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PASCO -- A special permit for a controversial corn maze didn't receive approval Monday from the Pasco City Council.
Five council members voted to table the application until Dec. 7 so city staff could prepare findings to support denial of the permit.
Councilmen Tom Larsen and Bob Hoffmann dissented.
The council deliberated on an appeal of the city planning commission's recommendation to allow Phil Schmitt of Haywire Farms to operate a corn maze on Road 72 in Pasco.
Monday's discussion was a closed-record hearing, which means council members took no new testimony.
Hoffmann said the 32 recommendations the planning commission made adequately addressed neighbors' concerns. Nearly 40 other neighbors told the city in September that they didn't want a corn maze in their neighborhood, citing concerns about traffic, noise and light pollution.
Councilman Matt Watkins said he felt traffic remained a compelling concern. The narrow roads in the vicinity of the farm are not designed for the level of traffic a corn maze would draw, he said.
Councilwoman Rebecca Francik called the roads a "deal killer." She said Haywire Farms should find a different location in the city for the maze.
Also Monday:
-- In a 4-3 vote, the council approved spending $18,750 to pay for the Benton Franklin Council of Governments' bridge crossing study to determine the best place to put another bridge over the Columbia River to relieve traffic congestion. Tom Larsen, Bob Hoffman and Al Yenney opposed the measure, saying they couldn't support the inclusion of the statement about traffic congestion as the sole focus of the study. The study to be conducted by the council of governments would cost $250,000, and about half would come from the state Department of Transportation with the cities each contributing $18,750. Other agencies, including Benton and Franklin counties and four port districts, would share the remaining costs.
-- The council unanimously denied an ordinance that would have created a local improvement district to assess property owners on portions of California Avenue and Bonneville Street to pay for street paving and lighting, curbs, gutters and sidewalks.
Al Higley, speaking for his parents Conn and Lois Higley, who own two lots in the proposed boundaries, and James Goulet, who owns one parcel, opposed the plan. They didn't say why they opposed the plan.
Michael McShane, Pasco city engineer, said three of the nine property owners in opposition represented about half of those who could voice an opinion on the matter. The city and Franklin County both own property in the area, but do not have a say.
Councilman Al Yenney said it appeared the city was close to lacking the required 60 percent approval from affected property owners. Since the district was initiated by the city, he felt the council should vote on behalf of the citizens who spoke.
-- The council unanimously approved the creation of a local improvement district for the Kurtzman Park neighborhood, excluding the properties on Sycamore Avenue where owners opposed the district. Letters will go out to affected property owners, and they will have 30 days to appeal the decision.
The project will include street paving and lighting and the addition of curbs, gutters and sidewalks in the neighborhood.
* Kristi Pihl: 509-582-1512; kpihl@tricityherald.com
