Lakeshore Protection Committee

CITY OF WHITEFISH LAKESHORE PROTECTION COMMITTEE Date: Wednesday, December 8, 2021 Place: City Council Conference Room Recorded By: Dabney Langellier Members Present: Peggy Brammer Donna Emerson Roger Rowles Nancy Schuber Toby Scott Members Absent: Ben Cavin Tara Zimmerman Staff Present: Tara Osendorf Jessica Nymark 1. CALL TO ORDER Summary: The Committee Chair, Toby Scott called the meeting to order at 6:02 pm. 2. AGENDA CHANGES Summary: None. 3. APPROVAL OF AUGUST 2021 MINUTES Summary: Members reviewed the minutes of August 11, 2021. ACTION: Nancy made a motion to approve the minutes of August 11, 2021. Donna seconded and the motion passed unanimously. 4. GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT Summary: None. 5. OLD BUSINESS Summary: Members had requested to be informed of City Council decisions on items the Lakeshore Committee had previously discussed. Moving forward, staff will send out a brief email after each council meeting with a summary of the Council decision. 6. NEW BUSINESS A. WLV 21-W54 – JIM & SHAWN KELLY LYNN Summary: The applicants submitted a standard request to replace an existing retaining wall/stairs and a variance application to replace an existing non-compliant deck at 1240 Birch Point Drive. Tara Osendorf summarized the staff report for members, noting a couple of key points: • This neighborhood on Birch Point was developed in the 1970’s prior to the lakeshore and zoning regulations and none of the lots are conforming. Page 1 of 5 Lakeshore Protection Committee December 8, 2021 • The Board of Adjustment (BOA) met last night and approved the variance application for the house, outside of the Lakeshore Protection Zone (LPZ). • This Committee is only looking at the construction within the LPZ. • The neighbor to the Southeast received a variance for their home in 1990. Seven-hundred and fifty square feet of their home and deck is in the LPZ. Then, they received a lakeshore variance in 2002 to exceed their constructable area in order to put a dock in. • Staff report correction – the stairs will be roughly two feet maximum off the corner of the side, not one foot as the report states, which will be reflected in the City Council report. • The total constructed area for the site with this proposal would be 690 square feet, which is under the 816 that is allowed for this property. Standard permit requests: • They are proposing to remove two retaining walls. One is built with concrete, the other with railroad ties. These will be replaced with one retaining wall made of stacked stone, not to exceed one foot in height. • The treated wood stairs will be taken out and replaced with dry stack stone steps. Variance permit requests: • The deck stairway will be relocated to the side, so the majority of it will be out of the LPZ. It will extend no more than two feet into the LPZ. • The deck will remain in the same location, but the decking will be replaced with TREX. In addition, new joists will be added to support the weight of the TREX decking. • The patio underneath beneath deck will be removed and placed outside the LPZ. • The deck railing will be moved to the inside of the deck, taking roughly four inches off the deck space. • A new roof will be constructed with the home remodel. Currently, 2.5 feet of the roof goes into the LPZ. The proposal is to move the roof in slightly, so it only goes 2 feet into the LPZ, which is about 6 inches past the deck. • They would like to add a rainwater filtration system that will be located by the breezeway. This will hopefully reduce some of the runoff that is going into the lake from the street and the structure. Considerations for a major variance: • If they were to bring the deck out of the LPZ, it would render the deck unusable except as a narrow walkway. • The alternatives would be to eliminate the deck or leave it as, which would not address the runoff issues in the LPZ. • The proposed variance portion of the deck in the LPZ would not materially have adverse impacts on the lake or lakeshore compared to the current constructed area on site. • The proposed rainwater collection system will be an improvement to the health of the lakeshore. Recommendation: Staff is recommending approval of WLV 21-W54 with the 10 conditions of approval as noted in the report. Tara highlighted a couple of items as part of the recommendation of approval: • When the retaining walls are removed, all existing materials must be moved out of the LPZ. • The replacement wall can only be to the same height or less than the current retaining walls, which is what they have proposed. • Prior to any construction activity, the high water mark must be staked by a registered land surveyor to ensure we have the correct highwater mark and they are not building into the LPZ. Members discussed the application with staff, clarifying the following item: Page 2 of 5 Lakeshore Protection Committee December 8, 2021 • The railing is currently attached on the outside edge of the deck. It will be moved in slightly and be attached on top of the decking. The existing railing is made of wood, while the new one will be thinner metal. • The current owner purchased the property in March. • All four of the variance considerations hold equal weight, but whether the standards would result in undue hardship is probably the criteria that will involve the most discussion. • The proposed plan is for a cantilevered deck. Therefore, any existing footings will be removed out of the LPZ. However, the constructed area will be the same. • The existing home will undergo an extensive remodel. However, this is all out of the LPZ and that decision was already made by the Board of Adjustment (BOA). Aaron Wallace with Montana Creative and Jim Lynn, the property owner, spoke on behalf of their application and noted the following: • The home remodel is extensive but will be in the same current footprint, besides the garage. • Most of their parking area is not even on their property, but the proposed garage will provide parking on their property. • The breezeway that connects the home to the garage is open underneath to allow for wildlife and water to go below. • The new garage will be completely out of the LPZ. • The deck will remain in the exact same footprint, except for relocating the stairway, which will give them access to the lake without having to go through the house. • The only changes to the deck will be: o Change the partially treated wood decking to TREX. o Add additional joists to support the weight of the TREX decking. o Bring the deck railing in a few inches. • Only a small portion of the deck is in the LPZ. The most you will see is 18 inches of the deck in the LPZ. • The new roof on the remodeled house will be in the same footprint, but moved back about 6 inches inland. Members discussed the application with the applicants, clarifying the following items: • The railroad ties in the LPZ are already loose and will most likely float out into the lake within the next 6-12 months, if not addressed. • Vegetation could hold the bank in place, but not as well as a retaining wall, which is allowed to be replaced per the lakeshore standards. When the lake is at high water, the waves could do significant damage and wash the vegetation right back into the lake. In addition, the City’s regulations allow for retaining walls to be replaced. • If the owners would like to remove any trees in the LPZ, it would also need to be permitted and they would need a letter from an arborist, but that has not been proposed at this time. • The water filtration system will be underneath the deck and work as a dry well system. All the runoff will be directed there, filtered, and go down into the ground (instead of directly into the lake) and filtrate from there. Peggy expressed her concern with granting this variance. The non-conforming structure statues are strict, unless the variance criteria is met. She said this application does not meet those four elements: • This is not an unforeseen circumstance. The owner should have been aware of the limitations this property had at the time of purchase. • Any impervious surface in the LPZ is hazardous and harmful to the lake and can have an adverse impact. Page 3 of 5 Lakeshore Protection Committee December 8, 2021 • There is no universal public benefit with the proposed plans for this lot, even with the water diversion/filtration system. • Reasonable alternatives exist. • The roof overhang should be eliminated from the application. • The code allows repair and maintenance for non-conforming structures, but the deck changes exceed that. Donna suggested taking out the railroad ties, relocating the stairway, and taking out the concrete patio are all beneficial to the lake and offset the variance request. Peggy made a motion to deny WLV 21-W54. No one seconded this motion. Donna made a motion to approve WLV 21-W54. Roger seconded the motion. Donna made a motion to amend the variance request. The roof overhang can meet the deck edge and go no further into the LPZ. Toby seconded the motion to amend the request. The motion did not pass 2-3 (Roger Rowles, Nancy Schuber, and Peggy Brammer denied). Peggy made a motion to the approve the application. Nancy seconded the motion. Peggy made a motion to approve the standard application as written but deny the full variance portion of the request of WLV 21-W54. The motion did not pass 2-3 (Roger Rowles, Donna Emerson, and Toby Scott denied). ACTION: Toby made a motion to approve WLV 21-W54. Roger seconded the motion. The motion passed 3-2 (Nancy Schuber and Peggy Brammer opposed). Toby spoke to his motion: • The area being considered is roughly six inches into the LPZ, none of it is touching the ground, and it is an improvement from the current constructed area on site. • This should not be impactful to the lakeshore. 8. STAFF COMMENTS Summary: The draft minutes from this meeting that will go to City Council are available one week prior to the meeting. If you have any comments, you may submit those at that time. Jessica Nymark is the new staff member to work with the Lakeshore Committee. Tara and Dave will be available as a resource, but Jessica will be taking on the Lakeshore Committee responsibilities. Members have always appreciated Tara’s willingness to coordinate site visits in the past. Site visits are always an option and Jessica will be able to coordinate these as well with sufficient notice. 9. BOARD COMMENTS Summary: Peggy requested a workshop for the Lakeshore Committee regarding the enforcement process and how to appropriately consider variance applications. Tara said she will talk to Dave, Angie, and Dana to see what can be scheduled in the next few months and provided for the Committee to address that information, as well as a refresher on Robert’s Rules. Donna, Nancy, and Roger all just renewed their Committee membership. If an application comes in, the next meeting is scheduled for January 12th. All members present said they would be available. 10. ADJOURNMENT Page 4 of 5 Lakeshore Protection Committee December 8, 2021 ACTION: The meeting is adjourned at 7:14 pm. Page 5 of 5