Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout08-01-06 Planning Board & Zoning Commission Minutes.doc ** MINUTES ** JOINT MEETING WITH THE BOZEMAN CITY COMMISSION, ZONING COMMISSION, AND PLANNING BOARD TUESDAY, AUGUST 1, 2006 7:15 P.M. ITEM 1. CALL TO ORDER AND ATTENDANCE President JP Pomnichowski and Mayor Jeff Krauss called the meeting to order at 7:15 p.m. Zoning Commission Members Present Staff Members Present JP Pomnichowski Andrew Epple, Director, Planning and Community Nathan Minnick Development Warren Vaughan Chris Saunders, Assistant Director, Planning and Community Development Planning Board Members Present City Commission Members Present JP Pomnichowski Jeff Krauss, Mayor Brian Caldwell Steve Kirchhoff Randy Carpenter Kaaren Jacobson Mike Hope Sean Becker Dave Jarrett Jeff Rupp Steve Kirchhoff Caren Roberty Registered Visitors Present Edward Sypinksi Ron Brey, Assistant City Manager Erik Henyon Noré Winter Ralph Johnson 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.} President JP Pomnichowski directed the recording secretary to take attendance at this time. JP Pomnichowski then OPENED THE MEETING FOR PUBLIC COMMENT and asked if there was anyone present who would like to speak to anything within the jurisdiction of the Bozeman Planning Board or Zoning Commission to please step forward. Hearing none, President JP Pomnichowski CLOSED THE PUBLIC COMMENT PORTION OF THE HEARING. President JP Pomnichowski asked for any member announcements at this time. Mr. Dave Jarrett stated that he will be absent from the August 15th meeting. Randy Carpenter stated that he would be leaving at 8:30 p.m. tonight. President Pomnichowski stated that Peter Harned had already left tonight’s meeting. ITEM 3. MINUTES OF JULY 18TH, 2006 Steve Kirchhoff asked that the comments on page 6 minutes be attributed to Mike Hope instead of himself. Caren Roberty asked that the presenter be changed from Tracy Martin to Theresa. Page three, first paragraph please change all instances of the word he to she. Page 5, first paragraph, perhaps should be side yard setbacks instead of sidewalk setbacks. Bottom of Page 5, should read 25% instead of 10%, and then 10% is a realistic number. The motion on Page 9 should read that the funds will be recaptured for builder’s impact fees. Brian Caldwell asked that on page 7, third paragraph state that the tenant shouldn’t financially gain from the gift from the program, they should financially gain as much as the mortgage they pay. Mr. Caldwell also requested that page 8 be changed to read that the threshold shall go from five to 10, and that sustained affordability is achieved by not capping the potential return amount of the home financed by the participant. Steve Kirchhoff made a motion to adopt the changes to the July 18th minutes, Dave Jarrett seconded the motion. The motion passed after a unanimous vote by the Planning Board members, 10-0. Director Andy Epple asked that notes of the changes stated be provided to staff as they included technical terminology, as well as uncertain descriptions of where in the minutes the changes should take place. ITEM 4. PRESENTATION AND JOINT MEETING North 7th Design and Connectivity Plan. A presentation by Winter and Company to present their final draft for the proposed North 7th Avenue Design project. Assistant City Manager Ron Brey thanked all present for allowing this meeting to convene. Mr. Brey stated that this project started when the city took up the big box issue with Wal-Mart’s proposed expansion to a super store. He stated that the city commission appointed a task force to address the impact of big box development on the City of Bozeman. Included in the recommendations resulting from this commission was the capture of an economic impact mitigation fee from each of the big box proposals, half of which would go to affordable housing, half of which would go to economic development. Mr. Brey stated that it would fund infrastructure improvements for East Main, West Main, and North 7th Streets at that point in time. He added that a group of property owners along North 7th approached the city commission to use the funds collected to retain a consulting firm to do the design and connectivity plan for North 7th. Mr. Brey stated that the intention here tonight is to get a last round of comments before Winter & Company come back with their final plan in several weeks. He added that they are aware that elements of the plan are not in sync with street schemes, and the values behind this plan will be weighed against existing standards and if adjustments need to be made they will be made in an appropriate way at that time. Mr. Brey concluded by stating that some elements presented here may seem somewhat far-fetched, primarily the traffic circles, but be aware that they are based on 20-year population projections, and the population of Bozeman may approach 85,000 people, therefore these changes are based on future traffic considerations. Noré Winter, of Winter and Company then presented an overview of the draft of the Design and Connectivity Plan for North 7th Avenue Corridor, and stated that questions and comments would be collected over the next few weeks for Winter and Company’s consideration. Mr. Winter stated that Ralph Johnson was present tonight, but Transportation Planner Bob Marvin was absent. Mr. Winter said that the corridor does not serve pedestrians or bicyclists very well as it exists, and that specific design recommendations were presented as well as methods of directing people through the areas. Mr. Winter went over the schedule of workshops held and listed participants involved, and stated that focus groups were also held, and he then went over some of the design objectives. Mr. Winter went over some existing connectivity and parking issues, presented that the fairgrounds entrance is not well-defined, and also offered some ways to strengthen the area’s uses as well as methods to stimulate and strengthen private investments along the way. Mr. Winter said that they would like to use bike routes instead of bike lanes, but there are still some issues with this, therefore 5th and 8th Streets may be designated as bike routes. Mr. Winter stated that the main objective here is to create an attractive pedestrian walking environment buffered by bike lanes and parking, he then went over examples of proposed improvements such as planting strips and the benefits of roundabouts. He said that although roundabouts take up more land, they move traffic well, handle better volumes of traffic, and improve safety. Mr. Noré Winter then went over some configurations of proposed intersection improvements and how they would provide additional landscaping, resulting in the image of the area and safety being improved. Mr. Winter introduced the idea of festival streets and festival lots which would be designed for everyday use, but landscaped to be closed for special events. He added that improvements could provide opportunities for art, theme-colored directional and regulatory signage, all which would add to the character of the corridor. Noré Winter closed his presentation by showing examples of retrofitted buildings that are being used successfully around the country, and also presented some ideas for implementation and went over some of the suggestions that have been offered. Director of Planning and Community Development Andy Epple asked what MDT’s involvement has been with regards to the design standards, to which Ralph Johnson answered that they have reviewed them, they have been exposed to their planning dept, and they have agreed that they are viable at this point. Dave Jarrett stated that he has personally seen examples where roundabouts have and have not worked, and thinks they could work here in Bozeman if designed properly and people were educated on how they work. Brian Caldwell stated that the plan presented may potentially improve real estate values for commercial property owners. Mike Hope asserted that he believes property owners will probably have controversial issues with the roundabouts. Dave Jarrett asked if there has been any discussion about reversing the direction of the one-way streets. Noré Winter stated that some studies were held that showed that it may be a short-term solution, but the downside is that businesses would be negatively affected. Mayor Jeff Krauss stated that it was important to create an area where you can take advantage of whatever zoning is available, and he would be interested in encouraging more unrestricted zoning, as long as guidelines are adhered to. Mayor Krauss also asked if the tax financing dollars would be allowed for public vs. private use, and that he would like to see this prioritized. Ron Brey stated that the plan has an emphasis in prioritization for the use of tax increment funds in the plan yet to be developed, and the plan has a potential to take advantage of all the program opportunities allowed by tax increments or state statutes. Mayor Krauss stated that he likes the plan of no median along the first stretch, and thinks it is important that this corridor move traffic, but also encourage pedestrians and he has witnessed frequent pedestrian crossings near Oak and 7th Street. Mr. Krauss believes the priorities are: working on the corridor, signage, sidewalks, protection and encouragement of pedestrians, connectivity, and festival streets and he doesn’t want to see the bike lane sacrificed without offering an alternative such as 5th Street. Dave Jarrett stated that he believes the fastest way to get 7th going is if there is some financing to the commercial people, and if we have connectivity through the parking lots it will make it so that existing owners will want to either go somewhere else, or remodel. Mr. Jarrett asked Mike Hope how owners feel about this proposed change to which Mr. Hope stated that he hasn’t heard of any controversy yet, but thinks there will be if roundabouts are introduced. Mayor Krauss stated that West Main was not included in this plan, and can have very heavy slow traffic which is a big problem, and MDOT needs to get involved. President JP Pomnichowski OPENED THE MEETING FOR PUBLIC COMMENT, hearing none; she CLOSED THE PUBLIC COMMENT PORTION OF THE HEARING. Mayor Krauss asked other commissioners for their comments. Sean Becker expressed concern about roundabouts, and stated that it is helpful to see this issue because it addresses a lot of concerns. Mr. Becker stated that a conference center needs to be discussed, and linking the fairgrounds to the interstate would be wise because a significant amount of people come from far distances to the fairgrounds, which can be a real attraction to Bozeman. Ron Brey stated that the fairgrounds are moving actively to create a main entrance off of Oak, and there is talk of the fairgrounds creating a multi-purpose event area, and he stated that they want to be included in the urban renewal district. Mayor Krauss then asked for any other commission comments. Karen Jacobsen said that she thinks this is a great idea. Steve Kirchhoff said he thinks it is a great plan, and that biking should be planned for earlier rather than later, or it won’t be planned for. Mike Hope asked if sidewalks could be widened, to which Mr. Noré Winter replied that if Main and 7th Streets do have roundabouts as well as bike lanes and parking, the sidewalks would be tight. Mayor Krauss asked if they were using 14-foot wide lanes, to which Mr. Winter replied no, they were 13-feet wide. Dave Jarrett suggested that if they do away with the median, picked up two feet on either side and put landscaping on sidewalks, they could get away with a 3-4 foot bike lane. Mayor Krauss asked if they are planning curbs, Ron Brey responded that they found that owners are willing to consider public access easements and move the sidewalks. Steve Kirchhoff asked if there is a flagship project being thought about, to which Mr. Ron Brey answered that when the North 7th property owners came to the city to secure the big box funding, they also requested that $200,000 be set aside for the initial projects, and the identification of the initial projects would come out of the urban renewal process. Mike Hope said that initially the idea was to invest to get the sidewalks put in to replace the muddy walks. Mike Hope then stated that he had no input on the festival street plan, and although it benefits him indirectly and he supports it, he did not vote on the plan. Mr. Winter stated that he believes that the first priority is connectivity around the hospitality area, and sidewalk construction is important. President JP Pomnichowski then thanked the planners for their presentation. Dave Jarrett encouraged the city commission and planning department to continue the UDO that has been planned thus far. ITEM 5. OLD BUSINESS None. ITEM 6. NEW BUSINESS President JP Pomnichowski stated that in regards to edits to the minutes, at the orientation session in January she gave everyone an example of an email format to send to the planning department with page number, paragraph number, line, and then the actual change to language. She then asked anyone having language changes to the last minutes to please write them down and follow the format. Next meeting will be on August 15th, and will meet in the county courthouse. The meeting at that time will be televised. ITEM 7. ADJOURNMENT Dave Jarrett moved to adjourn the meeting, Edward Sypinski seconded the motion, meeting was adjourned at 9:24 p.m. ____________________________________ _______________________________________ JP Pomnichowski, President Andrew C. Epple, Director City of Bozeman Planning Board City of Bozeman, Planning and Community Development *City of Bozeman Planning Board meetings are open to all members of the public. If you have a special need or disability, please contact our ADA Coordinator, Ron Brey, at 582-2306 (voice) or 582-2301 (TDD).