Subdivision plat raises questions on road access

Talk about it

The Jamestown Planning Commission approved a preliminary plat for Lake View Terrace on a split vote during its regular meeting Monday. The new subdivision is located north of the Stutsman County Fairgrounds just east of Sixth Avenue Northwest. The preliminary approval was made with commission questions. The issue will come up for action during the next Planning Commission meeting on Dec. 12.

The property falls within the one-mile extraterritorial zoning authority of Jamestown even though the property is located in Midway Township.

Planning Commission members raised two concerns with the subdivision. Harold Bensch, Planning Commission member, raised questions about road access from the south. The subdivision could possibly connect to a Stutsman County road. Reed Schwartzkopf, Jamestown city engineer said he was on the Stutsman County agenda Tuesday to address the road access issue.

The second issue concerns the setback or the distance any building, tree or shrub would have to be located from the edge of the property.

“Whose ordinances do we follow here?” asked Jane Trautman, Planning Commission member. “The lot size meets the requirements but it doesn’t meet the township requirements for setback.”

Jamestown zoning rules require a 25-foot setback while township rules are 100 feet, Trautman said. The additional distance is to keep buildings from catching snow and creating snowdrifts across public roads.

“The problem is a one-size-fits-all mentality,” Trautman said.

Jim Weight, Jamestown building inspector and city zoning administrator, said that if the city has zoning authority in that area, only city zoning regulations can be enforced.

Trautman suggested a compromise setback could be possible but no details were discussed.

Lot size could pose problems if a 100-foot setback is enforced. Six of the lots in the subdivision are 240 feet wide with roads on both sides. This would leave only a 40-foot-wide area in the middle where construction and landscape plantings would be allowed.

The preliminary plat passed on a 5-3 vote. Paulette Ritter, Letitia Johnson and Jane Trautman opposed the plat while Harley Trefz, Mike Bergquist, Dwight Schmidt, David Tressler and Harold Bensch voted in favor. Chuck Purdy was absent.

In other business the commission discussed holding an extra meeting each month to discuss planning and zoning issues southwest of Jamestown in the area of Jamestown Regional Medical Center. No decision was made pending further research.

Sun reporter Keith Norman can be reached at 701-952-8452 or by email at knorman@jamestownsun.com

Tags: local news, news, planning, zoning