MinutesMeridian City Council Meeting•
September 5, 2000
Page 49
Anderson: I would make a motion to continue the public hearing on the request
for the variance for the reduction of landscaping requirements by Seven Gates
until 9/13 at 6:30 p.m.
Bird: Second.
Corrie: Motion made and seconded to continue the public hearing on Item 26
until 9/13 at 6:30 p.m. Any further discussion? Hearing none, all those in favor
of the motion say aye.
MOTION CARRIED: TWO AYES, TWO ABSENT
Item 27. Public Hearing: VAR 00-019 Request for variance of the
required size and number of trees from 37 three-inch Caliper trees
to 27 two-inch Caliper trees for The Bower Street, LLC -
southwest corner of Bower Street and East 5th Street:
Corrie: Item No. 27 is a public hearing. I will open the public hearing and
request that -
*** End of Side 3 **
Corrie: -- to 9/13 at 6:30 p.m.
Bird: Mr. Mayor.
Corrie: Mr. Bird.
Bird: I move that we continue the public hearing VAR 00-019, Request for
variance in required size and number of trees from 37 3-inch caliper trees to 27
2-inch caliper trees by the Bower Street, LLC until September 13, 2000 with
meetings starting at 6:30.
Anderson: Second.
Corrie: Motion made and seconded to continue the public hearing on the Bower
Street, LLC -request for variance until 9/13/2000 starting at 6:30 p.m. All those
in favor of the motion say aye.
MOTION CARRIED: TWO AYES, TWO ABSENT.
Item 28. Public Hearing: Registration fees for new fall recreation classes
offered through the Meridian Parks and Recreation Department:
Corrie: We are going to hear the 28?
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Meridian City Council Meeting
i September 13, 2000
Page 20
three-inch caliper trees. As a policy, if the applicant can demonstrate to us that
they have looked high and low and no three-inch caliper trees are to be found,
we have allowed them to reduce it to two-inch caliper trees if they meet 110
percent of the total caliper-inch requirement on the site if they were three inches,
which roughly doubles the number of trees. I don't see that as a possibility here,
so that policy wouldn't help them at all. The ordinance is 1 three-inch caliper tree
per 1500 square feet. That is the recommendation that is made on all current
applications.
Corrie: Mr. Attorney, I think we're going to have to have a cut somewhere and
we might as well cut it right as soon as we have the landscaping ordinance if it
goes through. It'll be cut and then the others will go to be a two. Personally, I
would say somebody is going to get it. Mrs. de Weerd, that doesn't answer your
question.
Nichols: Mayor, members of the Council. What I would say then, is the
ordinance now requires three-inch. If it's impossible to find three-inch, then I
guess there's another variance application. I don't propose that to Mr. Dane just
to make him jump through some other hoops. The Planning and Zoning
Commission has looked at the Landscape Ordinance so it's had its hearing there.
We have the Landscape Ordinance for public hearing here tonight and I would
expect that some action will be taken on that in the near future.
De Weerd: How does that affect existing applications, though?
Nichols: The way the existing ordinance is if it requires three-inch, then that's
what the existing applications have to meet it.
Siddoway: In the Findings of Facts and Conclusions of Law are specific to three-
inch and if they're Conifers, six to eight feet.
De Weerd: Thank you.
Siddoway: If they want to change that, I guess they'll need to reapply.
Item 3. Continued Public Hearing: VQR 00-019 Request fora variance
of the required size and number of trees from 37 three-inch Caliper
trees to 27 two-inch Caliper Trees for The Bower Street, LLC -
southwest corner of Bower Street and East 5~' Street:
Corrie: Item No. 3 is a continued public hearing -request for a variance of the
required size and number of trees from 37 three-inch caliper trees to 27 two-inch
caliper trees for The Bower Street, LLC -southwest corner of Bower Street and
5th Street. So I will open the continued public hearing with staff comments.
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Meridian City Council Meeting
September 13, 2000 • ,
Page 21
Siddoway: Mr. Mayor and members of the Council. This also is a variance on
the Landscape Ordinance. The location of this is at the extension of Bower
Avenue where it intersects with East 5th. There are two lots in this location right
here that are the subject parcels of this variance. Unlike the variance that we just
considered, this variance does have hardship that was not required by the
applicant. There are Nampa Meridian Irrigation District easements on the north
and west sides of the property. Just the west side? Oh, that's right. Mr. Morrow
has presented a landscape plan which staff feels does maximize the landscaping
on three sides. He is not able to add additional landscaping along this side due
to the easement. He has requested a reduction from 37 to 27 trees and also
reduction from the three-inch requirement down to a two-inch caliper
requirement. You have the staff comments prepared by Brad Hawkins-Clark and
Shari Stiles dated September 1, 2000. We see that this is a clearer case of
hardship and we can support this one, so we recommend approval of this
variance with the comments noted in the staff report.
Corrie: Steve, just for correction. You said 37 to 27. I think it was 37 to 25. Is
that correct?
Siddoway: Is it? I'm just reading off the transmittal. It says 27 on the transmittal,
so I'll have the applicant clarify that.
Corrie: Okay. Is the applicant here?
Morrow: Walt Morrow, 2340 West Franklin Road, Meridian. I'm here
representing the Bower Street, LLC. The request that you have before you is a
variance from 37 - 25. If you will look at your application summary, the bottom
line in parenthesis, states from 37 -25 and in size from three-inch to two-inch
caliper. I want to address the issue of the three-inch to two-inch caliper first.
When I became aware of a potential shortage of three-inch caliper trees, I spoke
directly with my landscaper, Mr. Loring Evans, who is here tonight as a
representative of Montgomery Landscaping. He indicated to me that those trees
were difficult to get. At the same time, we are just completing a residence in
Highland Woods for Jim Dallas. Jim Dallas is a co-owner of Baxter Nursery.
Some of you that have been in Meridian for any length of time will recognize that
Baxter Nursery formerly was on Black Cat Road and the ground now is covered
by the golf course and by Ashford Greens. Baxter Nursery moved to Emmett
when we started the Dallas' home. I toured Baxter Nursery. It's a 240-acre site.
In terms of trees, they grow only deciduous trees. They eliminated Conifers. I
spoke directly with Jim concerning the three-inch issue. The reality of the three-
inch issue is that they know longer produce three-inch caliper trees. It takes one
year to grow a tree from atwo-inch caliper tree to a three-inch caliper tree and
the net return to them is $20. Therefore, they eliminated three-inch caliper trees.
Baxter Nursery is a major supplier of trees in the Pacific Northwest. So this
amounts to a no-brainer. There should be no increase in two-inch trees required
to offset three-inch trees. Two-inch trees would grow to three-inch trees on site
~ Meridian City Council Meeting •
September 13, 2000
Page 23
De Weerd: Second.
Corrie: Motion made and seconded to close the public hearing on a request for
variance on Item No. 3. All those in favor of the motion say aye.
MOTION CARRIED: THREE AYES, ONE ABSENT.
De Weerd: Mr. Mayor.
Corrie: Mrs. de Weerd.
De Weerd: I move that we instruct the City Attorney to prepare Findings of Facts
and Conclusions of Law and Decision of Order to approve the request for a
variance of the required size and number of trees from 37 three-inch caliper to 25
two-inch caliper trees for the Bower Street, LLC.
Bird: Second.
Corrie: Motion made and seconded to have the attorney draw up the Findings of
Facts and Conclusions of Law to approve the request on the variance 00-019.
De Weerd: And to include staff comments -sorry.
Corrie: With staff comments: Any further discussion? Hearing none. Roll-call
vote please.
Roll-call: Bird, aye; De Weerd, aye; Anderson, aye, McCandless, absent.
MOTION CARRIED: THREE AYES, ONE ABSENT.
Item 4. Continued Public Hearing: Proposed change to the Notice of
Mailing Ordinance by the City of Meridian:
Corrie: Okay. Item No. 4 is a continued public hearing. This is a proposed
change to the notice of mailing ordinance by the City of Meridian. I'll open the
continued public hearing. Is there anyone from the City that wants to say
anything on this? Do you have anything on this -probably the City Clerk but -
De Weerd: Probably the City Clerk and Planning and Zoning.
Corrie: Is there anything you want to say on this one?
Siddoway: The Notice of Mailing Ordinance?
Corrie: Yes.