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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1996-10-29 Planning MIN ASHLAND PLANNING COMMISSION PUBLIC HEARING MINUTES OCTOBER 29, 1996 CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order by Chairperson Barbara Jarvis at 7:10 p.m. Other Commissioners present were Howe, Carr, Armitage, Gardiner, Finkle, and Hearn. Giordano and Bass were absent. Staff present were McLaughlin and Yates. NORTH MOUNTAIN NEIGHBORHOOD PLAN Staff Presentation McLaughlin presented the plan which has been developing for the past two years. The plan being presented tonight is a primary cut that will be reviewed and commented on and brought back to the November 12, 1996 Planning Commission meeting for final review. Before this process began, Staff asked: If the City was going to look at up-zoning the area and increasing density, would there be a public benefit and would the type of development that occurred be in the best long-term interest of the community? Could this be a true neighborhood, more than just developments strung together? The City secured a grant and conducted a four-day design charrette process to come up with ideas for a neighborhood plan. Questions & Discussion Howe noted that the zoning on the secondary zoning map and colored map, did not match, particularly around the civic square in the middle. McLaughlin said the secondary zoning map should be adjusted to match the colored cover map. Howe asked why the greenway was put through the middle of the floodplain instead of following the natural contour of the yards. McLaughlin said there might be grandiose homes with large front yards set back from the street, looking out over the large grassy area to the greenway. It remains to be seen whether or not that type of development will occur there. Hearn noticed on page 10 the map shows bisecting of certain lots owned by separate property owners. Is there a plan that these would come under common ownership? McLaughlin said they have gotten cooperation between property owners thus far. Some adjustments will come forward (at outline plan) that will reflect the property boundaries. Some property owners may be ready to develop sooner than others. The plan has been designed so individual owners can develop without having to wait for other owners. Mayor Golden asked about reinstating E. Nevada. McLaughlin said the right-of-way is in place and it will be improved as part of the development. Ultimately a bridge will be constructed for automobile traffic. Initially, a bike/pedestrian bridge will be built until there is more development creating more demand from the neighborhood. Mayor Golden is concerned that once the area is built out for residential, that there be a way to keep certain land vacant until commercial development comes in or a way to compensate the homeowners that would have to wait for that to catch up. McLaughlin is also concerned that the opportunity is not lost for commercial development. The proposed ordinance states that when development does occur, the applicant has to make a finding that the development not preclude the future conversion to commercial. McLaughlin said they have not considered the option of prohibiting development until it was truly commercial, but trying to use a more incentive-based approach. He thought building multi-family with a rental arrangement will maybe lessen the idea of home ownership, making an easier conversion to commercial. Staff would be asking the developer to design up front for mixed use and use it for residential because that will be the initial demand. Mayor Golden noted that in East Medford in some of the housing developments, land was left vacant for commercial development and now the residents do not want it. She said if single family or multi-family is placed on North Mountain, two issues will fight any hope of getting commercial use into the area. One, it is established as one type of use, and second, there is a fear that people outside their neighborhoods will use their stores such as convenience stores. Jarvis recalled in prior discussions that East Medford was a situation of only single family residences. If people really know about the future they may buy into it. Golden believes that through some design criteria for commercial development the Historic Commission could review to see what would work well with a village setting. Wheeldon asked about the nature of the crossing further to the south of Bear Creek. McLaughlin said is a potential pedestrian path. It would provide an opportunity for a shortcut to Oak Street. Wheeldon asked what role the Planning Commission and Staff play in the development of the neighborhood. McLaughlin said Staff will be shepherding the idea but not everything can be regulated and written down. There is an overall plan with pictures that give the feeling of where we want to be. Staff will need to help new owners along and bring them up to speed with the plan. The plan may need some fine-tuning as time goes on. Hagen wondered what was envisioned as far as traffic on North Mountain, specifically pedestrian traffic since it will probably be a busy street. McLaughlin is looking at an improvement that would include islands and pedestrian refuges in the middle of the street at the upper intersection leading from the senior center entrance. With the center island, people should drive slower. They will probably be looking at something similar down near the bridge to get into North Mountain Park. Hagen suggested considering incentives for handicap accessible rental housing through the density bonus program. McLaughlin mentioned the minimum density standards that will be set (to be modified slightly). Land cannot be wasted by doing large lot inefficient development. It has to be used for multi-family zoning or for efficient single family zoning. This will ensure the plan is followed. Public Hearing RON ROTH, 6950 Old 99 South, has participated in this process and had several questions. Is this property currently on the vacant land inventory? McLaughlin affirmed and said there were about 45 acres that make up about nine lots now. When the rezoning occurs, development will have to occur in a particular way. The minimum density is 90 percent of base density but that will probably be lessening to allow for a greater range of development. With regard to water, McLaughlin said development of this land will fall within the City's normal population projections and growth patterns. EVAN ARCHERD, 895 N. Mountain, has been involved in the process for a couple of years. Under ASHLAND PLANNING COMMISSION 2 STUDY SESSION MINUTES OCTOBER 29, 1996 Section 18.30 of the proposed ordinance (page 22), Archerd said there are no houses planned that will face North Mountain. He noted one of the things that makes Siskiyou Boulevard attractive are the houses that face it. He presented an orientation sketched by some of the neighbors that could be incorporated into the record with houses facing North Mountain. McLaughlin said this would fall under the modification section. KEVIN NERING, Investment Marketing, has been working on this for two years. The Harpers and Whites (property owners) are supportive of the plan as a framework to work within. Considering the impact of the senior development on the other side of Mountain, it will make commercial development easier. PETE CISLO, 400 E. Nevada, thanked Evan Archerd and Madeline Hill who co-chaired the committee for mediating a boundary dispute. The proposed plan has an alley going through Cislo's garage. He wants it to be clear this is just a proposed plan. McLaughlin said there have been some proposals to adjust the street pattern around Cislo's property and to ensure the developability of his property and those surrounding. SCOTT ENGLISH said he is concerned about how Kitchen Creek comes across North Mountain and connects to Bear Creek. Secondly, he wants to make sure the floodplain issues are addressed. He is concerned about fish and wildlife as well. This is a wonderful extension of the North Mountain Park downstream. McLaughlin said these are issues that will come up during specific plan presentations. KARI TUCK has been working on the North Mountain Park with the Parks Department. She said they are putting a lot of effort into habitat and it makes sense to see the other side as an extension of a wildlife corridor with the area left more natural for animals and a place for people to move through the corridor. She thought it looked like there will be a lot of traffic and that is a concern. McLaughlin said the idea is the land gets dedicated to the City so it can be used as public space. Tuck thought the more curved the road, the slower people might drive. Golden said on Oak Street where the lots back up to the creek, there are not fences dividing the lots. There could possibly be a fence restriction on North Mountain. McLaughlin said he would like to refine the plan and bring it back on November 12, 1996 at 7:00 p.m. at the regular Planning Commission meeting. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 8:40. ASHLAND PLANNING COMMISSION 3 STUDY SESSION MINUTES OCTOBER 29, 1996