Chair Mike Schell presided and called the meeting to order 4:00pm on Tuesday, May 10th, 2022. Committee Members present: Dave Carlsrud, Bill Carlblom, Jim Wright, Jeff Erickson, and Bobby Koepplin. Absent: Joe Faure.
Others: City Attorney Carl Martineck, City Administrator Gwen Crawford, City Planner Joel Quanbeck, Acting Secretary/City Assessor Sandy Hansen, Building Inspectors Michael Blevins & Lance Coit, and City Engineers Chad Pederson & Mike Strom (KLJ).
Audience members: JoNelle Kuder, Sue McCarthy, Rodney Scott, Kay & Bruce Jacobson, Ian Jacobson, Jessica Jenrich, Jeff Bopp, Mike Schwehr and Shawn Olauson, with Paul Diegel attending by Zoom.
Bill Carlblom moved to approve the Minutes of the March 8th, 2022 regular meeting with the correction that Jim Wright was present for the meeting (omitted in minutes), seconded by Wright, followed by roll call and approval.
Building Inspector Report
Building Inspector Mike Blevins had sent an email of the current 2022 permit list and read it for the board & audience; there was a correction of an amount on one permit to $1,000,000 (not $100,000), and he reported that the permit activity has picked up as expected now that weather has warmed.
Public Hearing for Replat Application of Legacy West Townhomes PUD.
Chair Schell opened the public hearing, verifying that developer Paul Diegel was on line for the meeting. Diegel explained that he has an owner who wants a single-family residence on two lots originally meant for townhomes. Diegel had it replatted as such, including another single-family home lot in an area that was greenspace; both lots would still be part of the Legacy West Planned Unit Development association. Joel Quanbeck reiterated what Diegel said but pointed out some issues with the fact that Lot 6 was essentially a “two front yard” corner lot which causes issues with front yard fence setbacks covered in city ordinances. He reminded the commission that a 6’ high fence needs a 15’ setback from the front yard property line to fit city regulations. Quanbeck suggested moving the lot lines or the planned houses to the north and/or west to make room for a possible privacy fence without causing problems of sightlines. Diegel pointed out that a fence would be closer to the house as patio privacy, and would not extend past the corner of the house. He was agreeable to moving the Lot 6 building north about two feet, and moving the house on Lot 5 northwest about the same amount to accommodate any future fencing issues. Bruce Jacobson asked Diegel if the addition of the two homes will be paying their fair share of street costs; Diegel explained to him costs will be split evenly. Wright moved to close the hearing with Carlblom seconding. Chair Schell then opened it to internal discussion. Wright asked Deputy Fire Chief Lance Coit if the plans were okay with the fire department regarding emergency responses and was assured they were. Quanbeck pointed out the drainage and stormwater areas for the development and suggested they need to be checked to see if they were working as planned. He also said that the Homeowner’s Association documents should be shared with the board to verify their existence and that maintenance issues were included in them. Bobby Koepplin moved to approve the replat recommendation to the City Commission with the building relocations and any future fence placements as discussed, plus the other recommendations Quanbeck shared regarding the stormwater management system and the Homeowner’s Association documents. Carlblom seconded the motion, followed by unanimous board approval.
Public Hearing for Variance Application for a fence at 551 6th St NE (Pcl #63-5690114).
Chair Schell opened the public hearing for a variance request. Property owner Ian Jacobson explained his issue was similar to the prior application, with his house being on a corner and essentially having two front yards. He was asking for permission to put up a 6’ fence along the east side of his house to allow some privacy and to keep family and a possible dog contained. Supplemental information given to Quanbeck showed Jacobson’s intentions. Schell asked about sightline obstruction but it is a controlled intersection and shouldn’t be a problem. But Koepplin said that the new regulations have that 15’ setback in effect, and the board needs to be fair with everyone. The drawing has the fence 4’ from the property line; 15’ from the property line would be up against the house. Quanbeck listed criteria points needed to justify passing a variance, and this situation does not meet those requirements. Schell suggested the board may need to look at corner lot regulations again. Koepplin agreed and said the variance should be denied until the regulations can be reviewed and possibly changed to be fair to all corner lots. Wright moved to close the hearing with Carlblom a second. Internal discussion began. Quanbeck suggested a motion should include possibly amending the ordinance regarding corner lot setbacks. The board asked that Quanbeck research the issue. Koepplin moved to deny the application based on the criteria needed, and to possibly amend the ordinance regarding corner lots and fences. Wright seconded followed by unanimous board approval.
Review extraterritorial limits of City and existing zoning rules with the County
Chair Schell turned the conversation over to City Attorney Carl Martineck. Martineck pointed out that the one-mile extraterritorial border lines had not been updated for many years, and did not reflect recent annexations requiring expansion of that one-mile city jurisdiction. Some members of the County Planning & Zoning Board were in attendance for questions, along with the Planning & Zoning Administrator Jessica Jenrich. Jenrich supplied her own maps, questioning why some subdivisions were separated, essentially bringing in two sets of rules for one subdivision, and also questioned the zigzag appearance of the proposed map which makes it confusing to read. Martineck said that established subdivisions in the county remain under county regulations; he also explained that the zigzag appearance is a result of including the quarter sections that are touched one mile out from city limits which is also uneven. He added that this map is to be used for only zoning regulations, and would not affect any other regulations in place. County Board member Shawn Olauson said the extraterritorial limit should be a mile out, nothing more or less. Martineck suggested both boards would be better served if the zoning map was updated each time there was an annexation, but he would work with Jenrich to make a more readable map with the intention of a definitive one-mile border from corporate city limits. Maps will be provided once approved.
Update on land donations and cash in lieu regarding public use areas
Quanbeck wanted to update the group on information regarding new annexations and the guidelines of 12% land that’s supposed to be dedicated for public recreational use. He has been looking at other states for guidelines on this discussion since North Dakota does not have any. But it is obvious that the need for more public recreation areas should be addressed and soon, particularly in the southeast where there are new annexations, and that discussion should also include the VC Parks & Rec board.
Adjourn
With no other items to discuss, Chair Schell called for the meeting to close at 5:20pm.
5.10.2022 Planning and Zoning Minutes
Posted in Planning & Zoning Minutes.