DRAFT – These minutes are not official until approved at the next regular City Council meeting.

City of Bigfork

Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting June 5, 2007

Members Present: Gus David, Lonnie Kacon, Ann McGarry, Richard Salmi and Amy Tendrup

Members Absent: none

Also Present: none

Chairman Gus David called the meeting to order at 6:04 p.m.

Motion by McGarry, seconded by Kacon to approve the minutes of the May 1, 2007 meeting, motion carried unanimously (MCU).

Review of Meter Reading, Water/Sewer Billing Procedure: Storlie reported that she had received a number of complaints regarding the new water/sewer billing procedure. The new procedure is to read meters quarterly and to bill based on the past year's average usage in months that meters are not read. A number of customers received a higher than average bill when meters were read in April. The Commission felt that it was to soon to abandon this new procedure and felt that it should be continued for at least one year before any changes were considered. Storlie will notify customers that they have the option to call their reading in each month in order to avoid any inconsistencies due to the use of averages.

Sign Ordinance Information/Review: Storlie received information from the League of Minnesota Cities regarding sign ordinances. The City's sign ordinance is in need of some review and changes. The Commission requested that Storlie provide copies of the current ordinance, as well as the Highway 38 sign ordinance for them to compare to the model ordinance supplied by the League.

Other Zoning Ordinance Changes: Storlie suggested other changes to the Zoning Ordinance for consideration. The first was a time limit on land use permits. It was determined that permits would expire one year from the date of approval. An applicant would be allowed to come in and renew the permit for free if they did so before the expiration date. If they did not renew before the expiration date, they would be required to pay the application fee again in order to renew the permit.

It was determined that the permit fee for a fence would be $25.

The final item discussed was whether or not to require a survey of property in conjunction with a land use permit application. Storlie reported that the City has no way of knowing where the property lines are when they are conducting an inspection of the property. This makes it very difficult to determine if setbacks have been met. It was determined that it would be the responsibility of the applicant to mark their property lines. If no survey pin is currently present on the property to use as a starting point, the application would be required to have a survey done. If a pin already exists, they would be allowed to measure out the boundaries and mark the property lines themselves.

Salmi clarified that any existing buildings/projects are grandfathered in.

Title XI - Business Regulations: Storlie provided copies of the model ordinance for business regulations. This is the next ordinance contained in the Minnesota Basic Code for the Commission to review. Storlie noted that the Commission had already drafted, and the City Council had passed, a liquor and adult use ordinance. The other sections of the model ordinance were for commercial amusements, peddlers/solicitors, and tattoo and body piercing services. The Commission did not see a need to license these types of businesses at this time.

Other Business: Salmi stated that Bill Schwartz wants to find a spot in the City of Bigfork to put class five and possibly a well. He suggested the city-owned property on the north end of the City on Highway 38. Tendrup made a motion to recommend that the City Council look into the value of this property and discuss the possibility of selling it, seconded by Kacon, MCU.

Salmi stated that there is a good well at Bergquist that could be used to support additional businesses near the airport. He stated that there was a medical company interested in using the airport for it's central hub and he would be talking to the hospital about this.

The Planning Commission meeting was adjourned at 6:50 p.m.

Angie Storlie

City Clerk/Treasurer