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HomeMy WebLinkAbout12/07/2015 Work SessionCity of Springfield Work Session Meeting MINUTES OF THE WORK SESSION MEETING OF THE SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL HELD MONDAY DECEMBER 7, 2015 The City of Springfield Council met in a work session in the Jesse Maine Meeting Room, 225 Fifth Street, Springfield, Oregon, on Monday December 7, 2015 at 6:15 p.m., with Mayor Lundberg presiding. ATTENDANCE Present were Mayor Lundberg and Councilors VanGordon, Wylie, Moore, Ralston, Woodrow and Pishioneri. Also present were City Manager Gino Grimaldi, Assistant City Manager Jeff Towery, City Attorney Mary Bridget Smith, City Recorder Amy Sowa and members of the staff. 1. Natural Vegetation Fire Risk Discussion. Al Gerard, Fire Marshal, presented the staff report on this item. The public has high levels of concern every summer when rainfall stops concerning the risk related to wildfire. Staff will attempt to clarify the relative risk of wildfire within the City and how the adjacent forestland that is protected by the Oregon Department of Forestry is rated for risk. The public is often confused by the messages meant for the forestland vs the relatively few restrictions inside the City that is protected by an urban level fire department. Mr. Gerard noted that this the worse year for fire hazard in the wildlands. For the City as an urban area, the threat of wildfire was not as severe. He discussed the danger in the past when the City had a number of large undeveloped stretches of land with vegetation that could spread easily, and the ordinance that was in place to address that danger. The City has more infill now and fewer large expanses of property. An analysis was done in 2002 to determine how many cases of fires were caused by coming from another home. Another analysis was done this year reviewing the last three years and only one fire was found to have scorched the side of a home due to landscaping that caught fire. This summer, another couple of fires caused damage to fields near the edge of town. Most of the fires that have included natural vegetation were bark dust fires. The City has rapid response to any fires in comparison to the State for wildfires which helps keep these dangers to a minimum. It can be confusing for citizens when they hear the fire warnings from the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF), which relate only to forestlands. Councilor Moore asked if the City had a code section that would address calls from citizens with complaints. Mr. Gerard said the language regarding fire danger is very ambiguous and states that the property owner is responsible for maintaining their vegetation that could pose a .fire danger on their property. The one property in City limits that does have fire danger potential is the property off Marcola Road. Councilor Moore said there is a vacant lot at the end of the street where she lives that is only mowed occasionally, most likely when there is a complaint. She asked if there was any other code that addressed it. City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes December 7, 2015 Page 2 Mr. Gerard said there is a provision in the Development Code regarding vacant property, but it can be complex. Councilor VanGordon confirmed that when it comes to vegetation in the City, we have minimal to no fire risk. Mr. Gerard said that is correct, with the exception of hillside areas. Most housing is located on north - facing slopes which have a higher degree of moisture in the ground making the fire danger season much shorter. There is also heightened awareness regarding those areas. Councilor VanGordon asked if there is anything else to do. Mr. Gerard said at this time, he didn't feel there was a need to change the current code. Councilor VanGordon asked if this was discussed with staff on a regular basis. Mr. Gerard said Chief Groves sends out notifications to the City Manager's with detailed analysis of fire danger situations. The department may increase staff on a red flag earning day when conditions increase the fire danger. The City can then be ready to respond quickly with appropriate equipment. Councilor Pishioneri said the Thurston Hills have several vacant lots that are heavily vegetated so he is skeptical saying there is a low fire hazard. Because there is no City code to address unmaintained vegetation, he asked if there would be any consequences for a property owner whose vegetation caused a fire due to their negligence. Mr. Gerard said the City would not have consequences for an individual property owner for lack of maintenance caused fire to spread. If they are violating another code such as burning on a no -burn day, etc., there are code provisions that could be enforced. If someone is within 440 feet of ODF boundaries and you cause a fire and it impacts ODF, they can bill the property owner. Councilor Pishioneri asked if a property owner had recourse through civil means if there is no City code. Ms. Smith said they could have a common law private action if one land owner caused damage to another property. Having Municipal Code that someone didn't comply with could help their case, but didn't mean the City needs a code in order to deal with that situation. Councilor Pishioneri said he is looking at protecting adjacent property from negligent property. Ms. Smith said that is all part of the policy. The code provides some room for enforcement, depending on the circumstances of the case. Councilor Pishioneri said if it could be made clearer, it might help protect property owners who are affected. Mr. Grimaldi noted that if something was put into the code, and the Cite receives a call, we are obligated to address the issue. Mr. Gerard said the code does address a fuel break and states, "a fuel break shall be established where weeds, grass, vines or other growth that is capable of being ignited and causing fire damage to the City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes December 7, 2015 Page 3 protected property of another exists". If he determined there was a fire hazard based on the fuel load, he would require the property owner to establish a fuel break which is a ten -foot strip along the property line. It would typically apply to the property owner with the unmaintained vegetation. It comes back to defining a fire risk. There is no fire risk without an ignition source. If the fire risk is obvious, they will try to address it. There are people in the hills who have requested trees be cut down as a fire risk, but there are rules in the Development Code about trees and fire is not a good reason to cut them down. Councilor Woodrow said she had people call her this summer about high grass and weeds, and she was not sure how to respond. She feels that tonight's discussion has given them some information they can use to respond regarding the fire break and also the quicker response time in the City. This information is helpful to her. Mr. Gerard said they had always responded to grass and weeds calls up until last year when staffing was cut in half. They used to find and contact property owners to cut their grass. Councilor Woodrow said she understood now what he means by fire danger, but when talking with citizens her response will be around a risk for non -response. Assuring them there would be a quick response if a fire starts will help alleviate their concerns. Mr. Gerard said the fire stations are set up for quick response. Chief Groves said they sometimes receive calls from 9 1 1 concerned about fires and they do respond. He noted a call from Councilor Pishioneri about someone using a power saw on a red flag day. The ODF is in the process of working throughout the county to do a reassessment of their lines. In Eugene, they designed some of the south hills areas as forestlands. That allows them to apply ODF restrictions, reducing the risks, and to respond when needed. He is hoping to look at: something similar in Springfield. Mr. Gerard said for those areas designed at forestland, the ODF rules apply to the homeowners in that area. Being able to partner with ODF is helpful. Councilor Ralston said he remembers when the City had more prescriptive language in the code, and the City had to mow properties that were not in compliance. They did away with that because of higher priorities for our resources. He is not supportive of adding anything that would take more resources. Mayor Lundberg said the terms `vague' and `convoluted' were used for the code, which is a concern to her. She would like to consider looking at making things more clear in the code. Every time we go out on something, fire department resources are used. She would have liked to see the vegetation on the Pierce Property on Marcola Road cut. She received a lot of emails from people who were upset and afraid, and it looks like we are not taking care of things. The definitions need explained for fire danger (forested land, not urban) and fire response. We need to educate the public about what it means for fire danger. It's a matter of being proactive as a neighbor. She would like to see what we could do to alleviate concerns and partner with ODF. Councilor Pishioneri agreed and said he was also hoping to have more clarity in the code. He would like to have it cleaned up so if there are extreme cases we can deal with those as appropriate. Mr. Gerard said they like to have clarity, but it's nice to have some flexibility, too. City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes December 7, 2015 Page 4 Mr. Grimaldi confirmed that Council would like staff to clarify the language, and add some language that lets the City take care of larger properties. They are doing this to protect the public and address any fears. Mayor Lundberg said it is a legitimate concern especially during dry summers like we had last year. Councilor Moore said it's also unsightly. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 6:50 p.m. Minutes Recorder — Amy Sowa Christine L. Lundberg Mayor Attest: a, 4 nw-,,:.7_ Amy Sowa City Recorder