City Council Minutes 2000 06 20 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Louisville City Council Meeting June 20, 2000 Page 13. Fickbohm stated the only impediment to the progress of the PUD has been the Fire District Board. Fickbohm stated that the Planning Commission suggested shared access with the neighbor to the north, however her negotiated efforts with the Martial Arts Studio were unsuccessful. Fickbohm declared that she has made every attempt to accommodate the needs of the Fire District Board and has incurred significant expenses. She stated that at this point she cannot consider any further changes to the PUD and it must be approved based on the design as presented. She stated that the project would add support to the business community of this district. Jim Tienken, 726 Front Street, Louisville, stated that he is the Attorney representing the applicant, Wendy Fickbohm. Tienken stated that from a legal standpoint, the City holds the title to the streets, dedicated, developed or undedicated, in trust for members of the public and noted that it is important that legal principle be recognized. He stated that the only concerns expressed by the Fire District Board were for public safety and inadequate room on a 36' wide driveway for public and fire vehicular traffic. He reiterated that this is a dedicated City street that has been approved by a revocable license by the Fire District, but citizens have a right to use a public right-of-way. Tienken explained that the driveway is utilized by fire personnel responding to a fire call and for returning fire vehicles after the call. He noted that fire fighters have a duty to drive and act reasonably when responding to a fire call, throughout the city streets, including the streets in front of the applicant's property, which is a school zone. He stated that duty is not suspended for the next forty feet along the Lafayette fight-of- way. Tienken stated that the City has the ability to deny access, grant licenses to an abutting landowner, or to vacate the fight-of-way, and that it would be unfair for the City to say that one landowner may use the right-of-way and another may not. He noted with respect to granting a revocable license, the applicant has agreed to convey a 8' strip of her property to the City as a portion of the northern expansion of this driveway. Tienken urged the Council to grant the applicant's request. Mark Weber, 211 South Tyler Avenue, President of the Board of Director for the Louisville Fire Protection District, stated that they strongly oppose shared or joint access to the existing driveway on the Lafayette right-of-way and feel this is a public safety issue. He noted that LFPD has the responsibility and obligation to ensure that the equipment, fire personnel, and everyone that resides in the district are safe from incident. He pointed out that this driveway has been referred to as a street, but in fact it is a driveway and safety issues must be considered. Their concern is that the public will not yield to emergency fire equipment responding to calls. He stated that fire fighters are highly trained and respond to calls in a safe manner. He referenced the transportation study that was contracted and noted that the LFPD was not contacted by the consultant with regard to the size of the trucks. He stated that the applicant was given a visual 13