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Council Minutes 10/17/2002 CITY OF AMMON October 17, 2002 Minutes of the Regular Meeting of the Mayor and City Council: The meeting was called to order by Mayor C. Bruce Ard at 7:40 p.m. in the City Building, 2135 South Ammon Road, Ammon, Idaho, with the following City Officials present: Mayor C. Bruce Ard Council member Karen Y. Anderson Council member Leslie Folsom Councilmember Randy Waite Attorney Scott Hall Engineer Bill Manwill City Administrator Bruce Rose Public Works Director David Wadsworth Fire Chief Clarence Nelson Tom Hunsaker, Planning and Zoning Commission Aleen C. Jensen, City Clerk Others Present: K. Peterson G. Peterson (Boy Scout) Dana Kirkham, 2395 South Fieldstone Court, Ammon George McDaniel, Quail Ridge Developer Alan Cunningham, Mountain River Engineering Lynne and Ethan (Boy Scout) Thompson, 3025 Wimbledon Circle, Ammon Absent: Councilmember W. Lee Bean Council member Folsom led the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag and Council member Waite offered a prayer. The first item of business was a request from the developers of Eagle Pointe for a power line easement from the City of Ammon. Alan Cunningham of Mountain River Engineering explained the plan to route the power for Division No. 4 requires an easement along a piece of the park and along Lot 3, Block 4 of Eagle Point Division No.4. Homestead Construction grants the easement along the lot and City of Ammon grants the park easement. A drawing from PacificCorp was presented to show the location of the proposed power line. Attorney Scott Hall was asked to review the Deed of Easement and Engineer Manwill was asked to check the legal description. Councilmember Folsom asked that the easement agreement provide for restoration of the grass area. City of Idaho Falls approved the Improvement Drawings for Eagle Pointe Division No.4 contingent upon an upgrade to the Ross Avenue sewer lift station prior City Council Meeting, October 17, 2002 - Page 2 to issuing any certificates of occupancy. Alan Cunningham asked when the City anticipates upgrading the sewer lift station. The Fiscal Year 2003 budget includes $150,000 for the upgrade. A few homes in Division NO.4 will not put the sewer over capacity, but City of Idaho Falls wants to make sure City of Ammon is proceeding with the upgrade. The plans are to put in larger pumps. That does not complete the upgrade. Future development will require another outfall line to complete the upgrade. We are just over half of the total capacity of the lift station, and it is good to have a gap on one pump before the other pump has to kick in. The Idaho Falls Sewer Department is trying for standby power, and it is a good idea. The City Council requested some sewer cost estimates for the next meeting. George McDaniel, 2420 South 60th East, gave a progress report on The Cottages and the new well (No.9 - Bit Q'Heaven). The roads in The Cottages are paved. The patching has not been done, but Thompson Paving is committed to complete the patching. George brought a Commitment for Title Insurance on the well lot. There will not be a closing. The plans are to deed the lot to the City. The developers will provide the City with lien waivers from all the contractors. Public Works Director Wadsworth explained the time frame on the well. As soon as the water tests come back, the system is ready to flush. The pump test sounded good. The well should be totally operational next week. However, plans are to leave it with only one booster for about a month to make sure all the "bugs" are worked out. Then the booster pump will be switched up from below. Attorney Scott Hall read from the protective covenants on the well lot regarding use of land. The covenants run for a period of thirty (30) years. "None of said land or any fraction thereof shall be improved, used, or occupied for any purpose except for private residence." The developer was asked to exclude the well lot from all restrictive covenants. The City should request a gas line for the well. The lot is sizeable and will require developing and landscaping. The City is responsible for improvements to the lot. George McDaniel and Brad Pickett are working together on The Cottages. Brad does not have any involvement with Quail Ridge. The Development Agreement specifies sidewalks to be four (4) feet; there has been mention of sidewalks to be five (5) feet; and some contractors have put in sidewalks of three feet six inches (3'6"). George asked that we all be in agreement on the sidewalk requirements. Scott Hall added that the Development Agreement provided the sidewalks would go in. The Development Agreement is between the developer and the City. Therefore, the City looks at the sidewalks as being the obligation of the developer. If the developer wants to pass the obligation on to the homeowner, he can but ultimately the agreement has to be complied with. George McDaniel stated he was willing to comply, but he needed clarification of the specifications. Sidewalk problems were discussed. The developer is City Council Meeting, October 17, 2002 - Page 3 responsible in The Cottages to make the sidewalks match up and to comply with the improvement drawings, which specify sidewalks of four (4) feet in width. Dana Kirkham, 2395 South Fieldstone Court, expressed concern that there is no documentation for development in The Cottages Division No.2. There is a Development Agreement, but it has not been signed. Attorney Scott Hall reminded that the motion passed by the City Council on October 3 prohibits issuance of any more building permits until the Development Agreement has been signed and recorded. Dana reported they had received the letter to notify about no building permits. She wondered about the status of the conditions stated in the motion. A Development Agreement was supposed to be in place, the roads were to be patched and finished, and there was to be a Performance Bond. Council member Anderson read the motion from the minutes. There was a discussion about the Performance Bond requirement and when the ban on building permits could or should be lifted. Councilmember Folsom moved, regarding the Performance Bond stated in the October 3 meeting, it is clarified to state the Performance Bond will be required for any future divisions that the developer presents to the City and it will not be required in the divisions already approved. Councilmember Waite seconded the motion. Roll call vote: Folsom - Yes; Waite - Yes; Anderson - Yes. The motion carried. Council member Folsom moved, as long as the Development Agreements have been signed, approved and recorded and all the repairs are made, that at that time the City Council authorizes City Administrator Bruce Rose to start issuing building permits in the two divisions of The Cottages. Councilmember Anderson seconded the motion. Roll call vote: Folsom - Yes; Anderson - Yes; Waite - Yes. The motion carried. Dana Kirkham asked if the Council was amending the subdivision ordinance to specify something about the sidewalks that are not five feet. The Planning and Zoning Commission will have to be involved with changing the ordinance, and they have already been alerted to the problem. The written record is all that matters. The ordinance and the Development Agreement for The Cottages do not match up. Ammon is really growing and our ordinances need to be in place. Mayor Ard said we are considering the requirement that sidewalks that back up to curb and gutter are five (5) feet and the sidewalks that do not back up are four (4) feet. The City Council motion, which stopped the issuance of building permits in The Cottages, has not been recorded. Since the developers are working toward complying with the conditions of the motion, it was recommended to hold recording the motion temporarily to see what happens. City Council Meeting, October 17, 2002 - Page 4 Chairman Tom Hunsaker reported on the Planning and Zoning Commission work meeting to consider zoning ordinance revisions. Before reporting on the revisions, Tom provided the City Council with a little advance information. There are six lots in Quail Ridge Division No. 3 where the protective covenants allow horses. However, the zoning on these lots does not allow horses. The owners of these lots plan to come to the City to request an animal overlay (OL-6). Bill Manwill, Ron Folsom, Cindy Donovan, Doug Willden, and Tom Hunsaker met for a work session to consider a new zone to accommodate people who own larger lots and want to keep animals. The ideas from the work session will be presented to the full Commission at their next meeting. Their recommendation will be officially presented to the City Council. In the meantime, Tom discussed the ideas and asked the City Council to think about if this is what is wanted for Ammon. The area requirement of the RA (Residence Agriculture) Zone shall be not less than one (1) acre. The house and the landscaped area surrounding it shall be 12,500 square feet minimum. The lot width shall be one hundred twenty (120) feet. There shall be a front yard of not less than fifty (50) feet. There shall be a side yard on each side of not less than twenty (20) feet for all buildings. There shall be a rear yard of not less than twenty-five (25) feet. The zone should be city quality with agriculture possibilities. The ground floor area of a single-family dwelling shall not be less than 1500 square feet. No building shall be greater than two (2) stories. The City Council debated the height footage. Fire Chief Nelson agreed to check out some buildings and provide information on height requirements. The Commission also recommended changes to the animal ordinance because it controls Overlay 6 and the new zone. The first recommendation is one (1) large animal and twenty-five (25) fowl for 20,000 square feet. The second recommendation is to exclude 12,500 for the house and landscaping. The third recommendation is no more animal overlay (OL-6). If an owner wants animals, he must go with the new RA zone. No more OL-6 would be granted to anyone. The Bonneville County ordinance states that any corral, barn, or similar animal building has to be (a) at least one hundred (100) feet away from any building occupied by humans. This is also part of our existing animal ordinance. The second half of what the County ordinance states (b)" and the building must be at least fifty (50) feet back from the property line." Ammon dropped the second half of the County ordinance. The recommendation was to get more lenient and go with twenty (20) feet from the side of the property, twenty-five (25) feet backyard, and fifty (50) feet from the front property line. The one hundred (100) feet from the neighbor's property would be dropped. City Council Meeting, October 17, 2002 - Page 5 The last thing brought up was what are the permitted uses in the RA Zone. The thinking of the Commission was that the RA Zone should be restricted to the same level as to what you can do on the land zoned as R-1. The whole Planning and Zoning Commission needs to understand and approve of the changes. Councilmember Anderson questioned why drop the OL-6. It does not have to be approved, but we do not have to make it so it can not be approved. There was a discussion on the revisions being considered and how they apply to existing properties. The Planning and Zoning Commission is required to hold a public hearing on the proposed changes. The earliest the hearing can be scheduled is for their December meeting. Council member Folsom moved to grant an underground utility easement to Homestead Construction for the Eagle Pointe addition along the park with the agreement that any utilities going through will have to put the land back to the original condition. Councilmember Waite seconded the motion. Roll call vote: Folsom - Yes; Waite - Yes; Anderson - Yes. The motion carried. City Administrator Bruce Rose asked what kind of a report the City Council wanted from him at the City Council meetings. The Public Works Department and the Parks Department do not need to report at Council meeting. The City Council would like an update on procedure areas and anything the Council needs to be made aware of. Chief Nelson reported on the Fire Department. There was a problem responding to a fire call at the new Wal-Mart because they could not access the property. On October 15, 2002, at 2:01 a.m. the following was faxed to Chief Nelson from dispatch: "Dispatch needs the following information to provide service to the new Wal-Mart construction site. A physical address, responsible party information at least 2 names, and which way emergency services can make entry to the property without cutting locks. We have had several incidents in the past few months and have had a difficult time in locating the correct persons information. Thank you for your assistance in this matter." On October 14, 2002, at 3:46 a.m. another fax was sent with the following note: "Greg Anderson called and gave us all of the above needed information. So you can disregard. Thanks for your help." Fire Marshal Bill Brotherson is working on details to eliminate future problems. Council member Anderson and Chief Nelson attended the presentation when the City of Rigby donated one of their fire trucks to the City of Ammon. It was a good event. For insurance purposes, the truck should be valued the same as our older truck. On October 25 at 8:00 a.m. Wal-Mart plans to make a grant presentation to the Ammon Fire Department. City Council Meeting, October 17, 2002 - Page 6 Corey Heaton contacted Fire Chief Nelson to ask if the Department would like to burn down five houses and some big, tall trees. He and his father own the property between the eastside of Play It Again Sports and the westside of Rex's. They are renting the houses, but the cost of maintaining the houses is exceeding what the houses are worth. Heatons can realize more money if the property is developed commercially. The Idaho Falls Fire Department was invited to participate with Ammon, and it was decided to respond to the request as a training experience. The details need to be worked out. Heatons are not in a hurry, but they would like the houses to be gone by next summer. Council member Anderson reported on a meeting with a representative of State of Idaho Emergency Management. Emergency awareness has changed since the September 11 th incident. Bonneville County has an Emergency Management program, and City of Ammon has adopted the County Plan. The County is in the process of updating the Plan. According to the representative from the State the two most useful things would be a State Communications System and a Ham Radio Organization. The City Council may want to give some thought to emergency management. Council member Folsom explained that there is a problem with a section in the City Code regarding liquor licensing, and we need to amend it. It appears that we adopted the State regulations, but the State has changed their regulations. We need to get rid of the old language and replace it with the new State language. Basically the change will allow out-of-state owners to hold licenses and does not eliminate officers or employees of the State from applying for licenses. The changes will make our ordinance conform to the State licensing regulations. Councilmember Folsom moved to amend City Code 4-2-10 consistent with the document presented to the City Council, which contains the State language. Roll call vote: Folsom - Yes; Waite - Yes; Anderson - Yes. The motion carried. Attorney Hall will prepare an ordinance for the next City Council meeting. Mayor Ard asked how we are coming with Intermountain Gas and the patches to the streets. Public Works Director Wadsworth was asked to apply some pressure to get the patching done. Councilmember Folsom discussed sharing rides when attending City functions to eliminate paying for duplicate mileage. The Council agreed that when it is possible, we should share rides or split the mileage reimbursement to conserve on City travel and meeting expense. Councilmember Anderson moved to support Resolution No. 2003-03, RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF REVENUE SHARING FOR LOCAL City Council Meeting, October 17,2002 - Page 7 GOVERNMENTS, and recommended we forward a copy of it to our legislative representatives. Councilmember Folsom seconded the motion. Roll call vote: Anderson - Yes; Folsom - Yes; Waite - Yes. The motion carried. Council member Folsom moved to adopt Resolution No. 2003-02, RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF ACTION BY THE ATORNEY GENERAL AND STATE TAX COMMISSION TO RESTORE LOST GAS TAX REVENUES FROM INDIAN RESERVATIONS and recommend we forward a copy to the Attorney General. Council member Waite seconded the motion. Roll call vote: Folsom- Yes; Waite - Yes; Anderson - Abstain. The motion carried. Mayor Ard recommended that the Planning and Zoning Commission look at the sidewalk ordinance and consider requiring the sidewalks that set back from the edge of the street fou r (4) feet and the ones at the cu rb five (5) feet. Claims were approved. The City Clerk inquired about a bill for dues for Fiscal Year 2003 from the East Central Idaho Planning and Development Council in the amount of $1500. The Council was not aware of any dues and did not budget for ECIPD. City Administrator Rose agreed to check it out. Alan Cunningham requested the City Council to approve the OL-6 on Cottonwood Hills Estates Division No.1. The developer has generated covenants for their RP zone. The Planning and Zoning Commission recommended approval, and the City Council determined it was not necessary to have a second public hearing. Councilmember Anderson asked if there was an immediate need to take action. It seems inconsistent to grant the OL-6 under the old ordinance while we are considering a new RA zone, which includes provisions for keeping animals. There was a discussion on whether or not to take action. Alan Cunningham was concerned about the OL-6 going away because there are already pre-conditions that would require an OL-6. Councilmember Folsom moved to approve the OL-6 on Cottonwood Hills Estates Division NO.1. Council member Waite seconded the motion. Councilmember Folsom explained her reason for not holding up the developer. There are rules in place, and we need to change the law before we can enforce new laws. Mayor Ard said he did not see how we could do away with the OL-6. Roll call vote: Folsom - Yes; Waite - Yes; Anderson - No. The motion carried. Councilmember Folsom moved to adjourn the meeting, and Council member Waite seconded the motion. The meeting was adjourned. Attest: City Clerk Mayor