2007 Minutes
August 16, 2007 Meeting Minutes
By Tracy Ferrell, Executive Secretary
Aug 20, 2007, 13:22

City of Chewelah

Meeting of the Planning Commission

August 16, 2007

Call to Order

The meeting of the Planning Commission was called to order at 6:58 P.M. by Chairperson, Tom Bristol. 

Roll Call

Roll Call was taken.  Commissioners present included Tom Bristol, Alice Crowley, Bill Davies, Doug Sassman, and Irv Schick.  Kevin Herda and Daniel Voltz asked to be excused from the meeting.   Staff members present were Curt Kelling and Tracy Ferrell.

Meeting Minutes

Irv Schick made a motion to approve the minutes as presented.   Doug Sassman seconded the motion.  The motion passed unanimously.

Public Comment

None

Communications and Announcements

None

Reports from Members

None

Reports from City Administrator

Curt Kelling announced that the recently appointed Planning Commission member has resigned.   Work issues prohibit her from taking the position.  The position has been re-advertised.

Mr. Kelling asked the Planning Commission about meeting twice monthly again.  There was discussion in regards to the pros and cons of having one meeting per month (that started earlier) as opposed to two meetings each month.  It was determined that if there were to be two meetings, that one could be designated as a GMA Comp Plan Update meeting and the other be a regular business meeting.  It was  suggested that time allotments be put on Agenda Items so that the meeting time would not run so long. Doug Sassman made a motion to hold two meetings each month.   Irv Schick seconded the motion.    The Commissioners voted unanimously to approve the motion.

Mr. Kelling shared that the Stevens County Small City Consortium is requesting grant funding that will go to the six partner cities to assist with the Comp Plan Updates.  It will especially assist with the Critical Areas Elements of the plan and the requirement to provide “Best Available Science”. 

Mr. Bristol asked Mr. Kelling about the Shoreline Master Program’s (SMP) progress with the City Council.   Mr. Kelling reported that the SMP is scheduled for public hearing at the September 5, 2007 City Council meeting. 

Mr. Bristol asked about the Annexation Process.   Mr. Kelling noted that the process had changed several years ago, due to a Washington State Supreme Courts ruling.  Currently the annexation method is the 75 % Petition Method that includes a Pre-meeting with the City Council.  At this meeting the City Council can give a determination that will allow the developer to proceed (or not) prior to spending money and resources.   Annexations in Stevens County are now in a state of limbo due to the Eastern Washington Hearings Board declaring the Stevens County Comp Plan invalid.  This affects the legal status of all the Urban Growth Areas (UGAs) throughout the County.   Curt is seeking legal council on how to handle two annexations that were in the process.   He also noted that there is an alternative method for annexation approval that can be invoked by Registered Voters.   He gave an example from Yakima Valley. 

Mr. Bristol asked for clarification on what level the petitions for Annexation and Public Hearings were to be held.   Mr. Kelling explained that the requests are heard at the City Council level, unless there is a question on zoning

Bill Davies inquired about an ordinance that was recently discussed at a meeting he attended.   It was in regards to King County Washington’s ability to subdivide their property into five-acre lots.  Mr. Kelling had no information on this

Airport Layout Plan

Tracy Ferrell presented a pre-update on the Airport Layout Plan (ALP).   She shared that a draft of the ALP has been received and a meeting of a steering committee was held on Monday, August 13, 2007.  The plan, as it is, has been sent to the Washington State Department of Transportation Aviation Department and approved.  This occurred due to the end of the State Fiscal year and the funding used to produce the ALP.  There is a contingency that it will be modified. 

She explained that the reason for ALP update requirement is primarily funding and the effort to make all airports more FAA compatible.  Our ALP does allow for a shortening of the airport runway so that it will fall closer to FAA regulations.  She gave an explanation of what is included in the ALP.  She  noted some of the changes that were recommended by the Steering Committee which included the addition of Richmond Lane into the ALP and the cities purchase of adjacent land currently owned by the Department of Natural Resources (DNR).  There will be another meeting held soon to discuss standards for any new hangars.   Another addition to the ALP was to create a Visitors Center in the current Pilots Lounge. 

There was some discussion in regards to the purchase of the property as well as the shortening of the runway.  The shortening of the runway is a compromise between FAA standards and functionality of the airport. 

Mrs. Ferrell added that one other issue recommended to be added to the ALP is that Stevens County implement an Avigation Easement Program in the vicinity of the airport. 

Mr. Schick inquired about the amount of rent income received by DNR.  Mr. Kelling reported that it was minimal. 

Old Business

None

New Business

Mr. Kelling introduced Ryan Burkey, who did a survey on the vision for the future of the City of Chewelah at the Chewelah High School as his Senior Project.  

Mr. Burkey explained that his project was to gather information on what the students thought of Chewelah and how they would like to see it look in the future.   It was targeted at Junior and Senior classmates.   There were 50 surveys handed out with  38 returned.  Mr. Burkey gave a summary of the six questions asked and the responses.   The overall rating of Chewelah was 7.27 % favorable.  (out of 10).  Mr. Burkey shared that it appears that the students believe Chewelah is a pretty good place to live.   They did and didn’t like that it was a small town where everyone knows each other.  There was further discussion in regards to the students that didn’t like the fact that everyone knows one another in the town. Mr. Schick applauded Ryan for the great job that was done on this survey.  He greatly appreciated the younger person’s point of view being brought to the Planning Commission.  Mr. Bristol noted that it appears  the flip side of the surveys was not copied into the book.  Mrs. Ferrell will make copies of the entire surveys and have them available in her office for anyone  wants to see them.  The original copy will be kept at the City Administrative Office. 

Alice Crowley noted  the students at the high school have impressed her in their behavior (she resides across the street). 

Public Comments

Timothy Schwantz, 904 W. Clay, Chewelah, WA shared his opinions on prospective development in the Airport area.   He noted that he has had two different clients be approached by DNR to purchase property.   They discussed doing a land trade with the city involved.   However, this idea didn’t go anywhere, partially due to lack of support from the City of Chewelah.   He noted that in his conversations with FAA that, because of the proximity of houses to the airport and the length of the runway, the airport will never be considered a FAA airport. 

There is one investor that is still interested.  Mr. Schwantz  shared a concept that he had many years ago on the placement of the runway and planning for the future.

Mr. Davies commented that he believes the city should purchase the land from the DNR and be the developers in order to claim the revenue.  

There were no further public comments to be made.

Adjourn

There being no further business, Mr. Schick made a motion to adjourn the meeting.  Doug Sassman seconded the motion.  The motion passed and the chairperson adjourned the meeting at 7:58 P.M.

Respectfully Submitted,

___________________________________   _______________________________

Tracy Ferrell, Executive Secretary                             Tom Bristol, Chairperson