Chair Mike Schell presided and called the meeting to order by Zoom teleconference at 4:00pm on Wednesday, November 4^th, 2020. Committee Members present: Jim Wright, Bill Carlblom, Jeff Erickson, Bobby Koepplin, and Joe Faure. Mike Bishop was absent

     Others: City Attorney Carl Martineck, City Administrator Gwen Crawford, City Assessor/ Acting Secretary Sandy Hansen, and Interim Building Inspectors Lance Coit & Mike Blevins.

     Audience members: Luke Trapp.

     Jim Wright moved to approve the Minutes of the June 10^th, 2020 regular meeting, seconded by Bobby Koepplin, followed by roll call and approval.

Public Hearing for a Rezone Application for Lots 1 & 2, Block 4, Maier’s Addition, located on 3^rd Ave NW, Valley City (63-2660177), and West 50’ Lots 4-5-6, Block 3, Maier’s Addition, located at 111-1/2 St NW (63-2660173), Valley City; request filed by Luke Trapp.

      Chair Mike Schell opened the public hearing. As there were no inquiries or questions, Wright moved to close the public hearing with Joe Faure a second. Followed was internal discussion. Chair Schell said that since there were two parcels to consider, the board should discuss each parcel separately starting with Lots 1 & 2 along 3^rd Ave NW. Wright stated that he didn’t think it looked buildable. Chair Schell asked Interim Building Inspector Lance Coit what he saw when he looked over the site; Coit told the board he was concerned about hill slides in that area and had photos to point that out. Chair Schell said he also looked over the area and mentioned water leaks coming out of the hill and leaching out of the pavement below, indicating underground water problems. Land owner Luke Trapp told the board he had a professional surveyor look over the property and told him that any land is buildable but for what he wants to do, it may be cost prohibitive. Trapp indicated he would not be going forward with his plans to build on this property. Wright moved to deny the first part of the rezone request regarding Lots 1 & 2, with Faure seconding followed by roll call and unanimous approval. The board moved on to the second part of the request which was a rezone and also a replat request. Trapp said he wants to add on to his deck but doesn’t have adequate green space to allow it and needs this added parcel to get approval. But the issue is that this parcel next to his residential parcel is in a separate subdivision and cannot be combined to his home parcel without a replat. The board felt this solution was more complicated than it had to be, plus there was no map to actually consider a replat. After discussion with City Attorney Carl Martineck, it was decided that Trapp should apply for a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) which would allow him to proceed with construction. Koepplin moved to deny the request for a rezone/replat with Wright seconding followed by roll call and unanimous approval.

Discussion on penalties for zoning violations

     City Attorney Martineck said the city is taking more interest in properties that have junk & abandoned cars, and it was noticed that a number of properties have construction equipment and building materials that don’t qualify as junk but violate zoning codes. Currently the only recourse the city has is to charge property owners with a criminal penalty or take them to District Court and sue them to remove their property. Martineck discussed this issue with City Administrator Gwen Crawford and Police Chief Phil Hatcher and it was suggested changing that to administrative or civil penalties rather than going to court. Martineck wanted to get direction from the board if this was something they would like pursued. The board agreed that they would like to see this go forward.

Building Inspector Report

     Interim Building Inspector Coit gave a general overview as to what had been happening since the June meeting. There has been a total of 48 permits issued for various projects since that time. Mike Blevins of Midwest Inspection Services let the board know that Coit has been working alongside him on many projects and is more that capable. Blevins said projects have been going well; the three main commercial projects currently underway – Love’s Travel Plaza, the Barnes County Correctional facility & the VCSU Fine Arts building –  are all moving forward as scheduled with no delays at this time.

Adjourn

     With no other items to discuss, Chair Schell called for the meeting to close at 4:38pm.

  Chair Mike Schell presided and called the meeting to order at 4:00pm on Wednesday, June 10^th, 2020. Committee Members present: Jim Wright, Bill Carlblom, Jeff Erickson, Bobby Koepplin, and Dave Carlsrud. Joe Faure was absent.

     Others: City Building Inspector Dave Andersen, City Assessor/Acting Secretary Sandy Hansen, City Attorney Carl Martineck, and City Administrator Gwen Crawford.

     Jim Wright moved to approve the Minutes of the May 13th meeting, seconded by Bill Carlblom, followed by roll call and approval.

Public Hearing for the Purpose of Considering an Amendment to Section 11-05-18 of the Valley City Municipal Code which affects temporary uses such as mobile vendors.

      Chair Mike Schell opened the public hearing. With no public comment, Carlblom moved to close the public hearing with Wright second and board approval. Internal discussion began. Building Inspector Dave Andersen clarified that at this time, no permits are issued for mobile vendors. Forms would need to be created and reasonable time allowed for backgrounds checks of applicants. He suggested forms be allowed to be mailed or by electronic applications.  Andersen also pointed out vendors need a place nearby for employees to be able to take restroom breaks. Continued discussion focused on how long a mobile vendor should be allowed to be in one spot and what type of time frame and fee should be on applications. When the question came up as to why the board was considering this, Dave Carlsrud said he hoped it would ‘level the playing field’ since local restaurants & businesses pay property & sales taxes thus investing in the community. He added the city deals with complaints regarding mobile vendors every year and required applications would allow for some control and/or restrictions. City Attorney Carl Martineck added that it would also make it a way to ensure that vendors are following through with required health department licenses, paying sale taxes, etc. After more discussion, Bobby Koepplin made a motion that all fees be set by the City Commission (Section 11-05-08(3) – consider changing responsibility for setting fee from Planning Commission to City Commission), seconded by Jim Wright and board approval. Wright made a motion that revocation of permits NOT be done by Planning & Zoning – those who issue the permit can revoke the permit, and the appeal process will go to City Commission (Section 11-05-08(7)(b) – consider changing permit denial review from Planning Commission to City Commission), seconded by Koepplin and board approval. Carlsrud made a motion that time frames also be set by the City Commission as they have more resources to determine what those should be, and also that electronic communication be allowed (Section 8-08-04(4) – consider specific time instead of ‘reasonable time.” Consider allowing denial to be provided by any means of written communication rather that US mail only. Also Section 11-05-08(10) – review definition of Mobile food truck for clarity; consider 10 day maximum for food trucks), seconded by Wright and board approval.

Building/Fire Inspector Dave Andersen’s Report

     Andersen reported a busy week. Love’s Travel Center will soon begin construction, and both the new County Jail and the VCSU Art Center were given permits to begin concrete work on their projects. Wright asked that those with the VCSU project be reminded to use the ‘feeder’ road – 4^th Ave – to avoid damage to other roads not prepared for heavy truck traffic. An outside company was looking at property within city limits for firework storage and Andersen is looking into the ramifications of that request.

Adjourn – With no other items to discuss, Chair Schell called for the meeting to close at 4:59pm.

Submitted by: City Assessor Sandy Hansen, Acting Secretary

  Chair Mike Schell presided and called the meeting to order by Zoom teleconference at 4:00pm on Wednesday, May 13^th, 2020. Committee Members present: Jim Wright, Bill Carlblom, Jeff Erickson, Bobby Koepplin (joined late), Joe Faure and Dave Carlsrud.

     Others: City Building Inspector Dave Andersen, City Assessor/Acting Secretary Sandy Hansen, City Attorney Carl Martineck, and Brian Heath representing KLJ.

     Audience members: Gregg Stroeng, Chris Johnson; Mickey Kvien.

     Bill Carlblom moved to approve the Minutes of the April 8th regular meeting and the April 29^th special meeting, seconded by Joe Faure, followed by roll call and approval.

Public Hearing for a Plat Request of Love’s Addition (63-2601150) which includes a subdivision of land for development of Love’s Travel Stop. Request submitted by Roserock Holdings LLC.

      Chair Mike Schell opened the public hearing. Gregg Stroeng & Chris Johnson of CEI Engineering/Bolton & Menk were available as representation for Love’s if there were any questions from the board. As there were no questions, Jim Wright moved to close the public hearing with Carlblom a second. With no internal discussion points, Carlblom moved to recommend a do pass to the city commission of the plat with Faure seconding followed by roll call and approval. Chair Schell mentioned to the representatives that the commission meeting would be the next Tuesday, May 19^th, at 5pm if they wanted to be available to that board.

Public Hearing for Replat Request of Lot 5, South Valley Addition (63-4990050). Request submitted by Maurice & Peggy Kvien.

      Chair Schell opened the public hearing. Property owner Mickey Kvien explained that he wanted to subdivide his property as it is currently for sale but he wanted to keep a portion for access to a cold storage building. Building Inspector Dave Andersen said that Kvien has enough square footage of land for the building but not enough front footage, so Kvien may need a variance to have the building on this replatted lot. Andersen explained there was plenty of depth but the new lot would lack the minimum 100’ frontage as it only has 50’ frontage. Wright moved to close the public hearing with Jeff Erickson seconding. Internal discussion followed. City Attorney Carl Martineck stated that if the board approved the replat, the variance would be included because of that approval. Andersen said he was concerned about fencing issues if the remaining property was continued to be used as a salvage yard but Kvien assured him that it is no longer a salvage yard and that he was not marketing it as such. Dave Carlsrud asked if there was a hard reason to deny the replat/variance and Schell remarked that there was not a hard reason, but variances are usually issued if there is a hardship issue and this wasn’t a hardship issue so he was concerned about setting a precedent for future requests. Wright moved to recommend a do-pass of the replat as is to the City Commission with Carlblom seconding. The board approved with Bobby Koepplin and Schell voting nay.

Building/Fire Inspector Dave Andersen’s Report

     Andersen reported that the Love’s architects cleared up some issues with the original building plan and a new one will have some amendments. Anderson also said he had been expecting updates from the college regarding the new Arts Center but hadn’t heard from them.

Adjourn

     With no other items to discuss, Chair Schell called for the meeting to close at 4:23pm.

Submitted by: City Assessor Sandy Hansen, Acting Secretary

Chair Mike Schell presided and called the meeting to order by teleconference at 4:00pm on
Wednesday, April 8th, 2020.

Committee Members present: Jim Wright, Bill Carlblom, Jeff Erickson, Bobby Koepplin, Joe Faure and Dave Carlsrud.

Others: City Building Inspector Dave Andersen, City Assessor/Acting Secretary Sandy Hansen, City Attorney Carl Martineck, and Brian Heath representing KLJ.

Audience members: Jennifer Feist representing Valley City Barnes County Development Corporation.

Bill Carlblom moved to approve the Minutes of the March 11th, 2020 regular meeting, seconded by Jim Wright followed by roll call and approval.

Public Hearing for Rezone Request of Lot 3 Plecity Mobile Home Park Addition submitted by Lee Olsberg.

Chair Schell opened the public hearing. Brian Heath spoke for the owner, Lee Olsberg, telling the board that Olsberg wanted to rezone Lot 3 of the newly platted Plecity Mobile Home Park Addition from R-3 Mobile Home to B-2 Highway Business. Lot 3 is on the far west end of the new plat and the rezone would make it similar to other properties bordering that lot. Building Inspector Dave Andersen concurred that the lot is behind RC Welding and similar businesses, and rezoning would fall in line with the neighboring land in that area. Carlblom moved to close the public hearing with Wright seconding. Internal discussion followed. Wright asked for some clarification regarding the zoning of the rest of Plecity Addition; it will remain as R-3 but this lot is on the far west end and rezoning would fit. Following board approval to close the hearing, Joe Faure moved to recommend a do pass to the city commission of the rezone with Carlblom seconding followed by roll call and approval.

Public Hearing for Replat Request of Greenline Deere Second Addition submitted by Valley City Barnes County Development Corporation.

Chair Schell opened the public hearing. Jennifer Feist told the board the new replat shows the division of the lot but did not include the road on the west side. There were no other clarifications. Carlblom moved to close the public hearing with Wright a second. Bobby Koepplin expressed concern regarding the roads not being identified, stating the need for consistency in plats presented to the board. City Attorney Carl Martinek said that a replat would need to me done if a road was added at a later date to show where it would go. Following board approval to close the hearing, Wright moved to recommend a do-pass of the replat to the City Commission with Carlblom seconding. The board approved with Koepplin the lone nay vote.

Building/Fire Inspector Dave Andersen’s Report

City Attorney Martinek asked for some time first to get the board’s approval for a
special meeting toward the end of the month to receive a rezone/replat for the VCSU
Arts Center so construction on the new building could proceed. Chair Schell agreed to meet with Martinek after the meeting to determine the best date. Andersen then told the board he had heard from Love’s just this last week and will be receiving blueprints soon so that project will soon be underway.

Adjourn

With no other items to discuss, Chair Schell called for the meeting to close at 4:15pm.

Submitted by:

City Assessor andy Hansen, Acting Secretary

Chair Mike Schell presided and called the meeting to order by Zoom conference at 4:00pm on Wednesday, April 29th, 2020. Committee Members present: Jim Wright, Bill Carlblom, Jeff Erickson, Bobby Koepplin, Joe Faure and Dave Carlsrud.

Others: City Attorney Carl Martineck, City Assessor/Acting Secretary Sandy Hansen. Audience members: Wesley Wintch – Vice President of VCSU Business Affairs, Bath Kalin HGA Project Engineer and Bradley Roath – HGA Civil Engineer.

Public Hearing for Rezone Request public use of West ½ of Lot 10, East 74.25’ of Lots 11 and 12, Lots 13 and 14 less the North 105’, and Lot 15 of Block 3, Andrus and Sifton’s Addition (VCSU Center for Arts).

Chair Mike Schell opened the public hearing and asked if there had been any contacts or concerns regarding the rezone request. City Attorney Carl Martineck said there had been no calls or concerns. Bill Carlblom moved to close the public hearing with Jim Wright second and full board approval. Chair Schell then asked if those in attendance had any other information to share other than the presentation sent to all members. VP Wesley Wintch gave a brief history of the project which started about six years ago, including having to qualify for state funding by buying properties through the VCSU Foundation, having the project stall when the state surplus was no longer a surplus, and finally getting state funding approved for $32 million when the state legislature met last spring. Wintch said the rezoning is just another step toward the construction for the new Center for the Arts which will house the university’s arts & music programs and faculty, plus feature an art gallery and concert hall as a benefit for the entire community. The HGA team were willing to walk the board through the presentation they had shared by email, but the
Zoom technology did not allow for that. Bobby Koepplin moved for a do-pass recommendation to the city commission for rezoning the property from R-4 to Public, with Dave Carlsrud seconding and unanimous board approval. Martineck reminded the representatives from HGA and VCSU that the rezone request/recommendation will be presented to the Valley City Commission next Tuesday, May 5th at 5pm if they would like to attend in case the city commission members had any questions.

Adjourn

Chair Schell called for the meeting to close at 4:09pm.

Submitted by:

City Assessor andy Hansen, Acting Secretary

Chair Mike Schell presided and called the meeting to order at 4:00pm on Wednesday, March 11^th, 2020. Committee Members present: Jim Wright, Bill Carlblom, Jeff Erickson, and Bobby Koepplin. Joe Faure and Dave Carlsrud were absent.

Others: City Building Inspector Dave Andersen, City Assessor/Acting Secretary Sandy Hansen, City Attorney Carl Martineck, Brian Heath and Michael Strom representing KLJ.

Audience members: Melissa Remick, John Sorenson, Bob Drake, Rhonda Olsberg, Lee Olsberg, Donny Eberle representing Bridgetown Development, Loni Trapp, Warren Remick, Jamie Thebo, Perry Kapaun representing Barnes Rural Water District, Jennifer Feist representing Valley City Barnes County Development Corporation, Eugene Johnson, Shawn Cole.

Jim Wright moved to approve the Minutes of the February 12^th regular meeting, seconded by Bill Carlblom, followed by roll call and approval.

Public Hearing for Plat Request of Waterfront Meadows Addition submitted by Bridgetown Development LLP.

Chair Mike Schell opened the public hearing. Donny Eberle of Bridgetown Builders presented a preliminary plat of Waterfront Meadows south of Lakeshore Acres that featured 49 residential lots, 20 of those to be townhomes. Eberle questioned the need of sidewalks required by city ordinance regulations for any newly annexed development unless deemed impractical or unsuitable. He pointed out plans for a walking path along the lake, a planned park and wider streets than required to allow for a designated walking area. He added that putting in sidewalks as the development grew would be impractical as it could take years for the lots to sell and be developed. Chair Schell called for comments from the public and 3-4 audience members came forward to review the map with Eberle and KLJ. When the meeting resumed, Michael Strom mentioned that the neighboring addition – Lakeshore Acres – did not have sidewalks so putting in sidewalks in the new addition would have them lead to nowhere. Wright moved to close the public hearing with Bobby Koepplin seconding with all in favor. Internal discussion followed. Chair Schell pointed out the plat could be recommended for approval with conditions including defining and identifying the wider roadway, park and walking path on the final plat. KLJ’s Brian Heath mentioned that the pond, walking path & park are all unusable land and asked for guidance on how it should be indicated on the plat. Attorney Carl Martineck said it should be designated as something – perhaps its own lot. Koepplin moved to recommend a do pass to the city commission of the plat with the conditions to be met of defining the wider roadway, identifying the park & walking path, giving the pond and unusable land a designated lot number, and approval of no sidewalks needed. Wright seconded followed by roll call and approval.

Public Hearing for Plat Request of Plecity Mobile Home Park Addition submitted by Lee Olsberg.

Chair Schell opened the public hearing. The owner of Plecity Mobile Home Park, Lee Olsberg, told the board this land is still a Metes & Bounds description and that he wanted to take advantage of the City’s offer to pay half the cost of platting for any Metes & Bounds parcels within city limits. He also wanted to take the opportunity to rezone part of the land to B-2 commercial instead of the R-4 designation it now is. He was reminded that the rezone issue would have to be taken up at the April meeting to allow proper legal notifications to be posted regarding the rezone. Audience member Shawn Cole expressed concern about the commercial lot having older trailer houses but was told that wouldn’t be allowed if rezoned commercial. Martineck said there were still some easements – sanitary sewer, utilities and road easements – that needed to be defined as to location for the final plat. There was also a question about the road easements and if they should be dedicated to the public or should be private. Olsberg just want to be sure his commercial lot was not landlocked with no access. He was told that should be taken care of with the proper easements indicated on the final plat. Carlblom moved to close the public hearing with Jeff Erickson seconding and board approval. Internal discussion continued on road easements and proper widths of those easements. Heath is working on the platting and will do further investigation on whether 17^th Avenue can be widened to 60’ while he’s working on defining other easements. Koepplin moved to recommend a do pass to the city commission of the plat with the conditions of confirmation and inclusion of utility easements and a possible 60’ right of way of 17^th Avenue SW. Carlblom seconded followed by roll call and approval.

Information regarding possible Planned Unit Development (PUD) request from Bob Drake.

Bob Drake told the board he is putting together plans for a Planned Unit Development on his land along 12^th Ave SE. He hopes to create a development of 13-15 entry-level homes along with some storage units and he was looking to the board for direction in how he should be proceeding with the PUD requirements and requesting the vacating of 11^th Ave SE to allow more room for development. He said core samples had been done to address any sliding concerns. Building Inspector Dave Andersen said he had no concerns about vacating the road. Koepplin said that if Drake has done his homework regarding whether the lots were buildable through core samples, he should proceed with generating a plat map indicating lot layout and utility easements. Drake explained going the PUD route would allow for smaller lots and more homes; Anderson pointed out the setbacks were the same as other developments, including the need for storm water management plans. Martineck said that the PUD process was a little different in that the P&Z commission needs to approve the preliminary plan before Drake engages the engineer to do further work – so now would be the time for questions. Schell asked Drake about timelines and suggested he bring in a formal request, a preliminary plat and more information to the April meeting for board approval; he also asked the bore samples be brought to the building inspector.

Building/Fire Inspector Dave Andersen’s Report

Andersen said that some plans were filtering in for the proposed jail, Love’s Truck Stop is moving slowly ahead, and the VCSU Music Building has some issues with the soil bores and may need substantial foundational pilings prior to building.  Other than that, chatter indicates that the outlook is for a big year in construction within city limits.

Adjourn

With no other items to discuss, Chair Schell called for the meeting to close at 5:09pm.

Submitted by:

City Assessor Sandy Hansen, Acting Secretary

Chair Mike Schell presided and called the meeting to order at 4:00pm on Wednesday, February 12th, 2020. Committee Members present: Jim Wright, Bill Carlblom, Jeff Erickson, Bobby Koepplin and Dave Carlsrud. Joe Faure was absent.

Others: City Building Inspector Dave Andersen, City Assessor/Acting Secretary Sandy Hansen, City Attorney Carl Martinek, Brian Heath and Chad Petersen representing KLJ; Mark Swanberg was in the audience. On the phone, Chris Johnson from CEI Engineering, and Steve Walters from Love’s.

Jim Wright moved to approve the Minutes of the January 8^th regular meeting, seconded by Bill Carlblom, followed by roll call and approval.

Public Hearing for Conditional Use Permit for Love’s Travel Stop & Country Store development. Request submitted by CIT Engineering & Associates, Inc for Love’s.

Chair Schell opened the public hearing and with no public input or comments, Bobby Koepplin moved to close the hearing with Wright seconding. Internal conversation was opened. A conditional use permit is required for the proposed 2800 square foot of food service in a light industrial zone. Chris Johnson from CEI Engineering, and Steve Walters from Love’s remarked by conference call that they wanted to be sure they were following all standards & codes required by the city. They also said the preliminary plat should be approved in the next week or so and sent in so plans could go forward. As no concerns or questions were presented by the board or public, Carlblom moved to recommend a do pass to the City Commission; Jeff Erickson seconded followed by unanimous approval. The reps thanked them for the opportunity to call in rather than travel, allowing them to handle business through a conference call.

Information regarding possible replat of Lot 1 Block 1 Greenline Deere 2^nd Addition

Brian Heath of KLJ asked for time before the board as he wanted them to have a heads up on a replat of the Greenline Deere Addition for the proposed jail site to accommodate a 70’ access road. This is next to the land the City leases to the National Guard and the proposed 35’ wide road would straddle some of that property. There were some questions as to the placement of the road and also locations for a detention pond; Heath conceded that the current plan is tight regarding square footage and the neighboring lot owned by the Development Corp, and they wanted clarity so plans were ready to move ahead. Chair Schell interjected that the Planning & Zoning board won’t be deciding where the road is without a plat so they should move on.

Building/Fire Inspector Dave Andersen’s Report

Dave Andersen mentioned that John Deere Implement was looking for some infrastructure help for the city, Love’s Travel Stop should begin building soon, and the Valley City State University’s new music building is still up in the air but he should know soon when construction would start.

Adjourn

With no other items to discuss, Chair Schell called for the meeting to close at 4:20pm.

Submitted by:

City Assessor Sandy Hansen, Acting Secretary

Chair Mike Schell presided and called the meeting to order at 4:00pm on Wednesday, January 8th, 2020. Committee Members present: Jim Wright, Bill Carlblom, Jeff Erickson, and Dave Carlsrud. Joe Faure and Bobby Koepplin were absent.

Others: City Assessor/Acting Secretary Sandy Hansen, City Attorney Carl Martinek, Brian Heath and Felix Liebold representing KLJ; no audience members.

Bill Carlblom moved to approve the Minutes of the June 12^th regular meeting, seconded by Jeff Erickson, followed by roll call and approval.

Public Hearing for Replat of Lots 2-17 of Walker’s Addition which includes dedication of public right of way on publicly owned lots. Request submitted by the City of Valley City.

Chair Schell opened the public hearing and Jim Wright asked what the reason was behind the request. KLJ’s Brian Heath offered to explain. Doing research for upcoming flood wall construction, it was discovered that when the street was widened to 50’, there was no record of vacating a 10-foot strip on the north side of Lots 2-17 to do so. Those lots are now all owned by either the City, Valley City Parks & Rec, or Valley City State University and all have FEMA covenants that restrict any building or construction on the lots. In finding that the 10-ft strip was never dedicated to the city, to move forward and make it ‘legal & proper’ it would either have to be adjudicated or replatted to get it corrected preceeding construction; the 10 feet would also allow for placement of the floodwall without covenant restrictions. Wright moved to close the public hearing with Dave Carlsrud a second and unanimous approval. As there was no further internal discussion regarding the replat, Wright moved to approve and recommend to the City Commission the replat as presented; Carlblom seconded followed by unanimous approval.

Adjourn

With no other items to discuss, and Building Inspector Dave Andersen absent and unable to present a report, Chair Schell called for the meeting to close at 4:06pm.

Submitted by:

City Assessor Sandy Hansen, Acting Secretary