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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity/County Planning Board Minutes 09.11.2008 DRAFT MINUTES Laurel-Yellowstone City-County Planning Board September 11, 2008 7:00 pm. Council Chambers Members Present: Dan Koch, City Rep. Dick Fritzler, County Rep. Miles Walton, City Rep. John VanAken, County Rep. Deb Horning, City Rep. Kim Wallila, County Rep. Others Present: James Caniglia, City Planner Cheryll Lund, City Secretary The meeting was called to order at 7:06 pm. The minutes of the July 10,2008 meeting were approved after a motion by Miles Walton with a second by Deb Horning. Vote was 6-0 in favor. Appointment of the Vice-Chairman After a discussion the Board decided to put this item on the agenda for the October meeting. Public Hearin —Frank and Do letta Zweifel-Zone Change—Outside of City Limits The Public Hearing was opened at 7:10 pm. This 40 acre parcel is located at 2845 S. Laurel Road and is currently zoned agricultural open. The owners are requesting that the zone be changed to Residential Suburban will would allow them to subdivide the 40 acres into 8 parcels of land with 5 acres in each parcel. The land lies on the south side of the interstate a short distance away from the Laurel rail yard. The land surrounding it to both the east and northeast is zoned agricultural open. The land directly to the west is also zoned agricultural open all the way along the south side of the interstate up to the east side of Bernhardt Road. The land directly to the south of the south border of the parcel is not zoned. Cenex Refinery(listed as Circle Land Management, Inc. on the tax rolls) owns the property to the west. The property is leased'out and has been used as farmland for many years. 1 City Planner James Caniglia stated that he has concerns regarding this zone change. His first concern is that approval of this zone change could set precedence for having to allow Residential Suburban on all neighboring properties. James went on to state that the applicants' proposal does not go along with Laurel's Growth Management Plan in regards to limiting the loss of prime farmland; developing in a centralized manner and reducing automobile trips. PROPONENTS: Frank Zweifel,property owner, spoke. He stated that this proposal would raise taxes which would benefit Laurel. He stated that if the board is opposed to having 5-acre lots that he would consider changing that part of the application. He did state that he had plans to subdivide into 5-acre ranchettes. James asked if there were any other proponents. There were none. Opponents: James stated that one letter of protest from Flying Box Ranch Company was received. (attached) Gilbert U. Burdett, President of Flying Box Ranch Company that owns the property adjacent on two sides of the 40 acres owned by Zweifel's, spoke. Because of the location of the Zweifel's property being close to the railroad yard, interstate, Pelican truck stop and the surrounding farmland that Cenex owns, he does not feel that residential properties would be a good fit in that area. He feels it would be isolated. Mr. Burdett stated that when he is on the property at night the bright lights and noise from the railroad yard are overwhelming and obvious from 800 feet away. Because of that he thinks it the Zweifels property is a bad choice for a residential area and not good for Laurel. And, eventually there could be 8 homeowners on a gravel road that would want the road to be paved. Mr. Burdett went on to say that Cenex bought the property all the way from the present refinery to the west side of Zweifel's property for a buffer zone for the future expansion of the refinery. The few houses that are located in the area will eventually end up in the midst of non-residential property. He feels there are many good uses for the property at its present zoning and requests that it remain Agricultural Open. There were no other opponents present. 2 At this time Mr. Zweifel spoke. He stated that he was unable to hear what Mr. Burdett had stated. Mr. Zweifel was handed a copy of the letter of protest Mr. Burdett submitted. After Mr. Zweifel read the letter he stated that he disagrees with the statement that the lake being a detriment to the proposed houses. He stated that he assumed Cenex is not present at the meeting to protest because they do not have a problem with this proposed zone change. He stated that there are existing homes presently located close to the highway (that are effected by the lights and noise) and if there is anything that is a detriment it is from the dust in the air coming from the existing gravel pit. A question was raised regarding road specifications and requirements for this property. James Caniglia stated that because the lots are 5-acre pieces there are no paving requirements but the road is maintained. If the property was divided into smaller acres then there would be stricter road requirements. James stated that this property could be subdivided into smaller pieces but there would be a full review of it prior to being able to subdivide. A question is raised regarding how much longer mining will continue and how far away the property is from where the mining is done. Mr. Burdett stated that they have a permit to continue mining. The mining is done approximately one-quarter mile from the proposed zone change. A question was raised on potential complaints that additional housing would bring, in regards to the gravel pit. Mr. Burdett stated that it is possible that the gravel pit will continue for another 30 years. At this time James read his recommendation for this proposed zone change into the record: (also attached) "The Zweifels seek to lift an agricultural open zoning designation and have their land rezoned to allow Suburban Residential which allows for five acre lots. The total amount of land that the owners wish to rezone amounts to 40 acres. The land is bordered by agricultural open on three sides and is bordered by unzoned land to the south. The general location of the property is the northwest corner of the intersection at Magelssen and South Laurel Roads. Most of the land bordering the property is being used for agricultural purposes; the Zweifels have approximately two dozen cattle on their land. Page 6 of the Growth Management Plan under the section"Land Use," offers some insight into the City of Laurel goals in terms of development. Strategy Number 4 states 3 "Support concentrated development with access to central water and sewer systems." Strategy number 6 states "Encourage the preservation of good farmland and open space in areas that provide open space vistas or pedestrian/bike trail continuity through the purchase of development rights or other conservation processes." Strategy 7 states "Discourage residential development in undesirable locations such as on prime farmland and potential prime farmland." A map of the Laurel area located under the"Natural Resources" section(between pages 3 and 4) shows the land as being prime farmland. Page 6 of this section reiterates the goal of"Discouraging the conversion of prime farm land to residential development." Another map of prime farmland follows page 6, but shows much less farmland as being prime;the Zweifel residence is not considered prime on this map. The zone change does not appear to be spot zoning as there are seven homes on similar size acreage directly to the southeast on unzoned land. This land lies just outside of the Laurel Zoning Jurisdiction. However, it does open the door for us to be required to allow a similar zone change to all adjoining properties. The properties to the north, east and west are all zoned agricultural open. T recommend denial of this zone change request, a recommendation that the applicant was fully aware of before submitting the application. Allowance of rezoning will set precedence in the direct vicinity that is not in the best interests of the area in my opinion. Laurel is slowly being engulfed by low density county residences that severely hamper the long term livability and financial potential of the area. Rezoning such an area eliminates large amounts of farmland while providing little housing, housing that also requires automobile use for nearly all trips due to narrow county roads and proximately to services". James continued by saying that the recommendation tonight goes to the County Commissioners for their consideration and decision. Deb Horning stated that it seems that this zone change is inconsistent with the surrounding use. Miles Walton stated that he works at the refinery and cannot imagine anyone that would want to build houses that close and downwind from the refinery. He knows of some complaints that the refinery has received from both new and existing residents that live in the area that expect the refinery to do something about, such as the smell. At this time the question was called for. Miles Walton recommended denial of the proposed zone change, seconded by Deb Horning. The motion was carried by a vote of 6-0. Dick Fritzler spoke. His thoughts are that this proposed zone change is not consistent with the direction of the existing Growth Management Plan(GMP), not to say that the GMP cannot be changed but if it is it should be studied in depth so that the entire area is 4 looked at. He would be very reluctant to isolate or change (zoning) on a piece of property without a lot of thought and study. Especially in knowing how much work and thought went into the Laurel Growth Management Plan. James agreed with Dick Fritzler and re-iterated how much thought, study and time went in to Laurel's Growth Management Plan. Consideration of deleting L.M.C. 17.40.090 A 3 —No required parking space shall be located in a front or side and". James stated that this is a very outdated code that states that no required parking space shall be located in a front or side yard. This code basically says that you can't have a driveway or garage in your front yard. This issue will be put on the agenda for discussion and recommendation next month. Consideration on changes to the Sign Code for electronic Signs James stated that our zoning regulations are behind times and there is not much regarding electronic signs. This code would require anyone putting up an electronic sign to have the ability to dim the sign if there are any public complaints regarding the brightness of the sign. James went on to question whether or not we want electronic signs able to show "actions" such as fireworks, or if we want to limit the signs to letters and numbers. At this time there is not a big concern regarding actions on signs but as Laurel grows it could become an issue. This would be a good time to discuss issues and put something on the books for staff and applicants in the future. James would like the board to read Pages 10 -12 of the Billings sign code. It will be put into the packet for next month's meeting and discussion. Discussion on considering changes to L.M.C. 17.52.010 a "Single-family dwellings— spaces or garages for four passenger vehicles" James stated that this is another discrepancy in the zoning regulations. In the definition it says that any single family home can have a 3-passenger vehicle garage. Then in a later section it says you can have a 4-passenger vehicle garage. James would like to see the code state that the garage space should be based on square footage. James would also like to see pole barns (metal &pole) eliminated from being allowed in residential neighborhoods. 5 The height of garages also needs to be reviewed. There have been numerous complaints regarding height of garages both within the city limits and outside city limits. This issue will also be discussed at the October meeting. Miscellaneous James introduced Kathy Siegrist. Kathy has applied to be considered for a County Representative for the Planning Board. Kathy has lived outside the Laurel city limits for several years and was a resident of Shepherd prior to that. She works for Montana Rail Link. She has had questions on planning and zoning in Laurel in the past that she felt she did not get clear answers for. Because she lives off of Shay Road she is interested in seeing how things develop with the new interchange. She has the time to give back to the community and is willing to put effort into being on the board. Motion by Dan Koch, seconded by John VanAken to recommend to the Yellowstone County Commissioners that Kathy Siegrist be appointed to the Laurel Planning Board as a County Member. Motion carried by a vote of 6-0. James introduced Amos Lee as someone interested in being considered for the Member at Large position for the Laurel Planning Board. This item is not on the agenda but will be in October. Amos introduced himself and stated that he is a general contractor that has built a few homes in Iron Horse Station Subdivision where he has lived for 2 years. He is interested in planning in general. He is also interested and concerned as to how development happens. He sees Laurel as an area that will grow substantially in the future and he thinks that a little pre-planning and vision can go along way in getting ahead of the game. He felt the board made a good decision on the zone change request that was on the agenda tonight. He didn't see the Zweifel property as good residential land and is concerned with"urban sprawl". He has lived in several other states and he has seen the results of poor planning which brings plugged interstates and poor quality of life. There was no other business to come before the Planning Board. The meeting was adjourned at 8:06 pm. Respectfully submitted, Cheryll Lund, Secretary 6 1-d i Y }LA 1�1. pu-WOSRKS:628^796 �C *ty Of Laurel a Wt`l-IT�R.()FC:628-713 - CflURT:628-1964 P.0_ Box 10 PAX: TI1tE� � r X:62 8-2?"•1 ,wNT Laaaxel,?vIont�-na�94� pi 72TN,T TG E02�'D ApPT IcATTpN rQ D�AR I NfF—N-FORM The undersigned as owner or agent o the following descrihed -property requests a Zone Change/Land Use Variance as outlined i_n the City Zoning Ordinance : From Agriculture open Zone To S- ;, aan resj,den.ti_aL �,( ya1bijeloG7"'L Zone 7 . Legal description or 3Droperty:5ec-- 11 Twr-2s Range-24 2 . General location: E 1 /2 NE 1 /4 & E 1 /2 SE 1 /4 SE 1 /4 laurel south—Ong 3 . Proposed use : L11 V�dd 7 ^[O R Pa-relS of Land ( 5 rrac Pnrh ) g _ Owner (s) _ Frank ar3_Doy1 eI- Ca Zwei f e 1 (recorded owner) 651 Arznw Trail R; > > i nvsy M* 591 09-27D9 (address) `)I (phone number) 5 _ Agent (s) (name) (address) (phone number) G . Covenants or deed restrictions on property: Yes Na (if- yes, include copy) T understand that the filing fee accompanying this application is not refundable, that it pays part of the cost in processing, and that the fee does not constitute a payment for a Zone Change/Land Use Variance . Also, that all the information presented is true and correct . PETITIONER MUST.' BE PRESENT AT HEARINGS . PETITION NO_ -2-e/Je- GTh k—' 8/7 d� FEE PAID C;-1060 44 q)- PETITIONER' S SIGNATURE DATE [ J U N 3 0 2008 P.G. Box 10 . 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I RAY R r56loreEs I_yr�a1 D-2916 966-1go1/x" ti IIIw-ma 2251 E /j p9!-eea 1 11283-2733/k?39 j4AkWiA .� ` '11 ,I I I I1281-a626 'pEREY \`x l 95 -3u 004-4 V NLp�io 919 C" ' , ins wit t¢sty City Of Laurel a City Planner: 628-4796 P. Q.$0x 10 FAX: 628-2241 {� Water Office: 62R-743 n Laurel Montana 59044 _ '�°`A To: Planning Board From: James Cauiglia Subject: Zweifell Zone Change The Zweifels seek to lift an agricultural open zoning designation and have their land rezoned to allow Suburban Residential which allows for five acre lots_ The total amount of land that the owners wish to rezone amounts to 40 acres_ The land is bordered by agricultural open on three sides and is bordered by unzoned land to the south. The general location of the property is the northwest comer of the intersection at Magelssen and South Laurel Roads. Most of the land bordering the property is being used for agricultural purposes, the Zweifels have approximately two dozen cattle on their land. Page 6 of the Growth Management Plan under the section"Land Use," offers some insight into City of Laurel goals in terms of development. Strategy Number 4 states"Support concentrated development with access to central water and sewer systems." Strategy number 6 states "Encourage the preservation of good farmland and open space in areas that provide open space vistas or pedestrian/bike trail continuity through the purchase of development rights or other conservation processes." Strategy 7 states"Discourage residential development in undesirable locations such as on prime farmland and potential prime farmland."A map of the Laurel area located under the"Natural Resources" section(between pages 3 and 4) shows the land as being prime farmland. Page 6 of this section reiterates the goal of"Discouraging the conversion of prime farm land to residential development." Another map of prime farmland follows page 6, but shows much less fam land as being prime;the Zweifel residence is not considered prime on this map_ The zone change does not appear to be spot zoning as there are seven homes on similar sized acreage directly to the southeast on unzoned land. This land lies just outside of the Laurel Zoning Jurisdiction. However, it does open the door for us to be required to allow a similar zone change to all adjoining properties. The properties to the north, east and west are all zoned agricultural open_ I recommend denial of this zone change request, a recommendation that the applicant was fully aware of before submitting the application_ Allowance of rezoning will set precedence in the direct vicinity that is not in the best interests of the area in my opinion: Laurel is slowly being engulfed by low density county residences that severely hamper the long term livability and financial potential of the area. Rezoning such an area eliminates large amounts of farmland while providing little housing, housing that also requires automobile use for nearly all trips due to narrow county roads and proximately to services. FLYING BOX RANCH COMPANY P.O. Box 1686 Billings, Montana 59103-1686 (406) 652-5887 Phone (406) 652-9377 Fax September 10, 2008 Laurel City-County Planning Board Via Email Re: Requested zone change 40 acres -E/211 E/2, SE/4 Sec. 11, 2S 24E 2845 S. Laurel Rd. Planning Board, We object to this zone change. Our properly is adjacent to this 40 acres on two sides,and the Cenex Refinery,through Circle Land Company,is adjacent on the other two sides of it.All of the surrounding land is currently in agricultural usage, as is the subject property, except we currently have a gravelpit across the street to the east. We anticipate the pit will eventually be reclaimed into a 13 acre lake in an anticipated business park adjacent to the East Laurel freeway exit. We have approximately 20 acres immediately to the north which abuts the freeway, and I can't imagine a scenario in which it could ever be used for housing as the 24 hour lights and noise from the rail yard is quite noticeable. The 40 acres is approximately 500 feet from the freeway and, across the freeway, 1000 feet from the railroads rail facilities and their lights. From my discussions with personnel with Cenex and Circle Land,I understand they have acquired all the land they currently own east of the refinery for a buffer zone and future expansion. Any future use of our adjacent property would,by necessity of the freeway and railroad,be other than residential. The few houses here,if developed,would end up in the midst of non residential property. There are many good uses for the property in its present zoning and we request it remains Agricultural Open. Sincerely, FLYING BOX RANCH COMPANY Gilb U. Burdett, President . I ISE SEP 1 0 2008 CITY OF LAUREL