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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes 7/8/03Meridian City Council Meeting July 8, 2003 Page 2 of 58 A. Approve minutes of June 24, 2003 City Council Regular Meeting: B. Reimbursement to Havasu Creek. LLC, for Water System Construction Costs -Havasu Creek Subdivision No. 1: Corrie: Consent Agenda. We have two items under the Consent Agenda. Bird: Mr. Mayor? Corrie: Mr. Bird. Bird: I move we approve the Consent Agenda as published and for the Mayor to sign and the Clerk to attest on proper papers. McCandless: Second. Corrie: Okay. Motion has been made and seconded to approve the Consent Agenda. Any further discussion? Roll call vote, Mr. Berg. Roll call: McCandless, aye; Nary, aye; de Weerd, aye; Bird, aye. Corrie: Okay. All ayes. Motion carried. MOTION CARRIED: ALL AYES Item 4. Department Reports: A. Public Works Department: Proposed Sewer Re-routing by Tuscanv Development. Inc.: Corrie: Item Number 4 is Department Reports. Public Works, proposed sewer rerouting by Tuscany Development, Inc. Watson: Thank you, Mr. Mayor and Council Members. The computer is evidently not going to cooperate with me. You do have a map in your packets, I believe, that shows what was going, to be up on the screen. This is one of those rare situations where a water and sewer routing issue isn't resolved amongst staff and the consultant or the developer. This issue revolves around the Tuscany Lakes complex of projects, which includes Messina Hills, Messina Village. This project -- the Preliminary Plat for this project was approved about a year ago in July of 2002. We have gone through quite a bit of plan review and back and forth over the year to the point where those plans were ultimately approved early this spring. The Preliminary Plat sewer plan showed sewer coming from the Meridian Greens area down to Victory Road, east to the intersection with Locust Grove Road and, then, south on Locust Grove and, then, into the project. That was what was modeled, that's what the project was approved on. One thing to point out is that there were two alternate alignments already approved with that Meridian City Council Meeting July 8, 2003 Page 3 of 58 Preliminary Plat. One of them -- I really wish I had this up, so I could point it out to you, but one of the alternative alignments was right where the project takes off from Meridian Greens, they ended up taking it through an undeveloped parcel, rather than a county subdivision, which was fine, we said that was okay. The other major variation that they have is that they run the trunk through their project to service the area over near Victory and Eagle Road. These projects were approved, construction was started I think in somewhere around March. About mid March we received a request to alter the sewer alignment, so that it no longer went down Victory Road to Locust Grove and, then, south, but, rather, cuts across a piece of property that they were hoping to purchase and develop, that property is approximately 35 acres or so south and west of the intersection. In your packet you will see a letter that I wrote to Briggs Engineering and Westpark listing reasons why we weren't going to consider that alternate alignment. I understand the major reasons from the developer are that, one, they would save money by, for lack of a better word, cutting the corner and, two, restrictions by ACHD on roadwork within Victory Road. I confirmed with Ada County Highway District yesterday that their work is restricted to weekends only, because of the Overland Road rebuild project, and I think the gentleman's name was Brian Hewey at ACHD, said that they wouldn't be able to work in Victory Road during the week until that project was significantly buttoned up, which was around the end of August or first of September. About aweek -- about a month ago this issue was raised by the developer again, likely because the plats were in my office for signature. I have signed the Messina Village plat and it should be at the Ada county surveyor right now. The Messina Hills plat is still in my office. Building Permits would probably be requested sometime mid August on the Messina Village project and as of right now there is no sewer in the ground to serve those. There is an approved set of plans that shows the sewer coming along Victory to the intersection of Locust Grove Road and I guess they are hoping that Council will direct me to accept those plans. I haven't accepted them, because of the reasons outlined in that April 2nd letter, and I can go into those a little bit more. The one reason is Number 3 on the list it had to do with our hesitancy to approve a plan going through a subdivision that hadn't even been submitted yet, because we don't know where those streets are going to end up. They have submitted that application, although it hasn't come to City Council yet. We are here seeking a little direction, I guess. There are quite a few interested folks out in that neighborhood, who I believe are here tonight. I understand this isn't a Public Hearing and I think most of them understand that this isn't a Public Hearing, but I said that I would point out to you that they are here tonight they are very interested in this proposal, and not in a positive way, from what I gather. I hope I haven't left anything out. This is a year long story, so I probably have. If you have any questions, I would be glad to answer those. I know Mr. Dean Briggs is here representing the developer and he could answer any questions you might have from that side. Corrie: Brad, would you suggest a Public Hearing on this, because of the controversy? Watson: Well, I think my recommendation would be that -- and I'm not sure what forum it would take. Perhaps counsel could help us -- help me with that, but the Public Hearing on the Preliminary Plat, the sewer was going to go along Victory Road to that intersection. No one testified one way or another on the sewer that I could find. I think Meridian City Council Meeting July 8, 2003 Page 4 of 58 if this had been part of the Preliminary Plat application, it, perhaps, would have had testimony. I think just from my personal view that there should be some public input allowed at some point before this is approved. Corrie: Before it's changed. Okay. Bird: Mr. Mayor? Corrie: Mr. Bird. Bird: Brad, what is on the -- our map here? It was on the Preliminary Plat. What about the Final Plat? Watson: Councilman Bird, Mayor, and Council Members, the Final Plat doesn't generally ever show -- Bird: The sewer. Watson: Well, particularly, the off-site sewer, because the Final Plat just has to do with what's in the bounds of that subdivision. Bird: Well, the thing I -- the question I have got is why are we bringing it forward? The developer should have brought this Variance or something forward, not our -- you made a ruling as a department and you did it, because that's the way you had the sewer line set up. That's the way it went through the Preliminary Plat. I would have to have some awful, awful good reasons to change it from the Preliminary Plat myself. De Weerd: Mr. Mayor? Corrie: Mrs. de Weerd. De Weerd: I agree with Councilman Bird. It's just like these next item that we -- one of the items we have tonight is to change conditions on an application and what the findings are. Without it going up and being considered under Public Hearing process, you know, I think this is premature. I guess you just want to know if we would consider the change? Watson: From -- Council Member de Weerd, from what -- from my viewpoint I guess there are two options. The first one is that you just direct me to a status quo, more or less backup my so-called ruling, I guess. Number 2 is to have another Public Hearing. De Weerd: Well, I think status quo has been shown, in particular with Wingate, is if something needs to change on the original findings, it needs to go back through the process and so your original finding should stand, unless they want to come back and re-apply or at least challenge that one condition and that would have to go through the public process. Meridian City Council Meeting July 8, 2003 Page 5 of 58 Watson: Okay. Corrie: Any other comments, Council? Nary: Mr. Mayor? Corrie: Mr. Nary. Nary: Yes. I guess, Brad, Iwas -- one thing I guess I didn't hear, but I wanted to be clear, is that when -- what I thought you were saying or what I guess I understood is there is sometimes in this Preliminary Plat stage that some of these things change to a slight degree. I think what I was understanding you saying is this is much more than that, this is a significant change from what was originally contemplated and you have made a decision as the city engineer not to approve those changes without either our input or another Public Hearing. Is that right? Watson: That's absolutely correct, Councilman Nary. Nary: And I guess I would concur with both Councilman Bird and Council Member de Weerd, that, you know, if the applicant wants to -- wants us to re-hear it, then, they need to ask for that. Other than that, what you have decided is within your authority to do that and if they want us to reconsider it and have a Public Hearing to revise the Preliminary Plat, I think would be the process, to reconsider these issues, we can have a Public Hearing. I certainly am not ready to decide that they can't have it or that they can, I just think if you want to have a hearing, they can apply for it and request it and we will have a hearing. Corrie: Okay. Any other comments? McCandless: Mr. Mayor, I would concur. Powell: Mr. Mayor, Members of the Council, just to clarify, I believe what the city attorney is telling us these days is that if they do want to change any of those conditions of approval, they can request those changes through Final Plat process, but, then, we open up Final Plat to a hearing, rather than just to a meeting. Watson: And, Mr. Mayor, if I could just clarify on wasn't a specific condition in the Preliminary Plat. say they will coordinate sewer routing and sizing specific thing that can be overturned. last thing, is that this specific routing Those are boilerplate conditions that with Public Works staff. It's not a Corrie: Okay. Nary: But we are saying we agree with your authority to do it. If they are saying we don't agree with the City Engineer, then, they have got to come back here and ask us to do that. Meridian City Council Meeting July 8, 2003 Page 6 of 58 Watson: Correct. Thank you. I understand. Corrie: Thank you. Okay. Do you want to get the information from him? Is that what your -- what's your point of information going to be? Come up here, we need you on the record. Name and address, please. Liddell: I'm Russ Liddell, 1777 East Victory., on the corner -- southeast corner of Locust Grove and Victory. The point of information is a what if question, Your Honor, and that is should there be a request for a Public Hearing, what's the timing on that, and is that someway fast tracked or does that go through the normal process? Corrie: Goes through the process. Liddell: Two or three times and several months? Corrie: Just like the original and you will be notified of the Public Hearing, when it is, and the same time as we always do. It will be the same process. Liddell: Very Good. This was a significant change. Item 5. (Items Moved from Consent Agenda) Corrie: Okay. Thank you. Okay. There was no items moved from the Consent Agenda, so we are on Item 5, which is a - Item 6. Tabled from June 24, 2003: Ordinance No. Fence Variance Ordinance: Corrie: All right. On Number 6, is an ordinance for a fence Variance Ordinance and we have been asked to table that until the 15t" of July, so I will entertain a motion to do so. McCandless: Mr. Mayor? Corrie: Mr. McCandless. McCandless: I move that we move the ordinance -- the fence Variance Ordinance from tonight's agenda to July 15t" Nary: Second. Corrie: Okay. Motion has been made and seconded to table the fence Variance ordinance until 15t" of July. Any other discussion? Bird: Mr. Mayor, that was 2003, wasn't it? Corrie: Yes. I'm sorry. McCandless: Yes.