Chair Mike Schell presided and called the meeting to order 4:00pm on Wednesday, March 10th, 2021. Committee Members present: Jim Wright, Jeff Erickson, and Bill Carlblom. Joe Faure and Bobby Koepplin were present by teleconference. Mike Bishop was absent.
Others: City Attorney Carl Martineck, City Administrator Gwen Crawford, City Planner Joel Quanbeck, City Assessor/ Acting Secretary Sandy Hansen, and Building Inspector Lance Coit. Building Inspector Mike Blevins attended by Zoom.
Audience (by Zoom) members: Chad Petersen & Mike Strom (KLJ). Tracy Eslinger (Moore Engineering), Kelly Kohn, Jennifer Stainbrook, Ken Reid, and Lela & Raphael Grim.
Jim Wright moved to approve the Minutes of the January 13th, 2021 regular meeting, seconded by Bill Carlblom, followed by roll call and approval.
Public Hearing for preliminary plat and Planned Unit Development (PUD) rezone application for parts of Lot 16 of the Replat of Scherr’s Addition and parts of Blocks 2 & 3 of Frances Pearl Brown’s Subdivision of Tract No. 3 of Mary M Zetterberg’s Plat of part of the NW Quarter of Section 21 of Valley City – to be named Hidden Pond Estates.
Chair Mike Schell opened the public hearing. Joel Quanbeck addressed Jennifer Stainbrook’s concerns from a prior conversation with her regarding the holding pond placement and construction, and also regarding a potential walking path. Quanbeck said according to the supplied topographical map, the placement for the pond was going to be a substantial distance – more than 100 ft – from the Stainbrook property line. The questions of how big & how deep the pond will be had not been determined at this time; drainage will be to the southwest to an existing drainage easement. In answer to another question, the storm management plan has not been completed at this time. Drainage from the development will be managed by this holding pond and is not intended to address other drainage issues. The Grims questioned issues regarding underground springs and an existing pond on that property and whether the development will be disrupting those natural springs, causing problems and costs for properties below. KLJ’s Chad Petersen said the construction was not supposed to increase runoff from the site but if problems arose, the developer would have to address that as part of the development. KLJ’s Michael Strom added that at this time nothing has been done regarding natural springs at this time and that the only excavating will be the detention pond. Not knowing where the gravel & clay layers are makes it difficult to determine how things could be affected. Stainbrook asked about the excavating and how the pond would be built, and Strom said it would be a combination of digging into the hill and adding fill on the backside for a berm; he didn’t know if that excavation might disrupt a spring as there had not been a Geotech study that he knew of or whether any borings had been done. Petersen added that City Ordinance regarding Storm Water Management requires that the runoff does not change from pre-construction to post-construction so whether its known today or discovered as a result of construction, any runoff change would need to be addressed by the developer. Strom clarified that drainage of the pond would go to the west so there’s no impact to the existing pond or properties to the east.
There were questions regarding the walking path. Quanbeck stated that based on these discussions they would want to make sure that any path would not disrupt those water issues but at this time he did not have a map regarding any paths. City Attorney Martineck said that sidewalks are generally required in new subdivisions but if there aren’t any planned at this time, he didn’t think a decision was required by the board. Schell wondered why the board was being asked about it if it was not part of the PUD application – as such the board could not address it at this time. Schell asked if there were any other concerns, and Stainbrook just added that she would like a geo-study done on the springs before there is any further construction. With that, Carlblom moved to close the public hearing with a second from Wright.
Schell opened internal discussion starting with a question regarding the supplied topographic
map and whether it was done prior to development or if it showed proposed levels. He was
concerned about the drop-off where the second duplex was being considered. Strom said that the
map was prior levels, and at the hammerhead turnaround there will be 6-1/2-ft fill with a possible
12-ft of fill needed for the southside of the second building site to make it the same elevation of
the first duplex. Jeff Erickson thought that kind of fill would re-route any natural spring that
might be there with no control. Schell said he ‘did not have a good feeling about it,’ adding that
Valley City has had too many issues with hillsides already and it might not be the best decision
for the city to go forward. Wright asked why there was an application for a PUD and Martineck
said although he also had concerns about that request, it does follow the guidelines. Erickson
made a motion to postpone the decision until more information was supplied through a stability
or Geotech study to address all the concerns brought forth from this meeting. Joe Faure seconded
and the board agreed.
Building Inspector Report
Interim Building Inspector Mike Blevins had sent the board an email outlining current
building projects; he had nothing else to add to that other than construction activity is picking up
and that things are getting ready to ‘break loose.’
Adjourn
With no other items to discuss, Chair Schell called for the meeting to close at 4:46pm.
Submitted by: City Assessor Sandy Hansen, Acting Secretary
3.10.2021 Planning & Zoning Minutes
Posted in Planning & Zoning Minutes.