Vote approving expansion of Miller Pond by 2,000 square feet is delayed until next monthly meeting pending resolution of legal, financial issues
By BECKY THOMAS
Staff Reporter
It's time for code cleanup at the Cheney Planning Commission.
City planner Elisa Rodriguez spoke to the commission during their Sept. 14 meeting to request more maintenance of the city's municipal code.
“We need to look at it regularly to make sure it's up to date,” she said, adding that annual code maintenance would help in many areas of government.
Rodriguez outlined the process of making amendments to the code for portions that need rewording, more detail or a minor error fix.
She said a petition must be made to community development staff who summarize and present the issue to the Planning Commission. The commission then discusses the merit of the petition based on “approval criteria and resources required.”
Rodriguez said she has a list of issues to present to the commission for consideration.
“It's an ongoing list,” she said, estimating that there were 20 items on the list.
The commission agreed to tackle the issues in smaller lists of three to five per meeting.
Rodriguez proposed more regular effective dates for code changes.
“The development community would like some predictability,” she said. “They don't want to be concerned with policy changes happening that they're not aware of, so they have to be constantly checking with the city.”
Commissioners discussed changing the current effective date of 30 days after a decision to a quarterly or twice per year date when all previous changes to the code would be implemented.
Commissioners continued a discussion of the mitigation of a wetland that was wiped out by the construction of the Cheney Industrial and Commerce Park. Environmental consultant Dr. Robert Quinn outlined a plan that would reestablish native plants and expand the wetland at Miller Pond.
The commissioners approved of the plan to remove about 12 inches of soil from an island in the pond to be turned into wetland, a move that would add approximately 2,000 square feet to replace the wetland displaced by park construction.
Quinn expressed his approval of the project.
“In my opinion, what we've already got and what we're going to get is going to be a demonstration project for Cheney,” he said. “It's going to be an incredible example of a locally diversified habitat.”
Cheney's public works director, Todd Ableman, said the department would use its own equipment and crews to move soil this fall, and planting could begin in the spring. He said it would cost approximately $10,000.
Commissioners Randall Butler and Tillman Carr asked how the city could ensure that the mitigation is working in the coming years.
Rodriquez said the city would likely hire a consultant to monitor the wetland's progress yearly. She said, though, that the city had no recourse if the consultant didn't submit the reports annually; there was only a financial guarantee that the work would be done at the end of five years.
Commissioners agreed to wait until the next meeting to approve the project, giving Rodriguez time to consult with the city's attorney and financial department on editing the requirements.
In other commission business, commissioners approved a two-year extension on the Golden Hills development project.
Becky Thomas can be reached at [email protected].
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