HomeMy WebLinkAboutLEISTIKOW ANNEXATION & ZONING - ANX110003 - CORRESPONDENCE - (3)of October 14, 2011. Board members, however, may take liberties with their
discussion as there are no sanctions for doing so.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has issued a press release
indicating their desire to construct a temple on the property described by this
annexation. Staff continues to emphasize to all interested parties that the
annexation and development of land are two distinct processes, each governed
by their own set of standards and regulations. For example, concerns about
traffic on adjacent streets, natural habitats and features and architecture are land
development issues that can only be addressed at the Project Development Plan
stage, not at the annexation and zoning stage.
For your information, consultants for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints initiated a Conceptual Review with City representatives on October 3,
2011. Staff informed the applicant that while the site is not located within 500
feet of a natural habitat or feature, that there are two Red -tail Hawk nests in the
area and should the project move forward, construction timing and buffering
would need to be addressed as per the requirements of Section 3.4.1 of the Land
Use Code.
There will be opportunities for citizen input on land development issues at the
future neighborhood information meetings that will be scheduled prior to a
submittal for a Project Development Plan.
On November 1, 2011 City Council considered, on First Reading, items relating
to the Leistikow Annexation. These items included an Agenda Item Summary
along with the Resolution and Ordinance. The City Council has established a
standardized template for use on a city-wide basis for the Agenda Item Summary
document.
This template is intentionally organized into several sub -sections so that Council
receives written information on a variety of topics in a consistent format.
Following the template is required across all City service areas and departments
regardless of content.
The template requires the author of an Agenda Item Summary to address
"Environmental Impacts." This is a sub -section under "Background and
Discussion." The template is silent on whether or not environmental impacts are
relevant to the topic at hand. Staff is expected to follow the template and failure
to do so could risk the item being pulled off the agenda.
For the Leistikow Annexation, under "Environmental Impacts," Staff provided the
statement:
"The site is not within 500 feet of a known natural habitat or feature. As
with any development, any significant trees are to be preserved but if
preservation is not feasible, then mitigation per Land Use Code Section
3.2.1(F) would be invoked. "
This is a true statement based on the initial field inspection by the Current
Planning Environmental Planner. It was intended to provide a very brief
overview.
It would have been a more accurate statement, however, with the inclusion of the
following:
"Environmental impacts associated with land development are not
reviewed at the time of annexation."
Environmental issues are not reviewed as criteria by which to evaluate an
Annexation. Rather, such issues are reviewed in conjunction with a Project
Development Plan per Section 3.4.1 of the Land Use Code. As evidence, please
note that neither the Resolution nor the Ordinance relating to the Leistikow
Annexation refer in any way to environmental considerations.
Regarding the wide-ranging discussion among members of the Planning and
Zoning Board at their October 20, 2011 hearing, please note that Board
members were advised as to the limited scope of an Annexation consideration.
This advisement was given to the Board by City Staff at the Board's Worksession