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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1993-11-09 Planning MINASHLAND PLANNING COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING NOVEMBER 9, 1993 MINUTES CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order by Chairperson Barbara Jarvis at 7:05 p.m.. Other Commissioners present were Cloer, Hibbert, Armitage, Medinger, Carr and Bingham. Staff present were McLaughlin, Molnar, Knox and Yates. APPROVAL OF MINUTES AND FINDINGS Bingham moved to approve Findings for PA93-116 (Blanche Chick), Medinger seconded and the Findings were approved. Armitage moved to approve PA93-125 (Cropper), Hibbert seconded the motion and it was approved. PUBLIC FORUM No one came forth to speak. Study Sessions will not be held for the months of December and January. TYPE II PUBLIC HEARINGS PLANNING ACTION 93-126 REQUEST FOR OUTLINE PLAN APPROVAL OF AN EIGHT-LOT SUBDIVISION UNDER THE PERFORMANCE STANDARDS OPTIONS FOR THE PROPERTY LOCATED AT 575 ELIZABETH STREET. APPLICANT: WILLIAM D. KIELEY Site Visits and Ex Parte Contacts Cloer did not hear this last month and he will have to decide if he can vote. Bingham and Jarvis had a second site visit. STAFF REPORT This action was continued from last month. The main issue dealt with the adequacy of storm drainage facilities for the subdivision. Molnar showed an overhead that would help clarify the issues. There seemed to be isolated incidents of storm drains being clogged, but this is not a capacity issue. There is also a line that crosses the subject property with many leaking seams. It would be difficult for the applicant to remedy this situation with this application. It appears the line should be replaced and Engineering has asked for a 10 foot wide easement along the north side of the property to maintain the irrigation line. Staff believes there are adequate facilities existing to serve the eight lots. A letter was received from Jerry Glossop, Street Department. Staff has recommended approval of this application with the attached ten Conditions. Medinger thought under Condition 10 that the concept of the dry-well be deleted because it would not work in that area. SUNNY KIELEY, 2740 Tyler Creek Road, stated that he has gone over the site and found the main problem is the leakage that comes from the diagonal line. Jim Olson thought there was no problem in re-routing the line. DON COWAN thought the 10 foot wide easement along the northern property line was a good idea but is concerned that added development will create much more run-off. WANDA WOOD, 275 Randy, said there is already an easement through the back of her property. SUNNY KIELEY, thought there could possibly already be an easement across the back of lots 6, 7, and 8 because there is a type of alley along that area. COMMISSIONERS DISCUSSION AND MOTION CARR ARRIVED AT THE MEETING. The Commissioners discussed several possibilities for alleviating drainage. It was suggested to delete "dry-well" and insert "alternative drainage to be located on the north property line" under Condition 10. If the applicant needs to be responsible for construction of a storm drain line, if necessary, along the north property line. Another suggestion was to add a Condition 11: The applicant is responsible for storm drainage improvements associated with irrigation drainage from surrounding properties. Irrigation improvements to be installed along the north property lines of lots 5, 6, 7, and 8. The final need for these improvements to be determined at final plan in coordination with the Public Works Department and applicant's engineer. Medinger moved to approve PA93-126 with the attached 10 Conditions (Condition 10 as amended above) and the above wording on Condition 11. Armitage seconded the motion and it carried with Hibbert casting a "no" vote. PLANNING ACTION 93-121 REQUEST FOR FINAL PLAN APPROVAL OF A 5-LOT SUBDIVISION UNDER THE PERFORMANCE STANDARDS OPTIONS FOR THE PROPERTY LOCATED TO THE WEST OF THE CUL-DE-SAC OF IVY LANE. APPLICANT: RANDY WARREN Site Visits and Ex Parte Contacts --Bingham, Carr, Armitage, Cloer, Medinger, and Jarvis had site visits. --Hibbert stated that the property owner on the southeast corner of property is Joe Vasilik, a close friend of his, and they have had some discussions regarding this application. The friend mentioned he had no particular problem with the project and he thought it would perhaps solve the water pressure problems and the project could be beneficial in eliminating the fire hazard in the area. Hibbert did not believe he would be any less objective in making a decision on this action. -*Medinger remembered that the original applicant cut a lot of trees that were outside the tree removal plan and he will be listening to hear how this can be prevented in the future. STAFF REPORT Outline plan was approved in 1989. In 1990, there was a Minor Land Partition and a modification of that approval which split off the first lot of the subdivision and changed the parcel to a five-lot subdivision. In 1991, an extension was granted to extend the approvals. The application was ultimately approved at the City Council on appeal. A house has been built on the lot that was partitioned. Staff administratively approved the present application as a Type I approval with a hearing requested by Denis Arndt at 930 Beach Street. Staff is concerned with the trees also. The neighbors will address this issue. A Condition has been added with regards to a tree management plan. This would be implemented at the time of street construction. The Commission could strengthen this Condition with penalties such as stop work order, revocation, or citations. Staff believes the applicant has met the criteria for approval. PUBLIC HEARING RANDY WARREN, 170 Emigrant Creek Road, agree that this could be a revocable situation and he agrees totally that great care needs to be taken with the trees. There was a situation where some trees were inadvertently removed without his knowledge. He agrees with Medinger that hillside development has to be done carefully. RANDY GLOSPOS, 431 E. Vilas Road, Central Point, OR, owns Valley Tree Service, said he took it upon himself to take out trees that he thought would be hazardous to the project. He took out dead limbs. He said the number one killer of trees is construction damage, for instance, driving over roots with heavy equipment, erosion, etc. He is in favor of implementing a program so the trees can taken care of by an arborist with a specific plan for each tree. He takes pride in tree health care. He said the whole building site is in a draw and he would suggest clearing the underbrush and taking out dead limbs. Medinger said he noticed limbs that had been cut and dripping sap and limbs lying on the ground with live needles. DAVID EDWARDS, Land Surveyor, 823 W. 8th, Medford, agrees with Staff that this project has gone through the process adequately. Edwards thought the drainage would be taken care of with a dry-well. Medinger wondered if the ground was porous enough. JOE VASILIK, 1000 Ivy Lane, said he is concerned that when the power goes out, no one has water above Mountain Avenue. This development would provide back-up. He is looking forward to this development reducing the fire hazard. DENIS ARNDT, 930 Beach Street, is opposed to this subdivision. The Conditions put forth for final approval have already happened. Nowhere did it call for clear-cutting downhill. Nor was anyone supposed to come down on his property to "savage" the trees. The screen between possible development and his house has been disrupted. He also shares the east and north boundary and is concerned with another situation of possible devastation. Arndt entered photographs into the record. Arndt asked for postponement of approval of final plan until the issues can be addressed in a more equitable manner and further destruction of his habitat can be prevented. He would like to be assured if anything happens in the future, the Planning Commission will have more clout than now. Ideally, Arndt would like to see denial, but at the least, delay until the Commission can figure out how to make the applicant play by the rules. Staff Comments McLaughlin suggested adding to Condition 6: The developer and all subcontractors involved in the tree management plan to be present with Staff at the site. Jarvis wondered what the future would bring. It appears if there is an increase in value on each lot of approximately $25,000, that could be incentive to clear the trees. What kind of dramatic Condition can be placed besides revoking approval? Hibbert wondered about requiring $100,000 bond; $25,000 on each residence. McLaughlin said he could investigate that with the City Attorney. There could be a value placed on the successful implementation of the tree management plan during construction and it would have to be fully bonded to insure compliance. Upon successful completion of the tree management plan and construction of the subdivision, the bond would be returned. McLaughlin's concern is what would constitute "successful"? Jarvis thought the plan the Commission is looking at today is entirely different than what they looked at when this was originally approved. The tree management plan was violated. DON PAUL, Fire Department, talked about ladder fuels. Generally, ladder fuels are eight to ten feet from the ground. Anything above that is not that big a concern. On this hillside, from a fire safety standpoint, it looks like a good job has been done to keep a fire from running up the hill. Paul cannot say there has been overkill. The Fire Department saw a fire prevention control plan from the applicant. Before a Certificate of Occupancy is issued, the Fire Department would take a final look to make sure measures were taken for each house. On the downhill side of the house, it appears more vegetation was removed than was required, in Paul's opinion. Hibbert thought the tree management plan could be included with the fire management plan, and by working together the desired results could probably be achieved. The Commissioners agreed that a Condition needed to be made that would assure the tree management plan would be followed and enforced. RANDY GLOSPOS, rebuttal, was upset that he could be viewed as a tree mutilator. He cares about trees and is trying to make a living. RANDY WARREN, rebuttal, met with Keith Woodley, and Woodley feels Warren should go through and clean up all undergrowth especially in the building envelopes. The area in front of the house that is presently there, is clear cut. There was not that much vegetation before. Stumps can be seen there. There is still a large canopy there too. Woodley thought it would be good to separate the canopies as much as possible. Warren agreed to a continuance and to waive the time limits for approval. Medinger did not want to see a condition placed on the house that was recently completed. COMMISSIONERS DISCUSSION AND MOTION Medinger and Cloer felt that the application is marginal and that if it had been presented today it would not have been approved. The arrangements previously made are breaking down. Carr would like to see a national certified arborist to identify the trees. She would also be looking for a long-term solution. Carr moved to continue Planning Action 93-121 until the December meeting so the applicant can provide a tree management plan/fire prevention plan. Perhaps include something in the CC&R's about removing trees. Also, Staff needs to get an opinion from the City Attorney on posting a bond for the tree management plan. Or, if there is a violation, can the subdivision be revoked? Hibbert seconded the motion and it carried unanimously. OTHER Hibbert wondered if on the previous planning action there should be a designation of the forest interface and what kinds of ordinances should be created to have a tree zone which would require tree plans and fire plans. Policies and Procedures Armitage, Carr and Jarvis volunteered to come up with some policies and procedures for the Planning Commission to follow. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 10:00 p.m.