Planning Commission Discusses Subdivision Developments

The third phase of the Octagon Estates subdivision is on its way to being platted, following the September 12 meeting of the Saratoga Planning Commission.

The seven member commission voted 6-1 to recommend approval of the final plat for phase three presented by Octagon Construction Group. That recommendation came with a lengthy discussion about the current code regulating subdivisions and whether the code would need to be amended for future developments.

Building Towards Paving

In August, Bo Stocks with Octagon Construction Group had presented the preliminary plat for Octagon Estates Phase Three to the planning commission. The step was a repeat for Stocks and the subdivision, as both the Town of Saratoga and Stocks believed the preliminary plat had been approved at an earlier date but could not find any record of the approval. Since going through the process again, there have been two other concerns which have been raised in terms of public improvements: paving of roads in phase one and providing natural gas.

At the September 5 meeting of the Saratoga Town Council, Director of Public Works Emery Penner informed the governing body that an agreed upon deadline of August 17 for paving had expired. Due to the deadline having been passed, the Saratoga Town Council has now reached out to their legal counsel for options regarding the financial bond of approximately $287,000.

In both the August and September meetings of the planning commission, Stocks explained his intention was to pave roads in both phases of the subdivision but had been unable to get a subcontractor in Saratoga. The lack of paving in phase one was criticized by Randy Raymer, owner of R.G. Raymer Construction, during the public hearing for phase three.

“They (Octagon Construction) could have paved day one. That’s up to the developers. Because they waited until the last day, the cost of the paving is not an issue, the time of year is not an issue. Those are things that are all agreed to on day one,” said Raymer. “The bond is probably completely inadequate. Calling the bond, all it does is create a fight and then nobody goes anywhere.”

Raymer also questioned the issuance of building permits and certificates of occupancy for phase one, which he called an incomplete subdivision.

“I can address some of those concerns. In our ordinances, it says up to 90% of the lots can be issued building permits and that last 10% is how you hold the builder accountable to finish those improvements. That’s something that’s in the ordinances,” said Chairperson McCall Burau. “I agree that no certificate of occupancy should have been awarded until those improvements were done. However, in our code, it doesn’t say you can’t. It just says it’s highly discouraged that a certificate of occupancy be issued before things like sewer and roads and lights are completed.”

Indeed, section 17.28.270 of Saratoga Municipal Code reads that a building permit must not be issued for the final 10% of lots in a subdivision before all required public improvements are completed. Additionally, section 17.28.240 does discourage the issuance of a certificate of occupancy but leaves the decision up to the zoning officer if there does not appear to be danger to health, safety and general welfare.

Off Track

Burau explained that, in her reading of the code, allowing building permits for lots in a subdivision prior to all required improvements “allows the contractor to regain some of their cost.”

“Nobody should be living in them until the streets are safe for ambulances, until water and sewer is hooked up, until the street lights are there, until it’s safe for someone to live in,” said Burau. “You can build all you want but nobody can live in there, is the way I read the code.”

In response, Raymer told the planning commission that previous municipal code had required public improvements of a subdivision before either a building permit could be issued or a lot could be sold. He also brought up the Saratoga Inn Overlook subdivision, which sits south of the Saratoga Forest Management lumber mill, stating that the roads had been paved and utilities had been extended to the curbs before any building had occurred.

“How we got off the track into this, I really don’t know, but it really needs to get back on track,” said Raymer. “That has more enforcement power to it than the bond because if you’ve got $1 million invested into this piece of land and you can’t sell any of it or build on it until you get it complete, there is an incentive for it to be done.”

Where the code regulating subdivisions “got off track” was in 1979 with the passage of Ordinance No. 356. This ordinance repealed the entirety of the previous municipal code regarding subdivisions and replaced it with the majority of the code currently in use. That ordinance repealed and replaced language which had been set by Ordinance No. 339. According to Penner in an email to the Saratoga Sun, the previous language did require all subdivision improvements to be completed prior to the issuance of either a building permit or a certificate of occupancy.

“I have had the opportunity as a builder and part-time developer to see a good many of these inconsistencies have to be cleaned up 10 years down the road, 20 years down the road,” said Raymer. “Some of them have never been cleaned up, so my concern is for that.”

More Stringent?

Following the concerns expressed by Raymer regarding the current municipal code, Burau said it might be something the planning commission could look into in the future.

“I think that is a good concern and I think the planning commission can take that and revisit our ordinances on what we allow. Those are ordinance issues and they don’t necessarily pertain to this. I agree that there are some issues with the completion of the previous phase of the subdivision,” said Burau. “We will include in our report to the town council that it is a concern of the citizens on whether or not it’s in the best interests of the town to continue to do business with a developer who has not followed through on their previous commitment.”

According to Stocks, however, the current code already made it difficult for the development of subdivisions in Saratoga.

“It’s a super, super hard place to develop here and make it make sense,” said Stocks. “If you make it much harder to do it, people aren’t going to develop in this town.”

Ultimately, the Saratoga Planning Commission voted to adopt the recommended draft decision as presented by Penner. Chia Valdez was the only nay vote. The final plat will next appear before the Saratoga Town Council in October.

The next meeting of the Saratoga Planning Commission will be at 5:30 p.m. on October 10 at Saratoga Town Hall.