Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Minutes 09.07.1999 MINIITES OF THE CITY COU'N(IL OF I.,AI.TRI L September 7, 1999 A regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Laurel, Montana, was held in the Council Chambers and called to order by Mayor Chuck Rodgers at 7:00 p.m. on September 7, 1999. COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT: Dirk Kroll Gary Temple Ken Olson Norman Orr Gay Easton Bud Johnson Bill Staudinger COUNCIL MEMBERS ABSENT: Miles Walton Mayor Rodgers asked the council to observe a moment of silence in behalf of the family of Miranda Fenner. MINUTES: Motion by Alderman Kroll to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of August 17, 1999, as presented, seconded by Alderman Temple. Motion carried 7-0. CORRESPONDENCE: a. City-County Planning Department memo of August 13, 1999 regarding a billboard moratorium. b. Air Pollution Control: Agenda for August 10, 1999 meeting and Activity Report for July 1999. c. Laurel Chamber of Commerce: Letter of August 20, 1999 requesting permission for the Herbstfest Parade on September 25, 1999. d. Montana Department of Revenue: Application for Transfer of Ownership of Montana All-Alcoholic Beverage License No. 03-044-9568-001, The River's Edge. e. Montana Department of Revenue: Application for Transfer of Stock Ownership of Montana Retail On-Premise Consumption Beer/Wine License No. 03-044-9228-301, Dragon Palace. CONSENT ITEMS: a. Claims for the month of August in the amount of $248,020.62. b. Committee Reports. --Laurel Airport Authority minutes of July 27, 1999 were presented. --City-County Planning Board minutes of August 5, 1999 were presented. --Public Works Committee minutes of August 16, 1999 were presented. --City Council Committee of the Whole minutes of August 17, 1999 were presented. --Cemetery Board minutes of August 19, 1999 were presented. --Emergency Services Committee minutes of August 23, 1999 were presented. --Budget/Finance Committee minutes of August 24, 1999 were presented. c. Resolution No. R99-34: A resolution approving the Proposal for Information Management Application Software from Black Mountain Software, Inc. Council Minutes of September 7, 1999 RESOLUTION NO. R99-34 A RESOLUTION APPROVING THE PROPOSAL FOR INFORMATION MANAGEMENT APPLICATION SOFTWARE FROM BLACK MOUNTAIN SOFTWARE, INC. The mayor asked if there was any separation of consent items. There was none. Motion bv Alderman Johnson to approve the consent items as presented, seconded by Alderman Orr. Motion carried 7-0. SCHEDULED MATTERS: a. Confirmation of Appointments. Mayor Rodgers mentioned that Chief Rick Musson had stated in the Council as a Whole meeting that Jason Wells (3-18-99) and Shane Weinreis (7-8-99) successfully completed their one-year probationary periods. Dispatcher Marcy Byme successfully completed her six-month probationary period. Ambulance Reserve: Mayor Rodgers appointed Elizabeth Guenthner as an Ambulance Reserve Attendant. Motion by Alderman Kroll to confirm the appointment of Elizabeth Guenthner as an Ambulance Reserve Attendant, seconded by Alderman Staudinger. Motion carried 7-0. Ambulance Attendant: Mayor Rodgers appointed Maria Besel as an Ambulance Attendant, Motion by Alderman Kroll to confirm the appointment of Maria Besel as an Ambulance Attendant, seconded by Alderman Johnson. Motion carried 7-0. City Clerk-Treasurer: Mayor Rodgers appointed Mary K. Embleton as City Clerk-Treasurer after successfully completing her six-month probationary period on September 1, 1999. Motion by Alderman Johnson to confirm the appointment of Mary K. Embleton as City Clerk-Treasurer, seconded by Alderman Orr. Motion carried 7-0. b. Hall Outdoor Advertising. Mayor Rodgers opened the discussion of the council regarding the issue. Alderman Staudinger said that the com~cil should take a hard look regarding billboards being built without the proper authority. Alderman Kroll stated that Mr. Keeter made a mistake and should have looked at all the options. Dirk suggested that a fine would be a viable option for this offense, and he stated that the billboards should not be tom down. Along with the fine, Alderman Kroll wants a message to be sent which says that the proper channels need to be followed in future building. Dirk stated that Mr. Keeter needed to know that this council was being generous if he is only fined, as he could be required to tear down the billboards. Dirk also suggested that the fine money could go to a special fund and that the City of Laurel could require free usage of a billboard for a six-month period. Alderman Temple stated his concern. If he was driving down the street and Chief Musson pulled him over, he would be concerned if he could be fined without any guidelines. He has read and reread the special review procedure, and he has asked Cal Cumin to comment on it. Alderman Temple stated that there are no guidelines. He did not say that Mr. Keeter did anything wrong, but if someone is going to be f'med, there must be guidelines to follow. Gary said we are asking a 'kangaroo court' to sit up as a City-County Planning Board and subjectively deny applications on the basis of whether or not they like a particular individual instead of using the facts to decide. Gary Council Minutes of September 7, 1999 gave the example of the Montana Meadows resident who had an encroachment on his garage. If the guidelines of the city are more restrictive than the state guidelines, the city's guidelines apply, but Gary said that we do not have guidelines to follow. Motion by Alderman Johnson to levy a fine of $2,500 to Hall Outdoor Advertising, seconded by Alderman Orr. Alderman Johnson invited Cal Curtain to make some comments regarding the matter. Cat Cumin thanked the mayor and council for the opportunity to review the process. He said that "between March and July 1998, Hall Outdoor Advertising erected two billboards within the zoning jurisdiction of the City of Laurel without going through the required review and approval process established by the City for billboards. The issue of why there were new billboards in Laurel without the City Council having seen any application therefore came up at a council meeting in about February of this year. At the direction of the City-County Planning Board, I wrote a letter dated March 3, 1999, to Hall indicating the violation of Laurel's Zoning Ordinance. I indicated at that time that Hall would have to go through the proper process to obtain City approval of the signs or the signs would have to be removed. I also stated that the signs would have to be removed if the City does not approve of them after application for Special Review has been made. I copied this letter to the City Attorney. On April 12, 1999, I sent Tim Filz, an attorney for the Brown Law Firm apparently retained by Mr. Keeter, requirements for billboards under the City's Special Review process. Mr. Keeter has outlined the process he went through in the construction of these billboards in a detailed and, as far as I can determine, very accurate manner. I will not reiterate that process here again. As I stated, the basic problem is the construction of facilities in the City' s jurisdiction that did not go through the required review and approval process. This process has been part of Laurel' s regulations since at least 1978. Laurel has the right to zone property under the Municipal Zoning provisions of 76-2-301 through 76- 2-328, MCA. That is where you get your authority to zone. Laurel, as a third-class city, has authority under 76-2-310(A) to zone up to one mile outside its municipal boundary; this is an authority Laurel has exercised for approximately the last twenty years. The issue of the billboards being within the City or outside the City is not relevant. Billboards are referred to in Sections 17.08.830 and 17.08.1030 of Laurel's Municipal Code. Under Section 17.20.010 of the Code, billboards are required to go through the Special Review process and can only be allowed in the Agricultural, Highway Commercial, and Light and Heavy Industrial Zones. In 17.68.020(A) of the City's Code, it states that, 'The application [for Special Review] shall include, but not be limited to, the following information: A legal and general description of the tract(s) upon the special review use is sought; A map showing the dimensions, acreage and location of the tract(s); The name and addresses of the owner(s) of the tract(s) and their agents, if any and the nanaes and addresses of property owners of record within three hundred feet of the property for which a special review has been requested; such list of property owners shall be so certified by the county clerk and recorder' s office; A site plan showing major details of the proposed development including but not limited to, the location of proposed and existing buildings and structures; off-street parking and loading; service and refuse areas; means of ingress and egress; landscaping; screening; signs and open space areas; A time schedule for development; Any other information the applicant believes will support his request.' Those are the requirements under Special Review and this is how the Special Review is processed. As I have stated before to the Council, I think the Special Review process is an excellent way to review billboard proposals, because it allows the City to look at whatever it feels is relevant to include size, location, square footage of faces, lighting patterns, distance to other similar signs, etc. Council Minutes of September 7, 1999 Billings regulates its billboards by just specifying into which zones they may go. Maybe this doesn't work so well and is why they are having to have a moratorium to upgrade how they handle billboards. Section 17.76.050(A) of the City's Code provides for the penalty for violating the zoning provisions and refers to Section 1.36.010 of the Code which states that persons convicted of violations shall be punished by a fine not to exceed $500 or by imprisonment for a period not exceeding six months or both. Every day that a violation continues shall constitute a separate offense. As you can see, if a fine were to be applied for every day the billboards have been in violation, a fine for such violation could be very large. In summation, such issues as who advertises on the subject signs, the increase in taxes of such improvements, whether the signs are in the City limits or not, compliance with state laws, and similar situation are not the focus of this particular violation. It is, simply stated, the construction of improvements within Laurel's jurisdiction with the knowledge, review, or approval of the City of Laurel." Cal Cumin asked if the council had any questions. Alderman Temple asked Cal what is relevant to the process that Cat said includes sizes and distances. Mr. Cumin said that he had already done so. Mr. Temple asked him to do it again. Alderman Temple asked Cal if he was getting down to a specific billboard size, was following state codes or laws, and questioned to what he was referring. Gary asked if he was "referring to your group that gets together and just discusses sizes without any perimeters." Mr. Cumin asked if the question was relevant. Mr. Temple said he wondered and that was why he was asking. Gary said that Cat keeps referring to the moratorium in Billings, and that it does not have any relevance to the present issue regarding Hall Outdoor Advertising. Mr. Cumin said, "What is your point, Councilman?" Mr. Temple said that the state has requirements as far as billboards. He asked if we have requirements for billboards as far as size, setback, distance apart, that are more severe than the state requirements for that area of the federal highway. Cal said, "Do we have requirements for billboards being on the federal highway right there? Yes, We do." Gary said, "Do we have size requirements, setback and size of the signs?" Cal responded, "No." Gary said, "Maybe we should look at it from that basis, Cal, rather than where we're at right now. I'm not against payment if they did something wrong, but to fine them without a basis to do it, how can we do it?" Cal: 'Tm not recommending the fine. That's not my job." Gary: "You presented it to us and you made it our job. I think we should have the right to ask you." Mayor Rodgets said that Cat presented the information at the council's request. Alderman Temple thanked Cal. Alderman Olson asked Joe Leckie where the fine money would be placed. Joe stated that it would be placed in the General Fund. Ken asked if there was any way to have it put in a special fund, and Joe replied that there was not. Alderman Temple asked if, instead of as a fine, it could be stated as funds to be dedicated to a certain project or theme within the city. Joe Leckie stated that he did not believe that would be enforceable. Alderman Olson called for the question. Alderman Kroll called for a roll call vote. Council Minutes of September 7, 1999 A roll call vote was taken on the motion to levy a fine of $2,500 to Hall Outdoor Advertising. Motion carried 6-1, with Alderman Temple voting nay. Motion by Alderman Olson to grant a Special Review to Hall Outdoor Advertising, seconded by Alderman Kroll. Alderman Temple questioned the motion being made. Joe Leckie explained that granting the Special Review would be giving the permission necessary to leave the signs there. A vote was taken on the motion. Motion carried 7-0. UNSCHEDULED MATTERS: Mayor Rodgers stated that he received a few calls over the weekend. The solid waste had been picked up on Friday in the west end of the city, particularly in the vicinity of Seventh and Eighth Avenues. At midnight on Friday, the cans were already full, and residents called Mayor Rodgers the next morning to see if the cans could be emptied again. The cans were filled with sheet rock, carpet, lumber, notes, license plates and other garbage. The residents living within the city have the right to dump in any garbage can, but when a resident has an excess amount of garbage, it needs to be taken to the Container Site, which was open on Saturday. Mayor Rodgers explained that, in 1991-1992, the average bill received from the City of Billings for transfer of garbage was $2,848. This month the city received a bill for almost $7,000. Mayor Rodgers stated that the population of Laurel has not doubled, but the garbage cost has more than doubled. We are being flooded by outside users. If it does not stop, it will be necessary to ask the constituents for an increase in garbage fees in order to continue to pay the bills. He hopes that the garbage rates would not need to be tripled to cover the costs. Mayor Rodgers stated that it would take an effort by every individual to notice that non- residents might be dumping in the city's garbage cans. The mayor plans to give the collected evidence to Chief Musson for his review. Mayor Rodgers stated that something has to be done to correct the problem. Aldem~an Kroll mentioned that he would be gone for an extended period of time. Motion by Alderman Johnson to allow Alderman Kroll to be gone for an extended period of time, seconded by Aldem~an Kroll. Motion carried 7-0. Alderman Olson thanked Cal Cumin for his informative presentation. There being no further business to come before the council at this time, the meeting was adjoumed at 7:25 p.m. Ci Secretary Approved by the Mayor and passed by the City Council of the City of Laarel, Montana, this 21st day of September, 1999. Attest: M~-Treasurer 5