Minutes - Council - 11/25/2025 - Laserfiche WebLink

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the Council trusts other groups or individuals to make, and if they take this decision away from the Planning Commission, then she believes they also need to look at the decisions being made by other groups. She requested that the Council take these things into consideration before voting on this. Matt Woestehoff, 16078 Uranimite Street, came forward and shared that he agrees with the points made by Ms. Musgrove. He noted that this change would add time to the approval process for variances and would waste the time of residents. He encouraged the Council to continue to let the Planning Commission make these decisions. Councilmember Riley shared his appreciation for the residents coming forward and sharing their concerns. He noted that he has considered the items of concern; however, he does not believe that the process would change much for residents if they move forward with this Code amendment. Motion by Councilmember Riley, seconded by Councilmember Stewart, to adopt Ordinance #25- 10, Amending Chapters 2 and 106 Pertaining to Variances. Further discussion: Councilmember Buscher shared that she agrees with Ms. Musgrove and Mr. Woestehoff. She explained that if they move forward with this change, then the appeals process would go through the judge, which would take the final decision out of the local government’s hands. She noted that the Council was elected to make sure that the residents are put first, and this change does not benefit the residents. She added that the individuals on the Planning Commission are appointed by the elected body. She noted that these are not just random people who wanted to serve, but appointed individuals who were deemed qualified to make these kinds of decisions. She shared that she does not believe that the entire Council will be reading the entire Staff report in regard to these variance requests every time they come up as thoroughly as the Planning Commissioners do. She noted that this is trying to fix something that is not broken. Councilmember Peters agreed with Councilmember Buscher, Ms. Musgrove, and Mr. Woestehoff. He shared that he served on the Planning Commission for five years. He noted that it is the Planning Commission’s job to make these decisions, and the Council’s job to review appeals when they are needed. He said he would like to see this process stay with an apolitical group that reads the ordinances as they are and interprets them the way they believe they should be interpreted. He shared that he will not be supporting this motion. Councilmember Stewart noted that the only reason these decisions would go through the court system is if the Council denies the variance request. Mr. Woestehoff added that even if a variance is approved, another resident could take this decision to court through the appeals process. Councilmember Buscher asked what kind of financial burden the City would take on if it had to fight an appeal in court. City Council / November 25, 2025 Page 6 of 8