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HomeMy WebLinkAboutFindingsOFFICIALS WILLIAM G. BERG, JR., City Clerk JANICE L. SMITH, City Treasurer GARY D. SMITH, P.E., City Engineer BRUCE D. STUART, Water Works Supt. JOHN T SHAWCROFT, Waste Water Supt. DENNIS J. SUMMERS, Parks Supt. SHARI L. STILES, P & Z Administrator PATTY A. WOLFKIEL, DMV Supervisor KENNETH W. BOWERS, Fire Chief W.L. "BILL" GORDON, Police Chief WAYNE G. CROOKSTON, JR., Attorney • HUB OF TREASURE VALLEY COUNCIL MEMBERS A GOOd PIaCe t0 L1VC WALT W. MORROW, President RONALD R. TOLSMA ERIDIAN EE O ~ CITY OF M NTLEY GLENN R. BE 33 EAST IDAHO MERIDIAN, IDAHO 83642 P & Z COMMISSION Phone (208) 888-4433 • FAX (208) 887-4813 JIM JOHNSON, Chairman Public WorksBuilding Department (208) 887-2211 MALCOLM MACCOY Motor Vehicle/Drivers License (208) 888-4443 KEITH BORUP RON MANNING ROBERT D. CORRIE BYRON SMITH Mayor TO: Mayor & Council FROM: Bruce Freckleton, Assistant to City En ineer ' Shari Stiles, P&Z Administrator DATE: July 30, 1997 SUBJECT: Re4uest for Variance of Performance Standards (Paving, Landscaping, Underground Sprinkling) at 536 S. Meridian Road by Beniton Construction Company The applicant is proposing to occupy the existing home on Meridian Road for use as an office. The property is directly east of Russ Johnson's rental center. The property, which will be impacted by the extension of Corporate Drive, is owned by First Security Bank. Once Meridian Road/Corporate Drive is rebuilt/extended, the existing access to this house will likely be eliminated as it will not meet Ada County Highway District policy. The bank apparently has no plans for the site for at least two years. If approved, the variance should be only for a set period of time, with review by the Council upon notice to the applicant. In effect, the variance would serve more as a conditional use permit. We offer the following comments for your consideration of approval of the variance. 1. The property is currently hooked up to City water. Sewer is not yet available to this site. Prior to Meridian Road being rebuilt, sewer will be extended south from the current location near Gem Street to Kentucky Fried Chicken to serve this property. The condition of the septic system is unknown. 2. Applicant shall comply with the public nuisance ordinance and keep all weeds mowedlremoved from property. 3. Cars backing onto Meridian Street will not be allowed. The applicant has indicated the existing driveway will be widened to facilitate a turnaround area. Mayor & Council July 30, 1997 Page 2 • 4. Although applicant is proposing to forego parking lot and other improvements, it would be desirable if, at a minimum, a parking pad could be constructed for 4-5 cars, as well as paving a minimum 30 feet into the driveway to prevent gravel from migrating into the roadway. 5. Staff suggests that any signage should be attached to the home (i. e. , wall sign) and approved by the Planning & Zoning Department prior to construction. 6. The. project site is located in a C-G zone, which allows professional and sales offices as a permitted use. 7. Meridian Road is designated as an entrance corridor of .the City in the Meridian Comprehensive Plan. Landscape setbacks are encouraged along these corridors.. Rather than having a vacant house, it would be preferable to have some occupancy of the site if only for maintenance purposes. 8. The City should require that additional needed right-of way be dedicated prior to occupancy of the building, at least on Meridian Road. Confirmation of the dedication (recorded warranty deed) shall be submitted to the City. 9. A certificate of occupancy is required prior to using the building for office use. This occupancy would involve inspections by the Building Department, Fire Department, and planning & Zoning Department. Requirements of the Uniform Building Code and Uniform Fire Code will need to be addressed as to adequacy of the existing structure for commercial use. 10. A screened trash enclosure is to be provided per City Ordinance. Coordinate dumpster site locations with the City's solid waste contractor, Sanitary Services, Inc. Locate dumpsters so as not to impede fire access: 11. Applicant shall supply the Public Works Department with anticipated sewer and water usage for analysis in determining whether additional assessment fees should be charged. Assessment fees will be determined during the plan review process. A re-assessment agreement will be entered into with the Applicant prior to issuance of a certificate of occupancy. c:~Nnr noc~urrs~arxrt~ox.vnx.noc MERIDIAN CITY COUNCIL MEETING: August 5 1997 APPLICANT: Beniton Construction Co. ITEM NUMBER: 10 REQUEST• Request for avariance AGENCY CITY CLERK: CITY ENGINEER: CITY PLANNING DIRECTOR: CITY ATTORNEY: CITY POLICE DEPT: CITY FIRE DEPT: CITY BUILDING DEPT: MERIDIAN SCHOOL DISTRICT: MERIDIAN POST OFFICE: ADA COUNTY HIGHWAY DISTRICT: ADA COUNTY STREET NAME COMMITTEE: CENTRAL DISTRICT HEALTH: NAMPA MERIDIAN IRRIGATION: SETTLERS IRRIGATION: IDAHO POWER: US WEST: INTERMOUNTAIN GAS: BUREAU OF RECLAMATION: COMMENTS SEE ATTACHED COMMENTS SEE ATTACHED COMMENTS "REVIEWED" SEE ATTACHED COMMENTS L~;t-~ ~. ~~~ ~~ SEE ATTACHED COMMENTS SEE ATTACHED COMMENTS OTHER: All Materials presented at public meetings shall become property of the City of Meridian. • • BEFORE THE MERIDIAN CITY COUNCIL APPLICATION OF BENITON CONSTRUCTION COMPANY FOR A VARIANCS FROM FETING MOST OF THE IMPROVEMENT ORDINANCES AMENDED FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS The above entitled variance request having come on for hearing on August 5, 1997, at approximately 7:30 o'clock p.m. on said date, at the Meridian City Hall, 33 East Idaho Street, Meridian, Idaho, Douglas A. Nichols appearing for the Applicant, and the City Council having heard and taken oral testimony, the City Council of the City of Meridian makes the following:, FINDINGS OF FACT A. That notice of the public hearing on the variance was published for two consecutive weeks prior to the scheduled hearing for August 5, 1997, the first publication of which was fifteen (15 ) days prior to said hearing; that the matter was duly considered at the August 5, 1997, hearing; that copies of all notices were available to newspaper, radio and television stations. B. That notice of public hearing is required to be sent to property owners within 300 feet of the external boundaries of the land being considered pursuant to 11-2-416 E., 11-2-419 D., and 11- 9-612 B. l.b. of the Revised and Compiled Ordinances of the City of Meridian; that this requirement has been met. C. That-the property is owned by First Security Bank; that the Applicant is Beniton Construction Company. BENITON COMPANY - FACTS AND CONCLUSIONS Pac:a 17ege - 1 • D. That the property is zoned C-G, General Retail and Service Commercial, pursuant to the Zoning Ordinance; that the Zoning Ordinance requires many improvements to be made to property prior to it being used in any fashion, including paving, providing parking and lighting, meeting setbacks, landscaping, connecting to sewer and water,, and meeting many other requirements of the Ordinances of the City of Meridian. E. That the Applicant has requested that it be granted variances from meeting almost all of the City Ordinances because Applicant asserts that the house located on the property is likely to be demolished within two years because it may be directly in the path of the extension of Corporate Drive and therefore it does not make any sense to put the improvements in when they will likely have to be removed in a short period of time. F. That Doug Nichols, representing the Applicant, testified as follows: That his company is temporarily occupying the home on the property and the land; that most of the front yard and. the side yard will be taken by the Ada County Highway District (ACHD) when Corporate Drive is extended; that his company is on a month-to-month lease while occupying the home; that his company has no objections to side agreements and that they will pave and put in a parking lot. G. In the Application the Applicant represented, basically as follows: That the Company plans to use the property as a temporary location for their office. The office would have two to three people working there on a full time basis with a primary function of bidding projects and office type functions. There would be occasional subcontractors using the facility to view plans. There were no plans to use the facility as yard and $ENITON COMPANY - FACTS AND CONCLUSIONS Rage Macs - 2 • there would be no equipment parked at the property. The Company plans to improve -and maintain the property by replacing dead shrubs and performing landscape maintenance. It further stated that no construction is planned and only minor improvements to the building such as painting and floor covering. That First Security Bank owns the property and it is not a residential landlord and chose not to have anyone live there. That the Bank has no immediate plans for the property and has a choice of leaving the house vacant with minimal maintenance or leasing it to the Company on a month-to-month basis to have someone maintain the property. Current requirements call for a paved drive and parking area. The site has a compacted gravel driveway and parking area. The property is well landscaped, but has not automatic irrigation system. ACHD is planning a major road extension of Corporate Drive and a remodel of the intersection of Corporate Drive and Meridian Road this fall and they are thinking about taking a great deal of the property. That if the Bank decided to start. remodeling the property it would be two years before construction could start. Beniton is not adverse to improving the site, but is reluctant to install asphalt paving, irrigation and landscaping at this time, only to have it torn out by ACHD, and then having to re-install it. We would like to wait and see what impact ACRD will have on the property and address these items at that time. Beniton will strive to keep the property as attractive as possible. Immediate upgrades to the property include the removal and replacement of the dead shrubs, weed control and widening the driveway so vehicles can turn around on the site without having to back onto the street. H. That the Planning and Zoning Administrator, Shari Stiles, and Assistant to the City Bngineer, Bruce Freckleton, commented on the proposed variance and their comments are incorporated herein as if set forth in full; however some of their comments were as follows: 1. The property is connected to City water and sewer is not available. BENITON COMPANY - FACTS AND CONCLUSIONS ~ ~=3 ~J 2. The public nuisance Ordinance must be met and all weeds mowed and removed. 3. No vehicles will be allowed to back onto Meridian Road. 4. It would be desireable to have a parking pad constructed and paving a minimum of 30 feet into the driveway. 5. Signage would be attached to the home and approved by the Planning and Zoning Department. 6. That it would be preferable to have the home occupied for maintenance purposes. 7. A Certificate of. Occupancy must be obtained. prior to using the building for office use and all requirements of the uniform Building Code and Uniform Fire Code must be addressed. 8. A screened trash enclosure must be provided. 9. The Applicant must supply the Public Works Department with anticipated sewer and water usage. I. That no people appeared at the hearing objecting to the variance application. CONCLUSIONS J. That all the procedural requirements of the Local Planning Act and of the Ordinances of the City of Meridian have been met including the mailing of the Application to owners of property within 300 feet of the external boundaries of the Applicant's property. R. That the City has authority to grant variances pursuant to Section 11-2-419 of the Zoning Ordinance and pursuant to Section 11-9-612 of the Development Ordinances. L. That the City Council has judged this application by the guidelines, standards, criteria, and policies contained in the BSNITON COMPANY - FACTS AND CONCLUSIONS ~ pegs - 4 • Subdivision and Development Ordinance and upon the record submitted to it and the things upon which it may take judicial notice. M. That the Council may take judicial notice of its own proceedings, those of the. Planning and Zoning Commission, governmental statutes, ordinances, and policies, and of actual conditions existing within the City and the State. N. That the following provision of Section 11-2-419 A, of the Zoning Ordinance, is noted which is pertinent to the Application: 11-2-419 A. The Council may authorize in specific cases a variance from the terms of this Ordinance or from the Subdivision and Development Ordinances as will not be contrary to the public interest where, owing to special conditions, a literal enforcement of the provisions of this Ordinance would result in unnecessary hardship. No non-conforming use of neighboring lands, structures or buildings in the same district and no permitted or non-conforming use of lands, structures or buildings in other districts shall be considered grounds for issuance of a variance. Variances shall be granted only where strict application of the provisions of this Ordinance would result in unnecessary hardship. A variance application does not go to the Commission unless directed by the Council. 0. That the specific requirements regarding a variance that must be evidenced and found by the City Council are as follows: 11-2-419 C. FINDINQhS A variance shall not be granted unless (as a result of a public hearings the Council makes a statement of supportive reasons based directly on the evidence presented to it which supports conclusions that the mentioned standards and conditions of this Ordinance .have been met by the applicant and unless all of the following exist: BA'~tITON COMPANY - FACTS AND CONCLUSIONS Page ~aga - 5 • • 1. That there are such special circumstances or conditions affecting the property that the strict application of the provisions of this Ordinance would clearly be impracticable or unreasonable; 2. That strict compliance with the requirements of this Ordinance would result in extraordinary hardship to the owner, subdivider or developer because of unusual topography, other physical conditions or other conditions which are not self- inflicted, or that these conditions will result in inhibiting the achievements or the objectives of this Ordinance; 3. That the granting of the specified variance will not be detrimental to the public's welfare or injurious to other property in the area in which the property is situated; 4. That such variance will not have the effect of altering the interest and purpose of this Ordinance and the Meridian Comprehensive Plan. P. That.-there would be a specific benefit or profit, economic gain or convenience to the Applicant, if the Application was granted in that the Applicant would not have to meet the ordinance requirements which require improvements to property before it is occupied. Q. That regarding Section 11-2-419 C it is specifically concluded as follows: a. That there are special circumstances or conditions affecting the property that the strict application of the provisions of the set back Ordinance would clearly be unreasonable, in that it is likely the home located on the property make have to be destructed either by ACRD of First Security Bank and it was stated that that would likely be started within two years. b. That strict compliance with the improvement requirements would result in extraordinary hardship to the applicant, because any improvements Applicant placed on the property would be removed BSNITON COMPANY - FACTS AND CONCLUSIONS plate u~c:e - • within two years. c. That the granting. of the specified variances would not be detrimental to the public's welfare or injurious to other property in the- area- in which the property is situated since the Applicant indicated that it would maintain the property while waiting for the extension of Corporate Drive. d. That such variance would not have the effect of altering the interests and purposes of the improvement Ordinances of the City of Meridian. R. That in regard to the first paragraph of 11-2-419 A, which is quoted above, it is specifically noted that it states, in part, as follows: The Council may authorize in specific cases a variance from the terms of this Ordinance or from the Subdivision and Development Ordinances as will not be contrary to the public interest where, owing to special conditions, a literal enforcement of the provisions of this Ordinance would result in unnecessary hardship. S. That it is specifically concluded the Application for a variance should be granted because if-the improvement Ordinances were enforced at this time it is very likely that the property would not be improved and go into a worse condition than it is now. Since the property is on an entryway into the City it is much better to grant the variances than to allow the property to not be maintained. T. The City has not granted any similar variance requests such as this one; each application must stand 'on its own merits and the granting of one variance is not a precedent for granting others. U. It is further concluded, however, that the variance once BENITON COMPANY - FACTS AND CONCLUSIONS ~1~ ~ • granted shall not run with the land and the City shall investigate the circumstances of the property two years, or sooner, from the date of August 19, 1997. At the time it is reinvestigated, the City may revoke the any variances granted based on this Application or it may continue them or change them in any fashion deemed to be in the best interests of the City. V. It is additionally concluded as follows: 1. The property be connected to City sewer as soon as it becomes available. 2. The public nuisance Ordinance shall be met and all weeds mowed and removed and consistently removed. 3. No vehicles-shall be allowed to back onto Meridian Road. 4. A parking pad shall be constructed and paving a minimum of 30 feet into the driveway. 5. Any signage shall be attached to the home and approved by the Planning and Zoning Department. 6. A Certificate of Occupancy shall be obtained prior to using the building for any use and all requirements of the uniform Building Code and Uniform Fire Code must be addressed. 7. A screened trash enclosure shall be provided. 8. The Applicant must supply the Public Works Department with anticipated sewer and water usage. W. It is finally concluded that the Applicant and the City Building and Planning and Zoning Departments shall reach an agreement as to what improvement Ordinances the Applicant shall not be required to meet and which ones it must meet for the time period mentioned herein following these Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law. BENITON COMPANY - FACTS AND CONCLUSIONS p~ p®g0 - $ • APPROVAL OF FINDINQS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS The City Council of the City of Meridian does hereby approve these Findings of Fact and Conclusions. ROLL CALL: COUNCILMAN MORROW COUNCILMAN BENTLEY COUNCILMAN ROUNTREE COUNCILMAN TOLSMA MAYOR CORRIE (TIE BREAKER) DECISION VOTED ~ VOTED VOTED VOTED VOTED, That it is decided the variances applied for are hereby granted, but the. Applicant shall meet these Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law. APPROVED: DISAPPROVED: SENITON COMPANY - FACTS AND CONCLUSIONS Page ~ - 9 • • MERIDIAN CITY COUNCIL MEETING: Aua4st 19 1997 APPLICANT: BENITON CONSTRUCTION ITEM NUMBER: 7 REQUEST• FINDINa3 OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW FOR VARIANCE REQUEST AGENCY CITY CLERK: CITY ENGINEER: CITY PLANNING DIRECTOR: CITY ATTORNEY: CITY POLICE DEPT: CITY FIRE DEPT: CITY BUILDING DEPT: MERIDIAN SCHOOL DISTRICT: MERIDIAN POST OFFICE: ADA COUNTY HIGHWAY DISTRICT: ADA COUNTY STREET NAME COMMITTEE: CENTRAL DISTRICT HEALTH: NAMPA MERIDIAN IRRIGATION.: SETTLERS IRRIGATION: IDAHO POWER: US WEST: INTERMOUNTAIN GAS: BUREAU OF RECLAMATION: COMMENTS ~~~~ Y~~ "Y OTHER: All Materials presented at public meetings shall become property of the City of Meridian.