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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020-09-15 Hearing Examiner Minutes Regular Caldwell Hearing Examiner Minute Tuesday,September 15,2020, 7:00 p.m. . A`'PROVED Community Room, Caldwell Police Departme 110 South 5th Avenue,Caldwell, Idaho D _ z-J0 Call to Order-Hearing Examiner, Mr. Bruce Eggleston opened the meeting for the public hearing at 7:02 p.m. II. Review of Proceedings-Mr. Bruce Eggleston outlined the procedures for the public hearing. Members Present: Bruce Eggleston (Hearing Examiner); Jerome Mapp (Planning and Zoning Director); Debbie Root(Senior Planner); Robb MacDonald (City Engineer); Lori Colligan (Administrative Assistant) Members Absent: Ill. Consent Calendar: N/A IV. Old Business: 1. Case Number SUP-20-02: Jeff Hatch, Hatch Design Architecture,on behalf of Venus Development is requesting a special use permit for traditional ministorage consisting of storage structures, landscaping and an office on approximately 5.4 acres of a 16.5 acre parcel, R30881011,located on the west side of Middleton Road approximately 460 feet south of the intersection of Ustick and Middleton Roads, Caldwell, Idaho. The subject property is zoned C3 (Service Commercial). Testimony: Debbie Root, Senior Planner, 621 Cleveland Blvd., Caldwell,ID 83605,stated we are requesting to continue this case to a date to be determined,it will be re-noticed. The Hearing Examiner CONTINUED/MOVED Case Number SUP-20-02 (Special Use Permit) to a date to be determined at which time it will be re-noticed. 2. Case Number SUP-20-07: A request by Mark Gepner for a special use permit for a contractor shop [proposed sign shop] with storage yard on parcels R02190, and outdoor storage on R02190013 located at 216 W. Madison Street,Caldwell. The subject properties are zoned C-3 (Service Commercial) and are being utilized for storage of trailers,building materials,vehicles and construction equipment which requires a special use permit 1 Hearing Examiner Minutes 9/15/2020 Testimony: Debbie Root, Senior Planner, 621 Cleveland Blvd., Caldwell,ID 83605, stated the applicant is requesting a special use permit for a contractor shop (Proposed sign shop) with storage yard on parcels R02190,and outdoor storage on R02190013 located at 215 W. Madison Street,Caldwell. Mr. Eggleston asked where the current driveway was located. Ms.Root showed him on the map. Mr. Eggleston asked if the property owner had current water services at this time. Ms. Root was not sure but services are available. Mr. Eggleston asked about the specific use that would reside with the current owner and that would be part of the special use permit. Ms. Root said the special use is specific to the outdoor storage and contractor shop. The sign shop is outright allowed. However,we can't issue a building permit for the sign shop while the property is not in compliance.This will bring the property into compliance. Mr. Eggleston asked if an auto body shop decided to come in would that be permitted. Ms. Root said the point of putting the limitation on the current owner of the property is if they were to sell the property the new owner would have to come in and obtain their own special use permit. Mr. Bart Gepner (applicant), 1821 W Verneal Ct., Meridian, ID stated his brother Mark is interested in going ahead with this and getting it into compliance. They have reached out to a design company and they are working on a plan for along the frontage,from the fence line to the curb. Ms. Root pretty much covered it already. Mr. Eggleston asked if he was ok with the landscaping plan for the ROW. Mr. Gepner stated yes,they would much rather do it on the exterior of the fence. Mr. Eggleston asked if the building would be 20'from the property line. Mr. Gepner said if that was necessary,they would prefer to bring it closer but they will work with whatever the requirements are. They would like to have it as close to the property line they can. Ms. Root said the landscaping on the right of way is not in lieu of the 20'buffer, it couldn't be one or the other, if they had to do the 20'buffer inside the fence they are still required to do the landscaping outside of the fence to the curb. We are providing them an option to not further encumber them with a 20' buffer inside the fence due to the size and nature of the ROW that is existing. Mr. Eggleston asked if there would be a condition with the SUP to have a 10'setback on the front for that building? 2 Hearing Examiner Minutes 9/15/2020 Ms. Root stated the landscape buffer essentially provides for the setbacks in commercial zones. The density chart actually shows zero and so they would have a 20'buffer there, they could reduce that by condition to a 10'but she wouldn't want to go below that. 20'is what would be required if they had to do the landscape buffer inside the fence. Mr. Eggleston closed the public testimony. Comprehensive Plan Analysis for SUP-20-07 (Special Use Permit)The Hearing Examiner accepted the comprehensive plan analysis as listed in the staff report Findings of Fact for SUP-20-07 (Special Use Permit): The Hearing Examiner accepted the general facts as outlined in the staff report,public testimony,and the evidence list. Conclusions of Law for SUP-20-07 (Special Use Permit): The Hearing Examiner accepted the Conclusions of Law as outlined in the staff report ORDER FOR SUP-20-07:The Hearing Examiner ORDERED that Case Number SUP-20-07 (Special Use Permit) BE APPROVED with the following conditions: 8.2 through 8.11 3. Case Number: CMP-20-03 &ZON-20-04&SUB-20P-04: A request by Providence Properties,LLC for a comprehensive plan amendment, rezone and approval of a preliminary plat for Mason Creek Grove Subdivision,a proposed mixed-use development,on 35.47 acres located on the northeast corner of Middleton and Linden Roads, Caldwell,Idaho. The subject property,parcel R34304,is currently zoned'R-1'(Low Density Residential). The City of Caldwell 2040 Comprehensive Plan designates the property as Low Density Residential (25.9 acres more or less) with the approximate 4.57 acre corner lying northeast of the Noble Drain designated as Medium Density Residential. The applicant is requesting that the southwest corner, approximately 5 acres,be designated Commercial and rezoned to 'C-2' (Community Commercial) with the balance of the property to be designated Medium Density Residential and rezoned from 'R-1'to 'R2' (Medium Density Residential). Concurrently the applicant is requesting approval of a preliminary plat to include 114 single family lots with an average residential lot size of 6544 sq. feet and four(4) commercial lots. Testimony: Debbie Root, Senior Planner, 621 Cleveland Blvd.,Caldwell,ID 83605, Ms. Root provided Mr. Eggleston Exhibits PA-10 and PA-11,a revised memorandum from the Engineering Department PA-10 replaces PA-5. Ms. Root stated the applicant is requesting a comprehensive plan amendment, rezone and approval of a preliminary plat for Mason Creek Grove Subdivision,a proposed mixed-use development,on 35.47 acres located on the northeast corner of Middleton and Linden Roads.The applicant is requesting that the southwest corner,approximately 5 acres,be designated Commercial and rezoned to`C-2'with the balance of the property to be designated Medium Density Residential and rezoned from 'R-1'to'R2'. Concurrently,the applicant is requesting approval of a preliminary plat to include 114 single family lots with an average residential lot size of 6544 sq. feet and four (4) commercial lots.The City of Caldwell 2040 Comprehensive Plan designates the property as Low Density Residential 3 Hearing Examiner Minutes 9/15/2020 (25.9 acres more or less) with the approximate 4.57 acre corner lying northeast of the Noble Drain designated as Medium Density Residential. The current zone of the property is R-1 and has been R-1 since annexation in 2006-07. Development never occurred on that property the applicant is now requesting to amend the Comprehensive Plan and develop that property with R-2 medium density lots and some commercial lots on the corner. The property is located where there will be a roundabout in the Middleton Corridor Plan and there have been some requests for adjustments of 20'to the North as well to accommodate the canal that currently lies South of Linden Road. The applicant has met the open space requirements with some redesign. They have included the pathway and connecting micro pathways through the development. The preliminary plat is in compliance with the Medium Density Residential zone but the underlying Comprehensive Plan calls for low density and recently an adjacent development was denied a Comprehensive Plan amendment for low density to medium density as well. Mr. Eggleston asked about the NE corner that is designated medium density, what is the size of that Ms. Root stated about 4.5 acres. Mr. Eggleston asked about the acreage of the noble drain. Ms. Root stated she was not sure. Mr. Eggleston stated this case hinges on the Comprehensive Plan amendment that was adopted in February. He asked if there were any inquiries for this particular parcel about changing that plan from the Low Density Residential. Ms. Root stated she was not aware of inquiries on this particular parcel. Mr. Eggleston added that part of the request was for 5 acres of commercial in the SW corner of the property. There is a lot of commercial in the area. Within a mile of this property there is all kinds of commercial and their substantiation is that the commercial on this property would somehow provide amenities and trip capture. Is there any kind of comparison, a traffic impact study that will show a trip reduction benefit to commercial in that area? Mr. Robb MacDonald confirmed if he is asking if the TIS analyzed a trip reduction to the site because of the commercial? Mr. Eggleston stated yes, if the commercial provide trip reduction for the proposed uses here vs just having it all R-1. Ms. Robb MacDonald stated he doesn't know off the top of his head but he would guess that the commercial probably increases the traffic as opposed to what that acreage would have been if it was R-1. But, at the end of the day,we don't know exactly what the commercial is that would be proposed to go in there and so that could adjust up or down depending on what is built. 4 Hearing Examiner Minutes 9/15/2020 Mr.Eggleston asked if anyone had done a calculation on the number of units that would be buildable on the R-1 vs the proposal with the mixed zoning? Ms. Root stated she did not do that calculation. Mr. Eggleston stated there's a couple of things going on with the road configuration. First of all,the bump north 20'to accommodate the canal and the other being the roundabout itself that is looking for right turn approaches. He asked how much of that takes out of this parcel for development. Mr. MacDonald stated he does not know the exact acreage it would take out. The corner parcel is the parcel that was purchased by Canyon Highway District 4 and that's the one that the roundabout is going to impact the greatest. But there is frontage along the south portion of this property that's going to be impacted but he can't tell you what the acreage is that is encompassing. Mr. Eggleston asked about the configuration and if it accommodated all the requirements for the Highway District and the State on those two roads? Mr. MacDonald stated he believes it does not. His understanding is that some of the comments that came in more recently regarding the realignment of Linden and the mitigation that would go towards that have not been encompassed in this and so that would be something that we would work with the applicant for before it arrives at City Council. Mr. Eggleston stated the preliminary plat is not 100% in compliance right now and they still have a little work to do. Mr. MacDonald said yes, it's not 100% correct based on the most recent comments and so they would work with the applicant to get to that point before City Council. Mr. Eggleston asked if City Council typically worked toward a completed acceptable preliminary plat or would they hold the hearing off for that or how is it typically handled? Mr. MacDonald said their intent would be they would want something that is correct before it goes to City Council,they are going to want to see what the final product is most likely going to look like. Mr. Patrick Conner(Applicant) 726 N. Pierce St.,Boise, ID stated there are three objectives for tonight's presentation.The Comp Plan Amendment,amending Low Density Residential to Medium Density for about 30 acres and amending about 5 acres to Commercial and Services. The second objective is the rezone,to rezone 30 acres from R-1 Low Density to R- 2 Medium Density and the 5 acres of Low Density to C-2, Community Commercial.And lastly,the Preliminary Plat,a phased development of 100 single family lots, 18 common lots and 4 commercial lots. The subject property is about 35 acres on the NE corner of Linden and Middleton Road. They just recorded the first two phases of Mason Creek Landing Subdivision. Mason Creek Grove is integrally connected to Mason Creek Landing through roads,pedestrian and utility connections to the site to create an overall master plan community. The majority of the site is Low Density Residential with a small portion designated as Commercial. There are finished subdivisions that were previously done 5 Hearing Examiner Minutes 9/15/2020 under the only zoning ordinance and if those were categorized by today's standards they would be essentially be R-2 subdivisions.Whereas, it looked like on the Comprehensive Plan Map they are low density by their actual definition of their size of lots they are truly,by today's standards, R-2 Medium Density Residential. So,as you can see by this map there's now mostly a majority of the R-2 or Medium Density Residential here but there's a swath of low density capped by their property. As previously mentioned, in 2016-2017 his predecessor, 13 years ago,got Copper Creek Preliminary Plat approved and got it annexed and zoned R-1. Most of these lots were less than 8,000 sq ft.average about 6,500 sq ft.The project was built as the down turned happened. The old plan is 115 single-family units whereas today's is 110 so it's actually more dense than the one he is presenting today, 3.2 units per acre vs. 3.1. Also in the old plan, there wasn't any usable open space,today's plan they have 2.88 acres of open space. If you add in the noble drain it goes almost to 5 acres of open space. In the old plan there wasn't any connections to neighboring properties, no road, no pedestrian infrastructure. The plan today is integrated in every possible way to the existing Mason Creek Landing subdivision. In his opinion, it is a major improvement,this new plan. There have been significant advancements and investments into Middleton Road, the Middleton Road overpass over 84,as well as the Middleton Road Corridor Plan, roundabouts, medians,every quarter mile U-turn lanes,growth funded intersection improvements,which they are a part of. Creating a safer and more accessible pedestrian infrastructure. In addition, as you head down Linden you have the Caldwell Industrial Airport, which is booming in activity, it's an economic anchor,there's plan for runway extension,taxi area expansion,additional property acquisitions,hanger expansions-it's a true economic anchor for this area and all of the residents in this area will contribute and benefit from the airport. He believes they have a unique location at the corner of Middleton and Linden and that it warrants more than just an R-1 Low-Density Residential subdivision. While they are requesting Medium Density Residential it will live and breathe and feel like a Low Density Residential as far as impact on density,impact of roads,public schools and infrastructure. The reasoning for them going for the Medium Density Residential and the Comprehensive Plan Map amendment is it allows for a greater variety of housing options, and the ability to provide more useful green space and create a commercial services at this primary major intersection point at Linden and Middleton Road. He believes they can have both,the density,the diversity of product and they can also comply with the intent of the Comprehensive Plan . Mason Creek Grove is like the missing piece in this masterplan of Mason Creek Landing. They will have their smaller lots,45'ft lots surrounding the commercial on the north and southeast. Then they grow to their 52-55'wide single family and eventually as Mason Creek Landing takes over you have your 60'and 70'lots the closer you get to the future of Mason Creek City Park. They have also established Mason Creek Landing a precedence of higher density along Linden Road and Middleton Road with the 4 plexes and duplexes that are already entitled and he thinks this shows a good example of proper master planning for this major intersection. To allow for the communities,for families,for children to work in the whole community all together and access that commercial corner if needed. Again,everything will connect to the Mason Creek City Park in the far NE corner. The intent for the commercial when they first brought this project to planning staff about a year ago,there was a motivation and they did encourage us to explore putting commercial on that corner to serve the greater community. Things like a daycare,a bank,a dentist office,a local doctor's office, maybe a coffee shop or ice cream shop -to 6 Hearing Examiner Minutes 9/15/2020 provide commercial services for the neighboring community and as the area grows they could access this commercial location. Lastly,the preliminary plat, it's about 35 acres, 110 single family lots. 8.2% of their open space,they were counting the space in the Noble Drain as open space because they do put a pedestrian pathway and they do landscape along that Noble Drain so it is a usable open space.They realize the code doesn't allow for that so they removed that acreage so it's a little bit less than 2 acres that is not being counted in that overall number. He hopes for support of the amendment to the Comprehensive Plan to bring this whole Mason Creek Landing, Master Plan Community together. Mr. Eggleston asked what the build out/timeline for the part that is not the project site we are talking about Mr. Conner stated they have already built the first 180 lots. Mr. Eggleston stated he had the opportunity to apply for a PUD why did they take the path of a rezone if they could achieve similar results with a PUD? Mr. Conner stated that wasn't recommended to him by Planning and Zoning. Mr. Eggleston asked if that recommendation was made prior to the adoption of the current Comprehensive Plan. Mr. Conner said yes. Mr. Eggleston asked why they didn't do this in February before the new Comprehensive Plan was adopted? Mr. Conner stated it took them until March or April to get the application submitted and then they had some staff recommended changes. They are still working through some of that today. He is willing to work with staff to make sure it all works correctly. Mr. Eggleston asked if the commercial is a make or break part of the plan? In other words, would it fly strictly as residential? Mr. Conner stated that he thinks the most appropriate use of that corner is commercial so he is committed to that as a planner. It doesn't have to be commercial but he believes one the of the conditions recommended by staff is that it stays as the intended use and not multi-family. Mr. Eggleston he mentioned the roundabout being somewhat awkward for ingress/egress into the commercial site. Is that commercial location the best location on that site because of the roundabout? Mr. Conner stated the roundabout offers great visibility. What he was trying to explain by that was is that it's not a typical suburban corner. It's actually better because it provides two access points off Linden and off Middleton Road to that commercial area. It's a place for a destination commercial location. Not for a convenience store but for a doctor/dentist office,it almost softens that corner and makes it more inviting. 7 Hearing Examiner Minutes 9/15/2020 Mr. Eggleston stated it doesn't seem to be particularly integrated into the residential use, is that something they anticipate to make more of a part of that community? It looks more like 2 separate communities. Mr. Conner stated the city has a strong landscaping plan between uses. While it doesn't look like it's much if you were walking down the sidewalk you would have a park-like feel. They don't know what the intended use is going to be and so it depends on the commercial use in that area. Mr. Eggleston asked if they contemplated a development agreement with the commercial zoning to specify the uses. Mr. Conner stated they have not talked about that,in their application they have stated their intended use for the property. Mr. Eggleston asked because he mentions uses that are low impact/low traffic,but with just the straight zoning it could be anything allowed in commercial and the development agreement would specify the types of uses allowed. That would be something to consider. How did they come up for that particular acreage? Mr. Conner said he worked closely with a broker and he said anything around an acre, maybe less than an acre for users would be appropriate there. They both think it's well positioned. Ms. Root stated with regards to the development agreement,the DA is imposed with a rezone and they have paid for that through the application process so we can propose conditions through the development agreement. She would also like to mention there is still an open question with regards to the Bolton lateral and the landscaping strip being overlaid upon that Bolton Lateral easement. They haven't had confirmation from the irrigation district whether or not that is even acceptable. If not, they will have a 25 ft. landscape buffer outside of that easement that has to be applied as well. Mr. Eggleston closed the public testimony. Closing Comments: The story of the property-it's gone through a lot of iterations with the overall development of these couple hundred acres we're talking about. The commercial is a long ways away from the residential. The community commercial proposed here could be just about anything. He doesn't see it as a particularly good fit. Strictly looking at the Comprehensive Plan he doesn't think the commercial is fully justified on that corner especially as it has Low Density Residential surrounding it. The site itself has some problems,which have been discussed. The roundabout there makes it more of a a-typical commercial corner, one that provides a kind of drop in compulsive service that you would look for with something like a C-store. The commercial also does not come with a development agreement even though case is open for a development agreement; it would limit the kinds of commercial uses on that southwest corner. The site plan doesn't give us a lot to go on as far as what may occur there. The idea with a residential development like this would be something that feels like a piece with the residential uses and he's just not seeing that in the proposal. Looking at the 8 Hearing Examiner Minutes 9/15/2020 staff report the discussion about the consistency with the Comprehensive Plan that it was not particularly consistent with the land use policies in the Comprehensive Plan Map. The plan was adopted just 7 months ago and he questioned the applicant about that. They had other things on their plate at the time. It's a missed opportunity but it was an opportunity available at that time. He agrees with staff that he can't find the consistency with the Comprehensive Plan Map. Without being able to make a finding that it's in full compliance with the Comprehensive Plan that puts in jeopardy the proposal because the Comprehensive Plan itself has to be satisfied before we can move on to a rezone and preliminary plat. Comp Plan Amendment: Comprehensive Plan Analysis for CMP-20-03 (Comp Plan Amendment)The standards for compliancy and consistency with the Comprehensive Plan have not been successfully met. Particularly in regards to the request for commercial land use. He does not feel that commercial land use is appropriate at this site. The case hasn't been made convincingly. The preliminary plat is not 100% complete; it is not giving us enough evidence to make a secure decision in the land use change in the Comprehensive Plan. We have Low Density Residential across the street and that was recently upheld as Low Density in a similar application. One of the issues we have is that mending the land use plan should not be something that is taken lightly and it should have full justification,a reasonable justification other than just the fact that it might be an economic benefit to the land owner. Findings of Fact for CMP-20-03 (Comp Plan Amendment):The Hearing Examiner did not accept the general facts as outlined in the staff report,public testimony, and the evidence list. Conclusions of Law for CMP-20-03 (Comp Plan Amendment): The Hearing Examiner accepted the Conclusions of Law as outlined in the staff report. RECOMMENDATION FOR CMP-20-03:The Hearing Examiner RECOMMENDED that Case Number CMP-20-03 (Comp Plan Amendment) BE DENIED Mr. Eggleston stated there is some potential here for a planned unit development. Rezone: Comprehensive Plan Analysis for ZON-20-04 (Rezone) The Hearing Examiner did not accept the comprehensive plan analysis as listed in the staff report. Findings of Fact for ZON-20-04 (Rezone):The Hearing Examiner did not accept the general facts as outlined in the staff report,public testimony,and the evidence list. Conclusions of Law for ZON-20-04 (Rezone): The Hearing Examiner accepted the Conclusions of Law as outlined in the staff report. RECOMMENDATION FOR ZON-20-04:The Hearing Examiner RECOMMENDED that Case Number ZON-20-04 (Rezone) BE DENIED with the following conditions: 12.2 through 12.4 9 Hearing Examiner Minutes 9/15/2020 Preliminary Plat: Comprehensive Plan Analysis for SUB-20P-04(Preliminary Plat) The Hearing Examiner did not accept the comprehensive plan analysis as listed in the staff report. Findings of Fact for SUB-20P-04 (Preliminary Plat): The Hearing Examiner did not accept the general facts as outlined in the staff report, public testimony,and the evidence list. Conclusions of Law for SUB-20P-04 (Preliminary Plat): The Hearing Examiner accepted the Conclusions of Law as outlined in the staff report. RECOMMENDATION FOR SUB-20P-04: The Hearing Examiner RECOMMENDED that Case Number SUB-20P-04 (Preliminary Plat) BE DENIED 4. Case Number CMP-20-04/ZON-20-05/SUB-20P-05: A request by Heartland Townhomes Property Management LLC and Trilogy Development, Inc.,for a Comprehensive Plan Map amendment,rezones and approval of a preliminary plat for AeroSky Park Subdivision,a proposed commercial/industrial development of parcel 835305,35.4 acres, located on the southeast corner of Hwy 20/26 and Aviation Road, Caldwell,Idaho.The City of Caldwell 2040 Comprehensive Plan designates the property as "Commercial and Services." A map amendment is proposed to allow for industrial zoning. The 35.4 acre subject property is currently zoned`C-4' (Interchange/Freeway Commercial).The applicant is proposing 12.6 acres of"C-3"(Service Commercial) and 24.82 acres of"M-1"(Light Industrial) zoned property.The proposed plat contains 6 commercial lots and 14 industrial lots. The subject property is located in the APO-1 Land Use Limitation Zone. Testimony: Debbie Root, Senior Planner,621 Cleveland Blvd.,Caldwell,ID 83605,stated we are requesting to continue this case to the October 20, 2020 hearing meeting. The Hearing Examiner CONTINUED/MOVED Case Number CMP-20-04/ZON-20-05/SUB- 20P-05 to the October 20, 2020 hearing. IV. New Business: 1. Case Number SUB-20P-07/SUP-20-08:A request by Highgarden LLC/Glen Winters to develop parcel R32500, 10.69 acres,zoned"C3" (Service Commercial) as a multi-family housing subdivision. The applicant is requesting approval of a preliminary plat for Highgarden Estates, consisting of 33 multi-family lots (66 housing units) and 3 common lots. Concurrently a special use permit is requested for the proposed multi-family duplex unit development. The subject property is located 2300 feet west of Cleveland Blvd. on Laster Street. Testimony: Debbie Root, Senior Planner, 621 Cleveland Blvd., Caldwell,ID 83605,stated we are requesting to continue this case to the November 10, 2020 hearing meeting. 10 Hearing Examiner Minutes 9/15/2020 The Hearing Examiner CONTINUED/MOVED Case Number SUB-20P-07/SUP-20-08 to the November 10, 2020 hearing. Planning Issues- None The next regularly scheduled Hearing Examiner meeting is scheduled for November 10, 2020. The Hearing Examiner adjourned the meeting at approximately 7:20 p.m. Respectfully submitted by Lori Colligan, MINUTES APPROVED AND SIGNED BY THE HEARING EXAMINER,BRUCE EGGLESTON, ON THE DATE NOTED BELOW: Mr. Bruce Egglesto Date Debbie t, Sen'•r Planner Date For detailed Minutes,please request a copy of the digital recording. 11 Hearing Examiner Minutes 9/15/2020