MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING OF THE VINEYARD PLANNING COMMISSION,
Wednesday January 17, 2024, 6:00 p.m.
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Attendance:
Planning Commissioners: Vice-Chair Tay Gudmundson, Nathan Steele, Bradley Fagg, Caden Rhoton and Christopher Bramwell
Staff: Cache Hancey, Anthony Fletcher, Planners; Morgan Brim, Community Development Director; Patrick James, Engineer; and Naseem Ghandour, Public Works Director
Others Present: Daria Evans, Resident; Kim & Karen Cornelius.
CALL TO ORDER
1. INVOCATION/INSPIRATIONAL THOUGHTS/PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE – By Caden Rhoton
Introduction of new Planning Commissioners
Community
Development Director, Morgan Brim, introduced and welcomed the newly appointed
members of the Commission; Nathan Steel and Caden Rhoton at the beginning of
the planning commission meeting. Nathan has over 10 years of experience in
urban planning working with various cities as staff in various communities
across the country. He is excited about the opportunity to serve the community
he lives in. Caden has been involved In the city since he moved in over 3 years
ago and has since been the Chair of the Bicycle Advisory Commission (BAC) and has
served in various capacities contributing to the development of the Central
Parks Plan, the Active Transportation Plan and the Transportation Master Plan
due to his interest in urban planning, land use and his passion of helping to
build a safe, livable community in Vineyard.
2. OPEN SESSION –
a.
Daria
Evans – Wishes the commission a Happy New Year and well wishes to the
commission for 2024 and beyond. Daria reminded the planning commission to
always remember the needs of Vineyard and make decisions or recommendations
that would benefit all residents now and in the future.
3. BUSINESS ITEMS
a. PUBLIC HEARING – Subdivision Ordinance Amendments
Planner Anthony Fletcher presented on the proposed amendments to the following section of the Vineyard City Code: 14.04 Pre-Application meeting, 14.06 Preliminary Subdivision Application, 14.08 Final Subdivision Application, 15.34.060 Accessory Dwelling Units, 15.40.080 Design Standards and Requirements, and 15.06.060 Vineyard Development Review Committee. In his presentation, Anthony explained the reason for the proposed Code amendment as a needed action to stay in compliance with the state code as required by Senate Bill 174 (SB 0174). The update being required by SB 0174 is intended to take effect by February 1, 2024. He explained that the update to the code required by SB 0174 applied only to 1-family, 2-family, and townhome subdivisions (i.e. Preliminary and Final Subdivision application and approval processes). SB 0174 also requires an adjustment in the ADU parking requirements as well as landscaping bond requirements on private property.
In reviewing and updating the State-directed code updates, staff has made recommendations on updating sections of the code as a general clean-up to streamline the processes for all preliminary and final subdivisions into a single process for all applications. Planner Anthony outlined the specified code updates/ changes required by SB 0174 and what was being recommended by staff. The Planning Commission will provide a recommendation to the City Council.
Nathan Steel requested more clarity in
the reason for staff recommending an extension of the recording timeframe after
final plat approval changing from 1 year to 2 years. Nathan also pointed out
that “RDA” needs to be spelled out in the Code amendment section for the Development
Review Committee (DRC) Member Composition. He also recommended that Planner
Anthony complete the presentations before allowing for questions and answers.
Public Hearing - Tay officially
opened the public hearing to allow residents to share their ideas and comments
regarding the presentation on the code update. A motion for opening the public
hearing was by Commissioner Nathan Steele and seconded by Commissioner Brad
Fagg.
Commissioner Steele initiated a discussion for more clarification of staff recommendations as presented to be amended with the SB 0174 requirement. These discussions included the extension of the time allowance for applicants to record approved plats from 1 year to 2 years, merging the application process for both private and commercial property applications, and the role of code enforcement to ensure landscaping is implemented as presented in approved landscaping plans.
Resident Kim Cornelius – Recommended still having the city council as the Land Use Authority for Final Subdivision application approval, instead of the DRC. He also suggested that the application and review processes for private and commercial projects should be kept separate.
Resident Daria
Evans – expressed concerns about SB 0174 not requiring landscaping bonds to
ensure the implementation of approved landscaping plans. She requested
clarification on whether the SB 0174 required code amendments, if approved will
be retroactive on ongoing developments such as Utah City and Holdaway Fields.
The Community Development Director, Morgan Brim, responded to her concern by
clarifying that once the proposed code amendments are approved by the Council
it will affect all ongoing and future projects. Daria also pointed out that
there were sections of the draft code amendment that had typological errors
that needed to be corrected (Section 14.04.010, 14.06.020). Daria raised a
concern about Geotech requirements being redlined out of the application
processes. Engineer Patrick and Community Development Director, Morgan
clarified that the geotechnical requirements were still captured in the Code but
in a different section. Daria recommended that the City raises its building
standards to serve as a protection mechanism for the future owners of
properties being built in the city for the longevity of Vineyard homes/
properties. Public Works Director, Naseem Ghandour commented on Daria’s
suggestion to improve the building standards as a concern that would not be
addressed by the SB 0174 Code Amendments being proposed. He added that for any
building standards to be changed, the City’s Building Code will have to be
amended. It was suggested that Daria further discusses her concern about the
building standards with Vineyard City Building Official, Chris Johnson.
Resident Karen
Cornelius. – Requested clarification on enforcement of landscape improvement.
She also wanted to know who would be responsible for implementing all the
landscaping improvements. Karen also requested clarification on the enforcement
of ADU Parking after permitting. She further expressed concern about parking in
the neighborhoods being out of control. Community Development Director, Morgan
clarified all concerns and the roles and operations of the Code Enforcement
division of the city.
Resident David Lauret
– Expressed concern with 1-to-2-year time frame staff recommendation for the proposed
code amendments. David suggested maintaining the current 1-year time frame for
approved plats to be recorded and rather allowing for 6-month extensions as a
remedy if needed. David also shared concerns about the ADU parking minimum
requirement and asked if the parking spot sizes could be modified by increasing
the width of a parking spot. Staff referred to the Vineyard Building Code as
the main requirement for all parking spaces in all developments. Lastly, David
L. shared a concern about DRC being the final subdivision approval body. He
suggested that the Land Use authority should be the Planning Commission or
Council and not the DRC. This concern was addressed by staff, reminding David
and the public that these recommended changes were part of the required
directions from the state level through SB 0174.
The public
hearing was officially closed with a motion by Commissioner Chris Bramwell and
seconded by Commissioner Brad Fagg.
-
Further discussions ensued among
Planning Commissioners about all the concerns raised by the public and how to
empower the Code Enforcement division of the city to ensure landscaping is
implemented as required by the approved plans. It was suggested that the
landscaping concern should be further discussed with the City Attorney for
better direction on how landscaping can be adequately enforced within the city.
- Motion – Nathan Steel – Moved to forward a positive recommendation to the City Council for the Ordinances presented; 2024:1, 2024:2, and 2024:3, as presented by staff with an amendment to follow-up with the City Attorney about Code enforcement items discussed and clarifying the all other items discussed that need follow up on.
Motion was seconded by Chris Bramwell. The motion was unanimously approved by all commissioners.
4.
WORK SESSION
a. Technology Element of the General Plan
Community Development Director Morgan Brim lead a discussion regarding amendments to the Technology Element to the General Plan to enhance the privacy of our residents. No formal action was required for this work session. According to Commissioner Chris Bramwell, Vineyard will be the 1st in the state of Utah to include and implement the Technology element of the General Plan. This initiative will better position Vineyard for conversations about privacy for all our residents and visitors now and in the future. Commissioners Nathan Steele and Caden Rhoton expressed their support for the initiative.
o
Resident David Lauret recommended the changes in Strategy
5 to be more specific and ensure that all current and future contracts in the
city abide by these privacy laws to protect the data of our residents and
visitors.
5.
COMMISSION MEMBERS’ REPORTS
AND EX PARTE DISCUSSION DISCLOSURE
a. Commissioner Nathan Steele shared that he had a good experience meeting with staff to better understand his role as a Planning Commissioner in Vineyard and to get more accustomed and acclimated.
b. Commissioner Caden Rhoton also shared that he had a great experience with staff and he’s looking forward to further training outlined by the City Attorney to allow him to participate and contribute during planning commission meetings moving forward more effectively.
c. Community Development Director Morgan Brim – Spoke about opportunity for planning commissioners to partake in trainings and conferences. He recommended that commissioners reach out to staff if they’re interested in attending the Utah APA conference or other planning-related conferences.
6. ADJOURNMENT -
The meeting was adjourned at 7.24 pm.
MINUTES APPROVED ON: March 6, 2024,
CERTIFIED BY: /s/ Anthony Fletcher
Anthony
Fletcher, Planner