Council votes against P&Z, supports Greyco Subdivision
Bertagnole threatens to pull plug on development
By BRENDA TENBOER
In a move that outraged some members of the Planning and Zoning Commission, the Basin Town Council voted to allow 3,500-square-foot lots in a mixed residential zone for duplexes in the Greyco Subdivision at 815 E. St.
Council members Deb Rathbun and Mike Lewis voted in favor of allowing Greyco Subdivision developer Karl Bertagnole to move ahead with smaller-than-normal lot sizes for new duplex apartment complexes.
Councilman Dave Cooper voted against allowing the variance.
Variances to the ordinance are allowed in certain circumstances if the owner of the land is being denied reasonable use of his land without the legal exception, according to town attorney Kent Richins.
“It’s a vague issue,” Richins said. “To me it’s setting a precedence you can live with. The duplex is a new creature.”
Mayor Phil Juillard said the seven-member Planning and Zoning Commission studied the issue and that the town council should follow its recommendation, meaning the 5,000-square-foot minimum lot size should stand.
“If we don’t follow their recommendations, what’s the point of having them?” Juillard said during Monday night’s meeting. “When you start making exceptions, you open up a can of worms, I can guarantee you that.”
At the heart of the debate is whether apartment duplexes were taken into consideration when the town set development policies some 30 years ago.
Bertagnole reasoned that an 1,800 square foot duplex with 900 square feet upstairs and 900 square feet downstairs still makes a 900 square foot “footprint.”
“It’s half a house on half a lot,” Bertagnole said. “You’d allow an 1,800 square foot home on a 7,000 square foot lot, wouldn’t you?”
Bertagnole said he is not a developer by trade, but is simply trying to build a premier rental property with nice lawns and landscaping that will attract the people he needs to build his workforce at B&G Industries, Inc. at the South Big Horn County Airport.
“I’m trying to meet the needs of more than one group of people,” Bertagnole said. “It’s not the issue of the land not being there. Some people don’t want to maintain a large yard.”
The preliminary designs for the development are based on similar plans for housing built in Cody.
Lewis said not every person wants a big yard and that he feels the option is viable for this area, too.
P&Z Chairman Amy Kania said that the town’s master plan drafted in the 1970s was aimed at maintaining the character of the town, with large lots and mature trees.
“The plan was written with public input,” she said. “Maybe what we need is more public input on the variance. I realize Karl would like an answer tonight but maybe we should put it out there.”
Councilman Cooper said that he opposed the variance because the duplex may only take up 9,000 square feet at its base, but potentially two drivers live in each household. The development will create parking problems and high through traffic, according to Cooper.
The planning commission also stated the need for installation of no parking signs on the north side of the road entering the complex.
Bertagnole requested a variance for the minimum width of the road from 40 feet to 33.5 feet, which was allowed by P&Z members.
P&Z member and local police office Bob Willson said he lived in Guernsey some 15 years ago when 26 of the duplexes on smaller lots went in and the town did not experience any of the feared parking shortage problems.
“We did not have the problems,” he said. “This provided the housing. It looked nice. It worked. It served a purpose.”
Willson added that many lots in Basin only measure 3,600 square feet, which is below the acceptable standard. Other existing subdivisions don’t have streetlights as the commission is requiring for Bertagnole, Willson added.
Some issues addressed by the commission, such as 4-foot sidewalks and 295 square feet of open space per potential resident as adequate, fell in line with Bertagnole’s plans.
Next to the minimum lot size, the second-largest point of contention between the developer and P&Z members is the added requirement to construct an access road from the apartment complexes to exit onto Golf Course Road.
“We’ve never wanted a through street there,” he said. “The dirt and dust it would stir up for those nice, new apartments… “
From the beginning stages, an emergency access road was discussed, Bertagnole said, and width was never addressed.
The plan was to have a 12-foot gravel road with a gate and a padlock that could be cut by firemen if necessary.
“Now, suddenly I’ve got to build a 60-foot-wide access road?” he said.
Juillard said he would never allow an emergency access road to be padlocked under any circumstances.
Lewis said the council was forcing Bertagnole to build a regular through traffic road where an emergency access is appropriate.
Bertagnole said the thousands of dollars in costs to keep changing plans and meeting additional requirements is forcing him to rethink whether the investment is worth the potential outcome.
At this point , Bertagnole announced his own recommendation.
“I recommend that I table the subdivision,” he said. “I’ll talk with other investors but the two apartment buildings may stand as built and there won’t be a subdivision.”
Bertagnole said, “I’m in a catch 22 that’s not what we want to do but by the virtue of the fact that nobody else has we decided to become developers.”
“I don’t have Walmart or shopping malls to attract employees to this area, I thought if I could offer them a nice neighborhood to live in that was clean and fresh and new…,” a visibly shaking Bertagnole told the council and commission.
“Frankly, I’m not sure this works anymore,” he said. “We had approval for that other plan, but we went back to DEQ because I had a plan for something bigger.”
Bertagnole said he changed initial plans to incorporate all utilities underneath a paved road in the subdivision.
Juillard said he wants to keep the discussions positive but, “We’ve got to watch out for what we have.”
Bertagnole countered by saying, “If I dropped dead tomorrow you would still have a premier rental property in your town.”
Bertagnole said he followed building codes and had utilities installations inspected as required when he was asked for a letter of credit by the commission.
Kania said during a work session last month that Richins instructed her and the commission members to “get a letter of credit” from the developer.
A letter of credit essentially freezes funds for one year until the developer has installed all improvements.
The value of the letter of credit is equal to a loan for the amount of the improvements, which for the two apartment buildings could have added up to a quarter of a million dollars.
At Monday’s meeting Richins took a step back and changed direction on the instructions saying in this case, where improvements were nearly complete a letter of credit would not be appropriate.
Richins assured Bertagnole that private discussions could take place and that any other problems could be addressed.
“I’d rather see that than have you pull out completely,” he said. “We don’t have to have these discussions in a public meeting.”