TREMONTON CITY CORPORATION
PLANNING COMMISSION
AUGUST 27, 2019

Members Present:
Micah Capener, Chairman—excused
Val Bennett, Commission Member
Arnold Eberhard, Commission Member—excused
Troy Forrest, Commission Member
Ben Greener, Co-Chairman
Brad Janssen, Commission Member
Tom Stokes, Commission Member
Bret Rohde, City Councilmember
Steve Bench, Zoning Administrator
Shawn Warnke, City Manager
Cynthia Nelson, Deputy Recorder

Co-Chairman Greener called the Planning Commission Meeting to order at 5:32 p.m. The meeting was held August 27, 2019 in the City Council Meeting Room at 102 South Tremont Street, Tremonton, Utah. Co-Chairman Greener, Commission Members Bennett, Forrest, Janssen (arrived at 5:34 p.m.), Stokes, City Councilmember Rohde, Zoning Administrator Bench, City Manager Warnke, and Deputy Recorder Nelson were in attendance. Chairman Capener and Commission Member Eberhard were excused.

1. Approval of agenda:

Motion by Commission Member Stokes to approve the August 27, 2019 agenda. Motion seconded by Commission Member Forrest. Vote: Co-Chairman Greener – aye, Commission Member Forrest – aye, Commission Member Stokes – aye. Motion approved. Commission Member Bennett abstained from voting since he was not at the previous meeting.

2. Approval of minutes—August 13, 2019

Motion by Commission Member Bennett to approve the August 13, 2019 minutes. Motion seconded by Commission Member Stokes. Vote: Co-Chairman Greener – aye, Commission Member Bennett – aye, Commission Member Forrest – aye, Commission Member Stokes – aye. Motion approved.

Co-Chairman Greener called a Public Hearing to order at 5:34 p.m. for public input on a possible rezone. There were 41 people in attendance.

3. Public Hearing:

a. To receive public input regarding proposed rezone or zoning code amendment for Shannon Butler property located at 4985 West 12000 North, parcel ID
05-039-0113. The proposed use of property would be for self-storage units

Jeriann Stevenson said this is in a rural area and 12000 North is a County road so who is going to maintain it? In here there will be lighting, more traffic, and possible burglaries. Storage units are one of the highest places police have to investigate, but if it is not in the City who would patrol that. We want to keep it a rural area without industry.

Mark Hirschi said I live right next door and there will have to be fencing, all night lighting, and security. What if there was a fire? Do they have to have a hydrant? She owns property by the Crossroads where there are already businesses and that would be a more feasible place for storage units. Articles I have read said police have training focused on storage units because they bring crime, drugs, theft, and people live in them. This would make the value of our properties drop.

Ricky Hansen said one of the big concerns I have is when there is development there is no place to drain the water—we have no burrow pits. If you allow this to go in, there will be more asphalt and where is the water going to go? We have high line ditches all around this property and two years ago everyone flooded. When houses develop they go to that ditch line; we cannot spray, and neighbors do not like the smoke when we burn. There are also underground drain lines all through there that they could build on.

Richard Barber said I live across the street from where this is proposed. My biggest concern is the fire hazard. There are no regulations on what people can put in storage and firefighters have no idea what they are going into. They can store fuel and chemicals, and they are often used to hide drugs. If there was a fire and the wind blows toward my house, what am I breathing? This is a small farming community and that is what we like and want to see around us. I am not in favor of this at all.

Patty Haltiner said my biggest concern is once you rezone this little piece, does that open it up so eventually east Tremonton will become more industrial like the west side of town. We are losing our farm ground and agriculture. Is this opening it up to more industry and manufacturing businesses in what should be a rural, residential, agriculture area?

Norm Cunning said if we open it up to industrial and manufacturing then it could become more than just storage units. Those on 11600 have wells and a heavy industry could contaminate and ruin them if they had a chemical leak. There is a place for this but not a half-mile from people who are on wells. Put it somewhere in the City where they have City water and do not have to worry about that contamination.

Mary Lamont said people in this area have built their forever home. It is an agriculture area and we enjoy being a little away from town. The City plans include areas that are proposed for these types of developments. This change is not just for mini storage, the Butlers also mentioned adding storage bays with little shops to work out of with no storefront. Storage units are a fire hazard and a place for squatters. By allowing them to be used for business that are not policed and do not respect the property or the neighbors’ properties. We are not trying to take away rights from the Butlers with their property. It still has value how it is currently zoned. I do not want this zone to be changed.

Laura Selman said we appreciate the time you have taken to listen to our concerns. We love our area in east Tremonton. I am supportive of private property rights, but we do not desire to have the zoning changed in our area. We welcome new people and desire to keep our area as a farming, residential area.

Co-Chairman Greener read two letters, one from Jay Hirschi (see attached), as well as one from Gordon and Patti Knudsen (see attached).

Sam McMurdie said I just want to say amen to what has been said, we are against it.

Co-Chairman Greener closed the Public Hearing at 5:54 p.m.

Co-Chairman Greener called a Public Hearing to order at 5:55 p.m. for public input on a possible rezone. There were 41 people in attendance. There were no public comments, but Administrator Bench explained this is industrial area, behind Malt-O-Meal. T&M Manufacturing purchased it and has future plans to develop their business. The MDB zone did not have all the uses that they want and the MG zone will be a better fit.

b. To receive public input regarding proposed rezoning of property located at 1450 West 1000 North, property ID 06-060-0016, from Manufacturing Distribution-Business Park (MD-B) to Manufacturing-General Industrial District (MG)

Co-Chairman Greener closed the Public Hearing at 5:56 p.m.

4. New Business:

a. Discussion and consideration of proposed rezone or zoning code amendment for Shannon Butler property located at 4985 West 12000 North, parcel ID
05-039-0113. The proposed use of property would be for self-storage units

Commission Member Stokes said what is the County going to do? This is across County and City boarders. Administrator Bench said they have about three acres in the County and eight acres in the City. I am not sure what the County would allow. A resident said she had talked to Scott Lyons with the County about this and he said citizens could propose information to the County and they would be willing to accept that proposal. After the motion to reject this rezone, Administrator Bench said he would get this on the City Council’s September 3 agenda and citizens could voice their concerns during public comment.

Motion by Commission Member Stokes to make the recommendation to reject the rezone of that parcel to the City Council. Motion seconded by Commission Member Forrest. Vote: Co-Chairman Greener – aye, Commission Member Bennett – aye, Commission Member Forrest – aye, Commission Member Janssen – aye, Commission Member Stokes – aye. Motion approved.

b. Discussion and consideration of proposed rezoning of property located at 1450 West 1000 North, property ID 06-060-0016, from Manufacturing Distribution-Business Park (MD-B) to Manufacturing-General Industrial District (MG)

Motion by Commission Member Forrest to accept the proposal and move forward. Motion seconded by Commission Member Stokes. Vote: Co-Chairman Greener – aye, Commission Member Bennett – aye, Commission Member Forrest – aye, Commission Member Janssen – aye, Commission Member Stokes – aye. Motion approved.

c. Further discussion of rezoning property at approximately 2550 West BR Mountain Road – John Losee

Mr. John Losee said we have property on the west side of Tremonton, located back behind Wilson Truck parts that we want to build storage units on. This would act as a great buffer for what is coming and what is already there. We just need to figure out a way to make that happen. I am not sure changing the zoning to industrial is the best plan. It would be better to allow storage units in different places with a conditional use permit. The only place they are allowed currently is in industrial. Administrator Bench said through research it seems that the majority of cities allow them in heavier industrial and commercial areas without residential. Mr. Losee said there are a lot of apartments and homes with smaller lots. They park their vehicles outside because they use their garage for storage so this seems to be a great place for a storage unit as a conditional use.

Co-Chairman Greener said my concern is that there will eventually be an elementary school close to that area and I think it is too close. We zone stuff and it never seems to stay that. I just heard a whole argument from the public on why storage units are bad. Mr. Jay Stocking said we could make it a secure unit with gates. The Commission talked about other things in the area. Commission Member Forrest said having them right against the freeway would be good. Commission Member Bennett said there are storage units across the road already and he would rather see them there than in east Tremonton. Commission Member Forrest said it would be two almost three roads away from the school. To me it fits and I do not see a problem with it. Mr. Stocking said I feel like this is a good solution for the whole community. Those in the area need places to put things.

Administrator Bench suggested they look over the minutes from their last meeting to see what they had discussed. Manager Warnke said we talked about Commercial Highway and how we felt all of Main Street should be zoned that way, along with high traffic corridors. Is that the type of land use we want in that zone? Doing a conditional use would require you to evaluate it and have specific conditions that an application would have to meet to be approved. With the BR Mountain Road there is no clear answer, but we are working toward a future land use plan and we have our transportation corridor plan done. The BR Mountain Road is a minor arterial road that will one day push traffic from there all the way down to 2000 West. This has potential to be a main thoroughfare for the City. Do we want to take the short or long view as far as land uses. Right now there are a variety of land uses and what we want in the future is up to this body by reviewing and making recommendations to the City Council. In some ways it works well as a transition, but long-term it may not be the best land use. It is not always the best strategy to stick all the undesirable land uses next to the interstate because people’s perceptions are based upon what they see and that is our highest traffic corridor. It is a good idea to make sure that interstate exposure presents something positive. Design does make a big difference.

Commission Member Stokes suggested having a condition for a single entrance. Manager Warnke said that area would have controlled accesses with less curb cuts. Administrator Bench has done research on criteria to consider for a conditional use permit. Administrator Bench asked Mr. Losee if they are against saving some frontage for commercial use. Mr. Losee said it is a good thought, but when storage units are out of site and out of mind, there is more crime. Manager Warnke said if we want to consider this as a conditional use then what would you like to see and how would that land use be developed; then we would figure out the appropriate zones and what makes sense. Administrator Bench said he has drafted those conditions and would send them to the Planning Commission for their review. They will continue the discussion during their next meeting. Manager Warnke reminded them that this is a discretionary decision by the City Council based on what is best for the community with recommendations from the Planning Commission.

Councilmember Rohde said Commission Member Bennett is stepping down from his position and asked if they were okay with him presenting Paul Fowler as a replacement to the City Council. They approved.

5. Adjournment

Motion by Commission Member Stokes to adjourn the meeting. Motion seconded by consensus of the Board. The meeting adjourned at 6:29 p.m.

The undersigned duly acting and appointed Recorder for Tremonton City Corporation hereby certifies that the foregoing is a true and correct copy of the minutes of the Planning Commission held on the above referenced date. Minutes were prepared by Jessica Tanner.

Dated this _____day of ___________, 2019.

______________________________
Linsey Nessen, CITY RECORDER

*Utah Code 52-4-202, (6) allows for a topic to be raised by the public and discussed by the public body even though it was not included in the agenda or advance public notice given; however, no final action will be taken.