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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-17-06 Planning Board Minutes.doc** MINUTES ** CITY OF BOZEMAN PLANNING BOARD OCTOBER 17, 2006 7:30PM 0:07:33 [20:11:13] ITEM 1. CALL TO ORDER AND ATTENDANCE Chair and President JP Pomnichowski called the meeting to order at 8:18 PM and directed the secretary to record the attendance. Members Present: JP Pomnichowski, Chair Steve Kirchhoff, Commission Liaison Brian Caldwell Caren Roberty Randy Carpenter Erik Henyon Members Absent: Dave Jarret (excused) Ed Sypinski Staff Present: Andy Epple, Director of Planning & Community Development Kimberly Kenney- Lyden, Recording Secretary Susan Kozub, Associate Planner Guests Present: Tony Renslow, Village Investment Group Jon Henderson, GIS Specialist, City of Bozeman 0:08:03 [20:12:31] ITEM 2. PUBLIC COMMENT (0-15 MINUTES) Seeing there was none, Chair Pomnichowski closed this portion of the meeting. 0:08:24 [20:12:31] ITEM 3. MINUTES OF OCTOBER 3RD, AND THE AMENDED MINUTES OF SEPTEMBER 6TH, 2006. Seeing there were no changes or corrections to be made, JP Pomnichowski noted the minutes from October 3rd and amended minutes from September 6th will stand approved as written. 0:08:49 [20:13:37] ITEM 4. CONSENT ITEM (See Attachment) 0:08:49 [20:19:07] Preliminary Plat Application #P-06050 (Village Downtown Minor Subdivision) A Preliminary Plat Application requested by the owners and applicants, The Village Investment Group, Inc. and representative, C&H Engineering and Surveying, Inc., to allow the conversion of eight townhouse lots into four single family lots of a tract of record described as Lots 119, 121, 123, 125, 127, 129, 131, 137, and 139 of the amended plat of the Village Downtown PUD (West of Village Crossing Way) - (Sanford) 0:08:58 [20:19:15] Applicant Presentation: Tony Renslow, representing the Village Downtown Investment Group stated the application is very straight forward in that they are requesting eight townhouse lots to be changed into four single family residence lots. He further thanked the Planning Board for taking time to review this proposal. 0:09:40 [20:20:10] Motion and Vote Seeing there was no discussion, Chair Pomnichowski entertained a motion. Mr. Brian Caldwell moved to recommend approval of Preliminary Plat application #P-06050 with conditions listed by staff. Mr. Kirchhoff seconded the motion. Those in favor being Brian Caldwell, Steve Kirchhoff, JP Pomnichowski, Caren Roberty, Randy Carpenter, and Erik Henyon. Motion passed unanimously, 6-0. 0:10:25 [20:20:12] ITEM 5. OLD BUSINESS Mr. Andy Epple noted that the planning staff is working with our consultant, Lanette Windemaker on finalizing the UDO Edits. He noted there is a proposed schedule for the final batch of a two year effort and this will allow the edits to be reviewed and heard. He added there are important discussion items. Mr. Epple noted that both he and Mr. Saunders suggest convening for consecutive public hearings of the Zoning Commission and Planning Board; one on December 5th and the other on December 19th. He added that after this, the Planning Board can then forward their comments and suggestions to the City Commission on January 15th and 22nd, 2006. The commission endorsed this proposal last night at their meeting. 0:12:34 [20:24:15] ITEM 6. NEW BUSINESS 0:12:34 [20:20:30] 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. (R. Brey/S.Kozub) 0:12:39 [20:20:14] Staff Presentation Susan Kozub, Associate Planner stated in July 2002, the City's Big Box Task Force appointed by the City Commission recommended two uses for the economic development funds. They would be divided in half; 50% would go to improving aging or substandard infrastructure and 50% would go to the community affordable housing board. She added that in February 2005, city staff was directed to investigate conditions on North 7th Avenue to evaluate the feasibility to create an urban renewal program. In June of 2005, Ms. Kozub noted the City Commission funded the design and connectivity plan for North 7th Avenue. In August 2005, the Commission approved the resolution determining there were blighted conditions that existed on North 7th and that an urban renewal plan should be prepared to address the redevelopment and rehabilitation of this area. In September 2005, the Commission appointed the North 7th corridor urban renewal planning committee and they have participated extensively in this process. She added the RFP process followed and Winter & Company was selected as the consultant as they completed the Entryway Corridor design objectives plan. The first public workshop was in February 2006. Ms. Kozub noted the key unresolved issues were how to accommodate bicycles on North 7th Avenue and the appropriate way to consider roundabouts at key intersections. She further stated this presentation is to relay the final updates to board members so they can forward their recommendations to the City Commission as this will be presented to them at a later time. Some of these revisions and updates are based on the Dan Burden 'Walkable Communities' workshop. Planner Kozub noted there are three major changes: 1) Recommend bike lanes on North 7th Avenue, allowing full access to the corridor for bicyclists. Travel lanes in areas A and B were narrowed to 10 feet for this accommodation as this is a national trend. This will remove the center median in area A, but staff felt bike lanes were more important than the center median. This would require negotiations to obtain additional adjacent right of way from property owners, however the city is only looking for two feet on both sides. She added this would also require negotiations with the MDOT. 2) Recommending an underpass or pedestrian bridge for the I-90. 3) The inclusion of a traffic summary. This is to provide technical background on traffic flows and intersection operations. 0:19:09 [20:20:33] Questions for Staff Mr. Brian Caldwell noted that in area A, the additional right of way needed would be four feet. Ms. Kozub agreed by stating if there were a needed median, it would require four additional feet making 7th Avenue 74 feet wide instead of the current 70 feet. Mr. Randy Carpenter asked Planner Kozub to clarify street sections. Ms. Kozub described the sections below; Area A covers North 7th from Main Street to Beall. - Will have 70 feet of right of way, - Will have four travel lanes, - Will have separate bike lanes, - Will have sidewalks separated from the curb by a landscaped planting strip, but - Will not have a median, and - Will not have on street parking. Area B is split into two sub-sections; B1 covers North 7th from Beall to Durston. - It will be 94 feet of right of way (would require an additional two feet on both sides). - It will have parallel on street parking, - It will have bicycle lanes, - It will have two travel lanes on each side, and - It will have a median that will be replaced by turn lanes at key intersections. Area B2 covers North 7th from Durston to the I-90. - It will have all the ammenities as B1, but the differences are; - It will have 100 feet of right of way, and - It will have larger landscape buffers. Area C covers North 7th, north of I-90. - It will have all the amenities of B1, but the differences are; - It will have 150 feet of right of way, and bikes can share the outside travel lane (6 foot shoulder) or use the shared use path of the landscape buffer. Mr. Randy Carpenter asked what the original measurements were of the travel lanes on 7th and Planner Kozub noted that travel lanes used to be 11 feet wide with turn lanes of 12 feet, however the standard has been changed to 10 feet. Mr. Erik Henyon asked if Area A will be a round about and Ms. Kozub noted that if traffic increases during phase two of this project, the team will think about putting in a round about instead of only dressing up the landscape. 0:25:14 [20:20:44] Public Comment Jon Henderson at 411 South 10th Avenue, and is the representative of the Bozeman Area Bicycle Advisory Board who noted he would like to commend staff for seeing this effort through. He added his board has made formal recommendations to add the bicycle lanes and is encouraged to see this kind of development. 0:26:29 [20:21:13] Discussion Mr. Brian Caldwell stated the development of this plan is a great example of what can be done with an existing piece of the town that can be revitalized and updated. He added the plan board would surely come forward with unanimous approval. Mr. Erik Henyon noted he approves of this final draft and is very pleased, but would ask that the City Commission move on this project 'sooner rather than later'. He further recommended that the Commission focus more on ways to get people into downtown instead of the recent discussion about parking lots. Mr. Henyon stated downtown is a life source for the City of Bozeman and by doing more aggressive development in an expeditious manner, it could benefit the entire corridor and the downtown area. Mr. Randy Carpenter stated he thought it was a great plan before, but noted it is a better plan now and is very pleased. Brian Caldwell noted that during FYI last night at the City Commission meeting, they brought up South 19th Avenue and described it as an aircraft landing strip. He asked Mr. Epple if the City was planning on fixing the design of this large scale avenue since we have adopted the guideline of the North 7th design plan. Mr. Epple responded that with the North 7th design, we end up with a 100 foot right of way, comparable to South 19th, only it's missing the landscaping, median, and pedestrian walkways. He stated that changes made to North 19th is what one could envision South 19th looking like in a few years. Commissioner Kirchhoff added that there were numerous changes made to our road structure since Dan Burden came in 2001. He noted the City Commission did not want to construct highways within city limits after Mr. Burden's presentation and the City made efforts to change to a 12 foot right of way standard instead of 10, however the opposite happened when updating the transportation plan. Controlled access, driveways along major roads, businesses and other factors are why the city had to have highways. Mr. Kirchhoff stated the North 7th design has been approved, but the only reason the city is waiting for commencement is the construction schedules. Mr. Epple noted Dan Burden had a tremendous impact on the planning department, with evident outcomes; Durston Road now has 3 lanes, pedestrian walkways, and bicycle paths - Babcock has the same. He added arterial systems are designed to move traffic, so people are not tempted to cut though neighborhoods. Mr. Kirchhoff noted he's more concerned about pedestrians cutting across traffic and children riding their bikes. Commissioner Kirchhoff then stated that in his opinion, there is a lot of wasted space in the current North 7th layout with right of ways being 150 feet. Mr. Caldwell suggested to keep the 10 foot drive aisles, a four foot bike strip, and then possibly add another shared use path. Planner Kozub noted the city is not looking at acquiring more right of way, they are looking at fully utilizing the existing right of way. Mr. Caldwell then commented that with wider right of ways, there is a tendency to go faster because the road opens up at Section C. Mr. Henyon noted that at section C, the speed limit increases. Chair Pomnichowski stated that section C is more of an industrial use, it's right by the freeway. North 7th used to be the main entryway corridor in the 1980's, but over time it has lost its character. She added this plan is a great model for North 7th Avenue. Ms. Pomnichowski noted that this plan looks cohesive. Mr. Erik Henyon stated he does not like section A and B where the shoulder disappears because there is no room for snow removal and the parallel parking on the sides limits where the snow is going to go. Mr. Epple responded that there is no parking in section A. Ms. Caren Roberty asked if this plan will consider placing transit shelters since the new public transportation is doing so well and have them placed in a way that does not interfere with the bike lanes in section A. Planner Kozub replied that if a business wants a transit stop in front of their facility, they can dedicate a cut-out so the busses can have a place to pull over. Ms. Pomnichowski stated that the hospitality area where the Holiday Inn and Grand Tree are seems like a target area for a large amount of activity and many possibilities. Mr. Epple noted to all members that the source of funding for many of these improvements will be the North 7th tax increment dollars. 0:48:30 [20:22:08] Motion and Vote Mr. Brian Caldwell moved to recommend approval of the North 7th Design and Connectivity Plan. Seconded by Steve Kirchhoff and Randy Carpenter. Those in favor being Brian Caldwell, Steve Kirchhoff, Randy Carpenter, JP Pomnichowski, Erik Henyon, and Caren Roberty. Motion passed unanimously, 6-0. 0:49:10 [20:22:03] ITEM 7. ADJOURNMENT Chair JP Pomnichowski adjourned the meeting at 9:01PM and reminded all members that the next meeting is on November 7th at City Hall. _______________________________ _______________________________ JP Pomnichowski, President & Chairperson Andrew C. Epple, Director City of Bozeman Planning Board City of Bozeman, Planning and Community Development