HomeMy WebLinkAboutWalt Morrow Letter 10-18-02RECEIVED
October 18, 2002
Mayor and Councl
City of Meridian
33 E. Idaho St.
Meridian, ID 83642
Re: Findings of fact page 2, items 2a through 2e
Mayor and Council:
OCT 2 2 2002
City oPMeridfan
City Cleric Office
The findings list the sequence of events and the facts cited by staff for the stop work order at 2340 W.
Franklin Road. The findings fail to list the point by point response given in public testimony on more
than one occasion. Those responses are as follows.
A) All annexation requirements have been met that are possible to meet.
1) The City of Meridian does not now have, nor has it ever had, a design review process.
2) The property falls well outside the statutory distance of 300 ft that would require
hookups to city water and sewer services.
B) The site is 17.5 acres, of which 16 acres are in pasture grass, trees and shrubs.
1) The uses are agricultural by grandfather rights and industrial by zoning.
C) A letterfrom ACHD filed with the city attorney, stated that ACHD needed no rightway dedication
(sale) at this time.
D) City water for fire flow is not available to this site.
E) ACHD stated that no impact fees were due. ACRD does not require additional right of way or
impact fees when a project is not a dev~opment project
Findings have the legal, moral, and ethical obligation to address all factual sides of an issue, whether
those facts are favorable or not to the staffs or council's position. In this case, both staff and council
have known for twenty two years that no design review process exists within the city, that this project
was outside of the statutory distance for water and sewer hookups, that land uses are established by
both grandfather rights and zoning, that within the City of Meridian rural fire district a substantial number
of buildings of equal or greater size made of highly combustible materials exist with no water for fire
flow at all, and that ACHD only requires impact fees on development projects or projects that result in
increased ACHD highway usage.
Since the findings will also serve as a point of reference for future staffs and councils, it is of the utmost
importance that the findings present all the facts so that there will be no unfair or biased positions taken
by either staff, council, orjudicial proceedings.
Sincerely,
Walt Morrow
FINDINGS OF FACT
Walt Morrow submitted for approval, to the Building Department, two sets of
plans and specifications for an accessory building to an existing land use at 2340
W. Franklin Road within an I-L zone, and Daunt Whitman of the Building
Department approved the plans and specifications as a residential accessory
building.
The Planning and Zoning Administrator's office placed a stop work order upon
the accessory building to an existing land use located. at 2340 W. Franklin Road
upon the basis the Administrator determined that this building permit request did
not meet the criteria for an accessory building, and, issued concerns in an a-mail
on October 4, 2000, on the project to Daunt Whitman, in which the Administrator
listed problems in the permit request for an accessory building to an existing land
use, and which items are addressed in the February 2, 2001 letter to Mr. Walt
Morrow from Gary Smith, Public Works Director, which included his opinion
that the building needed to be processed as a request for a Conditional Use
Permit, with the following additional concerns:
a. Annexation requirements for the property have not been met, including
making provisions for how the properly will be served with sewer and
water and design review of all buildings.
b. The submitted building plans show expansion of anon-conforming use
regarding landscaping, paving, land use, etc.
c. Needed right-of--way dedication (sale) to ACHD for future widening of
Franklin Road will place this building location within the setback area as
set forth by City Ordinance.
d. Water supply is not available to meet Uniform Fire Code requirements.
e. ACHD impact fees need to be paid.
3. The comments of Joseph Silva, Deputy Fire Chief, Fire Prevention, were
reviewed by the Council and the following conditions are required:
Project Summary:
Proposed Use: Storage Building
Building size: 8,750 square feet
Occupancy classification: S-2 (as determined by the Building Department)
Type of Construction: Type III-N
Storage: Equipment & Livestock/Maternity Area
Public Water SupAly Required When Available:
1. The Owner acknowledges that City water is not currently available to the
property, and that the water flow available from the Owner's well is
insufficient to meet the requirements of the Uniform Fire Code. The
Owner assumes the risk that may result from completion of construction
of the building, and any subsequent fire which may occur without
ORDER GRANTING APPEAL, OVERRULING PLANNING
AND ZONING ADMINISTRATOR'S DENIAL OF APPLICATION -- 2