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The Woodland Hills (WH) Public Hearing was a lively one. One spectator inquired, "Will this monster ever be tamed?" Then she murmured "probably not." The "monster" was the long reviled, revised, debated, and despised City Fencing Ordinance. The ordinance was one of three items on the City Public Hearing agenda. The hearing on the fencing ordinance was required because the city council approved the ordinance after making numerous changes which had not been publicly discussed at an earlier hearing. The purpose of the hearing was to get citizen input, and they got it. Not a single person spoke in favor of the ordinance. Resident Becky Provstgaard said she was totally opposed to the ordinance, particularly the portion which says she cannot put up a fence within thirty feet of her front property line. She also said that the city has many unnecessary ordinances which makes it more expensive to build in WH and discourages new development. Jody Stones says she wants to put in a sports court, but according to the ordinance, she would have to put it almost right against her house. Others expressed displeasure with sections pertaining to corrals, setbacks, type of materials, etc. Planning Commission Chairman Wayne Frandsen thanked the participants for their input and then proceeded to the next item.
The next item was a request for a conditional use permit by Tina Brighton to operate a day care center in her home in the city. She told the commission and those in attendance that she was licensed to operate a day care center for up to 16 children. She said she plans to enroll only children up to age 11. Long time resident Richard Cottam who lives right across the street from the proposed center expressed concern about the houses being close together in that area, and addition of a day care center will create a traffic hazard and more noise. Donna Cottam said they had purchased their home in a quiet neighborhood and she is concerned that a day care center will create disturbing noise, and approval of the request will result in benefit to one family while denial of the request will result in benefits to the entire neighborhood. City resident Todd Provstgaard said he sees no problem with the approval and feels it will be of benefit to all.
There being no further citizen input, the next hearing topic was heard. The topic was to receive citizen input regarding changes in the way the Planning Commission reviews business licenses and site plans under consideration. The recommended changes were described as streamlining the process for the benefit of applicants and the city as well. Resident Karen Gillmore expressed that from her experience in attending many planning commission meetings over the past years, it is apparent to her that the planning commission is not the bottleneck. She has observed numerous times when requests have been approved by the city engineer only to find that the commission subsequently identifies errors or omissions not previously caught resulting in more paperwork and an extended time period for approval.
There being no further comments from the public, the public hearing was adjourned.
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He who has health, has hope; and he who has hope, has everything.
-- Arabian Proverb |
