CITY OF SOUTH JORDAN

PLANNING COMISSION MEETING

COUNCIL CHAMBERS

 

January 12, 2010

 

Present:         Chairman Linda Auger, Commissioner Clark Mabey, Commissioner Paul Pugmire, Commissioner Beverly Evans, City Planner Greg Schindler, Community Development Director George Shaw,  Assistant City Attorney Ryan Loose, City Engineer Jeremy Nielsen, Deputy City Recorder Cindy Valdez.

 

Absent:          Commissioner David Wood

 

Others:                       Mickey Beaver, Brandon Smith, Rod Fisher

 

 

6:30 P.M.

 

REGULAR MEETING

           

I.   GENERAL BUSINESS

 

A.     Welcome and Roll Call

 

Chairman Linda Auger welcomed everyone present at tonight’s Planning Commission Meeting.

 

B.     Motion to Approve Agenda

 

Commissioner Paul Pugmire motioned to approve the January 12, 2010 Planning Commission Agenda. Commissioner Clark Mabey seconded the motion. Motion passed unanimously in favor. Commissioner David Wood was absent.

 

C.     Oath of Office for new Planning Commission Members

 

Deputy City Recorder Cindy Valdez performed Oath of Office for Commissioner Linda Auger and Commissioner Clark Mabey.

 

D.     Approval of the Minutes from the Meeting held on December 8, 2009.

 

Commissioner Beverly Evans motioned to approve the December 8, 2009 meeting minutes with no corrections. Commissioner Paul Pugmire seconded the motion. Motion passed. Commissioner Clark Mabey obstained from voting because he was not present for the meeting and Commissioner David Wood was absent.

 

II.   INFORMATIONAL ITEMS AND OTHER BUSINESS

 

A.     CALENDARING ITEMS

 

Community Development Director George Shaw said we had our first General Plan Open House last Thursday January 7th at the Community Center. We received a lot of great input at that meeting. The next meeting will be held on January 27th   at the Daybreak Community Center. The third one will be held on February 4th at the Fire Station on 4000 W. 10400 S. We hope each of you will be able to attend one of these meetings.  

 

B.      COMMENTS FROM PLANNING COMMISSION MEMBERS

 

Chairman Linda Auger said I would like to welcome Clark Mabey as a new member to the Planning Commission. We would also like to extend our sympathies to Millard County for the passing of Deputy Sherriff Josie Fox.

 

Commissioner Beverley Evans said she would like to give her sympathies to Governor Gary R. Herbert on the passing away of his father.

 

C.     STAFF BUSINESS

 

City Planner Greg Schindler said we are planning for the next Agenda to have the elections for this years Chairman, and Vice Chairman of the Commission. We thought we would wait until our new Commissioner Clark Mabey was on board before we scheduled it.

 

Community Development Director George Shaw said we had discussions a few months ago regarding the possibility of the Commissioners going to Daybreak and meeting with the Kennecott Land representatives. They have a presentation that you can sit in on; they also will be discussing where they are with their future planning. Our staff did this sometime last year, City Council just did it a month or two ago, and we would still like to do this with the Commissioner’s if you still have an interest. If you could keep some dates in mind that would possibly work for all of you, we can work on getting this scheduled for you to attend. In addition to that, because of the dynamic nature of the Daybreak area, the PC zone attached to it, and because it is a Master Plan Zone, the process for development in this area is much different than the rest of the city. A lot of the planning is done up front, and you kind of get to see the tail end of it. Sometimes it is difficult from the staff reports, or from the nature of the applications, to see how those projects fit into the bigger picture of Daybreak. When you understand the bigger picture, it is really quite amazing what is happening up there. Our staff was discussing this and thought maybe it would be a possibility to have a representative from Kennecott Land come to the Planning Commission meetings occasionally or maybe quarterly, and give us updates on their progress. There would not be a staff review or action item. It would be presented to you as an informational item only to give you some context as to where they are going with their planning. Think about these things and let’s see what we can do to coordinate some dates to have you actually go to Daybreak. We will also discuss the possibility of having some presentations at the Planning Commission meetings.

 

           

D.     NEW BUSINESS

 

None

 

III.   CITIZEN COMMENT

 

 

None

 

IV.   PUBLIC HEARINGS AND POTENTIAL *LEGISLATIVE ACTION ITEMS

        *Legislative Action = More Discretion, Reasonably Debatable (Subjective Standard)

                       

            None

 

V.   PUBLIC HEARINGS AND POTENTIAL **ADMINISTRATIVE ACTION ITEMS

       **Administrative Action = Less Discretion, Substantial Evidence (Objective Standard)

 

A.1.      File #SP-2009.20, Conditional Use Permit/Site Plan Application to construct a Double-Circuit 345 KV Transmission Line, approximately South of and along 10200 South, Rod Fisher (applicant).

 

City Planner Greg Schindler reviewed all background information on this item.

 

Chairman Linda Auger said in the staff findings, bullet point four states: some detrimental effects such as air pollution, noise and ground contamination may occur during the construction phase of the project, however those effects should only be temporary. What contamination are they referring to?

 

Mickey Beaver with Rocky Mountain Power, 12840 Pony Express Road Draper, Utah (applicant) – said in respects to the ground contamination I am going to call Brandon Smith to the podium to answer this question. But I would like to add a couple of comments to what was presented by City Planner Greg Schindler. The complexity of this line is obviously part of a much larger project referred to as Gateway Central and is within several projects that Rocky Mountain Power is constructing to enhance redundancy, reliability, and power quality to the Salt Lake Valley. We are actually looping the valley in many cases, and providing the ability to keep service in store if there were an emergency or catastrophe. We would alternate ways of getting power to the people. This is a relatively complex project as it goes across multiple jurisdictions. I might mention that we are very appreciative of South Jordan’s willingness along with Jeremy Nielson, and Gary Whatcott to come together with us and West Jordan on July 31st to talk about issues between South Jordan and West Jordan. They have also been very willing to talk to Kennecott Land about concerns with respect to route alternatives. The route that we are asking for approval on is probably not the preferred route for us in the overall scheme of things, but in conversations with South Jordan, West Jordan, and Kennecott Land, it seems to meet the coincident desires and provides some satisfaction to all three parties concerned, especially related to what is being planned in the Bingham Creek area. It’s about growth, development, and reliability more than anything else, as we continue to serve the needs of the Salt Lake Valley and the Wasatch Front.

 

Brandon Smith, Rocky Mountain Power, 1407 W. North Temple Salt Lake City, Utah – said the only potential for ground contamination would be some sort of a fuel spill, or something during construction from the equipment. We have very strict internal standards, and policies, on how to handle these situations. Most of the time we try to prevent these type of spills during construction. We have implemented these policies out in the field with our contractors who are doing the building. We have also incorporated them in all of the permitting that we will be getting for the project.

 

Commissioner Paul Pugmire asked since this project does cross so many jurisdictions, what happens to the project if one of the jurisdictions denies your application?

 

Mr. Beaver said we try to do enough ground work up front to avoid that type of situation. But if a jurisdiction is saying no, or applies conditions that are problematic, we take a step back, re-trench, aim the parties in the project in further conversations, and try to address their concerns to see if there is another alternative to peacefully do what is being asked of us.

 

City Engineer Jeremy Nielson said I am not sure how familiar you Commissioner’s are with this project. I have been working with Rocky Mountain Power for a couple of years now, and this is a huge project, so they have had to do an environmental study. I have the study here with me tonight if any of you are interested in looking at it. As Mr. Beaver pointed out, originally their preferred alignment was to go up Bingham Creek.  It has been kind of an undertaking for them to be able to go down the alignment on 10200 S, because there are a lot of utility conflicts, and also some power lines that conflict with Kennecott Utah Copper. I have really appreciated working with Rocky Mountain Power on this project because they have worked with the City in trying to put the alignment down 10200 S, rather than along Bingham Creek, which would then impact our future park space.

 

Commissioner Beverly Evans asked Mr. Beaver if this project was on any private property at all.

 

Rod Fisher, 1407 W North Temple Salt Lake City, Utah – said on this project we have a fairly small number of land owners, so I will address this in two stages. We have about 160 miles of right- of-way that we are looking for on this motor to Oquirrh project, and about half of that is on federal lands, the remaining parcels are private ownership. What we do is work with certified MAI appraisers to give us a baseline understanding of what the underlying land uses are along our corridor. That really is the foundation for our right-of-way agents. They have individual conversations with landowners to figure out the unique qualities of their piece of property so they can determine a fair market value. I am very proud to say that we have a great track record of working with land owners negotiating right-of-way and easements on all of our projects. On this project here we have roughly a mile and half of property. The predominate land owners are, Kennecott Copper, Kennecott Land, we own some property, and we are seeking an easement through UTA. We have had conversations with all of these entities and we have basically come to an agreement that this is the best place for the power line in this area. We don’t anticipate any issues or obstacles in being able to negotiate the easements that are required for the project.

 

Chairman Linda Auger opened the Public Hearing to comments. There were none. She closed the Public Hearing.

 

Commissioner Clark Mabey said I think we need to have a discussion on weather the structures should be dull galvanized steel, or self weathering steel. I have seen both, and years ago I thought the self weathering looked more like wood and was a good idea, but the more I see them they look like ugly rusty poles. I am wondering if it is better to go with the dull galvanized steel, but it is up for discussion.

 

Commissioner Paul Pugmire said I agree with Commissioner Mabey’s assessment that the self weathering steel looks very rusty after a while.

 

Commissioner Paul Pugmires asked Rocky Mountain Power if they had a preference regarding self weathering steel or dull galvanized steel.

 

Mr. Beaver said we really do not have a preference. What we are finding as we build these large projects across open space areas, as well as get into industrial, commercial and residential areas, is that some industrial areas are opting for the dull galvanized steel. The steel appearance tends to have reflectivity about it. It tends to blend in more with buildings, steel, glass, and concrete. As we go out over land, across the open space where lines might be seen more from a distance, and you have the foliage changes, fall color changes, and things like that, the self weathering is often selected for the cross country.

 

A.2.      Potential Action Item – (See V. A.1.)

 

Commissioner Paul Pugmire motioned to approve File # SP-2009.20, Conditional Use Permit/Site Plan Application to Construct a Double-Circuit 345 KV Transmission Line Approximately South of and Along 10200 South with the Two Conditions Outlined by Staff. I Would Like to Amend Condition No.1 to Strike the Words “One Type of Structure” and Add Will “Use Galvanized Steel Structure”. Commissioner Clark Mabey seconded the motion. Roll Call Vote passed unanimous in favor. Commissioner David Wood was absent from vote.

 

B.1.      File #CUP-2009.21, Conditional Use Permit Application to permit an additional (third) household pet on property located at 9854 South Eden Crest Road, Cari Eubanks (applicant).

 

Chairman Linda Auger said I would like to excuse Commissioner Paul Pugmire from the meeting at this time. He has another engagement he needs to attend this evening.

 

City Planner Greg Schindler reviewed all background information on this item.

 

Commissioner Clark Mabey said in reading the staff report it says:  Conditional Use Permits are of an indefinite duration and run with the land. Does that mean that if one of these three dogs died or moved away, they can get another dog and use it under the same permit?

 

City Planner Greg Schindler said Conditional Use Permits have always run with the land, so whoever lives on this land will have an indefinite permit to have three dogs.

 

Assistant City Attorney Ryan Loose said we are looking at revising the licensing process so it will not be a Conditional Use Process. It would be more like licensing each dog individually and it would not be tied to the land use.

 

Chairman Linda Auger opened the Public Hearing to comments. There were none. She closed the Public Hearing.

 

B.2.      Potential Action Item – (See V. B.1.)

 

Commissioner Beverly Evans motioned to approve File No.CUP-2009.21 Conditional Use Permit Application with the five staff recommendations. Commissioner Clark Mabey seconded the motion. Roll Call Vote was unanimous in favor. Commissioner David Wood and Commissioner Paul Pugmire were absent from the vote.

 

 

C.1.     File #CUP-2009.22, Conditional Use Permit Application for an elderly care facility to be located at 10715 South 1300 West, David Rotzler with Quest Services (applicant).

 

Community Director George Shaw reviewed all background information on this item.

 

Chairman Linda Auger opened the Public Hearing to comments. There were none. She closed the Public Hearing.

 

C.2.     Potential Action Item – (See V. C.1.)

 

Commissioner Clark Mabey motioned to approve File No.CUP-2009.22, Conditional Use Permit with the three conditions recommended by staff. Commissioner Beverly Evans seconded the motion. Roll Call Vote was unanimous in favor. Commissioner David Wood and Commissioner Paul Pugmire were absent from vote.

 

D.1.     File #CUP-2009.23, Conditional Use Permit Application for a dance studio to be located at 11021 South Redwood Road, David George (applicant).

 

Community Development Director George Shaw reviewed all background information on this item.

 

Chairman Linda Auger opened the Public Hearing to comments. There were none. She closed the Public Hearing.

 

D.2.     Potential Action Item – (See V. D.1.)

 

Commissioner Beverly Evans motioned to approve File No.CUP-2009.23, Conditional Use Permit Application for a dance studio to be located at 11021 South Redwood Road with the one condition recommended by staff. Commissioner Clark Mabey seconded the motion. Roll Call Vote was unanimous in favor. Commissioner David Wood and Commissioner Paul Pugmire were absent from vote.

 

VI.        OTHER BUSINESS

 

None

           

AJOURNMENT

 

Commissioner Beverly Evans motioned to adjourn the January 12, 2010 Planning Commission meeting.  Commissioner Clark Mabey seconded the motion. Motion was unanimous in favor.

 

 

The January 12, 2010 Planning Commission Meeting adjourned at 7:15 p.m.

 

 

Meeting minutes were prepared by Deputy City Recorder Cindy Valdez.

 

 

This is a true and correct copy of the January 12, 2010 Planning Commission meeting minutes, which were approved on January 26, 2010.

                                               

South Jordan City Recorder