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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutesMeridian City Council • February 21, 2006 Page 6 of 69 De Weerd: Okay. The motion is as stated. Is there any discussion? Okay. Mr. Berg. Roll-Call: Bird, yea; Rountree, yea; Wardle, yea; Borton, yea. MOTION CARRIED: ALL AYES. Item 7: Items Moved from Consent Agenda: De Weerd: Thank you. Okay. There were no items moved from the Consent Agenda. Item 8: Request by Idaho Youth Ranch to Waive Fees for a Landscape Ordinance Variance Request: De Weerd: We will move to Item No. 8. Anna, is this an item that you want to introduce? Canning: Madam Mayor, Members of the Council, this is -- I will let the applicant, who is now coming up, explain more of it, but, basically, it's a request to waive the fees for a variance application. This is the result of an enforcement issue and it is for the Idaho Youth Ranch. De Weerd: Okay. Sir, if you will state your name and address for the record. Beamguard: Jeff Beamguard, 4075 East Driftwood. Meridian, Idaho. De Weerd: Okay. Thank you. Beamguard: I guess this is just a request for a waiver for fees on a landscape ordinance that was unbeknownst to me or the Idaho Youth Ranch due to a removal of some tanks, some underground fuel tanks that were removed last summer, which no permit was required and there was no expansion of the parking lot, no -- from what my understanding is that this somehow triggered a need for a landscape buffer and I don't see how that would trigger a landscape buffer, because the only thing, really, that disappeared was an awning and the underground fuel tanks at 231 Main Street at the thrift store location here in Meridian. De Weerd: Okay. Mr. Nary. Nary: Madam Mayor, I mean the letter is before you with the request, if you want them to include -- all they are asking for right now is just a waiver. So, discussion of the underlying facts are not appropriate, because you're not here in front of them for the waiver itself -- or for the variance itself. You're just here to ask as to why -- the basis they should grant you a waiver of the fee. Meridian City Council • February 21, 2006 Page 7 of 69 Beamguard: I wasn't aware that that -- that the other hadn't been taken care of either. I was under the assumption that it had. Nary: Yeah. All that's in front of the Council tonight is the consideration of waiving the fee to apply for the variance. Beamguard: Thank you. De Weerd: Okay. Council, I'm sure this is just as clear as day for all of you. Beamguard: If you have got any questions let me know. 1 don't know what else to say. The whole thing was kind of a surprise and would be a burden. There was considerable out-of-pocket fees for the removal of those tanks, which just removing the source of those things was a good thing for the City of Meridian, I can tell you. We had some leaks there. When we inherited that -- when we bought that building we inherited the tanks and they were leaking for a long time. Bird: Madam Mayor? De Weerd: Yes. Bird: May I -- Anna, what are we talking about in dollars? Canning: Six hundred and forty-five, I think. Bird: I will give you -- Madam Mayor, if I could? De Weerd: Yes, Keith. Bird: The Idaho Youth Ranch is -- does a lot of very nice things for the community and, especially, the youth. This is just a very small part of it, the Meridian one. They have stores all over and they also -- if I remember, I think it's Jerome where they have the ranch. Beamguard: Rupert. Bird: Rupert. Have the youth ranch. I feel deeply about it. If we don't -- if we don't waive it, I would personally pay for it myself, so -- I think that -- I think that it's well worth the effort to -- and it was a surprise to them, so that's my view. Beamguard: Thank you, Councilman Bird. Borton: Madam Mayor? De Weerd: Yes, Mr. Borton. Meridian City Council • • February 21, 2006 Page 8 of 69 Borton: The materials provided talk about the expense of the buffer itself and complying with the landscape ordinance and it makes reference to dipping into reserves to pay the fee of 650? 645? 650. Is that the figure you're making reference to is being difficult to dip into the reserves to -- Beamguard: When I was first made aware of this -- made aware of it, it was the cost of the buffer and I ran some simple numbers on what it would take to, you know, dig up all the asphalt, all the sprinkling system, and the landscape involved. That was considerable as well. This is just a part of that, from what I understand. It's just -- this came to me after the fact, the waiver, as a part of a bigger picture. Bird: Madam Mayor? Let me be clear. What are you asking to waive, 650? Beamguard: Tonight is just for the waiver, sir. Bird: If it was the whole thing, I might have -- De Weerd: We have you on public record with a certain statement. Nary: Madam Mayor? De Weerd: Yes, Mr. Nary. Nary: Just to clarify, Council. All that's in front of you tonight is the request to waive the fee. If you -- only the Council can grant that direction to the staff and grant that waiver. If you do that, you will see this again in the actual request for the variance itself. The staff will prepare a report, there will be a hearing, a noticed up hearing for that. So, you will see this again. All we are here on is just the fee itself. Bird: Okay. Thanks, Bill. Borton: Madam Mayor? De Weerd: Yes, Mr. Borton. Borton: Beings that we are going to see this again and in light of the letter and the expense and it sounds like the analysis is done on the cost to actually comply with the ordinance, from my perspective I'm not -- I wouldn't be willing at this point, from what I have seen, to waive this fee, which is much less than what I think they expected to talk about today. Knowing good and well there is going to be a much greater discussion in detail, perhaps, when we revisit the issue about the actual expense to comply with the ordinance and a variance request at this point, so there is time and expense to staff to review these, that I would decline to waive the fee itself. De Weerd: Okay. Council, any other questions for the applicant or further information needed from the applicant or staff? Meridian City Council • February 21, 2006 Page 9 of 69 Rountree: I have none. De Weerd: Okay. Okay. Thank you, sir. Rountree: Do we need to make a motion? Borton: Madam Mayor? De Weerd: Mr. Borton. Borton: I move that we deny the request by the Idaho Youth Ranch to waive fees for the landscape ordinance variance request. Rountree: Second. De Weerd: Okay. I have a motion to deny the request on Item No. 8. Any discussion? Wardle: Madam Mayor? De Weerd: Mr. Wardle. Wardle: Before voting on the issue, I guess my statement would be for myself and we look at our city ordinances and we look at the fees put in place and we have a group asking for relief from that fee, my question would be would we consider that waiver for other groups of similar type and people that do similar things in our community and so that's what I'm really considering in this motion and respect Mr. Bird's offer and certainly his sentiment. Thank you. De Weerd: Okay. Mr. Berg, will you, please, call roll. Roll-Call: Bird, nay; Rountree, yea; Wardle, nay; Borton, yea. De Weerd: Well, Mr. Bird, I think you have a great offer and it looks like you might have to get your checkbook out. twill break the tie in support of the motion, because it's a precedence that I can't see that there can be a separation from one to the next and we have to have that fair and equity and so with that I vote with the motion. Aye. MOTION CARRIED: TWO AYES. TWO NAYS. MAYOR AYE. Item 9: FP 06-003 Request for Final Plat approval for 45 single-family residential building lots and 1 common lot on 14.75 acres in a R-8 zone for Paramount Subdivision No. 12 by Paramount Development, Inc. -east of North Linder Road and north of McMillan Road: De Weerd: Okay. Item No. 9 has been requested to be continued.