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HomeMy WebLinkAbout030408 Planning Board MinutesMINUTES CITY OF BOZEMAN PLANNING BOARD, TUESDAY, March 4, 2008 ITEM 1. CALL TO ORDER AND ATTENDANCE President JP Pomnichowski called the regular meeting of the Planning Board to order at 7:02 p.m. and directed the secretary to take attendance. Members Present: JP Pomnichowski, President Randy Carpenter Brian Caldwell William Quinn Donna Swarthout Chris Mehl Cathy Costakis Sean Becker Members Absent: Erik Henyon (excused) Staff Present: Chris Saunders, Assistant Director of Planning Shoni Dykstra, Planning Secretary Guests Present: None ITEM 2. PUBLIC COMMENT (0-15 MINUTES) {Limited to any public matter within the jurisdiction of the Planning Board and not scheduled on this agenda. Three-minute time limit per speaker.} Seeing there was none, President Pomnichowski closed this portion of the meeting. ITEM 3. MINUTES OF FEBRUARY 5, 2008 Seeing there were no changes, additions or corrections to the minutes, President Pomnichowski stated that the minutes from February 5, 2008 would stand as written. ITEM 4. PLANNING BOARD BY-LAWS REVIEW AND ACTION President Pomnichowski noted that the proposed amendments struck the budget as it related to zoning from Article V. She also stated the membership terms were also amended to align with the City Ordinance now in effect. She noted Article IX clarified the election of officers would take place each year after the board had been appointed. She stated under Article X the noticing requirements were clarified. Chris Mehl sought clarification on email satisfying the written noticing requirements to Board members. It was generally agreed upon by the Board that email did meet the requirements of noticing. Chris Saunders, Assistant Director of Planning and Community Development, noted that special meetings did not require an actual advertisement in the newspaper, but it did require that news staff did receive a notice of the meeting. It was moved by Donna Swarthout, seconded by Bill Quinn, to approve the Planning Board by-laws as proposed. Those voting Aye being Ms. Swarthout, Mr. Quinn, Brian Caldwell, Randy Carpenter, Mr. Mehl, Cathy Costakis, and President Pomnichowski. Those voting No being none. The motion carried 8-0. President Pomnichowski noted the amendments would be incorporated into a City Commission resolution and presented as a consent agenda item. ITEM 5. BOZEMAN COMMUNITY PLAN UPDATE Review the status to-date on the Bozeman Community Plan Update. B. Endorse a template format. C. Discuss future board schedules for consideration of growth policy topics. Planner Saunders noted that the Board had received a memo of the progress and process of the Update of the Growth Policy to-date. He noted Clarion Associates had given input on the current Bozeman 2020 Plan as to areas that are working well and those that need improvement. He noted different public outreach which had been done, and that focus groups would be developed to address more topics in the future. He noted the 2007 Land Use map was in the process of being updated as it is a critical background piece for many of the topics within the Policy. Clarion also noted the current format could be changed to be more user friendly. Planner Saunders stated Clarion had indorsed the current template before the Board for vote tonight. He noted the Growth Policy is very format driven and taking care of the format and template tonight would alleviate the need to reformat everything later. He noted the Update would probably contain 17 chapters. He noted the update would reference more adopted documents. He noted key points would be easier to identify within a new format. He also noted the Update Committee had decided to have public input during the regular meetings of the Planning Board rather than scheduling a separate time and place for the public comment period. Planner Saunders stated there was not a specific schedule for the topics at this time. President Pomnichowski noted the Staff Report under Next Steps listed chapters the Planning Board should hold public meetings for. She sought further clarification regarding Chapter 3, Community Character and Design and why that particular chapter had not been included in the list. Planner Saunders noted the comments to date have not reflected a need to address the issue through the public process. President Pomnichowski noted Planning Board was represented on the Update Committee by Erik Henyon, Brian Caldwell and herself. She brought up having a public comment period for each item on the first regular meeting of each month and then having Board comments on the second meeting of each month. Mr. Mehl sought clarification on what she meant when she used the term “item”. President Pomnichowski noted that it would be probably be divided into topics by chapter. Mr. Mehl sought clarifications on the Board’s input on the proposed breakdown of chapters for the Update. Planner Saunders noted that some of the chapters already exist; some of the chapters are required by statute; and others had been recommended by the consultant. Mr. Mehl wondered how the breakdown of chapters had been decided and was curious as to the addition of the four new chapters. President Pomnichowski noted that although the chapter breakdown was important, the availability for public comment on specific issues was as well. She noted the shaping of the update was important. Mr. Caldwell noted that having clear topics for discussion was more likely to garner community involvement rather than just stating the Board was receiving public comment on a Growth Policy Update. He stated he would like to review one chapter at a time rather than addressing two or three topics each meeting. Mr. Carpenter sought clarification on the scheduling and deadlines for the Update. Planner Saunders noted the Growth Policy had been reviewed within the state regulated five year period, and the update did not have a specific deadline to meet although some chapters would be stressed by long delays. President Pomnichowski noted that some chapters would not require much review as others because of adopted documents which could be used as a reference. Ms. Swarthout sought clarification if the public comment was going to pertain to the draft chapters or on the development of the draft chapters. Planner Saunders noted the material is out there for the public to comment for the various chapters. He noted that each chapter might be brought forth before there was a draft chapter ready for review so comments would be pertaining to the topic. Planner Saunders noted on those subjects the intent would be the starting point which would drive the text. Mr. Carpenter sought clarification on the presentation from Staff on the topics brought before the Board. He was concerned about the presentation of how effective the current plan was and where Bozeman really was at in comparison to the adopted plans and documents. Planner Saunders responded that the Plan’s appendix would reference where the decisions came from and the information those decisions were based on. He stated the statistics could be provided for the Board’s discussion. Mr. Carpenter sought clarification on the baseline statistics along with the trends and change of direction analysis that would be available for the review. Planner Saunders noted that records are being assimilated for this update. Mr. Carpenter sought input on the ability to compare and analyze the results with other cities. Planner Saunders noted some records would be easy to use in comparison with other cities, while other data would not be as easy to access and compare. Mr. Caldwell noted he felt some issues should be defined before proceeding with an update. He noted it would be helpful to have concrete definitions and discussions about some items to aid in future decisions and the implementation of those terms within the Update. He would like to incorporate within the Growth Policy the ability to not only review projects as stand alone projects but review them in regard to the greater community and be more proactive in planning as a whole. Mr. Carpenter noted that addressing land use in one meeting would not be feasible. He noted it is crucial for the board and the public to get a better idea of the state of the City in regards to land use from Staff. He stated he does not feel one meeting would give enough time for input and review of the subject. He sought further clarification on the proposed time frame for the Update. Planner Saunders noted the process needed to be completed in a timely manner as too little or not enough would not do justice, but they were within state statute as it stands currently. Mr. Quinn noted the Board should give direction to Staff on the presented format and template. Mr. Mehl noted the consultants had presented templates with less text than the current template under consideration. Planner Saunders stated the example was pulled directly from the PROST Plan, and the Board could decide the level of detail needed within the Update. He noted Staff would like a sense from the Board as to the level of detail they would like to see in the Update. Ms. Swarthout noted that as the Growth Policy is the Master Plan for the community and people to determine where Bozeman is and where it is going. She noted that a degree of consistency between chapters is important and paring down too much or being too wordy are both dangerous. Mr. Mehl noted it is easier to pare information down than to add information in. President Pomnichowski noted the Growth Policy is the vision document, and it can refer to other documents and plans, but it still needs to contain the vision for each particular area. Planner Saunders noted some topics within the Update would reference other freestanding documents while it would be appropriate for some topics to have specifics within the Plan. Mr. Carpenter sought clarification on the intended audience for the Growth Policy. Planner Saunders noted the desired audience consisted of developers, advisory boards, elected officials, and the general public to impart a greater understanding of the City and way to participate more effectively within it. Mr. Carpenter noted the current plan did not lend itself to the intended audience as described. He urged the Board to err on the side of brevity and clarity in order to reach the desired audience. President Pomnichowski noted the current Plan did graphically represent how land uses compatibly fit together such as the respective densities. Mr. Carpenter noted density has the connotation of high density which most people living in Bozeman did not understand. He noted most people do not understand the differences between R-1 and R-4 in density. President Pomnichowski noted the following information would be helpful in the discussions and review by the Planning Board: how the current Growth Policy has shaped and impacted the community in regard to the specific chapter, statistics such as Mr. Carpenter has mentioned, and the basic concepts of the chapter. Ms. Swarthout noted the template still needed to be decided on. She noted she thought it presented information well. It was moved by Ms. Swarthout, seconded by Mr. Quinn, to approve the presented template. Planner Saunders noted the template was strictly based on fonts, graphics, and the layout. President Pomnichowski stated she liked the ability to utilize the larger graphic in some areas. She stated she also liked the narrative on one side and the pulled quotes, definitions, graphics, etc on the other. Ms. Costakis sought clarification on the implementation of the larger graphics throughout the document. Planner Saunders noted it was included in the template. Mr. Quinn noted he liked the sidebar. Those voting Aye being Ms. Swarthout, Mr. Quinn, Mr. Caldwell, Mr. Carpenter, Mr. Mehl, Ms. Costakis, Mr. Becker, and President Pomnichowski. Those voting No being none. The motion carried 9-0. Mr. Caldwell noted his desire to address some policy issues before beginning discussions on a particular chapter. He would like to have the avenue to discuss broad planning perspectives before addressing topics within the chapters. Mr. Carpenter noted the Board could address policy discussions at a particular meeting to get those out of the way before more targeted chapters such as historic preservation. Mr. Becker noted the Board should not get caught up in the minutia of the smaller details and he would like to address Land Use as the first topic. Mr. Mehl noted that the general public would not be educated about the Update Process for the first meeting. He noted beginning with simpler chapters would allow them to begin to understand the format and ways for them to be involved. Mr. Mehl noted that a policy discussion at the next meeting would not be fair to the newer members of the Board or to the public as they have not had the same opportunity to be involved as if they started with some of the “easier” projects. Planner Saunders noted that if the discussions began with the first three chapters they would not be presented in the new format. He noted the packets would include areas Staff have noticed which needed to be revisited. Ms. Costakis wondered what means were available for notifying the public. Planner Saunders noted there was a running email list of people requesting updates and information specific to the 2020 Plan along with publishing notices. Ms. Costakis wondered what some of the differences were in the public outreach. Planner Saunders noted the Board was having a public meeting tonight which was an opportunity for the public to attend and comment on this particular process in the Growth Policy Update. He noted a focus group is open to any member of the public who would like to attend and generally only happens one time for a specific topic. He noted citizen panels are focused discussions on a specific topic with a smaller group drawn from a random selection process. A professional facilitator is present and the citizen panels usually drawing people from a different group of people than normally get involved in the Planning process. He noted public input is also gained through different groups involved in the community who deal with planning issues. Planner Saunders noted if there were policy discussions the Board would like to have, they could email the lists to Staff and he would organize and distribute them throughout the Board. Mr. Quinn noted he agreed with Mr. Caldwell in regards to the Update allowing for a look at a broader picture along with qualitative evaluation with different choices presented in the document. President Pomnichowski reminded the Board that the Growth Policy is a vision document. Planner Saunders noted that it is not beneficial to be subjective with the goals. He noted the goals should be actions to be taken with a distinct concrete step that can be done. The vision should convey what the City of Bozeman is pursuing as a community. He noted the City Commission would have to decide the level of commitment and obligation brought up by the Update. President Pomnichowski noted the Growth Policy needed to be broad enough to encompass all the other documents that would fall under it such as the UDO, Transportation Plan, PROST Plan, etc. The Board suggested that Staff send the equivalent of the draft chapters 1-3 from the current Plan along with the salient points of each along with the policy discussions falling under any of those chapters. President Pomnichowski noted she would like to keep the discussion to a 45 minute maximum for each chapter. ITEM 6. NEW BUSINESS Mr. Carpenter noted the president or former president of Green Building Council, Kath Williams, lives in Bozeman and wanted to know if the Board would like a short presentation in regards to LEED ND and Green neighborhoods. The Board noted they would like Mr. Carpenter to extend an invitation to her. President Pomnichowski noted the Transportation Update would also be presented before the Board in the next couple of months. Seeing no other new business before the board, President Pomnichowski closed this portion of the meeting. ITEM 7. ADJOURNMENT Seeing there were no further issues before the Board, President Pomnichowski adjourned the meeting at 8:46 p.m. __________________________________ __________________________________ JP Pomnichowski, Chair Chris Saunders, Assistant Director Planning Board Planning & Community Development City of Bozeman City of Bozeman