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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2007-07-10 SpecialMINUTES SPECIAL MEETING BOARD OF ALDERMEN RIVERSIDE, MISSOURI Tuesday, July 10, 2007 6:30 p.m. The Board of Aldermen for the City of Riverside, Missouri, met in special session in the Board of Aldermen Chambers at City Hall, 2950 NW Vivion Road, Riverside, Missouri. Mayor Rose called the meeting to order. Those in attendance were Mayor Kathy Rose, Aldermen Mike Fuller, Bernie Bruns, Pam Dazata, Mark Salyer, Dave Hurt and Ron Super. Also present were David Blackburn, City Administrator, Jane Henry, Executive Administration Assistant, Donna Resz, Finance Director, Chief Gregory Mills, Brent Miles, Director of Planning & Economic Development, Jeff Rupp, Public Works Director, John McClelland, City Attorney and Sarah Thompson, Administrative Clerk. Opening Comments Planning and Development Director Brent Miles explained the public hearing process for the evening and apologized to those present for the discrepancy in starting times. The hearing was advertised in the newspaper as having a 7:00 p.m. starting time but was advertised in the city's newsletter and on the web site as 6:30 p.m. Therefore, since the official notice is the advertisement in the newspaper, the public heazing could not begin until 7:00 p.m. Mayor Rose spoke about the recent golf tournament sponsored by the City and the Riverside Chamber of Commerce to benefit PALS, the Police Athletic League. She said the event was very successful with almost 150 golfers participating. The mayor also talked about attending the changing of command for the Army Corps of Engineers. A swearing-in ceremony was held on July 9 at the Liberty Memorial. She said the ceremony was interesting and it was helpful to meet and talk with the new leader, Colonel Roger Wilson. Several aldermen and the mayor said they were having difficulty receiving email sent to them through the web site. They apologized for any delay in responding to citizens. Rose noted the Riverside Chamber of Commerce lunch at the Community Center on July 12 at noon. A presentation will be made by the Briarcliff development team about their plans for expanding into Riverside. Rose announced the first meeting of the city's streetscape committee on July 12 at 6:00 p.m. in City Hall. The committee will consider options for landscaping and signage at the entrances to the city and along the thoroughfares. The August 4 Household Hazazdous Waste disposal drop-off will be conducted in the City Hall pazking lot from 8:00-11:00 a.m. The aldermen and mayor discussed fireworks on and around the July 4 holiday. Rose said that fireworks is a "very divided issue. People either love it or they hate it " She said there were a lot of fireworks in the parks and some on city streets. Overall, safety seemed good. Alderman Fuller said that rain kept fireworks and the risk of fire under control but that it is always a concern because the city is surrounded by trees and foliage. A citizen in the audience asked about the economic impact of the fireworks sales. Alderman Super said it was azound $31,000. Alderman Bruns was on vacation for the holiday and said that he noticed a lot of fireworks sales where they were visiting. Public Heazing Mayor Rose opened the public heazing for the proposed Riverside Proposed Annexation into annexation at 7:01 p.m. City of Riverside Mo Planning and Development Director Brent Miles said the project, Montebella, is being developed by Northwood Holding, LLC. An election will be held on August 7 to decide the annexation. By state statute, the city has the right to annex with certain requirements; at least 15% of the area annexed has to touch the city and with Montebella it is 55%. The aldermen need to find the annexation is reasonable and necessary. Tonight's public hearing will provide an overall description and will answer questions from the public. The public hearing will then be tabled to July 24 to answer further questions from citizens. Miles gave an overview of the project. He said 30-40 villas are planned for land that is already in the city, on the east side of Northwood Road. The rest of the project will be platted in the county. The addition will be built in 4 to 5 phases with the time line depending on the demands of the marketplace, and will consist of 289 high end homes ranging in cost from $400,000 to $750,000. The neighborhood will have a home owners association, trails and a pool. The project will be built regazdless of whether or not it is annexed into the city. Northwood Road is a main north south artery that serves the students and staff at Pazk Hill South High School. The road is unsafe due to the lack of appropriate shoulders and the narrowness of it. Part of the road is in the City and part of it is in Pazkville Special Road District. Pazkville Special maintains roads outside several cities but Riverside has been maintaining the road for the last 4 yeazs because of safety issues and because it has a lot of traffic from PH South students and the citizens of Riverside. The developer and the city have reached a compromise on Northwood Road. The developer has offered to pay 100% of the design costs and 70% of the construction costs for a road the city was going to have to improve anyway. The city has been given a not to exceed number of $300,000. In the ETC citizen survey, taken in the spring of 2006, one of the questions dealt with annexation. 64% were in favor of annexation, 23% were unsure of the benefits and only 10% were against it. 2 The benefits are threefold: 1) Increased taxes 2) Improved demographics 3) Storm water management. 1) The city doesn't have property taxes but other taa revenue is gained. Utility franchise tax is a % of each citizen's utility bill. Approximately $115,000 would come from the annexed neighborhood. Motor fuel tax is based on population. Though it is difficult, it can be estimated to be about $36,000/yeaz, or $151,000 for both. Sales tax revenue will also increase but it is hard to quantify. 2) Demographic information is compiled on each municipality that includes property ownership and income. The goal is to increase owner occupied housing. Demographics are important because businesses look at them when determining whether or not they will locate in a city. In the survey, residents indicated they wanted more services, eg., service stations, grocery store and pharmacy. Right now, Riverside's demographics do not support these services. 3) Storm water management is the most critical issue of this annexation. Riverside is in the Line Creek watershed which originates north of KCI Airport. All water coming from the north flows to the Missouri River. Because of the location of Montebella, all water coming from the north through the proposed subdivision drains into Horizons and then into the river. The city has the strictest storm water management codes and it has more power to control water runoff if the area is within the city. If it is in the county, the county will decide what to do or not do about the issue. If the annexation is approved by voters, the city will have to provide services to the residents in the area. Public Safety will have to increase manpower, not just for this project but for Horizons and other developments in the city. Water and sewer service is not an issue for the city because the city has no involvement in that service. The city will provide street maintenance and snow removal for the addition. The ten- foot trail in Montebella that will connect with the public trails will be maintained by the home owners association. Trash service to that area at full build-out will cost an additional $38,000 a yeaz. Riverside will not be responsible for providing ambulance service because the project is in the South Platte Ambulance District. The homeowners will be assessed an ambulance district tax for that service. Mayor Rose asked for questions and comments from those present. Chad Means, 5001 Northwood Road, said that Miles' presentation answered most of his questions. He said the Northwood Road is unsafe and he has seen students from the high school flip their cazs over. Because of safety issues, school buses will not stop to pick up or drop off students along that road. Then, he asked, "Why aze we voting on it?" Miles responded that when 5% of the registered voters in the city petition, an election becomes mandatory. Evelyn Poe, 3002 NW Florence, a member of the planning and commission, said we have 5 developing areas and that calls for more 3 services. How many more people will be on the city staffto serve them? Rose replied that the city is going through a growth spurt and we are short staffed now. Miles said this project alone will not increase staffing but the total of all projects/development will. Currently, our developments are Gatewoods 1 and 2, Gatewoods 3, Skyline and Briarcliff. John Barth, co-developer of the project, spoke to the Board and to the citizens. He said that great strides had been made in Riverside in recent years. From his standpoint, he sees pocket developments being built all over the county that are not connected to a city and have no sense of community. One of his developments, Thousand Oaks, is split in 2 parts; part is in the county and part in a city. Consequently, there are 2 very different types of citizens. "Getting people together, working together makes for a better community." Mike Purcell, co-developer with Barth, said he has owned the property since 1995. He has always been a good neighbor and is excited about developing the properly that has the most excellent view of any vacant property left. The views of the city are outstanding. Al Bowman, 3214 NW Vivion Road, a member of the planning and zoning commission, said it is a win-win situation for the city and he can't see any reason not to annex. Cindi Rice, executive director of the Riverside Chamber of Commerce, said the Chamber Board of Directors endorsed the annexation unanimously. Approving the annexation will help advance the business community. Aaron Locke, 4529 Apache, a member of the city's planning and zoning commission, asked, "If we do not approve the annexation, will the county do what is necessary to protect the area and manage the stormwater? Or will the city have to do it anyway?" Miles replied that the county has other priorities. With development all over the unincorporated part of the county, they are "strung out "The Parkville Special Road District doesn't take care of Northwood Road now. Mitchell Burch, 4930 High Drive, told the board he has been a resident of Riverside for years and can't see why the city wouldn't want this type of development. Nicholas Welliver, 3007 Florence, asked how long it would take to build out the subdivision. Miles responded that they plan on 4 or 5 phases but the length of time depends on the housing market. Development of any housing subdivision is driven by market conditions. John Barth said they have had many inquiries and he thinks it will be built out quickly because of the great location, outstanding view and good schools. He said the upper price range is still selling well because it is less affected by the interest increase. I • • ~ ~ Miles said he would recommend continuing the public hearing to July 24 at 6:30 p.m. Motion to continue the Alderman Hurt made a motion to continue the Public Hearing on Public Hearing to July 24 annexation to July 24 at 6:30 p.m. Alderman Fuller seconded the motion and the vote was: Aye: Aldermen Bruns, Fuller, Darata, Salyer, Hurt and Super. Motion passed. Adjournment The meeting was adjourned by unanimous consent. X~ J e eery, Executive A istration Assistant