City Council approves proposal to build 86 townhomes near Pocatello park, despite recommendations against it
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POCATELLO — By unanimous vote, the Pocatello City Council approved the proposed development of 86 townhomes near the popular Ammon Park.
A recent public hearing that lasted roughly 2-1/2 hours included some barbs between residents speaking against the proposal and the developers, mainly regarding the developers’ “plan B.”
Based on current zoning regulations, Clay Anderson, an investor in CMJ Holdings, LLC — the company that owns the property — says it could develop 94 apartments if their request to rezone, allowing the construction of 86 townhomes, was not approved.
The company’s backup plan, he said during a brief statement, would be to scrap the Park Place Townhome plan and build the apartments.
“We’d much prefer to build 86 townhomes,” Anderson said. “We think it’s a much better product for the community.”
Matthew Lewis, the city’s Senior Planner, confirmed the claim made by Anderson.
“It’s important to note that, based on zoning, apartments are permitted outright and would not require subdividing. Again, apartments are permitted outright without any public hearing or comment,” Lewis said.
Many of the more than a dozen residents who spoke opposing the proposal during Thursday night’s City Council meeting brought up the idea of the company holding their backup plan over the council’s head.
One woman called the statement a “threat.”
Among the concerns addressed were, similar to last month’s Planning and Zoning Commission meeting, increased traffic and population congestion.
Joel Dixon, a spokesman for Knudsen Engineering who is representing CMJ, told the council that many of the concerns voiced were “outside the scope” of the proposal and have long since existed.
However, Dixon added CMJ is not fine with the status quo. As part of its proposal, the Utah-based development firm is limiting the number of properties it will develop from the number it would be allowed by code. CMJ will also be assisting in an issue that already exists — expanding the size of a runoff pond, which, by modern standards, is roughly undersized.
City development engineer Merril Quayle, said that to meet current standards, the pond would need to be approximately three- or four-times its current size.
The undersized pond presents a danger to residents living downstream in the event of a “large storm event,” Dixon said.
He said the vision shared by CMJ and Knudsen is one of an advanced community.
“We’re proposing less units than we’re entitled to,” Dixon said. “We are providing more open space than we are required to. We’re going above and beyond what is required to make our vision happen.”
Some of the residents were not impressed by the concession, saying that in decades of living near the park, the existing pond has never filled.
Among the three people to speak during public comment in support of the proposal were CMJ investors, both of whom now live in Utah after growing up in eastern Idaho. The third was MiaCate Kennedy I, the CEO of Bannock Development Corporation.
Kennedy told the council the townhomes would provide purchasable, yet affordable property that would be appealing for people the city wishes to keep in town or for people it hopes to attract. Apartments, she added, are not as attractive because they do not help renters build equity.
As pointed out by several commenters, there are not laws preventing a single company form purchasing all the townhomes and renting them out.
Of the 20 or so public commenters, four spoke uncommitted — meaning they were neither for nor against the project. One of them was Lydia Noble, one of the people who runs Pocatello for Accountable Government Entities (P.A.G.E.).
Noble recommended the council demand a compromise between the developers and residents, who are concerned about overpopulating the small neighborhood. She suggested the development be limited to fewer than 86 townhomes.
The council did not discuss that. Instead, a motion from councilman Josh Mansfield was made to approve the proposal, and was seconded by councilman Rick Cheatum. That motion was passed by a unanimous 5-0 vote.