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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity/County Planning Board Minutes 01.03.2008DP~4FT MINUTES LAUREL-YELLOWSTONE CITY-COUNTY PLANNING BOARD JANUARY 3, 2008 7:00 PM COUNCIL CHAMBERS MEMBERS PRESENT: Gerald Shay, Chairman Dan Koch, City Rep. Dick Fritzler, County Rep. Todd Lindcr, City Rep. Hazel Klein, City Rep. Miles Walton, City Rep. Othors Present: James Caniglia, City Planner Bill Sheridan, Public Works Director Kurt Markegaxd, Deputy Director of Public Works Choryll Luncl, Public Works Secretary The revised draft minutes of the December 6, 2007 meeting were corrected and accepted with corrections. Annexation Policy ~ Recommendation Last month tho hoard discussed problems regarding issues of curb/gutter/sidewalk/streets after prop ~e~, has been annexed into the city limits. This issue came about when property on West 13 Street was annexed into the city and the land owner was never required to add improvements or have engineering on the curb/gutter/sidewalk/street grades done. A few years later he sold the property to an unsuspecting buyer who was upset when he built a home and it was brought to his attention by the city that he needed to get street/curb/gutter/sidewalk engineering done at his expense. The original property owner eventnally paid for thc engineering to be done but the unsuspecting buyer was very unhappy with the city's handling of the situation because it was done aider the house was built and ready to have the drive approach put in. The Public Works Director, Deputy Public Works Director, Code Enforcement officers and Planner had a lengthy meeting regarding this issue and how it could be done more efficiently so that in tho future there is nothing that falls through the cracks. The staff discovered that in 2006 the Laurel City Council adopted "Rules and Regulations Governing Utility Services and Streets for the City of Laurel, Montana" which gives guidelines on requirements for annexations. According to the rules and regulations the "owner/developer" is required to put up a bond that would cover tho cost of engineering. If the developer should sell the land to other buyers prior to having the engineering done then the city would be able to use the bond to pay for the engineering costs. Bill Sheridan and Kurt Markegard from city Public Works were present for the meeting. They answered questions on what happened on the W. 13t~ property and gave input on the steps that need to be taken prior to annexation. Now that there is a full time City Planner there will be more communication with the Public Works Department staff. The board would like something written into the mmexation plan that will address both future armexations and previous annexations that have not complied since they annexed in. After a lengthy discussion it was decided that Public Works department will work on a proposal regarding future and prior annexations end bring it to the Planning Board next month for their consideration. The board also requested that a member of the Public Works depaxtment be present at all meetings that involve requirements that come from the Public Works office. Pronosed Extension of the Central Business District At the December meeting the board discussed expanding the Central Business District zoning further to the east (from Pennsylvania Avenue to Alder Avenue) to allow for a higher lot coverage percentage; higher density two-story buildings to be built; and more types ofbusinessas. Central Business District zoning allows for a higher amount of lot coverage and no maximum building height requirement. This would allow for a greater density of businesses and would also allow some apartment buildings to be built above the bnsinasses. This could increase the character of the downtown and encourage mere foot traffic along the Central Business District. Parking in the downtown area needs to be addressed and the city needs to be mere creative with parking issues. Vertical parking would be beneficial as would garages being built within the back of a rental unit. James would like the board to give some thought to what type of businesses they would like to see in the Central Business District and how far it should bo extended. This will be on the February 7th agenda. Creation of Neip. hborhood Commercial Zones James would like to see a Neighborhood Commercial zone created that would incorporate smaller types ofcoamiercial businesses within residential neighborhoods. The types of businesses would have to be carefully considered so as not to interfere or interrupt the peace of the residential neighborhood. By allowing small businesses foot traffic would be encouraged. '2 James went on to state that the City of Billings has some Neighborhood Commercial zones. In those zones the maximum size of the building is limited so as to preserve the look of the neighborhood. Some concerns were raised by the board as to whether or not expanding the Central Business District would be conflicted by adding another commercial zone such as Neighborhood Commercial. James stated that there are buildings within the CBD zone that have been sitting uninhabited for many years end are limiting CBD activity by their lack of use. By extending the CBD more business and/or residential homes could be converted into new businesses or new types ofbnsinesses. It was brought up that Alder Avenue is considered a major collector street and eventually traffic could become heavy so proposed expansion of CBD would be an asset got the city. Traffic on First Avenue will evolve over time with the paving of the road t~om Molt to Laurel and if the zoning is changed it should be in place prior to that time. Miscellaneous None. Public Input None. The meeting was adjourned at 8:40 pm, Respectfully submitted, Cheryll Lurid, Secretary