City Council Regular Meeting

Star City Council Meeting Minutes December 19, 2017 The regular meeting of the Star City Council was held on December 19, 2017 at Star City Hall, 10769 W. State Street, Star, Idaho. Mayor Charlten Bell called the meeting to order at 7:00 pm and all stood for the Pledge of Allegiance. Roll Call: Councilmen David Hershey, Trevor Chadwick and Kevin Nielsen were all present. Councilman Richard Lockett was absent. Approval of the Agenda: Chadwick moved to approve the agenda, Nielsen seconded the motion. All ayes: motion carried. Consent Agenda: Hershey moved to approve the Consent Agenda consisting of: Claims Against the City for November 2017, Final Plat – Fallbrook Subdivision Phase 2, Final Plat – Pinewood Lakes Villas including condition that a solution to the sidewalk and streetlight issue is reached prior to Certificate of Occupancy being issued (see attached memo), Chadwick seconded the motion. All ayes: motion carried. Old/New Business: Public Hearing – Trident Ridge Subdivision Preliminary Plat (continued) – Mayor Bell explained this hearing was a continuation of the public hearing held November 21,2017 and had been tabled to do a site visit with the applicant; and at which some citizens from the public were present. He explained they would re-open the public hearing to take new comments; they would not be hearing comments previously testified to. The Mayor reviewed the hearing procedures. Mayor Bell opened the public hearing and asked the Council if they had any conflicts of interest or exparte contact, hearing none the Mayor asked the applicant to speak. Applicant – Tim Mokwa, 1406 N. Main Street, Ste. 109, Meridian, Idaho, stated he was requesting approval for the preliminary plat for Trident Ridge Subdivision. He gave a brief recap noting there is 50 acres north of the canal that is zoned Residential R-1 and they are looking to have it retained as a natural park area. There is approximately 90 acres south of the canal zoned Residential R-3 on which they are looking to have 324 residential lots and 22 common lots with a density of 2.26 units per acre. They are looking to dedicate the 50 acres to the City as a natural park, otherwise they will retain it as a common area for the development. Since the original hearing, the Fire Department has stated they want a vehicular crossing meeting the International Fire Code over the canal and Mokwa stated they have no objection with that. The first step will be to get a structural engineer to look it over. If the current bridge is not adequate, the first approach will be to see if it can be brought up to code; if it’s not possible they will consider having it replaced. They are requesting, if required to improve or replace the crossing that future park impact fees of $2,050.00 per lot be waived equivalent to number of lots to cover cost. He felt that was a fair 1 amount given the amount of common area given to the City. Example of waived fees was if they spend $20,000.00 equivalent to 20 lot and $40,000.00 equivalent to 40 lots. They are proposing to put in a turnout with six parking stalls and a walking path through the trees to the pedestrian crossing. If they have to replace the vehicular crossing they may want to revisit access to the park to be at the new bridge. It was previously testified that they didn’t have an adequate water supply for the proposed development. They had previously prepared calculations and for additional clarification have put it into graph form to show where they came up with their numbers. Taking the common area lots equal to 15 acres, residential area of 324 lots times the average lot size of 7,650 square feet, the average house footprint assumed at 2,500 square feet, and take out driveways, they are left with irrigateable landscape area of 50 acres. They have water rights for 58 acres which should support the subdivision. Nielsen asked if this included all phases of the development, to which Mokwa stated that was correct, but the park area or canal was not include in the water count. Mokwa noted that since the earlier hearing they have received ACHD Commissioners approval and had received a letter from the Fire Department today which approved the road layout and a condition for an access bridge allowing emergency services access to the park area. They will be developing the plat to Residential R-3 standards. Mokwa stated they accept the conditions from the City, ACHD, and the Fire Department and request approval of their preliminary Plat. Staff - Hutton stated there was an additional map regarding the parking and pathway for an open space area and a comment letter from the Star Fire Department. Public Input – Lloyd Akins, 10390 W. Beacon Light Road, Star, Idaho, stated his concern was with the property to the west and east side of Wing Road and that the developer maintains the drainage water on their property. The natural drain runs through his place and Morris Campbell’s place and eventually crosses the road to Star Sewer and has been leveled over and is not useable anymore. They need to maintain drainage water on their property. Nielsen asked if he was saying there is no drainage and it has been covered over. Akins stated the whole draw down has been modified and covered over, and there has not been any water going down it for years. Nielsen asked where the irrigation water has been going. Akins explained the ground has been sprinkled so there is no drainage. There’s a difference between sprinkle water and yard water, which gets into driveways and road ways and tends to find its way to places it doesn’t need to be. He would like to see their drainage water maintained on their property. Morris Campbell, 3251 N. Wing Road, Star, Idaho, stated he had several points he would like to make. First he is concerned with taking productive farm ground out of production permanently. Regarding the irrigation water, Sam Rosti had a lot of strong points and weak points. If Rosti says there is not enough water, there’s not enough water. If this is approved, there will be a problem with traffic on the north side of Wing Road and Beacon Light Road. Currently there is a problem west of Wing Road with accidents. Ada County Highway District feels that by putting a stop sign on the south side it will solve the problem and Campbell stated he didn’t see how that will stop accidents. Campbell stated he is president of the HRM lateral and they have discussed the pipeline with the developer and the developer has made no effort to contact them and work out the situation. Campbell looked up the law regarding right-of-ways of irrigation 2 districts and presented it in writing (copy attached). He stated his point is that as of now HRM pipeline has not given any permission to put anything across the pipeline. Nielsen ask Campbell to point out where the HRM pipeline is. Campbell indicated it on a map on the screen. Campbell asked the Council to take seriously his comment in his letter (copy attached) regarding Gene Bailey. Pat Thacker, 4560 N. Willowcreek Road, Star, Idaho, stated he represents the Moyle Property Trust, to the east and they are pleased with the changes to the plat giving them two access points. They appreciate that the easement on the south side has been respected and farther into the development is another access point. Applicant Rebuttal – Tim Mokwa stated in regards to Mr. Akins comments, the property will be sprinkler irrigated and they will maintain runoff on their own property. In regards to Mr. Campbell’s comment, they had a meeting with Mr. Akins on site and hadn’t intended to be rude or evasive to Mr. Campbell as they understood Mr. Akins represented the HRM Lateral. In regards to Mr. Campbell’s comments regarding Mr. Rosti’s comments, they have had an engineer do the calculations for the water coming in and going out. There was some misunderstanding on earlier maps and the later maps indicate the HRM Lateral is to be re-piped. Chadwick noted the east side has a storm water retention pond and asked if the bottom corner of Wing Road would also have a retention pond. He questioned where water would flow if they don’t have a retention pond to the south. Mokwa stated they do have a pond there and it will be a dry pond; any water that reaches it will infiltrate. They are aware they can’t drain water onto adjacent property. Nielsen asked what the outcome was from that meeting. Mokwa stated he felt they recognized the value of them replacing the pipe for the HRM lateral. The old concrete pipe is 40 years old and currently leaks. Replacing it will help move water through. Mr. Akins would like to see the pipe moved to the west side, and they prefer leaving it where it is and match the current disperse point. The pipe will be equal to or better than the current cement pipe. Mayor Bell declared the public hearing closed and moved to Council deliberations. Chadwick questioned what they were looking at for the 50 acres. Mayor Bell stated they needed to make a decision on whether to approve the plat as they propose and whether to accept the 50+ acre donation to the City or not accept it and let them keep it. If the Council accepts the donation, do they agree to the request to waive impact fees to reimburse the developer for costs of fixing the bridge, and do they accept the parking and foot bridge as proposed. Mayor Bell asked Chris Yorgason, City Attorney, if they needed to include for the public record a summary of the on-site meeting. Yorgason stated he felt it would be appropriate to reopen the public hearing, give a summation of the on-site meeting, and take comments. Mayor Bell declared the public meeting open and explained the Council went to the site and walked it with the applicant and there were several citizens from the public present. They went to get a hands on feel of the property, to check the topography, look at the bridge and ditch; most 3 of those present walked the property, and they heard comments from some of the neighbors. The meeting lasted less than one hour and Council members present were asked not to discuss it. Mayor Bell then asked if there were any questions or comments from the public. Russ Smerz, 4498 N. High Prairie Place, Star, Idaho, had a question for the Council; if they accept the 50 acres will it be accepted as a conservation area and not as a future parcel to be built on. The Mayor explained the intent is for it to be a natural recreation area. Nielsen stated there is a difference between a conservation area and a natural area. They need to state they are not considering it a conservation area. Mayor Bell explained there is no water to the area, so they are looking for it to being a natural area with a walking path. Doug Cramer, 10343 W. Adirondack, Star, Idaho, stated he would like to encourage the Council to accept it as an open area and encourage them to make clear up front the limitations and requirements on access for public use. He is not in favor of it becoming a buildable parcel. Mayor Bell declared the public hearing closed and moved to Council deliberations. Nielsen noted the applicant mentioned using park impact fees to offset the City paying for improvements. Impact fees are used to fund parks. You have to figure that later you will have to have engineers look at figuring out design. There may be some advantages to the City for architectural design and impact fees are there to fund that kind of construction in our parks. Feels it is a dereliction of duty to accept something like this and not share in the cost to improve it, because the purpose of impact fees are there for that purpose. Chadwick felt the natural park area would be a benefit to the City. He is not against utilizing impact fees on a limited basis to mitigate the cost of the bridge. If he understands it, if they have to do some work on the bridge for Fire Department access then they would like some compensation to offset the cost; if not, then they would not use the impact fees. Mayor Bell stated he would like a ceiling or a shared percentage on the amount of the impact fees used. If we take on the park, we should share the cost. Nielsen stated he thought if the bridge is redone, the walking path would go with it along the road. Regardless, he would like to see the walking path stay and increase the parking lot to eight spaces. The Mayor agreed he would want to see eight parking spaces, a designated trailhead and walking path. Nielsen stated he was okay with the offset of the vehicle bridge if they do other improvements. The Mayor reiterated he is concerned with the cost of the bridge and felt they need to have some sort of maximum allowed amount. Hershey stated he was thinking of a cap at $30,000.00 and they would share the cost. If bids go over, then they have the option to negotiate. He believes since the public will use the park, they should bear some of the cost. Feels they should split the cost and set a parameter. It they have to go with a higher bid they could go with additional funds. The Mayor stated he didn’t feel they can get a bridge built for $60,000.00 and the City should share the cost. He feels the cap should be more than $30,000.00. 4 The Mayor asked Legal Counsel if the amount could be revisited. Yorgason stated it could, they could go back and ask the applicant to amend the conditions and it should be done before the public. The applicant also could come back and ask to amend. Tonight they could give an amount as a place holder and can re-visit later. Chadwick asked if it had to go to public bid. Yorgason stated if the applicant builds and receives a credit from impact fees and no actual money, then no it would not have to go for bid. If the City builds and pays with impact fee money then yes it would have to go out for bids. Chris informed the Council that the bid laws have changed. If the cost is under $50,000.00 you don’t need to go to bid; if between $50,000.00 and $200,000.00 you need to get an informal quote; and if over $200,000.00 you will need to do a formal bid process. Chadwick asked if they can condition accepting property as long as bridge work doesn’t exceed $30,000.00 cost to the City. Hershey was asked how he came up with $30,000.00 as a cap amount. Hershey stated he took the middle of the $20,000.00 and $40,000.00 the applicant had mentioned. The Mayor stated he felt they should state they will share the cost at a percentage, say 50/50 up to a certain amount. Nielsen felt if they are accepting the property at such a low cost, the City has a burden to bear costs and doesn’t feel they should have a cost ceiling amount. Chadwick asked if ACHD didn’t have a right-of-away and wondered what they will require. Yorgason noted ACHD will have a say regarding the bridge as they will eventually take over the road and bridge. Farmers Union Canal may also have a say in the bridge, as well as the Fire Department will probably enter the conversation. All these conversations will affect the cost. Nielsen asked what else they might want as improvements. The Mayor stated he talked with the Star Sewer and Water District and putting in a restroom will be very expensive. If they are looking at something with more improvements it will be expensive. If they look at having natural trails then there should be a minimum improvement costs. Chadwick questioned if they didn’t take the park then would it be a homeowner’s park. The Mayor stated that was true, and they could choose whether or not to open it up to the public. Chadwick feels they need to put a cap on the cost to the City and revisit if they need to. The Mayor stated the bridge will go in no matter what per the Fire Department condition. They need to decide if the City will share the cost. Yorgason noted in regards to the Fire Department letter, the Fire Department is not an approval body, they have only put in a request. The Chief didn’t put any restrictions on the property, letter just says a bridge has to be built. It is up to the City whether or not to take the request and make it a requirement. If the City approves taking the park, they can condition the bridge be built to Fire Department Code and the City may share the cost. The Fire Department wants the bridge put in whether or not the City accepts the park. Hershey suggested maybe capping the City’s portion at $40,000.00, which was the developer’s high count. Mokwa noted that was an example; he would estimate costs closer to $100,000.00. Nielsen stated he would like to cap at $60,000.00 to pay for the bridge and eight parking spaces. Hershey stated he is okay with that and if it goes over it is the developers’ responsibility, and 5 agrees they should be looking at eight parking spaces. Chadwick noted there had been questions about the drainage and it is not an issue now. In regards to the laterals, in the conditions they are required to have agreements in place and Hershey concurred that agreements have to be in place. Hershey moved to approve File PP-17-04 Preliminary Plat for Trident Ridge Subdivision with the stated conditions in the Staff Report, and the addition of a pedestrian foot bridge to be built, eight parking spaces, and not to exceed a $60,000.00 cap coming out of park impact fees for construction of the vehicular bridge to be built to the code stated in the letter dated December 19, 2017 from our Fire Chief, Nielsen seconded the motion. All ayes; motion carried. Time Extension Request: Witte Subdivision – North and South – Franz Witte, 9775 W. Millcreek Lane, Star, Idaho, explained he is asking for a time extension because he is working with the County regarding swale design. He is asking for an eighteen month extension because he will develop one parcel now and the second later. He hopes to have a design ready for one parcel later this spring. Chadwick moved to approve the Time Extension for file TE-17-02 North and TE-17-03 South for eighteen months, extension ending June of 2019, Hershey seconded the motion. All ayes: motion carried. Vacation of Right-of-Way Request From Canyon County Highway District – Mayor Bell explained the property the Canyon County Highway District #4 is being asked to vacate is not in the City of Star, but when it falls within one mile of the City limits they are required to get consent from the City as to whether the City objects or not. Having no objection to the vacation, Chadwick moved to approve the vacation request, Nielsen seconded the motion. All ayes: motion carried. Mayor Bell explained the following ordinances were before the Council because of annexations they had previously approved. Ordinance No. 264 Sample Property Annexation, Zoning, & Development Agreement – Hershey moved that pursuant to Idaho Code, Section 50-902 the rule requiring an ordinance to be read on three different days, with one reading to be in full, be dispensed with and that Ordinance No. 264 be considered after reading once by title only, Nielsen second the motion. Roll Call: Hershey - aye, Chadwick – aye, and Nielsen – aye: motion carried. Chadwick moved to approve Ordinance No. 264, an Ordinance annexing to the City of Star certain real property located in the unincorporated area of Ada County, Idaho, and contiguous to the City of Star, establishing the zoning classification of the annexed property as Commercial (C2) and Residential (R-4) with a Development Agreement of approximately 41.57 acres; directing that certified copies of this Ordinance be filed as provided by law; providing for related matters; and providing for an effective date, Nielsen seconded the motion. All ayes: motion carried. Ordinance No. 265 McLeod Property Annexation & Zoning – Hershey moved that pursuant to Idaho Code, Section 50-902 the rule requiring an ordinance to be read on three different days, 6 with one reading to be in full, be dispensed with and that Ordinance No. 265 be considered after reading once by title only, Nielsen seconded the motion. Roll Call: Hershey - aye, Chadwick – aye, and Nielsen – aye: motion carried. Chadwick moved to approve Ordinance No. 265, an Ordinance annexing to the City of Star certain real property located in the unincorporated area of Ada County, Idaho, and contiguous to the City of Star, establishing the zoning classification of the annexed property as Mixed Use (MU) of approximately 9.65 acres; directing that certified copies of this Ordinance be filed as provided by law; providing for related matters; and providing an effective date. Hershey seconded the motion. All ayes: motion carried. Ordinance No. 266 Moyle Property Annexation & Zoning – Hershey moved that pursuant to Idaho Code, Section 50-902 the rule requiring an ordinance to be read on three different days, with one reading to be in full, be dispensed with and that Ordinance No. 266 be considered after reading once by title only, Chadwick seconded the motion. Roll Call: Hershey - aye, Chadwick – aye, and Nielsen – aye: motion carried. Chadwick moved to approve Ordinance No. 266, an Ordinance annexing to the City of Star certain real property located in the unincorporated area of Ada County, Idaho, and contiguous to the City of Star, specifically located at 235 N. Moyle Lane, establishing the zoning classification of the annexed property as Mixed Use (MU) of approximately 10.01 acres; directing that certified copies of this Ordinance be filed as provided by law; providing for related matters; and providing an effective date. Nielsen seconded the motion. All ayes: motion carried. Reports: Staff - Chris Yorgason, City Attorney, noted there would be an Executive Session following reports. Council - Councilman Hershey stated the Activities Committee meeting was cancelled this month and will meet again in January. Councilman Nielsen stated the EDC Committee is meeting and there is progress with the Strategic Planning Committee. The Steering Committee is working on the draft for a final plan and hope to have the draft ready for Council review at the workshop in February. Councilman Chadwick noted the Beautification Committee has powder coated the light poles and put in new LED fixtures. He is on the ACHD Advisory Committee and they have discussed walkability for pedestrian and bike ways. Brooke Greene with ACHD would like to come speak at the Council meeting in January. The Beautification Committee received a Blue Cross grant to purchase bike racks, which will include a star on the racks, and put in helmet stations. Mayor - Mayor Bell attended the Treasure Valley Partners meeting and the Board of Directors meeting for COMPASS. Highway 44 and 20/26 projects may be moved up due to change in funding. The Christmas tree lighting was a success and he thanked the Lions Club for 7 refreshments. They had the grade school choir come to sing and Chadwick was Santa. He wished everyone a Merry Christmas. Executive Session: Chadwick moved to go into Executive Session under Idaho Code 74-206 (1)(f) Pending Litigation, Nielsen seconded the motion. All ayes: motion carried. Nielsen moved to come out of Executive Session, Chadwick seconded the motion. All ayes: motion carried. Adjournment: Mayor Bell adjourned the meeting at 9:00 pm. Approved: Respectfully submitted: __________________________ Charlten Bell, Mayor _____________________________ Kathleen Hutton, Deputy City Clerk 8