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HomeMy Public PortalAboutMinutes_Planning & Zoning Meeting_09152010PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION MEETING SEPTEMBER 15, 2010 6:00 P.M. AT THE COMMUNITY CENTER PUBLIC HEARINGS DAYCARE ORDINANCE; VEHICLE ORDINANCE AMENDMENT PRESENT: Chairman Adrian Beazer, Members; Roy Hobbs, Dan Garren, Mike Taylor, Lance Ellis, and Clerk Robyn Keyes. VISITORS: Robert Geray, Karen Cornwell, Chief Basaraba, Sally Price, Terry McNamara, Lynn McKinlay, Ryan Walker, Susie Ransom, Ted Ransom, Rick Higley, Tegan Felix, Darrell Warnberg, Karen Adams, Darren Guthrie, Diane Kofoed, Randy Kofoed. PZ member Garren welcomed everyone and led the Pledge of Allegiance. Appointment of new member and new chair. Clerk Keyes said she was acting on the behalf of Mayor Andersen who was out of town for business and could not be present to appoint Dan Garren as the new Planning and Zoning Chairman. Clerk Keyes thanked PZ member Garren for accepting the position of chair and thanked Adrian Beazer for his years of service to the commission. Clerk Keyes also introduced Robert Geray as the new PZ member and explained that Mr. Geray came highly recommended by a previous PZ member. Clerk Keyes also explained that Mr. Geray would be officially appointed to the commission at the next Council meeting and that he was present as a guest today. Minutes. The minutes were reviewed and approved. Emergency Operations Plan. PZ member Taylor said the City had received two proposals for developing an EOP and turned the time over Chief Basaraba. The Chief explained that the proposals were from Whisper Mountain and Integrated Solutions. The Chief recommended the City accept Whisper Mountain's proposal as it was considerably less than Integrated Solutions. The Chief also said he asked Whisper Mountain to add a mitigation plan to their proposal, he was waiting for the amended proposal and a final decision would be made. Chairman Garren thanked the Chief for his time and said they would wait to hear from him. PZ member Taylor said Whisper Mountain had created the EOP for Bonneville County, which would help with cohesiveness between the City and the County. PZ Taylor asked the Commission if they had heard of the Urban Renewal grant and suggested the City look into the grant. Clerk Keyes said she would contact the grant writer about the possibility. 1 PZ member Ellis asked Clerk Keyes to clarify the Council's response to expanding the impact zone. Clerk Keyes said the Council supported the idea, but recommended that PZ approach the issues with caution, and to be sure the City had the capacity and could provide the necessary infrastructure in the event of development within the zone. Chief Basaraba said the City would not be required to provide the services, but someone would need to provide the service. PZ member Ellis said it was inevitable that the area would continue to grow and it was in the best interest of the City to stake its boundaries and prepare for that growth. PZ member Ellis said that was the best way to have control over the growth and keep the development within the City's standards therefore, preserving the charm of Iona. PZ member Taylor suggested the City concentrated on the areas that were under immediate threat, which would be to the south toward Ammon and to the west toward Idaho Falls. PZ member Taylor pointed out that there were several miles between the City and Ucon to the north and Rigby and Ririe to the East, so it made more sense to concentrate on the south and west. Chairman Garren said the north area was important because the only regulations a developer would have to go by would be the County, which was very liberal, whereas to the south and west they need to consider Ammon and Idaho Falls regulations. Public Hearing Daycare Ordinance. A public hearing was held for a Daycare Ordinance. After holding the hearing the Commission recommended to the Council to table the issue until the state adopted new regulations in January. See appendix A for hearing minutes. Public Hearing Vehicle Ordinance Amendment. A public hearing was held for the amendment to the code and to establish restrictions regarding parking of inoperable or unlicensed vehicles. After holding the hearing the Commission voted 4:1 in favor of approving the recommended amendments and restrictions. See appendix B for hearing minutes. Adjourned 7:40 p.m. 2 APPENDIX A PUBLIC HEARING 6:30 P.M. DAYCARE ORDINANCE PRESENT: Chairman Dan Garren, Members; Roy Hobbs, Adrian Beazer, Mike Taylor, Lance Ellis, and Clerk Robyn Keyes. VISITORS: Robert Geray, Karen Cornwell, Chief Basaraba, Sally Price, Darren Guthrie, Diane Kofoed, Randy Kofoed. Chairman Garren welcomed everyone, went over the procedure for the public hearing, and turned the time over to Idaho Falls Council member Karen Cornwell. Council member Cornwell explained the need for ordinances and code enforcement for childcare providers. She further explained the intention of the ordinance was to increase the standards above those minimally required by Idaho Law in order to promote safe and healthy environments for childcare. Robert Geray asked Ms. Cornwell about the state childcare laws. Ms. Cornwell said the state had very minimal requirements for childcare and if the City adopted an ordinance that was more strict than the state, the childcare provider would be required to follow the City Code, such as requiring criminal background checks for every adult in the house or building where children are cared for. PZ member Beazer asked what was looked for in a criminal history background check. Ms. Cornwell said any felony offense, and any misdemeanor offense against a child. Robert Geray pointed out the City already had a childcare ordinance under Chapter 6 Title 3 that mainly focused on fire safety and the proposed revision focused on licensing requirements. Mr. Geray asked who generated the proposed changes because there was a fair amount of redundancy in the proposed new ordinance. Clerk Keyes said the City attorney generated the ordinance which was mainly adopted from Idaho Falls. Robert Geray said the proposed amendments to the ordinance captured many of the requirements that were in the existing ordinance. Mr. Geray asked where the fees collected for the licensing would go. Ms. Cornwell said the fees would go for administration of the ordinance. Clerk Keyes said the Mayor would appoint someone to oversee the inspections and regulations of the code. Mr. Geray noted that there were many modifications he would like to see in place such as, inspections performed by other entities like the fire marshall and the state licensor that should be available for parents to inspect. 3 Lynn McKinlay asked if Iona had a current childcare code. PZ Chairman Garren said it did. Mr. McKinlay asked where the amendments came from. Clerk Keyes said they were modeled after the City of Idaho Falls Childcare Ordinance. Chairman Garren asked if anyone in favor of the ordinance would like to speak. Diane Kofoed said she had been talking with the state inspector and the state would be administering stricter regulations beginning January 1st which she supported, but she didn't agree with the proposed point system in the ordinance. Ms. Cornwell explained that in the point system for in home daycare a provider could only have two infants as part of the 12 point system and went on to further explain the system in relation to adult/child ratio. Chairman Garren asked if there was anyone that was neutral that would like to speak. No one did. Chairman Garren asked if anyone opposed would like to speak. Lawrence Burke asked what the fundamental purpose of government was and did it have the right to impose regulations that tax payers would have to pay for. Mr. Burke asked where the City would stop and would it then decide to go into private homes and if someone had more than 4 children in diapers then tell the people they could not be a parent anymore because they had too many children. Mr. Burke said the ordinance was over regulation and imposing on the parent/child relationship. Mr. Burke said the responsibility fell upon the parent to make sure their children were in a safe environment, and where will this all stop? Mr. Burke said he was concerned with the overpowering of the government and the taking of personal rights. Chairman Garren closed the public portion of the meeting and turned the time over to the Commission. PZ member Beazer suggested that since the state was in the process of creating more strict regulations, the City should wait to see what those regulations were before putting the burden of regulation on the City. PZ members Hobbs and Taylor agreed. Chairman Garren entertained a motion from the Commission. PZ member Taylor motioned to recommend the Council table the issue until the state implemented its regulations. PZ member Hobbs seconded the motion. All were in favor. Motion carried. Hearing close 7:00 p.m. 4 APPENDIX B PUBLIC HEARING 7:00 P.M. VEHICLE ORDINANCE PRESENT: Chairman Dan Garren, Members; Roy Hobbs, Adrian Beazer, Mike Taylor, Lance Ellis, and Clerk Robyn Keyes. VISITORS: Robert Geray, Chief Basaraba, Sally Price, Darren Guthrie, Terry McNamara, Lynn McKinlay, Ryan Walker, Susie Ransom, Ted Ransom, Rick Higley, Tegan Felix, Darrell Warnberg, Karen Adams, Allen Hansen, Steve Russell, Virginia Russell. Chairman Garren welcomed everyone, went over the procedure for the public hearing, and turned the time over to Chief Basaraba. Chief Basaraba explained the reason for the ordinance was to remove two existing vehicle ordinances that were conflicting. The first ordinance did not allowed unlicensed or inoperable vehicles on a property for more than 14 days, after that, they were required to be removed. The second ordinance did not allow unlicensed or inoperable vehicles unless they were in a closed building. The Chief said he wanted to make allowances for certain people who were restoring vehicles to be able to keep an unlicensed or inoperable vehicle on their property and currently that is not allowed. The Chief said item 1 that states "no person shall park or allow a motor vehicle to be parked upon a public street for a period of more than 72 consecutive hours at the same locations" should have added the vehicles must be inoperable or unlicensed, which is currently a state law; the vehicles are considered abandoned and towed. Chief Basaraba said item 2 says "it shall be unlawful for any person to park or allow the parking of more than 2 inoperable motor vehicles or vehicles not having a current license. The Chief said license should be changed to registration. The chief went on to explain the rest of the ordinance which essentially allows 2 unregistered or inoperable vehicles per property but they must be owned by the property owner, if the property owner wants more than 2 unregistered or inoperable vehicles the owner would be required to cover the vehicles or store them in an enclosed building so they could not be viewed from a public street or sidewalk. Chairman Garren asked if the City had a system in place for tracking unlicensed or inoperable vehicles for more than 72 hours. The Chief said he tagged the vehicles if they were on the street. If they were on a private property he would need to make contact with the property owner, and he could not just go onto people's property. The Chief explained that he needed to be able to see the vehicles from the street or sidewalk. PZ member Beazer asked what kind of enclosure would be acceptable. 5 Chief Basaraba said anything that would completely cover the vehicle. PZ member Beazer asked how many properties this would effect. The Chief said very few. PZ member Beazer asked the Chief to define motor vehicle. The Chief said anything that would be driven or pulled upon the highway and could be licensed. PZ member Beazer said some people do not operate or register their vehicle during the winter and would that be an issue. Chief Basaraba said if the people had three vehicles sitting on their lot that were not licensed or operable then it would be an issue. PZ Garren pointed out that if the vehicle was inoperable but registered, it would not be a problem. Chairman Garren opened the hearing for those who were in favor of the ordinance. Steve Russell asked the Chief to explain registration. The Chief said a valid registration. Rick Higley said if there are only a few complaints he would be willing to buy tarps to cover the vehicles. Allen Hansen asked if his tractor would count as a vehicle. The Chief said it would not because it cannot be registered. Darren Guthrie asked what the current City ordinance was on this issue. The Chief said one ordinance would allow the vehicle for up to 14 days and the other would only allow it for 72 hours. Mr. Guthrie said that by passing the new ordinance the City was actually giving more leeway to the residents. The Chief said that was correct but it also helped the City regulate the big issues in town. Tegan Felix asked if he could have 3 vehicles. The Chief said he could have 2 and the third needed to be covered or in a building. Mr. Felix asked how the Chief was going to determine if there were three, and would he just go onto people's property. The Chief said he just explained that he could not go onto people's property, and the vehicles needed to be seen from the street or sidewalk, or the neighbor complains and the neighbor allows the Chief to go onto their property to view and photograph the vehicles. Allen Hansen asked if trailers counted. The Chief said they did, but if they were registered they were fine. Chairman Garren asked if anyone neutral would like to speak. Robert Geray asked if some of this was already a state law did the City need to have the ordinance. Chief Basaraba said article 1 could be removed because that was the part that was already state law, but article 2 was necessary for the ordinance. 6 e44 Chairman Garren asked if anyone was opposed that would like to speak. Steve Russell said he generally agreed with the ordinance but was opposed to following state law in Iona by classifying a trailer as a vehicle. Terry McNamara asked why the City was trying to penalize the entire community if the issue only applied to a few people. Mr. McNamara said the City was stepping out of bounds by telling people what they can and can not do on their private property. Mr. McNamara said if a neighbor was unhappy with another neighbor they should resolve the issues themselves. Mr. McNamara said he sees no reason to penalize everyone in Iona for the actions of a few. Lawrence Burke thanked the Commission for allowing the public to speak on the issue and he thanked the Commission for pointing out who was responsible for code so they will be able to take action the next time voting comes around. Mr. Burkes said he thought it was fantastic there was a conflict with the current code and that changing it was a good idea but how they are planning to change it is wrong and that individual rights needed to be looked at in greater detail. Mr. Burke said he did not want to be awoken on January 4th and it be pointed out that his trailer registration expired on January 1st he said he doesn't need that kind of hassle. Mr. Burke said if the City was not going to enforce the laws they have, then the City should not have laws. Ryan Walker said the Chief already had enough to do and couldn't keep up with the ordinances. Mr. Walker said the Chief needed more help for code enforcement as it was. Mr. Guthrie said he agreed that any intrusion on personal property rights was wrong, however the proposed ordinance, when cleaned up would be better than the current ordinance. Karen Adams said the proposed ordinance would only encourage people to buy a bunch of blue tarps and if there were only two residence this applied to, then why pass an ordinance that punished everyone. Ms. Adams asked why the author of the ordinance was not present and that she was upset because people try to pass things thinking no one would show up and not consider people's feeling. Ms. Adams said she had a feeling that the Commission would have a little meeting after this and do what they wanted anyway. Sally Price said she thought it was a matter of private property and it was not the role of the government to tell her how many cars to have on her property. Ms. Price said she thought if the people knew how much of their property actually belonged to the City there would be an uprising. Ms. Price suggested striking item two and staying with the current ordinance and neighbors should work together for a solution. Chairman Garren thanked the public for their comments, closed the public portion of the hearing, and opened discussion up for the Commission. PZ member Beazer asked what Mr.Guthrie suggested for cleaning up the ordinance. 7 Mr. Guthrie said he would defer to Robert Geray. Mr. Geray said it sounded like what the Chief had originally before the attorney changed the wording would have been sufficient. Chairman Garren said he understood the corrections to include; current registration instead of license it doesn't matter what state the vehicle is licensed in item one can be removed because it is a state law the title of the ordinance itself should read disabled and unregistered vehicles. Mr. Guthrie suggested a definition of vehicle. PZ member Beazer suggested a better definition of enclosure. PZ member Taylor said if the City threw out the proposed ordinance then the entire situation would fall under a nuisance clause defined by the City's ordinance which states; anything that interferes with the comfort and enjoyment of life or property by an entire community or neighborhood. Public nuisance -unequal damage states; an act which effects an entire community or neighborhood, or any substantial number of persons as specified by the preceding section, and punishment for nuisance states; every person who maintains or commits any public nuisance, or who willfully omits to perform any legal duty relating to the removal of a public nuisance, is guilty of a misdemeanor. PZ member Taylor said he agreed that less government is better however, if the proposed ordinance is thrown out and everyone is going to play by the public nuisance clause, then anytime your neighbor wants to complain about your travel trailer, your snowmobile trailer, or an extra car, you could be convicted of a misdemeanor. This proposed ordinance protects everyone in Iona by laying down some ground rules, a baseline if you will, of what is actually considered a problem. PZ member Taylor said he was in favor of the proposed ordinance because it gives the City a baseline so neighbors can't file unfounded complaints. Sally Price asked if the nuisance clause was a city code. Chief Basaraba said it was both a city code and state law. Chairman Garren entertained a motion from the Commission. PZ member Beazer said their needed to be defined changes before the ordinance as approved or disapproved. Clerk Keyes said those definitions were just outlined previously. Chairman Garren made a motion to accept the proposed ordinance with the defined changes of Item 1 add disabled and inoperable to the title and definition Item 2 remove the word license and replace with the word registration where appropriate. 8 Remove the State of Idaho as where the registration may be current. Add the definition of inoperable vehicle. Add the definition of enclosure. Karen Adams said she was getting really upset because the Commission was not listening to what the people were saying and she did not know why the public was present because the Commission was not listening to what the people wanted. Clerk Keyes said the entire community was not represented in the room tonight, and the Commission listened to the few that were present. Karen Adams asked Clerk Keyes who she was and said she did not vote for her. Karen Adams said she was not going to vote for the current Commission members next year either. Chairman Garren explained that there are two conflicting ordinances currently in place, the proposed ordinance not only clarifies, but also liberalizes the issue. Allen Hansen asked that the Commission write up the changes before it is voted upon. Clerk Keyes explained that was what the Commission was doing; making recommendation for the Council's public hearing, which will take place next Tuesday. PZ member Taylor seconded Chairman Garren's motion to approve with the recommended changes. Roll call as follows AYE: Chairman Garren, member Taylor, member Ellis, member Hobbs NAY: Member Beazer. Motion carried 4:1 Hearing closed 7:40 p.m. 9