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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11-08-05 Planning Board Minutes.doc CITY OF BOZEMAN PLANNING BOARD TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2005 MINUTES ITEM 1. CALL TO ORDER AND INTRODUCTIONS President Harry Kirschenbaum called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. and directed the secretary to record the attendance. He announced Mr. Pierce Mullen sent a letter of thanks to the board for permitting his dialogue at the last meeting. Members Present Staff Present Dean Drenk Ron Brey, Assistant City Manager Mike Hope Andrew Epple, Director, Planning and Community Development Dave Jarrett Carol Schott, Recording Secretary Harry Kirschenbaum Jeff Krauss Ed Musser JP Pomnichowski Visitors Present Bobbie Clem Marjorie Smith Erik Nelson Brian Caldwell Jim Browning Dale Richeson Wayne Frelin Jon Gerster Dean Jackson 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 Kirschenbaum called for public comment on any public matter within the jurisdiction of the Planning Board not scheduled on this agenda. Hearing none, he closed the public comment portion of the meeting. ITEM 3. PROJECT REVIEW – PUBLIC HEARING NORTHEAST URBAN RENEWAL PLAN – (Brey) Ron Brey, Assistant City Manager, briefly described the history of the development of the Plan, and presented the Staff Report. He noted the City has a very tight time frame in which to have the Plan approved to use 2005 as the base year. He explained tax increment financing. He noted the tax base is determined on January first of each year, hence the haste in adopting the Urban Renewal Plan during 2005. He explained the work program required behind an Urban Renewal Plan, which the Northeast Urban Renewal District committee developed. He noted he reviewed the Urban Renewal Plan against the Bozeman 2020 Community Plan and could find no conflict. He noted the membership of the organization for an Urban Renewal District is set by State Statute and was amended by the members to permit membership to meet the needs of the neighborhood. He reviewed provisions of the Plan. Brian Caldwell, Committee member, noted the specifics were well covered by Mr. Brey. Robert Pavlic, Committee member, stated his neighbors wanted to know how the City came up with the 15 year time frame. Mr. Brey noted the City Commission has the authority to discontinue the TIF program at any time, but the 15 year time frame is found in Statute and is typical. Marcia Kaveney, Committee member, encouraged the Board to give a favorable recommendation to the City Commission this evening. Jon Gerster, Committee member, stated this process has brought the neighborhood together and the neighbors have worked hard to create a document that everyone could endorse. He was asked if it received unanimous consensus, to which he responded in the affirmative. President Kirchenbaum asked if the whole neighborhood was behind the plan. Mr. Gerster noted some people are concerned about property taxes raising beyond their means and they have stated they don’t want to sell their homes due to raised taxes and higher property values. He discussed the labeling of “blight” and how it negatively affected the feelings of the neighbors. Mr. Drenk asked how many residents reside in the Urban Renewal District. Mr. Nelson estimated that 30% of the properties are residential with the rest commercial. He noted the district is comprised of about 46 acres. Mr. Drenk asked how many landowners there are involved. Mr. Nelson estimated there are about 200 property owners. President Kirschenbaum OPENED THE HEARING FOR PUBLIC COMMENT. Robert Pavlic, Committee member, noted this was an effort initiated by private development and not initiated by government. He stated people in the district are skeptical. He described the pictures presented by the developers of the “new” district. He noted several people are uneasy about the plan as their homes or businesses are eliminated in the pictures. Mr. Drenk asked if the pictures are available to the Planning Board. Mr. Brey noted the pictures are not a part of the plan. The official document is the document presented to the Board. Mr. Drenk noted the document is very vague. He noted he was disturbed that there are specific designs being discussed prior to the approval of the Plan. Brian Caldwell, developer, noted the guiding principles would hold true even if his development company’s plans fail. Mr. Jarrett noted the UDO and the 2020 Plan would guide any development as well as the Urban Renewal Plan. President Kirschenbaum asked Director Epple, aside from infrastructure, would any site development be required to go through the City’s planning process. Director Epple stated any site development would require review by the City. He noted the URD Plan describes how tax increment dollars will be used for infrastructure improvements. Bobbie Clem, Committee member, noted the area is an HMU zoned district. She noted the neighborhood understands the uniqueness of their neighborhood. She noted people appreciate the eclectic nature of their neighborhood and they wanted the area to remain the same for as long as possible. Jon Gerster, Committee member, discussed the vagueness of the plan, noting it is intended to allow creativity and to encourage development of the same personality in the neighborhood. He noted the goal was to not constrain activity in the neighborhood. Marjorie Smith described herself as a neighbor of “Blightville” and stated she felt the whole TIF concept is quite new to a lot of people. She noted the TIF money would be taken away from the County, schools, and library to allow the development of infrastructure. She noted the whole TIF concept is relatively controversial nationwide. She noted it seemed the City has “found” money to do the improvements. She stated she doesn’t feel it is the proper way to upgrade the infrastructure. Chris Nixon, 719 North Wallace Avenue, stated he was impressed while watching the committee work together at their last meeting. He noted he supported the Urban Renewal District Plan and recommended that the Planning Board forward a recommendation of approval to the City Commission. He stated the document would help steer the development of the northeast neighborhood and protect the neighborhood. Marcia Kaveney, 630 East Davis Street and a Committee member, noted she opposed the “blight” designation and still does, however, she was drawn to the Committee to protect the neighborhood. She noted she felt good about the Plan. She stated she felt the Committee had zeroed in on the meat of the document and more time would have only allowed for minor tweaking. President Kirschenbaum called for further public comment, and hearing none, he CLOSED THE PUBLIC COMMENT PORTION OF THE HEARING. Mr. Brey offered to address questions which had been raised. He noted the TIF program should have a positive effect on taxes in the neighborhood as property values should raise. He noted the plan has nine guiding principles for every new project to be reviewed against. He noted that even if a project meets all planning and zoning criteria, if it doesn’t meet the principles, it won’t qualify for TIF monies. He noted there are limitations on what improvements TIF monies can be spent on. He noted the school district participated fully in the Downtown Urban Renewal District and approved that Plan, but chose not to participate in this planning process. Mr. Hope noted that the 2020 Plan promotes infill to prevent sprawl. He noted the redevelopment of the 46 acres could help stop sprawl to the west. He noted Urban Renewal should be started before an area has totally fallen apart. He noted the TIF projects have to be bought into by the neighborhood. He commended the neighbors for coming together to create a Plan. He stated he supported it. Mr. Jarrett noted he supported the Plan. However, he asked if the area could be expanded if everyone approved. Mr. Brey noted the plan can be amended to expand the district. Mr. Jarrett asked when the valuation date is. Mr. Krauss noted the valuation date is January 1st of each year. Mr. Krauss stated it is not helpful to refer to the northeast neighborhood as “Blightville.” He noted the “blight” designation for the downtown area was made to invest in improvements for the area. He noted change is going to happen; the 2020 Plan deals with the changes. He noted what the TIF district does is capture the revenues to be re-invested in the district. He noted it is a non-regulatory tool. He discussed TIF districts and taxation issues in detail. Ms. Pomnichowski noted she concurred with Mr. Hope in that the Plan complies with the 2020 Plan. She thanked Mr. Krauss for reviewing the financial picture. She noted she supported the Plan. She noted she disagreed with the use of the word “blight” and has contacted the Governor’s office to replace the term. She noted she felt there were excellent checks and balances in the Plan and noted she appreciated the effort of the committee to write the Plan and unanimously approved it. President Kirschenbaum noted the neighborhood will have control of their destiny without undue influence from outside entities. He stated he supported the plan. Mr. Musser noted he supported the plan. Mr. Drenk stated, being a new member, he would refrain from commenting. MOTION: Ms. Pomnichowski moved, Mr. Krauss seconded, to recommend approval of the Northeast Urban Renewal District Plan developed on 11/02/05 finding it complies with the 2020 Plan. The motion carried 6-0 with Mr. Drenk abstaining. ITEM 4. ADJOURN There being no further business to come before the City of Bozeman Planning Board, the meeting was adjourned at 8.39 p.m. ___________________________________ ________________________________ Andrew Epple, Director Harry Kirschenbaum, President Planning and Community Development City of Bozeman Planning Board