HomeMy WebLinkAboutStaff CommentsHUB OF7ftF-ASURE ~ALLEP
MAYOR A Good Place to Live
Robe D. G~;e CITY OF MERIDIAN
CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS
William LM. Nary
Keith B'vd
Tammy deWeerd
Cherie McCandless
STAFF REPORT:
To:
From:
Re:
33 EAST IDAHO
MERIDIAN, IDAHO 83642
Oity)C Jerk Office Fax (208) 88 4218
Mayor & City Council c~~
Sonya Allen, Assistant City Planner u
,IAN 0 S 2094
City Clf 1~leridian
City Clerk Office
Request for a Variance to Record Heartwood Subdivision Final Plat by Pinnacle
Engineers, Inc. (File # VAR-03-020)
T,..,..r.uv .e. RefTCrROUNTI
A_PPLICAI~v ' Su,.u•..~
The Applicant, Pinnacle Engineers, Inc., is requesting a variance from Meridian City Code (MCC) 12-
3-8, "Approval of Final Plat", which requires subdividers to file approved Final Plats with the Ada
County Recorder within one year of City Council approval of the Final Plat application. The reason for
the delay in recording the final plat as stated in the application is that the owner has been unable to find
a prospective tenam until now. If approved, this would he the second one-year time extension granted
to Heartwood Subdivision.
The original Heartwood Subdivision Preliminary~2~ llOn November 2, 2002aas peormitted by acres
and was approved by City Council on Octoberoved for filing the final plat with the Ada County
MCC 12-3-8.B, a one year extension was app
Recorder. That extension expired on November 12, 2003. The applicant is now filing for a variance to
allow another time extension.
Based on these facts and the findings listed below, Staff is recommending denial of the variance
request.
LOCATION & ZONING
The subject property is located on the north-west corner ~ ~ Light Industrial (I-L) 10t1i Street West,
in the SW'/4 of Section 12, T.3N., R1W. The property g
r~FnitmFn FINDINGS
According to Ordinance 12-11-2, Variance FindrS bdivision Ordinance. Spec fically, thefOrdinance
variance from the terms of either the Zoning
lists the following Findings, all of which must be detemuned before granting a variance:
LEGAL DEPARTMENT
(208)288.2499 •Fax 288-2501
PUBLIC WORKS
BUILDING DEPARTMENT
(208) 887-2211 • Fax 887-1297
PLANNING AND ZONING
DEPARTMENT
(208) 884-5533 ~ FAX 8886854
~1 ~T13 20T0~4,
Heg~a\~1 Y ~!~'
VAR-03-020
BeaRwood TE.var
Mayor and Council
Hearing Date: January 13, 2004
Page 2
A. That there are such special circumstances or conditions affecting the property that
the strict application of the provisions of this Title would clearly be impracticable
or unreasonable. In such cases, the subdivider shall first state his reasons in
writing as to the specific provision or requireroent involved;
The Applicant states that delays in finding a buyer for the land have prevented them
from commencing the project within the established timeframe. This is the only special
circumstance that was cited in the application.
Staff does not find that the reason cited above makes the required submission of a time
extension request impracticable and unreasonable. The economic conditions of the last
few years are not unique to this property or owner. The Council should rely on further
explanation from the applicant to determine if there are other special circumstances that
affect this property in a manner that would make strict application of MCC12-3-6A or B
unreasonable.
B. That strict compliance with the requirements of this Title would result in
extraordinary hardship to the owner, subdivider or developer because of unusual
topography, the nature or condition of adjacent development, other physical
conditions or other conditions that make strict compliance with this Title
unreasonable under the circumstances, or that the conditions and requirements of
this Title will result in inhibiting the achievements or the objectives of this Title;
Staff finds that strict compliance with the requirements of this Title are not due to
unusual topography, adjacent development, or other physical conditions of the site.
Council shall determine if there aze other conditions that make strict compliance with
this Title unreasonable, or that compliance with the Ordinance will inhibit the
achievements or objectives of this Title. One objective of Title 12 (Subdivision
Ordinance) is to ensure that plats are recorded in a consistent and reasonably predictable
timeframe and to follow the requiremerns of Idaho Code. It could be argued that the
City has more assurance of this plat being recorded and the development proceeding if
this Variance is approved. Even so, Staff cannot find that such a vaziance would justify
granting a second time extension for a plat to record.
C. That the granting of the specified variance will not be detrimepntapl trtythe public's
welfare or injurious to other property in the area in which the roe rs situated;
Staff finds that the requested variance will not necessarily be detrimental or injurious to
the public's welfare or to the other properties in the area as long as current ordinances
are met at the time of building permit for all lots within the subdivision.
The City Council should rely upon any public testimony offered concerning whether or
not the surrounding property owners feel that the requested variance will affect their
properties.
VARA3-018
Olsen Bush li 1'E.var
Mayor and Council
Hearing Date: January 13, 2004
Page 3
D. That auch variance will not violate the provisions of the Idaho Code.
Staff is unaware of provisions of Idaho Code that would be violated by the issuance of
the requested variance.
E. That such variance will not have the effect of altering the interest and purpose of
this Title and the Meridian Comprehensive Plan.
Staff finds that the issuance of a variance for this project will not directly alter the
interest and purpose of the Meridian City Subdivision Ordinance, which is intended to
ensure orderly development occurs within the established timeframe. The Applicant has
stated they intend to record the subdivision.
RECOMMENDATION
As noted in the Summary above, Staff does not believe the required findings can technically be met for
this Variance application. Therefore, we recommend denial of the request. That being said, since
January 2000, the City Council has approved eleven (11) similar applications for either the one-yeaz
final plat submittal or the one-yeaz recordation requirement.
If the City Council denies the variance request, the Applicarn will be required to ro-submit the
Preliminary/Final Plat application. An approval will allow the Applicarn to proceed with obtaining the
required plat signatures and begin making the required improvements. If approved, the applicant has
requested the plat recording deadline be extended to one-year from the date of approval if possible but
will attempt to get it completed sooner than that.
VAR-03A18
Olsar Hush II TE.var