Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-20-2016 Planning Commission Meeting Minutes REGULAR MEETING October 20, 2016 PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING CALL TO ORDER: The meeting was called to order at 7:00pm by Chairman Cruz. POSITION MEMBERS PRESENT MEMBERS ABSENT No. 1 Tanya Bowers No. 2 Kurt Lukins No. 3 Paul Mendez No. 4 Alecia Greenaway No. 5 Joe Cruz No. 6 Loren Polk No. 7 Zahra Roach No. 8 Pam Bykonen No. 9 Gabriel Portugal APPEARANCE OF FAIRNESS: Chairman Cruz read a statement about the appearance of fairness for hearings on land use matters. There were no declarations. Chairman Cruz then asked the audience if there were any objections based on a conflict of interest or appearance of fairness question regarding the items to be discussed this evening. There were no objections. ADMINISTERING THE OATH: Chairman Cruz explained that state law requires testimony in quasi-judicial hearings such as held by the Planning Commission be given under oath or affirmation. Chairman Cruz swore in all those desiring to speak. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Commissioner Greenaway moved, seconded by Commissioner Polk that the minutes dated September 15, 2016 be approved. The motion passed unanimously. OLD BUSINESS: A. Special Permit Special permit to locate a nightclub in a C-1 zone (Bernardo Lopez & Aleiandro Leon) IMF# SP 2016- 0101 Chairman Cruz read the master file number and asked for comments from staff. Rick White, Community & Economic Development Director, noted that the item was a continuation of the hearing from the previous Planning commission meeting, and that a number of letters were handed to the Clerk. Copies of the letters have been placed in Planning Commission packets. -1- Mr. White also noted that the Commission requested additional information regarding the number of police calls to existing nightclubs in Pasco, which information was also included in the Commission packets. Mr. White cautioned commissioners that the totals shown on page 3 of the report are not yearly averages, but rather totals for the past 5 years. Mr. White reminded the commission that eh property is located at the southwest corner of 181h Avenue and Bonneville Street, and that the report details the proposed uses within the 10,000 square-foot building on the property, such as the bar area, the dance floor, dining area and kitchen space. Mr. White explained that the Environmental Impact Determination is being withheld until the conclusion of the public hearing process. It is anticipated that if the process moves forward we may be required to ask for additional information or a revised application addressing noise, land use, light, and glare. Mr. White noted that staff has prepared findings of fact and conclusions based on the requirements we need to follow for Special Permits, and a recommendation for denial based on those findings of fact and conclusions. Chairman Cruz reopened the public hearing and requested discussion on behalf of the Planning Commission. Commissioner Khan asked whether the definition of a bar differs from that of a nightclub or dance hall. Mr. White responded that he did not think the Code defined bars specifically but that it would be according to the common dictionary definition of a place that sold alcoholic beverages. Commissioner Khan asked if it would therefore not fall under the C-1 zoning district, but would require a Special Permit even if it were just a bar. Mr. White responded that a bar is not allowed in the C-1 zone except along with existing food services. Commissioner Bowers expressed some confusion concerning the opposition letters added to the Commission packets, that they were "translated letters" but that the letters are a standard form letter objecting to the permit being granted, with signatures. Mr. White responded that he did not remember the word "translated" being used, and that it is obvious they were indeed standardized form letters, probably walked around the neighborhood by the opponent and apparently signed by either the residents or the property owners. Chairman Cruz offered to read one of the letters for the benefit of the television audience: "Dear City of Pasco: This letter is regarding petition Master File Number SP 2016-010 to locate a night club at 220 North 18th Avenue Pasco, Washington. The purpose of this letter is to express objections to this permit being granted. This neighborhood has families and does not want a nightclub type of crowd in our residential area. Please consider this request and do not grant the permit." He also noted that there are "50-ish" letters, and that it was not an insignificant amount of paper. Commissioner Portugal asked if there was no address on the letter Chairman Cruz just read. Chairman Cruz responded that he just picked up one at random. -2- Commissioner Portugal correctly noted that the first letter, from Hector 8s Tammy Garza had no address on it, and wondered where they lived. Commissioner Lukins responded that Mr. Garza is in the audience and spoke last month at the hearing, and that he owns property in the area, and we have his property on the record. Chairman Cruz asked for any other discussion on behalf of the Commission. Commissioner Portugal correctly noted that some of the letters came from the same residence. Commissioner Greenway responded that if they are all legal adults they can all sign separate letters—if there are ten legal adults in the home they can sign ten letters. Chairman Cruz again asked for any other discussion on behalf of the Commission. Commissioner Khan asked if it was true that a restaurant could be operated in the C-1 Zone without a Special Permit. Mr. White responded that yes, that is true. Commissioner Khan asked if it was true that a bar could be added to a restaurant in the C-1 Zone without a Special Permit. Mr. White responded that yes, that is true. Commissioner Khan asked if it was true that stand-alone nightclubs and dance halls require a special permit to operate in the C-1 Zone. Mr. White responded that yes, nightclubs and dance halls require a special permit to operate in the C-1 Zone. Chairman Cruz asked for any final discussion from the Commission and then re-opened the hearing, inviting the applicants to speak, and told them to state their name and address for the record. Bernardo Lopez stated his address as 220 N 18th Avenue, Pasco WA. Alejandro Leon stated his address as 943 W Sylvester Avenue, Pasco WA. Bernardo Lopez asked if the Commission was going to make a decision today. Chairman Cruz responded that they were going to open the public hearing and listen to public comments and incorporate that information, along with the letters and the police calls information into the record, and then the Commission would vote today. The recommendation would then go to City Council for a vote to accept or reject the Commission's recommendation. Bernardo Lopez commented the regarding the letters that some of the people didn't know what the letters said, that they just signed them. He also noted that the letters were all form letters, and that he had thought from the last meeting that all the letters were different. Chairman Cruz asked for any other input from the audience. There were no further comments from the audience. Chairman Cruz asked for any other comments from the Commission. There were no further comments from the Commission. Chairman Cruz entertained a motion from the Commission. Commissioner Greenaway moved, seconded by Commissioner Bykonen to adopt findings -3- of fact and conclusions therefrom as contained in the October 20th, 2016 staff report. The motion passed unanimously. Commissioner Greenaway moved, seconded by Commissioner Bykonen, based on the findings of fact and conclusions therefrom, the Planning Commission recommend the City Council Deny a special permit for location of a nightclub at 220 North 18th Avenue. The motion passed 8-1 with Commissioner Portugal dissenting. Respectfully submitted, B. Special Permit Special Permit to locate an Elementary School (Pasco School District) (MF# SP 2016-0091 Chairman Cruz read the master file number and asked for comments from staff. Dave McDonald, City Planner, explained this item was continued from the last public hearing in September to give staff time to research the location of the sewer line running north and south along the eastern edge of the school site. During the previous meeting there was a concern the north south sewer was not locate in the easement along the eastern edge of the property. A crew located the sewer line and it is located where it was supposed to be. The School District has provided a revised site plan with roads over the sewer lines a copy of which is on the bench before the Planning Commission. Mr. McDonald indicated there were no other changes to discuss. Commissioner roach moved, seconded by Commissioner Polk, to adopt the findings of fact and conclusions therefrom as contained in the October 20, 2016 staff report. The motion passed unanimously. Commissioner Roach moved, seconded by Commissioner Polk, based on the findings of fact and conclusions as adopted the Planning Commissioner recommend the City Council grant a special permit to the Pasco School District for the location of an elementary school in the 4000 block of Road 84 (Parcels ##11758 10 10 and #117582019) with the conditions as contained in the October 20, 2016 staff report. PUBLIC HEARINGS: A. Special Permit Location of wireless antennas (Verizon Wireless) IMF# SP 2016-0111 Chairman Cruz read the master file number and asked for comments from staff. Rick White, Community & Economic Development Director, discussed the special permit to locate wireless antennas. The application is for wireless antennas and some ground equipment at the Walmart site on Road 68 and Burden Boulevard. Verizon Wireless has made an application to place three wall-mounted cell panel antennas on corners of the building and then use the existing fenced area behind Walmart to place approximately 32 square feet of ground-mounted equipment. The antennas themselves would be on the north, south and east facades and painted to match the existing structure. The staff report contains the code citations involved for wireless communication facilities along with the hierarchy where the City has intended them to be placed. In this case it is an existing -4- building approximately 35 feet high so it meets the hierarchy. Staff has developed findings of fact, conclusions and a recommendation that the Commission approve the special permit application. Commissioner Roach asked for clarification on the definition of a "sleeper" that was discussed in the analysis of the staff report. Mr. White answered that they are slips that cover the antennas to hide the gears and wires. Commissioner Bowers asked if any of the other wireless carriers have what Verizon is requesting at the Walmart site. Mr. White responded that there are many antennas on the water towers located on Road 76 from various wireless carriers. Nothing is located on Walmart at this time. Commissioner Lukins moved, seconded by Commissioner Greenaway, to close the hearing on the proposed Verizon Wireless Cellular antennae and equipment proposal and initiate deliberations and schedule adoption of findings of fact, conclusions and a recommendation to the City Council for the November 17, 2016 meeting. The motion passed unanimously. B. Comp. Plan Amendment Amendment to the Comprehensive Plan (Sharma) (MF# CPA 2016-001) Chairman Cruz read the master file number and asked for comments from staff. Dave McDonald, City Planner, discussed the Comprehensive Plan amendment proposed by Mr. & Mrs. Sharma for their property at Road 100 and Burns Road. About a year ago the Sharma's petitioned for annexation to the City. Shortly after the annexation process Mr. Sharma hired an engineer to do a tentative layout for a single-family residential subdivision on that property. The layout contained 56 lots. After putting numbers together they quickly realized that it would be difficult to do a single-family development so they have applied for a Comprehensive Plan Amendment to allow a higher density. One of the problems the owners are facing is the fact the property is bordered by two arterial streets. With that come improvements (i.e. paving, sidewalks, block wall, irrigation, landscaping) on both arterial streets plus other fees. Typically it would take about 40 acres to make this cost effective. When considering Comprehensive Plan Amendments it is important to look at the policies and goals in the Comprehensive Plan. They are highlighted in the staff report. It is also important to consider changing conditions in the. There are a number of changes that have occurred; there are subdivisions going in to the west and in the County, there is now a 20 inch water line that runs down Burns Road and eventually there will be a 15 inch sewer line and the School District has purchased property to the west and east for new schools. In the past year the City has also been heavily involved in a planning effort to encourage development on the Adams property to the south. Burns Road, which was formally named Powerline Road, is now fully paved between Road 68 and Road 100. Mr. McDonald concluded by stating findings of fact and conclusions were included in the staff report. -5- Dennis Gisi, 5109 N. Road 68, Suite E, spoke in support of the Comprehensive Plan Amendment. He felt that there is a need for this type of housing in Pasco and will help with the growth of that area. The nearby Adams property has 150 acres for commercial development and the multi-family residential zoning would help draw commercial developers who look for rooftops. Commissioner Bowers moved, seconded by Commissioner Polk, to close the hearing on the proposed Comprehensive Plan Amendment and schedule the November 17, 2016 meeting for deliberations and the development of a recommendation for the City Council. The motion passed unanimously. C. Comp. Plan Amendment Amendment to the Comprehensive Plan IWestl (MF# CPA 2016-0021 Chairman Cruz read the master file number and asked for comments from staff. Dave McDonald, City Planner, discussed the amendment to the Comprehensive Plan for the West property. This item came before the Planning Commission in 2014 and involves the modification of the urban growth boundary by including an additional 160 acres directly north of the Madison Park Subdivision. The Planning Commission excluded the north half of the property but ended up with 70-80 acres. The recommendation went to the City Council and City Council passed a resolution granting the modification to the urban growth boundary. That configuration was sent to the County and was modified again slightly by the County Planning Commission. The County Commissioners then denied the proposed boundary change. This process took a year and was completed in 2015. The property owners have again applied to include the entire 160 acres to be included in the urban growth boundary. One of the factors that have changed since the original application is the fact that there are updated population projections from the Office of Financial Management (OFM). OFM is indicating the population for Pasco next could grow to 124,000 in the 20 years. Today we are about 54,000 people short of that number so the urban growth boundary needs to accommodate that projected growth. There needs to be additional land for houses, parks schools and commercial development. Staff reviewed the existing open land available for residential development inside the urban growth boundary which is roughly 2,400-2,500 acres. A portion of that acreage is under gravel contracts with American Rock (formerly Central Pre-Mix) so a portion of that residential land cannot be used. The City of Pasco will need another 900-1,400 acres to accommodate future growth. Mr. West and his partners are only asking to bring 160 acres into the urban growth boundary. Population projections need to be considered along with utility capacities. Mr. McDonald discussed utility plans in regards to sewer plan, water plan and Franklin PUD. Another concern that the Growth Management Act has is the preservation of farm land. This land is currently being farmed but according to the County Comprehensive Plan this is not an area that has long term commercial significance for farming; the soils don't meet the specifications for prime farmland designations. It is also against city limits and up against the Clark Addition. This site is wedged between an urban area with a water system and a fire station and new elementary school. One of the concerns brought up with the last application had to do with the airport and the new airport protection zones. The City of Pasco and Franklin County participated with the Port of Pasco in development of a new airport master plan. New zoning regulations were adopted by the City and County to support the plan. In this area there are two airport protection zones; Protection Zone 2 where no homes can be built and -6- Protection Zone 4 which allows 1 home for every '/2 acre. Those zones are to protect the airspace. Those zones removed a lot of buildable acreage in the city limits. The staff report included findings of fact. Mr. McDonald also discussed a letter submitted by an attorney represents the property owners asking for a continuance of the public hearing to the November meeting. Commissioner Portugal asked for clarification as to the location of the proposed 160 acres to be included in the urban growth boundary. Mr. McDonald indicated on the map the location of the property. Commissioner Bowers asked about the airport protection zones that would not allow develop on parts of the 160 acres, yet the applicant would still like to be included in the urban growth boundary. Mr. McDonald indicated on the map the 32 acres that could not be developed; however, the rest of the 160 acres could be developed. Chairman Cruz reminded the Commission that there was previous discussion on the first time this application was presented. There will be a balance of lower density to higher density and interesting streets. Mr. McDonald added that either side of Protection Zone 2 can be developed. He went on to discuss why this property meets the priorities to be included in the urban growth boundary. Commissioner Portugal asked if this application will have to go to the County. Mr. McDonald responded that it will. The Growth Management Act it doesn't give the City the authority to enact its own urban growth boundary. The City can request and recommend but the County is the official body that establishes the urban growth boundary. Mark Watson, 230 S. 2nd Street, Yakima, spoke on behalf of this item. He stated that he was an attorney for the applicant and was filling in for Mr. Carmody, the attorney who wrote the letter requesting the hearing be continued. Tom Kidwell, 4320 Rivherhaven, spoke on behalf of the applicants for this property. He stated that as the land surrounding this property is developing it seemed as though they should try again to include this into the urban growth boundary as it will match the character of the surrounding area. He's even had interest for the property that can only have 1 house for every '/2 acre. Erik Weinheimer, 2220 SLI Road, Sunnyside, WA spoke on behalf of this application. He feels all of the concerns have been addressed and this amendment should go forward. Ron Foreaker, Manager of the Tri-Cities Airport, spoke on behalf of this application. He stated they had a Port of Pasco Commissioners meeting and spent a lot of time discussing this application. He stressed the importance of the approaches to the runway for the -7- airport. They have 4 approaches and this is the only approach in which the runway could be extended. He said it was important to look at the needs for the next 20-40 years for the area. In that time, more than likely, they will need to extend that runway. He asked the Commission to keep the expansion a priority as this airport serves over a million people in the area, not just the Tri-Cities. He read a letter into the record that was prepared after the Port of Pasco Commissioners meeting. Commissioner Lukins stated that he wasn't on the Commission when this came forward in 2014 but asked if this came to the Planning Commission in 2010. Mr. McDonald stated it did but the airport overlay didn't exist then. It was denied due to sewer capacity at that time. The sewer issues have been addressed. He then addressed some of the concerns that were read by Mr. Foreaker of the County Commissioners findings of fact. Commissioner Lukins moved, seconded by Commissioner Greenaway, to continue the hearing to the November 17, 2016 meeting. The motion passed unanimously. D. Comp. Plan Amendment Amendment to the Comprehensive Plan (Rowell) IMF# CPA 2016-003) Chairman Cruz read the master file number and asked for comments from staff. Rick White, Community & Economic Development Director, discussed the amendment to the Comprehensive Plan for the Rowell property. The land is currently under a mixed density residential and commercial designation on approximately 14 1/2 acres on the northeast corner of `A' Street and Heritage Boulevard. The current mix of Comprehensive Plan Designations allow residential and commercial development but only in zones "O" (Office) and C-1 (Retail Commercial). The applicant is requesting a commercial designation on this site so he can have the heavier C-3 (General Commercial) zoning. The staff report goes into a fair amount of detail on the investments the City has made in Heritage Boulevard and East `A' Street in terms of establishing those routes as appropriate to serve the Heritage Industrial Center which is located directly south of this site. The industrial center itself also received about $1.9 million in state funding 3 years ago to install 6,000 square feet of rail line through the center. Prior to that the City and County established a $600,000 rail switch to serve the $1.9 million rail extension and is being actively marketed for industrial development. He pointed out to the Commission that the Comprehensive Plan is not a zoning document but it does set broad parameters on a given property. The rezone process and in this case perhaps a special permit process with a concomitant zoning agreement would be the appropriate tools the Commission would see at some point in the future to establish zoning on the property. There is discussion in the staff report regarding goals that staff believes it meets in terms of Comprehensive Plan updates. Chairman Cruz reiterated that this item is not a zoning determination. That would be discussed in the future should the Comprehensive Plan Amendment be approved. Commissioner Greenaway moved, seconded by Commissioner Mendez, to close the public hearing on the proposed Comprehensive Plan Amendment and schedule the November 17, 2016 meeting for deliberations and the development of a recommendation for the City -8- Council. The motion passed unanimously. E. Rezone Rezone from C-1 (Retail Business) to R-3 (Medium Density Residential) (Promade Construction LLC( IMF# Z 2016-004) Chairman Cruz read the master file number and asked for comments from staff. Dave McDonald, City Planner, discussed the rezone application from C-1 (Retail Business) to R-3 (Medium Density Residential). This site is in a transition area of the Comprehensive Plan as being in between an area that could either go commercial or residential. Looking at the property and the distance that it is from Sandifur Parkway (700-800 feet) it really is on the outer edge of being a prime commercial location as it is too far from Sandifur Parkway. It would serve as a good buffer between the single-family residential to the north and commercial to the south. Commissioner Roach asked about the vacant property to the north and if Promade Construction owns it. Mr. McDonald answered that Promade Construction does own it. That piece was part of the Majestia Place Subdivision that is just finishing up. It is zoned single-family. Commissioner Mendez asked if the proposed use is multi-family. Mr. McDonald answered yes, R-3 (Medium Density Residential) but the site is not large enough to have a large multi-unit development. Commissioner Bowers moved, seconded by Commissioner Portugal, to close the hearing on the proposed rezone and set November 17, 2016 as the date for deliberations and the development of a recommendation for the City Council. The motion passed unanimously. WORKSHOP: A. Plan Department of Natural Resources (DNR( Update Chairman Cruz read the master file number and asked for comments from staff. Rick White, Community & Economic Development Director, discussed the upcoming updates with the Department of Natural Resources owned land. He reminded the Commission that November 17, 2016 is the auction for the land which was illustrated on a map for the Commission to see. He briefly discussed what is happening on the property right now. OTHER BUSINESS: With no further discussion or business, the Planning Commission was adjourned at 8:30 p.m. -9- Respectfully submitted, David McDonald, City Planner -10-