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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09012020 Planning & Zoning Minutes City of Seward Alaska Seward Planning&Zoning Commission Minutes September 1, 2020 Volume 7, Page 414 CALL TO ORDER The September 1, 2020 regular meeting of the Seward Planning & Zoning Commission was called to order at 7:00 p.m. by Chair Cindy Ecklund. OPENING CEREMONY Commissioner DeMoss led the pledge of allegiance to the flag ROLL CALL There were present: Cindy Ecklund presiding, and Nathanial Charbonneau Tom Swann Liz DeMoss Craig Ambrosiani Gary Seese Kelli Hatfield Comprising a quorum of the Board; and Also Present Jackie C. Wilde, Community Development Director Eric Kozielski, Planner Andy Bacon, Planning Assistant All public testimony was delivered either in writing or telephonically at this meeting CITIZENS' COMMENTS ON ANY SUBJECT EXCEPT THOSE ITEMS SCHEDULED FOR PUBLIC HEARING McKenzie McCarthy , outside city, stated that he works with Spitwspotz, an internet service provider based out of Homer, and the company is expanding services to the Seward area through an opportunity from the Borough. McCarthy stated that there is a big market inside and outside city limits for their unique type of wireless internet, and he is currently looking at potential sites outside of Seward City Limits, and wanted to introduce himself to the community. McCarthy provided contact information for the company should anyone in the community wish to reach out. APPROVAL OF AGENDA AND CONSENT AGENDA Motion (Charbonneau/Hatfield) Approve the agenda and consent agenda Motion Passed AYES: Charbonneau, Swann, DeMoss, Ambrosiani, Seese,Hatfield, Ecklund NOES: none SPECIAL ORDERS, PRESENTATIONS AND REPORTS Administration Report City of Sewarcl Alaska Seward Planning&Zoning Commission Minutes September 1, 2020 Volume 7, Page 415 Jackie Wilde stated that Administration has nothing to report at this time. Other Reports, Announcements, and Presentations - None New Business Items requiring a Public Hearing 1. RESOLUTION 2020-12 OF THE SEWARD PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION, RECOMMENDING THAT THE CITY COUNCIL AMEND THE LAND USE PLAN AND ZONING DESIGNATION OF LOTS 15A AND 15B, OF JESSE LEE HEIGHTS SUBDIVISION ADDITION NO 4 WITH THE PHYSICAL ADDRESS OF 101& 105 BENSON DRIVE FROM MULTI-FAMILY RESIDENTIAL(R3)TO PARKResolution 2020-10 of the Planning And Zoning Commission Of The City Of Seward, Alaska, Recommending City Council Amend Title 15 Of Seward City Code Regarding Commercial Communications Towers To Provide Special Provisions For Such Land Use Kozielski stated that review of the code pertaining to commercial communications towers is currently a City Council approved priority for the Planning and Zoning Commission. Kozielski stated that Commission had held three work sessions on this topic,leading up to tonight's meeting. Kozielski discussed some minor amendments that had been made to this draft as a result of discussion at the work sessions,as well as two major changes:the inclusion of language describing a variance process, and language describing an appeal process, should an application be denied. Chair Ecklund opened public hearing on this item. Maridee Pabst, outside city, representing AT&T with the Wireless Policy Group, discussed a comment she sent to Commission,citing concerns with tower height setbacks.Pabst stated that the small lot sizes in the downtown area would leave few options for tower siting with these setback requirements. Pabst also stated that the reference to a variance process may not provide relief to tower height setbacks due to the traditional criteria for which a variance must pass in order to be approved. Kim Allen, outside city, representing Verizon with the Wireless Policy Group stated that she agreed with Ms. Pabst regarding the issues with providing a traditional variance process for cell tower siting. Allen is concerned that the code in its current form may present an effective prohibition on the siting of new towers in the downtown area. Allen is also concerned that the land use table currently prohibits communication towers in residential zoning districts, and supports allowing towers by Conditional Use Permit. Allen discussed the service area map requirement as part of the proposed code, and stated that it is difficult to visually represent towers that are meant to increase network capacity as opposed to expanding coverage area. Allen asks that other documentation be considered in leu of a map. Ken Lyons, outside city, hoped that his participation in work sessions up to this point had been informative and beneficial to the discussion. Lyons reiterated the need to have a centrally located communication site in order to increase network capacity, and that coverage was currently adequate for our area provided by towers already located on the periphery of town. Lyons stated City of Seward,Alaska Seward Planning&Zoning Commission Minutes September 1, 2020 Volume 7, Page 416 concerns that the zoning code for communication towers is currently outdated to reflect the capacity needs of users. Lyons addressed a comment that was made by staff at the work session that local governments could adopt stricter regulations than the federal government,and noted that the FCC telecommunication act preempts local regulation. Tanguy Libbrecht,inside city,stated that he attended the work session in August and appreciated the open forum for discussion on this topic. Chair Ecklund closed public hearing. Motion (Hatfield/Ambrosiani) Approve Resolution 2020-10 of the Planning And Zoning Commission Of The City Of Seward, Alaska, Recommending City Council Amend Title 15 Of Seward City Code Regarding Commercial Communications Towers To Provide Special Provisions For Such Land Use Hatfield stated that Commission has spent significant time working on this,and hearing from the representatives during public hearing, felt that there were sufficient options for communication tower deployment to serve our small geographic area. Ambrosiani stated concerns about the statements made by the wireless policy group representatives pointing out the possibility that the draft ordinance may be in violation of Federal law. Ambrosiani stated that the wireless companies were well represented by the experienced staff at wireless policy group, but the City had not consulted any outside experts representing City interests on this matter. Ambrosiani said that before he felt comfortable voting for this, he would like the draft code reviewed to make sure the City was opening itself to liability against a well organized and represented industry. Ecklund asked if the City Attorney reviewed this ordinance, to which Wilde affirmed. Ecklund asked if the legal department had any further recommendation on this,to which Kozielski replied they had not. Ecklund asked about the content of the comments from legal staff. Kozielski referred to attorney-suggested changes to section 3,relating to the denial process,and a provision prohibiting denial for reasons relating to adverse health effects from radio frequency emission.Ecklund asked if the City Attorney provided any advice or feedback on the concerns mentioned by wireless policy group representatives. In response, Wilde stated that the attorneys reviewed the draft and the changes and at the time did not have any problem with the language,or moving it forward. Swann stated that the Conditional Use Permitting process gives the Commission leeway in the review process,and that the Commission may address individual project concerns on a case by case basis. DeMoss asked if the current or previous attorney firm reviewed the draft, to which Kozielski replied that it was the previous attorney. Wilde added that the current City Attorney had also reviewed the document. DeMoss stated she was unsure if we have received enough expert advice before moving this forward. Ecklund stated that she is concerned that the people we have heard from on this are the people that would benefit from a more liberal ordinance than what is before the Commission.Ecklund agreed with Swann's statement regarding the Conditional Use process, and stated that she did not support communication towers sited in residential zones,and stated she would probably vote yes on the resolution,felling comfortable with the amount work sessions and City of Seward,Alaska Seward Planning&Zoning Commission Minutes September 1, 2020 Volume 7,Page 417 attorney review.Ecklund asked if any Commissioner had heard from the public regarding wireless connection issues. Charbonneau said he had excellent coverage in town and out to Rugged Island, and noted that some structures may inhibit signal. Seese and Charbonneau both stated they heard from citizens who did not want towers in residential areas. Swann acknowledged that we need more towers, and stated these changes provide for placement of towers. Swann gave examples of code that could be considered prohibitive, and did not think the draft ordinance presented tonight was prohibitive. Ambrosiani stated that he had an issue with using the Conditional Use Permit process to get to what should be addressed in the ordinance. In response to Ecklund, Ambrosiani stated that he was unsure if amending this ordinance would have the effect of eliminating potential violation of the Telecommunication Act, and did not feel like he had enough expert information upon which to decide, and would be comfortable postponing decision pending expert review. Ecklund stated that we have asked for expertise for over a year, and the experts that came forward were from the industry. Ecklund stated that the City Attorney had reviewed this code, and discussed what other options were available such as hiring an outside consultant to review. Wilde stated that the City would not contract with any outside consultants or seek legal advice beyond the City Attorney. Ecklund pointed out that this would also come before the council for additional discussion and public comment. Motion (Ambrosiani/DeMoss) Postpone Resolution 2020-10 until the October 6, 2020 meeting and request that the City provide more independent Telecommunication advice on solutions to the network capacity without downtown communication towers DeMoss asked if in the interim time the Staff could show areas where communication towers could be located. Hatfield asked if there was a budget to contract with an independent expert in the next month. Wilde stated that there was not a budget for that and she would have to go before Council and request funds. Wilde stated that extensive research had been performed to create this draft ordinance and if the Commission were to move to postpone until the next meeting, staff would in all likelihood bring the same draft ordinance forward. Wilde stated that she wouldn't know where to seek any additional information, and that Staff researched neighboring city codes to see what worked for those communities. Ecklund stated that since the Commission did not put a moratorium on new communication towers, she was concerned with postponing for 30 days, and would probably vote no on the motion. Motion Failed AYES: Ambrosiani,DeMoss NOES: Hatfield, Swann, Seese, Charbonneau, Ecklund Hatfield asked where the setback distance of 1.1 times the height of the proposed tower came from, to which Kozielski replied that the same setback requirement for wind turbine towers was being followed.Kozielski also stated that there was an option for the setback distance to be reduced City of Seward Alaska Seward Planning&Zoning Commission Minutes September 1, 2020 Volume 7, Page 418 in through the use of break point engineering. Main Motion Passed AYES: Seese, DeMoss, Swann, Hatfield, Charbonneau,Ecklund NOES: Ambrosiani Set Work Session Topic for September 15,2020 Commission preferred focusing on the walkable mural application and discussed to what extent Lodging and Land Uses could be covered in the same evening. Commissioners wanted to hear a report on Short Term Rental Activity after discussion of a walkable mural application. Commission set September 15,2020 work session topics as: "Discuss crosswalk(walkable murals)application process"and"Title 15 Lodging" Commission scheduled a joint work session with the Seward/Bear Creek Service Area Board for October 6,2020 from 6:00-7:00 PM and set topic as"Discuss Beach Revitalization Project" Discuss scheduling biannual or quarterly joint work sessions with Historic Preservation Commission Wilde stated that she has been attending Historic Preservation meetings and noted that there is a disconnect between the appointed commissions, and is hoping to set regular joint work sessions with Historic Preservation and Port and Commerce, so that Planning and Zoning could help them with questions relating to City Code. Swann stated that it was important that these boards work together. Commission directed staff to bring forward a Planning and Zoning meeting calendar that contains quarterly joint work sessions with the Historic Preservation Commission. Commission Comments: Hatfield-Thanked staff for preparing the communication tower ordinance Ambrosiani-Thanked staff for preparing the communication tower ordinance DeMoss-No comments Charbonneau-Thanked the public and staff for preparing information for the meeting Seese-Agreed with the other Commissioners Swann- Stated that our Chair did an excellent job Chairing the meeting remotely Ecklund-Stated she would be calling in at our September work session and will be back in person on October 6 • City of Seward,Alaska Seward Planning&Zoning Commission Minutes September 1, 2020 Volume 7, Page 419 Citizens' Comments: Tanguy Libbrecht, inside city, complimented the Chair on running the meeting telephonically, and stated that although he is here as a private citizen, as a member of the Historic Preservation Commission he is looking forward to working with the Commission on issues of mutual interest. Commission and Administration Response to Citizens' Comments ADJOURNMENT(Charbonneau) The meeting was adjourned at 8:35 PM c. CL-0\ C- n Jackie ",.I. Wilde CI y L. E 1 Community Development Director Chair o��e�aieeas�t;. ♦,y O� ��6y,, (C> Y See�� c�• " : • I SEAL = � .. • '401/Ive NI- • •,tigTFfOF�A .• P ••