CERT Members Receive Appreciation at City Council Meeting
City Council July 5, 2011
Fire Chief Devin Hull introduced and then thanked attending members of the Jacksonville CERT team (Community Emergency Response Team) for their service and dedication to helping make the program a success.
CERT Members in attendance shown here, left to right: Chief Hull, Carol Knapp, Jeff Cole, Gayle Lewis, Michele Brown-Riding & Owen Jurling. Bill & Linda Graham are also CERT members, but were not present for photo. Visit the City Website for the full CERT Team and click here for an article by Chief Hull on Emergency Preparations for yourself.
The Council named Lee Niedermeyer to the Cemetery Commission.
A Public Hearing was held for an appeal by real estate developer Todd Zitzner to contest a prior Planning Commission order limiting the number of housing units in the Brookview PUD at 642 Hueners Lane. The commission had previously approved an increase from 19 to 23 units, despite Zitzner’s request for 24 units. Planning department staff cited parking contraints, density and safety concerns on Hueners Lane near Jacksonville Elementary School as primary reasons to deny the request. Zitzner testified that the additional one unit would help facilitate flexibility and allow him to construct more 2 bedroom units which had become more popular choices for buyers in the current economy. After deliberations, the council voted 6-0 to uphold the prior Planning Commission decision to allow construction of 23 units.
Council held its second Public Hearing of the evening for an appeal filed by Marta Lyons over a Planning Commission decision allowing the operation of a prep kitchen at the Frau Kemmling Schoolhaus Brewhaus Restaurant on the Bigham Knoll Campus. At issue was Lyons’ contention that the prep kitchen in the outlying Music Building constituted an expansion of the restaurant. Expansion, she argued, necessitated additional measures to mitigate negative impact on surrounding properties, including her own residence on “G” Street which borders the campus. Planning Director Amy Stevenson noted that FKSB was originally approved to occupy the nearby Music Building but was later shifted to occupy the lower level of the old school house.
That 2008 ruling by former City Administrator Paul Wyntergreen also included approval to relocate the prep kitchen to the Music Building. Stevenson noted that although the Planning Commission had already approved the prep kitchen, it never decided if the use represented an expansion of the business or a stand alone use. An “expansion,” she stated, could require additional Planning Commission requirements to mitigate noise, light and other disturbances. However, since the commission never ruled on the matter, additional mitigation measures were not addressed. During discussion, Councilor Christina Duanne was quick to point out that the prep kitchen, now on the site of the planned restaurant, likely resulted in less of an impact on Lyons’ property. Ms. Lyons countered by saying foot traffic between the two buildings, along with noise and light issues, had actually made the restaurant more intrusive, not less. Darryl Witmore, former Jacksonville Assistant Planner, represented Bigham Knoll owners Mel & Brooke Ashland in their appeal. Witmore reminded council that from the start of the project, it was well known that foot traffic between the two buildings would occur. Additionally, he said, steps had already been taken to mitigate adverse impacts on neighbors, including the installation of a 6’ wood fence and planting of three large cedar trees on the Lyons/Bigham Knoll property line. The fence, he stated, is due for approval by HARC soon and was installed with the intent of being a good neighbor and mitigating noise and light nuisances sooner rather than later. Witmore added that every possible step had been taken to meet minimal adverse impact standards and that the “flip-flopping” of the buildings had actually resulted in fewer adverse impacts on the community.
After deliberation, Councilor David Jesser made a motion to uphold the prior Planning Commission approval of the prep kitchen and to remand the matter back to the Planning Commission to determine if further possible mitigation efforts were needed to protect surrounding properties. After Jesser’s motion was seconded by Councilor Dan Winterburn, all councilors with the exception of Paul Hayes approved the motion.
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