entire building front be stone and the landscaping in ITD’s right-a-way has yet to be done, but they have bonded for it. There was a condition that it be green from pavement to the building. He had asked the city planner to inspect the site and they appear to have met the requirements. Christopherson questioned the condition that the entire front was to be rock. The Mayor explained they built what they submitted and were approved for. From the audience, Chris Stokes stated she felt it was not done per what was discussed. The Mayor asked if she felt it should have more greenery. Stokes stated she thought there would be. The Mayor stated they had planted what was required; and he noted that in the discussion it may have seemed like there would be more when in reality, when planted, it is more spread out and appears to be less. 3 From the audience, Becky McKay, stated she had spoken with Larry Larraway and he is also disappointed in the landscaping and felt they had presented a design with more landscaping. She just wanted to let the Mayor and Council know other neighbors were also disappointed. Stokes asked if the owners would be open to suggestions from the neighbors. The Mayor stated the neighbors could ask and see. Erlebach stated the misunderstanding may occur when the presented display shows what appear to be 20 trees and code says six are actually required and they meet the code. The Mayor noted that procedurally they may need to ensure conditions are placed on it if you want more then what the code requires. An option may be to condition the landscaping that it shall meet the display presented. McDaniel pointed out they need to take into consideration the timing of the planting; when the trees mature they will look different. Discussion on Disposition of Barn – The Mayor explained they had spent money on the purchase of a riding arena and the framing is now stacked at the Chamber park. At this time they have no place to erect it and they have had inquires as to whether the City would be interested in selling it. The question before them is whether they want to keep it or declare it surplus and sell it. Erlebach stated as they have no place to put it, he felt it should be sold. Christopherson noted that he had understood we could put it on the land where Mule Days is held. The Mayor explained the lease does not allow any permanent structures. If it was put up, later the City would have to pay to again have it taken down. Bell stated as it was just sitting out in the weather and it doesn’t appear they have any future use for it; his opinion was if they could get a reasonable price for it they should sell it and try to recoup some of the costs. McDaniel asked if anyone knew what it was worth. The Mayor noted it was probably worth more as scrap metal. From the audience Terry Malarkey stated the parks and recreation committee was excited at incorporating it into their plans as equestrian facilities are getting harder to find. He thought it was to be put into the project off of Star Road. Malarkey would like to have the issue of the disposition of the barn put before the public and the parks and recreation committee. He felt it had potential as a multiple use building. The Mayor stated they will research the issue more, put the question to the public with an article in the paper, and bring it back before the Council. OLD BUSINESS: Stonebriar Glen Annexation & Zoning (continued from March 4, 2008) – Mayor Mitchell explained the Council felt they had closed the public hearing at the last meeting and there had been a tie vote. He would like to put the application back before the Council and make 4 some additional comments. As they had an additional letter from the applicant and two response letters, he asked legal counsel if they were to entertain the new information would they also have to accept additional input from the public. Fitzer stated they would, but would only be entertaining new information. Christopherson stated he felt they had already deliberated and closed the public hearing; he felt they still had a motion on the table. Bell clarified that the motion was to deny the application and the vote had been a tie. Fitzer stated they had two questions before them, whether they wished to reopen the public hearing and if not, then to proceed with a motion. Christopherson stated that at the last meeting, at which they had continued the public testimony, they heard the same testimony over again. He felt they should leave the public hearing closed. Christopherson moved to not include any new testimony, to leave the public hearing closed, and move to deliberations. Bell seconded the motion. Darin Taylor stated he understands that the procedure is if any Councilperson had read the new letters than the public hearing is reopened. Mayor Mitchell stated if anyone had read the letters substantially they should not consider the information in making a decision. If the applicant felt a new decision was made based on the new information than they had the option to sue. Fitzer stated he felt they should poll the Council to see if they have read the letters. McDaniel stated she had skimmed through the first letter and realized she hadn’t read the letter it made references to and stopped. Christopherson stated he had not read any of the letters. Erlebach stated he had skimmed all the letters, but they had not influenced him to change his mind. Fitzer stated if someone had read them they must open the public hearing. Mayor Mitchell stated they would open the public hearing and the comments should deal only with the new information. Darin Taylor stated he was concerned with these letters setting the parameters for the public hearing. Bell asked that the comments be brief. The Mayor called a recess to allow the Council time to read the letters in front of them. Mayor Mitchell called the meeting back to order and opened the public hearing. He stated they would hear from the public first and then the applicant would have a chance to rebut. Fitzer emphasized that although the public hearing was open, they were limiting the input because they didn’t need repetitive testimony. Public – Vicki Lind stated she didn’t wish to testify, just signed the signup sheet for a record of their attendance. Scott Lind stated he also did not wish to testify. Gary Rogers stated his letter spoke for itself. Darin Taylor stated they had concerns with the development agreement; page four, paragraph six and seven have discrepancies. He asked if this annexation is approved and the applicant comes in next week with another application, what benefit is it to the City. The Mayor asked Taylor if he had talked with Fitzer regarding his concerns with the development agreement. 5 Fitzer stated they had talked and each interpreted it differently. He felt paragraph seven was covered under paragraph six in the first sentence. Taylor felt there were not restrictions at preliminary plat without modifying the agreement. Fitzer felt nothing was in conflict. Fitzer recommends they fix that sentence to clarify. The Mayor stated he read it as any restriction in the agreement could not be relieved at preliminary plat. Fitzer stated paragraph six allows additional conditions at preliminary plat. The agreement states they will meet code and the council may add additional conditions. Fitzer noted they can add conditions within the city code standards. Taylor stated he now understood. Gary Rogers, 7353 N. Stonebriar Lane, Meridian, stated they have an agreement that is close but not yet acceptable; therefore, they really have nothing. The Mayor noted the government doesn’t care about an agreement between private parties, in this case between the citizens and the developer. Rogers stated he was referencing his letter and the Lind’s letter. As there is no agreement they did not believe the annexation was legal. Rebuttal – Lauren Reynoldson with Spink Butler, 251 E. Front Street, Boise, stated that on behalf of the applicant she apologized for creating an issue tonight with their letter. They had felt they had a productive meeting with the neighbors. They had worded their letter stating they are negotiating an agreement with the neighbors but have not yet completed it. They are committed to solving the enclave issue. By the letter, they were just trying to share some good news; it was not their intent to create any problems. Erlebach asked about their discussion with the Idaho Transportation Department that is addressed in the letter. Reynoldson stated they had discussed the eastern portion of the property and they would make no plat application on it. Mayor Mitchell closed the public at 8:27 p.m. and moved into deliberations. Bell stated he was glad they were working together and hoped they’d come to an agreement. He was satisfied the applicant had addressed his concerns in the development agreement before them and felt the application should go forward and be approved. Mayor Mitchell clarified that the agreement between the citizens and the developer did not concern the City and would not alter what this application was about. The application before them was for annexation. He stated he would like to address the agreement. In regard to enclaves he could show where enclaves already exist in the City; they can create problems. They have presented one new option for the sewer to travel the river. He believes the sewer and water issues will work themselves out. If development wants to spend money and over spends, it is not a city issue. He feels it will affect floodplain issues and is not smart to put pipe in the floodplain. The development agreement addresses a timeframe for Highway 16 and allows ITD anytime they want. He recognizes the need for Highway 16 improvements to this valley. One of the largest concerns is over property values. He noted property values are there when they annex, but not true market value. Entitlement makes it more valuable. The State Department says it’s comfortable with where it’s at and the developer is comfortable with what’s in the development agreement. He is concerned with local roads and we do force developers to improve roads abutting 6 their development. His concern is that the frontage road for this development is limited. From the traffic study it shows technically the roads can handle the traffic, but he feels they can’t. In regards to the enclaves, they have talked about buffering the neighbors. He feels they have made a good faith effort to accommodate them, but none of the compromises are addressed in this development agreement. The development agreement simply restricts this property site to R-2 zoning and says they are looking at 1.01 lots to the acre; but there are no references to lot counts, a specific map, or landscaping. He feels this needs to be addressed, stating exact lot numbers, otherwise they can come in with the number of houses allowed in an R-2 zone. The agreement also addressed Highway 44 and at no point does it touch Highway 44. Becky McKay stated the wording regarding Highway 44 came from ITD so they included it. The Mayor stated there have been concerns about this project benefiting the public. The benefit to the City is the tax dollars it brings in. An annexation of this nature is no detriment to the City. Another concern is the amount of open space owned by the developer which is in the floodway. A river system is a natural open space and they like to have it preserved. Part of the open space is publicly owned and part is owned by the homeowner; he would like to see it spelled out who owns what. He would like to see the open space dedicated to the public, but it does not necessarily need to be deeded. Homeowner associations are not usually able to create and maintain open space. Christopherson stated that the sewer lines are less of an issue with him and he felt they had made strides regarding it. He also didn’t feel Highway 16 was a big issue and felt ITD needs to have a plan in order and it was generous of the developer to say they wouldn’t develop to the east till 2010. The two issues he does have is that he doesn’t feel this is a natural annexation path. Roads are improved as development happens and he is concerned as a lot of this collector road will not be improved with this annexation and this is the only access they will have. His second concern is with the enclaves and feels they need to be addressed in the development agreement. He is still opposed to the annexation. Mayor Mitchell noted that Mr. Rogers has made comments to possible legal action. He stated he feels they would not have accepted the application if it hadn’t been done legally. They have been made aware of his issues, do realize it is out there and are a part of this record. Bell stated he felt the development agreement is not as compete as it needs to be and asked how they could fix it. The Mayor stated they need to state specifically in the motion what they want to see and have it come back before them. The other options are to consider denying it, tabling it, or approving it with conditions. Bell asked if they tabled the application would they need to have another public hearing. The Mayor stated no, the public hearing was closed. McDaniel pointed out that during deliberations at the last meeting the annexation was considered at a 1.01 density. She stated they need to know how committed the developer is to the map submitted. The Mayor pointed out they can leave it at R-2, they can limit the density to 1.01, or they can attach a map to the approval. Fitzer noted the conceptual plan can be modified. They can take the body of the plan and address all the factors and have it conform. Mayor Mitchell asked if they would be creating a conflict if they reference a concept plan. Fitzer replied they would not. 7 Erlebach noted he liked the fact that all parties are discussing the issues. He is looking at the project into the future and what they want for the City. He felt the road issues were up to the Highway District. He feels the road, open space, who owns the land in the floodplain needs to be addressed before approving this application. He would like to see the application tabled and some work done on the development agreement. Christopherson stated he didn’t see how his two concerns could be put in the development agreement. The Mayor reiterated that if they chose to move forward with the development agreement they would be creating enclaves. Christopherson stated he didn’t feel the development agreement would fix the enclaves. Christopherson moved to deny file AZ 08-01 Annexation and Zoning of the Heron River Development / Stonebriar Glen; Erlebach seconded the motion. Christopherson and Erlebach – aye; Bell and McDaniel – nay: the vote is a tie. Mayor Mitchell asked legal counsel if he was allowed to ask questions of the Council; to which Fitzer stated he could if it was to get additional information for his vote. The Mayor asked Bell and McDaniel where they were in regards to roads. Bell stated his largest concern was the lack of frontage and road development. The Mayor asked if this was an important enough concern to stop the application. Bell stated it was if there was no other way to fix it. He felt if the project was built out and nothing improved he would feel they had made a mistake. McDaniel’s stated she felt development brought development. She questioned whether they should stop development because of county roads and realized roads won’t be improved unless there is development. The Mayor stated he realized the traffic study says the roads could handle the traffic and were not requiring improvement, but improvement may be required in the future. He reaffirmed with McDaniel that roads were not a show stopper for her. Mayor Mitchell stated that enclaves are important to him, but not a show stopper. He asked Erlebach to explain his concerns. Erlebach stated no infrastructure was a concern as well as roads. One of his biggest concerns is the Highway 16 expansion. Mayor Mitchell stated he is struggling with the roads and this project not having much frontage road. He believed they have a right to develop their property, but was inclined to think there were still too many unanswered questions and voted to deny the application. With a three to two vote, the application was denied. REPORTS: Legal Counsel – Paul Fitzer informed the Council he had sent a follow up letter to the City regarding the Kuenzli property. He has spoken with Mr. Skinner, their legal counsel, regarding the issues to be resolved and given them a drop dead date of April 2, 2008 or he will proceed with legal action. If they have not resolved the matter by the April 1st Council meeting he will ask for approval to proceed. A follow-up letter has been sent to the Tax Commission regarding certain properties annexed into the City. He is also following up 8 with Lakeshores code infractions. Mayor Mitchell stated he was frustrated with the lack of code enforcement. He stated if he raised an issue to legal counsel’s attention he wanted him to proceed with it. Fitzer stated if he was expressing a green light then he would; to which the Mayor stated he was. Council – Christopherson stated they held an Economic Development Committee meeting to which only Terry Malarkey and he attended. Bell informed them he would be meeting with the School District tomorrow regarding land acquisition. They were looking to get a level of commitment from the District as to buying land in Star for a school. The Mayor asked them to keep the City Clerk informed as to what was going on. Mayor – Mayor Mitchell discussed the debate of local option taxes taking place and noted Representative Moyle has been very active in the debates. He stated he himself was in favor of two-third majority to approve a constitutional amendment for local option taxes. He encouraged everyone with a specific opinion to contact there legislators and senators. He discussed the differences between LID’s and a Community Infrastructure District. The Mayor noted some of the code enforcement issues they are addressing are Al Holl’s Tires, several weed issues, and the torn up abandoned road at Orion Park Subdivision. In regards to the DMV coming to Star they have yet again come up with another excuse not to; but we will continue to pressure them. Erlebach asked if a petition from citizens would help. The Mayor stated he felt a call to Bob McQuade would be better. Erlebach asked if there was lighting upstairs. The Mayor stated lighting had been installed after the parks and rec committee mentioned the lack of it. He informed the Council that Water District #63 is now moved in and renting space from the City. ADJOURNMENT: McDaniel moved to adjourn the meeting, Christopherson seconded the motion. All ayes: motion carried. The meeting was adjourned at 9:50 pm. Respectfully submitted: Approved: __________________________ _________________________ Kathleen Hutton, Deputy Clerk Nathan Mitchell, Mayor 9