Laserfiche WebLink
needed some property to realign First Street, and the City gave them <br />nine acres in this area. <br /> <br />Mr. Sayre stated that he attended church meetings there, and the church <br />representatives have said they are poor stewards of the land, and they have never been <br />able to do anything with the property. He indicated that he has questioned why they <br />were saying this because while the property is a dirt lot, it seems okay and does not hurt <br />his property values. <br /> <br />Mr. Sayre stated that every time he has come to the Planning Commission and the City <br />Council regarding this property, the church is always wanting to change its zoning so <br />they can sell it and move out, cash in and go. He added that he has had to come to the <br />City Council to talk to them about doing basic landscaping such as adding a hedge and <br />a lawn to improve its drive-by appearance. <br /> <br />Mr. Sayre stated that it bothers him that the church wants the property developed. He <br />indicated that he is a Board member of the Valley Trails Homeowners Association and <br />that he tries to come and represent their neighborhood; and now his neighbors are <br />asking him about what is going on with the property. He stated that he knows there is a <br />task at hand to find the best location for these low-income housing, but he is concerned <br />that the property could be re-considered because the church wants to sell the property <br />and move on and does not really care about the community. He noted that four years <br />ago, the neighbors had to fight this because the economy was good and the church <br />wanted to build houses there as in-fill. He stated that the church appeared to want be <br />secretive and just develop it quickly, and it did not seem like they were really taking into <br />account what the neighborhood was really hoping to get out of it, such as something <br />similar to what the neighborhood already has or something of a higher level. <br /> <br />Chair Narum asked staff to comment on the zoning matter. <br /> <br />Ms. Stern explained that there are two different things here: the land use zoning for the <br />property is R-1-6,500, which is standard zoning for single-family homes, but the General <br />Plan designation is Public and Institutional. She added that no project can go forward <br />until a General Plan amendment is processed to allow housing. <br /> <br />Carl W. Pretzel stated that he was present to provide a Valley Trail response to the <br />Site 15 <br />rebuttal by the church property regarding . He indicated that one thing that was <br />mentioned is that the property has always been considered to be Public and Institutional <br />although there is a lot of talk about its being residential. He indicated that he had an old <br />map of the area and that when the original homeowners bought into that area, this site <br />was listed as a public school, and when the land was sold, the promise the City made to <br />them was broken. <br /> <br />Mr. Pretzel stated that another thing that was mentioned is that the church has a <br />mandate for helping the poor. He noted that when the property was actually rented out <br />about three summers ago, the tenant proposed to present luxury homes there. He <br />PLANNING COMMISSION REGULAR MINUTES, April 27, 2011 Page 17 of 40 <br /> <br />