PLANNING COMMISSION
CITY OF ST. GEORGE
WASHINGTON COUNTY, UTAH
August 25, 2009 5:00 P.M.
PRESENT: Councilwoman Gloria Shakespeare
Commissioner Ross Taylor
Commissioner Julie Hullinger
Commissioner Ron Read
Commissioner Mike Nobis
Commissioner Kim Campbell
Commissioner Chapin Burks
CITY STAFF: Assistant City Attorney Joseph Farnsworth
Community Development Director Bob Nicholson
Planner II Ray Snyder
Senior Development Engineer Catherine Hasfurther
Secretary Gail Williams
ABSENT: Acting Chairman Ron Bracken
CALL TO ORDER
Commissioner Burks called the meeting to order and welcomed those in attendance. Commissioner Burks led the flag salute.
1. CONSENT ITEMS– FINAL PLATS
A. Consider approval of a final plat for “Silkwood Phase 3” with fifteen (15) single family lots. Located approximately at 2700 East and 3330 South on the North side of Crimson Ridge Drive and east side of Little Valley Road. The property is zoned R-1-10 (Single Family Residential 10,000 square foot minimum lot size). Mr. Roger Bundy, R&B Surveying, representative. Case No. 2009-FP-011.
Senior Development Engineer Catherine Hasfurther presented this plat. They can be taken as one motion.
This plat is for 15 single family homes.
All aspects of this Final Plat were carefully looked at and reviewed by Planning Department staff, Development Services Department staff and Legal Department staff and it meets all of the preliminary plat conditions and approvals. This Final Plat is ready for Planning Commission’s consideration for approval.
B. Consider approval of a final plat for “Park Central TH Phase 2” which is a 4 Unit (Townhome) residential subdivision plat. Located at 559 East 300 South, in between 200 South and 300 South and 500 East and 600 East. The property is zoned PD-RES (Planned Development Residential). Mr. Ried Pope, L.R. Pope Engineering is the representative. Case No. 2009-FP-013.
Senior Development Engineer Catherine Hasfurther presented this plat. They can be taken as one motion.
Ms. Hasfurther pointed out that these are single family dwellings and they are adding four units.
All aspects of this Final Plat were carefully looked at and reviewed by Planning Department staff, Development Services Department staff and Legal Department staff and it meets all of the preliminary plat conditions and approvals. This Final Plat is ready for Planning Commission’s consideration for approval.
Commissioner Nobis asked about the equestrian trail on the Silkwood plat, referencing Little Valley area, and asked if the trail system was abandoned, would the plat need to be amended.
Bob Nicholson, Community Development Director, said that would be an option, but the recommendation from the committee would have to come to Planning Commission and then onto the City Council. Ultimately City Council would need to decide if they wanted to abandon the trail network. He suggested that even if the equestrian trail was abandoned they would still want to keep some type of multi-purpose trail. He thinks they should proceed since that was a condition of their zoning.
Catherine Hasfurther said the buffer was one of the requirements, regardless of if a trail was there or not.
Commissioner Campbell asked if the Park Central project is a repeat of an older project since there was no landscaping shown.
Catherine said as far as she knows, they will need to have landscaping. She will check to see the date that this originally came in, if it was prior to September 1st. She knows that Craig Harvey reviewed it for landscaping.
MOTION: Commissioner Taylor made a motion to approve items 1A and 1B and authorize the chairman to sign. Commissioner Campbell seconded it. All voted aye, motion carries.
2. HILLSIDE PERMIT
Consider a request for a hillside development permit for “Bloomington Irrigation Pond and Trail,” a proposed 25-foot access and irrigation pond site. The site is on .73 acres. The site is located east of I-15 and Astragalus Drive; generally located in the vicinity of the old Visitor’s Center site. The site is south of the Hidden Valley Development. The applicant is Bloomington Irrigation company, the representative is Mr. Kade Bringhurst, Alpha Engineering. The property is presently zoned PD (Planned Development) and OS (Open Space). Hillside Permit Case No. 2009-HS-003.
This request was presented by Ray Snyder. Slides were shown and Ray said the reason they had not seen this request before was that the applicant was not ready; they had been negotiating with SITLA for the use of the property. That has since taken place.
The trail has been modified slightly to relocate the irrigation pond. This project is to create a concrete lined pond. A slope map showing the area was also shown. Ray said the Hillside Review Board has looked closely at this project. It is a secluded area protected by a ridge.
The staff report was gone over by Ray. A 25 ft. access trail will be there and it will be a natural trail that people could hike up. Low traffic is expected. The pond will have a 6 ft. fence around it.
The Hillside Review Board recommends approval of the hillside permit. The following itemizes the HSRB motion and conditions;
1. The site plan for the one million gallon in-ground concrete lined irrigation pond.
2. All hillside cuts shall comply with the hillside ordinance; the cut above finished grade shall not exceed fifteen feet (15’) when measured vertically from the finished grade to the intersection of the slope with the natural undisturbed ground.
3. The combined height of cuts (includes the depth of pond and the above ground cut) shall not exceed thirty feet (30’). The HSRB recommended using limestone rock to face fill slopes to protect against erosion.
4. Follow the recommendations of the Drainage Report.
5. Install drainage between city trail and northwest side of pond (to protect trail).
6. Follow the recommendations of the Geotechnical Report.
7. At the recommendation of the geotechnical engineer the slope could be ˝:1.
8. Install temporary orange fencing to control limits of disturbance.
9. The 50 foot right of way south of the pond site shall be used for construction traffic and material storage, but no disturbance shall occur in hillside next to pond for construction storage or vehicle parking. (Note: a 25 ft ROW only past pond up to water tank).
10. Project material storage will also be considered down on the already disturbed
pad area
11. The access shall also serve as a City trail.
Glen Carnahan, with Alpha Engineering, came to the podium as the representative for the project.
Commissioner Taylor asked if this was a reuse water system. The answer was no.
Jeff Morby came to the podium; he manages the water company. He said the main source of the water is the Virgin River. Bloomington Irrigation has a system of three underground wells that produce water.
Commissioner Taylor asked if the pond will be stocked with fish.
Mr. Morby stated that they have not had discussion with the recreation department. He said they would be willing to get together with Kent Perkins about this recreational aspect. He said security could be an issue.
Mr. Morby said that efficiency will be high priority. Glen said that pressures will fluctuate and fill at night and draw down when the peak is reached. It should not drop more than 2 ft. and will be dependent upon the usage.
Commissioner Campbell asked if the chain link fence or the construction road would be seen from the freeway.
Glen said it will be tucked into the natural area.
Cathy Hasfurther said you may be able to see a little bit of the fence and trail from the freeway.
Commissioner Campbell said they could paint the fence beige to try to keep it as pristine as possible. He doesn’t want to see anything shiny on the St. George desert vistas.
Mr. Morby said they will look into something more environmentally sensitive.
Commissioner Campbell said a fence with no contrast would be good; perhaps something tan or grey in color could work for the fencing.
Commissioner Campbell asked the slope of the pond itself and he was told it was 1:1. He also clarified that it would be a 6 ft. lockable fence there and he was reassured that was correct.
MOTION: Commissioner Campbell moved to approve item #2 taking into account staff comments and that the fencing blend with the environment and not be shiny galvanized aluminum. Commissioner Nobis seconded it. All voted aye, motion carries.
Bob and Ray discussed the Utah League of Cities and Towns meeting and asked if any of the commissioners would be attending. The City will pay for the registration and travel expenses.
Bob said there is not a lot on for the September 8th Planning Commission meeting and none of the issues are urgent; perhaps they will delay the next Planning Commission meeting until September 22nd. A notice will be sent out.
MOTION: Motion to adjourn was made by Commissioner Taylor. Motion was seconded by Commissioner Nobis. All voted aye, motion carries. The time was 5:37 p.m. |
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