HomeMy WebLinkAbout06/25/2001 Work Session
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MINUTES OF THE WORK SESSION
OF THE SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL
HELD ON MONDAY, JUNE 25, 2001
The Springfield City Council met in work session at Springfield City Hall, Jesse Maine Meeting
Room, 225 Fifth Street, Springfield, at 5:30 p.m., with Mayor Leiken presiding.
ATTENDANCE
Present were Mayor Leiken, and Councilors Ballew, Fitch, Hatfield, Lundberg, Ralston and
Simmons. Also present were City Manager Mike Kelly, Assistant City Manager Gino Grimaldi,
City Recorder Kim Krebs, City Attorney Joe Leahy, Police Chief Jerry Smith, and members of
staff.
1. Affordable !lousing Implementation Proiect.
Planner Kay Bork, and Planning Manager Greg Mott were present for the staff report.
Ms. Bork to date this was a project that was put forward by the Planning Commission to develop
to the City Council's work Plan to implement the Residential Land Study. She said as part of the
Residential Lands Implementation Project, staff conducted preliminary research on types of
residential development being built today. She said included in the Study were some
implementation measures, which have been prioritized. She said from that prioritized list,. staff
was able to narrow it down to a few priorities that could be accomplished within 2 years, but said
they hoped to accomplish those within 1 year instead.
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Ms. Bork she said most of the land in Springfield is zoned Low Density Residential (LDR), with
approximately 2000 acres; 216 acres zoned Medium Density Residential (MDR); and 16 acres are
zoned High Density Residential (HDR). She higWighted the information included in Attachment
1 of the Agenda Item Summary related to the Code Amendment Options, and said most of the
amendments would be affecting the LDR zone partials. She said from the listed options, staff
would like consensus regarding which code amendments to pursue. She higWighted the list of
proposed code revisions
Greg Mott said the with respect to what is being proposed, the regulations will make it less
difficult to build the cluster development subdivisions. He said one of the differences associated
with cluster development is that it is the only discretionary use that you can have in a residential
zone where the requested use is residential.
Ms. Bork circulated a handout titled "Affordable Housing Implementation Project", for councils
reView.
Councilor Lundberg asked for a better description of what exactly a cluster home is.
Ms. Bork said it generally means you are preserving some kind of open space for common .
ownership and use. She said that doesn't necessarily mean that a driveway must be shared. She
said cluster is stated in the code as zero set backs, no lot sizes, and preserving open space.
Mr. Mott said for discussion purposes the three examples in the handout all had a design
constraint on the site.
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There was discussion about the height limit, and whether or not they want to require the units to
be unattached or attached.
Ms. Bork responded to questions, and said not all cluster subdivision development will be low-
income housing; it is just another tool to use in the development process.
Kay said yes, they will not be requiring all low income housing to be developed in cluster
subdivisions, it is just another tool to use in developing.
The Council discussed the need to be cautious in the crafting of the language for the ordinance
changes, need to make sure the language is clear for developers and remains consistent. .
Mr. Mott said there is a segment in the code, if the developer was going to include certain
features it would be reviewed at the staff level.
Councilor Ballew asked if in the development community there was a demand for these changes?
Ms. Bork said cluster development seems to be more appealing to developers. She said much of
the land that remains undeveloped is restricted. She said there might be other items on her
attachment that they have had more inquiries about, however this seems to be of interest to
developers
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Councilor Ballew asked what the difference in cost was in comparing cluster development versus
a regular residential development
Ms. Bork said she would estimate a savings of approximately $25,000.
Mr. Mott said that one or two additional units could be builHor the same cost as a regular
development. He said in a cluster development the outdoor play areas, and open spaces are
available for all of the owners in the development rather than the 10- foot side yards.
Councilor Hatfield said he is in favor of cluster subdivision, not necessarily for affordable
housing, but maybe in geared at the senior population. Once you begin under 4500 sq ft lots,
permeable space, keeps the amount of impermeable surface down, it allows for maintenance of
the green space, which is important to Springfield
There was discussion regarding the need to have neighborhood compatibility.
Mayor Leiken said this would be a very useful tool, particularly good for families who are just
getting started.
Councilor Ballew said she is supportive of affordable housing, however she does not think that
Springfield should be the carrier of all affordable housing in the area. She wants Springfield to
have a healthy pyramid, and hopes that people will be prosperous.
Councilor Ralston said the Housing Policy Board has determined that housing is more affordable
in Springfield.
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There was discussion regarding mixed housing, and the importance of keeping that mix for the
benefit of the community.
City Manager Mike Kelly asked if there was a need to have further discussion.
Council Consensus was incorporate everything that was discussed, proceed with the code
modifications.
2. Drug Free/Prostitution Free Zone Ordinance.
Police Chief Jerry Smith was present for the staff report. He introduced Patrick Luciano Chair of
the Police Planning Task Force (PPTF), and Susan Dream from the District Attorney's Office.
He said the purpose of this work session was to discuss the possible development of an ordinance
enabling Council to identify specific areas of the City as drug free/prostitution free areas.
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Chief Smith highlighted the issues described in the Council Briefing Memorandum (CBM), and
said staff is suggesting this be used as another tool for the police to use to help or assist a
particular area of the community as the Council designates in addressing this problem. He said
when the prostitutes or drug offenders are arrested, they are taken to jail, and unfortunately, they
are released shortly after they are lodged, and are right back on the streets. He said by enacting a
Free Zone Ordinance that does not mean that that area will be free of the offenses. What it does
mean is when an offender is apprehended, the exclusion order would be an additional tool for
them to use. He said the4 exclusion order would restrict the offender from going back into that
area, except for some specified legitimate reasons.
Mayor Leiken said for the record he sees this as a very important tool, this has been without a
doubt the number one issue that he has received e-mails and telephone calls to the Mayor's office
since he was sworn in. He said he has had several conversations with Chief Smith regarding what
the city can do in order to address this issue. . He said this is a good first step to addressing this
ground floor problem. He said a lot of this relates to what the Springfield Renaissance
Development Corporation is trying to accomplish in the downtown area. He said in order to
achieve the vision that many people have for downtown, this is an area that needs to addressed as
soon as possible. He said he is looking forward to hearing the council's opinion on the subject,
and opened it up for discussion.
Councilor Fitch said she is strongly in favor of this proposed ordinance. She said as soon as the
media began publicizing that Springfield was going to be reviewing this proposed ordinance, part
of the problem vanished because the word had made it's way to the streets that an ordinance had
already been adopted. She said she believes enacting this free zone in the heart of downtown
where the museum is located and the cultural district is a good idea. The goal is to attract
families and visitors to our downtown, and with the current state of downtown, we are not
supporting those efforts.
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Councilor Simmons said he supports an ordinance that provides the police department with a tool
that they can use in the downtown area. He said he received a lot of phone calls from people
outside of the area that seemed to be related to drug issues and apartment complexes. He said if
this is done downtown and it is successful, he feels there will be a need to develop some sort of
trigger mechanism that affects where there is a problem area in order to deal with that problem.
He spoke about the hearing process, and what would happen if the defendant failed to show for
the hearing. He said because of the constitutional issue, he thinks there needs to be a mechanism
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in place, but the rights ofthe person involved are also an iinportant issue. He said there are two
sides to this, 1) the police department's actions, and 2) a hearing mechanism in place that protects
the constitutional rights of those offenders. .
Councilor Ballew said she is supportive of Councilor Simmons said, as long as it is within the
constitutional grounds. She said she is concerned that it doesn't just go away, it may move to
another area. She said there is some concerns in the Washburne District, that ifit moves out of
the downtown area, it may move into that district since it is adjacent to downtown.
Councilor Hatfield said the need for the ordinance is evident. He said the Thurston
neighborhoods don't want the problem to relocate in their area either. He said there are two
issues those areas very important, 1) the due process issue; 2) trigger mechanism, or what kind of
issues the council needs to review. He said if the area is going to be expanded, or the need to
duplicate in an area that has a problem. He said the council would address those issues one by
one as they come forward.
Councilor Lundberg said after reviewing the attachments in the AIS and the examples of the
proposed ordinance, she prefers the City of Eugene version. She said it is much more clear in
terms of the mechanism that would be used by the police department. She asked if both the
person providing the service and the person soliciting are addressed in the ordinance.
Chief Smith said both are charged with prostitution, and once the ordinance is adopted both
parties would be subject to the exclusion order.
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Chief Smith provided information to council related to the process after the arrest. He said after
the arrest each of the parties would receive a notice to appear in Court at a Show Cause Hearing,
toa date certain. He said at that time they would then have an opportunity to present information
to the court as to why they should not be excluded from that particular area that the council has
identified. If they fail to show for the hearing, the court will issue the exclusion order based on
an affidavit by an officer, which is attached to the police report. He said that would exclude the
need for the officer to have to attend a hearing that the defendant may fail to appear. He said he
supports the court issuing the exclusion order versus the police officer.
Chief Smith said he hopes to minimize the work impact on the Court and it's staff, as well as
additional work on the police officers.
There was discussion regarding the length of the designation, and the need to place a limit on the
designation, and to revisit to determine whether the problem has moved to another area of the
city.
Chief Smith said once the word is out on the streets that this ordinance is approved, he anticipates
the numbers to decrease. He said if a person has been served with an exclusion order and has a
need to access that particular area, they could obtain a variance to that exclusion order.
Councilor Lundberg said she is supportive of this ordinance, doing nothing means we are turning
our heads to the problem. She said it is time the city takes a stand on this issue.
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Councilor Ralston said he does have some concerns related to the due process, however in
reviewing both of the attached ordinances, he feels they have been a4dressed. He asked what if
there are additional costs associated with the enforcement.
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Chief Smith said he does not anticipate a significant cost for enforcement, because it is done
simultaneously to the criminal part of it. He said prostitution violations have not been given the
highest of priorities. He provided information about the number of times the undercover units
have been out investigating these violations.
There was a discussion regarding the need for both Springfield and Eugene working together to
enforce this type of activity and behavior. .
There was discussion regarding alcohol being a big factor in attracting this type of activity.
Chief Smith responded to questions of council related to juvenile activity and how this ordinance
would apply to juvenile offenders.
Chief Smith responded to questions related to gang activity in the downtown area.
Councilor Simmons said the City Prosecutor's staff is already overworked. He said the
paperwork produced would still have an impact on that department. He said there needs to be
some sort of contractual dollars included on the financial side in order to cover the cost of
handling the paperwork. He said he also believes the Police Chief should be the person who
handles the variances.
There was discussion regarding who should handle the variance, length of exclusion, and the
number of offenses.
After further discussion, council consensus was:
· Municipal Court to issue the exclusion order;
· Length of exclusion, 90 days on the show cause order, one year if convicted;
· Chief or his designee would grant any variances, and a process set up for appeal
· Criteria for identifying zone would be determined by having some discretion and
flexibility. Council would like to see some anecdotal data, in additional to using
intelligent, quantifiable data. Council wants to be able to exercise some discretion to
determine if a zone is appropriate or justified
· Length of the Zone - 2 years
· Council wants to see a written report within 6 months after the formation from the Police
Chief
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 6:45 p.m.
Minutes Recorder - Kim Krebs
Kim Krebs, City Recorde